Whiteout

Whiteout is the lowest rated film that is not a straight up 0% since I have begun. At only 7% I didn't have anything else to do, so I figured, why not? Kate Beckinsale will get me to stop on any show at any time. Am I wrong? She plays a US Marshall stationed on Antarctica. Flashbacks about her shaky hand with a gun show us why she has been taken out of the game. Her best friend, Doc, played by Tom Skerritt adds maturity to the cast. He is looking so much like Kris Kristofferson it's not even funny. Just before the entire continent is evacuated for the six month spread known as "whiteout", a body is found. Originally thought of as an accidental death, she dug deeper, discovering things she now needs to solve before leaving. It wasn't edited well, or the story wasn't written great. I haven't figured out which one it is. Characters show up out of nowhere, plot is confusing at times, but it doesn't derail it completely. I think I had it figured out really early on, but was constantly curious as to what the final moments would bring. It's worth seeing once if you like movies about snow and wind, with a little bit a frostbite thrown in.

NBM rates Whiteout - Good

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Pearl Harbor

I saw this epic in the theaters all those years ago, yet A-Bomb watched it for the first time recently. I enjoyed it when I first saw it, and so did he. My point? He had to listen to the haters for 9 years and still was able to enjoy it. Even though it has a running time over 3 hours it still keeps my attention when it is on. It's a good fictional story behind one of America's darkest days in history. It got ripped apart by RT only receiving 26% positive votes. This I don't get. I do think Critics love to hate Michael Bay, and if his name is attached in any way, shape, or form they go into his films anticipating they will hate it. I love Michael Bay. He delivers big bangs and loudness unmatched by any other director. He has his vision of what Hollywood represents and is unrelenting when it comes to doing things over the top. This was one of Ben Affleck's better performances, but he had help from an all star cast including Josh Hartnett, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale, and Jon Voight as President Roosevelt. It is long, but doesn't feel never ending. I remember when it came out on DVD it was one of the longest films to be released at that point, yet I have to turn the disc over halfway thru the film. This always cracked me up, because DVD's are capable of so much storage, why wasn't it used to it's full potential. Anyway, Epics have a funny way of being white hot or ice cold. Think about it. Titanic=Huge success, while Pearl Harbor released less than 4 years later and Bubkiss, nada, zip. Gladiator and Braveheart win big at Oscar time, but Australia and Troy seem like they don't exist. All good films, but majority speaks pretty loudly. I do like films about history, and films about fiction. When these two aspects are combined, it seems to really piss people off, yet I cannot remember the last film with these two characteristics I didn't care for. Pearl Harbor is solid and it stands on it's own. If you haven't spent 3 hours yet to watch it, I doubt you ever will, but if you do, I hope you enjoy it.

NBM rates Pearl Harbor - Awesome on the upper end, close to Phenomenal


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Get Him to the Greek

I knew this film would be good, but the direction it takes us exceeds expectations. Judd Apatow knows how to deliver a great film. Mostly known for shock humor or extreme perversion, he has always pushed the envelope. That is what I was waiting for, not really what we got. We got a really deep movie about two different guys who help each other discover what's important. What I didn't realize until watching was the spin off aspect. This character is based on Jason Segals 2008 hit "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow for the second time. A drug addled Rock N Rolla who cares for no one, but himself. Jonah Hill plays Aaron Green, a record company grunt, who comes up with a plan to re energize his company. An anniversary concert performed by Aldous Snow. Aldous walked away from the industry when he released an album that was regarded as one of the worst of all time. Aaron's boss played by Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy, aka P. Diddy, aka Puffy, aka Diddy, plays Sergio and he really carries the movie. He is the funniest part of the entire film. That's not knocking the comedy, it's actually commending Combs. For those of you who really wanna like Combs again since losing the love after all his silly name changes, this movie will do that for you. It is not a Laugh out loud film, nor a fall out of your seat. It so much more. I did LMAO a few times, and it is consistently funny, but it turns dark drama several times throughout. It is a must see. It does deserve it's R rating for the language and nudity, drug and alcohol use, and one hilarious fight scene involving all the main players along with seasoned actor, Colm Meaney, who plays Snow's father. The cameo's are so abundant, it's hard to decide which one is the best.... maybe Lars. Yes, that Lars. This movie also contained the most puking scenes I have ever seen, so if you cannot handle seeing other people blow chunks (I'm looking at you A.P.) this happens at least 6 different times. It's a wild party that is quite enjoyable, so I hope you enjoy.

NBM rates Get Him to the Greek - Awesome


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Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

I had the privilege to watch Bill and Ted last week. I hadn't seen the film in several years and I was so amazed that as an adult it still holds up. More so even than when I watched it as a young ignorant kid. Released 21 years ago I can't imagine it got a warm welcome from anyone over the age of 18. I remember enjoying it as a funny time travel romp involving future superstar Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan and Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston Esquire, along with George Carlin as future human Rufus. Bill and Ted are on the brink of being separated by Ted' father. If they fail their verbal history report, then Ted will be sent to military academy in Alaska, thus ending the reign of their bodacious rock band Wyld Stallyns. Rufus uses a phone booth to travel through time and is sent to help Bill and Ted with their assignment. He gives them their very own Excellent time booth to use. They use it to travel and recruit key historical figures from the past to help them woo their professor into a passing grade. Watching as an adult I held a better grasp on the situation. To be able to travel back in time and meet all the dead guys from your textbook would be awesome. These guys may seem like slackers, but it's quite the opposite. They are constantly making notes to themselves in order to alter the present in order to help themselves. Pretty Smart Dudes. It sounds complex, but I assure it is not. This righteous film would act as a stepping stone for Keanu's quite impressive film career, whereas Alex Winter did not do anything else except the sequel to this film. Watching Keanu early on in his career, not much has changed. I always thought he wasn't a great actor, because his delivery is so strange. Yet his filmogrophy is so stacked with awesome films, I do appreciate him more today than I did yesterday, and each day he seems to grow on me a little more. Oh yeah, and it introduced us to Air Guitars. Sweet

NBM rates Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Excellently Phenomenal


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61*

With Postseason baseball officially kicked off, I feel like diving into one of the best, if not the absolute best, baseball film ever made. It is a made for HBO movie written and directed by Billy Crystal. Crystal is quite the historian when it comes to the Yankees, and everything about the film is done so perfectly. The film follows Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris during the 1961 baseball season. These two were cut from two completely different crops. Mantle embraced the big city. The booze, $1000 per night hotel suites, women, fancy cars, and slick suits. Maris was a country boy who just wanted to play ball, and relax in peace and quiet. The story is all about these two men chasing Babe Ruth's single season Home Run record, but it also closely follows the off field relationship of all the ball players, more specifically Mantle and Maris. These two extraordinary athletes are both chasing the same record in the same season. Yes, they are competing, but they also are helping each other out. Crystal recreates that era awesomely. He also made us smarter. By "us", I mean the yutes that were not alive in the sixties. We were raised with cry baby athletes who weren't half as good as these guys, but they earn 100 times more money. Most of these ball players had to get jobs in the off season, and they budget on making it to the World Series for the $8000 bonus. It's amazing the picture that is painted for all us movie lovers and baseball lovers to watch and enjoy. The off field antics of Mantle paired with the tremendous issues Maris has with the New York press, it turns into two guys fighting their demons in their own ways. It is a brilliant movie that is more about human life than baseball. It really gets into the soap opera that is fame, not to mention they are away from their families during the entire season. It would be crazy to miss the birth of a child to play baseball. That's how little these guys got paid, not Mantle. Mantle was treated like a god. The second coming of the Babe himself. He was paid more than anyone, and was never held accountable for his actions. FYI: all the black and white footage throughout the film is actual footage from 1961, and Billy Crystal dubbed the reporter commentary in a few of the TV broadcast scenes. A very cool look back in history. It really makes us appreciate how hard they used to work for the love, not the paycheck.

NBM rates 61* - Phenomenal

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Date Night

Clever, Clever, Clever. This film blew me away the first time I saw it, but it really came together the second time around. I have seen 2 times in a week and it cracked me up both times. It, in my opinion, is the closest Hollywood has come to portraying married life as reality and not fairy tale. These married people, played by the awesomely comedic Steve Carell and Tina Fey, are worried about being in a rut so they go to the city for a nice dinner. Unable to get into the restaurant, they decide to steal someone else's reservation because they were no shows. This turns into a running gag throughout which is hysterical. Marky Mark doesn't "make" the movie, but he awesome as the private security specialist Holbrook Grant. he helps our power couple sort out the problems they are facing. The film revolves around mistaken identity which comes from the reservation they stole. It is a brilliant comedy acted to perfection. Tina Fey may be the funniest female on earth. Steve Carell basically plays the same character in every film he is in, but this one works extremely well for him. It is one of the funniest comedies I have seen in a while, and I may own this one. The comedy is definitely present, but what about other cinematic aspects? Action? Absolutely. When Curbs Your Enthusiasm's Leon shows up as a cabbie, we enter one of the funniest scenes in the entire film. You will have to watch it to understand. Too buzzed to explain. Do not neglect this film. If you are married, you will enjoy how it strikes the nail on the head. If you are not married, you will still probably enjoy it, but you will probably think that when you get married it will  not be this way. Think again. It turns out to be a good thing. Monotonous is really kind of awesome. 

NBM rates Date Night - Phenomenal

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X - Men Origins : Wolverine

Ever since the first X Men movie hit the market in 2000 I have been hooked. With newcomer Hugh Jackman taking the role of Logan/Wolverine, there were many skeptics, including myself. Casting an unknown in such a high caliber role  in a film that ultimately raised or invented the bar for comic book films, was beyond me. However, he is the only person who could ever play that role from now on. It was a no brainer that the first spin off film would follow Wolverine. He is the coolest mutant ever, barely edging out the Toxic Avenger. I had wait very patiently for the Wolverine Origin story. 10 years after Hugh became Logan he would finally carry his own movie. I feel he carried it well. This script was really good as well. RT disagrees with me ranking the first X - Men Origin film at a lowly 37%. I liked almost everything about it. The opening credits watching Logan, and brother Victor progress throughout the time line, one war at a time was an awesome piece of writing/directing. It not only showed how invincible they are, but also how old they are. It was neat to see Logan before the admantium claws, when they were nothing more than bone.With nearly all originality in Hollywood gone, writers are turning to "origin" stories. For the most part these re-telling of older movies/characters are usually fun to watch. It gives us a different perspective, and Wolverine delivers with a bang. It's very cool to see the tormented Logan struggle with his ability and what to do with his life. I don't understand why he is originally called James or Jimmy, then all of the sudden it's Logan. First name, last name maybe? I'm not sure. The one aspect I still do not grasp is how bad some of the CG looked. Movies that came out ten years earlier (X-2 comes to mind) were vastly superior in the digital aspects. It wasn't a deal breaker for me, but I was confused. Great action sequences make this origin story unmissable. When Logan is injected with the indestructible metal, only to wake up and kill everyone, well, it is an awesome scene. Shot in slo-mo, bursting out of the water, veins bursting. It's so cool. And Finally, after 8 years of geekers wanting Gambit to show up, he finally does, and he is very cool. I like this film, and you will too if you like the other three X-Men films. One last FYI, At the end of the credits in the theater there is a scene involving the recently deceased Deadpool character, but on the HBO version it's actually Logan alone in a bar in Japan. The next movie will take place in Japan where Logan learns the martial arts, so it was a cool alternate ending. Why it was saved for HBO, I'll never know, but it is cool. I am looking forward to the sequel as well as the other two film on the agenda, First Class and Magneto. They should be good.



NBM rates X-Men Origins : Wolverine - Awesome

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Raising Arizona

Someone told me that cult films are dangerous ground to do. I say, Nay to that. Nay good sir. Being a long time Coen Brothers fan, it seems natural to start with one of their earliest films. It's hard to rank Coen brothers movies due to the extremely genius plethora of films they have done. On the other hand, this film has got to be H.I. on the list. (If you don't get that joke, you need to watch it again.) This movie follows petty thug HI played by Nic Cage who falls in love with police woman Ed (Holly Hunter). They meet and get to know each other through Hi's many trips to the cop station. Ed takes his mugshot every time, and bang, Love. When Hi and Ed have trouble getting preggers, this upsets Ed to the point of drastic measures. She convinces Hi to kidnap one of the five new kids born to the Arizona family. Nathan Arizona is so distraught that Nathan Jr. has been taken he begins an all out manhunt for the baby nappers.  He hires a bounty hunter played by the hideous Randall "Tex" Cobb. Hi and Ed are enjoying their new family until some of Hi's old buddies escape from the pokey. Played by William Forsythe and Coen Bros favorite John Goodman, these two really add to the humor aspect of the film. Especially when they decide to rob a local bank with the baby on board. Hi and Ed quickly realize kidnapping is not all it's cracked up to be. Guilt and the threat of long term prison or death urges them to undo what they have done. This movie really is one of the funniest in history, and it's definitely Cage's funniest. Out in 1986 it gets a lot more credit from me, basically because of the amount of times I have viewed it. Funny enough, until yesterday, I never owned a copy. Luckily I now do and I will enjoy it.
    "Son, you got a panty on your head."

NBM rates Raising Arizona - A Work of Cinematic Art

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Unthinkable

Simple. Someone told me recently that they had heard this was the best movie of the year that never got released. I agree with that statement. This film does a great job of making film seem like reality. It thrust the viewers into an uncomfortable situation no matter your politics. It shows the two sides of America. The America that does "what is necessary" to get results in a hurry, and then there is the side that try and protect human rights, even though the particular human may be the cause of 6 million American deaths. Good vs Evil. Sam plays "H", a CIA non existent knee breaker, brought into a situation that needs immediate results. Carrie Ann Moss plays the local Fed that knows in her heart everything "H" is doing is wrong and unethical, but she cannot stop it. She is forced to be in a situation she wants nothing to do with. Unfortunately, This particular prisoner has placed 3 nukes in 3 major cities. Our investigators have 3 days to get addresses or, well, BOOM! Truth is, what side of the line do you stand on? 6 million lives or 1 life. Torture for results, or police work that takes 10 times longer. These are the moral dilemma's Carrie Ann must face throughout. Will this film change the way you think about human life? I doubt it, but it makes the whole situation real. Well, more real. It closes the gap on our separation from foreign affairs, and puts us front and center with a situation we may have an opinion on, except this time it directly involves America. In our minds, we think all are created equal, and no one deserves to be treated like this. If it affected 6 Million Americans, where would you stand? Would you do whatever is necessary, or would you stand on the sideline and let innocent people die? This movie does not dance around a subject that most people put on their blinders about, and it delivers with reverence and sincerity. I highly recommend everyone watch it at least once.

NBM rates Unthinkable - Phenomenal

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Flight of the Navigator

Another one of my all time favorites of all time. A bit redundant, I know, but still. All Time. Flight follows a pre-teen boy, David, who ends up traveling through time 8 years into the future. He does not recall the travel at all, but for his parents and once younger brother, he has been a missing child for the past 8 years.  Once back home, unaged and confused, he is taken by NASA for tests where he finds the spacecraft. The craft is his only way to escape the clutches of NASA, where he claims he will be a human guinea pig for the rest of his life. His escape is aided by a very young Sarah Jessica Parker. Once aboard the ship, which is absolutely awesome looking, he meets Max. Max is the on board computer system, voiced by Pee Wee Herman. Crazy. He also meets his little tripod animal buddy, which tends to be his right shoulder buddy through most of the film. All the while he is the navigator telling the ship where and when to go. At one point they must hide in the ocean which is a very cool piece of scenery. I can only imagine being a 12 year old in that situation. It would be an awesome good time. He knows life will never be right with himself, or for his parents and brother. He must convince Max to get him back to 1978 where he originally time jumped. Max is concerned for David's safety. Traveling back in time apparently is tricky. Max says to David there is a good possibility he could be vaporised during his travel. This doesn't matter to him at all. He just wants to go home and be with his little brother, who once annoyed him to death. He won't take him for granted ever again. It's really cool how he gets to keep his little flying squirrel looking tripod animal friend. Good moral to the story about family. Great special effects, especially for 1986, and it was one of the first on screen appearances of Carrie Bradshaw.


NBM rates Flight of the Navigator - Phenomenal

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