Mario's Movie Meter or MMM Explained

    I recently got to experience something that all bloggers dream would occur to them, I met one of my readers in real life and got some real life critique and input on what I should write more about, what I should change, improve and so forth, let's call him MC for writing purposes. So MC was talking about the movie reviews, how they were missing something crucial, a rating system. MC went on to describe the many different ways one could go about creating a rating system and stated that without one the whole of the review just seemed lacking, like there was no real conclusion because in the end the reader doesn't really know what the rating really means. This troubled me and I had to concede that he had a point, and it spawned a conversation on names for this epic meter, MC came up with the triple M, Mario's Movie Meter, I instantly loved it, it's simple, and catchy, it's not fancy and corny, thus I was down. So without further ado here is an explanation of the Triple M, may this be your guide for all future movie reviews done in this blog in the future.

   MMM Rating: Instant Classic (I.C.)

     
  Sometimes in rare days, usually over the summer, there comes a movie that not only stands out among the rest but elevates itself to such a level that it cannot be rated anything but an Instant Classic. This is a rare occurrence and will not be a rating you'll see used much, but it does exist. The movies within this list are not perfect movies, these movies are not like the 5 star movies in dealing with how Oscar worthy the  movie was, these movies are in a different scale. Key examples are movies like "The Godfather", "Star Wars", "The Big Lebowki", all three movies differ in genre and style, and all three movies have their flaws, but all three movies are classics, they are beyond the five point scale, these are the movies that will live on forever and deserve much more respect.

   MMM Rating: 5/5

   The best way to describe a five star movie is to name a few titles that best encompass this particular rating, movies like "Shawshank Redemption", "Gladiator", "American Beauty", "Shakespeare In Love", "Midnight In Paris" and "Saving Private Ryan" are all a good balance of what a five star movie looks like. These are the movies that capture us, that dominate our souls for the whole two hours of showtime. Not only are these movies well directed and written, but these movies have a fantastic cast of brilliant actors and actresses that have come together to create gold. Five star movies are the type that you buy and add to your collection, the type you defend when someone speaks ill of it, the one you feel attached to even after just watching it from the theater. A five star rating is a big deal.

  MMM Rating 4/5

     A good example to define this rating is "The Book Of Eli". The movie has a good cast, a good theme, it has everything one needs in order to have a successful movie but in the end it leaves you craving for a little more, a little lack of cheese at times or a little more background on the theme we are seeing. These movies are great, amazing even, these are the ones you definitely go watch in theaters and maybe add it to your collection of movie if the price drops under fifteen dollars. Though these movies are great and though they capture your attention, they just lack the necessary magic found in five star rating movies, it isn't a big deal though, you enjoyed yourself all the way through, it was a good time, just not a stellar "I'm going to watch this movie ten more times" kind of vibe.

  MMM Rating 3/5

     "The Amazing Spiderman" is a perfect example of a three star movie. It's a movie with a good cast but not a great one, with a nice story not a brilliant one, which entertains you fully but does not wow you in any way, it's definitely the kind of movie you would watch again if it came on TV but would think twice before buying unless you found it at a Walmart five dollar bin, this doesn't speak ill of the movie, it just means that this was a fun movie but not a great one, it contained all the elements one would need in order to be entertained for the duration of the movie but afterward there was no firework that went off in your soul, there wasn't this need to watch this again or talk about it insensibly. These are still good movies, in a "nice" sense, you will never see a three star movie win an Oscar, but you will be entertained when they come on TV on a Saturday afternoon and relieve you of your boredom.

  MMM Rating 2/5

        For this category just include *every Jason Statham movie here* and you'll come to understand what it takes to be a two star movie. These movies aren't good, they don't have a good plot, the acting is overdone and cheesy but even though the movie itself isn't fantastic you still are entertained by what is happening on the screen. Let's take "Crank" for example, the movie is absurd, Jason is playing himself again and killing everyone in sight, he jumps from cars, he gets banged up to a ridiculous degree and still wins in the end, it's obnoxious from beginning to end, and in the end of it all there is still an enjoyment that can come from watching it. Mind you, this is not the type of movie one would buy, or re-watch at the theaters, that's for sure, but this is one of those movies that even though it violates everything a good movie should be, it still entertains you, even at a primal level. So, two star rating, think Jason Statham.

   MMM rating 1/5

     I personally think that one star movies are the hardest to pin down, for there are clear choices of movies that are one star and some that should get negative stars, but for the sake of keeping this rating system reasonable I'm going to lump "Chupacabra Massacre", "Gigli", "Troll 2" and "Furry Vengeance" all into this singular rating. These are the movies that are so bad that you can't help but walk out of the theater and get your money back. There is only one place that I can see these movies being any "good" ( I use that term loosely in this example) and that is if you are having a "bad movie night" with some friends and want a bad enough movie that it entertains you all while giving you some laughs in the process. This is the bottom of the barrel, it's a rating I wish I could use sparingly, but Hollywood does like to produce garbage so it can't be helped.

   So this concludes the explanation to the triple M scale, from now on I'll include a link to this article in every movie review ever posted here, just in case you need a reference to what I mean when I say a movie is a three star MMM movie. The scale has been set, now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

   Love from your humble blogger,

"The Amazing Spider-Man" Lives Up To Its Name

      As the credits rolled up and the lights began to be turned back on in the movie theater, there was only one word that came to mind, wow. This movie was not only really good, it exceeded every expectation that had been previously been put on it, this is by far the best Spider-Man movie ever made, even when in comparison with "Spider-Man 2". As a nerd some things need to be said first, the movie does take many liberties, so if you are a comic book purist just prepare yourself right now, I'm not a purist so it didn't bother me too much but various people around where making remarks after the movie, it doesn't take away from the epicness of this movie, but the warning had to be made.

     This Spider-Man movie is not concerned with being an "action only" movie, this movie was concerned with telling a story, the story being what made Peter Parker become Spider-Man. The evolution from being weak to gaining strength, from being immature and beginning to gain some wisdom, that was where the movie shone. The film took great effort in depicting this process carefully and meticulously so that you understand as a viewer that becoming Spider-Man was no cake walk, that it took days of exercise, of testing out powers, of personal tragedy, that made Peter Parker be able to finally grow up and become the hero we have all come to love.

    The greatest thing about this movie is that throughout the flick you can't help but get giddy at seeing the Peter Parker from the comics get put on the big screen, this is the Peter we love, the trash talking tragic hero who is but a boy in the end of the day. That was a huge critique of the first Spider-Man film that was done with Tobey Maguire, the fact that he did not look, act, behave, or resemble an awkward high school student, that was a major flaw, but on this movie we get to experience his evolution, him coming to his powers, him understanding the responsibility he possesses and the fact that in the end of the day he's a young immature teen trying to do some good while making mistakes all along the way, these are all depicted brilliantly in the flick.

   Mad props should be given to Rhys Ifans who played Dr. Curt Connors, depicting The Lizard and not making it look silly is a tough tough thing to do. Rhys is a brilliant actor and it was awesome to see him play this very difficult role so well, selling the whole experience to the audience. The director's choice of going with the character Gwen Stacy instead of Mary Jane was awesome, it follows the original story well and made me happy, but her being played by Emma Stone was legendary, Emma is amazing, not only does she play the role well but she is also very important in Peter's evolution, the casting of Emma Stone here was a fantastic move.

   Andrew Garfield also deserves tons of praise for his performance as Spider-Man, he was quirky, goofy, and sold the character ridiculously well. Peter Parker is not a cool kid, he's always a tragic hero who gets burned over and over again even though he's doing his best to save the world and while this all is going on he is still filled with witty banter and aided in his journey by good friends and the women who push him to be better than he is. This is where saying that this is the best Spider-Man movie ever made is no stretch, for this is the most "real" out of all the films, this one is the one that sells the character and truly shows Peter Parker's personal growth, his personal evolution, so brilliantly.

      In more than one scene I got goosebumps all over and in one particular scene I almost broke into tears, this movie will move you, it will inspire you and it will make your day. When you leave this movie you'll come out of the theater with a new perspective on the Spider-Man story, especially if you have never read any of the comics, which you should if you get a chance for they are awesome, this was a successful reboot for sure. Ah, I could talk more and more about this movie, it was just so awesome. For the sake of brevity this post will end here, but do go watch this flick, it fully deserves your attention.

    Love from your humble blogger,

E3, Comic-Con, VidCon: Why They Are Awesome

    With E3 behind us there are a few conventions left that you should be aware about, and some that have already occurred that you should be aware of. The first big bit of news that happened recently was that Apple just had their own press conference unveiling new devices and showing the improvements to some of the older products we know and love. The conference was fantastic and many people have covered it intensely, though we are aware that many of you don't care about computer specs and so forth so for a good recap of the show you can view it HERE, keep in mind that Phillip D Franco does curse a bit in his videos so if you are offended by that then don't watch that link. PhillyD also did coverage of this year's E3 and will be covering some of the conventions we will be talking about today, so if you are interested in following them as they go PhillyD is a good choice. We're going to give you a brief overview of said conventions here, but we'll be covering it fully as the conventions approach, so no worries, this is more of a "raise awareness to the existence of these cons" post not a "here is everything you need to know about them" post.

    The first big con you should be aware of is the upcoming Vidcon, which is basically a gathering of YouTube celebrities where you have all the big names within YouTube come together to learn from one another and have a good time. Last year's Vidcon had a lot of good surprises come out of it, and the videos that circulated from the event were rather funny and educational. If YouTube is your thing then this con is for you, Phill will be covering the con so you can follow the happenings through him or most other entertainment sources, IGN will surely do a piece on it as well, so if you are more of a reader than a vid watcher maybe that will be a better medium for you. Vidcon this year will take place in LA on July 28th -30th.

    The big convention that is coming up shortly on July 12th through the 15th is Comic-Con 2012. Comic-Con started as a more comic centered convention but has now become much much more. This convention is big news to everyone for here we learn about new TV shows that are coming out and movies that Marvel and DC are putting together, to comics, a much more. There is no telling what will be unveiled every year at Comic-Con but speculations are high this year on what Marvel and DC have in store for us for next year. The convention is famous for the massive amounts of fans that flock there every year, and of course the great costumed fans that show up keep the show interesting and entertaining.

    Some of the big news circulating is that we'll get some more feedback on what's going on with "The Amazing Spider-man", we wouldn't be surprised if some information about "The Avengers" came out there as well. There are also rumors circulating about a possible reboot of the "Green Lantern" series, which would take us by surprise being that the latest movie wasn't necessarily all that bad. A full list of what's to be expected in this year's Comic-Con will be made public as we near the event, but mentioning that this convention exists was the main goal here, many are not aware of the conference and frankly being that this is a big deal we figured we should pass the word along. For more details on this year's Comic-Con visit their main site HERE.

Proof that YouTube's got a lot of talent, MysteryGuitarMan

     We all have passions and sometimes great minds get together to put on a convention where great minds that think alike can come together to bond, exchange ideas, share their work with the public and try to make a name for themselves. These conventions, E3 included, are fun for we learn about what the big dogs in the industry are doing and generally get pleasant surprises about what to expect for the coming year, but there is another side to these events, the fact that upcoming artists, programmers, vloggers, and so forth can display their work, network and try to make a name for themselves, and that is an awesome thing. We're all about supporting the little guy, we think that pushing upcoming talent is the future. Sometimes people forget that without these guys the industry would die, and therefore though these events are a lot of fun and a lot of information is passed along, there is also another more beautiful element present, and that is of giving people a chance to show their talent and blow the world's mind.

     As these conventions draw nearer we'll fill you in on what is going on, what is being announced and all that fun stuff. We hope your week has been going well, and pray that it might be a safe one.

  Love from your humble blogger,

2012: Sequels and Remakes Strike Again *Take 2*

    Sequels and remakes aren't all bad, there are some of them that still capture our hearts and give us hope for the future of sequels. So far this year we have received a solid list of announced titles, one we are all looking for I'm sure, with titles like "The Hunger Games" and "Chronicle" coming out how can one not be excited about what this year will bring. A side note, we will not be covering Twilight within this article, though we are about to be faced with the fourth movie this series does not apply as a sequel, for its a series, the books were written before the movies began to be released and the whole story was already developed, thus its not a sequel but a story told in parts, like "Lord Of The Rings" was a story told in parts, anyway, here we go:

   Superhero Movie Extravaganza

     We are being bombarded with superhero movies this year, some are original like "Chronicle" which comes out next week, but the majority of them are sequels or remakes. Let's start at the top shall we, the "Avengers" a sequel of sorts, here we have a combination of various other movies puzzled together over a period of time and thus creating a sequel, an elaborate sequel but a sequel none-of-the-less, this movie will be amazing, or so we hope. "Batman Rises" this actually happens to be the sequel of a remake, yeah Nolan rebooted the Batman series brilliantly, and thus we look forward to his conclusion this year, but don't forget that this was a sequel of a remake done well, a rarity. Finally we reach our webbed hero who desperately need a reboot after Toby did the whole emo Venom thing, "The Amazing Spider-man" will be coming out this year, complete with web shooters, Gwen Stacy and the Lizard as a villain, this movie looks legit, guess they figured that if the new ideas were bombing they should go back to the roots to get inspiration, a good move over all we think. 

   MIB III

    We have not had a "Men In Black" movie in a long time, the first one came out in 1997 just so you get the picture, yeah it's an old series but its a good one for sure. This is the role we all loved Will Smith playing in, the role that complimented movies like "Independence Day" and "Enemy Of The State" so well, and now we have old Will back doing another MIB, we can't wait. The preview looks really good and its being surrounded by a good cast which always helps, as long as they keep it simple like the first one and avoid tons of twists like the second one we feel that this movie will come out great. The great thing about the MIB series is the element of humor combined with action, we haven't had a good action movie that was centered around humor for a while, not slap-stick humor but intelligent humor, like the ones found in the first installment of this series. We can't wait for this movie, if you haven't seen the preview yet then do yourself a kindness and go watch it, it looks really good.

    Skyfall

   
     There was a time where we would receive a James Bond movie per year, those were good times, though we're ok with waiting two years for a Bond flick if Daniel Craig promises a repeat blockbuster performance he has shown us in the previous two Bond movies he has done, rather impressive really. One cannot help but be excited about "Skyfall" here we are seeing a complete evolution of the series taking into account our culture of today, our technology and so forth. Though many of us were skeptical about Daniel Craig being the new Bond we could not have braced ourselves for how awesome of a Bond he was, there were some minor quips with the last movie, like no gadgets, but that feels like a minor detail when you take into account the performance shown within the movie. One has only to watch some of the older Bond flicks to see how far we have come, truly a movie to look forward to.

      Oh The Brashness

   What year would be complete without some brash movies to entertain us along the way, this year we are being hit with the father of brashness, "Expendables 2". Before we even start talking about the movie let's review the cast: Liam Hemsworth, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Charisma Carpenter, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Scott Adkins, right, this movie perspires brashness to a level beyond understanding. There is one way that this movie could drive the nail home and that is if they had recruited Liam Neeson to this little brash party, surely that would have blown our minds even more so if they had included Steven Seagal to the cast as well, guess they are saving those and others for "Expendables 3", either way this movie is sure to be the brashest movie of the year, no way anyone could even compete.    

Would be the runner up for sure

    And there you have it, proof that not all sequels and remakes are a bad thing, so when you look at the upcoming movies list and begin to feel noxious by all the horrible sequels and remakes, remember that though those will cause us pain, that there are others out there that will bring us plenty of joy.  We also hope you liked the new look for the blog, we are growing more and more so thank you for your support.

  We hope you all had a fantastic week, and have a glorious weekend,

Love from your humble blogger,