The Snobs Take a Trip In the Hot Tub Time Machine

Brandon: Is it possible that the Snobs are actually going to review a movie that's still in theaters? Let's face it, the Big Screen Snobs have been Small Screen Spectators for most (all) of this semester. But, yes, the hype is real. Jenni and Brandon pooled their cash for a babysitter, and treated themselves to a night out on the town!

Jenni: You really are a ladies' man, Brandon, and you know just how to treat me right. Buy me a fancy spaghetti dinner and take me out to see Hot Tub Time Machine, and you've won this girls' heart forever!

Brandon: Yeah, I'm pretty awesome, and this flick was bound to score me some good husband points. Does this movie even need any introduction more than what we've given it already? If you've seen any of the trailers for Hot Tub Time Machine, you already know what this movie's about, and pretty much exactly what happens in the movie. And, if you've been living under a rock for the last 3 weeks and haven't seen any of the millions of commercials that they've been playing on all of the TV networks, the title alone should clue you in to what this movie's about.

Jenni: Yup. This review pretty much writes itself. Hot Tub Time Machine focuses on the exploits of 4 friends who jump into a hot tub in 2010, but walk out in 1986. From there the hilarity ensues. If that sounds funny or entertaining to you, then this movie is right up your alley. If it sounds stupid and lame to you, then you're better off avoiding this movie.

Brandon: Exactly right. This movie was exactly what I was led to believe that it would be, and it lived up to my expectations. There were no surprises, no sappy stories of redemption, and no real moral to be learned. This movie is just goofy fun, and it doesn't try to do anything more than that. For that, I give my conditional endorsement. If this sounds like a movie you'd enjoy, I'm sure you'll like it. If it doesn't sound like fun to you, then you'll hate it.

Jenni: I loved this movie! It was hilarious, infinitely quotable ("Get out of my way, stool!" and "Have you been watching Red Dawn again?" are just a few of the many gems to be found inside), and it had plenty of goofy 80's references to keep the elderly crowd pointing and giggling. I'm telling all my friends to check this one out. And with that, the Snobs are out. Peace!

You can watch the red band trailer here.

The Snobs Take a Gander at Moon

Brandon: Sam Rockwell is one of my favorite actors. He has a knack for picking rolls that feature characters that have a complexity of personality and emotion, and as an actor, he conveys the depths of these characters awesomely. I've been a fan of his ever since he played the double-crossing bad guy in the Charlie's Angels movie, and his acting prowess blew me away in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The man is incredible, and I was so excited to finally check out his latest cinematic masterpiece, Moon.



Jenni: I'm getting a little jealous over here. Although I also approve of Sam Rockwell as an acting professional, you're kind of gushing about the guy. Do I detect a hint of a man-crush?



Brandon: Never you fret, Jenni, my love. For although my admiration of Sam Rockwell and his superb acting abilities knows no bounds, you are my one and only. But from an objective male point-of-view, how could you not love that man?!



Jenni: Moving on....as I mentioned, I was also excited to see this movie. Other legitimate movie critics had given mostly positive reviews of this futuristic sci-fi flick, which features a very minimalist cast. In Moon, the story follows Sam Rockwell's character, astronaut Sam Bell, who is finishing up his three year tour of duty on a remote moon mining station where he is the lone process supervisor. The three years of solitude with only his trusty computer companion, GERTY (voiced superbly by Kevin Spacey), for company has started to take its toll on Sam, and, after a freak accident during a routine maneuver in one of the lunar rovers, Sam finds himself questioning his own identity, as well as whether he truly is alone on the moon.



Brandon: What a great story concept! The other critics we had listened to had promised a bit of a mystery to unravel, and I know I was excited to find out what was really going on. I suppose my hopes were a little too high for this movie. Not to beat a dead horse, but Sam Rockwell did deliver on the acting front. His portrayal of a man that may or may not be going insane is great. No, the acting wasn't the problem here, it was just my expectations of something more to this film.



Jenni: We're in agreement there. The film was done well, and I would still recommend it to anyone wanting a decent sci-fi flick, but I would hesitate to play up the suspense of the film. Sure, there is a bit of a mystery to the film, but it's pretty easy to figure out what's going on fairly early in the movie. No, the suspense in the film comes after the big "reveal", and you worry about how Sam's going to deal with the revealed truth. It was still a good flick, but it just wasn't the mystery film that I was promised.



Brandon: You summed things up very nicely there. So, go check out Moon, and enjoy it for the great job that Sam Rockwell does. It's worth it just for that! And with that, the snobs are out. Peace!



You can watch the trailer for Moon here.

Brandon's Top Five Movie Favorites

Brandon: It's going to be tough following up Jenni's top 5 list - especially since she stole a few of my favorite movies for her list. However, I think I can throw together a pretty decent list of my own. So, without further ado, here's five awesome movies that I can recommend without hesitation to anyone.



Number 1 on my list is American Beauty. This is one of the first movies that I remember being specifically mesmerized by the actors in the film. Kevin Spacey won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an everyday-kind-of-guy going through a mid-life crisis while lusting after his teenage daughter's best friend. It's the kind of character that most people would find repulsive in real life, but he becomes a fascinating character on a journey of self-discovery in this film. Sam Mendes was a largely unknown director before this film, but when this film won the Best Picture Oscar in 1999, it put him on the map. It's a brilliant film.




My number 2 movie is Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums. I fell in love with this movie about a dysfunctional family dealing with growing apart as they grow up. The ensemble cast is top-notch, and each of the quirky characters are given enough screen time for us to come to know and love each of them by the end of the film. You truly do come to care about these people as they all learn to confront some uncomfortable truths about themselves.



The Lord of the Rings trilogy holds a place of honor on this list. I grew up a Star Wars nerd, and I'm still a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy flicks. However, it's hard to find representative movies of those genres that don't suck in some way or another. Star Wars had the terrible prequels, Star Trek movies are only good half of the time, and fantasy movies are typically made for younger audiences. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy blows away all of those other movies, and they appeal to a wider audience than even the books could have. These movies had great special effects, believable acting from grown men playing Hobbits and wizards, and a great epic story.


Number 4 on my list is Donnie Darko. I had no idea what I was getting into the first time I saw this movie. Donnie Darko defies conventional genre labels, as I've heard it referred to as a sci-fi movie, a horror movie, and a dark comedy all from different sources. I think all of those descriptions work, since this movie takes the viewer through time and space in its exploration of the strange events surrounding a teenage boy and his terrifying dreams. It's surreal in context, but rooted in an almost-conventional coming-of-age story. If nothing else, it'll keep you watching just so you can try and figure out what the heck's going on.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind finishes up my list. Yet again, I've chosen a movie with a non-linear storyline, and with a plot that defies tradition and physics. However, this love story about a boy and girl falling in and out of love left me re-examining my own relationships, and wondering how life would be if I were to just erase unpleasant memories from my life. The movie's great, and the deep conversations that it inspires after the credits roll are totally fun too!

Thus ends Brandon's top five! The snobs are out. Peace!

Click on any of the movie posters to see the trailers.

Jenni's Top Five Movies

Jenni: Being such movie snobs, Brandon and I often get asked, "Well what movies do you actually like?" So, Brandon and I got to talking this weekend about our top five favorite movies of all time, and we decided to share our lists. This week we'll look at my picks for awesomest movies ever, and next week we'll see if Brandon can top my list without copying any of my goodness.

I'll even begin with my number 1 favorite movie of all time: Forrest Gump. Following the extraordinary life of the lead character, this movie has a little something for everyone - drama, humor, love, action - and you leave feeling totally satisfied. What a fantastic movie!

My number 2 pick is a little less conventional. Kill Bill (both Volumes 1 and 2) is often overshadowed by some of Quentin Tarantino's other great movies, but for me, this is definitely his best! It's a pure Kung-Fu action flick from start to end, though there's definitely a lot of heart at the end. Splitting the epic saga into two separate films was a tough decision for the filmmaker, but it was a choice that ultimately served to make the movie better. There are some tonal differences between volumes 1 and 2, but it's all part of The Bride's journey, and it helps us, as the audience, sympathize with her struggles even better.

Number 3 is a movie that most people probably haven't seen because it didn't have a large theatrical release. The Reader deals with some very adult and controversial subject matter, but it's protagonist, as played by Kate Winslet, leads such a tragic life that you become completely engrossed in her story. Winslet absolutely earned her Academy Award for her performance in this film, and I recommend it to anyone who's willing to brave the R rating to see.

My number 4 pick is a little unconventional for this kind of list, but I've got to give my support to The Matrix. This sci-fi action flick will break your brain as you try to figure out just "What is the Matrix?", but you'll love the ride as your blown away by one of the sharpest action flicks ever made. The special effects seem almost commonplace now, since they're used in just about any movie or TV show made these days, but that's because this movie totally changed action sequences and how they're made. This movie changed the industry! And, if you ignore the two lackluster sequels, this movie can still stand on its own as one of the best action flicks ever.

Finally, number 5 on my list of greatest movies ever is Babel. Again, this movie wasn't a huge blockbuster when it was originally released, and I can see how its theme of miscommunication in every human relationship can be a hard-sell to the general movie-going public. However, stellar performances by all of the actors and a very harrowing plot will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

And those are my 5 favorite movies that I can recommend to anyone looking for a great movie. With that, the snobs are out. Peace!

You can view the trailers for any of these movies by clicking on their movie poster.

The Snobs Are Feeling Big Love

Brandon: We were bad this weekend. Instead of watching a movie to review like we should, Jenni and I decided to have a Big Love marathon and get caught up on Season 4 that's been piling up in our DVR.

Jenni: Yes, we were bad, but it just felt so right! Big Love might not be a "big screen" production per se, but, hey, it's not TV, it's HBO! And I've got to say, after some of the duds that we've sat through over the last few weeks, I was ready for something that was almost guaranteed to be a great viewing experience.

Brandon: I'm with you. We've been following the exploits of Bill (Bill Paxton) and his harem of wives as they struggle to be a big, happy polygamist family in a monogamist world ever since Season 1. It was great to finally get caught up on all of the drama in their lives this season now that Bill is running for public office, and his many wives struggle to find their own identities in both the public world as well as in their family at home. It's such a simple, yet quirky premise, but it's by far the most entertaining thing on TV these days.

Jenni: It's true, we both love the Big Love, and this season was mostly great. Sure, there were some oddly out-of-place episodes this season (the episode in Mexico when Bill and family go all Rambo on a polygamist compound seemed really out of character), but for the most part all of the characters had plenty of screen time in which to grow and explore their characters. Heck, this season I went from thinking of Margie (Ginnifer Goodwin) as my favorite sister-wife, to rooting for Nicolette (Chloe Sevigny).

Brandon: Me too, and I never thought that would happen! And if you're a Utah native, you're going to love the Hollywood version of Utah. Everything from state liquor laws, basements in houses, and of course the omnipresent influence of the Mormon church in daily life is a continual source of drama. Yes, Big Love comes with the Snobs' resounding seal of approval. With that, the Snobs are out. Peace!

You can visit the Big Love homepage here.

The Snobs' Case Against The Informant!

Brandon: I've always had a special place in my heart for Steven Soderbergh films. He has a real knack for filming fast-paced dialogue. Although it's just a couple of actors talking, he's able to capture it in such a way as to emphasize multiple layers of meaning, build tension in the scene, and bring out the humor of the situation brilliantly. That's why I was so excited to finally see his latest film come to DVD - The Informant!

Jenni: I've also been a fan of Soderbergh's films over the years. Although he's had a few less-than-awesome movies released with his name above them (I'm looking at you, horrible Oceans 11 sequels), for the most part, his movies win critical acclaim, and box office dollars (I'm looking at you, original Oceans 11 remake and Traffic). The various trailers for The Informant! made it seem like this would be another awesome and hilarious Soderbergh hit. But, oh, how wrong we were....

Brandon: The Informant! stars Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, the government's star witness in a price-fixing lawsuit against a global business giant. The trailers imply that this film will have all of the fast-paced dialogue and quirky characters that we've come to love and expect from Soderbergh. And, in that regard, we got what we expected. Matt Damon does a great job as a goofy undercover informant who thinks of himself as a super-spy. However, I wasn't prepared for the many layers of corporate intrigue that seemed to weight this movie down. It was two hours of talk about kickbacks, embezzlement, and courtroom politics.

Jenni: I suppose we should have known this wasn't going to be a drama about robbing casinos or the dark world of drug trafficking, but I wasn't at all expecting a procedural drama about how to build a government lawsuit. I agree that Matt Damon was great as the starry-eyed super-spy wannabe, but his amusing performance wasn't enough to keep me interested in what was going on. In fact, while I cared about his character at the beginning of the film and wanted to see how he was going to bring down the corporate baddies, by end of the film I just wanted him to get what was coming to him. Anything to make this movie end.

Brandon: I think you summed things up pretty well there. For all of those Matt Damon fans out there, you'll enjoy his performance in The Informant! But for everyone else that wants to see a comedy, or a drama, or any movie where anything remotely interesting happens, you'll want to rent Oceans 11 or Traffic instead, and skip The Informant! And with that, the snobs are out. Peace!

You can watch the trailer for The Informant! here.