I for one am looking forward to riding this express.....

Don't just sit there, click on something!!

Jordan Rising Reviews Walle-E

I'll admit it. I love Pixar. I suppose it's not really uncool anymore for a 28 year old man to enjoy cartoons, since Pixar has elevated the dualistic grown-up-jokes-within-a-kids-cartoon thing to an art form.

But I really love Pixar. I buy their films, and sometimes watch them again.

Wall-E was a bit of a departure for Pixar, and from the outset, I want to say that my opinion of Pixar, if not entirely this movie, remains overwhelmingly positive. I say this because of Pixar's refusal to rest on their laurals. With the success of films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, it would be easy for them to shift into neutral and pump out 10 or 12 films similar in plot, tone and character.

With Wall-E, it's evident they did no such thing.

As you've no doubt read, the striking thing about this film is the lack of human voices throughout the film. In fact, aside from a few clever advertisements, human beings don't even enter the film until the latter part of the second act, and even then, are regulated to buffoonish side characters for the most part.

No, the majority of the movie's character interaction is done through a complicated series of beeps, clicks and robotic sounds, as well as robotic facial expressions . . . well, as close as you can get.

My overall impression was that this film was very, very ambitious, and resulted in a less accessible effort than their previous films. Pixar tried something very difficult; create a major animated work without the strength of voice acting. I applaud their attempt, and I believe that they did as well as modern animation would allow them to do.

The movie didn't allow me to immerse myself totally as other Pixar films have, and my young nephews and niece struggled to stay engaged during the middle of the film. However, the experience itself is very rewarding, and I found myself constantly chortling about how they'd accomplished getting across the intent of the characters without speaking. In fact, that's kind of the whole point. Little Wall-E CAN'T talk or express himself as he'd like, and for that we find a kind of kinship.

A worthy film, but you'll have to work for it.

The Dack gets nostolgic with the X-Files......

The Dack was raised on X-Files and while others can claim devotion to Star Trek or Star Wars Friday Nights at the Dack's was the place to be at least for the people I hug out with.

This tradition continued for every season (well, at least until the crappy ones without Fox Mulder) even though the locations and people might have changed, watching X-Files is something I will always remember.

Because the last several seasons were pretty disappointing the Dack's expectations were set fairly low. The story for this film's only attachment to the famed sci-fi television show is three characters in this movie, which I believe was both the best and worst idea for this movie. By choosing to not even touch most of the story thread that ran through the series Chris Carter and Co. risked disappointment from the fan base....however much of that fan base moved on a considerable time ago......so this movie seemed like a fresh look at the relationship between David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson better know as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. This relationship is what made the series such an interesting show....Mulder the believer and Scully the skeptic, solving mysteries. And that is exactly what we get. While who the believer and who the skeptic are change several times these two actors have such on screen chemistry one can't help but be interested. The only thing this movie could have used was a little more epic feel. The scale seemed only a tad to small for the big screen but it's an understandable problem considering the budget wasn't huge. For the most part the acting around Duchovny and Anderson defiantly felt big screen which helped. Amanda Peet who surprisingly manages to keep her clothes on, Billy Connolly and, Xzibit all do a decent job filling their rolls. The actual crime being investigated was interesting if not just a little strange. For the Dack the X-Files felt like a welcome visit from an old friend, you sit back enjoy each others company, catch up with what has been happening in your lives, find out how you've grow as people. With I Want To Believe, I was happy to see how Mulder and Scully had grow both as individuals and well...... no more from me, go see it if you want to know.

X-Files scared up enough for sixDacks, and if you go be sure to stay for some of the unusual credits the Dack has ever seen.

July 25 Weekend........... the Dack watch....

So the weekend is almost on us again and there is one movie on the top of my list.......The X-Files. It case you don't know what I am talking about, check out this trailer.


The Dacklight of the week is the new Transformers movie logo........ I can't wait till this movie hits theaters next summer!!!


OH, and if anyone finds one of these shirts please think of the Dack.

Craving 3D......Journey to the Center of the Earth....If you have too.

The Dack loves new innovative ways of watch movies so when there is a chance to see something in 3D, I jump in feet first. I hadn’t seen a 3D movie in at least 15 years when Beowolf came out last year. Although Beowold was a decent film, it was animation and didn’t really seem to use the 3D to engage the audience as much as it could have. Having seen Beowolf both in 3D and not, I can honestly say the 3D version didn’t really add anything special. Although my experience was lack luster with Beowolf it got me excited for my next 3D adventure.


This weekend I finally got to set off on a new 3D adventure……… or Real D as the credits told me when Journey to the Center of The Earth began. Although, I’m a huge fan of the movies I’m not a huge fan of opening credit sequences….. unless the names start moving around and flying at you!!! Yep, that’s right the opening credits are 3D (no, I’m not going to call it Real D….. what the heck does that even mean?!?). But before I get ahead of myself… I knew before the movie started that this was going to be the 3D adventure I had been hoping for when we got not one but two trailers in 3D! I wish I could tell you that this movie lived up to all my excitement but the Dack can’t lie. Journey (no, not the band) was not a good film. It was actually pretty bad but it was fun to watch in 3D…. which was used throughout the movie to my amazement... things were flying at me constantly which made even Brendan Frazer brushing his teeth and spitting at me exciting!! As for the actual merits of the movie the Dack wonders how anyone could sit through this movie if it wasn’t in 3D. Journey to the Center of the Earth was obviously designed to be seen in 3D……and not only seen but at times it felt like a showcase for what today’s 3D can do… which is remarkable but 3D can not save a movie. Not even the presence of Brendan Frazer who brings a solid performance can save the plot…or help the other actors who seem like they are just running through the motions as they act in front of green screen…Frazer is obviously very comfortable there having done three Mummy films which had plenty of special effects. Now that I have experienced a movie that uses 3D in such awesome ways I excited for the future when a movie can blend 3D with a good story, acting, and directing. That will be DackD!!


Journey to the Center of the Earth only manages to discover fourDacks and that’s only for the 3D version....the adjusted Dacks without 3D would only be oneDack.

The Dark Knight Shines!!!!

This weekend I had the opportunity to see the much-anticipated follow up to 2005's Batman Begins.... The Dark Knight. I can honestly say the most talked about film I can recall in recent years. Of course much of that had to do with the death of Heath Ledger in December of 2007. Before I begin to praise this film to embarrassing levels let me say that I am a huge comic movie fan especially when it comes to The Caped Crusader of Gotham city. I had the opportunity to see Batman Begins in IMAX and thought in moments it took the superhero genera to more dramatic places than a comic film had attempted before.

In The Dark Knight Chris Nolan takes us to a gritty urban metropolis reminiscent of The Departed filled with all kinds of strange criminals only these crime syndicates have more than just the police to worry about in Gotham, The Batman patrols the nights. The only complaint I heard before going to see this movie was that it’s hefty 2 ½ + run time might scare some away. To those critics I point out that The Departed is the same length and won 4 Academy Awards. I also have to say The Dark Knight displayed as many dramatic elements. As a fan of Batman I always knew this superhero could live in a world so close to our own the line fades away... Batman is at it’s core the story of Bruce Wayne a man who sees a need in the world for someone to stand up and fight back and because of his extraordinary position chooses to take that role and put himself in harms way for the average joe... Nolan’s choice of painting a full picture of Batman fighting all types of crime and not just the traditional super villain is a brilliant move and adds a wonderful extra layer of depth that sucks you in even more. Although if the super villain part was any less than the amazing performance of Heath Ledger’s Joker this film would have not felt as real. Even now 2 days after I saw the movie I sill haven’t fully taken in Ledger's masterful performance. I believe Ledger delivers the best movie villain I have ever seen on screen. He chooses to play the Joker not just as a flamboyant criminal like Jack Nicholson but as a crazy, unpredictable, serial killer that happens to also be a super villain who is several steps ahead of the cops and even batman at times. To say the Ledger disappears into the role doesn't give him enough credit. His role has been the talk of the year in film and still at times during the movie I forgot that Ledger was playing the Joker. As wonderful a performance as Ledger gives, Aaron Eckhart who plays both the most noble character Harvey Dent and most flawed character Two-Face in the film with pitch perfect accuracy and does a excellent job keeping up with the Joker. The experience of Caine, Freeman and Oldman works as each brings depth to a minor character. The last character that owns significant screen time is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s take on Rachel Dawes. Gyllenhaal a favorite of the Dack improves enormously on Katie Holmes previous version….. I mean, I actually remembered what her character did for a living after the movie ended this time. Gyllenhaal's role however small had enough emotional connection that allowed later parts in the film to work. Before I end this puff piece of a review I can’t forget to mention Christian Bale’s Batman. He has blended the perfect mixture of all of those that have come before him. From Adam West to George Clooney no one has played a better Dark Knight than Bale. He shows the true depth that Batman can have and that allows the viewer a look into what responsibility an ordinary man would have to take in order to become The Batman.

In the end The Dark Knight gives us the best comic book movie ever… actually I believe this movie rises above the entire genera. I only wish they would have released it later in the year so it would have gotten a real chance at the awards season. The Dack Knight, I mean Dark Knight soars to TenDacks!!!

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, now is the time!

The Dack is Back!!

As The Dark Knight is released tonight the movie season has officially begun this year. While The Dack might be the only one that holds this view.... Let's look back at some of this 2008's Best and Worst so far....

1. The Dark Knight: Yeah, I haven't seen it but you just know it's going to be good. I have to put it at the top of the list just so I don't have to come back and edit this after I see it in 2 days. You'll have to wait till this weekend to see how many Dacks this one gets.

2. Iron Man: John Favreau and Robert Downy Jr paired up to make the one of the best comic book films ever. Had this been any other year we would still be talking about this movie as the best comic book film of 2008, to bad it came out before The Dark Knight. I still had to give it eightDacks.

3. Wall-E: I haven't seen it but I am sure it's like every other Pixar film. For some it might rank over Iron Man, well the Dack didn't see it but I'm still smitten over Downy Jr as Tony Stark (yes that's a Iron Man reference). At this point Pixar is really going to have jump up to a whole new level for Dack to get really excited. Yeah, that sounds harsh but with so many movies out there.... the last couple of films Pixar has rolled out haven't really wowed me like Toy Story, The Incredibles or, Finding Nemo did.

4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: I admit that Judd Apatow films aren't for everyone but the Dack is a fan. This is easily the best comedy of 2008 so far. Jason Segal showed us what he was all about as he wrote and stared is this hilarious relationship comedy. One more warning for any one taking my advice and seeing it, watch out for the man dong!(3 times!!) I can't forget Sarah Marshall because it got eightDacks!

I could throw a whole bunch of other stuff on here but these are the only ones I might actually pay to see again. I will give a small shout out to Kung Fu Panda..., which proved once and for all that Jack Black can carry a film... I bet just like me you didn't know one other voice until the credits rolled. It got sixDacks and was defiantly the best kids film of 2008 so far.

For the worst of 2008, only one film winds up on this list so far this year. I could put other things but The Happening deserves to be all by it's lonesome. M. Night please learn from this and get back to your old form making movies I love. If you need help the Dack is here to help. For disappointing me and failing on every level from acting (yes I'm talking about you Mark Walberg), directing, editing, and writing, The Happening only happened to get twoDacks.

The Dack is headed to his 10 year class reunion this weekend and so nostalgia is running high. Check this new trailer for Terminator: Salvation. Just to make everyone feel a little older, Terminator 2 came out in 1991, dang that feels like a long time ago.

The Hulk, take 2...

Enjoy this guest review by Nathan Koch.

Now I know that I am not in accord with the rest of civilized America in saying that the 2003 version of "Hulk" was awesome, but in my humble opinion it was. It was an excellent origin story that was also cinematically appealing. One of the things that I do hear from just about everyone, is that it really made you feel like you were watching a comic book. Now, being that I may be the only one that liked the 2003 movie, I wasn't too excited to hear that they were remaking it - especially since it was only 5 year later. However, once I understood what Marvel's overall plan was it made since.
For those of you who may not know the overarching plan, to my understanding, Marvel is releasing 2 films a year with them eventually culminating in an Avengers movie. Check out the Wikipedia page on Marvel Movies for more info. Part of the reason for the new Hulk movie was to give all of the Marvel movies a similar look, which the 2003 incarnation certainly didn't have.
With all of that in mind, I decided to go into the movie with an open mind and an expectation to be disappointed. This method seems to work for most movies - when you plan on being disappointed, you are usually pleasantly surprised (this method worked well with Ghost Rider). Anyways, I did like the movie.
Acting -
Edward Norton is a great actor, although not necessarily my idea of Bruce Banner, he pulled it off. Liv Tyler is her usual beautiful self, although I miss Jennifer Connelly. One thing I really liked was the fact that the Hulk was appropriately sized (my one complaint on the 2003 movie was his GINORMOUS size). I do wish that Sam Elliot was The General since I feel that he did a far better job than William Hurt, but that's just my opinion.
Special FX - I feel that the movie was great as far as the special fx goes. Nothing super spectacular, but up to snuff. With extensive use of Special FX these days, it really is hard to "Wow" me.
Plot - a pretty good storyline. Nothing I can complain about except the lack of background story - but if you think of this movie as a sequel to the 2003 movie with just some slight storyline discrepancies, then that shouldn't be a problem. The action was great. It did lack the comedy of Ironman, but then Bruce Banner isn't Tony Stark. Speaking of, there are some definite connections to Stark Industries, SHIELD, Nick Fury, and (SPOILER ALERT!) Tony Stark does make a quick appearance. I also like the fact that they brought in some characteristic Hulk moves like the Hulk Smash, Hulk Clap, Hulk Stomp, etc (Yeah Marvel Alliance!).
Overall, I liked the movie and loved the action and the drama. It left me wanting to be the Hulk. My props to Marvel for putting out another excellent movie.

Finally Something Worth a comment.....

I have been hiberating away the winter................ actually I have just been too busy being dissappointed about what is one the entertainment horizon. But don't worry all is not lost. X-Files is back and that fact fills my heart with warmth. Unfortunatly the trailer hasn't offically been released............... stupid copyright!

Go Here to catch it while it lasts!!!!!

Sorry for the delay..........

With the writers strike on I had to take a real job to get some cash......... Well, i hadn't paid the cell bill in awhile so it took a little while to find out we're back. The bummer is I still don't get paid to blog.....man, what the heck! Why was I striking?!

Lot's to talk about and a lot more to come but check this amazing new trailer from M. Night Shamamala ( It's Shyamalan. ) It's his new movie called The Happening and it looks sweet!!