Might As Well Have Been On Vacation!!

     I have to start by apologizing to anyone that reads this blog and looks forward to the things I write.  I have been gone because I have been watching a few television shows that I had never seen and had to get caught up.  On of the series I was watching was the Big Bang Theory and that in itself was seven seasons long to get up to date.  Well I did get up to date and am now seriously behind on all my movie watching.  I did on occasion watch a movie here and there but I obviously didn't write about them.  I hope to remedy that shortly. So in the next few days I am hoping to write some to get this stalled blog back to where it should have been.
     Again I apologize to anyone looking forward to my reviews and hopefully the wait is over.

Maleficent (2014) Review!

     I am gonna be completely honest right now...I have never seen most of the old school Disney cartoons.  I have seen Bambi and Dumbo, but that's about as far as that goes with the classic ones.  I have seen a few of the 90's ones but that's where my Disney cartoons ended.  So I should think at this point I shouldn't have to say that I have not seen Sleeping Beauty.  But I do know the stories because, I don't know, I may have read them when I was real little.  So going into this movie I didn't really have many expectations at all.  I had read some synopsis and other things about it through the normal movie sites I peruse on a daily basis.  I only knew of one actor in the movie and that was Angelina Jolie.  She is also the only part of the poster for the film.  In all the write ups that I found for this flick they all had one single recurring thought, and that was that Angelina Jolie straight knocks this role outta the park.  That alone is what made me want to watch this.
     So the first thing that I have to say about the actual film after watching it is pretty much all the people that wrote about the movie were right, Miss Jolie does a spectacular job.  The first segment of the film she plays the title character with such sweet and lovable perfection that when shit starts to get real your heart goes out to her.  The scene I am talking about is incredibly powerful and a bit hard to watch.  When you watch it, you will know exactly which scene I am referencing here, but I don't like being a spoiler writer.  I may on occasion let some things slip but I try not to unless you have seen the film in which case it is no longer a spoiler at all.  After the moment of it getting real she changes to, what I can only describe as, a very pissed off woman.  And considering what happens to her I don't blame her.  Obviously there are more actors in this but I am only gonna say that they all do a fantastic job and that the whole thing impressed me because I wasn't expecting it to be any good.  Maybe that's why I liked it as much as I did.
      The special effects are really cool and they don't distract you from the story.  The only thing bad I have to say about them is there are times when effects are kinds cheesy, almost as if they just don't fit with the rest of it.  Alot of this movie is near perfect effects but the few that aren't really stick out well.  But let that deter you from watching it because it really is a great film.
     I can honestly recommend this to anyone.  It has a love story, loads of action, great fantasy atmosphere, great acting and it's by Disney so it's kid friendly as well.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014) Review!

     What I wanna start with is that this film is considered a bomb and a huge disappointment.  It underperformed so badly that I am sure a third installment will never be made, and I find that disappointing.  I love this film.  It is exactly equal to the first one in every way.  It does not deserve the negative hype at all.  What I will say is maybe it's because they waited nearly a decade to make a sequel to a box office smash that most who saw it wanted to see a sequel within a few years.  Okay, so that sentence was kinda messed up but hopefully you get the meaning.
     So we have the same directors with the exception of Quentin Tarantino is not a guest director for this one.  So Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller do all the work here.  Frank Miller is the creator and the writer for all the stories and I find that the transition from comic book to film is helped out by this little fact.  Most comic book films are being made today to look like they can really happen or they take place as close to reality as they can be.  This one basically says screw all that and decides to go with practically all exact replicas of the art in the comics.  For this I love it.  It is a visual masterpiece just like its predecessor.  I believe it because Miller wants his original work to resemble his film version and not blend in with the slew of comic book films that have bombarded the box office in the past few years.  Don't get me wrong, I love most of those films as well, even if they don't follow the original story lines all too well.  See, with the Sin City movies you can almost watch the film and read the comic simultaneously and it works perfect.  That's why I love that Mr. Miller makes his own film adaptations of his own work. 
     We have here a gigantic cast, much like the first one but a few additions and a few substitutions.  Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Powers Booth, Jaime King, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta and Christopher Lloyd.  Funny thing about the cast is that's not all of it.  Every body in this film does what is expected of them, and I believe they were all expected to be a little overdramatic as to fit the style of the source material.  I think it works beautifully in the context of the story and style.  
     The special effects are exactly the same as the first film.  That means a whole lot of green screen acting and hyper visuals.  Most everything is in black and white with a few exceptions in each scene like someone's eyes are colored, or maybe some blood is colored, or a car, or a shirt...well you get the point I hope.  It basically tells the viewer to pay attention to this little detail and you have no way of not staring at it either because it sticks out like the little red coat in Schindler's List.  I have to say though that the car scenes do not look real but they are really cool to watch because they look like the comics exactly.
     Recommendations are for anyone that likes the first film and likes near faithful comic book to film adaptations.  Lots of action and some dramatic parts.  Be warned though that this is not a comic book film for kids at all as it is rated highly into the "R" section.  Loads of nudity, language, sexual contact, alcohol and some serious violence.  I love it and will definitely watch it again, maybe both films back to back next time.
     Let me know what you think in the comments below!
     

Escape From New York (1981)

     I read a lot about movies and what's coming up and when something of interest to me is gonna be made.  I could care less about the people who play in these films so I don't read about their personal lives cuz I don't care.  There are plenty of actors out there that are complete morons in their personal lives but make some pretty spectacular film features.  That is another story for another time though.  So I was perusing the normal websites I tend to visit and I started reading on a few of them that there is an attempt in Hollywood to find someone to play Snake Plissken.  I couldn't find out if they wanted to make a sequel or a remake but I'm sure they will call it a reimagining.  I am not fully against remakes as I do watch all of them for the most part but I always have a sense of dread every single time I hear of one.  Like Mad Max for instance, hated the idea but the trailer for it has sold me quickly.  I just hope it's good.  So as most people know already, Kurt Russell is Snake Plissken and will always be known as Snake Plissken.  So who is gonna be the guy that decides his career needs a boost?  Remains to be seen!
     Okay so this film, Escape From New York was released when I was a mere pup.  I was around 4 or so when it came out so I never saw it til later on in life.  Probably the early 90's is what I'm thinking.  This flick was written and directed by the Legendary John Carpenter and his overall sense of dramatic and creepy atmosphere can be seen throughout the entire movie.  This was made two feature films after the ever spectacular Halloween (1978).  The film in the middle was The Fog (1980) and didn't do all that well so Carpenter had to make a huge one and he did it quite well.  The story is written well and the dialog is believable as it is a futuristic take on the US. 
     The acting is, for the most part, done well but A few people here and there do a slight over exaggeration type of thing throughout.  Kurt Russell does what he normally does and Donald Pleasence does great here as well.  Lee Van Cleef, whom all can remember from the Man With No Name trilogy starring Clint Eastwood, plays a good douchebag even though he has limited screen time.  Ernest Borgnine is a bit of a legend in his own right and his take on the Cabbie here is almost a show stealer.  Harry Dean Stanton is here and Adrienne Barbeau's large globes or on display.  And don't forget Isaac Hayes as the Duke of New York.
     Some of the effects are a bit outdated, I mean come on it was made in 1980 so everyone has to put that in the equation when they watch this.  I like the effects, they are are miniatures and some cheesy computer effects but it stays with the whole feel of the picture.
     I would like to point out one thing that has always stood out to me with this movie and that is the absolutely fantastic musical score.  That is another one of John Carpenter's signature traits.  Seriously though who can't remember the piano from Halloween?  Escape has an equally great score and should be recognized.
     I will recommend this to anyone that likes good old fashioned action films or maybe good old fashioned action films set in a science fiction world.  For those that want to know it has some language present and some violence but it isn't gory at all.  Also one last thing, if you are gonna watch it try to get an HD 1080P copy as this movie is really dark but you can see it well with 1080P.
     Let me know what you think in the comments below.

The Den (2013) Review!

     A few days ago I was at work and having a conversation about movies and I happened to bring up A little known film series called [REC].  Little known in the US anyway because it is all in Spanish and most American film viewers can't watch a movie with subtitles.  But anyone that actually has seen the series knows it is a spectacular accomplishment in it's style.  That style is handheld camera, and I have to say, for the most part I am not a fan of.  The style I find so incredibly ridiculous because it tends to never show you any of the things you actually want to see.  It just likes to be from the point of view from a camera in someone's hand while they run away from what I actually want to be watching.  But, my coworker had mentioned this film called The Den and I told him I would check it out because I pretty much watch anything that comes my way.  And I especially like to watch films that others think are really good.  It lets me know whether or not to trust their judgment on future recommendations.
     I watched it and I see it really isn't a handheld camera film at all.  Okay, so it does have a few spots from a handheld but for the most part it is from a webcam or a phone camera in video chat mode.  Alot of the stuff happens in the background while people are chatting until the last 30 minutes or so when it is just there.  I didn't mind this movie at all but it was the camera work that annoyed me.  But all that aside it is a well acted little film.  The star of the show here is Melanie Papalia and for the type of film we are talking about here the makers are lucky she isn't hard on the eyes because if she was then it would be pretty hard to watch.  But she is good to look at and she does a convincing job of portraying someone that has just witnessed a murder.  There are a few other people in it but they just go through the motions here.
     Some of the death scenes look pretty authentic.  They are not too gory but there is plenty of blood in most of them.  But there is no dismemberment and stomach insides or anything like that.  At some points it seems like a handheld version of a Hostel film but not nearly as disgusting.
     I could only recommend this film to people that like the style but anybody else would have to be warned to stay away.  And it also doesn't really keep ones eyes glued to the screen for the first 3/4s or the movie.  The last 1/4 is actually pretty riveting!
     Let me know what you think in the comments below.

First Blood (1982) Review!

     I was just in a mood to watch the entire Rambo saga but as I have stated on many occasions I can't watch just so I had to start with the first one.  I saw this movie many times in my life and I saw it also a very long time ago when I was only a kid.  I always liked it because when I was young I just thought it was a good action flick.  It wasn't until watching it later on that I paid attention to the dialog and the actual story.  I have a very indirect connection to the story here.  I was in the military and seen this and seen that but the young men that were forced to go fight a war in Vietnam that they had no business getting involved in gain the utmost respect from me.  These men were still teenagers and they saw things that no human should have to see and that's the reason for my indirect connection.  My father is a Vietnam veteran and when I was really little I never understood why he would do certain things or why he reacted the way he did to certain things.  After being in the military myself I understand fully why a grown man would dislike being scared from behind.  All these men including my father had to live in fear for their own and their buddies lives every waking moment in a war that could only be described as Hell in a jungle.  The highest amount of respect goes out to all Vietnam vets that are still alive, those that passed and those that never got to come home.
     Back to the movie at hand here.  Most people think that the Rambo films are just Sylvester Stallone running around killing people for no reason.  And while that may be true for all three of the sequels it was not the case for the first installment.  This one is set in a more realistic environment.  Stallone plays Rambo, a man that returned home from Vietnam that was completely disrespected and hated by all his own countrymen.  The sad thing is this is how all Vietnam vets were treated when returning home.  Stallone plays this part perfect too, as a man that has so much post traumatic stress that he is so scared but at the same time afraid of nothing.  He should of, at the very least, been nominated for best actor for this.  Brian Dennehy plays the films douchebag, I mean police chief.  But really all he is is a major douchebag that has a huge personal vendetta against Rambo.  He does play it well enough to think that he may be like that in real life, but I sincerely hope not.  There is a couple of other men that are such pieces of crap that you will be clapping when they bite it.
     This film is very realistic in most every way.  There is a part when Rambo has a cut and he has to stitch himself up and it really is very realistic, even to today's standards.  It is by far one of the best 80's action films and won't be soon forgotten.
     I strongly urge all to watch this because it isn't just an 80's action film but an almost true study of what it would be like to push a man that has seen evil in it's purest form.  It is very dramatic but also full of some incredible action set pieces.  If you have never seen it and are thinking about it then be warned that you may want to think about not having the kids around.  Lots of death and other scenes you may have to explain to them.
     I will end this one with a quote from one of my favorite bands..."What you call Hell, He calls Home!"W13 

[REC]4 - OFFICIAL FINAL TRAILER!

     Well, I have to say that I wasn't expecting this at all!

     I know I have been away for quite some time now but that's what happens when life calls and you have to do that daily thing called work.  And then you get done with work and you have to do school work.  I really wish I didn't have to work so I could concentrate fully on the classes I need to graduate but as I said a few seconds ago...Life happens!

     Before you watch this particular trailer I would recommend you go get a copy of [REC], parts 1, 2 and 3 so you can be all caught up.  Part 3 is the most inferior but I still love it!  Something you may need to know first off is the fact that the first two are hand held/lost footage type films and normally I wouldn't recommend this style to anyone but the first two films pretty much perfect the art.  Part 3 is a half found footage then turns into a real film halfway through, which is exactly what I was hoping for because I am not a found footage fan unless it is done right and none of them have done it right so far except [REC] 1 and 2.

     Needless to say though is this trailer is absolutely awesome in every way.  Bringing back the character from the first two and not making it found footage at all has made me look forward to this film more than any other I have seen so far!  Let me know what you think in the comments below!