Media Monday - 9, not a bad movie...even with dolls

What Now?

I am a sci fi geek. If it's in this genre you can bet I will watch it, and most likely enjoy it. When I saw the trailer for Tim Burton's "9" I thought I had found the exception. It looked more like a Saturday morning cartoon on some teeny bopper cable channel than a movie that I would enjoy. But, it went on the Netflix queue, somewhere near the button of the list, with little hope of making it to the mail slot.

Sometime I forget about the queue and am surprised when a movie comes that I was not expecting. And if it's a movie I'm not thrilled about to begin with there is a good chance it's opened, put back, re-sealed and put in the send slot. I decided to give this movie a try instead, and what I saw was not too bad at all, not great, but not bad.

The premise is the old "man vs. machine" storyline but it takes place after machines have won. What is left from man are these robot dolls, each with their own personality and feelings. The movie opens with the main robodoll, 9, trying to figure out what he is, where he is, and what else is around him. What he finds is a tribe of robodolls all hiding away from the last remaining machines, trying to survive, but not much else. 9 challenges their belief system when one of their own gets taken alive by one of the machines. He recruits some others to help him save their stolen friend, and in the process they learn a great deal about themselves and each other. When the "master" machine is awaken to cause more chaos, this band of friends join together to stop it, and save themselves in the process. It's not really until the end of the movie that their purpose on earth is reveled to the movie watcher, and because of that you could find yourself wondering what the hell this movie is all about anyway.

There are some nice action scenes and the story is pretty well told, but if you are on the fence when it comes to science fiction movies this won't do much for ya. It's not my favorite Tim Burton movie, but I would give it a 2.75 out of 5 whatnows....not good enough for a full 3, but better than average.

That's all I got, take care and peace out!

Media Monday - The Hangover left me floored

What Now?

Up until this weekend I am pretty sure that my wife and I were the only people left in the world who had not seen The Hangover. We both heard from countless friends and family that not only was The Hangover a must see movie, but it was one of the funniest in the history of film.

Well, finally after weeks of waiting the Netflix gods answered our prayers and sent us this movie. After we tucked the kids in bed, waiting the necessary 15 minuets until they stopped coming into our room complaining of a belly ache or other ailment that was keeping them awake, we snuck downstairs, grabbed a glass of wine, popped in the movie and waited for the hilarity to come.

And come it did. Now, I don't know if I'm ready to put this movie in the class of Old School and Wedding Crashers, but I will say this was one damn funny movie. How can you go wrong with this storyline...four guys in Vegas to celebrate a friends upcoming wedding. I mean come on, this movie could do no wrong. Throw in a Mike Tyson cameo and you have comedy gold I tell ya.

What was great about this movie is you never actually see the night of male stupidity in action, but the next day when the boys, all a little "hungover" try to piece the evening together in order to find their missing friend, the groom. Each new piece of the puzzle is revealed, and as the story builds so does the funny. I just about peed myself when the "lucky charm" jumps out of the trunk of the car and beats the shit out of all the guys with a tire iron (if you've seen the movie you know the scene, if not just know there is full frontal nudity involved, and not the good kind!)

The cast is equal to the story as well. You have the good looking trouble maker played by Bradley Cooper, who I have to admit is a very handsome fella..if you like that kinda thing. The poor sap friend with the bitch-from-hell girlfriend played by Ed Helms (also know as the Nard Dog from The Office). The misfit soon-t0-be brother-in-law invited as a friendly family gesture played by Zack Galifanakis (I have never heard of this guy before, but he steals the show in my opinion) and of course the reluctant and missing groom played by Justin Bartha. It's great to see a comedy with relatively fresh faces. Don't get me wrong, I can watch Vince Vaughn, either Olson brother and Seth Rogan until the cows come home, but it's nice to see some other actors shine.

The one thing my wife and I could not stop talking about is how "rough" they made these guys look the day after. I mean really, if this movie wins any awards it should be for make-up, because it was spot on. We've all been there, and you can just feel their pain when they wake up the next morning. It made me stop drinking my glass of wine about half way through.

So, overall I gotta give this movie 4 out of 5 what nows. If you like comedy and are not too easily offended you must see this movie, oh...I almost forgot, you already did see it. Well now you can talk about it in front of me without giving anything away. And always remember "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Except for herpes. That shit'll come back with you."

Take care and peace out!

Media Monday - Inglorious Bastards, I Love Ya!

What Now?

This weeks Media Monday will be my little review of the film "Inglorious Bastards" by Quentin Tarantino (something I was supposed to get to last week, but ran out of day...with both kids home sick today I could probably write review of the last 10 movies I saw, but I'm also using my time to deep clean our kitchen...ok, back to the review).

When I first saw the previews for this movie I had three thoughts 1) Finally a new movie from Tarantino 2) That Brad Pitt is so filled with awesome and 3) Tarantino and Pitt..together...in the same movie,.,.,.,That fracking rocks! I was so excited about this moving coming out it was going on the "will see in the theater list.," A very exclusive list for all parents. As it turned out I missed it in the theater due to time, money, laziness, easily distracted issues. But, the day it hit the Netflix cue I was ready...and it didn't take long for my baby to come home.

Now, for those of you reading this post who dislike or don't care about the movies made by Quinton Tarantino I doubt I'll be making you a fan..but for those of you who, like me, love everything that the man every directed then this movie will not disappoint. Sure, there is a lot of violence. Hard core and sometimes gory violence. But in my view his movies are so much more than that. The characters he creates and the words that come out of their mouths are so damn entertaining that you sometimes forget that a man's head was just beating in with a baseball bat. OK, I love the violence too, but it's almost so over the top that it's a parody of itself. If you like a good story with good charterers then you will like this movie, unless you hate the violence, then you may want to check into a good Julia Roberts flick.

While I did not love this movie as much as "Kill Bill" (One of my top five movies of all time) it was still great to watch, and Brad Pitt delivers another great performance (like he could ever lay an egg...oh, is my man crush showing???).

Inglorious Bastards gets 4 out of 5 What Nows in this reviews 0pinion. Go forth and watch!

Take care and peace out!