Football Recommendation: The Express

 

          

          Of course, Football season is amongst us from being a Nebraska fan to a Kansas City Chiefs fan and part time Dallas Cowboys fan (don't ask me, it's literally being tired of Jerry). And deep down I love the game of football and there's a lot of college football teams I despise but deep down I don't have a whole lot of hatred when it comes to any of the NFL rivalry teams on the opposite sides of the ball. Of all Football films you can find on the internet or find them on your streaming service. The Express is one of those films that puts you in a great mood about the greatness of football but is also an extraordinarily story about one man's story of strength and determination but also showing what it truly means to win one of the greatest trophies in College Football history.

          The story centers on Ernie Davis (Reb Brown), the first African American athlete to with the Heisman Trophy. Born into poverty, Davis overcomes many obstacles to get into Syracuse University's football program. Under the guidance of Coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), Davis becomes one of the school's best players, even surpassing legendary NFL player Jim Brown's achievements.

          I think I've watched this movie while back when there was in actual video store still standing somewhere in late 2000's to beginning of 2010's and keep in mind if you look at a small town in any state of the United States you can most certainly see a small rental store in your local area, although I doubt there many now but maybe there's still left standing. Anyway, getting back to the Life of Ernie Davis, I honestly didn't know a whole lot about Davis or Dennis Quaid's character Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder moreover how great of a football program Syracuse used to have back in the mid-fifties, almost reminiscent of Nebraska football back in the mid-90's. The thing that really struct me about the movie is that it's a prototype to the Jackie Robinson's 42 movie, and the thing that makes me surprised is that it didn't do so well as 42, I mean this was a great and entertaining movie about the first ever African-American to win the Heisman Trophy and more importantly sticks it to the Texas Longhorns on their own home turf and this is coming from a Nebraska fan growing up in the nineties and if you were a kid in Nebraska being raised as a fan for Nebraska football you're trained to hate your opposing rivals and Texas was one of those college football teams that you would despise from beginning to the very end and in fact one of my earliest memories was attending a Nebraska and Texas game furthermore we lost that game and the last memory I will always remember is Texas player planting the flag on the N, in the middle of the field. So, there is a reason why I rank this movie, The Express, as one of the greatest football movies of all time because Texas lost in the National Championship. Now I can understand that people didn't show up for this movie because this resembles Remember the Titans but, this was really a prototype for 42 and this would be five years after the Express's release Hollywood was like "well maybe the time is now to release a movie about Jackie Robinson". And truly Ernie Davis life story has the best elements of accomplishing the impossible and yet a twist of fate tragic happens but then you pass you knowledge to another Running back legend and to be honest re-watching this film again it has amazing college football score from Mark Isham, moreover through the course of the you root for Ernie Davis and then you feel for him at the very end but then you relish of how great of a football player, Davis was and guys like Davis were a two-way player when it came to fifties football and to be honest that's a different type of player that you'd never see in today's football. The other thing in what makes this movie fantastic is that you have a great list of supporting actors surrounding Reb Brown's performance, actors like Dennis Quaid and really when it comes to sports movies I would most certainly cast Quaid in any sports movie and he would deliver a great performance, he could of played Barry Switzer and I would suggest Dennis Quaid if it was a biopic about Brian Bosworth. More importantly you have a great actor in Charles S. Dutton most infamous for Rudy and he's great in the movie and the same goes with Clancy Brown as one of the assistant coaches who helps Quaid's character train Ernie Davis and even he does a great job as well and the most important part of making a sports movie like this is that you surround your unknown star with some well accomplished actors moreover is always the most important part when making a movie like this. For all football fans out there from College football fans to NFL football fans hell, even Fantasy football fans I would highly recommend watching The Express, because it's one of those unknown and underappreciated football films that needs to be seen to a wider audience, for more important reasons the story of Ernie Davis is one of the most extraordinary college football stories that you appreciate from beginning to the very end and I'll say it again, for me what makes this one of the greatest football movies in my opinion is simply Texas getting beat in the National Championship for which I could imagine any Oklahoma fans watching this movie and hearing Texas getting beat in the big game especially at the Cotton Bowl in the state of Texas. Even Oklahoma fans would consider this the greatest football movie of all time. 

            

21st Anniversary of Kill Bill Volume 2

               I know I've been little on the lazy side when it came to reviewing Kill Bill Vol. 2, and sure I missed it's twentieth anniversary of its open release but in all fairness it's not too late to review it, in terms of a 21st Anniversary of the film’s release right? Well as fate would have it, I finally got the opportunity to watch the second and final installment to Quentin Tarantino's final revenge fueled masterpiece of Kill Bill Vol. 2 although when you think about it the film is technically one whole movie if you realize it, but we can talk about that whole aspect later. Moreover, I'll keep my jokes about David Carradine to a minimum.

               “The Bride” (Uma Thurman) picks up where she left off in volume one with her quest to finish her hit list she has composed of all the people who have wronged her, including her ex-boyfriend (David Carradine), who tried to have her killed four years ago during her wedding to another man. Leaving several dead in her wake she eventually tracks down Bill in Mexico. And soon unanswered questions come to light.

               Alright I'm trying the best of me to not joke so much in term of how David Carradine died (auto-erotic asphyxiation), Ah screw it maybe just one, "whenever David Carradine plays with his katana, he feels better, and I mean REALLY feels better". Okay, okay all jokes a side this was again one of the many movies that you can point in Quentin Tarantino's filmography and movies like this shows how great Quentin is when it came to working with actors I mean we don't have to get so much in terms of Uma Thurman in this movie but when you have actors like David Carradine, Michael Madsen and Daryl Hannah whose filmography is in the "meh" but when they're directed by Quentin Tarantino they do such an exceptional job with their characters, Like Daryl Hannah is basically a woman you'd despise but the late Michael Madsen does such a great job being the complex man who has some bad blood with his brother and yet at the same time defends him but more importantly plays this hick that you'd imagine Uma's character can take down easily but at the same time may have met her match, but more importantly just channels is inner Mr. Blonde which is great deep down you watch him in this movie. David Carradine also does a great job knowing who he really is but through the climax of the film you see how menacing he is as a character although he doesn't show is menacing ways but is like a silent and charming killer that doesn't lash out but is very scary face to face and at the same time you feel "choked up" when he meets is end. Okay that's permanently it but come on I just had to add that, and you never know in an alternate reality Uma Thurman was on a quest for revenge on Harvey Weinstein for being a disguising horrible person and for some reason killed David Carradine which may or could be possible but then would be a great spoof on the Unsolved Mysteries. Uma Thurman is fantastic in both the Kill Bill films and I truly believe that both films including Pulp Fiction and those are hands down her greatest acting performance and other movies in a sense can be passible but her drive and her hatred towards her enemies is just outstanding as well as her real emotions she shows through the course of the final showdown. All of the actors and actresses are excellent but if I had to pick one that was even outstanding it would most certainly be Gordon Liu who plays this powerful martial arts, master whose all in one a sexist, racist basically would never survive in this decade but at the same time when you see him train Uma you see this horrible person begin to respect his student in a way of knowing how special she is and she would be someone who can carry on his legacy and Gordon Liu does a great job at that. From the acting and the amazing action sequences you can tell Quentin Tarantino took notes in watching a lot of these 70's action films and does a great job blending the action as well as the great acting you see through out these two Volumes of Kill Bill. Both films are impossible to find in terms of streaming so obviously you have to rent these movies or if you want you can buy these great movies on your phone, and I would highly recommend watching them obviously because of Quentin Tarantino as well as every movie you can pick from his filmography and you can tell that each film are amazing and great at the same time and more importantly you can see that there are no bad movies in his filmography besides Death Proof but even he can say that was not his best work and I believe that's great character coming from him as a filmmaker and as an honest person. 

        

                    

30th Anniversary of Pulp Fiction

 

         Another film that's nearing the end of its 30th Anniversary mark and that film is Quentin Tarantino's greatest achievement in the film, Pulp Fiction. No doubt this was another one of those films in the late nineties that was constantly on Dish on Demand previews that I would watch constantly considering, I was not on the age appropriate list but constantly watched the preview and noticed a lot of actors from Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis whom my first film with him was Armageddon as well as Ving Rhames who just so happened to be on the very first Mission Impossible film (back when the films where actually good). And even though the film is thirty years old I still don't know how to describe Pulp Fiction to somebody who hasn't even seen Pulp Fiction or if it's his or her first time viewing the movie though with help, I believe I can manage.

          Pulp Fiction in a nutshell is about two Mob hitmen (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), a boxer (Bruce Willis), and gangster (Ving Rhames) and his wife (Uma Thurman) and a pair of undermined criminals intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption amid two days.

           Quentin Tarantino said before in a certain interview, that Kill Bill movies are his born to make movies and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his favorite movie he's made, and Inglorious Bastards of all his entire filmography is his masterpiece he's made in his entire career of filmmaking. And sure that's his opinion and I can't fault him for that, but for me, I still say that Pulp Fiction is his greatest achievement in filmmaking period I mean this is one of those films that you can't make or begin to create ever again moreover contains what maybe greatest performances as well as comeback films from John Travolta and Bruce Willis but more importantly launched the careers of Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and Ving Rhames. The other important factor of what Pulp Fiction brings is a level of gangster storytelling, reminiscent to its predecessor, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction also has these criminals talk about more than just their past job or who they whacked long back no, these criminals actually talk about shenanigan's that you and I talk about in terms of conversations and brings new refreshing vibes to the actual gangster movie genre. The amazing thing about the movie is that it brings the rising comeback to both John Travolta and Bruce Willis, Travolta before Pulp Fiction became a reality was in low point in his career wasn't a first choice for Tarantino because he was writing Vincent for Michael Madsen, long story short Madsen pulled out and Travolta was being the coinvent choice but pre-exposed rapist Harvey Weinstein wasn't signing on for that idea but Danny DeVito who was one of the producers behind Pulp Fiction stated to Harvey that Quentin gets the cast approval and final cut and so this is why Quentin Tarantino is one of the many greatest American filmmakers, mainly because he was able to say F-you to Harvey, though deep down he was probably the gimp because let’s be honest he wanted to be that character. Not only does Harvey Keitel give a lot of credit for Quentin Tarantino rise to fame but he also convinced Bruce Willis to be part of Pulp Fiction firstly he was a fan of Reservoir Dogs but more importantly he needed some work after countless flops for which in all honesty both men do fantastic job in the movie that we don't need to describe how great they are, especially the same to the rest of the actors in the film, though this film launched the career of Ving Rhames who went on to all the Mission Impossible films as well as Con Air and Out of Sight (the only movie where JLO is actually good, if you know what I mean). To the films credit and granted this film deserves a lot of credit for how we look at independent movies, but this movie alone was ahead of its time, in terms of showing the dark side of Los Angeles, like a pawnshop run by to psycho hillbilly rapist who keep a gimp in the basement of their store. Yeah, sorry to spoil some little details but I have to prepare you for stuff like that, because even when I was secretly watching this on cable TV and not knowing the certain context of that who scene yeah that was when I would usually when that scene appeared tried to change the channel and then come back to it later when it was over granted it's like a few seconds tops but again is still uncomfortable, then again Tarantino is warning all outsiders of the entire United States to never wander in the rough part of LA because you don't want to be in a situation like Ving Rhames and Bruce Willis were in. On the plus side, at least you do see some justice in that scene as well, for which let's be honest, when it comes to a rapist getting what he or she deserves you shoot that person in the balls or hands whichever situation comes first. And to be frank, if I'm trying to land in audition and I'm being called to play a rapist I doubt I would want to land a role like that because that's rabbit hole I would never in a million years want to land, especially trying to be an actor. A side from the uncomfortable twist of fate I truly believe that's the kind of genius Quentin provides in these four tales of crime, he's giving you these tales of criminals being criminals but also showing a cruel twist of fate in which something scary in our lives would happen from the unexpected to sometimes divine intervention which is what makes Tarantino such a great writer as well. To people who've never experienced a movie like Pulp Fiction or any of Tarantino's other films I would give a small warning in terms of confused state of mind, just know that the film is chronologically out of order so if you feel confused you have to really sit down and pay attention to the details of the film from the small details to the big reveal but in all seriousness if you made this film in right order it would be a predictable and uninteresting movie and the way Tarantino cuts the film together as well as written the script is actual genius way because you get to pay attention of what is going on why are these characters wearing these certain clothes but then when you just sit down and watch the film from the very beginning to the final frame you understand why he does that and either way I love the way he puts it together. I would most certain recommending this movie to any Tarantino fans or movie goers who have not ever seen a Quentin Tarantino movie before for many reasons it was ahead of its time in terms of storytelling but more importantly it keeps you interested with every main character from their first introduction till their last scene of the film, and also it gets you excited of what movies where before and what they could still be again. 

            

Street Fighter 2: The Movie

 

            After watching Street Fighter: The Movie I lately found its Japanese counterpart on Amazon Prime for a reasonable price of FREE. And it was only 90ish minutes so, I figured why not try this Japanese animated movie about the second best popular, fighting game. And this is my first time experiencing Japanese animation and I got to tell you this may be my only Japanese cartoon movie I'll probably ever watch, though in all fairness our fellow allies have a bizarre way of making cartoons.

            Kind of the same concept as the movie Street Fighter, only this time you see some street fighting, only this time M. Bison is trying to capture some of these fighters like Ryu, who travel around the world to battle other street fighters. Interpol agent Chun-Li teams up with Colonel Guile to help track down and stop M. Bison before his evil plan becomes a reality. 

             Strangely the film makes more sense than the video game or the live action movie to the extent of actual street fighting is happening and yet the tournament is still lost to me, and granted Mortal Kombat's tournament makes a ton of sense to me but Street Fighter's tournament factor is still lost to me because we center around the fact that M. Bison is a terrorist and runs a crime syndicate, while Guile and Chun-Li are teaming up to stop him. Now granted you can take the tournament aspect out of the equation and say that Colonel Guile recruits a group of Street fighters and call them Street Fighter (though it would be a horrible name) and you can make it as a Dirty Dozen treatment to it, either way I can go on and on about how to make this better but I'm going to stop before I go crazy. Interestingly enough I yeah I seen tons of nudity in Heavy Metal but this is another movie where I never expected a shower scene and see full frontal nudity which I was like "HOLY CRAP", like I can almost picture a lot of these street fighter fans that are either kids and loved the live action film and watches this movie and all of a sudden the full nudeness happens and all the kids have a deer in the headlights look and immediate are like "I love BOOBS NOW". And later you see kids at the elementary school telling their friends about the boobies they seen and that's how early nineties kids began to like girls. A side the jokes this movie does have some great moments fun action scenes but in the end I still have to go with the live action just because of the silliness as well as Raul Julia giving it all especially since the man wanted to go out with a bang and this movie does have some fun scenes but then you rarely see some of your favorite fighters and that's basically the reason why Mortal Kombat Annihilation but then again who remembers Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. If you’re a fan of the Street Fighter series I would recommend watching this film on both Pluto TV and Amazon Prime as well as if you’re a fan of Japanese Animation than this movie would for sure be the movie for you to watch from beginning to the very end.  

       

Casino

 

                

            Well as you all know, when you feel that burnt out feeling you get after watch a bizarre mob movie with a crazy a**, middle aged woman that looks like Joan Rivers, you know the best course of action is to watch a movie where a real director knows how to make a movie about the mafia. That's right everyone, today on its 30th Anniversary I've decided for the first time ever to sit down and watch Martin Scorsese's 1995 classic, Casino. And here is a word of advice Ladies and Gentlemen, when you make a movie about the mafia you hire a ton of New Yorkers or people from New Jersey, and not the crazy ones from Jersey Shore you get the guys who look like Robert De Niro or Joe Pesci. Now if you're making a movie about Asian Mafia or Yakuza then you get any actors from Japan.

             In the mid-1970's Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with a loose-cannon enforcer and childhood friend, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), his ex-hustler turned crazy wife Ginger (Sharon Stone) and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger. Martin Scorsese directs this adaptation (Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas) from the works of Nicholas Pileggi. 

             I watched this movie twice and granted I needed a second opinion from my end for many reasons when watching the film for the first time I felt a little conflicted mainly because the film is the typical gangster rise and fall. Though watching the film, the second time around I began to realize that there's something more to the movie I never quite give credit to the story telling that's based on actual events involving around these three characters. Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi the same author who wrote Wise Guys based on Goodfellas, while researching Casino Pileggi read a report from the Las Vegas Sun circa 1980, about an argument between Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, a casino figure, and his wife Geri McGee, a former topless dancer. Upon which gave Pileggi the inspiration for the next book to write based on 1970's Las Vegas. While filming came to an end for Goodfellas Pileggi came to Scorsese about the next idea to transition into film. Goodfellas was basically based on a true story or bibliography on Henry Hill and sure Casino is based on a true story to the extent of it being based on actual events. While the interesting thing about Casino is, that it's really shows the dilemma of what makes a good gangster to a bad gangster and De Niro's character is a smart gangster to the extent of keeping his distances with the mob but doing gangster things when his casino gets out of line a great example of that aspect is De Niro spotting a pair of cheaters and gives the hammer to one of them as well as giving all the cheaters a warning on what will happen if they come back. Then on the other side you have Joe Pesci's character represents that gangster that obviously gets out of hand as well as gets way to sloppy that you most certainly see tensions between De Niro and Pesci who at the beginning of the film their childhood friends moreover later in the film they become enemies which really when you think about it becomes a sad factor because you have a remorse for De Niro because he loses a lot of things but through the course of the movie he still follows his principles as well as never breaking his own thoughts and beliefs. Both De Niro and Pesci do such an excellent job playing off one another as well as playing reverse roles to where De Niro is the antagonist in Goodfellas and Pesci plays the protagonist but more importantly the friend to Liotta's character and with this movie De Niro is the protagonist and Pesci is the antagonist who gets out of control and unstable that it's kind of a great dilemma  of these guys trying to run a business but the other is so blinded by greed you see how things become a dangerous dilemma till the very end. Either way both men do a great job at playing these gangsters they we're born to play especially in one scene where Pesci has a guy in a gripped vice to his head and you can hear the head cracking or the eye popping out like this movie really does amp up the violence especially when the bring metal bats in the mix. No doubt Casino is up there in the top ten greatest gangster movies of all time and out of the mob movies that Scorsese's done, for certain Goodfellas and Casino are his grand masterpieces and as for his greatest masterpiece well, that's a conversation for another time. The movie itself is a grand total of three hours so if your trying to watch a movie like this my advice would be a ton of coffee but if you can't handle three hour long movie then you can always split the movie in half, and last I check the film alone is on Amazon Prime for now so if you’re looking for a movie to watch I would highly recommend watching Casino, for its great storytelling as well as great list of actors that will make you believe this movie was made by a real filmmaker and not just some amateur director that tries to make a gangster movie but ends up shooting himself in the groin. 

 

September Recommendation: Reservoir Dogs

 

                 Two months ago, I've been reminded of the passing of the late and underappreciative actor Michael Madsen, who's most known for playing the cool and sadistic Mr. Blonde in my latest monthly recommendation Reservoir Dogs. This is Quentin Tarantino's very first movie directed in the early nineties. Back when we never even heard of first-time directors though granted, we never discovered Steven Spielberg's first movie, hell, or even George Lucas's first movie, but when it comes to Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs this is a standout movie with a killer soundtrack and a bunch of well-acted and great appreciative recognition from Michael Madsen himself. 

                 Six criminals with pseudonyms, and each stranger to one another, are hired to carry out a robbery. The heist is ambushed by police, and the gang are forced to shoot their way out. At their warehouse rendezvous, the survivors, realizing that they were set up, try to find the traitor in their midst.    

                 One of the earliest memories and literally has a lot to do with, was Michael Madsen's performance in the movie, sure I loved Harvey Keitel in the movie but to me Michael Madsen's presence on screen as well as his performance was just outstanding that most of the times I couldn't finish the movie mainly because how his time comes unexpectedly, but more importantly he was just a cool looking character from his look to his maniacal laugh you just can't help to love the guy despite him being a true psychopath. During the auditions Madsen actually wanted to play the role of Mr. Pink, as played by Steve Buscemi, mainly because wanted more screen time with Harvey Keitel and Quentin insisted that he'd play Mr. Blonde for which really I would insist him playing Mr. Blonde because Steve Buscemi fit perfect for the role of Mr. Pink and Madsen didn't have that paranoia or basically the Martin Scorsese and Steve Buscemi talk, though I guessing the New York accent but the kind of New Yorker where he talks to much, that kind of guy. And just Madsen has that cool James Dean presents that really feels Mr. Blonde was made for him and Tarantino having Madsen play the role of Mr. Blonde was most certainly the smartest choice, if not one of the many smart choices and he's never made any well, a side from Death Proof. One of the things on why Quentin Tarantino is such an inspirational filmmaker is simply, the man never went to film school he literally worked most of his young adult life at a video store and just watched a ton of movies from classic movies to Japanese films, from film noir to maybe the too even romantic comedies (for which as a hobby maybe?) but he studies from films and just decides to make a movie at an early age as well as taking a leap of faith. But more importantly a lot of his films are inspirations from past movies that he loved and you may think that his films aren't original I think that doesn't really matter when it comes to writing your own movies or directing your own movies an original film is an original film no matter who the director is or what that person's style of filmmaking is. The funny thing is Lawrence Tierney in the movie plays the mob boss in the movie was no doubt a excellent actor in the movie and I'm not going to go into much details about him being difficult to work with and sure the guy was probably difficult to work with as well as a nut job but Chevy Chase is a bigger nut job/egotist throughout Hollywood. Okay getting back to topic,  through my teen years that was the one movie I associated him with until I watched a few episodes of Seinfeld and saw him again as Elaine's father and the way he made Jerry and Jason Alexander uncomfortable was the most funniest thing I've ever seen mainly just because of the guy's presence on screen as well as his age of being a gruff grumpy bastard that would most certainly be one of your relatives and after that I stopped but in all fairness I don't have Netflix anymore so, it's best I don't proceed any further after that great episode. There so many great actors in the movie and really if I had to pick two that deserve recognition it would most certainly be Tim Roth and Chris Penn, Roth for example does a great job playing an innocent guy who you feel like he's going to die but through the course of the film you unexpectedly know he's not what he says he is and that's great acting, Penn on the other hand does a great job playing a pissed off mob boss, son who is a great guy to hang around but when we get to the climax of the film, he does an excellent job playing a savage and scary guy and his eyes when you see him at the climax, speaks for itself. The excellent thing about the movie is you don't need a full scene of how the robbery went down the fact that Quentin allows the characters and the actors describe how the job went down really sells it and the aspect that majority of the movie is basically in a warehouse, is so great as well as you can always transition to the movie in a stage play but also allows the film to let the audience imagine how the robbery happen and the great shot of Mr. Blonde torturing a cop and then the camera pans to not show what is going on is another great example of letting the imagination of the viewers find out what is truly happening. If you ever want to have a bro's night out, Reservoir Dogs is that perfect guy movie, that you can love from beginning to the very end with great soundtrack you wish you can mimic some of those scenes, hell I wished I would look good in those suits they wear but I know that's not going to happen. Still to this day Reservoir Dogs, is one of those classics that you can watch and enjoy but has that cool flair that Geto Boys would always say "Damn it feels good to be a Gangsta" The film is on Peacock so if you’re feeling for a great gangster classic Quentin Tarantino's very first movie I would highly recommend to watch this September as well as paying tribute to the Late Michael Madsen for delivering an iconic performance in cinema history. 

 

       

Blazin'

 

           I think after watching one of the most obnoxious and terrible b-movies of all time, The Amazing Bulk, that I would learn my lesson and not peruse a whole lot of B-Movies. But this movie, upon which I discovered out of Red-Letter Media's Best of the Worst, I had to make an exception for other bizarre reasons it has an over-the-top middle aged crazy woman who thinks she's a gangster and more importantly Fat Joe, hopefully everyone remembers Fat Joe right? Anyway, a fun fact is this is one of three films found in Osama bin Laden's house during the fateful Operation Neptune Spear in which he was assassinated. So, he may or may not have been laughing so hard or was stoned out of his mind while watching Blazin', granted I don't know because I wasn't there but I'm just assuming.

           Basically, a Romeo and Juliet story with the mix of hip hop and a trying attempted to make a movie but, just fails so badly that you get a great performance from a crazy woman. 

            Unlike The Amazing Bulk, which I declare as the worst non-movie I've ever seen or don't believe to be a movie and yet Tubi streams the damn movie. Straight Blazin is surprisingly one of the most fascinating B-movies I've ever seen almost close to like The Room standards. Although this is one of those films that yes it's hilariously bad but it's also embarrassing to see especially with all the actors in the movie, and yet after watching the movie I do wish to find a copy of this movie on eBay and hopefully ask Fat Joe to sign this but I doubt he cares all about the movie since the man is a big success in music. As crazy as this may sound I would highly recommend watching this movie not to anyone who’s ever watched weird B-movies like this but those who, if you’re a person who wants to get into the movie business and you don't have the good education to go on or working at dead end jobs but you want to make movies, hell like me for example who wants to direct movies, I truly believe this is a movie of great importin's to watch, in the sense of "DON'T DO THIS" sense. And like all bad independent movies go when you try and make a movie that's unintentionally bad, but with this film sure it's bad and funny, but it's so, embarrassing to even watch especially guys who are overly large and out of shape and for some reasons know kung fu or martial arts. And coming from someone whose grown up fat and out of shape, I would look silly trying to choregraph martial arts fights and logical sense if you’re trying to make a small, low budget action movie you need to do a lot of experimental shots to get those sequences right. And with this film I feel like the director has only scene Goodfellas and Reservoir Dogs, then after viewing those movies felt like "oh I can do that", but either way he just fails so miserably at almost everything I mean there are some decent ideas that would make it better but I would just be losing my mind thinking about. Hell, I almost feel like Walter White when he must put up with Jessie and after watching the movie and then looking at him goes "Did your mother drop you on your head when you were a baby? There is no way in hell we're going to get our money back from this", and I'm no expert I never claim myself to be a good reliable expert but watching this all the way through, makes me feel great inside with the belief of thanking the good lord that I didn't produce this movie because I would lose my mind. Speaking of thanking our good lord and savior, you know when you feel like your parents or family members are complete nut jobs well after watching this movie, I'm thankful my family members aren't that crazy as the old woman who plays a gangster? I looked up the actress who plays the Drug Lord in the movie and her name is Paula Roth moreover she's hands down the most entertaining part of the movie to the degree where she's playing a gangster who recently just be out of the insane asylum. Like I feel like the director of the movie recently visited a Shutter Island like asylum and visited this woman who was also off her meds and thought she would be perfect for the role. And she played the role like your mother who gets hysteric when Thanksgiving or Christmas Day is happening and all of your family members are all coming and she's losing her sh*t that's basically who she's playing, furthermore I'm so glad I have loving caring parents now (granted I've always been thankful) because I swear to you if my parents was like this actress I would literally be calling the guys in white jackets and tell my parents to put the long shirt on, because that's the kind of toxic family I would never in a million years want to be in. Now I'm trying to get into the film business and I didn't have the good film school education to get me there so, I have to rely on things that I've learned through TV as well as working with a camera of any kind so, a side from this movie being a entreatingly bad movie I would only recommend this movie to the people who want to lean filmmaking but more importantly this film is a good lesson in what you most certainly need when it comes to making a small low budget movie because whenever your actors are screaming at the top of their lungs for which either the boom mic is hitting red or the volume level is bursting to red hot then you need to tell your actors to tone down their voice or if your experimenting with scenes then you most certainly need a microphone or a boom mic to get the soundtrack of the dialogue. Also, you need ton of music to pad out the film, for which I'm sure you can always look for a composer for hire or a small-time musician who works around with a lot of band instruments, either way adding music to your film will make some good adjustments. And here's the most importantly lesson whenever you get the idea of using overweight men to experiment with a strange martial arts fight scene just don't, because I'm extremely fat and I can personally say that even I would look embarrassed as well as ridicules doing a kung fu style of fighting for fat people. So, if you’re a fan of strange, weird b-movies then this movie is strait of your alley and I would recommend watching it, hell that's why Tubi is the greatest streaming service for these bizarre and weird films. And if you’re a normal human being I would definitely say not to watch this movie, either way this film is a great observer for people who really want to get into the film business because this film is a great example of what you need when it comes to making a movie, as well as what not to do when making a movie. 

        

Ten Year Anniversary of The Martian

 

           This great human-interest story hasn't reached its ten-year mark yet. But I'm already at the point where I decided now is the time to discuss Ridley Scott's epic Science Fiction and greatest human story, as well as Matt Damon's greatest performance ever on screen. The Martian, by the time of the film’s release, I knew single handedly I wanted to see this movie because of course it's directed by Sir Ridley Scott, and one of the most bizarre collaborations with Matt Damon, for which yes like Christopher Nolan I'm going to see a movie directed by Ridley Scott no question. But out of this entire adventure comes one of the greatest films of 2015, but more importantly a human-interest story that shows, maybe humanity can strive for great things, especially the entire world working together saving one person in a dangerous deserted planet like Mars.

            When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney (Matt Damon), presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager number of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, with his crew mates hatching their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

            “The Martian” is based off a 2011 Bestseller by Andy Weir. Andy Weir always wanted to be a science fiction writer, loved reading his grandfather's or father’s collection of science fiction books, though through course of his destination like most people wanting to accomplish their dream, had to find a profession to pay bills as well as food. And so, computer technician became his backup plan while trying to find time to write. Through the course of working through jobs Weir picked the time to finally write and do some research on NASA and life on Mars for which came to the concept of The Martian. Having been turned down by literary Agents, Weir decided to put the book online in a serial format, one chapter at a time on his website. While Weir's book has been hitting some great views, fans requested Weir to have the book for full access so Andy made the decision to publish the book on Amazon Kindle for about .99 cents (the minimum allowable price he could set). With 35,000 copies sold as well as launching success for Andy Weir as well as movie release the rest became success. Even after watching the movie for the first time, I decided to buy the book, and it literally became my favorite book to read so that I couldn't stop reading the book. Ten years later the movie alone is still the great and tremendous movie that uplifts you’re spirit that you'd never expect to feel. But more importantly this provides a protagonist that's unlike any protagonist I've ever experienced, for which people for sure compare the movie and book to the movie Cast Away, but this is a lone survivor against all the odds against him and yet he's still able to keep himself calm and still have a sense of humor in the situation he's in. For which, who doesn't respect a man who makes fun of Disco music, I mean that scene of actor Chiwetel Ejiofor worried about Matt Damon's character, and then we brilliantly transition to Damon listening to "Turn the beat around" express his dislike for Disco music, still gives me the chuckles because if I was stranded on Mars having listen to nothing but Taylor Swift music or Adelle, even I would be worrying about my sanity. Hands down the most amazing thing about the movie is the realistic ton and look of Mars, granted it's science fiction but also shows a great tone of what would Mars would look like if NASA traveled to a planet like Mars because really we all don't know what Mars would look like other than it's a desolate planet with no possible way to grow or colonize it so shooting scenes in the Jordan dessert of Wahi Rum is a fantastic choice to shoot the exterior scenes for The Martian. A lot of people will obviously say that Matt Damon's best performance is either Good Will Hunting or Jason Bourne, but for me personally Damon's performance in the Martian is his greatest performance as an actor, granted his playing a character based on a book but the way he's able to not play a miserable/lonely astronaut but a scared to calm astronaut with a sense of humor is really a breath of fresh air and for great reasons we've never seen that type of stranded character before and Damon being able to bring Andy Weir's character of Mark Watney to life is both great as well as showing great emotion range at the same time especially in scenes where he's all by himself with no one to talk to and then hearing his crew member's during that scene of him getting of Mars is just incredible acting on his part and let's be honest Matt Damon is an excellent crier, we can all agree on that. Though Matt Damon isn't the only person that makes this movie in epic film, he also has a list of great actors like Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean and Jeff Daniels does a fantastic job playing a political NASA director that's always playing it way to safe, you know the typical guy you'd have to put up with knowing he's your boss type character. But Kristen Wiig does a fantastic job in the movie not doing so much comedy though in all fairness she's being directed by a well accomplished filmmaker, just like Seth Rogen doing a fantastic job in the movie Steve Jobs when the only reason the man did a great job because he's directed by Danny Boyle and acting from a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Close to ten years of the film’s release and it's still to this day in my opinion one of the greatest and beautiful human interests story's ever to be put on screen, and I usually don't say that a lot when it comes to movies, but when you see two nations like U.S. and China with their space programs coming together to help one man is just great and something special about it because really when you take a look at the world is now, you realize the crash course of reality but the entire world coming together as one to in the hopes of one astronaut escaping the hostile environments of Mars is somewhat of a beautiful thing in hopes that maybe humanity can come together as one. And really that's always been the human instinct that has always been engraved in all of us, and really the movie is set in 2035 so maybe in the next ten years will see NASA or all of the space programs coming together and building a space program to explore mars, and at the age I am I do hope that becomes a possibility. After watching the movie I'm now considering reading the book again because it's a great read as well as addicting to ready because all I remember while at work, helping a broadcast in the two minutes of spare time I would constantly read the book just because of how funny and a great read it was so, if you love any Matt Damon movies or your like me and watch all of Ridley Scott's films then I would highly recommend watching the Martian but also read Andy Weir's The Martian after watching the film, or you can read the book before watching the movie whichever comes first. 

           

Twisted Metal (TV Show)

 

              Now if it we're me and this is just my opinion I would totally change NASCAR into a battle ground where all racers are shooting at each other as well as blowing each other’s cars, while turning left. Though we're not living in a post-apocalyptic world so I guess, discussing the first-two seasons of Twisted Metal on Peacock streaming service, will do. If you’re not familiar with Peacock basically the streaming service for NBC, along with Universal Studio's films as well as Peacock films and shows and surprisingly enough Twisted Metal based on the popular PlayStation game series is a binge worthy show worth watching. 

               Set somewhere in 2002 or 2005 where all the world has gone to shambles, but CDs are a gold mind for anyone who has a car. John Doe and Quiet (Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz) two unlikely lovers on a quest of redemption as well as participating in a tournament of battle cars. But more importantly there's a killer clown that could makes Joaquin Phoenix's Joker look like a week WAP, if you catch my meaning.

               If you want a good description of what the game of Twisted Metal is to get a clear idea on the show. Basically think of Mad Max in a Video game form which is clearly what Twisted Metal is when you think about it and more importantly you don't necessary need to play the games in order to get into the movie because once I decided to watch the show I basically kept in open mind going in and a result, a surprisingly great, entertaining show that provides great character development from both actors Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz who both show great chemistry together, as well as great character growth through the course of each season. Granted Mackie and Beatriz are great, but the real scene stealer is both Samoa Joe and Will Arnett, together brings the iconic Sweet Tooth to life and I'm not going to lie both men do a fantastic job at bringing the voice as well as the physic of his killer personality. Aside from some scenes getting way to dark, especially some of the first seasons, it does have some great comedic moments as well as bringing out some great 90's and 2000's nostalgia music to the show as well and I think it does bring a great balance between the dark as well as the comedy. Defiantly, an entertaining show with a span of 30 minutes per episode with great character development and great action and for certainly one of the best Television shows I ever seen on a streaming service so, if you have Peacock and love cars as well as action, then I would highly recommend watching Twisted Metal for you'll for certain, have the craving to listen Rob Zombie's Dragula. 

Days of Thunder

 

               In one of the rare few times, I never thought I would decide to watch an early nineties Tom Cruise movie. Although this was a movie I had never seen and thought it couldn’t be worse, right? Well, this was one of those things when you get feel like you've seen the exact same story line from a past Tom Cruise movie well, this is most certainly that movie only this time it's about NASCAR one of the most boring sporting events on the planet. Furthermore, I should thank NASCAR after watching this movie because it gives me every reason to hate the sport even more. Hell, if you’re going to create a racing event where all they must do is turn left, for f**ksake give some excitement like put some ramps on the track or something because after watching Days of Thunder I slowly realize that even NASCAR drivers are complete douches. 

               Basically, the same storyline to Top Gun only this time yes, it's about NASCAR drivers two guys don't like one another then Tom Cruise has a love affair with a young up and coming actress in Nicole Kidman. When the two bros kiss and make up (literally) Tom Cruise has another douche-bag rivalry in Cary Elwes and well in the end Tom Cruise wins Daytona again it's a NASCAR movie, so they obviously must have Tom Cruise win. 

               Look I love a good quality racing movie, in fact I'm big fan of the movie Rush by Ron Howard and Ford v. Ferrarri directed by James Mangold. But let's be frank, this is NASCAR, basically turning left as well as changing lanes every 50 laps as well as years of my life, hell I don't even know how our fellow Southerners ever can get into this sport to be honest. Now keep in mind I did give this movie a chance, this was one of those days where I literally was bored and didn't find anything better to watch but, although now I'm really glad to of watched and experienced the movie because once again NASCAR proves to me why I hate the sport and more importantly hate Days of Thunder. I really wished that this movie wasn't a carbon copy of Top Gun and really if you haven't watched this movie from start to finish this movie is a lazy draft of Top Gun, basically using the same hot shot driver who has no experience in stock car driving and through the course of the movie these two rivals Tom Cruise and Michael Rooker battle each other off the track both wheelchair battle and then renting cars for which both douches literally damaged in which if I was that person who owned those cars I would tell those a**holes to pay up right now. Then Cruise has another rivalry in Cary Elwes, and the two men begin to bond, look either way this movie has one to many elements of it being the exact replica of Top Gun that's when I slowly begin to realize on how bad this movie is going to suck. Apparently and due to the sources I browsed through there were a lot of arguments going on between producers, Tony Scott and writer of Days of Thunder battle out in terms of arguments for which nothing was getting done and all the crew were sitting around watching this Soap Opera, for which explains a lot moreover there was no finished script during the course of filming and Tom Cruise while filming himself in the car had to rely on cue cards attached to the windshields, and even reading about this just hurts my brain and I don't know about you but I find that sad and say we're not going to film anything until we get a good script, but I'm no Tony Scott so, I guess that doesn't matter. I would love to continue about how bad this movie was but, hell I don't even know what to tell you or how to explain some of these scenes especially when Tom Cruise through the course of the movie is such a dumba** and gets into situations where you'd have to cringe. A side from the fact that this movie is on Hulu I would strongly advise you not to watch Days of Thunder especially if you’re a fan of NASCAR fan, and even if you're a lonely woman, look there other movies to be turned on by besides a young Tom Cruise I would imagine, all you just have to do is look around and find something at least hell just watch all the Thor films for a good start and then find something else because those movies would be ten times better than Days of Thunder. And in all fairness this movie came out in 1990 and in about two years Rob Reiner would hire Cruise to play Lawyer/Naval Officer in A Few Good Men, so I would imagine Reiner after seeing this movie pull Cruise a side and told him "look Tom I seen your film Days of Thunder and I hate to tell you that movie sucked, so the good news right now is that I got a movie role that will launch your career and out of the young hotshot douche", though I'm not a fortune teller but I would love to believe that was the conversation between Reiner and Cruise, upon which Cruise still hasn't changed at all and A Few Good Men for me is still my only favorite Tome Cruise movie.