Baseball Recommendation: Facing Nolan

 

                             

                             Well ladies and gentlemen, Baseball season is coming next week the greatest time in American sports history, the only great time where we can call in sick or call in a day off or fake in injury from work and we can just sit all day and watch Baseball all day and all night. And sure, there is a lot of Baseball movies to watch and talk about, but this Baseball documentary I have made my choice a long time ago in terms of wanting to watch and recommend for my yearly Baseball Recommendation. 

                             If you grew up with late 80's and 90's baseball like I have then you had heard of the legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan, who still to this day holds a lot of records, the best way I would describe Nolan Ryan, let us just say he is the John Wayne of Baseball, a lot of the stories you hear about him are kind of like a stuff of legend per say. Even though the guy is from Texas so yes, the man is indeed a Cowboy. My first introduction of Nolan Ryan was without a watching The Great Sports Moments of the 80's by Al Michaels where he showed highlights of Nolan Ryan's no-hitter number five, and though yes, he made some bone headed remarks about the Texas Rangers beating my Cardinals in six games which is defiantly an a**hole part on him. Deep down I was intrigued in wanting to hear the legend of this great Pitcher and thankfully we have a documentary like Facing Nolan to tell his story. 

                             I think the most unique way they were able to tell Ryan's story was using visual sequences of Ryan on the mound pitching, and the fact that they use actual uniforms that he wore with a minor detail of they're using reproduction hats of this year for which it's not bad at all but in a visual sense it's a nice usage in terms of telling the story of how he's felling on the mound when it comes to his emotions for when he's pitching with the Met's or when he's pitching his no-hitters with the Angles, Astro's or Rangers. Knowing Nolan Ryan's career especially when it comes to pitching his last decade-ish of his years in Texas I've always wonder that, for many reasons I never quite understood why he never pitched for some great teams like the Cardinals of the 80's or Yankees of the late 70's because sure as a ballplayer your goal without a doubt is to make it into the Major Leagues but more importantly win a World Series and sure he actually did win a World Series title in 69 with the New York Met's but deep down that was the same team he was drafted by furthermore he was just starting out and finding his technique, moreover the Astro's in the eighties had like two great teams but that was it they were deep down a minor league team in the eighties decade with flashy outfits, so it always bring the most interesting question why did he go to much better teams then spending the rest of his days in Texas through his retirement. And what I've learns explains a lot about him was that he wanted to stay closer to home especially with his family along with that during his time with the California Angles (who were originally called California Angles) was that one of his kids was hit by a car and that hit a knot in his stomach and when you want to stay closer to family you can't argue with his reasons why, also his kid did survive in case if your reading this review that he died or something no he didn't, though while watching the movie I was in a shock of wow he really died, but he didn't so deep down that's the most importantly. The thing what makes the documentary great is that you have a tone of legendary ballplayers talking about what it was like to face Nolan Ryan, though Robin Ventura didn't want to participate in the interviewing process for many reasons, ah screw it he got his a** handed to him by Ryan so that's why though I won't tell you when he didn't it that's for you all to find out. But you also have other great players like Pete Rose, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Roger Clemons and including the great Randy Johnson who Ryan actually helped him be the great pitcher that he was, I have to say my favorite moment in the documentary is where Rose and Ryan are doing an autograph session and Rose says while taking a picture "this is close I want to be with this guy" then Ryan says "aw you love me", just your typical love hate friendship. But when you listen to some of these great ballplayers was how scary Ryan is as a Pitcher because he threw a lot of balls inside basically bringing fear to the batters and to be honest, I'd be scared of Ryan if I was facing him. I will say the other great thing was that George W. Bush came into the film too, mainly because he was the owner of the Texas Rangers during his playing career. I did learn a lot about his earlier playing career with the Met's and Angels especially during his time with the Met's and that was during early years in Baseball you only get paid for just that season and once the season is over that's basically it you don't get paid till next season, so during road trips Nolan Ryan brought a lot of books mainly because he wasn't sure if Baseball was going to be his lifetime so he basically need a backup plan to get by during his time as a baseball player and really after each season in the sixties you had to find a job to get by so after the 69 World Series he went back to work he really didn't go on vacation like most player would today. I learned a surprising fact about the Angles, was it was founded by Gene Autry who was known as the Singing Cowboy who in the early movies and television as well as radio, for which who da thunk an actual Cowboy from Texas becomes a founding owner of the LA Angles. Speaking of Television, I did hear a mind-blowing fact was that Ryan acutely made a cameo appearance in the seventies soap opera Ryan's Hope which wasn't a show for him but did make an appearance so if you’re feeling adventurous go find it, the show's surprisingly on YouTube but I'm not mainly because I have a lot of respect for Nolan Ryan, so I don't want to have that respect for him fade. I should add that I found out about the documentary back in the summer of 2022 but the problem is when it was released it took a long time to find it in terms of streaming or finding it at your local stores because let’s face it you'll never find anything like this at your local store in Nebraska so really it took around Netflix to finally put it out so as of now the film is still on Netflix forever and hopefully forever, but as a documentary whole I knew this was a movie I wanted to watch once I saw the trailer on YouTube furthermore one to recommend it as a Baseball Recommendation because people today I doubt never heard of Nolan Ryan and I believe every fan of Baseball needs to hear about the legend of Nolan Ryan, also they guy in my opinion is up there in the top five pitchers of all time. And I believe this film will show every baseball fan that this guy was a respectable guy, moreover he played from the late sixties to early nineties and that is something I think is awesome beyond measure and they guy has a lot of MLB records that still stands to this day.  

         

25th Anniversary of The Big Lebowski

 

                                         The Big Lebowski is twenty-five years old now, man time sure fly is by so fast and yet movies age like fine wine. Especially when it comes to The Big Lebowski, written and directed by the Coen Brothers the same geniuses behind such great classics like Fargo, Blood Simple, and No Country for Old Men. The Big Lebowski is one of those films like Major League where you can recite a line or dialogue, and everyone can know what that movie is in a blink of an eye. Sure, I can review another Oscar movie for this year’s Academy Awards, but this was one of the best decisions I have ever made in terms of sitting down and re-watching a classic. Now do not get me wrong I still consider this a great classic that still stands the test of time, but holy crap I still felt a little on the confused side in terms what the story and the inconclusive ending it has, though in all honesty that why it is considered a cult classic. 

                                        Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is mistaken for Jeffery Lebowski, who is The Big Lebowski. Which explains why he is roughed up and has his precious rug peed on. In search of recompense, The Dude tracks down his namesake, who offers him a job. His wife has been kidnapped and he needs a reliable bagman. Aided and hindered by his pals Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), a Vietnam Vet and Donny (Steve Buscemi), master of stupidity.

                                        Twenty-Five years old and the film itself is still hilarious from start to finish. As a fan of this movie, you can defiantly watch this for some time in a while and recite any one liner and still have a great time watching the film and like I said again this is up there between Major League, in the category of best comedies you know by heart. I am not going to go much length in terms of the actors that bring the story to life and its characters but give more of a backstory behind how the Big Lebowski was developed and believe me the development is intriguing to hear about. The character of The Dude was based on The Coen Bros, producer behind their first movie Blood Simple, Jeff Dowd who just so happens to be that man based on Jeff Bridges, for which preferred to drink White Russian's, who of all people liked to be known as The Dude. The Dude as a character was also partly based on a friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline who was a Vietnam vet who reportedly lived in a rundown of an apartment, just like Jeff Bridges character in the movie and was proud of a little rug that "tied the room together". Both Peter Exline and the Coen Bros became friends through the course of the years after the success with Blood Simple and in 1989, told the brothers all kinds of stories from his own life, including ones about his actor-writer friend Lewis Abernathy (one of the inspirations for Walter aka John Goodman's character) a fellow Vietnam Vet who later became a private investigator and helped him track down and comfort a high school kid who stole his car, so bottom line is that this was a huge story research of using two guys as inspiration for a cult classic that stands the test of time, but most importantly a great story of using inspired events into a Raymond Chandler mystery/wacky comedy. Now the Coen Bros, stated that yes, they used these real-life friends as inspiration but most importantly wanted to create a Big Sleep type mystery where a hippie bum lost from the 1960's gets involved in a bizarre kidnapping case and to be truthful looking up this story that is creative when you think about it, despite being puzzled at times. I almost forgot that Academy Award winner sir Roger Deakins was the cinematographer behind The Big Lebowski, for which makes a tone of sense because let’s be honest he did a ton of work with Joel and Ethan Coen through the years including Fargo, and a lot of scenes where The Dude is tripping out or knocked out and has a bizarre acid like trip is truly outstanding including one favorite scene where the Dude is somehow trapped in the thumb hole of the bowling ball and we see a point of view of the ball going through the pins and the way they achieved this was they mounted a camera "on something like a barbecue spit" according to Ethan, and then dollied it along the lane. Though the challenge for them was figuring out the relative speeds of the forward motion and the rotating motion. With the help of CGI was used to create the vantage point of the thumb hole in the bowling ball. Now granted I do have a Blu-ray copy of the movie, so I am having read how they we are able to accomplish that shot is incredible and I'd now want to see how they we're able to do that because that's something I've never figured out. Granted I've said this a bunch of times on this review of how great this film is and sure I could say great things about Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore's performances in the movie but deep down it's like retelling how amazing Star Wars is, now granted there's a lot of people out there that don't quite get this movie at all, hell I had my Dad watch this movie while back and he didn't get this at all. So, if you do not like the movie because you do not get the story, I can totally understand your reason. Though now that this film has stood the test of time on its twenty-fifth birthday, I would highly recommend watching this hilarious comedy from start to finish moreover if you have not heard of Joel and Ethan Coen, I would also recommend checking out there films as well, so you can be a fan of their work as well. 

              

The Lady From Shanghai

 

                                          Well, it is March the day to get ready and celebrate St. Patty's Day and I am not sure this could qualify for an Irish themed movie, though I doubt it. But hey, Orson Wells dons an Irish accent? for this a movie I am not quite sure what in terms of story wise this movie is though in at least it has the ever-beautiful Rita Hayworth doing what she does best, if you know what I mean. The Lady from Shanghai was another one of those Film Noirs that I had to check out and watch after watching The Third Man, so at first I never quite understood the story aspect of the movie now having watched it again I still don't understand the story aspect but will get to that later, bottom line is that this movie does have some creative camera work along with Rita Hayworth again doing what she does best, and Orson Wells doing an over the top Irish accent although I can't really tell if its authentic or not.

                                           A seaman (Orson Wells) becomes involved in a complex murder plot when he is hired to work on a yacht. He soon finds himself implicated in a murder, despite his innocence.

                                            At first when I saw this intriguing well-crafted movie at first I didn't quite understand what the story was going, then watching it for about the third time I still feel a little on the baffled side mainly because some of the structure and scenes don't make a lot of sense great example of that is the actor Glenn Anders who plays a shady lawyer that wants Orson Wells to kill him but I'm not sure if the guy is chewing up the scenery or playing crazy for which in fair sense it's more of the bewildering state I was in, the other plot hole in the movie is both D.A. and Husband lawyer who have this bizarre argument in terms of representing the case of Orson Wells innocence, furthermore the D.A. ask the defense to take the stand and then the defense asks himself questions, for which what was the point of this I honestly can't say mainly because well Orson's dead and there really no way to ask him on that specific purpose, and really some of these plot points I just don't understand the real purpose behind the story, mainly just doesn't make sense. A side from the confusing story with much plot holes that hurts my brain at times, what really makes this film memorable is pretty much the climax of the film where we have a standoff scene where it takes place in a hall of mirror's like an old carnival which in all honesty is really amazing when it comes to figuring out where Wells placed the camera especially when the camera were extremely huge in the mid-forties. Now deep down I can't say that the entire story makes scenes because there some moments in the movie that keeps you thinking until the final frame moreover keeps you surprised in terms of who was really responsible, also Rita Hayworth was excellent in this movie even though she had her hair cut and bleached, but she was still beautiful as ever on screen, though it's weird because this movie and Gilda are the only films I know of Hayworth and nothing else, kind of like Judy Garland from the Wizard of Oz and Meet me in St. Louis. As far as Orson Wells films go, I have seen Citizen Kane, The Third Man, The Stranger and The Lady from Shanghai, so of course I love the film for its directing style and cinematography I really do not put this up in the top five of Orson Well's best films more like in the top ten which in all fairness is not bad, hell every movie star has that one bad movie on their belt or two. So, if you are wanting to have a classic movie night, I would highly recommend watching The Lady from Shanghai.  

                                              

Movies I haven't seen in a While: Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

 

                                   This ladies and gentlemen is a movie I haven't seen in ages but yet deserves a Movie I haven't seen in a while review. Wild Hearts can't be broken is a movie my sister loved so much, and of course what ever my sister loved to watch I had to sit down and watch as well, mainly because she had the remote control, and now being thirty six years old my brother who's a guardian to two little girls to his ex, told me about this movie he's planning to watch and all I had to see was one image cover and my lights lit up of shock and remembering watching a girl diving with a horse, which before when I watch the movie I was like why would they do that? But it's a depression era movie so that makes sense. I will say, this is one of those movies that has it's entertaining moments along with a nostalgic Disney logo, though through the course of the movie felt a little bored but deep down thought it was fun to see, from beginning to end.

                                   Thrilled by a performance she sees in at a fair, Sonara (Gabrielle Anwar) tries to land a spot as a daredevil who rides horses off a high dives. With the help of Al Carver (Michael Schoeffling), whose father runs the show, Sonara towards her goal. An injury to star rider Marie (Kathleen York) paves her way, and Sonara finds herself on the diving platform. Her life looks complete now that she and Al are in love, but Sonara is about to be trust into a very trying chapter in her life.

                                   Reliving this movie, it does bring back a lot of memories in terms of scenes and story lines that I remember while watching the movie. And to be honest when I had planned to watch the movie I keep questioning myself on why the hell would they horses dive or why this would be a thing? Like these were questions that seemed confusing before I watched this, then I realized that the film was set in the Great Depression Era and that made a tone of sense, because lets face it in a crummy part in American history for many reasons people during that era, people where craving for entertainment especially at a cheap value and especially when it comes the fair. Though once the movie starts I did have a nostalgic vibe when the classic Disney opening comes up to play and being that kid who watched classic Disney cartoons that was no doubt the most awesome thing of that whole movie, hell that was the only thing that made this movie exciting though in fairness the movie alone was still decent to watch. Now having seen the movie, I just have so many different emotions about the movie, a lot of it goes with the direction of the movie especially when the Cliff Robertson who plays the father/owner of the road show is being hard on Sonara because he is simply saying nobody gives it to you, you have to take it, and yet his son is criticizing him for being to hard on her which I'm like "do you listen to yourself"? And really the actor who plays the character of Al whose no doubt the worst part at times because he's kind of like Adrian from Rocky 4 where through the course of the movie he's like "YOU CAN'T WIN", just the most overrated type of character that we've seen multiple times in past eighties and nineties movies. Moreover there where moments in the movie we're I myself felt like I was being tortured by Mr. God in South Park and I was just like "Oh God, I'm so bored somebody help me" and this was a ninety minute movie, so there where multiple times I had to pause the movie and take a break. There where moments, especially in the last parts of the movie where why couldn't hire a expert to help the Sonara out with her condition she was in during the last act of the movie but again this was one of these movies where I wanted to fix the movie but in reality it's already been made. Now I"m not going to lie when I say that this movie is still good to watch, I mean it's a feel good film or coming of age movie so there are moments where it's kind of interesting to watch for the first time. As a movie whole this was defiantly a decently made movie from start to finish, despite the fact that I still had mix emotions about the movie I would defiantly recommend watching this movie especially with he kids. So, If your feeling nostalgic when it comes to classic Disney films, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken is defiantly one of those films to watch.               

                                    

                                          

Valentine

 

                                  

                                    I cannot really tell you all what was going through my head, in terms of wanting to watch this average look of a movie. Though I can honestly tell you that in fairness it is the last few weeks of February furthermore I remember watching bits and pieces of this movie so, deep down if I don't watch this movie, it will most certainly be reminding me throughout the year of 2023. So, I guess it is time I would talk about one more Valentine’s Day movie? Valentine is one of those movies as a kid growing up, I would remember watching on Cable previews like Dish on Demand previews, and then seeing on Cable network and thought eh, do not feel like re-watching again. Unfortunately, Tubi is the criminal mastermind behind me rediscovering this B-movie flick. I will say for a mediocre movie I this I must say it packs some recognizable cast from the detective of Bones to Denise Richards aka Christmas Jones and Katherine Heigl aka Katherine Heigl.

                                    Love is in the air. On the most romantic day of the year, would-be-lovers woo hearts with flowers, candy, cards, and gifts. Best friends Kate (Marley Shelton), Paige (Denise Richards), Dorothy (Jessica Capshaw, aka Kate Capshaw's daughter), Lily (Jessica Cauffiel) and Shelly (Katherine Heigl) are young women looking for a relationship--- a Valentine to die for. And this year they might just get their wish.

                                    Like I know what you did Last Summer, this movie has full-fledged capacity of being a great movie, unfortunately this movie just falls flat on its face or shots it is foot off with a shotgun and it's really sad considering that this movie was based on a book. But, what's really sad is that this is a movie about a awkward nerdy kid taking revenge on five mostly four girls who bullied him in high school, and this is considered a slasher but why in God's name would I want to care for the women especially when they bullied a weaker boy? Now, if this where me directing and writing the movie I would most handily make this a male version of a Promising Young Woman but without the rape, then have the woman who did not bully the killer become a detective solving these murders and goes on the trail of a madman. See, this is like writing 101 where you can take such a simple concept and with the right actors and actress that are not Denise Richards or Katherine Heigl, you would have an exceptionally great film. But no, this movie focuses on women who have absolutely no chance at having a relationship because they refuse to look at themselves in the mirror, and we continue the process in focusing on how scum and not pretty men are and we must follow that it is just so lame on so many reasons. Now let's be honest Heigl had a smaller role in the movie so her getting killed off is hands down the most awesome thing I've ever seen, and not even Denise Richards body helped this film a ton mainly because her character was clearly the b***h of the movie and to be honest her entire career was a lie after Wild Things, the other interesting thing I found out was Kate Capshaw's kid Jessica Capshaw is in this movie who may also be the father of Steven Spielberg, furthermore I felt like she pulled her inner acting out from her mother when she was in Temple of Doom, though again I refused to feel for these ladies moreover they didn't get much punishment then they deserved in the movie. If I had to give the movie some compliment it would most certainly be some of the kills in fact I give the kills in the move a C for effort, for which is a passing grade at least, one of which happens to be where the killer uses a bow and arrow to knock off the girls which I was impressed moreover thought that was great, then we had kills where Denise Richards gets trapped in the Hot Tub and the killer drills some holes but then gives up and just throws the drill in the tub, which makes no sense to me. Again, this movie has potential of being a great movie though it is just like the sports bloopers where it is funny but gets sad from start to finish. I will say if I had to pick a movie, I would want to remake this would defiantly be one of those films, as a movie recommendation? I would say if you had Tubi go nuts, but I would say you would regret it.

        

February Recommendation: Laura

 

                                       

                                       Remember the old expression, Love makes you do crazy things? Well in my latest monthly recommendation, it is exactly shows what it means to fall for someone who does not except it. Laura was another one of those great film noirs’ that I just found by accident but in a good way possible, it was literally after watching The Third Man that I started to get obsessed with film noir and Laura was on the list of film noirs to watch. So, I thought why not checking this out and at first I had this movie pegged for a moment that this was going to be one of those movies that the protagonist was going to be obsessed with the victim moreover was going to go crazy, but then the twist and turns came around and I was like "holly crap this is amazing" Staring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews who sincerely make this movie work and Vincent Price before long before he became the master of B-movie horror. This year I had to spice things up, mainly because I just need a breath of fresh air and honestly this was a great decision, I have made in the month of Valentine’s Day also, no romantic comedy can top The Cutting Edge.

                                       Manhattan detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the murder of Madison Avenue executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) in her fashionable apartment. On the trail of her murderer, McPherson quizzes Laura's arrogant best friend, gossip columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) and her comparatively mild fiancée, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price). Through the course of the case things start to turn interesting when nothing you would expect becomes real.

                                        The thing that makes this film one of the greatest films of all time is, the fact that it immerses you the moment you turn the film on, you begin to understand that the character of Laura has died/murdered and Andrews character is assigned to investigate on who killed this beautiful woman, then you meet these great actors that bring these suspects to life, you first meet Clifton Webb's character who when you first see him is this up tight narcissistic gossip columnist that nobody likes but yet you see that he's doesn't look like a killer or someone you'd never pegged to have wanted to kill someone but gives you an inside of how he met Laura and the same goes to both Vincent Price and Judith Anderson who despise Webb's character but yet you get the feeling that they would be capable of murder. And really that's what makes this film great is that the film takes its time with point A and B moreover gives you a layout on what the mystery is and who could possibly be the number one suspect, but then again at first when watching the movie I thought that McPherson was going to lose his mind over a dead woman, but then it introduces a twist that makes you believe that oh there's something more to the case and nothing of what you first heard or thought of isn't what it seems, furthermore I don't want to spoil everything because I want you all to watch this great movie. The book itself is really a first-person narrative and it is really written by each of the character's point of view and what I like about the film is that you follow it like a normal film noir where you go through the protagonist journey till the very end. Otto Preminger who I've known in terms of movie roles and television though I'd sometimes forget that it was him, he was in the infamous Stalag 17 where he plays the Nazi warden of the POW camp then in the mid-sixties played Mr. Freeze in the Batman TV series, but he really started off in Hollywood as a movie director/producer and Laura he was originally producing the movie but he had his own version of the movie where he actually clashed with the original director till he was like "you know what you think, you can do better? Go ahead, be my guest", and long behold he made one of the great romance/mysteries of all time. Both Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews makes this film great and bring a lot of talent to the table, this was my first time experiencing Gene Tierney as an actress and she does a fantastic job playing this young up and coming executive in which blooms into a drop dead gorgeous woman who every man wants to be with for Dana Andrews, if I had to make a list of the top two actors that can play the tough guy detectives it would most certainly be Humphrey Bogart and Dana Andrews. Andrews really does a great job playing a detective that knows when a lie is being said and has the presence that has the sort of fear that once you cross him, you would get what you deserve, I mean hell he sucker-punches Price in the stomach and I thought that was the most awesome/bad a** moment in the whole film. Speaking of Vincent Price, once I saw his name in the opening titles I was like "OH SNAP" because this was a much younger Vincent Price before he becomes this iconic b-movie horror legend but in a way, he does a great job playing the good-looking guy that is obviously wanting Laura for himself, but you see is only about himself. A side from Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews who both do exceptional work in the movie but Clifton Webb who plays the middle age columnist seems like a sort of alley in this murder mystery because he tells the story of how he meet Laura to Andrews character in the first act of the movie but through the course of the second and third act you slowly see that he's not what you think he is, moreover the interesting fact was that Webb was a stage actor for most of his life and Otto was really persistent in wanting to cast Webb as the hated gossip columnist so, in his mid-fifties he got his big role and delivers on it. I am not going to lie, it is hard finding a great romantic comedy or to be truthful I fear I am running out of some of my personal favorite rom-coms and so, sitting down and watching Laura I got to admit it felt like a breath of fresh air especially when you are trying to mix things up on Valentine's Day. So, I highly recommend watching Laura, it is one of the greatest murder/mystery movies I have ever seen moreover one of the greatest movies ever made.

                              

                                  

Football Recommendation: North Dallas Forty

 

     

                                         

                                       As football season comes to an end, except for the two contenders for the super bowl. I thought of what better way to recommend a football film in case your missing football or wanting to give XFL or USFL a chance. North Dallas Forty is a film that takes a good look into professional football players in the seventies that sacrifice their body and ability and yet has no appreciation by the owners and coaches. Staring young Nick Nolte in the best performance I have ever seen. The film is based on a semi-autobiographical by former football player Peter Gent who just so happen to play football with the Dallas Cowboys, though was an overshadowed player. A side from Rudy which is a great film I have to say that North Dallas Forty is one of the best football films ever.

                                       A brutal satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catchers individually and refusal to become part of the team "family" is bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches. The National Football League refused to help in the production of this movie, suggesting it may have been too near the truth for comfort. From the novel by former NFL player Peter Gent.

                                       The best way to describe Peter Gent was really Nick Nolte's character even though he the character is based on Gent. Gent never played a down in College, but the Dallas Cowboys were impressed by his athleticism and offered him a tryout, though the coaches looked at him and knew that his best chances into making the team was to have him play wide receiver and fortunately Gent made the team and turned down a contract offer from the NBA team at the time Baltimore Bullets, though Gent had an impressive football career he only played around four years with the Cowboys, but made a great friendship with the first Dallas Cowboy QB Don Meredith. And as fate would have its Gent left football for good and wrote his first book that made a name for him based on his time playing for Dallas. The thing that makes the movie so great to watch than other football films, is that you feel for these players and it isn't just Nolte's character you feel for all of the players on the team and that's what I look for when it comes to a football film, furthermore the movie itself isn't like Friday Night Lights where Hollywood lies you to you about what really happens or Varsity Blues where you only need to watch it once because it gets so dull. However, when it comes to North Dallas Forty, I feel like this is a football film that I can watch it repeatedly moreover it does not get old once I watch it. The other thing in what makes the film amazing to watch is the main issues when it comes to professional football as a whole, sure football now is different since salaries and better equipment are up to date, but when it was in its early years or better term silver age years, the equipment that the players where using were not reliable in keeping them safe especially when the helmets had no padding and you could still have a broken noise when coming onto the field and the thing I like about the film is Nolte's face mask has less protection in terms of his face and the opening scene you see him with a bloody noise. Nick Nolte is the real reason why I am a big fan of the movie, he does a fantastic job playing a rebellious, veteran football player that knows he is broken down on the inside but does not want to believe that his football career is over and is a down to earth guy who falls in love with Dayle Haddon's character. Moreover, though the course of the film every one of the football players are crazy but Nolte's the only guy that realizes how unappreciative the league is especially when they force painkillers down the players throats, and it takes Nolte through the entire film to realize that is time in football is coming to an end, so deep down Nolte did a fantastic job carrying this film on his back and giving the respect it deserves. Another actor I have to give complements is David Lautrec who plays the rookie in the movie who becomes naïve through the course of the film, and yes every actor does a great job but Lautrec's performance in the film was really believable in not wanting to use any drugs but is pressured by his own coaches into taking them even if it means severely hurting himself and he does a great job at playing a naïve rookie and does it really well, and deserves credit especially since I couldn't find him at all in terms of research. Rudy of course is an amazing football movie about a die-hard fan dreaming to play Notre Dame football in which every football fan dreams of wanting to do that in life despite the lack of ability, North Dallas Forty really shows the harshest tones when it comes to playing football at a professional level and both films are exceptionally great I would most certainly rank both films in the top two spots of the greatest football films ever made. Sadly, this film feels like it is a forgotten film that you had no idea existed and it really needs to be seen by every fan of Football to be understood as a film that takes a hard look of what it is like to play football in the early seventies, upon which the book and film was released at that time. If the XFL or USFL is not your cup of tea than I would highly recommend watching North Dallas Forty for many and obviously reasons I consider this as one of the greatest football films ever made by human hands, even though Rudy is another exceptional film so in all honesty they are both great films. 

    

                                         

                                        

The Black Swan

 

                                     Well, it is February it is obviously the month of St. Valentine and love stories from Television and Movies, and though I really cannot make a list of many Romantic films I look as amazing than any other movie I decided to take a dive into classic Swashbuckling films. Moreover, I loved Tyrone Power's performance in Nightmare Alley so what better way to pick a movie that made him a household name, also this was one of the few movies I found on YouTube, so The Black Swan was the perfect contender to sit down and review. The best way I would describe the swashbuckling genre is that they were really consisting of men in tights with lots and lots of fencing through the course of the movie with a love story to go along with it. The genre made both Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn famous moreover the perfect men to make these action adventure films believable mainly because these men where good looking and they can do their own stunts in terms of fighting. The Black Swan, I would look at as a perfect fun style of action with a love story that reminds me of the Marriage Story.

                                     With the pardon of notorious pirate Henry Morgan (Laird Cregar) by the English King, Caribbean pirates are offered amnesty if they give up their lawless ways. As Governor of Jamaica, Morgan picks Captain Jaime Waring (Tyrone Power) to round up the renegade Captain Billy Leech (George Sanders). Beautiful Margaret Denby (Maureen O'Hara) complicates matters for Waring, as her scorn for him is matched only by his love for her.

                                      Watching this movie whole, I have to say that this is almost like a movie genre in reverse, mainly because now it's like every year there's a superhero movie coming out for which feels annoying at times and yet I'm starting to think that people back in the thirties and forties where probably tired of the swashbuckling genre or the ten chapter movie serials, although the main differences people back then were dealing with the great depression and WW2, while this generation is dealing with the Government being obnoxiously stupid playing games with people's lives. And yet I would say the main difference back then and now is that Hollywood can come out with something new and different when it comes to going to the movies and you would feel like having to watch something fresh and new, Hollywood now, is like they're not even trying at all to make a movie furthermore are just rehashing old scripts and remaking the same old material over and over so deep down I would say that this generation has really gone down the toilet in terms of trying to create something new and different even though I've been saying that so many times. The Black Swan I have to admit was a breath of fresh air, though deep down it's not as great as Nightmare Alley in terms of Power's best performances but this movie was no doubt one of those adventure films that the studio's forced it upon Power's furthermore had no choice but to accept and even though this was the first action adventure film of Tyrone Power's work this was defiantly a movie that he absolutely made it work. Moreover, this film came out two years after the Mark of Zorro was released so you can tell that Power was the right choice to play the pirate Jaime Waring especially since he is required to handle a sword so it's like he was born for these roles. Maureen O'Hara who, I've watch her all of my life from such films like The Quiet Man, McLintock and Big Jake for which she was the leading lady to a good portion of John Wayne's movies and watching her performance it's like there is nothing she can't do she can play a strong independent woman then go to a damsel in distress character for which there's a great reason why I look at her as one of the greatest movie actresses of all time. The love story between Power and O'Hara gave me a chuckle inside because it really does remind me of the film Marriage Story where they spend a good portion just bickering at one another so in all honesty it's like Marriage Story but only they fall in love with one another in the end, although to be honest I would say if I kidnap a woman and force her to fall in love with me I would get a restraint order placed on me moreover would be branded a creep for the rest of my life, though let's be honest all men are creeps it's to what extent you are as a creep. The most awesome thing about this movie is seeing Uncle Billy in this pirate film aka Thomas Mitchell for which was so surprised to hear his voice on screen, moreover, thought he does an excellent job playing the comic relief of the film moreover playing the reliable sidekick to Tyrone Power. Seeing the first of many swashbuckling films that Tyrone Power starred in I have to say that this was a great find and great movie from start to finish though it was a little be slow at first, but it gets good by the end of the frame. So, if you are getting tired of watching so many romantic comedies, I would highly recommend watching the Black Swan.

     

                                           

Don't Worry Darling

 

                                Well believe it ladies and gentlemen the impossible has happened, I finally watched Don't Worry Darling. That is right a movie that was so famous and probably the most controversial movie? I mean the film itself started off with some drama or social debate on whether Harry Styles spited on Chris Pine, which if you are going to be that big of an a**hole at least go out and spit on his face, do not just spit on his crotch. The other thing that makes this film famous for was that Ted Lasso aka Jason Sudeikis filed divorce papers to her wife Olivia Wilde (the director of the film) while she was at the premiere doing the presentation. Here's the other bizarre thing, both Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles dated around January of 2021 and this was during their meeting in the process of filming, but then she dumped his ass in November of 2022 and that was after Don't Worry Darling was released, now I don't know what really happened but the way I believed happen was because there was a few sex scenes in the movie where Harry and star Florence Pugh, and in her bizarre twisted fetish dumped him over being jealous. For which I really believe there is a lesson when it comes to up-and-coming filmmakers is, do not be in relationships with actors and actresses because they have massive ego's moreover Len Wiseman film his wife (Kate Beckinsale) having sex with her co-star in Underworld: Evolution, then years later they separated. Alright enough talk let us get right into why I am glad to of watched Don't Worry Darling.

                                In the 1950's, Alice and Jack (Florence Pugh and Harry Styles) live in an idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top-secret project. While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice cannot help but question exactly what she is doing in Victory. 

                                I must admit, I am glad I watched though I had this movie pegged to be a film about a Cult living somewhere in the desert via watching the trailers. But the main reason why I am so glad in watching this film was because I realized how much I hated this f**king movie. Now granted I could have avoided all of this by not watching the movie, though in all honesty it was really in a sense of curiosity like sure I knew what this movie was supposed to be, but I did not realize how much obnoxious it was turning out to be moreover the boredom that was growing inside me. If this movie were just simply a cult settling somewhere in Death Valley in this year and the cult was a 1950-60's style of society this movie would be kind of fun, maybe? But this was just a disaster from once we hit the thirty-minute mark to forward on. And it really was not simply that this was a cult but the fact that they combined a movie that is a cult combined with a computer simulation, that is where it gets repetitive. Especially that this is directed by Olivia Wilde who in her twisted mind wanted to make a movie that consist the setting of the fifties and sixties era where the men go to work and women stay home and cook is just more of convenient and more annoying moreover let's be honest if I want to live in a perfect computer simulation world I don't want to live in a perfect, peaceful sixties era with a wife and having to go to work. For many reasons I would be so bored out of my mind, hell I want live in a chaotic world where I am a private investigator in the forties style New York environment like Bogart. As an actress Olivia Wilde's character actually knows that this was a simulation and yet she throws her best friend under the bus then finally helps her in the end, if it where me I would off say “b***h when I get out I'm going to pull you out and destroy your equipment so you can't see your kids" but know we have this conversation where Pugh tells her, her kids weren't really and Wilde says there real to me in here, which is overrated. I got to admit I really wanted to feel bad for Florence Pugh and Harry Styles because Pugh she has done some great work, I thought she was amazing in Outlaw King, Styles who was in Dunkirk for which was a good choice for a young actor wanting to branch out. And really I wanted to feel bad for these two actors and actresses, but in all honesty there's this thing called reading and I refuse to believe that these two didn't read the script at all to say that this was a great read and role, and if that's not the case and if they did read the script, the other thing is ego, the ego in thinking that this would be the best movie ever and the same goes to Wilde in reworking the story as well. And I really clocked the film when I say that once we hit the thirty-minute mark and then Pugh's character begins to see things that are not right or something disturbing I just felt bored and annoyed moreover felt that the film was getting too repetitive especially when Pugh's character is getting into all freak mode in every scene, she is going ballistic. Styles it felt like is accent was changing from American accent to back to his normal British accent, and even when you get to see that he was not an all-good locking guy near the third act of the movie and see that he is a scum bag, you felt like uh cannot this movie not be so convenient. Even Chris Pine was phoning his performance in, moreover you can obviously say that he needs the money or did not read the script, but I truly believed that once filming started, he was like oh crap this movie sucked, and I cannot bail out, so I am going to just half a** it all the way through. Now I do not know the whole story between Shia LaBeouf and Olivia Wilde moreover it is not my place to believe whose right in this scenario, but I truly believe he dodged a bullet though I do not think he knows it, or it was an act in order to get out of the movie, hell who knows but I have to say the man did a wise choice in bailing out. Again, I am glad to of sat down and watched this movie and realizing how much I hated it, for its failure to keep the cult and computer simulation a secret but also that this was written to be a feminist film where the women are slaves is just so annoying to me. If I had to rank this movie in the top five worst films it would certainly be, behind Sucker Punch and Southland Tales, and if you are wondering if those two movies are bad? Just take my word when I say oh yeah, those are extremely bad.

      

Training Day

 

                                   The Awards season is near or coming to an end well unfortunately we got a month and a half or a simpler term March 12. So, we still have time to watch the movies that are nominated for Best Picture for which I doubt no one is really going too. Or you can do what I am doing and go back in time and look back at some movies that won an Oscar of a certain performance direction or best score. Which in all honesty is cheaper than wanting to spend thirty or forty dollars to watch Avatar: Way of Water. Anyway, back to reality Training Day a movie that Denzel Washington won Best Actor in 2001, a movie at that time I had no idea he was the main antagonist of the film, now re-watching this he did a fantastic job playing the corrupt cop in a modern-day L.A. And him along with Ethan Hawke does a great job in a movie that asks the question what the right way is and what is the wrong way to dispense justice. 

                                   "Training Day" is a blistering action drama that asks the audience to decide what is necessary, what is heroic and what crosses the line in the harrowing gray zone of fighting urban crime. Does law-abiding law enforcement come at the expense of justice and public safety? If so, do we demand safe streets at any cost?

                                     I have always watched a good majority of Denzel Washington's movies through the years some of them I will admit has been a long time. And to be fair I've seen parts of Training Day, knowing Washington was playing the antagonist to Ethan Hawke's character moreover watched Denzel's performance in American Gangster, but in all honesty this was the first time ever we get to see him morph into a villain for the ages, because through the course of the movie you see Denzel's character as just a normal looking Narc cop that's been around the streets and knows how the system works but through the course of the film you began to realize how evil and manipulative too Ethan Hawke's character who when you first see him he's a up and coming rookie getting a full doze of crime that he'd never imagine. And to be truthful both Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke's performances are what makes this movie great to watch it is almost like a corrupt cop training a rookie to be a wolf who when he first sees him is a sheep and by the end of the movie Hawke becomes a wolf but sticking to his principles or not sticking to his principles. The other thing in what makes the film great is that the film is basically a twenty-four-hour day and though the course of the movie Hawke's character is a young pup but by end is a grown man by the end of the movie and to the movie's credit, if you are ever wanting to make a cop movie of a young cop growing up, Training Day is a great example of that. A lot of famous singers and rappers do a great job in the film as well from Macy Gray to Snoop Dogg and although they have small role is they both do a great job in making the film itself believable. I will say one bizarre fact about the cast was that Matt Damon and Samuel L. Jackson where being consider the number one choices for the roles of Jake Holt and Alonzo Harris and to be honest I really don't think those men would of make this film work, because at that time Damon was an up and coming good looking actor and really as great of an actor Sam Jackson was I honesty wouldn't of thought of him as that character that Denzel Washington created because he was just an absolute monster through the course of the movie moreover ruthless to the point that you never wanted him to succeed furthermore I don't believe at that time Jackson would of made Washington's character believable had he been cast in that role, so thank God Denzel and Hawke played those roles and played them well. Training Day is at its core a great cop movie where the audiences can think on what is right and wrong when it comes to bringing justice and making the city a better place. Moreover, I would consider this the best crime film based in L.A., so if you are looking for a Denzel Washington movie, but wanting something different then I would highly recommend watching Training Day for many reasons this was the second Oscar worthy performance he made furthermore this was one of the first movie's he did where he plays a villain you love to hate, and he did it well.

     

                                     

January Recommendation: Buried

 

                                    I was kept in isolation for a day because the winter in Nebraska just decided to murder us for no apparent reason. So, I thought of what better way to start off the new year and the month of January, with a movie about isolation and loneliness. Buried is a movie where Ryan Reynolds does a one-man performance being buried alive for his crimes of bad movie choices, not really but it is one of those movies like Locke where its one actor is performing a one-man act for ninety minutes. Although this has more intrigue and more WTF moments this movie can muster. Also, I know I am acting crazy when I say this, but this is hands down one of Ryan Reynolds best performances of a lifetime, I mean if I can find four movies that I consider his best it would most certainly be Deadpool 2, The Hitman's Bodyguard, Deadpool and Buried. So, lets dive in deep into being buried alive.

                                    A civilian truck driver in Iraq, Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) falls victim to a band of insurgents. An unknown length of time later, Paul awakens in a coffin, with little more than a lighter, a cell phone, and his ever-glowing anxiety. Faced with a dwindling oxygen supply and a dying battery, Paul must fight panic, despair and delirium as he awaits a rescue that might not arrive on time.

                                    Surprisingly, when thinking about this great movie I finally realized that this movie does remind me of the film Locke with Tom Hardy, and both movies just have these great one man acts where they are in a small place, we are the one character does not have anyone with him just all by himself with the loneliness and isolation. Although Locke is another great film this movie brings the isolation and claustrophobia to a whole new level of madness. Out of all of Ryan Reynolds I've seen, this movie without a doubt is his best performance ever, but the problem is after this movie, he continued to make nothing but absolute garbage, for example after this movie which came out in 2010, he comes out with Green Lantern and that Jason Bateman movie The Change-Up and it's like yeah sure you have to make the personal movies then make the big budget movies but there's a thing called READING THE SCRIPTS, moreover having a clear thought that this movie might be bad, though the thing I'm beginning to accept is that none of these actors or actress that deliver a good performance and is remembered for a certain movie but just chooses not to read is beyond me and Ryan Reynolds is a great example of that. Director Rodrigo Cortes, in terms of filmography this is the one movie where he's most famous for which, yeah I think it’s obvious that he was or maybe tired of Hollywood so I guess it makes sense that he's disappeared off the face of the earth, but I will have to give this man great praise because he was more influenced by two Alfred Hitchcock movies Rope and Lifeboat (for which now I need to check out Lifeboat) moreover this was an outstanding movie that kept you on your seat for ninety minutes of one man inside a coffin. The film was filmed in Barcelona for 16 days, and Ryan Reynolds stated while filming he suffered from claustrophobia (much like the character he plays). Furthermore, the coffin he was in was gradually filled with sand as filming went on such that he was buried while shooting the climatic moments, and when you watch this movie yeah, it is just shocking and creative in terms of how Cortes was able to create. Even the Cortes and his production crew had a team of paramedics on standby in case Reynolds lost his shit or told him that the Canucks or Senators lost the Stanley Cup. Defiantly a forgotten hidden gem of a movie that hands down needs to be seen, by the entire world it is again one of those great one man acts that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the final frame moreover has the inspirations of Alfred Hitchcock as well. So, if you loved Reynolds in the Deadpool movies but hate his other movies I would highly recommend watching Buried and it will convince you that this was Reynolds best movie ever. 

               

The Last of Us: TV Series Episode 1

 

                            One of those nights where your bored possibly your Hockey team has lost nothing good to watch at all, so me and my brother decided to watch HBO's video game adaption to the Last of Us, at first I have to admit that I wasn't at all wanting to watch the show, mainly because if you've played Naughty Dog's video games from Uncharted to The Last of Us they're both movies in their own format they even look like movies a side from the game play. Though watching this I will admit it does feel like you are playing the game all over again but really you have real actors playing these roles furthermore make you feel every step of the way especially when it comes to casting Mandalorian actor Pedro Pascal as Joel, moreover, thought he did a fantastic job the character and I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes and the same with Bella Ramsey who plays Ellie. Granted this is a short review, but I am looking forward to watching the Last of Us moreover may think about going back into replaying the first game. I am not going to give you all spoilers because I assume majority of you have played the games and some of you have watched the previews, but I assure you to give this show a shot and have a good time seeing it.  

Movies I haven't seen in a while: The Black Dahlia

 

                                     So, after watching my December Recommendation LA Confidential, I decided to prepare and watch another movie associated with writer James Elroy's novels. A movie that was not all much a praise moreover was not all up to par with its predecessor LA Confidential. To everyone who’s not familiar with the Black Dahlia, it all started around January of 1947, where aspiring actress Elizabeth Short was found brutally murdered in Hollywood, California and became a publicity sensation during that time, unfortunately the case was never solved and was left unsolved for decades, in fact that it became a popular unsolved case that there are fans to this day that are still interested which is beyond strange because really there's no way to solve this even if you can catch the killer so, yeah. I remember going to see this movie with my brother mainly because he was also at the time interested in the Black Dahlia murder and wanted me to get a history lesson, unfortunately the movie was not really a good idea for a history lesson. 

                                     Two cops in 1940's Los Angeles investigate the murder of a Hollywood starlet (Mia Kirshner), and one (Aaron Eckhart) puts his marriage in jeopardy by obsessing over the crime, while the other (Josh Hartnett) becomes involved with a woman (Hillary Swank) from a prominent family, who happens to have unsavory tie to the victim.

                                     I remember watching this movie in the theaters as I said before, moreover, to be truthfully honest reliving this movie now it still has not changed what I felt about the movie and that is basically that it sucked. Granted this really is not the worst I have seen it is just that this movie basically sucked, and I have no interest re-watching this film again now that I've seen it, there are some funny moments, and a lot of the actors really chew up the scenery and I don't mean chew up the scenery I mean eat up the entire set and sodomizing it by end of production. Furthermore the entire cast really doesn't show much truth in their performances and it just feels like they just don't know how to act or they just gave up, two great examples Aaron Eckhart in the film, becomes a typical charming guy to a crazy nut job who escaped from Shutter Island, in his famous scene he all of a sudden barks at ScarJo who was just offering him food but flips when she puts it on the table hell even barks at Hartnett for no reason as well, and I felt bad for Hartnett in the movie because really, if I was him I would of just hit my breaking point when Aaron and ScarJo are arguing again decides to bring psych doctors over and say to Aaron's character "hey buddy how's it going"? "Making a lot of racket out here aren't you”? 

"Why don't you do me a favor and put this shirt on", then Eckhart asks how come the sleeves are so long, then I would say, "oh that's because we're going to tie your arms behind your back because you’re out of your f**king mind". And what is sad is that this came out a year after Eckhart delivered his best performance in Thank You for Smoking and he comes out with this performance that makes me want to laugh at how bizarrely strange in how he plays obsessed with a dead girl’s murder. Two years before this movie came out Hillary Swank won her second academy award for Million Dollar Baby, after that she came out with this movie where she plays a mysterious femme fatale who as visually is stunning on screen but in all honesty don't really picture her as a antagonist and a great example would show that is when she introduces Hartnett to her family it really feels like I can look at them and say that they both need to be questioned indefinitely because they are probably wanted for murder. Moreover, I felt like Swank just half assed with her performance in this movie and it really did not seem right for the role in my point of view. There was so much sexual tension between ScarJo and Hartnett, that I was almost was about to show "STOP MAKING THIS WEIRD AND BANG EACH OTHER" because there two scenes where Hartnett is creeping on ScarJo and then the next they were in a stare down that I was thinking to myself, what does this have to do with the movie. ScarJo was not the only one being overdramatic, though I also felt bad for Hartnett after watching this movie because he was at the time a good actor, he just made one to many bad choices, moreover his character kept talking about Eckhart saving him and said it around three times that I could be Mr. Mackey and say, "yes he saved your life, mmkay". I refuse to believe that Brain De Palma stayed true to Elroy's novel, mainly because I've browse through some of the plot in the book and there's more storyline and character development then the movie has, furthermore this film is supposed to be a murder mystery and a so called tribute to the detective movies of the 1940's but I felt it really need to be its own movie not just another rip-off of LA Confidential and you can tell because they both have the same mystery jazz music, also suffers from not just the performances but also it's inevitable comparisons to other, more successful films of its genre. And deep down, this movie really needed to be its own movie with both the mystery and horror mixed in, but not be a typical crime noir. I think of all actors that are in this movie I feel bad for Josh Hartnett because he was in up and coming actor, he did a few movies I liked him in and I wished he did more even though I believe Hollywood did drain him out when it comes to the promises, I'm not going to feel bad for Brian De Palma because he should know better and he just failed miserably as a director, which is a reason why he never got much work after the Black Dahlia, in fact a long time ago in the late 1970s he gave crap to George Lucas in not understanding Star Wars, so I hope that he went to De Palma's house and say how horrible the Black Dahlia was for him as a moviegoer. As a movie it is probably the strangest and yet funny at the same time and it would probably be a while before I re-watch this film again. So, if you are ever feeling the need to watch an over dramatic movie, I would say this would be up your alley, but I would probably be lying.

         

Hands of Stone

 

                             Typical nights not sure what to watch, moreover I even asked a friend what a movie of choice would be a Nic Cage movie called Drive Angry or a movie where Usher plays a legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard. Unfortunately, the friend thought it was funny that Usher was playing Sugar Ray Leonard, so he said the movie with Usher. But sad news the movie is not about Sugar Ray Leonard it's about a rival that I've never heard of at that time, which was Roberto Duran. I will confess, I heard about this movie via trailers on YouTube, moreover was intrigued by the premise of the movie, though once I saw the 30 for 30 movie of No Mas which tells the story of Duran and Leonard and once I saw the whole story, I felt best that I should just avoid the movie all together, though as time when on and Tubi is the hidden gem app that you can watch things for free, moreover wasn't sure what to watch so might as well give Hands of Stone a shot.

                             At age 72, legendary trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) comes out of retirement to coach world-class Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez). Arcel becomes a mentor to the ferocious fighter, convincing him that winning ultimately comes down to strategy. After scoring knockout after knockout, Duran prepares for a bout against Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher), the undefeated lightweight champion. Five months later, on Nov 1980, the two titans meet for an infamous rematch that makes boxing history.

                             Surprisingly, this was not so bad of a movie that I have envisioned, in most bio pic's this was not doubt. But, in all honesty there was something unique and special about it because in most cases the show Drunk History kind of ruined the bio pic's when it comes to story wise. I will admit it has been a while since I have seen the documentary of No Mas, so my memory was vague but watching Hands of Stone all the way through I must admit that this was a good boxing movie to watch from start to finish. The best casting, they did was bring Robert De Niro in the role of Arcel, and to be honest if you are ever making a movie about Boxing whether it is a comedy or drama you should always cast De Niro in a boxing movie, probably not a comedy since him and Stallone failed at that, unless you make a good comedy with right hands. Edgar Ramirez actually did a great job playing Duran he really does a good job showing all emotions in terms of anger and happiness then showing some doubt when it comes to not succeeding, he also has the best line where he talks about not wanting to be starve no more, a side from the lazy script writing I thought Ramirez did a great job playing Duran furthermore embodied all of the emotions and stubbornness Roberto Duran carried his entire life. The one person I was surprised was in the movie to begin with was Ana de Armas who plays the wife to Roberto Duran, for which I was like "oh snap" because I had no clue, she was in this movie at all and not to say she was great when it comes to performance wise which she is does a great job, but she was also beautiful as well. The main problem I have with the movie, is that the movie itself is very on the poor writing scale when it comes to writing a Boxing film, granted the movie does focus on Roberto Duran, but should also focus more on Sugar Ray Leonard and good as Usher portrayed him I feel like we didn't get enough of him and why he wanted to fight him because in the documentary we have a reason as to why he wanted to know what happen that people believed that Sugar Ray forced Duran to back down, and I felt like when we get to Duran's downfall and needing to make a comeback we should also have more of Sugar Ray being haunted by the rematch on if he won or not, and really the biggest problem is that the movie should focus a lot more equally on both Duran and Sugar Ray, and this movie is roughly about two hours so you could at least squeeze in a good two hour and ten minute film to add more of the rivalry between these legendary fighters. Now before I close this, I should give on praise to a guy that was uncredited but does a killer Don King impersonation Reg E. Cathey, though granted the man is in very little of the movie but it is always awesome to see at least one actor in the world that can pull off a killer Don King accent. The movie itself is not bad at all, just the poor writing and less character development is what drive the movie down as a whole. Hands of Stone is not the worst I have seen moreover still like the telling of Duran's story so I would most certainly recommend watching this from start to finish. 

        

The Banshees of Inisherin

 

   

                                       Well, Happy New Year to all your movie goers that go to either every Superhero movie that makes me feel burnt out or to those who have seen Avatar: Way of Water, or just like some simple movies. Whichever the case, we are now in the new year of 2023 so, why not start of fresh with a new Martin McDonagh movie about to Irish fellows falling out of friendship. To those who have never seen any of Martin McDonagh's work like In Bruges or Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, he does a fantastic job in blending both a sense of dark comedy with flawed characters but along the way brings out a certain message to his films about life as we all know it today. Staring both great actors in Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson who previously worked with McDonagh on In Bruges, both men and director bring out a story of what happens when a friendship ends for no reason.

                                   On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Padraic (Colin Farrell) is devastated when his buddy Colm (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. With help from his sister and troubled young islander, Padraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship by any means necessary. However, Colm's resolve only strengthens, he soon delivers an ultimatum that leads to shocking consequences.

                                    In all of Martin McDonagh's films there is always a personal message for the human soul or being, and they all consist of personal messages we as an audience member can relate to in our own way. In Bruges is a great example of trying to not let the past consume us, and try to push forward in life, Three Billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri tells us that killing your enemies with kindness much of less your own hatred will save your own life. The Banshees of Inisherin, I honesty can understand the meaning behind the movie but deep down I really don't understand the entire meaning, I mean it was just like okay one of the two don't like one another and which doesn't accept why, and to be truthful I honestly can say that I'm on Colin Farrell's side of the feud mainly because I don't understand Brendan Gleeson's reason, because in his mind he wants to be remembered for his music and doesn't want to be bothered by Farrell's annoyance towards him, but in all honesty I didn't find Colin that annoying in the entire movie, moreover I'm a judge of character when it comes to picking out whose the most annoying people on the planet, for example The Kardashians, Politicians, even Joy Behar, and the list goes on and on but Farrell's performance wasn't even close to being annoying. Furthermore once we get to the second act of the movie Gleeson's character gives in ultimatum that becomes the center piece of the whole movie which is insanely dark, and even I as a audience member can look at this and say "yeah I don't get your reason, your just turning into a complete a**hole, so stop being an a**hole" Now sure I get that the Irish Civil War (because that's where the movie is set) is a metaphor for the two men's feud and the fact that he's explaining that these types of feuds don't make a ton of sense but either way I was still lost through the course of it. Now a side from the story not making much sense, I can still appreciate that the movie alone was a well-directed movie and a lot of those scenes where some great scenery just like a painting with one great scene where two birds get into a fight with one another is also great, and both Farrell and Gleeson give some great performances out of their roles, that they should do more movies together. As a Critic I would give this movie a shot although, if you feel differently about the movie then me, then I would have to ask you what the meaning was behind it, but if you felt the same way as I did not than I do not blame you, but I would recommend it for the visuals moreover Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson duo.