Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Tokyo Godfathers

Yes the one Christmas movie almost everyone has never heard or seen but certainly should check out.


Tokyo Godfathers is an amazing movie centered around three homeless people who find a baby and take it upon themselves to find the little girl's rightful parents. What follows is a series of coincidences, near misses, comedy, emotion, and all centered around the most wonderful time of the year. I love this movie, the characters feel just as real as you and me, they all have emotional baggage and their own personalities, which bounce off each other so well. The animation is outstanding, some of it looking like real life Tokyo. I swear it seems like they took photos of Tokyo and then just painted over them, the whole look and feel of the movie is a surreal experience walking a thin line between animation and human reality. This is the sheer epitome of a character story, every action these people take is what moves the story along at a well adjusted pace going from quiet, somber slow moments to fast paced, energy fueled scenes with visual comedy that if you even blinked you would miss it. The events take place from Christmas Day all the way to New Years, so some people ask well why is it a Christmas movie? Although Christmas only takes place on a single day, the feel of Christmas is still there with showings of compassion and charity, kindness, nuturing, and all around sense of family and good will. Our main characters fight and bicker but in the end you know they still care about one another, and really isn't that what families are like around this time of the year? There's not a doubt in my mind that this is a Christmas movie, and an amazing one at that. I originally saw it on Netflix a few years ago, after hearing about it from one of my reviewers, Suede who lives in New Zealand and I knew after hearing his opinion on it I wanted to see it. Sadly it's not on Netflix now but you can buy the DVD for a reasonable price on Amazon, the film is only in Japanese with subtitles, no English dub has been made yet but many voice actors are keen on doing it here in the States. If you don't have a problem with foreign films that you need to read subtitles throughout, I really really recommend you pick up this movie. The funny thing is that Christmas is different in Japan than in the States. Obviously, every place is different in how they celebrate things. But from a western point of view Christmas in Japan is more like Valentine's Day, and Valentine's Day is more like Easter, while the more traditional western way of celebrating Christmas is set on New Year's. Man, that's bizzare but I really dig that. I know if I ever wanted to visit somewhere during winter it would be Japan hands down, it looks gorgeous in the snow! But anyway sorry to get off track, hunt this movie down, watch it, enjoy it, have a splendid Christmas or Chanukah or whatever you celebrate, just make sure to enjoy yourself and have tons of fun together. Happy Christmas from The Dude, see you in 2017!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Yeah, you knew we had to do this one sooner or later.


Can you believe I've never seen this until just recently? I've heard so much about it, and was really taking it at face value, and I really did enjoy watching it. For a 25 minute short it's a very complete story, with simple yet endearing animation, absolutely lovely music (I'm a sucker for jazz anyday.), very well done voice acting since it was all done by kids, and a central message that somehow means more now than it did back in 1965. Charlie Brown is feeling depressed around Christmas time feeling the spirit of the holiday is lost and only commercialism reigns, Lucy tells him he should help with the Christmas play where Linus tells all the kids exactly what Christmas is about, and then the special just kind of ends on a very pleasant and heartfelt note. Many people have analyzed the special for what it is, and the best example is to me, a simple editorial asking the question, is it overrated? I won't get into much detail of the editorial, but just merely leave a link at the end. I'd tell you to see it, but chances are you most likely will on television, lots of people will. Well now that we've talked about a Christmas special nearly everyone has seen, tomorrow we will look at a movie that nearly everyone has never even heard of, and trust me when I say it is a fantastic Christmas movie!

Is A Charlie Brown Christmas Overrated?-- https://youtu.be/Qtk0DQA6woM

Friday, December 16, 2016

Rogue One

I'm not disappointed.



New Star Wars movie!!! How was it? They did a very good job with it, it was a well made, well put together movie that encapsulates what happened before A New Hope. I enjoyed it, the story I totally rolled with, it was very believable that this is how the Rebels got the Death Star plans. The cast was great, even though I'm not the biggest Felicity Jones fan but Mads Mikkelsen and Donnie Yen and James Earl Jones were fantastic, and I have to say we see some unexpected faces in this movie. I was stunned to see so many familiar faces from the series. Senator Bail Organa from Episode 3 made an appearance, Darth Vader obviously, those two hecklers in the cantina from Episode 4, mentions of Obi-Wan, but most shocking of all was Peter Cushing. I was wondering if they were going to put Tarkin in the movie but...there he was! Peter Cushing as I live and breathe! It looked just like him, it sounded like him, I was freaking out in my seat whenever I saw him! That was positively shocking, the effects in this movie were so outstanding that they brought an old friend back from years gone by. Speaking of which, the film looks amazing with plenty of space battles, and blaster fights throughout. I was wondering if they were almost going to do a straight up war movie, and while it did have it's moments it still felt like Star Wars. They didn't screw around with the continuity, in fact they got it down impeccably with the attention to detail in all you see and remember from the original Star Wars. I'd like to see someone whine about that exhaust port on the Death Star now. What was surprising most is, most of the footage in the trailers is NOT in the movie. A good 80% of all the trailers look drastically different from the finished film. Now other films were like this, like Suicide Squad, the movie looked ever so slightly different from the film (Don't worry I still need to look back at Suicide Squad, I haven't forgotten.) but with this movie you might as well have not seen the trailers. Great movie, definitely go see it, I know I probably will again! Thanks for reading, enjoy the movie, and I shall see you guys next week.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The Battle Of The Five Armies

I must be truthful in terms of this. I once told you that I saw The Hobbit movies, and well I can honestly say I told you the truth, I might not have told all of it. I never wanted it to end, the adventures, but all things must come to an end no matter how much you try to stop it. Today was the first time I saw The Battle Of The Five Armies.


After finally claiming the mountain and the imminent death of Smaug, the dwarves and Bilbo seem to have completed their quest. But Thorin grew sick, a sickness of the mind took over him, the dragon was with the gold too long, it started to drive Thorin mad. But there were some who resisted the King under the Mountain, an army of men and elves marched toward The Lonely Mountain, trying to bargain for the riches Thorin swore they would possess. He would not part with a single coin, thus beginning the war. But all were decieved, for another army was approaching the mountain, Sauron conjured an army to gain a foothold in this world again, starting with the mountain. The battle of the five armies begun. This film does not take any time getting down to the war for the mountain. It takes maybe 25 minutes before all hell breaks loose, and save for the last fifteen or so minutes, there is nothing but fighting going on. I'd almost say this movies outdoes even Return Of The King standards of battles but with Return Of The King, we knew the stakes. It was a battle for Middle Earth, a fight for everything, but here we know the story goes on past this point so the battles lack so much punch. It's not bad, the fights are magnificent but it just lacks all the tension. You want to know how it all ends yes, and surprisingly the battles never grated and felt like there was no time to even breathe, so I was very happy about that but the film just was missing something. The best scene in the entire movie is when Saruman, Elrond, and Galadriel stormed the fortress and rescued Gandalf, that was un-flipping-believable! I would pay money just to see that again! I also noticed the story got very Shakespearian with Thorin, a king slowly being driven mad, forcing everybody away from him, bloodthirsty and not having even a second guess about killing one of his friends but luckily that subsides although we still do kinda end with tragedy and death. Actually speaking of death, I'm not quite sure what happened halfway through this movie, in almost all The Hobbit movies we got violence and quite a bit of severing body parts but the movies did a good job of hiding it or not making it too bloody but this friggin' movie has blood splurting everywhere! It's like if Peter Jackson went from Oscar winning director back to his Brain Dead days, of violent, gory, and exploitation days. You see blood just splash all over the place! I swear on my life I saw an R rating before the movie began. An R rating?? Oh I see, Tolkien was never child friendly! Maybe it was just with the extended cut. Oh yes, and free word of warning, you know how I said the extended cut of Lord Of The Rings was the only way to watch it? Well...with The Hobbit it's the exact opposite. The extended cuts add nothing to the story. In fact the extended cuts actually hurt the movie. I prefer the much shorter theatrical cuts. Just proving that longer is not always better. Do I think The Hobbit needed 3 movies to tell the story? No. Did I still enjoy the three movies for what they did? Heck yes! But I would still just stick to The Lord Of The Rings, no disrespect to The Hobbit, I greatly enjoy the movies and appreciate what they did, but Lord Of The Rings just knocked it out of the park for me. But of course, that's just my opinion. Maybe you will enjoy these three movies compared to the other three movies, you never know. Well, that about does it for Middle Earth here for The Dude, not unless I really want to talk about the 70s animated one, I do really like it but I doubt it shall come to pass. Thank you for joining me on my last adventure for the year, but don't worry, there is still much more to talk about before the month is through. Catch you all later on down the road.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

The Desolation Of Smaug

Yeah, that....that's a way to end a movie.


The story continues in The Desolation Of Smaug as our travelling heroes inch closer and closer towards The Lonely Mountain and finally come face to face with the dragon Smaug. Meanwhile a much greater evil has been uncovered. To be truthful, I think this is my favorite of The Hobbit movies. The story progresses at a very good pace, never once do you get bored (And in some cases fixes problems of the book.), the characters are still fun and we get two new arrivals to the cast. An old friend from previous films, Legolas Greenleaf plus an entirely original character created for the movie, that's right a character not created by Tolkien is featured in the movie, Tauriel played by the absolutely stunning Evangeline Lilly who I have to say is a great welcome to this series. She doesn't feel out of place at all, she is an honorable and caring figure, and somehow is Arwen fully realized. Not many people know Arwen had much bigger roles planned in the films beyond horse riding and sexy crying, she was planned to be a warrior who fought at the battle of Helm's Deep but for some bizzare reason she got cut out, which sucks but now we got a true representation of an Elven warrior in full action, she is awesome. But not as awesome as something scaly, breathes fire, and flies. It's time to talk Benedict Cumberbatch people. Short version, best part of the entire movie. Long version, Jesus fish this is incredible! I mean what a casting choice, Ben really makes this creature leap off the screen, he is cunning, he is devious, he is everything you would want in a villain. After I saw the trailer for this movie, heard his voice, saw Smaug, it became very apparent I had to read the book. So I did, and you could bet millions of dollars when Smaug speaks in the book, Ben was heard in my head. The reveal of him in this movie is perfect, for those of you who just saw the trailer and said, oh I've seen the dragon now. No. You have seen hardly a thing. He is huge in this movie, and for the first half of his scenes you only see him with Bilbo (Insert Sherlock reference here.) which makes him look even bigger. If there was ever a single reason to see this movie, yeah it's Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug the dragon. And the ending...oh God, the ending. I saw this opening day, when that scene happened I was not very happy. Stupid cliffhangers right when I don't want it to stop. It still makes me mad, I want to watch the last movie right now. But I want to hold off until tomorrow so I can review it properly. I mean let's get down to brass tacks, if you stuck around to see the first movie then you will be hooked by the second if you haven't already. I know fantasy is still an underground film genre, but Lord Of The Rings really is what made it big and popular, so I understand if not many people can't get their heart into it like I have. And that's fine, opinions are never wrong but I always try new movies and tell people about them regardless because you never know if a movie will stick with you or not. But regardless, we have one more movie to wrap up so I will join you on the conclusion to this journey tomorrow.

Monday, December 12, 2016

An Unexpected Journey

A great start to an unforgettable adventure.

An Unexpected Journey is the first chapter to The Hobbit trillgy, a precursor to The Lord Of The Rings following Bilbo Baggins on his quest with a company of dwarves to reclaim their homeland from a great dragon. It's almost basic fantasy storytelling 101, but Tolkien made it into something so much greater in the book which I am proud to say I have read but have yet to claim The Lord Of The Rings as fellow completed readings. I was quite hesitant to learn it would be a trilogy of movies, because the book itself is a simple children's adventure book, but as first movies go I was impressed. The way Peter Jackson started this and what all he included did justice to the book, but now having greater technological use for the film warrants staggering visual effects, some so massive it would take dozens of viewings to catch everything. Middle Earth has never looked so incredible, both in familiar locations and all new ones that were yet to be discovered in the original movies. Also familiar cast members like Ian McKellen, and Hugo Weaving make returns with a whole new slew of characters, with the hero Bilbo played by Martin Freeman who I already enjoyed as an actor, but grew to love him even more after seeing him in this movie. He really nails my vision of a young Bilbo out on an adventure, he gets that persona down and interjects much humor and enjoyability in this part. All the dwarves headed by Thorin played by Richard Armitage, are great with all of them having identities and individual personas of their own, with not two feeling or even looking similar to another which does nothing but flesh out the already developed world, and you can easily pick which dwarf is your favorite. But one of the main aspects of the movie that makes it much better than what people give it credit for, is how the stories intertwine. This is not just a straight up potrayal of The Hobbit, because well Tolkien wrote The Hobbit first and intended it as a simple story for children and had no connections to his future books beyond setting and select few characters, so this movie does an incredible job laying the seeds of The Lord Of The Rings movies while still telling it's own story. The movie is different in tone as well, whereas Lord Of The Rings was an emotional fantasy epic that dealt with world changing events, The Hobbit is more or a less just a exciting adventure movie set within the world. Either way you cut it, An Unexpected Journey is a great start to a series of films that I can't wait to talk more about. Join me tomorrow as we approach The Lonely Mountain....

Sunday, December 11, 2016

It's Done. It's Over.

I'm glad to be here with all of you, here at the end of my school year. Now I can rightfully say it's the most wonderful time of the year. No more school for like a month, can focus on catching up on my shows and reviewing movies, get to celebrate Christmas with the family, all is right in my world. Thankfully, I timed my next series of reviews perfectly. Just a small journey there and back again, to celebrate. And I'm looking for someone to share in this adventure. Join me, won't you? I shall inform the others, be ready by tomorrow.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Die Hard

One of my favorite Christmas movies ever!

Die Hard one of the best action movies ever created starring Bruce Willis and the always awesome Alan Rickman. So the plot of Die Hard follows John McClane who is meeting with his divorced wife at a high rise tower for a buisness party before a group of terrorists break in, take hostages, and try to break into the vault in the basement to gain $640 million dollars, so John has to take on all the well armed, well trained terrorists while also battling the city police to prevent the hostages from being killed. It's a great plot, with awesome characters, spectacular action, and good sparing use of comedy. I think people need to see this movie just for Alan Rickman as the ruthless Hans Gruber, he friggin' slays it in this movie. You want a great villain, Alan Rickman was your man and this movie is proof of it. Bruce Willis really came into his own in the action genre after this, but damn guys can you power down the sequel machine? I have not seen one single movie after the first one. Why? Because, 1. This is a damn near impossible movie to top, 2. There are FAR too many sequels, I think we are up to about number 5 by now? Ridiculous. 3. I got maybe, 15 minutes into Die Hard 2 and I tapped out. You can't beat the original. Case closed. But hey, we got this movie so really doesn't matter. Because this is a movie worth your time around the holidays. But you may be saying, "But Dude, this doesn't have anything to do with Santa, Jesus, the Christmas spirit, or spending the holidays with your loved ones." and yes, you are correct. Does it diminish the movie though? Not at all, it has a Christmas feeling to it all even though there is no snow (It takes place in Los Angeles.), there are decorations, Christmas music playing, a few seasonal clothing pieces spread around, the most notable being the machine gun sweater (Which I wouldn't mind owning one day.), it just works. The damn movie ends on the song Let It Snow! What action movie ends on Let It Snow? This one, and I think maybe the second one. Why? I don't know, don't even think it took place at Christmas time. But getting back to the film at hand. I know I'm not alone in the fact that this is a Christmas movie, and quite honestly those types of people are awesome. I can harp on this movie all day, it is just that glorious. And if I'm being truthfully honest, this might be my favorite action movie of all time. It never gets old, I love the dialogue scenes with Alan Rickman, I love the shootouts and the unbelievable stuntwork, I love the comedy sprinkled in, and it has the best use of Ode To Joy ever put to celluloid. Watch it, have fun with it, give it a shot, and see a whole different kind of Christmas movie.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Gremlins

Yes, I'm serious! Gremlins is a great Christmas movie.

Directed by horror master Joe Dante, Gremlins is a bizzare, violent, and disturbing movie all set around the most wonderful time of the year. Makes sense to me! It starts in classic science fiction fashion, in a small town where a young teenager receives a most interesting pet for Christmas. Known as a Mogwai, this cute furry little fellow seems innocent enough as long as you follow these 3 rules: 1. Never put it in bright light, 2. Never get it wet, and 3. Never feed it after midnight. Unfortunately, the Mogwai named Gizmo accidentaly gets wet and actually multiplies, creating several other Mogwai's all with different personalities. Not very long after, through a simple slip of time the multiplied Mogwai's eat after midnight causing them to mutate and transform into red eyed, scaly, sharp toothed little demons from hell who take no time to start terrorizing and attacking the locals. So as it is in these movies, it's up to our main character, his crush, and his pet to stop all the hell raising critters. Pretty great movie in execution although not being highly original in concept. The main highlight of the movie are the gremlins, they are completely nuts. They just want to party all night, kick ass, and are not afraid to severely hurt people. This movie has to be seen to be believed man. I cannot even elaborate on the proceedings without sounding like I am on five different kinds of hard drugs. Watch this movie! Zach Galligan is a great protagonist, Phoebe Cates is a heart throb if I've ever seen one, all the supporting cast is great, especially Dick Miller. Dick Miller is the man. The sheer shenanigans in this movie are too many to count, the horrific creature deaths are a sight to behold since all the gremlins are animatronics, it is unreal how great the effects are! It is very Christmas in atmosphere, and it surprises me how many people pop this movie in around December. I mean who doesn't want to see creepy creatures brutally attacking people and seeing them die in fantastic gruely ways? I know I do. And maybe you should too, so give it a watch. Just don't let the Santa speech sink too deep, that's some heavy stuff man.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Arthur Christmas

Now we start December proper.


The growing Christmas cult film that I have heard so much about and have finally watched. How was it? Pretty darn good. Arthur Christmas is a wonderful animated film done by the same folks who gave us Hotel Transylvania, follows the family of Claus as they soon discover after another flawless night of delivering presents that a child has been missed. This springs letter counter Arthur to travel across the globe to deliver the final present with the help of his grandad. Where do I start? So much to talk about. First off, the animation is great, it is fast paced, fluid, and works beautifully with the film. Sony Pictures Animation knows how to make animated movies so well! Second, I just love the idea behind it all, that there has been generation after generation of Claus delivering presents to all the children from Saint Nicholas onward, and we get three generations of Santa's. We have Grandsanta voiced by Bill Nighy as the more traditional and old fashioned Santa of them all, red suit and hat, sleigh and reindeer, the thing you think of first when it comes to Santa Claus. Then we have the current Santa voiced by Jim Broadbent, in charge who is one of the best Santa potrayals ever done in film, he is sweet, loves his job, but sadly has memory problems which is forcing him to retire, and that is truly sad because you see how much this job means to him, he tries his hardest to do good. And lastly, we have the current generation, Steve and Arthur, Steve voiced by the outstanding Hugh Laurie is more technology orientated, and militarized catapulting the elf's into becoming more like special force operatives than the elf's who just make toys. While Arthur voiced by James McAvoy, is a bit of a clutz but you can see in his eyes that Christmas is life, he answers all the children's letters to Santa, has nothing but a heart of gold, and is willing to do anything to make sure children have a perfect Christmas. This creates dynamics that mix and collide in the movie, that make it that more great. And I have to commend the fact that there is no bad guy in this movie, true you may not fully agree with people's perception of how Christmas should be done, but there is no wrong way to do it. They all state how Christmas should be done, and you can see it either way. Whether it's delivering presents in a sleigh led by reindeer, down a chimney and placed under a tree, or by a spaceship with elf's covertly placing every present in the world. I just love this movie for that kind of premise alone, not even counting the humor, the characters, and the love of Christmas present. This is a Christmas classic in my eyes, right up there with It's A Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story. If you want a truly different yet familiar Christmas movie, you couldn't choose a better one than this. It's a lot of fun, and might make you look at the big guy in the red suit a little bit different.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Boy did this series lose it's identity.


Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows hardly feels like a Sherlock Holmes story. It has elements which consist of five characters and one scene related to the books. Our story picks up awhile after the first movie, Watson has ben married to his wife Mary, and they are off to their honeymoon. However, several bombings have been going around which causes Holmes to sidetrack Watson off his honeymoon and to stop the guiding hands in this catastrophe, Professor Moriarty. Sounds interesting right? Well if you're a fan of mostly action, decent bits of comedy, and absolutely NO mystery, then boy howdy is this film for you! I repeat, a Sherlock Holmes movie....wiyh no mystery. Everything is spelled out for you, there are no clues, no deductions, just a trail of slow-mo action scenes coupled together with questionable disguises, and fair comedy but that does not save this movie. We get our original three stars from the first one, but also two newcomers, Stephen Fry as Sherlock's brother Mycroft who is funny because it's Stephen Fry he is quite funny regularly, and Jared Harris as Professor Jim Moriarty...oh boy. I have nothing against this actor, terrible Moriarty. I do not look at this man and go, "Ah Sherlock Holmes greatest nemesis!" I see a guy. He's not menacing, devilishly brilliant, or threatning. He is merely there. Oh God. There is one good thing I can talk about in the entire movie, and it all boils down to one single scene, at the end. It's the most Sherlock thing in the whole damn movie, a chess game between Holmes and Moriarty. Brilliant, something I can get behind at last! The only part of the movie you should ever watch, culminating into one of the most famous stories from the books....The Reichanbach Fall. But I only recommend the chess scene, beyond that I can gurantee you will miss nothing. Stick to the first movie, or even better watch the BBC series Sherlock. That is all for this week, join me next week for some real Christmas classics.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Sherlock Holmes

Best way to start December!

Yes, I liked reviewing a Sherlock Holmes movie so much in December I am doing it again. I have always greatly enjoyed this movie and I couldn't think of anyone better as playing the world famous detective than Robert Downey Jr. he is just brilliant as him! Okay story time, our partners in crime solving Sherlock and Watson are hip deep in a case that arised from quite peculiar circumstances, a grand mystery with no clear answers in sight until the very end involving conspiracies, cults, and a much bigger plot behind it all. But of course we all know who's behind it. If you have a passing knowledge of Sherlock Holmes you know who orchestrated this whole scheme. Major brownie points for the setting, fitting the time period the books were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I mean spot on. The cast is wonderful in our three main characters, and quite decent in supporting. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have excellent chemistry together as friends, just their witty banter between each other never fails to amuse me. Rachel McAdams is an interesting choice as Irene Adler, but she gets the character down very well although I don't recall Irene being very open with how much she loved Sherlock. It also has pretty terrific music, I just can't explain it any other way than being well...Sherlockian, I hear it and I immediately think Sherlock Holmes. With one exception, just had a great and intense scene, Irene nearly escaped death, Watson runs out and Holmes follows, tripwire goes off, Watson yells Holmes' name, film goes slow-mo, big chain of explosions going off everywhere, and what do I hear? Bizzare, dischordant violin music. I don't hate the music, it fits in the world potrayed perfectly, but not that scene. Would have been way more effective if you barely heard anything, perhaps ever so faint sound effects of explosions or just dead silence! It would have created a better scene. And I really hate to say this but, you don't know what all has transpired until 30 minutes before the film ends. You constantly see things, ever so subtle hints, clues, minute details but never any explanation of it. Half the fun of a mystery movie is trying to piece it together yourself. This never happens in this movie. You're just left to wait until all is explained, now some people can argue that is a good thing, only Holmes can pick up on these things and no one else so it makes sense. Other people like me can argue it never hurts to actually leave clues for the audience to pick up on. Participation in movies is rare, this is where the mystery genre comes in. It encourages you to become part of the movie, not an observer but a actor. I love the exanation, taking what seems to be pure malicious magic into hard scientific facts. That is awesome. Now beyond all that, I still like the movie, I would definitely recommend it to people, and I think it would be sort of a fun competition to see how much people can pick up on throughout the film. Give it a watch and put those detective skills to work.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Get A Job

Betrayal!!! Betrayal!! Betrayed me! This movie did not deliver Anna Kendrick as much as I expected it to. The second movie this week with a criminally low usage of Anna?? You lied to me Get A Job! They betrayed me, they didn't keep their promise, they tricked me and I don't care anymore. (Oh God I quoted The Room...)

In other news, not a bad movie really. It kinda started off as a giant middle finger to all Millenials, but at the end it got a great message out. Get A Job is a very good comedy movie following the everyday problem of finding a job. It stars Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick as a couple who constantly are on the lookout for the next job, and weird funny stuff occurs. I like how they made a movie about as simple and as mentally breaking as job searching and really make it enjoyable and humorous. Hands down best character is Bryan Cranston, oh yeah Bryan Cranston is in this movie. Bam there you go, just sold this movie. He is great in this! Makes me laugh my ass off constantly. The comedy is really good, made me laugh quite a bit so can't say it's a horrible comedy. Honestly, I was really expecting to talk a lot more about this movie, yes it did a good job telling the story, with funny characters, and a good cynical viewpoint of modern generations, but beyond that I got...nothing. Good movie, but could only really recommend it if it's a rainy day and you just don't have much else to watch at the time. I don't know, maybe you will see more in this than I did, I knew a person who said the best movie they ever saw was White Chicks, so you know, make of it what you will. I'm gonna watch Mr. Right and quench my serious Anna Kendrick jones. Have fun everybody!

Monday, November 28, 2016

Up In The Air

You know, I've been hearing about this movie for a little while. Oh, Up In The Air it's such a great movie! Up In The Air it's so celebrated and loved and enjoyed. And it's true.


Up In The Air is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my entire life. The plot follows a man whose life is lived through airports, he constantly travels around the country with the sole purpose of firing people. That is his job, to end people's jobs, nothing more. We follow him and we meet a lovely woman who he forms a quick and lovely relationship with, we also see him gain a new friend in the form of someone who is controlling a force that could end his life as he knows it. She takes the digital approach to terminating jobs instead of in person, putting his life job in jeopardy. From there many things happen, both good and bad, as in life culminating in a somber, bitter sweet ending. The main thing about this movie that I love is how it can break down the average working human being. It's very detached from emotion, and yet like at the same time embraces the center of emotion. It brings up the points of life, love, happiness, being alone, why do people react the way they do, all done in a truly amazing and beautiful way. It stars George Clooney as our main character, who is not even acting in my opinion he really is just being this character. It's unreal how great he is. Vera Farmiga is his love interest, she is wonderful as always and I love to see her in fun roles. Anna Kendrick is actually very un-Anna Kendrick, she starts off sort of uptight and for lack of a better word neurotic but halfway through the movie we get the Anna Kendrick that I know, love, and adore but sadly it doesn't last for long. The music is mellow, and very slow paced and it hit me hard near the end of this movie, this is the kind of music I want to hear while I look at a city from the window of a plane. I really must say that this movie was important for me to watch. I know if I watched this movie 2 or 3 years ago, hell even a year ago I would not look at it the way I do now. I watched it at just the right time in my life and sort of, you know, my current emotional state and my thoughts toward the world, and the people that live in it. This movie brings up the point which really only reaffirms the fact that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. This is what makes me happy, I love to talk about movies, and this movie makes the point of to follow your dreams and to do something that makes you happy. Whether it's to spend time with the people that you know and love, or to do the job that you want to do. To not settle for anything lesser. It brings up that people shouldn't be alone, you should always spend time with people that you like and enjoy being with, never be alone. Uh....Star Wars is my favorite movie of all time, nothing is really going to change that. And yet, it is not a movie that literally changed my life. This movie did. It made me look at the world I live in and the people that surround me very differently. Very few movies have made such an achievement, but what I have noticed is that they all deal with relationships, real genuine human interaction. Up In The Air is a movie about not spending your life alone, to follow your dreams, to be happy with what you are doing in your life, and to be with people you care about. Her with Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johannson was about building a meaningful and true relationship, about love in a true sense, in the most human-y human way possible. Lost In Translation, the movie I can never stop praising, and is in fact very similar to this movie, was finding a person that gives you this sort of solace in life, someone you love to be with and want to always be around, this beautiful special bond that two people can form with one another. It's these movies that change my life perspective in many ways, but mostly the way I look, treat, and talk to people. If there was any movies to take from these reviews that I do, to really sit down and watch, it would be these. Most of the time I feel very alone, but when I am with my friends and my family I grow very sort of...appreciative of life. You really can't take living for granted. We are all running clocks, we can't turn back or be put on pause, we all have our time to go. So you better make something really worth of it, so when you, like I, look back on your life you will not say these words, "It was all a waste of time. It was not worth it. It was a mistake.". Live the way you want to live, and the way I want to live is through movies. I'm The Dude, and I want to see you tomorrow.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

.....And Now I Am The Dude In White

I return to you now at the turn of the tide. We have a movie tomorrow and on Tuesday, but also one on Friday and Saturday. Yes, leading right into December. And you know what the sad part is, usually when I take September off I plan out reviews until the end of that year, and into the next year at least into March. But this year....I got nothing. The last review I have planned is December 22nd. After that, a whole lot of nothing. Why? Well mainly just because I have no more movies at the apartment. I have just about reviewed them all. All my other movies are in storage. No joke, I only have 3 DVD cases, one for movies, one for animated TV shows, and one for live action TV shows. That's all the space I can really afford. Now granted, the television shows I have rarely touched upon. Because how do you properly review a TV series? I do it season by season just giving overviews of the whole season, can't give it all away now can I? I honestly think 2017 is going to be the year of the television reviews, and also new movies in theaters are coming back hard man. I am going to try and see new movies at least once a week if not more. I mean, it's a neccesity at this point now man. Sink or swim, and I am choosing to swim. I counted all the releases next year, there are 17 movies I want to see in theaters. It's a miracle if I want to see 4 movies in a year! 17?? Unbelievable. 2017 is going to be one hell of a year! But until then, have a wonderful evening and I shall see you tomorrow. Goodnight everybody!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Holiday Sickness

You know what I love? Being sick close to holidays. You know what I love even more? Not having a clue what to review when I'm not doped up on cold medicine, which is often. I was going to review both The Truman Show, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest but I have no clue when I will be feeling healthy again. So I'll try to get those out this week, and if I don't I can at least recommend something to watch on television. A few channels have got some good marathons on, AMC has a John Wayne marathon though I personally liked it better when they played The Godfather trilogy, VH1 has a good selection of 80s movies playing, and ABC Family (I refuse to call it FreeForm) has a decent selection of kids movies to entertain the young ones if you have some over, all of which going on Thanksgiving day so take your pick and have fun. You know Thanksgiving was always one of my favorite holidays, I always got to see my family, enjoy all that food, but I was not one for the ball of foot so most of the time if I wanted to watch something I had no choice but to hang out in my room with other people who wasn't one for sports. That was always fun. Now though...not so much. I always try to make it a worthwhile holiday but it gets harder as time goes by. So for me, I want you to have a great Thanksgiving, do not spend it shopping. Boy, what a joke that is, having a holiday built for giving thanks for what you have and for spending time with people you love followed by a day where commercialism reigns supreme and everyone wants a piece of that cake, rioting over material things when you could be home having pie and coffee for breakfast. Now tell me, which would you prefer?

Friday, November 18, 2016

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

Well 15 years after The Sorcerer's Stone hit theaters, we venture once more in to the magical world created by J.K. Rowling. Does it do justice to her works?


The short answer is, yes in a way. The long answer, let's begin. The first thing I have to point out is I have no idea what a movie is about beyond trailers, so I have a sense of surprise when I see the movie, and this movie had a lot going on it other than just an easter egg hunt for magical creatures. The story takes place in 1926 New York City, and I was actually a bit off with the time. I thought it was either going to be the 30s or the 40s, I even narrowed my guess down to a year, 1937 so I was a bit off. It's quite interesting to see the magical world not only in a different era but also a different country. The basic rules of the wizarding community is still there but slightly different, and my God I thought the Ministry Of Magic were massive assholes, this organization set in America was the bane of my existence for this entire movie! I have never had more hatred for a fictional organization in my life. But all it does is make our protagonist's more enjoyable and you can really stand for what they are trying to do. Our hero Newt Scamander is a brilliant zoologist for the wizarding world and is on a quest to obtain a rare magical animal only found in America, after he arrives though several mischievous creatures escape and the hunt is on to capture them all to avoid the revelation that there are witches and wizards walking amongst us. But something more dangerous is happening around them. First of all the scenery is great, both in location and in the creatures. Yes you can tell it is very obvious CGI but it still looks impressive. The magic is familiar and yet new and looks and even feels just right. The casting is perfect in the case of our main hero, played by Eddie Redmayne who I can fully believe is Mr. Scamander and oddly enough he acts well...very Time Lord-ish. He feels like the wizard equivalent of The Doctor, in fact Matt Smith tried out for the role and Eddie looks a lot like Matt both in clothing and physical features. I mean it's just uncanny! He is the real star of the movie to me, nothing else compares. The story kept me interested all the way through, and even had a twist that no one could ever see coming and made my jaw drop to the floor. The creatures are brilliant in design and you do care for them greatly, even though I was very shocked at how few creatures actually escaped. I mean, in the trailer it seems like 10 creatures actually escaped when in reality it added up to about 5 total. Not a bad thing by any true stretch but did turn out to be a bit misleading. Beyond that, I really liked this movie! When it was first announced I just asked why couldn't they leave well enough alone, but obviously the world of Harry Potter is a bit more expansive than the 8 books, now is this movie series good enough to warrant four more sequels? That can only be answered in time my friends. Until next time.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Doctor Strange

Wow. Okay, first Marvel movie I have seen since Iron Man 2. Boy howdy was that different.

Doctor Strange, very good superhero movie based off of a lesser known Marvel character, how does it hold up? Well it's no secret the visuals in this movie are brilliant, with colors, and patterns, and psychedelics creating a truly mind bending experience. Casting was quite good, Benedict Cumberbatch is a no brainer in my head for a hero like Doctor Strange, although he's very Sherlock in places which makes me laugh that much more, Mads Mikkelsen was a treat to watch as always, dare I say those are the main reasons that I wanted to see this movie. It's not a big surprise that I am mainly a DC fan and not a Marvel fan, obviously I have been several years late to this cinematic universe, so I was trying to acclimate myself to this with mostly sound success. I sympathized with Stephen, was interested by the magic, blown away by the visuals, liked the mythos, but sometimes...the comedy just rubbed me the wrong way. Now I get it, Marvel is very lighthearted, it cracks jokes, I get that but there is a difference between comedic relief and shattering the mood. Several times I got thrown off, just by the excess humor during what should be a serious scene. Is that a thing in most Marvel movies nowadays? Cause...we might be having problems with that. I appreciate humor, I laughed several times, but they need to work on balancing humor and drama. I'm not saying it should be completely serious and dark, far from it, just tone it down a bit. Beyond that one little issue, I enjoyed the movie. It's not going to make me a Marvel fanboy, I barely stayed past the credits, I know, blasphemy!! Heretic! Don't care that much! The story was well put together following a very Cumberbatch surgeon (Is that a noun now? That should be a noun.) who following a brutal car crash, has lost the ability to use his hands. He seeks a man who has overcome an impossible medical disability who tells him to search for a temple. He travels there and slowly learns more about everything he knows about life is merely microscopic compared to the innerworkings of the multiverse. He learns spells, fights corrupt magic users, and even throws down with a multi-dimensional conqueror of worlds. It's pretty thrilling. Final sum up, go see this movie if you are interested. I know I was and am quite happy to have seen it, so I say go for it. You never know what you may learn...

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Return Of The Caped Crusaders

Thank God this was a good movie. I don't know if I could have taken another rubbish animated DC movie.

A love letter to the classic 60s Batman television show, Return Of The Caped Crusaders is a well deserved return to the Bright Knight iteration with Adam West and Burt Ward. A loving tribute with admiration and respect, this movie captures the zany, ridiculous, and truly wonderful feel of the campy 60s show with added easter eggs for the die hard Batman fans, our story follows the caped crusaders hot on the trail of the most dastardly group of villains ever to plague Gotham City, the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman. An obvious throwback to the 1966 movie, with even more to offer than before. The voice acting is spectacular, obviously always a treat to hear Adam and Burt in the roles that made them forever famous, the look takes a more realistic version of the art style used in The Brave And The Bold tv series, with excellent use of color and even a few bits of the highly acclaimed Batman The Animated Series thrown in. The cast is the true reason to watch this movie, although the movie itself is very good and feels like a long lost episode of the 60s television series, although I have to admit it saddens me to really think of how many fine actors we have lost that were once in the old show, but the replacements do their best to bring justice to such iconic performances and they deserve some respect for that. For a movie that is barely even an hour and twenty minutes long, lots of things happen that feel just right in this vein of Batman lore, from the lavishly ludicrous villains, to the brilliantly ridiculous gadgets, this movie is built for a true fan of the television show which I am. I found it campy and silly when I first viewed the 1966 movie (since it was many years before the television series hit home video) but as it played on I grew a love and admiration for it, and still defend it to this very day. And I am very happy to see another edition to the Adam West Batman legacy.

Tune in next week for more, same time same channel, with one warning: the worst is yet to come!!

Friday, November 11, 2016

Alice Through The Looking Glass

I quite enjoyed this movie. But I must admit I have not read the books in so long, I know it's an adaptation so it differs from the book but for the life of me I can't remember much about Through The Looking Glass, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland I remember much of but the sequel which already most people are not aware of I can't remember hardly a thing. Well now after the longest opening I have ever written, let's continue.

You should see how many notes I've written down, like seriously I have much to discuss in this movie. First thing, the movie takes place a few years after the first with Alice now currently being a ship captain. I am really not kidding about that. She captains a ship, uniform and all, she looks like she just raided Commodore Norrington's uniform from Pirates Of The Carribean and commandered a ship. Ridiculous yes, but pretty awesome. After she returns home she is invited to a party, not unlike that other party in the first one, as she is called to a mirror and is compelled to walk on the other side. Wonderland is here, Ms. Alice. She soon reunites with all her old friends from the first movie and it is a joy to see them again, same actors and all. But all is not well, Hatter is seriously disturbed after reliving the memory of losing his family and asks Alice for help. Side note, Johnny is much more better in this movie. You think he's just going to be weird Johnny Depp in this movie but far from it, there is a lot of sadness in his character and this movie gives great depth to the character through that, accentuated even further by his undying friendship with Alice, it is just so lovely. Alice then pays a visit to Time, played by Sacha Baron Cohen and I know, I know, you think he would be really annoying and miscast in this role but really, he does a very good job. Time himself is not a villain by any means, he's just a man performing his task of keeping time in line, if anything you could argue Alice is the villain in this movie. She steals a device called the chronosphere which keeps all time in balance in Wonderland to try and save Hatter's family. That's the basic plot, but there is much more to discuss. The chronosphere is a time machine but is modeled very much like H.G. Wells' Time Machine and travels across the Sea of Time, which I actually do remember is a part of the book and the Sea is amazing in design. Actually speaking of design, the film is gorgous with warm colors and lovely set design in Wonderland mixed beautifully with Time's palace which is shrouded in darkness with a gothic design, mechanical and cold like a clock itself. Surprisingly the film is not directed by Tim Burton, but produced by him, is it for better or for worse? I leave that up to you, but I really enjoyed the movie as is. Another excellent aspect is it builds upon the world seen in the first movie, you see many more locations and people that you never saw in the first movie, and that is awesome to me! Since the film deals with time travel, it's a bit difficult to not have Doctor Who elements pop into my brain, just how it all plays out works, and the quite frankly lovely message about time near the end is just the cherry on top. Oh my God, and it has the greatest cameo...ever!! I flipped my lid when I saw that friggin' Jim Moriarty from the BBC Sherlock series is the head of a mental institute. I mean is that not perfect casting or what? If you've seen Sherlock you are laughing your ass off right now, and rightfully so. Compared to the first movie, I'd say I enjoy the first more but without a doubt I will buy this movie. I'd love to add it to my collection, and hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did.

And tomorrow to cap off the week, we will time travel ourselves back to 1966 where we will visit two crusaders against crime....

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Star Trek Beyond

Time for some new movies. How does this movie hold up on Star Trek's 50th anniversary? Well....


It did a very good job, I highly enjoyed the movie and felt it was an appropriate celebration of Star Trek. The plot takes place two and a half years after the Enterprise crew encountered Khan, as they explore the deep reaches of space. The ship is brutally attacked, destroying the entire ship and stranding the crew on a hostile alien planet as they desperately try to escape. Good plot with some interesting new characters, but of course the crew is the best part. Nothing much is new in terms of character development, with one exception but we will touch base on that later. The comedy is still there but toned down from previous films, the sets are...unbelievable, these are the best designed sets of the new Star Trek movies with extensive levels and amazing attention to detail, the special effects are still kick ass adding new and yet older ships and some original ideas. And has without a doubt the most ludicrous, most badass fight scene ever near the end! The movie has plenty of nods to past Star Trek movies and television shows, some only the most hardcore Trekkies will spot, I myself only caught a handful. From a ship straight out of Star Trek Enterprise to the poster itself being a throwback to Star Trek The Motion Picture, there is tons to notice. And of course, it is almost impossible to not talk about how we lost two beloved members of the Enterprise, Leonard Nimoy sadly passed away before filming and the movie takes the time to pay respect to the one and only Mr. Spock with a beautiful and heartfelt scene at the end, and we tragically lost Anton Yelchin in a car accident after filming ended, it was a true shock and I am still very sad that he is gone, Star Trek will never be the same without these two wonderful actors. I want to thank all of you who joined me tonight, and as always till next time live long and prosper.

Join me tomorrow as we travel through the looking glass. You are invited.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Godzilla (2014)

Good job Gareth Edwards, you did the seemingly impossible.

The newest American Godzilla movie, why do people not like this one so much? I thought it was pretty damn good all things considered. Could have been much, much worse but it wasn't and that is the important thing. Right from the beginning it catches your attention with a great opening credits scene taking a stock and cliche opening and making it interesting, but we also get Bryan Cranston, being awesome like always (No I haven't seen Breaking Bad yet. Please hold your fire.). He plays a scientist working at a nuclear power plant in Japan, when suddenly the reactor becomes unstable. Cut to 15 years later, and he is on the hunt for answers as to what truly happened that day, accompanied by his son played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson who works in the military as they discover monsters laying dormant. They meet another scientist Dr. Serizawa (Same name as the scientist in the 1954 version) played by Ken Watanabe who informs them that the monsters are in fact from prehistoric times and that if they ever got loose, there is a natural force to combat them, Gojira. The monsters soon awaken and start a trek to repopulate their species which causes the Big G to be called on the scene to deal with them. The film was directed by Gareth Edwards, who makes very visual films and this is no exception. True it is set in modern day but it has such striking color and well done cinematography that it gives the film a bit more visual appeal. I can narrow it down to a single scene, the HALO jump, coupled together with the iconic and haunting music used in 2001: A Space Odyssey, make it one of the most memorable scenes in the entire movie. Now a few people didn't like this movie very much down to one problem, a lack of screen time from certain characters. Now honestly I had no problem with that, even though in this two hour film you only see a grand total of 10 minutes of Godzilla and yeah, you want to see the big guy a lot but isn't that the case with all Godzilla movies? You want to see him almost all the time on screen, I get that, but I loved the mystery around the monsters and how they were revealed throughout the film. You get glimpses of Godzilla throughout the whole movie but it's rare you see a full head to toe shot of him but it really works! It gives you a great sense of just how truly giant he is, I love the design of it very much, looks like the King Of The Monsters equivalent of me actually. The fight scenes are really good, although they tease just a bit, you see them throw down multiple times but not the whole fight until the end. That doesn't bother me a bit, I like bits and pieces before the grand finale and yes it is worth it in my opinion. I can't wait for the sequel which is due in 2019 if memory serves correct, so still awhile to go. But we have plenty more monster films in the future to tide me over until then. Thank you so much for joining me in Japan. Goodnight.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Boy that's a paradoxical title isn't it?

The first in the Millenium series, over 16 years old, how is it? Pretty great. The plot isn't spectacular, but what comes out of it is highly entertaining. The Japanese government searches the depths of the ocean to discover a new source of energy, then soon find an alien craft that rises from the depths and is strangely focused on Godzilla. That is one of the major high points for this movie, it has an excellent sense of mystery around the monster, named Orga and you never know what it really looks like or why it is focused on Godzilla until near the end. Orga mutates several times throughout the movie, similar to Shin Gojira and I love the originality with the monster. But then again Toho has always had such genius designs for it's monsters, and this design of Godzilla might actually be my most favorite of all the designs. In fact, the whole movie looks great, the models are so highly detailed they look real, I am floored by the sets in this movie. We get many good shots of Tokyo at night, and the more I thought about it I realized the fact that I have probably seen more movies set in Tokyo than New York City, Japan has always been present in my life since I was real little in some form or another, and will continue to until I die. Japan is in the heart, wherever I go she is with me. And now, time for backstory! In 1994 Toho planned on making the final Godzilla film after 40 long years, killing the King Of The Monsters once and for all. They did just that, giving the rights to TriStar to make future American Godzilla films. They failed. Horribly. To the point where Toho was so outraged they released this movie less than a year later in 1999, titled Godzilla Millenium. Then it got a theatrical release here in the States in 2000, which hasn't been done since Godzilla 1984 and never again until Shin Gojira, but sadly it bombed. Yes this film actually failed, which is why we don't get many Godzilla films here until it gets on home video. It's very sad but very true. But you can never keep the big guy down, he has died at least three times, four if you count the TriStar movie, but Goonies never say die or something, so he always comes back. It was one of the first Godzilla movies I ever saw, I still love it, I think you would enjoy it, but we got one more to go before the week is out. Tune in tomorrow for a GOOD American Godzilla movie.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Godzilla (1984)

Alright time to review Godzilla 1985, even though it was originally released in 1984, made it to America in 1985, and has not been allowed to be released on DVD until September of this year in America. Confused yet? Good, let's move on.


For this particular review, I watched the original Japanese version instead of the American version although either version is still great to watch. Godzilla has returned to Japan after 30 years of dormancy to raise terror and destruction yet again. Grade A entertainment. Time for backstory! Godzilla first appeared in 1954 and appeared in several sequels for 20 years evolving from a destructive allegory for a nuclear bomb to a savior of the Earth, ending the what is known as the Showa era in 1974. Ten years later...he was resurrected as a destructive force, ignoring all other movies except the original in 1984 beginning the Heisei era. And this film truly updates the look with excellent special effects, sophisticated and ambitous models, coupled with new military weapons. Of course since this was made in the mid 80s the Cold War was still heavy in the air, so Russian and American forces suggest to use nuclear weapons against Godzilla. Of course Japan is against nuclear weapons of any sort, Japan never forgets their history and Hiroshima is explicitly mentioned in this movie, Japan is a hero in my eyes for prohibiting any nuclear weapons in real life. The atmosphere has an almost apocalyptic feel to it, with a doomy and epic theme for the King Of The Monsters. Add in some nifty editing and framing, and a decent human story, and you have one of the best Godzilla movies ever made. Top 10 for me easily. Get your hands on it now if you are a fan of the Big G, or if you want a good monster mash.

Tomorrow we look at the beginning of the Millenium era.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

We're Not Done Yet!

Halloween is going overtime here on What The Dude Says! I thought about it for a bit and remember that I said I wouldn't mind doing the monster mash in Tokyo come November? Well that's where we are headed. This week just for the hell of it, and if you didn't get enough monster action, I shall review three Godzilla movies, all from different eras. One from the Heisei series, one from the Millenium series, and the newest american movie. There's a lot more King Of The Monsters coming in the future. The new japanese movie will hit video, we get a sequel to the american 2014 Godzilla, we even get a rematch of King Kong Vs. Godzilla. That's right, I said rematch. Plus it's always fun to talk movies where a guy in a giant rubber lizard suit stomps on a model city. So check it out tomorrow, and Blue Oyster Cult said it best....go go Godzilla!

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Vincent

This might be my favorite short film of all time.


Vincent Malloy is seven years old, he is a nice boy but he dreams of becoming like Vincent Price. In a mere less than 7 minutes it goes from a charming yet demented tribute to one of Tim Burton's friends and idols to a bizzare and nightmarish short that only Tim could do. It is set entirely in rhyme, which Vincent always does so well, the visuals are freaky and very dark, the music is haunting, it's a magnificent short that you can watch entirely for free, if you merely type 'Vincent short film' into YouTube, watch it with the lights off and tell me what you dream of that night....

Friday, October 28, 2016

Dr. Phibes Rises Again

So did this movie surpass the original or did it sink into the depths?

Well, it was okay. For a sequel to Dr. Phibes it does a good job but by no means beats the original. The story is just as basic as the first movie but it's more about the execution than the plot. Phibes has awakened after 3 long years, under slightly weird circumstances, honestly it reminds me of the ressurection scenes in the Hammer Dracula series, which is by no means a bad thing but it does leave one slightly puzzled. Adding more to the fact is countless actors from the original have returned but as different characters, even Phibes' beautiful assistant returns in this movie albeit played by a different actress. This is just bizzare because well she had her face destroyed by acid at the end of the first movie and...I think she died, and yet here she is. I can kinda buy Vincent Price can summon the dead to do his bidding, but I digress. After Phibes awakens he sets off a quest to Egypt to rediscover an old temple and find the waters of eternal life to bring his beloved wife back, with the police still hot on his trail even after 3 years, but that's okay with me because that means we get a bodycount. Many elements that I stated in the first movie is still prevelant here with great set design, great acting as always from Vincent, creative death traps, and an interesting plot. Personally, I recommend the original far more and only the most hardcore of Vincent Price fans to seek out this movie. I have to say though two moments really stuck out to me, one was a very shocking moment although nothing really scary happened, it just took me off guard, and the ending which is a lovely send off to Dr. Phibes as we close the movie out hearing Vincent sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Yes, I'm serious.

Tune in tomorrow for a very special treat before Halloween as a send off for the season with a short film.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

What a strange and yet surprisingly charming movie.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes, one of Vincent Price's strangest roles to say the least. The story follows Phibes on a revenge mission against the doctors who failed to save his beloved wife, and the police in an attempt to stop him. Kind of a slasher film in a way with one of the most unique ways of dispatching people I have ever seen in a movie, Phibes uses the ancient plagues of Egypt to enact his revenge making for one of the most gruesome and striking collection of death scenes in any movie. Vincent Price commands the entire picture and the odd thing is you do not hear him speak until about 30 minutes in. Phibes went through a terrible accident that severely disfigured him and destroyed his voice, forcing him to make this weird phonograph machine plugged directly into his voice box in order to talk, so for the first third of the whole movie his on screen time is based solely on his presence alone, and my God is it excellent. He gets his point across through a cold stare, dark attire, and horriffying actions. Phibes also has a female assistant who doesn't speak a single line, we know nothing about her or how she knows Phibes and yet, I don't really mind. Mystery is the keyword in this movie, very much reminds me of Phantom Of The Opera in a way, a disfigured genius hiding behind a mask with a penchant for the organ and the violin, has an undying love for the woman of his life, invents many contraptions and death traps, and has no qualms about killing those that stand in his way. The film is gorgeous to look at in Phibes' lair, full of color and spectacle with some shots looking so nice they would be right at home framed on my wall. The film also has some slight dark comedy in it, primarily with the inept police force, it has great dry witty british humor in it. The way Phibes kills people gives thought to another horror villain with a taste for traps and theatrics, yep Dr. Phibes was an inspiration for Jigsaw in the Saw franchise, pretty awesome. The blood and gore is both light and very heavy somehow, showing truly horrifying end results and yet hardly showing it at all, it has a PG-13 rating which is odd since that rating didn't exist until the 80s, so maybe it was an R rating back then. It's the most strange, surreal, horrifying yet charming, beautiful, and even a bit emotional movie I have seen.

Tomorrow we review the sequel to this well made horror film.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Madhouse

Yes Vincent Price, the titan of terror, what better way to end October?

Ah but not just Vincent Price in tonight's picture, but also my dear friend who I so wish I had the pleasure to meet, Peter Cushing. This formidable duo of horror star in the true cult classic, Madhouse but a few things to clear up first before we begin. Vincent and Peter play actors, so for the sake of this review we shall go by their character names. Vincent Price plays horror icon Paul Toombes as one night he hosts a party and announces he is to be married, but before the night is through his future bride is murdered sending Paul mad with grief, and is kept in a sanitarium for twelve years. He returns to the public eye, and with help from his friend Herbert played by Peter Cushing tries to make him return to the role which made him famous, Dr. Death. But soon more killings arise, leaving Paul to wonder if he is committing the murders as his film persona. A rather good murder mystery story, and for most of the entire film you have no idea if Paul is killing these people or not, which creates great suspense. The true reason you see this movie is because of Vincent and Peter, they elevate this movie from a simple horror movie into an underrated classic. The film was made in 1974, during the course where both actors were reaching the height of their popularity, and it shows they put their heart and soul into their acting, no matter which role they take it is always done with class, elegance, and great presence of both actors. It's a terrific movie, could not love it more if I tried, highly recommend to all horror fans, although I have to admit this film is pretty gory for a movie that has a PG rating. Yeah back then when a PG rating actually meant something! Let me total this up for you. We have, one decapitation, pitchfork to the neck, one hanging, one human shishkabob, knife to the neck, two burnings, multiple backstabbing with spider devouring, 4 stars check it out! And the icing on the cake, the cherry on top of this already delicious sundae, we end the movie with Vincent Price singing. Need I say more?

Join us tomorrow for another classic Vincent Price film.

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Pretty terrific horror movie, especially for it's time.

Tobe Hooper's masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre could probably be argued as one of the greatest Texan tall tales ever. Based loosely off of notorious serial killer Ed Gein, the plot follows a group of five friends travelling across the desolate regions of Texas where they encounter a family of cannibals. And that's really the kicker of this movie, it's not a gothic fairy tale, it's real. Not real real, where the events actually happened but they very well could. Tobe Hooper and all the cast and crew went through hell to make this movie, and for their efforts and what you see on the screen today, they should be applauded. Although oddly Tobe Hooper did not recognize this as a horror movie, but more of a dark comedy. That blows my mind, cause I can laugh at dark disturbing things. I laugh my ass off at American Psycho, I can find funny moments in creepy disturbing things, but not this movie! I laughed once but that was just because of a rather funny delivery of a line, this film is everything you have heard about it, shocking, scary, and highly disturbing, not much you can chuckle at. But the director insists this, the movie isn't meant to be scary but a dark comedy, a parody portrait of the dysfunctional american family. But whatever it is, it gets under your skin. The film is grainy and saturated, the acting is spot on, the soundtrack is non-existent except for sounds you would hear inside of a slaughterhouse, the editing gets more frantic and harsh as the film progresses, culminating in an unforgettable climax. The most simultaneously famous and infamous dinner scene in the movie just makes you take a step back and let all these horrible things sink into your subconcious, the actual shooting was a nightmare, look at any interview of anybody who worked on this film talk about the dinner scene. Poor Marilyn Burns, she put up with so much shit man, that poor girl went through the worst. She is the original scream queen to me. Sure, Janet Leigh and her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis screamed a bit, but Marilyn....I'd like to hedge my bets on how many times she lost her voice working on this movie. That screaming sticks with you. Damn fine actress, may she rest in peace. Gunnar Hansen plays the infamous Leatherface, and believe it or not he does not potray a villain. He's having a bad day too, he's left all alone at home in the middle of nowhere, all these damn kids keep showing up to his home, he doesn't know what to do, murder is second nature to him, he's just trying to protect himself, that's just life to him. You don't ever see that in horror movies, Gunnar Hansen did his homework well and it shows majorly. I could talk about this movie for an hour more, but I've rattled on enough, see it if you dare, but if you don't want to visit Texas afterwards, no one will be mad.

Another week, another review. Join me next Wednesday to see a true master of horror at work.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Carrie (1976)

I've never felt so much sympathy for a movie character in my life.

I mean...mother of pearl, what the hell movie? This girl has to deal with so much garbage, it's unreal. No friggin' wonder Sissy Spacek was nominated for best actress man. Where do I even start with a movie this great? Do I even really have to relay the plot? Just say Carrie, and bam you know! But it is my duty so I will tell the story. Carrie White is a shy, awkward, and absurdly cute high school student who one day discovers after having her period for the first time develops telekinetic powers. Kind of weird premise, but flying colors and hands full of aces in execution. I love this movie! It's so 70s it's almost kinda hard not to like. Actually the more I think about it, this movie really gets me head over heels emotionally involved, far more than other movies I adore. And it all comes down to Sissy Spacek, she carries this movie above and beyond expectations. You can tell she's a local girl, I mean she talks like us, that is an unmistakeable southern accent. She's originally from East Texas, barely 50 miles from my hometown which does nothing but put the biggest smile on my face like it's no one's buisness. I just simply adore her, she's the sweetest thing in this movie, my heart just goes out to her every time. She's purrty. I mean, come on now. I'm with her every step of the way in this movie, from dealing with her psycho ass mom, to all those just mean spirited girls at her school, I'm telling you she puts up with so much abuse. Which is why I love the gym teacher in this, Betty Buckley, major badass in this movie. Great acting all across the board, terrific direction by Brian De Palma, has without a doubt the most sweet and precious scene ever in a horror movie, and one of the most iconic finales in horror movie history. It's the first thing you think of when you say the title, the prom scene! No matter how many times I see it, I just can't believe it! My jaw drops to the floor every time, it scares the hell out of me, it is a slow burn and my God is it glorious. But I got to tell you...the scene afterwards when she gets home, and she starts crying in the bathtub, my heart is shredded to tiny little bits and pieces. That's heavy stuff, it breaks my heart. Very few movies have broken my heart. That's a sign of a pretty awesome movie in my book. I encourage you to see this movie! Worth every minute! 4 stars, two thumbs up, all that good stuff.

Alrighty, one more movie for the week. And strangely it takes place in Texas. Rock on.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

An American Werewolf In London

Wow. What a movie.

I definitely must say this movie is quite possibly the best werewolf movie ever made, and highly unappreciated. Not many people know about this movie unless you're either a hardcore horror movie fan, or was alive and old enough to see it when it first came out in 1981. The plot follows two american tourists, David and Jack traversing the moors of England when they are both attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed but David survives and tries to cope with his werewolf-ism. Already from the start of the movie I liked the main character, he acts like a real guy hanging out with his best friend on vacation. None of the usual horror movie tropes are present here, it's mostly original although they make explicit references to the 1941 classic The Wolf Man. It's pretty amazing how they balance shocking bloody horror with very, very good comedy. The dream sequences alone sum it up perfectly, it starts off unsettling and serious and then goes of the deep end into weirdness to the point where it's hilarious. Yeah it may have some funny bits but it does take itself seriously, and doesn't shy away from it's terrifying moments. The special effects were and still are so spectacular it won an Academy Award. Yeah, an Academy Award for a horror movie, you don't see that very often. But great movie man! Hunt this thing down, it's an odd movie certainly but still worth seeing at least once in your life.

Tomorrow, we revisit a Stephen King original.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Fiend Without A Face

You know what's weird? Every movie I've reviewed this week has gotten shorter each time. The Blob was almost an hour and a half, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was an hour and twenty minutes, now this movie is an hour and fifteen minutes.

Fiend Without A Face, a very well done movie for it's time with an interesting concept and a grotesque monster. The plot follows an army major trying to uncover what has been killing the civilians around their military base and boy howdy, is the explanation a doozy. A scientist was conducting psychic experiments to be able to do ordinary tasks, think of it like a more scientific way of using the Force. But one day the scientist became too ambitous and created a being of pure thought. Throughout the entire movie you never see the monster until the very end, being an object of thought it is invisible and they are truly horrific and is stated that they look very akin to the human brain. They suck people's brains out of their skull! That's pretty gruesome for 1958! And since they cannot be seen, all you hear is the disgusting sucking sound which makes my stomach churn. But when it really gets going is about 10 minutes before the end, a radiation spike causes the creatures to become visible and are horrific to look at. Imagine a human brain, imagine it had a spinal cord tail that allows it to move about similar to how a caterpillar moves, imagine it had antennae to seek out people. That...is disturbing. I got to say this film had some gore in it for the 1950s, long before we saw flesh eating zombies in George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead, we saw brains being shot, smashed with an axe, and even dissolving. Ugh, it's nasty! Just to see these things squirt blood everywhere after being shot makes me wonder how audiences reacted to it back then. True it's in black and white, but you can only imagine how much more gross this would have been in color. I would recommend this movie just for the last 10 minutes, it's a special effects marvel that needs to be seen to be believed.

Next week, we shall be looking at a few more well known, true horror movies that really deserve more attention.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

I have to admit this is the first time I've seen this movie, and I'm not disappointed.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, classic science fiction movie, terrific at building a sense of paranoia, and a truly terrifying premise. The plot centers around a doctor who returns to his hometown, and slowly begins noticing claims of people who say their relatives and neighbors are not themselves of late. As the mystery unravels, we are with our hero every step of the way, you could almost say this has severe roots in film noir which makes the movie that much more special. The movie excels beyond anything at how it builds the mood, it is a slow burn of paranoia and fear culminating in a fever rush of a climax that really leaves you uneasy. It took a grand total of maybe three minutes before I started getting paranoid about everyone, good job movie you achieved an effect in mere minutes that others could not achieve in hours. Credit where credit is due, I'm actually happy this movie is in black and white it just adds a more foreboding atmosphere than if it was just in color. It really does add a more creepy feel to the whole thing. And you know what? This is a scary movie, just the premise is terrifying. You return to your old hometown, as you meet with old friends and family you hear perplexing things, that the people in your town are not real people, and as time goes on the more you find that it's all true, until you're the only one left in a town ruled by monsters. That is horror if I have ever heard of it. You really don't get much scarier than that. Excellent horror movie, great science fiction movie, certainly made me look twice at the people I know. Goodnight everybody.

One more sci-fi movie for the week, possibly the greatest brain movie ever made that surprisingly does not have the word 'brain' in the title. Until tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

The Blob (1958)

I forgot how good this movie was.

Alright, tonight's movie is the 1958 sci-fi classic, The Blob starring Steve McQueen in a role that made him famous. Now I gotta say, this is a classic movie without a doubt in my mind, but watching it again I really loved it. It's one of the greatest examples of 50s science fiction movies, with outstanding writing, not just in concept but in execution, great acting, and a terrific movie monster to top it all off. The plot follows Steve McQueen while one night a meteor hits, and out comes an alien blob hell bent on absorbing every human on Earth. It's up to good old Steve to stop this alien menace, and try his damndest to warn the whole town before it turns into a big red jelly mark on the map. Now this was Steve's first big movie before he got super famous a few years later, and he does great work in this movie. He's a regular guy, thrust into this crazy situation, and has to deal with it. You believe every word he says, and gives immense likeability and even some good depth to a rather ordinary character. Now this movie is about an hour and a half long, and the pacing is just right. You see the blob, and you see it well, but not as much as you might expect. It does a good job of keeping you in suspense to when you see the blob again. And all the supporting cast does wonderful work as well, every one of them is an intelligent, well rounded character while in most other science fiction movies of the time they would be as smart as a bag of rocks, and are there just to go through the meat grinder, but here they contribute a great deal to the movie, whether it be plot progression or to give some pretty decent character development to each other. It's truly a cult classic, and created a remake in 1988, and the event known as Blobfest, a yearly little shindig in Phoenixville where the movie was made with tons of great stuff to do, see how they made the movie, reenact the famous movie theater scene, and view the original blob itself in all it's gelatinous glory. This is a fun flick, and you get the vibe from the opening credits. Classic and ingenious title screen, and the blob has it's own theme song and it is truly spectacular. 4 stars, check it out!

And tomorrow we revisit another classic science fiction movie. They're already here, and you are next.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

BONUS: Shin-Godzilla

Well that was unexpected.

Wow...my first Godzilla movie ever seen in theaters. No joke, every time I have seen any Godzilla movie it has been on either satellite tv or home video. So how does this Godzilla movie hold up? It was great, albeit slightly odd at points. Allow me to elaborate. Okay Sherman set the way-back machine to when the first trailer hit. I liked the tone, the visuals, and the music...until Godzilla showed up. He looked cool, glowing red, slightly decaying look but the eyes looked like googly eyes, and his tail was too long, it was bigger than he was! And this particular Godzilla stunts the 2014 Godzilla, and that's a big dude. And later on down the road, I heard rumors about Godzilla well, not looking like Godzilla. That he actually evolves throughout the movie. This worried me a lot. And it's true. When you see him at first he looks like this friggin' tadpole...thing, he's got no arms and really looks like if you cut off a stegosauraus' front legs. It's so odd. But then he changes and looks a bit more like he usually does. He looks like he came from Hell, and that fits perfectly with the movie, Godzilla is supposed to look terrifying. Now we touch on the last aspect worthy of note, Godzilla's atomic breath is bizzare. It's purple but not, and I can roll with that, I got used to how he looked, and his atomic breath looks awesome in purple but it's not straight up like that. I'll try to explain, it starts off like just red fire but then transforms into atomic breath, but not only that it turns into a fracking lazer beam! It doesn't look like fire it looks like lazers! But wait, there's more! It comes out of his mouth, it comes out of his tail (I swear to God above.), it comes out of his fin's. Yeah. Now, Hideaki Anno created Neon Genesis Evangelion, a confusing show about giant robots fighting, kinda like with Gundam but with a paradoxical plot but I digress. He wrote and directed the movie, so you see the inspiration from that show bleed through into this movie, Godzilla shoots like a hundred lazer beams out of his fin's at enemy planes and missiles. It's very anime. Whoa, I've went on this long and I haven't touched base on the actual movie.......let's roll that review! The plot is basic like other Godzilla movies, Godzilla rises out of Tokyo Bay and the Japanese government must find a way to stop this fearsome beast. Now there are many excellent things about this film, first of all the editing. It is so slick, and so well done, they know exactly when to cut. It is fast paced, but knows when to linger on a moment, it really helps with the humor of which there is a bit, and drives the story at a satisfactory pace clocking in at roughly two hours. Next is the acting, the cast is great although the film is subtitled all the way through, there is no dub yet but there will be. So seeing the real Japanese actors working their craft was a real treat. Lastly is the mood, the tone of the story, and it is highly realistic. This feels real in every sense of the word. This is what would happen if such a creature appeared in Japan and the government had to deal with it. Bravo movie, bravo. Flying colors in this respect. Godzilla is in the movie a bit, but the focus is on the humans trying to cope with such a presence, in fact dare I say, it does it exponentially better than the original 1954 version. That is how good they nailed the realistic edge of this film. You know, for the first Godzilla movie I have ever seen in theaters, this did not disappoint. The film is in theaters nationwide until the end of this week, so if you're a big G fan go see this movie. Well worth your time and money.

You know, for this week I had several science fiction classics to review, but now I'm kind of tempted to do a handful of Godzilla reviews instead. I certainly have a few to review, and I'm happy I reviewed the original because this movie has a few nods to it. I might change it, I may hold off on it. Hell, maybe I'll even start November with a monster mash in Tokyo...

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Hannibal

Would you hate me if I said I kinda, sorta like this movie? This a very divisive movie so I get where both parties are coming from.

Hannibal is the last chronological film of Anthony Hopkins' outstanding run as our favorite cannibalistic psychiatrist. How does this movie hold up? Eh, it's not bad. It's a decent movie, it doesn't end very well, but I don't hate this movie. You can tell Anthony Hopkins is having fun, Julianne Moore isn't horrible as Clarice she does fine work, Gary Oldman is always a damn fine actor and he does really well as the villain here. Oh yeah and Barney is the friggin' man! I love Barney in all these movies, he is awesome. Frankie Faison, my God man. Rock on. So what is the story in this possible trainwreck for you of a movie? Hannibal is still on the run, Clarice has been disowned from the F.B.I., and Mason Verger is on a revenge hunt for Hannibal. Clarice figures if she can catch Hannibal first, her career as an agent will be saved. One of the things I enjoyed was seeing exstensive location shooting in Florence, it is a beautiful city and Ridley Scott really got a good feeling of the city. Oh yes, Ridley Scott directed this movie. Strange that. But it works well, he's a competent director in this so no harm done there. The way the story is told is a bit of a mess, it's not completely unfollowable, but you got to pay attention. It's a busy movie, so take note of several of the events in the movie. The ending is...difficult to explain. It's not a horrible piece of garbage, but it isn't all that great either. Some may call it a mixed bag. Actually the more I think about it, the less I like this movie. It's just adequate. Everything is passable, not good or bad, just...eh, okay. I'd take this movie with a severe grain of salt, it is without a doubt the weakest of the Hannibal Lecter movies. Oh, and for those of you wondering why Hannibal Rising isn't on here.....hahahahahaha! That movie is stupid and doesn't exist, and anyone who likes it is stupid. I know it's just my opinion but, I'm right.

Well, one week down. Tune in next week for some more classic horror movies.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

The Silence Of The Lambs

It's a psychological thriller! Sorry Academy, I know you don't like to use the 'H' word but this is a horror movie. It's horrifying!

Academy Award winning film, The Silence Of The Lambs and well worthy of those awards! The introduction to one of the most famous movie monsters of all time, this film is still excellent. What can I say that others haven't already? It's a great movie, you should see it if you haven't already! One of the things you notice as you watch it more is the use of editing in this movie, the editing is what makes it a cut above the rest. It almost decieves the audience (and in one scene totally does), because of how they cut this movie. There are many scenes where you think it is just several little tidbits of film spliced together, but it is not! The movie may seem cut but that's the allusion, several scenes are literal long running shots, just edited together for it to be more fluid. Some may complain the film is choppy, I highly disagree. The camera placement works, and it works well. There is a lot of dialogue scenes, almost 90% of the movie is just talking, now you're probably saying that would kill the film for you, but it is so interesting and certainly engaging enough to the point where you don't really care. Also, I have to give props to the camera crew of this movie. I could not stare down Anthony Hopkins for ten seconds, let alone several minutes. You notice that a lot, the camera is settled dead center, close up shot of the character's faces. Now this is an excellent way to convey a mood of uncomfortableness, the sense of pressure, and claustrophobia. Well done camera crew! Story wise, it is very good but the way the movie tells the story makes it so much better. Clarice Starling is an F.B.I. agent sent to question Dr. Hannibal Lecter to try and hunt down serial killer Buffalo Bill. Simple plot, excellent movie. Really it's Jodie Foster that holds this movie together, she does a damn good job in this movie, and this movie was filmed in a time where the F.B.I. was just starting to accept female applicants, so it's great to see that she can put her big boy pants on and kick heinie like one of the boys. Awesome. Anthony Hopkins of course, is a joy to watch. He's more creepy in this movie than threatning like in Red Dragon, but that in no means diminishes his character. Ted Levine...you magnificent son of a mother, you want to talk about a scary performance? Boy, oh boy does he deliver! Excellent, excellent serial killer. Oh, and I may be really sick but I like that scene. You know that scene. Q Lazzarus Goodbye Horses. Don't watch it if you haven't seen the movie cause you may find me crazy. But the best scene in the entire movie, is where the title of the film comes about. Chilling, well paced, well acted, well directed, fantastic. Watch this movie again, it's more than worth it. Great horror movie!

Okay, this is where I could lose a few people but we must touch base on Hannibal, the last Hannibal Lecter movie with Anthony Hopkins. What do I think about it? Until tomorrow.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Red Dragon

Hell of a way to start the month.


This week we shall be covering the Hannibal Lecter movies, chronologically, so Red Dragon first. Damn good movie in my opinion, certainly one of the best examples of a modern crime thriller, with great acting, excellent writing, truly horrific scenarios, and all with one of the most beloved movie monsters of all time Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Dare I say, Anthony Hopkins is better in this movie than Silence Of The Lambs. Yeah. I mean it. That might be considered blasphemy but really compare performances, he is much more scary in this movie in every way. But of course, either way you slice it Anthony Hopkins is a brilliant Hannibal Lecter. Yet, you can't have a good villain if you don't have a good hero, enter Will Graham played very well by Edward Norton. Now in the case of Will Graham it is a drastically different performance than in the television series Hannibal, now I'm not bashing Edward Norton in this role, he does very good work, he is believable to see he works with the F.B.I. to catch serial killers, it's very easy to describe and yet difficult to describe. He has a history with Hannibal, he does not take his nonsense, he does not do the little dance Lecter and Starling do in Silence Of The Lambs, he wants answers immediately which is very true to his character at this point in the story. I do not get the sense he really hates his work, almost very tortured in his method of finding killers, like in the series Hannibal or hell, even in Michael Mann's Manhunter which adapted Thomas Harris' novel sometime in the 80s, it is kind of subdued but not to the point where it breaks your suspension of disbelief. In fact, the whole movie like the others is fully rooted in real, hard reality so the film works incredibly well in the crime drama factor. Christ that's a whole nother comparison between Manhunter and Red Dragon but we are sticking to Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal movies, but Ralph Fiennes nails it in this movie. He perfectly conveys the right mix of truly sadistic and entirely sympathetic almost at the same time. Bravo Mr. Fiennes. Now in terms of story the movie follows the book very well, although it does take some liberties to have more Lecter in it and really, is that a bad thing? I don't think so. I know some people complain about Hopkins' age but really you hardly notice it because of his performance, it is great. You feel genuine menace in Red Dragon that was slightly lax in Silence Of The Lambs, you feel he wants to kill Will Graham, he despises him, tries everything to hurt him all while never once leaving his cell! That's a villain! You can lock him away and he can still plague your life. Now I know I could go on forever with comparisons between the different media around this particular chapter of the story so let me sum up for you. Red Dragon does the story much better than Hannibal, Manhunter gives a bit more depth to Will in this story but of course the show nails the characters down to a science, so all in all if you haven't seen Red Dragon it is well worth your time. As far as comparison notes go, watch Manhunter because you need to get through two and a half seasons of Hannibal to reach this story, if you feel up to it though give the show a whirl. Well that's all for tonight, stay tuned tomorrow for the next movie.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

The Time Has Come....

Happy Halloween everyone. It's good to be back, and in the most wonderful time of the year! Now we have some news to get out of the way, firstly I have almost run out of movies to review. I only can carry so many movies with me, and I've nearly reviewed every movie I have with me currently so the reviews might be sparse, which I really hate but until I get a bigger place I'm stuck. Next, I regret to announce that this year is the last Monster Madness on Cinemassacre, the last marathon of horror movie reviews every day of October. It's depressing to see it go, even if it has been around for 10 years. I know I can't take up that monument, but hey we still got a lot of movies to review this month so I'm looking forward to it. It's time to let Halloween finally absorb me, in all it's creepy, awesome, and terrifying power. So tune in Monday for the start of my own little monster madness! Reader beware, you're in for a scare...

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

End Of Line Man.

Once more we must say goodbye. There is much to do, so many reviews to plan, so much school to go, but never fear. I always come back. I shall return the first week of October and then we can monster mash. Until then, watch some movies, have fun, and I shall see you in the future...again.

Friday, August 26, 2016

A Monster In Paris

A true obscure gem. And yes I will wave my Phantom Of The Opera flag proudly!


A Monster In Paris is a delightful family film, with a few nods to the novel Le Fantome De l'Opera by Gaston Leroux. I saw this movie on a sheer gamble and walked away with armfulls of reasons why I love this movie. The story follows a group of characters living their lives when one day through a scientific accident, a monster has been created. A monster with a passion and genius for music, that much like other monsters is a sad character hunted down by human characters. Where do I start with this movie? The plot while simple, just works. It has such endearing characters, beautiful art direction, lovely music, and so much more. Also major props to the climax, it is definitely something new and interesting. It has fabulous use of color, some good comedic moments but focuses on pure heart. And you are convinced of it, you get emotionally invested in the story just like in The Phantom Of The Opera. I kept track of all the nods to various versions of the book, because I'm a friggin' nerd for this stuff. Not only does it straight up use character names from the book, but even uses a line from the book. Bravo movie. And the costume the monster wears...hell yeah. He actually has two, one being this almost crime noir look to it with a long coat and a red scarf, while his other costume is a Phantom costume like to a tee! All white, gloves, excellent mask, and looks badass! What's an interesting choice is the fact the monster never speaks, but he does sing his heart out. Which is kinda clever, and the songs like I said are very lovely. High spirited, awesome dance choreography, just a sweet soundtrack. And the look of the movie is very well done. For everything they did in computer animation, they got it right. True, Paris doesn't look as unbelievably gorgeous as it did in Ratatouille but it still looks good. I'm not sure when the movie actually takes place, I think it's 1910, which is actually when the book was written. Clever. Man I got to tell you to check this movie out. It's different but amazing for what it tried to do. And that is it ladies and gentlemem, goodnight everybody!

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Hotel Transylvania

Wow my first Adam Sandler movie and it's really good.

When I first heard about this movie, I really wanted to see it even though the actors in this movie aren't exactly my favorite. Hotel Transylvania is a pretty good movie with fantastic animation, a good story, and unique looking characters, all with things you've seen before and have never seen before. So what's the story? Dracula lord of the vampires has constructed a hotel for all the monsters in the world to get away from the humans and get some down time. During all of this he is keeping an eye on his daughter, who is approaching her 118th birthday and wants to head out into the big world and explore it all, but her dad is of course nervous for her safety. And it doesn't help that a human boy has actually stumbled upon the hotel. So the count must keep his identity a secret to prevent all hell from breaking loose, while being a good dad. Sort of a complicated plot but every aspect of it is done very, very well starting off with the animation. It is amazing. Not just in style, not just in color, but how fluid it moves! You never see animation move this quick and flowing it is truly a marvel, beautifully creepy look and feel to everything, major points to that. Another excellent aspect is the characterization, especially to Dracula and his daughter. Dracula is a almost normal guy with the exception of being a bloodsucking beast of the night! He's just trying to run a good buisness, hang out with his friends, and take good care of his daughter. The entire backstory and pivotal characterization of him I dare not spoil, but it has so much heart and very sad to hear but you can identify with him on a human level. The same goes for his daughter! She's a sweet girl, with a fun loving personality and has to deal with her overbearing dad even though she knows he has nothing but good intentions for her. And man I got to tell you, I know for a fact I'm going to be that dad. Like if I have a little girl, she is going to be MY little girl forever, no boys, no dating, no kissing, none of that. I know she will grow up but I really wouldn't want her to. So yet another aspect of Dracula's character that I stand by wholeheartedly. But anyway, the comedy is good, not hilarious but good because it delves into really derivative jokes but it's still salvagable mostly because it does focus on just visual gags and with the animation it really hits well. Now truthfully I have not seen the sequel yet, and with this movie I have high hopes for it. I think it will be very good! But one movie at a time, definitely watch this around Halloween time especially when you have kids, it has elements that kids can laugh at and for adults to appreciate. Definitely a great spooky family film.

Tune in tomorrow for one more movie. Very obscure but great nevertheless.