Shazam! Fury of the Gods:
My main issue with it is it focused too much on the Marvel Family. Billy and the kids were barely in it next to the star power of Zachary Levi but the family issues should've been dealt with and discussed as the kids instead of the Shazamily.

I liked the villains. All daughters of Atlas had a good dynamic between them and they weren't just one-note black villains doing evil for the sake of it and they were interesting when clash between themselves on what is their mission and what do they think is going too far.

Final battle was also great and loved how it looked.

8/10

 

Living (2022):
A little dull on the plot but I liked Bill Nighy's performance and the visual style of old 50s movies.

7/10

 

You must watch the extended cut. Do not waste time on the theatrical, it's non-sensical to a degree. The extended cut makes it better, not award-winning, but better.

Onto my review:

The Whale - ???/10:

Pros:

-The cast. (Brendan Fraser absolutely DESERVED the Oscar he won. Incredible performance from him, a career-best, indeed. His kind words to Hong Chau during his acceptance speech were 100% true and accurate. She should've won. I don't care how good Angela Bassett was, I don't care that Jamie Lee Curtis somehow won, Chau, should've won this one. She and Fraser were equally matched on this one and it should absolutely make her a household name, now. She deserves to be out there and known. The kids even brought their A-games. Ty Simpkins... from Insidious to The Whale...what an amazing progression. And as for Sadie Sink... Stranger Things won't typecast all of them, not by a long shot if they keep pumping out performances like this one. Samantha Morton isn't in the film for long, but when she is...man she can chew up the scenery with the best of them.)

-The setting. (The apartment felt spacious and cavernous at first but also confining and claustrophobic all at the same time. The entire movie (much like the play) takes place in Charlie's apartment. No other locations and it somehow worked so well. I think going outside of those walls (other than the porch) would've been a terrible idea. This worked, and worked well.)

Cons:

-The overall story and themes. (I can't get into it without violating rules on the board, I'll just say this: Making Thomas (and everyone like him) a villain feels like a cheap shot, that's constantly hurled at the audience throughout the film. They twisted a lot of things to fit their narrative because the writer of the play was once in Thomas's and Alan's shoes and so he's using this as a catharsis but if he was even a little bit honest, even with himself, he'd know that not all people are like Thomas. Not even close. I can't tell you how many people are in Thomas's shoes and don't care about Charlie's situation in that way. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I didn't like how selfish Charlie was, which kind of fits with the whole thing and makes me think the writer is in the same boat as well. It would certainly make sense given how he treats Thomas and everyone like him. He made Ellie a horrible person (up until the last moment), he painted a very, very ugly picture. There are plenty of people in Charlie's situation (both physically and emotionally) who don't deserve to be treated as he is. I can see, to a degree, where the fatphobic comments and complaints are coming from. Considering the writer was of a larger size at one point and knows the pain better than anyone else, it kind of stings, but you can also tell to some degree that might not have been his exact intention.)

Overall:

This monster of a movie has spellbinding performances and captures your attention from the beginning all the way to the end, it's hard to watch and incredibly uncomfortable, but for a story about redemption, there's not much in the way of forgiveness, understanding, or redemption. It's kind of shoehorned in at the end for one person, only, and there's so much more going on in here that everyone deserved a shot at redemption. The fact that the writer decided to change his villain from the place he ran from to cover all people in the same boat bothered me (and a lot of other people) because what he was running from *is* known for being awful like that, they absolutely are, but not everyone in that particular system is the same as the people he ran from. I don't like broad brushing like that. And trying to make Alan's story the story for everyone in his shoes bothered me as well as there are plenty of people who came from horrible upbringings in Charlie and Alan's situation, but lived despite that hatred and had wonderful lives. HAVE wonderful lives. Have children, make families, have tons of friends, and have found joy. Instead, the writer just decided to be downtrodden, depressed, and hopeless with this. Are there plenty of Alans out there who haven't made it to the finish line? Absolutely. Sadly. Heartbreakingly so, but that's not the normal case anymore. There are plenty of people who still have a future yet to be written.

I just really did not like this movie. I wasn't moved by it, I wasn't tugged at my heartstrings, and I wasn't happy with any piece of it, I just sat there as the credits rolled thinking to myself "Wow. They were great but this sucked." My wife was bawling by the end of it. She was so moved by it that she needed a moment. (I think because she identifies with Ellie. The differences are, her dad isn't Gay, and unlike Charlie...he's an absolute prick but doesn't care about redemption in her eyes, so of course, it hit her like a hammer.)

It's such a shame. The cast is absolutely worth watching, for that alone this movie is worth your nearly 2 hours of investment, but if you're coming for the story/feels...leave it at the door. If you can look past the performances long enough, you can see that the material is beneath all of them but they carried this thing as Atlas did with the world on his shoulders, and the relentlessness of the thematic elements was handled by them as if they were Sisyphus rolling the stone up the hill.

I can't recommend it beyond the cast. It's just an unpleasant experience altogether. I'm really disappointed. I can see why it's 65% on Rotten Tomatoes and I guarantee that most of those positive reviews are about the cast and not much else.

 

Rankin/Bass's Festival of Family Classics: Alice in Wonderland-I'd forgotten they'd done these old books and fairytales. It brought back childhood memories of a bunch of tapes that probably belonged to my aunts and uncle. A bit short, but pleasant. 6/10

 

Okay this isn’t one I’ve seen all that recently but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately for some reason and thought I might post about it.

13 Hours: the secret soldiers of Benghazi.
the story is about military contractors sent to Benghazi to protect an American ambassador, but when the whole op. Goes to the toilet, things go down and they go down hard. I won’t spoil anything because if you have any interest in it you need to see it. I was skeptical at first, but my cousin pestered me into seeing it and I really liked it. It’s based on a true story, witch is one of my favorite type of movies to watch, plus I like action movies so that part is good, and the cast is phenomenal and in my opinion they gave it their all and then some. John Krasinski puts in, what is my nomination, his best performance in his entire career, so far at least. It’s a total far cry from his usual, more comedic style and he just fits in surprisingly well, and actually got my emotions working. (I don’t usually cry or anything at movies so when one does get me that means it’s real strong.) Overall it has quickly become one of my favorite movies I’ve watched in awhile. An extremely deserved 10 jambos out of 10.

(PS, it does get rather gory at times. I’m not particularly squeamish, but I did physically shudder a few times throughout. Also if you have an aversion to strong language, probably best to stay away.)

 

Blind Dating with Chris Pine.... just flipping through movies as there's not much new out there...

Wasn't horrible, but fairly stereotypical as far as romcoms goes... most of the plot was expected and no surprises. The best part was the brother and the prostitutes thing, but even that ran it's course.

5/10 - Because it was still watchable, the acting was average, the plot line was nothing special.

 

We talking horror movie gory or more in line with stuff like Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan and Fury?

 

I’ve never seen those movies personally (though I plan to soon,) but seeing as they’re all war movies I’d say more like Blackhawk down/saving private Ryan/fury. Dismembered limbs, etc.

 

Black Hawk Down and Fury you can watch any day in any sort of mood; very good flicks. Very slick, very gritty and plenty of good acting all around.

Saving Private Ryan on the other hand....you're going to want to set time aside to watch it. Its not like the other two aren't emotional films in their own right, but Saving Private Ryan.....its gonna hit very different.

 

Shazam: Fury of the Gods
9/10

That was really fun and well made. And now I hope they do a TF movie with a TM Megatron that looks just as good as the dragon in that movie!

 

Shazam Fury of the Gods - 6.5/10

 

Planet of the Apes — 7/10

Review:
unga bunga banana

 

John Wick 4: 8/10. I felt it started off slow but it picked up halfway towards the end. Stick till the end of the credits btw.

 

Cocaine Bear 7/10, is it great? No but it’s a a decent time. I’d wait for a steaming watch.

 

Showed the kids The Prestige for the first time. I‘ve seen it many times. Their jaws hit the floor, though my son guessed the big twist. 10/10 film for sure. And it has a huge rewatch bonus value. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman put on a masterclass on acting.

 

I absolutely recommend The Illusionist. (Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, and Paul Giamatti.) Give it a shot, as well.

 

Finally got around to watching Annihilation (2018). Pretty good, neat fx and I'll eventually hunt down the book and sequels.

 

I’ve seen it. Quality flick too. We will eventually show that one too. Unfortunate it got overshadowed by Prestige, but there was a point there when Hollywood would put out competing movies with essentially the same theme.

Books don’t have a lot in common with the movie, but the books are amazing too.

 

Went to see the new Shazam again, with my son this time around. Still just as good.

 

Almost Famous - 10/10

Arguably one of the best written movies and best all around. In my top 3.