Geek For E!

Movie Review: The Raven

“The Black Cat”. “Premature Burial”. “The Cask of Amontillado”. “The Raven”. And now, The Raven, starring Edgar Allan Poe? You betcha. If Poe was the father of the modern detective story, then The Raven is a film that does the old boy justice. It’s a horror film that feels like a police procedural with a love story thrown in. It isn’t the easiest movie to classify, but all the better. The Raven is fun thrill ride of a movie. Thrilling, edge-of-my-seat stuff, and it’s a movie I can heartily recommend.

It’s 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. A woman and her young daughter are found viciously murdered…but the police are stumped when it’s found that all the doors and windows were locked from the inside. How was it done? One policeman decides that the murders echo those of a story he’d read by a Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. So Detective Fields, a man who is as close to forensics as one could be in 1849, decides to ask Poe for his “special knowledge” in the hopes that the murders can be solved. But these killings are only the beginning, and soon Fields, Poe and the whole of nineteenth century Baltimore are caught in the trap of a twisted but brilliant killer.

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Jackie Robinson gets a new biofilm with “42”

Ever seen The Jackie Robinson Story?  No?  Well, that film came out in 1950, so unless you’ve got a DVD copy (or a Netflix DVD subscription), it’s no wonder.  But next year 42, the story of the very first African-American player in Major League Baseball (MLB) will be coming to a theater near you.  And if the press release is any indication, this film is sure to be a fitting tribute.  And we can probably thank Moneyball and it’s Academy Award nods for helping to bring this story back to celluloid.

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Movie Review: The Lucky One

The Lucky One begins by telling the story of Logan Thibault (Zac Efron), a Marine serving his third tour in Iraq. The morning after an air raid, Logan finds the picture of a young blonde in the sand. When his search to locate the owner of the photo proves to be fruitless, he decides to pocket it in good faith. As a string of unfortunate events ensue, it starts to seem to Thibault that this picture is the only thing keeping him safe. Finally making it back state-side alive and intact, he realizes that beyond his German Sheppard, he no longer feels like a part of the life he used to lead. This spawns a quest to travel cross-country (by foot from Colorado to Louisiana) to find the woman he considers to be his lucky charm. Logan manages to track down Beth Clayton (Taylor Schilling), and by way of a very awkward first encounter, ends up landing a job doing dirty work for the dog kennel she runs with her grandmother (Blythe Danner) through their family home. Though at first it unnerves Beth how involved Logan becomes in her life, when certain things are ameliorated—like her turbulent relationship with her ex-husband (Jay R. Ferguson), or her son’s confidence in his musical abilities—she begins to let down her guard and enjoy his company. There is only one problem: she still has no idea why this mysterious, but delicious, creature made his way to her neck of the woods (and forgets to care for long enough to have one seriously hot make out session in an outdoor shower).

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Review In The Round: Think Like A Man (2012)

Ever see a movie with a friend? Of course you have. Share your thoughts and see if you can come to a collective agreement on what you saw, how it flowed and how good or bad it was? Probably every weekend, right? We at Geek For E call that a ‘Review In The Round’ and this week it’s “Think Like A Man” with Rock & Denise.  Grade: A-

The male gang

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Movie Review: The Three Stooges

A bit of background for those of you who, like me, did not grow up watching the show: The legacy of Moe, Curly and Larry (or Shemp) began in the 1920’s as a vaudeville act dubbed Ted Healy and His Stooges, until 1934 when they were finally named The Three Stooges. Characterized for their physical farce and slapstick form of comedy, the trio made several appearances in short subject and feature films, surviving changes in line-up and production companies. Altogether, the threesome (and its evolving members) appeared in over 200 films, most of which are still telecasted via syndication.

I’m not sure if it is because I have never seen an episode of the original Three Stooges (excuse the generational gap), or I just can’t appreciate Sean Hayes without his Will and Grace-esque flamboyancy; whatever the case may be, this April’s The Three Stooges movie was to say the least not enjoyable. Directed, produced and co-written by the Farrelly Brothers (There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber), I fear that their attempt at re-creating a comedy act that has spanned almost nine decades was lost to the cheap thrills of 2012’s silver screen.

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Movie Review: Bully

Every 7 minutes, a child is bullied on the playground.  280,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.  3 million students are absent each month because they feel unsafe at school.  77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally or physically.  Nearly 42% of kids have been bullied online and almost 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once.

 1 in 4 teachers sees nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time.

These stats are horrifying.  Bully is moving, heartbreaking film that has a message of hope.  This film offers up the idea that change is possible, one person at a time.  It also shows you up close what it’s like for children who are bullied, with scenes of actual bullying that are often difficult to watch.  Bully should be required viewing for anyone who has been affected by bullying, been a bully, or seen bullying.  Which is everyone.

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Movie Review — The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan maut)

I was lucky enough to grow up when action movies were comin’ in hard and fast at the theaters.  Maybe not so lucky — I did have to sit through more than my fair share of Steven Seagal — but my formative years were spent in a haze of Stallone (Rambo, not Judge Dredd), Jackie Chan (Police Story, not Shanghai Noon), and of course, Ah-nuld.  Which is to say I’m a geez.  So when my crotchety ol’ self got wind of a new martial arts movie from Indonesia, a film that promised to bring back the awesome fight choreography I loved from Chinatown-theaters-only films of the 80s, I was all in.  And I’ve gotta say that if tough-as-nails action is your thing,  The Raid: Redemption is the movie you’ve gotta see.

If you’re thinking “but I don’t like subtitles!  Reading hard!”  Then really, you need to rethink your priorities.  Do Not Let Subtitles Put You Off This Film.  Because if you love badass martial arts, if you enjoy nonstop action, you will enjoy The Raid: Redemption.  This is the type of film that has me slinging overused reviewer cliches like “action-packed thrill ride!”, “best film I’ve seen all year!” and “instant genre classic!”  Why?  Because they’re true.

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Movie Review – The Cabin in the Woods

Staring some faces I’m sure you’ll recognize from various television shows and one guy that has an even larger career then when The Cabin in the Woods was filmed … Co-writers Joss Whedon (TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield,) try to deliver a movie that reinvents the horror movie experience. The movie was originally set to be released in 2009, however, due to MGM going into bankruptcy that Fall, The Cabin in the Woods was forced to sit on the shelf until now.

Was it worth the wait and did they succeed?

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Movie Review – American Reunion

The Class of 1999 is back!!! That’ right, those crazy kids from the American Pie film franchise are back on the big screen. Let’s forget about the direct to DVD American Pie movies (even though they did have some funny moments in all of them) because we get a new movie featuring our favorite graduating class from East Great Falls.

The American Pie movies are the raunchy teen comedy for our 30-something generation. There is a connection between the characters and their stories and how it relates to us. Now this doesn’t mean that an older crowd won’t get the jokes because let’s be real here….this kind of stuff happened to every generation. But for us, the now in our 30’s and moving on with our lives, this is our lives albeit not with the crazy things that happen to Jim.

When we first met Jim, Stifler, Oz, Finch and Kevin back in 1999’s American Pie we were following them along their last days in high school. Kevin was dating Vicky. Jim and Michelle had an interesting night when they hooked up. Oz and Heather were not sure where they would be in a few years. Finch was Finch and well Stifler was that guy that just wanted to keep the party going. In 2001’s American Pie 2 our group of friends are back from college and trying to keep friendships going that had been around for years. Relationships may come and go but summer fun with your close friends will all ways be there. Then in 2003’s American Wedding we get to watch as two kids that met in high school and stayed together through college are nowgetting married as Jim and Michelle tie the knot.

So what has happened to our favorite class from East Great Falls since 2003?

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Movie Review: Mirror, Mirror

I have to admit that since the premiere of ABC’s Once Upon a Time, I have completely hopped on the fairytale adaptation bandwagon. That being said, I jumped at the opportunity to see Mirror, Mirror. Yes, that is a lot of “hopping” and “jumping,” and I will be skipping to go see this June’s Snow White and the Huntsman. But, I digress.

I didn’t know what to expect from Julia Robert’s (Eat, Pray, Love) Evil Queen or Lily Collin’s (Abducted) Snow White; what I found was a pleasantly funny take on the Grimm Brother’s timeless tale. Queen Clementianna (Roberts) gives evil a sarcastic and biting tone, and Snow White is utterly endearing. Team them up with a charming and witty Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer, The Social Network) and seven of the quirkiest dwarfs known to inhabit the Enchanted Forest, and you’ve got a cast of characters that everyone can enjoy.

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