The Semi Large Show

Poker Radio Program Coming Soon

jason — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:15:38 +0000

The Semi Large Show is changing direction – The Semi Large Show will now be a Poker Radio Program titled, “The Semi Large Show” (shocking huh?) All the movie reviews will still be present on this website but the direction of the site is changing. Why? Because I play a lot of poker and have a lot of stuff to rant and rave about.

Stay tuned for future developments.

Couples Retreat

jason — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:27:01 +0000

Couples Retreat reunites Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn in this tale of rekindling lost love. Faizon Love returns to work with the duo as well (he was in Made with both of them and with Favreau in The Replacements) and Jason Bateman rounds out the cast of guys for the four couples. Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis, and Kali Hawk play the role of their significant others. The film is rated PG-13 and runs 107 minutes long.

OK, so the plot goes something like this. Jason Bateman, playing the character Jason, is an obsessive everything must be perfect kind of guy. He and his wife decide they need to go on a couple’s retreat to save their marriage, the only problem is the cost is too high unless they bring along all their friends. So Vaughn, Favreau, and Love must go as well to help Bateman pay to “save his marriage.” They wind up in couple’s island and this is where the fun begins. The couples were expecting 2 weeks of fun in the sun and jetskiing but instead are stuck participating in therapy and couples exploration.

Many of the funny parts are already featured in the previews, but its still a pretty good film, especially since I love the pairing of Vaughn and Favreau. Favreau plays a completely different character from who he played in Swingers and Made. Vaughn is pretty much the same funny over the top character he’s made famous.

Pros: Favreau showing his ability to play a different kind of character.
Cons: A lot of the funny stuff is in the previews
Verdict: 7/10 – Matinee or date film

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Zombieland

jason — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:09:37 +0000

Zombieland was directed by Ruben Fleischer and stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. It’s rated R and runs about an hour twenty. This film kicks off great with the opening credits where we are introduced to a world infested by zombies. They do all sorts of slow mo capture shots that look really incredible of people being chased by zombies. Our main character is about as nerdy as can be. He’s a shun in who loved World of Warcraft and avoiding the mass population. He is one of the few survivors because he lives by several simple rules. He quickly meets up with Harrelson, whose entire purpose in life is killing zombies. They go around and kill some stuff then meet up with the two girls. As you saw in the previews the girls car jack them and we begin the story of the movie.

Believe it or not this movie will make you jump, even though its a comedy. Zombies do pop up unexpectedly and the sound attached is enough to make anyone jump. The lines are well written and the actors play well off one another. Considering it’s basically a buddy comedy about killing zombies its much better than one would expect. I did get slightly bored at one point, but thankfully the action once again picked up and I got back into the movie. It also has the teenage love story thing going on as well.

This is one of those gotta go see comedies. It’s not going to win any awards or anything like that but I do love comedies, I do love action, and I love seeing zombies get killed. This film has all three.

Pros: Action, comedy, zombies
Cons: Got bored at one point
Verdict: 7.5 / 10 Go see it

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Surrogates

jason — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:35:24 +0000

Directed by Jonathan Mostow Surrogates is about a futuristic advancement in robotics in which people can now control their robot by sitting in a chair and putting on a VR helmet. The robot goes out and does everything for you while you sit at home and think about what you want your robot to do. The robot cooks, cleans, works, grocery shops, or whatever else you would typically do. If a car accident happens and your robot is destroyed you just send it in to get repaired. Basically its a concept for all the soccer moms out there who don’t want their “precious little children” to skin their knees while playing soccer so instead they have them sit in a room cooped up by themselves without any real social interaction or direct sunlight. The only problem is that people think they’re actually “doing something” when in fact its their robot doing everything and they’re just sitting around doing nothing. Think of the internet, where people can pretend to be whoever they want without leaving their homes. Now make a 3 dimensional representation of the person they want to be and have it walk around town. You have a surrogate now.

Surrogates stars Bruce Willis, James Cronwell, and Ving Rhames. It’s PG 13. It’s 88 minutes long. So here’s the plot in a nutshell. Bruce Willis plays an FBI agent who uses his surrogate to do everything. James Cromwell is the inventor of the surrogate program, which was originally invented for people with disabilities to be able to walk around like normal people. The only problem is his idea gets turned into something for everyone to use to “be safe.” Ving Rhames is the leader of the anti surrogate movement, in which he tells people they need to feel things and be real human beings or else they’re already dead. So, thanks to surrogates no one ever dies. It’s something like 2 years no one dies thanks to surrogates. Then the movie starts. There’s a weapon (which you’ve seen in the preview so I’m not spoiling anything) that can destroy both the surrogate and the “operator” aka the person sitting in a chair all pale and frail controlling the robot and not really experiencing life. The funny part is every operator looks like crap because they never leave their house. The surrogates are “perfect” meaning big muscles, no scars, perfect hair, perfect teeth, and everything else Tyler Durden is against. So Willis has to investigate how these people are being killed by this weapon and how to stop it. He gets caught in the cross fire and he loses his surrogate. Now he’s a human in a surrogate world. Stuff happens, stuff blows up, and Bruce Willis saves the day, much like he always does in his Die Hard films.

That’s pretty much the movie without really giving away any spoilers. Willis’ character is interesting as he doesn’t like using a surrogate yet he uses one all the time.

Overall it’s a good action film and it makes you wonder about our future as the human race as we will probably be moving toward something like this very soon, especially if the soccer mom’s continue to run the world to protect us from ourselves.

Pros: Bruce Willis, action flick
Cons: It’s one of those Bruce Willis against everyone movies, where everyone is a bad guy.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10 – Worth seeing

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Ghost Rider 2

ALLDAWAYJAY — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:31:38 +0000

David S. Goyer, the screenwriter of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”, is planning to write a sequel to the 2007 film “Ghost Rider” starring Nicholas Cage. I wasn’t a big fan of the first film, but with Goyer on board this might make it a completely better film. The comic itself is a pretty cool one at that. I was anticipated for the film version, but the first film unfortunately to me was lame and cheesy. Nicholas Cage tries to hard to act like Elvis. He is definitely not one of my favorite actors. This could possibly be a reboot, which would be lame as well. 20^th Century Fox has plans for a “Fantastic Four” reboot, which is too soon. We saw with “Terminator Salvation” earlier this year that you need a talented director and screenwriter to pull off a successful reboot. Even with Christian Bale headlining “Terminator Salvation” couldn’t save it from being a shitty movie, mainly because director McG (Charlies Angels) helmed the failed reboot. Goyer is a talented screenwriter and should be able to pull off a decent script for “Ghost Rider 2”.

James Cameron Going 3D

ALLDAWAYJAY — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:22:00 +0000

It was announced today that James Cameron’s production company “Lightstorm Entertainment” will be re-releasing a few of their classic films in 3D. “The Terminator”, “Terminator 2:Judgement Day”, and “Titanic” are getting a complete 3D makeover.

Jon Landau of Lightstorm says:

“We are certainly interested in exploring the opportunity to rerelease some of Lightstorm’s past films in 3D. I don’t think it’s too far into the future. We’re pretty far down the road.”

These films aren’t the first of classic hits to be developed to be released in 3D. George Lucas stated a while back that he plans to re-release all six “Star Wars” films in 3D. Pixar next month is re-releasing “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” in 3D to prepare for the release of “Toy Story 3” in 3D next June. Hopefully these will get released in IMAX during the slower season. Back in 1997 George Lucas re-released the Special Edition “Star Wars” trilogy in January, February, and March, which are slower months at the box office. If these films are successful this should be a start of a new trend in Hollywood. I’d personally like to see films like “Transformers”, “Spider-Man”, and the new “Batman” films done in 3D.

Patrick Swayze’s Top 10

ALLDAWAYJAY — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:28:32 +0000

With the passing of actor Patrick Swayze, I’ve decided in memory of the actor to dedicate this weeks top 10 to Mr. Swayze.

10. Black Dog (1998)

9. Uncommon Valor (1983)

8. Steel Dawn (1987)

7. Next of Kin (1989)

6. Red Dawn (1984)

5. The Outsiders (1983)

4. Road House (1989)

3. Dirty Dancing (1987)

2. Ghost (1990)

1. Point Break (1991)

I made this list based on personal preference. Frankly, I’m not a fan of “Dirty Dancing”, but the film was such a huge hit and catapulted Swayze into the star that he was, it had to be on the list. Most would consider “Ghost” to be his best film, considering it was his highest grossing film and had an amazing impact in movies and pop culture. “Ghost” is a fantastic film and is a personal favorite of mine, but no one can deny his turn in “Point Break”. The role of Bodhi fit Swayze’s persona so well, and the film is without a doubt one of the best action films of the 90’s and possibly of all time. Swayze’s films didn’t always bring in a lot of money, but they were all entertaining and without a doubt the man definitely left his mark in Hollywood. Patrick Swayze will be missed. PS I would have put “Donnie Darko” on the list, but his role was so small that I felt these other films would have done him more justice as an actor.

PATRICK SWAYZE: 1952-2009

Indiana Jones 5 News

ALLDAWAYJAY — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:36:36 +0000

Harrison Ford spoke to a French newspaper stating that a fifth installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise is underway. “The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I’ll be very happy to put the costume on again.” This is no surprise here. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Krystal Skull” grossed $316 million in the United States and $786 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing Indy film of all time (not counting inflation). Krystal Skull was well received by critics, but a lot of audiences and Indy fans didn’t see eye to eye. Krystal Skull shifted gears plot wise focusing on a more Science Fiction plotline. Spielberg and Lucas went this route to fit the story with the time setting. The 1950’s were notorious for its Science Fiction B-Movies as well as extra terrestrial conspiracies. Just like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was homage to 30’s Saturday Serials; Krystal Skull was homage to the 50’s B-Sci-Fi films. My only complaint with the fourth Indy was not the story, nor the introduction of Shia Labeouf, but the overkill of CGI. I hope the next Indy tones down on the computer effects and has real action stunts. Granted Ford will be about 70 when this is made and can’t pull off the stunts he use to, but Shia Labeouf is young and healthy enough to and stunt doubles have been used in past films. Hopefully Spielberg wont back out as director and keep the franchise to himself. Spielberg has a full plate with such films as “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” (2011), “Harvey”, “Lincoln”, “Oldboy”, and several other Science Fiction projects. They should shift gears from Science Fiction and go back to more spiritual, fantasy elements to keep the audience happy. Frankly I think this should be a 2^nd film of a whole new trilogy, and not pass the torch to his son in this film but make a 3^rd film to center on Shia Labeouf’s character Mutt Williams. Personally I’m such an Indiana Jones fan that I wish they had never taken such a long break in the films and turned the series into a new James Bond type character.

True Grit Remake

ALLDAWAYJAY — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:25:49 +0000

For some god forsaken reason, a remake of the John Wayne classic “True Grit” is being remade. Normally I would be cursing at my computer screen and feeling that Hollywood has lost any originality it ever had, then I read that the Coen Brothers (No Country For Old Men) are directing the remake. As I was pondering on who would fill the shoes of the Oscar winning role made famous by the Duke himself, it reads that Jeff Bridges (Iron Man) has been cast as Rooster Cogburn. I still am completely against most remakes, but this may fall under the 1% area. This will be the first Western from the Coen Brothers, and the first film since “The Big Lebowski” that they collaborated with Jeff Bridges. The original 1969 film is about an aging US Marshall named Rooster Cogburn, who is hired by a young girl to hunt down and kill the men that murdered her father. The point of view in “True Grit” was through Cogburn, but this version will be through the eyes of the young girl. The Coen Brothers are masterful storytellers and Bridges is an exceptional actor that can tackle any role. Without a doubt I am convinced this will be a remarkable remake of a remarkable film. Who knows, lightning may strike twice and earn Bridges his first Oscar for the role.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

ALLDAWAYJAY — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:10:57 +0000

Walt Disney Pictures made a big announcement stating that the fourth installment of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” will be titled “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and to be released the summer of 2011. The subtitle “On Stranger Tides” is actually the title of a pirate novel written by Tim Powers. The books synopsis goes like this:

“Puppeteer John Chandagnac, bound for Jamaica to recover stolen money from his uncle, becomes Jack Shandy after pirates attack his ship and force him to join their crew. Shandy’s struggle to accept his new life grounds the story for readers, even as Blackbeard and vodun magicians whisk everyone away to dreamlike lands where the Fountain of Youth itself awaits. The chaotic sea battles sing, though at times key events happen so quickly that they get lost in the shuffle as Jack tries to comprehend where he’s going and what’s at stake. This dark fantasy tale will appeal not just to pirate fans but also to anyone who appreciates Powers’s talent for blending the most unlikely elements into a brilliantly cohesive whole.”

At the end of the third pirates film “At Worlds End”, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) has stolen back the Black Pearl from Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in search of the fountain of youth. This means the story for “On Stranger Tides” will tie in perfectly for a fourth Pirates film. This also means that Jack Sparrow and Barbossa will have the infamous Blackbeard as their adversary. So far this film seems like a fresh start from the downward spiral that the last two created for the franchise. The only people involved from the last three films that have signed on are Johnny Depp as Sparrow and screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot (as well as producer Jerry Bruckheimer of course). Director Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) has replaced original director Gore Verbinski. It is still unclear whether or not Geoffrey Rush will return, but the last film hinted that he would have a role in a fourth film. Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly’s characters however aren’t mentioned to be in the story, so they may sit this one out (thank god!).