If you’re not watching CSI tonight, you’re missing out big time.
Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category
I watched Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendez in Ghost Rider today. I can’t remember who said it, but I was advised that it wasn’t a very good movie. As this “source” did not see the movie, I was not prepared for anything great or terrible. After all, if you “hear” that spaghetti is a terrible meal, are you never going to try it? I’m glad that I didn’t listen, as I was entertained. This is definitely not the best movie of all time and it isn’t even close to being the best movie based on a comic book. But, it had all the qualities of a classic comic - it was a light read, a far fetched story, accomplished only by someone with special powers.
Nicholas Cage seems to often get typecast as a leather-wearing bad boy with a well-buried, but soft heart. This seems to be true in this movie as well. He plays Johnny Blaze, son of Barton Blaze, a motorcycle daredevil. The movi
e starts in Johnny’s teen years, when he has joined his father in performing motorcycle stunts for the crowds. His father is dying of cancer and Johnny unwittingly makes a deal with the devil (Mephistopheles) as trade for the cancer to be gone.
His father is soon killed and Johnny leaves town to become a traveling act, doing more dangerous stunts every time. He carries his father’s memory with him until he is asked to cash in on the deal he “signed.”
From IMDB summary:
When the motorcyclist Johnny Blaze finds that his father Barton Blaze has a terminal cancer, he accepts a pact with the Mephistopheles, giving his soul for the health of his beloved father. But the devil deceives him, and Barton dies in a motorcycle accident during an exhibition. Johnny leaves the carnival, his town, his friends and his girlfriend Roxanne. Years later Johnny Blaze becomes a famous motorcyclist, who risks his life in his shows, and he meets Roxanne again, now a TV reporter. However, Mephistopheles proposes Johnny to release his contract if he become the “Ghost Rider” and defeat his evil son Blackheart, who wants to possess one thousand evil souls and transform hell on earth.
I’m not going to spoil any of it, as I think this is better left to you to decide and discover. I liked this movie. I found it to be as entertaining as any comic book movies are - entertainment only. Its no Spiderman, but I think its better than Batman and every X Men movie after the first. Watch it on video.
“They say that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Maybe that’s true. Maybe it isn’t. I only know this: it has to make you better. It has to.” - Tommy at the end of the movie.
I watched 10th and Wolf tonight, after long wanting to see it. It was an entertaining watch. It wasn’t the best movie that I’ve seen, but it was certainly one of the better ones that I’ve seen lately. If I had to give it a numerical rating, it would get a strong 7. It seems that my assessment is in line with what the “reviewers” at IMDB think as well.
The movie stars James Marsden (Tommy) as a tough, sullen Gulf War vet who comes home to his old neighborhood with a mission given to him by federal agents, played by Brian Dennehy (Horvath) and Leo Rossi (Thornton).
Tommy is faced with the decision to help his cousin, Joey (Giovanni Ribisi), with whom he grew up with as a brother, after Tommy’s Mob father was shot when he was 12. Joey has followed in the path of his father and uncle and still rules his corner of town with force.
February, 1991. Tommy, a Desert Storm marine dismayed that the US isn’t taking out Saddam, breaks some rules and faces hard labor. An FBI agent offers him an out: go home to his gritty, dockside home in Pennsylvania and help get the goods on an Italian heroine dealer; in return, no prison time and no arrest of Tommy’s brother Vincent and cousin Joey. Loyalty to family conflicts with loyalty to the code of the street. Can Tommy sort it out, protect his brother and cousin, and stay true? Do young men die - in the sands of the Middle East and on the mean streets of the US - for no reason?
There’s lots of violence, strong language, and one shot of nudity, so its got (pull)all the particulars of a feature film(/pull). I think that the film certainly portrayed a gritty picture. It was reasonably convincing. Certainly Ribisi carried the show. He played the character of Joey perfectly, introducing just enough recklessness and unpredictability to make his character the most believable. The movie was somewhat predictable, but had some good twists and turns that kept you thinking. If I wasn’t cleaning the floors at the time, I probably would have been closer to the edge of my seat (as I would have been sitting). This movie is worth a rental.
I have been a bit remiss in watching The Show lately, but caught the latest and noticed that there is now a link in the sidebar to Ray’s complete video!
WTF, you ask, is this crap? It all started with the September 19th The Show episode, where Ze Frank was made to be “happy” by Ray’s tribute to his disgruntled daughter.
The song caught on so much that viewers began to make remixes of the song. Listen to them. They’re quite good - some better than others.
So, the suggestion came about to do a video based on Ray’s song and the “Sportsracers” began to collaborate. After a few months, a video has come about and you can find it right here on my site, thanks to BlipTV.
Video for Ray
I just finished watching the 8 slices of the William Shatner roast on YouTube. If you don’t mind a bit of bawdry and raucous humor, you have to check this show out, as its going to make you piss your pants laughing. There are no holds barred and its a great testament to this great Montreal-born icon of the screen (text, and song…)
If you can’t get the video to start, try this link (and don’t forget to watch all 8 pieces).
I watched Casino Royale last night and I really enjoyed it. It had all the classic 007 elements. There was action and a bit of gadgetry. This movie was sufficiently modern in feel to be appealing to today’s crowd as well. I say this as (pull)it had a similar feel to Mission Impossible III(/pull), with a difference. This film did depart from the usual Bond in that the gadgets were fewer and the action was greater. Daniel Craig is the 5th? James Bond? I think that he does a great job as 007.There is nothing o estimate on with this guy. Yahoo! thinks its a B+. What do you think?
Mobsters, cops, good guys, bad guys, rats, finks, subterfuge, double crosses.
These are all words that can describe parts and elements of The Departed, Martin Scorsese’s latest released film. I figured that I was going to like this film, not because it necessarily was a Scorsese film, nor that he’s worked with Leonardo DiCaprio before. Its not that Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson also star in it. While I’m dropping names, I’ll send you to the IMDB link for this movie, as there are too many accomplished actors in this film to link to them all (Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, etc). This movie is packed with stars.
The Departed is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on Irish-American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello (Nicholson). While Billy quickly gains Costello’s confidence, Colin Sullivan (Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the mob and the police that there’s a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy-and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself. But is either willing to turn on the friends and comrades they’ve made during their long stints undercover?
I liked this movie. If you want to watch a show where there’s intrigue and subterfuge at every turn, then this movie is for you. DiCaprio (Costigan) continues to amaze me with the versatility he demonstrates every time he gets in front of the camera. He pulls off a believable mob infiltrator, right down to the stress he shows when his world seems to be falling apart around him. Nicholson (Costello) is perfect for the part of the notorious mafia boss. Damon (Sullivan) shows us a cop with a dark secret. The secrets are many and the adrenaline continues to pump through all the way to the end of this movie. You’ll be kept guessing until the end as far as who is good and who is bad. If you enjoy movies about cops and robbers but you want a twist or two in the plot throughout the movie, then you have to see The Departed.
