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

Prisoners Review

Prisoners (2013): The Oscar season has begun. Kicking off the season this year is Prisoners from director Denis Villeneuve and starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal along with a great supporting cast. The premise is very simple. Two girls go missing after Thanksgiving dinner. The movie follows the efforts of Jackman's and Terrence Howard's families and the efforts of Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki to try and find the girls and bring them home. The movie follows Gyllenhaal as he uses his police work to follow leads, while at the same time follow Jackman as we watch how far he is willing to go to bring his daughter home.

As I said, the plot is very straight forward and easy to follow. Where this movie deserves its praise is in the directing and editing. The movie could have gone the easy route and used quick cuts to build tension, but instead scenes linger and allow the actors to work. It builds natural tension with the long scenes. It also makes it feel very real. Background music is absent is much of the movie and that helps a lot as well. The movie is not telling the audience how they should be feeling at the moment and instead rely on the actors to convey what is going on in each scene.

So since the acting carried the movie, was it good? Yes it was. Jake Gyllenhaal was probably my favorite actor in the movie. He was very toned down and held back from going over the top when he could have. Hugh Jackman played his role very well too. He was very much the protective father who would go to all lengths to find his daughter. His scenes with Paul Dano were filled with tension and very good. The supporting cast was awesome throughout. The only actor/actress I did not like would have been Jackman's wife in the movie, Maria Bello. Her performance was the only one I did not enjoy and probably could have been handled slightly better or slightly different.

At 2 hours and 33 minutes of run time, it is a lengthy movie. But it does not feel like it. You are interested for pretty much the entire time. And be careful because if you leave to go to the bathroom during it you may just miss something. This movie was a fantastic way to kick off Oscar season and I can't wait for the rest. I am giving Prisoners a 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.

The Spectacular Now and Beautiful Creatures Reviews

It has been quite awhile since I've done a review. For a time there I fell off the wagon and now it is time to get back up and on that wagon once more. I will be catching up with reviews of movies I have seen since I took a short hiatus.

I will also be debuting a new rating system! I am going to begin using a more subjective scale instead of the objective Out of 10 scale I had been using. I will be using a scale that will change with the season of the movies. It is a scale of 4 being I really loved the film and down to 1 being a film I hate. For Oscar season movies, I will obviously use Oscars. For Summer movies I will use bags of Popcorn. For Spring movies I will use boxes of Candy.

For this review I bring to you a double feature of sorts. Two movies which are sorta of similar. Two teenage love story movies. So let's have a go at this again shall we?

The Spectacular Now (2013) 91% on Rotten Tomatoes: The Spectacular Now was released on August 2nd of this year and got a limited release in theaters. It is a coming of age, comedy-drama film. It follows the lives of two high school seniors, Sutter (Miles Teller) and Aimee (Shailene Woodley), as they start a by-chance relationship that neither of them saw coming. Sutter is a goof off who as he says "lives in the now" and does not like to plan too far into the future. Aimee is a good girl who does not garner a lot of attention. The two meet after Sutter breaks up with his girlfriend (Brie Larsen) and after a night of drinking is woken up on a strange lawn by Aimee. The rest of movie follows the growth of the relationship and how the two characters learn more about themselves from the other.

The movie is fantastic. It is a great coming of age story. The two leads have amazing chemistry with each other and they really sell the film. The acting from these two young actors is great. I believe we will be seeing a lot of both in the future. The only downside I would give it is that Shailene Woodley may have been "a little too good looking" for the role. It is a little bit of a stretch to believe that she would have been ignored as much as is told in the film, but her acting is what sells it and makes you believe.

The story is very realistic and that is what makes it such a compelling watch. Everyone can find a character in here in which to relate. The writing and dialogue is very good. The acting is tremendous. This movie is getting my first ever 4 Oscars.

Beautiful Creatures (2013) 46% on Rotten Tomatoes: Beautiful Creatures came out at the very beginning of this year (back in February). It is a fantasy romance movie that takes place in South Carolina. It follows the relationship of small town boy Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) and the new girl in town Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert). Only problem is that Lena comes from a family of Casters (basically witches) and on her 16th birthday her powers will be claimed for either Light or Dark.

This movies had the unfortunate opportunity to be the next young adult fantasy romance adaptation since the end of Twilight. So this movie inevitably got the full brunt of the Twilight backlash. But in my opinion this is much better done than Twilight. Where Twilight was filled with a story that didn't really make sense, this one did. Beautiful Creatures sets up its love story in a very believable fashion. While watching you actually care about the two leads and want them to get together. Twilight's fantasy element seemed forced and out of place. The fantasy element in Beautiful Creatures is very subdued. The fantasy is in the background, while the love story takes center stage. The "villain" of this movie isn't even in it for much of the movie, which allows for a lot of character development with our leads.

The other problem that Twilight has is the acting. Everyone has heard of the wooden acting that movie has. The acting from the leads is actually surprisingly good for the type of movie you expect this to be. Englert does a good job and should pop back up in the future. Ehrenreich has a future as well. But the best acting in this movie came from Jeremy Irons who plays Lena's uncle Macon. He really sells the movie and makes you want to watch him more. The only problem I really had (which isn't a big problem) is the accents. They had very thick southern accents in this film and took me awhile to get over it. When Irons came on screen is probably when I dropped my feelings towards them.

This movie received a large backlash because of Twilight. But it is a much better made movie and much better all around. This didn't deserve the criticism it got from the critics. This was fun to watch and you actually did care about and want to root for the leads. I give it 3 Boxes of Candy.

Feels good to be back! So give me some feedback down in the comments.
Also checkout my movies podcast, Yeah, A Lot of People Like That. Find us on iTunes or Stitcher by simply searching "YALP" on either.

Coyote Skin

So I have been hit by a inspiration to begin writing a new story (new for those familiar to my other blog and new for those who don't know what I am talking about). I have written the first chapter and decided to post it here until I can make a new blog specific for it.

So the basic premise of the story follows Robby Brown, a young teenage Native American boy from a small town in California. He lives a normal, boring small town life. That is until one day his world changed forever. While he was out at a party, he learns that a fire has started on the reservation. He rushes home to make sure his family is safe. He discovers someone has broken in and trashed the place. He finds his mother dead and his grandfather lying on the ground dying. With his dying breaths his grandfather reveals a that there is a family secret that he must learn. That secret will change Robby's world forever. Robby is a skinwalker, someone with the ability to change forms into an animal. Robby must now learn more about his family's history while also seeking down the people who killed his family. Along the way Robby learns that there is much more to the world that he could have ever imagined. Join Robby on his journey in Coyote Skin.

Take a read and let me know what you think. Is this something that sounds interesting? An interesting concept? Do you want to read more? Please let me know. Thank you and Enjoy!

Chapter 1

            Sand flew in the air as the wind blew through the desert night. The air was warm. It was always warm in the summer even if was September. Lone Pine sat in the high desert of California. It was uniquely situated between the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney, and the lowest point in North America, Death Valley. From where he stood Robert Brown had a wonderful view of the eastern face of Sierra Nevada mountain range. Robby, as he liked to be called, always enjoyed the way the mountains looked at night. He loved the dark greys and dark purples his eyes created when he looked upon the granite.

            The wind continued to blow around Robby as he stood in the middle of the sandy field covered with sagebrush and tumbleweeds. There were a couple of trees around the area. Robby noticed that they seemed to stand a little taller than they used to. He began to walk towards them to get a better view. As he walked up to the tree, a howl came from behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on their ends. He turned slowly. Through the darkness he could make out three shapes coming moving towards him. As the shapes moved closer his eyes began to focus on them. Robby then realized that he was staring right at three coyotes.

            The moonlight glistened off of the coyotes' fur and shone off their yellow eyes making them especially terrifying. Robby’s heart began beating fast. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Pounding and pounding. Robby was frozen by fear. Coyotes normally shy away from humans, but Robby remembers being told by his grandfather that coyotes are not to be taken lightly. They are adapt at running in their desert environment and fierce when the pack is threatened. Robby assumed that he was looking at a guard unit of the greater pack.

            He began to slowly step away; very careful not to move too fast and startle the animals. But the coyotes only continued to watch him. Robby took another step and the coyotes did not move. One more step and this time the lead coyote let out another howl. He couldn’t take it anymore. He turned away from animals and started to run; hoping to make it back home or at the very least find a spot where he could hide until he thought it was safe. Robby sprinted away. As he did the three coyotes gave chase. Robby ran through the sage and thickets. His legs were being scratched and scraped but he couldn’t worry about that now. The only thing he could think of was RUN.

            Robby ran and ran all the while the coyotes remained behind him. They would split up and then come back together while chasing. It almost as if they were playing with him. Robby just kept on running. He would look back at his pursuers every so often and whenever he did the lead coyote would let out another howl. Robby ran faster than he had ever run before. He thought to himself that he was running unusually fast. He couldn’t recall ever running like this. So smooth were his steps. More often than not Robby was a clumsy runner, never quite the fastest but it was always good enough to him. But he had no time to linger too much on this fact. He could think more when he was safe. For now he was just grateful that this speed was there.

            Robby kept looking around for a place that he could use to hide away from the coyotes, but nothing was jumping out at him. There was nothing more than bushes and a few isolated trees. Nothing that would keep him safe for long as the coyotes would surely circle him if he tried to climb a tree. While looking around Robby forgot to look at what was actually ahead of him and had to come to an abrupt stop. He tried so hard to slow himself, but it did no good. He slid through the dirt and his feet tripped over the edge a deep ditch that was in front of him. Robby rolled down the side of the ditch; rolling in the dirt, rocks, and thistle.

After rolling all the way to the bottom, he came to a stop lying down along a stream that ran through the ditch. Feeling battered Robby looked up to the lip and saw the coyotes looking down at him. The leader let out his howl for one last time and turned and walked away. His two guards followed alongside. Relieved and exhausted, Robby laid flat against the warm desert dirt. He could hear the water rushing by his head. He dragged himself up to the stream to clean off some of the dirt from his face.

The moonlight light up the blue water on this summer night. The water shone like a mirror. Robby could see the reflection of the moon and that of lone tree standing somewhere behind him at the top of the ditch. But there was another reflection; something very much closer than the moon or ever the tree. In the spot in the water where his face should have been all he saw staring back was a coyote.

Robby startled himself and startled himself out of his sleep. He jumped up to a sitting position in his bed. His alarm clock blared on the night stand next to him. He reached his hand out and slammed it on the top of the clock to shut it off. He grabbed for his glasses on the nightstand and put them on. Looking at the clock he saw that it was 7:00 am; time to get ready for another school day.

Ya, A Lot of People Like That Episode 02

Check out the podcast everyone has thought about talking about. Join me and my co-host Charlie as we begin a journey on watching some movies that have passed us by. Each week we seek a 2nd Opinion from our co-host on a movie that one of us has seen, but the other hasn't.

This week Cody seeks a 2nd Opinion on the 2010 Korean thriller I Saw the Devil. Will Charlie share Cody's opinion or will he give a differing opinion? Have a listen and find out!

If you haven't listened to the first episode (Cabin in the Woods) then you should listen to that too!

Check us out on iTunes or Stitcher by searching either the full name of the show or "yalpcast". Subscribe on iTunes and leave a review. Both of those will really help out the show. Follow us on Twitter @YALPcast or send us an email at yalpcast@gmail.com.

Rapid Fire Reviews Part I

While watching movies there are of course many times when you watch a movie that has been out for a long time, but you've never seen it yourself. For these movies I will be combining them into a single entry instead of doing separate in-depth reviews for each since many people may have already seen them. So let's see how this goes.

Oldboy (2003): Oldboy is a South Korean mystery thriller movie. It is about a man, Oh Dae-Su, who is kidnapped and held hostage for 15 years until one day he is let go by his captor without reason. The movie follows Oh Dae-Su has he tries to piece together the reasons for why he was kidnapped, why he was let go, and whom captured him. The mystery of the movie is what makes it a great watch. The less you know about the movie going in the more you will enjoy it. The acting is very good, a little over the top at points, but good none the less. Choi Min-sik, the actor who plays Oh Dae-Su, is brilliant. By far his acting and how he portrays the character makes this movie what it is. This movie is one of the weirdest and maybe disturbing movies I have ever seen. 8.5/10.

I Saw the Devil (2010): I Saw the Devil is another South Korean thriller. This one is one that I would classify as a psychological thriller. The movie follows Soo-hyun as he seeks revenge for the murder of his fiance. Actor Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) returns in this movie as he plays the antagonist, the serial killer Kyung-chul. This movie is wild ride through the human psyche. You put yourself in the mindset of Soo-hyun as he discovers whether vengeance is worth the cost. The acting is top notch between our two leads, I would even say better than in Oldboy. The cinematography is amazing. This was a very well shot film and there are some scenes in there that will make you go, "Wow!" At 2.5 hours long it does seem a little long, and at about 1 hour in something happens that makes you think, "How are they going to keep going for another hour and a half?" But they find a way and you never get bored through the movie. The ending of the movie is one of the best I have ever seen. It is very emotional and impactful. This is a movie that will have you thinking and questioning what would you do in that situation. Amazing film. 9.5/10.

V for Vendetta (2005): V for Vendetta is an action thriller. This movie had the unfortunate position of being extremely hyped by some of my friends. That hype is one of the reasons why I had not gotten around to watching the film until recently. Based on a 1982 graphic novel of the same name, this movie looked fantastic. It was very visually appealing and kept that comic book feel. Hugo Weaving, who played our protagonist V, was amazing. He spent the entire movie behind the now famous Guy Fawkes mask, yet he still was able to emote and deliver and incredible performance even behind the unchanging neutral expression of the mask. John Hurt, who played the antagonist the High Chancellor, also delivered a great performance as the fascist dictator of this future Britain. Even if he wasn't in the film as much he was still the second best actor in it. As for the story it is sort of hard to get yourself in the position of rooting for a character who is essentially a terrorist. The movie takes it's sweet time in getting around to V's motivations and what exactly makes the government so evil. It would have been better served if it had explained this sooner in the film. For a movie with a 132 minute run time it doesn't feel like a lot happens in the film. It is very character heavy and I just wish that there was more to make the viewer care a little more. Like I said this movie was very hyped up for me and because of that it kind of is a let down. It is still a great movie and one that I will re-watch. I was just looking for a little more. Great acting but a little lacking in the true meat of the film. 8/10.

Cube (1997): Cube is a Canadian science fiction psychological horror movie. Let me say this right from the start, the acting in this movie is extremely bad. Now that that is out of the way, the movie itself is fairly interesting. The movie takes place inside a structure made up of hundreds of connected cube-shaped rooms. Our main cast of characters meet each other after climbing out of their individual rooms. The movie follows the group as they attempt to find an escape from the Cube and along the way learn more about each other. Now you may think "Ok, doesn't sound so bad. Just keep going room to room until you find the exit." Well it's not that easy since some rooms as booby trapped in order to kill whomever enters that particular room. That is where the horror element comes into play. The psychological element comes in when you watch the characters interact and evolve (or devolve) over the course of the film. It really makes the audience have to put themselves in that situation and think if they had what it would take to survive in those circumstances. It is decent movie and definitely something to see once. The story is there even if not executed to perfection. This could be a great movie if done right and with halfway decent acting. Maybe a candidate for a movie that should be remade. 6/10.

Cleanflix (2009): Cleanflix is documentary about a trend out of conservative Utah in which a string of movie rental stores began to edit copyrighted movies for their conservative customer base. These rental stores would take popular movie titles and they would edit out the objectionable material in them such as sex and violence. This was mostly due to the Mormon Church's stance on obscenities and not wanting members of LDS to watch movies with sex and/or violence in them. The business model became very popular in Utah and create a string of copycat stores all out there trying to grab a piece of the market. This growth caused the business to gain the unwanted attention of Hollywood, who objected to their movies being edited without their permissions. This movie chronicles the rise and fall of the Cleanflix model in Utah and their struggle against Hollywood. It is also about whether or not Hollywood should take a backseat and allow Capitalism to work it's course, because if there is a demand then there should be a supply. Or whether the movies should remain untouched because they are the work of the director and the production teams that worked to craft those movies and worked to make them exactly how they are. It is a very interesting take on an interesting subject. 7/10.

The Big Lebowski (1998): The Big Lebowski is a Coen Brothers comedy. This is a movie that I have been meaning to get around to watching for awhile. The spark to watch it actually came from "Cleanflix" which had a clip of the movie in it and made me go "Hmm I should watch that." I have heard from multiple people that this a movie that many don't like (or don't get) upon the first viewing. I did not have this experience as I loved this movie from the beginning. This was a very well crafted comedy and was very funny, but I can see why people would not like it when they see it the first time. It is definitely a movie that lends itself to being watched over again because you will get something new out of it that you didn't catch before. I won't go too much into the plot as I feel that in most comedy movies that plot is not as important as the actual comedy. But the plot in the film was decent, it had a lot of twists and turns that drove it forward and gave more for the characters to do and more interactions. You can pick out a lot of stuff that has inspired other movies that have been made since this one. The acting in the movie is great. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman are amazing and hilarious. They work very well with each other and their characters work well bouncing off each other. Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite characters of the movie as well. This is well crafted comedy and is very highly recommended if it has alluded you as it had I. 8.5/10.

I hope you enjoyed the first iteration of my rapid fire reviews. As always feel free to leave any comments or thoughts below.