Skyfall Review: Destined to Be a Classic
The Bond movie we’ve been waiting for.
Fifty years after his cinematic debut in Dr. No, James Bond is still alive and kicking. Following the awful Die Another Day and the rise in popularity of the Bourne series a decade ago, the prospects for 007’s continuing dominance of the spy-actioner genre looked bleak. Bond had become too corny, too clichéd, too dated; meanwhile, Bourne was new and sexy and fresh. It’s no wonder that the filmmakers behind the last two films in the Bond series rejected all of the hallmarks of the franchise, favoring instead the gritty, frenetic approach of their competitors. With the Sam Mendes-helmed Skyfall, however, Bond once again embraces all of the hallmarks and symbols that made him so iconic in the first place. Ironically, by firmly embracing the cinematic heritage of Ian Fleming’s secret agent, Mendes and crew have crafted a spy thriller that’s ultimately fresher and more engaging than any action vehicle that’s been released in the past few years. Skyfall isn’t just a great Bond movie, it’s a great action movie, too.
5 Things I Love About The Japanese
Like a bazaar, only more modernerer.
Oh, those crazy Japanese.
They’ve brought us things like ramen noodles, Blu-ray, Hello Kitty and Mario. I don’t think many Americans realize the impact the Japanese have had on our culture in the last 40 years or so and will likely continue to have over the next 40. I’ve been a big fan of Japan of Japanese culture for a long time, though and now I’m going to share with you 5 of my favorite things which have been introduced to us by our brothers and sisters across the Pacific.
Kids Have It So Easy: Hulu To Launch Ad-Free Kids Section
Seriously, they can just pick whatever they want and… criminy.
When we moved back to the States in 1991, my loving mother had created a list of cartoons to watch, plucked from individual channels. It was five consecutive hours of cartoons to watch on Saturday morning including Macaulay Culkin’s “Wish Kid”, MC Hammer’s “Hammer Time” and “Yo Yogi!”, all lined up before the news started. In the afternoons we’d have Turtles and Power Rangers and would otherwise have to spend our days outside, y’know, playing. Kids have it so easy these days, they just don’t understand, and now Hulu’s going to make it even easier.
The Bay Review: Don’t Drink the Water!
Yes, that’s Kristen Connolly playing a reporter, and yes, that means this is another found footage movie from Oren Peli.
So imagine that it’s the Fourth of July in a little all-American town on the Chesapeake Bay. The people all conform to the stereotypes of apple-pie fed Middle America, being fat, white and complacent in their little American flag t-shirts and patriotic paraphernalia; there are parades, sparklers, eating contests, and dunking booths. The festivities are presided over by a slightly shady mayor, a local entrepreneur who is aggressively pro-business; he’s probably a Republican, but he’s friendly enough. Everything is about as perfect as you could imagine. And then people start puking blood. Entire families begin developing lesions and boils on their arms, backs, and legs. People’s stomachs and faces begin bursting open and cockroaches the size of tennis balls crawl out. That sounds like one hell of a Fourth of July celebration, but it also happens to describe the new ecological horror flick from director Barry Levinson.
‘Red Rain’ Review: R.L. Stine Shakes The Goosebumps, Goes For Adult Horror
Look at me hold this book!
R.L. Stine has been dubbed the “Stephen King of children’s literature” with his Goosebumps and Fear Street book series. Now he has taken to uncharted lands, the world of adult horror. This isn’t the first time R.L. Stine has written outside of those two franchises, his book “Temptation” contains his works “Goodnight Kiss 1”, “Goodnight Kiss 2”, and “The Vampire Club”. All copywritten in 1992, 1996, and 1997 respectively. However Many still view that series of books as children books regardless.
R.L. Stine has written a new book “Red Rain” and it’s no children’s book. As a child I remember reading Goosebumps which had scary situations, never extremely violent, no curse words, and never any sex. “Red Rain” is extremely violent, has sex, and plenty of cursing.
CBS Starts to Cave, Brings Shows to Hulu
YEEAAAHHHH!
Fox, NBC & ABC have a couple of things in common. Their shows are available on Hulu & they own Hulu. CBS has never had shows on Hulu. In fact, CBS owns TV.com where you can watch CBS shows. I don’t know why CBS decided not to have shows on Hulu. I always thought they were left out and pouting. Today that is all starting to change though. Read the rest of this article…
Dexter Season 7 Episode 6 Recap – “Do the Wrong Thing”
Isn’t snow and plastic and killing romantic?
Ah, love. Boy meets girl. Boy pursues girl. Boy binds girl to table with plastic wrap in order to stab her to death with a giant knife… If you’re a fan of serial killer love, then read on for a spoilerific recap of Dexter Season 7 Episode 6, “Do the Wrong Thing.”
Let’s Talk About The Walking Dead’s Third Season So Far. Spoilers!
Brutal people doing brutal things.
We’re not even four episodes into this new, third season of The Walking Dead and we’ve already seen more action and plot development than the entire second season combined. Don’t you remember a year ago when we were sitting around on Hershel’s farm not finding little Sophia? Wasn’t that exciting? With four more episodes left this year (not to mention the back half next year) The Walking Dead is finally living up to its potential. Also: spoilers. Lots of spoilers.
‘Flight’ Review: A Captain In Trouble
Whip examines his whip. That was really bad, I know.
I feel I was mislead. I thought Flight – with ads that feature bright bold Eurostile type and contrails – would sport a lot more, y’know, planes. Instead, I got a two hour character study on an alcoholic coping with a controlled crash landing. A fling with a beautiful member of the flight crew opens the film, highlighting the crazy life of Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel) who gets down with booze and up with a line of cocaine in short order. He’s a sloppy mess as he comes into the plane, reeking of gin, but when his vessel begins to fall apart around him, he sobers up quick. Through this we learn that Whitaker may be some kind of Superman, only fully operational when completely doped up. Of course, it’s not long before reality starts to catch up with him.
The Man with the Iron Fists: Needs Less Talking And More Punching
Yes, that’s RZA punching a man so hard his eyeball flew out of his head. This movie needed more of that.
Well, I think we all knew this was coming: RZA, co-founder of the legendary rap outfit, the Wu-Tang Clan, has produced, directed, co-written, starred in, and composed the soundtrack for a martial arts movie. You can’t say we weren’t warned. First he began acting in offbeat movies like Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Coffee and Cigarettes, then he united with Quentin Tarantino to compose the soundtrack for Kill Bill. Given the fact that he named his rap group after an old Kung Fu movie, it was only a matter of time before the man directed a martial arts flick himself. So how is The Man with the Iron Fists? Oh, it’s terrible. Not even so bad it’s good. Don’t be fooled by Quentin Tarantino’s name being plastered all over the movie, Tarantino had nothing to do with this one.
