Movie | Hotel Transylvania | PAss

Super fun!

Movie | The Man With The Iron Fists | Pass-ish

This is a faithful homage. Which is to say, it's as bad (or as good, depending on your viewpoint) as 90% of all other wuxia. I thought it was okay, actually a bit better than I expected (which was next to zero). There are some interesting connections to other movies, including chambara, which kept me relatively entertained. Hey, I saw if for free. And I got what I paid for.

Movie | Pacific Rim | Pass-ish

Guillermo del Toro plays like he's Michael Bay and makes a version of Transformers (or Iron Man or GI Joe...take your pick). But, wait! There's Kaiju in this one! Still not that unique or interesting...

Is this a good movie? No. Is it entertaining? Yes. It's visually stimulating and at the same time, dumb as a rock. There's barely a story and there are no surprises. Don't think about the lack of storyline or interesting character development. It just isn't there.

Ramin Djawadi's soundtrack sounds like it has all the makings for another masterpiece until you realize that he's just recycling the same hook over and over and over, which happens about 5 minutes in and continues for the entire 2+ hours.

None of the actors were particularly bad, but they all seemed to be quite a bit off their game. I think it was the terrible dialogue. It's hard to get much emotional impact out of "Let's do this thing!" Oh, and the director has to take a lot of the blame here, too. I wish it were otherwise, but I don't think this did anybody's resume any good. Maybe from the box office profits, but not from an intellectual, artistic level.

Much of the action makes no sense. For example, weapons are used after things go bad. Why not use them before? There were so many problems with this mindless blockbuster, I don't even know where to begin.

Disappointing.

Movie | Days of Darkness | Fail

Boring.

Movie | Rise of the Guardians | PAss

Of course I liked it. Worth watching!

TV | Orange is the New Black | Pass

I kept expecting this show to get (1) funnier and (2) better. But, it really didn't. It all feels like a big setup for future shenanigans, which I hope it is. I also couldn't help comparing it to the far funnier, less gritty and very similar Dead Boss. I'm not one for the women in prison premise anyway.

Movie | Killing Bono | Fail

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this movie (Robert Sheehan!) other than it's just not an interesting story. I feel bad about that, because it's based on a true story and I'm sure it was wild for the real people involved. But as a movie, it didn't engage us as a premise or an ongoing plot.

TV | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Pass

Only saw one episode and thought it was rather humorous. Looking forward to more.

Update: Actually got hooked on the thing. There's more there than the usual Adult Swim junk. Clever and it features a great cast full of familiar faces.

TV | Toy Story of Terror | PAss

Adorable and a welcome return to form. That last movie was depressing.

TV | Milton Jones' The House of Rooms | Pass

TV | The Booth at The End | PAss

Excellent psychological thriller with a slightly frustrating format. The segments are 30 seconds to under 3 minutes, which makes for a schizophrenic experience to me. Still, well done and very interesting. All of the "action" happens in your own imagination - cool! If I had to compare it to something, I would mention The Twilight Zone, but there are probably better comparisons. I'm just too tired at the moment to think of some at the moment. Try me again after my nap.

Check it out on Hulu.

TV | The Tomorrow People | Fail

Yep. Nope. The drive to feature "pretty people" over all else (story, production, etc.) is sad.

TV | The Heart, She Holler | Pass

Wacky for wacky sake and disturbing for no reason other than a cheap laugh, but occasionally funny. Unworthy of the cast.