Author Archives: Jake

April 12, 2012

First Trailer out for Looper! (It Will Be Up Yesterday…)

By Jake

The much anticipated trailer for Rian Johnson‘s Looper is here! Well, at least it’s been much anticipated by me. I am a huge fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and of course, being a red blooded male living within the continental United States, Bruce Willis is one step shy of being my hero. The official synopsis is as follows:

“In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels. Ram Bergman and James D. Stern produce.”

The story itself seems pretty awesome. If it has to do with time travel, sign me up! A lot of people get all “logical” with time travel movies and start poking holes in the plot immediately… “Well now wait a minute guys, if Bruce Willis is sent to the past that means that obviously Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn’t die in the movie because if he dies then Bruce Willis wouldn’t have been around in the future to have been sent back in the first place…” Yada yada yada you’re dumb guy just go with it. As long as their aren’t major holes in the plot, I’m all for suspending belief about the possible paradoxes involved in any time travel movie. I mean come on, why didn’t Skynet just crush the skull of teenage Kyle Reese when they captured in him in Terminator: Salvation? “Hey kid what’s that over there…?” *squash*

One thing I noticed about the trailer was how Joseph Gordon-Levitts voice sounds pretty damn awesome compared to Bruce Willis. I’m not sure if that is JGL just doing some fine voice work, or if they used anything in post production on his voice, but either way I think it sounds pretty awesome. Also, there does appear to be some small facial make-up or prosthetics worn by JGL to make him look a bit more like Willis. I am not too sure how I feel about this, maybe after watching the movie for a bit I will buy into it but I just hope it’s not too distracting.

I was definitely a fan of Johnsons other movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brick, so I am excited to see what these two can do again. I am a bit hesitant about the overall look and tone of the movie though, it seems at times very “Kill Bill-ish” but then at other times a very straightforward action movie. I guess we will have to just wait and see how it all pans out, Looper is set to open September 28th in the US.

What are your thoughts on the trailer? Looks like good ‘ol fashion time traveling mob-hit-man fun? Or too far of a stretch for Levitt to be Willis?

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April 11, 2012

Holy sectional-compartmentalized-military-outfit Batman!

By Jake

Where is it written that sequels have to be bigger in scope and more intricate than their predecessor? I really don’t get it. I mean we see it everywhere. Classic examples, Spiderman 3 or Transformers: Dark Side of The Moon… I mean come on… REALLY!? But what I don’t get even more, is why the costume has to also follow suit (no pun intended… OK, it was kind of intended) and get increasingly more complicated and larger in scope and more… uhhh, patch-ier?

Case in point is the most recent Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. I recently saw the cover of Entertainment Weekly where Batman (Christian Bale) and Catwoman (who cares, its Catwoman) are featured front and center on the cover in their cosutmes from The Dark Knight Rises. I mean after all, it’s their Summer Movie Preview Issue! But what I cant get over is the over-complication of the Batsuit! I understand that this take on Batman is supposed to be grounded in reality as much as possible. And that the Batsuit is an adaptation of military clothing and armor. And that its supposed to provide functionality while still maintaining protection… but come on!!! Why do they feel the constant need to evolve the Batsuit into something way more than it needs to be!? We all remember seeing George Clooney and thinking… “Ummm, why the fuck does the Batsuit have nipples?” I understand the concept behind its look and development, but I personally feel they went a bit over the top here. I think it gets to a point where they begin to over-complicate things and it starts to distract from the character.

I am sure it wont be that bad or really noticeable at all when we see it on the big screen. I mean after all how often will you see Batman just standing still in broad day light? Usually it’s quick cut action scenes in the cover of darkness so there probably wont be time to analyze all the Kevlar patch locations. But I’ll still know they’re there. Like bedbugs in a cheap hotel – You cant see ’em but you know they’re there… just waiting to ruin your hotel experience… the bedbugs, not Batman.

Just add water!

The Dark Knight Rises is set to open in the U.S. July 20th, 2012. And you bet we will be front and center Kevlar patches and all.

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April 10, 2012

Anchorman 2 Potential Plot WHAMMY – A Burgundy Baby!?

By Jake

Anchorman is something I hold dear to my heart. Ask any of my college roommates (yes, I went to college) and they will tell you about the weekends where that movie was played over and over on loop. Come Friday evening (OK, Thursday morning) the Anchorman DVD would go in, and wouldn’t stop until Monday morning. Usually, we took out the Saturday Night Live Best of Will Ferrell DVD to put in Anchorman, so needless to say we are all well versed in the art and comedy of Will Ferrell. And I have said it before that I think Anchorman is one of the better comedies put out in a long time.

So I read an article just now on Salon.com, where co-writer/director Adam McKay talks about how Anchorman 2 was bounced around in the studios for a while, how the comedy and satire of Anchorman is more relevant now than ever, and how he stays creative. But the best little nugget of the article is where he talks about the potential plot ideas they are toying with for Anchorman 2. McKay goes on to say, “I don’t want to give away too much, but I’ll just give a couple pieces of ideas that we’ve kicked around. Keep in mind we’re still writing the story, but I’ll say one phrase for you: custody battle. I’ll give you that. I’ll give you one other one: bowling for dollars.”

This is music to my ears. Recently on the 04/01/12 show I told Paul that I hope they keep the story of Anchorman 2 simple because its the characters that make the movie funny not some crazy ass plot. And this sounds like it’s right up their alley for the Channel 4 News Team! I can see it now, Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone, battling for little Ron or little Veronica. Throwing back and forth the same quips that brought us to tears last time such as “You are a smelly pirate hooker,” “Why don’t you go back to your home on Whore Island?” and “You’ve got a dirty whorish mouth.” Classic. That is love my friends, that is love.

I am not sure what the “bowling for dollars” reference is that McKayis talking about, but if it involves some sort of competition for the custody of Burgundy Jr., sign me up! This happens to be too perfect of timing for me also, just having watched the most recent episode of East Bound and Down. The episode finds Kenny Powers facing off once again against Ashley Schaeffer, this time for his son! What ties this all together you might ask? Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that Ashley Schaeffer is played by Will Ferrell! And the fact that Will Ferrell is an executive producer! Oh, and the fact that Adam McKay is also an Executive producer and Directed a couple episodes in 2009! BOOM! I just hit your ass with some knowledge son! This particular episode was absolutely freaking hilarious. So to imagine throwing a kid in the works with the characters of Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team, with McKay co-writing and directing just makes me really excited for this sequel. I have faith that they can pull it off. Plus, you know what they say about sequels… 60% of the time, they work every time.

You stay classy, Planet Earth.

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April 9, 2012

A clip from Episode 04/01/12 – “Chuck Norris at Target”

By Jake

While running through the Movie News segment, we start talking about how Expendables 2 is back to being rated R, after reports came out which stated that Chuck “The Round House” Norris himself basically told Sly Stallone to cut the movie down to PG-13 because he doesn’t like swearing. This leads in to a lovely tale about a Chuck Norris spotting in a local Target, and somehow that leads into yet another discussion on how in the hell do you really pronounce Liam Neeson? You can check out the full podcast of Episode 04/01/12 here where we review Wrath of the Titans in full, challenge you to a Liam Neeson best impression contest, and as always Movie News – Enjoy!

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April 5, 2012

A clip from Episode 04/01/12 – “Liam Neeson Impressions”

By Jake

The review of Wrath of the Titans started off just as crazy as it ends… I think the Wrath got the best of us as we sit and wonder just why, for the love of Zeus, was nobody in that movie taking the end of the world seriously!? Come on people! From there we just go straight into a battle of who can do the best Liam Neeson/Sean Connery impression which leaves us pretty much in tears. By the way, the guy Jake says that Paul sounds like but couldn’t remember, yeah he was thinking of Giovanni Ribisis character from the remake of Flight of the Phoenix. You can listen to the full podcast of Episode 04/01/12 here where we review Wrath of the Titans in full, challenge you to a Liam Neeson best impression contest, and as always movie news – Enjoy!

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April 2, 2012

Red Band Trailer for Ted is F#@%ing Funny as S#&%

By Jake

First of all, lets be honest… If you are from the west coast, you want to have a Boston accent. Its just the coolest shit ever – period. And you wish you could swear uncontrollably like its second nature like people from Boston do. And you also wish that people didn’t look at you in disgust when you’re swearing uncontrollably like its second nature in front of small children like people from Boston do. OK I made that last bit up, I’m not entirely sure that people from Boston swear in front of little children but hey, a guy can dream cant he!?

Mark Wahlberg stars as our favorite Boston-accented dudes dude in the Seth MacFarlanes feature film debut, Ted. The story centers around John (Mark Wahlberg) and his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) who have been dating for quite some time. Lori wants to get a bit more serious and wants John to ask his beer swigging, swearing, dirty, pot smoking pervert of a roommate Ted to move out. The only catch is that Ted… is a Teddy Bear. That’s right, he is a Teddy Bear who has come to life as a result of a childhood wish. Actually, it doesn’t even matter why there is a live walking talking Teddy Bear. All that matters is that it is hilarious as all shit to see Mark Wahlberg and a Teddy Bear sit there and swear like sailors, talk about sex with women, smoke pot and make it look like its second nature. This movie is definitely going to be over the top, and I cant wait. I think Family Guy is an extremely funny show, and this seems like it is going to be everything Family Guy just can’t be on TV (for obvious reasons). And I think if anyone can pull this off, its Wahlberg. Just check out the red-band trailer below – the scene at the end with Wahlberg rattling off about 50 different female names is just about as hilarious as it gets.

Ted is set to open in the US on July 13th, 2012. I’m definitely looking forward to this one, and all the commotion that is sure to be following. I just hope that ToysRus will carry the talking pull chord version of Ted, because my 4 year old niece would love it.

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April 2, 2012

A Short Clip of Episode 4/01/12

By Jake

Well, we sat down to review Wrath of the Titans, but immediately got side tracked discussing why Jake is too lazy for April Fools Day Pranks, the difference between a Chevron and a Hotels continental breakfast, and the proper way to lock a pizza delivery guy in your basement… eventually we get around to the show, but here is a short video clip of the intro to Episode 4/01/12…enjoy!

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March 31, 2012

Final TV Interview with Orson Welles Recorded Hours Before He Died

By Jake

Listening to the rain, enjoying a cup of coffee and suffering from some writers block on the guitar I did what anyone would do, surf the Internets! While doing so I stumbled upon an awesome interview on Collider.com. The clip is from The Merv Griffin Show on October 10, 1985. Orson Welles is the guest, and at the age of 70, he discusses life, old age, youth, the luck he had in his career and the women he had in his life. The interesting thing about this interview is that mere hours later, Welles will suffer a heart attack and pass away.

I am not going to sit here and rant about how Orson Welles was brilliant and the best thing since sliced bread, how Citizen Cane was the best movie ever made, or how The War of The Worlds was the bees knees (which it was by the way). Because in all honesty, I am not very familiar with all the works of Welles and his career. But that doesn’t mean I do not know who he is and how to appreciate a good thing when I see it, and to respect it. No big long rant here, I cant say anything that would be more cool than how this man carries himself. Listen to the interview and enjoy the whit and wisdom.

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March 30, 2012

This just in “Twins” sequel officially a GO, movie immediately ruined!

By Jake

That’s right folks, the 1988 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito is getting a sequel! And the folks over at Universal and Montecito Picture Co. have been working endlessly racking their brains to come up with a clever title for the film… and after tireless days and sleepless nights, tossing and turning, a 2 pack-a-day habit, and a couple games of Russian Roulette they finally settled on a title. A title I think might be the most clever title in the history of sequels. The sequel to Twins will be called… Triplets… (This is where you play the womp womp womp sound. Go ahead do it… I’ll wait).

But the name of the movie is the least of my concerns…

If you remember, Twins centers around Arnold’s character Julius who goes in search of his brother Vincent played by the always funny Danny DeVito. They are twins (get it?) as a result of an experiment; Julius is the perfect physical specimen and Vincent is a short small time crook. Arnold lifts up a car, sings funny songs, drives a car on two wheels, etc., etc., lots of hilarity ensues. I actually really like this movie, and I was totally excited when I saw an interview with Danny DeVito on Collider promoting Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and DeVito said he would be open to the idea of a Twins sequel! I thought hell yeah, be more sleazy Danny DeVito! Lift up more cars and be a charming womanizer old ass Arnold!

I was all sorts of excited. Then I read this news today from THR, where they provided an update on the details of the sequel. The movie will be called Triplets, because Arnold and DeVito discover they have a third sibling! ZING! WOWZA! How original… but OK I can live with that, I’m sure the movie will still be funny. But who will play this third sibling you ask? Well it has to be someone who can keep up with the physical presence and dry humor of Arnold and the quirkiness of Devito… someone who is on top of their game right now, someone really hot in Hollywood… I know… how about Eddie Murphy!!! (Go ahead and bring back the womp womp womp sound).

Larry, Curly, and Mr. Movie Killer

I don’t even know what to say about this… seriously I don’t. Eddie Murphy, the actor who was supposed to make a serious acting come back, who had about 15 minutes of screen time in Tower Heist, whose current movie A Thousand Words has a big fat ZERO rating on Rotten Tomatoes, who backed out of doing the Oscars… he will be the third sibling!? I couldn’t think of a better way to ruin this movie and for it to lose my interest immediately. Let me guess – Arnold is now a successful businessman, DeVito has turned away from the life of crime, and Eddie Murphy makes jokes because he’s black and they are white. The three of them have to go on an adventure to find their parents/scientists, get out of a jam, enter generic plot here, and it is funny because they are all different… GET IT!!!??? Oh boy, this should be one for the books. We will be sure to keep you posted with more plot details as they come up, but try not to be too upset with this news, that is my job. You concentrate on other things, and if you see someone begging for a dollar on the corner, tell Eddie you cant wait to see him in Triplets.

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March 27, 2012

Open Invitation – We want your thoughts on The Hunger Games!

By Jake

Now that The Hunger Games is breaking all sorts of records at the box office, and nearly half the entire population of the planet has seen the movie, it comes time for the reviews/criticisms and thoughts to start rolling in. We completed our review this weekend of the massive hit movie The Hunger Games on the latest podcast you can listen to here, or find it on iTunes. But it was interesting to see the consensus among the group was very split.

So I wanted to use this as an opportunity to get a better feel for what everyone else thinks, you, the pulse of America! What say you about the blockbuster that is The Hunger Games??? I am very surprised to see the critics raving about the movie (currently 85% on RT), while everyone I know who has read the books hated it, and those who haven’t read the books have mixed feelings. But I wanted to get some opinions from you, the listener, the viewer, the Cinema Recon-ite, about what you thought about the movie!

So this is a call to all of you reading, an open invitation to comment below and tell us your thoughts, rants & raves, opinions, all of it, about what you really thought of The Hunger Games. I really want to know what John Q. Movie-goer thinks about this movie. We will respond to all questions and comments – and let you know what we think! Happy commenting and may the comments always be in your favor… sorry I just had to do it!

Hungry Hungry Hunger Games.

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