Quick Review: US...

So I saw Academy Award winner Jordan Peele's newest horror flick today. What Us lacks in scares, it makes up for in humor, likeable characters and a high concept (like the Happy Death Day movies). Us is similar to Stephen King's IT in that it deals with mysterious, homicidal beings (though in IT, it's an inter-dimensional monster that haunts the small town of Derry) who reside inside underground tunnels and sewers. But it isn't just children that these doppelgängers (dubbed Shadows) threaten—which is indicated in the TV spots and movie trailer. By the film's climax, we see that the California city of Santa Cruz (where the story takes place) won't be the only town to be affected by the Shadows. Will we see the nationwide aftermath of the invasion in an Us 2? Speaking more about the movie's climax, we'll overlook the fact that you can see the big twist from a mile away!

The gist of this review: Jordan Peele comes up with the most intriguing ideas for horror flicks... I look forward to seeing what he conjures up next for the big screen (not necessarily Us 2)! I like how Us integrates the instrumentals of Luniz's 1995 hip-hop song I Got 5 on It in its music score by Michael Abels, and I seriously think that Lupita Nyong'o should get an Oscar nomination for her dual performance as Adelaide Wilson and Red. Carry on.

Quick Review: CAPTAIN MARVEL...

So a few hours ago, I watched Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios' first film release of 2019, and the theatrical precursor to next month's Avengers: Endgame—and here are my notes:

- I like how the opening Marvel logo honors the late and great Stan Lee. I was wondering how the first Marvel Studios release since Lee's passing last year would honor the legendary Marvel creator...

- I like the twists in the film (especially in regards to Mar-Vell's true identity) and how Carol Danvers getting her powers is obviously different from what the trailers showed us...

- I like how Captain Marvel fully explains why Nick Fury created The Avengers Initiative (and of course, why he wears that eye patch)—though this contradicts the 2011 Captain America flick being titled Captain America: The First Avenger...when he apparently wasn't (at least in regards to who motivated Fury to come up with the name for this SHIELD program in the first place; Steve Rogers was still buried in Arctic ice at the time)!

- The Avengers: Endgame-related end credits scene is reason enough to see this movie again! Along with Brie Larson, Lashana Lynch and company being such badasses in this film. Happy International Women's Day!

Quick Review: APOLLO 11...

Earlier today, I saw the Todd Douglas Miller-directed documentary Apollo 11 in IMAX at an AMC Theatre in Orange County, CA. All I can say is, moon landing hoaxers and conspiracy theorists in general need to watch this film ASAP. Lots of never-before-seen footage and photos taken during the 8-day mission almost 50 years ago provide compelling evidence that "one giant leap for mankind" was indeed made on July 20, 1969...and three astronauts, along with 400,000 folks at various NASA centers around America, made this amazing feat happen.

The last day to watch Apollo 11 in IMAX at mainstream movie theaters is tomorrow (to clear the way for Captain Marvel's arrival the next day), but the film opens in wide release this Friday, March 8. Watch this movie when it does!


NASA


NASA / Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.


NASA / Neil A. Armstrong

Quick Review: HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U...

So I watched Happy Death Day 2U yesterday. It was just as enjoyable as 2017's Happy Death Day! Happy Death Day 2U not only worked on a horror film level (with nice bits of drama, a murder-mystery theme and comedy), but it also had some cool sci-fi elements too.

Make Happy Death Day 3Peat happen, Universal! Yes, I made that title up.

Quick Review: MISS BALA...

So I watched Miss Bala at the theater earlier today. Like last year's Sicario: Day of the Soldado, this film is released by Sony Pictures—meaning that it would be cool to see a crossover between Alejandro, the hit man played by Benicio Del Toro in Day of the Soldado (and 2015's Sicario, which wasn't distributed by Sony), and Gloria...the make-up artist-turned-assassin portrayed by Gina Rodriguez in Miss Bala! SPOILER ALERT: They are both rogue gunfighters who end up working as CIA assets to take down Mexican drug cartels. And they both look badass doing so! That is all.

Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fire, Big Daddy! It's an ID4 Update...

Earlier today, my CD copy of David Arnold's complete music score for the first Independence Day movie came in the mail! Thank you, Amazon. I bought the original ID4 score a few weeks after the film was theatrically released in July of 1996...but that album only contained 14 tracks, and were mostly alternate versions of the music that actually played in the movie. The complete music score (which cost $99 due to the fact that only 5,000 copies were made; I got lucky ordering it since this album was released back in 2010) has two discs that have a total of 29 tracks that appeared in Independence Day, plus 13 additional tracks that were composed by Arnold but re-written due to edits to the film itself. Nice.

My favorite tracks from the complete album are...

Disc 1:
- 1969: We Came In Peace
- Mysto Bridge/Satellite Collision/Destroyers Disengage/Russell Casse - Pilot
- The Darkest Day
- Evacuation
- Firestorm
- Base Attack
- Slimey Wakes Up
- The President's Speech

Disc 2:
- Just In Case/Attacker Fires Up
- The Launch Tunnel/Mutha Ship/Virus Uploaded
- Hide/Russell's Packin' (The Day We Fight Back)
- He Did It
- Jolly Roger
- Victory
- End Credits

I imported the songs to my laptop computer and converted them to MP3s so I can listen to 'em over and over and over while I'm bloggin'... Carry on!

Quick Review: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY...

I finally saw Bohemian Rhapsody earlier today, and needless to say...Rami Malek not getting a Best Actor Oscar nomination (on January 22) for his role as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury will be as much an outrage as The Dark Knight not getting a nomination in that 5th Best Picture slot 10 years ago this month. And the portrayal of the 1985 Live Aid concert at the end of the movie is enough to warrant a Best Picture nod for Bohemian Rhapsody itself. Or at least Best Film Editing. That is all.

Quick Review: BUMBLEBEE...

I watched Bumblebee at the theater earlier today, and needless to say, it was a terrific film! Well done to Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena and everyone else involved.

I'm a big fan of Michael Bay's live-action films (well, at least three of 'em: 2007's Transformers, 2011's Dark of the Moon and 2014's Age of Extinction), and I want to point out that Travis Knight needs to direct a few more Transformers movies of his own.

That opening scene on Cybertron: A-MAZING!

5 out of 5 stars. *****

Quick Review: GREEN BOOK...

So I saw Green Book earlier today. Impressive film! And just as a heads-up, director Peter Farrelly also helmed the comedic masterpieces that are Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary 20 years ago. I reckon Green Book should get some nice recognition when the Oscar nominees are announced next month...and so will actors Viggo Mortensen (as Tony Lip) and Mahershala Ali (as Don Shirley).

"The world is filled with lots of lonely people afraid to make the first move."
- Tony Lip in Green Book

4.5 out of 5 stars. ****1/2

The JOKER in Action at the Big Apple...

(Picture: Backgrid)

Thanks to the paparazzi (which director Todd Phillips is currently not very fond of), new set photos have been posted online showing a scene from Joker being filmed at a New York subway station this past weekend. In the video at the very bottom of this entry, we see background actors running for their lives as the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix sporting a suit that's reminiscent of the one worn by Cesar Romero in the 1966-'68 Batman TV show) emerges from a train and discards his clown mask while genially walking away. While it's clearly obvious that the Joker make-up that I typed about in this previous entry has obviously made it into the flick, it remains to be seen if the Clown Prince will appear this way for the whole movie...or if something horrible (like say, falling into a vat of acid) will occur that gives the Joker permanent white skin, green hair and sinister-looking red lips. We'll find out on October 4, 2019.


(Picture; Mega)

The photo below is an official behind-the-scenes snapshot of Phoenix (as pre-Joker Arthur Fleck) and Zazie Beetz (as Sophie Dumond) on the set of next year's crime drama. Happy Monday!


(Picture: Mega)

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A new set video from ‘JOKER’ has been officially released. (Source: @TMZ) pic.twitter.com/EBk1EHdQF0

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 22, 2018