TV | Strike Back | Pass-ish

Good, but not our bag of tea. Conflict in the middle east is not our thang.

Movie | Tangled | Pass

Adorable and well made, a definite keeper.

Book | Kage | Pass

Movie | Redident Evil: Degeneration | Pass-ish

Slightly distracting video game animation. That's a negative - especially the mouth and dialogue synch or lack there of. Plus some slow spots don't remove the zombie shooting element of fun. Tries to take the whole thing in the direction of yet another evil corporation/people, but that's easy to ignore. For Resident Evil fans only, really.

TV | Spirited Season 2 | PASS

Season 2 of Spirited absolutely rocks! The plot thickens when Henry brings back a bunch of dead people with him after he goes through the door, including The King...who just might be evil incarnate. Meanwhile, Suzy finds her long missing Mother. But, is it a good thing? Steve continues being, well...Steve. But now, his son is living with him and he must make a man of him? Should he win the Worst Parent of the Year Award? Zach and Jonquil are still shacked up and all is fine and dandy...until Henry actually inhabits Zach briefly! Will it lead to an awkward scene between Jonquil, Zach and Suzy? Who knows! We'll find out.

Don't leave us....STRANDED!!!!

TV | Republic of Doyle | Pass-ish

This is actually a pretty decent show. It follows the adventures of a father and son private detective team in modern-day Newfoundland. Unfortunately, it didn't really hook us and we quit after a couple of episodes. Bummer, because it had a lot of promise. Maybe we'll come back to it another time. Or maybe not. Appearance by the great Paul Gross (episode 13 of season 2).

Movie | Sucker Punch | Fail

Fail?!? That's right, Bucky. Probably due to so much hype, I became more and more irritated by this travesty of a movie the longer it went on, squirming in my chair as if I sat on a bunch of ants.

Like a video game or music video, the character development was so poor that it didn't matter when main characters died and the plot turned. Who cared? The battle scenes were impressive but, again, so what? Another one? Ho hum....

I liked the overall message of having a guardian angel. Or was that becoming your own guardian angel? Even that was a muddy, murky mess.

The music was interesting, too, until I realized that it was almost entirely covers. Seriously?!? They couldn't come up with anything new? And that really sums up this film. It isn't anything new. In fact, it's rather insulting if you're older than 20, you like movies and you aren't infatuated with video games and/or anime (if so, you are forgiven).

The acting was pretty bad and consisted of wearing about thirty pounds of makeup and mooning about for no explained or perceivable reason (men and women). If the girls were so tough, how did they get there and why did they put up with a bit of it? Oh yeah, there's some explanation, but it doesn't make much sense (and certainly not wearing a Sailor Moon outfit). The different realities intertwined randomly and for no other reason than completely for convenience of the script.

Is director Zack Snyder another Tarantino, creating self indulgent movies for perverse reasons at the cost of an interesting plot and character development? It certainly looks like it. He started off fairly well with the remake of Dawn of the Dead. That was pretty good because the original was pretty good. Then came 300, which was good because it was A GOOD STORY. Forget about the ridiculous airbrushed abs. Then we got the atrocious Watchmen, which was so awful that it's beyond words (despite a good cast). I didn't see the Owl movie, but from what I've heard, it was inappropriate for kids. But it was a movie for...kids?!?

The lights are on on, but nobody is home in the director's house. Mental note: don't see his Superman reboot.

Having said all of that, I can understand why other people would love it. It is (im)perfectly mindless entertainment.

I can't get my 90 minutes back and I wish I could. This was another case of too much build up, no delivery and a woulda, shoulda, coulda been so much better movie...

This flotsam lacked everything The Nines had...complexity, a script developed to a razor edge, really good acting and completely lacking in visual self stimulation (like the late great Hitchcock, it let you use your imagination...imagine!). If you'd rather engage your brain than numb it by beating it with a concrete block, see that movie instead.

Movie | The Nines | PASS

I absolutely loved this Twilight Zone/Donnie Darko/Rear Window-esque movie about...well, I can't tell you without giving anything away. But, I guarantee that you will be confused at multiple times (we were) and say "Huh?!?" after it's all over. It does all make sense in the end, if you stick with it and you pick a reason why you think it's all happening. Yep, it's that ambiguous! Fantastic! Definitely not for everyone. Especially folks that love everything wrapped up in a nice neat little package by the end. NK didn't love it, but I most definitely did. A cult classic keeper. The come hither lines on the poster above are actually pretty accurate, for once.

Interesting director, who is one to watch. This was his first full length feature. He also wrote some interesting screenplays including Big Fish and Go. Of course, he also wrote the horrific Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Eh, I guess everybody's got to pay the bills. Tim Burton obviously loves his work, though, so that's a good sign. 

The Nines is a must see in my book. But maybe just in my book....;-) Are you game?

Movie | Resident Evil: Afterlife | Pass

Excellent fourth installment, with the fifth to arrive soon. It ain't rocket science and it gets further and further away from the "classic" zombie genre and closer and closer to standard action. I rather enjoyed the differences. If you liked the other ones, you'll like this one. Save your quarters for The Executioner!

Movie | Population 436 | Pass-ish

Less than thrilling thriller about a town where the population never changes. If a baby is born, somebody dies. Plus freaky Children of the Corn-type religious stuff. You get the drift. Coulda been better and rather slow.

And, yes, it's that Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit. I nearly didn't recognize him. How was his acting? Not bad at all, really! Good on him. Hope to see him in more (and better) productions.

Movie AND Real Life | Paradise Lost | PASS

Shocking documentary about three boys accused of brutally murdering three other boys. Turns out that one of their stepfathers did it. Now, about a million years later, they are free. See the recent news. Fascinating, yet horrific stuff. Yet more proof of the incredible power of film-making.

And, no, that isn't Rosie O'Donnell in the poster.

Movie | The Road to El Dorado | Pass

Really cute adventure from Dreamworks. Surprisingly, there are some curse words and male nudity. Kids won't notice, but adults will cringe slightly at the racism, human sacrifice and sexuality. Still, superb fun and the questionable moments pass quickly.

Movie | Return To Oz | Pass

Dark, unknown sequel to quite possibly the best movie ever made. Will turn off most, but I loved it. Very creative and completely frightening to the younguns. Dated in an 80s sort of way and the classic critters (Tin Man, Lion and the Scarecrow) are highly stylized revisionist versions. If you're open minded enough, this is a must see. Amazing similarity to Sucker Punch. Or, rather, the opposite. There is truly nothing new under the sun.

Movie | Waxwork II | Pass-ish

Points for creativity, an interesting cast and less gore. But the cheese factor presented is just too high. Hilariously, they replaced Deborah Foreman with Monika Schnarre as if we wouldn't notice. What, was Foreman too busy? And, unfortunately, Schnarre's acting leaves a bit to be desired. 

You'll like it if you loved the first one. Others, like me, will be less than impressed.

Movie | The Social Network | Fail

Horribly annoying, just like FB. I suppose if you know nothing about FB, this might be mildly entertaining (witness all of the awards it won, which means....in our house....very little, apparently). We were just endlessly irritated instead. To be fair, we turned it off after the first 20 minutes. Poke this!

Movie | Paul | Pass

Excessive foul language but fun.

Movie | Ravagers | Pass

Post-apocalyptic thriller with few thrills. Most interesting in the resemblance The Road has to it. Should have been better, but still one to see for genre fans like me.

Only Richard Harris could rock slacks in a world like this.

Movie | 13 Assassins | PASS

Surprisingly straight up chanbara with a few modern touches (mostly in the FX). Suitably gruesome, but slightly distant (probably due to the slow pacing).

Movie | Freezer Burn | Fail

Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale...does this movie even have a chance of being even slightly good?

Answer? No.

Movie | Kung Fu Panda 2 | PASS

 

Great - skidoosh!