After a Very Long Break, here is a Review

Hey ya'll
Man I've been gone from the blogging world for quite sometime. I've just been really busy. But hopefully I can update this and post my own reviews of movies. But for now, here is a review of a movie that I feel is VERY under appreciated: "Scott Pilgrim vs The World."
Before I start, let me make one thing perfectly clear: I think Michael Cera is a terrible actor. I think he plays the same character over and over. So when I went to see this, I was expecting him to play Michael Cera. Boy I'm glad I was wrong.
First reason why this movie kicks so much butt is actually Cera himself. Despite how much he plays geeky awkward teen in all his other movies, Cera is actually playing Scott Pilgrim. He is socially awkward, but he is determined to get what he wants even if it means breaking skulls. He is a narcissists, cheater and just a terrible person overall. But I felt strangely attached to him and wanted to see him win.
Another reason I liked this movie is for the supporting cast. They are all different and each have their quirks that makes them shine. Ramona is the snarky girl, Knives is super obsessive, there is a gay roommate of Scott's that is hilarious, and a whole collective group of cleverly written characters.
But the best reason to see this movie is for the battles with the 7 Evil Exes. These are the highlights of the film and its the movies greatest strength. Each is designed to be original from the previous one and each has their own little gimmick to make it interesting. My personal favorite fight is the battle with the 5th and 6th exes that involves a battle of the bands amp vs. amp situation. Which brings me to another reason to love this movie: the soundtrack/score.
This ranks up there with my favorite film soundtracks of 2010. All the licensed music is great ranging from indy to The Rolling Stones. But the score is where the movie gets it right including an 8-bit rendition of the Universal theme, Dave Patel's Bollywood inspired song, the Bass Battle, and the Sex Bob-Omb vs Katianaygi Twins amp vs amp. All of it is good.
So why is it that a movie with good characters, good story, and good soundtrack bombed at the box office? Because the film was so focused on pleasing its demographic that it almost alienated the rest of the consumers. This wouldn't be a problem had the market they wanted to attract be one that had a little more income to go to the movies. But I know it will have strong DVD and Blu-Ray profits to make up for what it lost at the box office.
So that is my review of Scott Pilgrim vs the World. I give it an "A"
Next week, I'm going to do something that most people in my generation would never dare do. I'm going to explain why The Lion King isn't that great of a movie. It's good, but not amazing.

After A Long Awaited Break, My Top 30 Disney Animated Movies

After having to deal with the stressors of college exams and overcoming my laziness, I have finally compiled my Top 30 Disney Animated Movies. Now when defining a Disney Animated Movie, there needs to be clarification. So here is the credential: It has to be made by Disney Animated Studios. So that is why you will not see any Pixar Movies (that is for another day) or A Goofy Movie (which I do hold in high regard). So here is the list.

Top 30 Disney Movies!

30 The Fox and the Hound

29 Cinderella

28 Tarzan

27 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

26 Bolt

25 Oliver & Company

24 The Great Mouse Detective

23 Fantasia 2000

22 The Aristocats

21 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

20 The Rescuers Down Under

19 Peter Pan

18 The Little Mermaid

17 Mulan

16 The Lion King

The Top 15 Disney Movies!

15 Lady and the Tramp

This movie always captured me by how it tells the tale of opposites attracting. The songs are good and it has some great characters.

14 Dumbo

Two words: Pink Elephants. This movie is always enjoyable and tell people that even if you are different, you can still come out on top.

13 Hercules

Loosely based on Greek mythology, this movie is hilarious. James Woods as Hades and an eclectic cast of characters makes this movie a good one.

12 Aladdin

Good songs and great characters. It would have been higher if it had not produced the song "A Whole New World." Seriously, it has to be the most overplayed song next to "Don't Stop Believing."

11 The Princess and the Frog

The newest entry and it plays it safe on a lot of accounts. It takes inspiration from a lot of other Disney movies so that is it's biggest flaw. But it still delivers on songs, character, and a cool villain.

10 Robin Hood

In my opinion, the most entertaining version of Robin Hood. Prince John is still funny and the story still holds strong today.

9 Alice in Wonderland

This movie manages to tell a whole lot about nothing. The whole movie is told through one character and she is not only interesting to follow, but the people she meets and her reactions to them are great. Now if only Tim Burton would have made a movie just as good as this, then his version would have been spectacular.

8 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The very first movie done by Disney. But by watching it, you never would have known. It looks good and the characters are fluid. Great songs, great characters and an amazing scenery.

7 One Hundred and One Dalmatians

This was one of the first movies I remember watching. I still enjoy watching it today. Horace and Jasper are cinemas finest bumbling idiot goones and of course it has one of the all time meanest villains. Great movie.

6 Lilo & Stitch

Once again, a newer movie but this took more risks than "The Princess and The Frog." And what we get is a finer product. It can balance the line between being funny and serious. This movie started the glut of animation movies in the mid 2000's, but it is the best out of all of them.

5 Fantasia

A movie that, once again, took risks. Combining classical music with Disney animation. What we got was a great piece of cinematic art that still hasn't been replicated today. Once this movie comes out on Blu-Ray, I will be buying it along with a Blu-Ray player.

4 Beauty and the Beast

The first animated movie to be nominated for best picture. With that credential alone you know this movie will be good. It has a great villain, a great hero and a message that comes across very well without being preachy. Bottom line, this movie is awesome.

3 The Emperor's New Groove

David Spade, John Goodman and Patrick Warburton all in the same movie. This is the funniest entry on the list, in my opinion. Mainly because of the character Kronk. Imagine Alan from the Hangover, but a cartoon and not a pedophile. It also has a great message too about how we shouldn't be wrapped up in what we want all the time, which can actually be a very positive Christian message. But you could say the same thing about a lot of other Disney movies.

2 Pinocchio

Most people consider this to be the best Disney movie. And it shows. With a great selection of songs, a great cast of characters, and a wonderful story that focuses mainly on Pinocchio, this movie is straight up awesome. This movie scared me as a child, but now I can watch it and only be mildly terrified of it. But regardless, I love to watch it and I will always let my Jimmy Cricket when I am in danger.

1 The Jungle Book

This is not only my favorite Disney movie, but overall movie. The movie has a minimal plot, to literally get from point A to point B. But this minimal plot approach allows for some stellar character development. It also has some show stopping tunes and a great villain. If I could make a movie half as good as this, I would consider it a massive success.

And there are my top 30 Disney Animated movies. My next post will be a double review of two superhero movies from this year. Kick-Ass and Iron Man 2.

Part 3 of a 3 Part look at R-Rated Comedies

So here is the last part of this series where I will review the movie Extract, the latest Mike Judge movie. Overall, this movie is solid.

What I liked

Story

This is the only movie on this list to not have nudity and a lot of language. It is also the one with the best story. The plot is that a guy who runs a flavoring company wants to have sex with a co-worker, but he can't because he is married. So he hires someone to sleep with his wife so he can do it with an easy mind. The problem is that he decides to do this after taking a horse tranquilizer. So this causes him to have a bunch of difficult problems and he goes crazy. The story makes a lot more sense when you watch it though.

Characters

Though only Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman are the two most well known actors, they play their parts well and let everyone else have a great time. Kristen Wigg as the wife is good and the factory workers are fantastic. But my favorite character is the man whore. He is so stupid that he makes Alan from the Hangover look like a genius. There is also a lot of development and great interactions.

Humor

One thing: there is a band named "God's Cock." I know it is sacrilegious, but man it is funny. There are also a bunch of other really good lines and visual gags.

What I didn't like

Pacing

The movie moved a little too slow for my liking. But it is only 90 minutes so it is a quick watch. Though it feels like a two hour movie.

Bottom line

This is one of the best R-rated comedies to come out in a while. It is funny, has a great story, great characters, and doesn't need to swear all the time to get a good laugh. Definitely something worth watching.

Grade: A-

Preview:

This Saturday, the biggest Top list done on the blog. THE TOP 30 DISNEY ANIMATED MOVIES! (not counting pixar)

Part 2 of a 3 Part Rated-R Comedy Series

Welcome to part two of this series. Today's movie is one that came out last weekend and I got to see it at the midnight premier: Hot Tub Time Machine

Let me start by saying this is the dumbest concept for a movie ever created. A group of guys spill a Russian energy drink on the control panel of a hot tub which causes them to go back in time. I honestly think they smoked a lot of pot while writing this script. But does it work?

What I liked

Characters

This movie has the stereotypes of every movie in the genre. But it still manages to make them feel fresh. The movie's four main characters are hilarious and you can empathize with them on a personal level because nearly everyone has felt what they have (embarrassment, loneliness, and losing a loved one). My personal favorite actor in this movie is Craig Robinson. He knows how to play the straight man so well. His dead-pan delivery and having an attitude-but-not-showing-it-overtly mentality makes him stand out. I also enjoyed John Cusak, Rob Cordry and Clark Duncan as well. Overall, this movie had a great cast of characters.

Gags

This movie has several references to the 80's, but I have two favorite running gags and references. The first is how the movie tries to be a hard-R Back To The Future. It has time travel, them wanting to get back, trying not to screw anything up, but then saying screw it and changing the timeline forever. I liked how it was done. They did it without directly crediting it. My other favorite gag was this one running joke about a hotel clerk having his arm cut off. I don't want to ruin anything because it is really funny

Humor

This movie has "guy humor" and lots of it. Sex jokes, drug jokes, poop jokes, and several other of the style. But the movie also has some great one liners like, "I write Stargate fan fiction, I know about time travel." This movie left me leaving the theater with a sore throat from laughing a lot.

What I didn't like

Language

This movie loved the f-word. I don't mind a movie using the word, but it needs a purpose. I hate when a movie says "f-this" and "f-that" for no reason. It did get a little annoying hearing the f-word for the 192nd time at the end of the movie. If the language was toned down, this movie would be amazing.

Overall grade

A cheese ball story mixed with great humor, gags and characters made this movie enjoyable. There really isn't any moral, it is a good movie to go see and enjoy. But just know that the movie earns its R-rating.

Grade: B

Check back on Thursday for the 3rd review of this series: Extract

Part 1 of A 3 Part R-Rated Comedy Blog

Hey guys, so for this week I'm going to review the 3 most recent movies I have seen in the order that I did see them. They all just so happen to be R-Rated comedies. So here is the first review:

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

What I liked:

The Will Ferrell cameo

This is hands down the funniest part of the whole movie. Will Ferrell is sky-diving and rather than having a parachute, he grabs a bag full of sex toys by accident. What ensues are some really funny lines like, "I really don't want to die next to this dildo!" The whole movie would be horrible if not for this scene.

What I didn't like

Everything else

This is juts a movie that tries its hardest to be really funny but I can't find a joke that really works. I chuckled a few times, but nothing hilarious except for the scene mentioned above. The plot is also bland and uninventive. The characters are stock and bland. But what bothered me the most is this one woman who is trying to seduce a ten year old. Granted, the ten year old is played by Rob Riggle. But still, the thought of a full grown woman trying to have sex with a ten year old is gross and disturbing. But the biggest waste is Jeremy Piven. He is hilarious as Ari Gold from "Entourage." But here he really isn't given anything outstanding to do. IT is a shame to considering this is his first starring role.

Bottom line

This movie was a big disappointment. A lot of the funny parts were shown in the trailer and there isn't anything special about it to make it stand out with the slew of R-Rated comedies released now adays. I would rate this movie a solid D.

Check in Tuesday for the review of Hot Tub Time Machine.

Movie Review: "Up"

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you one of the best movies of 2009. After Wall-E, I had pretty much all confidence in Pixar in the sense that they can do no wrong (most of the time). And while Up did seem like it would be a simple little enjoyable movie, it takes you on a ride deeper than its bright colors and talk dogs would lead you to believe.

What I liked

Plot

This movie had a very strong story: two kids like each other, get married and live life until one of them dies. After she dies, the husband becomes an old hermit and fulfills an old promise. This is probably one of Pixar's deepest stories in the sense that you in other films you could almost see what was coming and when it was. But this movie takes you in so many different directions. It also handles transitioning between plot elements very well.

Characters

This is a very eclectic cast of characters. An old man, a fat Asian boy scout, a tropical bird, and a lovable talking dog. This seems like they combined other characters from other movie, but man they make these characters work off of each other very well and it is emphasized by giving each character a chance to shine with Carl and Russell given the main attention. This movie also made me so attached to the relationship between Carl and Elie (the wife who dies) that it had me crying in 15 MINUTES! I have never had that happen to me in a movie. The fact that they made the characters that believable that you can connect with them on that deep of a level, that is a win in my book.

Setting

A jungle is great for this movie. While I'm not a big fan of a good looking movie over a good driven movie, here you get not only a good story with great characters, but it looks good too. At times I thought that the movie was real and not CGI.

Humor

This movie is probably Pixar's funniest. All I have to put for this is one of my favorite lines, "My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you!"

Score

It is no surprise that this movie won the Academy Award for Best Score. The music compliments the movie well and is one of the reasons why I got connected to the characters in the first 15 minutes.

What I didn't like

Nothing

Yeah, there wasn't much to complain about. There are some minor grips, but nothing that keeps it from being an overall great movie.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, then go and get it. Not rent it first, I mean buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray. This is a great movie from a great movie studio.

Overall Grade: A

My Top 10 Movie Villains

So I just finished watching "Law Abiding Citizen" and it got me thinking about who my favorite movie villains are. So since I want to save another movie review for later, I decided to post this today. And if you don't agree with my list, well then that is what makes it a great list. So here are my personal picks for the Top 10 Movie Villains:

10. Syndrome (The Incredibles)

This is Pixar's best villain in my opinion (though Sid from "Toy Story" is a close second). What makes this villain great is that he becomes evil because of the main hero. He becomes crazy and his main goal is to make it so that no one else can become special because of their powers by him selling machines that give people powers. He is also a very fun villain, mainly helped by him being voiced by Jason Lee. Every time he is on screen, he steals the scene.

9. Shooter McGavin (Happy Gilmore)

This guy doesn't have any special powers, or evil motivations. This guy is the definition of a grade-A douche bag. Every time he is in a scene you never think this guy could be nice, you are always thinking, "What a d-bag." It also helps that he is an instant jerk to Happy by pranking him with the first day of meeting him. To add fuel to the fire, he buys Happy's grandma's house just to tick him off. I could go on, but this is a villain I love to hate.

8. Darth Maul (Star Wars Episode I)

Even though he doesn't speak at all, you have no idea what his motivations are, or even how he got to the position he is in, he gets this spot for one reason. He could kick your butt from here to next year and looks like he would make B.A. Barracuda hide in fear. Just looking at Darth Maul gives me nightmares. Imagine him coming after you flipping around and swinging a duel-sided lightsaber. That is all I really need to say about him.

7. Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter Series)

Aside from killing Harry's parents in the backstory, he is the first person to kill someone in the Harry Potter movies onscreen. Other deaths are just mentioned or hinted at. Not with Voldemort. He kills Cedric Diggory with five minutes of him coming back. His followers are even called Death Eaters and he looks like creepy too. If that doesn't make you poop your pants, I don't know what will.

6. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

This is the first villain on this list who is characterized by my favorite villain trait, a smooth talking guy who schemes. Hans isn't a big man, he can barely fight, but he knows how to smooth talk his way to get what he wants. Employing big guys, getting lots of guns, and killing people who can't help him get what he wants. He also has the great idea of stealing bare-bonds (bonds that can be cashed by anyone who is in possession of them). He also has one of my favorite deaths by any villain, but just see the movie to see what happens.

5. The Joker (Batman and The Dark Knight)

I had a hard time deciding between Jack Nicolson's comedic sadist clown or Heath Ledger's sinister persona that doesn't help with my clown fears. So I just decided that since they both share the name "The Joker," I'd give it to both of them. Both are crazed, both kill people for fun, and both have very memorable and quotable lines. I laugh every time I hear Jack saying he wants his face on the one dollar bill and get chills when I see the magic trick.

4. Biff, Griff, and "Mad Dog" Bufford Tannen (Back to the Future Series)

Going back to The Joker, all of these character's are basically the same (even being played by the same actor). And like Shooter McGavin he is a jerk. But where as Shooter tries his best to act calm, Biff doesn't hide anything. He is a loud obnoxious jerk who will do just about anything to get what he wants. It doesn't matter what timeline in what era, he will always be a douche bag who I wish could bully me.

3. Shere Kahn (The Jungle Book)

This refers to the Disney version because this is my favorite version. He is similar to Hans Gruber. But unlike Hans, he doesn't have any henchmen. He just has himself and doesn't mind getting dirty. But the great thing is that he never really has to because everyone in the jungle knows that if you mess with Shere Kahn, you're screwed.

2. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)

I will say this once, Anthony Hopkins is creepily believable as a cannibal. He portrayed him as a sophisticated sociopath. And you know what, I like it like this. This could have been made an over the top crazy person, but he is so quiet and always thinking. He is so good at analyzing people and pin-pointing everything they have done just by talking to them. He also has a creepy look on him all the time. What I also like about this villain is what happens to him at the end. I don't want to spoil it, just go see this movie.

1. Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)

This is a movie realistic version of Hannibal. So he possesses all of the same qualities except for one big thing: he is a Nazi. This guy's sole job is to find and kills Jews. He even convinces a guy to pretty much hand over a family of Jews by talking to him for 15 minutes. Not only that but he pinpoints the exact locations of them by just talking and thinking like a Jew. He also has some great lines ("That's a BINGO! That's how you say it, right? 'That's a bingo!'" ) Awesome lines, awesome mannerisms, and one of the best endings to any character ever! This character makes an already great movie awesome!

So those are my favorite movie villains. I want to know, what are your favorite movie villains? I'd love to know.

Thanks for reading!