Nerd in the 'Noke

Gone Girl (2014), R, 145 minutes - My wife and I have been extremely busy with all of the things that come with buying and selling a house.  And while we're very excited about it, the process has put a bit of a damper on our usual weekend routine (including my theater hopping habit).  Things are moving along nicely and by the end of the month we should be getting settled in our new home.  A midst all the house related craziness, I was able to sneak some time yesterday to see Gone Girl, the new David Fincher directed thriller based on Gillian Flynn's best selling novel from a couple of years ago. I had heard great things about the book and started reading it about a month ago.  I'm not the world's fastest reader and I wanted to be sure to give myself enough time to finish it before the movie came out.  I shouldn't have worried.  The novel was every bit as good as I had been told and I blew through it in a week (slowed only by life's responsibilities suc...

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), R, 116 minutes - First things first: A Million Ways to Die in the West is a raunchy raunchy comedic western.  This isn't the sort of 'R' rated film you take your kid to.  For anyone familiar with writer/director Seth MacFarlane's work that may not be much of a surprise.  For those that aren't, the trailer - even the non-red band trailer seen below - gives a pretty good idea of what to expect. This is MacFarlane's first theatrical project since 2012's Ted, the surprise comedic hit from that summer.  A Million Ways to Die in the West follows suit with loads of MacFarlane-brand humor.  Albert Stark (MacFarlane) is a paranoid, down on his luck sheep herder from the western frontier town of Old Stump, Arizona in 1882 and believes that pretty much anything can and will go wrong in the wild west.  Examples of which are illustrated throughout the film, some more ridiculous than others. I always have difficulty writin...