Bill & Ted Face The Music (2020)

If there was ever a film that I was looking for a sequel for it was the Bill & Ted Franchise of the late 80's and early 90's. In 1989, we were brought on a time travelling adventure with Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure which featured a young Keanu Reeves (Knock Knock) and a young Alex Winter (The Lost Boys) as two San Dimas, Californians with dreams of making it big as rock stars. They returned in 1991 for the sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey where they had to make it through hell and a game with death to save the world. Well, it's 29 years later and they have returned with Bill & Ted Face The Music which was directed by Dean Parisot (Fun With Dick and Jane). Older and not much wiser, they have been chipping away at trying to fulfill a destiny that was given to them, but with kids and their marriages on the rocks, they are told they don't have much time to save the world with the song that will unite them all. The film also stars Samara Weaving (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as Thea,  Brigette Lundy-Paine (Downsizing) as Billie, Kristen Schaal (Toy Story 4) as Kelly, William Sadler (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) as Death, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Dennis Caleb McCoy, Erinn Hayes (Children's Hospital) as Elizabeth, Jayma Mays (Red Eye) as Joanna, Hal Landon Jr. (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) as Chief Logan, Amy Stoch (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) as Missy, Beck Bennett (Sing) as Deacon, Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street) as Dr. Taylor Wood, and Holland Taylor (Keeping The Faith) as the Great Leader.

One of the things that worked for this film is that they didn't try to mix up the formula or install new humor to try and make it hip, they went with what worked before and they ran with it. I have to say that I absolutely loved this film from the beginning all the way to the end because it was a Bill & Ted movie that delivered with a great message of unity as one no matter what race, sex, or creed that you may be and that is exactly what we need in this day and age with all the madness that is happening. I was actually impressed that the make up department did a great job making Keanu Reeves finally look his age for once because that man does not age whatsoever. I was definitely shocked at the sight of it but tons of kudos to them and for the various looks we received throughout the film. I was definitely impressed with Weaving and Lundy-Paine, but Lundy-Paine was the real star of the show as far as the kids and don't get me wrong cause Weaving was great too, but Lundy fit more the part of one of their kids. I loved the fact that they brought back Chief Logan and Missy, it brought back some nostalgia for us long time fans of the franchise, but this movie would have not been what it was without William Sadler who once again appeared as Death. Everything about his performance was excellent and mix that with Anthony Carrigan and it just gets better. I had so much fun watching this film and I recommend it to anyone that loves comedy or the franchise so therefore I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

I was searching through Netflix trying to find something different for today to watch when I came across a film that stars legendary comedian Jim Carrey (Dark Crimes) who for a brief period of time started to branch out into different genres than comedy. The one that I chose for today is a film that I have been meaning to see, but never had the chance to in 2004's Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind which was written and directed by Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind). The film stars Carrey as introvert Joel Barish who seems to have it good until he finds out that his girlfriend had her memory erased to try and forget about him. Confused as to why she would do that, he undergoes the procedure just to figure out that maybe things were not as good as they seemed. The film also stars Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) as Clementine Kruczynski, Elijah Wood (The Lord Of The Rings) as Patrick, Mark Ruffalo (Avengers: Endgame) as Stan, Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicides) as Mary, Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty) as Dr. Mierzwiak, David Cross (Kung Fu Panda 2) as Rob, Jane Adams (Happiness) as Carrie, Thomas Jay Ryan (The Book Of Life) as Frank, Deirdre O'Connell (St. Vincent) as Hollis, and Gerry Robert Byrne (Gangs Of New York) as Train Conductor. 

I have to be honest in saying that I actually enjoyed this film and while it may not be the best film of all time, it has a lot of good moments and it's a little thought provoking too. I mean think about it for a minute, how many times have we gone through bad break ups to the point that the thought of someone makes you sick and you wonder why you can't forget about the person. This film gives you the idea of what if it was possible to erase someone out of your head forever, would you go through the procedure yourself? I often wonder that very thought myself considering the relationship that I find myself in as well, but the moral of the story is don't do it because every experience is a learning tool. I thought Jim Carrey was great in this film playing the opposite of Winslet's character who was eccentric, but it's when they are in his head that the film gets exciting and the both of them shine all the way through. In fact, I thought everyone in the film did a fantastic job from Frodo playing a creep, getting an early glimpse of Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, and a good performance from Kirsten Dunst. I loved the cinematography and how they played with the frames during the dream sequences so the special effects team deserves some kudos as well. Like I said, this was overall a pretty good film that features a wild concept and some really good acting so you should check it out on Netflix right now. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade. 

MILF (2018)

The film that I chose for today is one of those examples of not knowing what to watch and because you're so bored you'll click on anything which can go in any direction if you think about it. The film that I chose for today was the exact opposite of what I thought it was going to be as I checked out 2018's foreign film MILF which was directed by and stars Axelle Laffont (Jeanne and the Perfect Guy) as Elise. Three women in their forties decide to go on vacation while one of them closes a long chapter in her life. While on the vacation, they spark up relationships with three younger guys that opens their eyes to what really matters. The film also stars  Marie-Josée Croze (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) as Sonia, Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach) as Cécile, Waël Sersoub (In The Shadow Of Iris) as Paul, Matthias Dandois as Julian, Victor Meutelet (Alex Hugo) as Markus, Rémi Pedevilla (Escape From Raqqa) as Thomas, Florence Thomassin (A Very Long Engagement) as Christine, Jéromine Chasseriaud (Summer Crush) as Louise, Mitty Hazanavicius (Addict) as Nina, Pauline Bression (Plus belle la vie) as Maya, Claude Attia (A View Of Love) as M. Layrac,  and Anne-Marie Ponsot (The Horseman On The Roof) as Mme Layrac.

As I said above, this film was nothing like what I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to get some zany sex comedy especially with the title MILF so you can't really blame me there. What do you get is some a romance, drama, and comedy film that looks at a bunch of middle aged women who decided to let their guards down for some young men who made them feel young, but in reality their not really looking for a relationship. Well at least one of them wasn't, but there's nothing really revolutionary about the writing in the film because it played out exactly the way I thought it was going to. I am not saying that this was a bad film, but all I am saying is that it was just quite predictable and that really shouldn't be that surprising with these types of films. It would have been cool for them to throw in a monkey wrench, but sometimes you just have to play it safe. There's not much that I want to say other than what I have. There is some really good cinematography and the scenery is amazing, but whatever you do do not turn on the subtitles because the overdub is saying the opposite of the subtitles and that was annoying. Other than that, I am going to go ahead and give the film an B for a final grade.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

Having seen Zac Efron in the film Scoob! yesterday, I wanted to explore more of his catalog because Zac has impressed me over the years with his film choices. There was quite some buzz in 2019 when it was announced that Zac was going to play real life serial killer Ted Bundy and I am finally getting the chance to see the film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile on Netflix for today's film and the film was directed by Joe Berlinger (Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster). The film stars Lily Collins (Okja) as Liz Kendall, the longtime girlfriend of Ted Bundy who for a long time was in denial that her man was a serial killer, but the film chronicles everything through her eyes as she has to eventually come to grips. The film also stars Angela Sarafyan (Westworld) as Joanna, James Hetfield as Officer Bob Hayward, Grace Victoria Cox (Twin Peaks) as Carol Daronch, Jeffrey Donovan (Villains) as Utah Defense Attorney John O'Connell, Alan B. Jones (White Boy Rick) as Utah Judge Stewart Hanson, Dylan Baker (Road To Perdition) as Utah Prosecutor David Yocom, Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner) as Carole Ann Boone, Haley Joel Osment (Tusk) as Jerry, John Malkovich (In The Line Of Fire) as Judge Edward D. Cowart, and Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) as Florida Public Defender Dan Dowd.

You could definitely tell from watching this film that director Joe Berlinger came from the documentary world because there were lots of those elements as far as how the story was told. I thought he did an amazing job bringing this film to life and I thought he handled most of it well as far as how much was shown. I thought for the most part they did a great job casting with Zac Efron and all the different looks he had all those times, but Zac made Ted Bundy way too good looking then he actually was. I think that was a problem that a lot of people had with the film, but at the same time they did say that Ted was a real charmer and women liked him so maybe the casting choice wasn't wrong at all. He definitely knocked it out of the park with his acting and a lot of credit also goes to some of the other actors that were in this film and there was way too many to mention in this article. They all did their part in bringing this film to life and Lily Collins did an amazing job playing a woman that really struggled with the idea of whether or not Ted was lying to her or not. You could feel the tension that it created in this film in certain scenes for sure and that was what kept me glued. I definitely think this is a film worth checking out from a historical standpoint because this scumbag was real and the crimes he committed were real as well. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Scoob! (2020)

When movie theaters were still a thing in the world before the attack of Covid-19, one of the trailers I remember watching was for a new Scooby Doo film and I have loved Scooby ever since I was a kid. Unfortunately, Covid came and I didn't know when we were going to be able to see this until it landed on demand and Redbox and now for today we are checking out Scoob! which was directed by Tony Cervone (Space Jam). The film touched a little upon how Shaggy and Scooby came to meet and how the team became Mystery Inc., but years later Scooby and the gang are on a greater mission to stop a dastardly villain from releasing the ancient Cerberus while Scooby realizes that he is destined for something greater. The film stars Will Forte (Booksmart) as Shaggy, Gina Rodriguez (Jane The Virgin) as Velma, Zac Efron (High School Musical) as Fred, Amanda Seyfried (Alpha Dog) as Daphne, Frank Welker (The Transformers: The Movie) as Scooby-Doo, Mark Wahlberg (Spencer Confidential) as Blue Falcon, Ken Jeong (The Hangover) as Dynomutt, Kiersey Clemons (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising) as Dee Dee, Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets) as Dick Dastardly, Tracy Morgan (Top Five) as Captain Caveman, Simon Cowell as Simon Cowell, and Billy West (Space Jam) as Muttley.

I was actually very pleasantly surprised by the overall film to the point that I think I would invite a sequel if that became an option. Better yet, I would be open to a Hanna-Barbera universe if they were to create one because I loved seeing Captain Caveman and many of the other characters that appear in the film as Easter Eggs and some special cameos. I absolutely loved all of the voice acting in the film, I thought everyone did a superb job with their tasks and funny enough I did not know that Zac Efron was Fred the whole entire film until the very end. The only person that I didn't really enjoy to be honest was Mark Wahlberg and it's only because I kept thinking that he was channeling Ryan Reynolds the whole entire film and maybe that is not his fault 100% because the character was very similar to Deadpool as far as the way they interact (and that's all that is similar) to others like being fun loving and carefree of responsibility. So while that may not be all his fault, I thought Ryan Reynolds would have been better in the film. Other than that, I didn't really think there was much wrong with the film, there were some predictable things, but other than that it was really fun. One thing that I thought was funny, but it was risque was Dastardly's interaction with Scooby the first time he tells him his name. I thought it was risque because kids would watch it, but I think it was humor thrown in for the folks. They play homage to the original Scooby Doo series right in the beginning which earned brownie points from me and it's an overall fun movie to watch. I am going to give it an B+ for a final grade.

We Die Young (2019)

After the film that I watched yesterday, it left a very bad taste in my mouth so I needed some redemption for Jean-Claude Van Damme (Knock Off) and So I trusted in him to try out another film on Amazon Prime. The film I decided to watch is very different for Van Damme in 2019's We Die Young which was written and directed by Lior Geller (Hatched). The film stars Elijah Rodriguez (Sicario: Day Of The Soldado) as Lucas, a kid caught up in the streets of Washington DC as a drug runner for the local chapter of MS 13. All Lucas wants is a way out of this hell hole so that his little brother doesn't fall into the same trap, but after a mistake is committed he seeks the help of a combat veteran (Van Damme). The film also stars David Castañeda (The Tax Collector) as Rincon, Nicholas Sean Johnny (Barry) as Miguel, Charlie MacGechan (The Girl From The Song) as Jester, Joana Metrass (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) as Anna, Robyn Cara (Trying) as Gabriela, Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys For Life) as Tomas, Jim Caesar (The Witcher) as Felix, Kerry Bennett (The Habit Of Beauty) as Brenda, Pablo Scola (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) as Padre Orelio, Dean John-Wilson (The King and I) as Mousey, and Uriel Emil (The Bourne Ultimatum) as Spider.

As I said before, this film was a very different role for Jean-Claude Van Damme because there was no fancy martial arts scenes or any scenes of charisma in the film because he also had no speaking lines in the whole film. As I said, he played a combat veteran that came back to the states after an IUD went off that left him without a voice and no he works as a mechanic in DC who is just trying to get some pain medicine. Van Damme over the years has been expanding his repertoire and rightfully so after he showed what he could do in the film JCVD which was absolutely amazing. The only thing too is that his role in this film is sort of minor because the film really focuses on Lucas who struggles with the fact that he has to raise his little brother and keep him off the streets. This sounds very familiar because it happens more than you know in the real world where poverty has struck in the inner cities. The story is amazing and some of the action sequences at the end are amazing as well so this is definitely one film that is worth checking out if you want something more dramatic and different from Van Damme. One thing I will also say is that I am a huge fan of David Castañeda who was very good in this film as the head honcho of this MS 13 chapter. He captures everything that you would want from someone the people fear on a daily business plus he has that swagger. Give this one a shot right now on Amazon Prime because you may surprise yourself. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Knock Off (1998)

Every once in a while, I get in a kick of checking out films that I hadn't seen from some of my favorites in Hollywood like I did with Zoey Deutch, Robert De Niro, and Jean-Claude Van Damme (Swelter) who happens to be the subject for today's film that I chose. In the late 1990's, he released a lot of films that I just never got around to seeing so I decided that for today I would check out 1998's Knock Off which was directed by Tsui Hark (Once Upon A Time In China). Van Damme plays fashion designer Marcus Ray who just wants his product to be known around the world. Someone though is creating knock off versions of his jeans with bombs in them so he has to team up with a CIA agent to figure out who is behind it before it's too late. The film also stars Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo) as Tommy Hendricks, Lela Rochon (Any Given Sunday) as Karen Lee, Paul Sorvino (The Rocketeer) as Harry Johanson, Glen Chin (Natural Born Killers) as Skinny, Wyman Wong (12 Golden Ducks) as Eddie Wang, Carman Lee (Forbidden City Cop) as Detective Ling Ho, Michael Wong (Transformers: Age Of Extinction) as Han, Moses Chan (Black Mask) as Officer Fong, and  Ray Nicholas (The Dark Knight Rises) as Karl.

This is probably one of my least favorite Van Damme films that I have ever seen and that is saying something because he has been apart of some bad ones. I felt like this film was trying to be a knock off of a Jackie Chan film and it just didn't work for me at all because it's not what I wanted. I know that Rob Schneider was supposed to be the comedic relief in the film playing alongside the action star, but he was honestly my least favorite thing about the film besides the weird editing choices that went in to it as well. There was not one single scene in the whole film where I was like wow that was funny from Rob and I am surprised because he has been in some great comedies, but he should have stayed away from this one. The story itself is a little whacked out too because you have Russians and CIA all fighting for the same thing and they tried to do the whole double cross agent thing and they failed because it was absolutely stupid. I am a completest because once I start something I have to finish it, but this was honestly one film that I wish I had stopped watching because it sucked. The only cool thing about the film is the final battle/fight sequence that happens at the end where Van Damme is sliding on a slip and slide while his little hand gun shoots bad guys like they were hit by a shotgun. That was the only good thing which means that I am going to give the film an D- for a final grade and I never have given those out before. If an F is 65 that means the film got a 66 just to put it into comparison.

Mean Streets (1973)

I am always looking to catch some classic films to kind of learn where some actors and directors have come from and how they got to be where they are. I had never really seen a lot of Martin Scorcese's (The Irishman) early films so when I saw that Netflix had the 1973 film Mean Streets I had to check it out for today. The film stars Harvey Keitel (Thelma & Louise) as Charlie, an up and coming wannabe mob guy who will do anything to please his Uncle and get himself some street credit. All of that is put to the test for Charlie when things start going south due to friends who can't seem to keep their heads on straight and relationships that he is embarrassed to address in front of anyone. The film also stars Robert De Niro (Hands Of Stone) as Johnny Boy, David Proval (The Shawshank Redemption) as Tony, Amy Robinson (From Hell) as Teresa, Richard Romanus (Point Of No Return) as Michael, Cesare Danova (National Lampoon's Animal House) as Giovanni, Victor Argo (King Of New York) as Mario, George Memmoli (Phantom Of The Paradise) as Joey,  Jeannie Bell (TNT Jackson) as Diane, David Carradine (Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Drunk, and Robert Carradine (Mom Got A Date With A Vampire) as Boy With Gun.

The film felt like it was a journey in the life of low level wannabe gangsters and the shenanigans that they do while trying to build some cred. I have seen Robert De Niro at just about every level of the gangster tier and he definitely does not disappoint as the irresponsible Johnny Boy who likes to borrow money without paying it back to everyone so he puts Charlie in a real bind. It was also a film that I had a real hard time figuring out who was in charge in this film the whole time because it seemed like different guys took charge in different scenes so the hierarchy was a little messed up. Scorcese once again shows his love for The Rolling Stones in this film, but instead of using the usual track, we hear Jumpin Jack Flash in this film which was a nice change from the usual. I'd be interested to see how many Scorcese films actually featuring Rolling Stones tracks, but we could always do that some other time when I actually care enough to keep track. I loved the cinematography because you can sort of see Scorcese's signature all over this film and for the most part the acting was really well done. Keitel was of course very good in the film and David Proval was great as well, but in second place behind De Niro was definitely Richard Romanus who I kept thinking was hi brother Robert Romanus from Fast Times At Ridgemont High. A lot of cool actors seemed to get their start here, but like I said it was a decent film that I think is worth checking out if you are a fan of Scorcese. So, I am going to give the movie an B+ for a final grade.

The Love Guru (2008)

It has been a very long time since I had last seen the Canadian comedy legend and former Saturday Night Live Alum Mike Myers (So I Married An Ax Murderer) in a film. Mike has wowed us with how great he has been in various film franchises like Wayne's World, Shrek, and Austin Powers, but for today I had to explore 2008's The Love Guru which written by Myers and directed by Marco Schnabel (Austin Powers In Goldmember). The film stars Myers as Pitka, an American that was raised by gurus outside of the country. Pitka decides that it's time to return to the states to cash in on the self help guru craze so he gets involved with a hockey team to try and give confidence back to it's star player. The film also stars Jessica Alba (The Fantastic Four) as Jane Bullard, Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog) as Jacques Grande, Verne Troyer (Bubble Boy) as Coach Punch Cherkov, Manu Narayan (The Last Airbender) as Rajneesh, John Oliver (The Lion King) as Dick Pants, Stephen Colbert as Jay Kell, Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show) as Trent Lueders, Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3) as Guru Tugginmypudha, Rob Huebel (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) as Frat Guy, Daniel Tosh (Tosh.O) as Cowboy Hat, Meagan Good (Think Like A Man) as Prudence Roanoke, and Romany Malco (Top 5) as Darren Roanoke.

One thing that I am going to say right off the bat is that Justin Timberlake was the best part of this whole entire film. Justin is a renaissance man who can literally do it all as he has entertained us on the small screen, big screen, and of course on stages all over the world. He was a solid choice to play the rival hockey player who steals the star players wife and he was so funny. It was almost as if Mike Myers gave him all the funny lines and left none for himself in this film. I am not saying that the whole entire film was terrible because there were some funny scenes throughout, but Myers definitely laid an egg with this one as a lot of the comedy just felt forced and some of it was too stupid. I think a character like Pitka would have been better reserved for the Austin Powers series if you toned him down a bit and actually made him funny, but to try and capitalize on the self help craze was what he tried to do and it failed. I don't really have much more to say about the film other than it had some cool cinematography, but not enough to save this one. The film is currently available to stream for free on Tubi so check it out if you dare. I am going to give this one an D+ for a final grade because Timberlake keeps it from being an F.

The Rum Diary (2011)

If you have been living under a rock then you obviously wouldn't know that there is some controversy in Hollywood surrounding the lives of Johnny Depp (Mortdecai) and Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) as both are engulfed in a nasty case. So, I have decided that I was going to check out a film that both former lovers starred in together as I watched The Rum Diary which was released in 2011 and was written and directed by Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) and is based off of the Hunter S. Thompson novel. Depp stars as freelance writer Kemp who decides to take a job as a writer for a newspaper in Puerto Rico. The only problem is that things are not what they seem as he tries to navigate himself between the culture of the island and certain characters that inhabit the island. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) as Sanderson,  Michael Rispoli (While You Were Sleeping) as Sala, Richard Jenkins (The Witches Of Eastwick) as Lotterman, Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In 60 Seconds) as Moberg, Amaury Nolasco (A Good Day To Die Young) as Segurra, Marshall Bell (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) as Donovan, Bill Smitrovich (The November Man) as Mr. Zimburger, Julian Holloway (Carry On Up the Khyber) as Wolsley, and Bruno Irizarry (Looking for Maria Sanchez) as Lazar.

One thing is definitely for sure and that this film was not as good as Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas which was a classic Thompson novel turned into a film. Johnny Depp was well Johnny Depp and that is you can definitely enjoy his performance in the film, but Eckhart deserves some of that credit as well. This was definitely not my favorite Amber Heard performance as her sexuality was more of the tool used for this film as they had that forbidden affair in the film and most of the time I was like God do it already and get it over with. One thing that I definitely loved about the film was the cinematography which was excellently shot with beautiful tones and some amazing shots of the island and the beach life which was amazing in this film. I think that honestly the sets, the cinematography, and the editing of the film were probably my favorite parts of the film besides the obvious performances I talked about above. I didn't think the story was as interesting as Fear and Loathing, but it definitely keeps you somewhat near the edge of your seat for most of the film. I was curious and the film has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes which is just about probably where I am overall with the film which means that it may seem a little harsh, but this is not I have to rush to see this kind of film. Which means that I am going to give the film an C for a final grade.

I, Tonya (2017)

I used to do this segment on my other blog called Based On A Truesday story where we explored films that were based on a true story. While it has been a long time since we did it and today is Tuesday after all I thought I would bring it back. The film I chose for today is one that was a huge topic in the 1990's because it was one of the most shocking events to happen in the world of figure skating and I am talking about I, Tonya which was released in 2017 and was directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars And The Real Girl). The film stars Margot Robbie (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as the controversial Tayna Harding. The film follows Tanya's life from it's humble backwards beginnings all the way to the events that occurred when Nancy Kerrigan was attacked. The film also stars Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Winter Soldier) as Jeff, Allison Janney (The Addams Family) as LaVona, Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County) as Diane Rawlinson, Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell) as Shawn, Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman) as Martin Maddox,  Bojana Novakovic (Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) as Dody Teachman, Caitlin Carver (Dear White People) as Nancy Kerrigan, and Jason Davis (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) as Al.

This was actually an interesting story about one of the most controversial figures who dealt with very stupid people right from the beginning. There was a lot of pressure on her right from the beginning because she was an unconventional skater put on by her mother. She gets married to basically a guy who was a moron that abused her, and an idiot who thought he was security guard hatched the plan to whack Nancy Kerrigan. The thing that I loved the most about the film is the fact that is says it based off of accounts given by Tanya and Jeff, but they are also telling you to take what they say with a degree of maybe you shouldn't believe everything that they say because how reliable can they really be? Margot Robbie does an amazing job in the film that you could almost take this as Harley Quinn's origin story, but she really does knock it out of the park as the polarizing Tonya Harding. Sebastian Stan also deserves some credit for the job well done that he did, but the real star of the film in my opinion was Allison Janney who played Tony'a unrelenting and unforgiving mother who was the definition of tough as nails. She dominated the screen every time that she appeared on it and she carried the film through in my opinion. I would be interested to know however how much of the story is true because one is always going to paint themselves as innocent bystanders, but the truth is that the deed was done. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Vox Lux (2018)

I had remembered seeing the title of the film I chose for today somewhere before and I wanted to see it in theaters, but like a lot of independent films it was never released. The film that I am talking about is 2018's Vox Lux which was written and directed by Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader). After surviving a violent tragedy, Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) gets catapulted into super stardom that turns her into a pop hero. We follow Celeste over the course of her career until we get to 2017 and older Celeste (Natalie Portman) is trying to get over a scandal that sort of put a halt to her career as she tries to make a comeback with her new album Vox Lux, but can she survive all the other stuff that comes with it like motherhood? The film also stars Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley) as The Manager, Stacy Martin (All The Money In The World) as Eleanor, Jennifer Ehle (Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies) as Josie The Publicist, Christopher Abbott (It Comes At Night) as The Journalist, Logan Riley Bruner (Orange Is The New Black) as Cullen Active, Maria Dizzia (Martha Marcy May Marlene) as Ms. Dwyer, Meg Gibson (Sex And The City) as Celeste's Mother, and Allison Winn (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Therese.

Going into this film, I definitely wasn't sure what to expect out of it, but what we did receive was social commentary on the powers that pop stars possess over fanbases that gawk at them like they are Gods and Goddesses. They tried to do this thing where you take a train wreck like Britney Spears and you write a film about her comeback and hopes that she rises again, but what they did with this was look at the side of fame you don't see. Natalie Portman definitely puts on a performance in this film that is unforgettable and you see this childish side of her because she has never had anyone in her life tell her that things were not OK to do especially Jude Law's character. You also see her struggle with motherhood and how bad of an influence she is on her own daughter throughout the film as she struggles for normalcy among the Gods. The one thing about this film is that the individual performances in this film greatly outweighed the overall picture and what I mean by that is while the performances were great, the story was just OK in my book. There is really nothing they are providing in this film that people don't already know about pop stars, but the other saving grace is the amazing soundtrack provided by Sia who does a terrific job in the music department. The film is available on HULU as we speak and if you are a fan of Natalie Portman then this might be one you want to check out at least once for how great she was in the film. Other than that, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

We once again want to apologize because we are not doing Sunday At The Classics again this week, but we have something great for you all today. I am all about checking out film that have garnered some acclaim due to the fact that it's an original film in a world full of remakes and reboots. That is why I decided for today that we would check out the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri because it's originality is the factor that peaked my interest for it’s unique title and for the caliber of the cast contained within the film. Frances McDormand (Isle Of Dogs) plays Mildred, a mother who is not happy whatsoever with the local authorities for not solving her daughters murder case. So to get on their case and get them moving, she decides to take out ads on three billboards outside her town that will challenge the law to get off their behinds and solve case. The film also stars Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers) as Chief Willoughby, Sam Rockwell (Vice) as Dixon, Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class) as Red Wellby, Kerry Condon (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) as Pamela, Darrell Britt-Gibson (Toe To Toe) as Jerome, Abbie Cornish (Limitless) as Anne, Lucas Hedges (Honey Boy) as Robbie, Zeljko Ivanek (Live Free or Die Hard) as Cedric, Peter Dinklage (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as James, Brendan Sexton III (Empire Records) as Crop-Haired Guy, and the film was directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges).

This was an excellent film that just had so many emotions to it and just had so many talking points. First of all, the acting was absolutely superb from way too many people to list in this blog, but you already know that you get amazing performances from McDormand, Harrelson, Rockwell, and Dinklage to name a few. Frances McDormand had the uneasy task of balancing out a character who is tough and a bad ass, but she is also vulnerable because all she wants is for them to solve the case. Sam Rockwell does a terrific job playing your typical backwater cop from a small southern-esque town who doesn’t know any better until something (I can’t tell you what) shows him the way. The second thing that was amazing about the film was the writing because this story kicked ass. You think that it’s going the way you would want it to go until it throws you a curve ball that takes the story in a darker place. There were so many glimmers of hope in the film that were just taken to a completely different place that I was amazed that it worked. The third thing that I loved about the film were the dynamic of the characters and the overall themes because each one was so unique to the story in how it progressed into a moral of no matter how dark things get, sometimes the people you are going against can turn out to be the ones you need. That was the constant theme of the film was redemption because it’s a learning experience for sure. The last thing is the cinematography which was just masterful from shot to shot. This is definitely a film worth checking out if you are a fan of great stories, actors, etc. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Hands Of Stone (2016)

One sport that I have loved as a child besides wrestling was the sweet science of Boxing. It was a sport where two men met in the ring and they let it all out for 12 or more rounds at a time until one was winner. There have been countless boxers that I wish they would make biopics for and this week’s is one that I have been dying to see for a little while now. So, when you combine those two things (biopics and boxing) then I have to watch it which is the case with today's film Hands Of Stone. The film follows the journey of not just legendary lightweight and absolute bad ass boxer Roberto Durán (played by Edgar Ramírez) and his rise from poverty in Panama to world champion, but it also follows that of his legendary trainer Ray Arcel (played by Robert De Niro) who made his return to the sport he loved and had to let go of for a while all because he believed in the ability of Roberto Duran. Watch as their journey for respect goes through it’s trials and tribulations. The film also stars Usher Raymond (The Faculty) as Sugar Ray Leonard, Ana de Armas (War Dogs) as Felicidad Iglesias, Pedro Perez as Plomo, Rubén Blades (Predator 2) as Carlos Eleta, Óscar Jaenada (The Shallows) as Chaflan, and the film was directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz.

One of my favorite things about the film was definitely the acting from De Niro, Ramírez, and even Usher Raymond. They did an amazing job of painting who Sugar Ray Leonard was back in the day and they fear they had of his boxing style which by the way is not a fear of whether he’ll hurt you or not. However they do portray Roberto as this immature punk kid who has never been disciplined in his life because of how amazing of a boxer he was. They portray him at times to be the uneducated idiot with gloves who couldn’t see the bigger picture. What they do eventually show is his maturity and accent into manhood later in the film. They do a pretty good job with the fight choreography which you have to give kudos to as they try to cut an hour fight into mere minutes and that is difficult because you have to choose the best moments. One of the other things about the film that I loved was the beautiful Ana de Armas who plays Roberto’s wife the film because she was not only great, but she had some amazing scenes in the film (see pic below). Other than that, it was a pretty decent film and it had some amazing cinematography to boot especially the scenes in Panama. The film does at times show how easy it is for a child to grow to hate America just on what he went through and saw in his life. You’ll understand what I am talking about throughout the film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

The Lost City Of Z (2016)

The whole point of this challenge is to check out different films that we may not have explored before and today we have chosen The Lost City Of Z. I have always been a fan of films that are based off of true stories and this one definitely peaked my interest, but it didn’t last very long in my local theater. The film follows a British soldier by the name of Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) who is fighting every day to restore the family name that was put in limbo by his father. While on a mapping expedition in the Amazon, Percy makes a huge discovery that there may have been a civilization in the Amazon that predates everyone. The only problem is that the journey is not an easy one and he faces many obstacles on his journey to try and discover the lost city he calls Z. The film also stars Sienna Miller (21 Bridges) as Nina Fawcett, Tom Holland (Onward) as Jack Fawcett, Robert Pattinson (Good Time) as Henry Costin, Edward Ashley (Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome) as Arthur Manley, Angus Macfadyen (We Bought A Zoo) as James Murray, Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars: Episode VI-Return Of The Jedi) as Sir George Goldie, Clive Francis (A Clockwork Orange) as Sir John Scott Keltie, Franco Nero (Django Unchained) as Baron De Gondoriz, and the film was directed by James Gray (We Own The Night).

What was surprising about the film wasn’t necessarily the story itself or the way the presented it, but the acting in my opinion is the highlight. Robert Pattinson in particular was a highlight for me as the mysterious, drunk, but loyal Mr. Costin who had accompanied Fawcett on some of the journeys. The actors did such an amazing job of conveying the torture they had been going through on the journey with the sicknesses and the lack of provisions. They did an amazing job as portraying how difficult the Amazon itself was and how things were drastically different there then where they had been. The movie isn’t perfect in any way shape or form, but it’s kind of a cool adventure to be on for the two plus hours that you’re watching. I liked Charlie Hunnam’s performance, but I think too many people stole the show on him on too many occasions. Whether it be Pattinson or Angus Macfayden who plays someone who is not what they are expected to be. I thought the sets and costumes were amazing as it felt like you were really there in the Amazon in 1912 or so. The ending of the film definitely tries it’s best to not speculate on what exactly happened to Fawcett and his son despite all the different theories that there are out there. It’s sad to read online that his other son was never interested in the truth, but rather the revenue over the speculation of his death. Check out the film for yourself, I am going to give it an B+ for a final grade.

Mother! (2017)

I like to think that I am an amateur film critic who is going to be critical of films that I do watch despite who the director or writer of the film is. With that being said, it’s now time to get down to business because this week we are checking out a film from award winning director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) called Mother!. I had been avoiding his films for some reason, but there was no netter day than today to start checking one out. After his house burns down, Him (Javier Bardem) is looking to rebuild his life with his new wife Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and he is trying to write a new book, but the inspiration is just not there until a couple (Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris) come by and stir things up which provide him with the all the inspiration that he needs. The only problem is how is Mother going to handle all this chaos that has now come into her life? The film also stars Domhnall Gleeson (The Revenant) as Oldest son, Brian Gleeson (Snow White and The Huntsman) as youngest son, Stephen McHattie (Watchmen) as Zealot, Jovan Adepo (Overlord) as cupbearer, Amanda Chiu (The Bold Type) as Damsel, Patricia Summersett (Fareed) as Consoler,  Stephanie Ng Wan (John Wick: Chapter Two) as Whisperer, and Raphael Grosz-Harvey (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) as Philanderer.

If you do not know anything about the film other than what you see in the trailer then you are in for a night of confusion because I went in thinking that this was going to be a Rosemary’s Baby kind of film and boy was I wrong. I left my living room so confused because I did not know at the time what I had just viewed. The whole time I was trying to figure out where the horror was and what in the hell was the point of all these people continuously showing up. The more people showed up, the more chaos that ensued in the film. Now there are two ways that you can look at this film and I chose one of them because it made more sense to me. So, I am going to give you the spoiler alert warning so turn around and leave if you do not want to know anymore. Javier Bardem is an author or poet so he is known as the creator and his home represents the garden of Eden. He hasn’t been able to write a book in a while so the first one is known as the old testament and this new one that he has unleashed on to the world is the new testament. I believe Jennifer Lawrence plays Mary where she is very fragile, virtuous while Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris play Adam & Eve and the Gleesons play Kane & Able. You see the Zealot who plays mankind that in Aronofsky’s opinion has taken the word of Him and has spun it to his control over the people. The baby that the couple have represents Jesus who Him gives away to the people only to have them kill his only son.

Does this all sound a little familiar to you now? Well after hearing this, I finally understood what the film represented and you have to love the directors use of semiotics. This film was the perfect example of that, but shame on me for not realizing this until after I was finished watching it and had to think about it. As I said above, I was expecting Rosemary’s Baby, but instead I got a study in anti-religious semantics. That was definitely not what I was looking for in the film. One of my biggest complaints of the film was the camera work only because it bothered the hell out of me when it followed and copied her every movement as the camera shook up and down as she walked. I loved the look of the film because it had that earthy, grainy kind of look to it especially with the colors and the tones (reminded me of The Witch). Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer were absolutely awesome in the film as well as Bardem and Lawrence, but they were the highlight because as soon as they showed up that is when all chaos ensues. As far as my overall opinion of the film goes, I am not a huge fan of the agendas of directors so I feel as though that I was mislead by the trailer, but I have to give him credit for stumping me. Besides the camera work, the film was done very well and his use of semantics was on point in this film. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

IP Man 4: The Finale (2020)

One of my favorite and most recent martial arts series has been the IP Man films which tells the story and journey of the Grandmaster who taught Bruce Lee everything he knew. The last film challenge I did, I covered the first three films and thought there was no better time than now to check out the fourth and final film IP Man 4: The Grand Finale which was directed by Wilson Yip who has directed all the films in the series. The film once again stars Donnie Yen (IP Man) as the title character, but in this film he has found out some terrible news about his health. At first he rejected an offer to fly to San Francisco to see his most famous pupil Bruce Lee (Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan) compete in a karate tournament. Although with the recent news, he takes Bruce on his offer only to look for schools for his son, but he soon finds out that not everything is kosher in San Francisco. The film also stars Scott Adkins (Ninja: Shadow of a Tear) as Barton Geddes, Vanness Wu (Dragon Squad) as Hartman, Vanda Margraf in her debut role as Wan Yonah, Yue Wu (Journey To The West) as Wan Zong Hua, Chris Collins (The Trough) as Colin Frater, He Ye (Mao Zedong 1949) as IP Ching, Meng Lo (The Grandmaster) as Master Law, and Grace Englert (Philophobia) as Becky.

All of these films are excellent and I have enjoyed every single one of them whether it's 100% true or not. I loved how every film in the series brought someone unique in true Kung Fu style to be the big bad villain in the film. There was Mike Tyson in IP Man 3, Darren Shahlavi in IP Man 2, and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi in the very first film. So who were they going to get to be the big bad in this film? Well at first it seemed like a video game with all the different levels and bosses before you get to the main, but in the end it was Scott Adkins who played a racist Marine who was ultra aggressive and a believer of Karate. All of the fights in the film were unbelievable and amazing, it was so cool to see all of the fight choreography that went into making this film awesome. The fight between Yen and Adkins was absolutely dramatic in every sense and they did it with not just punches, kicks, slams, and breaks, but emotion as well. One huge theme in the film was definitely racism as the Chinese faced it all the time back in the 60's and 70's and this film definitely exposes a lot of it. If you know anything about Bruce Lee then you definitely know that he faced a lot of the racism back in his time which is why he went to Hong Kong to be a Kung Fu star that he would ultimately become. I think you should definitely give this one a watch, it is well worth it. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Sometimes the films I chose for the challenge can be totally random like a lot of the films or they can be planned right from the start like a lot of the films I choose. Nonetheless, I have grown to become a huge fan of independent films due to the creative and artistic freedom that they possess. I had heard a lot of buzz surrounding this week’s film Ingrid Goes West and the fact that it starred Aubrey Plaza (An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn) made it easier to choose. Ingrid Thorburn (Plaza) is not your normal everyday girl who does your normal everyday stuff. You see she has a problem and that is as soon as someone likes or responds to her on Instagram, she becomes instantly obsessed with that person. In fact after a Instagram star (Elizabeth Olsen) responded to her, Ingrid packed up and moved west, but will the Instagram star figure it out or will Ingrid be able to slide right in to her friends list? The film also stars O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) as Dan Pinto, Wyatt Russell (Overlord) as Ezra, Billy Magnussen (Game Night) as Nicky, Pom Klementieff (Uncut Gems) as Harley Chung, Meredith Hagner (Horse Girl) as Charlotte, Hannah Pearl Utt (Eat Prey) as Nicole, and the film was directed by Matt Spicer (It’s Not You It’s Me).

Ingrid Goes West is able to take the classic obsession genre of films like Single White Female and it’s able to make it current with the social media aspect. While I believe that everyone in the film did a wonderful job as far as the acting was concerned, I feel that Aubrey Plaza stepped it up big time in this film. She was able to play this vulnerable woman who just wants to be accepted, but can’t help that there is something seriously wrong with her. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is another actor in the film that definitely deserves some props as he went from playing the rough and tough Ice Cube role in Straight Outta Compton to playing this lovable, cool dude who just happens to be obsessed with Batman. It was definitely a role flip for him and I love that because he challenged himself. The film features a bright young cast that could be giving us a preview of the future, maybe? Even if it doesn’t mean that, you still should check out this film because it has so much to offer from the black comedy aspects to the cinematography which is pretty good as well. I thought the ending was going to be pretty dark as it seemed like it was going to end on such a horrific note very reminiscent to what happens today, but luckily we get some sort of a happy ending. The film could be considered to be social commentary on the way things are today and maybe we should look at social media differently. Anyways, I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

I was looking for something to watch and I figured I would check something out from Disney Plus and I have always been a fan of the Ice Age movies. I know i have seen most of them and I wasn't sure where I left off, but I knew I hadn't seen 2016's Ice Age: Collision Course which is the fifth film in the series and was directed by Michael Thurmeier  and Galen Tan Chu (Ice Age: Continentel Drift). Everyone's favorite gang of prehistoric creatures is back, but their about to have a whole lot of problems all thanks to Scrat who while chasing his Acorn manages to find a spaceship that just happens to set off so many events including an asteroid that is heading to destroy Earth and the gang has to scramble to save it from happening. The film stars Ray Romano (The Irishman) as Manny, Queen Latifah (Chicago) as Ellie, John Leguizamo (Spun) as Sid, Denis Leary (The Amazing Spider-Man) as Diego, Keke Palmer (Hustlers) as Peaches, Adam Devine (Jexi) as Julian, Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) as Shira, Wanda Sykes (Bad Moms) as Granny, Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead) as Buck, Seann William Scott (American Pie) as Crash, Josh Peck (Spun) as Eddie, Nick Offerman (The Little Hours) as Gavin, Jessie J as Brooke, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) as Shangri Llama,  and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Gertie.

I liked some of the cameos in the film like the one done by Neil deGrasse Tyson, but even that couldn't really save the film for me. I definitely loved how they explained how the universe came to be all thanks to Scrat, but I thought the film overall was OK. It had a solid premise and they checked all the boxes of turning points, the hook, subplots, and all that stuff when it comes to the writing, but the film just wasn't as funny as any of the other ones that I had seen. One thing that is for sure is that if it was a Disney movie from the start, it probably would have better, but this is why 20TH Century Fox is no longer a thing. There was definitely a lot of potential for this film because I loved a lot of the subplots and I even loved the voice acting and the animation, but a lot of the stuff just wasn't as funny as previous films. They had a who's who of actors in this film and they all did very well, but there is a reason there is not a number six on the way besides the fact that Disney is probably not interested anyways. I always thought that Ray Romano was always a perfect choice to play a Mastodon thanks to his voice and actually most of them fit their characters pretty well. I know the flying dinosaurs were somewhat a part of the film, but I thought their presence could have been a little more than it was. Too much time spent on Scrat and his space adventures which some were funny and some were meh. I am going to give this one an B- for a final grade.

Teen Spirit (2018)

I decided to do something a little different for today so unfortunately for those of you out there that enjoy it, there will be no Sunday At The Classics this week. Every where you look on Television, there is a singing reality show on almost all the channels from The Voice to American Idol to even niche competitions from Country to rock and rap opes too over the years. The film I chose for today kind of explores this subject matter in 2018's Teen Spirit which was written and directed by Max Minghella (The Social Network). The film stars Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) as Violet, a shy girl from a small town who dreams of escaping the town by becoming a singer. With the help of an unorthodox mentor (Zlatko Buric) she will enter a singing competition that tests all of your skills as a performer in this new age spin on the old Cinderella story. The film also stars Agnieszka Grochowska (Child 44) as Marla, Archie Madekwe (Midsommar) as Luke, Millie Brady (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) as Anastasia, Vivian Oparah (I May Destroy You) as Kelli, Ria Zmitrowicz (On The Edge) as Hayley, Olive Gray (Home From Home) as Lisa, Rebecca Hall (Professor Marston & The Wonder Women) as Jules, and Daisy Lowe (Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie) as Teen Spirit Host.

I thought the film had a lot of potential to take the story in so many places, but you have to give Max Minghella a lot of credit for at least trying because he was a true auteur where he wrote and directed the film. That means if anything goes wrong with the film then you are full on the person to blame for all of the films failures. There were a lot of subplots in this film that were thrown in and some were just never full explored which was a shame because it would have made the film a little bit better. I definitely thought the film was very well shot and I loved the overall glossy look of it, but going into this I thought it was going to be a different film. I definitely wanted to see more of a grittier or maybe grimier side of the entertainment business and I thought they could have explored more of that angle then just a straight on singing competition combined with teenage stupidity and teen angst. I think that would have taken the film over the top, but maybe next time. I liked the combo of Fanning and Buric because it sort of made them the odd couple where you have this guy who was a famous composer in his time coaching a girl to be a pop singer. That scenario definitely made the film a little bit interesting and I say these things, but I want you to know that I did enjoy it. Would I watch the film again? To be perfectly honest, I probably would not venture into this again because it's a one and done in my opinion. That is why I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.

V For Vendetta (2005)

We are taking a little break from watching Jean-Claude Van Damme films and we are checking out a film that I have been meaning to watch for a while now. Whenever it hits November 5TH on the calendar, my friends are always preaching, "Remember, remember, the fifth of November" which is a reference to the film I chose for today in 2005's V For Vendetta which was directed by James McTeigue (The Raven). It's the future and Great Britain is under tyrannical rule where the government has cut them off from the world, but there is one person who will not stand for it any longer. The mysterious shadowy figure simply known as V (Hugo Weaving) is the one who is challenging the tyranny that is ruining the country and he does it with the help of a young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman). The film also stars Stephen Rea (Interview With The Vampire) as Finch, Stephen Fry (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) as Deitrich, John Hurt (The Black Cauldron) as Adam Sutler, Tim Pigott-Smith (Quantum Of Solace) as Creedy, Eddie Marsan (Concussion) as Etheridge, Rupert Graves (Death At A Funeral) as Dominic, Roger Allam (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as Lewis Prothero, Ben Miles (Ninja Assassin) as Dascomb, John Standing (The Eagle Has Landed) as Lilliman, and Sinéad Cusack (Wrath Of The Titans) as Delia Surridge.

This was a magnificent film and what a lot of people may not realize is that this is technically a comic book movie that was a win for DC Comics as it's based off of the Alan Moore/David Lloyd comic of the same name. It proved that with a great script and a great team behind it you do need to have a film with superheroes and mutants to have it be an excellent film. All of the actors in the film did a terrific job especially Portman, Weaving, John Hurt, and Stephen Fry who played a closeted gay talk show host in the film. The action scenes are amazing and the fight choreography is pretty top notch as well as Weaving is exciting with all of V's moves and contraptions. The film definitely did not let you down as it kept you intrigued from the moment it started to the minute it ended and that again is due to the excellent writing by Lana and Lilly Wachowski. It's crazy to see how popular this film became and how the Guy Fawkes Mask literally took over revolutionist/anarchist culture especially in the US. That is the sign of a film that truly made an impact and it should tell you again how amazing written, acted, edited, and shot it was. The cinematography in this film is great and they did a great job capturing all of the action. That is why the film is joining the elusive A+ club because that is exactly the grade that it's going to get.

Swelter (2014)

So far in this blog, we have seen the Muscles from Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme (Black Eagle) play the hero, a dramatic role, and a villain. So, I figured for today we would check out one where he played a bank robber in the form of 2014's modern day western style film Swelter which was written and directed by Keith Parmer (Mob Rules). Ten years before, five men tried to successfully rob a casino, but much to their avail their perfect plan fell apart and four of them went to jail. Fast forward the ten years and the four men break out of jail and they want the 10 million dollars they stole, but where is the fifth member? He turns out that he is alive and is living in a town in the middle of the desert where he is the sheriff, but he has no recollection of his past. Well now his past is about to catch up with him when they come looking for him. The film stars Van Damme as Stillman, Lennie James (Fear The Walking Dead) as Sheriff Bishop, Grant Bowler (Guns Akimbo) as Cole, Josh Henderson (Yours, Mine, & Ours) as Boyd, Daniele Favilli (Puncture Wounds) as Kane, Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full Of Grace) as Carmen, Freya Tingley (No Way To Live) as London, Peter Vack (CBGB) as Madsen, Tracey Walter (I Spit On Your Grave) as Old man Henry Johnson, Arie Verveen (The Thin Red Line) as Reverend Joshua Stone, and Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) as Doc.

I know it's listed as an action, crime, drama film, but this is totally a modern day western with the outlaws that are coming into town and they know a secret. The Sheriff of the town isn't the most popular person in that town because they don't understand him, nut as the film goes on they begin to. The gang comes riding into town and it's an all out western when the sheriff comes looking to end these clowns once and for all. It's just that modern technology is involved and cars replace horses in this film, but their bank robbers looking for the loot and every gang has the one guy whose had enough of the life (Van Damme) and every gang has the fearless leader (Bowler), and the scumbag (Favilli). There definitely wasn't enough of Van Damme, but when he was on screen he was working that old charm of his with the ladies. I liked the gang and some of the characters in the film, but there were some characters that I thought were OK like the two Native American Biker Gang guys. I get it that it's a western so you have to have them, but they just could've had more personality then they did is all I am saying. This was an OK film for Van Damme, it was definitely something different, but the real star of the film was Lennie James who I could have believed would be sheriff in the old wild west. Some of the dialogue and interactions could have been better, they could have explained what happened to some characters, but the cinematography was pretty good. I am going to give the film an C+ for a final grade.

Black Eagle (1988)

So I guess right now I am on this binge of watching the muscles from Brussels and today we are going back to the 80's and we are checking out a film where he plays the villain. The film that I am talking about is 1988's Black Eagle which was directed by Eric Karson (The Octagon). A couple of American fighter jets are shut down over the air space in Malta and these fighter jets contain some very expensive and sought after technology on them that the Russians want to steal. So the CIA decides to send in their best guy Ken Tani (Shô Kosugi) to go in and recover the system before the Russians can get to it, but it won't be an easy job. The film also stars Jean-Claude Van Damme (Wake Of Death) as Andrei, Doran Clark (The Powers Of Matthew Star) as Patricia Parker, Bruce French (Mission: Impossible III) as Father Joseph Bedelia, Vladimir Skomarovsky (Fatal Attraction) as Col. Vladimir Klimenko, William Bassett (House Of 1000 Corpses) as Dean Rickert, Dorota Puzio (People You May Know) as Natasha, Kane Kosugi (Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear) as Brian Tani, Shane Kosugi (Nine Deaths Of The Ninja) as Denny Tani, Joe Quattromani (Helen Of Troy) as Lino, Alfred Mallia (A Fine Romance) as Peter, and Gene Davis (Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro's) as Steve Henderson.

I just want to be clear about one thing about this film before we go any further and that is that Jean-Claude Van Damme did not lose to Shô Kosugi in this film. Both of the times that they fought, Kosugi would run away from the fight and Van Damme's character suffers a tragic death at the end of the film which once again prove she did not lose. Van Damme's Andrei was actually getting the better of Kosugi's Ken Tani and it was a decent fight between the two of them. I also just remembered something and that towards the end of the second fight, Andrei was shot by a priest which was why he could not chase after Kosugi. If you looked at the VHS cover to this film, it was a big build up of the action star vs the Topfighter and it could have been because Van Damme had just released Bloodsport I believe before this film. That could also be another reason for this film being so low key even to this day, but it was a decent film. There are a lot of things that the guys over at How Did This Get Made could pick apart like the fact that they say that Patricia Parker was a CIA agent who was really good, but in reality at what? Babysitting? Was the government wasting tons of dollars on an official babysitter? The car chase scene was OK, I think the music was a little more dramatic than the actual car chase and the acting was actually pretty good for the most part. I thought it was cool that Kosugi had his two kids in real life (Kane and Shane) play his sons in the film so you know that they didn't really have to act much there. I thought for the most part that Van Damme's weird relationship in the film with Natasha was like alright we get it there's a sexual attraction there, would you just let them hook up? It usually doesn't take Van Damme that long to get laid in a film, but it was right before the second fight that they finally let him. It was a decent film and it's available on Amazon Prime and I am giving the film an B- for a final grade.