Final Movie Review of 2022 - PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH...

Earlier today, I marked New Year's Eve by watching the latest Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, at AMC theaters.

Just like 2004's Shrek 2, 2007's Shrek the Third and 2010's Shrek Forever After [but not the first Shrek in 2001 or 2011's Puss in Boots, which I didn't see on the big screen (I thought I did with Puss in Boots)], The Last Wish was very entertaining!

Antonio Banderas was once again humorous as the "Stabby Tabby" (a.k.a. "El Macho Gato) himself, Puss in Boots...with other big name celebs such as Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman and Ray Winstone lending their voices as Kitty Softpaws, Goldilocks, Mama Bear and Papa Bear, respectively.

Harvey Guillén did a great job voicing the puppy-disguised-as-a-kitty Perrito, John Mulaney was hilarious as the nefarious antagonist Jack Horner, Da'Vine Joy Randolph was great as Mama Luna and Wagner Moura did an intimidating line reading for the canine Grim Reaper himself, Wolf.

The Last Wish had a wondeful morale to its story [and one I can personally, and reluctantly, relate to (overlooking the 'nine lives' part and being granted a magical wish)]...and that's Puss in Boots struggling between using a special wish to reclaim all of his nine glorious lives—which allowed him to live as an obnoxious and arrogant hero who lost his previous lives doing such things as trying to launch out of a cannon, loiter near exploding ovens or trying to bench press with an extremely heavy barbell—or relinquish the wish and live the last life he had left with the friends he cared out. This also applied to other characters like Goldilocks...who wanted a normal family when she already had one in the Three Bears (even though they spent that quality family time stealing things).

The final scene suggests that we might see Puss in Boots reunite with Shrek and the rest of the gang in another sequel, but if The Last Wish is any indication, Stabby Tabby does just well in nicely-crafted animated movies on his own.

Have a Happy New Year, everyone!

Movie Review: BABYLON...

Yesterday, I went to AMC theaters to watch Damien Chazelle's newest film Babylon.

While it wasn't as moving as 2014's Whiplash or 2016's La La Land, Babylon was more enjoyable than Chazelle's previous movie, the 2018 Neil Armstrong biopic First Man.

I commend Chazelle for tackling the glory days of NASA like Ron Howard did with 1995's Apollo 13 (Chazelle also co-wrote the 2016 sci-fi flick 10 Cloverfield Lane), but he was more in his element doing another film with a strong musical theme (even though this theme was mostly featured during a huge orgy scene at the beginning of Babylon), as was the case with Whiplash and La La Land.

In Babylon, the story depicts an incredibly insane (but in a good way) take on Hollywood's silent film era during the late 1920s, and how the 'talkies' (movies with sound) wrought havoc on it the following decade. We see this transition have a huge impact on the four main characters in Chazelle's comedy drama: Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo) and Manny Torres (Diego Calva).

Only two of the four characters above make it through this transition relatively unscathed.

Even though it was hugely exaggerated, the depiction of set life in Babylon made me both dread and appreciate the fact that I experience this as a background actor...which I've been working as since late 2011.

And just like with the final scene in the movie (spoilers ahead), where Manny Torres grows teary-eyed as he watches a couple of 'talkies' at a crowded theater after he visits his old job at Kinoscope Studios (which is actually Paramount Pictures...where I worked between mid-2005 to '06) from years past, I'll probably grow emotional in my hopeful old age thinking about my time in the entertainment industry should I finally leave it for greener pastures.

Babylon is Chazelle's love letter to filmmaking...with a montage showing actual movies like the first Avatar flick, The Matrix and Raiders of the Lost Ark featured at the end of the film. Babylon, with its extremely-long running time of 189 minutes, may not be as simple and impactful as La La Land, but it's still an intriguing flick by Chazelle that should be appreciated by filmgoers who have an extreme passion for cinema.

Merry Christmas!

On This Day in 1997: Remembering TITANIC...

It was 25 years ago today that I watched James Cameron's Oscar-winning epic about the story of Jack Dawson, Rose DeWitt Bukater and a doomed ocean liner on the big screen for the first time.

I originally saw Titanic at the theater to receive extra credit for my British Literature class in high school. I was completing my first semester of senior year when the film was released in cinemas nationwide.

Little did I know, Titanic would become the highest-grossing film ever (after enduring controversy about its whopping $200 million production budget...which was unheard of for movies at the time), win 11 Academy Awards, spawn a hugely popular song in Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, and become such an enduring flick that I saw it on the big screen almost a dozen times—through the summer of 1998!

I was hoping Titanic would be back in theaters for its 25-year anniversary this month, but it's all good. (Cameron obviously wanted the focus to be on the newly-released Avatar: The Way of Water.) I watched Titanic in IMAX a few times when it celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2017, so it's nice to know that I was able to re-experience this amazing movie at the multiplex recently.

Only 5 more years till we might see Titanic on the big screen again for its 30-year anniversary! Happy Christmas Eve.

#OTD 25 years ago, I watched #Titanic on the big screen for the first time.

I originally saw this film to get extra credit for my British Literature class in 12th grade; little did I know that it would be the best film of 1997 (the #Oscars and my senior yearbook got it right) 😄 pic.twitter.com/QiA4r4pjyh

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) December 24, 2022

On This Day in 2002: Remembering THE TWO TOWERS...

It was 20 years ago today that I watched the second installment of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy at the movie theater.

The Two Towers was the best film in Jackson's cinematic trifecta, but it was understandable that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would wait another year to hand the trilogy an Oscar trophy for Best Picture...with 2003's The Return of the King.

There were so many cool aspects of The Two Towers, from the Tree Ents and Andy Serkis' initial portrayal of Gollum to the Battle of Helm's Deep. And let's not forget the amazing music score by Howard Shore as well.

I was in my fifth year of college when The Two Towers was released in theaters nationwide. That's probably not a factoid I should be proud of sharing here... Happy Tuesday!

#OTD in 2002, I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on the big screen for the first time...

This is my favorite film in the #LOTR trilogy!#BackInTheDay pic.twitter.com/gEulW8dltq

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) December 20, 2022

Movie Review - AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER...

Earlier today, I went to AMC theaters to watch James Cameron's latest adventure on the extrasolar moon of Pandora in Avatar: The Way of Water.

Just like 2009's Avatar, The Way of Water was just as visually beautiful and epic on the big screen! But the sequel had a better storyline than the original film...even though villain-wise, it might make certain moviegoers like myself think of recent flicks like last year's The Matrix Resurrections.

[Actually, I'm thinking of all of The Matrix sequels in general—as I'm referring to the evolution of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) throughout those installments.]

The first Avatar movie was derided for having a plot that was similar to those of Fern Gully, Braveheart and Cameron's own Aliens, but The Way of Water had an entertaining story that was already in high gear from the very first scene of the film.

Like the Fast & Furious movies, The Way of Water placed a huge emphasis on family—with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) doing everything they could to protect their four children after they were forced to move to a distant seaside village in response to their forest home being ravaged by the "sky people" [led by by General Ardmore (Edie Falco) and Stephen Lang (portraying a new incarnation of Quaritch from the previous film)] once more.

Also back in The Way of Water are Sigourney Weaver (as Dr. Grace Augustine and Kiri) and Giovanni Ribisi (as Parker Selfridge), while Kate Winslet reunited with her Titanic director after 25 years to play the Na'vi warrior Ronal...the tsahìk of the Metkayina clan. (Yes, I looked that up on Google just now.)

What really impressed me about The Way of Water was its music. Composer Simon Franglen did a wonderful job keeping true to the original Avatar score that was conducted by the late and great James Horner.

As mentioned at the start of this review, the visuals in The Way of Water were just absolutely beautiful! Weta and Industrial Light & Magic did a terrific job making Pandora look even more majestic on the big screen than it did 13 years ago.

I saw The Way of Water in the traditional 2-D format today, I look forward to seeing it on IMAX 3-D next!

PS: Those tulkun (Pandora's essentially bulletproof whales who are smarter than humans in The Way of Water) are awesome. Carry on.

Movie Review: VIOLENT NIGHT...

Earlier today, I watched the action crime comedy Violent Night at AMC theaters.

While it's not as memorable as other dark Christmas comedies like 2003's Bad Santa or the 2015 holiday horror fantasy Krampus, Violent Night was nevertheless a fine guilty pleasure to watch on the big screen.

David Harbour—who went from playing Hellboy in 2019 to the Red Guardian in Marvel's 2021 film Black Widow—was perfectly cast as the former Viking-turned-Jolly Old Saint Nick himself, Santa Claus. What I especially liked about Violent Night's depiction of Santa was his magical gift bag; if he did exist (little kids obviously won't stumble upon this movie review, heh), then it would make sense that Santa would employ some type of supernatural ability to give every child around the world the perfect present [and then quickly exit the room via chimney teleportation (you read that correctly) afterwards] on a single night!

Not to be outshone by Harbour's Saint Nick is John Leguizamo as Scrooge...who in this film is a cunning mercenary bent on stealing $300 million from a hilariously dyfunctional family. Leguizamo did such a great job conveying Scrooge's hatred of Christmas that I was actually rooting for him to beat the crud out of Santa in the movie's climax!

(But the way that Santa wins the fight against Scrooge at the end was equally awesome!)

The supporting cast was commendable...with Jason (Alex Hassell, who amusingly reminded me of Thor director Taika Waititi every time he showed up on screen), Linda (Alexis Louder) and Trudy (Leah Brady...who had a very memorable scene in Violent Night where she laid out bloodier versions of the house traps set by Macaulay Culkin's Kevin in 1990's Home Alone) being the other protagonists who helped Santa take on Scrooge's gang.

I will also compliment Beverly D'Angelo (Gertrude), Edi Patterson (Alva), Cam Gigandet (Morgan Steel), André Eriksen (Gingerbread), Brendan Fletcher (Krampus), Mike Dopud (Commander Thorp), Alexander Elliot (Bert), Mitra Suri (Candy Cane), Phong Giang (Tinsel) and Stephanie Sy (Sugarplum) on their performances in this action crime comedy as well.

Though I'll end this review with one question: What happened to Sugarplum at the end of the movie? (Spoilers ahead) After she was able to open the vault in Gertrude's mansion, Sugarplum appeared in the living room with Scrooge and the rest of his goons one last time before she randomly disappeared before the climax.

Apparently, Sugarplum survived. Does this pave the way for Violent Night 2? Probably not.

Movie Review: DEVOTION...

Earlier today, I watched the Korean War biopic Devotion at AMC theaters.

This film is about two U.S. Navy pilots—an African American ensign named Jesse Brown (played by Jonathan Majors) and an Irish American lieutenant named Tom Hudner (portrayed by Glen Powell)—who became good friends during a Cold War conflict in Asia and amidst racial tensions in America.

Devotion is your standard war film; and the latest that depicts the immense bravery of African American aviators who served their country well during two major wars even though they faced intense discrimination at home. The previous flick that comes to mind is the 2012 movie Red Tails (starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr.)...which is about the Tuskegee pilots of World War II, and was the first film directed by George Lucas since 2005's Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

What makes Devotion unique are its unofficial ties to this year's top-grossing film, Top Gun: Maverick. On the one hand, you have Glen Powell—who played Hangman in the Joseph Kosinski-directed blockbuster—portraying a fighter pilot on the big screen for the second time in 2022. And on the other hand, the aerial coordinator for Maverick, Kevin LaRosa II, utilized his services and aircraft cameras for Devotion as well.

The similaries between Devotion and the Top Gun sequel begin and end at Glen Powell as well as spectacular and authentic aerial sequences. Devotion honors Ensign Jesse Brown...who fought valiantly in his Corsair until it was shot down in North Korea on December 4, 1950.

While the corpse of Ensign Brown remained inside his aircraft when U.S. Navy jets napalmed it (as well as the Corsair of Lieutenant Hudner, who intentionally crash-landed it near Brown's fighter plane before trying to save his life) so it won't fall into enemy hands, that didn't stop Hudner from trying to visit his friend's crash site in North Korea almost 63 years later...in July of 2013.

The story of Jesse Brown is quite remarkable. One interesting tidbit that was featured in Devotion is the fact that he met Elizabeth Taylor (portrayed by Serinda Swan in this movie) in France—and was invited by her to a Cannes casino even though French personnel initially wouldn't let him enter the establishment.

Despite meeting a beautiful and legendary star like Taylor, Brown remained devoted to his wife Daisy (played by Christina Jackson) and their young daughter Pam.

Devotion is a story about love, determination, loyalty and bravery. Brown and Hudner are both heroes...and this movie did a commendable job depicting this inspirational friendship on the big screen.

Rest in peace, Ensign Brown and Lieutenant Hudner (who passed away on November 13, 2017). Your brave exploits have fittingly been immortalized in cinema.

Movie Review - GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY...

"It's a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth, don't you think?"
- Detective Benoit Blanc
A few hours ago, I celebrated Thanksgiving Eve by watching Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery at AMC theaters.

Needless to say, this murder-mystery comedy—once again directed by Rian Johnson—was just as good as the 2019 original film, Knives Out!

Just like Knives Out, Daniel Craig reprised his role as Benoit Blanc, the world's greatest detective, in Glass Onion. And joining Craig was yet another all-star cast...this time featuring Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Leslie Odom Jr. and Dave Bautista.

According to a Google search, Ethan Hawke was apparently in Glass Onion as well, but I didn't recognize him in the movie. (I reckon he was among the people that Lionel, Leslie Odom Jr.'s character, was talking to during that video conferencing session in the opening scene.) Ram Bergman—who helped produce the Knives Out sequel with Rian Johnson—was hilarious in his brief cameo!

You'll notice that I left out Janelle Monáe above...and that's because I wanted to save the best for last! Just like Ana de Armas in the first Knives Out installment, Monáe was definitely the star of Glass Onion—(SPOILERS AHEAD) playing not one but two characters in the sequel: Andi Brand and her sister Helen.

Monáe did an excellent job differentiating between Andi and Helen in her performances; with Andi being the confident entrepreneur who would be at the center of the film's murder-mystery plot, and Helen being the uncertain but caring sibling who wanted to seek justice for Andi's fate in this movie.

Glass Onion was just as humorous and clever as Knives Out, with Daniel Craig clearly relishing the comedic role of Detective Blanc once again, after saying farewell to James Bond in last year's No Time to Die.

Glass Onion is one of the best films I've seen in 2022; it's too bad that this masterpiece will only be in theaters for the next few days before it begins streaming on Netflix later next month.

Watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on the big screen as soon as possible! It's definitely worth the ticket price...

I give this Knives Out mystery two thumbs way up.

Movie Review: THE MENU...

Earlier today, I watched The Menu at AMC theaters. While I found the food preparation scenes very appetizing to watch, the message of this film was kind of vague (it was something about givers and takers) that I really don't know what genre to fit this movie in other than it was some type of thriller!

The plot of The Menu is about a food connoseiur named Tyler (played by Nicholas Hoult) and his not-so-easy-to-impress date Margot (portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy) joining about a dozen other people on a boat trip to Hawthorne...a presumably exquisite restaurant, located on a private island, where they enjoyed a multi-course meal prepared by the cooks led by Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes).

Apparently, this isn't your average fine-dining restaurant—as Tyler, Margot and the other patrons weren't even served something as basic as bread. Instead, Hawthorne's menu offered a dish consisting of delicious chicken breast...right after the customers witnessed one of Chef Slowik's cooks pull out a gun and take his own life in front of their very eyes. And this was at the behest of Slowik himself.

In other words, The Menu is about how a group of unwitting patrons (well, one of the patrons knew what was going on) ate at a restaurant that was led by a celebrity chef who also happened to be a cult leader getting his dining staff to carry out his murderous bidding. And this was due to Chef Slowik seeking retribution for some type of injustice that each of the patrons (except one... I won't spoil the identity here) did to him in the past.

So The Menu is basically a revenge thriller. Gotcha!

If there was one thing that I really liked about this film, it's the scene where Chef Slowik prepares a cheeseburger for one of the patrons in The Menu's climax. Needless to say, it got me to order a cheeseburger combo at In-N-Out burger the very next day. Carry on!

Movie Review - BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER...

Earlier today, I watched the latest Marvel flick Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at AMC theaters.

Once again directed by Ryan Coogler, Wakanda Forever was just as action-packed as the Oscar-nominated 2018 film Black Panther...but far more emotional as it acknowledged the unfortunate real-life passing of Chadwick Boseman two years ago by dealing with the untimely off-screen death of King T'Challa early on in the movie.

Like the first Black Panther, Wakanda once again had a stellar cast in Letitia Wright (Shuri), Lupita Nyong'o (Nakia), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Winston Duke (M'Baku), Martin Freeman (Everett Ross) and Angela Bassett (Queen Ramonda). Joining this stellar group was Tenoch Huerta as Namor, the Feathered Serpent God, and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a.k.a. the future Ironheart.

Despite the pre-release marketing for Wakanda Forever, I think it should've been common knowledge that Shuri—King T'Challa's sister—would become the next Black Panther. Which she did! However, I was hoping that Nakia would follow in her late boyfriend's steps instead, but that was not the case.

(I might also be a bit biased against Shuri due to Letitia Wright's pandemic-related controversy last year.)

Wakanda Forever did a great job humanizing Namor, the king of the underwater nation of Talokan, and rationalizing his motives for why he would seek war with the "surface world"...and Wakanda in particular. (If an alloy like Vibranium—which can't be discerned by metal detectors—existed in real life, that would have huge repercussions.) It will be interesting to see him appear in future Marvel flicks, as Black Panther will return.

Wakanda Forever also paved the way for Ironheart to be featured in her upcoming Disney+ series, which debuts online in late 2023.

So all-in-all, Wakanda Forever is the latest high-quality installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And to top things off, the mid-credits scene in this movie showed how T'Challa will make his comeback in the future! The downside is, the story's timeline would need to jump ahead at least 15 years to make his return feasible... We can wait.

On This Day in 1997: Remembering STARSHIP TROOPERS...

It was 25 years ago today that I watched Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi cult classic Starship Troopers on the big screen.

It was also on this day that I received my actual driver's license in the mail (after passing my driving test almost three weeks before that) prior to heading to the theater.

The fact that I celebrated my newfound independence by immediately watching a movie at the multiplex set the tone for the next 25 years! I was a senior in high school when Starship Troopers was theatrically released nationwide.

One of the best aspects of Starship Troopers (apart from the amazing visual effects that made me excited for what was in store with the Star Wars prequels years later) was the awesome music score by the late Basil Poledouris! Here's the adrenaline-pumping piece Klendathu Drop from the soundtrack:

Movie Review: PREY FOR THE DEVIL...

Earlier today, I watched the horror flick Prey for the Devil at AMC theaters.

I had to put a lot of thought into deciding whether or not I should see this film...considering that for personal reasons, I continue to refuse to view the classic devil-walks-among-us horror movie, The Exorcist. (Traumatic childhood memories will do that to ya!) This is despite the fact I've watched all but one of the Paranormal Activity flicks, as well as all of The Conjuring films—including spinoffs like The Nun and Annabelle!

As for Prey for the Devil, it had its predictable moments of jumpscares and suspense. I would actually say that the recent horror movie Smile had more frightful scenes than this flick, which is directed by The Last Exorcism's Daniel Stamm.

Nevertheless, I think the reason why Prey for the Devil still touches a nerve for me is that I was raised Catholic. I wouldn't say I'm a devout Catholic considering the fact I haven't gone to church on a weekly basis since before the pandemic, but the story about Lucifer and demons still freak me out.

However, one amusing thing about Prey for the Devil is the main location of this movie: Which is the fictional St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism in Boston, Massachusetts. Schools of exorcism do exist in real life (as the Vatican really does teach courses about this sacramental rite), but only in a Hollywood flick can St. Michael be a high-tech, multistory compound that's something you would see in a Jason Bourne film, a James Bond movie or even an Avengers flick by Marvel Studios!

As for the cast, the performances were superb. Jacqueline Byers was stoic as Sister Ann, Colin Salmon was noble as Father Quinn, Christian Navarro was helpful as Father Dante and Posy Taylor did a great job portraying the possessed persona of Natalie.

Linda Blair would be proud of Taylor's performance! Even though I never watched The Exorcist...nor do I intend to in the future. Have a fun Halloween, everyone!

Movie Review: BLACK ADAM...

Earlier today, I watched the DC Extended Universe's (DCEU) newest flick, Black Adam, at AMC theaters. Needless to say, it was a very action-packed film!

Dwayne Johnson plays Teth-Adam, who—like Billy Batson (portrayed by Zachary Levi in the 2019 film Shazam! and next year's sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, respectively) centuries later—is a superhero that was bestowed a plethora of god-like powers by wizards who considered him to be the "champion" humanity needed.

Unlike Billy Batson, however, Teth-Adam didn't start off as a superhero...but as an angry demigod who first sought revenge against the tyrannical king of Kahndaq during its ancient days, and then against anyone who basically pissed him off after he was awoken from his 5,000-year sleep in Kahndaq's present day.

Like the live-action Venom films by Sony Pictures and Marvel, Black Adam does a nice job of depicting Teth-Adam's brutality while also retaining the movie's PG-13 rating.

At one point early on in the flick, Adam nonchalantly flings a hapless mercenary into the air as if he was a baseball. In the subsequent shot, we see that the mercenary's arm—which Adam grabbed when he threw him—is still in one of the demigod's hands, severed and all!

There are lots of other great moments in Black Adam where Teth showed his badassery (most of them featuring his use of lightning against his enemies), but one thing I really liked about the movie is that the film made sure to remind the audience that it's part of the DCEU. It's clearly obvious Amanda Waller (once again aptly played by Viola Davis), who we first met in 2016's Suicide Squad, is the Nick Fury of the DC cinematic universe...only with less morals.

And let's not forget the Justice Society as well as other protagonists and antagonists who were introduced in Black Adam. Aldis Hodge was formidable as Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan was noble as Dr. Fate, Noah Centineo was hilarious as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi was headstrong as Adrianna Tomaz, Quintessa Swindell was very reliable as Cyclone, Bodhi Sabongui was idealistic as Adrianna's son Amon, Mohammed Amer was also hilarious as Adrianna's brother Karim, and Marwan Kenzari was dangerous as both Ishmael and Sabbac.

I'm not sure if I'd rank Black Adam among the top films of the DCEU (where 2017's Wonder Woman, Zack Snyder's Justice League cut and the first Shazam! reside), but I will say that it's definitely entertaining.

If you watch Black Adam, stay for the end credits! You won't be disappointed...and the DCEU has a bright future ahead of it considering what that cameo entails. Carry on.

On This Day in 2002: My Student Film Version of THE BROKEN TABLE Is Put on Celluloid...

It was 20 years ago today that my nine crew members from Cal State Long Beach and I met up at a classmate's house in Fullerton, CA, to shoot my student film version of The Broken Table (TBT)!

Unlike the remake of TBT that was shot over three days almost three years ago, this version only had one day to be filmed. In fact, I was only given four hours to shoot a two-minute film as the main assignment for my FEA 336 class in college! I finished in about two hours...though I could've used the rest of that time to film more coverage for The Broken Table.

The lack of coverage was one of the reasons why I would reshoot TBT over 17 years later. Another reason is TBT still being my favorite of four films that I shot at Cal State Long Beach during film school—due to it having a smooth production shoot and also the fact that my cast and crew on this project were very fun to work with!

I've included behind-the-scenes pics in this entry featuring highlights from the postproduction process for The Broken Table. Most filmmakers today use computer software such as Adobe Premiere, Avid, Final Cut Pro and Lightworks (which is what I employed on the 2019 version of TBT) to bring their works to life; my film teacher had us use old-school (very old-school) equipment such as a Steenbeck flatbed to edit our projects. Pretty gnarly!

And at the very bottom of this entry is a side-by-side comparision showing how the 2002 version of TBT is both similar and different to the project that I shot three years ago. A random bit of trivia: The same screwdriver was used in both films!

Quick Review: HALLOWEEN ENDS...

I watched the trilogy-ending horror flick Halloween Ends at AMC theaters today. I thought that it was trying to end the narrative arc of this trio of films while simultaneously opening the franchise to new flicks (featuring a new character behind the eerie William Shatner mask), but turns out that this movie went for the full closure. I liked it.

Jamie Lee Curtis is such a badass as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers will never cease to be a classic monstruous villain.

Will Blumhouse Productions, which is responsible for this Halloween trilogy, tackle Freddy Krueger and A Nightmare on Elm Street next? I never saw any of the Friday the 13th films.

Photos of the Day: Gettin' Up Close and Personal with the Darkstar from TOP GUN: MAVERICK!

Earlier today, I went to the Aerospace Valley Air Show at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California...where I saw the full-size model used for the Darkstar hypersonic aircraft in Top Gun: Maverick!

The Darkstar looked much smaller in person than in the film itself (as with the case for a lot of things, and actors, in Hollywood), but it was just as sleek as the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II also on display at the Mojave Desert-based event.

The stealth-like design of the Darkstar doesn't come as a surprise seeing as how the model, just like the three actual aircraft mentioned above, was also built by Lockheed. To be more specific, Darkstar was assembled by Lockheed's famed 'Skunk Works' division!

This is why the Skunk Works logo is visible on the vertical stabilizer of the Darkstar (as shown below) and even the joystick used by Maverick (Tom Cruise) inside the plane's cockpit if you watch the film again. Carry on!

Quick Review: AMSTERDAM...

So I saw the movie Amsterdam at AMC theaters earlier today. It's a nice cautionary tale about how big businesses are trying to influence government affairs and run America, and how certain groups of people in this country want it to emulate the authoritarian regimes that the U.S. defeated in past wars.

Yup, the trailer totally didn't give the actual plot (which is based on true events) away! Well done, David O. Russell.

And wonderful performances by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington and the rest of the cast in this ensemble picture...

I'm guessing this movie will be up for a few nominations come awards season several weeks from now. I'm curious about how this film will do at the Oscars!

Movie Review: SMILE...

Earlier today, I watched the Parker Finn-helmed horror film Smile at AMC theaters.

Needless to say, this movie was intense to watch and had lots of jump scares! But in terms of being frightening enough to keep me up at night, Smile is too high-concept a thriller to scare audiences the way a classic horror flick like The Exorcist would.

Smile is a cautionary tale about how individuals struggling with depression continue to be ostracized in this day and age, and how folks coping with mental illness can be severely misunderstood by other people.

That being said, Smile is also about a mysterious monster who gets inside people, makes them grin like the Joker from Batman and then causes them to kill themselves in the worst way possible! Any unlucky person who witnessed that victim commit suicide ended up being targeted by that monster next.

As mentioned earlier, this concept—while definitely very original—is too fancy a premise to make anyone but young children afraid to go to bed at the end of the day. Smile's invisible, grin-inducing creature is just like Pennywise from the IT movies... In regards to those Stephen King flicks, I don't think that adult moviegoers worried about some interdimensional creature disguising itself as a clown before preying on them once they left the multiplex!

The Exorcist, on the other hand, was simply about a girl who was possessed by a demon (a scenario that freaks me out having been raised as a Catholic)...which is why I've never viewed this film.

So bottom line is, Smile is a great horror flick to watch, but not to be traumatized by once the end credits rolled.

Speaking of the ending (no spoilers here): Depending on how Smile does at the box office this weekend, I really won't be surprised if Paramount Pictures greenlights a sequel...which I'll totally see! Happy First Day of October.

Movie Review: THE INVITATION...

Earlier today, I watched the horror flick The Invitation at AMC theaters.

I fell asleep a couple of times during the movie's first act, but I stayed wide awake once I realized that this film was about vampires!

I don't know if I was completely oblivious to the clues when I saw it on the big screen, but the trailer (posted below) for The Invitation did a great job in not letting us know that the relatives of Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) were members of the undead.

I now realize that the shot where Viktoria (played by Stephanie Corneliussen) licks the blood off of one of Evie's fingers was one hint in the preview... My bad!

I originally had no interest in seeing The Invitation (there were no new releases this weekend that I wanted to watch at the multiplex instead), as it reminded me of the 2019 film Ready or Not—where Samara Weaving also played a bride who needs to fight for her life against murderous, supernatural-crazed in-laws at some eerie mansion.

On the plus side, if there's ever a sequel to The Invitation (it currently made $26.5 million worldwide off a $10-million budget), the ending to this movie made it look like Evie somewhat became the female equivalent of Blade! I can't wait till Marvel Studios' version of the daywalker (this time played by Mahershala Ali) arrives in theaters nationwide late next year.

That is all!

Movie Review: BARBARIAN...

Earlier today, I watched the Zach Cregger-directed horror flick Barbarian at AMC theaters.

I would definitely have to say that this is one of the cleverest scary movies I've recently seen on the big screen!

Barbarian starts off in a dilapidated Detroit suburb, with a seemingly-clichéd beginning where unfortunate circumstances force a woman (Tess, played by Georgina Campbell) to spend the night at a house with a random stranger (Keith, played by Bill Skarsgård) who she distrusts so much that she secretly photographed his driver's license with her smartphone after he inadvertently left his wallet inside the room she was going to sleep in.

Keith is predictably portrayed as the odd man who draws Tess' suspicions by doing such questionable things as making her a cup of tea (she doesn't drink it) or going out of his way to venture to the local laundromat to wash new bed sheets for her room. They both coincidentally found this house through an Airbnb service.

Spoilers Ahead: This is where the predictability ends and great storytelling begins as Barbarian's story is turned upside-down the moment Tess stumbles upon a secret passageway in the house's basement!

I won't tell you what happens in that passageway, but Barbarian suddenly becomes so unconventional that the story abruptly focuses on an actor named AJ (Justin Long)...who's caught in the middle of a Hollywood sex scandal that prompts him to leave California and head back home to Detroit. It just so happens that the house which Tess and Keith rented through Airbnb is AJ's original home!

(Why AJ lived in a house surrounded by a bunch of abandoned homes that were last occupied during the Ronald Reagan years is a question that Barbarian leaves unanswered.)

AJ is actually unaware that Tess and Keith were renting his house, but by the time he finally runs into one of them (revealing which one will probably be a big spoiler), the situation has already gotten extremely out of control.

Barbarian's story gets so twisted that by the end of the film, we really don't know who the movie's title is referring to! One thing's for sure— The barbarian isn't Tess, and it certainly isn't Keith.

True to horror form, this movie definitely has both gruesome and non-gruesome 'WTF' moments: With one scene showing a man getting his head crushed as it's repeatedly slammed against the wall, another scene showing a person get their arm ripped off, and another cringe-inducing scene where a hapless victim is forced to breastfeed from the most frightening-looking woman (who somewhat resembles a zombie from 2007's I Am Legend) you'll ever see on the big screen.

Barbarian is such a cleverly-written film...with a great music score by Anna Drubich to boot. Watch it now if you want to appreciate a great horror flick! Happy Saturday.

Movie Review: PURPLE HEARTS...

Earlier today, I watched the romance drama Purple Hearts on Netflix.

I might be a bit biased (since I worked as an extra on this production when it filmed at the Hollywood Bowl last year), but I thought that Purple Hearts was a great film!

There was controversy (specifically on Twitter) about Purple Hearts' story when this movie was released online over a month ago, but I found nothing wrong with the messaging.

Purple Hearts' plot is about an aspiring singer (Cassie, played by Sofia Carson)—dealing with diabetes—who's unable to secure a refill on her insulin because her health insurance won't cover the cost of her medication. Living in Oceanside, she meets a Marine (Luke, portrayed by Nicholas Galitzine) who has financial problems of his own that could be rectified if he was married and had access to special benefits provided by the United States military.

Realizing that both of their financial predicaments can be solved by tying the knot, Cassie and Luke discuss how their marriage (and would-be divorce) will be handled before they're off to their private wedding.

The problem is, a soldier getting married just so they can receive extra money from the U.S. military amounted to insurance fraud...which was punishable through court-martial and imprisonment.

Folks on Twitter complained about Purple Hearts' message because they didn't like how Cassie and Luke only married to get financial benefits from the American government.

However, if they watched the whole film (spoilers ahead), then they'd see that the insurance fraud was eventually exposed...and Luke ended up getting court-martialed and sent to jail at the end of the movie.

Purple Hearts went to great lengths to show that Cassie and Luke slowly started to fall for each other after an awkward start to their relationship. Cassie took care of Luke after he returned to San Diego to recover from a combat-related injury suffered in Iraq, Luke made sure that Cassie was okay after she returned home to their apartment feeling dizzy from her diabetic condition, Cassie got Luke a support dog named Peaches to help him in his recovery, Luke took full responsibility for the insurance fraud when he found out that Cassie might be prosecuted by the state of California after his military hearing was over, and Cassie drove all the way from the Hollywood Bowl to Camp Pendleton to declare her love for Luke before he was shipped off to jail.

(We'll overlook the fact that it seemed like Cassie arrived at Camp Pendleton in less than an hour...when it's a 112-mile drive, at maximum, between the Hollywood Bowl and this military base in San Diego County.)

So bottom line is, I thought the story of Purple Hearts was great.

Also, if the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) found the messaging of Purple Hearts to be objectionable, then it wouldn't have given the production crew access to Camp Pendleton and military hardware for this movie. Not only that, but the USMC probably wouldn't have provided that honor guard during the funeral scene at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery—which is also where Iceman's funeral in Top Gun: Maverick was filmed. That is all.

On This Day in 2007: Remembering 3:10 TO YUMA...

It was 15 years ago today that the James Mangold-directed film 3:10 to Yuma—one of my all-time favorite Westerns—was released in theaters nationwide.

Russell Crowe was badass as Ben Wade...a captured outlaw who needs to be escorted by Dan Evans, a war veteran-turned rancher played by Christian Bale, as he was brought to a 3:10 afternoon train that would transport Wade to Yuma Territorial Prison in Arizona. Of course, this wasn't an easy task to do, since Wade's gang (led by his second-in-command Charlie Prince—sinisterly played by Ben Foster) was in constant pursuit of Evans' posse as Prince attempted to free his group's sharpshooting leader from government custody.

The last time I rooted for Russell Crowe to vanquish the bad buys (even though he was more of an antihero in 3:10) was as Maximus in 2000's Gladiator. And it was interesting to see Christian Bale play a post-Civil War protagonist in this movie before he donned the Batcowl again in 2008's The Dark Knight. Ben Foster himself has played a variety of roles throughout his career...such as a former convict in 2016's Hell or High Water, another—um—convict in the NBC TV comedy My Name Is Earl (2005-2009) and a U.S. Navy SEAL in 2013's Lone Survivor.

I'd watch 3:10 to Yuma again if my DVD player wasn't broken. I'm wondering when the next Western film will be released... And will it be as entertaining as James Mangold's hit movie? (I feel asleep during the first hour or so of Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight in 2015.) Carry on.

Movie Review: THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING...

Earlier today, I watched George Miller's fantasy romance drama Three Thousand Years of Longing at AMC theaters.

The trailer made Three Thousand Years look like it would be as quirky as the very eccentric and enjoyable Everything Everywhere All at Once, but this film fell short of expectations.

Tilda Swinton (who I kept picturing with a bald head during the movie, after she portrayed the Ancient One in Marvel's Doctor Strange and Avengers: Endgame) played Alithea—a divorced London scholar who traveled to Istanbul to give a speech about mythology until a series of events led her to stumbling upon a bottle carrying the Djinn, portrayed by Idris Elba.

Some critics refer to Three Thousand Years as 'Aladdin for adults'...which is true. But I don't recall Aladdin—either the 1992 animated classic or the 2019 live-action remake—being bogged down by so much dialogue. Of course, how else are you gonna explain three millenia worth of events that got the Djinn to where he was in modern-day Turkey?

One thing that I admire about Three Thousand Years is that it's the first film I've personally seen in the pandemic era which acknowledged that the pandemic exists. Scores of people wore face masks while Alithea gave her seminar inside a packed auditorium early on in the film, while Alithea herself was shown wearing a mask while seated inside a public bus taking her back home in the movie's final act. Good for her!

Though this begs the question: Why didn't Alithea use one of her three wishes to end the pandemic? I'm sure that asking the Djinn to rid this world of the coronavirus (but not the existing illnesses) didn't violate his rule of not wishing for all suffering to end. But that's just me.

When all is said and done, I'll stick to watching the animated or live-action version of Aladdin if I wanted to be entertained by a genie granting three wishes to a solitary but headstrong individual. Happy Labor Day to my fellow Yanks!

Movie Review: JAWS... (I'm 47 Years Too Late, But It's All Good)

"You're gonna need a bigger boat." I finally understood the context of this memorable line from Jaws after watching Steven Spielberg's classic 1975 adventure thriller—the very first summer blockbuster ever made—in IMAX at AMC theaters today.

While it doesn't have the high-octane energy that action scenes in today's blockbusters have, Jaws was nevertheless a very enjoyable film...and one whose message still has resonance today. Just as how some people in the 21st century willfully ignore the dangers of exploiting Mother Nature (resulting in issues such as climate change) to continue making a buck, the folks of Amity—a fictional island community off the coast of New England—refused to do anything about a ravenous great white shark that threatened their ability to earn lots of money through tourists visiting from the U.S. mainland on the Fourth of July until it was too late.

Considering that it was released almost a decade before the PG-13 rating was created (in 1984 thanks to Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), it's amusing to know that Jaws was merely PG—what with the implied nudity (via that unlucky female skinny-dipper in the opening scene and the poster above), drug use (also in the opening scene) and bloody depictions of people getting attacked and maimed by that great white throughout the film.

There was even a moment or two where Jaws really gave me a jump-scare...one of them being when oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) dove into the water to examine a seemingly-abandoned boat that was attacked by the shark, only to discover that someone was still onboard—but clearly no longer breathing.

The final act where Amity's police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), the shark hunter named Quint (Robert Shaw) and Hooper sail out to sea to hunt down that great white was no doubt an exciting sequence 47 years ago. To watch these three characters put their lives on the line as they chase after an apex predator in its own habitat was an enjoyable thrill to see.

And the fact that the shark met its demise in such an epic and explosive manner makes Jaws so revolutionary for its time. No wonder why Quentin Tarantino recently called Jaws "the greatest movie ever made." That's obviously not true—but I understand the sentiment behind it!

Also, it was great to hear John Williams' classic Jaws theme in the film itself...on the big screen. It wasn't great that Amity's repulsive mayor (Larry Vaughn, aptly played by Murray Hamilton) managed to get through this entire movie without a single shark bite, but oh well.

Movie Review: BREAKING...

Earlier today, I watched the dramatic crime thriller Breaking at AMC theaters.

This film stars John Boyega as Brian Brown-Easley...a former Marine veteran who held up a Wells Fargo bank in 2017 to get the attention of the media after the local Department of Veterans Affairs office wouldn't pay Brown-Easley the money that was owed to him.

I don't know how accurate Breaking is to the actual event that occurred in Cobb County, Georgia half a decade ago, but I will say this: John Boyega needs to receive a Best Actor nomination (at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and elsewhere) for his performance in the Abi Damaris Corbin-directed movie!

Boyega did an excellent job conveying the pain, desperation and conflict that Brown-Easley must have felt as he tragically risked his life to bring attention to a government bureaucracy that did him wrong. Also giving commendable performances in Breaking are Nicole Beharie and Selenis Leyva—who played the two Wells Fargo employees (Estel Valerie and Rosa Diaz, respectively) taken hostage by Brown-Easley at the bank.

The late Michael Kenneth Williams was terrific as Eli Bernard, a police negotiator who did everything he could to get Brown-Easley out of his lethal ordeal. Connie Britton was great as news journalist Lisa Larson...who also did all that she could to publicize Brown-Easley's desperate plight to the world.

(I only went on IMDb to look up the character names in this film, but I haven't yet done full research on the actual incident to see if the names of everyone but Brown-Easley were fictionalized.)

As mentioned earlier, John Boyega definitely deserves recognition for Breaking in the next awards season. Boyega says that he's done with appearing as Finn in live-action Star Wars movies, and receiving a major accolade such as an Oscar for Breaking would only solidify his stance that he deserves to leave a more respectable mark in cinema. That is all.

Movie Review: BEAST...

Earlier today, I watched the horror adventure drama Beast at AMC theaters. This film stars Idris Elba—who plays Nate Samuels, an American doctor and widower who takes his two daughters (Meredith, played by Iyana Halley, and Norah, portrayed by Leah Jeffries) on a trip to Africa to mend his broken relationship with them, only to stumble upon a rogue lion that hunts them down during a safari gone wrong.

Beast definitely had its moments...though it amusingly felt like a Jurassic Park movie, but with a bloodthirsty lion and not a pack of velociraptors relentlessly stalking the main characters. This is even solidified by one of the daughters—I think it was Meredith—wearing a Jurassic Park shirt at one point early in the film. (Beast was also produced by Universal Pictures, in case you're wondering.)

There isn't anything too deep or philosophical about the plot for Beast, except that it's a story about survival and the continuing threat poachers pose to the amazing wildlife in the African savanna.

Beast was shot on location in South Africa, so it's not a surprise that South African actor Sharlto Copley—who became famous from 2009's Oscar-nominated sci-fi movie District 9 (which also filmed in the African country)—would make an appearance in this flick as Dr. Samuels' anti-poaching best friend Martin Battles.

While Beast was filmed in South Africa, I wouldn't be surprised if some scenes were shot in the barren hills of Simi Valley, Santa Clarita or another location in California's San Fernando Valley as well. (It wasn't... I did some research about the movie on Google just now.) That would've been some nice Hollywood movie magic if it was!

Movie Review - DRAGON BALL SUPER: SUPER HERO...

Several hours ago, I watched the latest Dragon Ball film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, at AMC theaters.

Just like the previous Dragon Ball flicks that were released in North American theaters (such as 2015's Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' and 2018's Dragon Ball Super: Broly), Super Hero was a blast to watch!

The opening scene was pretty heavy on exposition (for folks like me who didn't watch the original Dragon Ball TV show and knew nothing about the Red Ribbon Army), but once we're informed about the nefarious plot hatched by Red Ribbon commander Magenta and his right-hand man Carmine, the story starts to take off in Super Hero.

With Goku, Vegeta and Broly still off-world training (a plot continuation from Dragon Ball Super: Broly), it's up to Piccolo to find out what the Red Ribbon Army is up to after Magenta sends one of his new androids, Gamma 2, to try to neutralize him.

With Gamma 2 obviously failing in his attempt on the Namekian's life, Piccolo discovers that Magenta is not only building androids to eliminate Piccolo, Gohan (Goku's son for the totally-uninitiated reading this review) and the Capsule Corporation—run by Bulma, Vegeta's wife—but he is also developing an updated version of Cell...the creature that Gohan defeated after Dragon Ball Z's Frieza Saga, and whom I didn't know was also a creation of the Red Ribbon Army until I saw this movie! (I only watched a few episodes of the Cell Saga when it aired on the Cartoon Network over 20 years ago, FYI.)

Numerous plot developments after this discovery leads to a final battle between the updated Cell (known as Cell Max) and Piccolo (who became Orange Piccolo thanks to Shenron, the Eternal Dragon earlier in the film), Gohan, his younger brother Goten, Trunks, Krillin and his wife Android 18.

I won't spoil how this climactic battle ends, but it's a nice parallel to how the original Cell was defeated in his Dragon Ball Z saga years earlier.

The final scene of Super Hero hints at another Dragon Ball feature film lurking on the horizon—with Pan, the daughter of Gohan—showing that she's on the path to becoming a great Saiyan warrior like her father, Grandpa Goku, Goten, Trunks and Vegeta before her. I can't wait for that next installment!

Two final notes:

1.) Dr. Hedo, the mastermind who helped Magenta build Cell Max and Gamma 2 (as well as his twin android Gamma 1), looks suspiciously like Gru from the Despicable Me and Minions movies...

And

2.) Gohan's final transformation in the climax of Super Hero reminds me of Ultra Saiyan Spar (below)—a character that I created in college over 20 years ago! Click here to read my fanfic about this Dragon Ball SF (as in Strike Force) character!