Film: Kingsman - The Secret Service

GENRE: Action/Adventure

RATING: R for strong violence & language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 9 minutes

STARRING: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Love Actually)

Taron Egerton (newcomer), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

DIRECTOR: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass; X-Men: First Class)

WRITERS: Jan Goldman & Vaughn (Stardust, Kick-Ass)

PLOT: A street kid is brought into a gentlemanly spy organization who is trying to take down a crazy tech genius.  

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 Vaughn know how to make a fun action flick. Lots of great stuff. Colin Firth rocks the wonderfully choreographed fight scenes. The time flew by.

2 There is a scene in a church that is a bit much. Not for the queasy.

3 I know that a good villain is supposed to be eccentric but the lisp is pretty annoying.

4 Love seeing Mark Hamill (Star Wars) getting some more regular work.  

5 The opening credits are laughable and not in a good way. Who ever made that should never work again. Bouncing bricks? Huh?

RECOMMENDATION: Fun on the big screen
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Focus; Insurgent

Parks and Recreation Finale

So this is it for Parks & Recreation. Shame on NBC for burning off the series quickly instead of giving it the same send-off it gave to shows like The Office. When it first debuted, Parks was written off as just another Office. While it had the same mockumentary feel, the situations and characters sometimes surpassed The Office’s antics. I will be sad to see the series go but understand that practically the entire cast has become movie stars. Thank you for nurturing these actors, Parks and Recreation, I’ll miss you.  

FIVE THINGS I’LL MISS ABOUT PARKS & RECREATION

1 Leslie Knope’s Tenacity Amy Poehler is amazing. I love that Leslie was awesome at her job and she was full of life and optimism. I like that almost all the characters accepted Leslie’s craziness and often rooted for her. She was a breath of fresh air.
2  Ron Swanson By far my favourite character. He was a man’s man and what a mustache! Whether it was his giddiness for ‘lil Sebastian or making wedding rings out a wall sconce, Ron always made me laugh.
3  Pawnee Residents I love that there was a large number of recurring characters. Love Perd, Brandi Maxxxx, Bobby Newport, Mona Lisa and of course Jean-Ralphio.
4  Picking on Garry/Jerry/Larry/Terry I love how everyone picked on this worker. Sometimes he deserved it with his clumsiness but sometimes it was completely unwarranted.
5  The Theme Song I never fast forwarded the opening credits. The music was so bouncy. It was short and sweet.

FIVE FAVOURITE EPISODES

1 Practice Date (Season 2 Episode 4)

Ann tries to help Leslie get over her amazingly bad first date jitters. The rest of the office try to dig up as much dirt as they can on their co-workers.
2 Sweetums (Season 2 Episode 15)

Tom tricks most of the staff to help him move out of his house. Ann and Leslie try to take down Sweetums and their dangerous candy.
3 Emergency Response/Leslie & Ben (Season 5 Episode 13 & 14)

Councilman Jam tries to stop a fundraising gala and a wedding but the staff pitches in to make both events memorable for Leslie and Ben.
4 Jerry’s Painting (Season 3 Episode 11)

Leslie goes to bat for Jerry and his painting that features a topless Leslie Knope-ish centaur. Ben moves in with Andy and April and is appalled by their living conditions.
5 Leslie and Ron (Season7 Episode 4)

Leslie and Ron are locked in the office together until they are able to resolve their three year long feud.

FIVE FAVOURITE RON SWANSON CODES
1 Intensity: Give 100%. 110% is impossible. Only idiots recommend that.

2 Friends: One to Three is sufficient.
3 Skim Milk: Avoid it.
4 Crying: Acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon.
5 Fishing: Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Don’t teach a man to fish. He’s a grown man. And fishing’s not that hard.

Enjoy the finale this Tuesday.

2015 Oscar Results

 So there’s no topping my awesome 21/24 score last year. I got 17 right this year, so not terrible or anything. The telecast was pretty good. I like Neil Patrick Harris as host but found that the audience didn’t warm up to him too much. It was a great opening number but the response was just so-so. Anyway, ‘Everything was Awesome’ was indeed awesome and there were some fun things happening during the show. I really liked the nomination packages this year; so classy and creative. I know I’m a nerd. Let’s just see who won:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

THE PHONE CALL

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

FEAST (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1

SOUND EDITING

AMERICAN SNIPER (predicted)

SOUND MIXING

WHIPLASH

ORIGINAL SCORE

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

ORIGINAL SONG

GLORY [SELMA] (predicted)

VISUAL EFFECTS

INTERSTELLAR (predicted)

MAKE-UP

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (predicted)

COSTUME DESIGN

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (predicted)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (predicted)

FILM EDITING

WHIPLASH

CINEMATOGRAPHY

BIRDMAN (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

CITIZENFOUR (predicted)

ANIMATED FEATURE

BIG HERO 6

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

IDA (predicted)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE IMITATION GAME (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

BIRDMAN (predicted)

BEST DIRECTOR

ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU [BIRDMAN]

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PATRICIA ARQUETTE [BOYHOOD] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

JK SIMMONS [WHIPLASH] (predicted)

BEST ACTRESS

JULIANNE MOORE [STILL ALICE] (predicted)

BEST ACTOR

EDDIE REDMAYNE [THEORY OF EVERYTHING] (predicted)

BEST PICTURE

BIRDMAN (predicted)

How did you do?

2015 Oscar Predictions

 It’s that time of year again for my fearless Oscar predictions. It’s between Birdman and Boyhood. My fingers are crossed. Just as a reminder, I’m not predicting who I want to win but who I think the Academy will vote for. From smaller to bigger, here we go:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM

(It has some laughs and cute kids)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

FEAST

(It’s made by Disney. It’s cute.)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

OUR CURSE

(Sad tale of a baby with special needs)

SOUND EDITING

AMERICAN SNIPER

(There’s bullet sounds and such)

SOUND MIXING

AMERICAN SNIPER

(Though Whiplash’s drumming deserves it)

ORIGINAL SCORE

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

(A moving score that tugs the heartstrings)

ORIGINAL SONG

GLORY [SELMA]

(Powerful. Sad Lego Movie won’t get it)

VISUAL EFFECTS

INTERSTELLAR

(Nolan rocks this category)

MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

(Tilda Swinton’s old age make-up? Sure.)

COSTUME DESIGN

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

(Lots of flashy outfits with great colours)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

(Wes Anderson should always win this)

FILM EDITING

BOYHOOD

(Seamless editing of 12 years of work)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

BIRDMAN

(One really long complex shot)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

CITIZENFOUR

(Interesting meetings with Edward Snowden)

ANIMATED FEATURE

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

(Angry that The Lego Movie is not in here)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

IDA

(A nun learns about her family’s secrets)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE IMITATION GAME

(It should win something)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

BIRDMAN

(A truly interesting film with great dialogue)

BEST DIRECTOR

RICHARD LINKLATER [BOYHOOD]

(The man put it all on the line for 12 years)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PATRICIA ARQUETTE [BOYHOOD]

(She’s been winning constantly as a troubled mom)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

JK SIMMONS [WHIPLASH]

(This guy is intense and well-deserving)

BEST ACTRESS

JULIANNE MOORE [STILL ALICE]

(She’s heartbreaking showing the start of Alzheimer’s)

BEST ACTOR

EDDIE REDMAYNE [THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING]

(He contorts to show ALS but also show so much humanity)

BEST PICTURE

BIRDMAN

(The film industry loves stories that deal with actors. So vain.)

Let’s see how I do on Oscar night this Sunday. Last year I got 21 out of 24. 

Superbowl Commercials

I remember a time when the Superbowl ads were full of non-stop laughs. Bug Light would usually win the competition with something outrageously funny. Now it’s full of ‘inspiring’ messages and sadness. It was an odd crop this year, so I thought I would categorize them differently this year.

FUNNIEST COMMERCIALS

Esurance – Walter White

It’s really funny if you’ve seen Breaking Bad

Doritos – Middle Seat

These guys usually have fun stuff each year.

BEST USE OF CELEBRITIES

Clash of Clans – Revenge

Who’d have thought Liam Neeson would do this? Awesome.

Snickers – The Brady Bunch

I love this ad campaign. Fun actor choices this year.

BEST MOVIE TEASER

Minions – Superbowl Teaser

Because they are awesome.

DON’T KNOW WHY THEY’RE ADVERTISING

Avocados From Mexico – First Draft Ever

Don’t know why this needs to be advertised.

INSPIRING COMMERCIALS

Dove Men + Care – Real Strength

Of the multiple ads praising dads, I liked this one best.

Carnival – Return to the Sea

I kind of want to book a cruise right now.

SADDEST COMMERCIAL

Nationwide – The Boy Who Couldn’t Wait to Grow Up

Why do they want football fans to be all sad.

WHAT WAS THAT?

Squarespace – Dreaming with Jeff

Jeff Bridges ‘singing’ me to sleep creeps me out.

I also liked the Mindy Kaling Nationwide ad that was a lot happier than the dead boy one. I liked her in the carwash. Anyway, hoping next year’s ads are a lot funnier and less preachy like the Weight Watchers and Proctor & Gamble. Which were your favourites?