Hey, I Like You! What's Your Latest Project? #1

I'm very much an actor-focused movie watcher. Throw an actor I like in a movie and I will watch it. It also works the other way around. I'm not likely to watch a movie if I don't know (or like) any of the castmembers.

Take Julie Benz for example. I've been a fan of Miss Benz since her Buffy and Angel days. I think she's terrific. Because of her I've watched Inventing the Abbotts, As Good as It Gets (I don't think it's that great, sorry), Jawbreaker, Satan's School for Girls, Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, Rambo and Saw V. I've also watched Julie on the following shows: Payne, Roswell, Taken (mini-series), Supernatural (she was amazing) and of course, Dexter (also amazing). If Julie is attached to a project, my interest is piqued.

In contrast, I've never been excited to hear about Brad Pitt or Christian Bale's latest projects nor will I go out of my way to watch them. They're too famous and they're in movies all the time. It's the less famous actors that I don't get to see too often that excite me.

So welcome to Did I Miss 60B's newest category 'Hey, I Like You! What's Your Latest Project?' where I'll take a look at the upcoming projects of actors that I like that aren't super duper famous.

Arlen Escarpeta and Nicholas D'Agosto
Bloody Disgusting reports that both Arlen Escarpeta (Friday the 13th) and Nicholas D'Agosto (Fired Up) have been cast in Final Destination 5. It surprised me that New Line was actually able to cast decent actors in the fifth installment of the popular franchise. Except for Krista Allen (What About Brian), I didn't know any of the actors in The Final Destination.
I've liked Arlen since I saw his guest appearance on Cold Case. I think he's a talented actor and believe me, you have to be good if you want your name to stick in my head after seeing you in one episode of a crime show. I was also hoping he wouldn't die in the Friday the 13th remake as he was one of the few likeable actors walking around. Nicholas D'Agosto impressed me with his performance in Fired Up. He could've been just another dumb jock in another dumb comedy, but that wasn't the case. I think he has Justin Long-ish potential.

Chad Donella
I like Chad Donella. Too bad most people don't know who he is. Chad was in the original Final Destination and he died horribly in the bathroom. Yes, remember him? He's a talented guy and I like seeing him pop up in movies and TV shows. I was watching Lost and I was more excited about seeing Chad for 5 seconds than about the rest of episode. Chad will return to the big screen soon, for the first time in ages, and he will probably be dying horribly again, but this time in Saw 3D.

Reviews: Centurion and Toy Story 3

Centurion is Neil Marshall (The Descent)'s latest effort and it seems the man just really likes doom and gloom. Visually, it's great. The battles are gruesome and Marshall doesn't shy away from it. Michael Fassbender (looking too 2010s for the time period), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) give good performances. But there just wasn't much of a story here. It's battle, battle, battle. And if you like that sort of thing, you will definitely enjoy Centurion. A 3/5.







Then there's Toy Story 3. I finally saw it! Yay! And I loved it! It was great seeing the gang again, Woody, Buzz, Rex and even the little green aliens. The movie felt a bit long, even though IMDB tells me the runtime is only 103 minutes. I could've done without the scene at the garbage dump. It felt like dramatic filler. The end made up for it though. It really was a lovely scene and yes, I cried! Well played, Pixar. A 4,5/5. PS. I want Buttercup the unicorn!

Hello, Anna, Kristen. Do you like scary movies?

USA Today reports that Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell will make cameo appearances in Scream 4. How does that even work? Could this movie have an even more random cast? Let's just dump a bunch of celebs together and see how that goes! You have a new cast that includes Adam Brody, Marley Shelton, Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere. They're all as famous as Paquin and Bell!

So does that mean one or both of the girls will be the opening victim(s)?

I'm getting tired of the Scream 4 news.

Trailer Park: Love and Other Drugs

Jake Gyllenhaal has been off my radar for a while. I tried to ignore Prince of Persia and its existence and I haven't seen any of his films since Zodiac. And the reason I even watched the Love and Other Drugs trailer was to see what all the Anne Hathaway buzz is about (I still don't know - she's good as she often is, but I didn't see anything special based on the trailer).

I see Jake is now trying to win my love back and I think it's working. He's funny and charming in the trailer, and he has great chemistry with Hathaway, who previously played his wife in Brokeback Mountain. It's just nice to see him in something that isn't a drama or a thriller or Prince of Persia. Remember when you were Bubble Boy, Jake? Because I do! I liked those days! So I'm glad you opted for something a bit lighter now.

Oh and hai, Judy Greer! I always like seeing you in movies!

Picspam: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

It's no secret that I love The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. It's a visually stunning film. Really, my heart fills with joy just thinking about how beautiful it is, especially the beginning of the film. And how the blue blue sky gets darker once the shit hits the fan. It was instant love!

The cast is great too. You have the always solid Jonathan Tucker, the reliable Eric Balfour and Jessica Biel in a surprisingly strong role and yet it was newcomer Mike Vogel who really grabbed my attention with his heartbreaking performance. Typing this just makes me want to put the dvd in the player and watch it all over again.

In the meantime, here are a few screencaps from the first few minutes of the film.

Review: She's Out of My League

Forgettable. Really, I can't think of a thing that stands out. Sure, it's enjoyable, so from an entertainment point-of-view, I guess it delivers. But it's unmemorable, it won't end up in my dvd collection and am unlikely to ever watch it again.

Woah. I sound harsh. I just really feel the film has little to offer.

Jay Baruchel is an endearing leading man and he bravely tries to carry the film. Problem I kinda had with the movie: Jay Baruchel is not a 5. Come on, he's an attractive man. Just let him walk upright like the rest of humanity. I can totally understand why Molly (Alice Eve) would like him.

Alice Eve does fine with what she has to work with, which is little btw. But she works her charm. I found Krysten Ritter more effective in the bitchy best friend role. Mike Vogel is completely wasted here. He's a good actor (see: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), but he barely has anything to do here. T.J. Miller was the film's MVP in my opinion. I loved him in Cloverfield and on Carpoolers. The dude is funny and I enjoyed his role the most. Lindsay Sloane was annoying so I guess she played her part well.

It's worth a look if you like the cast. Otherwise, just skip it. A 2,5/5.

Review: [Rec] 2

I liked [Rec], but I felt I had seen it all before. It was just another infection film to me. And while a good film, I didn't think it deserved all the praise it been getting. Then [Rec] 2 came and if I compare the films, [Rec] suddenly becomes a friggin' masterpiece.

Beware of spoilers.

The sequel starts where we left off, with a shot of Angela being dragged away. Then we move to what, a SWAT team? I don't remember, it's been a week since I saw it. They accompany a priest into the building. He needs to collect blood for an antidote. It's a whole frustrating process. Just scrape it off the wall or something!

There's a whole religious angle where the infected turn out to be possessed. Uhuh.. right. I bet that if you exorcise the hell out of them, they'll be perfectly fine. I really did not care for this at all.

Then there's the camera work. In the original, we see everything from Angela's cameraman's point of view. That's scary, cause we can't see what else is going on. Here, the SWAT team members have their own cameras on their helmets and we actually cut to their different cameras. I think this annoyed me more than the religious stuff. It just completely disregards the style of the first film. Why not shoot it as a regular film then?

And then there's the most infuriating part of the film: the teens. Yes, about halfway through, we move to three teens with their own camera who end up in the building as well. Smart move, assholes. In the end, they serve no purpose at all. It's just filler. Blah.

Why does everything have to have a sequel these days? Can't we just have a good film and that's it? The end? A 2/5.