I would just like to say...

I'm not making this blog much of a priority anymore. I enjoy reviewing the movies I see and I really continue to watch movies pretty much constantly...
however, Google, being a company of it's size, feels they can be complete assholes about paying their Adsense users. One of the major objectives of this blog was to make some extra money on the side.
With the ads they've placed on my account, I should be receiving a commission everytime somebody views my page or clicks my ads.
I do the work to keep the site running, they make the majority of the money off of it and I just get kick backs. Its pretty fair.
Butttt Google has this creative little term, "invalid click".
It basically means that anybody who frequently views your page, such as a blog follower or friend/family member of the blog author, does not count as a "valid" click...
my question for Google is...If I start a blog, who are the first readers going to be? My friends and family. And from those people, others might hear about it, etc. The bottom line is, the only people who will be viewing my blog are people interested in reading my daily reviews. I don't really understand why that is considered "invalid". Isn't that the point? My content brings people to the page, they view the ads and there you go, creative advertising.
Its pretty ridiculous.
So in any event, I will still come on here and review movies as often as I can. I just wont be doing one a day anymore. Google sucks!

Who are the Squid and the Whale?

Hmm...You know, I guess this movie is not necessarily exaggerated...its realistic because its real...I don't feel this is often the case of what goes on when parents divorce and share custody...
I do, however, think its quite interesting because the movie is correct, joint custody blows.
This movie was written by the man whom its about. He was one of the boys coping with his parent's divorce as a child.
My first thought on this film is that I love that it shows the perils of the selfishness of the modern American family. These parents...they're educated...they're supposedly intelligent...yet irresponsible enough to have children when they're obviously not suitable parents.
The mother cannot even stay faithful to her husband but who could blame her? He's totally full of himself and is completely threatened by her growing success as a writer.
Its ironic to me because it shows that even those who think they know it all are completely naive. Look what it does to their children... I feel I'm personally insulting this guy's family but come on, this is half the households of America. Its like in the process of their kids growing up, parents regress. Since when did people start popping out kids like it was a phase? It takes a lot to raise another human life. I guess that slips most people's minds when they let petty things get in the way of keeping a family together. Take the two well, quite possibly most famous parents in our country right now...JON & KATE PLUS 8!!!! It kills me.
I can't believe as a country we somehow are understanding of the fact that this guy, whether he wants to admit its true or not, abandoned his EIGHT children and left his wife to care for them. You know, she was portrayed as a pretty mega bitch sometimes on the show..and perhaps its true but I never saw anything that honestly wasn't understandable given that she birthed eight children and is responsible for keeping order in a house with that many mouths to feed, kids to bathe, teeth to brush, clothes to wash, lunches to make, etc. I'd probably be kind of a bitch too honestly. Especially if my husband has been nearing a pathetic mid-life crisis for years. Come on guys...he's dating a 22 year old and first of all, what a creep. With the amount of daughters he has, why is he comfortable dating a girl so young? And he's designing an over-priced line of baby clothes with the Ed Hardy dude hahaha the biggest sell out since Warhol.
This movie is very good but very disturbing when you compare it to the times.
The acting is phenominal from every single person. The kids especially. What a wonderful job. They're pretty awkward parts for kids to play and the youngest of the two is unbelievably impressive.
By the way, who do you think the Squid and the Whale are?
A
Best song: Hey You - Pink Floyd

Suggestions always :)
343 to go.

Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same

I know, I know...this isn't really a film with a story persay...but it does have quite a few fantasy sequences that tell kind of a story so that counts right? It has to, it's Zeppelin.
There's minimal acting in this movie...and what is there is all kind of weird and abstract in a way and personally, I don't pay much attention to it because its just connects different parts of the Zeppelin show at Madison Square Garden in New York back in the 70's. Like I said, I don't care much for the "film" aspect of this movie...watching all their weird little fantasy/hallucinations between songs...the performance itself is where its at...the single greatest band that has ever graced worldwide airwaves.
The camera angles are wonderful. Definitely give you something to look at ya know?
I don't know if any of you have seen Jimmy Page play Dazed and Confused but I promise you it does not disappoint. A lot of people take these guys for granted. Everyone knows Zeppelin is one of the greats but what they're unaware of is the true magnitude of each of their talents and the way they culminate together to create such flawlessly beautiful music.
The reason I felt the need to review this movie is that I recently came to the realization that I will never ever get the chance to see my favorite band perform haha. Its so super lame. Now if the Shins could get their asses in gear and get another album out so they could tour, I'd be satisfied :)
Anywho, what's the best song in The Song Remains the Same? Who the hell knows. Do they play Ten Years Gone? I don't think so. We'll go with Dazed and Confused because of the bow.

Suggestionsss.
344 to go.

Emile Hirsch should've played the lead role in Taking Woodstock

Its odd, looking back I don't feel like anything very memorable came of yesterday, but I sure was without free time for some reason. Lame. Anywho, I saw Taking Woodstock last night. I've been pretty excited to see this because this year is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock in '69 and even though its kind of lame, I have an unexplainably high appreciation for this music. I firmly believe that there hasn't been musical talent to that degree since the 70's. Its beautiful. Its heartfelt. It wasn't money or fame-driven. It was art in its truest form. Just raw talent. And today, we're left with Green Day haha. The Brett Favre of the music industry. Give it up guys!
Anyway, Ang Lee kind of let me down. Emile Hirsch gave the only performance worth mentioning in the entire film and he was most definiely not a main character like presented in the trailers and advertisements. Can you believe that in a film about Woodstock does not include one single musical performance? Its so disappointing. Martin Luther McCoy is so great at playing Jimi, we couldn't have seen him play a song or two? Where's Janis? They mention her on the line up but don't seem to think it's necessary to include her in the movie? Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, CCR, The Who, Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Joan Baez, ughh there were so many opportunities to show off what Woodstock was and they failed. The entire movie is just an exaggerated portrayal of what Woodstock was. Yes, there was a VERY large amount of dirty "dazed and confused" hippies running around, they were high, not idiots. They had enough sense to organize a show of that magnitude.
Basically they turned a movie about 3 days of peace and music into a movie about the money behind the 3 days of peace and music...and they kind of threw in a few moments where we got to know the main character a little...played oh-so-awkwardly by Demitri Martin. Who the hell is Demitri Martin?
Anyway, this movie had amazing potential. Way to screw it up Ang Lee.
C-
Best song: I should have a huge list here. But since this movie is gay as hell...
Why are The Doors even on this soundtrack? They declined their invitation to play the show.
Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) - Janis Joplin

Suggestions welcome.
345 to go.

Coming Soon...

The Squid and the Whale
Teeth
Inglourious Basterds
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same
Slumdog Millionaire
Happy Go Lucky

Harry Potter V: The Order of the Phoenix

I absolutely had to use this promo poster because it looks so unbelievably cheesy. Like definitely Twilight status. Its awesome.
Well, I must say, this is my least favorite Harry Potter movie...better yet, my least favorite Harry Potter book. Its unfortunate but really I guess there's nothing they could do about it. There's just way too much information shoved into one book or one movie.
One thing that definitely does not dissapoint though is the cinematography of all these films. There are so many things in movies that we take for granted. Take the scene with the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. Its interesting to watch how much really went into that single scene. Probably a few million dollars. The composition of the frames is perfect. The animation is perfect. The filters and editing are all perfect.
Then there's the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore. The animation is seamless. They create an entire firestorm and a great flood in one room which may or may not even be as big as it looks in the film. Its awesome in its truest form.
Sometimes I'm awe-struck by the acting in the Harry Potter films also...A few people who always deliver...Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, and last but most definitely not least...Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange...(plus she's the wife of below-mentioned Tim Burton).
Really, I do wish David Yates would get smarter about making these movies though. Like the 6th one was a complete piece of crap. Come on buddy. Quit ruining the story, we really enjoy it.
So I give this movie like a B-. Its bad but there isn't much else they could've done. And the actual filming is good.
Best song: To be honest...I'm not a fan of the Wizard Rock. It's suuuuper lame.

Suggestions always welcome :)
346 to go.

Tim Burton, the Mastermind Pt. 2: Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!!!
Tim Burton didn't write this fantastically entertaining story, but he did direct it into a major motion picture. This movie is the best! What a fantastic use of irony. There's this couple...They live the most normal of normal lives you could. Just simple, they have a plain little house, a plain little car, and a plain little scale model of the town in the attic.
Little did they know that given some upcoming events, they will soon have a creepy nasty little man by the name of Beetlejuice living in their tiny model town.
Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis do a wonderful job at attempting to scare the crap out of their new tennants but aren't really too successful at first...at least, not until they get the help of Beetlejuice that is. Michael Keaton is a genius. And I love Winona Ryder I think even more than in Edward Scissorhands.
What a I love about this movie the most is the fact that there's this plain little couple with their plain little lives which they do live to their fullest extent, and once their done, that's when the real insanity begins. Come on, handbook for the deceased? the after life waiting room? the guy with the shrunken head? It definitely is yet another masterpiece from our beloved Tim Burton.
A+
Best song:
Day-O - Harry Bellafonte.
Jump in the Line - Harry Bellafonte

Suggestions.
347 to go.

Tim Burton, the Mastermind Pt. 1: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton...phenominal director, phenominal producer, phenominal writer, phenominal...self? He's amazing. How many more greats could he give us? The above mentioned, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Sweeney Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hallow, Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, and my absolute favorite kids movie, James and the Giant Peach. Wonderful.
The thing most coveted about Tim Burton, I think, is his style. He has one of the most creative minds of our time and that allows him to give us films like The Nightmare Before Christmas. Its the best example of how he can think up such grotesque and demented looking characters and scenes, but with the help of Danny Elfman's genius composer work, funny and creative dialogue, and character development itself, he portrays all of his film's oddities in a totally ordinary and almost endearing manner.
His level of creativity as a film maker, as an artist, is even more apparent because his films really stand the test of time. Look at Edward Scissorhands. It came out in 1990...seems like not too long ago but that's nearly 20 years. I don't know one person who hasn't seen it and loved it. The same goes for Nightmare. Everyone I knew as a kid loved it, and everyone I know now loves it.
If only I had an ounce of his genius.
A+ of course.
Best song: I'm Jack! The pumpkin kingggg.

Suggestions welcome. 348 to go.