X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Once Over Review

My wife and I got the X-Men box-set for Christmas with all three movies and just got finished watching it. We love those movies, and what's not to love?

Deep down everyone wants to be a super hero. The upcoming movie Kick Ass is a clear testament to that fact. When I was a kid... and sometimes still, I wonder what sort of mutant superpower I might have. Of course, I was never creative enough to really think of anything original, so I would end up just wanting to be like one of the X-Men, namely, Wolverine.

First off, Wolverine is Canadian, which just kicks ass. He's a troubled, bad ass street fighter with a tough exterior and a heart of gold.

Just like Michael Ignatieff

Secondly, He is indestructible, nothing you can do can hurt or kill him. That's just cool on so many levels.

Finally, he has claws. CLAWS people!

So the big question is... How come a movie dedicated to his story, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was sooooo lame? This thought from a commenter on movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes sheds some light:

"The filmmakers couldn't decide what to cut out, so they threw everything into the pot and hoped for the best. The results are half interesting, but half filler."

Well said chap. Well said indeed.

This is a bloody shame. The movie was all the more a let down because the other X-Men movies were so cool.

Sadly, Wolverine seemed like a cheesy, money maker spin off of a solid brand. And I don't think I would have cared so much if it was any other character.... but Wolverine? So much wasted potential.

5/10. You can see it if you want, just don't expect what you get with the other X-Men, cause you wont get it.

Until Next Time...

Avett Brothers: Murder in the City | Once Over Review

I think 'The South', as in 'The South of America', not to be confused with 'South America', all too often gets a bad rap. I mean, if I said "Hey, you there, give me your best Dumb Hick impression", you would likely no nothing else but speak with a Southern accent. Plus the whole slavery thing. Also George Bush.

But my point is that I think this is entirely unfair. I have a brother in law from The South, and a few college buddies, and whereas they certainly personify many hilarious stereotypes, they are also some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life.

But that's not my point. Well, not exactly at lest. Another thing I have found 'Southerners' to be exceptionally good at time and time again, is music. So much absolutely fantastic music comes out of the south, and the Avett Brothers have proved to be no exception.

Hailing from Concord, North Carolina, the folk-rock trio comprises of brothers Scott and Seth Avett and Bob Crawford, who does not appear to be related to them...

OK, so the name 'Avett Brothers' is a little misleading. It should be something more like 'The Avett Brothers and Some Other Guy' or 'The Avett Brothers Plus 1' or 'The Avett Brothers and Buddy who needs some Money'. But hey, I got out of the music biz a long time ago, I'll leave these decisions up to the pro's.

But all that aside, how bout that song eh? Why do I like it? I'm gonna try to keep this short and sweet.

1. The Music Industry has splintered. On the one hand you have extremely produced, auto-tuned music (Brittany Spears), and on the other hand you have guy who records his whole album alone in a cabin (Bon Iver). Am I a purest? I would never answer that myself, but yes. I am. I'm sick of the music industry monster and I think there is something so compelling about a person, their instrument, and a powerfully written song. Avett Brothers are that.

2. Murder in the City has a cool juxtaposition going on. Audibly, the song is super folksy, and down-to-earth. But lyrically we are in an urban ghetto, a Compton if you will. Which I find to be very engaging and original.

3. It's true what they say, there is no harmony like family harmony. The boys can sing.

So, maybe you knew about these guys, maybe not. Their single out right now is called 'I and Love and You' and it's also great. You can check out more of their stuff on the Avett Brothers Myspace

Song gets a 7.5/10. Easy listening to, enjoyable, pleasent. But, there's still that problem with the misleading band name. Maybe 'The Avett Brothers and the Craw-Dog'. No, that's not it... but I'm getting closer.

Cheers

Avatar | Once Over Review

Today, I’m putting on my Sunday best, rolling up my sleeves, and stepping up onto my soapbox. I have a simple message, but one that must be heard by the masses, the bench warmers, the fence sitters. A word for the indecisive, the indifferent, and everyone else who has not seen Avatar yet...

“Leave your homes, leave your wives, husbands and children. Do not pack heavy bags which will burden you and likely be checked for food which you can’t bring on this journey for some reason. But food shall be provided. Popcorn shall rain down upon you; imitation butter and soda will flow like mighty rivers.

But Make Hast! For a time is coming when this land will disappear like the morning dew, here today and gone tomorrow. So rise up! Men and Woman, young and old, pretty and ugly. In this land surely, you all belong. In short....

Go see Avatar. Like... NOW!

Here’s your three reasons why you have to get off your ass and go see this movie, if you haven’t already. Even if you have, you should probably see it again at least one more time.

1.Breakthrough Technology. The 3D is stunning, mind-blowing, and beautiful. This is SO important because this movie has now redefined how a movie is experienced. It has done what sound did to the silent film, and colour did for black and white.

And you might be reading this thinking this guys out to lunch, 3D will never be the norm for movies. Well, you might be right. But, at the very least, I think it’s safe to say we’re going to be see a lot more movie’s being made in 3D, and Avatar has just set the standard. And since you can only see it 3D in the theaters, you have to go now!

2.Contrary to some critiques I’ve heard on Avatar, the story line is actually really solid. There’s good character development, some really heart wrenching moment, and it is quite thought provoking. Honestly, I would watch this movie again on DVD, even without the 3D. Now, I think it goes without saying that the special effects aspect of this movie is front and centre, but what I’m saying is that there is still a solid story line behind that.

3.And finally, you get to see you crazy alien people get freaky, jungle style.

Worth the price of admission right there if you ask me.

Avatar get’s an 8.5/10 fore groundbreaking, and breath-taking special effects with a respectable story. You absolutely need to go see this movie in 3D while you still can. And make sure you see it in a decent theater, or iMax if you can. You will not be disappointed.

Cheers

Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers | Once Over Review

Well didn’t I just think it was time to review a book! And who better than the great Malcolm Gladwell, known for such best sellers as ‘The Tipping Point’, ‘Blink’ and his latest, ‘What the Dog Saw’. But today, we are going to be looking at his last big hit...

Outliers!!

Outliers is such a great book for this blog because it so brilliantly encompasses the sort of thing I want to be reviewing. Something that you’ve probably heard a lot about, but have maybe never been convinced enough to invest in reading. Well, I did the ground work for you and will tell you if it's worth your time/money. And if you’ve read it, see what you think about my review. Am I out to Lunch? Or did I hit the nail on the head.

And if you haven’t read the book watching the clip up there will help give you the idea of what the book is about.

So, whats the deal with this book? Well, I’ve gotta say, Gladwell actually kind of let me down to be honest. I’ve read Blink and The Tipping Point and will probably read his newest book, But Outliers left me feeling kind of ripped off for three main reasons.

1. Maybe you’ve heard that this books talks a lot about the 10,000 Hours thing. Basically is says (chapter after chapter) that if you spend 10,000 hours doing something you’ll be a pro....



Which, you know, was shocking to me because I’m, uh... mentally retarded! Ya Gladwell, practice makes perfect, we get it. Is that really that ground breaking? Did we really need to read this book to know that? No. In fact, if you didn’t already know, you just read it a couple sentences ago. Now I just saved you about $30 on a sub-par book. 


2. The other main premise of the book is that people themselves have very little to do with whether they are successful or not. Rather, it's where and when you were born that will determine your success. Which A: is just a kick to the pants because I don’t know about you, but my parents last names aren’t ‘Gates’ or ‘Hilton’, so I guess I might as well not work that hard cause I’m destined to be middle class at best. But also B: Why am I reading this book then? Where the hell are my '10 Easy Steps to Success'? Because if you’re essentially telling me I’m SOL when it comes to success, again, you don’t need to tell me, I know. But thanks for taking my money. I’m was bound to get swindled one way or another. 


3. Finally, are we really so shallow of a society that we solely gauge success of financial gain??



Yes. 



But that kinda sucks doesn’t it? The truth is that I will never have a private jet, or own an island, but I don’t believe that means I wont be successful. I have a beautiful wife I love, a great job, and amazing friends and family. How is that not success?

Overall, I give Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers a 4/10, and I don’t think you need to read it. His other stuff is good, but this books is not really going to benefit you in any way. It does have a few entertaining stories, but not enough to make it worth while.

Cheers

Donnie Darko | Once Over Review

I have had Malaria twice. That's right, twice. The last time I got it was in Africa.

Surprise surprise.

Malaria is no walk in the park. Asides from the constant vomiting and diarrhea, there is immense pain. I describe it as having all the vertebrae in you spine grinding against each other. You body is so soar, every day feels like you just got the shit kicked out of you by Chuck Norris.

You can’t eat, you can’t sleep.

And then there is the medication you have to take, which actually makes malaria itself seem like a warm hug from grandma. The pills work, but you have to sacrifice you sanity for a while. You actually lose your mind. Its like a perpetual ‘bad trip’. The severe paranoia and hallucination, actually do make you forget that you are sick in the first place.

I strongly recommend you never get malaria.

HOWEVER... if you ever find yourself kidnapped by ruthless drug lords in Africa who are about to torture you for information, and they offer you a choice between a swarm of malaria ridden mosquitoes, or having to watch Donnie Darko just once, for the love of God...

pick the bloody mosquitoes!

This ‘movie’ was so bad, I actually wanted to kill myself. It is the most contrived piece of bullshit I have ever sat through. Let me tell you who this movie appeals to: Stupid people, who know nothing about art but really want to be smart, and know a lot about art. The sort of people that would watch this movie and force some garbage, deeper meaning out of it because they are terrified that this ‘brilliant movie’ just went over their head.

Well I have news for you, it didn’t go over your head, it just didn’t go anywhere! Did you know, and you’ll find this out if you watch the directors commentary, that the ‘Bunny’ is supposed to represent God?? Don't worry if that little nugget went over your head because it really wouldn’t matter. Because all this movie was was the vomited digestion of some half-baked, film school drop-outs interpretation of what an ‘artsy’ film should be.

I rate Donnie Darko a whopping 0/10, which I think is very generous. I only recommend you see this movie if you’re a horses ass.

Wintersleep- Weighty Ghost | Once Over Review

Here's a sweet Canadian band I just recently came across. Apparently the band's been around since 2001, so I'm not claiming to be breaking any new ground here or anything. HOWEVER, I figured because I didn't know about them, other people probably didn't.

Now thats some air-tight logic.

Why Wintersleep. Or more importantly, Weighty Ghost.

Lets start this the fact that the acoustic guitar literally plays the same two chords ALL SONG! I've written music most of my life and let me tell you, to sit down with two chords and write an entire song from it is as ballsy as it is genius. In other words, this song gets into you. It connects right out the gate. Its accessible, and its hard not to move you head a little to it.

To me, this song is an Anthem to the Broken. To anyone who has ever wondered what happened to the person they used to be. Which is everyone, by the way. If you've never felt that at some point you must be younger that 14. Give it a year or two, you'll get it.

Also, three things everyone will like about this song:

1. Gang Singing

2. Na, na, na's

3. Background Clappers

Everyone loves the clap.

And, three things people might not like about this song.

1. Gang Singing

2. Na, na, na's

3. Background Clappers

Anyway, this song is contagious and I encourage you to go infect people with it. I love hearing good Canadian music, especially when it kind of sounds Canadian, you know? Can I say this sounds Canadian? Well I just did.

By the way, I realize I'm 2 for 2 in giving good reviews out in my blogs, but don't worry, I'm not going to stroke everyones ego's.

Just the ones who pay me.

HA, I wish. But seriously, I'm gonna go to town on Donny F'n Darko next week. So stay tuned.

Cheers

Once | Once Over Review

It only seemed fitting that the inaugural post of the "Once Over Review" blog review something that had the word "Once" in it. Thus establishing, right out the gate, That I am a creative genius, worth following, even to the ends of the earth...

Right then, enough of that.

And for the record, I'm not going to go on and on about what I review here. If you want to know the nitty gritty details of this stuff go to Wikipedia. Here, you get the honorable mentions of the material, and most importantly, if it's worth a damn.

Once was a beautiful film, and I think everyone can get down on it. This painfully low budget piece of cinema doesn't have the outward glitz and glamor of your typical Hollywood Blockbuster, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in content.

Bringing solace to ugly people everywhere.

The strongest point of this film is simply is 'feel'. It's as unique a cinematic experience as Avatar 3D, or any other cutting edge movies of our time. Of course, its unique for entirely different reasons. It makes you forget you're watching a movie and makes you feel like you're just hanging out with some really cool Irish people.

Which come, who doesn't want to hang out with some really cool Irish People?

Finally, the soundtrack alone makes the movie worth seeing. Just powerful, heartfelt stuff. And they just play it, on the spot, real time. What other movie would you see that kind of thing happening?

Now if you're sitting there in a tank-top, belly hanging out, drinking a luke-warm Molson Canadian wondering why this horses ass would think you'd be into this movie, don't worry, I haven't forgot you. In fact, I'm reminded of you every time I look in the mirror. And yes, you might prefer to watch MMA and practice opening beer bottles with your lighter. BUT, if you ever have the need to convince someone you are cultured and sensitive, you can watch this movie with them and score.

So "Once" gets an 8/10. The only reason it doesn't score higher is because I think, as the title suggests, Once is enough with this one. I watched it 2 years ago and have never felt the need to experience it again. So that says something.

Well, there you go. Have you seen it? Am I out to lunch? If you haven't seen it why not? Whats holding you back?