pru-review: Away We Go

29Jun09

Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph

Well this one finally made it to Greenville. I wasn’t sure that it would. Because it was indie, and mostly because I really wanted to see it. The trailer for this one really sold me. It had the feeling about it. Not sure how to describe it. Good actors. Sorta funny cute story. Great music. Somethin’ about it. It had that feeling when I first saw the trailer for Garden State. Also similarly, a Juno feel. A hunch I guess. I’ve always been a fan of John Krasinski. I was surprised to see Maya Rudolph in a semi-serious role. Plus it was a Sam Mendes film (Road To Perdition, American Beauty). So I listed to possible be the best movie of the summer. The movie is good. No camparison to Up. But good still. It’s basically the journey of these two characters trying to decide where to live, and the experience with all the various characters they meet. It has good themes. It’s a little slow, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed it. A good off-beat dramady. Reminds me of Dan In Real Life kindof. I recommend it, but you could probably wait til rental. In the meantime you should check out Alexi Murdoch, who did the music of the film. Very mellow, but very good. Overall, I was satisfied.

Overall Rating: 4 Prus

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pru-review: The Hangover

28Jun09

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifanakis

Another pruMUST in the bag. I actually saw this one a few weeks ago, in Charlotte at a super fancy theater called Epicenter Theatres (check it out at www.epicentertheatres.com). Anyways, so I was really worried that the trailer for this one would spoil it, because it was hilarious (the trailer that is). But they kept showing more and more, and I had to stop watching everytime it would come on. I thought it would be like what I hear happened to Land of the Lost. The previews spoiled all the funny parts. (btw b/c of this news, Land of the Lost is now removed from my pruMUST list). I’m here to say that yes parts were spoiled for my, but it did not matter–The Hangover was awesome. Hilarity! Probably the most I had laughed since I saw Superbad a few years ago (ironically at a theater in Atlanta that was similar to the one in Charlotte–maybe that’s where all the funny movies are–in fancy theaters–sounds like a conspiracy!!). Anyways, I hear the ladies love their man Bradley Cooper. I personally don’t see it. He’s cool I guess, but goofy. But hey. Ed Helms (from The Office) was funny, but noone compared to Zach Galifanakis. That Jaquin Phoenix look-a-like (current crazy Jaquin, not Walk Hard Jaquin) was freakin hilarious! Also to top it off, and I won’t spoil it completely, The Dan Band made an appearance. Who??? The Dan Band was the wedding band from Old School. Oh yes. Awkward for everyone. Hilarity. Overall, I was not dissappointed. Very funny. A little raunchy, but not as bad as I was expecting. Definitely worth checking out. Funny funny.

Overall Rating: 4 1/2 Prus

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pru-review: Up

03Jun09

Starring: Ed Asner

Let me start off by saying I was actually hoping to see Away We Go this weekend, but I was mistaken about when it was released. So on Sunday we were like we might as well go see the new Pixar. Honestly I wasn’t too excited about this one for some reason. The preview looked just OK to me. The talking dog looked funny, but that’s about it. So I wasn’t expecting much. But man! It was AWESOME — Amazing — Loved it!! It blew me away how good it was. Jumps to the top 3 Pixar movies in my mind. First of all the graphics were incredible. Probably better than Wall•E, which is a beautiful film. Mainly the story was excellent. A great, heartfelt story. It was funny and action-packed as usual, but this was had some really teary parts. If you don’t tear up a little at some point during this movie, you need to see a doctor. To balance that emotion, it had plenty of funny. The talking dog was hilarious, as well as the bird. Ed Asner was fantastic, and the kid did a great job as well. I HIGHLY recommend that you see this. Now I didn’t see the 3D version, but I hear its awesome. And if you are worried about getting motion sick, my brother-in-law gets motion sick very easily and he said it didn’t bother him at all. So. But check it out soon, b/c this weekend has 3 big ones (well, in my opinion anyways)–The Hangover, Land of the Lost, and Away We Go

Overall Rating: 5 Prus!!!

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pru-review: Terminator Salvation

24May09

Starring: Christian Bale (no relation), Sam Worthington (not the guy from Law & Order)

So my second pruMUST comes out and I see it on opening weekend. Man! I’m on my game this year. My thanks to my wife for giving me permission to go see it with her brother. It was not nearly as crowded as I would have thought. Probably because of a few things. One of which, it’s Memorial Day weekend. The other being that many people probably saw the last Terminator, and figured another 2 hours of misery wasn’t worth their money. But I would ask these people, “did you see the preview?”. It looked badass! And it was. It was pretty badass. It’s gonna be a great blu-ray for all you home stereo fanatics out there. It was action packed. Not a lot of downtime. A few iffy spots here and there, but a great MAN film. Yeh, many chicks out there might like it, probably mostly for Christian Bale (again, no relation), but its pretty much a MAN film. Now it’s not like it’s Predator or the original Die Hard, I wouldn’t put it on that level of manliness, but still a MAN film none-the-less. But you guys need to push the whole Christian Bale part to get your lady-friend to go. It’s worth it. Speaking of Christian Bale, I kept trying to figure out what was the scene where he went bananas on the sound guy. If you have not heard this rant, here is a hilarious version off Family Guy: (http://www.hulu.com/watch/58008/family-guy-yelled-at-by-christian-bale) . So once again, a successful movie. I definitely recommend seeing in the theaters, unless you have an unbelievable home theater and can wait it out. But if not, go to the theater my friends.

Overall Rating: 4 Prus

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pru-review: Angels & Demons

16May09

Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor

I’m starting out pretty well. Week 3 of the summer movie season and I’ve been twice already. This one was not one of my pruMUSTs, pruHOPEs or even one of my pruWHAs. It was one that I was gonna pass on this time. I base this on my DaVinci Code experience. A decent movie…I later found out, after my wife explained the entire movie to me. I was lost the entire time. If you know me, you know I do not read. I’d love to, but I don’t. So I had not given in to the hype on either of these books. Because of this, combined with my DaVinci Code experience, I figured I’d skip out on the ol’ Angels & Demons. I was especially worried when Rotten Tomatos gave it a lousy 37% approval. But my wife read both books and was super excited, so we went. And to my surprise, it was pretty decent. Not confusing. Action packed. And a decent plot. I guess ol’ Opie got the message to not make this film like the last. It kindof had a National Treasure vibe to it. Different clues leading to different spots, with an unbelievable time crunch. Throw in a few curveballs and I was pretty entertained. Andy Griffith would be proud. It’s no Oscar winner, but it keeps your attention. Overall it was surprisingly pretty good, and would recommend seeing it.

Overall Rating: 3 1/2 Prus

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pru-review: Star Trek

10May09

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana

Fresh off my Summer Movie Pruview, I’m already here for my first Pruview of the summer season.Not only is it the first real blockbuster of the summer season (sorry Hugh Jackman fans), it just so happens to be my numero uno pruMUST on that list, Star Trek. So how did it go??? ROCKED! It was grand. A great way to start a whole new series of Star Trek. As I mentioned I have little experience in Star Trek, I used to watch Star Trek Enterprise because it put me to sleep and I’ve seen both Trekkies documentaries (which are hysterical btw). But it did not matter. My boy, J.J. Abrams opened a whole new outlook on the story. I do want to thank the casting director for casting Chris Pine (who???) as Captain Kirk, because if you didn’t, my wife would not have attended the movie. Also the casting of Sylar (from Heroes) as Spock was spot on. Also Simon Pegg played a great part too. Very well done. Not boring. Great action and effects. I predict that no other movie will be better this summer, it will be tough to beat. So I highly recommend for anyone, except my friend Brad Turner.

Overall Rating: 4 1/2 Prus

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fitness freak

07May09

As of about a month ago, I did pretty much zero excercise. I’m sure many of you can relate. I mean I did practically nothing. Mowing the lawn was pretty much it. Every year since…well…every year, I did the ol’ New Years Resolution of I’m gonna get fit. Queue loser sound from Price Is Right. So randomly we got an email at work to run in a 5K race to represent the company. So I thought it would be hilarious if I ran it without any training at all. So that’s exactly what I did. I did not train, showed up, “ran” the thing, and I’m still alive, somehow. Every other day since then I have “run” (I’m quoting it b/c it’s hardly running, if fact I’m pretty sure its slower than walking) about 3 miles around my neighborhood. This is crazy for me. But inspiration came from somewhere. I guess I miss the endurance I had as a kid. I could play sports all day, and never stop to rest. Where did that go? I’m trying to find it. And I’m getting there…slowly. 

So tomorrow, I will embark on my official first 5K (b/c I trained this time) in TR. The Swamp Rabbit 5K. A truly southern event. The cool part is I’ll be running it with a lot of my coworkers. I believe I have inspired them. Not on purpose of course, but I think I accidentally pulled the ol’ “if Christian can do it, surely I can”. So that’s good. It’s good for me too. I’m liking it so far. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow night though.

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don’t call it a comeback: summer movie pruview – 2009

06May09

Hello again…well…it probably feels like hello for the first time, being that this is my first blog entry in about five months. I have obviously dropped out of my blogging ways, but my friend Jennifer started a blog and my other friend Lauren has returned to her blog, which is now reminding me that I need to get back into this whole thing…right….NOW. So here we are. Just about a month away from a one year blogging anniversary Woo!! (forget about my slackness). So I figure the easiest way to jump back in, while the water is luke warm, is to do a Summer Movie Pruview, my old specialty. And with an exciting Summer ,which officially kicked off for most people this past weekend, I will have plenty to discuss. Now keep in mind these are only the movies that I want to see. I am not mentioning every movie. In fact you will not here the names Hugh Jackman, Tom Hanks, Bruno, or whoever is in Final Destination 14. I will first hit the pruMUSTs for me (movies that I MUST and WILL see this summer NO MATTER WHAT). I will then get into my pruHOPEs (movies that I want to see but probably won’t due to time constraints). I will conclude with a few pruWHA?s (movies that I am strangely drawn to, and might be able to sneak in). So LET THE BLOGGING BEGIN!! (that kinda hurt my fingers).

pruMUSTts

Star Trek

Ah yes. Who woulda thunk it? I’ve never really been a fan, but here I am, probably more stoked about this film than any other this summer. It looks awesome! Which means it will probably be a letdown, but surely not. Not with my boy J.J. Abrams running the show. If you are not aware of Mr. Abrams, he created the greatest television show of all time, LOST. So I have faith that this will be the movie of the summer. The Dark Knight (though probably not that good) of this year. I hope so, or J.J. will have a nerd army of Trekkies at his doorstep.

 

 

 

 

 

Terminator Salvation

“Do you want me to trash your &%$*#! lights”. That was a great first preview to Terminator Salvation. Ah that Christian Bale. The dedication!! Destroy your own class for the sake of the movie. Dedication. Great first name. On the subject, Family guy did a funny skit about it here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/58008/family-guy-yelled-at-by-christian-bale      I am a fan still. I watched him back in Empire of the Sun (great flick btw) all the way up to now. Good actor. So to play in this movie makes sense. Will it be amazing? Probably not, but the effects will rock. I’ll put this one up there with Transformers. Awesome action, mediocre movie. We’ll see though. Also do you think Awnold will cameo. I hope.

 

 

 

 

Up

Now I haven’t seen much on this movie, but really all you have to say to me is “Pixar”. That’s all I need. I’ll go. They have not let me down once. I can’t say I’ve loved the recent ones as much as I loved the Toy Story movies (maybe Wall•E is the exception), but they are all still incredible. Funny for all ages, and BEAUTIFUL. They even got into deep themes in Wall•E, which was a bold step, but it worked. I’m sure Up will have some of that too. I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m excited. And I’m also pumped for the Pixar short before the movie.

 

 

 

 

 

Land of the Lost

Like the word “Pixar”, I’m the same way with the name “Will Ferrell”. Just say that, and I’m there. Throw in “Danny McBride” and I’m double-there. Now I didn’t watch this when I was young because I was born in  1980 and therefore am not old like the rest of you people. Just kidding…wink. I have a feeling that it’s not gonna matter. The trailer was quite hilarious, so I have no doubt that the rest will be also. Of course they could be pulling a Bewitched on us, then we are screwed, but I don’t think that will happen. I have a feeling. And it’s….drumroll…a good one.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hangover

Now this is the most recent addition to my list. I just saw a new trailer, and I’m ready for this awesome looking comedy from the director of Old School. I was almost sold on the concept of the guy having a baby that he found in his hotel room the next day and him walking around with him in a baby bjorn. Throw in Andy from The Office and Bradley Cooper from Wedding Crashers, and the Mike Tyson scene from the trailer, and this film became a pruMUST.

 

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Who is the Half Blood Prince? My wife knows. And most of you know. But I don’t so don’t tell me. I, to my surprise, have become almost (and I stress almost) as excited about this movie as my wife, who has read these books like 20 times, literally. Now I could find out this question by just reading the books, right? Nope. I don’t read. Outside of the bathroom, I don’t read. Laziness I guess. But probably when I start, this will be where I start. Now I am stoked to see more of Voldemort (sp?) and his whole backstory. It’s becoming a little like LOST in a way. A piece of puzzle here and there, except it’s gonna be like 2015 before I know the end of the Harry Potters. But I can wait. They are that good.

 

 

 

 

District 9

Another recent addition to the list. My friend Chris sent me a link to this movie that I did not know about the other day, and I was instantly excited. This film is produced by Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame. So this takes the term illegal alien to a more true meaning. I’m thinking they are gonna stay away from and Independence Day feel or a Men In Black feel or any other Will Smith movie feel. It will hopefully be badass, and since Mr. Jackson is involved, I’m sure it will be. Very curious.

 

 

 

 

 

pruHOPEs

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Now this one has just barely fallen out of my pruMUSTs because I wasn’t as impressed with the first film as I was hoping. Now my expectations were a bit high considering…well..it’s Transformers, the coolest toy ever made! But Michael Bay, Michael Bay’d it up and made it a little much for me. Awesome action, but a little much. Megan Fox was nice though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year One

The concept for this one sounded amazing, but the trailer let me down a bit. It might be hilarious, but I’m skeptic. I’m a big fan of both of these guys, but I’ll probably wait for the reviews on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public Enemies

You can’t go wrong with Johnny Depp. Throw in a little Christian Bale and you’ve got yourself a potential blockbuster. This one has a little Road to Perdition vibe about it, which sounds very cool to me, but it doesn’t seem to have that must-see factor, but ya never know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny People

Now I probably will see this one since it’s a Judd Apatow film (Anchorman, Knocked Up). Again I liked the preview, but didn’t love it. But with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan in the same film, it has classic written all over it. OK I’m ready to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 GI Joe

I swear it took like 10 years to make this film. I heard about a potential GI Joe movie when I was in high school. Here it is. Finally. And who’s the big name of the film…Dennis Quaid??? Could they find noone else? He’s like the only significant actor in the entire movie. I’m not gonna count Sienna Miller or Marlon Wayans because…because I’m NOT OK. I’m not giving up however. The teaser during the superbowl looked awesome, so maybe there’s potential there. I hope so.

 

 

 

 

 

pruWHA?s — 3 Movies that I am strangely drawn to. I don’t want to put these on the pruMUSTs, but the probably will end up being pruMUSTs for me…at least for the last one.

I Love You Beth Cooper

Now there is one obvious reason for seeing this movie and one surprising reason. The obvious reason is look at the movie poster. The surprising reason is that Chris Columbus is the director. Hmmm. Interesting. Home Alone, Harry Potter and now I Love You Beth Cooper. I’m sure its goofy, and stupid, but maybe not. And if it is, at least its got Hayden Panttierre in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Woodstock

Now I don’t know much about this movie. I haven’t even seen a trailer, but I know its an Ang Lee movie (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and it stars Demetri Martin, who is one of my favorite comedians. Sounds like an interesting combo. I’m the soundtrack will be fantastic also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Away We Go

Now I saw the trailer for this tonight and it might end up being the best overall movie of the summer. That might be a stretch, but the trailer is very convincing for me. See for yourself: http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/awaywego/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pruBONUS — I just saw a preview for this movie which comes out in October and it blew my mind! Can’t wait.

Where The Wild Things Are

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

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thursday mix: “Off To Disney World With a 2 1/2 Year Old” Mix

08Jan09

THE RETURN OF THE THURSDAY MIX!!!! Well, the email anyways. I’ve been slacking, but that will end TODAY!! Of course, I’m on vacation next week so nothing then, but THEN I will recommit to it.

1. The Alternate Routes – “Time Is A Runaway”: I got this group from Meg the intern from last semester. Good song, kindof reminds me of Travis.
2. The Frames – “Revelate”: This song rocks–I’ve never had a good quality version until yesterday, so here it is. Really cool when the violin comes in.
3. Bendan Benson – “Cold Hands Warm Heart”: I’m pretty sure this is in a car commercial, but I think I originally heard it on The OC, Season One baby. Ah, memories.
4. Jeremy Larson – “Today”: This is my newest music find. Cool use of effects. Reminds me of Keane and also my buddy David Walker (which will be a future Album of the Day).
5. Company Of Thieves – “Oscar Wilde”: iTunes Free download this week. Cool sound. Female singer too. I’m recently getting into female singers. I’m a big fan of Paramore and Ingrid Michaelson lately. Both great.
6. Lindsey Buckingham – “Shut Us Down”: This dude can play and acoustic guitar. I guess that happens when you play for Fleetwood Mac. Cool track from the Elizabethtown soundtrack.
7. The Killers – “Forget About What I Said”: I hate it when bands do this. Release an album and then a few weeks later, release a “Deluxe” version with bonus tracks. Well, the Killers did this and here it is.
8. Common – “Universal Mind Control”: I heard this song on that Amex commercial. I think the background loop is awesome!
9. Does It Offend You, Yeah?- “Dawn Of The Dead”: Yeah, that’s the name of the band. Another new find. Their music can get a little out there, but this track is really cool. Very Killers sounding.
10. Rooney – “Sorry, Sorry”: I had forgotten about this band. Great California band–or at least this album was great.
11. Five Way Friday – “Vision In White”: I was big on this band from Greenville back in college. Great bar band.
12. Dave Matthews Band – “Raven”: Another song I had forgotten about. One of the better tracks off the mediocre Busted Stuff album.
13. Queens of the Stone Age – “3’s and 7’s”: This band just rocks. Definitely one of their coolest tracks. Awesome riff.
14. John Mayer – “Clarity”: Might be the most tight song off a John Mayer studio album. Just a very chill song that’s one of my all time favorites.
15. Justin Timberlake – “Senorita”: I close with another tight song. This is Justin’s best song straight up. Just cool. Probably over played, but understandable. Just cool.

Enjoy!

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album of the day: Coldplay – Prospekt’s March EP

25Nov08

Song Recommendations: Rainy Day, Glass of Water, Life In Technicolor II, Postcards From Far Away, Now My Feet Won’t Touch The Ground

“Two in a row?” you ask. NO YOU ARE NOT DREAMING MY FRIENDS. Two in a row. This album was a surprise to me. A MAJOR surprise. When Viva La Vida was released in June, I had it in my mind that we wouldn’t get any new Coldplay for at least another 4-5 years, but low and behold here we are today. A new album! They’re kinda gettin all Ryan Adams on us. I thought he was the only one to pull off the multiple albums in a year. And I was right, because this is just an EP. It apparently “features several tracks left over from the studio sessions” for Viva la Vida. After listening, I’ve decided that it’s not only as good as Viva La Vida, it’s better. I’m thinking to myself, how were these songs left out? How does Life In Technicolor II have lyrics and the one on the album not. How did “Violet Hill” and “Yes” make the cut, and “Rainy Day” and “Glass of Water”. I don’t know. I liked Viva La Vida, but I’m just a little surprised to see the other options they had. But whatever, I guess I’m just happy that we have more. Also check out “Postcards From Far Away” which is a short, incredibly calming piano track. Definitely check this one out soon!

Enjoy!

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