NEW RELEASES FOR FRIDAY 11/30/2012

It's Thursday, which means new releases in theaters tomorrow.  Here are out top five releases of the week.

1. Killing Them Softly - Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta.  Crime/Drama/Thriller. Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.  Rated R / 97 Min.  Director - Andrew Dominik
2. The Collection - Josh Stewart, Christopher McDonald, Navi Rawat, Randall Archer.  Action/Horror/Thriller. A man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is blackmailed to rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped warehouse.  Rated R / 82 Min.  Director - Marcus Dunstan
3. Silent Night - Jaime King, Donal Logue, Malcolm McDowell, Ellen Wong.  Horror.  The Police force of a remote Midwestern town search for a killer Santa Claus who is picking off citizens on Christmas Eve.  Rated R.  Director - Steven C. Miller
4. 40 Days and Nights - Alex Carter, Christianna Carmine, Emily Sandifer, Mitch Lerner.  Action.  When a colossal tectonic shift causes the sea level to start rising, a microbiologist gathers the DNA of as many species as she can, while the military creates an "ark" in a desperate attempt to preserve life on Earth.  90 Min.  Director - Peter Geiger
5. Back to 1942 - Adrien Brody, Tim Robbins, Fan Xu, Daoming Chen, Hanyu Zhang.  Drama.  A deadly drought in 1942 takes its toll on central China's Henan province during the war against Japan.  145 Min.  Director - Xiaogang Feng

ENJOY THE SHOW

EXPENDABLES 2

I'm very late with this one, but it is still new to DVD so I thought I would give it a lot of love.  There is no denying that I am an action junkie and have nothing but praise for this movie and the way Sylvester Stallone doesn't take it seriously, and isn't afraid to have some fun.  Total throwback to the 80's action movies when all they did was blow stuff up and shoot people.  That's what we want, and that's why these movies did so well. Sure we like a good Transformers movie with perfect CGI and incredible car, and robot chases, but as a purist, this is a good as it gets.  Don't get me wrong, I'll see anything Michael Bay creates, he is the king of blowing shit up! Nothing beats going to the theater, grabbing some popcorn, a beverage and the middle seat at my local AMC and going on a 90 minute ride of silly one liners, and outrageous action to make me feel tough and immediately start rattling off all the one liners from the movie.  These movies are the whose who of action and to be able to get all of these players in a single movie is nothing but pure pleasure for action lovers.  Stallone has done what we all thought was impossible, and thanks to him and the relationships he has built over time it finally came to fruition.  This is a must see in the theater because you need to experience the sound of big guns, motorcycles, helicopters, explosions, and all the good old fashioned ass kicking the way it's meant to be.  People have complained that it was a stupid movie, not as good as the first, or that it didn't make sense.  What is there to make sense of?  It's a gathering of the all time heavyweight action stars, it doesn't need to make sense or have a good story!! Just sit down, shut up, and enjoy the ass kicking!!  I have heard rumors that Expendables 3 may not be the last one, which would be better than Christmas Day for me if that was true.  My only problem with the third movie is the casting of Nicolas Cage, who will probably end up playing the bad guy, which is perfect.  But please Sylvester tell me you are trying to get Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson involved in number 3, or producers willing, number 4?

Enjoy the show.

FLIGHT

It's Denzel, why would you not go see this movie? I hear people say all the time that Denzel plays the same character in every movie, well get off your butt and go checkout flight.  This character is sure to get him some buzz for an Oscar nomination, the only thing that may prevent that is performances from actors in Oscar movies that have yet to be released. Denzel takes addiction and carries it to a new level in this movie.  For me it was a roller coaster ride of emotions.  He would rise to the top and make you care about him, and in the blink of an eye he would drop you back down, but yet again he would capture me and bring me back up, only to sucker me yet again and drop me back down into that valley as he laughs at me for caring about him.  Sure the movie has a few throw away scenes and is a little slow at times, but don't they all?  Honestly, it's a movie about a man with an addiction who flies a commercial jet liner inverted!  How much fun would that be, am I the only one who would sign up to take a flight like this?  The only thing that would make it better is a Russian MIG, and a Polaroid camera.  Those of you that are lost by that last comment need to watch Top Gun.  John Goodman (who seems to be in every movie this year.) and Don Cheadle are fantastic, along with the rest of the cast.  This is a good movie, but if you are having any reservations about seeing it in the theater, I would wait for it to come out on DVD, it's not necessarily a must see on the big screen.

Enjoy the show.

ZERO DARK THIRTY

Very excited to say that I was at the screener for this movie last night (11/25/12) and I just have to say that if this movie causes any controversy, which it will, then all you people who it offends, get the fuck off your asses and help change the world for the better instead of sitting around running your mouths with what you think is wrong with the world and how to fix it.  Let's get this out of the way. Kathryn Bigelow is easily one of the best filmmakers today, not to mention fearless and takes no shit.  For all the action movie lovers out there please, remember this story is told from the CIA point of view and the tireless efforts to track down Bin Laden.  True to her style, Kathryn is sure to add a drop of action here and there to keep the pace of the movie flowing perfectly until we need to call up the SEALS to do their thing.  Jessica Chastain should be nominated for this role.  She takes you on an incredible journey and watching her character develop throughout the movie is a blast to watch, and you can't help but root for her.  With a well placed Mother Fucker that will have audiences cheering, she plays this role to perfection.  Jason Clarke, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle, and Edgar Ramirez all deliver incredible performances which are sure to give this movie a lot of Oscar buzz.  For all the naysayers who are going to bitch and moan about the water boarding scenes and blame that all on Obama by selling everyone that that's what his administration is about can once again shut the fuck up!!  The capture/kill of Bin Laden was a big day for Americans, and who wouldn't want revenge for what he has done to our country? Hell I did, if I hadn't broken my hip years ago during a track meet, I would have been right there with my brothers fighting for this amazing country.  Thank you Kathryn Bigelow for once again showing us how it's done and not being afraid to tackle this project.  A great number of people have been waiting for this movie and I guarantee you that when it's over, you are going to stand and applaud.  AMERICA!! FUCK YEAH!!!

Enjoy the show.

LINCOLN

Recently I heard a movie critic talking on a local talk show about how Lincoln was long, boring, and not what she expected.  After the tears from my eyes cleared I was able to focus on what I had just heard.  Let's start by saying the movie is about the last few months of Abraham Lincolns life and the passing of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.  It's not a Michael Bay movie about a robot, or even the car named Lincoln which would have nothing but explosions and half naked Victoria's Secret models running all over town screaming for help. I'd probably see that movie.  This is an educational movie which the general public has no time for.  Most audiences don't want to have to think, or pay attention when they go to a movie, which is sad because this is a fabulous movie, which you don't really need to stay 100% focused if you passed history class in High School.  I feel bad they she wasted her time going to this movie when she already knew everything about Mr. Lincoln and was hoping for some huge explosions with automatic gun fire and technical car chases.  What this movie does offer is some of the greatest performances from Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn, and Michael Stuhlberg.  It's not a fast paced movie by any means, but name 23 Oscar nominated movies that are, as this one is sure to be.  All in all this is a well acted, visually stunning and one hell of a good history lesson.  Of course I give it two thumbs up, everything is good at Top Gun, but I'll let you know if you shouldn't waste your time.

Enjoy the show.

SKYFALL

Being a die hard Bond fan I can't say enough about how amazing this film is and that I could watch it over and over and never be sick of it.  I've heard some people say they didn't enjoy it, and that's fine, you are all entitled to your opinion, besides, the people who didn't enjoy Skyfall, really enjoyed Twilight, enough said.  Daniel Craig returns better, badder and dressed in the most bad ass suits you could ever ask for, courtesy of Tom Ford.  Every time I watch a Bond movie I want to become a spy and model myself after James Bond.  The only thing stopping me is that I know they don't get all those cool toys, and especially the Aston Martins, yup, those are the only things. Oh, right, I also don't want to ever be shot, tortured, or killed.  There are so many throwbacks to the Bond movies of past that it made the movie so much fun, especially with the return of Moneypenny and M's old office with the padded door, the only thing missing was Bond entering the room and tossing his hat onto the coat rack. As you know the point of my blog is to never say negative things about a movie because I love them so much, especially a Bond movie because I enjoy the franchise so much and one day want to be in one.  I never said I wouldn't say anything negative about people that say negative things about movies, actors, directors, DPs, etc...  This goes out to the silly woman who was complaining that all Bond movies are horrible, that no spy could ever look like that and we know he will survive all situations he is in, like not being bit by the scorpion when he takes a shot.  I'm going to ignore the fact that she completely missed the tone of that scene, and ask why she would go to see Bond in the first place when she complained about not liking Bond movies at all.  We all know who Bond is, and those who love him like I do, we want the franchise to continue another 50 years, something your Twilight could never do, which by the way I am not going to poke holes in because we don't have time for that.  The movies are a time for us to escape our lives and enjoy the excitement that Hollywood has created for us, not to complain and bitch about things that didn't work or that you would have done differently.  So please, next time think twice about going to a movie franchise that you don't enjoy and just stay home and watch your reality shows.  All those who love and enjoy movies for what they are, you can't go wrong with Bond. If I had three thumbs I would give it three thumbs up, instead I'll just give it the standard two thumbs up and one finger to those who didn't enjoy it.