Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2013

Last year I posted about my most anticipated movies for the whole year and I struggled to make a decent list. This year I looked at just the movies coming out in the summer and I'm having issues keeping it to only 10. I even had to add in a section of honorable mentions! Haha. That basically means I don't want to spend $50 at the movies but the movie definitely has potential to be great. Again, this list is only for spring/summer of 2013! Let's get it started baby!

Already Out

Pain & Gain

The Rock and Mark Wahlberg in an action/comedy movie with Rebel Wilson? Uh, sign me up please. I'm hoping to ignore the fact that Michael Bay is the director, but I have a feeling when I watch this I will be reminded of that. Let's hope Dwayne and Marky Mark can make this film enjoyable.

Anticipation Level: Pretty Excited

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May

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 2 was a bit of a disappointment, still good because of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, but the Avengers hit the screens last summer with a huge pop. The excitement for the comic book movies is back this summer and I think IM3 is going to blow away the first two movies in the trilogy. 

Anticipation Level: SUPER EXCITED!!!

The Great Gatsby

This movie looks nothing like how I pictured it when reading this in high school. It looks ten times better! The "old-school futuristic" look along with Leo makes me very interested in how this movie will turn out. This was on the verge of going into honorable mentions - but it looks so fresh compared to other movies.

Anticipation Level: Pretty Excited

Star Trek Into the Darkness

Ok. J.J. Abrams is just amazing. You should know my man-crush I have on him and any project he touches. He made me a Star Trek fan with the original re-make he did a couple years ago. Now, I can't wait to see this. Brittany and I may be there opening weekend - since we share the same love for J.J.

Anticipation Level: SUPER EXCITED!

Fast & Furious 6

Ok, I will admit, I stopped watching these movies at Tokyo Drift. But the fifth installment have been on my radar since it was released. The Rock and the reunion of every character (even Michelle Rodriguez!) in the movies to date make me very interested in this one. If I'm confused, I'll go back and watch 5, but right now I'm just jumping straight to 6.

Anticipation Level: Excited!

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June

The Purge

Ok, this is my sleeper pick for the summer. I watched the trailer and instantly fell in love (is that weird?). The overall plot of the movie is very unique - it opens up for some terrible things to happen during the one night that all crimes are allowed. I cannot wait to see this movie, and surprisingly haven't heard about it until I started making this list. Brittany isn't a fan of "break-into-your-house" movies, so I dunno if I'll have to drag Raleigh or Jason with me to see it.

Anticipation Level: Surprisingly Excited!

Man of Steel

I'm not a Superman fan, at all, but I'm really excited about this movie. That should tell you something. Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan being part of the development definitely helps! It looks the part, no matter what people say about the new costume, I think it looks great. The cast all fits the parts, hopefully the story line holds up. Very very very excited to see Superman this summer. Batman is still better though.

Anticipation Level: Very Excited!

World War Z

Zombies are totally IN right now. Zombie is the new black. Then, add in Brad Pitt...oh man that's a summer movie made in heaven. This is definitely in my top three movies I want to see - I love zombies I love apocalypse movies and I love Fight Club. Boom!

Anticipation Level: SUPER EXCITED!

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July

Grown Ups 2

Listen, I have a rule about movie theaters - I never see Comedies. Paying $450,857 to see a comedy in the theater is ridiculous. There is no benefit to seeing it there, unlike an action flick. Somehow two summers ago, I saw Grown Ups in the theater with a group of friends. They must have paid for it? Haha. I was REALLY happy that I saw it though - it was one of the best comedies I've seen in a while. Now, the sequel comes out and I'll probably be there, watching it again with my friends in the theater. Good job Adam Sandler and crew.

Anticipation Level: Excited!

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August

Kick-Ass 2

The original was one of the most unique movies I've seen over the past five years. It made me laugh, cry, jump up and down and say "YEAH!" The sequel looks just as good, but my interest isn't as high as it is to see the other movies. Honestly, this was close to being dumped to honorable mentions - but then I saw that Jim Carrey is in it...definite top 10 now!

Anticipation Level: Pretty Excited

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Order of Anticipation:

1. Star Trek Into the Darkness

2. Iron Man 3

3. World War Z

4. Man of Steel

5. The Purge

6. Fast & Furious 6

7. Grown Ups 2

8. Pain & Gain

9. Kick-Ass 2

10. The Great Gatsby

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Honorable Mentions

1. Oblivion - Yes, I know it's out already but this (to me) kicked off the summer blockbusters. Tom Cruise, conspiracies, life after Earth and aliens all combine into great potential.

2. After Earth - Will Smith also is a must-have during the summer. This interested me because his son is acting with him, and M. Night Shyamalan is back. He has made a string of bad movies, hopefully Fresh Prince can save him.

3. Pacific Rim - HUGE ROBOTS FIGHTING! Not going to lie, this almost made my Top 10. The concept is pretty sweet, but will probably be just a popcorn blockbuster this summer. Robot Combat League on steroids.

4. R.I.P.D. - I love Ryan Reynolds so that alone got my attention. But then I read the overview of this movie. Dead cops trying to fight to save the world. INTERESTING!

5. Comedies Galore - Hangover Part 3/The Internship/This is the End - All movies I'd like to see, but don't want to spend $40 going to the theater to see them. I'm not a huge fan of seeing comedies in the theater, Grown Ups 2 is on the list because I LOVED the first one. The Hangover series never won me over, though it does have its moments. Loved Wedding Crashers so hoping that The Internship continues the Wilson/Vaughn magic. Usually not a huge fan of Seth Rogan, but the unique plot of these actors playing themselves interests me.

So what did you think? Do you agree with some of these? Are there other movies that you are shocked I didn't include? Am I nuts?! Comment below. 

Grading the 2011 NFL Season

Well, the 2011/2012 NFL football season is over. All in all, actual football was pretty dull throughout. Fantasy football on the other hand was awesome! I won two leagues!

But, the Redskins still suck, the Titans were almost playoff contenders and the Ravens were one game away from the Super Bowl.

Sound familiar?

Then, add that Eli Manning and his Giants beat Tom Brady and the Bradettes and everything sounds so 2007. I was rooting for the Giants in the SB, but honestly that’s not saying much. I haven’t been a fan of the Patriots since they won their three super bowls in the 2000s. Tom Brady is a bit into himself and his wife is a bit too outspoken about Brady’s teammates.

The Giants on the other hand are one of my team’s biggest rivals. Eli is as interesting as a dust bunny blowing in the wind. But, I was going for the baby Manning to receive more rings than Peyton, especially in Peyton’s house.

But overall, the season was pretty dull for a hopeless Redskins fan...though this was pretty awesome:


This guy is always good as always:


And this was just straight cool:

Let’s look at my favorite teams and how they did this year:

Redskins

Rex Grossman and John Beck are making Donovan McNabb look like superman. Really, what was Shanahan thinking going with Grossman and Beck this year? We need a QB and we need it bad. I only see two options that I’d be happy with: 1. They pursue Peyton hard and get him here, then spend their draft picks and a little more moola to get him weapons on offense. 2. They trade up and get Robert Griffin III and use free agency to bring in some weapons for him. They need a QB, and need it bad, I’m tired of being in the NFC East cellar and I know Daniel Snyder is too.

Titans

Well, Chris Johnson really screwed up his season this year eh? Where did he go? Did he finally get his payday or was he just out of shape all season? Jake Locker was brilliant when he was in, but looks like Hasselbeck will continue to drive the offense. Kenny Britt got hurt, yet again, but was a shining star before the injury. He needs to stay healthy this year if the Titans have any hopes on building on this season. I think they will contend for the playoffs again – but will fall short due to inconsistency with Hasselbeck.

Ravens

They are aging and aging fast. Ray Rice can only carry the team so far. Other people have to step up and turn their game face on in the playoffs. I don’t think this squad will ever make it to the big game. They do continue to pop out great seasons consistently and as long as Ray Lewis breaths purple and black, the Ravens will have a least an opportunity to make it to the super bowl. Ray Rice is the reason for the success though, without him this team would be trembling in the AFC North.

Predictions for the Redskins in the 2012/2013 season:

Redskins will pursue Peyton Manning hard, but will come up short and he will land in Miami. This will lead the Redskins to consider Kyle Orton (ew) or trading a lot to get RG3. They will do the latter and grab the likes of Pierre Garcon or Vincent Jackson to help the young rookie out. Leonard Hankerson will develop as the WR2 and Santana Moss will find consistency as a WR3. The defense will continue to progress and Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo will dominate the league in sacks. They will fall short of the playoffs however. 2013 will be their playoff return.

What Everyone is Talking About: Skylanders

Wow. These things are so freaking cool. I'm not going to lie...I think I'm a little more addicted to these things than Micah is.

I found myself playing this game long after Micah went to sleep last night. By myself, at 9pm, while Brittany was reading a book (a much more adult-like thing to do than playing a kid's video game).

BUT, don't let her fool you. Brittany is also into this game. She has her own Skylander and has already picked out two more that she wants to buy. Sorry babe, had to sell you out so I didn't  look like the only crazy parent.

So...what is this little action figure statue thing that you are looking at as you are reading this post? Well, it just happens to be the coolest invention in video games to have ever been released.

Yes, I went that far.

That action figure is Prism Break. One of the 30+ figures you can buy, ranging from ninja elves, dragons, robots and tiki-men. Now, just look at that picture. That figure is pretty awesome isn't it? Well, wait and wrap your brain around this. Skylanders isn't just an action figure game...it is a video game...involving said action figures. What?

So, you buy the game, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (that's right 90s game nerds, Spyro is back!) and you get three action figures and an add-on to your gaming system called a portal. You hook this portal onto your gaming system and you now have access to the Skylanders world. All you do is pick up Prism Break, place him on the portal and BOOOOOM. He appears in the video game. NO I'M NOT KIDDING! (Video below shows how it works if you are confused.)

In the game you level up Prism Break (or one of the other many heroes) as he goes through this epic journey to get back what the Skylanders once called home from an evil villain named Kaos. Oh, hey Little Timmy just called and wants you to come over his house and play Skylanders...but...I was leveling up my Prism Break. NO NEED TO WORRY LITTLE FELLA! All you do is take your Prism Break action figure over to Little Timmy's house, place it on HIS portal and YOUR Prism Break comes into HIS game with all the gear, powers and level he was at your house.

That's right, all game data involving each action figure gets saved into the physical action figure. So you can bring it anywhere, anytime. This is literally Pokemon on a whole different level, a really fun and family building level. The only negative to these bad boys is there are over 30 of them...so between Micah, Brittany and I we want about all of them...and at $7.99 each...the Burkey family might be broke for quite a while.

Check out this video that demonstrates how awesome this game is. Parents, if your kids don't have this game yet (it's available for every system and the PC) you need to purchase ASAP or your kids will be eating lunch all by themselves at school today.

...just kidding about that last part...you kid will just be jealous of the coolness that is SKYLANDERS!

The Dark Knight Rises Official Trailer

Finally the new Batman movie has a full length trailer, and I'm more than excited about this! And yes, that is Hines Ward out running the exploding football field! Haha, it looks so great. Check out The Dark Knight Rises first full length trailer!

2011 Holiday Christmas List for Geeky Dads

Are you wondering what to get me for Christmas or my birthday? Yeah, that’s right, you’ve probably forgotten that my birthday is coming up as well since it is between Xmas and New Years, it’s ok I’m used to it ;). Or are you just wondering what to get your husband, son, boy friend? This is the best gifts to get a man like me on that special day in December.

Get ready to get your mind blown with great ideas.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire - $199.99

Tablets are like the new black aren’t they? Well, this one is the real deal for an amazing price. Especially if your dude uses Amazon services already for music and movies, this will allow him to access all his files already on his Amazon account, plus FREE CLOUD STORAGE. If you don’t know what cloud storage is, just know that it is AWESOME and your man probably knows what it is. For the price (less than half the price of an iPad), this thing will be a REALLY popular gift this year. Especially paired with some Amazon Gift Cards.

Flat Screen HD TV - $300-$4,000

Quite a large price difference here eh? Well, it all depends how big of a TV your man is wanting to watch football on. An acceptable size around 32" could be around $300 while the new 80" can be in your living room for a whooping $4,000. Actually the 80" would be more like your living room is in your TV. Any who, there can never be too many televisions in the house, right guys?

Video Games - $30-$60

You know you hate Video Games, but men love them. There are TONS of games out right now that I’m sure you can find something just right. Games from Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Elder Scrolls Skyrim, Madden 2012, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3…I can go on and on here. If you aren’t sure what game to get him, just grab a gift card to Gamestop or Best Buy and let him go nuts!

Manly Movies - Die Hard or Rambo - $10-$20 each

What guy doesn't love the classic action flicks where things blow up and guys rule all? The Die Hard series is amazing, the first one being the best and should be in every guy's collection. Sylvester Stallone takes everyone to guy heaven in the Rambo movies. Either one of these series is a given for every guy to own or to have at least seen.


Manly Shows - The Walking Dead or The Game of Thrones - $35-$50 each

The Walking Dead and The Game of Thrones cater to two different types of guys, or the same guy in my case ;). A zombie Apocalypse or a medieval political war drama? Both filled with amazing characters and storylines, both filled with tons of blood, sex and survival. What more could a guy ask for? If your dude owns these the Game of Thrones book series or the Walking Dead graphic novel might be a great addition!

Star Wars Ultimate FX Lightsaber - $30

Ignore the kids in this video. Raleigh and I are buying each other these for Christmas so we can flip around like a Jedi. These have to be the coolest toy lightsabers made and at a wonderful price. Don’t  lie, your dude is a kid at heart and when he picks this up he will feel the force coursing through his veins.

Most Anticipated Movies of 2012

The following are trailers for some movies that I’m looking forward to. Even though I’ve become more of a TV show watcher, I’m excited to see what 2012 brings to the big screen.

February

The Woman in Black

This movie looks so creepy! You know me and my family are all really into creepy ghost stories. Not to mention Daniel Ratcliffe starring in it (Britt, Raleigh and Brooke are HUGE HP fans).

Anticipation Level: Pretty excited

March

The Hunger Games

Probably one of my favorite book series I’ve ever read. The movie looks to be following the book very closely and the casting has been mostly spot on! This will probably be the most anticipated movie for me in 2012, because I’m such a huge fan of the books.

Anticipation Level: SKY HIGH!!

May

The Avengers

Come on, I have to see this even if I’m not sure how well it will be handled. I have a bad feeling that having so many superheroes in one movie might make it a little cramped. But Robert Downing Jr.’s Iron Man is still great, even with Captain America and Thor stealing some screen time.

Anticipation Level: Looking forward to it

Men in Black 3

Another movie I have to see just based on the title! Come on, Men in Black! I loved the original as a kid and can’t wait to see how they handle the third. Will Smith is the man and to me, will never be overused. WHAT’S THAT STAND FOR MEN IN BLACK!

Anticipation Level: Excited!

June

Snow White and the Huntsman

I’m actually very excited about this version of the Snow White story. Coming off the heels of ABC’s Once Upon a Time, this fairy tale story seems to be getting re-done in a number of different ways. This one looks like the most promising. (Twilight fans will go nuts for Kristen Stewart.)

Anticipation Level: Very Intrigued!

July

The Amazing Spider-Man

Rebooting the Spider-man series so soon? Usually I’d be irritated by such a quick reboot, but I saw the trailer and honestly I’m more excited about this movie than the original Spider-man with Tobey McGuire. They seem to be sticking to the very cool storyline to the new animated show. Hopefully they do this right.

Anticipation Level: If they do it right, I’m really excited!

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Ok, now…I’m going to try and contain my excited for this as much as possible. AHHHH! I can not wait for this movie to come out. The Dark Knight has to be one of my favorite movies behind The Lord of the Rings. This would be the only other movie that would compete with The Hunger Games for most anticipated movie.

Anticipation Level: FREAKIN’ STOKED!

Not much going on between July and December (as of yet).

December

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A prequel to my favorite movie series ever release? Oh yes please. I believe this takes on a more family friendly environment than that of Two Towers or Return of the King, but I can’t wait. Legolas cameo in the works as well? Uh, no brainer.

Anticipation Level: VERY EXCITED!

No Official Trailer out yet for the Hobbit!

Order of Excitement:

1. The Hunger Games

2. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

4. Men in Black 3

5. The Amazing Spider-Man

6. Snow White and the Huntsman

7. The Woman in Black

8. The Avengers

Favorite Movie of all Time: The Lord of the Rings

"I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise. "Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee." And I don't mean to. I don't mean to."

Recently, Brittany, Raleigh, Brooke and I have started to watch the Lord of the Rings movies. Brittany has never seen these amazing films and we set out to show her what she was missing. She actually loves it so far, that’s how awesome my wife is. It didn’t surprise me though, since she liked movies like Harry Potter and shows like Game of Thrones.

Why have these movies become my favorites? I honestly have to say the characters. There are so many wonderful characters that you follow with multiple different storylines that all lead to the same thing. The fellowship has sworn to protect little Frodo Baggins as he treks across the world of Middle-Earth, defending against orcs and evil wizards. Who would not like this? Well, most women and men with letterman jackets, that’s who. But that isn’t surprising.

Any ways, the characters and story just leave me wanting more when the story finally concludes. Frodo, Sam, Pyp and Merry all hit special heartstrings throughout the conquest. The slow transformation from happy-go-lucky Frodo to dark-ring-possessed hobbit is one of the saddest stories in the series. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli all bring the hardcore moments, namely Legolas who has to be the coolest of all the characters. Then, there is Gandalf, the wonderfully powerful wizard who takes on a Balrog head on screaming one of the most recognizable quotes in movie history, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”

Oh man, just got goose bumps.

In just about everything I watch I need great characters that I care about. Lord of the Rings is by far one of the strongest showings of characters in anything I’ve ever followed. The journey to Mordor is one of the most compelling stories told and Legolas taking out orcs with his bow made me stand up and cheer.

If you haven’t watched The Lord of the Rings yet, please take a night to try out the first movie. I know it’s not for everyone but it is definitely worth giving a try. 

The Walking Dead Invade My House!

My entertainment of the weekend consisted of a lot of brains getting eaten.

Well, this weekend I watched a new movie and a new TV show, both related to the Halloween holiday. Friday night I got home and wanted to watch a scary movie, so I popped in Netflix and found two choices that I really wanted to see, Zombieland and The Crazies.

I’ve heard that Zombieland is almost more a comedy than a horror movie. So, I went with The Crazies, which I haven’t heard too much about but I remember the previews being decent for it.

The Crazies

To my surprise the movie was actually a lot better than what I thought it would be. It had a zombie feel to it, but these were different types of zombies that didn’t really seem interested in brains. They seemed more interested in just killing people, basically acting like crazy zombies. I guess that’s where they got the name of the movie?

Anyway, the movie starts to change directions into a government cover-up conspiracy theory in the middle and that’s when it really started to get interesting. The army gets called in and tons of people die and get shot by them as they quarantine the city trying to keep the infected in the same area.

The main character is interesting and believable, as well as his deputy but I didn’t really connect with anyone else. The visuals were great, and the sound was that of a classic horror movie, so no complaints there.

I’d recommend going to check this one out if you are wanting to have the thrill of zombies chasing you around. Britt on the other hand didn’t like it as much I don’t think.

The Walking Dead

Last night, as football was dying down Brittany and I found ourselves with nothing to watch. Then, I remembered that The Walking Dead was about to premier.

Boy, am I glad I remembered. This show went far beyond my expectations and honestly I’m more excited about this show than any other show on TV currently.

Let me start by saying that I’m completely surprised that this show is on TV, if this were a movie it would be rated R. It lives up to the hype of any zombie movie’s gore level, tons of gun shots to the head, a lot of blood spraying, and a lot of cheering from me. Brittany on the other hand had her hands over her face through most of the episode. I will definitely make sure that Micah is asleep before watching any more from this series, seeing as his only interaction with zombies so far in his life has been from Plants vs. Zombies.

This show is going to be rich in character I believe; I’m already caring about the main character. The opening sequence with him (a sheriff’s deputy) and his partner was brilliant and got me connected to both of them immediately. By judging by the preview for the rest of the season it seems there will be several other characters I will get close to and hope they don’t get eaten by the blood thirsty undead.

Overall this show really surprised me and really has me wanting more. I haven’t been this interested in a show since the beginning of Lost, and we all know how that show turned out. Let’s just hope they can carry this awesome premier throughout the rest of the season.

Even if you aren’t into zombie lore, I seriously recommend checking out this show, but make sure no kiddies are around and be careful if you have a weak stomach for blood.

Here is the trailer:


That was my entertainment of the weekend, a good zombie filled Halloween!