tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82932733782398317472024-03-15T18:11:53.674-07:00The Film ConnoisseurFranco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.comBlogger834125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-1467550502275590692020-09-21T17:14:00.010-07:002020-09-21T17:26:54.043-07:00Tenet (2020)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidt5LSiQfqabAexQmtXzCZGwhL9xHk45em_6faiWf9pOYeTN1RWvXP6zJo_hgmPu5R6vJvNTQeozIb51N2E_1ij8aZ9ydeFF6ZRopFPdBQGj2bLnmtFlEu8V23JU0jmNIcYdEUM4I44dU/s1000/MV5BOGJmZjcxNTAtYjViZS00YzJmLTlkMzgtZmVkYTQ5YjUwMjIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjMwMzc3MjE%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C674%252C1000_AL_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="674" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidt5LSiQfqabAexQmtXzCZGwhL9xHk45em_6faiWf9pOYeTN1RWvXP6zJo_hgmPu5R6vJvNTQeozIb51N2E_1ij8aZ9ydeFF6ZRopFPdBQGj2bLnmtFlEu8V23JU0jmNIcYdEUM4I44dU/w235-h349/MV5BOGJmZjcxNTAtYjViZS00YzJmLTlkMzgtZmVkYTQ5YjUwMjIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjMwMzc3MjE%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C674%252C1000_AL_.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Tenet (2020)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Christopher Nolan has always had this air of pretentiousness about him as a director. By that I mean that he makes movies that don’t spell things out to audiences and he makes no apologies about it. Either you are smart enough to “get it” or you’re a dumb fuck who has to play catch up with the rest of the smarties. I mean, all his movies are like this. Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), hell, even his take on Batman had that air of smarty pants about it. Me? I always found his movies wanting to appear smart, but truthfully just hiding behind a lot of meaningless dialog disguised as intelligence. Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m not a Nolan fan. His movies feel like a giant asshole of a film snob made them, you know the kind that won’t talk to you because you don’t know who Jodorowsky or Kubrick is? You don’t deserve to “get it” if you’re not on his level, if your're not in ‘the know’.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-p9O0tdR_jxl2I27xkUR2TsMO_Ml6Ngklk_NKE70B6dja6zAJGs7UmSO0UGRL-q5i1PpuWpUyDQX_i9l_9HHPFbokMKLFVXtJPeJBSqkECUKnhMXE5lLjgIWLNq2adZYMDCCJFYJKD-8/s2048/tenet-christopher-nolan-john-david-washington-1598006816.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-p9O0tdR_jxl2I27xkUR2TsMO_Ml6Ngklk_NKE70B6dja6zAJGs7UmSO0UGRL-q5i1PpuWpUyDQX_i9l_9HHPFbokMKLFVXtJPeJBSqkECUKnhMXE5lLjgIWLNq2adZYMDCCJFYJKD-8/s320/tenet-christopher-nolan-john-david-washington-1598006816.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p>That’s how Tenet feels. It’s as if Nolan said I’m gonna brush up on my time travel and quantum physics and then I’m going to make everyone feel like an idiot for not getting it. This is his most pretentious one yet folks! His attempts at getting us to understand what the hell is going on in the film are feeble. I mean, how do you know this is a convoluted film? When a scientist whips out a white board to explain something to us that’s how. Last time I saw that was in Back to the Future II (1989), when Doc Brown attempts to explain alternate timelines. Tenet feels like this one time I took a university class, but the professor was a shitty professor who didn’t care if you understood what he was teaching or not. I remember raising my hand an asking “this is an introductory class?” I mean, I could attempt to explain to you what this three hour movie was about, but I tell ya, for most of its running time I had a sand grain of an idea of what this movie was about!</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50dZK-duISfdBiqglo5-PSALHG6r03Gp6okxCYDCyHR4SH2V86dbS1sqFXQ6J0Luihl_MVESo64x0uG4_21MKWj9JUk0wepDNhHFTTy1DcaKoalnX8r6E1SW5la2VF7yGOv6_LM_c5MY/s1920/nNMWduTg8Ebejh8co7kk5G.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50dZK-duISfdBiqglo5-PSALHG6r03Gp6okxCYDCyHR4SH2V86dbS1sqFXQ6J0Luihl_MVESo64x0uG4_21MKWj9JUk0wepDNhHFTTy1DcaKoalnX8r6E1SW5la2VF7yGOv6_LM_c5MY/s320/nNMWduTg8Ebejh8co7kk5G.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had reached the hour and a half mark of the film (halfway through) and I was still screaming in my head “what the hell is this movie about?!” I was frustrated it. But then came an action scene and I was wowed. I mean, there’s no question about it. Nolan can orchestrate an impressive action set piece. And here I counted about three or four of them, and true they were amazing, but I didn’t really know what we were fighting for. Who where these guys working for? What are we doing here? Oh but it looks awesome, looky, everything goes in reverse! I’m not gonna lie, those time travel sequences, where things are going in reverse except the main characters were cool to look at.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoA4qD1CKesE5NAjS5hebbcTm1mQEw-W2Vv6bU1bDxcj9_tthz9ANQpn8BIpx_gu8BPDnXeWfo2KtPL4hS0wWlk_x3k69XWJfxKT82FRM_ikoKJZvqo2kqUmUrEqfKCS9CLeLqhXykk0/s1000/tenet-christopher-nolan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoA4qD1CKesE5NAjS5hebbcTm1mQEw-W2Vv6bU1bDxcj9_tthz9ANQpn8BIpx_gu8BPDnXeWfo2KtPL4hS0wWlk_x3k69XWJfxKT82FRM_ikoKJZvqo2kqUmUrEqfKCS9CLeLqhXykk0/s320/tenet-christopher-nolan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p>And I get it when directors don’t want to spell things out. It’s supposed to be a good thing. Because it means the filmmakers aren’t taking us for granted. I can accept this to a degree, but come on, any filmmaker must understand that you have to explain things in an understandable fashion to your audience so they can come along for the ride. So they can buy into your logic. This can be done without spoon feeding your audience. But Nolan’s way is no explanations given. About half way through you’ll be saying “dear god, I better start getting it soon because its been two freaking hours already!” Now here’s the deal with Tenet, even though I was frustrated as hell and I just wanted for everyone to stop talking all this white noise bullcrap, I stayed glued to it till the end. I didn’t get up and walk out, though the idea did pass through my mind. Did I get what the movie was about when it reached its end? Well, sort of. It was about girls right? Kidding.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0qlW9Ca-B0Ey3mNYUYmJ-oA2VcCZKdw1GojHkI6QGFIBtptL4uXP4G7H9nCttYZyuq21TTcBAcfB_gelKUV3l5PV5RHwzbhmjtfTyxxvfRCa_zbngC1biiQxhna-2mnye7uShdc14jU/s1379/tenet.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0qlW9Ca-B0Ey3mNYUYmJ-oA2VcCZKdw1GojHkI6QGFIBtptL4uXP4G7H9nCttYZyuq21TTcBAcfB_gelKUV3l5PV5RHwzbhmjtfTyxxvfRCa_zbngC1biiQxhna-2mnye7uShdc14jU/s320/tenet.png" width="320" /></a></div><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bottom line is, if you survive that boring ass first hour were people are endlessly talking about things you won’t understand and in various accents (I counted about 5 different accents) then maybe you will by the end of its running time have a mild inkling of an idea of what this film was about. Time travel, destroying the world….and that’s about it for me. Um, I don’t even know what ‘Tenet’ means! Here, here, I know what you’re thinking. This guys an idiot, he’s one of the ones who “don’t get it”. Well, anyone who knows me can tell you that I love dissecting movies and hidden meanings and symbolisms in films, which is precisely why I was so frustrated with this one. So to sum things up, this is not a bad movie, it has its extremely entertaining spots, but it certainly will defy you to understand it. It warrants more than one viewing. It reminded me of the first time I watched The Big Lebowski (1998) or Inherent Vice (2014), films that you’re not supposed to try and understand from a first viewing. Your supposed to enjoy the shenanigans, not the meaning. These are movies your meant to understand after seeing them for a tenth time. Who knows, maybe years down the line I’ll be like “what a bafoon I was, I totally get it now!” But upon my first viewing I have to say that Tenet was an extremely frustrating film that had some very entertaining and awesome action set pieces. Good luck ‘getting it’ my friends! </span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvW9iui4ceE2l_nSDw_GvtbQdTOZPZ6vDkv-DvfSsR__hWZCcjKXLpCihWvjk1bgjKhhl6rkg1VX8oAFVs-N-_MBS2-uXHTnx9A5krl-M_To0Uu0g2UAPYgFxWe7aGAH6HyeEQ9hj1DTA/s600/aeb1039622bcbaafe81550f364cfc6b4b8e3a4e0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvW9iui4ceE2l_nSDw_GvtbQdTOZPZ6vDkv-DvfSsR__hWZCcjKXLpCihWvjk1bgjKhhl6rkg1VX8oAFVs-N-_MBS2-uXHTnx9A5krl-M_To0Uu0g2UAPYgFxWe7aGAH6HyeEQ9hj1DTA/s320/aeb1039622bcbaafe81550f364cfc6b4b8e3a4e0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-64079532266208066862020-08-28T09:44:00.005-07:002020-09-02T12:47:32.099-07:00Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zhEvOduvbYLc-7xQdYuQtjy9Nv9MGegacauEj_o00OpjJCMdyc06e0waFzdYIksz4Y6PYAxoZh9uDyPT03ZKSN5Ce-_9PJczgTdgoB0z1xN0418jc4911w_A7bLa6peacz9gJsdUgVQ/s835/bc95acb8c5575b9563fe6d11d8bdd7e2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="564" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zhEvOduvbYLc-7xQdYuQtjy9Nv9MGegacauEj_o00OpjJCMdyc06e0waFzdYIksz4Y6PYAxoZh9uDyPT03ZKSN5Ce-_9PJczgTdgoB0z1xN0418jc4911w_A7bLa6peacz9gJsdUgVQ/w346-h512/bc95acb8c5575b9563fe6d11d8bdd7e2.jpg" width="346" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Director:</b> Dean Parisot<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cast: </b>Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler, Kirsten Joy Schaal, Julian Belle, Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;">In Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill and Teds Bogus Journey (1991), we were presented for the first time with Bill and Ted, best friends who are pretty much a pair of losers…with a heart of gold. Turns out in the future, they write this awesome song that’s supposed to bring humanity and the universe together as one. We always wondered what that song that Bill and Ted were destined to compose sounded like, and so, here finally, we get our chance to listen to it and rejoice with the rest of the universe as the third installment in the Bill and Ted franchise finally arrives! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNEy-TeTk01JD0V17QUvLvTR3DA5uvwxAo_V1Ho4-x3YNkArVcrwRhmqxgCQkgVIQ0uo-kam76wBBabvhg1j5VlYhSwbWalpPR3khzxTq0uBxdJQnCiSfy5LfgZO3EohwjNOvm34LVDU/s564/23d96505e4ec4c81b6501dc766ed06a4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="564" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNEy-TeTk01JD0V17QUvLvTR3DA5uvwxAo_V1Ho4-x3YNkArVcrwRhmqxgCQkgVIQ0uo-kam76wBBabvhg1j5VlYhSwbWalpPR3khzxTq0uBxdJQnCiSfy5LfgZO3EohwjNOvm34LVDU/w451-h338/23d96505e4ec4c81b6501dc766ed06a4.jpg" width="451" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It should not be left unsaid that the current world pandemic completely destroyed any chances of us seeing Bill and Ted Face the Music theatrically. I mean, I hear it’s showing in about 700 theaters across the U.S., but there aren’t many people right now willing to risk getting the Corona virus to see a movie. So how does a film like this one, long awaited by fans around the world, survive? How does it make its money back? Well, thankfully Bill and Ted Face Music will have a chance to make its money through streaming services that are offering the film for 20 bucks to rent and 25 bucks to buy. And just like that the pandemic has changed our movie watching experience. Truth be told, I love going to the theater to see a movie, so that’s never gonna stop for me. But wow, it felt weird seeing a movie that was supposed to be released theatrically, right in the comfort of my living room. I wish them nothing but the best, and kudos to the producers for adapting so effectively to these world conditions, right now, it’s an adapt or die world out there.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TvV0y4d-TTCb_pKEOK_f5hjGy7SWfg04r5vXgZap947aTuacaUtRDKP4AGnUC-KgRNGi7S37PNoUIURRNZfdGHtb1WnsnpkQz0H23rFrmCYGYkBTOPFEpXs2Rytv1BhUQKtP1GhdAEk/s564/605bba67a44b697410769aede44854a4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="564" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TvV0y4d-TTCb_pKEOK_f5hjGy7SWfg04r5vXgZap947aTuacaUtRDKP4AGnUC-KgRNGi7S37PNoUIURRNZfdGHtb1WnsnpkQz0H23rFrmCYGYkBTOPFEpXs2Rytv1BhUQKtP1GhdAEk/w451-h254/605bba67a44b697410769aede44854a4.jpg" width="451" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></p>So the question remains, was Bill and Ted Face the Music worth the wait? Hell yeah it was! This long gestating sequel didn’t dissapoint due the fact that it brought back the creative crew behind the first two films, writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, by the way, try and catch their cameo, they have appeared in cameos in all three films! So, one of the best parts about this sequel is that it has a solid script, it doesn’t fall apart or feel sloppy, everything fits because Solomon and Matheson created Bill and Ted, they know these characters better then we do dude. This is a prime example of a film working because it had that essential blue print called ‘a good script’. The film does have elements and gags from previous films, like going to the afterlife and traveling through time to gather famous people, but it also adds a completely new dimension to the film, namely, Bill and Ted growing old. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKipbAsdQTtBOm89jo4UaaKfYdbJuv_ar8KEwlYA9Hka005L5tk5WCN_hsYhD-Iy-OXBerRtJEjWQHtdoRYQYAxdQgkZEXR2w9zNioUQ1zPLLPwmZqEvGs8gcJqLZ2hvv_G9EYEyCfeNk/s800/BTFTM_20190708_PP_0173.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="800" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKipbAsdQTtBOm89jo4UaaKfYdbJuv_ar8KEwlYA9Hka005L5tk5WCN_hsYhD-Iy-OXBerRtJEjWQHtdoRYQYAxdQgkZEXR2w9zNioUQ1zPLLPwmZqEvGs8gcJqLZ2hvv_G9EYEyCfeNk/w410-h228/BTFTM_20190708_PP_0173.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;">And this is something we see a lot in the film industry today, films pandering to nostalgia. We know it, but hell, we love it. We get to see our favorite movie characters grow old with us. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and the Star Wars films come to mind. And I get it. Movies from e 80s and 90s where special, they were crazier. Zanier, which equals to a lot of fun. To quote an old man “They just don’t make them like that anymore”. I mean, seriously, try explaining the plot of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey to someone and you’ll find out just how zany movies in the 80’s and 90’s were. I miss that zaniness in the cinema, which is why I enjoyed how in Bill and Ted’s Face the Music, the people behind it didn’t forget that. They go gonzo with this one once again and I loved it. </div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-baN73ddNhyphenhyphenKNDBx3-iGL2pkazeHJR_gRIGxRco83JDzavfmQziJK4da6QlZmBJMzaTZqNfZNOuLcDlbRW-fKDifCNOvfNXyIgKHAejXHhrw2vlZLkv8XKrnyJ_Ojy1YiyiqMV3NX3ss/s1320/Death_Bill_Ted_81D-3A_GRADED_112119.00195142.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1320" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-baN73ddNhyphenhyphenKNDBx3-iGL2pkazeHJR_gRIGxRco83JDzavfmQziJK4da6QlZmBJMzaTZqNfZNOuLcDlbRW-fKDifCNOvfNXyIgKHAejXHhrw2vlZLkv8XKrnyJ_Ojy1YiyiqMV3NX3ss/w410-h250/Death_Bill_Ted_81D-3A_GRADED_112119.00195142.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;">Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves play the characters not missing a step, these guys are Bill and Ted again, they haven’t forgotten how to play these guys. It’s awesome to see them together again. To see them grow as characters, become parents. It was an awesome surprise to see William Sadler returning as Death. Speaking of funny, George Carlin as Rufus (Bill and Ted’s guide from the future in the previous films) was sorely missed, but at least his character is remembered in a cool way. We get interesting new additions to the cast in the form of Kirsten Joy Schaal and Julian Belle, which I love because, hello, let’s start casting actual comedians in comedy films thank you very much. And these girls got the funny bone, they deliver. Then we have Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine playing Bill and Ted’s daughters. Some fans got the idea that maybe the movie would be more about the daughters and Bill and Ted would play sort of like a cameo, but no my friends, this movie integrates all characters and Bill and Ted are front and center, this movie is about Bill and Ted! And about their daughters! It’s about who they’d be when they are 50, it’s about achieving our true potential, it’s about family and true love and finally, it’s about uniting humanity in one big song of love, peace and unity and we all could use a little more of that in this crazy world we are currently living in. Movie got me chocked up in the end. Truth be told, I had a smirk on my face through out the whole film. It’s a feel good movie for many reasons. Don’t miss the closing credits were you get to see real Bill and Ted fans playing their air guitars and musical instruments. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbZCFG5iBeKyXS-2pgoMtQHuyODiSAJHjncsnn1APtN9kPD3STUgacKmFcGLY7HOP2i2Jdv4ev3I89G4jekrbM77Ambd9TyKu4Qc_pgVw1P5aRf4xkWAUAMZUScmFEPy2eHmrmA1luFM/s1240/bill-ted-face-the-music-samaraweaving_and_brigettelundy-paine_star_in_billandted_face_the_music_rgb.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1240" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbZCFG5iBeKyXS-2pgoMtQHuyODiSAJHjncsnn1APtN9kPD3STUgacKmFcGLY7HOP2i2Jdv4ev3I89G4jekrbM77Ambd9TyKu4Qc_pgVw1P5aRf4xkWAUAMZUScmFEPy2eHmrmA1luFM/w410-h231/bill-ted-face-the-music-samaraweaving_and_brigettelundy-paine_star_in_billandted_face_the_music_rgb.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You might think that I got my nostalgia goggles on (and of course I do) but if this movie had sucked, trust me, I would have let you know. I got no problem in saying it like it is with any given movie, even when a film is from a beloved franchise. Terminator Dark Fate (2019) I’m looking at you kid. Bottom line my excellent friends, Bill and Ted Face the Music is a dignified sequel with great effects, awesome production values and Reeves and Winter in top form as Bill and Ted. It didn’t disappoint in the least. Stay all the way to the end of the credits for an extra treat you won’t want to miss. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTej27TlpHx1_DXOO299wUa4YlH8c5ROHM0EJY2fwgHerGhI_JmT5CgcuovvD_CYWetUPzWdO31e3Ka6f3neIs0VNiQBnth5JBWvlRPQJKisDcobtxULdlRf_AAtsTNNDE3Kq4SjI4v4/s1280/Bill-and-Ted-Face-the-Music-Death-1280x720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTej27TlpHx1_DXOO299wUa4YlH8c5ROHM0EJY2fwgHerGhI_JmT5CgcuovvD_CYWetUPzWdO31e3Ka6f3neIs0VNiQBnth5JBWvlRPQJKisDcobtxULdlRf_AAtsTNNDE3Kq4SjI4v4/w410-h230/Bill-and-Ted-Face-the-Music-Death-1280x720.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p>Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-26060684322213221812019-10-24T07:36:00.002-07:002019-10-24T07:38:53.891-07:00Zombieland Double Tap (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2iZnEciaO16A_0wnL7wkCEFd-7EEFs2VVjfndwaP0sIeKLTfDkA6GRrXOsEPBFG2nukxUqs782hXktzGauKVZogsvuVp6kx3NVAMD50Nx-moSAxYXyNhlj9Mao43nR2llv1tIQWzk8qw/s1600/9078b89f098179a4fbd4b8921657fc63046266bf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1130" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2iZnEciaO16A_0wnL7wkCEFd-7EEFs2VVjfndwaP0sIeKLTfDkA6GRrXOsEPBFG2nukxUqs782hXktzGauKVZogsvuVp6kx3NVAMD50Nx-moSAxYXyNhlj9Mao43nR2llv1tIQWzk8qw/s400/9078b89f098179a4fbd4b8921657fc63046266bf.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Director: </b>Ruben Fleisher<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cast: </b>Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin, Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Zombie films have proven to be cyclical. Like the undead beings they portray, the zombie genre is resurrected and disposed of according to the public’s interest or the success of one particular film. Back in the 70’s, thanks to the success of George Romero’s <b>Dawn of the Dead </b>(1978), zombie films made a resurgence. They grew in popularity thanks to all the Italian knock offs that came as a result of Romero’s seminal film. I speak of films like Lucio Fulci’s <b>Zombie</b> (1979) and <b>The Beyond</b> (1983) and a whole slew of Italian zombie films that were released during the 80’s. In America, we saw films like <b>Return of the Living Dead </b>(1985), <b>Day of the Dead</b> (1985), <b>Re-Animator</b> (1985) and <b>Night of the Creeps</b> (1986). In a few years, zombie movies died again and disappeared. During the 90’s, few of them were released in theaters and the ones that did get released were not box office giants. But time passed and in 2002 that all changed, zombie movies were back at the box office and they came back strong! Thanks to box office hits like <b>28 Days Later</b> (2002), <b>Dawn of the Dead</b> (2004), <b>Shaun of the Dead</b> (2004) and <b>Resident Evil</b> (2002), zombie movies were back in a big way! Zombies even infested our tv screens with shows like the ever popular The Walking Dead, which is still shambling around.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Zombieland</b> (2009) was released around the time when people were still obsessed with zombies. It was a moderate hit, which should have meant a quick sequel. Instead, for whatever the reason, they waited a decade to make it. So now here comes the sequel, a whole decade late. I can definitely say it couldn’t have come at a worse time, because at this point, people are zombied out. This zombie wave is reaching its end …zombie fatigue is definitely here and it is felt in the lackluster box office performance of <b>Zombieland Double Tap</b> (2019) Yes my friends, my take on <b>Zombieland Double Tap</b> is that it’s a sequel that came about ten years too late. And you know how that goes when you wait too long to do a sequel, people stop caring. If you don’t believe me just see <b>Dumb and Dumber 2</b> (2014), <b>Zoolander 2</b> (2016) or any other sequel that waited too damn long to be made. The moment has passed, the magic is gone. I say it’s always a mistake to wait that long. Unless your film is a sequel to a beloved franchise that people can’t get enough off, chances are your long gestating sequel will die a quick death at the box office. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75MxcWYm6VQbr9-eAfFRZR8oSktIT6A1iboD1856QRN7lQLCI__tDSTGXLm3thfvyyFUVADe4voqa9PV-fVcrJbSq8zgB7eTjMnDtlmDet5QkS0Wonp4B-2fDGcAtKy9ReZElkGVyImw/s1600/the-first-trailer-for-zombieland-double-tap-is-filled-with-lots-of-fun-action-and-humor-social.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75MxcWYm6VQbr9-eAfFRZR8oSktIT6A1iboD1856QRN7lQLCI__tDSTGXLm3thfvyyFUVADe4voqa9PV-fVcrJbSq8zgB7eTjMnDtlmDet5QkS0Wonp4B-2fDGcAtKy9ReZElkGVyImw/s400/the-first-trailer-for-zombieland-double-tap-is-filled-with-lots-of-fun-action-and-humor-social.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why make <b>Zombieland 2</b> now? When people have had their fill of zombies for years? Apparently the filmmakers have their faiths set on the cast, who at this point are all Oscar nominees or winners. Or they think they have an important enough story that it simply has to be told! But quite honestly it doesn’t feel that way at all. In fact, it’s a very silly movie that exists only to make us laugh and giggle, the story is just an excuse for the comedy antics which is fine by me, the only problem for me is that I feel they could have made it funnier. I’m sure a lot of people will find it an unnecessary film. As it is, it's simply a watchable film. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75L-EgNOIcFVoOj-sapsV5ONPO3xIKMKFqcZNYAbQjpT4bUofRjhug293l8-Yrb9oto7wrf4owHGoYOCwENwvIi6V4Kvm0WWZkwvCefrBO1ITUfC7xnmFlRENjDAKFPOXtUr7_NSrOnk/s1600/12cc2ab4-b907-4d97-a6cf-d87f4606c04f-zombieland-double-tap-DF-05666_r-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="540" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75L-EgNOIcFVoOj-sapsV5ONPO3xIKMKFqcZNYAbQjpT4bUofRjhug293l8-Yrb9oto7wrf4owHGoYOCwENwvIi6V4Kvm0WWZkwvCefrBO1ITUfC7xnmFlRENjDAKFPOXtUr7_NSrOnk/s400/12cc2ab4-b907-4d97-a6cf-d87f4606c04f-zombieland-double-tap-DF-05666_r-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s great seeing Harrelson, Eisenberg, Stone and Breslin together again. They still have the chemistry, which is really what saves this movie. It's the script that's weak. And that's a sad story too because apparently they waited this long because they were waiting for the right script or it wasn't going to happen. Let's see how this story goes..it’s been more than ten years since we last saw them and the zombie apocalypse is still going strong with a (wait for it) new strand of zombie that has evolved and become stronger and faster. The team has decided to find their “forever home” and it’s the abandoned white house. The story revolves around rescuing Abigail Breslin’s character, who has decided to run off with a hippy who doesn’t believe in violence. And they decided to go to Graceland, Elvis's home. So off they go to rescue her, along the way they meet a couple of funny characters.</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But honestly there’s nothing here you haven’t seen before in other zombie movies. An evolved strand of zombies? Check. The zombie free haven they have to get to by the end of the movie? Check. They even have an entire scene that we’d already seen before in Resident Evil Extinction (2007), so this one doesn’t get any bonus points for originality in terms of zombie antics. I did laugh a few times, but I feel that if the filmmakers knew that they were not bringing anything new to the table in terms of zombie mayhem, then they should have at least amped up the comedy and made it a full on super comedy. I mean, I did like the ditzy dumb blonde girl…and the Tallahassee and Columbus clones…but we needed more slapstick, silly stuff. Problem is that the actors on this film aren’t comedians, they are actors who are in a movie that’s supposed to be funny. The film could have benefited from casting actual comedians in the main roles. Why is it that Hollywood keeps making comedies without comedians? I don’t get that. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s not all bad, while this movie does feel a tad unnecessary, it does have a few things that keep it from being a total waste of your time, like for example, there’s the opening sequence that imitates the opening sequence from the first film. If you remember correctly, the first film opened to slow motion zombie mayhem to the tune of Metallica’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, on this one they do the same slow motion zombie mayhem thing, but to the tune of Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ which is just perfect, loved that opening credits sequence. There’s an after credits scene involving Bill Murray killing zombies, make sure you stay for that. There’s a scene that involves Rosario Dawson driving a monster truck that was pretty freaking sweet. But that’s about it. A fun movie my friends, but nothing you’ll remember after you walk out of the theater. It’s got zombies, but nothing we haven’t seen before. It’s funny, but not super funny. So it’s a very been there done that kind of film, very so-so. I guess the correct word for this one is ‘bland’ and that’s not a good thing for a zombie film to be. So in a way, Zombieland Double Tap has dug its own grave. Bottom line is, we are witnessing the last throes of this cinematic zombie wave. I am currently waiting for Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead to be released, which to be honest has my full attention, my curiosity is peaked. It looks like that will be the film to determine if we’ll see any more theatrically released zombie films in the coming years. Let’s see where this goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Rating: 3 out of 5</span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p>Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-74884188393466005552019-10-12T13:33:00.004-07:002019-10-12T16:25:59.837-07:00Joker (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Joker (2019)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Director: </b>Todd Phillips <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cast:</b> Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Deniro<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Joker</b> has taken the world by storm. I had a hint that it was going to be better than your ordinary comic book movie when the media started their fear campaign against it. Somebody somewhere made damn sure that major media outlets started spreading the news that going to see Joker might be a dangerous thing because the movie might instigate a crazy loon to sneak into your theater and shot gun you to death. Sure it happened before during <b>The Dark Knight Returns</b> <b>(2008)</b>, but that was an isolated incident and we sure as hell are not gonna let one crazy bastard (who started shooting people in a theater while dressed in a Joker outfit) ruin our movie going experiences. They also had people believe that it is way to violent. Okay, so it is violent I wont say it isn’t, but there’s way more violent films out there. <b>John Wick Chapter 3</b> <b>(2019)</b> and <b>Rambo: The Last Blood (2019)</b> are two fine examples of films that are way more violent and graphic than Joker, so that argument was weak. So why did the media target this film for termination? Why did the powers that control the media focus all their forces against this film? Could it be that it actually had something to say? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> Glad to say that yes, t</span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">his film does in fact have a lot to say and I applaud it for doing so because we do live in a world in which being truthful is frowned upon and wearing a mask to hide what we really have to say is the norm.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Film reviewers who weren’t attached to mainstream media (and I speak of bloggers and movie sites) were hailing it as a masterpiece. My movie buff experience has shown me that usually, when the media tries its best to kill a movie, its’ because they are afraid of it. When the media started to label it as dangerous, I immediately put the movie on my must watch list. The media tells me not to do it, I’m gonna do the opposite, because normally they don’t give a shit what crappy movie you go see. But when they’re self-righteous, politically correct minds stand against something so strongly, it’s because they are afraid of it. And ho boy do they have a reason to be afraid of Joker.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Sure, it's “just a movie”, but like the highest type of literature, film can also serve as a mirror to ourselves; to society and Joker simply put, is right on the money as to how a huge part of society feels right now. The poor are suffering, the rich are getting fatter and things are tough all over as Cheech and Chong use to say. Yeah people are struggling to survive in this crazy world, many are one paycheck from living out on the streets…one crazy moment away from going totally bat shit insane. And when the masses can’t take it no more, all they need is a little push to drive them over the edge. This is what “they” are afraid of, that those in need of waking up might do so because of this movie. That they might suddenly see what’s being done to them and that seeing the film might push them to do something about it. That is the reason “they” don’t want you to see it. But tell a kid not to do something, and he’ll go right ahead and do it. So others might see the whole “controversy” as a marketing campaign. If it is, it worked like gang busters.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Will this movie incite people to revolt? To scream as the main character in <b>Network (1976)</b> did “I’m mad as hell and I can’t take it anymore!”? Actually, that quote is referenced in Joker, leading us cinephiles and movie buffs to understand the mentality behind this fine picture. That mentality of uncovering the insanity behind the status quo of society, showing us, with laser like accuracy, the ones to blame for the state of the nation. What they fear with this movie is that people will see themselves mirrored in the main character of the Joker. And I’m sure many will. We’ve all been in that tight spot, living paycheck to paycheck, praying that pay day gets here…only to see our checks vanish in thin air due to how expensive life is at the moment. So yes, many people will see their lives addressed in this here film.</span></div>
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<o:p style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now these are all issues that need to be addressed, we cannot go through life ignoring problems. As we all know, when we do that, problems only tend to get bigger. Issues have to be addressed and talked about, so solutions can surface and progress is achieved. Kudos to the filmmakers behind <b>Joker</b> for that. For harnessing societies collective anxieties in one film. Now, Joker is not the first film to do that and the filmmakers behind Joker know this, which is why they borrowed and paid homage to films of the same ilk. I speak of course of </span><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Taxi Driver (1976), The King of Comedy (1982), A Clockwork Orange (1971</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">), Fight Club (1999)</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Network (1976)</b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">. You’ll find bits and pieces of all these movies in <b>Joker</b>. And that’s a good thing in my book, it drew inspiration from similar films and created this amazing film that brings its own original and show stopping moments to the silver screen.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">I am pleasently surprised with where DC went with Joker. This film is the anti-thesis of Marvel movies. Joker was decidedly adult and dramatic, serious and raw. It’s not a cgi fest, it’s not PG-13, it does not have a post credits sequence…simply put, if you had superhero fatigue, Joker is the cure. Now keep in mind that it is not your traditional “comic book film”, you’re not gonna see heroes posing with the full moon in the back looking all mysterious and menacing. You’re not going to get your traditional Joker either, so don’t expect Joker falling into a vat of chemicals while fighting Batman. No, this film functions more like an issue of ‘What If…?’ from Marvel Comics, an alternate take on the Joker. It’s closer in spirit to what Fox did with <b>Logan (2017)</b>, it takes the character to previously unseen levels of dramatic possibilities. It takes the Batman mythos and uses it as an excuse to address social issues and present us with a picture perfect character study of a mental patient.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Speaking of which Joaquin Phoenix delivered such a masterful performance. The Oscar for performance of the year is his, I am almost certain of it. If he doesn’t win it, I will lose what little faith I had in the Oscars. If he doesn’t win, there’s something wrong with “the academy”, which has always been a bit looney anyways. Joaquin will convince you of his madness. He really did immerse himself into the role, losing weight to look sickly and being extremely intense on set. He was recorded getting upset because someone was making fun of him on the set, calling him a “diva”. To that I say, why mess with an actor that is “in the zone” trying to create a memorable performance? I side with Joaquin who said “I’m sorry, but he shouldn’t have done it”. And I totally get him. When you see the performance, you see he wasn’t just reading his lines, he wasn’t just “getting a paycheck” with this movie. No, he was living that role, he was meaning it. With this performance, Joaquin puts other actors to shame. This will be, I’m sure, the performance of his life. The one they will most remember Phoenix by.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Technically speaking the film is amazing as well. It shows us a very ugly picture of society, sure, but it looks so beautiful. Somebody had the brilliant idea of shooting in New York and making it look like Gotham and I have to say this was a genius idea. Maybe it had something to do with Scorcese producing? As cinephiles everywhere know, Scorcese has always been enamored with the Big Apple, and so maybe his clout made it all happen. Because normally, studios stay away from filming in New York because it is so expensive to shoot there. On a personal note, I had a blast when I discovered they shot the most iconic scene in the film (that of Joker dancing on those long steps) in the neighborhood where I grew up in, in The Bronx. It was so cool to see Joker dancing around my old elementary school! To see him dancing his glorious dance in those steps I went up so many times!</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Final words: it’s not all the time that we get a film that syphons the way the public feels about society so well. This is the reason why the film is breaking all sorts of records. It’s because people see themselves in the film. Joker has high marks all around, great performances, great script, an amazing musical score (reminiscent of <b>Taxi Driver'</b>s own score) and beautiful visuals, a true masterpiece of modern cinema. I love that DC is finally doing the right thing by not trying to duplicate Marvel’s movies, but rather getting as far away from them as possible. Keep it up DC, chins up, you’ve redeemed yourselves with this one! Don’t drop the ball with the next one! </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b></span></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-58953021955986854152019-09-12T10:38:00.003-07:002019-09-12T14:47:47.827-07:00IT Chapter Two (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">It Chapter Two (2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Director: </b>Andy Muschietti <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cast: </b>Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Bill Skarsgard, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The rule of thumb for sequels to a highly successful film is that the second one will be <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: large;">bigger, louder and more ‘in your face’ than the first film and trust me, It Chapter Two definitely does this. This sequel to Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen Kings IT is all that and then some. It certainly is longer! Strap yourself tight because this carnival of horrors is 11 minutes shy of being a three hour movie! A little too much for some viewers, I know. I saw a couple of people leaving the theater even before the film was totally over. But for those of you who want their movies to go on forever, because you just LOVE a good movie, well, you’re in for a treat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the first one, with ‘The Losers’ all grown up, each living their own separate lives. One is a writer, one is an entrepreneur, one is a comedian and so forth and they’ve all forgotten the horrifying events they lived through together when they were kids. And that’s the way they want to keep the past, forgotten. But when the evil clown known as ‘Pennywise’ begins to kill again, it’s up to ‘The Losers’ to reunite and take on the monster, one final time. Will they have the guts to face their fears and slay the beast?</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">I thought I’d get a bit bored with this movie, because I’d seen the original one a million times, but as it turns out this remake has so many new elements to it, I was actually thoroughly entertained. The good part about this is that you can watch both versions of ‘It’ and you’ll have original moments occur in each. Basically, every major scare sequence has been altered, replaced or enhanced in one way or another by new monsters and nightmares, which is great. In my opinion, that’s what makes a good remake. A film that retains the essence of the original, while still giving us enough new material so that we won’t get bored. So don’t expect that creepy shower sequence you love so much from the original, it’s been replaced with some new creepiness. Yet not all is changed, the film successfully retained that feeling of true friendship and love that is such an essential part of IT and of many of Stephen King’s novels. King loves to tell stories that have that ‘gee whiz aint it fun to be a kid’ vibe to them. The clubhouse, the riding the bikes through the woods, the blood pact and the idea that our childhood friends will remain our friends forever and ever. It Chapter Two felt a lot like King’s Stand by Me…if you mashed it up with A Nightmare on Elm Street. Doesn’t that sound enticing?</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Andy Muschietti makes the film very much his own by adding those creepy cartoony creatures he infused into his horror film, Mama (2013). Remember that one? The one about the creepy entity who decides to raise a couple of orphaned girls? Creepy visuals indeed, but on IT he takes those creepy visuals up to a thousand. Loved the creatures on this one! Don’t expect anything “realistic”, after all, this film is filled with dark fantastic elements like aliens, evil clowns and giant soul sucking spiders. So, if you like your creepy, EC comics style creatures and monsters, you should have tons of fun with this one. A note about the effects, I personally really dug the visual effects aspect of the whole thing, while some people seem to be bothered by the cartoony nature of some of the effects, I personally thought they were effective when taking in consideration the tone of the film.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another thing I loved about It Chapter Two was the huge homage it is to the 80’s. I know going back to the 80’s has always been cool (tell me about it I LIVED through them) and some might feel that doing this on any film is old hat, but honestly, I loved the homages to the decadent era. A Thundercats t-shirt, a poster for The Lost Boys, a Street Fighter Arcade machine and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) on a cinema marquee were some of the homages I caught. But trust me, there are many more little homages spread through-out the entire film, one amazing one goes to John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), but I won’t tell you how that one unfolds. So be on the lookout for those!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The film does have a lot of levity to it, this has bothered some hardcore horror fans. But we have to remember that horror and comedy have always gone hand in hand. Remember An American Werewolf in London (1981)? How about Ghostbusters (1984)? Fright Night (1985)? Creepshow (1982)? All scary/fun movies. Remember, with the exception of hardcore horror fans who love true blue hardcore horror, the general population probably can’t take too much of the gory red stuff. Plus, this is a big budget horror film, producers want to make their money back and one way of doing this is by having the general population have a little fun with their scares. I mean, it’s not in every movie that three children get slaughtered in graphic ways. Producers know this, so they alleviate the tension with a little levity. Case in point, Bill Hader as Richie. Though if we get right down to it, the character of Richie was always the funny one in the novel as well as the original film. So, we can’t really complain that Richie is always saying jokes, that’s just the way the character was written. On top of all that, Hader is hilarious on It: Chapter Two, a very welcome addition to the film if you ask me. Hader, as far as I can tell, is a comedic star in the making. I got a feeling Hader is gonna be way bigger in the near future.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Word of advice, go to the bathroom before the movie starts and don’t order the large soft drink or else you’ll be getting up half way through the movie and miss something. I say Muschietti will be making lots of movies in the near future, It Chapter Two has already made close to 100 million domestically, so it is a surefire hit. I’m just hoping that the Thundercats t-shirt in the film means that Muschietti is actually considering bringing the Thundercats to the big screen. Wouldn’t that be something? A Thundercats film is a surefire hit waiting to happen. I just can’t believe some producer hasn’t picked this one up yet! Everybody and their mother is waiting for that movie to get made. Well, at least those of us who grew up during the 80’s! So anyhow, bottom line with IT Chapter Two is that it’s a long film, sure, but a scary, creepy ride worth taking.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rating: 5 out of 5 </b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-77834412431950513912019-08-18T18:24:00.001-07:002019-08-19T21:22:29.223-07:00Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (2019)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Written and Directed by:</b> Quentin Tarantino <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cast: </b>Margot Robbie, Leonardo Di Caprio, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, Emil Hirsch, Kurt Russell, Luke Perry <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The god of cinema decided to make another one so of course I had to go see it. Movie buffs like me live for days like this, when a legendary filmmaker releases his new masterpiece upon an unsuspecting universe. As you can see, with every Tarantino film there comes a certain expectation of greatness for me. It goes without saying that I am a full blown Tarantino fan since day one, when I first saw Pulp Fiction back in ‘94 and felt a bucket of cold ice being poured down my cinematic back. But time has passed and as Tarantino himself has said, directors do not make their best movies in their heyday. And Tarantino is close to what he calls his ‘heyday’. But whatever, I don’t subscribe to that idea, I mean, Scorcese is still amazing and he's close to hitting 80 as I write this. It’s true, that directing a film is a “young person’s game” but Tarantino isn’t that old yet. He still has it in him to hammer out a few good ones. So, was this one of his “good ones”?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood</b> is as the title suggest, a huge love letter to Hollywood, filmmaking, actors and life in L.A. during the end of the 60’s. We follow Rick Dalton, an actor who’s afraid of being a has been and his stunt man Cliff Booth. Together they go from gig to gig hoping that it isn’t their last. Somehow, they end up getting entangled with Charles Manson and his gang of zelot followers. The rest is fun times in La La Land, Tarantino style. </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve noticed this thing Tarantino’s been doing with his films. He takes a moment in history and totally changes it as if saying “this is how I wish it had happened!”. Remember how he burned Hitler and all his cronies in <b>Inglorious Bastards</b> (2009)? Of course we all know that’s not how it happened, but that’s how Tarantino wished it had. Well, Tarantino does the same thing here with Sharon Tate’s murder at the hands of Charles Manson’s followers. It was a crime of pure hate and stupidity. Tate was pregnant and two weeks away from giving birth to her new child when these crazy Manson zombies killed her and her guests. Tarantino feels this was a great wrong, Tate was a beloved actress, she was loved for her looks and her talent and was a star on the rise. Tarantino decides to tell us the events that occurred that night, but in a completely different way, using Poetic Justice as his weapon. </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Along the way, the film muses on the hardships of being an actor and trying to survive in Hollywood. What’s it like to have that pressure of delivering a great performance? What is the actors duty on a film or a television show? Tarantino also takes us on a stroll down Los Angeles 1969, with all the cinema marquees and automobiles from that era that you’d expect. I thought it was awesome how he brought that era to life, no digital effects to be seen I might add. A lot of scenes in the film are of characters just driving around L.A. streets so we can absorb the era. Granted, this film isn’t as profound as I<b>nglorious Basterds</b> (2009), there’s a decidedly lighter tone to the film, like a fun breezy vibe, a feeling enhanced by Brad Pitt’s character Cliff Booth, always smiling, his character serves as a counter part to the darkness of one of the films themes, Sharon Tate’s murder at the hands of the Manson Family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>Tarantino, Di Caprio and Pitt get together once again and I have to say the results are fantastic. Di Caprio delivers another amazing performance to his repertoire. I’ve always thought that Di Caprio is one of the best actors of his generation from day one when he blew me away in <b>What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? </b>(1993) and to be honest he continues to do so to this day. Love his performance on <b>Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood</b>. A flawed, imperfect character struggling with his craft, worried about becoming useless in life. Brad Pitt turns in another loopy sort of happy go lucky stoner type, where nothing fades him, always the cool dude. His character reminded me of that stoner guy he played in <b>True Romance</b> (1993), it felt as if that character had grown up and become a stunt man in Hollywood. There are lots of cameos sprinkled all through out the film, we get Al Pacino playing a film producer and Kurt Russell as a stunt coordinator, in a way, it felt like he was perhaps playing the same character he played in Tarantino’s <b>Death Proof</b> (2007)? We also get a lot of Tarantino regulars like Zoe Bell, Bruce Dern and Michael Madsen, sorry, no Samuel Jackson this time around. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>This is Tarantino’s 9<sup>th</sup>film and there’s been a lot of talk about Tarantino saying that his next one, his tenth film, will be his last. Quite honestly I think they will milk that angle to death for his next film and make a profit out of it being “Tarantino’s 10<sup>th</sup>and final film”, but I can almost guarantee that wont be the case. Tarantino’s love for cinema is too strong, a fact that’s evident by what we see in <b>Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood</b>. Tarantino has still got it and I don’t think it’s going anywhere, not even after he makes his 10<sup>th</sup>film. But that’s just me and I could be horribly wrong so don’t quote me on that. As for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, it’s a fun ride down the trippy 60’s. It’s a fun time at the movies that explores a dark chapter in Hollywood history while also exploring in a very entertaining way what it means to produce, act and direct films. A film buffs dream this movie is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b>. </span></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-89429828183471393512019-06-11T05:42:00.002-07:002019-06-14T15:40:07.399-07:00Dark Phoenix (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Dark Phoenix (2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><b>Director/Writer:</b> Simon Kinberg <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><b>Cast:</b> Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Evan Peters <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Again, another film that’s getting the shaft from audiences because they are being led to believe they shouldn’t see it. Hollywood is notorious when it comes to dealing with left over productions from a previous regime. Case in point, Disney bought Fox and so all films that were in the process of being completed during this period are quietly swept under the rug or treated like crap and left to die a quick death at the box office. For example, The New Mutants was one of the productions to get swept under the rug and forgotten. To be honest, that film looked all types of cool, it even had a horror vibe to it. Mutants in a horror film? Hell yeah I’d like to see that one! But since it was made during the Fox/Disney take over, it’s now in limbo, possibly being unceremoniously dumped on Netflix. And then there’s Dark Phoenix, the last X-Men film that will be produced by 20<sup>th</sup>Century Fox. Well, people already hate it because they just can’t wait for Disney to take over the X-Men and “give them the X-Men film they’ve always wanted”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">It’s sad too, considering that the X-Men franchise was the one (along with the Spider Man movies) to kick off the currently still going strong super hero craze in cinemas. I remember a time when people just couldn’t believe they were finally getting an X-men film. Now here we are, at a point where people don’t want to back up an X-Men film. And it’s a damn shame too because this is a good one. Dark Phoenix tells the tale of the ‘Dark Phoenix Saga’, one of the most recognized and beloved of the X-men stories. This review comes from a guy who’s just read the Dark Phoenix Saga and has just recently seen Dark Phoenix. So, how did the comic book to film transition fare? Was the film faithful to the comic? For those not in the know the Dark Phoenix Saga is all about Jean Gray and how her powers get out of control and how she likes it. Problem is, absolute power corrupts absolutely and Jean ends up turning so powerful that all she cares about is pleasing her ever growing thirst for power, which includes the ability to devour worlds and everyone in them. She actually rivals Galactus in that sense, and Galactus is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe! But how do the X-Men react to Jean going evil? Can Cyclops stop loving her? Can the X-Men and the rest of the world forgive her for all her evil doings? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">As expected, some changes do occur from comic to silver screen. The biggest one for me is that Jean’s reason for turning evil doesn’t come from within her, but rather from an entity that possesses her body while on a space mission. This point is the one that “bothered” me the most as I actually dug that element of the story, the fact that the evil comes from within, that idea that we all have a dark side that we have to contend with, that side that we learn to keep in check, to control. The other big change is that they completely eliminated the plot line involving The Hellfire Club and their desire to control Jean and use her for their purposes. Finally, one last change was that the aftermath of Jean going evil and how she is judged by an alien race for having destroyed and entire planet and all the millions of people who lived in it. These changes were probably made for budgetary reasons, to keep the story “smaller”, and I get that. Which is why I’ve always thought this story should have been better suited for a trilogy of films rather than telling the whole story in one film. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The good news is that the story manages to retain the gist of the Dark Phoenix Saga. Jean is still battling with her inner demons and the fact that she quite enjoys the influx of power. The story is still about her trying to control it. So we get all the important points that the original story hit. What’s good about the film? Is it as bad as the media and mindless movie reviewers would have you think? Hell no. In all honesty, I enjoyed this X-Men film more than I enjoyed parts 3 to 5! It is a very eventful chapter in the X-Men saga. To my surprise it is very well written. Now take in consideration that this film was directed by Simon Kinberg, the same guy who wrote X-Men’s 3 through 5! So he knows the X-men inside and out! Thankfully Kinberg takes the opportunity to fix a lot of the mistakes and quirks that fans haven’t enjoyed from previous entries and even makes fun of his own films. For example, Mystique has a line where she pokes fun at how it’s the women who are always saving the men and how the group should be called X-Women. Also, just when Xavier is about to go on one of his famous ramblings where he starts to babble people to death Magneto says “save it, nobody is listening”. Poking fun at how sometimes Magneto and Xavier go on these endless rants! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Why do I say that I enjoyed this one more than other X-Men films? Well for one, the dialog is straight and to the point which I loved. The film doesn’t feel like it was filmed entirely in a green room; this one feels like they actually shot the film in locations! In terms of action, this one delivers. There’s a moment where all the X-Men get together to gather Jean that’s just wow. There’s another scene on a train that will blow you away! Another plus is that the X-Men don’t hold back on their powers on this one. Remember how in X-Men you were upset because they put Storm to fight against Toad? Well, that doesn’t happen here! On this one all the X-Men go completely ballistic! In fact, they are more violent with their powers on this one than any previous X film, excluding <b>Logan </b>(2017) of course. Also, there are some amazing moments on this one like Magneto vs. Jean! Anyhow, sadly this one is dying a quick death at the box office. But what can you expect? They were writing bad reviews even before the film was released. Good news is, we will see the X-Men rise from the ashes like the Phoenix by way of Disney/Marvel's take on the franchise, gotta say I’m mighty curious about that iteration of the X-Men. But this last Fox film was a great swan song; I recommend you see it in the theater. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><b>Rating: 4 out of 5 </b> </span></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-50428660018950347152019-05-22T06:26:00.000-07:002019-05-22T06:26:04.717-07:00Eyes Without a Face (1960)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Eyes Without a Face (1960)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><b>Director: </b> Georges Franju<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">I didn’t expect this film to be a horror movie classic, but as it turns out, it is. I went into this movie not knowing what to expect, save for the fact that it’s one of those movies that you have to “see before you die”. I put off watching it because I thought it would be a boring film, but as I began to watch it, I was transfixed by the beauty in the imagery and the fact that it was going down horror movie territory, something totally unexpected for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The story is all about a surgeon who is trying to give his daughter a new face. You see, she was in a terrible car accident and her face was horribly disfigured. Her father, the surgeon, concocts a way to give her a new face. Unfortunately, it involves ripping the face off somebody else! Will this procedure work? Will somebody stop the mad doctor? How far should science go to prove a point? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">First off, this film was beautifully shot. It took advantage, as many European films do of Europe’s beautiful architecture and natural landscapes. A director doesn’t need millions of dollars to make his movie look good, he simply has to have an eye for beautiful locations and the talent to shoot them well. This is what happens with Franju’s Eyes Without a Face, it simply looks amazing because Franju shot in these beautiful locations, this, if you ask me, elevates the material from its B movie roots and takes it into art house territory. Still, at heart, this is you’re a-typical mad doctor on the loose movie, there’s more than a passing resemblance with films like <b>Frankenstein</b> (1931) or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Yes, this is a film is about a mad doctor, going above and beyond to make his theories come true, to make his experiments work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The film is most famous for its surgical operation scene, which I imagine must have been quite the show stopper back in the day. Reportedly, people passed out during that sequence. I do remember as I watched the film, I suddenly felt I was watching “the scene”. You know how when you’re watching classic films and see a famous sequence for the first time and you realize you are in the presence of greatness…that’s how I felt with that scene. It’s an art film mixed with a horror film, loved that about this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">After watching <b>Eyes Without a Face</b> I realized where Pedro Almodovar’s <b>The Skin I Live In </b>(2011) comes from. Almodovar’s film is extremely similar in premise and visuals so obviously this film was a major influence. The only thing is that Almodovar’s film dives a bit deeper into themes, while Franju’s film is simplistic in nature and almost kind of void of any themes. The film shocks, has an interesting premise and looks amazing, but what is it trying to say? What is its ultimate purpose? It seems to me like Franju’s film only manages to shock and titillate and that it does in a beautiful way, but it doesn’t go beyond that. So in that sense, it’s an exercise in style over matter, poetic/surreal imagery over depth or story. I’m sure back in 1960 this film must’ve shocked audiences, I’m sure it will be considered tame by today’s horror enthusiasts. Still, this is a beautiful looking horror film, a true classic of the genre. Definitely worth a watch! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-72641194109681518582019-05-21T08:52:00.001-07:002019-05-21T08:52:21.633-07:00John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Director:</b> Chad Stahelski <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Angelica Houston, Ian McShane<o:p></o:p></div>
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To be honest, I never understood what was the big deal with these John Wick movies, so this review comes from a viewer who was never a huge fan of the previous two films. I get why people love these movies, Keanu plus dogs = box office gold. Both are lovable, cause Keanu is Keanu and dogs, well, who doesn’t love dogs right? What I didn’t like about the first two movies was that they were R rated action movies, that behaved like they were rated PG-13. By this I mean that the amount of graphic violence and bloodshed felt limited, restrained. This is a problem for me because these are action films and to me action equals, nitty gritty, bloody and graphic. Intensity is of the essence in action films. I come from the 80’s, which means I was raised with action movies like <b>Lethal Weapon</b> (1987), which means I like my action to be graphic. So I never really understood why these films were holding back. It’s not that I didn’t like these movies, because they are super stylish and fun, but they needed a little more oomph to them in my opinion. So here comes part 3, which had an awesome trailer that got me all convinced this was going to be the one to finally win me over. Did it? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Parabellum picks up right where the second film left off, with every single hit man in the world looking for John Wick, who has a price of 14 million on his head. That’s about all you have to know about this movie to see it. Basically, these John Wick movies all have one simple excuse for all the mayhem to kick off. On the first one they killed his dog. On the second one they thrashed his car. On this one Mr. Wick doesn’t want to die because he wants to go on living so he can remember the love of his life. So basically, that’s the McGuffin on this movie. It’s the excuse to kick things off.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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And boy do things kick off quickly! In this sense John Wick delivers every step of the way, it is literally non-stop action. It never stops. And the action scenes are intricate, extensive and we can actually see what is happening. For a while there, action films were all about blurry camera movements that only suggested what was happening. This was a technique that got very popular after Ridley Scott used it in <b>Gladiator</b> (2000). For a while there in action films, lots of action was happening, but in reality, we understood very little of what was going on. Not on John Wick Chapter 3, here we can see everything that happens! There’s no unnecessary jerky cam to hide behind; on this film all the action is crystal clear. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The action is truly awesome here. I’ve always described these films as excuses to show a million entertaining ways to kill people, and trust me, that’s exactly what you are going to get! We got Keanu shooting guns while horse back riding, we got Keanu shooting guns and sword fighting while riding a motorcycle, we got Keanu making the best use of a massive gun arsenal! I mean, if this isn’t the best definition for the quintessential ‘gun ballad’, I don’t know what is! Gun ballads are these usually super stylized action films that are paper thin in plot and everything is resolved with a gun. Examples of these types of films include films like <b>Wanted</b> (2008),<b> Shoot ‘em Up</b> (2007) and <b>El Mariachi </b>(1992). The John Wick films definitely fit this profile. You so much as look at John Wick wrong you’re going to get a bullet in ‘ya. The violence can become numbing after a while, to the point where I was expecting the film to come up with some bat shit insane death to surprise me, and it always did. Just when you think you’re getting bored, John Wick stabs somebody in the eye. Slowly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Basically, this is the same exact formula as the previous films, only that much cooler. That much more violent. So yes, this was the one that completely won me over. To me, this third John Wick film truly earned its ‘R’ rating, it is the best of the three. It is a guaranteed fun time at the movies. The deaths are way more graphic, the action is never ending and interesting and the stunts are amazing. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Chad Stahelski, the films director is a stunt man himself. He has doubled for many actors in action films, including Keanu in The Matrix films. What works in favor of these John Wick movies is that Stahelski knows his way around action sequences. He even trained Brandon Lee in Jeet Kun Do, before Lee’s death in <b>The Crow</b>, hell, Stahelski doubled for Lee in The Crow when they decided to finish the film. Stahelski also knows how to make a film look good. I mean, everything in John Wick looks like its glowing with neon colors! New York looks amazing on this film! By the way, this film is very New York. 42nd Street, Grand Central Station, The Continental, New York and John Wick are one here. I hear this director has signed up to direct the upcoming <b>Highlander</b> remake. There’s even an inside joke in Parabellum where John Wick walks into an establishment called ‘MacLeod’s’, definitely a hint of things to come, to which I say hell yeah. If the sword play in J<b>ohn Wick 3 </b>is any indication, we’re in for a show. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Rating: 4 out of 5 </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-72089719034530778832019-04-13T09:53:00.003-07:002019-04-13T10:03:12.091-07:00The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Director:</b> Terry Gilliam <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Cast: </b>Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">If you look at the repertoire of films in director Terry Gilliam’s career, you’ll see that a lot of his films have a Quixote quality to them. Many of his films deal with a man who escapes to fantasy worlds in order to avoid the harshness of the real one. For example, in<b> The Adventures of Baron Munchausen </b>(1989), the aging Baron Munchausen calms a war torn town with his tall tales of fantasy and mayhem same as Quixote’s tall tales. Like Don Quixote, the Baron rides a horse wields a sword and fights fantastical creatures. Like Quixote, the Baron gets old when life grows stagnant and only adventure brings him to life! The Baron and Quixote are always avoiding death…from old age…or simply having death itself (read: the grim reaper) literally chasing you around. They are both in love with the “beautiful ladies”. And that’s not the only Quixote like example in Gilliam’s career, Jonathan Price’s character in <b>Brazil</b> (1985) is also a man who escapes into fantasy. In his fantasies he sees himself (much like Quixote) as an armor wearing sword wielding warrior, fighting giant buildings that emerge from the ground…similar to how Quixote has to fight windmills who are “giants”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">So yeah, Quixote has always been very close to Gilliam’s heart. And it makes all the sense in the world, because after all, isn’t Gilliam like Quixote himself? A man avoiding the horrors of boring old reality by escaping into his fantasy films? Fighting the giant windmills of Hollywood and life to make his films? I’ve always appreciated Gilliam’s defense of the great escape, the importance in our lives for storytelling, the beauty of theater, the comedic tragedy that is life. It’s one of the reasons I personally connect with director Terry Gilliam’s films and the overall message of his films. They are against reality and all for high adventure and bewilderment! His films are for the zany, crazy part of life as well, how we shouldn’t take things so damn seriously. His films have a feel of someone who wants to amaze and entertain you with the many possibilities of pure fantasy. Of escapism of the highest caliber.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Which is why I appreciate </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Man Who Killed Don Quixote</b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> (2019) and how it got made. I mean, here’s a film that Gilliam at one point attempted to make but failed. It’s such a sad tale, yet such an amazing one at the same time. A documentary was shot of the whole thing called</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <a href="https://filmconnoisseur.blogspot.com/2010/01/lost-in-la-mancha-2002.html">Lost in La Mancha</a> </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(2002) and it’s just mind-blowing. <a href="https://filmconnoisseur.blogspot.com/2010/01/lost-in-la-mancha-2002.html">Here’s my review for it</a>, read it and find out why it’s such an amazing experience to see. But in a nutshell, everything went wrong that first time Gilliam attempted to make this film in Spain back in 2000. The actor who was going to play Don Quixote got a back pain and couldn’t ride his horse, a storm destroyed all the sets, millions were lost and all for nothing because quite literally, Gilliam pulled the plug on the film. He gave up on it. Or did he? Thanks to the folks at Amazon, he finally got the chance to make the film. It’s been 25 years in the making so this film is kind of a miracle!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<i>Here's a picture of Gilliam, on location with Jean Rochefort; Gilliam's choice for Quixote in the first attempt at making this film. Gilliam's face on this pic says a thing or two about what a grueling experience that first attempt was. </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Was it worth all the pain? The answer is a resounding yes! It’s Gilliam going back to his roots, to that pure fantasy escape, but told in a closer way to Gilliam’s true inspiration in his career: Cervante’s Don Quixote. Of course, this isn’t the Gilliam of the 80’s who would get 60 million dollars to make </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Adventures of Baron Munchausen </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(1989), this is Gilliam on a tight budget. I’m sure this film could have been made with more special effects…to bring that fantasy to life, but it’s not.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">This is a slightly restrained Gilliam in terms of going nuts with special effects. We do get one fun moment in which ‘Quixote’ fights with three giants which is gloriously good, it reminded me of what Gilliam loved to do in the 80’s, it brought to mind that giant that comes out of the ocean with a pirate ship on his head from </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Time Bandits</b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> (1981). And there’s little things here and there throughout the whole film that will remind you of previous Gilliam films, loved that about it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> When directors hit their mature years, they tend to make films that are deeper and more profound and not so focused on pure spectacle, and this is that type of film. It’s not special effects left and right, it’s a more character driven tale about this self-centered film director that </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">reconnects with an actor he made his first film with, the film he made is called The Man Who Killed Do Quixote. The actor believes he is Don Quixote and at times, you believe it. Maybe he is? Who knows. That’s for you to decide. But the film once again hits one Gilliam’s favorite themes, fantasy vs. reality. The fear of death and the wanting to live life with an adventurous spirit or die trying. It’s all told from a very meta perspective in the sense that it is a film about filmmaking, the frustrations and the pleasures of being a creative mind. How making a film is a true struggle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I loved this movie for many things, among them that shift between fantasy, memory and dream world, then back to reality. That code switching between worlds is excellent and vintage Terry Gilliam territory. So this is basically like Gilliam’s life thesis, encapsulating everything his learned about life and filmmaking and giving it to us. It’s such a pity that the film is actually going through legal issues (the struggle continues!) and it could only be shown one day in a few theaters…I was lucky to see it on the 42</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Street Regal Theater in New York. I was kind of hoping he was in the audience…because it’s a one-night event and it was New York. I could have sworn I heard his peculiar Terry Gilliam laugh at one point...I swear he was watching it with the audience. Or was it a fantasy in my mind? I’ll never really know. Final take on Gilliam’s </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Man Who Killed Don Quixote </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">is that its Gilliam going back to his roots. It has a lot of what made </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Brazil</b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Adventures of Baron Munchausen </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">great, but on a smaller budget and more focused on story and performances. Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce deliver amazing performances and make the film that much more pleasurable. Glad to see Gilliam is still making great films. Through Gilliam, Cervante’s heart and spirit beat fierce and free still! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Rating: 4 out of 5 </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-55579186523656550792019-03-19T12:31:00.002-07:002019-03-19T12:31:17.425-07:00Crimewave (1985)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K29UqCelpCBSSmldbSZLhW-ytXnrdW4kn_GFEWCiTcZoWw_X7yXSOLd3vhQDbLyNcruaHHzTr83DNqGp4RfWI4_7Wxm_xyyqmUjzIkuZca9bLntn5xtkuKtHbh3ApUxKD2aahJfjCzE/s1600/Crimewave+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K29UqCelpCBSSmldbSZLhW-ytXnrdW4kn_GFEWCiTcZoWw_X7yXSOLd3vhQDbLyNcruaHHzTr83DNqGp4RfWI4_7Wxm_xyyqmUjzIkuZca9bLntn5xtkuKtHbh3ApUxKD2aahJfjCzE/s400/Crimewave+3.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">C</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">rimewave
(1985)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Director:</b>
Sam Raim</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">i</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Writers:</b>
Joel & Ethan Coen, Sam Raimi <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So you guys
know how there are certain films that have nightmarish production stories,
where everything goes wrong and they turn into total fiascos? Well, that’s what
happened with Sam Raimi’s <b>Crimewave</b>. This was Sam Raimi’s film after he showed
the world what he was capable of doing behind the camera with<b> Evil Dead</b> (1981).
This was also the first time that Raimi worked with a real budget. Not money
from his dentist or from his friends. Nah, this was a real true blue Hollywood
production, with professional actors and producers. Would Raimi adapt to working
in a studio production when he was so used to artistic freedom? Would the
ensuing film be worth watching? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is
like a long lost gem for me because I watched it a lot as a kid when it was
first released. I discovered it because HBO played it a lot back in 1985. Sad part
is that Crimewave is a film that everyone involved wanted to forget about. The
studio didn’t like it, test audiences didn’t like, the studio decided that
Bruce Campbell wasn’t big enough of a star to star in the film and to top
things off, the film went over budget and had a couple of the actors </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">go on drug binges. Brion James and Louise
Lasser would hault production because of their drug problems! So yeah, things didn’t
go well for Raimi and Crimewave. Thing is, I think the way the film was treated
was total boloney. This film is not without its merits!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The story is
about this guy called Vic Ajax, a regular every day Joe. Sadly, this every day
Joe gets blamed for a bunch of murders that these two crazy rat exterminators
committed. Yes you read that sentence right. Anyhows, Vic is sitting in the
electric chair about to get zapped away for crimes he did not commit. The film
transpires as he tells us the story of how everything went down. Will he
survive? Will his innocence shine through? Will someone save this poor dope?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">What I
absolutely love about this movie is the film noir feel it has all throughout.
There isn’t a second of film on <b>Crimewave</b> where you don’t feel like you’re in
this big, dark, lonely metropolis in which lots of evil things happen in every
dark corner or alley. To make things even spookier, it’s always stormy and
windy…a lightning storm is about to strike! The wind cries in the middle of the
night and newspapers fly through the air, it is definitely not the kind of
night anyone wants to be out and about. So there’s always that feeling of dread
all throughout the movie. The city exudes this feeling of emptiness…as if
everyone is hiding away, looking out through their windows, peeking at the evil
things scourging in the night; kudos to Sam Raimi for successfully maintaining
that feeling of dread all through the film. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">And yes, I
said Sam Raimi, he of <b>Evil Dead</b> and <b>Spider Man</b> fame. You see, this here film
was his sophomore effort and his first studio film, with a budget. The great
thing about <b>Crimewave</b> is that it has all of that Sam Raimi style and flare.
Lots of camera tricks, lots of movement and lots of composite shots…basically,
this movie has a lot of what I love about Sam Raimi, a lot of what I miss about
this filmmaker. You see, when he became an A list director, he sort of lost
that zany style he was so known for in order to play the Hollywood game. I personally
loved low budget Sam Raimi because he was free to do all these crazy things
with the camera. Thankfully, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Crimewave</b>
was a small enough picture that it allowed Raimi to show off his comic/kinetic style
in spades! In other words, this movie is extremely cartoonish and feels a lot
like a Three Stooges sketch. The whole film is made up of camera tricks, unorthodox
angles and cartoony situations. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> the characters in <b>Crimewave</b> behave like cartoon
characters. We got the snake, we got the nerdy guy, we got the damsel in
distress and we got the two crazy villains! Now these two crazy villains are
special, they are so over the top that they end up being the real stars of the
show. There’s a reason why they are on the poster, it’s because they are the
best thing in the movie! One is played by Paul L. Smith who some of you might
remember as the guy who played Bluto in Robert Altman’s <b>Popeye </b>(1980) and the
other is played by Brion James, better known for his role as Leon the Replicant
in Ridley Scott’s <b>Blade Runner</b> (1982). He’s the guy who tells Harrison Ford “Wake
Up! Time to Die!” So anyway, these two
guys are basically rat exterminators. And how do we know this? They drive a truck
with a huge rat on top of it that’s how we know! They kill rats during the day
but work nights as Hit Men. So they kill whoever they have to kill in the same way
they kill rats! With a machine that generates bolts of electricity called ‘The Shocker’!
Trust me; these two guys will have you cracking up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bruce
Campbell has said that with <b>Evil Dead</b> they learned all about success and that
with <b>Crimewave </b>they learned how to fail. Well, the film might have failed at
the box office (hell it was only released in Kansas and Alaska) and the studio
might have had no faith in it, but there’s a lot to like here. It was written
by the freaking Coen Brothers and Sam Raimi! It has style and fun to spare! Its
film noir! It’s cartoonish! It’s dark and gruesome fun; this is dark humor of
the best kind. Of course a lot of people might be put off by seeing some of the
unrealistic cartoonish action, but for lovers of that sort of unrealistic silly
fun, well, you’re in for a treat! This movie was made for you! It’s a real
shame that Crimewave has been treated like some sort of unwanted step child. I
mean, yeah the studio messed around with it and cut it to pieces, still, a fun film
shines through. A similar situation happened with David Lynch’s <b>Dune</b> (1984) and
many adore that film, myself included; same thing with Crimewave. This is a
very kinetic film, visually, you will never be bored. There’s always some gag
going on. It might have been a nightmare to make, but it sure is a pleasure to
watch. Enjoy this forgotten gem, you won’t regret it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rating: 4
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-73147372873089584602019-03-09T13:12:00.002-08:002019-03-09T13:12:53.268-08:00Captain Marvel (2019)<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
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Captain Marvel (2019)</div>
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Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck</div>
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Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Annette Bening</div>
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Captain Marvel is an anticipated superhero film because it’s the film that connects to <b>Avengers: Endgame</b> (2019), the end all be all of superhero big budget films. People don’t really know who Captain Marvel is because it’s never been one of the most popular characters. No my friends, audiences will flock to Captain Marvel because it is a Marvel film (and therefore big budget) and because of its Avengers: Endgame connections. This movies job should be to get everyone hyped for Captain Marvel and love the character by the end of the movie, so that you’ll end up wanting to go see Avengers: Endgame day one. Captain Marvel had to have a wow factor to it. Did it achieve it? Endgame will be the pinnacle of everything that Marvel Studios has been working on for the past couple of years. The ending of a series of interconnected films that always leave you on a cliffhanger wanting more! The cliffhanger comes from the comics these films are emulating. I know because I’ve always collected comics since I was a kid and still do. The comics I read back in the 80’s and 90’s, were always “to be continued next issue!” You could almost hear Stan Lee’s voice at the beginning or ending of the old marvel comics. It was always, “see you in two weeks true believers!” By the way, I loved the homages to Stan Lee. Get ready for Stan’s last cameo, it’s a brief but good one and another solid reference to the 90’s.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Thanks for everything Stan! </i></div>
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So yeah, of course by now, Disney/Marvel could make a remake of <b>Mac and Me</b> (1988) and people would still flock to see it. You’ve been conditioned to like these movies, even obsess about them and it’s worked! Whatever film Marvel puts on the screen is going to be a Ka jillion-dollar multi-platinum, crackling-thunder, bonafide success at the box office. Captain Marvel is just the latest in a runaway train of success for Marvel. As I write this, I can hear the cashiers ringing at the box office. But of course, we all know it’s the curiosity of how Captain Marvel connects to Avengers: Endgame (2019) that has gotten those butts in the theater seats. Did Captain Marvel receive that beeper message from across time? Will she be the one to kick Thano’s blue butt to kingdom come in End Game? Will the audience like Brie Larson in the role of Captain Marvel? I was hella curious to find out of Larson could pull it off and what kind of film this would be? I love sci-fi so I was curious. </div>
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Captain Marvel is Marvel’s response to DC’s <b>Wonder Woman </b>(2017). Now its Marvel’s turn to show they can capitalize on feminism. Like I said in my review for Wonder Woman, I like what that film did for women in Hollywood and the real world, more than the film itself which felt kind of generic. Same goes for Captain Marvel, kind of generic, but entertaining at the same time. The thing Captain Marvel doesn’t do is wear its feminism on its sleeves. It’s not about Women vs. Men or anything, it’s only concern is fun. It’s not preachy with its themes. For example, in Wonder Woman, men and women talked about their differences and why they need each other. That doesn’t happen here, in Captain Marvel the main character doesn’t concern itself with comments on gender or anything, she just kicks ass, she’s indestructible, super powerful. The movie seems to say that being a woman is not the issue here. Well, at least not with as loud a voice as Wonder Woman did. </div>
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What I loved about the movie was that it took place during the 90’s. The music of that era is always referenced through-out the film as are distinctively 90’s things like a Blockbuster Video Stores, dialing up for internet or VHS tapes. The soundtrack is a 90’s smorgasbord that includes Hole, No Doubt, Nirvana, Beck and Bush among others. More filmmakers should dive into the 90’s nostalgia, its ripe for the taking. Which I think is cool, that’s a decade that should be explored more in films. It was the era of grunge. We heard alternative in the 90’s man. Don’t know what it is, look it up little kid. Captain Marvel has a cool 90’s vibe and attitude. It’s a fish out of water story, with the fish swimming in the 90’s. An indestructible fish, kind of like Superman. I got a very Tank Girl (1995) vibe from this movie at times, which is awesome in my book and puts a couple of extra points up on the ‘love for the 90’s board’. </div>
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Captain Marvel had a story of self-discovery. Of true friendship and sacrifice. Of selflessness and what it means to be a hero. Brie Larson is likable and looks great on the suit, but I thought she needed a bit more soul, more personality. Vulnerability always makes a character more interesting. That’s why most of these all powerful characters always have some major flaw. They can’t be all perfect and powerful! The film does put Captain Marvel in perilous and entertaining situations, but it feels like nothing is ever going to hurt her. As a viewer it lowers your anxiety levels a bit. And it’s a CGI max out! So much of the film is computer animation that you wonder just how much of this was shot on camera? Still, the action scenes are quite cool, with emphasis on keeping it funny. The dialog ranges from sci-fi babbling about things we’ll never understand to “you’re my best friend and I love you” but with jokes in between, so don’t expect depth. Nothing is ever too serious here. It was a fun watch, not the greatest Captain Marvel story ever told, but certainly entertaining enough to be a good origin story. The film has two post credit sequences, so if it matters to you, stay and watch all the credits! Next stop is Avengers: Endgame (2019) see you real soon here in The Marvel Connoisseur. I mean, you know what I mean. </div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-54644183766518000172019-02-20T18:17:00.000-08:002019-02-20T18:17:08.052-08:00Alita: Battle Angel (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Alita: Battle Angel (2019)</span></div>
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<b>Director:</b> Robert Rodriguez <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Conelly, Rosa Salazar, Mahershala Ali, Keean Johnson, Jackie Earle Haley, Michelle Rodriguez, Casper Van Diem, Jeff Fahey and Edward Norton<o:p></o:p></div>
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So after many years in development, Yukito Kishiro’s manga comes to life in an expensive, fx filled film produced and written by the one and only James Cameron and directed by none other than genre favorite Robert Rodriguez. I remember hearing about Cameron’s intent on making this film since his Titanic days. So here we are, Alita has finally seen the light of day. Did the films long gestating period affect it in a positive or negative way? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Rosa Salazar plays Alita</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Alita is your typical big brother is watching, rebels against the evil oppressive elitist government type of thing and that always gets the juices of my juices flowing because, it’s the kind of thing we all deal with on a day to day basis. And though this story might feel ‘old hat’ to some, you know what I always say; it’s how you tell your tale that matters. And in that area Alita Battle Angel exceeds because it takes place in a complex post-apocalyptic world where most of the people live in poverty and garbage while a select few live their lives in an exclusive 1%-only-live-there utopia above the clouds, in a floating city called ‘Zalem’. Alita is a cyborg, who is thrown away like garbage, only to be found by Dr. Dyson, who then decides to give her a new body and bring her back to life. Problem is she’s no ordinary cyborg, and so the film turns into the story of how Alita discovers who she is and what she’s truly capable of. Alita is a fine slice of Cyberpunk Cinema, meaning it's a story about humans, melding with technology...centered on misfits and outcasts who battle against the proverbial system. </span></div>
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Months before its release, talk of how the film would do in theaters was mostly negative. This is something I have always been against. Saying that a film is projected to do bad even before its release is wrong in my book because you are already setting the film up for failure. You’re marking it for death even before it’s had a chance to show what it’s made of. So I absolutely detest it when websites start defusing articles saying that they “project an abysmal box office” for whatever the film. I say let the audience decide! I say give the film a chance to prove itself! That being said, I wasn’t too excited for Alita Battle Angel because to be honest, the teaser trailer didn’t really do much for me. I was going to see it anyway because as I said, I always like to give films a chance. I like to give them the quintessential benefit of the doubt. Still, Alita wasn’t a priority for me. That all changed as the films premiere date approached. I saw a final trailer…I saw the anime it was based on…I started to read these positive reviews about how mind blowing the film was and suddenly my interest in it sparked. Suddenly I was excited to see it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; text-align: justify;"><i>Yukito Kishiro’s Manga on which the film is based on</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">So why doom a film to failure before it’s released? These cinematic projections are based on a couple of things. For example, a films possible outcome can be determined by how popular the source material is before the film’s release. For example, Harry Potter was a literary phenomenon way before a film was even considered. So of course, the films based on the Harry Potter books were always projected to be a success. I’m willing to bet that in today’s technologically savvy world, clicks on facebook and the times a trailer has been seen and shared on You Tube can also give number crunchers an idea of how a film will do. Reactions to tests screenings also tell producers a lot. Apparently, Alita’s future in the box office wasn’t expected to be so great. In fact, it was expected to bomb big. I’m guessing these fortune tellers were also basing their stats on how other manga film adaptations have done, like for example how <b>Ghost in the Shell</b> (2017) bombed at the box office. Also, expensive films based on obscure books or comics that aren’t that well known have bombed in a big way, the most recent example being <b>Mortal Engines</b> (2019). A great film that bombed because the books weren’t blockbuster hits or whatever.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Battle Angel Alita isn’t exactly a new property. It is based on a Manga (that’s a Japanese comic book for you non-savvy) which is still being printed today. It was adapted into an anime series...the problem is that Alita is obviously more popular and known in Japan. In the states it is known by lovers of anime, alone, though I’m sure that will change after this film. But, if a film is good, it’s good and good word of mouth should give it life at the box office. And so Alita Battle Angel has achieved what few films marked for death have done, it came out on top. That’s right my friends, inspite of all the negative predictions about it being a box office bomb before it was even seen, the people, the audiences have decided this one is going to be a winner. But why? Well, I attribute various reasons to this success. Number one, the knock out power house combo of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, both world renown directors. Also, it doesn’t hurt to put the words “from the producers of Avatar” on the promotional material because say what you may about Avatar, it was a groundbreaking film in its time. Also, it was a good move for the producers to promote the film as a “must watch special effects event” that must be seen on the biggest, loudest most 3-D screen you can find in the galaxy. So yeah, all these elements, plus good word of mouth its gotten from people who have actually seen the film, have led to Alita Battle Angel battling the odds so to speak and and winning at the box office. Mind you, as of my writing this the film hasn’t passed the 100 million mark yet, but this Film Connoisseur is willing to bet it will make its money back because of good word of mouth and because of what the film will make overseas, specifically China.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The film has gotten amazing praise for its special effects and I agree, it is an amazing looking film. It has a great cast that counts with the participation of Christophe Waltz, Jennifer Connelly and Rosa Salazar in her break out role as Alita. It also has many fine actors in smaller parts, like for example Edward Norton and Jeff Fahey. But you know, the real stars here are the special effects which are flawless in my book. Having an awesome cast is the icing on the cake. A note on the effects work, James Cameron’s special effects team, who were hard at work on the effects for the new Avatar films, stopped working on those to work on Alita. And if you know anything about James Cameron it’s that the effects in the films he is involved in are flawless, and often times groundbreaking. A special effects heavy stand out scene in Alita involves a sport called ‘Motor Ball’ which is a lot like Roller Ball and Alita loves it so much she signs up for a trial run, to see if she’s got what it takes to be part of Motor Ball. The Motor Ball race sequence could give Episode I’s ‘Pod Racing’ sequence a run for its money. But aside from its effects work, I think ultimately what will win people over with Alita Battle Angel is its heart and characters. For a film dealing with cyborgs, this film has a lot of warmth and humanity to it. It’s a story about a girl who is coming of age, a girl falling in love for the first time. And a girl, standing up to evil! I love that line where Alita says “I will not standby in the presence of evil!” Awesome sauces. Anyhow’s, Alita is awesome, well worth the wait. Amazing effects, a heart of gold and a lovable, strong lead, what’s not to love?</span></div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-59050609163596979952019-01-26T10:14:00.002-08:002019-01-26T10:14:39.229-08:00Loving Vincent (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Loving Vincent (2017)</div>
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<b>Directors: </b>Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Douglas Booth, Saoirse Ronan, Chris O’Dowd <o:p></o:p></div>
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It has always baffled me how artists are unappreciated when they are alive. That whole thing that only after an artist has died do people truly care about their work. If you know anything about the story of Vincent Van Gough, well, then you’ll know he was one of these artists. He had many personal and internal struggles to deal with in life. Was he crazy? Why’d he chop off his ear? Why did he shoot himself? Van Gogh’s life and work has been the focus of many films throughout the years. For example, Paul Cox’s <b>Vincent</b> (1987), Robert Altman’s <b>Vincent and The</b>o (1990), Vincent Minelli’s <b>Lust for Life</b> (1956) and most recently Julian Schnabel’s <b>At Eternity’s Gate</b> (2018) starring Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh. So, Van Gogh’s life was one filled with all the elements for a good film, tragedy, passion, art, love, poverty, money (or lack thereof), so it’s no surprise so many films have been made about him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Today I will be talking about <b>Loving Vincent</b> (2017) a film that tells the story of what happened to Van Gogh during his last days on earth, when he committed suicide by shooting himself in the gut. The story unfolds from the perspective of a character called Armand Roulin, the son of a postman who was good friends with Van Gogh. You see, this postman has the last letter that Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo Van Gogh and so he wants his son to deliver this letter to Van Gogh’s brother. The film unfolds as we meet all the different characters that Armand meets in order to deliver the letter. In the process, Armand gets to know who Van Gogh was and the consequences that led to his demise. </div>
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I connected with this movie immediately because it’s about the story of an artist and I am an artist myself, so I am quite sensible to the turmoil’s and tribulations that come with being an artist as well as that special kind of sensibility that we live with, a sensibility that not all possess or understand. Seeing how Van Gogh was bullied and tormented for seeing the world differently, for not being able to fit into that mold that they all wanted him to fit into is heartbreaking. Van Gogh went through many psychological struggles because society didn’t accept him and because he lived mostly in poverty. All Van Gogh wanted was for people to understand how deeply he felt about things, to understand the passion and lust he had for life and beauty. So sad that people would only understand this many years after his death. So, if you are an artist (or an artist at heart) you’ll be able to connect with this film. </div>
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But one of the most amazing things about this movie is how it was made. Each frame was hand painted by a group of more than 100 artists from over twenty different countries. The film took four years to complete! Now try and wrap your head around how difficult it is to oil paint every frame of an entire film, all while still trying to tell a compelling and intriguing story! A lot of films can become an exercise in execution and try and impress with how well they were made while losing that all important element, a good story. This does not happen with Loving Vincent, a film that delivers both a good story and an amazing execution. I wanted to know what truly happened with Van Gogh. Did he truly shoot himself or was he murdered? I loved how the film was told like a detective story, as the main character picks up pieces of the story as he tries to deliver the letter. </div>
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The fact that every frame of the film was hand painted gives us a very unique looking film. Sometimes we as viewers take so many things for granted because at the end of the day, all we have to do is watch a film. Sometimes we are oblivious as to all the hard work that goes on behind the cameras in order for a film to get made. In the case of Loving Vincent, we shouldn’t take anything for granted because it achieved something that had not been done before to this extent. It’s a film miracle. A wonder to behold. </div>
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I loved how the film incorporates so many of Van Gogh’s paintings into the film. Many of his portraits and characters jump to life and walk around many of the beautiful vistas that Van Gogh painted. The film is like seeing all of Van Gogh’s paintings coming to life and breathing, while never losing Van Gogh’s particular style and colors. It’s amazing. I felt like I got to know who Van Gogh was after watching this film and connected with the painter in a more profound way then before. You’ll get to know Van Gogh’s thoughts and feelings because one of the films director’s Dorota Kobiela, made this film after having studied Van Gogh’s painting techniques and analyzing the letters he wrote throughout his life. This is a unique and visually dazzling film, one that requires admiration for how it was made, this isn’t just any old film, it was painstakingly made to give us, the viewers something truly special. </div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-74589552553451394132019-01-18T20:43:00.002-08:002019-01-18T21:58:46.057-08:00Glass (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Glass (2019)</div>
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<b>Director: </b>M. Night Shyamalan<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, James McAvay and Anya Taylor Joy<o:p></o:p></div>
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M Night Shyamalan’s a walking time bomb when it comes to quality. While one film might deliver, the next might disappoint. For example, the double knockout of Lady in the Water (2006) and The Happening (2008) were completely rejected by fans of the director and nearly destroyed Shyamalan’s career entirely. He’d lost the respect of many audience members out there. Had he lost it? Well, for a while there it seemed like so, like he’d lost that magic that makes directors produce a good film. Then he kicked back and made a horror film called The Visit (2015), about these pair of grandkids who go to visit grandma and grandpa in their house in the middle of nowhere. Apparently, working on a smaller budget did Shyamalan good because with The Visit, Shyamalan proved to us and himself that he could still make a good film. Shyamalan cemented his comeback with Split (2016) which presented us for the first time with the fascinating character called ‘The Beast’. An awesome performance is what carried that film and we got McAvoy to thank for that. His psychical and psychological transformations when he switches from personality to personality is one of the films biggest strengths. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Split was also the film that united Split, Unbreakable and now Glass as films that coexist in the same universe, with characters from Unbreakable and Split crossing over onto this new film Glass. There was a lot of speculation in regards to the film. Would Shyamalan deliver one of his good ones? Does he still as they say “have it”? Was Split a fluke? Would this be a great sequel, or a forgettable one? </div>
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I enjoyed Split a lot but I remember thinking it wasn’t original. We’d seen movies about psychos kidnapping people for vile purposes a million times before. But that performance and that tension Shyamalan directs so well got me reeled in. With Split I went back to that old saying “it’s not what you say but how you say it”, sure we’d seen this type of story before, but Shyamalan told it so very well! Now here comes Glass, the sequel in which we’d see all these fantastic characters clash. The Beast, The Overseer and Mr. Glass. So is it the big conclusion we all expect? Yes it is my dear readers. You feel that tension building all the way through, kind of how all those Rocky movies that all led up to the big fight in the end. Glass is a very fresh take on the whole superhero thing. It tones everything down, makes it more believable. This is not a big special effects spectacle, no, this movie is more about performances, tension and suspense. In that sense the film was a breath of fresh air. It was interesting to see a super hero film that wasn’t 90% computer generated. So yes, glad to inform that Glass focuses on gripping performance and a well written, tense script. </div>
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When Unbreakable (2000) premiered I remember I didn’t know what to expect. The premise pulled everyone to see it. How and why had David Dunn survived that tragic train crash where everybody died, except him? A lot was expected of the second film from the director of The Sixth Sense (1999), which had been a hit the previous year. When I went to theater to see Unbreakable the night of its premiere, did my comic book loving heart know that it would end up being a movie that explained the nature of comic books so well? Nope. And that blew me away! Here I was watching a film about something I loved so much. Back in 2000, super hero films were not as big as they are now, so seeing a film that talked about comic books, was something for me. The film used all we know and love about comics and analyzed it with style. To me Unbreakable was one of the films that helped kick off what would become a new era of comic book movies, and era that has been reigning supreme in Hollywood for almost two decades now.</div>
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Glass does the same thing yet again, it dives into comic book lore by analyzing the nature of the villain. Why are these villains so deranged? What makes them tick? What set them off? We get a good dose of that in Glass. It takes us deep into the psyche of the psychos Mr. Glass and The Beast. This movie belongs to McAvoy and Mr. Jackson on the performance side of things. Willis plays David, who’s job is to be stoic, strong and quiet, but McAvoy’s Beast loves to chat it up. Every single one of The Beasts 20 something personalities likes to say their piece! The real spectacle here is watching McAvoy do this masterful job of giving each one of the personalities a completely different performance. I’d dare say I’d consider this performance for an Oscar, or some sort of award. Fantastic performance, a memorable villain if there ever was one. </div>
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So did Glass deliver? Hell yeah, it’s a good film. I don’t get these “bad reviews” that it got from critics? The general consensus out there is that critics hate it, but that fans love it. I don’t get why critics would hate it but I agree that a fan of Split and Unbreakable should be very pleased (and even surprised) by this movie. It takes the premise from Unbreakable and Split further. I congratulate Shyamalan for playing with heavy themes within the context of the comic book world. On Glass he played with that wonderful idea that we all have this potential to be amazing, that we are capable of more than we know, we just have to believe. So yeah, Glass delivers, another good one on Shyamalan’s cinematic crown. </div>
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<b>Rating: 4 out of 5 </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-1442253630743109392019-01-14T07:51:00.000-08:002019-01-14T08:04:25.757-08:00Tekkonkinkreet (2006)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Tekkonkinkreet (2006)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Director: Michael Arias <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tekkonkinkreet is a film that comes to us from Studio 4C, the same guys that produced the amazing and unforgettable animated anthology Memories (1995), the mind blowing animation on Animatrix (2003) and most recently the feature film titled Mutafukaz (2017), which I’ve yet to see, but hear great things about. I hold this animation studio in high regard because their stuff is always cutting edge…its state of the art quality stuff. For example, on Tekkonkinkreet they started to fool around with mixing computer animation with traditional animation and the results were nothing short of amazing. It’s the kind of animated film you will want to watch more than once. So, what is this strangely titled movie all about? <o:p></o:p></div>
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The title of the film, which might sound weird to English speakers, actually means ‘steel reinforced concrete’ in Japanese, which makes sense when you think about how the story takes place in this complex city landscape, where buildings are piled up into one another. At times the city itself feels like a character all its own, dying, decayed yet menacing. But the main characters in the film are actually two kids named ‘Black’ and ‘White’. Black is the older brother type, always taking care of things, solving problems and saving White from trouble. White is a kid, a daydreamer, whose head is up in the clouds dreaming about a perfect world where man and nature can coexist in peace and happiness. I loved how he sees himself as an alien, reporting what he sees down here on Earth. Together, Black and White see “Treasure Town” as their town, not to be messed with by anyone. It may be old and decayed, but it’s theirs, it’s actually the only thing they can call their own. So you better not mess with it, or else. So, what happens when a Yakuza gang lord strolls into town with the idea of turning Treasure Town into a pleasure den in order to trap young people and turn them into puppets?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">So yeah, at heart this is a story about young people looking for freedom from the suffocating urban jungle that they live in. White is always dreaming of playing amongst flowers, insects, animals. He dreams of swimming in the ocean with dolphins and looking for interesting rocks at the edge of the beach. But his reality is another one. He is homeless, and lives on the grimy dirty streets of Treasure Town, where every day is a struggle to survive. I thought that was a beautiful message to address with a film, how the city, the concrete, the cars, the pollution, the crime on the streets all that stuff that we deal with on a day to day basis can get to us. Of course we will day dream of a more beautiful place whenever we can.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The film is also about religion and governments wanting to control people, to trap them, ensnare them somehow to keep them distracted, so they won’t even realize they are being used. This is all represented by the main villain, who says he is doing all this in “Gods” name. In many ways Tekkonkinkreet also reminded me of Pinocchio, with its story centered on ensnaring the youth with drugs and games. Best part about the story is how the youth themselves identify the enemy and realize they have to do something to protect “their city” from this great evil. This is a very rebellious film, with many symbolisms pointing towards taking matters into our own hands if we have to, reaching into that dark, violent part of ourselves if need be. Black is named Black because he realizes he has this capability of tapping into his dark side. White is pure, chaste, childlike. Polar opposites that totally need each other, like the ying and the yang. Like tit for tat. One cannot live without the other. They are brothers, eternally intertwined. I loved how the film truly augments that feeling of a strong, brotherly love. And how it speaks about how we are both good and evil, for what is light, without dark. Nothing is pitch perfect good, or pitch black evil.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Finally, the visual side of the film is astounding. This is one of the greatest strengths of the film, but what’s great about Tekkonkinkreet is that it balances those great visuals with a great story, so it’s a fantastic balancing act between eye candy and an immersive, emotional tale. Director Michael Arias seems like a guy who likes to charge his films with emotional content and I love that. Tekkonkinkreet is not a spectacle void of emotions. The film also has elements of magical realism, because it’s not a complete fantasy, yet characters do jump inhuman lengths from one building to another. Characters seem to defy gravity at times, going as far as deftly having fights on top of moving cars and trains. There’s also a strong surreal vibe to the film, with dreamscapes and visions being vividly depicted and yeah, the film even has some sci-fi elements in it, with what seemed like cyborgs or aliens to me. I say “seemed” because another thing I liked is that certain elements of the film aren’t fully explained, they are left open for you to interpret in your own way. What is firmly orchestrated though is what these images represent, and to the observant film watcher, these symbolisms should not go unnoticed.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-42466992573906858032018-11-08T19:17:00.000-08:002018-11-08T19:17:05.288-08:00Suspiria (2018)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Suspiria (2018)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Director: Luca Guadagnino<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cast: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Chloe Gretz Moretz, Jessica Harper <o:p></o:p></div>
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I remember back when there were such a thing as video clubs, I saw the VHS box art for Dario Argento’s <b>Suspiria</b> (1977). I thought the art was very weird and artsy for a horror film, but what always caught my attention was the films catchphrase on the box which read “the only thing more terrifying then the last 12 minutes of this film are the first 92”. I always wondered if it was actually <i>that</i> scary. Of course, years later when I started to explore Italian horror films, I discovered that Argento’s <b>Suspiria</b> <i>was</i> one of horror cinemas best supernatural thrillers. A beautifully shot piece of atmospheric, supernatural filmmaking. And indeed, it was a spooky tale about witchcraft with an intense ending. But nothing could prepare me for Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Argento’s film! I mean, remakes by norm already carry a certain amount of hatred towards them, even before they are released, people come into theaters already hating the film. Me, I’m one of those that gives remakes a chance, because there’s that off chance that it might be one of the good ones. And who knows, maybe it might even be better than the original. The buzz around this one was so good, almost too good. So, how was this remake of <b>Suspiria</b>? Did it live up the hype?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Jessica Harper in a scene from the original Suspiria (1977)</i></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>For those who haven’t seen the original <b>Suspiria</b>, this is a tale of witchcraft and dancing. You see, the story is all about this young American dance student who ends up following her dreams of going to a dance school in Berlin. When she gets there, she gets more then she bargained for when she realizes she’s not just in any dance school! </div>
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The thing about Argento’s <b>Suspiria</b> is that it isn’t just a horror film, to me it’s an exercise in gloomy atmosphere and a work of art. The color palette alone, filled with Argento’s trademark primary colors, is a beauty to behold. On top of that, it’s surreal, it’s hard to define. Sometimes you don’t know exactly what you are seeing, but you know that you feel something and that something is freaking you out. My worry was, how was this remake going to top that? Was it going to duplicate Argento’s film or take a road all its own? Well, I’m happy to inform that it took a road all its own and I have to commend director Luca Guadagnino on this because he really did a great job of doing something different, yet familiar.</div>
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<i>Luca Guadagnino and Tilda Swinton</i></div>
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Yes we get the same basic premise, the giant, brooding dance school in the middle of the the never ending rain. Yes it’s run by witches…but there’s a bit more depth to it, there’s a bit of the socio-political background to the story. There’s a revolution going on in Berlin in the background and some of the dancers are involved. The color palette is entirely different, instead of being drowned in Argento’s vibrant primary colors, the film seems devoid of color and life, so that when there is color it pops out! It adds to the dreary vibe the film carries throughout its entire running time. I loved that sustained note of dreariness. The overall tone is way more horrifying and serious. Where the first film felt sort of like a fairy tale amongst immature dance students behaving like little girls, here we get this deadly serious dance school where you are lucky to get admitted into. While Argento’s feels like a colorful, feverish dream, this one feels dreadful, sad and deadly serious. So in terms of tone, we get a very different film. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Yet it retains a lot of what works from Argento’s version. For example, the surrealism. Though for me it felt way more intense on this new version. The dreams and nightmares are way more horrifying. The death’s that occur in the film are more intertwined with the themes of the film: the dance and the witchcraft. Somehow Guadagnino managed to mix witchcraft with dancing and it works amazingly well, especially in one magnificently graphic death scene. And speaking of the graphic nature of this film, well, it’s really out there. I mean, the film is slow paced, a slow burner for sure so be ready for that. But when it decides to turn up the fire, get ready because it turns up the fire to hellish temperatures! And by hellish I mean the fiery pits of hell itself! The gore on this movie is really magnificent, spectacular. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p>And just like its 1977 counterpart, this new Suspiria holds no stops in banging out an amazing ending! Seriously speaking my friends, this films ending will blow you away. I’m not going to go into any details so that you can experience all the horror for yourselves. And yes, I said horror, not jump scares/teeny bopper horror, but true horror. The kind that makes full grown adults cringe in disgust and terror, the kind that's bizarre, just plain bizarre. The kind of bizarre that oozes off of the screen with intense and pure evil! I swear I could feel the evil pouring out of the screen. It almost feels wrong to watch! But you won’t be able to stop watching. Because in a weird twisted way, it is also beautiful, as the film also addresses. There is something meta about the dialog in the film, I felt it was also talking about art, filmmaking and the nature of horror. If anybody else felt that, please comment on it below. There’s beauty in all this horror! So there you go my friends. My review for <b>Suspiria</b>. The film that Quentin Tarantino saw and personally congratulated the director after watching. I mean, there’s a lot of naked feet on this movie so I get that. Plus it’s divided into chapters just like a Tarantino film. But aside from all the Tarantino love this movie got, this movie is a good example of what a great, epic horror film should be like. It should leave us scared and disturbed long after we leave the movie theater. </div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 </b></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-30847304890913502952018-11-05T18:47:00.001-08:002018-11-05T19:44:47.903-08:00Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)</div>
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<b>Director:</b> Bryan Singer <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Rami Malek, Lycy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Mike Myers<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have to admit I’d never heard of Bohemian Rhapsody or Queen until <b>Wayne’s World </b>(1992) came along and introduced me to it, I was a teenager back then, but thanks to Wayne and Garth I fell in love with that song. It wasn’t long before I decided to go past the <b>Wayne’s World</b> soundtrack and explored the rest of the bands body of work and it just so happened that I found one of my favorite bands ever. By the way, this is no side note thing, the fact that Wayne’s World introduced me to Queen, because it was Mike Myers film that made that song shoot to its chart topping position for the first time. Which is why it’s so fitting (and funny) to see Mike Myers playing the role of a music producer who doesn’t want to use the song as the albums first single. But anyways, here we are talking about <b>Bohemian Rhapsody</b> (2018), director Bryan Singer’s biopic on the legendary band. The film has had a rocky history from inception. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>At one point Sacha Baron Cohen was going to play Freddie Mercury, but he backed out for creative differences. Among them the fact that Baron Cohen wanted to make a more adult oriented film and Queen’s surviving members wanted a more ‘PG-13’ version of the bands story. I have to admit, it would have been interesting to see a more adult oriented version of the film starring Sacha Baron Cohen, but more on that later. So anyhow, Singer ended up directing most of the film (which is why he gets full credit for it) and Dexter Fletcher who was going to direct at one point, ended up finishing the film when Singer got fired for Chronic Absenteeism and misconduct. Interesting thing, even though Singer got fired before the film was finished, he got full credit for the film because he’d filmed almost the whole thing when he got fired. So it’s still very much a Bryan Singer film. So anyhows, Baron left and Rami Malek took the role. What was the resulting product? Did all this back and forth in production end up producing a film worthy of Freddie Mercury’s awesomeness? </div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Of course, whoever took the role of Freddie Mercury would have big shoes to fill because Mercury wasn’t just any old singer, he was the ultimate performer, a tour de force on stage that when coupled with the rest of the band was just one of the most bombastic and soulful rock and roll bands you could ever wish for. Till this day Freddie Mercury is one of those voices that truly gets to my soul. It’s not just his voice, but what he sings about, it’s like they say in the movie, Queen was a band for the misfits, by misfits. They belong to us and we to them. Queen fans, and they are many, sing and know the bands songs with a passion, it’s one of those things that either you get or you don’t. So this review comes from a true fan of Queen, a guy who really loves Queen! So, did this film satisfy this fan?</div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Hell to the yes it did! It rocked me! First off, I have to commend Singer. The film looks beautiful and it has some amazing shots. There’s this moment where the camera comes from the heavens, down into the Live Aid concert and right onto the stage that was just beautiful. For some people it’s too beautiful, but I don’t know I freaking love the look of the film. The vibrant colors go with the bands flamboyance in my opinion. And speaking of this “it’s too clean” bull crap. Listen, what did you want? To see Mercury snorting cocaine and having sex with all his gay lovers? Well, all that is hinted at in the film in various ways, we see a table filled with alcohol and cocaine, we see Mercury making out with some guys. But the film isn’t so graphic with it. It’s not essential. The film works fine the way it is. Sure you could go really dark and nitty gritty, but it’s not like you have to. That being said, the film doesn’t shy away from showing us Mercury’s drug/sex infused life, it’s all there, it just not as graphic as some might want. Me? I thought the film had just the right amount of grittiness without going overboard. I thought the film hit the right balance. Would I have liked an ‘R’ rated version of this tale? Sure, it would have been interesting, but this version is the one we got and I must say I’m happy with it. Why? </div>
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<o:p> </o:p>I’m happy with it because it captured Freddie Mercury’s essence, it captured his personality and his journey. And make no exceptions people, this is Mercury’s story. Sure the band is there and they are a part of it. But it’s not like we’re going to dive into John Deacon’s life. Sure Mary Austin was the love of his life, but it aint her story either, Mercury is at center stage here same as he was in real life. Make no mistake this is Freddy Mercury’s story my friends. And for those of us who know it, it’s all there. Sure the chronology of it all has been tweeked, but what Biopic doesn’t do that for dramatic purposes? No biopic tells it exactly like it was. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p>I have to commend Rami Malek, his portrayal is amazing. He IS Mercury and I was blown away, even the rest of the band members look almost identical to their real life counterparts. And for those of you who are making fun of Malek’s teeth in the film, you should know that Mercury’s teeth where like that, they are not “cartoonish” as I have heard some describe them, Freddie did in fact have those huge front teeth and he chose to keep them to stand up to those who made fun of him and he became the biggest voice in Rock and Roll with them. Bottom line though, Malek sold me on his portrayal and he got to me. There’s this moment where he is actually writing Bohemian Rhapsody where he’s getting all teared up as he writes, that says so much without saying a word. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p>And about the film tearing you up, well it will. If you know about Mercury’s life story you will be heart broken. But at the same time, you will feel the awesomeness that was Mercury and the band. They would get into people’s hearts and that’s why when Queen got up on stage during the Live Aid concert in 1985, that’s why those thousands sang back with a passion! By the way, that scene in the film is a real show stopper. You’ll get goose bumps. I teared up more than once during the movie (like I said I’m a fan) but that last concert scene, wow. Interestingly enough, the Live Aid concert was the first thing they shot of the film and It’s amazing. It captures the awesomeness of that day and let me tell you, they didn’t pull back, it’s an accurate representation of that day. You feel the thousands, you feel the magnitude of the event. And you do feel Mercury giving the performance of a life time. So screw the naysayers, I think some of the negative feedback comes from people who either hate what he represented (total freedom) or simply don’t know how to have a good time at the movies anymore. Me? I sang every song and clapped at the appropriate time during “Radio Ga-Ga” You my friends, should do the same. </div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 </b></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-55813802149625035452018-04-28T09:06:00.002-07:002018-04-28T11:52:34.063-07:00Avengers: Infinity War (2018)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Avengers: Infinity War (2018)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Directors:</b> Anthony Russo ad Joe Russo<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Chumberbach, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Zoe Saldaña, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Paul Bethany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Idris Elba, Peter Dinklage, Dave Bautista, Samuel L. Jackson, Benicio del Toro<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’d been waiting for this one for a long time. In fact, this film starts the culmination of a story line that started way back in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the one in which we first came in contact with one of the Infinity Gems. The thing with this story though is that I fear that anyone who hasn’t been following the Marvel movies will feel a little lost. I mean “a little” because the movie does do a good job of summarizing things a bit for those who are just now being introduced to this universe, but still even then, my advice is to catch up with previous Marvel movies before this one. That way you’ll get the full effect. But those of you who have been feverishly following these movies should have a mega blast with this one. This is the end all be all of Marvel movies, well, at least till the next one. So, how was it? Did Avengers Infinity War deliver?</div>
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Thanos the megalomaniacal madman who has been looking for the Infinity Gems has tightened his search and wants those stones sooner rather than later. So he finally comes to earth where a couple of the gems reside. Once he acquires all six gems, they will turn Thanos into an all powerful godlike being. Sadly, Thanos’ idea of making a better universe is killing half of the population to make things more manageable. Will he achieve it even when the earths mightiest heroes are all against him? Can the Avengers take Thanos and live to tell the tale?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>The political implications of the story were amazing in my book. This is certainly a story for our times. Let’s see, a megalomaniacal madman with a twisted view of life is about to become the all-powerful ruler of the universe. Everyone dreads that he will actually achieve it…hmm, sounds like a power hungry madman we all know and hate don’t it? Not saying any names but you can read between the lines. *cough* Trump *cough* So yeah, parallels to our reality are there. If you can read between the lines of socio political events, the formula to force society into bringing down the population has been in effect for a while now. Governments think we’ve gotten too big for our own good, so they’ve forced the working class (read poor people) into a nearly impossible economical climate. By making life so expensive that having kids or owning a home will become a nearly impossible ordeal. It’s all masqueraded by a “crisis” of some sort, but the ultimate goal is to make everyone think about it twice before having kids. I love that Disney had the guts to say this with Infinity War, a film that everybody and their mother will see. It’s a message that’s hard to deny. And you guys know me, I love movies that are a mirror to society.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p>But aside from political interpretations, the movie is fun from a superhero perspective. We have awesome superhero fights right from the get go. Five minutes into the movie it’s big guys kicking each others asses. There’s a major brawl that takes place in New York which is just wowzers. I mean, in terms of superhero action, with these gods going at each other in full force, the film does not disappoint. And it really couldn’t disappoint in that department because that’s what the Infinity Gauntlet storyline was about from the very beginning, every single superhero vs. Thanos, the all powerful godlike madman.</div>
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I remember when I read this story way back in 1988 when it was first printed by Marvel Comics. It was an event comic book that every comic book geek had to have. And why? Because you wanted to know which hero was going to end up beating Thanos and if not, you wanted to know who was going to fail and how. Also, the big question of “who is going to die?” loomed heavy in all comic book geeks, the same way it is looming on everyone’s heads with this film today. That comic book series was a big deal amongst comic book fans back in the day and it still is one of the best comic book storylines I’ve read in my life. Highly recommend you check it out at some point. And I’m talking about the one drawn by George Perez and written by Jim Starlin, that’s the definitive version, the first and best version of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline if you ask me. There’s a couple of homages to that first Infinity Gauntlet story line in the film that fans will enjoy. The film is not an exact adaptation of that story, because that original series was solely about the fight. It took place in a planet in space with every character getting a chance at Thanos…and failing. It lasted six issues and spawned a whole slew of other books like Infinity Watch and Infinity War. But the film does do a good job of getting the gist of the entire concept and idea behind these old comics. The idea of a madman becoming all powerful. </div>
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So yeah, the film will please. It’s not as epic as the comics were because the comic book storyline included The X-Men, The Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer in the mix, but sadly these characters were left out of this movie for obvious reasons. Though now that Disney bought Fox…we might see these heroes pop up in the next film? I am hoping we will, because that will make the next film even more of a must watch! Can you imagine the X-Men, The Fantastic Four and The Silver Surfer joining the fight!? Holy moly will that movie be epic! All things considered Avengers: Infinity War will be one of the biggest money makers ever, well, at least that’s my prediction. It will certainly be a hard film to top! It’s satisfying in many ways, even on the dramatic side. I was disappointed in only two ways, Nick Fury was left out of the main action (I mean, he basically runs the Avengers) and also for some reason Ant-Man was not seen. Why leave him out? Where was he? Obviously, leaving out Ant-Man has something to do with the upcoming Ant-Man sequel, bu he was missed. I did love how they really fleshed out Thanos and let us know where he is coming from as a villain. He’s not just a cartoon character looking to destroy everything *cough* Justice League *cough*. They made Thanos a believable villain and an outstanding one at that. The heroes really have their hands full this time. Be ready because the film does end with a somber note…and you will definitely want to see how it all ends in the next film. Stay after all the credits for the extra ending!</div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-72185105206612018072017-12-28T13:36:00.000-08:002017-12-29T05:34:47.015-08:00In Defense of The Last Jedi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCADGDTvHxpompJ-zK4SIk-c8Tyatmy-JDbAiEAhb_K0jjKxhoABjT3R3GYT9waMWL-31KyYfXgDn44UvuxvSaxz8eABVwFHXg1WT6FNRFcqlbdmdeXhaUKlF_H8NRyXZcUeJ500TdPbA/s1600/Jedi+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="810" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCADGDTvHxpompJ-zK4SIk-c8Tyatmy-JDbAiEAhb_K0jjKxhoABjT3R3GYT9waMWL-31KyYfXgDn44UvuxvSaxz8eABVwFHXg1WT6FNRFcqlbdmdeXhaUKlF_H8NRyXZcUeJ500TdPbA/s400/Jedi+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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By now it should be no surprise that The Last Jedi was an
extremely polarizing film, some loved it, some hated it, me? I thought it was an extremely satisfying film,
I loved how it shook my expectations. Of course, I had expectations. We all did.
I remember having movie buff conversations around each one’s theories of what
was going to happen with Luke, Rey, Kylo and Snoke. Still, no matter how many
theories we had, what was going to happen in the film was a mystery to us all.
But boy was it fun to speculate! We should have took heed of the trailer for
the film which did warn us “This is not going to go the way you think!” And
that was the problem, everyone thought the film was going to go how they wanted
and when it didn’t they labeled it as “bad”. The reasons people gave for hating
the film weren’t truly convincing for me because they came of as either blind
hatred, or simply hatred because the film didn’t make their fan predictions
true. Here are some of the reasons I heard from friends and read on the
internet. Do you agree with them? For those of you who haven’t seen the film
yet, do not go forward, this is an article that’s FILLED WITH SPOILERS! YOU’VE
BEEN WARNED!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><b>The Film is Feminist</b></u></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I understand what you’re saying with this, but it’s
something that’s happening in cinema and in society in general. Women are finally
being put in the forefront and given major roles in films and you primates out
there who don’t agree are part of the problem. Since forever, women were always
relegated to playing ‘damsels in distress’ in films, always holding the man’s
hand as he went ahead and solved the problem. Well, not anymore. Cinema is changing
and hopefully the world with it. Now women are leading the rebellion. Though
when you think about it, Leia was always leading the rebellion, so Star Wars
has always been fighting to put women in the forefront in a way. Put that in
your pipe and smoke it. This is something I always applauded about The Force
Awakens and it’s something I applaud with The Last Jedi. Women are in the
leading roles, they are at the crux of the plot, they are making the big
decisions, they have something to say, it is they who are saving the galaxy. They
are not being “bossy” they are simply saying what they think and making things
happen. If you don’t like that, it’s time you checked your ways of thinking. I
have no problem with the ladies taking the spotlight, it’s about time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbjvIsGPJR0OoH8zS5JwQ1dgGak5XkXIAdUr6SlAmtccV8GGfvK9bJEoqqvzyvrajJs-lnfxwAlOxrjf3NDAVFteoHr475QrANupKk3HEao0rRoyoO6t_nG-Dsk0dl5a1q6VPxonQBeA/s1600/Jedi+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbjvIsGPJR0OoH8zS5JwQ1dgGak5XkXIAdUr6SlAmtccV8GGfvK9bJEoqqvzyvrajJs-lnfxwAlOxrjf3NDAVFteoHr475QrANupKk3HEao0rRoyoO6t_nG-Dsk0dl5a1q6VPxonQBeA/s400/Jedi+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>The Porgs Are There for Selling Toys</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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From day one Star Wars went hand in hand with merchandising.
It has always been part of the equation. It’s why Ewoks exist. Now I’ve never
been one to hate the Ewoks, because dammit I’ve always dug them. Those
murderous cute fur balls. And I’m not one to hate any of the creatures that pop
up in the Star Wars universe (Jar-Jar Binks excluded). I mean, cute cuddly
creatures have always been a part of Star Wars, and you can’t deny The Porgs
are actually cute, so I don’t get this hate either. Plus they are part of the indigenous life forms of the Island, it actually makes sense that the island is so alive and filled with all these different lifeforms. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGcfp7WQIatap4s-SWjfC_AWyyagmL1bT0ja5S8edfY_SYkFTwJCLkCzx5eFiZQGq6N_stmiGEzsdmGP6Gu8RoPZzdXkTLIFIV9uXFvy38Uy6rWreO-K4fY-fljyg2UgcjrnqES5UMSQ/s1600/Jedi+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="600" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGcfp7WQIatap4s-SWjfC_AWyyagmL1bT0ja5S8edfY_SYkFTwJCLkCzx5eFiZQGq6N_stmiGEzsdmGP6Gu8RoPZzdXkTLIFIV9uXFvy38Uy6rWreO-K4fY-fljyg2UgcjrnqES5UMSQ/s400/Jedi+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>The Comedy Doesn’t Fit</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, most of the things people hate about The Last Jedi have
always been part of Star Wars, take for instance the comedy in it. Some have gone
as far as calling it “intrusive”, as if it didn’t belong. Others felt like The
Last Jedi was closer to Spaceballs than Space opera? Hey people, wake up, there’s
always been comedy in Star Wars. Remember Luke saying “I used to live here you
know” and Han replying “You’re gonna die here, convenient!” Or how’s about Lei
calling Han a “Nerf Herder” or Yoda acting all goofy? So what if Poe calls
General Hux, Hugs? So what if Luke has funny looking nuns helping him out? So what if Chewbacca has a funny moment with the Porgs, a
little comedy has always been part of the Star Wars formula. It’s never
overbearing. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqkazbcLbWgAUuTzayT4d8uP73cb_WBzNxlpBBHaYiEJ9CJUUtMXUhsHOyqrNJDnXM925SbHFO0br6Nxz4jKyfOvi_RQMtiIso9hoj6Y5ec9x8ie03vA5_bAgrMTL0nJ9P_8uLJxJwf4/s1600/Jedi+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqkazbcLbWgAUuTzayT4d8uP73cb_WBzNxlpBBHaYiEJ9CJUUtMXUhsHOyqrNJDnXM925SbHFO0br6Nxz4jKyfOvi_RQMtiIso9hoj6Y5ec9x8ie03vA5_bAgrMTL0nJ9P_8uLJxJwf4/s400/Jedi+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Leia Using The Force</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Leia Organa has always been strong with The Force. It’s why
she hears Luke’s voice in her head when he called her while hanging from the
rafters of Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s how she “felt” that he hadn’t
died inside the Death Star when it exploded in The Return of the Jedi. So why
does it create such a reaction when she finally uses it to save her life in The
Last Jedi? Is it because audiences thought she looked stupid or silly floating
through space? The Force has always been used by characters to float from here
to there, why wouldn’t Leia use it to save her life in that particular moment?
Also, for me it was a cinematic, symbolic and moving resurrection of Carrie Fisher
and it became an impactful moment for me in the film. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Luke Would Never Become a Murderer</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Now this point here is about interpretation. The big deal here is that Luke pulls out his sword on Kylo to kill him because he considers him too big of a threat. You have to
remember, Luke only considers killing Kylo for a second, only because he’d seen
Kylos future and he knew all the chaos and destruction that Kylo was going to
bring to the entire galaxy, all the millions that would die under his yoke as
ruler of The First Order. But Luke only considered killing Kylo, he didn’t
actually do it because Luke knew Kylo might have some good left inside of him.
Same as Darth Vader had some good in him left at the end of Return of the Jedi.
And don’t give me the “Luke would never do that” shtick because Star Wars has
always been about that inner turmoil we all go through, that battle with our
inner demons and our dark side. I can feel the conflict within you, but
remember, Star Wars has always been about that very thin like between the Light
and the Dark. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPm3i9FxstaMstsghnNqZHqj15MrLpt-eFRCG-ZXEppLtNLBotghqSwGTn9_LrZiscSHW1oDm8M36y-JIbr6bZ-SN66acAY2VkMTY8IKcjljNfSlL9cpGahRApU5o35xXqiNUdFWI1YV0/s1600/Jedi+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1280" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPm3i9FxstaMstsghnNqZHqj15MrLpt-eFRCG-ZXEppLtNLBotghqSwGTn9_LrZiscSHW1oDm8M36y-JIbr6bZ-SN66acAY2VkMTY8IKcjljNfSlL9cpGahRApU5o35xXqiNUdFWI1YV0/s400/Jedi+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>The Casino Scene is Too Long</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Casino scene on Canto Bight is actually a very important
scene in the film, in fact, it’s the one with the most social commentary. It’s
the scene that’s making a statement about the society we live in. Child slavery
does in fact exist in our world, and its one of those things that’s extremely wrong
with our reality, yet there it is. If director Rian Johnson wants to make a
comment about that and take a good chunk of the film to do it, then so be it. It’s
a statement that matters. And it’s not unheard of in the Star Wars universe
either, The Phantom Menace shone a light on similar subject matter by having
Anakin be a slave child as well. And who’s profiting from those races? The rich
scum of the earth, who sell weapons of mass destruction, to both sides. So
yeah, there’s something to be said there. On top of that, it’s an amazing
sequence filled with a bunch of creatures! I didn’t know where to look at with
so much coolness up on the screen. It was on part with the Cantina scene going
all the way back to A New Hope, so yeah, it fits right in there in Star Wars
universe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrO4sjDnvdmPyLSfdsnaiiUKaSVTRNfPT77CiIGkeoDujHT2hVGAHG3VlfZyaqHVc64Ccxq_djuf2lxgzUb9ESPogccHl6EsiKL0kNkAg-t3Op7kTIiosOyBy4vGV1Q7C5tgMpHgC4VM/s1600/Jedi+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="600" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrO4sjDnvdmPyLSfdsnaiiUKaSVTRNfPT77CiIGkeoDujHT2hVGAHG3VlfZyaqHVc64Ccxq_djuf2lxgzUb9ESPogccHl6EsiKL0kNkAg-t3Op7kTIiosOyBy4vGV1Q7C5tgMpHgC4VM/s400/Jedi+8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Rose is a Weak Character</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s something to be said with Rose as well. Aside from
the fact that Disney is making a huge effort to make these films ethnically
diverse by including people of all colors and nationalities in their films, Rose
also fulfills the role of representing the working class. Her character (as
well as Finn’s who used to mop floors on the Dark Side) show how anyone of us
can make a difference and become a hero, we can all do something important with
our lives if we chose to. And that’s also a statement that matters. She saves
Finn from sacrificing himself unnecessarily. And it’s her dead sisters
medallion (which she unselfishly gives up) that ends up saving the day at one
point. So, I guess she isn’t as weak a character as you all might think. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>They Shouldn’t Have Killed Off Snoke</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Star Wars is famous for killing off cool villains. Remember
Darth Maul and how we all thought he was the coolest looking villain in Star
Wars? Remember how we thought we’d be seeing a lot of him in future films only
to see him get sliced in half in The Phantom Menace? Or how about Boba Fett
dying in the Sarlacc Pit? The same can be said for the good guys. I mean, I was
so freaking sorry to see Qui Gon Jinn dying in The Phantom Menace! Of course I
was as shocked as the next guy when Snoke bit the bullet, but come one guys,
Lucas had been playing that game since forever. Plus, I like the fact that Snokes
death shook things up to the point where we have ask ourselves what the hell is
The First Order going to do now? In this movie no one is safe! I loved that about it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>The Film is Boring</u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now this is just a lame ass comment. Really, a film that
gives us juicy character development and has all these amazing events taking
place, how can you even say this film was boring. Rey meets Luke, The First
Order is on The Rebels ass, Finn almost bites it, Snoke is split in half… and
that freaking battle in Snokes Throne Room, that scene is the reason they
invented phrases like “worth the price of admission”. This comment about the
film being “boring” seems like blind hatred to me. Moving on…</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXKCHQqz4abyOuzXefXAuYPIlREp-YAsflBQq2HaYTrDZxwagdk4C7wTKh2HqsH_R_8ootdkB9r1kVqo2aqVUnh8RCf5Z7D2MB4Ddp3qs3ti9BDMaS_rz_mGvxaPvLGtm651V_OKGU_E/s1600/Jedi+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXKCHQqz4abyOuzXefXAuYPIlREp-YAsflBQq2HaYTrDZxwagdk4C7wTKh2HqsH_R_8ootdkB9r1kVqo2aqVUnh8RCf5Z7D2MB4Ddp3qs3ti9BDMaS_rz_mGvxaPvLGtm651V_OKGU_E/s400/Jedi+14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><b>It Doesn’t Feel Like Star Wars (It’s Too Disney)</b></u></div>
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This isn’t true in my book for various reasons, but number
one being that Disney has actually made sure that these films feel a lot like
the first trilogy, like those first three films that came out. Some mentioned
that some of the creatures were too Disney, namely the caretakers, the crystal doggies and the Porgs…to
that I say whatever, Star Wars has always had cute little creatures. How could
it not feel like Star Wars when The Last Jedi shares similarities with both The
Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi? It has Luke and Leia. It has The
Millenium Falcon, Yoda, C3-PO and R2. This is very much a Star Wars film my
friends. It’s another brainless excuse to spew blind hatred. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So that’s my take on it dudes and dudettes. I think that
what is going on is the film destroyed all theories and didn’t give audiences
exactly what they wanted, which is what The Force Awakens did. J.J. Abram’s
film gave audiences exactly what they wanted. The Last Jedi did the opposite of
that and to me that’s the genius of it. J.J. Abrams is apparently going to
direct the next one, so let’s see what he does with this universe left in
tatters. Maybe audiences will like Episode 9 more because J.J.’s the kind of
director who loves to give you guys what you want, but to me Rian Johnson made
a bold and risky film and as a result ended up making one of the most talked
about entries in the franchise. To me that’s something worth noting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisF44_re-1qBqpC003f5BWNZNS1ROlIHdQyc1oDPmT_v4SOYhdfm4rSiQFyQv4bvkXaFsI4uj5ZeZwGuCBj39WivNPFxsVYBK1kkiofwNlodfViXtTpWq9yzAtWd-ASMBgvwqVTvvkaMU/s1600/Jedi+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisF44_re-1qBqpC003f5BWNZNS1ROlIHdQyc1oDPmT_v4SOYhdfm4rSiQFyQv4bvkXaFsI4uj5ZeZwGuCBj39WivNPFxsVYBK1kkiofwNlodfViXtTpWq9yzAtWd-ASMBgvwqVTvvkaMU/s400/Jedi+12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The risk taker, destroyer of worlds, Rian Johnson. </div>
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When Empire Strikes Back was released, it had a similar
reaction to The Last Jedi. Audiences thought it was too dark and like Last
Jedi, it wasn’t immediately loved by all. What we need to remember as audiences is that
in Hollywood, the second film in a trilogy is always the one in which everything
goes to hell. This is the chapter in which everything becomes complicated and
sad and all our heroes are left in dire straits. This is all done so that it
all resolves itself in the third and final chapter. This is George Lucas 101.
This is screenwriting 101. So, don’t worry my friends, I’m sure Episode 9 will
be a bit more uplifting and J. J. will be considered the savior of the Star
Wars universe because his film will be the “happy ending” to this new trilogy. I
also bet that like Empire Strikes Back, decades down the road, The Last Jedi
will be considered by many as one of the best in the series, mark my words. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7B-rCHnmXc9qFQLf2kYmyk_5r-hmkqOaE4UAHtDOLAERjAhVDGdDv-qAvrSt9RPCrFmo8KPY_9WJshnz-Tj41dM67CtATfmEQ7aSTwylJ4CRj6_r1mpGhBOWEcWQjxHAyx95D4kCLAY/s1600/Jedi+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7B-rCHnmXc9qFQLf2kYmyk_5r-hmkqOaE4UAHtDOLAERjAhVDGdDv-qAvrSt9RPCrFmo8KPY_9WJshnz-Tj41dM67CtATfmEQ7aSTwylJ4CRj6_r1mpGhBOWEcWQjxHAyx95D4kCLAY/s400/Jedi+13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-83508220634579391512017-12-18T06:31:00.000-08:002017-12-20T05:33:45.686-08:00The Last Jedi (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgtqwNSltPZvlH5OpvCraCdnnyNsa1PMyBtVHs5wACq2XMH_IJ3yuQM6rOFrlT_n0xvYrpPeoL1n-iYOCAUFJd2AwRhIh9XzMg2oeoHmUpF16iAfNmr8vMt6GepmQn7hhPPIflaF1HuM/s1600/Jedi+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1081" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgtqwNSltPZvlH5OpvCraCdnnyNsa1PMyBtVHs5wACq2XMH_IJ3yuQM6rOFrlT_n0xvYrpPeoL1n-iYOCAUFJd2AwRhIh9XzMg2oeoHmUpF16iAfNmr8vMt6GepmQn7hhPPIflaF1HuM/s400/Jedi+1.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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The Last Jedi (2017)</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Director:</b> Ryan Johnson <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Daisy Ridley, Mark Hammill, Carrie Fisher, John
Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyongo, Laura Dern,
Benicio del Toro<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anticipation is always high for any Star Wars movie and <b>The
Last Jedi</b> wasn’t going to be the exception. People just can’t wait for that
Star Wars logo to flash on the screen while John William’s legendary score
blasts through the speakers, it just starts things out with such a blast! Of
course, I was as excited as everybody else. Where the hell was Rey and Finn’s
story going to go? Who’s going to go bad, who’s going to “turn”? The
interesting thing about this particular Star Wars sequel was that directors
were going to change. J.J. Abrams passed the baton to Ryan Johnson who took the
reins of the series with relentlessness. I wasn’t floored when I heard that Johnson
had gotten the gig because to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of<b> Brick</b> (2005) or
<b>The Brothers Bloom</b> (2008). The only light at the end of his cinematic
repertoire was a film called <b>Looper</b> (2012) which I did enjoy a whole lot. So, where
would a new voice, a new director/writer take the series? I was extremely
curious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbDYZuNRH63jrSZXXMRuOhO68hh8I-U2rTCnCn08eqey-XCYIu227SziF_pTgjQeWHVhD3FP1-mZcrXWyJu2krs-UN93qrwppPyxb4dkAMmc7KEvHeinSH-3Znd4vyFHRYvjf_wl7b6E/s1600/Jedi+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1600" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbDYZuNRH63jrSZXXMRuOhO68hh8I-U2rTCnCn08eqey-XCYIu227SziF_pTgjQeWHVhD3FP1-mZcrXWyJu2krs-UN93qrwppPyxb4dkAMmc7KEvHeinSH-3Znd4vyFHRYvjf_wl7b6E/s400/Jedi+8.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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This time around, the rebels are escaping the ever-nearing
death grip of The New Order. After the destruction of Star Killer Base, the
Order is desperate to wipe out the last remaining members of the Rebel Alliance.
But rebels are not so easy to kill. Meanwhile, Rey is trying to convince Luke
to rejoin the fight, to lead, to train more Jedi. Sadly, Luke has all but given
up on the force and the training of Jedi. He wants none of the responsibility.
Will Rey convince him to come out of seclusion?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagOMyBYm84hv9RK8NuqAQU7prUZnvMeOfpggjoef5_o9ALZmvF2BeJhaNPcT19g0idBeRr1bT65Uj4-MtILHJVVtieQ0EMXHKL4jnE8nviVJ5v8BSl0lmgRRYI9frJJvm9U_410iMByI/s1600/Jedi+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagOMyBYm84hv9RK8NuqAQU7prUZnvMeOfpggjoef5_o9ALZmvF2BeJhaNPcT19g0idBeRr1bT65Uj4-MtILHJVVtieQ0EMXHKL4jnE8nviVJ5v8BSl0lmgRRYI9frJJvm9U_410iMByI/s400/Jedi+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When I say that Johnson took the franchise relentlessly, I
mean it. It feels as if its writer/director, Ryan Johnson is scrapping
everything J.J. Abrams set up in <b>The Force Awakens</b> (2015) and doing his own
thing. And by scrapping, I mean, completely obliterating a lot of what makes <b>The
Force Awakens </b>what it is. So creatively speaking, that was so interesting. The
Last Jedi is the polar opposite of what <b>The Force Awakens</b> was. If Force Awakens
was giving fans everything they wanted, then <b>The Last Jedi</b> is defying what you
expected from this sequel. It’s almost as if Johnson is saying, if we follow
what Abrams set up, we’ll end up seeing the exact same films we’ve already
seen. And Johnson obviously doesn’t want that, so he’s shaking things up almost
to the point of starting anew. And I must admit, I dug this direction Johnson took a
whole lot. With this movie, you’ll feel like no one is safe. It’s not like when
you’re watching a movie and you know nothing is going to happen to the good
guys, so let’s just enjoy how they go about doing what they got to do. Nope, in
<b>The Last Jedi</b> you will feel like every single person on the screen is in danger
of being obliterated, or killed or blasted into infinity by some freaking giant
laser. In that sense, for me, the film succeeds. It takes away that feeling of
safety towards the characters. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4asEf-VMJm0Lhy6bYtHSAulCZtS3-q5rH6DqQhnLrtzdfusXQJnuQ-FafKdpKGq6FGLKB_Y5SYsnrTUHz9meGuia6aw5KYZBLmSbJIrDREEMR_6RlAu9Ys9991JdO073t8CLWYhq4Uso/s1600/Jedi+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1600" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4asEf-VMJm0Lhy6bYtHSAulCZtS3-q5rH6DqQhnLrtzdfusXQJnuQ-FafKdpKGq6FGLKB_Y5SYsnrTUHz9meGuia6aw5KYZBLmSbJIrDREEMR_6RlAu9Ys9991JdO073t8CLWYhq4Uso/s400/Jedi+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The film succeeds in many other ways as well. It is a darker
chapter in the franchise and in this way it is similar to <b>The Empire Strikes
Back</b> (1980), but it’s not as blatant as <b>The Force Awakens</b> was with its fan
service. This isn’t a Xerox copy of <b>The Empire Strikes Back</b> or <b>Return of the Jedi</b>,
though we hear and see echoes of both films. So it gives you a bit of that
familiarity, but without becoming fan service, which was what <b>The Force Awakens</b>
was guilty of. <b>The Last Jedi</b> has many new things going for it, old fans will be
thrilled at how well they go about explaining exactly what The Force is but
will also be surprised at the additions that Johnson makes to the mythology. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHruWdnD9weiTu-OU1_CgwYVHKNioRjmYPzg5js7OO5yCd9ftlkfnW7-Xa68kZdTI0VKAA5CV3yerFl80ZEuTe0ePnEgKqJmHtazoGI4X0bV2HYaiL3g2vjE_FWVuqaZRleNc1qPZ-VQ/s1600/Jedi+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHruWdnD9weiTu-OU1_CgwYVHKNioRjmYPzg5js7OO5yCd9ftlkfnW7-Xa68kZdTI0VKAA5CV3yerFl80ZEuTe0ePnEgKqJmHtazoGI4X0bV2HYaiL3g2vjE_FWVuqaZRleNc1qPZ-VQ/s400/Jedi+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thematically speaking the film is all about the new wanting
to stamp out the old, trying to forget it, leave it behind to start anew, which
is kind of what the entire film attempts to do as well. I thought it was
amazing how the film was mimicking what its characters were feeling. I loved
where the characters were going and was surprised at every characters story arc
and ultimate fate. I mean, Rey and Kilo, awesome! Snoke! Leia! Finn! Poe! So
cool to see them all going through their own intense thing and then coming
together in the grand finale. With each passing movie I love Rey even more. The new characters like Rose and Benicio del Toro’s
DJ were welcome additions. I was especially proud of Benicio’s performance
because he is one of Puerto Rico’s best actors, and he's up there in Star Wars
and he represents. So, cool for Benicio! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQX5DrNV9i1-ldsDWaAs77W_OakdR_pX8t039BulUNNyBvMw_MLrjc8G5Uquh1lnFxiCbvppvojdtl7wU8DLDZyBU_R0dI7WMvCcbRJV0I24dynp0nwwiflxSYR9_XCr2o34GCdiK2gY/s1600/Jedi+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1280" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQX5DrNV9i1-ldsDWaAs77W_OakdR_pX8t039BulUNNyBvMw_MLrjc8G5Uquh1lnFxiCbvppvojdtl7wU8DLDZyBU_R0dI7WMvCcbRJV0I24dynp0nwwiflxSYR9_XCr2o34GCdiK2gY/s400/Jedi+9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The film is like a
long trip you don’t want to end. When I thought it was just about to be over,
boom, it wasn’t and a whole other chapter opens, and it’s also awesome. Final
thoughts on The Last Jedi is that yes, it’s a very satisfying sequel. It is a dark
chapter that shakes things up like crazy and attempts to put our characters in
an incredibly difficult situation, therefore it is going to polarize audiences.
Some will love it, others will hate it, or perhaps even find it “boring”,
though honestly, I can’t agree one parsec with them. I kept thinking, boy,
whoever ends up directing the next one is going to have a hard time doing it
because this Ryan Johnson guy just left things in pretty dire straits! Ryan
Johnson was like a hurricane that just passed through the Star Wars universe
and left said universe in tatters. Where are these characters headed now? That’s
what I want to know! We have to wait a couple of years to find out, so patience
my young Padawan’s. Patience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Ratings: 5 out of 5 </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURIOEFEk-GKleSMpuzkTB8VmgtS0Tt9tNsU4R18Pp9iSehzk1NuRQU_5ruASGkCnMn8eNEl7GVy_TCYRBkJrS0SzMXFvMF8Y-xxskcnAYx2OWlSzlLra4hT5avwdz0H_MJE5wCt5YzRI/s1600/Jedi+5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURIOEFEk-GKleSMpuzkTB8VmgtS0Tt9tNsU4R18Pp9iSehzk1NuRQU_5ruASGkCnMn8eNEl7GVy_TCYRBkJrS0SzMXFvMF8Y-xxskcnAYx2OWlSzlLra4hT5avwdz0H_MJE5wCt5YzRI/s400/Jedi+5.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-10541017058329472982017-12-06T13:21:00.000-08:002018-05-09T07:26:11.692-07:00Thor: Ragnarok (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEini-eH0HpzLlRKnCZdo_jil7Ew6qnfj-8Qv4SlieEODdqnGzu-4n3LIOmbum29IWStpcVfePoQzMQ_feMjYjaMG2DWwv_KKdHe3VgYsffADuP4hhSMjUY_qMJrSf6rUsX09bJqJ5iekF4/s1600/Thor+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="316" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEini-eH0HpzLlRKnCZdo_jil7Ew6qnfj-8Qv4SlieEODdqnGzu-4n3LIOmbum29IWStpcVfePoQzMQ_feMjYjaMG2DWwv_KKdHe3VgYsffADuP4hhSMjUY_qMJrSf6rUsX09bJqJ5iekF4/s400/Thor+2.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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Thor: Ragnarok (2017)</div>
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Director: Taika Waititi<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff
Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffallo, Anthony Hopkins, Bennedict
Cumberbatch<o:p></o:p></div>
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Within the Marvel movies, there are the huge hits that
everyone loves like <b>Guardians of the Galaxy </b>(2014) and <b>The Avengers</b> (2012) and then there are those films that people liked but don’t go bananas over, like the
Thor movies. The first film was directed by Kenneth Branagh and I was really
pumped for it because he’s known for doing Shakespeare adaptations and so I was
like, cool, he’s going to bring that Shakespearian quality to the Thor
universe, which he did. That first film was all serious and tragic in true Shakespearian
fashion. It was followed by a less then spectacular sequel which really didn’t
do much for me. Which is probably why the Thor franchise has never been the one
to light the Box Office on fire, well, at least not as spectacularly as the
rest of the Marvel Universe. Thor movies made money, but didn’t make as much as
the rest. Which meant something had to be reworked, something had to be fixed, because
people weren’t reacting as favorably to the Thor franchise as Disney hoped they
would. So what’s a studio to do? Well, Disney did what they had to do, they tried
something new for this third film to ensure its success. They made it funny. Did
it work?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MaFNqn9-bwukaWi9stVUoL90WE-mEhFZkdPw9M2Sexd9dY1THMaPBdPI71H1_H7hBdUS6JWOGqQPzpLHri9EgZUB3MxE1Urs8w2G-F4pUBSuLYZ-mrm5AmEj5i_iyMGEnm7weLMlS-Q/s1600/Thor+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="650" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MaFNqn9-bwukaWi9stVUoL90WE-mEhFZkdPw9M2Sexd9dY1THMaPBdPI71H1_H7hBdUS6JWOGqQPzpLHri9EgZUB3MxE1Urs8w2G-F4pUBSuLYZ-mrm5AmEj5i_iyMGEnm7weLMlS-Q/s400/Thor+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This time around Thor faces the takeover of Asgard by his
evil sister Hella. Unfortunately, he accidentally ends up stranded on a distant
planet where people are obsessed with Gladiator fights featuring The Incredible
Hulk as the star of the show. Oh, and Thor’s also without his magical Hammer Mjolnir.
Can he get back home to fix things in Asgard before his sister begins her reign
of terror? Will he ever get Mjolnir back? And can he win in a fight against the
Hulk?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGEV6GaMPXqAJ3hAuRabuOAvze_TmYEMxkS3_isiEs-ddlqyGC-tMOtjcSBl0P6MkMAlBgR1VnJroSFTTOD5pS6bKBoLh1wkMU2oNncXnxMwC0e1BSYf24e9QmvrYl1ZM0PlogIzO_DY/s1600/Thor+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="1439" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGEV6GaMPXqAJ3hAuRabuOAvze_TmYEMxkS3_isiEs-ddlqyGC-tMOtjcSBl0P6MkMAlBgR1VnJroSFTTOD5pS6bKBoLh1wkMU2oNncXnxMwC0e1BSYf24e9QmvrYl1ZM0PlogIzO_DY/s400/Thor+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the success of films like <b>Guardians of the Galaxy</b> (2014)
and <b>Deadpool</b> (2016), suddenly offbeat movies that didn’t take themselves so
seriously were the big money makers. And so, this new Thor movie is a thrill a
minute, fast paced, joke fest. It’s lighthearted and crazy and I love it and so
has the rest of the world; Thor Ragnarok has turned into one of the biggest
money makers in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. A huge part of the
successful formula for this enjoyable film is the guy behind the camera, Taika
Waititi. Who the hell is Taika Waititi you might ask. Well, he might not be a household
name yet, but Waititi has been making movies for a while now. In all honesty,
he’s a rather gifted storyteller. If you want to see what he is capable of, I
recommend you check out a movie he made called <b>Boy</b> (2010), a touching and beautiful
film about a boy who misses his father. Waititi acts, writes and directs his
own films, yes my friends, Waititi is a creative force to be reckoned with and
I have a feeling we’ve yet to discover what he can <i><u>really</u></i> do. I mean, if this is him working with a studios ideas, imagine when he does a project thats purely his. I predict good things from Waititi. You might remember him
best for his performance in a faux Documentary <b>What We Do in The Shadows </b>(2014),
a super funny film that follows a group of vampires who are all house mates in
a flat in London. Just hilarious, highly recommend checking that film out. After
seeing Waititi’s repertoire, you’ll understand perfectly well why <b>Thor:
Ragnarok</b> is so hilarious. So remember, if you enjoy the funny in Ragnarok,
Waititi is the guy you have to thank. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojQuOHHq-f2p2mUG7XftpblDLRgi6_jTdRarXzB-4vk9DhsAbgEYJ1oGkBkjYdZ7_6nh4jsK8vqOaRT3SF9RbK_51ZXh9xmshEc8nZIFuNSIfvUKonfSrjMOR28O1IdQUpLkXWdNv-E8/s1600/Thor+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="960" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojQuOHHq-f2p2mUG7XftpblDLRgi6_jTdRarXzB-4vk9DhsAbgEYJ1oGkBkjYdZ7_6nh4jsK8vqOaRT3SF9RbK_51ZXh9xmshEc8nZIFuNSIfvUKonfSrjMOR28O1IdQUpLkXWdNv-E8/s400/Thor+8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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What Waititi does with some of his films is he turns things
around, he puts a tired idea in a new unexpected situation. I mean, there’s no
more tired genre than the vampire genre and Waititi made it work. He made us
see vampires in a way we hadn’t seen them before. I mean, did you ever think
you’d see vampires squabbling over who should do the dishes? “Fuck that!
Vampires don’t do dishes!” Did you ever think you’d see Thor being traumatized
after seeing Hulk naked? Well, in this movie he does, and that’s what I’m talking
about, he puts the characters we know and love in funny, unthought of
situations. Situations you’d never imagine seeing them in. Situations that most
movies would avoid. Not only is the film funny, but it shatters the foundations
of the Thor universe to their very core. Thor goes through a life changing
journey, more so than any previous films. Ragnarok shakes things up good.
Nothing is sacred. All while spewing one liners. You wont feel danger or peril,
but you’ll have one hell of a good time. You’ll bust a gut with the banter
between Thor and The Hulk.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DTyVHFCpihndqXld_U7HO53-WdCzt5cypeRFb_ZKhsrDHO5ZzSkkWqXg0oEHAvbzBXgmMp030v4QMvxe0ABl-79xzmOWnokwn-XCT_-YgvE6w219stxSrg0LjUm2m_P1kGPpcCyGOeQ/s1600/Thor+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="648" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DTyVHFCpihndqXld_U7HO53-WdCzt5cypeRFb_ZKhsrDHO5ZzSkkWqXg0oEHAvbzBXgmMp030v4QMvxe0ABl-79xzmOWnokwn-XCT_-YgvE6w219stxSrg0LjUm2m_P1kGPpcCyGOeQ/s400/Thor+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Speaking of the films look, well, it’s very bright and
colorful. It’s very much in tune with the look and feel of two very important
comic book artists who helped shape the character of Thor in the 60’s. I speak
of Jacky Kirby and Walter Simonson.
Kirby and Simonson did some of the more seminal runs on Thor, they helped shape
and define what Thor eventually became, the way he would look. Waititi and crew
paid homage to these classic artists by giving the film a very classic look
with regards to set designs and the wardrobe of some of the characters. Thor
himself has a more contemporary feel, getting away from the long hair, the
capes and the hammer, making him less of a Viking. So the film is a bit of the
old and the new. Speaking of the old and
the retro, If you love the 80’s then you’ll love the soundtrack which is pure
80’s synth stuff. It has a John Carpenter/Stranger Things vibe going for it. <b>Thor:
Ragnarok</b> is a film that is showing us just how important it is to put the right
person behind the camera, because without Waititi, this would be a very
different film. This film shows movie studios can realize when something didnt work and that they shouldn’t be afraid to go in an entirely different
direction to try something new and freshen things up. Who knows, it just might work. This is a lesson
the DC Universe could learn from.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Rating: 4 out of 5</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcGwGwSTyRO7wUhPLKlaHlL3L01lT6iITu1q8KYPj-dcJnWlk29v6HQQxksiPRRusZRau12rINgU5NKWS2I2bCGbceqxy6Cu3jSiO42FjgrQdYfWpI4xQfnSbS0MRRfdFdzy5TCbq6sQ/s1600/Thor+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcGwGwSTyRO7wUhPLKlaHlL3L01lT6iITu1q8KYPj-dcJnWlk29v6HQQxksiPRRusZRau12rINgU5NKWS2I2bCGbceqxy6Cu3jSiO42FjgrQdYfWpI4xQfnSbS0MRRfdFdzy5TCbq6sQ/s400/Thor+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-43822326833355307352017-11-16T08:09:00.001-08:002017-12-05T06:47:09.743-08:00Justice League (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0I7Z67otTSYn3cA28Nc1hqPAI12tlnHpBY_zAOxzjKKWX3PxFx3IP9dYUJWFwhyGDVt-oMtQq1E_jclghgCVFKdZ6nM0fpbd6tAc-iMPYN7zfua7asmOIYsQe23wTWwB1-pHCCT6iTro/s1600/Justice+League+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0I7Z67otTSYn3cA28Nc1hqPAI12tlnHpBY_zAOxzjKKWX3PxFx3IP9dYUJWFwhyGDVt-oMtQq1E_jclghgCVFKdZ6nM0fpbd6tAc-iMPYN7zfua7asmOIYsQe23wTWwB1-pHCCT6iTro/s400/Justice+League+1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Justice League (2017)</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Directors:</b> Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Ezra
Miller, J.K. Simmons, Jeremy Irons, Billy Crudup, Diane Lane, Amber Heard,
Robin Wright<o:p></o:p></div>
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I started collecting comics when I was nine years old. I
discovered the world of comic books through a neighbor of mine who had
mountains of them. Back then, you were either a Marvel fan or a DC fan, it was
always a clash of who had the best superheroes. Who would win if they ever
fought against each other? Who was the most powerful? And it was all about
those big events like Marvel’s ‘Secret Wars’ , where all of the heroes got
together to defeat an all-powerful villain. Nowadays, these clashes have
translated to the silver screen. Who makes the best comic book movies? Marvel
or DC? Are you with Warner Bros. or are ya with Disney? Maybe you’re like me
and enjoy both sides equally, I mean, why side, when you can have all the fun
and enjoy the whole shebang? Cool thing is that each production company is
always trying to make the biggest and the baddest comic book film ever made,
all to please us, the viewer. They don’t always succeed, but boy is it fun to
watch them try. Up to my writing this, I’d say that there’s no doubt that
Marvel is winning the day in terms of who makes the best comic book movies. Marvel
seems to have the formula figured out, and they are ahead of the game, no
doubt. But DC is slowly learning from their mistakes. Is <b>Justice League</b> a step
in the right direction? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr66PJNM8kMxlAciVTkRxL-MlnBre4f4OiKdYE32Q6YlDgLekrE-jcWsweD2Q_TRs332QOve6Kwl5I6aseHrtlDTGFdM8FVDW6qr_HEVXfH2xiTIdB5CTiq2uLK6JA0J8ozPOPZ8TZEE/s1600/Justice+League+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr66PJNM8kMxlAciVTkRxL-MlnBre4f4OiKdYE32Q6YlDgLekrE-jcWsweD2Q_TRs332QOve6Kwl5I6aseHrtlDTGFdM8FVDW6qr_HEVXfH2xiTIdB5CTiq2uLK6JA0J8ozPOPZ8TZEE/s400/Justice+League+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This time around, Batman is trying to gather superheroes to
form a group of heroes to protect the earth from a coming threat. Apparently, a
villain called Steppenwolf is hell bent on world domination, but in order to do
so, he has to recollect three “mother boxes” that will give him the power he
seeks in order to achieve his goals. Will Batman gather the team in time, and
if he does, will they be enough? How can this world without a Superman confront
such a threat?</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eIGUsPcltMgPSNbX4avf8fgo7cLWjV9OixrE17eru9_f5snzl54QterW7s2OdS9cVxK1KKLeyqXPf02ZXsiIkwqnSkXt2Vu53Bev8WNXMd1FJAW00qlF9X4ojVNiq6q_0E_ldEbErtA/s1600/Justice+League+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eIGUsPcltMgPSNbX4avf8fgo7cLWjV9OixrE17eru9_f5snzl54QterW7s2OdS9cVxK1KKLeyqXPf02ZXsiIkwqnSkXt2Vu53Bev8WNXMd1FJAW00qlF9X4ojVNiq6q_0E_ldEbErtA/s400/Justice+League+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For those of you not in the know, this film had a bumpy road
towards the silver screen. Zack Snyder was directing it, but he suffered the death
of a loved one, so he stepped down to deal with that. Warner Bros. decided to
hire Josh Whedon director of <b>Avengers</b> (2012) and <b>Avengers: Age of Ultron </b>(2015)
in order to finish the film. Whedon did a couple of re-writes and reshoots and
boom, we got <b>Justice League</b>. Warner Bros. took the opportunity to make the film
a bit “lighter”, the reason for this being that audiences have felt that DC
movies are “too dark and brooding”, well, at least when compared to Marvel
movies, which are bright and shiny and know how to juggle heroic elements with
comedy. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iji4Dd8T9paKT-mXc_9-8g_MGMRXJr85ZnCljpd8xvL9D0vYWIyXzRtQvbmpLFSSvqpPLuHMXrTWu-5RuooNQSa5TB_MqKjwT_0LRUaSRqatebRAlqto8jKu41tHlgHi4uDHXFEctNA/s1600/Justice+League+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="1024" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iji4Dd8T9paKT-mXc_9-8g_MGMRXJr85ZnCljpd8xvL9D0vYWIyXzRtQvbmpLFSSvqpPLuHMXrTWu-5RuooNQSa5TB_MqKjwT_0LRUaSRqatebRAlqto8jKu41tHlgHi4uDHXFEctNA/s400/Justice+League+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This whole making DC movies lighter thing has been going on for a while
now. Warner Bros. has been reactionary in this sense, they react to whatever
Marvel does. And I think that’s actually part of the problem, they aren’t trend
setters. They are following, reacting to whatever Marvel does. In this sense,
Marvel has proven themselves the leaders of this whole comic book movie craze.
Warner Bros tried making <b>Suicide Squad</b> (2016) lighter and funnier with some reshoots, but
that turned out to be a failed experiment. With <b>Justice League</b>, DC finally
found the right balance between comedy and super hero antics, and it’s all thanks
to Whedon’s influence in the project. The funny moments are truly funny, well
written and effective, so I’d say you guys can rest assured the film delivers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JPolhGziT6f_S_QlZXYBrn35svbKwOPvNtMGFd6ahSh7fPxK3nUaymex9aoiIpcUx-eEKlTRgsUB5uenif_JrEHMo4nMkRlxBxyhrpGu695ouJcl2OqOL4OPED3s0sA5Fza-HKDMCcY/s1600/Justice+League+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JPolhGziT6f_S_QlZXYBrn35svbKwOPvNtMGFd6ahSh7fPxK3nUaymex9aoiIpcUx-eEKlTRgsUB5uenif_JrEHMo4nMkRlxBxyhrpGu695ouJcl2OqOL4OPED3s0sA5Fza-HKDMCcY/s400/Justice+League+6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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In terms of these six heroes coming together, I’d say they
did a good job as well. I gotta say I had a kick out of seeing all these heroes
together on the silver screen. Nobody is left behind, they all shine, they all
kick ass, they work together. It’s cool seeing their different personalities
clash. Some are seasoned veterans, others are just learning how to be heroes.
How cool is it to see Flash afraid of getting into battle? I’d say he is the
one that grows the most as a character, learning how to grow into the role of a
hero. Flash also has the funniest lines in the film. For the record, I like Ben
Affleck as Batman. Momoa is the badboy of the group as Aquaman. Cyborg is
surprisingly crucial to the story. And Wonder Woman is growing to be the leader
of the pack. And speaking of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, she looks even more
beautiful on this one, I have a crush on this girl. She’s just stunning on this
film.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcGijbLyrU9YhM1ppZUZGor4R2mzBVEslW4FvZyfPpn9-ag9IIJ3I2OQTqI9CxuT598dYVYm8x64g4r33iTPlwAaqb5Dak4kPNMEESVoz1tjYEgO-2gpeywGquTDbjvtQW5T7VkE5TzE/s1600/Justice+League+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="625" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcGijbLyrU9YhM1ppZUZGor4R2mzBVEslW4FvZyfPpn9-ag9IIJ3I2OQTqI9CxuT598dYVYm8x64g4r33iTPlwAaqb5Dak4kPNMEESVoz1tjYEgO-2gpeywGquTDbjvtQW5T7VkE5TzE/s400/Justice+League+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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On the negative side, the villain is your typical “world
domination” type, which felt very “been there done that”. The villain being a
completely computer generated character didn’t help matters much in terms of
giving it life, Hollywood has to learn that lesson. We want thespians
Hollywood, not pixels. No matter how cool they may look, nothing will ever
replace the performance of a real actor. In this type of film, the villains
shenanigans are just a trigger to get our heroes in motion and what really matters
is how they get from here to there, how they go about it. The McGuffin this
time are three powerful items called “The Mother Boxes” and basically, they are
what moves the plot along. It’s the type of film where the villains motivations
don’t matter as long as we get that cool superhero action, which can be seen as
a negative point. In a good honest to god great film, everything is that much better
if we care about what’s moving the story along. You definetly feel the voice of two different directors, and a bunch of producers messing with the movie, as a result the film does feel a bit uneven. It feels a bit disjointed in terms of tone and style. But whatever, Justice League is
a no brainer. It’s meant to be a fun movie and in that sense, it delivers every
step of the way. There are surprises and cool moments that will have those
geeky fans wetting their pants with joy. Stay for the two extra endings!</div>
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<b>Rating: 3 out of 5</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-77487882559206182982017-10-26T07:46:00.002-07:002017-10-26T13:55:04.435-07:00Blade Runner 2049 (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bJLUel_q8ISbyYqa_CnF_M9qxWYBdSSVVEf9iMjNyDqhyphenhyphenztu_iFEdDnH5mgpUEIcnoAYzG30KOKIs7KMJ94-czxDHzFnMEZQH1JhwDtX6yKPujruyj9hcNYJwdjfqUgcK47IV3m801M/s1600/Blade+Runner+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bJLUel_q8ISbyYqa_CnF_M9qxWYBdSSVVEf9iMjNyDqhyphenhyphenztu_iFEdDnH5mgpUEIcnoAYzG30KOKIs7KMJ94-czxDHzFnMEZQH1JhwDtX6yKPujruyj9hcNYJwdjfqUgcK47IV3m801M/s400/Blade+Runner+1.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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Blade Runner 2049 (2017)</div>
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<b>Director: </b>Denis Villeneuve<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cast:</b> Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Jared Leto,
Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Sean Young<o:p></o:p></div>
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What has always attracted me to <b>Blade Runner</b> (1982), and part
of the reason why it’s one of my favorite science fiction films ever (topped
only by Kubrick’s <b>2001: A Space Odyssey</b>) are its themes. The film asks one of
the most thought-provoking questions of all time: why must we die? The question
of our mortality has haunted us since the dawn of time. Why are we born with an
expiration date? One for the ages to be sure, but one that Ridley Scott and his
crew weren’t afraid to ask back in 1982. Which is why that scene in which Roy
Batty kills his creator for being unable to give him more life struck me as a
great example of a film that knows its themes well and truly explores them. “You
were made as good as we could make you” is the answer Tyrell, the ‘God of
Biomechanics’ gives his creations. Live your life to the fullest, but rest
assured, you’re going to die. That frustration
and anger we all feel at the fact that we know we are going to die is explored on
Blade Runner with laser clear precision. The film really dives into its themes
with reckless abandon. It asks questions and attempts to give us answers, even
if said answers are dark and hopeless. And it delivers these dark explorations
with beauty and poetry. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Of course, when standing on the shoulders of such a giant,
the makers of <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> must’ve been concerned with delivering a film
that was just as compelling and thought provoking as the original. Which of
course was never going to be an easy task. Ridley Scott’s film is good on so
many levels, it has memorable
characters, incredible dialog, amazing art direction, incredible special
effects and music…it’s that rare “perfect” film that is extremely hard to top. I
give kudos to Denis Villeneuve’s for having the guts to tackle the sequel of such
a masterpiece. Was <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> a worthy sequel? How does it compare to
the first film? Can it be its own thing?</div>
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On <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> we are presented with a new Android
Executioner (a.k.a. Blade Runner) called agent ‘K’, who is assigned to retire a
rebellious android who is passing itself for a farmer. Agent K ends up
stumbling upon a mystery, which will lead him to a discovery that can shake the
very foundations of society itself. Will he take the task and open this Pandora’s
Box? </div>
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I have to give it to Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, the writers
behind this sequel, because they actually came up with some interesting
concepts for this movie. The concepts are so good that they could branch
off into entirely different films, which says a lot about the complexities of
the concepts behind <b>Blade Runner 2049</b>. This movie has more meat to it than 90%
percent of what passes for science fiction these days. And that “meat” is
merely the backdrop of the story. The
actual plot of <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> concerns itself with continuing exactly where
the original film leaves off, with Deckard running off with Rachel to god knows
where. This makes perfect sense when we take in consideration that Fancher also
wrote the first film, so he’s picking up the story right where he left it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yB5_QMh-rm3AXuK5C1y7K6iTt5xr6_hOKsxLCoxFR8ICFjA_1wYv_g7jId_X_fG8ib67AxScNEGXGx3awbr9zWnomPmKZRvYZNmFRulIUNwkd3cINo2vLe7gBWxU6qxFWZsxxgi_W88/s1600/Blade+Runner+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1600" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yB5_QMh-rm3AXuK5C1y7K6iTt5xr6_hOKsxLCoxFR8ICFjA_1wYv_g7jId_X_fG8ib67AxScNEGXGx3awbr9zWnomPmKZRvYZNmFRulIUNwkd3cINo2vLe7gBWxU6qxFWZsxxgi_W88/s400/Blade+Runner+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Blade Runner 2049</b> has gotten lots of praise for its visuals and
I agree, the film looks astonishing. Denis Villeneuve pays huge amounts of
respect to the original film. You’ll feel you are in the same world that Ridley
Scott presented us with in the first film. From the crummy, dirty streets
filled with mutants to the flying police cars and the nonstop rain. It was
great seeing landmarks from the first film like the Tyrell Corporation Pyramids
or all those neon holograms promoting every sort of product available to man. I
mean, Villeneuve succeeded in recreating that visual complexity that Ridley
Scott is so good at conjuring on his films. Fans of the original Blade Runner
are in for a real treat. It’s got that classy Film Noir vibe we all love from
Blade Runner, its still very much a science fictin film mixed with a detective story. </div>
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I was extremely disappointed that Vangelis was not used as
the composer for <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> because to me, the Vangelis score in <b>Blade
Runner</b> (1982) is a huge part of what
emotes in conjunction with the visuals, such a unique cinematic experience. Vangelis’s
music is sampled and reused in 2049, but instead letting him come up with a new
score, they brought it in Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, which I will
admit did an amazing job here anyway. The sounds used to compliment the visuals
effectively evoke that dark science fiction vibe, it’s not Vangelis, but its mind-blowing
in its own way. I’ve seen the film twice already and realized just how
fantastic that musical score is. So prepare yourselves to dive into an amazing
audio visual experience.</div>
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Though the film is amazing in many ways, it did have some
flaws. One of the things that just didn’t work for me were the unanswered plot
points, purposely left that way to be answered in a possible sequel. I
personally don’t like to see scenes shoehorned in there for the sake of setting
up a franchise, but whatever, you might not care. The original Blade Runner
wasn’t concerned with establishing a franchise, they just did the one great
film. To me it feels distracting, especially if you’re not even sure if there
will be a sequel at all. You'll be left wondering what happened to certain characters, so be ready for that. Another thing is that to me 2049 is not as crystal clear with its themes as
its predecessor. What is <b>Blade Runner 2049</b> really about? Is it trying to answer
any big questions? It is not as crystal clear as the first film. For now all I can say is that it is a film that warrants a
few viewings to really grasp it, which means its a film that begs to be analyzed. I missed that focus in themes I got with the original film. But even with its flaws, the film is amazing on so many other levels
that it balances the pros and cons out. I do hope more people go see it because
like its predecessor,<b> Blade Runner 2049</b> isn’t exactly lighting the box office
in flames. In fact, last time I checked it was having a hard time making its
money back. Which is sometimes a good thing. When general audiences don't like a film, it usually means it has some brains to it, which usually means I'll like it. So there's that. It's not a film made for mass consumption, which is a good thing for some of us. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap6Ix6FyBdCWeS6gZyR-KBTlLbsE9O-lDoHzhlDPkSVCrjpU50HI2u2Z8nG1ON3OIxCec1tDXp6lSDwnX7XZQqVwv1JfUPRoYcGXPDjy6HqUGUD2qr17oeR9Ptr2D1ZdBS8_njvWH_dA/s1600/Blade+Runner+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="831" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap6Ix6FyBdCWeS6gZyR-KBTlLbsE9O-lDoHzhlDPkSVCrjpU50HI2u2Z8nG1ON3OIxCec1tDXp6lSDwnX7XZQqVwv1JfUPRoYcGXPDjy6HqUGUD2qr17oeR9Ptr2D1ZdBS8_njvWH_dA/s400/Blade+Runner+9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was a risky movie for Denis Villeneuve to make because
it’s an intelligent, slow paced science fiction film, and mass audiences like
their explosions and fights every five seconds and they like everything spoon
fed to them. It also has a lengthy running time of almost three hours, but I’ll
tell ya, I was engaged all the way through, I didn’t really notice the running
time. I wanted more by the time it was over. When it's over it comes as a surprise. In that sense, it is extremely
similar to the original Blade Runner, which also slammed its door on our face,
making us wonder what happened to Deckard and Rachel. Well, this film answers
us that question, but it leaves so many others unanswered, hopefully we’ll get
a sequel, hopefully the answers will come, and hopefully they wont take thirty
something years to make the next film. I love the world of Blade Runner and I
hope we get to revisit it at some point. I am extremely happy that Denis
Villeneuve is doing such an amazing job with the science fiction genre, he is
steadily becoming the sci-fi director of this generation. I hear he wants to
tackle Dune next! What can I say, after seeing Blade Runner 2049, he has my
vote. Final word, even with its flaws, I cannot bring myself to give this film anything but a perfect score. One for the ages in deed. </div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5 </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293273378239831747.post-43213893959212087372017-10-11T12:31:00.000-07:002018-02-08T16:18:26.068-08:00Mother! (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj1XfRqQ5oFyDGpdIS6n4xwwMwUSSfll0a6nPpXyPMJ_nqjx0DS25NaFYOA9mZDKWWCI6DC6HIFHgfW2s8RhJgReLHVnVz97T7g14xXz_xP5xmjYPoKGRUJ7Wxcc60AW8iE97svU4dfk/s1600/Mother%2521+%25282017%2529+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj1XfRqQ5oFyDGpdIS6n4xwwMwUSSfll0a6nPpXyPMJ_nqjx0DS25NaFYOA9mZDKWWCI6DC6HIFHgfW2s8RhJgReLHVnVz97T7g14xXz_xP5xmjYPoKGRUJ7Wxcc60AW8iE97svU4dfk/s400/Mother%2521+%25282017%2529+7.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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Mother! (2017)</div>
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Director: Darren Aronofsky </div>
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Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer,
Ed Harris</div>
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Darren Aronofsky isn’t a stranger to playing with themes of Christianity
or religion, in fact, right from the get go with his first film <b>Pi</b> (1998), he
was already playing with ideas of religion vs. logic. Even when he did <b>Noah</b> (2014)
a film based on the biblical tale of Noah’s ark, he twisted the tale in a way
that the film actually turned into a critical view of the bible and its
teachings instead of a purely “Christian Film”. When I saw Noah, I felt
Aronofksy took many fantastical elements from the bible and slapped Christians right
in the face with it. What angered Christians about Noah, and part of the reason
why the Christian Community didn’t fully embrace that film was because they
couldn’t deny that the “craziest” elements from that film where actually in the
bible to begin with. This is why I find that Aronofsky’s newest film <b>Mother!</b> (2017),
fits right in there with the rest of his cinematic repertoire. Aronofsky has always
had a strong critical voice about religion. So, how do his views on religion
show up in <b>Mother!</b>? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-PHCzZ0jRmGDbZzSue-LWfRgoKL00G1q93fjgtZ7Vmnafy-0uYVvT9c949T3QD7sDSFtYTMYY_JY4W9CFKaqm6D7i5RxMnqNMtdU9mpi1NLbRpd_AEKWwewexbok-HPSCOMKwToar6M/s1600/mother+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1040" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-PHCzZ0jRmGDbZzSue-LWfRgoKL00G1q93fjgtZ7Vmnafy-0uYVvT9c949T3QD7sDSFtYTMYY_JY4W9CFKaqm6D7i5RxMnqNMtdU9mpi1NLbRpd_AEKWwewexbok-HPSCOMKwToar6M/s400/mother+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Mother! </b>is all about this couple who lives out in the sticks
in the middle of nowhere. All they want is a bit of peace and quiet. He wants
peace in order to work on his writing and she enjoys working on improving her
home. Problems begin to develop when uninvited guests being to knock at their
door to interrupt their secluded married life. Will these people ever stop
coming? What do they want?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI26o-tDRLrNsJn7MiVqL_nQLS-h8fcGvaNiyY6CjGx-H4zWN5sukwCS-a97wkLmUw5dPgPDTWp5_G9MadLmh51fVgpqFFBBUsebfvA1Wc1IfCvQwJTIqIaUASvAO6J9uJHECMrpmiFiY/s1600/Mother+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="650" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI26o-tDRLrNsJn7MiVqL_nQLS-h8fcGvaNiyY6CjGx-H4zWN5sukwCS-a97wkLmUw5dPgPDTWp5_G9MadLmh51fVgpqFFBBUsebfvA1Wc1IfCvQwJTIqIaUASvAO6J9uJHECMrpmiFiY/s400/Mother+8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is not a film to be watched like a regular film, it is
not “linear” or even literal in any sense of the word, though it starts out
that way. Mother! is a film filled with symbolisms, closer to the experience of
watching an Alejandro Jodorwsky film, where you aren’t supposed to follow a
story line in the traditional sense of the word, but instead, you are asked to
interpret what you are watching so that you can understand what the
director/writer is trying to say. That
Aronofksy has made this type of film shouldn’t surprise anyone, after all, this
is the director of <b>The Fountain</b> (2006), also a risky film, filled with
symbolisms. I say risky because American audiences aren’t used to films they
have to interpret. American audiences are used to being spoon fed the plot, so
I am not surprised that Mother! received such a cold reception at the box
office. Aronofksy knew he was making a hard movie to sell, which is why I
applaud him for taking the risk of making an honest film that will make us
think. It’s so much more refreshing then repetitive dribble regularly projected
in movie screens across the world. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqHUySojFZdfOeglNasXeWpCssg_nC9j4FiufsAMbbgrQtzzejh9JiPP8PRg7miHIUfZf3SmXYADemUqtPXYENaKh7AdUSTTaTSVg88wgD4PNaL5LJezPgJj9cAm121uJZ60DJqtwOVc/s1600/mother+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqHUySojFZdfOeglNasXeWpCssg_nC9j4FiufsAMbbgrQtzzejh9JiPP8PRg7miHIUfZf3SmXYADemUqtPXYENaKh7AdUSTTaTSVg88wgD4PNaL5LJezPgJj9cAm121uJZ60DJqtwOVc/s400/mother+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Paramount Pictures actually sent out a press release “apologizing”
for <b>Mother!</b> saying that they recognize it isn’t a film for everybody, which is
true. What I liked abot their press release was that they didn’t kick the movie
in the gut, but rather, stood by it and its filmmaker, defending it by calling
<b>Mother!</b> a bold film made by a director and actors at the top of their game. The backlash from audiences has been brutal,
but it’s probably because they don’t understand the film for what it is. I
mean, sure its images are shocking, gory, and brutal, but what do they stand
for? Could it be that it’s getting this backlash because it’s saying that
Christianity is just as gory, shocking and brutal? I’m guessing that’s why it’s
being lambasted. Because again, Christianity cannot deny that the savagery seen
in the film actually reflects their own beliefs. It’s not nice looking in the
mirror and realizing you’re a monster.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7Fg8wKnjDFbmYtvAjL_N1Fho2W2m5bvWjXuXPhY34yRG9Hklg5aq4ixtR3sG6uAGLt9woigRR8p92fwsX7JUht2r88U8nhiGu8uzu9DwOqLhvtGXhzerxDx6h9huRdrtg8nUvdSXino/s1600/mother+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7Fg8wKnjDFbmYtvAjL_N1Fho2W2m5bvWjXuXPhY34yRG9Hklg5aq4ixtR3sG6uAGLt9woigRR8p92fwsX7JUht2r88U8nhiGu8uzu9DwOqLhvtGXhzerxDx6h9huRdrtg8nUvdSXino/s400/mother+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kudos to Aronofsky for doing this. I mean, I was just as
shocked as everyone while watching the movie and it succeeds in making you feel
something, even if it is horrendous shock. But if you look past the shock,
there’s something profound being said here. Not many filmmakers are as brave as
Aronofsky. People are saying its “the
worst film they’ve ever seen” and that they “left the theater before it ended”
but it’s not because its badly acted or because it doesn’t look beautiful.
Lawrence and Bardem are amazing in it. The film looks as beautiful as any other
Aronofksy movie, though darker and grimmer for sure. Still, it’s not a badly
made film, far from it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRQzkhB5WmPamVI332MRBOXtJid2m2vkhzDQi7ck0NVLOlj8M3BQgb_zFsk4sGp25jKz9k0tsJWhNN736-2o1CjTsQuemJ6Zs7MPmLZa2lJVBHdLOX6bNvf7auzofgEbb8ZckzSK8-6o/s1600/mother+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="710" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRQzkhB5WmPamVI332MRBOXtJid2m2vkhzDQi7ck0NVLOlj8M3BQgb_zFsk4sGp25jKz9k0tsJWhNN736-2o1CjTsQuemJ6Zs7MPmLZa2lJVBHdLOX6bNvf7auzofgEbb8ZckzSK8-6o/s400/mother+6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lawrence and Aronofksy working out a scene</div>
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People are saying its “bad” because they can’t take the
shock. So if you can take shock, you’ll have no problem. If you can take strong
themes, go see the movie. If you despise religion, politics and hive like
mentalities, you’ll dig this film. But if you are a Christian, you’ll probably
hate looking at your beliefs represented on film and you’ll hate the fact that
you can’t deny that this is what the bible teaches. Awesome movie in my book.
Go see it, test your boundaries then interpret what you’ve seen. I applaude
Aronofsky and Paramount for making bold, different cinema, keep at it. </div>
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<b>Rating: 5 out of 5</b></div>
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Franco Macabrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10994905312221715861noreply@blogger.com4