Go see the Muppets

I got to see an advance screening of the Muppets and I have to say it was amazing. Having grown up with repeats of the Muppet show, I have fond memories of watching them. Even after being gone from the big screen since their last movie 11 years ago, Muppets From Space, this movie is more of a "what happened" as it follows the Muppets getting back together. The Muppet theater is in trouble and its up to the Muppets to get back together and have a telethon to raise the money to keep the theater. This movie uses all comedic tricks and even references past movies. The Muppets are back and in a big way. Go see this movie.

Adam Sandler knows his audience

Adam Sandler!!! Why have you forsaken your ways!!!!

Okay, growing up I loved Adam Sandler on SNL and his first movies like Waterboy, Big Daddy, and Happy Gilmore. Since Mr. Deeds, I have noticed and tracked the lack of new comedic material Sandler brings to his movies. While they are neither inventive nor original, they still end up making a positive gross for their movie. This is because Sandler knows who is audience is. He doesn't play for the original or the Oscar. He plays to make money and that's a business strategy he has perfected. His recent movie Jack and Jill, where he plays both male and female leads, Sandler is relying on physical comedy and cheap jokes to keep kids happy. For anybody going to see an Adam Sandler movie should already have a pre-conceived notion going in that this will not be an Oscar movie. It will be crude comedy that makes fun of just about everything with the typical elements thrown in. The Usual Sandler Ensemble... The hot wife... The Celebrity Cameo... The distinct location. All check as Sandler will undoubtedly turn a profit off his latest movie and other projects he has cooking up at his Happy Madison Production Company. 

My lack of Blogs

I don't really Blog all that much because I find new movie news but because I am not being paid or anything, I have no reason to keep at it on a consistent bases. This was created for a class. I don't know how long I will keep this blog or even tell if anybody reads this. I will Post whatever I find interesting or rant about at the time. I also realize that as i'm writing this my mind keeps giving movie titles to different key words that i write. Ah, well If anybody reads this, it would help if you would comment so I know somebody out there is listening and reading this.

My lack of horror Movies

I don't like Horror movies. Oh, shocker. I figure that since I know that it's not real, I have a struggle to let something be and be horrified by it. I see most of it as stupid and funny. Acting fearful is not a strong point of most actors because they are expecting it. They have read the script and cannot be scarred or scary to me, the audience. The last time I was scared from a movie was maybe Human Centipede or Teeth, but even that was more cringing than actual jumped scared. This goes back to an Actor acting scared so the audience knows to be scared. This also goes with the music and tone of the movie, but even classic horrors like Dawn of the Dead, Psycho, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. are not scary because they used practical effects. Practical effects and CG effects do differ because practical means it happened on set and a real response, where as CG are added after the fact and a fake response is given. I have lost my interest in Horror because I know its all fake and therefore, I can see through it all.

Courageous - See It

Family Christian movies are not main stream. Simply stating a fact. Any movie that comes out with any religious background to it is automatically tuned out as to separate itself in the media because any religion on TV marks that station and may deter viewers. Same goes with running late night infomercials. They usually come with a warning of "The views regarding the following program are not those of the broadcast station" or some statement like that trying to detach itself. This is why the relatively unknown movie COURAGEOUS has gone under peoples movie radar. Too bad it opened to the number 3 position and beat out its opening weekend competition. COURAGEOUS is a good family movie and more of how a Father who wants to be more than just good enough looks into the Bible to find what God says about being a Father. Yes, this religious overtone is clear in the movie, but is subtle in its open statement as the 

*SPOILER ALERT* (Daughter Dies)

This sends the main Father to change his ways and enlists the following of four other dads. Together, they keep each other in check when it comes to following God and doing right by their family. Given the Christian and God themes, STILL GO SEE THIS MOVIE! No other movie that I know of has hit me hard about the Father I want to be when I have a child of my own. This should be a must watch for all Dad's as it deals with Sons, Daughters, Gangs, Love, Loss, New, Old, Family, Friends, etc. without going into Christian overtones. This movie will be one you will not regret.

Lion King of the Box Office

So Lion King is #1 at the Box Office yet again. Just what exactly does this really mean about Hollywood? Are we really done with new movies that we will be willing to see re-releases of good quality movies? Is it the fact that it was in 3D that made it number #1? More importantly, what does this mean for the future of movies? This simply means that they don't make them like they used to. Recently, movies have been mainly remakes, reboots, sequels and prequels. Audiences are more receptive and more alert of what is coming out leaving nothing new. This is why Hollywood has resorted to comic books for ideas. Hollywood simply doesn't make them like they used to. Thought provoking movies that enlist excitement and subtle context for both the young and old. A new re-invigoration has to come or maybe I am just realizing that everything comes in cycles. Which means that as soon as we get through these crapola of movies, we will get to the good stuff that's coming soon to a theater near you.

Simpsons: 24Hrs

Fox has recently discussed having a "Simpsons" channel that would play nothing but "The Simpsons" all the time. Reaching its 500th episode in the up coming season, this would mean there are 250Hrs of episodes before any repeats would show. First off, a big congratulations is to be given to the Simpsons with their massive success of reaching 500 episodes and their merchandising of everything from cups to shirts to game themes. Turning 22 this year, The Simpsons are in no short supply of running out of episodes as recent examples show that they take from pop culture to stay fresh. Although it would be nice to see original stories every now and then, The Simpsons are big and a TV show for them is something that would show just how big it is. Personally, I would gladly watch a repeat Simpson episode in the afternoon or late at night than a rehash of parental comedy or slapstick humor. The Simpsons have beautifully made a craft of humor and intelligence by combining low brow crude humor with witty sophisticated humor. Simply put, a 24Hr Simpson channel would be AWESOME!!!

The Help keeps Helping itself to more money

Why is the Help once again the number one movie in America? It's a good movie based on a good book. And good word of mouth has kept it at number one for the past month. This is exactly what Hollywood should be paying attention to. So far, the Help has taken down 5 movies with 3D (and one in 4D) and so far has the longest streak of staying number 1 this year despite not opening at number 1. This movie shows that quality is better than quantity and even though it may not rule overseas, here at the home front it is good to see a movie without the 3D spectacle outpacing its competitors. The Help is giving a big statement about quality and story and a good word of mouth.

Eddie Murphy hosting

Bad acting gets you a hosting nod. That appears to be the trend in picking who will host the Academy Awards as the past 3 years have been hosted by actors who have made bad movies. Ricky Gervais was the host 3 years ago and although funny at times, made the rather not funny The Invention of Lying. Last year it was 2 hosts; Anne Hathaway and James Franco. At first I thought this would be a good idea as both can be comedic and dramatic actors but when it came to the show, Franco seemed bored out of his mind and Hathaway was too happy all the time. Both were coming off some odd roll choices (Hathaway in Get Smart and Franco in Date Night) and decided to use the Hosting roll as ways to get in the public spotlight. Why am I giving you this brief history lesson? Because Eddie Murphy, who has been a bad lead roll in recent mind (Imagine That and Meet Dave) has achieved Host of the Academy Awards. Maybe this will be good because his good friend and director Brett Ratner will be co-directing the event. Having worked with Murphy in the Rush Hour series and most recently in Tower Heist he just may be the mad to get the most out of Eddie Murphy. While i'm not jumping for joy at this choice, I am now curiously optimistic at to how this years telecast will turn out.

NOOOOO!!!!!

Can anything every be perfect? George Lucas hopes to make his Star Wars Saga perfect by continuously making changes; 30 years after its original release. Little details have been changed over the years as technology improves. However, these changes have left fans of the original series angry at Lucas. Multiple changes, especially to the Original Star Wars movie, are little details in special effects and CGI to keep the continuity of the films together. Since the sequels (and prequels) came after the release of the original film changes had to be made to make them consistent. Some of the times its simple audio or CG touch ups but other times its adding scenes or characters. You can easily search the internet for all the changes made. George Lucas will never leave them alone and consistently try to make them perfect. This means that the original film that was shown and adored the world around when it was first released will never be seen as these changes are in essence a new film in their own right. The new scenes and CG gives future generations a different feel than what was experienced when it was originally released.

Coming up with an idea....

Probably one of the hardest thing to do is come up with a story. The creation of something that is unique and original that does not take from anything else. This is difficult because Hollywood has done everything. Every idea has been made enough that we have entered the time of remakes/reboots/rehash or taking from something existing like TV/Concerts/Video/Board games. Sometimes Hollywood gets it right the second time (Oceans 11) yet most of the time its a failure (Clash of the Titans) leaving us, the movie goer, in dismay and out $15. Its a good thing that film students across the nation are taking screen writing classes to create their own ideas and hopefully re-energize story telling.

Welcome to here

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You found me and I don't know what this is. So the best advice I can give is to follow me and watch as I transform this nothing into something. What I do know is that this is going to be a Film website surrounding Movie news, Box Office, and anything that interests me. I'm going to post different articles to several different websites, but consolidate everything here. Come with me on this magical and interesting adventure.