Cowboy Bebop

Oh yeah, our first anime review!

My number 1 favorite anime show ever! Cowboy Bebop is a amazing science fiction anime show centering around a rag-tag group of bounty hunters as they hunt people down, get into arguments, and all around shenanigans ensue. Literally from the first second of the opening credits, you are down with this show. Like if this show doesn't sound like your cup of tea, at least watch the opening. It is the epitome of coolness. Slick editing, great music, fantastic use of color, it's just an absolute gem. The characters are perfect, and the best part is they really don't fit into a certain "type". They are all original characters, with wit and snark, gloriously funny but also have their own personal history that can easily make you get attached to them. I think a big advantage this show has on other science fiction shows is that it's not too crazy and super advanced in the science fiction genre. Yes, there are spaceships and holograms but it is still grounded in reality. It takes place in the very not too distant future, but it is in our solar system. Our main character was born on Mars for God's sake! The weaponry is not blasters and laser swords, it's machine guns and pistols and normal guns you see today. So it doesn't go beyond anybody, everyone can watch it, understand it, and enjoy it. Hooked me, loved me, made me buy the whole series. Twice. That's got to be some kind of awesome, ladies and gentlemen. I urge you to give it a chance.

Well...next review. My 100th review. What am I going to review? Why not the greatest movie ever made? Shoot, let's throw in a list too. How about...my 20 favorite movies? That sounds good. So I will see you space cowboys later...

Rick And Morty: Season 1

That's right ladies and gents, another week of television reviews. Woohoo!

Now I got a show you've never heard of. Rick And Morty is a very adult animated series following the adventures of scientist Rick and his grandson Morty as they travel to different dimensions, go on adventures, and be all around hilarious. I have never heard of this show and only through the recommendation of a friend did I discover this gem. It has a very adult sense of humor, not horrible adult humor like friggin' Family Guy. I mean real humor, stuff that will make you laugh your ass off days later. It's an amazingly funny and creative show! It even has a very emotional, and depressing moment but I wouldn't even dream of spoiling it for you. I have to admit, I watched the whole first season and they are coming out with the third season this summer so you still have time to catch up, but that's besides the point. I watched the first season all the way through, and then immediately watched it all over again. Cause when you watch it a second time, you can appreciate the humor much more than you did the first time. To be honest, I have no idea how much of a fanbase there is for this show. Is it big? Is it small? I don't know, but I know it does have fans. Really sick, twisted, awesome fans who rock! See if you can track this show down, the first season is on Hulu and they have box sets out for the first two seasons just to give you a heads up. Watch it if you are not easily offended and have a good sense of humor, I gurantee you can roll with it.

Shaun Of The Dead

It says right on the box, "It's a smash hit romantic comedy. With zombies." so that means you can watch it with your girlfriend, or your wife. You can thank me later.

A prime example that spoof movies are not dead (ba dum tss!). Our story follows Shaun, who sadly just had a breakup with the woman of his life but that's just one problem when the dead start walking around. So it's up to Shaun and his best friend to save his girl and kick some zombie ass. It's the feelgood movie of the year! But what actually surprised me about this movie, despite being a comedy is there are quite a few sad scenes. The film can blend comedy, and romance, and drama so well! It goes without saying that I am a huge Simon Pegg and Nick Frost fan, all their movies that I have seen I enjoy greatly! This might actually be my favorite of their movies together. Either this one or Paul, it's kind of a toss-up. Really with the oversaturation of zombies in our culture today, I can safely say that this is one of the few zombie movies to watch because it's a good movie. The comedy is great, you give a damn about the people, it's not straight up horror or a gore film so it can be enjoyed by more people, and really the chemistry alone between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is the main reason to see this movie. I swear, it's worth a watch especially if you want a different kind of romance movie.

The Graduate

I got a movie to sober you up real quick after Valentine's Day.

This is one of the most interesting movies ever made, and I honestly can't tell if you can categorize it as a romance movie. Oh, you can without a doubt call it a drama. It is well worthy of that title. And wait until you delve into the ending! So what's the story? Benjamin, a college graduate played by Dustin Hoffman finds himself stuck and not quite sure what to do with his life now. He soon starts an affair with his neighbor Mrs. Robinson but falls in love with her daughter. They soon start a relationship, and that is sadly where I must stop with the plot. This is a movie where you absolutely cannot spoil anything, because the story is that great. This is one of the most fascinating and realistic films about a relationship, and the acting is fantastic. It is what drives this movie into a category of one of the best films ever made. A clever use of music is used, specifically the song, Sound Of Silence by Simon & Garfunkle which might give a bit of the plot away but it has to be brought up. It's not one of those happily ever after stories but really that is one of the strongest endings in film history. Like, if you want a movie to smash the preconception that all romance films are happy go lucky, and end with the couple living happily ever after, this is the movie for you. And I really cannot stress that this is one of the most important films you ever need to watch because of it's stance on relationships. Like, The Graduate and Her are the only relationship movies you ever have to watch in your life, even if you hate romance movies like that, it is necessary to watch them. Just hear me out and watch it.

Oh, also one of my reviewers did a video focusing on the ending of The Graduate and here is the link to that: https://youtu.be/sSS7Wyi6gb8

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Now you may be wondering, the robot isn't the main character in this movie like the others so why is he reviewing this? Well...

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is a hilarious, strange, and fascinating adaptation of Douglas Adam's best selling novel. It follows an ordinary man named Arthur Dent played by Martin Freeman (Yay!!) who is taken on a grand journey soon after the Earth is destroyed for a new galactic highway. Weird ass plot without a doubt but if you can bear with the oddness and crazy characters you can greatly appreciate and enjoy this movie. Among the other travellers Arthur meets are Zaphod Bebblebrox the captain of the best ship in the universe played by Sam Rockwell, Trillian who is Arthur's romantic interest played by cutest and most adorable girl ever Zooey Deschanel, and Marvin a depressed robot played by Alan Rickman. And Marvin is easily my favorite part of the entire film, he's just hilarious and everytime he is on screen I have the geekiest smile on my face, because he has that Eeyore charm where although he is deeply depressed he's still adorable and you love him. For those of you who have seen the movie you know why I included this in my robot week, and if you haven't seen it yet you have to to fully comprehend why I included Marvin in this week. If you like weird, insane, and just bizzare movies you can't do much better than The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It has enough weirdness to last you quite a while. It's worth it just for Marvin, and Alan Rickman is genius.

The Iron Giant

Yeah, I was in the mood for a robot week.

You want to talk about classic cult animation movies, you need to look no further than The Iron Giant. Now this was a very different kind of movie and was saw by very few when it first came out, but you ask anybody and they will gladly tell you it is an amazing movie. And it really is. It centers around a young boy who soon finds and befriends a robot from outer space. Think E.T. but with a giant cool robot. So yeah way better than E.T. without a doubt. The Iron Giant himself is very child like, learning new things about the world including life and death. Now how many kids movies do they touch upon the fact that death is sadly a thing in our world? And I don't mean like hearing or seeing it like with Bambi's mom or Simba's dad but talking about it. That's a big deal and they do it amazingly well. The Iron Giant even idolizes superheroes like a child and wants to be like Superman. You can officialy get off this planet if you don't think that is even slightly cute or cool! If I ever did a top 10 list of animated family films this would very easily be in the top 5, just the story and the characters are what makes it so great and it really does deserve to be watched by many more people. I knew even when I was little this was not your average cartoon movie. And it really isn't, it grows beyond that into a league of it's own. You want a movie to emotionally move you and to give you an unforgettable experience, watch The Iron Giant. I double dare you to not like this movie! It cannot be done! Also bit of trivia, Vin Diesel voices The Iron Giant. I cannot begin to make that up. Enjoy!

Wall-E

You're either the person who loves half of Wall-E or all of it. I personally love the first half of the movie and like the second half.

Wall-E is nothing short of fantastic. It's hard to describe just such sweet innocence, and charm to a film like this. Definitely one of Pixar's finest films. It follows a solitary robot named Wall-E who continues his everyday life and seems to have developed an adorable personality. One day a ship lands on Earth and a new robot named Eve has been sent to try and find life on Earth. Insert cutest relationship ever, and more charm and lovableness to an already great movie. The halfway point has been what has split people since the movie came out, I won't go too much into it but it does involve the human race and a pretty good message about technology, and taking care of our world. It's by no means my favorite Disney or Pixar movie but it is way up there. It really is super cute and lovable just like Wall-E himself. Great film for all ages and one I can definitely recommend. See it if you haven't already!

Amelie

This was my first french film.

Amelie is a wonderful, odd, endearing film worthy of viewing multiple times in the course of a lifetime. It follows the life and adventures of a young woman living in France as she enjoys life and searches for love. I must admit since I have never seen french cinema before, the film was different obviously, to a person living in the southern part of the United States but strangely it did not lose any of it's charm or appeal. It's quirky and how the story is told is what really grabbed my attention. You just don't see films like this in America, and most people would be detered by the fact that it is a foreign film, you have to read throughout the movie unless you are well versed in French, and many more people should be more open minded about foreign films. There is a simple yet charming story, with compelling characters, humor for all, and a message of doing good things to benefit others rather than yourself and to enjoy your life as you see fit. This film sadly cannot be seen by all ages, it is an R rated film but honestly there isn't that much stuff to qualify it for an R rating. Yes there is nudity and sex, but it is very minescule and really without the sex this would be a film even small children could see. It does promote doing good things in life, among many other things and the film should be applauded for the fact that it can not only entertain, but also make you think differently about the people around you. It deserves the acclaim it has gathered over the years, including five Academy Award nominations. I highly suggest you seek this film out, it will change your life and all for the better in my opinion. I simply adore Amelie and I hope you do as well.

Groundhog Day

It's funny I can never remember the actual holiday Groundhog Day, but I can never forget the movie of the same name.

Okay, I'm an idiot. How did I forget about today? I don't know! But I'm not going to think about it, so onto the review. Groundhog Day is without a doubt one of the most inventive, imaginary, fun, heartfelt movies ever made. It stars Bill Murray (Yay!!) as a weatherman who after visiting the town of Punxsutawny to report on Groundhog Day soon discovers that he is living February 2nd every single day. Hilarity ensues. Sounds like a simple premise but the amount of content they put into this idea, and how they literally approach it from every angle of what would happen if today just kept repeating over and over again no matter what makes the film worthwhile. I think the movie is so well remembered and hilarious is the fact that they play with time and they do crazy stuff in the movie. Our main character goes through several phases as the day keeps repeating over and over. He goes from confused, to accepting, to questioning, to testing, and finally to praise the day he originally could not care less about. I can't go too in depth because I do not want to spoil a really good movie. I believe the message of the film is never waste a day of your life and never take your days for granted because today could actually be your last day of living. Any day could, so that's why you have to take advantage and do something with your day and your life. That is a great moral and I can't think of another film that says that. In fact, this is a necessary movie to watch! I know I just told you the moral of the story but God knows I can never do the film justice of how they got that moral across. I urge you to watch this movie, buy this movie, love this movie. I swear to God it is a must see.

Alice In Wonderland (2010)

Not a bad way to start February.

I personally enjoy this movie. Not many people do but I liked how they did the story. The story is more or less a sequel to the original Alice In Wonderland with Alice all grown up and rediscovering the dark, psychotic Wonderland all over again. This movie is directed by Tim Burton and I am a big fan of his work and his unique style of how things look works incredibly well in Wonderland. It's dark, it's eerie, even the bright places look mysterious and deranged. It just works perfectly. The cast does a good job too, Mia Wasikowska nailed a all grown up Alice and it shows that her role has matured since she was a young girl wandering around Wonderland, Johnny Depp is a enjoyable Mad Hatter with enough weirdness to keep you guessing and can still be very funny. Everyone else does a good job in the movie, we have Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, and Stephen Fry as my personal favorite character the Cheshire Cat and many more fun characters to be found in this interesting retelling of Lewis Carroll's novel. I have to say I am looking forward to the sequel Through The Looking Glass, it looks much more beautifully designed and we get all our original actors back which makes me very happy to say the least. All in all, I would only reccomend this particular film if you are a fan of Alice In Wonderland, or Tim Burton. Other than that I leave that up to you. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.