by Cory Woodroof | Oct 4, 2011 | News Slider
Fall is full swing as we enter the first week of October. This is the month when horror/thriller films are at their peak. While we don’t have any scary flicks to recommend today, here are two solid films for your enjoyment! X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (PG-13, 130 minutes-featuring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) *BLU-RAY OPTION RECOMMENDED The film will be on Redbox this Friday (10/7). The X-Men franchise is back in full swing with this electrifying prequel. This film follows the beginning days of the X-Men, telling the stories of Charles Xavier, a young, gifted professor and Eric Lensherr, a revenge-driven survivor of the Holocaust. The two mutants are brought together when a power force threatens the fate of the world. Assembling the finest mutants they can find, Charles and Eric take on the menace in this past summer’s best blockbuster film (in my opinion). McAvoy and Fassbender truly knock their performances out of the park. This is an immensely fun, engaging, stylish superhero film that I fully recommend for your viewing pleasure. It’s one of my favorites of the year, and I hope it’s one of yours. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (PG-13, 116 minutes-featuring Aaron Eckhart) *BLU-RAY OPTION RECOMMENDED Here’s another title that has been on Redbox for a while, but it’s still worth a rental. Battle: Los Angeles is a straight-forward alien invasion film told through the eyes of the soldiers combatting the enemy. While this film is nothing too deep or philosophical, it’s an action-filled ride that puts the viewer in the middle of the fight. I loved Eckhart’s no-nonsense Marine staff sergeant. He gives the film its...
by Cory Woodroof | Sep 28, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
It’s not every day you get to talk to a guy who has acted alongside such major Hollywood talents as Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Chris Pratt. It’s also not every day that this person is a former Lipscomb baseball player. Moneyball actor Casey Bond came back to the place where he spent his senior year of college this week to talk about his role as Chad Bradford in the book-turned-movie blockbuster. Casey Bond, former Lipscomb center fielder, recently acted in the new film Moneyball (based on the book by Michael Lewis). In the film, Bond’s character is a relief pitcher who played for the Oakland A’s during the 2002 season where the film gets its focus. Bond said he always had dreams of being a baseball player. Ever since childhood, baseball has been his passion. He played college ball at Birmingham-Southern in Alabama for three years until the school dropped the division one program. Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand arrived at the same time as Bond and offered him a position on the Lipscomb team as a captain and a center fielder. “I figured this was a great place to go for my senior year.” Bond remembers. In 2007, Bond was drafted into the major leagues with the San Francisco Giants. During the off-seasons, Bond would return to Nashville to take acting classes with The Actor’s School in Cool Springs and finish up school. After his time in the Major Leagues, Bond decided to venture into the world of Hollywood acting. “I loved movies, and I just decided it was something I wanted to do,” he...
by Cory Woodroof | Sep 28, 2011 | News Slider
It’s hard to believe we are already within the final lap of September. As the month dwindles down, here are some Redbox choices to satisfy your film needs. TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (PG-13, 140 minutes-featuring Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) *BLU-RAY OPTION RECOMMENDED The film will be on Redbox this Friday (9/30). While I have a special spot in my heart for the first Transformers film, I have a special place in the trash can for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I could go on all day on why the second installment just flat out reeks, but thankfully, director Michael Bay made up for the lousy second film with Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The best word to describe this film is insane. Bay and crew deliver some enthralling action sequences on top of a pretty interesting plot. The “cheesy” humor may be back, but it’s dialed down. I totally recommend this film for fans of the series (yes, the 2nd film has a few fans) or for anyone who is just in the mood for almost two and a half hours of pure Bayhem (yep, that’s a word…kind of). TRUE GRIT (PG-13, 110 minutes-featuring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, and Josh Brolin) *BLU-RAY OPTION RECOMMENDED Even though this title was released on Redbox this past summer (and in theaters back during December 2010), I still want to bring it up while it’s still out. True Grit was one of my favorite films from 2010. The Coen Brothers (O Brother, Where Art Thou) have directed the second adaptation of the classic novel. The first adaptation, the John...
by Cory Woodroof | Sep 20, 2011 | News Slider
I really don’t think there is anything Brad Pitt can’t do. While some uneducated film-goers may write him off as one of Hollywood’s hollow “pretty boys”, most film lovers recognize that Pitt is one of the best actors in cinema right now. In Moneyball (based off the novel Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game), Pitt takes the reigns and delivers a fantastic performance as Billy Beane, the GM of the Oakland A’s. Billy Beane’s life revolves around baseball. He, in his glory days, was a star baseball player who was taken into the major leagues right out of high school. Beane’s journey in the major leagues drives his desire for success. Now the manager for a mediocre organization, he loses three major players and looks ahead to the future. His world is turned upside down when he meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Brand, a scout for a rival organization, has a method of baseball that will change the method of scouting (and baseball) forever. Beane is quick to take Brand away from his old job and offer him a position with the A’s. The duo work together to craft a great team on the A’s meager budget and prove their naysayers wrong. The film follows the A’s 2002 season, as well as gives a striking character study of Beane. This is not just a movie about baseball. This is an engrossing look into the life of a man who is willing to do everything he can to be successful, even if it means approaching a radical method of carrying out business. The film itself depends on Pitt’s...
by Cory Woodroof | Sep 19, 2011 | News Slider
As we soak in the last few days of “summer”, here is a Redbox choice to ease you into the fall. THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (PG-13, 99 minutes-featuring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terence Stamp, and Anthony Mackie) This title has been on Redbox for a while now, but since there were not any new releases this week I chose to recommend, I’m going back a little bit. The Adjustment Bureau is a sleek, stylish thriller that hosts two wonderful performances and an engaging plot. What I loved about this film is the general vibe. Damon and Blunt are just great on-screen together. The film (based off of a Philip K. Dick short story) can best be described as being just flat-out entertaining. It’s an interesting flick that I recommend you check out if you already have not. We are short on choices this week, but if you have not yet checked out the movies I’ve recommended in the past, then I highly suggest you check out the first two Redbox Reports. Now, for the first time, I am going to simply list three films to avoid that are currently on Redbox. 1. SUCKER PUNCH – I saw this in theaters and asked for my money back after the film was over. ‘Nuff said. 2. ARTHUR – The film was not a total loss, but it leaves you right after you watch it. There are plenty of other, better films out besides this one. 3. RED RIDING HOOD – The film could have been something fun and eerie but turned out to be a Twilight tribute band. Well, there you have...
