High Maintenance

So a little over a month ago, i binged to web series High Maintenance and loved it. It worked perfect in a web environment, however the translation to a sitcom format was spotty. The original had tons of heart, the series, took a few episodes to find its heart, but once it did, it was smooth sailing. You would feel terrible for certain characters, cringe at certain moments and rejoice the beauty in life. Sure, there is a lot of ugliness but finding a bond with one person, or even a pet, can mean the world. I love that it was only 6 episodes, as  i feel more shows need to be between 6 and 10, but it sucks that it only had 6 as it just found itself, and i have a feeling that we might not get a season 2, it was mentioned at one point, but so was Vinyl, and those plans fell through. Regardless, this is a super charming series, and a fast watch.

Keeping Up With the Jonses

I love Greg Mottola for the most part, i love Superbad, Adventureland & Paul, Daytrippers was so so, but look at his other films. Superbad is us in high school, nerds partying it up, trying to get the girl. Look at Adventureland, trying to find where you need to be. Then there is Paul, his geekiest yet. Superbad is his funniest, Adventureland is his best, and it is my favorite too. Now we get Keeping Up with the Jonses, a film that is pretty much a director for hire project. SUperbad he was sought out by Judd Apatow & Seth Rogen, Rogen & Simon Pegg did the same for Paul, Adventureland was his own project. Here you can tell his heart wasn't into it, it felt like a hack job, but it was still a fun flick, i wasn't bored, i laughed here & there, just didn't laugh alot, and the jokes i did laugh at, weren't hilarious, there were some good puns in there but overall, alot fell flat. With that said, if you want to spend an hour & a half at the theatre, go for it, but i recommend waiting at home to be honest.

Rocky Horror on Fox

https://www.facebook.com/oducerproducer/posts/10154628236908205?notif_t=like&notif_id=1477008223069341 Read it, live blog of sorts, piece of shit.

American Honey

Here we go, the big little film that could of 2016, a film that lit it up at the festivals, and you know what, it measures up. I respect how the film was made, largely unknowns, if that, as some weren't even actors, and shot chronologically. It looks great, has a grit to it, i hear there was alot of improv, and if so, that is wicked cool. The acting is good, it reminds me of Kids, but i liked it better. Much like Kids, it is a film with characters i would not want to hang out with. I know kids like this, alot work at haunted houses, not bad kids, just this type. as far as magazine sellers go, i have met many in my time, you can tell they are lying, but none are aggressive, pretty much how the film shows them, is how they are. Unlike Kids, i didn't hate all the characters, just a bit of them goes a long way. Now some have called this, the new Dazed & Confused and the new Easy Rider. Easy Rider was about freedom, as is this, Dazed was about youth, as is this, that is about it. Dazed is a classic, Rider is a classic, i think this has an audience but it will be in a full on hipster crowd. The ending could go either way, Dazed is bright, Rider is dark, where does the end of this film leave us? We don't know, and that is brilliant. Personally i think it will be good for a while, but shit will happen, and Star(our lead) will begin to earn money elsewhere. The film's beginning is rather sad, showing how some kids have it, makes you put your life in perspective, and seeing where they get their food from is sad. It took me awhile to want to type this up, cause i wasn't sure how i felt, but i am liking it more & more as the day goes on!  

Clown

Clown is one of those flicks that sat on the shelf for a while, created buzz, and once it comes out, after years of anticipation, you don't watch for a few months. Alas i finally did, it was enjoyable but nothing great, much like the directors other film, Cop Car. It had more humor, albeit dark humor, than i thought, but it got dark dark towards the end, without the humor. I dug the humor aspects, and the horror elements, i thought it was a solid flick, with a great concept, but that is about it, and that is okay, it is what i wanted. You don't need to love every film, and just because you don't, doesn't mean you hate it.

The Accountant

If you watch the trailer for the Accountant it looks like a by the numbers drama, decent but possibly forgettable, if you watch the film, it is much more of an action film, a lite John Wick, but not as cool. The flick is being dumped on by critics, and i assume it is because they didn't want as much action and violence in it, it is pretty cool shit to see, to be honest. Now i can see them hating the JK Simmons sub plot, as it really has nothing much to do with the main story other than giving us background info, truly the end of his subplot, meant nothing. Ben Affleck & Jon Berthnal are awesome as opposing badasses, Anna Kendrick is adorable but could have been stronger. I was surprised by how badass the action is, the hand to hand combat, the shootouts, pretty much everything.

Infiltrator

Bryan Cranston is a saint! The dude was the only good part of Godzilla, he was amazing in Trumbo, a film that may not have been as good with out him, and now Infiltrator, he & Johnny Legs are great here. We all know the story, and Narcos is all the rage, haven't watched it, but this was a damn fine flick, i think it needed a better director or more vision, but overall, solid flick!

Shin Godzilla

I love Godzilla, LOVE the series, always have, the films, the cartoons, the toys, fuck the american versions, yes both of them, ugh, they suck. Now Godzilla flicks have always been slow burns, However the latest one, needed about 30 minutes of trimming. Now this isn't a Godzilla battle flick, it is a reboot, so the military vs the monster, and in doing so, we see a lot of the government trying to figure out how to take Gojira down. It is okay at first, but begins to drag at the end, as i said, edit out a bit of that, and you have a solid Godzilla flick, Now the destruction is pretty cool, the power is awesome, and the look, I dug, Godzilla evolving was pretty cool, his look was different, but familiar. It isn't on the same level as the old Toho flicks, but anything beats the US versions,

The Girl on the Train

The premise for this film seemed like a Hitchcockian thriller, but the fact it was based on a book that came out last year, led me to believe it was a cash in. Get all the lonely basic bitches that in a book club to see this film based on  the book they all read. Well the trailer looked a bit like Gone Girl so i was convinced it would be a dull adaptation, not saying Gone Girl was, it was really good, but is this what Hollywood will give us in response? Well what we got was something that the critics hated, for the most part that is, but this film, was actually really good. It reminds me a bit of 90's trash thrillers only better, hell i could see 80s DePalma directing this. The directing here is actually good, there are a few choices in editing that could be better but the film itslef was really good. It unravels and keeps you guessing, it is booby & at times bloody. Much like Gone Girl it is a film you can not speak of with out mentioning spoilers, and for that, i am pleased, i like it when films are mysterious, the best of which is HBO's the Night Of, now two totally different beasts, but this here is more in the sleazy, exploitation variety, and i was glad i got that instead of a boring snoose fest. Much like a few other releases in the fall thus far, it is perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

Portlandia Season 6

Portlandia's first 4 seasons was possibly the best sketch comedy series there was at the time, season 5 became a tad more of a regular series and was brilliant, season 6 followede the same path. The characters & situations on this show are so relateable, especially if you live in a hipster city, but Omaha is no Portland, The music festival folks, i have seen, the snobs about ramen, i see all the time now a days(especially with Pop Up eateries becoming popular in the ramen field) . Hell the Ramen episode with the noodle monster was pure brilliance. This is easily the easiest comedy series to watch, binge the show, will take about 4 hours! C'mon, that is four boring episodes of Luke Cage.

Match of the Month September

Holy fuck, if you were not having orgasms from the month of September, what is wrong with you, especially shit WWE was putting out, but hell, ROH, Lucha,all were putting on great matches so this month was tough. but TJPvs Ibushi takes the cake.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4tdeyb_kota-ibushi-vs-tj-perkins-wwe-cruiserweight-classic-semi-finals_sport

Tim Burton Ranked

Tim Burton i used to love....i still love his style, i love many of his films, but in the past decade or so he has taken on odd turn of post modernism.


1. Beetlejuice
I have never seen any other movie, as many times as i have Beetlejuice, it is top 5 for life(my whole top 5 will be top 5 for life). I literally watched it every day from ages of 3 to 5, i still watch it about 4 times a year, it is perfect! The characters, the setting of boring America, the look, the dark humor, the effects, Michael fucking Keaton, one of, if not THE, best scores of all time. This is the Burton I LOVE!

2. Batman
The very first movie i saw in theatres, 2 years old, only image i remember is the Batwing in the moon, however this became the gold standard of Batman films, and to me, the second best Batman film behind the Dark Knight.

3. Ed Wood
I love Ed Wood, not just the film, but the man. He inspires me, hell i love Plan 9 not as a bad movie, but as a B movie. This film, shows his passion, his determination, and how to be guerilla!

4. Batman Returns
This Batman may feel more BURTON esque than the first, but Joker trumps all. However, Danny Devito is amazing here, and Michelle Pfeiffer is smoking in this!

5. Mars Attacks
Here was Tim Burton's Ed Wood film, right after Ed Wood, he did this, and broke the rules, you can't kill Jack Nicholson, boom, i will kill him more than once! It is such a fun flick, and possibly his fastest paced after Beetlejuice.

6. Edward Scissorhands
This is a good companion piece to Beetlejuice,  the white picket fence Americana, the gothic imagery, the whimsy, all long before it became what is is today.

7. Pee Wee's Big Adventure
If you are 25-45 and didn't love this flick as a kid, well WTF is wrong with you?!

8. Big Fish
This may be Burton's best looking film, and a highly underrated film at that. All the performances are great here and it is quirky as fuck.

9. Sleepy Hollow
Burton took his love of Hammer films, and made a Hammer esque film, another underrated film of his.

10. Sweeney Todd
This was a somewhat return to form for Burton after his clumsy 2005, but also his last great film(great Burton esque i will say). it is dark, bloody, and funny, but the look of the characters straight out of Hot Topic hurt the films reputation.

11. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
This film is a mixed bag, it is X Men done in the Harry Potter world, but holy fuck, are the skeletons cool! The film is fun, it has his trademarks but it feels too much like a Harry Potter flick, not that there is anything wrong with those films.

12. Big Eyes
This is the film post Sweeney that i mentioned was great, only this one doesn't feel like a Burton film, and i applaud that. It feels like he was trying something new, something smaller, and it worked!

13. Dark Shadows
This is a fun flick, i thought i was going to hate it, as the trailer, was awful, but it wasn't as corny as the trailer lets on, and is a decent modern version of the series. Forgettable yet fun, if it was on TV, i would watch it.

14. Frankenweenie
The short is better plus this film was over shadowed by Paranorman but it is still quite enjoyable!

15. Corpse Bride
Everyone was nuts about Nightmare Before Christmas, everyone still thinks he directed it, so he made this, and it wasn't as good.

16. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Awesome visuals but a meh flick.

17. Alice in Wonderland
I wanted to love this, i wanted it to be trippy as fuck, and I loathed it!

18. Planet of the Apes
But not as much as this....the originals are some of my all time favorites, luckily the new remakes made up for this.