Movie Review – Page 75 – Savior Gaming

How it Ends (2018)

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How it Ends is one of the new movies from Netflix so of course I checked this out. The idea is simple, Will (Theo Younger) has to go meet his girlfriends father, Tom ( Forest Whitaker. While there they get into a fight because they don’t get along and Will is asked to leave before he even asks if he can marry his daughter.

When Will wakes up the next morning after a night of drinking, Samantha (Kat Graham) wakes him up and reminds him he is late for his flight. This is when the real story kicks in. Samantha hears a noise in Seattle, gets really scared and the power goes out. Will rushes to the air port to discover the flights are all cancelled. In response to this he will return to Toms home. Tom’s wife Paula (Nicola Ari Parker) will go to her son’s house, and Tom the former Marine and Will shall go to Seattle to save Samantha.

The movie itself is interesting, but at the end of the day it is just basically a weird apocalypse survival movie. Most of the movie is simply them driving, occasionally either hiding from another person or shooting them. Then they talk, eventually the car breaks down and they hire a Native American chick to help fix the car. She comes with, they continue the trend, argue a bit and so on. The movie is rather unexciting. The movie has moments of being interesting and it does a good job of showing that the biggest issue n a survival scenario would be other people. I don’t regret watching the movie, but I can’t say I would watch it again. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

A simple favor trailer

Now when the name Paul Feig gets brought up, your mind goes directly to GhostBusters 2016, which sparked an idiotic amount of controversy and outrage. I have no prior knowledge of his work, but I’m intrigued by the trailer for hi latest, A Simple Favor. The premise seems basic, tried but true, but the music, tone, and retro elegance of Blake Lively’s costumes brought on a otherworldly quality I’m a sucker for. I love Anna Kendrick as an actress and I’m glad she’s rising up. I hope the Ghostbusters remake hasn’t scarred this film; I laughed a little at the opening of the trailer that states it’s from the “darker side” of Paul Feig. In the end, I hope it’s a redemption for the guy, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

It (1990)

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The 1990 version of It has been a classic since, well since 1990. When the remake was announced people kind of lost their minds. Who could possibly play Pennywise better than Tim Curry? Well this isn’t about all that, but if you are interested we did cover that you can read more here.

Watching this movie made me remember that this wasn’t truly a movie, but a made for t.v. series. This does show by the lack of swearing and blood, something the 80’s and 90’s usually didn’t shy away from. This being made for t.v. tho, they did have to find a way to tone down what is actually a pretty violent and disturbing book. This is where they succeeded quite well.

In fact this may actually be the most successful part of the whole thing. When I was younger this movie actually was pretty freaky, but as an adult there were things that actually annoyed me more than anything. For example the constant jumping back and forth between childhood and being an adult as they introduced characters seemed completely unnecessary. It was also a 3 hour series that easily could have been two hours with much of it being feeling stretched out for no reason I can think of.

That isn’t to say the whole thing is bad, each character is played magnificently and Tim Curry still plays an amazing Pennywise the clown. I also feel comparing the two may be a bit unfair seeing as how one is made for t.v. and the other is a full-fledged movie.

At the end of the day however I have to admit, the 1990 version of It just doesn’t hold up very well for me. It’s still solid enough but it just doesn’t compare to the remake for me which I would much rather watch. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Set It Up (2018)

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Set it up is one of the new movies from Netflix, and as such I of course sat down and watched it. I actually didn’t expect much.I can’t say why, I just didn’t. The concept was good tho. Essentially it comes down to A female sports writer isn’t very nice to her female assistant. They work long hours, she never has time, and she never gets the chance to write which is all she wants.

A important VP also has an assistant, and he also pretty much gets treated like crap,also works a ton and has no time for his beautiful model girlfriend. One night they both forget dinner,and have a chance meeting. Not much longer later on another late night, they end up having a few drinks in the office and a drunken plan jokingly takes place. One she takes a bit seriously when she misses another date.

After he almost gets dumped he also gets on board. The plan is simple, since they have their bosses entire lives planned out meticulously. They will use this to get them to hook up, so that when they are sleeping together they will have some time off to go do what they want. This of course has varying degrees of success. For example getting them stuck in an elevator goes horrible since a claustrophobic delivery guy ends up stuck with them. The Yankees game however goes well, because as well all know a Yankees game is the sexiest thing ever. Read that with heavy sarcasm.

The movie does have plenty of funny parts to it. This is actually the part that surprised me. The actors are all funny enough, but usually these types of movies just don’t end up being funny. This one however is and that made me happy. The movie isn’t great, but its fun. It is also funny. It is very much worth watching. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Evil Dead

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Before the one-liners, before the madness of Asliegh Williams killing Deadites in the middle ages, before the remake that took itself way too seriously and Ash vs Evil Dead (series) there was the gory, claymated wonder that was the classic Evil Dead. Like many wacky misadventures, Evil Dead is about a group of friends that go to a nice sweet little cabin in the woods. Things are fine until the basement door pops open and in the basement they find an old tape recorder and a peculiar book made of flesh and written in human blood- like we all do. On the recorder is a translation from a past victim of the book, who loudly recites the translated incantations, unleashing the Evil Dead on them. Malevolent spirits awaken, attacking and possessing the friends, turning them into disgusting demons. By the end, on the cusp of his sanity is the whimpy, meek, Ash but can he rise to the challenge?

I know I’m playing against the the gross opinion but I actually like the original Evil Dead best. I like the gritty filming and there is a good blend of WTF scenes that are funny actual horror. Linda, Ash’s girlfriend, creeped the hell out of me with her clownish make up and wide grin. The infamous tree rape scene holds up pretty well in my opinion and is still alarming. In the end, Evil Dead is a simple movie with a simple premise that is a damn awesome B movie I recommend checking out for the simple fact it is a fun horror movie of gore, slapstick, and some chills. May the gaming gods bring you glory, now it’s time to go to sleep:)

The Exorcist (movie)

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In 1973 we got a movie that changed horror forever, traumatizing thousands because of its dark as hell themes and realistic effects that hold up remarkably well today, almost 50 years later. Directer William Friedkin (Bug ) took the terrifying book by William Peter Blatty and pulled no punches.

The Exorcist follows the demonic possession of Reagan MacNeil, a 12 year old little girl and the two priests that come together to take on the daunting task. The intro to the movie we meet Father Merrin at an archaeological excavation in the Middle East, culminating in a stare down with a freaky looking statue we get a foreboding dread he has encountered before. Across the world, Reagan is with her mother, a successful actress, as small, strange things begin to happen. Her mother doesn’t notice until a disturbing sight happens at a big party she throws, leading to sights nothing within reason can explain. Reagan turns violent, having violent seizures and physically striking at the doctors trying to help her. Enter Father Damien Karras, a priest dealing with the loss of faith after his mother’s health plummets and dies; Chris, Reagan’s mother, reaches out to Karras who inspects Reagan and comes to the dark conclusion about her possession. Can Merrin and Karras save her soul and expel the demon?

The possession sub genre hasn’t been my favorite, for every The Exorcism of Emily Rose there’s a The Devil Inside but the Exorcist is honestly the greatest and undeniable progenitor of the sub genre. The effects are damn good, even today when CGI has taken over film land. The acting is amazing and the characters are strong. I will say the movie is slow, with decent gaps between scares where we see the characters develop, but some modern audiences may frown upon that. Horror fans and film buffs alike, this is a must watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Real Genius (1985)

Real Genius is one of those 80’s movies that for some reason most people I know haven’t seen, and that greatly upsets me. The story is simple. Mitch is recruited to a school for super smart people, he works with Chris the smartest person in the school turned slacker. They are tasked with a school project to build a laser. They aren’t the only two doing this but hey they are the main two.

As the story goes on we see all sorts of shenanigans, from the turning an entire section of the school into ice for a winter carnival.

To throwing a massive party with the local beauty school.

The movie is first and foremost, a comedy. This starts out pretty early with the scene where Mitch meets Chris, and he asks about him being prepared for gravity reversing itself and even trying to convince him the antenna on an odd remote control is in fact a penis stretcher, and offers to let him try it.

The movie does eventually take a more serious turn however, as early on you the viewer will discover the laser is actually being developed by the school for the government as a weapon to be used from space to assassinate targets. Mitch and friends eventually find this out as well, but not until the laser is finished and in the hands of the government.

They will of course go on a quest to put an end to the weapon and take revenge on the dean of the school for lying to them in the fist place, which will involve filling a house with popcorn. He hates popcorn. Regardless the movie is currently on Netflix, go check this out. The movie is amazing and has a great soundtrack. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

“Glass” poster

glass poster This is going to be a little unusual because there is no trailer, but a poster tells alot. I’ve never been a huge M. Night Shyamalan fan but I loved Split and wanted to check out Unbreakable after the end credits scene, which I thought was merely a set up for a sequel. But a crossover? That I wasn’t expecting. I think it’s a cool idea and don’t get me wrong, I’m seriously hyped for this movie but let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: Shyamalan doesn’t have the greatest track record. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs- all well loved and well received movies. But we also have After Earth, The Happening, and The Last AirBender which damaged his career. I’m cautiously optimistic in that regard because while I’m a huge fan of his work, I respect that he tries doing something different, especially in a world of reboots and sequels. I have my fingers crossed and I can’t wait for the trailer. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

American Hero (2015)

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American Hero is the story of an alcoholic and drug addict man who as spent his entire life doing the wrong thing. The wrong thing for himself, his friends, his wife and his son. Well I should say now his ex-wife and son he no longer gets to see. There is a twist, he was born with a sort of power, a super power if you will. He can lift things up and move objects with nothing more than a wave of his hand.

Being the slacker that he is however this has mostly gone to waste with the exception of using it for fun and to make some money when he needs it for booze and drugs, and occasionally to stop small time criminals so he can steal their stolen stuff. This all changed when he has a small personal issue. By that I mean a heart attack. Then his best friend for his whole life gets shot by the local drug lord over something he did.

He then attempts to turn his entire life around and go straight, we are also treated to a scene of what his powers can actually do. The movie itself however has very little action which surprised me. With a name like American Hero I was expecting a lot more action and much less drama. It is all well thought out, well planned and well done. At no point do you ever get the feeling that it is forced or even forced.

This is a mixed bag however. I was disappointed in the movie for its lack of action, but I did enjoy its story of redemption and watching the main character, Melvin, grow from loser to less of a loser. The movie isn’t for everyone, in fact I would bet most people won’t enjoy it. Drama fans will enjoy it, everyone else should probably avoid it. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Bad News Bears (2005)

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As a kid I loved the Bad News Bears, the 1976 version. I wasn’t old enough to see the original release, I wasn’t born for almost a decade after, but I still loved the movie when I saw it. I grew up playing baseball, and while I was never on any teams like that I have seen some bad teams, most of which got better over time and I always would have liked to have seen a story like this. I always liked a good underdog story. I was always wondering how this stacked up to the original but I was always kind of out off since I was never really a fan of it being remade. That being said I finally got the chance to watch it especially since I do enjoy Billy Bob Thornton.

The opening scene did fill me with some hope, as Billy Bob comes out of a basement drinking some beer rats crawling out behind him, and he tells the lady there are indeed a shit ton of rats down there. He then simply leaves, door wide open and rats escaping, and tells her he has a thing to do and to just call for a follow-up. We then end up at the field where we meet the team.

The team is about what you would expect, we got the token black kid, the nerd, kid in a wheel chair, two Latino twins that don’t speak English,or so we are lead to believe and of course we have the kid with the mom that makes him do all kinds of ridiculous stuff and sued the league to let the kids play in the first place, after all it is the 2000’s and everyone gets a trophy. That is actually one of the main sticking points in the movie between The 2 main coaches, one wants a pay check ( Thornton) and the other thinks the bears shouldn’t even be in a serious league.

The movie is odd to me, I can’t say I don’t like it. Billy Bob plays his role amazing and the kids do an honorable job replicating the roles they are given. That is where my issue comes in, the movie barely counts as an updated version of the movie. Many scenes are practically copy and pasted from the original. The ones that aren’t are pretty much the same scene just slightly changed. While this isn’t truly a bad thing, honestly the original is a classic and it does for the most part equal the original in my eyes, it doesn’t give fans of the original any reason to watch it really. The movie is by no means bad, just not very different. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.