Attack of the Killer Clones

She blinded me with SCIENCE!

This movie was created for extra credit in my biology class. So, that's pretty much the story behind this movie.

It was a creation that was definitely a team effort and I'd like to thank everyone that appears in the credits for helping out on this project!

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Okay, first, let's get something out the way before. It's my sense of humor, in that, it's kind of unique to a lot of people's. I bring this up because there were a lot of jokes I was laughing at in this movie that not a lot of people were laughing at in the theater, though it was probably because it was making a lot of references that were going over a lot of people's heads. But, if you want to see something that I find uniquely funny, something that I'm not sure a lot of others are going to laugh at, is this video.

http://redlettermedia.com/101-wacky-kid-jokes-with-mike-and-rich-evans/

As far as I'm concerned, this video is comical genius. I laughed at nearly every joke in this video, but it wasn't because it was the jokes that Mike was reading off, rather his deadpan delivery on all of them. He delivers all of the jokes with this sort of sincere affectation of "Wow, these jokes are kind of dumb as shit, but that's why I'm reading them." and I just could not help but burst out laughing.

It's not that I will laugh at anything, as there are a lot of jokes that seemed to get shared on Facebook that make me want to strangle who ever came up with those jokes in the first place. Also, there are a lot of times where audiences will just at jokes where I'll find myself being the only one not laughing at them.

So, I felt bringing this up was important for this movie. Anyways, here we go!

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is based off of Peabody's Improbable History, a cartoon in the late 50s and early 60s along with Rocky & Bullwinkle. These were cartoons that I actually grew up with. I don't exactly remember watching them religiously, but I do remember liking them. It wasn't until recently that I decided to watch them again as the sort of "test of nostalgia" where I was wondering if what I was watching was any good in the first place rather than just a dumb cartoon that I watched when I was a kid because kids like watching dumb cartoons.

Well, all of the shows on the Rocky & Bullwinkle selection became one of those shows that was actually better than I even remember as I soon found out that these shows weren't exactly made with kids in mind. They're very quick witted shows that you kind of have to realize what they're doing in order to really get the sense of humor behind them. They're shows that like to play on the expectations of viewers in a very unique, yet, almost blatant way. The big thing about Peabody's Improbable History is that you kind of have to be familiar with historical events and people they were joking about. But, now that I'm older and know at least two more things than I did as a kid, Peabody, along with the rest of the cartoons, are one of the few shows that I can actually genuinely appreciate besides just being something that I remember fondly as a kid.

Seeing the trailer for this new movie of Mr. Peabody & Sherman, it was kind of hard to get less than a little mad. Something that was known for dry witticisms and clever reflexive gags gets turned into a big "family adventure" for the kiddies who can't sit still for more the 2 nanoseconds who need everything force fed to them(and maybe some of the adults as well). Really, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this movie. The trailers made it looked contrived, overly-simple, and boring. It was as if there was nothing going to be special about it and that it might even just get shoved into the pile that the Lorax movie is in where people are going to just ask "What were they thinking?"

Sidenote: I actually haven't seen the Lorax movie. So, I guess I'm not really allowed to hate it yet, but hearing the horror stories of that movie really makes it hard for me to want to see it in the first place.

With my low expectations and pessimistic attitude, thinking "of course they would turn a familiar property into a big dumb kids cartoon for the money." It felt like there was no way that this movie was going to be any good.

I was wrong! And, really, hooray for that!!!

This movie is FUNNY!

Now, I'm not entirely sure if Mr. Peabody & Sherman is an entirely good movie or maybe a movie that even works completey, but, as far as it delivers on being entertaining, it's hard to imagine anybody leaving the theater disappointed. And, believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are talking about how much I liked this movie. The movie does carry the spirit of its original series without completely embracing it, which is kind of a shame, but it doesn't forget the signature style of the original show, even if it does kind of poke fun of it.

If there's anything to why this movie doesn't completely work, it's because the story in the movie is kind of a mess. The movie starts off with a giant side adventure during the French Revolution that does a good job of showing us the kind of characters that Mr. Peabody and Sherman are. Mr. Peabody has been amped up to be this sort of Sherlock Holmes genius that has been multiplied by 10. His clever, on the spot planning skills of getting out of dangerous situations is nothing but far-fetched and silly. But it's also highly entertaining. Sherman is a kid who's there to ask all the questions so Peabody can cleverly explain his thought process. "Elementary, my dear Watson!"

The actual plot starts when Sherman starts going to school and she pisses off this one girl in class by knowing a little more about history than she does. Her name is Penny, and she decides to make fun of Sherman on how his guardian is a dog and starts calling Sherman a dog as well. They get into a small scuffle and Sherman bites Penny on the arm. This starts getting the main antagonist(I'm honestly not even going to bother to remember her name, it's kind of not that important) to start an investigation on how Mr. Peabody might be an unfit parent for Sherman while Sherman is starting to question his relationship with his dad and how it might be kind of weird how his dad is a dog. Mr. Peabody decides the best way to keep Sherman is to make friends with Penny and her parents. Sherman and Penny don't exactly get along, but, in order to impress Penny, Sherman decides to take her on the time machine where Penny decides to stay in Ancient Egypt to become King Tut's bride. Of course, this isn't good, so it's up to Mr. Peabody and Sherman to make sure they rescue Penny with hope that they don't disrupt too much of history.

Writing that lengthy summary of the plot, I'm kind of starting to realize that they might have put more thought into the actually story of the movie than they probably should have. The problem is entirely the structure of the plot. The movie doesn't really take care to make sure that things follow in a consequential order; they just keep on throwing things at the main characters in order for the movie to keep going. This would honestly be fine if the movie would embrace the absurdity of its situations, but, unfortunately, The LEGO Movie didn't exactly come out in time for the people behind this movie to take notes on how to create a movie that's silly and over the top and self-aware while also still giving a compelling story in its own right. Mixing absurd plotting with a serious story just doesn't quite work.

Fortunately, the movie is willing to try to be funny, and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't laughing my ass off through out the entire movie. However, like the TV show the movie is based on, you have to know a thing or two about history in order to get a lot of the jokes in this movie. The movie does sneak in some adult-humor into the movie that's going to fly over the kids' heads, but the movie also makes a lot of references that will probably fly over nearly everyone's heads. I don't want to spoil any of the jokes, but you can watch a couple of episodes of the original show in order to see the kind of humor that this movie is going for.

If it's any problem I had with this movie, it is that every time the movie made a joke, it was pretty bad at saying  "HEY! DID YOU GET IT! WE WERE BEING FUNNY RIGHT THERE!" It's kind of a turn off as the TV show was pretty confident that the audience would know when it was making a joke without having to be obvious, but, remember, this is a big family movie. One example I can think of that doesn't spoil too much is this scene that had me thinking "Wow, this is exactly like that one scene from Spartacus!" and then the movie suddenly goes "Hey look! This is exactly like that one scene from Spartacus!" To be fair, I think them doing that was the joke, and it was pretty funny. But I'm not lying by saying that, every time they make a joke, they make sure that the audience gets that they were trying to be funny at that moment.

All in all, I'd actually call Mr. Peabody & Sherman a success. A movie that's way more smart and clever than the trailers would ever lead anybody to believe. The movie doesn't entirely work with it's awkward plotting and structure while also having a more serious tone than it probably should have. But, when a movie is this funny, something must have gone right. It might be a bit of a back-handed compliment to say that this movie was better than I thought it was going to be, as I didn't think the movie was going to be good at all, but I enjoyed it immensely and it's definitely a better movie than just finding something, just anything, that the family can do.

The LEGO Movie

It actually felt pretty weird to feel excited over a movie that had the chance of being a tired, pop-culture "parody," featured-length commercial for toys. But, with promising looking trailers and some competent directors behind the wheel(Same guys who did Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street), it was safe to say that the movie was at least going to be pretty good. A movie that actually looked like that it was going to be funny, a great riff on Batman, and some charming animation of a movie that was trying to look like it was filmed by some guy who decided to play around on stop-motion with his LEGO sets while also having a list of all star actors.

But who knew that some of the most relevant, self-aware, hard biting social commentary would come in the form of a LEGO movie? It's not just that this movie is good, it's great! A one of a kind film that balances satire while also being able to keep a compelling story.

The story starts off with the epic battle between Vitruvius and President/Lord Business. And, the fact that the main bad guy's name is Business should pretty much clue you in on what kind of movie you're getting into. Vitruvius loses the battle but, during his defeat, cites a prophecy of a person who will become the most daring, important, and interesting person that will ever be. Years later, we get to the protagonist of the story, Emmet; an average, ordinary guy with nothing immediately unique about him. In fact, one of the characters described him as somebody who fits in so well with the masses that nobody even knew he existed. But, as circumstances would have it, he gets a sort of device that is suppose to be able to stop the super powerful weapon, called the Kragle, that President Business has, which sends him into off-beat adventures.

If it sounds like the story that has ripped off pretty much every other story which ripped off from the stories that ripped it off, well, that's kind of the point to this movie. It's an incredibly self-aware movie with most of its jokes pretty much pointing out on how silly all of the situations are. But it's not the only joke that this movie has going for it as it's a rapid fire comedy kind of film where a lot of the jokes aren't even immediately apparent but are still very much there. And, really, if it's anything about this movie, it's that it is hilarious. Mediums that use the Rapid Fire Comedy technique are usually there just because they had a lot of jokes but didn't know if all of them would work, so they just throw each joke out there as fast as they can in hopes that some of the jokes will stick with the audience. The good news is that this movie lands a laugh at a really consistent basis.

To really say anything more about why this movie works or why it's so unique and special would be giving it away. However, what's great is that it manages to find a way to have all the LEGO based characters from different properties to be able to interact with each other. It's not just a movie that borrowed the LEGO aesthetic, the whole part about LEGO is that it's the entire basis of the movie. It's an actual LEGO world with different realms for different characters such as the entire DC universe, the 1980s Something Space Guy, Michelangelo, Michelangelo, Abraham Lincoln, a Giant Robot Pirate, Shakespeare, and Batman.

Speaking of Batman, it would be surprising to even find a better take on the character, mostly because the entire movie turns the character into a joke. The super-seriousness, broodingness, and coolness of this flying rodent character are taken to an extreme to pretty much point out the strange obsession that a lot of people seem to have taken with him. However, they still managed to make Batman a fully realized character.

The LEGO Movie is one of the most unique movies anybody is ever going to have a chance to see in a really long time. It's definitely the best animated movie to come out in a while, but it's also one of the most surprisingly insightful movies to come out at all. Seriously, do not miss this film!

Top Ten Movies of 2013

And...Here you go!

The Day of the Doctor

Hmmmm....

I'll admit to having a bit of a falling out with the Doctor Who series. I haven't really kept up all that well since the end of the 5th season, and I think that's because it was starting to get a bit too much for me. I think it has a lot to do with what they keep doing with each new season and how they keep on 1 up-ing the last one in terms of stakes. I like the first season finale quite a bit because of how contained the whole situation was even though they had to go up against really tough challenges. Then, the next one involved a war on Earth that got a bit out of hand but it seemed to take place in just one area. The next one involved the entire world being enslaved with the final fix being a rewind button. The next one involved all of time collapsing, though, they actually did get pretty clever in their solution. The next, next one involved an even bigger collapse of time that involved Pandorica's Box and...stuff happens in order to fix that.

It just gets pretty tiring, following a series when it bends and breaks all of the newly presented rules from each new episode.

Still, with how incredibly popular this show has gotten, it's easy to see why it has been working so well even if plays fast and loose with what can happen(pretty much anything can happen long as The Doctor ends up preventing time from collapsing). It's because of the emotional connection that's in every episode. The reason why The Doctor has a companion with him is because that companion acts as a surrogate for your understanding of this strange new universe. These are the people who are incredibly eager to go on these adventures just as much as your eager to wish that there was a Doctor that can take you on these kinds of adventures. A Journey through Time and Space with new interesting planets, life-forms, and technology. That, and the show is also really well written.  Even the filler episodes that don't really affect the overall arching plot line of the series will be some of the best stuff you'll see on television.

So, while I haven't been keeping up too much with Doctor Who lately, I still looked forward to this 50th anniversary special where they bring every doctor in order to fight the good fight. And, no, I'm not going to get into anymore details into the plot if you haven't seen it already. But, suffice it to say, it's pretty damn incredible.

The one word I've heard described after the first time viewing this episode(yeah, I saw it twice. Once at home, the next at the movie theater), the word I heard described was "Epic." When I thought about it, it's kind of an unusual word to describe this particular episode, because most of it takes place in just a couple of rooms where people have long conversations with each other. Yes, there are a lot of glimpses of epic battle scenes, but a lot of the drama and conflict comes from The Doctor...and the other Doctor....and the other other Doctor. It's what's great about this series; it's able to bring out these high stakes and epic moments by conveying it all through just the characters. While most of the plot line revolves around other characters than the title character himself, this episode exclusively focuses on The Doctor.

Weirdly enough, the world didn't blow up when they showed David Tennant(yes, he's back again as The Doctor) and Matt Smith in the same scenes. And their time together is an absolute riot. I've always kind of felt like that these two actors were sort of playing the same kind of Doctor just by the fact of how quirky they like to act(maybe Matt Smith goes a bit on the quirkier side). The way they wrote both of these characters into the story doesn't necessarily confirm that they're playing the same kind of person, but I wasn't wrong to think og how similar they are. Either way, this episode goes to show how great either of them are as The Doctor. I think, by this time, people have finally settled into the fact that Matt Smith really is a good Doctor; he just had the misfortune of having to follow up on David Tennant, even though they both do exceptional jobs(I actually might kind of, sort of like Matt Smith just a little bit more than David Tennant and I'm going to miss him when he's gone, though, I'm looking forward to the new actor).

If it's anything this 50th anniversary special does is that it reminds us of why we like this show in the first place(much in the same way the recent Bond movie did that with its 50 year anniversary special). The creators of the show are just as excited of showing us a new episode as a lot of people are in watching these new episodes. The Day of the Doctor is here to commemorate the show and all of the Doctors and of all of the fans of the show as well. This episode has gotten me excited enough to maybe even get back with the series. The show definitely seems to be looking forward to the shows progress in the future. So, bring it on!

Also, as long as we're on BBC British Television Shows...

Hell...Yes!!!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

So, just a preface, everyone seems to have come out of this movie loving it. I wasn't one of those people. I didn't hate it, I didn't dislike it, but I also didn't really like it all that much either. It's not bad and it has its moments, but, just be warned that you're not going to see the most positive things being said about a movie that you probably really like.

Also, I haven't read the books either, so, feel free to distrust anything I have to say based off of that as well. Though, if there was anything to get me to read the books, then it would be to end on the worst possible way with one giant cliff hanger without any sort of resolution to anything.

Oh...wait...

Alright...here we go.

This movie had me asking a lot of questions by the end of it all. Questions like:

1. Why did they bother to introduce a bunch of characters and decide not to do anything with them ever again?

2. Why did they decide to make the final shot of having Jennifer Lawrence make one of the most hilarious looking faces since...well, I don't know when.

3. Why is everyone try to say "Peter" in a really bad British accent.

4. Oh, it's "Peeta"...why is everyone's names so silly?

5. Seriously! They introduce a character who carved her teeth to be able to bite people to death, but they never show her again throughout the rest of the movie, as far as I can remember.

6. Why are all the good guys normal looking people while all the bad guys look like they are one step away from being a part of The Rocky Horror Show?

7. If The Hunger Games take place in a dome, and it seems like they can create what every they would like, why do they always choose the most boring settings? The first time around, it was a forest. The second time around, it's another forest but with a body of water in the middle.

8. Seriously? They're going to end it right there?

*sigh*

So, it's half past the future and people are living in this dystopian world where the poor kids get sent off onto this reality TV show, called The Hunger Games, where they have to kill each other for the rich people's entertainment. The main character, Catfish Jellybean, gets caught up in one of these things, but, in order to survive, she pretends to fall in love with one of the other contestants, Pita Bread, in order to win the emotional support of her audience and to get help from sponsors. Usually, only 1 of the 24 people survive The Hunger Games contest, but Catnip and Pita Bread manage to both survive. Now, in the second part of this story for the second movie, Cataract has given people hope that they can somehow end The Hunger Games once and for all when she managed the unthinkable of having more than one person survive the last game. The richest of the rich people doesn't like that, so, he decides to throw her into another one of these games, only this time, it's with contestants who have already won before.

To be fair, there were a lot of things that I actually did like. Kit-Kat and Pizza Crust get caught up in the whole reality TV show thing where they really have to sell it to the audience that they're just hopelessly in love. It's a great satire on reality TV shows of today and just how BS the whole thing really is. Also, there are some things about class disparity, so and and so forth, but the whole reality TV show thing was really when the movie actually felt like it was trying to do something interesting

Other than that, the movie just kind of sits around, almost providing us a near identical experience of the first movie, and then finally goes, "Oh yeah! Hey guys, make sure you come around for the next movie, because that's going to be pretty cool and stuff...so, umm, see ya then" It's all well made and it's got good leading characters, but the movie just never really clicked with me. It brought up some good ideas, it likes to play with some interesting science fiction concepts, and a lot of the scenes(particularly the actions scenes) are even better staged than the last movie(even if it's just a small improvement).

Writing this part, I literally just saw the movie a couple of hours ago, and I'm already forgetting most of everything that happens other than the broad strokes of the plot and a couple of the characters names. This pretty much happened to me with the first movie as well. I could tell you that The Hunger Games was about a bunch of kids killing each other for rich people's entertainment, but having just re-watched it yesterday(in preparation for the new movie) I completely forgot about the relationship between Katniss and Peeta and how Peeta actually does start to develop feelings for Katniss, even though she's really only pretending just to help her survive. These things aren't exactly small plot points for the movie either.

Also, that ending. So, someone compared it to the Empire Strikes Back and how that sort of ends on a "To Be Continued" note. But that movie actually had a complete story and experience, even if the movie didn't exactly end with complete closure. It had characters and plot points that actually came into full circle in the end so it can open up a new story with its own plot points that come into full circle. Catching Fire, even if the entire movie was 2 and a half hours long, feels like it stops right in the middle of it all so it can force us to wait for the next part of the story...and then the one after that(Yes, they're splitting the last book into two parts for some, inexplicable reason).

I know it sounds like I'm being harsh and dissenting of a popular movie just for the sake of being harsh and dissenting, so, let me just clarify by saying that this isn't a bad movie at all. There were things that had me scratching my head, but it's all competently made and I was mildly engaged while watching it. But, it feels kind of weird when people get incredibly excited after the whole experience(there was a lot of cheering in the screening I saw) while I'm just kind of sitting back just thinking "Well, that was alright, I suppose."

The entire movie is really just fine. Sure, the movie is 2 and a half hours long, but it does go by at a good pace and I was engaged through most of it. Other than that, it is really hard for me to conjure any more of a reaction than just "Yeah, it was okay." It almost feels like a movie that was made because the books have gotten so popular and not because some people really wanted to bring these books onto the big screen. It is cool that a lot of people really do seem to be enjoying these movies and are even getting really excited for the upcoming parts. Hell, I'm at least looking forward to the next part. But it just sort of feels like these movies can do with a little more bite, if that makes any sense.

So, I liked it enough, I just didn't have that explosive experience that everyone else seemingly got. So, let's just say this movie gets my shrug of approval.

Summer Wrap-Up

So...I just met a guy who has a blog called "Sharks With Laserbeams" Now I feel a bit more obligated to go back and do this thing again. Also, you should be checking out that guy's blog as well, because it involves sharks with laserbeams. You also get more insight from somebody else rather than my boring opinions.

Anyways, let's get through all of the movies that I didn't get around to talking about because I got lazy and didn't really want to do anything for a while.

Man of Steel: Well...you know everything you like about Superman with his optimistic heroism and his stance for the greater good and justice and stuff? Well, none of that appeared in Man of Steel. It's not a bad movie, it's definitely an interesting visual experience, but it does have a really messy story and screenplay. The thing is, the movie is such an interesting and fascinating experience, I almost want them to just try again. But, it looks like they are trying to do interesting things in the future, but, those movies are going to be carrying the heavy sad weight that Man of Steel introduced.

2 Guns: HOLY CRAP! Did this movie SUCK! Okay, it's not exactly bad, but it's boring as all hell. It's not really worth getting into details, but, suffice it to say, I saw this with a couple of friends and they seemed to like it. After a couple of months, I brought this movie up in a conversation and they forgot that this movie even existed. They were incredibly sure that we did not even go see a movie together. "Sean, I swear, we did not go see 2 Guns!" After a while, at least one of them remembered. Shouldn't this be a crime or something? Two hours where it puts people in an unconscious phase that they'll never remember again.

Ugh...

The Lone Ranger: I really don't need to go on about this one. We all know it's pretty terrible.

Elysium: Hard, sci fi action? Awesome!

Kick Ass 2: If there's any reason why this movie is not as good as the first one, it's because there's never really been any other movie to sort of bring anything like the original Kick Ass. The original was shocking, disturbing, but also a lot of fun while also going into a weird, dark commentary on the super hero genre. The sequel is really just there to be a lot of fun. It doesn't have the same impact as the original, but something good has to be coming from this movie when I left in a really good mood.

World War Z: A complete waste of time. Not entirely bad, but nothing worth watching.

Monster's University: I'm still convinced that Pixar hasn't really been even trying ever since their super-good movie that was Toy Story 3. It's funny and even engaging and not a Car Sequels, but, maybe Pixar will get around to picking up the ball again.

The Wolverine: Probably worth watching so you can get a taste of what they're planning with their next movie. It's probably got some of the most well directed action scenes(The one involving a train was kind of awesome!), but, other than that, it's not much more than just a competently made movie. It's fine, it passes the time, and it's got Wolverine cutting people up with claws. Good enough for me!

Riddick: Weirdly enough, I just got done watching most of this today(People were watching this in the lobby of the college dorm place of where I'm staying) and it's just okay...It does have some genuinely awesome scenes(especially one involving a box), but, other than that, there's nothing really too special about this movie.

Prisoners: Go see this movie!

The Conjuring: This one is pretty interesting in the way that it does do a lot of things right but I still can't get away from that feeling that it kind of didn't work for me. It actually got an R-rating, not because it had excessive gore, violence, or swearing, but because it was too scary. Well, I wasn't really scared at all. It's got good jump scares and it understands that subtlety is power, but I really can't say what it is that kind of made this movie not work. It seemed like it was going to get more interesting than it was in how the movie is about Paranormal Investigators and that almost kind of play to "Is stuff here really happening?" but it turns out that things really are happening. I can't speak for people since it's kind of hard to scare me, but I guess I could say it's fun to watch....

You're Next: This movie has been growing on me, even though I've only seen it once. I really can't say anything about this movie without spoiling it, but it's pretty damn good!

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters: I actually liked this one. It's not particularly that good, but I liked the first one and I'm looking forward to their next movies.

Machete Kills: I LOVED the first movie. It's hilarious, violent, and even insightful. This new movie just goes all out meta. It's definitely funny and it gets pretty creative on how to stack up a body count, but it never really rises more than just a one note joke. Suffice it to say though, it manages to be funny all the way through.

Carrie:....the original is on Netflix. You're probably better off watching that instead.

Maniac: This one I caught on Netflix and wow....it's definitely really good and it has its impact, but this is really, REALLY not a movie for everybody. It's an entire movie where you see through the perspective of Elijah Wood as a serial killer, and, mostly because of this, this is NOT a fun movie to watch. But it is incredibly memorable(probably because of how provocative it's trying to be), but it's also fascinating and interesting in a good way(unlike Man of Steel). So, I'd recommend it, but, just know what you're getting into.

Pain and Gain: Michael Bay actually made a good movie. Who knew?

Gravity: Go see this movie!

Don Jon: Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns out to be kind of a really good director. I kind of wish that it didn't get a bit too predictable in its ending, but the entire movie does carry this sort of honesty that pretty much anybody wouldn't really be brave enough to say out loud.

The World's End: My favorite movie all year this year! Yeah! REALLY go see this movie!

Also, I'd like to apologize to anybody who I convinced to go watch Now You See Me. I probably gave that movie a little too much credit than it was worth. I'd like to see it again to see if I'd still have the same reaction, but, honestly, I really don't want to. I'd probably just come to the conclusion that it's really just a sort of "not there" kind of movie. It's pretty hard for me to stay mad at it even if I did watch it again and I would end up hating it because of how forgettable it is.

Oh well!

Oh, and judging by the Box Office of Thor: The Dark World, you've probably already seen it and would know there really isn't much to say about it other than that it's good enough to bridge the gap of Thor's storyline for The Avengers.