Pass the Popcorn: Movie Roundup

Super 8 -Even though it's written and directed by J.J. Abrams, Super 8 has Spielberg all over it. It's reminiscent of The Goonies, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Kids run the show without being overly competent (to an extent) while the adults fumble through scene after scene. The performances are strong and the action is well done. It won't blow you away, but you shouldn't be disappointed either.

The Devil's Double -  No matter how much you think Uday Hussein was crazy, it doesn't really sink in until you watch his atrocities play out on screen. The Devil's Double is ultimately about the man who was forced to be his body double during Iraq's gun-slinging years, but the story arcs are more one-in-the-same. It's well done and disturbing - gory but not too gory, gratuitous but not too gratuitous. My only real criticism is that the ending doesn't feel like an ending. We get the obligatory three sentence epilogue, but I would have preferred a different tactic.

Thor & Captain America - These movies are very similar in style and feel. They both fell well short of The Dark Knight and Iron Man, but they are still enjoyable. The special effects aren't groundbreaking and the characters are limited, but the lack of bloodshed makes them family friendly. Be prepared to have a little cheese with your popcorn.

Dirty Suh

No matter how much Ndamukong Suh tries to explain himself, the proof is in the pudding. Video catches all, and it ain't pretty. When you repeatedly smash someone's helmet into the ground and then try to step on their arm, the intent is obvious. He's a great player but needs some veteran guidance before "fines" himself out of a job.

Pass the Popcorn: The Tree of Life

It's hard to critique The Tree of Life because it doesn't play like a normal movie. It's more of a philosophy student's art project with an extremely high production value. I'm not saying you can waltz into your local college film festival and see something that could remotely stand up to it, but the grand themes, meandering story, and stylistic jump cuts would feel right at home.

The actors create wonderfully complex performances - Brad Pitt is an overbearing but loving father and Hunter McCracken is the son who isn't quite sure how to deal with his misguided lessons. No one is entirely good or entirely bad. They are simply human; growing, learning, breaking, and being fixed. But the performances get overshadowed by Terrence Malick's stylistic choices.

The juxtaposition between the human experience and nature's chaotic path gets extremely overplayed, which is where the meandering begins. Many shots, while beautiful in their own right, are hammered into scene after scene. The art minimizes the narrative, which creates a convoluted story. This tactic would work masterfully in a short, but The Tree of Life drags it out for over two hours.

By the time the credits roll, you're almost where you began (emotionally speaking). The destination isn't worth the length of the journey. If I could judge this film in 20-minute increments, I would say that it's cinematic gold. But viewing it from beginning to end turns it into a mediocre movie going experience.

Listening to and Liking: A Very She & Him Christmas

I know it's too early for Christmas music, but this is a nice transition album if you're looking to mildly get in the Holiday spirit.

Everyone can use a little 

immoral support every 

once and awhile.

R.I.P. Jamie Pierre

Skiers like Pierre constantly test boundaries. It's sad that his passion eventually took his life. My prayers go out to the loved ones he left behind.

Here's footage of his record breaking cliff jump from 2006. Probably one of the sickest things I've seen. 

There's a lot of wasted talent on that team.

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Pass the Popcorn: Horrible Bosses

Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and that dude from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia decide that instead of looking for new jobs, it would be easier to just kill their Horrible Bosses. I had a really hard time accepting the premise of this outlandish comedy at first. For some reason the main character's reasoning seemed so extreme that I couldn't allow myself to get on board with it. Instead, it just stressed me out. But once the second act starting gaining traction, I was able to let go of my hesitations and start appreciating the comedic performances.

Charlie Day, the dude from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, doesn't venture too far from the character we see on TV, but since he's the only one who yell-acts the whole movie, it actually works. And Jennifer Aniston proves, once again, that she is still super sexy and funny. The over-the-top performances from Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey also balance out Bateman's subtle antics.

While Horrible Bosses got largely overlooked this summer, it's still worth renting if you're looking for a comedy full of poor decision making, a couple of crude jokes, and a that would never happen ending. I laughed out loud more than expected.

Penn State

There are no winners in the recent Penn State debacle; only losers. The school loses, Joe Pa loses, the NCAA loses, and the saddest, least talked about side, the kids who lost their innocence.

No matter how much the media dissects and debates the outcome, only one thing is certain; there were multiple, colossal failures by coaches, staff, and the authority figures involved. As an educator, you are held to a higher standard. Whether you educate on the field or in the classroom, parents have entrusted the safety and well-being of their children to you. Any lapse in judgement that jeopardizes that is inexcusable.

This isn't a football story. It's humanity story. And no matter how it's read, it ends in tragedy.

The Duke

Dude's got balls.

Pass the Popcorn: It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's appropriately named. The characters are amusing. The actors do a decent job. And the story is kind of funny. It's worth watching on a slow night.

Pass the Popcorn: Transformers - Dark of the Moon

Michael Bay does it again. And by IT, I mean make another convoluted action movie that lacks heart. Transformer 3 is packed full of action, but the constant barrage of metal pounding effects strips away any room for actual story. Fifty minutes in and you still don't know what the main conflict is going be.

It's really too bad because Shia LeBeouf's character is fun and witty. There's just nothing beyond that. Newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks good on screen but even all of her curves fall flat. And I love Bay's obsession with women in white clothes. Like in Transformers 2, he has his leading lady in white during 30 minutes of climatic fighting. Everyone else ends up covered in blood and dirt, yet her coat remains pristine.

Overall, the movie was long, loud, and forgetful. 

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Not a one-size-fits-all

In theory, this Outdoor Research Yukon hat looks like it fits in the outdoors. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that it doesn't. One of the companies I write for used it in a recent photo shoot. It single handily ruined 50% of the shots taken. I wish I would've been there to stop the madness, but I wasn't.  Now, my shot selection is cut in half for any and all ads/catalogs we will be creating. Not cool.

Pass the Popcorn: Hanna

A 16-year-old girl destined to be a killer gets her chance when she's faced with the person responsible for making her that way. Sounds like it could be a fun ride, but the meandering detours from introduction to revenge don't help the pace and story.

Hanna director Joe Wright adds too many stylized camera tricks and slick cuts to make this action flick feel honest. It's probably because the script lacks enough backbone to stand on its own. It's hard to buy the motivations of the father who's trying to protect his daughter and the CIA agent who's trying to kill her. So when the second act starts dragging, the movie starts failing.

While there's some interesting action in Hanna, it falls well short of movies like The Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible.

Explore or Rove?

I know Ford is basically responsible for making Range Rovers, but they need to do a little more to separate their high-end brand from their regular brand. The new Ford Explorer and the new Range Rover have an awful lot in common for the $15K price difference.