Lone Survivor - The Best Based-on-a-True-Story Movie I've Seen

     Movies based on true stories are among my favorites. It takes a lot for me to actually get emotionally involved in a movie, but when the stories are true, I realize that it could happen to anyone. It could happen to someone I know. It could happen to me. Lone Survivor is one of the best based-on-a-true-story movies I've seen in a very long time.
     The movie opened with a montage of a real, or seemingly real, training camp for the U.S. Navy. Trainees were pushing through training exercises and tests, getting screamed at, bonding, helping one another, struggling, succeeding, and completing the rigorous training with beaming smiles on their faces. The bond the forms between training marines is unlike any other. They are brothers. They're all each other has during training and when deployed. They need to love each other and protect each other at all costs, and that takes a type of love many of us don't experience. Opening with this montage grabbed my attention and reminded me and all of the audience members that this story is true and it happened to an average American Marine, not Mark Wahlberg or any other Hollywood actor. I think that was the best decision the creative team made when making this movie, because after that, the rest of the movie seems so real and you're emotionally involved in a different way than you would be if it opened with an A-list Hollywood actor like Mark Wahlberg, who portrays Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell, the man whose experience in Afghanistan this story is based on.
     About halfway through the movie, I admit I felt a hint of boredom. I began wondering if the entire movie was going to be one long gunfight. It seemed to go on for a while, though it was moving along and changing scenery. The action was not boring, but I wondered if anything would change or something new would happen. I wondered why they would base a movie on only a lengthy and somewhat interesting gunfight.
     That boredom vanished almost immediately when something wildly unexpected happened between Luttrell and some Arab men who were not involved in the Taliban. Without spoiling the major turn of events of the story, what happens is beyond my imagination and it touches my heart in a way I wouldn't have expected. I understood what the story was about now, and I was even more obsessed.
     At the end of the movie they brought it back to real life by showing you pictures of every soldier you met during the movie and explained their rank, their families, or their lives or their families' lives after the military. It was important for the creators of this movie to remind the audience that this was not about Hollywood and cinema, it was about America and real-life Marines. It creates an emotional attachment to the movie that would otherwise not be there, and it's what makes this movie amazing.

Entourage movie?

     The critically acclaimed HBO show Entourage ended about 2 years ago and ever since then fans have been waiting for a full length film.  Executive Producer Mark Whalberg and his cast love the idea but wanted to see a script before making any decision.  Head writer and creator Doug Ellin began writing the script and the movie has been given the go ahead to begin production.  As an Entourage fan I am very excited to see where the story will go.  Will it continue from where it left off, or will it start a few years later?

     In summary, Entourage is about a rising actor named Vincent Chase who brings his friends with him to Hollywood looking to make it big.  Vincent works with his manager E, driver Turtle, brother Drama, and his agent Ari.  Whalberg says everyone is back and motivated to make this movie, he would like to do a second but doesn't want it to be a disaster.  I personally feel that this movie is going to be awesome  and they should wait for the first to come out before even thinking about a second.  No release date has been given yet but it is good to know that production has started.

Boston's "Big Three"

When watching the Red Sox game the other day I couldn't help but notice that the Boston "big three" when it comes to movie making were in attendance. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Mark Wahlberg were all in the stands during opening day at Fenway Park. Those three hold a special place in Boston's heart. They have always made movies about Massachusetts (Good Will Hunting, The Town, The Fighter), and they never forget that they were all originally from different suburbs of Boston.

I have to admit that my personal favorite out of the three would have to be Affleck. That really has nothing to do with him as a person, because I like all three, but more because I think that it's amazing that Affleck writes, produces, and acts in his movies. Movies such as "Argo" and "The Town", Affleck  did all three of those and those movies are known as some of the best to come out in recent years. I watched "Argo" for the first time last weekend and wasn't disappointed. The story itself is remarkable, but the movie is also well made and Affleck is great as usual.

Wahlberg and Damon are no slouches either. "Ted" is a comedy phenomenon, and the fact that Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane (from Connecticut which is basically Massachusetts), decided to shoot the film in downtown Boston just adds to the humor for people from the city. Damon hasn't done as many films in Boston as Affleck and Wahlberg, but he still will always have "Good Will Hunting" to fall back on.

Maybe people in Boston care too much about the fact that Mark and Donny Wahlberg can be found court side at a Celtics game once a month, but people enjoy seeing these huge stars back home. I hope that Damon, Affleck, and Wahlberg continue to make movies in the Boston area. I think they realize that people from Boston do appreciate the fact that they return home to make these blockbusters. Hopefully 2013 leads to big things for Boston's "big three".

The Departed

Martin Scorsese has made dozens of incredible films, many of them being classics. But the one that earned him is one and only Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture was his 2006 film, The Departed. Set in South Boston, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to be an undercover cop in the Irish mob run by ganglord Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a criminal working for the Irish mob and Costello, who has become a Massachusetts State Police Detective. Both Billy and Collin attempt to gain information about the organizations they have infiltrated. However, both the police and Irish mob become aware of the moles inside their organizations and Billy's and Collin's lives are suddenly put into danger. Each man must work quickly to find the other man and take him out before they get taken out by the organizations.

With an amazing cast featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winston, Vera Farmiga and Alec Baldwin, The Departed is an outstanding film that everyone should go see, if you can get past the abundance of violence and cursing that is in the film. This film simply has it all. A great cast, great cinematography, great editing and a great script. It is one of my personal favorites and every time I watch it, I am sitting at the edge of my seat.

I think my favorite part of the film is the scene on the top of the rooftop, (SPOILERS AHEAD). Both Billy and Collin have found out that the other is the rat in the organizations. Billy told Collin to meet him on the top of the roof and when he arrives, Billy arrests Collin. Detective Brown, played by Anthony Anderson, also comes to the rooftop because he knows who both Billy and Collin are. Billy takes Collin down the elevator at gunpoint and as soon as the elevator doors open, Barrigan, who is another detective working for the Irish mob, puts a bullet through Billy's head and Detective Browns. Collin then puts a bullet through Barrigan's head, making sure that there are no loose ends. This scene is very intense and you do not see the murders coming at all. I jumped in my seat when I heard the loud bangs.

Also just as a side note, my brother actually works in the building where this scene was shot.

The Departed is a terrific film and I think it is Scorsese's best.

The Happening

Watching movies during the day is supposedly a risky decision. I say this because the only movie on the just above basic cable package was "The Happening" with Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. This horror movie has a weird genetic mutation in plants reaping havoc in the north east. Nobody can explain what exactly"it" is but it is killing entire populations in the northeastern part of the country. The story has a struggling married couple (Wahlberg and Deschenel) rediscovering their love through this dramatic experience. Basically the most cliche plot to a horror movie possible.

It wasn't the terrible plot that turned me off from this movie. Instead it was the terrible special effects that they used to simulate "the happening". Due to the fact that this air poison was supposedly transmitted through plants, every time another area would be infected this howling wind would sweep through the area and love everything dead in its trail. That was the best simulation you could come up with? A big breeze like the one that happens right before a rain storm starts? For a movie with two big name actors as leads and a proven director, you would have thought they could come up with something that wasn't so cheesy. It was just a terrible attempt to sell the mutation that really took away from the scariness of the movie.

The one thing this movie has going for it was the added layer to the plot that comes into play at the end. The movie ends up being a metaphor for what we are doing to our environment as scientist chalk up "the happening" to the plants reacting to the pollution in the air. So in the end the movie had a good message which made it a little bit more than just another cliche thriller. It saved what was a terrible performance by Mark Wahlberg and just a cheesy all around horror movie.

Thunder Buddies For Life

Ted is by far my favorite movie I've seen this year. How many other movies have a teddy bear that smokes pot? None that I've seen. No-one is safe from being made fun of in this movie, even the voice of Ted Seth Macfarlane. The writing of this movie is definitely the best part of the movie.

I don't care what other people say, I love Mark Wahlberg. He is that perfect actor for a serious role in a comedy (The Other Guy's anyone?). I think the best part of this movie is how they are able to turn a stuffed teddy bear into a realistic looking bear and have it turned into a celebrity that people want. Since this isn't a zombie movie I can't say it was perfect but it was as close to perfect as it could considering I was crying from laughing. Everyone who doesn't get offended easily should go see this. If you do get offended easily, go see it any way so you can get offended.