Being A Sophomore And All...

So, College: Round 2 has started. What does this mean?

Well...

1. I Have A Car! And that means I'll be able to get to the theatre a lot more. So, while I only saw three new releases last year when I wasn't on a break, I will be able to be much better at keeping up with the trends, and the reviews will come fast and furious. So, I will see Contagion. I will see Moneyball. I will see The Ides of March, Immortals, and Drive. Keep you posted.

2. French! One of the requirements for my Intermediate French class is to see one film a week. One French film, to be precise. Lucky for me, the teacher never said what sort of film. So, expect reviews of classic art house flicks, but also expect reviews of guilty pleasures and French action films. Ever wanted to know what I though of Brotherhood of the Wolf? You'll find out soon enough.

3. Keeping My Expectations About Myself in Check! Some of you may remember how, earlier in the year, I tried to do the whole posting everyday thing. Well, that proved to be too much of a hassle, but it taught me a valuable lesson: I need to calm down! So, you won't be seeing posts every day. Instead, I'm going to try and post things that are worth it. So, reviews, articles, lists, and things of that nature. I'm going to bring According to the Movies back at some point. I just need to think of lessons. Also, this term, I'm not acting in a production, but directing one, which is going to eat up a huge chunk of my time. Quality over quantity is the name of the game now. Play with me?

Looking forward to it folks. Also, nothing's been set in stone, but I'm working on a certain something that will drop in January. Hint: It involves a little town in Utah.

You're excited now, aren't ya!

I know he is!

LAMBcast #81: There's Something Around the Corner

Ugh. Nature sucks! Not only was the weather on Sunday shitty to Olympian levels, but I've been without power for a good chunk of time. I'm sitting in the library right now, leeching juice from the backup generators. That's also why you didn't see any CC over at Man, I Love Films.

Seriously! Fuck nature!

But, whatever man. Keep on truckin'. That's what I say. Here's something to hold you over whilst I think of something interesting to say here. LAMBcast #81 saw myself, Dylan, Nick, Tom, and Sam discussing the upcoming movie season, ranting and raving about certain things (hear Tom make me feel all guilty about complaining about what I thought was an expensive movie ticket in San Francisco), and close up with some Last Lamb Standing (I was EVIL. It was awesome! You'll see). Enjoy!

Your Sunday Funny #20

Soundtrack on a Saturday: Dead Reckoning (From Smokin' Aces)

Trailer Trash: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

It's time to root through some trailers. What sorts of wonderful things will be alluded to today?

The first Ghost Rider is one of the worst comic book movies ever. No easy feat, when you put it in perspective, so any news of a sequel, for me, was met with almost obscene trepidation. Now, I am still counting on this sucking, and sucking hard. Nic Cage alone almost guarantees that, but there is something working in its favor and it goes by a three worded name.

Neveldine and Taylor.

Oh yes. The guys who made the absurdly entertaining Crank movies are back, bringing their own strand of social justice or whatever it is that they do to Marvel's demonic badass. Crank was a pretty ridiculous, if formulaic, action film, and Crank 2 single handedly threw up the biggest finger to mainstream action films ever! Who knows? Maybe Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance will be passable. The trailer shows off more interesting action in its 2 minutes than was in the whole first movie, and that image at the end of Nic Cage pissing fire is weirdly awesome.

Whatever.

Monkeys! Damn!

This is gonna be a quickie. I was on a red eye to Florida last night and didn't sleep a wink. You don't mind.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is awesome! So much better than it had any right to be, this is a surprisingly thought provoking and touching retooling of the long running franchise. The marketing would have you believe that the humans, headed up by James Franco, are the main players, but you'd be wrong. Here, the monkey's take center stage, and run away with the whole thing. For the first time in the entire history of the franchise, the apes are purely CGI, no stupid make up needed. And, damn is it good CGI. We've come a long way since Gollum, and it's only fitting that the same man who made us believe that that jewel obsessed gremlin could exist takes the lead here. Andy Serkis, as main ape Caesar, is great. I know the academy won't go for it, but give this man an Oscar already. His performance here is soooo much better than most things to come out of humans this year. What action there is is fun and visceral, the script is well written, and the references to the past films are well handled. It's been doing well, so you've probably already seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but if you haven't, get to the theatre now. It's not like there's anything else worth checking out.

IT'S MAD HOUSE!!!

There Goes the Neighborhood!

It's the Dog Days of Summer, my friends. Now that July has passed and the two or three BIG movies have come out, the time has come for... nothing. That's right. Almost nothing of consequence comes out in this period of four weeks, leaving you, the intrepid, cinematic explorer, flapping in the wind. But, every so often, this month does yield interesting results. Two years ago, we had District 9 and (500) Days of Summer. Last year, we had Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. This year, we have Fright Night. Ok, yes, I know. Horror remake and all that, and yes, I know what sort of pedigree that dastardly sub-genre carries. But, take it from me, Fright Night delivers. This is a hip, stylish, gory, funny as balls retooling of the 1985 cult classic. Boasting strong performances from some über talented people, a slick presentation, a smart sense of humor and self-deprecation, and plenty of blood to go around, Fright Night is one hell of good time. 

I vant to... you know the rest. 

Your Sunday Funny #19

Soundtrack On A Saturday: Pistolero (From Once Upon a Time in Mexico)

Naming Names

My friend expressed sheer shock when I revealed to her last night that I hadn't seen Tangled, stating that she couldn't believe it, as I'm the movie buff.
...
Guess I need to see Tangled now.

Trailer Trash: The Woman In Black

It's time to root through some trailers. What sorts of wonderful things will be alluded to today?

Continuing your career after staring in a huge hit is one thing. Continuing your career after being the title character in the biggest money grubbing franchise of all time is something else. But, that is exactly what Daniel Radcliffe is attempting to do with The Woman in Black, a project that could not be more different from that fantastical epic of wizards and magic.

As a first trailer goes, this one is aces. Very atmospheric and reeeeeeeally scary, The Woman in Black looks to be a more restrained and foreboding breed of horror movie. Then again, I just might think of that because all we hear in the trailer is weird violin noises and a creepy child reciting some limerick about the titular specter. But, for a little piece of advertisement to get me intrigued, this does the trick.

LAMBcast #79: Nick's 5-on-5

In which Dylan, Nick, Dan, and Drunk Dan try a new thing. Nick had this pretty neat idea where we all come up with lists, but we make them whilst recording. It sounds a little weird. Just listen. I thought that, since this seemed to be in the realm of more fun LAMBcasts, I went for something pretty absurd for my list. I looked like a tool when everyone else came back with relatively blah lists. Oh well. I can't help being clever! Enjoy.

My Absence Has Been Noted...

... but I'll be back at some point, you mark my words. This last few weeks of summer are hectic has hell, and this past weekend of drowning in the Rock God's love didn't help matters. Relax. I haven't forgotten you!

TODAY!!!

AWWWWW YEEAH!!

1 Day...

2 Days...

3 Days...

4 Days...

5 Days...

Your Sunday Funny #18

Soundtrack On A Saturday: End Titles (From The International)

Fun Fact: Matt Bellamy wrote this song.
Fun Fact: Matt Bellamy's in Muse.
Fun Fact: I love it!

Trailer Trash: The Darkest Hour

It's time to root through some trailers. What sorts of wonderful things will be alluded to today?

Timur Bekmembetov returns, ready to put his own fresh spin on a storied concept. The Darkest Hour sees a bunch of American tourists trapped in Moscow in the aftermath of a devastating alien invasion. The invaders in question feed off electricity, are invisible to the human eye, and have a cool ability where they instantly disintegrate any life form they touch. Basically, the world is fucked!

The cast looks strong, manned by talented character actors, and Bekmembetov's trademark visual flair looks to be firing on all cylinders. Maybe it will sputter in execution, but for now, this looks like one of the more interesting flicks coming out in the near future.

Cattle Rustlers From Another Planet

Now that the BIG movie of the season has dropped, the time of transition has begun, from Summer to Oscar. This is the time where we start to see a decrease in the explosions and an increase in drama and carefully planned character development. Usually, this is the time where we say goodbye to the likes of Transformers, GI Joe, and other dumb, action movies of that ilk, and we say hello to the likes of District 9, (500) Days of Summer, and films that, while maybe not the sort that will be recognized come the Academy Awards, nicely allude to the level of quality to come. Cowboys & Aliens is such a film, a truly masterful character study of men pushed to the edge, up against overwhelming odds, with wonderful redemption to be found and... 


Haha, had you going there for a minute, didn't I? No, what Cowboys & Aliens really is, is a a rip-snorting, action packed, genre mash-up that has an awesome concept, but fails to actually live up to it. Performances are passable at best, and the action doesn't do any more than it has to. The whole project seems like it came out because one studio head said, "Pourquoi pas?", which is never a good sign. 

Six shooters vs. lasers. We can do that.. right?

To Catch a Killer: Part 1

Netflix Watch Instantly, how I love thee. You have exposed to a whole bunch of stuff that I a.) would never have had access to, or b.) would have never even known existed. Take Red Riding. Without everyone's favorite excuse to not get out of bed to watch movies, I am now wise to the joys of this BBC miniseries. Consisting of three films, based on the novels by David Pearce, Red Riding concerns the hunt for a serial killer, spanning multiple years and viewpoints. The first of the series, 1974, starts off cheery enough, but soon descends into a dark and twisted detective procedural that is sure to please any crime fan.

This wasn't in the job description!

LAMBcast #78: Pottery Class

In which Dylan, Nick, and I dish on the final Harry Potter flick. Well, that was the plan, at least. It quickly devolved into a heated debate of the whole series. Good discussions all around. It's followed by some quick rants and raves, and some all to brief games of Last Lamb Standing. Enjoy.