Le Professionnel (1981)

On July 6TH, the world of cinema lost one of the greatest composers of the 20TH century when Italian legend Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) passed away at the age of 91. So in order to pay tribute to one of the greats, I decided that I would heck out another film that he scored and thanks to Kanopy, I decided to check out 1981's Le Professionnel (a.k.a. The Professional) which was a French film that was directed by Georges Lautner (Galia). The film stars Jean-Paul Belmondo (Casino Royale) as special agent Josselin Beaumont who was sent on a mission to Africa to assassinate a president that went absolutely wrong as it landed him two years in jail. Now he has escaped and he has made it back in time to France to teach all of them a lesson including finishing a mission as the president of that country is visiting France. The film also stars Cyrielle Clair (Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) as Alice, Marie-Christine Descouard (The Last Romantic Lover) as Doris Frederiksen, Elisabeth Margoni (Love Actually) as Jeanne Baumont, Jean-Louis Richard (The Bride Wore Black) as Le colonel Martin, Michel Beaune (Body Of My Enemy) as Le capitaine Valeras, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu (The Tenet) as L'inspecteur Farges, Pierre Saintons (Last In, First Out) as President N'Jala, and Robert Hossein (I Killed Rasputin) as Le commissaire Rosen.

This was actually a really good film from beginning to end all because of a couple of factors with one being that Jean-Paul Belmondo had enough swagger to pull off the role and the second reason being that the writing was really good. The film had a really solid story of this guy who was trained so well that he was always a step ahead of everyone, but most importantly he was pissed off because they ditched him. He was caught and the country acted like he wasn't there problem anymore so he wanted to get even with those who hired him. The character he portrays is very interesting because he has the skills of Liam Neeson's Taken character (to a point) with the swagger of James Bond (65% Connery/35% Moore) all rolled into one which is another factor of why I liked him. I definitely liked Ennio's work for this soundtrack as it had a subtle (not over the top) feel to it much like the French so it fit nicely. I liked some of the action in the film as it definitely does the trick, but I have to question the tactics of police officers in France because they do some shady stuff to get the answers they want. The last thing that I liked is that they throw a monkey wrench at you in the end and they end the film in a way that shocked me. It was like sorry no one gets away with anything in our film. You'll have to watch to know what I am talking about, but in the end it was enjoyable to watch. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

The Foot Fist Way (2006)

Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down) is someone that rose to fame in the comedy world in the mid to late 2000's thanks to Pineapple Express for me. So, I decided for today that I wanted to check out some of his more earlier films to get to know where he started in his career and thanks to Amazon Prime, I am checking out The Fist Foot Way which was released in 2006 and was written and directed by Jody Hill (Observe And Report). In the film McBride plays Tae Kwon Do instructor Fred Simmons who seems to be the guy that has it all from the hot wife, the cool car, and obviously a kick ass job, but nothing is what it seems. Events in the film begin to unravel all of the things that are going wrong for him like the unhealthy marriage and an obsession with a movie star. The film also stars Mary Jane Bostic (Funny Or Die Presents...) as Suzie Simmons, Ben Best (Land Of The Lost) as Chuck "The Truck" Wallace, Spencer Moreno (Eastbound & Down) as Julio, Carlos Lopez (John Wick) as Henry, Ken Aguilar (The Jailhouse) as Rick, Collette Wolfe (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Denise, Erica Owens (Because You're Too Nice) as Mrs. Fisher, Nicholas Stanley as Lil' Stevie Fisher, and Jody Hill as Mike McAlister.

I have to be honest in saying that I actually was not a big fan of this film and while it carries a lot of similarities between this and Observe and Report as far as style of humor, but it wasn't as funny. I mean thought Danny McBride was well... Danny McBride, but even that only carried the film so far in it's quest to be an indie hit. The film definitely showed how much potential he was going to have and this was his breakout role, but to be honest I loved it more when Jody Hill showed up in the film. He was the kind of character that took advantage of the fact that the students had no idea who he was to try and act like a bad ass which I thought was funny. For the short amount of time on screen he definitely left an impression in my head. This film is kind of a reality check that no matter how great we think we have things in life, I don't really think that we do because anything can go wrong from the cheating wife to finding out that you're hero is just a complete dick. There were some funny parts in the film, but it just felt like it dragged a little bit for me and I honestly couldn't wait for the film to be completely over. That is usually not a good sign for me, but to be fair I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade for the fact that it wasn't terrible.

Sunset Strip (2000)

I have been watching so many horror movies lately that I felt it was time to move on and start watching some other genres and nothing interests me more than music and the Sunset Strip. It is for that very reason when I saw the title Sunset Strip on HULU, I had to check out this 2000 film that was directed by Adam Collis (Car Dogs) and the film follows a group of people (a song writer, a photographer, musicians, and a stylist) that all live in the Los Angeles area and congregate to the world famous strip as the camera follows them and what happens to them in a 24 hour period of time. The film stars Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) as Glen Walker, Simon Baker (The Devil Wears Prada) as Michael Scott, Anna Friel (Limitless) as Tammy Franklin, Nick Stahl (Bully) as Zach, Rory Cochrane (Dazed And Confused) as Felix, Adam Goldberg (Dazed And Confused) as Marty Shapiro, Tommy Flanagan (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2) as Duncan, Darren E. Burrows (Causalities Of War) as Bobby, John Randolph (Escape From The Planet Of The Apes) as Mr. Niederhaus, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Little Miss Sunshine) as Eileen, Stephanie Romanov (The Final Cut) as Christine, Judy Greer (Buffaloed) as young waitress, and Mike Rad (It's In The Kitchen) as Badger. 

Adam Collis and the writers of the film obviously went to the school of Richard Linklater and have shown their love of his classic set in the 70's look at teens in Dazed And Confused. Now the overall concept of the film may be different as one looks at teens in Texas over a 24 hour period while this film looks at musicians and various other industry people over a 24 hour period besides the only other similarity being the two actors from Dazed (Cochrane and Goldberg) also being in this one. The story technically evolves more around three characters as Stahl's character feels that it's his destiny to be in LA while Baker's character is trying to balance his photography business while dealing with a depressed friend and the fact that he can't muster up the courage to ask out Tammy who is the last character we follow as she balances her personal life with his business life. I found these personal journeys not as interesting as some of the performances in the film especially coming from Jared Leto who acted the part of a rockstar who is just so full of himself to a T. There were three sides of the spectrum with this film as far as the musicians were concerned and Leto's was the type of musician who made it for the excesses that come with the job rather than Stahl's character who still has love for the craft. Meanwhile, Flanagan's character is the embodiment of what a British rock star is and that is complete coolness like they've been there before and love is what they are missing. If I had to pick an MVP for the film though it would definitely go to Leto and Anna Friel who was just superb. You also have to check out the interactions between Goldberg and Cochrane in this film cause that is Gold. One of the other highlights is the sets that they use like the world famous Whiskey A Go-Go. Check out the film for yourself, but I am giving it an B for a final grade. 

Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)

Considering that today is the fourth of July, I thought it was appropriate to help celebrate the day by watching a film that has something to do with it. When I first did the 30 Day Challenge, someone on Twitter mentioned the film I chose for today because it had a number in it and it so happens that I had never seen Born On The Fourth Of July which was written and directed by Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers). The film stars Tom Cruise (The Outsiders) as small town New York kid Ron Kovic who decides that he is going to join the Marines right out of high school and in the process is sent to Vietnam. During battle, Ron manages to accidentally kill a fellow American soldier, but during the battle gets hit by enemy fire that leaves him paralyzed. The rest of the film follows Ron as he struggles to life back home in the states and the road is definitely easy for the Vietnam Vet. The film also stars Raymond J. Barry (Dead Man Walking) as Mr. Kovic, Caroline Kava (Year Of The Dragon) as Mrs. Kovic, William Baldwin (Internal Affairs) as Platoon Member, Bill Allen (Rad) as Platoon Member, Kyra Sedgwick (Villains) as Donna, Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction) as Timmy, Jerry Levine (Teen Wolf) as Steve, Stephen Baldwin (The Usual Suspects) as Billy, Willem Dafoe (Death Note) as Charlie, Rocky Carroll (NCIS) as Willie, Tom Sizemore (Natural Born Killers) as Vet, and Holly Marie Combs (Charmed) as Jenny.

This is your typical Oliver Stone film where he takes a side and he runs with it, but at the same time this is also the story of a man who has hung onto the American ideals for years. He remembers a speech by Kennedy that had him bought and sold into the American way so he joins the war that he believes that he is doing the right thing. Even after getting shot and paralyzed he comes home to a country he no longer recognizes because he still believes in the ideals of why he went to war in the first place. Then after some struggles in the world, he finally figures out that everything he has been told was a lie by the government and he quickly switches sides and he know sees the errors of the war. Tom Cruise is obviously the star of the show, but he is definitely helped out by all the individual performances in the film and there were just way too many names to list above that definitely played a huge role in the film. The film definitely shows you the ugly side of war which is the aftermath and the struggles these men went through when they got home from Vietnam. They were definitely thrown in poor conditions and the government did nothing about it back then and they still don't. The cinematography of the film is definitely a highlight of the film with all the great shots and you don't get the Stone Natural Born Killers look which was a relief. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Slums Of Beverly Hills (1998)

One of the things that I didn't get to do during the 30 day movie challenge was a chance to pay tribute to comedy legend Carl Reiner (History of the World: Part I) who passed away this past week. I was looking for something of his to watch today off of Hulu, but I was running out of time so I chose the first film of his that he was in that Hulu had. That film happened to be 1998's Slums Of Beverly Hills which was written and directed by Tamara Jenkins (Private Life). The film stars Natasha Lyonne (Uncut Gems/ Honey Boy) as Vivian, a young lower middle class teenager who is just trying to navigate her way around life, but it will prove to be quite the task with the eccentric and neurotic family that she has as they become nomads of Beverly Hills. The film also stars Alan Arkin (Spencer Confidential) as Murray, Marisa Tomei (Spider-Man: Far From Home) as Rita, Eli Marienthal (The Iron Giant) as Rickey, David Krumholtz (The Plot Against America) as Ben, Kevin Corrigan (Buffalo '66) as Eliot,  Jessica Walter (Play Misty For Me) as Doris, Reiner as Mickey, Rita Moreno (Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?) as Belle, Mena Suvari (Spun) as Rachel, Marley McClean (The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air) as Brooke, and the late Harris Laskawy (The Girl Next Door) as Charlie The Cook.

I actually liked this film a lot and it's mostly for the acting with the likes of Arkin, Tomei, and Lyonne, but I thought everyone contributed nicely. Everyone in the film was given a role and they all played it really well as it made the film go smoothly for me. One thing about this film that I really liked is that the characters were sort of relatable in a way as each person is just trying to figure out their place in life in this crazy world. I mean who cannot relate to a girl who is coming of age and is trying to figure out the line between what's acceptable sexually as far as relationships and coming of age as far as transitioning from a girl to a woman. I also bet that there are people out there that can relate to Arkin's character or you know someone just like that. A dreamer who has never stopped to smell the roses as others have put it. He is too busy thinking that he's been ahead of the curve just to keep his family in Beverly Hills, but in the end the moral of the story is that family is forever no matter how messed up or dysfunctional they may seem. One of the things that was a treat was a shot of Marisa Tomei int he beginning of the film that made me say OK, where is this movie going? Nonetheless, I liked the acting, the story, and the cinematography to go along with a pretty decent soundtrack which is why I am going to give this film an B+ for a final grade.

Artemis Fowl (2020)

Thanks to the 30 day movie challenge and how specific it was, there was a lot of films that have been released that I have been meaning to catch up on. A lot of films that were supposed to see theatrical releases for the first time ever were released on various platforms rather than being pushed back and today's film Artemis Fowl is one of those as it was released on Disney Plus last month. The film stars Ferdia Shaw in his first role as Artemis Fowl Jr., a kid who is basically way too smart for his own good, but is the heir to a family secret that is being threatened to be exposed when his father is kidnapped by an evil being somewhere in a magical world. So, he'll have to resort to some unorthodox tactics to try and save his father before it's too late. The film also stars Colin Farrell (The Gentlemen) as Artemis Fowl Sr., Josh Gad (Murder On The Orient Express) as Mulch Diggums,  Nonso Anozie (Conan The Barbarian) as Domovoi Butler, Lara McDonnell (Love, Rosie) as Holly Short, Judi Dench (Murder On The Orient Express) as Commander Root, Tamara Smart (The Worst Witch) as Juliet, Nikesh Patel (London Has Fallen) as Chief Tech Officer Foaly, Jake Davies (A Brilliant Young Mind) as Chix Verbil, and the film was directed by Kenneth Branagh (Murder On The Orient Express).

Spoiler Alert: I may say things in this paragraph that could give away some key details so proceed with caution. I have to be honest in saying that while I think this could have made some money in the box office, I think this was definitely the smartest choice by Disney to have it streaming on their service. No one knows if theaters are ever going to be the same again and Universal is willing to bank on streaming services for their films so Disney may not be far behind. Now as far as the film is concerned, I definitely was a big fan of the special effects and the imaginative things they did with the story, but I kind of hated the ending of the story. I was hoping for a big time showdown with Opal that would involve magic and what not, but instead we get them rescuing his dad with magic as it teleported him out of their. Then we just get a bunch of we are going to get you scenarios that definitely left me up in the air as far as whether I want more or not. I definitely feel a sequel could have been up in the air had it done well in the box office so it remains to be seen what happens next. I definitely liked the acting in the film which was a saving grace for them, but I wanted more Colin Farrell. Nonetheless, the film is available and it has it's ups to go with the downs, but if I am being 100% honest with you all it's not a bad film. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn (2018)

There are times when you check out films just based on the name itself because it intrigues enough to want to press play. There are definitely times when you check out films based off of who is in the film or even who directs it and that was definitely the case with today's film in 2018's An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn which was written and directed by Jim Hosking (ABC's Of Death 2). The film stars Aubrey Plaza (The Little Hours) as Lulu Danger, a woman whose marriage is so unsatisfying, she just needs the slightest reason to run away. One day all her prayers are answered when a mysterious figure from her past is schedules to perform an event called An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn; For One Magical Night Only in her hometown. What ensues is one wild and crazy adventure as Lulu looks to finally get the answers she deserves no matter the costs. The film also stars Craig Robinson (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Beverly Luff Linn, Emile Hirsch (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as Shane Danger, Jemaine Clement (Moana) as Colin Keith Threadener, Matt Berry (Toast Of London) as Rodney Von Donkensteiger, Zach Cherry (You) as Tyrone, Sky Elobar (Candy Corn) as Carl Ronk, Jacob Wysocki (Unfriended) as Lawrence Doggi, Sam Dissanayake (This Is 40) as Adjay, Maria Bamford (Barnyard) as The Elegant Woman, and Michael D. Cohen (Suburbicon) as Mitch Stemp.

This film was just so weird from beginning to end that I thought it was written by the people behind Tim & Eric and some of the best Adult Swim comedies out there, but I looked it up and it wasn't. The film has that certain brand of comedy that is just so dumb that it's funny, but at the same time you're like what is wrong with them and I get that watching Adult Swim shows like Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, and even some of Eric Andre's stuff. I don't know how to describe that brand of comedy, but if you've seen those then you know exactly what I am talking about. One thing that I left this film with was the fact that if it wasn't for Jemaine Clement, I think this film would not have been as great without him. I love his style of comedy and he shines in this film as the most interesting character of them all so its safe to say that he is the MVP of the film. I definitely loved some of the other actors in this film and I love what each of them brought to the film, but Clement brought out the best in all of them. I just love some of the over the top ridiculousness that is presented in this film like the hotel manager or Tyrone's mom which is really played by a dude and so many other things that put this film over the top like the music and costumes as well. It's funny for most of the film, Robinson just has to grunt and moan for most of it until we get to the performance and how lucky was he? The film is on Netflix right now and I definitely suggest you give it a shot as I am giving the film an B+ for a final grade.