Being the Ricardos

 

                         Since we're in the final days of February, for which means the end of love, well into some degree either way you know what I mean. Anyway, I figured I check out this movie that tells the story of America's original sweethearts in the 1950's, Being the Ricardo’s, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin the man most responsible for great works like A Few Good Men and The West Wing, and a personal favorite The Newsroom. This is somewhat of a classic tale of America's Sweethearts of their behind-the-scenes life, while shooting one of their latest episodes of I Love Lucy. I would argue that Aaron Sorkin is an exceptional writer when it comes to stories and politics in general and he know doubt has some great works to back it up I have now arguments there. But when it comes to his latest film I honestly don't know where he was trying to go with in terms of storytelling and history we already know. So, let's talk about the behind the scenes of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. 

                         In 1952, Hollywood power couple Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) face personal and professional obstacles that threaten their careers, their relationship, and their hit television show.

                         I've seen a ton of Sorkin's films and the best way I can describe the many Sorkin Tropes are, in all of his films they always feel like a live play production where they’re very limited in terms of the outdoors and after every beginning or ending to an Act we have a special narration almost like a interview portion or telling a story in the style of just setting it in some kind of special event. And this film has almost all of Sorkin's Tropes when it comes to writing a story, which is fine if you’re doing it in your earlier work but this movie you can tell that he's using almost every sample of storytelling and editing technique from his past movies and to be truthful it just feels lazy a little on the boring side, for many reasons I didn't know anything about Molly Bloom's story until I saw the trailer to Molly's game and watched the movie and I defiantly looked at that movie and thought that it was fresh and interesting at the same time furthermore amazing, but with this movie I already knew about Lucy and Desi Arnaz in terms of there off screen persona moreover the real reasons why their show got cancelled was because Desi was obviously cheating on his wife that he never got fresh work ever again and I'll admit I didn't know about Lucy was branded a communist at the time but who didn't get branded with red tape during the Joseph McCarty era, but even if I didn't know that the way Sorkin directed the film and used the main topics of Lucy being a communist or is Desi cheating on her then solving these two problems all in one week just didn't set me back in surprise in all honesty. The most positive thing I can say about the movie was Nicole Kidman's performance as Lucille Ball, mainly because we've all know how she is on the TV show of I Love Lucy, but this movie we're giving a chance to see her behind the scenes and how committed she is when it comes to getting the comedic work right and I thought Kidman did a great job in not just getting the accent down but also giving her a humanized feel to the character, the other actors where okay but they weren't anything special. A side from Nicole Kidman's performance the whole movie just felt useless to watch all together moreover I can probably count the many times I was looking at my Fitbit or phone and I didn't pick up anything knew or anything different throughout the entire film. In fairness I wouldn't recommend watching this movie from the way I tried to hold on to the entire film, and really the movie would have been more interesting if the film was set after the events of the final show run then proceed to the divorce of America's Sweethearts because deep down that would of been more interesting storytelling than discovering if Lucy was a Communist or was Desi cheating on his wife, that's all I'm saying. 

     

The 355

 

                         I was at my brother's house waiting for trick or treaters and I saw the trailer scrolling through YouTube.  My girl Jessica Chastain (I have tried to see every one of her movies, she is my new Johnny Depp) starts off by giving a monolog to the winter soldier about George Washington not giving a female spy her due. I stopped the trailer only 30 seconds knowing I was sold and already going to see this movie.  Sadly I was unable to get to the theaters and had to settle for 19.99 on Amazon.  I can hear you in my head as I type this and you're saying that's just too much, says the reader.  Your right dear reader for the normal person it is too much, but if you meet me you know I am a lover of all types of bad action movies, and combine them with Jessica Chastain who is the best with condescending lectures in movies. 

                         Ok is it worth it? No, not even so bad it's a good action movie. Jessica’s performances are more and more over the top and this one I just rolled my eyes. The plot centers around Jessica trying to buy a computer virus or something. My Eyes rolled in my head when I heard that.  I started thinking about how this was similar to Under Siege 2 where the bad guy is taking over some satellite and he will RULE THE WORLD. In this, it's pretty much the same with the virus able to shut off the world.  The difference is the movie takes itself too seriously. From the trailer, you could tell they were going for a James Bond or Jason Bourne spy movie with female leads. I would like to point out that nothing would make me happier to see Jessica sleeping on a park bench to guys trying to get her to move and she goes ninja on to unexpecting cops. Or have her go full Stallone and use a fifty-caliber machine gun and waste a whole army.  

                         Look as it is, the action sequences don't go far enough.  It feels like the actress didn't want to get into shape to do the kicks or the pouches to make any of the sequences look cool. To tell you the truth it sucks. The action feels so flat because I loved Atomic Blond, Haywire, Mad Max fury road. But Charlize Theron was most likely ever invested in those roles and it showed. But instead of getting actresses who are n invested in the roles, we get very accommodating stuntmen who fall over very easily. Plots that feel like they come right out of a Bruce Willes geezer movie. By the end I was so bored it took me about a week to write this review. So here's the thing don't see this movie even when it's free it's a 1/10 okay a 0/10. PS it's also one of the biggest booms in box office history with an opening week of 5 million.  That's bad lol.

The Book of Boba Fett

 

                One of the most iconic bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe has finally got his own TV series and it’s about damn time, as you've probably notice I finally finished the first season of The Book of Boba Fett, and I must say this was worth the wait. Staring Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as the bad ass Fennec Shand. When I was a kid worshiping Star Wars in my spare time there were two characters I always thought were the coolest, the first was obviously Darth Vader and the other was Boba Fett, and sure why Boba Fett was so cool was that you didn't know anything about the guy other than the fact that he looked like a space cowboy with a lot of cool gadgets and whenever I go to a toy store if I couldn't get a Darth Vader action figure, a Boba Fett action figure would be on my list. And when Episode II came out along with a short backstory to Boba Fett's past, I thought it was cool and very excited at the same time also back when PlayStation 2 was a thing Star Wars Bounty Hunter was my go-to game, that I couldn't stop playing for months. Then along with the hit TV series of The Mandalorian came out bringing Boba Fett back plus Temurera Morrison reprising his role of that character I was just overjoyed on was season 2 had to offer, then along came The Book of Boba Fett for which I wanted to watch so badly until now. So, there's no surprise that I'm one of those Star Wars fans that loved Boba Fett so let’s dive deep into the show.

               Left for Dead on the sands of Tatooine Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) becomes reeducated by the Tusken Raiders on how to survive on learns new means to life. The show itself takes place between the events of how Boba Fett escapes the Scarlacc Pitt too after the conclusion of The Mandalorian season 2, where Boba is now the new Daimyo of Jabba's Palace on Tatooine were starting out as the new boss is one thing being a respectful ruler, you must fight to reclaim what is rightfully yours.

              As a fan of Boba Fett, I didn't need a whole lot of convincing in terms of wanting to watch this show, I always thought he was the coolest especially when I first saw Temuera Morrison re don the Boba Fett costume and saw what he brought to the table in season 2 of The Mandalorian was just amazing especially when the new Mando becomes allies with Boba is even cooler. What makes this show great is that, there's a lot of questions that seemed a mystery for quite a long time and now we get answered for obvious example Fett escaping the Pitt, but most importantly what has he been doing after the events of Return of the Jedi and during the seasons of The Mandalorian, for which as a fan that gives some great closure though sure I'll admit I've read some of the books that included Boba Fett, but this is the television there's many differences in looking for answer's in writing then on the screen and I liked the way both Favreau and Dave Filoni were able to bring Fett's new adventures to life. I always liked Temuera Morrison as Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones when I was first introduced to him along with Star Wars Bounty Hunter, but now as a fan he will always be Boba Fett and sure the late Jeromy Bulloch will always be the catalyst of the creation for the legendary bounty hunter, but Morrison is really what give Fett is identity and what he truly is and what he incorporates from his own heritage into Boba Fett's character is even more awesome moreover love the fact that we get to see a more viscous Fett then we've been seeing in the Original Trilogy. Ming-Na Wen is also amazing as Fennec Shand, the fact that her character started off as just a simple character that got killed off in the first season then brought back in season two is even special and what Wen brings to the table is even more special, and I know this is my Star Wars nerdish talking but I like her better as Shand then her other character in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Speaking of Ming-Na Wen I now have the craving to go back and re watch Street Fighter for some reason. There not a whole lot to say about Jon Favreau other than I trust him more to run Star Wars than Kathleen Kennedy and the same goes to Dave Filoni so I'll just leave it at that, but I can't leave this review without giving some recognition to some great talents like Robert Rodriguez who is also a big fan of Boba Fett but really was one of the few people that understood the greatness to the former bounty hunter. Also, I'm a big fan of some of his films he did so a lot of respect goes to Rodriguez, Bryce Dallas Howard I'm starting to respect more as a director for many reasons she really shines more in working with the actors and shooting the action sequences. Ludwig Goransson I have to give shout out because his score for the show is simply outstanding, Goransson is most famous for his work in The Mandalorian and did some music work for Tenet, anyway what he does with Boba Fett's theme I can't stop listening to it I just love how he blends with a lot of western music but also with some medieval music as well and this guy is up there with both Han Zimmer and the legendary composer John Williams and I hope he continues with his career in the distant future. I've said it before if you’re a Star Wars fan, Disney + is hands down the only reasons to purchase the app itself, besides the other stuff it includes I would always use the app for Star Wars use only the other stuff I'm not always interested, so if you loved the character of Boba Fett I would highly recommend watching the show, though some people might tell you differently I still love the show because I get more stories of the former legendary Bounty Hunter.

            
 

One of the many Boba Fett action 
figures I have over the years.

February Recommendation: The Cutting Edge

 

                                     

                                   Oh what's this? It's Valentine’s Day and the Winter Olympic Games has begun (technically still in progress)? Well what a great time to day to recommend my monthly recommendation to all lovers and married couples out there, also let’s not forget the singles out there I mean sure it may not be your kind of Holiday but this movie will at least give you hope that you'll one day find the love of your life right? The film I'm recommending for the month of February is the figure skating classic The Cutting Edge. This movie is a, well for starters is a rare gem of a classic that was loved by my parents and of course my older sister and they would rent this movie quite a lot and maybe this film was also on TV I'm not sure but I'm just assuming, and of course this would be one of those films that we would always watch for many reasons my parents love the movie and also my sister would always call dibs on the TV remote. I will admit that it's been quite a long time since I watched this movie for which makes it perfect since, where in the month of St. Valentine also the Olympics are going on. Though I have to be admitting there were some little elements that even I did not expect and will get those I promise you because my mind was almost close to atomic explosion, but let’s talk about The Cutting Edge.

                                   Stuck-up figure skating whiz Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is denied a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics after a fall. As Kate drives off partner after partner, her coach Anton (Roy Dotrice), must quickly find her a new one in order to be ready for the next Olympics. Enter arrogant former Olympic hockey player Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney). Reluctantly teaming up, Kate and Doug's icy rapport begins to thaw, resulting in chemistry both in and out of the rink.

                                   Now I'm not going to lie when I said before about how long it’s been since I watched this film and really all I can say is that it’s probably between 1995-96ish, maybe when I was in the third grade maybe fourth hell I don't know all I can say it’s been almost way to long since I've watched it since, but all I can remember is that this was my parents favorite movie and my sister worship the film as well. And judging by the years it’s been since I now watched the movie, oh how I can tell you truthfully I was not expecting any of the missing surprises I found in this great classic. But let’s just start off with some of the small steps first before we get to the mind explosion first, firstly this film was written by Tony Gilroy and your probably asking yourself who is Tony Gilroy? Well let’s just say he written a certain action packed spy drama which stared MATT DAMON, yeah that's write this guy single handily written the Jason Bourne films that turned Matt Damon's career into not just a star but a super star. So there no reason to question how great of a romantic comedy Gilroy has created especially since it was his first movie and I have to admit that I was a bit worried that this movie wasn't going to be as good as I remembered it before although it’s been ages so what do I know, but I got to say that Gilroy actually nailed this scripted from start to finish and sure writing dialogue in making the characters fall in love at the end is one thing but really taking the time and effort to research the sport of figure skating and how hard it really is from performing the moves and the training it takes, all while writing it on what maybe a type writer or an original Macintosh is simply outstanding so props to Gilroy in a romantic comedy with figure skating to go along with it, because really as we all know when it comes to writing a romantic comedy it takes just the right ingredients in making the story worthwhile and I got to say he deserves all four stars for that. Okay so, this may not be a huge mind blown experience but the director of the movie Paul Michael Glaser, well he's surprisingly known for his role in the vintage TV series Starsky & Hutch (he was Ben Stiller's character in case you were wondering) for which I was surprised myself, guessing he wanted to make movies so can't really deny a man to follow his dream, but all jokes a side I actually believe he did a great job as well bringing this great story to life, I mean he showed a lot of great camera shots which I thought were cool moreover did a great job in showing a lot of the training side to figure skating and also finding the right actors to bring the story to life as well. All right everyone now were nearly close to the mind blown part but you have to wait, just wait and it will come to you, I promise. Now I knew who D.B. Sweeney was due to the fact that I watched him portray Shoeless Joe Jackson in Eight Men Out and I kind of knew who Moira Kelly was? Although I had to look up her Wikipedia page to see that she was the voice of Nala from the original Lion King. Now, these two are what made this film possible in fact these two are the real reasons why this film was so amazing, I mean they both have the best chemistry together moreover provided great comedic work as well as some of the dramatic moments in the film too, and with all that these two made me believe that they fallen madly in love for each other in the end. Now I'm skipping past Terry O'Quinn because let’s face it the guy was good as always playing the dad furthermore he played a fictionalized version of Howard Hughes in The Rocketeer and he was also in Lost, So Okay moving on to the biggest mind blown experience I've ever had in my whole life was the ex-fiancée Moira Kelly's character, actor Dwier Brown? Well this man just so happens to be John Kinsella from the greatest Baseball movie ever Field of Dreams, yes that's right he was in Field of Dreams playing Kevin Costner's Dad and I got to tell you, I did not see that coming from a mile away and I'm serious when I say this, when I first sat down and watched the movie and his face showed up I was like "wow that man looks familiar", and so I paused the movie of course looked up the movie for which his name was on there and it took one picture of him in his baseball costume for me have a critical mind blown experience I've never had before in my life, I swear I felt like Terry Crews in the old spice commercial when his brain came out of his head and exploded right in front of him, moreover it took me quite a while to shake that feeling out of myself in order to write this recommendation. This film is without a doubt the GOAT of all figure skating movies, and they've never been able to top it for years and I remember the sequel ABC Family did where Kim Possible aka Christy Carlson Romano was the star of the movie and judging by the many bits and pieces I've seen of the movie it wasn't all that great. Though hands down this film is the GOAT of figure skating movies and also officially in my top five greatest Romantic Comedies of all time, it was funny and had great chemistry with both lead actors and actress of D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly just hands down one of the best, also now that I'm thinking about it I'm probably going to have to take the time and figure out my top five best Romantic Comedies are and I do have a collection it’s just a matter of ranking them. So, to all the love birds out there when you take the time in watching this great chick flick, just remember to thank Jason Bourne writer Tony Gilroy. Happy Valentine's Day to all love birds out there.

   

God of War: Ascension Replay Review

 

                              

                                Decided to go back to in amazing game created by PlayStation, this was one of the first of many games, that I can point at and name as one of the greatest games ever. Way back in 2007, 300 became one of the most amazing movies about Greek Mythology that I couldn't believe would be toped in futures to come. I now admit when I say that I was wrong moreover talking out of my own ass because after discovering God of War during the time the third installment, I now understand that all the Greek Mythology films that were coming big during the mid and late 2000's, those have nothing compared the God of War game series. Luckily, I like to start game series from the very beginning with the prequels of all prequels God of War: Ascension.

                                The game basically sets after Kratos breaks his oath with the God of War, now captured by a group of Furies who are Guardians of Honor. Now the Ghost of Sparta must fight his way out of his blood oath in hopes of breaking free from the God of War.

                                There's really not a whole lot to say but other than, if you grew up with a PS2 and played the very first God of War is of course would defiantly be the game for you and sure even those this of course following the trend where they create a successful game and then finishing them in three chapters but want to go back and create more stories for which I always find weird because why can't you think of this before but in all fairness I would be nitpicking so deep down WHO CARES! The gameplay is always amazing when it comes to the God of War games and it still is to this day because it’s nothing, but hack and slash then do a few puzzles to complete your quest and sure it’s different since they've reinvented the franchise with a different mythology, but I always loved stepping back into the world of Ancient Greece. I will admit I was really off my game when playing Ascension which is weird because when I play the other versions I knew how to work all the puzzle's and combo moves from the past games and it was a piece of cake but with this game I was completely off my game by dying all the time and not remembering some of the puzzles and it wasn't all pretty for which took me a long time to finish it, but in all fairness I haven't played this game in quite a while so that explains why I was off my game with this one. Now after finishing this game, I have to say it does feel sad that the Greek Mythology is officially a thing of the past, but in all honesty, this was worth the time going back and playing this great PlayStation series. 

     

Gone With The Wind

 

                             Since we're literally in the month of February and we all know that that means ladies and gentlemen, and if you don't then its best you don't. It’s of course the day of Cupid crushing hopes and dreams which I'm about to do with one movie I consider in my book as one of the worst movies of ALL TIIIIIIIIIIIIIME. And yes, you can say that this movie has its ups, a side from the beautiful scenery and directing along with some great actors with Clark Gable and Hattie McDaniel being the first African American to win the Oscar. Now, I myself can accept those accomplishments, BUUUUUUUUUT, it doesn't change the fact that this film has one of the worst characters/actresses in Vivien Leigh playing the biggest B***H in the history of cinema, that just made me not love this film at all, and let’s not forget that I must sit through her B***h tantrum FOR 4 F**KING HOURS. And what really pisses me off is that I still have this piece of s**t of a Blu-ray in my house even though I didn't know how this movie was going to go but, I must keep this movie as a reminder of my mistake.  

                            Basically, set in the Confederacy of America aka the South. Where the midst of the Civil War is about to break, Scarlett O'Hara spoiled her whole life treats people like dirt through the course of her life tries to be redeemable but still treats people like s**t.

                            To start off this psychological abuse towards this film I need to state that this movie poster should be consider fraud because that's not how this film goes if you think that these love birds live happily ever after, both Gable and Leigh start off by hating each other then she tries to save him then the sort of fall in love then Gable comes to realize horrible of a human being Scarlet was. Now I'm not taking away from the fact that this was a perfectly directed film along with some great actors out of Clark Gable and Hattie McDaniel being the first African American actress to win the Oscar, moreover, let’s not forget that this was 1939 so that's something special. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, it still doesn't change the fact that this abomination consists of two things one, Vivien Leigh's acting whom I still to this day think of her as the worst part of this movie furthermore her and her character who through the course of the entire film just wanted Ashely Wilkes baby, though he has tremendous sense to say no your crazy I don't want you to have my baby, but then she marries his brother instead just to despite him. Now granted I stopped 2hrs and 41 minutes of this trash of a movie because I couldn't stand Scarlet's bewailing and whining throughout the movie, but what really makes me mad about this movie is that she doesn't have a come to Jesus moment, ever like she believes she learned her lesson but she in all honesty she never truly did, but again this was a four hour movie and I stopped watching because I was tired of Scarlett's s**t. The other thing I don't like about this movie is the fact that this movie was set in the confederacy's point of view, the very people who were supporting slavery at that time, and if your think that I would follow a these characters that support the worst thing in American history, your dreaming I mean it’s like trying to create a love story set in Nazi Germany during WW2 and there trying to make me feel for those characters despite the fact that they were responsible for the Holocaust. Now deep down I'm not taking away from the groundbreaking achievements but in the end, Vivien Leigh destroys this movie for her character being such a horrible person in movie history, and the fact that no one not even some of my parents or aunts can explain to me what makes this film amazing just makes it even worst. So, since where living in a cancel culture I personally demand that this film needs to be banned from American Cinema well maybe revised it and cut Scarlett out whichever comes first would be better for me.

 

No Time To Die

 

                       Well after a year of delay during the year that should not be named. I finally got around to watching Daniel Craig's final appearance as the iconic British Spy James Bond. Now I myself have No Time to Die, but I must say that this was a real tearjerker the fact that this film alone played with my emotions makes it clear that Daniel Craig is the greatest James Bond of all time. Returning are his fellow allies like Jeffery Wright, Ralph Fiennes, and Naomie Harris as well as Lea Seydoux as Bonds love interest. So, let’s go ahead and dive deep into Daniel Craig's final curtain call.

                        James Bond (Daniel Craig) is enjoying life in Jamaica after leaving acting service. However, his peace is short lived as his old friend Felix Leiter (Jeffery Wright), shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain who's armed with a dangerous technology.

                       Now, say all you want, but to me Daniel Craig is hands down the greatest 007 of all time, the close second would of course be Sean Connery moreover a tie between Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, and well let’s face it Roger More is the worst of them all. What I loved most about Daniel Craig's Bond is that he's a spy that's suffering through childhood trauma, along with having PTSD furthermore through the course of his journey you get to understand the character more and really, Craig's Bond has more character development then any of this predecessors, though I can say sure that George Lazenbys Bond gives a little more of character development with his version of Bond despite the fact that his was short lived and we never get to see more of that because through the course of each film era the main actor always regenerate into a new different Bond. So, again you can say all you want on Craig's performance of Bond, but I truly look at him as one of the best Bonds ever, moreover, confirming I'm probably never going to watch anymore 007 films because there's no one in the whole world that can do a better job than Craig did when portraying the greatest spy in British cinema. For a first big budget movie, director Cary Joji Fukunaga does an exceptional job with this movie, defiantly from working with the actors of course but also when it came to the action sequences, and they were so exciting to watch that I felt I was on the edge of my seat throughout the two hours and forty-six minutes of the film. Rami Malek does an okay job as the antagonist in the film although there really isn't a whole competition when it comes to Bond villain's, mainly because all of the villains through the years were deep down predictable although I do like Christoph Waltz's version of Blofeld for many reasons he's the only one that can psychological break Bonds will, also it's Christoph Waltz he does a great job playing a bad guy, I mean if you don't believe me watch the very movie that made him big, Inglorious Bastards. A side from the predictability of this being Craig's last ride as 007, there were a lot of elements that I didn't expect would happen in this film and really Casino Royale was my first Bond film I watched in the theaters and I always like Craig's performance for being a mean and gritty Bond as what Ian Fleming created in the books, and this was one of those films I felt that I was going to cry. So, as of now I can't watch anymore Bond films other than Craig's films because in all honesty no one even the successors can ever top Daniel Craig's version of 007. And closing if you’re not a traditional Bond fan I would highly recommend all of Daniel Craig's 007 films and especially No Time to Die.           

Mystery, Alaska

 

                         

                                       This years NHL Winter Classic set a new record for the most coldest game ever played though wasn't strong enough to beat out the Ice Bowl in 1967. But with this years Classic marked as one of the coldest with a minus 10 degree weather, it kind of sparked a movie to go back on moreover go back and re-watch. And that movie is Mystery, Alaska, a hockey film that has so many flaws when it comes to creating drama but yet is enjoyable to watch all the way through. The film itself is loosely based off of a 1905 Stanley Cup game where the Ottawa Senators played a unknown team at the time, though I believe that this was based off of a 1910 exhibition game where the Montreal Canadiens played a Chicoutimi Hockey Club, for which a great goaltender by the name of Georges Vezina (whose named is on a certain Trophy given out to the top Goalie). Now getting back to the movie, it was written by David E. Kelly whose most famous for The Practice and Ally McBeal which makes sense that its written by a guy who has written a lot of soap opera's. Although it also had a partner in Sean O'Bryne whom I'm guessing is the real writer behind it because he at least came on a NHL Network special to talk about the film with fellow actors. Even though the film itself does have drama/storylines that are a bit comical and no need for it but the film is enjoyable to watch from start to finish. 

                                      Set in a Small Town of Alaska, excitement brews when, as part of a publicity stunt, the professional stars of the New York Rangers come to Alaska to face off against the local amateur team in a televised match.

                                      I've seen this movie probably 4 times now and every year I sit and watch it. There seems to be missing things I didn't realize were there which are so somewhat amazing. I will admit and say that this movie isn't as great of a movie like Miracle or Slap Shot, or even The Rocket but its an enjoyable movie with some great Hockey play and unusual moments of drama that doesn't really need to be used but is overpowered by Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds who in all honesty are the real anchors of this movie along with a surprising cameo of Bruins legend Phil Esposito. The film is considered a drama/comedy which is I guess it is but in all honesty the drama in this movie is a bit comical for many reasons its co-written by a man who has done a lot of soap opera's in his spare time moreover being married to Michelle Pfeiffer. I'll sum the drama in this movie in a top three overly dramatized moments the first one to start this off is probably the teenage romance of the young up and coming youngster who wants to play in the daily pond hockey game but is also dating Burt Reynolds daughter in the movie for a billion reasons nobody is really big into teenage romances for starters but through the course of the movie she's so desperately wants to have sex with the rookie because she believe he might leave her when he clearly state that he loves her twice and she never says that she loves him back, for which I guess her only excuse is wanting to bang at a young age. The second comedic/drama storyline is Burt Reynolds son is somewhat jealous of him all because he didn't play in the Saturday game (Pond Hockey) even though Burt Reynolds character actually played College Hockey and knows the rules better, furthermore thinks that Reynolds looks upon him as a disappointment, which really the way it was portrayed I believe Burt should of took his own kids a side and really tell him how big of a disappointment and also tell his son that the Saturday game was for Cissy's or something I'm trying to make this review a bit PG-13, though granted what I'm proposing is silly but lets not forget this is written by a soap opera writer. And now the final and most ridiculous drama/comic storyline is the love triangle between Russell Crowe, Hank Azaria and Crowe's wife in the movie and in all honesty I don't understand why a Crowe would be intimidated by a man who voices a tone of Simpsons characters, and I'm still reliving that thinking why would this be necessary to have because really what man who has such great hair and good looks would feel like he'd be challenged by a Simpsons actor who doesn't do much live action work I mean if he's doing his Moe voice and I can understand that some women would be turned on by that voice or maybe Comic Book Guy, now if that's the case then I would understand why women would be interested in wanting to date Hank Azaria. If I had to pick apart one plot hole it's probably that we don't quite understand why Burt Reynolds character doesn't want to coach the semi-pro team and we never had in answer for that during the first and second act of the film which is a bigger mystery than the Black Dahlia case, my thought is that he's probably so miserable about the place of Mystery and the people that he doesn't want to teach people how to skate because he thinks pond hockey's for Cissy's. Maybe the other plot hole is that everyone enjoys the Saturday game but the team consists of just the ones who are the right age and who ever is to old for the game is kicked out or forced into early retirement, now if they were playing teams from distant towns I get understand that, but there just playing for fun and are separated in two groups so I don't understand why just let them play for fun or take this game serious if your not competing with teams from distant towns, in which now I'm not making any sense because again I'm wanting to fix this movie despite the fact that it's already made. The last thing I'm going to say before closing this review is that there's no recognizable Ranger players on the New York Rangers there just a fictional roster with no sight of the most popular Rangers at the time, and this movie came out in October of 1999 and famous Rangers like Brian Leetch and Mike Richter who were still playing at that time moreover won the Stanley Cup, now sure you can't cast all of the Ranger roster but at least make in attempt to hire Leetch and Richter to be in this movie at least. A side from Burt Reynolds, I was actually impressed with Crowe in the film especially that he's playing Hockey and he's more of a Rugby guy since he's from Australia and according from a source he says he began to fall in love with the game of Hockey moreover wanting to wear number 10 in tribute to Ron Francis who was a Hockey player for the Hartford Whalers and part of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, so props to Crowe at least for getting into the role. So, in closing this film has some really fun moments. The dramatization is a bit, well, way too overrated but it's still an enjoyable Hockey film to watch from start to finish and maybe good to watch once a year.

       

January Recommendation: The Duellists

 

                                  To start off the new year of 2022, I'm recommending a film, which brought Sir Ridley Scott into the spotlight. To me Ridley Scott saved movies for me last year, for many reasons that past two years where a bit of a s**t show especially when it came to movies that contain nothing but superhero films, remakes and nothing but mindless crap. And along comes Ridley Scott, to bring us such great films like The Last Duel and House of Gucci for which were amazing to watch in the movie theaters furthermore worth every bit of penny. So there's no other reasons in explaining as to why Scott is worth recommendation, starting in the month of January not to mention going to recommend a huge some of his great work this year as well so, don't feel it’s a coincidence in me review some of Ridley Scott's work. So let’s get the New Year started with The Duellists.

                                  The films centers on two French soldiers under Napoleon, Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) and Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel). Both men have a distinct hatred for each other and proceeded to challenge one another to a duel through the course of Napoleon's reign. Now both men are Generals and Napoleon's reign is coming to an end, the two men challenge each other to one final duel that will change the fate of each man's life on earth.

                                   For a movie that has a budget of $900,000 dollars in the works along with absolutely no battle sequences furthermore no presence of Napoleon, I have to say that Scott made everything work to his advantage when it came to the story, casting and locations. Yes, the film is set during Napoleon's reign in France, but the story itself is about two men who have such different aspects to life but yet so how find themselves being challenged to a duel during their Emperor's reign, Carradine's character is a soldier who has no coral with Harvey Keitel's character but yet always has to fight him to withhold his own honor but also fight to stay alive. And that's what makes both of these actors so amazing to watch is that Carradine is trying so desperately to stay away but knows he has to be ready to face Keitel no matter what, while I have to say Harvey Keitel is more interesting for many reasons is that his character has that obsession to almost duel anyone whom he crosses and its fascinating as to why a man has such a grudge over one man through the course of almost sixteen years and its why you even want to duel someone with the possible chance that you may die but yet still want to duel it out for which I still find fascinating. With such great actors in Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, I sadly have to talk more about more about Ridley Scott because well this was his first movie at the age of 41 and yet he's still making movies so in all honesty I consider him a hero of some sorts. Whenever I hear about a filmmaker making their first film for a little amount of money and still make in amazing movie out of it I always think back at movies like Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi for 7,000 dollars and George Romero's original Night of the Living dead for 125,000 dollars for which now looking at that I don't believe that but I'll take Wikipedia's word for it. Now 900 grand now sure that's nothing but doing that back in 1977 when this film was made that was very little money when you’re doing a period piece like this and the fact that Scott was able to shoot the film with such very little of what he had to work with was truly awesome, I mean with 900 grand he didn't just make a small budget film but made a one of a kind masterpiece  and the fact that we never needed any huge battle sequences and just let the visuals speak for themselves is incredible moreover the fact that you see different locations and Scott whose great at visual storytelling you honestly don't need any of the battle sequences and just use the settings, the environments and backgrounds as the centerpiece for the whole movie there really no need for it at all. I love the fact that they take the time to make these sword fights as real as possible moreover when you watch them it really looks like they were trying to make these fights as serious and staying true to the sword fighting style of fencing where it's not always about charging at your opponents it’s more like a game of chess you have to see what your opponent does before you make your move and if there's one slight misstep then no more soup for you, if you catch my drift. If I had to pick my favorite duel in the movie is when both men charge on horseback and we have a sequence of Carradine getting ready to charge but he begins to have this slight glimpse of fear that he might not make it and the way Ridley did it is just amazing on so many levels. So, like I said before what better way to start off the new year of 2022 than saying thank you to Ridley Scott who gave us such great films last year furthermore saved the movies at least from one to many superhero movies and also remakes as well. In closing I would highly recommend this terrific and beautiful movie to watch, from start to finish.

                

10 Year Anniversary of Sucker Punch

 

                                     Ladies and gentlemen, this was one of the two films that I remember seeing in the theaters back in 2011 and this was one of the many movies I was avoiding talking about for the last 12 months. And now after finally finishing the second half of the movie I guess it finally time to talk about the movie I declare as one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life, although the other one is Gone with the Wind. But, well I will need to talk about that movie because it’s been so long, I need to talk about it through blog review, because in all honesty I kind of look at all of you who read my review as people who'd understand. Okay so, back to this garbage I can honestly remember seeing the trailer to 300 and remembering how awesome this film was then getting to know Zack Snyder via the interviews he was promoting moreover hearing that Star Wars changed his life, which me I was like "finally someone I can see as a down to earth guy", then along came Watchman, for which I thought was again amazing. And then came the year where I began to question the creativity behind Zack Snyder and that movie was Sucker Punch. I do admit when this film was released, I was a little on the intrigued, but didn't want to have that level of doubt though when going to the movie in the theater I will confirm that I was confused and didn't know what to think. Now watching the movie, I will say that this was just pure garbage that included a cast that's in their early to mid-twenty's wearing nothing but skimpy clothes along with a 45-year-old director at the time directing them. It's almost as if the late Hugh Hefner was directing his first ever playboy movie only, they're in their playboy bunny outfits. So, enough talk let try and explain this disastrous film, or if we can really call it that.

                                    Basic premise of what the film is about or if you can call it a basic premise. Is that the film is basically a Alice in Wonderland knock off but with girls with machine guns also a mixture of Moulin Rouge.

                                     What's really the hardest part was really having to sit through the movie knowing how bad it is and yet not wanting to except that reality, through the course of the film I just wanted to scream so badly in terms of what was going on or what is happening especially when it comes to the acting where it just hurts in so many levels. I even had to stop watching it because of how much pain I was enduring moreover feeling the cringe of young adults trying to seduce older men, that's how much it was killing me inside. Here's the hardest truth there really wasn't a story to begin with it, the whole film was nothing but concepts and ideas that's it, no story, or any type of character arc that we as in audience member can understand nor relate with the character. The more baffling thing that even I can find out to this day is how was Snyder able to convince Warner Brothers when it came to pitching this idea, because I would imagine that all those producers and head of studio would most certainly be brain dead when it came to green lighting the movie. Of all actors I feel bad for was Jon Hamm and he's barely in the movie furthermore feel so bad for the poor guy for many reasons, he never gets a brake when it comes to work and yet in this movie, he gets to reprise his role as Don Draper. Speaking of actors and actresses everyone in this garbage packed movie (except for Hamm because he at least gets in out of jail free card) is just downright horrible Emily Browning, all I can say for her is that she was in one movie with Tom Hardy for which I liked, and that was pretty much it. Vanessa Hudgens I can't really say anything positive because she's in so much crap and let’s not forget she plays a girl named Blondie despite the fact that her character isn't blonde Jamie Chung is famous for being in the MTV reality show, The Real World so I don't know how, but honestly there is hope that some MTV'ers can transition to being an actress I guess, though in all honesty I don't care because I do recall another Real World star now being a professional wrestler (fingers crossed behind my back). Jena Malone, uh well I guess the Hunger Games sequels so I'm going to at least stop there. Abbie Cornish who’s in the film is not great, but at least she has some success now, besides the other three main girls via being in both of Martin McDonagh's films and playing the love interest to John Krasinski in the Amazon show Jack Ryan (which reminds me I need to get back into that show), so on the positive side I'm glad she at least has success now after having been in this film. A guy I know once told me that when you watch it just turn the volume down, which I know what he meant, but in all honestly, I don't believe that can ever help this movie for many reasons once you watch this film all the way through with the volume on there's no escaping the cringes of this movie, there's just no going back. So, to all the dudes out there, I'm only going to say this once and please heed my words, just stay away from this movie, just don't make any attempt in seeing this and walk away. 

          

Ghostbusters The Video Game: Replay Review

 

                            I told people all over the world in my last review of Ghostbusters Afterlife that I would be playing the 2009 hit video game, Ghostbusters: The Video Game and this was an amazing decision I've ever made as a Ghostbusters fan. In a fair retrospect, this was technically the third installment to the Ghostbusters series, for many reasons its set two years after the events of the second film. When I first heard about the game it was watching the trailer on YouTube and after finishing the trailer, I was like say know more here's my money and take it. I'm sure there's been a lot of Ghostbuster video games throughout the years, but I can honestly say that this is and still is the greatest Ghostbusters video game of all time. For many reasons it’s a sequel base to the first two original films and it has the original greats voicing these beloved characters such as Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and the late Harold Ramis. For which makes the game even better. So, let start talking more about what makes this game so great.

                            Set two years after the events of Ghostbusters 2 the Ghostbusters gang hire a new blood to help with Ghostbusters operations, unfortunately happens at the worst times when a PSI pulse emanates from the Gozer exhibits at the Museum of Natural History. For which spawns a vast number of Ghosts, including the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. Learning that this has something to do with Gozer or the spirit of Ivo Shandor. With time running out of control they begin upgrade to new proton packs and kicks some ghost butts from kingdoms come.

                            What really makes this game amazing and I'll say it again to confirm it, but what makes this game amazing to play is that you’re playing this new blood type character furthermore having the original cast of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and the late great Harold Ramis, for which makes it amazing because you get to live out your childhood dream catching ghosts with the original Ghostbusters gang, for which makes it even better especially when making that happen in the video game world. And what makes it even better is that both Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis writing the script for the game, which you really don't see that when it comes to games having Hollywood actors write scripts for video games. What also makes the game great is that they do a lot of things that they really couldn't do in the movies especially when it comes to the Proton Pack where they upgrade a lot of things to it like the Slime system that they used in Ghostbusters 2 and especially the slow/frozen stream to catch ghosts with. I do wish they included Sigourney Weaver in the game, for many reasons she was Bill's love interest and it makes a lot sense than Alyssa Milano (who was in Charmed) but I guess it is what it is, can't always get what you want. Even the ghost I thought were fantastic especially when some of them were a different kind of ghost where you can fight with or capture it at the same time. There were some scary moments in the game as well especially one sequence where I'm investigating a spider-woman like killer with Egon and it just felt too terrifying that I wanted desperately to not play that level but had no choice, now replaying it I have to admit it wasn't all scary but I did jump out of my skin a couple of times. I have to say replaying this game brought back some great memories where I did nothing but replay this great game so many times, now I'm probably going to do that again unfortunately I have other video games to work on playing but I'll still work the time in playing a level or two. I've said it before and will say it again, the Ghostbusters video game is the greatest game of all time in terms of Ghostbusters games it’s easy to play and you'll spend all day and all night playing it. So, if you have a PS4 because there probably no question anyone has PS3 by now I would highly recommend playing this great game if you’re a Ghostbusters fan.  

  

Don't Bother to Knock

 

                                Happy New Year everyone, it’s that time of year to defecate on 2021 and piss on 2020's grave until there's no plants will ever grow. So, for better for worse let’s all hope that 2022 is going to be a s**t show as the last two years were, speaking of hope I've just watched a great film that envigored my hope for greatness in films. But more importantly made me realized what a great actress Marilyn Monroe was, but will get to that later. Watching this film, I must admit I didn't know what I was going to be expecting holy crap this film alone put me on the edge of my couch until the final frame. So hopefully to start off this New Year while watching the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild in the NHL Winter Classic, let’s talk about Don't Bother to Knock for which I hope this is a lesson to all guys out there don't get mixed up with beautiful women, because you don't know how crazy they can become especially if that beautiful woman was Marilyn Monroe.

                                 Pilot Jed Towers (Richard Widmark) encounters the beautiful Nell Forbes (Marilyn Monroe) while staying at a hotel in New York City. Jed pursues Nell, initially thinking she's a woman of means, but comes to learn that she's a babysitter when her child charge, Bunny Jones (Donna Corcoran), interrupts a conversation between the two. Soon Jed becomes worried about Nell's mental stability when it appears the woman is physically threatening Bunny.

                                 I found this on Hulu technically, but the channel Turner Classic Movies released a Guillermo del Toro picks to promote his latest thriller Nightmare Ally. And some of the films he picked were of course film noir type films furthermore one's I was familiar with, Laura for example and also Niagara another film the Marilyn Monroe was it but this film Don't Bother to Knock I was like "well why not give this movie a chance, can't hurt". Now after watching this great film I totally forgot how great of an actress Marilyn Monroe was, and sure all of America publicized her as this drop-dead gorgeous blond that every guy wanted to be with including Yankee great Joe DiMaggio and JFK. But deep down this woman knows how to act and does a tremendous job playing that femme fatale that's beautiful but also scary at the same time, and I'm not kidding when I say it that yes I wish I was Richard Widmark but I also didn't want to be, because of how terrifying Monroe was. Speaking of Richard Widmark, I thought as an actor he did a great job playing the anti-hero of the film who really doesn't care much, has in anger problem but begins to care when there's a kid involved via being taken care of by a crazy person. Because as we all know when it comes to film noir genre there's no such thing as a hero only the anti-hero's, moreover that's why I'm starting to have a great love for this genre for many reasons I love the fact that there's no hero involved and there's no happy ending and in all honesty if your trying to find something new to write film noir's are always a great thing to watch if your ever in a writer's block. So, to start of this hopefully good year of 2022 I would highly recommend watching Don't Bother to Knock because this is a great suspense film from start to finish and it also reminds you how great of an actress Marilyn Monroe was back then.

December Recommendation: Fatman

 

                                Just two days till Christmas and the time has come to reveal my Christmas present to the world. Now technically, this is a Christmas present for myself but the movie I'm recommending is the crème de le crème of Christmas movies that this needs to be seen, for the whole world. The film I'm giving as in early Christmas present is Fatman, starring Mel Gibson as Santa Clause aka Chris Cringle, now you may think to yourself isn't this the same Mel Gibson that made so many phone calls to his ex-wife and threw racial slurs as well. You're obviously not wrong if that's what you’re thinking in the top of your head, but in all honesty this was the movie we're he redeems himself moreover I would rank this as one of the top five best performances of his entire career. So, lets break out the fireball egg nog and let’s talk about Fatman.

                                The story is very simple. Santa (Mel Gibson) is being forced to work with the U.S. Government to secure his workshop because of the rising number of kids being extremely naughty. After a spoiled 12-year-old kid gets a lump of coal for Christmas, he hires an assassin (Walter Goggins) to kill Santa Clause. Moreover, I'll let your imagination do the math.

                                In the recalling of many Christmas films over the years it’s pretty much the same concept either it’s the retelling of baby Jesus or every story of a family trying to get by on Christmas but admits the frustrations they come together as a family furthermore let’s not forget the many Hallmark movies that come out every Christmas season. And sure, its fine and dandy but there comes a time when I just want something new and different, though sure Die Hard is a different kind of Christmas film but Fatman is a new kind of retelling, to the legend of St. Nick. What I like about the story is that Santa is your everyday citizen, when he's outside of his workshop and you never know who he really is, mainly he's just and everyday person but when he's back at his shop he's Santa Clause whose frustrated about the world, in short kind of reminds of my Dad, but a great summary he's the Santa Clause that we've never seen before and that's what makes his performance great. Then you also have Walter Goggin's a great character actor that is both funny and strangely scary at the same time. Chance Hurstfield who plays the spoiled kid also does a great job playing the most snobbish brat that you want to smack around but you can't and at the end it's what makes it even amazing. Now I don't want to carry on because I'm afraid to spoil the movie, but this is the Christmas movie I've been looking for my whole life and I'm so glad to recommend this movie moreover I strongly doubt I can top a Christmas movie like Fatman. And I'll make this apology towards the late Jimmy Stewart, but It's a Wonderful Life has just be dethroned as best Christmas movie in my book, though not to say that it's still one of the greatest movies of all time for which it’s still is but as of right now Fatman is officially my go to Christmas movie for every time December hits. So, if you're like me who’s tired of the Christmas movies of old than I highly recommend watching Fatman on Christmas Day. Now if you'll excuse me, I going to re-watch this movie again until I'm tired of it. For Which I will never be. And Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year.

          

Grand Theft Auto 5: Replay Review

 

                             By now I'm sure everyone has got their Christmas shopping done, unfortunately for those who want to get a Playstation 5 well, you’re still screwed sorry not sorry in being honest. Well at least we still have the Playstation 4, speaking of I just finished revisiting a great Rockstar game, Grand Theft Auto 5 the game to end all Grand Theft Auto games in all truthfulness, now in all seriousness a side I do have two copies of this for many reasons my PS3 takes up so much save data that I decided to play this on PS4. And I got to say that I don't think I can play any of the past Grand Theft Auto games because there so frustrating when it comes to gameplay controls that this is much better whenever you want to create havoc in a fictionalized Los Angeles.

                              The story is pretty much simple both a young hustler, a retired bank robber and a psychopath are caught in the cross hairs of fame, money and corruption in the city of Los Santos though both of them don't really like one another, they so come to terms they need to work together in order to make way for the new kings of Los Santos.

                              I remember a certain GMA interview of Steven Spielberg while promoting Ready Player One they asked the question of when the technology of Ready Player One will catch up with today's technology, he states that it’s going to be three years from now, now looking back in remembering that I thought that was hilarious, but in all honesty I truly believe that Rockstar Games are without  a doubt the pioneers of the real Westworld like environments, for many reasons I do began to realize that once coming back to this world you’re really just doing whatever you want with known consequences just like the first two Red Dead Redemption games, but with GTA 5 you’re a hundred percent a monster while playing the game which is fun but also scary at the same time, when parents talk about violent video games like GTA yes they are right about not having kids play it because in all honesty kids today aren't ready for it just because of its immaturity, but when you’re an adult you can defiantly play this because you can wreak havoc any time you want and escape reality, for which I would defiantly be afraid of the future because we all know that Disney is going to be that company that's going to create that Westworld like future park and shamefully the robots will defiantly take over the world. So, thanks to Rockstar Games for at least creating a safe Westworld like video game were you don't have to pay a thousand dollars and spend a vacation, but instead once you get off work you can pop this game in and play it all day and all night. The story itself is pretty good moreover its really three criminals who are the most dysfunctional group ever, trying to work on both sides of the law, in all fairness it does have its references or inspirations behind any Tarantino films or Scorsese gangster movies as well. But of all the actors that are voicing these characters, is defiantly Steven Ogg who plays the psycho Trevor, because he's fully committed to the role and is just hilarious in the most psychotic's way possible, and I love transitioning to him because he's just doing something that's either dark or funny at the same time. If you’re in adult like me I would highly recommend playing this on the Playstation 4, but to those who have a girlfriend or married I would highly recommend it but maybe playing it at midnight so they won't know what you’re doing in Los Santos.

         

Walk Hard: A Dewey Cox Story

 

                       

                                 In all my years of watching movies, I've never seen a comedy that's so strange and so bewildering despite the film itself having some good moments but in all honesty that's really five percent of what the film has. But this is the first time ever, I watch a movie and feel so confused in terms of decision making, and poor choices when it comes to making this film happen and unfortunately what makes this film so confusing is that it’s a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, for which I still don't understand why that's possible because I see this film as a pure rotten film.

                                 Anyway The film is called Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox story, and usually I would give a brief description of the plot, but in all honesty I don't know if I can, because in all honesty its really a comedy that spoofing on the rise and fall of famous musicians aka music biopic, from Walk the Line to Ray, but through the course of the fictionalized singer that's played by John C. Reilly but it goes from one crazy mess to another crazy mess for which make the Scary Movie films look like Freddy Got Fingered 2.

                                Now sharing my thoughts of this bizarre/strange film I still can't really put it into words because throughout the movie I had a bewildered through the entire film I mean sure there were some funny moments SNL alums Chris Parnell and Tim Meadows were kind of the best parts of the movie because they gave me some good giggle moments too as the same with Jenna Fisher because the Lets Duet scene was shamefully funny as well and let’s not forget the actor the plays Reilly's dad but all those moments in the film, that's basically it. And the rest of the film is just flat out so confusing that I don't know how to feel about it. Furthermore, sure you can see movies like Walk the Line or Ray and right then you can understand and laugh but this was just beyond the point of I don't think this was funny at all. So, to sum this movie up in the best way possible this movie is like the sacking of Ancient Troy you don’t want to witness all the horrors the Greeks have done on the Trojans but your eyes can’t close for some reason, and to be truthfully honest it needs to be seen so that everyone can be confused as well. I would say don't buy this, absolutely not if its free and or you can rent it on your phone I would watch it that way but after your done watching it I would suggest deleting your entire history of searching this movie as well as clips you've probably watched on YouTube because I still haven't watched any clips from Walk Hard to this day.    

House of Gucci

 

                            I'm confident in saying that the producers out in Hollywood have Bat phone of some kind to contact Sir Ridley Scott, whenever their having trouble getting some good movies and stories out or getting tired of remakes and Superheroes. It was two months ago that The Last Duel came out and now Ridley Scott is back with another film about a family empire, destroyed by their own ego. Lady Gaga gives a performance of a lifetime playing the Black Widow who loved power but pushed to the madness of the glamour and fame. Adam Driver after his great performance in The Last Duel, returns as a lawyer turned face of Italian fashion empire. Along with Jered Leto who I have to give praise because he was unrecognizable in his role, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino who for the first time in God knows, like forever that he's actually acting and not losing his s**t. So, with one of the greatest directors of all time at the help and a lineup of great actors and actress, let’s talk about House of Gucci.

                             When Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge -- and ultimately murder.

                              I often don't do this, but in a strange way if I had to compare this with another but from in alternate reality it would probably be Crazy Rich Asians, despite Crazy Rich Asians being more of a fantasy film and House of Gucci being more realistic when it comes to a main woman being married into a very rich family and then secretly manipulating everyone that crosses her, not saying that Rachel Chu would of done that but, you never know it could happen in a certain movie life. In my life I believe I've heard of Gucci, I may have heard references of Gucci such as a fashion trend but in all honesty I've never, ever heard of the Family tragedy that happened. And what makes this film great is that this was about a family that is Italian Royalty but is destroyed by their own sense of ego and power, and that's what makes it so interesting is that one woman whose seduced by this legacy but crosses a threshold into complete madness, for which as we all should know by now it’s like gravity, all it takes is a little push. I will say this that, this is one of these films that you do need to see at the movie theaters because after seeing this great movie I felt like I just went through a family drama of some kind. Lady Gaga gives a performance of a lifetime, playing Patrizia Reggiani who at first is a kind moreover a gorgeous woman only a lucky man would see at a night club, but then is a viscous woman though turns crazy when she crosses a line, and Lady Gaga did a tremendous job in leaving her real life self, and just transforming herself into the real Black Widow, or if your confused in my last statement I'll give a better example, she basically Daniel Day Lewis herself in embodying her character. Adam Driver is really have a year in terms of find a great director that believes in him moreover getting the freedom and wisdom in acting in some great roles, and with this movie he does a fantastic job playing a so called awkward lawyer whose heir to the Gucci name, but becomes his own worst enemy when it came to money and power. Jared Leto I believe gets in award for Daniel Day Lewis transformation because he was just unrecognizable in this film, while Al Pacino finally does a great job acting for once in a movie like this, although he has Ridley Scott directing him and I would think keeps telling him "okay Al, if you want to chew up the scenery like in your past films, just chew on this piece of cardboard". Even the supporting cast gets some praise as well like Salma Hayek does great work molding Patrizia through the course of the movie, while Jeremy Irons does a great job playing Drivers father who even warns him about the love in his life but yet doesn't listen to him. Ridley Scott is one of my favorite movie directors of all time and this movie is a great example of Scott finding any story he can get his hands on and turn it into magic, and I can even argue and say that his future work is not as great as his past work but is still entertaining and amazing to watch when you go see them, I mean hell I don't think Prometheus and Alien: Covenant were great films but I still love them for what they are. In a year that's so crummy and barely recovering from a year that should not be named, Sir Ridley Scott in my book wins Man of the Year, because with his work of The Last Duel and House of Gucci, I have to say he's the real reason why the movie theaters are still great places to see a film. With a one of the greatest casts ever assembled and a great director at the helm, hands down another film I declare best film of 2021 although The Last Duel is at number one and House of Gucci is number close tie. So, with the year nearing the end I would stop what you’re doing and see House of Gucci because this is one of the only films ever to be seen at the theaters.