THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

       Your mission should you choose to accept it, which you so totally should, is to get out to the cinema this weekend and see Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation . The fifth installment in the awesome action franchise, Rogue Nation does what I didn’t think it could, but the rest of the world wanted. It topped its predecessor Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol . I know, right? Crazy, but it did. It’s an action-packed thrill ride that is equal parts intelligent and entertaining.      Taking place about a year after the events of Ghost Protocol, Ethan Hunt and his team take on their most impossible mission yet, tracking down and dismantling the Syndicate – an international rogue organization that happens to be as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF. An “Anti-IMF”, as so perfectly stated in the film, the Syndicate is not to be messed with, and leave it to Ethan Hunt to take them on.     What I love...

THE OPTIMIST  v. THE PESSIMIST !! IN MIND BLOWING 3D !! (Not really, but they do talk about 3D, though) Brandon Everett, The Optimist Jens Nielsen, The Pessimist "3D movies come in several flavors  and most of them taste like sewage." -The Pessimist      If 3D is done really well then it can be a great thing, but if it is not absolutely awesome then it falls straight into the garbage. 3D conversions are a cash grab. Sensationalizing a film by adding 3D has been a Hollywood trend for far too long. Cheap 3D looks like poorly placed layers of paper landscapes have been inserted into your movie. Suddenly random objects are out of focus and they keep taking attention away from what is important. I don’t like this at all. Why is that pillow on the bed in the background given so much contrasting soft-focus? STOP IT!      If it doesn’t look like a paper doll house then it usually ends up looking really gimmicky and c...

Everyone has their “thing”.  The Optimist's movie collection     Some people collect baseball cards, others vintage stamps. Some people love to take photos or bake or make corn husk dolls, doesn't matter. Everyone has something in their lives that they're passionate about. Me? Movies. Who would have thought, right? One wall of my living room is dedicated to this collection. I don’t say that to brag, but to eventually make a point. My wife hates the fact that the wall in our living room next to the entertainment center is nothing but movies. Why, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she lacks the enthusiastic love for movies that I do, or maybe she just sees the wall of DVDs and Blu-rays as a potential down payment on a house. Who knows. I used to be really bad about how much money I spent on movies. Blockbuster Video (may you rest in peace) was my second favorite spot next to the cinema. Their 4-for-20 deals were a steal. Each week I would bring home (no joke) anywhe...

THE GALLOWS     Initial speculation on my part concerning The Gallows had me thinking it would be nothing more than another redundant found-footage film with cheap scares and a predictable plot. Let’s face it, I guess that goes without saying since pretty much every horror movie is predictable. If we really had a problem with that though, we’d stop seeing them all together, wouldn't we. But we don’t. With that said however, The Gallows is an absolute blast. Yes, it's a found-footage film, which some feel is an exhausted medium. To speak honestly I’d have to agree. However, The Gallows does a great job of utilizing the found-footage style in a way that is both suspenseful and scary.     The story isn’t anything amazing, but it lends to some creepy moments and memorable imagery. Twenty years after a horrific accident during a small town school play, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of t...

"LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES!" "ARE YOU INSANE?! NO WAY!"                                                                           A Discord on the Merits of Attending the Cinema    Brandon Everett, The Optimist Jens Nielsen, The Pessimist       Ah, the movies. Going to the movies is one of the most utilized forms of entertainment today. The cinema is our vessel to escapism and is wonderful and fun...unless you're The Pessimist. For The Optimist, the movie theater is my second home. However...not everyone shares my sentiment. Here before you is a comically-heated debate on the various pros and cons of going to the cinema between myself and The Pessimist.  There are valid points for sure to be found in both arguments, but what is most important to gain from this...

         With this week's release of Pixels, Adam Sandler and some of his Happy Madison Productions gang are back on the big screen, this time battling alien forces in the form of 80s video game characters. Since this movie was announced, I've thought about the credibility of Adam Sandler as of late and wondered if indeed his being in this new film is a good thing or a bad thing. Sandler is a comedic king who's turned into more of a one-trick pony. In his last few comedies he seems to channel the same type of character, giving us more of that slapstick comedy that he was known for when he first broke out on the Hollywood scene. I get that actors have to find their niche, and for a long time Adam Sandler did, but his last few movies have suggested otherwise. Not all of their failures should fall on his shoulders, of course. Sometimes he was just subject to poor writing or poor direction. Yet, with all of that aside, the guy can act. I've said it before, but ...