The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Mouthful of a title!

Good times be had at the newest Guy Ritchie film with his directorial style mixed with real world history of a sordid group trekking to neutral water in an attempt to sabotage a german U-boat blockade to bring relief to His Majesty's kingdom. It really is what the trailers says it is and more so, it's not balls to the wall action nonstop this is essentially a wartime thriller and is paced like so. It has some pretty damn good moments of suspense and I never thought a musical score of jazz/big swing band could get me on edge, it has moments of communicado with the leaders of the military government and the Prime Minister, and strategizing when the plan goes belly up. For a 2 hour movie with credits it's paced to where it flies by! Cast does proper good work and while the characters aren't deep three dimensional people you like them and get where they are coming from. Henry Cavill is having a blast here and I'm always game to see him in any role under the sun, Eiza Gonzalez more underplays it but at times you can see just this hellfire rage at the natzi army she's proper good, Babs Olusanmokun thankfully had such a bigger role than the last movie I saw him in which was Dune playing a more undercover part and touches base on the espionage part of the war, and I'll give a shoutout to Cary Elwes and Rory Kinnear it's a joy to see them as always. That was wild to know good old Bill Tanner himself plays Churchill and the Bond references don't stop there, we meet Ian Fleming and I'll be honest I greatly enjoyed and liked the way they handled Fleming here than probably any biopic made of him in the decades past, he's just there no fuss made about him or eye rolling quip about his literary creation. Well done. The action is not super flashy or choreographed but still packs the right punch with the squibs and explosions. The score is something awesome in and of itself combining two distinct genres, western music a là Ennio Morricone or something akin to the Kill Bill soundtrack and syncopated jazz music like you hear in Birdman, doesn't seem like it would work in a World War 2 movie but it's absolutely great, I just love it! It's always interesting to learn about another facet of history especially during wartime and while it undoubtedly is theatrical and played up even just a notch, it's neat to see. Especially since this came from a declassified file not even made public a decade ago so this is still relatively new information! I can recommend it, entertaining and fun showing the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to war cinema. 3.5 stars, 8/10! Expect some odd stuff for my birthday week, and have fun at the movies this weekend!

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.

Justice League (The Snyder Cut)

Alright I get the affection for it now.

Color me impressed, for a movie I had some but not really too much interest to see and saw the tumultous uproar to even get it released, with zero real knowledge of how it came to be in existence as we see it now I thought it was great! Now I will say the enjoyment of Joss Whedon's version has waned a bit to the point I think it's just a average decent movie, but I don't deem it superflous or worthy of being erased. Considering this is an R rated movie and a firmly warranted one at that, it tells a much more dramatic and for lack of a better word "important" story, taking it seriously and trying to convey a story meant for grown ups means it can't fully be compared to the theatrical release which is bright, fun, and ultimately your typical popcorn superhero film. There is a place for both in comic movies, and while there is undoubtedly exact same shots and a mostly unchanged story, it's how the movie goes about it that makes a universe of difference. Presented in a quite honestly fascinating aspect ratio of 4:3, the likes of which last seen here in The Lighthouse, the story still involves Bruce leading the charge for a metahuman team combating the threat of Steppenwolf and more importantly Apokolips. The beauty of this movie is it takes what was there in the theatrical movie and expands upon it with an extended runtime and select new elements, after all that was the plan once upon another time the Justice League was going to be two movies and this delivers it in an unsual way. The story is split up into parts, not quite vignettes but more chapters of a book, an interesting idea that while not changing much is a unique and novel touch. It's actually a fascinating experience watching both versions back to back because it's so similar and yet so extremely different. I greatly enjoyed and loved how the story progressed, the additional character moments and backstory we get, the visual style is truly Zack Snyder which I feel helps the movie more than the brighter shades of the Whedon version. It truthfully lived up to the hype everyone was making it to be for me, and they need to continue this story. You started it way back in 2013, it's almost been a decade and if you just take several steps back WB and DC from current projects and start at square one you could have something a lot of people would like to see. I've been on board this ship since almost day 1 and this movie reminded me how excited I get seeing a new DC movie and can't wait to see the next one. I know they can do it and Black Adam looks pretty solid so far. The movie clearly has a vision, style, and story it wants to tell and I'd say it handled it all very strongly. I had to buy this movie cause I couldn't find a place to rent it, but I gotta say that was money well spent after seeing it. It's a truly tragic thing that happened to the Snyder family and lord knows there is countless people who give a lot of love and good thoughts to them, and the fact they could get their movie out there the way they wanted it is a pretty incredible thing in and of itself. And I will be just brutally honest guys, I was NOT in a good state of mind before watching this, feeling very bitter, disillusioned, and beyond apathetic to media, the world, and specifically people. Just really despising with uncalculable anger at how just vehement and pessimistic people can be over such frivolous things as entertainment, like a comic book adaptation or a movie series. But then I remembered that not only is revenge the most worthless of causes, but hate is the most useless of emotions. It did give me pause however if I should even continue after my 1,000th review. But there is world enough and time before we reach that day. 4 stars, 8.5/10, and just for comparison I would rate the theatrical version 2.5 stars, 6/10, and I can't believe I'm doing this. Next time, League Of The Super Pets. Ohhhhhh......

In Retrospect: Justice League

Yeah, I still really like this movie.

I gotta admit I was laughing my ass off at people who gave this movie 3 stars or lower on IMDB, that is a joke that will never get old! Really? If this is the worst movie you have ever seen you have either never been to the cinema in your life, don't know what a movie is, or have never seen movies like Manos The Hands Of Fate or The Room. You got off easy if this is the worst movie you have ever seen! Which is ridiculous because Justice League is a good movie. It is not great, perfect, or mind blowing. But it is a highly entertaining and cool movie for comic book fans and superhero movie fans. Every major character they did was brought to life and done justice. It's a shame Cyborg never got much screen time cause there is a lot to his character and I enjoyed him while he was on screen. Flash stole the movie for me, I absolutely adore Barry and I cannot wait to see him in future movies. I will not rant about the delayed Aquaman movie, at least we got it this year but I hate having to wait until Christmas to see quite possibly the greatest Aquaman in history. And the trinity of DC heroes, good work as always but of course special praise to Wonder Woman (I don't think Gal Gadot is her real name at this point...). Now is this the best adaptation of the Justice League? No. The animated series did everything right and is a classic, but I'll be damned if I said this movie sucked. Yeah, the villain was rubbish but honestly I have yet to see a recent comic book movie in the post-Dark Knight Rises world that had a really awesome villain. Lex was fine in the last movie, but he ain't no Tom Hardy. Both sides have suffered from this but I have faith in both companies to pull through. Ugh....now that I think about it I will be without a comic book movie until October. That sucks. Oh but many more movies, many more days. And we got one this Friday!

In Retrospect: Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

In this particular retrospect I shall be reviewing the 3 hour cut of the movie, not the two and a half hour theatrical cut, to see if it is worth the extra 30 minutes. In the short term, yes it is. In the long term, let us begin. Needless to say I still love the movie, and the additional footage greatly enhances the original cut. In fact, the additional footage cleans up quite a few messes from the original cut so I am all for it. They show a hell of a lot more blood in this, which I actually enjoy because it just makes it much more realistic. So well done all around, the acting is still awesome, the fights are still great, we get a tiny bit more character arc, and I am just happy to own it. Do I recommend the 3 hour cut? Absolutely. I think you will enjoy it more than the original theatrical cut. So I say go out and buy the Ultimate Edition which is seriously a grand total of I think $4 extra than the regular movie. So until next week, where we review more DC movies leading up to Suicide Squad.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

I had great faith in this movie...and it did not disappoint!

What a great comic book movie! I loved it! Ben Affleck killed it as Batman, Henry Cavill is still a great Superman, even Gal Gadot whooped some serious ass as Wonder Woman! The cast, yes even Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was fantastic. So what's the story? Well....it's a little bit more complex then Batman and Superman throw down and it's amazing. It sets up a lot of stuff, and some of it won't pay off until the future but it was still very well done! The best part of the movie in my opinion was the fact that this is a continuation of Man Of Steel. And some of the plot elements play strongly in this film. I dare not spoil how it all unfolds but I think it will thrill you. I think it will fascinate you about future DC movies. So for those of you who feel obligated to see this movie, despite my rave review I have to say you are very brave. Through all the hate, the doubt, the crazy choices it actually works. Would it make you happy? Would it make you think more? How come there were so many dream sequences? Well there's one thing you need to know: It's here. And it's a true marvel. So get your butts down to the movie theater right now!

Man Of Steel

Sorry I'm late! Stuff has changed significantly since Friday, I am currently moving so that's why I'm late. But anyway, Man Of Steel...



I seriously think Man Of Steel is a great Superman movie! But I can understand why people think this isn't a good Superman movie, and I honestly have only two problems with this movie but I will get to them soon. This is clearly a new Superman, different from the comics, different from the previous movies but still Superman. This is a Superman who is still learning his powers, has very little experience being Superman when Zod shows up, tries to protect and save a world that fears him, and he has such fear and doubt about himself. The rock in his life, Jonathan Kent played very well by Kevin Costner, does tell him that when he grows up he can do great amazing things but, he also says that maybe he should not stand proud in front of the human race and not use his powers because he fears for his son's safety. So it's more monumental when he becomes Superman and saves the world. I honestly can't think of a better cast than the one they picked. Henry Cavill is a great Superman who gives new light to the character not often seen the way he is in this movie, Amy Adams is a no nonsense, real go getter Lois Lane, Michael Shannon is a very intense and a bit sympathetic Zod, everyone else does a real good job but Antje Traue kind of steals the show as Zod's second in command Faora, she's a total badass I love her! The fight scenes are glorious, even though Smallville and Metropolis got screwed over bad. Seriously I wouldn't be a bit surprised in the new Batman V. Superman movie, if Metropolis and Smallville are still under repairs. I only have three big gripes about this movie, one the camera. I should start a drinking game where every time the camera zooms in on something and gets a bit out of focus in this movie, but I know everyone would be drunk before the end of the movie, there are so many shots like that and most of them are not needed! Second the product placement, now this only happens in the Smallville scenes so it's not a major thing in the movie but...yeah, cut down on the product placement, seriously. And finally, the world engine. Now there are two of these, one in Metropolis, one near the Indian Ocean. Now Superman has to stop these machines from terraforming the earth into a new Krypton, so he goes after the one in the Indian Ocean and the military take the one in Metropolis. My problem is this, why didn't Superman stop the one in Metropolis first? I know the military couldn't reach the Indian Ocean so that's why Superman went there but....I'm not a geography expert but my guess is not millions and millions of people live near the Indian Ocean as they do in Metropolis and Superman could take the one out in Metropolis and then take the other one out and not lose a single person near the Indian Ocean and save almost everyone in Metropolis and the city wouldn't be partially obliterated. Those are my only real problems with this movie, but man I am so excited to see the new Batman V. Superman movie.



Here is the link to the new trailer: https://youtu.be/xe1LrMqURuw


Okay, well maybe I need to get back to packing, I will try my hardest to post a review this week. I said this week was a mystery week, so let's see how this goes!