Remember Remember the Screams of AHHHHHHH!!!! *dies*

Scream 4

Flashback: 1996. A 14 year old nerd with nothing to do sits alone in his parents' living room on a Friday night scares himself shitless while watching Drew Barrymore get terrorized by a serial killer in one of the best intro scenes to a horror movie he has ever seen: Scream. Fast forward: 1997. A 15 year old nerd fights with his older brother home from college and his mother on whether to watch Titanic or Scream 2. 15 year old wins, Scream 2 does not. Fast forward again: 2000. Scream 3 came out. Meh. 2011: For some reason, a much anticipated Scream 4 is released. And it's surprisingly GOOD.

The film that ushered in a new wave of horror movies in the mid 90s returns to renew its thrilling slasher status in Scream 4. It is, to say the least, that we live in a sea of sequels, but honestly, I don't mind a sequel as long as it's worth watching. Scream 4 returns to it's roots of animated characters, a thrilling mystery, and some fun stabbing scenes. I think what I like best about this film (as with the original Scream) is how it holds a mirror up to many famous horror movies but tells them "hey, you look awesome". 

(The cast of Scream 4 find something icky)

The Story: Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courtney Cox), who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her Aunt Kate (Mary Mcdonnell). Unfortunately, Sidney's appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.

(Anna Paquin & Kristen Bell are anything but your typical horror movie blondes in Scream 4)

What makes this movie enjoyable is the simple entertainment value that was seriously lacking in it's predecessors. 1996's Scream showed us (especially in that opening sequence) that anything can happen. Scream 4 not only reminds us of that but it also reminds us how much fun horror movies can be. Lately, several horror films seem to take themselves so seriously and can become overly "stylistic". It's fun to laugh and cheer for blood splattered fight scenes that once made slasher movies so great. 

I hear Wes Craven is planning to make parts 5 & 6 to this series. I'm curious to see what will come of this franchise reboot. They said it themselves: new decade new rules. 

Grade: B+

Random Fact: At a table read on June 25, 2010, the actors were told to stop reading at page 75 to prevent those already cast in the film from knowing the climax.

Sci Fi Me Up, Scotty

(Tron: Legacy)

Okay so I got a ton to cover in this post and may not get to everything here. First off, yay I'm back! Second, yes, I'm BACK! Thirdly, let's get to it. 

This blog post is dedicated to the taped glasses, pocket protectors, snorted laughs of America. Let it be said that 2011 is The Year of the Nerd (soon to be a patented Zodiac sign). Although I'm starting this post with a film released at the end of 2010, it not only transitioned but jettisoned us into Nerdsville population A LOT (including yours truly). Tron: Legacy, starring some sort of unknowns (Gerrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde) and some very well knowns (Jeff Bridges).

Tron: Legacy stands on its own from the original Tron (1982) with perfected CGI animation and special effects. And yes, I admit that I am a sucker for special effects but nothing beats a story well done. Tron: Legacy's plot is solid and was brave enough to not use Jeff Bridges as a crutch.

The story - The son of a virtual world designer goes looking for his father and ends up inside the digital world that his father designed. He meets his father's creation turned bad and a unique ally who was born inside the digital domain of "The Grid". 

Tron: Legacy masters what Steven Liseberger's Tron could not (I heard that the original film actually ran short on their budget and had to make major rewrites). The disc wars and light bike sequences are thrilling, but what I liked most about the film are the characters and the underlying spiritualism. Kevin is a god-like figure in the digital frontier (the programs refer to him as their "Maker") his confidante and surrogate daughter, Quorra (Wilde) is an Isomorphic Algorithm (better known as ISO) which are a race of programs that are self-created; in other words, they were not created by users (they remind me of the Isrealites from the story of Moses) and Sam, a hero with a rugged edge who always seems to be "winging it" (a possible Jesus-type character?). The characters aren't overly saturated with robotic science fiction dialogue. We get a taste of their humanity, especially in Jeff Bridges. Sam, even in his late 20s acts out in a way where Kevin's patience gets tested while Quorra witnesses the interaction much like an observant little sister. Clu, Kevin's evil alter ego, reminds me of one of those uncles that all you want to do it run from (almost every family has one).

I saw this film in 3D at the IMAX theater. I was excited to hear that Tron: Legacy was almost completely shot in 3D as opposed to the post-conversion vomit that seems to have been splattering big screens across the world. I admit that I will see a 3D film if it is done right and Tron: Legacy did so. Don't get me wrong, it's not the best. The film falls a little short on development particularly the in the finale, but it still delivers. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next Tron film if there, in fact, will be one. And will The Dude grace us with his presence for us nerds out there? Only time will tell. 

An interesting fact: Director Joseph Kosinksi obtained funding for Tron: Legacy by creating a teaser trailer showcasing a light bike sequence and a Jeff Bridges cameo and showing it at ComiCon. The execs at Disney were so impressed that they agreed to fund the project.


Grade: B+

(P.S. Don't forget to check out the Tron: Legacy soundtrack scored by the most awesome Daft Punk)

Recent reviews by Alex M.

What's this?

LOST Finale: Deconstructed

This is what I explained to a friend who had unanswered questions about LOST:

Me (FB Status update): "Okay totally wrapped my head around the LOST finale. And after sleeping on it, I'm not as disappointed now. I guess. Oh look! It's someone who cares!"

Friend: "Please share i feel total retard. why the fuck was hurleys back story so intricate and y did christian keep dying and re-apprearing, wtf were the numbers and hatch about, where did michael and walt go and wtf happened to the pilot and miles from the plane? HELP."

Me: "Okay here's my understanding: I think they were trying to set up Hurley to be the island's protector this whole time, which is why his story was so important. His winning lottery numbers were the same numbers they used to keep the hatch from collapsing, which I think was Jacob's doing. Michael and Walt were rescued, but Michael went back to the island as a spy for Charles Widmore and was killed. Christian has always been dead, but Smoke monster appeared to Jack as Christian beforehand and other dead peeps. The real ghost of Christian was at the end.

Everything on the island essentially, really happened. Some died (like Boone, Charlie, Shannon, Sayid, Locke, Sun, Jin, and Jack) and others lived on and died eventually (Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Claire, Linus, Miles, and the pilot). The story of all of them landing in LAX and living on as if the crash never happened was their purgatory.

They were reunited in an afterlife scenario in which some of the stories would make sense (like Hurley living rich and buying a fast food chain, Kate going to jail) and some didn't (like Jack being married Juliet and having a son, Sawyer being a cop with Miles when he's always been a con artist, Ben Linus having a relationship with Alex & Russo). But when they started remembering how they died and their life on the island, they knew that the purgatory was not real and that they came to an enlightenment to move on. Except for Ben, who stayed behind.

Only thing, the finale was missing was Mr. Ecko. WHERE WAS MR. ECKO?!"

Friend: "RIGHT WHAT THE EFF?!?! hahaha thanks alex...u Rock! atleast college tv show analysis classes did someone right?! jk."

Me: "It's my intuitive geekiness. haha damn this show!" 

Hi! How you been? *Insert Small Talk Here*

So I've been really busy in the film world, which is pretty much my ultimate excuse for not getting anything done.

I'm working on a documentary about marriage, aptly titled "The M Word". In the film you'll see me commentating and interviewing people with or in a unique marriage story. It's freakin hard, people. I'm trying to gather content for the upcoming website and for a press kit. My goal is to get to Cannes!

I'm pushing the pause button on my reviews for now, as I will simply be blogging about my journey with this film. Stay tuned for adventures and misadventures as a I make this.

It's a movie, what can go wrong? :-X

Follow me on Twitter: "MrAlexMinas"
Fan "The M Word" on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-M-Word/387173256179?ref=ts

It's That Time of Year Again!

Oscar Nominations 2010/Alex's Predictions

Dear Internet,

As you may or may not know, I have been blogging for some time now. I'm actually not sure who reads my posts, but it is my duty as a snarky blogger to add a little douchiness and misspelled words to the world. But today, dear friend, today, I will pride myself in sparing cynicism. For on this day, I predict the oscar winners for 2010. Now, I know I may be the minority in sparing the world of poop jokes, but I'm willing to take that risk. I hope you are doing well in hooking up monster-faced baby killers with their soul mates while facebooking the fact that they are "excited to watch LOST".

Yours Always,

Alex


*TRUMPETS!* Here ye! Here ye! It's that time of year again! Oscar night is fast approaching and what better way to get yourselves pumped than to read an unknown blogger's predictions! Let's get to it, kids!

You can find the entire nominee list by category here.

Best Picture: Nominees are - The Blind Side, Avatar, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air. This is history in the making, people, for two reasons: it's the largest list of films contending for Best Picture and it's the first time an animated film (Up) is nominated for best picture. The strong leaders in this are The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, and Up in the Air. My prediction: The Hurt Locker. 

Best Actor in a Lead Role: All signs point to Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. I haven't seen it yet, but yes, he will be taking home the little naked gold man. And an Oscar.

Best Actress in a Lead Role: (Drum roll please) Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. Sandra Bullock has some momentum, but Gabourey Sidibe's performance is simply POWERFUL. 'nuff said.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Cristoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds. The smartest villain that we just love to hate.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'nique for Precious. As much as I couldn't stand Mo'nique in the past, I've noticed that she has switched gears to more serious roles. This one takes the cake with a memorable performance. And now look! She's up against Meryl freakin Streep!

Best Achievement in Directing: Although I would love to see Quinten Tarantino take home the little man, I believe the one who deserves it more is Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker.

Best Original Screenplay: Inglorious Basterds! Although I could be wrong about this. IG is going up against Pixar's Up, which ALWAYS wins (Pixar). Soooo we'll see.

Best Adapted Screenplay (based from a novel): This one's a toughy too. It's between Precious and Up in the Air. It's a little too close to call.

Best Achievement in Cinematography: rhymes with shmavatar.

Best Achievement in Art Direction: blue people from outer space.

Best Costume: Catherine Leterrier for Coco Before Chenel


Best Original Song: Crazy Heart!

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Avaturd.

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Avatard. lol.

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: I'll give you three guesses.

Best Foreign Film: Haven't seen any of these flicks. Beats me!

Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Short Film (Live Action/Animated): *shrugs*

There you have it my internet pals. What are you thoughts? Leave you comments!

LENO SUCKS! ;-)