Alright, the first part of my “Year In Review” focused mainly on the music we heard over the course of 2009. CLICK HERE to check it out and tell me what some of your favorite albums were.

I think for the second part, I want to just throw out some of my favorite movies of 2009. I’m not gonna give you a Top 5, because I didn’t see every movie that came out, and to be honest, I have a feeling some of the ones I missed might make it on a Top 5 list…Make sure to leave a comment here and let me know what your favorite movies were.

We saw a lot of movies come out…from special effects masterpieces (Transformers 2, Avatar) to hilarious comedies (The Hangover, The Goods), there were a lot of good flicks at the theater. Here are some of my favorite, in no particular order:

• Watchmen
• The Hangover
• District 9
• I Love You, Man
• Halloween II
  
• Zombieland
• Inglourious Basterds
• The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
  
• Brothers at War
• The Taking of Pelham 123
• Law Abiding Citizen

One of the movies that I really, really wanted to catch in the theater but wasn’t able to was “The Road” with Viggo Mortensen. From what I heard, it’s a pretty killer flick. I also want to catch “It Might Get Loud,” which I believe just came out on DVD. This has Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Paige all getting together and jamming. Uhhh, hell yes!!!

So, that’s it for this one. Nothing too insightful. I love movies, and I thought 2009 was a pretty good year. From “The Hangover” to “Halloween II,” I was rarely disappointed at the theater…at least as far as I can remember!

Let me know what your favorite movies were, and let’s get ready for 2010 (Iron Man 2, Jackass 3D)!!

–F ‘Em Up

December is going to kick the year 2009’s ass. What a way to close things out. This week, we have the presale for Alice in Chains in February at The Midland. Next week, we have Twisted Christmas (which I am giddy like a school girl for). The next week, we have the Harley Giveaway, and I am going to have to say goodbye to that gorgeous Fat Boy Lo and that sweet Camaro SS. The next week: Christmas. And closing the month out, of course, the one, the only, New Year’s Eve Big Ball! (And somewhere in there, we’re gonna have to sneak in a 100 Mile Radius with Moose!)

And that’s just what is going on with The Rock! I forgot to mention that tomorrow, the first day of the last month, we get the 90 minute season finale of Sons of Anarchy. The thirteenth and final episode of the second season is going to be huge I have a feeling. Allow myself to nerd out a little, and this Friday we’re going to enjoy the series finale of Monk. That’s right, not just the season finale, the series finale. The final episode. We’re gonna see the DVD releases of two killer movies, Inglourious Basterds and District 9.

Needless to say, I’m excited. I can’t believe the year is almost over, but man, what a year it’s been! But, as I write this blog post, I realize it’s still November. SO, what better way to say goodbye to the 11th month than with some kick-ass videos of a kick-ass guitarist LIVE in studio?! That’s right, Mr. Gary Hoey joined The Johnny Dare Morning Show live in studio this morning. CLICK HERE for the videos on Free Johnny Dare.

What’s going on in December in your life? Ready for 2010?!

–F ‘Em Up

Alright, I know this movie came out on October 2nd, so I’m a little behind the times, but I figured I would still throw my 2 cents in…I saw “Zombieland” over the weekend and loved it! A few people in our promotions department saw it opening weekend, and said it was one of the funniest movies they’ve seen in a long time, with one of the best cameos they’ve ever seen in a movie. So, needless to say, my expectations were set high.

Ryan Westward posted a blog about Hollywood and how much they are sucking (I paraphrased that a bit). Check it out here. Ryan brings up a lot of good points, and it’s hard not to agree with him, but as far as “Zombieland” goes, I think the director, Ruben Fleischer, nailed it. He took a franchise, the zombie thriller movie franchise, and turned it on its head and created something original that as far as mainstream movies go, has not really been seen before.

It’s gory. It’s funny. It’s “Zombieland.” Beyond the plot and storyline, which were great, I thought the quality of the movie was awesome. Jesse Eisenberg, the main character, has a list of rules on how to survive while living in Zombieland. As he goes through and details some of these rules, the way that they are displayed and explained are really cool…To totally get what I’m saying, I guess you just gotta see the movie.

And the cameo…Oh my, the cameo. I’m not going to ruin it for you, but the cameo is freakin’ awesome! I don’t want to spoil it, so that’s all I can say…You won’t be disappointed!

So, go see “Zombieland.” If you’re a fan of zombie movies or comedies, you’re gonna thoroughly enjoy it…And if you’re like Ryan and are losing faith in Hollywood movies, check this flick out and you might feel a little better.

–F ‘Em Up

I have been excited for Quintin Tarantino’s new flick, “Inglourious Basterds,” for a long time now. I remember seeing the trailer back in April and thinking, “Brad Pitt killin’ Nazis? Sign me up!” It took me a couple weeks to get to the theater to see it, but I finally made it. I gotta say, I was not disappointed.

From the opening credits to the end of the film, Basterds feels like a Tarantino movie. In fact, one of the only complaints I have toward the movie is that the beginning feels a little too much like a Tarantino movie. What I mean is that by now, after seeing Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, not to mention Deathproof and Kill Bill, we have a pretty solid view of what a Tarantino movie should feel like. The beginning of Basterds seemed like it took a little too long to get into the meat of things…a little too much dialogue. But, by the end of the movie, I had forgotten about that, and was insanely pleased with what I saw.

I will say this: Don’t go in thinking it’s going to be a bloodbath. Yes, there are a couple violent scenes, and those are crazy nuts, but for the most part, it’s nothing insane. I thought the movie was fantastic…The ending, while not a huge twist, was perfect.

So, within just a couple of days, I’ve seen two movies, and both seemed to have near-perfect endings. I don’t know what the next flick I’ll catch will be…Maybe Mike Judge’s new movie, “Extract.” But rest assured, you can find my review right here.

–F ‘Em Up

Alright. I was able to squeeze in a showing of Halloween 2 before the kick-ass Steel Panther show, and I am glad I did. The movie was AWESOME!

There was no doubt in my mind that the movie was gonna be fun to watch, but I gotta say…I was genuinely impressed with it. Mr. Rob Zombie did it right. Again.

The acting was great. The story was great. The sound was – or should be – award winning. And the ending, to say the least, was near flawless.

Needless to say, I loved the movie, and would highly suggest it to anyone. But be aware, it is pretty crazy intense and a tad violent. If you don’t want to see (and hear) a man’s face get stomped in, you should probably stay home.

Good movie. Simple as that.

–F ‘Em Up

So, I thought before I went into the studio tonight, I’d watch a movie. Just got “Adventureland.” Looked good enough, right?

Wrong. The movie sucked. I’m usually a pretty easy movie critic, but was highly disappointed with it. The actual flick was nothing like I expected—and nothing like the trailer made it look like.

At the end of the movie, I had to ask myself, “Did anything happen during the past 2 hours of my life?”

So…it sucked. Simple as that. But, I will say I am freakin’ excited for Halloween 2, which I think I’m gonna try to squeeze in before the big ol’ Bash tomorrow. Looks like I’m not going to get any sleep.

See ya’ tomorrow.

–F ‘Em Up

So before I came into the station this morning, I watched “Alpha Dog.” This movie is almost 3 years old, and I’m finally just getting around to watching it…I know, it’s kind of sad.

If you haven’t seen it, let me highly suggest it to you. It’s an unbelievable movie about teens involved in the drug scene in Los Angeles a few years ago. You watch as this “gang” of druggies slowly is torn apart by certain decisions, namely the kidnapping of a rival’s younger, 15 year old brother.

The best part about the movie is the fact that it is inspired by true events. Not that it’s cool that what happened in the movie actually happened in real life, but it always seems to make a movie a bit more legitimate when it is based on true life. In fact, the movie so closely resembles what actually happened that people fought legally to ban the movie from running in movie theaters when it was first released.

Another cool thing about the movie is the fact that Justin Timberlake does an insane job of acting. I know, I know, but seriously, Timberlake does a hell of a job. By the end of the movie, you completely forget that he was ever part of Backstreet Boys (or was it N*Sync? I don’t know).

So, go out. Rent it. Buy it. Don’t steal it. But see it. I think you’ll be glad you did. And next time I do a little movie review, I’ll try to do a movie that didn’t come out 3 years ago!

– F ‘Em Up