Before ‘Crossbones,’ ‘CSI’ was the only series John Malkovich considered — LISTEN

Hmmm.

Movie Review: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

Quentin Tarantino is one of those directors that really came out of nowhere when he first started out and immediately became a big shot in Hollywood. His directorial stardom rocket was his 1992 movie “Reservoir Dogs” and followed in 1994 by his great “Pulp Fiction”. And over the years he has continued making weird, yet good movies. Such as “Django Unchained”. And today we are taking a look at one of his odd movies. A movie about revenge and blood…lots and lots of blood.

Ladies and Gentlemen…”Kill Bill, Volume 1″.

This movie follows a woman only known as “The Bride” (Uma Thurman). On her wedding day she and everyone else at the little chapel in Texas gets killed by a band of assassins called “Deadly Viper Assassination Squad”. Thing is…she used to be part of that merry band of assassins. So after being beaten, shot and left for dead, she falls in a coma. While in this coma, her unborn baby of course (unfortunately) dies. A few years later she wakes up in a hospital. She screams from finding out her pregnant belly is gone. When a male nurse named Buck (Michael Bowen) gets paid to let a guy rape her in her supposed “sleep”, she of course kills them both. She steals the keys to Buck’s “Pussy Wagon” and goes with a wheelchair to the car named “Pussy Wagon”. So after sitting in it for circa 13 hours and finally getting her legs working, she starts the car and is off to seek out revenge on the people that tried to kill her. Especially her former boss/lover Bill (David Carradine). Now, this story is good…but does not appeal to me in execution. Sure, there are things in this movie that I really like that relate to the story. For example, there is a scene that gives us the backstory to one of the supporting characters…and that is honestly the best part of the movie. Also, based on promotional posters and DVD covers, this looks like it is gonna be a shit-ton of fighting…but their isn’t that much. Yes, fighting is prominent in the story…but not as much as advertised. Not saying there has to be only fighting, as you may recall from a few of my reviews, I am one for subtlety…but with this weird execution of the story, a little more fighting or something in that direction would have helped a bit. But when there is fighting…it is highly satisfying to watch. Another thing you will notice is that the dialogue is very Tarantino-y…which is a good thing in a Tarantino movie.

The characters I honestly don’t care about. Sure, their dialogue is awesome, but the characters themselves are nothing special…they are pretty meh. I usually like the characters in Tarantino movies…but here I can’t. Maybe it is because they don’t get too much development…they barely get any for that matter. Again, the only part where I care about the character is the animated section that gives the backstory of one of the supporting characters who ends up the main villain in this movie. Also, for a movie called “Kill Bill”, Bill is not very prominent in this movie.

Now time for some praise…the music. The RZA did a fantastic job with it. It is so good that it was nominated for a BAFTA. And what kind of music are we looking at here?  A random mish-mash of musical styles…which is not necessarily a bad thing. In this movie this random mish-mash really works, seriously.

Now like I said, I would have loved a little more fighting in this movie. But the fights in this movie are really well done. Whoever choreographed them deserves an applaud and a raise. Not kidding. Also, like most Tarantino movies, this is very bloody…bloodier than his other movies to be completely honest…which doesn’t rub me the right way. Look, I know Tarantino movies are supposed to be brutal…but having fountains of blood coming from the people you kill is a little overkill (Pun not intended).

Reception for “Kill Bill” was pretty good to say the least. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 85% rating and have certified it “Fresh”. Metacritic gave it the score 69/100.
Roger Ebert gave this a perfect 4/4 star rating and said this:

“Kill Bill, Volume 1” shows Quentin Tarantino so effortlessly and brilliantly in command of his technique that he reminds me of a virtuoso violinist racing through “Flight of the Bumble Bee” — or maybe an accordion prodigy setting a speed record for “Lady of Spain.” I mean that as a sincere compliment. The movie is not about anything at all except the skill and humor of its making. It’s kind of brilliant.

imdb.com holds the score of 8,2/10 and has it ranked #166 on their Top 250 list.

I have given my different opinions of the different aspects on this movie that I felt like giving. And now here comes my little score. I give “Kill Bill Volume 1” a 7,84/10 and a recommendation to rent it. This is a movie that you can have fun with on the weekend…but not really worth a buy. So that is my opinion on it.

Review of “Kill Bill Volume 1” is done.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold” – Old Klingon Proverb.

My Top 5 Crime-thriller movies

Hello people of ze internets. For the first time on this little blog of mine, I am doing a countdown. Holy shit.
As I mentioned in my review of “Prisoners”, I love crime stuff. Movies, books, shows…anything really…except if it’s bad of course. So I got the idea of making a countdown of my favorite crime-thriller movies. Are you ready for this? Because if you’re not, then bye-bye!

Ladies and gentlemen…My Top 5 Crime-thriller movies (Given I have not seen ALL crime-thrillers ever).

5. Sin City (2005)

Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’ dark neo-noir based on the graphic novels of the same name by Frank Miller is a shining example of what a crime-thriller is. It fetures crime, and is really thrilling. Also, it never gets boring, especially with its beautiful style of black & white mixed with colors every now and then. This movie is one of the greatest things ever since it is so unique.

4. Prisoners (2013)

This dark and twisted tale about two girls disappearing on thanksgiving is a haunting experience to say the least. It is hightened by the fact that it kept me intrigued the entire time by being complex…yet understandable. Canadian Denis Villeneuve made a beautiful looking movie with a dark story that kept me on the edge of my seat…and no movie has achieved that since “Requiem for a Dream”. Also, the perfromances by Donnie Darko and Wolverine were amazing…two of the best and most haunting I have ever seen.

3. Heat (1995)

This movie might look like just any other bank heist movie to you…but it ain’t. This movie does not only have a these days rarely seen type of crime (for movies) and action. It is also one of the most thrilling movies I have ever seen. Every time there was action in a scene or anything relating to crime, I was pumped. Michael Mann’s 1995 classic made it into the heart of me. I love this crime-thriller.

2. Collateral (2004)

Another Michael Mann movie enters the list. But this time it is about cab driver Max who is up for the ride/job of his life. This movie always kept me on edge, it never got boring, not even during regular conversations between characters. This movie is so well done and looks amazing. It also gives us one of the best performances from Tom Cruise I have ever seen. Also, it got 2 Oscar nominations. How is that for a proof of greatness?

1. Drive (2011)

Did you see this coming? I bet you did, and that fact is based on all the praise I gave this movie during my review of it. At the time, I said it was my favorite movie. But now it comes close second. But that doesn’t stop this from being one powerhosue of a movie. “Drive” by danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is a modern masterpiece. This movie got a few mixed reviews. Sure, most were good, but a lot of people were “bored” by it. I bet they expected it to be like “Transporter 4” or a new “Fast and the Furious”. Sure, I went in and kind of expected a hard boiled action movie, but what I got was so much more. This movie intrigues me on every level and is proof that subtlety is one of the best things a thriller can offer. This movie, like I said, is a fucking masterpiece.

Countdown completed.

3, 2, 1…Let’s Jam!

 

Movie Review: Prisoners (2013)

I have a thing for crime dramas. I don’t know why, I just love them. Whether they are movies or tv shows or books. I guess I like them so much since they intrigue me and show a certain kind of complexity that most things don’t. And today we are looking at a crime drama that got a lot of praise. And it features a huge/great cast.

Guys and gal…”Prisoners”.

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) lives happily with his wife Grace (Maria Bello), his son Ralph (Dylan Minnette) and his young daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich). One day after Keller and Ralph had been hunting and managed to have gotten some deer, they go to a thanksgiving party with their friends. And their friends is the Birch family. They all have a good time. They eat, they sing, they talk, they laugh. But when it is time for the Kellers to go home, they can’t find Anna. And the Birch’s can’t find their youngest daughter Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons). So of course they go look for them, but also call the cops. The investigation is led by Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal). He asks every question that you would usually expect. They get clues like that when the girls were playing outside (watched by the teen from each respective family) they had played on an RV. So of course they look up who owned it. And it was owned by a certain Alex Jones (Paul Dano). So when they find out, they investigate and end up dropping it about him. But Keller does not give up about Alex being guilty and starts taking matters into his own hands. Now this story and how it plays out through the entire damn thing is just sublime! It is told in such a way that it makes you feel melancholic and even a little disturbed…but in a good way (if that is possible). Sure, this movie is depressing at times and shows some not too fun things…but it does a fantastic work with its story. Also, like my intro might have stated pretty indirectly, it is complex…and I love complex stories. So I do love this one.

The characters are like the story…complex. And most of them are equally fucked in the head one way or another. None of them is completely sane. For example, the longer the movie goes on, the further you see Keller dive into the pit we call insanity. Detective Loki is not that way really, he is more fucked in the way that he got a short fuse. Seriously…it does not take that much ot make him go boom. But that is why I like the characters (maybe like is the wrong word), they are so damn complex and got many layers. So the characters are flawed, fucked in the head and just great.

The music to me in this movie…is a lot like “Requiem For a Dream”. In other words, bonechilling. The score is also one of those that is incredible good…yet forgettable. And when soundtracks are like that…I get annoyed. I think you can see why. So yeah…amazing score.

This movie is incredibly well shot. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is amazing. Also perspective-wise, this movie got great work on that as well. Also, there is a scene in this movie that made me feel uneasy, mainly because that type of shit is one of my phobias. If you see this movie you will know what the hell I’m talking about.

Reception was really good for this movie. Rotten tomatoes holds the score of 82% and certified it “Fresh”. Metacritic holds the lowest scores of all sites I mention with a score of 74/100. No Roger Ebert reviews.
imdb.com holds the score of 8,1/10 on this and had it in its Top 250 list for a while. But now it isn’t on there anymore. Oh well. Also, it was Oscar nominated for Best cinematography.

I have said some pretty good things about this movie and am giving it a score. The score for “Prisoners” is a 9,45/10 and a recommendation to buy it. It is one of the most complex movies inn a good while without being a mindfuck. It also got some of the best performances I have seen in a good while, mainly from Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano. Also, this gets the “Seal of Approval”.

 

Review of “Prisoners” is now completed.

I should go watch something happy now after this disturbing thing…

Movie Review: Collateral (2004)

Don’t we all just love thrillers? No? Then what kind of person are you if you don’t like thrillers. They usually are suspenseful and just create some really interesting scenarios. And right now I am mainly focusing on crime thrillers. Not like…action-thriller even though a lot of crime thrillers have action in them. And today we are taking a look at one such movie. A movie that a lot of people seem to like. I mean, it has to be liked since it got two Oscar nominations.

Ladies and gentlemen, from the Director of the excellent movie “Heat”…”Collateral”.

This movie follows a cab driver named Max (Jamie Foxx). He has a dream to one day make enough money to start up a luxurious limousine company. And he believes he can achieve this dream since he basically is the best at this job. Even though the traffic of L.A can be a bitch. One night he meets prosecutor Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith). They make a little bet. The bet is that if Max can get her to her destination faster than her originally intended way…that’s it really. But if he’d lose, the cab fare would be free. And he wins…so she appararently gives him her number. Oh, and they had some generally good conversation in the car about the fastest ways around. After he had dropped her off, a business man named Vincent (Tom Cruise) enters the cab and offers Max 600 dollars cash to take him to five different destiantions and wait for him at each. Max agrees to it. What he doesn’t know though is that the “business” Vincent is up to is assassinating some people. When Max finds out about this, Vincent pretty much threatens his life. So their journey of getting these people killed starts. There is also an LAPD cop named Fanning (Mark Ruffalo) getting clues about these murders…without all the details of course. And he is on the pursuit after the killer (A.K.A Vincent). Now the story is something that I adore about this movie! It is not only well written, it’s also incredibly suspenseful. The way all characters interact with each other is just so great. Especially the little relationship between Max and Vincent. They are not just like “Killer and Victim”, they manage to find some kind of respect for one another. This story is airtight. It never gets boring, not at any time…something is always going on! I love it!

The characters are fucking sweet. They have a good amount of layers to them. Most of this comes from the fantastic performances in this movie. I especially love the character of Vincent. Tom Cruise delivers a cold, calculating and develops fantastically through the movie. He is not just this “Do as I say or I’ll fucking kill you!”. He is one of the most complex killers and honestly characters in general in recent media. And most of that is coming from the cold and amazing performance of Tom Cruise. This is probably the best I’ve ever seen from him. Jamie Foxx as Max was also incredibly good…hell, he was Oscar nominated for it. So yeah, great characters.

The soundtrack…oh my god, the soundtrack. It is so damn good. There are a few original tracks, that are incredibly good I have to say. But for the most part the soundtrack is licensed songs, but that is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the songs are good. And here in “Collateral” they are great. They all fit the settings in this movie like downtown L.A, slums, night clubs etc. I really like this soundtrack.

This movie looks like it was filmed in a handheld way. And by that I mean it looks like someone actually held the camera instead of using one of those pole…things. Usually that is not the best idea. But here in “Collateral” it looks fantastic. It really works for everything that this movie is and wants to be. It just fits.

Reception for “Collateral” was overall good. Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie an 86% rating and have given it the “Fresh” ceritfication. Metacritic gave this movie a 71/100 rating. The lovely Roger Ebert gave this a 3,5/4 star rating. Here comes something he said:

“This is a rare thriller that’s as much character study as sound and fury.”

Sure, that doesn’t summarize his thoughts all too well, but it works. imdb.com gave this movie the lovely score of 7,6/10.

I have said some things about this movie. And now I will give it my score. “Collateral” gets a 9,6/10. It is a buy and gets the “Seal of Approval”

This has been my review of “Collateral”.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find a cab and attend to some…”business” matters.

Update dated 20th of May 2014

Hello people of ze internet. I have to mention I have a small update post here (no shit, Sherlock). If you haven’t seen it already, I have redecorated my blog a little bit. Mainly the layout is changed. I also put up a random background picture there. It features movies, shows, video games and anime I like. 

I know this update might have been slightly unnecessary, but I felt I had to tell you about this little layout change. That is all I wanted to say. Thanks for reading this and following me and stuff. I love you people.

See ya later, people of ze internets!

Movie Review : Godzilla (2014)

Monster movies…they are…usually a hit-or-miss type of movie. It’s kind of like Russian Roulette, if you understand how I mean. Either it clicks and survives, or it will go bang and die. That is what happened back in 1998 when Roland Emmerich tried his hands at making his own “Godzilla” movie. The revolver went bang. But 16 years later we get a new “Godzilla” movie. And how is it? Will it be as shit as its 1998 counterpart or will it be the “Godzilla” movie we have all been waiting for? Let’s find out.

Monsters and monserettes…”Godzilla”!

Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) works at a nuclear plant in Japan. He lives in Japan with his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) and his son Ford (CJ Adams). One day when he goes to work they get some unusual readings. His wife goes down with a team of science-y people to take a closer look. Suddenly there is a bit of an earthquake (which it had been earllier as well). But Joe doesn’t really think it are earthquakes mentioning that earthquakes are “random” and these were not. But something goes wrong and a toxic gas thing leaks out, almost even chasing Sandra and her team. Before she and her team arrive at the big heavy metal door, the gas almost reaches the door and Joe has to close it…with his wife still inside that tunnel. Then after he had closed it on time…she arrives at the door. Her suit can’t keep her from the gas and she will die. And she does. Joe of course cries about it. Then the entire plant crumbles together. Sure, Joe gets out…but his wife fucking died in front of him…ON HIS BIRTHDAY! His son, with the rest of his class gets away from school since a nuclear plant crumbling together will cause a new Chernobyl-ish.
Cut to 15 years later. Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is coming home to his family (Elizabeth Olsen & Carson Bolde) after serving in the army. But his happiness doesn’t last too long since he gets a phone call regarding his dad Joe getting his ass arrested for going somewhere he should not have. So of course Ford goes to Japan to help bail his poor old man out of jail. After that situation they go and do the same thing again because…why not? And of course they get captured, but this time taken to a military base. Where the people there tries to kill off a…thing in a cocoon. But they only wake it up and will come to KILL US ALL. And it feasts on radiation. So the story is very well set up. And it goes on and it never gets me bored. Something is always going on! Even if it’s something as small/simple as two people talking to eachother, this movie makes that interesting. Maybe it’s because Ken Watanabe does a good amount of talking in this movie…who knows. The only complaint I have with the plot was that there was not enough Godzilla. When Godzilla had any story stuff in the movie it was very interesting and entertaining, but it was not enough. But still, very good story.

The characters…they are very good for a monster movie. Ususally when I watch a monster movie I don’t give a shit about the characters. Seriously. But here I actually kinda felt for them…especially Godzilla. Call me a fanboy if you want, I don’t give a shit. But if we count away Godzilla for a second…major prasie to Bryan Fucking Cranston as Joe Brody…so much emotion and just good ol’ great acting coming from his way. Too bad he doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. He was fantastic in it. The only character complaint I have is for teh character of Ford. They could have fleshed him out a little more. Otherwise, good characters and fantastic acting in this movie. And Godzilla is the best character no matter what all people consider “characters”.

The music is just…perfect. The score by Alexandre Desplat is just fucking magnificent! It is perfectly orchestrated and just fits the movie so damn well! It just shows how epic everything is! Not kidding, just listen if you watch the movie.

This movie looks…fucking amazing. It is so well filmed. This movie looks beautiful. Not just in its CGI, but how it is filmed. Gareth Edward knows what the hell he does behind a camera! Also, if you look closely/pay attention, you will notice many easter eggs that refer to old “Godzilla” movies. This movie is full of them. Go look for ’em. Here is a clue for ya…glass cage with a type of bug.

Reception for “Godzilla” was overall pretty good. Rotten Tomatoes holds the rating of 73% on it and have certified it fresh. Metacritic has given it a 61/100 score. And no Roger Ebert thing (since he passed away over a year ago).
imdb.com currently holds the rating of 7,9 on the movie.

So I have given some fairly good opinions on different aspects. Here is my score: 9,76/10. This movie is worth watching on the cinema…and the 3D isn’t actually that bad. Also, when this movie comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray, it is a must buy for not only monster film fans, but also people who just like movies. This movie gets the “Seal of Approval”.

 

Review of “Godzilla” is now done. And for once I reviewed something that just came out.

Oh no, they say he’s got to go, Go Go Godzilla!

Movie Review: Fight Club (1999)

You know how many mainstream movies get so much love from a ton of people who will then try to decapitate you if you say anything bad about it? It happened to me once when I gave a little negative comment on “The Avengers”. Some if not most of these movies are usually hit-ot-miss. Either you love it, or you hate it. This movie has been on my watchlist for quite some time now and I finally decided to sit down and watch it. This is one of the most popular movies of all time.

Men and women…”Fight Club”!

The movie follows an insomniac office worker simply credited as “The Narrator” (Edward Norton). He is not very happy with his life. Why? He can’t fucking sleep, that’s why. He thinks it is because he does the same stuff all the time. So he joins a support group for testicular cancer (even though he have not conducted that disease). In there he meets his new friend Robert “Bob” Paulsen (Meat Loaf). Bob got his testicles removed because of the disease and have become more feminine. He became so feminine in fact that he *sigh*…grew boobs. But the Narrator likes this support group thing since it helps him cry which apparently helps him to get sleep. So he starts attedning even more of them. Everything goes fine and dandy…until the chain smoking woman Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) starts attending them and it just fucks everything over for the Narrator. He confronts her and they make a deal about who will attend which support groups. Oh and on every group, the Narrator chooses a different name, like Cornelius…yeah. But a while later on a plane, he meets this strange man Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). And he IS weird, I mean…he talks about how to make napalm with regular household products. But when the Narrator after the flight finds out his apartment was blown up…he calls for Marla, but she does not want him in her place. Then he tries calling Durden, and gets no answer. Then suddenly, the payphone rings…and he answers it. And guess who it is, it’s motherfucking Tyler Durden. These two guys talk and decide to go out for a beer. Then the Narrator asks if he could stay with Durden. And he can, on one condition: He have to hit Durden as hard as he can. Of course he questions why he has to do that, yet he does it…on Durden’s fucking ear. Then he hits him back…and they start fighting. After the fight they decide to start doing this little fight thingy again. Then we come to Durden’s house. A rotten-ass house it sure as hell is. Things seem like they can break at any second and it is just the worst fucking place ever. Believe me, you would not like to live in that place. It’s a good ol’ shithole. Remember earlier when I said the “do the fight thingy again”? Yeah they do that and get quite the audience…which later turns into a big sort of underground Fight Club. Now, all this does not sound like simple plot, ’cause it ain’t. This movie and its plot is just to me…perfect. Throughout the movie, it gets more complex and I fucking love that. The more complex a plot is, the more I will probably enjoy it…I love complex thinky stuff. Also, this movie is very brutal…just sayin’. So if you’re squeamish…yeah.

The characters of “Fight Club” are odd, flawed and complex. And in my book that is something good. They are very varied in style. For example, the Narrator is…well he is like every Edward Norton character ever…intelligent but very troubled and even a little fucked in the head. Tyler Durden is a mystery with a leather jacket and a pack of cigarettes, he is complex and just so damn entertaining. Then we have Marla…who is a nutjob who chainsmokes. But she is like everyone else in this movie…complex as all hell. Even though she is not nearly as complex as let’s say the Narrator or Tyler Durden. But still complex in her own way. I mean, she has to be complex…she is Helena Bonham Carter…she has more layers than a three foot cake.

The music is just fucking fantastic. At a lot of points it is dark and chilling, like a lot of parts of this movie. But at some points it can be quite light hearted, for the more light hearted parts that is. But in general, I love the soundtrack for “Fight Club” since it fits so well for this strange/weird movie.

Remember when I said this was brutal? Well, it is. Too brutal for a whole lot of people I would assume…but I don’t fucking care, the fight scenes may be brutal, but they are still very well choreographed and shot. Speaking of how scenes are shot, this movie is very well directed and incredibly well shot! This movie is one of the most good looking ones I have ever seen. Also, the action scenes doesn’t use unnecessary shaky cam…and I love that, you can actually see what’s going on.

Reception for “Fight Club” was incredibly mixed. A ton of people loved the shit out of this, and some hated it. This is probably one of the most, if not the most, debated movies ever. Rotten Tomatoes holds the rating of 80% on this and have certified it “Fresh”. Metacritic gave this movie the rating of 66/100. Roger Ebert wasn’t the biggest fan of this, giving it only 2/4 stars. He said it was

“Beloved by most, Not me”

imdb.com has the rating of 8,9/10 on this and it is ranked #10 on their Top 250 list.

I have thrown out some major stuff on this very beloved movie simply known as “Fight Club”. And now I will give it my score…*Takes deep breath* I am giving this the 10/10 rating. This movie is to me…fucking perfect. Everything from the story, to the characters/acting, to the music, to the…EVERYTHING! This gets the “Seal of Approval”. This movie is a must buy! For any movie lover and anyone who likes movies in general! This is now my all time favorite movie of all time.

“Fight Club” is now at last…reviewed.

It’s kind of ironic that I talked about this movie when the firs rule of it is…HEY!

Movie Review: Robocop (2014)

Remakes are happening all the time. Some good like “3:10 To Yuma” and Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. Then there are shit ones like the 2013 version of “The Lone Ranger”. Then we have remakes that get reviews so mixed, that they wake the interest of people even more. That recently happened for this reviewer fairly recently with a remake of one of the most undreground hits of all time…”Robocop”. So what did this reviewer think of the remake that has gotten a PG-13 rating instead of the M rating the original had.

Ladies and Gentlerobots…”Robocop”!…The remake.

In 2028, company Omnicorp has the leading grasp on robotic technology. Mostly for military needs overseas. But they want to expand it to have for police based needs in the US. But the people are not too happy about it. The guy who want to put it in the hands of cops, Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) really wants to push the idea forward. He looks for valid candidates to put this technolgy on. Mainly people who have lost limbs and been in the army and shit. But they find no good one. Enter police officer Alex James Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) who after coming home from a regular day of work and checking why his car alarm is going off an hour or so later…gets blown up. So naturally he gets picked out, his wife (Abbie Cornish) signs the papers that basically say “Yes I allow scientists to do weird robot shit with my husband” and he gets rebuïlt by Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman). So after he wakes up and stuff, he goes on a smaller rampage just because he is scared and don’t know what the hell is going on or where the hell he is. But after getting shut down and getting everything explained to him by the good Dr. Norton, he will be tasked to become the first ever…Robocop (Roll the credits…oh wait). So yeah, they did some changes to the origin story a little bit and drags the whole transformation into Robocop out until circa the 30 minute mark. Then he becomes Robocop. But changes aren’t always so bad (Except if Michael Bay makes them), they might actually help. And I feel that the dragging out until the transformation thing was kinda smart, considering it gives it a little more buildup. But they try to make the entire story thing a shit-ton more complicated which kinda takes away from the charm a little bit. And since they make it more complicated…it kinda loses its edge a little bit. Also…it’s PG-13…so no ultra violence to make it more entertaining…damn. Also, they reversed the character of Robocop a little bit. In the original, he had to learn to become more human. In this one he need to learn to be more robotic. So yeah…changes!

The characters, I’m gonna be honest are kinda jsut there to be characters and fill out space. They are not here for anything else. The only one I even remotely cared for was Alex (Robocop) since he was the main protagonist with any development. Oh wait…Dr. Norton had some too…but not as much. So the characters are not the strong suit of this movie.

The music is something I liked in this. It is exactly what you’d expect from this type of movie…techno-esque things and a few rock tracks. And I really enjpyed that. Also, minor spoiler (but still not) for the end credits. They played the song “I fought The Law” by The Clash on the end credits…and that gets some major points from me.

The special effects in this…they are honestly really good. Those are one of the few things driving this movie forward. Also the action scenes, while brief, are surprisingly well done and actually enjoyable…even if they are few and far between. And this movie looks really, really good. Good job director-guy.

Reception for “Robocop” has been very mixed. For example: Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie a 49% rating. Metacritic gave it a 52/100 rating. The things in this movie that has gotten most praise were the performances and the looks of it. But getting criticism for the lack of violence and social satire in it. And to top this off, imdb.com has given this movie a score of 6,5/10.

So I have given my opinions on the movie and is ready to throw it a score. The score for “Robocop”…the remake, is a 6,89/10 and a recommendation rent it. This movie is not bad…it’s quite good. But it is not as fun as the original.

Review is now completed.

Your move, creep!

Movie Review: Joe (2013)

For a few years now, movies that have featured Nicolas Cage have been…less than stellar. But you don’t need me to tell you that! Not with movies like “The Wicker Man” and “Stolen”. But the reason I was able to watch them was because of this great guy. He just makes them a hell of a lot more amusing and entertaining. He is also a weird fucking guy. Did you know he ate a live cockroach in a scene in “Vampire’s Kiss”? Seriously, Cage! Ew! But back to the actual topic…a movie featuring Mister Cage in a movie that have gotten people saying he is back in the saddle again. Well, let’s see if this reviewer rides along or just want to kill himself with laughter.

Joes and…Jos…”Joe”.

The movie follows 15-year old guy Gary (Tye Sheridan) who is looking to get something out of life…mainly a job so he can make money for his family. So he goes to ex-con Joe (Nicolas Cage) who does forest work. And what that forest work is, that is pretty interesting. They poison old weak trees and cut them down to get place for new healthy trees to be planted there. So Joe hires this kid he has never seen before. And they bond, kind of like father & son. But what gets in the way of that sometimes is Gary’s father Wade (Gary Poulter, R.I.P). There is also this rapey douchebag known as Willie-Russell (Ronnie Gene Blevins) who wants to kind of,,,rape Gary’s mother and sister. And he gets his ass kicked early on in the movie by Gary and Joe…at different points. Another vital point to mention about this movie is how Joe got a lot of built in rage, and when that rage gets released…shit gets real. And throughout the movie a lot of dark and disturbing shit happens. So based on the sort of basic story of the movie, it got a lot of similarities to “Mud”. Not only in the story, but also the irony how the story combined with Tye Sheridan playing the main kid in both movies make them similar. I guess you could say that this is a more dark and disturbing version of “Mud”. The difference however (except for the obvious one of Cage-McConaughey) is that “Mud” got a little more of a focused story. I mean, this movie feels like it’s everywhere it feels like. “Mud” had more of a progressive story…and you noticed that. But in “Joe”…not so much. But overall…pretty good…maybe a little disturbing.

The characters are dark and honestly a bit depressing. The only one I don’t wanna punch in the face is honestly Joe since he is a sincere, kind and just cool guy. I also don’t wanna punch Gary. Why? Because he does everything he do for his family to help out, but his abusive/alcoholic dad is in teh damn way all the time. But the characters like I said…dark, a little depressing…and what I did not mention, layered. They have many layers of their personalities and that is what makes them more complex and watchable than expected. Godo job actors and writer!

The music is like the movie…Dark and Disturbing. And that is what makes it so good. It is a mix of this sort of…southern state style…but also the bone-chilling style that you heard in “Requiem For a Dream”. So in general…the music is really good.

I usually say “something fun about this” in this section…but this time it is not fun. It’s just depressing. The guy who plays the alcoholic father, Gary Poulter played fantastically. And while that sounds all fine and dandy, it’s not. In the movie he plays this alcoholic with a piece of crap home. In real life, he is an alcoholic homeless man. That’s right, director David Gordon Green pulled a homeless man of the streets to play a character that was a more dark version of himself…and he did great. The sad thing is that a few months after they were done filming the movie, he was found dead on the side of the road, in a shallow body of water. Depressed yet? Good. Now to mention something more amusing…Nicolas Cage legitimately picks up a poisonous snake in the movie.  Not kidding, watch the thumbnail for this review. Fun fact: Nicolas Cage likes dangerous snakes, they are apparently his friends…I told you he’s fucking weird. Also, this movie looks stunning…not kidding.

Reception for “Joe” was generally good. Rotten Tomatoes currently holds the highest overall score for this with an 83% rating and certified it “Fresh”. Metacritic gave this movie a 73/100 rating (at the time of this review). And since Roger Ebert had passed away about five months before the release of this movie, he has no review for it. But some other dude on his site has a review for it.
imdb.com currently holds the rating of 7,2/10.

So now I have given my opinions on different aspects of “Joe” and I’m ready to give it a score. I am giving this movie the score of 8,94/10. This movie is worth a buy whenever the hell it comes out. It also contains the best best performance I have ever seen from Nicolas Cage. Reason the score is under 9/10 or even 10/10 is because of how dark and disturbing it is at times.

“Joe” is now reviewed.

Rest in peace Gary Poulter…you did a great job in this movie.