Author Archives: Brock Winspear
Happy Birthday to John C. Reilly
Happy Birthday to John C. Reilly! The goofball actor turns 48 years old today.
The first movies that I remember liking Reilly in were What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) and Days of Thunder (1990).
Days of Thunder was the first PG-13 movie that I remember seeing. I was 4 years old and I remember my Mom and Dad bringing my siblings and I to the theatre to see that movie. It is the first movie that I remember hearing cussing in. It’s very strange to me because I remember watching that movie in the theatre like it was yesterday. That was already 23 years ago. I remember my parents trying to cover my ears after hearing “son of a…”
John C. Reilly started his career with more serious roles, but in more recent years he has become known for his crazy humor in such films as Anger Management (2003), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008), and The Dictator (2012). Later this year, he will be joining Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend Continues (2013).
The Hangover Part III (2013)
The Hangover Part III (2013)
The boys are at it again. They’re back for another go-round. Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Justin Bartha all return for more hilarious antics.
Nobody is getting married this time, but with this group, things always have a way of spiraling out of control.
Todd Phillips returns again to write and direct. Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor, Heather Graham, Mike Epps, Sasha Barrese, and Gillian Vigman are all back along with the addition of John Goodman and Melissa McCarthy.
Most sequels to any movie usually can never be as good as the original. There are a few exceptions, and it is always a very welcome surprise when it happens. But, this rarely ever occurs. With that said, I went into this movie hoping that it would be as good as Part II, if not better.
This movie was not quite as formulaic as I expected it to be. Although it was a bit predictable at times, they had a few surprises thrown in and it was not exactly like the first two films.
The type of comedy was different throughout the majority of the movie. This film seemed to tone down the raunchy humor and substitute it for more obvious, subtle, or dark humor. Instead of being so outrageous and over-the-top all of the time like the first two films, this movie concentrated a little bit more on the events in the story taking place.
Cooper, Galifianakis, and Helms were all just as comical as they were in the first two films. The rest of the returning cast is also just as good as they were in the first movies.
Goodman and McCarthy are both great additions to the movie.
If you are a fan of the first two Hangover films, than you will surely enjoy this third movie. I liked this movie just as much as Part II. It did not top the original, but The Hangover Part III is a worthy final chapter of the Wolf Pack saga.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Trailer for Man of Steel (2013)
Man of Steel (2013) (click on the title for my full review)
I know I’m a little late on this one, but yet another Superman movie is coming. This one does have a great cast though. Henry Cavill plays superman and the rest of the cast includes Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Ayelet Zurer, Michael Kelly, and Richard Schiff.
Henry Cavill was an interesting choice for the role of Superman. He is nothing special, but the rest of the cast is awesome. I’m not a huge superhero movie fan, but the cast for this one is what will get me to see the movie.
The film is directed by Zach Snyder.
Who do you think should have played Superman with such a huge supporting cast like this one?
The film is set to release on 6/14/13.
Trailer for Rapture-Palooza (2013)
Rapture-Palooza (2013)
The movie is a comedy about the end of the world brought on by the devil. A couple of friends join together to try to save the world by defeating the antichrist.
The movie looks a little Zombieland (2009) -esque, at least in the comedy sense. But, I’m sure it won’t be anywhere near as funny or as clever as that film.
Rapture-Palooza is directed by Paul Middleditch and stars Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, Ken Jeong, Rob Corddry, John Francis Daley, Thomas Lennon, Tyler Labine, Rob Huebel, and Ana Gasteyer.
I’m not gonna rush out to the theatre to see this one, but I’ll probably catch it when it comes to DVD.
The movie is set to release on 6/7/13.
Tomorrow You’re Gone (2012)
Tomorrow You’re Gone (2012)
Tomorrow You’re Gone is star power without the shine. The presence of Stephen Dorff, Michelle Monaghan, and Willem Dafoe all in this film is enough to make you want to see it. Do not be fooled though, that is the only thing that this movie has going for it. The fact that those actors would actually decide to be a part of such an atrocious excuse for a movie actually gives me less respect for them.
The movie follows Charlie Rankin (Dorff) as he gets out of jail. He sets out to do one more job for his friend The Buddha (Dafoe) and along the way he gets mixed up with his conscience and Florence Jane (Monaghan).
The movie is directed by David Jacobson. Hopefully it will be his last attempt at filmmaking. If he were playing baseball, he just struck out.
The cast also includes Robert LaSardo, Tara Buck, and Kerry Rossall.
The film is basically pointless. It is a complete waste of time. It drags on at a snail’s pace and is really boring at times. It is filled with meaningless babbling and wasted talent. The movie tries so hard to be something artistic and deep, but it comes off cheap.
The story is broken and hard to follow. You can’t really feel anything for the characters because they are just sort of there.
This movie is the definition of hitting rock-bottom for anyone who was a part of the filmmaking process. It is hard to come back to making good movies after making something this bad. I think that I have lost any and all hope for the cast. They are all usually better than this, but maybe that is not the case anymore.
Do yourself a favor and keep your dignity by not every watching Tomorrow You’re Gone.
I rate this movie a 1 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? “Run Forrest, run!”
Prometheus (2012) (Guest Author)
Prometheus (2012)
From Director Ridley Scott comes the fifth installment in the Alien series – a prequel. It stars Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron. The story follows the crew of the spaceship Prometheus, who is following a star map found by archaeologists as they were researching many different ancient cultures. They believe that the inhabitants of the planet they have landed on could help them discover where and how the human race began, but they find something horrifying instead. Instead of finding out how humanity started, they may very well have brought about the end of humanity.
I must admit, I went into this movie knowing I wouldn’t like it. A prequel to Alien (1979)? With Charlize Theron? How could it possibly be any good?
I was wrong. Ridley Scott never disappoints (well, with the exception of 1997’s G.I. Jane, a pile of excrement I prefer to pretend never existed), and Prometheus took my breath away. The special effects were amazing, the acting was first-notch, and the ending…well, I’ll just say Wow! and leave it at that.
Noomi Rapace plays Elizabeth Shaw, and she was outstanding. I had never seen her in anything (as I never saw the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)), but I look forward to seeing her in more movies. She is a great actress and I totally identified with the character. She was very Ellen Ripley-ish.
Michael Fassbender was the android David, and he was fabulous. I was very much reminded of Rachel in Blade Runner (1982) – he was almost wistful and obviously wished to be human.
Charlize Theron was Meredith Vickers, and she made my blood run cold. She was icy, calculating, and oddly like the android David; they looked enough alike to be brother and sister. It was odd and effective.
Guy Pearce played Peter Weyland, Meredith’s father. I must admit, he rocked the old-man makeup; it was so good that he was in several scenes before I realized who it was. As always, he was wonderful in his role.
I give the movie an 8 out of 10.
Buy, rent, or run?
Buy it on DVD and watch it over and over again, as I plan to do. So far, I’ve seen it in the theater, watched it twice on cable.tv On Demand, and I am currently gloating over my newly-purchased Prometheus DVD.
Prometheus is one of the movies that Brock would like to see.
Guest Author: Eddie D. Shackleford is a writer and loves to write about entertainment, movies, and TV. You can follow Eddie @Eddie20Ford
Happy Birthday to James Stewart
Happy Birthday to James Stewart! Mr. Stewart would be 105 years old today.
The amazing actor was great in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958). But, he will forever go down in history as George Bailey in Frank Capra‘s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). He is a true film legend.
“You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn’t, Mr. Potter. In the whole vast configuration of things, I’d say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider! And…And that goes for you, too!” -George Bailey
Trailer for About Time (2013)
About Time (2013)
I have always been fascinated with the concept of time travel. About Time is about a guy who is able to go back in time and re-live any event that he wants in order to try to make it better. He basically gets an everlasting do-over.
You might ask yourself, if he can do things over and over again until they are perfect all the time, then what is the point of living? I think that there has got to be a catch. There is always a catch. I just don’t think that the preview shows what the catch is.
Rachel McAdams has made another time travel movie. It looks like this one might have some similarities to The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009). I guess I’ll just have to see it to find out.
It does look a bit like a chick-flick, but the time travel topic is enough to make me want to see it.
The movie is written and directed by Richard Curtis. The cast includes Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lee Asquith-Coe, Lindsay Duncan, Domhnall Gleeson, Tom Hollander, Margot Robbie, Rowena Diamond, Vanessa Kirby, and Catherine Steadman.
The movie is set to release on 11/8/13.
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