Every once in a while, the urge to see a movie “just because I have nothing else to do” will rush over me. That is what was happening when I decided to catch an evening show of The Croods. This couldn’t have been a more pleasant surprise.
Heck, from the very first poster for The Croods, I assumed it would be the next addition to Dreamworks’ forgotten pile of “Let’s Try To Make A Pixar Movie” attempts. My assumption would have The Croods lying there next to Shark Tale and Bee Movie. I’ve never been more wrong.
The Croods are your average, run-of-the-mill, scared of everything family of cavemen (and women) who spend their days hiding in a cave. The only time The Croods leave the cave is to get food, this is at the order of the father figure; his name is Grug, yes. Grug. (Nicolas Cage) The family consists of six members: Eep, (Emma Stone) Ugga, (Catherine Keener) Gran, (Cloris Leachman) Thunk (Clark Duke) and the baby of the group, Sandy. (Randy Thom) No, I didn’t make any of those names up. I promise.
Eep is sick of being contained in the cave and her sense of adventure leads her to Guy. (Ryan Reynolds) Guy and his furry friend Belt are full of ideas to keep them safe. Guy introduces Eep to fire and from that point on, a journey full of incredible scenery, memorable critters, intense moments and loads of laughter follow.
I haven’t had a Toothless Complex in years, but this one brought me way back to the days of How To Train Your Dragon. Every animal The Croods come across gave me the same sense of “I want it!” that I got from the second we laid our eyes on Hiccup’s dragon in the 2010 film.
Despite a few groaners and some strange Nicolas Cage-isms, this flick is nonstop from the first minute. With an incredible sense of direction, a unique color palette and a script by John Cleese: How can you go wrong?
In case some of you don’t remember, last year around this time I decided to share my most anticipated movies of 2012 with you. (Link for the lazy)
Rough, wasn’t it? I mean I picked The Lorax.Ouch. Hopefully this year goes a little better.
Let’s get down to brass tacks, Outcasts.
Monsters University is probably my most anticipated movie of the decade. Being a Pixar junkie, I absolutely can’t wait to see another sequel (Lightning McQueen and Mater aside) that breathes new life into some of the most beloved characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of sharing a theater with. I have a feeling Pixar will be taking the same route it took with Toy Story 4 this time around. The ladies and gents at Pixar are well aware that we’ve grown up with Mike and Sulley, therefore they did their math, most of us went to college. How could they not fiddle with our strong emotions of those 4-5 years we all have in common? Words cannot express how excited I am for this one.
I’d post a trailer here, but instead I’m going to share the Monsters University Recruitment video. These guys are marketing geniuses, aren’t they?
Oh, and if Roz doesn’t show up as some sort of disgruntled R.A I’ll be thoroughly disappointed.
I was going to put another animated film in spot #2, but I should probably spread out my childlike wonder of such flicks.
Not only is Evil Dead one of my most anticipated movies of 2013, it’s also the most scared I’ve been to see a movie in ages. If the fact that this one is relying heavily on makeup and special effects isn’t groovy enough for you, try to remember that the producers have promised no CGI. That’s incredible. Especially after that trailer!
What was that tree doing to her?! Totally kidding, we all know what that tree’s up to.
Enjoy hearing “We’re going to get you. We’re going to get you. Not another peep. Time to go to sleep” every time you try to go to sleep now.
When I first heard that there would be a children’s film based on my favorite children’s book of all time, I thought “Cool! Hopefully they do it justice!”
Then I saw Flint Lockwood. I was furious. My anger was unparalleled. I couldn’t believe that Hollywood would tree-rape my childhood imagination like that. It was then and there that I put my foot down and said “I’ll never watch Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. EVER.”
Fast Forward to Mike’s Junior Year of College
By my junior year of college, the stress of Senior Seminar was settling in at an uncomfortable pace. After a night of working nonstop on whatever project was tightening it’s grip, I liked to settle down with a movie. Not just any movie, however, the movie that saved my sanity in 2010. That’s right, guys; I was obsessed. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs was (and is) one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen in my life.
If you haven’t seen it, you’re judging me right now. That’s okay, I would have to.
Oh! And a trailer just released too!
I’ve never really been the kind of person to be ahead of the game with comic to screen adaptations. I changed that with Kick-Ass 2 and after reading the comic I can safely say we’re in for a treat this year (if you like Chloë Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, that is)
The first Kick-Ass was incredible across the board, I saw it three times in theaters and watch it regularly on Bluray. I love it. This time around it’s probably going to be even darker, which is probably a good thing. With the introduction of Jim Carrey and Donald Faison, we might be in for a treat too! I mean, just look at Jim Carrey:
Alright, you’ve suffered through my awful grammar and sub-par writing long enough! Here’s the last one:
Some of you understand the picture I chose to illustrate for this one. Some of you don’t. I’d fill you in myself, but I think Wikipedia can do it better. READ:
The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (also known as the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy) is a series of films directed by Edgar Wright, written by Simon Pegg and Wright, produced by Nira Park, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost.
The first two films in the series are Shaun of the Dead (2004), “a romantic comedy with zombies”, and Hot Fuzz (2007), a buddy cop action/comedy film. A third film, The World’s End, began shooting in September 2012 for a 2013 release.
Each film in the trilogy is connected to a Cornetto ice cream flavour – both of the films released to date feature scenes in which one of the main characters purchases a Cornetto of the appropriate flavour. Shaun of the Dead features a red strawberry flavoured Cornetto, which signifies the film’s bloody and gory elements, Hot Fuzz includes the blue original Cornetto, to signify the police element to the film, and The World’s End will feature the green mint choc-chip flavour. The use of the three flavours/colours of Cornetto is a reference to Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours film trilogy.
This will be a good movie. I promise. That’s all that needs to be said.
In case it isn’t though, just look at that cast!
Thanks for reading, Outcasts! Let me know what you’re looking forward to this year!
It’sa me! Mike!…Alright, that was lame. We’re off to a rocky start here. Let me pull myself together.
Hey there, Outcasts! This is a new blog segment I’m trying out. Since finishing school, I’m noticing that the time I used to spend doing homework (and sleeping) I’m now spending working, watching movies and playing games. Working aside, some of these things are good enough to warrant me spending my time writing about! This is where Mike Reviews comes into play. Each week, I’m going to review one game/movie/TV Show/whatever that I feel is necessary to review. I guess the title is pretty self explanatory. Nonetheless, this week we’re reviewing one heck of a game:
Mario has had quite the track record over the past few years. It goes without saying, however, that he’s had a few flops. Remember all of those trips to the Olympics he took with Sonic? I can safely assure you that this installment in the Mushroom Kingdom Collection is one of the best.
The story is obvious, The Koopalings have kidnapped Princess Peach. Shocked? Neither was I. Let’s be honest though. Who really plays Mario for it’s roller coaster-like plot filled with all sorts of emotions. What’s important lies in the age old question: Is it fun?
New Super Mario Bros 2 is one of the most addicting games I’ve played in years. The formula of New Super Mario Bros 2 hasn’t changed much from even the original Super Mario Bros. The goal of each level is to get from point A to point B. Considering it’s 2012, the sidescroller has been used and used again, but the New Super Mario Bros games (1 and 2 alike) add in that manic iOS game function that we all know and love. You know it, ready? Say it with me:
I MUST COLLECT EVERYTHING.
Each level in the game has three Star Coins. These coins can range from being relatively easy to collect all the way to rage-quittingly difficult. This is no different from the original New Super Mario Bros. however. What IS new, is the coin counter that you see after every level.
The game challenges you with one major task: Can you collect 1,000,000 coins?
Now, I don’t know what happens when you actually reach the million coins, but I can assure you one thing; I won’t be finding out any time soon. This game is quite long, with 8 main worlds (and several hidden worlds) it seems I’ll be playing this one for weeks.
From music to level design to graphics and humor, I give New Super Mario Bros 2 a BUY IT status.
Disclaimer: I played this on the 3DS, from what I understand the Wii version is basically the same game with different levels. I think it’s safe to assume that the Wii version will be just as great.
Now back to playing, this level is ridiculous and my OCD is kicking in. Good thing I have like…200 lives.
It has come to my attention that some of you, two of you being Jeff and Bill, have not watched Arrested Development yet. My question to you is
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!”
Alright, now that I got that out of my system, I can get to my point. Arrested Development is, by far, one of the smartest/funniest/most ridiculous pieces of media to enter our eye-holes. It’s incredibly rare these days for something to reach television in the United States that isn’t a ripoff of something else. Heck, I’ve been watching AMC’s The Killing for the past few days, it wasn’t until the end of season one that I realized it was all ripped from a Swedish series.
My point is, most of you have Netflix (or a ten dollar bill sitting around.) Turn on your computer/TV/iPad/iPod/iSomething/PS3/Okama GameSphere or whatever you have and watch episode one. You’ll understand. For those of you without Netflix, Season One can be purchased for about 10 bucks if you look hard enough, just do it. I’m so confident that I’d guarantee you your ten dollars back if you dislike the show, but…well, college…you understand.
Don’t trust me? That’s fine. I’m going to list some names that appear in the show. Maybe that will do the trick.
Jason Bateman
Michael Cera
Will Arnett
David Cross
Jeffrey Tambor
Alia Shawkat
Portia de Rossi
Jessica Walter (Archer fans will recognize her as Sterling’s mother.)
Tony Hale
Henry Winkler
Judy Greer
Jeff Garlin
Charlize Theron
Amy Poehler
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Ben Stiller
Andy Samberg
Rob Huebel
Zach Braff
Dave Attell
Rob Corddry
Jack McBrayer
Andy Richter
Jamie Kennedy
THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!
If you haven’t considered watching it by now, I give up. Just do it for me. Please.
For those of you who ARE fans of the show. HOW ABOUT DEM SEASON 4 PHOTOS?! AMIRITE?
For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, take a gander at these photos Jason Bateman has been tweeting.
@batmanjason: My son arriving on set.
@batemanjason: A grandson looking for his Gangee.
@batemanjason: First Day. Away we go. (Workaholics fans, look closely.)
I have to get going, I seriously can’t stop watching this show (and it’s my fifth time through the series since the first time I saw it…)
Oh, I drew Tobias yesterday. David Cross has one of the best television roles of all time in this series.
Look, I’m not a professional reviewer of things. I’m a guy who likes stuff he likes, and also talks about stuff he likes. A lot. I can’t help it. So when I run across something I really dig, I pretty much have to tell everyone I know. Good thing this podcast and blog came along to help me do that, right?! Right?
Ok, now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to take a minute or two to let you know about a band that I really like, and their new album. They are called The Teeth, and god damn, I can’t get enough of them. The style is a little difficult to describe. They’re not hardcore, or metal, or good old fashioned rock and roll. They’re kind of a mix of the three. I would personally say that if you’re a fan of Every Time I Die, you’d dig them.
Now, the album: Homewrecker. From the first track until the last, it’s heavy duty. I am trying so hard to not describe it with overly used terms, mainly because they’re used to the point that they really don’t mean much anymore. Every album is the heaviest album EVAR, and every break down is the sickest. But shit, there is really no way to talk about this album without calling it super heavy, super rocking, and flat-out ill. Kids still say “ill”, right?
Bottom Line: I can safely say that this is my new favorite album, and I can’t wait until you can hear it and talk about it.
Homewrecker will be released on Rock Paper Records on August 14th. Until then, how about you watch their video for the single, Bulletproof?
Hey Outcasts. Bill here. I just wanted to do a quick post in regards to the Desolation Films flick, Hero Of Today.
I recently purchased the digital copy of Hero Of Today and, without shame, I can tell you that I’ve have watched it four times since. Matter of fact, I’m probably going to watch it again once I’m done with this post, actually. Yeah, I dig it that much.
It’s not just another zombie flick. At all. It’s a story of a guy who goes from underdog to bad ass, just the way I (and probably you) would hope things would go for me if something like this actually happened. Sure, it’s got some (minimal) rough edges, just like pretty much anything else I’ve ever watched, but damn, does it pay off! There’s some good scares, a bit of gore (I may be understating that) quotable lines, and a good amount of laughs. It hits all the sweet spots near and dear to my heart: zombies, horror, humor, and well, there’s this line that made me actually shout, “YES!! BAD ASS!” when I heard it. If you’re a geek like me, you’ll have the same reaction.
Being a fan of Desolations Films’ work since I was exposed to it a few years ago, I was happy to get the opportunity to actually watch the flick again recently. Let me tell you, it really held up! I was so happy to watch again, and I really hope that you folks give it a shot.
Currently, if you head to the Desolation Films website, you can purchase your digital copy right now for $1.99. Worth every single cent, and then some.
You can listen to our interview with Desolation Films’ James Mattern and Chad Renn right here.
p.s. Chester needs a prequel. You’ll see what I mean.
Hey Outcasts! How’s things? Great! I’m glad to hear it!
Hey, I just wanted to take a minute or two and let you know some excellent news! We’ve managed to pick up our first sponsor! That’s right! Popular Outcasts is now sponsored by Audible.com! That’s right! How awesome is that?
Some of you may not know what audible.com is. Well, allow me to ‘splain. Audiobooks rule, and audible.com makes them rule even harder. They have over 100,000 products currently available. Want some specifics? In the words of Michelle Tanner, “You got it, dude!”
How about The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo? They got it! World War Z? They got it! Narrated by Max Brooks, Alan Alda, John Turturro, Rob Reiner, no less! The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, The Lord of the Rings, and The Nerdist Way, read to you by Chris Hardwick! All the books by Chuck Palahniuk! It’s all there!
Hell, They have all the Twilight books as well, so you can follow along with Jeff through his own special Hell as he reviews them in our Let’s Get Twi-harded segments!
Here’s the best part, friends. Audible is allowing us to give you, our listeners, a 14 day trial offer, complete with a free audiobook! That’s right! Just go to audibletrial.com/popout. Check them out, it’s a great service!
