Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Tron

Okay so apparently two of my favorite movies of all time star Jeff Bridges. Go figure.



Yeah, kinda weird. More weirder that he pretty much acts like the Dude in this movie too. But, anyways Tron! Tron is one of the most creative and fascinating movies ever made. The story of Tron, pretty much centers around a human being being transported into the computer world. I know it sounds awfully familiar, but I believe this movie started it all. The movie was made and is set in 1982, so this is before the Internet, when computers didn't have a mouse and it was all text, unless you had a floppy disk to play games...and even then they were just text too. But the film really deals with the technology at that time pretty brilliantly. Hell, there's even technology in this movie that we didn't get until about 30 years later and technology we still have yet to see. No seriously, there is this CEO of this huge electronic company that has a touch screen computer as his desk. Are you kidding me?! It took us roughly 30 years to have that technology brought to the masses? Unbelievable. And they have this machine that can digitize real life things and insert it into the computer world, you know maybe there's a reason we don't have that piece of tech yet...but that's how our hero gets zapped into the computer world. And the special effects, oh my God!! These are some of the most ambitious and fantastic early examples of CGI ever put to film! I have NO idea how they accomplished such feats of cinematic magic so early in the 80's, and it still holds up pretty well. It looks very impressive given the technology that was used back then and how nearly flawless it looks. But this film has an answer for everything in the special effects, so since it's in a computer world, if something looks bad or if the special effect doesn't come out just right it's considered a bug or a glitch in the computer and I think that's a genius way of telling how sometimes an effect shot looks a little off. I just love this movie. Now let's talk about the actors. Jeff Bridges plays a computer programmer who created several video games for the arcade but find's out that they were stolen and he has to retrieve them, and Jeff Bridges does do a very good job in this film and he does kinda act like the Dude which you know I love. Bruce Boxleitner plays the title role character known as Tron and plays the best friend of Jeff Bridge's character, and Bruce Boxleitner is the man! You do not get much better awesome and charming and all around amazing acting than from this guy! Then we have David Warner as the main villain, and David Warner is one of the greatest and most esteemed actors from both the stage and screen and he is marvelous in this movie, he does a great job in every movie he is in, whether it is bad or good he still gives a great performance and this is no exception. One of my favorite parts of the movie that really delves into the making of the computer world, the programs look exactly like their users, exactly like the people that programmed them which really touches on the religious aspect of the film, where the users are considered gods and the programs are made in their own image. There are many layers underneath the simple and yet fascinating story. It's a cult film but it really needs to be seen by more people because it is such a great movie, true it may not be for everyone but it's still worth a shot to see if you like it. And to me in my very humble opinion, this has one of the greatest ending shots in a movie ever. It's beautiful, it gives you one last parallel between the real world and the computer world, and I am just a sucker for time lapse shots of cities.



You know what, hang on a sec. I have a video for you! This is seriously one of the most beautiful and amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life. I am star struck every time I see it, and I cannot believe mankind has evolved to this point. You have not lived or have truly witnessed beauty until you watch this: https://youtu.be/uf9sItcBsjw

Enjoy!

Monday, April 27, 2015

The Big Lebowski

"I'm the Dude, so that's what you call me, you know, that or uh, his Dudeness or uh, Duder, or uh you know, El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing."


Yes, we finally get to talk about the movie where my nickname originated from! And so starts the week of reviewing some of my favorite movies of all time, and this is no exception. So The Big Lebowski is the story of the Dude, his friends Walter and Donny and their marvelous misadventures that all sprung up from a misunderstanding. This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, it's written and directed by the Cohen brothers, and they always do fantastic work. But the best part of the entire movie is the characters and the actors that play them to complete perfection. Jeff Bridges IS the Dude, there is no if's, and's or but's about it he is the Dude, the epitome of cool and awesome and mellow. But then we have his polar opposite, Walter played to hilarious effect by John Goodman who is a Vietnam war veteran and he always ties things back to 'Nam, he is angry, he is outrageously funny, and he is the perfect foil for the Dude. Then we have the other friend, Donny played by Steve Buscemi, and he is that friend who never pays attention to the conversation you are having and yet constantly wants to be a part of, but he is a kick-ass bowler so that's something. Everyone else in this movie is just hilarious and great like Julianne Moore as this very eccentric painter, Philip Seymour Hoffman as this great snooty assistant to The Big Lebowski himself, played by David Huddleston, and we have an amazing narrator/character played by Sam Elliot whose voice you all recognize. Now this story takes place in the early 90's before I was even born, but you really can't tell that it looks that old, it has pretty much elements from all times, clothing, vehicles, the soundtrack which I proudly own and listen to a lot and which you should buy, so for the most part you forget it takes place in a specific time. It's very much a film that is very different from what you normally see, as you can tell I am a lover of different movies. It surprisingly takes a note from Film Noir where every single scene has the main character in it, whether it be in the foreground or background, they are constantly in the movie. But bottom line this is a great movie, highly recommended you go out and watch it now, and then you can finally understand why people call me the Dude.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Man Of Steel

Sorry I'm late! Stuff has changed significantly since Friday, I am currently moving so that's why I'm late. But anyway, Man Of Steel...



I seriously think Man Of Steel is a great Superman movie! But I can understand why people think this isn't a good Superman movie, and I honestly have only two problems with this movie but I will get to them soon. This is clearly a new Superman, different from the comics, different from the previous movies but still Superman. This is a Superman who is still learning his powers, has very little experience being Superman when Zod shows up, tries to protect and save a world that fears him, and he has such fear and doubt about himself. The rock in his life, Jonathan Kent played very well by Kevin Costner, does tell him that when he grows up he can do great amazing things but, he also says that maybe he should not stand proud in front of the human race and not use his powers because he fears for his son's safety. So it's more monumental when he becomes Superman and saves the world. I honestly can't think of a better cast than the one they picked. Henry Cavill is a great Superman who gives new light to the character not often seen the way he is in this movie, Amy Adams is a no nonsense, real go getter Lois Lane, Michael Shannon is a very intense and a bit sympathetic Zod, everyone else does a real good job but Antje Traue kind of steals the show as Zod's second in command Faora, she's a total badass I love her! The fight scenes are glorious, even though Smallville and Metropolis got screwed over bad. Seriously I wouldn't be a bit surprised in the new Batman V. Superman movie, if Metropolis and Smallville are still under repairs. I only have three big gripes about this movie, one the camera. I should start a drinking game where every time the camera zooms in on something and gets a bit out of focus in this movie, but I know everyone would be drunk before the end of the movie, there are so many shots like that and most of them are not needed! Second the product placement, now this only happens in the Smallville scenes so it's not a major thing in the movie but...yeah, cut down on the product placement, seriously. And finally, the world engine. Now there are two of these, one in Metropolis, one near the Indian Ocean. Now Superman has to stop these machines from terraforming the earth into a new Krypton, so he goes after the one in the Indian Ocean and the military take the one in Metropolis. My problem is this, why didn't Superman stop the one in Metropolis first? I know the military couldn't reach the Indian Ocean so that's why Superman went there but....I'm not a geography expert but my guess is not millions and millions of people live near the Indian Ocean as they do in Metropolis and Superman could take the one out in Metropolis and then take the other one out and not lose a single person near the Indian Ocean and save almost everyone in Metropolis and the city wouldn't be partially obliterated. Those are my only real problems with this movie, but man I am so excited to see the new Batman V. Superman movie.



Here is the link to the new trailer: https://youtu.be/xe1LrMqURuw


Okay, well maybe I need to get back to packing, I will try my hardest to post a review this week. I said this week was a mystery week, so let's see how this goes!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Yeah, this isn't actually the original Superman II, this is the Richard Donner cut, who was the director of the first movie, so this is how the movie should have been. I think it's the better version.



Almost every aspect of Superman The Movie has been upgraded significantly for the sequel. It seems like this movie is even bolder and more impactful than the first. The stakes are higher this time round, because now Superman has to fight three other Kryptonians with the same powers as he does and has to stop them from taking over the world. But there is a bit more than that going on in this movie, a lot of which I can't talk about because I don't want to spoil the movie. I honestly think all the actors are better in this movie than the first, Christopher Reeve gives us so much more depth and complexity as Superman, Margot Kidder is even better than she was in the first movie making Lois have sheer moments of genius in this movie, Gene Hackman still does great as Lex Luthor but he's mostly just in the background and used for comedy, but they make up for that with Terence Stamp as General Zod! This is seriously one of the greatest performances I have ever seen in a superhero movie, Terence Stamp's interpretation of Zod is the stuff of legend, and when people talk about General Zod they mean this guy. His performance is both very subdued and quiet and also over the top and absolutely insane, but the insane bits don't happen much but when they do, oh man is it great! He portrays Zod as this sort of bored aristocrat, who doesn't even question his superpowers, and is so full of himself it's beautiful. I could quote him all day. Best part of the movie hands down for me. I seriously recommend you buy this version of Superman II and not the original. There's not much wrong with the original, it's just that this version is superior and I think just better holds up because it's made by the same director as the first movie. If you can find this version of Superman II by all means buy it, I do not think you will be disappointed with it and you can judge for yourself if you consider this to be better than the first movie.



So that's it for this review, tomorrow we talk about the Superman reboot that divided the world.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Superman The Movie

You will believe that a man can fly...


Superman The Movie is one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. When you think of Superman, this is probably the Superman you think of. This movie is just fantastic, everything is done just right. The special effects are amazing and still quite groundbreaking even though the movie is almost 40 years old. Yeah this movie came out in 1978, and honestly you can't really tell. The movie is mostly timeless, and I say mostly because...the fashion just screams 1970's and there is a bit of 70's terminology used in it, but if you can look past that then, yeah this movie is timeless. Everyone is perfectly cast in this movie, Christopher Reeve IS Superman he's not even acting he is just really Superman, Margot Kidder is a fantastic Lois Lane in this movie and is very true to the comics of that time, Gene Hackman is brilliant as Lex Luthor to the point where the only other competition for best Lex Luthor is either Clancy Brown who does the voice of Lex Luthor in various cartoons and video games or Michael Rosenbaum who plays Lex in Smallville, then we got Marlon Brando as Superman's father Jor-El who is very memorable in this movie and gives a lot of wisdom to Superman to help him become better, and finally we have Terence Stamp...as General Zod. I am going to have a field day tomorrow when I review Superman 2 because General Zod is unbelievably awesome in that movie! But one movie at a time. This movie is surprisingly funny a lot, almost every major and minor character has a good laugh in this movie, which really just shows that superhero movies back then were not so dark and serious as they are today. I mean yes, there is some serious and heavy moments in this movie, so it's not really a comedy but it's just very funny at times. I'm being serious, it is because of this movie that I incorporated the word 'swell' into my vocabulary. But getting back on track, the music, what can I say? It's unbelievably great! Do I even have to mention the Superman theme? John Williams gives one of his best scores in this movie. Like, probably the most well remembered scene in the movie where Superman flies with Lois over New York City, the music is absolutely beautiful and I love it to death. Listen to this soundtrack! This film is amazing, if you have not seen the Superman movie go see it now. If you have seen it, it's time to see it again. You owe it to yourself to see one of the best superhero movies of all time! I am not lying, I had no respect for the Man Of Tomorrow until I heard about the new Superman movie and I played Lego Batman 2 because that had Superman in it and I gained so much love and respect for the character, I immediately went out and bought the first two Superman movies. I regret nothing.

So that is my review of the first Superman movie. Check in tomorrow for my review of the second film.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Upcoming Reviews

Okay so this is my schedule for the upcoming reviews of the next few weeks.


Okay, so over the weekend I started watching Smallville and it is the first time I have ever watched it, so I am in a Superman kind of mood so this week I will review all the good Superman movies which there is like, three. Superman The Movie, Superman 2, and finally Man Of Steel. Yes, I think Man Of Steel is a good Superman movie. I thought about reviewing Superman Returns but...I don't have a copy of the movie, so it would be based purely on memory and my memory is awful. So that is this week.


Next week, I haven't really thought of anything yet so I guess that will be a mystery week.


Now the week of my birthday, I think I will review some of my favorite movies of all time.


And of course, literally a week after my birthday is Star Wars day, May 4th. So I will review all six of the Star Wars movies. Yes, even the prequels which except for Revenge Of The Sith, I haven't seen in about 10 years so that will be fun.

So that is my schedule for the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy!

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Clue The Movie

Well I already reviewed one one cult film with a bunch of dark humor, so why not review another one?


 Now you are probably thinking, "Clue? Really, Clue? The board game Clue?". Yes. Yes really, they made a movie based on the board game Clue. And in a world where they make few movies based on board games, almost all of them are horrendous. And really, Clue is the best one out of all of them and not many people have heard of this movie. But it does have it's fans out there and I am one of them. If not the biggest fan, seriously I spent several years of my life trying to track this movie down on VHS or DVD, and one day I finally got it and I was ecstatic! Now Clue was made in 1985, starring Tim Curry and a spectacular cast portraying the famous board game characters. It's strictly a comedy, even though it deals a lot with murder. This film is just fantastic in my eyes, it's comedy is great, every single one of the actors gives it their all and they do a great job, Tim Curry of course steals the show, because that's what he does, and it's just a fun movie. Now the movie pretty much follows the story of the board game with minor variations, six guests attend a party of sorts at the Hill House mansion because they are all being blackmailed and in the course of these events, their host Mr. Body is murdered, and the guests have to figure out who killed him, where, and with what. Now the whole story is carried through by the performances and as I stated they are all fantastic, the chemistry between all the actors is perfect. The humor is dark but hilarious nevertheless, and it's just a joy to watch. If you're a fan of black comedy and murder mysteries, by all means watch Clue. I don't think you will be disappointed, and honestly if I spent 3 or 4 years trying to find this movie on video, something is obviously great about it. Give it a chance and see if you can guess who did it.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

American Psycho

You ever want to smash someone's face in with an ax while listening to some 80's music?


I love that scene, it's just hilarious to me and the song is awesome. So this is American Psycho, cult classic and one of the movies that made Christian Bale famous. So American Psycho is about this business man, played to perfection by Christian Bale who is a psychopath. It's set in the late 1980's and the film is just incredible. I heard good things about the movie before, but I really had no idea what to expect the first time I watched it and...I laughed my ass off and had a blast. You really think a movie about a psychopath couldn't be quite humorous but it is, I honestly think you have to be a bit of a psycho to get the humor and the story cause otherwise you will just see this as a very odd and disturbing movie. This is obviously not a film for everyone, made for select few who like movies about psychopaths, like dark humor, and really enjoy 80's music. Seriously this soundtrack is fantastic. It's really hard for me to explain a movie that is very cerebral and as dark as this movie is, but I can try. The story is about Christian Bale who is a business man by day and a psychopathic killer by night and we literally just watch this guy sink deeper and deeper into madness. Everyone does a fantastic job in this movie, Christian Bale is both threatening and hilarious, everyone who works around him and all the secondary characters do great jobs. The humor is very, very dark but if you are a fan of that you will no doubt have a few good laughs. There's this scene which I stated at the beginning where Christian Bale's character has this guy over at his house and this guy is drunk and just out of it, and Christian Bale plays this song by Huey Lewis and the News which is catchy as hell and he starts dancing, and he grabs this ax and smashes it into this guy's head like five or six times. The first time I saw that, I was grooving to the song and laughing so hard cause it was so unbelievable. This movie is absolutely hilarious! Maybe I'm a psychopath for enjoying this movie, but I am not the only one, and I take pride in knowing that! I honestly don't know who I could possibly recommend this movie to besides me, but it's on Netflix so you can check it out and see what you think, but I will give you fair warning this movie is just insane. And hilarious.

Even if you don't want to watch this movie, just go to YouTube and look up some of the scenes, they are well worth it. I'm thinking of adding a schedule list, you know a list of movies I will review each week. I think that will help cause it will give me time to plan, and it won't be a random review of a movie I just watched. I just hope I can keep to it, cause college is not easy.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Her

Oh boy, how do I talk about a movie where a guy dates his computer and convince people it is one of the greatest and strangest love stories ever made?










Yes, Her is a love story between a man played by Joaquin Phoenix and an operating system played by Scarlett Johansson. It is...amazing. I am trying so hard to find words on how to praise this movie. It's not the best love story I have ever seen, but is most definitely in the top three. I can't explain it, it's so bizarre and yet one of the most genuine relationships ever put on film. Why? Because at first, it starts off with them as friends and they continually build their relationship into a romance. And it is a genuine romance, they have good moments, they have bad moments, it's not perfect but it is wonderful and loving. I never once questioned why this guy fell in love with a computer, because she has a personality. This brand new operating system is sentient, it is alive, it is a constantly evolving and learning thing! She learns more than human beings will in several millenniums, and it is all real and genuine and my heart melts every time I watch them together. And it can kind of hit close to home with some people if they have ever had a long-distance relationship, and couldn't ever see the person they love more than anything in this world. It is the most human love story I have ever seen and it makes me think deeply about love and relationships every single time I watch it. I am in love with Her and so should you.

Lost In Translation

Now we get to talk about a movie, that in my opinion is absolutely perfect.










I am dead serious, Lost In Translation to me is a perfect movie. I cannot find one thing wrong with it, not even if I am trying to be nit picky. So what could this perfect movie to me possibly be about? Well it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as two people who are kinda going through a rough patch in their life, and they meet each other in Tokyo and a friendship grows between them. It doesn't sound like the plot to a perfect movie, but you have to see it! I love everything about it. I love the setting, I am a sucker for Japan, I absolutely adore it and it looks so beautiful in this movie. I love the characters, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are phenomenal in this movie, their dialogue feels real and genuine, they have fantastic chemistry together and I have never seen a bond like theirs in any movie. The music, I need to own this soundtrack. It's just too damn good! I have seen this movie several times, I can't find one thing wrong with it. Even these two annoying and quite frankly idiotic characters who I despise, they don't take away from the movie. They are there for a reason, which is to make us sympathize and love our main characters even more. You are with them all the way and you just love watching them. It feels like you are on this little journey with them, just hanging out in Tokyo and having a blast. I do not ever want this movie to end, and it breaks my heart when it does, cause I love every minute of it. Now I am going to make this clear, Lost In Translation is not my favorite movie of all time, that title belongs to Star Wars. But even I can't say that Star Wars is a perfect movie, but this is, at least to me it is. I mean I could go on forever about how this movie is amazing, but I am going to let you judge that for yourself. I don't care if you buy it, rent it, I don't care how you see it, just see it. It is worth your time and it is only barely over an hour and a half long, so it's not too long even though I wish it was like three hours long.









So that is my review of Lost In Translation, I am sorry I did not go into much detail, I just didn't want this to go on forever and a day about how perfect this movie is to me. But I am making up for it because I will give you another review of a Scarlett Johansson movie called Her.....