Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

                       Finished another great Star Wars Show, and of course it was amazing mainly because there's no Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrahams interfering nor screwing up the Star Wars universe, although I don't know who really oversaw bringing back Star Wars legends Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, but I'm going to say that it was fellow Mandalorian director Deborah Chow. When I heard that they're doing a series of Obi-Wan Kenobi's time on Tatooine, there was no question I was on board for this, especially when Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are reuniting from the Prequals Trilogy. Along with fellow alums like Joel Edgerton, Jimmie Smits and most importunely the voice of God himself James Earl Jones, this was a great Star Wars show that didn't let down from start to finish.

                       Set ten years after Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is in hiding on Tatooine resuming his duties though cutting himself out of the Force to avoid detection. But Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) along with fellow Inquisitors (Moses Ingram) are hunting remaining Jedi, unfortunately Obi-Wan is requested to help from in old friend, now two old friends from different sides of the force suddenly cross paths and the fate of the Galaxy will soon be decided.

                        As a Star Wars fan, I've always in a sense been intrigued about Obi-Wan's time on Tatooine was like during the rise of the Empire between the gaps of Episodes III and IV. And finally getting a glimpse of that is very fresh to see, though at first I'll admit it gets slow during the first two episodes of the series but once you get a glimpse of Darth Vader then things get really interesting and I look back during 2015, I remember fans making the comparing of both Vader and Kylo Ren, moreover being frustrated as well because some of the fans think Ren is better than Vader all because Vader doesn't really do anything. Now watching the series and witnessing how terrifying and scary Darth Vader really is I honestly want to round up all those fans and force them to apologize and if they don't force them to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special. I really liked Ewan McGregor's portrayal as Obi-Wan in this series because when we first see him, he appears like he's been broken down and given up on life until he seeks a purpose in a mission to save someone close to him he begins to get a more understanding of coming back into the light, and Christensen does a great job bringing out the best in McGregor's portrayal even better and the same goes with Moses Ingram who plays one of the Inquisitors whom you don't know what her motives are until the very end. I will say both James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen do a fantastic job in bringing out the very best in Darth Vader, especially in the third episode of the series where it almost feels like it's a horror movie. I will say you do get a nice reunion-esh scene were both Ewan and Hayden are sparing, and it really doesn't feel like these two's ages really changed, in all honestly it really looks like the just walked back onto the set of Attack of the Clones. Now I would go on further, but I really don't want to spoil end detail, other than this was a great watch from start to finish, it’s a great reason why the Prequals are so awesome furthermore if you’re a Star Wars fan Disney + is for you, and now that I finished the Show, I now have the sudden urge to watch some of my past Star Wars video games. 

  

June Recommendation: The Truman Show

 

                        

                         

                                   My June recommendation is another example because the 90's decade was a better year for movies in general. I rediscover this great but overall dark humored film while attending Blues Legend Chris Pronger's Jersey Retirement Ceremony, and after the game when I went back to me and my brother's hotel this movie suddenly appeared, and I was just blown away by how unique but also horrified through the final moments of the movie. You may find this surprising, but The Truman Show was the first ever movie I was introduced to Jim Carrey, me and my brother did go to this movie in the theaters when it was out in theaters and although as a kid, I really didn't understand the whole movie at first, now after watching the movie I was completely amazed by the concept but is also horrified at the same time. For many reasons it's kind of like how would you feel if your whole life was a TV show without you knowing it and how would you react when you realized your whole life was a lie.

                                  He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive Producer Christof (Ed Harris) orchestrates "The Truman Show" a live broadcast of Truman's every move captured by hidden cameras. Christof tries to control Truman's mind, even removing his true love, Sylvia (Natasha McElhone), from the show replacing her with Meryl (Laura Linney). As Truman gradually discovers the truth, however, he must decide whether to act on it.

                                  Like when I was talking about Ghostbusters in my last review. The 80's and 90's during that era they were still making fresh and new movies moreover weren't afraid to take risk and I should add the 70's as well just to be safe because let’s be honest, they still had great films like The Godfather, Taxi Driver and Star Wars plus Alien. This movie alone is, I have to say is ahead of its time because this was basically a purpose to create a reality TV, now we have shown like The Bachelor, Jersey Shore and the Kardashians but try to imagine they don't even know they're on a TV set and how would that happen if they were trapped, and to think we owe all our thanks to the creators of the Truman Show and Jim Carrey. This is one of those films I will say kind of like Westworld, where you feel like this would definitely happen in futures to come, because I always view Westworld as like Disney now where they're going to build these live like worlds where you can finally be a princess for the first time and fall in love with prince charming, while the Truman Show, I definitely believe corporate television producers will be so deranged and feel like their Gods that they will most certainly do something like this. The direction of the film I have so many questions in terms of how they were able to make this so believable and Peter Weir does such a fantastic job in making a believable world that's a fantasy world but also a Television studio like world in the background and yet we don't even see the outside world when the viewers are watching the show, and Peter Weir is the same guy who made movies with Mel Gibson Gallipoli and Harrison Ford who of course did Witness together and surprisingly did The Mosquito Coast for which I do remember watching that movie growing up and yet don't understand why Ford was deranged when he should be the hero? Either way the man retired from Hollywood in 2010 when things got s**ty, so I may have to take a trip down memory lane and re-watch some of his movies. In terms of actors really what make this movie possible is both Jim Carrey and Ed Harris who really don't have full on-screen scene together kind of like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the Godfather Part II. I think of all films I've seen of Jim Carrey's entire career this is one of his best films ever, when it comes to dramatization of a movie roles. Moreover he was a perfect actor for this role because he does such a great job playing a character whose both tragic and so cartoony that you root for him throughout the entire movie and even when he's playing for laughs he's amazing since his insanity was still in check back in the late nineties and his ability to make the film so serious that even that was just beautiful acting, and this was the same guy who never got in Academy Award for which I think is the biggest rob when it comes to actors who should of been recognized for this movie as well, but let’s face it the Oscars can't even take themselves serious even today, and sure I haven't seen this for quite a long time but even I look at this as one of Jim Carrey's best films and if I was in charge of the Oscars I would of given Carrey his award for this great performance, though it's kind of too late now because the man clearly lost his mind, but in fairness all we can do now is remember the good times of Jim Carrey's past works. Now I would go ahead and talk about Ed Harris performance, but I realized that I need to squeeze in Laura Linney and Noah Emmerich because these two helped Jim Carrey realizing he's been living a lie, also show give some credit to Paul Giamatti for also bringing out the villain side of Harris's role. Both Linney and Emmerich do such a great job playing the loved ones in Carrey's life but slowly realize that they aren't what they believe to be from some of the bizarre advertisements and being fed lines that once you get to the second act you truly see the most horrifying dread and terror you see in Jim Carrey's performance even you as in audience member are just feeling so much emotions you want to look away but you can't all because you want to see how it goes in the end. And the two of them do such a great job in trying to make Carrey believe they were trustworthy but really are not in the final frame. Ed Harris who plays the God like creator of the show does such a great job playing a man whose both charming and deceiving, but with a calm state he's just great to watch when you finally see him in the final part of the second act, then you see the more Lucifer side to him that even his staff like Paul Giamatti try to define him during the climax of the film, that it’s scary to see. The Truman Show is one of those great underrated science fiction comedy/drama's that is well made and needs to be re-discovered to be cherished again and most importantly be understood as a triumph of the human spirit. And as luck would have it this film is on both HBO Max and Hulu, so if you're having a movie night this be one of your choices.

        

                                   

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

 

                                            Everybody it’s over, shut it down. SHUT IT ALL DOWN DO YOU HEAR ME, IT'S OVER ALL OF NICOLAS CAGES MOVIE'S ARE CRAP. Okay, just stop believing that he has made great work in the past because he hasn't it was nothing but pure unadulterated s**t.  For many reasons why I'm saying this, is because I have finally found his greatest performance of all time the GOAT performance of a lifetime, Nicolas Cage playing himself. I know right you’re asking yourself really, he's playing himself in a fictionalized film. Yes, and it’s one of his finest works in a long time, more many reasons no matter how crazy this man is, he at least has a sense of humor for which I can respect him for, along with him in this bizarre adventure is the Mandalorian himself Pedro Pascal and Tiffany Haddish whose, well I liked her in her appearance in Drunk History. 

                                           Unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, actor Nick Cage (Nicolas Cage) accepts a $1 million offer to attend a wealthy fan (Pedro Pascal) birthday party. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when a CIA operative recruits Cage for an unusual mission. Taking on the role of a lifetime, he soon finds himself channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to save himself and his loved ones.

                                           The setback I will issue on this movie is that you must really understand the mind of Nicolas Cage through his entire film career with movies like The Rock, Con Air maybe Captain Corelli's Mandolin? Also let’s not forget Face/off and Gone in Sixty Seconds, though maybe a few of his more popular films in order to get the joke behind Nicolas Cage, but let’s not forget this is the Cage man, he made a grand total of one hundred and nineteen films, ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN FILMS. For which is like he really doesn't understand the difference between work and life like one movie you’re just trying to get work, your most notable movie your finally gained respect and popularity, your one hundred and nineteenth film, a deranged nut job. But as I said before, I now have full respect for him because of his unexpected sense of humor, although he claims that it resembles very little of his real life offscreen personality (RIGHT?), furthermore Mr. Cage actually turned down the project three or four times until the writer-director Tom Gormican wrote him a personal letter, for which again I have to give Cage some great respect for because even I don't know how the director was able to convince him besides the letter. In terms of talking about how great this film is and how amazing it was there's not a whole lot to say, the movie speaks for itself moreover if your familiar with Cage's work and have seen some of his films then you'll love it or if you haven't seen his filmography then this wouldn't be your cup of tea. In short, I consider this of the greatest films I've seen moreover one of the best films of 2022, and now having watch this amazing film I honestly don't know if I can really watch any of Cages past movie's because in all honesty they’re not going to be as great as I've remembered after watching the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. I guess will have to find out soon.

    

Father's Day Recommendation: Ghostbusters

 

                                 It's Father's Day everybody, and usually there were times I'd have some last-minute timing when it comes to choosing but luckily this selection was a great refresher. Now to be fair most of the movies I pick, when it comes to Mother's Day and Father's Day are usually derived out of my Mom and Dad's favorite movies but this time I'm also including my brother who also has a son as well, but also including my Dad as well because really this was a movie that my Dad got my brother into and then my brother got me into loving this great movie. Although I wasn't in a sense young enough to watch the film (quote and quote), I have watched the sequel when I was a kid and was a huge fan of the cartoon, but with all its many sequels including Afterlife. Ghostbusters to me in the one true movie that still stands the test of time and still is a great movie refresher.

                                After three scientists (Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd) lose their cushy positions at a university in New York City, they decide to go into business for themselves and become Ghostbusters for hire. They stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, a doorway that will release evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters must now save New York from complete destruction. 

                                Like Major League, Ghostbusters is one of those comedies where you can watch the movie anytime of the day and recite any line and it will still be funny to watch. The other thing in what makes this film amazing is that when you think of heroes you always think of them as Superman as complete indestructible, but when it comes to the Ghostbusters is that they are regular average working joe's who are making a living in the world, and in dire situations they have a not so sure way of how to save the world, almost in a sense of Indiana Jones but except the Ghostbuster's are in a sense the best looking unless your Bill Murray who thinks he's good looking. What also makes this film stand the test of time, is that it was part of a decade where everything was original and everyone wasn't afraid to try something new and different unlike today where everyone is re-doing everything, making more lame comedies and not stopping with the superhero genre. Although the other thing was that there were even more interesting facts that I still to this day didn't know about, for example director Ivan Reitman who gave us Ghostbusters 1 and 2 as well as other classics also produced the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife in which his son Jason Reitman directed the film, though recently passed away at the age of 75, although helped bring the late Harold Ramis to life on screen during the final climax of the movie. Dan Aykroyd who also wrote the script found inspiration for the film via looking through his family history, and as it turns out his great-grandfather was a 19th century psychic investigator, even Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis stated that the films was set in a futuristic New York City where the Ghostbusters was already founded moreover were established all around the world. And sure, the film itself is very New York, but there were some of the scenes that were shot in different locations as well. Speaking of casting aside from Bill Murray not being the first choice, the character of Winston Zeddemore was first offered to Eddie Murphy instead of Ernie Hudson, for which now when you take the time to think about that fact I would of much preferred Ernie Hudson as Winston more than Eddie Murphy, even the lovable ghost we all come to know as Slimer started off as Onion Head during production crew of the two Ghostbusters films, though didn't get his full name by the creation of the cartoon series. Now with all its facts on how the film was made and most importantly its originality, it's one of the many great films that still stands the test of time furthermore inspired a generation of filmmakers like Ivan Reitman's son Jason Reitman who also made some great films of his own like Thank You for Smoking and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. So, if you ever get the time this month, I will highly recommend watching this amazing film with your dad or your kid, to inspire another generation of movie lovers. 

     

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

 

 

                         With the NBA Finals almost coming to an end (Sorry Celtics, but I'm predicting the Warriors are going to take Game 6, oh hold up Warriors won YEAH! SUCK ON THAT BOSTON) I figured that I should do a binge night and finally finish what I look at as the best Basketball show on TV. I've always said that Hoosiers was the greatest Basketball movie, but Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is hands down the best and maybe the greatest Basketball show on TV. For many reasons, is that this centers on the beginning of the Lakers Dynasty, and they had one of the most interesting characters in the history of NBA Basketball players like yours truly Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Norm Nixon along with rookie owner Dr. Jerry Buss, GM Jerry West and coaches Jack McKinney, Paul Westhead and Pat O'Reilly. And all these greats had their flaws, but they also brought Basketball to the fore front. And to me that's what makes this show interesting to watch.

                          A dramatic look at the glitz and glamour of 1980's Los Angeles and the rise of the NBA's Lakers, Dr. Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) and Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah).

                         Granted if you're a Lakers fan or a Basketball fan you've probably heard of the Showtime Lakers of the 1980's dynasty from reading Jeff Pearlman's book ShowTime or watched the three-part documentary of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry on 30 for 30 (ESPN). Though there are some of us that have the time and place to sit down and read a book and when it comes to documentaries, they show you the history but they sometimes sugar coat the details. So, when it comes the HBO show I was intrigued mainly because they were going to finally show the dark side of 1980's Basketball and it wasn't just Dr. Buss and Johnson but there were a lot of characters on the Lakers team a side from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I've said it multiple times if you are going to do 80's NBA Basketball you really have to tell through the LA Lakers because compared to them and the 80's Boston Celtics, those would be just boring guys to follow because I strongly doubt there wasn't a whole lot of partying going on, especially when it comes to Celtic's legend Larry Bird. But with the Lakers you've got a lot of guys on that team that were a bunch of drug users and womanizers that just make you think how they can have the time and energy to even get through the day. Especially moments in the show where you have Magic and his soon to be future wife Cookie Johnson having these tender moments while I'm screaming at the TV going "run bitch run, his Johnson is so contaminated it would be like Chernobyl but in LA", see even watching stuff like this makes me want to cringe because of how toxic these too are you just can't stop watching them, so hopefully when the next season comes around I hope to see a lot of Magic's sex's escapades and him trying to make it up with Cookie. Now as you've all known by now some Laker legends have distain for how their portrait in the show, but when it comes to Magic not wanting to watch the show because of the embarrassment that would effect on his kids that right there I can totally understand a lot of. But the other Laker's legends like Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I see more on the overreacting side to it most notably them not liking how the way they are portrait on the small screen, now I can see when you’re doing a show about real life events, yeah there are times where you have to dramatize things a little but the way West overreacts to how he's portrait even go so far as to take it to supreme court (granted I don't remember a whole lot of the detail's because just thinking about hurts my brain) Kareem on the other hand may have same reason as Jerry West but let’s keep in mind that this was the same guy who threw a massive fit about how Bruce Lee was portrait in the movie Once Upon A Time in Hollywood for which is about a movie where the Manson cult get their fictionalized due. And maybe those two men's reasons are right and sure they have a point but deep down take a step back when it comes to these show that are talking about you. I will say the most impressive part of the show is the ensemble cast John C. Reilly does a great job playing Dr. Jerry Buss whose trying to save the game of Basketball, while Jason Clarke does a fantastic job playing Jerry West who at first seems like a former player with a lot of anger issues but has is best moments being a great motivator, especially in one of my favorite scenes where he and Magic Johnson shares a great moment of how to be a winner. The other actor I thought did a fantastic job was Adrian Brody playing Pat Reilly where through the course of the show you see him as a man without any purpose but by the end has finds the true purpose he's been seeking. Now finally we got the recognizable actors out of the way, I'm going to take more of the time to talk about the newcomer who does a fantastic job playing the legendary Laker, Magic Johnson aka Quincey Isaiah whom there's really nothing to say other than he was born to play Magic Johnson, like you look at this guy on screen and they are exactly the same person like the creators went back in time and took the young Magic Johnson from the past and gave him like fake identity, it’s just so bizarre but yet how great of casting they were able to pull off and casting Quincey Isaiah, furthermore he does such a tremendous job embodying Magic Johnson, and to be honest I can name a lot of things on how good his performance was I honestly don't want to spoil the fun for this great show. Despite a lot of questions, I have with the film, when it comes to some of the story, in if there were fact or fiction, I still look at this as a great Basketball show to watch on HBO Max, where Hoosiers is the greatest Basketball movie of all time, I rank Winning Time as one of the best Basketball shows of all time.

I Hate Christian Laettner

 

                                 There are a lot of times in sports you most certainly look at a team or any type of college sports and you point at that type of group and just have a distain for them. Like, just recently my hatred towards the Colorado Avalanche has been spewing lately due to the team knocking out my Blues, with a certain player that will not be named because I at least have dignity. Sure, in NFL football we've always hated Tom Brady winning all the time, I mean who hasn't. Though there comes a time a certain sports documentary kind of in a strange sense reminds you of not always being such a huge hater for the rest of your life. For a good explanation in what I'm trying to talk about, with ESPN merging some of their 30 for 30 specials on Disney+, I figured of all sports documentary's that look promising I figured why not re-watch I Hate Christian Laettner.

                                In truth I never really was big into NCAA Basketball moreover I'm from Nebraska and really the basketball team isn't all that great, best way to explain them they're kind of like the 1980's era Cleveland Baseball team. Though granted there's a lot of Nebraskan natives that are big fans of North Carolina or Duke, or whichever team gets them through the day when it comes to College Basketball. But for me I honestly think of it as more recent superhero films I see the potential; I would never take the joy from everyone who loves them, but I would never consider them amazing films. Now I've never seen Christian Laettner play basketball, in fact I was probably in kindergarten or First Grade by the time he was finishing out his college basketball career, so I can't judge on his actions and I'm sure the guy was a bully so in all honestly, that’s pretty much all I can say really. In all honesty this is hands down a great story about an athlete who really isn't what everyone appears to see an athlete is on the inside, and I got to say re-watching this movie through kind of gave me a wakeup call when it comes to bashing famous athletes, and I've never really went overboard on anyone like Tom Brady for example but I did share some so-called news on Facebook that either could be true or not. So, deep down I think this film is a great wake up call to all of us sports fans about really taking a step back when it comes to hating on an athlete when their exceptionally great.

                    

Eternals

 

                                  

                                  I will say the plus side to having Disney + is that you don't have to go to the movie theater and waist your money on some of the mediocre Marvel films. Even though watching through some of these mediocre Marvel Films or Phase 4 is to be honest really on the boring side to it sometimes okay but still one of these kinds of movies I honestly don't need to see ever again. In fairness Eternals was on my watch history and I had nothing better to do on a typical night, so I decided to watch a movie that I don't really what to think but mostly don't believe it’s the best I've seen. I will point one minor complaint, is that if you’re going to cast in actor like Kit Harrington to be in upcoming Marvel Superhero at least give the man some more acting time don't ever put that man in the corner. 

                                  The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.

                                   I will honestly admit in saying that this isn't the worst I've seen and to be fair there was some unique moves Marvel did on their part which I thought were cool like casting an actress who’s deaf to play a superhero for which I think was cool, because I've never seen that before but mostly think they should at least make some unique ideas to the table. I will say my biggest problem I have with the movie is that these Eternals are considered God's that came from the sky and a giant ship for which convenient because that's strait out of a Erich von Daniken novel, but the real problem I have is that they're creators the have sent seeds to grow more Immortal beings on planets but why in all that is holy did these Celestial beings just have a meeting about which seeds to grow moreover send the Eternals to planet Earth, and yet say "wait just, wait lets reconsider this", because in all honesty we've all seen the movies we're Thor becomes in touch with humanity, but yet we don't learn this lesson now that once you seen God like beings to earth for thousands of years they are soon going to be fond of them. I mean come on, even I know when the truth was revealed, that they were going to be a revolt going to happen. And to be truthful, this is the kind of problem I have moving forward with the new Phase with the MCU is that we can now introduce new Superhero's but with each movie they seem to be even more predictable. The other thing that bugs me is that one of the so-called God like hero's are so frustrated about having to not interfere with humanity and yet he goes off on his own, then the next time we see him he starts a cult, for which I look at it as yes you have a point, but dude do you always let your ego doing most of the talking. In the end I look at this film as yes Chloe Zhao got off of her Oscar winning movie about Francis McDormand living in a van down by the river, but deep down this is Disney a company that looks for more ways to screw with people who are different and always love to poke their noses into writers and directors visions and Eternals is an example of just one to many ego's creating such a disaster of a movie.  

    

Top Gun Maverick

 

                      Well, everyone the impossible has happened and no I wasn't really intending on wanting to watch this movie nor a movie I was hoping to avoid this year. But unfortunately, a lot of my family members I'm not going to say who, have urged me to take my father for a birthday movie. And surprisingly enough, Top Gun Maverick wasn't all that bad. Now, granted I wasn't going to lie this was not on my radar of movies I wanted to watch at a theater, and not only was the expectations for the movie so low to my feet I wasn't at all wanting to watch this movie plus having to sit through ten minutes worth of previews that I don't want to waste my time in want to watch on YouTube but I'm suddenly forced to watch them by movie theater standards. For which is why if I ever buy a movie theater, I will make a note of deleting all previews of movies I deem to be nothing but crap.

                      After more than 30 years of service as one of Navy's top Aviators, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

                      You know that saying of the sequel is better than the original? Well, I can argue the first Godfather is still better than the successor and Batman Begins is equal par with the Dark Knight, but I will argue and state that Top Gun Maverick was a million times better than its successor, for a gazillion reasons this was a much serious story then the original moreover took Navy pilots much serious than the original and not making them such complete douchebags though there is one in the second film that's somewhat of a douche but hey, we all have to have that one guy that looks like a douche. And let’s be frank its better than my other analogy I have about Navy Pilots but since we live in a world where everyone doesn't have a sense of humor I just sticking with that fact. Strangely as this sound with Tom Cruise being weird with his religious beliefs I have to say him playing a certain father like figure for the young pilots was pretty cool on his part, and in all truthful I like the fact that he really doesn't mess around when it comes to being a Dad like figure with some of these young bloods in the movie, for which is something new and different in an odd way especially when you have some of the scenes with Miles Teller as Goose's son. I will say the best scene in the movie when it comes to dialogue scenes was Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, and really what I love about it was that Val Kilmer doesn't have a lot of acting scenes he just has his stillness and ability to listen to Cruise monologue about his biggest fears and regrets, and you can really see the love and respect these two men have for one another all in that one scene, moreover with very little scenes Kilmer has in the film I can honestly say that was one of his best acting in all of the films I've seen him in. Now, I'm just throwing this out and see who agrees with me, but I will argue and say that Jennifer Connelly is one of the most gorgeous actress of my generation moreover I will say that if there was any middle age woman I would totally hit one it would most certainly be Miss Connelly and if you don't believe me watch this movie along with The Rocketeer and Dark City, and I don't care if she's married to Vision aka Paul Bettany. What really makes the film better than the first film is that the jet scenes are flown by actual Navy Pilots instead of the actors meaning all the scenes you see with the actors in the Jets are actually flown by real pilots but yet for some reason where stations some were even, I don't know where they put them in. And I can imagine that Tom Cruise may have argued with the Navy in saying that he does his own stunts but I can honestly tell that the pilots were saying to Cruise "Tom don't make me kick you’re a**", but what makes them great is that they really felt real and more scary to be in and really I would say that those dog fights were some of the best Jet scenes I've ever seen on the big screen, which is why this film is a billion times better than the original. If I had to add one complaint, I have with the film its mainly the predictability with the film because really throughout the film I was still having this though of well everyone's going to be okay I mean come on Tom Cruise haven't died in any of his movies, though what can you do about it really killing Cruise would be like killing America. I think in all honesty the original film was basically made to be a hallmark channel, romantic film for the ladies, for which is understandable, but I will put my foot down and say that this latest installment or twenty years in the making sequel is a billion times better than its predecessor. Moreover, I will also say that this is one of Tom Cruise's top five best performances.