American Ultra

Max Landis, oh i want to love you, you come across cool yet semi douchey, but your scripts are cool but are never awesome. I love you youtube videos, totally awesome stuff, but this film felt bi polar. It starts off awesome, the making of a modern cult classic, then it tries to be too serious and throw too much in the script, it should have just been a batshit stoner spy film. I enjoyed this film i truly did but it needed to be tighter. I don't mid gore out of nowhere but this film tried to be Pineapple Express, it should have been more in tone with Weirdsville.

Cop Car

Okay i have not yet seen Clown, but i want to see it badly, up next? Spider Man! In between the two? Cop Car, this was a tense flick. Kevin Bacon plays a dirty cop, hiding bodies, when two 10 year olds steal his cop car, they get in over their head, can't really get into it without spoilers but the kids are reckless & it gets bad for them, it gets tense half way through or so in and doesn't let up til the end! Is it a great film? It is solid, i liked it but did not love it!

The Final Girls

Here is a film i thought i would enjoy, not a film i thought i would love. It is a unique concept, a double bill of two 80's slashers, a fire happens, our lead characters get transported into the film. The cast is fantastic, it is a sold & cool ass cast, the music works for the decade and it celebratest the tropes of slashers and horror fandom in general. It is a film that is genuinely funny and it features pretty awesome effects, it lifts alot from the Friday the 13th franchise but all with tongue in cheek and a wink at the camera but not in a look at me sort of way that plenty of "grindhouse" movies  do, no sir, this does not try to be grindhouse, this is a comedy with characters in a 80;s slasher, so they play alot with the character types and run times of the film, only to fuck it up and hit the reset button. This is going to be a horror flick i will revisit quite a bit!

Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

Here is a film that could have been super sappy, it  looked like stuff like the Fault of Our Stars, and alot roped it in with them, i wanted to see it as it looked more along the lines of coming of age/depressed films like Perks of Being a Wallflower. As a matter of fact this would make a great double bill with Perks, alot of the themes carry over plus it is a film where you care about the characters. I relate alot to the lead, we wear the same jacket, make films, wear Dawn of the Dead merchandise, and fills a disconnect. The theme of friendship is strong, he has a friend Earl, that he considers a coworker as they make films, just so he wont have to have a legit friend. Rachel his mom forces his friendship upon, and yes it has the cliche aspects of a relationship but it never goes there, which is both refreshing and sad, you cherish their bond yet long for love. Through the trial & tribulations they build a friendship and truly begin to love each other, never romantically, until the end but that is never fully seen sadly. It is a tear jerker of a film and one hell of a crafted film, Wes Anderson inspiration is apparent. As for film itself, the film is full of nods to many films, the two leads make sweeded versions of classic cinema such as A Clockwork Orange & Midnight Cowboy, only with absurd plots & names. If you are a film fan, do not think it will be a sappy film, you will love it, if you mainly dig genre film, please do not write this off as a hipster film, you will appreciate to love of film that is put into it!

Jessica Jones

When Marvel announced they were doing a Jessica Jones series i was a lil confused, why this, why not any other character. I had seen her in comics but did not knout her know much about her other than Luke Cage butt fucks her. Daredevil was great so shy not, lets give it a shot. I am glad i did, one, Krysten Ritter i have never been big on, hot yes, but her credits are not the nest(save Breaking Bad) but here she works, it features one of my favorite characters Luke Cage. Now before i go on with more of what works let me focus in on Cage, he is not how i imagined him to be on film yet his fight scenes work, his relationship with Jessica is believable i would rather have a 60s/70s style blaxploitation Cage but i will settle for this. Marvel has never had the best villains in my mind yet the ones of their shows have been greatly cast, first Vincent D'Onofrio as the Kingpin now David Tennant as Killgrave. The character is not memorable in the comic yet here he pops with charisma, almost more than Loki does, he runs with the role and it is a slowburn, first half he is mysterious and rarely seen, the second half he is all over it. Tennant has always had charisma, hell he is one of the bright spots of Doctor Who for me, but his wit & the way he carries himself is second to none! The supporting characters also work, Jessica's apartment has a set of twins and a drug addict, the later of which becomes one of the best parts of the show. The fights can look repetitive but the payoff is worth it, their is blood throughout the series, and it is quite awesome to see. I love seeing how the underbelly of the MCU is, and little aspects that the Avengers would not notice, the crime of Daredevil, the mystery of Jessica Jones, and once these tv characters come together for the Defenders, and once the Defenders meet the Avengers, it will be epic! THe Night Nurse of my lovely Rosario Dawson returns and plays a major part in the finale, the easter eggs & references are dropped and seeds are planted, this is going to be a great ride!

Rocky Franchise

Some series should come to an end, some start off great, get a great follow up then they become something else. The Rocky series is a franchise like that. It goes from great to camp to solid.

1. Rocky
The orginal is a great sports film, and not just a sports film but a film about human condition The character of  Rocky is a paid good and not too bright yet he has heart and knows right from wrong but life is tough, and sometime you have to do bad shit and learn from it, roll with the punches, and roll with the punches he does. It is a film about defeat yet in that defeat you can win in life.

2. Rocky 2
A solid follow up and a reveral of a film, the second round if you will, the underdog story finally comes true.

3. Rocky 3
Rocky is unstopable it seems at this point and the series becomes camp, Hulk Hogan & Mr. T both ham it up, the character of Apolo Creed makes his "babyface" turn and he and ROcky form a tag team....yeah i went there.

4. Rocky 4
Even campier than 3, this one is pure 80's americana action, yet it is fun as fuck to watch.

5. Creed
In  time this might rank higher, but the nostolgic in me still places the first 4 above it, but this is easily the best since the first! It is its own story, with slight nods to the others, great acting, possibly the best written of the bunch too, not to mention best directed.

6. Rocky 6
This is a solid film and one that would make a perfect trilogy with the first two.

7. Rocky 5
I used to hate this film, it is not well written(but writing is not Sly's strong suit) and it can be dull at points but it is not awful, it is better than i remembered it to be.

Hunger Games Franchise Ranked

Okay so alot assume adapting a fantasy novel like Lord of the Rings led to the adaption of Harry Potter(both released in 2001) , yet Potter paved the way for young adult books, alot were a miss but along came the Hunger Games. and with that came the Mortal Instruments, Divergent & the Maze Runner. This weekend brings the final chapter in the Hunger Games, here is how i rank them.

1. The Hunger Games
At first i was against the film, a teen targeted version of Battle Royale? Pass, but then i saw it, and it got away with alot for a PG13 flick, and it was actually a damn good film.

2. Catching Fire
The first half i find super boring but once the games kick in, it becomes awesome.

3. Mockingjay 2
The first act i found boring as hell, the middle portion i liked the rebel revolution vibe but it still felt like the Maze Runner, a series i actually like more. The final act was a jumbled mess in my opinion,

4. Mockingjay
Boring as fuck....that is all....though it has hotties!

THe Night Before

First off, i haven't laughed this hard in a theatre in a long ass time, probably since THis is the End, maybe even longer. Also there hasn't been an awesome mainstream christmas movie in a long ass time, but with this, Body & the upcoming Krampus, i feel we are on the right track. Seth Rogen knows his drugs, yes some of the hallucinations were a bit over done but 98% of his trip in the film felt legit. SO many times i will watch a film and the trip will be other worldly as in seeing shit everywhere, they are other worldly but in a experience sort of way, you go through shit, and that is what the characters o  through here. I have tripped alot, usually they are awesome, sometimes they are bad, when shit gets real it sucks, and Rogen's character faces that the entire film. Joseph Gordon Levitt is also highly relateable here, he faces alot of issues and carries the films heart. For a raunchy drug flick this film has heart, something most films involving Rogen have, you feel bad for JGL cause we have all been in his shoes. Anthony Mackie is the jock that befriended the nerds, and sticks by them, fame has his but he has a coming of age, as do the other two, Michael fucking Shannon is great as their pot dealer, Lizzy Caplan is as hot as always, bit parts for Mindy Kaling work, Jillian Bell is adorable, Ilana GLazer steals scenes, plus cameos from Miley Cyrus & James Franco were to perfection. THe humor does not miss a beat, the heart is warming and the message of friendship rings great bells. This is a awesome drug flick, an awesome comedy, ans awesome coming of age flick, and awesome christmas movie!

Master of None

I used to love Aziz Ansari, i loved his stand up, loved him in his bit roles in films, and loved him of Parks & Rec, then he got a lil PC for me in real life. At first i had no interest in his new series, but upon seeing reviews i had to check it out, and that is something i am glad i did. This show is brilliant, one of the best sitcoms there is, possibly only to Louie and Silicon Valley, in alot of ways it reminds me of Louie. Only Louie is stripped of comedy at times and is a slice of life, this here keeps comedy at the core but has a great heart, a great heart with real issues & commentary without seeming heavy handed. Aziz himself is a standout, but Eric Wareheim is the shit on it too, as is the entire cast, even small parts by H Jon Benjamin still scenes, there was never a part i found dull and everything had i perfect pace.

Human Centipede 3

Ugh, okay well the first in this series is good for "shock value" i use quotes as it is actually somewhat tame, just a gross matter, it is not a bad film but it is nothing i love, seen it three times each time was meh. The second had alot of censorship problems, and the meta aspect didn't work for me, only saw it once. So why watch the third? Because it is the final sequence.....i guess? BUt i found this film boring as shit, as boring as the shit that passes through the characters mouths THe uber meta story did nothing, at times it feels like a parody, only is doesn't know what to mock. This is like Paranormal Activity, each one gets worse, these aren't even shocking, it is forced grotesque images, nothing feels organic, shocks for the netflix generation.

Bone Tomahawk

Wow, where to begin, this here is a fucking movie, you know that speech in True Romance, this is what i think of! Kurt Russell is kick ass as usual but in a way he hasn't been in a long time, Patrick Wilson is hitting a one two punch with this & Fargo, Richard Jenkins should be proud to add this to his resume, Mathew Fox does his best acting this side of Lost! The tension is perfect, the score adds alot to that, when bad shit happens or pain is being dished out, whether it be an injury or an attack, and it is that way for 2 hours. This is not a non stop action film, nor is it a slow burn, it is well paced but builds character, and when there is gore, holy hell it is awesome. Think of the old westerns of men on a mission, facing off with indians, only add in a cannibal factor, does it sound awesome? Hat is what this is! Rio Bravo meets Cannibal Holocaust , not saying it will be a all time classic like Rio Bravo nor is it as shocking as Cannibal Holocaust but it is a great fucking film! You know it is a great film when even David Arquette does good acting, plus it was cool to see genre favorites like Sean Young & Sid Haig pop up. If this film comes to an area near you, see it!

Morbid

This is a fun flick, it is cheap, looks cheap, but does not try to be anything else. It reminded me of stuff i work on, the dialogue at the beginning is oozing with geekdom, the low budget tv stations are straight outta Tromaville, the over acting by the cop is done with tongue firmly in cheek. Is this film a modern day slasher classic? No. Is this film a fun flick made with heart? You bet your ass it is. Chuck Conry knows his shit, the stuff he loves in real life is transferred on to his script and that in  turn is placed on film. I will be the first to admit that no budget horror can be a pain to watch sometimes but this one felt like a legit underground piece of awesomeness! I hope to see more films from Conry and i hope he makes the films he wants to make, this here is indeed a Chuck Conry film!