The King's Speech - Movie Review

I normally try to not to use adjectives of either extremely high or low praise in these articles so as not to seem like an overblown advertisement or come off like a monster truck commercial. That being said the one word that comes to mind when I think of this movie is “brilliant”. The writing, the acting, the cinematography…everything about this film is so well done there’s no other fitting descriptive.

Toy Story 3 - Movie Review

Ever since the first Toy Story came out, I just knew these characters would have an endearing way of taking me back to those fond childhood memories of playing with my collection of assorted action figures, hot wheels, and other various pieces of my childhood. Little did I know that, by the time the third movie came out, these iconic and imaginary heroes would define that experience for anyone who has ever had a bunch of toys scattered around their bedroom.

The A-Team - Movie Review

Taking one of the most iconic TV shows of the 80’s and turning it in to a major motion picture seems like a task that would find so many ways to go wrong and especially when it comes to recasting a show that originally starred one of that era’s pop culture icons in Mr. T as the unstoppable B.A. Barracus.

Tangled - Movie Review

Sometimes you go in to a movie hopeful that it will be a good effort especially when it is coming from Disney Animation who, over the years, has given us classic films ranging from Snow White to Beauty and the Beast, but even with that history behind it, you are skeptical of what you are about to watch.

Black Swan - Movie Review

Intense is the one word I would use to describe this movie, but of course I need to provide more than that for the purposes of this exercise. The world has been waiting for Natalie Portman to deliver a performance like this ever since her debut in Luc Besson’s Leon: The Professional alongside Jean Reno and Gary Oldman back in 1994.

Iron Man 2 - Movie Review

This sequel to the surprise smash hit of 2008 finds Tony Stark/Iron Man (still played perfectly by Robert Downey Jr.) achieving great success having single handedly “privatized world peace”, but at the same time is struggling with the fact that the arc reactor embedded in his chest to keep him alive is also slowly killing him.

The Book of Eli - Movie Review

This movie was an early contender to be one of my favorites but I thought it might get lost over the course of the year’s releases since it had a January release date. I was most impressed with how visually striking this movie was. Every scene was beautifully shot and it seemed like each frame could have made for a movie poster quality image. The Hughes brothers were definitely on their game and a special nod goes to director of photography Don Burgess.

The Warrior's Way

This is one movie you most likely haven't seen and have probably never heard of. I had no idea what to expect other than the preview trailer featured a striking visual style and the promise of an action-packed story. Somehow this movie turned out to be so much more than I had expected it to be.

Contraband - Movie Review

Mark Wahlberg's latest action vehicle has him playing Chris Farraday, a former smuggler who is drawn back in to the business to protect his brother in law from a crime lord that wants to be repaid for a deal gone bad. With his family in jeopardy and friendships on the line, Farraday takes off for Panama to retrieve millions of dollars worth of counterfeit bills in a score that will hopefully pay off for everyone involved.

2011 UYBC Year in Review

The UYBC or 'Unofficial Yelp Bar Crawl' is an event series focusing on neighborhoods in and around the city of Seattle. This monthly bar crawl series gives people a great opportunity to see new places, visit old favorites, and hang out with a constantly changing group of friends over the course of one fun-filled night. After the jump you will see names of neighborhoods that are links to each of the 2011 bar crawl event pages.

Weekly Movie News 01-24-2012

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its nominees for the 2011 Academy Awards. This celebration of last year's outstanding movies will air on Sunday, February 26th.

Underworld: Awakening - Movie Review

*Review Number 50*

Kate Beckinsale is back as Selene, the last of the Vampire Death Dealers who, after being unconscious for twelve years, is ready to do some serious ass kicking. After losing her significant other Michael and discovering that humans have nearly "cleansed" the planet of Vampires and Lycans (werewolves), this unstoppable heroine is ready to get her revenge on anyone that stands in her path.

Red Tails - Movie Review

'Red Tails' has been a pet project of George Lucas for many years and he has finally been able to bring this story about African American World War II pilots to the screen. Their story of segregation and succeeding against impossible odds is one that deserves to be told and now audiences have the chance to learn about one of the most important, yet little know aspects of this pivotal time in world history.

Haywire - Movie Review

Haywire promises an intense and action-packed thrill ride with a roster of acting heavyweights, a director with several critically acclaimed movies under his belt, and a potential new action star in Gina Carano who is also an MMA fighter. What this movie delivers is an experience that will surprise you in ways you would never have expected.

Weekly Movie News 01/18/2012

You may be wondering what this glorious image above is. This edition of Weekly Movie News is about to show you what the deal is with not one, but two awesome video clips. Here we go!

2011 Best of the Web

These are the movie related websites, videos, and other internet things that gave me the most pleasure and/or helped me to kill the most time over the course of 2011. A couple are rather prestigious, most are humorous, and all are just flat out entertaining.

Pariah - Movie Review

If you remember watching those after-school specials as a kid that were a more educational and somewhat dramatic break from all the super hero cartoons that were on, then you have at least some idea of what to expect from 'Pariah'. What you will not expect is an intimate and dramatic story that will have your attention from beginning to end.

2011 People's Choice: Top 20 Movies

A recent poll posted on this blog's Facebook page was used to determined what were the most popular movies of 2011 with responses being submitted mostly by readers of my blog. The results are listed below and I'm sure you will find more than a few surprises.

Man on a Ledge - Movie Review

Once upon a time there was an actor named Sam Worthington who, despite playing major roles in some serious blockbusters (Avatar) and performing admirably in more dramatic and complex roles (The Debt), never seems to get any respect from movie critics. With 'Man on a Ledge', this will most likely continue even though he, along with a great supporting cast, delivers a top notch thriller that was most unexpected.

Weekly Movie News 01-11-2012

Welcome to this week's edition of Movie News which features some really cool new Avenger's photos released by Marvel.com as well as news on Star Trek 2 casting, The Hunger Games, free movie tickets from AMC Theaters, and a bunch of other stuff you do not want to miss.

The Devil Inside - Movie Review

The Devil Inside is another new entry in to the 'found footage' sub-genre of horror movies that has become very trendy thanks to the mega success of the Paranormal Activity franchise. Filled with creepy mumbling, bodies bending in ways that should be impossible, and shaky camera shots, this movie looks to find its place among this emerging...art form...or whatever we are going to call it.

The Darkest Hour - Movie Review

The Darkest Hour has a decent enough premise and some cool looking special effects that are nearly as glossy looking as the young cast of actors thrown in to what is yet another take on the alien invasion thriller.

Two Oh Six Movie Crew Event: Team America at Central Cinema!

The first event of 2012 is here and this time we are heading back to Central Cinema to see Team America! Central Cinema has been a favorite of the Two Oh Six Movie Crew since these vents began and this is sure to be another event that you do not want to miss!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - Movie Review

There are many devoted fans of the highly acclaimed novels written by Swedish author Stiegg Larsson and there is also a strong following for the original film adaptations that also came out of Sweden (myself included), so creating another version for U.S. audiences with mainstream Hollywood actors would have high expectations and would also be looked at with a fair amount of skepticism.

Weekly Movie News 01-04-2012

The first 'Movie News' post of the year starts off with a bang as the fine folks at FilmSchoolRejects.com give us a look at the Russian version of the Avenger's trailer. This is not only fun to watch because everyone is speaking Russian, but we also get more scenes of Scarlet Johansson doing bad-ass action stuff!

The Tree of Life - Movie Review

'The Tree of Life' is the latest film by Terrence Malick who is a director that polarizes audiences with a unique blend of breathtaking cinematography and abstract story telling. His films tend to be meant as life lessons and not just put on the screen for Saturday matinee style entertainment and this one pulls out all the stops to give viewers a reality check on existence and purpose.

2011 Movie Theater of the Year Award

 

The Seattle Cinerama has long been established as THE place to go for that big premier or special event movie night. Recent improvements to everything from the projectors to the seats and even the addition of chocolate popcorn has kept this classic movie house at the top of my list of favorite places in Seattle and has now earned the inaugural "Two Oh Six: Movie Theater of the Year" award!

2011 Restaurant of the Year Award

Kylie's Chicago Pizza is known for serving the best deep dish, Chicago style pizza in the Seattle area while providing consistently top notch service and, by doing so has earned the inaugural 'Two Oh Six: Restaurant of the Year' award.