Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

 

                         When you’re trying to watch one film a day, I guess the best way to do it, is play Eeny, Meany, Miny, Moe game and hopefully you've made a good choice. But with this film about the famous serial killer Ted Bundy, I would kind of in a sense be intrigued but when you realize that High School Musical star Zac Efron is playing Bundy then the intrigue level goes sideways to the point where it just fall flat when you see actors like Haley Joel Osment and Jim Parsons aka Sheldon Cooper in the movie, and I'm not going to lie I was really hoping that Sheldon was channeling is inner Sheldoness and arguing about Efron taking his spot. But will leave those joke in a little bit because I am officailly blown away when I did some Wikipedia searching and found out that Angela Sarafyan aka Clementine from Westworld. Hell, at first, I was like "WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME I HARDLY RECOGNIZED HER". But then the whole excitement faze just fades when I see Sheldon Cooper, Osments face and the one actress from the Mortal Instruments movie. So, let’s talk about if this Ted Bundy movie is a hit or a miss.

                          The Story, centers around a single mother Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) as she begins to date law student Ted Bundy (Zac Efron). But her world soon comes crashing down when she slowly begins to discover that Bundy may have committed some strong and monstrous crimes. Now that Bundy is in Jail trying to fight for his freedom does, he really tells the truth or is he trying to create more chaos wherever he goes.

                           I'm not going to lie Zac Efron's performance was okay but to be brutally honest I didn't see it as a game changing performance of a life time it was just a man who had a temper tantrum, who in his own bizarre mind is innocent. I mean sure you can show me real life footage of the real life Ted Bundy with the exact same thing Efron did, but to be honest I still don't see it as a great performance at all, part of the problem really in my eyes is that I have to at least see him commit these murders to actually believe in his craziness furthermore his insanity and yet they don't really show that, they just show a killer going to court through the course of the film moreover him escaping as well. So bottom line this was still a terrible performance out of Efron hell even Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) would have made a better Ted Bundy than Efron. The main problem I had with the film was the choice of actors in the film, and yes we've already addressed Efron as Bundy but we also have a list of actors like Haley Joel Osment and Jim Parsons, for which brings the problem of using type cast actors for which is really on the annoying side, furthermore if you’re making a movie that's on a serious side for about a hundred percent of the movie, make sure you have actors who can take this movie serious don't ever have actors you recognized from television or past films we remember growing up and really any person who thinks that Parsons can do drama is a serious idiot or have no brain at all, because while I was watching his scenes I was hoping Parsons and Efron were going to have an argument about Efron being in Parsons spot or having unnecessary debates on nerd culture. But no, we don't get that which is sad for me personally, now Osment well all I can say for that guy is that he at least tried his best and the man does need to pay the bills so I don't know he can get in out of jail free card. The way personally on how I would make this film better is that I would cast professional actors to play these characters so we as an audience can care about them moreover try to understand the motivation on why their struggling through the events of Bundy's trial. The other thing is at least focus more on Bundy's insanity and what makes him tick, also at least show him killing someone because deep down we all know he committed these crimes at least show them to the audiences so we can see what and why the man is a psychopath. So look if your wanting to find something different to watch on Netflix I wouldn't want to watch this, never in a million years and yes I'm sure that everyone will praise Efron’s performance, there was absolutely no praise I can give from his performance other than playing a grown man with a huge temper tantrum who doesn't even look scary at all.

        

The 39 Steps

 

                         

                       Decided for the first time to watch some of Alfred Hitchcock's earlier films and I got to say, that was by far one of the best decision's I've ever made in my life. Granted Hitchcock has made a dozen films starting around the silent film’s era to the golden age of sound films. Though some of his films, prior early-thirties films are on the hard to find list when it comes to DVD and Blu-Ray lists, mainly because those early films were made in England with the film company called Gaumont-British now keep in mind this was before he moved to Hollywood and became the legend we all know and loved. But if you want my honest opinion, I truly believe that everyone needs to see his early work, because he was truly amazing long before he made movies like Notorious, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo and Psycho. Furthermore, the 39 Steps is one of those grand films that everyone needs to see, even though this was hardly recognized to the entire world. Plus, Hitchcock was the first man to create the spy movie genre. So, with that in mind let's talk about the 39 Steps.

                       Richard Hannay (Richard Donat) gets more than he bargains for when a mysterious spy (Lucie Mannheim) comes to him for help, she explains about a mysterious the 39 Steps and how it could affect England. She is later murdered, now Hannay becomes a prime suspect in her murder and his force to flee the police across England and Scotland in order to clear his own name but with the whole United Kingdom chasing him can he be able to convince everyone the truth? Or will he be the next victims to be silenced.

                       Even though this film was made in the mid-thirties this film alone is incredible all of the angles Hitchcock made, all of the tricks he uses through the course of his film career they all started with The 39 Steps. Especially through the course of the story you really feel for the character moreover feel terrified of what happens to the character on whether he lives or doesn't make it in the end. So if you’re in a crave for the spy movie genre but are having a hard time finding something new than I would highly recommend this great flick, and let’s not forget this was young Alfred Hitchcock this was when he was using the ingenious way of getting up close to the character so you can feel is every emotion on screen furthermore this of all films is one of the simplest of stories that if your trying to get your first movie going or having a hard time getting your story together than this movie alone you need to check out mainly because the film almost looks like the it was just film on multiple sets somewhere in the London studio, now to be honest I doubt you'll be able to do that concept now when it comes to filmmaking but if you can keep something simple and just film it in some by near small town or village. Or buy out a city or a district you can defiantly make a movie like this happen. Robert Donat does an amazing job as the star of the film, he really does a fantastic work in making you feel how scared the protagonist is, in his struggles to hopefully clear his name from an organization that doesn't exist. Madeleine Carroll who plays the leading lady in the film does a great job as well playing in elegant and beautiful woman, furthermore standing out in the future for leading Hitchcock blondes as they're usually call in majority of Hitchcock's films. Although I do find it interesting that this film alone is the only one both Donat and Carroll are most famous for between these two greats they decided to stay in stage and Carroll decided to quit acting because of her sister that died, even though we will never know I guess the only answer is that there moments were we just have enough of the business. I would defiantly rank this in one of the top ten best Hitchcock films of all time and if you haven't seen any of the Master of Suspense's earlier works than I would highly recommend watching either on YouTube or Amazon Prime, furthermore don't be afraid to try something new, believe me you'll never know when you have a great sense of feeling whenever you watch a film like this. 

        

Black Scorpion TV series

 

                      Now I know what you’re thinking, that this show I'm recently watching but I can't stop thinking about looks like porn? Yes and no and here's why this show alone is basically porn but without the sex for which is a big difference. Nevertheless, this show is crème deli crème of shows that the whole world needs to see and needs to see it, RIGHT NOOOOOOOOOOW. Roger Corman most famous for bringing us Death Race 2000 for which I will talk about in futures to come but will leave it there. Now were going to be talking about this mesmerizing bad but I myself can't look away, this was in my opinion a show that pretty much set back feminist movement till 2017. Black Scorpion I remember fondly not literally just figuratively, and I swear on that believe me I had parents that would slap me from days to come if I watched this at a young age. But getting back to Black Scorpion when I was in my junior high years of watching nothing but Mystery Science Theater 3000 on the Sci-Fi Channel the commercial of Black Scorpion showed up constantly and being a young teen I thought she was hot and probably seen parts of it then that was it, the whole existence of the show just wiped from my memory, until I saw that this is on Amazon Prime, and after seeing at least seven episodes in, and I have come to terms that my generation of television was a complete and uttermost lie.

                      Basically, the show is the concept of Tim Burton's Batman with the 70's Wonder Woman. Darcy Walker is a Cop in Angel City while at night she becomes Black Scorpion a some-sort of Dominatrix that fights crime, for which majority of the villains that our females in skin tight outfits. And really that's all I can say in terms of the plot of the whole show.

                      So, listen, out of the dumbness of people around the world listen to me and listen like you've obviously have never listen to me before given the fact that majority of the world is dumb right now. This show needs to be seen, it needs to be seen by everyone, everyone who loves every Michael Bay movie, every Adam Sandler movie especially those who loved movies like Blade Runner 2049 or the new Star Wars Trilogy and especially those who loved Freddy Got Fingered. This show needs to be seen all over the world, and why do you all ask? Good question, because men like Roger Corman thought this would be great entertainment for some bizarre reason even the studio executives thought this show would be amazing to watch either that or I guess they must of been high while give the green light for the show to go forward. But then realized that this show was losing a lot of money or the producers were running out of cocaine and pot. However, the main reason as to why this show needs to be watched moreover rediscovered is because this show literally was wanting to be taken seriously a side from the fact that this was written and directed by male writers when a show like this should of been written by female writers. For which is the reason why the feminist movement was pushed back to 2017 because a lot of these female lead, action heroes were all written by dudes and that's a huge problem because we men always think of the fantasy woman and can't work at all because we men always think of women like Kate Upton or any other SI Swimsuit model we can find and part of the problem with that idea is they don't have a lot of acting chops. And don't get me wrong, Michelle Lintel was a gorgeous woman to look at but when it comes to watching her fight I could almost do a drinking game on the amount of high kicks she does but very little on punches I mean if she was on a Playstation 2 fighting game I guess that would work but when it comes to live television no that's not how it works. The other problem but turns into cheesiness/comedic is that all the women villain's a side from Black Scorpion are all-in skin-tight suits that it feels like it’s a porn shoot, hell even the dialogue exchange is very sexual as well, so that basically proves my point that this show is porn but without the sex. So listen in a world that's pretty much making us miserable and the news does nothing but give us DOOM news, I highly recommend watching this show and I know you'll find it hard to believe but this is a TV series that needs to be seen to believe, hell even I get some humor out of this myself when I watch it so if this series can give me some humor I'm pretty sure this will do quite well for you.

                      Also, here's a special article from LA Times you might like. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-20-ca-27546-story.html        

The Borgias

 

                   Loved the Godfather's one and two? Well I have a show that's kind of that same concept, during my quarentine I had to find a show I could at least binge on for the remainder of the two weeks, so ruckly The Borgias got my attention and holy crap my mind is somewhat blown in realizing how terrible human beings this family once was. Now for those who've never heard of the Borgias here is a short history about this notorious family. Rodrigo Borgia became the latest Pope during the Italian Renaissance, majority of the Italian families didn't except the Pope despite the fact that his family were originally from Spain, so like any other family would do The Pope along with his sons will do whatever it takes to stay in power which lead to three seasons of the show and unfortunately ended with in unfinished ending, but well get to that in a little while in the meantime let's talk about The Borgias.

                  After Pope Innocent VIII died, Rodrigo Borgia (Jeromy Irons) becomes the new Pope of Rome, regrettably not everyone in the Vatican including noble families of Italy approve of the newly elected Pope. Along with the help of Cesare (Francois Arnaud) and Lucrezia (Holly Grainger), The Borgia family will do whatever it takes to survive even at the cost of their own soul.

                  I know I'm probably repeating myself when I say this but the best way I compare this show is a 15th century version of the Godfather, though technically the way I heard it, was that the Borgias were an inspiration to Mario Puzo's The Godfather, although I would say the Borgias are bigger terrible people than the Corleone family. Now this show is intriguing even though it last for three seasons with no conclusive ending. But honestly if it has anything to do with history that I have never been told about furthermore can admit that I don't remember those history lessons or probably haven't paid attention for which is a better explanation. I'm going to watch this, moreover this really opened my eyes how notorious and how awful majority of the Vatican Cardinals and bishops were in the Renaissance time, and as a Catholic myself I was shocked to see that on the small screen. Now keep in mind when I tell you this that this show is available on Netflix but this isn't suitable for kids nor under the age of seventeen, now don't get me wrong I'm all for sex scenes but this show I feel is a bit way to comedic in some ways give you one great example the family has their youngest son married off and he's no older than a toddler but yet he gets married to Emmanuelle Chirqui who surprisingly makes a cameo in the first season and she's older enough to be a hot teacher whose married to her first grade student. And it isn't just that but there are numerous times where either Pope Alexander and Cesare don't think at all with their brains and they just let their balls do the thinking for them, and we all know that's never a good thing to do ever, mainly because through the course of the show it just backfires at them and I feel like, these people are so horrible they make the gang from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia look like Saints. Now granted I will give Pope Alexander VI some credit because Rome wasn't a rich and infamous as people thought it was after the fall of the Roman Empire, and he at least realized that it needs to be as big and successful as ever, to where most of the Cardinals haven't seen. Jeromy Irons is one of those underappreciative actors that should at least give some credit in making this show plausible for the years this show was active, moreover does a great job playing a ruthless leader and a sort of humble father to these unknown actors, we call as his fictional children. So, if you’re a history buff like me and have nothing better to do because were still in a miserable year because our government or the world is run my brainless morons then I would defiantly take the time in watch this show.

 

                        

                       

November Recommendation: In Bruges

 

                            I know this isn't your usual Thanksgiving type movie to watch in the month of November. But since Thanksgiving is really a month about giving Thanks, I figured I'd make in exception. When I first saw the trailer to In Bruges twelve years ago I figured that this would be just two a-holes who are professional hitmen that are forced to hide out in a small town after a job went wrong, and they just get themselves in deep trouble and their employer decides to take care of them after they didn't get his call. But I was given a huge curveball when I finally watched the film and realize how insanely dark, but amazing at the same time. Also, I get to see Colin Farrell in one of his best performances of a lifetime. I also say the same with Brendan Gleeson too, up there with his performance in Gangs of New York, a side from the fact that the man has been in films that I didn't recognized at first but hey, that normal right? A side from its great comedic work and dialogue, the film itself gives you a nice theme of trying to get a second chance at life. Okay now getting to the point of way too much info so let's talk about why I select In Bruges as my November Recommendation.

                           After a job went horribly wrong, both Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) are instructed to head to Bruges, Belgium so they can lay low for a while and give a chance to site see. Ken loves the place, but Ray hates the town as well, unfortunately Ray is haunted by the aftermath of the job and hates himself in what he has witnessed, and Ken begins to understand his pain. A side from the many beers and drugs the two men begin to have a life changing experience, that neither of them expects to have.

                           Now back to why I recommend this for the month of November, obviously since there's hardly any good movies about thanksgiving, but this movie I must give thanks to because in some way this film alone helped me mature, when it comes to movies and here's why. When I was a kid I was so at awed with Star Wars I figured that was one of those films I want to make in life and honestly Star Wars was one of those films, that got me into wanting to be a movie director because let’s face it nobody wants to be a movie critic for the rest of their lives. So, really In Bruges helped me realize that their other genres to venture into instead of the science fiction movies, action or western's and really, if you can make the dialogue interesting furthermore the story as well. So deep down these kinds of films are always good use when it comes to starting off your first film. Call me crazy all you want but this is really Colin Farrell's best movie performance period, I mean is comedic work and his agility to show such emotion on the screen is just pure enjoyment to watch on screen and thank the lord he won a Golden Globe for this performance alone. Brendan Gleeson also does amazing work as well playing sort of a great friend to Farrell's character but yet is annoyed to death by him moreover will do anything to help him, and really both Farrell and Gleeson have such great chemistry on screen, where at the first act of the film they both can't stand each other but at the end of the day they both really respect and admire one another in a way kind of like an Irish version of the odd couple, but much more hilarious. Martin McDonagh is a fantastic filmmaker and an extraordinary storyteller, and a lot of people don't know this but he actually started off as a playwright before he got in to film, and the ingenious fact is how he came up with In Bruges is that he took a trip Bruges, Belgium and through the course of the trip he actually had a love hate relationship with the place, and that's pretty much how the characters of Ray and Ken were born, so really he has a fantastic gift of seeing inspiration through life and trips around the world. So if you have a movie to be thankful for or a film that made you the way you are now I would highly recommend watching that film and to be thankful for because really movies that we love or cherish is really the things in life we should be thankful for, also if you haven't had the chance to watch In Bruges I would highly recommend watching this amazing film on any electronic device that has this film available on, because you'll highly enjoy it and it will defiantly give you a new glimpse on life.