Movies & TV Tag

It’s April, and as is customary, the films at the box office are dismally mediocre. Let’s take a look at the top movies at the box office for April 10-12, 2015. After each movie, I have also provided the IMDb metascore and the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: Furious 7 ($59.6 million, IMDb: 67, Rotten Tomatoes: 82%) Home ($18.5 million, IMDb: 55, Rotten Tomatoes: 47%) The Longest Ride ($13 million, IMDb: 32, Rotten Tomatoes: 29%) Get Hard ($8.2 million, IMDb: 34, Rotten Tomatoes: 29%) Cinderella ($7.1 million, IMDb: 67, Rotten Tomatoes: 85%)Read More

If I tried to share 50 praises for 50 Shades of Grey, I would experience 50 brain farts.  So instead, here are just 10 little tidbits about my late night Thursday viewing (and I don’t even mention feminism):   1. If you are going to see 50 Shades of Grey, I recommend going with not your boyfriend, because this movie was about as steamy as a shower when all the hot water is gone because you live with some really inconsiderate roommates. Like, basically just a lot of boobs andRead More

Mr. Kimmel took over The Bachelor this week which is really the only explanation I have for the lack of Ashley S. screen time (that or she took her meds and was no longer entertaining). This week’s episode was filled with middle school drama that I had trouble keeping up with as well as dates planned by Jimmy Kimmel- a much needed dose of reality was given to these “reality” tv contestants. One of the greatest gifts Jimmy Kimmel gave to the women of The Bachelor is the Amazing Jar.Read More

There has and always will be a lot of talk surrounding any film that attempts to paint a narrative of the United States’ armed engagements over the past decade or so. American Sniper is no exception. My problem? Everyone and their mother has something pretentiously groundbreaking to say about the goals of this film. There’s the, “Chris Kyle is an American hero and his efforts have been glorified with the help of Clint Eastwood,” contingency. Then, there’s the, “This film only points out the inevitable failure of the United States’Read More

The first episode of each Bachelor and Bachelorette season never fails me. It is an event. It’s a fucking holiday. Some lonely hot man or woman is left to meet a batch of potential psychopaths and hopefully his or her life partner is hiding in the rubbish. The arrival of limos filled with women in gowns, the cheesy lines they utter to their future husband, the drunkenness that quickly follows and the accompaniment of stranger drama, jealousy, and crazy eyes… I’m so obsessed. There are a few unwritten rules for theRead More

November and December are more than simple holiday months. This is the time in which the cinematic heavy-hitters step up to the plate. The 2014 movie scene got off to a relatively crappy start, but here are some well-done, indie-ish films that are worth checking out:   Birdman Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu Stars: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton This movie just takes us on a whirlwind adventure. There is literally never a dull moment in this film. I am glad to see Keaton up and at ’em throughout this movie, andRead More

I still have yet to find the words to describe it, but Middle Earth is, in my humble opinion, an unrivaled fictional world. Tolkien immortalized his literary prowess with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which was only confirmed a decade ago with the popularity the film series put together by Peter Jackson. The release of The Hobbit films over the past three years has gotten me incredibly giddy, and I will start by saying that I am thrilled that this saga did not go the way ofRead More

Kudos to AMC for adding those leather (pleather?) recliners I have come to love in my movie theater-going experience. The ticket markup, though excessive to the uninformed visitor, is negligible. Just make sure you eat a cheap meal before you visit, and you’re all set. However, I feel like I truly threw my money away with the latest Hunger Games installment. Was it a terrible movie? Nah, but yikes there was a ton of unnecessary footage in there. After some extensive* research on the book series, I learned that the actualRead More

You’ve thought about starting a running list of people who might want to murder you, so you could save the police the step of having them question your friends and family and having them be like, “Nobody would want to hurt Sara, everybody loved her” and wasting precious time. But then you think about it and you really can’t think of anyone who would murder you, and are overcome with the crippling fear that if you get murdered the cops will have no leads. If you’re walking to your carRead More

Twenty years removed from semi-cult glory, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels return with a lukewarm revival of the iconic characters Harry and Lloyd. The sequel fell in between modest attempt and doomed from the start, but my love of the original carried me through the entirety of the film. Unfortunately, there were several key moments that simply proved Harry and Lloyd’s idyllic, moronic behavior lost its pizzazz.     1. Carrey and Daniels lost their chemistry. When living out the formative years of your life quoting every mannerism and facialRead More

Let’s be clear about one thing: Interstellar is a really good movie. I’ve heard the commentary from the naysayers out there, but from the laymen’s perspective, this is definitely a worthwhile watch. However, I have also noticed that there are some pretty strong sentiments towards certain qualities of this movie that are worth taking a look at, especially if you are still on the fence about checking this one out. The more “agrees” you side with, the more you should definitely go see Interstellar.     1. Christopher Nolan isRead More

1. Thou Shalt Have No Other Hobbies Before Me Although it is permissible to lie on your online dating profile, in an interview, or to impress an acquaintance.     2. Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of Lord Netflix in Vain Seriously.  Don’t insult or mock Netflix.  There are too many devout and loyal followers.  We are everywhere.     3. Remember to Keep Holy the Sabbath Day Which, in the instance of Lord Netflix, is every day.  Especially Friday nights and entire Saturdays.  But we can’t rule outRead More

John Wick is an action movie that would have been right at home twenty or thirty years ago. It’s a paper-thin revenge story about a retired hit man (Keanu Reaves) taking on the Russian mafia because they killed his puppy. That’s not a joke, it’s the real plot of the movie. The inciting incident of the film is that a Russian gangster (Alfie Allen) kills his puppy. It’s the kind of action film in which the story really only exists to justify the wanton violence on display and I canRead More

I’d been working for two weeks straight and it was my day off so I was a little apprehensive when my housemate suggested we go see a movie called Gone Girl. I was totally unaware of this movie, hadn’t seen any trailers. Somehow it was totally off my radar. “Gone Girl?” I thought, “Why are we going to see a chick flick?”   Looking ahead at a day of playing Borderlands and not wearing pants, I thought that I may as well schedule some time to stretch my legs andRead More

Hopefully by now you’ve seen Tru Tv’s The Carbonaro Effect, which premiered this summer to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. Using a unique blend of magic and prankster-esque comedy, the shows titular magician, Michael Carbonaro, dupes unsuspecting people into believing the impossible. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, you can read my first interview with Carbonaro to see what he’s all about. In the first half of Season 1, Carbonaro was able to pop bowling balls out of flat packages, assemble a live duck with spare parts, andRead More