Bullet Train

 

                                     Well, the end is nigh we are near the end of the year 2022 so many movies so little stupid-ness, of what is going on in the world today if you catch my drift. Usually when I see a preview of a movie I'm just like eh okay, I'm not really planning on seeing it either way, but once I saw an action scene of Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt, where him and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are fighting then takes a break where the train attendant walks in to offer them anything, I just thought that was a fun and unique spin that I've never seen in an action movie before. And now watching this movie all the way through I would figure that this would be a typical mindless action flick. But with the number of surprises, I never saw coming, I cannot help but consider this a great action movie from start to finish moreover the perfect action flick to finish off the year of 2022.

                                     Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is an unlucky assassin who is determined to do his job peacefully after one-to-many gigs has gone off the rails. Fate, however, many have other plans as his latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe--all with connected yet conflicting objectives--on the world’s fastest train.

                                     At the time this movie came out the same time I was on vacation, and in all fairness did not think much of Bullet Train mainly because it just came out in the theaters, and it was basically I do not want to pay extra when going to a movie that will probably waste my time. But again, after seeing the scene of the water break fight scene, I really felt that this might have some potential so as usual I decided to buy it on my phone and watched the movie all the way through. Furthermore, I thought that this was a cleverly thought-out action film from start to finish, also was a lot more than a typical action movie because you get to know each of these characters through the course of the movie, moreover, know their agenda as well and why their brought to a Bullet Train in Japan. And I am not lying that this was an entertaining action movie which leads to the question, why did everyone hate this movie? Hell Richard Roeper was the only sane movie critic out there that gave this movie a three and a half out of four stars, I guess the only conclusion I found out was that this was adapted from a Japanese novel and everyone complained that this movie was White washed (meaning white people playing foreign roles), for which true and fair but deep down you really shouldn't target this movie for that typical crime because Hollywood's been doing it for quite some time, I honestly don't like that concept but that's just how Hollywood is they will never in a million years change. Even the author of the Bullet Train novel, Kotaro Isaka defended the film by describing his characters as "ethnically malleable", maintaining that his original Japanese setting and context were irrelevant as they were "not real people, maybe they're not even Japanese". I have a rare few Brad Pitt films that I consider the best, though there are like so many films he made it's hard to specify in terms of supporting roles and starring roles but if I had to rank this movie when it comes to starring roles this would most certainly be in the top three of the best Brad Pitt films the first and second are of course Inglourious Bastards and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. And really what makes him great in this movie is that he plays his character like a middle age Johnny Cage just a bombastic hilarious fighter that has a great sense of humor at the wrong place at the wrong time, after seeing this I would honestly put a petition for Brad Pitt to play the middle age Johnny Cage in the next Mortal Kombat. Now I am officially going to stop talking so, in conclusion this is defiantly an underappreciated action movie that needs to be seen by everyone, to those who are action fanatics I would highly recommend watching this great movie it is a great story with full of surprises from start to finish. 

  

                                       

The Bishop's Wife

 

                                     Technically yes Christmas has ended but to all Christians, the last day of Christmas is on January 5th. For which is a lot to explain of course, but bottom line it was a Christmas afternoon when my mom recommends me watching The Bishop's Wife. I had no idea that this was the original movie that was remade into another movie called the Preachers Wife, starring Denzel Washington and the late Whitney Houston. With this movie came out in 1946, stared Cary Grant Loretta Young and David Niven, for which in all reality this was defiantly a Christmas movie worth seeing just because it is a movie, I have never seen but always good to watch during Christmas time. 

                                     Dejected by his efforts to raise money to build a cathedral, Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) beseeches heaven for guidance, and is visited immediately by Dudley (Cary Grant), who claims to be an angel. Henry is skeptical, then annoyed when Dudley ingratiates himself into the household as his assistant--and worse, wins the attentions of Henry's long-suffering and kindly wife (Loretta Young). When Dudley continues to intervene in Henry's struggles, the bishop decides to challenge Heaven. 

                                      I have to say of all Christmas movies I have seen this is one of those hidden treasures that I can point at and just be "okay, I can defiantly watch this", for many reasons it is not like the Home Alone first two films where you have seen over and over or like A Christmas Story or even Christmas Vacations where you've seen them over and over and get tired of the jokes. This was one of these movies that you will not roll your eyes and go "I've seen it" granted I have not seen The Preachers Wife, but what I am trying to say it is a hidden gem that will refresh your standards of a Christmas film. What I like about the film is that Angels are supposed to be these mysterious figures that take human form and they just come out to help a person in need like Cary Grant does in the first opening of the movie, Cary Grant does a fantastic job playing the Angel sent to help David Niven in need of guidance and deep down helps not just him but his family as well moreover given them in open mind and gleam of hope. I've seen Murder by Death and Guns of the Navarone and it feels like David Niven hasn't aged a day it's like watching this movie and he's looks the same which is weird, both him and Jimmy Stewart have one thing in common. Both men were visited by Guardian Angel's in each of their movies and both we are like uh I refuse to believe you; uh I think you are a fraud just playing the same nonbeliever even though the Angels show each man things that were impossible. For which in fairness when you see your guardian Angel for the first time, yeah, we as a person would not believe it for a minute or two, but in all honesty, I would not be like Jimmy Stewart that would constantly question Clarence in every scene. In many ways this is one of those movies that I would most certainly watch next December and Christmas time, it is a nice feel-good film that you can defiantly watch for the first time and watch from start to finish. Even though yes this is a late recommendation this is one of those movies my mom told me to watch and of course she is always right. So, Merry Christmas everyone I hope you all had the best Christmas of 2022. 

           

December Recommendation: L.A. Confidential

 

                      

                                       

                                     I know what you are going to say, yes L.A. Confidential is not your typical Christmas movie but here is the surprise the film itself starts on Christmas Eve so if you all are complaining about my latest monthly recommendation not being a Christmas movie well jokes on you because it is a Christmas movie for the Holiday's. But here's the thing we all have our fair share of personal Christmas films that our favorites like It's a Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation, then you have the cartoons too as well as the Christmas family films that get a little on the annoying side mainly because they already remind you of your dysfunctional family, so if there's a film that starts at the beginning of Christmas Holidays with no snow then I'm making an acceptation. L.A. Confidential is a mid-90's film that was in a sense a forgotten movie because it was unmatched by the success of Titanic, granted it has been a while since I have watched it but once I saw a preview of first act of the movie I just simply could not resist.

                                     Three policemen, each with his own motives and obsessions, tackle the corruption surrounding an unsolved murder at a downtown L.A. coffee shop in the early 1950's. Lieutenant Exley (Guy Pearce), the son of a murdered detective, is out to avenge his father’s killing. The ex-partner of Officer White (Russell Crowe), implicated in a scandal rooted out by Exley, was one of the victims. Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) feeds classified information to a tabloid magnate (Danny DeVito).

                                     I have to confess this has been quite a long time since I've watched L.A. Confidential, but I previewed it on YouTube and once I saw the first clip of the entire film the jokes really write themselves, to explain the Christmas part of the movie the first act of the entire film begins on the Christmas Eve of nights, and what starts off somewhat shocking but yet mildly entertaining is that the cops start assaulting the Mexican inmates that just been booked into custody aka Bloody Christmas (Actually happen, Google it) and what makes it funny is yes this was reminding me of cops today, I mean George Floyd anyone? But the way it was directed and shot it bizarrely felt like it was like a high school football team preparing to beat up the opponent's team and then gets out of hand and everyone is excited there's one nerd or goodie too shoes wanting to put a stop or threaten the team then gets locked up somewhere for interfering, then the school paper comes in and exposes the entire football team, which is funny to me because I don't quite understand why it’s necessary or was it really needed in all honesty it's something I can't really find answers too. And it is not just that but will get to the other funny moments and Russell Crowe really owns that portion if you know what I mean. All jokes a side this was a surprisingly good movie and it really has all the elements in what makes a great detective story from the detectives you really get to know as the three important ones as each of them try to battle their way through corruption, and what also is great in terms of the story is you slowly through the course of the movie get to understand their motives and why they became cops as with battling their personal flaws. The other thing in what makes this great is that the structure and direction to the film, really starts off like a detective story from the 1950's films with the beginning of the first act you get to know your characters then you start off with the main murder and through the course of the film you slowly began to realize that nothing is what it seems, and that's what makes it so great is that it pays great tribute to all of the detective/film noir's from the 1940's and 50's. The other thing in what makes this film great, is that you have a great list of actors and all of them do a fantastic job in making this film work. Now calm down, when I say this yes Kevin Spacey is in the movie but that was before we all found the skeleton's in his closest and when you see his earlier work you as an audience can't deny how great of an actor he was despite being a not so good of a person, Kim Basinger who won in Oscar for her performance in this film does a great job playing a femme fatale whose a survivor but also becomes a love interest towards Russell Crowe's character who begins to understand his pain and his potential/support of being a great cop. You also get to see the rise of two great actors who were unknowns in the mid-nineties but this I believe was the most important movie to their success, Guy Pearce who I freakishly looks so young does great work playing the main protagonist who you’re not sure if you can like this guy because he's all to goodie too shoes and only cares about his image but through the course of the movie you slowly understand his motives and knows that he needs allies if he's to survive a case that may ruin his career. Now we've finally get to Russell Crowe, who is no question a great actor in the movie who you also like once you first see him moreover does a great job playing the so-called anti-hero of the film, but the fact is that this movie alone was the great treasure of jokes that Trey Parker and Matt Stone did on South Park decades ago with fighting around the world with Russell Crowe, and I don't want to cast a stone on the guy but the man literally beats up everyone in the movie, some of them are female beaters and rapists? Though yes, it is part of his character but in all honesty, it is somewhat to ridiculous that he assaults everyone in the movie especially one where he's going over the top bad cop on a black guy, granted I won't go into details, but this was one of those things where if Crowe's character existed in today's era, he wouldn't last at least a month on the force mainly because of social media existing. To be honest, it was really nice to see Danny DeVito in a movie for once and some people forget that he was once a good actor that stared in movies long before he was sucked into the world of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for which you also get to see some great chemistry work between him and Kevin Spacey and deep down it was nice to see that before these two overstayed their welcome in Hollywood. I must give some compliments towards James Cromwell who plays the captain in the movie, mainly because he does a great job as the mentor of the movie where you think he is a good cop but once you get to the third act that there is something different about him and he does it in the best way possible. The other Academy Award this film won in the Oscars was Best Adapted Screenplay and both Curtis Hanson Brian Helgeland do a great job in adapting James Elroy's book, and after finishing the movie they truly deserved their award furthermore this is one of the rare few times the Academy gets right. Both men actually have done some great notable works after L.A. Confidential Helgeland for example written and directed one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies Payback and a personal favorite A Knight's Tale, though helped launch of career of the late Chadwick Boseman in the biopic of Jackie Robinson, 42. Hanson has some notable works some of which I've never seen but I was surprise that one of them was 8 Mile, for which I was like mildly surprised because it's Eminem trying to act, but in fairness it’s going to be a while when I start to watch the movie. L.A. Confidential is a great movie from start to finish pays a great homage to the crime films of the forties and fifties, with a kiss of some humorous scenes (Fighting around the World with Russell Crowe) helped launch the careers of Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe moreover a forgotten film that needs to be seen by everyone. So, to all of you I would highly recommend watching this great detective story this Christmas season and if anyone nags you about this movie not being a joyful Christmas movie just wish them a Bloody Christmas. So, Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy New Year. 

         

Ten Year Anniversary: Zero Dark Thirty

 

                                 Now we have reached the third installment towards the spy movie genre of 2012, only this time this was based a year before it happened a year ago which when you think about it was that's hands down the shortest and quickest movie adaptions ever. Zero Dark Thirty, is the actual real life talking about the greatest manhunt for public enemy number one Osama Bin-Laden the master mind behind September 11, 2001, when two planes destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. I tell you deep down where I was, the moment it broke out, I basically was working at job at Local TV, early in the morning and the next thing I know is that once I looked up in our monitors that Osama Bin-Laden was found and killed, for which in all honesty was a little bit of a surprised because I never thought in a million years we would ever get him, until 2011 when I was proven wrong. Then when I heard about that they are making a movie about the Manhunt, I was a little on the weary side for many reasons it's all confidential so how the hell are you able to make this movie happen when C.I.A has it all locked up? I guess with a great writer in Mark Boal along with a smart director in Academy Award Winner Kathryn Bigelow, anything can be possible.

                                Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden becomes one of the most-wanted men on the planet. The worldwide manhunt for the terrorist leader occupies the resources and attention of two U.S. presidential administrations. Ultimately, it is the work of a dedicated female operative (Jessica Chastain) that proves instrumental in finally locating bin Laden. In May 2011, Navy Seal's launch a nighttime strike, killing bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

                                I will say having now watched the movie after ten years ago, this is a more interesting and complex film I have ever watched in terms of wanting to know what is real or what is not. Mainly because you as an audience member would not now what would be true because this was all in secret moreover don't have a clue if all of these characters were based on or not, of course yes majority of these characters have to be based on these spies that worked on the manhunt but the problem is you will never know, for obvious reasons the C.I.A won't give out that basic information. So, in all honesty you must just accept that this was all in fact because Mark Boal is a smart writer, who is both a freelance journalist and screenwriter who does know how to keep the facts checked and the fiction a mystery. Though I still can't even stop thinking about it how this film was about to be made despite the fact that the event took place a year ago, moreover the C.I.A has to keep it as secret even with the whole manhunt and the years of finding bin Laden even once they discovered his compound, but when you think about it the White House had to of leaked some information of what and how they tracked him down even amongst bin Laden's followers. As a movie alone this a great written film and directed film that shows all the works of being a spy working for the United States government and the mentality of doing whatever it takes to find the most wanted man. Both Boal and Bigelow won Academy Awards for their outstanding work on the Hurt Locker, so once you know that these two are working on a project like this or once you see their names on the trailer you know hands down that they are not going to fail, especially when telling a story like this. Though watching the film now, I have to say there are some moments in the film where they could at least cut down, like you can have one or two scenes of torturing a guy but not have so many because you are basically turning into a sick and twisted person. The difference between both the Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty is that every bomb scene in Hurt Locker was just on the edge of your seat until the disarm the bomb, Zero Dark Thirty does have its moments of suspense but there are moments where you do not feel on the edge of your seat in certain scenes but then gets interesting in the final act when they get to the Seal team at the compound. I have to say the one scene that brought back a memory that's so obscure and funny was the Area 51 scene where they're briefing the Navy Seal team, and it wasn't about the helicopters it was that years ago I remember that people were ready to storm Area 51, because they were wanting to know or demand that the government was keeping aliens, which is so funny because people do and still do believe it but in all actuality Area 51 is a place that keeps top secret stuff that shouldn't see the light of day like the Helicopters the Seal Team flew on. The filming of the compound storming was probably the most interesting and fantastic sequence film on screen, for which yes you know that bin Laden was killed by the team, but it is really the how they stormed the compound was great and both suspenseful at the same time, I know this sounds convenient, but I know where the guys at Call of Duty get their inspiration from, just saying. No question that this was the one movie that boosted Jessica Chastain into a superstar, no doubt about that though the good thing about it was that it showed her that she was able to play a strong operative that will stop at nothing to find and kill bin Laden. The bad thing a side from the over the top acting which is funny but it also is kind of a curse because she continues to do that throughout her entire career, when it comes to action movies in general or other suspense filled movies, granted she's made some good movies like Molly's Game and I haven't seen the one that got her an Academy Award so I could be wrong but deep down when it comes to action films she's always over the top and wanting to teach everyone a lesson and I don't want to be lectured. Jason Clarke does a great job in this movie as the operative that shows Chastain's character the ropes when it comes to interrogation, and I am not joking because he has the best one liner in the whole movie. Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt both do a good job in this movie playing the Seal Team 6, despite their lack of screen time, and even British actors like Mark Strong and Stannis Baratheon do a good job in the movie too disguised as Americans for which I am so intrigued as to how they can acquire those accents. Hands down this is a great movie from start to finish, though not as good as the Hurt Locker but defiantly worth seeing after ten years since it is release. 

       

                                 

                                

Ten Year Anniversary: Argo

 

                           

                           2012 was not only a great year for movies in general but it was also a good year for the spy movie genre as well. A side from Skyfall another in the second installment to my Spy movie genre is the Best Picture winner of 2012, Argo. Directed and starring Ben Affleck along with a great list of actors as well as Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Academy Award winner Alan Arkin who also was nominated for a best supporting actor nominee back in 2012. I knew that Affleck was turning into a great film director, and he is shown it with both Gone Baby Gone and the Town, which when you think about it was a Ben Affleck trilogy of movie directing with Argo being the final installment via winning the Best Picture award. Re-watching and thinking about it now I never really knew much about the Iran Hostage Crisis ten years ago, and this was again a great movie in terms of a history lesson but also a great film when it comes to suspense and just extreme fear when it comes to hearing this on the news back in 1979 and I can remember watching this great movie with my Mom and remember telling me that she thought we'd be going into a war with Iran, though watching what really happens to six house guest and the name Tony Mendez is truly remarkable interns of heroism, especially now since he died in 2019, so RIP Tony Mendez.

                            On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran taking 66 American's hostages. Amid the chaos, six American's managed to slip away and find refuge with the Canadian Ambassador's House. Knowing it is just a matter of time before the refugees are found and likely executed, the U.S. Government calls on extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to rescue them. Mendez's plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer scouting locations in Iran and train the refugees to act as his film crew. 

                            A lot of people will say that yes Ben Affleck's best movie is Good Will Hunting and sure they can all say that because he was indeed in the movie furthermore co-written the screenplay with Matt Damon but to be fair and honest, he was just the supporting character in that movie. What I am really referring to as his best work is in the starring role and Argo is without a question one of his finest works as well as a director in general, moreover one of his greatest movies in his entire filmography. And I am not going to lie I have not seen this for quite a long time, but everything is still there from the amazing cast and acting to the great writing and directing and the suspense that literally puts you on the edge of your seat. Moreover, I know how that movie even ends but I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat through the course of the movie just having a complete knot in my stomach, and Affleck as a director does such a fantastic job in creating great tension in the film as well as editing it to the point where you do not breathe a sigh of relief through the third act of the movie. The other thing in what Affleck does really well is staying loyal to the story, and really just showing you as an audience member just how dangerous it was to live in Iran back in the early 80's and even in scenes of finding the best way of rescuing the house guest when in all reality there was no good option to have on the table and I loved the scene where the CIA are pitching ideas on how to get them out and I'm just sitting there just thinking how terrible of ideas they were pitching and how can they seriously think Mendez's idea would not work, hell even Affleck says it best that it's only finding the best bad idea. Affleck as an actor does a great job playing Mendez as a man who truly believes his ideas of a fake movie is the best thing and will fight for it tooth and nail to get these six individuals out of enemy lines, but also is a smart guy especially finding the perfect way to fool the enemy especially when it looks almost to ridiculous, but also ingenious as well. Bryan Cranston does a great job playing Affleck's handler as well as his only supporter throughout the Agency, as well as both John Goodman and Alan Arkin who the two of them do a great job playing Hollywood people who know how much of a shame the business is but is also reliable when it comes to making Affleck's character's idea the best hope. And it isn't just Affleck, Cranston, Goodman and Arkin that makes this movie great it's also the actors who play the house guest as well as those guys (those guys meaning the actors you think you know them from but have no clue what their names are) but most importantly the Iranian militants and the militia, well start with the house guest who all together do a great job in terms of acting and character development for which all of them are so scared of being caught but realizing that there's no choice in having to leave Iran for good, all of the Iranian actors in the movie does a great job in creating so much tension through the course of the first act of the movie and the third act, especially Sheila Vand who plays the maid for the Canadian Ambassador who know all too well about the House guest and is given a fateful choice of whether to sell them out or keep their secret close to her even if it means her own life, even the militia who are at the airport does a great job too in being both terrifying when it comes to searching for six Americans disguised as Canadians, now before I close this review I did forget one actor and that's Victor Garber (who played the Naval Architect in Titanic) does a great job in helping the house guest stay safe but worries about getting caught. Of all spy movies I have seen Argo is really the more realistic spy movie I have seen because it takes out a hundred percent of the action sequences and high-tech gadgets you usually find in Spy movies in general and really focuses more on the human story of one man saving the lives of six people in hostile territory. Ten years ago, I still give praise to Argo and now I still give this tremendous praise for Ben Affleck and will rank this up there in one hundred of the greatest movies I have ever seen and will still say to this day that this is one of Affleck's greatest movies ever in terms of directing and performance.

            

                                 

                               

10 Year Anniversary: Skyfall

 

                            Ten years have officially passed since one of the best James Bond films ever made has been release as well as staring one of the best actors to ever portray James Bond, yeah that is right I said it, I said that Daniel Craig portrayal is the best and only great James Bond ever put on screen so all of you classic Bond fans can SUCK IT! Ten years ago, I must admit I never really thought much of Skyfall other than it was a great film and really all of Daniel Craig's Bond films from Casino Royale and No Time to Die are better than the past Bond films, but now re-watching this great movie I've realize there was a ton of great story elements that I completely missed for which I was blown away just revisiting. So, without further ado lets dive right into the resurrection and greatness of Daniel Craig's version of Agent 007.

                           When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents around the world are exposed, and MI6 is attacked, forcing M (Judi Dench) to relocate the agency. With MI6 now compromised inside and out, M turns to the one man she can trust: Bond. Aided only by Eve (Naomie Harris), Bond takes to the shadows and follows a trail to Silva (Javier Bardem), a man from M's past who wants to settle an old score.

                            As a kid growing up with sixties and seventies inspired parents when it came to pop culture I've always been familiar with the character of James Bond in fact my Dad loved watching the Roger Moore films he would always turn them on TNT when there was cable, hell I remember watching Goldfinger for the first time realizing Sean Connery played him and was also the first to portray him on screen, moreover  but in all honesty never really was quite interested in the character mainly because Bond as a character through the years of film was always portrait as this all cool super spy who is indestructible and always gets the girl at the end of every film, which is fine but wasn't all special to be honest for my taste, especially when it happens every movie moreover making some of the corniest one liners ever (I though Christmas comes once a year). It all changed though when Daniel Craig became the new Bond and I've soon discovered the name Ian Fleming (author behind 007), whose stories and creation of the famous 007 brought a success and movie franchise to life, though it was 2006 I found out that Bonds adventures where all based on books, for which lead to Casino Royale and introduction of Daniel Craig, who to me was the greatest 007, mainly because when I first read the first book and the movie it was based on I found a more different tone to Craig's performance who played bond as more of a grittier Bond whose not a perfect Agent who makes mistakes and is not all perfect as is predecessors and tells all the woman his life he's got no time for love, for which finally leads us to Skyfall. With Craig's third time around you see him more as a broken-down man with what he once has been gone from him and this time we see more of a test of loyalty with him, and his boss M played by Judi Dench. I will admit Judi Dench was the true M for me growing up and though she played the character through Pierce Brosnan's run, but through Brosnan's run as 007 she always treated him as a boss, and in Craig's run she always treated him as a son she never had for which brings an interesting chemistry between these two characters once they go to Bond's home land. The other thing in what makes this film great is that we have a perfect villain out of Javier Bardem whose character is not a typical Bond villain whose out for greed and power but is out for personal revenge on the very agency who betrayed him, though what makes Bardem's performance is that you really sympathize with his character almost like an insane version of Bond and that's where both of them are so great that they both are the same person but the only difference is that Bond would never betray his principles when it comes to loyalty no matter how immensely broken it's become. A side from the great cast the real stars are the two men behind the camera, I'm talking both Sam Mendes the Director of Skyfall and his fellow collaborator and Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who worked with Mendes four times including this movie, I always thought that it was a Director’s job to paint the movie and tell the story all by itself but in all honesty it takes a lot of great collaborations with your camera men as well as your Cinematographer, almost like Christopher Nolan with Wally Pfister and their collaborations with The Dark Knight Trilogy, the Prestige and Inception. Granted this was both Mendes and Deakins first ever Bond film, but in all honesty that really didn't stop them from creating one of the best Bond films out there, because the way those two were able to create great shots and actions sequences where a stuff of legend from the great long camera still of Javier Bardem's opening monologues to the great final action sequence that felt like a dramatic painting coming to life. Now to all of those out there that are hardcore Bond fans, I will happily challenge any of you and prove to you that Daniel Craig's Bond films from Casino Royale to No Time to Die are better than any of the past Bond films and why Daniel Craig is better than its predecessors, now for concluding with Skyfall to me it's a tie with both Casino Royale and Skyfall as the best of Daniel Craig's run as 007, and the rest can share the second, third and fourth. Now, if you are ever wanting to be adventurous or not a Bond fan, I would highly recommend watching Daniel Craig's run as Agent 007 and just avoid watching the past predecessors, because now after watching Craig's final ride I have to say that I can't watch any of the future films or follow their successors.

        

                                       

The Menu

 

                                One of the rare few times I ever get to see a movie where I know this was going to be an amazing ride, I mean sure Top Gun: Maverick was a fun ride too, but in all honesty, I did not expect it to be good as it was. But the Menu had me intrigued from the first time I saw the trailer and I began to play a game with myself in predicting of what this film would be and, in all honesty, I never thought nor never predicted what the film would truly be, and I believe it to be the best movie of 2022. Now before I go any further I'd like to take a moment to express one little flaw about AMC theaters, sure the concessions are great in all, but holy crap if you're nearby movie theater is a an AMC theater, please take your time in not arriving when the movie starts because in all honesty they don't start when they're supposed to first you have this bizarre promotions of God knows what, then you have trailers that I have no interest in watching and I honestly don't know if your wanting to watch previews to movies in which I have no interest in watching, hell I even thought I was watching ten trailer all together moreover had to look at my Fitbit because I was so bored and wondering how much of my life was gone from sitting through previews I have no interest in seeing. So, what I am trying to say to you all is basically this do not rush to the movie theater right away if you want to see movie previews there is no crime in arriving on time.

                                A movie that depicts the foreseeable future in which Gordon Ramsey will go completely insane and build a restaurant on an island. Then proceeds to kill all his customers and eats them. Or does he?

                                 Okay, all jokes a side I have to say that this was one of the most unique and ingenious films I have ever seen. The thing I have always said when it comes to suspense or horror combined is that they must be things that scare us the most like and Alien infecting the space station or a dead child molester who comes into teenager's dreams or a par of psycho's stalking people and forcing them to play movie trivia. And what you have with this movie is a High End or Iron Chef whose all about perfection when it comes to his food or treats it like its religion but also tells a story through the course of the movie which are components about his life but then you get to see a more bizarre turn and then turns more darker but with a touch of comedy that goes along with it. Another great example is the 2019 hidden gem Ready or Not, where you find out your new in laws are a satanic cult and are rich moreover are hunting you in order to perform a sacrifice, for which also has some great comedic value to it. A fun fact I found about the movie is that one of the writers of the films Will Tracey dined at Cornelius Sjomatrestaurant during a honeymoon and later suggest a story to Seth Reiss inspired by the experience, so fellow upcoming writers who are wanting to write movies, pay attention to your life experiences because you never know what ideas may come up. I have to say, the fact that both Adam McKay and Will Ferrell produced the movie together is cool, I mean despite their lack of making good choices in their movies is cool that they find a film that can be potential is cool. Mark Mylod who has made a movie for Sacha Baron Cohen but made his mark in television does a fantastic job creating both a mystery aspect to the movie but also slowly does well with both horror and comedy fantastically almost like a dark Alfred Hitchcock movie. I am going to leave Ralph Fiennes for last because there is a lot of things, I have to give him praise for. I'm firstly going to start off with Nicholas Hoult who does a fantastic job playing the over the top tourist whose a really piece of s**t when you get to know him through the course of the film and then you slowly realize how big of a douche bag he really his when you find what his true purpose, I got to say that Hoult aka Beast does great work playing a turd that's only there as a foodie or tourist and doesn't care about anyone. I've always been a fan of Anya Taylor-Joy and I believe she is becoming a modern day horror heroine with movies like Split (which was Okay-ish), Last Night in Soho which is my favorite movie of hers and now this movie which she once again does a great job playing the heroine of the whole movie, I always through her movies viewed her as this mysterious and sexy woman almost reminiscing to like Marylin Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock or Jennifer Connelly in Dark City, and with this movie I like the fact that she does play this mysterious woman whom we don't know at first just that she maybe Hoult's girlfriend but when we get done through the first act we begin to understand who she is and what she does in order to survive. Ralph Fiennes is hands down the best part of the whole movie him and Anya Taylor-Joy too as well as Nicholas Hoult, but Ralph Fiennes does a fantastic job playing this madman chef whose lost his feel of food and proceeds to take revenge on the world and cares more about food then human beings, which is why I basically viewed this as a real life Gordan Ramsey going psycho. I would love to go on and on about how great this movie was and how surprised I was about how this movie went down, but I do not want to spoil this movie for everyone because I want them all to see this great movie of 2022, the fact that it is a different kind of horror gave me the reason to go see the movie all together. I doubt that the movie is still in theaters or not so if it is at your local movie theater, I would highly recommend finding a babysitter and go see this great film from start to finish.