Best Matches of November

What a month, this is a tough list.

1. Wargames: Nxt Wargames

2. Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream: NXT Wargames

3. Marty Scurll Vs Will Ospreay: Power Struggle

4. Brock Lesnar vs AJ Styles: Survivor Series

5. Pete Dunne vs Johnny Gargano: NXT TV

Martin McDonagh Ranked

I love Martin McDonagh, to me he is the new Quentin Tarantino, sharp wit, violent films full of great acting, gets great performances.

1. Seven Psychopaths
One of the most fun films you can find in the last decade. Over the top, gory, smart, meta with out being meta. Super cool film that not enough folks have seen.

2. In Bruges
Small than Psycopaths but a tighter script, and one that rightfully got recognition at the Oscars, though it didn't win.

3. Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Last doesn't mean worst. This is one of the best of the year, some said it looked like his oscar bait film, fuck that, this flick is pretty balls out & crazy. Every actor delivers, it is super funny at times, well shot and has gorgeous displays of violence that McDonagh has come to bring us!

Kuso

Here is a film i thought i would love, but didn't even really like it, i respected it though. I respect the weirdness, i respect the absurd humor, i respect making a film like this period. Alot of modern trash cinema feels too cheap, like hey, we know we wont get a theatrical release so lets scrape by, by the bare minimum. This has better production value than most of them, and the chocking humor works...for shocks, not so much for humor. Lots of anal jokes, jizz jokes & shit jokes, which i find funny, but the formula just didn't mesh well here.

Roman J. Israel Esq

In 2014 it seemed as though Dan Gilroy emerged as a new force in filmmaking with his debut feature, Nightcrawler. What was essentially an exploitation film quicky earned praise and Jake Gylenhaal had a bunch of support for best actor and it put Riz Ahmed on the map. I am sure i read about his next film but it went forgotten, then i saw the trailer for Roman J. Israel Esq, and it looked like your basic Densel Washington flick but something told me to look it up, i'm glad i did as it is directed by Gilroy. The film however, is as dull and boring as most Washington vehicles, it lacks the style, the atmosphere, and vision that Nightcrawler had. The acting is all wooden, and you feel as if Nightcrawler is a one hit wonder. I hope it isn't, I hope Gilroy delivers another amazing film in the next 3 year!

The Punisher

I loved Daredevil, even the slow episodes, Jessica Jones i enjoyed for her attitude and for an amazing villain, Daredevil 2 was even better, thanks in part to the Punisher. Between those series we got a boring Luke Cage and a med Iron Fist, The Defenders was enjoyable. Now along comes the Punisher, a show that started off fantastic, in the pilot, but like many shows, has too much plot in the middle. Had it not been streamable, or even the Punisher, i wouldn't have continued, the 11th & 12th episodes were really good but the finale was lackluster, some good kills, that is about it. I tried to watch the Runaways aswell but it seemed too much like an early 00s stereotypical high school show. Hell even DC shows are starting to lose steam with me, Television, i am almost over you.

Detroit

Whoa, Kathryn Bigelow does it again. When she did the Hurt Locker it was great, when she followed it up with Zero Dark Thirty, you could tell she wanted to get away from her horror/action roots. She had a knack for war films, and more or less films that are politically charged and have deep meaning. Here instead of showing terrorism from abroad it shows terrorism in our own land. Racist, hardheaded cops in the midst of riots in the 60s. Will Poulter is terrific in the role, and as the protagonist, John Boyega is fantastic. Poulter should get a nomination for sure. Bigelow more than likely will get a best director nomination and the film best picture. While i would love for more genre films to get attention, knowing the academy, many wont, so this is a safe bet. Bigelow has crafted her most emotional, intense & brutal film yet, this is a scary world we live in, and even an event 50 years ago, seems more modern than ever before, and she captures it in every scene.

LBJ

Damn, Rob Reiner, damn. You got a good performance from Woody Harrelson, but constructed a boring & tired film, it seems this is going to be the opposite of Darkest Hour. I can't say i have really enjoyed a Reiner film since Misery, and even then i am not a huge fan. I love This Is Spinal Tap, i LOVE the Princess Bride & Stand By Me. It is tough to watch his films some times, which sucks, cause i genuinely am a fan of the man himself. 

AHS Cult

So i loved the first season of this show, it was sexual, surreal, and artsy. The second season it was known, and it tried to throw too much at the series, too many plot holes, too much going on. Season three went a step back thankfully and by this time the audience for the series knew exactly what they wanted, and we got it. Interesting characters with good plots, sexy plots, weird shit, we got it. The fourth season the show became pretentious, to me it was a little better than Asylum(season 2) but not by much. The fifth season was more or less the same, it was the third best of the series, but the show needs to embrace sex & violence, not give us convoluted plots, which seasons 2, 4, & 5 gave us. Season 6, terrible, originally i was going to just binge the season, but i was suckered in by the myster plot teased in trailers. I wound up binging the final few episodes of the latest season, shit, easily the second worst season. Interesting plot, no payoff, highly pretentious characters & plots i am done with the series. I am sorry, i would love to see the Murder House/Coven Cross over, but if it is not season 8, i am done. 

NXT Takeover & WWE Survivor Series

1. Lars Sulivan defeated Kassius Ohno.
The right man won, Lars is the monster in nxt, Ohno is the hero(pun intended) that has fallen. Lars i see as a bodyguard on the main roster. Ohno, i see on a losing streak and giving him a Rocky Balboa moment winning the tag titles a year or so from now.

2. Aleister Black beat Velveteen Dream
Great match, saw it a few weeks ago at a house show. Right man won, again. Black is destined to face Lars in Philly. Maybe Donovan Dijak at New Orleans, i would have him win the Andre Battle Royal. Dream will be the top heel in nxt in a year, unless they turn him face, which was teased.

3. Ember Moon beat Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce & Kairi Sane
Good match, needed more time. I would have had Royce win, Moon i would have had win a womens Rumble, Nikki will go to the main roster with Sanity. Sane could have chased the title!

4. Andrade Cien Almas beat Drew McIntyre
Supposedly this was an audible, but Almas deserved it. Amazing athlete, highly underrated! I am going with a triple threat in Philly with Cole winning it.

5. Undisputed Era beat Sanity and the Authors of Pain & Rodderick Strong.
Awesome war games, best hardcore match in the wwe in years. AoP are main roster bound. Sanity will drop the tag titles to Redragon.

1. Ellias beat Matt Hardy
I hope Ellias's star keeps rising, and i hope Matt losing leads to him being woken(broken).

2. Enzo Amore beat Kalisto
Rumor is Neville is returning to the WWE, him vs Enzo is ready made.

3. Kevin Owens ^ Sami Zayn beat Breezango
Good throw away match. Gave a little rub to Tyler Breeza & Fandango. Would love for Zayn & Owens to win the tag titles and drop em to Breezango at Mania.

4. Shield beat the New Day
Cold have gone either way, really good match.

5. Raw Women beat Smackdown Women.
Glad Asuka was the sole survivor, smart booking having her against two heels.

6. Barron Corbin beat the Miz
Miz worked more of a face style, massively over which Corbin isn't.

7. Usos beat the Bar
Great hard hitting tag match!

8. Charlotte beat Alexa Bliss
Solid match

9. Brock Lesnar beat AJ Styles
Glad it was AJ and not Jinder, it would not have felt special, this match did, to former IWGP champions.

10. Raw Men beat SD men
Ugh, it gave us great teases of HHH vs Roode, HHH vs Nakamura, Finn vs Nakamura. But eliminating Roode & Nak first from SD, made no sense, should have been Orton. Cena shouldn't have been in this, he didn't even feel like a special deal, which is a shame, i am a Cena fan, but it should have been Rusev. I wish Braun would have got the pin over Shane, but if it leads to a HHH-Braun

Wonder

Stephen Chbosky delivered my favorite film of 2012, The Perks of Being a Wall Flower, based upon his novel of the same name. 5 years later he delivers again. Wonder isn't my favorite film of the year, but it is a wonder for sure. Instead of the early 90s, we are in the mid 10s, we get a minor glimpse in high school but the meat of the film comes from elementary school(well middle school here, but where i am from middle school is the seventh grade and not 5th grade). We see bullying, hypocrites, liars, fakes, and finding yourself and the friends you truly deserve to have. It is a touching film with a great heart & great acting!

Professor Martson & the Wonder Women

Perhaps it was due to the impending Wonder Mania we got this year, but we received a bio pic of sorts of the creation of Wonder Woman, her creators, their sex lives and the turbulence of the times  for female rights. This film does a great job of capturing the importance of the creation of the character, it shows kinks before kinks were out of the dungeon, and it shows how bad shit was for women while using a mirror on today's society. The AMC special that aired earlier this week also captured everything well, in a condensed version, and those that saw that, i hope check this out aswell!

Blade of the Immortal

Takashi Miike is a powerhouse, i first became aware of him through Eli Roth bringing him up so much. I had heard of Ichi The Killer, Audition & Visitor Q but had never seen em. There are still films of his i haven't seen, but i have seen a good chunk of them. His 100th film, Blade of the Immortal, looks spectacular. It seems as though he is done with extreme horror, and done with his weird phase, and is not doing spectacle, that is exactly what this film is, a spectacle!

Ladybird

I think Greta Gerwig is super cute, super funny & super talented. I am not a fan of Francis Ha, but everything else she is in, she is awesome, her debut directorial film Nights & Weekends seems more like  Joe Swanberg film(he co directed) , but now she has Ladybird! A wicked sharp coming of age film set in 2002 Sacramento in a Catholic High School. It shows early 00s post 9/11 fear, questioning moral decisions & religion, sex, homosexuality, betraying your friends, bonding with your family, loss of jobs, and finding where you belong. Saoirse Ronan is terrific in this, as she is in everything she is in. I hope Ronan gets a best actress nomination, i hope Laurie Metcalf gets a supporting actress nomination, i hope the films gets a best picture nomination, and i hope Gerwig gets nominations for directing and writing.

Justice League

To start off, the DCEU, Man of Steel is still solid, BvS & Suicide Squad are still cluster fucks, Wonder Woman is still the most coherent, this is right bellow MoS. It will be hard for DC to top Wonder Woman, but this was a fun flick. Steppenwolf is not a good villain here, rather bland, the Mother Box angle is basically the Infinity Gauntlet, and some of the battles have too much going on, why or how did Bruce Wayne know an attack was coming cause of Lex Luthor? Moving on, Ben Affleck is still a good Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gal Gadot is still a great Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa is a pretty fun Aquaman, JK Simmons in his small role is a good Jim Gordon, Jeremy Irons is a good Alfred, Henry Cavill is finally becoming a traditional Superman, the humor really works, and alot of it comes from the films MVP, Ezra Miller as the Flash. The film looks great, it looks like a comic, some shots look like great posters or paintings. The only member i am leaving out was Cyborg, dull, very dull, never been a fan of the character, comic and now film. The music choices were good, loved the use of the 89 Batman theme. The mid credit stinger was fun, the end credit stinger set up the sequel well. It still needed a more organic approach, cause seeing these characters together didn't pack the same punch as it did in the Avengers. The larger than life event film that the Avengers was, this is not, but it is still an enjoyable flick!

The Only Living Boy In New York

In 2009 500 Days of Summer had me head over heels, i loved quirky indie comedies, they were my bread & butter, hell they still are. When he was announced to direct Amazing Spider Man, i was stoked. Use his hipster mentality on Peter Parker, and it worked...for Peter Parker. He returned to small film making this year with Gifted, a sweet & charming flick, but it didn't feel like him. Now we get the Only Living Boy in New York. This feels like the film he should have made post 500 Days, but you know what, perhaps he will do more films like this, cause this was really good. It has huge influence from the Graduate, with the kid fucking an older woman, except instead of it being his girlfriend's mom, it is his dad's mistress. I can't help but want to watch  Garden State every time i hear The Only Living Boy in NY, great song and used in great films.This isn't quite as quirky, witty or charming as 500, but it has his hipstery sensibilities in it, and Jeff Bridges is great(as usual) in this. I hope this finds an audience, cause it really seems to be under the radar. 

Brigsby Bear

This was a pretty charming film, a socially inept man that was forced to live in a underground house by his fake parents and his only outside connection was a fake series. After they are arrested he meets his real family and their friends, forming a ragtag group of outcasts that set out to make a feature film based on the fictional series he watched his entire life. At times it is hilarious, at other times touching & sad. Great acting, smart script, full of heart. A rather inspiring film about filmmaking and finding your place in the world. 

The Beguiled

I wasn't much a fan of the original, and i like Sofia Coppola but don't love her. Together i was not too excited for this but i figure, fuck it, give it a shot. The acting is good, as it should be with this cast, it looks great, as it should with Sofia, but ultimately is was rather dull.

Better Watch Out

Christmas & Horror go together perfectly, Silent Night Deadly Night, Gremlins, Black Christmas, Silent Night Bloody Night, Body, and now one more can be added, Better Watch Out. If you were a fan of The Babysitter, this is the reversal of that. It is fun, not as light though, about an obsessive & clingy 12 year old with his baby sitter. I read to not watch the trailer, so i didn't, and i am glad i didn't. This film has some legit shocks in it, not for pushing boundaries or anything, but in terms of it being a totally different film than i though. The violence isn't done in a comedic & splatstick way like the babysitter, instead you feel the shock the characters do when they see the killings happen. The main character is twisted, and the crimes he commits are not ones you would normally see in even a horror film, bravo. Great tension, it leads you one way, and pulls the rug from under you, great gore, and a highly satisfying ending.

Vice Principals

The first season started off as a mixed bag but quickly became great, the second season started great, had a couple spotty episodes but a great final few episodes. Danny McBride & Jody Hill found a great formula, have an end game in sight, 2 seasons, 18 episodes, cut to the chase. Great characters, shocking violence, hilarious bits. Thank you for two seasons of solid television!

THe Killing of a Sacred Deer

Yorgos Lanthimos is a director i respect but don't love. Dogtooth is a weird & solid film, his english language the Lobster was more of the same, but honestly tested my limits with the pretentiousness of it. The Killing of a Sacred Deer, is that and then some. It is super creepy, pretty disturbing and at times really funny, but it takes forever for anything to happen. It is an art school horror film, i dig it, but don't love it, i respect it, but i don't know how much i like it to watch it or any of his other films a second time. Super tedious, yet ambitious, well acted yet wooden, it is a conundrum. I wish he would do a straight up comedy, i think it would be interesting.

Halloween Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!

I became aware of this film via Rue Morgue last month, the cover looked cool, the plot sounded cool, and the name was cool. I rented it tonight, it looks cool, the plot is tired & cliche, but the name is still cool. Basically is it Hostel meets Saw, and alot of it reminded me of a better version of 31, i say better lightly, as this film is pure shit. I thought it would be cheap, but it has good production, unfortunately in having good production it means that not as much can be forgiven. The acting, plot, gore, all is awful. It isn't a boring film by any means, it is just a shitty film & a waste of time.

Wonderstruck

Todd Haynes first came to my attention as a teen, like many, with Velvet Goldmine. Since then i have devoured his filmography, and while all his films have been solid to great, nothing has grabbed me to make me say, "wow, that was amazing", until now. Wonderstruck is his best since Goldmine, and while i prefer the former, the later might be better actually. The acting, especially from children is great, it looks gorgeous. Two different stories, with similar plots are played throughout the film, both involving deaf runaways to New York, one is a silent black & white film set in the 20's, the other is colored, has sound and set in the 70's. When the two tales intertwine, it damn near moves you to tears. Brilliant film making and easily one of the best films of 2017!

Murder on the Orient Express

Kenneth Branagh is a director & actor i highly respect, yet alot of his film i don't love, i did Frankenstein & i love Thor, that is about it, but Murder on the Orient Express is a fun ride. Super stylish, good acting, and pretty damn funny aswell. Branagh steals the show when he is on     screen, everyone is good in this, he however, is great. The climax is a bit rushed, but the climax to    me was a bit more satisfying than the original was. Plenty are writing this off as a bore from the  trailers, fuck it, it moves fast, has witty dialogue and is gorgeous to watch, both the cast and the     cinematography. The role seems custom made for Branagh, Classical, intelligent and humorous, and he injects those qualities into the film itself.

The Deuce

You know, i honestly had no idea last weeks episode was the finale. The pilot showed so much promise, i loved it. James Franco was great, Maggie Gyllenhaal was great, Margarita Levieva was really great, but as the show went on, Franco's characters got tired, Maggie seemed as bored as her characters sex life but Margarita was still a bright spot. I loved how authentic the show felt, the Scorsese grittiness of it, but besides the pilot, it didn't really do much. I did finish the season so it did more for me than many shows do. 

Match of October

1. Finn Balor vs AJ Styles: TLC

2. Usos vs New Day: Hell in a Cell for the Tag Team Titles

3. Kevin Owens vs Shane McMahon: Hell in a Cell

4. Andrade Cien Almas vs Johnny Gargano: NXT TV

5. Cody Rhodes vs Kushia: Global Wars

Book Of Love

9%? it isn't that bad. Sure it is a basic story, but Jason Sudeikis is good enough to carry the entire film, Maisie Williams i love on Game of Thrones but her accent here kept taking me out of the story. The story as i said is basic but it has heart, a coming of age story for two different characters on two different paths. It is worth a curiosity rent, and you do begin to care for the characters, whether it be their personal space(the scrabble board) or their well being(the raft incident).

Wilson

I really enjoyed Craig Johnson's debut film, True Adolescents, his follow is one of the most underrated films of 2014, the Skeleton Twins. Now along comes Wilson, damn, this dude is great. Part road movie, part coming of age, but super dysfunctional the entire time. This might be Woody Harrelson's best performance in years. He can be unlikable at times but he has a heart, alot of it comes from his delivery and facial expressions. Laura Dern continues her new string of wins for her career as well.

Dean

This is a film i wanted to love but i only liked. I wish it had been quirkier than it was, Demetri Martin seems like he could deliver us a Garden State. He lovelorn character didn't seem to know whether to be a sadsack over the separation of his fiance or a jolly nice guy that learns a lesson. I liked the characters, i liked the plot, i just wanted more.

Jigsaw

I loved the first Saw, i prefer the second one, i think it is better in every way. The third i hated, to this day it is still the worst in the franchise. The fourth i didn't bother to see in theatres, opting to torrent it, i enjoyed it more  than the third but not enough to see the fifth in theatres, which i rented. The sixth one was the first i saw in theatres in three years and i enjoyed it, the seventh, not so much. I was kind of stoked for the newest one, the trailer did it for me, but it was more of the same. A convoluted & contrived plot that thinks it is smarter than it is  but is ultimately boring as shit and gore for the sake of gore. I will give the final shot credit for being different, but i wish i would have pulled a Pirates/Transformers on it and passed on it.

The Snowman

Wow, this truly is as big of a mess as everyone has said. I LOVED Let the Right One In, LOVED it, one of the best vampire films in recent memory. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, while i didn't love it, i admired the film for being brilliantly crafted. Now we get to the Snowman, which showed promise, and it has a great cast, but holy hell, i was bored to tears. The plot is jumbled, the acting is wooden, Michael Fassbender tries his best to make it work but the behind the scenes seems to have been so troubled that the production pretty much collapsed sadly. I know they wanted a possible franchise, but damn, this will truly go down as a disaster that ruined those plans. Do yourself a favor and just go watch Wind River instead, much better film.

The Foreigner

I wasn't the most impressed by the trailer for this, but it is a new theatrical flick with Jackie Chan so fuck it, i will check it out. The film itself is not quite as it shows in the trailer, Chan is almost the antagonist, well until we find out Pierce Bronson is the true villain but before that, Chan commits some terrorist attacks. The plot is a little boring but the gore is great, the explosions & sets are great, and the fights are really great. Jackie Chan still has it.

Suburbicon

Ugh, i was highly let down last year by Hail Caesar, plus i wasn't a fan of the Coen's script for Bridge of Spies, neither of them even touch Suburbicon. Christ, what a mess, maybe George Clooney is to blame as director, but that was awful, except Oscar Isaac, he is fantastic in everything. The best Coen Bros esque flick this year is still Logan Lucky, which they had nothing to do with.

Thor Ragnarok

Thor Ragnarok is the best of the Thor Trilogy. The first was gorgeous but dragged down by the earth characters, the second one ran with Loki but the earthlings yet again pulled it down. This here is awesome, only complaint is some of the humor derails the story. Those dumb MCU jokes aside, this is MCU's version of Flash Gordon. Camp, great music pulpier characters. The ending!? Bring it on Infinity War! 

The Lure

This trailer instantly made me want to see it, then i waited a year to finally see it. It is a horror/fantasy/musical about mermaids, and the gore isn't half bad, it is not the selling point, the story is, and the story is good. The story also happens to be surrounded by a really good musical. Add all of these elements up and you have a cult film. A lot of folks say cult films are dead, but this film proves that cult films are alive and well. It being foreign might steer some away, but fucking read peeps, fucking read. It is really well made & acted, so some might say a pretentious cult film, fuck that aswell, it is a labor of love and a super fast watch. Artsy hipsters will love it, the midnight crowd will love it.