Boy vs Girl Meets World

Boy Meets World is one of the most beloved tv series to come out of the 90s. Its fans love it as much today as they did when it was being aired on tv. So, when it was announced that there was going to be a spin-off series, this time with Cory and Topanga's daughter, it's safe to say that we, the fans, were excited. After only a few episodes of Girl Meets World,  I think I can honestly say, at least for myself, that Girl Meets World is never going to be exactly what Boy Meets World was...at least not to fans of the original.

Now, let me just say that by no means is Girl Meets World the worst thing put on tv. There are a few good moments, which I will get to later.

 The first major problem I have with Girl Meets World is the channel that it's on. Watch a Disney Channel show that's been made in the past decade or so, and they're pretty much all the same. You automatically know a Disney show when you see one, from the styling of the show to the over the top/hokey antics that occur in them. Most of the characters are the same, trust me you can pull a character out from one show, drop them in another, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Plus, let's admit it, most of the child actors on Disney now are...well, not that good...or maybe they are, and it's just the material they're working with. 

The reason I bring this up for Girl Meets World is that I don't think it is going to have as much substance as if it were on a different channel. I could be wrong, since it's only been a few episodes, but I don't feel like they're going to have those kinds of dramatic scenes and episodes that Boy Meets World had. Even, though I don't really like the original shows on it much better, I feel like Girl Meets World would be better on a channel like ABC Family, because I think they'd be able to take more risks with the show. 

It's easy to see that GMW is not actually aimed at the 20s/30s crowd that grew up on BMW, even though I can guarantee that most of the people who watched the episode were in that demographic, which is maybe why a lot of what happened in the episodes wasn't actually very funny. So, I went back and re-watched the pilot episode of BMW, because the show started out with the characters in middle school too. Let me tell you, BMW's pilot episode still stands. 

Since this post is titled Boy VS Girl Meets World, I suppose I should start on the VS part. 

ROUND 1. PLOT

(I'm only going off the pilot episodes for this) 

BMW: The pilot episode of BMW centers around love. Cory's class is learning about Romeo and Juliet while he's listening to the Phillies game, and relaying what's happening to his best friend, Shawn. He's caught by Mr. Feeney who gives him detention. Eric, Cory's older brother, gets a date with a girl that he likes, and decides to take her to the Phillies game, rather than Cory, which leads Cory to 'move out' and into the tree house. Being a sixth grade boy Cory's doesn't understand the importance of love. He believes that it's turned his family against him, hence his moving into the tree house. It's not until he's in detention with Mr. Feeney that he starts to grasp just how important love is." I live on the other side of the fence from you, Cory. And it’s impossible not to face your direction and notice people in the next yard. And in the time I’ve gotten to know them, it is apparent they are fine individuals. But their real strength comes from being a family. And do you know why they’re a family, Cory? Because at one time, a man and a woman realized that they loved each other. And pursued the unlimited potential of what may come from that love. And here you are! There is no greater aspiration than to have love in our lives, Mr. Matthews. Romeo knew it and died for it.  Others know it and [pause]… prepare salads.  And those who don’t know it will sit in detention for the rest of their lives. This particular detention is over."   After this Cory decides to move back into the house, and even encourages Eric to call the girl he likes, after feeling like he was a bad date. From the pilot episode I don't think Cory, or any of us, knew just how important love would become over the years to the characters of the show.

GMW: The pilot episode of GMW centers around being true to yourself. It starts out with Riley, Cory and Topanga's daughter, and her best friend, Maya talking about sneaking past Riley's parents to go on the subway. They decide to climb out the window, only to be stopped by her dad aka Cory. He tells her that she's still living in his world, but he wants her to go out and make it her own. While on the subway Riley claims she wants to be exactly like Maya, so after seeing a cute boy, Maya pushes Riley towards him, and she literally falls into his lap. At school we learn that Cory is a history teacher, US History I believe from looking at the text book, and that the boy on the subway is a new student from Austin, Texas, named Lucas. It's also here that we meet Farkle, a boy that has a crush on both Riley and Maya, and whom I'm fairly certain is Minkus' kid. Cory, or Mr. Matthews in this case, gives the homework assignment of writing a 3 page essay on any topic, but it has to be something they believe so strongly in that they'd fight for it. Maya states that she fights for no homework. She leads most of the class into chanting "No homework more freedom" before she, Riley, and a few of the other students walk out of the class. The next day at lunch Lucas comes to sit with the girls, and Cory acts the way most fathers do when their daughters get into that 'liking boys' stage. In his class Maya tells 'Mr. Matthews' that she didn't do her homework, and Riley claims not to have done hers either, because she's 'just like Maya now' to which her father informs her that that doesn't make them the same. Maya tells everyone who did the homework to take their essays out, which she collects, and then proceeds to try and burn with a sparkler from Farkle's diorama. The sparkler gets too close to the sprinkler, setting them off in the class. Cory gives Maya detention, to start with, and when Riley tells him she deserves it to he lets her know that, "No, you don't. You didn't do anything, and because you didn't do anything your friend is in very deep trouble" and shortly after that she'd been trying so hard to be Maya that she'd forgotten to do the best thing for Maya and be herself. The two girls believe that he's going to make Riley stop seeing Maya, so Riley and Maya go to her house, where she tells her father what she believes in fighting for is her friendship with Riley. The episode ends with them in the subway station, Riley getting her own subway pass. A symbol that she's going to go out and make the world her own. The way love seemed to become an over all theme for BMW, it's easy to see that the breaking away and finding out who you are is more than likely going to be an over all theme for GMW, and understandably so.

THE WINNER

Boy Meets World

The reason I choose BMW over GMW here is because of the way that the theme of the plot was handled. In essence both themes are good ones, the importance of love, and the importance of finding out who you are, and staying true to yourself, are both valuable lessons that both kids and adults need to learn. However, in BMW Cory learns his lesson in a believable way as opposed to the over the topness of GMW. Real life younger siblings often do feel abandoned by their older ones, once that grade gap hits. (In BMW's case middle school vs high school...wanting to goof off and play sports vs girls.) How many times as a kid did you threaten to run away? Now, let me ask, how many times you staged a walk out of your classroom because you didn't want to do homework? How many times did you attempt to burn homework essays with a sparkler? I'm guessing none. I get it, Disney Channel, these things are supposed to be 'funny' but one thing that made BMW so good was that it was relatable. Even as an adult one can go back to BMW and relate to a feeling of abandonment by people we're close to because of love. It might not be family, but it could be friends getting married, having kids, and leaving the part of their life that included you, behind.

Also, while there were other characters involved in the pilot episode of BMW, such as Eric and Mr. Feeney, it was still mainly focused on Cory, whereas I feel that the pilot episode of GMW focused a little more on Maya than it did Riley. This isn't to say that there weren't BMW episodes focused more on Shawn, but not the first one.

ROUND 2:  CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS
(for the sake of this I will be using relationship focus when it comes to Cory and Riley, since they are the center of their shows)

BMW:  While throughout the seasons the Cory's relationship with his friends becomes more and more important, the major relationship focus in the beginning is the one that he has with his family. The pilot is mainly about the relationship he has with his brother. I feel like the focus in BMW is more on family because back in the 90s it seems like people thought family was important. Think of all the family centered shows that came on in the 90s. BMW, Full House, Step by Step, Family Matters...and these were shows that were actually geared towards family, and had many of their main characters being kids. We see Cory interact with every member of his family, dad, mom, Eric, and Morgan, his little sister. In just the 30 minute pilot we get a small glimpse into Cory's relationship with each one of them, and each is given their just amount of time.

GMW: The major relationship focus of GMW seems to be the friendship side of it, mainly the friendship between Riley and Maya. We can probably assume that they've been best friends since elementary school, same as Cory and Shawn. Riley is the goofy/awkward one that usually does what she's told, while Maya is the cool one that's a bit of a rebel. It seems like from the pilot episode that their relationship is going to majorly consist of Maya either talking Riley into doing something, or Riley having to figure out how to get Maya out of a situation.

We do see Riley interact with other characters mainly her father and Lucas, who I'll get to in a little, but we rarely see anything between her and her mom, Topanga, and her little brother, Auggie...honestly, you could completely forget she has one in the pilot.

THE WINNER

Boy Meets World

Yes, once again BMW beats GMW in this. Obviously I've seen more episodes of BMW, and I know the relationships from that show a lot better, but once again I'm only looking at the pilot episodes. Also, once again, the reasoning behind this verdict is not the relationships themselves, but rather how they are handled. The interactions between Cory and the others on BMW seems to be a bit more natural. They seem like conversations one might have had growing up. The relationships make more sense to me, and I don't feel like anything is being forced.

The opposite is true for GMW. I felt like the main relationship focus, Riley and Maya, was being forced down my throat. We barely know these characters and already we're supposed to not want their friendship to be threatened? We're already supposed to be rooting for them? It took seasons of development for the love of the Cory/Shawn friendship to become what it is. The audience needs to get to know the characters better before an episode about possibly having to lose your best friend takes place. It makes it more meaningful.


The next point I have isn't a VS category per se, but rather another problem I have with GMW. I feel like GMW is trying too hard to be BMW. Not with the plots per se, but rather with the characters. Maya is obviously the female Shawn knockoff, and Lucas is the love interest, aka male Topanga. There wouldn't be anything wrong with this, except the fact that Maya seems a little too much like Shawn in some aspects, such as it became easier for Shawn to talk to girls than Cory (it's easy for Maya to talk to boys), or the fact that they both seem to come from homes where their parents aren't really around.

 Then there's Lucas...Lucas, isn't actually a bad character, but he's there for one thing and one thing only...for Riley to have a crush on. From the first time she lays eyes on him, she has a crush. In the third episode she's jealous of a girl who likes Lucas too. Maybe sixth grade girls think differently now than when I was in sixth grade, but it just seems ridiculous that after just seeing a boy one would be completely gaga over them. Also, I want to point out that, like the Riley/Maya friendship, the Riley/Lucas thing is being pushed in your face. We all know that at some point Lucas is going to ask Riley on a date....with Cory and Topanga it wasn't that obvious. It had its hinted moments, but it was such a good steady build up that when it finally happened it was like, YES! What made it even better was how at the beginning Cory just saw Topanga as that weird, hippie girl. While Lucas first appears in the pilot episode, we actually don't see Topanga until the fourth of BMW.

With all this being said, there are some good things about GMW.

1. Cory and Topanga: This is the most obvious one, but the C and T relationship is still strong, and the on screen chemistry between Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel is still as strong as it was all those years ago on BMW.

2. Cory as a teacher at Riley's school: I like to see that Cory followed in Mr. Feeney's footsteps and became a teacher. The scenes between Cory and Riley at the school are some of the better ones, and it's going to be interesting seeing how their relationship at home will effect things in the classroom and vice versa. Plus, Cory is cute when he's in 'dad' mode when it comes to Riley and Lucas.

3. Farkle: My god, Farkle. He's the character that is actually meant to be annoying, but still he's probably my favorite of the GMW original characters. He's the new Minkus...what more is there to say?  I just hope they don't toss this character aside, and actually develop him past being what he is right now.

4. Jackee Harry as a guest star. She was one of the best parts of the pilot, and I hope they bring her back for more episodes, even if it's just scenes on the subway.

5. The fact that they will be bringing in characters from BMW from time to time to help bridge the gap between BMW and GMW.

6. GMW is still trying to teach the lessons that BMW taught us, but for the next generation.

So, yeah, all in all I feel that GMW has some obstacles it needs to over come. It needs to stop trying to automatically make us care about these new characters, rather than developing them and letting it happen naturally, and I do hope that they aren't afraid to have more serious episodes, rather than just the hokeyness that Disney Channel is known for these days. Already, the other episodes have been a little better than the first in some aspects. If it can keep up with this, and doesn't succumb to what it means to be a stereotypical Disney Channel show, then I think maybe it'll stand a chance.

P.S

The best part of the GMW pilot was definitely the Mr. Feeney cameo

Not A Review

It's been a while since I've made any posts here, and I'm getting back in the swing of doing reviews. My first post back, however, is not a review...just like the title says. Instead it's a sort of...suggestion to movie theatres that do free screenings of movies, as well as the different places (such as gofobo.com) where you get the passes. Originally I was going to send this to the area on this specific theatre's (Galaxy Highland) website, but the site was down and wouldn't process it. This is the letter I was trying to send.

Hello,
I'm not sure if it's the actual theatre or Gofobo that would be able to help with this/who I should be sending this too, but for the time being you're getting the message. My roommate and I went to see the sneak preview of X-Men Days of Future Past. We were there over two hours beforehand with maybe about 100 people in front of us. The theatre seats well over 100 people, so we sure to get in, but then something happened. People started showing up and getting in front of us because they had people saving them spots in line. This wasn't just one person saving it for one friend/husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend, this was people saving spots for entire families. These were people who were showing up 30 minutes before the theatre opened up to let people in. These were people who hadn't really been waiting that were getting in to see the movie over those of us who had been waiting for hours. If all the people in front of us had been there waiting before us, and not just showing up, I wouldn't have a problem, it's the fact that we waited, and they didn't.

 I know there's nothing that can be done about X-men, but I do have a suggestion for future sneak preview events. 1. Now you might not be able to be who does this, but a lot of the people going to see the movie were people with small children...I understand if it' a kids' movie, but if it's PG-13 or R, I feel like there should be an age restriction..say I don't know...13 and older? There is a reason it's PG-13 after all. Of course that might be something GoFoBo would take care of. 2. When people arrive scan their tickets and give them wristbands. They did this at the showing of Two Guns about an hour and a half before the movie let in. People who had been waiting got wristbands, if they were waiting for ONE other person they were able to get their wristband too. (Which that's saving spots, but like I said there's a difference between saving the spot for one person over an entire group). Like I said this would be able to guarantee the people, who had actually been in line waiting, to actually get in. Once the wristbands were out then no more people could get in, unless they wanted to wait around to see if press showed up or not.

These are just some suggestions I have, that I think would make these screenings go/run better

----------------------------------------------------------------

Now of course these suggestions aren't just for this particular theatre, but any theatre that shows sneak previews.

Inception (semi-reviewed on my Tumblr over a year ago)

You’re asking me for Inception. I hope you do understand the gravity of that request.

The idea of dreams in movies is a concept that we’ve seen done before. In the Nightmare on Elm Street movies we see the fear that comes in our dreams (nightmares) when we sleep, and how vulnerable our mind, imagination, can make us. The foreign film, The Science of Sleep, shows us what it’s like in a dreamer’s mind when he falls in love and wants to show the girl his dream world, while seeing things in reality as they would in his dream. There are more movies and episodes of t.v shows where everything is revealed to be a dream, but nothing has quite been done like Inception. The writers of Inception have taken the idea of dreams to a whole new level. A place where you aren’t just vulnerable from a horror movie icon, but from thieves who can find and steal your secrets and most intimate thoughts, if they wanted to. Then there’s the idea that if you go so far in a dream (or dream within a dream) that you can become lost forever in the dreamer’s mind if you were to die in it.

After only the midnight release of Inception, the movie has already made it to the #83 spot on IMDB’s top 250 list, and with good reason. Everything about this movie was incredible. The effects, cinematography, directing, score, and of course the acting. Even the actors who weren’t in much of the movie, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy, deliver excellent performances, but then again I wouldn’t expect less from either one.

I’m not sure if I can say just who was my favorite actor in the film, since everyone did such an amazing job, but I can easily identify my favorite scene. This would be the scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character Arthur in the hotel. He’s in the dream within the first dream, while the others, aside from Yusuf (Dileep Rao), who is still in the first initial dream, are in the new dream of Robert Fischer Jr (Cillian Murphy). As the effects of the first dream start to move effect the world of the dream that Arthur is still in, the physics of the world start to change in the form of there being no gravity. The fight between Arthur and the ‘security’ in Fischer’s mind has easily made one of my favorite fight scenes in any movie. Yes, you know that it’s a scene filled with special effects, but even so it seems so real while also giving off that feeling that you are within a dream

4 out of 5 Stars

dying from Dead Undead: Vampires vs Zombies

Okay, I really need to stop trusting Phase 4 Films to provide me with some sort of entertainment. This is the film company of false advertising, they give you a synopsis of one movie and then give you something different on screen. From the same production company that brought you Wreckage, the film in my last review, comes The Dead Undead: Vampires vs Zombies. Now going into this film I wasn't expecting anything of high quality, but the RedBox synopsis seemed interesting enough

 A camping trip becomes a nightmare when the solitude of a peaceful mountain is shattered by the onslaught of a ravenous zombie horde. Fleeing to what appears to be a deserted town, the group discovers a secret Vampire community and fears that all hope is lost. But the vampires take the defenseless humans under their wing and an all-out war between vampires and zombies begins.

and the trailer for it looked like it could be good to watch for a good laugh. Just like with Wreckage so much of this synopsis is wrong and at no point did I laugh, except for out of sheer confusion.

Unlike with some of my other reviews, I'm not recapping much of what happened because honestly I don't remember most of what happened. This is how bad this movie was. I was so confused by what was going on that I couldn't really follow what was happening. What I do know is that there was no camping trip. They did not flee to a deserted town (they stopped at a motel) and they did not discover a secret vampire community. No, a group of people with guns jumped out of a van and started shooting things up, even killing some of the characters that have been set up to be the main characters of the film. We find out from the shoot-em-up squad that the things that have suddenly come out of nowhere and attacked them are Zombie Vampires. A. That makes no fucking sense and B. Isn't this supposed to be about Vampires VS Zombies...VS!

One of the guys, that has gotten blood on him/bitten by the Zombie Vampires, has a flashback of him and the only woman on their team fighting back as Vikings or something. It really doesn't matter because everyone looked like they'd gone to Target to get some costumes for their Viking Cosplay. You find out that they were enemies and then a cloaked figure, that I call the 'Magic Druid' comes and offers them something/a way to survive if they agree to team up. They agree and then we go to present day and a minute later both are dead.

The others find shelter in a building and two humans that are left find out the the 'shoot-em-up' gang are really vampires, but they're good vampires. Okay, so there are just vampires, but the movie isn't supposed to be Vampires vs Zombie Vampires. We then see flashbacks of Vietnam and the Old West, the 'Magic Druid' showing up in both. Yes, I understand that it's probably the same vampire, but I like calling it the 'Magic Druid.' More people die, leaving just the vampire leader and a female human, who he bites so he can have strength, and therefor turns her...I think. Reinforcement vampires come in and save the day and then there's talk about finding the second half of a parchment for something and...yeah I don't even know.

If the plot had followed the synopsis that was written then it might have been good, but what I saw and you're reading about above was just....crap...a fucking steaming pile of crap in the shape of a DVD. I kept getting lost as to what was going on, the 'main' characters really aren't the main characters because all but one of them dies within the first 15 minutes of the film. The first flashback just comes out of nowhere and left me going 'what the fuck is going on?' The only reason I remotely knew what was going on with the other flashbacks was because of the first one, but still they weren't needed. There was no character development, I didn't even know anyone's name, and therefor I didn't give a shit when someone died. This movie had no redeeming qualities and doesn't deserve to exist. Someone needs to keep Phase 4 Films from producing anything else.

0 out of 5 stars.

leave the Wreckage behind

Going through a list of movies on RedBox is like playing a game of russian roulette, sometimes you're safe and other times you get a bullet through the head. A bullet through the head would probably be better than the crap that I just witnessed for the past hour and twenty-six minutes.

According to RedBox the synopsis of the movie is as follows

When their car breaks down, a group of teenagers head to a nearby junkyard to salvage car parts. Little do they know that an insane serial killer has escaped from prison and is lurking in the area. As the teens are stalked and hunted down one by one, what was an innocent trip turns into a bloody all out struggle for survival.

99% of this synopsis was wrong and honestly the script was so convoluted that I'm not entirely sure what was happening. The film starts out with two young boys, Wesley and Ricky, sitting on the couch watching tv. Their mom's boyfriend or pimp, still not sure, comes in and is a royal douchebag. The younger of the two boys, Ricky, shoots him and the older brother tries to get him to put the gun down, but the little boy fires again and shoots the mom. Flash forward to some odd number of years later and we find that a convict has escaped from prison and some lady has broken down on the side of the road. A guy goes to help her and like an idiot she goes back to his car, where he tells her that the sound a woman makes while having an orgasm is the same she makes when getting stabbed. She gets out, he chases her, he winds up dead.

We then have, what feels like, 2 hours worth of credits. I swear they were going to start putting the production's catering company up soon. Finally, after the credits we're introduced to what is supposed to be the 'teenagers' who are obviously in their mid-20s because one of them was a former soldier. The four (the former soldier/mechanic, his girlfriend *fiancee* that he's just proposed to, his best friend, Rick, one of two character's whose names I actually remembered, his best friend's pregnant girlfriend) are all going on trip somewhere, where I don't remember. Anyway, they decide to be idiots and drag race some rich kid, who obviously has the better car, and the car breaks down. Rich kid drives off, leaving them to have to walk the four miles to the nearest place for help. My first question is 'Why does no one have a phone?' It wasn't even like they tried and had no signal or the battery died. No, they never even got one out.

They walk and wind up at a junkyard at night when the friend starts playing target practice at some cars, when one of the bullets ricochets and hits the fiancee. The main guy/former soldier tells the others to stay with her while he goes to get help. He comes back later with an old sheriff, two deputies (one of which later goes to get back up), a paramedic and doctor in tow only to find out that the others are gone. There's some arguing back and forth before they split up to go look. The paramedic finds the pregnant girl dead and hanging by her feet high above the ground. While still trying to find the others they come across the relative of the junkyard's owner who makes Gomer Pyle look like Albert Einstein. Soon the killer strikes again, killing the deputy by stabbing him in the back and then hanging him. The others get to him before he's dead, but they aren't able to get him down before then. The doctor then attempts CPR in a way that makes me question the credentials of the medical school that allowed her to graduate, but of course it's too late and he's dead. The paramedic girl has gone missing, being found when the crusher is turned on. The old angry sheriff and the main guy manage to save her, but when they're walking back a hanging van falls on her.

There's a minute or two of a shootout between the dumbass, main guy, and the killer who's wearing a welder's mask. They come across the friend who looks to be pretty beat up and get him sent off with the doctor. A man then appears carrying the fiancee, saying he had found her walking and that she needed to get to a hospital. The main guy and sheriff are of course wary of him, but they all pile in the cop car to head into town. There's a radio call that goes out again about the escaped killer from the beginning of the film, a man named Wesley that had been in prison for killing two people. The new guy stabs the sheriff in the leg and makes a run for it. Main guy chases after him and stabs him in the stomach. While he's dying the main guy asks him why he killed his friends to which he replies that he had never killed anyone.

We flash to the hospital where main guy and Rick are walking and talking, and main guy tells him about how he believed the last thing that the guy said. The girlfriend has a dream in which she sees Rick accidentally shoot his pregnant girlfriend after the main guy had gone off for help. After they visit her and the main guy goes out, Rick tries to kill her by suffocating her with the pillow, but main guy comes back in, having realized that Rick said something earlier that he shouldn't have known about one of the kills, and saves the fiancee. When he asks him why he did it, he pretty much gives a 'why not?' answer...in fact I think those might have been the exact words. The main guy knocks him out and the next scene we see is Rick in a padded room reading a letter about the death of his brother. We flash back to the opening scene with the two boys, but go further this time to see that the older brother had taken the blame for the shooting.

Does any of this sound like the synopsis that was provided? NO! First off they weren't teenagers. Second, there was no serial killer, the person who had escaped from prison/the person you are supposed to believe is the killer had only killed two people. Third, the 'teenagers' are not hunted down, in fact the only one that dies is the pregnant chick and we don't even see it. Then there's the whole scene at the beginning with the girl and the almost rapist, what was the point?

The one redeeming thing this movie had is that the acting from the main guy (Mike Irwin, who played the coma boyfriend on Everwood)and Rick (Aaron Paul, Jesse from Breaking Bad) wasn't actually half bad and they tried their best with the script that was provided them. The other actors are way too over dramatic and when the van is dropped on the paramedic she begins to fall to the ground before it even comes close to hitting her. The dialogue was at times so horrendous that not even Morgan Freeman and Tom Hanks could make it sound good. The kills aren't interesting and for a 'horror' film there just aren't enough, given that the cast suddenly grew from 4 to 6 plus the missing people and then later the convict. There should have been more than 3 kills, not including the kill of the escape convict, and we didn't even see one of the kills.

What more can I say about this movie, except for if you ever find it put it on the ground and drive over it...several times and when you think you've destroyed it as best you can...go over it one more time.

1 out of 5 stars

no need to avenge The Avengers

Last night, or rather extremely early this morning The Avengers was released in theatres across the United States in midnight premieres. This movie is probably the most anticipated film of this year, more than Spiderman, the Hunger Games, and in, at least my opinion, the Dark Knight Rises. With all that hype and build up with the wrong script and direction this film could have been a really big hit or a really big miss. Luckily for fans it was the former. 

the Avengers stand to protect Manhattan

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton aka Hawkeye

For the most part we've seen the actors in their roles because of the former films that were released, and we know that they have been successful casting choices. The two new cast members brought in were Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo taking over the role of Bruce Banner (the Hulk). I love Mark Ruffalo, but I was a little wary going in with him, mainly because I am such a huge Edward Norton fan, but out of all the recent Bruce's (Eric Bana, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo) Mark was by far my favorite and I believed him the most as Bruce. (I am still holding out for a movie starring both Edward Norton and Robert Downey Jr.) Renner didn't have as big of a part as most of the other members of the Avengers, but he does well with what he's given and he's as bad ass as they come. I want to take special notice of Clark Gregg who plays Agent Phil Coulson, he was a minor secondary character, but man does he deliver in a big way. 

The movie is packed with action, some drama, and perfectly timed comedy, especially the quips delivered by Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and even the Hulk and Thor have some witty moments. With Joss Whedon at the helm, I wouldn't have expected anything less. Because the movie has barely been released, I am refraining from posting any spoilers here, and will leave with this...You Need To See This Movie. No Questions. No Ifs, Ands, or Buts. 

5 out of 5 Stars

spend a night with The Innkeepers

Last night I spent the night watching a low budget horror film, The Innkeepers. Now, when I say low budget this isn't a knock to  the film, it just wasn't a major release with very many effects. The thing is, though, that effects weren't really needed for it. The film is about an old inn that is on it's last weekend before closing down forever. The inn is rumored to be haunted by a woman named Madeline O'Malley, that one of the innkeepers, Luke (Pat Healy), has said he has come in contact with. The other inkeeper, Claire (Sara Paxton) decides to do some paranormal investigating herself and come in contact with a spirit as well. She believes that this is the spirit of Madeline, and after some more contact, some through an old actress turned 'healer', Lee (Kelly McGillis) she's warned to stay away from the basement. Of course in pure horror fashion she goes down anyways, and things can only freak her out even more.

Pat Healy and Sara Paxton as Luke and Claire hang out
at the front desk.

Going into the film I was pretty skeptical, the last thing I'd seen Sara Paxton in had been Shark Night and that was pretty bad. However, with The Innkeepers I was pleasantly surprised. There are really only a handful of people in the film and Sara is in a large majority of it, she's even the only character that has scenes by herself. The dialogue is probably the best part of the film, it actually sounds like two people having conversations in real life, which is a relief from all the hokey dialogue that seems to be plaguing horror films nowadays. My favorite part of the dialogue was the fact that there were several, clever and witty lines.

The one thing I didn't entirely like was the lack of action in the film until the very end. Sure, the build up was good, but for a movie that's 101 minutes long, I would have expected them to spread it out a little more instead of saving it for the last 5 or 10 minutes. When the film ends, it also ends rather abruptly and questions are left unanswered. Despite this, I still found the movie to be enjoyable, if only for the interaction between Claire and Luke, which includes a scene where the two have been drinking and Luke starts that 'awkward speech about how he likes her.' That speech we've all either heard, given, or both.

3 out of 5 stars