Transcendence

Movie Title-- Transcendence

Release Year-- 2014

Running Time--  2 Hours

Production Company--  Alcon Entertainment

Director--  Wally Pfister

Cast--  Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara

A scientist and his wife face dangerous consequences when his consciousness is uploaded into the self aware machine that he has created. 

Scientist Dr. Will Castor is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence.  He has labored to create the first self aware, sentient machine that is able to combine human emotions with the intelligence of everything ever known.  He has become famous for his research, experiments and work on the subject amd that makes him a target for the anti technology group "RIFT" (Revolutionary Independence From Technology) whom try to assassinate him.  Although he does not die when he is shot, the bullet is laced with radiation, giving Dr. Castor radiation poison and a short time to live.  In his last weeks his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) with the help of their good friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany) help Dr. Castor integrate into the consciousness of his own sentient machine.

Max realizes as soon as Will has transcended that this is not a good idea but Evelyn, dealing with the loss of her husband, feels like she has gotten him back and is blind to the big picture.  Max leaves and is kidnapped by "RIFT" and they are soon after Evelyn.  She helps Will upload to the internet and he soon has her away and secure, telling her that they need to find a place to rebuild.  She finds the town of Brightwater and they begin to build their facility there.  After a few years, the building that houses the machine has grown and the research that Will is gathering has helped him to build nano bots that help to heal people however every person that is injected with the bots are able to be manipulated by Will conscious...  

OK, so I have to stop there because any further and I will give the rest of the movie away and here at Don't Forget the Popcorn we are VERY against spoilers.  I will say that the part I have not really said much about (which begins after where I stopped typing) is the best part of the movie, for a while.  All in all, this movie was a little bit boring.  Some parts were tedious and drug on forever.  Once the film seemed to hit a pretty good stride something would hit a snag somewhere and then it would be back to dragging the story out or muddling through the plot lines.  

Don't get me wrong, I REALLY wanted to see this film in the theaters earlier this year.  With a cast like Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy, there was no doubt in my mind that this was going to be a pretty good film.  Now that I have seen it, I am glad I did not go waste my money to see it in the theater.  Perhaps if this film was shortened some, with some of the muddy parts cut out to move the story along a little faster and a little bit more explanation of what they are trying to achieve as the story progresses, it would have been better.  The material gets a little bit confusing and even lost from time to time, leaving the viewer bored and under impressed with what is going on on the screen.  

I love Johnny Depp but this film just did nothing for me.  I come out of this movie wondering why I wasted the time to watch it.  The lesson here is great; it is a lesson in humanity and it is trying to push people to look at what they are achieving in technology so they can ask themselves if what they are doing is morally right or if they are going to far, it was just presented in a way that made people just not care much about what they were seeing.  If you are sitting down to watch this movie because you are a Depp fan, I suggest that you skip this film pick one of his older, better ones and Don't Forget the Popcorn!

12 Years a Slave

Movie Title-- 12 Years a Slave

Release Year-- 2013

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 14 Minutes

Production Company-- River Road Entertainment

Cast-- Chiwetel Ejofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt

The account of a free man of color living in Saratoga, New York that is persuaded to go as a traveling entertainer to Washington D.C. where he is kidnapped and sold into slavery.

This is the story of Soloman Northup (Chiwetel Ejofor), a free black man living in Saratoga, New York with his wife and two children.  He is presauded by two con men to accompany them to Washington D.C. where he will earn wages being an entertainer.  When they arrive in the capitol, they drug Soloman and sell him into slavery.  From there he is sent with a group of other kidnapping victims to New Orleans where Mr. Freeman (Paul Giamatti) sells Soloman, who is now known by his slave name Platt, and one of his fellow travelers, Eliza to a man named Mr. Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch).  Ford proves to be a nice master but after Soloman gets in some trouble, Ford is forced to give his lease to another plantation owner, Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).

Edwin proves to be a very harsh and very cruel master, whipping slaves for not meeting their cotton qouta and repeatedly raping and showing unwanted affections to a young field slave, Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o).  This unwanted attention toward Patsey makes Edwin's wife, the Mistress Epps (Sarah Paulson), very jealous and along with having Edwin beat her regularly, she very often throws things in Patsey's face and belittles her.  

A man from Canada, Mr. Bass (Brad Pitt) is paid to come to the plantation and complete a building on the property.  Soloman, overhearing Mr. Bass' antislavery views, shares with him that he is not really a  slave but a free man that had been kidnapped and sold into slavery.  Soloman also asks Bass if he will get a letter to his friends in New York and Bass, feeling like it is part of his duty to help a fellow man out, agrees to send the letters for him, although it could possibly be a great personal risk to him.  It is not long after the letters have been sent that someone is sent to take him back home to New York to be a free man once again after 12 years as a slave.

Before all else, a few things have to be stated about this film;  first is that it is based on a true story and second being that it won 3 Oscars, including "Best Picture".  That being said, I have mixed feelings about this movie.  I mean I enjoyed it, as much as one can enjoy a movie about cruelty during one of the darkest times in America's history.  I thought that the writing was done really well and I thought that EjoFor and Fassbender's roles were great.  Fassbender really does a great job at convincing the audience of Edwin Epp's cruelty and he even makes the viewer loathe him as a person.  Ejofor holds the viewer's attention and really portrays the hard times and the raw emotion that Soloman carried with him his 12 years in slavery.

What I didn't like about the movie was the story telling in the first hour or so of the movie.  To me, the beginning jumped too abruptly into scenes or flashbacks without any kind of transition.  For example, there is a scene that shows Soloman and his fellow captives being roused and forced to form a line and then it jumps to a horse drawn cart pulling underneath the camera's view and the captives being forced out of the cart.  It is almost as if there had been a whole scene cut out and another piece of movie they happened to want to use dropped into the first piece's place.  I understand that they are trying to process a lot of information at one time to hurry the story along and not make it any longer than it has to be, while also having enough time for the bulk of the movie to play out, I just think they could have found a better way to portray that.

It is also good to note that although I posted Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch and Brad Pitt to the cast list, they do not have very much screen time, Cumberbatch having the most out of the three.  The roles these three men play are very important to the story, Giamatti being Mr. Freeman the man that sold Soloman as a slave, Cumberbatch being Mr. Ford Soloman's first owner and Pitt being Mr. Bass the man that helps Soloman return to freedom but the reason these men don't get much screen time is because the bulk of the film is dedicated to cruelty that Soloman and the other slaves on the plantation endure at the hand of Edwin Epps and Soloman's struggle to become free and get back to his family.

I say that this film is worth the Oscar nods that it received.  Be aware that if you view this film you may be in for a very emotional ride, depending on what kind of movie watcher you tend to be.  You may want to bring along the tissues for this one and Don't Forget the Popcorn!

The Ledge

Movie Title--The Ledge

Release Year-- 2011

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 41 Minutes

Production Company-- VIP Media Group Ltd

Director-- Matthew Chapman

Cast-- Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Christopher Gorham


A detective is sent to a high rise building to talk down a young man that has been sent there by his lover's husband to contemplate a fateful decision.  The detective, having received some shocking news himself, is distracted by his own troubles but stays to listen to the story of how the young man ended up on the ledge and try to talk him down.

The movie opens to an industrial scene at dawn and brightens as the credits roll, signaling the day coming in; a new and fresh beginning.  Voices soon come in and the scene changes to Detective Hollis Lucetti talking nervously to a doctor and he finds out some very bad news.  Then it cuts to Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) climbing onto the ledge of a high rise building and glancing over the side.  Detective Hollis is sent to the site to talk Gavin down but very quickly realizes that Gavin has not climbed onto this ledge by his own doing but rather he has been forced out onto it.  Gavin tells Hollis that he was sent there to think and then at noon he is to jump.  

The movie then goes into a flashback where we meet the main players of our movie:  The gay roommate Chris (Christopher Gorham) and the married couple Shanna (Liv Tyler) and Joe Harris (Patrick Wilson).  Joe and Shanna come to Chris and Gavin's apartment to introduce themselves and invite them to dinner.  The dinner turns disastrous for Gavin when Joe, an unwavering christian, asks to pray for them.  Joe asks God to "forgive these two men for being abominable in his eyes", which offends Gavin, not because of what Joe says but the fact that Joe is judging the two of them "in God's eyes".  While Joe is an all believing type of christian, Gavin has strong beliefs and principles of his own but it has nothing to do with faith.  This will be the underlying tension between these two men throughout the rest of the movie.  New problems will present themselves but this God vs. no God argument will be at the heart of every problem for the rest of the movie.  

It is with this prayer at dinner that Gavin decides to "liberate" Shanna from her husband.  He gets friendlier with her and then starts making suggestive comments to her, trying to make sure that he is constantly on her mind.  After a while, the flirting and suggestive talk turns into an affair.  Shanna decides to leave Joe and that is what puts the wheels in motion, ending with Joe sending Gavin out on the ledge to make the biggest decision of his life.

The movie goes back and forth between Gavin and Hollis on the ledge to flashbacks, all while weaving Hollis' story in at the same time.  The scenes with Gavin and Hollis are meant to hurry the movie along, leaving the meatier parts of the story to the flashback scenes and also helping the viewer distinguish the time lapses in the story without having to actually portray it on screen.  This movie was distributed by IFC Films, so it has a very Indie feel to it, which I happen to be a fan of (although, sometimes this style of movie tends to turn people off) and it is also the kind of movie that I personally refer to as a "talkie" kind of film because there is no fighting, no car chases and no explosions; just people taking and arguing about their differences.

I found this movie when I was at the end of a six season "Sons of Anarchy" marathon; I was on a Charlie Hunnam high and was looking for my next fix.  The synopsis that I read for this movie was much shorter than the one that I wrote, so I decided to give it a try, since as I said previously, I was looking my next Charlie fix.  I thought the script was very well written and at times I found myself laughing at some of Hunnam's dialogue, while at other times not believing some of the things that were coming out of his mouth.  The tension and chemistry between Hunnam and Tyler is great; even when they are not talking to each other you can just feel the electricity hanging in the air between them.  That tension, coupled with the very overbearing nature of Wilson's character, helped to give the movie the right kind of push that a film of this type needs to have to be able to handle all the dialogue it has.

I suggest watching the end of the movie a second time after you have watched it all the way through the first time.  Start at 1 hour and 19 minutes when Joe invites Gavin into his apartment.  There is a very low buzzing sound as Joe starts to speak and suddenly at 1 hour and 21 minutes the music that has been building very slightly is evident.  Listen to the music as Joe is speaking, it helps to give a much deeper effect to his speech.  The music will continue to grow soft and then loud again, crescendoing at 1 hour and 29 minutes, then again at 1 hour and 31 minutes (after this scene, you can turn the movie off, the music will abruptly stop).  Actually being aware of the music during these scenes changes them slightly, causing them to be a bit more dramatic but it also makes you aware of how you are reacting to the scenes.  Being aware of the music  means being aware that your chest is tightening a little with dread as you try to predict the outcome that is going to befall these characters.

All in all, I think it was a pretty good movie but I don't think it is for everyone (rottentomatoes.com critics score gives is 14% YIKES!).  Go into this movie knowing that it may not exactly be the right kind of movie for you and Don't Forget the Popcorn!




P.S.--Not all of my synopsis and reviews will be this long but this movie has several different layers to it and it was hard not to review it without touching on everything.

Blowing the Dust Out of the Popcorn Bucket...

Wow movie buffs, it has been quite a while; 4 years and 32 days to be exact (but who's counting?).  I was surfing around on Netflix the other day and found a movie that I thought sounded interesting, so I watched it.  When I was done I said to myself "I really enjoyed that movie.  I wish I knew someone that I could talk about it with.".  That got me thinking about this blog and how much I used to enjoy it.  Once the gears were grinding, I looked up this old blog here that I used to write and was surprised to see that even though I have not written in a long while, I still seem to be getting heavy traffic to this blog.  With that, I have decided to make my grand re entrance to the movie world by blowing the dust out of the popcorn bowl and I welcome you to join me.

I will start by saying, a lot has changed in 4 years (and are blogs even still popular?) but one thing I know that hasn't changed and it is the love people have for the movies.  The movies are an escape for most people; a few hours that a person can spend not having to think about what is going on with what is happening to them personally and immerse themselves into whatever world it is they choose to step into.  I also know that time is precious, so I am here to help steer you away from the bad ones and maybe even open your eyes to something new, maybe a genre that you wouldn't typically pick.  

What I plan to do is very similar to what I did before.  The layout for the movies will be the same:  Title, run time, release year, production company, director, cast, movie synopsis and lastly my own opinion on the movie.  I am also going to try to do a documentary every week like before as well, HOWEVER, I am sure I will NOT be posting a movie a day, so the weeks that the posts seem a little light, I plan on skipping the documentary.  I do have a small child now, so every once in a while, you may find an unexpected feature length cartoon movie review.

I do like feedback, it doesn't matter if the feedback is good or bad, feedback means someone is nice enough to give me their own opinion, so please feel free to comment on any post you see here (existing ones or the ones that are to come in the future).  Also, feel free to recommend movies for me to review and I will do my best to review them right away.  Thanks for the interest and I hope that I can help you steer your way through the good, the bad and the ugly that is the silver screen.  Oh yeah and Don't Forget the Popcorn!

Little Nicky

Movie Title-- Little Nicky

Release Year-- 2000

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 30 Minutes

Production Company-- Happy Madison

Director-- Steve Brill

Cast-- Adam Sandler, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans, Tommy Lister, Rodney Dangerfield, Reese Witherspoon, Kevin Nealon

After ruling Hell for a thousand years, the devil gathers his three sons to name a sucessor but when he decides to keep the throne, Adrian and Cassius, two of his three sons, decides to leave Hell and make a new Hell on earth. They exit through the gates of Hell, closing them off. With the gates to Hell closed off, the devil starts dying and it is up to Nicky, the devil's third son to save Hell.


As far as Adam Sandler movies go, this one was kind of a flop. This movie never did very good in the theater and as far as I know it didn't do well once it came to video but it is still kinda amusing. Yes, it is one of those stupid comedies, one that I normally wouldn't waste my time on but I like Adam Sandler, so I decided to give it a try.

First, it is a comedy with a love story. I think that a movie like this one should probably be a love story or a comedy but to combine both in this film was a little much. Patricia Arquette plays Valerie, Nicky's love interest. That is quite far fetched because honestly, if any woman, even the most naive would steer clear of someone that looked and dressed like Nicky. He looks like a person that has escaped from the mental hospital and is wandering free on the streets. Even the most kind-hearted of women wouldn't touch Nicky with a ten foot pole.


Other than the obvious plot and story problems (that you will see if you watch the movie), most of the movie is amusing. Sure, some of the movie is like "What the hell am I watching?" but other parts are laugh out loud funny. This movie is the first movie made by Happy Madison productions, so this film lines up the cast of regulars that seem to appear in all of Sandler's movies (you know who they are Rob Schneider, Allen Covert, Peter Dante, and Jonathon Loughran). Not only did the "future regulars" make their appearances in this film but some people I would have never expected to be in a Sandler movie showed up, like Rodney Dangerfield and Quentin Tarantino.


Over all, this movie isn't too bad. If you are a big Sandler fan you should check it out, even if you decide that you don't like it. Like I said, not the best Sandler film but probably worth checking out just so you can decide for yourself if it is any good or not. Pick up with film and don't forget the popcorn!

Caddy Shack

Movie Title-- Caddyshack

Release Year-- 1980

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 38 Minutes

Production Company-- Warner Home Video

Director-- Harold Ramis

Cast-- Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe


A young caddy from an overpopulated home pursues a caddy scholarship at the exclusive country club that he works at. While trying to impress Judge Smalls, the top sponsor of the tournament, many antics occur, from explosions in hopes to kill an annoying gopher to the outrageous comedy of an annoying "new money" developer.


OK, so, if I could be completely honest, I did not want to see this film. I am just not really into comedy like this but my husband goes a little crazy every time "Caddyshack" comes up and I tell him that I have never seen it, so I decided to sit down with him and watch it.


This movie really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. If you are looking for a well developed plot, don't look for it here. As far as the plot goes, they develop it so it goes as far as they need it to while making sure all their comedic sketches are well played out. Honestly Rodney Dangerfield and Chevy Chase are awesome in this film. I am sure I am going to catch a lot of hell over this next statement but I do not like Bill Murray, I am just not a fan of his and so I thought that his role in this film was just pure stupid. Of course, a lot of Murray fans probably want to spit on me right now but like I said, I am just not a big fan of his, so his crazy ground-keeper role was just not a favorite of mine.


My favorite part of the whole movie was the gopher. That funny, dancing, pain in the ass rodent was the most entertaining part of the movie. All in all, this was not a bad movie, just one that I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own. If you are in the mood for a classic, slapstick comedy, this is one you should catch. Until next time, Don't forget the popcorn!

Such a disappointment fans...

Hey guys, so sorry that there has been nothing posted for the last 2 weeks....things have been rough around my place. Personal drama have kept me from viewing any kind of movie, let along write about them. The good news however, is I am ready to jump back into the "movie reviewing business". I have a pretty exciting week lined up....of the movies I have viewed lately none of them have been huge disappointments, only small ones. There will not be a documentary this week, which means if anyone is disappointed in that then perhaps I will watch two documentaries next week, just to make up for it.

Well fans, tomorrow the reviews will start coming back, so be prepared for a lot of reading! Again, leave me any kinds of comments on the blogs that have been posted or leave me suggestions of movies you want to read reviews on. Come back tomorrow and don't forget the popcorn for the review!