Sicario: Day of the Soldado

This was one of my most anticipated films of the year, and it did not disappoint. I think the first is one of, if not the best film of this decade. Where as that was a great drama with intense action, this is an intense action film with great drama!

American Animals

I saw this film a few days ago, and forgot to post my thoughts on here, not because the film is bad, hell no, i loved it, it might be my second favorite film of the year. It is brilliant, it is endlessly entertaining, super stylish, both in terms of craftsmanship & acting, the cinematography is gorgeous, the sets & cast mesh together for hyper style in fantasy scenes set to amazing songs, it is also pretty damn funny, without being comedic, amazingly paced and meta as fuck. Using the real people in cut aways as well as inserting them into the plot and having the real people discuss shit with their film counterparts. My other favorite film is Thoroughbreds, and yeah, a double feature for the two is in order!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

It is no secret i love dinosaurs and i love the Jurassic Park franchise. When the first trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped i thought it was awesome, but upon seeing the second trailer, i didn't know what to expect. On one hand i hated that the trailer gave away too much but i wasn't sure how i felt about what they gave away. Watching it play out in a feature film, you know what, i had a fun time with it. Owen, seems to be a parody of what SJWs complained about from the last film, and as a result Claire seems to be a response to this aswell. Him being more chivalrist  and able to do anything, her being more independent yet more needy. These two become a a couple and parental figures to a bright spot of the film, young Isabella Sermon as the "granddaughter" of co Jurassic Park founder Benjamin Lockwood. The two other new additions Justice Smith & Daniella Pineda are totally welcome, Smith can be annoying at times but it is the scripts fault, luckily he is needed. Pineda is a babe and needed more screen time. The dino action was great, both on island and in the states. The stalking of Isabella's Maisie is the most fearful since the kitchen scene in the original. The plot is different, the island is no more, Dinos are to be taken to a sanctuary but greed & billionaires get in the way and all hell breaks loose, bad times for them, fun times for us. People claim this is a bastardization of the franchise, but to me, it is blind nostalgia. Some some blind nostalgia makes people love things such as Stranger Things, but the thing is the masses love Stranger Things, and alot of the nostalgia is meant more for the cinephiles. Nostalgia here backfires, i think the people hating this don't realize that Jurassic Park 3 has the word Alan spoken by a raptor, and that The Lost World is a overbloated film and neither one is really needed. This here iwould still rank below the Lost World but it isn't the worst of the series, hell i love all of em!

Tag

Tag is a game everyone has played, some folks continued to play it for 23 years, got media coverage and a feature film adaptation. That film is tag, loosely based on A Wall Street Journal article about just that friends playing tag, in the film the crew is smaller and assuming the situations are a bit more fabricated to say the least. The actors play roles they know, but in a new way, against new types, within a fresh & funny setting. Fresh & funny is exactly what this film is, a fresh premise a funny script, and a fast paced film that doesn't take itself too seriously. I say too seriously because the film does have a serious moment towards the end, but after that it goes into the hilarious final moments that makes you glad to still have a youthful mindset. Even before that though the film is full of heart, these characters have been through alot together and truly love each other. The entire cast is great, for the principle cast of Tag players, it is hard to pick a favorite, Ed Helmes has tons of heart, he connects the gang, John Hamm is a perfect arrogant dick, Jeremy Renner is over the top in his theatrics yet a blast to watch, Hannibal Buress has never been better with his perfect deliveries, Jake Johnson has hopefully found his feature film coming out party. The best part for me however is Isla Fisher as Helmes' wife, she is so full of rage & passion that it turns you on, well me atleast. This isn't an oscar film by any means, but it honestly was one of the funnest times i've had in a cinema, hilarity from start to finish, so if you have superhero fatigue go check this out!

Ocean's 8

I am a fan of the original Ocean's Eleven, but i love the remake. I don't know how many times i have seen it, about 3 times the past year, i love pretty much everything there is about it. The first sequel, i hated, the second sequel i found meh, i have only seen each of them once, but i would like to revisit them. The spin off, with the all female crew of thieves, is a  fucking blast. All these gorgeous ladies do fine acting jobs, and it shows their talent if they can take a script that could or could not be realistic, and make you think, damn, this could fucking happen. Not using Steven Soderbergh was scaring me at first but i found the trailer to be well cut, and after seeing the film, it was in good hands. I loved the cameos, i loved the chemistry, i loved alot about this flick. Please if there is a 9 & 10, let them be better than 12 & 13. Boy, this series will confuse people chronologically.

Hotel Artemis

Take the Continental Hotel of John Wick, make it a hotel/hospital, and set it ten years in the future, you get Hotel Artemis. Bring in a great cast, a fun script & a great style, and you get a pretty damn kick ass film. The film starts off introducing each of our characters, from there we see their interactions and battle lines are drawn, the final act is when hell breaks loose. My only problem is i wish it had been maybe 15 minutes longer, give us a little bit more action.

Hereditary

Hereditary is easily the most unsettling & unnerving film i have seen in quite some time. The camera sneaks across the screen with a heart pumping score, it almost begs you to look away at times, but knows that it is such a perfectly crafted story that you refuse to look away as it is almost like missing an important piece of the puzzle. The film itself isn't a puzzle but every single frame feels important, this is a piece of art, a piece of art that is not easy to watch. It isn't so much scary as it is uncomfortable, the direction, the sound, the acting, everything adds up into one tense and gripping piece of cinema.

Action Point

Well.......Action Point, you looked like shit, yet you were a stunt by Johnny Knoxvile, and as a huge Jackass fan, i'd love to see him & Chris Pontius do their own stunts, but with a structured film. Well close to a structured film, this flick is a classic 80's slobs vs snobs flick, only without the classic. I get that the film is tryign to say hey, we're too PC and safe now, but when the characters are pretty unlikable and they do irritating and obnoxious shit through, you lose investment, it doesn't help that the flick is pretty dull too. I didn't hate the film, but i didn't like the film, it isn't unwatchable, but it is nothing i would ever watch again. The stunts are far & few between, as are the jokes, jokes, what jokes? This film just was not funny. You're Johnny Knoxville, i love you, but this film is pure Jackass shit.

Upgrade

Take Driver from Drive, the villains from the Crow, put them in Death Wish with a Robocop twist, and you get Upgrade. Leigh Whannell has made a bloody, fun, fast paced ass kicking film here. These post Raid/John Wick action films have been pretty fucking great, strike first, kick ass, take no prisoners. This also would be a great double bill with Hardcore Henry, i keep hearing folks say it reminds them of black mirror but for me, with the ending of the film, it hits closer as a action version of Ex Machina.

Match of May

Penta vs Shane Strickland :MLW
Cedrick Alexander vs  Buddy Murphy : 205 Live
Lars vs Velveteen Dream/Ricochet : NXT
Shane Strickland vs Jimmy Havoc :MLW
Brian Kendrick/Jack Galgher vs Akira Tozawa/Hideo Itami :205 Live
Drew Gulak vs Kalisto :205 Live
Austin Aries vs ACH :MLW
Jimmy Havoc vs Joey Janela :MLW
Jay Lethal vs Punishment Martinez :ROH
Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens :Raw