Movie Review: Chasing Mavericks

Would you risk your life for your passion? Who could stand in your way to stop you? And who would be the selfish one?

Chasing Mavericks is based on the true story of surfer Jay Moriarity played by Jonny Weston. In the biography, Jay's passion for the ocean turns into a love for surfing at just 8 years old. After 7 years and mastering the local breaks, Jay sets his eyes on dropping down Mavericks, a mythical wave only known by few surfers who have kept its location a secret. One of those surfers, Frosty (Gerald Butler), takes Jay under his wing after realizing Jay is going to surf the wave, live or die. During Jay's preparation, a friendship develops as Frosty prepares Jay physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (the 4 pillars) to surf Mavericks.

Jay and Frosty were a unique tandem. Jay had no home after his father abandoned them leaving Jay to parent his mother, Kristy (Elisabeth Shue), because she was an alcoholic. Jay's only retention of his father was a letter that he wrote to Jay, not memories or flashbacks. The letter went unopened for nearly 8 years while Jay masked the pain of feeling abandoned.

Fanboy Geekout: Ironman 3

So a few days ago, Marvel Studios unveiled the new trailer for Ironman 3.  After going frame by frame on my DVR, I have reached the conclusion that this will be the Ironman movie that fans have wanted since the beginning.  For starters, we finally get the Mandarin!  Actually, that's about all that needs to be said!

Second Look: Dark Tide

As a Halle Berry fan, it's safe to say she can do no wrong in my mind. Actually, there was B.A.P.S, but even then, I can tolerate that movie if I turn the volume down and only focus on her scenes. So that said, I couldn't resist the urge to watch her parade around in a bikini for 90 minutes in the 2012 flick, Dark Tide. The only problem with my plan to enjoy Ms. Berry's body of work is that five minutes into the movie, I quickly identified that the film's poster art was a bit misleading

Halle's character, Kate Mathieson, is the world's best shark whisper and along with her husband, Jeff (Olivier Martinez), are regulars in the waters off the coast of Capetown, South Africa - the same exact waters that are feeding and breeding grounds for the worlds most ferocious great white sharks. The husband and wife duo risk life and limb on a regular basis as they free swim with these killing machines for the sake of filming a documentary. Unfortunately, it isn't all fun and games when tragedy strikes and forces Kate to rethink her life's work.

Movie Review: Alex Cross

I don't see Tyler Perry movies simply because I'm not his target audience; they don't appeal to me. But when Tyler Perry was cast as the lead in an action movie I had to consider him as more than just the man who wrote and directed movies and plays for black women, I had to actually consider him as an actor.

Well played, Tyler Perry, well played.

Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) is a Detroit PD detective tackling the city's most high profile cases. After a young woman is tortured to death in an affluent neighborhood, Cross follows the only clue the killer, dubbed "Picasso" (Matthew Fox), leaves behind to his next target. Detecting Picasso's pattern, Cross squares off in a game of wits with the life of Leon Mercier (Jean Reno) hanging in the balance. But after the death of a fellow detective, Cross has to keep the rest of his unit and family safe by capturing Picasso.

Alex Cross was a solid movie and by solid I mean average. It didn't knock me off my feet but it didn't let me down either.

Swimming Pools (Drank)

I'm late to the Kendrick Lamar party but the cat definitely has my musical attention. When I first heard his single "Swimming Pools (Drank)" I initially thought "MAN IMMA GO GET FOOQED UP TO THIS!" Between the beat and the catchy hook I thought it was the perfect party song.

Not!

Swimming Pools (Drank) took on a whole 'nother life when I actually listened to the lyrics. Kendrick Lamar was rapping about his own relationship with alcohol and even

Second Look: The Tall Man

In the small town of Cold Rock life is slow and the local residents don't have much going for them with the local mining industry dead and the closest schools over 40 miles away. Kids have no hope for a secure financial future and no elementary and high schools to attend. To make matters worse, children throughout the town have been going missing for years. The locals have attributed these abductions to “The Tall Man” and seem to be at his mercy as there is no methodology to his approach.

Julia Denning (Biel), a recent widow of the town's most respected doctor, finds herself in the middle of an abduction while spending the evening with a friend. After putting her all into chasing a tall shadowy figure into the woods, she is forced to face the truth about “The Tall Man.” With her new reality now unfolding, Julia works diligently to make things right before it's too late.

Music Production Freebies

If your beats need a little help and you can afford free, check out this link for a ton of free samples that may give your tunes the added kick they need.
This Week’s #freesamplefriday Roundup — Shocklee Entertainment Universe ● The Future Frequency
Whether you use traditional hardware samplers or prefer a software-only environment, you shouldn't have any problems loading and using these samples. 
Enjoy!
-J

Second Look: Tomorrow, When the War Began

Sometimes Netflix surprises me with a gem that reassures me my monthly service fee isn't going to waste.  In this case, it came in the form of a great action flick from Australia.  Tomorrow, When the War Began isn't a new concept.  In fact, with the upcoming remake of Red Dawn, this movie is a bit of a throwback to the 1984 classic and should get you in the mood for some "kids save the world action."

The movie opens with Australian teen Ellie, played by Caitlin Stasey, masterminding a weekend camping retreat with a small group of classmates.  Fans of the Breakfast Club will appreciate the diversity in the group of seven classmates ranging from the town screw-up played by Deniz Akdenix to the deeply religious church girl played by Ashleigh Cummings - who has an excellent come to Jesus moment during the movie's largest action scene.

With a weekend of camping planned, the group of high schoolers head into the woods for a few days of bonding and thrill seeking.  One the night dozens of aircraft are seen overhead, and thought it's out of place, Ellie doesn't seem phased by it until she and her friends return to her family's country-side home to find the place abandoned.  In search of answers, the teens visit several of their homes with the same outcome and eventually sneak a peek into town to discover that their once pleasant community is now a prison camp guarded by armed sentries, tanks and air support.

Spoof Review: Taken 2

Taken was one of those movies I unanimously heard good things about but never got around to watching it so with the sequel hitting theaters this weekend I bummed the original on dvd before planning to catch Taken 2 opening weekend. But after finally seeing the first Taken I just couldn't do part 2 because Taken was too much of a good thing which is a bad thing. It was packed so full of action that it left no room for a story. Even though I'm biologically predisposed as a guy to like action flicks, Taken had so much butt kicking and bone breaking there was no room for dialogue that didn't have to do with the butt kicking and bone breaking. My first clue should have been the title of the movie: Taken 2. I mean, come on, how about a little more effort?

So!

Since I didn't watch Taken 2 for a review cause I'm waiting to catch it on cable, here's my short list of alternate titles:

Webcast: Jada Pinkett Smith, Presidential debates, WCU Homecoming, and more!

Steve and J reminisce on college days at Western Carolina University after choosing which 90's Jada Pinkett Smith they'd take home to meet mom. And since they're intelligently foolish, they go from Presidential debates to Fatz Bastard ninja-knocking the hangout. Catch all the shenanigans on Steve And J TV!

Steve

Disclaimer: I’m an employee of Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner, however the views expressed in this post are of my own.

Second Look: Warrior

There is nothing better than a little sibling rivalry and skull-crushing punches if you are in need of an adrenaline-filled movie night.  It's even more entertaining if you couldn't get enough of Tom Hardy as Bain in 2012's Dark Knight Rises.  Warrior (2011) does just that and more as two brothers from a broken home pursue their passion for punching and kicking people. 

Starring Hardy (Tommy Conlon) , Nick Nolte (Paddy Conlon) and Joel Edgerton (Brendan Conlon), Warrior immerses you into the lives of two brothers who unknowingly take a renewed interest in Mixed Martial Arts [MMA] just before a major U.S. tournament.  Though both men are motivated for different reasons, it becomes obvious that their fractured family is the power source that drives them - for better or worse.

Movie Review: Looper

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is at it again. Looper is his 3rd major motion picture in as many months and I'm stuck wondering where the heck did this guy come from? "3rd Rock from the Sun". Huh? 3rd Rock from the Sun is where my date said he came from and from looking up his film and television filmography, wow! He's been in everything, literally everything, including a lot of movies and tv shows I've seen but I just didn't recognize the guy. So anyways, that's where Joseph Gordon-Levitt came from: EVERYWHERE.

Looper is a Sci-Fi movie about Joseph Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), one of many contract killers hired by mob bosses 30 years in the future to murder targets sent back in time. Now, a new boss 30 years in the future, only known as the Rainmaker, is 'closing the loop' on all of the loopers - he's sending them back in time to be killed by their younger selves. When the Rainmaker tries to close Old Joe's (Bruce Willis) loop his wife is murdered as he's sent 30 years into the past. After avoiding being assassinated by his younger self, Old Joe has to convince Joe to help him find and kill the Rainmaker before he rises to power.

Looper is a fantastic movie just based on its elements alone: time travel, paradox loops, free will vs predetermination, and alternate timelines.

Yeah, wow!

Webcast: Maschine vs MPC, Internet Business models, and NFL

The gang's all here! Steve, J, and Dave aka DJ Fatz Bastard reunite for the first time since college to video blog about  music industry, how the internet has changed business models, and the NFL. Hilarity ensues as the clique catches up and share points of view.

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We are always looking for topics for our webcasts, so please drop us a line and we'll do our best to feature your ideas on future shows.

Steve

Disclaimer: I’m an employee of Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner, however the views expressed in this post are of my own.