Box of Danger

What?

exactly.

I need to see this

if you have netflix, it's on watch instantly.

Everyone needs Netflix. I use Netflix streaming like, every day, and more often than the disc service.

Only chumps who prefer to spend their hours alone instead of with friends need Netflix.

So, yeah, I guess that is everyone. Good point, Goo.

some people don't use netflix when they have cable...

Even if I had cable, I would still have Netflix. Cable doesn't have everything Netflix does.

Actually, due to Hulu coming to PS3 at some point, and Netflix on any game console I currently own, I really don't intend to get a cable package whenever I move out. I have more content than I can possibly watch for what I pay, so why add cable to that mix?

Netflix is decent but I just don't have the extra ten bucks to stay inside, by myself, like JOJO said.

Everyone Else

94/100 (A)

Few films are so precisely shot and constructed yet so difficult for a viewer to find footing in understanding the film's thematic and world view. It's a movie where everyone will take away something differently depending on how old they are, their job, whether or not they are in a relationship, whether they just got out of a relationship, or just how many times they have see the film. I could see someone viewing the film as harsh but ultimately romantic, and someone else seeing it as bleak and unsettling as Antichrist wanted to be. This malleability is in no small part the result of the seemingly effortless acting of the two amazing leads.

The Ghost Writer

77/100 (C)

Polanski has a knack for atmosphere and intrigue but as usual it doesn't congeal into a particularity satisfying conclusion. But there is something to be said for how the movie look ands feels. In the running for best cinematography of the year.

I recently rewatched Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Though marketed towards children with flashy colors and juvenile humor, this is far from a movie for children. I remember this being one of my least favorite Disney movies as a kid, but after watching it again, I realize that a lot of it went over my head. If you don't remember liking the movie, and only watched it as a child, I think it's definitely worth another shot.

It's probably my favorite Disney movie there is. And, of course, it has "Hellfire", quite possibly the greatest song from any Disney movie.

It's beautifully done, too. Watch some of the scenes again, and take note at the, "Bwah!" part. Like after Frollo kicks (Frollo Kick!) Quasi's mama to death, and the statues are all just looking at him, and the one OPENS ITS EYES after the bolt of lightning. Or the scene from Hellfire. As a kid, you get the idea, "Oh, he's a bad guy, look at him and his fire, and these creepy monks rising from the floor!" When you watch it as an ADULT, you think, "Oh, God, he's going to rape her! How did I miss THAT when I was a kid!?"

That was one Disney title I never saw. I heard it was good but not "popular" in the sense of Lion King and Beauty and the Beast were. Master WGS, do you have it on dvd? If so, could I borrow it?

Yeah, I've got it. I'll try and keep it on me so you can borrow it next time I see you.

Sweet

Winter's Bone

80/100 (B)

A rather bold mix of contemporary rural america neo-realism and film noir. It's graceful and light of touch but also chilling and unsettling. The cinematography is three parts Janus Kaminski and one part Mark-Li Ping-Bing's most recent work with Hou Hsiao Hsien. Unfortunately, it is disappointingly anti-climatic, which is probably supposed to be the point, but its one of the rare movies i wish would have at least tried to have its cake and eat it too.



(Currently Playing at the Lennox in Columbus)

I was planning on seeing it this past Sunday, but with no luck. It's on my list of movies to see, and see soon.

Oh boy, sent in my discs that I've had for like, 3 months, and I'll be getting Tron, Pump Up the Volume, and the first disc of Mad Men season 1 tomorrow.

Charlie St. Cloud

45/100

I hadn't seen much about this movie before watching it. I knew it dealt with Efron's brother dying and something about playing baseball, heh that's it. What I watched totally caught me off guard several times. Efron was pretty good, the character is like 8 sheets to the wind crazy and he manages to pull it off and still be a good guy. The character is very weird too, which several characters comment on during the movie.

It wasn't a great movie by any means, but I did enjoy Efron. Half way through the movie I thought of him as the next Leonardo DiCaprio or Johnny Depp. I really think he just needs a movie that can show his range, and the rest would be history. Scorsese used Leo, Depp got Pirates. I don't think Efron could go the route of Depp, considering the actors but I could easily see Efron doing an action movie, or some big drama and getting nice reviews.

Overall, the movie got kinda boring in the second act. There was a reveal to start the third act that totally, and I mean totally, caught me off guard and grabbed my attention back, for at least 5-10 minutes. Not wholly original but the reveal worked, in a crazy Twilight Zone-ish way. Spaced throughout were some funny one liners or situations and you got yourself a unique chick-flick that tries something different without really succeeding. I just didn't see the point of this movie other than a Zac Efron vehicle, which is sad since he deserves better than this.

Dinner for Schmucks

The plot involves Rudd as a guy trying to get higher on the corporate ladder more or less to impress his girlfriend enough to make him think he's marriage material (as he has proposed a few times and no dice thus far). He takes a bold step and pry's his way into a meeting where he pitches an idea and tries to "get in" with head of the company in order to score a recently vacant office and get a substantial promotion in the process. The boss takes a liking to him and invites him to dinner where the people of the company bring in bizarre characters and they compete to be the best idiot in the lot. Rudd isn't sure what to think of the idea at first, not really wanting to find an idiot to take to this dinner and take part in this "right of passage" and his girlfriend tells him he shouldn't. At this point he runs into Carrel and he and his girlfriend's relationship starts to fall apart as she feels she can't trust him any longer and Carrel's attempts to help fix things tend to go horribly wrong at least 90 percent of the time. Leading to all kinds of mis-adventures involving a psycho stalker, an eccentric artist and Carrel's "mind controlling" boss. Finally they end up at the dinner and Rudd's character finally chooses to break away from being the guy who will do whatever it takes to get up the corporate ladder.

I came into this movie expecting to be mildly amused and perhaps slightly offended expecting the majority of the film to be a dinner with a bunch of crazy and/or bizarre people. About halfway through the movie I'm realizing they aren't even at dinner yet and while it is clear that they are presenting Carrel's character as an idiot of sorts it's actually not as demeaning as I was expecting nor are the rest of the characters that show up to the dinner for schmucks but there are some very bizarre characters in this movie to be sure and they are acted magnificently.

I haven't laughed out loud at a movie in a while and I have not been to a movie at a theater that caused the audience to laugh out loud in even longer. It wasn't particularly unique but it was oddly refreshing. Carrel's character along with the eccentric artist who is one of the side characters who doesn't even show up to the dinner have a lot of great dialogue exchanges as you can see they are similar but different kinds of crazy. I mean they had a discussion about living with goats... nuff said.

Overall it's probably not a must see in theaters but it was surprisingly funny and a bit charming at points and not even entirely mindless entertainment as it had a bit of heart to it as well and not the kind that felt arbitrarily tossed in either. If you need a good laugh I highly recommend it.

The biggest problem is several of the scenes simply drag on way, way too long. When Carell's character enter's Rudd's character's apartment for the first time, that scene goes on for pretty much 1/3 of the film. Sure it sets him up as an idiot, but it didn't all need to take place at the apartment. The dinner itself is less than 15 minutes of the film. Sadly, the majority of the film could be seen as exposition leading up to the dinner, but most of it becomes quite unnecessary. All that really matters is meeting Galifianakis' character for the purposes of the dinner.

Not a bad movie, definitely packed with laugh-out-loud moments as you said, and easily some of Carell's best comedy on film, but it really starts to grate on you after a while. I think it would have been better if they moved the story around a bit more (instead of just a few locations), or cut maybe 20 minutes from the film just to get to the point faster without a bunch of useless exposition.

Yeah I get what you're saying, the apartment scene went on for quite a while and they probably could have done without including that stalker chick at all.

Finished with True Blood season 2 last night, and it was a pretty good ending. I can see why people feel that season 2 was a bit more lackluster than season 1, but not as much as people make it out to be. Overall I feel that True Blood is one of the best shows on TV right now. Campy, awesome characters with great story development. I agree with movieman that season 2 seemed to focus more on building the world of the series, where as season 1 just served as an introduction by throwing in vampires, and towards the end introduced you to the possibility of there being more out there. Thus, season 2 served as a confirmation for that, and then some. Evidently season 3 has been crazy awesome, and I look forward to spending some weekends at movieman's house watching his DVRed episodes.

Looks like I'm on to the three seasons of Mad Men I have in my Netflix queue next, the first disc of which is at home right now. Not until after I watch TRON and Pump Up the Volume. After that it shall be Freaks & Geeks, which I've only seen a handful of episodes for, but enjoyed them "back in the day".

I also got my Hulu Plus invite on Saturday, and the service is pretty nifty. Sadly it only works via the web interface for PC or Mac (the desktop app is a MUCH better experience), but so far it's very nice. Streaming in 720p HD from the site works on my 3Mbps connection without a problem. I decided to get really stupid and pay for a 3 month subscription to PlayStation Plus so I could get the preview app for my PS3. Very nice, essentially like the desktop app, but sadly it doesn't have access to all of Hulu's content. There's still plenty there, but I can't watch a lot of the anime that's on there; for example: Funimation only has FMA: Brotherhood up for streaming via the PS3 app. While I can't stream in HD at the 3.2Mbps quality (you get two or three levels of HD streaming with the PS3 app, and can choose which one you want, so take THAT Netflix), it works and looks just fine at the 1.5Mbps HD quality, with barely any noticeable difference with the 2.5Mbps and 3Mbps quality, at least not enough to bitch about. Way better quality than Netflix streaming, for sure.

Experienced some audio lag issues with the first episode of FMA: Brotherhood. The subtitles came up just fine, but the video seemed to be about 1/4 to 1/2 of a second ahead, starting half way through the opening credits.

Having access to all four seasons of 30 Rock and season one of Modern Family in HD? Heck yes please.

Glee is not in HD, which goes against Hulu saying, "If it was broadcast in HD, it'll be in HD via Hulu Plus." Need to see if it's in HD on the web interface, but regardless, it's garbs it's not in HD via the PS3. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to watch on the PS3 for now, but I find it odd that I can't access ALL of their content.

Overall, very impressed with the service thus far, and I look forward to it being fully unleashed on the PS3 at some point this year. Special note: you only need PS+ access for the preview period, after which time anyone with a Hulu Plus subscription can download the app from the PSN store. Sony has exclusivity on console streaming for the rest of this year, and Xbox 360 will get it next year, probably with the spring update.

The problem I had with season two was that, 1. the characters were separated for most of the season, and 2. this separation leads to the story not being as strong, and the Marie Ann stuff as weak.

The Dallas storyline was good, the Church storyline even better, but I never got into the town storyline. That could be because I'm not a huge fan of Tera but who knows. Eggs was the dumbest character to be on the show.

Season 3 starts off the same way, separation and weak storylines. The first few episodes were decent, then it hit a lull or something and just doesn't do anything. The last 2, not including last nights, were fantastic with the episode 2 weeks ago my favorite of the series. Great pacing, packed storyline, not a slow minute in the entire 58 minute run time. That episode as well as the following episode were amazing. I'm looking forward to yesterdays episode and the rest of the season.

I've beginning to realize that the best episodes are when the characters are all in the same overall storyline. They can have separate things for each character but when they get too stagnated it seems like I don't care about them as much. Anyone agree?