10 reasons to go see Interstellar again

Just when you thought Black Holes were getting dull....

Coming to a theatre near you, more previews!

Good things can come in small packages...

Snow Black and White (and those wacky midgets)

Silent films rock -- even new ones...

Who Really Shot JFK?

You won't find out in this lame excuse for investigative journalism. The cover-up lives!.

They Should be Letting us do the new Star Wars movies

We've got lot's of ideas, why isn't anyone calling???.

Guardians of The Galaxy Rocks

The most awesome mix tape - secret formula for success?

10 Signs the End is Near

There were a lot of people who were fairly disappointed when the planet didn't vaporize on May 21st, 2011, especially those poor bastards who gave away everything they owned in anticipation of the joyous event. Never fear though, because Apocalypse 2.0 is coming to a planet near you this year on December 21st! (the date of the 13th Mayan Bactune). Yes, that's right - we're pretty sure this time that the end is truly near. All of the signs are here - all the planets are lining up and those Mayans are going to get their revenge after all (or so we've been told by some of their descendants who now work in a Corona Cerveza factory). We may even have to come up with a new set of Apocalypse Party Tips as the last one may have already been used in Apocalypse 1.0 parties and probably wouldn't be as fun a second time.


How can we a prediction like this with such certainty? Well - because we researched this through a painstaking processes of Internet browsing that lasted for hours. The Mayans were in contact with the Chariots of the God's Aliens who by the way are a lot nicer and not at all related to the X-Files aliens or the Alien alien or even the Predator alien. Anyway, these nicer ones told the Mayans what was up to give us a chance to build our own escape ships and go somewhere else but maybe they should have told the Spanish because the Spanish or Aztecs or someone wiped out all of the Mayans and thus we're all screwed. Still not convinced? Well, we've also been given many, many signs that the end is near and we've include the top 10 below.

Could people with hats like these be wrong? We seriously doubt it
The Top 10 Apocalyptic Omens:
  1. The Fiscal Cliff will lead to tax increases for millionaires which will of course signify the end of the world.
  2. Tim Tebow can't win any games - so God has forsaken us.
  3. Saturday Night Live isn't funny anymore - wait that's happened like 6 times before - oh it's the 7th time - got it.
  4. George Lucas gave away Star Wars.
  5. Obama won a second term and now all those dozens of books and movies telling us how bad the second term will be have to come true, right?
  6. Windows 8 has been launched and Breaking Dawn part 2 will be the biggest debut in movie history, yuk!
  7. We've run out of ideas for new Zombie movies or TV shows.
  8. Real-life Zombies are eating people's faces - how gross is that? (so maybe there's one more idea left)
  9. The weather is so bad that even Locusts refuse to go outdoors.
  10. Aliens have placed detour signs around Earth which is why we've witnessed a big slowdown in alien abductions and UFO sightings.
It turns out that the Nazca lines in Peru were in fact the Nascar lines - a particularly difficult track for alien pod racers. Another recent theory posits that this is in fact a sign wherein one group of irate aliens were flipping the bird to another. We may never know for sure as we're all going to die on December 21st. 


We told you Corona Beer was involved, didn't we, huh, huh...


Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

War & Peace - The Playlist

Well, in case you're worried - we don't have the 1812 Overture on here but we must admit that this week's release of Anna Karenina did inspire us somewhat in coming up with our theme. War is a unique part of the human condition, but then again so is peace. Hopefully one day we can have the latter without the former - in meantime we'll need to make music about why we do the things we do. A decade of wars doesn't mean we'll always be at war - we ain't no fortunate sons...

As usual this list is on available on Spotify.


John Fogerty and the rest of Creedence - born on the Bayou...

War & Peace - The Playlist:
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son
U2 – Bullet The Blue Sky
Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World
Genesis – Land Of Confusion - 2007 Remastered Album Version
Billy Joel – Only The Good Die Young - Single Version
U2 – Until The End Of The World
Fatboy Slim – Weapon Of Choice
The Black Crowes – Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution
John Mellencamp – Crumblin' Down
Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory
David Bowie – Heroes - Single Version;2002 Digital Remaster
Dave Matthews Band – When The World Ends
The Black Crowes – She Talks To Angels
Guns N' Roses – Civil War
Billy Joel – We Didn't Start The Fire
Black Sabbath – War Pigs
Alice In Chains – Rooster
Chris Cornell – You Know My Name
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Run Through The Jungle
Cat Stevens – Peace Train
Green Day – 21 Guns
Rob Zombie – War Zone
Dave Matthews Band – The Space Between
Sting – Russians
U2 – Mothers Of The Disappeared
Dave Matthews Band – Time Bomb
Bob Dylan – Blowin' in the Wind
The Wailers – I Shot The Sheriff
Joe Cocker – Shelter Me (Single Edit)
Boston – Peace Of Mind
Shinedown – Heroes
Jack Johnson – Crying Shame
Buffalo Springfield – Everybody's Wrong
Vangelis – Main Theme From "Missing"
Jimi Hendrix – Machine Gun (Live)
Kansas – Dust In The Wind
The Doors – The End
Creed – My Sacrifice
U2 – Pride (In The Name Of Love) - Live - Rattle & Hum Version
John Mellencamp – Our Country - Rock Version
White Zombie – Black Sunshine
Weezer – Say It Ain't So
Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World - MTV Unplugged
Iron Maiden – The Evil That Men Do
U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
Enya – Fallen Embers
Hoobastank – Crawling In The Dark
Echo And The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
R.E.M. – It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (Edit)
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer - 2005 Remastered Album Version
Bad Company – Burning Sky
Yes – Starship Trooper
Queen – Another One Bites The Dust
The Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm
Robert Rodriguez's CHINGON – 1-800-HITMAN (Bonus Track)
Elvis Presley – Blue Christmas
10000 Maniacs – Love Among The Ruins
Elvis Costello – Less Than Zero
U2 – All Along The Watchtower - Live - Rattle & Hum Version
Blue Oyster Cult – Godzilla
John Lennon – Imagine
AC/DC – Highway to Hell
The Decemberists – This Is Why We Fight
The Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky
Lenny Kravitz – Supersoulfighter
Metallica – For Whom The Bell Tolls
Warren Zevon – Lawyers, Guns And Money
John Fogerty – Gunslinger
Eric Clapton – Change The World
3 Doors Down – Citizen/Soldier
Bryan Adams – Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Talking Heads – Life During Wartime - Remastered LP Version
Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel
U2 – Peace On Earth
Warren Zevon – Frank And Jesse James
22-20s – Shoot Your Gun
Cracker – Don't Fuck Me Up (With Peace And Love)
New Politics – Dignity
New Politics – Nuclear War
22-20s – Shoot Your Gun



Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

Top 10 Best Movies of All Time

Not too long ago we presented our list of the 10 Dumbest Movies of All time; today we're taking a 'glass half full' view of the world and focusing on the positive. Determining what movies qualify to be among the top 10 is no easy matter though.

Midnight Cowboy
There are quite a few truly great films out there to choose from - so we applied the following criteria to help make our picks:
  1. Each film on this list had to be a classic film (which we've defined before). 
  2. Each film had to be a profound story - something out of the ordinary that sticks with you and effects you at an emotional level.
  3. Each film had to be cinematically innovative. This could take a variety of forms from introduction of special effects to the cinematography itself and of course the story-line.
  4. Each film had to have more than one scene that is remembered as being historic (like the baseball scene from the Untouchables although that film didn't make this list because while a classic the story-line was a just to thin).
  5. To be on our list usually also involved having a very good musical score as well.
What we didn't do was base our list of critics' determination of what ought to be considered 'the greatest of all time.'  This is why movies like Citizen Kane does not appear on our list.  

Orson Welles was always over-rated, especially by himself 
So here's our list of the Top 10 Best Movies of All Time:

# 1 Best Movie of All Time -  Schindler's List: Why did this film top the list? There were several reasons; first because this version of the Holocaust tale was different than those that had gone before it. Spielberg made it seem more real. Perhaps it was the use of Black and White or perhaps it was the fascinating character studies provided by Ben Kingsley, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes - and each of those actors turned in what was probably the performance of their careers. Second, this film was about both horror and hope and how the human spirit can overcome the lesser angels of our nature. Third, perhaps it was the timing of it - while this film debuted a new genocide was just beginning in Europe in Bosnia. NATO intervened to stop that war and the Genocide in 1995 - it seems to us that this film may have played a role in helping to remind the world about the human face of Genocide. It's a lesson that will likely need to be learned over and over again in the future - and now we have this film to help teach that lesson.


Schindler's List was Best Picture in 1993

# 2 Best Movie of All Time -  Dr. Strangelove: Some might find the selection of "Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" as an odd choice for the second best film of all time. We think the rank is well-deserved. First, this stands as the most profound and biting political satire on film - ever (second place is Chaplin's "The Great Dictator"). Second, this movie provided the most damning critique of the Arms Race ever produced. Third, Peter Sellers gave the performance/s of his career (playing at least 3 characters). We will never forget his insane parody of Henry Kissinger as Strangelove.

Peter Sellers as Strangleove
# 3 Best Movie of All Time -  The Godfather: What can we say - this movie had everything; a soundtrack that we can never forget; one hell of a story and some of the best acting ever. Al Pacino will probably always be remembered for his role as Michael Corleone - seeing him become the new Godfather at the end of the movie is one of those cinematic moments we'll never forget. In fact, the entire movie is chocked full of iconic scenes.


Michael becomes, the Godfather...

# 4 Best Movie of All Time -  Blade Runner:  We reviewed this film some time ago and we have to admit - we just keep liking it better and better as time goes by. Blade Runner brings together a fantastic Science Fiction story by Philip K Dick ( Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), unbelievable cinematic vision from Director Ridley Scott and some truly memorable performances by a huge and wildly talented ensemble cast. This film set its own standard in terms of creating a unique universe all its own - it's LA Noir with flying cars and genetically engineered super-humans. We're hoping the rumors of a sequel are true but it is unlikely that any follow-on movie will match this original. The soundtrack by Vangelis is perhaps the best movie score ever.

The FX from Blade Runner inspired a generation of Hollywood film-makers and animators

# 5 Best Movie of All Time -  The Matrix: This movie still retains the title of Coolest Movie of All Time. The Matrix combined a powerful critique of the human experience with state of the art visuals and special effects. The result is nothing short of breathtaking. Even though the follow-ons in the trilogy didn't live up to the original - the first Matrix still stands the test of time. We recommend that you take the red pill. 

# 6 Best Movie of All Time - Midnight Cowboy: Not a Western at all, with the absolute best theme song from any movie - ever. If this film doesn't tug at your heart - you're probably a Zombie. Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Ratso Rizzo is one of the truly great performance s in cinema history.


# 7 Best Movie of All Time -  Dr. Zhivago: This movie still stands of the most beautiful pieces of cinema ever produced. It represents the best of the epic films from the 50's to 70's and tells the story of one man's struggle to survive amidst the chaos of the Russian Revolution. It also stands as one of the greatest love stories on film. Julie Christie gave the performance of her life in this movie as did Rod Steiger. Sir Alec Guinness, Geraldine Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin's daughter) and Omar Sharif rounded off the stellar cast. The Zhivago soundtrack is the second best in the history of cinema. There were some truly great lines in this film - like Zhivago's brother stating "I did admire him; but I didn't think he was a better man. Besides, I've executed better men than me with a small pistol."


# 8 Best Movie of All Time -  JFK: This movie is a bit controversial, just like it's topic - the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Director Oliver Stone assembled a huge cast of the best talent in Hollywood headed by Kevin Costner in what is probably the best performance of his career. This movie represents the ultimate courtroom drama in cinema history as Stone pieces together the real story while exposing the gaps in the Warren Commission's finding. The movie was so powerful that it led to the passage of President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. This means that many documents that haven't already been released will be in 2017. While still late, the truth may finally be known after all these years. It's a movie that literally made history.

JFK was awesome, we rest our case
# 9 Best Movie of All Time -  AI: Artificial Intelligence was Stanley Kubrick's last project. Before he died he handed it over to Stephen Spielberg to complete. The result was truly stunning. AI tells the story of a boy named David who isn't actually a boy - he's a Cyber Pinocchio. But David is more than that - he is the first artificial being who can dream and can love. This movie was meant to take HAL to the next step and fully humanize him. It succeeds with an entertaining story, stunning visual imagery and one of the best performances by a child actor - Haley Joel Osment - ever.

Welcome to Rouge City
# 10 Best Movie of All Time -  One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest: While this isn't a happy tale, it is inspirational. This movie marks the zenith of Jack Nicholson's career. It provides us some truly memorable characters who've all come together under less than ideal circumstances. Cuckoo's Nest follows in the same foot-steps as Midnight Cowboy in creating a story that is totally character-driven and painfully realistic.


Honorable Mentions:
  • The Graduate - This movie helped to define a generation with a soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkle no less.
  • 2001 Space Odyssey - We loved it, but the characters we're a little thin for this category.
  • Apocalypse Now - A great movie, but a bit too uneven to make the top 10.  
  • Scarface - "Say hello to my little friend." Al Pacino's over the top Cuban gangster became one of the all-time most memorable characters in cinema in this film (no chance of sequels either).
  • The Shining - A masterpiece that came very close to getting on the list. Kubrick and Jack Nicholson together - wow.
  • High Noon - One of our few older films in contention. This movie stood as the ultimate Western - at least until The Unforgiven came along.
  • Gone with The Wind: This movie defined the Hollywood epic for the next 75 years. While the racial stereotypes depicted in the film are insensitive to say the least - they also stand as testimony to how far we've come in just a couple generations. What would Clark Gable thought of President Obama? 
  • Modern Times - Charlie Chaplin was a genius, end of story. Cinema wouldn't be what it is today without him. He was also a brilliant social critic and one of the few people on earth in the 1930's to take on Hitler. The little tramp had some big cojones. 
Chaplin takes on the Industrial Revolution single-handedly
  • Ben Hur - Star Wars episode 1 was largely a tribute to this movie - how cool is that?
  • Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean took a very odd (yet true) story from history and turned it into a legend. Lean also directed Zhivago.


Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved