Sunday, July 28, 2019

Orange is the New Black




This seasons Orange is the New Black was one of the most emotional & powerful. It tugged at heart strings for farewells & for political messages. The political commentary alone was the real power of the show, it really showcased ICE as the real piece of shit, racist, scum bag fucks it truly represents. The stories for our characters last season may not have been what i wanted, but i enjoyed the ride and the finale may not have set all the characters on perfect paths but overall it was one of the more satisfying finales for such a large ensemble.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Once Upon A TIme In Hollywood



Once Upon a Time In Hollywood celebrates the 60s, it also points fingers at the 60s. It showcases Hollywood and the studio & network system all while having a per usual, great QT soundtrack. The film is a journey with the lows and highs of celebrity and gives us various emotions & tones. We start with Hollywood by way of television and it is done in full QT glory with his cinema know how. Through that we see the parties with various thoughts of the Graduate & Peter Seller's The Party. Seeing the lifestyles of course brings up the hippie movement where we meet the Manson Family and we get a super cool albeit short Easy Rider fueled glimpse into their dumpster dives and hitches. Once Brad Pitt, in his best role since Fight Club, arrives at the ranch it truly begins to feel like a horror film seen through the eyes of Sam Peckinpah. The tension begins and it sticks with you the remainder of the film. Quentin tosses in a Wes Anderson scene when Pitt & Leonardo DiCaprio, in his best role since the Departed, arrive back from Italy. The first two & a half hours or so is pretty tame for a QT film, it is heavy on dialogue but not over bearing, it is stylish but it lacks that violence factor. Enter the last 30 minutes, throw that out the window and he goes for broke in a batshit crazy climax. This is much like Inglorious Basterds and is alternative history, and it works perfectly here. The film is endlessly entertaining, the script is tight as fuck, it looks gorgeous and the cast is fantastic, cameos galore, film jokes run amok and is easily his funniest film. This is possibly Tarantino's best picture since Pulp Fiction and might just be my favorite of his since said film.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The Art of Self Defense



Wrestling is big now, MMA is big, Cobra Kai is big, if you dig that shit and you love dark comedies or martial arts in general then The Art Of Self Defense is for you. Awkward ass Jesse Eisenberg plays awkward ass Jesse Eisenberg in a funny & violent film that tackles quite a few social issues. It has a Repo Man mindset for branding, a Flight Club mentality for masculinity, add in a dash of Jared Hess and a bit of Jody Hill, speaking of Hill this would pair well with the Foot Fist Way, and toss in some Faces of Death references for good measure. I now need to see the director, Riley Stearns, first film 'Faults'. Witty script, strong acting, well built tension, this might be my new favorite film of 2019. Oh plus Imogen Poots is a babe as always.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Tsunambee



Dammit Wild Eye. I wanted Tsunambee to be a dumb killer bees flick, instead it was a rather boring film about zombies, but it isn't ZomBees. It is a bonkers film but not bonkers enough to be a blast, the boring aspects outweigh the bonker portions.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Lion King




I love Jon Favreau, and his live action remake of the Jungle Book. The Jungle Book is my favorite animated Disney film, and the only one i owned on DVD until recently. I had found a copy of Lion King for a buck so picked it up. It had been a decade or so since i had last seen it but highly enjoyed it. glad i rewatched it prior to Favreau's new "live action" remake. It starts off pretty well but then just becomes sort of bland, the songs didn't really click in this version either. The Scar/Hyena takeover scene was pretty cool but ultimately the ending felt anti climatic. It's enjoyable, but coming off of Jungle Book, it truly lacks.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Point Blank



Point Blank isn't a super cohesive film, but with Joe Lynch behind the camera it is atleast an entertaining one. It is non stop action, all pretty light but a perfect film for Frank Grillo to star in. I think had Netflix gone with other actors than him and Anthony Mackie and had it been anyone other than Lynch that the film easily could have been a huge mess.

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Crawl




Hearing Alexandre Aja was doing a killer crocodile flick in Crawl had me pretty excited. After all his remake of Piranha was a blast. Then i saw the trailer, it seemed like a serious version of a SyFy flick. Upon seeing the trailer weekly for about 2 months i got burned out on it(unlike Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, amazing trailer). Well the  first act was a bit boring, alot of the decisions to that place characters into their predicament are a bit contrived. The second act has some decent suspense but it seems repetitive. The ending is pretty anti climatic but in a weird way i dug it. I still rolled my eyes alot during it, but oddly i wish i had been rolling my eyes on purpose, ala SyFy. It isn't a bad film but when it comes to crocodile flicks, i'll stick with Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Lego Movie 2



Okay, so i love Legos, but i hated the Lego Movie. I love Batman and i loved the Lego Batman Movie. So i decided to give the sequel a shot, fuck, it had some chuckle moments, but overall it was a chore to sit through. Batman is the man, keep up the DC shit!

Stuber



Stuber is a real mixed bag, for every joke that works, there are two that don't. For every awesome action scene, there is a choppy as fuck bit of action. Luckily Kumail Nanjiani & Batista deliver their lines well, have charisma and chemistry.

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Batman vs TMNT



So Batman vs TMNT is not quite the best animated film from DC, but if you grew up with the super bizarre figures of the 80s & 90s that seemed to be figures just for figures sake, then this is up your alley. Like legit, this feels like someone took out their Batman figures with their Turtle toys and had em face off with random monsters. Did you want to see mutated forms of the Rogues Gallery? Of course you did, and you get that here. On top of that we get Batmobile & the Party Wagon using their action features. A witty script and bloody action is all i really needed!

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Midsommar



Over the past 2 days more people have asked me if i've seen Midsommar than any other film in recent memory. With his sophomore effort, Ari Aster has continued what he did with Hereditary and that is make a beautiful film that is unsettling. Also much like Hereditary, while good it is not a film i feel i will ever desire to revisit. It is pretentious as hell but that comes with the territory of making a movie that makes you feel disoriented through daylight, drugs & paranoia.

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Stranger Things Season 3




Season 3 had so much character growth, it brought up certain aspects of toxic behavior. This season had alot of heart & depth. FOr horror nerds it was loaded with so many nods. Not only did they see Day of the Dead but they sample the music in a later episode. The first two seasons may have felt Carpenter inspired but this one had gooey The Thing goodness. Part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, partNight of the Creeps, with some kaiju influence thrown in along with a hint of Ashley J Williams. We got more of Murray this year, different sides of Max & El, Lucas' and more of the best chemistry on TV with Steve & Dustin, with even more great chemistry with Uma Thurman & Ethan Hawke's daughter Robin becoming one of the show's best characters. and they had Lucas's sister Erica tagging along stealing scenes. I just wanted to watch those 4 non stop. it easily could have ended here, but we will be getting a fourth(stinger alert so don't turn off the finale right away).

BLack Summer



Well we never got the official "Series Finale" of Z Nation, just an announced "hey we're ending", but we get a "prequel" in Black Summer. Prequel in quotations as it really has nothing to do with that show. Where as Z was over the top and comedic, this is gritty and bleak. The pilot is all over the place introducing the characters but it all comes together nicely throughout the 8 episodes, which are super fast, i think the longest is 45 minutes but most were about 30 minutes long, one(the finale) even being 20 minutes. It is not a perfect show, but it has characters you wish you knew more about, it has good blood, and it has great tension. THe foot chases alone are great, one episode is a zombie chasing one character and it is probably the best episode of the season., Still more enjoyable than the Walking Dead.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Scrawl




I remember why i stopped reviewing screeners. I used to do full on reviews, but watching screeners and scrape by the bare minimum horror films kind of killed all joy. Then i see a film called Scrawl, i had read it stars Daisy Riley and is about a comic book that kills people, ala Death Note. I was stoked, so once i watched it.....well that is it, that is sort of the plot but with terrible acting, horrible pacing, awful editing and an ultimately boring final product. This was one of the WORST FILMS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN RECENT YEARS, I CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.....ESSS SEEE YOUUUUU. SCU! Anyhow, fuck this piece of shit. I know alot of stars did crap but damn i'm glad Daisy recovered from this.

Night Monkey: Far From Home



Night Monkey: Far From Home didn't really pick up until after the heel turn. Once that happened it was Mysterio goodness, which i was happy to see since he is my favorite villain in the comics. Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the better villains in the MCU, but the Mysterio stuff might come off contrived in cinema, but if you're a fan of the comic it is pretty sweet. Zendaya is a babe and adds spunk to the role. The aftermath of the events of Endgame are pretty cool, but the film didn't feel like a rebound flick from such an epic movie. The mid credit stinger sets up some interesting dynamics for future films and the end credit stinger opens up a possible new arc for Phase 4.