A Brief Movie Review

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Yesterday I managed to squeeze in three movies after work before my eyes gave up on me. Rather than giving any major plot points away, I decided I am going to give the briefest gut instinct review I had after watching them. You’re welcome.

  1. Replicas – Good grief was this bad. Not even Keanu Reeves could make this better. Like at all.
  2. On the Basis of Sex – Man was this inspiring, and Armie Hammer as supportive husband?! Yes, please.
  3. Velvet Buzzsaw – Besides the badass title, there was death by colors and the creepiest art display ever, called “Hoboman.”

If I had to choose one for an audience to see, my vote is for On the Basis of Sex. Go see it! You won’t regret it!

Book Review: Boy Erased

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After watching Boy Erased this past December, I decided I wanted to read the memoir it was based on. I’ve got to say for the most part it was pretty spot on. There were certainly some more dramatized moments in the film, but it covered everything else accurately. It was a little hard to read with some names removed, and sometimes I wasn’t too certain to what time flashbacks were taking place, but otherwise the flow was nice.

The novel touched more on Garrard’s internal punishments, like not eating a lot and running more so he could “disappear,” which is something maybe the movie was lacking. I also got a strong sense of the relationship with his mother, as well as how religious he actually was. It was also touching to read how his experiences in conversion therapy essentially destroyed any relationship with God he had, but how he is still diligently trying to find it again.

All in all, I felt the memoir was maybe a bit long-winded. I’m not saying there probably wasn’t more to tell, but that he seemed to repeat himself a lot. Maybe the point was to draw this experience out for the reader just like the experience was probably an eternity to him.

TV Recap: Gotham

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I believe I missed reviewing last week’s episode of Gotham, so I’m back! This week’s episode titled “Pena Dura” picked up right where last week left off. We learned that Ed remembered firing off the RPG that destroyed Haven and killed hundreds of Gothamites. Although, with the memory problems he’s been having recently, he decides he did not do it unprovoked, so he heads off to find out why.

While trying to figure out who destroyed Haven, Jim and Harvey run into some trouble but are saved by some military folk sent in by Walker (who Jim spoke with over radio last week), including Jim’s old army buddy, Eduardo. Ed is pursued by the two, but escapes only to be captured by some serious hillbillies hellbent on avenging their pooch who got fried in the bombing (not kidding). It was during this torture that Ed remembers Oswald/Penguin saying he was going to “fix” Ed.

After escaping the hillbillies, he makes his way over to city hall to have a stand-off with Penguin only to learn that Oswald was trying to SAVE Edward after being stabbed. Ed learns that he paid Dr. Strange (all hail BD Wong!) to fix him back up. Through a heated exchange we basically get their version of saying they love each other (Nygmobblepot for life), but then the cops show up as Ed escapes again.

Ed makes his way to Barbara’s club to get answers to where Strange is at, and end up forming a very loose alliance. After confronting Dr. Strange, Ed gets a paralytic sprayed in his face because Dr. Strange needs to fix the chip that was implanted in his brain. We learn that he’s being controlled, although not by Strange. At the end of the procedure, Jim and Eduardo bust in and we learn that EDUARDO is controlling Nygma! He tells Jim he needs to put a bullet in his head in order to prove his loyalty. Jim obviously can’t do that, escapes, so Eduardo orders Ed to go after Jim and kill him.

In the midst of all of that action, we see Bruce still struggling with the fact that Selina murdered Jeremiah and feels no remorse. In confronting her at the club, Selina hits Bruce with a harsh truth: she saw his parents get murdered and did nothing about it because she didn’t care. She’s not a hero like Bruce wants her to be. That’s got to be a tough pill to swallow.

All that celebrating is for not though, since at the end of the episode we see Ecco wake a SLEEPING Jeremiah. He is led out of his “tomb” to see the work of a surgeon who has apparently made Thomas and Martha Wayne replicas. Can’t wait to see Bruce freak out about that. Two weeks from now we should be getting some more answers, but in the meantime we must wait. Boo!

Mediocre Movie Reviews: Serenity, Glass, Mid90s, The Oath

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Well folks, I managed to squeeze in four intensely mediocre films this weekend. Sorry if I have offended anyone, but this is just my opinion.

First up was my sister’s choice to go see Serenity with Matthew McConauhey and Anne Hathaway. I will admit that I never used to care for McConauhey and I’m a severe Hatha-hater, so I’m not sure what made me decide to say “yes” to seeing this movie. Either way, I went. About halfway through I turned to my friend and declared that this movie is at least a D+. The story took place in a sleepy fishing town in some tropical area. McConauhey’s Baker Dill has casual sex with an older women and it obsessed with catching this gigantic tuna. It’s this same scene for about 45 minutes of the film and then Hathaway shows up with a seriously bad dye job. We learn that she’s an ex from back in the day and left him with their son for her now abusive husband. She eventually convinces Baker to take her husband out to sea and kill him. All while this is happening there are a few weird camera shifts and cuts to their strange son playing video games. At the end you finally learn that Baker Dill died in war and the whole movie is a video game world that the son has created. Very choppy. Very not good. Don’t waste your cash.

Glass only left me mildly disappointed. Despite the events taking place right after Split, a lot of time was spend rehashing what Unbreakable star Bruce Willis and his son have been up to. And just like Unbreakable, I really wanted to like this movie because the concept is so original and unlike anything I’ve ever really seen, but it was just so slow and not a whole lot of action. Spoiler, all of the original baddies (and one good) die at the end; a seemingly good end to the trilogy, but Sarah Paulson’s Dr. Ellie Staple is part of a bigger and extremely delusional cult and it seems like their work might not be done. This film is getting panned by critics across the board, but that doesn’t stop the box office for this to keep going up. I vote you spend your theater time with something else and wait to rent this.

Next I rented two more recent releases, The Oath and Mid90s. I wanted to like them both so much, but one was a political comedy starring Ike Barinholtz and Tiffany Haddish that just didn’t land for me and Mid90s was rather vulgar even for my taste. The Oath focused on a near future dystopian state where the government wants everyone to sign a controversial document called the “Patriot’s Oath.” Taking place over the course of Thanksgiving week, there are family arguments and two questionable Homeland Security agents show up when all hell breaks loose. A lot of rehashing, and I just don’t really like political movies. Mid90s focused on little Stevie, who becomes enthralled and eventually friends with a group of skaters. In many efforts to prove himself he smokes, drinks, does drugs, has a sexual experience, and gets himself hurt. A lot. Even though I am a product of the 90s, I found it really hard to related to this film. maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up in this particular area of the country or in Stevie’s particular household. Also, Lucas Hedges as a bully big brother was completely unbelievable. Not sure why Jonah Hill cast him here.

Overall, don’t waste your time with any of these films and hopefully I’ll have something better to review next weekend!

Awards Season Review: Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG-AFTRA)

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Awards seasons continues with the last major ceremony before the Academy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, so naturally I was excited to watch the 25th iteration of it last night! With that being said, Megan Mullally, the host, was seriously awkward, and I don’t know that I even heard chuckles from the audience for most of her jokes. Although I did like when she brought out Smitty from Will & Grace. Her opening monologue was so poor that I think she took away from what would have been a pretty good joke from Ricky Martin, who was a presenter of the first award of the night.

I apparently didn’t look too closely at who was nominated for each category before tuning in, because some were quite odd and surprising. It seems some people who were considered for supporting roles were considered for main ones here, Sam Rockwell got shut out of the supporting actor, and so did Vice for the best ensemble category. Some surprise wins for me included Emily Blunt for her silent role in A Quiet Place, John Krasinski’s nomination for best actor in a drama series, and This Is Us taking home the trophy for best drama over the last season of The Americans.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel swept all the categories it was nominated for, and Rami Malek further cemented his chances for best actor after he nabbed it again last night (did anyone else see Christian Bale’s face at that win?!). I was surprised, but not, to see Black Panther win best ensemble, especially since it was up against other crowd favorites like Crazy Rich Asians. I did notice that Roma had no nominations and A Star is Born got completely shut out again (not looking good, Oscars), so some other actors got some real chances. And this awards show is different in that the awards are voted on by their SAG peers – it’s almost like a superlatives show, although good actors know good acting, so I can’t ignore that.

Notable speeches of the night included Rami Malek, Emily Blunt, and Life Achievement Award recipient Alan Alda. Go fishing through Youtube to find those – you’re welcome.

Album Review: FEVER 333, Strength in Numb333rs

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Fever 333 are one of the most explosive and exciting bands that I’ve listened to recently, so I’m very excited to be doing this review! Not even a year after their wildly successful and amazing EP, Made in America, the band released their first full-length album, Strength in Numb333rs. Man is this record impactful! It’s in your face right from the get-go and they don’t stop for 10 tracks! The lead single “Burn It” is reminiscent of the EP and is catchy as hell, where “Inglewood/3” slows down a little bit at the start and then rips your face off at the end. Personally and politically charged, this album’s lyrics are angry and lead singer, Jason Aalon Butler, is literally screaming most of them at you. A method that works, because after one listen all of those songs stuck with me.

Having seen them live twice with a lot less content to perform, I can’t wait to see them again and take over the entire venue, let alone the stage. They’ve got a polarizing presence in the rock scene and I know that they are going to get the recognition they deserve very soon (fingers crossed for the Grammy Awards on February 2nd)! Stand outs on the record for me include “Am I Here?,” “Prey for Me/3,” and “One of Us.” Do yourself a favor, and go listen to Strength in Numb333rs. Like now.

Film Review: Polar

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So yesterday was January 25th, which means Mads Mikkelsen’s first of two frigid films came out, Polar on Netflix. I stayed up late to watch this gruesome action flick, and I must say it was totally worth it! Having never read the noir comic this moved was based on, it gave me some serious John Wick vibes, but a lot gritter.

Mikkelsen plays Duncan, an assassin two weeks from retirement. The company he works for has other plans, especially since Duncan’s retirement equals an $8 million dollar payout that they just can’t afford (yay finance!). Duncan is living a semi-quiet life in the woods next door to Camille, played by Vanessa Hudgens (odd), who I’m not quite sure what her purpose serves in his life yet.

All of that is disrupted when upper management sends a sea of younger assassins to kill Duncan. He ends up defending himself really well, and NAKED, but learns that Camille has been taken as a means to lure Duncan to “the mansion” to be killed. After getting duped by an old colleague and tortured for the four days leading up to his retirement, Duncan ultimately comes out on top but severely injured. A few days of healing later and he’s ready to take on the remaining assassins with the coolest laser-machine guns! Mass carnage!

He saves Camille from her drug-induced state, but then, PLOT TWIST, she ends up being the only survivor from an assignment Duncan was given long ago. With a gun pointed at his head, Duncan accepts his fate only to be spared to help Camille to find the man who had put the hit out on her family.

Like I said, really gruesome and gritty, but really well done. Maks Mikkelsen is fantastic!

Book Review: Fallen Series

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Almost 2,000 pages later and I’m finally done reading the Fallen book series by Lauren Kate. While my review of the first two books were a little bitter, I will say the series had a strong finish, with a nice short little companion book in the middle.

After Fallen and Torment, the book Passion followed. This book finally takes Luce out of her school surroundings and away from her angel and Nephilim friends. Which was sort of nice. This books main focus was Luce going through her “Announcers” and into all of her past lives to see how she was and how she met Daniel and ultimately died each time. Not too long after travelling alone she meets up with a gargoyle looking figure who goes by the name Bill (why?). he’s there to help her through her past lives and even teaches her how to “cleave” with her past selves. None of this sounds sketchy at all….

Meanwhile, all of the angels and Nephilim have split up also looking through Announcers to find Luce and bring her back. Daniel is not really successful in the slightest, but he realizes that this was all meant to happen and that something Luce does while fiddling in these past lives is what ultimately broke her curse.

In the end it turns out Bill wasn’t so nice after all. In fact, he’s Lucifer! And he’s supremely pissed at Luce. He wants the scale tipped in his favor and Luce isn’t making that possible. So instead, he leaves her is some dark limbo state while he goes back to the beginning to re-initiate “the fall.” This of course would ultimately alter the course of centuries and could make certain people cease to exist! And that’s where this novel ends.

Before reading the final book, I decided to read the short (in comparison) companion novel called Fallen in Love. This book centers on Luce’s renaissance life where many of the other angels and Nephilim friends have caught up to each other. Rather than meddle in Luce and Daniel’s life, they sit back and watch their love take place while also falling in love themselves. That’s right, you get to see Miles and Shelby fall in love. And you also get to meet Roland and Arriane’s romantic counterparts. Both of the angels romances end in tragedy, but they are ultimately glad to see the love be tween Luce and Daniel blossom. Cute, fluff, filler. I’m okay with it.

All of that brings me to the last novel, Rapture. I have to say this one was my favorite, although I still don’t understand how this story takes over 400 pages a book, but I digress. Luce and Daniel have finally found each other and the other angels who now know about Lucifer’s plan. They determine from some old book that Daniel wrote a long time ago that they need to fine three artifacts and that will help lead them to the sight of the fall to stop Lucifer. Oh yeah, they only have nine days to do that. And some seriously annoying foes who keep getting in their way. Ultimately, they end up gathering all of the artifacts, perform some sacrifice that was meant to happen all along, and get themselves to the sight of the fall.

Game-changer! Once this happens, Luce discovers she’s an angel! This is of course a suspicion I’ve had for a while, but it was nice to read. We also learned that she was the Throne’s 3-hand man (cough, lady). AND we learn that Luce loved someone before Daniel. And that someone was LUCIFER! That sh** is bananas. Luce is able to put all of these pieces together and knows she has to go find Lucifer in the fall and convince him she will never be with him and to stop the fall. She is not too successful, so the Throne gets involved. Ultimately, Daniel and Luce choose love once again, and are “sentenced” to live one final life as mortals.

Flash forward seventeen years and we see Miles and Shelby, Roland, and Arriane about to watch Luce and Daniel meet for the first time so their one true love story can start again for the last time. It’s like a move folks. Side note, Cam, my favorite character, really redeemed himself in these last two novels.

I don’t know that I’d recommend this series to adult people, but I definitely don’t regret having read them. Take that however you’d like 🙂

Oscar Nominations 2019

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Hi all! I know it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything. I’d say reviewing the Oscar nominations that came out yesterday is a great way to come back!

Based on all of the other awards shows that have announced their nominees, most of these were unsurprising. That’s not to say there were no surprises! Below are a few that made me raise my eyebrows and say “wow.”

Best Picture – I’m going to get some hate for this, but I just don’t think Black Panther deserves a best picture nomination. With that being said, it’s a great accomplishment that will yield no results, and certainly no win. I am surprised that in the giving spirit that Academy was obviously in, that Crazy Rich Asians also didn’t get a nod. Especially since they’ve had up to 10 films nominated in this category in the past. Since the Golden Globes have aired I am switching my vote to Roma. I still haven’t seen it yet, but I envision it sweeping a lot of the categories it’s nominated for.

Best Director – I am very surprised to not see Bradley Cooper’s name in this list, and equally as surprised to see Cold War‘s director Pawl Powlikowski’s name here instead. Mainly because I only just heard of this foreign film about two weeks ago. It was also interesting to lean this was Spike Lee’s first nomination in the category. My money once again goes to Roma director Alfonso Cuaron.

Best Actress – I know some of these names are different, but I still think this is going to be a fight to the death between Glenn Close and Lady Gaga. But who knows, Roma‘s Yalitza Aparicio could take it right from under their noses.

Best Actor – Also no surprises here. I would be very much okay with any of these gentlemen taking it. I do give the edge to Rami Malek and Christian Bale, though.

Supporting Actress – I am surprised that Claire Foy got bumped from this category, but clearly the Academy loved Roma. Based on how the awards season has panned out so far, Regina Kings is taking the trophy home.

Supporting Actor – Not surprised, just bummed that little Timmy T didn’t get another nod this year, and still sorely disappointed that Lucas Hedges was overlooked. My vote is for Sam Rockwell, although Mahershala Ali will definitely win.

Those are all my stray observations. I can’t wait for them to air on February 24th! See all the nominees here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/oscar-nominations-2019-complete-list-nominees-1172407/item/best-picture-1172473

Awards Season Continues: Critics’ Choice Awards

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Last night, the CW aired the Critic’s Choice Awards. Apparently, I’ve never viewed this event before, and after I watched it in full, I think I understand why. It was a cluster! In comparison to other awards shows, this just seemed all over the place and very rushed. Taye Diggs was the host, although I wouldn’t call him a great one (yikes that opening number!). There were so many categories that they just bulk announced winners right before commercial breaks! And there were ties?! That’s just bizarre. Below are some highlights.

  1. Cringe-worthy speech awards go to Elsie Fisher and Christian Bale! Bless Elsie’s heart, but she was almost as awkward as her character in Eighth Grade! And after last week at the Golden Globes and the two speeches he made last night, I’m convinced Christian Bale is either trashed by the time he goes up to speak or he’s just really strange. Maybe it’s a bit of both.
  2. Taye Diggs dressed as Mary Poppins…was uncomfortable. You could tell Emily Blunt felt that way, too.
  3. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara were most certainly my favorite presenters! Can they host absolutely everything next year??
  4. Alright, these ties! Both were categories featuring women, which was pretty cool. But still. First was for Best Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series in which both Patricia Aquette and Amy Adams won for their roles in Escape at Dannemora and Sharp Objects, respectively. Next was the Best Actress category which saw both Glenn Close and Lady Gaga for their roles in The Wife and A Star is Born, respectively. Both made for interesting speeches, but I hope I never see this happen again.
  5. There were no real surprises with the winners. If you’ve read any version of a review all year, these really came as no-brainers.

Don’t know if I’ll watch next year or just read some reviews on it, but either way you check out a list of all the winners here: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/13/entertainment/critics-choice-awards-winners/index.html