Movie Reviews: Think like a Man, The Avengers and Dark Shadows

Think like a Man: Act Like a Lady

The first film to be reviewed was from a Steve Harvey book by the same title. With this film we are introduced to a group of male friends and see why they haven’t committed to any lady and the girls are wondering why. The girls are then introduced to this book and then they try and get the upper hand in their relationships and then the film begins.

The film is definitely a romantic comedy with Kevin Hart being the lynch pin that ties all of the male characters together along with the needed comedy relief. But that was the main problem of this film also, he was in parts of this film that never really made sense and sometimes when he is trying to be funny he takes over the scenes and the audience can lose the love story idea of this film.

The film never really offers anything new and sad to say by the end of this film, I kept looking at my watch to see when it would be time for this film to be over. I guess the idea of the film was ok but by the end of the film, I wanted never to see anymore of these characters in this film or a possible sequel to this film. Please give this film a pass and do not see it at the local cinema.

Grade D


The Avengers.

Captain America giving an order to the Hulk..”Hulk:Smash” and the audience goes into wild applause mode.

This was the first summer blockbuster attempt of the summer of 2012 and it proves that Marvel Studios had an idea of what they were trying to do with this franchise because the audience was really into this film when I went to watch it.

The idea of this film was a rather simple one, the villain, Loki” from the Thor movie has returned to the planet Earth to try take over the planet and please play close attention to his “Freedom” speech in Germany. The audience loved what happened next to him. Then an Army of super heroes are called to duty to try and stop the forces of evil against the planet Earth.

What was really surprising to me was the fact that the Hulk seemed to have the best lines or quotes of the film, There was a scene of the film where the Hulk has an, “I’m Rick James Bitch, Moment in the film and if you’re a fan of the Dave Chappelle show then the moment will be very clear to you. When this happened in the film, the audience started to cheer and applaud very loudly. If you are looking for a great start to the summer films then please see this film in the IMAX format because the audience really preferred it in this way. The film is definitely worth at least one viewing. Please see it when you can.

Please remember that there is an extra scene 1.5 minutes into the credits that you’ll love if you’re a fan of the comic book

Grade B+

Dark Shadows

I had this film in the top 10 films to see this summer and this was the hardest one to decide where to put on this list because of the back story of this film.

For those who do not know anything about this film, it is based off of a 1966-71 American Soap Opera that was shown on American Television channel ABC. It was a story about a vampire and was and still is a very different idea for a daily Soap Opera.

When I went to the movies to do my review of this film, I was surprised that the majority of the audience were people that had seen the show back when it was on TV. After the film was over I asked a few of them what they thought about it and they liked it for the following reasons. A few people told me that they loved the TV show and that this film had brought back great memories of it from their childhood.

One lady wondered why a character from the show wasn’t in the movie and her daughter liked the film but couldn’t believe that her mother and her aunt used to run home from school to watch this TV show. The film has the usual quirkiness of a Tim Burton-Johnny Depp film and this might hurt the film to a few people.

I vaguely remember it being on TV and I was too young to have any idea about the show. If you are a fan of Depp or Burton then I think that you might like this film, if you loved the TV show then you should go and see the film and make the decision yourself whether or not you like the film. As for me, I have seen the film once and that is enough for me and there were no added scenes at the end of this film so once the credits roll it’s safe to leave the film.

The film was really hurt by a bad cut of this film and it just never really worked for me because I never really cared what happened to anyone in this film nor would I want to see an implied part 2 to this film.

Grade C-

Summer 2012 top 10 films to watch and not watch!

SUMMER 2012: 10 movies that you should see and 10 that you will not want to see.


Now with each summer, Hollywood decides to let loose their blockbusters and this year will be no different. With this list these are the 10 films that I am recommending that you see and the 10 that you should avoid at all cost.

I am giving the USA date release of these films and I do not know the Korean release date of these films yet.

The 10 films you should see this summer.

1. The Dark Knight Rises-July 20th

The Film is set 8 years after “The Dark Knight”. Gotham City is at peace and happy. Bruce Wayne is still suffering the side effects of the battle with the Joker and the fall of Harvey Dent. All that I know is that Catwoman and Bane are unleashed in this film and if you can see it in IMAX, Then this would be a film to try and see at your local GCV IMAX.

2. The Avengers-May 4 USA release date April 26th Korean Release Date


In this film we are shown, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow with team leader Nick Fury attempt to form “The Avengers” to save Earth from Loki’s invasion. The previews have looked great and under Joss Whedon’s direction, this could be a huge hit at the world-wide box-office. The film will also be shown in the IMAX format. There is an extra scene at the end of the credits.

3. Prometheus- June 8th



The people behind this film really haven’t said much about it at the time of me writing this preview. What I do know is that it’s supposed to be a prequel of the 1980’s film “Alien’ and that if you’re a fan of that film that you will really like the last 12 minutes of this film. Every time that the preview has shown when I am at the theater, the audience really has seemed into it. I hope that this film plays like Alien and not the junk Alien vs. Predator that we have seen the past few years.

4. Rock of Ages- June 15th



All I really know about this film is that it is based on a Broadway musical and that Tom Cruise is the 80’s rock star of this film. I have no idea why, but it just sounded interesting to me. This just looks very different that anything Cruise has tried in a while and I think that he can pull this one off. It should, at least, make for a very interesting day at the movies when you see this one.

5. Paranorman – August 17th

What if all of your friends in a small town were the dead ones and that’s because only you can talk to them? Then you have to save your town because it’s under attack by zombies, it could be John Hughes meets John Carpenter for teen agers and it just sounds interesting to me and I think that it is worth at least one viewing at the theater for it.

6. Snow White and the Huntsman-June 1st



Now this could be a huge hit or a huge miss but I am going with a hit on this film. My daughter told me that this was a film that she wanted to see this summer and I think that a lot of young ladies will want to see it also. I do wonder that can she continue with her post-Twilight career and this film will be the first major step towards it.



7. The Dictator- May 16th



Now if you’ve followed my past reviews of Sacha Baron Cohen, I am not a huge fan of his past acting roles. So I was surprised that I was laughing at the trailer of this film. On the surface it looks like a satire of USA policy against the War on Terror and of an Arab Leader for life. I think that this will be worth at least one viewing at the movie theater. I have no idea if this film will ever make it to a theater in SK due to the prior limited releases or straight to DVD release of his prior films.



8 .Dark Shadows-May 11th



Now I have no idea how many people will remember that this film is based on a late 1960’s to early 70’s USA Soap Opera. This could really hurt or help this film. The idea of Johnny Depp as a campy vampire just sounds interesting. If the film translates with the audience then it will be a hit, if not this could be a huge failure.

9. Brave- June 22nd



Will the warrior princess idea work for Pixar? The recent trend of these films has proven that they are barely box office hits or huge misses. So far every audience that I have seen this preview with, the audience has had a favorable reaction to it. If you are a fan of Pixar, then you might want to see this film.



10. That’s My Boy- June 15th


Now will this film be a hit or is the film that will start the decline of Adam Sandler’s career. His last film “Jack and Jill” was a huge disappointment and swept the “Razzies”. The only reason I am saying that this film should be seen, if it play in Korea, is that a sneak preview was given during the Super Bowl’s parties and received a lot of good buzz. With Adam and Andy Samberg together in a film, this could really be a great comedy.

Now for the 10 films that you should pass on at all cost for this summer

1. Battleship- May 18th

Have you ever had the feeling that before you see a movie that it just is going to be bad? Every time that I have seen a trailer or a clip from this movie, it just looks like a huge train wreck of a film. The film had had an early release in a few countries and the critics who have seen this film already have really not liked it.





2. GI Joe: Retaliation- June 29th

Now I really hated the first film and now they have killed off or didn’t recast a lot of the major players from the first one? So what was the purpose of the first one and the people that were killed off here are still alive in the comic book. I really cannot see this film being a huge hit and this film should really make made any real fan of GI Joe.



3. Spider Man- July 3rd

Now I have no idea why a re-launch of this film was needed. To me the only reason was that Sony was going to lose the right to this character and they decided to make more films in this series. They have made 3 recent Spiderman films and I really can’t not see a reason to make any more. Now with this film we get so see a younger version of Peter Parker with the villain now a teacher that was shown not to be a monster in the first 3 films.



4. Ted- July 13th

So what we have here is a child making a wish that his teddy bear could become alive. Then the wish is granted and then the voice of this teddy bear is Peter Griffin? I really couldn’t believe that I was watching this preview and someone thought that this was funny. I didn’t laugh once at this preview and neither did the majority of the audience I was with.


5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter- June 22nd

Now I have had mixed reactions to the films director’s Timur Bekmambetov’s past films. So I really didn’t know what to think of this film when I first saw the film poster for it. When I saw the preview clip for this film, it just looked like a bad nightmare while on a serious drug. It just looked like a very bad idea of a film pitch and should not have been made.



6. The Bourne Legacy- August 3rd


Now we have another Bourne film and in this film, we are without the Bourne character in it? So why are they trying to make another franchise of this film without the main star? The last 2 film adaptations were bad enough and now that are trying to do this? It looks like an attempt to make another film just based on the name and the film audience deserves more than just that idea.



7. Total Recall-August 3rd



Now once again we have another film remake and once again I really can’t see a reason why. Has Hollywood not realized the majority of these films have been huge failures and that they need new ideas and not trying to re-launch old Arnold Schwarzenegger films into the 2010’s? The preview looked awful and it sure didn’t make me want to go see this film.



8. What to Expect When You’re Expecting-May18th

Now this looks like many different people trying to have kids and how people should deal with it and how they’re dealing with it. It just has the look of another huge film that is trying to cram too many stories and sub-plots into one film. The preview just didn’t look interesting nor did myself and the majority of the audience just stayed quiet during this preview.


9. Chernobyl Diaries-May25th

Once again we have another “Found Footage” film and once again I am wondering why? The only reason that I can think of is that they are trying to recapture the magic of, “The Blair Witch Project”. The film idea is that we have 6 teen trying to have fun and they soon will have to pay a price for it by unknown forces. There is nothing really new in this film and once again, I have no idea why the film was made in the first place.



10. Step Up Revolution- July 27th

Once again we have another sequel and once again I have no idea why. The last film in this series have been heavy on dancing and lite on plot and acting and I see no reason why this film will be any different.

Yankees 3 Rangers 7

Well I went and saw the Yankees live yesterday at the ballpark and of course they lose...I was told that I was also shown on TV last night as well...I had a great view of the Napoli HR and the Ranger just looked that good last night..

Rangers beat Yankees 7-3 for 6th series win in row

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer

Adrian Beltre hit a long home run and had a pair of RBI singles as the Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees 7-3 Wednesday night, winning their sixth consecutive series to start a season for the first time in franchise history. Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland also homered for the two-time defending AL champion Rangers (15-4), who have the best record in the majors.

Texas was ahead to stay after Beltre led off the second against Phil Hughes (1-3) with his third homer, a 441-foot drive that landed high on the grassy hill in straightaway center field. Beltre's first run-scoring single came an inning later when Texas added three more runs. Rookie left-hander Robbie Ross (4-0) struck out two while working 2 2-3 perfect innings in relief of spot starter Scott Feldman. After Elvis Andrus' RBI groundout in the third, Josh Hamilton was hit near his right knee by a pitch. Beltre then singled to right before Michael Young's double made it 4-0.

Hughes was gone after hitting the next batter, though the inside pitch only skimmed the wind-blown jersey of Nelson Cruz, who didn't seem to realize what had happened until home plate umpire Brian Runge stepped out and pointed toward first base. The Rangers have won 12 consecutive regular season series overall, dating back to last year. New York had won six road games in a row after their 7-4 victory in the series opener at Texas. But the Yankees have now lost consecutive games for the first time since getting swept in three games at Tampa Bay to start the season. Derek Jeter had two more hits, extending his hitting streak to 16 games. He raised his average to .420 and his majors-leading hits total to 34.

Napoli led off the fourth with his seventh homer. That came off David Phelps, who gave up a leadoff shot to Moreland two innings later before Beltre had another RBI single. Raul Ibanez drove in two runs for the Yankees, including a solo homer that landed deep in the second deck of seats in right field off Neftali Feliz to start the seventh. Feliz, the closer-turned-No. 5 starter, pitched an inning of relief since the Rangers are skipping his turn in the rotation since his scheduled day to pitch was Thursday.

It was the first relief appearance for Feliz since his blown save in Game 6 of the World Series, when Texas was twice within a strike of a championship-clinching victory before losing. Texas led 4-0 after 2 2-3 innings against Hughes, whose season ERA increased from 6.75 to 7.88.

The big right-hander allowed five hits, struck out two and then hit two batters in his last inning. Hughes had allowed only three hits in 15 1-3 scoreless innings his previous three regular-season appearances against Texas - all at Rangers Ballpark. His first major league victory came there in May 2007, when he threw 6 1-3 scoreless innings in his second major league start. But there were also those two AL championship series games in Texas since, when Hughes allowed 11 runs in 8 2-3 innings to lose both in 2010.

NOTES: Andy Pettitte, the 39-year-old LHP working on a comeback to the Yankees rotation after a year hiatus, allowed three earned runs and seven singles in five-plus innings for Double-A Trenton. He threw 59 of 81 pitches for strikes. ... Yankees RHP Michael Pineda will miss the entire season because of a tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. He will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday. ... All three games against the Yankees were sellouts. The Rangers have already sold every reserved seat for all three games this weekend against the Rays

bombs

many days I feel like this after watching some very bad films.....

New pet scan date

due to more insurance bs..the new date is now.. may 7th..will report abck when i learn the results

Pet SCAN UPDATE

The new date is the 23rd of April and I will get the results on the 30th.. I will post on facebook and here the results..

BIFF 2011…..Film Review: The Raid: Redemption

One of the things that I really dislike about the American film audience is that the majority of their film viewing audience has, in the past, refused to see a film that isn’t in English or requires a film to have subtitles.

As I have stated in the past in prior reviews I was once in this group but it took one great film “7 Samurai” to change my opinion about that.


If you are the kind that refuses to watch any non-English film, then you will miss one heck of a film here in this one. The other film festivals that have shown this film have reported that this was a huge crowd pleaser and that the audiences have given it more than 10 minutes of applause after it was over.

Due to my health issues, I was unable to attend the Busan International Film Festival last year and this was the one film that I wanted to see and this was the one film that I recommended for the film festival viewer to see and after watching it, I made the right call.

Now remember, this film is in Indonesian and in Korea it will have Korean subtitles, so you may want to wait for a DVD copy or try and see where they will have English Subtitles.

The idea of this film is a very simple one, 20 Indonesian special police are sent to a drug lord’s main headquarters to try and arrest him but with each floor the job becomes more dangerous. This idea has been used before in more than a few straight to DVD films in the past but this one was different because unlike the prior versions of this one, there wasn’t much filler.

You have about a 3-4 minute set up in this film and then it’s, “Let the bodies hit the floor” and the game is on. I saw this with a small audience and they were really into this film and I soon realized that this film was different; it was giving you and entire look at this raid and why it was going down the way it was. When the usual twist happens in this type of film, I can say that I sure didn’t see that one coming.

I really haven’t given too many spoilers on this film because it needs to be seen without any but I will say this about it, this film has an action sequence that compares to “Oldboy” and it was that good. Please see this film when you get the chance and there will be a part 2 of this film and I wanted to see that as soon as this film was over. I also want this film in my Blu-Ray collection ASAP!!!

Grade A+

Film Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen & American Reunion

Now I saw these 2 films back to back so one could say that I had a very interesting day at the movies but I can say that I liked both of these but for very different reasons.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen


Now I hadn’t heard much about this film until I saw the preview and for some reason it just looked interesting to me. The idea was an interesting one also. What if someone had the idea to put salmon into the Yemen and let them live in a manmade river?

The rest of the film is about the fish and the people that are needed to make this idea either work or fail. The film is really hindered by a few love stories that are intertwined that really slowed the pace of this interesting idea and the film rally didn’t need the love stories to be considered a good film.

The film is worth at least one viewing and I think that you’ll enjoy watching with someone special. Please see it when you get the chance.

Grade: B

American Reunion


Now I have no idea why I have liked the last 3 films in this series and I really didn’t have much hope of anything happening funny in this film that wasn’t show in the movie trailers for this film.

The only reason that I think that I have liked these films is that they have allowed these characters to try and grow up as we the movie viewer has also. Like the film we have loved, lost, gotten married, had a few children or just never really wanted to grow up. We see all of this in this film and that is what I think made this from a really bad idea into a film that is worth at least one viewing if it plays in Korea.

This film basically deals with the 13th reunion of the class of 1999 and we have seen these actors grow up and try and become adults. A few people in the audience after the film were having talks about how they dealt life their lives after high school and college and how they are dealing with the same problems that the actors faced in this role.

Once again, the film is stolen by Jim’s dad and every time he’s in this film, it just got funnier and funnier and please hang around a few moments after the credits begin to see how his part of this film ended. The audience was laughing a lot during that scene.

Please watch it when you can and I think that you’ll be glad that you did.

Grade: B

Film Review: The Hunger Games


Living overseas for the past few years, you can miss out on a book series. If the people that you trust to tell you about good books never tell you about a book, then there is a good chance that you won’t read the book.

I had no idea what “The Hunger Games” were about until I saw a preview for the film. While I was watching the preview, I thought that it was a total rip-off of the 2000 Japanese film “Battle Royale”.

Now as a film critic, sometimes I feel the need to explain to you why or what baggage I bring to a film before I tell you about it and in this case, I thought that it would be needed.

If you a long time reader of my reviews, you will remember a few years ago when I listed my all time favorite films and in that list I included“Battle Royale". So when I stated to do research about the film “The Hunger Games” before I went to watch it I wanted to see how much of the Royale story was included in this film.

So this review is being written by a huge fan of the film “Battle Royal” and a person who has not read any of the books associated with this series.

Now I went and saw this film on a Friday afternoon and to my amazement there were about 300 people waiting in line for this film. There were a lot of kids between the age of 12-18 in line with their parents and the students were on spring break and the few that I asked had told me that they had read the book, had never heard of Battle Royale and were on spring break and that they really loved the books and wanted to see the film.

I really went into this film thinking that this is a PG-13 of “Battle Royale” aimed right at the fans of the “Twilight” series and after I saw the film, it did not thing to change my mind about my previous idea. The Author of the book, Susan Collins, claims that she had never heard of BR and that it was just a coincidence all of the similarities of her book and the BR story.

If you have seen BR and you love the film, then you should not watch this film and avoid it at all cost. If you saw BR, then you saw the killing and how brutal is was when 24 teen-agers kill each other. I kept looking at the death scenes herein this film and thinking how clean and how fake all of killing looked, and to get the PG-13 and the American Teen audience, it had to be that way.

The film takes about 1 hour to get the idea and plot set up before THG starts and when it does, the teens in my audience became quiet and really focused into the film. After the film was over, the majority of the teens that I talked to wanted part 2 and 3 of this series to be in the theaters ASAP. They loved the movie and I hated it.

Now readers the next part is up to you, do you see THG when it opens in Korea in 04/12 or do you give it a pass? My recommendation is this…

If you liked the Harry Potter and Twilight Series then you should go and see this film. If you have also read the books then I feel that you should also go and see the film because I think that you’ll like it because the teens in my audience did and they left the theater wanting more. If you’re a fan of BR, then please pass on this film for the reasons that I have earlier stated in this review.

There were no extra scenes at the end of the credits and the teens that stayed for the end of the credits were disappointed by it. I really haven’t said much about what happens in the film in this review, I feel that you should watch it spoiler free and make your own call about that.

Good luck with your choice and please let me know what you think of this film.

Grade D-…Pathetic Rip-Off of Battle Royale…..

Cancer update

Well it has been a few months since I have given an update and now it is time for one.

On March 27th I will have a pet-scan to take a closer look at the cancer. With all of the cat-scans that I took in Korea, there never was a good look at the cancer. So this will be about a 1 hour scan that will be able to tell how far the cancer has advanced. When I know what is going on I will let everyone know asap.

I have found a nice little church here in Texas but I must be honest I still miss the Church in Daejeon that helped me out a lot my last few months in Korea.

I have learned that the cancer pills that I took in Korea have great results with Asian bodies but with the Western anatomy the pills just don’t seem to work. SO if anyone else in Korea has the cancer please take the chemo if you’re a westerner. IF your child is a western/Asian combination and they have cancer, there are no studies on which is the best cancer drug.

Now I am taking a drug called Xeloda, it is a chemo pill that doesn’t have the side effect that the chemo had on me at Eulji Hospital. So far I haven’t had any bad reactions to the medicine.

I was able to get me a 1994 Black El Dorado Caddy car for my drive to doctor appointments and I love the car. It is real comfortable and I was able to get a nice little HD radio for the car and to hear AM stations sound like an FM station is just weird.

I have to resubmit the disability paperwork to SSN on the 15th. The reason it was turned down the first time was that I didn’t have any income in the USA from 2005-2011. So I found out that I needed the actual Korean Income Tax paperwork and since Woosong had mine from 2006-2011, this should hopefully take care of this problem. I will keep you up with this as it progresses.

To be honest right now I am stuck, I am getting 456.00 a month for partial ssn and 104 a month in food stamps and I am on Medicare right now but if I get a job It can only be part time because if I make too much $$ then I lose it all. I really hate this cancer and the fact that right now I cannot work. I am so used to always working and now that I can’t it is kind of weird.

Now I was able to get 4 tickets to the Texas Ranger games this season and I will so miss the HANWHA baseball crew that I saw so many games with in the past. April 25th vs YANKEES (I know big surprise) MAY 26th vs Toronto (Will miss my Canadian friends so much during this game) Aug 10th vs Detroit (To see the Prince) and Sunday the 30th of September LA Angels (Playoffs maybe?)

It was weird not to be at Woosong getting ready for the Spring semester but sometimes life just throws you a curve.

I once again want to thank everyone who helped out and gave their time and talents for my goodbye party at the Yellow Taxi. Whenever I still think of that night it always brings a smile to my face.

Take care everyone and more details to follow.. Mike

Movie Review: Red River

Now I know what a lot of people are looking at this one. Why is Mike doing a film review of a movie that came out in 1948. Well the reason is something that I am noticing that might be a small trend here back in the USA and might soon come to Korea.

What happened here in my hometown of Denison Texas is that the 1 screen Rialto has reopened and is showing classic films from the past along with plays and small concerts. The day I went to the movies was the day that they were showing “Red River”

Now what is not well known outside of Denison is that this film had its world premier here in Denison back in 1948, so it was a nice little tip to the past that this film would be one of the first ones to be shown at the reopened “Rialto Theater”
I must admit that I had never seen this film on the big screen and I knew that I had to take the chance to see this film on the big screen and after it was over, I could understand why seeing John Wayne on a big screen is so much better than seeing him on a small TV Screen.

I recalled from the past when I went to the Daejeon Art Cinema and finally saw “Singing in the Rain” on the big screen. I had never understood why Fred’s dancing in the rain was revered as a classic moment on film, I finally understood it when I saw that screen on the big screen, and it just so much worked better on the movie screen than it ever did on the TV.

I have no idea if any small theater in Korea will show classic films from Korea’s past or classic films at all. Occasionally the DAC will show classic films from the past and I think that they need to be viewed on the big screen so we can see it as it was truly meant to be shown.

If you have the chance and the DAC or any cinema in the world is showing the classic films then we all should watch and remember why we liked the movies in the first place.

Grade A+

The Lorax
I went and saw this film in the 3-D format and was happy that I spent my time with this film. I really was not expecting a lot in this film but it was a nice little film that will make a few people upset with the slight anti-business vibe within this film.

The idea of this film is simple, there is a town made of plastic and no one remembers why there are no longer any more trees in their world. We are given a teen love story and we see the boy in love trying to save the day.
The film will be a great film for families and also for a one time showing but that all this film was, just a good film and not a great one. The film just fails to attempt to take the next step for it to become a classic. The film plays it safe with no real new ideals given to the audience.

You will like to see the film but I really can see any real reason for more than 1 viewing of this film.

Grade: B-

Project X

Once again we are shown a film that was supposedly based on ”Found Footage” and this time it was based on a party in California that soon becomes the party the high school and college students claim to be “Legendary”

When I read that Todd Phillips (The Hangover) was a producer of this film, I thought that this could be a teen version of “The Hangover” What we were shown were 3 teens and 1 cameraman trying to capture a teen birthday party from the simple idea to the cops and SWAT being unleashed to end this party. With all of the nudity, sex and drugs, I have no idea if this film will ever play in Korea.
The film is worth a look and with a small unknown cast they really made you think that you were actually at this party. Please see this film when you get the chance.

Grade: B

Act of Valor

Now I had no real ideal what to think about this film before going to see it. This film was made with real Navy Seals, and these could be some of the men that actually killed Osama Bin Laden. How in the heck could any former soldier dare try and insult these men? It just wouldn’t be right.

The film also stated that these stories were actually based on Seal’s past missions so this really made want to watch this film and I am glad that I did but the film is only a good film not a great one.

The film action scenes were great but every time the Seals would try to act, it just reminded me of some very bad Ed Wood films of my past and that is why the film just didn’t work for me. When you see the action shots you will believe them but every time they spoke, it felt like a bad chalk experience on a chalkboard.
The film is ok but not great and should be treated as such

Grade: C-


Safe House

Now I had no idea about this film, all I knew about it was that it was Denzel Washington once again acting like the anti-hero and with Ryan Reynolds as the young idealistic agent, this just looked good.
The film takes you on a 2 hr adventure with a few twist that left the audience not seeing that one coming and the longer the film went the more the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

The film ends with maybe a part 2 coming and the audience seemed ok with it. The film is worth at least one viewing for a good night at the films. It could have used a tighter edit in my opinion but the majority of the audience left with smiles on their faces. In the end that is what matters to the film viewer.

Grade: B


The Vow

As I have said many times in the past I really hate it when the film stated that this film is based on a true story. Why can’t they just actually tell the real story instead of making it up as they go?

Well with this film, you are shown a love story between a couple and you see that they have a car accident in which the man is ok but the wife has lost all memory of their time together but what is worse that she still believes that she in engaged to her former lover. The love story just got too unbelievable here and lost the majority of the male audience in this film.

The female audience seemed to really like this part of the story but to me, the longer it went, the more unbelievable the film became. By the end of the film you are told what happened to the real couple that this film was based on. That was the story I wanted to see in this film, not the made up, so called real film that was shown.

Please pass on this film.

Grade: D

This Means War

Well I guess the plot of this film started with a good idea, it would be CIA spy Vs CIA Spy over the love of a girl who is dating the both of them at the same time. I guess that is where the film should have stopped and never been made.
For a love story to work you must care about the couple but this triangle I kept cheering for the bad men to kill this girl and to end this bad idea of a film. When this happens, you know that you are watching a bad film.

This had 2 good male actors but the female lead, Renee Witherspoon, just never made me feel any compassion for her. I thought that it was just me but after the film had ended, I overhead a few females state that they hated her in this film.
Please pass on this film.

Grade: D

Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds

Now I have no idea if this film will ever play in Korea. As you Know Tyler Perry has made a few films with his alter-ego Madea and those films have made Perry into a US Star. I really had no idea what to think about this film but after watching it, he should stick with Madea and not anymore films like this one.

This film should have been a good one but instead it just felt flat and I still have no idea why this film should have been a huge hit has became a mild disappointment. It just left the majority of the audience; I saw the film with just leaves and wonder why they didn’t like this film either.

Please pass on this film

Grade: D

John Carter

Now this film has had many times tried to be made in the past and there have been many reasons why this film never came together, but after watching this mess of a film, I wish that they hadn’t made this film.

The majority of this film was shot using a lot of special effects and that is one of the main reasons I soon hated this film. None of it ever seemed real to me and I just kept waiting for this film to try and come together but this film just never did.

It was the acting, the script, the special effects, the plot and many other things went wrong with this film so much that by the end of the film, I couldn’t believe that they are trying to make this into a series. It just fails on every level and the 3D extra for this film just made it look worse. It was that bad of a film that I hope no one will waste their time or Won on this film. Please pass at all cost.

Grade: F

A Thousand Words

Now for the first half of this film it really seemed like this film was going to be another sad attempt by Eddie Murphy to try and recapture his former glory and when I learned that this film hadn’t been screed by the critics, I was ready to writer up a very bad review of the film after watching the first half of the film.

Then something happened, the film did a slight turn and then the film slowly stared to get better and then by the end it had turned from a bad film into a good film. I really could not believe that Murphy had delivered this great of an acting job.
The idea was very bad I thought as first, a man had a tree attached to him and with each word he spoke a leaf would fall from the tree until there would be no more leaves and then Murphy would die after all of the leaves had fallen from the tree. It was when the tree was down to its last leaves that he said the most by speaking such few words. I have no idea why it worked but it did and after the film was over I could not believe that the film was this good.

For the first half of the film, I really hated the film but after that I really loved the film and that is why I give this film a B grade. Please see it if it plays in Korea

Grade: B

by John Ondrasik

I loved Andrew Breitbart.

Ironically, it took an Andrew Breitbart to give me the courage to say publicly that I could love an Andrew Breitbart.

Andrew had the back of those who worried about a backlash to their livelihood. He was the bodyguard, the kid who stood up to the bullies. He was the bouncer you couldn’t elbow out of the doorway.

His best friend was his childhood pal and business partner, Larry. For many of us, though, Andrew was our best friend. If we didn’t have a brother, he filled that void. If we needed a mentor, he fit the bill. If we desired a third child, there was Andrew. For all of his incredible energy and gifts, it was, at times, like caring for a wild-eyed teenager with no sense of time and space. We didn’t mind taking him in, in fact, we arm-wrestled for the chance.

Many of us, including Andrew, live and lived for our nation's military. I’ve often asked young American soldiers how they deal with the death of a buddy in combat. How do you keep going, do your job, continue to live and push forward? The answers are all profound and different. I will never have the courage of our nation's bravest, but for the first time in my life, I have a sense of that empty foxhole. That notion, that though the fight is right, a chunk of me is gone -- never to be filled.

There are great stories floating around about Andrew, and I have them too. I’m just too sad to lay them out.

Andrew loved music, was an aficionado. Today, I’m struck with the same feeling I have when a Jeff Buckley or Kurt Cobain dies too young. I lament for the songs they will never write. What path would have been chosen? Would they continue the meteoric prodigy rise, or lose the spark somewhere along the way? At a Lakers game a few weeks ago, Andrew was so excited about his new site launch that I got a mere three sentences in over dinner, rather than my usual six. Because Andrew was Andrew, his army is full of smart, passionate, soldiers who will continue his mission. Still, whatever becomes of the Breitbart Empire, his song will remain unfinished.

Appropriately, many conservatives are asking how we replace the irreplaceable Breitbart?

The answer is a cruel, cold. We can’t.

Closer to home, we are deeply concerned about Susie and the kids, and more selfishly asking, how can I ever replace my best friend?

Death’s answer is equally cold and final. You can’t.

Yes, Andrew would be laughing about trending on Twitter for 24 hours, be humbled by the love, and emboldened by the hate. I’m not a religious man, but I’d give my left arm for a retweet button in heaven.

On my instant message buddy list, Bodiaz is still is online.

This is brutal.

I hope they never turn that computer off.

The Best films of 2011 and the rest...



In 2011, we said good bye to Harry Potter and hello to Bridesmaids. We saw films about superheroes fail at the box office and we saw maids show us the way to equality. We saw a silent film at the movies and we cringed when Mars needs Moms.
As in the past I have 5 categories in this list. Best and Worst films of the year. The Surprises and the Disappointments of the year of film in 2011. The last category is what I call WTF, I use this as a way of asking why was this film made and What The _______ were you thinking when you made this film? I will go in Reverse order for the Best Worst, Surprise and Disappointment and in chronological order for WTF.

THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR FOR THE YEAR 2011 ARE AS FOLLOWS…

10. Margin Call- It was a small film that took a look at what went wrong with one huge company when the Wall Street Crash happened a few years back. I had heard some great reviews about it and after the film was over I couldn’t believe that a lot more people had not seen this film yet. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

9. The Skin I Live In- Now I had no idea what to think about this film by Director Pedro Almodóvar. I knew that in the past I had liked his film and this one preview just looked interesting about a doctor and his patient. I liked that fact that the story kept me guessing what was next and by the end of the film I knew that I had watched a great film. Now please remember that this film is in Spanish so you might need English Subtitles to watch this film.

8. The Crucible (Korean)-As I had stated in an earlier review of this film, “This film forced Korea to actually see that the devil themselves about the sexual abuse to children.” I have no idea if the laws of Korea will change because of this film. The actual case of this film sure did expose a lot of the reasons the guilty were not properly charged because of the insanity of Korea law.

7. A Separation (Iran)- This was a film that took a look at the middle class of Iran and how the ladies are treated under there law. The film has many twist and many different looks at a crime. The ending was truly what made this film into a classic. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and Original Screenplay.

6. Moneyball. A film that took a look at one person’s new idea of how to scout baseball players and how the game of baseball should be played. The film really made me wonder what would happen to Billy Beane if he had the money that the New York Yankees have instead of what the Oakland A’s have. The film has Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Adapted Screenplay.

5. Kung Fu Panda 2,- This film was kind of a disappointment at the US Box office but did great business in the major Asian Markets and in Korea the film sold over 4 million tickets. I liked it because it told a great story and it just reminded me of many of the classic Shaw Brothers films that I loved from my childhood. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category.

4. The Artist. Now this film is a silent film and will turn off a lot of people who have never seen one in the past. What I liked about it was a great plot and great love story and one heck of a super dog sidekick in this film. The film has Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Original Screenplay, Costume Design, Film Editing and Original Score.

3. War Horse- It was a simple film about a boy and his horse and the path that they traveled to be reunited after World War 1. The film took a look at the war through many different eyes and made you feel for each one along the way. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Original Score.

2. The Descendants- I really did not think before I saw this film that I would like it that much, I had liked some of the directors Alexander Payne’s films in the past so I went into this one with an open mind. I really could not believe that George Clooney acting in this film, it wasn’t good it was great and he deserves the Oscar for Best Actor of the year for this film. The film has Oscar nominations for, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing.

Now My number one film of the year had no Oscar nominations and never got a wide release in the USA and will be out on DVD in the USA in February and maybe only play at the independents cinemas in Korea but please do not let that stop you from seeing my #1 film of the year..

1.The Way- As I had stated in my earlier review of this film, I had heard that this film had some serious buzz about it being a small film but a great one and after the film was over, I thought that I had just seen the best film of the year and when it came time to make this list I could not think of a better film that I watched this year. The film deals with a father’s loss of his son and how he decides to take the journey that his son was on. It looks at many different ideas at look at like along the way by the travelers and the people that he meets along the way.

Now as we finished the best films of the year we must now deal with 10 films that I never, never, never want to see again nor should anyone else.

The 10 Worst films of the year for the year 2011.

10. Glee: The 3D Concert Movie: Now I have no idea who said that we should make this film based on the somewhat popular TV show but this sure wasn’t a great way to make a film, when I saw this film it want in3D and I sure couldn’t recommend that anyone spend the extra $$ to see it in the 3D format. It was a huge waste of an idea that never needs to be seen again.

9. Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs, Evil- now I have no idea why they made a part 2 to this story when part one wasn’t really that great or original. I had heard that this film was bad before I watched it but I did not think that I would never want to watch anymore films in this series. Please do not make any more parts to this sad tale.

8. The Rum Dairy- Now I have no idea what Johnny Depp was thinking about when he wanted to make this film but after this was over, I sure hope that this was just a onetime mistake and not an idea of future films from this actor. The story, the plot idea of the film just never seemed to flow. It failed on so many different levels and was a huge box office miss for all involved in this film.

7. The Last Godfather (Korean)- From some of the same people who made D-War also made this clunker of a film that forced Director Hyung-rae Shim into bankruptcy after this film failed at the Korea Box Office. All you need to know is that the film had the K-Pop girl band “The Wonder Girls” place in a 1950’s NYC environment, and this was only one of many huge errors and lack of direction that this film had.

6. Immortals- Now this film was also shot in 3D and sad to say, I saw it in 3d. After the film was over I could not believe that I had wasted my time and $4 on this film and was made ever sadder by the fact that they plan to make part 2 to this crap. The film had no direction, no real plot and tried to get by on one badly written script. It should not be released on DVD and all copies burned of this film. And just think I saw 5 worsen films than this one.

5. Gnomeo and Juliet-I just had a bad feeling when I saw this film in 3D and saw that it was going to be a kids story about Romeo and Juliet based on Gnomes. I knew that this film was for kids only but when the kids in the audience hated the film, I knew that this was a truly bad one. This take on the classic love story fails on every level and when I saw children upset hat their parents had taken them to see this film, I knew that this one was going on my worst films of the year list.

4. Puss in Boots- I knew this film wasn’t going be a good as the first Shrek but when it was worse than the last Shrek, I really could not believe it. The story was just horrible and when the children told their parents that they never wanted to see another film about this stupid cat, as I overheard one child tell his, I knew that this was a huge fail on many different levels. And this film was nominate for an Oscar for best Animated Feature, really had me wondering if maybe they saw a director’s cut of this film.

3. Jack and Jill-Now I know that the majority of Adam Sandler’s films in the past have been juvenile humor and I have liked most of them, until this one. I have no idea who told him that this idea was funny but the more the film played the worst it got and by the end of the film, I never wanted to see this film again and made me doubt if I ever want to see another one of his films again. A huge misfire for all those involved.

2. Conan (2011) Once again a 3D film attempt and once again, I could see no reason for the 3D in this film, I knew that trying to remake a film could backfire but this one was just bad. No real plot, no real flow and an actor who never could deliver a straight line and never had me believing that he was Conan. A huge mistake and a huge $$ loser for all involved.

Now the last 9 were bad film but my #1 lost a lot of money, caused a studio/production company to quit making films and Disney knew that this film was going to be bad and they still released it and the film cost a rumored 200 million to make surely made this the Worst Film of the year.

1. Mars Needs Moms- When I first saw the preview of this film, I just had a bed feeling that this was going be a bad film. After I read the first wave of reviews I really thought it was going to be bad. After I watched the film I knew it was a bad film and really asked why Disney released this 3D mess to the general public. They won’t release “Song of the South” on DVD but they released this crap to us and they knew it was crap. At least I had a free ticket for this film or I would have really wanted my money back for this one. Please do not watch the film, rent it, download it nor let your children watch it. It just was that bad of a film.

Now the 3rd part of the list is what I like to call the surprises of the year. These are usually films that no one thought would so well or were expected to be failures.

10. Sunny (Sseo-ni) (2011)(Korea) Not much was expected about this film about a lady and her female friends but the Korean audiences loved it with ticket sales close to 7 million. It took a look at a girl and how she kept the same group of friends from her school years into her adult life. A real surprise film.

9. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- When the previews showed that this film was not about 9/11 but about the days after it, this film could have been a huge disaster. The film showed how a boy dealt with the loss of his father and him trying to figure out why. The film has 2 Oscar nominations for Best Film and Best Supporting Actor.

8. Attack The Block (UK) Now who are you going to call when aliens have invaded your block of England and no one believes you. I had heard this was a good film but I was not expecting this great of a film with such a simple idea. It has a great story and believable kids who are trying to save their block from the aliens.

7. The Muppets-Now I knew that this film was either going to be a small hit or a huge failure but after the film was over I was glad that I watched it. What I really liked about it was that the music for the film was written by Bret McKenzie, Flight of the Conchords fame. It just gave the film that little extra and especially with Chris Coopers rap evil song, it was over the top but I loved it.

6. Fast 5-Now this film could have been the final in the series but with the addition of “The Rock” and some great action scenes (and sad to say one very bad plot of the film) the audiences just wanted more from these actors.

5. Courageous-In the Christian film market what you usually get is a small budget with a limited audience but this film found a decent size audience and made a huge profit for all involved, The idea of police officers having to deal with their faith after an incident was a very simple idea but it worked.

4. Super 8- Basically it was J.J. Abrams ode to his childhood when he shot his early films on super 8 film. That is what I though when I went to see it but while I was watching it the film just got better and better. What you see is an alien that has been captured by the US Government and it has been unleashed on a small town. It shows the horror of an alien attack, a boy’s first love and him dealing with the loss of his mother. It was a lot of different ideas together that ended up making on great film.

3.The Lion King (3D)It was a very simple ides, re-release the film for 2 weeks and show it in the 3D format for the blu-ray that was going to be released in a few weeks. Well after a 30+ million first week of release, it stayed strong for a few weeks at the Box office and ended up making 90+ million in the USA for a film that was first released almost 20 years ago, it was a huge surprise.

2. The Help- I thought that it was going to be a small film about the 1960’s south and as more people watched it the better the reviews got for it. The film grossed about 170 million US box offices dollars and has received 4 Oscar nominations.
Now the surprise of the year I did not see coming and when I saw the preview I thought that it wasn’t going to be a good film at all. It ended up getting an Oscar nomination for one of its actors.

1. Bridesmaids- Now I had no idea that this film was going to be a funny as it was and the scene at the Wedding Dress shop was just way too funny. For an “R” rated comedy it gathered an Oscar nomination for Melissa McCarthy and has done well on the DVD market. Please see the film if you haven’t yet, I think both male and female audiences will love this film.

Now the 4th part of this list will be the Disappointments of the year. These films had good buzz or they were given a lot of hype or were highly thought of.

10. Children (Korean: 아이들; translit. Aideul)- This film took a look at a story about missing children from the Taegu area back in 1991 and how the case was mangled by the Korean Police and investigators. If they had stuck with that part of the story I might have included it in the best of the year list but when they added a fictions character that might have been the real killer, it soon became an insult to the kids’ parent and the actual kids themselves.

9. Shame- Now I heard a lot of buzz about this film and how it might get some Oscar nominations, so I went and saw it on one Saturday afternoon. I really could not believe what a bad film this was. If this is edgy and needed to be seen by the indy film crowd, then please excuse me from anymore of English Directors Steve McQueen’s films. After the film I did a quick poll of about 10 people and all 10 of us didn’t like the film that we has just seen and thought it was a huge mistake in film making.

8. In the Land of Blood and Honey- From director Angelina Jolie we got a film about the 1990’s film about the Bosnian War and the horrors of it. The film wasn’t well directed and it really could have used a tighter edit. It was a noble attempt of a film but a mess of a film when you attempt to watch it.

7. J Edgar- A film that was directed by Clint Eastwood that wasn’t that great of a film that really kept going all over the place and really lacked focus. I never for once believed that Leo was J.Edgar and that really hurt the film.

6. Sector 7 (Korean)- This was South Korea’s first IMAX 3D film and if this film is it IMAX future, then hopefully it’s the last one that we will see from this country. Overacting and bad special effects created a monster that no one feared and a few people even laughed at. A huge mistake for Korean film making.

5. Cars 2. This was the first Pixar film that wasn’t nominated in the Best Animated Category since it was first established and whatever heart the first film had was totally lost in this one. I liked the film but not as much as I did the first and thought that it really had too many stories trying to get into the film. It needed more Lighting and a lot less Matter.

4. Hangover 2- If you have seen the first Hangover then you’ve already seen the 2nd one is a common idea about this film and that is sad. It was like the director put himself in cruise control and just redid the majority of the same jokes from the first one into this one and it just doesn’t work. It was like the party moved from Vegas to Bangkok and we are just supposed to like it.

3. Larry Crowe- In what should have been a great film with Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks together in a film ended up being a huge error of a film. The 2 stars never really showed any chemistry together and the film really had too many stories trying to work together and really needed about 20 minutes removed from it

2. The Big Year-Now when I heard that Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black were going to make a film together, I so wanted to see it. But I heard that the film wasn’t working after the first day of the showing and the word quickly spread that this film was horrible and died a quick death at the box office. It should have been funny but in the end I didn’t laugh and really left disappointed after watching this sad failure of a film.

Now I was told by many people whose opinion I value that these 2 films were going to be epic and Legendary but after I watched them both, I really couldn’t believe that it was all hype and not much of a film. Even sadder news is that are going ahead with a part 2 to one of these films and killed any idea of a part 2 for the other one.

TIE

1. Green Lantern-All I kept hearing about this film was that this was going to be better than “The Dark Knight” and that this was finally going to be the superhero film that we have all waited for. Well after watching it, I asked a few of the people who recommended this film to me what had gone wrong with this film. They really couldn’t describe it to me and they were really disappointed by this film. A huge 200 million $ gamble that fell by its own weight and a lack of any real good ideas for this story.

2. Cowboys and Aliens- Now this was one of the films that I wanted to see in the summer of 2011 and when I finally got around to watching this film, I really couldn’t believe that this film was actually that bad and that with the 2 stars of the film, Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, that it could actually be that bad, It just never seemed to work and that by the end of the film it was very obvious that this film never should have been made.

Now for the last part of the list I call it WTF! I take a look at bad films or films that should have never been made or just a crap film that no one besides me ever needs to be seen again.

1. Tie. Straw Dogs (2011), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), X Men: First Class, Arthur(2011),Footloose (2011), Dream House (2011), Fright Night,(2011),The 3 Musketeers (2011), The Thing (2011), Scream 4, Big Mama 3

Now this was the year of the horrible remakes that bombed at the box office. I still have no idea who thought that remaking these films was going to be a good idea. I had seen all of the originals and after watching all of these remakes, I really just wanted to do a “Wayne Brady” and choke a Bytch. The 3 Musketeers has a flying ship? Footloose was a country song? The apes were going to lose? These films clearly showed that when film makers try and go back they often fail the majority of the time.

2. Happy Feet 2- so you do a sequel and do not include the love story of the parents that made the first one so great and you wonder why kids ran away from this film instead of towards it when it played at the movies? It was just a bad film with too many stories with no one really making it shine.

3. Thor and Captain America- Were these 2 films made just to entice the movie viewers to see this year’s “The Avengers” film. It was like I was given a 300+ million youtube preview film. Both films were ok but they both needed really tighter edit and a better script.

4. New Years Eve-In what was supposed to be a sequel to the movie Valentine’s Day, that soon didn’t become a sequel but was compared to the Valentine’s Day film. Sound confused? Welcome to this movie, too many stories and not enough time and it’s a mess when it doesn’t work and this one sure was a failure.

5. Sucker Punch- I had heard a lot of great reviews about this film before it came out but after I saw it I sure wondered if we were watching the same film because this was a mess that just never really became clear. A bad script bad actors and a lousy job of directing doomed this film.

6. The Darkest Hour- Now I had some hope for this film when I heard that Russian Director was going to direct this film but after watching it, I really could not believe that he had attached his name to this piece of junk. Bad acting, lousy script and just horrible and pathetic looking special effects killed this film at the Box office.

7. Apollo 18- Now this is part of a new wave of film that supposedly have lost footage that make up a film and this one did look interesting and I liked its preview but after I watched it, I was reminded of an old southern saying, If you put lipstick on a pig and say it’s a beauty queen by the end of the contest it’s still a pig in lipstick! Bad acting, bad script and if this is the truth then please tell me lies, sweet little lies.

This is the end of the year look at movies and here is hoping that 2012 will be better than 2011. Please recall dear readers, I see the crap so you don’t have to.

2012 Oscar Best Picture Of The Year Movie Reviews
In this article I will review the 9 films that have been nominated for Best Picture of the year, in no particular order and with spoilers.

1. The Artist- I had read a lot of good reviews of the film before I saw it in the movie theaters and to be honest I really wasn’t sure what to think about the film before I sat down and watched the film. I t was the year 2011 and I was going to watch a new silent film. (I had seen old silent films in the past and wasn’t sure how it would work in the present time.) The idea of the film is simple enough, a boy on the way down the film industry meets a girl that is on her way up and it is all because of a new invention in the movies, a film with sound. What I really like about the film was the dog, Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier, who plays the male’s lead dog in this film. In every scene that the dog is in, the dog becomes the comedy of the film. After watching the film, I was thinking that I had just seen an idea of a film that might not translate to the modern audience. If you like silent films then I think that you’ll love this one, if the idea of a silent film is new to you then please see this if it plays in the Korean theaters. I loved it because it told a great story and I never really knew what was coming next and by the end of the film, I was happy that I had seen a great film that need to be seen. Grade: A

2. The Descendants Now with George Clooney either I have loved his films (Up in the Air, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ocean 11-13, O Brother, Where Art Thou?)Or I have really hated them (The American, The Ides of March, Letherheads, Michael Clayton, The Good German) I have very rarely had him in the middle. SO going into this film I knew that it had great word-of-mouth and that the film was directed by Alexander Payne. I loved his film “Sideways” and was looking forward to seeing this film. It is basically about 2 paths that Matt King (George Clooney)has to take. We are shown that his wife is now in a coma and will not recover and that the machine keeping her alive will be turned off. It is discovered that she had an affair and that Matt knew nothing about it. The 2nd part of the film is that Matt is the sole trustee of sole trustee of 25,000 acres of untouched land on the island of Kaua’i, passed down from his ancestors. The trust will expire in seven years, and the family has decided to sell the land and Matt has to decide who to sell the land to.The rest of the story I will leave unspoiled for you. What I really liked about this film was the way that George kept dealing with these 2 main issues and how it is affecting his 2 daughters in this film. I really believed that this was his family and that he was trying to keep it all together and he really was not sure how to do it. The more I watched the film, the more I believed what I was seeing. The magic that was in the film “Sideways” was also in this one and when it was over I was really glad that I had watched this film and I understood why George is getting serious Oscar talk for his role in this film. Grade: A

3. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- When I first saw the preview of this film the trailer screen had the words, “This is not a film about September 11th, it’s a film about the days after.” I had no idea if I even wanted to see this film because of all of the anger that I still feel for almost 3,000 people killed on that day. I then decided that the film had a shot of getting the best picture nomination and that well. Why not see the film? After I watched the film, I was glad that I watched it. The film is a simple one, it is about a child who has no idea why his dad died on that day and how he has to live with it. The film never states it but it is implied that the son has some special needs and it was his father that truly understood how to deal with him while his mother at first is shown that she doesn’t know how to handle him. The child finds a key in his father’s belongings a year after the event and decides that this is there last adventure together and that he must find the mystery of this key. The journey of this key is what makes this film from a good one into a great one. You see a child trying to make logical sense of insanity and you see that he really isn’t doing a good job with it so he must go on this last treasure hunt that he thinks that his father set up for him. Along the way he meets a man only called the “Renter”, it is the scenes with him and the voice messages from his father on September 11th that left the audience with a hit that they did not see coming. The film ends with the adventure complete and the boy tries to go on without his father. Please see it when you get the chance. Grade A

4. The Help- Now I had heard that this was a small film that had made a lot of money by the time I got around to watching t and I hadn’t read the book about the film and I knew it was about the 1960’s in The Sothern part of the USA. I knew the history of that era so I really wasn’t sure what I was going to see but after I saw it I am sure glad that I did because it was a great film about stupidity and injustice. The idea of the film is very simple, a College Graduate returns home and want to write a book about the maids in the 1960’s but instead of one story she gets many and when the book becomes a huge best seller, then the film really takes off. I kinda had the feeling about how the film was going to end and when it ended in that manor; to me it was the only way the film could truly end. It made the film from a good one into a great one. If you are unfamiliar about the USA history of this time then this film will definitely educate you to what was going on in that part of the world. Please see it when you get the chance. Grade A

5. Hugo- Sad to say once again a lot of people saw something in this film and I sure wasn’t one of them. I found the film to be a complete waste of viewing and it just never clicked for me. If you like the director’s prior films then this one will be a surprise, I guess I was just expecting a better story that what this film delivered. Grade F

6. Midnight in Paris- Now with being a critic for many years I have come to realize that there are directors that I like and there are some that I just do not like and sad to say Woody Allen has always been one who’s films I have never understood why so many critics seen to like. So when I heard that this was his most popular film in years I decided that I was going to get a copy of this film and watch it to see if I would like this one. Well sad to say, to me it was the same old reason that I hate his film, a plot that went nowhere, too many stories trying to mix together and once again a smug director thinking that he is actually clever by some of his little trademark trick that I saw throughout this film. If you like his film I think that you are going to like this one, if you are like me and you don’t, then this film really won’t change your mind about him. The only time I smiled thought this film is when it was over and the credits rolled. Please pass on this film. Grade C-

7. Moneyball-Since my favorite sport in the world is baseball, knew he story of Billy Bean before I went into this film and I knew what the Oakland A’s had achieved since he became the General Manager of them. I knew the term “ Moneyball” and what it meant. So when I went to watch the film, I really wasn’t expecting that much. This soon became clear to me that I was wrong about my first thought about this film because the more it watched this film, the better it got. I must admit that I though the casting of Jonah Hill was a huge mistake but while I was watching the film it became real clear to me very fast that he was exactly what the film needed. The scenes where he and Brad Pitt work together to make “Moneyball” work were great and I can’t believe that Hill could actually act. So I wasn’t that much surprised when Hill was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The film is a great look at the attempt of a few men to try and change how players are scouted. Please see it when you can. Grade A

8. The Tree of Life- As I said earlier there are directors that I like and some that I hate and then there are some who I just don’t quite understand and sad to say The director of this film, Terrence Malick has always been one of them. I really had no idea what to think about this film before I saw it and after I saw it, I still had the same idea, I really never could grasp what the director was attempting in this film. After I watched it and wanted to get more opinions about this film and when I read that one of the actors in this film, Sean Penn, had the exact same questions that I had about this film, I knew that I want the only one. I have heard rumors that there was a 6 hour cut of this film and maybe this film need to be one day restored back into that cut because I really did not get where this film was ever going. I hope that his next film will be better because I can see no reason why this film was nominated for Best Picture. Please pass on this film at all cost. Grade F

9.War Horse- As I kept watching the many previews for this film, I couldn’t help but wonder would I actually like this film? After his last 2 films, Tin Tin and Indy 4, I was wondering had the director, Steven Spielberg, lost his way. I am happy to report that the director not only made a good film, he made a great one. As this reviewer has stated in the past that he is a history major and a former US Army soldier, I take a very hard look at historical films and look for their accuracy. Sometimes the lack of accuracy doesn’t bother me (Gladiator) or the total lack of the truth (Braveheart) will really turn me off on a film. I kept thinking about that before I went in to see the film and wondering what I would see in this film. I can say that I saw a film that I, historically, that I actually could believe in. The idea of the film is very simple, a boy learns to train and love a horse. World War one has started and the British need all horses for the war effort and his horse is sold and the horse goes to war. For the rest of the film I was reminded of this fact, of the million horses that were sent abroad from the UK, only 62,000 returned, the rest dying in the war or slaughtered in France for meat. World War 1 had a massive and indelible impact on the male population of the UK: 886,000 men died one in eight of those who went to war, and 2% of the entire country’s population. The film is shown through the Horses reaction and to what happened to him. The bells scenes made that fact very clear to me in the film. My favorite part of the film is when the horse is trapped in barbed wire and a German and British Soldier both work together to free the horse. The sheer lunacy of this moment in the War made me believe in the film more, the film then takes you where usually dramas will take you, so you won’t be surprised by it but you might actually like it. The ending was pretty easy to see coming but after the adventure of this film, this is the way that this film had to end. After the film was over, I realized that I would want to add this film to my collection and to show it to people who need to see that great films are still being made in 2011. Please see it when it plays in South Korea. Grade A+

And if I had my vote it would be for “The Descendants’ based on these 9 films. Please try to see all of these films on DVD, VOD, or at the local CGV.

The top 10 conservative movies of the modern era

By Nile Gardiner

Two years ago I produced a list of the top 10 conservative movies of the last decade, which sparked a good deal of debate among film fans on both sides of the Atlantic. I’ve produced a sequel, a list of the ten best conservative films of the last half-century, from the 1960s onwards. I plan to eventually write a list of the top ten conservative films of all time, where the likes of On the Waterfront (1954) and High Noon (1952) will certainly be leading candidates for inclusion.

As I noted in my 2009 post, this is a list of cinematic treasures that have “advanced a conservative message, ranging from strong support for the military and love for country to the defence of capitalism and the free market. These are all brilliant movies that conservatives can be inspired by, and which are guaranteed to offend Left-wing sensibilities in one way or another.” I include four films from my first list: Master and Commander, Black Hawk Down, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Pursuit of Happyness.

These are movies that I believe can and will inspire conservatives and conservative leaders. They are not necessarily made by conservative film-makers, however, and the majority of directors on this list are not known for their political views. Some ideologically liberal directors have made great conservatives movies. Steven Spielberg for example is a politically liberal figure who consistently makes films that advance conservative values. The second film on this list, Zulu, was directed by Cy Endfield, who was wrongly blacklisted during the McCarthy era and forced to work in exile abroad in Britain.

In recent decades Hollywood has been a bastion of liberalism, but at the same time its studios have produced and distributed some major hit movies that have a conservative outlook or message, not least because, as Gallup has found, conservatives significantly outnumber liberals in the US population as a whole and form a major part of the cinema-going public. Witness the recent success for example of Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side, a film that grossed more than $300 million for Warner Brothers in 2009.

Below are films that conservatives can be taken to heart in both the United States and Great Britain, movies that celebrate conservative values, the defense of the free world, deep-seated patriotism and individual liberty.

1. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981)

Chariots of Fire is one of the greatest British films of all time, and a truly conservative masterpiece. It received seven Academy Award nominations in 1982, winning four including Best Picture, Score (by Vangelis), Original Screenplay and Costume Design, and also went on to win Best Film at the BAFTAS. Ben Cross and Ian Charleson played the athletes Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell who competed for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics, both winning gold medals, in the 100 Metres and 400 Metres respectively. The superb supporting cast included Sir Ian Holm, Sir John Gielgud, Nigel Havers, Patrick Magee and Lindsay Anderson. Chariots of Fire exudes patriotism, tradition, faith, honour and sacrifice in a magnificently inspiring motion picture that captured the hearts of cinema goers all over the world. Produced by David Puttnam, Chariots led a renaissance of British cinema in the 1980s, including a string of major hits including Gandhi, A Passage to India, The Mission, and The Killing Fields. In accepting his Oscar, the film's writer Colin Welland famously declared "the British are coming" – and how right he was.

2. Zulu (Cy Endfield, 1964)

Arguably the most influential war film of the modern era, Zulu is a magnificent tribute to the tremendous bravery of the 140 British soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot who defended the small mission post at Rorke’s Drift, Natal, in the face of thousands of Zulu attackers during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879, winning 11 Victoria Crosses in the process. At the same time the film honours the great courage of the Zulu impis, who died in the hundreds during the battle. The film featured a breakout performance by a young Michael Caine, who brilliantly played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, alongside Stanley Baker’s Lieutenant John Chard, stunning cinematography by Stephen Dade and a rousing score by John Barry. Made in the dying days of the British Empire in Africa, Zulu was strikingly old-fashioned even for its day, in its heroic depiction of the British warrior ethos at the height of the Victorian era. Zulu is one of the only films of the modern age that chose not to condemn or vilify Britain's imperial heritage, but instead highlighted the extraordinary courage of the men who fought and died in defence of the largest and most benevolent Empire the world had ever seen.

3. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998)

Steven Spielberg has made some of the best and biggest movies of the last four decades: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List to name but a few. His finest film though is Saving Private Ryan, inexplicably overlooked for Best Picture at the 1999 Academy Awards in favour of Shakespeare in Love. His soaring tribute to the bravery of American soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy in June 1944 was a powerful reminder of the huge sacrifices made by an earlier generation in the defence of freedom. It is a reminder that the defence of liberty comes at great cost. It should be essential viewing for every US president as he takes office. It is a truly humbling film that depicts the horror of war in unflinching detail while illustrating the magnificent courage of those who laid down their lives for the United States on the European battlefields of World War Two.

4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)

Peter Weir’s unashamedly old-fashioned and visually stunning adaptation of Patrick O’Brian’s novel is one of the greatest odes to leadership ever committed to celluloid. Australian director Weir has made many terrific films, including Gallipoli, Dead Poets Society, The Year of Living Dangerously, and Witness, but Master and Commander was the pinnacle of his career so far. Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, it should be essential viewing for any Commander-In-Chief. Russell Crowe delivers a immensely powerful performance as Jack Aubrey, Captain of HMS Surprise, a British warship that hunts and ultimately captures a far larger French adversary during the Napoleonic Wars. Set in 1805, it is an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire. Needless to say, it should be shown at the next EU summit by the UK delegation for the benefit of Nicolas Sarkozy when he gets on his high horse and starts lecturing Britain about French superiority.

5. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976)

Sylvester Stallone has been one of the most successful conservative movie stars of his generation, and rose to fame in the 1977 Best Picture winner Rocky. Made for less than $1 million, Rocky was the underdog that went on to beat All The President’s Men, Taxi Driver and Network at the Oscars, with Stallone nominated for Best Actor for his performance as humble boxer Rocky Balboa who rises from poverty to become a world champion. The film sparked five sequels, culminating in the terrific Rocky Balboa in 2006, and the series has pulled in more than $1 billion at the US and worldwide box office combined. Produced largely on location in Philadelphia (out of the reach of the powerful film industry unions), and featuring a dynamite score by Bill Conti, Rocky was an incredible success filmed in the space of just 30 days. Conservative to the core and deeply patriotic in outlook, the Rocky films are a celebration of American values and individualism, and have come to embody the nation’s tremendous fighting spirit and love of liberty.

6. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)

The Deer Hunter came away with five Oscars, including Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actor, and is one of the most iconic dramas of the 1970s, alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men and William Friedkin’s The French Connection. But in contrast to several other major Vietnam-themed films of the time, which include Apocalypse Now and Coming Home (and later Platoon and Full Metal Jacket), it cannot be described as an anti-war treatise. Michael Cimino’s visceral masterpiece was attacked upon its release by some critics for its portrayal of the Vietcong as a sadistic, brutal enemy, with its infamous Russian roulette sequence featuring Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken as American prisoners held by the North Vietnamese. It even prompted a walkout at the 1979 Berlin International Film Festival by delegations from a number of Communist countries led by the Soviet Union. It is undeniably patriotic, with the film ending with a moving and unforgettable rendition of “God Bless America” sung by the film’s main characters, including a young Meryl Streep. A truly great film, The Deer Hunter is an American epic that three decades on still packs a powerful punch.

7. The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 1984)

Despite the huge destruction wrought by Communism in the 20th Century, disappointingly few films have addressed its evils. A notable exception was Roland Joffe’s searing The Killing Fields, the story of American journalist Sydney Schanberg (played by Sam Waterston) and his interpreter and fellow journalist Dith Pran, set against the backdrop of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The film’s harrowing depiction of the Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979 is simply unforgettable, conveying the full horror of Pol Pot’s savage killing machine and inhuman forced labour camps that wiped out up to two-and-a-half million people. Pran’s character, played by Oscar winner Haing S. Ngor, was himself a real-life survivor of the Killing Fields. The British film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning three, as well as the BAFTA for Best Film. The Killing Fields is an uncompromising portrait of a brutal Marxist tyranny, and a warning to the world never to allow this kind of barbarism to be repeated.

8. Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)

Sir Ridley Scott’s searing depiction of the ill-fated US raid on Mogadishu in 1993, which left 19 American servicemen dead, was released just months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the launch of the War on Terror. Based on the book by Mark Bowden, it won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Sound, and Scott was nominated for Best Director. Many critics enthusiastically dubbed Black Hawk Down an anti-war film, and it is in some respects a cautionary tale about the perils of nation-building. But I regard it above all as an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military, faced with overwhelming odds in a hostile city dominated by brutal Somali warlords, a story of incredible sacrifice and camaraderie in the heat of battle.

9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001, 2002, 2003)

All three parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy were breathtaking pieces of cinema – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and finally The Return of the King, which won Best Picture at the 2004 Academy Awards. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of Lord of the Rings, was a devout Catholic and conservative, and a close friend of C.S. Lewis at Oxford. His vision of a mighty battle between good and evil in the realms of Middle Earth was brilliantly transferred to the screen by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, perfectly fitting a post 9/11 world where the forces of freedom found themselves pitted against a barbaric enemy. A two-part prequel to the trilogy - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again – will be released in December 2012 and December 2013.

10. The Pursuit of Happyness (Gabrielle Muccino, 2006)

This Will Smith classic, based on the autobiographical bestseller by Chris Gardner, is one of the most compelling, heart-felt tributes to the free market and the value of individual responsibility ever made. Smith plays an impoverished entrepreneur from a humble background in 1980s San Francisco who through sheer determination and strength of human spirit defies all odds to become a stockbroker with a top investment firm, before making his fortune. Smith’s character embodies the can-do spirit of Reagan’s America, and rejects the welfare state in favour of the capitalist ideal, while bringing up a young son on his own. The Pursuit of Happyness is an inspiring and often deeply moving tribute to the American dream, and one of the great conservative movies of this generation.

Runner-up

The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010)

The King’s Speech thoroughly deserved its Oscar success last year, sweeping the major awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. As I wrote after seeing the film on its opening night in Washington: “Anyone who doubts the Special Relationship is alive and well in the hearts of the American people should see this film in a US theatre and listen to the rapturous applause it receives. The King’s Speech is undoubtedly one of the best British films since Chariots of Fire, with stunning performances from Colin Firth as George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unconventional Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Tom Hooper’s period drama is a hugely inspirational and moving film that is a triumph for British cinema. It is also deeply patriotic in its portrayal of a stammering, shy monarch who ultimately overcomes tremendous odds to lead a nation at war in the face of a totalitarian enemy.”

Honourable Mentions

These films didn’t make the final list, but deserve recognition for their contribution to conservative values, ideals and principles:

Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 1971); A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977); Who Dares Wins (Ian Sharp, 1982); Uncommon Valor (Ted Kotcheff, 1983); Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos, 1985); Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989); Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989); Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986); Shadowlands (Richard Attenborough, 1993); Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994); Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000); We Were Soldiers (Randall Wallace, 2002); Tears of the Sun (Antoine Fuqua, 2003); Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004); The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004); The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006); United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006); Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, 2006); Katyn (Andrzej Wajda, 2007); 300 (Zack Snyder, 2007); The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008); Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008); The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock, 2009); 5 Days of War (Renny Harlin, 2011).