malmevik77 Reviews

In a Violent Nature (2024)

Very well done and realistic, with a zombie

[8/10 · 4 June 2024]

In a Violent Nature

John Wick meets Zombies in this extremely gory film, In a Violent Nature. This movie snuck up on me as I had not heard of it before I saw it was playing at my local movie theatre. This is a revenge tale with extremely gory elements, that I personally found hilarious.

The zombie rises from the dead because teenagers, obviously, steals a necklace from his unmarked resting place. After that, chaos ensues. However, you need to be aware that the majority of the movie is watching him walk around the forest, searching for the necklace, and massacring whoever gets in his way.

What I liked about this movie is that there is no soundtrack. It's as if this would be what a real horrific attack would feel like. There would be no ominous music giving hints to the audience that something might happen. There would be large gaps of time between the assaults/murders. There would be few "jump scares". And there would be less psychological horror for the sake of watching people break. It's just pure mayhem. So much so that I truly couldn't stop laughing.

This movie isn't for everyone. There's not a lot that happens, but when it happens, oh boy watch out. The audience is also left with a lot of questions, but I don't know if I want any answers. They'll probably be cheesier than the actual mayhem.

The Strangers (2008)

Tries too hard.

[4/10 · 2 June 2024]

The Strangers

Perhaps a metaphor for senseless violence in today's America, The Strangers is a film with no direction, no motivation, no inspiration and no real point to it. A young couple who had attended a wedding, retreat to the young man's summer cabin in a secluded spot after his marriage proposal backfired. Please, ladies and gentlemen, do not get engaged at someone else's wedding. That is in poor taste.

After a very long set up involving their relationship and what may happen next after she turns down his proposal, a woman unscrews the porch light and knocks at their door at 4 in the morning. Honestly, who answers the door anymore, especially at that time? Once it's made clear that the young couple are alone, the woman walks off the porch, to the bafflement of the viewer and the characters. Shortly thereafter, this woman, and two cohorts begin terrorizing the couple psychologically by stealing their cell phones, smashing the car (silently, mind you) moving objects about, and going in and out of the house with amazing ease.

Too much time is spent where the young lady is terrorized before the young man believes her, even when presented with obvious evidence.

The audience is then treated to the usual ridiculous senseless violence that occurs, most often in rural settings where nobody can hear you scream for help. Another hill billy trope involving the use of a turntable in order to play decades-old-country music is utilized, but only for the fact that records can skip, causing the music to be stuck on a loop. This allows for 2 things: 1) the sound masks the movements of the killers, and 2) when the music is suddenly turned off using that familiar needle scratching sound, the characters know that someone is in the house!

I can live with the fact that there is no peep hole on the front door, even though that's nonsense. But if there is going to be another door to the porch through a window, leave the curtain open you morons.

Don't be fooled by a movie that thinks it is smarter than it is. It is a standard slasher movie, with some suspenseful moments, but with a badly written plot that turns out to be 100% pointless. You can write essays about the nature of chaos in an orderly world, but that's just hogwash. If you want to make a movie about a random home invasion by psychotic people, don't insult the viewer's intelligence by using the absence of some horror movie stereotypes to prove that the movie has something to say, all while keeping other stereotypes in abundance.

I watched, and am writing, this in advance of the new The Strangers movies coming in 2024. I will watch them, but watching this first made me less excited.

Fellow Travelers (2023)

Raw and painful, but part of our history

[9/10 · 2 June 2024]

Fellow Travelers

Fellow Travelers is a mini series from Showtime that documents the lives of homosexual men and women throughout the 1950s into the AIDS crisis of the mid 1980s. It is both sad and infuriating at the same time. Major world events such as the Red Scare, McCarthyism, the Vietnam war, Harvey Milk's assassination, and the beginnings of AIDS are covered in depth, all while the audience watches two men who can't express the love they share due to the way the world was working at the time.

Hawk, Matt Bomer, works for the US government, but maintains the secret life of a promiscuous gay man. He meets Tim, who he nicknames Skippy, brilliantly portrayed by Jonathan Bailey, and discovers that there's more to life than clandestine meetings and one night stands. However, the absolute need for secrecy leads to part of the arrogance and avoidant behavior Hawk presents to Tim. After Tim runs away to join the military, Hawk marries his ex boss's daughter to keep up appearances which then leads to more sadness.

The fact that men and women in this era of American history were strongly persecuted, more so than before, hurts me deeply as a gay man. It is so fortunate that I can live openly and proudly with no fear of being arrested or killed because of who I choose to love. Hawk, however, is such a deeply flawed character because he embraces the fact that homosexuality should be denied, it causes nuclear fallout to those around him.

The tragic ending of the miniseries is even more painful as innocent lives are lost to a senseless disease that received little to no funding from the government, yet others were not lost that, karmically speaking, should have. I personally know people who contracted HIV after one sexual encounter, yet others who have had dozens or hundreds of encounters, never caught it. It's not fair, but thankfully there are preventative measures and ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I am glad that the era of strict persecution has passed in the US. I know we have a long way to go, but we have also come so far. I highly recommend this miniseries just for the educational aspect of what life was like for those of us that no longer have to live in so much fear. However, the sex scenes are extremely graphic, and may not be suitable for everyone. It is nice to see raw sexuality in its truth, but it sometimes just felt titillating to keep viewer interest.

Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King (2014 Video)

Absolute garbage

[4/10 · 2 June 2024]

Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King

The final Marvel One-Shot, All Hail the King also has the notoriety of being the worst. It is an epilogue of sorts to Ben Kingsley's role as the drunk, drug addled actor, Trevor Slattery. He is now in prison, serving time as the mouthpiece of the Mandarin. The one shot is set up as a documentary on the actor's life, but turns out to be nothing more than a revenge plot concocted by the real Mandarin, unseen. Seeing Justin Hammer, suddenly gay, in prison with him, was kind of amusing however. Much more of this should have been explored, as I was never a fan of this fake Mandarin crap that the movie put forth. This short just wasn't any good, except it was nice to see another of Marvel's series of epilogues.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Mediocre movie that is somehow the most essential

[7/10 · 2 June 2024]

Thor: The Dark World

Marvel continues their Post-Avengers team up movie phase with Thor: The Dark World. After Iron Man 3 before, this movie allows us to resume Thor's solo story, but with some continuity to the other films thus keeping the audience aware of the larger story.

The problems with mysticism and magical abilities from alien creatures are there are no rules to go by. When we last left Thor, he was unable to travel back to earth of see Jane again, yet he was able to inexplicably go there for the Avengers. There was a half hearted attempt to show that Jane was kept out of the way for that movie, but her character returns in The Dark World, still trying to reconnect to Thor.

After locking Loki up after the events in the Avengers, Thor and the Asgardians have already repaired the Bifrost so traveling between the realms can happen, yet he still does not go to Jane, as he claims to desire. Jane, with D'Arcy and her new "intern", accidentally discover a way to travel between the realms. Jane, also accidentally, absorbs a substance known as the aether when on said travels. Dr. Selvig, after the Avengers, is now in a psych ward.

In the standard "people don't talk to each other therefore here's a plot" trope, Jane is now infected with the Aether that is naturally desired by nearly everyone in the 9 realms. Had Thor returned to earth when he could, none of this would happen, and a very serious death could have been avoided.

Loki gets a very fun piece of character development, but it still enacts a toll on him that always leaves the viewer guessing as to how he is dealing with it. His work with illusions makes it difficult to know what he is truly feeling.

I think the problem I really had with this movie is that a ton of negative consequences come about simply because Thor is too much of a wuss to go back to see Jane after the events of the first movie. Literally none of the Infinity War would have happened if not for that cowardly act. If the filmmakers intended to use a metaThor (see what I did there?) to explain that minor choices could lead to catastrophic consequences, then they were certainly successful. However, at the time, those consequences would not have been obvious, and may not have been planned out yet, so I don't want to give too much credit.

This film finally brings up the terms "infinity stones" and uses them to describe both the Tesseract and the Aether. Both of these artifacts are then deposited with "The Collector", Taneleer Tivan, a name more associated with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Stan Lee's cameo happens in Dr. Selvig's psych ward, and it involves a shoe.

It's one of the more forgettable films in basic premise, but it is single handedly the most important film in the Infinity War saga. This is a dichotomy difficult to wrap one's head around.

Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter (2013 Video)

Excellent back door pilot, even if unintended

[9/10 · 2 June 2024]

Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter

Agent Carter is a gift to the world. This One Shot basically is a short pilot for the two delightful seasons of Agent Carter's own show detailing her life after Captain America plunges into the arctic. Somehow she went from spy master, field operative during the war to being treated like crap for being a woman in a man's world. She completes a mission that came about while "the boys" were out drinking and nearly gets disciplined for it. It's ridiculous. Howard Stark has to step in and save the day, even though Carter's abilities earn her a place in leadership. It's misogynistic even when it's working in her favor. But still, it's nice to see her rub the men's noses in their horribleness.

Iron Man Three (2013)

Forgettable and confusing story

[4/10 · 27 May 2024]

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 kicks off the second phase of the MCU's film series now that the Avengers have all worked together once. At the time this came out, I don't think anyone knew, including Marvel, how the phases would play out. This film, however, doesn't do much to further the main plot arc.

Tony Stark is losing his mind. He's not sleeping. He's experimenting with the Iron Man armor, reaching 42 models in record time. All of this to escape the trauma of nearly dying during the battle of New York. It's nice to see that the filmmakers continued Marvel's tradition of showing the human side of comic book action. However, it doesn't stay very interesting.

You see, back during Y2K, Tony was approached by a man that appeared very unstable, trying to pitch an idea for Advanced Idea Mechanics. This leads into the film adaptation of the Extremis story published in the comic books back in 2005. The Ten Rings are brought back into the story from the first Iron Man, and the Mandarin, also from the comics, is introduced.

But then, it gets, well, dumb. A conspiracy cooked up to mess up the US Government, topple Tony Stark as petty revenge, kidnap and experiment on Pepper, and nearly kill Happy, happens in a haphazard way bringing characters together that make no sense. A lot of things are not as they seem, and there really is no resolution.

Stan Lee judges a random beauty contest, which was cute, but it didn't fit. Tony has his shrapnel removed, sleeps again, and appears to destroy all the Iron Man suits. What? It's like this movie wrapped up his storyline and he was supposed to go away.

Also Rhodes becomes Iron Patriot instead of War Machine, because changing names really matters. I know that actually happened, and it's not the movie's fault, but still.

I will finish by saying this was only the 3rd time I've seen this movie, and I can never remember what it's about when I start it up. That should tell you something. I believe that this movie is forgettable and unnecessary. I know the next Thor movie in the phase has a similar reputation.

Marvel One-Shot: Item 47 (2012 Video)

Excellent addition / epilogue to the Avengers

[10/10 · 26 May 2024]

Marvel One-Shot: Item 47

This is the best one of the one-shots. Item 47 fills in some common sense details that aren't normally thought of in an action movie. Aliens had invaded New York City in the Avengers, were defeated, but items were still left behind. The 47th Chitauri weapon was picked up by two bank robbers who use it to steal lots of money. Agent Sitwell returns to pursue them on behalf of S. H. I. E. L. D. since Coulson's death. I really liked that the filmmakers took the time to think of a very plausible side effect of an alien invasion. You don't see attempts at this kind of realism very often.

The Avengers (2012)

Pure comic book to big screen genius.

[9/10 · 25 May 2024]

The Avengers

At long last, the first phase of the MCU comes together in the sixth film, the Avengers. Long time fans of the superhero team got their patience rewarded. Marvel's creative team really shines here as they paid so much attention to the details from the source material and their own films.

What I loved most about this movie is that they continued all the stories of the first 5 films in this one without making the audience feel that there was too much going on. Maria Hill is also introduced, increasing the character appearances. Even Natalie Portman's face appears as Jane on a screen showing that she wasn't forgotten about either.

We learn so much more about the characters and what it's like to see them struggle to work as a team. And Loki knew that would happen. The theme of linking strengths and not flexing ego is explored in depth all while Loki exploits it to his very successful advantage. Think about this for a minute. Loki's plan required a great deal of "distraction" that an ensorcelled Hawkeye asked for. Had the squabbling not taken place, I see a much different ending.

Knowing what we know comes later, it is even more painful knowing that maybe we need to take a step back and not just assume all will be well because they're superheroes.

I remember seeing Thanos for those 2 seconds at the end of the movie and becoming lost in magical wonder about what Marvel would do with the stories I knew. Years and years of joy were to follow but I didn't know that. I just knew that my 30 something year old body still was a kid enjoying these cosmic adventures.

Stan Lee dismissing superheroes in New York is funny but not that funny haha. I loved the shawarma scene at the end of the credits and I love that you can buy them at Disney California Adventure. They're good too!

Since I am reviewing the film by itself, I'll stop here but from here on out, the films get very intertwined and it'll be more difficult to do that. I'll be reviewing by also connecting what is being shown to what has been shown.

Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011 Video)

A bit pointless, but cute

[4/10 · 24 May 2024]

Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer

This wasn't the best of the one-shots. It gives us a chance to Coulson being all badass as a S. H. I. E. L. D. agent by defeating two guys robbing a gas station convenience store. I guess this was to give him some action instead of just seeming all snooty government officialish. There was a reference to Roxxon on the gas pump which was nice, but nothing much else to see here.

I wish they had included more characters in the sequence that are known to the audience or the comic book fans instead of random people. I much rather prefer seeing Coulson in the Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. tv show being badass instead of here.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

One of the best films of the MCU

[9/10 · 24 May 2024]

Captain America: The First Avenger

My personal favorite of the pre-Avengers movie, Captain America: The First Avenger has the first appearance of the greatest gift to the MCU, Peggy Carter. Oh yeah, and Steve Rogers, blah blah blah. Just kidding. The 5th movie of the MCU showed us how scrawny Steve became the athletic Captain America as the first successful Super Soldier during World War II. To tie this all together, this program was hinted at in The Incredible Hulk, being a scientific experiment to try to recreate it.

Basically, the audience gets to learn a bit of Cap's history in the comics with the Red Skull, Dum Dum Dugan, Bucky Barnes, and the delightful patriotic dancers during Cap's visit to Italy. Steve tries to enlist in the army, but has too many medical problems. He is given a chance and shown to have grit, determination and self sacrifice to save his comrades in arms. He is then chosen to try the serum to develop his body, but he keeps his patriotic and brave mind and heart.

The Red Skull, on the other hand, used a prototype of the serum, and it didn't quite work the same. He also discovers "The Tesseract", which becomes very important in later film, in order to utilize its power to make weaponry to destroy cities. Battling the Red Skull is what dumped Cap into the icy waters of the arctic, keeping him preserved until the present day.

I love WWII movies because most of them show how ordinary people did extraordinary things to fight for what they believe in, and to fight for the lives of their friends and families. That's all Steve wanted to do. He didn't know he was going to be enhanced. The army tries to bench him due to him being the only person to receive the serum, but he breaks free of the prancing around as a symbol and saves hundreds of lives. Once proven, he goes on mission after mission to successfully turn the tide against the Nazis, and the mysterious Hydra. As in the comics, not everyone can be saved, and Cap suffers a horrible blow in the loss of his best friend.

When Cap wakes up in the present, he's a bit shocked by the time loss, but seems to take it in stride after he meets Nick Fury. It's time to assemble!

This movie's Stan Lee cameo had him waiting with other military figures to see Cap, who is a no show, and Stan mistakes the messenger for Cap commenting that he thought he would be taller, haha.

You can really tell that the MCU is taking off as the Avengers is the next film in the series. The streaming copy of Captain America has a teaser trailer of the Avengers in a post credits scene.

Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant (2011 Video)

Short pieces that reward fans by further connecting the universe

[8/10 · 23 May 2024]

Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant

During the first phase of the MCU, Marvel released these very short pieces to help bridge some of the other gaps, or connect characters that might have been forgotten about. In the Consultant, there is talk that the Abomination from The Incredible Hulk (2008) was being considered to be an Avenger. Obviously that doesn't happen, but it's cute to see a rerun of Tony Stark's talk with General Ross in the bar from the end of that movie. Comic books are well known for telling vast stories that can last decades, but every once in a while a "one-shot" book will be released just to paint a fuller picture. There are others, and I will review them in the order that they were shown to audiences. This one took place between Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Thor (2011)

Lots of info dump for those not familiar, but a solid intro to Thor

[7/10 · 23 May 2024]

Thor

Robotics, science and government have been tackled in the MCU, but the 4th film in the MCU, Thor, brings in mysticism and alien beings. Marvel had used Norse mythology decades ago when writing the series Journey Into Mystery, which evolved into the adventures of Thor pretty early on. As it was clear by this point that the Avengers were coming together, it wouldn't be right to not involve our favorite muscled Norse god from Asgard. It was time for his "origin" film, explaining who he is, who his cast of characters are, and how the universe continues to expand.

S. H. I. E. L. D.'s references to "trouble in New Mexico" during Iron Man 2 are revealed to be a powerless Thor, and his unmovable hammer, making a dramatic entrance by falling from the sky. Jane Foster (played beautifully by Natalie Portman), is joined by MCU original characters Darcy (love love love her) and Dr. Erik Selvig in finding Thor while researching changes in the constellations due to the transportation system used.

The movie spends a big chunk of time info dumping all of Thor's mythology for the audience, introducing all of those characters, Loki, Odin, Freya, Heimdall, the Warriors Three, and Lady Sif, plus of course our favorite hammer, Mjölnir.

The rest of the movie is a cautionary tale of letting one's arrogance and bravado overtake compassion and decency. Thor is tossed to Earth (Midgard) because his father doesn't believe he is fit to wield such power while being a colossal brat. Jane Foster helps him realize what a brat he truly is, and rah rah rah, all is well. Hawkeye also makes a short appearance as an operative of S. H. I. E. L. D., like Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

I think it's not an uncommon experience for someone to be told their entire life that they are perfect, and will use those skills when they're older. However, that can lead to a big head, and a very black and white outlook on what is right and wrong. The literal translation is a form of racism dumbed down to good vs evil.

As usual, the good guys are good looking humans, and the bad guys are dark blue skinned creatures, not as good looking of course. Loki, Thor's brother, living in his brother's shadow, goes rogue when learning of his own connection to the "bad guys" even though he can change his form between the two races. This sets Loki against Thor because of this "us vs them" mentality and we see this rivalry continue throughout the entire movie series for the next decade.

One more origin story to go folks, then we get to the Shawarma! Thor's Stan Lee cameo involved him using a truck to try and drag Mjölnir out of its landing point. I love looking for these cameos as I review these films.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

A setup movie for the Avengers. Not horrible but not great.

[7/10 · 22 May 2024]

Iron Man 2

This film is almost the red headed step child of the early part of the MCU. Iron Man 2 took the origin story of the first, and then evolved it into a set up movie. It had great positive moments, suffered from a bit of bloating and had a forgettable set of villains, all leading to the continued hinting of the Avengers Initiative with S. H. I. E. L. D.

After the governmental interference in The Incredible Hulk, it only made sense that the U. S. Government wishes to take over Tony's Iron Man suit before the rest of the world catches up on the technology. The official private company contracted by the government is run by a horrible human being, Justin Hammer, who would rather live the high life than do actual scientific research. As the viewers should have expected, another threat emerges with similar technology much faster than the characters anticipated.

As this is now the third film in an ever expanding shared universe, with the first two doing well enough to green light the project, more comic book characters emerge dropping hints of what will happen next. S. H. I. E. L. D. Director Nick Fury and agent Coulson both speak of something going on in New Mexico, Fury reveals that Howard Stark was a founding member of S. H. I. E. L. D. and Fury plants Agent Romanov (the Black Widow's first appearance) on Stark's staff. You see, Tony is dying because his arc reactor is poisoning his blood.

While it is fun to see Howard Stark in a Walt Disney role describing his view of the future, the sudden insertion of Howard's corrupt Russian counterpart and revenge driven son Ivan Vanko felt forced, especially since there really isn't a comic book counterpart besides an alternate version of Whiplash. These films shine when adaptations are made on the original source material to give a nod to the fans, which was done with Justin Hammer, albeit a younger version.

Also, in typical drag-it-out fashion, Tony won't communicate to the people he cares about (Pepper, Happy, Rhodes) that he is dying, and acts out instead. His choice to cope by using alcohol begins the chain reaction leading to Rhodes stealing a suit and taking on the moniker of War Machine, after a sarcastic comment by a drunken Stark. In addition, Howard Stark didn't communicate to his son how important he was to him, leaving only a throw away comment on an unedited piece of film. Once that is all cleared up, including Tony fixing his blood poisoning problem, the plot can climax bringing everyone back together again.

Themes of science versus government, corruption and greed leading to revenge, and terrible communication are explored but ultimately aren't very interesting.

Obviously I still recommend this because the viewers wouldn't have full understanding of later films, but it's not the greatest. One last thing: Stan Lee's cameo is adorable as he is mistaken for Larry King.

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

A perfect representation of mental illness

[10/10 · 21 May 2024]

I Saw the TV Glow

How do you experience life when you feel empty inside? I Saw the TV Glow takes the theme of using fantasy to forget about your troubles and catapults it to an extreme. The two main characters, Owen and Maddie, spend their teen years watching a Buffy the Vampire Slayer like show called The Pink Opaque. Both of them are loners, and in my opinion, autistic characters that have trouble with their parents, and classmates.

After several years, and seasons of the show, Maddie runs away coincidentally after the series finale of their show, leaving Owen to maneuver through life with extreme anxiety and solitude. His mother died of cancer early in the film, and his father was distant and lacking of understanding of his son's inability to cope.

I won't spoil what happens next, but it causes you to think. What if what you perceive as reality is but a myth? What if the fantasy that you use to escape is more than fantasy? What if you feel suffocated from depression that changing realities is your only way to survive?

I often write about my struggles with mental illness, and my love of seeing it in mainstream media being treated with respect. This film goes above and beyond respecting people's conditions, and going to the aforementioned extreme of a person's inability to work with it, or have a support system. Go see this movie. As the POV happens from a character with mental illness, it shows a different side of the disease. A lot of films feature other characters helping out, but what if there was no one to help but yourself? Perception becomes reality, and reality can be not something that can be dealt with. This gets scary, and knowing how people feel can be all the difference.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Much better in retrospect.

[7/10 · 21 May 2024]

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

With Universal flexing their distribution rights, The Incredible Hulk (2008) was notably absent in Marvel's MCU on Disney+. It also seemed, for years, that this movie wasn't quite a part of it either. Thankfully, Disney regained those rights in 2023, and the movie made it to their streaming services. I haven't seen the movie since it was originally released, and I have now watched the second film in the MCU and found a new appreciation.

Edward Norton, in his only appearance before Mark Ruffalo took over, did a better job of playing the Hulk than I think he was recognized for. I know that he was difficult behind the scenes, and was all ridiculous about refusing to continue the role, but I still liked his Bruce Banner.

The film introduces Thaddeus Ross, the Abomination, Betty Ross, and a freaky Ty Burrell that all I could see was Phil from Modern Family. Bruce is on the run after using an experimental super-soldier serum on himself, causing him to transform into the Hulk, an uncontrollable and unstoppable creature. In this film, instead of gamma ray exposure, the MCU ties this together with the same program that created Captain America. In fact, Tony Stark, in a cameo, even mentions that the program was "on ice", a nod to Steve Rogers' fate after World War II.

Stan Lee's hilarious cameo was the impetus for Ross finding Bruce hiding in Brazil. Blinsky (later the Abomination) becomes exposed to the same serum after failing to contain the Hulk allowing for a legitimate fight between two unstoppable creatures.

The film gives Bruce and Betty, his former girlfriend, a romantic touch when she immediately works to aid in Bruce's quest to remove the Hulk from his body. It's a little clunky, but as a comic book fan, it was fun to see. Betty, being General Ross's daughter, also brings more dramatic tension as she disagrees with her father's methods.

In typical Marvel fashion, the themes of scientific progress being weaponized by the military / government bring to mind the Manhattan Project, which was also referenced in Iron Man. Blinsky and Ross discussing that scientists don't deserve to be a weapon, instead of soldiers, continue this theme of arrogance.

With another reference to the gathering of "Avengers" at the end, the movie ties into Iron Man, which was a nice touch. Now knowing that the characters pop up throughout later films, my referenced appreciation above allowed me to place the film back into the greater narrative after initially dismissing it.

Cruella (2021)

Perfect example of an over the top performance for an over the top villain

[10/10 · 20 May 2024]

Cruella

Another live action Disney movie based off of their animated film, and the book that inspired that, Cruella is a prequel, showing how her life evolved from orphan to extraordinary fashion designer with a love for Dalmatian fur.

Disney has made the perfect movie by casting Emma Stone and Emma Thompson in the two lead roles, and giving them the freedom to express themselves with dry wit, sarcasm, vicious one liners, and adult themes not normally seen. The movie is rated PG 13 for a reason.

This is not a film for young kids. The death of Cruella's (originally named Estella) mother near the beginning of the film is quite traumatic. She blames herself and goes about living her life as part of a petty street gang in London, while dreaming of fashion design. As she gets older, she impresses The Baroness, a woman whose narcissism is unparalleled.

Once Cruella's full personality emerges out of Estella's hopes and dreams, the special effects and fashion, coupled with a spectacular 1970s rock score, the film shines. Cruella, plus Horace and Jasper and their dogs, conduct capers to ruin the Baroness and promote Cruella into superstardom.

In addition, the character of Artie, is an openly gay fashion designer who sells vintage clothing. For Disney, this is groundbreaking as he is the first openly gay character in one of their live action films. It is not a blatant, in your face, portrayal, but one that makes sense to the narrative.

I cannot praise this movie enough. It is fun, over the top, beautiful and refreshing. Disney needs to make more films like this. Go see it, but not with young children that cannot handle the suspense and adult themes.

Back to Black (2024)

A perfect biopic that revealed more pain than I knew

[10/10 · 20 May 2024]

Back to Black

Amy Winehouse was a tortured poet and talented singer in reality, and brought to life on the big screen in Back to Black with great respect. A woman who enjoyed the jazz music of past decades, she wanted to live the life that would inspire the writing of her songs, and give a delivery with such emotion that you felt you were a part of that life.

The film, like Amy, moved fast and tumultuous. I felt her pain and sadness as many traumatic experiences coupled with her inability to cope without drugs and alcohol addiction was very relatable. Expressing her feelings through songs only made things worse as her intense shyness made it difficult to perform for the world without worsening that addiction.

Marisa Abela, as Amy, performed all of the songs to perfection. Her close resemblance to Amy almost made me feel that Amy was still alive and portraying herself. Her ability to emulate a woman tortured by loss and addiction was nothing short of uncanny.

I highly recommend this film if you are a fan of her music, or just curious about the life that tragically ended at the age of 27. I have been inspired to take another listen to her music, now knowing more details about the life that brought it to the world.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Disappointing, repetitive from the other films, nothing new

[5/10 · 20 May 2024]

Mission Impossible: Fallout

Mission Impossible: Fallout continues the franchise's work at keeping the same plot moving, instead of the earlier entries of one off spy movies. The cast returns, except Jeremy Renner, from Rogue Nation to uncover a nuclear threat to the planet.

My issue with this movie is that doesn't offer anything new. The heads of the spy agency are not pleased with the way Ethan and the team handle their work. The plutonium needed for the nuclear threat is taken during their failure to stop it leaving suspicion that, once again, the team has gone rogue and allowed it to happen.

Two and a half hours of movie are filled with one action sequence after another as the team scrambles to stop the Apostles (a reborn Syndicate) from using the plutonium. Of course, the world doesn't end, so the audience isn't quite on the edge of their seat as in prior installments. The filmmakers had lost sight of the spirit of these films. While the spy action scenes are fun to watch, and full of explosions and car chases, the villains' goal is too extreme for me to care.

The film isn't horrible, and had the scheme been plausible, it would have been excellent. The continuing dangling unresolved status of Ethan's marriage from the third film gets wrapped up nicely, which is a huge positive.

There really isn't much else to say as no other development occurs. It's an action movie, so that's not unexpected, but it would have been nice for a bit more.

Iron Man (2008)

Marvel Studios entry into popularity and success

[8/10 · 20 May 2024]

Iron Man

The movie that began a media franchise, brought Marvel's comic book storylines to the mainstream, and birthed the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man brought a lesser known character to the big screen. Over the years, Marvel's characters had been licensed to other movie studios. But with Paramount distributing the film, Marvel Studios finally had their chance to make it their own.

Iron Man fans got to see Tony Stark brought to life by Robert Downey, Jr., starting out as an indifferent and ambivalent war profiteer, using his great intellect to manufacture weapons and military technology. His vast fortune allowed him to hide from the moral questions by losing himself in women and drink. Tony's alcoholism was a major plot point in the comics decades ago continuing Marvel's groundbreaking work with bringing elements of reality into a fantasy world.

The parallels to Batman have always been clear as Tony has no supernatural abilities, but only his intellectual genius. In order to be of use, that intellect aids him to build a suit of armor. The movie pays homage to his earliest comic book appearances when the suit was gray and clunky.

Marvel Studios movies are different than other comic book adaptations because the superhero plot also serves as metaphor for various social, mental health or moral issues that have always affected me as they are all relatable. At the beginning of the film, Tony is kidnapped in Afghanistan after being severely wounded by shrapnel. The device used to save his heart is implanted at this time. Instead of building the weapon demanded of him, he builds the aforementioned clunky suit and escapes. While it takes his personal trauma to develop his character from indifference to involvement in world affairs, Tony seems to genuinely embrace his change. His original naivety ironically leads to strengthening his decision to change his outlook, as he uncovers betrayal in the company that bears his name.

Also, in perfect comic book fashion, this movie is only the beginning of a long term storyline that has gone on for over 15 years at the time I wrote this. In order to maintain continuity, other characters are introduced from the comic books including Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Lt. Colonel James Rhodes, the organization the Ten Rings, Phil Coulson and Obadiah Stane. Stan Lee also continues his tradition of providing cameos in Marvel films. The audience must then pay full attention to the details as they are used throughout the other films.

With that, Nick Fury, S. H. I. E. L. D and the Avengers seeds are planted. Buckle in folks; you're in for a long ride.

Irena's Vow (2023)

Courageous, risky, anxiety ridden, but not a totally great film

[7/10 · 18 May 2024]

Irena's Vow

Other than beating the tar out of Nazis, the other kind of WWII movies I enjoy are the ones that feature the unsung heroes that were able to rescue small groups of Jewish people. Irena's Vow features Irena Gut, a Polish woman forced into service by the occupying Germans in the city of Tarnopol (now in the Ukraine as Ternopol).

While working for Major Rügemer, she is assigned to supervise the laundry, and then as the housekeeper for his villa, seized from a Polish family. When she saw that all the people in the laundry were to be executed as part of Hitler's plan, she schemes to hide them in the very house that the Major now occupies.

If this wasn't a true story, I wouldn't have believed a word of this. It was so poorly acted, I felt like I was watching a modern film with costumes, instead of a film to transport us back in time to the mad era of Nazi insanity.

It becomes quite clear, sort of, early on that Rügemer has a thing for Irena, but it catapults forward when he discovers that there are Jews hiding in his home. The speed and transformation of superior to inferior to Polish lover was so fast, it just didn't make sense in the narrative.

Sophie Nélisse, as Irena, did a great job of emoting the compassion, the panic, the fear, the horror and the bravery all needed to survive. After witnessing a child get murdered on the street by yet another disgraceful "German", she really dove into her risky plan to save as many Jews as she could.

I wanted to love this due to the bravery in the depths of despair, but it wasn't completely well done. I don't know, nor can I put my finger on it, but I felt it could have been done better. I'm just glad it really happened and the people went on to live full lives. The notes in the credits were really sweet.

Scream 4 (2011)

Rebooting the franchise with a movie about horror movie reboots

[8/10 · 18 May 2024]

Scre4m

After the original trilogy, I was a little wary of an 11 year later sequel, but after seeing it in 2024, Scre4m did a great job exploring a horror franchise reboot. The movie brought back Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and her now ex-husband David Arquette to bring out nostalgia, in addition to a new cast.

As in the first movies, there's lots of slasher murders caused by Ghostface, and a mystery as to who their identity really is. Since this is a reboot, plenty of tropes are used to tie in the modern audience with the original one from 1996. The spoof film Stab from the original films has now expanded to 7 titles, yet another jab at how the same routine is used over and over again.

But this works. I enjoyed the blatant rip offs of the first films including how some of the murders are done, staged, or presented. They even brought back the infamous garage door, but at least not with a dog door this time. (I'm looking at you Rose McGowan).

It is a bit ridiculous in the uninspired ways some die, and it is repetitive of the earlier films, but that is the point. The idea that films, especially in the horror genre, tend to go on and on, and then reboot themselves years later, is the main theme of the film. I wish Jamie Kennedy had somehow appeared, even supernaturally. I liked how he was used as a "chorus" of sorts to explain what horror movie tropes were being used, as he did in the first three. I joked with a friend that he would be the killer, but alas, I was wrong.

I wish I had seen this sooner, but I'm glad I got to see it. I enjoyed it a lot, and I look forward to more in the franchise.

The Fall Guy (2024)

A hilarious homage to stunt people

[9/10 · 15 May 2024]

The Fall Guy

A self proclaimed love letter to stunt men and women, The Fall Guy, delivers on hundreds of stunts that work well with the lunacy that is the main plot. A stunt gone wrong at the beginning of the movie leads to stunt man Colt Seavers breaking his back, hiding for 18 months and shutting out the world including camerawoman Jody Moreno who he was being nauseatingly cute with.

After those 18 months, Jody is now a director and her producer brings Colt back to help with some shenanigans going on behind the scenes. For the rest of the two hours, it gets sillier and more over the top and I ate up every second.

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are so cute together. Their on screen chemistry is undeniable. And Ryan is absolutely jacked as the super athletic stunt man, adding plausibility to some of the more physical stunts.

The film continues exploring their relationship, and the truth behind what was happening, by stringing together stunt after stunt. You can truly feel the love that the movie shows for all of those people that make action films so exciting. So many explosions! And watching that car flip so many times that it earned a Guinness World Record was so cool.

I was disappointed that the fisting joke from the trailer was cut from the movie. Boo.

Lastly, the movie does push for the theme of honesty even during the toughest of times. Ryan channeled his rom com charms in pretty impressive ways, and hallucinates about unicorns at the same time.

A Taylor Swift song is featured quite significantly near the beginning and I couldn't stop laughing in how it was used.

Go see it. Support the stunt people. And watch for the Lee Majors cameo in the credits. Yes I'm old.

Tarot (I) (2024)

So stupid I couldn't help but laugh

[6/10 · 14 May 2024]

Tarot

Tarot is a pretty predictable horror film that takes an old deck of Tarot cards and brings the grotesque paintings to life, as revealed in the trailer. College kids find the deck in a mansion rented for one of their birthdays, and decide it would be fun to use them. Using divination, one of them, who naturally has experience reading cards, tells each of the friends how their horoscope combine with the tarot cards into warnings or guidance of their lives.

Then, it gets weird. Each of them starts to be confronted, literally, but the card character that they received, coupled with, again literally, aspects of their reading.

This movie is pretty bad. The acting was bad. The behaviors of the characters trying to not die were just so dumb. The fact that some of them are in disbelief of what's going on, and then suddenly are hardcore believers gave me whiplash. And don't get me started how multiple characters make a 4 hour drive, not concurrently, and it's still night time out.

However, I loved this movie. It was so dumb that it was funny. I enjoyed it as it was just plain fun. I kind of expected this from the preview, but I was pleased that I was enjoying it. It's more slasher than horror, with a few jump scares and quite a bit of macabre moments. You know you're in trouble when a Victrola is used to freak out the characters.

Go see it with your brain turned off. There really are no redeeming qualities because even at the end, stupidity abounds. Two perfectly drivable cars are available to the survivors, yet they walk away down country roads to get back to civilization. What...?

Boy Kills World (2023)

Slapstick revenge film

[8/10 · 14 May 2024]

Boy Kills World

I had the good fortune to see Boy Kills World because it's just ridiculously fun. The main character, Boy, had his tongue removed, and his ears damaged so that he is deaf and mute. In his head, H. Jon Benjamin (of Archer and Bob's burgers fame) plays the voice that he feels he must sound like. That man is absolutely hysterical, and I can't imagine him ordering fast food in the drive through.

The Boy witnessed his mother and sister murdered in a ritualistic killing by the matriarch of a despotic government family. He was then raised by a shaman who trained him for revenge. Once he is old enough, the fun begins.

Ridiculous is a word I will use again because, oh my goodness, some of the things that happen in this movie (who knew a cheese grater was so versatile?) were genuinely laugh out loud moments that keep on going.

Throughout the film, Boy hallucinates his dead sister who he can speak to, and this is partially explained by the use of an abundance of drugs forced upon him by the shaman. It is quite sad actually the amount of suffering and plain torture that Boy must endure before going out into the world to get his revenge.

There's a big twist at the end of the movie that is mostly predictable but still satisfying. This isn't Shakespeare, but it's a revenge "video game" film that adds a lot of humor that was refreshing in the era of John Wicks and The Beekeepers.

Don't bring the kids, but bring the open mind of fast talking silliness during the bloodbaths. I mean seriously, the cheese grater, hahaha.