The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

This is one of the select few movies I have seen and yet remember hardly anything of it.

A long time ago when I was but a 16 year old wee lad, my mom actually took me to see this in theaters, I had no definitive drive to see it but went with an open mind. Ohhh.....yikes. Yeah, that was an interesting sit and it's been over 10 long years and I remembered hardly anything besides the obvious horrific, disturbing, f***ed up shit that occurs in a few scenes. So I was walking in relatively blind once more and found a pretty solid mystery thriller. So our handsome sexy man Daniel Craig, plays investigative reporter Mikael who is called into service by a wealthy gentlemen, played by Christopher Plummer, to solve a 40 year old case of his missing presumed dead daughter and this is the strangest prequel to Knives Out I could imagine. Meanwhile as that story plays out we meet Lisbeth, played incredibly well by Rooney Mara, who goes through some serious shit of her own before she also is roped into this murder mystery, putting her advanced computer skills and logical thinking to the test to assist. What I like a great deal is, this could so super easily be seen as two seperate movies haphazardly daisy chained together but it never breaks immersion or intrigue, you know these two characters will meet at a certain point but it gives each of them time for the audience to understand them before the dynamic shifts into a duo. And Daniel and Rooney have fantastic chemistry, quite honestly getting a few laughs out of me because of how these two personalities work in tandem. Lisbeth is very analytical, anti-social, and clearly different from the pack while Mikael is more normal leading man material but is given his own problems and personality while keeping him an average journalist. He's no Sherlock, or Bond action man, but needless to say Daniel pulls it off expertly. The mystery gains intrigue very quickly, and it is a somewhat methodical some would say boring form of detective work, connecting the dots of this family who are held suspect in this girl's death and who knows who considering the family is very seperate and hardly talks to one another. Now on one hand I can see that being a problem, juggling many characters and names and trying to keep all the strands together in your head, but even with my more lax viewing of this and forgetting who some people were it didn't negatively affect me. I was keeping up with it but not by much, this isn't the movie that points and shouts a clue, a clue! It doesn't hold your hand but I feel the movie is more about keeping your intrigue and attention instead of making you a junior detective who's trying to solve it first. It's directed well and no doubt many people can get super into it and piece together the puzzle which is great for this kind of genre. The interesting thing is when it seems everything is wrapped up, the truth is found, case closed you think that would be the end all be all. But in actuality the movie goes on for some time afterward, I can see people checking their watch like come the hell on the movie is over, but it gives some closure to Mikael and his crisis at the beginning of the film, some would consider it last minute payoff to a relatively unimportant set up but I got really into it. It shows our leads do more stuff after the fact, and they gain a quantum of solace before the credits. I know, I went there, and not to go on a tangent but the ending did kinda give me Quantum vibes. I may not have focused much on the more shocking stuff, and it is effectively disturbing, and I still somewhat question how my mom felt with me sitting next to her during such parts, but they are more a disgusting seedy seasoning and not the main focus. I enjoyed it, was engaged, and knew it was gonna give me a fair bit to talk about. 4 stars, 8.5/10, next week is more likely than not gonna be a short week of reviews but it's dinosaurs so it can't be all bad.

Wonder Woman 1984

I would like to go on record and submit an apology. When I first saw the trailer I thought Nathan Fillion was in the role of Maxwell Lord and it was Pedro Pascal. I think this was significantly before I watched The Mandalorian so I did not know what he looked like, and I'm sorry about that.

Now that we got that out of the way, are you f***ing kidding me? Really? We're doing this again are we? You know what I am so sick of? I am so sick of hearing nothing but bad mouthing and shitting on a movie before I see it and when I finally do, it turns out to be a good, decent movie. Case in f***ing point, Wonder Woman 1984. I cannot tell you one thing good that was said about this movie when it first came out. Everytime. Every. Time. When this movie was brought up I heard bad things. Not specific things so nothing got spoiled in the slightest, but the ambiance was vastly negative even disappointing from people. What movie did you see in the theater, and how did it differ from the one I just rented? Did they pull a Snyder cut and re-edited the movie for the home video release, cause I got news for you I didn't see one goddamn thing that was bad in this movie, not even sub-par. You think I would be happy about that but really I am so aggravated and frankly pissed right the hell off. Like was the world just in a bad mood when this movie hit in 2020?? Jesus Christ, I mean yes some stuff was going down, bad stuff, but come on man. Not to say the movie was a masterpiece, nor would I say it's better than the first I'd give the first a 8/10, but there is not one aspect of this film's production that would get anything below a 6/10. The production design is quite good with ample various sets and locations, the music is very good both in Hans Zimmer's score and the pop tunes, the cast is excellent and in some cases you can see they are performing their heart out I mean they embody these roles for this generation, the action while less than the first was shot, choreographed, and produced well, the story while nothing ground breaking I felt was handled really good with Diana having a dilemma and Maxwell Lord rising to power. Sure there were off things, like how the invisible jet comes into play, Cheetah is really only in the film in the last 20 odd minutes, we don't get precise origins on the stone. And yet, it was nothing film breaking. I loved we got the invisible jet, the effects on Cheetah were not Cats quality (thank the lord), I could buy the stone was magic so you don't have to explain it. I got to see Diana and Steve reunited though with a consequence, and I have no issue they brought Chris Pine back. He has great chemistry with Gal, and I truly loved to see them be in the same movie again, and the dilemma Diana has to face in order to save the world is a decent one! Kristen Wiig pulled off the villain thing, starting off very Michelle Pfeiffer from Batman Returns, but you see the change gradually and while Cheetah kind of did pop out of nowhere, it didn't hurt her performance and I liked how she played it. Seeing Pedro Pascal have the time of his life in this role, played to the fullest extent with every shred of energy and emotion present from beginning to end was wonderful, marvellous even. Gal Gadot shows off her emotional range very well, she kind of acts her heart out in an important scene, and I felt she proved once again why she got this role, and I just got a wee smile on my face when I heard her speak her native language. That was a nice thing to see, plus that absolutely lovely cameo at the end. That was beyond sweet. I am just so stumped to pick bad parts out of this movie. Hell there were moments that stuck out to me so much, and not every comic book movie can accomplish such a thing which is odd because I'm a dork for this stuff. The jet scene with the fireworks was beautiful, such an good color palette throughout the film really, but the visuals were dazzling yet kept the emotion in the foreground. The scene where Diana flies was outstanding, I felt just like how I did when I saw Clark fly for the first time in Man Of Steel, that was done so well! Just...what am I missing? Either I'm a drooling moron who has no concept of what a good movie is and every other person speaks undeniable truths, or everyone is talking out of their stupid assholes and I'm right. And I am not happy I am thinking like that. At all. That is not a good mental state to be in ever. Even the most positive, affirming, beyond happy ending this movie has, that I have ever seen in my entire life, could not raise my spirits. The film is practically a beacon of positivity and hope for the human race, that the world could become the greatest nightmare ever imagined if you don't be truthful and just make decisions that only service you and not others. Sure it was a bit on the nose with Diana almost flat out speaking to the camera, but that does not mean that her words should mean less. I am just fuming, in virtual apathy for the world and it's inhabitants, and you know you wouldn't think Wonder Woman 1984 would be the film where I draw a line in the sand and marshall all the forces of darkness to descend hell upon my enemies and hound them to an assisted suicide, but here I am. I have no qualms burning bridges, even if those bridges have people on it. 3 stars, 7.5/10. If this horseshit keeps up I might just quit. Maybe even before the 1,000th review. I'm done.

Unbreakable

My first Shyamalan movie how about that?

Strange that this is the one above all others that I decided to review first but hey, with Glass right around the corner it was time. And I'm going to be honest out of all the films this guy has directed, Unbreakable is the one I hear the least about. I'm not entirely sure why though, it's a good movie, it came right off the heels of The Sixth Sense so Shyamalan was still a golden boy, and he took an interesting turn on a superhero-esque movie never seen before. So Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn a security officer who goes through a horrific train accident that kills every single passenger yet he comes through without even a scratch on him. Now that's an interesting movie all on it's own, it presents a good mystery that slowly makes more sense as the movie progresses. He soon comes in contact with a comic book aficianado named Elijah Price played excellently by Sam Jackson, and I gotta say this really is one of his best performances! Jackson really is, to me, the reason why the movie works so well. His passion for comic books I think dives well past an obsession, and his actions and more important his conversations with David are endlessly fascinating in the context of the movie. I think it's needless to say what the twist is regarding recent events but I would be lying if the reveal wasn't spectacular. There's tons to talk about in terms of comic book archetypes, character motivation, and the formation of a basis for future films which is actually what this movie is, a foundation for things to come. We will be talking about what comes next, but I wanted to talk more about smaller details I noticed that made the movie really good in my eyes. I like how the movie was shot, there are tons of shots where you see characters move and talk strictly through a small reflection somewhere in frame, in fact the framing is quite good and it does seem off with not much camera movement or even really many cuts, now the odd thing is I read up on this movie a bit and there is actually a multitude of long takes and I barely even noticed because the shots don't drag or even reach Birdman levels of camera movement and blocking of characters but they stick around for a bit then cut, I simultaneously really like and dislike the poncho David wears because it looks awesome in shadow and silhouette yet he wears it because he doesn't like water and I'm sure I could make a case for this movie influencing Signs but whatever. I'm interested to see what happens next in this world, and I knew when I saw the Glass trailer I had to get to this movie. I feel the movie warrants more discussion, because it is a good movie, and something one of my reviewers I watched made a really good point, they said something along the lines of, when there's pressure on Shyamalan he stumbles and falls but when there's no pressure or expectations he does well. After seeing this movie, he started to stumble with Signs, then fell and fell and fell, and smashed into the pavement with After Earth, now it seems he's dusting himself off and getting back on track with our next movie of the week, Split. See you then!

Wonder Woman (2017)

Well that movies was cool.

Again, I reiterate, 75 YEARS for Wonder Woman to have a movie?! That's criminal! This film is really damn good, it's not perfect, it's really damn good! Plot wise, not much has changed since the animated venture except if you swap modern day for 1915, Diana fights the germans instead of demons, and it ties in to the DC movie universe. Diana lives with the Amazons, until our favorite pilot Steve Trevor crashes and informs Diana and the Amazons of a war which seems to be the design of Ares, which sets Diana off to stop the war and kick his ass. There is much ass kicking in this movie. Action is spectacular, thankfully the comedy is not as obtrusive as I dreaded, the story is a fine origin story for Diana, but what really came out of left field and wow'ed me was surprisingly the emotion. If not for the whole Amazon and Ares thing, this could be a World War 1 movie. They do not shy away from the grisly nature of that war, soldiers losing limbs, towns raided, women and children killed, and the infamous trench warfare. In fact, name one single World War 1 movie. Not World War 2, but World War 1. I can't name a friggin' one....besides this one. This movie really hammers that for lack of a better word, sorrow and distress that you see in war. It feels a little too real. And I think they chose wisely placing this in 1915 and not in say 1944. I know we want Wonder Woman to punch nazis but trust me the meaning of Diana and her character, and what she represents is and would be leaps and bounds better than if the story was set in World War 2. She is a hero, she acknowledges humans are not all good but some are and that is what you should focus on. People always focus on negative things rather than the positive it seems, except for Diana. Which is why she is an excellent example of a hero. Not just a female hero, even though that should be commended considering her creation and history, but a hero to aspire to be like. Diana would never hurt anyone innocent, she is kind, she is decent, she doesn't think herself better than anybody, and refuses to continue to let bad things happen in the world. And granted, I have not read many Wonder Woman solo stories, but I know deep down I desperately need to. There's no doubt Wonder Woman is without a doubt in the top 3 of my DC heroes, and I hope she becomes a favorite of many, many more people.

The Princess Bride

You never forget your first time, and I'm never forgetting this movie.

I'm actually surprised at the fact that a cult movie such as The Princess Bride is not more widely recognized. It's a great fantasy movie and is a fun, awesome, and all around magnificent movie in general. I have never ever met a person, or heard of a person that said they do not like The Princess Bride. Everybody, including myself like if not love this movie! So what is the story to this highly regarded fantasy cult classic? A sick boy played by Wonder Years star himself Fred Savage is visited by his grandfather who reads him a storybook called The Princess Bride. We follow a boy named Westley and a girl named Buttercup who have experienced true love together and are seperated for several years. Westley returns and finds a prince has taken Buttercup for his own, so Westley has to jump into action with several companions to get the love of his life back. A simple story yes, but really the charm of the film is in the characters and the fantastic dialogue. The dialogue is sincere and very funny, the performances especially from our heroes are the best parts, and just the story is great. Stories can be very familiar, but how they are told is what makes them interesting. This is a prime example of that. I really want to watch this movie again, even though I just finished it. Rare have films ever had that effect on me. So obviously something is up with how good this movie is. Seriously, check this thing out. Dare I say, it is the one movie that can never ever be unliked. It is inconceivable to hate this movie! And I adore it. See if you like it as much as I do.