True Detective

True Detective is an HBO original drama series that first premiered in January of 2014. This show, created and written by author Nic Pizzolatto, is designed as an anthology, or a series that changes plot and cast in between every season. The first season consists of eight episodes, costarring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as partner homicide detectives.

McConaughey plays "Rust" Cohle, a very intelligent detective that, due to his own ethics, is compelled to ravenously pursue a serial killer even though it brings great danger to his own well being. Rust suffers from depression, insomnia and alcoholism, all of which stem from the untimely death of his young daughter followed by the divorce of his wife. While Rust may be a flawed character who does not believe in or follow the norms of society, he still acts as the moral epicenter of the show.

Harrelson plays a decorated and veteran detective named Marty Hart. Marty has a troubled relationship with himself, his partner, and his family that eventually leads up to many of the troubles within his character. Marty's demons eventually get ahold of him before he turns to alcohol and divorces his wife. While Marty and Rust are partners they do not necessarily get along, this leads them to disagree on much of the morality of humanity and the human existence.

The plot of True Detective jumps between the years 1995, 2002, and 2012 while Marty Hart and Rust Cohle are delivering the tale of a previous homicide investigation that they both worked on. All previous information on the case was tragically lost in hurricane Rita, so the two characters were asked by investigators to recount their professional relationship, separate home relationships, and affiliation with the Dora Lange murder case. We bounce between the past and present while we progressively learn more about our character, the case, and that the perpetrator may still yet be at large.

I would highly recommend that everyone check out True Detective at some point. It is a show that is shot beautifully with an amazingly interesting story. The first time I watched it I was bored during the first episode and gave up on it; however, after I got to the third the show greatly increases in pace. The show is also scheduled to release a second season coming up in June of 2015.

True Detective

A show with a truly captivating story and cinematic style, True Detective, which aired in 2014 for HBO, blew me out of the water. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson give an extraordinary performance in which they play dark mysterious detectives trying to discover a serial killer in Louisiana. The show is just as much about the relationship of the two detectives as it is wrapped around the case. The philosophical narration of Chole's character gives an interesting dialogue in this thought provoking series.

True detective contains some of the most elaborate cinematography for a television show, which is able to creatively portray the setting of Louisiana. This is one of the first times such a long take might have even been considered for TV. At over 6 minutes, this intense long take is one you should check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_HuFuKiq8U

Catching Fire

     The sequel to the The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, is going to be judged by critics and fans alike.  After Jennifer Lawrence's performance at the Academy Awards, all eyes will be on her.  The film is set to launch November 22 of this year.  The starring cast of the first movie returns with Woody Harrelson returns playing a role many have not seen him in, Stanley Tucci, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland and of course Jennifer Lawrence.

     In the second installment to a three part trilogy Katniss Everdeen and Petta Mellark return home after their win in the 74th annual hunger games.  The victors embark on a tour of all the districts and while this is happening a revolution seems to be stirring.  The cause of this revolution is none other then Katniss.

     I feel that this movie will be a big hit and that they are going to make a great sequel.  As long as the same intensity, great cinematography, costumes, and acting all stay the same or improve, the movie will be a big hit.  Jennifer Lawrence also seems to be attracting a certain type of audience to her movies and is now going to be in the next X-Men movie as well.  I am excited for this movie and can't wait to see it in theaters around Thanksgiving.

Rule 1: Cardio

Zombieland isn't very plot heavy or dramatic in any way. This movie is awesome because of the actions the characters have against zombies. One of the interesting parts of this film that I liked is how they named the characters, each of the four main characters are named based on where they want to go.  Except for Bill Murray who just plays as himself because he's awesome like that. Columbus, the wimpy teenager who is paranoid about everything and has rules to help him survive (such as cardio and wearing your seatbelt), feels bad for the zombies and doesn't like to hurt them. Tallahassee on the other hand is a big guy who will kill any zombie that is in his way of getting a twinkie.

This movie is full of moments where you're just like "what the f*** just happened?" adding to the comedy of it. Each of the four characters were casted perfectly to fit the personality and to add to the humor. Definitely a great movie that everyone should see (along with every other zombie movie I've posted about).

Zombieland

Zombieland, directed by Ruben Fleischer is about Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) a very shy kid who is just trying to get back to his family in Ohio to see if they are still alive because of the brutal attacks by the zombies. In his travels he meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a man who hates zombies. He accepts a ride from him to Columbus. They become hungry so they decide to break into an abandoned grocery store. At the store they fight off three zombies and bump into two teenage girls,Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). The younger girl has been bitten by one of the zombies and begs for them the kill her.When they find out that she really isn't infested they all stick together on their journey to an amusement park in Los Angeles that they heard was zombie-free. On the way they continue using Columbus' rules
to defeat zombies. Will he find his family? You need to watch and find out!

This movie is a great movie about zombies because they explain what is happening in their world which is very helpful since zombie attacks haven't been proven to be real. I like the way that Columbus tells us the rules when he performs them so we know exactly what to do. I also thought that the cinematography was very well done. Ruben did a great job telling the story and I would highly recommend this movie.


References:
Hare Trigger (1945), All About Eve (1950), "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958), For a Few Dollars More (1965), Deliverance (1972), Star Wars (1977), "The Incredible Hulk" (1978), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Caddyshack (1980), "Cheers" (1982),Scrooged (1988),What About Bob? (1991), Babe (1995), Kingpin (1996),Anaconda (1997),Titanic (1997),Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), "Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1" (2000), Garfield (2004), "Robot Chicken" (2005), "Hannah Montana" (2006), 2012 (2009/I)