Ranking the seasons of "Entourage"

Entourage has to be one of the best shows during HBO’s early days when they started making their own shows. Mark Wahlberg produced the show loosely based on his experiences and exploits as a rising movie star. The show centered around Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), an upcoming movie star coming all the way out from Queens to make it big in Hollywood along with friends, Eric “E” Murphy (Kevin Connolly) and Salvatore “Turtle” Assante (Jerry Ferrara), his brother Johnny “Drama” Chase (Kevin Dillon) and his headstrong agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). The series dealt with how the Hollywood business works, a series of themes on male friendship and of course the show had a variety of celebrity guest appearances from musicians, athletes and other actors. The show was one of HBO’s most successful shows and ran for eight seasons. Now with the movie out I’ve re-watched the whole series to get ready for the movie so I thought I would do a ranking of each of the seasons from least favorite to most favorite. I would’ve ranked it from worst to best but I thought that didn’t seem necessary since even from the not so great seasons there’s at least some good out of it. Plus I’m a huge fan of the show and it’s impossible for me to hate a moment about the show.

(NOTE: There are some spoilers so if you haven’t seen the show read at your own risk)

8) SEASON 8

Ok so starting with the final season…it is slightly bittersweet but at the same time there are just some shows that don’t have the advantage of going with a bang in their final season. This show was one of them. But at the same time at least we got to see everything with the guys get their dilemmas resolved in time for the final episodeAt the end of the episode it posts credits opening for the movie. The biggest flaw in this season was prior to Season 8, Season 7 ended on a big down note and with  plot holes that just cut away a few months after the last season:

1)   Eric and Scott were planning to take down the head of their current management company to start their own firm. They didn’t show what happened.

2)   Turtle and the whole resolution of the business conflict with the Tequila Company and Mark Cuban. They came to a compromise eventually over the business rights but once again they didn’t show what happened.

Everything else was pretty self-explanatory with Ari continuing to resolve his issues with his wife and family along with Vince getting back after coming out of rehab. Overall it could’ve been better but at the same time it wasn’t too bad.

7) SEASON 7

Season 7 started off well but in the end it wound up being kind of depressing and disappointing towards the season finale. Picking up where the gang last left off in Season 6 coming off a big hot streak with Vince getting up on top of the A-list; Eric gets signed on working for a big talent management firm; Drama ends up getting a holding deal with CBS; Turtle making progress with some business ventures and Ari making his agency the biggest one in LA.

But the season took Vince on another downward spiral. This time with him going on the wild side by cutting his hair, dating a porn star and dealing with drug abuse. All of which happened after Vince took a big risk doing a dangerous stunt while filming an action movie and survived.

Another moment that made the season depressing is Ari dealing with problems with his wife. Both of those moments made the season end on such a big down note especially with Vince getting caught with drugs. The season finale on this season could’ve better and done differently.

6) SEASON 5

This season does show a lot of struggle especially with Vince falling off the top of the A-list. At the end of Season 4, Vince finally got to make the movie he wanted “Medellin” (a biopic on Pablo Escobar) but what hoped to be Vince’s chance at an Oscar turned out to be a major disaster to point where he was no longer in demand. The main flaw to this season is I thought they dragged out the whole post “Medellin” thing too long in the season. Sure we had to see Vince experience a flop but not that long.  I thought it was great in the opening of the season they included a cameo of TV film critic, Richard Roeper reviewing Medellin.

5) SEASON 1

The season of where it all began. This season kept it simple for what it was and did a great job of introducing the characters to the audience. They started off with Vince being an “on the rise” actor which was appropriate because it would’ve taken too long if they started the show off with the guys moving out to LA searching for fame and fortune. It gave us a quick idea of the background of all five characters without going into too big of a back-story of how they got to Hollywood from Queens. Vince is getting supporting roles while finding his first big project to be a leading actor, Eric begins managing Vince’s career (this part in the season does cause some tension between Vince and Eric), Turtle starts off as Vince’s go to guy, Drama is the C-list actor getting by with guest starring roles and small parts with a desire for bigger roles and Ari is the super agent. Vince starts in a popcorn thriller with Jessica Alba and then gets on an indie project for his first starting role. But the season did a great job for a beginning that lasts 8 seasons eventually.

4) SEASON 4

Picking up where we left off from the second half of Season 3, Vince and company were continuing to pursue his passion project, “Medellin”, the Pablo Escobar autobiography. During the second half of the Season 3, the movie went back and forth from being in production to being in development hell to being up for grabs. So Vince and his Entourage decide to fund the money themselves to buy the script and make the movie. It was especially awesome how they opened the season with showing behind the scenes footage on the making of the movie. The rest of the season just leaves us guessing wondering if this movie was going to be Vince’s biggest game changer, whether it was going to be an Oscar contender or a complete disaster, but unfortunately it ended up being a complete disappointment to audiences and critics.

3) SEASON 6

This season made up for the long drawn out storyline in Season 5. Although at the end of Season 5 ended on a high note when Vince gets offered a starring role in a new movie directed by Martin Scorsese. With his recent movie Vince finally is back on the A-list. The rest of the season consisted of Eric dealing with business struggles as he tries to expand his managing career aside from managing Vince as well as reconciling with Sloan for the third or fourth time. Other parts of the season consisted of Turtle pursuing his business ventures by going back to school to try to start a business, Drama going from Five Towns to another show and finally Ari dealing with the struggles of a business partner and promoting his assistant Lloyd to being an agent. In a way a good amount of the season seemed to revolve more around Vince’s friends, which makes sense seeing how a good amount of last season revolved around him.

2) SEASON 2

After a small first season, the second season has the same vibe as the first season although it’s on a bigger scale. Vince and the guys return to LA after going back to Queens to film an indie movie, “Queens Boulevard,” and now Vince wants to take a shot at the big time with a blockbuster project. There was some minor struggle with him finding his big project until Ari lands him “Aquaman” with James Cameron directing. A good amount of the season follows the pre-production of the movie and Vince rekindling a love affair with Mandy Moore. The only major side story of the season involves Ari leaving the mega agency TMA to go start up his own agency.

1) SEASON 3

This season had to be my favorite out of all the seasons. Season three shows everything that happens on the show especially now that Vince hit it big with his blockbuster hit, “Aquaman.” This season was split into two parts. The first with Vince now in demand he is in hot pursuit of his passion project, “Medellin” the story of Mexican drug lord, Pablo Escobar. Although he struggles to get the movie with the project going back and forth from studio to studio, casting changes, producing changes and scheduling conflicts with Vince doing a sequel to “Aquaman.” Meanwhile as for everyone else: Eric begins his relationship with Sloan, Drama finally gets a starring role on a new TV show called “Five Towns”, Turtle is the only character that didn’t have much going for him in this season (which is the only flaw in the season) and Ari becoming a super agent by creating a massive talent agency. One of the conflicts in Ari’s storyline is although he becomes the top agent in the business he losses track of Vince by trying to secure his passion project and Ari ends up getting fired for it at the end of the first half of the season but eventually redeems himself in the second half of the season. All and all this season is the one that really defines the Hollywood lifestyle of the show.

Should "The Fast and the Furious" franchise continue?

“The Fast and the Furious” has to be one of the longest running movie franchises ever. Recently they released their seventh entry in this franchise. This one is a big deal because of what happened during the filming of this movie.

            During filming of “Fast & Furious 7”, Universal was talking about making two more movies (for a total of nine) with the last one wrapping up the franchise. However during filming of the most recent film, lead actor Paul Walker died in a car accident which delayed the filming and caused the movie to go through some edits and rewrites. The rest of the cast and crew postponed production to honor the loss of their co-star. They finished Paul Walker’s scenes by using his brothers to fill in for the rest of his parts in the movie.

            Prior to the movie’s opening weekend, Vin Diesel and the rest of the cast had special tributes to Paul Walker at special screenings of the movie. There has been some talk recently from the studio about continuing the franchise without Walker; however Vin Diesel and the rest of the actors in the franchise don’t appear to want to have the franchise continue.

            From seeing the recent movie I can say that I think they should put the franchise to rest out of respect for Paul Walker. Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and the rest of the cast were very emotional when filming the rest of this movie and admitted that it wasn’t easy finishing the movie without Walker. Also I thought from the way the movie ended it felt like the perfect closure to the series. During the final scene they had a montage of clips of Paul Walker throughout the previous movies which was a nice tribute to him.

In the end they definitely had a great run and they did a good job of making a proper ending to fun franchise of movies. May Paul Walker rest in peace.

Lamar Hunt Jr sets the tone for hockey in KC

This past winter, Lamar Hunt Jr. made an unexpected move and bought Kansas City’s hockey team, the Missouri Mavericks. Who would’ve imagined Lamar Hunt Jr. would buy the Missouri Mavericks? I had no idea the team was even up for sale. Not to mention it seemed unexpected seeing how he and the rest of his family have been mainly involved with the Kansas City Chiefs for decades and FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. There was also a point in time where the Hunt Family was involved with the Kansas City Wizards and Columbus Crew (two more of one of the several founding MLS franchises), and they had a minority stake in the Chicago Bulls.

            Hunt’s purchase was unexpected but at the same time it’s a major benefit not only to the franchise but also for Kansas City and its hockey fan base. The timing of this move was perfect. Hunt wants to not only sell more tickets but he also wants to build more hockey rinks for the community. Building more rinks will help increase the interest of hockey as well as developing youth hockey and other recreational leagues.

            Although this doesn’t seem like the main intention now but I think all of this will also help Kansas City get an NHL franchise at the Sprint Center. Hunt’s intentions of building more hockey rinks to get the community involved and get them interested in playing hockey will help the city raise its awareness to the NHL as a hockey town. On top of that, the Missouri Mavericks is now in a league that is the second minor league. This is the league where potential hockey stars want to play to reach their goal of playing in the NHL.

            Aside from that Kansas City is a city on the rise as it continues to improve by getting national recognition for food, life-style and sports. More people are starting to move here because of these opportunities and other amenities the city has to offer. This long-term plan is perfect because now is the time for Kansas City to go all out and make the NHL in Kansas City a reality instead of just a dream.

Top 20 Best Albums of 2014

Normally when I’ve done top year lists I’ve usually done it with movies. But after reading Rolling Stone’s top album list I’d figure I would take a crack at my own top album list. So this will be my last best of 2014 list before I move on to talking about other things seeing how we are a month into 2015. Plus I wanted to do this list because 2014 was a great year in music I thought I would recognize that. So without further adieu here is my list for the Top 20 albums of 2014. Also I figured this would be a great way to recap the music year seeing how the Grammy Awards are this weekend.

20) “Nick & Knight” – Nick Carter & Jordan Knight

Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter and New Kids’ Jordan Knight team up for a duet album with “Nick & Knight.” Carter and Knight combine their generations of boy band sound with songs that sound like something that either BSB or NKOTB would’ve done a long time ago.

Favorite Tracks: “One More Time,” “Drive My Car” and “Just the Two of Us”

19) “V” – Maroon 5

I mean seriously is there anything Maroon 5 can’t make good? Maroon 5 is back with their fifth album as they continue to maintain their pop rock sound but also continuing to be more contemporary. Not to mention Adam Levine continues to make a name for the band as well as himself.

Favorite Tracks: “Maps” and “Sugar”

18) “1989” – Taylor Swift

I have to say Taylor Swift has really out done herself with this album. After the last couple of albums I thought she was starting to repeat herself and thought that she needs to change it up. But she pulled a major 180 by ditching the country image and going for more of a full on mainstream pop image. The sales numbers speak for themselves that Swift should definitely stick to this kind of music.

Favorite Tracks: “Shake It Off”, “Out of the Woods”, “Blank Space” and “Style”

17) “X (Multiply)” – Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is back with his sophomore album and it’s an improvement from his debut album. Not like there was anything wrong with his first album but his second album really sets the musical tone and style that he wants to be known for. But in some of his songs he tends to shift vocally similar to other artists but still making it his own thing and not copying the others.

Favorite Tracks: “Sing” and “Don’t”

16) “Pop Psychology” – Neon Trees

The Neon Trees are back with their third album with major improvements. Their last album was okay but at the same time it didn’t hold to their debut album. This time they avoid repeating their sophomore slump by ditching their alternative sound and taking a page out of Maroon 5’s playbook going for a pop rock new wave sound. If they keep up this mainstream sound they can be the next Maroon 5.

Favorite Tracks: “Sleeping with a Friend”, “I Love You (But Hate Your Friends)” and “First Things First”

15) “Strange Desire” – Bleachers

Bleachers has to be one of picks for favorite new artists from 2014. This new indie band sets the tone of its modern alternative rock sound and even goes with a bit of retro sound. When I mean retro I mean “something you would hear in a John Hughes movie” kind of retro. I know random name of a category right? But it’s good enough to make the list.

Favorite Tracks: “I Wanna Get Better” and “Rollercoaster”

14) “Shakira” – Shakira

Shakira is another artist who has taken her sound to the next level. Shakira continues to make her music come off through her strong presence and personality. When it comes to Shakira we all know those lips definitely don’t lie especially in the “Can’t Remember to Forget You” music video she did with Rihanna.

Favorite Tracks: “Can’t Remember to Forget You” and “Empire”

13) “This Is All Yours” – Alt-J

Alt-J really took a risk in their sophomore album as they decided to go on without their bass player, Gwil Sainsbury. But they pulled it off as their trademark sound steals the show with indie and mainstream music. This band has taken their sound to the next level and I look forward to what they have in store for their future albums.

Favorite Tracks: “Left Hand Free” and “Hunger of the Pine”

12) “Voices” – Phantogram

Another sophomore-hit album making the list is Phantogram. This electronic rock duo up tempos their sound by combing electronic rock with some aggressive pop music. Like Alt-J, this another electronic alternative group that has taken their sound up another level and forward to what they do next.

Favorite Tracks: “Fall In Love” and “Nothing But Trouble”

11) “Gypsy Heart” – Colbie Caillat

Colbie Caillat is an artist that continues to grow and improve as an artist. This time she goes out of her comfort zone as she continues to become a more confident artist and shows her vulnerability with her writing and lyrics. She also drifted away from the fun beach image to more of a contemporary image to tie in with her new music.

Favorite Tracks: “Try”, “Just Like That” and “Never Gonna Let You Down”

10) “Sex and Love” – Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias is at again! Enrique continues to do what works for him. Which is his usual club dance tracks that make you want to dance the night away and his sophisticated sound that goes back to his Spanish roots with ballads of charisma and emotion. This album reminds his fans on how he has maintained his heartthrob status for so long, well his female fans at least.

Favorite Tracks: “Turn the Night Up”, “Loco”, “Let Me Be Your Lover” and “Bailando” (both in English and Spanish)

9) “Zaba” – Glass Animals

Glass Animals has to be another one of my favorite new bands to break out from this past year. This band has a way of diversifying their sound for each track and allowing the lyrics to set the tone for the different sounds. Some of it is danceable and some it is mellow. Whatever sound they make it work to their advantage. Also this band got exposure from Kansas City’s very own 965 The Buzz by being the first radio station in the US to play them.

Favorite Tracks: “Gooey”, “Pools” and “Hazey”

8) “Make a Shadow” – Meg Myers

Another new artist that got exposure from Kansas City’s 965 The Buzz is the lovely, fierce and talented Meg Myers. Damn I love this artist! She has such a killer voice that is raw around the edges but backs up power. Plus she is awesome live! This is one artist I definitely want to see more of in the near future!

Favorite Tracks: “Desire”, “Go”, “Make a Shadow” and “Adelaide”

7) “Sonic Highways” – Foo Fighters

Let’s just say Foo Fighters never gets old to listen to - ever! This legendary grunge rock band continues to rock out with their eighth album, Sonic Highways. This new album combines underground rock music while maintaining their mainstream modern rock sound with a little homage to classic rock. This had to be the band’s most ambitious album ever. Not to mention for their world tour Dave Grohl decided to have a day where fans go to only the box office to buy the tickets like they did in the 90’s before the internet existed. Well done Dave Grohl you music genius!

Favorite Tracks: “Something from Nothing” and “The Feast and the Famine”

6) “Everything Will Be Alright in the End” – Weezer

Weezer are the comeback kings of 2014! This big comeback album goes back to sound of their earlier albums from the 1990’s which is refreshing for long-time fans. The music may be hooky but at the same it’s what they’re known for. Their leading single “Back to the Shack” speaks for themselves on their comeback to the point where you could’ve imagined hearing this song in the 90’s.

Favorite Tracks: “Back to the Shack”, “Cleopatra” and “Da Vinci”

5) “Kitten” – Kitten

Another new artist to make my countdown list is Kitten. The leader singer, Chloe Chaidez has a powerful and feisty stage presence with powerful vocals and charisma. Some of her songs have a 80’s and 90’s dance tracks but keeping it modern and hardcore. When Chaidez definitely dominates the stage when performing live and a definite must see!

Favorite Tracks: “G Sharp” and “Like a Stranger”

4) “The Outsiders” – Eric Church

Normally I’m not a huge country music fan but Eric Church is one of the few artists that I like and give an exception. Church has a way of expressing his vulnerability through a great amount of guitar riffs in southern rock. Church also has a way with writing great lyrics especially in one of hit songs, “Give Me Back My Hometown” which kind of has a feel of “Springsteen” from last his last album.

Favorite Tracks: “Give Me Back My Hometown”, “Talladega” and “The Outsiders”

3) “Daggers” – Ex Cops

Ex Cops is by far my favorite new act from 2014! This is one band that I hope gets more exposure within the next year or so. They call themselves an indie band but they definitely have their sound stand out without sounding too cliché. They have a sound of alternative and synthpop. Not to mention I love the name of this band because it sounds so badass! Hope to see more of this band and hope they get a wider audience.

Favorite Tracks: “Black Soap”, “White Noise” and “Teenagers”

2) “Supermodel” – Foster the People

Foster the People are back after a smashing debut back from 2011. The band continues to use their winning alternative rock sound that made them successful with their debut. The album features themes like negativity towards popular culture and consumer ideology. Also they’ve improved their sound with importing different instruments and various sounds from other cultures.

Favorite Tracks: “Coming of Age”, “Are You What You Want to Be?” and “Best Friend”

1)   “Lazaretto” – Jack White

Finally last but not least, Jack White taking the number 1 spot on this list. This has to be one of Jack White’s best solo work ever! Jack White used a collection of poems, short stories and plays that he wrote several years ago. White manages to draw the attention of the listener with crazy lyrics but at the same time very colorful as it nods to various key tones and ideas. Well-done Jack White you genius!

Favorite Tracks: “Lazaretto” and “I Think I Found the Culprit”

Top 12 Best Movies of 2014

Now that we’ve gotten the list of top worst movies out of the way, let’s reminisce the best movies from 2014. Especially seeing how we are now in the middle of Oscar season. So without further a due here are my picks for the top 12 best movies of 2014.

12) Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier

So far during the second phase of the Marvel Cinematic universe leading up to the next Avengers movie, we’ve been seeing what some of the characters have been up to since the first Avengers movie. This movie comes close to a little more of side-story follow up to “The Avengers” as Captain America continues to fight for what’s right while still adjusting to modern times in the real world along with help from Black Widow, Nick Fury and Falcon. This had to be the best out of the sequels in Phase 2 of the Marvel Universe, nothing against “Iron Man 3” and “Thor 2” but this sequel takes the cake. Not to mention I can’t wait to see what’s in store for upcoming Avengers sequel this summer!

11) Foxcatcher

This haunting crime drama is based off true events from 1984 surrounding multimillionaire John du Pont. John du Pont was a wrestling enthusiast who established a wrestling farm to train a US wrestling team for the 1988 Olympics. Steve Carrell is totally unrecognizable in the role of John du Pont and does a great job at making him look kind of creepy too. This movie is very dark and intense as we experience the subsequent events and consequences.

10) Begin Again

I really loved this movie! This was a great music drama that gives you that feel good vibe. The script is well written with a likeable cast and it also keeps balance with drama and romance without going overboard and getting too sentimental. The movie has a great soundtrack and I highly recommend it! The movie also seems to give a positive message about starting over and pursuing dreams and making them happen.

9) Whiplash

This was an intense movie about a young jazz drummer (played by Miles Teller) who has the ambition of becoming one of the best drummers ever. He is pushed beyond his limits by a fearsome maestro (played by character actor JK Simmons). We get a lot of intense moments of Teller’s character bringing out the best of his skills while he fights the harassment of Simmons’ character. This has to be JK Simmons’ best performance in his career and a likely choice for the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars.

8) Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the man of late night in this neo-noir thriller as a freelanced video photographer. This has to be one of Gyllenhaal’s best performances as he comes off as a total psychopath and I almost felt like he was channeling some Robert DeNiro’s acting chops from “Taxi Driver.” The movie is very sharp and well written both in plot and dialogue. The only flaws in this movie were the ending was kind of vague and it doesn’t really accurately portray some of the facts of broadcast business, but never the less, Gyllenhaal has taken acting to the next level.

7) The Theory of Everything

This is well-made and very well acted biopic about Stephen Hawking and his success on the theory of physics as he struggled the rest of his life with motor neuron disease. Up and comer Eddie Redmayne does very well taking on his first leading role as Stephen Hawking. The movie was not only based on Hawking’s life but this based on his wife’s memoir, which focuses on the romance and marriage of Stephen and Jane. Only minor flaw is they maybe focused a little too much on the love story as opposed to Hawking and his study of physics, but other than that it was still a great movie.

6) American Sniper

Bradley Cooper does it again receiving his third straight Oscar nomination this time as Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. Clint Eastwood does a great job directing this war biography on the hotshot sniper who had 255 kills. Eastwood also does a great job in making the battle sequences extended as opposed to a “Zero Dark Thirty” where it’s all about politics and strategy. This movie also seems to show that we should continue to show our appreciation to the troops with more than just a thank you.

5) Wild

This has to be one of those movies where it’s good but watch only once kind of like “127 Hours” minus a few factors. Reese Witherspoon gives her second best performance since she won her first Oscar with “Walk the Line” back in 2005. This is a solo survival journey was based off the memoir of Cheryl Strayed as she embarked on a 1100 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to find herself. The only flaw about this movie was the quick cut flash backs occurred too much as we go through the journey.ond best performance since she won her first Oscar with “Walk the Line” back in 2005. This is a solo survival journey was based off the memoir of Cheryl Strayed as she embarked on a 1100 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to find herself. The only flaw about this movie was the quick cut flash backs occurred too much as we go through the journey.

4) Birdman 

Michael Keaton plays a washed up actor who is trying to revive his career through a Broadway production. The funny coincidence about this movie is Keaton’s character was an actor that played a superhero where Keaton in real life played Batman, coincidence? I think so. The only flaw I thought was odd was the Birdman voice that Keaton kept hearing (it kind of seemed like a pale imitation of Christian Bale as Batman), which was the only weird part about the movie. Other than that the movie was well-acted especially with Edward Norton playing a supporting role as a talented but egotistical actor. I really hope Keaton and Norton receive Oscar nominations and both of them win!

3) Kill the Messenger

Not only does this movie make my list for the best movies but it also makes my list for movies that got snubbed by the Academy Awards. Jeremy Renner puts on another Oscar worthy performance as journalist Gary Webb as he plays anti-hero to dig deeper into an investigative story involving the CIA and the Mexican drug cartel. The plot takes its twists and turns as we go through the details within the plot as well as Gary Webb dealing with the rewards and punishments within investigating the story. This movie didn’t get the recognition it deserved. It deserved a wider audience and Jeremy Renner should have gotten an Oscar nomination for this role.

2) The Grand Budapest Hotel

Most of the time I’m not too crazy about a lot of Wes Anderson’s movies but this one I think is his best movie to date. This quirky off beat “dramedy” is about a legendary concierge (played by Ralph Fienes) running the Republic of Zubrowka hotel during the first and second World Wars. He befriends a lobby boy as they embark on various situations and exploits. I salute the Academy for recognizing this movie despite coming out so early in the year where most movies around that time tend to get lost in the mix. It’s smart, funny, visually appealing and very well-acted with a strong cast and some cameos. Great movie!

1)Boyhood

This had to be the best movie of the year by far! This movie was shot in 39 days over 12 years with the same cast. Normally when a movie takes that long to make no one ever lives to brag about it but for this movie it makes sense as it shows the phases of life we see these characters go through in this coming of age drama. There were many things that could’ve gone wrong but Richard Linklater definitely pulled it off. Also it’s totally refreshing to see Ethan Hawke go back to serious acting roots for a change. This movie will definitely win the Best Picture award at the Oscars.

Honorable Mentions:

Guardians of the Galaxy

I ran out of room to include this movie on the top 12 but I figure I would give it an honorable mention. Guardians of the Galaxy had to be the biggest wild card movie of 2014. This movie was based off a lesser-known superhero team from Marvel Comics. The comic wasn’t exactly a household name like “The Avengers”, “X-Men” and “Spider-Man” but that was the one advantage the directors used to introduce this team to mainstream audiences. Not to mention they did use some jokes by making fun of themselves on how nobody has heard of these characters. I look to forward to more adventures with these characters in the near future as well as a potential “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avengers” crossover.

St. Vincent

Bill Murray gives one of the best performances of his career as he plays a grouchy old man who forms an unlikely friendship with his neighbor’s son. The movie is heartwarming, funny and sentimental.


Those are my top 12 picks and I look forward to what this movie year has in store. See ya at the movies!

Top 12 Worst Movies of 2014

Well it’s that time of year again. It’s a new year where we clean the slate from last year and start over for what’s in store this year. Speaking of cleaning the slate when it comes to the movies I like to clean the slate by counting down the worst movies from 2014. Trust me this wasn’t easy sitting through some of these movies and then having to recap them. But let’s get this over with and clean the slate.

12) The Expendables 3

Sylvester Stallone and his fellow action hero stars are at it again for (like they in the trailer) ONE LAST RIDE. Now I was a fan of the first two movies as they paid homage to all the classic action movies from the 80s and 90s. This time around they didn’t do much to go out with a bang on their so-called last ride. Not to mention they took a page out of Die Hard 4’s playbook by lowering the rating to PG-13 as opposed to the R-rating. Not to mention (aside from Stallone) majority of the original cast got less screen time this time around. This was one last ride that should’ve went out in a blaze of glory but didn’t.

11) Blended

I swear how many times is Adam Sandler going to keep playing the same lousy slacker? I use to be an Adam Sandler fan back in his earlier days but now he’s just playing the same character and just doesn’t care anymore. Sandler reunites with Drew Barrymore for a third time (oh yay like we’ve never seen this before). That plus the movie is too much like another Adam Sandler movie, “Just Go with It”. How original for an actor to rip off another movie of his, NOT!

10.) Transformers 4 - Age of Extinction

Just when you thought it was all over after Michael Bay said the third movie was the last one. Then what happens? It makes millions of dollars and then they make another movie. I love Mark Wahlberg but this movie just doesn’t seem like it’s for him. Plus I thought it was too soon for them to start over with the franchise. Come back a few years later when some time has past. Plus it’s time for Michael Bay to quit ruining popular cartoon franchises from the 80’s and 90’s! I won’t be surprised if Bay starts pissing off anime fans next.

9) Dracula Untold

Ok so Universal wants to reintroduce classic monster movie franchises to modern audiences but an origin story on Dracula? Screw that! I never thought a story on how Dracula became Dracula would be so stupid and so boring. Not really too much more to say about this one. I turned it off half way through.

8) Winter’s Tale

For every movie year there’s one movie based off a novel to make every critic’s worst of movie year list. This one takes the cake for 2014. Not to mention another flop of an all-star cast which consisted of Colin Farrell, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe and Will Smith. This movie is part supernatural good versus evil and part love story. But maybe too supernatural which is the main problem of the movie for a live-action movie. No wonder why Martin Scorsese thought this movie was un-filmable when he turned down the directing job. This movie would’ve been better off if it were animated film.

7) A Haunted House 2

This movie is a sequel to a movie that was an excuse for Marlon Wayans to re-live his memories of doing Scary Movie 1 & 2. Other than that it’s just another excuse to make carbon copy spoof movies where it’s just a bunch of punch lines with no set up for the jokes. I’ve seen bad comedy sketches funnier than this piece of crap.

6) Sabotage

Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to do everything he can to find his headlining comeback. His involvement in The Expendables movies doesn’t count. The movie looked like it could’ve been it but all it was nothing but another one of those blow them up shoot them movies.

5) This Is Where I Leave You

I wanted to like this movie but I couldn’t. The movie has a nice comedic cast consisting of Jason Bateman and Tina Fey but those two would’ve been better off with a different screenplay. There were times where this movie had it’s moments but half it of was cheap laughs and not to mention not getting anywhere on some serious moments with clichéd conflicts involving this dysfunctional family.

4) I, Frankenstein

This movie had to be a major rip-off of the “Underworld” movies minus Kate Beckinsale and the vampires versus werewolves factor. Instead of a battle between vampires and werewolves we get Aaron Eckhart versus demons and gargoyles. It’s loud, it’s stupid, there isn’t any interesting characters and it wasn’t creative at all. This screenplay should’ve been tossed into the paper shredder.

3) The Robocop remake

It’s hard to believe that we’re getting to the point where movies from the 1980’s are starting to get thrown into the remake pile. The cast I will admit isn’t the problem of the movie. Especially when you have Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton in the supporting cast. Joel Kinnamen falls flat with his monotone voice that is a problem for the character trying to maintain his human side while he is machine. The ending is obvious to the point where you see it coming from a mile away. I would rather watch Robocop 3 again than this crap.

2) The Other Woman

Out of all the bad comedies in 2014 this one takes the cake. Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton star in this revenge comic caper as they pay back Nikolaj Coster Waldau for cheating on all three of them. This movie is a complete insult to women as the outcome walks away with no dignity and screwed up morals. I didn’t care at the end when they showed the “here’s what happened to each character” montage.

1)   Need For Speed

Based on the popular video game franchise, this movie comes off as a mix of Steve McQueen movies and The Fast & the Furious franchise thrown into a blender and then completely ripping it off. I like Aaron Paul and I’m glad he’s taking the next approach in his career to transition to movies coming off the end of “Breaking Bad”. However this wasn’t the best choice to start for Paul to begin this phase in his career. The dialogue and the race scenes are so clichéd that we’ve seen all these race stunts before in The Fast & the Furious movies. The wonderful Michael Keaton is wasted in a cameo as a rambling podcast host making it totally obvious he did it for a quick payday. It plays like a two-hour car commercial and a two-hour video game that you’re watching someone else play.

Well now that I got those bad memories out of the way be on the look out for my list of Top 12 Best Movies of 2014.