Epic Mickey Rebrushed: Replay Review

 

                  This was one of the few games on the Nintendo Wii, at the time of its release that I wanted to play because I loved the idea of what Disney games was bringing to the story, but more importantly it was the first time, I ever learned the story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Epic Mickey at the time of its release was one of those games where you take the idea of a Mickey Mouse story where he's mysteriously sucked into a world of lost creations and forgotten worlds. Though this game itself was a long and forgotten game it suddenly resurfaced into the PlayStation hands as well as Xbox hands and improved the gameplay a bit. And so, when I heard they were re-releasing the game I figured why not go back and finish what I started.

                  This beautiful remake sends Mickey into a fantastic world where you use paint and thinner to shape your adventure and the fate of this alternate world. Every stroke of your brush matters!

                   It's true in case anyone who isn't familiar with Walt Disney himself, was that his first creation was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, long before he became infamous with Mickey Mouse. During his career his creation of Oswald became lost through copyrights by the time he formed his own company and created the legendary Mickey Mouse. In 2003, Disney's video game company had the idea of Mickey and Oswald meeting together for the first time unfortunately at the time it couldn't work all because Oswald was owned by NBC, for which leads us to the greatest non-sports trade in television history, ABC (Disney's broadcast station) traded Al Michaels (who wanted a change as well as, felt the interest to work at NBC) to NBC and Disney would retain the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Now I don't always calm myself to always have the greatest memory, especially at times remembering my childhood, but twenty years ago I had a good memory of going to Disneyland for the first time for which I most certainly enjoyed as well as having a great time. Then upon Epic Mickey's release I was told that they used forgotten creations as well as rides from past Disneyland rides, and at the time that part fascinated me. So, during the games release my parents bought a Nintendo Wii mainly because of some of the interactive exercise games they were developing, which of course I was using a lot mainly because I was still fat and wanted to get in shape.  As for purchasing the game, moreover, playing the game, I'll admit it wasn't like any games that I can continue playing again mainly because I wasn't all used to using the Wii controllers, where you can wave it around as a wand or just point the stick to a different part of the screen. Now, playing the game on PlayStation I have to admit that it makes the gameplay simple but more importantly gives a new aspect of making choices, and the Wii has been decommissioned for a long time but I think the problem was games through the course of the Wii's run became way to complicated, for which I believe was the true problem as to why it didn't last unless other gamers still play on the Wii as well as taken care of it. I will later talk about the choice you make in life with another game later on, but with this game, yeah you have a choice to paint these characters to be good or thin them to be evil or destroy them and I can imagine that at a young age I would always make the bad choices, maybe not but with playing the game now I would always make the choice of being good and I think it's just because I was raised by good people, I don't know what it is, but maybe it's because of human nature and even when you finish the game you have those endings where you didn't finish the side quests and some of the characters look miserable, and this was because I made a search on YouTube, and yet again this was one of those things where, when it comes to a Disney movie or game I absolutely didn't want to be an a**hole so, of course I had to make the choice of having a good ending, though I forgot one side quest. As a kid growing up with some nostalgia cartoons especially Disney cartoons, this was most certainly the Disney game worth playing from start to finish and underappreciative Disney game of all time. Moreover I actually had a blast replaying the game even though this was a remake but then again this was trying to go back to a game and finish what I was trying to start with other games I tend to just throw away and forget but with this one, this was one of those games that I had to come back to and re-finish as well as feel closure in at least beating the game. So, now that I finished the game months ago, I would most certainly recommend playing the game to all those Disney fans who love everything Disney but more importantly love the games as well. 

  

 

Letterkenny

 

                During my binge of Shoresy, I've taken the liberty of watching the Canadian sensation that launched underappreciated actor Jared Keeso into stardom. I never know what the best way Letterkenny other than if you've ever lived in a small town area of the mid-west part of the United States country or any small town of anywhere in the word then this is most certainly a TV show you can have a great time watching and gives you a good memory of living in small town community.

                This comedy series showcases the antics of the residents of Letterkenny, a small rural community in Canada. Letterkenny began its life as a YouTube series called Letterkenny Problems.

                 After watching the first, two episodes of the first season I slowly become to realize that "holy crap" this reminds me of living the life in central Nebraska and sure, there's a tone of differences between small community in Canada, I would most certainly imagine. But the similarities between both cultures are almost similar its crazy, and sure you can deny that aspect, but I find the similarities there in a portrait at an art gallery. Like, I can remember times in high school where you most certainly can have your bros or jocks, and then you have those weird people who are all about goth or when Hot Topic was a thing back in 2003. And now, after all the years in TV you most certainly see a ton of these crazy people around the central parts of Nebraska so, when watching Letterkenny, yeah it does almost feel like you’re watching yourself on streaming TV. Even with a six episode season it does feel like you can always sit down shut your brain whenever you are so tired from life and then you just play episodes of Letterkenny it always kind of breath of fresh air. Though I will admit there are times where I had to take a break because bringing all twelve episodes of the show tense to get tiring as well as you feel like you hear the same joke repeatedly. There a lot about Jared Keeso as a actor and creator I respect a lot, though I doubt I can do the same comedic ways he did but I respect him as a visionary from both Letterkenny and Shoresy for many reasons is that he's born in Canada, he played Hockey throughout his childhood and I could imagine that he lived out in the small community of Canada then tried to breakout into acting for which was finding it tiring on how the Hollywood aspect was, then decided to take his talents on YouTube, and personally I look at Keeso's filmography and say from the bottom of my heart that he's for certain the most underappreciated comedic talent out there. So, if you’re a Midwesterner living out somewhere in the north or south parts of the Midwest, I would most certainly recommend watching Letterkenny or Shoresy and you'll enjoy it from beginning to the very end of the final season since the show is officially over. And yet thank Hulu, they purchase both of Keeso's shows so you can watch them repeatedly, but then again, I would still recommend pacing yourself in watching each season. 

  

48hrs

 

                  In the next of many films, I'm trying to find and watch for the first time, is a cop movie that has the unlikely of people you'd never expect to be cop buddies. 48hrs is a cop movie in the early eighties that consisted of Nick Nolte before he was a star, and surprising fact was a model? And an up-and-coming comedic talent in Eddie Murphy who’s fresh off his time in SNL. Also staring on the side is a young Annette O'Toole who I personally remember from watching Smallville in my teenage years as Superman's mom. And if you don't remember a small movie called Predator and a buff man who tried to challenge the Predator but failed miserably at it, well then, you'll be in a big surprise when you sit down and watch the whole movie through like I did. 

                  Renegade cop Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) pulls bank robber Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) from federal prison on 48-hour leave to help him capture Hammond's old partner, Albert Ganz (James Ramar). Having escaped from prison work crew, Ganz is on a killing spree around San Francisco, on the trail of half a million dollars that went missing after one of his robberies. The cocky Reggie knows where the money is, but spars with the hotheaded Jack as he enjoys his temporary freedom. 

                  The original concept of the film had a different premise with a Governor's daughter being kidnapped attached to a bomb and will be blown up if no ransom in 48hrs, hence the title. The script itself got moved around from Columbia to Paramount and the original actors to portray these unlikely duo was Clint Eastwood par from his success with the Dirty Harry and his partner would be played by the late great Richard Pryor, for which really after hearing that via researching the development of the film yeah hands down I would pay to watch as well as watch the movie twenty times because that's great casting. Unfortunately, Eastwood was signed to Escape from Alcatraz during the process of developing 48hrs, but I'd still watch that alternate reality version of 48hrs if it consists of Eastwood and Pryor for a gillion reasons it's great casting as well as the unlikeliest of people you'd ever expect to solve a crime. Nick Nolte of course was great I mean he does fit the portion of a renegade cop always going outside the law or being the crazy loose cannon whose causing more property damage then the criminals. Though witnessing Eddie Murphy's first debut performance is really what makes the film watchable, for which is weird because he was almost close of being fired for not being funny, and yet once you watch this guy do is thing it brings you back to when you'd though the Nutty Professor films or Norbit and you think to yourself, how the hell did this guy fall off the deep end of his career. Though then you realized he had Shrek films in his back pocket to get his house payments done and out of the way but still him going from movies like 48hrs and Beverly Hills Cop and then he makes these films like Nutty Professor which really when you watch this film now you'd slowly realize that film isn't as good as you remember. And now when you watch 48hrs you begin to see that even with the Saturday Night Live stardom you slowly begin to see the rise of a comedic talent furthermore witnessing something special about his earlier films though let’s be honest you can watch 48hrs, Beverly Hills Cop and just stick with that unless you love the musical Dreamgirls then sure you can watch that if you want. A fascinating little fact about this film, is actor James Remar who plays the main antagonist in the film, went without sleep before shooting scenes to give his character a more washed-out, psychotic look. For which, truly the man does give it his all I will admit that, though to all up and coming actors who want to play a bad guy in a buddy cop movie, and want to go full Daniel Day-Lewis for your character I would say maybe take baby steps don't do anything extreme in going full two days without sleep because that's not a great idea to go four hours of sleep every other day, believe me because when I was in morning news TV there were days I turned psycho and wanted to kill every toxic person out there. As a buddy cop movie, I will give this film a ton of great points, it has a simple premise, great chemistry between Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as well as a good antagonist. So, if you're in the market to watch a buddy cop movie that you see or haven't seen I would highly recommend watching 48hrs, and really it always makes me feel good whenever I see a west or east coast city upon which gives me a good reminder of never wanting to live in that specific city. Moreover, the film is still on Hulu or Paramount +, so, if you have any of those subscriptions it’s never too late to have a movie night for yourself instead of wasting your money on other crappy movies coming out in theaters.  

   

Mississippi Burning

 

               With the passing of legendary actor Gene Hackman, I decided to pick out some Gene Hackman films that I failed miserably in taking the time to sit down and watch. For any Generation Z, or now, if you grew up in my time of the millennial’s era, your parents would have you watch the only kid friendly movie in Gene Hackman's filmography titled Hoosiers. For which, my parents had a VHS copy of it from the publisher of Feature Films for Families, and literally that was my first introduction to Gene Hackman moreover was my only film of his I ever watched besides Superman, The French Connection and The Quick and the Dead, on cable TV.  And this latest film of Hackman's career is most certainly one of those films that puts a lot of hate in your heart but also gives you a lot of reasons to root for Gene Hackman's character.

                When a group of civil rights workers goes missing in a small Mississippi town, FBI agents Alan Ward (William Dafoe) and Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) are sent to investigate. Local authorities refuse to cooperate with them, and the African American community is afraid to, precipitating a clash between the two agents over strategy.

                Around 1985, screenwriter Chris Gerolmo discovered an article that excerpted a chapter from the book Inside Hoover's F.B.I., which chronicled the FBI's investigation into the murders of Channey, Goodman and Schwerner. And while drafting the first script, Gerolmo brought it to producer Fredrick Zollo, who worked on a previous movie, helped him develop the original script before they sold the script to Orion Pictures. Of all the Gene Hackman movies I've seen and sadly there a small few, this one know doubt is the most intense movie I've seen to date. And sure it's a story about racism in the worst part of America, Mississippi and we've all seen a ton of movies like Remember the Titans or 42, but this was one of those films that if your kid is wanting to go to college and go to the University of Mississippi then you'd better have him/her watch this movie and just make sure what you’re getting into because as Johnny Depp said "I have absolute nothing I want to do in Mississippi". In all mystery style films I've seen you always have to have that cop relationship where one man is above the book and one who knows that lands and wants to do things to bend the rules, and at times you'll shout about William Dafoe's character being such a stickler always feeling like he's not doing is job, but then you come to realization that you have to have that drama between Dafoe and Hackman because that's how you set up the drama in what the best way to approach things especially when it comes to the KKK. And I truly believe when you have a guy like Hackman as the veteran officer at your side, I would defiantly like to have his assist, because he was the main reason why he's such a tremendous actor because he does lend the compassionate side but also can be a scary SOB when you cross him and once we get to like the third act of the film it just feels satisfying when they bring the fear of God into the KKK, and I just loved every minute of it. As great of an actor Gene Hackman was in the movie, the antagonists in the movie are even great, actors like Michael Rooker who played Chick Gandil in the movie Eight Men Out, as well as the infamous Yondu in the first, two Guardians of the Galaxy films, furthermore it takes a lot of courage to play a racist scumbag whose filled with a lot of hate in your heart and really that's something even I'm not sure I can channel that because it’s just something that you have to hate yourself doing on set and I always give actors who play a hard hating southern hillbilly a ton of credit because that's always a hard thing to do, mainly because you have to be that guy you despise a lot on the actors who play the white clan do a great job at that. For the first time even watching this movie it does take a lot of effort re-watching this movie again and I'm not sure I can a side from the fact that yes it's most certainly a great film and I would highly recommend watching the film, but this was most certainly recommend watching the film but it's one of those films that puts a lot of hate in your heart and it's not like 42 or Remember the Titans where you get some satisfaction but with this movie I don't know if I can but maybe in the near future. The film itself is still on Tubi, and I would most certainly suggest not watching this with your kids but assure people to not just treat people equally but most importantly never make race or religion or any different aspect of a person you see a big deal because the only way we can address these issues of today is to treat your fellow man respect and understanding.

 

Sleeping Beauty

 

              Counting down the final days of the month of Love and like most movie lovers tend to have they get a little tired of watching the same thing or trying to deal with the year of finding a regular job. For which I'm experiencing, and this is technically normal, like, there times where I want to find those certain movies that I want to step out of my comfort zone but there are also some of those movies that leave a mark of not sure what to make of it, and no question Spin me Round did kill that mood if you catch my meaning, though no pun intended, long story just read my review of Spin me Round if you want more context. So, Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty was on my radar of fascinating movies to watch, but most importantly it's also 70 minutes long so, you'll understand my excitement when you hear that kind of news. 

              The basis of the entire story is Disney villain is jealous of not attending the King of England's daughter's birth? And so, she takes her petty childish revenge on the King and Queen by cruising the princess to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die on her sixteenth birthday? I guess ruling the fantasy realm is out of the question.

              I have good memories when I was a kid, my parents as well as my older brother and sister we would always take summer trips to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Colorado, my Aunt being on my Dad's side. And one of the few memories that I do remember is that at their house they would have this lined collection of old school VHS tapes of old school Disney movies and my cousin who was a real life Maleficent (I could say another word but you know, have to keep it PG) was a huge fan of the Disney movies, for which really looking back moreover thinking about it I never understood how could she love the Disney movies unless she was more inspired by becoming a Disney villain in real life because there was no way in hell she was ever going to be a real life Disney princess. Either way, moving on, and I can probably imagine remembering watching some of these films like the Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, or maybe even Aladdin (though I do remember watching Aladdin a lot), but I have very little memory watching some of the old school Disney films like Sleeping Beauty and finally sitting down and watching this 70 minute movie feels like a breath of fresh air at times because it goes back to a time when they never had any computers to do any of these animations it was all done, by literally drawing the characters as well as the back ground and simply making a giant flip book on the big screen. Now, before I sat down typing my thoughts I watched about the making of Sleeping Beauty (for which you can find on YouTube) and they talk about using actors to stage some of these sequences you see in the film, and that's basically the frame of reference of how they draw or animate all the characters and really bring them to life, so, really all of the voice actors at least some of them, that voice the characters also did a lot of the live action stuff for the animators so they can get a clear idea on how to stage everything. Great example is Princess Aurora, when you see her dancing around with the forest animals as well as Prince Phillip, Mary Costa and dancer Helene Stanley were used to perform some of those sequences you see, which is really amazing and cool, but most importantly makes a lot of sense for many reasons animators now can use archive footage to help out with any film their working on back when Walt Disney was alive and still smoking up a storm (literally and figuratively) the animators back then, never had anything to use so, stage actors was the best and only thing they had to work with and having learned about that was pretty cool. What makes this film great and entertaining to see with open eyes, is that it's like a another version of Fantasia but with dialogue, and it's very beautiful especially when you see Aurora gracefully walking or running through the forest, it's just mesmerizing because it feels like you’re watching a real life ballet but it's a cartoon, and the same goes with the action sequences when you see the Prince go toe to toe with the Dragon it's just like seeing a portrait that you probably seen at any of the Disney parks, but you may not remember seeing it because you were to focused with all of the rides. Truth be told, with all of the animations and comic relief, the story is a bit sluggish in terms of a tone of plot holes especially when Aurora is finally told that she's a princess and is betrothed to Prince Phillip, and is never aware of this nor the fairies even mentioning this to them when she was growing up which caused my brain to physically have a mental breakdown and they're just like well she's not happy anymore and I'm sitting on my couch shouting "WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL HER IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Granted we never get an explanation of Maleficent's background or motives but then we have Angelina Jolie's Maleficent to fall back on so in all fairness it really doesn't matter. But, the logic or common sense the directors or writers or even Walt Disney himself could of at least told the writers and say "listen guys we're going to need more scenes because the fairies not telling Aurora until her sixteenth birthday doesn't make sense", but then they would have to draw more scenes and I heard that the movie was so challenging that they may or not have all the time in the world to get it all done but then again they could of at least tried. I mean sure some of the comic relief is great in the movie but up until that point that major point in the movie just put me in a limbo state, like Leo not knowing if he's still dreaming or not. Speaking of the comic relief the best character of the movie is indeed Merryweather because she's the more logical fairy in the movie and her best moment is when she reached a breaking point with her fellow fairies and passive aggressively fetches the wands, which is funny because it feels like Ron Swanson moment as if you remake this movie into live action and cast Nick Offerman to play Merryweather with the mustache and you have that moment, that would make it great comedy. To the films credit it does distract us with a lot of the beautiful imagery as well as great composing music, for which is such a treat to watch because with Disney Plus it's always a treat to travel back in time and watch some of these movies by yourself and carry an open mind while watching the film like Sleeping Beauty all the way through. I will say I think I'm done watching any romantic theme movies because I do feel a little burnt out but, if you love anything from Disney animations I would highly recommend watching Sleeping Beauty for many reasons it does bring back the fascinating time of when animators literally had to use interesting tricks as well as live action to bring some of these animations to life even when computers didn't exist in the Cold War era but more importantly it was a closing chapter to the golden age of Walt Disney's films until his final days. 

           

February Recommendation: Casablanca

 

               My February recommendation is based on a conversation with my brother, and it was mostly discussing certain people including the Gen-Z generation not seeing any classic movies, and a certain actor in Humphrey Bogart was part of that discussion. And really it got me thinking, if anyone now isn't watching all those classic films then that's something I can't except. Moreover, it needs to educate this generation about watching the classics and more in a sense finding good tastes in film, because there are some films that are great but the tone of them isn’t that great. So, Casablanca became my choice for the month of February as well as the perfect film about love and loss during WWII.

               Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out the country.

               I remember my very first time watching this amazing great movie, it was around 2010, and my brother and I decided that we would, in our own way, go on this quest of a thousand movies from 2010 to 2020, just any movie from the golden age of cinema to animated movies to modern-day movies. Sadly, we didn't last for more than six years into it, for good reasons we were burnt out after some of the modern movies that came out. Though one of those movies, that I watched in my first year was Casablanca for which was my first time ever watching the movie and mostly watching Turner Classic Movies channel (and if you haven't experienced TCM on cable or HULU as well as Max then I would highly recommend watching that channel it's great way to experience your love for film), and although my first memory of the movie was the great camera movement of introducing Rick’s Café, but deep down I don't think I would forever be in debt with TCM if it wasn't experiencing the great acting and legendary presence of Humphrey Bogart. I mean granted I've grown up watching great films from John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart but there's something about Bogart that makes you want to watch more of his work, though I truly believe that he's an excellent tough guy as well as the biggest prick, but most importantly has a good heart at times for the ladies as well as his allies. So really, Bogie was always through the course of his career an excellent anti-hero and he's perfect in his portrayal of his iconic character in Rick Blaine, who really isn't a hero in the movie he's more of a realist who doesn't care about the world after his break-up with his girlfriend played by Ingrid Bergman. And I remember the first time watching the movie I questioned the idea of why he is putting her on the plane with her husband who she was planning on leaving him? And for sure through many times watching the movie I suddenly realize that all the man wanted was an explanation as to why Bergman left him and through the course of the movie she was going to tell him but after his insults she refuses but yet ask him to help and still refuses for which leads to her admitting her love for him and him questioning his point of view on the Nazis. Which really is great story telling as well as great pacing because you never know through the course of the movie what is going to happen until the final frame of the movie. Yes this movie has a great list of supporting actors with Ingrid Bergman and the scummy Claud Rains as well as the evil Conrad Veidt (who surpassingly left Germany in 1933 when the Nazis took over), but I don't think this film would be as successful if Bogart didn't sign on to the film because even if you take him out this film wouldn't be iconic without his iconic presence. Speaking of Conrad Veidt who portrays Major Henrich Strasser, a lot of the actors who portrays the Nazi's in the movie were all European Jews who fled Europe during the war and although I find it bewildering, but in all honesty I think it's great idea because when you’re making a movie like this during the midst of WWII, you kind of in a sense need to show that evil Nazi Germany was during the early forties especially when they're bringing out talks about concentration camps which really watching this movie now it's kind of surprising how they were able to get away with that in terms of the censorship in forties Hollywood. Most certainly Casablanca is one of the greatest movies of all time in my book as well as, in my list of the 100 greatest movies of all time, though yes we're passed done with Valentine's Day, this movie is the go too film I would most certainly watch on Valentine's Day hell, even the local IMAX in Nebraska was airing this film one time and I was like "hell, yeah" I'm going to go see this because this movie has everything you want in a romantic movie love, loss as well as pain but more importantly in epic film set admis pre-World War II. Though this is just me talking but this romantic-war film is a trillion times better than Michael Bays disaster Pearl Harbor, which is a real disaster because a lot of veteran's die after watching that piece of trash. Through all the jokes aside I would highly recommend any couple watching Casablanca from beginning to the very end. And for all of the Gen Z generation, you want to experience all the elements of love, loss, as well as pain? Check out Casablanca stop wasting your time on all of the Nicholas Sparks crap or all of the crappy reality television that ABC puts out. You also want to know what ABC stands for? Absolute, Bull, Crap. 

   

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

 

             Usually in a typical slumps, being forced into captivity by extreme cold weather, for which really don't get me wrong I love a good walking around in the coldness but when it gets to ridicules negativity that's just insane especially three days tops. Anyway, I tried to pick one movie to prep my February themed movie about love and I stumbled onto a movie that I surprisingly remembered a long time ago back when Dish Network was always releasing previews, and I wasn't old enough to watch the movies. How Stella Got Her Groove Back, stars Angela Bassett, who I can't stop thinking about how gorgeous she was in the movie, especially forty years of age along with Whoopi Goldberg back when she was still funny and didn't lose all her brain cells admits being on the View.

             Unluckily-in-love stockbroker Stella (Angela Bassett) jets to Jamacia with her gal pal Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) for some fun in the sun. There the 40-year-old working woman has in island fling with Winston (Taye Diggs) -- a handsome 20-something. When it's time to return to California, Stella realizes that she's developed real feelings for her new man. But, with their distance from each other, not to mention their disparity of age, does a real relationship stand a chance.

              No question this was one of the many movies that I remember seeing in terms of watching dish on demand previews at a young age and this movie would always come up constantly and all I remember was Whoopi Goldberg being in the movie moreover I remembered watching parts of Sister Act. And of course, this movie was of many films that I remembered watching because when you’re a kid you usually either watch Disney or anything that your sister watches or your dad, moreover I never had any intention watching the movie for many reasons I was a kid and had no intention of wanting to watch romantic films. So, finding this movie available on Hulu I figured what the hell, I mean it's one of those things where you just must pick the random movie to watch and have the hopes of it being good or turning it off and this was the same technique, when it comes to finding some good hidden gems. Furthermore this turns out to be one of those great and entertaining romantic comedies I've ever seen, and a lot of that goes to Angela Bassett who I only watched her in Black Panther and didn't realize how drop dead gorgeous she was in this movie, as well as realizing why Taye Diggs was falling for this woman I mean no question Bassett was and still is a great actress but her presence on screen as well as her beauty was a big factor of me being convinced of this movies potential. In fact I felt bad for the son in the movie because if I was his best friend I would constantly tell him that his mom is smoking hot, constantly and even in scenes where all of the ladies have moments of looking at Taye Diggs and realizing that he's with Bassett's character is no question at times cringe but then becomes funny because as a guy I would be understandable and say I would hit that, in fact if I was Taye Diggs I would most certainly go after Angela Bassett even if it means bringing out the lame catch phrases ever, and that's what makes this movie great is that yes this movie does have that chick flick feel but also has a convincing feeling that all the ladies and all of the men would most certainly go after this couple. Taye Diggs whose infamous for his Broadway roles in hits like Rent and Wicked, I got to say how crazy it is that this was his first breakout role in film, and even if it means being romantically involved with a gorgeous woman like Bassett which I'll say a million times if I was in his shoes I would most certainly go after her. Though it isn't just these two that makes the film great it’s also actresses like Whoopi Goldberg and Regina King that makes the film great I mean Regina King does a great job playing the sister whose delivers on the comic relief, just Regina King doing what Regina King does best and granted this was long before she won an Oscar so talk about paying your do's when it comes to being an actor or actress. Even watching Whoopi Goldberg in the movie I look back on her life and think wow this woman was a great comedic actress and then she loses her marbles with being on the View and you know, it's a good life lesson for everyone no matter what you do in your career as an actor or actress don't let society change you nor let any big time city like LA or New York change you, for many reason situations like that are the reasons why even if you live in those big cities, they slowly change your views and I don't know what Goldberg's were at the beginning of her career, but I most certainly know she lost her marbles when she became a View regular and it's sad to notice a woman with great comedic potential slowly begins to lose her ways. The movie is based on the book by Terry McMillan, for which really I begin to realize wow, a lot of the romantic comedies that I love are based on best sellers like High Fidelity, to Crazy Rich Asian's and let's not forget The Princess Bride, for which really there must be a pattern for some of these romantic comedy/drama's that I begin to like are based on books and yet there not based on books by Nicholas Sparks. For a first time watching, I got to admit that this is another one of those films I would most certainly recommend watching as well as putting this film in my list of top ten best rom-coms, for reasons it has all the elements trying to find you passion as well as dealing with age gaps, but most importantly just following your heart no matter what people tell you. More importantly this film has all the elements you need in a rom/com/drama from its perfect couple to great comedic talent as well as great pacing of whether or not this couple would be together till the very end and really this film without a doubt impressed me in a lot of ways as well as noticing Bassett's character is the most realistic Stockbroker I've ever seen on film. In closing, this is on Hulu and for certain I would highly recommend watching this great film from start to finish.

                  

Spin Me Round

 

                    

                      This was one of those nights were I was just scrolling through Hulu, trying to find some kind of romantic themed movie, that I could talk about through the month of February, and really this was one of those movies that I would think "oh this might be intriguing", since the film has the ever beautiful and comedic talent in Alison Brie as well as Aubrey Plaza whose progressing as a talented actress so, again there's some go list of actresses that would be interesting in watching especially when watching the trailer for the first time. Unfortunately, this was one of those movies gave me mixed emotions as well as in ending that I'm not sure if the writer and director gave up or didn't think through his ending, though sadly the director of the film, Jeff Baena died a month ago which for me being new to this news I feel like "The Dude", say "that's a bummer, man"

                      Flown to an Italian immersion program on her company's dime, what starts as a romantic getaway devolves into chaos.

                       I wouldn't say that this movie was all bad, consisting of that the film has a pretty good first and second act the problem is the third act where I felt like they just threw us a loop of confusion that never quite resolved nor gave us in a sense a satisfying ending. Granted the first-two acts are really good mainly because they give us a woman played by Brie, whose a bit lost in life, is gifted with this opportunity by the company to go on a vacation to Italy, though it doesn't go exactly as planned because the funniest part is they go to Italy but they are caged in which is lot like the family vacation I've experienced in the past ten years. But through the course of it she begins to find love in unexpected places with the owner of the company, and then finds a unexpected love from the secretary played by Aubrey Plaza, but is conflicted as well as learning that the owner is not what he seems. For which, goes in an different feel for me because after the first and second act, Aubrey Plaza is nowhere to be found, told through the movie that she's fired, and things just go out of control in terms of the story as well as where is the movie supposed to go, like I would imagine that there would be a conflicted love triangle for Brie to choose between the good looking guy or Plaza's character but then that just doesn't happen. And sure, you can have a unresolved ending true, but when you’re doing a bizarre love story that turns out of control you got to have a satisfying ending especially when the character is first introduced as someone who went through a bad relationship so, in all fairness that whole twist of the third act is what threw me out of the movie as well as not feeling the need to ever watch this movie again. Once I looked up director Jeff Baena and heard that he died of suicide I begin to question ever wanting to write a review of this movie, and the other thing that was sad about this whole ordeal is, that he was married to Aubrey Plaza, which again it was like damn, that sucks. I wouldn't say that this movie was the worst thing I've ever seen. It does have its moments but then, it gets lost in the shuffle of the third act as well as my interest in the movie almost kind of the same vibes as the first Dune movie. I can't say I would recommend the movie for everyone to watch but if you understand the movie better than I could then go nuts whoever you are. Though I'm just going to leave it at that since the unexpected death from Jeff Baena but to everyone whose going through something in life I would highly recommend at least talking to that person and keeping that person at heart not matter what their experiencing or how their feeling.  

         

Companion

 

                    Ladies and Gentlemen, I truly believe that I found what most certainly was the best movie of 2025. Though sure, we're not close to the halfway mark of 2025 but, when it comes to the woke generation majority of them are usually crap or better ways garbage though sure there are some sleepers that sometimes become good, but I have a good guarantee that this film is without a doubt the best of 2025. Companion, is one of those films that has that it factor that once you watch the movie trailer and you see it through you immediately sold on what the film is and know it looks good it's almost like when the Invisible Man came out five years and it shows an abusive boyfriend, well this movie has that intrigue after Ron Swanson heard about the Meat Tornado. Furthermore, it was at my local movie theater and as luck would become fate, I picked the excellent time to hit the movie theaters.

                    A weekend getaway turns bloody and violent when subservient android that's build for human companionship goes haywire.

                    Usually when it comes to recent movies coming out a year, you watch the previews or movie trailers and, well I'm going to use me for example I get one look at each movie and I think "dumb", after the first watch or even see anything especially in Super Bowl time and their obviously dumb, not my cup of tea, furthermore it's always 100 of these movies that come out once a year and sure, there like a few or maybe five of these film that come out once a year but then again, now it's usually just nothing but crap. But once in a while there's only that one movie that comes out once a year, and every time I watch that one trailer I usually say that "you have me sold" it's like The Invisible Man when that film came out five years ago, and heard about that the Invisible Man was an abusive boyfriend I was like Ron Swanson when he heard about the Meat Tornado, and really Companion this year is my Meat Tornado. I didn't find a whole lot of info on writer/director Drew Hancock, other than finding out that this was his first ever movie but more importantly this guy is from Omaha, Nebraska, for which I was like this guy is my personal hero. Mainly because, Hancock wanted to make movies though it took him a long process especially movie to LA as well as working up the ladder process, moreover when the pandemic happened he made a goal in getting his voice heard in Hollywood as well as, writing out some story ideas and that's were Companion came into Hancock's sites. No question, Companion reminded me of the TV show, Westworld when I watched the trailer for the first time, but in all honesty it didn't bother me at all, because I always want to see these kinds of stories where we see a disgusting side of humanity especially when the fear of this concept may come into reality and I swear if that happens or Disney does this thing, where you can date a princess for a day, I will scream out in disgust and troll the internet about how humanity is a mistake. Both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid do an exceptional job in the movie, I have never seen a whole lot of Thatcher's work, but she does an exceptional job playing the protagonist in the movie. While Thatcher does a great job in the movie, Jack Quaid does a fantastic job playing the boyfriend who slowly sheds his skin and becomes this vicious antagonist and even the rest of the cast does a great job as well and this is just a few actors in the movie but that's all you really need. It's kind of sad that you only get one of these movies a year while majority of the films that come out a year don't exceed my expectations, and really it's these kinds of movies that just get me interested in wanting to go out to the movies, hell just the simplest stories and the right writer and director making these films work is what I really want to see when it comes to at least going out and going to the movie theaters sure, I'd love to see a big budget movie or a superhero movie but all of them now are just movies I already seen and that movie tickets as well as concession food costing lot of money is why I usually don't go to the movies a lot. Companion is one of the best and most certainly the greatest movies that came out in 2025 and that's saying a lot, for many reasons I doubt there is going to be another film like Companion to come out this year. So, here it is ladies and gentlemen, young couples or married couples. If you’re looking for a movie to watch this Valentine's Day week, I would highly recommend seeing Companion at your local movie theater this week.

      

10th Anniversary of Crimson Peak

 

           

               

                 To start of well, technically late start off to the month of love aka February as well as Valentines Day. I'd start with a movie that's been ten years since I watched in the movie theater and had mixed emotions about it and yet ten years today I still have mixed emotions about the movie and yet watched it any way just because it's streaming on Peacock and I'm not purchasing the movie for which is the least of what I want to do personally so, I figured why not give this movie a watch and see if it changed my thoughts, ten years ago. Crimson Peak is a mix of horror and romance created out of the strange mind of legendary director Guillermo del Toro, a director that has the same bizarre inspirations as Robert Eggers but in my personal loving experience I would choose Guillermo del Toro over Eggers because del Toro's work I can understand and appreciate more than Eggers work in a heartbeat well, besides this movie.

                 After marrying the charming and seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), young Edith (Mia Wasikowska) finds herself swept away to his remote gothic mansion in the English hills. Also living there is Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain), Thomas' alluring sister and protector of her family's dark secrets. Able to communicate with the dead, Edith tries to decipher the mystery behind the ghostly visions that haunt her new home. As she comes closer to the truth, Edith may learn that true monsters are made of flesh and blood.

                  The first time I watched the movie or to better go into great lengths I saw the movie trailer and though "well, it's typical Guillermo del Toro's weird gothic vision of a haunted house and great has great list of actors so, why not check it out", and really at the time I was working morning shows and I didn't have a whole lot of fun time I just go to the earliest shows possible and get free popcorn and soda basically using cheap tactics as possible. And, my first thoughts while watching the movie especially going into the beginning of the second act of the film, and realized how awful Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain's house is in terms of wanting to live there and even in the scene where the character of Edith is carried by Tom Hiddleston into the house, I was just horrified of how sh*ty the house looks especially when there's no roof and at times begin to decay and even times when you see moths appearing in the final act, like there more character growth's in the mansion then the entire cast I feel when watching the movie. Self-assured, that this film is supposed to be Gothic/horror and romance, almost as if Edgar Allen Poe would of written for his life's work, but I who has seen many movies consisting of haunted houses I personally feel that Crimson Peek is one of those movies that lacks the originality of its purpose. Moreover the fact that it's supposed to have the horror or scary elements as well as consisting of ghosts, there's hardly any scary moments in the film, I mean films like The Haunting or Alien hell, any classic horror movie that you can point to and say that movie creeps you out, this film has none of that like even in times when the ghost appear and Edith is wanting to talk to the ghost, it seriously feels almost like a reality ghost show you find on cable TV especially those shows where you most certainly feel their full of sh*t. Jessica Chastain, who I've liked as an actress moreover respected though that part at times I question but as an actress when I first watched her was I believe Zero Dark Thirty and respected a lot because she always does a great job portraying a tough woman or playing an attractive woman on screen and for real she always played that actress that you can most certainly respect almost like Charlize Theron or Sigourney Weaver, and this was 2015 she most recently came out with the movie the Martian for which she does a great job playing the commander of the film, and this movie I believe came out weeks or months before the Martian sometime in October. And this was probably the first time ever where I slowly began to realize that Chastain was defiantly that kind of actress where she literally chews the scenery and this film was a great example of that furthermore she does a great job playing the antagonist of the movie, because re-watching the third act where she's chasing the character of Edith I thought she was terrifying as if I was being chased by a crazy woman I would find the nearest shotgun and blow her away, then tell the cops that it was self-defense. But then till the end of the film she goes back to chewing the scenery with her famous quote "I won't stop, till you kill me, or I'll kill you" which really explains the movie in all fairness. Ten years ago seeing this movie in the theaters I had mixed emotions about the movie, now I still have mixed emotions about the film though this is most certainly a film that I really don't need to watch again in the next ten years, I mean it's one of those films that I'm sure, every person addicted to wearing black or wears makeup, dyes their hair black or goes to Hot Topic every week, will most certainly love this film and if your that person that loves all of that I'd say go nuts buddy, it's on Peacock. But, for me if I wanted to watch any of Guillermo del Toro's work I would most certainly watch Nightmare Alley, Pacific Rim, Hellboy and the best Blade movie Blade II, but when it comes to Crimson Peak I believe I'm done watching this movie in my lifetime or if somebody pays me to watch this and make fun of the film, I will most certainly say sure, everyone needs the money once in a while ask Michael Strahan. But for certainly this may be odd to say but if I had to choose between the most boring not so scary movie, like Crimson Peak or The Lighthouse, I would choose Crimson Peak despite that sounding a little dirty if you ask me.

       

The Slammin' Salmon

 

                    

                   One of those typical nights where I either couldn't sleep or was just finding some kind of movie to pass the time, although, this movie and another fellow movie have a similar common theme (the other being Crimson Peak) and that's "maybe take some time off and refresh". The Slammin' Salmon is a great example of that trend of maybe you should wait and take a good year, maybe three-year vacation for the jokes to come back and be fresh again. Written and directed by the same comedic duo that brought you Beerfest and Super Troopers, Broken Lizard (Jay Chandraskhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) who each man brings out the best of each other especially when you watch the first two Super Trooper's films and Beerfest, but I think that this was one of those times where these guys could probably take some good time off and get refreshed from remaking movies.

                   A restaurant owner (Michael Clarke Duncan) pits members of his wait staff against one another in a competition to make the largest amount of cash in one night.

                   Not a whole lot of info I wanted to search for, in terms of the development of the movie except that the movie itself was filmed during the writer's strike of 2007, unfortunately the comedy duo wasn’t part of the writer’s guild so, they were granted time to get their film made. According to an interview by Kevin Hefferman aka Farva, as well as director of the film said in an interview that the intent for the Slammin' Salmon was to make a Glengarry Glenn Ross movie with the mix of Marx Brothers comedy. For which, sure it sounded like a good idea, I guess? But, this was one of those movies were the jokes land so flat, and to be truthfully honest I wasn't sure if this was because of budgetary concerns because when it comes to comedy you just have to improvise at times maybe come up with a new joke and have different takes. Though with this film it feels like they couldn't afford to have multiple tasks to make the comedy flow or either way I just believe they were looking at the reels and thought to make this the best they could or another assumption "just bail?" Now, I don't know if this is just me and my age is kicking in but, I'm sick and tired of the spineless guy not standing up for himself, like, sure I would imagine the Gen Z generation would think it's funny or any Adam Sandler fan would think it’s funny but me that's just so, flat and not even close of being funny and that's what this film provides and sure it's funny when you have a character like Farva in Super Troopers where the rest of the squad can't stand but have to put up with him mainly because it's a work environment we, as an audience member always have that kind of Schmuck. But, with this movie when you have a manager who doesn't stand up to his boss who makes terrible choices and is not bright, then it just gets annoying especially when it's been used repeatedly.  I don't want to slam Michael Clarke Duncan all that much considering that the man has been dead for quite some time, though this is one of those films were even his comedic talents fail at times considering that he plays a boxer that's somewhat dumb as well as doesn't make the best choices and feels like he was trying to explore more comedic values after Talladega Nights but, this was just no good, in fact wasn't even impressed with his performance in this movie as well. The Slammin' Salmon was released about three years after Beerfest so, there's is a good reason as to why this film didn't live up to its standards moreover the expectations when I first watched the film, we in fact a letdown. This movie should be a lesson on what not to do when making your next success to Beerfest or a brain builder on what you can do better but, for a movie to watch in your own free time I wouldn't recommend watching this film even if you have a sense of finding something different. 

        

The Blues Brothers

 

                Still on the quest of finding movies that I haven't touched nor, had much of my lifetime to take the time and seen from start to finish. And it just so happens, The Blues Brothers was on Amazon Prime, and I just thought well I have all the time in the world, so, why not watch the movie from beginning to end. Starring John Belushi in his iconic yet final comedic film before his passing, along with fellow Saturday Night Live, alums, Dan Aykroyd as well as list of Blues and R & B legends James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway. Now, I'll admit that this was my first time watching this classic comedy craziness, but this was one of those films where I just don't know what to say mainly because of what it's trying to be in terms of musical or comedic spoof.

                After his release from prison, Jake (John Belushi) reunites with his brother, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) -- collectively known as the "Blues Brothers." Jake's first task is to save the orphanage the brothers grew up in from closing, by raising $5,000 to pay back taxes. The two are convinced they can earn the money by getting their old band back together. However, after playing several gigs and making few enemies, including the police, the brothers face daunting odds to deliver the money on time. 

                I will admit in a full disclosure way of saying this, I technically didn't watch the film all the way through for many reasons, the way the film started I wasn't quite sure if I was listening to anything mainly cause, there was no music and for a movie to be called Blues Brothers you could at least add some harmonica music to go along with the intro part of the movie right? Then when I finally sat down and watched the movie through, the musical elements put me in a puzzled state as well as some of the comedic elements to the film just, again it was one of these movies where they take some of the over-the-top comedy to the next level just gave me that mixed emotion of "huh". Now granted both John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were at the peak of their comedic genius after spending so many years on Saturday Night Live and give them credit at being comedic geniuses, but with this movie I just was trying to put together on what this movie was supposed to be, considering that this movie does have musical elements but then we get to the out of control comedic elements that goes way over the top and then it just loses me out of it, especially when Carrie Fisher is trying to kill the Blues Brothers and of course through the course of the movie she fails constantly and the joke is she's a horrible shot, or even when the apartment complex blows up and they walk away from it, it goes from like any of the Naked Gun films or even the Airplane films that you begin to realize that you've seen this movie so many times that you begin to realize it while watching the movie. Granted some of the action sequences are cool especially some of the ways they were able to film the car chases but then again when they comedy goes over the top you slowly begin to lose interest but it's like a train crash, you don't want to look but you can't stop watching the mess go up in flames. I'm sure there are people out there that rank this as one of the greatest comedies ever made, but for me this is one of those films where I have mixed emotions of wanting to like this film and not quite sure in what to make of it and sure there are some funny moments especially with some of the nun scenes, but then it gets way to out of control. The best part of the movie is that it ends in a way like the TV series Fargo where you can stop watching it, after the season is done, then you can call it good as well as walk away before it gets worst especially when there's a sequel and after watching this movie I really don't feel the need to watch the second film. So, if your fan of the “Blues Brothers”, original film I'd say go nuts and watch the film on Amazon Prime, but if you are like me and don't know what to make of it, just remember you’re not the only one out there that feels confused about the movie like I am. 

Ice Guardians

 

                        Now, a couple of weeks ago I reviewed my opinions of the movie Goon, starring Stifler and Victor Creed. And I just happened to mention a small documentary, a film titled Ice Guardians and believe me when I say this, I feel like this would be a much better recommendation than watching Goon. Though in all fairness I do need to expand my horizons at times and sometimes there good hidden gems and, well at times they just don't age well or makes you lose into the reign of how can you do this better even though this film has already been made and there is no point in wanting to fix, that certain film like Goon unless you have all the money in the world to remake that movie, than sure.

                        The film explains the evolution of the on-ice enforcer, which was around since the days of the Original Six, later made a big impact in the seventies, as well as the eighties and nineties, but the after those years it soon becomes a decline of the enforcer as well as a debate on whether these warriors should still be around for these superstars or perish.

                        Not to say that Goon wasn't a bad film, and you shouldn't watch the film, that's not what I'm intending, and really Goon was a decent film though had a ton of flaws, things that just don’t work for me as an audience member. Ice Guardians for me is for certain, that go to movie to watch if you want to see a great story about these hockey goons or warriors that gives a great reason as to why we all love hockey, and if you’re not a fan of Hockey your obviously there for the Hockey fights. Now, I can't decide everyone's opinion because in all fairness every sport in America has changed from football to baseball, hell even basketball has changed more than baseball but the game of hockey has stayed true to its origin for a long time even if you don't want to watch the game all the way through and, there is some fights happening in regular season time but there's a whole lot of fights when it comes to the playoffs even though you'll probably be bored but for me, I don't care a whole lot about wanting to see more fights when it comes to hockey as long as my team is winning and especially when it takes a number of minutes for my team scores a goal is when I jump up and down and glad to see that my team is winning or the game is at the point of no comeback then I turn the television off. What makes this film great furthermore one of the best Hockey films of all time, is that the film alone give you a down to earth realization of why the enforcer is always important especially in the game of hockey mainly because if you look at the great one aka Wayne Gretzky career he had a ton of guys backing him up when he was on the ice throughout his career shattering records, and yet when you take a look at Sidney Crosby's career he had a lot more concussions than Gretzky ever had, and that's because the league started dismantling a lot of the hockey goons, all because there trying to get passed a ton of the Hockey violence which leads to the important question of would the game of Hockey be just a little more safe than the league being a little too worried about the fighting of hockey being a bad influence. The other thing in what this film does perfectly is that we see a glimpse of these guys who when they do get into the NHL, there it’s a dream come true but then they have to go back down and realize that there position as well as there playing time isn't enough and it's a matter of time of when there time of playing is coming to an end or can they still have the mental capacity to keep playing through the pain and injuries. In terms of Hockey movies I've seen I will rank Ice Guardians, up there between Slap Shot and Miracle, and even though this is a documentary the film tells a great story about the solo role of the enforcer protecting teammates not matter the cost and later in life, has suddenly diminish and what truly happens when some of these superstars now, all of a sudden don't become protected and what happens. The film is both on Tubi as well as Amazon Prime so if you’re a fan of Hockey or the NHL, I would most certainly recommend watching Ice Guardians from start to finish. 

  

January Recommendation: The Hateful Eight

 

               This new year was really about finding any movie that would most certainly be putting me into a good mood whether it was Beerfest, watching a Bill Murray film that made him a star though I also watched Stripes as well when it came to this month hell, I even watched Hot Tub Time Machine which really, if you haven't seen Hot Tub Time Machine you need to stop what hour doing and watch that great comedy. Then of course there were times where I decided to watch a winter themed movie like The Grand Budapest Hotel or celebrate hockey season like watching Goon. But then when you find that one movie that's on Hulu and it most certainly puts you in the best of moods like that way of saying "absof**kinglutly". Well Quentin Tarantino's second epic Western, The Hateful Eight was most certainly the movie to refresh your soul so, you can get back into the crumby world of life

               While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on the mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all. 

               Originally, The Hateful Eight was intentionally going to be a sequel to Django Unchained, but Tarantino realized that Jamie Fox's character did not fit the story which really he could of had a story involving Jamie Fox and Sam Jackson's character in The Hateful Eight for which would lead to the movie, title The Hateful Eight, but really when it comes to Tarantino I don't know what would be the best story to come up with so I can't honestly complain about that. The film itself, according to Quentin Tarantino was inspired by the sixties Western Television series, like Bonanza, The Virginian and The High Chaparral, and Tarantino explains basically states that all of those shows would usually have a bunch of outlaws take the lead character hostage or go to a place and most of the outlaws were portrayed by guest starring actors like David Carradine (long before he made his epic climax in Bangkok) and Charles Bronson. And Tarantino in his own words "I thought what if I did a movie starring nothing but those characters? No heroes, no knight and shining armor type heroes. Just a bunch of nefarious guys in a room, all telling backstories that may or may not be true. Trap those guys together in a room with a blizzard outside, give them guns, and see what happens". The film alone is ten years old as of this year in fact it's been close to films release although I may be thinking it was released around January, though you know how movies releases are these days. And truth be told I've seen this great movie at the local theater and any of Quentin Tarantino's movies age like fine wine, moreover there's really not a whole lot to say when it comes to a Quentin Tarantino film I mean the film alone speaks for itself from the great actors he casts to the great storytelling to even the satisfying endings that we can all enjoy over and over again. Although I will say that this was probably one of the most beautiful films he's ever shot in terms of scenery and even shooting outside when it comes to winter time despite very little outside filming, now I don't know if it was visual effects or painting but the first couple of shots where there still in the first act of the film with the blizzard chasing after the stagecoach is hands down one of my favorite shots in the entire movie. If I can may some lists of the many gifts that Tarantino is able to use when it comes to making movies, it's most certainly gathering a list of actors he trust as well as actors you'd never expect would show up, and this is him and Samuel L. Jacksons many collaborations and I would most certainly add this as Jacksons greatest roles when it comes to a Tarantino film but you also have a list of actors like Michael Madsen and Tim Roth fellow alums from Reservoir Dogs and even Kurt Russell does a great job in the movie, for which really was a role that I believe Quentin asked him to be in so he can wipe out the stain, that is Death Proof. Now, I don't know if this movie would have a different appeal because I heard one of the two actors that were approach for the movie was Viggo Mortenson and Jennifer Lawrence, all I can say is Mortenson I can see in a Quentin Tarantino film, unfortunately not so much with J-Law especially when it comes to Jennifer Jason Leigh and to make a long story short I'm very glad Tarantino made the wise choice in casting Leigh as the prisoner/antagonist. I can imagine right now Quentin is taking a long break from Hollywood for many reasons, mainly mental break from Hollywood bulls**t especially reporters, so I can understand with good reasons why we haven't seen any reports about Tarantino's latest updates to his next film he'll make. If it were me I would recommend all of Quentin Tarantino's movies for all the world to see because to me he's most certainly up there in one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and, sure kids of this generation or the butt hurt schmucks out there in the world would never appreciate his movies but I'm most certainly one of those guys that loves and cherish his films till the day I die. As for the Hateful Eight I would highly recommend anyone who haven't seen any of Tarantino's films or is finding a good movie to start off with because to be fair their most certainly one of those films that you must see and think but also delivers a ton of shock and awe. So, if you either have a Netflix account or a Hulu account then I would highly recommend watching this great Western until the final frame.

              

A Real Pain

 

                   On a typical Saturday night there is nothing better to do although I was technically house sitting for my parents, while they go on vacation. And really I was told about Jessie Eisenburg's second directorial film, A Real Pain was premiering at the local IMAX theater in one of the many towns I go see movies at, furthermore saw a preview of the film and thought why not it has that intriguing sense of a human story of two grown cousins who both have baggage in their everyday lives, more importantly this is one of those films that I'd never imagine watching a movie of Jessie Eisenberg's mainly because I always viewed him as a type cast after his Oscar nominated role in The Social Network, but then this is probably one of his best works of all time. 

                   Mismatched cousins David and Benji (Jessie Eisenburg & Kieran Culkin) tour Poland to honor their late grandmother. Their adventure becomes complicated as old tensions resurface while exploring their family history.

                   A big surprise is that this film is Eisenburg's second feature film, later in his career he made his first directorial debut "When You Finish Saving the World", and this basically was his first directorial debut, and basically the important part is that he just basically wrote and directed his first film didn't act in the film just wanted to focus more on directing his first feature film and this was around 2022. Now, with A Real Pain Eisenburg just decided to write a story about his heritage of what it means being Polish and Jewish at the same time and has really been asking about that question for quite a long time. Emma Stone, who co-starred alongside Jessie Eisenburg with Zombieland, has been a longtime friend as well as a producing partner who most recently produced this film along with Eisenburg's past films. At the time Eisenburg wasn't familiar with Kieran Culkin prior to developing the script, but later cast him, based on his essence as well as his sister's recommendation. Although Culkin wasn't sure about wanting to do this movie mainly because he wanted to be around his family and was recently finishing wrapping with Succession, that I truly believe he most certainly wanted a break from acting as well as probably didn't want to do another drama like this, but after a series of conversations as well as convincing with Emma Stone, Kieran decided to be in the movie along with Eisenburg. Moreover, all this movie is credited to Kieran Culkin's performance in the movie and the man no question has a great talent of being able to portray a character with a ton of baggage but also is a down to earth guy who loves his cousin no matter how dysfunctional the two of them are. Even Eisenburg does a fantastic job directing this great human-interest story of what it means to carry the burden of past family pains as well as having to live in the shadow of your own religion being oppressed even after the events of WWII. And true there times in Eisenburg's other past work where I wasn't really interested as in actor because after the Social Network he's always been branded as this uptight guy whose socially awkward basically playing Mark Zuckerberg kind of made him a hit but was kind of like Jim Parsons portraying Sheldon Cooper where that character will never go away from this guy, though after doing some research I realized that Jessie Eisenburg is in fact OCD actor which I figured he would be because that's always followed him through his career but now seeing him as a writer and director I've begun to respect him more, especially with a movie like this furthermore casting Baby aka Jennifer Gray in a movie which I totally didn't realize she was in the movie until I looked the movie up after watching the film. Even though I saw this film at a IMAX screening, the film itself is recently on Hulu so, for a first time seeing Eisenburg in the director’s chair as well as an actor and writer I have to say this is most certainly up there in the top five best films of 2024, in fact it's so good I can now push Dune Part Two out of the list and store that movie into the closet of films I can only watch once. So, if you’re looking for a feel good and relatable movie to watch before the Academy Awards come around then I would highly recommend watching A Real Pain, for Eisenburg's writing and directing as well as Kieran Culkin's best on-screen performance since Scott Pilgrim versus the World.

 

                     

                 

Meatballs

 

                  I'm aware that this film is a hundred percent a summer themed movie and since we’re still in the first month of the new year we're not going to be seeing heat waves in the next four maybe five months. Desperate times calls for desperate measures, especially when you trying to find a full-time job as well as applying for a job isn't going your way. So, like the past couple of weeks I'm trying to find movies that are in the range of winter themed movies but more importantly finding films that put me in a good mood, and as fate would have it Bill Murray's first collaborations with both Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis, Meatballs has become the latest streaming movie of the month of January and I figured why not watch a Bill Murray film that I have not even came close to seeing, and surprisingly enough it wasn't what I expected in a typical raunchy film.

                 Tripper (Bill Murray) is the head counselor at a budget summer camp called Camp NorthStar. In truth, he's young at heart and only marginally more mature than the campers themselves. Tripper befriends Rudy (Chris Makepeace), a loner camper who has trouble fitting in. As Tripper inspires his young charges to defeat rival Camp Mohawk in the annual Olympiad competition.

                  The surprising thing I find when watching the movie is that, and granted this is from watching classics like Caddyshack, or Stripes is I would imagine this movie to be in the raunchy stage of 80's comedies. When in fact this movie does have those elements in a fair sense but more tone down in terms of how much raunch they can use, furthermore compare this movie to Stripes, this film technically a softcore porno if you want to compare this with past works of Bill Murray's earlier and most recognizable works. As much of an ego/narcists, Bill Murray was throughout his film career as a comedic actor, I never in a million years imagine this guy being a mentor/friend to a kid who is having trouble fitting in. And I was a bit unsure of what I should think of this movie especially Bill Murray's performance in the film, mainly because I always looked at the guy as a immature a**hole from is more popular films like Ghostbusters, Stripes and even Groundhog Day, like it was really on the freaky side of what I was expecting. Though to the films credit this something new out of Bill Murray that I never quite expected and the fact that he' tries to help out the estranged loner kid played by Chris Makepeace, I find it awesome to see for many reasons, I never had much in terms of cool counselors when I was going to Catholic camps but after watching Bill Murray's performance in the film I wish I had him as a counselor because he would most certainly be that go to camp counselor that I want to hang out with over and over again if I'm being forced to go to any summer camps. A side from this being Murrays first starring role in a movie with the success of Saturday Night Live, I got to admit that this was most certainly a movie where Murray shines as one of the all-time great improvisors from the many camp announcements he does in the movie to his epic comedic speech by the end of the movie, and Harold Ramis who co-written the screenplay states that Ivan Reitman did not know for certain whether Murray would be in the film until he showed up till the third day of shooting, for which I believe this was the first of many times Reitman or Ramis would get use to his antics until Bill and Harold had their feud during Groundhog Day filming. For any old film or classic movie that films next to a K-Mart I will always recommend a film that respects and honors the once and out of business K-Mart (anyone out there remember K-Mart?) because my entire childhood was always hanging around K-Mart's even when they began dying off the face of all of America. The movie itself is on both Peacock, Tubi and Amazon Prime and even though this is a summer themed movie I would highly recommend watching this movie because this is most certainly a great film that you can watch and have a great time watching this 80's cliche, comedic characters do their thing for an hour and thirty four minutes and really if your old as I am and want to remember the good old days of K-Mart's being in your local town, then this would most certainly be a movie for you especially when it's Bill Murray's rise to stardom.