Conan The Barbarian

I won't lie, I liked it.

I have no clue what the consensus is on this movie, good or bad, I heard Conan The Destroyer pretty much sucks but this one I find is good! Out of all the movies this week I had the most background and foreknowledge on this movie, yet even then there was plenty I did not know or expect. A popular plot I'm sure, concerning a young boy who watches his village be burned and his parents murdered before being enslaved, and through the years becomes a mass of muscle with vengeance on the mind as he obtains freedom, meets companions, and eventually settles the score with the evil sorcerer who perpetrated it all. But what I greatly enjoy is the movie is a notch over 2 hours and it actually takes it's time liberally moving from plot point to plot point. It's not in a constant rush where it's a checklist of tasks to gain enough experience points to face the evil mage, it lets the plot and characters have their moments with the exploits of Conan having time to sink in. Despite the barbarian moniker he possesses Conan is a war master with several weapons, gifted with languages and writing, and while lavishing in the decadence of the barbarian lifestyle of PMS (Plunder, Murder, and Sex) there's more to him. Arnold is great casting and it is pretty hilaruously awesome to see him on this quest and wrecking fools, yet from all the stories I've read he was monumentally grateful for the role and wanted to do it as best as he could to which I say he did without fault. James Earl Jones is our villainous cult leader Thulsa Doom which may be the coolest bad guy name ever, and I'll admit this he's kinda scarier and far more intimidating than Vader, he just has this unearthly gaze and you know he's a threat from the start. The guy doesn't speak a word till past the hour mark but you can tell Thulsa Doom means business. Sandhal Bergman, what a badass she was in this movie playing Valeria, taking on an almost Amazon warrior vibe and at the same pace as Conan throughout and while the romance initially seemed quick as hell the chemistry and moments they share I buy completely! And we have Mako as our resident wizard, no complaints from me man, he's cool! Much more action in this one, keeping the blood packs flowing and decent choreography throughout so good work there. Let me tell you something though man, I'm not sure they liked making cuts in the editing room. For those heavyweights or just alcoholic folk out there, take a shot everytime there is a cross dissolve or cross fade as it's sometimes called. Good sweet lord, you're gonna need a liver transplant before we're through. I'm fairly certain the movie performed well and it seems like the crew making the movie formed a tight community, so a lot of the love and care show on film in some variety or another and I had a pretty dang good time watching it so yeah, full recommendation from me. I give it 4 stars, 8/10, ended on a high note and added some more experience to my geek level. I'll be casting 8th level magic in no time.

Rush Hour 3

Okay. You got me movie.

Rush Hour 3, honestly not that bad. Decent story that actually ties back to the first, with now ambassador Han having almost been assassinated brings Lee and Carter back together again this time hunting Triads in Paris, which honestly makes sense as the middle ground between America and China, it was gonna be in Europe no question. The action I feel was more involved and inventive than the second one, hell probably even outdoes the first. Cast once again does very fine work, and I must give the movie props for bringing back Tzi Ma as Han and while little Soo Yung is all grown up and is not the original actress, I'm not going to say a dang bad thing about Jingchu Zang, add Max Von Sydow to the equation and you got yourself a solid cast. The comedy wasn't as strong as the first but not as weak as the second, and really anytime an Abbot and Costello routine is performed I crack up so easily. So it's kind of a shock to go back to the most forgettable entry in this series, and find something really entertaining and worthwhile. That's never a bad thing in my book! I had a good time with this movie, true the first is still the best but it's a fairly solid trilogy when you get right down to it. I feel that while the brother subplot with Lee in this movie is interesting and really could bring some major good dialogue and moments it sadly was kinda just there and didn't do much, and I will admit the finale is slightly thrown off by CGI shots and kinda dodgy rear projections, so it's by no means perfect but they did put effort into it. This was by no means a cash grab of a series that again, hasn't been around for 6 years at that point, they had a fun story with interesting locations and setups and just went with it. Even I can agree that the filmmakers were looking to make another Rush Hour movie and not the absolute best Rush Hour movie, yet I still say it ended this series on a decent note and hasn't garnered a worse reputation in my eyes. So I dub this a win! 3 stars, 7/10, this is by no means some of the best martial arts movies I have seen but truthfully it's a pretty good starting place for future fans.

The Exorcist

Well it didn't scare my socks off but I'll be damned if I said it wasn't really, really good.

How does one talk about the reputation and impact of The Exorcist? Everyone has heard of this movie, it's one of the most critically acclaimed and highest grossing films of all time. It sent audiences screaming out of the theater in 1973, and still has had that effect ever since. I think the power of the film and the fear it emanates, all falls down to a question of belief. Do you believe in the devil? Well, I think by the end of the movie you'll find out the answer. Me personally, I was slightly disturbed at parts so clearly that question has a no from me. I honestly don't even know why there are other exorcist or devil posessing films, because this one is clearly the best. I do highly suggest you watch the movie again, if you haven't seen it in some time, I got several facts wrong about the story and it really does more than just, an innocent girl gets posessed by the devil and an exorcism occurs. The story follows a mother and her child, one thing I really must commend and why it works so well is that it takes quite some time for the possesion to happen. Some would complain the movie is too slow, but you spend a lot of time with these characters and you grow fond of them, particularly Regan which thus makes the horror parts that more scary. The story mainly is split between Regan and her slipping more and more, and Damien Karris who is battling his own demons and must overcome them. Good dichotomy of story! What surprised me the most is that when shit goes down, and Regan is full on demon, the actual scary scenes with the psychiatrist, the crucifix, everything but the fish tank smashing around the room, are few and paced inbetween. So it's not one horrifying hit after another, it gives plenty of time for the audience to be in suspense and wonder what in God's holy name could possibly happen after the last scene. So pacing is slow, but it builds steadily to an outstanding climax! I watched that exorcism scene over and over, it was and is incredible. Have to admit though I thought the ending was totally different, end of exorcism, crash through the window, Tubular Bells plays out over long shot of the stairs, roll credits. I was wrong. Ended differently, but it didn't matter. Very, very good movie, a true staple of the genre, I'm so happy to have watched this movie.

So now we come down, and mellow out (a bit) and we go straight to classic, gold standard material of the season. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

The Seventh Seal

This was a very fascinating movie.

I can see why it has become such a popular and renowned film since it first came out, but did I like it? The short answer, yeah. The long answer, well here we go. You know what actually surprised me about the movie? The chess match was played in sessions, so really the whole structure of the movie was nothing like I anticipated it. I thought it would be, buildup, buildup, dialogue, dialogue, "Who are you?" "I am Death.", chess match, end of movie. But no, the match is split up between character action, development, and dialogue. Even Death himself is kind of more in the background, with the main focus on Antonious Block played by a very young Max von Sydow and his search for knowledge of God, existence, and death. It's strange seeing Max as a very young, dashing man because every movie I've seen him in he always looks the same, awesome elder gentleman so this was a new light and he does good in the movie really capturing that viewpoint of, what's the point of it all when you get right down to it, that sort of cynical, I need proof, no nonsense attitude towards life and more importantly religion. See Antonious was in the Crusades, so after 10 years of bloodshed all in the name of God, you kind of start having your doubts about the whole religion thing. And most of Death's screentime is devoted to him toying and antagonizing Antonious, with a very menacing presence and just this sort of uneasiness. Which is how it really should be when you get down to it! You shouldn't look upon Death as a grandfather figure, or someone you have deep emotional attachments to, you really should have your skin crawl in his or her presence which is how I felt! Especially in the second to last scene, I mean my God I felt so uneasy and disturbed, it was dripping with such a doomy atmosphere and dark ending to it all, it really hit me believe it or not. Surprisingly as much as it touches upon death, it takes the time to appreciate aspects of life. Seeing children learn how to walk, having a meal with friends, pursuing love, simple joys but can mean entire worlds to some. It was an interesting experience, I was a mere witness to this story and these people but really felt a lot. Solace, anger, fear, shock, apathy, empathy, happiness, sadness, a whole volley of emotions. Certainly made me appreciate the day I was given. So yeah, I do recommend the movie. You certainly have to be in the right mindset and mood for it, but if the time comes go ahead and watch it. I found it well worth the time I had of living.