WandaVision: First Two Episodes Review

 

                           Well, Phase Four of Marvel Cinematic Universe has commenced. And? Okay I'm not going to lie about WandaVision, I was totally lost after watching the first two episodes, meaning I don't quite understand what I was watching really. Like I guess this is some sort of traveling back to old retro TV's sitcoms with a blend of Westworld. But what bothers me is what is the point to this whole lunacy, why can't we just turn waste so much money one a pointless show that's only going be one season on Disney+, when you could simply just put this a full-fledged movie on Disney+. Although in the end I'm not going to get any of these answers, so I'm going to try and explain in the best of my abilities the idea that is WandaVision.

                               Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Both Wanda and Vision (Elisabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany) have somehow are trapped in a world that doesn't seem to be real. Although they don't feel something's wrong but the slowly begin to see strange things. Now in futures to come who knows what could happen.

                               And so that was my explanation on what WandaVision is so far, furthermore it was just too hard to binge watch this show because I was literally in overload mode when it came to so many questions in terms of what the hell is going on. Even I can't understand why everyone thinks this show is amazing all because they did a fantastic job with paying tribute to the past sitcoms. Which is fine I guess, but at least give me something that the world is Wanda and Vision are living in is completely fake, or at least have Kevin Feige make a cameo saying that he hates it or something. The only theory I can come up with how Vison came back from the dead, was that he's in purgatory for which explains why he's in this strange world of TV Land, and if that's the case then he must of had a terrible deal in order to be in that kind of purgatory moreover if that's what purgatory is then kill me five thousand times over. Now, if you want me to tell you if this is binge worthy? Then the answer is most certainly no, just take my advice and wait till March fifth when the finale comes out because this show will probably hurt your brain in more ways than you can possibly imagine moreover goes for me as well, because I'm going to do the same and take my time to watch one episode at a time, for many reasons I think this show was a waste of money and should of been used for movie purposes than a show for Disney+.  

January Recommendation: The Rocket-The Legend of Rocket Richard

 

                        Well it's the new year ladies and gentlemen and no the year that shall not be named will never be talked about nor ever will me mentioned about at all, so let's just leave it at that because well I don't even want to mention last year. But, hey it's a new and hopefully a better year so it's time for a monthly recommendation, and luckily since it's the beginning of NHL (Hockey Time) this month I figured what better way to start of the new year than to recommend a Hockey film that no one has pretty much ever seen in their life time well, other than the citizens of Quebec, Canada has, but I'm not quite sure if anyone else had the pleasure in seeing either. The film I'm recommending this year is called The Rocket: The Legend of Rocket Richard, and if you think Hockey is barbaric when it comes to the fighting they have, well ponder that thought when you watch a film like this when in the Original Six era (1942-67) for many reason's these guys were crazy mother f**kers, and I don't want to get into any further detail other than to say no goalies at that time were wearing any masks and none of the players were wearing any helmets, and so I'll just leave it at that. So, anyway let's talk about my January recommendation to start of the New Year.

                          The film itself is a biopic of Montreal Canadians superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard (Roy Dupuis) who rose from the poverty levels in Quebec to becoming the French-Canadian hero in Montreal. The films start with him slowly rising to stardom in the NHL, then taking a stand to the league in recognizing French Canadian players out there.

                          Now how I found this movie I guess it was, in a strange description of fate for many reasons I kind of found this film by accident but in a good way. I was trying to create a list of the top five best Hockey films out there, and suddenly I found a trailer to this film and for some reason it peaked my interest because it has a lot to do with the blue-collar worker becoming a legendary hero in the sport of Hockey. A side from that, Richard played the game at a time were hockey players had to be tough in order to survive, give you a great example Richard's teammate Elmer Lach once had his foot slashed by an opponent’s leather skate, two severed veins were punctured and he's still playing hockey. And people doubted the Rocket especially when it came to his first and second season except for his Coach Dick Irvin who believed he was a special breed of wanting to win furthermore prove people wrong. And I personally have now knowledge of the what the tensions were like in French Canada during the World War II times but I thought the film alone was compelling on so many levels when it comes to telling the story of a Hockey player who became more of a Hero to all Quebeckers and still to this day, and this is probably my forth or maybe fifth viewing of this great film and I'm learning a lot of things every time I sit down and watch the film again. I watched a few documentaries about Maurice Richard and a lot of the historic facts actually happen in the movie as well such as my favorite moment in the film, is when the Canadians play the New York Rangers in New York, a defensemen named Bob Dill is task with trying to stop Maurice with any means necessary and the Rocket was at the point of wanting to fight Dill, but everyone including Dick Irvin was trying to stop Richard because they thought he was going to be hurt and with the whole tension expanding through the film till they meet face to face Richard his Dill with just one punch and Bob Dill goes down moreover everyone including myself was like "oh he's fine, he got this" and I thought that was amazing because I honestly didn't expect that. Roy Dupuis does a fantastic job playing the Rocket furthermore does a great job in really embodying the physical presents of the character moreover does a grand job showing so much of the emotions the real-life Richard burden himself with through his playing career and the attitude that went along with it especially when he went to score goals. Stephen McHattie whom I recognized after watching Watchmen a few years back, does a great job as well playing the real-life Dick Irvin who in a sense becomes the mentor/motivator to push the right buttons on Richard furthermore to be the best at what he can be. I should point out that this film is both a French and English speaking film, so if you don't want to watch this I completely understand, but deep down I this film alone is up there in the best of three Hockey films of all time third among Slap Shot and Miracle, furthermore I believe Maurice "Rocket" Richard's story should be told for generations of Hockey fans out there for many reason's without him we wouldn't have NHL greats like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Super Mario Lemmieux or The Great One aka Wayne Gretzky. And in closing, if you’re a Hockey fan or not but do love a sports movie I would highly recommend this film to start off the New Year of 2021. And GO BLUES.           

John Wick

 

                                   I wasn't really intrigue in wanting to watch John Wick when it first came out mainly because I'm a dog person and I'm not really big in seeing dogs getting killed, so there I said it moreover sue me all you like because I'm the only normal human being out there that cried to Where the Red Fern grows, moreover had a few dogs in my life died so SUCK IT. But with some assistance and assurance that I wouldn't see the dog killing scene, I must say that this without a doubt the most amazing action film I've seen in a long time, moreover a film where they do an amazing job making the protagonist of a film a scary person you'd ever want to cross. And I'm not joking hear after seeing the second Wick film and this one as well, I now officially am never going to make fun of Keanu Reeves acting career ever again, although I don't have any interest in seeing Bill and Ted 3, but I'm still not going to make fun of the man's filmography for many reason's I've seen what he can do in the films and I'm afraid that he's going to come to my apartment and deflate my balls and feed them to his dog. Moreover, I'm just going to leave it at that.

                                   After his wife dies, super assassin, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) receives a parting gift from his wife of a small puppy so he can mourn his wife un-alone. Until a group of house raiders led by a former Russian mobster's son steals his car and kills his puppy. Wick comes out of retirement to take revenge on them setting the course of more than five moves as far as I can see.

                                   Now a side from the puppy being killed for which I believe they don't show it. This is hands down one of the smartest and yet well-crafted action movies ever created. I mean for anyone who wants to make a Batman film, this would defiantly be one of those movies to be influenced by. What I love most about this film is that they took a good time to make the character of John Wick as a scary human being like someone you don't want to meet up in a back ally, which basically him and Batman would be one of those people you would be terrified to meet basically. Although when you come to think about it, that would be amazing to have a team up movie of Batman and John Wick if we can make that happen, hell even I would picture it right now and it would be amazing, in fact I may ponder into writing a screenplay idea for that whole concept, or I guess that would be Deathstroke and Batman when you think about it. Keanu actually does a spectacular job playing a man whose both has compassion but when he is screwed over, he just becomes the destroyer of worlds like even Thanos after destroying half of the planet he finds out he killed his dog and is in sheer terror the moment Wick comes in his door, even the mobster Viggo is scared of him as well when he tells the story about Wick which is amazing, so props Reeves in making this iconic character we all know and love as of now. There's really nothing to say about the action sequences for many reasons they just speak for themselves, like the action sequences are something that just pushes your blood pressure to the max, I mean no doubt you don't need a Rockstar energy drink to watch this because you'd probably go up and down on your own couch yelling at the TV like it was a football game and then the ending you'd probably just smash your own television just for the fun of it. It's hilarious of all the female baddies they chosen Adrianne Palicki to fight Keanu Reeves and to be honest when you’re in a terrible show like Friday Night Lights yeah, you obviously need some work so at least it's sort of a good thing a side from the fact that it really doesn't go well. So, granted I haven't seen a whole lot of Keanu Reeves films but John Wick one and two along with The Matrix would defiantly be in the top three films in my viewpoint when it comes to Keanu Reeves, so if you’re looking for something epic or something to keep you up this would be a film for you.     

The Mandalorian

 

                  With the calamity that was once Episodes VII, VIII, and IX of Star Wars. I believe it's finally a nice thing to have a show like The Mandalorian that gives us a nice value and touch of the Original Trilogy of Star Wars. And yes I know that season two of the Mandalorian has pasted but I don't care because I'm officially doing a special tribute to the greatest Star Wars show that ever lived, and most importantly the only reason to subscribe to Disney+ furthermore as we all know by now is that if you’re a Star Wars fan is to get Disney+, and The Simpsons also let’s not forget the Simpsons. Now if you haven't seen The Mandalorian then shame on you because you have failed miserably at life, because this is going to be in all out, special tribute to the Mandalorian.

SEASON 1

The first season of the Mandalorian I view it as a more of a simple show, that the Execs can look at and give a green light too. On what we see in all new storyline we can expand through the course of the Star Wars universe furthermore introduce new characters and different worlds for which is what you should always do when it comes to Star Wars and thank God, we have both Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni to bring this amazing show to life. What really makes The Mandalorian amazing is that we're focusing not a Jedi, a smuggler or a Republic but more of the most underappreciative characters The Mandalorians whom one of the protagonist is a Bounty Hunter, and really that's a nice way to start a show because as a Star Wars fan myself I always loved Boba Fett (and of course Jango Fett, despite his short introduction) furthermore I was always intrigued of this character whose mysterious and yet cool at the same time. So, with introducing a whole new Mandalorian/bounty hunter I was sold on it the first time I saw the trailer. Moreover on what makes the story and show so compelling is that it’s about a Hunter who lives by a code of honor and suddenly has a change of heart when the bounty he's hunting just happens to be a child (Baby Yoda), for which brings amazing aspect of being able to see the emotions through Mando's helmet in which the voice and somewhat physical appearance of the Mandalorian Pedro Pascal did an amazing job at expressing it while not being on screen. Even the list of actors do a fantastic job as well such as Carl Weathers because let’s face it the man is great in almost everything he does a side from the many memes I've seen where he transitions to Apollo Creed, now I know I'm going to be in the minor because there so called stories about some dumb controversial tweets or rumors, but I loved Gina Carano performance as Cara Dune, I confident in pointing out that she does a fantastic job playing great with her emotions on screen and she still continues to do that throughout season 2, moreover does a great job as always incorporating some of her fighting background with some of the action sequences. Giancarlo Esposito does a fantastic job as always playing the main antagonist of the show, and if I may say he really knows how to play evil in the best way possible, although I wouldn't want to find out why because he may or may not be evil for personal reasons either way I don't want to know how he does it perfectly. I do love the variety of directors they use through the course of the episodes, a side from Favreau and Filoni, but they also use such great talents like Brice Dallas Howard (who surprisingly a great job directing, guessing God given talent coming from her dad aka Ron Howard) and Taika Waititi as well. So, in closing of season 1, in terms of comparisons I don't believe there needs to be any, because this season was supposed to be introducing Mando's world moreover introducing the very western/science fiction aspect of Star Wars that we all know and love.

SEASON 2

The second season of the Mandalorian, we get to see a much broader view of Mando and Grogu's journey and introduce ourselves some recognizable characters and some iconic characters aka BOBA FETT but will get to that portion later. What I loved most about season 2 is that we get to see a much broader father and son bond between Mando and Grogu get a more sense of danger when they continue their journey moreover feel a sense of sadness that this may be the last time, they see each other. Furthermore, I do love the bond they have for one another especially in scenes when it becomes funny as well. Now with this season I do love the fact that we get to see some recognizable character we've seen through the course of both Clone Wars and Rebels most notably Bo Katan and Ashoka Tano, for which Ashoka helps develop the essence of Mando moreover helping him be a good man also a good father figure to Grogu. And I know, that I'm clearly in the minority on this topic but I thought Rosario Dawson did a fantastic job bringing Ashoka to life moreover really embodied the likeness moreover the physicality when it comes to the fighting and emotions when talking about her past. Anyway, back to my other topic Bo Katan helps Mando show him things, he wasn't aware of his whole life moreover reveals things even his clan never told him outside of the galaxy nor any tribes of Mandalorians. Okay now I've waited long enough, LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW AWESOME BOBA FETT'S RETURN WAS AND THE FACT THAT HE'S GETTING HIS OWN SHOW AS WE ALL HOPED HE WOULD. What also makes Boba Fett's return amazing is the fact that we all know of his origins takes to the Prequals (SUCK IT HATERS), also the fact that former Star Wars actor returns to play Boba aka Temuera Morrison, although the late Jeromy Bulloch will always be the Original Boba Fett, Morrison will always be essence of Boba Fett moreover the great one liners as well and yes I'm defiantly one of those people that is looking forward to the Boba Fett show coming in twelve months from now so make sure everyone you get your calendars ready. Now I should say all the amazing things about the fact that Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker makes and amazing Emmy award winning cameo appearance but, ah screw it that whole fight between the Dark Troopers was just amazing on so many levels I can barely pronounce my words right, and I don't care if his appearance was CGI because one I'm not a hater and two, it made me happy in ways you can't even imagine, so once again to all overdramatic haters out there I say to you SUCK ON IT, SUCK IT LONG AND SUCK IT HARD. So once again The Mandalorian is hands down the greatest show every created in the Star Wars Universe I truly believe this is something that even George Lucas can be proud of moreover this is without a doubt the greatest space western out there so if you’re feeling bored and in the other stuff Disney+ has it's okay to go back and re-watch season's one through two. So, listen if you’re feeling you don't want to use Disney+ because you’re an adult. Well you probably have children and you have no choice but on the bright side you'll have countless Star Wars shows to binge watch on so now worries.

            So please to everyone if you’re a Star Wars Fan I would highly recommend this show, again greatest show of the twenty-first century right behind The Boys so if you’re a true Star Wars maniac like me then The Mandalorian would be a show for you. And always remember, "This is the Way". 

  

House on Haunted Hill

 

                             I remember seeing a VHS copy of House on Haunted Hill laying in my cousin’s house and at a young age I must admit that was a movie I didn't want to watch because I thought that this was scary on so many levels. Now re-watching this along with the Rifftrax commentary of the MST3K crew (Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett) I've now realized that this was a terrible movie from start to finish. Hell, even Psycho was a better scary film than this, aside from that being an understatement. I mean I get the fact that Vincent Price is famous for these cult classics but a movie like this one, has not aged well more like it was the skeleton this whole time then it just assists his own self to a suicide. Now I will go out on a limp and say that Price's best movie so far is is Laura. Although in a foreseeable future, I'll need to talk about that movie but for now let's just talk about the lameness that is House on Haunted Hill.

                            Eccentric, Millionaire Fredrick Loren, along with his fourth wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) invites five guests for a party at some estrange House they claim is Haunted. The catch is that whoever stays the night gets ten thousand dollars. Unfortunately, strange things happen around the house for which leads one of the guests feeling hysterical. Now remains the question will they all get out alive for stay in the house forever.

                            Now if you see a man like Vincent Price trying to scare you with spookiness about a house that's clearly not haunted, you'll know that it won't be scary at all. And yet I'm not quite sure if I can rank this as the worst movie ever because in truth, I've seen a lot of movies that were much worse than this one. In honesty my biggest gripe I would have with the movie is Rotten Tomatoes giving this a fresh 88% rating, and I'm sorry but that is something I can't accept because there was nothing scary about this film the Price was overrated moreover just so, cliché when it comes to some of the jump scares especially when he's using this weird contraption like skeleton puppet to lure his unappreciative wife into the vat of acid, and now as a grown man I'm thinking to myself, "Okay? Was this supposed to be scary because there not doing a good job in marketing the scariness more like trying to market something for a short lived tv series, or maybe that was what Price was trying to do but yet decided to make a full-length movie out of it. Okay so now I'm going to talk about this weird relationship between Price's character and Carol Ohmart because to me this is like some sort of 50 shades of Grey thing where they love each other but hate one another physically or whatever the hell that meant, and really watching them act I'm like "look so are you guys going to do each other or not". In fact, I'm almost comparing this to Crimson Peak because that movie as well is not as scary even though Loki and Jessica Chastain haven't even made any updates to the house. Okay, so let's just get down to the point because the more I'm describing the awfulness of this film the more it's not making sense and I'm getting tired just looking at this poster and realizing how I thought this movie looked creepy when it really wasn't, bottom line is that some people would look at films and say that they still live on in age. Well this was a movie that has not aged at all, it was both dumb and lame at the same time moreover if a movie like the guys at MST3K can make fun of it and also make you realize how bad it was well, that's when an atomic bomb has exploded in your brain, so if you’re looking to expand in watching any of Prices films I would highly recommend to stay away from them because you can have your own kid watch these and he/she wouldn't find these scary believe me, I have a nephew who has some scary films and I would believe he wouldn't find this scary.