The Tournament

No i'm not setting up a contest or anything its for the movie The Tournament. The movie is the story of a contest between thirty of the world's best assassins to determine who is the absolute best. Watching the actual tournament is a group of extremely wealthy individuals who place bets on who is going to win. The rules to the tournament are simple: kill or be killed within a certain amount of time. Whoever survives until the end is declared the winner and receives $10,000,000. The movie is sort of a combination of Gamer, Smokin Aces, and Shoot'em Up. Of course out of all the movies this has the better cast. Starring as a previous tournament winner is Ving Rhames, playing a rival assassin is the lovely Kelly Hu, and finally playing a priest who accidentally gets involved is Robert Carlyle. I'm sure your thinking who is Robert Carlyle? He was Trainspotting, The Full Monty, 28 Weeks Later and most recently in Stargate: Universe which nobody watched. Which is sad because it was a good show. He also did a cool commercial for Johnnie Walker. Anyway if your looking for something that is bloody, and you want to kill an hour and a half this would be a good movie for you. Just turn off your brain and enjoy some popcorn or whatever you eat during a movie. 7/10

Mission: Impossible Trilogy

I have never been the biggest Tom Cruise fan but in preparation for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol I figured I should watch the first three movies to prepare. Out of all three it's easy for me to say that the first is the best. Probably because its the only one that isn't an all out action movie. The first despite the travesty of making Jim Phelps the bad guy, the movie has a good spy feel to it. For those that don't know Phelps was a good guy on the tv show. The biggest problem with the movie was the ending with a helicopter and train in a tunnel. I know that sounds like the beginning of a joke. So a train and a helicopter are in a tunnel and the train says "so how you doing?" And the helicopter replies "Oh you know just hitching a ride". There that's my joke. I know its bad but so was the ending. Overall the first movie was bad but failed to live up to the standards of the tv show. Now the second one was when the series began to crash. Between the slow mo and the action it just doesn't feel right. Mission Impossible isn't supposed to be an actionit movie. The look and feel of the first two movies is vastly different you could change the name of the two movies and never know they are related. What was started in the second one was carried over into the third one.  The action was there with no suspense. Plus why do movie writers feel the need to create a fake object only to never explain what it is or what it does. Seriously what was the rabbits foot? For all I know Phillip Seymour Hoffman only wanted beef jerky and scratch offs from the local 7-11. What could have been a great trilogy completely betrays everything that is good with Mission Impossible. Out of all the movies watch the first and ignore the rest. Hopefully Ghost Protocol will redeem the series but it isn't looking good. As for a rating in order: 7.5/10,  6/10, and finally 6/10.

Advanced Screening of Moneyball

Normally there would be something saying about spoilers but since Moneyball is the story of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane, i don't see a need for spoilers since it already happened. Billy Beane is played by Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill plays Peter Brand whos is not a real person but based off of Paul DePodesta. Phillip Seymour Hoffman rounds out the rest of the main cast as Oakland manager Art Howe. I've always liked Brad Pitt as an actor however watching him play a baseball gm just felt natural for him. This might be his best performance to date. Will he win or be nominated for an Academy Award? Probably not but that has more to do with bad nominations not with his performance. Superbad star Jonah Hill is known only for being a comedic asctor but i have to say i was quite surprised by his performance. If this is an example of how well he can do serious roles then he should do more. I'm a baseball fan so the movie makes sense to me but even if you don't like or watch baseball you shouldn't have a difficult time understanding the movie. Except of course maybe one guy sitting in the theater near me. During the film he turned to the people next him and made the comment that what Billy Beane did for Oakland, the Boston Red Sox would do a few years later. Not quite. Oakland made the 2002 playoffs with a payroll of $33,810,750. In 2004 when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the 1st time in 1918 they did it with a payroll of $125,208,542. Since 2001 the lowest payroll for any World Series winner was $49,000,000 in 2004 when the Florida Marlins win. In the last ten World Series only four of the winning teams have had a lower payroll than their opponent. So 6/10 times the team with the higher payroll will win. Of course to prove that Billy Beane was onto something about smaller payroll teams competing with higher payrolls one only has to look at the 2010 World Series in which the San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers. The payroll for both teams combined was $50,000,000 less than the highest team, the New York Yankees. Back to the movie though i highly recommend it at have to give it 8.5/10. So on September 23 go see Moneyball in a theater near you.

Contagion

WARNING THE FOLLOW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: The second film of the day is Contagion. The movie starts with Gwyneth Paltrow returning home from a business trip to Hong Kong. Already looking ill she comes home only the collapse and begin having a seizure, while we get a glimpse of others across the world suffering the same effects. After more and more reported cases the CDC and WHO try to figure where this virus came from and how to stop it. Sadly this is a movie that just had too much going on with about five different storylines in a movie that'ss only 106 minutes long. That comes to about twenty minutes for each story to get attention or lack thereof. Take for instance Marion Cotillard's character who is taken hostage only to be forgotten  and never mention again until almost the end of the movie. Other points are just plain boring like Matt Damon and his daughter trying to survive in what is supposed to be a society falling apart. In actuality looks like Detroit during a garbage strike. At the end Damon buys his daughter a prom dress for her to attend prom in the living room with her boyfriend. Now i'm sure this was supposed to be a sweet moment but just seemed out of place. Again this supposed to take place when society is falling. Which doesn't actually fall since only about 20% of those who become infected die and only 1 in 4 become infected. However everyone we see that is infected dies. I think this would have been better if they had made it a tv miniseries instead. That way they could have had more time for each of the story but also been able to give us a look at what was going on in other parts of the world. Throughout the movie you only get a glimpse of what is going outside the U.S. despite that fact that it is a global epidemic. Had this been a miniseries i doubt they would have been able to get such a good cast: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet and Bryan Cranston. Such great actors only to have such a great disappoint of a movie. Overall 6/10. Wait for the dvd.

Movie Review: Warrior

WARNING THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: Warrior for those that don't know is about two estranged brothers who enter into a MMA tournament and are soon on their way towards an epic bout between two them. Tom Hardy plays former Marine Tommy Riordan who seeks out his former alcoholic father to train him while his brother Brendan Conlon, played by Joel Edgarton, is forced to give up his high school teaching job and return to the ring. Those looking for a movie with a lot of fighting will be disappointed for about the first hour but once the tournament begins the action picks up. Rounding out the cast as the two brothers father is veteran actor Nick Nolte, who at times is hard to understand. House star Jennifer Morrison plays Joel Edgarton's wife, while professional wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle plays the feared Russian Koba. I may not be the biggest MMA fan in the world but i have to admit i was quite surprised at how good this movie. It felt at times like a combination of Rocky and Cinderalla Man. If The Fighter can be nominated for Best Picture and Christian Bale can win for Best Actor than Warrior had better win Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Overall i would have to rate this 8.5/10.

Movie Review: Everything Must Go

WARNING THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: Our next review is of the movie Everything Must Go starring Will Farrell. It tells the tale of a salesman who in one day is fired and then gets home only to find out that his wife has put all his things on front lawn because she has left him. This movie is so un-Will Farrell that its hard to believe they cast him. What is believable is Will Farrell being an alcoholic who starts living on the lawn. Along the way be befriends a local boy who helps sell this things and who Farell teaches to play baseball. After reuniting with an old friend from high school Will Farrell begins to turn his life around. The comedic Will Farrell that everyone knows doesn't show up in this movie and instead we get a Will Farrell that proves there is more to the actor than comedy. The movie is essentially a hour and a half of Will Farrell. Making appearances in the movie are Laura Fern as his old high school friend, Micheal Peña as his sponsor/cop friend who is having a relationship with Farrell's wife, and Stephen Root as his neighbor who well we're not gonna talk about that. Overall I would have to say that this movie was a surprise for me and I have to give it a 7.5/10.

Movie Review: Your Highness

WARNING THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: In our next review we have Your Highness. Your Highness follows two princes as the set out to rescue ones soon to be bride before the evil wizard takes her virginity and she gives birth to a dragon. That's rift you heard me a dragon. Playoff the two princes are James Franco and Danny McBride. James Franco once again proved I don't like him and that he plays the same thing in just about everything except Spider-Man and Rise of the Planet of The Apes. Danny McBride you are just unfunny kinda like this movie. James Franco plays the brother who goes on quest and Danny McBride plays the immature loser brother who gets high. On their quest to rescue he bride they get betrayed, meet a fish like wizard who has been molesting James Franco, some topless warrior chicks and the bad ass chick who helps save the day. The two people in this movie I feel sorry for are indie movie queen Zooey Deschanel and Academy Award winner Natalie Portman. I expect more from Natalie Portman she has awizard bright future but movies like this are going to ruin it. Zooey Deschanel you are much better than this and good look with your tv show. The most disturbing part of this movie had to be when the trio's sidekick was getting raped by a minotaur. Yeah you heard me. Imagine that tonight when you try and sleep. If this is supposed to be comedy I feel sorry for the future of the genre. The ending sets up for a sequel that I hope never occurs. Overall give this movie 4/10. I had such high hopes for because I like Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanal but I was extremely let down.

Movie Review: Ironclad

VWARNING THE FOLLOW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: The second movie we will be reviewing is Ironclad. Ironclad is the tale of the Battle of Rochester Castle between King John and a group if Knights Templar in the 13th century. For me this movies just wasn't as good as I had hoped. I think part of it was I just didn't buy Paul Giamatti as King John. The lead actor was okay all they needed for the role was someone who looked like they could fight. Rounding out the cast was the always good Brian Cox and the always lovely Kate Mara. You've probably never heard or her but she was in Shooter with Mark Whalberg and in Iron Man 2 for about 15 seconds. The surprise of the cast was Mackenzie Crook who youve never heard of but have seen him in Pirates of the Caribbean as a crew member of the Black Pearl. He was part of it the comic relief duo as the guy who kept misplacing his eye. The one thing this movie did deliver on is the gore. Overall I would safely give it a 5/10.

Movie Review: Paul unrated version

WARNING THE FOLLOW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS:  I know it seems weird me having a movie review on here but with the amount of movies I watch this is only natural. My first ever movie review will be the sci-f comedy: Paul. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reunite as two nerds attending the San Diego comic-con who set out on a journey to go to some of America's ufo potshots. Along the way they witness a car crash only to meet an alien voiced by Seth Doyen named Paul. The three then set off on an adventure to return Paul home only to be followed by a gun toting Christian nuthin, two inept government agents and Jason Bateman. As much as I dislike Seth Rogen there was something that I liked about his performance as Paul. He made Paul an alien that I think would be fun to hang out with. Pegg and Frost once again do a great job together as Paul's accomplices in his escape to safety. Joining the cast was Kristen Wiig as the daughter of the Christian nut job whose faith has now been broken due to meeting a alien. Playing the role as the main government agent chasing our heroes is the always wonderful Jason Bateman who's true motives aren't revealed until the end. Giving Bateman his orders via radio is sci-f legend Sigourney Weaver as The Big Man. Anyone who watches sci-f movies will ever enjoy the references to past films. I just wish that they had made some kind of joke about Simon Pegg playing Scott in the new Star Trek. The one reference I didn't see coming was at the end when we find out where our group of heroes is going and of you've never seen Close Encounters you wont understand. Jeffrey Tambor makes a cameo at comic-con as a science fiction writer as does Blythe Danner as an old woman who discovered Paul. The most surprising cameo of the entire film was that of Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg as himself in a scene in which we find out where he got his inspiration for the movie E.T. Overall I would give this movie a 7.5/10 and would recommend if you want a fun comedy.