No one’s posting anything!

February 22nd, 2011

So I saw Unknown on Friday. I was pretty not impressed until about 3/4 through when all the sudden it got awesome. I may have just been really tired though because my friend I saw it with thought it was really awesome all the way through.

It starts from the get go as this giant mystery with very little time to get to know the characters beforehand which originally was why I wasn’t loving it. I didn’t care very much whether or not the guy’s wife remembered him. Who is he? Who gives a crap? Then as the story unfolded and we found our way to the twist at the end I discovered that it was very important that we didn’t know the characters well and I forgave them.

I probably wouldn’t have paid to see this movie but my friend works at the theater so I got in free. Overall it was a pretty good movie that I just didn’t love very much.

Bob’s Green Hornet Review

January 16th, 2011

Hey everyone, Bob here. I guess I should start with an introduction. I’m the night guy at Blockbuster and if you’ve been there in the last five years, you probably know me. I’ll pretty much watch every type of movie as long as it doesn’t have a couple standing back to back on the cover or a woman with the face of a horse in it. Actually, while I’m on the subject, I’m also going to rule out flicks starring women who have already gone through menopause and act in a sassy manner as this is just intended to nauseate the viewer (in my opinion.)

I just got back from seeing “The Green Hornet” and was (surprisingly) not disappointed. If you’re not familiar with the character, Seth Rogen (every Judd Apatow movie ever) plays Britt Reid, the playboy son of James Reid presumably the last unbiased news reporter and the owner of The Daily Sentinel. After his father dies unexpectedly, Britt decides to honor his family name by taking up arms against the criminals running the streets of Los Angeles. Of course, all super heroes without powers need a sidekick and Britt is no exception.

He quickly gains the assistance of his father’s old mechanic Kato (Jay Chou), who just happens to be an expert in martial arts and weapon creation. Anyway, so Britt and Kato take to the streets. Britt dons the moniker of The Green Hornet and Kato assists as his nameless sidekick. The Green Hornet differentiates himself as a hero in one very different way, he wishes to be seen as a villain. This allows for him to infiltrate the underworld and destroy it from the inside. The main villain in this world is Chudnovsky played by Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds.) Waltz manages to toe the line between extremely over the top and downright scary quite well, especially considering the fact that later in the movie he starts to refer to himself as Bloodnovsky.

Despite the fact that Hornet is a superhero movie and was marketed as a family film, the first 10 minutes will clearly show that it is a strong PG-13. In this reviewer’s opinion, there is quite an overuse of foul language. Obviously any movie starring Seth Rogen is going to have some semblance of comedy in it and this one is no exception. The problem lies in the fact that most of the comedy boils down to sex jokes and euphemisms. However, I was happy with the fact that unlike other superhero movies, Hornet allows itself to show that there are repercussions to what the heroes actually do. Most heroes tend to live in some fantasy world where the villain knows who they are and they the villains, but nothing seems to happen. In the Hornet’s world, however, which is one of violence, the filmmakers were not afraid to show that people do tend to die when violent things happen. Once again I do not recommend this one to families looking to bring the smaller kids out for a nice weekend movie.

Despite some of it’s faults, “The Green Hornet” succeeds in being a fun, albeit over the top, action comedy. Chou does a great job of filling Bruce Lee’s shoes as the butt-kicking sidekick and Seth Rogen was convincing while beating the crap out of people, though Kato does most of the work. The only other shortcomings were some ridiculous stunts that didn’t make sense, I’m looking at you setting off missiles while buried underground. In summation, “The Green Hornet” is a fun little hero flick, just make sure you leave the young ones at home.

The Staff

January 7th, 2011

I would like to introduce two members of the staff, Both of whom are also senior reviewers, and fellow refugees from the Former Butler NJ Blockbuster.

First up is Bob.  On top of his movie and TV reviews, he is also our resident expert on Video Games. He will also be posting the occasional retail mega-deal so keep an eye out for those.  More often than not, Bob will function as the primary counter to my own reviews. We rarely agree with our positions on movies, even when we agree a movie is good. lol

Second up is Leslie. She will be providing her own unique spin on the reviews as well as a planed “dinner and a movie” segment where she will combine her culinary skills with her love of movies and TV.

1/9/11 Update: Announcing another member of the staff, Mike. He will be adding his voice to the site as an associate reviewer. Though not as well versed in movies as myself, he is always working on expanding his knowledge base. This also means that he will be approaching many classic movies from a “new viewer” perspective and not that of someone who has seen them many times over. This fresh take on things makes him a valuable asset to the site.  Mike is also a skilled artist, so that should give him some unique perspectives on things.

All introduced staff should be along soon to introduce themselves. I know I can’t wait to see what they have to say. Also, in the coming days their may be a few more staff announcements as well.

1/29/11 Update: Been a little busy of late but this should be the last staff introduction update for a while.

Already self introduced above is Katie, she joins the staff as the resident horror film fan.  Also added to the staff are L Bird, who may not be as active as the rest of us. He’s sort of our Jay Sherman (The Critic) in that he rarely likes anything, and when he does few agree with him. 😉 Last but not least is T-Diddy, who with Leslie developed the “good, bad, bad-good” scale for movies.

Welcome!

January 4th, 2011

Welcome to Movie Review Den, where we watch everything so you don’t have to.

It is our goal to make this your one stop shop for recommendations on Movies and TV shows. Our staff of reviewers are die hard fans of entertainment media and love to share their opinions with anyone willing to listen, so why not harness that talent to make your lives just a little bit easier. Consider us your spam filter, saving you from the let down of a bad movie night. We are an eclectic bunch, with differing views. One of the features you will find in the future is the counterpoint review. We understand that enjoyment of Movies, TV shows, and other entertainment is all about opinion, when our staff disagrees on a movie we will provide both sides arguments for you to view, and decide for yourself. As time passes, and you get a better feel for the individual reviewers and how their opinions line up with yours this tool will become less necessary. However, I’m sure some enjoyment will come from the ensuing arguments themselves.

In any case, I look forward to the future of this site.

Ted – Senior Reviewer and Founder.