Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

 

                                    There are times when you have a bad day or hear some bad news going on in the world there's really and only one man that can come in and save the day for you. That man is Quentin Tarantino, well unfortunately he doesn't come as an individual person, but his movies in general is what saves the day for any individual whose down and depressed about their jobs or lifestyle. And his 9th film is without a doubt a movie that will give you hope and joy as you cease the next day. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a film that in a sense yes is about three hours long but is worth every minute and more importantly Mr. Tarantino goes back in time to alter time where the Mansion Cult finally get their comeuppances. Staring Leo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in one of the finest performances of a lifetime which is why he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Now having watched this I will defiantly need to have my dad watch this great movie because he's a big fan of Inglorious Bastards. 

                                    Actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) gained fame and fortune by staring in 1950's Television Westerns but is now struggling to find meaningful work in a Hollywood that he doesn't recognize anymore. He spends most of his time drinking and palling around with Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his easygoing best friend and longtime stunt double. Rick also happens to live next door to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) -- the filmmaker and budding actress whose futures will forever be altered by members of the Manson Family.

                                    I think the last time I watched this great movie, was probably when the film was released despite the theater, I was going just suffered a bizarre flooding and it also smelled bad at times. In all honesty the movie itself, is a bit of Tarantino repeating himself from the toe fetish, narration and let’s not forget the panning of a beautiful woman oh, I almost forgot altering the timeline of historical events. Though in fairness the film itself comprehends itself was some great moments along with some great storytelling as well, and for a close three-hour long film yeah it takes a long time to make the slow turns but then it gets into high gear during midst of the second and final act of the film. The movie does blend a great story with historical events that happened, but with a blend of poetic justice, and that's where we go ahead and talk about the Manson Family's involvement in the movie because when I first saw the previews of the film of course I was on board to seeing the movie but I had no clue about the murders Charles Manson's followers have done in the year of 1969 for which cause the loss of Sharon Tate whose in the movie, now at that time learning about that I wasn't sure if this was going to be good or not I did have my suspicions now questions about that but when I heard that Sharon Tate's sister loved the movie I was like okay so, its fine to witness at least as long as the sister to the late Sharon Tate loved it. For which leads to all the way back to when I was sitting in the movie theater and realize now I understand why she loved the movie, it was basic poetic justice in the murderers to Sharon Tate getting their comeuppance. Which I'll admit, when I first saw the movie I honestly didn't know what to think of it at first because this was again repeating Inglorious Bastards, but then when I watched it now I suddenly had a change of heart because in fairness what the Manson Cult did was unforgivable so, I think it's time that we had a movie where they suffered the worst possible death by a bunch of awesome actors like Pitt and DiCaprio. Quentin actually does a fantastic job with the story in blending both the times changing with poetic justice, moreover what the story really focuses on is both men who've had high success in Hollywood but soon gets a crash course of reality when the Hollywood soon begins to change and even the don't recognize it anymore, in addition I believe we all can relate to that concept even if you don't live in Hollywood, because I watch movies all the time moreover was born in a time when movies were fun to watch, as well as movie that come out now I find at times unwatchable for many reasons their the same thing and are nothing new, so yeah I wouldn't say I understand it from a filmmaker or actor's perspective but can relate to it in a different angle. If I had to pick an actor who really was the best part of the whole was no question Brad Pitt, I mean that whole character that he created along with Quentin Tarantino was just pure awesome especially in one of the scenes where I was fearing for my life because almost thought he was going to die but was okay in the end though he punches a hippie, for which you can't beat that. I will say for a guy in his mid-fifties I have to say he does a great job making himself look good shirtless, I mean watching him on screen I almost forgot that this man is on the brink of oldness though to be fair that's not stopping this guy. Margot Robbie does a great job playing the late Sharon Tate, although despite very little of screen time she as I will always dig her sixties dancing. I think if there is any life lessons Quentin Tarantino has ever taught me not to do when it comes to his movies, it's always never pick up any hippie chicks and Margaret Qualley's performance as one of the Manson girls just gave me enough evidence to just say no, though not to judge but I mean when you pick up a hippie chick that hasn't showered for days moreover have armpit hair maybe haven't brushed their teeth, then I'm just going to hit the gas pedal and drive as fast as I can, because the answer to life is always say no to drugs. Even though the film is three hours long with some stuff they could have cut out, I can still say that the film is always a great one to put on and watch from start to finish, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is defiantly one of those films, I would rank in the top ten of movies that can put you in a good mood.

       

The Queen's Gambit

 

                           One of the very few times other than the Witcher I binge on Netflix, and strangely enough this was the first time I watch a show where chess is exciting for once. In all fairness I wasn't really paying attention much to upcoming shows other than The Boys and Witcher, for understandable reasons Pandemic was kicking my ass and I was in thoughts of becoming Thanos, if you take by meaning. The Queen's Gambit, is what I like to call a, well in all honesty it’s a coming of age story but I guess when you think about it more like a coming of age story with some interest mainly because a lot of what the chess sequences is the fascinating part the other part I have to say is a bit on the meh side but I have to say is a decent quality Netflix series, staring the ever beautiful Anya Taylor-Joy and Moses Ingram who was one of the baddies in the Obi-Wan TV series, and lots of other unknowns. 

                           Set during the Cold War era, orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world.

                            You know the term Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll? Well, I honestly never thought they can upgrade chess with sex and drugs until I watched this show. In terms of acting wise there's really not a whole lot to say when it comes to Anya Taylor-Joy, and what she does very well is show this woman from a young age learning all the values of life, first as a young girl she seems confused then finds a purpose in life when she first discovers chess but then she begins to realize what a gift she has in terms of finding her opponents weakness, then through the course of her teenage/adult life she begins not make some of the best choices in life but hey neither did Darryl Strawberry but he the guy at least found his calling in the Catholic faith. Moreover, overusing so much alcohol and pills for which again this rest my case about a chess player bringing sex and drugs to world of chess, I'm kind of curious now is any other chess players use booze and drugs to get ready for a chess match. Furthermore Anya Taylor-Joy does such a great job throughout the show being a bit of a shy girl to a confident and sexy woman through the course of the show and she really does such a great job at that, the other actor I will say does a great job in the show as well is Bill Camp who plays the mentor who guides Beth into the world of Chess, and granted he has only two episodes of spotlight, he does a great job all the way through. If there was anything negative I can say about the show is probably the awkward sex that happens during episodes five and six and well, also four I should include that with when she's experimenting with weed, but then she reconnects with some of the guys that she beats and they of course hook up, but as an audience member it just felt way to awkward and I mean Taylor-Joy is too attractive for some of those guys and to be honest she deserve much better just saying, but granted this is a TV show, but in all fairness the real interesting part of this show is the Chess sequences and her character for which they really should of focused more on that then all the dudes who got beat by her and years later they wanted to hook up with her, which is just way to awkward for me. Although all of it is saved during the last episode where she goes to Moscow and face off with the Russian's which to me, I was into the most. In all honesty all of the chess sequences and the character of Beth Harman are interesting and if they focused more of that than having these awkward sex scenes, aftermath I guess I would be interested with this show more or re-watch it again, but really the show itself felt real slow at times and really took me a long time to watch the whole mini-series, but I will admit it’s an interesting show to watch and you'll get some great moments but then I think I'm pretty much, better off not watching the show again unless I feel like wanting to watch it again.

  

                                   

                                    

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

                       Finished another great Star Wars Show, and of course it was amazing mainly because there's no Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrahams interfering nor screwing up the Star Wars universe, although I don't know who really oversaw bringing back Star Wars legends Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, but I'm going to say that it was fellow Mandalorian director Deborah Chow. When I heard that they're doing a series of Obi-Wan Kenobi's time on Tatooine, there was no question I was on board for this, especially when Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are reuniting from the Prequals Trilogy. Along with fellow alums like Joel Edgerton, Jimmie Smits and most importunely the voice of God himself James Earl Jones, this was a great Star Wars show that didn't let down from start to finish.

                       Set ten years after Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is in hiding on Tatooine resuming his duties though cutting himself out of the Force to avoid detection. But Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) along with fellow Inquisitors (Moses Ingram) are hunting remaining Jedi, unfortunately Obi-Wan is requested to help from in old friend, now two old friends from different sides of the force suddenly cross paths and the fate of the Galaxy will soon be decided.

                        As a Star Wars fan, I've always in a sense been intrigued about Obi-Wan's time on Tatooine was like during the rise of the Empire between the gaps of Episodes III and IV. And finally getting a glimpse of that is very fresh to see, though at first I'll admit it gets slow during the first two episodes of the series but once you get a glimpse of Darth Vader then things get really interesting and I look back during 2015, I remember fans making the comparing of both Vader and Kylo Ren, moreover being frustrated as well because some of the fans think Ren is better than Vader all because Vader doesn't really do anything. Now watching the series and witnessing how terrifying and scary Darth Vader really is I honestly want to round up all those fans and force them to apologize and if they don't force them to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special. I really liked Ewan McGregor's portrayal as Obi-Wan in this series because when we first see him, he appears like he's been broken down and given up on life until he seeks a purpose in a mission to save someone close to him he begins to get a more understanding of coming back into the light, and Christensen does a great job bringing out the best in McGregor's portrayal even better and the same goes with Moses Ingram who plays one of the Inquisitors whom you don't know what her motives are until the very end. I will say both James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen do a fantastic job in bringing out the very best in Darth Vader, especially in the third episode of the series where it almost feels like it's a horror movie. I will say you do get a nice reunion-esh scene were both Ewan and Hayden are sparing, and it really doesn't feel like these two's ages really changed, in all honestly it really looks like the just walked back onto the set of Attack of the Clones. Now I would go on further, but I really don't want to spoil end detail, other than this was a great watch from start to finish, it’s a great reason why the Prequals are so awesome furthermore if you’re a Star Wars fan Disney + is for you, and now that I finished the Show, I now have the sudden urge to watch some of my past Star Wars video games. 

  

June Recommendation: The Truman Show

 

                        

                         

                                   My June recommendation is another example because the 90's decade was a better year for movies in general. I rediscover this great but overall dark humored film while attending Blues Legend Chris Pronger's Jersey Retirement Ceremony, and after the game when I went back to me and my brother's hotel this movie suddenly appeared, and I was just blown away by how unique but also horrified through the final moments of the movie. You may find this surprising, but The Truman Show was the first ever movie I was introduced to Jim Carrey, me and my brother did go to this movie in the theaters when it was out in theaters and although as a kid, I really didn't understand the whole movie at first, now after watching the movie I was completely amazed by the concept but is also horrified at the same time. For many reasons it's kind of like how would you feel if your whole life was a TV show without you knowing it and how would you react when you realized your whole life was a lie.

                                  He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive Producer Christof (Ed Harris) orchestrates "The Truman Show" a live broadcast of Truman's every move captured by hidden cameras. Christof tries to control Truman's mind, even removing his true love, Sylvia (Natasha McElhone), from the show replacing her with Meryl (Laura Linney). As Truman gradually discovers the truth, however, he must decide whether to act on it.

                                  Like when I was talking about Ghostbusters in my last review. The 80's and 90's during that era they were still making fresh and new movies moreover weren't afraid to take risk and I should add the 70's as well just to be safe because let’s be honest, they still had great films like The Godfather, Taxi Driver and Star Wars plus Alien. This movie alone is, I have to say is ahead of its time because this was basically a purpose to create a reality TV, now we have shown like The Bachelor, Jersey Shore and the Kardashians but try to imagine they don't even know they're on a TV set and how would that happen if they were trapped, and to think we owe all our thanks to the creators of the Truman Show and Jim Carrey. This is one of those films I will say kind of like Westworld, where you feel like this would definitely happen in futures to come, because I always view Westworld as like Disney now where they're going to build these live like worlds where you can finally be a princess for the first time and fall in love with prince charming, while the Truman Show, I definitely believe corporate television producers will be so deranged and feel like their Gods that they will most certainly do something like this. The direction of the film I have so many questions in terms of how they were able to make this so believable and Peter Weir does such a fantastic job in making a believable world that's a fantasy world but also a Television studio like world in the background and yet we don't even see the outside world when the viewers are watching the show, and Peter Weir is the same guy who made movies with Mel Gibson Gallipoli and Harrison Ford who of course did Witness together and surprisingly did The Mosquito Coast for which I do remember watching that movie growing up and yet don't understand why Ford was deranged when he should be the hero? Either way the man retired from Hollywood in 2010 when things got s**ty, so I may have to take a trip down memory lane and re-watch some of his movies. In terms of actors really what make this movie possible is both Jim Carrey and Ed Harris who really don't have full on-screen scene together kind of like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the Godfather Part II. I think of all films I've seen of Jim Carrey's entire career this is one of his best films ever, when it comes to dramatization of a movie roles. Moreover he was a perfect actor for this role because he does such a great job playing a character whose both tragic and so cartoony that you root for him throughout the entire movie and even when he's playing for laughs he's amazing since his insanity was still in check back in the late nineties and his ability to make the film so serious that even that was just beautiful acting, and this was the same guy who never got in Academy Award for which I think is the biggest rob when it comes to actors who should of been recognized for this movie as well, but let’s face it the Oscars can't even take themselves serious even today, and sure I haven't seen this for quite a long time but even I look at this as one of Jim Carrey's best films and if I was in charge of the Oscars I would of given Carrey his award for this great performance, though it's kind of too late now because the man clearly lost his mind, but in fairness all we can do now is remember the good times of Jim Carrey's past works. Now I would go ahead and talk about Ed Harris performance, but I realized that I need to squeeze in Laura Linney and Noah Emmerich because these two helped Jim Carrey realizing he's been living a lie, also show give some credit to Paul Giamatti for also bringing out the villain side of Harris's role. Both Linney and Emmerich do such a great job playing the loved ones in Carrey's life but slowly realize that they aren't what they believe to be from some of the bizarre advertisements and being fed lines that once you get to the second act you truly see the most horrifying dread and terror you see in Jim Carrey's performance even you as in audience member are just feeling so much emotions you want to look away but you can't all because you want to see how it goes in the end. And the two of them do such a great job in trying to make Carrey believe they were trustworthy but really are not in the final frame. Ed Harris who plays the God like creator of the show does such a great job playing a man whose both charming and deceiving, but with a calm state he's just great to watch when you finally see him in the final part of the second act, then you see the more Lucifer side to him that even his staff like Paul Giamatti try to define him during the climax of the film, that it’s scary to see. The Truman Show is one of those great underrated science fiction comedy/drama's that is well made and needs to be re-discovered to be cherished again and most importantly be understood as a triumph of the human spirit. And as luck would have it this film is on both HBO Max and Hulu, so if you're having a movie night this be one of your choices.

        

                                   

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

 

                                            Everybody it’s over, shut it down. SHUT IT ALL DOWN DO YOU HEAR ME, IT'S OVER ALL OF NICOLAS CAGES MOVIE'S ARE CRAP. Okay, just stop believing that he has made great work in the past because he hasn't it was nothing but pure unadulterated s**t.  For many reasons why I'm saying this, is because I have finally found his greatest performance of all time the GOAT performance of a lifetime, Nicolas Cage playing himself. I know right you’re asking yourself really, he's playing himself in a fictionalized film. Yes, and it’s one of his finest works in a long time, more many reasons no matter how crazy this man is, he at least has a sense of humor for which I can respect him for, along with him in this bizarre adventure is the Mandalorian himself Pedro Pascal and Tiffany Haddish whose, well I liked her in her appearance in Drunk History. 

                                           Unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, actor Nick Cage (Nicolas Cage) accepts a $1 million offer to attend a wealthy fan (Pedro Pascal) birthday party. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when a CIA operative recruits Cage for an unusual mission. Taking on the role of a lifetime, he soon finds himself channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to save himself and his loved ones.

                                           The setback I will issue on this movie is that you must really understand the mind of Nicolas Cage through his entire film career with movies like The Rock, Con Air maybe Captain Corelli's Mandolin? Also let’s not forget Face/off and Gone in Sixty Seconds, though maybe a few of his more popular films in order to get the joke behind Nicolas Cage, but let’s not forget this is the Cage man, he made a grand total of one hundred and nineteen films, ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN FILMS. For which is like he really doesn't understand the difference between work and life like one movie you’re just trying to get work, your most notable movie your finally gained respect and popularity, your one hundred and nineteenth film, a deranged nut job. But as I said before, I now have full respect for him because of his unexpected sense of humor, although he claims that it resembles very little of his real life offscreen personality (RIGHT?), furthermore Mr. Cage actually turned down the project three or four times until the writer-director Tom Gormican wrote him a personal letter, for which again I have to give Cage some great respect for because even I don't know how the director was able to convince him besides the letter. In terms of talking about how great this film is and how amazing it was there's not a whole lot to say, the movie speaks for itself moreover if your familiar with Cage's work and have seen some of his films then you'll love it or if you haven't seen his filmography then this wouldn't be your cup of tea. In short, I consider this of the greatest films I've seen moreover one of the best films of 2022, and now having watch this amazing film I honestly don't know if I can really watch any of Cages past movie's because in all honesty they’re not going to be as great as I've remembered after watching the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. I guess will have to find out soon.

    

Father's Day Recommendation: Ghostbusters

 

                                 It's Father's Day everybody, and usually there were times I'd have some last-minute timing when it comes to choosing but luckily this selection was a great refresher. Now to be fair most of the movies I pick, when it comes to Mother's Day and Father's Day are usually derived out of my Mom and Dad's favorite movies but this time I'm also including my brother who also has a son as well, but also including my Dad as well because really this was a movie that my Dad got my brother into and then my brother got me into loving this great movie. Although I wasn't in a sense young enough to watch the film (quote and quote), I have watched the sequel when I was a kid and was a huge fan of the cartoon, but with all its many sequels including Afterlife. Ghostbusters to me in the one true movie that still stands the test of time and still is a great movie refresher.

                                After three scientists (Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd) lose their cushy positions at a university in New York City, they decide to go into business for themselves and become Ghostbusters for hire. They stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, a doorway that will release evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters must now save New York from complete destruction. 

                                Like Major League, Ghostbusters is one of those comedies where you can watch the movie anytime of the day and recite any line and it will still be funny to watch. The other thing in what makes this film amazing is that when you think of heroes you always think of them as Superman as complete indestructible, but when it comes to the Ghostbusters is that they are regular average working joe's who are making a living in the world, and in dire situations they have a not so sure way of how to save the world, almost in a sense of Indiana Jones but except the Ghostbuster's are in a sense the best looking unless your Bill Murray who thinks he's good looking. What also makes this film stand the test of time, is that it was part of a decade where everything was original and everyone wasn't afraid to try something new and different unlike today where everyone is re-doing everything, making more lame comedies and not stopping with the superhero genre. Although the other thing was that there were even more interesting facts that I still to this day didn't know about, for example director Ivan Reitman who gave us Ghostbusters 1 and 2 as well as other classics also produced the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife in which his son Jason Reitman directed the film, though recently passed away at the age of 75, although helped bring the late Harold Ramis to life on screen during the final climax of the movie. Dan Aykroyd who also wrote the script found inspiration for the film via looking through his family history, and as it turns out his great-grandfather was a 19th century psychic investigator, even Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis stated that the films was set in a futuristic New York City where the Ghostbusters was already founded moreover were established all around the world. And sure, the film itself is very New York, but there were some of the scenes that were shot in different locations as well. Speaking of casting aside from Bill Murray not being the first choice, the character of Winston Zeddemore was first offered to Eddie Murphy instead of Ernie Hudson, for which now when you take the time to think about that fact I would of much preferred Ernie Hudson as Winston more than Eddie Murphy, even the lovable ghost we all come to know as Slimer started off as Onion Head during production crew of the two Ghostbusters films, though didn't get his full name by the creation of the cartoon series. Now with all its facts on how the film was made and most importantly its originality, it's one of the many great films that still stands the test of time furthermore inspired a generation of filmmakers like Ivan Reitman's son Jason Reitman who also made some great films of his own like Thank You for Smoking and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. So, if you ever get the time this month, I will highly recommend watching this amazing film with your dad or your kid, to inspire another generation of movie lovers. 

     

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

 

 

                         With the NBA Finals almost coming to an end (Sorry Celtics, but I'm predicting the Warriors are going to take Game 6, oh hold up Warriors won YEAH! SUCK ON THAT BOSTON) I figured that I should do a binge night and finally finish what I look at as the best Basketball show on TV. I've always said that Hoosiers was the greatest Basketball movie, but Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is hands down the best and maybe the greatest Basketball show on TV. For many reasons, is that this centers on the beginning of the Lakers Dynasty, and they had one of the most interesting characters in the history of NBA Basketball players like yours truly Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Norm Nixon along with rookie owner Dr. Jerry Buss, GM Jerry West and coaches Jack McKinney, Paul Westhead and Pat O'Reilly. And all these greats had their flaws, but they also brought Basketball to the fore front. And to me that's what makes this show interesting to watch.

                          A dramatic look at the glitz and glamour of 1980's Los Angeles and the rise of the NBA's Lakers, Dr. Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) and Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah).

                         Granted if you're a Lakers fan or a Basketball fan you've probably heard of the Showtime Lakers of the 1980's dynasty from reading Jeff Pearlman's book ShowTime or watched the three-part documentary of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry on 30 for 30 (ESPN). Though there are some of us that have the time and place to sit down and read a book and when it comes to documentaries, they show you the history but they sometimes sugar coat the details. So, when it comes the HBO show I was intrigued mainly because they were going to finally show the dark side of 1980's Basketball and it wasn't just Dr. Buss and Johnson but there were a lot of characters on the Lakers team a side from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I've said it multiple times if you are going to do 80's NBA Basketball you really have to tell through the LA Lakers because compared to them and the 80's Boston Celtics, those would be just boring guys to follow because I strongly doubt there wasn't a whole lot of partying going on, especially when it comes to Celtic's legend Larry Bird. But with the Lakers you've got a lot of guys on that team that were a bunch of drug users and womanizers that just make you think how they can have the time and energy to even get through the day. Especially moments in the show where you have Magic and his soon to be future wife Cookie Johnson having these tender moments while I'm screaming at the TV going "run bitch run, his Johnson is so contaminated it would be like Chernobyl but in LA", see even watching stuff like this makes me want to cringe because of how toxic these too are you just can't stop watching them, so hopefully when the next season comes around I hope to see a lot of Magic's sex's escapades and him trying to make it up with Cookie. Now as you've all known by now some Laker legends have distain for how their portrait in the show, but when it comes to Magic not wanting to watch the show because of the embarrassment that would effect on his kids that right there I can totally understand a lot of. But the other Laker's legends like Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I see more on the overreacting side to it most notably them not liking how the way they are portrait on the small screen, now I can see when you’re doing a show about real life events, yeah there are times where you have to dramatize things a little but the way West overreacts to how he's portrait even go so far as to take it to supreme court (granted I don't remember a whole lot of the detail's because just thinking about hurts my brain) Kareem on the other hand may have same reason as Jerry West but let’s keep in mind that this was the same guy who threw a massive fit about how Bruce Lee was portrait in the movie Once Upon A Time in Hollywood for which is about a movie where the Manson cult get their fictionalized due. And maybe those two men's reasons are right and sure they have a point but deep down take a step back when it comes to these show that are talking about you. I will say the most impressive part of the show is the ensemble cast John C. Reilly does a great job playing Dr. Jerry Buss whose trying to save the game of Basketball, while Jason Clarke does a fantastic job playing Jerry West who at first seems like a former player with a lot of anger issues but has is best moments being a great motivator, especially in one of my favorite scenes where he and Magic Johnson shares a great moment of how to be a winner. The other actor I thought did a fantastic job was Adrian Brody playing Pat Reilly where through the course of the show you see him as a man without any purpose but by the end has finds the true purpose he's been seeking. Now finally we got the recognizable actors out of the way, I'm going to take more of the time to talk about the newcomer who does a fantastic job playing the legendary Laker, Magic Johnson aka Quincey Isaiah whom there's really nothing to say other than he was born to play Magic Johnson, like you look at this guy on screen and they are exactly the same person like the creators went back in time and took the young Magic Johnson from the past and gave him like fake identity, it’s just so bizarre but yet how great of casting they were able to pull off and casting Quincey Isaiah, furthermore he does such a tremendous job embodying Magic Johnson, and to be honest I can name a lot of things on how good his performance was I honestly don't want to spoil the fun for this great show. Despite a lot of questions, I have with the film, when it comes to some of the story, in if there were fact or fiction, I still look at this as a great Basketball show to watch on HBO Max, where Hoosiers is the greatest Basketball movie of all time, I rank Winning Time as one of the best Basketball shows of all time.

I Hate Christian Laettner

 

                                 There are a lot of times in sports you most certainly look at a team or any type of college sports and you point at that type of group and just have a distain for them. Like, just recently my hatred towards the Colorado Avalanche has been spewing lately due to the team knocking out my Blues, with a certain player that will not be named because I at least have dignity. Sure, in NFL football we've always hated Tom Brady winning all the time, I mean who hasn't. Though there comes a time a certain sports documentary kind of in a strange sense reminds you of not always being such a huge hater for the rest of your life. For a good explanation in what I'm trying to talk about, with ESPN merging some of their 30 for 30 specials on Disney+, I figured of all sports documentary's that look promising I figured why not re-watch I Hate Christian Laettner.

                                In truth I never really was big into NCAA Basketball moreover I'm from Nebraska and really the basketball team isn't all that great, best way to explain them they're kind of like the 1980's era Cleveland Baseball team. Though granted there's a lot of Nebraskan natives that are big fans of North Carolina or Duke, or whichever team gets them through the day when it comes to College Basketball. But for me I honestly think of it as more recent superhero films I see the potential; I would never take the joy from everyone who loves them, but I would never consider them amazing films. Now I've never seen Christian Laettner play basketball, in fact I was probably in kindergarten or First Grade by the time he was finishing out his college basketball career, so I can't judge on his actions and I'm sure the guy was a bully so in all honestly, that’s pretty much all I can say really. In all honesty this is hands down a great story about an athlete who really isn't what everyone appears to see an athlete is on the inside, and I got to say re-watching this movie through kind of gave me a wakeup call when it comes to bashing famous athletes, and I've never really went overboard on anyone like Tom Brady for example but I did share some so-called news on Facebook that either could be true or not. So, deep down I think this film is a great wake up call to all of us sports fans about really taking a step back when it comes to hating on an athlete when their exceptionally great.

                    

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.