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  • Monday Movie Review: The Grinch

    Monday Movie Review: The Grinch

    Hooray, Its Monday. The Monday after the long holiday weekend. That means like most of you, and the rest of the free world, I got to hit the theaters over the weekend. I like to do this every weekend. I wanted to take a little bit of time to tell you of my experience at the movie,.  Just a minute to shed a little insight and perspective on Hollywood’s latest hit. Seeing a great movie in the theater can be a life altering experience. It can also be an easy way to waste a couple of hours and 30 bucks. My hopes is that with a quick review from this self-proclaim movie connoisseur I can save readers a few hours. Or better yet, possibly change a few more lives. A holiday classic for the holiday weekend. The Grinch

    The Grinch

    Universal has tapped long time Kevin Smith movie producer Scott Mosier to adapt a 3D CGI version of the Dr Seuss’s Christmas classic.  The story is about the same. In the outskirts of Whoville, there’s a miserly loner known only as The Grinch (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). He lives in a cave high up on Mount Crumpit with his inventions and his dog, Max. He only ever sees his Who neighbors when he has to go into town to get himself food. One holiday season, the Grinch catches wind that the Whos plan to make their routine Christmas celebrations three times bigger this year. This is something he can’t tolerate in the slightest. Eventually, he has the ultimate epiphany: to keep the peace and quiet he loves so much, he must become Santa Claus and steal Christmas.

    Meanwhile, in the town of Whoville, one particular holiday loving Who, Cindy-Lou Who (voiced by Cameron Seely), just wants to ask Santa Claus for help for her overworked single mom.

    Life Changing 73%

    The Grinch” is a very pleasant new reiteration.While it is a safe rendition, it is just retelling of Dr. Seuss’ holiday classic. I do like the additions to the story and little Cindy was even more adorable then she always has been in the past. In this telling, Cindy attempts to “catch” Santa Claus. This adds to the story flowing into the one old tale.

    The Grinch is less grumpy and miserable and more of just a hurt soul. He isn’t as mean and actually is very compassionate to the animals, Max the dog and a new friend Fred the reindeer. While still keeping his grinchly attitude towards Christmas and relegated to isolation, he manages to get a few laughs from his inconsiderate behavior towards the Whos.

    Batman?

    Where does he get those wonderful toys? I want to believe this is the Mosier touch. The Grinch has a slight air of Batman in this retelling. He is a bit of a  scientist and designs his own gadgets and coffee makers. He throws bat-like Christmas stars to wrap up the trees. Scaling the chimneys with a candy cane grappling hooks, all while a suspiciously familiar Danny Elfman score is  in the background. You can see what Mos did here and I like it.

     

    The Final Thought

    There was a lot to like in this movie. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to hear the Whos sing my all time favorite Christmas song, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Yes, I like the movie quite a bit, and I didn’t  mind the Grinch being retold. Its a wonderful story with a much needed message…..The true meaning of Christmas.  I gave it a 73%, but to all of us that grew up with the Grinch, “perhaps it means a little bit more”.  In the end, The Grinch is merely a safe, easy way to keep the IP active and a guaranteed million dollar blockbuster cash grab.

  • Monday Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

    Monday Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

    Hooray,  Its Monday. That means like most of you, and the rest of the free world, I got to hit the theaters over the weekend. I like to do this every weekend. I wanted to take a little bit of time to tell you my experience at the movie,. Just a minute to shed a little insight and perspective on Hollywood’s latest hit. Seeing a great movie in the theater can be a life altering experience. It can also be an easy way to waste a couple of hours and 30 bucks. My hopes is that with a quick review from this self-proclaim movie connoisseur I can save readers  a few hours.  Or better yet, possibly change a few more lives. This week the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.

     

    Bohemian Rhapsody is the latest in the epic bio-pic set to secure a legends legend. A foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury’s lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

     

    Bohemian Rhapsody 62% Life Altering

    As much as i’ve been anticipating this, I’ve managed to build a better legend of Freddie than this densely packed film of contrived , basic, and uneventful account of Freddie’s life. I left the theater knowing I got got, while still blaring Queens essentials from my car stereo. I got got, it isn’t the life changing trip to the theaters I anticipated, but its a decent enough movie.

     

    Rock You it Does Not

    The Story seems uncontested and meteoric rise to living legend status. I was expecting to get a some fascinating insight in to Freddie, I didn’t. They just sort of show up and magic happens. Take it to far, fight about it, break up, get back together for one last epic show. Wasn’t this the plot of Spinal Tap? My Take, Queens is great enough themselves to make this movie good, but a good Queen movie this is not.

     

    Queen’s lush, revolutionary sound and a lead singer, whose stage charisma and astonishing four-octave range made him one of the 20th century’s most beloved rock stars. The content  for a great Bio Pic is there, but it lacks the adversity, Queen rises quickly and doesn’t fall. There is a back story to what makes Faruk become Freddie. This isn’t it. Then it wraps up neatly, all the atonement and character growth packed in to a quick car ride to Wembley. This is where the movie gets great, Great from a movie perspective. Brain Singer manages to recreate Queens legendary performance in magnificent fashion. Shot for Shot, Minute for Minute. The movie scores on this 20 mins alone.  I will go back an watch this 20 min scene many, many more times.

     

    The Best Scene in the Movie

    In a negotiation and argument with their record company executive played by Mike “Waynes World” Myers. Excellent. In which they are arguing over the 6 min length of the song Bohemian Rhapsody being too long for radio play. Myers’s Ray Foster says “Teenagers will not crank up the volume in the car and sing Bohemian Rhapsody”. He may as well pause, look directly in to the camera and give a Wayne Campbell thumbs up and wink. Magnificently executed. Party On Wayne.

     

    Rami Malek

    Rami Malek stars as Freddie Mercury.  I just didn’t get a Freddie Mercury impression from him. More of an uninteresting Freddie caricature. He is getting rave review and Oscar buzz, I just don’t see it. My reaction, Rami’s casting was a miss. It seems like i’m alone on this though. Lucy Boynton ‘s Mary Austin was a character added to the film which has no point or real reason for being in the story. Its the same movie with or with out her. It seems like almost all the characters in this story didn’t really need to be there. Also when a guy says” you don’t need them” to bandmates walking out and quitting, He is obviously the bad guy, although I cant figure out why.

    Then there is Little Finger. Im sorry but I can not take Aidan Gillen seriously any longer. He is Little Finger doing Little Finger stuff and I cant get past it. I waited the whole movie for his betrayal. Turns out he was a solid guy? don’t believe it, he is Little Finger, he will betray you.

    The Final Thought

    Queen is an amazing band. There songs will be enjoyed by billions for centuries to come. This movie did not capture that.

  • Monday Movie Reveiw: First Man

    Monday Movie Reveiw: First Man

    Hooray, Its Monday. That means like most of you, and the rest of the free world, I got to hit the theaters over the weekend. I like to do this every weekend. I wanted to take a little bit of time to tell you my experience at the movies. Just a minute to shed a little insight and perspective on Hollywood’s latest hit. Seeing a great movie in the theater can be a life altering experience. It can also be an easy way to waste a couple of hours and 30 bucks. My hopes is that with a quick review, from this self proclaimed movie connoisseur, I can save readers a few hours. Or better yet, possibly change a few more lives. I went to First Man this weekend.

    First Man is a look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. It is a A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

    First Man 82 % Life Altering

    Being a child born and raised on the Space Coast I fell in love with NASA, Cape Kennedy and sending stuff to space. I was 5 years old and in kindergarten when I watched live in the sky the challenger explode. Blasting people in to space with less computing power than the apple watch strapped to my wrist is a very dangerous and challenging task. Just seeing this first person account of this was amazing and awe inspiring. NASA truly achieved greatness and an accomplishment in mankind’s existence. Its something we have grown to accept and be complacent with, First Man Brings it all back

     

    Movie For Movies Sake

    Apart for the amazing content of the story, they did an adequate job of bringing it to the big screen. Im not sure if Neil Armstrong was as dull and unflappable, and emotionless as Gosling portrayed him, If he was RG did a phenomenal job. The movie drags along frequently, and I never truley got to appreciate any of the characters. I feel this was a disservice to them. Some tragic things happen to important people in this story, but due to lack of character building you move on quickly. Maybe that was the point, The Rocket must launch anyways? Needless to say this was not Apollo 13, and RG is no Tom Hanks.

    The Final Thought

    First Man gets a 82 rating. Most of that is just due to how awesome it was to blast people to the moon in the 60s. The men, the ingenuity and the sacrifice it took to do this is worth my $15 at the movies everytime. I still stand in my front lawn and watch every rocket launch. Ill go everytime they make a NASA movie.

  • Monday Movie Review: Bad Times at the El Royale

    Monday Movie Review: Bad Times at the El Royale

    Hooray,  Its Monday. That means like most of you, and the rest of the free world, I got to hit the theaters over the weekend. I like to do this every weekend. I wanted to take a little bit of time to tell you my experience at the movies. Just a minute to shed a little insight and perspective on Hollywood’s latest hit. Seeing a great movie in the theater can be a life altering experience. It can also be an easy way to waste a couple of hours and 30 bucks. My hopes is that with a quick review, from this self proclaimed movie connoisseur, I can save readers  a few hours.  Or better yet, possibly change a few more lives. Last night I caught Bad Times at the El Royale.

    Bad Times at the El Royale is a suspense thriller set in the El Royale hotel. Written and Directed by Drew Goddard ( Lost, Cloverfield, The Martian, Daredevil series, and The Cabin in the Woods) He is very, very  good.

    For a quick summary, The El Royale is run-down hotel that sits on the border between California and Nevada. It soon becomes a seedy battleground when seven strangers — a cleric, a soul singer, a traveling salesman, two sisters, the manager and the mysterious Billy Lee — converge on a fateful night for one last shot at redemption before everything goes wrong.

    Bad Times at the El Royale 83% Life Altering

    For starters it has got Jon Hamm. He steals the opening scenes almost immediately and sets the stage for a fantastic movie. The Story is toned a little slow purposefully with quick, violent, unexpected pops and twist. Each character is mysterious as the El Royale itself. Any and all foreshadowing is very subtle and does not overexpose the film.

    Everyone in the film is fantastic. They each own their characters and bring the depth to the next level. Jon Hamm takes a slight step from his usual stoic role to be a little more of a wild card. Jeff Bridges, the master, the dude, does exactly what Jeff Bridges does. A consummate professional that instantly makes any character he plays better. Cynthia Erivo is beautiful, talented singer named Darlene Sweet. Cynthia’s performance is ernest, delightful and on point. She is Darlene.

    Chris Thor Hemsworth

    Enter in Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson and little Boots just to pepper the steak. It is fascinating the blend of story, visuals and characters. It’s done in such a way that movies just don’t take the time to do anymore. Then just when you think you can come to a conclusion about a small character it swings back adding in another set of fun emotions.

    The only thing negative I can say about El Royale is that it at time does get slow and drags, but I can’t say that those scenes are not brilliant and needed. I loved the set up plot drivers that don’t get answered, It does not tie in to a neat little package. Or pretend to add some insight and perspective about our lives. For example the content of the mysterious tape, for one, was never shown directly to audiences in the crime thriller. Because? Who cares? Who cares what was in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? It just is  Bad Times at the El Royale and nothing more.

    The Final Thought

    Ive kept it quite vague intentionally, its to much fun to not let you experience it for yourself. All you know watching this is that you know nothing. Something is going on, something is gonna happen but what, who or why? All you know is it is going to be a bad night. It starts to feel a little Tarrentioish but snaps in to its own place and rocks it. It’s a Movie for movies sake with nothing to say but a good show. If you like Movies its an instant classic.

  • Monday Movie Review : Venom

    Monday Movie Review : Venom

    Hooray,  Its Monday. That means like most of you, and the rest of the free world, I got to hit the theaters over the weekend. I like to do this every weekend. I wanted to take a little bit of time to tell you my experience at the movie,. Just a minute to shed a little insight and perspective on Hollywood’s latest hit. Seeing a great movie in the theater can be a life altering experience. It can also be an easy way to waste a couple of hours and 30 bucks. My hopes is that with a quick review from this self proclaim movie connoisseur I can save readers  a few hours.  Or better yet, possibly change a few more lives. I saw Venom this past weekend.

    Venom is the latest superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel. Let talk about it

     

    Venom 57% Life Altering

    We have a Superhero movie. This one is interesting though. Venom is not altruistic, he is a down right evil symbiote. His human pair Eddie Brock is a tragically flawed man of biblical proportions. The two combine and special effects chaos ensues. The movie follows Tom Hardy’s “Eddie” struggle to come to grips with an alien parasite hosting on him, controlling his actions and eating peoples heads. Both Venom and Eddie share a common antagonist and the movie flows to that confrontation aboard a launching rocket. Abort.

    What Did I Think?

    Its a predictable superhero movie, you can write it out your self before seeing it. Culminating in an over the top and unnecessary 3rd act. For a superhero movie it strayed from the original Todd McFarland comic. Venom is a Spiderman villain. Most of what makes him unique is the symbiote bonds with the spidey suit. This is what gives Venom the characteristic we know and love. So that is a %10 loss in score.

    Tom Hardy does an amazing job. He alone makes this movie watchable. He adds depth and layers to Eddie and makes him instantly likable. The likability and struggle Tom does with Eddie is completely fantastic and worth watching.

    Riz Ahmed, you know him as the pilot from Rouge One. He does a delightful job with a one dimensional, terribly scripted villain. With just a little bit of forethought Drake could have been a wildly interesting villain.

    The road to hell is paved with good intentions, good intentions were what was missing from Drake. Think Thanos, his actions are selfless. Drake is  a character in a position to do some fantastic things, and a tragic fall, matched with a massively evil smybiote could have been cool. But instead Venom misses, I do not sympathize or care or really believe in Drake or Riot at all. 

    The Final Venom Thought

    Eddie, Watch it for Tom’s Eddie. Tom is one of the greatest actors of our generation, and this only adds to his impressive body of work.  The Post scene could open doors for a good 5-6 movie universe. We know Marvel has got the rights to Peter Park and Spiderman. However Sony still has Miles Morales’s Spidey, or Spider-Juan as I like to call him. They could introduce Miles and have a new spider man universe with Venom and Carnage and crew. All we ask Sony is plan for 5 movies, don’t rush, spend time developing the characters. That is what we love after all, its not the CG, its the characters.