Podcast Review: AOW w/ Scott Hall

In episode 169 of the Art of Wrestling Podcast, Colt Cabana interviews legendary 90's wrestler Scott Hall. Hall was known as Razor Ramon in the WWF where he gained some notoriety and built quite the following. After some contract disputes with Vince McMahon, he jumped to WCW as Scott Hall and started one of the most important factions of all wrestling history the NWO. Wrestling was as popular as ever when Scott Hall and the NWO were on top.

In this podcast, Hall discusses his beginning as a wrestler, and why is was so important for him to make it to the top of his game. He also discusses the decision to jump to WCW and some background information about what it was like to work for Vince McMahon at that time. Its been documented that Hall has had trouble with substance abuse later in his career. He has all but conquered those demons and is currently managing his son Cody Hall in the wrestling business. He goes into depth about his family growing up and how it lead to some of his problems as an adult. It was good to hear Scott Hall sober and coherent. I'm glad he's on a road to recovery and I am happy to hear his passion of the wrestling business. I wish this could have gone longer than an hour, because there are so many other stories I wanted to hear. I know that Stone Cold Steve Austin interviewed him on his podcast so I can check that one out.

There is some bonus material on this podcast that made the entire listening experience superior. Colt talks with Cody Hall for a few minutes before the interview with Scott and shares about his current relationship with his father. Another bonus is a skit where "Shawn Michaels" leaves a voicemail for Colt Cabana talking about the show which is absolutely hilarious. Not sure if non-wrestling fans will get it, but I truly loved it.

I give AOW 169 w Scott Hall 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Movie Review: World War Z

So I finally was able to experience World War Z. I have been a bit reluctant to watch this movie since I'm a big fan of old school low budget zombie flicks. I have read the Max Brooks book of the same name and heard that it had nothing to do with the book. Which is right and wrong at the same time. The book is an oral history of all the events that have taken place throughout "World War Z" and its pretty similar how the story flows. Brad Pitt is finding out information through many different sources and piecing it together. They took the concept from Brooks and put an A-list actor, some gun play and crazy CGI scenes and made it into an action/ horror blockbuster.

To my surprise, I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Albeit it wasn't a traditional zombie movie, the zombies were fast moving and smart. It felt more like an epidemic type movie more in the style of 28 Days Later. There are many definitions and mythologies connected with the term "zombie" so I can let some of the details fly.

World War Z was gripping from the very first scene. They open it up in Philadelphia, PA on a regular morning at the Lane family household (Brad Pitt's family). On a morning drive, they find themselves in some traffic downtown. All of a sudden chaos breaks loose and people are being attacked by other people. Pitt's character witnesses a man being attacked and bitten, and resurrecting after 12 seconds becoming one of the walking dead. The Lane family escapes to New Jersey. Throughout the madness that ensues, Lane is contacted by some important men and they attempt to extract him and his family to safety. You're not sure why he has such connections until a little bit later in the movie. Eventually they are hauled off to an airship carrier where they discuss the origin of this outbreak.

The army has assembled a team of "experts" and the word zombie is thrown around and no one believes that this is a real possibility. Lane is eventually called into duty to research the origin of this outbreak and find patient zero. This is where the concept of the book comes into play. All these experts have are stories they have heard from other experts in foreign nations and the dailogue of the book is strictly conversations about first hand experiences with the outbreak. South Korea is rumored to be the location of patient zero so Lane and his team sets out. They fly to several other nations in search for answers and hope. The action is well paced and the visuals are pretty stunning. I'm glad they released the un-rated version, because a movie of this type needs a little violence to really accentuate the seriousness of these zombies.

I was very satisfied with World War Z and would recommend it to people who aren't zombie fans. It's not too violent, and has a great story.

Rated: Un-rated
Run time: 123 Minutes

I give World War Z 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane was a nice, short tale about the disconnect between childhood and adulthood. Neil Gaiman is a novelist responsible many popular works including Stardust, The Sandman, Coraline and many more. Gaiman usually write for comics and young adult fiction, but dabbles in adult fiction on an irregular basis. I actually feel that this book could have been categorized as a young adult book because of the age of the characters and aspects of a fantasy story. There are a few "adult themed" portions of the book, but they are minimal and very tame. I guess Mr. Gaiman just wanted to sell some books to adults. Can't blame the guy.

So let's get to the book. The story starts off with an unnamed male character returning to his old neighborhood for a funeral. While visiting, he remembers an old friend, Lettie Hempstock and decides to stop at her old house down the lane. At the end of the lane, stands a pond that Lettie used to refer as her ocean. Our protagonist is flooded with memories of forgotten tales. Those tales are extraordinary and extremely devastating.

I really appreciate Gaiman's narrative and the driving force behind this story. It's not really a coming of age story. It's not a story of the reluctant hero, even though you may argue that fact about the main character. He is just too young and get's scared easily. Can't really blame him here. Not many kids are willing to fight the supernatural, many are afraid of the dark or spiders or great white sharks or whatever. It's a very realistic approach to life, most of the time you will need a hand when life gets difficult. Lettie Hempstock is the main character's protector, problem solver and savior throughout the book. The main character is forced to forget what happens in his childhood to protect his innocence. I'm not a parent myself, but I know that parents are always looking to protect their children, and ensure a healthy adulthood, even if they have to manipulate a story or tell little white lies. I guess that's where the difference between young adult and adult fiction lies. If this were a YA book, the main character would have risen to the occasion and tried to find a way to beat the odds. Its a subtle change, but it speaks volumes about the transition from childhood to adulthood.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a modern day fairy tale, that's well written and tells a great story. The aspects of fantasy are highly apparent in this book even though I don't elude to them very often in this review. It's super short too, and you can get through it pretty quickly.

I give The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Building a Solid Heavy Metal Collection: Part 7 of 25

Killswitch Engage's (KSE) Alive or Just Breathing is the most important heavy metal album to come out in the last 10-11 years. Metal was in sad shape at the turn of the century. Of course there were the few crusaders of metal that kept on releasing killer albums, but the main stream metal view was very tainted. Luckily these Bostonians were ready to make heart felt, brutal music that combined New York hardcore and elements of thrash, essentially bringing the metalcore genre to the masses. Alive or Just Breathing wasn't their big break and didn't set any sales records, like later albums, but it was a perfect base. When somebody asks me for a CD to start listening to heavy metal, I recommend this album.

Alive or Just Breathing features the band's original singer Jesse Leach. He was replaced by Howard Jones during the height of their popularity and now Leach has regained his throne as lead singer. Adam Dutkiewicz or Adam D. can be solely responsible for this record's success and the entire band's success. He played every instrument and was integral in the writing process. The label also allowed Adam D. to produce the record as well. Alive or Just Breathing's title reflected the condition of the metal scene in 2002. KSE was a breath of fresh air and really skyrocketed in popularity and made a mark on pop culture. I've seen KSE a number of times and their live show is something to behold. Their energy is off the charts and you can tell they love what they are doing.

Key tracks: No. 2 - Self Revolution, No. 8 - Temple from the Within and No. 10 - Vide Infra.

Book Review: Horns

Horns is a tale of young love, revenge, jealousy and the supernatural. It may sound pretty much like any teen/ tween/ young adult novel that is popular right now with that description, but I promise there aren't shirtless werewolves or sparkling vampires. I hope I get my point across as this book was so damn good I had a really hard time putting it down. I will try my best, but my advice is to just read it and experience it for yourself.

Joe Hill (Joseph Hilstrom King) is the oldest of Stephen King's children. It's not the first Hill book I've read. I listened to NOS4A2 which was pretty good in its own right, but nowhere on the level of Horns. I received an email from amazon.com last week, asking me to try this new service Audible, which is their e-audiobook service. They gave me a free trial and I searched Stephen King. I couldn't find one that I wanted to listen to so I searched Joe Hill since I am a HUGE fan of his comic book Locke and Key. Seriously, read this comic, you won't regret it. Horns has also been on my to-read list for a long time so I gave it the old college try and downloaded it. One of the best decisions I've ever made.

Horns starts off with our protagonist Ig Perrish. Ig is short for Ignatius which seems fitting because Ig's character is almost saint like. He is very loyal, caring and is the worst liar in the entire world. Uncharacteristically he wakes up in a drunken stupor, not remembering what happened the night before. Next to him lies his old childhood friend Glenna Nicholson, who starts telling Ig every single bad thing she's done in her life. Most recently hooking up with Ig's best friend Lee. He stumbles awake and notices that he has sprouted little horns on his head. Ig goes to the doctor  to get his "horns" checked out. The doctor's office is a surreal experience for Ig considering the secretary, a mother and her child in the waiting start spewing awful facts about their life and don't seem to be bothered by it. All these confessions are poured out because Ig has developed some sort of power that is tied to the horns that he's grown. He tries to find comfort with his family, but the horns have the same effect on them and he finds out a terrible secret.

A year before the book starts, Ig's long time girlfriend Mirren Williams was found dead in the forest near an old foundry. Everyone suspected that Ig was the one who murdered her and left her body. Ig and Mirren were the perfect couple. Both extremely smart, both extremely involved in the church and their community. So the death of Mirren Williams, was a huge tragedy in the small town of Gideon, NH. Knowing Ig and his back story, you know he wouldn't be capable of such horrific acts. Ig was scheduled to start a job in Britain, and Mirren breaks up with him ending a ten year relationship. This scene was the most intense, heart wrenching chapter I have ever read in my entire life. Joe Hill was brilliant displaying how deep their love was for each other and how hard it is to let go to someone you love. I was enraged, depressed, on edge and completely exhausted after their break up and set up the rest of the story perfectly.

The main antagonist is Lee Tourneau, as I mentioned earlier, is Ig's best friend. Hill tells a tale of when they were younger and Ig rolled down a hill in a shopping cart into a pond. Ig grows up thinking that Lee saved his life and is forever indebted to him. Their relationship has its ups and downs. Lee turns out to be a real scum bag but finds "Christ" after an accident with a cherry bomb in which he loses vision in one of his eyes. Lee is the epitome of modern day evil. The definition of a wolf in sheep's clothing. He can talk his way out of anything and uses intimidation and cunning to force people to take the fall for him. He eventually gets into politics and uses his "gift" to further his career.  Hill makes you want to punch Lee repeatedly in the face for hours. He oozes vileness and really gets you riled up. Thinking about his character gets my blood hot.

The book slowly reveals what happened that night at the foundry, and covers Ig's transformation into something outer-worldly or should I say under-worldly?? What makes this book so great is how real these characters felt. You can truly believe the love between Ig and Merrin, the jealousy and hate of Lee and the reality of the secrets that people hold deep inside of them. I know this is a bold claim, but I enjoy this book way more than a lot of Stephen King books. It is early in Joe Hill's career but he is really hitting them out of the park. I hope he has a long and illustrious career that mirrors his fathers'. I will say that Horns is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. Thus giving it.......

5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Building a Solid Heavy Metal Collection: Part 6 of 25

Immortal is a three piece black metal band from Norway. They dress up in spiked armor, wielding weaponry, covered in corpse paint. Corpse paint is a tradition in black metal that is used to make the band look inhuman, undead or demonic. Originally sounding like a traditional black metal band, they transformed into a thrash/ black hybrid. In 2002 they released Sons of Northern Darkness and quickly gained critical acclaim throughout the metal community. Some say that this is the best black metal album of all time. I tend to agree with that statement. Sons of Northern Darkness (SOND) starts off with a blistering track about ancient Nordic tribal battles in the cold, dark environment that is Norway. SOND is mostly about conquest of the great North, battles that have been waged and won, and the demons that help them in those battles.

Many people can be easily put off by Immortal and their style, even looking at the cover, they may think they are a joke. Their talent is boundless and are definitely the best black metal band in history. They are consistent and don't fall into the under-produced sound that most black metal bands purposely use to sound old school. Immortal released All Shall Fall in 2009 which was a long awaited follow up that didn't disappoint.

Next time snow is falling, pop in Sons of Northern Darkness, and fall into the world of Norwegian black metal.

Key tracks - No. 1 - One by One, No. 3 - Tyrants and No. 7 - Antarctica

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Here's a little extra for you. The animated history of corpse paint from metalinjection.com
http://www.metalinjection.net/video/an-animated-history-of-corpse-paint

Book Review: Zombie, Illinois by Scott Kenemore

Zombie, Illinois isn't your typical zombie novel. It's more of a crossover that involves a mystery that just so happens to occur during the zombie apocalypse. There are three main characters: Maria Ramirez, Ben Bennington and Pastor Leopold Mack. The chapters are written in first person perspectives switching between the three. Maria Ramirez is the drummer for Chicago's premiere punk rock band Strawberry Brite Vagina Dentata. Ben is a reporter for Brain's Chicago Business newspaper. Finally, Leopold Mack is the pastor of the Church Heaven's God in Christ Lord Jesus. The character's start off pretty strong and their identities are pretty well known, but somewhere in the middle they stray from I believe their morals are and make really stupid, pointless decisions. They don't progress throughout the story, if anything they regress at some points. Ben is the cowardly lion of the bunch, eventually becoming a hero, kind of. Maria is the tough chick who swoons when she sees a hot guy. Pastor Mack is a powerful leader in the black community and has a deep, dark secret. I could tell you that secret, but I want you to read this book and be as disappointed as I was, when it was revealed. I wish Ben sacrificed himself for the group, Maria would soften up and take kindly to Ben's nerdiness and I wish pastor Mack would become the leader he was born to be. Kenemore gave us a tiny glance at that, but fell short. But you can't always get what you want.

The horror aspect of this book started off pretty well. First hand encounters of the dead rising from Lake Michigan. People digging up graves to prevent them from attacking. The coolest part of this book is when the Mayor's face was bitten off by Al Capone's corpse. Far fetched but still pretty cool. It never felt like the characters actually feared for their lives. There wasn't a moment that really affected their psyche. In most horror books there is a moment where you're not really sure if good could overcome evil. There was no such peak, no sense of impending doom. Close calls yes, but not much more than that.

I like that fact that Scott Kenemore, the author, did his research on Chicago geography and its neighborhood history. I don't know if it's all true, but he sure convinced me that it was all right. Apparently he did some research in Chicago politics as well, because Zombie, Illinois turned from a zombie book into a political satire about Chicago's corrupt government. I know that Chicago has a storied past with politics, and it was a nice back story at first, but then the entire book was about Chicago politics.

Zombie, Illinois was well written and the story is decently developed. However the horror aspect was extremely lacking. The zombies became an after thought. It's a good book for anyone who doesn't like gruesome books but is looking for a different type of mystery book. Not really my cup of tea though.

I give Zombie, Illinois by Scott Kenemore 3 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Book cover provided by goodreads.com.

Building a Solid Metal Collection: Part 5 of 25

Meshuggah is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine!!! Albeit its the Indian version, they still made the cover. I love how every country in the world respects metal except the United States. I'm not saying that heavy metal isn't relevant in the states, it just doesn't get the same amount of coverage as pop, hip hop and indie music. I get that tastes vary and usually are very trend oriented, but throw the little guys a bone once and a while. I'm glad Meshuggah is getting some recognition though. They've have been at it for a very long time.

Destroy, Erase, Improve was their second full length album and it was released in 1995. They've only released 7 albums since 1987 so you can see what kind of care and detail they put into writing their material. I would recommend all of them. Meshuggah is known as an extreme progressive metal band. Progressive metal is a hybrid of metal and progressive music like jazz fusion and classical. Meshuggah takes like offbeat drumming, odd time signatures and complex song structures and adds a huge does of brutality. These swedes create a very unique sound, that rarely gets replicated. You can say that they recently spawned a genre known as "djent," but their sound differs from everyone who imitates them.

Key tracks: No. 1 - Future Breed Machine, No. 6 - Acrid Placidity, and No. 9 - Suffer in Truth.

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Album Review: Serpents Unleashed by Skeletonwitch

Since its #thrashthursday, it only feels right to review something thrashy. Skeletonwitch has been around since 2003 and this is their forth official release. They have a self produced album, but I can't get my hands on it. I do have everything else they have released though. What really struck me while listening to their first album Beyond the Permafrost was the mix of black metal vocals and thrash roots. A lot of people have copied that sound, but in 2007 when I heard Upon Wings of Black, I was instantly hooked.

Skeletonwitch has kept on getting tighter as a group and have not sacrificed their sound in the slightest bit. They are as fast and brutal as they always been. Serpents Unleashed opens with the title track blitzes through 29 minutes of pure metal. This is also very characteristic of Skeletonwitch. Their songs aren't very long, but they are to the point. They are here to thrash, and thrash they do.

Born of Light that Does Not Shine opens with blistering blast beats and ends with a wicked black metal riff that is haunting and embraces the dark tone of this album. My favorite song lyrically is This Evil Embrace. The chorus is the following:

Stare upon death in these eyes
Wretched, furthest from the light
Moving with poisonous steps
My demon will harvest your flesh

Skeletonwitch doesn't hold back in the slightest, What surprised me the most was the last track More Cruel than Weak. It's definitely the longest ending up at four minutes and nineteen seconds. It starts with an intro riff which is rare for Skeletonwitch. The riffage they break out at 2:28 is harmonized metal guitar at its finest.

I can't wait to see them in a couple of weeks. They play at Mojoe's in Joliet, IL on Monday, November 25th with the Black Dahlia Murder. Get your tickets here.

I give Serpents Unleashed by Skeletonwitch 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: This is the End

End of the world movies don't have the best record. 2012 was terrible, Day After Tomorrow was a snooze fest. Waterworld is well Waterworld. I think what these types of movies are missing is comedy. Kevin Costner and Jake Gyllenhaal are the furthest thing from funny. Let's face it when the sky starts to fall, we're all going to be helpless and it is pretty comedic how unprepared we are for catastrophic events, especially the end of the world.

This is the End showcases the Rapture at one of James Franco's parties. Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen are best friends. Jay flies in from Canada to hang with Seth and they end up at the party besides Jay's reluctance. Every comedian/ actor/ music star is at this party. Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Paul Rudd, Kevin Hart and the list goes on. My favorite cameo was Michael Cera. He is a coke snorting, disgusting human being and I absolutely love every scene he is in. Jay and Seth head to a gas station to get some snacks and all of a sudden the proverbial stuff starts to hit the fan. Many people are beamed into the sky, and the rest are left to  survive on Earth. Jay and Seth make it back to the party and it seemed like nothing happened. Suddenly a gigantic hole opens up in Franco's front lawn. Being hollywood stars, everyone looks out for themselves and most of them die in a comedic fashion.

After the dust settles, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Craig Robinson are the last survivors of the party. They barricade the house, ration all the food and prepare for the worst. One of my favorite scenes was the discussion of who gets to eat the last Milky Way bar.(It gets used later, don't worry!) They decide to save it for emergency use. They all split up to go to bed for the first night. Eventually all of them become scared and sleep together on the floor in very tight quarters next to Jay. Early in the morning they all awake to a russling upstairs and a giant shadow heading towards them all. It is non other than Danny McBride and he has no idea what happened because he passed out in Franco's tub the night before. They all struggle with rationing and make plans to explore the outside world. Demons, possessions, and cannibals makes appearances in the film with hilarious results.

This is the End is extremely crude, so I wouldn't recommend watching it with your mother. It's definitely a guy oriented flick with plenty of violence and swearing. I would say it is my favorite comedy in a long time.

I give This is the End 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Rated R
Run-Time 107 Minutes

Movie poster provided by amazon.com.

Album Review: New by Paul McCartney

I will start by saying that the name of the album and the disc art are completely lazy. It feels like McCartney just showed up to work and said let's call the new album New. Get it? And of course no one is going to disagree with Sir Paul. The cover is clever, but I feel McCartney could have come up with something better. Oh well. Let's get to the music, which is the most important part.

The first two songs sound like the missing tracks of the new Queens of the Stone Age CD. Which could be good or bad depending how you look at it. I wasn't impressed with Like Clockwork so I supposed it can look like a dig at McCartney. I do however enjoy these tracks and they start off the album really well. Save Us is a breath of fresh air and really contribute to his "new" sound. Early Days and Hosanna give us that classic McCartney sound that we all enjoy. Tracks like Appreciate and Queenie Eye aren't my favorite and kind of feel out of place.

There are signs of brilliance on this album and I do have high expectations of Sir Paul. He is knighted for Pete's sake. On My Way to Work, Looking at Her, and Everybody Out There are truly astounding tracks. On My Way to Work is a haunting love song. It recalls his past love life on a short bus ride. Everything reminds him of her. The question to be asked is what happened to his former love? Whatever happened, he will never know and continue riding the bus to work and through life.

My only gripe with this album is that it lacks flow. 89% of the songs are instant classics and the remaining eleven left a lot to be desired. New feels more like a best of than a full album release. You may think that I'm a little hard on this album, but Paul McCartney is regarded as the best song writer in the history of music, so I expect the best. That being said....

I give New by Paul McCartney 3.75 out 5 Burning Lariats.

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Album Review: The Diving Board by Elton John

My experience with Elton John is a bit limited. I've only listened to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road all the way through and I've heard all the other singles he's put out. I love Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and really enjoy the dynamics and direction of that album. The Diving Board is a bit different seeing that the entire album is strictly piano, drums and bass and of course Elton's vocals. I guess its not really fair to compare the two albums considering Yellow Brick Road is regarded as the best album he ever wrote. I'll try my best not to deadlock them together.

I do like Diving Board a lot. It was a nice change of pace on my iPod. I was just surprised that it was so mellow and so piano oriented. I do appreciate the fact that the lead instrument is a piano. Many have tried to lead with a piano like Ben Folds, but no one really does it like Elton John. His piano "licks" are unique and completely non-generic. He even throws a few musical interludes throughout the album which give you a break from the solemn tunes. I was hoping for at least a few tracks that resemble Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. I like the upbeat Elton John tunes as much as his ballads, but this album was severely lacking that rock and roll feel. I have to wait until track 13, a song called Mexican Vacation, to get a song that was faster paced. That is way too long to wait.

As I said before there are an abundance of ballads on Diving Board, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Home Again particularly played on my heart strings and it conveyed a message that I've always believed in. You can always come home, no matter where you are, you are always working your way back home. The other song that really took me by surprise and was extremely relevant to my current situation was Can't Stay Alone Tonight. I love when you can find a song that goes into your mind and really portrays what going on in your mind at that time. Well done Elton.

While Elton really drove it home with a handful of songs, I think the "filler" could have been a lot better. He beautifully paints certain parts of a portrait and the rest is just bland so it doesn't feel like a complete piece of art to me.

I've read that someone close to Elton suggested that this album recorded in a certain fashion. Namely just being the piano, drums and bass. I don't know if I agree with that formula, but allegedly this was Elton's style when he first started playing so I can dig that he wanted to get back to his roots. I'm sure if you are en Elton John fan, you will grab this one up. At least get Home Again, Can't Stay Alone Tonight and Diving Board if you want the best tracks. It's worth at least a listen.

I give The Diving Board by Elton John 3.5 out of 5 Burning Lariats

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: Pain and Gain

I feel like this movie got panned and I believe it was wrongfully so. The second I saw the trailer, I thought, man this has some potential even though Michael Bay is directing it. I say this, because its well documented that I hated all three Transformer movies, and am deathly afraid of what he will do with the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I do love Armageddon though. Can't get enough of that Aerosmith tune. Anyways Pain and Gain was perfectly cast. It was great to see Tony Shalhoub in a role that isn't Monk. I almost jumped to my feet when Ed Harris showed up on screen, but it was 11 at night and my bed is really comfy. I had no idea he was in the movie, I guess I could have read the cast on IMDB or the DVD case, but I enjoyed the surprise.

Synopsis: Mark Wahlberg's character, Danny Lugo, is a ex-con who becomes a personal trainer. Lugo is sick of the rich business men who come into his gym and aren't in shape. He believes that since he is at his tip top shape that he deserves the american dream. He just wants a lawn to mow. It seemed that he was a nice guy deep down and just wanted what everyone else had. He attends a conference headed by a motivational speaker and decides to take action and achieve that american dream. His plan is to kidnap Tony Shalhoub's character, Victor Kershaw, and extort him for all he is worth. Kershaw is the owner of a Schlotzky's deli in Florida. By the way, this movie is based off of a true story. I don't know how close it follows the true tale, but some latter scenes in the movie are hard to watch and I hope some are exaggerations.

Lugo recruits Paul Doyle, played by the Rock, who is also an ex-con but also a reformed Christian. He is working at the local church and working out with Lugo at his gym. Doyle can't find a job because of his record so he is persuaded to join the team. The third and final piece of the puzzle is Adrian Doorbal, played by Anthony Mackie. I've seen Mackie in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Adjustment Bureau, and Gangster Squad and have enjoyed his work thus far, and this movie is no exception. Doorbal is a member of Lugo's gym and has been shooting steroids to get "swol." He finds out that he now suffers from ED and needs money for the medicine to get him up and going again. The three of them are hilarious together and play the muscle bound dummies to a t.

Of course, they struggle with the kidnapping and go through several plans before achieving their goal. After kidnapping Kershaw, they try for weeks trying to get him to sign over all of his belongings. Doyle, being a born again Christian disagrees with a lot of the methods being used to extort him. The Rock has come a long way as an actor. I remember the days of the Scorpion King where he didn't say a word and just had to swing a sword. I knew he was capable of more considering I've seen his entire wrestling career and know he can talk. But Pain and Gain showed me that he play a whole range of characters in one movie. The nice polite muscle bound Christian, tough convict, dopey sidekick, enraged coke addict and much more. He really spread his wings on this one. Lots of craziness and hilarity ensues. Its a very dark comedy and I think its worth a watch or two. My favorite part is when the Rock is BBQing some severed hands, waves to the neighbors and a graphic comes on the screen stating, "Yes, this is still a true story." Awesome.

I give Pain and Gain 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats

Rated R
Run-time 129 Minutes

Movie poster provided by amazon.com.

Building a Solid Heavy Metal Collection: Part 4 of 25

System of a Down is one of the most talented bands I've ever come across. They are brutal yet catchy and overall amazing musicians who have really perfected their craft. Many people regard Toxicity as their best album and I agree that it is fantastic. Blender magazine regarded it as one of the 500 CDs you must own. Rolling Stone ranked it 44 out of the top 100 CDs of the 2000s. It was great at the time, and it holds up but Mesmerize is just a beautiful crescendo of metal. It shows growth as musicians and human beings. I wish I could include Hypnotize since it's technically a double album. The two back to back is like listening to a modern symphony. It plays with your emotions and it makes you think, which is rare for music these days.

Mesmerize opens with a heart-wrenching introduction Soldier Side, which gives you a small dose of the raw emotion that lies ahead. B.Y.O.B. comes in and knocks you right on your tush. It was also the first single released from Mesmerize. I'm glad they released B.Y.O.B. first, they could have easily picked a more radio friendly tune like Radio/Video or Sad Statue. Instead they took one of the fastest and heaviest song on the album and said "Hey, up yours."

Revenga is a sweet track that really reaches deep down in me, and my secret love for Polka music. It's a fun track to sing along with even though it's about getting revenge on a former dishonest lover. The highlight of this track is the ending where the tempo just keeps getting quicker and quicker. It really gives you a chance to really rock out to a Polka beat. Finntroll is pretty infamous for this too.

The final four tracks really tie the entire album together. Question! is the highest point of tension on the album and you can feel the CD start to wind down after that. Sad Statue has a great chorus and really reflects the state of the country at that point in time. Their lyrics have always been politically driven which brings forth the passion behind their music. Mesmerize is as the title suggests a mesmerizing album that pulls you in. It's a quick 33 minutes long so follow it up with Hypnotize and enjoy the beautiful madness that is System of a Down.

Key tracks No.3 - Revenga, No. 8 - Question! and No. 11 - Lost in Hollywood.

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: The Conjuring

I've heard a lot of buzz for this movie and have been waiting a while for it to come out on DVD. The Director James Wan has a pretty decent resume coming into this one including Saw, Insidious 1 and 2, and Death Sentence. I haven't seen Insidious 2 but I know it will be as good as the first one. The cast was great. Everyone performed perfectly, every cast member added to the movie and nobody's performance took away from this bone chilling tale.

A lot of movies lately have been about spirits and demonic possession, and a lot of them have been absolutely great. The Conjuring is probably the best to date. It was terrifying. What made it the most terrifying is that it was based on a true story. I know a lot of movies make this claim, and most of the time I believe it. I buy into it and I feel it makes the movie watching experience that much more enjoyable.

The movie starts off with a back story of Warren family in the early 1970's. They were pioneers of "Ghost Hunting" and went around to Universities with their findings in paranormal activity. The story they told was about a possessed doll named Anabelle. I don't know what it is about possessed toys, but it creeps the hell out of me. It was a perfect way to set the tone in this movie and laid a nice back story.

The Perron family has moved to a country house to accomadate their five daughters and move away from the city. Strange happenings start to occur at the house and leave everyone frightened. The mother, Carolyn Perron, attends one of these sessions taught by the Warrens and asks them for help. Seeing the seriousness of their problem, they agree to help.

The story of the house and the occurrences that shaped this evil house are more horrific than I could imagine. The entire movie is intense, but the last fifteen minutes has my hair raising and goosebumps all over my body. If you are looking for a good scare, this is the movie for you.

I give The Conjuring 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Rated R
Run-time 112 Minutes

Movie poster provided by amazon.com.

#fatbucks

I finally was able to get dressed up for Halloween 2013. It was my brother's 30th birthday so we had a big post Halloween costume party bash. Per usual I dressed up as a professional wrestler. I think this is the 4th or 5th year in a row. This year my buddy Adam and myself dressed up as the greatest tag team in the world right now, the Young Bucks. It was a great time had by all, there were some Ninja Turtles, some X-Men, a leprechaun, a cat, an old couple, and many, many more at the party.

The coolest event of the weekend was what transpired on Twitter and Instagram. Adam posted our picture on Twitter and tagged the Young Bucks so they can see our awesomely sweet costumes. Within minutes they retweeted us. It definitely made my night. What made the situation way more awesome, was that Matt Jackson, one of the Young Bucks, put our picture on his Instagram account. His brother, Nick Jackson, commenting  that we had the best costume ever. We had over 100 something likes on the Gram, from other professional wrestlers and followers. It was a really cool experience. It shows how cool the Jacksons aka the Young Bucks are, and that they really appreciate their fans. They are on a tour of Japan right now and I'm sure are busy with their wrestling schedules and they gave Adam and I a great story to tell.It was a Halloween miracle.

These guys should be making millions of dollars in the "Big Leagues" because they are so damn talented. I'll link up a video. Follow them on twitter @MattJackson13 and @NickJacksonYB
Follow them on Instagram http://instagram.com/youngbuckmatt
I'm not sure what their names on The Vine are, but they have some great stuff on there as well.
Young Bucks Video check out this video on Youtube and see what I'm talking about. Their home promotion is  PWG where they are the current tag team champions.

You're probably wondering why the title of this entry is #fatbucks. Well the internet is the internet and there are always smartasses, but that was one of the comments on our picture on Instagram. I actually found it pretty damn funny myself. Remember check out the Young Bucks! They rule!

Building a solid heavy metal collection Part 3 of 25

Alas! The first thrash album to show up on the list! And boy is it a doozy. Death Angel has been around the block a few times. Their first album being released in '87 when I was one year old.

The Filipino thrashers have been on and off over the last twenty some years because of injury, personal issues and label conflicts. Their style has changed over the years as well. They started off as almost a punk thrash similar to Suicidal Tendencies have now become an epic thrash band.

Relentless Retribution was released in September of 2010. I remember the day I bought this CD. I was browsing Best Buy, as tradition on Taco Bell Tuesdays, and I saw the cover. My inner monologue saying, I didn't know Death Angel put out a new album, I didn't know they were still together and man that cover is completely badass. It's not unusual for metal bands to break up and form back together after 10-15 years, so I decided to pick it up. Right off the bat, its a relentless assault of metal in your face, but its so well crafted you don't mind being bludgeoned by their killer riffs. Every track has its distinct characteristics which is rare for a thrash album. It's easy to get caught up in a formula in this genre. Death Angel showed me that you can be brutal and beautiful at the same time. Take for instance, track number 2 - Claws In So Deep. The verses are thrashy as ever, the chorus is catchy, the bridge and solo bring it all together into a perfect symphony. The best is yet to come though. When the dust settles, you are left with a beautiful acoustic guitar medley performed by famous acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. This CD shows how much thrash has evolved and how many cool things you can do within the genre without sacrificing the brutality and speed.

Key tracks: No.1 - Relentless Revolution, No. 2 Claws in so Deep, and No. 7 This Hate

Album art provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: Ender's Game

I hope everyone had a pleasant Halloween. Mine was spent at home watching Wrestlemania 9 in my pajamas with a pitbull sleeping on my feet. I wish it didn't rain all day, we only had 4 trick or treaters. Oh well, at least I was able to cap off the evening with a trip to the cinema and an enjoyable night watching Ender's Game.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is regarded as one of the best Sci-Fi books ever written. Some schools require reading it as part of their curriculum because of the underlying message, which I will touch on later. I haven't read any of Card's novels, and as a librarian, I am a bit ashamed of this fact, especially after seeing this movie.

Card has several book's in the Enders Saga, but this was the very first, published in 1985. Card has won many awards for this book, including the Hugo Award for best novel.

I had the privilege to view this movie on an IMAX screen and enjoy the beautiful and sometimes thunderous HD sound system. This is a large scale movie that really takes advantage of the huge screen and wonderful sound. At points I felt my seat shaking during a massive air battle, awesome! If I were to build my own house from scratch, there would be two rooms an IMAX screen and a decent sized kitchen with a griddle so I can make hashbrowns and omelettes easily without dealing with crappy spatulas and a small frying pan.I could sleep on a cot on the ground level of the screen. Is is too much to ask for in life?

Let's get back to the part of the blog when I mentioned that this was a big movie. The plot itself was pretty massive, but not too complex at all. Over fifty years ago the Earth was invaded by an alien race known as the Formics. They are an insect looking race and killed millions on that day. Mazer Rackham, an Earth pilot, finds a weakness in the formic army and they are sent packing back to their home planet. The Earth's army swear that they will never be invaded again and seek revenge on the Formics. The government starts recruiting talented youth and try to find a way to eliminate the threat once and for all.

Andrew Ender Higgin is a gifted child enrolled in Battle School. Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) sees massive potential in Ender and starts to test him in ways that other students aren't be tested. Naturally Ender passes because of his perfect balance between compassion and violence mixed with tactical genius. He inherits his compassion from his sister Valentine, in which he has a very strong bond with and plays a pivotal part of the story. His violence and anger issues are contributed from his brother Pete, who is just a complete ass. Ender gets promoted quickly through the ranks of Battle School into Command school and eventually becomes commander of his own army because of his tactical skills. Ender finds himself in a crucial point of the Earth/ Formic war.

I feel that there are a few ethical questions that are raised by this movie. The government is willing to exploit their youth to protect the entire world. How can any child be raised normally after dealing with all the stress and mental anguish of the rigorous training of battle school. Ender is constantly put into situations that wears on his mental stability. The tactics they use to test the students of battle school are very unethical and sometimes downright devious.

So the story was great, how was the delivery? I will tell you how it was, pretty fantastic. The CGI was spot on. Nothing looked cheesy, which can easily happen in a Sci-Fi space oriented movie. The creature work was probably my favorite aspect of the movie. It reminded me of District Nine or something Guillermo Del Toro dreamed up. The special effects and sound were remarkable. I wonder if it was the IMAX experience or that they did a really great job with this movie. I'll just say both to be safe. The acting was competent and consistent. Asa Butterfield played Ender really well and toed the line between brilliance and insanity.

The only gripe I have, is the lack of back story between his sister and himself. They are extremely close and I want to know why. Maybe I'll just have to read the book, which is totally cool with me. I highly recommend seeing Ender's Game and if you can see it in IMAX, do it. Don't be scared of the $15 price tag and $2 convenience fee, it's well worth it.

I give Ender's Game 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Rated PG-13 Runtime 114 Minutes

Movie poster provided by imdb.com.

Thanks for reading and please use the comment section! Also follow the blog and shoot me some suggestions!