The Hammer (2007)

Adam Carolla is long done with The Man Show but now hosts a morning radio show in Los Angeles. I like to listen to the podcasts every once in a while. This year he's really been pitching The Hammer, his new independent movie. The movie is about an aging carpenter (Carolla) who finds himself back in the boxing ring chasing his long dormant boxing dreams. God bless Netflix for having the DVDs because the limited theater run was laughable. Adam's radio plugs made it seem like it was playing in about 6 theaters across the country.

On to the review... On the radio show, Adam is constantly talking about his early life working crappy manual labor jobs so this part isn't that much of a stretch. I went into the film with extremely low expectation but came away pleasantly surprised. Adam definitely delivers some solid laughs but the big surprise is how much heart the story has. Possibly even more shocking is the fact that Sarah commented on how much she liked it. Check it out.

4 stars out of 5

The Dark Knight (2008)

Warning: NO spoilers

For my birthday yesterday , Sarah took me to see The Dark Knight. I have been working hard to avoid news stories, commercials, and the trailer for the last three weeks. The other night Sarah and I were walking downtown past this loud mouth guy sitting at a patio table screaming into his cell phone. He is going on and on to his friend and starts talking about the movie. "You know the whole story of The Dark Knight right?", he starts into. I grabbed Sarah and made her run until we're out of earshot. I'm not going to have some asshat ruin my most anticipated movie of the year.

One important thing to notes is that most of the movie was filmed for IMAX theaters. IMAX is the screen format that is two to three times the size of a big theater screen and about 10 times the size of your local multi screen at the mall. IMAX films are typically nature documentaries that take advantage of the wide angles but are usually a little cheesy. I highly suggest you go out of your way to see The Dark Knight in an IMAX. You probably have time to do this before the end of summer. Last night the show was sold out and they were turning people away. Keep in mind this was a Tuesday night weeks after the release. Don't wait around to see this movie on DVD or worse TBS. Check it out on the big, big screen.

5 stars out of 5

Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

The Star Wars Holiday Special.1
by hansonataint

Move over Manos: Hands of Fate, I have found a film even worse. The shocker...it is brought to you by non other then Mr. Star Wars, George Lucas. Riding high on the success of Star Wars: A New Hope, a project was rushed together for the 1978 Christmas season. In his defense, George didn't have a whole lot to do with it but technically it should be attached to his legacy--something I can only assume will haunt him forever.

The Star Wars Holiday Special aired just one time but continues to live on due to VHS taped recordings. The special is all about life day and Wookies but I couldn't really find a plot anywhere. Pay special attention to how far into the special you get before there is any english (not wookie) spoken. Try to make it that far before you go read the wikipedia entry--fascinating.

0 stars out of 5