Iron Man

So it begins.

Yeah. I'm doing it. If only so I can get it out of my system. Believe it or not I actually have seen Iron Man quite a few times and even owned it on DVD back in 2008, long before I had any thought of such an expansive multi-connected series of movies. And for a beginning entry, I do say Iron Man ain't half bad. You know back in the day, I remember talking about this trailer in my music class of all things and nobody really had any idea what it was about, just that it was a Marvel character and it looked kinda cool. Oh how the times have changed, in just a bit over 10 years your average movie going person has come from who the hell is Iron Man to whoa, Iron Man is the shit! Can you believe that? The only Marvel characters I knew of, like ever, when I was a kid was The Hulk and Spider-Man and that was mainly due to the movies of Ang Lee and Sam Raimi with a dash of the 70s Hulk series with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferigno. And I thought the movie was okay back then and honestly my opinion hasn't changed much, it's not bad and genuinely has some good elements to it so here comes the dilemma with this series. Do I review the movies as standalone pictures or as part of a bigger universe? And the answer is as a lone movie. I like the story, Tony Stark is the head of a multi-billion dollar corporation specializing in weapons manufacturing and while in Afghanistan is ambushed by terrorists and held hostage for three months after having several pieces of shrapnel enter his heart. He's thankfully saved and quickly forms a plan of escaping his captors by creating a mechanized suit and pretty soon takes up the responsibility of regaining his company, stopping more weapons falling in the wrong hands, and kicks some ass while doing so. Get used to me bringing stuff like this up, but I got hardcore Batman vibes from this movie. Now is it possible Batman Begins had an effect on the story for this movie? Possibly! But Tony's dedication to a crusade of righting his company's wrongs and making sure no one is hurt by weapons of his own making just screamed Bruce Wayne at me, even though his teenage boy wiseass attitude makes him a unique and kinda fun character. Hell, Ms. Potts and Jarvis combined are Alfred, and Rhodey is simultaneously Jim Gordon and Robin so it really did strike me as familiar and accesible ground. I am slightly apprehensive about the special effects though in future films because...I hate the Iron Man suit being all CG. In fact, I absolutely looooove the original Iron Man suit, this total metal, clanky ass, crudely made shitbox looks way better than the red and gold suit. The fact they straight up made that full suit is amazing, it is friggin' real! It busts down doors, shoots fire, can take bullet storms, practical effects are an absolute highlight for me in this movie. But then here comes the fake CG bullshit, like not once do we see the red and gold suit as an actual costume which sucks majorly because I kinda like the design, there's a reason the color scheme is what it is, it's refined but still robotic and kinda bulky, it just has a good design. And I'm just scared the future movies are going to be roided up Prequel territory where, it's so dense every single image has so much going on, with the CG to the point where it's gonna just not hold my interest and look bad. Granted the characters are defined enough to where you have some sort of anchor in the real world and can identify with them, and I have to say the cast does admirable work. Though guys seriously? Jeff Bridges is your villain? Have you met that guy? I'm not saying he can't do it but he is way too much of a laidback cool cat to be villainous. Beyond that though, good cast. I like the arc Tony gets in this movie, being a very flippant and saracastic guy but goes through some events that reshape who he is, it's compelling and well executed stuff. But Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is this kinda dated. I mean they drop MySpace into the script. Can you guess what year this was filmed kiddos? And the whole war in Iraq thing while topical at the time, hasn't aged well for the movie. It is very much a product of 2008. Which was a big year for comic book movies, I mean The Dark Knight hit like a thermonuclear bomb and blew everybody away, and Iron Man was planting the acorn and watching the tree grow for a long running series of films. I have big issues with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, believe me I could rant about it for awhile but we're in early days right now so I can enjoy them as just neat little comic book movies. I just sorely miss those times when movies were just movies and they didn't have to be expansive events lasting dozens of movies building an all encompassing world. But regardless I think Iron Man is an okay movie, it's nothing fantastic and I have certainly seen worse in my day. 3 stars, a solid 7/10, and tomorrow we see the not so jolly green giant in his second theatrical film.

Bad Times At The El Royale

Holy shit that was a good movie!

I feel like a complete ass not seeing this earlier, Bad Times At The El Royale came out in early October of last year and I didn't hear about it. Not a trailer, or poster, maybe one little ad while scrolling through my Facebook and I kinda feel betrayed, because it was damn good! Set in the late 60s several people from different walks of life ranging from a singer on her way to Reno, a priest with a faulty memory, and a household appliance salesman all check into the El Royale, a hotel set literally on the border of California and Nevada where they all slowly learn of the hotel's less than known tendencies and everything spirals into crime, blood, and drama. And I gotta admit, it was interesting just about from the word go, the movie is actually kinda split into these vignettes that are all connected to the story and that's a storytelling format not often used, hell the last time I saw it was in Pulp Fiction so it had my attention and kept it. But the characters are what really had me invested to end credits, I mean come on we got Jeff Bridges as a priest who shares the last name of Flynn how do you expect me to say no to that? But Cynthia Erivo who plays the singer Darlene was amazing, and in fact she shares a scene with Jeff that I swear to God makes the whole movie worth watching. It's so hard to explain but they're just two very likable characters and they just sit down and talk during a stormy night and I was completely blown away by that scene. Yes, I'm a sucker for more quiet, intimate, and life discussing scenes it shows real heart and good writing. Just, ugh guys this was such a good scene! It stole the movie for me and it ends the way I wanted it which gets you 2 stars already but you add this mystery intrigue of the hotel's shady doings, and you learn about these characters, and though I have to admit this is the first thing I've ever truly seen Dakota Johnson in and trust me we'll be getting to her soon and yeah she rides a pretty screwed up line in this movie too, it didn't hinder my enjoyment. But whatever, it's damn good. It's what I like to call the Hotel Artemis Effect, a movie that you go into with no expectations but come out of incredibly happy that you saw it and will gladly see again. I'm honestly not sure if I saw this movie it would replace Hotel Artemis on my top 10 list, hell it may have even taken Solo's spot to be truthful. It....it wowed me. So yeah, two big thumbs up, 4 stars, by all means check it out!

I'm honestly not sure what to do tomorrow, I wanted to do Venom cause honestly that is a movie worth talking about more and deserves a second viewing but I also kinda want to browse the rentals and see if there's anything of note to watch. So I guess we'll know tomorrow!

Tron Legacy

Yeah, yeah I know. It took me 3 years to talk about Tron Legacy. But come on, it took them almost 30 years to make a sequel!

How did I get into Tron? I have no idea. I remember so much from around 2010 and yet shockingly nothing to do with the movie. I think it all started with the video game Tron Evolution, then I was kinda hooked man. I bought the soundtrack to this movie, bought the Identity Discs, the Light Cycles, I was a Tron fan before I even saw 10 seconds of film footage from either of the movies! I am one of the biggest fans of Tron you will ever know, so it should come as no shock that I love this movie. Tron Legacy is a very, very, very good movie. Where do I start with this movie? Well story is a great place to begin always, so we set the wayback machine to 1989, Kevin Flynn has been working in The Grid for 7 years, he has a son named Sam and life is going pretty good. Then he disappears for about 20 years. Good catch and intrigue already! We catch up with Sam, and he gets contacted by Alan and he tells Sam that he got a message from his dad's arcade so Sam investigates and gets sent to The Grid! After that, tons happens. We learn Flynn made a program Clu that went rogue and took over the system, a new lifeform is discovered in The Grid, and it's a mad rush for our heroes to get back to reality before Clu does. There's almost too much good in this movie. The effects are outstanding, we see such evolution in The Grid and all it's aspects, and there is such little details in every scene that is incredible to see! Characters have deep emotional connections to one another, relationships are explored, and it's interesting to delve into the character of Flynn. I could write an essay on it, but let's just say he's a damn fine character. But character is nothing without actors, and the cast is done really well! Jeff Bridges is full in The Dude mode and ugh I love it! Olivia Wilde really kinda steals the show for me, she is such an interesting character and her acting is amazing (plus I love the fact that her eyes are so ridiculously beautiful they didn't need to add contacts). Garrett Hedlund is a fine lead and and despite me not seeing him in much afterward, he should have more roles. The only "bad"? role is Michael Sheen as the owner of this bar. Oh my dear sweet brother Numsie! He is doing the exact same damn role as he did in the Twilight movies. Mugging, ridiculous, faye as hell. I just, I can't. You know who they should have got instead? David Bowie. It would have been perfect. But Bruce Boxleitner makes up for that and then some. Like, lightyears some mmkay? Ohh, and the music! Damn it Daft Punk! I am so geeking over this movie! When a movie can get goosebumps out of me in literally the first minute of film, and continually do so throughout is something special. This is one of the most, if not the most gorgeous film I have ever seen. Almost every frame is art, the designs and color are incredible, it just looks so impressive. And you know what the odd thing was? Well, not just the fact they had real sets and costumes along with the computer graphics but the real world segments kinda looked like it was a very high quality fan film. And I love that! It reminds me of this fan made trailer some person made, I believe it was called Tron The Next Day. Kinda this pseudo-prequel to the third film, and it was done so damn well! Just, oh God....I've never seen such a gorgeous film in my life. Yeah I'm biased, the guy who is a big enough nerd to have not one but two Tron stickers on his laptop may be a tiny little bit partial to the Tron movies. I just have such fond memories of all the stuff surrounding the movie. The Flynn Lives website, that badass video game identifier they had, getting all this rad stuff, playing Space Paranoids! I went to a Wal-Mart the day Tron Legacy hit video, midnight launch, it was a school day afterward but I did not care. I needed that movie. And I got it. The only ever so slightly bad thing I can say about this movie is the last shot is not as impressive and beautiful as the last movie. That is nitpicking, at best people. I'm probably the only critic who legitimately loves this movie, but I do not care. Tron Legacy is a sure fire 4 stars! Check it out! And please Disney make Tron 3 before I hit 40!!

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Well this was a good movie to end the day with.

Now I have to make myself very clear. I do not hate this movie. Let me repeat that again, I do NOT hate this movie. But.....it's not as great as the first one. The first Kingsman movie came out of left field and floored me with how different but still awesome it's take on the spy genre was. Maybe I had high expectations for this movie but it never made me say, "Wow, this is a pretty good friggin' movie!". So our story picks up a few years after the first, Eggsy is a top agent at Kingsman, he's in a relationship with that chick he banged in the ass at the end of the last movie, and all seems well. Enter Julianne Moore, who I swear to God is the reason you should see this movie! I mean she's nuttier than a PayDay bar, and my God is it beautiful. She plays this guano crazy buisnesswoman who has grossed over $300 billion dollars on drug trade alone. She has this whole crazy plan, with poisoning drug users and then asking for all drug use be legalized in exchange for a cure. Make sense? Not to me. I kinda could roll with the whole brainwave scrambling thing in the last movie and I liked it. The only flipping reason Kingsman is brought into this is because one of her employers has a grudge against them, and Eggsy's girlfriend gets the virus. That's it. Now you could argue, it is saving the world since so many people do drugs, but honestly I don't feel the world is at stake. At all. Kinda diminishes the whole scale and drive of the movie. Now the acting across the board is still great, the action while lessened is still cool, the comedy is there but I just didn't laugh as much the first go around, and has the strangest....I can't evenncall it a cameo because it happens waaaay to often, and even results in a total deus ex machina, and I'm just confused by it. Kingsman The Golden Circle is an okay sequel to a great film. Buy the first, rent the second, or just watch the two trailers to this movie. Trust me, they are excellent! Kinda ended on a downer, but hey next week we got more movies to start as a prologue to a mish mash of horror, sci-fi, and the most wonderful time of the year.

Tron

Okay so apparently two of my favorite movies of all time star Jeff Bridges. Go figure.



Yeah, kinda weird. More weirder that he pretty much acts like the Dude in this movie too. But, anyways Tron! Tron is one of the most creative and fascinating movies ever made. The story of Tron, pretty much centers around a human being being transported into the computer world. I know it sounds awfully familiar, but I believe this movie started it all. The movie was made and is set in 1982, so this is before the Internet, when computers didn't have a mouse and it was all text, unless you had a floppy disk to play games...and even then they were just text too. But the film really deals with the technology at that time pretty brilliantly. Hell, there's even technology in this movie that we didn't get until about 30 years later and technology we still have yet to see. No seriously, there is this CEO of this huge electronic company that has a touch screen computer as his desk. Are you kidding me?! It took us roughly 30 years to have that technology brought to the masses? Unbelievable. And they have this machine that can digitize real life things and insert it into the computer world, you know maybe there's a reason we don't have that piece of tech yet...but that's how our hero gets zapped into the computer world. And the special effects, oh my God!! These are some of the most ambitious and fantastic early examples of CGI ever put to film! I have NO idea how they accomplished such feats of cinematic magic so early in the 80's, and it still holds up pretty well. It looks very impressive given the technology that was used back then and how nearly flawless it looks. But this film has an answer for everything in the special effects, so since it's in a computer world, if something looks bad or if the special effect doesn't come out just right it's considered a bug or a glitch in the computer and I think that's a genius way of telling how sometimes an effect shot looks a little off. I just love this movie. Now let's talk about the actors. Jeff Bridges plays a computer programmer who created several video games for the arcade but find's out that they were stolen and he has to retrieve them, and Jeff Bridges does do a very good job in this film and he does kinda act like the Dude which you know I love. Bruce Boxleitner plays the title role character known as Tron and plays the best friend of Jeff Bridge's character, and Bruce Boxleitner is the man! You do not get much better awesome and charming and all around amazing acting than from this guy! Then we have David Warner as the main villain, and David Warner is one of the greatest and most esteemed actors from both the stage and screen and he is marvelous in this movie, he does a great job in every movie he is in, whether it is bad or good he still gives a great performance and this is no exception. One of my favorite parts of the movie that really delves into the making of the computer world, the programs look exactly like their users, exactly like the people that programmed them which really touches on the religious aspect of the film, where the users are considered gods and the programs are made in their own image. There are many layers underneath the simple and yet fascinating story. It's a cult film but it really needs to be seen by more people because it is such a great movie, true it may not be for everyone but it's still worth a shot to see if you like it. And to me in my very humble opinion, this has one of the greatest ending shots in a movie ever. It's beautiful, it gives you one last parallel between the real world and the computer world, and I am just a sucker for time lapse shots of cities.



You know what, hang on a sec. I have a video for you! This is seriously one of the most beautiful and amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life. I am star struck every time I see it, and I cannot believe mankind has evolved to this point. You have not lived or have truly witnessed beauty until you watch this: https://youtu.be/uf9sItcBsjw

Enjoy!

The Big Lebowski

"I'm the Dude, so that's what you call me, you know, that or uh, his Dudeness or uh, Duder, or uh you know, El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing."


Yes, we finally get to talk about the movie where my nickname originated from! And so starts the week of reviewing some of my favorite movies of all time, and this is no exception. So The Big Lebowski is the story of the Dude, his friends Walter and Donny and their marvelous misadventures that all sprung up from a misunderstanding. This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, it's written and directed by the Cohen brothers, and they always do fantastic work. But the best part of the entire movie is the characters and the actors that play them to complete perfection. Jeff Bridges IS the Dude, there is no if's, and's or but's about it he is the Dude, the epitome of cool and awesome and mellow. But then we have his polar opposite, Walter played to hilarious effect by John Goodman who is a Vietnam war veteran and he always ties things back to 'Nam, he is angry, he is outrageously funny, and he is the perfect foil for the Dude. Then we have the other friend, Donny played by Steve Buscemi, and he is that friend who never pays attention to the conversation you are having and yet constantly wants to be a part of, but he is a kick-ass bowler so that's something. Everyone else in this movie is just hilarious and great like Julianne Moore as this very eccentric painter, Philip Seymour Hoffman as this great snooty assistant to The Big Lebowski himself, played by David Huddleston, and we have an amazing narrator/character played by Sam Elliot whose voice you all recognize. Now this story takes place in the early 90's before I was even born, but you really can't tell that it looks that old, it has pretty much elements from all times, clothing, vehicles, the soundtrack which I proudly own and listen to a lot and which you should buy, so for the most part you forget it takes place in a specific time. It's very much a film that is very different from what you normally see, as you can tell I am a lover of different movies. It surprisingly takes a note from Film Noir where every single scene has the main character in it, whether it be in the foreground or background, they are constantly in the movie. But bottom line this is a great movie, highly recommended you go out and watch it now, and then you can finally understand why people call me the Dude.