Asteroid City

Whoa man. Like I'm a bit speechless but all I'm gonna put as a disclaimer here is, if you're not a Wes Anderson fan you need to turn around now sunshine cause we got praise incoming.

Even though this is only the 3rd film I've seen directed by the guy I'm pretty set on seeing his whole filmography. Okay I'm going to attempt to review this movie and summarize the plot. So the story is more or less a fictional stage play that we follow intercut with the real world behind the scenes of it all, it's a very meta storyline and I'm kinda proud of myself cause earlier today I was thinking of the visual aesthetic and it dawned on me that the film looks like a high school stage play so brownie points for me. We meet up with an assortment of characters who travel to Asteroid City for a science award ceremony that quickly gets hijacked by a brief alien visitor which I'd say roughly happens halfway through, so we get a lot of time getting to know the characters beforehand and how exactly they are coping with that little incident after the fact. It's weird man. I mean stylistically in terms of direction, framing, and dialogue aside it's kinda hard to break down or at least for me it is because to bring out that Tim Burton quote I like, "It's too complicated, it's too deep, it's like trying to explain the Bible or something." basically there is an edge of interpretation to it. There is a clear connection between the play and the writer of the play beyond creator and creation which could very easily be part of that too, and I don't wish to color perceptions of what it may be (not yet anyway) so I'm just trying to objectively state what I saw. I really love this style of dialogue, it's so to the point to an almost bashingly blunt effect but it's just so refreshing to hear people say exactly what they think and feel even if it's to acknowledge they don't know how to feel. For a high functioning autistic individual like myself who speaks without a filter or complexity, it's a sight for sore eyes. It would take all damn day rattling off the star studded cast here from main character to brief cameo so all I'll say is they do really great jobs and help immerse yourself in this fiction. The humor was more hit than miss with me, in fact I was shaking holding in my laughter cause we got a pretty solid group of people and I ain't one to distract, so I'd say it was a definite hit for me. And as stated before in terms of direction, cinematography, framing, and editing it screams Wes Anderson and I'm a sucker for his look and aesthetic with asymmetrical framing, a rich color palette, constantly interesting camera movements, and editing as cutting as the dialogue. He even mixes bits of stop motion, puppetry, and flat out breaking the fourth wall in an extremely casual way. Say what you damn will about the guy's movies but he is entirely unique. It almost feels like sensory overload trying to unpack and critique everything presented, and I do fully understand it's a matter of taste and not everyone will like or even love it, but for me I had a great time. I was really looking forward to the movie, so far was my most anticipated film of the year, and I walked away extremely happy and excited to talk about it. It really and truly is days like this where I remember why I started this show to begin with. Final scores oh boy what to give it? Definite 4 stars, slightly stuck between an 8 and a 9 so I'll give it 8.5/10, I feel quite compelled to do an In Retrospect on it because it really is a movie deserving of at minimum two watches so that should be fun. Indy 5 next week, all I'm asking is please don't kill or even attempt to kill off Harrison, and fucking hell you know what I just realized? I haven't talked about Crystal Skull yet. Alright, more alien stuff next week!

Under The Skin

Holy balls.

I'm stumped for words. What the f***?? I mean I loved it, I was there for it, I was invested from the first second, I don't really know what any of it meant...but I'm okay with that. So, I'm gonna attempt and attempt is the key word here to describe exactly what I just witnessed. Alright so the movie stars Scarlett Johansson (Huzzah!) as this woman who for unknown reasons prowls the streets looking for men to lure, and essentially basically kill. It kinda sorta shifts and evolves for lack of a better term as the movie progresses but I'm not saying a damn thing more. Now first up, this is so not a movie for everyone. Not by a long shot. It is weird, it is bordering on an experimental student film with loooong stretches without dialogue, fairly long takes, interesting but slightly off camera angles, gorgeous with a capital G scenery, and visuals that simply are unforgettable. This is a movie all about the visuals and the experience, dialogue is used so sparingly and you really are thrown into the deep end and you just gotta roll with it. Now for me that works, I was endlessly fascinated and throwing out ideas to exactly what in the flip flapping hell was going on. And I don't wanna hear a word about, oh Scarlett Johansson is fully nude in this movie no wonder you praise the gorgeousness of the film, you should be ashamed of yourself you f***ing pervert. I have said this before and I will damn well say it again every time, I genuinely do appreciate actors getting nekkid because that is no easy thing to do, you have to be utterly comfortable in your skin, you have to be so brave to shoot nude scenes for anything, they have my respect for that both men and women. I was too busy shitting my weight in bricks regardless, I never ever thought I would be terrified of Scarlett Johansson in my entire life but sweet Jesus. She can do anything. Really, she can do any part and I will be there to see it. Young, stuck, intellectual Charlotte from Lost In Translation. Capable, asskicking, assassin/spy Black Widow in your Marvel's. Goddamn terrifying, unearthly, mysterious woman in Under The Skin. Wow. It's been awhile since a movie has flat out given me the heebie-jeebies, freaked me out, horrified me, and yet I wanted to see it all the way to the end and was completely and utterly invested. The overall cinematography is stunning, and needless to say the location shooting in Scotland is divine, it just looks so damn good. A24 is a mental studio capable of producing any film imaginable, a studio that is truly genreless and specializes in weird, offbeat, interesting, and slightly avant garde cinema almost built exclusively for film critics and people who love arty movies. And apparently it's based on a book, and you can bet your bollocks I am reading that soon. So what's the rating? Haven't a clue. I loved it, I was going a wee bit off the wall watching it, but I loved it so. I'm flabbergasted. Definite 4 star movie, I don't know if I can give it a 10/10, it's just such an anomaly. I'll give it a 9.5/10, and leave it at that. But boooooy howdy, you are going to be in for a trip if you watch this, and we'll be back tomorrow with a (hopefully) less odd film from A24 involving a certain decade.

Avengers: Endgame

I'm done. Goodbye. The end.

Great job converting me to a Marvel fan, you know for one of the longest godforsaken running film series in history, it didn't do much for me. Now does that necessarily mean Endgame is a bad movie? No, I wouldn't say that but considering this is the last MCU movie I might ever review it didn't exactly leave me wowed. To be honest after my viewing of this movie, my idea about calling this one Infinity War makes so much more goddamn sense than Endgame. The last movie should have been called that because it was about Thanos, his plan, his actions, his victory. And I have to say I kinda hated the direction this movie went in, not only did we introduce time travel which okay, is a comic book trope but it's done so much better in other movies, but we also pull a f***ing retcon too. Just, ugh. I'm just passively watching at this point, and it pisses me off because the tone in this movie was exactly what was needed in Infinity War. It's a very somber, slow paced, even kinda desperate movie with our defeated heroes going out on a thin limb to try to circumvent the events of Infinity War, but it was far too little far too late. And I think the first 20 minutes so did not help, now I will say the interactions and very brief relationship given between Tony and Nebula I thought was pretty great but it just sorta ends there. For a movie that's a bit over 3 hours long, we don't get a lot of character moments. Not really. When 90% of the characters that we have watched for a decade are nothing but glorified cameos in this movie, it loses a lot of impact. I think in the first 10 minutes of the movie Tony gets rescued by Captain Marvel, then by the 15 minute mark they know exactly where the farm is that Thanos is living at, and by the 20 minute mark they kill him. How the shit do you keep going? You avenged countless people, the movie's over. But no, we flash forward 5 years which I truthfully thought was going to be immediately the start of this movie, with kind of a World War Z documentary about what the Avengers have been doing, and how the world has slowly begun rebuilding itself after such a cataclysm but we only get such brief glimpses into such a fascinating world. Which sucks, I wanted to know how the world was operating. So they get the brilliant idea to time travel which of course they figure out and construct the time machine in like, a day. So the plan is to pull a Back To The Future 2, and collect all the Infinity Stones from the previous movies to the point I thought they were going to pull a Gamera and have lengthy amounts of stock footage but thankfully the space gods were kind and spared me that. And that was kinda the point I completely gave up on the MCU because my mind was trying to figure out in what way this would completely ass rape the entire continuity, but I quickly gave up because I still don't care enough even to deconstruct 10 years of storytelling. I'm just so flabbergasted how people just ate these movies up and went to every movie like sheep, when honestly the MCU is like 85% average movies, 10% actual good movies, and 5% f***ing garbage, and believe me I'll rank them tomorrow. I just...what do you want me to say? The final battle was hitting Prequel levels hard and fast, the character interactions were okay just like in almost every other Marvel film, if anything this movie might have ever so slightly made me appreciate Infinity War more though this is a superior film to it, but you killed my girl so I hope you rot for that. Buuut you made Hulk the real hero who saved the entire universe, oh sure Tony got the enemy killing snap, la-dee-flippin'-da, but Bruce was the one who saved everybody. Actually the more I think about it Hulk was my only favorite part of this, I never thought I would see the day where the mind of Bruce was in the body of the Hulk, I've wanted to see that for years never thinking it was possible but it actually happened, it was everything I hoped it would be and just further reinforces why Hulk is the best superhero Marvel has to offer ever. I'm honestly upset Thanos did not win, they had to go push the reset button in true comic fashion. And you know what? I would take the coin flip. Heads I win, tails you lose. Yes, I would deal with that if I won and I lost people. Christ, if it would be anything like the environment we have right now outside our window, less pollution, empty places, nature improving and growing in terms of plants and animals, and the ability to reshape the world as a better place, then sign me up, snap away big guy, I am here and I am waiting. Oh sweet merciful angels there was some manipulation in this, I kind of find it despicable that you give Tony Stark a daughter only to get the audience emotionally invested, it is so cheap and so emotionally manipulative to the point where the ending did precisely f*** all for me. And lest we not forget the total pandering scene. You know the one. Why? Why is it there? I thought the scene in Infinity War with Okoye, Scarlett Witch, and Black Widow throwing down with that whoever the shit her name was, was actually good I kinda liked seeing them tag team that villain. Here though, wow it was such pandering, ineffectual, egregious bullshit. I might not have seen anything in Captain Marvel, but here? They're f***ing doing it man. I'm so tired. You know, we started off I thought kind of strong, but the quality just ebbed and flowed so inconsistently. I do not recommend marathoning these movies, you will get burned out before you are even halfway there. I honestly never want to review a MCU movie again in the near future. I won't say I was disappointed but I was certainly confused as to the absurd popularity of these movies, if I was being on the level with you and I am, I would watch....6 out of 22 movies. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Winter Soldier, Civil War, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther. That's it. And you know what pisses me off? Every single shitsucking studio is trying to replicate this series, with the often misplaced humor, big battles, and expansively linked universes. Just. Stop. You are polluting the airwaves with garbage!! Accept that Marvel got an idea that was lightning in a bottle and actually do something original with your movies. Even my beloved DC needs to cease and desist, and just focus on making good movies which is what they are doing. Screw the cinematic universe in it's fat stupid ass! I am done with it! I'm shutting it down!! Yes, I wanted the Dark Universe to succeed, yes I love the match ups in DC's movies, but you just need to stop trying to be a poser MCU. You can do better just by making a good movie. But they're not. And this is why I fundamentally hate the MCU, it changed everything and not for the better. To quote the ahem, best superhero movie ever made, "But we both know the truth, there's no going back. You've changed things...forever." and I'm just waiting for this fad to die a very horrible and very quick unceremonious death. I'm a reasonable guy but I have experienced some very unreasonable things. 2.5 stars, 6.5/10. Never again.

Avengers: Infinity War (Part 2)

Part twoooo, the reckoning.

But how does anybody outside of like Gamora and possibly Thor know what the Gauntlet is and what it does? Cause Bruce explains the whole importance of it and I'm just wondering how he knew. Actually tell you the truth, the Infinity Gauntlet doesn't make a lick of sense either. "The universe is finite, it's resources finite.", dude I saw you create a swarm of bats from an energy blast, you can do anything. Quadruple the resources! "Reality can be whatever I want.", okay so why do you need all 6 stones? And why does everything the Gauntlet do reverse when Thanos uses the Space Stone? Like when he turns Drax and Mantis into disproportionate shapes, after he leaves it all goes back to normal. Why? I doubt Thanos is the kinda guy who shows mercy on his enemies, so I guess you have to be right in front of the Infinity Gauntlet for it to have an effect, so the range sucks harder than an AT&T tower. We already know Thanos goes from planet to planet and wipes out half the population so what does the snap do? Reduce the half to a quarter? That's not very f***ing balanced at all now is it. Now if the Gauntlet was just this super mega ultra doomsday weapon then I could get behind it, but it's not. And for a movie called Infinity War, there wasn't much action beyond the Wakanda fight. I know it would have been impossible to surpass Return Of The King standards of action and war scenes, but give us something to go wow at. Infinity Battle would have been more appropriate, or hell just call it Avengers: The Infinity Gauntlet, then you name the next one Infinity War because I'm assuming the conflict in Endgame will dwarf this by a mile long. The more I think about this movie, the more I think less of it. The characters are fine, but that's because we've had all these movies beforehand to flesh them out and they remain constants, with little dynamic change to their personalities and overall characteristics which defies the purpose of putting them through these trials and tribulations. The action is serviceable but not worthy of the title of the movie as stated above. The story's pacing and tone needed considerable tweaking, the pacing was adequate but had too many strands to connect leading to a somewhat bloated story necessitating a longer runtime to better the progression and character moments, and the tone kind of just needed to go more serious and maybe a little deep to really hit home the final scene. And why was there an end credits scene? Did you really need that? Imagine if they did it this way: the snap, play out the scene as normal, content smile, darkness, and dead silence through almost the whole credits to let that sink in and have this disquieting silence fall over the audience, and no end credits scene. It would get people talking like mad as to what would happen next. But no. Gotta sell that next product, always have to advertise that next movie, couldn't just open Captain Marvel with that scene or just do Captain Marvel. Ugh, f*** me. The only saving grace was the villain, and while it is fun to quote Thanos, the words have purpose, and meaning, and most of all emotion to them that made them so memorable. Actually a quote that stuck with me for reasons unknown even to myself was when Thanos is about to reverse time to claim the soul stone, "Now is no time at all." it struck me as this metaphysical line where he could stop time with a motion of his hand and it could be kind of like that scene in Doctor Strange when the Ancient One and Strange are seeing time being dragged out making one moment last a lifetime, that this instant before having all the Infinity Stones is another time so distant it might as well be millenia ago. It's an odd one to be sure, but something about it kind of stuck with me. 2.5 stars, 6/10. Reality is often disappointing.

Avengers: Infinity War (Part 1)

I still don't get the fandom.

Infinity War was not bad by any stretch, there were several elements I greatly enjoyed, there was some stuff that made me quite aggrivated, but all in all it came down to being a good movie. Not a great movie or a perfect movie, nor a bad movie or cinematic trash. It's okay. And for those few who are still reading this, let's get going. I liked the story, it's a bit flawed and I would have done this differently, not much but just tweaks that would give the film more weight. So Thanos has finally entered the chat and is hunting down the Infinity Stones. Pause. I am not actually a fan of him literally grabbing these impossibly rare and extrememly powerful gems one right after the other in the span of a single day, I actually would have liked it if we slowly saw him get a stone every so few movies, to build that anticipation and intrigue as to what the final goal is and what the gauntlet does. Since there's 6 stones, I would have preferred if he got the last two in this movie, therefore creating more drama that, oh shit he's nearly got them all we gotta act fast or we're completely screwed. Resume. That's basically the plot, we're going gem hunting while the scattered forces of the Marvel heroes are desperately trying to form a defensive plan to take this guy out. That's fine, I think the movie severely lacks dramtic tension at times and if I'm being ruthlessly honest....kinda shoots itself in the foot. A lot. Case in point, Thanos snaps Loki's neck. Unfortunately I felt no resounding effect because I've seen the crafty bastard elude death more times than I can remember so why should this time be any more final? Steve and the renegade members of the Avengers get back into the story, but they kinda just pop out of nowhere to save Vision and Scarlett Witch when they never explain how they found them to begin with. They didn't track them, they couldn't track them, they pop up in a totally random place, I know it's just for that Cap reveal but sloppy writing is sloppy shitty writing. Which is odd because most of the weaving of all these different characters into a singular movie is quite honestly handled well, even if the pacing gets sidestepped because there's too damn many, but it's there to set up future stuff in the plot so whatever. Thanos has an entourage which immediately threw me right the f*** off because if there was ever a villain that did not need a sidekick, let alone 4 of them it would be Thanos. He even has this brown nosing little ponce who is also his hype man, I mean what in the actual shit is this? So much for that "I'll do it myself" if you send your Team Rocket lackeys to do the work for you, my God they were beyond pointless. Oh and Red Skull is here too and he has powers...now? How?? Why??? I don't know. But he's there. I was slightly shocked at the runtime, I assumed this was going to be the 3 hour finale but it came up 30 minutes short which I felt to be odd because this is the kind of movie that needs that amount of length, you could really set up this heavily foreboding atmosphere as each hero tries in their own way to prepare for the oncoming battle, to get more backstory to Thanos, to really sink in the seriousness of it all. But it just feels like the same old Marvel movies, there's nothing more to this movie than the others beside the ending. Now on one hand, I commend that. It lulls the audience into a false sense of security where the heroes will come out on top but then drops the anvil right on their heads in a very unexpected manner. Which is kinda what they did, but it doesn't have that serious, dramatic, finality punch to it that it so desperately needs. This should have been almost devoid of humor like if a person tried to make a joke it would either fall flat or be given the cold shoulder by other members of the group, with a lot more quiet intimate moments with our heroes where they face the possibility of dying and have to come to terms with it, and the tension and fear when Thanos is on screen should have been priority number one because we don't know anything about him. Sure comic fans know this guy backwards and forwards, and even knows the original reason why Thanos wanted the Infinity Gauntlet (spoiler alert he was a thirsty f***boi), but most audience members have no clue who he is. We've seen the briefest of appearances but essentially know precisely dick, and while the film does a very good job cementing his character, we kinda needed more or maybe I just wanted more. The film constantly kinda keeps breaking itself almost on a subconscious level, like with Doctor Strange. He has the time stone, he can manipulate time to an insane degree, and this is kinda where the movie falls apart, because even when Thanos has four out of six Infinity Stones, Strange could still reverse time maybe to oh I don't know, save Tony from getting stabbed, or to rewind time to stop Star Lord from literally f***ing over the entire universe (we'll get to him I promise), or to just pull the Dormammu trick again. Christ he even says the Time Stone is the best chance they have against Thanos! And he hands the thing over after Tony gets stabbed and begs to spare his life. Um....Doc, he doesn't have a hostage. He shanked Stark, he's dying, there is no bargain chip, hit the rewind button, do some trippy cosmic magic tricks, save him. Do you see the issue with the Time Stone? The heroes are kind of dumbasses in this movie, Strange was bad but Quill....this stupid motherf***ing shitlord. Okay, so the group has got Thanos, they are doing everything in their power to restrain him and get the gauntlet, and they are actually even surprisingly succeeding. Hurrah! Until Star Lord hears about Gamora and instead of waiting 10 seconds for them to get the gauntlet off and then pump him so full of goddamn holes it would give people trypophobia, he starts wailing on the guy which shock of all shocks, rapes the plan with a splintered broomstick and leads to devastating losses for the entire universe. Good job. Yes I'm blaming him. You know that whole 1 in 14,000,605 odds against them winning? Well if Peter pissed off for a minute, that 1 would have been the win. I'm just really not liking the Guardians at this point, Quill is a stupid asshole, Gamora is mostly bland and I could care less for her character even with her daddy issues, Rocket's schtick is dead to me, Groot is just there, pretty much Drax and Mantis are the only ones I really like. Even poor Josh Brolin who is doing damn amazing work in this role can't fully salvage the movie, which is a shame because he is singlehandedly the best part of the entire movie. You see the machinations in his mind, you see and feel that this terrible thing he is trying to do feels justified and even logical in his eyes, his performance is the best performance in Marvel not just on an acting standpoint but a character standpoint. People have made videos on this guy for years now and for good reason, he's a fascinating character study to undertake. Josh Brolin is great, harboring on perfect. I personally actually like how he defeats the Hulk, you'd think I would hate it because my boy just got his ass handed to him, but it shows Thanos cannot be subdued by a brawl and that he knows how to fight, meaning you have to find another way to beat him. But I just feel he's too good for this movie. Again, Infinity War is not a bad movie but it has flaws that hurt the film quite a bit. My main problem was the tone, I think my false sense of security for the audience idea was the intended effect that the director's were going for but it just doesn't feel that high stakes and it should! We are talking about the fate of countless worlds and people, a truly horrible person wielding unlimited powah, and it's the same old shit. If you're not going to treat this subject material seriously and make it as good as possible with hard, dark, possibly even deep moments then just stop. You don't get to skate around this on your same old tropes, do something with it! Make it like an epic tragedy, a proper war film where people die, where it's a constant struggle for these gemstones, treat it as if you are making one of the greatest and most powerful films ever made where Ingmar Bergmann or Akira Kurosawa would applaud it. But screw that, we gotta make it for the kids you little bastards, go buy our shit! Why make it an actual good film that will be talked about for decades for pushing the envelope of comic book movies? I assume you wanted to tell this story from almost the beginning, why else would you make 18 damn movies beforehand? So you feel the impact, so you give a shit, so you are invested in the story. Well congratulations you did that, now where's the movie worthy of that payoff? It's just another standard Marvel movie with a very strong ending. And let's talk about the snap heard 'round the world. It's impact didn't fully do it for me because well, I've waited two years to watch this movie. When the scene has practically become an iconic meme it loses that gravitas, I knew it was going to happen, when it was going to happen, who got dusted, and how the film ended. Do I still appreciate it? Very. The lack of music, the almost washed out colors, the unceremonious deaths of characters we've watched for years, it's an experly crafted scene....but that atmosphere and tone should have permeated the entire film. Oh my God, I have to split the review cause I'm still not done. So um, get ready for more of this!

Captain America: Civil War

I think the Russo brothers really just love bringing us the darker hard hitting stuff.

Compared to the other Marvel movies Civil War is the most serious and hard edged entry, and the changes from the source material I feel are mostly for the better. So instead of a superhero registration where all the known superheroes have to reveal their identities and work for the U.S. government, Tony and Steve are on opposite sides of the spectrum for an accord where the Avengers stop acting as a unilateral force and essentially become the errand boys of the United Nations after a debacle in Nigeria. Tony is all for it because he wants to keep protecting the world in the confines of the law and supports being accountable for their actions. Which on one hand I fully understand, there's a lot of collateral damage and deaths in their operations and Tony does not want to seem higher above the people he wants to protect cause he acknowledges the death toll and wants to do something about it. But here's the thing, in a perfect world the Avengers could save everybody. They could defeat the villains and not one hair on everybody's head would be damaged. But...that's not how it is, you can save millions if not billions of people but thousands could still die indirectly of their actions. That sucks, that's f***ing terrible, but it is what happens. No amount of government oversight could change that. But Steve isn't better either, he says screw the system because they could control everything about them and even call them off from saving lives which goes against the entire perogative of The Avengers, they would be puppets of the world's governments. It's fascinating to see these guys swap roles, but honestly after the events of The Winter Soldier I can understand why Steve is against this idea. And they clash. They call in almost everybody we've seen so far and even bring in a new face with Peter Parker, which I have to say after hearing all about the total bullshit Tom has put up with in this series it's great to see him in the role at last and I'm happy he's still around. The fights are pretty good, but truthfully the story and dilemma is what got me most invested, it's a bleak and dire situation for the Avengers and everybody is just trying to do the right thing, the same aspect that made me really like The Winter Soldier. Now I know there's people out there who just want to see shit explode and watch superheroes do battle, that's fine, comic books are escapist fiction, not every comic book movie has to be like The Dark Knight, but when a comic book movie puts so much very well constructed emphasis on a more internal dilemma and the character's emotions and their own world views it genuinely does make for a compelling and really good story! The Winter Soldier and Civil War are honestly tied for my favorite Marvel movie because of this factor. Sure the movie has flaws, the villain is so transparent he borders on invisible in terms of story, yeah I kept forgetting who the people were in the story who were not the superheroes, yeah Spider-Man was very quickly slapped into the story, yeah it should have ended at two hours in and not kept going for another 30 minutes but it still turned out to be a really good movie. I feel like the best comic book movies are actually ones that ascend past the genre, Michael Keaton's Batman, Christopher Reeve's first Superman movie, Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Wonder Woman, The Winter Soldier, Civil War, all are damn good comic book movies but they go beyond just being a comic book movie and can be looked at as just a movie. That's not an insult, film is film, but they give that much more to really give the genre more respect and validity, and not just be kid movie bullshit that's just entertainment fluff. Yeah it's still awesome seeing Captain America and Iron Man square off, and Batman fighting the Joker, and there is never anything wrong with that. I'm a comic book lover now and forever, but also a film critic. And in my opinion Civil War gets a solid 3.5 stars, 7.5/10! Good news everybody, the Doctor is in tomorrow.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

I'm not sure if people hated this one or not but I thought it was alright.

Age Of Ultron all in all is a good entry in the Marvel series, it has things I really love and things I wish just weren't there, but I certainly didn't hate it. It keeps the ball rolling with the Avengers still on the hunt for Loki's scepter and they finally acquire it, unfortunately it holds no bearings in the plot after that, it's pretty much just an excuse for the opening action scene. Afterwards Tony reveals to Bruce of his dream, to create a being able to stop interstellar attacks on Earth and uniwittingly becomes Dr. Frankenstein and creates, you guessed it, a machine that wants to wipe out humanity. Do humans just piss robots off that much? Leading the Avengers to assemble once more to battle the threat of Ultron. Now let's get into details, I like seeing the Avengers on a bit of downtime to see them just kinda hang out and reinforce they are a true team. This is the movie that births the best ship in the MCU (I will fight you on this and win) with Black Widow and Hulk, and my God is it wonderful. Thanks movie, I love it! We get to see more Hawkeye which is nice cause I barely remembered him last time and it does feel ever so slightly manipulative that they gave him this nice farm with a loving family, it's like the writers knew he was the weakest Avenger and we have to make the audience care somehow so uh, give him a wife and kids, yeah that will get them emotionally invested. I genuinely felt Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were incredibly not needed in this story, they don't have much significance. They show up, team up with Ultron, turn babyface, fight Ultron, one of them bites the bullet or bullets I should say, and while they destroyed Ultron's body I still felt little connection or even cared about them throughout the film. And then we also get Vision thrown in the mix as if this movie wasn't busy enough, he's just sort of eh. Nice cape though. Okay you remember when I said all I wanted from the villain was memorable motivation and character? This was not what I meant. Ultron is...problematic in many ways. Now the idea of an incredibly advanced AI that when created has the personality of a human but the high processing mind of a machine leading it to have a twisted majorly screwed up view of the world is fascinating, and even kinda believable, I don't hate the design except for the mouth movements (he's a robot, his mouth should not move like he has lips), but his plans are just the same old tricks. And what kills me about Ultron is his actual character, his personality, when I think of an artificial intelligence that feels completely justified in the extermination of all organic life and hates his creator Tony Stark, I think of a voice and personality akin to the likes of say Grand Admiral Thrawn or HAL 9000. Cold, incredibly calculating, scary intelligent, and an unbendable philosophy and will. What we get is a mugging chucklehead who crows Disney songs, I cannot take him seriously as a threat because he keeps f***ing goofing around, which bugs the shit out of me because why would he act that way?? He's an advanced intelligence in a vibranium robot shell, he should be kind of terrifying and a real force to go up against where it really would take every single Avenger and then some to deal with this one enemy. And he's a joke. I could not believe what I was watching with this guy. How do you f*** that up man? David Spader has a great voice and could really have pulled off something menacing, think like the T-800's power but with HAL 9000's intelligence. That would have been unbelievable! But no. Just...whatever. The action isn't bad but the final fight goes on forever to the point where Ultron's army seems like unlimited waves of enemies in a video game, the character interactions are good, the story is a bit jumbled and busy but still works, but I'm just wondering now how Civil War comes about. Cause Tony and Steve seemed to have mellowed out since their first outing, like on really good terms as friends so how does this go to hell in a handbasket? Are they going to do the whole superhero identity registration plotline? I have no idea. Bottom line Age Of Ultron isn't bad, I didn't hate it that much but didn't love it either. 2.5 stars, 6.5/10, and apparently we take a detour with Ant-Man before Civil War so see you then tomorrow.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

You know what? I think this might be my favorite.

No I'm really being serious, I was very impressed with The Winter Soldier, able to take a deeper and more spy thriller adventure with Steve Rogers was a treat. There were tons of great moments, even ones that might have crushed my heart to dust, the action was interesting and well choreographed, the story took espionage and thriller and injected it into a superhero movie damn near flawlessly, Captain America gets great character progression and we see Steve being pushed harder than we've seen before, Scarlett is a huge plus with her great sense of humor and good character, the new additions we get are interesting and actually got me thinking what would happen next. This was a well made movie. Okay, so Steve has been working with SHIELD but his own personal morals are conflicting with the interests of the organization leading him to question if he's doing the right thing and how he is going to come to terms with that. Already they made Captain America a much more interesting character, giving a deeper look into his personality and mentality as he tries to grip with this new world. But pretty soon crazy stuff starts happening, secrets are being kept from Steve, Nick almost gets whacked mob hit style, Captain America becomes a fugitive of SHIELD, and a mysterious figure is called in to put Cap out of the game. I really dig the spy stuff, combining elements of the Bourne movies, Jack Ryan, there's even some Bond stuff in there but it actually mixes well and doesn't feel slapped on or creates tonal whiplash. I like the introduction of Falcon, he's a pretty cool dude and I'm interested to see more of him. Black Widow as I've said is amazing and elevates any scene she is in. The revelations whether obvious or not, change the game significantly and at the end I really and truly wanted to know what would happen after this movie, where with others it was just another movie where it ended and I was content. I don't know what it is, maybe it was the darker more serious tone, maybe it was the character stuff, maybe it was the well mixing of film genres, but something really clicked with me in this movie. The scene with Peggy was actually very hard to watch and is bringing me on the verge of tears even as I type this, it's just such a vulnerable strong moment that can really hit close to home for some folks, but the rest of the more quiet and intimate moments with the characters was greatly appreciated and in some cases said more than lengthy dialogue ever could. It felt like a comic book movie but still gave a lot more than what the average superhero film dishes out, which is why I liked it so much. Though I will never forgive it for the hail Hydra scene, yeah I was there when that bullshit flooded my Facebook page, thanks for that movie I still hate it! Regardless, 3.5 stars, 7.5/10! Will it be topped as #1 in the future? Only time will tell, but tomorrow we will be joining the Guardians Of The Galaxy so stay tuned.

The Avengers

Are you happy? I finally saw it.

It only took me almost a decade but I finally watched The Avengers. How was it? It's okay. I mean I know the wet dreams of Marvel fans the world over is probably what got this film to be the highest grossing film ever at one point in time, and while I can safely say this movie does not suck I didn't exactly love it either. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy this wasn't an hour and a half action scene done after an hour of buildup, in fact the pacing of the movie was commendable. Spending significant amounts of time catching us up on what the Avengers have been up to since their last movies, and getting everybody together for the first time. You started off good movie, you gave me Scarlett straight off the bat you get a point just for that! And I gotta say Mark Ruffalo really won me over very quickly, he brings more of that Bill Bixby humbleness and charm which pisses me off to no end that he hasn't got a proper solo movie cause I know he can pull it off! Christ, him and Loki were the best parts of the film hands down, Tom Hiddleston is just savaging this role and relishes every second of it, his acting is absurdly good in this movie. And I liked the dynamic of the team members, some don't get along while others do, they bicker sure but when shit hits the fan they are ready to help each other, the comraderie while brief was quite nice. The action scenes were spaced out and while I've become desensitized to crazy action setpieces I can just imagine the excitement and anticipation people had when seeing this for the first time. This has never been done before on any scale, and it would have been easy to make this a clusterf*** mess but they did good. I harbor no ill will towards The Avengers nor Justice League, I thought both movies juggled the characters and story well, so I can't really pick favorites on that case, I'd call them equals. I will say the plot sort of lost me a few times, mainly just because I forgot Hawkeye was even in this movie let alone brainwashed, and I didn't fully know why Loki decided to bring an alien race to decimate Earth. He had plenty of opportunities to grab the tesseract and GTFO but he just didn't, and I'm wondering what the plan was and how it pertains to a totally not California Raisin looking Thanos. I think the movie wisely focused more on the characters and their interactions than the sheer spectacle of battles, yeah it gets very cliched when the Avengers keep fighting one another and I know about the Civil War comic story so I know it's not impossible for these people to clash, but most of the time in the movie it felt forced and there just to sort of fill an action quota. And what the ass was with the alien/robot/monster things shutting down Phantom Menace style at the end? I thought they were just armored aliens but they work like robots? That...that was stupid, and weird, and didn't make a lick of sense but that's small beans to me with Tony and the nuke. He flat out pulls a Superman in The Dark Knight Returns and diverts a nuclear warhead to not destroy a city, but doesn't get caught in the blast radius this time, but what really gets on my nerves is he didn't need to fully insert it into the hole (Steady now...), just point it up and let go! And don't even try to tell me they were going for suspense if Tony was going to bite the bullet or not, nobody bought that for a millionth of a second. I know story doesn't have to be airtight in a popcorn flick like this, but some things just were odd to me and when the bullshit man says that's bullshit, well you know. It's a decent movie, I got some enjoyment out of it, I would place it with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk as some of my favorites so far, so I'm just wondering what this Phase 2 or whatever it's called is going to hold for me. 3 stars, 7/10, I can understand why people like it but I am so not feeling the Marvel fanboy syndrome here.

Jojo Rabbit

Well I feel like an ass for not seeing this earlier.

When I saw the trailers for this I knew one day I was going to see it, if for no other reason than just to see what Taika Waititi would do with this material. And I can safely say I'm not disappointed at all, Jojo Rabbit is a pretty dang good movie! It's not so heavy on the comedy that there isn't any emotional or quiet moments, believe me there is, but it's also not so heavy on drama that you can't get a chuckle out of it. I really have no idea how he can blend comedy and drama so well, but the juxtaposition is felt throughout. Just the basic idea of a young boy just 10 years of age who is a fanatic for nazi Germany and even has an imaginary friend of Adolf, who is very much confronted about his beliefs by a young jewish girl is interesting cinema and grabs your attention in a death grip almost from start to finish. It genuinely is very funny, the film almost deconstructs nazism during that time during the waning months of World War 2, not exactly picking the holes of the ideology but just the individuals who participate in it. I mean the writing is really good stuff, complete class but without these specific performances I don't think it would have had that strong an impact. Roman Griffin Davis is a great lead despite his age, simultaneously capturing that patriotic spirit of Germany at that time and yet you can clearly see it's not blind faith and that he doesn't agree with everything that they do. It's really something special. Taika Waititi being a very colorful, random, and bizzare imaginary Adolf Hitler has great moments that made me laugh and you can tell he's having fun just being a parody of this man and the fact he himself is of jewish descent makes it that much better. Scarlett Johansson is off her rocker in this movie, she is so odd and yet incredibly endearing and amazing, I mean you know I loved her. Sam Rockwell playing a degraded natzi who isn't near the war effort is as funny as it thinks, this guy is a bit camp, totally non-serious, and kind of is fun to watch no matter what scene he's in. But Thomasin McKenzie just nails it, I daresay she's the best written character in the movie as Elsa and the acting is amazing, you kinda think the relationship between Jojo and Elsa would be more akin to say, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas where they meet and become friends only for the tragedy of war and evil to rip them apart. Far from it actually, they don't get along, they bicker and call each other names, they really get under each other's skin and you can see she enjoys spinning tales for this kid that she can't stand, it's a very conflicted relationship as you think it would be and it takes almost the whole movie for them to put aside their differences. Which is I something I really like, it would have been easy to make them friends and not confront the stigmas of the time period but they didn't do that. I will say the movie hit me and it hit me friggin' hard man, mainly because I had no idea it was coming and when it did it was like someone threw daggers into me, I was shocked incredibly so, I suspected something bad would happen but not really sure what. And while the movie ended on a very upbeat note, I couldn't help but think what would come next for Jojo after all the war ended and the nazi's as one newspaper headliner once put it "call it quits", it reminded me a bit of Grave Of The Fireflies with the young boy just fuming that Japan surrendered despite the cataclysmic horrors that befell the country before that decision. It just really makes you think about that turbulent time for the world, and how much we've moved on since then and I can't really recall a war movie did that for me. This was a great movie, an easy 4 stars, 8/10, I highly recommend this movie and we got one more before the week is out.

Ghost World

This was such an interesting movie.

I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, I'm not really sure what to make of it but nevertheless it was fascinating. Apparently many people felt the same when the movie came out in 2001, mainstream audiences were not enthralled but critics really liked it, making this a major cult film. I wasn't even really sure what to expect from it, it centers on two friends Enid and Rebecca who just graduated high school and are trying to figure out what to do next. They're both very cynical and are easily the oddest girls in town, teasing gas station clerks, following a couple they claim to be satanists, and just interacting with the people of their town. And while they are looking for an apartment together, Enid comes across a personal ad in the newspaper and actually meets up with the guy, as we watch their friendship take off and grow. This slowly becomes a huge aspect of Enid's life and strains her relationship with her one and only friend, as she tries her best to figure out the best course of action. I really love these girls, they are so bizarre and yet so fun, it seriously made me realize I had an excess of friends like that through my teen years. I like the town they live in and the people they meet, the relationship between Enid and Seymour as their friendship grows is odd but endearing. You really have no clue where the movie is gonna go, and when it ends you do try to come to your own conclusions. That's not a bad thing by any stretch, but I think that's what hung me up on it. There is no clear resolution for really anybody and you do want to know what happens to these characters in the end. And surprisingly and I do mean surprisingly, this is actually based off a comic book and I reeeeally need to get my hands on that immediately, because I like these characters and I want to see them more. But beyond story details how is it? I like the dialogue it feels natural in that early 2000 fashion, the look of the film both in execution and substance is interesting forming a strange yet fully understandable environment. Maybe that's where the title inspiration comes from, the world feels just a touch off like you're seeing it from a unnatural viewpoint, or perhaps it means how our main characters are just shifting aimlessly, spinning their wheels going nowhere and having no idea where to go. Now that makes a lot of sense, because when you're a kid it's oh, go to school, do your homework, get good grades, for an absurdly long time, so what do you do when it's finally over? No more school to go to, a constant in your life removed from the equation, what comes next? A lot of young adults feel that, and true some plan for college or what have you, but most don't fully know what to do next. Why do so many high school movies always ask the question what are you going to do next or what do you want to be when you grow up? And this doesn't just come from high school teen movies, The Graduate had incredible uses of that same question so obviously it's there for some reason. Life is random, movies are calculated. It's always nice to look back on the past and remember the good times, but they don't stop there. Think of the future even if you're not sure what to do next, you'll move on eventually to a new life and maybe for the better.

Well it was fun to do this week, I was greatly surprised, had a lot of fun, and even got to wax philisophical like the old man I am. Pretty good week all things considered! But now comes the part where we say goodbye for now, I'll be back in August with more movies, ideas, and something special that I've been wanting to talk about for years.

In Retrospect: Isle Of Dogs

Yes, it's finally out!!

It's felt like forever but Isle Of Dogs has finally hit video and I still love it! It's still just as entertaining, endearing, and funny as before and I would gladly buy it again. I know I talked about the animation before good lord, it is unreal how they pull off this animation! Stop motion is already pretty hard and very meticulous, but they just blow it out of the water with camera movements, environmental effects, large scale animation. It's just ridiculous how good this turned out, you really have to appreciate the work and craftsmanship these people did. It's such a good movie for pretty much any age group, and I notice that stop motion films in particular can be enjoyed by all, which is odd because it's such a rare medium and you think most older people would stay away from it but think of any movie that has had extensive if not complete stop motion effects in them, and ask yourself would you still watch it 20 years down the road. Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Isle Of Dogs,The Lego Movie, any Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen film! It's all done so well and everyone can enjoy it! I had such fun watching this movie again, and I know it is timeless. The usage of Japanese backdrops and culture add a lot to the movie, which you know I'm a fan of. I mean the movie is practically gift wrapped for me, so how could I not love it? I know the film only got a limited release in theaters but now, you have no excuse to go out and watch it now. Seriously, give it a shot.

And apparently our buisness in Japan is not over. I mean it never will be over, but we got one more movie this week set in Japan. So join me for trouble in Tokyo with the Teen Titans.

Isle Of Dogs

It was totally worth the wait. Like damn.

Guys, this film hit every checkbox that equals great film for me. Wes Anderson, check. All star cast, check. Film set in Japan with their culture and language in abundance, quadruple check. Stop motion animation, double check. I mean, what more do you want? 10 stars! A+! Just all the details, and the look, and the charm made this movie great to me. The story follows a young boy by the name of Atari who travels to an abandoned island composed of trash and dogs forcibly removed from the city in the hopes of finding his own best friend. We meet several dogs who help the boy along, and a grand odyssey commences. Apparently I was the only one who got the off-beat damn near subtle humor, cause no one was laughing in that theatre but me. Which is a shame cause Wes Anderson does make these sort of off-beat comedy movies with his own twist of adventure, drama, and romance. And I love the fact the film takes place in Japan, it's heavily influental all throughout. The art style is presented, present subcultures, the score is all from a style of japanese music, the language is heard throughout making it a semi-foreign film because only the dogs and one human character speak in english, it's such a fascinating example. I've never seen a movie like this before! And all the characters are great, I love the designs, and the voice acting is ridiculously good. I almost daresay it's better than Kubo And The Two Strings, you know how much I praised and loved that movie! And yet Isle Of Dogs surpasses that very high bar, with a compelling story that takes notes from several movies. I saw you nod to Citizen Kane and The Magnigicent Seven (which was also remade from a japanese film Seven Samurai, funny how life goes). It's just such a great film and I really must pursue more of Wes Anderson's work, I've only ever seen this and Moonrise Kingdom both of which I deeply loved. I highly urge you to go see this movie if you can, and I cannot wait to own it. You owe it to yourself to see a movie about man's best friend.

And this week we see some movies from my favorite animated series of all time.

In Retrospect: Rough Night

You know, I think I enjoyed this movie more on a second viewing.

It really is a funny movie with a lot of reasonably crazy women, so I obviously am going to enjoy myself. It certainly brightened up my day when I rented it. The comedy though crude at moments just made me crack up! This is a hilarious movie that deals with some pretty dark, grim stuff like everyone's favorite topic at social gatherings: Murder. And yet....it still is greatly amusing. It's like Clue, all these rather eccentric people gather together for a gathering, someone dies, and they try to evade police and other visitors who could see the body. And I loved that movie! Still do! So yeah, I still recommend it to people wanting a fun time. Kate McKinnon still just slays me, like seriously she deserves to be in more movies. My God, just her comedic timing and her facial expressions are comedy gold to me! She just never ceases to make me laugh, and steals the whole damn movie easily. Scarlett is fun but can bring the drama a bit, which I can appreciate so it's not comedy for the sake of comedy. Jillian Bell is kinda well....she's just not nice, let's put it at that but it shocked me at the reason why. I mean that scene has some real raw emotion in it and can hit home for some people. It's a good movie and should be seen again, I certainly enjoyed it more on a second viewing so maybe you will too.

Now, I know there was a movie that hit video yesterday. I want to assure you I did not forget (not by a long shot) so be patient. It will work out. And hopefully, I can get two brand new movie reviews out before next week. So until then, have fun peeps!

In Retrospect: Ghost In The Shell (2017)

Yep, still really enjoy it!

Ghost In The Shell just hit video, and of course I bought it. It's still an enjoyable movie, that although might not hold much in terms of deep thought and reflection as the original did, that's not really the purpose. Some people ask what's the point of taking media from different parts of the world and "Americanizing" it? Well, sadly there are people in this world who would not view Ghost In The Shell because it is from Japan, or even just because it's animated. Because CLEARLY there is no such thing as mature, thought provoking, and even intelligent animated media! Who could be crazy enough to dream that up?? This is the world we live in man, it isn't perfect but it does have it's shining moments. And for an american retelling of the incredible anime classic, it does a decent job. The characters are basic iterations of the movie and show counterparts, the action which is surprisingly low is still done very well with great use of slow motion, the cinematography is beautifully crisp and clean creating a Blade Runner esque environment which I quite enjoy on my second viewing, acting is decent all around, and the movie may just be a watered down version of a classic, it's purpose was to appeal to a mass audience and not the (albeit) less underground anime fans. A decent movie for those who may not feel the need to view the original. But hey, even in the eyes of this critic it's pretty good, even if I did just see it to view Scarlett being amazing as always.

Rough Night

I needed a break from Transformers, so here we go!

Rough Night is a quite enjoyable comedy about a group of friends who, one day set up a bachelorette party and it turns into as the title says a rough night. All seems to be going well until a stripper comes and you know, they kinda, maybe, sort of accidentaly bash his brains out on the nice white tile floors and have to hide the body. It happens. So the whole night is ruined as our group of friends try to evade jail time for manslaughter. Oh well, it leads to some decent comedy and some of the events that unfold you surprisingly don't see coming and hell, even one little scene hit me right in the heart because of how unabashedly real it is. But I almost want to say the movie is a vehicle for these talented ladies comedy, it is, but it tells a decent story as well. The Lady Scarlett is in this movie which always makes me happy and she does have bursts of comedy but isn't afraid to bust the waterworks, although I have to really say Kate McKinnon slayed me! She was kinda the best part of the movie, and I know how blasphemous that is to me but it's true! That Australian accent just brings such joy to me! And the rest of the ladies like Jillian Bell and Ilana Glaze were really putting their all into this, so they of course have to be commended. Did I enjoy seeing the movie? Yes, absolutely. Would I buy it? Well, probably not. Rent it for a movie night with friends, without a doubt but not buy it. Do I recommend you see it in the theaters? Yeah, if you got nothing to do that day, you feel kinda bored, make a trip to the theater and see if it makes your day a bit better! Well that's all for this week, tune in next week to finish the Michael Bay shit sandwhich and cap it off with another In Retrospect. Take care everybody!

Ghost In The Shell (2017)

Huh, not bad!

The newest Ghost In The Shell movie is out and it's pretty good. Now keep in mind, this is an adaptation, not a remake of the original classic. Actually what really surprised me before I even saw the movie was it wasn't a strict remake of the movie, the film actually combines elements of the original 1995 film, and the tv show. You see why I reviewed both of those this week? The plot takes more basis from the movie than the show, with the Major being placed in a cybernetic body and is after a mysterious cyber criminal, hell it throws many nods to the movie, like the famous fight scene in the water, the frickin' spider tank, and many others but also uses sparse elements from the show, like the robotic geishas and the main antagonist is named Kuze, just like the boring ass antagonist from the second season of the show. So it shows they did their research and wasn't just going for a quick cash grab. There's even a nod to Cowboy Bebop near the end, which I thought was really cool. The film itself is heavily visual, with a very futuristic look but my God does it go full Cirque De Solei with it! The original movie and the show, while futuristic was very grounded in reality, the cars were basic, and the more I think about it, besides the cybernetics added to human beings it's pretty much like how it is now. Not in this movie. Welcome to hologram city! Where everything needs to look super flashy and impressive for no reason whatsoever! Seriously, why make it look so in your face? I found the basic city in previous installments much more interesting to look at. The music is very techno, and I dig that stuff like crazy, so soundtrack gets a big thumbs up! Now onto the cast! Now personally I never thought casting Scarlett Johannson was white washing, cause in the show and movie (Man I say that alot in this review) she looks caucasian! In fact...hardly anyone looks asian in them, so I never got the issue. Now in say Doctor Strange with the Ancient One, yes I see the point, but not with this. So everyone did their job well, the Major is obviously the center point but the guy they got to play Batou is pretty good, and the Chief in this is actually pretty friggin' badass! So cast did good, Scarlett who I still love was great to see in another movie and of course I look forward to her next one. Final sum up, good movie, obviously not for everyone, but if you're in the mood check it out.

Well that's all folks for this week, next week we got some things to look at, including a season of one of my favorite new shows, that has been in my opinion far far overdue.

Hail, Caesar!

Yet another damn good Cohen Brothers movie.

Hail, Ceasar! is a really fun and entertaining movie, although I must admit I knew very little about the actual plot. Now the plot follows the head of a motion picture studio set in the 50s, as he tries to keep everything cool, calm, and collected especially when one of the major stars is kidnapped. And an aspect I must give major props to is how in the dark you are about the whole kidnapping scheme, they did a good job to keep up the mystery. Now let's talk about the casting, dear sweet God in Heaven this is a friggin' cast man! George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, my sun and my moon and my star lit sky Scarlett Johannson, and even a few other familiar faces we have encountered here. Absolute awesomeness! Also, the look of the movie...I am in the 50s when I watch this movie both in the real life scenes and in the acting scenes. They nail how films were made back then, with extravagant musical numbers, with dancing, and aquatic ballet, the whole nine yards! Perfect! I would definitely say you should check this movie out, I think you will like it very much especially if you are an old movie fan or a Cohen Brothers fan.

Now tomorrow, we got another In Retrospect review. It kinda sets the stage for what is coming up next week so tune in tomorrow.

Lucy

Grinning like the Joker folks. Grinning like a madman.

Yes...oh yes! Hello beautiful, amaze me like you always do. This movie is quite possibly the most fascinating and amazing example of film ever produced. It is the most difficult film to explain, becauses it gets so intuitive it actually almost seems to pass eternity, round back and become something new again and again. But to put it in basic terms, Lucy is a victim of circumstance being roped into a drop off with a crime boss which causes her to have drug pouches placed into her abdomen. Whilst enduring some physical trauma the drug leaks into her system and that's where things start getting very interesting. The film is only an hour and a half long but at just about the 30 minute mark, the real game begins. Lucy slowly over the course of 24 hours is able to use 100% of her brain capacity and that results in her being able to do everything, and I do mean everything! You know what happens? She becomes Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation, an omnipotent being able to manipulate anything and everything. And the film is very visual in it's storytellimg and has a sheer genius script that gives an honest, believable explanation as to why we do not use our full 100% capacity of our brain, because it makes us more machine than human. Emotions are slowly dying whilst intelligence continues to grow. There is no way in hell that I can ever do this movie justice by just talking about it. This is a necessary, fundamental film to see. I cannot dream of how far this film delves into pretty much the basic essence of everything. When I say watch this movie, I mean really watch this movie. Prepare to be enlightened.

The Jungle Book (2016)

Guys this movie was good. I mean like, really dang good!

The Jungle Book, beloved animated classic with an all new interesting twist. And it is awesome! Where do I start? The casting is exquisite, everybody especially Neel Sethi in his breakthrough performance is something truly special. I mean, who are you going to pick over Bill Murray to play Baloo? I dare you no wait, I friggin' double dog dare you to pick someone better! Ben Kingsley was a great Bagheera, Idris Elba of Luther fame is a very malicious and very threatning Shere Khan. Scarlett Johansson....mmm! Giant snake or not, I'm in love. Just pure sensual yumness from a snake! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first movie Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson have been in together since the most perfect movie ever made. Whoa. And they actually share a scene together (Hooray!) but sadly they fight (Boooo!) but the principle still stands. Oh yeah, and Christopher Walken! Isn't this exhilarating? But there is more to talk about than the cast! The special effects are outstanding, I had a very difficult time to discern what was real and what was computer graphics. That is a new standard of special effects! Most of the original songs are in this film specifically, The Bear Necessities, Trust In Me, and I Wanna Be Like You, all of which done superbly. The mythos surrounding the jungle is rather clever, to be more precise all animals of the jungle herald the elephants as gods. No joke, they state that they created the jungle and all within it. Which is clever because elephants are heralded as religious symbols in India which you can tell is where the story takes place. Speaking of which, the plot follows the animated film but not carbon copy close. The variations in this version are great, and by no means take away from the film. Oh yeah and there was this really funny easter egg when you meet King Louie, I want to see if you can spot it! But anyway, this film was pretty great, not sure which you will prefer more but I enjoyed the film and I really hope you do too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to Trust In Me again. Ohhh yes!