Hello Ladies and Gents and fellow Web Surfers. I have returned to cyberspace with another film to Jack Up.
Did you miss me? <_< >_> (crickets chirping)....ahem...anyway, moving on...
If 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Harry Potter' ever did a crossover, It would be 'Howl's Moving Castle'.
This film was brought to my attention by my wonderful daughter Nadia. Now I had heard about the wonderful films of Hayao Miyazaki, but I had not watched any of them until a few years ago I had watched 'Spirited Away' and thought it was cool.
This has comedy, drama, action, and romance...everything a good movie should have to begin with. I watched the English Dub and thought the voice cast was amazing and fit very well. The cast includes:
Jean Simmons as Grandma Sophie
Emily Mortimer as Young Sophie
Christian Bale as Howl
Billy Crystal as Calcifer (one of my favorite characters in this film)
Lauren Bacall as the Witch of the Waste
Josh Hutcherson as Markl
and
Blythe Danner as Madame Suliman
If you can get your hands on a copy of this movie, I highly recommend it for your collection. Even if you are not a true anime buff, you will love this film.
For more info on this and many other Miyazaki works of art go here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347149/
To my daughter Nadia, who I love with all my heart. Thank you for being the light of my life and the best little nerd ;) that a father could ask for. I dedicate this review to you. I <3 you kiddo. I always will.
Here's a taste of what to expect from this film:
Nadia, here's your favorite scene:
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
The Losers (2010)
Hey guys and gals...and anything or anybody else with a decent web connection. I'm back with another exciting blog featuring my Jacked Up movie of the week. In the vein of 'The Expendables' and 'The A-Team' comes...
"Anyone Else Would Be Dead By Now."
'The Losers' is based off a DC/Vertigo comic about a group of soldiers that are set up by a rouge CIA operative and become fugitives looking to clear their names and kill the man behind it in the process. The characters in it have great chemistry in my opinion and the one person who steals the movie for me is Chris Evans as Jensen, the Comms and Tech guy/comic relief. The cast is great and the action is pretty much non-stop, but what else would you expect from a comic book movie?
Unfortunately, I don't think there will be a sequel, due to being a $25 million movie to make and only made $9 million. It was (spoiler alert) set up for a sequel that will never happen, but that's what the comics are for.
If you're up for just a "shoot shit up/blow shit up" popcorn flick, I recommend this one for you.
My favorite scenes with my favorite character. (Spoiler Alert)...or it just might get you in the mood to see the film.
http://youtu.be/g4NsB6eDQeM
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
"Anyone Else Would Be Dead By Now."
'The Losers' is based off a DC/Vertigo comic about a group of soldiers that are set up by a rouge CIA operative and become fugitives looking to clear their names and kill the man behind it in the process. The characters in it have great chemistry in my opinion and the one person who steals the movie for me is Chris Evans as Jensen, the Comms and Tech guy/comic relief. The cast is great and the action is pretty much non-stop, but what else would you expect from a comic book movie?
Unfortunately, I don't think there will be a sequel, due to being a $25 million movie to make and only made $9 million. It was (spoiler alert) set up for a sequel that will never happen, but that's what the comics are for.
If you're up for just a "shoot shit up/blow shit up" popcorn flick, I recommend this one for you.
My favorite scenes with my favorite character. (Spoiler Alert)...or it just might get you in the mood to see the film.
http://youtu.be/g4NsB6eDQeM
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Real Steel (2011)
Hello ladies and gentlemen. After a lengthy absence, I am back to Jack Up some movies that I watched during 2011. So let's get this review on the web shall we?
"Champions aren't born. They're made."
When I first saw the trailer to 'Real Steel', I said exactly what everybody said or thought all around the world: They made a movie out of 'Rock em-Sock em Robots'. When I finally saw it, afterwards I made a mental note to buy the DVD of this when it comes out. It's that damn good in my opinion.
In the future, the sport of boxing had become so violent that robots were designed to do the fighting in the ring and beat the holy scrap out of each other as instructed by their human handlers through headsets, motion control hand panels or heads up display monitor controls.
This is basically a father-son story. Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo give top notch performances all around. Even the motion controlled cgi robots are good actors. This film is definitely worth a look when it comes to DVD and Blu-Ray.
If you like giant robots and the 'Rocky' flicks, or any underdog boxing movie out there now...this is the film for you.
In the sequel, I wonder if they'll upgrade to professional wrestling or martial arts? Time will tell.
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
"Champions aren't born. They're made."
When I first saw the trailer to 'Real Steel', I said exactly what everybody said or thought all around the world: They made a movie out of 'Rock em-Sock em Robots'. When I finally saw it, afterwards I made a mental note to buy the DVD of this when it comes out. It's that damn good in my opinion.
In the future, the sport of boxing had become so violent that robots were designed to do the fighting in the ring and beat the holy scrap out of each other as instructed by their human handlers through headsets, motion control hand panels or heads up display monitor controls.
This is basically a father-son story. Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo give top notch performances all around. Even the motion controlled cgi robots are good actors. This film is definitely worth a look when it comes to DVD and Blu-Ray.
If you like giant robots and the 'Rocky' flicks, or any underdog boxing movie out there now...this is the film for you.
In the sequel, I wonder if they'll upgrade to professional wrestling or martial arts? Time will tell.
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Superman Quadrilogy (1978-1987)
Jacked Up Movie Reviews
"The Superman Quadrilogy" (1978-1987)
PREPARE TO BE JACKED!!!
The hit television series that captivated audiences for a decade, "Smallville" will come to a climactic end in May. I just wanted to take this time to talk about the Superman that I grew up with...Christopher Reeve.
"YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY!"
These films were my introduction to Superman before I got into the comic books, and Reeve to me was the perfect embodiment of the Man of Steel.
All four films hosted a slew of cinematic all-stars including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Richard Pryor.
Out of all the movies my favorite had to be "Superman II". Terence Stamp as General Zod was the perfect menacing force to face our hero and take over the world, in which he succeeded when Supes gave up his powers to be with Lois Lane.
After learning of Zod's global conquest, Clark returns to the Fortress of Solitude to restore his powers thus leading into the most kick-ass confrontation between good and evil ever put on film at that time.
From George Reeves all the way to Brandon Routh, whichever incarnation of Superman you grew up with...they all stood for the same thing: Truth, Justice and the American Way.
Coming in 2012, Henry Cavill (The Count of Monte Cristo and Stardust) will don the cape in Zack Snyder's (Watchmen, 300 and Sucker-Punch) Superman reboot. Will he live up to the expectations? Time will tell.
Christopher Reeve may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
Here is my all time favorite scene from "Superman II"
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
"The Superman Quadrilogy" (1978-1987)
PREPARE TO BE JACKED!!!
The hit television series that captivated audiences for a decade, "Smallville" will come to a climactic end in May. I just wanted to take this time to talk about the Superman that I grew up with...Christopher Reeve.
"YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY!"
These films were my introduction to Superman before I got into the comic books, and Reeve to me was the perfect embodiment of the Man of Steel.
All four films hosted a slew of cinematic all-stars including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Richard Pryor.
Out of all the movies my favorite had to be "Superman II". Terence Stamp as General Zod was the perfect menacing force to face our hero and take over the world, in which he succeeded when Supes gave up his powers to be with Lois Lane.
After learning of Zod's global conquest, Clark returns to the Fortress of Solitude to restore his powers thus leading into the most kick-ass confrontation between good and evil ever put on film at that time.
From George Reeves all the way to Brandon Routh, whichever incarnation of Superman you grew up with...they all stood for the same thing: Truth, Justice and the American Way.
Coming in 2012, Henry Cavill (The Count of Monte Cristo and Stardust) will don the cape in Zack Snyder's (Watchmen, 300 and Sucker-Punch) Superman reboot. Will he live up to the expectations? Time will tell.
Christopher Reeve may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
Here is my all time favorite scene from "Superman II"
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
Incognito Cinema Warriors XP (2008-????)
Jacked Up Movie Reviews
"Incognito Cinema Warriors XP" (2008-????)
PREPARE TO BE JACKED!!!
"Incognito Cinema Warriors XP" (2008-????)
PREPARE TO BE JACKED!!!
For this review I thought I'd change things up a little by reviewing a show that makes fun of bad movies and public domain shorts...no, not that one.
"WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS BAD MOVIES?"
"Incognito Cinema Warriors XP" or ICWXP for short is an homage/tribute to the sci-fi/comedy show "Mystery Science Theater 3000". But instead of a guy being trapped in space on a satellite watching bad movies with two robots, it's about a soldier who takes cover in an abandoned movie theater during the zombie apocalypse and is forced to watch bad movies and shorts by the theater owner/mad scientist...with two robots.
Think MST3K meets Resident Evil.
Special Unit C.O.R.P.S. (Command of Re-Animate Processing and Suppression) Commander Rick Wolf in a last ditch effort to survive the living dead uprising, agrees...against his will...to sit through the Cine-A-Sorrow Theater's entire supply of movies and shorts by Dr. Harrison Blackwood.
Rick is joined in this deranged experiment by two wise-cracking robots invented by Dr. Blackwood to help run the theater.
Johnny Cylon (The Usher Bot) and Topsy Bot 5000 (Popcorn/Refreshment Bot) join Rick in the theater as it is considered a "panic room" of sorts just in case the zombies get in.
So far there have been 4 episodes of this great series.
Episode 1 "Bride of the Gorilla"
Episode 2 "Lady Frankenstein"
Episode 3 "Bloody Pit of Horror"
and
Episode 4 "Werewolf In A Girls' Dormitory"
You know with titles like these...the movies deserve to be riffed.
I'm very proud to say that the movie for Episode 4 that they make fun of is a movie that I picked out for them and I was personally thanked in the audio commentary along with having my fan email read at the end of the show.
If you are a fan of MST3K or zombie films, this show is totally worth it. These guys need all the help they can get to keep the show going.
You can find out more about them at their website http://www.icwxp.com/ where you can find all the episodes for sale. (Episode 1 is in limited supply and no more copies will be made after they are sold out, so get them while you can.) You can also purchase a bloopers/behind the scenes disc and t-shirts with the show logo on them.
You can also keep the show living (or undead) by hitting the DONATE button on the websites homepage.
To see what these guys are all about, here are some random clips from the different episodes:
ICWXP: Taking on evil...one bad movie at a time.
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
"WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS BAD MOVIES?"
"Incognito Cinema Warriors XP" or ICWXP for short is an homage/tribute to the sci-fi/comedy show "Mystery Science Theater 3000". But instead of a guy being trapped in space on a satellite watching bad movies with two robots, it's about a soldier who takes cover in an abandoned movie theater during the zombie apocalypse and is forced to watch bad movies and shorts by the theater owner/mad scientist...with two robots.
Think MST3K meets Resident Evil.
Special Unit C.O.R.P.S. (Command of Re-Animate Processing and Suppression) Commander Rick Wolf in a last ditch effort to survive the living dead uprising, agrees...against his will...to sit through the Cine-A-Sorrow Theater's entire supply of movies and shorts by Dr. Harrison Blackwood.
Rick is joined in this deranged experiment by two wise-cracking robots invented by Dr. Blackwood to help run the theater.
Johnny Cylon (The Usher Bot) and Topsy Bot 5000 (Popcorn/Refreshment Bot) join Rick in the theater as it is considered a "panic room" of sorts just in case the zombies get in.
So far there have been 4 episodes of this great series.
Episode 1 "Bride of the Gorilla"
Episode 2 "Lady Frankenstein"
Episode 3 "Bloody Pit of Horror"
and
Episode 4 "Werewolf In A Girls' Dormitory"
You know with titles like these...the movies deserve to be riffed.
I'm very proud to say that the movie for Episode 4 that they make fun of is a movie that I picked out for them and I was personally thanked in the audio commentary along with having my fan email read at the end of the show.
If you are a fan of MST3K or zombie films, this show is totally worth it. These guys need all the help they can get to keep the show going.
You can find out more about them at their website http://www.icwxp.com/ where you can find all the episodes for sale. (Episode 1 is in limited supply and no more copies will be made after they are sold out, so get them while you can.) You can also purchase a bloopers/behind the scenes disc and t-shirts with the show logo on them.
You can also keep the show living (or undead) by hitting the DONATE button on the websites homepage.
To see what these guys are all about, here are some random clips from the different episodes:
ICWXP: Taking on evil...one bad movie at a time.
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
"Scre4m" (2011)
I just saw Scream 4 today and I just wanted to get this down while it's still fresh in my memory. Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers in this review...just my thoughts on it. So all I gotta say is...
"What's your favorite scary movie?"
It's been ten years and Wes and Kevin have still got it. There were so many twists and turns in this film that it was hard to figure out who the killer(s) was/were. Just when you think it's one person another possible comes up.
I thought it was cool how all the cameos were handled and how they died were surprising. Some of them were predictable but what do you expect...it's a horror movie. All different ways of killing people have been done to death...(pun intended) "Saw", "Final Destination", etc.
But there's just something simple about a knife to any part of the anatomy...it never gets old. Just like Chucky said in "Bride of Chucky": "A true classic never goes out of style."
If you're an original "Screamer"...you'll love this movie. It may have been 10-11 years since the last one, but it'll feel like you never left.
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
"What's your favorite scary movie?"
It's been ten years and Wes and Kevin have still got it. There were so many twists and turns in this film that it was hard to figure out who the killer(s) was/were. Just when you think it's one person another possible comes up.
I thought it was cool how all the cameos were handled and how they died were surprising. Some of them were predictable but what do you expect...it's a horror movie. All different ways of killing people have been done to death...(pun intended) "Saw", "Final Destination", etc.
But there's just something simple about a knife to any part of the anatomy...it never gets old. Just like Chucky said in "Bride of Chucky": "A true classic never goes out of style."
If you're an original "Screamer"...you'll love this movie. It may have been 10-11 years since the last one, but it'll feel like you never left.
Until next time...I'm Justin, and you just got Jacked!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
"Transformers The Movie" (1986)
With "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" coming to theaters this summer, I thought for my first official movie review I would go back to the beginning with the one that started it all...
"It is the year 2005. The treacherous Decepticons have conquered the Autobots home planet of Cybertron."
This is the one movie I grew up with in the 80's that I could watch over and over again and never get tired of it. To this day I could still probably quote this movie from beginning to end without having to watch it.
It had an all star cast behind the already seasoned voice actors from the original cartoon including:
Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) as Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime
Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek) as Galvatron
Robert Stack (Unsolved Mysteries) as Ultra Magnus
John Moschitta, Jr. (The Micro Machines Guy) as Blurr
Eric Idle (Monty Python) as Wreck-Gar
and Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) as Unicron
This film was considered controversial back in the day due to the level of violence and a couple uses of bad language for an animated "kids" film. It has the look and feel of traditional Japanese anime coupled with an American hard rock soundtrack and synthesized score that totally kicks ass.
Through all the violence and action within the film, the most shocking part of the movie for most children including me was THE DEATH OF OPTIMUS PRIME!!! This was due to the fact that Prime's action figure in Hasbro's toy line was not selling as well anymore.
I can imagine the production meeting for the film went something like this:
"The toy isn't selling anymore...let's kill him!"
Prime was originally supposed to stay dead throughout the remainder of the cartoon series never to return, but outrage from children, parents and fans alike reached the producers of the show and they brought him back to life during the 3rd Season.
All I got to say is being as hardcore a TransFan as I am...I wonder who out there in the fanbase cried when Optimus died? If you didn't cry...you're not human.
This movie is worth the time for any Transformer or Anime fan out there. I bet most of you already have it in your collection.
On a side note:
Michael Bay if you happen to read this, put Stan Bush's "The Touch" in Transformers 3. If you really want to make the fans happy, it should be included in the film somewhere. I'll even take it as an end credits song. It was the rock anthem of the G1 Transformers generation...it wouldn't be right without it.
Until next time...you just got Jacked!
"It is the year 2005. The treacherous Decepticons have conquered the Autobots home planet of Cybertron."
This is the one movie I grew up with in the 80's that I could watch over and over again and never get tired of it. To this day I could still probably quote this movie from beginning to end without having to watch it.
It had an all star cast behind the already seasoned voice actors from the original cartoon including:
Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) as Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime
Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek) as Galvatron
Robert Stack (Unsolved Mysteries) as Ultra Magnus
John Moschitta, Jr. (The Micro Machines Guy) as Blurr
Eric Idle (Monty Python) as Wreck-Gar
and Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) as Unicron
This film was considered controversial back in the day due to the level of violence and a couple uses of bad language for an animated "kids" film. It has the look and feel of traditional Japanese anime coupled with an American hard rock soundtrack and synthesized score that totally kicks ass.
Through all the violence and action within the film, the most shocking part of the movie for most children including me was THE DEATH OF OPTIMUS PRIME!!! This was due to the fact that Prime's action figure in Hasbro's toy line was not selling as well anymore.
I can imagine the production meeting for the film went something like this:
"The toy isn't selling anymore...let's kill him!"
Prime was originally supposed to stay dead throughout the remainder of the cartoon series never to return, but outrage from children, parents and fans alike reached the producers of the show and they brought him back to life during the 3rd Season.
All I got to say is being as hardcore a TransFan as I am...I wonder who out there in the fanbase cried when Optimus died? If you didn't cry...you're not human.
This movie is worth the time for any Transformer or Anime fan out there. I bet most of you already have it in your collection.
On a side note:
Michael Bay if you happen to read this, put Stan Bush's "The Touch" in Transformers 3. If you really want to make the fans happy, it should be included in the film somewhere. I'll even take it as an end credits song. It was the rock anthem of the G1 Transformers generation...it wouldn't be right without it.
Until next time...you just got Jacked!
-J
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