Batson's Blog

Ooh. I'm a bit disheartened writing this review because I had such high hopes for this one. Some people don't like Kevin Hart, but I think he's hilarious. He's got this charisma and style to his punchlines that just kills me. The Rock usually does well, too. He's one of the most successful dudes in Hollywood right now. I figured Central Intelligence would be a great movie with those two involved. Unfortunately, I was wrong. This was one of those movies where the trailer showed the best parts of the movie. They took a different route than the typical buddy cop movie plot. Instead of having two guys team up to the save the world, they through a twist in there. The Rock's character -- Bob Stone -- was a good guy. Or was he bad? Or maybe good? Or bad? The storyline throughout the movie had you guessing whether his character was an insane bad guy or a misunderstood agent. It was different. I'll give them credit for that. It didn't r...

I generally like to keep things light-hearted on this blog. I like to blog about music, movies, TV shows --- things that can help take my mind off of the real world. I don't bury my head in the sand, avoiding the world's issues, but I work in the media and I get enough news during my daily 9 hour shifts. It's gotten to the point that I don't even like watching certain movies, like London Has Fallen (not the best plot anyway), because it's just too close to reality with some of the various terror attacks that have happened across the world.   House of Cards was a fun show, but I'm not sure if the next season will, again, seem too close to reality. I use my entertainment to be entertained and to escape the partisan issues that seem to be spilling over everywhere online and on TV. Again, I'm not dodging the reality of the world. I just get enough of it at work. I know a lot of my colleagues in the news media can relate to that sentiment. But today...

I watched Nine Lives the other day. It was a pretty decent movie. With all the bitterness and anger in the world, even on the weekends, I wanted something light and without any controversy. What better choice than a family comedy about a man being trapped in the body of a cat? It didn't disappoint. While it was far from amazing -- definitely not an all-time classic, it was alright. It served its purpose. Some over-the-top cat antics (which lead to some not-so-believable CGI) and a little bit of bland acting prevented it from being better. The story is about a big-time businessman who is obsessed with building the largest building in the USA. He devotes all of his time to that quest, not giving enough attention to his second wife (Jennifer Garner) and their daughter (Malina Weissman). He also neglects to give any kind of credit to his son (Robbie Amell) from his first marriage -- who works for his father. Kevin Spacey was great throughout the movie (even if he...

One of my co-workers asked me the other day if The Jungle Book was any good. 'I hadn't seen it,' I said, 'so I'm not sure.' But, the other night I saw it on Netflix and thought, 'Huh. Why not?' I wasn't expecting too much. I'm still kind of torn on this whole 'live action Disney classics' thing that Disney is going forward with these days. I haven't seen the live action Cinderella , so I'm not sure if that was any good. Maleficent was very good. I'm intrigued by The Beauty & The Beast. The original trailer, with a minimal glimpse into the movie, looked good, but have you seen the Beast? The costuming/CGI combo looks like the work of an amateur -- not that of a multi-billion dollar company like Disney. I was never a huge fan of the animated Jungle Book movie anyway. It wasn't bad. I loved the songs. I remember singing the Bare Necessities when I was a kid. Even though the movie wasn't one I ...

Updated @ 11:02 pm Match 7: Elimination Chamber Match - continued Wyatt is going vicious with the ground-and-pound on Styles. Styles hits a sliding dropkick to Wyatt's left knee.  Forearm and a cover, but no luck. Wyatt back bridges up though.  Sister Abigail attempt, but AJ counters. Phenomenal Blitz by Styles, but he's clotheslined by Wyatt. 450 by Styles on Wyatt, but that doesn't do it. Styles removes his elbow pad.  Jumps up but Sister Abigail. 1, 2, 3 -- Bray Wyatt wins! Winner: Bray Wyatt (new WWE World Heavyweight Champion) I'm surprised, but I'll take it.  Hopefully he does good things in his reign --- Updated @ 10:57 pm M atch 7: Elimination Chamber Match - continued All three men are down on the mat right now.  Sister Abigail on John Cena.  Wyatt eliminates Cena!! --- Updated @ 10:56 pm M atch 7: Elimination Chamber Match - continued AJ Styles and Wyatt team up (or appear to) for ...

There's been some good progress since my last blog on T. The Beverly Hillbillies is being released season-by-season, The Nanny is out on DVD, and Batman is available on DVD. Unfortunately there are still a lot of great TV shows and some very good movies that aren't available on Hulu, Netflix or on DVD. Below is a list of some of the most deserving. Extra #1 Empty Nest Okay. This one is one I mentioned before, but it's still not on DVD and, most definitely, should be. It's too entertaining not to be available for purchase! Despite being a sitcom that was probably meant for older people, I enjoyed it when I caught reruns every now and then as a teenager. I figured they'd put this out, for sure, after Betty White's resurgence a few years ago, but no such luck. Where you can find it: Laff TV -- in some areas . Extra #2 Good Morning, Miss Bliss Another one that baffles me! It is actually available as part of the 'Saved By The Bell' pa...