Movie Review - Lone Survivor

There's a few movies like this that are so hard to review.  I don't want to wait too long after seeing it, but it's hard to write or form sentences about it.  I'm nauseous and shaky and in a mental daze. 

First off - I do apologize to the guy who sat next to me.  As anyone who has seen me in an action or gory movie, you know the reactions I have.  Thank you for putting up with my sudden knee jerk reactions to all of the bloody and beyond bloody scenes in this movie.

The movie starts with the Seals training.  I'm sure most of you have seen this before, which I have in many movies.  It's crazy what they put themselves through.  I always feel bad for the guys who get halfway or more through and then they ring the bell to tap out.  They came so far and didn't make it to becoming a Navy Seal.  When you watch this movie, as you should, remember the training.

One of my favorites, Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark), stars as one of the Navy Seals on a mission to take down one of the top Taliban leaders.  The mission becomes compromised when they are interrupted by three goat herders.  Communications break down, and they have to put their lives up against making the moral choice or the best chance for survival.

A band of four brothers quickly find themselves in a gun fight against an army of Taliban.  To say they fought against all odds, shot, injured and kept on going - is not enough.  If you broke your ankle, then other leg, were shot in the head, would you have the strength to stand up and run through the woods and keep shooting?  Would you risk your life to save your brothers? This movie, which is so well done, will take you through the intense journey of how much the human mind and body can take.

So back to the beginning of the movie with the training.  For the guys I felt bad for who tapped out after they made it halfway.  That feeling has passed, because - they didn't make it halfway.

Back to the Future II - Are We There Yet?

In 1989 Marty McFly traveled back to the Future to 2015.  With 2013 coming to an end how do we measure up with the 1980's vision of the future?  

Flying cars: 

Not there, and do we really want to be?  I'm not sure if we are ready for this.  Though after experiencing Los Angeles traffic last week, we might want to hurry up this process.  Imagine if highways could be two levels.  Also think of the tax money we would save with a decrease in road repair. One question - what happens when you run out of gas?

Weather Service can determine the weather to the minute:  

Ha!  The weather report is about 50% accurate if it will even rain during that day.  Maybe in another 30 years.

Clothing that adjusts to our size, power laces on shoes and clothing dry mode that automatically dries when wet: 

Why don't we have this?  We need to refocus technological abilities on this area of advancement.  Plus this could lead to self-heating or cooling clothing.  Imagine actually feeling warm outside during a Chicago winter.

Fashion sense:  

Well we all saw went on in the 80's, I guess this would have been a logical assumption of the direction the fashion industry would take.  Let's just all celebrate the fact that it didn't.  

 

Courts trying cases in hours, lawyers done away with:  

This might have been a pipe dream. Little did they know that in 1990 a show called Law and Order would come into the scene with such a following.  This would lead to more shows about crime and lawyers, forever sealing their place in our society.  

Hoverboards:

Still waiting.  You've got a little over a year future.  I want my hover board!

3D Ads: 

As seen when Marty McFly is walking down the main street in Hill Valley.  Ads are seen as digital 3D images coming off of buildings.  We see a 3D shark pop off of the movie theater and attack Marty promoting Jaws 19. 3D movies had a swing of popularity during the 80's and 90's.  One popular feature were images that seemed to be flying at you, so why not bring it out of the theater.  Without us wearing 3D glasses everywhere, I'm not so sure this one is possible.  Plus then we would have to put laws into place about billboards on roads.  People would be crashing their flying cars too much trying to dodge ads coming at them.

3D Ad - Cubs win world series: 

Hope is timeless, I guess.  

Video game without hands: 

Whenever I would watch this movie and would hear, "you mean you have to use your hands, that's like a baby's toy," I aways wondered what did he mean?  Playing games with your mind was all I could come up with, but thought this was to crazy to believe.  Today we do have video games you don't need your hands for, with motion sensors picking up you body movements. 

Computer/robot waiters:  

When Marty walks into the The Cafe 80's to order his Pepsi, the waiters are computer screens with the digital images of an actual person talking to the patrons.  (One is even Michael Jackson).  Our computers can talk to us now, and we even have voice commands.  Computers and robots make our lives easier, but they haven’t made it into our restaurants yet.  (I still don't understand what the purpose of the exercise bikes are in the Cafe).

Futuristic binoculars with a camera:

Doc uses these to check out the building when Griff and his gang crash into it.  I think we've one-upped the future, with not only cameras that can zoom like binoculars, but can do so much more.  Who would of thought of smart phones during the 80's?  It would be like the superman of devices, something our past selves would think too fantastical to believe.

Traffic board with times on highways:  

We do have ones that are available once you are on the highway.  But I think we have something event better - Thank you traffic apps.

The smart home

Thumb print house entry and cab payment:   

We see Jennifer enter her house and old Biff pay for the cab with their thumb prints.  This might not be too far off, and who knows we could see this by 2015.  We now have this to unlock our smart phones and for secure entry onto some computers.  We’ll just have to see how far this goes. 

Voice activated house commands:  

I’m guessing the writers were using their Clapper (1986) when they thought of this.  If lights could go on with sound, why couldn’t we have voice commands in the future.  Today we do have voice activation in the car, for phones, and I’m sure there is some app in the works for this to happen.  Let’s just hope no one turns on the oven accidently. 

Scenery channel, big flat screen TVs and being able to get multiple shows on the same TV:  

We did it future!  We now have flat screen TVs, picture in picture and also the ability to upload photos to our TVs or computers. 

Dehydrated food and the hydrator: 

The microwave oven gained popularity in the 1980s.  Though many improvements to the microwave have been made, we have not reached hydration level. This would save a whole lot of room in the freezer and make carrying grocery bags a lot easier.

Glasses that are phones, TVs, other digital items as well as act as rear view mirror glasses for driving:   

I think we are just about there – Google Glass. By 2015 these could become mainstream. 

Video phone calls:  

Older future Marty is seen talking to Needles on a video call.  I actually remember having a video phone in the late 80’s.  It was a special landline phone that had a little video screen.  You could only use this if the person you were calling had the exact same phone.  My parents got one for us and one for our grand parents.  Beyond that, it didn’t really catch on.  Today, however, we have Facetime, Skype and more.

Interfaced scan from a device in a briefcase:  

Future Marty scans in his card to seal a deal with Needles. Today we have something even better - laptops and tablets.  We now have scanners that can be used in the home as well.  

Home Faxes:  

We see a home Fax spit out a page which says Marty is fired.  Many businesses had faxes at this time, but having home faxes in every room would be a vision of the future.  Unfortunately this vision has come and gone, as the home computer and scanner has made faxes a thing of the past. 

We've come a long way in 30 years, and have achieved or exceed many of our 1985's expectations of the future.  We still have a little bit to go by 2015.  Seriously - let's get on this hoverboard thing.  

Movie Review - World War Z

Well I'm not getting any sleep tonight.  Damn you Brad Pitt and your sexy charm making me see a movie that I would usually avoid. From the previews you can guess what is attacking everyone, but you have some doubt.  I searched tons of movie synopses, but none actually said it.  So in case you are like me I will say it here. (Spoiler alert...but not really) you are about to walk into a zombie movie.  

Now this is not your run of the mill zombie (there's that word again) movie.  You will see action sequences, there will be suspenseful moments of zombies coming out of no where and zombie attacks with gruesome transformations.  What you will feel is what it would be like if a zombie apocalypse actually happened. (Sure it seems unrealistic... until you see this movie). The point of outbreak in the city where you live, the panic and what you will do to escape.  What will be done to find the source and a cure, if there is one.   

TJ said, "It was a good movie." I responded with, "too good of a movie." And that is why I won't get any sleep tonight.

Movie Review - This is the End

Watching the previews for the movie I started to think about what I would do if all hell broke loose.
1. Get a gun (can't be that hard, I live in Chicago)
2. Learn how to shoot a gun.
3. Make my way to the people I know who were former police or military.
4. Build an arsenal/fort (shouldn't be too hard, it's chicago)

Or just hold up at James Franco's house

Going into this I had expectations of this either being ridiculous, funny or both.  It is both with an emphasis on both.  It has every comedian and actor 6 degrees to Seth Rogan.  So imagine the end of the world and these guys held up in James Franco's house...keep going, nope more ridiculous...nope your not there yet....maybe you need to get high...ok getting there...nope, funnier...well you'll just have to see the movie to fully understand what I just experienced.  

Summer Action

I'm talking about movies, get your mind out of the gutter.  The last three weeks we've had three major action movies come out: Iron Man 3, Star Trek 2 and Fast and the Furious 17 - I mean 6.  Here's your guide to them all.

Iron Man 3:  Loved it.  Out of the these three movies it was my favorite, a must see.  Most people have said it was definitely better than the 2nd movie, a few - including me- think it was right up there with the first one.  I think the whole series was well done - awesome writing and great acting.  This one had a great mix of action and Tony Stark comedy.  

Star Trek 2:  Even if you are not a Trekkie you will enjoy this movie.  Anne has only seen the new one and she really liked it, even though the connections to the original series were lost on her.  I was really appreciative that the previews didn't give away the story line.  I won't ruin it for those who have not seen it, but if you are a fan of Star Trek, you will experience a moment where the entire theater goes, "oh!"  Overall you should see this movie.

Fast and the Furious 6:  If you liked the last 5 then you will enjoy the 6th (well except Tokyo Drift...I mean, really that one shouldn't count in the series).  It was cheesy in parts, unbelievably unrealistic in almost all the action scenes (I think a few went against the law of physics), but that's what you expect with this movie.  My favorite comment was follow one such action scene where Anne said, "How is he (Vin Diesel) even walking?"  In the real world he would have died three times by now.  Girls - It's the biggest eye candy movie since GI Joe.  If you are a die hard fan of the series see it now, otherwise this one can wait for that $5 movie special.  

I hope everyone gets enough action this summer...there's more to come.

Movie Review: Now You See Me

Caper movie and magicians I'm in!  That's what Maryellen said to me when we got to the theater.  If you are intrigued by this as Maryellen then you are going to like this movie.  Actually that was similar to my first thought, so I did enjoy it.    

You have 4 bank robbing magicians, the Four Horsemen, who set up amazing heists while keeping 1 step ahead of the FBI.  It has an amazing cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franko... the list goes on.  As you watch the movie more and more of the illusion is revealed. I think the best part of the movie is summed up in the movie.  "Look closely, because the closer you think you are, the less you will actually see." 

"First rule of magic, always be the smartest guy in the room."  Are you the smartest guy in the room?  Just when you think you figured it out, they are one step ahead of you.

Year in Review - Awesome Movies Not Nominated for an Oscar

2012-2013 was an awesome year for movies.  Much better than last year (I mean War Horse received a nomination for best movie, enough said).  As we approach the Oscars lets take a look back and appreciate those awesome movies of the year that did not receive nominations.

The comedies:

Often comedies are snubbed for Oscars, but as awesome as these movies are I don't think these would be up for nominations:

Ted:  As kids we always wondered what it would be like if our teddy bear came to life, but this movie explores this concept 21 years later.  So wrong, yet awesomely funny. 

Award:  best use of CGI technology to date.

21 Jump Street:  The most awesome police program brought back for a second chance.  Loved how it showed the differences of growing up in high school today in awesome comedy. 

Award: Best sequel to a TV show.

Action:

Impossible odds and kicking ass.  Sometimes you just need to see a good action movie.  They are not often taken as serious enough movies for an Oscar, but maybe they should be.

The Raid: Redemption:  Kick ass!

Award: Movie that kicked ass.

End if Watch:  Awesome action and overall awesome movie.  Takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. Most realistic cop movie in a long time.

Award: Best movie to not receive an Oscar nomination.

Other awesome movies:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower:  Oh how I've missed this type of movie.  If you grew up watching 80s-90s teen-angst movies you will love this one.  If you are younger than 24 and don't know what kind of movies I'm talking about, you will love this one.

Award: Best teen movie (Twilight fans, watch and see how a teen movie should be)

Bully:  If you have a child between 10-18 you and your child need to watch this movie. 

Award:  Most impactful documentary.

So what were the best movies of the year?  Let’s ask the movie club.

Me:  All of the above plus Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall.

Anne: Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Silver Linings Playbook, Jesse and Celeste Forever, Your Sisters Sister, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Hunger Games, Skyfall, Lawless and For a Good Time Call.

Maryellen: Silver Linings Play Book, Argo and Brave (Brave most of all).

Juan:  Rock of Ages, The Vow, The Avengers, John Carter, Battleship, Ted, Prometheus, Argo, The Dark Knight, Looper and Skyfall,

TJ: Argo, Lincoln

Feel free to post your favorite movies of the year.