Well shut my mouth and call me quiet, The Hateful Eight is one helluva Western/Murder Mystery! Sam Jackson as usual in Tarantino films was terrific as a post civil war vet, Major Marquis Warren, his performance in The Hateful Eight was quite possibly his best to date in any of Tarantino's films....
Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Daisey Domergue, a prisoner of the bounty hunter John Ruth "The Hangman" played by Kurt Russel and his awesome mutton chops!
I actually preferred this movie over D'jango Unchained because this movie wasn't focused on such a horrible subject like slavery where D'jango waffled...serious at some points and ridiculous at others (unlike 10 years a Slave). Hateful Eight simply felt like a modern retelling of a western.
I loved the setting and cinematography in this movie, and putting all the clues together in Minnie's Haberdashery was half the fun! The Hateful Eight is definitely a slow burn, but story time with Major Marquis Warren is absolutely unforgettable! Years ago I went snowbording at Windham Mtn and after sun set it was so fucking cold I thought my nuts crawled up into my stomach, I can't imagine walking buck ass naked in that cold for 5 minutes let alone 2 God forsaken hours!
Now a word of warning for those of you who found yourselves sitting in a theater watching D'jango and felt uncomfortable with all the N-bombs.....The Hateful Eight carpet bombs you with N-Bombs!!! Be prepared.....
The scene where John Ruth learns the truth about the Lincoln letter resonated with me because what Major Marquis Warren said to John unfortunate still holds true to this day.
Tarantino shows us the ugly face of post civil war America but it also offers a glimpse of hope at the very end that didn't quite offset the hate and prejudice seen throughout but it did show a glimmer of hope. B
At the beginning of the year I choose 15 movies I felt were must see's, well there's only 3 days left in the year so lets see how those movies stacked up too each other
I will say this, people were so anti the PT anything remotely close to the OT would've done gang-busters, little did anyone expect the level of rehashing of the OT that would occur in TFA!
My friends all asked me at the end of the movie that was better right? Riiiiiggghhtt?? I didn't answer right away because I knew after digesting the experience the cracks would show and lo & behold......
8.
This was an interesting science fiction movie, a definite slow burn but it poses some very thought invoking questions in an almost social experimental type way.
I really enjoyed the mysterious nature of both Ava and Nathan, both characters existed in a grey area where it was very difficult to know their true intentions.
The movie also starred Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson before we knew them as Poe Dameron and General Hux.
10.
I was excited to see Guillermo del Toro return to the horror genre, I really enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth. Unfortunately I didn't find Crimson Peak as engaging as Pan's Labyrinth. There were a few creepy moments in the film but the house at Crimson Peak was the definitely the most unnerving thing in the movie. My major problem with the film was I didn't believe the romance between Edith and Sir Thomas Sharpe. I immediately knew Thomas and Lucille were up to no good. so was Edith so blinded by love that she didn't sense Lucille was just left of center and for an educated woman who had doctor friends how the F didn't she realize she was being poisoned by the tea!
Unfortunately Crimson Peak suffers the same fate as The 9th Gate....good potential to be very scary but never actually does.
C'mon with a title like Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal you know it's gonna be awesome....kinda!
OK so the CGI was dismal but seeing Zhong Kui transforming into a demon to steal the dark crystal from the realm of Satan is worth the price of admission. If you can look past the awful CG SGatDC is an enjoyable story of love, betrayal, and spinal cord swords!
13.
Dracula doing the worm....nuff said.
14.
Remember the guys from Road Trip? Well this is what I imagine they grew up to become...
This is a highly forgettable American remake.
Worst best friends ever... The Loft Movie Review
15.
I swear I've seen this movie before...anyway I watched it, and forgot it
16.
Hell hath no fury like a woman reanimated after getting electrocuted for helping her boyfriend experiment. Aside from the "Evil Olivia Wilde" effects, this was not a good scary movie.
And here's the others I listed back in January that I never got around to seeing for one reason or another.
23 months ago my PS3 suffered a fatal YLOD, two months after the PS4 launch. So while most gamers moved forwards to the next (current) generation of console gaming I actually took a step back and was playing on my PS2.
Not the end of the world I took the opportunity to revisit some PS1 and PS2 titles....ok it was fun for a while but Old School is only fun if it's by choice and you can go back to playing games from this millennium but I couldn't and weeks turned to months, months to years! I felt like I was lost, forgotten in a gaming wasteland that time forgot....
But my time in the wasteland is coming to an end! I finally got a PS4 this Christmas! I got the Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection Bundle for $299.99 which is great as I never bought the Uncharted Games last generation but I always wanted to play them. In my opinion this is an amzing bundle at that price point, I have a feeling PS4 console sales skyrocketed during the window this bundle was selling for $299.99!
So 23 months have passed I wonder how many of my friends deleted me from their friends list thinking I was never returning.
I will find out when I complete the initial setup on Wednesday.
Let me just start out by saying the first hour of TFA eclipses the entire PT in acting, dialog, creature effects, character development, humor, and drama, it felt like the OT, it felt like a piece of a puzzle that fits nicely.
The Son saves the father but the father can't save the son....
Last year I read The Star Wars Ring Theory , much of which I was already aware of but this documentary really brought my understanding into a much clearer focus, now it's far to early to guess if this new trilogy will work within the ring theory but if we assume it will then the paths of Rey and Kylo may not end as they began much like Anakin/Vader.
I'm not going to review the movie because I initially enjoyed TPM until it all sank in....so I will give this experience time to settle in and be mentally digested.
I will say I love that there are still many unanswered questions and we the fans don't know the course the Sequel Trilogy is gonna take unlike the PT which we all already knew what the outcome was going to be.
One thing that I felt this movie did not do a good job fleshing out is the state of the Republic, so the Empire is dissolved and it's once again the Galactic Republic? The Rebel Alliance is now the Resistance, I'm sorry but an Alliance sounds a lot more powerful than a Resistance. And from the way it sounds the Republic and the Resistance are two separate entities that are not working together against the First Order. I also have some theories about the First Order and Supreme Leader Snoke but I need to watch the movie again.
Something interesting crossed my mind last night as I was thinking about the movie, what was Yoda's advice to Luke on Dagobah when he had his vision via the force in ESB? "Save them you might, but sacrifice everything they have fought and suffered for you will"
You can't tell me that Luke didn't foresee Han's....destiny....hell he probably didn't even need the force to figure there was some serious issues at the Solo homestead!
So why didn't Luke do what he does...and go to the Starkiller base and stop Kylo???
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Luke knows of the conflict in Ben/Kylo and is also aware of the ancient evilcoughplagueiscough. I think Luke will use that conflict to his advantage against Snoke.
Now onto Daisey Ridley's Rey....is she a descendant of the Skywalker bloodline? If so how? What's her midichlorian count? JUST KIDDING! Seeing her raw ability to use the force against Kylo was so entertaining but I fear she might be seduced by the Dark Side....she was extremely aggressive when she countered Kylo's mind probe and once she took Anakins Light saber.
That was my favorite scene in the entire movie!!!! The fan service of seeing Kylo try to pull the light saber hilt out of the snow ala Luke on Hoth for it to fly past him into Kira's Rey's hand!
So here's what I hope to see in episode VIII...Luke training Rey (again)...possibly a juxtaposition of the Sith rule of 2 now for the Jedi. Kylo traveling to Korriban to train under Plagueis.
Leia traveling to Coruscant for political mumbo jumbo.
Chewie and Finn being hunted by Phasma and a squad of First Order Storm Troopers across the galaxy and they run into Lando Calrissian.
A major revelation regarding Rey.....I HIGHLY DOUBT she's Luke's daughter...more likely born much the same as Anakin by either the Force or a Master Manipulator of Midichlorians......
Well that's it for now, go see Episode VII The Force Awakens, it's a great addition to the saga and I didn't spot Darth Jar Jar anywhere but if they snuck him in he's probably in Maz Kanatta's temple.
32 years ago there was a sci fi television mini series called V where Aliens in enormous ships arrived and promised us no harm but we discovered the horrifying truth....now 32 years later SyFy brings us Childhoods End a story of Aliens arriving in enormous ships promising to usher in the golden age of Mankind, but at what cost?
I read Arthur C. Clark's novel Childhoods End in High School and from what I recall this television mini series is extremely faithful to the novel and at the same time relevant to the times, considering the book was written in 1953.
I am throughly impressed with this mini series, the effects are outstanding! The Overlords ships are better designed than many Hollywood puts on the silver screen, and when we finally see what Karellen's species looks like it is exactly as I remembered from when I read the novel so many years ago.
Anyone looking for an Independence Day type sci fi show will be sorely disappointed, Childhoods End tackles the subject of first contact with painful honesty and the ending, similarly is certainly not for those expecting humanity to fight the Overlords and drive them away. In fact the story of Childhoods end is a very bittersweet pill to swallow, which if I were to guess would make this mini series not too popular with many....ESPECIALLY Christians!
Childhoods End does not skirt the subject of what becomes of religion once first contact occurs, in fact it pretty much hits it full on, Karellan even confronts Peretta in the second episode telling her her faith is a crutch! That'll definitely piss some people off!
I respect the creators of this show for not diluting the story to appease those who get offended by every damn thing these days.
If you like intelligent sci fi I highly recommend finding the book and checking out this fantastic mini series from SyFy!
So I'm about 48 hours away from seeing Episode VII The Force Awakens and I'm honesty not as excited this time around as I was for Episode I TPM. I think it's a combination of age, experience and the fear that I'll be disappointed if I let the hype get ahold of me.
But that's not what I'm writing about as I sit here waiting for my son to fall asleep, I'm looking to the future to the horizon where I see the faintest outline of a Deathstar....that is where my old hope trully lies for this franchise.
In 365 days I'll be sitting in a theater ready to see a fresh new space adventure in a galaxy far far away with Gareth Edwards Star Wars Rogue One.
I'm seriously on the fence with F.A.N.G.
He's a hard core homage Kung Fu movie trope, similar to the two brothers from Kung Fu Hustle (I love that movie).
He's got potential but I can't believe he's Sagat's replacement as one of the 4 kings of Shadaloo. There's definitely something odd about his arms they seem disproportionate to his body. I think there's something freaky under his robes, I think his CA looks ridiculous and not in a good way.
The stage looks awesome!! But why the F is Buzz Light year running around????
What I am excited for is Sagat's new story which will finally see him let go of is hatred for losing to Ryu. Will he adopt a new pupil to train? Will Adon return to Sagat?
We see Balrog is still 1 of the 4 King's of Shadaloo so why isn't he in the core roster? I think the story will have him doubling down with the Illuminati and Shadaloo, that's why he's coming with the first wave of post launch DLC characters along with Alex and Urien.
Look it could be worse...Capcom could've created a character based on the villain from The Crippled Masters.......
Throughout the MCU we've had our ups and downs with Iron Man (2 for 3), The Avengers (1 for 2), and Thor, but Captain America has been consistently good and from the looks of CA: Civil War Cap's gonna be 3 for 3!
There's alot to catch in this trailer,
General Thunderbolt Ross is back
@ 00:58 The Sokovia Accords being slid across the board room table to Scarlet Witch I presume
Black Panther Vs Buckey @ 1:53
Rhodey looking pretty dead @ 2:04
And then the epic confrontation between Iron Man, Captain America and Buckey Barnes at the end of the trailer is so hype!
Phase 3 is starting off with a BANG/ KAPOW/ HUZZAH!
Let me begin by saying more than any other Bond, Daniel Craig's 4 films feel the most cohesive, Quantum of Solace works better when viewed with Casino Royal, and it's almost a prerequisite to have seen the previous 3 films prior to watching Spectre.
After the spectacular job Sam Mendez did with Skyfall I was really excited to see him return for Spectre, I liked the choice of Chistoph Waltz as the main villain who was a total homage to Diamonds are Forever villain of the same name.
Spectre is littered with so many homages to older Bond movies it's staggering like this scene...
Which hearkens back to Bonds encounter with Auric Goldfinger back in 1965...
The cast for Spectre is Spectacular and I just want to say for those making an issue about Monica Bellucci being too old to be a Bond Girl, first off she's not a Bond Girl. Bellucci is a woman thru and thru, when Bond Girls grow up they hope they look like Monica Bellucci! I have to agree with Uncle Paulie...my only problem with Bellucci's character was the ridiculous lack of screen time! Personally I think the opening shot was cool but it could've been shaved down a bit and that time allotted to the Bond / Sciarra scene.
As for the actual Bond Girl in Spectre, Lea Seydoux (Dr. Madeleine Swann) totally impressed me in Blue is the Warmest Color earlier this year (fantastic film!) and again in Spectre!
Another aspect of Daniel Craigs Bond movies I appreciate is the way the women are portrayed as strong, self assured women iso damsels in distress. There were some incredible moments between Bond and Swann such as the scene in Blofeld's secluded desert base where she knows she's going to die but continue's forward with Bond with fearless conviction and the entire time on the train especially the fight against David Bautista's Mr Hinx.
Which brings me to my next gripe with Spectre....Mr Hinx! There have been some very memorable minions in the Bond films....Jaws, Oddjob, Pussy Galore, Xenia Onatopp....Mr Hinx comes across as a Cyberdyne systems model 101 more than a henchman for Spectre. The car chase scene between Hinx and Bond unfortunately was forgettable, I didn't get the goosies watching the gorgeous DB10 and Jaguar C-X75 race around Rome.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Craig's Bond films have a cohesiveness to them and I believe Spectre was attempting to tie together all the past villains and organisations under one umbrella organization, did they accomplish that goal? Yes but in my opinion not as well as it could've, I do believe Christoph Waltz was the best choice for the role, the reason I say that was the opening scene in Inglorious Basterds....the way he masterfully transitioned from a sympathetic Nazi just doing his duty to a maniacal villain has to be witnessed, and we saw a bit of that with "dentist chair" in Spectre but not to the same degree and unfortunately without that Blofeld never elevated beyond the other villains in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall. And in turn I never felt Spectre was the head umbrella organization without a heavy dose of exposition from Blofeld.
The whole diatribe about James and Blofeld's father made the rivalry between the two too personal and detracted from the Super Villain/organization vs Super Secret Agent/ MI6.
And then there's Denbigh and the 9 eyes project....
Fear not though we have Q (Ben Whishaw) MI6's wizard class hacker to help 007 unravel the mystery's of the one ring...
I also have to say I miss the relationship between Dame Judi Dench's M and Craig's Bond, nothing against Ralph Fiennes but the dynamic isn't the same.
For all the drama that took place between Bond and Moneypenny in Skyfall there was surprisingly little interaction between them aside from the scene where she brings his personal effects to his apartment.
All the ingredients for a great 007 movie are in Spectre...Gorgeous women, high end sports cars, exotic locales, secret bases, shadowy organizations, evil villains, larger than life henchmen, breathtaking action and yet Spectre was not as enjoyable as Skyfall.
B-
Did you know Christopher Nolan and Albert R Broccolli were considering collaborating on a Batman Vs Spectre movie??? Bet ya didn't...test screenings didn't go so well but I have a clip from the scrapped project for you!
Looks like I wasn't the only one who thought SWATH was a good movie that could've been even better without Kirsten Stewart....SWatH movie review.
I'm excited to see Charlize Theron return in the role as the Ravenna! And all you little girls that think Frozen was the best Disney movie ever...
You're about to see the true Ice Queen! I just hope they don't reinvent her like they did with Maleficent. I hated what they did to that iconic evil bitch!
The cast looks good all around this time! Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain.
Like I said this movie has potential and SWatH laid out the foundation but Charlize totally owned the role and stole every scene from Kristen Stewart in SWatH.
I haven't had a reason to watch anything on the SciFi Syfy channel for a long time, but when I recently heard the news that a miniseries based on Arthur C Clarke's novel, Childhoods End was being made and was coming to Syfy I found my reason!
December 14th-16th I'll be setting my DVR to record the 6 hour/3 night mini series!
I read the book so many years ago when I was in high school, I vaguely recall the story so may reread the novel to refresh my memory. I do remember the description of the aliens.....
Manners Maketh the Man... Kingsman puts a fresh coat on the classic Secret Agent genre but also acknowledges it's doing it! Kingsman was for me the most enjoyable, original movie I saw this year! It had Samuel "MFin" Jackson as a fascinating criminal mastermind slightly reminiscent of his villian in Unbreakable....sadly I found Valentine and his elaborate plan to "save the Erf" more entertaining than Spectre and all the super secret surveillance mumbo jumbo. Another aspect I think that made Kingsman standout for me was the lead actor Taron Eggerton (Eggsy), Eggsy is full of potential but life just put too many obstacles in eggsy's path after his father's death and his potential withered away until he was offered a second chance by Galahad (Harry Hart). I love a good underdog/ overcoming the odds story (Naruto) and this is just that! This is exactly how I imagine a young James Bond would be like growing up while training under MI-6! I can also say Valentine's minion, Gazelle was so much cooler than Blofeld's Hinx!
Kingsman had the style and energy that I just didn't get from Spectre, Absolutely entertaining and worth the price of admission or purchase! A Oh yeah and then there's this....
So the Live Stream just concluded and trying to watch a region locked stream on an iPhone proved challenging but I saw most of it. They showed off the new Valks, the VF 31 and Sv 262! From what I can gather this series takes place on colony planet on the frontier of the galaxy in AD 2067. There's something called the Var Syndrome which is consuming the Galaxy.
The legacy of Protoculture continues on this new colony world where the aerial knights of the wind live.
There's apparently two squadrons, the tactical sound squadron and the aeriel knights. The Squadron flying the Sv 262 Draken's might be Zentradi....the other Squadron are flying the VF-31's Yack Decultcha!
Like M:F There will be a "Deculture edition first episode" will air 2:00 pm JST December 31st !
YOGA YOGA YOGA
Well so much for waiting for the Indian Gaming Expo, Ono just revealed the 8th classic character at the Paris Game Show!
Check out Sim's slippery new style! Looks like he's learned a thing or two from Oro....or maybe vice versa.
So Sim's rocking a beard now in his primary outfit....ok.
Maybe it's just me but the beard makes Dhalsim look like your typical Fox News terrorist! Dhalsima Bin Laden anyone?
Updated core roster courtesy of NeoPyroXx of Capcom Unity
And below are the six 2016 DLC characters...I'm fairly certain I know their identities and I know which one I'll be purchasing first with my fight money! CoughGuileCough
