ocean's thirteen [B-]

moviemcpeake snippet: Enjoyable. Cute. Good. Typical ocean film. This one has the same trademarks, great ensemble (one of the best in films) and entertaining (though unbelievable) storyline. These films are easy to watch for an entertaining evening and great to beef up the dvd collection of lite and funs (can’t go wrong with that genre).

This third heist brings everyone (except the ladies – not sure how I feel about that) back to the screen all (even past villains) working some what together to ruin the new villain, Willie Bank played by Al Pacino. Yup, the ensemble just keeps getting better. Steven Soderbergh behind the helm creates the same feel, movement, and storyline development. The consistency of these films is impeccable but also its demise as everything is predictable, even down to the dialog.

Did I enjoy it, of course but I knew I would. That is the great thing about the Danny Ocean and his crew, they never change.

recommendation: catch another wave, wait for the dvd.

live free or die hard [A-]

moviemcpeake snippet: Ok, so I will admit, I can’t remember the much about the last film or quite frankly any of the John McClane series. But I have always loved a good action movie, so my intent was not to complete an obsession to a once beloved series with an aging actor (Rocky, upcoming Indian Jones) but to just enjoy a well reviewed action flick.

I am now an obsessed John McClane fan. I will be buying the box set dvds when they come out. I may even watch this one again while it is in the theaters. This movie was one of the best summer blockbusters. While I typically leave disappointed, this film had me jacked up on Willis adrenaline for a good 45 minutes. I had to talk myself down before the next film on my list started.

For 160 minutes I was having so much fun and so into the experience that I didn’t even let the little things bother me or take me out of the scene (which almost never happens). The film clearly had a much bigger potty mouth before it was edited for kids. Not often, but often enough you could see the lips of the characters form a much more appropriate word but what came out was the PG-13 allowed word. The bad guy was not impressive. He was not believable and had terrible lines, but the storyline and his sidekick chick played by Maggie Q (MI: III) was intense and awesome so I didn’t really care. So, more with the good – John McClane’s sidekick, the “I am so not that guy,” played by Justin Long (Herbie: Full Loaded) provided fun comic relief that John McClane plays against well. And of course, Bruce Willis. The man just looks good. Willis completely kicks ass and looks good doing it.

So by the time the credits rolled, I left the theater having McClane's Yippee Ki Yay fueling my adrenaline rush.

recommendation: get your butt indoors and live free.

guest reviews: The StubbornSerb chimes in.

GUEST BLOGGER: live free or die hard [B-]

First things first, I love John McClane. Easily one of my favorite movie characters of all time, I would probably be entertained watching him run around and fight an eagle scout troop with a squirt gun and tiddlywinks. Twenty years after its release, I still find the first film in this series the greatest action flick of all time. Fully aware of and frankly, embracing these biases, I'm reviewing "Live Free or Die Hard". The fourth entry in the saga finds the ever-hungover street cop with really bad luck [Bruce Willis] divorced, spying on a daughter that won't speak to him, and back at his strangely inconspicuous position as a NYPD detective. You'd figure that the man that has foiled three of the biggest terrorist plots in US history would've at least got the bump to Sargent... Sorry, I'll try not to think. Our underemployed anti-hero is given the task of picking up a hacker [the iMac guy] and bringing him into FBI headquarters for questioning after it becomes evident that a cyber terrorist attack of epic proportions is being levied against our great nation on July 4th [queue Old Glory waving while Credence blares]. Since this is not a philosophical work on the dangers of technological dependence, bullets fly, stuff blows up, and McClane's shirt mutates from white to a deep shade of swamp turd brown. Does he save the day, the country, and the obligatory member of his immediate family? Hahaha. Come on.

While definitely a worthy, entertaining installment in the franchise, "Live Free" is not without its faults. McClane's exploits stray far into the superhuman (taking out a helicopter with a fire hydrant, jumping onto the wings of a Harrier jet, flying a military helicopter across three states without training). That's not John McClane. The charm of the first 2 movies was that although this guy gets a lot of breaks, and avoids certain death well over 50 times a film, everything he does can conceivably occur. He's not a steroid fueled Austrian immigrant Superman, he's Joe Six Pack, outgunned and reluctant, but willing because it's his job. I can look past these decisions as grandiose moviemaking. What I can't look past is changing the essence of the lead character. McClane usually enters these cinematic battles with two things: huge balls, and an incredibly foul, but witty mouth. Only the balls are here, albeit in spades. Several times during the movie, you can actually see the actors mouth dialogue much less kiddie friendly than the audio provides, an obvious result of the studio's decision to pursue a PG-13 rating after shooting had wrapped to appeal to a wider audience. This often leaves you feeling that you're watching the film on TNT instead of a theater cut. Even McClane's trademark cowboy cry felt somewhat altered. When making a Die Hard film, that's blasphemy.

guest moviemcpeake blogger

moviemcpeake has opens its doors to guest bloggers. the first guest blogger is the "stubborn serb" who has posted great tongue and cheek remarks on my reviews. he will bring a great balance to the site with more reviews on what i like to refer to is entertaining but fluff films. of course i will add my thoughts as well.


if you would also like the opportunity to be a guest moviemcpeake blogger, just send me an email (moviemcpeake@gmail.com). you must have a creative screen name and some writing skills. the reviews can be from 1 sentence to a thesis if you so desire. moviemcpeake reserves the right to revoke guest blogging privileges at anytime.


as always, enjoy the show!

jesus camp [A-]

moviemcpeake snippet: as far as documentaries go, this was perfect. the way they delivered the story and narration created the highly intriguing (and shocking) account of a group of people. the creators follow the preacher, becky fischer and her flock through a series of events, the annual "kids on fire" camp, and to another large and plentiful evangelical church. it is a rare documentary in that the polar extremes like it.

the premise is centered around the training of the new generation of "born-agains" and the impact they hope to have on our country. to quote, ted haggart (a george bush spiritual advisor who was recently released as leader of his megachurch because sexual misconduct), "if the evangelicals vote, they determine the election."

the directors seemed to tell and capture the story in the way that becky fischer and the born-again christians would be proud. the film showed their mission and members in a true light. perhaps this is what made the film so astounding. combined with the fact that the community featured lived in lee's summit, missouri near my hometown of kansas city.

this is one everyone should see to get an inside view of a religion that has over 80 million members. the most interesting thing is their focus which seemed to be to compete with the terrorist child training, abortion, converting others, and how global warming does not exist. it also featured mike papantonio as the religious moderator/commentary that i was previously unfamiliar with but thoroughly enjoyed his viewpoints. 2006 was a great year for the documentaries anchored by jesus camp and an inconvenient truth.

recommendation: experience and learn about the religion taking over america.

stomp the yard [C+]

moviemcpeake snippet: what can i say? i was bored the other night and it was available on onDemand. so with a click of a button, i was watching (and enjoying) this teenage flick.

the camera work took a little getting used to because of the slow/fast motion techniques they used but it was rather cool to see the dance moves and all of the stomping choreography. the music was straight from a dance club and the storyline had the same ingredients as the other teenage music/dance movie genre(drumline, bring it on, etc). the only difference is this one had more underground flare and special effects.

recommendation: if you are a fan of movies like drumline, you will enjoy stomp the yard.