The Reel Deal

Bridesmaids - 5/13/11

Directed By, Paul Feig

Bridesmaids is a  simple story about longtime “bff’s” Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph). When Lillian drops the bomb to her friend Annie that she’s engaged, Lillian also asks Annie to be her Maid of Honor. The real bread and butter of the movie is in Annie’s complete disarray of a life. When she takes a mean spiral downward and life starts kicking her in the stomach, Annie becomes a total mess. Jealous of a new friend entering Lillian’s life Helen (Rose Byrne) the two begin competing with each other to look like the better friend. 

Produced by Judd Apatow, Bridesmaids is a gem of a film. It’s really not a movie that only women can appreciate, but men as well! The comedic approach in this film is much more man friendly than women. It’s raunchy, sick, and absolutely a huge riot! 

Kristen Wiig is a great leading woman, and she’s supported by a great cast. Go see Bridesmaids if you love twisted humor! You can’t go wrong! I rate Bridesmaids 4/5 for downright ROFL comedy.

The Outsiders - 3/25/83

Directed By, Francis Ford Coppola

Set in 1960’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders follows a Greaser gang of low income juvenile degenerates who are in feud with another gang called the Soc’s (consisting of wealthier kids). Character’s include Soda (Rob Lowe) and Darry (Patrick Swayze), Johnny Cade (Karate Kid’s Ralph Macchio, Dally Winston (Matt Dillon), Two-Bit Matthews (Emilio Estevez), and Steve Randle (Tom Cruise).

The Outsiders focuses on character Johnny Cade when one night as the Soc’s are attacking gang member Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny comes to his aid and ends the debacle by stabbing Bob Sheldon (Leif Garrett) in the stomach…killing him. Ponyboy and Johnny leave town in the hopes of not being caught by both the police and the other Soc gang members.

While Ponyboy and Johnny are in hiding the other members of the Greasers receive threats from the Soc clan and a major fight breaks out. Johnny and Ponyboy make their way to the fight and aid the brothers-in-arms to victory. During the fight however, Johnny is severely hurt and ends up hospitalized with life threatening injuries.

The Outsiders is a classic example of the struggles of growing up in both a gang, and just tough lessons we learn as kids, period. A great example of classic literature and movie-making, Coppola’s The Outsiders is genuine and heartfelt. I give The Outsiders 4/5.

Anonymous asked: Top ten favorite movies of all time! Go!

1. Shawshank Redemption

2. Back To The Future (1/2/3)

3. Requiem For A Dream

4. The Green Mile

5. Breakfast At Tiffany’s

6. Planet of the Apes (Original)

7. Rebel Without A Cause

8. Battle Royale

9. The Nightmare Before Christmas

10. Saving Private Ryan

joandirt asked: Have you seen Dead Man with Johnny Depp? Amazing.

I haven’t! I’ll be adding that to my list! I like Johnny Depp, have you seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas before? 

Requiem For A Dream - 10/27/00

Directed By, Darren Aronofsky

Before Black Swan and The Wrestler there was Requiem For A Dream. Based heavily off of Hubert Selby Jr.’s book (of the same name), Requiem For A Dream revolves around the lives of three, 20-something year olds. Jared Leto plays the feisty Harry Goldfarb, Jennifer Connelly plays Harry’s girlfriend Marian Silver, Tyrone C. Love is played by Marlon Wayans, and for her as Sara Goldfarb, Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn. 

Our story begins with Harry carting off his mothers TV set so that he can sell it off at a pawn shop in Brooklyn. It becomes blatantly apparent that this is a reoccurring issue for Sara. Eventually Sara takes a clue and chains the TV to the radiator in her apartment. This sets Harry off into the tantrum of his life, causing his mother to lock herself in the closet.

Sick and tired of being poor, Harry and his friend Tyrone C. Love plan a way of getting themselves out of rags and into riches…Heroine. Harry is already addicted to heroine at the start of the movie. As the boys score their first supply, they see just how quickly their lives begin to turn around. As they continuously score more drugs they are tempted to “taste” it for themselves. Eventually, they can’t get the supply they need to both sell and for their own use, causing them to become highly irritable, and incredibly emotional from traumatic stress.

Meanwhile, Harry’s mother Sara, is crazy about her tv, constantly watching infomercials. One day Sara is called by a tv game show requesting that she become a contestant on their show. After the conversation Sara becomes obsessive over how she looks, and wants nothing else but to fit into her old red dress that her late husband Seymour loved. At first she tries several diets but she just can’t get over the hunger pains. Eventually she heads to the doctor and is prescribed a form speed as a dietary supplement. Noticing how quickly she sheds the pounds, Sara decides to take an extra few pills here and there to “speed up the process” (no pun intended)

I don’t advocate spoilers, but I can tell you that there is absolutely NO happy ending in this film. It’s my honest opinion that every young person watch this film because it puts things into a brutal perspective. Aronofsky’s Requiem For A Dream is artsy, and completely brilliant. I can guarantee you that this will be one of the most depressing films you’ll ever see BUT you’ll have a new found appreciation for the director and the cast - ESPECIALLY, Ellen Burstyn. Requiem For A Dream is a film about a harsh reality, that is cruel, and won’t let you leave. For being one of the most disturbing films I’ve ever seen, but for being the most genuine story I’ve ever read and watched on film, I’m giving Requiem For A Dream 5/5. Masterpiece

Batman Returns - 6/19/92

Directed By, Tim Burton

A dark and fantastical tale of the Dark Knight, Batman Returns stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Danny Devito as The Penguin, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Selena Kyle/Catwoman. Burton’s return to the Batman franchise marks his most epic.

In Batman Returns, Chester Cobblepot (Devito) wants desperately to surface from the rank underground Gotham sewers and live the life of a normal person. With the help of sinister business mogul Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), Cobblepot does just that by allegedly saving the Mayor’s baby from a kidnapper (which was set up by Cobblepot/Shreck).

As the storyline develops we see that The Penguin has alterior motives, as he makes an attempt at running for Mayor. Meanwhile as Selena Kyle begins her transformation into the seductive Catwoman (As she was pushed from an upper level office by her boss…none other than, Max Shreck - Kyle was coincidentally brought back to life by a cat.

As Batman figures out just what The Penguin and Catwoman are up to he begins sabotaging The Penguins Mayorship campaign.

For all of you kiddies that love the new Batman franchise check out Batman Returns! It’s darker, and Burton’s makeup department did one hell of a job. Set design for this movie is incredible. The wonderful thing about Burton’s Gotham is that it feels so much different than other settings, like it’s its own little world. You can not go wrong with Batman Returns, for a great storyline, all-star cast, and some of the best visual effects/makeup…I give Batman Returns 4/5.

Mikey Says…

This is a screen print for a TMNT tee shirt made by Ripple Junction.

aliceisfrozeninmywonderland asked: Hi there! Just wanted to let you know that I have not ignored your ask. I have seen it, and I will do my best to check out your site as soon as my schedule allows. School started this week, and it's just been absolutely crazy. So apologies. And, thanks for doing me the compliment of following mine. ^-^

No worries! Stay in school! ;)

predatorminds asked: One of my all times favorite movies is Pan's Labyrinth! Have you seen it? If not, it is a must see! :I

Pan’s Labyrinth is soooo good! I agree, it’s high up on my list of all-time favorites. I’ll review that one next, just for us ;) 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - 4/18/08

Directed By, Nicholas Stoller

Being dumped sucks. Often times the dumpee is left feeling tremendous remorse about being a sub-par human being, at least that’s how it went for tv music composer Peter Bretter (Jason Segel). When Peter’s girlfriend (hit tv show actress Sarah Marshall of Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime - which also happens to coincidentally be the show that Peter scores music for) breaks up with him, he’s left with a huge gap in his heart. 

Peter is told by Sarah that she’s been cheating on him with MEGASTAR singer Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) of Infant Sorrow. Taking the advice of his brother-in-law he decides to take a break from the City of Angels and head to Hawaii. Staying at the same resort that Sarah is a frequent at, we come to expect the worst for our protagonist Peter. Sure enough, Sarah and Aldous are there at the same time Peter is. The gorgeous concierge helps Peter get checked into a room (played by Mila Kunis). 

Basically what goes down is Peter intentionally starts spying on Sarah, but ends up falling for Rachel (Kunis). 

A great cast, and funny man producer/director Judd Apatow are tied to this movie’s success. Some really great one-liners came from this one…like Paul Rudd’s “When the weather outside is…weather.” Memorable scenes include Jack McBrayer’s “You’ve got Christ between your thighs,” and Bill Hader’s “You need to stick your P in a V and have a B-a-b-y” scenes. 

This is probably one of the funniest comedies to have come out for awhile, it really doesn’t get old. For this reason, I’m rating Forgetting Sarah Marshall 4/5.