REVIEW: Project X

When I first saw the trailer for Project X I will admit I was very eager to watch the film. The trailer just screamed "watch me". I am not the party type, but something about a wild night of partying culminating with a man torching the neighborhood just was intriguing to me. The film that I saw was definitely not what I had hopes for. What I watched was easily one of the worst films I have seen in 2012, if not the worst.

REVIEW: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a science fiction film that details a new society called Panem after what we know as North America collapsed. Panem was originally sectioned off into 13 Districts. After much oppression District 13 revolted against the Capitol, Panem's governing body. In the Process District 13 was completely destroyed. As a result of the revolution the Capitol instituted the Hunger Games, "as a remembrance for those who were lost." The games act as a control for the entire population, as well as a national televised event. Two individuals, a boy and a girl, are chosen from the remaining 12 Districts as "tributes" and are brought to fight one another until only one remains.

REVIEW: Casa de Mi Padre

The movie opens with a narrator telling the audience both that the film is in Spanish and to deal with it. Will Ferrell is Armando Alvarez. He is a failure in life and tries to live one with nature. His father loves his brother Raul Alvarez(Diego Luna) more than Armando, despite Raul's secret identity as a drug dealer. However the same cannot be said for Raul's fiancee, Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez). She is uncertain on whether or not Raul is right for her, especially after meeting Armando. If while reading you thought the plot sounded like a soap opera or a TV novella, then you are absolutely correct.

REVIEW: Inception

Christopher Nolan's Inception is hardcore science fiction done for mainstream audiences. If you understood the film upon first viewing I applaud you. The film is structured to be a massive undertaking that demands multiple viewings in order to truly grasp what is taking place. The premise is simple, however the film is anything but simple. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a thief named Dominic Cobb. However Dominic is not your ordinary thief. He actually does not steal physical materials, instead he steals what is inside an individuals mind through their very own dreams.

REVIEW: The Vow

The most surprising element to Michael Sucsy’s The Vow is the ending isn’t happy. After watching Channing Tatum try and win back Paige(Rachel McAdams) for 104 minutes, I wanted him to get her back. Instead Michael attempts to place the film in reality, in order to separate it from films like Dear John or The Last Song. However this film is exactly like those above mentioned and was marketed that way, and as a result suffers horrendously for trying to be a film it cannot be.

REVIEW: The Woman in Black

It’s hard to watch this film without looking at Daniel Radcliffe and not think of Harry Potter. It’s nice to see him putting himself in a role that is completely unlike anything he did in the Potter franchise however. There are moments when this film works well as a haunted house horror film, however the simple truth is there are not enough of these moments to truly be scary.

REVIEW: John Carter

It's a shame that John Carter did not end up being Disney's Avatar. All of the controversy surrounding the films monumental loss is truly something that is causing people to stay away from the film. It's a horrible stigma that I wish would go away. I felt that the film was going to be good based on the publicity going into the theater. However this is not how I felt leaving.

SHHH! It Happens

A short film detailing an unfortunate true-to-life mishap of an El Camino Compton Center student.

REVIEW: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

I was only seven years old when I first watched The Phantom Menace in the theaters. I remember loving the action, enjoying Jar Jar Binks, and being deathly afraid of Darth Maul. As I grew up I started to disassociate myself with the prequel films, as it seems most people did. As I re-watched the films over the years I found Jar Jar Binks to be a worthless character and I felt The Phantom Menace was weak compared to the films before it. It has been 13 years since I last saw the film in the movie theater. 13 years later the film resonated something inside of me. I felt my childhood flash before my eyes.

Prometheus: Big Things Have Small Beginnings

Today was an amazing day for people looking forward to Ridley Scott's Prometheus. First we were treated with a 1 minute IMAX teaser trailer. Then we got another piece of information from the Viral Campaign. The biggest piece today however was the reveal of full length trailer. I will discuss all of this after the jump.

REVIEW: Cloverfield

Cloverfield works both as a found footage film, and even more as a monster film. It's a fresh take on the monster film genre and it is completely welcome. The first time I watched the film I remember hating it. It was the first time I had ever seen a found footage film. I didn't appreciate what this approach was doing to the filmmaking process. It was not until I watched Diary of the Dead and then the original Paranormal Activity did I truly understand what the genre was. I later revisited the film after seeing Paranormal Activity and was completely astonished by how great Cloverfield actually is.

REVIEW: Abduction

Abduction works as a late night popcorn flick. The film is a reminiscent of the Bourne trilogy, however this is true for many action films that have been made since then. Taylor Lautner should not be an action movie star...yet. He still needs to grow, both in age and maturity. He is a distracting element to the film. Despite this, there are no other actors that come to mind that could have played this character within the scripts bounds. Whether or not that is a compliment is up to you.

Mad Men: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" Review

One thing is made abundantly clear in the first episode of Mad Men. Everyone smoked during the 60's. People loved smoking. Men, women, hell even Doctor's smoked while with their patients.  We follow Don Draper who works with Sterling Cooper in New York City. He is an advertising man.