2012: Sequels And Remakes Strike Again

    If you have been reading us for a while you know how we feel about sequels and remakes, 9/10 times sequels are wretched and disappointing, and though some remakes are good others are either remade too soon or they are done so while destroying the awesomeness of the original product. This year's movie list is no better than last year, though we have a lesser amount of sequels coming out this year movie theaters will still be hosting a plethora of sequels, remakes and sequels of remakes, some of those we are looking forward to, but these are the ones we are skeptic/worried/mortified about or disappointed with:

   Underworld: Awakening

    Underworld 4 just got released in theaters, and though the movie was enjoyable it was nothing new. Fans of the series will enjoy it and find it stimulating but for the most part there isn't anything in this movie that we haven't seen in the other three. This movie does beg the question though as of why would a fourth release be something that producers would ever feel like would be a good idea when the third one did so badly. I fear they thought that if only they added some good fighting sequences and added scenes of Kate Beckinsale looking hot that the movie would do well, and that's about all we get in this movie. What the fans wanted was a good story progression, a maturing of Kate's character, we longed for an evolution of the first two movies not a remake, hence this movie was a disappointment, but if you are a fan of the series you will still enjoy watching it, if nothing else just to get a little closure from the series, we give it a 7/10.

Ghost Rider 2

     Nicholas Cage needs to stop this, the amount of wretched movies he is in is astounding, and the fact that he releases one per year, sometimes two, is equally mortifying/astounding. Why they thought making a sequel to ghost rider was a good plan I have no idea about, even the comic book fans cringe when they see the preview, it's that bad. The whole thing makes no sense though, honestly, why would they ever think that this was a good idea, and Cage, how is he not tired of being in the same movie over and over again. Last year Cage released "Drive Angry" which basically was "Ghost Rider 1.5: Now He Drives A Car", meaning he has done three movies with the same premise that all require him to be the same character and all are horrible, yeah, one would imagine that he would learn at some point; that's too much to ask I guess.

Total Recall

     The original movie came out in 1990 and hosted a solid cast of Arnold, Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox and so forth, it wasn't a fantastic movie but it was fun and had a great original feel to it, now 22 years later they decided to remake the movie with Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Ethan Hawke and other great actors, which intrigues us but also worries us at the same time. The remake has an astounding cast of actors, a legit group that could stand up to the original cast, Farrell is no Arnold of course, though still it worries us when we see these remakes of movies that aren't even old enough to rent a car yet, it again begs the question of how young does a movie have to be for it to not be allowed to be remade? This is one of the remakes we are looking forward to, but at the same time we cannot help but be skeptical about, I guess we'll find out in August. 

Taken 2 "Taken again"

    Lol, that is not the subtitle though it should be, "she was taken once, now its their turn to be taken, this summer Liam Neeson is, Taken 2: Taken Again *insert explosions*", one cannot express how much we would die laughing if when the preview for this movie comes out it is said even slightly along those lines.  There cannot be any other reaction to the news of this sequel other than pure wholesome skepticism, we just hope they don't ruin the series completely, lets not forget that Liam has been in a few movies lately that were basically Taken 2, like "Unknown", the success of this movie was probably why the producers thought a sequel to Taken was a good idea, we sure are hopeful for something good, but at the same time cannot help but understand that no sequel to this movie could ever compare to the original and thus it will disappoint us, guess we'll find out soon enough.

   Wrath Of The Titans

    So here's a concept let's remake a movie, make it worse by removing all the great things about the original and then lets make a sequel to the remake by adding more explosions and big monsters to it, brilliant! No, not really brilliant, cringe worthy performance guys. The brashness contained within this movie is palpable, *deep movie announcer voice* "one man, one destiny, against all odds, against the gods, will kill every titan, this summer you will be blown away by this sequel of a remake, Wrath of the Titans: Maybe We Shouldn't Have Annoyed The Gods After All *explosion*".  There are very few redeeming factors to this movie, the story is horrible, the acting will be mediocre, the action sequences will be cool, the explosions will be fun, so bottom line is, this movie's brashness is the only redeeming factor saving it, smh.

  In order to be fair we will be mentioning all the good remakes and sequels coming out this year on our Friday post, this year does hold a few good surprises to look forward to, like MIB III.

   We hope your week has been going well, its one of em' slow weeks this one, so brace yourself and face it like a champ.

Love from your humble blogger,

Happy Holidays From Us To You

      And so here we are at last, it is finally Friday and the holidays are upon us, truly one of the best times of the year. From family dinners, to gift exchange, to visiting old friends and making new ones, from eating till you drop and singing Christmas carols, to being among family enjoying a Hanukkah dinner, tis' a season to be jolly and merry, tis' a season where miracles happen, tis' a season of joy.

      It is true that not everyone celebrates the holidays, but even to them this is a time of peace, there is something magical about this time of year, we're about to have the last few days of the year, and with year's end we have a sort of compassionate atmosphere that comes into the equation. There have even been cases within history where there is a ceasefire between warring nations and even a gift exchange between them, Wikipedia has a very well written article on the 1914 Christmas truce, I recommend you check it out, definitely worth a read. LINK

     One of the greatest things about this time of year are all the new releases that get announced, specially new movie previews, phone upgrades, new games and overall hype to prepare us for the new year. The movie previews that you must take a look at right now, like legit drop everything and watch em', are Batman: Rises, Prometheus, The Hobbit, Men In Black III, The Hunger Games,  Underworld: Awakening, and Wrath of the Titans. That's a heavy list of titles which all deserve your attention, I'm specially looking forward to the new Batman installment, The Hobbit, MIB III, and The Hunger Games, 2012 will be an epic movie year, a lot to look forward to.

     This is also a good time of the year to rest and catch up on some reading, or movie watching that you didn't get a chance to do while the year's hectic troubles were upon you. Personally I drive home every Christmas in order to be with family, that means driving from Texas to South Florida which is a 22 hour drive. This year I accomplished the trip in a day, I do not recommend this...ever, but the only way I did so was by purchasing the Hunger Games audio book, I got books one and two, needless to say I didn't even notice where the time went, I only stopped for gas twice and once to change the books on my Iphone, a solid choice overall, I recommend this book. When it comes to books being made into movies I'm on the boat of those that believe that you should read the book first, and that by doing so the movie will mean a lot more to you, thus I cannot help but recommend that you read The Hunger Games prior to the movie coming out, a fantastic read.

    Season finales on TV are also something worth looking into, except for Dexter's finale, I was underwhelmed and disappointed, but thus is life. There are a lot of new shows starting next year worth checking out as well, that list is way to big to include here, so make sure to go to your favorite television channel's website and look em' up, always worth being informed. And of course, how could we not talk about the NBA finally getting their act together and bringing us some good old basketball competition, nothing worse than rich people complaining with other rich people about how much richer they should be, thank god that's done and over with.

    Well, that's a basic recap of everything you should take a look at, look forward to, and enjoy during the end of this year. Do remember to do something nice for a stranger during this Holiday season, try and spread joy around you, this doesn't have to be a big act, small things sometimes make a much larger impact than extravagant things. So go out there and be nice to that family member you dislike, make peace with someone you are in discord with, and try to be the difference, by being the difference you will make a difference. And if all else fails remember the advice in the movie Elf "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing aloud for all to hear", this sounds cheesy but it works, it's a strange thing but it works, trust.

     We hope you have a fantastic Holiday Season full of joy and laughter, and that this weekend will be a restful one.

Love from your humble blogger,