Good Will Hunting

 

                                     Well since we are near the end of March, I figured I present at least one Irish themed film maybe? Continuing my journey to expand my movie watching craze of finding films I have never seen, I decided to watch the very movie that made Matt Damon and Ben Affleck household names but most importantly gave the Late great Robin Williams his Oscar Performance of a lifetime. Good Will Hunting was defiantly one of those films that's strangely been on my radar though I never got around to watching it. And of course, you can give me a lip in not seeing this great film, but I'll still give you the answer of I just never got around in seeing it, though it has been on my radar for a while I have to say it was worth seeing from start to finish. 

                                     Will Hunting (Matt Damon) has a Genius I.Q. level but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams).

                                     I have to say while watching the movie I noticed a ton of Dunkin Donuts placement coffee's throughout the entire movie and me after watching the amazing Dunkin commercial this year with Affleck, Damon and JLO I was like "OMG it's all merging in the Boston metauniverse", but then I looked up the origins of Dunkin Donuts and noticed that the organization was founded in Massachusetts, so at least that makes sense. Matt Damon started developing the script for Good Will Hunting, as a final assignment for a playwriting class he was taking at Harvard University. Later Damon asked his BFF Affleck to develop the screenplay together and the two men finished the script right around 1994 (the same time Kevin Smith released Clerks), at first, it was written as a thriller about a young man in the rough-and -tumble streets of South Boston who possesses a superior intelligence and is targeted by the government with heavy-handed recruitment. To make a long story short the script itself had to be treated by tons and tons of script doctors to make it better, nah just kidding it was actually Rob Reiner who told the boys to just think more about the relationship between the therapist and patient, moreover offered the services of William Goldman, although he denies it Goldman in his own joking words "I did not just doctor it. I wrote the whole thing from scratch", either way I'm just going to leave it at that. I strangely knew that this was going to be one of those movies that I needed to watch for many reasons. I just never got around to watching the movie through and after seeing what the movie is truly about, I figured now is the time to do so. And really this was a good movie from start to finish especially after watching some clips and seeing some YouTube analysis about the film moreover over would defiantly rank it up in the top ten feel good movies of all time and really what makes the film good are the story and Robin Williams. For starters the story is what kind of intrigued me about the movie especially when it's about a troubled genius who doesn't want anyone getting close and if so pushes them away before they push him away basically going through child abuse growing up and that's really the center of the movie where through the course of the movie you slowly understand Will Hunting as a character and the way Matt Damon is able to portray him is really great acting especially when he really know how to cry on screen, but what I like about the movie is that it shares one of those elements of having the doubts about leaving or starting a new life with someone because you know firsthand or in your own mind that it's not going to turn out well and as a viewer I kind of understand that aspect a little especially when it comes to this film. I don't think you can make this movie without the late great Robin Williams. I mean he really is the center of what makes this film great and is a perfect movie therapist than any other therapist though I can't name any so far. Furthermore, what I love about William’s performance is that he goes through a strain of his own and when he meets with Matt Damon's character, each of them slowly opens to one another and realize that they both share the same pain and by the end of the movie they try to do something new with their lives at least. A side from the fact that it's written by two BFF's who still are BFF's, this is defiantly a feel good movie I would most certainly feel the mood in wanting to watch over and over again with the great story and Robin Williams outstanding performance I would most certainly recommend watching Good Will Hunting from beginning to end, and gives you a sling of hope that may something good can come out of Boston, well except for the Red Sox's, still sore form 04 and 13. 

        

Easter Recommendations: The Chosen Seasons 3 & 4

 

                                     You remember the metaphor or saying where you read the book backwards you understand the ending more than the book itself or well, deep down I hope you’re getting what I'm trying to say. Either way that's kind of the way I approached season's four and three of the Greatest Christian show of all time The Chosen. It really started in a way I didn't want but I was glad, I was able to experience it because that some marketing genius brewing in creator Dallas Jenkins head that's amazing but most importantly something that I would never have thought up in a million years.

                                     Season's three and four of the Chosen starts off where everyone goes back to their normal day lives where Jesus meets the twelfth and final apposite in Judas moreover setting things right in Decapolis where 5,000 people meet to see Jesus. Although through the course of Season four things begin to change where doubt and time becomes a prime factor in Jesus's group, where we begin to realize that the Lord and Savior's time is soon coming to an end.

                                     So, this is kind of a funny story for which explains the metaphor or saying about reading a book from the end to the beginning. I was around February or probably the beginning of month, aka Ash Wednesday I just finished re-watching seasons one and two of the Chosen and I was just taking a tiny break from binge watching the show, and that was the time when season four of the Chosen was coming to theaters and my Mom was urging me to go see it to experience it in the movie theater and I told my Mom I still haven't seen seasons three yet I don't want any spoilers but my Mom urged me to go with her to see it in the theaters till I was like "okay mommy don't hurt me", that was a joke my Mom would never do that so hopefully my Mom gets a chuckle out of that. And I'm not complaining in watching seasons four first then three because in all honesty I was glad to experience the Chosen in the big screen because it's more of a good way to get out of the house and see something worth watching because let's be brutally honest when it comes to Hollywood there absolutely nothing worth watching in the theaters, sorry not sorry but it's the absolute truth. Moreover, props to Dallas Jenkins for introducing a show into the theaters because deep down each of the seasons are like in hour to maybe two hours film where you can watch and wait for the next episodes but also show a great success that even a show like the Chosen can most certainly be triumphant in movie theaters. For seasons three and four of the Chosen of course every actor from Johnathan Roumie to Elizabeth Tabish they all bring they're A game, even actors Shahar Isaac and Paras Patel who play Simon Peter and Matthew who each of them does superb job portraying there characters it's just outstanding how they were able to bring more struggle and pain when it comes to acting on screen and I would love to go on with telling you my favorite scenes that happen but I really don't want to spoil anything for you when it comes to watching the Chosen. Again there's nothing to say about the cast of course because really they all do such a great job, their roles just speak for itself and the actors I'd love to give a recognition in terms of outstanding performance in the season it would most certainly be Luke Dimyan who plays Judas for many reasons he plays an important role in the show but also is really the most hardest role to portray because with each season that passes his character slowly becomes more doubtful and it takes me back to when Judas first meets Jesus you kind of see that Jesus knows he plays an important role for which he will betray and his role is the most difficult to play and Dimyan does a great job in bringing the betrayer of Christ to life. Lara Silva who plays Simon Peter's wife Eden, steals the entire season three of the Chosen because she goes through a difficult and traumatic experience where there is no way to understand nor a way to even say of how her character felt and yet she stilled believed in Jesus's cause. Kirk B. R. Woller who plays one of the Roman soldier's Gaius, he does a fantastic job as well because his character goes on this journey where being a Roman is a way of life moreover caring for Matthew as well as being sort of a guide to him and through the course of seasons he sees what Jesus is doing in terms of Miracles, knows he's Roman but can't deny what he sees are the truth and Woller does a great job at that. Now, the only reason why I'm cutting my review short is because I really don't want to spoil any details about seasons three and four of the Chosen for many reasons I want you all to sit down and watch this masterpiece of Catholic scripture furthermore I've said it many times on, but the Chosen is a perfect Television show that gets good from every step of the way and when times feel bad and you as a Christian feels lost the Chosen is one of those shows that helps you lean back into God and that's what I love about the show moreover Angel Studio's is a great production company that does not let down when it comes to releasing great material. So, on this Easter Sunday, I hope you all take the time and begin to watch or rediscover the magic behind the Chosen.

                   

March Recommendation: A Man for all Seasons

 

                                  

                                  Well usually the season of Lent is during April, but since where technically in a sort of Leap Year the season of Lent starts in March. So, imagine again Valentine's Day being on Ash Wednesday, which to me seems funny because I never thought these two Holiday's would exist. Either way we're in the closing days of Lent also known as Holy Week, I'd finally unleash my Holy movie in the seasons of Lent. A Man for all Seasons is one of those films I remembered growing up remembered watching growing up and honestly, I don't know how it came up to me out of know where I think it was just one image that came up to me and I was surprised but also like I need to recommend this movie.

                                  When the highly respected British Statesman Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) refuses to pressure the Pope into annulling the marriage of King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) and his Spanish-born wife, More's clashes with the monarch increases in intensity. A devout Catholic, More stands by his religious principles and moves to leave the royal court. Unfortunately, the King and his loyalists aren't appeased by this, and press forward with grave charges of treason, further testing More's resolve.

                                   I've probably told this story many times over, though I don't remember the many times I talked about movies I remember growing up with most of the time. So, if you were a young kid growing up in central Nebraska whose parents I don't recall if they really wanted to spend the money to rent movies and decided to rent movies from the library that was my generation of movies, and granted I don't know if that's true nor care because really that's decades ago and it really doesn't matter. And so, renting movies from the public library was nothing normal from a kid growing up and watching movies in fact without the public library I wouldn't have been introduced to Star Wars Trilogy or any of the John Wayne films or not of been introduced to this exceptionally great film A Man for all Seasons. A Man for all Seasons was also one of those films that my childhood priest would talk about during church and said in his own words that it was one of his favorite movies of all time, and when I was a kid I always remembered the movie well because I have a strong memory of Robert Shaw screaming at the top of his lungs in his memorable scene with Sir Thomas More aka Paul Scofield. And interesting fact was that Scofield was not the first choice for Thomas More despite the fact that he portrayed the character on Stage for the stage adaption to A Man for all Seasons, for many reasons they didn't see him as a big enough name like Richard Burton or Laurence Olivier and in fact they we're offered for the role but both men turned down the part, but director Fred Zinnermann demanded that Paul Scofield will play Sir Thomas More and even when watch the movie alone, he was exceptionally great furthermore embodied him until the final frame, I mean he won an Oscar for his performance as Sir Thomas More, so when a director demands that the Stage actor should play the title role furthermore was born for the role, that's excellent instincts from a director who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Paul Scofield was excellent as More and he does a fantastic job having the audience root for a guy like him who possessed his principles upon his fellow colleagues, but Robert Shaw who plays King Henry VIII is just outstanding furthermore feel ashamed that he didn't get an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor and even though his screen time is short, Shaw's performance as King Henry was so great but most importantly so terrifying because event when he's yelling at More he looks like a man whose unchecked and capable of doing anything to get what he wants and Shaw so good at that type of character furthermore one of the most exceptional actors of the sixties and seventies and even though his time was cut short at the age of 51, he's still a legendary actor in my eyes. A Man for all Seasons is an exceptionally great film moreover in my list of 50 greatest films of all time, and to me is an important Christian film that needs to be an important film of always sticking to your principles and faith no matter who pressures you on what is really right for the good of your country but your faith as well and Sir Thomas More is a prime example of what it truly means to be a politician because he fought for what he believes is right even till his own death and sure things now have changed in the Church but what More was fighting for was beyond the country that he loved but most importantly his faith and his family and that's truly something I respect in, moreover Pope John Paul II declared him the patron Saint of statesman and politicians which says a lot about his character. So, for any young Catholic or Christian wanting to become a lawyer or politician I would highly recommend watch A Man for all Seasons, because it brings an important message about never allowing anyone to tell you how you should think and feel, especially in today's world.

       

                                              

Tekken 8

 

                                 

                                 So, in my usual sense of boredom I decided to expand my horizon's and after my review of my favorite B-movie film Tekken, along with famous actor Brian Cox giving me a full story of the Tekken universe I decided to take a leap of faith and purchase the latest Tekken game that just came out Tekken 8. To be truthfully honest I'm going through a strange phase in my life where I wanted to try something new and different and I guess with watching the Tekken movie again last year, I just decided to purchase the latest Tekken, mainly because I thought why not but most importantly, I have a sense of boredom and wanted to see if this game was worth the effort.  

                                 The premise of the game's story mode is just simply the final confrontation between a father and son who share the same Mr. Hyde. While one wants to dominate the whole of Earth as we know it while the other wants to break the shackles between father and son.

                                  Now granted I'm a full on Mortal Kombat junkie, and I played the old school Street Fighter for which I love because it reminds me growing up, played a little bit of DOA: Dead or Alive for which is literally on the meh side, moreover I played a little of the old school Tekken and wasn't all impressed but once I played Tekken 8 I somewhat felt intrigued of the game play through the course of the story mode. And granted I haven't played all the games to Tekken but with the help of the creators of the game and Brian Cox I really didn't need to play the predecessors, upon which helped a lot because once you play the story mode of Tekken you get a story recap from the previous games. For a Tekken newbie this was one of those games I'd admit I wished, I would have played more of these games but in my naïve state of mind I would never quite understand the whole concept, so either way I doesn't matter what matters is, is that I'm sold onto the Tekken universe no matter how weird or confusing it gets. A side from Brian Cox gave me a full premise of the story, but what really sold me into the game was its epic clash between father and son fights. It was like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars meets any Bruce Lee films. Strangely I've been quite familiar with the gameplay where you can move the characters around the arena unlike Mortal Kombat who use to use this concept back in the PlayStation 2 era and then went back to their 2D fighting format upon which I have no problem in terms of which I play fighting games on and I think with some of their new techniques they use in the game it really does branch out the different ways in how you want to get better at in terms of fighting games. I still love the 2010 Tekken film just because it has that B-movie cliché of trying to recreate Gladiator moreover is just entertainingly dumb as well, so now that I've played this game I do see why everyone loves the Tekken series and deep down I can say I would most certainly loving the world of Tekken, and really playing this how to make this into a better adaption in my head, I got to say I would transition it more into a TV series and just focus it solely on just the three characters of Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama and blend it mostly as an epic Bruce Lee or any Kung Fu film with a mixture of the Coen Brothers so you can still have weird comedic relief. As a stand-alone game, I would highly recommend playing Tekken 8, furthermore now that I've tried something different would I'd want to play the latest Street Fighter games? Short answer no, just because I grew up with the old school Street Fighter and prefer not to play those games.

     

                                      

                                   

                                   

The Gambler

 

                                        

                                This year I made it clear to myself that I intend to expand my horizon's watch movies that I haven't seen moreover just failed miserably at picking the time and the place to finally sit down and watch the film. Although there have been some trial and errors and real errors if you catch my meaning though it would be a long story to tell. But then I found a movie that's been in my radar for quite some time upon which stars James Caan himself just two years before he starred in the 1972, The Godfather. The Gambler tells the story about a man who gives you a clear reason to stop gambling in life, because when you owe a lot of money to the mob, bad things will happen but with Caan's case "meh I still got a chance."

                                 New York City's English Professor Axel Freed (James Caan) outwardly seems like an upstanding citizen. But privately Freed is in the clutches of a severe gambling addiction that threatens to destroy him. After a heavy loss betting on basketball, he relies on his mother to bail him out to the tune of 44,000 dollars. Unfazed, he continues to gamble recklessly, winning big at a casino, only to blow it all just as quickly. When his debts become more than he can handle, the loan sharks begin to circle.

                                 Although this was the first start of expanding my horizons this was no doubt a good start when it came to finding a great movie to watch, moreover this was worth watching from start to finish. This was one of those films that you feel story for the guy but through the course of the film just don't feel sorry for him especially when he doesn't learn a single good lesson from all of this, though strangely shows a darker side to gambling addiction and that it’s a real tough thing to overcome but only if you choose to continue with the addiction, which is an interesting thing to ask in terms of a discussion panel. I think the best way to describe the movie is Bradley Cooper's portrayal in Nightmare Alley where he just wants to go up to the top and then it just hits you like a ton of bricks and you can't climb out of it and the same goes with this movie where you feel like Caan's character will change but you cringe to the fact that he doesn't learn any lesson. James Caan himself said that The Gambler was one of his favorite films as well as performances and states "It's not easy to make people care about a guy who steals from his mother to pay gambling debts". Not to spoil much of the movie itself I will say that they remade this movie ten years ago staring of course Mark Wahlberg, and I knew I was not going to watch that film, so I decided to browse the plot on Wikipedia, and it was basically a man overcoming his addiction at the end. And really that's one of the main reasons why I like this film better because this has the bleak ending where you don't know what is going to happen to Caan's character at the end but is also shocked at how it ends for which really shows why this movie is a billion times better than Wahlberg's version of the Gambler even though I never seen the film nor have in interest in wanting to see it. So, no doubt I would highly recommend watching the film it has a great actor in James Caan moreover you get some surprising performances in Paul Sorvino and Burt Young, but really is a perfect movie about a man who slowly loses his humanity as well as the people close to him and that's what I love about the film.

         

Fargo (TV Series)

 

                                    Fargo had become a television show I watched back in 2023, where it was just one of those shows, I decided to take a leap of faith and decided to watch and I just couldn't stop watching, it became one of those unique shows that was well written but most importantly pay a great tribute to the Coen Brothers film Fargo. I first heard about the show but didn't show much interest into really wanting to watch the show and until fellow Cardinals and Blues fan Jon Hamm was being cast into season five, I was like well I have to watch this show though I was going to start from the beginning of the show I wasn't going to just pick a season and go from there no, I'm a man who starts from season one to whatever season that was released after that. 

                                     In this anthology series inspired by the 1996 film, each season follows a mostly new cast of characters who get involved with murder investigations in different Midwestern towns, with seemingly unrelated crimes sometimes being connected in some way.

                                     The talk of turning Fargo into a television series dates back prior to the film’s release. Right around 1997, a pilot was filmed from an intended television series based on the film. Set in Brainerd after the events of the original film. The pilot featured a lot of actors playing the same roles that were made famous by the actors in the original film. The pilot aired in 2003 but was later cancelled after that one episode. In 2012, it was announced that FX, along with the Coen Brothers as executive producers, was developing a new television series based on the film, furthermore it was later announced that adaption would be a ten-episode limited series and with the help of Noah Hawley this amazing well-crafted show became history in the making. Before I decided to watch the series, I begun to realize that each season has that anthology feel where you get introduced with different characters, and it became a unique way to watch a comedy/drama moreover you have great performances from actors like Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, along with Patrick Wilson, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons as well as surprising performances with newcomers Juno Temple and Jon Hamm. The interesting thing that makes the show great is that you have a different year in each season that involves a different set of crime as well as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And with Noah Hawley at the writing helm, he's able to dive deep into each character but more importantly gives them a different set of identity, and sure some of these characters were based on the original film and if you haven't seen the 96 film or seen the film, you'll be able to see the details in the show. The most important thing about the show in what makes it great is that you really have some of these great bad guys or people turning bad they do such a great job in terms of playing bad moreover understand their motives but through the course of each season you're at the point where you wished these characters got what they deserved well, except for Billy Bob Thornton. Another thing in what makes the show exceptionally great is that you have interesting themes involving each year as well as these issues along with it so each of the seasons you get a unique style of theme that you begin to like as well as root more for the characters by the end of the season a great example is season five where you have a battle of the sexes. The fun thing about the show itself is that each season you watch you can call it good by the end of it, even if you feel the need to proceed to the next season or if you didn't like one of the seasons you can always jump to the next season because you're not missing any important story line mainly because they begin with the setting and characters then end with the characters and though some characters make a recurring appearance but they really have nothing to do with the main story-line of the season. If you're a fan of the Coen Brothers work or a big fan of comedy/drama, film noir or any type of crime drama then I would highly recommend watching Fargo because this was defiantly a show I can point to and admit that this was my cocaine addiction.

        

                                       

40th Anniversary of Scarface

 

                                    EVERYBODY, SCARFACE IS 40 YEARS OLD! YEA? You know there are times when you watch so many movies or go back in time and watch some of these classic films and question whether these films still stand the test of time or not as good as I remember, and stepping back into the world of Scarface, it's really a complex question of "is this still entertaining or Al Pacino literally chewing the scenery entertaining or a huge bore, some of wanting to just skip to the entertaining parts". You may find this surprising; Scarface was indeed the first ever Al Pacino film I've seen when I was young and had only a few Dish on Demand movies I can watch that wasn't Starz or HBO. And strangely Scarface was one of those movies I found on Netflix and decided to take a leap of faith and watch a full two hours and fifty minutes of Scarface.

                                    After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana (Al Pacino) stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall. 

                                     I'll say again that yes, Scarface was in fact the first ever Al Pacino movie I've ever seen growing up and it was literally at the time when AMC wasn't what it was now, moreover I was able to watch movies in certain channels that my parents didn't block from our viewership like Starz or HBO, and Scarface was without a doubt in one of those channels like AMC or other certain channels that I can watch, though the thing about it is, movies like Scarface they we're able to cut out a huge chunk of the violence, nudity and profanity so everyone can watch and enjoy though we all know watching those kind of movies on TV, do suck the fun out of them but at the time that was how I was able to watch films like Scarface. The development of the film alone is a little on the interesting side of it moreover a bit convenient, Al Pacino saw the original 1932 version of Scarface while he was in LA at the time, then later called his manager, producer Martin Bergman, and informed him of his belief in the potential for a remake of that film. On the other hand of the development writer at the time Oliver Stone who was battling a cocaine addiction of his own ("whop there it is") didn't enjoy much of the original movie, stating in his own words about the concept of remaking Scarface in the same aspect, "I didn't want to do an Italian mafia movie...We'd had dozens of these things. But then Bergman came back to me and said, Sidney Lumet has a great idea-he wants to do it as a Marielito picture in Miami. I said, That interesting! Sidney's idea was a good one". Sorry not sorry if I spoiled the entire movie for you but in all honesty that's basically the entire movie in a nut shell when it comes to the movie, I mean sure I could of kept my mouth shut and not spoil it for you but it's really just the quick rise and fall of a Cuban gangster, who broke the one cardinal rule, for which is never get high or wasted on your own product, kids if you ever want to be a full-fledged gangster "never get high or wasted on your own product" it's so simple. Having gone back and watched the original Scarface, I kind of felt betrayed moreover disappointed because it feels like Oliver Stone just copied and pasted a lot of scenes from the original movie for which to me is just lazy and granted both movies are decades apart but to me who remembered watching the movie numerous times on TV and seeing both films it's a little disappointing for sure but then what can you do and it's not just Oliver Stone it's also Brian De Palma as well because even in the finale scene you can see the reminiscence of the original film for which deep down you can't really do anything about it, it is what it is. I will say the one critique I have with the movie is Al Pacino's Cuban accent and really I don't have a problem with his appearance he does look like a Cuban immigrant but is accent is just terrible like he's trying to act Cuban but it's a strange blend of maybe Cuban or a man whose gibbering so much you don't truly understand what he's talking about surprisingly out of all of the actors in the movie both Al Pacino and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio who are both Italian decent and there playing Cuban immigrants, though the only difference is Mastrantonio's accent was a trillion times better than Pacino's accent like hers she sounds like a Cuban but Pacino's, I don't know if Brian De Palma was trying constantly to tell him to improve is accent and maybe thirty or forty takes and De Palma was just in a f**k it mode and continued filming after that. The film alone is like two hours and fifty minutes long and for sure there times where you feel like it's turning into a snore fest but when the action kicks in, it really kicks it up a notch like the final confrontation and that was one of the many scenes that I'd turn back on and watch that sequence all the way through because it's one of those moments that's amazing especially watching it at a young age moreover you when you watch it now you can see Al's performance where you truly don't understand what he's say and the gibberish was at a nuclear height. The movie itself is an entertaining movie from start to finish and really was a movie that you'd never thought or needed to be made because this was made at a time during the 80's that the Miami Vice was becoming a fashion statement as well as cocaine traffic was becoming an all-time high in the 1980's Miami, almost like Casablanca addressing POW camps at the height of WWII. When it comes to an Al Pacino movie, you really must separate his filmography from chewing the scenery and not chewing the scenery and Scarface was defiantly one of those films that Pacino literally chews the scenery, and you may or may not see the chew marks. I would most certainly recommend watching Scarface from start to finish I mean it's one of those films that has that 80's vibe's but most importantly is one of those iconic films from the 80's that you can point to and say that movie was fun to watch although very long but once you get to the entertaining parts of the movie then you will most certainly be entertained by the end of the movie.