Last Flag Flying

Richard Linklater is one of those directors where i films i love, make me love him more than his whole filmography. Slack and Dazed & Confused are great, the Before Trilogy is great, actually most of his pre School of Rock films are great, since then i have enjoyed his films but mainly only loved a Scanner Darkly and Boyhood. This here is a great film, but not one that i suspect will stick with me, all three leads are GREAT, it is a shame non are being considered for awards, as this is a very award esque film. Went by with out much fanfare too sadly.

Downrange

It's is no where near as awesome as Versus, but Ryuhei Kitamura's latest film shows why he has a great track record. The dude makes exploitation, and Downrange to me feels like a 90s Artisan Video release. It has that down & dirty vibe to it, it makes for a good lazy day flick. Nothing special, but very solid. I hope he goes back and does something as kick ass as Versus though. For now i will gladly take a film like this, bloody, tense, and in the realm of possibility.

2018 Most Anticipated Films

1. Jay & Silent Bob Get a Reboot
Kevin Smith returns to the Askewniverse.

2. Halloweeen
Danny McBride & Jody Hill are doing a straight up sequel to John Carpenters original, i am weary that they might might change too much from the original(they claim there sequel takes place after an alternative universe ending) but it has JC's vote plus Nick Castle is back as the Shape.
Also check out The Predator. Shane Black finally directs a Predator film, if it was a Shane Black film, it would be enough for me, but him directing an action slasher that he has a passion for, all the more reason to be stoked!
Also check out Insidious the  Last Key, i don't expect much, but i love the first two.

3. Ready Player One
This is the Steven Spielberg i wanted BFG to be, one of wonder & awe. This will be pure geekgasms throughout, the amount of film, comic, game characters is insane, and not just blockbuster references like the Delorean, no sir, Spielberg directs fucking Chucky and Freddy!

4. Avengers: Infinity War
Does this really need an explanation?
Also check out Black Panther. The film that is the go home show for the Avengers!
Also check out, Ant Man & the Wasp. the film that takes place between the two last Avengers films.
Also check out, Venom. Marvel Cinematic Universe's working relationship with Sony's Spiderverse, which has no real MCU ties outside of Peter Parker.....delivers us the first Spideyverse Spin Off film.
Also check out. X Men: Dark Phoenix, the new Disney acquisitions, has to be better than the last X Men film.
Also check out. Deadpool 2, the X Men Universe's harder edged brother. Hopefully it does more for me than the last one. HOPING FOR SOME WINKS AT THE CURRENT STATE OF FOX/DISNEY/XMEN/MCU.
Also Check out New Mutants. X Men with horror, sounds sweet.
Also check out Aquaman. DC's 2018 film.
Also check out Hellboy. The non Marvel or DC superhero film!

5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Speaking of Spielberg, sure it isn't his film but it is still his franchise, the last one was a perfect companion the his original, this one here looks like pure dino carnage!
Also check out, God Partlicle. The third Cloverfield film, not much is known, but it is the third Cloverfield film!
Also Check out Rampage. The Rock stars in the video game of the same name, love that kaiju movies are becoming a thing in the states.

6. Sicario 2: Soldado
The first blew me away, it might be the film i recommend to people more than any other from the last five years. Hell i wish it had gotten awards attention it is that brilliant. If this one is even a smidge as tense & gripping as the first, we are in for a fantastic time. According to early word, it makes the first look like a comedy.

7. Peanut Butter Falcon
Take a fantastic cast with the likes of Jon Bernthal, Shia LeBeouf, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern & Thomas Haden Church, mix in a plot that involves pro wrestling, hell just say pro wrestling and i am there!

8. Isle of Dogs
All you need to know, Wes Anderson and Stop Motion! Nuff said!
Also Check out, Wreck it Ralph 2. One of the few DIsney CGI toons i like, hoping this one is just as awesome as the first one.

9. Solo
Star Wars........yup. Hopefully Ron Howard is too dull with it.
Also check out Creed 2. Yes, another modern sequel of a 70's property. The last one was fantastic, rumors are Drago's son is the opponent, i am stoked.

10. Hold the Dark
From the director of Green Room
Also Check out, Under the Silver Lake. From the director of It Follows
Also check out Bad Times at El Royale. From the director of Cabin in the Woods.
Also check out, The Happy Time Murders. From the director of A Muppet Christmas Carol.....about murdered puppets!
Also check out, The Irishman.....um, Martin Scorsese, that is all!
Also check out Mute. The film Duncan Jones should have made after Moon.
Also check out, THe Kid Who Would Be King. From the director of Attack the Block
Also check out, First Man. From the director of Lala Land.
Also check out Summer of 84. From the directors of Turbo Kid.
Also check out Annihilation. From the director of Ex Machina.
Also check out Alita. From Robert Rodriguez
Also check out Don Quixote. Terry Gilliam's passion project.
Also check out Nightmare Cinema. A new anthology from the minds behind Gremlins, Hard Candy, Versus, & Juan of the Dead.
Also check out The Current War. From the Director of Me & Earl & the Dying Girl.
Also check out the Beach Bum. From the director of Spring Breakers.
ALso check out Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade . From the director of I Saw the Devil
Also check out the Quiet Place, from John Krasinski

11. Oceans 8
I love Oceans 11, this looks fun.
Also check out, Mission Impossible 6. i love this series.
Also check out, Maze Runner 3. This series is superior to the Hunger Games, fight me!

12. Mid 90s
Jonah Hill's directorial debut, and it sounds amazing. 90s nostalgia is strong right now, i am very nostalgic for it(i was a little kid in the 90s)
Also check out, Wildlife. Paul Dano's directorial debut.

13. Red Sparrow
All you need to know is it is Jennifer Lawrence looking all hot & badass and kicking ass.

14. Bohemian Rhapsody
I love Queen, i am stoked Rami Malek is playing Freddy Mercury, but with the troubled production, i am a little weary.

15. Thoroughbreds 
This looks like a cool flick. A smaller film, so plenty more like these will be popping up after Sundance.

All the Money in the World

Ridley Scott, oh Ridley Scott, I am not a big fan of his non genre efforts such as Alien & Blade Runner. They are solid, but that is about it, i hesitated to see this, but figure fuck it, with the controversy surrounding Kevin Spacey, might as well give it a shot. Christopher Plummer does a great job, especially considering the short amount of time he had to rehearse. Scott, gives a bland story more flair, so the two deliver a one, two punch. Kind of wish he would have directed Blade Runner 2 instead, and that Dennis Vileneuve had directed Sicario 2 but then again Alien Covenant may not have been as awesome. Man, Alien is great.......

Mayhem

WHOA, Joe Lynch, mother fucking Joe Lynch. I have always been a fan of the man, but the only films i really dug were Wrong Turn 2, a film that made that franchise, and Chillerama, i film i truly love, and a film where i met Lynch at an after party at the San Diego Comic Con. His other flicks i enjoyed, but not to the same extent. Enter Mayhem, this is the flick i kind of wanted the Belko Experiment to be, i enjoyed that flick, but this seemed to flow better. Steven Yeun from the Walking Dead, and my new crush Samara Weaving from the Babysitter, are awesome in this, the gore is great, it's a fight to the top of corporate america. Take the skyscraper badassery of Die Hard, the fuck the system thoughts of Mr. Robot, and add in splat & blood, and you have a recipe for success! 

Darkest Hour

I keep hoping for Joe Wright to give us another Hannah. His films have been solid but nothing i really enjoyed other that the aforementioned film.  Darkest Hour, the remake of the  Emile Hirsch alien flick but flick is about Germans instead for some reason. The changes are carefully done, but not worth remaking. Plus we already had a Dunkirk film this year.......i kid, it's just a remake. Seriously though, it is a solid film, and the main reason i wanted to see it was Gary Oldman, and he doesn't disappoint.

Top Shows of 2017

1. Stranger Things Season 2
This is somehow better than the first season, it is a pure event when this show hits. A horror cinephiles wet dream.

2. Mr. Robot Season 3
The second season was batshit, this one wasn't quite as crazy, but it delivered three of the best hours in television history!

3. I'm Dying Up Here
A show that truly went under the radar, if you like Martin Scorsese, check it out, feels like a project of his, but if you love the 70s or stand up comedy, check it out.

4. Happy!
Only four episodes in, but holy shit, what a batshit, insane series.

5. Z Nation Season 4
Yep, better than Walking Dead.

6. Silicon Valley Season 4
Best sitcom on TV, show gets better each year.

7. Santa Clarita Diet
I was weary of this, but wound up LOVING it. My old crush Drew Barrymore in a splatstick comedy, hell yes!

8. Game of Thrones Season 7
The show redeemed itself this year but a soso season 6.

9. Orange is the New Black Season 5
Best season of the series!

10. Vice Principals Season 2
Smartest showrunners you can find, they knew they were ending after 2 seasons, more shows need to take note.

11. Glow
A wrestling marks perfect show. It shows the silliness of my sport, but it also shows the passion. Now GLOW was more of a forefather to Lucha Underground(with the exception of LU being legit trained stars) than being a legit promotion, but i watched the legit GLOW, and i love all of pro wrestling.

12. Room 104
Another under the radar show, i am surprised with as many hipsters that love the Duplass brothers. Kind of what Twin Peaks should have been.

13. Wet Hot American Summer 10 Years Later
I ADORE the film, and this is a fan service series, a fan service that doesn't give a fuck.

14. Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 9
A couple in the middle were meh, but the final few were some of the best episodes in the entire series.

15. The Good Place
Season 2 is still on, but it is great thus far.

16. Love Season 2
Brutally honest show about modern dating.

17. Man Seeking Woman Season 3.
See above, but weirder.

18. It's Always Sunny Season 12
12 years in, and one of the best seasons of the show, which i might think every year.

19. Workaholics Season 7
Going to miss this show.

20. THe Simpsons season 29
Honestly the only reason it is on the list is to round out a top 20.