no clue movie review: Nacho Libre

I must admit from the trailers I'd seen, I figured this movie would be a laugh riot. I also just assume that seeing Jack Black on screen will compel me to laugh histerically. Add to this director Jared Hess, of Napoleon Dynamite fame, and I was really expecting to just roar. Unfortunately, this movie didn't live up to expectations. It was fun, funny at times, but not a hilariously funny movie as I expected.

This movie features Jack Black as Nacho, a friar in an orphanage, who also serves as the cook. He is enamored with a new nun and wishes to become one of the famous Luchadores (wrestlers). Nacho goes around for food for the orphans, rarely having any type of ingredients, and then goes off to wrestle at night. He gets money for the orphans and feeds them more than the slop that they've been getting. There are many funny scenes mostly belonging to Black. The other actors do a fine job, but none of them are really breakouts. None of them has the quality of a new actor that I would love to see in another movie either.

The movie has the look of a lower budget movie which is fine. It fit with the locale and the story. But since the cinematography and the acting aren't really what it's for, it needs to be really funny. Many of the funny scenes that you saw in the trailers are there and make you laugh hard. But the movie was missing many of the big belly laughs that I so desperatley needed to be able to recommend this movie. In fact many of the really funny parts are really bathroom type of humor, which wasn't overused I don't think, so it's pretty funny.

To sum it all up, the movie has some funny spots and overall left me with a good feeling. It's not a big laugh fest like I thought, so I would recommend waiting on video for this one. Maybe it will be funnier sitting in my living room, rather than a big movie theater.

For more information, visit the official site

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no clue movie review: Brick

I saw this movie a few weeks back and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised and confounded at the same time. It's a different type of movie to watch and it's worth seeing for its original vision. Hats off to the filmmakers, because I would never have thought of this one.

Directed by Rian Johnson, the movie is essentially a detective story. It's told in that detective style "i met this dame..." sort of way, but it's set in modern times in a high school setting. I think setting it in a high school actually helps to get this story going and bring you into this world of drugs, underworld dealings and the like. It's a familiar setting and high school has its share of clicks. It's also what throws you off, because the language doesn't seem to fit the characters at all. I thought it would be more of a creepy movie, but it's not. It's really just a guy, Brendan, played by Joseph-Gordon Levitt ("3rd Rock from the Sun", Mysterious Skin), looking for this girl who he found was killed. He had cared for her and they had dated previously before the film started. What's really kind of clever though, is that the kids in this world, really function almost without any adults and they are acting like the old time adults like a Humphrey Bogart kind of character.

The movie looks fantastic and was shot really well. The camera work is inventive and serves the story in a great way. I was truly impressed since in a lot of independent films, the camera work or sound isn't that great. This movie really stands out in this respect. The camera work helps to create the aura of the movie and I think complements the movie as a whole. It almost acts as a character at times.

The actors are all respectable and do a fine job. The cast is quite large for an independent movie and Gordon-Levitt has a ton of screen time which must of been demanding. He really carries the movie. Other actors that you may know are Lukas Haas, Emilie De Ravin ("Lost") and Richard Roundtree. A stand out among the newcomers for me was Nora Zehetner. She's a real find and plays the femme fatale character really well. She's sexy, dangerous and also a girl next door at times.

All in all, I found the movie to be uneven. At times, it seemed to drag and just got a bit weird when we found out more about "the pin" and "the brick". But it was entertaining and I feel for the inventiveness alone, it's worth checking out. I'm curious to see what the filmmaker does next.

For more information, visit the official site

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Sabres coach wins Coach of the year

Check out these articles for news on Lindy Ruff, the coach of the Buffalo Sabres, who just won the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year at the NHL Awards. Congratulations Lindy!

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no clue movie review: The Da Vinci Code

I know that this movie had a lot of controversy surrounding it, but that part didn't bother me. I was just hoping for a great film. Based on a worldwide best seller, it seems that everyone in the known world has read this book but me. Not sure if that would have made me enjoy this movie more, because I was a little disappointed.

For those of you who aren't yet familiar, The Da Vinci Code is about a secret organization inside the Catholic church that is hiding a religious mystery, and clues are found in Da Vinci paintings. It is based in reality, but it is fiction. Controversy aside, let's take this flick at face value. I will say it has a great beginning. Chilling and exciting at the same time. But for me, it lost steam about halfway through and never recovered.

Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon who is the man seeking out the clues to uncover this mystery. He is joined by Audrey Tatou, Ian McKellan, Jean Reno and Paul Bettany among others. The actors do a fine job. Directed by the masterful, but conservative Ron Howard. I can't say that the movie was bad, poorly directed or boring to watch. At times, I found it to be downright exciting. The problem I had is that the movie has some real slow spots. I just found myself saying "so what" at times and not getting into the movie. Maybe it's me, I just didn't feel transported to a new place enough. I was too aware that I was watching a movie.

The movie is slick and looks fantastic. It runs all over Paris and has some great location shots. The movie for the most part, has a good pace, but like I said at times, it does seem to drag. I found myself looking at my watch quite a bit and I didn't have anywhere to go after I was done. I didn't really feel like I knew the characters very well and I didn't feel like I was connecting with them very much. Maybe some of it has to do with my inability to suspend enough disbelief. Whenever movies involve religion it's tough. People come to the screen looking for holes or just have their own set of beliefs up front that are hard to shake.

It's funny, even though I was disappointed in the movie and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, I can't put my finger on precisely what is missing in this movie. I can't seem to find a technical flaw that says "oh, that's why I didn't like it". I guess it just happens sometimes. The movie left me blank. It left no real impression on me, except for some harrowing and disturbing scenes with Paul Bettany. You'll know them when you see them. I can't recommend the movie, but I can't say don't see it. I say, if you're interested and you can't get into anything else you have a bigger interest in seeing, then see it. Otherwise, wait for video.

For more information, visit the official site
watch the psp compatible movie trailer

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site updated

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more to come soon including a new web series and a new short film.

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