Coming Soon! Scott Pilgrim VS The World

Coming Soon: Scott Pilgrim VS The World

By Jose

I’m not sure how to say what a bad ass movie this is going to turn out to be. Based on the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Pilgrim (Michael Cera) a bass guitarist for totally average garage band Sex Bob-omb, the 22-year-old has just met the girl of his dreams literally. The only catch to winning Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him. Ever since I first heard about the movie and when I first saw some behind the scenes footage months ago, I was hooked. This movie, directed by Edgar Wright, looked like so much fun. An everyman down on his luck average guy finds the girl of his dreams and they gets thrown into a seven level battle royal against the Ramona’s exes in order to win her heart. Then you add the game references and effects, the out of this world, and exaggerated fights. You end up with something that looks so great and entertaining. I can’t wait to see this! It’s going to be so much fun.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World August 13th, 2010 Starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Satya Bhabha, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Mae Whitman, Ellen Wong

Despicable Me Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Steve Carrell as Gru
Jason Segal as Vector
Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario
Elsie Fisher as Agnes

Review: I can remember seeing the trailers for this about a year ago and already thinking to myself how great Despicable Me is going to be. As the trailers starting pouring in and the release date for the movie was near, I only got more excited. Now that I saw it(in 3D of course) I have to say it may be the best animated movie of the year.

There are a lot of positives to the movie and I have to begin with the story. The story deals with a criminal, Gru, who tries to pull off the biggest robbery ever by attempting to steal the moon. Only one thing is standing in his way is another criminal who goes by the name of Vector. The story is pretty funny to watch unfold. Gru has these yellow, Italian(?) minions to help him and they are hilarious to watch interact with each other.

The cast is packed with talented actors who you only hear their voice of course. Steve Carrell, Russell Brand, Jason Segal, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig and Julie Andrews. It's a star studded cast if it were a live action movie, it's a star studded class even in an animation movie. Some people thought that the movie was just using the names of the actors to draw people in while most of them played minimal parts and although that can be argued, it doesn't mean it's a bad movie. You barely recognize Russell Brands voice as Dr. Nefario but he's still featured enough.

Though the best character is the little girl that everyone seems to love, including myself. I can't tell you just how cute she is. I'm a 19 year old college student and I'm saying a character in Despicable me is cute. The little girl that everyone loves, her name is Agnes by the way, is the most adorable character I've ever seen. As soon as she speaks or even enters the room, you know something cute is about to happen. From her funny one liners in the movie to just her presence, she's the best character in the movie.

Most movies now are done in 3D, whether it's converted to 3D or shot that way. The converted to 3D movies usually don't pan out so great(take a look at Clash of the Titans to get an idea of what I mean.) Despicable Me on the other hand may be the best movie in 3D this year. A couple of scenes in the movie really make you feel like something is coming at you or you really are right there in the movie. Most of these 3D films out now don't give you that feeling anymore, which isn't great because that's the whole point of 3D movies.

I can't say too many bad things about Despicable Me. My only "complaint" would be that it was a bit on the short side. It runs at about 90-95 minutes, which is not a bad length but it still feels pretty short. It leaves you wanting more, which is good and hopefully spin offs or sequels come from this.

Overall, What else can I say? Despicable Me beat out Toy Story 3 for the best animated movie of the year.

Rating 5 out of 5

The Spot News: Yogi bear movie now has a poster

Ahh the nostalgia that classic cartoons give people. A lot of these classic cartoons have been given a live-action movie to the mostly dismay of the fans of these cartoons. Cartoons like Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, Alvin and the Chipmunks have been given their own big screen adaptation, with Scooby Doo and Alvin and the Chipmunks getting multiple movies.

On the way already is a Smurfs movie for 2011, already with a short teaser trailer I might add. More impending though is the Yogi Bear movie set for release this December. Dan Aykroyd is set to play the icon that is Yogi Bear, Justin Timberlake will play Boo-Boo and the likes of Christine Taylor, Anna Faris and Tom Canavagh have also joined the cast.

Should you have high hopes for this movie? Should you have any hope for this movie? I honestly don't know yet. Most people will write off this movie but i'll give it a shot. Who doesn't love Yogi Bear?

Source: Yahoo! Movies

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Movie News

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Movie News

By Jose

Sadly no I wasn’t there. Only in spirit and with the use of the internet. I was planning to write up about everything movie related and give links and first look pictures and everything. But considering many sites covered all of the news, posted the pictures, linked to videos, and introduced interviews. That for me to just re-post all that would not do The Movie Spot any service. So what I am going to do is give shout outs to three sites that supplied me with all the news and events for the Comic-Con weekend and include my take on what was revealed.

First off it seemed to me that this year was for Marvel. Marvel came out with tons of confirmations and reveals and first looks and teases. All the Thor news and props shown has me even more excited to see the movie. We had Odin’s throne setup on the floor. The helmets of Loki, Thor, and Odin on display. Even a surprise that created even more buzz and raised questions when the Infinity Gauntlet was shown. What does something that powerful and normal associated with Thanos and Adam Warlock along with the cosmic part of the Marvel universe have to do with Thor? I, for one, can’t wait to see.

Captain America was shown off a bit with a scene of pre-Red Skull played by Hugo Weaving searching for the Cosmic Cube. Then with a short teaser of a trailer showing a bit of Chris Evans and the captain. Then the big reveal and confirmation was of The Avengers movie. The whole cast including Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Clark Gregg, Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), and Josh Whedon (Director). Seriously if they can make Avengers work then it is going to be one of the best movies of the year it is released.

DC Comics had Green Lantern on hand but I really didn’t see or hear much from it. They had the corpse of Abin Sur and some news here and there but overall it was either a very quiet show or they didn’t have much to say about the movie. Now being a Green Lantern fan I can not wait to see this in action but DC c’mon you could have done something else. Also what about other movie announcements? Nothing else is being worked on that could not be teased or revealed? No huh. Dropped the ball? Yes you did.

I read that Scott Pilgrim VS the World went over great. Sucker Punch seems to be a wild ride and a must see. First glimpse at Cowboys VS Aliens. More or Tron. Tron looks so damn beautiful. December can’t come any faster. Oh and Johnny Depp as captain Jack Sparrow gave a look into the new Pirates movie.

So like I said earlier I want to link to three sites that I visited over the Con weekend that supplied me with all the news and tidbits on everything from the movies to comics to shows/television etc.


Joblo.com

BleedingCool.com

ComicBookResources.com

The Spot News: New Godzilla art for upcoming movie

-By: Robert Acosta

Everyones favorite monster(including Japans) is back!

Now that may not be to everyones excitement because the American Godzilla movies haven't been too great. For lack of a better word, let's just say they've been bad.

Legendary Studios is trying to change all that. They have a pretty good track record after being a part of movies like Inception, The Dark Knight, Watchmen and The Hangover. So the pressure will be there to make this movie but they've dealt with big pressure from making other big franchises before.

So, here is the art for the upcoming Godzilla movie.

Source: Joblo.com

The Spot News: The Gauntlet

Holy crap the Infinity Gauntlet in Thor? Will we see a tease of Thanos? Or will someone be actually wearing it? Wow I can not be any more excited for this movie.

The Spot News: Destroyer!

Meet the Destroyer!
Now will it be just a background piece or will we end up seeing a Thor vs Destroyer smack-down in the upcoming Thor movie? I Can't wait to see.

The Spot News: Meet the Avengers

Here is the first picture of all participants of The Avengers movie!
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo (Hulk).

The Spot News: Helms of the gods

Here is a first look at the helms or helmets of Thor, Loki, and Odin. Thor is the silver one with the wings on the side. while Loki's is the one with the curved horns, and Odin's is the one in the middle with the mix of both wings and horns. I can't wait to see this movie in action. We need a trailer people. Oh and make some prop replicas of these helmets because I want, no, NEED Loki's helm.

The Spot News: New Saw 3D Teaser

By: Robert Acosta

With the San Diego Comic Con under way, expect a lot of movie news to come your way. Tons of new details about movies including cast interviews, new pictures, new trailers and much more. With that said one of the more exciting bits of the day that came out of Comic Con was the new Saw 3D teaser.

Now I know when you hear about another new Saw movie most people moan and groan and complain "ANOTHER ONE?!" But I honestly have to say, I look forward to a new Saw movie ever halloween. Have they been stale? A little bit. Nonetheless, they are pretty entertaining and for the most part, they have a good story to tell. That's all you need to really start a movie.

Without any more stalling, here is the new Saw 3D teaser.

The Spot News: Possible villain for the next Batman movie is....

By: Robert Acosta

With Inception done and released, Christopher Nolan, director of the last two Batman movies, is ready to take on the next chapter in the Batman series.

Of course, with a good Batman comes a good villain. Not necessarily a famous villain but just a good villain to make Batman's life hell. In this case, we may be getting a famous villain.

As being reported by FirstShowing.net, The Riddler is being named as the villain for the next Batman movie. This has been rumored for a while so this shouldn't be a big shock to anyone, as long as it's true.

Going deeper into the news, Inception star Joseph Gordon Levitt is being rumored as a possible actor for the role. I'm sure the rumors will continue to swirl from here with ridiculous and sometimes appealing actors to play the role. My vote is for Levitt already, he's a fine young actor who could easily define the role.

Source: FirstShowing.net

Eclipse: Twilight Saga

Eclipse: Twilight Saga

By Jose

Plot

The continuing love triangle gets even more complicated with a return of a lover scorned, and an army of newborn vampires ready to kill. Plus the decisions Bella needs to make begin to truly hurt her and those that she loves.

Review

The third installment in the Twilight series offers something new and something old. I mean if anything you can even say this is a totally new movie. Eclipse was given a shot of adrenaline that was much needed.

From the start of the movie you can feel that your up for something different. Which by the way was actually very well done. Loved the stalking and attack made on a rainy night. It finally felt like these vampires can actually be taken seriously. As the movie goes on the same old obvious love triangle between Bella, Edward, and an angry Jacob unfolds. But the big difference is that these kids are actually acting right and proper. None of that awkwardness and wooden acting we received from the first two. But it is not just those three. The whole cast feels different and seem to be given a chance to shine and do their roles justice.

We get some decent time with the Cullen family in Eclipse. Yes a bit late but I am actually glad it was done in this movie and not the ones before. We see that Emmet (Kellan Lutz) is a power-house. Jasper is not so quiet and actually is the most dangerous one of the family. Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) used to be a Texas major/general for the army during the Civil War and was turned by other vampires to train and lead a vampire army. Essentially Jasper help create one of the strongest armies in the south before leaving for the Cullen’s. Seriously? I want to know more about that now. Now I know I am a fan of Jackson Rathbone and his expanded role here just gives me hope that he makes more and more movies. We also learn that Rosalie Hale (Elizabeth Reaser) hates being a vampire and her past is quite bad. But her revenge is “theatrical” as she puts it. We even get some new blood in this as we get a new vampire helping out Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) in Riley (Xavier Samuel). We got a good sense in how newborn vampires act and how blood thirsty and dangerous. So overall the acting was not great but it is a very big improvement from the previous film. I am not going to comment on the obvious hotness of Jacob and Edward I will leave that to you. But Bella here was better than I expected. A bit horny. I mean really horny but Stewart did a good job this time.

Now on to the big fight scene between the newborn vampires and the Cullen family and werewolf tribe. What can I say. I wish it was longer. But it was pretty damn badass. I loved how ferocious the fight was and the brutality. I mean there was no blood but seeing heads ripped off bodies and limbs flying was great. Now How cans all that happened with no blood spraying everywhere? Well in the Eclipse universe vampires break apart and shatter like stone. Which actually helped with the fight. Really just seeing the Cullen’s’ beating the crap out of the vamps and werewolves biting and ripping the newborns apart in a stony rock-like shattering was really fun to see.

Final Thoughts

Everyone dislikes this franchise for one reason or another. But I decided to give the movies a shot. Yes they suck and are badly acted, to the actors faults or directors, but Eclipse just changed how I look at this franchise. There was even some much needed comedy parts here and there. like Edward asking Bella if Jacob owns a shirt. Then Edward telling Bella to stop undressing him. I really enjoyed this entry to the franchise and only wished that the previous movies delivered like Eclipse had done.

Ratings: 3.5 out of 5

The Spot News: Bill Murray saying new Ghostbusters movie is not happening.

By: Robert Acosta
Note: Poster is not real, completely photo shopped. 

In an interview with GQ, Bill Murray talked about, among many other topics, the possibility of a new Ghostbusters movie actually happening. Take a look at the Ghostbusters part of the interview:

GQ: Is the third Ghostbusters movie happening? What's the story with that?

Murray: It's all a bunch of crock. It's a crock. There was a story—and I gotta be careful here, I don't want to hurt someone's feelings. When I hurt someone's feelings, I really want to hurt them. [laughs] Harold Ramis said, Oh, I've got these guys, they write on The Office, and they're really funny. They're going to write the next Ghostbusters. And they had just written this movie that he had directed.

Year One.

Year One. Well, I never went to see Year One, but people who did, including other Ghostbusters, said it was one of the worst things they had ever seen in their lives. So that dream just vaporized. That was gone. But it's the studio that really wants this thing. It's a franchise. It's a franchise, and they made a whole lot of money on Ghostbusters.

Oh, sure, I remember. The soundtrack. The lunchboxes. The action figures.

Right. And it's still one of the biggest movies of all time. And ever since that story broke, everywhere I go people are like, "So are you gonna make that movie?" I was down in Austin at South by Southwest, and you go at it hard down there—fun but, man, you need to sleep for days afterwards. Anyhow, I got into it one night with a bunch of younger people who were like, Oh, I love Peter Venkman! I grew up with Peter Venkman! We got to talking, and the more we talked about it, the more I thought, Oh Christ, I should just do this thing.

A generation awaits, for sure. You weren't even supposed to play that role, right?

Yeah. Originally it was Belushi. Like a lot of my movies. [beat] God, John died, what was it, twenty-five years ago?

On to that KUNG FU HUSTLE stuff...

GQ: Oh shit. The bluftoné. I forgot about the bluftoné.

Murray: Bluftoné! [laughs] Shalhoub gives one of the greatest comic performances I've ever seen! Though I do like Michael Caine and Maggie Smith in California Suite. Unfortunately, the last time I watched it was right after Kung Fu Hustle, which is the supreme achievement of the modern age in terms of comedy.

Kung Fu Hustle?

It's not even close. Quick Change after it looked like a home movie. It looked like a fucking high school film. I was like, "Oh man, I just saw this thing," and "God, that's just staggering, just staggering. That movie is just AHHHHHH!" And when I saw that, I was like: That. Just. Happened. There should have been a day of mourning for American comedy the day that movie came out.

Source: GQ

Inception Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb
Ellen Page as Ariadne
Joseph Gordon Levitt as Arthur
Cillian Murphy as Robert Fischer Jr.

Plot: A group of people (DiCaprio, Page, Levitt among some others) who have the power and technology to go inside peoples heads, attempt to alter a company owners mind to the groups profit.

Review: I know, the plot summary I gave is a little lacking in detail but I don't want to give away too much. It's better like that.

Going into the movie, you know there was a lot of hype surrounding Inception. Before the movie had been released to the public, it was already being dubbed as a modern classic and that's not exactly a title that most films live up to. Inception however, does.

I can't honestly tell you any negatives about the movie. I, right now, cannot come up with any negative reason for you to not go and see the movie.

I have to start with the story because that is what makes Inception so damn good. I don't want to give away anything and that's what makes this review so hard, cause I want to talk about it so bad! I'll put things like this. The idea of being able to go inside peoples dreams, manipulate their thoughts and ideas so maybe they could think a certain way is an amazing concept. Even as a fictional concept, it's amazing. Being to change people to the way you want, though may not be the best thing, is an amazing concept. What makes it even more amazing is watching this all play out. Watching this group of people headed by DiCaprio, Page and Levitt, go inside peoples dreams is something that left me in awe. Everything you could do inside the dream, the endless possibilities. That was great. Watching them go into a dream inside of a dream, inside of another dream was magical and intense. Now, you would think this would be confusing to portray. Not at all. Every dream is clearly shown and the viewer is always aware of when they're in a dream and when they're not.

Secondly, the cast is very impressive. DiCaprio is one of the seasoned veterans featured in Inception and puts on one hell of a performance, selling his emotions very well. Ellen Page, though not relatively new, hasn't found a huge breakout role. People look at that sentence and will say "What about Juno?" Yes, Juno was regarded as a very good movie and that movie essentially put her on the map. Nonetheless, she gets made fun of a lot for her acting style and the movie Juno, only fueled the fire for these critiques. This role was her breakout role. I found her to be very pleasant and played her part very well, practically being the architect behind Inception. I've always liked Joseph Gordon Levitt, I've enjoyed most of the movies he's been in. Love him even more now, definitely played a great sidekick and even a big role in the movie at times.

Visually, the movie is stunning. In these dreams that the group enters, they have the possibility of creating and moving around physical objects to their liking(not without consequence though). Watching things being created automatically, streets being altered, things being turned upside down. It's something that had me just baffled.

I don't usually go into the philosophy of a movie but this movie could very well be powerful if you have an open mind. Closed minded people, don't bother seeing the movie, you'll just be there for the effects. The movie really gets you thinking about real and fake, what exactly those words mean. Also, they get you thinking about how the human mind works, how it can be corrupted and things of that nature.

The directors name may ring a bell because just a couple years ago around this time, he was being heavily praised for his work on The Dark Knight. Christoper Nolan has done it again. Created another masterpiece.

The movie runs at about 2 1/2 hours, which most people tend to shy away from because it's way too long to sit in a theater. That may be the case but this movie needed every minute of the 148 minutes it used. To explain every story, every dream, every idea, the length of the movie is just right.

Overall, what else could I possibly say about Inception? Nothing bad of course. Inception will take you on a visual and philosophical ride, challenging your ideas. If you have the money, if you have a way to get to an IMAX theater, go to your nearest IMAX theater. It's worth it. I unfortunately did not get the chance to but it was still worth it. Inception is truly a modern classic.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Spot News: Lucas Till Is Cast as Havok

Lucas Till Is Cast as Havok in X-Men First Class- maybe


By Jose

Havok? Hell yes. One of my favorite characters might be in X-Men First Class. Lucas Till is close to signing or has signed for the role of Havok - Alex Summers. Now before everyone goes all mental on the fact that he was in a Hannah Montana movie, I read that he is a decent actor. Obviously not the next superstar A list actor but good. Plus there is a small bit of resemblance between Lucas Till and Aaron Johnson. Which is great considering they are supposed to play brothers. But what I am wondering is will he actually be bad in this and are we going to get a rather cool fight scene between Havok and Cyclops ? Although I do hope they change the costume a bit and not just have him in a black spandex body suit with rings on his head.

The Spot News: Mystique cast and Bacon as a villian

Jennifer Lawrence cast as Mystique in X-Men First Class & Kevin Bacon confirmed as a villain.

News keeps on coming for X-Men First Class. What is exciting is that Kevin Bacon has been cast as a villain. But for which one it has not been revealed yet. I am going to agree with what I have read and hope that he would play Mr. Sinister or Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club.

The Spot News: Green Lantern

Here is a first look at Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern. Picture is from Entertainment Weekly.

If you want to see a couple more pictures featuring Tim Robbins, Blake Lively, and Peter Sarsgaard check out this link:

http://www.joblo.com/more-green-lantern-pictures-roll-out-from-entertainment-weekly

The Spot News: Trio of Thor

First look at Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Odin (Anthony Hopkins), and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) together. THOR is due out May 6, 2011

The Spot News: X-Men: First Class gets a Beast & a Banshee with Nicholas Hoult and Caleb Landry Jones

X-Men: First Class gets a Beast & a Banshee with Nicholas Hoult and Caleb Landry Jones

By Jose

You might remember Hoult most from his role in 2002's ABOUT A BOY with Hugh Grant. Since then Hoult seems to be proving himself to be a great adult actor. But is he a good pick for the young Hank McCoy? Why the hell not? The cast for X-Men First Class is shaping up to be something worth seeing the movie over. The guy's just got to have a little charisma, intelligence, and a caring nature. Hoult is definitely going to have to bulk up a bit. I am going to say something that might get people a bit angry, but does he have to be bulky and gorilla-like just like in the comics? No I don’t think so. I never really understood the huge and large body on Beast. To me Beast should have been a big muscled dude, like a rugby player, that had extreme gymnastic skills and agility, and intelligence. So I hope they don’t put him in a “suit” with huge hands and feet.

Also Caleb Landry Jones has also joined First Class as Banshee. At least they cast a proper red head. Hollywood loves to hire people and then dye them to the character (Mary Jane/Felicia Hardy) hairstyle. But the kid looks the part. He is unknown to me cause I never watched anything he was in but so far he looks the part.

The Spot News

The Spot News

Aaron Johnson Cast as Cyclops in X-Men First Class

By Jose

We already got news of Professor X and possible Magneto. Now comes news that Kick Ass himself will play a young Scott Summers/Cyclops. I actually wanted the guy who played a young Scott Summers in Wolverine Origins. At least he looked like a young James Marsden. But so far we might be getting Johnson for the role and I am not mad. Yes it seems that the same actors are getting roles for comic movies, but if it works out and they actually want to do it, let them. I like the guy as an actor and I am looking forward in what he does with the role.

The Spot News: Could Joaquin Phoenix be the new Hulk for the upcoming Avengers movie?

By: Robert Acosta

It's being reported that Edward Norton isn't coming back to play The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie.

Is this exactly bad news? Not completely. Ed Norton did a pretty good job as Bruce Banner, much better than Eric Bana did anyway. It would have been alright to have him in but I personally am not too worried.

Apparently Marvel has already created a small list of actors to possibly take on the role with the most interesting name being Joaquin Phoenix. At first, just by looks, I was a big skeptical. Over the last couple hours of pondering the idea, it's not so bad. Phoenix is not a bad actor at all, very enjoyable. Could he handle a big part like Bruce Banner in a widely anticipated movie like The Avengers? I'm not too sure.

What does get to me is that it seems like Norton is the only one being taken out and replaced, almost without any consideration of him being in the Avengers movie. So that seems a little crazy and unfair.

Another valid point that I've been hearing is that, if they do in fact replace Ed Norton as The Hulk in the Avengers, does this mean The Hulk movies are being rebooted for a 3rd time? It's rare to see the main character of a film series be re-cast without it being rebooted. That would be my real problem with replacing Norton, a 3rd reboot of the Hulk series within the last like 7 years.

The Spot News: Avatar being re-released into movie theaters.

By: Robert Acosta

The mega hit James Cameron movie Avatar is being re-released in movie theaters starting August 27th to IMAX theaters.

The re-release is to include 8 minutes of new footage and possibly a scene taken out due to blue people sexuality.

Now stay with me here because this next number i'm going to present is intense and mind boggling. Avatar already made 749,620,438 million dollars when it was released back in December of 2009.

I heavily enjoyed Avatar as I saw it in IMAX, probably the best way to see that movie. It was beautiful, has a great story and was more than fun time at the theater. I just can't wrap my head around this though.

The movie is already the highest grossing film of all time, completely demolishing the 600 million dollar mark that Titanic had. Worldwide it made almost 3 billion dollars. Why does Avatar honestly need to be re-released? It has 8 more minutes of new footage, which is nice but that's what DVD's are for. To add any additional footage that was left out of the movie. This just seems like a huge waste of money for people to see and just a big money stunt by the already rich James Cameron.

Movies have been re-released before but for much better reasons. The Dark Knight was re-released right before the Oscars in 2009 so that maybe they would win some awards for a movie that definitely deserved some. Recently, Grease was re-released in sing along version and I could see that maybe some of the people involved may need the money because it's been over 30 years since Grease was originally released.

Big fail for James Cameron.

Another New Section! The Spot News!

Whenever we come up with new ideas, we like to discuss the idea between the two of us and see if it's a good idea and something we can work with. A new idea arose with something that I saw every other movie web site does. They report daily movie news that comes in, give a little background to the story and give a little of their own opinion. We want to do the exact same thing but maybe pick one or two big news articles from the movie news daily and give our opinion on them. That way, you get informed of new movie news and get a little prespective on what it means, could it be good or bad and things of that nature. So, without any more suspense, we introduce to you....The Spot News!

Better late than never, July Releases.

So were late...give us a break!

Nonetheless, business must continue and this summer movie season must continue. There have been a lot of disappointing movies for this summer season, including a movie that's on the list for the July releases. With movies like Jonah Hex and Killers, it's hard to argue against this summer movie season sucking. It's had its bright spots though with movies like Get Him to the Greek, Toy Story 3 and surprisingly enough, Grown Ups.

How is this month looking? Lets take a look at the July movie releases:

(x)- Limited Release

July 2

• The Last Airbender(7/1)
• Love Ranch

July 9

• Despicable Me
• Predators
• REC 2 (x)
• The Girl Who Played with Fire (x)
• The Kids Aren't Alright (x)

July 16

• The Sorcerers Apprentice (7/14)
• Inception
• The Concert (x)

July 23

• Salt
• Ramona and Beezus

July 30

• Dinner for Schmucks
• Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
• Charlie St. Cloud

Robert Acosta
I can tell you right from the beginning, The Last Airbender has been a huge disappointment so if you can see a bootleg version or online version, you're better off.

On the other hand, i'm very interested in 3 weeks inparticular. July 9th features two possible great movies for the summer in Predators and Despicable Me. I love animated movies, so my excitement for Despicable me is pretty high. I've seen the recent Alien vs Predators movies and somewhat enjoyed them but there is a big excitement surrounding Predators.

July 16th may feature the biggest movie of the summer by far in Inception. Director Christopher Nolan seems to really know what he's doing and puts up one amazing movie after another. Let's hope for more success.

Finally, July 30th should be an interesting week with Dinner for Schmucks coming out and Charlie St. Cloud coming out. I'm a huge Paul Rudd fan so I really want to see how Dinner for Schmucks turns out, hoping for classic Paul Rudd comedy. Charlie St. Cloud is a wildcard for me. I like what i've seen so far, don't care that guys seem to heavily dislike Zac Efron. The movie looks sort of like a "Chick Flick" but that isn't necessarily bad. Those movies tend to have good stories.

July is looking like a promising month, but so has May and June and those months have been duds.

Jose Diaz
Good news everyone! July is here all ready to burn your pockets and wallets. July should be another month of big movies. Like how May throws out the big guns to start Summer off, while June attempts to keep you happy, then July comes back and smacks your ass.
Starting the month off is two movies that I can not wait to see in Predators and Despicable Me. We currently have a Coming Soon entry on Predators so check out what we think about that. Oh and if you have a theater in your area that is playing REC 2 go check it out. Now it is not the Americanized version so expect to read some subtitles but it is a good foreign horror movie.

Thing is about July is that there are pretty much a must see movie or two every week. So including the first two mentioned above, Inception from Christopher Nolan and The Sorcerers Apprentice are must see. Especially Inception. Salt, starring Angelina Jolie in a maybe she is a sleeper agent or not but the sequel better be called Pepper, action movie.

The end of the month ends on a bit of a low note. A kid movie that will most likely make money due to being in 3D. The not needed sequel to Cats and Dogs. A comedy looks like it might be fun but since I really haven’t seen much in forms of trailers or advertisements, Dinner For Schmucks. Also a movie that I actually would like to check out. Which is surprising for me because I normally do not watch these types of movies. Charlie St Cloud starring Zac Efron and Amanda Crew. Maybe that is why. Two hotties vying for my attention. HAHA

So overall we are getting four must see movies in Predators, Despicable Me, Inception, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and two extra ones thrown at the end of the month in Dinner For Schmucks and Charlie St Cloud.

On a side note I am not going to really comment on the rather horrible Summer movie season it has been so far. Many blockbusters failed while other movies that looked great turned out really bad. Then you add this horrible 3D conversion and obsession. If the movie is filmed in 3D fine but if the movie is filmed then converted into 3D it is a really bad idea and takes away from the movie. I am hoping that next years line up of Summer movies is better and lives up to the season.

Funny People Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Adam Sandler as George Simmons
Seth Rogen as Ira Wright
Leslie Mann as Laura
Eric Bana as Clarke

Plot: When comedian George Simmons learns he has a life threatening illness that is getting worse, he tries to make friends and mend old wounds before he passes.

Review: There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie, starting almost a year before the movie even came out. Lots of viral advertising which included Myspace having the poster and trailer on their home page for months. Of course they were featured in the movie so it was just a big publicity stunt. Nonetheless, this movie got a tremendous amount of hype. When that happens, it's usually never good.

With a title like Funny People, you'd expect funny people in it and for the movie to be funny. That isn't fully the case. Yes, the movie has funny people like Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann, who together have over two decades of comedy in them. With a cast like that, there should be a lot more parts that make you laugh. Instead, the movie comes off as a sad, emotional movie with some comedy along the way.

Adam Sandler has always been a good actor and a better comedian so trying to mix the two is a good combination for him and watching him was probably the best part of the movie. His character goes from just shitty, on the verge of dying type of guy to a very happy guy with a 2nd chance at life to the realization that it's best to leave things as they are. Sandler plays off all those emotions pretty well, having you really feel like this guy is messed up.

I don't find Seth Rogen as hilarious as others find him but I still think he is funny. I never really liked the over emphasis he puts on certain jokes, but sometimes it's alright. Leslie Mann on the other hand, is always a delight to watch, besides the fact that she is a very pretty actress for her age. Her best scenes are the ones where she is reacting to things around her, which happens a couple times.

The story is a good one to follow, not horribly typical but a little predictable. You follow Adam Sandlers character, George Simmons, as he discovers his life threatening illness. He begins to take experimental medicine that has a slim chance of even working and a bigger chance of it back firing on him. Ultimately, it ends up working for time being and he gets healthy and he sees this as a 2nd chance at life and a chance to regain what's important to him.

One thing that really annoyed me was one part of the story that seemed annoying and just illogical. Seth Rogen's character starts to like a girl who lives next door to him and his roommates. One of his roommates also likes her or just really wants to have sex with her, so this roommate gives him 10 days to make a move on her. It ends up being 3 weeks before the roommate has sex with the girl and Seth Rogen's character gets pissed. Rogen and the woman have an argument as if they've known each other for years and like they're in a relationship when in fact, they've only been barely talking for a couple of weeks. So an unnecessary scene turns intense and i'm just wondering how this all makes sense.

The last thing that really bothered me is the length of the film. It ends up being about 2 1/2 hours. That is way too long for a comedy. Most movies shouldn't be that long unless they have a deep story and a good story to tell. Not to say that this movie doesn't have a good story to tell because it is, but damn a 2 1/2 comedy movie is unheard of.

Overall, Funny People isn't all that funny. They show some quick stand up comedy scenes from Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen and those end up being somewhat funny. Everything in between is also sort of funny, key word being sort of. With the given length of the movie, it should have been funnier. The story makes up for the lack of comedy a little bit but not enough for it to be a great movie, which it had the potential to be.

Rating 3 out of 5

The Last Airbender Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
 Noah Ringer as Aang
Dev Patel as Prince Zuko
Nicola Peltz as Katara
Jackson Rathbone as Sokka


Plot: The movies follows a young warrior, Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, must stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.


Review: I've always been interested in the Avatar TV series but never really gave it a chance. One of the many purposes for this movie, I think, would be to get a new audience of people watching the show while making the already established fan base satisfied. I believe they succeeded in getting a new audience to possibly watch the show, but for all the wrong reasons.


I like to go into a movie with the mind set of I just want to be entertained. I don't expect a movie to be gold from the moment I see it, I don't compare it to any of the other great movies from the past, I just want to be entertained. With that said, The Last Airbender got some pretty bad reviews. Of course, I read them before I saw the movie just to get an idea of what other people are saying. The reviews discouraged me but I still went in with the same mind set.


In many ways, The Last Airbender did entertain me and others. The action/fighting scenes were very well done and lots of training and practice went into it. It payed off because the people in my theater gave the classic "ooooo" and "ahhhhhh." The special effects in the movie were very nice, all the visuals of water, fire and air were done nicely and didn't look stupid. 


The last positive note i'd like to make about this movie is the story. The story was very enticing, which I think shouldn't have been too difficult cause all the had to do was follow what goes on the TV series or books. Whether it stood true to the series, I don't know so I cannot make a valid argument about that, though many have said that parts of the movie did not hold true to the series. 


There are a few negative aspects to the movie as well. The acting, for the most part, is pretty terrible. Other than Dev Patel who plays Prince Zuko in the movie, all the main characters are just terrible. I can't put it any other way. The boy who plays Aang in the movie is relatively inexperience. I mean literally this was his first movie. Can I make an exception to that? A little bit, but it's a huge responsibility to throw on him knowing how inexperienced he is. Jackson Rathbone and Nicole Peltz play siblings in the movies but seemingly have no connection. Peltz is just awkward. I can't put my finger on what it is exactly but every time she speaks, it's just awkward. Rathbone on the other hand, is said to be a decent actor and why his dialogue is also very awkward, is hard to explain.


Also, the movie seems rushed at times. Within just a couple of quick scenes, days and weeks manage to go by with not much happening. I don't exactly understand why that was done because it's not like they are dealing with any historic dates. It's not like a World War movie where you have to follow a certain timeline.


In many ways, The Last Airbender is bad. But, it somewhat redeems itself or at the very least, showed spots of hope. There looks to be a sequel on the way and I have much more hope for that one. Maybe they'll get rid of the director, the infamous M. Night Shyamalan, Noah Ringer who played Aang will have more movies under his belt by the time he has to do the 2nd part for this one and hopefully, the sequel could actually be a good movie.


Rating 2 out of 5