August Recommendation: Arthur the King

 

            Just when I thought I was not going to watch another movie about a Dog, I'm being pulled back in. Now if you haven't seen films like Where the Red Fern Grows or Marley and Me, you would understand what I'm talking about. Although this film, I'm more importantly glad to have watched because there are times when I want to see the good in humanity and it's hard to find that but when films like Arthur the King come around, seeing that good in people really becomes special as well as a worthy recommendation for the month of August.

            Desperate for one last chance to win, Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team gets pushed to the outer limits of endurance, a dog named Arthur comes along for the ride, redefining what victory, loyalty and friendship truly means. 

            If you know me pretty well, there's no question that I'm a dog lover as well as a cat person, and I always cherish more about the pets in my life then I do with human beings at times mainly because they give more heart than other humans at times, and for me personally their hard times to even find the good in humanity I only find the good and calm with dogs and cats. Now, I will admit it was one of those days where my mom chooses to watch Arthur the King though I told her I'm not that good at holding my emotions hence Marley and Me and one other movie. Though granted at times the movie felt slow and I had that hate in your heart through the course of the movie and then my Mom's dog Gibby would give me that look of "hey, it's time for a walk and I may need to let everyone know if any dogs or out there and need to know them" and so, I didn't watch the middle act of the film but I would imagine it would me a typical getting the band back together type of a film. And so, I took Gibby for a walk and luckily came back at the best time of the film where it gets good as well as rooting for Mark Wahlberg and Arthur making it to the finish line. And then when it gets to that suspense of Arthur following the crew to the finish line and hoping he would catch up but yet by the end of the film the movies more about the loyalty then the win and to me that's what makes the film special is you see both Mark and Arthur having bad lucks at life always getting the rough end of the deal and nobody giving him a chance and yet these two are able to find each other and they both would do anything for the other, and also the way Mark is able to handle Arthur is the same way I would handle Gibson strangely enough, when every he wants to go outside and want to bark outside I'd do it no doubt about it, and then of course they're times where he give me the look of wanting to go on a walk as well as wanting attention and the scene where Arthur was shook up about going inside and instead chooses to sleep outside that would almost be the same situation I would almost do, though granted they're both similar ways but in all honesty I would just do either way because I would chew out people than a pup whose more innocent and doesn't know what he or she is doing wrong. To the film's credit this does have a good list of actors besides Mark Wahlberg, Nathalie Emmanuel who gained success with Game of Thrones does a excellent job and the same go with Simu Liu whose Shang-Chi in the MCU and each of them including Mark Wahlberg and each of them did a fantastic job. Granted I didn't see a good portion of the movie but for me what makes the movie is a man and a dog each going through rough times in their lives are able to find each other and will do anything to stay alive and able to love each other to the very end as well as save each other from themselves. And I get it, the world is filled with so much chaos and toxicity that we tend to suffocate ourselves but when movies like this that give you a sense of home that there is still some life of humanity still there, to me that's something special even when it comes between a man and a dog, for which is a million reasons why a dogs a man's best friend. Arthur the Dog is a movie I would most certainly watch again though I don't know if I can keep my emotions in check because I'm a sap when a dog’s life is on the line but this is the one movie where I actually forgive Mark Wahlberg for the many bad films, he was in, moreover declaring to never call him Markie Mark anymore. And really for Mark being very series with his faith in God as well as being a great Christian I have to say I admire him a lot for that, and he's choosing better roles instead of mediocre roles that shows the sign of a great actor. Arthur the King shows a tone of heart in my opinion and that's a rare thing to see, especially in a decade where it's just getting obscure with toxicity and so, much hate furthermore Arthur the King shows that even in bad times you can always wake up to the good things you’re not even close to pay attention and that's the beauty of Arthur the King and is the reason why it's worthy for my recommendation for the month of August. 

     

            

Movies I haven't seen in a while: Unfriended

 

             

             I was scrounging through my Blu-Ray collection just finding some movies that I figured I haven't seen though don't have the intention in watching again, and for some strange reason I purchased the movie Unfriended don't know why though granted this was another one of those movies I randomly watched at the movie theater, in my defense at the time I was able to score some free movie theater popcorn and can't beat that. And so, I decided to take a leap of faith and re-watch this bizarre premise and noticed something strange but also may have to keep in my collection.

              One night a bunch of teenagers take part in an online group chat session, they are suddenly joined by a user known only as "Billie227." Thinking it's just a technical glitch becomes a sudden turn of events where the strange user is a ghost from the past about to take revenge on these teenagers. 

              In the 2010's era I never really thought as much as to why I went to so many of these bad movies, I mean sure it's free popcorn but I guess I was following into this critical stage of making sure everyone was staying away from these kinds of films like a normal critic, but later on in life I didn't realize that being a real critic is most certainly one of the worst jobs on the entire planet, I mean sure it's fun to be getting paid to watch movies and review them but deep down your getting paid to watch nothing but absolute crap and from 2010's to now it was almost nothing but garbage. And so, when watching Unfriended there were certain elements of the film that I liked but then re-watching I suddenly realized that there are some elements I forgot but also extremely boring in the first act. Speaking of elements I forgot, does anyone remember Skype? I sure do, and holy crap never have I forgotten how bad Skype was, and this was going back to my Television job and through the course of my morning shift majority of our interviews consist of skype, and it goes from the annoying ringtone you'd hear before someone answers to the abomination that is the bad camera where it would just be terrible to never working at all, and rewatching this movie triggered bad memories I had of skype and even when it comes to kids it becomes even more annoying, though granted I never suffered in a same house with a bunch of teenagers. Moreover the opening act of the movie is basically you’re going through the movie of one of the main characters is doing research but the problem is that it's a good sixteen minutes to at least twenty minutes into the movie and it gets insanely boring especially when you’re watching this film on your own television. There are some decent kills that are entertaining like a teenage girl swallowing a hot curling iron or putting your own hand in the blender, but yet again this film is set on skype conversation so, you don't get a whole lot of the entertaining kills like the seeing them full without the crappy skype camera. Now the story does have a great twist of events between the second and third act where each of the five remaining characters are not what they claim to be especially the main character and that's defiantly the best part of the whole movie and yet the bad thing about it is you have to put up with the first act of the movie for which is a bore fest. At first, I wasn't sure if I was planning to get rid of this movie or put it in the dirtiest part of the closet or just give it to the local Goodwill store. Either way talking about the bad memories of Skype just makes me feel depressed, the good thing is that this film is nowhere to be found on any streaming service so, that's at least a plus. If I had to a choice to recommend this movie or sacrifice this movie to the pagan Gods I would choose sacrificing this movie to the pagan Gods. So, listen this there's a reason as to why this film is forgotten because it came out in the January-April movie season where nothing was good in the cinemas, and if you want to find a dumb horror movie I would just watch all Friday the 13th films. 

     

Pineapple Express

 

          

          After watching The Big Lebowski I figured maybe I find another good quality stoner movie, and I don't know if Pineapple Express was that good choice but it was at least a somewhat decent movie though then again, this is probably going to be one of those films where I might forget for a long while. Although granted the first opening act of the movie was at least better and intriguing.

        Stoner Dale Denton's (Seth Rogen) enjoyment of a rare strain of marijuana may prove fatal when he drops his roach in a panic after witnessing a murder. Upon learning that the fancy weed can be traced back to them, Dale and his dealer (James Franco) go on the run, with a dangerous drug lord (Gary Cole) and crooked cop (Rosie Perez) hot on their heels.

         I feel like personally, that if you've seen a stoner movie like Pineapple Express you've pretty much seen them all and me it's of course it's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, and both of those films are simple and they get to the point by end of the movie as well as getting high all the time. And with Pineapple Express, sure Seth Rogan is a enjoyable comedic actor, and some of his films are enjoyable to watch but that's pretty much it, furthermore at times they just continue to get high all the time and I feel like this movie should of been cut to at least 80 minutes tops. Now don't get me wrong there is some great comedic moments especially when you have Seth Rogan and Amber Heard playing the dysfunctional couple especially when he's dating an underage kid and through the course of the movie she proposes the idea of marriage and Rogen's character is just "ooh yeah" and I think it's funny especially this actually fits Amber Heard when you think about it especially when she made Johnny Depp's life a living hell. The opening scene where it's set in the late 1930's and the Government is testing Marijuana and Bill Hader steals the whole show with his performance as a testing rat, and yet I think to myself "why don't they set this in the pre-WWII era?" I mean it would be a lot funnier and we'd never see anything like that well despite Reefer Madness but that's barely a movie so, technically doesn't count but still, ah hell, I guess this proves yet again this is one of those movies where you’re obviously not going to get the best stoner movie. For a sort of action movie? It does have some funny moments, and I was glad they at least had the scenes where James Franco and Rosie Perez are fighting as well as Seth Rogan's hilarious jump towards Gary Cole but other than that this film does have some good and decent action moments. If you looking for something dumb but funny this film I would sort of recommend watch, in fact the film is on Peacock and Tubi but then this film is a good once over type of film where you only have to watch it once and maybe a couple of years from now just sit down and watch it again so the jokes can refresh itself. In terms of a stoner movie after watching the Big Lebowski this film was okay-ish and granted it’s not all bad. 

Take the Money and Run

 

                  Knocking off more movies in my brother's list of movies. And strangely enough in his list he wants me to watch a Woody Allen movie, and to those who haven't heard of Woody Allen sure, the guy is a famous director with some iconic movies but long story short the guy later in life married his step-daughter and sure yes, you can argue that it's not technically his daughter but when you add STEP-daughter into how you met your second or third wife! It, really and I mean really becomes weird. 

                  Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen) is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he is completely incompetent. Presented in mockumentary format, the film features interviews of his family and friends as well as his wife. 

                  I still didn't understand at the time before watching this movie, as to why my brother would even tell me to watch a Woody Allen movie, I mean I personally never was interested in Woody Allen as a filmmaker mainly because the guy is almost the same way as Spike Lee in a opposite sense that they both shoot their movies in New York City furthermore they guy beat out George Lucas for best director and best picture at the 1978 Academy Awards for which why would I even watch any of this guy’s movies when the one movie Annie Hall is not as great as the original Star Wars. Anyway, my own brother put what maybe his first movie on his list and I figured why not, I'll give this movie a chance. And ten minutes into the movie I was strangely intrigued as to what I was watching because it pretty much started off as a bizarre documentary and slowly realized that this movie was the first ever Mockumentary format for which really, when you watch earlier episodes of The Office or Parks and Recreation, Woody Allen was one of the first people to actually bring this type of genre to the pioneer stage in film or television. Moreover, I'll have to admit it does have this strange sense of hilariousness and quirkiness that you can't help but want to watch how Woody's character is able to get himself out of any situation and by end of it still gets himself back to prison. Now, I'll still say that even though I haven't seen Annie Hall yet I would still argue and say that Star Wars is a billion times better than Annie Hall and for the winning answer that would explain Annie Hall is that "if you've seen one romantic/comedy, then you've seen every romantic/comedy out there", but in all fairness they're maybe something in Allen's earlier work and I may take the time in watch some of his earlier work in the seventies, though not go to the eighties and then when he talks about marrying his step-daughter sorry, not sorry people but if you don't want me to talk about his most memorable marriage then he shouldn't be doing very weird and disturbing things that even I wouldn't want to talk about on this blog. Of all the Woody Allen movies I've seen which is one, Take the Money and Run is such a fascinating and yet strangely/entertaining movie I've seen out of Woody Allen's filmography and that's not much of saying, and so, if you’re looking to expand your horizons with Woody Allen then I would highly recommend watching Take the Money and Run. Luckily, I found this on YouTube so, if you want to spend a ton of money on a DVD or Blu-Ray or you can take the lazy way out and just watch this movie on YouTube, that way if you don't like the film or love the film you can just keep it or delete it on your YouTube history. 

          

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

 

                 Trying to find some laid back films mostly realizing August is a back to school special in about a couple of weeks from now and I was trying to find some movies to watch and after celebrating my brother's birthday with watching The Big Lebowski (Coen Bro's Classic), and to be fair I was just browsing around my Peacock account and saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I figured, well what the hell this is another one of those iconic films that I haven't had the interest to watch at the time and decided to give this movie a chance and yet thought this was the most amusing movie I've ever seen.

                 Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) has an uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, "borrows" a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day journey through the streets of Chicago. On Ferris' trail is high school principal Rooney (Jeffery Jones), determined to catch him in the act. 

                 I think back on the last John Hughes movie I've seen, was back in high school with my Godparents group, and it was The Breakfast Club and I just wasn't all that interested in the movie basically I was a high school kid who wasn't all interested in high school drama because I was dealing with my own high school drama, hell it's the reasons why I was a hardcore fan of Linkin Park and Evanescence. Watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off for the first time I was actually intrigued of how Matthew Broderick's is able to get away with some of these gimmicks he creates, like it's almost if Ferris Bueller was a serial killer and you take his wacky gimmicks in terms of how he's able to kill his victims that is how I kind of envisioned it if this was a Dexter/John Hughes type of film. All jokes a side I doubt any high school kid now, especially my high school era was able to get away with any of Bueller's gimmicks but it's amusing as well as, loving how charming Broderick's character is through the course of the film and sure he's deceiving in a childish way but he's defiantly one of those kids in High School I would love to hang out, especially if I was in the Chicago area. Hearing that John Hughes was born and raised in Chicago, so of course it makes sense that a good portion of his films are based in Chicago, and claims that writing the movie is a love letter to the city and I would imagine if I made a sort of crime film I would base some of the locations in the Central area of Nebraska. The real scene stealer through the course of the movie and no, it's not Jennifer Grey, it's Alan Ruck who plays Broderick's best friend, and it surprisingly famous for this movie as well as Twister, and TV shows like Spin City and Connor Roy in the HBO hit show Succession. And he has a great character arc of at first being a stickler for rules being worried about everything and then has a come to Jesus realization about how awful is Dad is both great and scary at the same time because it feels like he's having a nervous breakdown and yet finally says F-it and a side from him wearing a Gordie Howe, Red Wings sweater when he's living in the Chicago area but deep down I though Ruck's performance was the best part of the film along with Broderick getting away with anything and rushing back to his house. This film does have me on the edge of how is Bueller able to get away with any of this that you obviously can't do now, because all high school kids including me weren't smart to do any of this, it still put a smile on my face and that's all that matters and now I hope to look into more of John Hughes other films besides the Home Alone films. So, if you have a Peacock account and want to prepare your kids for going back to school, I will highly recommend watching this with your kids as well as enjoying it with them as you go along with their high school years. Though I would tell them to always make good choices and avoid watching any of the High School Musical movies, because that's at least bulls**t in my opinion and this film is at least more steps into the reality realm.

      

Shaft

 

        After an entire month of watching nothing but John Wayne films, understanding the greatness behind Sir Christopher Nolan, knocking off some movies on my brothers list, as well as finding an epic 90's film that nobody knows exists. I decided in my own right to finally sit down and watch a something dumb but has action as well as entertainment, and through the course of finding the right one to watch Samuel L. Jacksons first debut of the so-called remake or sequel to Shaft? Although this film franchise doesn't make any sense due to its 2019 version but will get to that later.

        Crooked cops on the take -- small-time drug lords -- sleazy informers and sadistic rich kids ready to kill -- for police detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson), it's just another night in the underbelly of New York City, another shift facing down cops and criminals who want him dead and a legal system that thrives on money, not justice. 

         It was around the year 2000 era and to be truthfully honest I didn't have a full lot of interest in terms of wanting to see this movie I guess at my young age I found it ridiculous at times and through the course of its twenty-six years of existence I've had no interest in watching it until I bought the movie a couple of years ago on my phone and decided in my own right to finally watch it and truthfully if your craving for a late 90's or early 2000's cop action film Shaft as it all. And even in scenes where they have the theme song and Issacs Hayes is singing in the background aka Chef from South Park, I was hoping he sing more "I want to make love to you woman" although this is all about Shaft so, can't always get what you want in life. I will say in terms of a cop movie there's not a whole lot to say when it comes to Sam Jackson playing the lead detective in these kinds of movies, I mean if you haven't seen the Negotiator, you'd realize how perfect of a cop who’s distraught about the system is and takes the law into his own hands, hell Jackson is perfect from start to finish. The other thing that's great is that you have up and coming actor Christian Bale playing a snobbish psycho killer in the film as well as a surprisingly great drug dealer in Jeffery Wright aka Felix Leiter who does a great job playing a black Latino drug dealer and sometimes you'd imagine a mediocre performance where the actor is playing an over the top performance but strangely enough Wright does a great Latina accent for his character and is a great equal to Sam Jackson's Shaft. I will say in the realm of cop movies the 90's and 2000's era of action movies where the best especially when you set them in New York City, and so, if you’re looking for some mindless action movie, entertainment I would highly recommend watching it from start to finish and the best part it's only 99 minutes of length so, you can't beat that type of length. So, if you have Pluto TV or purchased it on your phone or rent the movie on your phone, then I would highly recommend watching this entertaining action film if you want to get your mindless action urge turn on full throttle then I'd say go nut's buddy.

     

Barry Lyndon

 

                 Since I've practiced three-hour epics hence The Odyssey, I figured well, the time has come to watch the final Stanley Kubrick movie that I've not seen in the attempts to go back to the first-two Stanley Kubrick movies that I'm already familiar with. That's right everyone I have officially finished all eleven of Stanley Kubrick's films I've not seen and now it will officially lead me to re-watch 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shinning for which I will say this was fun moreover shows that Stanley Kubrick was a pioneer of making films with the concept of the human mind, though Barry Lyndon is one of those films where I was can understand it from a reminder of a past film I watched and that was it, a side from the fact this movie consist of three hours. 

                 Acclaimed adaption of William Makepeace Thackery's novel, in which a likeable young Irishman changes into a convincing, manipulative rogue. The protagonist (Ryan O'Neal) finds himself homeless after taking part in a fake duel and is then captured by a Irish Highwayman, and later meets up with a spy later years, but his fortunes change when he marries a wealthy titled woman to secure his fortune. 

                 After finishing 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick wanted to work on a passion project in telling the story of Napoleon Bonaparte, unfortunately Sergei Bondarchuk and Dino De Laurentiis Waterloo film later came out in 1970 and didn't do well at the box-office and so, Kubrick later went on to make A Clockwork Orange, though through the years it's been a series of impossible actions for Kubrick to make his Napoleon passion project to become a reality and so, once reading Thackery's Barry Lyndon, he knew it would soon to be his next film after A Clockwork Orange, and in all fairness Kubrick was getting some massive death threats in England as a result to A Clockwork Orange so, going to Ireland would be a sort of nice vacation but sadly ran into IRA but that's a whole other story for another time. I look back in the journey I took in the world of Stanley Kubrick I tend to consider my options on what Stanley Kubrick movie I should start off with and to be truthfully honest if I started with Barry Lyndon I would not of continued on with this journey of Stanley Kubrick's filmography, like if I hadn't start off with Full Metal Jacket or A Clockwork Orange and started with films like Barry Lyndon I would of quit right on the spot, and the fact that didn't start off with Barry Lyndon and used that for last was hands down the greatest choice I've ever made. And sure, you can look at films like A Clockwork Orange or Lolita and say that these films are f**ked up and disgusting to the point where you need to take a shower but they both carry interesting themes as well as elements I honestly never thought of. For sure Barry Lyndon does carry interesting themes as fate as well as changing your own destiny are among those interesting themes to keep intact but sadly I felt that I've seen this concept of story from another film and book titled Nightmare Alley where one man tries to rise to the top but then is manipulated and crashing down in the worst way possible, and through the course of Barry Lyndon that's what it reminded me of it for which me once discovering that I was like oh, Ooh, and yet the other factor I slowly realized that this movie was in fact three hours and five minutes, so yeah. For sure you can use all of these themes but when you’re making a historical, epic drama like Barry Lyndon you have to at least have some good moments of action and you don't need to have a huge battles, you can just have some good duels or some fencing kind of like Ridley Scott did with his first film The Duelists, but with this film there's rare few duels and a man being at times manipulated sometimes used and later being his worst enemy, for which that's all the film is and that's kind of the disappointing side to the film. Now granted there are some good moments to the film and that's really the technical side to the film and Kubrick tried to challenge this film with using advance camera works as well as borrowing cameras used by NASA to really capture natural lighting from a room lit only by candles that you would see in a seventeenth or eighteenth century painting and to be truthfully honest that's the best part of the whole movie is how he's able to capture the lighting with these actors in the dark and using nothing but candles and it's almost like you’re watching a moving painting for which is the beautiful side to Barry Lyndon like if you're a photographer trying to capture 18th century Europe this would defiantly be that kind of movie I would highly recommend. Technical standpoint this is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen it's almost like you go to your local art museum only it's a three-hour long movie and that's something I would most certainly respect Kubrick doing in terms of a photography standpoint is really what makes this movie the best part of the whole movie for me. Now, the story standpoint there's so much stuff that I would like to approve to keep the audience compelled and want to pay attention. And movies like The Odyssey, Kingdom of Heave (Director's Cut) or even Lawrence of Arabia there, allowed to be three hours because it keeps you attention going while Barry Lyndon should have at least been cut short though when it comes to Kubrick, you're not going to get your way or win an argument. In terms of ranking the best of Stanley Kubrick movies go, I would sadly have to rank this movie in like the tens section of Kubrick's filmography at least better than Eyes Wide Shut considering that the film became Kubrick's death and Warner Bros cut the movie differently. Well, I know I have to go back and re-watch some of Kubrick's best known movies I have to say this was hands down the most fun adventure I've ever went on and sadly don't want this adventure to end although ranking these movies are going to be the best part but going on this journey really showed me how great of a filmmaker Kubrick was, and how he was able to use movies as if it was a portrait or photography. Now, one joke allowed I will say if you’re looking for a movie to go to fall asleep with, I would highly recommend watching Barry Lyndon and of course would avoid watching the movie if you jump at the gunshots.

            

007 First Light

 

            One of the rare few times I wanted to buy an upcoming video game. and 007 First Light was of course the choice of video game I knew I wanted to play this year of 2026. One of the many reasons why First Light intrigued me is that this was a very young James Bond that we were focusing on, aside from Daniel Craig when he made Casino Royale was 38 years of age or Pierce Brosnan being 42 years of age. This time we focus on a Bond character whose 26 years of age for which in all fairness makes a ton of sense to me. 

            The game starts off with Bond starting off as a Naval Aircrewman and later trains to be a spy as well as becoming friends with fellow recruits. Though a series of events happen, where Bond is now put to the test and is guided by his boss M, eyes and ears Moneypenny as well as mentor Greenway. The game takes you to different locations as well as putting to the death as to which is better, AI or human operatives. 

            I will admit that this game literally put me to the test in terms of stealth gaming I would think I've known all my life from the Assassin's Creed games. For many reasons I've played the first level for the first time and I kept dying all the time because my instincts we're telling me to bring down some of these bad guys and they kept shooting at me and so, in all fairness I did have to go on YouTube and look up some of these ways to pass each level especially the first real mission where all the recruits are on a mission and my first attempt I run into one of the recruits and I gave up until I restart the game and used some walkthroughs and so, granted I'm not the best expert in stealth and it's the same with the latest Indiana Jones game but all and all, this game was one of the most fun games I've ever played I mean sure you really need some help in order to pass through the gaming levels but once you go along and play some of the gunplay as well as combat action, it's seriously one of the better Bond games I've ever played since the PlayStation 2 version of From Russia With Love. And even a surprise actor does a great job in his performance, Lenny Kravitz plays one of the black-market terrorists furthermore every time I see him in the game I think of American Woman or Fly Away besides is Hunger Games performance. The game itself does play like you’re in Bond's world and that's what makes it great from combat and gunplay to the cool gadgets as well as driving in which I still am horrible at driving a car in video games but still is fun to play from start to finish. I would highly recommend playing First Light I think this ranks as one of the best 007 games of all time and yet the negative thing about the game is that I want a new Bond game now, and yet I have to sufferingly wait for which to me will take forever. But if you have a PS5 or an XBOX though who really plays games on XBOX, then I would say to keep playing this game long as possible no, matter which new game comes out though Wolverine and GTA 6 I would defiantly make an exception. 

    

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.