Assassin's Creed Revelations: Replay Review

 

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

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

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

  

                            

                           

The Silence of the Lambs

 

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

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

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

       

                                  

March Recommendation: Gangs of New York

 

                                     What a perfect time to pick the March Recommendation with the 20th Anniversary release of Martin Scorsese's period epic Gangs of New York, for which when I realized that the film came out in 2002 I was like well I have to recommend this movie in the month of March as well as St. Patrick's Day. This was the first of much collaboration with Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, though this was one of the two movies that defined DiCaprio as an actor. But deep down the real actor that took this movie and stole the movie like it was the perfect crime was the great Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher, but will get to him later. I will say this now, and granted that this is kind of off topic in some ways, but I will put my foot down and state that this is a far superior story than West Side Story just saying because in all honesty I'm trying to throw more jabs at Steven Spielberg sorry not sorry. 

                                     Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young Irish Immigrant released from prison. He returns to the Five Points seeking revenge against his father’s killer, William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Amsterdam's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people in 1860's New York.

                                     I would argue that this would most defiantly be in Scorsese's top ten best films I don't think top five but it’s a close in the range of top ten best when it comes to Scorsese's work. Sure this film follows the same story format in past Scorsese films but what I like about this film is that it focuses more on two men's goals of making 19th century New York in their own image when in doubt it's still much of a lost cause. To be honest, if there was ever a time when Mr. Scorsese was ever going to make a period piece, he sure picked the perfect story to make a movie out of it. What’s also great about the movie was that Martin wanted to make this film a long time, since the mid 1970's unfortunately there were a lot of bumps in the road to get to that point and oddly enough he finally made this movie happen. And the other thing about what makes this film still amazing to watch is that it’s one of those films that not even your school teachers would teach you, sure they teach you all there was to know about the Civil War and that North was against slavery and South was all for it, but they never teach you about some of the minor historic elements for example of how worse 19th century New York was and that it wasn't a great place to live in furthermore you had to really survive in that living environment and Scorsese does a fantastic job showing you the entire curl world of the Five Points. If there was any sense of getting you pumped up for a movie like this, the opening battle sequence was hands down the best opening to a battle sequence I've ever seen especially when you have two great actors out of Liam Neeson and Daniel Day-Lewis waging war against each other and both men screaming at the top of their longs and charging at each other. All right now I can't hold it in anymore, we're now going to go ahead and talk about the real hero that is responsible for making this film amazing and that's the king of actors, Daniel Day-Lewis, what's really sad now is that most people don't know a whole lot when it comes to Daniel Day-Lewis and in all honesty if I had the best way to describe him is that he's a modern day Marlon Brando but without the ego, for example he's very picky when it comes to finding a role and he doesn't have the famous actor life he's really all about finding the right role and then taking enough days to break away from the roles he chooses because when it comes to him, he's a very devoted actor when it comes to the character and that he won't just act he will transform himself into that character and speaking in truth if you want more example's Gangs of New York is a great one but also There will be Blood is another great example when it comes to his acting chops. Yes, Day-Lewis is in a supporting role but he's really the greatness behind this film, he is so mesmerizing to watch on film that you can't look away and there's a scene where he beats Leo to a bloody pulp he head butts him so many times that I'm confident that he literally did that. Sure Leonardo DiCaprio was around at a young age and was a heartthrob in the late 90's but I believe 2002 was a great year for him, moreover was his climb to fame in becoming a serious actor and sure his accent I'll admit was a bit off to me but I didn't care all that much because of the supporting cast he was surrounded by also Brendan Gleeson who plays Leo's mentor was in the movie so he could of at least spend numerous time with him so he can improve it more. Now when it comes to Cameron Diaz, all I can say is that this is the only movie I can point at in her filmography and say that this was her best movie. Brendan Gleeson was another actor I thought was amazing in the movie in that of all the members in Liam Neeson's gang he was the one who really showed DiCaprio's character in what it means to make a way for the Irish Immigrants that were coming to America at that time. Now I will argue with any Musical fanatic and say that this was a much better story than West Side Story for one good example is that it didn't borrow any story elements from William Shakespeare and that it was focusing more on the topics at hand then re-using story elements from Romeo and Juliet, so in case you're all looking for a movie to watch about rival Gangs pick a movie like this one that really has a much better story than a musical. Now if you're ever interested in looking into Daniel Day-Lewis's filmography I would highly recommend watching Gangs of New York and there will be Blood. Other than that I would highly recommend watching this great period epic on St. Patrick's Day, so to everyone I'd say Happy St. Patty's Day, drive safe and make good choices. 

 

The Batman

 

                                 One of the Greatest Superheroes of all Time is back on the big screen, as he always should be. Only this time it’s a different take on Batman, that's right no more Batffleck and this choice is one of those choices you've never believed would work but for some reasons does for which I'm referring Robert Pattinson and to be honest I now have full respect for the man because he does a great job playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. I know that you all find me being sarcastic, but I thought he did a great job with his take as Batman, hell I even loved Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman. I'll even go so far as saying that the whole story line is great and works in the best possible way I can even go so far and say the entire casting works as well especially Colin Farrell as Penguin, though I think what really hurt the film the most was defiantly the length of the movie but will get to that latter.

                                  Batman (Robert Pattinson) ventures into Gotham City's underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans become clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis.

                                   I will admit there was a lot of things they did right with this film for which I was surprised with and will start off with the cast. In all honesty, I truly thought Robert Pattinson did a fantastic playing Batman/Bruce Wayne, and as we've all learned through the course of the years in order accept an actor whose taking over the mantle of the movie or TV role of Batman, they must at least create their own unique spin on the character that's never been done before. And I like the fact that Pattinson's Batman is more secluded and is using the Batman persona as a coping mechanism to escape his trauma, moreover I love the fact that director Matt Reeves shows Bruce taking off his cowl and we get to see him using eye liner instead of just hiding like the past Batman films have done, furthermore it’s kind of nice to just except the fact that Batman has to wear eyeliner when he goes out to fight crime, also makes for good close ups for a guy whose fighting with his own past trauma. Like I said before the entire cast works, I love that the Riddler is basically the Zodiac Killer when it comes to Batman's world and again the story itself and the entire setting works it’s just one problem I have with the film. It’s just too  damn long, now most superhero films are like two hours and fifteen minutes max, this film is like three hours long and sure Avengers: Endgame was three hours long but that was in action movie this was basically a detective movie, Batman was really doing enough kicking butt, now sure you can make this film three hours, but have the film balance between Batman being a detective and fighting crime and I didn't feel he wasn't beating enough bad guys in the film. Now I will argue and say that Pattinsons Batman is a hell of a lot better than Batffleck furthermore he's earned my respect in being called by his name and not being referred to by his Twilight past, in which now I'm confident he's escaped the hellish prison and now looking to find better work elsewhere. Now would I rank this up with the Dark Knight Trilogy um, I wouldn't think it’s close, but I give a good sense to watch this movie if you’re up for a three-hour long movie, as for me I don't know if I can really go back and re-watch it again it might be a while before I'm ready to go back. 

                                     

Pam & Tommy

 

                          

                         I'm defiantly going to make this review short and somewhat sweet, if there were any mistakes I made when it comes to binge watching TV its most certainly watching Pam & Tommy. If you were alive in the mid 90's Pamela Anderson was defiantly the Babe of the century though the problem was, she was not making the best choices possible when it comes to life and one of the most horrible choices, she made was marrying Tommy Lee. For which spawned the story of the nineties, of these two crash test dummies filming themselves banging each other to death. And yet pissing off certain people that they stole certain belonging and got it out on the pre-historic world wide web. And yet for some reason this was turned into a TV series for which I still think is a horrible idea, although I admit I thought this would be somewhat intriguing but unfortunately it just failed miserably in the last three episodes.

                         I told you that this was going to be short and sweet, now before I dive deep into this was of story time my only positive comment, I can say about this show was Lily James portrayal as Pamela Anderson, for which I thought she did a great job transforming into the Baywatch Star moreover I also didn't recognize her at first. Now that being said I figured that this would be a revenge type story, but it has always didn't turn out then I'd expect, which I should of saw it coming but didn't see the crash burn coming from a mile away. In all honesty the whole show is about people who are horrible in every sense of the word but yet don't look at themselves in the mirror, and though the course of the show I was hoping for Tommy Lee getting his due but of course I never get to see that happen and yes Pamela in real life didn't make the best choices and you can say all you want but I feel like the woman put a target on her back, though I'm just going to leave it at that, but that's just my two cents. I kind of wished they stop casting Seth Rogen in movies because he's not suited for the revenge type guy he just never was to begin with. This show was really a waste of storytelling, and I could go on talking about this but sadly I desperately want to get the taste out of my mouth. 

  

The Righteous Gemstones: Season 2

 

                             Finally finished season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones everybody, praise the Lord though in the right way possible. Danny McBride's surprisingly entertaining Show about the Megachurch family who are dysfunctional on one side but all heart on the other. And of course, I was excited for season 2 and really it didn't hold any disappointments well, maybe a few moments but will get those in a little later. This season I will admit they begin to explore more into Eli Gemstones past and how he became the Walt Disney of Televangelist. But most importantly we also get more Walter Goggins playing Baby Billy who I believe is always the best part of the whole show, but were going to have to leave it there, for now let’s explore more into the second chapter in the Righteous Gemstones.

                            Set two years after the first season everything is going swell, until a mysterious stranger (Eric Roberts) appears in Eli's life as well as a journalist (Jason Schwartzman) who’s on a quest to bring down Televangelists group. Jessie and his wife Amber decide to go in business with a televangelists couple from Texas, but things become complicated as dark forces begin to emerge and so secrets are beginning reveal themselves.

                            A side from the same format that's been used in the first season I like how this time we get to see more of Eli's backstory and how he first started out on different terms and then slowly rising to a Christian man moreover I like how we slowly get to see how he started out and not know the whole story behind his rise to fame. I will admit, I find it amusing how each of the three kids don't learn any lesson from which they've learned in their last season furthermore come up with more ways of doing something outlandish and stupid at time from which comes some great comedic work from Danny McBride. If there was one thing I would have to complain about the second season, is way too many d**k jokes which is funny for like the first season but if you keep doing it more it just loses it touch and even I was predicting one of those jokes in the last couple of episodes and I was thinking to myself "I f**king knew it" which is like I get most grown men like d**k jokes because of size but 95% of the men population don't want to have that image stuck with them forever. In all honesty there's not a whole lot to say about the latest season because everything works in the best way possible the children have a great chemistry throughout the season and Walter Goggins does a great job as always playing a southern hillbilly, for which I feel bad for him because that's honestly the only thing he can do better or a short way to describe it he’s as always typecast. I would highly recommend this show though I would only have to watch this show once because this is one of these shows were I can say enough is enough.

  

Dog

 

                              I never thought in a million years I would ever again express so much emotion, especially when it's a Channing Tatum movie for which he co-directs as well as stars in the movie along with a very cute Dog. I can say and understand that sure women can get emotional when watching the movie Titanic or any Nicholas Sparks movie, well me it’s usually films about Dogs and I've had my fair share of crying when it came to Where the Red Fern Grows and Marley and Me and I've said to myself I would never want to experience that kind of pain ever again, because in fairness I'm a Dog lover and who isn't right? Well, unfortunately my loving and adoring parents wanted me to experience this movie for which I warned them about the last time this happened but with good graces my Mom told me that the Dog doesn't die. And I'll admit I rejoiced to that and I should let you all know that no Dogs died on screen nor in the story, so in case your all worried about that, but I can honestly say that I never expected what the story had for which made it amazing and again made me express all of my emotions via crying, so this may be difficult for me to type this review so let’s talk about Channing Tatum's hands down best movie ever.

                              U.S. Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) is tasked with bringing Lulu, a Belgian Malinois Military working Dog, down to the Pacific Coast from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington to Nogales, Arizona in time to attend her handler's funeral. Along the way, Briggs has to come to terms with his post-traumatic stress disorder as well as his difficulty with making emotional connections.

                              Now before I begin this review I will give a shout out to my Mother for wanting me to go see this, and also my Dad too, because in all honesty they're really the main reason of my love for different kinds of movies. I will say that this was one of the best movies and best performances by Channing Tatum, for which I find weird in finally saying something of that when it comes to Tatum's career, because really when it comes to Tatum's filmography is really, well let’s just say that the man doesn't make good choices in life but yet for some he's still to this day not making good choices because he's in a upcoming film with Sandra Bullock. But I guess sometimes fate would upmost show the best in people and goes to Tatum who co-directs this great movie as long as stars in the movie, really does a fantastic job playing a character that's suffering from PTSD moreover doesn't really know how to express emotions as well as getting along with people, and yet along comes this cute Dog whose also suffering from PTSD as well and yet the two of them share great chemistry as well as some pain and suffering they've endured through their times in the Army and through the course of the movie I've begin to understand these characters moreover did my heavy share of crying near the end of the film because, well I don't suffer from PTSD but I can honestly say I began to relate to them in a sense that even I as well have a hard time expressing my emotions as well as having a hard time getting along with people and this movie really moved me in saying that there is still love in the word as well as nurturing the hope for humanity even though it’s hard to find. And the way Tatum and his fellow director Reid Carolin are able to do, is introduce two unique characters who have the same mental disorder from their time in the Army and through the course of the story tell this story of friendship and trying to find love in happiness in a time when there is not a whole lot to find in the world. Moreover in a way when things that are happening today with all of the war and Invasion that's going on as well as the end to the pandemic, it’s nice to watch film that shows us all that there is still a hope for humanity after all, you just have to find it in the most strangest ways possible. I will put a stamp of approval and say that Dog is without a doubt, one of the best movies I've seen this year and Channing Tatum's best performances/movies he's ever done in his whole career. I would highly recommend watching this amazing movie but I would also recommend bringing a box of tissues to the theater.            

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.