Lego Batman

When it comes to animated flicks, i usually only check out ones that speak to me. Coraline, Wreck IT Ralph, Big Hero 6, etc. I love the DC animated films but last year gave us a high piece of anticipation that failed in the Killing Joke & a highly entertaining Return of the Caped Crusaders. THe Lego Movie i was underwhelmed by a few years ago, but now all is forgiven, DC has delivered possibly the funnest animated film they have ever been attached to plus a Lego movie that I wanted. This was a geeky ass flick celebrating Batman comics, the serials, the 60s series,  the Burton/Shcumacher flicks, the Nolanverse and Batfleck. Booms & pows, arrogance, being a playboy,  the innuendo of Batman & Robin, a great score, funny ass easter eggs(such as a sign stating Batman Forever) plus it is now a christmas movie as the mother fucking GREMLINS are in it! I want to see this again just to attempt to catch everything i missed. This was a love letter to Batman fans, to toy fans and all around one of the funniest films i have seen in a while, on top of being the best animated film i have seen in years.

John Wick CHapter 2

Whoa....and not a Keanu Reeve whoa, a whoa i give, cause i say whoa in these things all the time....now, Whoa, that one was for Keanu! Holy shit, this is how you do a sequel! It was more insane than the first, the fighting & shootouts seemed more stylized, seeing it in theatres you could feel the gun shots in the vibrations. You want the plot? John Wick kills people, much like the first one, and honestly, I don't know which one i liked better! From the first scene we are tossed in to this chaotic world of assassins & crime, all in vibrant colors & blood mixed in with the black suits, from there we get introductions of the main villain, shit blows up, vengeance is to be served, and we know exactly what the fuck to expect, 90 minutes of beautiful violence, holy fuck is this a beautiful film! The set design, costume design & sound are all amazing and does the cast justice, this may not be an actors film, but everyone is having fun, and it translates to the audience. I was worried the film may have been tame after the last one, to appease critics, but nope, it went all out, balls to the wall, blood on the screen, jizz in your pants!

Royal Rumble Matches Ranked

It has now been a week since the Roman Rumble, oops, i mean the Royal Rumble, damn you number 30. Well here is a ranking of the matches, starting with my personal favorite!

2001
This was a perfect Rumble, the star power alone gave it a huge feel, Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, The Rock, Steve Austin, Rikishi, it was loaded with main eventers. The mini hardcore rumble was fun, Kane destroying everyone was brilliant, his reunion with his brother was well done, Austin beign assaulted and coming back to win the whole thing, great storytelling!


2004
Who won this one? I am still not sure, Big Show got eliminated by someone. Seriously though, Benoit was a wonder in this match, the in ring work along makes this one of the best.

2007
This ranks high for two reasons, The Undertaker & Shawn Michaels, the final two was almsot a mini match, and a foreshadowing of the Mania classics.

2002
The returns of Mr. Perfect & Goldust, the gimmick revivals of  the Godfather & Val Venis, the big fight feel of HHH vs Steve Austin, pretty much a perfect Rumble!

2003
Rumble debuts of many legends, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and it shows how great & underrated the Ruthless Aggression era was.

2005
The coming out party of John Cena & Batista, ignore the spotty finish with Vince, everything leading up to it, and taking place after was terrific!

2006
Another great Ruthless Aggression Rumble, and one that has a lot of heart. The Rey victory almost tear jerking, sure i wanted Matt Hardy to win, but sadly that wish was DELETED!

2016
Yep, the best in a decade, well over a decade, sure we knew HHH would win but there was that hope that Dean Ambrose was going to pull it off! Oh and i marked the fuck out hardcore for AJ Styles!

2010
One of the most underrated Rumbles, plus the return/victory of Edge cemented it!Plus CM Punk's mic work was amazing!

2008
There is something about Madison Square Garden, so when Jimmy Snuka & Roddy Piper had their showdown, and the rest of the stars in the ring let them duke it out and show respect, you know it was a special novelty. Hell even MSG popped for the return of Cena!

1992
Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels, yep, it happened here, Flair steals the show, and steals the victory, along with the WWF title!

2011
Say what you want about the 40 man Rumble but the anticipation of the Corre vs the Nexus(a feud that never happened) the blowout of CM Punk vs Cena, hell pretty much everything Punk in this match was great. The false finish with Santino Marella was perfect!

2009
This is a Rumble that gets better on repeated viewings, the story of HHH vs Legacy was hinted at, as it was the Mania main event and was the focal point. Sadly the rest of the year was rather bland.

1999
Fuck you, i like it, Austin vs McMahon, Austin vs the Corporation, The Corporation vs DX, stars like Edge making their Rumble debut, this was jsut a fun Mania.

2000
MSG, you did it again, this was the Rock's Rumble, but besides that, it was alot of fun, the run ins by Kai En Tai & the Mean Street Posse became overdone but serves their point, the dance off with Too Cool marked me out as a 12 year old(fuck i feel old) and a tease at what type of monster in the Rumble that Kane would become.

2017
Fuck Roman at number 30, but other than that, i highly enjoyed this years Rumble, sure Taker, Brock & Goldberg were kind of wasted, but it is all to build the bigger picture, fuck it we had Tye Dillinger!

1998
I didn't watch it live, but listened to it on scramble, and knowing Austin won, was golden for me. Watching it now, it is underated, the shit with Mick Foley & Terry Funk was fun, Foley entering three times was a great idea, the ring pausing to take out Austin was perfect, i am highly nostalgic for 1998 in general!

1991
This was a VHS go to for me, they lacked star power but i loved the feel of this one(actually loved the undercard) plus in a way, it was the first where the winner faced the champion, though not intended.

1997
A lot of jobbers in this, a lot of talent that didn't deserve to be in there, but Stone Cold Steve Austin single handedly saved this match.

2012
The match should have been won by Chris Jericho, even though i was hoping for Kofi Kingston(i hope for him every year) but i think the mvp was the Miz!

1994
First with a screwy finish but Bret Hart & Lex Luger were both treated as stars.

2014
Sure it screwed over Daniel Bryan, but the Shield told the story, the hints at their split, the rise of Roman Reigns, ugh, fuck it, he should have got the upset win, and gone on to be a badass, instead of the joke he is today.

2013
The final 4 was one of the best, sure i may not be big on three of em, but Ziggler was in the final four! As for Cena, Ryback & Sheamus, it was the three babyfaces WWE wanted you to cheer so that alone felt huge!

2015
Roman fucking Reigns, it was expected, but it was so forced....ugh.

1990
Warrior vs Hogan, that is all!

1996
Rather  bland match, luckily HBK won, this entering him fully into the main event!

1995
Terrible Rumble partipants with the exception of HBK & Davey Boy Smith, they stole the show

1993
What a cluster fuck of a year, this Rumble match foreshadowed just how bad Mania would be.

1989
Not much to write home about, just  a battle royal where participants came out one at a time, nothing special

1888
See above

Santa Clarita Diet

Whoa, this is a fun fucking show. Some hate comedic zombies, but this here isn't a zombie show per se. Drew Barrymore dies, comes back to life and needs to eat flesh, that is about it, other than that, she is a normal human, a normal human that happens to be married to Timothy Olyphant and he happens to help kill people for her to eat. I have had a crush on Drew since i was little, and it continues in this, she is funny & charming and very sexy in it. Olyphant is fantastic, his comedic timing is perfect here. Their daughter played by Liv Hewson, is a new crush(shush it, she is 21 in real life), great comedic timing, super cute, spunky, she will hopefully have a great career! Her best friend/boy crushing on her/next door neighbor is the nerdy Skyler Gisondo, and he gives a sweet & humorous performance. Even the recurring characters & guest stars shine. You care for the characters, laugh when you need to, and are wowed by the gore. A lot of reviews are hating it for  the gore factor, fuck that noise, it is a horror series, get used to it! The show ends  in a cliff hanger of sorts, and leaves you wanting more. If we must wait 2 years, so be it, but i am stoked for more episodes! It is pretentious, it is fast paced, in today's television climate of shows trying too hard, this is a breath of fresh air and how a sitcom & a fun horror show should be.

Paterson

Jim Jarmusch is an odd one, i admire his early films but the past decade has been spotty, enter Paterson, his best in the past ten years, and one of his most simple. Simplicity is a beauty though and Jarmusch shows that, Adam Driver as the lead is a simple man, no technology, just driving his bus, and writing his poems. His girlfriend paints everything, aspires to be a county star or a cupcake baker. There is love between them, there is love of their city, it is romanticized even  though the film itself is not romantic. THe film is a poem, it is an odd film, if you study it, twins everywhere, set designs in a highly artistic & beautiful way, poems read throughout the entire film, events that at time almost feel surreal, life is beautiful, and life is art, love your friends, love what you do. For losing what you put your heart into can destroy you, and by happenstance you might just meet a peer that will set you back on the right track. This film is an athouse film to the tee, pretentious at some points but overall an experience of celluloid. Driver is such a ho hum individual in this that  when he experiences happiness it seems like a forced smile, and when he experiences sadness he just shuts down, the actor is brilliant in these hipster roles. There is a whimsy in the film that has lacked from Jamusch's films in recent years, not just a whimsy but a rawness. The more i think about the film, the more i enjoy it! Life might be repetitive, but make the most of it, don't give up on your art, for if you do, you give up on yourself.

Rings

I am a fan of Ringu, i actually think the American remake is better. It had brilliant marketing, theatres would leave VHS tapes on seats, great throwback to William Castle. The sequel, had its moments but ultimately was rather bland, the short film Rings was actually better. Now here we are 12 years later, the third, has a cool concept, film students trying to crack the code, but it doesn't stick with that story, instead we follow some uninteresting characters on  their quest to burn a corpse. Yep that is about it, fuck this film was laughable.  

Plan 9

I had been wanting to see this for years, i LOVE the original, in fact I don't even rank it as a bad movie, i mean technically it is, but i can watch it, as a legit film. The Room, Troll 2, Birdemic, I can not, but Plan 9 From Outer Space is special. Ed Wood is a huge influence on me, from his no budger approach, to his oddness, he has always spoke to me. This remake starts out as a shot for shot remake, until it becomes meta, after that, it becomes a solid remake. it knows what type of film it is, in fact it is rather Troma esque, gore, boobs, tons of humor. This film is a blast! I wish that some day, someone does remake Plan 9 as a legit straight forward film, maybe i will, i doubt it but who knows. This is exactly the kind of film i wanted it to be, dumb & fun, effect driven & humorous. It has a tongue planted firmly in cheek!