Category: Movies

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Arrival Isn’t The Movie I Thought It Was!

After Sicario I should have known that Denis Villeneuve doesn’t like to conform to conventions, but I just assumed I knew how Arrival was going to turn out before I watched it.  I was so sure it would just be a tense movie about Amy Adams trying to talk to aliens, and to an extent I was right, but I was also completely wrong.

Amy Adams plays linguist Louise Banks who is so good at her job that she is the first person the Army calls when beings from another world show up.   The Army is hoping that she can find a way to communicate with these aliens.  She of course takes on the task even though she is haunted by the death of her daughter.  She is teamed up with a charming scientist named Ian Donnelly played by Jeremy Renner.

I don’t want to give anything away, but this movie is all about the ending.  It is almost impossible to talk about without discussing how the film ends.  It is almost like an early M. Night Shyamalan film where the ending changes everything, so that just leaves me with what the trailers show.  Which is squid-like aliens and whiteboards.  You will see a lot of those two things in this movie, along with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.  I will say it was very nice to see a movie with aliens that didn’t involve a bunch of shooting.  It was refreshing that everyone’s first thought was, “Let’s try to talk to these squids!”.

While the movie had a lot of talented actors in it, this movie belonged to Amy Adams.  She must have had like 80% of the screen time.  Thankfully she is very talented, so she is a joy to watch.  Renner, Whitaker and Co. are pretty much there as human props for her to play off of, and they do their job well.

This movie is kind of a slow burn, but it pays off in the end.  I am a big fan of original Sci-Fi, and Amy Adams gives a great performance, so this film is well worth watching.  Next time however, I am not going to let Villeneuve catch me off guard!  Though his next movie is Blade Runner 2049, so … maybe he will?

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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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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.

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Shmee Checks Out Capter 2 Of John Wick!

Following the success of John Wick, it was not surprising that Summit Entertainment quickly followed it up with a sequel, the aptly titled John Wick: Chapter 2.  If you were not a fan of John Wick‘s slickly choreographed over the top violence, there is nothing for you in John Wick: Chapter 2, but if you loved it, like you should, John Wick: Chapter 2 offers more of everything the first movie had.

There is no point talking about the plot.  If you have seen the first one, John Wick: Chapter 2 picks up directly after it.  Pretty much since he killed people in John Wick 1, he will have to kill even more people in John Wick: Chapter 2.  We learn a little more about the crazy world that John Wick takes place in, but this movie is all about the action scenes, and they are glorious.

John Wick 1 is known for its amazing nightclub shootout, and that is about it.  I mean in the end of the first movie, John Wick has a long fist fight with a senior citizen, but that nightclub shootout was amazing.  John Wick: Chapter 2 however, will be known for several sequences.  It is amazing what a little extra cash will do, and just like John Wick 1, the camera doesn’t cut away and it holds steady, so you can take it all in.  The John Wick franchise is setting the bar for every other action movie that comes after it.

This is the signature role that we have been waiting for Keanu Reeves to have.  We knew he had great action chops, but he kept starring in bad movie after bad movie, but the John Wick series is perfect for him.  He gets to be the stoic hardened action hero he was meant to play.  If he is never in another movie ever again, he will be remembered fondly for his John Wick movies.

If you love action movies, or even just like them, do yourself a favor and watch John Wick: Chapter 2.  If you haven’t seen John Wick 1, see that first, but then quickly watch John Wick: Chapter 2.  I had a blast watching this movie, and I think you will too!