So Here's The Deal....

Okay, I've been thinking it through yesterday and I'm still not sure when to take my break to plan ahead for the rest of the year. Cause there is at least 3 movies I want to see in August, but there's also movies I want to see in September. So I think I'm just gonna have to not take a whole month off, but maybe 2 weeks instead. I'm going to review The Dark Tower on August 4th, and then I'll be back on August 18th to review Logan Lucky. Then there isn't anything new until late Septmeber with Kingsman The Golden Circle, so I would probably review the first Kingsman movie on the 20th of September. You see the dilemma here? Unless I split my month in half (which I really don't want to do) I'm not going to have any time to plan for the rest of the year. So do I just take two weeks off to get some work done then push through the rest of the year, or take two weeks off come back get some reviews out then leave again until October? Oh my God, I forgot about October! This year's October is not going to be all horror movie reviews. Cause Bladerunner 2049 hits October 6th, and I would like to review it and the original Bladerunner. Damn, 2017 is a year of firsts isn't it? More than 3 new movies to see, October is not all about the horror movies, and I don't get to take September off to plan ahead. I got to figure out this break stuff, I don't want to take two breaks but I need that time. School is starting back up, I think I need to do it. Damn.

Atomic Blonde

I friggin' called the use of 99 LuftBalloons. I mean come on, it's Germany in 1989. We're going to hear some Nena.

Atomic Blonde, a brash, vibrant, and pretty kickass spy film has just hit today and it sure does need to be seen. So the story takes place about a month before the Berlin Wall is torn down with a british agent sent in to East Berlin to retrieve a list of all the agents in the world before it gets in the hands of the KGB. And then a lot happens that you come to expect in spy movies, action scenes, double crosses, and of course the more....ahem, steamy scenes. But Atomic Blonde does takes these normal conventions and puts a new spin on it, and not just due to that we have a female spy this time. The action scenes are visceral, they're brutal, I mean Charlize Theron gets the piss kicked out of her and she still hits back hard. The spy and espionage element is there but not heavily centered on. This movies does fully deserve the R rating so obviously it's not for everyone. The violence is in your face and doesn't shy away from kills, the sex is in my opinion kind of unnecesary. I mean your following the story and then Sofia Boutella and Charlize Theron participate in lesbiaonics, and while I love Sofia Boutella I just felt the sex and nudity wasn't there for a reason other than for someone to get their rocks off. And really that's the only bad thing I can say about the movie. The cinematography is friggin' blasting with color when in the right scene, and looks fantastic. All the acting is good with James McAvoy being an ass like he always is, but my God he is terrific at it. Charlize Theron has got a bad attitude in this movie, like she is just not a nice lady. Is she great in those action scenes? Uhhhh.....yeah!! But her character is very unlikable, for about 90% of the movie, not until the end am I fully behind her and want to see her get stuff done. Sofia Boutella who is my new golden girl, is just a treat to see in the movie so I'm all for it. And one thing I don't ever think I mentioned is I love period pieces, not like Victorian era dramas or anything like that but more specifically, seeing a part of the world in that time. Another spy movie example I can throw out there is You Only Live Twice, just seeing Japan in that time period, in the late 60s was really awesome. So seeing Berlin split between East and West in that time period was very interesting. I certainly don't have to tell you I LOVE this soundtrack! I'm a lover of this decade of music above all others, a close second being 60s rock, and even beyond the excellent choice in musical tracks the original music created and used in this movie is really good! Like buy the soundtrack good! It fits right in with the feel and style of the movie. I walked in expecting a decent, if not great spy movie and I got a great spy movie! So if it sounds like your kinda movie, definitely go watch it.

Well that's it for this week. But what now? What comes next? Well.....tomorrow I'll tell you.

Jaws

How it all began. The mother to the summer blockbuster.

What a genius idea. Make a B-movie monster movie about a shark that is attacking a small island community, and have three main characters to hunt the beast down, all with a big time Hollywood budget. Damn Steve, you really know your stuff about movie making. I don't think I need to say much about Jaws because it's such a well known movie, with good acting, great effects, and less an emphasis on special effects and chomping down on people but more about characters and family. That good old fashioned Spielbergian glow. Okay, so this movie hit in the summer of 1976, before Star Wars took over the world leading to a multi-million dollar flick about a shark. Crazy idea, but Steve went full out in production, filming half the movie in the Atlantic Ocean, dealing with a picky animatronic shark that barely worked, and having to tell the story for the most part without showing the monster. Now our three main leads are all excellent, but Roy is what holds this movie together. His casual and down to earth feeling makes the film surprisingly believable. Richard Dreyfuss is certainly the more comedic side of it, and yeah there is comedy in this movie but it works and works well. Robert Shaw is the antithesis of Richard Dreyfuss's character, serious and deranged but on the other hand has a nice singing voice. It's funny to think the most famous and acclaimed shark movie, barely has a shark on screen for not even 5 minutes in this 2 hour adventure. But if you haven't seen it, I'd probably wait until the winter where you don't want to be in any massive body of water. And even then you probably won't even want to sit in the tub. 4 stars, check it out!

And tomorrow we look at the new spy thriller set at the end of the Cold War, Atomic Blonde. Sounds like another B-movie if you ask me, like Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman or Creature With The Atom Brain. Movie titles are weird.

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.

The Sandlot

I almost daresay this is a summer movie, but why?

Well The Sandlot, to my knowledge was the first sports movie I ever saw. Before I even knew half the rules of baseball or even played it myself, I watched The Sandlot. And The Beast frightened me. Yeah, that dog freaked me the hell out when I was young! To the point where I did not want to watch the movie, but now when you see him (in not animatronic form) he looks ridiculously cute, like I would totally get this dog! But if someone told me Darth Vader showed up at the end, I could have pushed through. But anyway, many people consider it to be one of the best sports movies of all time, certainly the most beloved, although and this is surprising even to me, the movie is not really about the sport of baseball but a small group of kids who play it. They play it a lot, even go against a rival team once and yet I hesitate to fully define it as a sports movie. It's more a summer movie to me. So what's the story? A young kid who just recently moved to a new town meets with a group of kids who play baseball every day of the summer, and we are told of this story through his own eyes all grown up. He makes friends with them all, learns to play better at baseball, and just enjoys his time with his friends. And I think that's what makes it more sort of accesible, and more fun for people including young kids to watch. Because it's not about the sport, they don't throw in terminology or lines that only hardcore baseball fans would know. Anyone with a passing interest or knowledge can enjoy this movie. It's more about the young boys than the sport. And that's what makes me say it's not really a sport movie like say, Friday Night Lights or Major League. And the problem is I don't watch sports movies hardly ever, it takes a lot to get me interested in watching one, but with this I feel like I could pop it in anytime and enjoy it, in fact...I do! It's a fun, really good movie with memorable characters, funny scenes, it just has this fun, care free sort of feel to it, and holds the most cuss words I have ever heard in a G rated film! I mean damn kids. I just really like this movie, and for those of you who do classify this as a sports movie, it's definitely my second favorite, next to Rocky. Probably because it defies every single sports movie trope, and for those of you who do not know anything about sports or don't watch sports movies you're in luck. I have a supplemental sort of review-esque video where one of my favorite critics dissect why people watch sports movies. It's not too in depth, in fact it's more of a brief overview of various movie tropes of sports films so you don't have to worry about it dragging on. It's only about 10 minutes if memory serves correctly.

Here's the link: https://youtu.be/s9QdLt_3KCY

Well that's it for today, but tomorrow might hold something new in our midst.

So Many Things To Review, So Little Money....

It sucks having no cash. But guess what I got today? So expect more reviews next week. I thought about summer, which lead me to summer movies. You got your blockbusters, your action movies, and your sports movies. Right? Well, I don't like sports so therefore I'm not a big fan of sports movies although there is at least 3 or 4 I could talk about, The Sandlot is the first movie that comes to mind so why not do that next week? Blockbusters have been huge for about 40 years but it all started with a big hollywood budget for a b-movie plot, Jaws. That screams summer, and in many cases just screams and it's high time I do that movie! And the sci-fi's have been on my mind a lot lately, mainly Star Wars and recently Star Trek. Why not review more of the Star Trek movies? I only did 3 consecutive movies with the original crew, and 3 with the updated new crew. So there's definitely more to talk about wouldn't you agree? I mean it predates Star Wars by 11 years if I remember correctly, I do need to watch more Star Trek so I would like to talk about the shows but that will come much, much later in the future. And lastly, Atomic Blonde hits theaters next week so you better believe I'm in. I was ready to see that movie 3 months before it hit nationwide theaters. So at the very least, expect Jaws, The Sandlot, and Atomic Blonde next week. Catch you later on down the road, for there is always something in the works in the old duder's head.

In Retrospect: Kong Skull Island

Is it 2020 yet?

It's a great time to be alive. I mean, in 2 weeks Shin Godzilla hits video here in the
states, next year Legendary's Godzilla gets a sequel, and in 2020 a rematch of King Kong Vs. Godzilla. But hey, this retrospect is about Kong so let's talk about his movie. Again. It's still awesome! I still love it. Kong is an amazing creature, done with great special effects, and really acts like an ape. Albeit a very big ape, but you know. In fact all the creatures are cool, though I severely doubt the Skullcrawlers will make a comeback. Looking back, I love all the cast but my God Brie Larson. I have no idea what to say about her, beyond yeah she's good but I just get this weird feeling from her. Nothing bad, just I find it very fascinating how she acts in this movie. She's a smartass, but compassionate. Tom Hiddleston is a great lead, certainly the most sensible person in the group. Samuel Jackson is an asshole, but really don't we love him like that? So the main leads are great, most of the supporting cast are great, although the military are entirely expendable in this movie. And one thing I failed to mention, my God this movie loves it's jumpscares and lens flares. Have I made a rhyme? Anyway, still a decent movie, after credits scene is the best scene, Kong is awesome and so is his new movie. Go buy it.