Courage Under Fire

 

                                        I just want to state that this was long before watching the original Dune more like pre-Memorial Day before I sat down and watched one of the most obnoxiously bad films of David Lynch's. It was really a typical weekend waiting for the Cardinals to play Baseball and my mom decided to put Courage Under Fire on Hulu. Strangely enough I've seen bits and pieces of the movie a long time ago but there were only scenes of Meg Ryan pointing a gun at young Matt Damon and Lou Diamond Phillips and I was hooked onto this movie so much I forgot the Cardinals we're playing. So, as faith would happen, I decided to sit down and watch Courage Under Fire, and honestly, it's been so long since I've seen ANY Meg Ryan movie.

                                        During the 1991 Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) accidentally caused a friendly fire incident, a mistake that has been hushed up by his superiors. Following the war, he is assigned to investigate the case of Army Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), killed in action when her Medevac unit was attempting to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. But Serling interviews the members of Walden's crew, he realizes their stories about the incident don't add up.

                                        Historical fact there actually was a woman honored with the Medal of Honor, Civil War Physician Mary Edwards Walker, though not for valor in combat her award was later revoked in 1917 but then restored around 1977 so, typical America when you think about it. I do remember seeing bits and pieces of the movie though I remember seeing Meg Ryan being betrayed to a surprise visit of Matt Damon though still been quite a long time watching the film until now and yet still surprised to see Rudy aka Sean Astin in the movie it's more like first ten minutes of the film. Edward Zwick, director of the film has done a ton of films mostly epic historical dramas from movies I've probably seen in like the fifth grade or even the movie theaters and movies I've surprisingly remembered watching via renting the movie. Those films are his iconic Civil War film Glory, The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise as an American Samurai and the shocking moreover surprised film I didn't expect he made was the Siege starring Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis and more importantly was Zwick’s next movie after Courage Under Fire. And finally, Blood Diamond in 2006 so, really Zwick is one of those directors that you've probably seen in your lifetime though just don't remember the number of movies he's done and yet keeps a low profile after the film's release. As great as this movie is with not question Zwick's direction of the film basically centering it around a broken-down Colonel whose going through a lot after his time in the Gulf War, and investigating the story of Meg Ryan's character is his chance of redemption for which Edward Zwick does great job telling a story like that with the central character is played by Denzel Washington. I'm not going into much detail of how great Denzel is in the movie because everyone who’s seen a Denzel Washington film would know that he's a master actor. And the same goes with Roger Deakins because I've already stated before in many of the films, he's collaborated with famous directors he's another master of perfecting the perfect scene or imagery. But Meg Ryan really does a fantastic job playing a character who is told by different perspectives and does a great job playing with her emotions and I've never seen a good portion of Meg Ryan's work but this movie she does a fantastic job with this film and like I said before it's been a while since I've seen ANY Meg Ryan film literally You Got Mail? Eh, Sleepless in Seattle? Meh, When Harry met Sally? Uh well I'm not going to talk much about City of Angels. I do have to admit while watching Courage Under Fire, the film reminded me of another War based mystery Basic which came out in 2003 furthermore that film also has the same concept of both characters telling the same story but each of them don't add up, for which I'm kind of curious if the writer actually stole that idea from Courage Under Fire, unfortunately I don't know if it's true or not I may have to go and do some research as every serial would say "To Be Continued". Even though we're long passed Memorial Day I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves epic War Drama's and if you're a fan of Denzel Washington this would most certainly be the movie for you, but most importantly I hope you all get into films that Edward Zwick has made through the years especially one I've mentioned in this review. 

            

Dune (1984)

 

                                         Well, like most Science Fictions epics go, they all must come to an end sometimes. As for Dune sakes this was one of those times where I'm personally glad to be taking a break from a so called Sci-Fi epic that's so complicated to understand moreover so bizarre that even I still don't quite understand it myself, and granted I've never read the book of Dune but for a man whose seen close to two thousand movies from greatest's to B-Movie pleasures to the absolute worst, I'm sorry but there comes a point to where even myself can make a movie better and yet don't want to because of how weird this is. So, as you all can tell I finished watching David Lynch's Dune for a million reasons one of them consists of never seeing it and wanted to see how it compares to Denis Villeneuve's version and deep down this movie alone makes Dune Part One look like an epic classic.

                                          Just take the first two Dune films from Denis Villeneuve and combine it with this movie and you'll find what maybe the worst way to make a movie in the 80's especially when there is technology where you can most certainly do but you really can't because of how bad it looks on Screen. And I've may have said before about cutting this film down but then it just makes it much worse. 

                                          Sorry not sorry in terms of wanting to tell you about the plot behind the 1984 Dune, but after watching this obnoxiously bad movie for which of course is directed by the ever-crazy David Lynch. Now having watched David Lynch's version of Dune I can honestly say that Denis Villeneuve's version of Dune is ten billion times better than David Lynch's version despite the fact that's really an understatement for many reasons it's like comparing the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe film in 2005 to other adaptions that we're made in England. Originally David Lynch was tasked with directing Return of the Jedi before Dune and having heard of that fact I'm supper glad Lynch turned it down or Lucas secretly just told him how weird of a f**ker he is, and so he went on to direct Dune. Books being adapted into films have always been a thing to make more movies as well as making big bucks upon which Ian Fleming's work of James Bond became a huge success Jules Verne's work has been a success though I having seen any of them so I can't back that fact, but there is J.R.R Tolkien Lord of the Rings and Hobbit becoming a huge success as well as Tom Clancy's book and really what makes these books have in common is that they we're made at the time when the technology was there and they were approachable to become successful films. Dune was published around 1965 and this was adapted around 1984 which sure the technology was there but it wasn't fully complete and the thing that makes this movie bad is that the technology wasn't ready for Dune and to be honest I don't know who did the visual effects moreover I don't want to waste my time finding out who they we're but whoever did them was just God awful, and either way if you can't get the effects right you can always rewrite the script and change some details that can stay true to the book, because when your characters have protective shields that look like you’re a huge rectangle it doesn't look good for producers who are financing the film hell even the author himself though I'm not sure if Herbert survived the 80's or died from watching Lynch's film. Even cramming the whole book into a two hour and sixteen-minute film was just so bad because there were so many time montages where suddenly Patrick Stewart and Kyle MacLachian reunite after the purge, and it just looked way too strange. Now, whoever decided to add voice monologue where everyone is talking to themselves should be executed on the spot because just hearing everyone talking to themselves in their own mind just makes me annoyed and want to smash my own TV, hell even everyone talking to themselves sealed the deal in terms of me hating this movie so much furthermore having a mental break down. I'm just going to say this and make it very clear by telling you all not to watch David Lynch's Dune as the film is 40 years old and moreover as aged as bad cheese or terrible wine. Having watched both versions of Dune I'm so glad to be done with Dune because the story just makes no sense to me, and I just can't see where Villeneuve can go in terms of a final chapter just the whole concept of Dune gets so obnoxiously complicated where I doubt anyone can get the story. Though I'm planning to listen to the book on Audible sometime just not right away because I need some space, I'll I can say deep down from the bottom of my heart is really if you feel the need to expand your horizon's in terms of your movie watching, really just sit down and watch Dune Part Two, it tells you the story from the second movie you'll for sure be caught up with what happened and everything happens as every Science Fiction, Epic should and it's a visually stunning movie. One last thing if you ever feel like wanting to watch a David Lynch film, think twice on your decision because you'll regret watching his work for the rest of your life.

        

May Recommendation: Lawrence of Arabia

 

                                    In my Monthly Recommendation for the month of May, I decided to find a movie that I've never seen in my 37 years and really of all movies that never crossed my mind in wanting to watch was Peter O'Toole's breakout performance Lawrence of Arabia. The movie itself was always on my radar for quite some time. It’s been that one movie I need to see, but just haven't got around to it. A great example of this movie being on my radar was I spot a movie trailer to the movie on YouTube. And it really wasn't a classic trailer that you would usually see, it was one of those trailers where in expert can combine a music of another movie which was the 1917 so, basically combined the trailer of Lawrence of Arabia to the music trailer of 1917 and I watched the trailer so many times to the point where I need to see this epic film, and as luck would with my quest for films to step out of my comfort zone, I decided to sit down and watched that one four hour long movie that's a billion times better than Gone with the Wind. 

                                   Due to his knowledge of the native Bedouin tribes, British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal (Sir Alec Guinness) and serve as liaison between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. With the aid of native Sheriff Ali (Omar Sharif), Lawrence rebels against the orders of his superior officer and strikes out on a daring camel journey across the harsh desert to attack a well-guarded Turkish port. 

                                    After seeing 1917, back in the theaters I always thought that was hands down one of the best World War I movies I've ever seen, and that's because I never sat down and watched Lawrence of Arabia all the way through. And the interesting factor is with both films is after watching Lawrence of Arabia, is that they are equal par to each other moreover each film presents the most violent aspects of World War I, from the trenches of France to even the deserts of Arabia and wow they each present all the violent aspects of the Great War where it wasn't a pleasant thing to see even on opposite sides of the battle grounds. The story of T.E. Lawrence was mentioned as a movie idea through the 1940's unfortunately it wasn't coming into motion the until the early 1960's, almost like James Cameron coming up with the idea for Avatar in the early nineties where even he was doubting the technology until he saw the sequel to the Lord of the Rings, he felt it was time. Really the greatest two men who made this film one of the greatest of all time is the director Sir David Leon and Peter O'Toole who delivered an outstanding performance of a lifetime. David Leon surprisingly has a great rep of movies starting with The Bridge on the River Kwai upon which really I do need to see that movie because Sir Alec Guinness was in that movie with William Holden, the other movie was of course Lawrence of Arabia and surprisingly Doctor Zhivago which to me I was surprised mainly because my Dad throughout my childhood would always say Doctor Chicago and as a kid I never understood until I knew it was a movie then until I looked up Leon's filmography and saw Doctor Zhivago. David Leon before making Lawrence of Arabia watched John Ford's classic The Searchers to gain some ideas of how to the shoot the movie and really that was a wise decision any director would make especially when this entire film was going to be shot in the outside of the dessert, and really shows how great of a filmmaker David Leon is especially when it comes to creating a war movie in an epic scale especially filming so many battle sequences as well as developing great chemistry with actor Peter O'Toole. His performance as T.E. Lawrence was proof alone that this was O'Toole's iconic performance of a lifetime and I'm not going to say so much bad things about the man after watching this film despite the last film I saw of him was Club Paradise which I again I'm just going to leave it at that. The beauty of O'Toole's performance was that through the course of the movie he shows his true emotions through the screen as Lawrence moreover really takes you on a journey of seeing Lawrence at the beginning of the movie being this wide eyed scholar of a lieutenant to a colonel who has accomplished everything furthermore became a symbol for the Americans to help with war, but felt that he didn't accomplished all he could do. The fascinating thing was that Peter O'Toole at the time was an unknown and the way he was able to portray Lawrence was so incredible that you feel for him because he's a man of honor but through the course of the movie just see's things and does things that I would imagine he regretted for the rest of his life, and he really shows so much emotion through a four hour film that it was so powering that I kind of wished he'd won in Oscar for his performance unfortunately he got beat out by Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird which that was fine because if he got beat out by somebody else I would of started a riot. And really Peter O’Toole had a lot of back up in making this film epic, with great actors from Sir Alec Guinness whose great films included the Star Wars Trilogy, River Kwai I mean you don’t need a whole lot of films to describe Sir Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif who plays O’Toole’s aid and loyal and Claude Rains infamous with such great films like The Adventures of Robin Hood, collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock in Notorious and his most infamous supporting role in Casablanca. Now, I will argue for the rest of my life and say that Lawrence of Arabia was a billion times better than Gone with the Wind because one, everything happens in Arabia furthermore it puts you on the edge of your seat and you have a great actor at the time making you feel for him in uniting Arabian tribes and struggling along the way while Gone with the Wind is all about a spoiled brat who does nothing but bicker and complain about not wanting the man she wanted and I can say that because I sat down watched Gone with the Wind just hating every minute of Miss Scarlet and two hours and forty-one minutes I couldn't take it anymore while Lawrence of Arabia you have something going on throughout the movie and keep wanting to watch more of O'Toole's performance till the very end of the movie, in fact if I was Lawrence trying to settle a piece between the Arab tribes by executing someone and it was Miss. Scarlet I wouldn’t hesitated and shot her so many times till I asked for more bullets and letting the head Tribesman pull me back and counsel me that she’s already dead upon replying that she deserved much worse sorry not sorry. Lawrence of Arabia to me, watching it for the first time was without a doubt one of the greatest films of all time furthermore is even par with 1917 as one of the best movies about World War I and so, I would most certainly recommend watching this film from start to finish but, I'm going to give you so advice to those who haven't seen a four hour long movie. And that's drinking a lot of caffeine and taking a lot of five-minute breaks so you can get your blood flowing if you want to stop drinking caffeine and use those two tips to the best to your advantage and you will succeed just like Lawrence of Arabia.

         

                                     

Dune: Part Two

 

                                     

                                   Well, the sort of sequel to the first Dune movie has been unleashed on Max and given the fact that I already seen the first film I figured well, I might as well continue this journey. Again, watching the Dune films by Denis Villeneuve is a getting out of my comfort zone, for which really it was a must do type thing as a movie watcher I have to personally find those types of films to expand my horizons on. I will say that there is one thing about this movie that's not right here and this film being Dune: Part Two and really should be call just Dune and the other Dune film being called Dune: Bore but then no one would quite understand it but then again I watched the film a month before so deep down with the film’s release I can now withhold my grudge of the first films boredom but then again that's just another story of emotion.

                                   Paul Atreides (Timothee Charlamet) unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while seeking revenge against his conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

                                   Now, I'm sure you've read my review of the first Dune movie upon which I made some criticism about the movie being boring for which really it was I'm not going to lie though I'm not say the movie was all bad that's not what I'm saying, mainly the first film alone was a visual stunning movie moreover has an incredible music score by the ever talented Academy Award Winner, Hans Zimmer. With all those good qualities aside, the story itself was still boring moreover didn't feel like some of the scenes didn't need to be inquired from the book and into the movie. And there are so many ways you can cut this book in half and make this a movie to be seen, but then again both films are now out for streaming so if you see it or not it really doesn't make much difference when you watch both movies together. Sitting down and watching the second film, I will say one actor stood out the most in this whole movie was Austin Butler's portrayal of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, and really his menacing presence on screen was great to see especially because it reminded me a lot of Ray Park's portrayal of Darth Maul and strangely enough each characters have a sixteen minutes of screen time and they both show how great of antagonists they can show on screen. Moreover the other thing on what made Butler's portrayal iconic was that he took his character serious and I really loved the scene between him and Stellan Skarsgard and it like a great scene between two great character actors furthermore was mesmerizing to see and can't stop watching these great actors perform, even though I haven't seen Elvis I truly believe Austin Butler is a great character actor and hopefully he does great work in future's to come. A side from the fact that nothing truly happens in the first film, suddenly when I watch the second movie everything is happening, and it doesn't feel like you’re needing to check your phone or go do something else because a ton of action sequences happen, and a ton of revenge happens as well. Now that both films conclude the first book of Dune it does leave a lot of questions in terms of what are we preparing to see in the third installment, furthermore the character of Paul is supposed to be this Luke Skywalker type figure so I'm wondering if the next book he becomes Darth Vader? For which I'm not going to go any further because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone because I want everyone to see this movie so, I'm just going to leave with the fact that it leaves with a ton of questions of what Paul as a character becomes and by end of the movie be prepared to have a lot of questions unanswered. I would most certainly recommend both films though deep down you should just watch the second movie but if you're wanting a full-on Dune experience, I would suggest watching both films. But most importantly I'm recommending the film as a way of getting out of your comfort zone and I'm not saying watching a lot of bizarre, weird movies or watch all of David Lynch's filmography, just look through AFI's top 100 and watch some of the greatest movies of all time as a practice and then finding movies that's dumb but entertaining as a way of training yourself. For which really, I'm later going to watch the original Dune and feeling unprepared but not sure but, in the end, should watch to see which director is the weirdest director of all time. 

      

                                       

                                

                                           

25th Anniversary of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

 

                                Back in April, I thought to myself that after watching The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare I figured that would most certainly be my only movie to see at the Movie Theater. Until my brother brought up the idea of going to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at one of our local theaters in the Tri-City area of Nebraska, I at first wasn't sure of the idea of reliving the Prequel Trilogy but it's a bro's night out so, can't complain. And to be honest it really brought back great and wonderful memories that only a true Star Wars fan could enjoy it brought back memories everyone was camping out at the local theater and everyone one dressing up in Star Wars costumes as well as having lightsaber duels, Moreover a time when Walmart or K-Mart (y’all remember K-Mart?) were selling Star Wars toys in full isles and it felt like a museum of wonder, oh if only I could go back to that time when everything was so simple.

                                Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is a young Jedi apprentice under the tutelage of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson); Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who will later Father Luke Skywalker and become known as Darth Vader, is just a 9-year-old boy. When the Trade Federation cuts off all routes to the planet of Naboo, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are assigned to settle the matter.

                                When I was a young kid one of the many films, I watched simultaneously watching the original film moreover renting the damn movie over and over from the local library. And really hearing the news back in 1997, that George Lucas was going to create another Star Wars Trilogy that is taking back to when there wasn't a Darth Vader or a Luke Skywalker or even a Han Solo, and me personally being a Darth Vader fan I was like "how can I watch a Star Wars movie without Darth Vader?" That is until I got a first look of Darth Maul, and I was intrigued furthermore hearing about the Jedi order, but most importantly hearing that there's a back story of Anakin Skywalker for which explains so much. So fast forward now to having finally re-watched Episode I, I felt personally that this was like opening my eyes as an older adult more like a wise Star Wars fan, and a lot of it goes through a ton of the language for which I never picked up as young kid. A great example of that is Senator Palpatine was really the mastermind the whole time in the prequel trilogy upon which his real name was indeed Darth Sidious and when I was a kid I never really quite understood that at the time or I was just blinded by the assumption only Sith can be Darth something, and I'm not going to lie I literally was just confused of okay, how is does Emperor Palpatine become what I remembered him furthermore re-watching Episode I was literally like a slap in the face because Palpatine was really Darth Sidious the whole time, Palpatine is really just a cover more like mask to what his real purpose is, almost like you he has that secret chamber to talk to his clients behind the Republic and sure at the time when I watched Episode III, all of it came into place and I was surprised but really it's almost like when you see the Prequels in the theater twenty five years ago I was like a young padawan and now I'm a full-fledged Jedi Master. And yet the other great thing about this film was being able to relive my memory of seeing Darth Maul on screen for the first time and I swear to you when I say this me and my brother both hold hands together when he appeared on screen for his first appearance and his iconic appearance in the Duel of Fates battle, and I can remember seeing him with the double bladed lightsaber moreover was just at awed of this character, that my mom was horrified because he reminded her so much of Satan. Dave Filoni once explained about the true nature behind the Duel of Fates, and that's Qui-Gon believes Anakin is the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force, and although he sees it the Jedi Council doubts it because of grave danger his training will be and Qui-Gon distances himself from the Jedi because they're not seeing things clearly of what the order can be and more. For which really he would of been the perfect choice to train Anakin, but in the end Qui-Gon loses that battle and Anakin is trained into the old ways of the Jedi, and Obi-Wan through the course of the Prequel's was really never ready but promised his old master before he died so, Duel of Fates is really all about who will be the one to train Anakin Skywalker either the Jedi or Qui-Gon Jinn and that's really the nature of what the Duel of Fates battle between Darth Maul is all about. Now, having watched Episode I in the movie theater, man that was such a fun experience to relive and it brought back so many great memories that I will cherish for the rest of my days and more. Even though the release of Episode I one is probably in many selected theaters for which makes it impossible to go see at your local theater, though as a Star Wars fan I would highly recommend reliving the Star Wars Prequels Trilogy from start to finish.

         

Mother's Day Recommendation: The Quiet Man

 

                                      I know I'm way past the point of Mother's Day, but in my defense, I was suffering through a minor cold and chose to take a ton of drugs to make myself feel better along with drinking a lot of Sunny D and sleeping. Also, kids never listen to what the allergy med's box says in terms of directions like Mucinex, always take two tablets instead of one, you'll feel like a million bucks. Alright let’s get back to paying tribute to my mommy dearest. My parents through the years have always had us watching some of the movies that they loved and for my Dad it was a ton of John Wayne films that I grow and loved, though Mom for sure loved John Wayne as an actor and so her favorite movie of Wayne's as always been The Quiet Man, for which at the time was both John Wayne and John Ford's piece of work that was really the opposite of what they usually collaborated together.

                                      After accidentally killing an opponent in the ring, boxer Sean Thornton (John Wayne) leaves America and returns to his native Ireland, hoping to buy his family's homestead and live in peace. In doing so, he runs afoul of Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen), who long coveted the property. Spitefully, Will objects when his fiery sister Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara), begins a romance with Sean, and refuses to hand over her dowry. Mary Kate refuses to consummate the marriage until Sean retrieves the money.

                                       Now if you haven't seen John Ford film or John Wayne film I'll explain these two American icons in a nut shell, John Ford was really the godfather of the golden age western genre in all fairness he was literally the Taylor Sheridan of that Golden Age of Hollywood, and a lot of his films really consist of going outside and shooting Cowboys and Indians furthermore really making something out of them and his go to Cowboy was John Wayne and the two of them each created one of the greatest Westerns of all time. So, around 1933 Ford read the short story that was based on The Quiet Man and soon purchased the rights to for just ten dollars. Fast forward to the release of the movie or production, Maurice Walsh was paid another $2,500 when Republic bought the idea, and he received a final payment of $3,750 when the film was made. Even, Republic Pictures agreed to finance the film with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in the starring roles as well as John Ford at the directing helm, but only if all three agreed to first film a Western with Republic, for which leads to the three's first collaboration Rio Grande, then after that film they each headed to Ireland to start shooting The Quiet Man. I am not going to say much when it comes to the directing of John Ford because the man won Best Director for the film at the Oscars, and both Wayne and O'Hara who I grew up watching McClintock (which is another great film these two did together) and really the two of them each have such great chemistry together that Wayne himself said that Maureen O'Hara was his favorite on screen woman, in fact it was O'Hara that converted Wayne to Christianity in later life so, which explains why they we're such a great couple in this film furthermore why they chose to do more films together. Sure the stars we're great as always, but the supporting cast deserves some credit in making the film amazing as it is, especially when majority of the supporting cast we're all full-fledged Irish actors, like Barry Fitzgerald does such a great job being the good friend to Wayne guiding him through the ways of Ireland I really couldn't image anyone to play that character especially when Fitzgerald share a small music singing session with Maureen O'Hara. Another one who needs to share some spotlight, is Victor Young who composed the music to the Quiet Man moreover was a friend of John Ford, for a million reasons it's the one music score where O'Hara's family stated Maureen listened to the music from The Quiet Man during her final hours, the same with the late filmmaker George Romero who re-invented the zombie genre. One of best romantic comedies of all time, and I can see why this is my mom’s all-time favorite John Wayne movie. Moreover, a perfect St. Patty's Day movie to watch but most importantly if there is any John Wayne I would recommend to anyone who hasn't seen any of the duke’s amazing films and trust me when I say this, it's a large list. 

           

Godzilla (1954)

 

                             So once again, expanding my horizons in terms of films I haven't touched, and luckily all thanks to Max I found a film that I had no clue was really able to stream on TV, but deep down all that thanks goes to Max for being able to stream these films even though they own a lot of the Turner Classic movie archives, but still thank the lord for Max because if I didn't discover this great Monster classic. I'm not going to lie when I discovered that Max brought out a tone of the old school Godzilla movies from the early fifties to seventies, I was surprised but more importantly, more excited because this was something I'd never seen but most certainly wanted to experience as a movie watcher as well as a fan of classic films.

                             Underwater hydrogen bomb testing awakens a fire-breathing monster from its centuries-long sleep, and it soon starts to terrorize Japan.

                             Why the very first Godzilla intrigued me was that this was one of the very few films that truly started the monster movie craze, though sure America came out with the craze from King Kong and maybe Frankenstein and Dracula? Though I may have to dive deep into if those two films would count. But really what makes the earlier Godzilla movies a hidden gem because it has a lot of great passionate filmmakers and visual effects guys taking small sets and toy tanks and helicopters and really making something out of it and yes if you feel intrigued in wanting to watch the OG of Monster films, they have a ton of toy tanks and helicopter layouts as well as a ton of tubs of water with toy like boats. But really that's what you had to do back in those days when there was no such thing green screen or visual effects nor any of the technology that you can pull off now. If you were wanting to make any of these kinds of films, you had to rely a lot on things you had to work with, and the Japanese filmmakers did a fantastic job relying on things they had to work with and build something special. Hell, you can look at some of the earlier Power Rangers episodes and learn that all the Megazord battles were basically a guy in Robot costume, lizard costume or any bizarre costume and would film these big giant battles. Even with this movie there is a great human story as well as a Japanese Oppenheimer story line of creating a bomb that could help destroy the monster but would also be made by the wrong people who would most certainly destroy all of humanity and even combining with the monster and human story makes for a great entertaining movie from start to finish. This movie alone ranks up there in one of the greatest monster movies ever made, for a billion reasons its old school relying on production designs and really making them great to see on screen. Now granted this is made in Japan so, a ton of subtitles and so I can't tell you to watch the movie right away or have the patience with English subtitles all I can say is take your time moreover keep your mind in like a mellow state of mind, that's basically all I can tell you. And yet I would still highly recommend watching the original Godzilla and I promise you that you'll have a blast watching the monster sequences all the way through.

  

Logan's Run

 

                                       Again, going through a quest of finding movies I haven't touched or had the interest to watch, well this one is defiantly one of those films that has that unique like visual setting but most importantly in unappreciative classic that most certainly needs to be seen. There have been a ton of Science Fiction films from the sixties and early seventies (before Star Wars), that at times where just flat out weird beyond measure great example Barbarella, but then there movies like Westworld and Logan's Run where they share unique and thinking aspects of what the future would bring, long before we're all gone and this is defiantly a unique story but most importantly underappreciated upon which needs to be seen.  

                                       In the year 2274, young residents enjoy an idyllic, hedonistic lifestyle within the protective confines of a domed city. The general belief is that when each person turns 30, they are reincarnated for another blissful life cycle. Those who know the much darker truth become "runners" and flee to a hidden sanctuary. When law enforcement officer Logan (Michael York) goes undercover to locate the refuge, he winds up instead trying to initiate a revolution with runner Jessica (Jenny Aguitter).

                                       Logan's Run was one of those films I found out while watching an episode from Community. After watching it I browsed the episode on Wikipedia furthermore Logan's Run appeared as one of those inspirations behind that episode. So, Logan's Run was one of those films that I began watching the trailer on YouTube just intrigued by the concept but most importantly the setting as well as the tone of the film. It's really a different level when you look at the generations era, the sixties were all about the western's when it came to movies but through the course of the sixties we get these ground breaking Science Fiction books like Dune and Logan's Run that was expanding are imagination and this was long before Star Wars, but yet it was books like this that helped us expand our imagination. The adaption alone was going through development hell where it was nearly impossible to adapted, until David Zelag Goodman came up with a different script and changed the age so it would be easier to find good actors to cast for the film. The thing that struck me the most is the production and set design because when it comes to the sixties and early seventies when you look at those science fiction films were all about exotic locations and production sets that you had to build out of nothing mostly rely on a lot of production studios as well and the amusing thing while watching the movie is the escalators they have as part of the domed city which I find to be amusing because I figured they shot at a local Mall somewhere in America until I looked it up and noticed they filmed those scenes at the Dallas Market Center, so really when it comes to the science fiction films before Star Wars they really took the time and effort to find some of these locations to film as a backup plan in order to save the money. The film does seem at times a bit dull but once it gets going it really does show the nature of humanity and what the fear of what the future will bring and hopefully, I won't be able see that but hopefully it won't come to that. Michael York has the most character arc in the entire movie where he at first is a savage but then becomes more concerned of humanity even if it means exposing the lies his fellow members are following on, and the fact that Michael York is best known for this movie alone is kind of sad though he's mad some films but we've all never heard of them but deep down it is what it is. I actually recommend watching Logan's Run I truly think it's one of the most unique movies to watch in the seventies though in all honesty it’s a kind of joy to watch something that's new and different furthermore expanding though films something out of my comfort zone so this was a good once over movie that's fun to watch and also is on Tubi, so it's free aside from the commercials so really you're not wasting you money on anything.

 

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection

 

                            With, May 4th looming, also known as the celebration of Star Wars, and this hidden gem of classic Star Wars games released months ago, and since I'm playing a good portion of the game on my PS5. Well, either way I figured what better way than to share a short review of Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection. Now I have nothing against EA's version of Battlefront because they both great especially with the games now there are both great updated versions of a classic games from PS2 and X-Box era. But the old school of Lucas Arts, Star Wars Battlefront is one of the greatest Star Wars games ever created.

                           The original Battlefront games were without a doubt one of the most fun games I've ever, played in fact I can honestly say that out of all the PlayStation 2 games I played through the years it was always any Star Wars games and Mortal Kombat. Now playing these classics I can honestly see the similarities between Lucas Arts and EA are different, though they do have one thing in common and that's each of their sequels more amazing than their predecessor. Playing the games together I can always say that the blaster riffle was always the weapon of choice when it comes to the battlefront old school and when you trying to win a trophy of success like Battlefront II for example it's hard to replace the blaster rife and even trying the shot gun or Gatling gun that the clone commander uses, there's no stopping those two weapons of choices. No matter what it does take some time to adjust but really when you take some time to adjust and replay some of the levels there fun to play especially when you play the first Battlefront game and must make some adjustments when you're playing as the Republic army and you’re up against the Destroyer Droids, man they were tough to beat. There are some minor things I have a problem with. A lot of it goes without having to adjust the first-person settings but again if you’re not up for first person you can always adjust the options so, no shame in that. As a Star Wars fan, I would most certainly recommend playing the classic collection of Star Wars Battlefront for a billion reasons it's fun, it makes you feel smart in terms of a general and most importantly you can play these great Star Wars games to till sunup. Now, I frankly am pondering why everyone had a problem with the remake version of these two old school games? Though in all fairness I think it's more of a getting old phase that we all have that thing in common but don't need to be a troll about it, just pointing that out to the critics who review games I mean life's too short you might as well enjoy what you have unless you have your PS2 and the first two original Star Wars Battlefront games.

 

God of War: Ragnarok

 

                                 Praise be to the Good Lord himself, I finally finished playing God of War: Ragnarök though I didn't finish all of it since the latest DLC came out. But deep down I decided to call it good, mainly it was a matter of how far I can go in terms to push myself to the limit and really it was wearing me out because even I was just having my a** handed to me at times and it was like "Okay I'm officially calling it good". And although I finished the game as best I could, I still look at this as one of the greatest modern video games of all time, and more importantly one of the cinematic masterpieces in video game history.

                                 The thing about what makes these latest God of War games special is that they really focus on the human side of Kratos really shows the struggles he faces through the course of the story moreover focuses on the relationship between his son and friends and although there moments of tragedy but it's also getting to feel more for Kratos as not just a God but more importantly a human being and a father at the same time. For which is a new story line to really appreciate, even though it does become slow at first in the 2018 game but when you play Ragnarök you really become struck at the father and son dynamic but is also a great thing to witness as a gamer mainly because when you've played the original God of War games, they were simply just a demi-god who reached the point of madness and decided to become death the destroyer of words and I wasn't going to lie when after finishing God of War III and seeing the secret ending I was like well how is this going to turn out because I really thought this was just past it's prime, but years and years now and even after the fourth game the way the creators are able to transform the game alone is just amazing and even more better than the original but in all fairness they're separate games because each of them are great in their own right but each of them have the puzzle and action adventure while the other has the open world and action adventure at the same time so, deep down both Greek God of War and Viking God of War are great but very different in their own right. Another great example of how different both Greek and Viking God of War games are is that these games you have to simply upgrade your armor because if you don't then you're in danger of getting killed by much stronger adversaries, and I played the game on EASY mode and yet one side mission I'm having a hard time getting beat by one of my adversaries and it goes on and on and to tell you the truth that was at that moment when I decided to just like hurry up with the game and get it over with because yeah even trying to accomplish all of the side missions just ware me out, so if you're ever wanting to play any of the Norse God of War games probably play the side missions later or if some you can handle probably just work on those and due the rest latter. All that said this was one of the most fun and exciting games I've ever played, without a doubt one of the best God of War games yet and I can say that because I've lived through the God of War universe. So, if you're a fan of Play Station I would highly recommend playing both God of War: Ragnarök on both PS4 and PS5.