The Truest of Grit

Jeff Bridges takes on the role of "Rooster" Cogburn, a down-on-his-luck, alcoholic, US Marshall with a reputation for having an itchy trigger finger. Cogburn is hired by 14 year-old Matti Ross to hunt down the man who killed her father, and the two of them are joined by Matt Damon who plays a "by-the-book" Texas Ranger named LeBeouf. Bridges redeems himself for participating in Tron by delivering a performance as entertaining and endearing as Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. And newcomer Hailee Steinfeld compliments Bridges sloppy, dereliction as his spunky, resourceful, and uninvited sidekick. The film starts out very promising, but a thin and uneventful plot kills its momentum, and True Grit finishes slow with a sloppy, dissatisfying ending. Like Pirates, this movie is made by the performance of its star, but is otherwise unremarkable.
- 2.5 stars for True Grit.

Now I know what I want to be when I grow up!

When street fighting, sharp-shooting accountant, Owen Zastava Pitt's boss turns into a werewolf and tries to kill him, he is recruited to help fight monsters and get paid for it - a lot of money. If you like Men In Black, Hell Boy, or Big Trouble in Little China (or guns), you're going to love Monster Hunter International. Larry Corriea tells a funny, action packed, and at times disturbing tale of one man's awakening to the supernatural and its dark side. I laughed, I cried, and I wanted to blow stuff up. B- for Monster Hunter International.

Best Internet Video Ever!

Ferrets....

Top 10 Super Nintendo games you should play before you die

Awe the days of 16 bit gaming, when cartridges boasted of their megabyte capacities to impress the gaming public. For me this was probably the golden age of video gaming, and so here is my top 10 list of SNES games that anyone who likes games should play before they die;

10.Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
9. Final Fantasy 2 (or 4 as it is now called)
8. Mortal Kombat 2
7. Super Mario All Stars
6. Star Fox
5. Contra 3
4. Mega Man X
3. Final Fantasy 3 (or as its now called, 6)
2. The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
1. Chrono Trigger

What's your picks?

History 1700 the way it should have been!

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter may sound like a joke, but that's part of what makes seth grahame-smith's novel so brilliant. You begin reading it without much more expectation than a good chuckle, but soon discover a compelling, emotionally engaging (at times disturbing) action/horror story expertly woven into actual historical events.
Supposedly taken from a collection of secret journals, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter tells of how Honest Abe, enraged at his mother's murder at the hands of vampire, became one of the most dangerous vampire hunters of all time, and how the blood drinking demons played a part in his political career, the Civil War, and his ultimate assassination.
Cleverly written with a quirky charm, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is one of the most original takes on vampire lore that I've ever seen.

B+ for this clever treatment of American History.

The END of Harry Potter........part one.

Well, we all knew that this was coming. I swore I would never fall in love with another fantasy movie series since the Lord of the Rings (my fragile heart just can't take the let down), but here we are at the end of the Harry Potter saga with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one. First, let me just say that all of the controversy over the "nude scene" is ridiculous and blown out of proportion (is it wrong that I was disappointed by that?). In a surreal vision presented to Ron by part of Voldemort's soul in order to make him jealous, we see Harry and Hermonie passionately kissing - apparently nude. The shot is brief and absolutely nothing is shown. Would I let my kids watch this movie? Probably not unfiltered, but not because of that scene. Deathly Hallows is quite dark, creepy, and has more violence than the other Potter movies.

Once again, Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint are at their best, portraying believable relationships that are strained by the impending end of the world. Deathly Hallows is also one of the most faithful film adaptations of a novel that I’ve seen – it varying little from the book and bringing back several characters from the earlier films. Although I was glad the movie was being split into two parts, this turned out to be the film’s greatest weakness as the end offers no resolution whatsoever and feels more like a T.V. cliffhanger than a two part movie. Three stars for the entertaining, but horribly teasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one.

Oh yeah, for those who might’ve been at the showing with me, I was NOT crying when a certain house elf died. I wasn’t!!!

This movie has TWO Iron Mans!

The season of summer blockbusters has officially started, and what better way to kick it off than with a super hero movie! I loved the first Iron Man (3 stars) and have been eagerly replaying Iron Man 2 trailers to intentionally stoke the fires of my enthusiasm. After seeing the movie on opening night, I am happy to report that it didn't disappoint...for the most part. The movie begins very soon after the first Iron Man ended with Tony Stark (played by my new man crush, Robert Downey Jr) riding the tide of his increased fame as a super hero while trying to hide from his friends and the world the fact that his arc reactor is slowly poisoning him. Add to the mix the government threatening to take his armored suit technology, his company in chaos, a mad Russian (Mickey Rourke) trying to kill him with a knock off of his own technology, a greedy rival with an inferiority complex, and a falling out with his best friend, and you have Tony Stark's very complicated life and the plot for Iron Man 2. That sounds like a lot to fit into two hours, but director Jon Favreau manages to make it work. Still, while Iron Man 2 doesn't lack for substance, it ironically is slow getting started and stingily doles out the action scenes - the last fight with "Robo-Ivan" is disappointingly short. This and a flimsy resolution for solving Stark's palladium core poisoning problem make the movie slightly inferior to the original. However, even in spite of its flaws, Iron Man 2 delivers enough thrills, intrigue, and impressive visuals (that includes Scarlett Johansson) to qualify as a worthy sequel. 3 stars for the satisfying, but not glorifying, Iron Man 2.