Whip It

Whip It, not to be confused with a popular song from the 80’s by a four man band wearing odd red hats resembling Lego pieces made for giants is the debut film from Drew Barrymore. Like many other actors Barrymore has gone behind the camera to take her turn at calling the shots though still appearing in the film, her main role however was orchestrating this roller-derby opus.

The film portrays the story of a Texas high school girl played by Ellen Page secretly falling in with a group of tattooed roller-derby freaks against the wishes of her pageant pursuing mother. Anyone familiar with her role in Juno will be equally endeared by the role she plays though less pregnant this time around. The Texas sized heart of the film lies in the struggle the main characters have in forging their own destiny separate from what friends or family would want for them. As Page breaks away from her mothers will she becomes more rebellious thus adding to the changes affecting her and those for whom she cares.

Where Barrymore truly shines as director is getting the right actors in the right roles assembling a cast as delightful as they are diverse. Whip It includes SNL’s Kristen Wig, Death Proof’s Zoe Bell, Eve, and Juliette Lewis as some of the roller-derby dames. The film also pulls in Arrested Development’s mischievous Maeby aka Alia Shawkat, Andrew Wilson (the lesser known Wilson brother), and even Jimmy Fallon finds an appropriate role as the roller rink announcer.

What will surprise viewers though is how Barrymore resists the urge to fill scenes with needless dialogue instead letting the images see the story through. Drew accurately animates a middle class America without glamour but not without comfort or charm. Barrymore also turns in a world class playlist guiding the movie gently along to The Ramones, The Raveonettes, Little Joy, .38 Special, Radiohead, and ever talented Dolly Parton.

Though the plot can be recognized early on Whip It is a simple and enjoyable story that may not win over the masses but will certainly strike it big with the Fox Searchlight indie market. Whip It is the first chick flick in recent memory that is such without overburdening viewers with taxing emotions but not without the bumps and bruises that come along the way. Where chick flick meets contact sport.

Goal! The Soccer Trilogy

Goal! The Soccer Trilogy

I don’t know how many of you have actually heard of the movie Goal! I don’t think it was ever released in theatres, but you could defiantly rent it at your local blockbuster or Hollywood video, or do as I did, and buy for $2 on Amazon. Now was it worth buying all three of the movies?... Sort of. The first two were alright, but the third was just awful. Pure awful!

The first movie is called Goal! The dream begins. It tells the story of a gardner, Santigo Muniz, from Mexico working in LA, and playing in a local soccer league in the city. He had no direction in life, and was just working for his fathers landscaping company, and just plyaing soccer. While playing at a local soccer game, a former New Castle United player was there watching. What he saw was amazing skill in this young Santi Muniz. He told him if he was ever in England, to look him up and he would get him a try out with New Castle United. Santi took it seriously, and took him up on that offer, and flew there and risked everything to try and make his dream come true. Playing for the EPL is no walk in the park.

Goal 2 is Santi getting traded to Spanish Giant Real Madrid, and having all the money get to his head, and he ends up putting his money ahead of everything. While playing in spain, he ignores his fiancé, finds his long lost mother and brother, and makes stupid mistakes.

Then Goal 3 comes along, and its porbaly the worst soccer movie ever made. It was pure awful. It was about the world cup, but instead of Santi playing for Mexico, it focuses on his two friends from Real Madrid playing for Englands national team. Santi is barely in the movie. It was just pure crap.

Typically, these types of sports movies are not that interesting. Remember the titans set a pretty good standard, and ever since then people have been trying extremely hard to make an emotional sports film. Lets just face it, all of them are cheesy. Goal is cheesy, but the soccer play in it is quite entertaing to watch. Kuno Becker, who plays Santi Muniz actually isn’t that bad of an actor. He did bother me to much in this movie. But non the less, the first two Goal movies are actually watchable in my opinon. They are watchable, but they aren’t a must. Goal 2 is more entertaining than the first one, only beacsue of the live footage of Real Madrid games, and the final game agisnt Arsenal with great shots of Terri Henry.

Extract

Anyone seeking to relive what has become comic relief in workplaces all across North America thanks to Mike Judge’s 1999 classic Office Space will unfortunately come up with a case of the Mondays in his newest film Extract. Though no TPS reports will be filed in Extract, instead it’s actually an extract factory that plays the back drop to this new workplace disaster, the film is a genuine failure at recreating the questions and problems that plague every working class thirty something trying to make their way in the world.

Though the workplace has provided as a great subject for TV and film the problem with Extract is that it simply did not flow. The film largely follows a recipe similar to Office Space. You have Jason Bateman as the burnt out boss, John Reilly plays the annoying neighbor, and even Gene Simmons makes an appearance as the tough talking lawyer (which is actually one of the better scenes). Also making contributions are SNL’s Kristen Wig, Ben Afflek, and Mila Kunis. Despite assembling a notable cast Mr. Judge came up short in actually giving them a descent or believable storyline of which to go off. It actually feels more like a rambling incoherent collection of thoughts than a solid piece of hand crafted cinema. The film does have a few moments of glory but unfortunately they are almost all for the most part played out in the film’s trailer.

Overall the film just didn’t live up to expectations. Certainly it would have been nice to have this film workout but until Mike Judge can come up with something better Office Space will remain his masterpiece.

Movie-Moron's top tens list!!!

This is a list done by my good friends at Movie-Moron. They have compiled some intresting list of movies and one liners from bond to vampires. This is a must read and must see.

Top Tens

Top Ten Zombie movies

Damned United

The Damned United

This was a fun movie to watch. I am personally a big soccer fan, and love to follow the sport as much as possible. This movie didn’t really focus on the athletes of soccer, or so much the game play itself, but more on the coaching and managing aspect of the game. Its not a foul movie, a few F-words every now and then, but for the most part a pretty clean movie and a fun watch.

This movie was directed by Tom Hooper, who did the John Adam series on HBO, and is doing the remake, or another version of East of Eden that’s coming out in 2009. The movie is about a loud mouth former English superstar taking over England's top football club Leeds United, previously successful manager Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor who has loyally stayed with Brighton & Hove Albion.

If you are a soccer fan, especially one of Leeds United or the EPL in general, I would recommend seeing this movie. It isn’t a blockbuster, or anything special. It is an interesting movie, and a good glimpse on how some of the business side of football works. I learned some things from it actually, and it was a good piece of history to watch. It’s always fun to watch movies about soccer that actually happened.

I really enjoyed watching the flashbacks of the movie. It kept on going back and forth between his time at Derby and Leeds united. I thought that the writing was really good, and thought that Michael Sheen (Brian Clough) did an amazing job. He was supported very well by Timothy Spall (Peter Taylor) who is famous for Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter series. They worked really well as a team, and had many great English actors to carry the film on. The Leeds United football team really was full of douches, and they did a good job at being ones.

You know what, life is short, so go see this damn movie and enjoy it!!!

Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia as most people know by now (I realize I’m quite behind on reviewing this one) is the film adaptation of a book by Julie Powell; Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. The book is the result of the popularity Mrs. Powell attained while blogging about her attempts to cook her way through the iconic Julia Childs French cookbook; Mastering the Art of French Cooking one day at a time for one year.

Just as masterful as French cuisine Julie & Julia is a savory blend of two true stories being portrayed by four fantastic performances. In fact it would be hard to conceive Meryl Streep not getting an Oscar nomination for her rendering of the quirky 6’2’’ Julia Childs (just watch of video of her on YouTube to understand the job she did). Stanley Tucci also turned in a great performance as the husband of Mrs. Childs. Opposite their couple is the modern day chef Julie Powell and husband played by Amy Adams (Doubt, Sunshine Cleaning) and Chris Messina.

The movie follows both women as they turn their passions for cooking into a career. However how they accomplished their achievements is not as simple as it would seem, and much like a complicated recipe you rarely get it right on the first try. Julie & Julia more than a glorified two hour food network special is a genuine story of the all so troublesome quest of finding your niche in life. Viewers will see both women progress and grow in a interesting character development that goes from the brink of despair to success au cuisine.

Machine Girl

Machine Girl

This movie was seriously amazing. I think this is the best B-rated gore fest film I have ever seen. There is no swearing, or nudity or drug use in the movie, just pure gore and violence. Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes is disturbing, it varies every couple of minutes. Yes, that’s how much violence there is in the movie, it varies between funny and disturbing every scene. But it is so worth the time to watch it. I rented it on instant queue on Netflix.

The plot of machine girl isn’t too complicated, but leaves plenty of excuse for total revenge and carnage. Ami is a typical college girl. She's bright, friendly, popular and athletic, with nothing to set her apart from other girls her age other than the fact that she is an orphan, left to care for her younger brother after her father committed suicide after being falsely accused of murder. But while there is tragedy in their past, the siblings' future looks good, except for one thing. Ami's brother has racked up a considerable debt to another boy at school, and that boy just happens to be the heir to a clan of vicious ninja-yakuza. Ami's brother can't pay, violence breaks out and in the course of trying to avenge her brother, Ami is captured by the clan. They torture her and hack her arm right off. Ami escapes, barely alive, and is taken in by the owners of a machine shop who build her a customized, bullet-spewing arm. From that point, the quest for revenge is on in earnest

Honestly, the first 5 minutes of the movie is amazing. If you rent this on instant queue and watch the first five minutes, and don’t like it, then don’t finish the movie. But if you love the first five minutes, then your in for an amazing ride. In fact, ill put up a clip of the first five minutes, and If you love it, then rent it asap!!!

Its obviously to violent to watch with the faint of heart, and children, and not the best date movie, but its funny and violent and just unreal. Extremely gory, but clean in language. See it!!!

Band Slam

Band Slam

So I saw this movie at the dollar theatre, and trust me it was worth a dollar, but nothing really more. This movie was awkward to watch because pop kids take cool music and try to make it main stream and appeal to the Jonas Brothers fan base. So for some reason it really bothered me. I don’t want Jonas Brothers tweeners to know about the history of the Velvet Underground from a main stream movie with Disney pop stars. Besides me being upset about the music they talk about in the movie, the movie actually wasn’t all that bad. It was pretty funny, and it was funny to see Vanessa Hudgens play a depressed anti-social girl.

Teenager Will Burton lives in his head, and his head is filled with music. When his mother, Karen Burton, gets a new job in New Jersey, Will starts his junior year at a new school only to find the old cliques still apply, but rock-n-roll rules the scene. Perpetually a misfit, Will strikes up a friendship with like-minded outsider Sa5m (the 5 is silent). They are both surprised when the school's "it" girl, Charlotte recruits Will to help assemble a band to compete in "Bandslam," a battle of the bands that is "Texas High School Football BIG." Charlotte's ex-boyfriend Ben Wheatly is poised to win with his band Glory Dogs - Springsteen wannabes down to their hats. For the first time in his life, Will finds he is uniquely suited to not only participate in something, but to truly make a difference

All in all, I didn’t really like this movie. Not the biggest fan of it. I was really bummed that I had to sit through the whole thing, and that the music they played really wasn’t that good.

I think this photo says it all, this movie is cheesy and is trying hard

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker

I finally saw this movie. Its been in theaters for a while, and I was a little scared to making the commitment to see it. Everyone told me it was intense, but not really a plot. Everyone was right. I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie, but I noticed there was really no plot nor character development. It was just a guy in a bomb suit going into different scenarios defusing bombs. And thats it. Well, there is more depth than that, but really it was just a reality check on war. I have never seen a war movie that felt more real.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who directed the the best Swayze and Reeves movie ever, Point Break, showed us in the Hurt Locker what war is like in middle east. It takes us into the lives of the most dangerous job in the world, disarming bombs in the war. When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. James behaves as if he's indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James' true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever.

When the bombs are being disarmed, your heart is racing. You keep wondering if they will blow up or not. Very intense scenes. Especially when he finds a car full of bombs, or a bomb implanted in a little boys body. But all in all, its just a crazy redneck showing no fear when approaching a bomb. In the end, the crazy Sargent goes home, and realizes that he only lives for one thing, and thats the thrill of almost dying, and goes right back to the war.

Good movie to see in theaters, but just so you know, there isn't much of a plot or character development, and there is lots of F-bombs. But it is intense and suspenseful throughout the whole film.