Let Me Show You What I Want for Christmas

Wish your mom knew what you wanted for Christmas? FilmCrave’s new movie wish list feature does just that. Users can easily add movies to their wish list and email it to their mom or anyone else, and voila! She now knows what DVDs you want for the holidays.

The email you send contains links to your personal movie list page. From there they can view your wish list and see changes as you make them. The best part is, each movie on your wish list links to Amazon, making purchasing movies a breeze.

Don’t remember your mom’s email? No way, you’re not that bad of a person! But in case you are, the innovative masterminds that created FilmCrave have made importing your address book easy. When you’re ready to email your list, simply hook up your Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo or MSN contacts into FilmCrave through the address importer. Go ahead. Send it to everyone on your list and make sure you get every DVD, twice.

This feature isn’t only for the holidays though. Users can send any number of movie lists and reviews to their friends and family. This enables users to instantly share the movie review they just wrote or the movie list they just created.

For those underprivileged soles who haven’t had the pleasure of using FilmCrave: FilmCrave is the only movie social network that fully integrates user interaction with movie reviews, intuitive movie lists, trailers, DVDs and the most innovative movie forum on the planet. FilmCrave is the authority in movie list creation. Because of their comprehensive formula, they’re able to offer compiled “top movie lists” that are based not only on overall member ratings but member created movie lists as well.

Chrome vs. FireFox 3.0

Alright, I will admit it I am a FireFox fan, but I decided to give Google's new Chrome a shot. I expected something a bit more "new" but what I saw was an application that reminded me a lot of Safari, which is also a good browser.

Immediately I liked the layout of their tabs, it looked a bit cleaner and less blocky. I found that the "out of the box" settings are a big dumb. For instance, when you open a new tab it takes you to a page that shows you recent history instead of opening a page that you designate. If I wanted to view my recent history I would go to my history page or a bookmark, usually I want to see my iGoogle page.

I also like the "incognito mode" that keeps your browsing history private. The thing about this mode is the fact that Google has been under fire for how much information they normally track, so to me if I have to use their browser I am skeptical on how much more info they are tracking outside of this new "porn mode".

The one big flaw I saw was with it's url bar. FireFox 3.0's Awesome Bar is far superior. It does contextual searches for page titles and urls instead of just page titles. When I visited Filmcrave and then went to type in the url again. I typed in "crave" and it highligted crave.com -- I never even visited that site! I didn't like that at all. If I type in crave into Firefox 3.0, I get all sorts of Filmcrave related pages. Much nicer.

The final thing I looked at was memory consumption. Chrome appears to use less, but it is a bit deceiving because it opens up each tab as a new process while in the meantime the main process grows in size each time as well. From a fresh reboot I opened the same 4 websites. FireFox used 77mb total and Chrome used 91mb (all the processes combined). I am sure as you close your websites and it releases all of the memory that Chrome ends up using less on average, but overall it isn't that special.

In the end I was expecting Chrome to be something substantially different, and I found that it was basically a cross between Safari and IE8 due to be out this spring. Until then I am sticking with FireFox, which ironically is being funded by Google until 2011.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2.5/4 stars)

While I don't regret going to this movie at all, I am hard pressed to find things I can actually say were really good. The movie uses the typical action/adventure formula with goofy sidekicks, witty dialog and obvious story line (think The Mummy). So with that said, Spielberg disappointed me. Fortunately for him, this formula still works decently and made for a film that I enjoyed overall.

There were a couple of scenes that ruined my enjoyment however. To me, I separate the supernatural from the natural and when something in a movie that is supernatural occurs I am willing to believe it for the movie's sake. But when something natural happens that just couldn't happen, I have trouble getting past it. For example, in this movie Indiana takes cover in a refrigerator at a nuclear test site right before it is blown to smithereens. He then flies over a mile in the air and drops down without a scratch. These type of things ruin movies for me because they are just way too unrealistic.

Another scene was when Shai's character turns into Tarzan and is one with the monkeys. Sure monkey's are cool but this whole scene could have been removed.

It wasn't all like that, most of the action was fun to watch and even sometime funny. Overall I wasn't expecting much and it exceeded my expectations, but I was still expecting more from Spielberg who I have been slowly loosing faith in as a Director that can do something new and unique.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Movie Reviews and Trailers

World Trade Center (2/4 stars)

I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie, but I thought I was either going to love it or hate it. I can't honestly say I "hated it" but I was bored by it. I also couldn't help but think that if this movie wasn't about a real event that affected so many people around me that I would have probably turned it off.

The way Oliver Stone went about introducing the characters and their lives was ordinary and didn't every build anything up. They went into the building, they got trapped, they stayed their a while and they were rescued. The whole time I was hoping someone would rescue me from the movie.

If there was a silver lining with this movie, it was the emotional and heart-felt moments. I thought most of these were performed excellently by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Her performance was great.

I can’t see myself ever watching this movie again.

See more movie reviews and movie trailers

Doomsday Movie, So horrible it almost made it awesome, but didn't (1/4 stars)

There were so many problems with this film. It was way, way, way over-the-top much in the same way Mad Max and Escape from NY was. Except with this film, I don't have the fond childhood memories that are the reasons I think those movies are so entertaining.

The plot was weak, but I am not going to knock it too much because of that. Because anyone going to watch this film isn't watching it for good acting or a plot. They are watching it for action and more action. As far as the action went, this film delivered as promised. So why such a low rating you may be asking?

My problem with the movie was there were so many things they could have done better. They have a country full of people who are trapped inside the walls yet no one on the outside has looked in close enough to realize there are people everywhere until 25 years goes by. Seems a bit shady. Also, people have become canibles after just that many years? I almost understood this part because they said they had no food, yet there were cows everywhere, why didn't they just eat the cows.

Another part of the movie where I was like "this is way too much" was when they entered a time warp. Basically, they travel a day north where instead of cities they have a castles, peasants, executioners and a gladiator pit. A bit far-fetched to me. Then to make matters worse they escape end up finding a beautiful 2008 Bentley in a fall out shelter. Miraculously, the car is in perfect running condition and they drive off charging a 25 year old cell phone that they use to call the motherland. So how is it that they can call out on an old cell phone with no towers yet the people that were trapped there were cut off entirely? It was things like this that urked me because they could have done so much better just leaving out a few things.

Even the car chase seen was dumb. The car crashes through a bus that blows up and it doesn't even have a scratch. Stupid. Escape from NY was much more believable which is why this film sucks so bad.

Don't waste your money unless you have drank a substantial amount first, then the movie may be quite funny.

To see the Doomsday Movie Trailer visit Filmcrave.com

Rambo (4/4 stars) - The Best Rambo Yet :Rambo saves Burma

Girls beware, this is the ultimate guy movie. Not the guy movies that come out nowadays like "Transformers" but the traditional action-packed guy movies from the days of Steven Segal and well... Sylvester Stallone. The kind where the plot sucks but you can't turn it off because it is exciting to watch. Blood oozing, limbs flying, heads exploding awesomeness.

Rambo is not exactly known for its dialog, in depth plot or acting, which is why I love this movie. It didn't try to be something it is not. Stallone simple got huge (off of Human Growth Hormones) and kicked some ass.

Film critics will probably shoot holes in all the movie's flaws and the lack of dept, maybe the crappy acting, but to them I ask this "Would you say that to Rambo's face?"

I give this movie 4 stars because I do not want Rambo knocking down my door.

Check out the Rambo Movie Trailer

Sublime (3.5/4 stars)

I just stumbled across this movie at blockbuster, I didn't expect much, yet was very surprised at how good it was. Thomas Cavanagh who played 'George Grieves' was really good and the director Tony Krantz kept the mood creepy throughout. I actually felt sick to my stomach thinking about what George was going though and how helpless I would feel. Shanna Collins, who played the nurse Chloe, was also very good and convincingly had me intrigued.

Overall, I woudn't consider this a horror but more of a thriller. There were no scares and cheap thrills but instead a whole bunch of events that added to a sad mood that collectively made me cringe. This type of story has the ability to make a person question what is real and what isn't. More importantly this movie makes the horror stories that you hear on 60 minutes a reality.

This movie will stick with you a long time, 3.5 stars for a thrilling ride and a great ending.

Check out the Sublime Movie Trailer

The Best Rambo Yet - Rambo saves Burma (4/4 stars)

Girls beware, this is the ultimate guy movie. Not the guy movies that come out nowadays like "Transformers" but the traditional action-packed guy movies from the days of Steven Segal and well... Sylvester Stallone. The kind where the plot sucks but you can't turn it off because it is exciting to watch. Blood oozing, limbs flying, heads exploding awesomeness.

Rambo is not exactly known for its dialog, in depth plot or acting, which is why I love this movie. It didn't try to be something it is not. Stallone simple got huge (off of Human Growth Hormones) and kicked some ass.

Film critics will probably shoot holes in all the movie's flaws and the lack of dept, maybe the crappy acting, but to them I ask this "Would you say that to Rambo's face?"

I give this movie 4 stars because I do not want Rambo knocking down my door.

Check out other Rambo Reviews

It’s Showtime: FilmCrave Innovatively Adds Movie Trailers

FilmCrave.com, a Kansas City based movie social network, showed yet again that they hear their members by providing them with thousands of new movie titles and movie trailers. Unlike other social networks where member suggestions fall on deaf ears, the crew of FilmCrave wanted to make sure their members were happy.

"We had a few requests for movies that weren’t in our database, so we decided to take it a step further and have more than doubled our database." Said Alex Olson, one of the founders of FilmCrave.com.

Along with the doubling of their movie database, FilmCrave.com innovatively added movie trailers. The way in which the trailers are presented should enable users to participate on the site and watch trailers at the same time, proving usability is a priority. There are no pop ups and nothing to download, allowing for seamless integration with FilmCrave. "Usability has been a huge focus of FilmCrave from the beginning," replied Nick Barry, co-founder and lead programmer, when asked about the new features. "We consistently see other sites sprout up and fail. Most of the time it is because they don’t listen to their members."

The usability Nick refers to doesn’t just stop at movie trailers. It is shown throughout the website design, allowing new members to utilize full features of the site right away. Members can write and read movie reviews, share movie lists, chat with friends and participate on the website in countless other ways. In addition, FilmCrave spouts intuitive technology: incorporating their instant movie search, drag and drop movie lists, and advanced features that don’t require the page to refresh.

Much of the site’s direction has been chosen based on feedback provided by members. Member feedback has been gathered by communicating directly to members, conducting surveys that ask them for suggestions, and measuring satisfaction. Josh Collins, the third co-founder that currently makes up the FilmCrave trifecta, touts that, "by finding out exactly what our member’s want, we can avoid the pitfalls many of our competitors have fallen to."

FilmCrave realizes that in order to compete in the social networking arena, they have to go beyond just movie data. They have to innovate the way it is shown and how users interact with it. Other competitors struggle keeping members happy. FilmCrave’s founders attribute this to poor design and features that are hard to use.

Boys and Girls Guide to getting Down (3/4 stars)

A riot. The idea was clearly taken right from the "Hitchhiker's Guide." If you want a movie with a real plot this is not your film. However, if you want a movie with funny narration, interesting graphics and an almost documentary feel this is for you. The movie was broken up into several "guides" starting with how to get into clubs and eventually covering topics like "Sketchy drugs vs. Fun drugs" and "Greasing the Bartender's wheels".

I learned quite a bit about how to store cocaine, how to detect a coke whore, what to do to avoid the awkward morning after a hookup and how to get into a club. I think the movie is better if you can relate some of the things they go over, so if you are a homebody and have never been around that crowd you may find it hard to enjoy. But I could be wrong.

I give this movie 3 out of 4 coke lines off a nipple.

More movie reviews like this one at Filmcrave.com

Halloween 2007 (2.5/4 stars) - Too much of a good thing kills the movie

Very high expectations led me to be disappointed in this movie. Rob Zombie’s directing is proving to be mediocre with the same old formula of raw camera work, over-the-top dialog and gore that tries too hard to be shocking. Some of his movies this works, but with this one it hurt the mystique of the original movie.

Part of the reason the original Halloween was so good was because it took place in an ordinary town, with ordinary people and a seeming ordinary boy (Michael Myers) killed his family. But in Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Michael Myers family comprises of a stripper mother, a violent, drunk, cripple step dad, a teenage whore of a sister and Michael who tortures small animals. The town is also made up of degenerate white trash kids, which make it hard to relate to any of the characters. The dialog was part of the reason I found myself disconnected from movie, it was so exaggerated it came off as phony.

There were some good scenes relating to Michael Meyers and his history that I enjoyed, but half the movie was this back story and then the movie seemed to try to play catch up. Most of the killings were done pretty well and followed a typical hacker/slasher formula. I wish that there was a little bit more suspense with the killings. Occasionally, it would have been nice to show all the action and leave a little to your imagination. But that is defiantly something Rob Zombie is not known for.

Overall, it wasn’t good but it wasn’t bad. It also depends what type of horror you like. I like the eerie, suspenseful type of horror rather than the gore fests. If you love gore than this movie may appeal to you more.

see more Halloween movie reviews on FilmCrave.com

Superbad (3.5/4 stars)

This is one of the funniest, awkward teen movies ever. The dialog was really dry and witty, though there was some physical comedy to mix it up. Most of the humor was toilet humor, which is exactly the way I like it. How many balls and vagina jokes can you hear before you get sick of them? I am not sure it is possible.

I am glad this movie was rated "R" because they could keep it in the gutter the whole time instead of trying to play for the younger crowd. But most of all I am glad that there is another male that is obsessed with drawing penises ever chance they can. What a relief!

See more of Superbad movie reviews

King Kong - 2006 (3/4 stars)

I really liked this film but am hesitant to watch it again but the first hour was so slow. Adrien Brody kept this movie going once they hit the island and although I liked Jack Black his character still reminded me to much of his comedies and that wasn’t what this movie was about. Still the special effects were great and it was nice to see most of the old scenes done in the new movie. This was especially true with the battling of the dinosaur, even though Peter Jackson had Kong fight numerous ones to make it more action packed.

Another benefit of the special effects was that Kong was able to have more of a personality mostly due to having pronounced facial expressions. This really helped drive the “beauty and the beast” drama home and made me feel for him more.

It has been almost two-years since I have seen this movie and so many scenes have stuck with me which is what makes a movie great. Still, I also remembered being bored off my ass for almost and hour at the start of the movie. Watch it for yourself and decide.

Check out other king kong reviews at filmcrave.com

Apocalypto 2.5/4 stars

First off, this movie is beautiful to watch and for the most part, Mel Gibson does a great job with the film. For me, the movie misses on a few huge aspects and we are left with a movie that should have been great but ends up being humorous at times. It is a story about the Aztec civilization and there quest to appease the gods with human sacrifice. They seek out the natives in the forest to enslave and kill them. This is the first part of the movie where Mel starts messing up. The Aztec’s behead their slaves, but this beheading is not only humorous, watching the heads bounce down the stairs, but it ruins the drama and brings the tension back to square one. So while the tension of the prophesy coming true is beginning, the audience is laughing at the head with the body following it down the stairs. The next problem I have with this film is due to the predictability and improbability of the second half of the film. Most of the battles and deaths you could see coming from a mile away and though the big chase through the forest was interesting and intense at times it was over the top. For instance, the main character, Jaguar Paw, receives an arrow wound to the stomach and somehow manages to run for over 12 hours without stopping. I realize he is the prophecy but this is a little extreme and the events that follow the chase are a bit too much like Rambo. I am being a bit more harsh about this movie than others of its type because it had the making to be a classic, to be like Last of the Mohicans, but it will end up being just another decent movie that tried to wow the audience with blood and comic one liners. Check this movie out, but wait for video. check out http://www.filmcrave.com (coming mid 2007)