Category: Movies

Summer movies are always fun, especially when they involve super heroes… and free movie tickets! So you’re gonna like this.

I’ve got two movie passes for anywhere in the US to the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, opening this Friday night, June 14. And just for fun, we’re throwing in two Man of Steel t-shirts and key chains (yeah… we’ve gone full nerd!) More on how to win that in a second. (WINNER POSTED- see below)

If you don’t win the tickets and nerdwear, you can still enjoy some free resources from us. We’ve just posted a few things Continue reading “Man of Steel Tickets”

Baseball fans, movie buffs… people who like free stuff… I’ve got a fun little contest for you with some really cool prizes. It doesn’t get any simpler than this.

The new film, 42, which hits theaters this Friday, April 12, tells the story of American hero Jackie Robinson who broke the MLB’s color barrier in 1947. Every April, players from all MLB teams don the number 42 jersey to commemorate and celebrate “Jackie Robinson Day.”

I’m giving my blog readers an opportunity to win FREE movie passes to 42 Continue reading “Win Movie Passes to the movie 42”

Each January I like to sit down with my movie reviewing buddy Todd Pearage and reflect back on our favorite films of the past year. This year was a fun year for films, especially superhero films. (The Avengers, Dark Knight and The Amazing Spiderman all in one year! Pinch me!) But it was also a fun year for midnight premieres. My wife and kids attended two of these midnight premiers with me, both The Hobbit, and The Avengers.

But for me to compile a list of the best of 2012… I feel a little inept this year, not in ability, but simply because I have been so busy that I missed numerous good 2012 films in the theatre. Unfortunately, I’ve missed plenty that have ended up on others “best of 2012” lists. For example: I have NOT seen Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Wreck-it Ralph, Django Unchained, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Argo, Les Mis, Skyfall, Life of Pi, The Bourne Legacy, Flight, or Promised Land. Those movies are all in my rental queue and some of them will probably eventually end up in my list of 2012 favorites.

Right now, my list of the best of 2012 would most likely include The Avengers, People Like Us, Hunger Games, The Hobbit, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spiderman. I would also have to put some thought into considering Lawless, Premium Rush, or even Looper. Some of these films were a little raw, so I’m not sure.

But forget my incomplete list. Todd has reviewed a ton of movies this year and already compiled his list of his favorites… so without further a-do, here’s his list, with comments from both of us.

TODD’S FAVORITES OF 2012:

1. The Avengers

TODD’S WORD: I said it then and I will say it again. This was the best movie of the year. I really loved this one. It had it all: action, drama, comedy…and Iron Man!

JONATHAN’S WORD: Agree. I’ve watched this one a few times again with the kids. We always love it.

2. Dark Knight Rises

TODD’S WORD: No question The Dark Knight Rises was my second favorite superhero movie and my second favorite movie overall. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale maintained high energy, excitement and top-notch quality through all three films this is one solid trilogy.

JONATHAN’S WORD: I loved it too. But the surprise for me was Thomas Hardy (playing Bane). This guy has a great career ahead of him. He has a range as huge as his biceps. (Loved him in Lawless)

3. Lincoln

TODD’S WORD: I don’t imagine there will be many lists that will not include Lincoln. Everything about this movie is done with excellence.

JONATHAN’S WORD: It looks good. I gotta see it.

4. The Amazing Spider-Man

TODD’S WORD: This spider man film was far and away better than the previous trilogy. Gone are the campy one-liners and all the silliness. I can’t wait for more of this version.

JONATHAN’S WORD: My entire family saw this one as well and loved it. I actually enjoyed the earlier trilogy, but agree that this one trumped all three.

5. The Hobbit

TODD’S WORD: I’m not the biggest hobbit fan in the world. But Peter Jackson has done something special with the Lord of the Rings films and now with the Hobbit. This one will definitely find its way into my Blu-ray collection.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Amazing film. Love the whole series.

6. Skyfall

TODD’S WORD: Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond and Skyfall is now my favorite Bond film.

JONATHAN’S WORD: This looks amazing. I can’t wait to see it.

7. The Grey

TODD’S WORD: Liam Nielsen being chased by wolves, what’s not to love? Despite leading Jonathan and Lori’s date night astray with this one, I loved it. In all seriousness, I love the story, the characters, the way they were developed and of course the intense action throughout this entire movie.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Despite the fact that Todd indeed sabotaged my date night with this one… it was a pretty good film if you don’t mind a dark, depressing ride into the abyss.

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

TODD’S WORD: This one may surprise some of you, but as a youth pastor this movie spoke to me. It was at times difficult to watch and I will admit…I cried.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Didn’t see it. Wasn’t going to either, but now I might, based on Todd’s word.

9. Jack Reacher

TODD’S WORD: This spot was occupied by The Hunger Games until I watched Jack Reacher. It is one of the best action movies I’ve seen in a long time and it was filmed in Pittsburgh.

JONATHAN’S WORD: It would have to be pretty good to beat Hunger Games, so I’ll be definitely seeing this based on Todd’s word.

10. John Carter

TODD’S WORD: I don’t think John Carter is on anyone’s top 10 list of 2012. But I really like this movie. It’s clean, it’s fun and there is plenty of action.  I really believe it did not do well because so many people thought it copied all the other science-fiction films. But John Carter was written long before Star Wars or Star Trek. If you missed this one I would definitely recommend picking it up on DVD.

JONATHAN’S WORD: I thought this looked incredibly stupid, but have heard several people I respect tell me how good it was. So this is on my list to watch as well.

What about you? What were some of your favorite films of 2012?

This Monday, while I was flying back from teaching a parenting workshop in Kentucky, my son Alec was attending a movie screening for The Hobbit. (Lucky dog!)

His reaction was surprising.

I arrived home at about 10PM and plopped on the couch next to Lori. A few minutes later, Alec got back from the screening.

“How was it?” Lori and I both asked, curious about the film we have been waiting in anticipation for since we first heard rumor of its release shortly after Return of the King.

Alec paced back and forth, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

Alec stopped and searched for words. “It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. I can’t even put it to words.”

I laughed. “Well was it good ‘something you’ve never seen,’ or bad ‘something you’ve never seen?’” I asked, looking for some hint of clarification.

Alec shared his entire screening experience with us, and after mulling it over for a couple days, he’s put his feelings into words for all of you. Here’s just a snippet of his review, now posted on our Movie Reviews & Quick Q’s page:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
by Alec McKee

This film was truly… unexpected.

I walked into this film expecting something like Lord of the Rings. Mistake #1. This movie is not really like Lord of the Rings much at all, and I can’t tell if its our responsibility as an audience to hold it to a different standard or to be justified in feeling like the change of tone is too drastic. The film was way more lighthearted than the previous LOTR, bringing a sometimes goofy feeling for the film that gave me the impression Peter Jackson was trying to reach out to younger audiences. This would make sense, since the book The Hobbit was intended by Tolkien as a children’s story. The characters are also a little bit more exaggerated and imaginative than we have previously seen in LOTR; the dwarves showcasing exotic styles in their hair and beards and the wizard Radagast literally having half of his face encased in what appears to be bird feces.

I was also caught off guard when, as I was walking into the theater, I was handed a pair of 3-D glasses. I wouldn’t have chosen to see this movie in 3-D had I been given the option, because I would’ve expected that 3-D would’ve been blurry and distracting to the quality of the film (you’ve probably heard my dad whine about 3D. He hates 3D. Maybe I inherited some of that). Mistake #2. The 3-D was dumbfounding in clarity and seamlessly integrated to the point that I forgot I was watching it in 3-D. There was no motion blur, no decrease in image clarity, and the glasses weren’t all scratchy on my nose like they usually are.

However, clear as the movie was, I couldn’t help feeling…odd as I looked on the screen. The movie was so smooth and high in definition, that the motion almost felt unnatural. This is probably because this film entered uncharted territory by shooting the entire picture at 48 frames per second, where 24 fps is the norm (30 for home video). This gave the film a much smoother, lifelike quality. I couldn’t decide if this was a bad thing that the film procured such feelings, or if it was just unfamiliar territory because of how foreign the motion was to what I typically have seen in film. As the movie continued on I soon forgot my apprehension of the screen’s clarity, but never disregarded it entirely.

And finally…

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF HIS REVIEW

More Hobbit News:

1. Thanks to all of you for your contest entries from Monday’s blog post. So much fun hearing over 100 of you comment and share your favorite films… all except for that one guy who listed Xanadu.  🙂   I just posted the three winners to that contest on that post HERE.

2. Tonight (Thursday night at midnight) I’ll be Tweeting from the Hobbit midnight premier. Yes, now I finally get to see it, and in true geek fashion, with my family at midnight (a whole family of film nerds). Feel free to listen in to my Tweets starting at midnight Pacific time (or for those of you getting up at 6AM on the East Coast, you can probably see my last Tweet as I’m going to bed!!!)

This week is a big week for film geeks… because this Friday (or Thursday night at midnight for real fans), The Hobbit comes to theaters!

This means fun for you, my blog readers, because I’ve got some great goodies for you, including free The Hobbit movie tickets for a couple of ya. Yes… it’s time for a little contest.

(WINNERS NOW POSTED AT BOTTOM OF POST)

The Contest is Simple:

1. Use the comment feature below.
2. List your three favorite movies, in order (not just Lord of the Rings films… your three favorite movies of all time).
3. List your zipcode (other countries are welcome to participate in the contest for fun, but unfortunately, I only have movie tickets for America).
   (BONUS: If you Tweet about the contest, sharing my twitter name and linking this blog post, you’ll double your chances of winning.)

Look forward to three things from me later this week:

1. I’ll post the winner to this contest by this Friday, December 14th, the release date of The Hobbit (I might contact the winners sooner to get them their tickets in time).
2. My son Alec, film geek extraordinaire, is screening the film Monday night and writing a review. We’ll post that review as a guest post on my blog Thursday morning (we’re not allowed to post anything prior to Thursday because of an embargo).
3. I’ll be Tweeting from The Hobbit premiere live on Thursday night at midnight (Pacific time) because I’ll be at the midnight premiere with my family. (Yes, we’re an entire family of nerds!)

May the odds be forever in your favor (whoops… wrong film).

WINNERS: Congrats to three winners, each winning a pair of tickets to The Hobbit premier!!! Thank you all for your awesome comments! I loved it! Here are your winners:

– Jono Davis
– Lori Fallon
– Chris Miller