Drive Angry (2011)

Drive Angry (2011). I read some reviews before watching this movie on Blockbuster.com and a lot of them didn't like this movie. They compared it a lot to campy movies from the likes of the Grindhouse series. I thought it was a better movie than that when seeing the promos but I really didn't know the premise behind this movie. I tried to keep an open mind when starting it.

After watching it, I must say that it wasn't as bad as the comments/reviews on Blockbuster.com. I usually have low expectation of any of the movies I watch that way I can only go up...a lot or slightly...as the movie progresses.

Yes, some of the graphics, dialogue and action is like the Grindhouse movies or even Machete. I don't think it took away from the movie. There wasn't a whole lot of gross gore but there were moments of blood splatter from heads being shot and hands and/or legs being blown off. Nothing over the top like some of the movies I've seen. Some comments mentioned gratuitous boobs but I have to disagree. There were maybe 2-3 times I saw boobs for a max of 3-5 minutes and they totally went along with the scene...except maybe the last one where this skinny, naked girl gets tagged by Cage's character's shotgun near the end of the movie. That nakedness probably didn't need to be shown at the time.

It's a pity that Amber Heard didn't have a reason to disrobe. It may have made my rating of this movie much higher...NOT!

FINAL VERDICT: If you like quite a bit of action with a few shots of T&A thrown in, then you'll probably enjoy this movie. I won't be recommending it to anyone but if you happen to have the opportunity to watch it (for free-ish) then it's not a total waste of a couple of hours.

Season of the Witch (2011)

Season of the Witch (2011). Yesterday I picked up this movie. There wasn't a lot to choose from since it was Thursday and it's summertime. I should go earlier in the week.

Spoiler Alert!

Anyway, this movie turned out to be not what I expected. I mean the title has "witch" in it but it turns out there really is no witch. Instead there is a demon that has possessed a female and they think she's a witch...back in those witch-killing days of like 1300 AD.

Overall the movie wasn't too bad. The action was alright. The story was alright. So, I guess the movie was overall alright.

Funny thing is I got two movies at the same time. This one and Drive Angry which both just happened to have Nicolas Cage in them.

FINAL VERDICT: You can either watch it or not. Either way you won't be disappointed.

Multiple movie reviews as of July 7, 2011

Now that class is over, I have had a little bit of time to catch up on my movie watching. I've watched some movies that are recent and not so recent as well as adult-themed and kid-themed. I make a list of movies and I try to watch them as I get them or when I can. So, here are my thoughts on the ones I've watched:

No Strings Attached (2011). What can I say positive about this movie? It's very, very hard. It has Natalie Portman. She looks good in it and we get to see a little bit of her in just a bra and panty. Sort of worth it. Other than that, I don't think there is any else. I think the problem with this movie is it's WAY too predictable and it has already been done before as well as been done again (I've read there is almost an exact story in Friends With Benefits). I mean how many times can we see a movie about a slacker-type male that pursues or one-night-stands with a Type A personality, very smart, overly educated, somewhat successful female who doesn't want a relationship with him but he tries to be cute, romantic or whatever and eventually wins her affection!? Been there, done that...a gazillion times! Even though this movie has my woman, Natalie, in it I would have to say it's a pass. Ashton Kutcher cannot pull off the lovestruck slacker-type male. He can pull off slacker-type but that's it! I think the relationship that was between the two best friends of Portman and Kutcher was more interesting and more fun to see and they had minimal screen time. Anyway, watch this movie at a friends, or view it for cheap like if you already have Netflix of Blockbuster Total Access Plan. I really don't think this is worth a regularly priced rental.

Battle Los Angeles (2011). This movie reminded me a lot, a whole lot, of Independence Day but without garnering as much interest during the "slow" times and then slow to start action thereafter. It also had a hint of Transformers and even District 9. I don't know if it's because I have seen the previews or knew what to expect but the movie seemed too familiar and known to me. It felt like I was watching something I had literally already seen. The humans fighting back was predictable and expected. Finding out that the flying alien ships were drones, that there was a "control center" for these drones and knocking it out should/would give humans the advantage they were looking for was so Independence Day not to mention a few of the aliens had tentacles just like those in Independence Day. So this movie could have been called "A-Different-But-Still-Very-Similar Independence Day remake." I can't really say it was a horrible movie but I can't say it was that good either because of the too-close comparisons. If you go in knowing this movie is very similar, it probably is a good movie. If you start to compare it to others, you may start to think why you rented it.

Sucker Punch (2011). I blindly "rented" this movie based on the fact that it looked like it had interesting cinematography and the comments I've read from a techie blog that was tracking this movie before and after its release. After seeing the movie, I Googled it and found that it is another interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. I can sort of see this correlation but I can also say, "WTF ever!" Being that I didn't go into this movie knowing the background or anything, I would have to say it wasn't too bad. The cinematography was very interesting. The characters were interestingly matched from the "real world" to the "fantasy world" Babydoll creates. The action was fairly non-stop when those scenes were going on. The female characters were smoking hot and kicked ass. If I thought of this movie as anything more than an action flick with hot chicks, I would probably have been disappointed. As it is, I am disappointed that the female characters did not show a little bare T & A here or there because it kind of went with the plot line of the "job" they did in the fantasy prison. In the end, I was a bit confused on Babydoll's status: is she a vegetable or is she still aware even though she had a sort of lobotomy? It wasn't totally conclusive in my opinion which makes me think they could make a sequel of sorts. Anyway, I would rent it for cheap or borrow it from a buddy. I'm a tight wad and not many movies are worth the $1.99-$3.99 rental fee at Blockbuster. Maybe rent it at the Red or Blue Box for a $1, right?

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010). I put this on my queue a long time ago when I thought my kids or the neighborhood kids would all want to watch it. I saw part of it on TV a few weeks ago and thought it looked cheesy. I was going to say that I saw it (even though not all of it) and remove it from my queue but I forgot. Once it came in the mail, I had to watch it because that's what I do. This is another one of those "don't take it too seriously" movies. For what it is...a kid's movie...it wasn't too bad. The bald cat, aka Kitty Galore, is just hilarious and gross looking at the same time. The acting by the human cast wasn't the greatest but the voice-over wasn't too bad. Again, it's a kid movie and that's the way I had to watch it. Kids around the ages of 4-7 might like the movie a lot. Anyone older may be wasting time and money renting it.

I guess that's all I got for now. On to the next round of movies until my vacation and then the start of the fall semester a few weeks later. Man summer has flown by!

Crazy Heart (2009)

Crazy Heart (2009). Finally got around to watching this movie. I had it at my home for almost two weeks but I had been busy with summer school, kids, family, and work. All good times but at least now I have been able to catch up on my movie watching.

I don't know what the big deal is about this movie. I think I remember Jeff Bridges being nominated for an Oscar or some movie award. Don't get me wrong. I think Jeff Bridges is a very good actor and he's played some great roles in some good movies. He's played some shit too but what thespian hasn't?

This movie was pretty slow to start and didn't pick up much pace to the end. It's a been-there-done-that-seen-it storyline and the performances of Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal didn't add any excitement to a tired, over-used plot. I don't think Bridges' acting was Oscar-worthy but what do I know. It's not like he lost weight, gained weight, or did any drastic physical changes for the role. He played a has-been, drunk country singer/songwriter.

It was neat to see/hear the singing "talent" of Bridges, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell. I wouldn't have believed Farrell sang anything if I didn't see the song credits run with him listed as "performed by." It's not far-fetched to think he could pull off "country singing" since he's had to change his natural dialect (Irish, I think) for his various movie roles. But it was still weird to see him with a pony tail singing country music.

FINAL VERDICT: I personally think this movie is passable and forgettable. I'm not saying it was horrible but I am saying that given a choice, I'd much rather watch reruns of The Brady Bunch and I was never a fan of 'the Bunch.'

The Mechanic (2011)

The Mechanic (2011) I started this about two weeks ago. I thought I'd at least finish it even if it doesn't reflect my original thoughts.

This movie was pretty good if you take it for what it's worth: a high-action, fast-paced movie. What else would you expect from a movie with Jason Statham in it?

If you think too much about movies, like I sometimes do, you'd see that it's predictable. It's been done before in the same or close-to-it manner.

But don't think about the movie too much, enjoy it for what it is and it will be worth watching.

One thing that always interests me is how contract killers, spies, etc. always have the best fucking Internet connections and speeds in the most remote of places! I guess when you make the kind of money that contract killing can get you, you can build and have the best shit at your house!

House of 9 (2005)

House of 9 (2005). This movie is a lot like the movie Exam, which I've previously written about somewhere in this blog.

I think I read a description about how it was like Saw. It really isn't. There are no death traps that are accidentally triggered or have time limits. I'd say it is 95% more like Exam.

I don't recall how I came across this movie and put it on my Netflix watch instantly queue. I think it may have had something to do with Kelly Brook being in it. I'm sure I followed some filmography or suggested viewings from somewhere. Dennis Hopper was in it too but let's get back to Kelly Brook.

She actually wasn't as annoying in this movie as she is in some others I've seen her in. She didn't have that consistently annoying, whining voice she normally has. I guess it's because she's usually playing a victimized woman or something, I don't know. I think she looked younger in this one too and not as heavy as in others. Don't get me wrong. She's by no means fat or heavy but she was much thinner in this one than I've seen in others...but still not fat. Know what I mean?

SPOILER ALERT POSSIBLY AHEAD

Anyway, the movie plays out like any other of the same genre before it. "There can be only one" (that's from The Highlander movies) survivor and in the end she just happens to be it based on pure luck and predictable scripting. Just about every stereotypical thing was written in this movie...

• Cop is one of the captives and he assumes "leadership" without any actual voting/electing and everyone is okay with it (I wouldn't have been)
• Black man is a rapper, gets blamed for everything (although he did accidentally kill someone), cop rules him a threat and locks him in a room without any discussion and no one disagrees with the "due process"
• Priest (Dennis Hopper) is faced with protecting himself and others or taking a life. Chooses the latter. Has regrets but meets his maker later at the hands of another house mate
• Hot, pretty girl (Brook) ends up winning
• Winner is given the prize but instead of actual release looks to have been let out of one house into another house of previous winners. There is not continuation but one is led to believe that the "winners" can now become bigger winners by killing previous winners and taking their money

In the end, the movie was laughable, annoying, predictable and could have been much better with the addition of some boobies being shown. I mean come on, there were like 3-4 attractive females and not a one of them even so much had a nipple slip! FAIL!

FINAL VERDICT: This movie is passable. It's not even worth snagging from a friend. If you have Netflix already, then it might be one of those "just had to check it out" viewings but otherwise pass on it.

Skullcandy 2XL Shakedown Full Suspension Headband

Skullcandy 2XL Shakedown Full Suspension Headband. I purchased these a few weeks or so ago. I saw a link from some "links to deals" web site like Slickdeals. In fact, it could have been Slickdeals. Anyway, there was a really good deal for these over-the-ear headphones that I figured they were worth a try. I think the price was like $5.99/ea + s/h and maybe tax which made the total cost very close to $10. Again, worth it in my eyes because I could always eBay them for the exact amount I paid and possibly break even. Not to mention that I wasn't expecting or looking for them to be this fantastically sounding headphones. I was looking for decent, good sound cheaply priced. They would be put through a lot by me and my kids (I actually got three sets) so they would need to be somewhat sturdy and again costs low. But without some sense of quality sound, what's the point. Yeah?

So, here are a few things I can share about these little babies:

• They don't exactly feel like the sturdiest headphones but they seem to be durable enough so far. I didn't expect top-quality but the plastic feels frail like a plastic water gun but also durable like that of the smaller Nerf guns.
• The cord is a little shorter than most headphones cords. I would guess it's like three feet versus the typical six feet. Do you really need that extra three feet? Sometimes. I mean if you are using the MP3 player pocket in your backpack while listening with these headphones, there may be an occasional pulling or tugging on the phones. I guess it entirely depends on how far down the MP3 player pocket is or how low you let your backpack hang down your ass. Either way, I wouldn't think three feet is very accommodating. At the same time, I had some earphones that had the six foot cord and at times I felt like it was too long.
• These are definiley on-ear headphones. They may be over-the-ear for some people with smaller heads/ears, like my kids, but they are on-ear for me. No a big deal, but don't expect them to be long-term comfortable.
• Speaking of comfortability. These are mildly comfortable after wearing for some time but sometimes get uncomfortable after much longer. The ear muffs are not the softest but I expected as much. I've worn them for an entire movie with mild irritation after 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Again, the muffs do not contain the most padding and the plastic/pleather covering tends to cause slight perspiration. I think I've experienced the perspiration with high-end headphones as well...it's just what happens when you cover your ear with no air circulation so I don't blame it on these. The headband securely holds the muffs on my ears but because of the lack of softness, my ears have gotten irritated a few times after extended use.
• The sound seems to be pretty good. I'm no audio expert but for what I've used them for, they have performed well. Decent bass and treble with enough seal on the ears to block out background noises...to an extent. I haven't reached that extent but I'm sure there is an "extent."
• These aren't ear buds. They are a little more cumbersome than ear buds...okay, a lot. These are not the type to fit snuggly and take up little space in a backpack or purse or whatever. Again, I didn't plan on walking around town with them...very often if at all...but I do like to be able to use headphones over ear buds on occasion.

I guess that's about all I can say about these so far. I use them on occasion like I said. The kids have started using them a little more than their ear buds but it turns out it's because they often misplace their buds and they have the headphones as back up. I think thye still sell these on their eBay listing for about the same price. It might be a decent gift for a teenager or a non-audiophile snob.

Just a shot of one of my headphones in the package before opening.