Nobody 2

The dust has settled and I am back for a short while this month.

Speaking as a light fan of the first movie I was stunned to learn that a sequel was being made, hell to be embarassingly honest I've been so out of the loop on new movies coming out this hit my radar about 2 weeks before release. Don't get old kids. But I'm kinda speechless to say I enjoyed this movie far far more than the first, maybe it was the familiarity with the characters or the emphasis on the family unit but this hit all the right buttons for me from the word 'Go'. And it's not much more complicated than the first, Hutch has been working so much he's been neglecting the family so he decides to take them on a vacation where he gets embroiled in this crime boss' affairs, because of course he does, and now papa's gotta take care of business. The first thing I really gotta say is despite the lack of action, the real stranglehold grip this movie had on me was you get to spend a lot of time with Hutch's wife and kids and while indeed the element was there and was quite good in the first, I just gravitated to it so strongly here. Connie you fucking gem of a woman, I'm honestly jealous as shit she's married in this movie because I would kiss the ground that mama bear walks on, and I do appreciate they give Becca a bit more edge here. The kids are pretty good too with Gage Munroe as Brady taking on his dad's violent urges despite Hutch wanting him to be a better man than he ever was, and Paisley Cadorath as Sammy who is the sweetest most cutest girl ever and boy did my protective side leap out at a certain scene involving her. Like I fully understood the urge to just whip someone's ass if they laid a finger on my daughter, no scratch that I would spill someone's guts onto the floor if they touched my daughter so papa Hutch is a man after my own heart. And yeah Bob is probably on even better form here truth be told, both as a character and as an action man with plenty of time going to both, showcasing his hard edged fighting style but also his wish and happiness to give his kids memories to look back on. It's not overt, it's more subtle but that's why it works so damn good. In terms of action I can count every major setpiece on one hand but each is different and impactful, they still very much like using random bits of the environment during the fights in true Jackie Chan style which I actually feel is harder and more gratifying to write than if it was a straight up gun/fist fight but it was solid stuff! I very very much enjoyed this movie and while I felt the sheer idea of a sequel seemed tenative I was pleasantly surprised and wouldn't mind a potential third entry if all the planets align. I'm sure the first was more of a sleeper hit and I'm hopeful this one will do even better, it is worth seeing in theaters I can tell you that much. So full 4 stars from me, 8/10, and next week we're shifting gears big time going back not only to 3 reviews for the week but allllll the way back to the golden age of cinema with some movies I've always wanted to talk about.

101 Dalmatians

20 years since I last watched it, so how does it hold up?

Now I know this isn't technically the first Disney live action remake but honestly who even remembers the 90s Jungle Book? Nobody, I don't even think it should count since it tries to stick more to the books and not do the animated film again. So this is the first technically, at least for me. It's...mixed, not so much on production or story but primarily on the tone. The tone in this movie is beyond scatter brained, it's almost inherint because the plain fact of the matter is, the story concerns a group of puppies being stolen with the intent of being killed, skinned, and made into a fur coat by the one and only Cruella DeVil as a rescue attempt is made to retrieve the pups. So it kinda has to tightrope a quite dark and screwed up main story, but still put the ha ha funny funny moments specifically for kids, young kids at that and it doesn't always pull it off. Now production wise, it's done really really well. Location shooting in London, screenplay by John Hughes and yes I'm still reeling from that revelation, a mighty great cast I mean the star power they have here is kinda unreal, the animal training is highly commendable, set design primarily for Cruella's places is wonderful, all the elements are there. It's just the flip flop between cutesy, and weird and f***ed up that bothers me. I mean this movie will put the fear of DeVil in you boy, Glenn Close is terrifying yet incredible in this role. There isn't a fraction of a shadow of a doubt in my mind's eye she is the only reason anyone watches this movie. She's just that good! But that's not at all to say the rest of the cast isn't good, hell I'd say easily the second best actor in this is Hugh Laurie, it really is like if the Prince Regent took up being an accomplice it's beautiful. Of course I have to shout out Mr. Weasely himself Mark Williams, I think him and Hugh work very well together. Even our main couple played by Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson do good work. And the more I think about it this was my first experience for so many actors when I was like 5, Glenn, Jeff, Hugh, Mark, actors I've come to appreciate and love in 2 decades time. I know I haven't talked much about the dogs and while the animals are trained really impressively, I didn't think they were that big a part of the story, strange though that may sound. Heck the 15 puppies birthed doesn't even occur until the 40 minute mark in this almost 2 hour film, and you get brief moments of cutesy stuff but I could not help but focus more on the dark stuff. I mean this movie freaked me out a fair bit when I was young, the skinned tiger was f***ed up and upsets me more now, Skinner was a creepy character and hasn't lost much of his edge despite his low screen time, Christ just hearing Glenn scream got a startle out of me often that woman is either go all or go home. There's flat out horror movie shots at times which I do kinda love but then I remember the title and audience demographic and I'm just like, yikes. True there were parts I didn't like, for instance our main couple decide to get married because the dogs have fallen in love. I see no faults in logic there. Plus the fact this movie brought a fair bit of 1995 to memory, I mean God I'm aging by the minute here at this point. I have no issue saying I watched the second movie more than the first when I was young so that will be fascinating to see so many years later. This film I give 3 stars, 7/10, catch you next time for 101+1 more doggos.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Okay. This is gonna suck either way so let's get this over with.

You know waaaay back when, when I was but a lad I used to watch this and our next movie this week even if it wasn't Christmas time. In fact I watched tons of Christmas movies long before or after (depending on your point of view of time) December. And I have not watched this special in years. And boy howdy, is it much much weirder than I remember. You all know the story of Rudolph, the young reindeer who is born with a neon red nosed who is shunned by his parents, friends, Santa and just about everybody except for a nice elf who breaks conformity and ventures to be a dentist, before saying "Peace bitch!" to the North Pole and travel the wastelands of the arctic evading a genuinely unsettling snow monster while meeting a prospector who soon find themselves on an island of odd and yet somehow really friggin' awesome toys led by a winged lion whose title is King Moonraiser, before returning to Christmas Town to save Christmas when a devastating snowstorm blows in. It's just like the song! So yeah....a touch different than most people would remember this special, but I take ever so slight issue with this than just story. Mainly the fact that everyone in the North Pole aside from one elf, a girl reindeer, and a enthusiastic prospector are a bunch of jackasses! This is a very mean spirited movie, not quite as abusive as Chicken Little, but when the message of a movie is if you're born different you will not be accepted by society unless your unique trait is useful, is kinda f***ed up! But is there more than just general disdain for the story in this special? Actually yes. Burl Ives is a nice narrator, he has a warm and inviting voice and can sing incredibly well, the animation though far from Kubo And The Two Strings quality has a charm and style all it's own (and surprisingly was done in Japan), some of the backgrounds with certain effects and lighting can look very moody and pretty, and my favorite character is the Abominable Snowmonster. This guy makes the movie for me, not only is the design and how he moves and react strange but effective, the fact that they pose him as a threat and he kinda works as a threat is something you rarely see. He's no moustache twirling villain who wants to destroy Christmas, he wants to wreck your stuff and eat your girlfriend because he's a terrifying beast. Perfect. This creature is known for being a force to be reckoned with and should be stayed away from and you feel that, his roar is actually unsettling, and I wouldn't wish meeting such a beast on even my worst enemy. You want to know the best part of the movie? Him. But gah, I just can't get over just the cruel and unusual punishment Rudolph has to take from these people! He's a good kid and despite clearly being segregated and ostrecized still tries to do the right thing so I think the special is trying to impart, don't be a part of society if they judge you and don't want to be around you and look for a group of people who respect and appreciate you as yourself, and to not settle for anything less. Which is commendable but that took some inference on my part to come to that conclusion so the special tells it very sloppily if that was the intended subtext. Geez I guess it just shows what America in the mid-60s viewpoint was on people who were a bit different huh? And this never bothered me as a kid...much, it still pissed me off that they treated Rudolph and Hermie the elf so poorly when they were perfectly fine folk, but everything else I took at face value. So do I recommend this movie? I'm not entirely sure I can. I don't even think it's a Christmas classic, though tons of people watch it every year. Now I know the Rankin/Bass specials have a place around this time of year, but this one tries to fly and lands face first into the ice for me. I sense this is just the beginning for a month of, less than great shall we say, movies to talk about. Better than It's A Wonderful Life. But only by a smidge.