Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)

Genre: Musical

Running Time: 48 min

Plot: A poor otter family risks everything they own to enter and win the prize money of a talent contest in the next town over.

Review: I'm pretty sure that most people have never heard of Emmet Otter and it's a shame. The Jug-Band Christmas is a Christmas classic and everyone should know what it is. My family has been watching this for as long as I can remember going back to the early 1990s. It is not Christmas without watching Emmet.

The movie itself was amazing back in the 1970s when it was made, but if you watch it now you will just laugh at how bad the puppeteering is. You will smile through out the entire movie and start repeating a lot of the classic dialogue. You will recognize a lot of the voices because it is a Jim Henson movie and a lot of the voices of the Muppets are in the film.

The set is amazing because everything is hand-built and the detailing is some of the best I have ever seen on a landscape model. Everyone should see this movie at least once because Emmet Otter should be a tradition in every family.

Quote you might say after watching this: "I'm not hungry.... I'm HHHUUUNNNGGGRRRYYY!"

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 8/10 bottles

Black Swan (2010)

Genre: Drama

Running Time: 108 min

Plot: A New York City ballet company wants to reinvent itself with a new adaptation of Swan Lake. Portman wins the starring role of the Swan Queen and quickly unravels with all the pressure of being the face of one of the most prestigious ballet companies.

Review: Have you ever wondered what it would feel like going through a nervous breakdown and on the edge of psychosis? Black Swan delivers this feeling to the audience as they sit back and enjoy a truly unique story.

You might wonder what actually happens in the movie and you realize that you are in the same boat as Portman's character. You think one thing happens, but it turns out to be a fantasy or a mind trick she plays on herself. The intensity builds and builds and explodes in chaotic beauty during the final performance.

I have never felt the way that I did after the film ended, and I'm guessing the entire movie theatre felt the same way because it was completely silent. After a few seconds to process what just happened you can hear a stir of echos of cheering mixed with confused comments. Black Swan is one of the darkest movies I've seen and it is not meant for everyone. If you are curious about what movies should do to audiences, Black Swan is a perfect example to get people talking and is now one of my favorites.

Quote you might say after watching this: "What just happened? I will never mess with a ballet dancer again."

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 10/10 bottles

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)

Genre: Musical

Running Time: 45 min

Plot: An up-and-coming supervillan named Dr. Horrible, video blogs about his struggles of balancing his evil career and his pursuit of a young woman he has a crush on.

Review: Dr. Horrible is actually a three part Internet special, but when you watch all three acts together it's more of a musical short film masterpiece. My best friend introduced Dr. Horrible to me on Netflix, and as a big fan of musicals and superheros, it was the perfect short movie someone can make.

Neil Patrick Harris is the perfect cast for Dr. Horrible and the short film wouldn't work without him. All of the songs are very entertaining and you will find yourself tapping your feet along with the beat. The screenplay is creative and will have you laughing out loud through most the movie as you sympathize with Dr. Horrible.

Even though Dr. Horrible is the star, Captain Hammer throws in his cocky ego and adds to the pure amazingness. The best aspect of the film is that it was low budget and seems like a side project that a music/comic book geek did for a senior project at college.

Quote you might say after watching this: "Does anyone else want to start a sing-along blog?"

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 10/10 bottles

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Genre: Musical

Running Time: 98 min

Plot: After a world-wide epidemic GeneCo builds the technology for replacement organs. GeneCo finances these organs at a high price: if you don't make a repayment, they will send a Repo Man to get their property back. Oh... and it's a Rock Opera!

Review: This is an instant cult classic! I would even say that it is this generation's Rocky Horror. It is an off the wall rock opera that is entertaining from start to finish. It is a strange feeling to be happy and rocking out out to people getting killed over financed organs which seems all to possible in the near future.

The music is high quality and the characters are all interesting making everything blend into one of my favorite musicals. This a great movie to watch on any occasion unless you or someone you know just got an organ transplant.

Repo! is an original idea and a great movie to introduce to all of your friends. Who knows... maybe you will even dress up like the characters and go see it at a mid-night movie house. If you like musicals like Rocky Horror, I would definitely recommend Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Quote you might say after watching this: "I can't believe I liked a movie with Paris Hilton in it."

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 9/10 bottles

Skyline (2010)

Genre: Thriller

Running Time: 94 min

Plot: An army of unknown extraterrestrials wreak havoc on the human race and harvest their brains. Powerful blue lights paralyze and force humans up into the foreign spacecraft.

Review: Did anyone else think Michael Bay directed this when the trailers came out? Come on... the first thing I said was, "It looks like Michael Bay is remaking Independence Day." Strange enough that after I watched the film; I was even more convinced that he was a part of it and was uncredited. Average thriller/horror with fake drama, average acting, average plot, used all the films budget on special effects sums up to be most Michael Bay movies.

I went to see this for two reasons: the special effects looked good and Turk was in it. There were two good reviews after watching the movie: the special effects were great and Turk was in it.

Skyline is a lot of fun to watch for a boring night and you want to play board games and have noise in the background. If you want to see a better made action/horror/thriller with extraterrestrials, I would watch Cloverfield, District 9, or even Starship Troopers.

Quote you might say after watching this: "At least Skyline isn't the worst movie that I've seen."

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 5.5/10 bottles