I'm back!

Hello readers!  After a long absence I am back to working on my blog.  Instead of boring you with crummy details about my dry boring life as a cubicle jockey I will get right into it.  Over the weekend I had the pleasure to enjoy a double feature of World War Z and Man of Steel at our local drive in, nothing like a two for one!  The double feature kicked off with the newest take on the Zombie Genre, World War Z.  WWZ stars Brad Pitt as former UN Investigator Gerry Lane who must come out of retirement to ensure his families safety after the world is ravaged by a virus that turns people into mindless, violent Zombies (for lack of a better word).  The film is loosely based off of the award winning book World War Z by Max Brooks, though some fans of the book have criticized the film for being a poor adaptation of the interesting angle that Brooks takes in his book I for one that it was a refreshing burst of life into a genre that has over the years begun to go stale.  The virus responsible for the outbreak is much more believable and requires a lot less suspension of disbelief than other zombie fare and stirred my memories of the cult classic 28 Days Later.  It has plenty of action to keep you interested and was paced nicely with very little lead up to the meat of the story.  I would definitely recommend to see it in the theatre but wouldn't kick myself if I missed it.

Where Man of Steel is concerned I have to admit that I went in with some low expectations, I mean a Superman origin story?  How many times do we have to see the same thing?  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie that Zack Snyder has managed to pull together from source material that most average people on the street could give a decent account for.  The movie focuses more on the years between Clark's late teens and when he goes to work for the Daily Planet and we get to see him discover who he is and where he came from and we get small glimpses into his childhood through a series of flashbacks that are surprisingly well placed throughout the movie.  Henry Cavill does a great job portraying the titular Man of Steel and the new costume that drew so much fire when it was revealed works well with the style of the film especially when contrasted with the costumes of Zod and the other Kryptonians.  Michael Shannon is phenomenal as General Zod and perfectly mirrors the despotic nature of so many historical dictatorships.  The pacing was a little slow for the time of night that the movie started (11:30 PM) but overall it was an enjoyable film and I look forward to seeing where they go with this new take on the familiar Superman.

RIP Roger Ebert

The world has lost a true legend of the film industry.  Today, April 4th 2013, Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70, he will be missed.

Review # 2 Butter

Last night I had the pleasure of watching a movie that was a venture further into the obscure than the typical Hollywood fare.  The movie was called Butter.  While it boasted many big names such as, Jennifer Garner, Alicia Silverstone, Hugh Jackman and Rob Cordry it wasn't anything that I had seen widely advertised.  As I am never the one to shy away from an unpopular film I decided to take the chance.  The movie is set in Iowa and centers on the somewhat tongue in cheek art of butter sculpting.  The main protagonist is a ten year old orphan girl named Destiny (played by Yara Shahidi) who has bounced numerous foster homes and has just been placed with the Emmets (played by Cordry and Silverstone) a nice couple that encourage her to find something that she is good at.  After having previously visiting the state fair and adeptly finishing the carving on the holy grail cup of the winning butter sculpture and drawing an amazingly life like tree in school she decides to enter in the butter carving tournament.  The antagonist, Laura Pickler (played by Garner) is the wife of the reigning butter carving champion Bob Pickler who has been asked to stop entering as he has won every year for the passed 15 years.  This upsets Laura and after a humorous scene involving Bob, a stripper named Brooke (played by Olivia Wilde), and Laura t-boning the family minivan she decides to enter the contest herself.  Due to her competitive nature Laura will stop at nothing to come out on top, including accusing Destiny of cheating after her sculpture wins the district competition.  The movie tries hard to make you feel sorry for Laura throughout the movie and there are a few scenes where I almost did but overall I didn't sympathize with her at all and felt that her character was a horrible person.  Destiny is a wonderful protagonist and I supported her throughout the movie.  While the film was not an emotional roller coaster it was very heart warming and I am proud to classify it as a hidden gem.

Review # 1 Larry Crowne

I was out sick from work yesterday (stupid stomach bug) and like many people I spent the day relaxing and subjecting myself to day time television.  While flipping through the channels I came across a movie called Larry Crowne, I remembered a bit from the previews and I love Tom Hanks so I figured, "What the hell?"  Tom Hanks plays the title character who is a middle aged veteran of the Navy who gets laid off from his job because of his lack of a college education.  After an unsuccessful job hunt, Larry, who lives alone and is divorced, faces the possibility of losing his home.  His neighbor (played by Cedric the Entertainer) encourages Larry to enroll in the local community college to increase his job opportunities.  College life has a profound impact on Larry and we as the viewer get to experience all of the changes that Larry makes to his life.  From purchasing an old scooter to avoid high gas prices and joining a scooter "gang" to the drastic changes in his wardrobe and room decor brought on by a young friend he meets in one of his classes.  Julia Roberts plays a somewhat disenchanted college professor who teaches Larry's speech course and his clear love interest.  The film does a great job of showing the attraction between the two without making it the dominating force of the movie.  George Takei also makes an appearance as Larry's economics teacher and there are many humorous moments between the two involving cell phone use in class (which if you have ever attended a college course you know is a big no no).  All in all I found the movie very entertaining and heart warming.  While on the surface the movie is about a middle aged man going to college for the first time in his life the underlying theme is one of rebirth and starting over.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves Tom Hanks or is just looking for something that will entertain them.

Welcome to Popcorn & Mike and Ikes

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!  You may all be wondering why my blog is titled as it is.  Well I am a man who loves movies and when I watch movies I like to have a snack and my preferred snack is a tub of Popcorn and a box of Mike and Ikes.  As I have said I love movies and I would like to share that love with the world at large.  Hopefully anyone who reads my reviews finds them to be helpful.