Furiosa

As if to rub salt in the wound, I liked it better than Fury Road.

That could either be a huge credit to this movie or just another rambling review from an old fool. But honestly it was a pretty solid movie all around, it's crazy to think a prequel took about 9 years to materialize in this day and age, but I will never complain about a series taking a hot ass minute to continue. Gives plenty of time at the drawing board to figure out the plot, the production, raise the funds, and fine tune the project just the way the filmmakers like it. Obviously George is back in the director's chair and this movie follows the same aesthetic and visual language as Fury Road, as we follow for quite awhile young Furiosa's turn of fortune from dwelling in the green place to the wasteland which I really appreciate! It's not just, they took Furiosa 5 minutes into the film and then time jump to her grown up they actually take the time to fill her backstory with as much as they could. Utilizing the 2½ runtime completely with nary a drop of filler and ties a nice bow on it when this movie ends Fury Road begins. Anya Taylor-Joy is a good lead and while I haven't seen her in much action-y fare she does admirably here and earns her wings. First also for seeing Chris Hemsworth be a villain, and kind of a right bastard as well I felt he did really well in this role and had that balance between a threat while also having bits of humor. Also props to Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, she got that drama and rage down very nicely. Strange it is to say but I felt the wide breadth and scope of the wasteland was more confined to the fortress hubs this film around, not that I minded because I wanted to know more about them other than Imortan Joe's territory yet it still looks quite good I must say! The action is more varied since it's not a constant moving convoy and though it's an R rated film the blood and viscera is more often than not subdued which is very much the same as the last movie. I liked seeing the story of Furiosa and it was indeed a tale worth telling, what lies for the future of Mad Max I cannot say but I'll be sure to brush up on the rest with any luck before the next new release. 3 stars, 8/10, worth a trip to the theater to feel that intense rumble from all the guzzoline machines.

Mad Max Fury Road

Okay here we go.

I don't think I have heard this much good word of mouth and undiluted praise for an action movie quite possibly in my entire life. I've never heard even a mediocre thing let alone a bad thing about Fury Road. So how do I break this gently that I thought it was just okay? Granted I haven't seen the previous Mad Max movies so I'm most likely missing some shit, but I know plenty of people have sat down to watch this movie alone and come out fairly pleased. I know bits about it, the story is set in a nuked out post apocalyptic Australia, so I guess 95% of what Australia is actually like (just jokes Aussie's) following previous cop now road warrior Max as he tries to stay alive amidst gangs, scavengers, and fuel grifters. He very quickly gets swept up in the storyline of Furiosa, a hardened woman transporting several young girls to a lush green patch of the world for their safety. Dirt simple plot, very easy to understand and empathize with. No doubt made so for the unhinged action to take front and center stage, this is unashamedly a leave your brain at the door, popcorn, summer extravaganza, action flick through and through. It is astoundingly impressive how much they just did in camera with stunt crew probably as insane as some of the characters, using as little CG as they could get away with to which I strongly commend and applaud. It's metal as hell, off the wall, subtle as a nitroglycerine brick to the head. I assume the previous movies had aspects of this, obviously not that extreme but certainly there and the worldbuilding while brief isn't necessary to enjoy the movie. Though I do want to know way more about it! This isn't a severe mark against the movie when I say this, the cast does just fine but there isn't a great deal for them to sink their teeth into character wise. I truthfully feel they could cast complete unknowns in this part and little would change, but hey they got some big names who obviously were game to do it and it got butts in seats because of it so I will never fault the filmmakers for doing that. This is simultaneously an easy film to talk about and yet a difficult film to talk about for me, it is without question or doubt the phrase "What you see is what you get" and if you've seen clips or trailers and it looks like your kind of bag then rock on my friend, you'll have a blast. And indeed you can see a lot of craftsmanship, dedication, and ultimately passion put into this project. You know they wanted to make the bestest damn movie they possibly could here. I don't hate it by any semblance of a stretch, I can respect the production side, enjoy the movie side, and am quite looking forward to Furiosa, but I don't immensely love it. I like it. The cinematography is proper damn good, the action makes this 2 hour film pass in the blink of an eye, and it's a good bottled movie where you don't need to know anything before or after and just enjoy the cataclysmic ride this movie takes you on. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10! New release on Friday and more to talk about soon.

Three Thousand Years Of Longing

Not at all the movie I thought it would be but I'm still happy.



I can't recall when I first saw promotional material for this film, and even then I only saw it once but I knew this was going to be a movie for me so here we are. What a fascinating little film! I truthfully thought the concept of Tilda Swinton playing a literary scholar named Alithea based solely in science and fact coming into contact with a djinn a wish giving creature of fantasy played by Idris Elba was pretty cool, and I figured the film would almost be this battle of religion and science but in a very intellectual and and thought provoking way. What I got was a still regardlessly interesting blossoming romance movie where the vast majority of it is with our two stars sitting in a room talking and telling stories. Doesn't sound far off from skull caving boredom, but it couldn't be anything farther from that! The devils are in the details and how the both literal stories of the character's past and the progression of the plot are what keeps it engaging. Of course Alithea finds it hard to believe despite physical evidence to the contrary that this mythical being has emerged in her hotel room but they quickly disband a lot of rebuking and denial that the djinn can't actually exist and move onto a few questions of his existence which leads to his history. Beautifully directed by George Miller, he of the incalculable Mad Max Fury Road fame, it's a visually striking and filled to the brim rich environment of scenes, with interesting camera work, slick editing, and colors galore as we follow his origins from the times of King Solomon to present day. Now on one hand I can easily see this movie not grabbing people's attention as firmly as it did mine, it's almost ludicrously simple in concept with more or less monologues abound of past histories formed as stories, yet I feel that is entirely the point. The movie really leans hard on the concept of stories, of tales, of legends and what humans get out of it and what they see in making such things, hell the only media I've seen that holds similar standing on the concept is The Sandman comics. It articulates itself very well, better than I can honestly find words to describe it myself so I do suggest people give it a go. It's not even 2 hours long, and while the movie has more fades to black than Return Of The King (my only slight complaint about the movie period) I found it easy to slip into this world, hear the tales, get invested in our characters, and did wonder at exactly how it all would end. It's a strange but neat little interesting story that I'm very happy to have seen. I personally give it 4 stars, 8.5/10, and while the idea that we're all just stories in the end has been in my mind for some time this movie actually reinforces that just a little bit more.

Babe Pig In The City

That was a great sequel.

Yeah...not many people know about the sequel to Babe. The first was a succesful film, not a blockbuster but a succesful film, went on to win an Academy Award for best effects but then, that was it. No one asked for a sequel, and yet somehow I have no fathomable idea how, it got a sequel that went straight to video 3 years after the first! And it's a really good movie, I could even argue it's better than the first but that still needs some thought. So the movie picks up right after the first with Babe winning the competition for sheep herding, but all is not well on the farm afterwards. Arthur gets in a bad accident while fixing his well, leaving him bedridden from his injuries, the bank is ready to take the farm, so Esme and Babe have to visit a world fair to gain money to save the farm, but even that doesn't go well. They miss their flight and are stuck in a massive city, where they seek shelter in a hotel where they keep an abundance of animals of all kinds, even apes. Through too many events to recount and explain, some very heavy and emotional, and one I'd have to warn you could be very traumatizing to your child which involves almost an attack on the hotel where all the animals are captured and put into a facility. Pretty much the most heavy scenes are that scene and the one before, I won't spoil it but it does make you go "Jesus movie, what the heck?" but afterwards when Babe rescues the animals and has one of the most creative and imaginative climaxes to a movie you will ever see, it does have a very happy ending. The characters from the first return full swing from all the animals to Arthur and Esme Hoggett, with famed voice actress E.G. Daily who you might remember as Dottie from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure or Tommy from Rugrats, voices Babe in this movie, but we also get some new characters. The apes are great, with an orangutan who might be my favorite character in the whole movie, and the landlady of the hotel who is without a doubt my favorite character in the movie played by Mary Stein is...incredible. I love her performance. It is unreal how good she is, and I swear I'm the only one who truly loves her in this movie. I'm probably going to lose all credibility as any form of critic when I say this might be my favorite performance of all time. I am so not even kidding. She is that great in my eyes, just the way she carries herself, how fastpaced she talks, and how much she gives to a relatively small character in the grand scheme of things must truly be commended. I think that's why this might be my favorite performance because she takes a role barely bigger than a cameo and brings so much energy and appeal and surprisingly good character development to it, that she really does stick in my mind. I love her in this movie! Hardly anyone has seen this movie and it is highly underrated in my eyes, I could see why someone might like this movie better than the first or they like the first one better. They didn't have to make this. No one was asking for a sequel to the movie Babe. But they made it, they didn't treat it like a cash grab or didn't put a lot of effort into the movie, because they did! They wanted to make a good, entertaining, and wonderful sequel to a great movie. And they highly succeeded. I still have my tape of this movie, still watch it, still love it, still held high in my memories. Give this movie a shot, and please don't tell me I'm crazy about Mary Stein because she deserves so much credit for this.