Elysium

Quentin: What did you think of this one?

Jason: We went to see Elysium yesterday.

Jake: I thought it was great, but I know it left you cold, Q.

Quentin: Everything is leaving me cold these days. Maybe I should let you guys talk for a while.

Jason: Elysium is a dystopian sci-fi story set in the year 2154. The earth has been ravaged by disease and poverty, so the super-rich escape to a giant space station in the sky called Elysium. The director, Neill Blomkamp…

Jake: Who also directed District 9.

Jason: Thank you. He said the movie is very much about today, and he’s right. Just like I think The Hunger Games isn’t fantasy, the attitudes of the 1% in this movie are the same attitudes we live with now.

Fruitvale Station

Quentin: We went to see Fruitvale Station yesterday, but we decided to sleep on this one before we discussed it.

Jake: It’s about Oscar Grant, the young man who was shot and killed by a BART police officer in 2009.

Jason: The incident was recorded by several people on their cell phones and was widely viewed on YouTube. The three of us talked about this, and we didn’t see any reason not to lead with a link to one of those videos (after the jump). If you don’t want to watch, we don’t blame you. But this is why someone made a movie about Oscar Grant.

The Wolverine

Quentin: Jake, I think you should start us off today.

Jake: Okay. We went to see The Wolverine last night.

Jason: There weren’t very many people there.

Quentin: Never a good sign.

Jake: Afterward, in the car, I came up with this idea that kind of grew out of my frustration with the movie.

Quentin: Which was?

Jake: Not enough Wolverine. I know that sounds crazy, because it’s called The Wolverine and the character is in almost every frame. But it’s not crazy, is it?

The Way Way Back

Quentin: It’s nice to talk about a film we liked for a change.

Jake: Today we went to see The Way Way Back.

Jason: A movie with no explosions.

Quentin: Don’t get us wrong. We still love us a good action flick. But lately they haven’t been delivering the kind of thrills teenage boys look for.

Jake: So we turn to another genre we love: the coming-of-age drama.

Quentin: And we’ve had a couple of those as well this year.

Jake: Mud. The Kings of Summer.

Pacific Rim

Quentin: You should have laid your bet on this one, Jake.

Jake: Is it just me, or are all these movies starting to look the same?

Jason: It’s not just you.

Quentin: We went to see Pacific Rim today, but I could have sworn we walked into Transformers 4.

Jake: There was a little Top Gun in there too.

Quentin: And Star Wars.

Jason: And some Armageddon.

White House Down

Quentin: You owe me a hundred bucks, dude.

Jake: I do not owe you a hundred bucks.

Quentin: Bullshit. It didn’t end with a digital clock counting down.

Jake: But there was a digital clock as an element of the ending.

Quentin: That’s not what you said. “A hundred bucks says it ends with a digital clock ticking down.” That was the bet. We never saw the time past two minutes, and I consider how they handled it to be a twist on the cliché.

Jason: Plus the double ending.

Jake: You agree with him?

The Return Release Day Giveaway

Quentin: Time for another giveaway.

Jason: Only this time it's free books.

Quentin: Jake, you want to give us the lowdown?

Jake: Sure. We're giving away 5 free e-books of #TheReturn on July 5, 2013.

Jason: Release day.

Jake: This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, so there are several options.

• Tweet about the giveaway. 10 points.
• Follow us on Twitter. 5 points.
• Like Brad's Facebook page. 5 points.
• Tell us your favorite movie. 1 point.

Quentin: We also have a new feature this time, right?

Jake: Yes. You can refer a friend and get an extra point for each one you refer. Up to 10 extra points.

Jason: We strongly encourage people to use this feature. Help us spread the word and maybe Brad will stop complaining about how much we spend on popcorn.

Jake: The giveaway will run until midnight on 07-05-13.

Quentin: We'll hook up 5 winners with free e-books from either Dreamspinner Press or Amazon.

Jake: And Dreamspinner will be doing tweetaways of The Nothingness of Ben over the next two weeks, so people who have been hesitating to buy will have no excuse.

Jason: Though #TheReturn is not a sequel.

Quentin: But the action of #TheReturn does follow the action of Ben. Chronologically.

Jason: Yes, but they can be read in any order. Each book stands on its own.

Jake: Anyone who reads our reviews should read #TheReturn, because we're in it.

Jason: Albeit briefly.

Quentin: I got a few more scenes than you two.

Jake: Did you count your lines or something?

Quentin: Maybe.

Jake: Weirdo.

Jason: Enter today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

World War Z

Quentin: I was really surprised.

Jake: Much better than I expected.

Jason: After all the bad press, I thought for sure it would be a real stinker.

Jake: We went to see World War Z today.

Quentin: What was the deal with the push back?

Jake: It was originally scheduled for release in December, but supposedly the ending was” incoherent,” whatever that means. I would love to have seen it, just to know how bad it was. The studio pushed the release back six months, hired Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard to rewrite the third act, and then shot additional footage for two months. This is what they ended up with.

Jason: Do you think they fixed it?

This Is the End

Quentin: I thought Ben and Travis were never going to stop laughing at the end.

Jake: They were both off the rails.

Jason: Did you think it was that funny?

Jake: No!

Quentin: Not at all, but I think it was a generational thing. They're Seth Rogen’s age, and this particular pop culture reference hit them both in the sweet spot. And then Travis said, “Wait until Topher sees that.”

Jason: Ben said it was one of the funniest things he’d ever seen in his life.

Quentin: Hyperbole.

Jake: Whatever. We went to see This Is the End on Sunday, and since Ben and Travis both had the day off, we dragged them along with us.

Jason: But they’re not allowed to sit at the table.

Man of Steel

Quentin: That was not at all what I expected.

Jason: Today we went to see, big surprise, Man of Steel.

Jake: I actually wanted to see This Is the End. I’m just not that invested in Superman.

Quentin: I want to see that too, so maybe we’ll go this weekend and do another review.

Jason: Might as well, since school’s out.

Jake: What were you expecting, Q?

Quentin: Something more in line with tradition.

The Kings of Summer

Quentin: I thought this was going to be it.

Jake: Me too.

Jason: What are you talking about?

Jake: We were chatting last weekend about how we’ve been waiting for that one movie to come along. You know, that unexpected film that’s going to blow us away. Congrats on graduating from high school, by the way.

Quentin: Thanks.

Jason: Do you feel all grown up?

Quentin: No. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I won’t be a teenage boy forever.

Mud

Quentin: We’re posting this a day earlier than usual because Ben and Travis are taking us sailing this weekend for Cade’s birthday. We’re leaving for the lake right after school, so no time for a movie.

Jake: Finally, summer and sailing. I can’t wait.

Jason: And Quentin’s graduating from high school.

Jake: Is it getting real?

Quentin: I don’t want to talk about it.

Jason: So we went to see Mud today, because Jake kept pointing out the 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Quentin: Are we ready to swim against the tide of critical consensus?

Jake: Let’s do it.

The Return Top 40 Countdown

Quentin: Today we are introducing The Return Top 40 Countdown. Brad said something about Casey Kasem, but I don’t know who that is.

Jason: Since there is so much music in the book, Brad created a playlist of 40 songs that have some relevance to the story.

Quentin: As the songs countdown, they get more important.

Jason: Until #1, which is the most important song in the book.

Jake: And to get ready for release day, he’ll be posting one song each day on Twitter and Facebook, at 7:30pm CDT.

Quentin: From now until 07-05-13.

Jake: Release day.

Jason: #TheReturn

Quentin: So if you want to join in, follow him on Twitter or like his Facebook page.

Jake: For the record, though, you don’t need to be familiar with the music to enjoy the book.

Jason: Not at all.

Quentin: Brad calls it “value add.”

Jason: The countdown begins today.

Jake: As a bonus, we’re going to post #40 now, after the jump.

Before Midnight

Quentin: It’s nice to be back talking about movies.

Jake: We decided to say no to both Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover III.

Jason: And went to see Before Midnight instead.

Quentin: It’s good to support Austin filmmakers.

Jake: Richard Linklater is from Houston.

Quentin: I know. But Austin claims him. Slacker is one of the great chronicles of our fair city.

Jason: Can I recap?

Quentin: Go for it, little bro.

The Return Description Reveal & Giveaway

Quentin: This is turning into a full-time job.

Jason: We never do four posts in a week.

Jake: You're both so lazy. <kisses Jason>

Jason: Are you having fun?

Jake: Yes. I'm learning a lot about giveaways and widgets and shit. Did you know you can only run a giveaway on Facebook with a third-party app?

Jason: I didn't know that.

Quentin: Now ask me if I care?

Jake: I wasn't talking to you, jackass. Let's move on.

Quentin: So, people have been asking me, what is Brad's new book about?

Jason: Which is what brings us here today. The description is after the jump.

Jake: It ain't much.

Quentin: One paragraph. I'm probably going to get into trouble for saying this, but I feel people should know that the blurb describes maybe 15% of the book.

Jake: It barely scratches the surface.

Jason: Short and sweet. That's how Brad wanted it. "The less people know, the more they'll enjoy it."

Quentin: Jake, tell us about the giveaway.

Jake: It runs for 48 hours. The prize is another $25 Amazon gift card. Open to all readers worldwide, but once again, you must have an account with Amazon in some country. There are three ways to enter.

• Tweet about this post. The tweet and verification are built into the widget. It tells you how to find the link to your tweet and paste it into the entry so that we can verify you sent it. Since that's kind of a pain in the ass, it's worth 10 points.
• Answer a Three Amigos question. If you are a regular reader of the blog, you will know the answer. 5 points.
• Answer a question about The Nothingness of Ben. 5 points.

Jason: Can someone do all three?

Jake: Absolutely. If you tweet, and  you read Brad's first book, and you read the blog, you can enter to the tune of 20 points. That increases your chances of being randomly selected by Rafflecopter.

Quentin: We want to stress, we do not pick the winners.

Jason: Can we give the answer to the contest question?

Quentin: Yes. But we can't announce the winner until we verify the email. Jake, what's the answer?

Jake: "Born to Run". Bruce Springsteen. A couple of people answered "Slowhand" by Eric Clapton.

Quentin: Ben said that's a good guess, but Brad told me he's never seen that album cover in his life.

Jake: That's it for the giveaway. Read the Terms and Conditions. Quentin wrote them and they're pretty funny.

Quentin: Enough chat. Onto the description of The Return by Brad Boney...

The Return Cover Reveal & Contest

Quentin: Big day.

Jake: The cover of Brad's next book is after the jump.

Jason: The release date is 07-05-13. #TheReturn

Quentin: We also have a contest. Jake, do you want to give the details?

Jake: Sure. Brad told us that a famous album cover inspired the cover of the book. So, in order to be eligible for the $25 gift card, you must correctly identify the artist and album title. You can enter the contest after the jump, using the Rafflecopter widget.

Quentin: The widget looks a little cheapo.

Jake: I know, but I like the features.

Jason: If you don't know the answer, don't panic. We didn't know it either, but I called up David and he knew it right off.

Quentin: That's a hint. It's an album from the olden days, when they put music on vinyl. So call your parents.

Jason: Or any old person.

Jake: And if that doesn't work, I put these Facebook and Twitter buttons together. Ask your friends and followers if they know the answer.

Tweet

Quentin: Ask everyone you know. Are you sure the buttons work?

Jake: I'm pretty sure the Twitter button works. I'm less confident about the Facebook one. I guess we'll find out.

Jason: A winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter.

Jake: From all correct entries.

Quentin: What happens if no one knows the answer?

Jake: Then no prize will be awarded. But we'll take the $25 and add it to the next one on Wednesday. And you don't need to know anything to enter that giveaway.

Quentin: Anything else?

Jake: The contest runs for 48 hours. You must have an Amazon account in some country to claim your prize. Read the Terms and Conditions. And come back on Wednesday, when we'll reveal the book description and give away another gift card.

Quentin: Then if we're done with all that, we present the cover of The Return, by Brad Boney...

The Vampire Diaries Season 4

Quentin: We just finished watching the season finale of The Vampire Diaries.

Jake: Season 4.

Jason: We didn't plan on doing a review, but Jake was over here watching with us, and when it finished, we looked at each other and Quentin said, “Let’s hit the table.”

Jake: This is for people who have seen the final episode. SPOILERS AND LOTS OF THEM after the jump.

Quentin: Before we get started, don’t forget we’ll be revealing the cover of Brad’s next book tomorrow, May 20, at 7:30pm CDT.

Jason: #TheReturn.

Jake: There will also be a contest in conjunction with the reveal.

Jason: And a $25 Amazon gift card for one lucky winner.

Quentin: And we have the book description coming up on Wednesday.

Jason: #TheReturn.

Jake: With another $25 gift card.

Quentin: Lots of cash flying around on the blog next week. Okay, onto the review…

Star Trek Into Darkness

Quentin: Now that’s what I call a movie.

Jake: As you’ve probably guessed by now, we went to see Star Trek Into Darkness last night.

Jason: Full disclosure. We all agree that the J.J. Abrams first Star Trek was arguably the best reboot in franchise history.

Quentin: Amazing. I still can’t get over what he did.

Jason: So we came to this predisposed to like it.

Jake: And we weren’t disappointed.

Quentin: There is so much to enjoy here. Where to begin?

The Great Gatsby

Quentin: That was a somber experience.

Jake: We went to see The Great Gatsby today.

Jason: What were you expecting?

Quentin: I guess I thought he’d bring some fun to the story.

Jason: Baz Lurhmann, you mean?

Iron Man 3

Quentin: And we’re back.

Jason: We took a week off.

Jake: It was my fault. I couldn’t see another Dwayne Johnson film. Not to offend any of his fans, but it just wasn’t in me.

Quentin: I think the time off was good. We got non-stop films now that summer has officially begun in movie land.

Jake: We went to see Iron Man 3 today.

The Place Beyond the Pines

Quentin: We’re dividing this review into three parts.

Jason: The first part is spoiler free. And if you ask me, that’s the best way to see The Place Beyond the Pines. The less you know, the more you’ll like it.

Jake: The second part has no spoilers and avoids the entire last part of the movie. If you want to know a little more, but don’t want to have any major twists revealed, read this at your own risk.

Quentin: The last section is intended only for people who have seen the movie, or who have no intention of seeing the movie.

Jake: Or who want to know everything.

Jason: Do those people exist?

Jake: I’ve heard they do.

42

Quentin: Today we went to see 42 and we took our little brother Cade with us.

Cade: Little? I’m going to be 15 next month.

Jason: Not to mention you’ve grown four inches in the last year. You’re taller than me now.

Jake: What did you think of the movie, Cade?

Cade: It was cool. I like movies about the olden days. Travis knows the entire history of baseball, and he’s always telling me stories about the greats, so it was cool to see them come to life. I liked seeing Ebbets Field too, ‘cause it’s gone now. It was funny to watch Indiana Jones as Branch Rickey. And the guy who played Jackie Robinson did a good job.

By Request: Spring Breakers

Quentin: So, Brad sent me a text this morning. He got a tweet last night from one of his followers asking us to review Spring Breakers.

Jake: It’s been on our radar, but we had scheduling issues.

Jason: It’s the one movie last month that I regret we missed.

Quentin: So we went to see it today, and frankly, we left feeling like we missed something.

Jake: I don’t want to make an ass of myself by saying it sucked.

Jason: There’s something going on there. I just don’t know what it is.

Life of Pi and Argo

Quentin: Today we’re playing catch up on two movies that got past us last year: Life of Pi and Argo.

Jason: The Place Beyond the Pines has still not opened in Austin.

Jake: What’s that all about?

Quentin: Failure. And we have two movies next week we want to see, so things may be a little off-cycle this month.

Jason: We want to see Disconnect, but Travis and Cade want us to review 42, because it’s about Jackie Robinson.

Quentin: So we’re going to try and please everyone. Both of these films are available now on DVD or streaming rental. We watched Life of Pi last night and Argo today after school. Interesting double feature, wouldn’t you say, Jake?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Quentin: Today we went to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation. We planned on seeing The Place Beyond the Pines, but it didn’t open in Austin.

Jason: I wish our Flixster app would tell us when something is opening in limited release.

Quentin: That would be nice. We’ll go see it next week. Anyway, Jake is sitting here ready to explode.

Jake: <beats his head against the table> I’m pissed.

Jason: Don’t you love it when he gets this way?

Olympus Has Fallen

Quentin: Today we went to see Olympus Has Fallen. This movie is right in the Walsh brothers’ sweet spot.

Jason: I’ll say. We love a movie with things blowing up and saving the world.

Jake: This one certainly fits the bill.

Quentin: What did you think, Jake?

Jake: I doubt I enjoyed it as much as you did. But everyone knows exactly what they’re selling and it certainly delivers.

The Call

Quentin: Today we went to see The Call, and we have two special guests joining us. A big Three Amigos welcome to Colin and David. Hey, guys.

Colin Mead: It’s a thrill to be here. I read all your reviews. Big fan.

David Foster: Me too. Even though I think you’re too critical sometimes.

Jason: Really?

David: I liked Oz a lot.

Poll: What should we see March 22?

What Should We See?

We can't decide what movie to see on March 22, so help us by voting!

Check out the trailers after the jump.

Oz: The Great and Powerful

Quentin: First off, let me say, WELCOME TO SPRING BREAK!

Jason: Which means SXSW is only days away.

Jake: The Film and Interactive festivals start today.

Jason: I heard Justin Timberlake is in town.

Quentin: I heard everybody is in town. For the next ten days, Austin will be the center of the pop culture universe. To kick things off, we went to see Oz: The Great and Powerful today after school. Overall impressions?

Boy21

We did a review of Boy21 by Matthew Quick for Book Reviews & More by Kathy. This is a young adult novel written by the guy who wrote The Silver Linings Playbook. You can check out our review HERE. We'll be back on Friday with our take on Oz: The Great and Powerful.

21 and Over

Quentin: We're talking about 21 and Over today. When you read the description “American teen comedy,” you know exactly what you’re getting into, right?

Jake: Absolutely.

Jason: The setup is painfully simply. It’s not necessary to score points for originality.

Jake: Just execute it well.

Quentin: Which, at the end of the day, they didn't really do here.

Three Amigos Take Over

Quentin Walsh: Wow. This place looks like it got a face lift. We don’t have a review today, but we have a very special guest instead.

Jake McAlister: Can you really call him a guest?

Jason Walsh: Yeah, it’s kind of his blog.

Quentin: Not anymore. Welcome, Brad.

Jake: It’s so cool that you’re here.

Safe Haven

Quentin Walsh: I just want to point out that I went to this movie under protest.

Jason Walsh: It was my fault. I didn’t want to see Beautiful Creatures.

Jake McAlister: And I refused to see an action movie with a senior citizen. 

Jason: It had its moments.

Quentin: Come on. They were few and far between. We decided not to spoil the ending, right?

Warm Bodies

Quentin Walsh: Today we’re talking about Warm Bodies. This is a post-apocalyptic zombie movie with a warm and fuzzy center. It scores a lot of points for sticking the landing.

Jason Walsh: The last ten minutes were very nice.

Jake McAlister: Still, let’s not get carried away. It’s a minor film. This is February 1, after all. The graveyard of film releases.

Quentin: It’s not a bad movie.

Jake: No, it’s not. Everything is good but nothing is great. However, it is a bad movie when it comes to the use of a first-person voice over.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Quentin, Jason, and Jake went to see Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters after school. Turns out they wish they hadn't.

Quentin Walsh: Jesus, what a mess.

Jake McAlister: Not the worst movie I've ever seen, but close.

Jason Walsh: Are we just going to talk about how bad it was?

Jake: No. We're going to talk about Jeremy Renner.

Quentin: Good idea. I have two questions in mind. Can you guess what they are?

Jeremy the Vampire Slayer

Jules, one of the members on Goodreads, asked the boys if they would sit down and discuss season 4 of The Vampire Diaries. Quentin, Jason, and Jake were all too happy to oblige.

Quentin Walsh: Shout out to Jules!

Jason Walsh: We love this idea. Thanks for the request, Jules.

Quentin: Let’s jump right into it, shall we? Why did Klaus kill the hybrids?

Jake McAlister: It was so confusing.

Jason: There must be a scene missing.

The Django Unchained Roundtable

Quentin, Jason, and Jake sat down to discuss their reactions to Quentin Tarantino's new movie, Django Unchained.

Quentin Walsh: We should probably start with a disclaimer. We are huge Tarantino fans.

Jake McAlister: He is a god.

Jason Walsh: I don't know if I'd go that far, but he is certainly one of the most talented storytellers working in film today.

Quentin: And he and I share a name.

Jake: Is it true that you tell the kids at school you were named after him?