Argylle

Okay you got me. More different than you would expect.

I'll give credit where it's due, Matthew Vaughn knows the movies he is good at making and keeps doing them, even if he adds a lemon twist to some. Argylle couldn't be more of a twist if it tried. I'm not sure if the movie is a legit adaptation of a book or series of books but boy would I be interested to pick up one of those. Following the massive shift in lifestyle choice from quiet and simple book writer to full blown espionage agent, Elly Conway meets up with an unexpected ally named Aidan intent on keeping her safe as it appears that life is truly stranger than fiction when the pages of her recent novel are occuring in reality. I'll admit the trailer does a mighty good job making you want to see the film, because you're just wondering what in the flying pink pachyderms is going on here?? Pretty much the line, "You're a goddamn fortune teller Elly. Everything you wrote down has happened." and you wanna know why! You get your answers for sure, this ain't no bait and switch or come to your own conclusions, but maaaaan I really cannot talk about shit here. I am wandering amidst a minefield of spoilers! There are more twists than a contortionist at the circus, and granted I didn't call them from a mile away but I did call some a smidge before they happened. And while the film has flourishes of comedy, the actors commit full force and do mighty good work. Bryce Dallas Howard is truly the star of the picture, and my God does the woman act realistic in these batshit situations showcasing a lot of emotion and quick breathless line reads, she fully nails this performance to the max! Of course seeing Sam Rockwell is a treat and to know he is a legit spy but nowhere near as dashing I rather appreciate, him and Bryce have good chemistry and they are a duet through the vast majority of the film. Plus any excuse to see him bust a move is Kino. I actually expected Bryan Cranston to be the head of this government secret service but to see him as the villain was cool and while he doesn't quite get the material of espionage elite villains like Auric Goldfinger or Ernst Stavro Blofeld he works just fine. I kinda knew Henry Cavill was really just gonna be seen here and there and far from the focus but the way they incorporate his scenes in the world of the book was done rather uniquely. And I need to shoutout my gurl, the one and only, the lovely lady woman I have missed for literal years Sofia Boutella, it's been too damn long in my opinion and she's exactly how I remember her. I seriously need this damn movie to hit video quick because I need to break this down! The only thing that I could give away and that's if a very very select few individuals catch my drift here, if you are familiar with Star Wars games from the early to mid 2000s...they go there. Go see it. It's a weird movie that kinda flips the spy genre on it's head, but you have to make your own conclusion on it. The only real negative I could say and this is probably just me but this movie gets fuggin' silly. I mean ludicrous to the point of stupidity. I never thought in a trillion years I would use the words sappy or downright saccharine to explain a ffffffudge packing firefight, in fact it's probably the biggest action setpiece of the films and you know, as a lover of the lavishly ludicrous....it went too far. Dare I say jumping the shark. But you know what? It commited to that vision, it didn't hold back or apologize, and it certainly didn't give a rat's ass what I thought about it either. And the movie has that more tongue in cheek Roger Moore style of James Bond movies with the crazy gadgets, lighter tone, and essentially is a sweet distraction for an hour or two. So hey man, just because that one detail threw me off my game doesn't mean somebody else can't love it. It isn't a bad film, it's got a solid foundation with a lot of good elements on top of it even if it has it's more hokey moments. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10! New month already and we got a few more new releases before shifting gears back closer to normal.

Asteroid City

Whoa man. Like I'm a bit speechless but all I'm gonna put as a disclaimer here is, if you're not a Wes Anderson fan you need to turn around now sunshine cause we got praise incoming.

Even though this is only the 3rd film I've seen directed by the guy I'm pretty set on seeing his whole filmography. Okay I'm going to attempt to review this movie and summarize the plot. So the story is more or less a fictional stage play that we follow intercut with the real world behind the scenes of it all, it's a very meta storyline and I'm kinda proud of myself cause earlier today I was thinking of the visual aesthetic and it dawned on me that the film looks like a high school stage play so brownie points for me. We meet up with an assortment of characters who travel to Asteroid City for a science award ceremony that quickly gets hijacked by a brief alien visitor which I'd say roughly happens halfway through, so we get a lot of time getting to know the characters beforehand and how exactly they are coping with that little incident after the fact. It's weird man. I mean stylistically in terms of direction, framing, and dialogue aside it's kinda hard to break down or at least for me it is because to bring out that Tim Burton quote I like, "It's too complicated, it's too deep, it's like trying to explain the Bible or something." basically there is an edge of interpretation to it. There is a clear connection between the play and the writer of the play beyond creator and creation which could very easily be part of that too, and I don't wish to color perceptions of what it may be (not yet anyway) so I'm just trying to objectively state what I saw. I really love this style of dialogue, it's so to the point to an almost bashingly blunt effect but it's just so refreshing to hear people say exactly what they think and feel even if it's to acknowledge they don't know how to feel. For a high functioning autistic individual like myself who speaks without a filter or complexity, it's a sight for sore eyes. It would take all damn day rattling off the star studded cast here from main character to brief cameo so all I'll say is they do really great jobs and help immerse yourself in this fiction. The humor was more hit than miss with me, in fact I was shaking holding in my laughter cause we got a pretty solid group of people and I ain't one to distract, so I'd say it was a definite hit for me. And as stated before in terms of direction, cinematography, framing, and editing it screams Wes Anderson and I'm a sucker for his look and aesthetic with asymmetrical framing, a rich color palette, constantly interesting camera movements, and editing as cutting as the dialogue. He even mixes bits of stop motion, puppetry, and flat out breaking the fourth wall in an extremely casual way. Say what you damn will about the guy's movies but he is entirely unique. It almost feels like sensory overload trying to unpack and critique everything presented, and I do fully understand it's a matter of taste and not everyone will like or even love it, but for me I had a great time. I was really looking forward to the movie, so far was my most anticipated film of the year, and I walked away extremely happy and excited to talk about it. It really and truly is days like this where I remember why I started this show to begin with. Final scores oh boy what to give it? Definite 4 stars, slightly stuck between an 8 and a 9 so I'll give it 8.5/10, I feel quite compelled to do an In Retrospect on it because it really is a movie deserving of at minimum two watches so that should be fun. Indy 5 next week, all I'm asking is please don't kill or even attempt to kill off Harrison, and fucking hell you know what I just realized? I haven't talked about Crystal Skull yet. Alright, more alien stuff next week!

In Retrospect: Isle Of Dogs

Yes, it's finally out!!

It's felt like forever but Isle Of Dogs has finally hit video and I still love it! It's still just as entertaining, endearing, and funny as before and I would gladly buy it again. I know I talked about the animation before good lord, it is unreal how they pull off this animation! Stop motion is already pretty hard and very meticulous, but they just blow it out of the water with camera movements, environmental effects, large scale animation. It's just ridiculous how good this turned out, you really have to appreciate the work and craftsmanship these people did. It's such a good movie for pretty much any age group, and I notice that stop motion films in particular can be enjoyed by all, which is odd because it's such a rare medium and you think most older people would stay away from it but think of any movie that has had extensive if not complete stop motion effects in them, and ask yourself would you still watch it 20 years down the road. Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Isle Of Dogs,The Lego Movie, any Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen film! It's all done so well and everyone can enjoy it! I had such fun watching this movie again, and I know it is timeless. The usage of Japanese backdrops and culture add a lot to the movie, which you know I'm a fan of. I mean the movie is practically gift wrapped for me, so how could I not love it? I know the film only got a limited release in theaters but now, you have no excuse to go out and watch it now. Seriously, give it a shot.

And apparently our buisness in Japan is not over. I mean it never will be over, but we got one more movie this week set in Japan. So join me for trouble in Tokyo with the Teen Titans.

Isle Of Dogs

It was totally worth the wait. Like damn.

Guys, this film hit every checkbox that equals great film for me. Wes Anderson, check. All star cast, check. Film set in Japan with their culture and language in abundance, quadruple check. Stop motion animation, double check. I mean, what more do you want? 10 stars! A+! Just all the details, and the look, and the charm made this movie great to me. The story follows a young boy by the name of Atari who travels to an abandoned island composed of trash and dogs forcibly removed from the city in the hopes of finding his own best friend. We meet several dogs who help the boy along, and a grand odyssey commences. Apparently I was the only one who got the off-beat damn near subtle humor, cause no one was laughing in that theatre but me. Which is a shame cause Wes Anderson does make these sort of off-beat comedy movies with his own twist of adventure, drama, and romance. And I love the fact the film takes place in Japan, it's heavily influental all throughout. The art style is presented, present subcultures, the score is all from a style of japanese music, the language is heard throughout making it a semi-foreign film because only the dogs and one human character speak in english, it's such a fascinating example. I've never seen a movie like this before! And all the characters are great, I love the designs, and the voice acting is ridiculously good. I almost daresay it's better than Kubo And The Two Strings, you know how much I praised and loved that movie! And yet Isle Of Dogs surpasses that very high bar, with a compelling story that takes notes from several movies. I saw you nod to Citizen Kane and The Magnigicent Seven (which was also remade from a japanese film Seven Samurai, funny how life goes). It's just such a great film and I really must pursue more of Wes Anderson's work, I've only ever seen this and Moonrise Kingdom both of which I deeply loved. I highly urge you to go see this movie if you can, and I cannot wait to own it. You owe it to yourself to see a movie about man's best friend.

And this week we see some movies from my favorite animated series of all time.

Power Rangers (2017)

Alright, that was a good movie!

Power Rangers are back and I love it. The movie was a lot of fun, had good effects, and yeah it had faults, more nitpicky than major but we'll get to that. Okay positives, the kids are great. I actually love how they made them these sort of bad kids, like they are not infallible teenagers who always do the right thing because they're such goody two shoes, they have problems, Jason screwed his scholarship by letting pranks get out of hand, Billy lost his dad and is on the autistic spectrum, Kimberley did some bad things like knocking this guy's teeth out and leaking a solicit picture of one of her classmates, Zack is taking care of his terminally ill mom, and Trinni is a distant closed off kid. And that's the beauty of it, they are not these perfect little kids, they have issues and act like, oh I don't know TEENAGERS! Also I love the fact that they can't fully fight, when they morph they are very competent fighters but martial artists they are not. But truth be told, Billy is my favorite, both in the show and this movie, he is Billy Badass to me. The Zords looked great, classic Zords with updated technology. Bryan Cranston was pretty good as Zordon, and he always does good performances in supporting roles which makes me wonder how amazing he would be in a lead role (No, I have not watched Breaking Bad yet!). But not everything went smoothly. Okay, Elizabeth Banks you were not a bad Rita but you could not top the original, I'm happy you had fun with it and gave her a good menacing character with a history but didn't work for me all that much. The Power Coins were...useless. Now for those of you who are new, Power Coins are what allows the teens to morph into the Power Rangers, that is how their technology works. In this movie they do nothing! They never use them, oh sure they find them and that automatically makes them Rangers material but they replace it with this nonsense, "You must be at one with each other in order to morph." so they never really morph until the end. Which doesn't make any sense because they sell the Morphers and the Power Coins toys in store, so I fully expected them to use their Morphers. They never did! That sucks. Also, criminal underuse of the theme. You know the theme. They use it once, when all the Zords roll out and it is magnificent, I waited until the end of the credits to hear the theme in it's entireity. Never did it happen. The music is good though, my favorate pieces is when they all finally morph, it sounds very Tron Legacy, it's awesome! And for fans or hardcore fans of the show, there are easter eggs and little nods, it's great fun and make me geek out in the theater. They do set up a bit of sequel bait, nothing major like (I wish) Lord Zedd would come down and start wrecking stuff, but it makes me excited at the prospect of a future film. Also quite an ingenious decision to have the after credit scene a little after the credits begin, since kids don't have the patcience to wait until after all the credits have rolled, so nice touch guys. Oh, and did you know the original producer of the television show, Haim Saban helped produce this movie? Awesome! I would recommend this movie, especially to fans, and maybe others who want a fun movie that might interest you in a global phenomenon over 20 years old and still going. The majority of the people in that theater were little kids, like before they even reached 12 years old, the fans are still there for the Power Rangers, generation after generation. And you know what? I want to watch the show all the way through now. So when I buy the movie when it hits video, I can have more fun with it. Well that's it for today but tomorrow, something big is coming.

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!

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.

Batman Year One

Well the good news for this week is I have no work so I can get out 3 reviews and don't have to stress about it. So this week I shall be reviewing 3 fantastic Batman animated movies.

The first thing I have to say is every single DC animated movie based off of any source material is very accurate. Batman Year One is more or less an origin story not only for the Batman but for also Jim Gordon who is starting off as a cop in Gotham. And the story does span in over a year, and one bad thing about this movie is the pace of the movie is very fast and not only until past 2/3 of the movie in, does it start to slow down. Another negative criticism I have is Ben Mackenzie as Batman, now Ben Mackenzie is a great actor and one of the best Jim Gordons I have ever seen and he plays Jim on the series Gotham but his Batman voice is so forgettable. Think about any Batman, you remember his voice. Like Michael Keaton, you remember his gravely Batman voice! With Christian Bale need I say more? Hell even with Val Kilmer's Batman you remember his voice very well. Now I'm not saying Ben Mackenzie is a bad Batman but he is just okay, but every bad thing I say about Ben Mackenzie is quite the opposite of Bryan Cranston's performance as Jim Gordon. Yes Bryan "Heisenberg" Cranston is Jim Gordon in this movie. Do you really need another reason to see this? He is awesome in this movie, and he has the perfect voice for Jim Gordon. But the good stuff does not stop there! The animation is excellent, the voice acting is spot on for the most part, the fight scenes are fluid and well choreographed, the plot is very true to the graphic novel, and it's barely over an hour long so there is no reason why you shouldn't see it. If you are a Batman fan you should watch this movie, if you want to see a great Batman story you should watch this, if you just want to watch this because it has Bryan Cranston in it go for it! I hope you enjoy it and tomorrow we will look at a much older Batman.