Film: The Gift

GENRE: Mystery/Thriller

RATING: R for language
RUNTIME: 1 hours and 48 minutes

STARRING: Jason Bateman (Juno, Horrible Bosses, Bad Words)

Rebecca Hall (The Town), Joel Edgerton (Great Gatsby, Exodus)

DIRECTOR: Joel Edgerton (newcomer)

WRITER: Joel Edgerton (newcomer)

PLOT: A couple is ‘terrorized’ by an old acquaintance.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 It’s fun seeing Bateman in non-comedy roles. I like that he diversifies. He does a good job in this film. Reminded me a bit of his work in Juno.

2 Not bad for Edgerton’s first real crack at writing and directing. He is also plays creepy pretty well.

3 There are a bunch of small twists and such throughout the story, but most them could probably be predicted. However, there were a few in the audience who literally jumped at parts.

4 If you go running every day, why not take your dog with you? He could probably use the exercise and would enjoy being outdoors.

5 Instead of slowly exploring your house every time you hear a noise and freaking yourself out, consider investing in a security system.

RECOMMENDATION: Watch at home
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Fall Movie and TV previews

Ultimate Television Schedule

While there are a few shows that have new episodes in the summer they seem to be packing them all in on Wednesdays and Sundays. It’s kind of a bizarre schedule. It got me thinking what the ultimate television schedule would look like for me. So I went through all the shows I’ve watched before and created one. Of course, I had to make some rules to follow. Each show had to have been on the specific scheduled night for a portion of their run. I allowed one hour of PVR taping so I wouldn’t miss out on some of my favourites. I also included their best season in my opinion. Netflix shows didn’t count because they can be watched on any night. Here we go:

Sunday

7pm     Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S2) / Arrested Development (S3)

8pm     Alias (S1)

9pm     Breaking Bad (S5)

10pm   Game of Thrones (S4)

PVR    Amazing Race (S7)

Sunday is always one of the busiest nights with so many cable offerings from HBO and such. This was probably one of the hardest nights to narrow down. Luckily, Sunday programming includes the 7pm time slot, so I can include some awesome comedies.

Monday

8pm     Big Bang Theory (S3) / How I Met Your Mother (S2)

9pm     Chuck (S2)

10pm   Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (S1)

PVR    House (S4)

Monday is one of the more eclectic nights with comedy, action and drama. A great way to start the week.

Tuesday

8pm     Scrubs (S1) / Sports Night (S1)

9pm     Buffy the Vampire Slayer (S3)

10pm   Angel (S5)

PVR    Frasier (S5) / Just Shoot Me (S3)

Due to my Joss Whedon crush, the two hour Buffy/Angel block was a given. The comedies balance it all out nicely.

Wednesday

8pm     Veronica Mars (S1)

9pm     Lost (S3)

10pm   The West Wing (S2)

PVR    Friday Night Lights (S1)

Talk about an intense night of drama.

Thursday

8pm     Friends (S5) / Community (S3)

9pm     Cheers (S10) / Seinfeld (S7)

10pm   The Office (S2) / Parks & Recreation (S2)

PVR    Cosby Show (S2) / 30 Rock (S2)

So many comedies to choose from, so little time. And if you’re wondering about The Cosby Show, I feel the recent allegations don’t detract from his amazing sitcom.

Friday

8pm     Firefly (S1)

9pm     X-Files (S6)

10pm   Battlestar Galactica (S3)

PVR    Wonderfalls (S1)

It’s genre night. Would have loved to have seen more Wonderfalls and Firefly.

Saturday

8pm     Diff’rent Strokes (S6) / nothing

9pm     Doctor Who (S4)

10pm   Orphan Black (S1)

PVR    Don’t need to

Not as much to watch on a Saturday night. I couldn’t find a good comedy for the 8:30pm slot. Golden Girls is good and all but not ultimate worthy.

What’s your ultimate television schedule?

Film: Ant-Man

GENRE: Action, Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for action violence
RUNTIME: 1 hours and 57 minutes

STARRING: Paul Rudd (This is 40, Anchorman, Clueless)

Michael Douglas (The Game, Wall Street); Corey Stoll (House of Cards)

DIRECTOR: Peyton Reed (Yes Man, Bring It On)

WRITERS: Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), Joe Cornish (Tintin, Hot Fuzz)

Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Other Guys) & Paul Rudd (Role Models)

PLOT: A burglar is recruited by a scientist to use a shrinking suit to stop a villain from using the same technology to destroy the world. Simple, eh?

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 While the overall concept for this movie is pretty silly, Rudd’s humour and charm pull it off. Michael Douglas also brings it. It is a very fun film to watch. You will be pleasantly surprised.

2 I know one of the Thomas the Train jokes are used in the trailer, but the entire sequence is full of great moments.

3 I love the Avenger references in this movie. From comments to a confrontation. It’s all done very well.

4 Abby Ryder Fortson (Togetherness, Transparent, The Whispers) is adorable as Rudd’s daughter in this film. And is Judy Greer everyone’s mother now? She just played the mom in Jurassic World. I guess she just has that mom type attitude.

5 I’ve never hid the fact that I just don’t like Evangeline Lilly. She was okay in The Hobbit but not much else. I sure hope she doesn’t continue on in the Avengers universe because that will bum me out. What I hated even more than Lilly was her stupid bob hair-cut. I shudder to think on it.

RECOMMENDATION: Fun for theatre & home

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Walk