A good way to look for movies. I like to peruse Flixter's "upcoming dvd" list, as those are the movies I am likely to have access to. To find a movie that I will probably enjoy, I look for anything with a viewer rating higher than the critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
If critics love it, I probably hate it. They live to stroke the egos of the Hollywood elite they serve. Listen to the people, their reviews tend to amalgamize as they pile up, and you get a better idea of how real people feel about the flick.
If the critics rating is higher than the viewers, that's a red flag. There are always exceptions, like when both ratings are very high or very low. But it's a good criteria to get started.
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Enders Game
Two weeks after its release, I finally bit the bullet and went to see this IN A THEATER. I'm not even sure what the last movie I saw in a theater was - maybe Madagascar 2? - who knows. The house was full of stinky fish smells and Chinese only conversations, so I had to go somewhere.
It was a great movie, well adapted from one of my top 5 Sci Fi books. I always liked the character a lot, especially when I was young. Strategic and ruthless.
Thinking back on it, I could see how those who don't know the book might have found the movie to be flat. I'm sure I was "thinking in" the parts they left out - some big and some small - but memorable enough to me that I subconsciously put them in the story where they belonged.
I hope they pump out Enders World quick. It'll probably bomb in everyone else's opinion, but I'm sure it'll be great in my mind.
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The To Do List
I really like the star of this picture, Aubrey Plaza (also my favorite strip mall). She was in "Safety Not Guaranteed", which was a brilliant movie. This movie however, maybe less than brilliant.
Girl graduates high school a virgin, and decides she needs to become a complete slut before starting college. Eventually, sort-of realizes the error of her ways, but not really. Ending on the note, "sometimes sex is just sex" which my many years tells me is very rarely true- at least not for both parties.
Aubrey's eye rolling and tongue and cheek demeanor help keep it light and a little better than tolerable.
Red 2
Forced myself halfway through this one. Ugh,if only star power could make a movie. But it doesn't. It really doesn't.
Killer Joe
Phew, where to start on this one. Imagine a spooky and nuanced Matthew McConaughey, a cool and scary character. Surrounded by a a cast you want to fail - except for a cute and cuddly Juno Temple. Very cool movie, check it out.
The Last Days on Mars
Still trying to get back to this one. It looks like a soft scifi: guy on Mars may have discovered life, falls in a hole. Dat-da-daaa.. skipping along... He arrives back at the station, takes off his helmet and HOLY CRAP IN A CAN!!!
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Revolution season 1
With a couple of Startrek movies under his belt and a new Star Wars flick on the way, I'd like to say that JJ Abrams has the necessary Sci Fi cred to pull off a show like this. But some of his other projects like Lost and Fringe are unwatchable to me - and we can't let him off the hook for Felicity. He does however have a knack for spotting talent (Like Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner, Sonya Walger, and Elizabeth Mitchell), and brings that to Revolution.
Real quick - because as you know, I hate reviewing the story line - I assume you already have an idea of what that's about. Lights go out, couple people knew it was coming, jump ahead 15 years to the mess we have become.
At times the plot was a bit tedious, I struggled to stick with it when it was stretched week to week and mired in commercial interruptions. However, sitting and watching episodes rapid fire - it's a great show and flows much better. A big cast where all players are important makes for a more multidimensional experience, and plenty of back story is included to allow you the opportunity to care about the characters (or hate them as the story dictates - hate is a form of caring right?).
The season wrapped up great, with plenty of surprises. I enjoyed it and will be digging into the next season soon.
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Banshee season 1
Still not sure where I come down on this one. Ex-con ends up sheriff in a small town (by killing the actual sheriff). All hell breaks loose from there. Good enough, but some things I struggle with:
One is that every fight lasts 478 minutes during which each contender should have died a dozen or more times. I've seen trained people fight. Fight for their lives. One is always better than the other, even if only a tiny bit. The fight ends quickly, and someone dies horribly.
The other is that every time our protagonist arrives home there is someone waiting in his apartment. As a con and a sheriff, you'd think privacy would be paramount and he'd lock his friggin door. Sometimes it's some misc baddy there to rough him up. More often it's one of three town bimbos come to screw his brains out. Both scenarios seem ridiculous. That said, they've left us with great set up for season 2, so I'll have 10 or 12 more episodes to decide if I like the show.
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Modern Family season 4
I thought it would be nice to " lounge" a bit and get away from all the serious stuff. You all know the show, and it's 20 minute blurbs will usually evoke a chuckle or two. That held true through the season. Oddly enough, I found myself wanting some intrigue and drama. Will have to be sure to blend candy coated stuff like this with more substantial fare in the future.
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Caprica
It's been a couple years since I've watched Caprica. This BSG prequel is really well done, though a bit laborious mid season. I found that fast forwarding through anything with "Amanda Greystone" Paula Malcolmson for several episodes helped to avoid the mindless tedium of her character wasting time doing nothing. Seriously, she plods along doing nothing that forwards the plot or her character episode after episode -most of that tied to the shows stupidest character "Sister Clarese".
More holo-program stuff and a better focus on the Zoe Greystone character would have helped (imho), but it was a cool little spin off. Too bad it never made it past the teaser for season two.
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