Who? What? Where? #6

Week Five Results:

With her second guess, Jess took the trifecta correctly guessing that the man to the left is in fact Jack Black. This Black is actually Fielder from Enemy of the State. A film in which he had a very small part.

Nice job, Jess! And, with those three points actually moves into second place.

The concept is simple: each week I will place a photograph of a character within a film. It is up to you (the participant in the game) to tell me the following:

1) The name of the actor (or what the actor goes by in his acting profession).

2) The name of the character in the movie.

3) And, the name of the movie.

Each correct answer gets you a point - so if you get all three correct on a given week, you can get three points. I will keep a running chart each and every week. As of now, this will be played for bragging rights only - but we shall see what the future holds.

So here is week #6:



Standings:
Mrs. Kano - 5 points
Jess - 4 points
Matt - 3 points
Fletch - 2 points
Nick - 1 point

Tuesday's With Movies: 12/28/10

A pretty horrible week for DVD releases. Most likely because it is the week after Christmas.

Resident Evil: Afterlife: Have not seen a single second of any of these films and I don't plan on starting with this one.










The American: I will check this one out. Looks to be another decent George Clooney flick. Apparently Clooney is a former hit man and who knows what will happen because of that. To be honest I don't remember too much about this film, but the trailer looked somewhat decent.






Legendary: A John Cena (WWE) film. Doubt it is anything special. But, it is about wrestling and the bond between a pair of brothers after a horrific car accident claimed the life of their father. Doubt I will be checking it out right away, but perhaps on a slow day if it ever streams.






Twelve: I have no idea what this is about, but it has a bunch of young up-and-coming stars in it and the presence of 50 Cent. So take that any way you wish.

Who? What? Where? #5

Week Four Results:

OK, Mrs. Kano appears to be the only one up when this auto-posts at 6:30 a.m. EST. So, she gets the three points for this week.

She correctly knew that the person to the left is Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith from the very underrated Galaxy Quest.

So, she takes the lead in the game - but to make things a little more fair I am now posting these at 3:30 p.m. EST. That way our West Coast friends are able to actually be vertical when it posts.

Good Luck.

The concept is simple: each week I will place a photograph of a character within a film. It is up to you (the participant in the game) to tell me the following:

1) The name of the actor (or what the actor goes by in his acting profession).

2) The name of the character in the movie.

3) And, the name of the movie.

Each correct answer gets you a point - so if you get all three correct on a given week, you can get three points. I will keep a running chart each and every week. As of now, this will be played for bragging rights only - but we shall see what the future holds.

So here is week #5:


Standings:
Mrs. Kano - 5 points
Matt - 3 points
Fletch - 2 points
Jess - 1 point
Nick - 1 point

Tuesday's With Movies: 12/21/10

Salt: I am not that big a fan of Angelina Jolie. I am definitely a person that looks at Brad Pitt and says "Dude, what were you thinking?". However, I am a sucker for a decent action film and most of the ones that Jolie seems to pick have been pretty good. This one I have heard good things about, so I am intrigued and will check it out as soon as I can.




Easy A: I will definitely be seeing this one as soon as I can. From what I have heard this is a pretty good film and Emma Stone is a great up-and-coming actress. I get sort of a 10 Things I Hate About You vibe from this film, especially with the different take on a classic book. Of course, I have not read The Scarlet Letter, but I am sure I will enjoy the film nonetheless.





Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: OK, I am going to just say it - I am a fan of Shia Labeouf. I know he has his haters out there, but I am definitely not one of them. The first Wall Street film was a classic, and look where it landed Charlie Sheen. Let's up poor Shia doesn't end up locking hookers in his bathroom in 20 years. Anyway, for some reason I haven't heard too much about the actual quality of this film, but I will still check it out and see what it has to offer.


Step Up 3D: I believe my wife is interested in seeing this, only because she has seen the first two. I have not seen a single moment of any of these films. I usually end up watching most movies with my wife regardless of the content, but I have luckily never been forced to watch this series - and I don't think I will start with this one.





Devil: I hate horror films. Let me repeat: I hate horror films. However, I am a sucker for a good thriller that has zero (or very little) gore. This trailer had me intrigued, but I am not sure how far the film goes. I may have to do a little more research on it before I consider it.






Billy the Exterminator: Season 1: I don't usually include television series in this post, but I will make an exception here. I am not sure how many out there are watching this series, but my family is in love with it - especially my son. Billy and his entire family run an exterminating business, and each week they are sent out to do some pest removal in Louisiana. Billy and his brother, Ricky, are definitely a pair of characters - but the show is very informative, you get to see some cool exterminations/removals, and it can be pretty funny as well. If you haven't seen it - check it out. It's on Netflix streaming right now.

Who? What? Where? #4

Week Three Results:

The actor to the left is Paul Giamatti which was correctly guessed by Jess first for 1 point.

Mrs. Kano chimed in for for the final two points selecting Kenny (Pig Vomit) Rushton as the character he played in Private Parts.

Congratulations to our winners and glad to see some new blood guessing.



The concept is simple: each week I will place a photograph of a character within a film. It is up to you (the participant in the game) to tell me the following:

1) The name of the actor (or what the actor goes by in his acting profession).

2) The name of the character in the movie.

3) And, the name of the movie.

Each correct answer gets you a point - so if you get all three correct on a given week, you can get three points. I will keep a running chart each and every week. As of now, this will be played for bragging rights only - but we shall see what the future holds.

So here is week #4:


Standings:
Matt - 3 points
Fletch - 2 points
Mrs. Kano - 2 points
Jess - 1 point
Nick - 1 point

Tuesday's With Movies: 12/14/10

Sorry this is late. Been a busy week. So I am a few days behind on everything.

Anyway, here is the new Tuesday's with Movies (Who? What? Where? will be posted tomorrow).

Pretty big list this week.

Despicable Me: I am pretty interested in this film, but not enough to run out to the theaters. My son is liking the look of the minions that are in this film so I know that we will check it out as soon as we can. I have heard mixed reviews about this so, again, I will try to put my own spin on things once I get to watch it.





The A-Team: One of the few movies that I was lucky enough to check out in the theater this year and I absolutely loved it. The entire crew was great - tons of action and very funny as well. I will definitely be owning this one as soon as I can. Make sure to check this one out and I am seriously hoping for a sequel to this.





The Town: Another film I wish I could have seen in the theaters. Ben Affleck has really become a great person behind the camera and I can't wait to finally check this one out. It looks to have a lot of the things that interest me and it appears to be another breakout for Jeremy Renner.






The Other Guys: Looks to be anther Will Ferrell vehicle that will be funny, but not as funny as it should be. The previews/trailers have been somewhat funny, but for some reason Ferrell continues to pull the same schtick that he has been doing for awhile now. I hope this isnt the case in this film, but I fear that it is.





Legend of the Guardian (Owls of Ga-hoole): I have no idea what this was about and I was very confused when I saw the first trailer. My son asked what this was about and I really could not tell him. It almost feels like a Lord of the Rings for owls. As of now I have no intentions of checking this out.





Nanny McPhee Returns: Um, I have not seen the first. Doubt I will see the second.

Let It Be

OK, I saw this the other day and I just had to post it. It is some Swedish talk show hosts or something of that nature and they got all of these celebrities (most of them from the 80's) to lipsink to Let It Be. It's extremely interesting and pretty well done.

How many of these celebrities did you know?

Quick Shots 8

Well, I have had a few movies sitting in my "Movies I have seen, but need to review" so I thought since I have pretty much forgot most of them I should try and get a quick review out for them. A few of these probably deserve a full review, but alas, this is to get caught up. Hopefully, better reviews will come once I see some more movies (it has been awhile).

Title: Kick Ass.

Starring: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz, Clark Duke, Mark Strong.

Brief Synopsis: Dave Lizewski (Johnson) is just a kid who happens to have an obsession with comic book heroes and wonders why there isn't a real super hero. So, he creates the alter ego Kick Ass and begins to fight crime. Of course, he is terrible at it, but he gains a bit of a following thanks to YouTube. On the other side of things are a father and daughter combo of vigilantes - Damon Macready (Cage) and Mindy (Moretz) or as they are also known as, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Big Daddy is trying to take down local crime lord Frank D'Amico (Strong). D'Amico, however, believes Kick Ass is responsible for everything that is happening to his organization, so he sends his son, Chris or Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse) in to befriend him and plans to eliminate Kick Ass.

Opinion: I was really impressed with this film and I am glad I knew that it was as violent as it was as I was heading in, because I don't think I would have been prepared for it and I feel I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. But, knowing it was coming I was so into the film. My favorite character was obviously Hit-Girl, my new favorite superhero. I was almost pissed at the title of the film because Kick Ass was really just a dufus in a costume, but he redeemed himself and erased my thoughts about him.

Grade:

Title: Charlotte's Web.

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Steve Buscemi, Julia Roberts, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Thomas Haden Church, Andre Benjamin.

Brief Synopsis: This is pretty much a carbon copy of the original cartoon classic also calle Charlotte's Web. I don't recall ever reading the book, so I am not sure how close that cartoon was to the book, but I would have to say this film must be pretty close. Anyway, Wilbur is a runt of a pig rescued from death by Fern (Fanning) and raised in a small barn. It is obvious that as Wilbur starts to get bigger that he will be sold for his meat. Along comes a spider named Charlotte (Roberts) who comes up with a way of writing words in her web to help save the pig. A bunch of actors are in for voice work, but non better than Buscemi as Templeton the rat. Perfect casting.

Opinion: If you enjoyed the cartoon version of this film than you will like this one. It is, like I said before, a carbon copy. The lone thing missing, from what I can remember, is the music from the cartoon. A good, family movie.

Grade:

Title: The Losers.

Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Oscar Jaenada, Columbus Short, Jason Patric.

Brief Synopsis: After a mission goes horribly wrong, five members of the US Special Forces - Franklin Clay (Morgan), William Roque (Elba), Jake Jensen (Evans), Linwood Porteous (Short) and Carlos Alvarez (Jaenada) - are presumed killed by their own company when their helicopter is shot down without them on it. Aisha al-Fadhil (Saldana) lets them know that it was "Max" (Patric) who commanded they be killed and she knows how to get to him, as long as they kill him.

Opinion: I actually really enjoyed this as well. Pretty action packed and a few twists that I did not see coming. I really enjoy Evans and Morgan, and great to see Stringer Bell as well. I don't believe I had ever seen Jaenada before, but for most of the trailers I could have sworn he was Justin Long.

Grade:

Title: Clerks II.

Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith.

Brief Synopsis: Our two boys from the Quick Stop, Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) are now working at Mooby's due to the Quick Stop being torn down. This is Dante's final day as he is moving to Florida with his fiance and will be working at his father's car wash. This is essentially his final day and he reminisces about everything that has happened with his manager, Becky (Dawson) - who he sort of has feelings for. Randal, meanwhile, is pissed off that his best friend is leaving him behind.

Opinion: I must call blasphemy on myself for waiting this long to finally watch this movie. I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith films and loved the original Clerks movie. I wanted to see this when it popped out in theaters, then I got the DVD but took forever to watch it. I am glad that I did though because I really enjoyed it. I love the relationship of Dante and Randal and the way they treat each other. This isn't as good as the original, but a solid sequel. I was expecting the 'dirty' scenes to be dirtier than they were - I was not expecting what was shown though.

Grade:

Title: Cop Out.

Starring: Tracy Morgan, Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Sean William Scott, Adam Brody, Jason Lee, Rashida Jones.

Brief Synopsis: Jimmy (Willis) and Paul (Morgan) have just been suspended without pay for a failed capture that causes a neighborhood shootout. Needing the money to pay for his daughter's wedding, Jimmy tries to sell his Andy Pafko baseball card. While trying to sell it, he is robbed by Dave (Scott), who then sells it to drug dealers. The rest of the film is Jimmy trying to track down his baseball card - and possibly get reinstated on the force.

Opinion: Another Kevin Smith flick, this one sans Jay & Silent Bob. It was a decent comedy/action flick, but not as good as I was hoping for. I laughed a few times and the action wasn't as great as it could have been. Good for a watch or two, but not the best of films.

Grade:

Title: 17 Again.

Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Hunter Parrish, Michelle Trachtenberg.

Brief Synopsis: Mike (Efron) was a huge basketball star in the late 80's and is getting scouted by a college basketball program when his girlfriend tells him before the game that she is pregnant. As he tries to get through the game he realizes that he loves her and runs off to get her. Fast forward 20 years, Mike (Perry) is getting divorced from Scarlett (Mann), and has lost his job. He moves in with his friend Ned (Lennon) and believes that everything that has gone wrong in his life is because he didn't finish that game and accept his scholarship to college. He wakes up one morning as a 17 year-old again, but remains in the same year. So, he heads back to school - with his children - and tries to recreate his life in the 80's.

Opinion: In the same vein of Big and 13 Going On 30, this film is not too bad, but also pretty odd. It was weird seeing Efron hit on Leslie Mann - who is technically his wife, but at this point is way older than he is. I do have to say that if I was rich and a huge dork (ok an even bigger dork because Mrs. Kano will surely call me a dork) I would have Ned's apartment when he is older. Amazing things in that apartment - I was geeked way out..

Grade:

I hope to have a bigger review on the new Harry Potter film for Friday - if I find the time to write it. I saw it a few weekends ago in the theater, my first theater film in awhile. So, I will try for that on Friday.

Who? What? Where? #3

Week Two Results:

The actor to the left was Sean Penn as correctly guessed by Matt for 1 point.

Fletch chimed in for the other two points correctly guessing that this was Penn's character Conrad Van Orton in the great film The Game.

Congratulations to our Week Two winners.

The concept is simple: each week I will place a photograph of a character within a film. It is up to you (the participant in the game) to tell me the following:

1) The name of the actor (or what the actor goes by in his acting profession).

2) The name of the character in the movie.

3) And, the name of the movie.

Each correct answer gets you a point - so if you get all three correct on a given week, you can get three points. I will keep a running chart each and every week. As of now, this will be played for bragging rights only - but we shall see what the future holds.

So here is week #3:


Standings:
Matt - 3 points
Fletch - 2 points
Nick - 1 point

Tuesday's With Movies: 12/7/10

It's that time of the week again - time for Tuesday's With Movies.

Here is this week's batch:

Inception: I have heard a bunch about this movie, but have managed to still keep all the important information away so that when I finally get to watch it the film wouldn't be ruined. After The Dark Knight I was wondering what Chris Nolan would come up with next, and from what I can tell he continues to roll out the hits. I am very interested in seeing this - due to this odd arrangement Netflix made, however, I have to wait another month until it is able to come. But, I am still excited - I have waited this long, what's another month?

Shrek Forever After: I have loved the Shrek franchise since its beginning. I am sort of torn on this final installment from word of mouth, apparently it isn't as good as people were expecting. Either way, this is a definite watch for me and my family. We all enjoy Shrek and my son will really want to see this. The premise looks pretty good, so I will have to make my own judgments once I finally get to see it.



Restrepo: I have heard good things about this, but for some reason I am not too interested in seeing this and I probably won't. It's a documentary about the war and it is apparently pretty gripping and real. Either way, though, I will not be checking this one out - at least not right away.






That's really all that is coming out for films. Not a large crop.

Who? What? Where? #2

Here is my second posting of the new Who? What? Where? game that is sweeping the nation.

Week One Results:

The actor to the left was in fact Fisher Stevens as pointed out by Nick for 1 point.

He failed to mention the film or the character's name, which were later claimed by Matt for two points. The film is Short Circuit and the character is Ben Jahrvi (also would have accepted Jabituya).

Congratulations to our Week One winners.

The concept is simple: each week I will place a photograph of a character within a film. It is up to you (the participant in the game) to tell me the following:

1) The name of the actor (or what the actor goes by in his acting profession).

2) The name of the character in the movie.

3) And, the name of the movie.

Each correct answer gets you a point - so if you get all three correct on a given week, you can get three points. I will keep a running chart each and every week. As of now, this will be played for bragging rights only - but we shall see what the future holds.

So here is week #2:



Standings:
Matt - 2 points
Nick - 1 point

Tuesday's With Movies: 11/30/10

Coming a bit late due to a pretty busy couple of days for me, but here is the DVD releases for this week - the last of November.

Twilight: Eclipse: I have watched each of the first two Twilight films. But, I have only watched each of them once. My sister and Mrs. Kano have become pretty large fans of this saga - so I naturally will watch the film with my wife for my one (and usually only) viewing. I am not sure what it is, but I have not gravitated toward Twilight like I did with Harry Potter. Maybe its Robert Pattinson or that Cheaper by the Dozen kid with the abs. Because, I somewhat enjoy Kristen Stewart - more in other films though. Either way, yes I will be watching this - at least once.

Vampire's Suck: Oh, you know it was only a matter of time until someone out there began poking fun at the sudden rage that has become vampires. I have to admit that I was a pretty large fan of the original Scary Movie and I can definitely find the humor in parodies - but the last handful (maybe even a dozen) have been pretty horrible. This will probably provide much of the same and I will most likely not be checking this one out.



Sorcerer's Apprentice: I was not too sure about this one when it first came out, but I have to admit it looks like it might be, at the very least, entertaining. I feel Jay Baruchel is a pretty likable guy - and from what I have heard/read Nic Cage is a good form of his crazy self in this setting. So, I am definitely going to be checking this one out - in fact it is on its way from Netflix as I type this.




Fantasia/Fantasia 2000: I never got into the whole Fantasia thing when I was growing up. I guess its the type of film that you either love or you hate and I have always found myself on the hate side. Yes, it is a great piece of work and to go with the move above it - The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a great piece of the film. I haven't seen it in a very long time - so perhaps with maturity and the understanding of classical music I will give it another shot. Due to my hatred for the original I have not seen the second one, but will be checking them both out in this combo pack.

Knight and Day: I have heard both good and bad about this film. I will definitely be giving it a look over to form my own opinion. I can both take or leave both of the film's stars, as I have enjoyed Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz - I also have had moments where it is very hard to take them. This looks to be the better action film that appears to be carbon copies of the other - Killers - released this summer. I have not seen either yet, but I will see just how close they are to each other. I bet this one will win.

Smucker's Stars on Ice

I hate snow and ice. And for someone that lives as close to Cananda as an American can without actually being Canadian, that says something.

I am a basketball player and I despise hockey. In fact, any sport that actually requires you to be cold during it makes no sense to me. Which is why the up coming blog really makes no sense - because for some reason I enjoy figure skating.

It could be because during my teenage years I had a huge (ok, stalkerish) crush on Tara Lipinski. That has sort of faded away, mostly because she sort of faded away. Then came Sasha Cohen, who is also very cute.

That, and my wife used to be a figure skater, and I guess I have a thing for figure skaters.

Saturday night was the opening night of the 25th Anniversary of Smucker's Stars on Ice and it did not disappoint.

The show stars Sasha Cohen and Evan Lysacek - but honestly the stars of the show for me were the pairs team from Canada - Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. They put on an absolutely amazing show together, that was really the best part of the show.

The rest of the skaters were Kurt Browning, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Michael Weiss, Joannie Rochette, and pairs team Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.

All skaters were amazing, but I have to admit that when they went slow music and tried to be all artsy - it fell sort of flat for me. When they played the upbeat music and got everyone involved the show was really spectacular.

They are off until February, I believe, but if they are coming your way try to check it out. The show they put on Saturday will be on television for NBC in January, so check your listings.

Who? What? Where? #1

I have been sort of jealous that so many of my fellow bloggers have created these fun games to play each and every week. I have been thinking pretty hard about creating one of my own - but never could come up with anything substantial.

So I thought, why try so hard? This is a pretty simple game that could end up being hard at times.

The concept is simple: each week I will place a photograph of a character within a film. It is up to you (the participant in the game) to tell me the following:

1) The name of the actor (or what the actor goes by in his acting profession).

2) The name of the character in the movie.

3) And, the name of the movie.

Each correct answer gets you a point - so if you get all three correct on a given week, you can get three points. I will keep a running chart each and every week. As of now, this will be played for bragging rights only - but we shall see what the future holds.

I will do my absolute best to have a new post for this game each and every Wednesday.

Our first game gets underway now: