The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

 

                                      Bro's night out, spending big money on soda and great buttery movie theater popcorn and all that big money spends on a great entertaining movie of 2024. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a brilliantly mix between every Guy Ritchie film you've seen to Inglorious Bastards. Which deep down is suitable considering that Guy Ritchie himself is at the directing helm. Moreover, if you're a fan of World War II films furthermore action films than this is a film for you for many reasons it's has pretty much everything you want in a movie, you have a great list of actors as well as a story, upon which you'd never though Winston Churchill was dealing with liberals and know doubt that man was dealing with the worst of the worst in terms of people who we're literally wanting to make a deal with Hitler back then. 

                                      British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a group of military officials hatch a daring plan to neutralize Hitler's fleet of German U-Boats during World War II. Made up of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, the top-secret combat unit uses unconventional techniques to battle the Nazis and change the course of the war.

                                       There are many movies out there that sometimes to peak my interest furthermore don't feel like wanting to go see and with the rising prices of movie theater experiences from just buying a ticket as well as buying soda, popcorn or candy and then you go to a movie that doesn't feed you're expectation, and having experienced those kinds of movies that you go see and realize how crappy that film is yeah it's hard to really want to go to the movie theaters. But when a movie like this comes around and your instincts are telling you “Yes go see this", that's the most special thing, moreover, thank goodness you're able to find those movies that feed your expectation. And I'm looking forward to experiencing Dune 2, no doubt because I wanted to see where it's going especially feeling like nothing was happening and I want to see how evil Elvis can be. Though really, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has the best of both worlds a great story of a group of scumbags being true to life hero's helping the U.S. realize that Hitler can be beat is just so great to watch moreover gives you a history check up on what happened during the war because there's so much stories about World War II, that you can find and turn into a movie. The most important part of any great action film is getting the right cast to bring this movie to life, and Henry Cavil does a fantastic job playing the lead role whose both maniacal and charming at the same time even though he's making a terrible choice in leaving the Witcher for other things, Alan Ritchson whose infamous for the Reacher show I have to admit is really good in the movie despite I haven't watched any of his other work besides Blue Mountain State (which is a small Football TV series) and if you haven't seen the show he plays a Brian Bosworth look alike and screams in a high pitch voice which is scared in the back of my mind. Even Cary Elwes does a great job playing this M based character who pulls off a fantastic British accent, and to be honest it's been quite a long time since I saw Cary Elwes in any movie role or TV show upon which really, Elwes did appear in Psych where he plays a British thief, so how coinvent it is now that he plays a British officer. Now I'm going to put a pin on this review because I don't want to give any details away. But bottom line this was a fantastic movie from start to finish furthermore it's a breath of fresh air, especially when their movie's that even the previews just kill the movies, although we're still in the month of April so where still in the B-Movie realm till the end of summer and fall. Though really when you find that one movie that looks good from start to finish, you just must pick a great time to go see that one movie that piques your interest. And as a man who’s seen a lot of World War II films this movie alone is up there in the top ten WWII films for me. Now, I'm sure you're not familiar with Guy Ritchie's filmography and if you are I won't tell you what films to watch and if you've never heard of him? Well, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare of course thought let’s be honest that one is free, but most importantly Ritchie's first two films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch. His 2008's comeback film RocknRolla, though I should say Sherlock Holmes, but it's been quite a long time since I've sat down and watched that film so I going to put Sherlock Holmes on the honorable mentions. And finally, the 2020 underrated film The Gentleman starring Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant. So, those four films along with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare are the go-to films I would highly recommend without a doubt, and if you want to dive into Sherlock Holmes, I suggest watching the first film and skip the second film.

            

                                    

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

 

                                   So, after watching a movie like Fear Strikes Out where you can relate moreover strikes a core into your very soul. I decided to find a movie where it's dumb but harmless and entertaining. And since O.J. Simpson passed away I decided well why not watch the very first Naked Gun film where the Juice is in the movie but is abused of injuries he endures through the course of the movie but let's be honest now he deserves it furthermore somewhere in the darkest corners of Hell, Satan himself is enjoying toying with O.J. and reenacting the scenes from the first Naked Gun film and just having a blast, sorry not sorry everyone but that man did kill his wife and friends so if your that person who doesn't have a sense of humor moreover don't love the O.J. jokes despite the passing, you can kiss my a**.

                                   Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielson), a rather clueless police detective, tries to foil a plot to turn innocent people into assassins through mind control. After his partner, Norberg (O.J. Simpson), is shot, Frank sets out to find the culprit, leading him to business tycoon Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban). However, Frank has no evidence until he meets Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), Ludwig's assistant. She knows nothing about Ludwig's devious plan but falls for Frank and agrees to help him.

                                   One of the most interesting things I've learned when it comes to watching a variety of movies, is that you literally must blend movies like Fear Strikes Out or Dune with some of these dumb and entertaining films for which really is one of the biggest cures when it comes to watching films that takes a lot of emotion out of you. And granted I never have thought of this when doing this full time when it came to going to the movie theaters and watching the recent films for which it severely took a toll on me because I'm doing nothing but watch ton of garbage. So, if you're a fan of films and watch a lot like me, always blend your movie watching with the good, bad and the dumb but entertaining. The whole Naked Gun films have always been a mystery to me as to how this was developed and where did this idea come from, and with Wikipedia and IMBD you will always find your answers with movies like this. After the success of Airplane, both Zucker bros and Jim Abrahams wanted to do a spoof comedy with the basis of a Lee Marvin show called M Squad and the idea didn't turn around in the early 80's so the trio decided to turn this concept into a TV series titled Police Squad with Leslie Nielson at the title role and although the show lasted for six episodes they still pushed the concept forward around 1988 where they finally got the film pushed into existence. In most like Mel Brook's Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein you have the sole center of what this spoof comedy is truly based on although when you first watch these films at an older age you're un sure of where the film makers and writers are going in the story especially when there is so many comedic works that is so over the top and crazy, for which really when you watch a film like Airplane it should be normal when it comes to watching a film created by the Zucker Bros and Jim Abrahams. And really the entire cast deserves a ton of credit for giving that serious face for many reasons with a film like this I would think that it would be really hard to keep a serious face when it comes to a spoof comedy like this, and even I would always have that bewildering face through the course of the movie too, but deep down each cast member deserves a lot of credit for keeping a straight face at a movie that contains a hundred percent of ridiculousness. Moreover the first Naked Gun film is one of those comedic spoof greats that is defiantly a great and entertaining movie from start to finish, and does not need to be consider to be a transition to a remake stage, I don't know if this would be considered a Baseball film considering that MLB Network airs this constantly but I would most certainly recommend watching this even if you had a bad day moreover wanting to turn your brain off or most certainly watch the film even if your Baseball team is not doing so well this regular season. And now that O.J. Simpson has passed away, the first Naked Gun film is a perfect movie to watch on this occasion. 

      

                                          

April Recommendation: Fear Strikes Out

 

                                      Well now that Easter is behind us so now it's time to focus on to the future and well, we're in the Baseball season so why not recommend a Baseball film for all of the Baseball fans watching both baseball and movies at the same time. And to be honest this was one of those movies that I never truly thought would strike me emotionally and psychologically. Fear Strikes Out is a movie former Cardinals/Mets player Keith Hernandez mentioned as a movie that had a big impact on him while watching Once Upon a Time in Queens on ESPN's 30 for 30, moreover was the movie that even Hernandez could relate to because he was putting up with a father who could never be pleased for which is the biggest theme with this film starring Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden.

                                       Ever since Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins) was a boy, his baseball-obsessed father (Karl Malden) has pushed the sport on him. Trying to live vicariously through his son, the elder Piersall makes Jimmy eat, sleep, and breathe baseball with destructive determination. But once Jimmy achieves his father's goal and makes it to the major leagues, he begins to unravel. After Jimmy suffers a breakdown, it is unclear whether he will be able to play the sport again.

                                       In all fairness I've seen those one or few movies that left like that wtf scar on myself that I was just so worked up and couldn't sleep or really do anything movies like Promising Young Woman and Don't Bother to Knock are great examples of those kinds of films. Moreover, Don't Bother to Knock is another great example of an actor or actress like Marilyn Monroe is so tremendously great in the film and yet somewhere that career just disappears, only this is Anthony Perkins we're talking about the infamous great actor whose career was shot down after the success of Psycho. Fear Strikes Out is a movie based on the book by the real-life Jimmy Piersall who suffered through bipolar disorder as well as nervous exhaustion during his MLB career. Now all though the film focus less of his brilliant career in the major leagues and focus more of his struggle of bipolar disorder as well as mental health, and surprisingly this movie really hits home with me personally for many reasons because I work at a TV job where you have to work with overbearing people who think the world revolves around them and shows little appreciation and you don't know how to handle it because you fear either HR will help you or your supervisors will have you're back at all furthermore there were actual times where I wanted to scream so badly at those people but don't want to get in trouble for it. And to anyone who’s ever felt that experience or hasn't then, trust me when I say it, that it's not a pretty place to live with and through the course of his I've been starting to take anti-depressants either way mental health is a big struggle and I pray for anyone who’s ever had to deal with it or bipolar disorder. A side from Psycho this is another great film where Anthony Perkins delivers a tremendous performance and there is something about his movie performances where you most certainly relate to him even if he plays a serial killer in one movie, but most importantly when you look at Fear Strikes Out and Psycho they each share the insecurities and parenting dynamics and Anthony Perkins does a great job in portraying that in the movie and you defiantly feel for him through the course of the movie. And Karl Malden as well does a great job playing the over bearing father who doesn't seem to get how badly he's pushing his own son to the brink of a nervous breakdown moreover doesn't show any appreciation, especially in the first scene of the movie where he's playing catch with his son and he's throwing the ball so hard that I fear that he was going to hit him in the head it was just that intense. So, look I'd love to talk more about the movie but I really don't want to spoil any details about the film because this great baseball film needs to be seen because mental health or bipolar disorder is a serious issue and I'm sure there people who suffer from it and I just want any of you to know that you’re not alone when it comes to feeling like your never appreciated or feel like you’re always depressed and I just want to say that it's never too late to find the right help to discuss your problems and if you don't feel comfortable in wanting to talk I would highly recommend talking to your local priest because I spill my issues every time now and they've always been a great help. So, Keith Hernandez if you ever stumble upon my blog and this review of Fear Strikes Out, I just wanted to say thank you for mentioning this movie because it's a great and emotional movie that strike a core with you and keeps you feeling shit till the very end of the frame.

         

                                   

Road House

 

                                 So, after my viewing of Dune part one, I decided to have an 80's film night upon which I'm not sure if this good as I remembered or haven't aged well in my old age. Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse is one of Swayze's classic's that was a hundred percent 80's trend where you have the protagonist that's always running away from something and doesn't do anything till, he's pushed to the limits which spews into this action cliché that's unintentionally funny, though goes from like five miles per hour to like sixty miles per hour. And in all honesty, that's basically every 80’s action movie throughout that whole decade and it didn't take long for filmmakers and writers now to just skip that whole bulls**t and go all-out war on the antagonist. But hey it does have Kevin Tighe who played one of the gamblers in the 1988 Baseball classic Eight Men Out.

                                 The Double Duce is the meanest, loudest, and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has been hired to clean it up. He might not look much, but the PH.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable -- busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot-spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay (Kelly Lynch) puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara). 

                                 Now after my latest viewing of Dune I'd figured well maybe an 80's film can give me a good refresher and for some reason I remember that Roadhouse is being remade under the guidance of Doug Liman, whose most famous for films like The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the infamous rematch between Samuel L. Jackson and Hayden Christensen aka Jumper and Edge of Tomorrow. Though I will so get to Doug Liman's Roadhouse but it's going to be a while mainly because I must give myself a small break after experiencing Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse. And to be honest I didn't think this version of Road House was all bad, I just look at this movie as a high school reunion, and you realize that you didn't want to be here, especially when you first see classmates you've haven't seen in ten years and there's some unopened closure and all you just want to do is just sit and watch any baseball game that's on, that's what I viewed the 1989 version of Road House. I think the main problem I had with the movie personally, was the character development of Patrick Swayze's character of Dalton and he's this guy who is only committed just cleaning up the bar or Roadhouse and notices a lot of trouble that's brewing through the course of the movie especially with the confrontation between the over-the-top antagonist in the movie. And all Swayze is doing is staying out of trouble always running away from trouble but the man clearly stat's in his infamous speech "I want you to be nice, until it is time to not be nice" well if a bad guy is trashing people's places moreover pushing them out of business then it's time to take something that belongs to him moreover that's why the movie Nobody is a great movie, where the protagonist or anti-hero takes something from the antagonist no questioning his actions after something that happens to him and tells the bad guy his terms and you'd better take it or you're not going to survive, and with Dalton he just doesn't do anything until the one final straw is pulled and then we have this pretty funny action sequence but with a satisfying ending. I mean sure the movie was fine and got a little bit of amusement but again there's just so much of the movie they could have done and really what the filmmakers did do, didn't do so well. I mean sure if you’re an 80's movie junkie go knock your socks off with watching Roadhouse on Max, but for me I'd prefer to expand my horizons and see how Doug Liman's version of Roadhouse compares to the 89 version.

          

                                     

Dune

 

                               So, like I said before I'm using the year 2024 as an expanding of my horizons in terms of movie watching basically stepping out of my comfort zone when it comes to movies, I've not touched in my lifetime but know I need to see, and man I wished I didn't feel the need to watch Dune.  I decided to watch Québec sensation Denis Villeneuve's Dune for which I'm familiar with a lot of Villeneuve's films from watching films like Sicario, Prisoner's, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 upon which I only loved one out of the three films he's done, for which I'll let you do the math. Bottom line after watching the first Dune I'm not sure whether to feel angry, confused or all the above. 

                               Paul Atreides (Timothee Chamlamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive. 

                                As a man whose watched a tone of films moreover a variety of films I personally feel like there are things you can be corporate on film that you can't do in the book and Villeneuve's version of Dune is one of those examples where you can't do. And granted I was warned upon how weird the world of Dune is moreover I was fine with it, because I've seen a lot of weird s**t, but this was one of those things where I was bewildered and confused in terms of story structure and what really didn't need to be put on screen. Through the course of the movie I slowly began to realize that Villeneuve split the entire book of Frank Herbert's Dune, for which is fine in the storyteller's own right, but you can't squeeze the entire first half of the book into just one movie especially when it has all of the little details and all the slow stuff that doesn't pay off at the end of the movie. Furthermore, this was my first time experiencing this and my biggest problem with the movie is that ninety percent of the movie is Paul having premonitions or visions of the future to come as well as a hundred percent of the movie is him fantasizing of Zendaya's character and the payoff to that is they don't meet each other until that last TEN MINUTES OF THE MOVIE. Which brings the spoiled reasons of why I hated the movie and I'm not sorry for spoiling this movie, but the entire first movie consist of the first act of Paul's family going to the desert planet and a coup developing with Stellan Skarsgard's character then the second act is Paul's house arriving at the desert planet and discussing politics then his family's house has fallen literally destroyed then the final act consist both Paul and his mother surviving into the desert and gaining respect amongst the dessert tribe lead by Javier Bardem. So, basically the entire first part of the movie consists of nothing but the most boring parts of any book adaptation I've ever seen and no excitement at all. And the disappointing factor of the movie is David Bautista's character who’s supposed to be this main bad guy in the movie doesn't do a whole lot in the film and Aquaman aka Jason Mamoa doesn't get a deserving Boromir death which again I'm not apologizing for spoiling the entire movie. I know I'm going to have to watch the second part of Dune for which I'm dreading but the thing is, I didn't watch David Lynch's Dune mainly because I'm not ready to watch another Lynch film for many reasons the last time I watched a movie of his was Eraser head and I couldn't take that movie anymore. So, now I'm not sure if I'm really ready to watch David Lynch's Dune yet though I'm going to push myself into doing it but does bring an interesting idea (for which my brother presented me) is pit both versions together and see who did its better Villeneuve's Dune or David Lynch's Dune. As a movie all by itself this was one of the most boring two hours and thirty-five minutes, I've ever been part of moreover hated the movie mainly because of its elements we necessarily needed to have in the movie and with less excitement, for which I'm hoping Austin Butler aka Elvis is going to be the scene stealer for the sequel when it's released on Max. If you've never grew up with the Dune books then I would strongly recommend not wasting your time in watching Dune at all and if you belong to the baby boomer generation or a big fan of the Frank Herbert's book I would highly recommend not watching the movie basically there a ton of films that have much more excitement and are not long boring in terms of story that I would highly recommend watching that's not Dune and if you're mad at me for spoiling the story well I'd present my care face and strongly tell you I'm saving your very soul.

             

Free Fire

 

                                        I desperately needed to find a movie that I need to get the taste of Self Reliance out of my mouth. Free Fire was one of those movies I remember seeing back in 2016. Moreover, loved the concept of what the film is in terms of creating a unique story as well as making the whole story work, but mostly has that style of comedy that feels right. Though most importantly has a great list of actors to bring this movie to life. Also, since newly Academy Award winning actor Cillian Murphy has been granted that title, I figured well now is one of the best times ever to review a movie in the Oppenheimer cast. Since yeah when I think about as of right now, I did review Matt Damon's Good Will Hunting so "who da thunk".

                                        When the black-market arms deal goes outrageously wrong, Justine (Brie Larson) finds herself caught in the crossfire, forced to navigate through a warehouse full of trigger-happy madmen who are all hanging on for dear life.

                                        In a world where there are millions upon millions of remakes, superhero films, and enough Disney owned cartoons and live action remakes of fairy tales that will make you feel bored out of your mind, and you'd step into a deep depression. Movies like Free Fire are always one of those movies that comes along that I would most certainly watch furthermore make it my life long mission to watch it because it's those movies that make me feel that it's possible to get into the film business, moreover needs to be a category of movies that people can look and watch from start to finish and be inspired to pick up a camera and watch the movie whole, just those movies like Clerks, Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi are one of those movies that every aspiring filmmaker needs to see so themselves alone can see it doesn't take a college degree to get into a movie business, it takes a lot of knowledge the understanding of a camera and story telling that will most certainly get you through the doors in Hollywood. And Free Fire is a great example of taking a simple idea of not so bright gangsters shooting at one another through the course of the movie but also add a great sense of humor along the way. The fact that it cost only seven million dollars is really awesome because one all writers Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley really pitched was a simple story of maniac's in the longest shootout ever upon which is also a curious thing of who is going to make it out alive and how it ends and also Martin Scorsese look at this story and found it special moreover I believe that's why he came on as an executive producer. I personally feel that movies like this need to make in appearance at the movie theaters so everyone can see at the big screen not so much overbearing crap of remakes and superhero films, and I think that if I own my own theater, I'm defiantly going to air this for everyone to see. Free Fire is most certainly one of those great simple/well-crafted movies that I would highly recommend watching for any lover of film would want to use as inspiration for their upcoming career. So, now that Free Fire is on Max I would highly recommend watching if you’re a fan of gangster films, moreover dark comedies. 

      

Self Reliance

 

                                    Couldn't sleep the night before for many reasons I was getting by a** handed to me in God of War Ragnarök, so I decided to stream a movie on Hulu that's been on my radar though I wished it was something else. You know when you felt like you've been scammed or conned into something that yourself thought "oh this might be intriguing" but later realize how dumb you felt in purchasing this item and go through a phase of what did I just purchase? Well, thankfully it was free, so I didn't lose much of my dignity but still feels like I've been betrayed into watching that's a huge lie to my own movie watching experience. 

                                    Tommy (Jake Johnson) receives an invitation to win 1 million by playing a game where he must outwit hunters attempting to kill him. He realizes the hunters can only attack him when he's alone, but none of his friends and family believe the game is real.

                                    Now when I first saw the trailer of the movie, I was thinking to myself that this might be an interesting movie to see, it has a unique idea moreover it's a regular guy whose outsmarting these killers and it's a sort of Coen Bros humor or dark humor just my kind of movie. Oh, how I was fooled, and my brother even told me he couldn't get through the movie because of how bad the movie was, and he was so angry of how he got fooled. For which brings me to literally spoiling the movie for all of you this is not a movie it was advertising, this is basically a romantic comedy and that's really the depressing factor about the whole film moreover it's written by a guy who I'm literally thinking thinks he knows comedy after appearing in a movie like Tag and thought to himself that he was ready to direct his own movie, which would make sense because I doubt he made more drafts of the script or asked anyone on their opinion, and here is a good piece of advice, if you have a good concept for a story idea that would make for a movie, for the love of the almighty pitch it to your friends or your colleagues so they can give you their honest opinions because even though they may hurt but they will help you succeed, and I strongly know deep down that Johnson didn't pitch this to any of his friends about this idea and even if they did they we're horrible friends. The other thing I hate most about the movie is that the protagonist of the movie is just a pathetic man that no one takes him serious, basically has no testicles, which is the most dumbest thing when it comes to comedy moreover is the most overrated thing and really if you’re writing a comedy whose down on his luck at least give him some f**king balls, or give him some self-respect because movies like this movie and the 40 year old Virgin are the reasons why I can't watch movies like this because why would I even want to watch this movie because it just not funny at all and I wouldn't want to watch a man suffer. I truly look at this movie as a false advertisement moreover consider this movie a huge scam to movies in general. Even though this movie is ninety minutes it's still the most boring and just flat out the worst thing ever up there with Gigli, Zoolander, A Million ways to Die in the West and any Adam Sandler film, oh I almost forgot Don't Worry Darling. So, as a man whose been suffered with tons of scams I would highly recommend not ever watching this movie and if you’re that bored in wanting to watch this piece of trash at least clean your house or apartment, so you don't have to watch all this movie through, also you most certainly won't miss anything when it comes to this crap. Though in closing when I say this in making it any clear, Self Reliance is one of the biggest scams since Freddy Got Fingered. 

           

Good Will Hunting

 

                                     Well since we are near the end of March, I figured I present at least one Irish themed film maybe? Continuing my journey to expand my movie watching craze of finding films I have never seen, I decided to watch the very movie that made Matt Damon and Ben Affleck household names but most importantly gave the Late great Robin Williams his Oscar Performance of a lifetime. Good Will Hunting was defiantly one of those films that's strangely been on my radar though I never got around to watching it. And of course, you can give me a lip in not seeing this great film, but I'll still give you the answer of I just never got around in seeing it, though it has been on my radar for a while I have to say it was worth seeing from start to finish. 

                                     Will Hunting (Matt Damon) has a Genius I.Q. level but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams).

                                     I have to say while watching the movie I noticed a ton of Dunkin Donuts placement coffee's throughout the entire movie and me after watching the amazing Dunkin commercial this year with Affleck, Damon and JLO I was like "OMG it's all merging in the Boston metauniverse", but then I looked up the origins of Dunkin Donuts and noticed that the organization was founded in Massachusetts, so at least that makes sense. Matt Damon started developing the script for Good Will Hunting, as a final assignment for a playwriting class he was taking at Harvard University. Later Damon asked his BFF Affleck to develop the screenplay together and the two men finished the script right around 1994 (the same time Kevin Smith released Clerks), at first, it was written as a thriller about a young man in the rough-and -tumble streets of South Boston who possesses a superior intelligence and is targeted by the government with heavy-handed recruitment. To make a long story short the script itself had to be treated by tons and tons of script doctors to make it better, nah just kidding it was actually Rob Reiner who told the boys to just think more about the relationship between the therapist and patient, moreover offered the services of William Goldman, although he denies it Goldman in his own joking words "I did not just doctor it. I wrote the whole thing from scratch", either way I'm just going to leave it at that. I strangely knew that this was going to be one of those movies that I needed to watch for many reasons. I just never got around to watching the movie through and after seeing what the movie is truly about, I figured now is the time to do so. And really this was a good movie from start to finish especially after watching some clips and seeing some YouTube analysis about the film moreover over would defiantly rank it up in the top ten feel good movies of all time and really what makes the film good are the story and Robin Williams. For starters the story is what kind of intrigued me about the movie especially when it's about a troubled genius who doesn't want anyone getting close and if so pushes them away before they push him away basically going through child abuse growing up and that's really the center of the movie where through the course of the movie you slowly understand Will Hunting as a character and the way Matt Damon is able to portray him is really great acting especially when he really know how to cry on screen, but what I like about the movie is that it shares one of those elements of having the doubts about leaving or starting a new life with someone because you know firsthand or in your own mind that it's not going to turn out well and as a viewer I kind of understand that aspect a little especially when it comes to this film. I don't think you can make this movie without the late great Robin Williams. I mean he really is the center of what makes this film great and is a perfect movie therapist than any other therapist though I can't name any so far. Furthermore, what I love about William’s performance is that he goes through a strain of his own and when he meets with Matt Damon's character, each of them slowly opens to one another and realize that they both share the same pain and by the end of the movie they try to do something new with their lives at least. A side from the fact that it's written by two BFF's who still are BFF's, this is defiantly a feel good movie I would most certainly feel the mood in wanting to watch over and over again with the great story and Robin Williams outstanding performance I would most certainly recommend watching Good Will Hunting from beginning to end, and gives you a sling of hope that may something good can come out of Boston, well except for the Red Sox's, still sore form 04 and 13. 

        

Easter Recommendations: The Chosen Seasons 3 & 4

 

                                     You remember the metaphor or saying where you read the book backwards you understand the ending more than the book itself or well, deep down I hope you’re getting what I'm trying to say. Either way that's kind of the way I approached season's four and three of the Greatest Christian show of all time The Chosen. It really started in a way I didn't want but I was glad, I was able to experience it because that some marketing genius brewing in creator Dallas Jenkins head that's amazing but most importantly something that I would never have thought up in a million years.

                                     Season's three and four of the Chosen starts off where everyone goes back to their normal day lives where Jesus meets the twelfth and final apposite in Judas moreover setting things right in Decapolis where 5,000 people meet to see Jesus. Although through the course of Season four things begin to change where doubt and time becomes a prime factor in Jesus's group, where we begin to realize that the Lord and Savior's time is soon coming to an end.

                                     So, this is kind of a funny story for which explains the metaphor or saying about reading a book from the end to the beginning. I was around February or probably the beginning of month, aka Ash Wednesday I just finished re-watching seasons one and two of the Chosen and I was just taking a tiny break from binge watching the show, and that was the time when season four of the Chosen was coming to theaters and my Mom was urging me to go see it to experience it in the movie theater and I told my Mom I still haven't seen seasons three yet I don't want any spoilers but my Mom urged me to go with her to see it in the theaters till I was like "okay mommy don't hurt me", that was a joke my Mom would never do that so hopefully my Mom gets a chuckle out of that. And I'm not complaining in watching seasons four first then three because in all honesty I was glad to experience the Chosen in the big screen because it's more of a good way to get out of the house and see something worth watching because let's be brutally honest when it comes to Hollywood there absolutely nothing worth watching in the theaters, sorry not sorry but it's the absolute truth. Moreover, props to Dallas Jenkins for introducing a show into the theaters because deep down each of the seasons are like in hour to maybe two hours film where you can watch and wait for the next episodes but also show a great success that even a show like the Chosen can most certainly be triumphant in movie theaters. For seasons three and four of the Chosen of course every actor from Johnathan Roumie to Elizabeth Tabish they all bring they're A game, even actors Shahar Isaac and Paras Patel who play Simon Peter and Matthew who each of them does superb job portraying there characters it's just outstanding how they were able to bring more struggle and pain when it comes to acting on screen and I would love to go on with telling you my favorite scenes that happen but I really don't want to spoil anything for you when it comes to watching the Chosen. Again there's nothing to say about the cast of course because really they all do such a great job, their roles just speak for itself and the actors I'd love to give a recognition in terms of outstanding performance in the season it would most certainly be Luke Dimyan who plays Judas for many reasons he plays an important role in the show but also is really the most hardest role to portray because with each season that passes his character slowly becomes more doubtful and it takes me back to when Judas first meets Jesus you kind of see that Jesus knows he plays an important role for which he will betray and his role is the most difficult to play and Dimyan does a great job in bringing the betrayer of Christ to life. Lara Silva who plays Simon Peter's wife Eden, steals the entire season three of the Chosen because she goes through a difficult and traumatic experience where there is no way to understand nor a way to even say of how her character felt and yet she stilled believed in Jesus's cause. Kirk B. R. Woller who plays one of the Roman soldier's Gaius, he does a fantastic job as well because his character goes on this journey where being a Roman is a way of life moreover caring for Matthew as well as being sort of a guide to him and through the course of seasons he sees what Jesus is doing in terms of Miracles, knows he's Roman but can't deny what he sees are the truth and Woller does a great job at that. Now, the only reason why I'm cutting my review short is because I really don't want to spoil any details about seasons three and four of the Chosen for many reasons I want you all to sit down and watch this masterpiece of Catholic scripture furthermore I've said it many times on, but the Chosen is a perfect Television show that gets good from every step of the way and when times feel bad and you as a Christian feels lost the Chosen is one of those shows that helps you lean back into God and that's what I love about the show moreover Angel Studio's is a great production company that does not let down when it comes to releasing great material. So, on this Easter Sunday, I hope you all take the time and begin to watch or rediscover the magic behind the Chosen.

                   

March Recommendation: A Man for all Seasons

 

                                  

                                  Well usually the season of Lent is during April, but since where technically in a sort of Leap Year the season of Lent starts in March. So, imagine again Valentine's Day being on Ash Wednesday, which to me seems funny because I never thought these two Holiday's would exist. Either way we're in the closing days of Lent also known as Holy Week, I'd finally unleash my Holy movie in the seasons of Lent. A Man for all Seasons is one of those films I remembered growing up remembered watching growing up and honestly, I don't know how it came up to me out of know where I think it was just one image that came up to me and I was surprised but also like I need to recommend this movie.

                                  When the highly respected British Statesman Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) refuses to pressure the Pope into annulling the marriage of King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) and his Spanish-born wife, More's clashes with the monarch increases in intensity. A devout Catholic, More stands by his religious principles and moves to leave the royal court. Unfortunately, the King and his loyalists aren't appeased by this, and press forward with grave charges of treason, further testing More's resolve.

                                   I've probably told this story many times over, though I don't remember the many times I talked about movies I remember growing up with most of the time. So, if you were a young kid growing up in central Nebraska whose parents I don't recall if they really wanted to spend the money to rent movies and decided to rent movies from the library that was my generation of movies, and granted I don't know if that's true nor care because really that's decades ago and it really doesn't matter. And so, renting movies from the public library was nothing normal from a kid growing up and watching movies in fact without the public library I wouldn't have been introduced to Star Wars Trilogy or any of the John Wayne films or not of been introduced to this exceptionally great film A Man for all Seasons. A Man for all Seasons was also one of those films that my childhood priest would talk about during church and said in his own words that it was one of his favorite movies of all time, and when I was a kid I always remembered the movie well because I have a strong memory of Robert Shaw screaming at the top of his lungs in his memorable scene with Sir Thomas More aka Paul Scofield. And interesting fact was that Scofield was not the first choice for Thomas More despite the fact that he portrayed the character on Stage for the stage adaption to A Man for all Seasons, for many reasons they didn't see him as a big enough name like Richard Burton or Laurence Olivier and in fact they we're offered for the role but both men turned down the part, but director Fred Zinnermann demanded that Paul Scofield will play Sir Thomas More and even when watch the movie alone, he was exceptionally great furthermore embodied him until the final frame, I mean he won an Oscar for his performance as Sir Thomas More, so when a director demands that the Stage actor should play the title role furthermore was born for the role, that's excellent instincts from a director who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Paul Scofield was excellent as More and he does a fantastic job having the audience root for a guy like him who possessed his principles upon his fellow colleagues, but Robert Shaw who plays King Henry VIII is just outstanding furthermore feel ashamed that he didn't get an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor and even though his screen time is short, Shaw's performance as King Henry was so great but most importantly so terrifying because event when he's yelling at More he looks like a man whose unchecked and capable of doing anything to get what he wants and Shaw so good at that type of character furthermore one of the most exceptional actors of the sixties and seventies and even though his time was cut short at the age of 51, he's still a legendary actor in my eyes. A Man for all Seasons is an exceptionally great film moreover in my list of 50 greatest films of all time, and to me is an important Christian film that needs to be an important film of always sticking to your principles and faith no matter who pressures you on what is really right for the good of your country but your faith as well and Sir Thomas More is a prime example of what it truly means to be a politician because he fought for what he believes is right even till his own death and sure things now have changed in the Church but what More was fighting for was beyond the country that he loved but most importantly his faith and his family and that's truly something I respect in, moreover Pope John Paul II declared him the patron Saint of statesman and politicians which says a lot about his character. So, for any young Catholic or Christian wanting to become a lawyer or politician I would highly recommend watch A Man for all Seasons, because it brings an important message about never allowing anyone to tell you how you should think and feel, especially in today's world.

       

                                              

Tekken 8

 

                                 

                                 So, in my usual sense of boredom I decided to expand my horizon's and after my review of my favorite B-movie film Tekken, along with famous actor Brian Cox giving me a full story of the Tekken universe I decided to take a leap of faith and purchase the latest Tekken game that just came out Tekken 8. To be truthfully honest I'm going through a strange phase in my life where I wanted to try something new and different and I guess with watching the Tekken movie again last year, I just decided to purchase the latest Tekken, mainly because I thought why not but most importantly, I have a sense of boredom and wanted to see if this game was worth the effort.  

                                 The premise of the game's story mode is just simply the final confrontation between a father and son who share the same Mr. Hyde. While one wants to dominate the whole of Earth as we know it while the other wants to break the shackles between father and son.

                                  Now granted I'm a full on Mortal Kombat junkie, and I played the old school Street Fighter for which I love because it reminds me growing up, played a little bit of DOA: Dead or Alive for which is literally on the meh side, moreover I played a little of the old school Tekken and wasn't all impressed but once I played Tekken 8 I somewhat felt intrigued of the game play through the course of the story mode. And granted I haven't played all the games to Tekken but with the help of the creators of the game and Brian Cox I really didn't need to play the predecessors, upon which helped a lot because once you play the story mode of Tekken you get a story recap from the previous games. For a Tekken newbie this was one of those games I'd admit I wished, I would have played more of these games but in my naïve state of mind I would never quite understand the whole concept, so either way I doesn't matter what matters is, is that I'm sold onto the Tekken universe no matter how weird or confusing it gets. A side from Brian Cox gave me a full premise of the story, but what really sold me into the game was its epic clash between father and son fights. It was like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars meets any Bruce Lee films. Strangely I've been quite familiar with the gameplay where you can move the characters around the arena unlike Mortal Kombat who use to use this concept back in the PlayStation 2 era and then went back to their 2D fighting format upon which I have no problem in terms of which I play fighting games on and I think with some of their new techniques they use in the game it really does branch out the different ways in how you want to get better at in terms of fighting games. I still love the 2010 Tekken film just because it has that B-movie cliché of trying to recreate Gladiator moreover is just entertainingly dumb as well, so now that I've played this game I do see why everyone loves the Tekken series and deep down I can say I would most certainly loving the world of Tekken, and really playing this how to make this into a better adaption in my head, I got to say I would transition it more into a TV series and just focus it solely on just the three characters of Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama and blend it mostly as an epic Bruce Lee or any Kung Fu film with a mixture of the Coen Brothers so you can still have weird comedic relief. As a stand-alone game, I would highly recommend playing Tekken 8, furthermore now that I've tried something different would I'd want to play the latest Street Fighter games? Short answer no, just because I grew up with the old school Street Fighter and prefer not to play those games.

     

                                      

                                   

                                   

The Gambler

 

                                        

                                This year I made it clear to myself that I intend to expand my horizon's watch movies that I haven't seen moreover just failed miserably at picking the time and the place to finally sit down and watch the film. Although there have been some trial and errors and real errors if you catch my meaning though it would be a long story to tell. But then I found a movie that's been in my radar for quite some time upon which stars James Caan himself just two years before he starred in the 1972, The Godfather. The Gambler tells the story about a man who gives you a clear reason to stop gambling in life, because when you owe a lot of money to the mob, bad things will happen but with Caan's case "meh I still got a chance."

                                 New York City's English Professor Axel Freed (James Caan) outwardly seems like an upstanding citizen. But privately Freed is in the clutches of a severe gambling addiction that threatens to destroy him. After a heavy loss betting on basketball, he relies on his mother to bail him out to the tune of 44,000 dollars. Unfazed, he continues to gamble recklessly, winning big at a casino, only to blow it all just as quickly. When his debts become more than he can handle, the loan sharks begin to circle.

                                 Although this was the first start of expanding my horizons this was no doubt a good start when it came to finding a great movie to watch, moreover this was worth watching from start to finish. This was one of those films that you feel story for the guy but through the course of the film just don't feel sorry for him especially when he doesn't learn a single good lesson from all of this, though strangely shows a darker side to gambling addiction and that it’s a real tough thing to overcome but only if you choose to continue with the addiction, which is an interesting thing to ask in terms of a discussion panel. I think the best way to describe the movie is Bradley Cooper's portrayal in Nightmare Alley where he just wants to go up to the top and then it just hits you like a ton of bricks and you can't climb out of it and the same goes with this movie where you feel like Caan's character will change but you cringe to the fact that he doesn't learn any lesson. James Caan himself said that The Gambler was one of his favorite films as well as performances and states "It's not easy to make people care about a guy who steals from his mother to pay gambling debts". Not to spoil much of the movie itself I will say that they remade this movie ten years ago staring of course Mark Wahlberg, and I knew I was not going to watch that film, so I decided to browse the plot on Wikipedia, and it was basically a man overcoming his addiction at the end. And really that's one of the main reasons why I like this film better because this has the bleak ending where you don't know what is going to happen to Caan's character at the end but is also shocked at how it ends for which really shows why this movie is a billion times better than Wahlberg's version of the Gambler even though I never seen the film nor have in interest in wanting to see it. So, no doubt I would highly recommend watching the film it has a great actor in James Caan moreover you get some surprising performances in Paul Sorvino and Burt Young, but really is a perfect movie about a man who slowly loses his humanity as well as the people close to him and that's what I love about the film.

         

Fargo (TV Series)

 

                                    Fargo had become a television show I watched back in 2023, where it was just one of those shows, I decided to take a leap of faith and decided to watch and I just couldn't stop watching, it became one of those unique shows that was well written but most importantly pay a great tribute to the Coen Brothers film Fargo. I first heard about the show but didn't show much interest into really wanting to watch the show and until fellow Cardinals and Blues fan Jon Hamm was being cast into season five, I was like well I have to watch this show though I was going to start from the beginning of the show I wasn't going to just pick a season and go from there no, I'm a man who starts from season one to whatever season that was released after that. 

                                     In this anthology series inspired by the 1996 film, each season follows a mostly new cast of characters who get involved with murder investigations in different Midwestern towns, with seemingly unrelated crimes sometimes being connected in some way.

                                     The talk of turning Fargo into a television series dates back prior to the film’s release. Right around 1997, a pilot was filmed from an intended television series based on the film. Set in Brainerd after the events of the original film. The pilot featured a lot of actors playing the same roles that were made famous by the actors in the original film. The pilot aired in 2003 but was later cancelled after that one episode. In 2012, it was announced that FX, along with the Coen Brothers as executive producers, was developing a new television series based on the film, furthermore it was later announced that adaption would be a ten-episode limited series and with the help of Noah Hawley this amazing well-crafted show became history in the making. Before I decided to watch the series, I begun to realize that each season has that anthology feel where you get introduced with different characters, and it became a unique way to watch a comedy/drama moreover you have great performances from actors like Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, along with Patrick Wilson, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons as well as surprising performances with newcomers Juno Temple and Jon Hamm. The interesting thing that makes the show great is that you have a different year in each season that involves a different set of crime as well as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And with Noah Hawley at the writing helm, he's able to dive deep into each character but more importantly gives them a different set of identity, and sure some of these characters were based on the original film and if you haven't seen the 96 film or seen the film, you'll be able to see the details in the show. The most important thing about the show in what makes it great is that you really have some of these great bad guys or people turning bad they do such a great job in terms of playing bad moreover understand their motives but through the course of each season you're at the point where you wished these characters got what they deserved well, except for Billy Bob Thornton. Another thing in what makes the show exceptionally great is that you have interesting themes involving each year as well as these issues along with it so each of the seasons you get a unique style of theme that you begin to like as well as root more for the characters by the end of the season a great example is season five where you have a battle of the sexes. The fun thing about the show itself is that each season you watch you can call it good by the end of it, even if you feel the need to proceed to the next season or if you didn't like one of the seasons you can always jump to the next season because you're not missing any important story line mainly because they begin with the setting and characters then end with the characters and though some characters make a recurring appearance but they really have nothing to do with the main story-line of the season. If you're a fan of the Coen Brothers work or a big fan of comedy/drama, film noir or any type of crime drama then I would highly recommend watching Fargo because this was defiantly a show I can point to and admit that this was my cocaine addiction.

        

                                       

40th Anniversary of Scarface

 

                                    EVERYBODY, SCARFACE IS 40 YEARS OLD! YEA? You know there are times when you watch so many movies or go back in time and watch some of these classic films and question whether these films still stand the test of time or not as good as I remember, and stepping back into the world of Scarface, it's really a complex question of "is this still entertaining or Al Pacino literally chewing the scenery entertaining or a huge bore, some of wanting to just skip to the entertaining parts". You may find this surprising; Scarface was indeed the first ever Al Pacino film I've seen when I was young and had only a few Dish on Demand movies I can watch that wasn't Starz or HBO. And strangely Scarface was one of those movies I found on Netflix and decided to take a leap of faith and watch a full two hours and fifty minutes of Scarface.

                                    After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana (Al Pacino) stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall. 

                                     I'll say again that yes, Scarface was in fact the first ever Al Pacino movie I've ever seen growing up and it was literally at the time when AMC wasn't what it was now, moreover I was able to watch movies in certain channels that my parents didn't block from our viewership like Starz or HBO, and Scarface was without a doubt in one of those channels like AMC or other certain channels that I can watch, though the thing about it is, movies like Scarface they we're able to cut out a huge chunk of the violence, nudity and profanity so everyone can watch and enjoy though we all know watching those kind of movies on TV, do suck the fun out of them but at the time that was how I was able to watch films like Scarface. The development of the film alone is a little on the interesting side of it moreover a bit convenient, Al Pacino saw the original 1932 version of Scarface while he was in LA at the time, then later called his manager, producer Martin Bergman, and informed him of his belief in the potential for a remake of that film. On the other hand of the development writer at the time Oliver Stone who was battling a cocaine addiction of his own ("whop there it is") didn't enjoy much of the original movie, stating in his own words about the concept of remaking Scarface in the same aspect, "I didn't want to do an Italian mafia movie...We'd had dozens of these things. But then Bergman came back to me and said, Sidney Lumet has a great idea-he wants to do it as a Marielito picture in Miami. I said, That interesting! Sidney's idea was a good one". Sorry not sorry if I spoiled the entire movie for you but in all honesty that's basically the entire movie in a nut shell when it comes to the movie, I mean sure I could of kept my mouth shut and not spoil it for you but it's really just the quick rise and fall of a Cuban gangster, who broke the one cardinal rule, for which is never get high or wasted on your own product, kids if you ever want to be a full-fledged gangster "never get high or wasted on your own product" it's so simple. Having gone back and watched the original Scarface, I kind of felt betrayed moreover disappointed because it feels like Oliver Stone just copied and pasted a lot of scenes from the original movie for which to me is just lazy and granted both movies are decades apart but to me who remembered watching the movie numerous times on TV and seeing both films it's a little disappointing for sure but then what can you do and it's not just Oliver Stone it's also Brian De Palma as well because even in the finale scene you can see the reminiscence of the original film for which deep down you can't really do anything about it, it is what it is. I will say the one critique I have with the movie is Al Pacino's Cuban accent and really I don't have a problem with his appearance he does look like a Cuban immigrant but is accent is just terrible like he's trying to act Cuban but it's a strange blend of maybe Cuban or a man whose gibbering so much you don't truly understand what he's talking about surprisingly out of all of the actors in the movie both Al Pacino and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio who are both Italian decent and there playing Cuban immigrants, though the only difference is Mastrantonio's accent was a trillion times better than Pacino's accent like hers she sounds like a Cuban but Pacino's, I don't know if Brian De Palma was trying constantly to tell him to improve is accent and maybe thirty or forty takes and De Palma was just in a f**k it mode and continued filming after that. The film alone is like two hours and fifty minutes long and for sure there times where you feel like it's turning into a snore fest but when the action kicks in, it really kicks it up a notch like the final confrontation and that was one of the many scenes that I'd turn back on and watch that sequence all the way through because it's one of those moments that's amazing especially watching it at a young age moreover you when you watch it now you can see Al's performance where you truly don't understand what he's say and the gibberish was at a nuclear height. The movie itself is an entertaining movie from start to finish and really was a movie that you'd never thought or needed to be made because this was made at a time during the 80's that the Miami Vice was becoming a fashion statement as well as cocaine traffic was becoming an all-time high in the 1980's Miami, almost like Casablanca addressing POW camps at the height of WWII. When it comes to an Al Pacino movie, you really must separate his filmography from chewing the scenery and not chewing the scenery and Scarface was defiantly one of those films that Pacino literally chews the scenery, and you may or may not see the chew marks. I would most certainly recommend watching Scarface from start to finish I mean it's one of those films that has that 80's vibe's but most importantly is one of those iconic films from the 80's that you can point to and say that movie was fun to watch although very long but once you get to the entertaining parts of the movie then you will most certainly be entertained by the end of the movie.

                 

Twenty Year Anniversary: The Phantom of the Opera

 

                                Well ladies and gentlemen we're near the final days of February aka seasons of love theme. So, I present to you all The Phantom of the Opera one of my favorite musical/romance films that I've decided to watch, and I am not going to lie when I say that twenty years since the film’s release the film as aged as fine wine. Well, more like twenty-year wine but still tastes like crap, despite you yourself not being a wine drinker. Now without a doubt this is one of those movies I was strangely obsessed with in terms of music wise especially in high school and 2004 was around that time when the Star Wars prequels was conquering the world and really this was 2004 so I had a year to wait for Revenge of the Sith so as strange as this sounds this was one of those movies I was more interested with especially music wise because it had that epic feel that gives you goosebumps whenever you hear the music and when you have in actor like Gerard Butler impressing you singing wise and since the guy never sang before in terms of Opera yeah you'd be surprised when you watch this movie despite after 300, he really Matthew McConaughey'd his career.  

                                 Based on the infamous Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. A young soprano (Emmy Rossum) becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius (Gerard Butler) who lives beneath the Paris Opera House.

                                    If you were a band nerd, your music teacher probably had you play a lot of Phantom of the Opera music from pep band to honor band or stage band. And without a doubt Phantom of the Opera was one of those music scores that's imprinted in my memory, and so when my sophomore year of high school I've been seeing numerous previews of the movie and just the music to the movie especially the theme song, it just gave me chills moreover goosebumps and when a musical like that does that to you that's something special. And to be honest I have no clue how I watched it because when I was in high school I was a naive kid, I guess in my mind I just told my brother that Gerard Butler was in the movie and we loved him in Dracula 2000, or my sister was insisting on us watching, though I don't remember hell it's been twenty years since I've sat down and watched the movie so really I don't know how I was like "yeah lets watch it". Ironically enough, as I've researched was director Joel Schumacher had been impressed with Gerard Butler's performance in Dracula 2000, so having read that I was like "My Man" though Butler became Schumacher's first choice he had to take four lessons before singing "Music of the Night" for Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I haven't seen or watched any interviews of Webber so I'm guessing he was impressed with Butler's performance. Now having watched the film, if I have any positives to say about the movie, the strong attribute of the film is really from its casting, the singing and the soundtrack as well as its production design to its cinematography. And no question the soundtrack probably up there in one of the many greatest soundtracks I've ever heard in my lifetime well, maybe top fifteen or twenty but it's up there. Now that being said if I had any critique about the movie it would most certainly be the writing and the directing, and the amount of plot holes I discovered it's like the largest hole you can see when you buy a house and yourself was like "nope" and leave immediately moreover to give you some great examples are like how did the Phantom train Christine through the years and how Raoul and Christine became lovers like fifteen minutes into the movie and granted this is based on the book but really if you're going to tell me to read the book before I watch the musical that's sounds insane because I'm not going to attempt to read the book and then watch the musical just to understand the characters and that's like writing 101, when it comes to directing or writing a movie or musical is to give a little time to understand these characters from start to finish. And it's not just the plot holes of the story but also some of the flaws and some of the choice of shots that I had a problem with, for which really it's not a huge crime because I actually think some of the scenes or music sequences are actually quite funny because when we get to the "think of me" music sequence we get to Raoul discovering Christine, he cheers then decides to leave and as smart a** I'm like "wait the show isn't over, where you going Raoul?" Or the way Phantom is taking Christine back to his lair and goes from stairs to a short ride on a horse and then the infamous boat scene it's strangely funny almost like a Pirates of the Caribbean ride only it's for lonely women who will pay twenty bucks for a good looking dude to escort you to his phantom lair, granted it sounds weird when I say it but really I'm saying that all the dudes are phantoms and the lonely women are paying to have that fantasy. Sure you can pick apart a movie like The Phantom of the Opera and find what ways you'd can fix the movie with the amount of flaws and plot holes but really it's just way to much work especially now when producers will always ruin that movie making experience moreover if you really want to spend time wanting to remake this movie yeah sure, I'd salute you but I strongly doubt anyone will ever feel interested in wanting to see another stage opera turned movie especially when it comes to The Phantom of the Opera. Twenty years since I've seen the movie, I still think it's fantastic to watch and a lot of it surrounds the killer soundtrack and the amazing casting from Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson who would later go on to star in two of Zack Snyder's great films 300 and Watchmen. For a movie like this you'd just have to appreciate the film for what it is, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves music soundtracks or just loves musicals. 

       

Twenty Year Anniversary: Miracle

 

                                    This is a movie that's been on my radar to review but most importantly be sure to review because of its importance in America History as well as being one of the greatest moments in Sports History. Miracle tells the story about the 1980's USA Hockey team that no one ever expected to do the unthinkable, which was to beat the greatest Hockey team of the once Soviet Union. This has been a game that everyone knows about even me when I watched Al Michaels Great Sports Moments of the 80's. And when I heard Disney was turning this into a movie, I was just excited especially when they cast Kurt Russell to play the greatest American Hockey Coach, Herb Brooks. And with all the things that are happening right now in the world, Miracle is defiantly a film worth watching from start to finish.

                                    When College coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe, the heavily favored Soviet team. As the U.S. squad tries to overcome insurmountable odds and win the gold medal, the team becomes microcosm for American patriotism during the Cold War.

                                    Now having spent so much time trying to think of what my talk should be about Miracle the film itself; I must take a moment to reflect on my love for the sport of Hockey. And in all trustfulness it really started with Wayne Gretzky wearing a St. Louis Blues sweater along with the ever great Brett Hull, for which being a young kid slowly growing into a young Cardinals fan then seeing Gretzky playing for Blues in St. Louis it was like well it has to be fate that I would fall in love with the Blues, and of course when you’re a kid going to school you really don't have a lot of time to watch Hockey and so fast forward to the year 2014 and this is when the Winter Olympics where hosted in Sochi, Russia moreover I was sleeping and my mom woke me up and said that history was being made and she told me to turn on and watch the United States hockey team against the Russian Hockey team and really it was almost like a Deja vu in a sense because it was almost like re-watching the 1980 game against US and Soviets. And I am not going to lie when I say that the 2014 Winter Olympics and that game was all I needed to say that game was the greatest thing I ever seen, especially of all people to win the game it was T.J. Oshie who at the time was playing for the St. Louis Blues win the game in a spectacular shootout. So, deep down it was really my mom that drew me back into the love of Hockey and I can say that because her and my dad drove up to my grandpa’s house while listening to that 1980 game. I've said it so many times before in my life time Al Michael's great sports moments of the 80's VHS tape was my first introduction to the Miracle on Ice and I've watched the game via ESPN Classic's back when there was such a thing as ESPN Classic on cable, and so hearing that Disney is making a movie about the Miracle on Ice, hell even I was excited to watch because I wanted to know the full story of Herb Brooks and the 1980 USA Hockey team. And my first time watching the movie at a young age I was always surprised but was just at awed of how they were able to film those Hockey sequences and now twenty years moreover fully matured (hopefully) I understand and cherish the story of one man doing the unthinkable moreover making us believe in miracles, hell even I truly believe in miracles especially after the Blues won the Stanley Cup back in 2019. The movie alone is a true testament in what a true Hollywood sports movie should be it follows the central coach as well as its players and Kurt Russell playing Herb Brooks was a match made in Heaven and Russell spent a lot of time with Brooks through the course of the pre-production process. When you make a movie about Hockey the worst thing you can possibly do is just recreate the whole Hockey game as well as the many face-offs it has as well as the many stoppage it contains, and really what makes Miracle great is that it does recreate the Hockey match but doesn't stop the gas pedal until the final buzzer of each period and Miracle director does a fantastic job at that because you defiantly have to have that suspense and the sense of danger even if you watched the 1980 game in its full or haven't seen it full. Slap Shot is no doubt a great and iconic Hockey film moreover it shows the full life of a minor league Hockey player, but really Miracle still to this day I consider one of the greatest Hockey movies of all time, because it has that amazing story of the true underdog story of David and Goliath but most importantly is a great rejuvenation of being proud of being an American. Even if you're not a Hockey fan Miracle is that one film that you can turn on and watch till the final frame while Slap Shot, you'd feel confused so in all honesty Miracle will always be that great Hockey movie moreover just like Major League or Field of Dreams being that one iconic baseball film. The fact that it's been twenty years since the film’s release, Miracle still holds the test of time in being that iconic Hockey film to watch but most importantly take you back to where you were when the Miracle on Ice happen. So, as of right now it's February 22nd today (which marks the 44th Anniversary of the event) as in such a proper manner what better way to access your Disney + account or you have a copy of Miracle on DVD or Blu-Ray I would most certainly sit down and watch this outstanding Hockey movie to ever be made in Hollywood.