Runner Runner Review

Runner Runner (2013): Everybody gambles. The house always wins. This movie attempts to throw every gambling cliche at you. It also brings Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck together. In this film JT plays a Princeton graduate student who loses his tuition money while gambling on online poker. He travels to Costa Rica to confront the owner of the gambling website, Ben Affleck, and notify him that someone cheated him out his money. JT ends up working for Affleck and from there the plot takes off (or tries to [or tries to try]).

I will get right to the chase and make this short. This movie was boring. Nothing of consequences happens. For the first hour or so it seemed like it was just an excuse for JT and Affleck to hop from party to party. Even when the "action" actually starts to happen during the last 30 minutes, it isn't even action. Boring! Bad writing and lazy directing made this a snooze-fest. It was rated R and I can't figure out why. No one dies, the violence isn't violent, and the language isn't even that bad. The scene from the trailer with the alligators was a total cop out with the fact that no one dies!

The acting was so bland and boring. Gemma Arterton was only in the movie to serve as a long interest for JT and nothing else. Timberlake was more boring than Oatmeal for breakfast. I don't think he should be an actor. The film uses a narration for a lot of the time with JT as the narrator and it is extremely annoying. The lone bright spot is Affleck who wasn't terrible. That is the best I can say, he wasn't terrible. He was left with really nothing to work with from the script. Aside from Affleck, no one in this film did a good job.

"Statistically it is the best play." Well this was not the best play for the studio who released this film or for anyone involved. This was boring and bland. Very forgettable. I am awarding this movie by asking for my first Refund.

Leave some feedback down in the comments. Also be sure to checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

Find me on Twitter: @CodyMike89 or @YALPcast

Gravity Review

Gravity (2013): In space, no one can hear you scream! Yeah, yeah, yeah it is a cliche line, but the movie practically opens up with the same line. The premise of this movie is basically everyone's worse fear in space. What would happen if you were to get separated from a shuttle during a space walk and ended up floating away in space? Worse case scenario of space travel. As during a space walk to equip new equipment to a telescope, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are caught in the middle of a debris storm and become separated from the shuttle.

This film is practically all Sandra Bullock with a little George Clooney thrown in here and there. A movie with this few of actors needs strong performances. That is exactly what this movie delivers. Clooney is just a great actor overall and in his role here it is no different. Bullock delivers an incredible performance. She sells every bit of this movie and really brings you into her feelings. She will be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.

The effects were amazing. Some of the best I've seen. They were incredibly realistic. I saw this movie in 3D on a large screen and the only thing I can say is "Wow!" That is how you need to see this film. 3D and on a large screen (IMAX or your local theaters attempted version of a larger than normal screen). I don't normally like 3D, but it works in this movie. Especially in scenes that involve the flying debris.

The other stunning feature of this movie that caught my attention would be the sound. The sound work was incredible. They did a lot to make it feel as if you were in space. There were many times where there was silence or a lack of sound. Those parts were incredibly chilling. I feel like an Oscar nomination in one of the sound categories will be coming down the road.

Now comes the part where I conclude and give my rating for this movie. In a previous post I announced a new rating system, well I am already changing it. I do a podcast, Yeah, A Lot Of People Like That (YALPcast), and we have developed a new rating system for that show. Wanting both systems to be the same and have some consistency, I now bring you the new rating system. It is basically a 1-4 rating. We will be using Blu-Ray (4), Digital (3), VHS (2), Refund (1) as our system. Pretty much based on the quality of the medium that you would want the movie in. Blu-Ray for movies that deserve to be own in the best possible format, Digital for a movie that you would own but just want convenience, VHS is basically for something that you might think about owning but is not as great quality, and Refund is a movie that is so bad that you want your money back after watching it. So since everyone is bored, just skip down and conclude with my rating.

I was more scared during this movie then I have been during any horror movie in a long time. It was intense and chilling. There are many Oscar nominations coming the way of this movie, including (I will say this) Best Picture. Gravity was one hell of a ride! I give it an incredibly high Blu-Ray.

Leave some feedback down in the comments. Also be sure to checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

Find me on Twitter: @CodyMike89 or @YALPcast