A Coming of age tale set in modern suburbia. This film follows Quinn (Steven Yaffee) a teenager who has been home schooled his whole life by his pot growing parents. When they move from the country to suburbia the problems begin to rise. As high school senior that has never actually been to a high school, and has spent most of his years caring for marijuana plants. When Crystal (Rachel Blanchard) moves in across the street with her family, he quickly falls in love. Defying his parents he signs up for school with the help of the guidance counselor. Once he gets into school, he realizes that it's a concrete jungle.
When Quinn and Crystal start becoming closer, it shakes the social structure of high school. Instead of the Jock getting the girl the nerdy homeschooler is getting her. A lot of the films jokes and plot is based off of social structure within a high school. There is a scene where the 'outcast' is explaining the 'rules' to Quinn. It's a solid scene that really breaks down the social structure and how it works.
The great thing about this film, was that it was a unconventional stoner film. Instead of every main character being a super stupid and stoned at all times. Every main character is smart and is very aware of what is going on around them. This doesn't mean the film isn't funny. "Growing Op" has laughs throughout the film no matter who you are. Some laughs you do have to look for though. I have a strange sense of humor so I found most of the film entertaining to say the least.
The acting in the film is above par, it's nothing special but it's not terrible. The actor that plays Quinn is great for the part. He plays a quirky, loser teenager to a T. Quinn's Father (Wallace Langham) does a really great job as well.
The film as a whole is not perfect. It is a fun ride though. I won't ruin anything but, the ending will catch you by surprise. Then ending really made the film for me. It made a mediocre rom-com, a real solid film. I love when films do that, makes me wanna get writing on my script.
So this movie is new on the "Streaming Market" so I suggest you add it to your queue and give it a watch. It's definitely worth it. It's not the best film you will find on Netflix, but if your in the mood for unconventional stoner/rom-com film this is a good choice.
I'm sorry for my lack of conviction and posts. It's been a week since I updated and a lot has happened in that week, Ill explain that in a different post. With that said, It's tuesday, and you know what that means. A New Mortal Kombat episode.
Episode 5 is what we call, um...let me find the words...Oh yeah a disappointment. This is the first episode of the series that actually lost my attention. It is the 2nd part of the Millena and Kitana story. It runs about 5 mins long. which is the shortest of the series thus far. It's mixed with animation and live action again. It's not that the animation is bad, it's just not what I signed up for.
With that said, You still have to watch it, the story gets filled in. You gotta remember, not every episode can be great. Just like on a album not all songs can be #1 hits. It's worth the watch, but only one watch.
Ah, It feels so good to be back! Every Tuesday, I wake up and can not wait to watch the new episode of "Mortal Kombat Legacy". It seemed like I was alone last week, in thinking that the Johnny Cage episode was awesome. Luckily for me, this week, I think everyone will admit that this is a awesome episode.
This episode really builds up some backstory, which if you read my last review, you know I'm a sucker for. Episode 4 tells the backstory of Kitana, Millena, Shao Khan, Sindel and Baraka. Along with those five characters it tells the story of outworld and how it came about. This episode is a little different from the other ones. There is not much fighting, but the fighting that does happen is really well done.
Another difference in this episode is that it is intertwined with animated sequences. The animated sequences are really fun to watch, and also really well done. I can only assume the reason for the animated sequences are to keep everything under the budget. There is very little dialogue in this episode most of the episode in narrated. It's a nice touch, to say the least.
So as you can tell, I'm a huge fan of this project. Also, I'm a huge fan of Mortal Kombat in general. I had every intention of writing a review for the new game, but my Xbox died before I could finish it. So with that said, you should definitely watch this episode and the other ones if you haven't.
As I started writing this review, I realized how hard it is to write about 9 whole seasons of one show. I'm used to writing reviews of 2 hour long movies. With that said, here goes nothing.
I saw "Scrubs" on netflix while looking for something to watch. I said to myself, "I never gave this show a chance, I'll watch the first episode." That was one April 6th, Today is the 27th and I have successfully finished all 9 seasons. With that said, I'm a huge fan of the series as a whole, and it is now on my list of favorite TV shows.
"Scrubs" follows Dr. John Dorian aka "JD" (Zach Braff) through his journey of the medical field. Seasons 1-8 are narrated by JD through daydreams and and voice overs. Season 9 the focus of the show shifts to Lucy Bennet (Kerry Bishe), but we'll get back to that in a little bit.
Alongside of JD is his heterosexual life mate Chris Turk (Donald Faison). His mentor, Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley). Head Nurse, Carla (Judy Reyes), and JD's love interest, Elliot (Sarah Chalke). The show revolves around these 4 mostly, but there are TONS of other lovable characters.
One thing that I loved about the show, was that all the episodes went into one another. Granted you could watch a random episode and still like it, but watching them all in order it tells a bigger story than just one episode at a time. Each season tells one big story, for instance season 2 one of the main story arcs is Turk and Carla's wedding. The way it is written reminds me of comic books. There are little story arcs (3 or 4 episodes long) that when the are all combined it makes one huge story.
The show is made up of mostly day dreams done by JD. It reminds me a lot of "Family Guy". Something happens in his mind that is pretty much irrelevant to the show, but it is ridiculous and funny. At first I thought I was going to find that super annoying, but I was wrong. I couldn't imagine the show without the day dreams. Each episode ends with a voice over from JD summing up everything that happened in the episode and telling you what he learned. It's like he was writing in his diary.
Season 9 was a little different which I assume is the reason the show got dropped. Most of the main characters from seasons 1-8 are still there, but they become the supporting characters. As previously stated the main protagonist shifts from JD to Lucy. Lucy is in med school and JD, Dr. Cox and Turk are all teachers at this school. So lucy and her friends are not even interns yet, it was like they wanted to start the show over. It only has 13 episodes, I think it got cut in mid season, Cause it sure didn't feel like a season finale. If you make it to season 9, you should definitely watch it. It's not as good as the first 8 seasons, but there are some laughs to be had in it.
So all in all, I'm a huge fan of the show. I really do recommend you add it to your queue and watch it in all it's glory. It only took me 21 days. =)
Ah, We meet again my fine internet friends. Thanks for coming over to the site, it is much appreciated. As I said In my post on Easter Sunday, I was kinda swamped last week. So I never got around to reviewing Episode 2 of "Mortal Kombat: Legacy". Although I did plan to, it just didn't happen. So what I'm going to do, is give you a two-for in this post. I'm gonna tell you how I feel about Episodes 2&3 and link you to both in case you missed em'.
EPISODE 2: Assuming you've already seen this, There will be SPOILERS. Well, this episode was definitely a good one. This is the episode 'everyone' wanted the first time around, I felt like where this episode ended could of been all in episode 1. That's really my only complaint, but I do like the pacing of the show so far. So the complaint isn't really that big of a deal.
Basically we get two action scenes, and a tad bit more of where the story is going. We see Sonya Blade do work on multiple enemies and the fight between Kano and Jax fishes off the episode. So far we have a common theme of cliffhanger endings in this show. The cliffhanger ending in episode 2 has to do with Kano's eye, and it made me hate that I have to wait a week to see what happens next. Needless to say it's epic.
If you have not seen episode 2 here it is in all it's glory.
EPISODE 3: Assuming you have not seen this, since it came out today, I will do my best to stay spoiler free. Ok, Now we are getting somewhere. As a film major I'm a huge fan of backstory and character development, and that was one thing the MK series always lacked. Sure, there was backstories to every character in the game. Unfortunately you only got 2 paragraphs and sometimes it was pretty hard to follow. So I like where they are going with the 'new' backstories of the characters.
This episode jumps from Jax, Kano, and Sonya to introduce a new character to the show, Johnny Cage. The episode starts off with Victor Lucas (The only reason I know his name is from G4 Electric Playground and Judgement Day. Both Great Shows and it was cool to see him still doing things). doing a 'E! True Hollywood Story' type of segment on the life of Johnny Cage. We learn that he had a Rise and Fall type of career and has been out of work since "Power Rangers" went off the air.
He is doing his best to try to get back on TV. To do this, he is showing the hollywood producers a demo reel of his new show that he wants produced. It's a "Dog The Bounty Hunter" kind of show but with Martial arts. The hollywood big shots shoot him down and let him go from the company. I'll leave the synopsis at that. I don't wanna ruin the cliffhanger ending, but just know this. It's finally getting to something good. Just trust the writing staff, this build up is going to be worth it, I can feel it.
Johnny Cage is played by Matt Mullins who is perfect for the part. He is a very skilled martial artist from what was portrayed in this episode. Also he looks the part, from the sunglasses and the hair to the spin kicks and split ball punching. They did a really good job forming the character that everyone knows from the MK series.
One of the main things that you will notice this episode, is that it is edited. The audio cuts out every time someone curses. This sort of thing shouldn't bother me, but it did. I gave it so much props early on in the first episode that they were using curse words. Not that cursing makes a show better, but I think it stays true to the situation. A washed up actor getting fired, is definitely going to drop a F bomb or two.
At the end of the episode there is a note, saying a uncensored version will be released Friday. So, who knows what their thought process behind that is. Perhaps, they are trying to get a younger audience, Or maybe they got complaints. I personally think the Unedited version should come out first and the edited version on Friday.
Either way, edited or not, I'm hooked. I can't wait till next weeks episode and see where the story goes from here.
Here is Episode 3, ENJOY!
Leave a comment and tell me what you think of the episode and if you like the series or not as a whole. I'm always up for debates and conversations through the comment section. Also tell your friends about us, It's much appreciated.
This is the official Trailer of the new film "Passion Play". Starring Megan Fox, Mickey Rourke and Bill Murray.
The Trailer is pretty solid. The movie doesn't look like anything too spectacular, but Mickey Rourke is one of my favorite actors and Megan Fox is one of my favorite pieces of eye candy. So, I figured it was worth posting.
Enjoy.
Leave a comment let me know what you think of it. Also tell me if your looking forward to it, or if your gonna skip this one and wait for the dvd.
Well internet, the time has finally arrived. "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" had it's debut today, and it's awesome. If you are a avid Mortal Kombat fan, like myself. Odds are you already know this and have watched it. If you are out of the loop, well that's why you come here =).
This is the web series based off "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth" which came out about a year ago. It was a 7 min long trailer and the internet blew up about it. The series will follow all your favorite Mortal Kombat characters and will coincide with the new game that is due out next week. The new game is a re-boot of the series, after the disaster that was "Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe". So as a fan and gamer I'm looking forward to a new start to one of my favorite fighting games as a kid.
Below, I will post the "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth" in case you missed that, or want to watch it again. Along with that I will post episode 1 of "Mortal Kombat: Legacy". That way you can catch up and be ready for next weeks episode.
"Mortal Kombat: Rebirth"
"Mortal Kombat: Legacy"
Hope you enjoy both videos. leave a comment let me know what you thought about them. I personally am looking forward to where they are taking the series.
I got this idea for a article today, while surfing the internet. Whenever I find a awesome trailer I'm going to post it and call it "Trailer Park Chronicles". This can be old trailers for movies that have come and gone. Or it can be for films that are coming out in the future.
Tonights, is for a film "Louder Than a Bomb" it is such a awesome trailer. I got goosebumps after it ended. I'm a huge fan of spoken word poetry, I personally can't wait for this film to come out. Enjoy it, and leave a comment let me know what you think of it.
Be ready for it May 18th, 2011. -- Hopefully it makes it out to a wide release, or a theater near me gets it =)
Released right on the tail of the disaster that was Skyline, Battle: Los Angeles had me wary. Hollywood seems dedicated to draining every ounce of credibility out of the science fiction genre of film, repeatedly releasing medium budget, b-list acted, heartless movies that do nothing but retread the same ground in an increasingly sloppy way. Thankfully, Battle: LA manages to escape the fate that so many other Sci-Fi movies resign themselves to, telling a familiar story in a rather unique way. It has its few failures, but overall, remains an enjoyable ride. Best of all, it has heart.
The movie follows a group of Marines sent into whats left of inner-city Los Angeles to extract a group of survivors who have taken refuge in an abandoned police station. Once they have the survivors in tow, they must fight thier way back to the extraction point before the airforce levels what is left of Los Angeles, in an attempt to exterminate the otherworldly invaders. Shot entirely from a shaky eye-level camera and focusing only on this one squad of marines, the film strives to be a science fiction Saving Private Ryan - and mostly succeeds.
This effort to produce a gritty, action driven, alien movie is what sets this film apart from the crowd. The director has taken most of the sci-fi cliches and gotten rid of them. The director doesn't relish in the wide scale destruction of the city, which may disappoint some people, and instead chooses to point the lens almost entirely at the characters. The few moments in which the camera does pan back to reveal the devastated city of Los Angels are well done, though, and can be pretty awe-inspiring.
Unfortunately, in expelling the typical alien movie cliches, it brings in some war-movie cliches. The dialouge, usually decent, can get to be down right cheesy. A particular heart-felt exchange of words midway through the movie, as the marines cope with the death of a civilian, will make your stomache churn. On top of this, the film fails to really delve into any of the characters or make them more than one-dimensional, gun-firing, chess pieces that exist solely to move the plot along. Aaron Eckhardt, as the main character, being the one exception to this. He hogs up most of the screen time and reveals his troubled back history in bits of dialogue throughout the film. This is a huge drawback, because, at times, the movie attempts to be more than just an action flick. There are overdrawn conversational scenes that are supposed to make you feel something, but they don't work, because the writer has failed to make anyone care about the characters. You find yourself struggling through these scenes and waiting for the killing to begin again.
Don't get me wrong - this movie isn't bad. Going into this, I wasn't expecting an emotional and character driven film. It's an action movie first and foremost, and the movie is loaded with action. On this front, it succeeds. This was a refreshing take on the sci-fi genre and it was nice to see it done in capable hands. The director took this seriously and it shows.
Ah, we meet again my internet friends. Hope this hump day is treating you all right, but if you need a little help getting over the hump I think I can help you out. I found a gem today, hidden in the depths of Netflix. A film entitled "House Of 9" caught my eye and it really was a good little thriller with a bunch of twists and turns.
The film is a psychological thriller, the basic premise is 9 people are abducted, drugged and wake up in a huge mansion. When a voice comes over the loudspeaker and tells them that the last one to leave the house alive will walk away with $5,000,000, the head games begin. The nine people that are chosen to play this game are pretty generic but 'if it aint' broke don't fix it'. There is a cop, a priest, a rapper, a dancer, a clothing designer, a tennis star, a girl on probation, a music composer and his wife.
"House of 9" does a good job of building tension between the characters almost immediately. The characters automatically find reasons to be angry at one another. The film is paced well and there are some brutal and bloody deaths in it. No spoilers allowed in this blog, but let me tell you something the ending really caught me by surprise. It also made the film jump from a mediocre film that it could of been doomed to be, to a film that I really enjoyed.
The acting in the film is pretty solid. No oscars will be won, but your not cringing while watching it. Dennis Hopper plays the priest and is real good for the part. What really caught my attention though was the music in the film. Wow, I even backed the movie up to hear the opening song again, there was just something about it that I loved...Here's the kicker, It wasn't even in english. Also there was some moments in the film where it was just a montage set to music. This is where you really see the characters break mentally and feel for the characters. Really well done and was visually pleasing to watch as well.
"House Of 9" takes little pieces of films such as "Cube", "Saw", and "Breathing Room" and turns out a good film that is fun to watch if your into the genre. The music is awesome throughout the film and the story is good as well. It's well paced and some gruesome deaths will make the horror fans happy, while making your girlfriend cover her eyes. All that along with the ending, makes for a nice Psychological thriller to watch. All in all i'm a big fan of the film.
"House of 9" is available streaming till September 1st, 2012 so you got plenty of time to watch it. Go ahead and add it to your queue and once you watch it throw me a comment and let me know what you think of it.
You've already been introduced to Mr. Magic, whom the site is obviously named after, so now it's my turn.
I'm Ian. Just Ian. Unfortunately, I don't have a snazzy nickname to go by, so you'll probably have a hard time remembering who I am. I'm the second of the two people running this thing. Bill contacted me about a week after he hatched this idea of his and I decided to tag along for the ride, helping out whenever needed and adding content to the blog.
Music and movies are two huge passions of mine. Since I'm constantly talking about films and new artists with my friends, I figured it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to put reviews together and share news in written word. It's actually an idea that I've been mulling over in my head for a while as well. Now here I am.
What we're trying to do here is create a platform through which we can express our many thoughts and opinions on film's we've seen and music we've heard. Hopefully, you'll find us as interesting as we find ourselves and become readers of ours. We want to keep you up to date on new events in the media world and provide a helping hand when it comes to weeding through the hordes of new art that is constantly being released.
We have big plans for this and hope to see it grow from a tiny blog into something else entirely. Even if it doesn't at least we'll have had fun and reached a few people. Of course, we'll need your help for our plans to come to fruition, so if you like what you see, keep checking back. Leave some comments. We'll love you eternally.
Ok, Here we go, I'm gonna start this blog off right. The first official post is going to be a "Queue This!" I'm a sucker for a good Rom-Com and this installment of "Queue This!" is about a Indie Rom-Com "Splinterheads"
Justin (Thomas Middleditch) is a underachiever, a slacker that works for his best friends lawn service. Justin has no prospects and nothing going for him, that is until a traveling carnival comes into town for the summer. This is where he meets the girl of his dreams, Galaxy (Rachel Taylor).
Galaxy is a 'splinterhead' someone that has to hustle for their money at the carnival, but isn't a carnie. She works the dunk tank with her boyfriend Reggie. After Galaxy and Justin meet up accidentally thanks to Wayne, Justin's best friend and boss. They go on a geocaching adventure. (Google it, it's a real thing), This is when Justin has his first run in with Reggie. Reggie is just one of the many outlandish characters that get in the way of Justin and his dream girl.
Speaking of outlandish characters, ''Splinterheads" has a great cast and awesome characters. You got Sergeant Bruce played by Christopher McDonald, who is absolutely perfect for the roll. There is Justin's grandfather who is the oldest man alive at the age of 116. A terrible amateur magician by the name of "Amazing Steve" and his assistant Wyoming who really adds some great humor to the film.
The film as a whole is a real fun ride, the humor is good and the conversations and dialogue is believable. Brant Sersen wrote and directed this film, I never seen anything by him before this film, but I'm really looking forward to new stuff from him. So if your into carnies, geocaching, washed up magicians, tough guy cops and a good story "Splinterheads" is definitely worth adding to your queue and watching next time your in the mood for a indie rom-com
OVERALL SCORE B+
----------------------------------------------------------
I hope you enjoyed the first post, and you see what to expect. I hope that you did add this to your queue and you enjoy it.
Please leave a comment, and tell your friends about us!
If you have not 'met' me before my name is DJ Magic, My government name is Bill... I have a love for Film and Music...Well...Basically entertainment in general. I Study film in college and love the art, and can not wait to make my own film someday. I used to write reviews for a website and when we parted ways it always stuck with me. It's Just something I love doing, I love introducing people to things that they have never seen or heard.
Thats enough about me for now, There will be more to come.
This blog has been a long time coming, But In the last couple weeks It's been super heavy on my mind. So I'm diving in, Head first. Besides myself there is currently one other writer on this project with me. He'll be posting a little bit about himself soon.
Magic's Media will be your number 1 stop for all things entertainment.
Here is a little bit of what to expect from us:
-Reviews (Music, Movies, Games, Comics...ECT) - We will tell you exactly what we think, No holds barred. You've been warned.
-"Queue This!" - A segment in which I will go into the depths of netflix and pull out some great films that are streaming. I'll tell you a little bit about it and why you should watch it, and It's streaming So you can watch it immediately.
-Rants - for anyone that knows me personally I can rant with the best of em'.
-New Music - As a DJ I have a inside on new music before it comes out on the radio and gets super popular. So I will be posting up songs, (No download links, unless the artist is okay with it), that I will be pushing, So you can be ahead of the curve.
Along with other Artist music I will be posting up things that I have done or working on. So if your a DJ Magic fan, this is your new spot to hear it first. I'm talking Anything from Remixes, Recorded Sets, Demos, Original Tracks...The List Goes On.
[[[side note-- Artists!!! get at me, You never know we might write about your music one day.]]]
-"Spotlights" - Going to have a spotlight on a certain director, actor, musician, writer....ECT. We are then going to highlight their best works, and tell you why you should watch/listen/read them.
-VOTD (Video Of The Day) -- Sometimes I get lost on youtube, and find the weirdest videos...This is the segment where I would post that video for the whole world to see.
Don't stress, there will be many other things as well, These are just the definite Ideas that we have. We are always open to suggestions as well. =).
Well I think this is a successful first post, I will be putting up another post ASAP. Maybe even tonight...Depends if i'm feeling froggy.
