Author: Shmee

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Remember Bill Paxton By Watching Near Dark!

Bill Paxton had an amazing career and had many signature roles, but for me his best work was as the vampire Severen in Near Dark.  Near Dark is one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and Paxton was great in it.  He was a terrifying cold and ruthless killer.  His Severen was everything a vampire was supposed to be.  His skin may not have sparkled in the sunlight, but Paxton’s performance dazzled on screen.

We never really get to know the stars in our movies, so it is fitting we remember them by the films they were in, and there are few films better than Near Dark.  While it is true Paxton doesn’t get all the credit for that, he should still get a lot since a horror movie is only as good as its monster, and Severen was gloriously monstrous.

With Bill Paxton’s wonderful body of work he has insured that he will be remembered for ages to come, and if you haven’t seen Near Dark, you should do so immediately.  Paxton’s role will scare you in all the right ways, and you will not be able to get the film out of your head because of it.  In fact, ever since I heard Bill Paxton had passed away, Near Dark is all I can think about, and how he will no longer be bringing characters like Severen to life anymore.

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We’ve Got Directors For Our Batmen!

Ben Affleck’s troubled “The Batman” has found a director, Matt Reeves.  Reeves is known for the new Planet of the Apes films as well as the Cloverfield  movies.  He also co-created the TV series Felicity, though I am guessing that is not what got him the job.  Reeves will take over directing duty as well as producing the film, and he will co-write the script with Affleck.  Reeves is a talented director, so this is good news.

Meanwhile Warner Brothers was so impressed with Lego Batman, that they are offering the director of that movie, Chis McKay, the job of bringing to life Batman’s most well known ward Dick Grayson.  Grayson was the original Robin who struck out on his own to become Nightwing.  Making a Nightwing movie makes sense because if Affleck decides to stop being Batman, Nightwing is more than up to the task of filling his role in the Justice League.

Hopefully with these talented directors on board the Bat-Family will once again be on the top of the Superhero scene.  If not, there are plenty of Bat-Family members left to choose from.

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For Honor Seems Like A Good Game For Other People…

For Honor recently came out, but before that I played around with the open beta, and I decided that it wasn’t for me.  That is not to say it isn’t good, because it seems like it is, it is just for other people.  For Honor is a mix of a fighting game and an action game with a focus on 2v1 combat.  It is an interesting concept, but the way the controls work along with the counter/block/attack system means that you will have to put a lot of time in to get good and stay good.  That is a problem for me.  I barely have time to play games I like, let alone devote myself to being okay at a Dark Souls/Soulcaliber mashup.

All that being the case, I’m happy Ubisoft made this game.  It is different, and games that are different need to be made to keep pushing the industry forward.  All games are based on other games, so if someone sees what For Honor is doing and tweaks it a little, there may be a game for me down the line, and to be fair For Honor borrowed more than a little from other games like Chivalry.  If you are out there looking for a game where you can show your skill and ability, For Honor just might be for you, and I hope you enjoy it.  Though you will not see me playing it any time soon.

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I Finished Trollhunters, And It Does Get Better!

In my earlier review I had started Trollhunters and after I got about halfway through it I was not sure it was right for me.  I pushed through after some urging from my friends and family, and I am happy to report that the second half does get much better.  The ending is particularly strong.  It is still not my favorite show out there, but I am now looking forward to the upcoming second season which will still feature Anton Yelchin’s voice.

I think if I was in the target demo for this show I would like it even more than I do, but as it is now, it is a fun show.  The first season has some filler episodes to get the count up to 26, but the second season will only have 13, so maybe that will help it out.  Plus the cliff hanger at the end of season one was pretty major, so it should be pretty fast paced.  Netflix continues to add to its great collection of shows.

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Shmee Takes A Trip To La La Land!

A musical about people trying to make it big in show business is not a new idea, but one more grounded in reality, showing how hard it can be, is.  Live action musicals are a rarity these days.  We get one a year, if we are lucky, to go with the random western to keep their respective genres alive, and much like modern westerns, musicals only succeed if they find new ground to cover, so it was smart of Damien Chazelle to put a fresh twist on the ‘making it big’ theme for La La Land.

Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) keep running in to each other as they chase their dreams around Los Angeles.  Mia wants to be an actress but keeps getting turned down at auditions, and Sebastian wants to open a Jazz club but is struggling to find people who are even interested in Jazz let alone want to open a club with him.  While they don’t hit it off at first, they soon end up in whirlwind romance.

It is easy to be slightly ambivalent to the plight of attractive people in L.A., but the story is engaging, and the music is good.  The fact that neither of the leads are singers or dancers helps this movie keep its more grounded feel.  You will want them to succeed in the end, and not just professionally, but personally as well.  Gosling and Stone are what make this film.  Their performances keep this film going.  They play it just right.  They are never too defeated, and they are never too overly optimistic.  They are determined people going about their work and falling in love.

The music is wonderful.  Much like Jazz, the film does a good job of changing the theme song City of Stars every time you hear it to fit the mood of the scene it is in, and all the other songs are very good too.  Without good music it is hard to have a good musical, so the song writing department definitely held up their end of the production.

La La Land is a good movie, and in an era that is starved for good musicals, that is enough to make it successful and easy to recommend.  I don’t know if it would be my pick for the Best Picture Oscar, but still worth seeing.  Between La La Land and Whiplash, Damien Chazelle is making quite the name for himself.