Movie Review: The Sentinel

Ok guys here is a movie that you probably overlooked. If you were lucky enough to have seen it, here is my take on the movie.

Micheal Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a legendary secret service agent who in the past took a bullet for Ronald Reagan. Garrison learns from a former informant that there is a plan to assassinate the now President Ballentine. Garrison is convinced that a Neo-Nazi Aryan Disciple has infiltrated the White House. After a secret service agent is killed, Garrison is framed as the killer. To make matters worse, Garrison is secretly having an affair with the First Lady played by Kim Basinger, and the real killer is using that information to blackmail Garrison. Garrison now has to prove his innocence while he is on the run from his own kind.

Kiefer Sutherland plays as David Breckinridge, a protege' of Garrisons. His new partner Jill Marin (Eva Longoria) begins her job the very day that they start investigating Garrison.

As you progress through the movie you learn of the strained relationship between Garrison and Breckinridge. Another very good part of the movie is that Garrison is a crafty veteran when it comes to the tactics that the secret service uses to try and catch him. He knows all their tricks and knows how they think.

The Sentinel sat on my DVD rack for a couple of years before I decided to give it a try. I was very impressed. The movie was very polished and never forced. The story keeps your attention while your trying to figure out the real mole. Some may figure it out early (I Did) but others may have to wait longer to really decide who the mole is.

So my verdict? Gotta check this one out. If you find it cheap, Buy it. I'm glad to have it in my collection. Very entertaining, especially since I was not expecting it to be good at all.

Note: My next review will be of The Rock with Nicolas Cage. Have you guys seen it? Really don't want to do one on a movie that everyone has seen. Let me know guys.

2 More DVD's

Quick note, I bought The Brave One and Hitman yesterday. Hope they are good.

Later

DVD Update

Ran out to Blockbuster again. Every Monday they restock their rack of DVD's for sale. I was really hoping to find one of two movies, or both. I really wanted The Mist and Sweeney Todd. So when I went in there I got lucky and found The Mist, and even better it was only 2.99 so that was a no brainer. I'm sure glad I didn't run out and spend 20 bucks on it. So no Sweeney Todd but they also had American Gangster. Never seen it and hope it's good. Either way it was 4.99 so....SCORE.

Later

Challenge

Ok so I had an idea that came to my attention and thought it was a good, different change of pace. If you guys aren't interested, that's totally cool.

So a good friend of mine the other day came to me and we had a very serious talk. His life has taken a few really bad turns lately and he just needed someone to talk to, and in my inner circle I'm usually that guy that will just sit and listen.

During the conversation he asked me a question that I have never really thought about.
What's made you the person that you are today?
Now I've never sat back and thought about what in my life has made me how I am but it really intrigued me.

So my challenge to you guys is just the same thing. What or who has made you the person that you are today? Be cool in a video or a blog, either way. You can do it in a list if there are many different things that would help show who you are. It's really a open forum for you guys, no rules, can be anything that you want it to be.

If it doesn't sound appealing don't worry about it. I wonder if I am the only one who for some reason took that question to heart, but oh well.

Note: You can always have negative aspects of you as well. I couldn't help but think of my negative characteristics and where they came from so feel free to do them if your comfortable with it, if not, totally not my business.

Soule's Chapel

Ok well me and a couple buddies finally made it down to Soule's Chapel. So much is said about this place and for someone who is very interested in the paranormal but has never had a experience personally or ever have went on a investigation I was antsy to say the least. Now I'm not the type to run away so i made sure to drive so my friends didn't have the chance to leave me if I didn't wanna leave to early.

I did a little research on the place before I went and learned alot of things I was not aware of that in my opinion gave the place just more reasons to have a chance of paranormal activity.

First I'll tell you the things I already knew. Soule's Chapel was a really old church in the middle of nowhere that had been around for at least 100 years. The preacher was supposedly a Satanic worshipper in his own time and then preached at the church when they held service. It's rumored that he tried to dig his way to Hell and that there is or was a hole in the church itself. That preacher was hung from a large tree that looks over the field of the cemetery.

The things I didn't know was that Soule's Chapel was used as a makeshift hospital during the Civil War. Also it stopped being used for services in the early 1900's because it had become a site for KKK meetings, parties, and wannabe Satanists.

This new news really had me excited because it just seemed like a place that had seen tragedy and death and circumstances where there may be things lingering.

The church had burned 2 times during its existence and was rebuilt each time. Then in 2003, two kids from my own school got high and drunk and went and burned the place to the ground and that's how it looks today.

As we got there I noticed that the church was surrounded by pastures on two sides, a road on another, and woods on the final side. The first thing I noticed as we got out of the car was that I could clearly see my own breath which was very, very odd to me because at my house I definitely could not. My buddies took that much to strongly and I noticed that we were definitely in a valley so that explains a temperature drop.

We had our flashlights out and wandered the place for awhile and nothing spectacular occurred. Many paranormal teams have investigated the Chapel and all have reported very morbid EVP's, mist, and a little girl that wanders around the grave sights. For my first investigation I can't say that I have the "feeling" that I hear so many researchers talk about but I felt much to calm. Peaceful even. Once I got past the whole "I'm in a cemetery at midnight.... a supposedly haunted cemetery" thought, I settled down to take in what was really happening and not what my brain thought was gonna happen from the stories I've grown up hearing. I didn't feel what I expected to feel if there was activity there.

We heard a few things here and there but it's so hard to call anything paranormal when your outside for one where there are sounds everywhere and especially when there are woods nearby where every gust of wind that pulls two branches together makes your buddies jump.

Now I know that activity doesn't happen on cue, so I will definitely go back another night. My friends always wanna go on Halloween but I just feel that that's so cliche, and also I doubt I wanna be around the loonies that go hang out there each Halloween that are not investigating, if you catch my drift.

I am a little disappointed that I didn't get to see, hear, or even feel anything. But hey I guess I gotta learn that that's just part of the game. Guess that's why they call it ghost hunting and not ghost catching eh?

Note: Just watched a really cool show on Sci-Fi about the real Crystal Skulls that are appearing in the new Indiana Jones movie. Anybody else heard about them? Was pretty interesting. Some farfetch'd theories but still a very interesting watch.

Movie Review: 3:10 To Yuma

So I just finished watching 3:10 to Yuma with my fiancee'. And all I can say is "Wow," I was really, really surprised. Now let it be known that I'm not a huge fan of westerns but do enjoy a select few of them. I was not expecting to be into this one as much as I was.

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is a legendary outlaw that terrorizes the state of Arizona with his gang. Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a struggling, poor rancher who is an amputee from a war some years back. Evans is having a land dispute with the a man that basically owns the whole area that is worth owning. One day when Evans has his barn burned down for not handing over his land his cattle gets out and he brings his two sons along to help round them up. On the way to doing the job, they run onto a cliff overlooking Wade's gang robbing a stage coach carrying the new railroads payroll. Wade's gang kills all but one man and Evans helps the man by taking him into the nearby town of Bisbee.

Ends up that Wade and his boys came into town and with Evan's help, they capture Wade and Evans volunteers for 200 dollars to escort him with 4 other men to the 3:10 to Yuma. Now the 3:10 to Yuma basically is a train that runs at 3:10 and takes prisoners to the Yuma prison.

After Wade is captured his boys follow closely now led by Charlie Prince who is played by Ben Foster. Anyone remember the Disney show Flash Forward? Well thats the guy, anyways. Maybe I'm the only one that remembers that show. So the events that follow I won't get into to save you the meat of the movie.

I loved the cast for this movie. Crowe and Bale are both AMAZING. Crowe is a smug outlaw that always has a smirk on his face and is actually comical. Bale was my favorite because he made you feel sad for him being poor and sad for how his kids looked at him sometimes. The internal battle Bale's character has to cope with is also a huge selling point for 3:10 to Yuma.

Final verdict....BUY THIS MOVIE. If not buy, its a must rent. Trust me, I highly doubt you would be disappointed.

More DVD's

Ok so I bought 3:10 to Yuma, Pan's Labyrinth, 30 Days of Night, and Beowulf on Monday and left a few movies that I really wanted at Blockbuster. So today I went and bought 2 more that caught my eye on Monday.

First I bought We Own The Night, I really wanted to see it beforehand anyway and after Shep gave it a thumbs up so to speak I knew it was worth it to buy. So I got it for 4.99.

I also bought Michael Clayton with George Clooney. I remember hearing from a few people that they though this movie should have won best movie last year instead of No Country For Old Men. And if its half as good as it was, then it was a wise purchase.

Note: I also had my damn hands on Dawn of the Dead but passed on it. I have really been wanting it and it was 7.99 at Gamestop but decided to wait. They have a pretty cool deal where you buy 2 dvd's and get 2 free. The only movie I was really interested in was D.O.T.D. so I thought it was smart to just save the movie for when they get a few more that I'm interested in.

Been thinking of doing more movie reviews and am needing some ideas for ones to do. So let me know guys.

New Movie Update

Ok guys a little quickie update. I bought a few movies and a few more for my fiancee. I first found 30 Days of Night for 6.99 so I got that. I have had a few ppl rave to me about it so I hope its as good as I want it to be. Also I found Pan's Labyrinth for 4.99. Really wierd movie but good (if you don't mind subtitles, because it's in Spanish.)

I bought my fiancee 3:10 to Yuma which she says is awesome and I really want to watch it. And I also bought her the new Beowulf movie.

None of the movies were over 6.99 so I was pleasantly surprised.

Note: Make sure to check out my favorites blog if you haven't already. Thanks

Favorite's Blog

Ok guys here is a Favorites list of mine. I tried to think of as many things as I could so if there is anything I may have left out let me know. Most of these are in no real order.
Note: * will mean honorable mentions

Games

• Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X-Box 360)
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X-Box 360)
• God Of War (Playstation 2)
• Resident Evil 4 (Playstation 2)
• Any Zelda Game (Gamecube)

* (Hitman Trilogy)

Movies

• The Shawshank Redemption (Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman)
• Crash (Sandra Bullock, Terrence Howard, Brendan Fraser, Matt Dillon)
• The Bourne Series (Matt Damon..Duh)
• No Country For Old Men (Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin)
• The Departed (Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon)

* (Transformers, Troy)

Bands

• Tool
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Killswitch Engage
• Chevelle
• Project 86

* (Godsmack, Black Label Society, 12 Stones)

Shows

• The Shield
• Ghosthunters
• Rob & Big
• Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe
• Seinfeld

* (Survivorman)

Books

• Hitman: Enemy Within (William Dietz)
• I Am Legend (Richard Matheson)
• The Mist (Stephen King)
• The Harry Potter Series (J.K. Rowling)
• The His Dark Materials Trilogy (Philip Pullman)

* (Stardust, Holes, Speak)

Superheroes

• Spiderman
• Gambit
• Collossus
• The Green Lantern
• Silver Surfer

* (The Punisher)

Actors

• Johnny Depp
• Shia Labeouf
• Matt Damon
• Will Smith
• Tom Cruise

* (Tom Hanks, Ed Norton)

Guitarists

• Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold)
• Dimebag Darryl (Pantera)
• Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society)
• Andy Mckee
• Joel Stroetzel (Killswitch Engage)

* (Stevie Ray Vaughan)

UFC Fighters

• Matt Hughes
• Chuck Liddell
• Anderson Silva
• Andrei Arlovski
• Wanderlei Silva

* (Forrest Griffin)

Gaming Franchises

• Zelda
• Resident Evil
• God Of War
• Hitman
• Grand Theft Auto

Next 5 Movies To Buy

• The Mist
• Sweeney Todd
• Indiana Jones Trilogy
• Into The Blue
• Rob & Big Seasons

Next 5 Games To Buy

• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Gears Of War
• The Orange Box
• Crackdown
• Condemned: Criminal Origins

Favs

Ok guys, for my next post I'm gonna do a Favorites blog. I'm making it a little more organized and then I'll post it. I'm gonna do Favorites for music, movies, games, books, etc. Anything you guys can think of that you may want to know plz leave me a comment on it and I'll be sure to put it in my next post

Later

Movie Review: Running Scared

Ok guys this is one that you may have missed. I remember seeing the trailer for Running Scared and was really intrigued, but after it came out I never heard much about it. I went to Blockbuster a while back and found it and remembered how good it looked so I gave it a shot.

Paul Walker plays as Joey Gazelle, who is basically a clean up man for the mob. After a drug operation goes wrong and a dirty cop dies, the mob gives Joey the job of disposing the gun that killed the cop. Now instead of throwing the gun in the river, Joey hides the snub-nosed .38 in a secret compartment in his basement. What Joey doesn't know is that his son Nicky and best friend Oleg were down there and now have seen Joey putting the gun away.

Oleg lives in a abusive home where his russian father has a sick obsession with John Wayne. When Oleg's father Anzor beats his mother one night, he runs and steals the gun that Joey hid. Oleg shoots his father and runs away. After this all hell breaks loose. Now Anzor, who ends up being a key part in the russian mob has his goons chasing and looking for Oleg, while the mob with Joey is now looking for the kid as well. Apart from that, now Joey needs to find the kid and the gun before the two mob branches do.

This is a really good movie, especially if you know nothing about it. The best thing I like about the movie is the camera angles that the director uses. There are many creative camera elements that make the movie stand out. If you have not seen or heard of this movie, give it a shot, it's very entertaining and intense.

Been Busy

Hey guys its been a while. So I borrowed my friends 360 and have playing it for the last few days. He had 3 games and I've been trying to get to all three. He has Call Of Duty 4, Halo 3, and Oblivion. I thought I could do a little mini review for each game.

Now I know most of you have already played these games but I still thought a review would be ok.

Also note that I have played these games before but this time I had Xbox Live, so that changes things.

Call Of Duty4: The great thing about this game is that there is SO much to do. Now the single player campaign is short some say but I found it just fine. After the whole career mode I got on Live and had a blast. There is endless fun in playing real people with real ever changing strategies. There is also something to unlock from new guns to new accessories to perks. So there is a ton to do. Graphics are amazing. One note of that I notices was when you have a sniper rifle you can see a reflection in your scope from whats behind you, amazing touch.

Halo 3: I still have yet to beat Halo on single player. The bulk of me playing was with my step brother when we played Co-Op. That was really enjoyable player side by side. We got on Live to play people but honestly there were not many people on the Doubles network or whatever it is. Halo is fun and it is a change of pace from CoD, but still.......its not Call Of Duty.

Oblivion: Now Oblivion could honestly be my favorite game ever. Its huge. So much to do and unlock (which I love). I love games that give you the most for your dollar. The free open world is great and the graphics (except for some peoples faces) are amazing. I can't stop playing it sometimes and I swear I'm burning my brain, I can feel it. Hours and hours have gone by mindlessly playing Oblivion and still I have barely made a dent in this huge game. GO BUY IT. Only 30 bucks brand new.