Quentin Tarantino is probably one of my all time favorite directors. He doesn't just make movies, he makes experiences. Which, nowadays is a pretty rare thing. So when I heard he was making a Western, how could I not be pumped up? The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's 8th movie and he filmed it using 70mm film which is a thing of the past, since everything is digital so this makes it pretty cool. So, naturally, a couple of friends and I saw the 70mm version and had a wonderful experience. It played like the movies of old, no previews, a great story, an intermission and an epic finale. So, hop on the stage coach and let's review The Hateful Eight!
The Plot:
Two bounty hunters, a criminal, and a new Sheriff hop on a stage coach to head to Red Rock, but are forced to seek shelter due an incoming blizzard at a haberdashery with four others. However, one bounty hunter believes that someone isn't who they say they are and paranoia ensues. The bounty hunters are Major Marquis Warren (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and John "The Hangman" Ruth (played by Kurt Russel). Ruth thinks that someone is out to free his bounty Daisy Domergue (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). The tension builds and builds until tempers flare and all hell breaks loose. Is someone in cahoots with Daisy or is John "The Hangman" just paranoid? Is everyone telling the truth, or is there a liar or liars in the midst?
The Good:
Everything, to be honest. It was pretty cool to at least feel like a moviegoer in the golden age of film. The cast is great and there are laughs to be had. Even the bloody parts are fun to watch, though it's not for the squeamish. The scenery is stunning and is almost a character itself.
The Bad:
Like I mentioned above, this movie isn't for the squeamish. There's also some shock value, but it feels like Tarantino is trying to go as far as he can with the shock value. These parts of the movie are uncomfortable at best and don't really serve a purpose to the plot. It feels tacked on at times and it can be a bit distracting from the plot. Overall: The Hateful Eight is an entertaining movie to say the least. The shock value feels overdone and has no point other than to make you go "ew!". Other than that, it's fun. The cast does well, and the story is pretty fun to watch. And if you get a chance to see it on 70mm film, you definitely should.
Well, after the long wait and all the hype from the trailers, Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is upon us. And man, was I pretty excited for this movie and couldn't wait to see it. So, was all the hype pointless and was it garbage like the prequels? Or did J.J. Abrams bring back the Star Wars we all know and love? Grab your lightsaber and let's find out!
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!! Go see the movie first! If you want to ruin the experience and keep reading, don't get mad at me.
Now, with that out of the way:
The Plot:
30 years after the defeat of the Empire, a new threat has arisen from the ashes of the enemy. The First Order. They are searching for Luke Skywalker and believe he is a threat to them. A resistance pilot has a map that leads to Luke and tries to escape, but is captured by The First Order and the dark jedi, Kylo Ren. The pilot's droid, however, has the map and escapes to safety. BB-8, the droid, runs into Rey, a salavger. She and BB-8 run into Finn, an ex stormtrooper and they fly off in the Millennium Falcon. There, they run into Han Solo and Chewbacca. Rey gets captured by Kylo Ren, who is an ex pupil of Luke Skywalker. Finn wants to save Rey and with the help of the resistance, they launch an attack on The First Order's base, Starkiller. During the attack, it is revealed that Ren is Leia and Han's son turned evil. Kylo Ren kills Han and fights Finn. Finn loses, and Rey, who is force sensitive, defeats Kylo Ren, but as the base is falling apart, she escapes with Chewbacca. Once they return, BB-8 and R2-D2 show the map where Luke is hiding. Rey flies to the planet and returns the lightsaber she found.
The Good:
J.J Abrams pulled this off. It's a mix of new and old and it works. The cast is perfect and each actor is believable. There's a lot of witty banter between charactersand it makes you laugh. Yes, Chewbacca and Han Solo get a lot of screen time, but they don't steal the show from the new cast. Kylo Ren is a badass Sith with an attitude. Rey is strong and independent, but she's also relatable. Finn, is funny and heroic. It's just so good. This is how Star Wars was meant to be. There's a lot of nostalgia, but it doesn't dwell on the past too much.
The Bad:
There are some parts that come off a bit too cheesy. I also wish Luke would have said -something- and had not made the last scene awkward. And what's with these bad guys and building giant laser bases that shoot lasers? And what's with them having a weak spot? Did the First Order not learn anything from the Empire? I get that it's a call back to the original films, but it would have been nice to see something different. I'm okay with giant laser planets of doom, but make it a bit harder than "exposed weak spot".
Overall:
I'm just glad George Lucas had nothing to do with this movie. J.J Abrams pulled it off and we got something worthy of the original trilogy.It's not perfect, but it's still a wonderful movie and any Star Wars fan should see it. I hope Episode 8 is just as good.
Batman. The man, the legend, and I may or may not be him....Anyways, The Dark Knight Returns is an animated movie based off the comic book saga written by Frank Miller. Let's suit up and take back Gotham!
The Plot:
Set in an alternate universe, Bruce Wayne and other costumed heroes are put into "retirement" by the government. 10 years after Bruce hung up the mantle, crime in Gotham city is growing out of control and no one is doing anything to stop it. Tired of Gotham living in fear, an aging Bruce Wayne puts on his cowl and fights back. This return causes a stir in Gotham and not all are happy to see Batman return. The main threat: The Mutant Gang. At first, the leader of the gang has an advantage due to his youth, but Batman comes back and humiliates the leader, and breaks up the gang. However, this act manages to bring back horrors from the past, mainly the Joker. The Joker escapes from Arkham and begins to cause mayhem, and Batman has had enough. After defeating-ahem- somewhat killing the Joker (the Joker finished himself off) Batman has caused a stir that gets the government involved. Superman, now the president's lap dog, tries to calm Bruce down and negotiate peacefully. Bruce, has other plans, and continues to fight crime. Naturally, this leads into a face off and the playing field is set. Superman, weakened from a nuclear blast; and Batman, aging and beat up, but using a robotic suit. The two fight, and Batman comes out victorious, only to die from a heart attack. Was it a ruse or, did Bruce Wayne's legacy die?
The Good:
The animation is stunning and well drawn. I love this story too, it's one of my favorite comic books. The voice talent does their roles well and there's a lot of good lines said in this movie. This movie also manages to add scenes that the comic wasn't able to do. For example, the fight between Superman and Batman is lengthened and does the comic justice. There is a lot cut out from the comic, but the movie does manage to explain what's going on.
The Bad:
I can't think of much, honestly. There's a few parts where Peter Weller (AKA Robo-cop) doesn't sound as convincing as he should, but he does a stellar job. Other than that, this movie's pretty much close to perfection.
Overall: The Dark Knight Returns is a great comic and a great movie. If you have the time, check it out. It's a classic and maybe the film will be too.
It's December! And you know what that means, right? Sitting back and enjoying a good holiday movie. Like The Shining for example. Classic holiday movie, right? This horror masterpiece was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall and Danny Lloyd. So come play with us forever and ever and enter the garden maze, this is The Shining!
"Heeeeerrrrreee's an awesome movie!"-Jack Torrence.
The Plot: The Shining is about a writer who slowly becomes insane and tries to....No, that's not right. The Shining is about a family in a hotel that is haunted by ghosts and they have to...That's not right either. The Shining is about a family of writers who go insane at a hotel with ghosts. Nailed it. Anyways, this movie is about a writer and his family who stay at the Overlook Hotel and find out there's more to it than they thought. Jack Torrence, his wife and their son have to spend 5 months looking after the hotel and keep it up until the hotel is open for the season. However, as mentioned, there's more there than they bargained for. Jack, slowly succumbs to the evil at the hotel and begins to become more and more insane. Meanwhile, Wendy and Danny attempt to lead a normal life, but become threatened as Jack loses his sanity. (Accidental Joker origin story, perhaps?) Things start out normal, but the evil lurking inside the hotel eventually have Jack turn on his family and attempts to kill them. However, Wendy proves to be more resourceful than her husband and ends up besting him (by running away, of course). Jack tries to have one last attempt, but is outwitted by his son while chasing him through a maze in the freezing cold. Jack finally becomes part of the hotel, or was he always part of the hotel to begin with? Anyways, Wendy and Danny make their escape and we're left to assume how it ended for them.
The Good:
I'm not much of a horror movie person, mainly due to the fact that most "scary" movies are boring. That being said, I love The Shining. Kubrick was a master at making films and paced the movie in all the right ways. It starts off slow and normal and then the tension grows and grows until you're left with an epic finale. Jack Nicholson is brilliant and performs the role perfectly. Shelly Duvall's best acting is in the 3rd act and she's pretty good. The subtle tones of the movie are amazing too. You've got white man vs. Indians, as seen by Jack's "destruction" of the art. He tosses a ball at an Indian painting. Wendy's attire becomes more and more Native American as the movie progresses. Then there's the supernatural elements. Danny and his psychic powers. The ghost twins, room 237, and the ghosts Jack communicates with are all superb and interesting. Honestly, if any aspiring director wants to make a horror movie, they should watch this first.
The Bad:
Shelly Duvall's acting in the first two acts are meh at best. I get she's supposed to be happy go lucky and all, but most of the time, she comes off timid. Now, this could be because Kubrick was verbally abusing her and threatening her, but I don't know. Then there's some stuff that could have been left out. For example, there's one scene involving the head chef traveling to the hotel (because he's physic too and wants to save Wendy and Danny) and we see him driving through the snow. For a good five minutes at least. I get that it's snowing hard, but I've been beat over the head throughout how bad the snow storm is. It's repetitive and I dislike it when movies constantly beat me over the head with something I already know. Overall: The Shining is awesome. I love almost every second of it and I never get tired of watching it. It's also a good holiday movie to watch (a friend of mine's family does this and inspired me to do it as well). If you haven't seen this movie, dooo it. It's amazing. Bonus Round:
1) They had to use a thicker door for Jack to cut through. He was a volunteer fire marshal at the time and chopped through the door to fast. They also had him cut through about 50 doors to get the scene right.
2) The scene where Wendy finds Jack's "book" was type written in at least four different languages for international release.
3) There was a happy ending originally in earlier drafts but it was removed. It had Wendy and Danny in a hospital being offered to live with the hotel's manager in California. Weird.
4) Shelly Duvall had to do the baseball bat scene 127 times before Kubrick deemed it perfect. She was so stressed she actually lost some hair.
Well folks, we've reached episode six and we're so close to The Force Awakens! ROTJ is considered the silliest of the trilogy and some parts hold true to that. So, let's go to Jabba's and finish this series off!
The Plot:
Previously, Han Solo was frozen and sent to Jabba the Hutt's palace. Luke, Leia and the gang decide to go to Tatooine and save Han. Now, we see Luke's plan go into action. After some action and sweet justice, everyone splits. Han goes to the rebellion, while Luke goes back to visit Yoda. Yoda tells Luke that he must defeat Vader and the Emperor in order to become a true Jedi. Luke has his doubts and is unsure he'll be able to defeat them. Yoda, with his dying breath, tells Luke there is another Skywalker and has the force within them as well. Luke realizes it's Leia and vows to defeat Vader. Meanwhile, the rebellion is planning an attack on the Empire's newest battle station, the....Death Star. The Death Star 2.0? The Death Star Jr.? Anyways, they have learned that the Emperor himself is there, foreseeing the last stages of construction. The plan is to destroy a force field surrounding the battle station and blow it up with an attack. Han Solo volunteered to lead the attack on the shield, so Luke and Leia come along. Things go about as well as you'd think. Han manages to alert the guards, so Luke and Leia chase after them on a speeder bike. Luke and Leia then get separated, and the gang searches for Leia. On their way, they manage to meet the locals, teddy bear like creatures who want them for dinner. However, 3PO is revered as a god and with the help of Luke, frees everyone and they become part of the tribe. Luke is troubled, afraid he is endangering the mission and decides to face his father. Before he leaves, he tells Leia the truth. She understands, and they part. The next day, the attack is in progress. At first, all seems to be going well, but the tables are turned and the rebels are out gunned. Luke meets the Emperor and the sith lord attempts to lure Luke to the dark side. The Emperor also mentions that he was the one who gave the plans, tricking the rebellion into attacking a fully operational battle station. He finally pushes Luke into anger and ends up dueling Vader. Back on Endor, the rebels eventually gain the upper hand and blow up the shield generator. The rebel fleet attacks the Death Star, and Luke defeats Vader. Before he gives into his anger, he tells the Emperor he has lost and the Emperor nearly kills Luke. Vader realizes he never truly was 100% evil and kills the Emperor. Darth, dying, finally sees his son with his real eyes and dies. With that, the rebels finish off the Empire for good. Or do they? Anyways, happy ending.
The Good:
Like the previous movies, this one is fun to watch. You still love the characters, you get invested with the story (for the most part) and you witness Luke's journey to become a Jedi. You're always having fun and there's never a dull moment. And you get one of the most memorable lines in movie history (besides, "I am your father."):
Classic.
The Bad:
So, at the beginning, I mentioned that some say this movie is the sillier of the three. I'd have to agree there. If The Empire Strikes Back was the Dark Knight, this movie would be the Dark Knight Rises. Great movies, but the seriousness is lacking. For example, Han Solo, usually cool and smooth, comes off as a goof ball. I know, his character is supposed to be funny, but in this movie, the Benny Hill song should play when he's on screen. He also is super jealous of Leia and freaks out when Luke looks at her funny pretty much. When Luke tells her who she really is (and is some how totally okay with the fact she made out with her brother) she's distraught. Han tries to comfort her, but she needs some alone time and Han flips out. Dude, you had her before you were frozen in carbonite. She kisses you pretty much every time she sees you. Leia loves Han, no need to be jealous. Luke gets a tad bit annoying during the speeder bike scene. He becomes the back seat driver, and if I were Leia, I would have pushed him off. The ewoks are kinda adorable and bad ass, but the movie focuses on them more than our heroes at times. It's a bit distracting, I like them, but the battle of Hoth didn't focus too much on the other rebels. Just saying. Now for the end. I like happy endings, but this one's too perfect. Everyone's celebrating the down fall of the Empire and I mean everyone. How did Cloud City find out? How did Coruscant find out? I don't think news travels that fast, right? Maybe a few days later at most, but the immediate down fall? I don't think so. Oh. And this abomination:
*AKA George Lucas' middle finger*
What on earth was George Lucas smoking when he decided to use the guy who -ruined- Darth Vader and put into a this movie? This is the equivalent of a giant middle finger to hardcore fans.
Overall:
ROTJ is a classic. It's a decent end to a great trilogy. It's fun, it's got great scenes and lines. Yeah, it's a bit too perfect of an ending for my taste, but I love this movie. Rating: 4.5 speeder bikes out of 5.
Spy thrillers have been all the rage ever since James Bond made his first appearance on the silver screen. And what's not to like about them? Suave gentlemen spies, driving fast exotic cars and lovely women. Mission Impossible has been wowing audiences since it showed up on TV way back in 1966. So far, there have been five Mission Impossible movies, so let's see how well the fourth installment holds up.
The Plot:
An IMF agent is killed while trying to extract nuclear launch codes in order to stop a man codenamed "Cobalt" from starting nuclear war. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is called in to do the job and stop Cobalt. He and his team (Simon Pegg and Paula Patton) are ordered by IMF to go to Russia and infiltrate the Kremlin. Their mission, to find the true identity of Cobalt and let the authorities arrest him. The mission goes well, however, someone piggy backs Ethan's team's radio frequency and alerts Russian authorities. As Ethan and his team manage to escape, the Kremlin is bombed and Ethan ends up unconscious. Ethan ends up in an hospital and escapes calling for an extraction. He is picked up by the IMF Secretary and his analyst, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner). The Secretary tells Ethan that the President of the US has shut down IMF and disavowed the agents. On the way, the Secretary mentions if Ethan were to escape, there could nothing he could do. As he explains this, he gets killed. Ethan and Brandt escape to an unmarked train car with IMF gadgets in order to stop Cobalt. It's when Cobalt's identity is revealed to be Kurt Hendriks a nuclear strategist. Ethan and his team discover that Hendriks is going to Dubai to buy the codes from the assassin who killed the first IMF agent. The team reaches Dubai and hatches a plan in order to stop Hendriks, get him and the assassin. However, the gadgets that they're using aren't high quality and must improvise the plan. During the meet, Hendriks escapes with the codes and Ethan tries to track him down in a sandstorm, only to loose him at the last second. But, Ethan has a plan and he and his team head to Mumbai, India. After some spy stuff and whatnot, Ethan corners Hendriks and the two fight. Oh, and Hendriks did launch a nuke towards the US and Ethan has to stop the nuke from hitting US soil. Ethan does eventually stop the nuke and it's mission accomplished.
The Good:
As Mission Impossible movies go, this is a pretty fun flick to watch. The stunts are jaw dropping and the action's pretty decent. It's pretty funny to see Hawkeye be in an Mission Impossible movie but, Jeremy Renner does a good job. Some of the special effects are decent, and there are some good lines. The Bad:
Maybe it's just me, but not once did I feel tension during any of the action scenes. For example, when Ethan Hunt is climbing the world's tallest building, I never felt like there was a moment where he -might- fail. Take the scene from the first movie where Hunt is hacking into the computer room with all the security safe guards. I felt tension in that scene, and you're thinking that Hunt could fail at any moment. Ghost Protocol never keeps you on edge, even when there's a nuke hurtling towards earth. As for the nuke part, well...I assumed that the US would have, I don't know...early warning systems just in case nuclear threats were coming in? It's not like this missile flew below radar. It freaking went into the stratosphere where something could pick it up, right? Now, for Hendriks. I get that he's this genius and is evil, but I have a hard time believing that he could best a trained IMF agent in hand to hand combat. I'm sorry, but that's pushing the immersion for me (yeah, so is the nuke). I mentioned there were some decent special effects, but there were some bad ones too. When Ethan is running away from explosions, you can tell that Tom Cruise is against a green screen and you don't feel the danger. There's another scene when Ethan is chasing Hendriks out of the hotel, and the camera angle goes to a bird eye view. Ethan is sprinting towards Hendriks and Hendriks takes off like the flash. How is a sixty plus year old man outrunning Hunt? Good movie, but there's alot of moments where it's not believable.
Overall: Ghost Protocol is a fun movie, and despite all the negative things I just said, I like it. Yeah, there are a lot of moments where you're trying not to laugh, but it has it's good moments too.
So, when October 15, 2015 came along, the world watched Back to the Future Part 2 to compare what came true and what didn't. I went ahead one day to see if we got hoverboards, but alas, we neanderthals still rely on wheels. Now, what most people might not know is that BTTF2 and part 3 were filmed together, just that part three came out after (obviously). Today, I'll be reviewing Back to the Future Part 3.
Yeah, they may have gone too far with this one.
The Plot:
So, Marty McFly heads back to 1955 to stop Biff from becoming an evil Donald Trump and ends setting things right in 1985. However, the time machine is struck by lighting and Doc Brown is sent back in 1885. Marty, now stuck in 1955 has to get help from none other than Doc himself. Originally planning to head to 1985, Marty discovers that 1885 Doc gets killed and decides to save him from his demise. The man who kills Doc is none other than Biff- I mean, Mad Dog Tannen (Biff's past relative). Marty heads to 1885 with the time machine and instantly runs into trouble, however, Doc saves him. Doc is angry at Marty, but once Marty explains his purpose, the two decide the best course of action is for both of them to head back to 1985. The problem is, the time machine is broken and unable to drive. Doc devises a plan that can send them back, but runs into Clara, a school teacher who nearly fell to her death. Doc and Clara fall in love at first sight, causing Doc to become torn between staying or going. Marty convinces Doc to leave, telling him what unknown changes to the future might bring and ruin history. As for Mad Dog, he still plans to kill Doc or Marty, who angered Mad Dog as well, meaning they have a deadline to meet. After resolving that conflict with manure, Doc and Marty hatch their plan to go back to the future. Using a train to push the time machine up to 88 (sure, why not?) Clara ruins everything, only sending Marty back to 1985. Doc eventually shows up in a time machine train (again, why not?) and the series ends.
The Good:
Micheal J. Fox manages to do a decent job at being Marty again. He even uses Clint Eastwood as his "cowboy" name and says some lines Clint has said before. There are some amusing scenes, such as the one above. The hover board makes an appearance again, so that's cool. The Bad:
Unfortunately, this movie falls to pieces once Marty heads back in time. Doc is goofier than he's usually portrayed and Chris Lloyd overacts pretty much in every scene. We also see everyone's past relatives and it's creepy Marty is totally into his mom (past version). There's a bunch of scenes that remind us, yet again about the first movie and how great it was. Thankfully, Marty doesn't invent skateboarding again, because that'd be too stupid. The Tannen family at this point are just laughable villains and you can no longer take them seriously anymore. Now for Clara. I get that Doc has to have his "one" but for a school teacher, Clara's pretty dumb common sense wise. Not abandoning her wagon when her horses were spooked, messing up a perfectly good plan by tooting the train horn, the list goes on. As for other problems, when did Doc Brown learn how to drive a train? I'm pretty sure it's not like driving a car and would take some learning, but he seems to be pretty good at it. I could go on with the list of problems with this movie, but that'd end up being another post. Overall:
Yeah, Part 2 was cheesy, but it was fun. Part 3, though? It tried to pull out all the stops, but failed miserably. There's too much silliness at times, a majority of the actors are trying too hard so it comes off as bad. The flying train time machine took the cake though. Is this movie fun? Up until the part when you head back to the Wild West, sure. After that it's, pardon the pun, a train wreck. Rating: 1.5 Clayton Ravines out of 5.
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