5 Minute Disaster...

A little while back a saw a movie that had me convinced that it was going to be the biggest victor of the Oscar's. Unfortunately it wasn't and the movie was left fading in the background and didn't bring home the best sound editing nomination. Although it has claimed a lot of 'best directing' prizes in many other prestigious award ceremonies like Cannes and the CFCA.
This amazingly mellow but yet very subtly action packed film is 'Drive'.

The Plot: The protagonist simply known as 'The Driver' (Ryan Gosling) is a hollywood stunt driver by day ad a getaway driver by night. He always gives a 5 minute window to his clients from the moment he starts driving and the getaway begins. He says "If anything happens in that five minutes...I'm yours, no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down, I don't carry a gun...I drive."
But one day a woman living next door called Irene (Carey Mulligan) and his little kid Benicio (Kaden Leos) calls to his attention. He starts a friendly relationship with her and starts getting feelings for her.
After a while Irene's husband 'Standard' (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison and he swears to cut all his ties with the mob and get out of the business. But as it turns out you can't just turn your back on the mafia (who knew?). And they demand standard does another job for them but he refuses.
After days of blackmail and beatings Driver tells him to do this one last job and that he's going to help him do it so that. "I'm not doing this for you, the mob or myself. I'm doing this for your wife and son"
He says. The plan is to heist a pawn shop belonging to one of the rival families.
While 'Standard' is inside the pawn shop a second car with tinted windows pulls up and is immediately noticed by Driver.
After a while 'Standard' comes out of the shop with a bag full of money but as he passes the shop's window he get's gunned down. It's clear to Driver that this was a set-up to kill 'Standard'.
Now he takes on the responsibility to find and stop the men who are behind this and insure Irene and Benicio's safety. But soon enough he realizes that these aren't just small time thugs and this goes way deeper then he initially thought. Now it's not just a struggle for Irene's and her kid's safety but the safety of everyone around him, including himself. And the battle for survival begins as he intends to take down everyone involved before they catch up with him. Time is running short...

The verdict: One of the greatest things about drive is that it has introduced a new way and style of action film making. It's a very slow paced movie. A great example of this is the infamous lift-scene that you can also see in the trailer. The kiss in this shot last more then 3 minutes. There's isn't any movement at all, it's a single camera shot. But with the way they use the light and the music to set the mood and amplify the changes trough these techniques makes the extremely slow parts anything but boring to watch. To acting, directing, writing, cinematography and music are one of the best i've seen in years and in my opinion these couldn't have been done better in any way.
Another thing I really liked (this is just a small detail) is that the driver is a pretty realistic hero which is something that has been missing in action movies over the last couple of years.
The only negative comment I have is that sometimes it seemed like there were small parts of the movie that were cut out for some reason which didn't make the final picture complete.
But asides from that pretty much a perfect execution from the beginning to the end.
A 9,1/10 is a well deserved score.

Funny Fat...

No it's not a spelling mistake. It's not supposed to be funny cat, hat, rat or anything else.
It's funny fat.
so the serie that i chose this time is about fat or to be more precise fat people.
It's Mike & Molly...jeej!! The living proof that obese people aren't always very jolly or really all that funny.

The plot: So as i said before Mike & Molly is about two obese people Mike Biggs (Billy Gardell) and Molly Flynn who meet at an overeaters support group. So they both struggle day in day out to keep this relationship going (which is the first relationship for both of them).
And along with the troubles that obesity brings to their togetherness Molly's family and Mike's best friend and police partner are also constantly trying to sabotage the relationship. And out of this, funny situations present themselfs...or, they're supposed to be funny but they really aren't.

The Verdict: what i found the most shocking about this is that it's a Chuck Lorre production.
The same producer from series like Dharma & Greg, Two And A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.
All very funny and very successful sitcoms, so why is this one so bad?
My guess is that Lorre got a bit too money hungry and just counted on the fact that his good reputation in the entertainment industry would automatically make his latest production a success as well.
but as it turns out he was wrong.
So it's pretty obvious by now that I'm not planning on giving a good rating for this one.
a 4,8/10 is the best I can do so sorry Chuck (like he gives a ****).

Freaky Styley...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've decided to start blogging about games and music as well.
I already covered the gaming part so that leaves us with music.
For this new category I'm going to start with my all time favorite band, the red hot chili peppers (RHCP or 'The Peppers').
A rock band that was founded in 1983 by Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Michael Balzary (Flea) and Jack Irons.

At first, the peppers struggled a lot along the road to succes.
Their first two albums "Freaky Styley" and "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan" were a total washup and during the making of the second album founding member Hillel Slovak died of a heroïn overdose.
This was a big game changer for the band. Both Flea And Kiedis were also drug addicts but after the loss of their friend they both decided to get clean.
Then the peppers finally got a hit with their next album "Mother's Milk"
But they didn't really hit it big until the album after that called "Blood Suger Sex Magik".
The song under the bridge, which was a tribute to Slovak, was a great success and is still the peppers biggest hit to this day.
After that they never went down again. With hit after hit the peppers became one of the most well known rock bands in the world and now after 29 years they're still going at it with the same attitude and success.
The thing that I personally like the most about the peppers is their lyrics.
When you listen to any which given song that the peppers wrote, the lyrics simply seems like a random string of words put together because they sound good together. But after a couple of times listening to the song you starts understanding those random string of words and it makes perfect sense and the result is an entire story that get's to you both emotionally and musically.
For example here is a verse from the #1 hit 'californication'.

"Pay your surgeon very well
To break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin is this your chin
Or is that war your waging...
Space may be the final frontier
But it's made in a Hollywood basement
Cobain can you hear the spheres
Singing songs off station to station
And Alderon's not far away
It's Californication"

So basicly what the song is describing is the way life in good ol' sunny California and more specifically Hollywood and how it changes and impacts people mostly in a negative way with the drugs, sex and rock 'n roll attitude.

Otherside:

The verdict: The thing about the peppers is that even tough musically they really suck when they play live, their songs still get to you, both the live and the recorded versions.

I'm yet to hear a the red hot chili peppers song that I absolutely don't like and I've heard 'em all so that being said...definitely a 9,4/10!!

Tango Down...

Up until now i've only written blogs about movies en TV shows but I'm kind of getting sick of that so I've decided to add a new category...GAMES!!
(and music but I'l start with that on the next post)
With the gaming industry close to passing hollywoods succes and financial income, I think it's a justified choise. And what better game to start with then the game that is not only called the biggest game ever but also the biggest entertainment launch ever.
With 4,7 million copies sold in 24 hours solely in the UK and the United States Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (CoD: MW2) really is the biggest entertainment launch known to man.

The Call of Duty franchise has alway been the bar-raiser for all games, especially shooters.
Many have come close, none have topped it. And for a good reason.

There are 3 Games modes. Special Ops, Campaign an Multiplayer.
I'm mostly going to talk about the multiplayer because let's face it, no matter how much fun spec ops and the campaign is, no one would buy it without the multiplayer.
With it's extremely addictive gameplay, shooting enemies and trying to get as much challenges as you can is more stressful then you can think. But that just makes it that much more fun.
First off let's talk graphics. The visual aspect of MW2 are stunning.
It's possible that during the first couple of times that you're playing the game you'll get killed a gazillion times because some explosion distracted you with it's incredible detail and realism making you go "woooooow!!".

Now the graphics may be awesome but that isn't what makes the game epic.
It's the emotion behind it all. The feeling you get when you get shot or kill someone is so intense and dramatic that...NAAAAh, I'm just messing with ya :P
The thing that really makes this game epic is the thrill you get from running around shooting everything that moves with bullets and granades flying all over the place.
It gives you an adrenaline rush like you never experienced in a game before.
Then there's the competitive edge. As you play trough the multiplayer there are several things that makes this game a competition like the olympics itself.
You have to rank up, get achievements, embles and tiles, unlock weaponary and equipment, etc.
The ranking up is the most competitive part of the game since this is what all the other players get to see. There are a total of 70 ranks that you can get giving you about 40 hours of total gamplay to get there. BUT...you can prestige. This means that you start all over again from rank 1 all the way up to level 70. ofcourse you do get something in return for this effort (still with me?).
Next to your gametag you now get a symbol accoring to your prestige level and this symbol changes every time you prestige. You can do this for a maximum of 10 times, but if you enclude prestige 'zero' ,which is the ranking up you do before prestiging the first time, you have a total of 770 levels to achieve and it will take you about 440 hours to get there, *cough cough, NO LIFE!!, cough*
But if you do eventually get there you become some what of an ultimate master and everyone will look up to you. But is it worth giving your life up for some credit in a game??
Well, play the game and you'll see that when you're actually playing the game you think it is.
When you stop playing you realise how sad it really is and you start crying your guts out in a corner before starting the game again in the next half hour.

The verdict:
Obviously like every game, movie, book, etc. out there MW2 does have his flaws.
But it is still the best game I ever played and I don't think it will be topped anytime soon so until then I'm going to give this adrenaline rusher a perfect score, no not a 10 but a 9,9 because there is no such thing as a perfect production in the entertainment industry.
So there you go: 9,9/10!

The Closest Shave You've Ever Seen...

There's something going on in London.
There's a demon present in the great city...the demon barber of fleet street Sweeney Todd.
A deeply disturbed man who will stop at nothing to get his revenge for the murder and rape of his wife and the destruction of his family.
Add Tim Burton's epicly weird interpretation and directing and his standard cast, Johnny Depp and Helena Boham Carter.
What do you get?
A fairly distubing but fun to watch musical film.

The plot: The movie begins with Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) returning to London years after being banished by judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), a very powerful man who was in love with Sweeney Todd's wife. One day the judge decides to take what he believes to be rightfully his and kidnaps Sweeney's wife and rapes her in public causing her to commit suicide.
The judge decides to take Sweeney's daughter in his care with the intention of later marrying her.
When Sweeney finds about about his wife and daugher upon  his arrival at his old barbershop, which is now a broken down bakery run by Mrs. Lovett (Helane Boham Carter), he sets his mind on a single goal...killing Judge Turpin and his right hand man.
But before doing so he starts practicing on other men coming to his barbershop for a good shave.
Meanwhile Mrs. Lovett's bakery isn't doing so good. The meat for her pies is too expensive so she comes up with an idea of her own that would benefit both her shop and Sweeney's.
She uses the body's of Sweeney's victims to produce meat for her pies and yes...it's is a great succes.
People from al over London come to the shop to get a taste of the best pies in London.
But while Mrs. Lovett enjoys her succes, Sweeney still has his mind set on vengeance and won't stop for anything or anyone, which has his drastic results.

The verdict:
Although I absolutely hate musicals (and I really mean the deepest hate a man can feel) this preticular muscal is on my list of favorite movies of all time.
And to consider that none of the cast member have any singing experience what so ever except Depp.
I grant this one a 8.8/10 without a doubt.

Bringing Down The House...

When you need a cure and a whole bunch of sarcasm, who do you call?
No not the ghostbusers but Gregory House.
The famous diagnostician from the magnificant show House M.D.
A very funny, but also intelligent TV serie that uses a lot of sarcasm.
Altough if you a bit slow-witted you will have a hard time appreciating House's humor.

The plot: House (Hugh Laurie) is  an antihero and a diagnostic doctor but not just any diagnostic doctor...he is concidered to be the best in his field. He his extremely intelligent but this also makes him very cynical about pretty much everything in the world because he thinks outside the box and this makes him see the downside of even the most positive things you can imagine like love, birth, religion, etc. He has always lead a depressing life due to the fact that he was abused by his father, who was a marine,  during his childhood and was later on kicked out of university for cheating which shattered his dreams of becoming a physicist.
Then, approximately a decade before the pilot, house was shot in his right leg during a paintball match and caused serious damage to his muscle tissue which had to be removed causing excruciating pain for the rest of his life. To ease his pain House started taking vicodin and got hooked resulting in him becoming a mild junkie. Now he solves mystery medical cases that no one can solve with assistance from his four to five men team.
Along with his best friend James Wilson, who is the head of oncology in the same hospital, and Lisa Cuddy, the head of the hospital and the love of his life, he tries to solve the cases he get's on his desk...no matter what or how far he has to go to get to the truth. While at the same time he has to try and keep his social life in balance which is a hard thing for house to do because he's a straight up asshole.
This always results in to disastrous, but also hilarious situations.

Here's a compilation of a couple of funny moments in the fifth season

The verdict: without a doubt an excellent show that desirves a 8.9/10

The Path Of The Righteous Man...

If you are a big fan of the following movie, and I really mean like all freaky about it (like me), then you probably know which movie I'm going to be talking about judging from the title.
If you don't then i'll give you a hint.
It starts with a P and ends with ulp Fiction...that's right...Pulp Fiction!
Or maybe you knew because of the picture below, yeah probably.
The most brilliant movie ever made with 'The Matrix', 'Inception' and most of Quentin Tarantino's other movies as runner ups.

The plot: Pulp Fiction has a pretty complicated plot due to the fact that it's a mosaic movie.
This means that there are several different plot's (generally four) that form one story in a whole.
In this case there's the story of two mobster's, Vince Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), a boxer on the run called Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), a Mob boss his wife Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) and two trailer trash partners in crime.
they all lead a life of crime but most of them a bit against there will because once you get involved with the mob, it's pretty hard to get out.
As you can see the cast is amazing and just the right fit for the characters they're playing.
That along with Tarantino's all too familiar funny, smart, sarcastic and cynical writing style results in a mind blowing picture that will make you brainstorm and laugh at the same time.


The two mobsters Vince and Jules are on a mission to retrieve their boss's stolen briefcase.
I can't tell you what the contents of the briefcase are due to the fact that it's not literally revealed in the movie although if you really, and i mean really think about it you will find out what it is but that part is up to you.
At the same time Vince has to take the wife of his boss out on a date to entertain her while he's out of town. But that's not all, he also has to go after Butch (the boxer) who has broken a deal with Mr. Wallace to go down in a fight.
Of course this doesn't all happen at precisely the same time but the story lines succeed each other.


The Verdict: Now I know that not everyone is a big movie enthusiasts but if you haven't seen this one yet you should go jump in front of a train OR...go see it like right now, don't even think about continuing reading this blog just go and rent, buy or download it and watch the damn thing!
This movie deserves a 9.6/10 without a doubt, probably even more but I'm gonna play it safe instead of  giving it too much credit (which is impossible but whatever)