The Odyssey

 

            

             

              Well ladies and gentlemen, the time has come we've all been waiting for this movie well, granted a good portion of the world’s population has been waiting for this movie. And of course, I'm one of those people that's been waiting for this movie, I mean I'm a fan of the Christopher Nolan fan ever since I've been introduced to Batman Begins, and yet the funny thing is that this film was one of the most disliked films since Disney's live action Snow White and the film wasn't even released. And yet out of all the chaos around us as well as the trolls and narcissists or political bulls**t. Comes one of the greatest pieces of Cinema, and the greatest movie of 2026. And that's saying a lot because sure, there's been a lot of movies I've seen in the theaters, but nothing can top, The Odyssey. 

              Odysseus (Matt Damon) King of Ithaca embarks on a perilous journey to return home after the Trojan War. Crossing the Mediterranean Sea with his fellow soldiers, they soon find themselves battling not only the elements, but an array of deadly obstacles and mythical elements along the way. 

              If you look back on the very film that moved you as well as open you to many possibilities, for me of course it was the Star Wars Prequels granted the lightsaber fights were so, intense that I remember my heart pounding and then you movie to movies in Christopher Nolan twenty one years ago with Batman Begins and it was a different Batman that I never experienced the same with the Dark Knight, I mean I never in a million years would ever imagine a Joker so worthy of a performance that would top Jack Nicholson at that time, but more importantly was The Prestige as well, and that was one of those movies where I never expected the many twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat but more importantly gave the sense of respect on what a filmmaker and magician should be and those three films for me we're in the gold standard of Chris Nolan gave and still to this day, whenever he comes with a new movie I don't need to see a trailer of his because I know I'm going to look at his movies as great cinema as well as the best I've ever seen and we don't get a whole lot of that since Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese in their earlier works of film. Although through the course of this year yes, this film was bogged by so much controversy and a lot of the typical political bulls** as well as trolls and AI being thieves of joy and at times, I was a bit weary on the choices that Nolan made don't get me wrong. But it's when I went into the theater and had that sense of dread in terms of what I was going to experience, but once the opening emerged from the studio logo, everything changed. From the opening shot of the Trojan Horse to the intense presence of Agamemnon and more importantly Ludwig Goransson's incredible/haunting music, it was without a doubt the greatest movie I've ever seen in cinema since The Dark Knight or even Jaws in the IMAX. Furthermore, just take a moment to reflect on just how far IMAX has come from simply just doing your usual documentaries that would be shown on your local movie theaters or Museums and would be awed by them until Chris Nolan took it to a whole new level and between the time Avatar was coming out we all imagined 3D would be the next big thing but that was all a hoax and after watching The Odyssey, the IMAX camera, technology is a way better way to watch film than the 3D experience. The Odyssey to me personally is a billion times better than any of the past Greek Mythology films or Greek epics that I've ever witness, and I've seen my fair share of them from Troy to 300 and they we're all the same. But the Odyssey to me was much more different and with Nolan at the helm it proves that this was something you'd never imagine, along with Hoyte van Hoytema cinematography and Ludwig Goransson's music this was without a doubt the most perfect Nolan movie I've ever witnessed. I will argue and state that Matt Damon besides is many times being on Jimmy Kimmel is one of the great American actors of all time, I mean he can do it all from being a sarcastic actor to a traumatic crier on screen. And even a Knight from the middle ages he can do it all and it's amazing how he's able to pull off a role like this with so much tension as well as being haunted by past events and even the haunting music of the Sirens he so believable as Odysseus, that you root for him as well as being able to see his beloved dog one last time is so heartbreaking and great that I can relate to losing your dog my whole life especially when you finally see him for the first time to the very last. Speaking of actors, this is without a doubt one of the greatest ensemble of actors that I've ever seen on screen, I mean Anne Hathaway is perfect for the role of Penelope and same goes to Tom Holland as the son of Matt Damon, hell even Robert Pattinson is great as a snobbish antagonist whose trying to steal the throne for himself that even when he was starting out in the Twilight films I always had this sort of hope that Pattinson would be a an exceptional actor and he at times proves himself with The Batman, but with this movie he's really blossom as a villain you'd love to hate and is excited to see his end. If you take away all the political crap and the Trolls ruining all the fun or even actors or actresses saying things they never should be saying in the first place. The Odyssey is one of those greatest epics that will stick with me forever and ever till the day I day and in fact I would most certainly rank this as the perfect Chris Nolan film along with The Dark Knight, I mean I never thought I would watch so many movies this year and the Odyssey is the for certain the greatest thing I've ever experienced this entire year and that's not saying a whole lot because a good portion of the movies I've seen are okay and enjoyable but nothing can top Nolan's the Odyssey. If you have money, I highly recommend watching The Odyssey while the film is still in movie theaters and if you have an IMAX theater next to you, I will defiantly stop what you’re doing and go to experience this grand epic in the IMAX. Nolan has officially made thirteen movies so, far and I would defiantly say that he is our modern-day Stanley Kubrick of directors, because he does a fantastic job of giving you a movie worth the wait as well as bringing out the best in his actors to deliver the best performances they can deliver on screen. More importantly there's no director out there who can promise such a grand epic film as Nolan and would at times be in over his head but then would hit the right movie for everyone to experience and love till the final frame. 

         

July Recommendation: Rob Roy

 

          Trying to find some random movies to watch, mainly trying to at least find something that I've not seen or haven't gotten the opportunity to sit down and watch from start to finish. And Rob Roy was one of those movies that came into my radar but just hadn't got to time to sit down finally watch. So, as luck would have it, I finally got down and watched the film all the way through. And I more importantly chose this for my monthly recommendation for the month of July, since May we had the Western genre, June was of course the comedies, and now July is the epics, and yet with Rob Roy it has a great list of actors From Liam Neeson to Brian Cox as well as other accomplished actors. 

          In 18th Century Scotland, Robert Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is the head of a proud Highlands clan that herds cattle. Rob takes a one-thousand-pound loan from the Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) to feed his people through the upcoming winter. Though deception as well as blood being spilled Rob Roy must go into hiding and find the right moment to strike at the very people who wronged him. 

          The other reason as to why I chose this film to be my July Recommendation, and of all the epics I would choose, this was like the underappreciative Braveheart movie at that time of the film’s release granted this film was made and released the same time as Braveheart and I personally felt this was almost like a younger brother of Braveheart that nobody watched as well as nobody even remembered this film was even released to theaters in the mid-90s, and yet this film was great to watch from beginning to the final frame, I mean you had an incredible ensemble cast with Liam Neeson at the helm with a great list of antagonists with John Hurt, Brian Cox and Tim Roth who really did a fantastic job playing the main antagonist in the movie, I mean he of all the villainous Brits in the movie aside from Cox, Roth was just so, wrenched of all the cruel deeds he does in the movie I was just rooting for Neeson to strangle him or finally get his comeuppance and granted, I've seen the duel a bunch of times prior to not seeing the movie ahead of time but the way Roth being so cruel and so, scum of the earth that you just hate the bastard from the first bad deed till he meets his end then your like "YES", "oh feels so, good", for which in all honesty is the reason as to why he was nominated for a Oscar. I will say what holds this movie together is the actors and even Jessica Lange because you feel for the Scots and the abuse they go through but more importantly showed that the rift between Brits and Scots still wasn’t that great. Although I will honestly say I've got to noticed some interesting things about 18th century especially when the royal's get to go to the bathroom they simply have a huge pan or bow that they can lift their bed dress and just take a big wiz while sitting on the bed and hopefully they throw it outside with the hopes that they don't hit someone with their wiz if you know what I mean, for which it would be difficult to do now because we're all pretty much in our own undies and would be difficult to pull off our undies and sit back down on the bed, also I think Liam Neeson has Leo beat when it comes to spending the night inside an animal though sure it's been a long time since I've watched the Revenant but I though Neeson getting the guts out of a cow was disgusting though in all fairness it's been close to ten years since I've seen the Revenant so I may have to cross that bridge and find out in futures to come. The fun fact about the movie is that it was shot entirely in Scotland so, it would make sense that you would get a ton of these beautiful shots of the landscape and more importantly they had to hike to get to their destination, hence the same way of shooting Chris Nolan and his crew in the Odyssey with the huge IMAX camera. Again this film alone is one of the many reasons why the 90's were an exciting time to go to the movies as well as having the best of time, and Rob Roy is one of those 90's films that I would highly recommend watching from start to finish of course because it was a younger brother to Braveheart, but like most epics this film was more grounded in terms of character driven storylines like most epics for sure, but this film does heavily focus themes of honor, loyalty and more importantly devotion between both Neeson and Lange moreover each of them did an exceptional job through the course of the movie and you can't help but root for them to gain their justice by end of the film and Rob Roy does a fantastic job rooting for your main protagonists as well as despising your antagonists along the way. So, in closing Rob Roy is free to watch on yours truly Tubi as well as Amazon Prime and Pluto TV, so if you’re looking for a great 90's epic movie to watch I would highly recommend watching Rob Roy. 

               

50th Anniversary of The Shootist

 

                     John Wayne month has finally reached its end, with Wayne's final movie in his entire movie career, and this was most certainly the sadist movie to rewatch. The Shootist when I slowly realized that this film is officially 50 years old now, I knew months ago that I would have to review this great classic as well as the last ride of John Wayne's film career. Though with this film, The Duke is not alone for this conclusion as he's joined alongside other great costars, including his best friend James Stewart, Lauren Bacall and even a young Ron Howard. 

                     J.B. Books (John Wayne in his final film role) is an aging gunfighter diagnosed with cancer who comes to Nevada at the turn of the 20th Century. Renting a room with a widowed Bond Rodgers (Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom (Ron Howard), Books is confronted by several people of questionable motives, including a man seeking to avenge his brother's death and a few who are looking to profit from Books notoriety. Not wanting to die quiet, painful death, Books devises a plan to go out with a bang. 

                     Both the Shootist as well as Big Jake remind me a whole lot of both Red Dead Redemption games where it's the turn of the century and the legendary gunfighters are dying out, moreover the government is coming into clean house. The most notable similarity with The Shootist and the Red Dead games is that we also have a main protagonist whose dying and tries to go out in the best of fashion or trying to make amends with his past terrible deeds, for which now having watched the Shootist does give me the craving to play Read Dead Redemption on both PS4-PS5, and seriously if you haven't played those great video games I would highly recommend playing them. The Shootist was in fact Wayne's final movie role which expanded from the silent film genre in 1926 for which in all fairness he began acting 100 years ago if you think about it. During the seventies Wayne was in fact battling cancer, as I explained with films like the Sons of Katie Elder, though another source explained that while filming the Conqueror, in earlier years they were filming on a testing site for atomic bombs so there's another good source that would be possible. Although he was cancer free until early 1979, I would imagine that Wayne made it clear that The Shootist would be is final movie, so, according to a source unknown Wayne did in fact had some casting request for which would reunite with fellow costars like Richard Boone, John Carradine even Lauren Bacall who in fact made a movie with Wayne called Blood Alley and even his best friend James Stewart. Even Stewart at the time of the films production as retired from acting and decided to accept the role because he owed it to the Duke, though through series of takes it was like directing two old men who were both mumbling and needed to raise their voices, though let’s be honest these two titans who are now mortal need to be reminded that they need to speak up sometimes. Granted I remember watching this movie when I was a kid furthermore wasn't a huge fan of the movie considering that Wayne dies at the very end but now re-watching the film I understand why it's a great classic because it has all the morels of legends of the west suddenly realizing that their no longer mortal and spending their final days enjoying life a bit more as well as going out on his or hers own terms and that's basically what the Shootist is all about, is trying to die in peace and not allowing any annoying publicity or Marshalls interfere in terms of what a life he once had or trying to spin the story because when you’re a gunfighter it's not always the most pleasant life, it's always the kill or be killed life as well as the cycle of violence and Wayne's character tries in the best of his abilities tell Ron Howard's character not to follow his footsteps but almost learn how to use a gun in self-defense. And I truly believe with this movie, Wayne is showing that these legendary gunfighters are not great people to admire as well as nothing but killers, though granted I can be wrong and I don't claim to be right. As a fan of the Duke's great work as well his ability to still be tough even in death, this film was without a doubt the most heartbreaking movie to watch for good reasons is that this film marked the final leg of the Western genre and a year after the film’s release we would all be worshiping Star Wars as well as the Science Fiction genre and sure this film was supposed to be Wayne's last ride this was also closing a chapter in this iconic film actors life until his later death in 1979, and that's the most heartbreaking thing about the Shootist is that the gunfighter don't ride off into the sunset, they soon meet their end for which this film would be metaphorical to John Wayne's life as well three years after the film’s release. As much as I hate to end a John Wayne month with dying Wayne, but this is defiantly a underrated Wayne movie that I doubt people remember more than his iconic roles but more importantly it's the last hurrah to the legacy of the Duke almost the same way of Hugh Jackman's last hurrah in Logan though he later returns to the role of Wolverine in which he's still making money off of, though in all fairness Jackman is still in the best of shape so, he can do whatever he wants. Even though I'm closing the John Wayne month, I'm sure there are more of Wayne's movies to check out and now having relived some of these great classics I still feel the need to watch more of John Wayne's films that I've not seen besides the Western genre, though I'm going to take a long break because when it comes to watching many of the Duke's films, it gets a little bit old. So, in closing I'm going to leave you all with a great line that Wayne said to the late Barbara Walters in an unknown interview "Don't let those bastards get you down". 

         

The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance

 

            I extended my John Wayne month for good reasons I was in a strong sense over working on my everyday life and mostly feeling a bit tired in the sense of pulling long hours. Though for good reasons I was having small trouble finding some other John Wayne movies I have not seen. Though through the course of the short break, I began to realize that you can't necessarily have a John Wayne month if you can't talk about the great and respectable friendship between two of our greatest actors of all time John Wayne and James Stewart for which leads to the second to final movie in the John Wayne month. 

            Questions arise when Senator Ranse Stoddard (James Stewart) attends a funeral for a local man named Tom Doniphan (John Wayne) in a small Western town. We flash back to the time when Stoddard first comes to town and is attacked by an outlaw named Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and is later saved by Doniphan himself. Both men of different backgrounds suddenly are the only two to stand up to Valance as well as the only two people that can save their town from terror and corruption, though both men are later in life become legends but with a price. 

             Like I said earlier you can't really have a John Wayne month without talking about the greatest friendship between John Wayne and James Stewart, two of the greatest actors of all time, moreover two titans of the Golden age of actors in Hollywood if I may say. Both men were first introduced by one another by a Hollywood banquet hosted by John Ford himself, and Ford introduced each other at that very banquet. Though granted the Liberty Valance was their first film together as well as a collaboration with Ford, through the years they've been respectable friends over the course of four decades. And in the Duke's final years Stewart visit him quietly even upon is death in 1979, for which shows that these two men were not just friends for Hollywood, but a real friendship built on respect and admiration. The movie is defiantly a great example of two men in a Western environment with different ways of how to deal with justice in the West, Wayne represents the tough and gritty world of the West, while Stewart represents the law abiding citizen as well as wanting to make the town a safer place without violence, and yet both men need each other though the course of the movie because they both help each other in times when they need help. Like most Western's or any Superhero movie you need a great antagonist to push their protagonist to the edge of finally standing up to their antagonist and Lee Marvin is hands down the best villain in any Western movie combined, and it was John Wayne himself that actually recommended Marvin for the role of Vallance and Marvin is fantastic through the course of the movie where you just hate him from beginning to the very end as well as relieved to see him get his componence and that's what you always want to have for a bad guy and Marvin is fantastic. Now sure, people who've never seen a John Wayne film or a James Stewart film would of course through this fit that their acting might be horrible or mediocre but I would beg to differ in the sense that both Wayne and Stewart are both different protagonist and yet you root for them through the course of it furthermore while Wayne is a brave and tough Cowboy in every Western he's in for which of course you need but deep down with this movie he does a great job playing sad in the sense of helping others cost him deeply and yet realizes that he can't always give the woman he loves a better life. Jimmy Stewart on the other hand plays a perfect outsider who sticks to his principles even in the end when secrets are revealed and he has to continue going because it's the only way to save a town from utter destruction, and both Wayne and Stewarts characters together are tragic characters through the course of the movie because they both have to keep a close secret for each of them because in the infamous line in the movie "this is the West, when the legend becomes fact, print the legend" for which in all honesty that's the who brass on what the wild West and mythic tales on how the West evolved in America and the way Ford portrays heroes and legends are a great contrast to Greek myths in Ancient times. This was actually the first film in which John Ford doesn't use massive landscapes but small towns with a kiss of landscapes to go along with it, but yet with this film it's strikingly violent and yet you don't see the violent act onscreen and that's always the beauty of movies like John Ford's work and granted, this is almost reminiscent to The Searchers. But you see the depiction of violence but you let the imagination do the work and that's always the impressive way of how Ford's films depict violence to the extent that you don't see the act of violence happening but you get shocked in terms of what you’re seeing on screen and it's almost like the opposite of a Quentin Tarantino movie where Quentin shows the violence happening and Ford lets the audience imagination to the work. And so, like many of John Wayne's finer works this is without a doubt a great movie to watch for all fans of Westerns, especially when the film is finally on Tubi, hopefully for a long time and not for a short while. Though with great performances from both Wayne and Stewart together, this film depicts the Western lore of heroes and legends coming align in a time when America was about to evolve from a world of violence and more importantly this film is another great example of Western lore and myths almost the same way Greece has the Gods and heroes and us American's have Westerns to love and cherish. But more importantly this is a great example of two legendary American Actors each are both different in terms of hero standards but are both friends till the very end as well as built on respect and admiration and more importantly a great example of friendship in a time when the West was in the midst of changing. 

              

            

Sands of Iwo Jima

 

           

              Counting down the final days of John Wayne month, I decided to take the opposite approach and watch one of the duke’s films that doesn't consist of Cowboys and Indians. Sands of Iwo Jima was Wayne's sixth World War II film, for which received an Oscar nomination in 1949, with all the great accolades the film contains this is truly a great World War II epic that's in actual first to focus on the war in the Pacific, and not just Nazi's in Europe. 

              Marine Sgt. John Stryker (John Wayne) is despised by his own men for his rough attitude and exhausting training regimen. As the war in the Pacific progresses, though, they begin to respect Stryker's hard-edged outlook on war and his brutal training methods, as it has helped them prepare for the harsh realities of the battlefield. They'll need all of Stryker's battle tactics if they want to survive what will end up being one of the bloodiest engagements of the war: The Battle of Iwo Jima. 

              A lot of people didn't know this, but John Wayne didn't get much of a chance serving his own country in World War II, and it always been curious as to why he didn't get the chance, like, James Stewart was allowed to serve his country but why not Wayne? Well, a lot of it had to do with Republic Pictures not wanting him to go in the Military because his presence would boost morale to all civilians as well as troops going into WWII. And for good reasons John Wayne before the United State entered the War, he was a huge star, I mean he was the same big-time celebrity long before Harrison Ford became famous in the eighties. And sure, James Stewart entered the war but he wasn't as big as John Wayne and all of the Generals in the Army or Navy would never in a million years wanted to be responsible for the duke’s death, and hell Joseph Stalin was a huge fan of John Wayne so, you can see that even the most evil tyrants can be fans of the duke. All facts a side this was a really outstanding war movie and the way that the filmmakers we're able to show the horror of war in the Pacific is defiantly great and terrifying because the way Japan was able to fight the American's they were almost fighting the way the American's fought the British in the Revolutionary War. There are some of the footages that I had interesting questions about in terms of the battle sequences but either way some of the main characters that you are introduced to in the beginning of the movie you feel bad for some of those characters. Like the Searchers this is another John Wayne performance where you can see that he's a tough sergeant to his own men but through the course of the movie you begin to see a soft side of him for which really this movie alone I would defiantly rank in Wayne's best performances. Both free on YouTube and available to watch on Pluto TV, so if you’re looking for a great movie to watch in July or craving for a World War II movie, then I would highly recommend watching Sands of Iwo Jima, especially when you watch a different side of John Wayne as a gritty/tough Sargent that takes no for an answer and more importantly something different from Wayne's acting career. 

       

The Long Goodbye

 

               Once finishing Mash: the movie, never have I thought I would like another Robert Altman movie and for good reasons I figure you'd find the best movie and you'd never need to watch other movies, almost the way I approached Full Metal Jacket and said to myself "well I don't need to watch another Stanley Kubrick movie". Though the Long Goodbye comes around and I guess now I need to watch all of Altman's movies. 

                Private Detective Phillip Marlowe (Elliot Gould) is asked by his old buddy Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) for a ride to Mexico. He obliges, and when he gets back to Los Angeles is questioned by the Police about the death of Terry's wife. Marlowe remains a suspect until it's reported that Terry's committed suicide in Mexico. Marlowe doesn't buy it but takes a new case from a beautiful blond, Eileen Wade (Nina Van Pallandt), who coincidentally has a past with Terry. 

               I don't know if anyone knows this and granted the Oceans films are close to twenty years old by now but Elliot Gould during my era of movies has always been Ruben Tishkoff who is basically the mentor to George Clooney and Brad's Pitt's character in the Ocean's Films for which sure if you grew up with the Ocean's films that's a big shocker the same with me, though watching some of his earlier work I got to say this guy is awesome as an actor. Moreover, I loved Bogart's portrayal as Marlowe in the Big Sleep and it's a great performance from Bogie but, I got to say, Gould's performance as Marlowe has now become my favorite Marlowe performances and even Altman allowed Gould to improvised and the best part of the whole movie is him improvising the interrogation scene and yet wiping the fingerprint ink all over his face which makes it funny at the same time. I really don't want to spoil anything about this movie because this is now become one of my favorite movies of all time and Long Goodbye is another film in which follows the Dan Harmon storyline cycle but more importantly in what makes this film fantastic is that they modernized the character of Philip Marlowe and you never really get to see that in other great PI detectives being set in today’s world and sadly enough, Hollywood is in so much of a shamble that you don't get any of these films now and I wish they do more bring characters like the Thin Man couple to today’s world for which in all honesty would make a great movie too. Again Tubi, in my opinion, is still reigning supreme in terms of hidden treasures as well as classic films so, if you have Tubi then I would highly recommend watching The Lost Goodbye as well as go on record that Elliot Gould is the best Marlowe of all time. 

   

Thief

        

          Going back to films my brother instructed me to watch, and my latest selection has now become one of my favorite movies of all time as well as in my lest of 100 greatest films of all time well, mainly in my non-bias whichever comes first. Thief staring James Caan as well as the directorial debut of infamous director Michael Mann, famous for such great films like Heat and the Insider. Another surprising factor is this was in fact Jerry Bruckheimer's first ever produced movie as well, almost a couple of years before films like Top Gun and Michael Bay came into his life.

          A highly skilled jewel thief, Frank (James Caan) longs to leave his dangerous trade and settle down with his girlfriend, Jessie (Tuesday Weld). Eager to make one last big score in order to begin living a legitimate life, Frank reluctantly associates with Leo (Robert Prosky), a powerful gangster. Unfortunately for Frank, Leo wants to keep him in his employ, resulting in a tense showdown when he finally tries to give up his criminal activities once and for all. 

          The interesting thing about Thief is, it's really a simple story, just a simple safecracker trying to get out of the business finds a perfect score but soon realizes it's not easy getting out. I mean the story is so, simple and so great that even through the course of the movie, I was playing the Dan Harmon storyline game (long story, but Dan Harmon found a simple way to write a script) and this movie hits all the right themes to creating a simple story, and it's crazy how Michael Mann was able to get this story so simple to the core though in all fairness it was independently made, in all fairness. What makes the film great personally is that this was one of the first films where we see these criminals in blue-collar professions basically seeing the thieves in the everyday lives before they begin to hit a score at night, and Michael Mann does a fantastic job staying true and more realistic to what a modern thief at the time would usually steal in terms of not going all high fashion like the Ocean's films and that they get away by the end of the film, and Man actually does a fantastic job portraying the film on what these types of thieves choose to do but realize the consequences of their actions. James Caan is a fantastic actor in the movie you can see that he's a man who wants to have a better life but deep down is a tough guy and through the course of his journey can't hide his criminal life even though trying to have a normal life tends to never be easy in his personal life, and even Caan himself claims that besides The Godfather, Thief is another performance he's actually proud of. From the camera work to the outstanding visuals as well as the realism to thieves and safecrackers combined, Thief is a fantastic neo-noir film that holds up the same way Heat holds up in terms of realism and great visuals. Found this on Tubi and once and always again Tubi is still holding the top streaming service for me, by perfect films to watch as well as hidden treasures and so, if you don't have Tubi, then I would highly recommend subscribing Tubi and watching this crime caper classic.

          

50th Anniversary of Rocky

 

           Happy Post-Fourth of July everybody, hope you all had a great 250th celebration of our country’s birth. In all honesty, a side from blowing off fireworks and having to listen, mediocre to overrated country songs about America. See of all movies to talk about that would describe the American dream, and really Rocky kind of caught my eye and I've seen this movie before as well as watched the Rocky films through the ages and thought the first film stands the test of time, more importantly was the first sports film to win Best Picture. And strangely enough it's reached its fiftieth birthday. So, here we are now talking about the greatest boxing film.

            Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a small-time boxer from the working class of Philadelphia, is arbitrarily chosen to take on the reigning world heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), when the undefeated fighter's scheduled opponent is injured. While training with feisty former bantamweight contender Mickey (Burgess Meredith), Rocky tentatively begins a relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire), the wallflower sister of his meat-packer pal Paulie (Burt Young).     

             Sylvester Stallone at the time was living the same life as majority of actors trying to score big in Hollywood, he was of course broke and working dead end jobs to pay the rent, later on learned that of course he was a certain type of actor in his own words to the point that it would almost limit his work abilities as an actor. And so, between the mid-seventies is when he fell back on his writing albitites for which the iconic boxing legend Rocky wrote. Strangely enough, it was the year 1975, in which a Championship fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner, furthermore, brought Stallone inspiration to write Rocky in Sly brought a tone of great themes of wanting to dream big as well as being ready for the moments of opportunity and being challenged into taking a leap of faith. It's really fascinating in going back to some of Stallone's earlier work, and he does a fantastic job as both an actor and a screenwriter in that you can see Rocky as a down on his luck type of character that we as an audience member can relate to as well as follow through the course of the movie moreover one of my favorite scenes is the day of the fight and Rocky can't go to sleep and tells Adrian that he has no chance in beating Apollo, and wants to make it his goal to go the distance and that's just symbolizes all of us in terms of having the sense of fear and dread of knowing you’re not going to win but making a personal goal in our lives that even if we don't win, we can at least reach this goal to know that we're actually worth something in this life or the next. Granted this movie came out in a time when there weren't a whole lot of heroes or legends to look up to and Rocky does fit that mold, and especially if you look at the setting in which the film takes place, Philadelphia was in a shambles in terms of economics as well as every working class citizen not making ends meet, more importantly fearing to keep their jobs, and if you don't think that was bad, the sports teams besides Philly's hockey team won two cups at that time, but all the other teams were horrible so, having a local boy taking a shot at the heavyweight champion of the world, almost as a David vs. Goliath, that's Hollywood magic in the making. The surprising factor about the movie is yes, it was a one-million-dollar budget, but it was a low budget filmmaking at its finest. Great example, Rocky jogging all over Philadelphia was all gruella filmmaking (filming without permits), where they had to select certain parts of Philly where they find intriguing to film and have Sly run a good portion of that route and even in the market ally that was all gruella filmmaking too, and director John G. Avildsen would film Sly Jogging while on the side door of the van with a camera. The first Rocky is a perfect American story about rags to riches and chasing a impossible dream and I think if you want to watch anything that symbolizes America, Rocky fits all those perfect themes and I would highly recommend watching the film from start to finish. Though granted at times it does feel slow but once it hits the gas pedal it's a fantastic story, though I will say the internet does ruin things because of some scenes where they take it out of context and sure make it funny but is also annoying as well. With all of that said, Rocky to me is most certainly in my top ten list of the greatest sports movies of all time. And so, if you have either Netflix or MGM+ then I would highly recommend sitting down and watching a movie about getting an opportunity as well as chasing a dream and second chances furthermore if Rocky doesn't get to feeling proud of being American, I don't know what does. 

       Speaking about the land of opportunity and chasing a dream, here is a special moment for Rocky meeting Muhammad Ali. 

70th Anniversary of The Searchers

 

            Closing out the month of June with another John Wayne film, for John Wayne month, brings one of Wayne's top best performances of a lifetime. The Searcher's like most John Wayne and John Ford movies have great visuals as well as great cinematography, this film shows a much more dangerous look of the West. People tend who are not fans of John Wayne or have never grown up with John Wayne would of course tend to say that The Duke can't act, but I begged to differ but also disagree because they haven't seen The Searchers and more importantly, if you haven't understood the Searchers or its meaning you need to rethink your life and watch this greatest Western of all time. 

            In this revered Western, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother's family are killed or abducted by Comanches, he vows to track down his surviving relatives and bring them home. Eventually Edwards gets words that his niece Debbie (Natalie Wood) is alive, and, along with her adopted brother, Martin Pawley (Jeffery Hunter), he embarks on a dangerous mission to find her, journeying deep into Comanche territory.

            When you think of the many John Wayne films you've ever seen in terms of the Western genre to like The Son's of Katie Elder, Big Jake, True Grit, Rio Bravo or even Stagecoach and let’s throw in McLintock, there all Westerns in which Wayne plays the protagonist that's a blend of both bad**s character or just your typical hero who gets the girl by the end of the film. If I had to explain anyone, John Wayne's character in the Searchers, he's defiantly playing the Anti-Hero in the film a man whose defiantly not a good example of a hero but someone you want on your side by the end of the film, moreover this was a different type of John Wayne film that we as an audience member never really quite expected especially since I grew up with great classics like The Son's of Katie Elder, McLintock, even some of his war films, like my first time watching the film I was told mostly through my brother that Wayne plays a racist and I never really expected him to be that type of person, furthermore Ford himself wanted Wayne for the role of Ethan Edwards as well as putting massive trust in Wayne considering this would massive departure from his typical clean-cut hero and Wayne himself embraced this as a challenge and to me stands as one of his greatest performances for sole reasons is that we've never been able to see that in many of his films ever again, and I may not of seen all of his films I don't have a clear memory especially some of his final films besides the Shootist but I doubt he ever played this type of Anti-Hero ever again. A lot of people I've known through the years and coming off of hearing Quentin Tarantino's review of the Searchers, they all claim that they hated Jeffery Hunter's performance in the movie for which sure at times it becomes cringe, but deep down that's what Hunter is supposed to be in the movie, like, they man is essentially a child who doesn't know a whole lot about the world until Wayne's character comes along and through a gruesome sense of bullying as well as not accepting him at first both men come to respect one another but, more importantly you need this type of dynamic between Wayne's Ethan's racist aspects of life, too Hunter's childish/faith in humanity point of view because if you just had Ethan go after his niece alone he would of became a pure hated villain through the course of the movie, just somebody who would of course would go insane by the end of it, and so, that's the reasons as to why Hunter chose to travel along with him because even he can sense Ethan's hatred and blood lust for which is the reason why Hunter is the character that humanizes Wayne's character through the end of the movie and both Hunter and Wayne are excellent together furthermore surprising why they didn't work together by the end of the Searchers production or made more movies together though Wayne and William Holden only made one movie together so, I would imagine it's probably ego sense, for which in all seriousness would make the logic sense if you ask me. The other thing in what makes the Searchers such a memorable movie is that it's beautify shot in Monument Valley aka Arizona/Utah border and some of those shots at night time is so beautiful that I can't stop and enjoy the colors of the film, and I'm not sure if they also shoot some of the close ups in the back lot of Hollywood, though I would doubt it because there's a documentary where Ford and the crew literally shot the film in Monument Valley and even in Elk Island National Park up in Alberta, Canada for some of the cold scenes but I still say that they for certain shot this entirely in the outdoors and it to me looks fantastic because you can see the beauty of the desert and the huge landmarks especially some of the wide angle lenses, they used. And if you look up some of the imagery of Monument Valley you would agree that it would most certainly be a sight to see in case you can't make it to the Grand Canyon, and really having re-watched this great film I now put Monument Valley as my bucket list for sights I want to visit before I die. I still haven't seen all of John Ford's films but I would certainly say that The Searchers is defiantly one of Ford's masterpieces that still stands the test of time, for many and gillion reasons is that it holds a ton of themes of racial tensions between our fellow man that we still have to this day, but more importantly it has the important theme of vengeance as well as the obsession of achieving bloodlust as well as how much of your own humanity that you would lose in the process and even by end of it all what do you do now once the vengeance is all over and Ford explores these themes really well and still holds an important aspect on all of us now because we still have some of these themes as well as hate, that we can't seem to let go of. So, if you ever have a copy of The Searchers or purchase the film for streaming, I will highly recommend watching this film as well as would rank it among Clint Eastwood's Western Classic Unforgiven as the greatest Westerns of all time.  

    

Big Trouble in Little China

 

           Trying to find some random movies to watch with the consist length of around 90ish minutes and so, Big Trouble in Little China came on my radar. Moreover, as usual nights would go, I figured I give this movie a try and surprisingly enough is the third in terms of John Carpenter movies that I've not seen besides Halloween. Furthermore, this is the first time I'm annoyed by Kurt Russell, in any movie for which is crazy. 

            Kurt Russell plays a hard-boiled truck driver Jack Burton, who gets caught in a bizarre conflict within, and underneath, San Francisco's Chinatown. An ancient Chinese prince and Chinatown crime lord has kidnapped a beautiful green-eyed woman, who is the fiancée to Jack's best friend. Jack must help his friend rescue the girl before the evil Lo Pan (James Hong) uses her to break the ancient curse that keeps him a fleshless and immortal spirit. 

              Surprising factor to those who do not know this but this film was inspired by the creators of Mortal Kombat, co-creator Ed Boon says in certain interviews that the inspiration for the Thunder God, Raiden was from the three assassins with straw hats as well as the main antagonist that James Hong plays was drawn for the creation for Shang Tsung in the original Mortal Kombat game, and if you read or watch some of the interview they talk a lot about 80's action films like Bloodsport, Predator as well as Enter the Dragon even though that film came in the early seventies. The movie itself has that great open world feel where you have this sort of Humphry Bogart character To Have and Have Not or Casablanca where he's trying not to get involved with another war or cause, and just make that for a world where a Ancient Chinese rival gangs have been raging for a thousand years and blend that into Big Trouble in Little China. Though I will say I have a minor gripe about the movie is Kurt Russell was a bit annoying through the course of the movie and sure you need a main star, in order to make this movie possible but all I can think of while watching the movie was "dude, Kurt why are you so annoying", and I'm not going to lie it just felt like he was talking so, much and was just almost felt the need to pay him in order for him to shut up. Though other than that the martial arts action, and the story as well as a ninety-minute-long movie, this was hands down a perfectly entertaining movie. Now, I slowly realized while browsing through Carpenter's filmography I've actually watched a good portion of Carpenter's films and if I had to rank the top five best Carpenter's films it would most certainly be Escape from New York at number five, Big Trouble in Little China at number four, then They Live at the number three mainly because of the amazing fight scene then of course at number two it's The Thing because it just is a classic Science Fiction/Horror classic that's something new and different. Then the winner of best Carpenter film of all time is Halloween just because it's a simplified Horror/Stalker film that doesn't have a whole lot of blood also one of the greatest music scores in horror film history. And more importantly you have Donald Pleasance's best performance ever and this is the most I'm ever going to give Pleasance for many reasons his later years he's been paid in booze money. And so, if you’re looking for a mindless action movie then I would highly recommend watching Big Trouble in Little China on Tubi more importantly if you a big fan of the Mortal Kombat franchise then I would most certainly recommend watching this Carpenter classic.

       

June Recommendation: M*A*S*H

 

            We're nearing the end of June, and I necessarily didn't pick a good June film this for this month. Usually, it would be more about summer films, but I would say in a sense the film that inspired one of the greatest TV sitcoms about War as well as Army Doctors. I have to admit I don't remember a whole lot of the movie version to Mash other than remembering the football scene where they're literally drugging a football player, though in all honesty this film was on my radar for quite some time and now that the film is on Amazon Prime I figured why not give this movie a watch. 

             Irreverent black comedy following the exploits of a host of offbeat characters at a medical unit during the Korean War, including surgeons Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliot Gould) who create havoc with their martini parties and practical jokes while the war rages around them. The film spawned a successful television series and won an Oscar for best Screenplay.

             Mash without a doubt was a huge part of my life and I don't need to speak a whole lot about why, other than, I was raised by great parents who watched great television back in their adult years. More importantly by the time I was in elementary school this show would be on constantly in terms of reruns for your typical Nebraska TV shows that would air either early morning on ABC or late nights, and I was literally watching some of these episodes because my Dad would watch the show before he went to work and I was a block from my school and I would literally watch some of these episodes by 8 a.m. then would head down to school because school didn't start till 8:15 a.m. I think around two maybe three years into my TV Job years I found the show on Netflix, furthermore decided to binge on the show and for reasons I can't explain or you may understand the way I explain it is well, mostly the work environment I began to relate to the most besides the war I mean sure this is a story about Doctors patching up soldier's day and nights with very little to do in the spare time, but at its core doctors would most certainly have to put up with people they find incompetent and sometimes narcissists as well as sticklers who always go by the book. And really that's what we all can relate to as regular people, right? I mean we have jobs that we always hate, must deal with people who are at times annoying and toxic furthermore Mash is defiantly one of those movies as well as shows that I personally relate in terms of everyday work environments. The challenge personally for me when coming on to watch Mash for the very first time was taking the great actors of Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Gary Burghoff and the late great Loretta Swift. And surprisingly enough it really wasn't that hard, granted the movie alone is a R rating and so, what you do in the movie you can't do on the TV show, furthermore the actors as well as the direction of the movie was really good, in addition what makes the film amazing is director Robert Altman, allowed his actors to improvise with the dialog and let them go crazy through the course of the shoot. The other shocking thing was that all of these amazing great actors you have assemble from Donald Sutherland to Robert Duvall, this was in fact their very first big role, take Sutherland for example by 1969, he was literally out of work and couldn't afford a cup of coffee, even the same goes to Elliot Gould who I remembered the guy as Ruben from the Ocean's Eleven films. The important thing in Robert Altman's direction was of course allowing improvisation but more importantly using quick zoom techniques so, he wouldn't have to move the camera, even using creativity and cunning to get some of the shots right, especially some of the mild nudity scenes Rada aka Gary Burghoff and Altman would drop their pants in order to capture "movie" Hot Lips with the right timing as well as the right shot. Ring Lardner Jr. (whose father was Ring Lardner who in fact exposed the Black Sox Scandal) infamous for Steve McQueen classic "The Cincinnati Kid", was very upset with the change of dialog that he even told Altman that he ruined his film, unfortunately he was in the minority and yet, he got an Oscar for his writing so, deep down I would assume both men each made peace with one another, though I would imagine Lardner felt bad when telling that Altman ruined the film. I will say that Mash to me is most certainly one of those great movies as well as shows that still stands the test of time of exploring the human spirit as well as showing a rebel side in all of us, plus the film and show also shows us that no matter how good you are at your job in your everyday life you can still have a great time and live a little, more importantly is to be a humble, human being and not your typical narcissist or incompetent a-hole. And now living into my mid-to final years of 30's I give a ton of thanks to Mash for showing that you can always have a little fun in your everyday work life, as well as being a humble person to your own profession and I personally hope that everyone whose grown up with Mash as a show or movie would have the opportunity this June to finally watch and enjoy more importantly Mash is and always will be a personal inspiration for me in terms of comedy as well as having to express comedy, though despite not doing the crazy things Hawkeye and Trapper would of done I at heart, was one of those guys. Also, this film is on Amazon Prime so, if you’re always having free time on your hands, I would highly recommend watching the original Mash that started off one of the greatest TV sitcoms of all time.

Fathers Day Recommendation: The Man Who Knew Too Much

 

          Father's Day is upon us and through the last couple do of days I asked my Dad what were his favorite movies of all time because I was literally running out of comedies that he loved watching, to make a long story short I just couldn't find anything to recommend for father's day and I think The Man who knew too much came into the conversation and I was like, well I haven't seen this movie yet so now is a good time to take the time and watch the film and I got to say this maybe in the top five of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest films, as well as a much realistic kidnaping than Taken. 

          Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart) is on vacation with his wife (Doris Day) and son in Morocco when a chance encounter with a stranger sets their trip, and their lives, on a drastically different course. The stranger, killed in front of the family in the marketplace, reveals an assassination plot to the Americans. The couple’s son is abducted to ensure the plot is kept secret, and suddenly the mother and father, with no help from the police, must figure out a way to get their child back. 

           While watching this classic, it did in fact remind me a lot of the movie Taken staring Liam Neeson, back in 2008 and both films for sure have similar plot although both of them are different to the sense that, one's completely fantasy and convenient while The Man who knew too much, is much more realistic. And sure, Taken does have that realistic tone of in fact being scared but through the course of the movie you realize that all those abductors are F**KED because of course Liam Neeson is going to kill everyone. While the man who knew too much, is indeed scary because when you’re on a vacation and your own kid is being abducted and that's the same with Taken in fact each of those films share the similarities but both James Stewart and Doris Day are playing real people involved in one of the worst days to ever happen in a parent moreover they don't have any CIA or spy training and also Stewart didn't call, John Wayne to help him in this situation for which I am kind of curious, what would a movie be like if Alfred Hitchcock directed John Wayne I mean that would be fascinating to watch. Anyway, getting back to the topic, Alfred Hitchcock back in 1934 made an original version of the Man who Knew Too Much, back in 1934. Sometime later in his career Hitch wanted to make an American version of his original creation although it took until 1956, for many reasons Hitch was in contract with Paramount at the time and so, he decided to pitch a remake to them just to full fill his contract, and deep down when your running out of ideas, just remake your earlier works. This was in fact my first time watching this movie and I swear to you from the second act to the final act I was literally on the edge of my seat and probably the best suspenseful scene that Hitchcock created is the assassination attempt and the way he keeps the suspense going through each of the sequences was so scary and frightful that I was literally shouting "DO SOMETHING" because it was that great and more importantly I was feeling for the parents when things start hitting the fan, I mean there are times where I watch a Hitchcock movie and I always know what is going to happen granted I've seen some of Hitch's popular films so many times that I've already know what's going to happen granted To Catch a Thief was like a romantic thriller but once the real happened, I did react in not seeing that coming in terms of watching the reveal for the first time. But this movie this was one of those films where you feel for the parents but once you feel like they’re going to find their kid something else happens as well as being held at gun point and I was like "oh F**K SAKE" like that time of suspense and this movie for me literally kept me on the edge of my seat. I've pretty much seen all of Hitchcock and Stewarts collaborations together and I got to say this one is the best one like there's not a whole lot to say when it comes to both working together, but out of the four of their movies together this one hand down is the best one. I would hands down recommend watching this movie if you haven't seen any of Hitchcock's films, and my Dad actually got me started earlier with Rear Window for which was in fact my first Hitchcock film growing up and I think with this movie I will in fact re-watch this with my Dad on Father's Day. Now, again I haven't seen all of Hitch's movies but I honestly got to say that this may be the greatest Hitchcock movie I've ever seen and granted I'll have to go on a Hitchcock adventure after my Kubrick adventure but that's probably going to be for another time because Hitch did in fact made a tone of them so, baby steps is how I'm going to approach Hitch's filmography.

    

Movies I haven't seen in a while: McLintock!

 

          Moving forward with more John Wayne films to watch on John Wayne month, I decided in my own right as well as reliving another classic Duke film that my Dad loved moreover would watch constantly when I was young and surprisingly another film I haven't seen in a long while but is also an enjoyable movie despite some flaws that are a bit mixed at times. McLintock! A movie that stands the test of time as John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara best comedic film together and surprisingly is hilarious because this type of dysfunctional couple still exists even to this day.

          Aging rancher George Washington McLintock (John Wayne), a wealthy self-made man, is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of his enormous farmstead, including high-ranking government men. As McLintock tries to juggle his various adversaries, his wife (Maureen O'Hara), who left him two years previously, suddenly returns. But she isn't interested in her husband--she wants full custody of their daughter (Stefanie Powers).

          Again, this was one of those films like The Sons of Katie Elder, or Big Jake that we would watch constantly and with McLintock! It was one of those films that's just funny in terms of the slap stick humor from various characters as well as Wayne and O'Hara. And Wayne through the years always said that Maureen O'Hara was his favorite leading lady moreover this movie shows why their such a great duo together, and the fact that they’re both a dysfunctional couple almost becomes hilarious because it's a typical relationship that everyone can almost relate to because you obviously have that wife who looks at the West as a barbaric country and prefers to live in a high society/rich and famous type of people, and yet Wayne is a manly man who wouldn't give her an inch and yet for some reasons you can relate to the poor man's pain in terms of having to put up with her yelling and by end of the movie we have the greatest climax where Wayne finally stands up to her for which really is why Wayne is such a manly man although sure you may or may not be able to do this now, though if it were me I would use a ton of sarcasm and if I hit the breaking point I would most certainly spank my wife with a coal shovel in front of everybody if I ever get the chance in this life time, the same way I would teach my kids to learn their manners if they sarcastically call me "Daddy".  McLintock! Became a personal note written by Wayne in terms of the way Indians or Native American's are treated in today’s films as well as bashing the Democrats back in the 1960's, specifically spoofing Liberal Senator Hubert H. Humphrey whom Wayne disliked and in fact Wayne was annoyed during the promotional events because JFK's assassination happened just a couple of days prior to the film’s release moreover Kennedy was another politician that Wayne didn't like because Bay of Pigs incident back in 61. For which in all fairness when you have all the money and power like the Duke it's perfectly normal to make a movie on how awful the Democrats were back in the sixties and really I think Wayne is the only person who can do that and get away with it while Hollywood stars now, are just the worst because they literally don't know what they’re talking about and should just shut up and act in movies and do less political talk, hell it's a reason as to why actors should be treated like cattle. The movie still holds up in terms of comedy as well as John Wayne being a bada** especially when it comes to the mud brawl for which everyone gets into a fight as well as falling into a mudhole, furthermore when Wayne gets up the hill and if you freeze frame the movie you can see that theirs a man with sunglasses wearing a sixties suit for which is surprisingly funny and yet WTF, like why would you even have that in the shot. With all the numerous actors involved with Wayne's movie I'm surprised that Jerry Van Dyke aka Dick Van Dyke's little brother aka Luthor from Coach. Is the son of McLintock's rival, who’s also trying to woo his daughter and like Sterling Hayden playing the cop in the Godfather this is one of those little things that even at my old age becomes a huge surprise and yet funny at the same time. This isn't Wayne's greatest films ever made but it's most certainly one of his most enjoyable films, where you can just sit down and have a great time laughing at Wayne getting up the stairs while being plastered although I still love Lee Marvin's drunkenness in Donovan's Reef, but Wayne pressuring Yvonne De Carlo into drinking whiskey. And overall it's one of those films where if you have a great time laughing as well as looking for a film to turn your brain off McLintock is most certainly one of those films that keeps you entertained even to this day and hopefully to all the married couples out there, I hope this is one of those films you can laugh and relate to when it comes to Wayne and O'Hara's dysfunctional and comedic duo, hell even I look at this movie and look at my parents as Wayne and O'Hara in terms of comparisons and that's the honest truth.

    

Backrooms

 

        Well, it's like this my brother and I, were having thoughts on going to see the latest He-Man movie because we were both fascinated in terms of why MGM would even promote this because the film is clearly nostalgia and my nephew said it best, that he wasn't ready for that kind of movie. And so, my niece is a big horror fan and told us about this small film that's been getting some huge vibes on YouTube, furthermore, is directed by a twenty-year-old.

         A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom, leading to an endless network of interconnected rooms where time bends and the only thing scarier than getting lost is the sense that something is lying in the wait. 

         All I know about this movie is that the director Kane Parsons uploaded an anthological series of videos titled Backrooms and the way I look at it is it's almost like a stage where you’re in purgatory and you can't get out. Granted I'm going to keep this movie review short, but more importantly Parsons drew inspiration from the Portal video game, the Mr. Robot series and some psychological documentaries that even I may look and watch. Now in most horror films you must find something new and something different, because then you'd be like a mirror image of films like Scream and a year later came out with I know what you did last summer for which is almost close to being the same as Scream. But with this film I swear there's something about the movie where it actually looks good and works as well, because it has a blend of characters that are traumatized and one that can't accept that he's literally failed at life but through the course of the movie you see these characters evolves in the twisted way possible and leaves it in the bleakest of endings moreover it doesn't need another movie and the fact that they end it in the best way possible, I can accept how this movie ends and you don't need another movie. Again, I'm trying my best not to spoil any details, but I think the whole basis of the movie is that it's almost like being stranded in purgatory and you can't leave it or you’re lost from eternity. The film defiantly has that creepy environment for which makes it special but again I would highly recommend seeing this at your local theater, and sure this film doesn't explain enough about the world but again there something special about the movie that really works and draws you in, also I don't have to look at my phone because everything about the movie is very fascinating from beginning to the final frame. Either way I believe this is a new and different kind of horror film that everyone should experience as well as enjoy. Also don't worry about He-Man I'll probably watch both original and new versions probably when January hits because it's obviously going to be better to watch those kinds of films in a month where everyone is being all scrooges and taking down their Christmas decorations. 

   

The Big Trail

 

             Finally getting right back on the trail for my John Wayne month. Speaking of trails, I've explored the depths of John Wayne's first starring role in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail. This ladies and gentlemen, is the movie that I explained last month where, John Ford recommended Wayne to Walsh for his movie although it wasn't a big success at the box office in 1930, I was kind of curious as to why this film wasn't a big sensation and then I watched the movie and thought to myself "well I understand why the audience didn't go to this movie, now?

             Upstart Fur-Trapper Breck Coleman (John Wayne) agrees to lead and protect a group of pioneers trying to make their way on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Amid a harrowing series of trials, including an Indian raid, blizzards, scorching dessert sands and nearly unnavigable woods, Breck attempts to begin a romance with frontier woman Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill). Meanwhile, he searches for the men who killed his mentor--and who may be members of another wagon trail, traveling westward. 

             Now personally I can bypass the duke being a little too young for the role because in all fairness all the leading men we're all too young for the starring role hell, Errol Flynn was 28 when he first played Robin Hood, although sure five-year difference but still in a sense too young. Although the thing that I can slowly realize when watching the movie was that it was a two hour long movie for which in retrospect is not bad in terms of a movie like this but it was really going off on a slow start like there were excitements when an Indian raid hit the pioneers but then we go back to drama around the group, then continuing on the Orgon Trail as well as men trying to kill Wayne's character but then we went right back into the harsh environments. And sure, my ADHD was kicking moreover there were times where I was thinking maybe they needed to cut this film down, because if this is going to be nothing but the Oregon Trail, with minor drama points as well as very little gun fights then we may have some problems as to why it should stay for two hours. Now begs the question since this film was made during the Great Depression, did any of the audience members complain about this film being bored at some of the long and unnecessary scenes.  Granted theirs a million questions as to what the audience members thought about the movie, unfortunately none of them are alive at this point. To the films credit it does show the ways of how and what it was like to be on the Oregon Trail, more importantly showing how the wagons were able to go to point A, to point B as well as finally arriving to point C, and especially watching scenes we're they're lowering the wagons down to a high cliff as well as the people and even the cargo such as large sums of cattle, for which in all honesty is pretty fascinating to me personally because I never knew much about the Oregon Trail other than school though school has been a long time and I don't remember much in terms of the history lessons. In grandness of it all the film to me has some mixed emotions, like I wished there was more action sequences and less of the drama as well as cutting down major scenes or maybe trim the film up to like an hour and thirty minute marker and the film wasn't all bad for a movie made in the 30's it was a decent made movie exploring how dangerous the Orgon Trail was and that's the best part but deep down I wished they blend both drama as well as action into one story. So, if you’re looking to watch the duke’s earlier films, I would recommend watching the film on Tubi and if you have a different opinion, I'd be happy to hear your opinion on whether the film was boring at times or was the best you've ever seen. And granted it's not the best Wayne movie I've seen but it's also a fascinating movie to watch and experience. 

    

The Asphalt Jungle

 

 

              

           Continuing with my brother’s list of movies I need to see. A film noir classic that long story short had to see again just because I personally felt I need to watch twice because I felt I missed something and my second viewing of it made me realized that this is a important film noir classic, because it brings a more humanized version to the convicts as well as introducing us to the ever beautiful Marylin Monroe. 

            Recently released from prison, Doc Erwin Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffie) concocts a plan to steal one million dollars in jewels. Doc gathers a team of small-time crooks, including tough guy Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden), a safecracker as well as a getaway driver and a lawyer, while the success of the heist becomes a go until a stray bullet kills one of the men. As they scramble to pick up the pieces after the theft, the men let their greed get the best of them while entangling themselves in webs of deceit, treachery and murder. 

            Whenever I watch the film noir genre, I always watch films that have a blend of both private detectives at the wrong side of the law, murder and sometimes foreseeable fate. The Asphalt Jungle is one of those film noirs where they blend both of humanizing criminals who are always down on their luck and wants to succeed, but the film takes it back to that foot in reality where crime doesn't pay and this isn't like the Ocean's 11 films where they just get away with it in the end, or you root for them because their fighting the system or you know any times when we watch films about Jessie James or Robin Hood. And sure you get that with actors like Sterling Hayden and Sam Jaffie but, if you take a realization pill and notice that in life nobody gets away with crime, and fate always comes back to bite you in the a**, and that's what John Huston does great with Asphalt Jungle, is making these characters relatable and you want them to succeed in the end but life or crossing the line of crime, fate will always come in the way or the better explanation is that crime never pays, hell, that's one of the many reasons why I wouldn't commit a crime because I'd find it to be extremely hard furthermore you'll never succeed in the end I mean it's not like Grand Theft Auto where you can win all the time especially when you beat the game. The other thing in what makes the film great is that Huston shows that even when you pull a perfect crime, greed always gets in the way especially when you have criminals around you for which that's what makes films like these more realistic, because sure you can get away with robberies back then, but now it's almost impossible to pull off a robbery. I still say Marilyn Monroe's best performance was Don't Bother to Knock, though this film you slowly realize that Monroe was going to be a growing superstar, and the fact that Huston saw something in Monroe, showed that even John Huston can see future movie stars for obvious reasons she does a fantastic job playing a femme fatale, and a seductress. Actor Sterling Hayden, needs to be deserved a lot of credit as an actor mainly because he's been in a few films most notably in two of Stanley Kubrick's films like The Killing and Dr. Strangelove and now the Asphalt Jungle, and while watching this film I had this feeling that I've seen him in something and I couldn't find where I've seen him in, until I looked him up and I was surprised that he was the cop that got shot by Al Pacino in the Godfather. For which in all honesty it's awesome especially because it's always the little things, though granted there's a ton of movies that I haven't seen and moreover will have that feeling again when I watch more classic films. I would highly recommend watching The Asphalt Jungle, for great reasons this was one of the first heist films where you see the criminals as everyday people not always horrible people but trying to find ways to survive in a crime-filled environment. So, if you have Turner Classic Movies on your favorite cable channel then I would highly recommend searching for it or you can always use the TCM app too.