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Black Panther Review

Wow…just wow guys! I know I’m late in putting this up, but I hope you forgive me for that. Let’s get into it.

Black Panther is phenomenal. Just putting it out there. If you weren’t aware of this film, you’ve probably been under a rock since 2015 when this character was first introduced in Captain America: Civil War. But this film takes place not long after the events of Civil War with T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman heading home to his home of Wakanda where he must go through the trial of becoming king.

As a Marvel film, this is one of their best, by far, most likely in my top 5. As a film in general, it’s electric, it’s awe-inspiring, it’s moving, touching, heartfelt, funny, dramatic, and on top of that, probably has one of the most complex villains they’ve had in Michael B. Jordan’s Eric Killmonger.

I try not to write about spoilers in my reviews, just to spare anyone reading. But I want to talk about a certain part of the film, and it’s not a big deal because it happens within the first 10 minutes or so. The sequence when T’Challa is flying home to Wakanda, and you get this beautiful cinematography with some wonderful music accompanying. In here, you see what the rest of Earth sees Wakanda as, a third world country with farmers and shepherds, and then they pass through the barriers. The music explodes and the colors are mesmerizing. I’ve noticed with my viewing of films, if something truly hits me, I start to get emotional and well up. Not because the scene is particularly sad or intense, but because every single aspect of the film is hitting on all cylinders. This scene, for one reason or another did that for me, as did the No Man’s Land sequence in Wonder Woman. It’s just how I get when you see the goal being hit and you’re so excited by it, you can’t contain yourself.

I don’t have a good segue for this, but there isn’t a bad performance in this film. To Chadwick’s incredible zeal and composure he brought to T’Challa, to one of the smaller roles of M’Baku, played by Winston Duke, made an impact that made that character memorable. And the women in this movie are beyond awesome. They’re strong, intelligent, humorous, kind, and don’t take shit. My personal favorite in this film was Okoye, played by Danai Gurira. Her stoic intensity was enough to burn holes in your eyes, but had a full complexity that she wasn’t above telling a joke or two, or taking a jab at T’Challa. I’m glad to see that she’ll be in Infinity War, I obviously don’t know to what capacity, but I hope she gets a good scene or two in what will be the madness of that film.

Of course this film is going to mean so much more to people of color. I love that other people get to see themselves on screen as the strong heroes that young people need to look up to. For me, as a straight white guy, I’m ready to see stories about other people. Let’s see more films in general, not just superhero, about black people, asian people, LatinX people, gay, bi, trans. There is a lot of divisiveness in the world right now, and in my opinion seeing others different from us with different perspectives in stories is how we start accepting and learning how to live in this world together with compromise. I’m super happy with what this film has accomplished, from the actors, to the crew, and for the rest of the world to finally know Ryan Coogler’s name and to know what a genius he is.

If you can’t tell, I loved this film. I have a feeling it will make my best of the year list, at the time of writing this, the film is just under 750 million dollars, and it’s not even finished it’s third week. Please go see this film, show support to more diverse stories with diverse cast and crews.

#black panther #marvel #chadwick boseman #film #review #movie #movies #michael b jordan #wakanda

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At Home Mini Review Round-Up

Hey again, like my last post, I’m writing this just to catch up on the films I rewatched that is a part of my personal Blu-Ray collection, or something I may have found streaming. Let’s get into, there’s a lot.

#1: Star Wars: Episode 4: A New Hope

Before The Last Jedi came out, I decided to re-watch the original trilogy along with the Force Awakens. I got a little tied up with the holidays, which is why there weren’t any reviews then.

A New Hope has always been my personal favorite film of this franchise. I know a lot may disagree, going with the very popular vote that Empire is a better film. While I can agree that Empire is technically a better made film, New Hope will always be my gold star. I love the classic hero’s journey, the look and feel that this film had the job of producing was extremely well done. And honestly, if there had never been another Star Wars film, this would stand well on its own.

#2: Star Wars: Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back

Like I said, I do agree that this is a better made film, quality wise. With expanding this galaxy, there was probably an even more immense task of comparing to the quality of the first.

I’ve always loved Yoda as a character, but not because he’s this wise master who could do great things, but because sort of a little asshole to Luke when they first meet. I love the very weird performance that Frank Oz gives to this character.

I know many people on the internet claim that Empire is the darkest of the films, I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that. Yes, it has its moments, but I think people honestly forget how funny this is due to the writing and great performances by Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. What I love about the humor is that it isn’t humor for the sake of humor, it’s all generated naturally and comes form the character.

#3: Star Wars: Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi

I like Return of the Jedi well enough but as a film, it lacks a bit in pace. I like the stuff in Jabba’s Palace, it gives off the vibes of the old school serials that Lucas was inspired by. I don’t even mind the Ewoks, it’s more to do with between Jabba’s Palace and the Battle of Endor, the film slogs a little. I personally think they could’ve cut the entire scene of C-3PO reenacting the previous two films to the Ewoks. I don’t think that would have changed anything other than ramping up to the next battle.

But when it does kick into the action, its good. I think the Throne Room scene on the second Death Star is well acted and executed. Ian McDiarmid’s performance is just the right levels of terrifying and mustache twirling. But I love the shot when Luke rages out on Vader where it goes profile, and all you see are their silhouettes with their lightsabers, and the music adds so much to the tension, making you believe that Luke may actually kill Vader.

Despite that great scene, this is probably my least favorite of the original trilogy. But it’s still a fun one to go back to.

#4: Star Wars: Episode 7: The Force Awakens

Personally, I loved Force Awakens the minute I left the theater. I think it brought some new life into Star Wars while harking back to some of the old elements we love about these stories. Do I think it was a re-hash of New Hope? Hell no. I think there was some purposeful mirroring to the original trilogy. This film had a hard job to do bringing fans back after the lackluster criticism of the prequels. It had to give some of what you wanted and some new that you didn’t know you wanted.

I love all of the new characters they introduced, Kylo Ren in particular. I’ve heard a lot of criticism towards this character and the performance given by Adam Driver that I think is a tad unjustified. “He’s not as cool as Vader or Maul, he’s not as scary or calculating as Palpatine, he’s just a whiny little emo kid.” I just think that Kylo Ren is a very different kind f villain that Star Wars and its fan base has never been introduced to. I love Vader and Palpatine, even Maul give the extension his character was given in the Clone Wars animated series, but they are fairly one note. Which I honestly think is fine given for the films that they were in at the time those films were made. Other than them being evil, there wasn’t much more to them, aside from Vader. Kylo is a complex villain, and at the point we see him in Force Awakens he is nowhere close to being at the level of evil as the previously mentioned. But I think that is purposeful. When we see him talking to Vader’s helmet, we understand that he still feels the light side of the force in him when he wants to be on the dark side. I may have already said this in my Last Jedi review, but the story of Kylo Ren is his ascension into the legendary evil status of the previous Sith lords. This isn’t just a mustache twirling bad guy, this is someone you can empathize with on a certain level and understand. I think what he does in the end of this film is comparative to Anakin murdering the children in Revenge of the Sith, and the events of the Last Jedi are his Battle on Mustafar, that was his last step to becoming the villain he wants to be, which is something very novel to see in films like this. I think by the time we get to Episode 9, he’ll be at that level of evil.

But there I go again on a tangent. I think the Force Awakens is a wonderful addition to the legacy that George Lucas created.

#5: Bright

This was one of those films I checked out because the marketing for it was everywhere. I’ve worked a fair amount of movie theaters in my life, and one lesson I took from the last one was something one of my managers said. “The more promotional material you see for a movie, the more likely it is to be shit.” I took that to heart, and in my 3 years of working at that theater, I agree with that statement. Bright is no exception.

Directed by David Ayer and written by Max Landis, Bright is a film that was produced specifically to air on Netflix. From what I’ve read and heard from various podcasts and articles, they threw a lot of money at this, I don’t what that number was, but to be able to afford Will Smith, you’ve got to throw some serious money.

I’ll say that David Ayer is a kind of a director that’s work either works well, or doesn’t at all for me. I really enjoyed Fury, his World War 2 film that took a very Vietnam War approach. But on the other hand, you have Suicide Squad, which I think is giant dumpster fire that’s trying really hard to be Guardians of the Galaxy.

And Max Landis is another one of those creatives that I have a hard time placing. I think his film Chronicle, was a very interesting take on the superhero genre. But from what I’ve seen lately, he’s been hard to find a hit since. Also, I’ve found his online persona, either on Twitter or YouTube to exasperatingly grading, like giving a four year old Mountain Dew spiked with Red Bull. So where does Bright fall, why don’t you ask it’s neighbor in the dumpster.

If you’re unaware of the story, Bright is a cop film that happens to have Orcs and Elves that are a heavy handed metaphor for racism and race relations in America. This film slogs with it's pacing, making its 2 hour runtime feel like 4. The characters are so thinly veiled you could literally define their character trait as good, bad, asshole, or any combo. The writing in this film is so atrocious I couldn’t believe this was written by a grown adult. It handles cursing like a 13 year old who just discovered curse words, so that’s all they say now.

There’s not much else I can say about it, but I’d recommend a YouTube video by a woman named Lindsay Ellis who goes deep into why this film is bad and lazily hatched. Also check out any of her other video essays, they’re super entertaining and educational.

#6: iBoy

Another Netflix original that is middling to say the least. The story is of a teenage boy living in a poor area of London, when he and friend who lives nearby are attacked. Afterwards, somehow the kid attains the ability to manipulate electronics with his mind. From there, he decides to go be a vigilante, trying to punish those who hurt his friend, played by Maisie Williams. Like Bright, iBoy suffers a bit from pacing issues, but the biggest problem is not understand where the more interesting story lay.

Intermittently throughout the film we keep checking in on Maisie Williams seeing how she’s coping with the attack, not coming outside for days or weeks, avoiding school, and just overall terrified. Towards the end she gets a big moment where Williams pulls a great performance of showing someone suffering from a traumatic event. It hit me then that this film should’ve been way more focused on the friend, but then we wouldn’t have all of the tropy vigilante crap that comes from lower end films like this.

#7: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

This is a very weird romp of a Disney cartoon. I remember as a child watching the Sleepy Hollow section, but never seeing the Mr. Toad part. I’d found this on Hulu one day, and figured I’d give it a go.

All things that I’ll say negative or positive, the animation is extremely well done considering it came out during the 40s.

The Mr. Toad section of the film is a bit annoying in my opinion. The story is essentially about a guy who’s an asshole who doesn’t care about anyone’s well being or feelings, or his friends for that matter, until he gets scammed out of the deed for his home. Somehow he convinces his friends to help steal the deed back with some wacky action and all is fine and good. This was 30 minutes and felt 20 minutes too long.

I was more hopeful about the Sleepy Hollow story here, having somewhat fond memories of it as a kid. But man, I definitely don’t remember how much nothing happens here.

Like Mr. Toad, Ichabod Crane, the central character here, is an asshole. This weird, goofy looking dude is somehow the new town hunk that exploits the townspeople into making him extravagant meals. And when he finds a girl he “likes” and wants to marry, it’s because her father is the richest guy in town and wants the inheritance. As a kid, I don’t remember 80% of this short. I thought the Headless Horseman chase was a lot longer, but it ends up being about the last 5-10 minutes of it. Now that section is what sells it, with the creepy backgrounds, the sound effects, the music, and that blood curdling laugh of the Horseman when he shows up. In my opinion, if you have any interest in revisiting it, skip to the last ten minutes and you’ll get what you came for.

#8: Sicario

Sicario was one of those films I meant to watch when it came out, but never did. But I came across it on Hulu and thought why not.

The tension that comes from this film is palpable. The action is realistic, nerve wracking, and doesn’t shy away from looking at the harshness of the situation.

This film is proof in my opinion that director Denis Villeneuve is a master filmmaker in the beginning of his career.

I know there is a sequel coming out later this year, but without Emily Blunt’s character, but since she was the audience personified, trying to figure out what the plan was and who these people were that she was working with, I’m not sure how it will work. I do think this is a film to check out.

#9: Me Before You

I won’t lie, I can enjoy a romantic film when done well. Me Before You is about a young woman who falls in love with a paraplegic man who she cares for.

The reason this film works is the chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin as the couple the film centers on. The relationship isn’t the immediate head over heels story, the love comes through time and work. The film is a little clunky in it's editing, with some oddly placed montages coming out of nowhere. But by the end of  it, I was balling, because I’m not afraid of crying at movies when they hit me in the feels.

#10: Philadelphia

A court trial film during the AIDS crisis, about AIDS, about homophobia, and about life. Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington deliver powerful performances directed by the same guy who made Silence of the Lambs. A genuine court movie that doesn’t treat it’s audience like they’re children that moved me to tears. One of the more interesting roles that I’ve seen Hanks in. Definitely check this out.

#11: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

An action film that I found incredibly dull and uninteresting. I personally think they should change the title of these films to Tom Cruise Wants to Die on Camera, because I honestly think Cruise tries to tempt fate each time. And it feels like he’s trying so hard to do these stunts just for the headlines.

As far as a film goes, it seemed like a rinse, wash, repeat cycle. A team of people talk about how a mission is impossible, then they do the impossible in succeeding and then they do it again. I was so bored by the 90 minute mark I didn’t even finish it. Skip this one in my opinion.

#12: Captain America: The First Avenger

And in honor of the impending war of infinity, I decided I wanted to go back and watch the historic effort done by Marvel Studios. I’ll say the only one I don’t own is The Incredible Hulk, so that review won’t be happening. Also, saw it on TV once, very meh for me. Side note, the order I’m watching these films back is in a supposed chronological order according to a couple of different sites. So here we go with the first.

Personally, I don’t think the first Captain America film gets the credit it deserves. I enjoyed it immediately out of seeing it in theaters, but what I come to understand is many see it as a middling film.

I think what this film achieves is much more than what it fails at. Chris Evans takes a character that would essentially be the “eat your vegetables” spokesman and all of its corniness, and turns Steve Rogers into a man that you can aspire to be. Even pre-Super Soldier Serum, his efforts to try and join the army and not back down from a fight are what make him a great character.

I also think this film is great for finding a gem like Hayley Atwell for playing Agent Peggy Carter. This character could’ve easily been put to the sidelines as the love interest, but the writers thought progressively and made her a woman of action. The humor, sternness, and kindness she plays Peggy is what made her so electric, hence them giving her a show to give us what happens post First Avenger, which got cancelled too early in my opinion.

What director Joe Johnston achieves at is making a story that could’ve easily been a yawn full of laughs at how dated this could’ve been, and made it a great character piece about a guy who doesn’t like bullies and will stand up to them if needed.

#13: Iron Man

Obviously, we have to give the commendations to Jon Favreau for bringing this film, otherwise the MCU wouldn’t be what it is today.

What can I say that many haven’t already said? Not much, I’m not that clever or have a thesaurus sized knowledge of words at my disposal.

But I think what this film encapsulates so well what is the backbone of most of the Marvel heroes. A person who’s seeing the injustices in the world, or universe, and can’t stand by the side while others do nothing. That’s what makes these characters rich, that most of the time they are just normal people who decide to do what they think is right.

But this film does in the end still hold up, with Robert Downey Jr. giving a great performance. Especially when you see him making that transition to hero.

#14: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is a very so so film. It’s not awful, it’s just not very good. Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke are very disappointing villains, Gwenyth Paltrow becomes more annoying to me, but that’s sort of how I feel about her in general, and there are a lot of subplots that don’t add up to much.

The film does a good job in introducing Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Don Cheadle as the new Col. James Rhodes.

Out of all of the efforts, this probably my least favorite film of the MCU.

#15: My Week with Marilyn

I decided to re-watch this film for Valentine’s Day. This film made me fall in love with Michelle Williams and persuaded me she needs to be in everything. She is utterly magnetic in every scene. Her and Eddie Redmayne have a wonderful chemistry that is completely believable. If you haven’t seen this film, I’d highly recommend it, if you’re like me, you may leave it with some tears.

#popcornblotter #my week with marilyn #marvel #iron man #iron man 2 #captain america #the first avenger #star wars #a new hope #empire strikes back #return of the jedi #the force awakens #sicario #me before you #the adventures of ichabod and mr. toad #disney #bright #movie #film #review #iboy movie

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January Mini Review Round-Up

Hello all. I wanted to write this quick blurb about why I hadn’t posted any reviews in a bit. I took a little time to regroup and try to focus my efforts. I’m sorry that I haven’t been as diligent about writing, but I wanted to give you some small reviews on what I’d seen in the past month. This post will cover specifically theatrical releases, while I’ll make another covering ones I’ve watched at home. Thanks for being patient, now let’s jump into it.

While I’m not a huge fan of films that are about journalism, I decided that I’d give The Post a try given that I love a good portion of Steven Spielberg’s work.

For those who are unaware, The Post covers the team of journalists and heads of The Washington Post newspaper during the 1970s, when a series of studies from the Pentagon are leaked covering the failure and cover-up of the Vietnam War. The main conflict of the film is whether the head of the paper, played by Meryl Streep will decide to publish the information that is in these documents. While other papers are being targeted by The White House and The Supreme Court, the conflict lies in Streep’s character to risk everything she has so that the American people would know the truth.

Almost everything in this film is a tad lackluster, in my opinion. Just by the nature of the story, there aren’t a lot of big, exciting moments, outside of one towards the end. While this film takes place in the 70s, it is almost ironically very timely given how the current government views and treats the press. In that, there are many parallels you can draw to today’s climate, which is why I assume Spielberg wanted to make this film now. The way Spielberg communicates the thematic elements here are a tad heavy handed, but being hind sighted, I think that’s how Spielberg’s always been about his films. It may have just worked better in the era of the 70s-90s where that was more common. While I definitely agree with the message that he tries to put across, I do believe it could have been handled with a little more deftness.

Overall, this film is in the middle of the road for me, not terrible, but in no ways great either. If you want to compare it to other films like it, involving journalism, its better than Spotlight, but by far Zodiac is a superior film. Streep gives a passable performance, but I don’t necessarily agree with the Academy of giving her a nomination for this role. We get to see Tom Hanks in a bit of a different role than we’re used to, being a gruff boss who doesn’t take no for an answer, along with supporting roles by actors you typically see in comedies like David Cross, Zach Woods, and Alison Brie. As a narrative film, I don’t find this fully satisfying, but as history lesson, it’s very eye opening into what the world was at the time.

Lady Bird is a coming of age film where it doesn’t necessarily act like a film of this genre, or any, from my perspective. The film centers on a girl who calls herself Lady Bird, wanting to move to the East coast for college to get away from her mundane life in Sacramento California, and from there that’s about where the plot kind of throws itself out of the window, but not in a bad sense.

It doesn’t really have a plot structure to it, its more of a slice of life of this girl growing up and dealing with her difficult mother. In a way, it’s very different from other films of this genre, in where they act like normal films, just with young characters. And here, it’s something I’m still trying to understand coming from it about a month after seeing it. It’s a tad tricky to put your finger on it.

But if anything good comes out of this movie, it probably gets the mother to teenage daughter relationship quite accurately. One moment, everything’s fine, the next, its like balancing on a knife’s edge, always on the precipice of an argument. With that, I think the writer and director, Greta Gerwig  portrays very truthfully.

Do I think Lady Bird is a great film? From my perspective, no,but it is good. The acting is very well done, with some legitimate laugh out loud moments. Though the pacing could have been tightened up for me, shaving off a few minutes from the end.

Out of all of the award contender films, this was the one I was most excited about. Ever since I saw the first trailer for this film, I was utterly hooked. From the style to the music, to its wonderful jovial attitude, it stuck with me. And then I waited forever because I’ve mentioned before, I live in a part of US that doesn’t get the lower budget award contender films initially, so I was chomping at the bit to see this film when it finally released.

In doing so, I may have hyped myself up too much. While I liked the film, it wasn’t the extraordinary film that critics were claiming, and that was receiving all of these awards for me. But I also had to look back at how I’ve felt about Guillermo Del Toro’s previous work. Each one of his films I’ve seen, I’ve liked, but didn’t love. There’s usually something in particular that will make it not be a wonder in my eyes, and The Shape of Water isn’t necessarily the exception. There is a moment where it takes a left turn out of nowhere that feels strange.

But aside from that, I thought the film was very well executed. Sally Hawkins brings a tremendous performance as Eliza, the mute janitor who falls in love with the fish man. Richard Jenkins does great work as Eliza’s neighbor and cohort. I also think commendations need to be placed to Doug Jones as well, who played Amphibian Man as he is credited, to bring an empathetic, wholesome performance using just your body and a few animalistic sounds.

As far as Del Toro’s work, I think this is just right under Pan’s Labyrinth. But the set design is wonderful. Alexandre Desplat creates a classically melodic score that of which you’d expect to hear on a Parisian sidewalk, and in the end this film is a fairy tale. A very unorthodox, strange fairy tale, but you never doubt the feeling Hawkins’ character has for the Amphibian Man. So that probably makes it a success.

Thanks again for being patient with me, and as I stated up top, I’ll be posting another one of these for films I’ve watched at home. At the time of writing this, I have seen the glory that is Black Panther, so I’ll be working diligently to get my thoughts out about that film as soon as possible. Stay tuned!

#popcornblotter #movie #review #reviews #round up #the post #lady bird #the shape of water

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My Top 10 Favorite Films of 2017

Good news everyone! No need for intros here, let’s end the year on a high note shall we! Here, we, go!

#10

Writer/Director Sofia Coppola further proves her mastery of filmmaking with The Beguiled. A drama set in Virginia during the Civil War when a wounded Union soldier makes his way to an all girls school in the summer, the Headmistress and students wonder what to do with him, and subsequently find out how he affects their lives.

The biggest standout for me was the lighting and cinematography. Each shot is perfectly well framed as well as only using light sources that would be available in that setting. Candles, lanterns, and the sun brought this ambiance of uneasiness. The location of schoolhouse and it’s surroundings was marvelous as well, transporting you to an almost ethereal bayou of sorts.

Colin Farrell continues to impress as he furthers his career. Bringing an edge of quiet fear, seduction, and anger all within a 95 minute runtime.

#9

I know this film was very divisive for comic book fans, and I can understand some of their qualms, but Justice League was just a heck of a lot of fun.

I loved the coming together of the team, as well exploring a bit into the newer character’s stories. Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa were the standout actors here.

I loved the humor, the interactions between the characters, and man did I love the scene when The Flash knew he was in trouble.

Despite it’s problems, the sometimes not great CGI, I still had fun, and would easily revisit this film again as it made me hopeful for what is to come from DC Films.

#8

The first time I saw this movie, I wasn’t super crazy on it. Did I think it was funny? Yes, but something didn’t quite hit the first time. So after a second viewing, I grew to love this film. While the first Guardians is a little more straight forward, plot wise, stop the bad guys from doing this, and save the day. Guardians 2 is a little less structured, there isn’t a necessary Point A-Point B plot because most of this film is exploring familial relationships. Whether its Peter and his dad, Gamora and Nebula, or Yondu and Rocket. It brings forward the idea that your family doesn’t always have to be blood. And by the time this movie ends, I was a mess.

#7

Blade Runner 2049 was a surprise for me this year. Mainly because I’ve never seen the original. I was curious, it looked cool, I’ve enjoyed director Denis Villeneuve’s work in the past, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

The way this film is shot is extraordinary. You could take any  shot out of this film and have it be a painting on your wall. The sound was so booming and explosive it transported you to this neo-noir Los Angeles. The acting is superb as well, especially the chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas. You felt from the first scene they have that this is a couple who’ve known each other for a while.

My only nitpick with this film is a pro and a con, which is it’s pacing. This film moves much slower than a normal film does these days. It has a very slow pace, which I enjoyed for most of it, because it allowed you to soak in this world with so much to see and hear. But towards the end, when things start coming together, you expect for things to speed up, which they don’t. In that, its very realistic to a world that is far removed from ours. I’d just hoped it would’ve wrapped up a little faster.

Despite that nitpick, I loved this film, its great, and it is genuinely a great mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

#6

This past July, the web slinging, wall crawler returned to the MCU in a big way.

The biggest achievement of this movie is the cast that is multi-racial, extremely talented, and can make you laugh at a moments notice. Director Jon Watts was able to represent the population of New York with the characters they have, even changing the origins of some to fit the story.

Tom Holland is obviously the standout, being able to be funny, awkward, and charming all in one go. I just loved that we actually got a high school looking Spider-Man. Yes, I know Tom Holland is in his 20’s, but it’s all about what age you can play, not what age you are. Versus Maguire and Garfield, looking like they were both about start investing in 401k’s.

Michael Keaton as The Vulture does a great job, probably being the second best villain, behind Loki. He was able to make you understand where he was coming from and why he was doing what he was doing.

This is a big thumbs up for me that’ll have you laughing all the way through.

#5

All I can say is cool, cool, cool. I’ve been a fan of writer/director Edgar Wright for a bit, and his films always have this top, fun layer that you can appreciate, but then there’s this emotional layer underneath that just hits it home, and Baby Driver is no exception.

Ansel Elgort plays Baby, a get away driver with tinnitus, so to drown out the ringing in his ears, he constantly plays music on old iPods. What comes out of this film is a rollicking good time with all of the great witty dialogue Wright is known for, along some of the best edited action I’ve seen in a film. Since we watch the film through Baby’s perspective, we’re constantly hearing the music he’s listening to, either loud, or droned out. But when the action kicks up, you can’t help but say wow as gunshots and hits are timed perfectly to soundtrack in Baby’s ears. And I’m just a nerd for that kind of stuff.

Ansel Elgort has charm coming out of his ears in this film, and makes you wonder how he isn’t swarmed by women everywhere he goes. You also have a great supporting cast in Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, Jamie Foxx, and a small role from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

If you’re looking for an action flick with a twist check this one out.

#4

With no surprise to myself, Marvel Studios gets another spot on this list with Thor: Ragnarok. I was immediately hooked into this new tone change from the first trailer. Marvel was finally going to let Chris Hemsworth do what he does best, and that’s be hysterical. I think the person to thank for that is New Zealand director, Taika Waititi, who’s known for wacky, off the cuff humor that works brilliantly.

I was hooked within the first minute when Thor is trapped in a cage, talking to someone about how he got there, and they flip the camera, and it’s a skeleton, which then proceeds to drop his jaw. That is the type of ridiculous humor I love. We then get a taste of the awesome action accompanied by Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. And I was smiling ear to ear like a fool.

While the previous Thor movies have been done with a more serious, Shakespearean tone, this one goes for crazy, balls out, 80’s metal look with almost every frame look like something you’d want painted on the side of a van.

All of the actors were great. Tessa Thompson was great as Valkyrie, I loved the appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and of course you can’t forget Tom Hiddleston as Loki and his chemistry with Hemsworth. Other great additions were Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster and Taika Waititi voicing a rock alien named Korg.

To me this was the tightest made film that Marvel Studios put out, with a crisp runtime of a little more than two hours it’s just enough to make you want more, but not long enough to check your phone.

#3

Anyone who knows me knew this would be on my top 10 of the year. I’m a Star Wars nut! What can I say that I haven’t already? Porgs, porgs, porgs, porgs, and porgs.

If you haven’t seen this film yet, do yourself a favor and get your ass to theater.

#2

I’ll be completely honest here, I didn’t have high hopes for Wonder Woman. At the time, here’s a studio with three movies with mixed results critically, and this one being directed by someone who hadn't made a film since 2003. But I went opening day with some slight chance of hope. And I gladly ate my words.

Words can’t necessarily describe how great a film Wonder Woman is. Patty Jenkins made what some have called a masterpiece in superhero filmmaking. I agree with about 98% of that. My only qualm was that on the second viewing in the theater, I did feel its runtime a little more, which is why it isn’t in the number 1 spot.

Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have a romance that seems practical for the amount of time they spent together, it seemed genuine, and I loved how Diana would call people out on their shit if she thought they were wrong. The No Man’s Land sequence left me in tears of joy at how wonderful everything worked from the cinematography, the music, the acting, the action, just everything.

You can’t miss this one, even if you aren’t a fan of DC characters, this is just a damn good movie.

I wanted to put some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut.

What would’ve been #12

Christopher Nolan’s war film, Dunkirk is a technical marvel. The cinematography is breath taking and the sound scared the shit out of me. I saw this in an IMAX theater and when bullets fired, you never knew where they were coming from until they made contact. This literally made me jump several times throughout. The reason that this didn’t make the top 10 is that none of the characters particularly stood out in any way. I could tell you the names of the actors, but not their character’s names.

What would’ve been #11

The reason It isn’t higher is because I’m not a fan of horror movies. But I was intrigued at all of the critical success this movie was gaining, so I saw it with a few friends.

The reason this movie works as well as it does is because of the writing and the great child actors they got. Aside from Finn Wolfhard, of Stranger Things fame, the rest of these kids were unknown. But damn it if they didn’t knock it out of the park with their acting chops and chemistry. But if it wasn’t for that reason, I probably would’ve left the theater within ten minutes because I don’t do scary well. And as much as I enjoyed this one, I probably won’t revisit it.

And my favorite film of 2017 is

Logan is the perfect combination of my two favorite types of films. Action blockbusters and deep, emotional character pieces. When I went into Logan, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I’d heard it took some inspiration from some of the comics where Wolverine is an older man, but that was about it. What I got was something that seriously fucked me up.

Like a lot of people, I grew up with Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine since the first X-men film in 2000. And it seemed with each iteration Jackman tried to deepen the character to reveal Logan’s core, instead of just being a mindless killing machine. With this you get the best of both worlds. Jackman stripped Wolverine down to the point it seems like he’s given up and is ready to die. But at the same time we get to see what would actually be the effects of a guy with claws for hands mauling people like an animal, and you learn that in the first few minutes. It is gory, but damn is it awesome!

Patrick Stewart also has a phenomenal performance as a Charles Xavier that we’ve never seen the likes of in the films. His mind wandering, breaking down, plagued by what I assume is the mutant version of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Seeing Stewart’s and Jackman’s near 20 years of working together is heart warming, heart breaking, and brutal.

This film also breeds a new star in newcomer Dafne Keen as Laura. This is a girl who is wise beyond her years as an actress. For about the first half of the film she doesn’t say a word, but you see all the emotion in her face communicated brilliantly. She is definitely someone who will have a prosperous career.

What director James Mangold succeeds with Logan is that he’s able to make a superhero film, but not have it be about something super, per se, but makes it about something everyone can relate to, family. Whether it’s Logan’s relationship to Charles, Logan to Caliban, Logan to Laura, its about the relationships that you grow with and foster when you inevitably have to say goodbye. Mangold was able to make a western, a superhero film, a family piece, a deep character study, an action film. This literally has something for almost everyone. I think Logan is the perfect example of what the superhero genre could and should become.

I’ll be completely honest, like I said before, this movie fucked me up. And I was crying for almost the last five minutes. And for me to cry at a piece of media, whether it be a series or movie isn’t uncommon, but to the degree that I did was what stayed with me. It was a typical silent cry that I usually do with most films I see, but this was uncontrollable, hard breathing, loud noised, ugly face sobbing. When the word “Daddy” is said, I lose it every time.

I guess I didn’t expect to get as attached to this film as I did. But I guess with Jackman playing that character for as long as he did, he sort of became synonymous with that role. I guess it’s to the effect of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker or Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. But the sendoff Jackman and Mangold give this character is one of pure mastery, sadness, and hope. With the Fox/Disney deal, there is some part of me that wishes Jackman will return as Wolverine for the MCU, but if he doesn’t, that’s fine as well. Because this film is all but perfect to me.

I hope this film gets nominations for Jackman, Stewart, Keen, and Mangold for the Oscars because I think it deserves it because it broke boundaries of what a superhero film could be. And that is why Logan is my favorite film of 2017.

I want to thank you guys for reading this and for the support. Here’s hoping that 2018 will be even better! In the vain of a dumb catchphrase I tried to start years ago, stay tuned for more blotter!

#top10 #favorite #films #movies #movie #the beguiled #justice league #Guardians of the Galaxy #vol.2 #bladerunner #2049 #spiderman #Spider-Man: Homecoming #baby driver #thor ragnarok #star wars #the last jedi #Wonder Woman #Logan #popcornblotter

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My Top 10 Least Favorite Films of 2017

I hope everyone has had a good year cinematically and personally. Before I get into this, I just wanted to state something. For this list and my Top 10 Favorite list, this is just my opinion. I imagine some will disagree with me and thats fine. I’ll have a small bit explaining my overall feelings, but most of these movies I have reviews for on the blog, so if you’d like to, go and take a look at them.

There are still some films like The Disaster Artist and The Shape of Water that I haven’t seen yet, but merely due to the fact that the area where I live doesn’t always get the independent style-Oscar films immediately, I haven’t had a chance. But I am looking forward to seeing those.

Also, I may not have the worst of the worst on this particular list because I’m obviously not a professional critic, I don’t get screeners or early screenings of everything. I go to the movies on my own dime, and if I don’t feel like a film is worth seeing, then I don’t. All that being said, I hope you enjoy reading this. Let’s get into it.

#10

While Coco is beautifully designed and animated, I found the plot to be predictable. I could see where things were going just on the basis of seeing so many other animated films in my lifetime. It also didn’t help that my screening had nearly an hour of pre-show between commercials, trailers, and that ridiculously stupid Frozen “short.” So by the time the movie started, I was already annoyed.

#9

A disappointing sequel to what was an amazing surprise of a first entry. It felt in a way that it was parodying itself for some of the film. Not many of the jokes landed for me, Julianne Moore’s performance was so cartoonishly evil, all she needed was a mustache to twirl. Also the advertising was annoying as it threw Channing Tatum front and center, and he has all of about maybe five minutes of screen time. I just hate it when the trailers and TV spots do a whole bait and switch game.

#8

Now I don’t necessarily feel like Detroit was a bad movie, it’s just a hard movie to watch. What I thought would be the story of the city of Detroit during these events, turned out to be a 2 hour long racist police interrogation. The acting is all fine and good, but it’s just not a movie you watch to pick yourself up. Its similar to me like Schindler’s List, it’s important to have this particular story told, but I don’t think I need to watch it again because it just hits you in the gut with how unrelentingly painful it is. Also again with the advertising and promoting gave the impression that John Boyega was the main character, when in fact he’s a very minor character. Again, bait and switch.

#7

I don’t remember too much of this film, other than I know I didn’t finish it. I remember the trailers making it look like a typical “a kid and their pet blank” movie. When it started it seemed like an extremely black comedy of the likes of Dr. Strangelove. But then about the next 30 minutes, its this girl and her super pig wandering around. And with what seemed as such a jarring shift in tone bothers me and by the 45 minute mark I was so uninterested, I just turned it off.

#6

While I commend Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon for putting their story out of how their relationship began, this film seemed a little too cut and paste with other R-Rated rom-coms. It was interesting to see a romance from another culture’s perspective, but it seemed to similar, structure-wise to many of Judd Apatow’s films like Knocked Up, This is 40, and 40 Year Old Virgin.

#5

This was such a disappointment for me as I was a fan of the previous two Apes films in this trilogy. The CGI was very impressive in this film, having it looked better than before, the pacing of this movie was so slow. The only positive of this movie was Steve Zahn’s character of Bad Ape. The majority of this movie is a mopey revenge trip with Andy Serkis’ Caesar, with an escape from a prison. And then a little shit goes down, but honestly there was more action in Rise than this. Just a big let down.

#4

Another show of character that Disney’s live action department has run out of ideas. What is almost a beat by beat remake of the original, this makes a bigger case that whoever started this idea of remaking their animated films to live action should be fired in my opinion. They try to put in some new songs, in my opinion, a ploy to attempt an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Shoddy CGI, and heavily auto-tuned Emma Watson and Dan Stevens make for ear grading musical numbers. The only thing that is worthwhile in here is Luke Evans’ Gaston. He embodies the character so well here, it makes it a little eerie throughout watching this movie.

#3

This hardly works as a movie. What I imagine is a summarization of an entire series is squished into a two hour run time, feels like it. It jumps from point to point, making no discernible sense as to what’s happening or why. Willem Dafoe is mildly enjoyable as the voice of Ryuk, but it isn’t enough to save what looks and sounds like a shitty version of a CW murder mystery show.

#2

A glossy shimmering musical wrapper of a movie that’s candy inside is about a man and his never ending obsession to climb the social and economic ladder no matter the costs. Clichés are abound with too many to count. Themes that are touched so vapidly, it barely scrapes the surface of what the side characters feel. The anachronistic music fits about as well as the original Shakespeare lines do with the modern setting of Baz Luhrman’s Romeo+Juliet. And such a complete waste of a phenomenal actress such as Michelle Williams.

#1

There aren’t many movies I hate, because sometimes in the cracks of a bad movie, you can see the hard work that went into a certain set piece, or the costumes. But I fucking hated Murder on the Orient Express. Whatever attempts at humor they try, fail. The plot is so goddamn ridiculous and non-sensical that I left the theater angry for wasting my time. The good cast they assemble is wasted, and the pacing is so slow I was getting bored, drifting off into a daydream. I hated this movie.

So there is my list of least favorite films of this year. Does anyone agree, or disagree? Let me know. Stay tuned for my best of list later.

#least favorite #film #films #2017 #worst #popcornblotter #coco #pixar coco #kingsman golden circle #detroit #okja #the big sick #war for the planet of the apes #beauty and the beast #Death Note #the greatest showman #murder on the orient express #movie #movies

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The Greatest Showman Review

So this will likely be my last review of the year, seeing as we only have three more days of 2017 at the time of writing. While I’ve had some high highs cinema-wise, I’ve had some low lows. Sadly the last film I see this year theatrically is a low.

The Greatest Showman is a musical film about the startup of P.T. Barnum’s Circus starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, and Zac Efron.

I don’t know if I can say I wholeheartedly hated this film, but I sure disliked it. While this film certainly wrangled in some talent, I think the film’s problems lay with the people behind the camera.

The film’s writing is the biggest compilation of film clichés I’ve seen in quite a while. They try to have the group of outcasts cliché, but you know that the outcasts are the good guys, the father who works too much that doesn’t see his family, the poor boy loves the rich girl and the father disapproves cliché, and the tiniest bit of a “sign of the times” racism cliché. As I was watching, I was thinking the events are going to play out like this, and then this will happen and so on. It was completely predictable with no depth to its characters or its story.

Now in my life, I’ve seen, listened, and performed in a fair amount of musicals and plays to understand what elements are used to make a successful show. In my opinion, with musicals, you have to have a delicate balance of songs, story progression, and character development.

The music of a musical should either have some internal monologue or purpose to the character, or have the story develop through it. Also just as a film in general, you need to have a goal in mind for your characters to get to. And make sure that you’re characters have some sort of arc, where their attitude towards something has changed, or making sure they aren’t in the same position that they were at the start of the story. Why I’m listing and explaining all of this is because this film does none of that whatsoever.

The songs, while being extremely catchy and well sung seem like someone’s back catalog of old songs that they’ve tried to push for pop singers to record, but were rejected so they threw it in this film. Some of them literally come out of nowhere, don’t add anything to the character, and don’t progress the plot through any fashion. I’m starting to get the feeling they almost made this film just to sell soundtracks.

The “progression” of the story makes little to no sense. In that I mean, one event leads to another, then another until you get to the end of the film. The editing would just plop from one set piece, or song piece to distract the audience from the fact they have very little story.

And the character development, oh the character development, there was almost none to this movie. Honestly, this is probably Hugh Jackman’s worst role in a while. And I’m not meaning to say that he did bad acting in this film, but that he is supposed to be the hero of the film, but he’s kind of the worst person. I’m going to spoil most of this film because frankly, I don’t care right now. So Jackman’s character lies to banks to get loans, essentially lies to people who have some disabilities or disfigurations to make money off of them, constantly is trying to seek out admiration from those that think less of him, dumps his troupe to work with someone “more legitimate,” lies to his wife about how he got the money to buy their house that they’re being evicted from, and then his building gets burnt down. And all of these problems get solved within a couple minute song sequence. It’s just infuriating at how little effort this movie gives.

You’d think that we’d get more character from the people who are the attraction of the show, but they’re given nothing more than one song that supposed to be the inspiring “I’m me and that’s okay” song.

Zac Efron does all right with what he’s given. Frankly I’ve never been a huge fan of his, but he wasn’t bad.

I’ll say the biggest waste of this film is Michelle Williams. She’s one of my favorite actresses and in this film, she’s delegated to the wife role who's only purpose is to pine after her husband when he’s away role. This woman has moved me to tears more times than I can count in multiple films, and here she gets a duet and one song and that’s pretty much all you see of her character.

As badly as I’m now realizing I don’t like this film, man does Zendaya try to do her best to save it. With the minuscule role she has, she acts her butt off and you can tell she’s trying to put the work into the song numbers. I’m genuinely interested in seeing where she goes past this movie.

Granted I didn’t have huge expectations for this film, but I didn’t think I’d be in this mindset after watching it. And I don't think I was alone. I couldn’t count how many times I saw people using their phones while in theater, and though that is absolutely one of my biggest pet peeves, it tells how much it grabbed other people.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this movie to folks. If you’re curious about the music, give it a listen on iTunes or wherever else you can, there isn’t much story in between that most movie lovers couldn’t figure out.

As I’ve taken my reviewing more seriously this year, I’ve noticed I’ve gained a couple of new followers. I want to thank you for reading my opinions. It’s nice to know that someone may feel the same you do about movies, which is a particularly special thing to me.

So for my next two posts, like many critic and reviewers do, I’ll be make a Best Of and a Worst Of the year lists. I’m not sure which will come first, but I hope you’ll look into it when it comes out.

#the greatest showman #hugh jackman #michelle williams #zac efron #zendaya #movie #review #film #musical #popcornblotter

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Star Wars: Episode 8: The Last Jedi Review

So the time is here people. The Last Jedi is finally out! And it is surprisingly more divisive than I expected. There are a lot of vocal people saying this is the worst Star Wars yet, that this movie “ruined my childhood,” there are also several petitions trying to either wipe this film from the canon, or have them try to remake the film.

I also want to preface that I won’t be talking any about any of the story points, because I think to do so would spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet.

Now I’ll just put my stance on this, I loved the hell out of this movie! Is it perfect? No, but hardly any movie is. But to those who are going after the actors or the director online, that isn’t okay. Because you know what? At the end of the day, it is just a movie. And I know that may be difficult for some Star War fans to hear. I’m a huge fan of the films, I have a tattoo commemorating one of the seminal moments of the franchise on me, and I take movies and the process in which they're made too serious at times, but in the end this doesn’t effect your daily lives like many other things could.

I think what may have jaded some people with this film is speculation. We’ve had two years since The Force Awakens to theorize and wonder what would happen with Rey and Luke on that cliff, or what would happen with other characters. And I think that some people may have gotten too locked into what they wanted as their theories to happen on screen, that anything else would’ve been a disappointment. That’s why I haven’t gone too extreme down that rabbit hole. Because some were so focused on their expectations, they couldn’t see anything else and open themselves up to the possibilities.

Sorry, had to go on that rant for a bit. It’s one of those things I’ve been trying to sum up my feelings on since I heard about the backlash. Now onto my feelings about it.

I thought what Rian Johnson, the writer and director, did was incredibly bold, unexpected, and phenomenally entertaining. The cinematography was astounding. The music was great with some great callbacks to themes from the original trilogy. I thought the writing was sound, aside from a line or two I thought came out a little odd from an actor. And the acting was superb. I don’t think their was a performance I didn’t like in this film. Oh, and PORGS! I honestly don’t care if people say these are the new Ewoks, I loved the heck out of those little things. And they used them sparingly enough that I wanted more. The CGI was great, and the use of practical effects as well. With the porgs, you could notice which were enhanced with CG, but that some were just puppets, and I loved that Lucasfilm is using a mix instead of just going full CGI with everything.

The only con I could possibly think of was that I though runtime wise, it could have been a little shorter, but that’s never a big deal with me.

For people who know me and my taste in film, I can boil it down into two categories, big blockbusters and deep character think pieces. What I think a lot of films this year have succeeded in is blending the two, The Last Jedi being no exception. What is so different from this film and the others in the franchise is that they’re a little heavy handed with telling how the audience how to think, with Johnson, he’s done away with that, and has told the audience to make up their own minds and I love it when a filmmaker does that. I came out of Force Awakens having Kylo Ren being my favorite character. Coming out of The Last Jedi, I’m still in that belief. This is the first time that we have a villain who is conflicted and complicated and I think Adam Driver does an amazing job portraying that. I imagine other people reading this may think, well he’s not as badass as Vader or Maul. But here’s where I think the story is excelling at. The story of Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren is the progression and evolution of becoming the big villain. In other films, they just show up and we know they’re evil, but showing his being called back to the light that reflects in Force Awakens makes a more interesting and relatable character. I think in time people will come to understand it in the way I have.

I would extremely recommend seeing this film if you haven’t yet. I’d say see it at a few times so you can get the whole picture. I’m at two viewings and may go in for more. But go in with little to no expectations or theories. You’ll only be doing a disservice to yourself. After seeing this film, I’m ecstatic to find out what else Rian Johnson can do with this galaxy far, far away.

#star wars #the last jedi #Rian Johnson #Lucasfilm #movie #film #review #episode 8 #popcornblotter

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The Reader Review

I was going through Netflix in the past week, and stumbled across a film called The Reader, starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. The film is set in pre-World War 2 Germany, focusing on a young man named Michael, who has a summer affair with an older woman named Hanna, played by Winslet. From there, they learn about each other, and the secrets they keep from one another.

I’m a little more than a week removed from this film and I have to say, now I hope this doesn’t come as weird and creepy, but the most impressive moments of the film are the “intimate” scenes that take place in Winslet’s apartment. Now by that I do mean it in two ways. The first is the obvious one. While many movies make sex scenes look very romantic, full of ecstasy, with fans blowing your hair in the perfect way, this film makes it a little more realistic, one of them getting cramp somewhere, or their hair being tugged by accident. It’s nice to see that side of relationships in a less romanticized way. The other way I mean is the conversations and events that happen in this apartment set Michael up for being who we see him as when Fiennes is portraying him. They have the deep conversations you hope to have with someone you care about through the night and can just stare endlessly into each other’s eyes. And sometimes those conversations would turn into fights. Michael doesn’t understand that what he feels for Hanna is real and wants to show it publicly, while Hanna understands that, but their type of relationship isn’t acceptable. The first 30-45 minutes of this film are very strong, but then stalls with the rest.

The next part of the movie deals with Michael has a college student in law school, observing a court case where Hanna is a defendant, and the drudgery of it is where the film takes a tip in quality for me. If you look at some of the clues, you can possibly see where the film is going. It becomes a tad predictable, and I commend anyone who can make a good courtroom show or film, because I’ve had to sit through two trials as a juror in one week, and man is court boring as shit. But this movie isn’t that case. The case sort of balances on some secrets, that if you’re paying close enough attention to, you’ll know what it is before the movie tells you.

While this film gave Kate Winslet her only Oscar win, I feel like this was one of those instances where it was given for her body of work instead of the particular film she was nominated for. I am a fan of hers, but think she should’ve won for either Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Revolutionary Road.

I’m not sure if I’d recommend this to anyone, merely from my perspective, the pace drops and my interest slowed. This felt slightly like a film that was trying to check off tick marks for Oscar bait. And if you don’t know what it is, go and look it up. You’ll notice a lot of trends with movies over the past decade or two that have won awards.

This is the first film of director Stephen Daldry’s I’ve seen and by skimming his IMDb page, apparently he’s been announced to work on a film version of the Broadway musical, Wicked, so let’s hope that goes well.

#the reader #film #movie #review #kate winslet #ralph fiennes #popcornblotter

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Coco Review

Coco is the latest film from Pixar Animation about a young boy named Miguel, who wants to be a musician despite his family's strict disapproval. When he takes the guitar of his deceased idol to perform, he’s transported to the land of the dead, and must find a way back home.

So in my mind, the filmography of Pixar is separated into two distinctions, pre-Cars 2 and post-Cars 2. Most of what I’ve seen is that Cars 2 was the lowest quality film Pixar has made, and from what I’ve seen, I tend to agree. Since then Pixar has been a bit hit and miss with their films, while from their inception they’d been cranking out hit after hit. Now in Pixar’s line of work since Cars 2, I’d say, their biggest success yet has been Inside Out. While a lot of their other films have been middling i.e. Finding Dory, The Good Dinosaur, Cars 3, etc. Coco on the other is somewhere in the middle.

Now to give a little perspective going in, I was kind of annoyed by the time Coco had started, because like many theaters now, the trailers run anywhere from 10-20 minutes now. And like most Pixar films they’ll have a short film proceed the feature. And most of the time, I enjoy the shorts. But the “short film” that proceeded Coco was a Frozen Christmas “short.” Notice how I’m using the quotation marks? It’s because this short is long as fuck. It clocks in at 21 minutes! Mind you, I enjoyed Frozen when it came out, but the Disney commercialization that put it everywhere, and you heard the songs everywhere put me off from it. But the short focuses on the snowman, who was comic relief in the original, is trying to find Christmas traditions. And the problem with making a comic relief character the focus of a story is that most of the time, they have no depth to their character other than they say some funny things. This was long enough for me to go and fill up my drink, come back and watch some of it, go to the bathroom, and watch ten more minutes of it before the movie I paid to see came on. At the end of it, it had been 45 minutes from when the trailer start time was. This short was all fluff, had nothing of substance, and came off as a commercial to let audiences know that Frozen 2 is coming soon. It left a bad taste in my mouth, that didn’t have me feeling very positive going into the feature.

Okay, now that I’ve ranted a little bit, on to the actual film.

The biggest standout for Coco is the look of the movie. The colors, the animation, and the background work are very breathtaking. The backgrounds and still assets looked so lifelike, if it wasn’t for the fact the people didn’t look real, you could probably fool them into thinking this movie was live action. The colors pop out with such a vigor that I’ve never seen in an animated film. The voiceover work is well done. The music is a good listen, and the film gave me a lesson on a part of Mexican culture that I wasn’t familiar with.

My biggest gripe with this film is that the plot structure is a little too predictable to me. I know I may be in the minority, but when you see a lot of movies, you can tend to guess where the story is headed and Coco uses some familiar tropes that are used in family films. But like most of Pixar’s work, they still know how to twist the emotional knife in you, and make you cry like a child.

When I’m looking at newer films and trying to write about them, my biggest thing is to find something memorable about it, or remember a certain sequence that grabbed at me and I can’t really say I have one for this film. And I’m sorry to say that because I know that this movie is getting a lot of love critically, but I just don’t think it’s as a massive hit as they claim it to be. Even after about a week reflecting, there’s not much I can remember from it.

If you’re looking to entertain your kids, this may hold their attention, but I would caution to take any kids under 7 or 8, because this does deal with some things that I’m not sure younger viewers might understand. Overall, this wasn't the worst film I’ve seen this year, but nowhere near to be the best.

#pixar #disney #coco #frozen #olaf's frozen adventure #movie #film #review #popcornblotter

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Justice League Review

DC and Warner Bros. newest film, Justice League released this past weekend, and I saw it, so let’s talk about it.

But before I do I want to give some context into the situation that was going on behind the scenes of the film because it will eventually come up later. Around March of this year, the director of the film, Zack Snyder suffered a horrible family tragedy that led to leave the project and take care of his family. Shortly after his departure, Warner Bros. brought on writer/director Joss Whedon to do some rewrites, and direct the upcoming reshoots. From reports I’ve read and heard, Whedon rewrote around 80% of the script, which earned him writing credit on the film. While these extensive reshoots were happening Henry Cavill, the actor portraying Superman was in the middle of filming the newest Mission Impossible, where his character has a mustache. Apparently Warner Bros. tried negotiating with Paramount, the studio behind the Mission Impossible franchise, to allow Cavill to shave the mustache for the reshoots, Paramount denied. So Cavill had to film the reshoots for Justice League with this new mustache, whereas in the footage from principal photography, Superman didn’t have said mustache, meaning any shots that were ending up in the final cut that were from reshoots meant the mustache would need to be taken out with CGI. Now with that anecdote out of the way, let’s get to the review.

So Justice League is the culmination of DC’s biggest heroes coming together to saving the world. Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and more.

The plot of the film is fairly standard as far as these films go. There is a MacGuffin, or in this film’s case, three that an inter-dimensional being known as Steppenwolf comes down to Earth to conquer it and its people.

I enjoyed the film for the most part. While many think that the action is what should bring in an audience to these types of films, it’s a bit of the opposite when it comes to Justice League. Frankly, I didn’t find much of the action in this movie that exciting. It was a bit messy with the CG and hard to follow with some of the cutting of the film.

But what makes this film as entertaining as it is is the characters and the conversations they have with one another. I know that the superhero films are marketed on their huge, CGI filled fight sequences, but I come for the characters. I’d personally be fine with a movie of them just discussing the morality of their actions for an hour and a half. But what DC was able to do is bring a great cast of actors together. Gal Gadot again brings Wonder Woman’s strength but huge compassion for others. I’m actually more on board for Ben Affleck’s Batman now. What started out as this angry murderer in BvS, became a likable guy who’s just trying to do the right thing. Jason Momoa brings his badassery to another role as Aquaman with a great introduction accompanied by one of my favorite White Stripes’ songs, Icky Thump. And Ray Fisher’s Cyborg brings a Frankensteinien look at a comic hero that we haven’t seen yet, but keeps me very interested. And there’s a reason why I left the Flash for last. Ezra Miller by far was my favorite part of this film. His comedic timing along with his unique facial expressions had me dying. His chemistry with every other hero shone through so well, that I want a Flash movie so badly now. And I’ve seen enough interviews with Miller to know that he is a geek through and through and his reactions to things in the movie seem so genuine, I couldn’t help but connect with his Barry Allen.

I did enjoy Danny Elfman’s score as well. Whereas in previous DC films, they’ve had a bit more of a serious tone, Elfman brings that, but with a slight edge of levity that is reminiscent of his work on Tim Burton’s Batman films. Side note, towards the beginning scenes with Batman, there are slight pepperings of his Batman theme that got me giddy and nostalgic.

Now onto what I didn’t like about this movie. While I enjoy Ciaran Hinds in shows like Game of Thrones, he’s used very sparingly in the film, and doesn’t get much show for why Steppenwolf is there. Its more of the same kind of motivation, I’m evil, therefore the world shall burn. While I have a little knowledge about some of the DC characters, and have an idea of what may be coming, I think most general audiences will be a little lost at mentions of certain characters.

As I said before the action was probably my least favorite part of the movie. I think its partly due to the chemistry of the characters being so good. But also that Snyder’s style of action is a bit too all over the place for my taste. With some of the CGI, it was hard to make out what was what when you were looking at it. The cutting would be a bit too rapid, and the characters moved very fast. Which I understand from a story perspective because some of these characters have godlike speed and strength, so it takes a second to realize what exactly is happening on screen. But also for when I could make it out, the action was a little boring. It was for the most part hack, slash, and dodge. While other superhero films I can distinctly remember certain action sequences, but with Justice League, I’m having trouble remembering, and I only saw this two days ago. What I was grateful for at points was the use of slow motion work, so I could understand what was happening, but like a lot of Zack Snyder’s work, he leans on it too heavily for my taste.

Next, I need to talk about the CGI. For some moments, it looked good, other times, the Star Wars prequels had better work. With Cyborg specifically, when he was still, and just talking, the metal half of his face, looked incredibly real, but then came a lot of the fast motion that comes with movies, and it looks more like a video game. Remember when I brought up the whole anecdote about Henry Cavill’s mustache, this is why. Because I heard this story, and the CG for his lip was done so badly, it was so apparent what shots were from principal photography, and which were from the reshoots. Right from the get go, the start of the movie with the kids asking Superman questions on a cell phone, I could tell immediately that that shot was from the reshoots. It just didn’t look or move like a normal lip should. And it took me out of the film several times.

All in all, this film is good, not great. Probably number 2 in ranking DC’s current portfolio of work. With what they failed at in the action and the CG department, they made me more optimistic for DC’s future. Because the writing and the characters were as good as they were in this film, I’m not worrying so much about the other aspects of the film. But they’ve got interested in seeing films about the new additions to the team. So in that, I think they’ve got a success.

#justice league #dceu #DC comics #film #movie #review #zack snyder #joss whedon #ben affleck #Gal Gadot #jason momoa #batman #Wonder Woman #ray fisher #ezra miller #cyborg #flash #the flash #popcornblotter #henry cavill #superman

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Murder on the Orient Express Review

So Murder on the Orient Express is the newest film from actor/director Kenneth Branagh. From what I’ve learned is that this is based off of a book by Agatha Chritie, and has been made into films a few times over the past couple of decades. Not knowing any of this, I dove headfirst into this film with a cascade of stars that include Dame Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Branagh as the star. First, I should probably tell you all what I liked about the film.

This film was shot very well. Branagh and crew had a few interesting shots where the scene goes on for a minute or so, shooting the characters from a bird’s eye perspective.

And that was it. That was honestly the only positive thing I came out of this film with. I know I don’t do this professionally, so I don’t have the opportunity to see every single movie, and what I review I see because going in, I’m genuinely interested with what this film may be offering. But this has to be the worst film I’ve seen this year. And I’m going to go ahead and give you all a spoiler warning, which I don’t usually talk about specifics in a film, but I think to illustrate my point, I have to talk about specifics in some cases. So for a short summary, don’t go see this movie. It is a waste of almost two hours of your lives. So from here on, I’ll mention spoilers.

Okay, you still here? Good. So the plot and writing has got to be some of the worst shit I’ve seen and heard in a while. This is going to come off as more of a rant than a review, so I apologize in advance, but I have to get this out of my head. So in the first few minutes they make a stepping in shit joke. And you know what they do to follow it up, the detective Branagh plays steps in it with the other foot. That is the level of comedy that is happening in this film.

So once we get on the train and meet the rest of the cast, Johnny Depp dies. Bet you didn’t know that happened from the trailers or the promotion material. So the case is on for Branagh to find the killer amongst the other passengers. And shortly into this investigation, we take a hard right turn with a subplot that apparently Depp wasn’t this gangster style crook, but someone who kidnapped and murdered a baby some 20 years ago, which then lead to the deaths of the parents. Branagh’s character then goes on thinking that the two are connected and you start to find out that many of the passengers have some connection to the case of this killed child.

On a small side note, this is the most useless cast of stars I’ve seen in an ensemble piece. And don’t get me wrong, I enjoy most of these actors or actresses in other projects, but they hardly get any screen time, the characters are shells of their expositional backstory, and you couldn’t remember for shit who was who when being addressed by their character’s name. That’s how little their impact is in the film.

So as we go along Branagh continues to question everyone, it keeps making you think the next person could be a suspect, then the next and the next. And the film is breaking suspension of disbelief for me already because it is too much of a coincidence that this many people who have a connection to one murder are all on the train. When we get to the finale, we find out that everyone’s the killer. YUP!!! Every single person on the train, aside from Branagh and his friend who runs the train had some affiliation with the case or the murdered baby. MMMMMMHHHHHMMMMMM!!!

Michelle Pfeiffer is the grandmother of the baby. There’s a random woman who’s the aunt of the baby, Daisy Ridley was a friend to the aunt, Leslie Odom Jr. was a friend to the father of the baby, Judi Dench was the godmother to the mother of the baby, Penelope Cruz was the nanny to the baby, Josh Gad’s father was a lawyer who’s career was ruined by the case by incarcerating a french maid for the death of the baby, Willem Dafoe is an American cop pretending to be an Austrian professor who actually was in a romance with the french maid, then committed suicide in jail, and then the conductor, who was unnamed until this very moment was the brother to the french maid! You still following? Yeah, I was severely rolling my eyes I’m surprised they didn’t fall out of my head! This film expects you to suspend so much disbelief and betray any sense of logic you have, and take everything it says seriously! And most of that info I gave you was only revealed in that moment at the end, with no explanation whatsoever of how Branagh’s detective figures all of this shit out! He just walks outside and tells them he’s solved the case.

And after all of that, he let’s all of them go. Because he comes to the realization that one action can ruin so many lives, that these people need to heal, and that the world isn’t so black and white. Now while I understand the message they were attempting to convey, they still plotted the murder of a man and committed it. Regardless if the guy was a piece of shit, they stilled killed someone!

This film is a giant fuck up. Whether that is the fault of the screenwriter, Branagh as the director, or even the source material, it doesn’t matter. The execution of this film was terrible, unbearable, and boring. I left severely angry and perplexed. My recommendation is don’t see this film. If you still have it in your area and you haven’t seen it, go see Blade Runner 2049. Or Thor: Ragnarok for a second or third time.

#murder on the orient express #kenneth brannagh #film #movie #movies #review #popcornblotter

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Thor: Ragnarok Review

Thor: Ragnarok is the newest entry into the MCU and the third of the Thor films. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, and is directed by Taika Waititi.

I was anticipating this film after the release of the trailer earlier this year. It gave a vibe non-stop laughs, great visuals, and a killer soundtrack. And damn, the movie did not disappoint. All of the cast was incredible, the writing was solid, and I couldn’t count how many times I laughed out loud throughout this film.

The film doesn’t waste any time showing the audience what they’re in for. The first scene is filled with tons of great humor, and an action sequence that’ll have you smiling ear to ear with a great backdrop of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. With the previous iterations of Thor, the directors took fairly realistic steps as to the color pallet of the film. Blacks, grays, golds, dark browns, and whites were aflutter in a film that had most of the characters in some variation of armor. But Waititi’s vision punches you in the face with color that is so expressive that is unlike anything else I’ve seen from the Marvel Universe yet. This definitely gets me excited for what Marvel has going past Avengers 4. From reports, Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios has said that they’re moving to a more cosmic universe instead of being Earth based. And if this film is any indicator of what’s to come, I’m game.

As you would expect the star of the film is Hemsworth. While those who’ve seen all of the MCU films know, Hemsworth can bring a good joke to a scene, but nothing that has been scene at this level of Ragnarok. He brings a level of sincerity with his lines that can’t help but make you laugh every time. Jeff Goldblum is one of those actors that has sort of become omnipotent in his personality, almost that of Bill Murray. And Goldblum is his most Goldblumiest in this film, and it is wonderful with him as the Grandmaster. His specific cadence of speaking brings a great level of sarcasm to the cruelty he inflicts on screen. Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie makes you want to know more about her character. I do sincerely hope that they use her in more Marvel films. I honestly can’t say enough about how perfect all of these performances projected the film into another level of amazing for Marvel.

The soundtrack was very appealing to the ears as well. It was a mix of the Nu-wave 80’s sound you’d recognize from Stranger Things and a traditional orchestral score.

Overall, the effects were very well done. But if I had to have one gripe about the film is one fight sequence with Cate Blanchett’s Hela. The character was moving in such a way that seemed to fast for the ordinary person and veered slightly into the Uncanny Valley and it was noticeable they used a CG model.

Another good mark for Waititi was his ability to balance the need for a heartfelt scene between characters and when to use humor. There were legitimate moments where I was feeling very sympathetic for characters when they were feeling low.

Honestly, I loved this film. This is easily my favorite of the Thor films and would most likely be up there towards the top of a for the movies Marvel has produced. Look out for cameos and references abound here, and just go see it. You’ll have a great time!

#thor #thor ragnarok #taika waititi #chris hemsworth #marvel #mcu #film #movie #review #popcornblotter

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Rogue One Review

If there are some people who aren’t aware, Star Wars is back in a huge way. In 2013, Disney bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas for somewhere in the ballpark of 4.5 billion dollars. With this new acquisition, the plan was to make new films, books, video games, and comics to tell new stories in this galaxy. And with The Last Jedi coming out in a little more than a month, I figured I’d watch some of the previous films to get in the mood, and why not write about them.

2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, and Ben Mendelsohn. The film takes place in between Episodes 3 and 4, with the Empire at its full power.

The plot of the film focuses around Jones’ character Jyn Erso, a daughter of an Imperial scientist who gets mixed up in an operation to steal the plans to the first Death Star.

With this being the first non-saga film, I’m sure it was important to make this film as different as it could be from what the normal feel of the other films in the franchise. I think they achieved that, with the older films being very black and white about what side you were on, this film goes into the grey. The bad guys aren’t necessarily evil, some were just doing a job, and the good guys weren’t free of any mistakes either. Within the first few minutes of meeting Luna’s character, he shoots and kills his informant. It makes the characters, as well as the galaxy they live in, more complicated, and thus more realistic.

I did like most of the characters in this film, while Jones’ was lacking a bit in charisma at times, the stand outs were Alan Tudyk as K2-SO, Donny Yen as Chirrut Îmwe, and Wen Jiang as Baze Malbus. Tudyk brought a wonderful sense of dark sarcastic humor to an otherwise serious film, and the relationship between Îmwe and Malbus were that of bickering brothers.

While we see mostly new faces, we do get a few familiar ones, with Jimmy Smits reprising his role as Bail Organa and James Earl Jones to make appearances as Darth Vader. While I wasn’t a big fan of the prequels when I was younger, but I’ve come to appreciate them for what they are, and seeing Smits enter the film, I got a jolt of nostalgia and happiness from seeing Bail back on screen. And of course the scene that we can’t not talk about is the last scene Vader is in. Through many various forms of media, we hear that Darth Vader is one of the most dangerous people in this galaxy, and we don’t see too much of that in the original trilogy, but this scene gives you the scope of how scary Vader is and gives him a new sense of ferocity and danger about him.

While I do enjoy this film, the pacing is a bit of a problem. Many critics have pointed out that the first two acts lack while the third thrives, and I agree for the most part. While there are some moments in the first two acts that are great, it’s very slow paced. But the movie does make up for it in its final battle. A mix of high octane space dogfights and up close and personal shootouts on the ground. I’ll say that I was more of a fan of the space battle just for some of the fist pumping moments it has. One shot that Edwards uses a few times I’m a huge fan of in any film. It’s the type of shot where they bolt the camera down to the vehicle and we get a ride along feel, and they use that technique very well aside some of the Rebellion’s X-Wings.

Is this my favorite of the Star Wars films, no, but I do it enjoy it a lot more than the prequels. I’d most likely put it in the middle if I had to rank it. This isn’t a n essential viewing if you’re a casual fan of the franchise, but it gives you some good moments and some great ret-conning of some plot holes in the original trilogy. So if you’re up for an interesting side quest, check this film out.

#star wars #rogue one #disney #lucasfilm #film #movie #review #popcornblotter

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Blade Runner 2049 Review

I know this is being written quite late, but I was sort of procrastinating. Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to the cult 80’s film, Blade Runner. The film stars Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, and Ana de Armas and is directed by Denis Villeneuve.

I haven’t seen the original, so I’m not going to be comparing and contrasting the two. Just judging the film on its own merit. The film takes place about 30 years after the events of the first film, where K, played by Gosling, is a replicant Blade Runner, who hunts down old models who’ve gone rogue and off the grid. But when he finds something that defies logic and reality, it opens up a secret that could blow up the world.

The first thing notice in this film is the gorgeous and stunning cinematography by Roger Deakins. Almost every shot in this film is like a wonderful painting that could be hung in a gallery. Even something as simple as normal conversations, Deakins shoots with such clarity and ingenuity to make them dynamic. I don’t know how else to put it, but this film is absolutely stunning.

What was very interesting to me was the writing and how the film brings up certain societal questions, like the impact faith can have on groups of people, the clear and defined separation of the humans and replicants, being as evocative as bringing similarities to the time in America when African people were seen as property, and whether the love you can feel for another is real or just circumstantial. If this sounds like I’m talking about a deep philosophical drama that has a sci-fi wrapping around it, you’d be right. While I know the marketing seems to show more of the action, the film is more about these hard to answer questions that took me very much by surprise. It made me think about these subjects in a way I hadn’t before and I think if a film can do that, it’s successful.

With all of the spectacle and great visuals this film has, I have to say that my favorite part of it was K’s relationship with de Armas’ character Joi. Joi is a sort of in home network hologram AI partner. While it may seem strange that Gosling’s character has a romance with an AI, de Armas plays Joi so wonderfully and with so much love and compassion, I fully bought into the relationship without even questioning the logistics. I also just enjoyed Gosling’s performance as a whole. This role of a not quite human piece of machinery blends well to Gosling’s stoic, silent glances that audiences have come accustomed to. While there will be very dialogue-y scenes, there will be moments where K will be sitting with his thoughts, and you can understand everything that is going through his head. Which to me, is a sign of a master actor, when you’re able to convey your emotions without words.

If there was one thing in this movie that was a pro and a con, it was the editing. What I loved about it was that it had the pacing of a film from the 70’s or 80’s. It doesn’t rush itself, and it allows for the characters to breathe and take in the severity of the situation. It’s very much akin to the pacing in The Godfather, to me. But on that same note, when it felt appropriate to amp up the action and the stakes, the pacing just kind of plateaued. I also think they could’ve shaved maybe 10-20 minutes off of the runtime. Because one of the reasons I held off on seeing this movie was the runtime. It clocks in at 2 hours and 43 minutes, so you could imagine what kind of commitment that is to sit in a theater and give a film this long your full attention.

Aside from the editing, I did really enjoy this film. This will probably end up being one of my favorites of the year. Other than the elements that I mentioned earlier, the visual effects are mesmerizing, the score is bombastic and hypnotic, and the sound design is something on the level of Star Wars. I give all commendations to Villeneuve and the crew on this film, they did a fantastic job with this one.

#bladerunner #2049 #movie #film #review #ryan gosling #popcornblotter

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Kingsman: The Golden Circle Review

So the sequel to the Kingsman film came out this weekend, and it was alright, just alright. I won’t go into any of the story details, just because there’s a little too much to try and explain.

For reasons, some characters don’t return which I didn’t care for because I was wanting to see where they’d go.

For this film, we have Julianne Moore as Poppy Adams, the villain. I’m gonna be honest, there’s never been a movie with Moore in it where I thought she was spectacular, this is no different. She comes off as maniacal but with a sugar sweet tone to her voice. And if I’m going to compare oranges to apples, so be it, but Moore carries none of the charisma that Samuel L. Jackson had in the original. He had something about his character that made you interested in watching him. In the Golden Circle, she’s the equivalent of a twirling mustache villain.

Other new cast members are the Statesman, the American equivalent to the Kingsman. These roles are filled by Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, and Pedro Pascal. Bridges and Tatum are relegated to glorified cameo roles, which is too bad because I do like what they brought to the film with the short screen time they had. I was happy to see Pascal in something since his run as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones.  Also we had a bit of a celebrity role in Elton John, who plays himself as a hostage of Moore’s Poppy, and honestly Elton John brought out the biggest laughs for me in the film with the bits that he had.

As for the action, it was fine. If you know what I’m talking about, the camera style that they had in the church scene in the original is how they shot all of the action in this film, which made it a bit hard to follow at points.

The film did feel a little long as well. I think it clocks in somewhere around 2 hours and 20 minutes. I think there were some scenes that they could’ve shortened, but I guess the official runtime is a blessing because there are rumors that the director’s first cut was around 4 hours, and I would not have been able to go through that long of a film.

If you liked the original you may like this one, I thought it was fine, but nowhere near the potential of the first. While the first had a good message of  that you’re status at birth doesn’t determine the course of your life, it’s what you do that will change it. While this film didn’t really have one, it was just, beat the bad guy, and save the day. Personally, I’d say wait until this comes to Netflix or rental.

#kingsman #golden circle #movie #film #review #popcornblotter

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Jaws Review

Some of you are probably thinking, how have you never seen Jaws, it’s a classic? Well, I never grew up watching it, and it was never readily available to watch until I found it on Netflix recently. I’m glad I took the time to watch it.

After seeing this movie, I definitely understood the panic that it caused, making people afraid to go into the ocean. I even jumped at few points throughout.

But if there is someone who doesn’t know the starting point of the film, Jaws is about this island community off of the Northeast coast that is experiencing shark attacks. While the mayor brushes it off because it will ruin the publicity for their 4th of July event, the new police chief investigates the situation.

There’s no mistake why Spielberg grew his name and reputation off of this film and made him one of the few director’s names people know. This film is very reminiscent of Jurassic Park, probably my favorite film of Spielberg’s. It could have easily been a simple monster flick where the shark just eats people for 2 hours. Instead, you get this nice character story wrapped around the monster so that you actually care about that these people are in mortal danger.

I really enjoyed the interaction between the three men on the boat once we get there. Telling stories, making jabs at one another. I will say though, as much as I did love Robert Shaw as Quint, he was so well into his character that he was sometimes difficult to understand. But I loved Richard Dreyfuss’ comedic ability as well as Roy Scheider’s pensive worry throughout the film. The only slightly negative thing I’ll say about this film is that once they get on the boat, it gets a little long. But I also understand what Spielberg was trying to do in showing the audience how smart and how indestructible this animal was.

And of course I can’t go without mentioning John William’s work in the film. While the Jaws theme is deservingly the star of his work. I was surprised at how many happy melodic tunes were apart of the movie.

I would seriously recommend this to anyone who hasn’t seen it. It’s currently on Netflix, but I wouldn’t watch this with any little ones around, despite the rating being PG, this was PG before Temple of Doom came out and implemented the PG-13 rating. So at the time it was just G, PG, and R. This movie is very graphic in terms of it’s violence, but it is truly a cinematic classic not to be missed.

#jaws #steven spielberg #movie #film #review #popcornblotter

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Kingsman: The Secret Service Review

So because Kingsman: The Golden Circle is releasing this weekend, I thought I’d re-watch the original to catch myself up.

For those who don’t know this film, Kingsman: The Secret Service is about a young man named Eggsy, who’s given an opportunity to become an elite spy in an organization more secret than MI6. The plot of the film is sort of like other films, pass a lot of tests to become a part of the group.

If you haven’t seen this film, I’d definitely recommend it. The vibe is take some of the old school James Bond films, and inject it with speed. This film has style, heart, humor, and great action.

Every performance in this film is great, especially Colin Firth, which I remember took me by surprise because I would’ve never thought of him as an action guy with great comedic timing. Newcomer Taron Egerton brings a lot of heart as Eggsy, making for a funny and relatable hero. Samuel L. Jackson has some great lines as the villain with a Mike Tyson-esque lisp. Another newcomer Sofia Boutella makes a splash on screen as Jackson’s henchmen who now is starting to establish herself in other films like Atomic Blonde, The Mummy, and Star Trek: Beyond.

The action in this film is stellar and unlike any other action movie I’ve seen. Its fast paced, the camera’s frenetic, and its brutal as fuck. I won’t say much about it, but there is a scene in a church, and it is insane.

If you haven’t seen this one, please do. You’ll come away with an awe and a smile on your face, and I’m very excited for the sequel and the expansion of that world.

#kingsman #movie #film #review #popcornblotter