Time Keeps on Slippin', Slippin', Slippin'

Today I celebrate the second anniversary of starting this blog.  Two years ago after seeing the Jackie Robinson biopic '42' I sat down at my desk in my dorm room at Ball State and started this up.  What's changed in the two years since I've started this?

Well...not a lot really.

TWO YEARS AGO:  I was a broken hearted, single college student who saw way too many movies.  I worked at a dining hall, I had a car, I spent way too much money on things I didn't really need, I procrastinated every now and then, had occasional writer's block when it came to certain movies, ate too much, drank too much soda, insert other college student stereotypes here.  After seeing a movie I'd come back to my dorm room, sit at my desk, fire up my laptop and start churning out a review.

TWO YEARS LATER (CURRENT):  Still single but I am a college graduate, complete with all the student loan debt that that entails.  I work at a high school, I have a different car, I try to control my money spending, I don't procrastinate as much as I used to, I have writer's block more often than I'd care to admit to, still eat a little too much, still drink a little bit too much soda...and I'm living with my parents.  After seeing a movie lately I've let my thoughts gather in my head for awhile...and a little while longer...then eventually I lay on my bed, fire up my laptop, and start typing away at a review.  Sometimes I let the viewing numbers for certain posts get to me, other times I don't.

Okay so a fair amount has changed in this two year time period.  Who knows what will change a year from now?  Two years?  Five?  Ten?  Who knows.  Will I still be doing this that long?  I don't know.  I will keep doing this as long as I'm having fun and as long as people still keep on reading my thoughts on movies or whatever else I decide to write about. 

If you've been a loyal reader, thanks.  So far it's been a fun ride and I hope to still ride a little bit longer.  Year 3 will be interesting indeed.

REVIEWS - 'Selma', 'Inherent Vice', 'SpongeBob'

I saw these several months ago...better late than never I suppose.  Had I written these shortly after watching them as originally intended I would have had more to say about them.  Just trying to remember my thoughts about them at this point in time...several months later...

'Selma' (PG-13) ***
Nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Original Song (winning the latter of the two), 'Selma' follows Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) as he peacefully fights for equal voting rights for African Americans by embarking on a march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama.  Overall this is a pretty good movie bolstered by a great performance by David Oyelowo as MLK. 


'Inherent Vice' (R) ***
Nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Costume Design, 'Inherent Vice' has such a meandering plot it's almost impossible to put it all here.  But I'm gonna try.  The basic story follows hippie private investigator Larry 'Doc' Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), as he is recruited by his ex girlfriend Shasta (Katherine Waterston) to investigate the disappearance of her current boyfriend (Eric Roberts) who may have been committed to an insane asylum by his wife (Serena Scott Thomas) and her lover.  This is interweaved with subplots concerning a police detective (Josh Brolin) who hates hippies, a clean cut district attorney (Reese Witherspoon) who Doc is currently seeing, a missing musician (Owen Wilson) and his wife (Jena Malone) and a drug crazed dentist (Martin Short).  There's a lot going on in this movie that's based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon.  The latest from Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of 'The Master', 'There Will Be Blood', 'Punch-Drunk Love', 'Magnolia', 'Boogie Nights' and 'Hard Eight'. 

Yes it is two and a half hours long and it certainly feels two and a half hours long with it's meandering plot.  But the quirky characters, the occasional one liners, the period detail and the great soundtrack all made it watchable.  I don't think I'll be seeing it again, but while watching it I did overall enjoy it.




'The SpongeBob Movie:  Sponge Out of Water' (PG) ***1/4
The second theatrical 'SpongeBob' movie and the first in eleven years, 'Sponge Out of Water' follows SpongeBob and his friends as they are forced to team up with Plankton after a pirate (Antonio Banderas) steals the Krabby Patty secret formula. 

I've liked 'SpongeBob' ever since I was a kid when it first debuted on Nickelodeon in 1999.  Today as an adult it is one of the few current children's shows that I can actually tolerate.  If you never got on the 'SpongeBob' bandwagon then you definitely will not like this movie.  It's bright and colorful and had me laughing pretty consistently throughout.  I liked it way better than the previous 'SpongeBob' movie from 2004.  

REVIEW - 'Furious 7'

'Furious 7' (PG-13) ***1/2

The seventh installment in this seemingly never ending franchise has Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) seeking revenge against Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and company (Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) for the death of his brother Owen (Luke Evans) in the events of the previous movie.  In addition to the main revenge plot Kurt Russell shows up as a mysterious government agent known only as Mr. Nobody, who recruits Dom & co.  to rescue a kidnapped hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).  Ramsey has developed a program called "God's Eye" which can hack into any electronic device on the planet.  Others in the cast include Lucas Black briefly reprising his character from 'Tokyo Drift', Ronda Rousey as a security guard in Abu Dhabi, Djimon Hounsou as another shady character who wants the "God's Eye" program and Asian action star Tony Jaa making his American film debut as a henchman.

But who really cares about the intricacies of plot, logic, and the laws of physics when we have cars parachuting onto mountains, expensive sports cars crashing through skyscrapers, Paul Walker jumping off of a vehicle that's falling off of a cliff and being able to perfectly grab ahold of the spoiler on a speeding car, and many other completely ludicrous action scenes that are just so much fun to watch.

And indeed this movie as a whole is AWESOME and I had a blast watching it at an IMAX theater.  Ever since 'Fast Five' this series has strayed from street racing drama and shifted more towards over-the-top action, a change that has greatly benefited this series.  Not just in terms of entertainment value in my opinion, but also critically and commercially.  They've found the right formula and they've stuck with it.  Now having said that this entry does feature more street racing than in the last few 'Fast & Furious' movies combined with plenty of callbacks to the 2001 original movie.  As I've said, the action scenes are a lot of fun.  A few are a bit more choppily edited than I would have liked but it never got to the point where I couldn't tell what was going on (cough cough 'Quantum of Solace').  And Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw is by far the best villain out of this entire series.  A rogue agent who knows how to disappear and always appears out of the blue and leaves a trail of destruction behind him.  His opening scene alone pretty much sums up everything about this character...and it's awesome. 


Usually for franchises I'll list out the previous entries and my thoughts on them and then finally compare the entry I just saw to those.  But I'll just say this right now:  Out of the sequels, 'Furious 7' is the best one.  Each movie surprisingly ups the ante and still keeps things fresh and interesting  Sure we don't really need SEVEN of these movies but who cares when it's just so much fun?

James Wan takes over the directorial reins from Justin Lin, who had helmed the previous four 'Fast & Furious' movies.  This is a step outside the box for Wan who made his name on horror movies like 'The Conjuring', the first two 'Insidious' movies, the first 'Saw' movie, and 'Dead Silence'.  Sure some of the fight scenes are a little choppily edited but for the most part he doesn't miss a beat from where Lin left off.  It'll be interesting to see who they inevitably hire to make the inevitable 'Fast & Furious 8'.

Now for Paul Walker's scenes that he hadn't filmed yet his brothers Caleb and Cody were used as stand-ins with his face being superimposed digitally on theirs.  Is it noticeable when it's clearly a double or when it's clearly a CGI face?  Yes it is, but those moments are brief and they don't take anything away from the movie.  

Overall 'Furious 7' is a fun time at the movies with a great villain and plenty of awesome over the top action sequences, along with an ending that has a perfect send-off for Paul Walker.   




TRAILERS

• 'Straight Outta Compton' - the N.W.A. biopic.  I'm not really the biggest fan of rap but this actually looks decent.   

• 'Spectre' - SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!!!  Then again the last time I really looked forward to a Bond movie we ended up with 'Quantum of Solace'...

• 'Mission:  Impossible - Rogue Nation' - I somehow never really got into the 'Mission:  Impossible' series.  Sometimes I liked the action scenes but for the most part I didn't really care about anything happening.  I'll watch this at some point since I've seen the others, but I won't be going in with high hopes.

• 'Jurassic World' - Why do I have to wait until June 12 for the park to be open??

• 'Avengers:  Age of Ultron' - I've been eagerly awaiting this ever since the ending of the previous 'Avengers' movie.

• 'Terminator:  Genisys' - ...this just looks like a rehash of almost everyone of the previous movies.  And none of it makes any sense.

I Finally Watched...Fifty Shades of Grey

Well...here goes nothing...

Based on E.L. James' international best-selling 'Twilight' fan fiction of the same name, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' follows college student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) as her life changes following an interview with the handsome, tormented, eccentric, perverted billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

Now that I have your attention, it has indeed been awhile since I last posted anything on here.  What gives?  Truth be told I haven't had a lot of motivation to write much, which has become my rather frequent excuse for whenever there has been a rather lengthy period of time between posts.  But it's time to quit making excuses and to just get back into the swing of things...for real this time.  I have lots of movies to talk about and I don't want to continue getting further and further behind.  Reviews will start back up with 'Furious 7' this Friday.  And from there, I will be writing brief reviews for movies I've seen since my last review back in January.  And I'm talking EVERY movie, even if it didn't come out this year and more belongs in an actual 'I Finally Watched...' post.  So stay tuned.   

And don't worry....I haven't actually seen 'Fifty Shades of Grey' #AprilFools

Oscars Wrap-Up

Well last night was the Oscars.  I watched about 20 minutes of it before I had to go to work but every now and then I checked Twitter to find out who won.  From what I saw of the show I thought Neil Patrick Harris did well as host.  The opening musical number he did with Anna Kendrick and Jack Black I thought was fun, and his occasional zingers I thought were pretty funny.  Looking through the Internet you'll find the opposite opinion but then again no matter who is hosting the lovely wonderful people of the Internet will not like them.

I correctly picked 18 of the 24 categories, which is one better than I did last year.  Surprisingly every movie that was nominated for Best Picture ended up winning at least one Oscar, with three in particular picking up even more than that.  Let's go over who won what.

'BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (R)

OSCARS WON:  Best Picture, Best Director  - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Best Original Screenplay - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu & Nicolas Giacobone & Alexander Dinelaris Jr. & Armando Bo, Best Cinematography

'Birdman' came in to the ceremony tied with 'Grand Budapest Hotel' for the most nominations (9) and left the ceremony tied also with 'Grand Budapest Hotel' for the most wins (4).  In my personal opinion there were PLENTY of other movies that were better than 'Birdman', but the awards season momentum had swung in it's favor.  Kinda like how back in 2011 'The Social Network' was the early favorite but 'The King's Speech' ended up getting the late awards season momentum and won Best Picture.  Not gonna lie...it does bother me that 'Birdman' won, but I'll get over it.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Actor - Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor - Edward Norton, Best Supporting Actress - Emma Stone, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

'THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL' (R)

OSCARS WON:  Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design

Wes Anderson's latest quirky, colorful movie swept a fair amount of the technical awards which I'll admit it truly does deserve.  Yep...that's about all I got for this movie.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Director - Wes Anderson, Best Original Screenplay - Wes Anderson, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing

'WHIPLASH' (R)

OSCARS WON:  Best Supporting Actor - J.K. Simmons, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing

Well...it's always good to see your favorite movie of the year get awarded.  J.K. Simmons' win for Best Supporting Actor has pretty much been a lock for quite some time, but a win for Sound Mixing as well as an upset win for Editing?  Sweet!  Looks like this movie was the Academy's tempo after all.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay - Damien Chazelle

'AMERICAN SNIPER' (R)

OSCAR WON:  Best Sound Editing

War movies and musicals tend to win the Oscar for Best Sound Editing.  Going by that logic, I ended up correctly picking this right.  This still is a pretty good movie...it's a shame that the baby doll didn't get properly awarded.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Actor - Bradley Cooper, Best Adapted Screenplay - Jason Hall, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing

'BOYHOOD' (R)

OSCAR WON:  Best Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette

...without going into a huge rant let's just say I strongly believe that 'Boyhood' should NOT have ended the night with only one Oscar win...

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Director - Richard Linklater, Best Original Screenplay - Richard Linklater, Best Supporting Actor - Ethan Hawke, Best Film Editing

'THE IMITATION GAME' (PG-13)

OSCAR WON:  Best Adapted Screenplay - Graham Moore

The only thing I really have to say is that I heard Moore gave one of the best acceptance speeches of the night.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Director - Morten Tyldum, Best Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch, Best Supporting Actress - Keira Knightley, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design

'SELMA' (PG-13)

OSCAR WON:  Best Original Song - "Glory"

After having finally seen 'Selma', did I feel like it had been snubbed in a lot of categories?  No.  Honestly for several of the categories (particularly Best Actor) it was just a year packed with great performances that MANY other actors were "snubbed" as well that many had thought would have been shoe-ins.

I actually liked 'Selma', and my review of it should be posted sometime this week.  My main problem, though, is with this song.  To me a gospel/rap song that contains a reference to Ferguson, Missouri has absolutely NO REASON to belong in a movie about MLK. 

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture

'THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING' (PG-13)

OSCAR WON:  Best Actor - Eddie Redmayne

Undergo a physical transformation and you too will win an Oscar!  Ugh....I really didn't like this movie.  I'm more mad at this movie winning an Oscar than I am about 'Birdman' winning Best Picture.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Actress - Felicity Jones, Best Adapted Screenplay - Anthony McCarten, Best Original Score

'STILL ALICE' (PG-13)

OSCAR WON:  Best Actress - Julianne Moore

I haven't seen this movie...nor apparently has most of the country.  Apparently it's about a college professor played by Moore who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  Which brings me to my next point:  Play a person with a physical or mental disease and you too can win an Oscar!

'IDA' (PG-13)

OSCAR WON:  Best Foreign Language Film

Apparently this is the first movie from Poland to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.  'Ida' follows a young woman who is on the verge of taking her vows to be a Catholic nun when she embarks on a journey and discovers a dark family secret.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Cinematography

'CITIZENFOUR' (R)

OSCAR WON:  Best Documentary Feature

I haven't seen this, but I suppose whether you'd like this documentary or not will all depend on how you view Edward Snowden:  As a whistleblowing hero, or as a traitor.

'BIG HERO 6' (PG)

OSCAR WON:  Best Animated Feature

...didn't expect this movie to win.  But I am glad that it beat the likes of 'How To Train Your Dragon 2'.  But had 'The LEGO Movie' been rightfully nominated and NOT snubbed it would've been no competition.

'INTERSTELLAR' (PG-13)

OSCAR WON:  Best Visual Effects

Glad to see this movie win something.  And indeed the visual effects for this movie were great.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design



OTHER WINNERS:
BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT:  'Crisis Hotline:  Veterans Press 1'
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:  'The Phone Call'
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:  'Feast'

Updates and Oscar Picks

I have plenty of catching up to do as far as reviews go and with how many movies I've watched recently I'm digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole.  By the end of the week I hope to be fully caught up with reviews, other updates, and whatever else I decide to post up.  But first...let's talk about tonight's Oscar telecast.

Yep it's that time of year again for the Oscars.  I'll be busy tonight so I won't be able to watch it so I won't really be able to comment on the show itself when I do my Oscars wrap-up post tomorrow.  No point in recording it either since I'll already know who the winners are when I get home later tonight.  Anyway, here are my Oscar picks for tonight along with some comments for a few of the picks.

BEST PICTURE:  *Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST DIRECTOR:  **Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST ACTOR:  ***Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
BEST ACTRESS:  ****Julianne Moore, Still Alice
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  *****Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:  The Imitation Game
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:  ******How To Train Your Dragon 2
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:  Leviathan  
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:  Citizenfour
BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT SUBJECT:  White Earth
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:  Boogaloo and Graham
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:  Feast
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:  The Theory of Everything
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:  *******"Glory", Selma
BEST SOUND EDITING:  American Sniper
BEST SOUND MIXING:  Whiplash
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:  The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:  The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:  The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST FILM EDITING:  Boyhood
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:  Interstellar

*'Boyhood' deserves to win, but the awards lately have been swinging in favor of 'Birdman'.  Kinda like back in 2011 with 'The Social Network' initially winning awards and being the frontrunner until momentum swung in favor of 'The King's Speech'.  Heck, if I end up getting this pick wrong and 'Boyhood' ends up winning I'd be thrilled.
**(see above), plus Inarritu won the DGA award this year and only six times has the winner of the DGA award NOT went on to win Best Director. 
***The fact that Eddie Redmayne is winning awards for this boring movie makes me angry.  I would much much much rather see ANY of the other nominees win.  Heck, I didn't even like 'Birdman' or 'Foxcatcher' all that much but I'd still prefer Keaton or Carell to win over Eddie Redmayne.  Similar to how I felt last year seeing Matthew McConaughey win all kinds of awards for 'Dallas Buyers Club'.
****Haven't seen this movie, but Julianne Moore has been the frontrunner for quite some time now.  Rosamund Pike deserves it for 'Gone Girl', but that kind of an upset isn't gonna happen. 
*****I liked 'Boyhood', but I didn't really care for Patricia Arquette's performance in that movie all that much.  Out of the three performances in this category I've seen the only one I actually liked was Keira Knightley in 'The Imitation Game'.
******Still mad that 'The LEGO Movie' wasn't nominated.  And I thought 'How To Train Your Dragon 2' was boring...but it won the Golden Globe so it'll be my pick for Best Animated Feature
*******...in my humble, honest opinion....'Glory' isn't a good song....yet it's been winning awards left and right.  I'd love to see "Everything Is Awesome" win, but let's face it:  That's not gonna happen.

Getting Back In The Swing of Things

Well...I'm a little bit behind in posting on this blog.  Reviews, updates, random other stuff...you name it, I just haven't gotten around to writing it up.  Sure I still got the football picks on time but those take WAY less time to do as opposed to a review or most other things I've posted on here.  Now we're only a few days away from the halfway point in February and I have yet to do a single post for any movie I've seen so far in 2015.  No posts regarding what to expect from this blog in 2015, no updates, no review of 2014 in general, etc.  Mainly a lot of stuff I had intended on doing and at least starting to do last month, but clearly have not got around to doing.  Kinda like late work in school with it being manageable at first until it keeps piling on and on until one of two things happens: 

1) - You put your foot down, say "Enough Is Enough!" and start chipping away at everything you want to do.
or
2) - You become so overwhelmed that you just give up.  On the inside you still want to go on, but your outside demeanor suggests otherwise. 

Well I don't want to give up on this just yet so I'm sticking with Option #1.  So today I'll be catching up on some reviews.  Tomorrow expect a few more reviews and more in terms of updates, random thoughts about various topics, and what to expect from this blog in 2015.

'American Sniper' (R) ***
The latest from Clint Eastwood follows the life of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), from his tours of duty becoming the most lethal sniper in American military history to his home life with his wife (Sienna Miller) and the challenges he faced at home and abroad.  Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.  It has it's issues (the war scenes are way way better than the at home scenes between him and his wife and the use of a doll for one particular scene) but for the most part this was really good, and often quite intense with an incredible performance by Bradley Cooper.  The Best Picture nomination is a bit surprising, but this still worth checking out.  
 
'Foxcatcher' (R) **
Based on the true story of Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), an Olympic wrestler whose relationship with sponsor John du Pont (Steve Carell) and brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) would lead to unlikely circumstances.  The latest from Bennett Miller, director of 'Moneyball' and 'Capote'.  Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Director (Bennett Miller), Best Actor (Steve Carell), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.  The story itself is very interesting and tragic, but the movie on which it's based on is incredibly slow, too quiet, and lacks any sort of tension for MOST of it's over two hour running time.  It certainly is nice to see Steve Carell in a rather serious, dark, disturbed role though.   

'The Imitation Game' (PG-13) **1/2
While being questioned after being arrested on charges of indecency, mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) recounts being recruited during World War II to help crack the Nazi enigma code along with several other fellow mathematicians.  Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Morten Tyldum), Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Production Design.  It's a bit slow at first and it get's predictable at certain points, but Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley (who plays a member of Turing's team and his ex fiance) are consistently good and they make the movie worth seeing. 

49 Options for Super Bowl XLIX

Don't like the New England Patriots?  Don't like the Seattle Seahawks?  Wish both teams would just lose?  Well here I have a list of 49 options for those who do not like either team.  Some can be done during the game, others would require turning the game off.

1. Root for the Budweiser Clydesdales
2. Deflate a football for every point the Patriots score.
3. Take a shot of whiskey for every time the commentators make a reference to "Spygate" and/or "Deflate-gate"...though for your liver's sake this might not be a good idea.
4. Blame everything on Obama.
5. Root for the refs to completely sabotage the game with bad calls.
6. Do a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" for every celebrity the TV cameras see during the actual game.
7. Constantly complain about how Tom Brady is married to a supermodel and you're not...
8. ...then suddenly remember that his supermodel wife played one of the villains in the 2004 movie 'Taxi'.  Anyone else other than me remember that movie?  Man was it not funny.  Exhibit A of why Mrs. Brady does not have much of an acting career...or the current host of "The Tonight Show" for that matter.
9. Take enough drugs to where it feels like you're actually watching real life seahawks and real life patriots fighting each other and you're in the midst of it all.
10. Along those lines, with enough drugs you might as well start attempting to plug a seashell into your TV to try and watch movies instead.  Gary Busey couldn't do it in that commercial, but why should that stop you?
11. Root for the commentators.
12. Play games on your phone, tablet, laptop, etc. while the game is on.
13. Put on a pair of 3D glasses and constantly complain about how the 3D sucks.
14. Just don't watch the game at all.  Don't even acknowledge it exists.
15. Root for the commercials.
16. Add your own commentary for the game.  The less you know about football the better it will be!
17. Eat some skittles every time Marshawn Lynch is handed the ball, and finish the bag whenever he scores a touchdown.
18. Start calling your own penalties during the game.  They don't even have to be football related. 
19. Start up a conversation debating the meaning of life and why we're here at this exact moment in time.
20. Root for Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz.
21. Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream.  But then you might want to wake up...The Matrix has you.
22. Start a blog.  Blog about anything you want!  Knowledge about a certain subject is not required.  I hear it does wonders for stress levels...
23. Have the game as background noise while you read a book.  Seriously, people should read more.
24. Draw caricatures of Tom Brady with his Ugg boots.
25. With the "If you can't beat them, join them" mentality, root for the Patriots OR the Seahawks.
26. Think 'What would Jesus do?'
27. Blame Canada.
28. Do impressions of any of the players, coaches, commentators, cheerleaders, mascots, or anyone else you see on TV.
29. Start counting down to when they eventually play an 'Avengers:  Age of Ultron' trailer.
30. With the "Enemy of my enemy is my friend" mentality, root for the Patriots OR the Seahawks.
31. Do embarrassing touchdown dances, no matter who scores a touchdown.
32. Shout "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!" every time a field goal is good.
33. Place bets with friends that SOMETHING will go wrong during the game, whether it be technical difficulties, accidental swearing, obscene gestures, or wardrobe malfunctions. 
34. Why watch it?  Listen to it on a radio while you're shoveling snow.
35. Hope for another blackout during the Super Bowl.
36. Start a swear jar and have people put money in it.  There's bound to be some fans that will get $#%&!#$ off at some point.
37. Yell "Cheater" at the TV whenever you see Bill Belichick.
38. Yell "Yeah", "Thank you for asking" or "I'm only here so I won't get fined" whenever Marshawn Lynch is on TV.
39. Pull up YouTube on your phone and watch any commercials featuring better QBs than Russell Wilson and Tom Brady.
40. Randomly pick one team and root for them while watching the game.  Doesn't even have to be NFL.  So if you really want to root for the Lakers in the Super Bowl, go for it.
41. Instead of watching the game, you can watch paint dry.  Still will be more expressive than Bill Belichick.
42. Go build a snowman.  Because winter, that's why. 
43. Eat so much food that by the time the game starts you'll already be in a food coma.  Heck, you might even dream up a better Super Bowl than the one that will be on TV.
44. Start learning a new language.
45. Point blank, just drink heavily.
46. Pretend you're at a Comedy Central Roast and start making fun of anyone you see on TV. 
47. Turn off the game and turn on any game console with a football game.  Randomly select two teams, and pretend that's the Super Bowl.
48. Sing the entire soundtrack to "Frozen" obnoxiously loud.  Not a good singer?  No problem!
49. Make up your own countdown of things you'd rather be doing instead of watching the Super Bowl this year.

Super Bowl XLIX Pick 'Em

...does it really need to be THESE two teams in the Super Bowl?  Really neither should be here.  The Packers blew a 16 point lead against the Seahawks and the Ravens blew TWO 14 point leads against the Patriots in the Divisional Round.  At least Deflategate has made things interesting with it's numerous conspiracy theories and contradicting stories.

Now...would I rather see the Patriots reclaim glory that has eluded them for a decade and hear about the resurrection of the Patriots dynasty from ESPN or see the Seahawks repeat and constantly hear about the 12th man, the Legion of Boom, odd soundbites from Marshawn Lynch....all from bandwagon fans.  Hmm....you know what?  I think this will be close but the Seahawks will indeed manage to pull it off. 

Patriots VS. SEAHAWKS

Championship round:  0-2, 0%.....#ouch
Playoffs Total:  6-4, 60%
Regular Season:  162-93-1, 63.28%
OVERALL TOTAL:  168-97-1, 63.16%

NFL 2014 Championship Pick 'Em

Well...we'll see how this goes...

PACKERS @ Seahawks
COLTS @ Patriots

LAST WEEK:  3-1, 75%
PLAYOFFS TOTAL:  6-2, 75%
REGULAR SEASON TOTAL:  162-93-1, 63.28%
OVERALL TOTAL:  168-95-1, 63.64%

Razzie Nominations Reactions

Well time to take a look at what's been considered the worst of 2014 with the Razzie award nominations.


WORST PICTURE
Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
Left Behind
The Legend of Hercules
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Transformers:  Age of Extinction

COMMENTS:  I've only seen 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and 'Transformers 4'.  Sure the former wasn't all that good and the latter was just too long, but I wouldn't say either of those were amongst the worst movies I've seen in 2014.  I've avoided watching the other three...although I've heard all kinds of things about 'Saving Christmas'.




WORST ACTOR
Kirk Cameron, Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
Nicolas Cage, Left Behind
Kellan Lutz, The Legend of Hercules
Seth MacFarlane, A Million Ways To Die In The West
Adam Sandler, Blended

COMMENTS:  Of course Adam Sandler and Nicolas Cage got nominated.  Seems to always happen nowadays.




WORST ACTRESS
Drew Barrymore, Blended
Cameron Diaz, The Other Woman & Sex Tape
Melissa McCarthy, Tammy
Charlize Theron, A Million Ways To Die In The West
Gaia Weiss, The Legend of Hercules

COMMENTS:  I actually liked 'Tammy'.  Sure as a comedy it was hit and miss, but overall I liked it.




WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mel Gibson, The Expendables 3
Kelsey Grammar, The Expendables 3 and Legends of Oz and Think Like A Man Too and Transformers:  Age of Extinction
Shaquille O'Neal, Blended
Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Expendables 3
Kiefer Sutherland, Pompeii
COMMENTS:  Kelsey Grammar's performance was actually one of the better things in both 'Expendables 3' and 'Transformers 4'.




WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cameron Diaz, Annie
Megan Fox, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Nicola Peltz, Transformers:  Age of Extinction
Susan Sarandon, Tammy
Bridgette Ridenour, Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas

COMMENTS:  I didn't think Megan Fox or Susan Sarandon were THAT bad in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and 'Tammy', respectively.




WORST SCREEN COMBO
Any Two Robots, Actors (or Robotic Actors), Transformers:  Age of Extinction
Kirk Cameron and His Ego, Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, Sex Tape
Kellan Lutz and Either His Abs, Pecs or Glutes, The Legend of Hercules
Seth MacFarlane and Charlize Theron, A Million Ways To Die In The West

COMMENTS:  Okay, this list is kinda funny.




WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL
Annie
Atlas Shrugged Part III:  Who Is John Galt?
The Legend of Hercules
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Transformers:  Age of Extinction

COMMENTS:  I got nothing that I haven't already said.




WORST SCREENPLAY
Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
Left Behind
Sex Tape
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Transformers:  Age of Extinction

COMMENTS:  Here's a few other movies that I thought also had a bad script:  'Maze Runner', 'X-Men:  Days of Future Past', 'A Million Ways To Die In The West', 'God's Not Dead', and 'Maleficent'.



WORST DIRECTOR
Michael Bay, Transformers:  Age of Extinction
Darren Doane, Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
Renny Harlin, The Legend of Hercules
Jonathan Liebesman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Seth MacFarlane, A Million Ways To Die In The West

COMMENTS:  Of course Michael Bay got a nomination.  At this point I'm expecting a Razzie sweep for 'Saving Christmas'




REDEEMER AWARD
Ben Affleck (from Razzie winner of 'Gigli' to Oscar darling for 'Argo' and 'Gone Girl')
Jennifer Aniston (from 4-time Razzie "winner" to SAG Award nominee for 'Cake')
Mike Myers (from Razzie winner of 'The Love Guru' to director of the documentary 'Supermensch')
Keanu Reeves (from 6-time Razzie nominee to star of the acclaimed action movie 'John Wick')
Kristen Stewart (from Razzie winner of 'Twilight' to star of the indie art house hit 'Camp X-Ray')

COMMENTS:  Well, this is new.  Kinda cool.



The Razzies will be announced February 21, the night before the Oscars.

Oscar Nomination Reactions

Oscar nominations were announced this morning, so without further adieu here are the nominees along with some comments for each category.

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

COMMENTS:  The only nominees I haven't seen yet are 'American Sniper', 'The Imitation Game', and 'Selma'.  A bit surprising that they went with eight nominees this year as opposed to nine like the past few years.  The new rules allow for between five and ten nominees, so why there aren't ten I'll never know.  Good to see 'Grand Budapest Hotel' and 'Whiplash' in this list.  It angers me that 'Theory of Everything' was nominated but I'm not surprised that it was.




BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

COMMENTS:  Brick Tamland from 'Anchorman' is now an Academy Award nominee.  Let that sink in.  Also surprised to see Bradley Cooper in there for 'American Sniper', this being his third nomination (Best Actor for 'Silver Linings Playbook' and Best Supporting Actor for 'American Hustle').  For now I've only seen two of these performances:  Michael Keaton's and Eddie Redmayne's.  Even though I didn't like 'Birdman' I'd still far prefer that movie getting an Oscar for a performance over 'The Theory of Everything'.   




BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

COMMENTS:  This has more or less been the Best Supporting Actor list all year for various different awards, so this isn't all that surprising.  For now I've seen three of the performances:  Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, and J.K. Simmons.  Simmons better win.




BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

COMMENTS:  Surprising that Marion Cotillard got a nomination since I haven't heard much about the movie she's nominated for.  Oh well.  Only seen two of these performances, those being Felicity Jones in 'Theory of Everything' and Rosamund Pike in 'Gone Girl'.  Nice to see Rosamund Pike get a nomination for 'Gone Girl'.  Well deserved.




BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Meryl Streep, Into The Woods

COMMENTS:  Academy Award nominee Emma Stone.  Let that sink in.  Meryl Streep now breaks her own record with her 19th nomination.




BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The BoxTrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

COMMENTS:......wait a minute.....no 'LEGO Movie'??!?!?!?!??!?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? THE BEST REVIEWED ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR ISN'T A NOMINEE?!?!?!?!?!?!?! 1,2,3...BOOO!!!!!!  BOOO!!!!!!!!!!  BOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Tangerines
Ida
Leviathan
Timbuktu
Wild Tales

COMMENTS:  I've heard of all of these, but since I haven't seen any I suppose I'll just move on....




BEST DOCUMENTARY - FEATURE
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days In Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

COMMENTS:  'CitizenFour' is the only one I've heard the most part.  A bit surprising that 'Life Itself' didn't get nominated, but oh well.




BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT SUBJECT
Crisis Veterans Hotline:  Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

COMMENTS:  Never heard of any of these, so let's keep moving on....




BEST SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butterfly Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

COMMENTS:  ....moving on...




BEST SHORT FILM - ANIMATED
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

COMMENTS:   ...moving...wait!  I've seen 'Feast'.  It was Disney's short in front of 'Big Hero 6'.  It was really good and arguably better than the movie that followed.  Yep, that's all I got for this category.




BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Hobbit:  The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

COMMENTS:  'Hobbit' actually got a nomination?  Oh.  That's surprising.  




BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

COMMENTS:  If you know the difference between Sound Mixing and Sound Editing then you're a better person than I'll ever be.




BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Mr. Turner

COMMENTS:  This is a nice list of nominees.   




BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

COMMENTS:  I know people are praising 'Birdman''s cinematography but I just didn't see anything special about it.  




BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

COMMENTS:  Interesting list of nominees with aliens, a period piece set in a fictitious European country, and a biopic that features Steve Carell wearing a false nose to look more like John du Pont.  




BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into The Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

COMMENTS:  Admittedly the costumes were probably the best thing in 'Maleficent'.  Kinda surprised to see 'Inherent Vice' among the nominees.




BEST FILM EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

COMMENTS:  The winner of Best Picture usually also has a Best Film Editing nomination.  So among these five should be your Best Picture winner. 




BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Captain America:  The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men:  Days of Future Past

COMMENTS:  Great list of nominees...except for 'X-Men:  Days of Future Past'.  




BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
The Theory of Everything
Mr. Turner

COMMENTS:  Composer Alexandre Desplat gets double nominated here, for 'Grand Budapest Hotel' and 'Imitation Game'.  Also nice to see Hans Zimmer get a nomination for his 'Interstellar' score. 




BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Lost Stars" - Begin Again
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" - Glen Campbell:  I'll Be Me
"Everything Is Awesome" - The LEGO Movie
"Glory" - Selma
"Grateful" - Beyond The Lights

COMMENTS:  Well at least 'The LEGO Movie' got a nomination here for "Everything Is Awesome".




BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Jason Dean Hall, American Sniper
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

COMMENTS:  I don't have much to say for this seemingly solid list...except I wish 'Theory of Everything' wasn't among the nominees.  




BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, Foxcatcher
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Nicolas Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

COMMENTS:  Not a whole lot to say about this list either. 




BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

COMMENTS:  'Foxcatcher' receiving a Best Director nod but not a Best Picture nod?  That's a bit strange.  

2015 Movie Preview - Top 10

I do still have a few more things to post before I completely wrap up 2014, but with I gotta get things going for 2015.  Razzie nominations came out yesterday and Oscar nominations came out today so I'll be having reaction posts to those at some point.  I will also have reviews and NFL picks coming up this weekend so I'm keeping myself busy.

Well, here are 10 movies that I'm looking forward to in 2015 in alphabetical order.  Release dates are tentative and subject to change.


AMERICAN SNIPER (JANUARY 16)
Since Clint Eastwood is behind the camera for this movie I was already gonna see it anyway.  If the trailer is any indication then this is going to be great.

AVENGERS:  AGE OF ULTRON (MAY 1)
After seeing the trailers for this, I only have one thought:  SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (NOVEMBER 13)
Quentin Tarantino doing another Western?  Sold.

THE HUNGER GAMES:  MOCKINGJAY - PART 2 (NOVEMBER 23)
Admittedly 'Mockingjay - Part 1' only felt like half of a movie that didn't need to be split.  Only 10 more months to wait for the other half...

JURASSIC WORLD (JUNE 12)
This fourth installment in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise has been in development hell for over a decade.  But with the director from one of my favorite movies of 2012 (the indie sci-fi dramedy 'Safety Not Guaranteed') and a cast that includes Chris Pratt, this could be a lot of fun.

MINIONS (JULY 10)
Arguably the best things in the 'Despicable Me' movies get their own movie.  Once again, TAKE MY MONEY!!!

SPECTRE (NOVEMBER 6)
Of course I'm looking forward to the 24th James Bond movie.  With most of the cast and crew returning from 'Skyfall', new cast members Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, and the return of the SPECTRE organization to the Bond franchise, expectations can't be any higher.  Than again the last time I was heavily looking forward to a Bond movie after immensely enjoying the previous movie we ended up with 'Quantum of Solace'...

SPY (MAY 22)
The director of 'Bridesmaids' and 'The Heat' making a spy comedy with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham?  Sold.

STAR WARS EPISODE VII:  THE FORCE AWAKENS (DECEMBER 18)
It's going to be a long eleven months until we can finally see the latest 'Star Wars' movie.  With J.J. Abrams already having had success with both the 'Star Trek' and 'Mission:  Impossible' franchises, I expect that success to continue.

TED 2 (JUNE 26)
I thought the first 'Ted' movie was hilarious.  And while I didn't like 'A Million Ways To Die In The West' I usually do like Seth MacFarlane's particular brand of humor.  Hopefully this falls more in line with it's predecessor than that western "comedy".

Golden Globes Wrap-Up

Well...I went 8-6 with my Golden Globes picks.  Wasn't able to watch the show but I'm sure Tina Fey and Amy Poehler had their fair share of zingers, controversies and whatnot.  Let's take a look at the winners and see what ones I got wrong.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA:  'Boyhood'
COMMENT:  Correctly picked.  This movie has been seen as the heavy favorite before the ceremony and with this win I believe that solidified it as the front runner for Best Picture at the Oscars.
 
BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL:  'The Grand Budapest Hotel'
COMMENT:  I got this category wrong, having picked 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'.  Not gonna lie, even though I picked it I'm kinda glad that Birdman lost.  'Grand Budapest Hotel' is the better movie between the two anyway.
 
BEST ACTOR - DRAMA:  Eddie Redmayne, 'The Theory of Everything' 
COMMENT:  Also got this incorrect, having picked Benedict Cumberbatch for 'The Imitation Game'.  Redmayne winning this just ticks me off...mainly because of how much I disliked 'Theory of Everything'.  Oh well.  He probably won't win the Oscar if he's nominated.

BEST ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL:  Michael Keaton, 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'
COMMENT:  Well I got this one right.  Now since Eddie Redmayne also won Best Actor I'm hoping Michael Keaton wins the Oscar.
 
BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA:  Julianne Moore, 'Still Alice'
COMMENT:  I haven't even seen this movie.  I only picked her because of all the Oscar front runner talk surrounding her role.  And thankfully I got it right. 

BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL:  Amy Adams, 'Big Eyes'
COMMENT:  A shot in the dark pick that ended up being correct.  Mainly picked Amy Adams because she won this category last year and I know she's an awards season favorite.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  J.K. Simmons, 'Whiplash'
COMMENT:  He's been the front runner for almost every Best Supporting Actor award and for good reason.  If he doesn't win on Oscar night...that would be a shame.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Patricia Arquette, 'Boyhood'
COMMENT:  Well, back to incorrect picks.  I picked Meryl Streep for 'Into The Woods', for most of the same reasons why I picked Amy Adams for Best Actress.  It was a shot in the dark but Streep is also an awards season favorite.  Now I liked 'Boyhood' a lot, but I didn't care for Patricia Arquette's performance.
 
BEST DIRECTOR:  Richard Linklater, 'Boyhood'
COMMENT:  Once again, I picked who has been long thought to be the front runner for this award and it ended up paying off.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:  'How To Train Your Dragon 2' 
COMMENT:  WHAT!?!?!?!??!?!?!?  HOW DID 'The LEGO Movie' LOSE TO THIS BORING SEQUEL?!?!?!?!?!?!?  BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
BEST SCREENPLAY:  'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'
COMMENT:  This really was a shot in the dark pick that surprisingly ended up being correct.  Seriously, any of the nominees in this category had a fair shot at winning.  

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:  'Leviathan'
COMMENT:  Well...I haven't seen it but it was the one movie in this category that I heard the most about.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:  'The Theory of Everything' 
COMMENT:  Not gonna lie...I thought 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)' had this in the bag.  But the fact that 'Theory of Everything' is winning awards is making me angry.
 
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:  "Glory" from Selma, performed by Common and John Legend 
COMMENT:  My shot in the dark pick was "Big Eyes" from 'Big Eyes' performed by Lana Del Ray and I was incorrect.  Having just listened to "Glory"...I wish it hadn't won.  Nothing against Common or John Legend as artists, I just don't think it's all that good of a song.  
  

2014 Surprises and Disappointments

There were plenty of movies in 2014 that caught me off guard one way or another.  Some movies just came out of nowhere and I ended up liking them a lot.  Other movies I was looking forward to but ended up being disappointed.  Others I either had mixed feelings or wasn't looking forward to them at all but ended up liking them

So today I bring to you the movies that surprised me in 2014, and the movies that disappointed me in 2014.  Both are listed in alphabetical order. 


SURPRISES
'The Fault In Our Stars' - This young adult adaptation caught me completely by surprise.  Ended up reading the book to see what the hype was about, and I ended up seeing the movie.  First fifteen minutes aside, I thought this was very good.  I may be a cynical single person but I'm not heartless.

'Gone Girl' - I wasn't all that impressed by the trailers for this but the great reviews for it got me to go see it.  And it ended up being No. 3 on my Top 10 for 2014.  Would not have guessed that this insane movie would have been on that list six months ago.

'Her' - I mainly saw this because it was nominated for Best Picture.  The previews for it looked strange, and indeed this is a strange movie.  But I ended up enjoying it immensely and actually felt a bit of a personal connection to this movie.

'The Interview' - I wasn't too excited about this movie when the previews first started coming out.  But with all the controversy surrounding this movie of course I decided to go see it, and ended up enjoying it immensely.

'The LEGO Movie' - When the first preview came out for this in front of 'Monsters University', I thought to myself 'This could either be fun...or it could be really dumb'.  Thankfully, not only was it really good but it was AWESOME.  Because everything is AWESOME.



DISAPPOINTMENTS
'The Babadook' - this critically acclaimed Australian horror movie had a few creepy moments, but not much else.

'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)' - I wanted to like this movie.  I really did.  But ultimately nothing in this movie really worked for me.

'Godzilla' - okay, I actually did like this movie overall but it still was a bit disappointing.  Could've used more of the titular monster.

'The Hobbit:  The Battle of the Five Armies' - didn't care for the first 'Hobbit' movie but I thought the second one was very good.  This third chapter just kinda lumbers on and is littered with what quite possibly is the worst CGI in this series.

'How To Train Your Dragon 2' - I loved the first movie and was really looking forward to this.  But for the most part...I was bored.  The sheep and Toothless were funny, but that was about it.  I was nodding off during this movie, and I barely do that during movies.

'The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay - Part 1' - okay, here's another one that I did like overall but it was still disappointing.  But that is mostly with the decision to split this into two movies, resulting in this feeling padded out despite Jennifer Lawrence's strongest performance as Katniss Everdeen to date.

'Locke' - this critically acclaimed movie features Tom Hardy talking on the phone in his car for 90 minutes, and it's about as exciting as that sounds.

'Maleficent' - No doubt about it:  This has perfect casting.  And the previews made it look interesting.  But the story they go with ruins the potential.

'A Million Ways To Die In The West' - I usually like Seth MacFarlane's brand of humor and I actually was heavily looking forward to this.  Despite a few chuckles here and there, this western comedy mostly succeeded in having me stare blankly at the screen for long periods of time.  It's also way way too long and it tries way way too hard to be funny.

'The Monuments Men' - I was also looking forward to this movie.  George Clooney directing a WWII movie with a cast that includes himself, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Jean Dujardin?  That sounded like it would be fun, but instead it was mostly a bore.

'The Theory of Everything' - this biopic is mostly garnering praise for it's two lead performances than for the movie itself.  But this is a movie that eventually I just became so bored with that I just stopped caring.

'A Walk Among The Tombstones' - I was very much looking forward to this dark hard R thriller starring Liam Neeson.  Sometimes it was thrilling, sometimes it was a bore, and ultimately it's very forgettable.

'22 Jump Street' - Once again here we have a movie that I was looking forward to but once again was disappointed with.  Overall I just didn't think it was all that funny.



Any movie you were surprised by or disappointed with in 2014?

Golden Globe Predictions

The Golden Globes are finally here, and as usual I will not be watching them.  Why, you may ask?  Well quite frankly I'll be busy either watching football, sleeping, or working.  Or a combination of the three.  I'm sure there will be a handful of funny quips from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, at least a few awkward jokes from other celebrities, surprise winners, and that it'll drag on and on and on and on.  You know, how awards shows usually go.

Anyway, here are my picks for tonight's Golden Globes.  I'll post a Golden Globes wrap-up with winners and how well my picks did at some point tomorrow.
  
BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA:  Boyhood
BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL:  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST ACTOR - DRAMA:  Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
BEST ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL:  Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA:  Julianne Moore, Still Alice
BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL:  Amy Adams, Big Eyes
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
BEST DIRECTOR:  Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:  The LEGO Movie
BEST SCREENPLAY:  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:  Leviathan
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:  "Big Eyes" from Big Eyes, performed by Lana Del Ray

NFL 2014 DIVISIONAL ROUND Pick 'Em

Hoping I don't regret my last pick...

RAVENS @ Patriots
Panthers @ SEAHAWKS
Cowboys @ PACKERS
COLTS @ Broncos

LAST WEEK:  3-1, 75%
PLAYOFFS TOTAL:  3-1, 75%
REGULAR SEASON:  162-93-1, 63.28%
OVERALL:  165-94-1, 63.46%

Best of 2014 and Honorable Mention

Well, my laptop is finally fixed so I'll be blogging on a more regular basis.  There's more NFL games to pick, 2015 releases starting to come to theaters, some awards contenders finally making their way to my area, etc.  But first let's start wrapping up 2014 with my Top 10 list.  I've already revealed my Top 10 on Facebook last week but this goes into a little bit more detail.  So, without further adieu, my Top 10 for 2014.

Honorable Mention
'300:  Rise of an Empire' (review here) - I'll admit that narratively, this prequel/concurrent/sequel to the 2007 '300' is a mess.  BUT it was a lot of bloody, violent fun in IMAX 3D.


My Top 10 of 2014

10.  'Boyhood' (review)
          Probably the most realistic depiction of childhood and of growing up in general without being a documentary.  While I couldn't relate to every single thing that the characters experience, there were still multiple times in the theater where I thought to myself "Yep...I remember doing that", "Yep...I know people who did that", "Holy crap I remember when that song came out", "Yep...I remember what I was doing that particular year".  Definitely a film to be admired in terms of it's scope, but on it's own it is a really good movie bolstered by great performances from Ethan Hawke and newcomer Ellar Coltrane, who pretty much grows up right in front of our eyes.  It is a bit lengthy (clocking in at 2 hours, 45 minutes) and I have a few other minor nitpicks about the movie but this was still one of my favorites from 2014.  There has been a lot of talk about this movie being the front runner for Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards, and for good reason.

 

 9.  'Fury' (review)
          Out of all the war movies to come out in 2014, this was my favorite by a long shot.  War is hell, and this bleak ultra-violent movie never shies away from that for it's 2 hour, 14 minute running time.  A rough sit at times with how intense this movie can be but it's well worth a look with it's great score, excellent cinematography, and strong performances from the cast. 

 8.  'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' (review)
          Darker and more tense than it's predecessor, this worthy follow-up boasts a great story with many interesting characters, great special effects that even improve upon it's predecessor, and another great performance by Andy Serkis as Caeser.  Not too many movies can make you care about the plight of CGI monkeys simply wanting to survive but this one succeeds.

 7.  'Interstellar' (review)
          Christopher Nolan's follow-up to 'The Dark Knight Rises' is a three hour sci-fi spectacle and because I was so invested in the story and characters the time certainly flew by.  Often quite tense with great special effects and anchored by two great performances in Matthew McConaughey's Cooper, Jessica Chastain, and Mackenzie Foy.  Definitely one to think about after you've watched it.

 6.  'The Interview' (review)
          Did I mention that my Top 10 wasn't approved by North Korea?  Oops.  Oh well.  Still don't remember 'Team America' causing any international controversy with it's depiction of Kim Jong-il, but oh well.  International controversy aside, I still thought this was hilarious and anchored by an absolutely bonkers performance by James Franco.

 5.  'Neighbors'  (review)
         Another Seth Rogen movie makes my Top 10 for 2014.  And in all honesty this was the funniest movie I've seen all year, and the most I've laughed consistently during a movie since 'Despicable Me 2'.
 

 4.  'Nebraska' (review)
          Yes, I'm aware of the fact that this is technically a 2013 release and that it received a lot of nominations on the awards circuit last year.  BUT it didn't come to a theater near me until 2014, so I count it amongst movies in 2014.  While more of a drama, it still often is very funny, very well acted with realistic characters and dialogue, and is beautifully shot in black and white.

 3.  'Gone Girl' (review)
          Did I mention that my Top 10 list wasn't approved by my grandmother?  Oops.  Oh well.  I never read the book on which this was based, but this is one of those movies where the less you know about it the better off you'll be while watching it.  Definitely one of the more insane movies I've seen in awhile.  Suspenseful and shocking, darkly funny at times, and just an overall extremely well made movie that kept my attention for it's nearly 2 and a half hour running time.

 2.  'Her' (review)
          Another movie that also hit some theaters in 2013 and hit the awards circuit last year but didn't come to a theater near me until 2014.  No doubt about it this movie is indeed very strange, but at the same time I thought it was great.  'Her' is very well acted, shot well, features great music, and is always weaving back and forth between serious drama and laugh out loud comedy without overdoing it either way.  When it gets into more serious topics like the end of relationships it can become quite relatable.  Strange, but worth it.  And for a long time it looked like this was going to be my Top movie from 2014.  Until the next movie came along ten months later...

1.  'Whiplash' (review)
          Not gonna lie...it's hard to write something about 'Whiplash' without feeling like I'm underselling it and not giving it enough praise.  Virtually every aspect of this movie is top notch, from the rousing drum-heavy jazz score to the acting (particularly J.K. Simmons' monster of a jazz instructor) to the way it's shot and edited  to just...everything.  And it's constantly bringing up the age old question "How far is too far?" in terms of pushing somebody to their fullest potential.  No other movie has stuck with me the way that 'Whiplash' has.  Go see it.  You don't even have to like jazz to like this movie.


Well that's my Top 10 of 2014.  What have been some of your favorite movies from 2014?