Mini Review: "The Cabin in the Woods"

Ohmygawd, you have to see this awesome new movie The Cabin in the Woods, they like take horror film cliches' and use them in the movie and we're all like sooooooooooooooo aware its happening....wait..what?  Scream did it first?

Not to mention a silly and boneheaded ending.

D

Mini Review: "American Reunion"

Has more heart and warmth than the disappointing American Wedding (I dont count nor have I seen the DTV sequels under the American Pie Presents banner), but the 10 minutes Jim's Dad and Stiffler's Mom are on screen together are the best in the film.

B-

Mini Review: "The Three Stooges"

The actors do a good job bringing the guys back to life, and direction is clearly by those who were fans of the classics and wanted to do it as best they could.

B+

Mini Review: "God Bless America"

Politically biased towards the left, yes, but a funny and scathing satire nonetheless.

A

Mini Review: "Bad Ass"

If this film were a Jeopardy question, the answer would be: "Machete without the sly wit and sense of humor."

C

Non Film Post: Why Yesterday Wasn't a Weather Bust

I see a lot of pissing and moaning about the fact that the storm system yesterday wasn't as bad as we thought it could be. First off, I say are you REALLY upset about not having what the good people of Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska went through yesterday? I'm so sorry your friends and neighbors aren't homeless, injured or dead because you thought we were guaranteed extreme severe weather.

Why was Oklahoma spared and why did things start so late? Well, I could go into a lot of technical speak, but I'll break it down to one word: clouds. Yes, the cloud cover over the area was caused by several things, but it saved us by keeping temperatures down and allowing a warm air "cap" to the atmosphere.

If we hadn't had that cloud deck yesterday, we just as easily could have had that in our area.

Kansas/Nebraska and Iowa took the hit for us yesterday, and the Woodward tornado showed what would have happened (and been much worse honestly) had things occurred the way we originally expected.

It's far more important to be prepared and aware for this situation because one day, unfortunately, we will have our day. Just like the people in Alabama and Mississippi had last year, just like the people of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Woodward had yesterday.

In the meantime, quit your bitching. Have some respect for the people whos lives were completely upended because the atmosphere saw fit to provide OK with simple clouds.

Non Film Post: Severe Weather

Many have asked "how bad is it gonna be today" or "how bad will it be in (insert city here)?". Frankly, I don't know. Without throwing tons of technical speak at you, I'll say it like this: The atmosphere this morning is like a ton of dynamite and every second of sun we see will be like a gallon of gasoline. Each degree of warmth we get is a match, and that storm system moving in from the west is the striker strip.

We got lucky yesterday, for some reason the match blew out. Today, we won't be as lucky.

Yes, I'd love it (in fact, there's a part of me that's hoping) that this becomes nothing more than a rain/wind/hail event and all the really bad stuff doesn't develop. I don't think that'll happen. No, not everyone is going to see a tornado and in fact not all of us may even get rain much less anything worse, but the risk is so serious (think last April 27th across MS and AL) that the smart thing to do is prepare for the worst to happen.

In addition to staying tuned to your local TV and radio for the latest, here are a few other things you can do to stay informed about this potentially dangerous life threatening situation.

You can, of course, follow my facebook and twitter (@ace38) pages. I'm pumping weather info there as soon as I get it. Also on FB or twitter you can follow your local meteorologist (I use Michael Seger from Fox 23) or @breakingstorm. Another tip is to have updates from one or all of these sources sent as text messages to your phone. This will help you stay informed should the power go out.

Download news/weather apps to your smartphone from your respective stores. Downloading a weather alert radio app would also be a smart idea in case you should doze off.

I use the following websites as part of a multi-pronged attack. Finding a live stream from 100 miles away to know whats moving in your direction can give you a sometimes critical amount of lead time.

www.news9.com (OKC sister station of Tulsa channel 6, have great streaming coverage)

www.spc.noaa.gov (Severe Storms Prediction Center, where all watches are issued from)

www.newson6.com (KOTV channel 6 in Tulsa, also outstanding streaming coverage)

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/view/states.php?state=ok&map=on (NWS site for OK)

Make sure your cell phones are fully charged and your radio/flashlight batteries are new.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: STAY CALM

Updates on 2012's Top Choices

All dates are tentative and could change. Check your local listings first. My "must see" are in bold.

The Divide - A-

Chronicle - B

Gone - Pushed to a DVD viewing

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters - (Moved to Jan. 2013)

Silent House (limited) - In and out so fast I missed it.

The Hunger Games - B-

American Reunion - Review coming in the next 72 hours.

The Three Stooges - APR. 13

The Avengers - MAY 4

Men in Black III - MAY 25

Prometheus - JUN. 8

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - JUN. 22

The Dark Knight Rises - JUL. 20

Warm Bodies - AUG. 10

The Expendables 2 - AUG. 17

Resident Evil: Retribution - SEPT. 14

Finding Nemo 3D - SEPT. 14

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - DEC. 14

World War Z - Moved to June 21, 2013

Movie Review: "The Hunger Games"

The Hunger Games: 2012. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Rated PG-13. Running time 142 minutes. Directed by Gary Ross.

Adapted from a very popular series of teen books, The Hunger Games tells the story of young Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence), scrounging out an existence for her impoverished family in Panem's District 12. This year, however, is different as Katniss' sister Primrose (Willow Shields) has her first turn in the selections for the Romanesque Hunger Games, in which a boy and girl between 12 and 18 from each district are chosen to fight to the death.

Naturally, Primrose is selected and Katniss volunteers to take her sisters place. Paired up with Peeta (Hutcherson), a boy who once fed her when she was starving, Katniss fights for not only her life but her morality in this contest of Governmental tyranny against the common man.

Honestly, for a major blockbuster that Lionsgate is hoping to turn into a tentpole franchise, there isnt much story or plot here. Character development is weak and focused mainly on Katniss, leaving little to no identification with characters from other districts. Even the designated heartstring puller Rue is nothing more than a young child who dies, giving our heroine the cult status she needs to become more than just a tribute.

Direction is good, the performances are whats needed to propel this minimal storyline along, special effects are convincing and realistic.

Overall, The Hunger Games is geared to work on one level only, the bare minimum. Which, thankfully, is one level higher than Lionsgate's previous franchise, Twilight, worked on.

B-

Playing catch up...

Yeah, I'm behind..I know. Expect reviews of The Hunger Games and American Reunion by this weekend. Expect reviews for Slacker and God Bless America by this time next week. We'll also have a same day review of The Avengers on May 4th.

Summer's close!

Mini Review: "The Divide"

As NYC is racked by the detonation of several atomic bombs, a group of people seek shelter in their aparment's basement. As their rescuers weld them into the basement, fear and paranoia take over as supplies dwindle.

A brutal film, good to see once, but not one to watch again and again.

A-

Editors note: The Divide comes out April 20.

Mini Review: "4:44 Last Day on Earth"

A day in the life of two people on the last day of the world. Nothing but a shameless pandering to Al Gore's "global warming" theory (even mentioning him by name several times).

Trash

F

Editors note: 4:44 comes out June 14, 2012