Merry Christmas

Well, Chistmas is here again. It is a wonderful time for many things. I will just say this one right off the spot, it is a wonderful time to pull out Christmas movies like Elf, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol (whatever version you prefer), and so on. Also a wonderful time to enjoy certain things you would have during the Holidays like Egg Nog. A perfect time to spend time with family, whether you travel far or just go a few doors down to be with family. Also a wonderful time to give to others, and also to receive. But the most important part about Christmas is the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. His birth into the world brought much peace on Earth. Hopefully you will take time to remember this on this wonderful Day. I recently saw the movie Scrooged with Bill Murray, and the quote near the end really caught my attention, he talked about how the miracle of Christmas doesn't have to be just once a year, but if we continue to give miracles to one another and help one another (probably completely butchered the quote) then Christmas can last all year long. The birth of our Savior is a huge focus today (or should be), but we should always take time each day to think about our Savior Jesus Christ and all that He has done for each of us, as we do so we can strive to become more like Him, and the miracle of Christmas can continue each day. Have a Merry Christmas.

Tron Legacy review

Like I said, I was going to post a review of what I thought of Tron Legacy once I saw it. I have been stoked to see this movie for a while now. The first time I heard about the sequel was actually in the works was back in 2008, when reports went online about a trailer that was shown at one of the conventions, I forget the name of it right now. But I ended up finding the trailer online, which was a crummy cam rip, but nonetheless, it was still exciting to see that a sequel was in the works. I ended up seeing the trailer again the following year when the actual trailer was put up online and not a crummy cam rip. That was where the anticipation started. Came in tonight not knowing how the story would turn out, as I heard complaints about the story. To me, the movie was more about the visuals, but honestly I still think it had a decent story to go along with it. Now the question you might have, knowing that this is a sequel, do you really need to see the original before this one. It wouldn't hurt, but I am sure you will end up enjoying this movie regardless.

Now about the visuals, first off, the 3D. I can't say this enough times, and I worry this will be brushed off, but this is a MUST SEE IN 3D! Seriously, the 3D was amazing in this movie. It had a lot of depth to it. This movie was filmed in 3D, like Avatar that was released last year. I feel this movie pushed the boundaries a bit with 3D. So when you see this movie this weekend, go see it in 3D, it is totally worth it.

The visual effects were really amazing as well, the design and look of it were just incredible to look at. Also, the sound design was outstanding as well, especially the score by Daft Punk. After watching the movie, I really want to get the soundtrack.

This whole movie was amazing to watch, it is one movie I really look forward to seeing again soon. It is worth checking out.

Almost Christmas Again

So we are a week and a half away till Christmas arrives. There are so many movies coming out this holiday season. First off, I have said it many times, and I will say it again. This weekend we see the arrival of Tron Legacy, I have been very excited for this movie for a while, and now it hits the theaters. I will be going to a midnight showing of it Thursday night, I don't normally attend midnight showings because I am working them, but this one I will, and I am very excited. The other one I really want to see is True Grit, which arrives on December 22.

Also, look for the Golden Globe nominations tomorrow morning. It will be interesting to see what gets picked for Best Picture. I do think one of them will be The Social Network, it has been winning awards by critics recently, I really do think it has a great chance at Best Picture. It is a very good movie, and is worth checking out. You may think it's a movie about Facebook, but it's deeper than that. I think another movie that could get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture is Inception, or at least a Best Director nomination. I will be going through my top ten picks of the year as the New Year approaches, and of course some other movies that I would categorize elsewhere, this year we had a bunch of really good movies.

For Blu-Ray and DVD this week, there is A-Team and Despicable Me, they are both good movies. Also this weekend there will be a couple of other releases, for example, there is Legend of the Guardians, it is a good movie, while the plot is full of holes, the animation is beautiful. There are many good movies on Blu-Ray that are worth picking up as gifts for Christmas, once again, I recommend Inception if you guys haven't picked it up yet, or seen it.

Also, look for trailers for movies arriving next year. One is for a movie called Rio, about a rare blue bird that lives in a cold town, he meets a girl that he follows on a crazy adventure, done by the same company that did Ice Age. Another one is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides, I will be honest, I liked the first one, but the other two I really didn't care about that much, and this new one I am not too excited for, but who knows, it could be a surprise movie. Then there is Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and no I didn't miss a word in the title, that's how it is spelled. I will give the new movie a chance, I will admit, I did enjoy the last movie, not as much as the first, but it is a movie I don't mind watching, and I am sure that Michael Bay will fix up the problems he caused in the last one, and this last movie will be a much better movie, and a really great blockbuster. So there are some things to look for next year, and I am sure we will have some sleeper hits for next year.

I will be posting a review of Tron Legacy Friday morning.

December update

I thought of going through a few things about this month to start it off. First off, go see Tangled, it is a great movie, I really enjoyed it, bring your whole family. There were plenty of laughs, and also a very well done story. I highly recommend it. As well, if you haven't seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, go see it for sure, it is great. The only killer part is having to wait a bit for the next one, in about a week and a half, we only have to wait seven months till the next one hits the big screen. Those are the big ones to go see right now. This month will have a few releases that seem very promising. Next week, there is Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, looks good and I will go see it, there is also The Tourist starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, haven't really seen any advertisements for it, will need to watch a trailer for it, but could be good. The Fighter will also have a limited release, which stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, looks great and should be up for many Academy Awards. There is also The Tempest, a new version based on William Shakespeare's final play. The following week we will see the release of Tron Legacy, I have gone through it in my last post so I don't see the need to go through it again here except this is one movie I am really looking forward to, read my previous post to see what I wrote. Another release is Yogi Bear, I am sure there will be families that might appreciate the movie, I never really got into the cartoon. The next week being Christmas, there will be the release of Gulliver's Travels, a new version of a classic tale starring Jack Black, I don't know what to say about this, maybe it could be good. Another one is True Grit, it is a remake of a movie back in the late 60s, I am excited for this, it looks great, directed by the Coen Brothers. Then there is Little Fockers, the second sequel to the Meet the Parents series, I really didn't care much about the first movie, never stuck out to me, and never bothered to see the second, so I probably won't really bother seeing this new one. There are probably some other movies that will hit the big screen this month, but these are the ones that stick out.

The home entertainment will have many big releases this month, see one of my previous posts for the big schedule, but next Tuesday we see the release of Inception on Blu-Ray, which will be exciting, especially since that will allow us to rewatch the movie and try to find the things that we missed in theaters, and also get into the extra features to try to figure out certain things. Yes, that is exciting.

I also want to bring up a soundtrack that comes out on Tuesday, Tron Legacy, the reason I bring it up is because it is one of the most hyped soundtracks this year which is done by Daft Punk, and reading the reviews, it sounds like they did a fantastic job with the score, I also brought it up in my last post, with a link where you can listen to samples from the soundtrack. Speaking of soundtracks, other soundtracks that you should check out this year that I have listened to are Inception, How to Train Your Dragon, and Social Network. The soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is another fun mention, if you like crazy rock music. There are many other soundtracks that came out this year that I am sure are great. One that was an import from Japan was the soundtrack to Evangelion 2.0, which I thought was excellent. I also listened to The Last Airbender, wasn't a great movie, huge disappointment, but the music wasn't too bad. Music can really do a lot to help create the mood of a movie, it is usually one of the elements that always sticks out when I remember a movie, besides the visual or characters. I really enjoy listening to soundtracks to a movie, a lot of my CDs that I have are soundtracks. Music is great, I wonder what our world would be like without music.

Tron Legacy could be a milestone in 3D

I have presented my opinion on 3D on numerous occasions, especially this year where we had quite a few 3D movies. My biggest argument is that 3D can be very effective as long as it is shot and created in 3D, and not a last minute conversion. But I think not only will Tron Legacy be a great 3D movie, but I really do think that it will be an effective 3D movie. Let me explain, the purpose of 3D should not be a gimmick, as some movies have been in 3D, it should be more of an experience, and that is where 3D is very effective. How To Train Your Dragon was a very effective 3D movie mainly for the parts where Hiccup and Toothless are flying, you feel like you are really flying with them. Tron takes place in the computer world, almost like virtual reality, and it is fair to have you feel like you are really in this computer world with the characters, and therefore the 3D would be very effective. I even heard that the scenes in the real world will be in 2D, and that the computer world would be in 3D, I don’t know if that’s exactly true, but we will find out. Almost like The Wizard of Oz, where the beginning and end scenes are in black and white, then the land of Oz is in color. This year had left a bitter taste for 3D, mainly because of the cheap 3D conversions, and the expensive prices. Whatever the case may be, we need some really good 3D movies that will bring back the enthusiasm of the format, I don’t think every movie should be in 3D, but I don’t think it should be totally dismissed either. Tron Legacy could bring back that enthusiasm.

What is Tron?



I have talked a bit about Tron Legacy for a while and that it would be arriving in theaters this December. I don’t think I have talked about Tron itself. Tron is a movie that was released back in the 80s, 1982 to be exact, and it played a huge role in the history of filmmaking. It helped establish computer animation. So why haven’t you heard about it, well, Tron wasn’t a box office hit, in fact, it basically flopped when it was released. Why do we even have a sequel for it if it flopped all these years ago? For starters, even though it didn’t do well at the box office, it did gain cult status once it hit video, that tends to happen to a lot of movies, fail in theaters but it becomes huge when it arrives on video. Let me share another example, The Wizard of Oz was not a hit when it was released in 1939. But in the coming years, it became a huge hit, and it is now a classic around the world. Tron has experienced the same thing, while not everyone loves it, it is a big movie, and has become a milestone in the history of computer animation. Will you need to see Tron to know exactly what is going on in Tron Legacy, I don’t believe so, especially if they are withholding all the copies of Tron from stores like Best Buy. If it’s an important movie, why pull it off the shelves before the sequel is released. Disney’s fear is that the special effects are outdated and that people might just laugh off the idea of seeing Tron Legacy because the old one may not be as good. I could understand the fears, but I feel that Tron should be watched, while things have advanced since, it does play an important role in our culture. So if you can find it for rental or maybe there is an old copy laying around your home or something, watch it. However, do expect the original Tron to be released again on DVD and Blu-Ray when Tron Legacy makes it to Blu-Ray and DVD next year.

What can we expect for promotional material for Tron Legacy?



I had to put this in because there is a lot of great promotional material. When I say promotional material, I am talking about soundtrack, video games, and other little goodies. First off, the big thing I am sure many are looking forward to, including myself, is the Tron Legacy soundtrack which is done by Daft Punk. Every time I hear samples for the soundtrack, I get very excited and it is one CD I want to get. You can find samples by following this link.



As well, we have video games that are coming out the beginning of next month. You can find them for all systems, one of the cool things that I found out is Tron Evolution for the Playstation 3 will have the capability of playing the game in 3D, so if you have a 3DTV then you can play the game in 3D and you can use the Playstation in Motion wand (which is like a Wii remote) to move around, and by the sounds of it, it really makes you feel like you are in the game, kind of like virtual reality, huh. Speaking of virtual reality, you should check out this video that was made back in 2007.

Even if you don’t have a Playstation 3 or a 3DTV, there are other Tron Evolution games coming out, for the Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, the one for the Nintendo Wii is called Tron Evolution Battle Grids, which should be a fun game.



So yes, it like there will be cool video games for Tron.

Other things that I have heard about is a new Tron ride at Disneyland, involving the light cycles, those that have seen the original movie will know what I am talking about. There will also be a TV show that will be released in 2012, called Tron Uprising. I believe there are many other things, exciting.

Well, whatever you think of Tron Legacy, one thing is for certain, it will be a huge movie next month. Hopefully it will generate good word of mouth and become a box office hit.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 review

The one thing that I always expected from the Harry Potter movies is that it basically takes place in Hogwarts. This was the first one where I don't recall ever seeing Hogwarts. This was one series that has taken me by surprise. When I saw the first two Harry Potter movies, I didn't really expect much. I saw it more as going to Hogwarts and going on an adventure each year, I didn't really expect them to tie together, like the Lord of the Rings movies. But ever since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, things sort of changed, not too much just then but I started to realize there was going to be a big arc altogether, trying to stop Voldemort. It was always the kind of movies where I would just see it once, and be satisfied. Ever since the last one, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, things started to change for me, I really started to appreciate the movies more and really wanted to watch them all again and see what I might have missed. And with the last one, when it ended, I was really excited to see the next one, while the earlier ones I wasn't that excited. Well, after this movie, obviously I am beyond excited to see the next one, and can't wait till July 15 of next year (note: that is the same date that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out). Things have really changed for the characters, things have gotten much darker, and figuring out things has become more interesting. Enjoyed seeing old characters again. Everything in this movie was superb. I want to go see it again as soon as possible. Highly recommended.

If you can't see it this weekend because it sells out or something, then here are a couple of other recommendations. First off, Unstoppable, it was enjoyable and really good. Another is Morning Glory, had a few good laughs in it. And for families, Megamind, really funny. Hope you enjoy the weekend. I will fill you in on other movies that come out.

Blu-Ray and DVD release Schedule Christmas 2010

Here is a list of movies that you can expect within the next two months:

November 2

Toy Story 3 – The biggest animated movie this year, and probably exceeded many expectations, for sure mine. I would probably consider it the best out of the Toy Story movies, yeah the first one was for sure a mind blower, since it did something that was new, but this one was developed well for a family movie, a lot of emotion in it. A must have.

The Goonies (Blu-Ray) – The classic 1985 adventure involving a bunch of teenagers going out trying to find One Eye Willie’s treasure. It is not a cheap buy, and from what I have read, the audio and video quality don’t differ much from the DVD, and not many new extras added to this release, more of a board game and some duplicates of articles promoting the film. Huge fan, then I am sure you have bought it, if not, the DVD is fine I’m sure.

November 9

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World – This movie stands out over a bunch of the others that were released this summer, one of two movies that I can think of that were very original (Inception being the other). Very funny and very creative. Highly recommended for those that are fans of comic books, video games, and anime. I hear the video and audio quality on this disc is very good.

Grown Ups – A summer comedy that involves a huge cast of famous comedy actors like Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. While many would disagree, I thought there were a few good laughs in this movie, and had a decent story to it.

Charlie St. Cloud – Never saw it, heard mixture from the movie, but I am sure it would be a good rental. Zac Efron plays a teenager who just lost his younger brother.

November 16

A Christmas Carol – If you don’t remember this movie, it was released last year in November, it was computer animated and had Jim Carrey. I actually really liked this movie, it is a lot darker than many of the other incarnations of this beloved classic tale, but I think it’s worth checking out. There is a 3D Blu-Ray release of it for those that have 3DTVs and a 3D Blu-Ray player. The 3D was good when I saw it last year, and I am sure it would be great for those who have that capability. If not, I am sure the regular Blu-Ray will be just great too.

Avatar: Collector’s Edition – Yeah, It did come out on Blu-Ray and DVD back in April, but it was a release that didn’t include any extras. For those that are interested in learning about how the movie was made, or want multiple versions of the movie (this release includes versions that have new footage added back into the movie), then this will be a perfect version to buy. And no, there is no 3D release, but for those who have a Panasonic 3DTV, you could somehow get the exclusive version of this movie in 3D. However, with a bunch of solid extras, I couldn’t see any reason why not to get this release.

The Last Airbender – Probably one of the worst movies to be released this summer. I will be honest, I didn’t think it was the worst I have seen, but it was very poorly done. Where does the fault lie? I am not going to point fingers, but this movie will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray for those that did enjoy it, and also 3D Blu-Ray that is exclusively available at Best Buy, but I don’t think there is anything special with the 3D in this movie.

3D movies – There will be many different 3D movies for 3D Blu-Ray released from Warner Bros., like Polar Express and Clash of the Titans. Again, I think the 3D for Clash of the Titans was awful, but I am sure the 3D for Polar Express will be good.

November 23

The Expendables – Big action movie with just about every big action hero from the past two decades. I didn’t see it, but I am sure for those who are interested or liked it, will look for this one, either as a rental or a purchase.

Eat, Pray, Love – I don’t know what to say about this, I am sure there are those that enjoyed it, I never bothered seeing it. But you can find it on Blu-Ray and DVD on this date.

November 30

Knight and Day – For those who missed it in theaters, check it out. Seriously, it has plenty of action and it is very funny. Stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise is a secret agent that falls in love with Cameron Diaz and they end up on a crazy adventure. Yeah, it didn’t do too hot at the box office, but seriously, check it out.

Sorcerer’s Apprentice – One of Jerry Bruckheimer’s big blockbusters for Disney, this one didn’t do too hot, but I found it entertaining that I think is worth checking out. Nicholas Cage is an old sorcerer that finds the one that will become a great sorcerer that will destroy an evil force, and brings him in as his apprentice. It also has a sequence that is based off the Mickey Mouse cartoon of the same name, you can find it on Fantasia. Speaking of which, look for Fantasia on Blu-Ray that day as well.

Twilight: Eclipse – Yep, sometime that week, you Twilight fans can look for Edward and Jacob and Bella in their new movie on Blu-Ray and DVD. I heard this one was better, but honestly it isn’t enough to make me get into the series, but it does have its fans, and if you are a fan, then I am sure you will be buying this the first day it arrives.

December 7

Inception – The new Christopher Nolan movie that blew everyone’s minds arrives a few weeks before Christmas. In case you haven’t seen it or don’t even know what it’s about, it involves going into dreams and there are different levels of dreaming, a dream within a dream. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon Leavitt, and many others. If you haven’t see, you must, it is a must see. It does require thinking throughout the movie, but for sure the smartest movie that I have seen this summer. In fact, Christopher Nolan is for sure one of the top directors of all time now.

Shrek Forever After – If there was one sequel that I believed wouldn’t be any good but was surprised that it was actually good, this was it. I saw Shrek The Third, and wasn’t very impressed, and when I heard about this new one, actually the first trailer arrived when Avatar arrived last Christmas, and the first thoughts in my mind was, “Why?” We didn’t need another Shrek movie. But when I saw, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a good story, and while the humor wasn’t like the humor with the first two movies, this one did have some good laughs attached to them. I recommend checking it out.

Alice in Wonderland 3D – This is suppose to have a separate 3D release for those with 3D equipment, it isn’t my first choice for 3D, but honestly, it is still a good movie, and the 3D is still good.

December 14

The A-Team – Another big action movie that was kind of ignored that I think deserved much more attention. Stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel. In case you don’t know, it’s based on a popular 80s TV show, I never watched it, but I absolutely loved this movie, highly recommended.

Despicable Me – A really funny animated movie, it will also be available in 3D Blu-Ray for those with 3D equipment, and this movie is really good in 3D. For others, it is also available on Blu-Ray and DVD. Steve Carrell plays a super villain that tries hard to be a bad guy but has a real soft side to him, and it really starts to come out as he adopts 3 orphan girls, which was for one of his master plans. I highly recommend this one.

The Other Guys – I really don’t know what to say about this, it was one of those popular buddy cop movies this summer, but first off I really didn’t think it was that funny. There were a few parts that I was really laughing, but that was about it. If you are a huge Will Ferrell fan, then I am sure you will enjoy it anyway.

December 17

Legend of the Guardians – Came out about a month and a half ago, really didn’t get much returns from the box office. I will be flat out honest, the story wasn’t very well developed, quite a few plot holes, but the animation was incredible and beautiful. I do think that this movie is very much worth checking out at least once, even if there were problems with the story development. As well, the 3D is great.

December 21

Salt – This was one of those action movies that was quite enjoyable. It stars Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent, she encounters a man that tells her that she is a Russian spy that will kill the President. There were a ton of interesting twists in the movie, some that you really don’t expect, and there is plenty of action. Out of anything, I do think it is totally worth a rental.

Step Up 3 – Again, another one of those that will also be available in 3D Blu-Ray, so those with 3D equipment will have plenty of choice in the 3D realm this Christmas. I never bothered seeing this, in fact, I haven’t bothered seeing any of the Step Up movies, but I am sure if you like the movies you will enjoy this.


Keep in mind that this list isn't complete, these are ones that stuck out to me, and the ones that will probably grab the most attention. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Dark Knight Rises

This is big news today, and I find this funny talking about it because I remember April Fools last year, I posted a joke about the next Batman movie with unappealing changes taking place, just go to my post in April 1, 2009 to refresh on what I am talking about. Anyway, the new Batman movie will be called The Dark Knight Rises, which seems like a good title. The other big news attached to it is that The Riddler will not be the villian, as many were speculating. I thought it would have been a good possibility, but whatever Christopher Nolan has in mind, it will work. Some of the other news bits that I heard was that Tom Hardy was attached to play a role in it, if you don't know who he is, he was in Inception this summer, he was Eames who was also known as the Forger in the team. Once again, if you haven't seen Inception, go see it. As well, this movie will not be in 3D. And again, it will have IMAX filmed sequences like the last movie. I will continue to share updates as they are released.

In other news, Halloween is almost here. There are many ways to celebrate it. One of the ways I have been doing it is watching Halloween themed movies, like Watcher in the Woods, What Lies Beneath, Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, and others. I also went through a Haunted House, which was the first time for me, besides school made haunted houses when I was younger.

As for recommendations of movies that are out in theaters. The big one I would recommend is The Social Network. I worried about the movie at first because I saw it as a movie about the history of Facebook, and I really didn't care to learn of the history of Facebook, but what I learned was a bit deeper than that, it has to do about friendships and how you can easily destroy them. I feel this is one movie that can easily be nominated for many Oscars. The performances were also great. Jesse Eisenberg was superb as the main character, and Andrew Garfield was also excellent. Another movie I would also recommend is Red, it was a fun movie to watch, lots of action and humor, very enjoyable. I am sure many of you will probably look for scary films this weekend, but those are my recommendations, I am also going to try to check out Hereafter and Secretariat soon.

Next month will be a great month for movies, mainly for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I am very excited for the movie. Other ones I want to check out is Morning Glory, yes it looks like it could be predictable, but it should be entertaining and funny, it has Rachael McAdams, Harrison Ford, and Diane Keaton. I also want to see Unstoppable, probably will be a not so good action flick, but could have some entertaining moments in it. It also has a decent cast, like Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. Megamind might also be entertaining. Another one I really do want to see is Tangled, it looks like it could be really funny and good. Some other ones that are more political are Fair Game, with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, and then there is The Next Three Days, with Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson. That is what I can think of right now, but of course Harry Potter will make the biggest difference for the month, with the others helping the holiday season. Then the next month should have some really good movies as well.

Oh yeah, one more thing, Back to the Future hit the Blu-Ray this week, for fans of the movie, go pick it up, from what I have heard, the quality is really good, especially for the first movie, and there are a lot of good special features. As well, if you want any other Blu-Ray recommendations, pick up How to Train Your Dragon, seriously, it is a great movie, and the quality is excellent. I will soon post up some big releases that are coming out this Christmas on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Reboot coming out

This really isn't movie news, but this was a favorite TV show from my childhood, that I really couldn't resist but share the news. I don't know how many are familiar with the TV show Reboot, it was the first computer animated TV show, it was released in the early 1990s. I watched it when I was growing up in Canada and we had a channel called YTV, and it would air on there. That was one TV show I really got into. Well, a company called Shout Factory got the rights to the TV show and they will be releasing the entire series on DVD next year, I don't know exactly when unfortunately, but I consider this great news that the whole series will be available on DVD. That is one of the greatest things about DVD, old TV series end up on DVD and many can go back and rewatch their favorite shows.

For those who don't know what ReBoot is, here is a link to the opening of the show.

Stay tuned for when I give the forecast of movies to look forward to this holiday season, and probably the DVD and Blu-Ray movies to keep your eyes pealed for.

The Future of 3D

I thought of talking about 3D again, as we have a lot of 3D TVs coming out before the holidays. It is amazing to see how the technology has advanced, where 3D use to be these paper glasses with red and green lenses and it was only about things jumping out at you, but now it is more about depth when you watch a movie. I will be honest though, it still has a bit to go before it is even closer to perfect, but still is amazing.

I heard the Playstation 3 now has a 3D feature where you can play games that were made in 3D. And Nintendo is making a portable device called Nintendo 3DS where you can play games in 3D without wearing 3D glasses (now that would be really cool). From how things were years ago, 3D is now starting to become big.

Even Blu-Ray companies are starting to sell 3D Blu-Ray equipment and software. In fact, just the other day, Universal Home Entertainment announced Despicable Me to be released on 3D Blu-Ray on December 14, of course it will also arrive on regular Blu-Ray and DVD, but the 3D Blu-Ray will also include the 2D version, so for those that don't have 3D yet but plan to upgrade in the future, there you go. Just like the same idea with when Blu-Ray was starting to become big, they would (and still) sell Blu-Ray movies that would include the DVD version with it, which is in my opinion one of the best ways to sell your product.



Of course, there are other 3D Blu-Ray releases for those who are interested in 3D and have a machine. Like Disney's A Christmas Carol, Clash of the Titans (which was really bad in 3D), and Alice in Wonderland. There is also releases of Avatar (James Cameron, Not The Last Airbender) and How to Train Your Dragon coming as well. Right now, they will only be included in special bundle deals, so you have to purchase a 3D TV from a certain company to get it. For example, you can get How to Train Your Dragon if you buy a starter kit from Samsung. So yeah, that will restrict those who really want to get into 3D because of these movies, but I am sure as time goes on, probably in less than a year, these movies will be available to buy separately. Of course, you can still enjoy How to Train Your Dragon in 2D on Blu-Ray October 15 (so excited). I will be honest though, all this technology is cool, but I will wait a few years till the prices come down a bit and they handle any technology issues that might be present right now. But of course, when the time comes, I do look forward to investing in 3D. If anyone wants a 3D TV right now and not spend thousands of dollars, there is one TV by Samsung that is $999, it is only in 720P and it is plasma, but it is 50", but with 3D TVs costing about $3000, that isn't too bad, but like I said, I will wait. For those interested, the technology is out there, and you can find it.

But for those that want to enjoy 3D without having to pay for all this home equipment, you can go to the theater this weekend and go see Legend of the Guardians, which looks really cool. There are also many different movies that will be released in 3D before this year ends, there is Megamind, Tangled, Tron Legacy, and Gulliver's Travels. Since 3D became popular with Avatar last Christmas, there are also movies that were filmed in 2D but certain companies decided to convert to 3D, those are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (very excited) and Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Keep in mind, if you still don't like 3D or can't handle it, there is still 2D versions of these movies coming out in theaters as well. While I wasn't impressed with the 3D conversion of Clash of the Titans, I may give Harry Potter a shot in 3D as the decision was made around the same time when they decided to convert Clash to 3D, and Clash was only given 2 months to convert in 3D (which probably explains why it didn't turn out so well) but Harry Potter has had more time to work on a 3D conversion (hopefully), so maybe it will be a bit better. But nonetheless, a really good live action 3D movie is when the companies decide from the start to do their movie in 3D, like with Avatar. That is a decision that many companies has gone with in pre-production lately, so they turn out good and not as sloppy as Clash of the Titans. One of these movies is Transformers 3, before they started production, they decided to film in 3D, so there is one live action movie that should look good in 3D.

So yeah, 3D has a bright future, of course there isn't anything wrong with 2D movies, they are still good movies, in fact this weekend look for Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps as well. There is a lot coming out in the next while, both in theaters and in the home. I will continue to keep you updated.

Summer Review 2010

Summer Review 2010

As we wrap up another great summer, I go through what I saw this summer in theaters and pick the ones that stuck out to me, ones that I enjoyed, and the ones I wish I didn't see.


Top Movies

-Inception: Obviously one of my big picks. Smart movies are starting to become bigger thankfully, I don’t mind the dumb ones every so often, but when they are smart and make you think, they are more fun, and they are even more fun as you go back and watch the film again. This was one movie that gave us so much to think about, and so many different possibilities. If you want to read some of my guesses and other opinions, go a couple of posts back.

-Toy Story 3: A really big surprise. I didn’t expect it to be this great. Obviously the biggest movie this summer, having crossed $400 million, even becoming the highest grossing Toy Story, and is in fact my favorite out of the three.

-Iron Man 2: A great follow up to the biggest surprise of 2008. I was totally entertained, it was easily one movie I could go see so many times. Robert Downey Jr. was of course great again, and the expansion of the Marvel universe was great, so many different surprises in the movie.

-A-Team: Very entertaining. I was really surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this movie. Really disappointed that it didn’t do any better. A must watch in my opinion.

-Despicable Me: A great family movie to watch. So many funny moments, especially with the minions, and a very cute story. For those that missed it, hopefully you will make an effort to catch it in the future.

-Knight and Day: I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but when he chooses to have fun with his role, then his movies can be a lot of fun to watch. There were a lot of really fun moments in the movie, and I scratch my head wondering why this one didn’t do any better.


Other great mentions:

-Prince of Persia: I enjoyed this one a lot. A good story behind it and a ton of action that totally kept me entertained.

-Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: A video game like movie….. what a great way to make a movie, it was a ton of fun to watch. Totally original idea, and some of the references to comic books and video games were totally fun to catch. There were also many other movie and TV references as well. Anyone catch the reference from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome? Worth watching if you love comic books and video games.

-Salt: I saw this more times than I was really planning to, but I enjoyed it every time though. A ton of action with quite of few twists and turns in the movie, with some that you don’t really expect.

-Karate Kid: I am a fan of the original 1984 classic, so when I heard about it, I didn’t fully accept the idea of a remake. Once I heard the great reviews of the movie, that totally brought up my interest in the movie, and decided to check it out. I actually enjoyed it. It was basically the same story and same movie with certain changes made to it, and they were all good. A movie totally worth it.

-Grown Ups: This was entertaining enough to enjoy at least once. This wasn’t a greatly reviewed movie this summer, but I enjoyed it and there were some fun moments in the movie.

-Shrek Forever After: I probably would put this one in watch once and you are good, but honestly this one was a big surprise to me, I was totally expecting to hate this one, the last one wasn’t really that good at all, and a fourth one after that, I was thinking, "come on, we don't need another one." Well, I went in, and I found myself laughing and enjoying this one a lot more than I was expecting. I would have no problem recommending this one. At least see it once.

-Robin Hood: It was still a very entertaining movie, but it felt like one of those that they could have done a little better with in my opinion. It’s been a movie that I still have a hard time pinpointing what didn’t totally satisfy me with this movie. It had all the right elements that makes a good movie, action, good character development, and great cinematography. Maybe I was expecting an even better movie than what I got. Still worth watching though.


See it once and you will be good:

-The Sorceror's Apprentice: It was a fun one to watch, but I will totally be honest, once should be enough. There were some really good moments in this movie that made it fun to watch. Not as memorable as the National Treasure movies, but still enough fun that you shouldn't be bored from it.

-Dinner For Schmucks: First off, I didn’t like the very crude humor that made it into the movie, however I did find there were a lot of very funny parts in the movie. The story was good and there were some very good moments in the movie. If you like really crude movies, I think you will enjoy it. For others, I would wait for an edited version, but once it comes out, I recommend checking it out.

-The Other Guys: I will be honest, I expected this one to be a lot better, I thought it could have been a little funnier, or funnier in a different way instead of what they put in trying to make it funny. I think the crude language and everything could have been toned down, it wasn’t the kind of movie that I was expecting that kind of humor, nor really needed it, I know it has Will Ferrell, but we all know that he can still be funny without all that crude humor.

-Letters To Juliet: This wasn’t one of the movies I really wanted to see, but I went with one of my cousins and saw it. I will be honest, it was alright, but nothing about it made me want to go see it again. But for those that enjoyed movies like Leap Year, this might be worth watching.


Don’t even bother:

-The Last Airbender: I will be honest, this was totally a big letdown, especially for huge fans of the show. This totally left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths for M Night Shyamalan, especially the fact that the last few movies have failed to capture the attention of audience. This movie was totally flawed in the script and the acting was flat out bad. However, the set designs were pretty cool, and so were the special effects. So if you keep your expectations low, then this movie won’t be that bad of an experience.

-Jonah Hex: It showed up in theaters and was gone very quick. I am sure the basic reasons were clear to everyone. Megan Fox was totally there for show and nothing else. A very short movie with no real purpose behind it. Not worth your time whatsoever.

-Takers: Wow, if there was one more that had so many plot holes and so many illogical situations, this was it. The script was so bad, there wasn’t really any story, nothing connected, and you didn’t care for anyone, and I mean no one. I found myself laughing throughout the movie, especially the last thirty minutes, not because it was suppose to be funny, but because everything was so bad you couldn’t help but laugh. Parts of it felt like a complete rip off of The Italian Job. Let me put it this way, if you want to see a really bad movie, go see Takers.


This was actually a pretty solid summer for movies, obviously there were some poor choices this summer, but some of the great movies made up for it. This coming Fall will have some pretty solid choices in which I will look forward to, as well as this Holiday season. I will try to keep you updated on what to look for.

Blu-Ray reviews

I wanted to write this up to give you an idea of some of the Blu-Ray movies that I have checked out and some of them that have stood out to me. Remember, your list may be different, but this may help you in finding titles that you want to show off your HDTV or your Home Theater. When choosing good Blu-Ray movies, choose ones that you are willing to watch again and again. Here are some of my top Blu-Ray movies that I have:

-Avatar – Easily a very stunning movie to watch and the world that is created is gorgeous. You want to show off very nice visuals on your HDTV, this is a must have on Blu-Ray. Yes, there are no extra features, and it isn’t available in 3D yet, it is still worth owning.

-Dark Knight – One of the very first movies that really got me into Blu-Ray, this is still a great demo disc. The sequences that were shot using IMAX cameras (which fill up the whole screen) are very amazing to look at, and the sound is very good. It also has some cool special features, while it would have been great to see some more on this release, the movie is what really counts.

-Transformers – It is a very good looking Blu-Ray, and it sounds very good as well. Of course the sequel is a great demo as well, but I would rather recommend the first one over the second, for various reasons (I’m sure a lot of us know those reasons), but the first one is worth having.

-Star Trek – One movie that was a surprise hit last summer, is a very good Blu-Ray demo. I am not a Star Trek fan, but this one blew me away, and was a lot of fun to watch.

-Up – One of my top movies of last year, and Pixar does not let you down the quality of their presentations. This looks and sounds great on Blu-Ray, totally worth having.

-Terminator Salvation – I put this one up because it is an incredible sounding Blu-Ray. You want to show what your sound system is capable of, then put this one in and you can blow them away. It’s a pretty decent movie as well.

-Harry Potter movies – While I haven’t watched the first three on Blu-Ray yet, I have seen the latter three on Blu-Ray, and they look and sound great. They are great movies to watch, especially as the series progresses.

-Alice in Wonderland – The new Tim Burton movie is for sure a great Blu-Ray demo, looks and sounds great. It is also a very entertaining movie.

Older movies remastered:

-The Dark Crystal – I am a big Dark Crystal fan, I am very excited for the new movie to arrive in theaters (hopefully next year). I picked this one up and the video presentation was great, looked very stunning for a movie released almost 30 years ago, and it sounded pretty good too.

-Labyrinth – A childhood favorite of mine, again this looks very good and sounds very good on Blu-Ray, while it won’t knock down doors or blow people away, it is still a very good presentation, and a fun movie to watch as well.

-2001: A Space Odyssey – Probably one of the most bizarre movies that I have ever seen, but yet it looks and sounds very good on Blu-Ray, this was made back in 1968 (no, it wasn’t made in 2001) and it really doesn’t look that old here, very good looking.

-Karate Kid – One old movie that never really got the best treatment on any of it’s previous DVD releases. The first release was just available in full-frame, and it didn’t look that great, and it almost was like they took a VHS tape and ported it over to DVD, although a minor improvement. The second DVD was available in widescreen, with some extra features, a big improvement. But the Blu-Ray has better video quality, and the sound is now in 5.1, and it actually has some pretty good power in the sound.

-Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Made back in 1937, the classic Disney movie actually looks very good for it’s age. The colors do stand out, and yes the age does show in how it’s done, but come on, the very first full length animated movie looking this good, that’s extremely impressive. Pinocchio is another good one to get before it goes back into the Disney Vault.

Concerts on Blu-Ray:

-U2 360 – I picked this one up because the 360 concert fell through this year (huge disappointment) and this one came out, so I decided well I can’t see them live, I will instead watch a recorded live concert of them on Blu-Ray. This sounded very good, and it was a great performance by U2.

-The Killers – While I really haven’t watched the concert all the way through at home on Blu-Ray (I did watch it in theaters when they had it) the song I have listened to has quite a punch on the bass and it sounds awesome, and the video is very good as well.

Anime on Blu-Ray:

-Evangelion 1.11 You Are Not Alone – This was my first experience of the Evangelion universe. It was a great way to start, and definitely the best place to start for these new movies. The picture and sound on this Blu-Ray are great, pretty close to demo worthy.

-Ponyo – I love Miyazaki’s movies, they are very beautiful to watch. They are weird, but great to watch. This is no exception. The video on the Blu-Ray release is very beautiful. I can’t wait for the other Miyazaki movies to make it here on Blu-Ray, especially Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

-Evangelion 2.22 You Can Not Advance – It was recently announced that Funimation (who also has Evangelion 1.11) had acquired the rights to selling this movie in the US, so we should be able to find it in the States soon. I decided to import the Blu-Ray version from Hong Kong because it was region A and it had English subtitles, and I heard very good things out of it. I was definitely blown away, the sound quality is very close to demo quality, and the video is also good. Can’t wait for the Funimation release. And I also can’t wait to see the next entries in the series.

Other ones worth checking out:

-9 – Came out last year, but was dismissed fairly quickly. While it isn’t a classic, it is still worth a look, the visuals are cool and the style is pretty nice. The Blu-Ray presentation is also very good.

-Quantum of Solace – The latest entry in the Bond series has some very nifty action sequences. Especially the beginning sequence, and it sounds very good.

-The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – A very bizarre movie to watch, but yet I found it to be very enjoyable, not easily understood within one watch. This was Heath Ledger’s last role, even though it was only partially completed and they needed three other actors to help make the rest of the movie work. While the public didn’t fully accept the movie, I do believe that the movie is worth a rental.

-State of Play – I actually enjoyed this movie, pretty suspenseful and you have to think through to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. The video and audio on the Blu-Ray are also great.

-Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl – The audio and video on this Blu-Ray are great. Of course, it’s also a great movie to watch.

-Fantastic Mr. Fox – Very different movie than what you would normally be use to, however I found the movie to be very enjoyable. The presentation is also great here.

-Taken – Another great movie that I believe is worth watching, plus the quality of the Blu-Ray is great.


There are a ton of great Blu-Ray movies out there. If you want to find out if a certain movie you want to have is in good shape on Blu-Ray, there are a few sites that you could check out where they review Blu-Ray movies, one is DVD Talk, High-Def Digest, and Blu-ray.com
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Thoughts on Inception

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

After watching Inception, one would think that they have everything figured out, well I really don’t have it all figured out. I do have some theories and ideas about the movie but that’s about it. Before I dive into some of my thoughts, for those who haven’t seen Inception yet, do not read as it will contain spoilers, yeah, last time I said that I didn’t want to say much but now I feel like sharing some of my thoughts and sharing some links on various interpretations. So WARNING: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN INCEPTION YET. Okay, now moving on. There are many different interpretations for the movie Inception as it is a very complex and deep movie. I want to start off by sharing some links with you that I have gone over and I find very fascinating, here is a great place to start:

NEVER WAKE UP: THE MEANING AND SECRET OF INCEPTION

inception: aftermath theories, thoughts, oscar buzz, and more

Inception Explained: Unraveling The Dream Within The Dream

The first link I really like, and one of the reasons that it sticks out to me is because it compares the idea of Inception performed by Cobb and his group to filmmaking. You think about it, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the director, Saito is the producer, Ariadne (Ellen Page) is the set designer, Eames is the actor, and Mr. Fischer is the audience. Everyone performing Inception has a certain task that will help plant the idea into the audience. When we think about filmmaking, everyone involved in a good movie (one with a good story and theme) is trying to share the idea with the audience that will help them in their lives, yes filmmaking is about making money (as any job) but it is also to share a good story and good ideas with the world. Eames does say in the movie that in order to perform Inception, you need imagination, and that is very true with filmmaking as well. These ideas do come from the first link, but they are ideas that I totally agree with, so do give that article a read.

Now I do want to cover one part of the movie that a ton of people are debating about, the ending, was Cobb dreaming at the end, this one is easily debatable one way or the other. My opinion is that he is dreaming at the end. Here are some of my thoughts as to why he is dreaming at the end. Lets start off with when he enters the room to see his children, he goes into his apartment that he and his wife had, would have his or her parents kept the place, and the more interesting thing, his children are basically in the same place as they were when he left doing practically the same thing. They also look like they really haven’t aged, and they haven’t aged (which can be a hard thing to dispute entirely as we don’t know how long he has been gone) but they did sound a little older on the phone when he talked to them at the beginning of the movie. Here is another reason as to why I think he was dreaming at the end, for Fischer and Ariadne to get out of limbo they basically fell off the top of the collapsing buildings and kill themselves, and then they would end back in the 3rd level of dreaming. They needed to get out of all the levels of dreaming first before they could officially wake up. It seems like at the end when Saito killed Cobb and then himself, it’s almost as if killing themselves would only get them out of limbo and then back into the 3rd level of dreaming. At the beginning of the movie, Cobb shot Arthur in the head to wake him up but that only brought him back into the 1st level of dreaming.

Of course, this is my own interpretation, and these are only a few of the ideas that have stuck out to me, I could go on for a very long time, feel free to share your own in the comments section. Plus, I do recommend checking out the links provided, if I do find any more good ones, I will put them up.

Inception review

After seeing Inception, one thing is for certain now, Christopher Nolan is now one of the top directors of our time. He knows how to tell a good complex story. Trying to give you a review of this movie is very hard, as I don't want to give anything away really, I was one of those that did my best to stay away from spoilers of this movie, and that included not reading any reviews, except for skimming them to see how people felt about it. So when I went in, I went in expecting a good movie but had myself dedicated to pay attention to what's going on. I would probably say the biggest thing to do when watching this movie is to pay attention and focus on what's going on. I found the movie to be a mind blowing experience. The basic plot about this movie is about going into people's dreams. I don't really know what to say that won't give much of this movie away, the only thing I could really say is to go see it right now. It is a must see!

July update

Here with my recent update. Let me start off with the movie recommendations. Knight and Day, totally funny, unfortunately it didn't too well at the box office, which is unfortunate, as I found it to be a very good movie, and totally worth checking out. Another one that was very good and very funny was Despicable Me. Just a ton of moments where you bust out laughing. Grown Ups is also pretty funny, there were quite a few of those moments in the movie where you laugh pretty good. As for ones that you should avoid (yes, there are a couple of those) first off, Jonah Hex, nothing really good about it, the story just felt pointless, and my figuring was a movie that was only about 80 minutes long would have a lot more action sequences, there weren't very many in it, felt like it just had a ton of pointless moments, just overall not a good movie. The other one was one I bragged about wanting to see, The Last Airbender, I would like to see M. Night Shyamalan make a good movie, but unfortunately this wasn't a very good movie. The sad part was that it had potential to be a good movie, the set designs were good, but unfortunately the acting was terrible, the script had a ton of issues, a huge letdown, especially for Avatar fans. I haven't seen Eclipse or Predators, but I have heard Predators was pretty good, and I am sure Twilight fans enjoyed Eclipse.

As far as Blu-Ray and DVD releases go, there is Percy Jackson that came out a couple of weeks ago. I can't think of any other big releases that have made, nothing very exciting at the moment. I will share one movie that I found on Blu-Ray that came from Hong Kong, being a movie that was released from Japan, called Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. I saw Evangelion 1.0 You Are Not Alone earlier this year, and I thought it was a great movie, while Evangelion 2 is not available in the United States yet, I found a website that was selling a Hong Kong import on Blu-Ray with English subtitles and could play on region A Blu-Ray players, I decided to get it. While the first one was great, I found the new one amazing, very well done. The Blu-Ray was also in great condition, very good video and great sound. In fact, I am very excited for Evangelion 3.0 Quickening when that is released, which hopefully will be soon. The Evangelion movies are remakes of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion that was released years ago. There are suppose to be four movies being released. As far as other Blu-Ray movies I discovered, I got a live concert of Kings of Leon that was performed last year, as I am about to see their concert next week, I decided to see how good they were, and they performed very good. The Blu-Ray was also in very good condition. I will soon have to go through a bunch of Blu-Ray releases within the last while and give you a good idea of what to look for as demo worthy material in your home theater, or just great movies overall.

As far as movies arriving soon. Look for The Sorcerer's Apprentice this Wednesday, and then on Friday, Inception will arrive in theaters, which is Christopher Nolan's (The Dark Knight) newest film, reviews so far have been excellent for the movie, I will share with you my review on the film once I see it.

Toy Story 3 review

I thought I would give you an update has arrived and what to expect the rest of the month, but first I would like to share with you with one really big surprise hit. Toy Story 3, it has been 11 years since Toy Story 2 hit the big screen. We have been given the opportunity to watch Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D last October. I am sure there was a bit of doubt that they could pull off another Toy Story, and questions came up since Pixar has been making many great and wonderful original stories like Wall-E and Up, so why make a sequel to a great franchise, well, there was definitely one more great story to tell for the Toy Story franchise, about a kid who has grown up and is making one big move in his life, start college. So one of the big questions that comes up by his mom, "What are you going to do with these old toys?" Obviously Andy has out grown his play time and isn't into playing with toys anymore, and now all the toys are questioning what will happen to them, will they get thrown away, or what. I really don't want to ruin the movie for any of you, I am sure you all know that they end up at Sunnyside Daycare, and eventually they realize they need to get out of there, which of course is difficult. I will admit it was rather intense, especially for a family movie, but how they pulled it off was amazing, plus it had a ton of emotion to it. I am probably close to calling this the best out of the Toy Story movies, that's how great it is. You do not want to miss this one.

As for other recommendations, you should check out A-Team, it is a very fun movie to watch, with plenty of action and humor. Just a great movie overall. Another good one is The Karate Kid, I will admit that I do have my little problems with it, like the fact it almost felt like the first movie all over again, with little changes here and there, but honestly, all the little problems I had with it didn't really affect my overall opinion of the movie, I thought it was still a good movie, and I would recommend checking it out. Another movie that came out this weekend was called Jonah Hex, if you heard about it, I am sure you heard nothing great about it and the fact that it bombed at the box office.

As for what is coming out the rest of this month, expect Knight and Day this Wednesday, yes, I am really excited to see it, it looks like it should be a fun summer flick. We will also get Grown Ups this Friday, which looks pretty funny. Then next Wednesday, Twilight fans will be lined up for Eclipse. This has so far been a very solid month for movies, of course the rest of the month will determine if that's the case.

Of course we have July next with many different movies to expect, The Last Airbender will kick off the month and the Fourth of July weekend, along with Eclipse. Then July 9, we can expect Predators and Despicable Me, which looks funny. The following weekend, July 16, look for The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicolas Cage (should be a really fun movie) and then we will also get Inception, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and a bunch of other big name stars, and the director is Christopher Nolan (from The Dark Knight two years ago), so I expect this to be a huge hit, there is a lot of curiosity from watching the trailer, and the story seems so original, I am very excited to see it. So July looks to be a big month, I will go through more on July in a future post.

June update

Well, the movies that have come out this past month have been a bit of a mixture, but pretty good overall. Let me explain. First off, Iron Man 2, I really enjoyed it, while I didn't think it was as good as the first one, I still really enjoyed it and can watch it again and again. The next weekend, we got Robin Hood, it was good, but honestly, it fulfilled my expectations, except for the fact that they didn't exceed them, it was a good movie to watch, and it was a bit long, but I still think it's worth watching at least once. I also saw Letters to Juliet, yes, I can sit through a few chick flicks, I would compare this to Leap Year, it really wasn't entirely funny (according to me anyway) and it felt like it dragged in certain areas. The next weekend, we got Shrek Forever After, I wasn't looking forward to another Shrek, and I am sure there were many that felt the same way, but I saw it anyway, and I will be honest, it was actually pretty good, while not as witty or funny as the first, it was still entertaining and had some pretty funny moments, and I would recommend it. The next weekend, was the arrival of The Prince of Persia. This was not on my must see list at all, but I have to admit, it was good, plenty of action to go around, just a fun movie altogether. That is my review for May, some pretty good movies.

How does June look? Well, this weekend, I don't see anything that is really worth checking out, maybe something that a few will check out, but I am not really expecting any big hits. We have Get Him to the Greek, Splice, Marmaduke, and Killers. June 11, we have a couple of movies that should do fairly well, we have The A-Team which looks really entertaining and fun, and then The Karate Kid, while I don't think we need a remake to the original, this doesn't look bad and could be a decent hit, we will see though. June 18, we have Toy Story 3, which should be a huge hit, and I am sure there will be many families headed to the theaters for this one. We also got Jonah Hex, I really haven't heard anything positive about it, but who knows, it could be decent and fun to watch. June 25, look for Knight and Day, which has Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, judging by the trailers, it looks like it will be a fun movie to watch with plenty of action and humor, and then we also have Grown Ups, which has Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider, looks really funny, and should do fairly well. Then June 30, we have Twilight: Eclipse, what can I say, expect millions and millions of girls lined up at the theater to see Edward and Jacob. While this one crosses over to July, I am going to mention it, on July 2, two days after Edward and Jacob show up at the theater, look for The Last Airbender, the alternative for those who aren't wanting to see Twilight.

As for DVD and Blu-Ray releases, we now have Alice in Wonderland on DVD and Blu-Ray, just to let you know, for those who are looking at getting a Blu-Ray player in the near future, just get the Blu-Ray version that has everything, which includes a DVD copy of the movie, it looks great and sounds great on Blu-Ray, and is certainly great to look at. There is also The Wolfman for those who are interested. Another one I want to mention, for those who were excited for the U2 360 tour this summer, but were bummed when it got cancelled and pushed till 2011, you can get the U2 360 concert at the Rose Bowl last year on DVD and Blu-Ray, I picked up my copy of it on Blu-Ray, and it sounds awesome, also, it's great to see what they could have done if they had their concert this year, well, I am still holding on to my ticket for next year and see what happens. But nonetheless, it's still worth picking up for all U2 fans. I will continue to report on what to look for, and what my recommendations are.

One more thing, I mentioned a couple of posts earlier that there is a fan film for Mega Man, I would like to present the link for the movie, and for those who are interested, check it out here. It's actually pretty decent, but keep in mind that it's a fan film, and this isn't a big budget film.

Summer season starts with Iron Man 2

That's right, the summer season is here again, and it is time for our first movie to kick off this season. Expected to be a big hit, Iron Man 2 lands in theaters. How can you prepare for this new entry, watch the first one today or tonight, and then you will be ready for the new one. Maybe you already know the first one by heart, but still, it doesn't hurt to watch again. If you don't have it, pick it up, I am sure you can easily find it somewhere for a good price. I will try to see it sometime this weekend, if not, I will for sure see it on Monday.

Also, like I said in my last post, you can see the new Mega Man fan film tomorrow. It's free, and it will be on www.screwattack.com

I also picked up a couple of new Blu-Ray movies lately, Armageddon and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. They both look and sound great. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was Heath Ledger's last film he was working on when he died two years ago, and they were able to finish it. It is a very different movie, but is something that I think is worth checking out. Oh yeah, something I forgot to mention when I talked about the Avatar Blu-Ray, you may need to update your Blu-Ray players to play new Blu-Ray movies like Avatar, if some of you were having trouble playing Avatar on Blu-Ray, that was probably the reason why, you needed to update your player, it's fairly easy to do, just follow the instructions in your manual to know how to do so.

Well, this should be a great summer. I am excited.

Mega Man Fan Film coming May 7

I don’t remember if I ever brought this up, but there is a fan film for Mega Man in the works right now, and it’s in the final stages of being completed. I am excited to see how it turns out.



To start off, I am a big Mega Man fan, I have been playing the Nintendo games for it when I was about six years old, it was the series of games that I always enjoyed playing, and could play for hours, even today, I still play a lot of it, and honestly, I don’t play too many video games these days, but whenever I do, it is Mega Man that I will play. Right now, I have a GameCube game that has all the original Mega Man games that were for the original Nintendo. If you have never played it, I am sure if you have a Wii you can download a few of the original games of the series for it. You could also go to a game store like GameStop and they may have Mega Man Anniversary Collection previously played for the GameCube, Playstation 2, or even the XBOX I think. Anyway, they have been fun games for me growing up, and still today. There are many versions of Mega Man today, there is the classic Mega Man, there is also Mega Man X which was made for the Super Nintendo, then there is Mega Man Zero for the Game Boy Advance, and also Mega Man Battle Network for the Game Boy Advance, and so on.





Back in January of last year, I first heard about this movie, I saw the trailer, which you can view here. It wasn’t the type of movie that was made with $300 million, but it looked okay. I started to get excited for it, starting around July, I kept an eye out for news on when this movie would be available to watch. Well, a few months ago, they announced that it would be arriving on the internet on May 7. About a week ago, they provided a new trailer, which you can find here, and now I am more excited for it, I know it won’t be a huge movie like Avatar or Lord of the Rings, but it does look really good for a fan film. Look for the movie on www.screwattack.com on May 7, and it’s free. I should be receiving a copy of the movie on DVD sometime around May 7, so around that time I will be watching it and writing a review for it.



Also on May 7, look for Iron Man 2 in theaters! I am very excited for May, and there are several reasons why.

Avatar Blu-Ray and 3D conversion

Avatar is now out on Blu-Ray and DVD, I recommend getting the Blu-Ray version, especially if you are thinking of getting a Blu-Ray player in the future, because it also comes with a DVD copy. But I watched it tonight, and it is stunning on Blu-Ray, the detail is amazing and just looks gorgeous to look at. Pick it up today. It isn't in 3D, but honestly, because 3D HDTVs are in the beginning process, I would rather wait to see an Avatar 3D Blu-Ray release when they finally get all the bugs worked out.

Speaking of 3D, the one thing I am getting sick of seeing that seems to be getting bigger is making movies 3D at the last possible moment. Just today, they announced that they were going to convert The Last Airbender into 3D. I do believe that movies can be great in 3D, but it should not be an after thought. I recently watched Clash of the Titans in 3D, and it was one of those movies that they decided to convert to 3D two months before the release date, I enjoyed it in 2D, and it didn't need to be 3D, in fact, there really wasn't anything great about it being in 3D, except for the part with the Kraken and Medusa. Avatar was excellent in 3D because it was a movie where they decided when they were making it that they would film it in 3D, and not convert it afterwards. Even a movie like "How to Train Your Dragon" was great in 3D, the depth was excellent, and it worked. But when you take a movie that was shot in 2D, and convert it to 3D, it doesn't work as well, and there isn't much depth level. I do think that 3D has a great future, but it needs to be done properly to be effective.

Summer Preivew 2010

I know, I haven't written on here for a while, I have been pretty busy. I have seen a few movies in the last while, and the big one that I highly recommend if you haven't seen is How to Train Your Dragon, very good movie. Clash of the Titans is also a really good one, and Date Night was funny (but very crude). But I would like to give you a run down of what to expect this summer.

Iron Man 2 – Easily the most anticipated movie of this summer. Expect long lines for Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the role. There is a ton of hype for the movie, now the question is, will it deliver?

Robin Hood – There have been many remakes for Robin Hood. There is the Disney cartoon, Kevin Costner version, the spoof done by Mel Brooks, and now there is this one. The difference is that Ridley Scott directs it, and it stars Russell Crowe. This is the same combination for the Academy Award winning Gladiator 10 years ago. It looks like it will be epic action to it.

Shrek 4 – Am I excited for a 4th Shrek, no. I really didn’t care for the third one, in fact I skipped it when it was in theaters, and caught it on DVD. Could this one be a surprise, sure, I am not going to role that one out, but my expectations are pretty low.

Macgruber – This is a movie based on a Saturday Night Live character, looks like it could be very funny.

Prince of Persia – I don’t remember when we last had a movie based on a video game. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, this might be rather entertaining. Has a pretty decent cast line up and an interesting plot, so could be fun.

Killers – Stars Ashton Kutcher, where is a nice guy in public, but turns out to be a secret agent. The trailer looks pretty funny.

A-Team – One of those movies based on a classic TV show. When I watch the trailer, I am reminded of Swat, which came out 7 years ago. I am betting this to be very entertaining.

Karate Kid – I am sorry, but remaking this movie seems to be pointless in my opinion. It stars Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, who will be the kid that becomes the karate kid, and Jackie Chan who is the mentor. The original was a good movie, and I just don’t see the need to remake it, but I am sure that is the case with several movies anyway.

Toy Story 3 – I will admit, when I first heard they were doing another sequel to Toy Story, I wasn’t entirely thrilled, but after seeing the trailers, and realizing that the people at Pixar have yet to make a bad movie, I think this movie could actually be really good.

Knight and Day – I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but I enjoy the movies that he has been in, even his last movie, Valkyrie. This looks like it will be another really entertaining movie, also stars Cameron Diaz. It looks really funny, and it probably will have a lot of action.

Grown Ups – Has a good line up of very funny people, like Adam Sandler, David Spade, Kevin James, and Chris Rock. A group of people that meet up after 10 years of not seeing each other. The trailer looks funny.

Twilight: Eclipse - I am sure that many of you probably know about this movie already. Yes, it’s a sequel to New Moon that was released last November. Why is there another one, because fans of Twilight want it. I am sure we can expect a lot of people the day of release.

Last Airbender – I love the cartoon, which is called Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you haven’t seen the cartoon, I recommend checking it out. My hopes for it aren’t super high yet, but they have been building a bit, and who knows, maybe it will be a really good movie,

Despicable Me – I still love the trailer with a kid that drops his ice cream so the villain makes a little balloon animal for the kid, who embraces it, then he takes a needle and pops it in front of the kid, you can see that trailer here. The newest trailer helps us with what to expect with the story. You can see that trailer here. I am sure this will be a good movie.

Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Another Jerry Bruckheimer produced movie, also has the director of National Treasure. I could be wrong, but this movie looks like it will be very entertaining, yes, I am sure cheesy, but I can’t wait to see it.

Inception – While many of us are waiting for information on Batman 3, Christopher Nolan has directed a new movie. I really don’t know how to explain it, or really know what it’s about, but I really like the movies that he has done (besides the Batman movies) and I can’t wait to see this. One movie to check out is Memento.

Salt – This movie sort of reminds me of Minority Report, but it should have plenty of action. Plus the trailers look pretty good.

The Adjustment Bureau – So far, all I know is that it stars Matt Damon and it’s based on a short Science Fiction story, I think, but it could be something that is worth checking out.

The Other Guys – This looks funny. It stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and they are cops, the ones that you would turn to last if you have to (no, not like GI Joe). Check out the trailer.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – This will probably be one of those that people will not know what to make of it, but it looks very different and I think the idea is clever, I am really excited for this movie. You can check out the trailer here.


There is a lot to look forward to. I am sure this will be a great summer as far as movies go.

Avatar coming out on Blu-Ray and DVD

Avatar arrives on Blu-Ray and DVD April 22, which is a Thursday, but coming out on that day because it is Earth Day. It is available to pre-order on Amazon and Best Buy, and I am sure there are other video websites that have it ready to get. This release will not have any extra features, it will only be the movie, but I hear what they are trying to do is give the Blu-Ray the best audio and video quality possible, and of course, no 3D yet either, but none the less, a great movie to own, so I plan to order my copy very shortly. For those that want extra features, they will be re releasing Avatar as an multi disc Ultimate Edition in November, and as for 3D, rumors are it won't come out on 3D till next year or even later. I can't blame them, I'll be honest, Avatar is probably one of the best movies to use 3D effectively as an experience, and not a gimmick, but 3D HDTVs are brand new, and giving the new technology time to catch on is the smartest idea instead of releasing what could possibly be a bad copy of 3D Avatar this year, and then later have everyone re-buy it to get better quality, even though they usually do that a lot, but still. Anyway, I am excited for Avatar to come out on Blu-Ray, actually I am very excited. I will catch it one more time in theaters in 3D before it leaves the theaters.

Alice in Wonderland, 3D HDTV and Blu-Ray

First off, we have passed the Oscar season, and The Hurt Locker won the main prize. It was a pretty good movie, I ended up watching it a couple of days after, they did a pretty good job with it. There were some fun moments during the show, Ben Stiller was great when he came forth looking like one of the Na'vi from Avatar.

I saw Alice in Wonderland last week, and it was a really good movie. Very entertaining, and of course has caught the public's attention. I recommend seeing, whether you see it 3D or not, it is a fun movie to watch.

Now I wish to talk about 3D. As you may be aware, this month they will be releasing 3D HDTVs and 3D Blu-Ray players, I found them on display at Best Buy today, they looked kind of cool, but I will have to wait they get an actual 3D Blu-Ray disc, as they were playing Up (which was released in theaters in 3D, but on Blu-Ray it was released in 2D), and could see a small difference, but not a very dramatic difference as I have seen in theaters. It is cool to see them bringing the 3D technology to the home, but it will be a while for me to adopt this technology. I am sure there are many that feel the same way as I do. It will definitely be cool when they release Avatar on 3D Blu-Ray.

As far as DVDs and Blu-Rays are concerned, you can find The Blind Side and Fantastic Mr. Fox next week in stores, as well as Toy Story 1 and 2 on Blu-Ray. This week has The Princess and the Frog, and on Saturday, Twilight fans will probably want to make a stop at the store for New Moon. Oh yeah, look for Sherlock Holmes on March 30. I have picked up a few Blu-Ray movies lately. Where the Wild Things are looks great on Blu-Ray, and sounds really good. I also got Ponyo and Evangelion 1.11, I will have to give Ponyo a look at very soon, but Evangelion looks and sounds great. One more note on Blind Side, and I believe Sherlock Holmes will have a Blu-Ray and DVD combo set, so you can get them on Blu-Ray, and even though you may not have a Blu-Ray player yet, you have a DVD copy to watch till you actually get a Blu-Ray player. Oh yeah, Armageddon comes out on Blu-Ray at the end of April, I am excited. There is also going to be a lot of old movies that will make it to Blu-Ray this year besides new ones, like movies done by Steven Spielberg, so figure out the ones you really want the most and save money for those ones.

Big Windup!

There are a lot of TV shows out there that get a ton of attention, and they are really good. For example, Seinfeld had a lot of attention, mainly when it reached the middle of the series. There are also really good shows that don’t get a lot of attention, one of those that I discovered this past year is Big Windup!, it is an anime TV series that was released in Japan back in 2007 in a season of 26 episodes. It is about a High School Baseball team, mainly about one character, Ren Mihashi, who is one pitcher with a lot of bad luck in the past, he was the ace pitcher back in Junior High because his grandfather was the owner of the school, so he was made the ace pitcher, and his teammates didn’t like that so they wouldn’t help him or encourage him, he doesn’t have a lot of self-confidence, so he leaves the school and wants to quit baseball altogether, but he ends up meeting the new formed team at Nishiura High, and the catcher Takaya Abe who is willing to work with Mihashi and give him the confidence boost he needs to win. Mihashi actually is a really good pitcher, he can control his pitches and has a variety of different pitches, and Abe is able to know what he needs to throw to strike out the other team. It is a really great show, great characters, and I honestly have learned a lot about Baseball. Funimation picked it up back in 2008, and they started releasing it last year, they started off by putting episodes of the show on Hulu and their own website, and YouTube, at least the first 7 episodes. Then they released the series in two DVD sets, one in August and then the next in September. They are releasing a second season of the show in Japan this Spring, unfortunately, Funimation won’t be picking that one up because it wasn’t very successful here in DVD sales, which is too bad. Who knows, maybe people will find the series, and it will get licensed over here one day. However, you can watch the first four episodes of the series for free online here.

Seinfeld

In continuing about some of the shows I watch, one of them is Seinfeld. I am sure many of you have heard of it. I would say the show has become more popular since it entered repeats. I myself have become a fan after the show ended in 1998. It is a very funny show. So what is it about, well, in one word, "Nothing". That's right, it's about nothing. Seinfeld and a group of his friends going out in New York City, and usually end up causing havoc. They try to start relationships that in the end of the episode, they usually come to a brutal end. You know that once you start the episode, that you know that everything they try to accomplish doesn't go through. Why watch this show, because it's HILARIOUS. So many of the comments and so much of what happens is great. Seriously, if I am having a bad day, or I am not in the best mood, I will put this on and I will usually feel better. If you haven't seen it, I guarantee you don't have to look hard to watch one episode. Plus, all of the seasons are out on DVD, and they are starting to get cheaper every day. So check it out if you haven't seen it.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

I keep talking about all the different movies out there, and there were times when I talk about DVD releases that I mention a couple of TV shows. I decided to go through a few TV shows this week that are favorites of mine. Keep in mind that a lot of the TV shows that I will talk about aren’t ones I usually watch off TV itself, I usually find them on DVD or on the internet.

The first one I want to talk about is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Figured this would be a good one to bring up because they are doing a film adaptation of this show, and it will be hitting theaters July 2. The show was found on Nickelodeon, and I believe it is still on Nicktoons, if you have trouble finding it on TV, you can easily find the season sets on DVD, there are three seasons. This show is about Aang, who is known as the Avatar, who is suppose to bring balance to a world that is in darkness. This world is divided into four different tribes, water, earth, fire, and air. Each tribe can control one of these elements, for example, people of the water tribe can control water. The Avatar, however, can control all of the elements. The show starts off with a couple of kids in the water tribe that discover a boy in a big iceberg, they free him and he turns out to be the Avatar who had disappeared 100 years before, and they follow Aang on a journey to help him learn all of the different elements so he can face the Firelord, the leader of the Fire Nation who is taking over the whole world, and bring balance back into the world. What I really like about the show, besides a lot of the cool animation, is that it has a great story to it, and each episode has a great moral to it. Definitely something that I believe is worth checking out.

By the way, you can find the trailer for The Last Airbender movie by following this link. Looks promising, but I will have to wait till the movie arrives. The trailer can also be seen before Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. I haven't seen any of the new offerings yet, but this weekend Valentine's Day was number one making a total of $66 million throughout the long weekend. Of course, Avatar is still running strong, it is now standing at $661 million, impressive. Shutter Island arrives in theaters this weekend, and not much of anything else this week. Next weekend, Cop Out comes out in theaters as well, and then the following week we will see the release of Alice in Wonderland.

Valentine's Day Weekend

First off, Avatar is now the champion at the box office, in the United States, and around the world. It has sunk Titanic. Congratulations to Avatar. If you still haven't seen it, you should. As well, the Oscars have been announced, you can follow this link to see the complete list of what was nominated. They have some pretty good choices. Of course there are still plenty of good movies that didn't make it in the nominations.

Now moving on to this weekend, what else is there to do on Valentine's Day besides eating chocolate, you can go see a movie, as there are a few different choices this weekend, besides all of the previous movies that have come out. We have Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is based on a series of books of the same name, then we have Valentine's Day which has a pile of well known actors, (remember He Is Just Not That Into You) but should be decent, and then we have The Wolfman, which was suppose to come out last year, but didn't. Seems like the movie that should come out during Halloween and not Valentine's Day, well it does give us a different choice. Plus there are a lot of other good movies that are out as well, When In Rome is actually a really funny movie, pretty cheesy but it really made me laugh in many areas.

As for DVD and Blu-Ray, one movie that I recommend is Zombieland, (it's rated R, but I saw it using a device called a ClearPlay DVD player, you can go to www.clearplay.com to learn more about it, but it's a DVD player that can skip through graphic violence and sexual content, and mute bad language, so I can enjoy a movie without all that stuff) Zombieland was hilarious, and it had a decent story. There are some more movies arriving on Blu-Ray and DVD this month, but nothing I would consider excited. In March will have plenty of good releases to choose from. Where the Wild Things Are arrives March 2, along with Ponyo (also three of Miyazaki's films will be rereleased on DVD, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service) and also 2012, March 9 will see the release of Old Dogs, Planet 51, and Evangelion 1.0 You Are Not Alone will be released on Blu-Ray (which I really enjoyed). On March 16 we will see Princess and the Frog on the shelves, along with Did You Hear About the Morgans?, The Fourth Kind, Astro Boy, Armored, and that week Twilight: New Moon will arrive (for all the Twilight fans). March 23, look for Blind Side and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Toy Story will arrive on Blu-Ray. Then March 30, look for Sherlock Holmes. And I will throw in one more title to find, on April 6, Lord of the Rings trilogy will arrive on Blu-Ray (but in theatrical edition only, fans of the extended versions will have to wait a little longer), so there is much to look forward to.