Lincoln Again

Ryan Sitzman here. I know we've already talked about Lincoln twice, but I thought I'd just chime in quickly. I saw it last night. It was good, but did get a bit slow in parts. I realize that passing the 13th amendment and ending the Civil War were Lincoln's two biggest things, but they don't always make for gripping cinema. I liked the movie, but the way it made me think of how things must have been back then was even cooler. So, check it out if you haven't already. 13/17. Read more [...]

Thoughts About “Ender’s Game” (Ryan)

This is going to be mostly about the book Ender's Game, not the upcoming movie. Actually, if you are ever going to read the book, get on that now, since seeing the movie trailer will inevitably spoil some parts for you (as all trailers seem to do these days). The only reason I read this book is because it was in a collection of books given to me by my friend Lucy. I had no idea what it would be about, but I just happened to notice the book right after I saw a picture of Ben Kingsley in makeup Read more [...]

The Man Who Couldn’t Cry (At Movies) Meets His Match

To call Hachi a "tearjerker" is not quite correct. Hachi will jerk tears out of you, sure. But Hachi will also haunt your emotions. Hachi will punch your heart in the balls. Hachi will grab your tear tear ducts, hold a gun to their heads, and blindfold them in the bank safe, holding them hostage until the police meet its demands --namely: a helicopter; a million dollars in unmarked, nonconsecutive bills; and a single tear to trickle down every viewer's cheek. Read more [...]

Singles

When I originally heard of this movie, it was billed as something like "Cameron Crowe's tribute to the 90s Seattle Grunge scene." I wouldn't call it that, exactly, although it does feature (acting) performances from a few members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. It's basically about people in their 20s and 30s trying to date in Seattle. I went into this movie really wanting to like it, since I think Cameron Crowe is generally great. But then I spent the first half of the movie disliking so many things Read more [...]

Casa de mi Padre

Casa De Mi Padre This movie was weird but still pretty funny. Will Ferrell has always been surprisingly good, in my opinion, although some of my least favorite things he's done are SNL and Old School. I get the feeling I may be the odd one out in that sense. Anyhow, I love that they did this movie in broken Spanish. I also loved the crappy sets and props that got thrown in now and again. And the whole idea of poking fun at macho culture and stereotypes from both sides of the border was also Read more [...]