Perkins' 14

Starring: Patrick O'Kane, Richard Break, & Shayla Beesley

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

This has got to be the strangest looking, least talented cast I've ever seen. They must have gotten every freaky looking goon with a Screen Actors Guild card to star in this thing and it was amateur hour to the extreme. The story isn't so bad to start out, a man who suffered a tragedy wants to get back at the people who didn't do anything to help him. He does this by kidnapping 14 of the towns children, and yes, his name was Perkins. This strange, evil, little man decided to drug these kids with PCP, until there brains are mush, and then he tortured them into become zombies, who would be unleashed if anything ever happened to him, and yes, something happens to him. From there, this film becomes one badly acted gorefest that makes no sense at all. Body parts fly, intestines come out and get consumed, and the town of Stone Cove becomes overrun. This whole thing was ridiculous and I can't believe it was chosen to be part of the After Dark Horrorfest. It's so badly directed and cast that it looks like some kids film class project, Perkins' 14 shouldn't be in a Horrorfest collection, it should be a joke on Mystery Science 3000.

White Irish Drinkers

Starring: Nick Thurston, Geoff Wigdor, & Karen Allen

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

White Irish Drinkers is a coming of age story, centered around a boy who doesn't quite fit in with the rest of his dysfunctional family. It's a common theme in many similar films and to be honest, I didn't see anything here, that made this movie stand out from the rest of them. This is just another coming of age film without many surprises. The story wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special. The acting was OK, as was the pace of the film. I'm finding it really difficult to say anything positive or negative about White Irish Drinkers, because the truth is, it's just a simple, ordinary story that I've seen a hundred times before. The names and places always change, and there was a familiar face or two, but nothing about this film stands out positively or negatively in any way. It's just a very common type of story with a very ordinary cast. Everyone does their job and the story gets told, I don't know what you'll think, but my reaction to this film was simple neutrality. A decent movie, but easily forgotten, as nothing made any kind of impact on me at all.

What Doesn't Kill You

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, & Amanda Peet

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This was a pretty intense movie, but it felt as though as I watching it in fast forward. What Doesn't Kill You is the story of two brothers, who grow up in poverty and whom turned to organized crime to survive. For fifteen years, they did what they were told, but with the boss on his way to prison, they decide to go off on their own. Admittedly, it's a tremendous story that follows the paths of these brothers over  the course of the next few years, the problem was that in this movie, years translate into about 10 minute intervals. Instead of giving us a complete and accurate portrayal, the director decided to cut the story into small fragments, usually no longer than a minute or two. Something is said, something happens, and then were on to another something, when? where? who knows!? The movie moved so fast and was so choppy, that it left my head spinning. Despite the confusion, it was pretty entertaining and Mark Ruffalo gives an unbelievable performance. Here's another example of a guy I've seen around, never thought much of, who randomly shows up in a B-movie and just makes the whole film worth watching. If you're able to keep up, and this movie doesn't confuse you into an absolute stupor, it's not bad. The story is solid, the cast is good, and it has it's moments, but again only if you can get passed the ridiculous pace the director has decided to set for us.

All The Celebs Are Celebrating My Birthday!!!

Yes, the rumors are true... It's my birthday and I'm... old... I want to thank everyone for the awesome birthday wishes and selfishly wanted to show off the celebrity shout outs from Twitter and Facebook, because I was really impressed by the sheer amount of people in Hollywood who visit this blog and took the time out of their day to wish me a happy birthday!

Jonathan Tucker - Actor - The Black Donnelly's, The Ruins, Texas Chainsaw Massacre - @jonathanmtucker - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!

Will Rothhaar - Actor - Battle Los Angeles, Hearts In Atlantis, Black & Blue - @poetiqrothhaar - Happy Birthday brother, hope you're having an incredible day!

Mike Gange - Producer - The Howard Stern Show - @mikegangehtv - Happy Birthday!

Mitch Allan - Singer - Lead Singer of Satellite & Sr-71 - @mitchallan - Happy Birthday Todd!!!!

Blaine Hogan - Actor - Prison Break - @blainehogan - Happy BDay sir.

Gilbert Gottfried - Actor/Comedian - Aladdin, Problem Child - @realgilbert - happy birthday Todd

Bill Milner - Actor - X-Men First Class, Son of Rambo - @bill_milner - Happy Birthday! Have a great day

Riley Smith - Actor - Radio, Drive, Eight Legged Freaks - @rileysmith - happy birthday to ya.

Yucko The Clown - Comedian - The Howard Stern Show - @yuckotheclown - congrats on getting your head pushed pushed out yer moms snatch today

Paul Butcher - Actor - Zoey 101, The Number 23 - @thepaulbutcher - aww happy birthday! have the best one ever!

Matt Friction - Singer - Lead Singer of The Pink Spiders - @mattfriction - Happy Birthday!

Dylan Riley Snyder - Actor - Kickin' It, Life During Wartime - @dylanrsnyder - Hope you had an amazing birthday! Be grateful for all you have!

Adam Butcher - Actor - Saint Ralph, Mirror Mirror - @adambutcherstar - happy birthday Todd. Have a good one! - Adam

Spencer List - Actor - Bereavement, The Offspring - @spencerlist - Happy birthday

Sage Northcutt - Athlete/Model - @sagenorthcutt01 - Happppyy bdayy

Eric Balfour - Actor - 24, Skyline, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - @ericbalfour - happy birthday!

Nic Pueshe - Actor/Skater/Tennis Pro - Nic & Tristan Go Mega Dega - @pueshetennis - Happy B-Day

Colin Ford - Actor - We Bought A Zoo, Dog Days of Summer, Push - @colinfordactor - happy birthday!

Troye Sivan - Actor/Singer - Spud, X-Men Origins: Wolverine - @troysivan18 - happy birthday!! Have a good one

Buckcherry - Band - @buckcherry - happy birthday!

Bridger Zadina - Actor - Law & Order: SVU, Terri, Iron Man 3 - @BridgerZadina - Happy (possibly belated) Birthday!

Oleander - Band - @oleanderband - Happy Birthday Todd!!

Scott Lucas - Singer - Lead Singer of Local H (My Favorite Band!) - Happy Birthday Todd......Now return to your duties and remain productive.

Brandon Tyler Russell - Actor/Model - Smitty, Prison Break, Tosh.0 - happy birthday

...I also got a few long messages from people I know personally, that I won't re-post like Logan Lerman, Remy Thorne, Bella Thorn, and Matty B.

Thank you so much to all my friends, celebrity or not, in total I've received over 100 birthday messages and I am more than overwhelmed and so grateful. I'm really happy that I have such wonderful friends and family. I am also thankful to have the ability to write a blog that people find useful and that I am able to express my opinions in a way that matters to people, even the people I'm actually talking about. You guys are the best! Thank you for making my birthday an amazing one!

-Todd

Playback (2012)

Starring: Toby Hemingway, Johnny Pacar, & Ambyr Childers
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Playback is a B-Horror film that in a sense is nothing more than a new take on the Amityville Horror. Instead of a demon possessing a house, the demon in this film, keeps his spirit alive on videotape, and when someone sees the tape, they become the next possessed killer. The story was entertaining but wasn't really anything new or extraordinary and the same can be said about the cast. The cast, led by The Covenant's Toby Hemingway, wasn't one of the most talented casts I've ever seen, but they may have been the best looking. There are some really good looking people in this film, and believe it or not, it helps to keep your attention. The film is a little dull and predictable at times, but there is always something nice to look at. This movie isn't original and won't shock or surprise you, but it may just entertain you for a couple hours and it will most certainly have your eyes glued to the screen.

The Dark Knight Rises

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, & Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Most of the regular readers of this blog will know that I loath superheros, except for Batman. I've always felt there was so much more then meets the eye when it came to that character, but even I didn't see Batman's full potential until Christopher Nolan took the reigns. In all 3 of his Batman films, Nolan made the Dark Knight as realistic as possible, with characters we can relate to, real situations, and real dialogue, that's free of all the ridiculous puns it's predecessors loved so much. The third installment takes places eight years after the events of the Dark Knight, when Gotham has been safe, and the Batman wasn't needed. That is until the powerful Bane shows up. Unlike the first two, this script does not follow the original comic story and skews off in several different ways. Unless you're a longtime fan of the series, you won't realize it, but for us fans, there are some very unexpected developments, which I assume were thrown in to throw off even the most die-hard fans. As for the film, it was amazing in every way possible and was everything I expect from Christopher Nolan, but still, it lacked something and that something was an extraordinary villain. We were all spoiled in The Dark Knight with one of the best performances of all time, and while this film is remarkable, it's lacking a stand out performance from one of it's stars. I can find very little fault with this film other than the fact that no one character really stood out and made themselves as memorable as Heath Ledger did in the Dark Knight.

Choose (2011)

Starring: Katheryn Winnick & Kevin Pollak
Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Choose is an ambitious horror movie, featuring a psychopath who makes their victims choose their fates, stating that every choice has a consequence. The story is a seemingly good one and the key to finding this person is finding the pattern, a good old fashion detective story. It's a very solid story too, in the beginning they actually pretend you have a brain, and let you try and figure some things out for yourself. Initially, I was fascinated with this film, but somewhere along the way they figured that we wouldn't get it and they started dumbing it down for us, leading to an ending that just destroys the film. I absolutely fucking hate it, when I sit through and enjoy a movie, only to have it ruined at the end by some ridiculous, sensationalized, Hollywood ending that doesn't make any sense! The story was strong, the cast was great, and I was really into this thing, but like our economy, things just started getting worse and worse, leading up to an ending that was completely idiotic. It's not a bad movie, in fact it starts out as a great movie, but if you decide to give it a try, I'm warning you ahead of time, you won't like how it ends!