The Deschanel sisters. Not quite as cute as the Olsen sisters once were and not quite as famous as the Hilton sisters. But give them time. They are a force to be reckoned with. With Emily slaying her Fox time slot with Bones (co staring David Boreanaz) and Zooey having one of the best rated new shows of the 2011 lineup, they prove that there is nothing that they can’t conquer. But is too much Deschanel a good thing or bad? Plot: Young and in love Jess (Deschanel) comes home ear... Read more...

Trailers. They can make or break a movie. They are also tornado magnets when assembled into a “trailer lot”, but that is another type of trailer. In regards to movies you would think that the geniuses in Hollywood would have figured out at some point that a good trailer means a better opening weekend, better word of mouth, and things like that. So, why would you make a movie look like something that it is not? This technique that they used actually almost made me NOT watch this movie... Read more...

As many of you know, my mind works in a funny way most of the time. Not that it is better or worse than anyone else’s, it’s just a little different. Odd visuals come to mind. Usually they involve things that should never go together but I force them to together anyway. Gordon Ramsay cooking a fried bologna sandwich, Elisha Otis (invented the first passenger elevator) taking the stairs, or Van Gough sitting down with a “paint by numbers” book and a box of magic markers. All of these th... Read more...

There are some universal truths in the world. You have your basic stuff like water being wet, gravity keeping us from floating off into space and oxygen being a necessity for us to breathe. There is one rule that is not in high school biology books that is just as true as any of those facts, that “truth” is that Brad Pitt (and Tom Cruise for that matter) will never age. I don’t get it. There must be paintings of them in some attic slowly getting older while the body/person refuse t... Read more...

How many times have you seen it? Someone skips the stop at the sink when leaving the restroom, scratch their face before opening a door for someone, cough into their hand and then shake someone else’s or worse….the dreaded sneeze, wipe and shake. Disgusting. Now, try to think of how many times that you have done it to someone else. That’s what this movie does. It completely freaks you out by making you think of exactly how gross we are as humans. Plot: When Beth (Palt... Read more...

It’s easy to be critical. I admit that. It’s easy to walk into a theater, look at a movie screen, and say “that doesn’t look real”. We all do it. That being said, I try to watch movies with this simple motto in mind, “If I don’t think that I could do it better, I shouldn’t complain”. It is with that motto in mind that I can say that this movie had the most unrealistic writing, acting, special effects, directing, and overall execution that I have seen in a long time. It ... Read more...

The first Final Destination movie was awesome. Why? Because it was a new concept. A new idea. It sold the audience on an absolutely terrifying premise that kept people engaged from the first frame to the last. The idea that death is not only an entity (not the Grim Reaper, but actual DEATH), but it is petty an... Read more...

I’m a lucky man. That much is true in my life. Sure, I have had plenty of bad things happen but I always look to the truly wonderful things that I have accomplished. One thing that I was very proud of was that I had the chance to be an extra in The Help. It was an amazing experience. That being said, I am almost completely out of frame and only my elbow can be seen in the one shot that I was in…but even Pacino had to start somewhere. While I was adding my tiny contribution to this pr... Read more...

Animated movies are fun. Not the overly computerized junk (I HATE Anime) but the animated movies that can keep everyone engaged and hold the attention of all age groups. One of my favorite animated movies ever was The Little Mermaid. My wife still laughs at me when it is on because I know the words to most of the songs and sing them along with the movie (Les Poissons being my favorite). Movies get even more engaging for all ages when you can mix animation with live action. ... Read more...

After the horrible movie that I had to sit through last week (see the blog at www.theclevelandcurrent.com ) I would have watched just about anything in an attempt to get the rancid taste of lazy “wand battles” out of my mouth. Potter disappointed so badly that I almost couldn’t stand to get my hopes up for the much anticipated Captain America: First Avenger. However, only minutes into Captain America, I had already seen more good fo... Read more...

I love to cook gumbo. It’s something that takes a while to do. Most of the time the stock simmers over the period of a full day and the roux can be a little tricky. Once, after all the time had been put into the preparation of the meal I finally got to taste it and it was horrible (as I had burned the roux). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the EXACT same. I invested ten years into the horrible franchise, because my wife makes me watch them, and the payoff was way worse t... Read more...

When I was a teenager I got a nicely wrapped gift from my dad for Christmas. I opened it and found this great leather bound box for my nightstand that I thought would be a very useful item. After he urged me to open the box I found some much appreciated money inside, which was basically the “real gift” (even though I still have the box on my night stand 13 years later but the money is long long gone). What a great feeling. To get something that is already a great premise but then, as... Read more...

Michael Bay. You can call him a lot of things. Petty? Sure. His conflict with Megan Fox has been very public and he has slung mud with the best of them. Hacky? Absolutely. With presumably one trick up his sleeve, the trick to blow up anything and everything in sight, he is without a doubt one of the most limited director/executive producers in the world (slightly behind producer Jerry “I look like an old man version of Seth Green”  Bruckheimer). A sure bet? All day long. Love hi... Read more...

Do you know what is twice as cute as a kitten but never sheds? Me. Know what is a close runner up? Penguins. I dare anyone to go to the zoo, watch them playing and waddling around, and tell me that they are not adorable. We are incapable of resisting their adorableness and that is why they will one day rule the world...but that is another story for another time. Mr. Popper’s Penguins is based off of a beloved children’s book from 1938. The film adaptation centers around Tom P... Read more...

Do you know what is twice as cute as a kitten but never sheds? Me. Know what is a close runner up? Penguins. I dare anyone to go to the zoo, watch them playing and waddling around, and tell me that they are not adorable. We are incapable of resisting their adorableness and that is why they will one day rule the world...but that is another story for another time. Mr. Popper’s Penguins is based off of a beloved children’s book from 1938. The film adaptation centers around Tom P... Read more...

Matthew 5:5 says that “the meek shall inherit the Earth”. Well, I don’t know when that will happen, but I do know that the summer of 2011 is when “the geek shall inherit the Earth”. This summer has been loaded with fan-boy movies like no other summer in recent history. We have already seen The Green Hornet, Priest, Thor, X Men: First Class and this week’s Green Lantern on the big screen. Not to mention that Captain America and Transformers are still to come this year. So, n... Read more...

When is a monster movie not a monster movie? When it’s also a comedy. I love when a movie transcends its own genre. When a movie is billed as a monster movie and you sit in your seat, expecting nothing but destruction, and end up with a movie that works on so many more levels than you ever thought that it would.  J.J Abrams (producer and director) is extremely gifted when it come to delivering these types of genre crossing projects. His television shows have consisted of Alias, Lo... Read more...

Prequel. The word alone brings out horrible images of movies that managed to take healthy franchises and reduce them to a joke. Cruel Intentions 2, Hannibal Rising, and Star Wars: Episodes 1-3 are all equally horrifying examples of this. Closer to home for this franchise was the horrific X Men Origins: Wolverine. So, it was with great trepidation that I bought tickets for this movie over the weekend. I already had my reservations when I realized that Erik/Magneto has a completely differe... Read more...

I love a good dessert. No matter how good a meal is I always enjoy dessert more. It’s a weakness. I could sit down to a Beef Wellington prepared by Gordon Ramsay and it may be the single greatest meal that I have ever eaten, but a piece of cheesecake afterwards will make the dinner a long forgotten build up that ends with perfection. So, if The Hangover was the meal, The Hangover Part II is the dessert. It does something that is often attempted and almost always failed to achieve…it�... Read more...

I have a bad habit of pretending that guys are the only ones that can be crude. I guess because that is the only perspective that I have and I like to pretend that women would never be as gross and vulgar as men can be. It might be small minded of me to do this, but I have always held women in such high regard that I have never really considered that they act as inappropriately as guys when they get together. That is what is so refreshing about this movie. It takes away a bit of the myst... Read more...