Eternals

 

                                  

                                  I will say the plus side to having Disney + is that you don't have to go to the movie theater and waist your money on some of the mediocre Marvel films. Even though watching through some of these mediocre Marvel Films or Phase 4 is to be honest really on the boring side to it sometimes okay but still one of these kinds of movies I honestly don't need to see ever again. In fairness Eternals was on my watch history and I had nothing better to do on a typical night, so I decided to watch a movie that I don't really what to think but mostly don't believe it’s the best I've seen. I will point one minor complaint, is that if you’re going to cast in actor like Kit Harrington to be in upcoming Marvel Superhero at least give the man some more acting time don't ever put that man in the corner. 

                                  The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.

                                   I will honestly admit in saying that this isn't the worst I've seen and to be fair there was some unique moves Marvel did on their part which I thought were cool like casting an actress who’s deaf to play a superhero for which I think was cool, because I've never seen that before but mostly think they should at least make some unique ideas to the table. I will say my biggest problem I have with the movie is that these Eternals are considered God's that came from the sky and a giant ship for which convenient because that's strait out of a Erich von Daniken novel, but the real problem I have is that they're creators the have sent seeds to grow more Immortal beings on planets but why in all that is holy did these Celestial beings just have a meeting about which seeds to grow moreover send the Eternals to planet Earth, and yet say "wait just, wait lets reconsider this", because in all honesty we've all seen the movies we're Thor becomes in touch with humanity, but yet we don't learn this lesson now that once you seen God like beings to earth for thousands of years they are soon going to be fond of them. I mean come on, even I know when the truth was revealed, that they were going to be a revolt going to happen. And to be truthful, this is the kind of problem I have moving forward with the new Phase with the MCU is that we can now introduce new Superhero's but with each movie they seem to be even more predictable. The other thing that bugs me is that one of the so-called God like hero's are so frustrated about having to not interfere with humanity and yet he goes off on his own, then the next time we see him he starts a cult, for which I look at it as yes you have a point, but dude do you always let your ego doing most of the talking. In the end I look at this film as yes Chloe Zhao got off of her Oscar winning movie about Francis McDormand living in a van down by the river, but deep down this is Disney a company that looks for more ways to screw with people who are different and always love to poke their noses into writers and directors visions and Eternals is an example of just one to many ego's creating such a disaster of a movie.  

    

Top Gun Maverick

 

                      Well, everyone the impossible has happened and no I wasn't really intending on wanting to watch this movie nor a movie I was hoping to avoid this year. But unfortunately, a lot of my family members I'm not going to say who, have urged me to take my father for a birthday movie. And surprisingly enough, Top Gun Maverick wasn't all that bad. Now, granted I wasn't going to lie this was not on my radar of movies I wanted to watch at a theater, and not only was the expectations for the movie so low to my feet I wasn't at all wanting to watch this movie plus having to sit through ten minutes worth of previews that I don't want to waste my time in want to watch on YouTube but I'm suddenly forced to watch them by movie theater standards. For which is why if I ever buy a movie theater, I will make a note of deleting all previews of movies I deem to be nothing but crap.

                      After more than 30 years of service as one of Navy's top Aviators, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

                      You know that saying of the sequel is better than the original? Well, I can argue the first Godfather is still better than the successor and Batman Begins is equal par with the Dark Knight, but I will argue and state that Top Gun Maverick was a million times better than its successor, for a gazillion reasons this was a much serious story then the original moreover took Navy pilots much serious than the original and not making them such complete douchebags though there is one in the second film that's somewhat of a douche but hey, we all have to have that one guy that looks like a douche. And let’s be frank its better than my other analogy I have about Navy Pilots but since we live in a world where everyone doesn't have a sense of humor I just sticking with that fact. Strangely as this sound with Tom Cruise being weird with his religious beliefs I have to say him playing a certain father like figure for the young pilots was pretty cool on his part, and in all truthful I like the fact that he really doesn't mess around when it comes to being a Dad like figure with some of these young bloods in the movie, for which is something new and different in an odd way especially when you have some of the scenes with Miles Teller as Goose's son. I will say the best scene in the movie when it comes to dialogue scenes was Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, and really what I love about it was that Val Kilmer doesn't have a lot of acting scenes he just has his stillness and ability to listen to Cruise monologue about his biggest fears and regrets, and you can really see the love and respect these two men have for one another all in that one scene, moreover with very little scenes Kilmer has in the film I can honestly say that was one of his best acting in all of the films I've seen him in. Now, I'm just throwing this out and see who agrees with me, but I will argue and say that Jennifer Connelly is one of the most gorgeous actress of my generation moreover I will say that if there was any middle age woman I would totally hit one it would most certainly be Miss Connelly and if you don't believe me watch this movie along with The Rocketeer and Dark City, and I don't care if she's married to Vision aka Paul Bettany. What really makes the film better than the first film is that the jet scenes are flown by actual Navy Pilots instead of the actors meaning all the scenes you see with the actors in the Jets are actually flown by real pilots but yet for some reason where stations some were even, I don't know where they put them in. And I can imagine that Tom Cruise may have argued with the Navy in saying that he does his own stunts but I can honestly tell that the pilots were saying to Cruise "Tom don't make me kick you’re a**", but what makes them great is that they really felt real and more scary to be in and really I would say that those dog fights were some of the best Jet scenes I've ever seen on the big screen, which is why this film is a billion times better than the original. If I had to add one complaint, I have with the film its mainly the predictability with the film because really throughout the film I was still having this though of well everyone's going to be okay I mean come on Tom Cruise haven't died in any of his movies, though what can you do about it really killing Cruise would be like killing America. I think in all honesty the original film was basically made to be a hallmark channel, romantic film for the ladies, for which is understandable, but I will put my foot down and say that this latest installment or twenty years in the making sequel is a billion times better than its predecessor. Moreover, I will also say that this is one of Tom Cruise's top five best performances. 

          

May Recommendation: The Mask of Zorro

 

                                I know that I've said many things about how horrible the summer movie season has been for quite some time but, with my latest May Recommendation this year I now need to add more reasons as to how the summer movie season has gone down the crapper. A lot of people don't remember Zorro, for which I can't blame them because of how young and naïve they are, so I'll give a short brief history, Zorro was created in the early 20th century and was a bit of mix of both western style of cowboy and swashbuckler (basically a 18th century Batman), he's been portrayed a lot in the earlier films and TV shows by some famous actors but the way I remembered Zorro was from a 90's TV show that I'd sometimes watch at my step-grandmother's house, as a kid I heard about this film coming out I was excited but wasn't allowed to watch it for many reasons, though forced to watch it via cable TV. And through the years the movie itself seems forgotten to me until I was reminded through the old trailers on YouTube and realized I need to re-watch this movie and this amazing moreover brought a smile to my face.

                                After being imprisoned for 20 years, Zorro aka Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) receives word that his old enemy, Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), has returned. Don Diego and trains an aimless drunk Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) to be his successor. Meanwhile, Montero who has secretly raised Diego's daughter (Catherine Zeta-Jones), as his own, hatches a plot to rob California of its gold.

                                I will say there's a huge difference between movies that came out in the 90's to now and granted there were a lot of duds in the nineties but there was at least a variety of some great summer movies to watch that were not all just remakes, sequels and Disney superhero movies and animated movies that look so overrated. With summer movies between 2020 and now there's just only one film worth seeing and the others are just pure crap and the way I can tell is through the trailer and knowing that every movie is nothing but remakes, superheroes and animated films that are again overrated. Though yes, The Mask of Zorro is an essentially a remake to the past Zorro films but what separates this amazing film from the rest is predecessors, is that it pays tribute to the swashbuckling films from the past furthermore the action sequences were more exciting to watch, and you really can't take your eyes off the screen, they were just so exciting compared to like the Princess Bride for example. But what also makes the film great is that for a two hour and sixteen-minute movie, the story itself goes from point A to point B and point C, in a quick but right pace and doesn't fool around with extending so much of the scenes. I can't really go on with talking about the actors if I don't give some great nods to the legendary sword master Bob Anderson, and for a lot of those who haven't heard of him he started out as an Olympic swordsman in the 1950's then later fought Errol Flynn in a film and after that he began his film career as a sword master in great films like the Star Wars Trilogy (he also was Darth Vader in the lightsaber fights), Lord of the Rings Trilogy as well as the original Highlander, The Princess Bride, the first Pirates of the Caribbean for which leads us to the Mask of Zorro. And upon my research I thought it was interesting that he trained his actors rigorously as well as Antonio Banderas who trained him for ten hours a day for two months, along with Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. And the fact that he passed away ten years ago, really brings a tear to my heart because Anderson was the true soul behind the swashbuckling genre. No question director Martin Campbell does a fantastic job with action movies for which is why he directed this great film via Goldeneye as well as Casino Royale but the most important director we should also talk about, is Robert Rodriguez who I had no clue was intended to direct Mask of Zorro before he dropped out and Martin Campbell took over, but what made his part so important was that he was responsible in casting his fellow movie star Antonio Banderas as the lead role as Zorro. Speaking of the lead actor we should star with talking about Antonio Banderas, as a teenager I've always remembered him as El Mariachi in Robert Rodriguez's movies Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico but no question his best performance without a doubt is Zorro and to be truthful and honest there will never be an actor like that can portray Zorro like Banderas did. What's awesome about Sir Anthony Hopkins as an actor and the respect you have for him was that through the course of his movie career towards 98, he was always known for his dramatic roles but when he took this role, he was enthusiastic in wanting to do an action movie like this. The other thing in what makes this movie awesome is that they do a great job in disguising some the supporting actors who are portraying 19th century Californian noblemen, like Hopkins does a fantastic job with acquiring the accent but the great casting, was Catherine Zeta-Jones in the movie who is yes is technically from England (mostly Wales) but as presence on screen and her ability to have her character be a strong woman and not a typical damsel in distress, she was really exceptional at that. The other most important part to what makes a great action/adventure movie is that you have the perfect villains in the movie for which you despise the moment you lay eyes on them furthermore get to know them more once you close to the mid and final acts of the film, and both actors Stuart Wilson and Matt Letscher do such a fantastic job playing bad guys that you do not like the moment you lay eyes on them and these two need some good recommendation for their performances. I will mark this movie as one of the greatest summer movies of all time and truly one of the most exciting movies I've ever seen. Moreover, if you ever want to know what makes a great action movie this is one of the many great examples of what you need to put out when it comes for the summer movie season. Great movie from start to finish, and of course would recommend this to everyone and most importantly if you ever want to distract your kids from any movies that are coming out now this would be a great choice to have your kids watch.

        

                                        

I Know and Still Know What You Did Last Summer

 

                            If you ever wanted to take a trip down 90's memory lane, we’ll have I got just the movies for you. In all honesty I can't go into details as to why, I decided to watch these two movies but to be truthful it's kind of hilarious re-watching these movies and know just how awful they are at that same time. So, the title of this review is I know and still know what you did last summer, because I don't feel like wanting to do separate reviews and talk about each topic so I'm going to squeeze both movies together to save much of my sanity. As far as I can remember I believe it was the second film that I was introduced too and I knew that I wouldn't watch these films but as fate would have it, or a strange way of fate I picked up the book to I Know What you did Last Summer and then my Mom allowed me to watch it, but then as time went on the film itself really got lost in the mix until now, for which I have so many questions in terms of choices and why they would make these choices for the movie, despite the fact that this film was already made.

                            To sum up the movies is basically this, the first film a group of friend’s sorts of kill someone and to avoid going to the police they decide to get rid of the body, but for some bizarre reasons the guy wasn't dead but instead of not going to the police and tell them that a group of kids ran him over, thought that he was dead then decided to put me in the water. He decides to haunt them and stalk them I guess till he picked the right time to kill them, for which really, I don't get it either but unfortunately the second film doesn't really add up either because they won a trip to the ruff parts of the Bahamas and the same lunacy repeats itself. 

                            In fairness these movies were created at the time of Scream's success of the teen slasher genre, unfortunately it really didn't capture the success of what Scream had they honesty just try to make a teen slasher film that really doesn't make sense on its own. The only difference these two movies have is that the first film you can see the potential in trying to fix this film despite it being made and turning it into a good movie while the second movie I don't know why they needed to make a sequel. I think the main problem of what I have with the first movie is that, the four kids kill the guy who would soon to be the killer that stalks him, but what doesn't make sense to me is why he couldn't just go to the police after being dumped in the shore side of the ocean and report to the police and say that these four kids ran me over, thought that I was dead then proceeded to throw me in the shore side of the ocean, but no he decides to stalk them furthermore make them believe that he was someone else. For which doesn't make any sense at all, I mean wouldn't it make more sense that he had a son? And when the son found out that his father died, he goes on this revenge mission and seeks out the four teens and punishes them, for which yeah at the time people who made this film were too afraid to blame teenagers but now it’s really doesn't age well. Now re-watching these two films I will have to admit that Jennifer Love Hewitt was still gorgeous in these movies and sure she was kind of representing a Neve Campbell look alike but what she always was the girl next door for me in ways I can't explain. When you make a scary movie like spoof the worst thing you can do is try to make the dialogue and scares be funny, what makes films like I know what you did last summer great is that its deliberately trying to be scary, and the best way I can explain why these two films are a guilty pleasure is to present a top five reasons why. The first of course was storyline as we already pointed out in the first film, but when we get to like the second film they get this bizarre prank call for which we in a sense don't know at that time but we can tell just because they got the answer wrong furthermore won a trip to the Bahamas, for which I can understand that maybe in the late 90's you can make prank calls mainly because the answering machine maybe, well yeah they were invented but I guess Brandy and Jenny couldn't afford one, either way I'm still wondering how the killer could get the tickets for them, but in the end who knows. The acting is well meh, but really the stand out actors when it comes to playing douche bags is both Ryan Phillipe and well actually Ryan Phillipe was actually the best actor to play a douche bag in the first movie sure I could comment Mekhi Phifer as well but it’s nothing compared to Phillipe playing a huge douche in the late 90's I mean that man was every 90's douche that you can't stomach nor cared if he lived or died and really after watching the first film I couldn't stop laughing at how desperate he was trying to act as playing so schmuck-ish. I was surprised with some actors in each of the movies especially Johnny Galecki aka Dr. Leonard Hofstadter (I'll let you do the math) for which I was a little on the surprised side because I didn't expect him to be in this movie, in fairness because he was so famous for that one role you just forget his past work that he did. The other actor I had in OMG face brewing, and this was the second film, and that certain actor was Jack Black who posed as a pot smoker with a Jamaican hair wig that looked so horrible even, I couldn't stop laughing at. The third thing in what makes these films so laughable is the jump scares and honestly I don't know if they were trying to be scary or being funny because some of these jump scares are like the killer is obviously trying to mess with his victims by making them think their crazy, is really on the one percent scale of not so scary at all to then being so confused of how he cleans up the mess in such a hurry, and most importantly I strongly doubt a fisherman's hook can cut through locks of hair, sorry not sorry I just can't believe that to ever happen especially in this decade, I should also point out that a killer walking while chasing their victims is defiantly not in the realm of scary, sure it was fine in the 1978 Halloween movie but this is the late 90's lets kick it up a notch, for f**k's sake Wes Craven's ghost face killer was always running into something and we can believe that to be scary because how else are you going to avoid a psycho killer. Now we can talk about logic but I'm starting to have my brain feel like a fried egg, so I'm going to quickly explain it in the best way possible, and for starters let’s start it off with the killer in the movie at the time I would say that yeah, a guy dressed up in fisherman's rain gear with a hook for a murder weapon would be a little on the scary side almost like the ghost face killer where it's not in a sense scary but once he starts running after you yeah that's horrifying, but the fact that the killer looks like an angry New York Islanders fan (look up retro Islanders logo) just seems a bit on the I wouldn't be so scared but if he attacked me I'd grab the pump shotgun and blow him away till there's not ammo type scared. Also I just don't see anything intimidating with a captain hook for a weapon especially when your cutting someone's hair just to for scares, even when Hewitt discovers a bodies and then seconds later after she leaves their not there moreover the spot is very clean, almost causes my brain to melt because really if I'm a killer and leaving body's around to scare people and then having the limited time to clean all of that shit up before coming back I just can't wrap around that concept, hell I would of have to be close by and then open the trunk get all of that s**t out moreover leave it niece and clean uh, that's just way to much work. And finally the reveal of both the killer and his son kind of bothers me because really and keep in mind that we talked about this earlier but I really find it odd that the villain of the whole movie was a man that indeed got ran over by the kids, who was yes banged up in terms of injuries then gets dumped near the shore lines of the ocean but yet mysteriously gets out, BUT DOESN'T GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND GET TREATMENT FOR HIS INJURIES THEN PROCEEDS TO CALL THE POLICE ABOUT THE FOUR KIDS? NOW PLEASE SOMEONE STOP ME FROM ESPLAINING THIS EVEN FURTHER BECAUSE NOW I'M FEELING LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS. And I'm not going to any further details about his kid because just thinking about it is hurting my brain so will just leave it at that. In a strong sense we can see the potential of the first I know what you did last summer movie to be a good success if you just change some minor details it can be better even though it's already been made, the sequel not so much because I really don't know how the producers were able to look at this and think that this was passible hell, I would look at the script and say "Didn't we say all we needed to say about I know what you did last summer? Must we make a sequel?" I sometimes feel like movie producers are like wall street brokers sure one steals money and ruin lives, while the other makes movies and dreams become reality, but deep down I feel like they're both on drugs in order to make these kinds of movies happen. Yes these movies are a train wreck but they’re a good train wreck and I would defiantly recommend it for s**t's and giggles although I would hold off on buying these movie and say if it’s on a streaming service and its free I would watch them, also I believe the two movies are about to leave by the end of this month on Netflix so, yeah just wait, just wait it's truly not a huge rush.   

     

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

 

                             Well believe it ladies and gentlemen the impossible has happened, I'm officially bored of Superhero films. And after watching one of the Phase Four of the MCU films it just confirmed everything I feel when it comes to everything, I know of Superhero films now, and this is gapping the films from after Avengers: Endgame to the present. To be brutally honest it’s kind of ironic how the sequel to Doctor Strange is entitled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where my Multiverse of Madness is watching every predictable movie with its clichés then hearing everyone in the whole world complain about the politics running this country even though it’s really the social media that's being responsible for everyone's stupidity. Now if you don't get that whole concept, KILL YOURSELF. So, let’s get right into Doctor Strange. 

                            Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the Multiverse. However, a threat emerges that maybe too for his allies to handle.

                            I can admit that yeah after Avengers Endgame, I wasn't all interested with any of upcoming MCU after Endgame but to be honest I didn't realize how insanely bad it was going to be while after seeing the first two episodes of WandaVision then I slowly began to realize that I now, am officially bored of watching Superhero films. For many reasons why, is basically when you see one great superhero film you've seen them all and to be truthful there really aren't any of the remaining Avenger's that I cared for over the years’ worth caring for. Though yeah there was a recent Black Widow movie with Scar Jo and Jeromy Renner had his own Hawkeye series but, in all honesty, I wasn't all interested with the latest Black Widow movie mainly because she died and this was set after the events of Civil War so it had nothing to do with anything and Hawkeye well, I'm just going to say that I'm lazy and there's so much to watch on TV.  Now granted I do like Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and as always he does a great job playing the Sorcerer/Martial Arts Master and to be brutally honest the actors in the film really have nothing to do with it being insanely boring and stupid at the same time, it's really the writer Michael Waldron and director Sam Rami who are responsible for making this film so obnoxiously bad, and will start off with Waldron whom I've never heard of until I looked him up and saw the he created the Marvel Show Loki (convenient) but he also written an episode from Rick and Morty, for which now after hearing this I would think this guy should of stayed a bit longer on Rick and Morty to hone his craft a bit more because what he just written for this sequel to Doctor Strange Multiverse adventures wasn't all impressive and obviously this was written but also looked over the shoulder by high powered producers so we can also put that in as a reason for the film's badness but furthermore you can introduce characters and surprised guest stars in the movie (for which I'm going to spoil it, John Krasinski is Mr. Fantastic and Patrick Stewart reprise's his role as Professor X, AGAIN) but I still wouldn't care so much for them because I was never interested with them to begin with, also having Patrick Stewart reappearing as Charles Xavier is bad/lazy writing. And here's one of the many reasons why Marvel is just unoriginal when it comes to creating their own universe because DC Comics who has Infinite Earths in their world, so did the publishers at Marvel when they heard about that, was like well shit we need to create our universe too, which explains a lot if that's the case because I'm reaching the conclusion that Marvel just likes being lazy when it comes to creating superhero's. In all honesty, I don't think Sam Rami did anything new with the movie either though he claims he used a lot of horror elements with the film but I'm sorry I can see the jump scares come a mile away and they weren't even scary it's like trying to scare me with Evil Dead effects, and let’s not forget that this was the same guy who directed two really good Spider-Man films but then half assed the final installment so, deep down the man really lost his way when it comes to making a good quality superhero film. Deep down I would say honestly that all my years of training have led to this breaking point of finally getting sick of anything Superhero-ish, because there all the same nothing's new and exciting anymore furthermore it just gets way to predictable when you've seen so many Superhero films you begin to realize that not even the studios are trying anything new anymore. But, in truth if your kids are still into the Marvel Cinematic Universe don't stop them from going but as a grown man's perspective, I have to say I'm officially tired of all things Superhero. 

  

Mother's Day Recommendation: A League of their Own

 

                                            I know that we're passed Mother's Day but honestly the movie I picked for my recommendation for Mother's Day was in all fairness a test of my movie watching experience. For many reasons it's been a long time since I've watched this movie and there were a lot of jokes I remember and now watching it I was like "eh not as funny as I remembered". But then the film itself becomes more interesting when we reach to second and third act and I soon realize that, despite its unnatural flaws the film alone is still a good movie to watch. A League of their Own is one of my mom’s favorite baseball films to watch, and I always remember watching this film as a kid just like Field of Dreams, but unlike Field of Dreams this film has a lot of adult humor that was in a sense funny but then didn't seem all that funny when you haven't seen it a long time. Directed by Penny Marshall who directed such films like Big and The Preachers Wife and is also related to famous (kind of) director Garry Marshall. Also starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis along with Madonna back when she was much attractive and Rosie O'Donnell who use to be funny? Anyway, lets skip the talking and get right into A League of their Own.

                                           As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) spar with each other, scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) and a grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) on their way to fame. 

                                           A side from the slow first act that it has, the movie itself is still worth seeing especially having kids now to watch this movie as well, because as we all know when it comes to schools, they never teach you anything with history like this. And if I can add any bright side to what makes this film still great, is that it's a lost part of American history that everyone needs to see for the wider audience because this is the only film out there that focuses so much on the Girls Baseball league that helped during the WW II, when some of the famous ballplayers like Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. Now, the last time I watched this I believe I was watching with other people at a lecture discussion class some time maybe 2010, so watching the movie now I slowly began to realize how slow of the first act was and how some of the jokes weren't great as I once remembered them growing up furthermore it also made me realize how awful Jon Lovitz was when it came to comedic actors, granted this guy was a SNL alum but as we all should know SNL actors don't transition well when it comes to movies, example Adam Sandler. And I'm not going to lie getting through Lovitz part was rough to watch, probably another thing to gripe about was Garry Marshall as the so-called founder of the Girls Baseball league who I found is acting bad enough to try and get through for which explains why all of his films were so bad, though he didn't act in his films just made them unwatchable. Some of the comedic jokes I do remember in the movie didn't stand the test of time sure there were some ha-ha moments that were funny but re-watching some of the jokes now just made my water taste funny for some odd reason. Now that being said if you push through the boring part of the first act, the second and third act gets more interesting especially the sister relationship between Geena Davis and Lori Petty and the two of them do such a great job playing a sibling rivalry on the field of Baseball but at the end still love each other, and the same goes with Tom Hanks who at first is overrated in his comedic work in the film but when he gets to his back story and his respect for his players he actually does a fantastic job in his role even when he's trying to persuade Geena Davis character to stay and play baseball. I now, truly understand my mom's love for this movie it’s really at its peak a heartwarming movie from start to finish and does have some adult humor to go along with. So, despite its flaws I still recommend watching A League of their Own and to all youngsters now for some good education on sports history. And in closing I wish everyone a Happy belated Mother’s Day, and to all mothers out there.

           

10 year Anniversary of Pitch Perfect

 

                                While researching films that came out in the year 2012, I began to realize that it was a better year for movies in general and there's a good list to prove it. And our first 10-year Anniversary film is, surprisingly one of the few movies that my sister got me into watching and I actually do thank her for that, but I'm not going to tell her that in person, for many reasons she did force me to watch Twilight in the theaters. I will say after watching this great musical comedy, Pitch Perfect still stands the test of time moreover is you want to know what the statistics are when it comes to making a great female ensemble cast this is one of first of many great examples in what makes a hilarious fun ride. Also, now granted people are going to take offense to this but I would also rank this as one of the top five best musicals.

                               College student Beca (Anna Kendrick) knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals, and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music coemptions.

                              I would say in all female lead comedies is there sometimes predictable and you can tell where the joke is going at times and they seem less funny, or the actress claim to be funny but when you watch their movies, they honestly don't bring their A game at all. But with this movie and what still makes it great is that there were a lot of things that I never expected to have when it comes to a comedy like this, such as the ridiculous side characters to some of the best one liner and all of that combined it makes it so funny, you can't stop laughing for unexpected reasons. I give a small shout out to Anna Kendrick who does a great job playing a girl who’s always the typical shut out who doesn't get involved with society but in the end turns out to be loving the whole world of Acapella, also I completely forgot how cute she is in the movie too, for which I'm a dude so sue me. Now granted there's a lot of side characters that are amazing in the movie such as Adam DeVine who’s amazing playing a sort of Acapella bro type character for which also has a great scene with Rebel Wilson who I admit steals the entire movie and personally I believe is the reasons why this movie still stands the test of time. Britany Snow, whom I've heard from John Tucker must Die though granted haven't seen I also thought did a great job playing a friend and believer to Kendrick's character for which also does great comedic work when it comes to the two combined. I will say that this hands down is one of the best musicals I've seen and there's really not a whole lot that still stands the test of time but this one is a great comedy from start to finish and in all honesty if your trying to look for movie statistics on what makes a great female lead this film alone is a great example of that, from the great characters and the ridiculous jokes that are still funny especially after ten years of existence. So, please do yourselves a favor and check this great movie out. 

                                

The Shawshank Redemption

 

                              Like the Godfather Part II this is one of these movies I haven't got around to watching until my brother got me into a corner and, well let’s just say he told me I need to watch this great classic. Now I question the nature of my reality mainly because this is another movie, I also question the Oscars methods of picking a winner. I used to think that Tim Robbins best movie was Bull Durham I was completely wrong, The Shawshank Redemption is his best movie ever period. It’s also Morgan Freeman's best movie as well, but to be fair I would watch Morgan Freeman in almost everything well, almost everything if you catch my meaning. As of right now I don't feel like 

                             Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to a tough prison. However, only Andy knows he didn't commit the crimes. While there, he forms a friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman), experiences brutality in prison life, adapts, helps the warden etc. All in 19 years.

                              I remember my early childhood watching Forrest Gump at my late Grandfathers house every time we visit him furthermore my aunt would have a VHS tape of the movie and we either watched the movie or it may have been on TV, I'm not sure so, I might be wrong its either one of those memories that I'm not quite sure. Now watching The Shawshank Redemption and learning that this film didn't win Best Picture, but Forrest Gump did moreover learn that it was also 0 out of 7 in terms of Awards won. I have to say that now, The Shawshank Redemption is a zillion times better than Forrest Gump, I'm sorry but I just can't accept Forrest Gump being better than The Shawshank Redemption I mean this film has all of the elements of hellish life in prison getting use to how insanely ruthless wardens and prison guards are when it comes to the toughest prisons and one man keeping hope that he'd one day leave the confines of prison when others wouldn't believe they would accept society living. This is one of those great films that has it all moreover I would go so far and say that this would be a great Christian movie to watch in a way, also I would go so far and say that this is a perfect movie to have the juvenile delinquents watch especially some of the High School bullies for example moreover if it were me I would head teacher of detention or summer school I would defiantly pull this movie out for all of the screw ups and say "gather around kids, its lesson learning time about prison life" just to scare all of the students off, in order for them to make good choices in life. Hell, now just thinking about it I might have to pick a day to have my nephew watch this movie. I will have a confession to make, the only good quality movie I've seen besides this film of Tim Robbins was Bull Durham that's it and granted I don't think that's a huge deal but now after watching this great film I now declare this to one of his finest performances moreover his best movie, and to be honest I really don't need to see any other movie besides Bull Durham and The Shawshank Redemption. I honestly don't know what to say on behalf of Morgan Freeman because in all fairness there not a bad movie I can think of besides the Now You See Me films and the non-Batman films he did with Michael Caine but in truthfulness that's really because he's old now, though I will say that this film, is defiantly one of his greatest performances of all time. Now after watching this amazing film, I now have a pure hatred for Forrest Gump, mainly because it beat out The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture and that film holds a 70 percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes while Shawshank Redemption holds a 91 percent rating. So as of right now Forrest Gump I declare is the worst movie ever, but on a serious not this film alone I would highly recommend watching for everyone. Furthermore, I would even go so far and consider this in the top five best films to watch on Easter Sunday. 

       

                              

                         

Nightmare Alley

 

                                      Okay so now that I officially watched the original classic to Nightmare Alley, I decided to see director Guillermo del Toro's take on his version to Nightmare Alley and see what he brought to the table, and I must say he brought a whole lot to the table then Steven Spielberg did when he remade West Side Story. I will say after watching this great/amazing film, I'm officially going on record and apologize to Guillermo del Toro about my joke I made on my last review for which had much to do with his last movie Shape of Water, now I feel bad deep down because del Toro is a gifted storyteller and a great filmmaker hell he brought me Pacific Rim, Hell Boy and a great sequel to the 1998 Blade film. Bradley Cooper stars in the movie along with great femme fatales in Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Rooney Mara. Like the 1947 version I still can't stop thinking about what I just saw moreover found it astounding, so without wanting to talk more about this movie   

                                      In the 1940's New York, down on his luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) endears himself to a clairvoyant (Toni Collette) and her mentalist husband (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival. Using newly acquired knowledge, Carlisle crafts a golden ticket to success by swindling the elite and wealthy. Hoping for a big score, he soon hatches a scheme to con a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with help from a mysterious psychologist (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formable opponent yet.

                                      Now the best way to describe which is best between the original and remake is very simple, it’s just like when the remake to 3:10 to Yuma was released in 2007 which stared Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, and both films are exceptionally good between the 1957 version and 2007 version, this is just like that were each film is exceptionally great and amazing you just cannot decide which one is better because in all honesty there both great in their own right. What makes this latest version to Nightmare Alley amazing is it shows all the horrors of carnival life and the city life, but most importantly it dives real deep into destiny and fate as well, and Coopers Stanton Carlisle, goes on this journey maybe wanting to change himself of what he once was but his hubris is so strong that he just cannot escape his destiny. And Bradley Cooper does such a great job in creating his own version of Stanton Carlisle that's the complete opposite of Tyrone Power's portrayal of Stanton Carlisle and without giving any spoilers, really the only difference between Cooper's portrayal and Power's portrayal, is that Power's Carlisle was just a regular average man that's a decent person who is trying to make a living and wanting to get out of the carnival business but after on mistake he feels so much guilt it kind of haunts him but has Molly to be his somewhat conscious and reason that keeps him from losing his sanity, while Cooper's portrayal is we don't know him at first but once we see him throughout his journey we begin to understand that he's a unremorseful person and is willing to sacrifice everything to get to the top of the ladder even if it means his soul. I've seen a good chunk of Cate Blanchett's films through the years, and I can honestly say that Nightmare Alley is hands down her best work I've seen in quite a long time, this is the first time ever that I see her play a character that's mysterious and beautiful but is far more threatening and so scary at the same time and I though she did an amazing job playing Dr. Ritter. In truth I haven't read the book yet, although it’s going to be in my many books I'm going to check out and read, but I can honestly Guillermo del Toro did an amazing job in staying true to the source material of the book and he really does a fantastic job really balancing out some of the great troupes to the film noir genre, in some of the scenes to, as always balancing out his unique style of fantasy horror. The other thing he does great at is really showing all aspects of humanity, for example when it comes to the world of the Carnival it’s really filled with people that's either trying to escape their troubled past or venerable people with nowhere else to go, while the city life you can really see that it's a far more dangerous world fill with people that are dangerous but are also incapable of seeing the good in themselves then in others and del Toro does a great job in not being afraid creating pain and flaws in people that are not all perfect. Now the last film I saw that shock me to the core that I had to step away from the movies, but also thought was amazing at the same time was Promising Young Woman, the latest remake to Nightmare Alley I felt like the guy from Leprechaun 2 where he screams OMG to the screen in terms of how amazing it was but I also felt shocked to the very core moreover just need to step away from the movies because I was beginning to hate myself, in a strange way I can't explain. Now that I watched the original Nightmare Alley I felt grateful in finding a hidden gem that really needs to be seen by tons of people moreover thought the whole scenery and story was just insane, but now after watching the 2021 version, I'm not quite sure I can watch movies or TV again for a while, I might have to start off with watching something that can take my mind off of the world to Nightmare Alley. Guillermo del Toro's version of Nightmare Alley is a dark night of the soul in such amazing way that I would highly say that it's up there with The Last Duel as one of the best movies of 2021 and I would highly recommend this to everyone including the original film.

                 

Nightmare Alley: Original Classic

 

                               After watching this year’s Oscars I've been somewhat hearing a lot of praise for Guillermo del Toro's latest film Nightmare Alley staring Bradley Cooper, unfortunately I was a little weary at first when I heard he was coming out with a new movie because mainly I haven't trusted del Toro ever since he came out with the movie about a woman falling in love with a fish man. Although, as luck would have it, his film was a remake to a 1947 classic of the same name and story, moreover as luck was on my side, I just happen to find the original on YouTube, because let’s face it YouTube is a great way to find some hidden gems from the past. So as always with nothing to do all day I decided to take the time and watch this amazing well-crafted Film Noir. Staring Tyrone Power whose most famous for The Mark of Zorro, after serving his time in WWII read the book Nightmare Alley and convinced 20th Century Fox to buy the rights to the book for which came to be one of his best works. Now, I myself never have seen any of Power's work but I can tell that this was his best movie.

                               Roustabout Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) joins a traveling carny and unsuccessfully schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena (Joan Blondell) and her alcoholic husband, Pete (Ian Keith). But when Pete dies, Zeena is forced to take on Stanton as a partner, and he quickly proves more gifted than his predecessor. Ambitious to a fault, Carlisle abandons Zeena and the carney to reinvent himself as "The Great Stanton" wowing high class audiences in a Chicago hotel.

                               In all Film Noir's, they always portray the protagonist as someone with a tragic backstory or a sin they're trying to escape from or another way of putting it an anti-hero, someone who’s not a perfect hero. What makes Nightmare Alley so amazing is that it has all those elements, but shows a man being so desperate to get to the very top of success and then falling so low to the lowest pit in his life that he fears he may not come out of. And that's what Nightmare Alley provides is a con man who dubbing gullible folks out of their hard earn money by simply telling them what they want to hear. This was my first experience of Tyrone Power as an actor and the guy at first was always remembered for as a ladies man and swashbuckler but with this movie after its release, everyone didn't want to accept him as this ruthless con man who takes advantage of people which I don't understand why because I thought he did and a tremendous job playing a ruthless con man whose so obsessed with getting to the top of his game but just when it couldn't be enough becomes his worst enemy, and also they guy served in the Marine Corp furthermore wanted a change in his persona as actor that can change, for which you really can't fault him on that. Even the supporting cast of actresses do a fantastic job as well both are beautiful and visually stunning but also stands up to the star of the film, Joan Blondell whom I just now have been reminded by a MST3K joke, does a great job playing a master of manipulation for Power's character but begins to for warn him about the consequences that would lead to his downfall. Coleen Gray does a great job as well playing the love of Carlisle's life but also trying to be the conscious to Carlisle's ego, though the actress I'm more impressed in this movie was Helen Walker who plays a therapist to Power's character who sees right through him but is also an adversary to his character as well. Now, granted all the leading actresses in the movie were amazing to watch but I thought the one supporting cast member who did a great job as well was Ian Keith as Pete who is really the whole future to what Carlisle will soon turn into and the whole scene between them is really the setting up scenario of what Carlisle would turn into, and I thought Keith did a great job at that. I will keep saying this multiple times YouTube is a great way to find some old classic films that free to watch especially when it comes to movies, TV shows and even sporting events and documentaries. Hell I even found the first Basketball game between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird all because I watched the latest episode of Winning Time, but again I will keep telling all of you to use YouTube a lot because it’s a great way to find some hidden gems of classic movie moreover I will also highly recommend Nightmare Alley, this is one of the many film noir's that is up there with some of the best like The Third Man, Laura, Don't Bother to Knock and of course The Maltese Falcon. 

          

                                   

April Recommendation: Exodus: Gods and Kings

 

                                 Yes, its April but it's also the specials Holiday of Easter and sure I've already did my did my recommendation of the Chosen, but I've said back in January I was going to do a tribute to Ridley Scott and I'm a little bit behind, also I figured this would be a perfect movie to watch in the month of April. It's kind of strange looking back at Exodus: Gods and Kings, it does feel a bit of a mystery as to why Scott chose to direct this film despite the fact, he claims to be an atheist, I guess the one reason I can honestly understand was that it was a year or two after his brother Tony Scotts suicide and he obviously made this movie as a tribute for him. When I first remember the trailer for the movie moreover heard that Christian Bale was playing Moses, I thought to myself that this was obviously going to be amazing I mean hell Batman playing the hero to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt? You can't go wrong with that. Now I'll admit that yes there's a ton of flaws with this movie such as the famous actors playing so-called Egyptians, which fair but deep down doesn't bother me that much because let’s face it Hollywood has been guilty of this for quite a long time so, if you’re going to point the finger at one fall guy, point it at the producers in Hollywood, and deep down they did a good job disguising it a bit. So, let’s dive deep into Exodus: Gods and Kings.

                                 Egyptian princes Moses (Christian Bale) and Rameses (Joel Edgerton) are raised together as brothers. When Rameses becomes Pharaoh, Moses is his trusted advisor. However, Moses soon discovers his Hebrew parentage, and Rameses banishes him to the desert -- often a death sentence. But God has a mission for Moses: Free the Israelites from slavery. Moses returns home from exile and demands that Rameses lets his people go, but the arrogant ruler is unmoved, leading to a battle of divine wills.

                                 After watching this movie, I can admit that yes it has its unnatural flaws but deep down I would prefer this film over Darren Aronofsky's film Noah for which all the Angels are moving rocks which I still to this day never quite understand why he would do that, though deep-down Aronofsky is a weird dude. And in all honesty, those two films came out the same year although in different months. But now re-watching this entertaining movie I always said this before but never outspoken, majority of Ridley Scott's films are not bad in truthfulness, there mostly entertaining and Exodus is a great example of still being entertaining. A side from the fact that this is both Scott and Christian Bale's only movie in terms of working together I don't understand why they stopped working together after that because I thought they made a good team, and yes this film was two years prior to Bales final performance of Batman, but in all honesty I truly believed that he did a fantastic job as Moses and for a guy who does a great job being a method actor he really put the whole movie on his back and made it as entertaining as possible. Now everyone playing Egyptian I'll admit it was a bit on the white washing side to it but come on, Hollywood again, has been doing it for a long time so don't blame this movie when you see it in terms of it being inaccurate, in fairness blame the producers and casting directors for not doing their jobs, and also let’s not forget in 2016 director Alex Proyas directed a movie called Gods of Egypt, where Gerard Butler is a Scotsman but playing an Egyptian God but yet doesn't look a thing like Egyptian at all, so again before you try to criticize this movie just remember that Hollywood still to this day hasn't learn their lesson. Anyway, back to the main topic, I thought Ridley Scott did a great job disguising the actors in fairness and Joel Edgerton did a good job with his appearance and his performance as well because from the way some of the actors were dressed, I truly thought they all looked good in playing Egyptian. Sure this movie is not up to par with films like The Ten Commandments or The Prince of Egypt, but I honestly loved Ridley Scott's take in making the films a much grounded towards reality in some ways, but also seeing Moses as kind of a resistance leader and not dressed in the traditional robes and staff towards the end of the movie, moreover always knows how to make a grand epic movie because in all fairness this anything he makes is yes sometimes has its flaws but I still loved this film till the very end. So, for the month of April and Easter Sunday if you’re looking for something new and different, I would highly recommend giving a chance and watching Exodus: Gods and Kings and yes, it’s not traditional like The Ten Commandments but I can honestly say that you'll be entertained by Bale's performance as Moses and some of the grand epic sequences that happens throughout the film.

    

                                     

Easter Sunday Recommendation: The Chosen Season 1

 

                                I decided to spice things up a little for the month of April, which is the special day for Catholics, Easter Sunday the resurrections of our savior Jesus of Nazareth, and no this has nothing to do with the Easter Bunny because as we all know he's not a real thing only Jesus matters most. My mother has been dying me to watch this biblical show for quite some time and really when it comes to the month of April it’s in a strange sense hard to find any movies or shows based on faith when it comes to finding the right ones. So why not watch a show my mom has been begging me to watch at a perfect month. And so, to sum it up in the best sentences possible this is hands down the GOAT of all things biblical when it comes to movies and shows. Where, the Chosen has come from is in both strange and fairness as some come to see as both an independent studio's as far as I can describe, basically creator Dallas Jenkins stated in his own words about studio's "whoever owns the gold makes the golden rules", now I'm just sugar coating on how I've heard it but his way of financing this show in the best description, the show is financed via crowdfunding; the show is free to watch and viewers are asked to "pay it forward" by contributing whatever amount they wish to fund future seasons, and contributors may receive perks such as an extra in the film. As of 2021, viewers had contributed $40 million towards its production, making it by far the most successful crowdfunded entertainment project. So, lets dive deep into what I consider the GOAT of all thing’s biblical media. 

                               To sum it up the show is about the life of Jesus Christ introduces Jesus and the calling of his initial disciples, with a discussion after each episode.

                               Now I'll admit I had my doubts, but in all fairness there are a rare few of movies and television that really have the pure magic in terms of Christianity and storytelling, but what makes this show amazing and beautiful to watch at the same time is that it imbodies both real life problems of acceptance and knowing you’re not alone in the world, and all of the characters from Mary, Matthew and Simon I automatically relate to these characters once the camera focuses on them once their story come to importance. A lot of the ensembled cast where actors that have given up acting when it came to Hollywood so there are some of the actors that were in some movies or shows, though we all just didn't look hard enough but the one actor who plays Nicodemus, Erick Avari I actually did recognized from the 1999 Mummy film for which I was impressed myself, though with all of these actors I have to say Jenkins did a fantastic job in finding them. Furthermore, I will talk about Jesus and Nicodemus, but I going to talk more about the actors who I found more to be relatable in my eyes. Starting with Elizabeth Tabish who does a fantastic job as Mary Magdalene for many reasons when I first watched the first episode some time back she was the first to actually have me see the true potential behind this show, because she first starts off as a lost soul whose been possessed by inner demons until the stranger who I began to realize is Jesus comes into her life and gives her a new purpose, the actor Paras Patel does a great job as well playing Matthew who starts off as a tax collector, whose also an outsider to a lot of the people in Israel and especially his own family but is also autistic as well but what makes his performance great to me is that yes he's in outsider that no one likes, especially when he's celebrating a Holiday all by himself with a dog he found and befriends, but once he witnesses the miracles he begin to question his own surroundings he decides to take a step into a different light. Now the one character and actor I was moved by the most was Shahar Isaac's performance as Simon, because his journey starts off with being a struggling fisherman who's behind debts and frequently gambles and fights but when he's in over his head with the Romans and must pay up full or go to prison he is so distraught that he questions his own God but in his hour of need he sees Jesus for the first time and asks him to do one last fishing line and well I'll let your imagination speak for itself because then he breaks down emotionally and it really moved me because I sometimes feel like Simon in my own life where nothing is going my way and when some mysterious miracle happens its, well let’s just say Shahar Isaac's performance in the show is really moving to me and very special. Erick Avari does a great job playing Nicodemus who isn't at all offended as a Rabbi but is interested in Jesus's teachings but is also torn between two worlds one of which his own personal life and the other where he wants to go with Jesus to learn more. Now this show is defiantly the GOAT of Biblical shows but Jonathan Roumie is the GOAT, when it comes to any actor to portray Jesus of Nazareth, because most actors always portray him as a silent figure with no personality though I do love Rodrigo Santoro's portrayal in the 2016 Ben-Hur but what makes Roumie's performance amazing is that he's really down to earth and fun and loving but also more loving and caring in ways I can't describe, other than once I saw him when he makes his first appearance I was just blown away moreover felt like I was like a deer when the headlights were coming into my way, and in all honesty Roumie's performance is so powerful and moving that he really steals the spotlight in this show and that's what I love about him. This show is free on a app where you can watch it for free and pay it forward, but in closing this is of course saying this again, the GOAT of all things Biblical in media so for this Easter Sunday if you haven't seen this amazing show I would highly recommend watching this with your family.

  

The Godfather Part II

 

                                I finally sat down and watched this amazing sequel from one of the greatest gangster movies of all time, The Godfather Part II. Now before all of you say anything about what took me so long to watch it, when I was doing this adventure full time, I've seen the bottom barrel of the worst movies in Hollywood and it was so bad that I was seriously suffering from PTSD (figuratively speaking) for the fact that there were no good quality films to watch in the theaters, that's basically how bad it gotten. And yes, I've watched The Godfather some time back but that's basically the main reason as to why I've haven't continued onto the second installment. I will say this though, now after watching the movie I understand now how contrarian, the Academy Awards is especially when not picking the right award to the right category and if you’re referring to Al Pacino not getting an Oscar for his portrayal of his greatest movie role as Michael Corleone then you just won a thousand dollars in gas money. But will have to leave it there right now let’s talk about the first and only sequel to win Best Picture.

                               The compelling sequel to "The Godfather," contrasting the life of Corleone father and son. Traces the problems of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in 1958 and that of young immigrant Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) in 1917's Hell’s Kitchen. Michael survives many misfortunes and Vito is introduced into the life of crime.

                                One of the many films I will say I need to question the ways the Academy Awards does especially when it comes to picking the winner, though they were all right on the categories but deep down I'm talking about biggest robbery in Oscar’s history was not giving Al Pacino the award for his greatest performance in Cinema history. Though he was in the supporting role of the first Godfather this film is where he truly shines as Michael Corleone for one this a film where he becomes a bad person to a monster by the end of the film, and his ability to portray his emotions on screen is just amazing to watch furthermore he's really the type of person I would be scared to double cross or have him come to my house unexpected. In the first movie we see him be more of a War Hero and caring individual to his girlfriend Kate, then through the course see him become a more different and darker person. This movie he really becomes a bad person to a more of a monster by the end though sure Vito was a bad person but deep down he was a man trying to survive in America and taking more care of his family while Michael thinks more about his family business then his own family and pushing away the very people, he cares about especially his wife. And Al did an exceptional job playing a villain that's in a sense a respectable person but you have absolutely no sympathy through the course of the movie, and deep down this was the only performance other than the first Godfather I can look at and say that this was Pacino's greatest performance but yet the Academy didn't honor him well enough, for which I'm starting to realize that either the Academy Awards are a bunch of contrarian's or they don't watch movie's at all and just pick the most popular actor out there because in all reality everyone knows that Godfather Part II was his greatest performance of all time and not A Scent of a Woman. Robert De Niro I'll admit did a great job playing a young Vito Corleone, for a movie that's spans through his young life moreover speaks Italian through the whole movie is impressive on behalf of De Niro moreover I love the fact that he really does nothing facing with the character than just impersonate Marlon Brando's performance in the first Godfather movie. Both performances were amazing from Pacino and De Niro and the directing Francis Ford Coppola was outstanding as always but I believe the great surprise of this whole movie was John Cazale as Fredo Corleone, he as always was great in the first movie but he really stood out in the second film especially when he has is one on one time with Michael and spills out his emotions of having being stepped on all the time but in all honesty it really hits home with me in a strange way because I sometimes have that experience but this is between family and in all honesty I just felt for Fredo despite his bad deed he does to the family, for which I'm going to stop right there because I don't want to spoil this for anyone who haven't seen the first two Godfathers. Both Godfathers I and II are the greatest gangster films of all time except for III, they both stand the test of time in terms of what Gangster films are and what they can inspire a new generation, so if you ever feel for an adventure into the heart of crime I would highly recommend watching the Godfather Part II and keep in mind things do happen through the course of the movie despite the fact that the runtime is three hours and twenty-five minutes. 

        

Assassin's Creed Revelations: Replay Review

 

                          Finally finished the final chapter in Ezio's journey, were it combines all three stories of the Assassin's Creed series from the first game to Brotherhood and like all endings they always must have an undecided conclusion. Unfortunately, we get to see what it's like to live in Constantinople during the rise of the Ottoman Empire well even though it's still the same of gameplay as the Brotherhood game, but you still get to do some fun things. Despite not getting more story of Altair's life as an Assassin I thought it was cool to get a backstory of how Desmond past storyline but with a much complexity walkthrough. A side from not a whole lot to explain I guess where going to make this short and sweet.

                           Desmond Miles now in a induce coma must find a way to the linked memories between Ezio's final days as an Assassin and him finding clues to Altair's past and what he left behind.

                            In all honesty there's really not a whole lot to talk about the final installment to the Ezio trilogy other than, it a unique and enjoyable conclusion to the most popular Assassin throughout the Assassin's Creed series moreover I also love the fact that throughout the story that he keeps talking about living a life outside of the Creed and being more mature about the lives he tries not to bring in to his struggle, although we have very short missions with Altair I do wish we had more storylines of his continuation after the first Assassin's Creed because I still hold to him as a fascinating character and I kind of wanted to know more about what he did after the first game more of his adventures with the love of his life and well just more continuations of Altair in all truthfulness. A side from the gameplay it’s not a whole lot to say still is fun and exciting just like the Brotherhood game, I do love the fact that they have ziplines throughout the city of Constantinople and you must kill the enemies who are tearing them down which is nice but at least you don't have to worry about riding your horse into tiny space streets that's for sure. The one side mission I did take some time to play was Desmond's journey and it’s a strange puzzle game where you have to journey through the course of different dream like coma's kind of like a first person Inception, and through that time you get to understand why Desmond left and all of the events that happened that lead to him being captured in the first Assassin's Creed game and I like the fact that we get to take some good time in understanding why he did what he did. Now that I got a new PlayStation, I now can finish this review, and a side from nothing new, it was still a great story and final chapter in the Ezio journey of how a man now making peace with himself in the end of a long journey.  

  

                            

                           

The Silence of the Lambs

 

                               One of those nights of pure boredom mourning the loss of a 2006 PlayStation 3 I've had over the years, though to be truthful it wasn't a huge loss, but it was one of those things were you're like "oh god why in your finally letting go, oh well I guess I'll have to go to eBay and buy a sort of new one-ish". See it wasn't a big loss but still felt empty inside, okay now we're moving on literally, nothing better to do so then I realized that this great piece horror was going to be pulled from Amazon Prime in about ten days so I thought well I haven't seen this film so I might as well use this time to sit down and watching this modern day horror classic for the ages, The Silence of the Lambs. Now before you shame me I should point out that I lived a very sheltered life though to be fair I have seen Hannibal in 2001, I remember I was maybe in eighth grade, maybe seventh and I can remember my brother waking me up and telling me he rented Hannibal on VHS (You'll remember VHS?) and we both sat down in the dark and watched the whole movie and in all honesty the only memory I can really remember being mesmerized by Sir Anthony Hopkins portrayal of Hannibal Lector. Though granted it’s been a long time since I've seen that movie and maybe going back to that movie in October but now having watched this amazing movie it's just so great and terrifying that I can't stop thinking about it. 

                               Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lector (Sir Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who's also a violent psychopath, serving a life sentence for various acts of murder and cannibalisms. Crawford believes that Lector may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, maybe just the bait to draw him out.

                               Of course, this was one of the greatest Horror movies of all time no question about, and to be honest I didn't expect how intense this film was going to be moreover how you can't look away from some of the most horrific moments in the film. The other thing on what makes this movie amazing is there is hardly any gashes of blood when it comes to the film well in all fairness during like the second and third act but they really do is push more of the psychological horror to the audience and a lot of that comes from the many close ups of the actors giving their dialogue and more importantly giving out moments that even make you chill the very bone in your body. And Johnathan Demme did a fantastic job in creating a disturbing world for the audience to feel especially with so much intensity at every turn, moreover, doing a great job in making you as an audience member feel uncomfortable especially when we have some of these great dialogue scenes. Now of course Jodie Foster is a fantastic actress, and her resume proves that dating back to Taxi Driver and what she does in this movie is even greater while playing an FBI trainee whose being dropped into this world of darkness, insanity and most importantly psychological trauma she must endure in finding this killer. Sir Anthony Hopkins of course is amazing as Hannibal Lector, I mean just his posture and close ups whenever he's on screen it's just so disturbing and chilling at the same time but, you can't take your eyes off him at all and what makes him so great he takes a full step into the realm of evil and you just can't stop and witness the whole madness behind his eyes. Now each of them have done an amazing/fantastic job furthermore all three deserved their Oscar wins but they wouldn't have been great without their supporting main antagonists both Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill and Anthony Heald as Dr. Chilton, yes Hannibal Lector is a monster but both Levine and Heald's characters are even bigger monsters through the course of the movie and especially Levine's character of Buffalo Bill who so vicious and really scary when it came to abusing the poor girl in the well that you feel no pity for Ted's character at all and the way he treats his victim that you sometimes even feel sorry for the poor dog as well, and when it comes to Heald's portrayal as Dr. Chilton who's somewhat of an overbearing egotist who thinks the world revolves around him that he would do anything to be the big man on campus especially when it comes to being disrespectful to his prized possession Dr. Lecter. So, in all honesty you really wouldn't have the performances moreover caring for the characters in Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter without hating both Buffalo Bill and Dr. Chilton, for which I do say that both Ted Levine and Anthony Heald who I think were great antagonists of the film and deserver more praise for their work. The Silence of the Lambs is defiantly one of the top five Horror movies of all time and defiantly one of the very few films the Academy Awards got right when it comes to the Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress and Best Director furthermore I think the mid-nineties were the great years when it came for the Academy Awards when it came for appreciating the best films. So, if your ever in the mood to take a walk on the crazy/scary side of cinema I would highly recommend watch The Silence of the Lambs its creepy and menacingly scary and most importantly keep you on the edge of your seat until the final credits begin to roll.