I have not finished all The Dark Tower books yet, so maybe there are parts of the story that I am missing, but this The Dark Tower looks very little like Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. Now there are ways to have that make sense, but I am guessing the movie will not explore them. I plan on waiting for reviews before I fork over my cold hard cash.
David Fincher Is Directing World War Z 2?!!!
World War Z hasn’t held up well. It was an okay action film that turned zombies in to insects, so while Brad Pitt has been pushing for a sequel, I have been hoping for the opposite. That all changes now! According to Variety David Fincher is close to signing a deal to direct the sequel. David Fincher is one of the greatest directors working. I mean if Alien 3 and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are your worst films, you are pretty good, and if anyone can make World War Z work it would be him.
I guess Brad Pitt has been begging him to do it for quite a while now, and Fincher has finally given in. I just hope that he can bring something new to the very tired zombie action formula. A zombie thriller perhaps? Maybe there are threats of a new zombie outbreak and people are desperately trying to find its cause? Man that could be a good film. David if you are reading this drop me a line so we can talk story ideas, and don’t let Brad write it.
The Kingsman Show Bond What It Means To Have Fun!
While the new Bond films are sadly grounded in reality, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is going the exact opposite direction, and it looks like they are having a lot of fun doing it. The first film was a very good, and it looks like Matthew Vaughn is dialing it up to eleven for the sequel. I am in.
Shmee Tours 1977 LA With The Nice Guys!
Shane Black specializes in a certain type of movie, and that type of movie is Lethal Weapon. You know, two guys against the odds taking down something bigger than themselves. One is guy is funny and the other is the straight man who might just be too old for this. The Nice Guys fits very well in that mold, except it takes place 1977. Though credit were credit is due, no one does Lethal Weapon better than Shane Black.
The movie begins with hired muscle Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) ‘convincing’ PI Holland March (Ryan Gosling) to stop bothering Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley). March quickly complies because he was actually looking for porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio), who he knows is dead, but he is making a quick buck off Misty’s aunt, so he was just tracking down Misty’s friends to make it look like he was working. It turns out a lot of Amelia’s friends are dead. Of course this all leads down a crazy rabbit hole neither Healy or March are prepared for.
The time and the place of the film do help The Nice Guys feel a little different from Black’s other action comedies, but in all honestly, I knew what I was in for as soon as I started the movie. It would be like expecting something new from a Guy Ritchie gangster film. They are all the same, but they are also all very good. If you do something well and people like it, why try and reinvent the wheel.
Crowe and Gosling were perfect for this film. They are both talented actors who nailed their roles. Crowe’s Healy is an old pro who wants to do his job well and get things done the right way. While Gosling’s March is just trying to get paid while getting as many free drinks as he can, but that doesn’t stop him from knowing what he is doing every now and than. Much like other Shane Black films all the women in this film were pretty much props with the exception of Angourie Rice who plays March’s spunky teenage daughter Holly.
The Nice Guys is a funny film with plenty of action, and if that is what you want, you will be very happy. If you are expecting something new and fresh, you will have to look somewhere else. This film is Shane Black doing what Shane Black does and having a good time doing it, and I had a good time watching it. One word of warning though, since the background of this movie is the 1970’s porn industry it does earn its ‘R’ rating. I would hate for you to say I didn’t warn you.
MST3K Is Back!
I was nervous that the new MST3K was not going to be funny. It turns out that I was worried about nothing. I am two movies in and loving it. The new cast is great, though the new robot voices took a little getting used to, and it seems like they have amped the jokes per minute, so there are fewer of those jokeless lulls that sometimes would plague the older MST3K episodes.
If you are unaware of what Mystery Science Theater 3000 is, let me clear that up for you. Pretty much the ‘Bads’, Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day) and Max “TV’s Son of TV’s Frank” (Patton Oswalt), go out and find terrible movies and then Jonah Heston (Jonah Ray) and his robots Crow (Hampton Yount) and Tom Servo (Baron Vaughn) make fun of them. It is a simple setup, but it works well.
If you have been missing Mystery Science Theater 3000 like I have, the new Netflix series is a return to form. I look forward to watching the remaining twelve flicks with Jonah and his robot pals. Now that MST3K is back, I hope it stays back. I don’t want to go through another long period without them.