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!

The Incredible Hulk

I liked it better than Iron Man.

Strangely, I've never watched The Incredible Hulk and if you should know anything about me and Marvel is that The Hulk is my guy, has been my favorite and will continue to be my favorite. So why have I just now watched it? I honestly don't know cause I thought it was pretty good. Yes it has problems, problems that make me very angry, but on the whole it gave me what I expected and wanted and did so in a entertaining way. So Bruce Banner has been overdosed with gamma radiation and after a little incident has lived off the radar in Brazil looking for some type of cure for his condition, but pretty soon the U.S. military is on his tracks as Bruce has to evade capture, control the beast within, and f*** stuff up. And what's weird is this is the black sheep of the MCU, it's not on any streaming service, Disney does not own it, and I think on every collection of these movies it is MIA (Could be wrong stay tuned to find out if I'm wrong.). Why? I don't know. So it kinda bugs the hell out of me that the one solo movie for The Hulk in this entire series isn't readily available with every other entry, it's kinda screwed up I mean at least Spider-Man got joint custody. But how's the movie? Quite good I'd say, it introduces interesting elements and yet subsequently shoots itself in the foot. I'll try to explain. Edward Norton is a good lead, I very much like his performance and I'll see how Mark Ruffalo does in the future. Liv Tyler is a bit basic in terms of character but the chemistry she has with Norton is nothing short of sweet and cute. The supporting cast is where it starts to fall apart, Tim Roth is a blah villain, William Hurt is that perfect prick character but his line deliveries are hard to make out so thank God I watch everything with subtitles, and the bit players are just okay. The action is honestly quite good, yet again using practical effects as much as possible so thank you for that movie but it did move a teeny tiny bit fast near the end to where I had to focus. And...okay here's the thing about Hulk's design, I hate it. This is gonna sound really friggin' stupid and weird, but he just looks too muscular. When it gets to the point where I can see every vein and muscle bundle, you went too far, the poor guy looks like he got injected with a gallon of steroids but thankfully I know the design gets a facelift and actually looks pretty good in the future. I adore the fan moments cause you know, the movie did not have to give us The Lonely Man Theme, it did not have to give us a Lou Ferigno cameo, it didn't have to give us the purple pants joke, but it did and for a Hulk fan I really enjoyed it! Now here comes the two biggest and strongest positives and negatives about the movie, it is a love/hate relationship zone we are entering. I love the idea of Bruce meditating, controlling his breathing and his body, getting more in tune with himself to control this force inside him. That is interesting, that is brilliant, it's such a fascinating and yet logical solution to control his emotions and to discipline his mind. That's rad! But here comes the big time stupid, Bruce can Hulk out due to an increased heart rate, not anger. I'm sorry, what?? The one golden, unfallable, engraved in stone rule about The Incredible Hulk is thrown out the window. This is made of stupid. An elevated heart rate should not trigger a physiological change in a person's biochemistry, because anything can set it off! If Bruce hits 200BPM he Hulks out, but man you can get your heart rate up just by going for a jog, that is not the same thing as anger. Anger, or aggravation, or rage, whatever you want to call it, is a biochemical reaction in your brain that does a multitude of things to your body, it does not just make your heart beat faster because it's more complex than that. The guy can't even get his rocks off with Liv Tyler because his heart rate gets so high, for obvious reasons, so he can't even pop a boner without growing 4 feet taller with the ability to throw a car like it's a paperweight. I mean what in the actual hell were you thinking? I just...I can't, I'm gonna give myself an aneurysm, I'm moving on. Stupid is as stupid does. It will be interesting to see the Hulk's progression and dynamic change with this Avenger's team so I'm always going to be happy to see him even if I don't like the movie. Find this one if you can, 3 stars, 7.5/10! And we got ourselves the first sequel coming in tomorrow.

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.

Moonrise Kingdom

Holy shrimp, this movie was amazing! Talk about starting the year right, I friggin' loved this movie!

Moonrise Kingdom is that special kind of quirky odd movie directed by Wes Anderson, who if you know anything about, this is his style of movie. The story centers on two lovestruck kids who decide to run away together while their families and the authorities try to find them. Now I want you to read that synopsis very carefully. Now throw it all out of your head, because this movie is so much more. Moonrise Kingdom made me laugh consistently throughout with it's bizarre comedy, but it's so difficult to describe though. I say just go watch the movie to fully understand what I mean. Now again I must strongly state this is an odd movie. Not...subject matter wise, the film is grounded in reality but more, how the story is told. The first say, 10 minutes of this movie is going to either make or break your interest, granted the opening scene is shot magnificently and it sets the mood very quickly by the second setting we are in, but I do strongly suggest you stick around. Another element in this film, you could even say the most important element, is the romance between the kids. And you know what? I absolutely loved it, I found it endearing, quirky, but very charming and I really wanted to see them escape and live their lives together. Honestly, if you just have a very open mind and an even weirder sense of humor, and just roll with it, Moonrise Kingdom will not disappoint you. I have to say, when this movie was new, I really wanted to see it. And now I finally did! In fact, I will buy this movie, that's how much I loved it! It was just a quirky, funny, charming movie that really put me in a great mood. Just all the ingredients were perfect, and I loved this movie. I was stumped for the first movie of the year, but with this I honestly could not have picked a better movie.

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.

Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance)

There's not a better way to start reviewing movies than to review the Best Picture winner at the Oscars.

Okay first and foremost, I totally called that Birdman would win Best Picture at the Oscars. It was either going to be that or The Imitation Game. And I was right!

Now, I really don't want to give you the full plot of Birdman because, it is a fantastic movie and you should see it if you haven't already. But I will give you a synopsis of it. So Birdman stars Michael Keaton as this washed up actor who used to play Birdman about twenty years ago and his career hasn't gone smoothly in the last few years, and he is currently working on a Broadway play. And he is putting everything into this play and he hopes that it will really pay off. Michael Keaton was a genius casting choice for this, because this parallels his life as an actor who used to be famous for playing a comic book character. And there actually was a really funny nod to him when he stopped being Birdman in 1992, and that was the same year he last played Batman. But he is not the only really good actor in this movie, there are tons of them. Edward Norton plays one of his supporting characters in the play and he really makes me laugh, Emma Stone plays Michael Keaton's daughter who is the harsh voice of reality in this movie, we got Zach Galifianakis who plays Michael Keaton's manager who also is his best friend and they got good chemistry in the film, among many others. I really can't find much wrong with this movie, the acting is great, the music is catchy as hell so much so that if there is a soundtrack to this movie I would buy it, the dialogue feels completely real like, this is how normal people would talk, there is an exception in one scene but it is meant to sound corny and stupid so it still holds up, the camera work is an experience, because it looks like the film is shot in almost one continuous take, and yes there are transitions and you can spot them but it is a fluid moving film, the camera is constantly moving and it looks great. There are so many scenes in this movie that I found to be really damn good, like in one scene Michael Keaton's character is talking to this theater critic and this critic is absolutely horrible and he says stuff to her that you wish you could say to some critics because they are so cruel. And another scene is where Emma Stone's character talks to her dad and she really is the harsh voice of reality, saying her dad is just trying to be relevant again just like so many other people in today's world. It's just such a great film that everyone should see if they want a movie that is a little different than most movies that come out today. And when I say different, I mean different. Michael Keaton's character has this split personality who talks to him and it's the voice of Birdman and he can move stuff with his mind and fly, I absolutely love it. I love strange, different kinds of movies where you go into it and you are not really sure what to expect. You'll see what I mean cause I will leave a link at the end for the trailer of the movie and you can judge for yourself whether you would want to see it or not. Overall, Birdman was a fantastic movie and I really enjoyed it. I believed it deserved the Best Picture award hands down.


Alright, so that is it for my very first review. Thank you so much for reading this, I really appreciate it. Give the trailer a watch and see if this looks like the kind of movie you would want to see or maybe even buy.


Birdman Trailer: https://youtu.be/uJfLoE6hanc