Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match

 

                                       

                                       Well, of course it's a movie night nothing in a sense wanting to watch then I found the latest Mortal Kombat Legends movie uploaded on Max. And so, I figured well might as well make the best of it since movies like these are free besides the subscription fee. Cage Match, takes a origin story of how Johnny Cage became Johnny Cage with a blend of Miami Vice but hey, it at least has Joel McHale voicing the title role right? I mean sure because I've always been a fan of his version of the Soup when it got canceled and always loved his performance in Community, and to tell you the truth there's a lot of things in the movie I didn't mind, but a lot of things that they could have done better.

                                       Action superstar Johnny Cage squares off against a sinister secret society that's plotting a nefarious scheme. However, the brutal fight against the bloodthirsty warriors of the Netherrealm is just the beginning.

                                       I've said it multiple times especially when I reviewed the first two Mortal Kombat Legends films, Cage being portrait as this dumb douche bag is overrated. And it's not to say that some of the stuff they did with the movie wasn't all bad like the entire film crew as demons isn't bad, it’s just Cage acting like a total schmuck just gets boring at times. And for sure Joel McHale does a great job with that hell, he proved that by playing a lawyer in Community but come one day we need some new refreshments when it comes to the character of Johnny Cage. Like, it was fine in the nineties and from games like Mortal Kombat X and eleven show him being more of a father as well with some sarcasm, but it’s like with this movie, the writers just got way too lazy with character development in terms of Johnny Cage and they just thought that oh Joel McHale will make this work but again it just feels so lame that you feel disgusted that this was turned into a cheap cartoon movie. Even the character of Ashrah voiced by Kelly Hu (who I had a crush via Scorpion King) but it's like her character was written on ChatGPT, which again it just seems so lazy because her character is a demon trying to be human, but every time she act's it's just way to lazy and you need to cringe and scream into a pillow. Some of the story elements that they do is not so bad but the fact that this is set in a 80's fantasy L.A. just makes no sense of how this can be a prequal to the first MK Legends film but yet they make this happened, and you're really expect me to believe this is just way to lazy and sad, maybe if this was set in an alternate universe I can believe it but again they don't explain it well enough. Deep down this was supposed to be direct to DVD and Blu-Ray movie but this was lazy writing from start to finish and if you're making a MK movie where it centers around Johnny Cage you have to make him like a Bill Murray character from films like Stripes and Ghostbusters just those moments where Cage is seeing a demon God for the first time and he has the light "well there's something you don't see every day". All and all a decent watch but not worth the time, and if you’re a die-hard Mortal Kombat fan like I am, I would highly suggest not buying the movie and watching it on Max so that way it makes you feel better that you're not spending your money on a cheap cartoon movie.

     

                                           

January Recommendation: 2nd Chance

 

                                 

                                      Well, I know we're not close to the Election of Grandpa's but for this first monthly recommendation of 2024, I figured I recommend something that I've heard via Red Letter Media. Though through the course of watching this documentary I began to see a different level behind this American Legend. 2nd Chance tells the story of one man who creates the first modernized Kevlar vest, who’s both a businessman a show man and a filmmaker whose films are popular to many police officers.

                                      Richard Davis started off as a pizza delivery man who had a tragic event that caused him to invent the very first bullet proof vest for which he's made millions of dollars off this unique style of promoting his product like literally shooting himself 192 times. But like every story of American inventors there's always that downfall and he really share the ups and down but really redeems himself through the course of his mistakes. 

                                       Now I've had troubles thinking about how to tell the story of second chance inventor Richard Davis, and to be truthful, his story is really one of the greatest American stories ever told, he's basically every one of us whether you're Republican, Democratic, Liberal or Conservative, hell even a Bostonian fan or a Cubs fan, we're basically this guy inside of us and you can deny it all you'd like but when you watch this great documentary you'll begin to see this guy is really us. And really after watching Red Letter Media I've thought that they may have made up his story because they thought John Williams (movie composer) was in a terrible movie in 2002. But having watched some stuff on YouTube about Richard Davis I began to understand that this guy’s story is really the real deal, especially shooting himself to let his investors know his product is the real deal, I mean this guy has the biggest balls out there to even attempt it. Really, the crazy thing is that the soft body armor has never been invented from the forties and fifties which is crazy because with the events of World War II and the Korean War we would have had more lives saved so, Davis really was a man who knew this concept needed to be developed. Though yeah Davis had some massive ups and downs in his life like having to deal with father who had PTSD from the second world war, and he even continued to shoot his son numerous times while wearing his Kevlar vest, but deep down I begin to respect Richard Davis even more when he reinvented his company and begin to have a great and strong relationship with is son. Watching 2nd Chance was defiantly one of those Documentary films that I never expected from start to finish it has that unique and great and shocking ending that just leaves you shocked and awed in between scenes that can make laugh a little bit but also realize oh wow this guy really did that, better American story than Jordan Belfort aka Wolf of Wall Street. Like I said this man is basically every one of us even if you’re a Republican or Democratic or even a Hippie who doesn't believe in violence like Bill Walton. So, with if you're feeling the crave for a great American story of growing up nothing to a truce successor in the end, 2nd Chance is defiantly one of those Documentary's worth the watch, and if I had to give an award of the most interesting man on the planet Richard Davis would most certainly be given that award.

   

                                      

Star Wars: Ahsoka

 

                   Of course, during the time I've been playing Star Wars: Jedi Survivor got mostly 43 hours in according to my PS app. But then I was kind of wanting more Star Wars because I was feeling the mood for it, and to be fair I'm pacing myself when it comes to Star Wars the Clone Wars, so I decided well what the hell. Let’s give Ahsoka TV series a shot. And honestly, it's not at all bad moreover am wanting season 2 of Ahsoka RIGHT NOW. 

                   Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), the former Jedi apprentice of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) during the Clone Wars, seeks to prevent the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn following the fall of the Empire.

                    Now having seen The Clone Wars film as well as the TV series well going into the fourth season right now, as well as The Mandalorian. I've now come to accept moreover appreciate and trust more of Dave Filoni running Star Wars than Kathleen Kennedy for which really is a simple no brainer because it's like trusting your life with Jesus or Satan. And going back to like 2008, when I heard there making a Star Wars Clone Wars movie for which has nothing to do with George Lucas films in my point of view, but through time watching the first Clone Wars film as well as continuing on with the series I've come to learn and appreciate more of Dave Filoni's work on Star Wars as well as creating this iconic character Ahsoka Tano though with the help of George Lucas himself. But more importantly Dave Filoni is the only man out there that understands the Star Wars Prequals much more than any of us fans can understand and when a guy understands the true genius behind the Star Wars Prequals deserves to oversee the Star Wars Universe so, really George Lucas choose wisely to be his apprentice. The other thing in what makes the show great is the fact that I didn't need to see Star Wars Rebels in order to understand the characters that were presented to me, and to be truthful I've seen bits and pieces of the show, but with Dave Filoni's writing and story telling that was pretty much all I needed to understand the character viewpoints and their motives after the events of Rebels. Rosario Dawson proves even after her appearances in The Mandalorian and Boba Fett that she was the right woman to play Ahsoka Tano, I mean the amount of commitment that she does for the beloved character is impressive from start to finish from her appearance to even her fighting style is simply outstanding from beginning of episode one to the final episode of the first season. Even Dawson's co-stars, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Natasha Liu Bordizzo do great jobs helping the show be a success as it is, I mean Mary Elizabeth Winstead is married to Obi-Wan Kenobi so she's got the pointers if you know what I mean, and Bordizzo who plays Tano's apprentice does a great job balancing out the bitterness she has for her old master as well as needing to help when it matters. Though each actor do such a great job it's really Hayden Christensen who does an exceptional job reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker, who granted is only in a few scenes but really does a tremendous job in guiding Dawson's character in what she must do on her journey, and what makes the show great is that we get to seen Christensen in the Clone Wars outfit he wore interacting with young Ahsoka Tano through the course of memory sequences which really completes the entire timeline of Attack of the Clones to Clone Wars and finally Revenge of the Sith for which really when you watch the prequals and the show alone you see both Anakin Skywalker and Hayden Christensen becoming one. Having watched all this season I really hope that we get a new season of Ahsoka despite that the show does without a doubt leave a lot of questions in the air so having been impressed with the show's vision as even the direction that Filoni set forward, I hope we get another season quick as possible. So, to all Star Wars fans out there I would most certainly check out the series Ahsoka even having a little nostalgia with the return of Hayden Christensen who’s truly making a comeback as Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader moreover I also hope he gets more work in movies or shows even if he doesn't want too.

   

                    

Club Paradise

 

                                      My Mom was recently listening to a book about legendary writer Harold Ramis written by his daughter Violet Ramis-Stiel, and again this was during my Christmas break where I wasn't going to watch a whole lot of movies, but then my Mom suddenly texted me one of Ramis films he made called Club Paradise, and this was one of those films that he made after the success of Ghostbusters so in my usual boredom I decided to watch the film that's on Tubi aka the cheap Netflix streaming service. And honestly, it's having the flair of a Ramis comedy but somewhat falls flat with so many unconnected jokes, and roles that were obviously not written for the actors but will get to that later let’s talk about the film Ramis made that somewhat didn't need to be made or just failed because of drug use.

                                      Jack Moniker (Robin Williams) is a retired firefighter who teams up with reggae singer Ernest Reed (Jimmy Cliff) to open a tropical island resort. In addition to local eccentrics such as British lay about Anthony Cloyden Hayes (Peter O'Toole), Jack and Ernest are joined by tourists eager to stay at their resort, including the goofy, party-seeking duo of Barry (Eugene Levy) and Barry (Rick Moranis).

                                      Now, I don't think that this is the worst thing I've ever seen, and I can say that because a lot of those films I can look at and despise them so much that it causes me severe mental problems. I will confirm that yes the film is bad but it's kind of a mesmerizing bad in which I tried and figure out how and why this film was made in the first place, and the more logic answer was that Harold probably needed the money and judging that L.A. back in the mid to late eighties with paying bills and more importantly paying off your weed dealer so, really that sounds like a logical explanation though I'm just assuming that happened I don't have a ton of proof if that's the real reason and I never claim myself to always be right. The main problem I have with the film is that this does follow a traditional Harold Ramis film or movie he stars in, though its kind a follow like a sort of Saturday Night Live skit shows and the main storyline is just lost in the mist. And really the role of Robin Williams part was intended to be Bill Murray in the starring role but unfortunately, he turned down the role and that's how Robin Williams got the part, moreover Williams wasn't all bad it just, wasn't made for him and Ramis later said "We thought Club Paradise had a good chance at the box office. But we were the fourth Caribbean comedy out that year (1986), and none of them did any business. The casting ended up being dramatically opposed to what was intended. It was intended for Bill Murray and John Cleese, with Bill as the laid-back-guy and Cleese as the over-the-top guy, and we ended up with Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole, with O'Toole as the laid-back-guy and Robin the over-the-top guy. The polarities shifted, and it was not as interesting or as solid as it might have been if Bill and Cleese were there". And the big question is couldn't Ramis just re-write the script for both Williams and O'Toole to fit their personality? Deep down I guess will never know because even going back to this movie just hurts my brain. Not to be mean for many reasons it's not hard to watch as the original Vacation, but deep down this film does belong in the Tubi streaming service, furthermore now that I finished this movie it's probably safe to say that I actually have no intentions to re-watch the film again although the film alone is fascinating to watch and try to piece the film together in terms of how you can do this better. As a fan of Harold Ramis work, I would say yes watch this movie if you love his work as well, but then you'll probably regret it later. 

           

50th Anniversary of Live and Let Die

 

                              Well everyone it's the month of a new year and to be truthfully honest, this was really one of the most lazy and yet hard thing to look for when it comes to watching a movie well finding that one movie to watch to start off the new year, and to be truthfully it had a lot to do with post-Christmas break then suffering from a bad case of the cold furthermore being just lazy it terms of looking for the right movie to watch, to start off the new year of 2024. And to be honest it took a lot of trial and error to find that right movie to talk about more like having that conversational movie review I can talk to you all with and thankfully for Max, Roger Moore's feature debut as James Bond appeared on my phone and it's been quite a long time since I've watched any of Roger Moore's run as 007, so Live and Let Die became one of the greatest choices I've made in a quite a long time, also it's fifty years old so I have to watch it right?

                              When Bond (Roger Moore) investigates the murders of three fellow agents, he finds himself a target, evading vicious assassins as he closes in on powerful Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Known on the streets as Mr. Big, Kananga is coordinating a global threat, using tons of self-produced heroin. As Bond tries to unravel the mastermind's plan, he meets Solitaire (very, very YOUNG Jane Seymour), a beautiful tarot-card reader, whose magic is crucial to the crime lord.

                              After watching Live and Let Die I've come to the realization that Roger Moore was really my first introduction of James Bond, sure I was a nineties kid and Pierce Brosnan was the 007 of the nineties but at that time my parents wouldn't let me watch those for obvious reasons the expansive sexual content, and if you were my age you'd grew up with cable programs like TNT and they had a good chunk of Roger Moore's films and my Dad would just be watching them like nobody's business and back then in the seventies nudity or sexual content wasn't that bad compared to the nineties which is an understatement since Moore is the oldest to ever play 007. Speaking of Roger Moore yes, the man was 46 years old when he first played Bond and I believe they didn't do a whole lot of sex scenes in his run though again I'm just eye balling this belief, a lot of those sex scenes had to be more shot in the sense of after the intercourse not during or beginning the intercourse because when you’re dealing with actresses like a very, very young Jane Seymour, yeah that would be really, really weird since she was twenty-two at that time when she filmed Live and Let Die. Speaking of Jane Seymour in my childhood years my mom and my sister were obsessive over Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman, and I've seen Live and Let Die a few times and it's still surprising how young that woman was back then I mean she's a cougar now but, in this movie, she was still gorgeous than ever before. Now getting back to the love scenes the fact that yeah from gentle hugs to embracing after love making that's really all those women would do and sure Moore doesn't look that old in the movie but when he says he's 46 to a beautiful young women like Jane Seymour yeah that gets really, really weird upon which I would most certainly be negotiating on what I'm going to show and really I don't know if it was the producers or director Guy Hamilton decision to not make it that weird especially when Man with the Golden Gun was Hamilton's final Bond film. I've said it before that I always kind of looked at Moore's run as 007, as the Adam West of James Bond like when it comes to his films you can always know from a fact that Moore's Bond is going to win in the end, and Moore always had the cringe-st one liners ever, and now having watched his first film I tend to wonder was this the kind of action that the producers at MGM were kind of wanting for the Bond films? Or when the Batman TV series in the mid-sixties was becoming this big trend Bond producers at MGM were wanting this to be that kind of action after watching some of those episodes because if you look at Connery's run the action was much different between 62-65 well sort of, (hence helmet and jetpack coming out of his a**) and then when the seventies came around I sometimes think that the filmmakers saw episodes of Batman and were inspired from those action sequences because some of those sequences like the final fight where the entire set is made of cardboard is just hilarious to see and another personal favorite is when Bond is escaping in a broken airplane and cars continue to crash into actual cardboard airplane's for which I really believe they used tons and tons of cardboard to build some of these sets because that was obviously the most easy thing to break by hand or demolish and finally when Bond is gliding over Mr. Big's hideout it would most certainly be a Batman type filming you'd see on the sixties show of Batman, and honestly I can't answer it because there's a lot of theory's or questions that are left unanswered but are really good discussions to talk about to all Bond fans out there. I will say that, what really makes the movie for me is the some of the what I like to call the white jokes for which I didn't expect hearing nor didn't think that would even be possible to have in a PG rated movie which is my personal yet greatest line ever "Hey man, for 20 bucks I'll take you to a Ku Klux Klan cookout" and I swear when I heard that line I was just flat out laughing because it was funny moreover didn't expect furthermore am a sucker for white jokes, even though when Bond is in Harlem, New York he stumbles upon an all-black night club which is also unintentionally funny because Bond is not doing the best of job blending in since he's the only white man in the club and everyone is looking at him as either a agent or a cop, for which just those little things alone makes the movie entertaining to watch. Now having watched Live and Let Die, I do need to reexamine Roger Moore's run as 007 because yes his films were cliche of course with cringe worthy lines but really if you have a bulls**t detector and a knowledge of watching so many action films from old to new, Live and Let Die is definitely one of those films that's like a fine wine, moreover a good refresher when you're having a hard time finding that one film to start off the new year and Live and Let Die I would highly recommend watching for those who crave movies that are entertainingly bad and yet good as well.