Argo

Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
Director: Ben Affleck

Argo is simple. It's about sneaking out six Americans out of Iran through a Hollywood movie cover up. The plan is insane, and it worked. Ben Affleck managed to take a simple but complicated story and turn it into an amazing film. The build up was rather slow, but it was thrilling to see the entire event unfold; it even had me at the edge of my seat at one point. No wonder this has been raking in awards; it's smart, thrilling and interesting.

Silver Linings Playbook

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro
Director: David O. Russell

I first read the novel before watching the movie. The novel itself was good; Pat was painted as someone who was clearly obsessed with getting back with his wife, stuff like that. Long story short: the film and the book were different from each other. It was the same situation, but different events, which then lead to different actions. For the first five minutes, I heard myself say 'Oh shit' because it really was different from the book. Some of the characters seem wrong, the events transpiring were different. After I settled into the movie, I started thinking less and less of the novel and more on how it's going to turn out. The tone of both mediums were somewhat different, but the film was able to convey a beautiful story, albeit centered more on the romantic parts, but was able to bring out the tale between two people who are lost, and somewhat found each other.

Hotel Transylvania

Cast: Adam Sandler, Selina Gomez, Andy Samberg
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

When I first saw the trailer for this animated flick, I was skeptical. The plot was fun, it was about monsters being afraid of humans. Who wouldn't want to see that? Then again, it was Adam Sandler, a comedian who hasn't exactly delivered the best material recently (see Jack and Jill and That's My Boy--those weren't his best work). Despite of it all, I still saw it, and I have to say, besides the fun plot, the delivery of it all was just messy. Good animation work though; loved the monsters, not so much the main characters.

Trailer: Red 2


My review of Hotel Transylvania should be coming soon, I can't seem to finish it. So for the meantime, another trailer! While Red isn't the over the top action packed sequence film like most action blockbusters, it is still action-packed and there is an element of fun in it. I'm hoping the sequel will deliver the same sass the first one brought. 

Trailer: Warm Bodies


A zombie-human movie starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer. Best known as Tony Stonem in Skins, Hoult has managed to wow the screen with his rendition of Marcus in About a Boy (the best Hugh Grant movie ever). Teresa Palmer has been appearing in a handful of flicks as well, and if I'm not mistaken, this is the first that she'll be taking a lead lead role (she usually just plays a love interest---she also does here, but usually she's overshadowed by the main plot). I always thought of her as the Kristen Stewart with emotions, so it's nice to see her playing a main character for once. 

The Beaver

Cast: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin
Director: Jodie Foster

It has been a long time since I've seen Mel Gibson in anything. He has been out in the film circuit for quite sometime, and reappeared again, later, in this strange movie. Strange, because he's wearing a beaver puppet hand, but otherwise, a good film. While it didn't hit a home run, The Beaver provides a pallet of performances that encapsulates the statement the piece was going for.

Oh, Friends

As a kid I grew up watching this sitcom (thanks teenage influence) and it has become one of my favorite shows of all time. The cast has chemistry, and no matter what crazy plot twist the writers throw in, it just makes for great episodes. I think given the time, I could marathon the entire series! For each season I've always had my favorite episodes, and since it's going to be gruesome putting all of those (in post or writing), I chose one episode from each season. These are some of my season go-to's. If you're a fan, what are your favorite episodes?

Blue Valentine

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
Director: Derek Cianface

Whenever I see anything related to Blue Valentine in Tumblr, I'd always tell myself that I should go and see the movie myself. After all, it's Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, two actors who are terrific in their craft. Sad to say, despite being well-shot, the film went flat somewhere in the middle. I did like it, but this is not one of their best work, or simply, it has missed its mark.

Frankenweenie

Cast: Martin Landau, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder
Director: Tim Burton

First review of the year! It took longer to write than expected though (so much for consistency). Frankenweenie is a stop motion flick from famed director Tim Burton. It was based on his earlier work, which was a short film with the same title. I guess you can say, it's a remake of his own work. It explored the bond between man and man's best friend, and the distance one can go for the sake of this bond. Simple premise, but done in Tim Burton style.

New Year, New Ways

Happy New Year, everyone! This is a late greeting and question but how did you spend your holidays? I spent mine attending family and office events, going on trips and even a bit of time in the emergency room (nothing too serious). 2012 saw the birth of (after changing it so much) The Film Sloth. At first I used to keep all things film back in my personal blog but after seeing that my personal blog has branched into more film-and-travel oriented, I decided to keep my film blog separately. There has been changes, relapses and a bit of stagnant motion. I was in a long writing rut, but I'm starting to ease out of it. Which now leads to...
I haven't been consistent when it comes to content management on this site, so being consistent is my first goal. I've neglected my quick links for a long time so I think it's time to re-evaluate my blog and see what direction I should take it to. However, I don't want to be consistent for the sake of being consistent, which leads to goal number two! For the past months I've been toying around with establishing a ranking system for my reviews and I think it's time to actually have one. I think having a ranking system somewhat sums up the point I'm trying to derive. Lastly, is to dive into more unseen flicks and watch! I've been watching a ton of films over and over lately (particularly Lord of the Rings - it's always on television!) so my goal is to have less re-watch and more new ones. 2013 is looking to be another good film year, so hopefully my goals push through. Lastly...

An award! Mettel Ray has kindly nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. All I can say is thank you. It took me by surprise, and to be nominated by one of the most inspiring bloggers out there is just...wow. Again, thank you.

Here are the rules:
- I have to display the award’s logo on my blog.
- I have to link back to the person who nominated me.
- I have to list seven things about myself.

1. I have an 'author-syndrome'. It's when I read a good book by a specific author then I go and find all their other works.
2. I (somewhat) memorize the lines in an episode of Friends and the movie Parent Trap (Lindsey Lohan version).
3. I like the color yellow, but I don't like yellow clothing.
4. I'm afraid of heights and yet I ride cable cars.
5. A movie that I could never watch the second time is 'Crazy Stupid Love'. And 'Like Mike'.
6. White cheddar is my favorite popcorn flavor (aside from butter).
7.  I am not a beach person. Never liked sand on my feet. 
- I must nominate some other bloggers, link to them, and then let them know that I have done so

Just want to say...


Spending my New Year day in bed watching Lord of the Rings (there is a movie marathon as of the moment) before getting dressed and heading out to a birthday party. How about you?