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. 

     

Happiest Season

 

                    I said it before the first two months of 2024, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone in terms of watching movies I've never seen or haven't got around to seeing them but most importantly watch movies that are  different. This most certainly was a movie I never thought I would be intrigued by as well as appreciate. It is a human interest story that anyone can relate to. This movie deals with coming out to your parents, and really it’s an important topic that everyone should take the time and keep in mind, the Happiest Season is a romantic Christmas comedy I have discovered and grown to love. A  year ago, I was just browsing through some of the reels of Facebook and Kristen Stewart was in one of them along with this other actress and for some reason I was just impressed with her  acting  and I kind of wanted to see more and now that it's Christmas I figured why not talk about a film that really makes you feel, and maybe in my top five of romantic comedies.

                    A young woman (Kristen Stewart) with a plan to propose to her girlfriend (Mackenzie Davis) while at her family's annual holiday party discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents. 

                   To better describe the concept of the movie I must start off with the co-writer and director of the film, Clea DuVall, who has sadly suffered at being "that woman". Clea DuVall was in numerous films throughout the year's career including her infamous role in “The Faculty,”  a movie that combines the concepts of Invasions of the Body Snatchers with high school drama. She was also one of the seven hostages in Ben Affleck's greatest film Argo, for which,  I was surprised that she was in that movie. I hardly recognized her and basically, she was in a lot of movies where we as an audience member can point at and say, "hey I know that person in something". Though she came out when she was sixteen but hadn't announced it publicly that she was gay until 2016, for which leads us to Happiest Season where she explains in her own words about loving Christmas films but has never really seen it in the point of view of a lesbian couple's perspective, and so along with co-writer Mary Holland she began drafting a screenplay based on her experience coming out to her parents or as she explains "in a lot of ways, this movie is autobiographical". There is a ton of actresses when I looked them up I was like "holy crap" they were also in that movie, Mary Steenburgen who plays the mother in the movie is a great example because once I looked her up I found out she was the love interest to Doc Brown in Back to the Future III, for which blew my brain as well as Victor Garber whose been in a ton of films including co-starring alongside Clea DuVall in Argo but is best known for Alias as Jennifer Garner's daughter. Mackenzie Davis who at first I remembered her in Blade Runner 2049 but was completely surprised she was in The Martian where she's the one who discovers Matt Damon is still alive on Mars which blew my mind and she was simply outstanding in this film who at first is being a toxic/overreacting girlfriend to Kristen Stewart but during the last act of the film she really does a great job playing a woman who's scared in coming out to her parents and expresses her love for Kristen Stewart's character either way their argument was one of the first reals I saw on Facebook and her acting was the reason why I was intrigued in wanting to watch the film because she really delivers her all, in showing her love for Stewart's character as well as her fear and pain of losing the woman she loves. Now four years ago I began to notice acting potential with Robert Patterson in both Tenet and The Batman and now I'm seeing a strong potential with Kristen Stewart, which explains a lot because she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Princess Diana now I'm telling you all this to tell you this fun fact almost sixteen years ago my sister forced me to go see the very first Twilight film, and I was the typical guy who was saying that these two careers are going nowhere but those two sure proved me wrong. But getting back to Kristen Stewart she also does a great job portraying a woman who you can relate to but more importantly she gives the audience a chance to feel for her in hopes that these two will make it till the end, for which really both Stewart and Davis give the best on-screen chemistry I've ever seen in since D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly in The Cutting Edge and really I don't know what the best way to describe it is, just simply beautiful. Now both Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis are excellent but the true scene stealer in the entire film is Daniel Levy the co-creator behind Schitt's Creek but more importantly is the son of Eugene Levy (the infamous Dad in the American Pie films), Dan Levy does a fantastic job in playing the comic relief but what he really shines in the movie as giving a reminder to Kristen Stewart's character how scary it is to finally come out, and the way he tells it is very moving as well as Levy should of gotten an Oscar for his role. People can look at this movie as a LGBTQ film, but I was moved by the acting and the love story, but more importantly this is a human story for everyone who's either afraid of coming out to their parents or have that dysfunctional family that expects to be perfect and sometimes look at one of their kids as the lost cause of the family and I'm personally at that point in my life where all of this scolding or tolerance should not be an issue and you should always treat people equal no matter how different you or anyone else. I would highly recommend watching this for the Christmas or Holiday season for all young couples or singles out there because this I would most certainly rank this in the best of Christmas films out there, though don't let the kids watch this mainly because they don't know and it's best that they figure it out on their own. Probably should add a small spoiler: maybe two Josh Hartnett makes a cameo appearance which is hilarious with a kiss of cringe and Aubrey Plaza is in the movie and this is the first time I ever look at that woman as a beautiful creature, true story.

  

December Recommendation: The Muppet Christmas Carol

 

                                     Christmas is upon us and there were a few choices to recommend for the month of December. There were maybe two or three I was falling behind almost like everyone falling behind on their Christmas shopping and thank the Lord, I got mine done because it's sometimes annoying to be in Walmart when they have so many cashier machines and less people running those cashier machines. This year I was trying to do some experimenting with some Christmas themed films obviously some that caught my eye and some I look at and thought oh that person was in that movie the first was a movie with Pioneer Woman (Ree Drumand), sadly I lost about ten minutes of interest because like all Hallmark movies they steal every movie plot you've ever seen. And I found the one Christmas movie that I personally believed was the right call moreover like another Disney Christmas classic was a special one that came from my childhood which leads us to The Muppet Christmas Carol.

                                     The Muppets perform the classic Dickins holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Sir Michael Caine). Other Muppets -- Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and Sam the Eagle -- weave in and out of the story, while Scrooge receives visits from spirits of three Christmas -- past, present and future. They show him the error of his self-serving ways.

                                     Like Mickey's Christmas Carol this is another Disney movie that I completely forgot how great and memorable it was experiencing in my adult life, and it does have that nostalgia Disney/Christmas theme movie that you can watch over and over again during the Holiday season, moreover it's another Disney classic where you don't see any more in this generation of Disney but I believe everyone knows that. I'll say again that yes, this was the right choice to watch because it brings a ton of memories growing up because the Muppets were no doubt a big part of my childhood because I watched the original Muppet movie a dozen times. Surprisingly the movie was released two years after the events of legendary puppeteer Jim Henson (creator of the Muppets). And following the events of his death talent agent Bill Haber approached Henson's son, Brian Henson with the idea of filming an adaption, furthermore, told him that A Christmas Carol was the greatest story of all time and that it should be his next project. Originally the film was going to be made as an ABC Television movie but after months of writing and Muppet changes between which Muppet plays what character, Walt Disney Pictures offered to purchase the script for a feature film instead of a Television release. Surprisingly there were multiple actors in contending for the role of Scrooge, famous English actors like David Warner even American comedian George Carlin upon which I'm so glad they picked Sir Michael Caine to play the role because I would look at the film differently with George Carlin. Michael Caine in his own words after being offered the role by Brian Henson, said "I'm going to play this movie like I'm working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink; I will never do anything Muppety. I'm going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me", for which is the many reasons why he's one of the greatest actors to ever live furthermore took inspiration from "Wall Streat cheats and embezzlers", in his own words explained "I thought they represent a very good picture of meanness and greed". Which again this shows why Michael Caine is such a great character actor because he wants to take this classic Christmas story seriously and not play along with the fact that this is a typical Muppet movie because through the course of the movie Caine does such a fantastic job showing the emotions of cruelty, sadness, regret as well as happiness throughout the course of the film, and I also love the scenes where Caine is interacting with the Spirits of Christmas Present and Future played by Don Austen because there both the same height but more importantly it's showing Caine performing at his best with a tall man in a Muppet outfit as well as taking the story seriously as well. There's close to maybe ten film adaptations of the Christmas Carol, some of them like Bill Murray's Scrooged where you haven't seen it for a long time but then you watch it, and it doesn't stand the test of time. Then you watch versions like The Muppet Christmas Carol, and it still stands the test of time for its Holiday cheer as well as caring the true elements as to what makes the Christmas Carol such a great Holiday story of all time. So, for this Holiday season I would highly recommend watching The Muppet Christmas Carol for its ability to bring back great memories watching this beloved classic during the past Christmas season. Furthermore, this is most certainly a Christmas movie worth seeing as well as saving on your Disney Plus movie/TV show list.

           

Twenty Year Anniversary of Alien Vs. Predator

 

                                   People always have their first time they watched a certain Alien movie or the first time they sat down and literally watched the first two Predator movies long before 2004. And sure I can lie to all of you and say that I at a young age sneaked down stairs and watched the original Alien movie or the Predator films but the truth of that lie would be not at all true, mainly because my parents weren't at all big on the horror movie genre and even if they were having me watch any scary films it would most certainly be films that they would find appropriate that didn't have any blood or naked women or any sexual content. So, being a junior in high school and seeing a poster of the film Alien vs. Predator (which was a trend in 2003 with Freddy vs. Jason) and it was PG-13 for which was a perfect opportunity for me for many reasons it was the one movie that I can get away with watching. Furthermore, yes, we've past the point of Halloween, but this movie is set in Antarctica so, really this is technically a Holliday movie or winter season film.

                                   When the wealthy and ambitious Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Hendrickson) funds an expedition to Antarctica, he hopes to find a mysterious source of heat that has been detected. Led by a tough guide, Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan). Basically, they become cattle to both Predator hunters and Xenomorph parasites and a game of cat and mouse later becomes a survival of the fittest.

                                   Alien Vs. Predator was my first ever movie into the world of the Alien Universe and the Predator Universe and the one person that you'd never expect would introduce me into that world is none other than Paul W.S. Anderson the same man who made one to many Resident Evil movies but most importantly made some hits at least with Mortal Kombat and the first Resident Evil movie that literally only needs one movie but you all should know what happens when you live in LA (EVERYTHING IS EXPENSIVE). But more importantly the first Alien Vs. Predator movie, which is not at all bad granted it does have some plot holes that don't make sense but still is a fun and entertaining movie to watch from start to finish. Paul W.S. Anderson was a huge fan of Alien movies after seeing the first Alien movie in the movie theaters and was always interested in making Alien Vs. Predator movie after reading the comics that came out in the early nineties. I remember first seeing Alien Vs. Predator on DVD and the first image I can remember is the fight scene between the Alien and the Predator furthermore just loved the Predator grabbing the Xenomorph by the leg and throwing him across the room and through the course of my life always though the Predator was the coolest because of its gadgets and weaponry and never quite understood the Alien until I began watching the first two Alien movies and Ridley Scott's prequel Aliens until I understand how scary the Xenomorph is. Now twenty years ago when this movie came out this was literally released as a PG-13 movie and I believe that was a victim of producers saying can we make more money so the kids can see or even the teenagers can see it which sure you can but I think this was one of those things where they weren't sure if this would be a success or not but more importantly this film was really the end of Paul W.S. Anderson's career because after this movie came out literally was his final good movie because later down the line through the 2010 decade he made nothing but crap. So, back to the PG-13 version there's that version and a unrated version or directors cut of the movie where there's a ton of human blood and sure the director’s cut is better though there's a lot of things that both PG-13 and directors cut which the editing just doesn't add up and granted they had to make this film's runtime to like a 90 minute movie or 95 minute movie and sure you most certainly need to go quickly from point A to point B quickly so you can get to the main center which is the Alien and the Predator but again the editing was just really not so great that I can't even explain. The Story is decent from start to finish though I think the one thing that puzzle's me is that in the movie the mysterious pyramid that the film is centered on contains all cultures of the Egyptians, Aztecs and Cambodian's out in Antarctica? Which twenty years ago sure it's awesome because all you cared about was the predator and the xenomorph, now something about that idea just doesn't make any sense and I'm just stopping there because I'm just going to continue and on about what you can do better to improve the story, but the definition of insanity comes to my mind. After twenty years of its release I still say that the movie holds up even with its flaws I mean it's not scary but some of the ideas where the human and the Predator work together to survive I like a lot mainly because it shows more respect as well as honor between the two characters. I would highly recommend watching this movie (the film itself is on Hulu along with the Alien films and Predator films) with your kids I believe since kids these days can watch almost anything why not give them a chance to see a movie like this though watch it first before you get your kids into watching a movie though if you want to ask my opinion I'd imagine they would enjoy it from start to finish without feeling the need of being scared, or will they?

         

Shoresy

 

                                 Hockey Season is a go which is always a great thing to watch especially when your favorite show like Yellowstone ends in such a sad depressing fashion or even your favorite NFL football team is losing in such a huge depressing way that I can't describe look if you’re a Cowboys fan like I am you should all realize that Jerry Jones should probably have a heart attack and die or literally get thrown under a bus because that man is most certainly no a football fan. Look the point that I'm making here is that Hockey is the one true sport that roles with the changes but is still true to its roots and what better way to celebrate Hockey season than recommending a show that's most handily the greatest and perfect Hockey show of all time, aka Shoresy.

                                 After losing twenty games in the NOSHO Shoresy (Jared Keeso) and his partner in crime declare to never lose again. Which leads to Shoresy planning to win at all costs, and through the course of each season the story goes through the great ups of success and the lows of Hockey especially when you don't want your days of Hockey to end.

                                 Actor Jared Keeso found great success in playing legendary NHL coach and Hockey commentator Don Cherry in the two Miniseries based on the Life of Don Cherry, though through the course of his acting career he explained how tired he was about making it big in LA or having to move there for which I can understand that mainly because everyone should know that Hollywood is a town founded on sleazy and crummy liars. So, Keeso takes the more sensible approach and created a series titled Letterkenny Problems which is a bizarre but kind of relate too aspect, and the show later spawned multiple viewership and with that success became the cult sensation Letterkenny which lasted for twelve seasons on Crave/Hulu. Though should add Keeso is a Canadian actor and like most Canadian born kids you play Hockey for which Keeso did play Hockey even played in the Junior leagues in Canada even was a teammate two-time Stanley Cup Champion Jeff Carter. And with any side characters that becomes a sensation, a spinoff is brought to life for which leads us to the most entertaining show from Keeso's mind Shorsey upon which he also plays in Letterkenny show. Keeso I think personally cloves the game of Hockey so much that he build a show out of sense of love and devotion to the game of Hockey to the fact that even him as a former Hockey player turned actor, also casts former Hockey players who are exceptionally great actors and even looking up a ton of those guys in the show a good chunk of them played Hockey in fact Terry Ryan who plays one of the players was drafted by the Montreal Canadians so, really the fact that Keeso assembles a bunch of former Hockey players who do such a great job at acting is pretty cool and awesome at the same time. What makes the show so great not about the Hockey and the amusing comedy bits is that even after three seasons the show is so good and iconic that they even had a Shoresy tour through the NHL where the actors play a game with NHL Alums in fact I found one of them on YouTube where the Shorsey team is playing the Detroit Red Wings and one of the actors who plays the Jims (inspiration behind the Hansons) goes in a brawl with former Red Wings enforcer/Legend Darren McCarty and it's amusing because it's almost like a stunt brawl for which is still great and fun to see at the same time. If you’re a fan of Hockey or love the show Letterkenny I would most certainly recommend watching Shoresy for a ton of reasons most obvious one is that it's a great comedic show with a ton of great one liners in fact there a ton of those one liners that I most certainly use in my spare time for many reasons I'm trying to take the lords name in vain out of my language and being a Catholic I'd love to take the OMG out of my native tongue. But also the show is clearly a love letter to the infamous Hockey movie Slap Shot and anyone who has a love for the game of Hockey and creates a show based on that love deserves a ton of credit in my book, hell Keeso even has a character that's hugely overweight and for some reason gets all the ladies I mean if that's not genius writing I don't know what is. Moreover, we can always make fun of Canada as a country but really if there is one thing Canada has that we sort of have but are still in the ten out of ten ratings for which is a good thing, but Canada has great list of gorgeous women who are in the range of twenty out of twenty if you get my meaning.

 

South Park: Snow Day!

 

                                      

                               I got one last game for everyone to get the opportunity to play hopefully before mother nature gives us snowstorms since we're getting close to winter season. I haven't played the first two South Park games though technically I did play a tiny bit of the first game but I kind of stopped mainly because I couldn't get into the old school of RPG gaming but in all fairness, it's been a while but after playing this no so bad game I might go back and play the first two games.

                               Basically, a snowstorm hits the small town of South Park, and all of the kids come out to play, and battle territory what can go wrong? Well, if your town is insanely filled with stupid people and Cartman always getting what they want. Anything can go wrong.

                               The review itself is going to be short because they came itself was short, for which I really don't have much of a problem though I really wished they created more content for the story and the game play and this wasn't developed by Ubisoft, it's developed by a different video game developer and granted there is so many questions about why the game is so, short moreover the gameplay is really fun to play once you get into it you want to stay in the world much more and continue to beat up kids but then again I have so many other games to play. And the game itself is basically an action-adventure game as well as a beat em up game which is why the game is so fun but again if you’re making a game with four hours of like game play as well as cutscenes I mean you can at least boost more levels and more storylines if your planning to make a game that rivals the first two south park games. The game does have its moments in terms of gameplay and sense of fun but yeah, this game just feels way too short to play if you’re playing this on a Playstation 5 or latest X-Box, now for a gameplay alone I would recommend playing but don't get your hopes up in terms of hoping for more content. I mean if a fair sense if you’re watching a game that you need to cut your stress in half this game I would consider looking at as the Heroin Hero of video games. 

       

Deadpool & Wolverine

 

                                  

                           

                                  When you’re a newly turned 38 year old man who has epilepsy as well as sleep apnea and the doctors tell you, you can only drink a half a glass of beer (just leaving at that it's a long story) also taking anti-depressants moreover your Birthday is on a weekday so really you don't have nothing better to do on your special day. Well, with the help of my brother who’s also my best friend, he finally said the time has come to finally sit down and watch what makes the greatest and most perfect Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of all time. After Deadpool 2 I honestly thought I was done with Deadpool because let's be honest anything Disney owned is just probably the worst. But now having watched Deadpool & Wolverine I now am going to make this a tradition in watching this great movie every other birthday until I die and want the copy buried with me in my coffin.  

                                  Basically, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds movie mixed with the MCU Multiverse but Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) comes into the mix with Deadpool and well they must save their reality before it's erased from existence. 

                                  I will say of all movies I wish I can go back and watch in the movie theaters it would most certainly be Deadpool & Wolverine, and this is coming from a guy just had enough of everything superhero from the Eternals to even trying to sit through She-Hulk mainly because I thought the She-Hulk form was hot but the human form was not look bottom line I was already past the point of no return when it came to Superhero films almost the same way as Star Wars because let’s be honest Disney is like the destroyer of Worlds. But all it took was Deadpool & Wolverine to say my goodness it's the 2nd Chance vs. Magnum Force (Richard Davis please check out his documentary 2nd Chance) greatness that I can watch repeatedly. And yet all it took was the opening titles for me to clap in approval because I was laughing at the fact that they used a great pop song for the opening fight, and it was amazing. Now before I go any further I'm not going to say a whole lot of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in this review because let’s be honest there's nothing to say about those two they were born to play these characters but really what makes this film great is the choice of music when it comes to these awesome fight scenes especially using a kiss of Hugh's Musical movie and then using Grease for probably one of the greatest one on one fights and then we have the greatest battle at the third act and I don't want to spoil this to anyone who haven't seen this movie because I would imagine you all have probably gotten tired of watching superhero films but the point I'm making is, is that that everything about the movie is amazing I mean it goes back to all those long years when I was suffering from boredom watching Black Widow and Eternals and yet there isn't going to be a sequel for Eternals and we didn't even need a Black Widow film consisting with the fact that it's set after before ScarJo kicks the bucket, so really I feel like I've been baptized by Deadpool and I'm now being renewed to watch more Superhero films but I'll probably pick my choices in all fairness. But the greatest thing about the film is that you have great cameo appearances Weasley Snipes aka Blade, Jennifer Garner aka Elektra, along with a grown up Dafne Keen aka X-23 as well as the greatest Gambit of all time Channing Tatum who was requested by the writers and directors to have a thick Cajun accent and I even remember hearing about rumors of a Gambit movie where Tatum was going to play the role and we all didn't want that but now watching him perform it's like I want more. Look, I can go on and on about how great the movie is and which type of scene is great but I don't want to spoil this for all of you who read my blog furthermore want you all to cherish this movie because I'm going to say this again that this is without a doubt the greatest MCU film of all time even better than the Avengers movies better than the second and third Captain America film and even better than the first two Deadpool films but I would still say the first Deadpool film is excellent, Deadpool 2 and PG-13 Deadpool are good/okay but Deadpool & Wolverine is the GOAT of all things MCU and let's be honest the only superhero film to ever watch on Disney +, but if you have kids sure they can go watch Spider-Man or anything Avengers or even Thor but when they grow up make sure they sit down and finally watch Deadpool & Wolverine. Hell, now having talked about how great this movie is I now want to watch this film again, it's like a Christmas miracle you can watch more Deadpool & Wolverine and still have a great time also I would even consider this a Christmas film I mean I can't watch Christmas Vacation anymore as well as A Christmas Story because cable sucks out the joy of Christmas besides Turner Classic Movies mainly they at least come out with new and different Christmas films but the dynamic duo of Deadpool and Wolverine are what makes a great birthday film to watch, like I said I'm going to make this movie a tradition for me mark my words. 

       

                   

85 year Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz

 

                            Who would have thought that the Judy Garland classic Wizard of Oz has officially turned 85 years of age in the year 2024. This was one of the many movies my parents loved and cherished. More importantly was another one of the many movies that I watched as a kid growing up probably watched a bunch of times on a VHS taped from TV back in the good old days. And yet one of those films that I always liked the side characters more like I always thought Scarecrow, Lion were cool but more importantly the Tin Man was awesome was because he was caring an axe, and like any other young kid growing up a guy with a weapon was cool. Granted it's been ages since I watched the film and when it was playing at a local IMAX near me, I figured why not go to this movie with my parents. And guys, if you’re ever living next door to an actual grumpy old lady who’s threatening to take your dog away you officially threaten her to never go over your property because all bets are off at this point.

                           When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy (Judy Garland) and her dog Toto, are whisked away to the magical land of Oz. They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, and en route they meet a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) that needs a brain, a Tin Man (Jack Haley) missing a heart, and a cowardly Lion (Bret Lahr) who wants courage. The wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) to earn his help.

                            The shocking fact about how the Wizard of Oz came about and surprisingly of all people in the world to say "hey these are a thing" is Walt Disney himself after the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs furthermore showed to the people of Hollywood that stories from children's books and fairytales can be successful on the big screen. The Wizard of Oz is infamous in the interesting fact is that it went through a grand total of five directors and really Victor Fleming was at the center of all the madness during production of 1938, for many reasons he was directing both Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz at the same time, now I don't know a whole lot of the details because browsing through the research even I was like "no f**king way" and just so everyone knows the man did get a best director win for Gone with the Wind although I kind of think that man should at least be given two best director Oscars for his ability to bring both of these films to life. I think in all fairness yes, this should never happen but to make as long a story as short as possible I think MGM was dealing with a lot of blowbacks in terms of bringing each of those films to life. Now there are many things I've learned in terms of using technicolor for the film was a bit daunting and yet when you look at this film compared to the making of Star Wars in 1977 you'll so find that George Lucas's panic attacks were a bit childish compare the monstrosity that was the making of Wizard of Oz and I'm going to leave it at that because it just seems to horrifying and so miserable to explain on movie reviews. Though a bit of fun fact the many exits or entrances for Margaret Hamilton's character, had an elevator exit so when she's leaving, she's secretly being lowered down with smoke or any special effects to disguise the elevator. You may find this sad to believe but this movie and Meet me in St. Louis are the only two Judy Garland films I've seen in my entire life, and I know she's made other movies I guess in my honest opinion I feel like if I see other films it would probably spoil the magic of those two films but now that I'm getting to that age I should now in the year 2025 I need to check all of her films out. For a movie that's stood the test of time especially in its 85 year of birth or release I most certainty recommend watching the Wizard of Oz on the Holiday season and I'm not going to any of the details of what makes this film great because deep down we all know this film is amazing to watch from start to finish and Margaret Hamilton is an excellent antagonist to Judy Garland though she was so fantastic and reminded me of other meaner neighbors I remember growing up, but more importantly she was type-casted through her entire film career as well as giving all the children nightmares and yet it took Mr. Rogers to appear on his show and show that she's a kind gentle woman which really of all the actors in the movie Hamilton deserves all the credit in the world in bringing the Wicked Witch to life. And I'm not kidding when I say that all should be watching the Wizard of Oz because it's memorable as well as it has those memorable musical sequences and also it's one of those memorable films where you really don't make anymore because the about of little people I see in the movie I begin to question of those were real little people or just kids but bottom line you never see these great sets and visual effects that they we're trying to bring to life especially in the late thirties into the early forties. Also, this is one of the many films I can choose in my own right to watch from start to finish and I don't need to watch Sam Rami's Wizard of Oz film that has nothing to do with the original film nor feel the need to watch the latest Oz film aka Wicked because I really don't need to understand the back story of the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch because for me it's always best to never understand each characters backstory especially a classic film like the Wizard of Oz. Now, if you’re that person who loves the Wicked stage production I'd say go nuts and do what you feel you love in doing me, I'm going to stand by my own choice of films and just sit down and watch the one true classic film that doesn't need to be remade.

 

Noirvember Recommendation: Conflict

 

                                              

                                         A new thing I'm trying out ever since I've heard of the trend Noirvember where every month of November we celebrate film noir or neo-noir films. I've decided to make a new recommendation I'd like to call Noirvember Recommendation out of a sense of love and respect I have of the film noir genre. So, with my first ever Noirvember Recommendations is a movie from the ever talented and great Anti-Hero and sometimes a bad guy at times, Humphrey Bogart also a good private investigator if you ever need to call him, though you can't technically call him because he's been dead from quite some time due to a bad case of inhaling smoke. Conflict is a great ingenious film noir of how one man believes he's killed a loved one but isn't sure if he or she is alive.

                                         Engineer Richard Mason (Humphrey Bogart) is unhappily married to his hectoring wife, Katheryn (Rose Herbert), and makes no secret that he loves her younger sister, Evelyn (Alexis Smith). Driving home from their anniversary party, Mason crashes the car when the reflection of Evelyn in the rearview mirror distracts him. To convalesce, he plans a trip to the mountains and sends Katheryn ahead. Katheryn dies on the way, but Mason begins to see signs that she's alive.

                                         Surprisingly, Conflict was filmed around 1943 somewhere after the shooting of Casablanca and maybe after the Academy Awards furthermore there were disputes of the film Conflict in which Bogart wasn't really interested in the role and was having arguments with the head of Warner Brothers, Jack Warner to make a long story short the movie was filmed before Bogart met the love of his life in Lauren Bacall, and after the production wrapped and it was delayed in terms of release for which came out two months after WWII ended. Conflict is a great example of what makes film noir's such a perfect type of movie to watch because all you really need is just a simple idea and blossom it into a great psychological story of murdering someone and then having the assumption of whether that person is alive or not. The other thing I love about the movie is you can literally write this movie now and make the wife be more of a bickering woman whose always getting on the husband's nerves and you have a perfect reason why you feel for the guy because he's finding a way to escape his marriage but somehow he's haunted by the ghost of his wife, though sure this would be in a Coen Brothers film but it would still be great to watch on screen. Another interesting fact, is that this is one and only films Humphrey Bogart and Sidney Greenstreet starred in where the roles are reverse and Bogart is the antagonist of the movie and Greenstreet is the protagonist of the film while there other works together Bogie is usually the hero or anti-hero and Greenstreet the typical bad guy in the movie and Greenstreet is always good in his roles together with Bogie no question about it and the same goes with Bogie whose always fantastic playing these role but the best thing about him is that in this movie yes he plays the bad guy sorry for the spoilers but the way he's able to show his emotions and doubt is always amazing to see on screen and really that's what makes Bogie such a great actor especially when it comes to these movies all together. I will say now having watched the movie twice I am curious if they ever used this type of concept when they tried to catch O.J. Simpson where he was doubting if the glove fit right or not OR, he did kill his wife and then decided to go for a drive five miles an hour in his Bronco, I mean there's a lot of questions on if the prosecutors watched the movie and used this concept on the Juice but he's already dead so really doesn't matter but it's an interesting theory, right? Anyway, I had other contenders to begin this new Noirvember Recommendation, but really you always have to start off with a classic Bogart film because he's always has been the master of the film noir genre him and Alfred Hitchcock but Bogie's been doing them since the thirties with the classic gangster movies and mystery films and I'm not sure if I've been recommending a lot of film noir's lately though I haven't kept track but I'm a huge fan of the film noir's and neo-noir's furthermore if your ever wanting to dive into the film noir genre I would highly recommend Conflict for many reasons it has that element of relating to the guy whose miserable with his marriage because his wife is bickering crazy woman and I think any guy in a relationship or marriage would love this movie though I'm not sure killing your spouse would be a great idea but deep down would most certainly make you feel better that you’re not the only one dealing with a bickering spouse, moreover you can buy or rent the movie on Google/YouTube for 3.99/4.99 so deep down that's a bargain if you ask me. 

     

                                                

Gladiator 2

 

                                      Well everyone if you've read a good portion of my reviews through the years you would know that Sir Ridley Scott is in my list of favorite and greatest directors of all time and if you haven't read a good portions of my reviews you are sincerely crazy or disillusioned with the belief that I spent my hard earn money on the movie Wicked for which really why would we need a prequel to one of the greatest movies of all time, hell I bet no one remembers the Sam Rami prequal which starred James Franco. Anyway, back to Sir Ridley Scott, Gladiator is without a doubt the most iconic movie of the 2000's moreover one of the many movies that made sword and sandals films look epic. And I personally never thought in a million years that they would ever come up with a sequel to its best picture predecessor, but do you know that the secret is when making a twenty-four year in the making sequel? You cast the greatest actors of all time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in the movie.

                                      Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) now a grown man, enter the Colosseum after two powerful Emperors of Rome (Joseph Quinn & Fred Hechinger) conquered his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.

                                      The development of Gladiator's successor has been in development limbo close to twenty-years and it's been in a concept talk for sure but again it was always in that dilemma of how do you top perfection, in fact Nick Cave an Australian musician wrote a script for the Gladiators sequel as a pitch unfortunately it didn't see the light of day but still lives on, on the internet thankfully so, if you feel the need to look up the script online go nuts buddy, sadly I have the printed out script that an old friend gave me to read for which I was going to read it but I didn't feel the need because there was no need for a sequel, although the important part ladies and gentlemen is that Nick Cave's Gladiator script involves a ton of time travel, spending time in purgatory as well as battling Gods? Either way I'm going to plan to read the script when I get the chance and I'm going to make that attempt if it kills me. Long story short Russell Crowe hated the script, and I'd believe Scott wanted no part of it so, really months before the film’s release when the first trailer came out and when you see Denzel's face on the screen me, I was like say no more. So, now that the sequel has finally been released to the world it's hands down the greatest thing I've seen all year, though in all fairness it still has the same concepts of the original Gladiator in terms of storyline but let’s be honest this film was no designed to be a best picture nod for the Academy Awards the other thing I will make clear if we didn't have an iconic actor like Denzel Washington I don't believe this film would ever be great to watch at the movie theaters, though sure Connie Nielson returns as Lucius mother Lucilla but I don't feel that would be enough despite the woman did played Wonder Woman's mother, so she still has it in terms of embodying a strong mother. Though here's the facts that makes Denzel Washington the reason Gladiator 2 works, and that's he's able to play both sides of good and evil and you can see that from his leadership role in Remember the Titans to his Oscar worthy performance in Training Day as a crooked cop, I mean he's the best of both worlds hell, even Washington collaborated with Scott in American Gangster so, if you need other great examples of what makes Washington a great actor I don't know what else you need. Look, it's not rocket science and sure I could go on for hours and hours on what's great about Ridley Scott and the rest of the cast, but look deep down this film is the ultimate guy movie it's the main reason as to why they released both Wicked and Gladiator 2, because they have one movie for all the ladies to go watch and all the dudes on the other side to go see in the movie theaters so, for all the dudes out there if you’re looking for a movie to get a babysitter and go with your bro's then Gladiator 2 is most certainly the best movie to go see in the movie theaters and if your married and have kids I'm confident in saying that you can make some negotiations with the wife and say "Hun if you can take the daughter to go see Wicked, and I'll take our son to go see Gladiator 2", which I truly believe is a reasonable negotiation. So, I'll say this again if you’re looking for a movie to go with your bros or have some good quality bonding time with your sons then Gladiator 2 is most certainly the go to movie, to watch this Holiday season furthermore the best movie to go see on the big screen.