Every week the people of Super Website (Super Blog) will give you a recommendation of a Film, DVD, Bluray, Book, Soundtrack or any other item for you the readers to check out.
Super Marcey Recommend’s:
Kindergarten Cop
Arnold Schwarzenegger in comedy! I am sure by now most of you have at least heard of this film, probably one of the better Arnie comedy classics. Pitting him against a class of 6 year olds, gold right? Yep of course it is. At this point in his career, it seemed like a natural progression for him to venture into comedy and this film for the most part works wonders. Ye ol fish-outta-water routine, as Arnie plays a Detective, John Kimble whose partner needs to go under cover as a Kindergarten teacher in order to find a vital witness against criminal Cullen Crisp. Unfortunately for John Kimble his partner comes down with food poisoning and he is forced to take her place. Naturally the kids are a crazy bunch and they drive him insane, but he is forced to find a new side to himself in order to control the class room and find the witness. Laughs are had, there is a bit of action thrown into the mix, this is the type of film that is bound to cheer you up on a down day. It is one of my go to films for a bad mood, or after a bad day, it’s an instant pick me up. The film has some amazing quotable dialogue, and of course you’ll have even more fun quoting it with the classic Arnie accent.
Aside from that, this is actually a pretty well acted film, with Arnie having some amazing comedic skills. It goes to show with the right script and character it just works, and it feels like a natural fit here. Pamela Reed and Penelope Ann Miller are both really good as well, and they have this great chemistry with Arnie as well. Richard Tyson plays the slimball character perfectly, like he always gives me the creeps in this film. Of course the kids are all great, I have no idea how Ivan Reitman managed to get these kids to actually behave and say these lines so well. Major props. If you have never seen this or it’s been awhile since you have, check this one out asap.
| IMDB| Purchase on Amazon |
Bede Jermyn Recommend’s:
Water For Elephants
Okay, okay I know what you are thinking, “Bede, why are you recommending us a Robert Pattinson film?! That’s just terrible!” Well, first of all, unlike the TWILIGHT series, this is actually a good film. Like Kristen Stewart, if you take Pattinson out of all things TWILIGHT he can actually be a pretty decent actor. He is very good here and as is the film itself I might add. So enough about that, let’s get to what the film is about. Based on the best selling novel by Sara Gruen and set during the Great Depression, the film tells the story of a young man named Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) who, on the day of his final exam to becoming a veterinarian, receives terrible news that his parents were killed in a car crash. Unable to cope with the loss of his parent’s death and losing his family home to the bank because of his Father’s unpaid debts, he decides to drop out of college and hit the road. One night he sneaks onto a moving train that just happens belongs to the Benzini Brothers circus, which is run by the ringmaster August Rosenbluth (Christoph Waltz). After he hears that Jacob studied as a veterinarian at college, August hires him to be the circus’ new vet and asks Jacob to help him train his latest attraction, a 53 year elephant named Rosie, for his wife (and the circus’s no. 1 star) Marlena (Reese Witherspoon). As Jacob and Marlena bond over taking care of Rosie, they begin to fall in love each other. However once August finds out about their romance, all hell breaks loose.
When you read the synopsis you can definitely tell that the story isn’t anything new and it’s something that’s been it many times before, I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t true (I must admit within the first 10 minutes of the film, I automatically knew where the story is going to go from beginning to end). But to be honest I don’t think that is entirely a bad thing, sure it isn’t as innovating, groundbreaking or as complex as some of the films that we have been getting over the past year but I don’t think that WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was ever intending to be anything like those. The filmmakers take the film’s simple but very familiar story and where still able to make an engaging and beautifully made film. What I really liked about the film was how utterly traditional and old fashioned it was. It really harkens back to the type of films that they use to make during the 40’s and 50’s. I think this was due to the film’s director Francis Lawrence, who is someone you probably would never have suspected to direct a film like this since his previous films were the horror/sci-fi efforts CONSTANTINE and I AM LEGEND. Thankfully it paid off, he did a great job with his direction and it was pretty cool to see him to come out of his comfort zone of well made big budget blockbusters to make a smaller film that relies on more story and characters.
Acting wise the performances from the three where all very good: Pattinson gives quite a strong and very sympathetic turn as Jacob, Witherspoon gives a very illuminating performance as Marlena (this is definitely without a doubt her best role since her Oscar nominated turn in WALK THE LINE) and Waltz delivers, of course, another stand-out turn as the charming but sadistic August. Some may say that his role was a bit one note or that he was channeling his role of Hans Landa from INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS again, which I can definitely see why but I think he adds some little touches here and there so it’s not exactly the same character (then again he knows how to play a villain extremely well so I’m definitely not complaining). Plus the supporting cast also did very good job as well (Hal Holbrook as wonderful as the older Jacob in the present scenes and it was awesome seeing Ken Foree from the original DAWN OF THE DEAD in the cast as one of August’s henchmen). Also, I know this is going to sound silly, I want to give a special mention to the elephant that plays Rosie: Tai. She is the real star of this film and she steals every scene that she is in. The art direction and costume were both terrific, the score from James Newton Howard was elegant and the cinematography from Rodrigo Prieto was absolutely beautiful (this is without a doubt the best looking film I have seen so far this year). In terms of negatives, like I said earlier the story isn’t anything new or original but that didn’t really bother me all that much. Although, I wish the ending had a bit more of a bang to it. Overall I really enjoyed WATER FOR ELEPHANTS and definitely recommend everyone to check it out. Don’t let the fact that it stars Robert Pattinson turn you off, believe me this is a film of his that is worth a look.
| IMDB | Purchase the book on Amazon |
Logan J. Fowler Recommend’s:
How I Met Your Mother S1
There are many shows I have to watch, and How I Met Your Mother was always on that list. This past weekend I finally had a chance to give it the time of day, and I personally cannot wait to continue on with the show.
How I Met Your Mother starts off with a narrator (Bob Saget) telling his two children of how their mother came to earn that title. The year is 2030 as we see that scenario, and it shifts back to the year 2005 where we meet Ted (Josh Radnor), who happens to be the narrator. We are seeing Ted’s path from 2005 to 2030, and along the way, we are introduced the supporting characters; his best friend, Marshall (Jason Segel), his fiancé, Lily (Alyson Hannigan), the male chauvinist, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and on again/off again flame Robin (Cobie Smulders). They all live in New York City and while the obvious questions do arise that take you out of the show (“How in the hell does Marshall afford a New York City apartment while attending law school?”), some suspension of disbelief is required, at least in the characters’ financial situations.
My real infatuation with How I Met your Mother is how I run parallel line with the character of Ted, who is a hopeless romantic, and a contradicting optimist and a pessimist. His outlook on life is through rose colored glasses sometimes, but his defeat by the overwhelming drive to impress the opposite sex is something I could relate to severely.
Moving past the singular character, How I Met Your Mother is funny, has heart, and the episodes fly by like you wouldn’t believe. It has my patented “Logan Love” seal of approval. I suggest you “suit up” for this very enjoyable first season of this sitcom.
| IMDB | Purchase on Amazon |
Nick Bosworth Recommend’s:
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