Category: Movie Review

Young Guns 2 (1990)

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Young Guns like the first one is a movie I haven’t seen in so long I forgot the story. If you read my review of the first one yesterday you will know I did enjoy both movies and suggest you watch them both. The story of this one takes place not long after the first.

With most of the gang dead or in hiding Billy is still in New Mexico traveling around doing his thing. The story is actually however one big flash back told by a man named “Brushy” Bill Roberts. He is talking to a lawyer in the 1950’s telling the story of how he was promised a pardon years ago and never received it. He would not like to meet the governor to talk about getting it now. The flash back details how him and his crew attempted to run and escape to “old Mexico” to avoid the new sheriff Pat Garrett that used to be part of Billys posse.

Interestingly enough the movie is actually based off an actual man who claimed to be Billy the Kid and was discredited but there is some evidence to support that Pat Garrett killed the wrong man or that him and Billy intentionally mislead people to help Garrett collect the reward money and Billy could finally be free. Bill Roberts died in 1950 but was verified to be billy the kid by some people who did know Billy tho most people don’t believe him. Honestly we will never know, but it is a nice story none the less. Best wishes  and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Young Guns (1988)

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Young guns is a movie I haven’t seen in years, to the point I forgot what both movies were even about. Seriously I forgot it was about Billy the Kid and Doc.  The story starts out with a man named John Tunstall taking in a bunch of deviant basically criminals and giving them a second chance. The problem is him and another local cattle merchant are both going for a government contract for beef and with some powerful enemies John is murdered.

Billy, Doc and the rest of Johns boys are deputized to arrest the murderers and go off to do their thing. Billy however gets a little trigger happy and kills the first guy they go to arrest. This results in a gun fight that kills many and a legend is born.

What follows is an interesting take on the Billy the Kid story. Emilio Estevez and Charlie sheen do an amazing job at their roles as does Kiefer Sutherland as Doc Scurlock. In an era when westerns died off it managed to be a great movie that even warranted a sequel, a movie that I will be covering as well and I promise will be getting my recommendation just as well as this one. If by some chance you haven’t seen the Young Guns movies, Hulu has them both and Netflix has the first and now is a great time to check them out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

House of Wax

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House of Wax was way beyond it’s time and let’s be honest, Vincent Price was spectacular in basically every movie he was in. He’ll always be my favorite classic actor and this is why…

House of Wax stars Vincent Price as a famous and talented wax sculptor who looses everything in what appears to be accident that burns down his studio, destroys his hands, and destroys his beautiful works, including his beloved Marie Antoinette. Years later, he resurfaces with a new studio. He’s confined to a wheelchair and his hands are horribly burnt but with the help of his assistant Igor, he opens a museum of torture with wax. But while his life gets back on track, a deformed killer stalks the gothic streets, talking the bodies after he’s done. Everyone joyously remarks how the wax sculptures look so lifelike, is it just a coincedence or something darker?

For a movie so old, it still openly gives me the creeps and I love it. Price steals the show, being sympathetic while being menacing and crazy at the same time. I love the creepy atmosphere and booming score. The other characters are solid and the time period adds to it. While not showy, the effects are pretty damn ahead of there time. It’s a classic and I’d recommend it for a old school horror fan. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Wait until Dark

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A lot of times, the best horror movies are the simplest ideas of all; in the convoluted age of today I can admire that more than ever. Wait until Dark is about a trio of criminals who lose a doll stuffed with a lot of heroin and it ends ups in the hands of a blind woman and her husband by total accident. The leader of the group takes advantage of the woman’s disability, invading there basement apartment, even going so far as to have one of his guys impersonate a police officer to try to buy them time to search for it. It’s up to Susie to uncover the mystery around her and survive with a cold blooded killer unseen in her midst.

Would I call Wait Until Dark a horror movie per say? No. I’d say a damn good suspense thriller, but not quite a horror movie. Strangely enough a lot of the movie and it’s tension revolves around how sweet and vulnerable Audrey Hepburn is; her charm hooks you almost immediately and from the get go your heart pounds when she’s in danger. Alan Arkin plays a good villain, charismatic and menacing. Like Misery , the entire movie pretty much takes place in a small, cramp space. The movie is filmed really well and has a solid score. If you’re interested in watching an older film and want a genuinely good thriller, I’d recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

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World’s Greatest Dad is what we affectionately call, a dark comedy. Robbin Williams plays  Lance father of Kyle Clayton. Kyle is what you would call a complete douche. He treats his dad like crap, his friends has no respect for women and appreciates nothing. Lance is a wannabe writer that has written many things, but has never had anything published and teacher at his son’s school. He isn’t well liked, but he isn’t disliked. He is respected and has a girlfriend that is a teacher but the relationship is a teacher.

The problem here is Kyle has a weird I guess you could say masturbatory fetish called erotic asphyxiation. I won’t go into too much detail but basically its a dangerous practice and it kills him. Lance having found his body didn’t want him to suffer the indignity of being found that way and wrote a suicide note and moved the body to make it look more in line with that.

Afterwards things at school eventually get a bit weird when the suicide note is released at the school news paper. Suddenly Kyle was loved and popular, because as well all know everyone loves you when you are gone. But this isn’t where the story ends. Seeing how everyone has actually been helped by all this, Lance writes a book and claims it was written by his son. The problem is his son is basically a moron and his best friend sees through it.

I won’t spoil the rest of the movie for you, but it is well done and the acting is great. It can be a little slow-paced tho, but the story is deep and worth the slow downs. I definitely recommend checking this one out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Zombie ( or Zombi 2)

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Once upon a time, there was a dude named Lucio Fulchi; you may remember him if you caught my post of 5 great foreign horror films Well, he wasn’t a fan of the now late George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and he took it upon himself to make his own version in a way. In a tragic, hilariously ironic kind of way, I relate to this all too well.

So we get a Dr on a beautiful tropical island who despite the protests of the native villagers has found a means to resurrect the dead. But hey, he quickly figures out a gunshot to the head brings them down quick so no huge deal right? Well, it becomes a problem when one of these undead bastards kills a ship full of people and well…we do get to see a zombie fight a damn shark, and that alone kicks ass. A reporter and the daughter of one of the murdered people trace this weird happening back to the island where the Dr is losing control of the growing horde, losing his wife in the process. Can this group of people make it off the island alive?

Zombie may not have the most original plot or memorable characters, but it’s a damn good zombie movie, despite the dubbing at times. The zombies themselves are some of my all time favorites and the musical score compliments them perfectly. There’s a lot of blood and boobs for the low brow crowd but there’s also a surprising amount of suspense and some damn fine camera work. The wife’s death is horrifically masterful and gruesome to watch. If you love zombies and want to see zombies be zombies, this is the flick for you. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Suspiria remake trailer 2

A few days ago we got a new trailer for Suspiria 2018. Suspiria 2018 trailer 1 told me right off the bat we were getting a much different kind of take on it. Seeing this more in depth trailer, I almost get a Kubrick- Shining/ Insidious vibe from it. The original always made me think of a children’s storybook because of the vibrant colors; 2018’s seems dulled down a lot by comparison. Still, the trailer enticed me and I’ve got faith it will be good on it’s own merit. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sonic Live Action Movie

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For some odd reason I will never understand, we are getting a live action Sonic movie starring James Marsden and Kim Carrey. Not much is known about the story aside from it will take place in the Green Hills zone when a cop helps Sonic escape from the government. Now I have played plenty of Sonic games and I can’t recall him ever trying to get away from the government or even the cops being involved. While I don’t doubt Carreys ability to play Eggman/Robotnik or any of the actors honestly the entire concept of a live action Sonic movie just seems really, odd. I’m honestly not even sure who came up with this idea or why aside from possibly being a quick cash grab or why this would be thought of as a good idea. What are your thoughts? Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Devil’s Gate (2017)

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Devil’s Gate is a movie I saw that looked pretty decent, but I honestly chose to watch because I saw it had Jessie (Milo Ventimigilia) and William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in it and I have always been a fan of both. With them of course is Amanda Schull (Agent Daria) The story is a simple, yet complex one. Jackson Pritchard’s (Milo) wife and son go missing and Agent Daria is tasked with going to the town of Devil’s Gate North Dakota to sort everything out. Frakes (Sheriff Gruenwell) tells her to leave Jackson alone since he is a good man and wouldn’t do anything wrong. Daria of course as a good agent knows in most disappearances, whether man or woman, has something to do with their partner.

After a quick investigation Jackson pulls a gun on our agents because why the hell not. Why wouldn’t you pull a gun on the head of the investigation you’re the biggest suspect in. Daria shortly after subduing our friend Jackson and continuing the search we find something quite odd in the basement.

I don’t want to give to much of the story away, but it is all quite exciting. It won’t be long before the wife is returned, but not the son. What follows that is where the real fun begins and we start hitting the twist and turns, of which there are a few. The movie isn’t perfect, and quite a few people will see the twist coming and that’s okay as they are fairly well done. The movie isn’t perfect by any means. The dialogue at times can be cheesy but  great cast more than made up for it and the special effects at times didn’t quite hit the mark.

It should also be pointed out that there is apparently another movie with the same name on the internet that uses the same poster but is not the same movie. It is supposedly pretty bad, but I haven’t seen it nor do I plan on it. This one however whole not perfect or even great, is worth seeing. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Chasing Amy (1997)

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Chasing Amy is one of the earlier Kevin Smith movies, tho not one of the Jay and Silent Bob movies. Starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee the story is about two comic book writers, Ben and Jason just doing their thing when they meet another, less popular writer, Adams.

Holden (Ben) and Adams (Alyssa) of course eventually fall in love after much chasing by Holden. Tho Alyssa is, or was a lesbian her entire life. Jason (Banky) doesn’t really approve of it, and he makes this quite well-known. He actually is quite homophobic to the point he claims lesbians that don’t hate men aren’t even real, kind of like the Easter Bunny or Santa. ( His Claim not mine)

Eventually however we find out that Alyssa is not as innocent as she pretended to be. Not that this is either bad or good, it simply is what it is. She has however been with men in the past, something she did in fact lie about. This doesn’t sit well with Holden. It is also later revealed that part of why Banky disliked Alyssa so much is he himself has some pretty homosexual tendencies.

The movie itself is pretty well done and is good for plenty of laughs and thought-provoking at times and is worth a watch, the movie however should not be taken overly seriously. Like many Kevin Smith movies there is plenty of social commentary to be had but over all it is simply fun and childish at times. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.