Training Day

 

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

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

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

     

                                     

January Recommendation: Buried

 

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

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

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

               

The Last of Us: TV Series Episode 1

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

         

Hands of Stone

 

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

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

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

        

The Banshees of Inisherin

 

   

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

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

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

                                   

Bullet Train

 

                                     Well, the end is nigh we are near the end of the year 2022 so many movies so little stupid-ness, of what is going on in the world today if you catch my drift. Usually when I see a preview of a movie I'm just like eh okay, I'm not really planning on seeing it either way, but once I saw an action scene of Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt, where him and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are fighting then takes a break where the train attendant walks in to offer them anything, I just thought that was a fun and unique spin that I've never seen in an action movie before. And now watching this movie all the way through I would figure that this would be a typical mindless action flick. But with the number of surprises, I never saw coming, I cannot help but consider this a great action movie from start to finish moreover the perfect action flick to finish off the year of 2022.

                                     Ladybug (Brad Pitt) is an unlucky assassin who is determined to do his job peacefully after one-to-many gigs has gone off the rails. Fate, however, many have other plans as his latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe--all with connected yet conflicting objectives--on the world’s fastest train.

                                     At the time this movie came out the same time I was on vacation, and in all fairness did not think much of Bullet Train mainly because it just came out in the theaters, and it was basically I do not want to pay extra when going to a movie that will probably waste my time. But again, after seeing the scene of the water break fight scene, I really felt that this might have some potential so as usual I decided to buy it on my phone and watched the movie all the way through. Furthermore, I thought that this was a cleverly thought-out action film from start to finish, also was a lot more than a typical action movie because you get to know each of these characters through the course of the movie, moreover, know their agenda as well and why their brought to a Bullet Train in Japan. And I am not lying that this was an entertaining action movie which leads to the question, why did everyone hate this movie? Hell Richard Roeper was the only sane movie critic out there that gave this movie a three and a half out of four stars, I guess the only conclusion I found out was that this was adapted from a Japanese novel and everyone complained that this movie was White washed (meaning white people playing foreign roles), for which true and fair but deep down you really shouldn't target this movie for that typical crime because Hollywood's been doing it for quite some time, I honestly don't like that concept but that's just how Hollywood is they will never in a million years change. Even the author of the Bullet Train novel, Kotaro Isaka defended the film by describing his characters as "ethnically malleable", maintaining that his original Japanese setting and context were irrelevant as they were "not real people, maybe they're not even Japanese". I have a rare few Brad Pitt films that I consider the best, though there are like so many films he made it's hard to specify in terms of supporting roles and starring roles but if I had to rank this movie when it comes to starring roles this would most certainly be in the top three of the best Brad Pitt films the first and second are of course Inglourious Bastards and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. And really what makes him great in this movie is that he plays his character like a middle age Johnny Cage just a bombastic hilarious fighter that has a great sense of humor at the wrong place at the wrong time, after seeing this I would honestly put a petition for Brad Pitt to play the middle age Johnny Cage in the next Mortal Kombat. Now I am officially going to stop talking so, in conclusion this is defiantly an underappreciated action movie that needs to be seen by everyone, to those who are action fanatics I would highly recommend watching this great movie it is a great story with full of surprises from start to finish. 

  

                                       

The Bishop's Wife

 

                                     Technically yes Christmas has ended but to all Christians, the last day of Christmas is on January 5th. For which is a lot to explain of course, but bottom line it was a Christmas afternoon when my mom recommends me watching The Bishop's Wife. I had no idea that this was the original movie that was remade into another movie called the Preachers Wife, starring Denzel Washington and the late Whitney Houston. With this movie came out in 1946, stared Cary Grant Loretta Young and David Niven, for which in all reality this was defiantly a Christmas movie worth seeing just because it is a movie, I have never seen but always good to watch during Christmas time. 

                                     Dejected by his efforts to raise money to build a cathedral, Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) beseeches heaven for guidance, and is visited immediately by Dudley (Cary Grant), who claims to be an angel. Henry is skeptical, then annoyed when Dudley ingratiates himself into the household as his assistant--and worse, wins the attentions of Henry's long-suffering and kindly wife (Loretta Young). When Dudley continues to intervene in Henry's struggles, the bishop decides to challenge Heaven. 

                                      I have to say of all Christmas movies I have seen this is one of those hidden treasures that I can point at and just be "okay, I can defiantly watch this", for many reasons it is not like the Home Alone first two films where you have seen over and over or like A Christmas Story or even Christmas Vacations where you've seen them over and over and get tired of the jokes. This was one of these movies that you will not roll your eyes and go "I've seen it" granted I have not seen The Preachers Wife, but what I am trying to say it is a hidden gem that will refresh your standards of a Christmas film. What I like about the film is that Angels are supposed to be these mysterious figures that take human form and they just come out to help a person in need like Cary Grant does in the first opening of the movie, Cary Grant does a fantastic job playing the Angel sent to help David Niven in need of guidance and deep down helps not just him but his family as well moreover given them in open mind and gleam of hope. I've seen Murder by Death and Guns of the Navarone and it feels like David Niven hasn't aged a day it's like watching this movie and he's looks the same which is weird, both him and Jimmy Stewart have one thing in common. Both men were visited by Guardian Angel's in each of their movies and both we are like uh I refuse to believe you; uh I think you are a fraud just playing the same nonbeliever even though the Angels show each man things that were impossible. For which in fairness when you see your guardian Angel for the first time, yeah, we as a person would not believe it for a minute or two, but in all honesty, I would not be like Jimmy Stewart that would constantly question Clarence in every scene. In many ways this is one of those movies that I would most certainly watch next December and Christmas time, it is a nice feel-good film that you can defiantly watch for the first time and watch from start to finish. Even though yes this is a late recommendation this is one of those movies my mom told me to watch and of course she is always right. So, Merry Christmas everyone I hope you all had the best Christmas of 2022. 

           

December Recommendation: L.A. Confidential

 

                      

                                       

                                     I know what you are going to say, yes L.A. Confidential is not your typical Christmas movie but here is the surprise the film itself starts on Christmas Eve so if you all are complaining about my latest monthly recommendation not being a Christmas movie well jokes on you because it is a Christmas movie for the Holiday's. But here's the thing we all have our fair share of personal Christmas films that our favorites like It's a Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation, then you have the cartoons too as well as the Christmas family films that get a little on the annoying side mainly because they already remind you of your dysfunctional family, so if there's a film that starts at the beginning of Christmas Holidays with no snow then I'm making an acceptation. L.A. Confidential is a mid-90's film that was in a sense a forgotten movie because it was unmatched by the success of Titanic, granted it has been a while since I have watched it but once I saw a preview of first act of the movie I just simply could not resist.

                                     Three policemen, each with his own motives and obsessions, tackle the corruption surrounding an unsolved murder at a downtown L.A. coffee shop in the early 1950's. Lieutenant Exley (Guy Pearce), the son of a murdered detective, is out to avenge his father’s killing. The ex-partner of Officer White (Russell Crowe), implicated in a scandal rooted out by Exley, was one of the victims. Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) feeds classified information to a tabloid magnate (Danny DeVito).

                                     I have to confess this has been quite a long time since I've watched L.A. Confidential, but I previewed it on YouTube and once I saw the first clip of the entire film the jokes really write themselves, to explain the Christmas part of the movie the first act of the entire film begins on the Christmas Eve of nights, and what starts off somewhat shocking but yet mildly entertaining is that the cops start assaulting the Mexican inmates that just been booked into custody aka Bloody Christmas (Actually happen, Google it) and what makes it funny is yes this was reminding me of cops today, I mean George Floyd anyone? But the way it was directed and shot it bizarrely felt like it was like a high school football team preparing to beat up the opponent's team and then gets out of hand and everyone is excited there's one nerd or goodie too shoes wanting to put a stop or threaten the team then gets locked up somewhere for interfering, then the school paper comes in and exposes the entire football team, which is funny to me because I don't quite understand why it’s necessary or was it really needed in all honesty it's something I can't really find answers too. And it is not just that but will get to the other funny moments and Russell Crowe really owns that portion if you know what I mean. All jokes a side this was a surprisingly good movie and it really has all the elements in what makes a great detective story from the detectives you really get to know as the three important ones as each of them try to battle their way through corruption, and what also is great in terms of the story is you slowly through the course of the movie get to understand their motives and why they became cops as with battling their personal flaws. The other thing in what makes this great is that the structure and direction to the film, really starts off like a detective story from the 1950's films with the beginning of the first act you get to know your characters then you start off with the main murder and through the course of the film you slowly began to realize that nothing is what it seems, and that's what makes it so great is that it pays great tribute to all of the detective/film noir's from the 1940's and 50's. The other thing in what makes this film great, is that you have a great list of actors and all of them do a fantastic job in making this film work. Now calm down, when I say this yes Kevin Spacey is in the movie but that was before we all found the skeleton's in his closest and when you see his earlier work you as an audience can't deny how great of an actor he was despite being a not so good of a person, Kim Basinger who won in Oscar for her performance in this film does a great job playing a femme fatale whose a survivor but also becomes a love interest towards Russell Crowe's character who begins to understand his pain and his potential/support of being a great cop. You also get to see the rise of two great actors who were unknowns in the mid-nineties but this I believe was the most important movie to their success, Guy Pearce who I freakishly looks so young does great work playing the main protagonist who you’re not sure if you can like this guy because he's all to goodie too shoes and only cares about his image but through the course of the movie you slowly understand his motives and knows that he needs allies if he's to survive a case that may ruin his career. Now we've finally get to Russell Crowe, who is no question a great actor in the movie who you also like once you first see him moreover does a great job playing the so-called anti-hero of the film, but the fact is that this movie alone was the great treasure of jokes that Trey Parker and Matt Stone did on South Park decades ago with fighting around the world with Russell Crowe, and I don't want to cast a stone on the guy but the man literally beats up everyone in the movie, some of them are female beaters and rapists? Though yes, it is part of his character but in all honesty, it is somewhat to ridiculous that he assaults everyone in the movie especially one where he's going over the top bad cop on a black guy, granted I won't go into details, but this was one of those things where if Crowe's character existed in today's era, he wouldn't last at least a month on the force mainly because of social media existing. To be honest, it was really nice to see Danny DeVito in a movie for once and some people forget that he was once a good actor that stared in movies long before he was sucked into the world of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for which you also get to see some great chemistry work between him and Kevin Spacey and deep down it was nice to see that before these two overstayed their welcome in Hollywood. I must give some compliments towards James Cromwell who plays the captain in the movie, mainly because he does a great job as the mentor of the movie where you think he is a good cop but once you get to the third act that there is something different about him and he does it in the best way possible. The other Academy Award this film won in the Oscars was Best Adapted Screenplay and both Curtis Hanson Brian Helgeland do a great job in adapting James Elroy's book, and after finishing the movie they truly deserved their award furthermore this is one of the rare few times the Academy gets right. Both men actually have done some great notable works after L.A. Confidential Helgeland for example written and directed one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies Payback and a personal favorite A Knight's Tale, though helped launch of career of the late Chadwick Boseman in the biopic of Jackie Robinson, 42. Hanson has some notable works some of which I've never seen but I was surprise that one of them was 8 Mile, for which I was like mildly surprised because it's Eminem trying to act, but in fairness it’s going to be a while when I start to watch the movie. L.A. Confidential is a great movie from start to finish pays a great homage to the crime films of the forties and fifties, with a kiss of some humorous scenes (Fighting around the World with Russell Crowe) helped launch the careers of Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe moreover a forgotten film that needs to be seen by everyone. So, to all of you I would highly recommend watching this great detective story this Christmas season and if anyone nags you about this movie not being a joyful Christmas movie just wish them a Bloody Christmas. So, Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy New Year. 

         

Ten Year Anniversary: Zero Dark Thirty

 

                                 Now we have reached the third installment towards the spy movie genre of 2012, only this time this was based a year before it happened a year ago which when you think about it was that's hands down the shortest and quickest movie adaptions ever. Zero Dark Thirty, is the actual real life talking about the greatest manhunt for public enemy number one Osama Bin-Laden the master mind behind September 11, 2001, when two planes destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. I tell you deep down where I was, the moment it broke out, I basically was working at job at Local TV, early in the morning and the next thing I know is that once I looked up in our monitors that Osama Bin-Laden was found and killed, for which in all honesty was a little bit of a surprised because I never thought in a million years we would ever get him, until 2011 when I was proven wrong. Then when I heard about that they are making a movie about the Manhunt, I was a little on the weary side for many reasons it's all confidential so how the hell are you able to make this movie happen when C.I.A has it all locked up? I guess with a great writer in Mark Boal along with a smart director in Academy Award Winner Kathryn Bigelow, anything can be possible.

                                Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden becomes one of the most-wanted men on the planet. The worldwide manhunt for the terrorist leader occupies the resources and attention of two U.S. presidential administrations. Ultimately, it is the work of a dedicated female operative (Jessica Chastain) that proves instrumental in finally locating bin Laden. In May 2011, Navy Seal's launch a nighttime strike, killing bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

                                I will say having now watched the movie after ten years ago, this is a more interesting and complex film I have ever watched in terms of wanting to know what is real or what is not. Mainly because you as an audience member would not now what would be true because this was all in secret moreover don't have a clue if all of these characters were based on or not, of course yes majority of these characters have to be based on these spies that worked on the manhunt but the problem is you will never know, for obvious reasons the C.I.A won't give out that basic information. So, in all honesty you must just accept that this was all in fact because Mark Boal is a smart writer, who is both a freelance journalist and screenwriter who does know how to keep the facts checked and the fiction a mystery. Though I still can't even stop thinking about it how this film was about to be made despite the fact that the event took place a year ago, moreover the C.I.A has to keep it as secret even with the whole manhunt and the years of finding bin Laden even once they discovered his compound, but when you think about it the White House had to of leaked some information of what and how they tracked him down even amongst bin Laden's followers. As a movie alone this a great written film and directed film that shows all the works of being a spy working for the United States government and the mentality of doing whatever it takes to find the most wanted man. Both Boal and Bigelow won Academy Awards for their outstanding work on the Hurt Locker, so once you know that these two are working on a project like this or once you see their names on the trailer you know hands down that they are not going to fail, especially when telling a story like this. Though watching the film now, I have to say there are some moments in the film where they could at least cut down, like you can have one or two scenes of torturing a guy but not have so many because you are basically turning into a sick and twisted person. The difference between both the Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty is that every bomb scene in Hurt Locker was just on the edge of your seat until the disarm the bomb, Zero Dark Thirty does have its moments of suspense but there are moments where you do not feel on the edge of your seat in certain scenes but then gets interesting in the final act when they get to the Seal team at the compound. I have to say the one scene that brought back a memory that's so obscure and funny was the Area 51 scene where they're briefing the Navy Seal team, and it wasn't about the helicopters it was that years ago I remember that people were ready to storm Area 51, because they were wanting to know or demand that the government was keeping aliens, which is so funny because people do and still do believe it but in all actuality Area 51 is a place that keeps top secret stuff that shouldn't see the light of day like the Helicopters the Seal Team flew on. The filming of the compound storming was probably the most interesting and fantastic sequence film on screen, for which yes you know that bin Laden was killed by the team, but it is really the how they stormed the compound was great and both suspenseful at the same time, I know this sounds convenient, but I know where the guys at Call of Duty get their inspiration from, just saying. No question that this was the one movie that boosted Jessica Chastain into a superstar, no doubt about that though the good thing about it was that it showed her that she was able to play a strong operative that will stop at nothing to find and kill bin Laden. The bad thing a side from the over the top acting which is funny but it also is kind of a curse because she continues to do that throughout her entire career, when it comes to action movies in general or other suspense filled movies, granted she's made some good movies like Molly's Game and I haven't seen the one that got her an Academy Award so I could be wrong but deep down when it comes to action films she's always over the top and wanting to teach everyone a lesson and I don't want to be lectured. Jason Clarke does a great job in this movie as the operative that shows Chastain's character the ropes when it comes to interrogation, and I am not joking because he has the best one liner in the whole movie. Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt both do a good job in this movie playing the Seal Team 6, despite their lack of screen time, and even British actors like Mark Strong and Stannis Baratheon do a good job in the movie too disguised as Americans for which I am so intrigued as to how they can acquire those accents. Hands down this is a great movie from start to finish, though not as good as the Hurt Locker but defiantly worth seeing after ten years since it is release. 

       

                                 

                                

Ten Year Anniversary: Argo

 

                           

                           2012 was not only a great year for movies in general but it was also a good year for the spy movie genre as well. A side from Skyfall another in the second installment to my Spy movie genre is the Best Picture winner of 2012, Argo. Directed and starring Ben Affleck along with a great list of actors as well as Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Academy Award winner Alan Arkin who also was nominated for a best supporting actor nominee back in 2012. I knew that Affleck was turning into a great film director, and he is shown it with both Gone Baby Gone and the Town, which when you think about it was a Ben Affleck trilogy of movie directing with Argo being the final installment via winning the Best Picture award. Re-watching and thinking about it now I never really knew much about the Iran Hostage Crisis ten years ago, and this was again a great movie in terms of a history lesson but also a great film when it comes to suspense and just extreme fear when it comes to hearing this on the news back in 1979 and I can remember watching this great movie with my Mom and remember telling me that she thought we'd be going into a war with Iran, though watching what really happens to six house guest and the name Tony Mendez is truly remarkable interns of heroism, especially now since he died in 2019, so RIP Tony Mendez.

                            On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran taking 66 American's hostages. Amid the chaos, six American's managed to slip away and find refuge with the Canadian Ambassador's House. Knowing it is just a matter of time before the refugees are found and likely executed, the U.S. Government calls on extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to rescue them. Mendez's plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer scouting locations in Iran and train the refugees to act as his film crew. 

                            A lot of people will say that yes Ben Affleck's best movie is Good Will Hunting and sure they can all say that because he was indeed in the movie furthermore co-written the screenplay with Matt Damon but to be fair and honest, he was just the supporting character in that movie. What I am really referring to as his best work is in the starring role and Argo is without a question one of his finest works as well as a director in general, moreover one of his greatest movies in his entire filmography. And I am not going to lie I have not seen this for quite a long time, but everything is still there from the amazing cast and acting to the great writing and directing and the suspense that literally puts you on the edge of your seat. Moreover, I know how that movie even ends but I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat through the course of the movie just having a complete knot in my stomach, and Affleck as a director does such a fantastic job in creating great tension in the film as well as editing it to the point where you do not breathe a sigh of relief through the third act of the movie. The other thing in what Affleck does really well is staying loyal to the story, and really just showing you as an audience member just how dangerous it was to live in Iran back in the early 80's and even in scenes of finding the best way of rescuing the house guest when in all reality there was no good option to have on the table and I loved the scene where the CIA are pitching ideas on how to get them out and I'm just sitting there just thinking how terrible of ideas they were pitching and how can they seriously think Mendez's idea would not work, hell even Affleck says it best that it's only finding the best bad idea. Affleck as an actor does a great job playing Mendez as a man who truly believes his ideas of a fake movie is the best thing and will fight for it tooth and nail to get these six individuals out of enemy lines, but also is a smart guy especially finding the perfect way to fool the enemy especially when it looks almost to ridiculous, but also ingenious as well. Bryan Cranston does a great job playing Affleck's handler as well as his only supporter throughout the Agency, as well as both John Goodman and Alan Arkin who the two of them do a great job playing Hollywood people who know how much of a shame the business is but is also reliable when it comes to making Affleck's character's idea the best hope. And it isn't just Affleck, Cranston, Goodman and Arkin that makes this movie great it's also the actors who play the house guest as well as those guys (those guys meaning the actors you think you know them from but have no clue what their names are) but most importantly the Iranian militants and the militia, well start with the house guest who all together do a great job in terms of acting and character development for which all of them are so scared of being caught but realizing that there's no choice in having to leave Iran for good, all of the Iranian actors in the movie does a great job in creating so much tension through the course of the first act of the movie and the third act, especially Sheila Vand who plays the maid for the Canadian Ambassador who know all too well about the House guest and is given a fateful choice of whether to sell them out or keep their secret close to her even if it means her own life, even the militia who are at the airport does a great job too in being both terrifying when it comes to searching for six Americans disguised as Canadians, now before I close this review I did forget one actor and that's Victor Garber (who played the Naval Architect in Titanic) does a great job in helping the house guest stay safe but worries about getting caught. Of all spy movies I have seen Argo is really the more realistic spy movie I have seen because it takes out a hundred percent of the action sequences and high-tech gadgets you usually find in Spy movies in general and really focuses more on the human story of one man saving the lives of six people in hostile territory. Ten years ago, I still give praise to Argo and now I still give this tremendous praise for Ben Affleck and will rank this up there in one hundred of the greatest movies I have ever seen and will still say to this day that this is one of Affleck's greatest movies ever in terms of directing and performance.

            

                                 

                               

10 Year Anniversary: Skyfall

 

                            Ten years have officially passed since one of the best James Bond films ever made has been release as well as staring one of the best actors to ever portray James Bond, yeah that is right I said it, I said that Daniel Craig portrayal is the best and only great James Bond ever put on screen so all of you classic Bond fans can SUCK IT! Ten years ago, I must admit I never really thought much of Skyfall other than it was a great film and really all of Daniel Craig's Bond films from Casino Royale and No Time to Die are better than the past Bond films, but now re-watching this great movie I've realize there was a ton of great story elements that I completely missed for which I was blown away just revisiting. So, without further ado lets dive right into the resurrection and greatness of Daniel Craig's version of Agent 007.

                           When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents around the world are exposed, and MI6 is attacked, forcing M (Judi Dench) to relocate the agency. With MI6 now compromised inside and out, M turns to the one man she can trust: Bond. Aided only by Eve (Naomie Harris), Bond takes to the shadows and follows a trail to Silva (Javier Bardem), a man from M's past who wants to settle an old score.

                            As a kid growing up with sixties and seventies inspired parents when it came to pop culture I've always been familiar with the character of James Bond in fact my Dad loved watching the Roger Moore films he would always turn them on TNT when there was cable, hell I remember watching Goldfinger for the first time realizing Sean Connery played him and was also the first to portray him on screen, moreover  but in all honesty never really was quite interested in the character mainly because Bond as a character through the years of film was always portrait as this all cool super spy who is indestructible and always gets the girl at the end of every film, which is fine but wasn't all special to be honest for my taste, especially when it happens every movie moreover making some of the corniest one liners ever (I though Christmas comes once a year). It all changed though when Daniel Craig became the new Bond and I've soon discovered the name Ian Fleming (author behind 007), whose stories and creation of the famous 007 brought a success and movie franchise to life, though it was 2006 I found out that Bonds adventures where all based on books, for which lead to Casino Royale and introduction of Daniel Craig, who to me was the greatest 007, mainly because when I first read the first book and the movie it was based on I found a more different tone to Craig's performance who played bond as more of a grittier Bond whose not a perfect Agent who makes mistakes and is not all perfect as is predecessors and tells all the woman his life he's got no time for love, for which finally leads us to Skyfall. With Craig's third time around you see him more as a broken-down man with what he once has been gone from him and this time we see more of a test of loyalty with him, and his boss M played by Judi Dench. I will admit Judi Dench was the true M for me growing up and though she played the character through Pierce Brosnan's run, but through Brosnan's run as 007 she always treated him as a boss, and in Craig's run she always treated him as a son she never had for which brings an interesting chemistry between these two characters once they go to Bond's home land. The other thing in what makes this film great is that we have a perfect villain out of Javier Bardem whose character is not a typical Bond villain whose out for greed and power but is out for personal revenge on the very agency who betrayed him, though what makes Bardem's performance is that you really sympathize with his character almost like an insane version of Bond and that's where both of them are so great that they both are the same person but the only difference is that Bond would never betray his principles when it comes to loyalty no matter how immensely broken it's become. A side from the great cast the real stars are the two men behind the camera, I'm talking both Sam Mendes the Director of Skyfall and his fellow collaborator and Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who worked with Mendes four times including this movie, I always thought that it was a Director’s job to paint the movie and tell the story all by itself but in all honesty it takes a lot of great collaborations with your camera men as well as your Cinematographer, almost like Christopher Nolan with Wally Pfister and their collaborations with The Dark Knight Trilogy, the Prestige and Inception. Granted this was both Mendes and Deakins first ever Bond film, but in all honesty that really didn't stop them from creating one of the best Bond films out there, because the way those two were able to create great shots and actions sequences where a stuff of legend from the great long camera still of Javier Bardem's opening monologues to the great final action sequence that felt like a dramatic painting coming to life. Now to all of those out there that are hardcore Bond fans, I will happily challenge any of you and prove to you that Daniel Craig's Bond films from Casino Royale to No Time to Die are better than any of the past Bond films and why Daniel Craig is better than its predecessors, now for concluding with Skyfall to me it's a tie with both Casino Royale and Skyfall as the best of Daniel Craig's run as 007, and the rest can share the second, third and fourth. Now, if you are ever wanting to be adventurous or not a Bond fan, I would highly recommend watching Daniel Craig's run as Agent 007 and just avoid watching the past predecessors, because now after watching Craig's final ride I have to say that I can't watch any of the future films or follow their successors.

        

                                       

The Menu

 

                                One of the rare few times I ever get to see a movie where I know this was going to be an amazing ride, I mean sure Top Gun: Maverick was a fun ride too, but in all honesty, I did not expect it to be good as it was. But the Menu had me intrigued from the first time I saw the trailer and I began to play a game with myself in predicting of what this film would be and, in all honesty, I never thought nor never predicted what the film would truly be, and I believe it to be the best movie of 2022. Now before I go any further I'd like to take a moment to express one little flaw about AMC theaters, sure the concessions are great in all, but holy crap if you're nearby movie theater is a an AMC theater, please take your time in not arriving when the movie starts because in all honesty they don't start when they're supposed to first you have this bizarre promotions of God knows what, then you have trailers that I have no interest in watching and I honestly don't know if your wanting to watch previews to movies in which I have no interest in watching, hell I even thought I was watching ten trailer all together moreover had to look at my Fitbit because I was so bored and wondering how much of my life was gone from sitting through previews I have no interest in seeing. So, what I am trying to say to you all is basically this do not rush to the movie theater right away if you want to see movie previews there is no crime in arriving on time.

                                A movie that depicts the foreseeable future in which Gordon Ramsey will go completely insane and build a restaurant on an island. Then proceeds to kill all his customers and eats them. Or does he?

                                 Okay, all jokes a side I have to say that this was one of the most unique and ingenious films I have ever seen. The thing I have always said when it comes to suspense or horror combined is that they must be things that scare us the most like and Alien infecting the space station or a dead child molester who comes into teenager's dreams or a par of psycho's stalking people and forcing them to play movie trivia. And what you have with this movie is a High End or Iron Chef whose all about perfection when it comes to his food or treats it like its religion but also tells a story through the course of the movie which are components about his life but then you get to see a more bizarre turn and then turns more darker but with a touch of comedy that goes along with it. Another great example is the 2019 hidden gem Ready or Not, where you find out your new in laws are a satanic cult and are rich moreover are hunting you in order to perform a sacrifice, for which also has some great comedic value to it. A fun fact I found about the movie is that one of the writers of the films Will Tracey dined at Cornelius Sjomatrestaurant during a honeymoon and later suggest a story to Seth Reiss inspired by the experience, so fellow upcoming writers who are wanting to write movies, pay attention to your life experiences because you never know what ideas may come up. I have to say, the fact that both Adam McKay and Will Ferrell produced the movie together is cool, I mean despite their lack of making good choices in their movies is cool that they find a film that can be potential is cool. Mark Mylod who has made a movie for Sacha Baron Cohen but made his mark in television does a fantastic job creating both a mystery aspect to the movie but also slowly does well with both horror and comedy fantastically almost like a dark Alfred Hitchcock movie. I am going to leave Ralph Fiennes for last because there is a lot of things, I have to give him praise for. I'm firstly going to start off with Nicholas Hoult who does a fantastic job playing the over the top tourist whose a really piece of s**t when you get to know him through the course of the film and then you slowly realize how big of a douche bag he really his when you find what his true purpose, I got to say that Hoult aka Beast does great work playing a turd that's only there as a foodie or tourist and doesn't care about anyone. I've always been a fan of Anya Taylor-Joy and I believe she is becoming a modern day horror heroine with movies like Split (which was Okay-ish), Last Night in Soho which is my favorite movie of hers and now this movie which she once again does a great job playing the heroine of the whole movie, I always through her movies viewed her as this mysterious and sexy woman almost reminiscing to like Marylin Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock or Jennifer Connelly in Dark City, and with this movie I like the fact that she does play this mysterious woman whom we don't know at first just that she maybe Hoult's girlfriend but when we get done through the first act we begin to understand who she is and what she does in order to survive. Ralph Fiennes is hands down the best part of the whole movie him and Anya Taylor-Joy too as well as Nicholas Hoult, but Ralph Fiennes does a fantastic job playing this madman chef whose lost his feel of food and proceeds to take revenge on the world and cares more about food then human beings, which is why I basically viewed this as a real life Gordan Ramsey going psycho. I would love to go on and on about how great this movie was and how surprised I was about how this movie went down, but I do not want to spoil this movie for everyone because I want them all to see this great movie of 2022, the fact that it is a different kind of horror gave me the reason to go see the movie all together. I doubt that the movie is still in theaters or not so if it is at your local movie theater, I would highly recommend finding a babysitter and go see this great film from start to finish.

             

                                        

Ten Year Anniversary: Snow White and the Huntsman

 

                               Thank God we're near the end of the 2022 year because I'll admit when I say that yes 2012 was a better year for movies and not all just superhero films but then once I've re-watched some of these films, I had this utter feeling that this wasn't going to be as good as I remembered. Now granted Snow White and the Huntsman is one of my personal guilty pleasures, but in all honest what really saves the movie itself was merely the supporting cast of Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron and for her over the top acting and Hemsworth character arc in the story, which I find interesting. I think the way that this movie came into development was that shows like Once Upon a Time became popular on ABC aka Absolute Bull Crap, and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland was a massive hit that they decided to turn this into a Ridley Scott style epic but with a fairy tale twist, but deep down what makes this movie fantastic is Charlize Theron's over the top acting for which is the reason why she's awesome when it comes to dumb action movies let’s be honest.

                              Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron), who seized control of her kingdom by marrying its rightful ruler, needs the life force of young maidens to maintain her beauty. However, to become truly immortal, Ravenna must consume the heart of her stepdaughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart). Snow escapes, and Ravenna dispatches a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to capture her. But Snow, the huntsman and a rebel army join forces to destroy Ravenna and restore balance of life and death.

                              Now keep this in mind I'm not recommending this film because now having not seen it for quite a long time I don't know whether to recommend this movie for giggles or just avoid this all together. The fact that this movie was developed with the success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is just beyond my understanding of why, but in all fairness, I don't think I would ever get the enjoyment out of watching Charlize Theron over acting in every scene. Speaking of Charlize Theron, this was her second film that came out in the year 2012 along with Prometheus and in all honesty I don't know which was her best performance between both films, though I would have to go with this movie for many reasons in Prometheus she was playing a typical cooperate b***h with no emotions which explains so much about her, but with this movie it's obviously fantasy but she's doing in over the top acting that's just so funny to watch especially when she's trying to play this scary villain but the way she was just trying to be scary is just hilarious to me, moreover I'm just curious if she ever went to the movie premiere because she's afraid to see how bad her performance was, though I kind of doubt it because she also returned for the sequel. The main reason in why this film is so special is that this was the very movie that ended the Twilight couple of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson because Ms. Stewart was having in affair with the director of the film for which sort of ended her career and pretty much destroyed his because he obviously was thinking with his private parts and they were defiantly dirty because I did some calculations and director Rupert Sanders was forty-one years old when he plowed Kristen Stewart who was twenty-two years old during that time of filming, but I'm sorry but any language in any southern part of the United States or any country that's just wrong, hell even I feel dirty just calculating on how old those two were. I honestly am not going to say much about Kristen Stewart mainly because she honesty wasn't all that great in this movie so we're all just going to leave it at that despite one compliment is saying that she does overdo it when it comes to rallying the troops, although it's kind of interesting that they make Snow White to be this Joan of Arc type of a character. Anyway, back to real talk the other thing I find fascinating fact about the casting for Chris Hemsworth's part was that there were five actors ahead of him that were considered for the role actors like Tom Hardy, and Michael Fassbender I can see but deep down I don't believe Hardy would consider this movie, but the three I couldn't believe were offered were Viggo Mortenson, Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman. Mortenson, I believe wouldn't take the role, but Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman I would never in a million years watch because this was after Pirates 4 and in all honesty, what is he going to do? Be goofy and just a complete ass, in order to get a joke out of the audience? And even if Hugh was cast, I would look at it as the worst because there was only one movie out of his career other than the Wolverine films that was good and that was the Prestige. So deep down I think Thor was the better choice. A lot of the action sequences and some of the Evil Queen’s kingdom almost felt like it was shot as a Ridley Scott film with some of the Medieval looking landscapes and feel that we just stepped into the rough part of England or France, like I can tell a huge difference between this movie and the sequel and that's the movie feels like it was directed by Ridley Scott and the sequel feels like a fairytale/adventure movie. With this movie you can see all of the flaws and say to yourself what I can do better if you change this or recreate one character's backstory, like all of these things are in this movie and that's why I consider this a guilty pleasure because I can look at this movie and see what I can do better or make it better, unfortunately this movie has already been made so there really no point in losing your mind over it. I'd honesty say don't buy this movie or rent it if it's free and Netflix or HBO Max I would then recommend but deep down I wouldn't waste your time in renting this movie. 

               

                                      

November Recommendation: Crank

 

                                          There are numerous times I don't know in terms of movie wise I would be thankful for seeing in the month of November, or I'm not really in the perfect place to express my gratitude towards movies that nobody remembers. And for the last two years I was never quite sure on what would be the perfect genre to be thankful for in the month of November, that is until I started watching some great full throttle action movies that our in the range of ninety-minutes to two hours. But I never thought the day would come when I would watch one of the English great's Jason Statham's amazing film Crank. Now granted I've been familiar with the movie, but I was one of those guys that judges a movie and questions why the hell would you kill Statham he's un-killable, and that was until I had a different point of view about the movie.

                                          Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), a hit man wanting to go straight, lets the largest target slip away, then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.

                                           I think the first scene of this entire movie where I was sold right on the spot was when Statham drove his car into a shopping mall without a care in the world even though he's talking to his doctor, and to be honest I was on my exercise bike because I thought that this was just some typical ninety-minute action movie but once he drove through a shopping mall I was like "oh shit, I need to stop what I'm doing" because in fairness I've never seen anything like this before mainly because I refused to watch this movie, so deep down what I'm trying to explain is that I've failed miserably at life which is the honest truth. Now as I've said many times before the things that make any type of bad movie genre funny is that there unintentionally funny, well this movie take the unintentionally funny, up to like maybe twenty to fifty notches and the fact that we have ridicule's scenes like Statham driving his car into the mall but also scenes where he's snorting cocaine in the shittiest bathroom at a biker bar on the ground, THEN proceeds to say "I'm going to kick some black ass" (for which I was shocked and thought DUDE, if this was made now it would of been canceled, despite Statham being British and his ancestors invented racism) in order to keep his adrenaline going, then in a later scenes robs a convenient store of its energy drinks and pills but most importantly shoves his taxi driver out of his cab and yells Al-Qaeda and two maybe three elderly women assault the guy MAYBE breaking his legs and it's like this was amazing. There is a lot of cringe scenes happening to the movie too like using a whole bottle of adrenaline, but that's all I'm going to say. Point being that this was one of the craziest movies I've ever seen to the point where I don't believe the writers and filmmakers, we're even going anything serious I truly believe they were so inspired by the Jackass franchise that they decided to make a movie out of this only to think of what crazy shit to do. Personally, I doubt this movie hasn't seen any cable networks as of now due to the world being stupid, but I would most certainly recommend watching this film if you have a sense of humor like me, furthermore this is hands down the best Jason Statham movie ever.