Sep 29 2010

Remember Sherlock Holmes?

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You know, that film that made a ton of money last year but wasn’t Avatar?  Well, I loved it, and this news has me chomping at the bit for the sequel.

Apparently Jared Harris, who Critical End! fans will know from both Mad Men and the second Resident Evil movie, will be playing Moriarty.  And, in news that slipped by me somehow, Stephen Fry will play Mycroft, Sherlock’s older brother!  Both of these announcements are huge, as these are some damn fine British actors set to play classic British roles.  Which leaves me wondering how Downey’s passable-but-not-outstanding accent will fair in their company.

Either way, confirmation that both Holmes’ arch-nemesis and oft-forgotten brother will appear in the second movie makes me think that they’ll continue to strike a nice balance between literary fan service and modern action.  And that is alright by me.

[Via /Film]


Jan 8 2010

Our Complete Movie Ratings for 2009

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Remember, kids, you can check our respective IMDb pages (Logan here and Ryan here) year round if you want to see what we gave a particular film. But here, for your reference, is each of our complete ratings for 2009.  And below that, our respective best and worst lists.

To hear us chat about this year in movies, make sure to catch our 2009 Wrap-Up podcast.

All ratings are on a 10 point scale.

LOGAN’S LIST

17 Again – 6

2012 – 5

A Perfect Getaway – 5

Adventureland – 6

Avatar – 4

Brothers – 3

Carriers – 6

Coraline – 8

Crank: High Voltage – 5

District 9 – 8

Drag Me to Hell – 8

Dragonball Evolution – 4

Extract – 4

Fired Up! – 5

Friday the 13th – 4

Gamer – 3

Grace – 4

Harry Potter and the Half – Blood Prince – 5

He’s Just Not That Into You – 3

I Love You, Beth Cooper – 5

I Love You, Man – 6

Inglourious Basterds – 5

Jennifer’s Body – 7

Knowing – 6

Moon – 5

My Bloody Valentine – 6

Night at the Museum: Battle of the

Smithsonian – 5

Orphan – 5

Pandorum – 5

Public Enemies – 5

Push – 5

Red Sands – 5

Saw VI – 6

Sherlock Holmes – 6

Sorority Row – 5

Star Trek – 6

Surrogates – 6

Terminator Salvation – 7

The Blind Side – 5

The Box – 3

The Final Destination – 4

The Haunting in Connecticut – 3

The International – 6

The Last House on the Left – 5

The Marc Pease Experience – 4

The Men Who Stare at Goats – 5

The Princess and the Frog – 6

The Proposal – 5

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 – 5

The Thaw – 5

The Unborn – 3

The Uninvited – 4

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – 4

Up – 7

Watchmen – 5

Whatever Works – 5

Whiteout – 5

X – Men Origins: Wolverine – 5

Year One – 2

Zombieland – 5

RYAN’S LIST

(500) Days of Summer – 8

2012 – 5

Adventureland – 6

Avatar – 5

Brothers – 5

Coraline – 6

Crank: High Voltage – 6

District 9 – 6

Drag Me to Hell – 8

Dragonball Evolution – 5

Friday the 13th – 5

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – 5

Gamer – 4

Harry Potter and the Half – Blood Prince – 6

He’s Just Not That Into You – 4

I Love You, Man – 6

Inglourious Basterds – 7

Jennifer’s Body – 7

Julie & Julia – 7

Knowing – 3

Moon – 7

My Bloody Valentine – 6

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – 6

Nine – 7

Orphan – 7

Public Enemies – 4

Saw VI – 6

Sherlock Holmes – 8

Star Trek – 7

Surrogates – 5

Terminator Salvation – 7

The Box – 6

The Brothers Bloom – 7

The Final Destination – 5

The Informant! – 8

The Last House on the Left – 7

The Men Who Stare at Goats – 5

The Pink Panther 2 – 4

The Princess and the Frog – 6

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 – 4

The Unborn – 2

The Uninvited – 7

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – 5

Up – 9

Up in the Air – 6

Watchmen – 5

Whiteout – 3

X – Men Origins: Wolverine – 5

Year One – 5

Zombieland – 9


Logan’s Best of 2009
1. District 9
2. Drag Me to Hell
3. Coraline
4. Jennifer’s Body
5. Terminator Salvation

Logan’s Worst of 2009
1. Year One
2. Brothers
3. The Box
4. He’s Just Not That Into You
5. The Unborn

Logan’s Yearly Average – 4.92

Ryan’s Best of 2009
1. Up
2. Zombieland
3. Drag Me to Hell
4. The Informant
5. Sherlock Holmes

Ryan’s Worst of 2009
1. The Unborn
2. Whiteout
3. Knowing
4. He’s Just Not That Into You
5. Public Enemies

Ryan’s Yearly Average – 5.84


Jan 6 2010

Critical End! (The Podcast) #40: The Best and Worst of 2009

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Can you believe we’ve been doing this for a whole year?  Seems like only yesterday you were disagreeing with our 2008 wrap-up.  REVIEWED: The highlights and lowlights of 2009.

Download it.

 

Subscribe in Logan Lee & Ryan DiGiorgi - Critical End! (The Podcast) - Critical End! (The Podcast) or via RSS.


Jan 5 2010

Stephen King’s Top Films of 2009

This man has more money than you'll ever see in your entire life.

In the upcoming week you’ll get a chance to both hear and read your ol’ pals Logan and Ryan’s “Top Ten Films of 2009” lists.  Until then, why not read what Stephen King has to say over at Entertainment Weekly.  I think he’s put together a great list (featuring several films that have made most peoples “worst” lists), and I’m especially fond of what he had to say about both the original Last House on the Left and the 2009 remake.


Dec 31 2009

It’s New Year’s Eve…Do You Know Where Your Pants Are?

Ryan and I have talked at great lengths about how much the experience of seeing a film in an actual theater has gone to crap.  While it’s easy to blame cell phones for this, don’t forget that the real blame should fall on the idiots who refuse to turn them off during the movie.  As this decade comes to a close (and more importantly, Critical End! turns one year old!), it’s time to start looking for a few solutions.  Luckily, CHUD has made an amazing list of ways to improve this problem so I don’t have to.  Give it a read by clicking the great image they made below, and be sure to keep these things in mind when you head out to see Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Jason Lee’s Suicide Note

Happy New Year, kids.


Oct 7 2009

Chevy Chase Day 2009

chevyandjonYour pals at Critical End! would like to wish a super happy birthday to Sir Chevy Chase (we’ve knighted him in our own minds).  Can you believe the man is 66 today?!  Most people don’t know that Chevy didn’t become the household name that he is today until around his 32 birthday when he first started getting noticed on some show called NBC’s Saturday Night.  I wonder what ever happened to that forgotten gem?
Speaking of great moments in Chevy history, Ryan and I have listed our five all-time favorite Chevy films below.  In celebration of this special day, why not take a few hours to get reacquainted with one of the greatest comedians of all time?ChevyChaseold

Ryan’s Top Five Chevy Picks
1.  Caddyshack
2.  Three Amigos!
3.  Fletch
4.  National Lampoon’s Vacation
5.  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Logan’s Top Five Chevy Picks
1.  Caddyshack
2.  National Lampoon’s Vacation
3.  Fletch
4.  Three Amigos!
5.  Spies Like Us

And finally…news hit the web yesterday about a rumored fifth Vacation film from New Line Cinema.  However, I couldn’t find a single website that had a source on this, so I’ve decided to hold off reporting the “details” for now.  Just be aware that this could possibly exist outside of my dreams within the next few years.  More info to come.

Happy Chevy Chase Day, kids.