Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

So if you haven't seen it already, The Guardians of The Galaxy trailer has hit the internet. If you're into superhero news chances are you have already seen it but if you haven't here it is right here.

Now I was a little bitter about this trailer, mainly because it hit the news that it was going to be premiering yesterday. Which it did. But it premiered on Jimmy Kimmel live. Now, I don't watch Jimmy Kimmel Live... live. But I was under the impression I was going to get to see the trailer yesterday. So while its nice to see it now, I feel I'm a little bit behind, and its Marvel's fault. 

Pettiness aside... the trailer is... alright.

I think the best thing that probably came out of this trailer was the fact that everyone (myself included) is now obsessed with the song Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede

Here's a link to it now that its in your head

But the trailer is suppose to give more than catchy songs right?

And for what this trailer is trying to accomplish, it does really really well. Marvel knows what they are getting into when it comes to Guardians of the Galaxy. 

The fact of the matter is, nobody knows who any of these (quote from the trailer) A-holes are. And

Marvel knows that. The only reason I know who the Guardians of the Galaxy are is because I've read up on them since I've heard about this movie months ago.

But the trailer takes a really funny approach in making them just seem like the misfits of the Marvel universe and playing off what might seem a fault. For that I have to give Marvel major props for making such a sound marketing decision. They put the Marvel logo behind it, they give a little bit of a background but really make this film something that will get people to just think, that looks weird... I'm intrigued now.

And its funny. The trailer has some funny jokes and again, doesn't try to be something its not. I think one of the most obscure scenes I've seen in a trailer is the last scene where it just goes to the chorus of Hooked on a Feeling and shows the five of them standing in a row. Its not really climactic, its not incredibly flattering, its just saying, here's what's happening, let's have some fun in August.

Now the next question is, does this trailer point to us having that fun time in August?

The short answer is, I think so. Listen, I have total faith in Marvel. They have proven themselves over and over again and any doubts that I have are issues that could erupt in the future but not now.

Marvel knew that they couldn't do something like Guardians when they first started and now they have the opportunity to take a risk, just like they did with Iron Man back in 2008. So when it comes to faith in Marvel, I think they're going to do a good job with this movie.

The trailer itself... doesn't really sell me though. I like it, I think its smart, and it knows what its selling. However I'm still very skeptical of this move just in general. Its a risk to move from straight up superheroes to a Star Wars like universe but keep it in the same realm as the heroes you've brought up before.

I still have no idea how the Guardians are going to fit in with this universe or if they're going to continue being in the universe if this movie bombs. The good thing is, this is, in context, is a very low risk movie. Yeah its a risk in that Marvel is doing something totally different and there's a chance people won't like it. But if this bombs, Marvel isn't in any trouble. If it fails, they go back to what they're good at with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc and they never have to do a Guardians movie again.

However, I hope this movie is going to be good. Marvel is very impressive when they can bring in a group of heroes nobody has heard of and try something new with it and I think it'll be a fun movie to see come August.

So while I have my doubts about Guardians of the Galaxy, I'm not worried because Marvel has proven time and time again that they're a force to be reckoned with and best case scenario, Guardians knocks it out of the park and its great movie. Worst case scenario, its not good and Marvel can just leave it and try something new.

So now that you've seen the trailer, what did you think? Comment and discuss below and let me know your thoughts. Were you sold on the trailer? Are you excited?

Higher Learning

Lets be honest

The 90s were a weird set of years. I don't really know what totally set it apart from the 80s but suddenly everything became a big deal. Homosexual characters started showing up on TV shows, even having a TV show surrounding the idea of a gay man and a sassy woman became huge entertainment. Also people were willing to talk about issues of race. I'll be it in the most awkward way possible but still, race became an issue, gay rights became an issue, war was no longer popular, it was just a different time.

But again, it was awkward. Not only the fact that it was the 90s and everything was awkward but it also had to do with these issues never really being addressed on a global scale. And in keeping with the theme of awkward mediums of entertainment, there came the movie Higher Learning.

I watched this movie as part of a class called Revolution, Resistance and Liberation. You can probably guess what that class is about. We watched the movie with the purpose of finding the different faces of oppression and seeing how those stages evolve into one another.

But I'm more interested in looking at this movie from a straight up movie stand point. I will keep the purpose of the movie in mind and actually use the elements of the movie as ways to show whether or not it fulfills that purpose or if its just... awkward.

The movie focuses on a small handful of college students at a college. They all come from different walks of life, walks of life you'll really only know from their appearance. For example: Kristen (played by Kristy Swanson) is a white woman. Malik (played by Omar Eeps) is a black man. Remy (played by Michael Rapaport) is a socially awkward... just overall strange guy... whos also white.

The movie mainly focuses around these three along with the people they interact with and the circles they join in order to feel accepted in a new environment.

An environment that is fucking insane.

Seriously, imagine the most dramatized college party you can imagine, like something from animal house. Apparently those happen every day in this strange universe. The university openly calls out students who don't have the financial aid to pay for college in class and kick them out. The campus safety is like Officer Krupke from West Side Story, openly favoring white students and busting black students for lesser offenses. I know college campus security probably weren't the most culturally aware people in the 90s but these guys are just ridiculous... oh and they're fully armed.

Anyway, Kristen, Malik and Remy really immerse themselves in college life but find it difficult. Malik has trouble running track and getting good grades, Remy finds it hard making friends and ends up being a social outcast, and Kristen is raped... Now you may be saying that escalated quickly, and you'd be right. That happens a lot in this movie.

Let's start with Kristen's story. She goes to a party and is raped. When she goes home from the rape, she's crying and her roommate (played by Regina King). When the boy who did it calls her, Regina tells her she doesn't want to talk to him and then he calls her a "Black bitch". Then Regina King calls in Ice Cube... I wish I was kidding and he beats the crap out of the guy who raped Kristen. But Kristen's friends don't look too highly on that and turn their backs on her... And I get what the movie is trying to do, its trying to point out how victim blaming happens, but if you watch the scene and see Kristen, you'd either have to be stupid or heartless not to see that she is the victim here. Which makes the scene somewhat effective but at the same time obnoxious. From there she gets involved with a group of activists on campus led by a very young, lesbian Jennifer Connelly. She spends a lot of the movie questioning her sexuality and develops a kind of "We are the World" mentality. I don't want to say it gets this far... but it gets this far.

Her storyline kind of gets overshadowed halfway through and in the end her character doesn't really amount to anything. I won't say she's pointless but her storyline ends kind of anticlimactically.

The story of Remy and Malik kind of connect so I'll describe their plots as interconnected as I can. Malik runs track. He spends the majority of the movie riding a line between being a good college student, improving his writing and eventually getting involved with Tyra Banks (yeah she's in this movie) and developing a mentor/student relationship with his professor (played by Laurence Fishburne). Fishburne's character in this movie is really good. He's by far the most sensible of the entire cast but unfortunately this movie isn't about him so his screen time is limited, which is a bummer.

On the other hand you have Remy.

And I'd like to say that Remy is more of a tragic character and what happens with him is just a series of unfortunate twists and turns and while what he eventually becomes is awful, its sad because he was a nice guy at the beginning.

But no. Remy is a douche this entire movie. He's a douche when he can't find friends, he's a douche when he joins up with a neo nazi group, and he's a douche when he perches on top of the school with a sniper rifle for the "good of the Arian nation"

Again... that escalated quickly.

Yes Michael Rapaport gives a performance of a lonely boy who finds companionship with neo nazis. This causes troubles between him and Malik eventually, going as far as Remy just going on a slew of racial slurs and pointing a gun at Malik. But does he get in trouble? No that would assume people were smart at these colleges.

I'm going to talk about the campus security again. Again, I realize that they're suppose to represent how racism and prejudice can seep into law enforcement but there's a scene where Remy points a gun, not only at Malik but at his roommate, A WHITE GUY! I don't care if he's jewish or not, I don't care if Remy drops out of school, there is absolutely not repercussions for Remy pulling out a Glock on two students. None at all.

In which I say... bullshit!

Well Remy and Malik's paths cross and it really incites what I can only call, a race war.

I may joke, but that's really how its described in the movie. Remy calls up his Neo nazi group, filled with probably the most obnoxious white guys spouting calls for "White Power" (I'm not fucking kidding) and Malik goes back to his group of Black Panthers headed up by Ice Cube and... Busta Rhymes (I Wish I was kidding) and the two groups are just at odds with each other. 

The climax of the movie is actually Remy going on top of a school building and opening fire into a crowd of people at a rally celebrating diversity. 

And its a really dark scene. People are freaking out, people get shot, you see a bunch of college

students panicking, and people die.

I won't say who but it is a very dark scene. Its interesting because the movie came out in 1995, four years later Colombine would happen. I'm not really sure if this scene would fly in today's society.

Which it really makes me question if this scene is jumping the shark a little bit. Its obviously trying to show the calamity of the violence stage of oppression, but its just so intense and so over the top that you start to think about the circumstances that led up to this scenario and you just think, how the fuck did this happen? And maybe that's the point. Maybe I'm suppose to say what the hell would bring someone to this point, but that's kind of the problem. Its not subtle at all.

I do not claim that shit like this doesn't happen. It does. And maybe the fact that I think that a college campus isn't really a great setting for a story like this is exactly the point, that we need to stop this oppression so it doesn't effect the places we feel are safe. But at the same time, I have the feeling that over exaggerating a problem doesn't raise awareness, it just raises fear and exacerbates divides. So overall, I'm torn on whether or not I think Remy going on a shooting spree was a good choice for the movie in an attempt to get a message across.

However, I will say. The scene to the right. Was a great scene. Without giving too much away, Malik is just overcome with grief and Laurence Fishburne just holds him. As much as Malik tries to struggle, Fishburne just holds him as he loses his shit.

This was a great scene.

And in the end, this movie really comes down to individual performances. Laurence Fishburne of course was awesome. Omar Eeps was good but at some points was a little over the top. Kristy Swenson on the other hand was pretty bland. Michael Rapaport was incredibly over-the-top but parts of it worked. His nazi brothers, obnoxious.

Ice Cube was funny but never really had much development throughout the movie. Busta Rhymes and the rest of the Black Panthers, obnoxious. Jennifer Connelly, kind of bland. Tyra Banks... hilarious and not in a good way.  Any other characters really didn't have a purpose in the movie and therefore were kind of bland and didn't really stand out.

Overall I wasn't really impressed with the acting in the movie. It's a lot of actors before they got big but they're all very strange actors that, with the exception of Fishburne, aren't really known for being great actors even now.

So I think the consensus for this movie is that its just awkward. It has a great message to send but just beats you over the head with it. The movie does raise some really interesting questions but its just over the top and obnoxious at times.

You're going to have to suspend a lot of disbelief in not just the structure and integrity, but also the existence of any kind of authority at this school. Cause a lot of shit goes down and it may be a little hard to believe if you're looking for believability.

So that's my thoughts on Higher Learning. Have you seen it? What do you think? Comment and discuss below.

I'll leave you with this. I know I wrote this review with a lot of South Park clips. And out of context, they probably seem offensive. But that's what I love about South Park, Family Guy and the way issues of race and other controversial issues are dealt with these days. Its very satirical and pokes fun at issues while still putting the mirror up and showing that these issues are issues. But then you just get funny scenes like this. Enjoy!

Now that I think about it, a more appropriate ending video would have been this one... so you get two.

Damn that was an awful commercial.

Best Original Song

This is going to be a little bit of a different post. I'm going to be commenting on a sort of obscure category of the Oscars: Best Original Song.

I remember last year first really hearing about the category when I went and saw Les Mis. Halfway through the movie, Hugh Jackman suddenly starts singing this song I had never heard before. I know Les Miserables like the back of my own hand but this random ass song was never one that I had ever heard.

Once I got past the fact that the song wasn't in the show, I started listening to it a little bit more and realized I really liked the song. I thought it fit well in context and it was a cute little song. Well I didn't think too much about it until I saw that the song was up for an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

I think last year I was just rooting for Les Mis to get as many Oscars as it could because I didn't really see many of the other movies, so this kind of fell on my list of hopefuls.

Well it didn't win, Skyfall did, which I understand, its a pretty badass song. But the entire process kind of got me interested. Its not the most glamorous Oscar category but it is an interesting one and a great way to hear good music.

So this year came along and I had only heard of one of the songs nominated for Best Original Song and that was Pharrell's Happy from Despicable Me 2.

Now a quick disclaimer, I really haven't seen any of the movies that these movies are from. I watched a little bit of Despicable Me 2 on a bus a week ago but I didn't really feel like I saw enough of it to warrant a review, so in short, I didn't watch it.

Another disclaimer: A lot of this review is just going to be off my opinion. I'm not a musical genius and the most experience I have with music is my college choir and a couple voice lessons. I'm not going to claim I know which song is a superior song, I'm just going to explain how I felt when I heard each song and how that adds to my decision.

So we'll start out with Happy from Despicable Me 2.

Now I heard this song on the radio a couple weeks ago and I instantly started humming it. When I hear a song I like, I don't stop listening to it until I am worn out of it and this song was one of them. Its got a very catchy RnB feel to it that people just find catchy. You should watch the music video because its just different people from different walks of life just dancing and looking happy. But you don't even need to watch the video, all you need to do it listen to the lyrics. It just kind of makes your day a little bit brighter. I don't know how you could listen to this song and not smile just a little bit.

Its fitting that this song came with Despicable Me because while I don't really feel I fully watched the second one, I remember watching the first one and just thinking this movie is not out to prove something, its just having fun with little yellow monsters. Hopefully I can do a review of both because I'd like to see if they keep that fun easy going feel or if they change it up in the second one.

The only complaint I have with the song is the length. Now there are different lengths of the song but if you haven't already noticed, the music video is about four minute longs and eventually its just the chorus over and over again. I think this was mainly for the sake of getting people like Jimmy Kimmel and Steve Carrell in there while still having a focus on normal different people for the music video. This isn't a huge complaint because its a fun song and the length is just something I've noted.

The funny part about the length of the song is there's actually a website of the song going on a loop for 24 hours. Pharrell was involved but it was also a number of random people just dancing to this song.

Here's the link to that website

Its suppose to be the world first 24 hour music video. I'm not sure why the world would want a music video that runs for 24 hours but its an interesting concept and worth checking out. Its fun seeing different dance moves and there's a segment on youtube for each hour of the day.

Overall, Happy is a catchy bright feeling tune that just makes you feel happy. Regardless of whether or not it wins, you should definitely download it. Its really fun.

The next song is Let It Go from Frozen

Now I haven't seen Frozen and I'm bummed about that because I have heard nothing but great things about it. I know the basic premise of the movie, but I'm going to try and keep the story aside and just judge the song off its own merits.

In short, I love this song.

For a while before I heard it, I thought it was just another Disney Princess song and while those are great, especially from the old 2D cartoon era, I don't listen to those songs over and over again. Like Happy, I am doing that with this song.

The song is performed by Idina Menzel which should be saying something right there. I may have given her some crap in my Rent review but Menzel is a talented singer. Her voice combined with the piano in this song is just a perfect combination to make a really powerful and entertaining ballad. You don't really need to know the plot of the movie to know this song is a huge symbol in the movie for womanhood and things I will not claim to be an expert on. (Listen to the lyrics and you'll know what I mean)

A complaint I have with the music video, not so much the song, and hopefully this is something I will address in my Frozen review after I watch it eventually, is that Idina Menzel's voice doesn't really match with the character in the music video. Again, this is not knocking the song so I won't dwell on it too much but when I watch the video above, I hear Idina Menzel's voice as opposed to seeing the character sing the song. If that makes sense. Maybe that will change when I see the movie.

Now, I'm pretty sure the nomination is for Menzel's version... but there's another version done by Demi Lovato.

Here's that version

I don't think that one is as good. Just my opinion.

Overall, this song is great. The song alone really is making me itch to watch Frozen and I think that's a good sign right there.

The next song is Moon Song from the movie Her

This song is... Ehhh to me.

Its a really short song that kind of reminds me of all those weird little songs from Juno that they would do in the middle of the movie.

Here's that song

Its hard for me to really like a song that sounds like Ellen Paige and Michael Cera singing it like out of tune teenagers and I thought they sang that song better than the original song.

And what puts this song apart is the fact that I keep forgetting this song after I listen to it. Obviously its going to be easier for me to remember a song like Happy and Let It Go because they're grandiose and catchy songs whereas this one reminds me of a sadder version of Tonight You Belong to Me from the Jerk

Here's that song

And that song was really great and very catchy. (I just listened to it and I already forgot Moon Song again!)

Maybe if I listen to the song some more this sentiment will change but its such a short and forgettable song that I don't see it winning by a long shot.

Overall, Moon Song is definitely not my favorite song on this list. I think its quite an accomplishment to get a song nominated for an Oscar but I don't think its going to win.

The next song is Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

What can I say about this song? Its U2. That's a good sign right there. I think the real measurement of whether or not you're going to like this song is if you enjoy U2. If you do, you're going to feel right at home with Ordinary Love. If you don't like U2, chances are you won't fancy this song very much.

I personally really like U2. I think this song is a great. You can tell in the music video I have above that it really is a tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela and the lyrics really have a deeper meaning to them if you take a listen.

Overall, I don't think there's really anything wrong with Ordinary Love coming off my personal opinion. I think its a good U2 song and is a good tribute to Nelson Mandela. However, I feel it isn't really a song that totally stands out and says Oscar winner right there.

Now there's a fourth song that was nominated for a while but got its nomination revoked. I thought I'd mention it since I'm on the subject.

This was the final song that was nominated for Best Original Song. However, the nomination was rescinded due to one of the producers or someone involved with the movie reaching out to gain support from the academy.

Frankly, I don't know if it would have made much different either way if the Academy had kept the nomination or it hadn't, the song is only alright.

It's a pretty song and the story behind it, that the woman singing it has a disability that prevents her from singing on her own so her husband needed to push on her diaphragm in order for her to breath properly for the higher notes.

Overall, its a pretty song, I just don't think it would have gotten very far if it was in the running for the award. I'm more curious about the movie because its not a movie that I've ever seen and it looks kind of cheap. I don't know the story, I don't know what its about and frankly I don't really feel the need to.

So if you probably haven't guessed from my reviews, I think this will come down to Let It Go or Happy. They're just the more entertaining and, I think, better made songs. I wouldn't be unhappy if Ordinary Love won and it might just come back and take the award in the end. Hell what do I know. In the end I think I'm going to put my bet on Let It Go. Its just a beautiful song and I think it has a pretty powerful chance of winning the award.

But we will see in the end won't we?

So what do you think? Have you heard these songs? Which of them do you think will win Best Original Song? Or do you care? Comment and discuss below.

Dexter Season 1

So I didn't think it would happen, and it took me almost a month to do it, but I finally finished the first season of Dexter.

And... it alright.

I'll give the show a lot more credit than I originally did. I thought it was overhyped and didn't really see how its was so great. And sitting through the entire season has given me at least a little bit of an appreciation for the show.

So what happens in season 1.

As I've explained in past reviews, Dexter follows the story of a serial killer who lives by a certain code. This code prohibits him from killing at random, only people who are truly evil. Instead, he serves as a kind of vigilante, taking out the murderers who slipped through the system. This code he lives by is established by his adoptive father who was a cop who realized what Dexter was before he grew up

The show also centers around his sister, a cop who gets detective in the first episode in homicide. Dexter himself is a blood spatter analyst, he analyzes the blood at crime scenes and based on the way it spatters on the crime scene, he can paint a picture of how the crime was committed. Again, very interesting.

Other characters include other detectives at Miami Metro including the Lieutenant La Guerta, a overly masculine Sergeant Dokes (Suprise Muthafucker), and others.

While these characters were alright, throughout the season, none of them topped Dexters emotionally damaged girlfriend Rita. A victim of domestic violence, she attaches onto Dexter because he's initially not interested in sex and she is too emotionally disturbed to have sex so it works.

But she really develops, especially when her ex husband is released from prison. And the great part about it is that while Dexter does help out a little bit with that problem, for the most part her ex-husband is her problem and she deals with it for the majority of the season. While I wanted Dexter to just off the ex-husband, he never does and for the most part he lets Rita deal with it herself and she does. I definitely think Rita was my favorite characters.

But the main story arc from the first season is Dexter's secret rivalry with another serial killer infamously known as "The Ice Truck Killer". This nemesis occasionally leaves clues and pokes at Dexter in order to egg on a game between the two. And I think the resolve to that storyline is pretty good.

Overall, the writing for Dexter is very good. Its a smart show and its good to see a show about a serial killer on a network like Showtime where they're not restricted by primetime censorship and they can just go nuts with the fact that this is a show about serial killers.

The Following did a pretty good job, especially with showing somebody with their eyes gouged out, but at the same time, there are avenues that Dexter can go down that The Following can't. Dexter just has the opportunity to go places primetime would never let them.

So that is a plus of the show.

Also the cast is pretty decent.

Starting from minor roles, there are definitely some memorable characters... and then there are the one note characters that you can't really care about. As funny as I think Sergeant Dokes is, I wasn't a huge fan of him throughout. Angel is good but under utilized. Lieutenant La Guerta was a pretty good character sometimes and of course I loved Rita.

And then we get to Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's adoptive sister Debra. I can't stand her. I may have mentioned that Deb is kind of an insecure, winey character in the pilot, well that doesn't really change throughout. I think I got to a point where I tuned out whenever Deb was angry at Dexter for stupid stuff like talking to her boyfriend instead of her or getting angry at him for wanting to know who his biological father was. And in the first episode she had this voice that would crack when she was nervous or something and I thought that would go away... fore warning, it doesn't. She was really the only character I really didn't like.

And then there's Michael C Hall as Dexter. In my pilot review I said he was just bland. Well Dexter is suppose to be masking all his emotions because apparently he doesn't feel any. Yeah they ditch that pretty quick. And I'm fine with Dexter having a personality, I just don't see the point in saying he fakes it all? I don't know if this is a complaint of the lack of a convincing emotionless serial killer or a compliment of Michael C Hall making a likable serial killer.

He's still pretty vanilla in his performance but as the season went on, I warmed up to him a little bit, especially when the relationship with Rita develops and things actually start picking up.

I also mentioned that the pilot was kind of slow. And the rest of the season... was too.

I think I may have just gotten used to the pace but it still remained a show that I can only watch an episode or so of at a time because I could feel the time I was wasting instead of using to do something else productive.

So I guess the next question is, will I continue watching the show?

And the answer is... maybe?

Again, I have begun to appreciate the writing and most of the characters are semi-memorable characters. But the show is slow. I feel like it will be a long time till I do a review of the second season, if ever, if I decide to keep watching this show. Not to mention, the finale of the first season closed things up pretty well. It had a couple teases to entice viewers to go onto the next season but for right now, I feel pretty satisfied with the ending. I guess time will tell.

Overall, the show is better than alright but for the most part is just a matter of personal preference, not really my cup of tea.

So what do you think? Do you think I should keep going with Dexter? Have you seen it? What do you think? Comment and discuss below.

I'll leave you with this. I already left you with the Surprise Motherfucker montage. So I'll leave you with something quite unrelated. This is a video a buddy of mine did. I'm in it, its kind of funny. I ended up with a huge bruise from it. Check it out!

Zodiac

This like many movies was on my Netflix list for a long time. I kept seeing preview snapshots from the film and saying, I need a time to watch this movie with my complete attention.

Well if luck would have it, I got sick this weekend and didn't really have much to do besides watch Netflix. And since I seem to be on a serial killer flix spree with shows like The Following and Dexter. I thought this would fit that bill perfectly.

I suppose a little bit of background is needed for this review as it is a historical drama. The Zodiac killer was a serial killer who was mostly known for the cryptic messages he sent to local California newspapers giving cryptic clues in a strange attempt to see who could discover who he was.

The messages were posted for about a year as the killings continued. After a couple years, the Zodiac killer was just forgotten as the papers no longer published his messages and to this day, the case still remains an open case.

Now, in 2014, the case is about 46 years old. I'm just going to go on a hunch that it will never be solved.

Now I'm going to feel old saying this but this movie came out 7 years ago in 2007. But even then the case had been open for a while and I don't think anybody thought it would magically be solved any time soon.

But this movie isn't so much about the case being solved, though it does have its own theories about who the Zodiac killer is, its more about the men who were key actors in the case and how it affected their daily lives.

The movie mainly focuses on the people working at the San Francisco Chronicle. These characters are Robert Graysmith (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and Paul Avery (played by Robert Downey Jr., a year before he became Iron Man)

Gyllenhaal really takes a backseat to Downey in the first half of this movie as Paul Avery becomes main decoder as it were of the Zodiac codes. But the two pair up and work to uncover clues around this case.

Its not really until almost a half hour in that we're introduced to our third main character. Inspector David Toschi who is put on the Zodiac killer case. And he stays there... for a LONG time.

Mark Ruffalo plays the Inspector and you can see the strain this case has on him throughout the movie, especially as the years start to stack up and there is still no sign of finding out who this killer is.

This happens with all three of these characters. Gyllenhaal doesn't really get into the investigating until the last act of the movie and by that point, Downey and Ruffalos characters are already burnt out. Paul Avery had a letter sent straight to him and carried a gun with him for the rest of his life because he believed his life was at risk from this killer. And Toschi is so burnt out on this case that it ruins his life. By the time Gyllenhaal starts doing a lot of investigating, the trial is very cold, and Toschi is not the only one telling Robert Graysmith that it's time for him to let it go.

So the movie goes from 1968 to 1983 in a span of three hours, chronicling the different murders that can be confirmed as Zodiac murders and those he just claimed to have committed. But the movie goes on past the point where the Zodiac is big news. By the end, the Zodiac killer is just an urban myth, an unsolved crime. But the impressive part about the movie is that you see how it wears down the different characters.

Personally, my favorite parts of the movie were the parts where you actually saw the murders occur. Not only that but you saw the police work and investigation going into responding to these crimes, as well as the response the chronicle has to it.

However, as time goes by, the Chronicle stops publishing codes, the police lose the trail and the movie slows down. A LOT.

And for a nearly three hour movie, it was hard not to have the movie kind of in the background. Now that's not the best idea because it is a complex movie and if you're not paying attention, you may miss some twist and turn of the investigation. But in the end, there's a couple scenes that you could probably forego and it wouldn't take that much out of the movie, in fact it would make it a shorter movie, which, if you can do a movie just as good in a shorter time, why not do it?

But what about different performances in the movie?

I think the most notable is that of Robert Downey Jr. He of course is playing the typical cocky, but incredible talent of the group and he knows it. Its kind of hard watching movies with Downey that isn't Iron Man because I had the misfortune (or fortune?) of never really seeing his work during his drug use years and this is probably the earliest work I've seen him in.

I kind of had the same problem with Mark Ruffalo in Now You See Me... for the first five minutes. But in this movie I had problems the entire time. Now that isn't really fair because I know this movie came out first but its just kind of funny. I will definitely have to look into other Downey movies because he's a tremendous actor and while Iron Man is a great role, I think he's bigger than that role. Especially since I've seen him in Sherlock Holmes as well.

Speaking of Ruffalo, he was good. I won't say he stole the show because he didn't. As I've stated before, the theme throughout the movie is how this case ruins the life for all three. And while I saw the ways his life was being ruined, I never really got to see Ruffalo react. And even at the end when there's a sense of closure, its very brief and not really fulfilling for me.

And Gyllenhaal its kind of the same.

I mean you can see Gyllenhaal make this an obsession and there's actually a point where his wife straight up asks him, where does it stop? Does it stop when you arrest this guy?

And he doesn't really give a straight answer. And I think that was pretty cool. With Ruffalo its more of an internal thing and Gyllenhaal you can definitely see the struggle.

But that's the part of the movie that I'm kind of ehh about. When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was going to be a little bit more about the actual clues and investigation, trying to uncover the truth about this mystery that had been going on for years.

Instead it was a drama mostly about the people involved, and while the final product was pretty good, it was just kind of slow. I think I was expecting a little bit more of a psychological thriller and what I got was alright.

The fact of the matter is, the Zodiac killer isn't that fascinating.

I think Hollywood and urban myths overdramatizes, not only the Zodiac killer and a lot of serial killers. But unfortunately, this movie really kind of made the Zodiac killer seem very insignificant. Halfway through the movie, I kind of just said, this is just a sad depraved mind that wants attention, not really a brilliantly evil personality. And I think we get too much of that with characters like Dexter, Patrick Bateman, and Joe Carroll. The fact of the matter is, those serial killers are few and far between. The other ones dress up in silly costumes like the one to my left.

I think in the past I may have thought this looked cryptic or creepy but when I saw it in the film, it just looked kind of stupid.

Now I don't want to belittle the innocent lives taken by this killer but in the end, the impact really doesn't feel that big in this movie. In reality, they can only confirm the Zodiac killer killed 3 or 4 people and in the big picture, even if they caught the killer in the movie, I don't know if I would have felt really satisfied.

But since this is a historical drama, they couldn't add that in there so the movie just kind of ends. They find a person they believe is the killer but nobody really gets caught. There's just a little bit of closure for Ruffalo and Gyllenhaal and the movie closes out with historical facts how any movie claiming to be based on true events ends.

 So in the end, Zodiac is really a mediocre film in my opinion. I think the performances are very well done but in the end, its not really memorable.

I think I went into this movie thinking that Zodiac was nominated for an Oscar in something. Now Oscar nominations doesn't always necessary to be good but for all the hype this movie had I think it was overhyped. It wasn't really a movie I plan on watching again. Not really worth recommending and kind of forgettable.

Now that's just my opinion, have you seen Zodiac? What did you think? Comment below and discuss.

I'll leave you with this. So apparently Robert Downey Jr. can sing. Who knew? Enjoy.

Pilot: The Following

You've probably read my sentiment on primetime television. I've been a little spoiled with shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and (while I don't really love it, I'll include it) Dexter, that dramas that come out on major networks like FOX just seem generic and trying to be more than they actually are.

Before I get too hipster on you, I think there are the exceptions. 24, Lost, Prison Break, the first season of Heroes. Granted all these shows came out in the early 2000s but I do still believe that prime time television has the ability to make good television.

This show is a glimmer of hope for that sentiment.

So The Following follows the story of Kevin Bacon's character, Ryan Hardy. Ryan is a former FBI agent who devoted his career to bringing down a serial killer by the name of Joe Carroll. Carroll made his trade by killing college women and drew a lot of his inspiration from the work of Edgar Allen Poe.

At the very beginning, Carroll escapes prison and Kevin Bacon is brought in. I know the character has a name but I'm just going to call him Kevin Bacon.

Its funny because he was the main reason this show got so much hype. The small screen is slowly becoming a place for big movie actors to develop their characters more and really hone their acting ability... at least that's what I read somewhere in a piece about Matthew Mcconaughey and Woody Harrelson in True Detective.

Unfortunately, with Bacon, he just seems bored. He's suppose to be playing this alcoholic former FBI agent. And while I'll give him some credit that you see how attached he is to this case, he basically has the same expression on his face and just looks like he's waiting around for the paycheck at the end of the show.

The pilot is mainly the manhunt for Carroll. As the episode develops, it is discovered that Carroll has gained a following or cult from prison and has a bunch of people who for one reason or another will do anything for him and, in some cases, are willing to die for him.

And that brings up a little bit of a problem, at least for the pilot.

James Purefoy plays this serial killer who gains this Charles Manson-like cult. But all these people are placed very conveniently in these specific places in order to follow through with Carroll's agenda. And I'm guessing that'll be a recurring twist in the show, characters, reoccurring and new will suddenly appear as cult members.

As cool as it sounds... I just don't buy it.

For example, Carroll solicits the help of the prison guard who spent the most time with him to help him escape and in return he would teach him to be a serial killer. But what would have happened if that guy wasn't imbalanced like that? That would kind of throw a wrench in his plan wouldn't it? But its through that guy that he's able to go on the internet and gain more members to his cult. Pretty convenient isn't it?

And then we get to the performance of James Purefoy. While he kind of looks like the poor man's Hugh Jackman, Purefoy actually does a pretty good job for the little time that he is onscreen in the pilot. He pulls of the batshit crazy, the kind you can't reason with at all, you just have to outsmart and he really does become the antithesis of Bacon which is the most important part of creating a setup like this. The ending is really the moment that made me think, maybe I should keep watching, see where they go with this.

The call to action really comes at the end when Carroll says, everything has been orchestrated so him and Bacon will go on manhunts for serial killers for the entire show. Its just that classic scene with the chaotic evil guy and the neutral good guy sitting down on opposite ends of the interrogation table and making a deal for how the rest of the season is going to go.

It reminded me of the scene from The Dark Knight where Batman and the Joker are finally face to face.

Is it generic? Yes. A lot of this show is. The whole scene where they bring Kevin Bacon out of retirement is the most stereotypical worn out cop coming out of retirement scene in the book. The other cops in the show are the most generic cops in the world, I don't even know their names. Chances are one of them will turn out to be a cult member or die and the other will get replaced. So I don't really care about those guys. And you shouldn't either, because the main focus is the chemistry between Bacon and Purefoy.

Is it the best pilot I've seen? Not at all. But its intriguing.

If you were wondering what I was saying when I said neutral good and chaotic evil, this is what I was talking about.

Its a great, fun little chart that categorizes characters of popular culture. I think the fun thing about this chart is considering the possibilities that could happen with each of them and their interactions with each other. And that's exactly what happens in The Following.

Is it a perfect pilot? No. Will I continue watching it? I'm not quite sure. I think they have a little bit of a broad definition of the psychology behind a serial killer. Again, while they're not my favorite, Dexter and American Psycho do a really good job at representing serial killers. I think I would love to see Kevin Bacon go toe to toe with Dexter. But we get a british guy, which is okay I guess.

So that's my thoughts on The Following. A decent enough pilot that got me intrigued.

Have you seen The Following? What do you think? What's your recommendation?

I'll leave you with this. Here's Kevin Bacon on Conan talking about this beginnings in Footloose, apparently the head of the studio didn't want him on the movie because he wasn't fuckable. Check it out.

Top 10 of January

This may be kind of strange, as we are almost half way through February, but I haven't really had time to sit down and actually blog in a week or so. I was originally going to take all the TV and movies that I watched over the course of January and rank them.

And while I have seen a couple movies since February started, the school year is back on track and its going to be hard to sit down and watch movies till I get into a flow of things. So I decided to at least give the loyal readers (if you exist) my top ten movies of January, just to give you an overview of what I did over my January instead of other more important things.

So lets start off the countdown at number 10.

10. Now You See Me

It seems like a long time since I've seen this movie when really it was only a few weeks ago. This movie is just fun. Its a great cast in a movie about Magicians. Basically any movie that you've heard of about magicians, (I think) has to be at least a fun watch or otherwise you probably haven't heard of it. Its got a lot of twists and turns and while the plot may be a little too complex for it to be believable, its still a lot of fun. The ending isn't my favorite, but I didn't see it coming. I wasn't wild about Jesse Eisenberg in it but Isla Fisher makes up for that totally. Now You See Me is definitely worth at least a rental and will no doubt give you a fun watch.

9. Love Actually

I never thought I'd put one of these thousand people cast movies on a top ten list, but Love Actually does it right. Is it a cheesy rom com at some times? Yes of course it is. But I think those kinda silly and sometimes stupid moments can be overlooked by the actually legitimate stories and struggles of some of these characters.

That and the cast is phenomenal. Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman. The list goes on and I don't really think anybody was awful in this movie.

The movie made me crack up a lot and gave me a fantastic movie to watch with my girlfriend.

The movie does get bogged down with the billion characters and some of the stories that didn't really need to be in there or weren't developed enough. But again, a lot of that can be forgiven with the writing and characters. I think its definitely one of my favorite, if not my top, romantic comedy.

8. Fargo

I think the more I think about this movie, the more I really do like it. I'm still not incredibly wild about the main character but in the analysis' I've read about this movie, I understand why the Coen Brothers went the direction they went with Marge.

Putting that aside, the dialogue and characters in this movie are a great combination with the story just in general. Its a great crime drama with a lot of dark humor and some great moments. Steve Buscemi is great in it and so are a lot of the other characters.

The only huge problem I have with this movie is the accents. And its something that puts the movie apart. It may just be a personal annoyance I have with that accent, but I wouldn't say it totally takes away from the how good of a movie Fargo really is. Definitely check it out. Its great.

7. Jack Reacher

I didn't really think I was going to like this movie. I was kind of worn out of Tom Cruise and didn't think he could pull off the action hero anymore. Man I was wrong. While the story isn't really the most original or incredibly creative, the charisma and performance of Tom Cruise really makes this movie just fun and a great action, crime thriller.

It feels a little weird putting this before Fargo but not only did this movie not have that stupid mid western accent, it also reignited my faith in Tom Cruise. The movie just had a fun vibe to it, kind of like an old 80's crime thriller. The plot wasn't a big conspiracy or over the top, it was just fun and kind of simple. Sure it has its problems, like what the hell Robert Duvall? But it was good and definitely worth a watch, if not worth buying.

6. Flight

I love Denzil Washington, I love Robert Zemeckis, and I love the movie Flight.

Flight is a story about a pilot who is an alcoholic. One of the planes he flies crashes and the rest is him dealing with the legal repercussions of the crash and his alcoholism. It gives (in my opinion) one of the best representations of alcoholism I've seen in a long time.

Denzil brings the same awesome performance he always does and the movie really is a great drama. Like I said in my review, I have mixed feelings about the ending but I think it really did tie up the movie really well. Overall, its a great film. Now one of my favorites.

5. Batman Begins

I think this made my top 10 for two reasons. The first, its a great film. It was a great reintroduction to Batman and really made DC comics come back into the light and begin to start making better movies. (I'm not saying they're 100% up and running but its a start)

But not only that, it gave us a different look at comic book movies. Yes we can do them how they've been done for the past 20 or so years but at the same time, they can be grounded. Seen from a different angle, and that's exactly what Batman Begins did. It created a universe where Batman could (with some slight embellishments) could exist.

And that kind of brings me to my next reason. Its good to look at the past and see what works for this movie and what could work for the future. I love speculating. I love wondering what Ben Affleck's Batman is going to be like when that movie finally comes out and I want it to be good. I think this movie got into my top 10 list because it got me thinking about what worked for this movie and what Zack Snyder could learn from to make Ben Affleck prove me and a lot of people wrong about him. Granted this is all speculation but I put this movie here because, not only is it a spectacular movie, its given me something new to look at and think about.

4. 12 Years a Slave

We're getting into my top 4 movies of the month and really, these are movies that made the month fun. I think all the movies I watched have affected me as a movie viewer but I think we're getting into movies that may take a rank as some of my favorite movies of all time. So while fourth place may seem odd for a movie that could very well win Best Picture, its still a phenomenal movie.

12 years a slave is just gritty and real. It shows the South and slavery as it probably actually. People viewed black people as property. It just shows the terror and atrocities of slavery and just leaves you feeling like absolute shit because of what you just watched. I think Django Unchained had elements of that but that movie had the opportunity to kind of make it better with humor and satirize it with the dark humor.

12 Years a Slave is no satire. I called it, The Schindler's List of American slavery (a term I picked up from someone else) and it really is. Its hard to watch and you just feel depressed at the end of it. It does have a great ending and I think I will eventually see it again, but I think that's why I put it as number 4. I recognize, its a phenomenal movie. But, like Schindler's List, I don't really feel the need to watch it again unless someone asks me to. Its not really a bad thing. Schindler's List is a fantastic movie and maybe the fact that I only need to see that movie and this movie once says something about its impact.

3. Cloud Atlas

The first time I saw this movie, I had kind of mixed feelings about it. I felt it was really long and overly complicated. However, there's something about it that keeps bringing me back.

Is it a flawless movie? Absolutely not. But it is a movie that keeps me thinking. Its kind of like Lord of the Rings in that I need to be in the mood to sit down and just enjoy this movie. This probably means I won't watch that often but when I do I really enjoy it more and more every time I see it.

Besides that, the acting is really great. The movie takes a lot of risks with reusing characters in different periods of time and I think I enjoy that element of the movie a lot even though sometimes it looks silly.

It kind of reminds me of Doctor Who if it was put in a movie form. It makes me think and I begin to really enjoy the characters and I can really overlook the flaws the movie has.

I don't think this rank really reflects the review I gave the movie but it really is a complex and interesting movie. Worth checking out and bending your mind for a little bit.

2. The Desolation of Smaug

Now I may be a little bias as The Hobbit was, and is, one of my favorite books of all time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings was to me what Harry Potter was to a lot of people my age. Just a clear icon of nostalgia that a film adaptation was something that I would love immediately if they did it right.

And they did.

Now its hard because The Desolation of Smaug is adapting the middle of a 300 page book and that kind of means the movie doesn't have a definitive beginning or end. Its just the middle of the book. It's also only adapting about 100 pages of that 300 page book. So the movie needs to have some additions onto it.

And they did that too.

It took me a while to get into this movie because I kept on thinking, "That's not in the book" "Neither is that" and while some of that got to me. I do realize that a lot of the additions are really good. I wasn't wild about Evangeline Lily's character but Gandalf fighting the Necromancer was awesome. I hated that they split up the dwarves but I loved expanding on the character of Bard. Even Legolas, the part I was sure was just a way to give Orlando Bloom another chance at a career, didn't bother me. It made sense and it was thought out. Every choice, whether it was in the book or not was considered carefully and most choices worked. Even the ones that didn't were minor enough that it didn't ruin the movie for me.

And by god. Smaug was wonderfully brilliant. I think the movie did what it could and while it wasn't as tear jerking for me as An Unexpected Journey was, it was still a great adaptation of 100 pages.

1. American Hustle

Now you may be saying, I guess this means Connor wants American Hustle to win Best Picture. And while I wouldn't mind that, at this point. That's not what this means.

The fact of the matter is that this movie is really damn entertaining. Its amazing that the plot of this movie is not a plot that you would think would win or is nominated to win an Oscar. And yet, the main focus is actually on individual performances. Everyone brings it in this movie and with those performances, it just comes together to make this really fun and really well made movie. Bale is awesome, Adams is amazing. Cooper is brilliant, Lawrence is awesome. I just don't really know what it is about this movie but I immediately put it on the top of this list.

Its unexpected, its fun, its sexy, its just an all around good time. I will be buying this cause its just a movie I want in my collection.

So that's my top ten. What do you think? Do you agree? Let me know, comment and discuss below.