How Stella Got Her Groove Back

 

             Usually in a typical slumps, being forced into captivity by extreme cold weather, for which really don't get me wrong I love a good walking around in the coldness but when it gets to ridicules negativity that's just insane especially three days tops. Anyway, I tried to pick one movie to prep my February themed movie about love and I stumbled onto a movie that I surprisingly remembered a long time ago back when Dish Network was always releasing previews, and I wasn't old enough to watch the movies. How Stella Got Her Groove Back, stars Angela Bassett, who I can't stop thinking about how gorgeous she was in the movie, especially forty years of age along with Whoopi Goldberg back when she was still funny and didn't lose all her brain cells admits being on the View.

             Unluckily-in-love stockbroker Stella (Angela Bassett) jets to Jamacia with her gal pal Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) for some fun in the sun. There the 40-year-old working woman has in island fling with Winston (Taye Diggs) -- a handsome 20-something. When it's time to return to California, Stella realizes that she's developed real feelings for her new man. But, with their distance from each other, not to mention their disparity of age, does a real relationship stand a chance.

              No question this was one of the many movies that I remember seeing in terms of watching dish on demand previews at a young age and this movie would always come up constantly and all I remember was Whoopi Goldberg being in the movie moreover I remembered watching parts of Sister Act. And of course, this movie was of many films that I remembered watching because when you’re a kid you usually either watch Disney or anything that your sister watches or your dad, moreover I never had any intention watching the movie for many reasons I was a kid and had no intention of wanting to watch romantic films. So, finding this movie available on Hulu I figured what the hell, I mean it's one of those things where you just must pick the random movie to watch and have the hopes of it being good or turning it off and this was the same technique, when it comes to finding some good hidden gems. Furthermore this turns out to be one of those great and entertaining romantic comedies I've ever seen, and a lot of that goes to Angela Bassett who I only watched her in Black Panther and didn't realize how drop dead gorgeous she was in this movie, as well as realizing why Taye Diggs was falling for this woman I mean no question Bassett was and still is a great actress but her presence on screen as well as her beauty was a big factor of me being convinced of this movies potential. In fact I felt bad for the son in the movie because if I was his best friend I would constantly tell him that his mom is smoking hot, constantly and even in scenes where all of the ladies have moments of looking at Taye Diggs and realizing that he's with Bassett's character is no question at times cringe but then becomes funny because as a guy I would be understandable and say I would hit that, in fact if I was Taye Diggs I would most certainly go after Angela Bassett even if it means bringing out the lame catch phrases ever, and that's what makes this movie great is that yes this movie does have that chick flick feel but also has a convincing feeling that all the ladies and all of the men would most certainly go after this couple. Taye Diggs whose infamous for his Broadway roles in hits like Rent and Wicked, I got to say how crazy it is that this was his first breakout role in film, and even if it means being romantically involved with a gorgeous woman like Bassett which I'll say a million times if I was in his shoes I would most certainly go after her. Though it isn't just these two that makes the film great it’s also actresses like Whoopi Goldberg and Regina King that makes the film great I mean Regina King does a great job playing the sister whose delivers on the comic relief, just Regina King doing what Regina King does best and granted this was long before she won an Oscar so talk about paying your do's when it comes to being an actor or actress. Even watching Whoopi Goldberg in the movie I look back on her life and think wow this woman was a great comedic actress and then she loses her marbles with being on the View and you know, it's a good life lesson for everyone no matter what you do in your career as an actor or actress don't let society change you nor let any big time city like LA or New York change you, for many reason situations like that are the reasons why even if you live in those big cities, they slowly change your views and I don't know what Goldberg's were at the beginning of her career, but I most certainly know she lost her marbles when she became a View regular and it's sad to notice a woman with great comedic potential slowly begins to lose her ways. The movie is based on the book by Terry McMillan, for which really I begin to realize wow, a lot of the romantic comedies that I love are based on best sellers like High Fidelity, to Crazy Rich Asian's and let's not forget The Princess Bride, for which really there must be a pattern for some of these romantic comedy/drama's that I begin to like are based on books and yet there not based on books by Nicholas Sparks. For a first time watching, I got to admit that this is another one of those films I would most certainly recommend watching as well as putting this film in my list of top ten best rom-coms, for reasons it has all the elements trying to find you passion as well as dealing with age gaps, but most importantly just following your heart no matter what people tell you. More importantly this film has all the elements you need in a rom/com/drama from its perfect couple to great comedic talent as well as great pacing of whether or not this couple would be together till the very end and really this film without a doubt impressed me in a lot of ways as well as noticing Bassett's character is the most realistic Stockbroker I've ever seen on film. In closing, this is on Hulu and for certain I would highly recommend watching this great film from start to finish.

                  

Spin Me Round

 

                    

                      This was one of those nights were I was just scrolling through Hulu, trying to find some kind of romantic themed movie, that I could talk about through the month of February, and really this was one of those movies that I would think "oh this might be intriguing", since the film has the ever beautiful and comedic talent in Alison Brie as well as Aubrey Plaza whose progressing as a talented actress so, again there's some go list of actresses that would be interesting in watching especially when watching the trailer for the first time. Unfortunately, this was one of those movies gave me mixed emotions as well as in ending that I'm not sure if the writer and director gave up or didn't think through his ending, though sadly the director of the film, Jeff Baena died a month ago which for me being new to this news I feel like "The Dude", say "that's a bummer, man"

                      Flown to an Italian immersion program on her company's dime, what starts as a romantic getaway devolves into chaos.

                       I wouldn't say that this movie was all bad, consisting of that the film has a pretty good first and second act the problem is the third act where I felt like they just threw us a loop of confusion that never quite resolved nor gave us in a sense a satisfying ending. Granted the first-two acts are really good mainly because they give us a woman played by Brie, whose a bit lost in life, is gifted with this opportunity by the company to go on a vacation to Italy, though it doesn't go exactly as planned because the funniest part is they go to Italy but they are caged in which is lot like the family vacation I've experienced in the past ten years. But through the course of it she begins to find love in unexpected places with the owner of the company, and then finds a unexpected love from the secretary played by Aubrey Plaza, but is conflicted as well as learning that the owner is not what he seems. For which, goes in an different feel for me because after the first and second act, Aubrey Plaza is nowhere to be found, told through the movie that she's fired, and things just go out of control in terms of the story as well as where is the movie supposed to go, like I would imagine that there would be a conflicted love triangle for Brie to choose between the good looking guy or Plaza's character but then that just doesn't happen. And sure, you can have a unresolved ending true, but when you’re doing a bizarre love story that turns out of control you got to have a satisfying ending especially when the character is first introduced as someone who went through a bad relationship so, in all fairness that whole twist of the third act is what threw me out of the movie as well as not feeling the need to ever watch this movie again. Once I looked up director Jeff Baena and heard that he died of suicide I begin to question ever wanting to write a review of this movie, and the other thing that was sad about this whole ordeal is, that he was married to Aubrey Plaza, which again it was like damn, that sucks. I wouldn't say that this movie was the worst thing I've ever seen. It does have its moments but then, it gets lost in the shuffle of the third act as well as my interest in the movie almost kind of the same vibes as the first Dune movie. I can't say I would recommend the movie for everyone to watch but if you understand the movie better than I could then go nuts whoever you are. Though I'm just going to leave it at that since the unexpected death from Jeff Baena but to everyone whose going through something in life I would highly recommend at least talking to that person and keeping that person at heart not matter what their experiencing or how their feeling.  

         

Companion

 

                    Ladies and Gentlemen, I truly believe that I found what most certainly was the best movie of 2025. Though sure, we're not close to the halfway mark of 2025 but, when it comes to the woke generation majority of them are usually crap or better ways garbage though sure there are some sleepers that sometimes become good, but I have a good guarantee that this film is without a doubt the best of 2025. Companion, is one of those films that has that it factor that once you watch the movie trailer and you see it through you immediately sold on what the film is and know it looks good it's almost like when the Invisible Man came out five years and it shows an abusive boyfriend, well this movie has that intrigue after Ron Swanson heard about the Meat Tornado. Furthermore, it was at my local movie theater and as luck would become fate, I picked the excellent time to hit the movie theaters.

                    A weekend getaway turns bloody and violent when subservient android that's build for human companionship goes haywire.

                    Usually when it comes to recent movies coming out a year, you watch the previews or movie trailers and, well I'm going to use me for example I get one look at each movie and I think "dumb", after the first watch or even see anything especially in Super Bowl time and their obviously dumb, not my cup of tea, furthermore it's always 100 of these movies that come out once a year and sure, there like a few or maybe five of these film that come out once a year but then again, now it's usually just nothing but crap. But once in a while there's only that one movie that comes out once a year, and every time I watch that one trailer I usually say that "you have me sold" it's like The Invisible Man when that film came out five years ago, and heard about that the Invisible Man was an abusive boyfriend I was like Ron Swanson when he heard about the Meat Tornado, and really Companion this year is my Meat Tornado. I didn't find a whole lot of info on writer/director Drew Hancock, other than finding out that this was his first ever movie but more importantly this guy is from Omaha, Nebraska, for which I was like this guy is my personal hero. Mainly because, Hancock wanted to make movies though it took him a long process especially movie to LA as well as working up the ladder process, moreover when the pandemic happened he made a goal in getting his voice heard in Hollywood as well as, writing out some story ideas and that's were Companion came into Hancock's sites. No question, Companion reminded me of the TV show, Westworld when I watched the trailer for the first time, but in all honesty it didn't bother me at all, because I always want to see these kinds of stories where we see a disgusting side of humanity especially when the fear of this concept may come into reality and I swear if that happens or Disney does this thing, where you can date a princess for a day, I will scream out in disgust and troll the internet about how humanity is a mistake. Both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid do an exceptional job in the movie, I have never seen a whole lot of Thatcher's work, but she does an exceptional job playing the protagonist in the movie. While Thatcher does a great job in the movie, Jack Quaid does a fantastic job playing the boyfriend who slowly sheds his skin and becomes this vicious antagonist and even the rest of the cast does a great job as well and this is just a few actors in the movie but that's all you really need. It's kind of sad that you only get one of these movies a year while majority of the films that come out a year don't exceed my expectations, and really it's these kinds of movies that just get me interested in wanting to go out to the movies, hell just the simplest stories and the right writer and director making these films work is what I really want to see when it comes to at least going out and going to the movie theaters sure, I'd love to see a big budget movie or a superhero movie but all of them now are just movies I already seen and that movie tickets as well as concession food costing lot of money is why I usually don't go to the movies a lot. Companion is one of the best and most certainly the greatest movies that came out in 2025 and that's saying a lot, for many reasons I doubt there is going to be another film like Companion to come out this year. So, here it is ladies and gentlemen, young couples or married couples. If you’re looking for a movie to watch this Valentine's Day week, I would highly recommend seeing Companion at your local movie theater this week.

      

10th Anniversary of Crimson Peak

 

           

               

                 To start of well, technically late start off to the month of love aka February as well as Valentines Day. I'd start with a movie that's been ten years since I watched in the movie theater and had mixed emotions about it and yet ten years today I still have mixed emotions about the movie and yet watched it any way just because it's streaming on Peacock and I'm not purchasing the movie for which is the least of what I want to do personally so, I figured why not give this movie a watch and see if it changed my thoughts, ten years ago. Crimson Peak is a mix of horror and romance created out of the strange mind of legendary director Guillermo del Toro, a director that has the same bizarre inspirations as Robert Eggers but in my personal loving experience I would choose Guillermo del Toro over Eggers because del Toro's work I can understand and appreciate more than Eggers work in a heartbeat well, besides this movie.

                 After marrying the charming and seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), young Edith (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself swept away to his remote gothic mansion in the English hills. Also living there is Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain), Thomas' alluring sister and protector of her family's dark secrets. Able to communicate with the dead, Edith tries to decipher the mystery behind the ghostly visions that haunt her new home. As she comes closer to the truth, Edith may learn that true monsters are made of flesh and blood.

                  The first time I watched the movie or to better go into great lengths I saw the movie trailer and though "well, it's typical Guillermo del Toro's weird gothic vision of a haunted house and great has great list of actors so, why not check it out", and really at the time I was working morning shows and I didn't have a whole lot of fun time I just go to the earliest shows possible and get free popcorn and soda basically using cheap tactics as possible. And, my first thoughts while watching the movie especially going into the beginning of the second act of the film, and realized how awful Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain's house is in terms of wanting to live there and even in the scene where the character of Edith is carried by Tom Hiddleston into the house, I was just horrified of how sh*ty the house looks especially when there's no roof and at times begin to decay and even times when you see moths appearing in the final act, like there more character growth's in the mansion then the entire cast I feel when watching the movie. Self-assured, that this film is supposed to be Gothic/horror and romance, almost as if Edgar Allen Poe would of written for his life's work, but I who has seen many movies consisting of haunted houses I personally feel that Crimson Peek is one of those movies that lacks the originality of its purpose. Moreover the fact that it's supposed to have the horror or scary elements as well as consisting of ghosts, there's hardly any scary moments in the film, I mean films like The Haunting or Alien hell, any classic horror movie that you can point to and say that movie creeps you out, this film has none of that like even in times when the ghost appear and Edith is wanting to talk to the ghost, it seriously feels almost like a reality ghost show you find on cable TV especially those shows where you most certainly feel their full of sh*t. Jessica Chastain, who I've liked as an actress moreover respected though that part at times I question but as an actress when I first watched her was I believe Zero Dark Thirty and respected a lot because she always does a great job portraying a tough woman or playing an attractive woman on screen and for real she always played that actress that you can most certainly respect almost like Charlize Theron or Sigourney Weaver, and this was 2015 she most recently came out with the movie the Martian for which she does a great job playing the commander of the film, and this movie I believe came out weeks or months before the Martian sometime in October. And this was probably the first time ever where I slowly began to realize that Chastain was defiantly that kind of actress where she literally chews the scenery and this film was a great example of that furthermore she does a great job playing the antagonist of the movie, because re-watching the third act where she's chasing the character of Edith I thought she was terrifying as if I was being chased by a crazy woman I would find the nearest shotgun and blow her away, then tell the cops that it was self-defense. But then till the end of the film she goes back to chewing the scenery with her famous quote "I won't stop, till you kill me, or I'll kill you" which really explains the movie in all fairness. Ten years ago seeing this movie in the theaters I had mixed emotions about the movie, now I still have mixed emotions about the film though this is most certainly a film that I really don't need to watch again in the next ten years, I mean it's one of those films that I'm sure, every person addicted to wearing black or wears makeup, dyes their hair black or goes to Hot Topic every week, will most certainly love this film and if your that person that loves all of that I'd say go nuts buddy, it's on Peacock. But, for me if I wanted to watch any of Guillermo del Toro's work I would most certainly watch Nightmare Alley, Pacific Rim, Hellboy and the best Blade movie Blade II, but when it comes to Crimson Peak I believe I'm done watching this movie in my lifetime or if somebody pays me to watch this and make fun of the film, I will most certainly say sure, everyone needs the money once in a while ask Michael Strahan. But for certainly this may be odd to say but if I had to choose between the most boring not so scary movie, like Crimson Peak or The Lighthouse, I would choose Crimson Peak despite that sounding a little dirty if you ask me.

       

The Slammin' Salmon

 

                    

                   One of those typical nights where I either couldn't sleep or was just finding some kind of movie to pass the time, although, this movie and another fellow movie have a similar common theme (the other being Crimson Peak) and that's "maybe take some time off and refresh". The Slammin' Salmon is a great example of that trend of maybe you should wait and take a good year, maybe three-year vacation for the jokes to come back and be fresh again. Written and directed by the same comedic duo that brought you Beerfest and Super Troopers, Broken Lizard (Jay Chandraskhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) who each man brings out the best of each other especially when you watch the first two Super Trooper's films and Beerfest, but I think that this was one of those times where these guys could probably take some good time off and get refreshed from remaking movies.

                   A restaurant owner (Michael Clarke Duncan) pits members of his wait staff against one another in a competition to make the largest amount of cash in one night.

                   Not a whole lot of info I wanted to search for, in terms of the development of the movie except that the movie itself was filmed during the writer's strike of 2007, unfortunately the comedy duo wasn’t part of the writer’s guild so, they were granted time to get their film made. According to an interview by Kevin Hefferman aka Farva, as well as director of the film said in an interview that the intent for the Slammin' Salmon was to make a Glengarry Glenn Ross movie with the mix of Marx Brothers comedy. For which, sure it sounded like a good idea, I guess? But, this was one of those movies were the jokes land so flat, and to be truthfully honest I wasn't sure if this was because of budgetary concerns because when it comes to comedy you just have to improvise at times maybe come up with a new joke and have different takes. Though with this film it feels like they couldn't afford to have multiple tasks to make the comedy flow or either way I just believe they were looking at the reels and thought to make this the best they could or another assumption "just bail?" Now, I don't know if this is just me and my age is kicking in but, I'm sick and tired of the spineless guy not standing up for himself, like, sure I would imagine the Gen Z generation would think it's funny or any Adam Sandler fan would think it’s funny but me that's just so, flat and not even close of being funny and that's what this film provides and sure it's funny when you have a character like Farva in Super Troopers where the rest of the squad can't stand but have to put up with him mainly because it's a work environment we, as an audience member always have that kind of Schmuck. But, with this movie when you have a manager who doesn't stand up to his boss who makes terrible choices and is not bright, then it just gets annoying especially when it's been used repeatedly.  I don't want to slam Michael Clarke Duncan all that much considering that the man has been dead for quite some time, though this is one of those films were even his comedic talents fail at times considering that he plays a boxer that's somewhat dumb as well as doesn't make the best choices and feels like he was trying to explore more comedic values after Talladega Nights but, this was just no good, in fact wasn't even impressed with his performance in this movie as well. The Slammin' Salmon was released about three years after Beerfest so, there's is a good reason as to why this film didn't live up to its standards moreover the expectations when I first watched the film, we in fact a letdown. This movie should be a lesson on what not to do when making your next success to Beerfest or a brain builder on what you can do better but, for a movie to watch in your own free time I wouldn't recommend watching this film even if you have a sense of finding something different. 

        

The Blues Brothers

 

                Still on the quest of finding movies that I haven't touched nor, had much of my lifetime to take the time and seen from start to finish. And it just so happens, The Blues Brothers was on Amazon Prime, and I just thought well I have all the time in the world, so, why not watch the movie from beginning to end. Starring John Belushi in his iconic yet final comedic film before his passing, along with fellow Saturday Night Live, alums, Dan Aykroyd as well as list of Blues and R & B legends James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway. Now, I'll admit that this was my first time watching this classic comedy craziness, but this was one of those films where I just don't know what to say mainly because of what it's trying to be in terms of musical or comedic spoof.

                After his release from prison, Jake (John Belushi) reunites with his brother, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) -- collectively known as the "Blues Brothers." Jake's first task is to save the orphanage the brothers grew up in from closing, by raising $5,000 to pay back taxes. The two are convinced they can earn the money by getting their old band back together. However, after playing several gigs and making few enemies, including the police, the brothers face daunting odds to deliver the money on time. 

                I will admit in a full disclosure way of saying this, I technically didn't watch the film all the way through for many reasons, the way the film started I wasn't quite sure if I was listening to anything mainly cause, there was no music and for a movie to be called Blues Brothers you could at least add some harmonica music to go along with the intro part of the movie right? Then when I finally sat down and watched the movie through, the musical elements put me in a puzzled state as well as some of the comedic elements to the film just, again it was one of these movies where they take some of the over-the-top comedy to the next level just gave me that mixed emotion of "huh". Now granted both John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were at the peak of their comedic genius after spending so many years on Saturday Night Live and give them credit at being comedic geniuses, but with this movie I just was trying to put together on what this movie was supposed to be, considering that this movie does have musical elements but then we get to the out of control comedic elements that goes way over the top and then it just loses me out of it, especially when Carrie Fisher is trying to kill the Blues Brothers and of course through the course of the movie she fails constantly and the joke is she's a horrible shot, or even when the apartment complex blows up and they walk away from it, it goes from like any of the Naked Gun films or even the Airplane films that you begin to realize that you've seen this movie so many times that you begin to realize it while watching the movie. Granted some of the action sequences are cool especially some of the ways they were able to film the car chases but then again when they comedy goes over the top you slowly begin to lose interest but it's like a train crash, you don't want to look but you can't stop watching the mess go up in flames. I'm sure there are people out there that rank this as one of the greatest comedies ever made, but for me this is one of those films where I have mixed emotions of wanting to like this film and not quite sure in what to make of it and sure there are some funny moments especially with some of the nun scenes, but then it gets way to out of control. The best part of the movie is that it ends in a way like the TV series Fargo where you can stop watching it, after the season is done, then you can call it good as well as walk away before it gets worst especially when there's a sequel and after watching this movie I really don't feel the need to watch the second film. So, if your fan of the “Blues Brothers”, original film I'd say go nuts and watch the film on Amazon Prime, but if you are like me and don't know what to make of it, just remember you’re not the only one out there that feels confused about the movie like I am. 

Ice Guardians

 

                        Now, a couple of weeks ago I reviewed my opinions of the movie Goon, starring Stifler and Victor Creed. And I just happened to mention a small documentary, a film titled Ice Guardians and believe me when I say this, I feel like this would be a much better recommendation than watching Goon. Though in all fairness I do need to expand my horizons at times and sometimes there good hidden gems and, well at times they just don't age well or makes you lose into the reign of how can you do this better even though this film has already been made and there is no point in wanting to fix, that certain film like Goon unless you have all the money in the world to remake that movie, than sure.

                        The film explains the evolution of the on-ice enforcer, which was around since the days of the Original Six, later made a big impact in the seventies, as well as the eighties and nineties, but the after those years it soon becomes a decline of the enforcer as well as a debate on whether these warriors should still be around for these superstars or perish.

                        Not to say that Goon wasn't a bad film, and you shouldn't watch the film, that's not what I'm intending, and really Goon was a decent film though had a ton of flaws, things that just don’t work for me as an audience member. Ice Guardians for me is for certain, that go to movie to watch if you want to see a great story about these hockey goons or warriors that gives a great reason as to why we all love hockey, and if you’re not a fan of Hockey your obviously there for the Hockey fights. Now, I can't decide everyone's opinion because in all fairness every sport in America has changed from football to baseball, hell even basketball has changed more than baseball but the game of hockey has stayed true to its origin for a long time even if you don't want to watch the game all the way through and, there is some fights happening in regular season time but there's a whole lot of fights when it comes to the playoffs even though you'll probably be bored but for me, I don't care a whole lot about wanting to see more fights when it comes to hockey as long as my team is winning and especially when it takes a number of minutes for my team scores a goal is when I jump up and down and glad to see that my team is winning or the game is at the point of no comeback then I turn the television off. What makes this film great furthermore one of the best Hockey films of all time, is that the film alone give you a down to earth realization of why the enforcer is always important especially in the game of hockey mainly because if you look at the great one aka Wayne Gretzky career he had a ton of guys backing him up when he was on the ice throughout his career shattering records, and yet when you take a look at Sidney Crosby's career he had a lot more concussions than Gretzky ever had, and that's because the league started dismantling a lot of the hockey goons, all because there trying to get passed a ton of the Hockey violence which leads to the important question of would the game of Hockey be just a little more safe than the league being a little too worried about the fighting of hockey being a bad influence. The other thing in what this film does perfectly is that we see a glimpse of these guys who when they do get into the NHL, there it’s a dream come true but then they have to go back down and realize that there position as well as there playing time isn't enough and it's a matter of time of when there time of playing is coming to an end or can they still have the mental capacity to keep playing through the pain and injuries. In terms of Hockey movies I've seen I will rank Ice Guardians, up there between Slap Shot and Miracle, and even though this is a documentary the film tells a great story about the solo role of the enforcer protecting teammates not matter the cost and later in life, has suddenly diminish and what truly happens when some of these superstars now, all of a sudden don't become protected and what happens. The film is both on Tubi as well as Amazon Prime so if you’re a fan of Hockey or the NHL, I would most certainly recommend watching Ice Guardians from start to finish. 

  

January Recommendation: The Hateful Eight

 

               This new year was really about finding any movie that would most certainly be putting me into a good mood whether it was Beerfest, watching a Bill Murray film that made him a star though I also watched Stripes as well when it came to this month hell, I even watched Hot Tub Time Machine which really, if you haven't seen Hot Tub Time Machine you need to stop what hour doing and watch that great comedy. Then of course there were times where I decided to watch a winter themed movie like The Grand Budapest Hotel or celebrate hockey season like watching Goon. But then when you find that one movie that's on Hulu and it most certainly puts you in the best of moods like that way of saying "absof**kinglutly". Well Quentin Tarantino's second epic Western, The Hateful Eight was most certainly the movie to refresh your soul so, you can get back into the crumby world of life

               While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on the mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all. 

               Originally, The Hateful Eight was intentionally going to be a sequel to Django Unchained, but Tarantino realized that Jamie Fox's character did not fit the story which really he could of had a story involving Jamie Fox and Sam Jackson's character in The Hateful Eight for which would lead to the movie, title The Hateful Eight, but really when it comes to Tarantino I don't know what would be the best story to come up with so I can't honestly complain about that. The film itself, according to Quentin Tarantino was inspired by the sixties Western Television series, like Bonanza, The Virginian and The High Chaparral, and Tarantino explains basically states that all of those shows would usually have a bunch of outlaws take the lead character hostage or go to a place and most of the outlaws were portrayed by guest starring actors like David Carradine (long before he made his epic climax in Bangkok) and Charles Bronson. And Tarantino in his own words "I thought what if I did a movie starring nothing but those characters? No heroes, no knight and shining armor type heroes. Just a bunch of nefarious guys in a room, all telling backstories that may or may not be true. Trap those guys together in a room with a blizzard outside, give them guns, and see what happens". The film alone is ten years old as of this year in fact it's been close to films release although I may be thinking it was released around January, though you know how movies releases are these days. And truth be told I've seen this great movie at the local theater and any of Quentin Tarantino's movies age like fine wine, moreover there's really not a whole lot to say when it comes to a Quentin Tarantino film I mean the film alone speaks for itself from the great actors he casts to the great storytelling to even the satisfying endings that we can all enjoy over and over again. Although I will say that this was probably one of the most beautiful films he's ever shot in terms of scenery and even shooting outside when it comes to winter time despite very little outside filming, now I don't know if it was visual effects or painting but the first couple of shots where there still in the first act of the film with the blizzard chasing after the stagecoach is hands down one of my favorite shots in the entire movie. If I can may some lists of the many gifts that Tarantino is able to use when it comes to making movies, it's most certainly gathering a list of actors he trust as well as actors you'd never expect would show up, and this is him and Samuel L. Jacksons many collaborations and I would most certainly add this as Jacksons greatest roles when it comes to a Tarantino film but you also have a list of actors like Michael Madsen and Tim Roth fellow alums from Reservoir Dogs and even Kurt Russell does a great job in the movie, for which really was a role that I believe Quentin asked him to be in so he can wipe out the stain, that is Death Proof. Now, I don't know if this movie would have a different appeal because I heard one of the two actors that were approach for the movie was Viggo Mortenson and Jennifer Lawrence, all I can say is Mortenson I can see in a Quentin Tarantino film, unfortunately not so much with J-Law especially when it comes to Jennifer Jason Leigh and to make a long story short I'm very glad Tarantino made the wise choice in casting Leigh as the prisoner/antagonist. I can imagine right now Quentin is taking a long break from Hollywood for many reasons, mainly mental break from Hollywood bulls**t especially reporters, so I can understand with good reasons why we haven't seen any reports about Tarantino's latest updates to his next film he'll make. If it were me I would recommend all of Quentin Tarantino's movies for all the world to see because to me he's most certainly up there in one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and, sure kids of this generation or the butt hurt schmucks out there in the world would never appreciate his movies but I'm most certainly one of those guys that loves and cherish his films till the day I die. As for the Hateful Eight I would highly recommend anyone who haven't seen any of Tarantino's films or is finding a good movie to start off with because to be fair their most certainly one of those films that you must see and think but also delivers a ton of shock and awe. So, if you either have a Netflix account or a Hulu account then I would highly recommend watching this great Western until the final frame.

              

A Real Pain

 

                   On a typical Saturday night there is nothing better to do although I was technically house sitting for my parents, while they go on vacation. And really I was told about Jessie Eisenburg's second directorial film, A Real Pain was premiering at the local IMAX theater in one of the many towns I go see movies at, furthermore saw a preview of the film and thought why not it has that intriguing sense of a human story of two grown cousins who both have baggage in their everyday lives, more importantly this is one of those films that I'd never imagine watching a movie of Jessie Eisenberg's mainly because I always viewed him as a type cast after his Oscar nominated role in The Social Network, but then this is probably one of his best works of all time. 

                   Mismatched cousins David and Benji (Jessie Eisenburg & Kieran Culkin) tour Poland to honor their late grandmother. Their adventure becomes complicated as old tensions resurface while exploring their family history.

                   A big surprise is that this film is Eisenburg's second feature film, later in his career he made his first directorial debut "When You Finish Saving the World", and this basically was his first directorial debut, and basically the important part is that he just basically wrote and directed his first film didn't act in the film just wanted to focus more on directing his first feature film and this was around 2022. Now, with A Real Pain Eisenburg just decided to write a story about his heritage of what it means being Polish and Jewish at the same time and has really been asking about that question for quite a long time. Emma Stone, who co-starred alongside Jessie Eisenburg with Zombieland, has been a longtime friend as well as a producing partner who most recently produced this film along with Eisenburg's past films. At the time Eisenburg wasn't familiar with Kieran Culkin prior to developing the script, but later cast him, based on his essence as well as his sister's recommendation. Although Culkin wasn't sure about wanting to do this movie mainly because he wanted to be around his family and was recently finishing wrapping with Succession, that I truly believe he most certainly wanted a break from acting as well as probably didn't want to do another drama like this, but after a series of conversations as well as convincing with Emma Stone, Kieran decided to be in the movie along with Eisenburg. Moreover, all this movie is credited to Kieran Culkin's performance in the movie and the man no question has a great talent of being able to portray a character with a ton of baggage but also is a down to earth guy who loves his cousin no matter how dysfunctional the two of them are. Even Eisenburg does a fantastic job directing this great human-interest story of what it means to carry the burden of past family pains as well as having to live in the shadow of your own religion being oppressed even after the events of WWII. And true there times in Eisenburg's other past work where I wasn't really interested as in actor because after the Social Network he's always been branded as this uptight guy whose socially awkward basically playing Mark Zuckerberg kind of made him a hit but was kind of like Jim Parsons portraying Sheldon Cooper where that character will never go away from this guy, though after doing some research I realized that Jessie Eisenburg is in fact OCD actor which I figured he would be because that's always followed him through his career but now seeing him as a writer and director I've begun to respect him more, especially with a movie like this furthermore casting Baby aka Jennifer Gray in a movie which I totally didn't realize she was in the movie until I looked the movie up after watching the film. Even though I saw this film at a IMAX screening, the film itself is recently on Hulu so, for a first time seeing Eisenburg in the director’s chair as well as an actor and writer I have to say this is most certainly up there in the top five best films of 2024, in fact it's so good I can now push Dune Part Two out of the list and store that movie into the closet of films I can only watch once. So, if you’re looking for a feel good and relatable movie to watch before the Academy Awards come around then I would highly recommend watching A Real Pain, for Eisenburg's writing and directing as well as Kieran Culkin's best on-screen performance since Scott Pilgrim versus the World.

 

                     

                 

Meatballs

 

                  I'm aware that this film is a hundred percent a summer themed movie and since we’re still in the first month of the new year we're not going to be seeing heat waves in the next four maybe five months. Desperate times calls for desperate measures, especially when you trying to find a full-time job as well as applying for a job isn't going your way. So, like the past couple of weeks I'm trying to find movies that are in the range of winter themed movies but more importantly finding films that put me in a good mood, and as fate would have it Bill Murray's first collaborations with both Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis, Meatballs has become the latest streaming movie of the month of January and I figured why not watch a Bill Murray film that I have not even came close to seeing, and surprisingly enough it wasn't what I expected in a typical raunchy film.

                 Tripper (Bill Murray) is the head counselor at a budget summer camp called Camp NorthStar. In truth, he's young at heart and only marginally more mature than the campers themselves. Tripper befriends Rudy (Chris Makepeace), a loner camper who has trouble fitting in. As Tripper inspires his young charges to defeat rival Camp Mohawk in the annual Olympiad competition.

                  The surprising thing I find when watching the movie is that, and granted this is from watching classics like Caddyshack, or Stripes is I would imagine this movie to be in the raunchy stage of 80's comedies. When in fact this movie does have those elements in a fair sense but more tone down in terms of how much raunch they can use, furthermore compare this movie to Stripes, this film technically a softcore porno if you want to compare this with past works of Bill Murray's earlier and most recognizable works. As much of an ego/narcists, Bill Murray was throughout his film career as a comedic actor, I never in a million years imagine this guy being a mentor/friend to a kid who is having trouble fitting in. And I was a bit unsure of what I should think of this movie especially Bill Murray's performance in the film, mainly because I always looked at the guy as a immature a**hole from is more popular films like Ghostbusters, Stripes and even Groundhog Day, like it was really on the freaky side of what I was expecting. Though to the films credit this something new out of Bill Murray that I never quite expected and the fact that he' tries to help out the estranged loner kid played by Chris Makepeace, I find it awesome to see for many reasons, I never had much in terms of cool counselors when I was going to Catholic camps but after watching Bill Murray's performance in the film I wish I had him as a counselor because he would most certainly be that go to camp counselor that I want to hang out with over and over again if I'm being forced to go to any summer camps. A side from this being Murrays first starring role in a movie with the success of Saturday Night Live, I got to admit that this was most certainly a movie where Murray shines as one of the all-time great improvisors from the many camp announcements he does in the movie to his epic comedic speech by the end of the movie, and Harold Ramis who co-written the screenplay states that Ivan Reitman did not know for certain whether Murray would be in the film until he showed up till the third day of shooting, for which I believe this was the first of many times Reitman or Ramis would get use to his antics until Bill and Harold had their feud during Groundhog Day filming. For any old film or classic movie that films next to a K-Mart I will always recommend a film that respects and honors the once and out of business K-Mart (anyone out there remember K-Mart?) because my entire childhood was always hanging around K-Mart's even when they began dying off the face of all of America. The movie itself is on both Peacock, Tubi and Amazon Prime and even though this is a summer themed movie I would highly recommend watching this movie because this is most certainly a great film that you can watch and have a great time watching this 80's cliche, comedic characters do their thing for an hour and thirty four minutes and really if your old as I am and want to remember the good old days of K-Mart's being in your local town, then this would most certainly be a movie for you especially when it's Bill Murray's rise to stardom.

           

10th Anniversary of The Grand Budapest Hotel

 

              This is most certainly the first ever movie I ever watched from the list of Wes Anderson's filmography. To those, who are not familiar of Wes Anderson's work, the man has in what may be in all his films, has a bewildering sense of strange humor that sometimes is confusing but at times works for that essential period. And since this only movie I like of his, has reached a anniversary mark of ten years since the film’s release I figured why not watch this great comedy furthermore see if it still lives up to its name. I strangely remember watching this film ten years ago saving the film on a cable network aka Spectrum satellite for which was my parents and brother's final time to ever purchase anything that's related to Dish Network and Direct TV, and to be honest I was just loving the role Ralph Fiennes was portraying and thought that it was the most brilliant comedic role I've ever seen. 

              In the 1930's the Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European Ski Resort, presided over by concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). Zero (Tony Revolori), a junior lobby boy, becomes Gustave's friend and protege. When one of Gustave's elderly lovers dies mysteriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder. 

              Now, I haven't seen a good portion of all of Wes Anderson's films, though in fairness some of them were all in either cable previews list, either way I didn't get much into his work because they somewhat in my stand point looked a bit weird or wasn't sure what to make of it such as a film where Bill Murray is seeking revenge on a shark. Furthermore, it wasn't out of a sense of disrespect or wanting to get into his work I just looked at most of his previewed films and thought that they weren't all interesting for me. That is until I got finding the Grand Budapest Hotel and was deciding in my best interest to give this movie a shot and really it was Ralph Fiennes performance that was the main reason why I dug this movie from start to finish. The film has a grand total of seventeen actors combined throughout most of them are in a grand sense cameo appearance. Anderson himself customarily employs a troupe of longtime collaborators, actors like Bill Murray, Adrian Brody, Edward Norton, Owen Wilson and even Jeff Goldblum, have worked on or more of his projects. According to Brody, who said that the most significant challenge was balancing the film's comedy with the otherwise solemn. If you really need a reason as to why I would recommend anyone to sit down and watch all two hours of Grand Budapest Hotel it's most certainly because of Ralph Fiennes performance as this bizarrely entertaining, yet ahead of its time, concierge M. Gustave. Mainly because of his out of this world humor unexpected punch lines that still give me a smile every time I watch him on screen and I believe during pre-production Fiennes was trying to get himself out of the villains portrayals from all the Harry Potter films he appeared in, and although he wasn't sure on how to approach the character, to me Fiennes was the main reasons as to why I never watched all of Andersons films until this film came along. And it isn't just Fiennes portrayal in the film countless actors like Adrian Brody who does an excellent antagonist almost out of the silent films with the crazy mustache, Edward Norton does a great job as well and even the newcomer Tony Revolori who plays Fiennes pupil furthermore has great facial expressions whenever Ralph says the most unexpected things through the course of the movie. Even after ten years of the film’s release, I still say that the film alone stands the test of time and maybe now I do need to make a point and watch some of Wes Anderson's filmography though not all of them just a few in terms of testing out the waters. But more importantly, I still rank this as a comedy of the 2010's and if you’re like me whose a bit unsure of Wes Anderson's work I would say to try this film to be your first obviously because of Ralph Fiennes performance but most importantly, it's a good stepping stone of wanting to get your feet wet in a sense of wanting to try and watch some of Wes Andersons work. 

           

Goon

 

                    Going back and finding some simpler kind of movies more like trying to find anything between an hour and thirty-minute or hour and fifty-minute films just to get myself prepared for the new year and since we're amid hockey season, I figured I'd take a whack at a hockey movie, something you'd never quite expect. I've been familiar with the movie Goon for quite a while after watching it for the first time in quite a long while. The film itself stars Sean William Scott in the well, I'm not sure if this is the unlikeliest of roles though something that I'm not sure if I would cast him in this role with all things consider I think this was a way for him to branch out of his side character's he's only been famous for, like I don't know American Pie?

                    Though a misfit among his brainy family members, Massachusetts bouncer Doug Glatt (Sean William Scott) has a knockout punch that lands him a spot on a minor-league Canadian hockey team.

                    Having re-watched the film now I will say that this film is at true a decent film from start to finish, that being said though, I would of made a ton of changes with the movie needless to say maybe replace Sean William Scott or change his character in terms of being a complete moron and I get it, the character is supposed to be this dimwit bouncer whose only known for fighting and that's what gets him success of being a hockey player. But I would rather have the character at least stand up to his parents at least moreover have some conflict in terms of is he really being treated as a goon or want to give more as a hockey player. And just some of these little tips can make your hockey movie about enforcers or goons be a good or great movie and it's not that hard. In the world of Hockey there is always that role of being an enforcer or goon, players like most recent Ryan Reaves or can go back in time and talk about past legends like Dave Schultz or even Claude Lemieux and with the changes in the NHL of course the goon's role is in a sense left out because all there made to do is fight nothing else and I think with a movie like this you do have a sense of story that needs to be told in a different stand point. The one actor in this movie that really saves the movie and no it's not Eugene Levy, it's surprisingly of all actors you'd expect saving a movie is Liev Schreiber who does a fantastic job playing the veteran goon on the verge of retirement but most importantly gives a lot of advice to Scott's character and really I kind of wished we had more of his character in the movie but granted he's supposed to be the antagonist/mentor so I guess you can't always have what you want in life. If you’re ever feeling the sense of finding that one feels good movie or any sports related film, I would recommend watching this movie and only this movie, for reasons why I say this movie alone is because there's a sequel and I don't believe anyone needs a sequel to this film, but if you’re not a big fan of Sean Williams Scott, for which I can totally understand there is another movie/documentary that explores the enforcer/goon role called Ice Guardians I would also recommend watching that film if you’re not feeling of for 90’s dead weight like, Sean William Scott. Though I would recommend not buying this movie, more like if it's free on any streaming service you've subscribed to then you can most certainly watch the film, from that standpoint.

 

                          

Reacher

 

                 A show that me and my brother started watching, I believe back in November of last year and this is most certainly one of those shows that I believe is a love letter to all those 80's cheesy action movies that we've all grown up and loved over the years. A lot of you are probably familiar with the show Reacher, me I only heard about the Tom Cruise movies to the point where I didn't really care because I wasn't really wanting to waste my time with Ritalin crazed Cruise man. But then again, it was one of those times where me and my brother had this thing where we both watch one television show together from start to finish and surprisingly enough it's not too bad.

                Reacher (Alan Ritchson) is a former U.S. Army Military Police Major, who prefers to live as a drifter, traveling from town to town across the United States. Though everywhere he turns trouble seems to be coming to him or trouble doesn't know what they’re dealing with.

                Watching this show I'll admit did kind of make me laugh in a sense of the choice of actor, because Alan Ritchson in case you haven't seen the former Spike TV show Blue Mountain State, Ritchson plays the linebacker whose insanely dumb (maybe gay?) at times the obnoxious bro but his infamous shouting of GET OUT! aka screaming like a girl, is what haunts my dreams as well as every time I see him or watch him on the big screen. Sure, I can accept the guy is turning himself into a different person as well as getting a wider known role instead of Blue Mountain State but deep down just watching the guy doesn't go away in terms of this being the same guy who obnoxiously screams like a girl. Though in the end this show is impressive especially Ritchson as an actor despite him taking his shirt off constantly because all the ladies have to see this guy without a shirt, though I wish we can have more women taking their shirts off, just me personally. I don't know what the best way to describe the movie other than this is a show about a man with an unknown background but is an unstoppable wrecking machine, I mean basically all the cheesy action movies you love from films like any Arnold movie, Chuck Norris film or even a Sylvester Stallone flick where the entire film is just a predictable storyline from the first episode to the final episode, and you know that the character of Reacher is going to kick these bad guys a**s like there's know counting on that but it's really the story as well as each episode is what makes it worth seeing. I will say the entertaining part about watching the show is the predictable sex scenes they have with each season granted season 1 only has one but, when we get to like season 2 then I was literally on the edge of my seat, screaming and wanting Reacher and his love interest to start hitting the slow saxophone music, because I just knew it was going to happen and of course me, when they do it I'm just screaming "yes" as if I just won a bet, I mean basically it brings back to all of those years of me being forced to witness any Grey's Anatomy show or any Soap Opera show on ABC, so either way I do feel proud of myself in the end. I've never read any of Lee Child's book series of Jack Reacher but as a show by itself I would most certainly recommend watching the show from season one to the upcoming season three, I mean it has all those great elements on what makes a great action show but most importantly it does have tribute feel to all those 80's action movies as well as predictable sex scenes for which I hope in season three that we have a three way with season one love interest and season two love interest that's defiantly what I'm hoping would happen and if not that's fine I'm not worried.

     

Beerfest

 

                A New Year has come my friends and to be truthfully honest I was in a bit of a letdown with Christmas coming and going, though don't get me wrong I know it's part of life but I was going through a funk phase of being laid off, from my job in November, not really wanting in a best essence to go finding a new job so, to make a long story short I wasn't feeling in the best way possible all because of what the new year will hopefully bring. So, I had to find one movie that can give me a fresh relief in life. And this movie was no doubt one of the greatest decisions I've ever made in my entire life, especially when you are in a funk. Furthermore, I knew I had to get my dad involved in watching this amazing film, if you aren't familiar with the Super Trooper's movies or Tacoma FD show I'm sure you've watched this film in your college years and thought this movie was the greatest film in all the world. 

                Two brothers (Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter) from America happen upon a secret and centuries-old beer-games competition during a visit to Germany's Oktoberfest. After losing badly, they return to America, assemble an impressive team of brew-lovers and return to Germany for a rematch. 

                The concept of the film's premise starts really with one of the simplest of ideas, basically going on trips or re-living a memory. Jay Chandrasekhar director of the film as well as part of the writing team Broken Lizard who all four men wrote Beerfest, states "We were at a Beer Garden in Australia (wearing our Police uniforms) and we went on stage and challenged the top five drinkers in the room to a chug off. The place exploded. We were winning, but then Paul Soter started drinking and we quickly lost. Then we had an arm-wrestling contest. Then Steve Lemme insulted national treasure, Russell Crowe and we had to be escorted out by security. We thought that would be a fun movie. The drinking part", for which the rest becomes history if you ask me. Now going back and watching this movie along with my dad. I will say that this is the most underappreciative movie ever made and for me one of the best comedies ever assembled, and the fact that you have critics that view this movie is the worst comedy ever, and I feel like these critic's obviously haven't watched this film all the way through and if you want to talk worst comedies try looking at films like A million ways to die in the West, or Don't mess with the Zohan. The Broken Lizard crew are exceptional writers and comedians I mean the fact that these guys have been doing it for quite a long time is impressive as well as underappreciative because all of these guys films aren't perfect but there most certainly funny and entertaining from start to finish almost the modern-day Mel Brooks or Harold Ramis. The other thing in what makes these guys great is that they cast some of the most unexpected actors/actresses to make the film work hell Donald Sutherland is legendary in this movie even though he's only in the opening part of the film and it was a much better performance than watching Invasions of the Body Snatcher's personally. But the best for last is Cloris Leachman who does a fantastic job in the movie playing the inspiration for her young Grandsons in a great comedic way possible and even though she passed away four years ago, she's no doubt one of the greatest comedic actresses out there along with Madeline Khan. So, ladies if you want to find a good idea of what makes a great comic actor it's called having a great sense of humor and if you don't believe me, watch this movie as Leachman shines throughout the movie. Super Trooper's is defiantly a great comedy you can watch over and over again the same with its successor despite that it's a shame premise but Beerfest is most certainly that one comedy that you can watch over and over again from its great opening scene to its iconic one liners, this is most certainly a comedy that you can watch for months on end and feel refreshed whenever you’re in a depressing mode and Beerfest is most certainly that comedy that needs to be seen to be understood by a wider audience. The movie is on Tubi and so I would highly recommend watching this with your own father because it gave my dad something to laugh at and I'm certain it will give your own father tears of joy.  

      

Ghostbusters II

 

               We're nearing the end of 2024, with all the emotions of Christmas coming to an end or deep down not getting a snowy white Christmas was a bit of a letdown, and to be honest I don't know how in a sense to express those emotions. Thankfully I decided to watch an underappreciative sequel to a movie that's 40 years old but is also memorable for its great list of actors and the belief of Ghosts, in fact a more belief of Ghosts than all these other bulls**t reality shows like Ghosthunters. I would re-review the original Ghostbusters or watch the original cartoon though really where's the fun in watching the one Ghostbuster's film that I was allowed to watch growing up. That's right Ghostbusters II was the only film I could watch when I was young, and the story will be a little in the sense of funny but in the end live and let learn, I guess.

               Years after saving New York City from Gozer, The Ghostbusters suffered major claims of damage and were eventually disbanded. But when Egon Spangler (Harold Ramis) is told about a strange event by Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and her son, the men including Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) launch a rogue ghost chasing mission. The quest goes awry, landing them in court. But when ghosts appear in court, the judge dismisses the case and orders the Ghostbuster to get back to work.

                I've probably said this story many of times hopefully this will be my last time, long before I was born in December of 86, the original Ghostbusters was that go to movie in my brother's life and my brother said the infamous words from Bill Murray after they captured Slimer, my mom just slapped him across the face. Now, I'm not sure if this was the main reasons as to why I wasn't able to watch the original Ghostbuster film either way it didn't bother me all that much in all fairness, sure I can rip by brother for not letting me watch the original Ghostbusters growing up but really I had the sequel to keep me company as well as the cartoon series so, all is good and fair deep down. The sequel to the 84 Ghostbuster to me was really underappreciative for many reasons it still has that Ghostbusters magic though it's at times misplaced in terms of the comedic vibe you always loved with the first movie as well as toning the movie down just a smidge though in all fairness they didn't tone the movie down all the way not like David S. Ward did with Major League 2 but will get to that later I want to talk about the development of the sequel. After the success of the Ghostbusters a sequel to the movie was in the process unfortunately it was still going through a series of redlights and greenlights on going with the idea or not, especially with some of the main actors did not want to make a sequel for nearly three years and by the time there were committed Murray was already in works with Scrooged. Then when they were finally ready to do the movie, the story wasn't ready so, really it was a mix of making something work in the best way possible. Furthermore, with the success of the Ghostbusters cartoon Reitman, Ramis and Aykroyd toned down some of the adult humor as well as everyone giving up smoking despite there a few scenes where Dan is smoking a pipe or a cigar. And true the sequel wasn't it's best as the first movie but the film does have some great moments from distracting the cops as well as the real construction guys while digging whole in first avenue or a smidge close to throwing the judge to the ghosts while the judge is begging for them to help him after wanting to burn them at the steak, even the funny scene where Winston is getting run over by a ghost train and Egon is asking him about the number on the locomotive and he give him a straight answer "sorry, I missed it". Like the movie itself isn't as perfect as the original film but some of those scenes and the magic from the first Ghostbusters are still there even when you have some great scenes with Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray in terms of building chemistry from the first film as well as Weaver being a strong mother in protecting her son, as well as the same with Murray with the young child. And even Bill Murray claims he wasn't at all great with the film, but I would say to Bill that Scrooged was not even as great as I remember so shut your egotistical mouth up and accept that these guys are the reasons you’re a great comedic actor. No question there are some scenes I have questions about especially certain scenes but I would still recommend watching this great Ghostbusters sequel for any day when you’re not having a good day or finding something to watch on New Years and if the Statue of Liberty walking through the streets of New York with Jackie Wilson signing in the background not giving you a huge smile on your face then you sir have no soul because when I first saw that scene it literally brought a huge smile to my face and I hope with this film if you’re a Ghostbusters fan or not I hope watching this underappreciative film or any other film will give you some joy deep inside with the sense of hope will be bliss. So, I wish you all a Happy New Year and hopefully 2025 will be a decent year.  

         

40th Anniversary of A Christmas Carol

 

              1984 was most certainly a year of many great films with great success like Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the Natural and Police Academy. Though, I don't think I would ever in a million years, ever forgive myself if I did not talk about a movie that is most certainly one of the greatest adaptions to Charles Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol staring legendary actor George C. Scott in the title role of Ebeneezer Scrooge and David Warner as Bob Cratchit as well as Roger Rees as Fred (Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood Men in Tights).

              The unscrupulous businessman Scrooge (George C. Scott) doesn't think much of Christmas charity; but then the ghost of his deceased business partner appears to him, trying to get him to change his mind; Scrooge should learn to open his heart. 

               George C. Scott's, A Christmas Carol is hands down one of the best adaptations to Charles Dicken's classic most certain. Really when it comes to iconic film adaptions like Mickey's Christmas Carol or Muppet Christmas Carol is that you always need the right actor for the role of Mr. Scrooge because he's the catalyst of the entire film so, you really need to have a master class actor in that role of Scrooge, unlike the Bill Murray version of Scrooge where sure you can adapt it to this era where you can portray him as an earlier Donald Trump or Bob Iger where he's a obnoxious cheap bastard always releasing the same thing but you have to make the jokes fresh and excellent and not look so stale. Though with this movie it was a perfect adaption to A Christmas Carol mainly because of George C. Scott, I mean the guy just has that way of perfecting his portrayal of Scrooge but more importantly perfected his presence on screen moreover every time he walks or steps on screen, he's just great from start to finish. The other best part of the most is the three ghosts interacting with Scott as well especially when Scott is going back to his past seeing his young years as well as seeing his father and it's almost a great reflection of a man seeing the man who made him this way especially when he's even describing the story behind each of his past reflections. Sure The Ghost of Christmas future is excellent and creepy but the one actor who deserves a lot of credit is Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Presents where the character is supposed to be this jolly character kind of like Santa or father Christmas but through the course of the movie he really because a disturbed like character and I remember when I was a kid watching the movie I was more terrified of that guy then, Ghost of yet to come. Like Woodward whose great playing a jolly guy but then becomes savage when he uses Scott's own words against him, for which sure at the time I was terrified at the guy, now that I'm a grown man I can understand that the Present is proving a point to Scott's character which really makes a lot of sense with this movie, because each of the Ghosts are trying to give him sense that if he doesn't change the future will be indefinite. There has been a billion adaptions of A Christmas Carol probably a thousand in my lifetime but no question George C. Scott's A Christmas Carol is the greatest portrayal of Charles Dicken's classic like Mickey's Christmas Carol I will most certainly watch every month of December the same with Muppet's Christmas Carol but I'm making sure every Christmas Day I'm planning on watch A Christmas Carol for many reasons George C. Scott is the number one reasons but more importantly the set designs as well as the cinematography is just great especially when this was released on television and yet what I really believe is a crime against humanity is this movie not getting an Emmy or Golden Globe for best movie on television. So, for all of you wanting to watch an excellent Christmas movie I would recommend watching this movie, with your kids on Christmas Day especially on Hulu, and maybe see if your kids are terrified by Ghost of Christmas Present like I was when I was a kid, and if not then I guess it was just me (kids these days). So with that I say Merry Christmas to one and all. 

           

80th Anniversary of Meet Me In St. Louis

 

                 Coming to the final days till Christmas I knew deep down that I needed to talk about another Christmas film that could be on the debate table on if or isn't a Holiday classic, though is officially 80 years old. Meet Me in St. Louis is one of the many movies that my parents checked out at the local library for movie nights with me and my brother and sister, furthermore this was one of my sister's all-time favorite's mainly because she was a huge fan of the Musical genre as well as a big fan of Judy Garland. Sadly, this was the second film of Judy Garland's that I only watched throughout my life hence the other film was The Wizard of Oz. This is probably another film society should take on the debate case and answer we should consider Meet Me in St. Louis in the Christmas movie genre.

                  "Meet Me in St. Louis" is a classic MGM romantic musical comedy that focuses on four sisters’ (one of whom is the nonpareil Judy Garland) on the cusp of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

                  To answer the question of if this film is in fact a Christmas film, we should make some great examples as to why we should answer this question mainly because the film focuses on the Judy Garland's family through the course of four seasons of the year, for which to give you an example Act I is in the Summer time, Act II center's around Fall time following the third Act in the Christmas season, for which we end the film in Spring time so, how can we consider this movie to be a Christmas film? Well to give the film credit the film introduced us all the one of the many popular Christmas songs "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", for which was sung by Judy Garland herself, and the song was in the process of making numerous changes for many reasons the song was considered too depressing. To give a great example the first draft of the lines "It may be your last/Next year we may be living in the past" became "Let your heart be light/Next year on our troubles will be out of sight", and in fact Garland version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" became popular among the United States troops serving World War II; her performance at the Hollywood Canteen brought many soldiers to tears. So, in all honesty that's a plus sight to consider this film in the Christmas movie genre. I will admit watching this film at times does leave my brain in a confused state, for which I'm not going to list all of them just a few great example of why is the father of the film (played by Leon Ames) has a huge stick up his a** like every time you see the guy he's either offended or just is literally chewing the entire house I mean you could probably see the bite marks all over the house even chewed the cabbage while having supper I mean sure the approach to his character is basically Mr. Smith wanting to give his family a honest and successful life and by the end of the movie he realizes that he's ruining has family happy life in St. Louis but still feels like he's being way to dramatic which coming from a man who has a sense of humor it really is funny to see. Though a series of conversations I still don't understand in one of the lines Ames says that "next week I'm going to play first base with the Baltimore Orioles, which really at times causes my brain to melt because at the time of this film’s release there was no such thing as the Baltimore Orioles and me being logic pondered in wouldn't he just say play first base for the St. Louis Cardinals? Through a series of conversations, I came to the realization that he was obviously mentioning the minor league team that Babe Ruth was playing for, before he went to the Red Sox. An interesting fun fact I learned (all thanks to Google) is that kids back in 1903, is that kids really did throw flour at people during Halloween night which really shows how we roll with the changes in terms of what is acceptable and what is not but most importantly if we did throw flour at people now they would all feel but hurt, because lets be fair and state that liberals are thieves of joy. As for Meet Me In St. Louis, I would most certainly consider this film to watch on any season or Holiday but most importantly watch this beloved classic on Christmas time for a lot of great reasons the film does leave audience with a Christmas miracle but most importantly if you’re looking for something else to watch on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, Meet Me In St. Louis is a great film to watch for its classic tale as well as Judy Garland doing what she does best, but most importantly it certainly a great refresher if you’re not feeling the mode of being reminded of your own dysfunctional family like Christmas Vacation or Home Alone and as for me my New Year’s resolution if going to go through a good portion of Judy Garlands past films.