Category: Movie Review

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

full metal jacket

Stanley Kubrick and possibly his most famous movie Full Metal Jacket is the story of some Marines and their time at basic followed by Vietnam. Unlike most movies tho this one takes a much more gritty and serious tone. That”s not to say the movie doesn’t have its humor to it or its enjoyable parts because it absolutely does.

As the first part of the movie goes on one trainee, pvt. pyle becomes more and more deranged as he is treated worse and worse by everyone since he is a huge screw up constantly getting everyone in trouble. By the end of basic he is actually a great marine, and insane. He actually kills a few people and himself in the bathroom in what can only be described as one of the more honest takes on PTSD in movie history.

As the movie moves on to Vietnam the movie will take on subjects such as prostitution, the brutalities of the Vietnam war and even the camaraderie among troops that was built. The movie is truly a masterpiece that should not be missed, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mortal Kombat (1995)

Mortal Kombat was one of the many attempts to make a movie off a video game that in theory should have worked much better than it did. Think about it, get a bunch of martial artist, put them in pretty easy to replicate costumes, add in minor special effects and boom you have your movie. The story itself is easy enough to do.

The movie opens with what is still one of the best movie theme songs of all time in my opinion, and it really gives you hope this thing will be great. Its not. The acting it pretty sub par most of the time, the special effects or horrible and the story comes off as corny to the point I am fairly sure it was written by people that knew it was going to sell regardless and not be all that good of a movie.

All the negative points aside tho the actual fighting is well done and I would be lying if I said me as a kid didn’t enjoy the movie. Even as an adult the movie is still entertaining in that the movie is so bad its good sort of way. Don’t go into this thinking it will be good, just fun. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Lost Boys (1987)

the lost boys

The lost boys is one of those movies that came out in the 80’s and is a vampire movie done a bit differently with a twist ending, but both done right. With a family from Arizona moving to California an older brother meets some friends and falls in with a bad crowd. The younger brother meets some comic book nerds obsessed with vampires they claim live in the area and the comics they claim are evidence of this. Turns out that group are those vampires and those nerds are not wrong.

What follows is the classic tale of a quest to escape the clutches of these vampires, their leader that wants to marry their mother, enslave them both and take over the town.

The movie is amazing and has its funny parts but is full of suspense and action with a great sound track, but I will always remember the end when all is said and done. Dead vampires everywhere, a huge hole in the side of the house, and the grandfather that everyone thought was just some old guy saying ” the area would be great if it wasn’t for all the damn vampires” Definitely check this one out if you haven’t already. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Hobbit

hobbit

I’m not really a major fantasy nerd by heart but I’ve always been told to read it if you want to become a writer. So I did, finding myself perplexed but impressed at the same time. While not as grim or action packed as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it is in fact an epic adventure to the core and I love that Tolkien writes in a particular style of not dumbing his world down for us to understand it, he challenges you to experience it for yourself. I respect that.

Bilbo Baggins is an ordinary hobbit in The Shire, boring, polite, and something of a homebody. That it is until Gandalf the wizard shows up, and then after that the pesky dwarves show up to his cozy hobbit-hole, requesting his presence in their party as a master thief on Gandalf’s behalf. Bilbo hasn’t done a damn thing like thieving. The dwarves, led by Thorin, a monarch who’s family was forced out of his kingdom and castle full of gold by a badass dragon named Smaug. Thorin wants Smaug gone and his shit back. The group sets off, facing trolls, spiders, a sweet barrel ride, and an important encounter with Gollum and a ring he is obsessed with. The whole time Bilbo grows into the role Gandalf set up for him, armed only with a glowing sword and the ring that let’s him become invisible, but can he raise to the challenge and defeat Smaug?

The Hobbit is a simple classic that has a great range of characters, setting, and world building. Of the three times I’ve read it, it does get better each time I read it. It is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy but I love that it’s not a A-B prequel, which was a huge reason I loved that direction for Prometheus ; you can read it perfectly fine as a standalone book. The book was cut into three full fledged, 2 hour plus movies even though the book is just about 300 pages. What almost drew me to the movies was Benedict Cumbatch’s portrayal as Smaug, which was terse but perfect; friends that are way more into Tolkien than I am told me the trilogy was a waste of time in the end. I highly recommend the book, especially if you are a aspiring writer, but I can tell you it’s ok to skip the movies. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Terminal trailer

 

The vibrant contrast of colors of this picture made me watch the trailer and I was intrigued. Visually I was pretty hooked, curious as to the colorful neon Noir they were going for. I’ve always been a fan of Margot Robbie, especially after her great performance as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad so I’m always curious what’s she’s up to next. I’m curious for the next trailer, so check it out, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Children of the Corn

children of the corn

I will never step foot in a corn field, or anywhere predominately full of kids without thinking I’m going to get mauled and put on a damn corn cross. At the same time, Children of the Corn is my favorite cult movie. I briefly talked about the short story when I talked about the book Night Shift by of course Stephen King, but let’s go a bit more in depth…

General premise: under a demon influenced child preacher, the children of Gatlin Nebraska murder all the adults and take to human sacrifices for “He who walks behind the rows” lurking in the corn, and a couple stumbles upon this after running over a kid they found with his throat cut. This is pretty much where the similarities end.

In the story, Burt and Vicky are a couple who hate each other driving through the deep nowhere of corn because Burt has a interview. They hit the kid and uncover some weird shit in his possession. They park in town and split up. Vicky gets taken by the kids, which is the last time we see her alive; the last time she’s on the cross with her eyes ripped out and corn husks jammed in her sockets. Burt discovers that the kids murdered there parents and murder anyone past 18; and that they’ve been procreating extremely young. A kid named Amos is seemingly the one who started all this and Issac and Malachi are on the chopping block. Burt finds what’s left of Vicky, but He who walks behind the Rows finds him first…no happy ending, not even close.

In the movie, Burt and Vicky are married and mostly happy but there’s a rift because Burt has issues with kids. They talk to a old mechanic that lives on the outskirts of Gatlin that directs them away, but the corn is never ending and traps them there, then they hit the kid. Issac is the preacher that brought this madness, aided by his violent lieutenant Malachi. Again Vicky gets taken while Burt finds some messed up shit. But unrest in the group keeps her alive; Malachi turns on Issac and hosts him up for sacrifice with Vicky. Burt gets rescued by nonbelievers Jobb and Sarah, and together they ban together to get Vicky back and stop the children.

There’s a remake which blends both but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it; does this premise at all seem fit for a made-for -TV movie?

I love both story and movie but for different reasons. The story is bleak and very ambiguous; piecing what those kids were doing was half the morbid allure of it. We really didn’t see faces, no speeches, just remains they left behind. While the movie has creepy parts, I love the look and the child actors, especially Issac and Malachi and how over the top they could be and some of the shitty effects are just fun. Either way, I’d check either out, and may the gaming gods bring you glory  Outlander!

Incredible Hulk

hulk 2008

Hulk smashed back the terrible Hulk movie with his introductory reboot into the MCU. Following the insanely huge success of Iron Man, Incredible Hulk is the second film of the MCU.

We begin with a quick origin of Bruce Banner’s accident, this time during an experiment that was covertly meant for the government. General Ross now has a reason to want Banner as an encounter with Hulk killed people and landed his daughter, Betty in the hospital. Bruce Banner is on the run in South America, living off the grid, desperate for a cure. Working with the mysterious Mr. Blue could bring about the cure, but to complete it they must meet in person at his lab in America, forcing Banner to come out of hiding and reunite with his old flame Betty Ross. After a disastrous encounter with the the Hulk, one of Ross’s specialists wants revenge, while finding himself enthralled by the creature’s power. Ross has a solution: using a failed attempt to recreate Captain America’s super serum. But as Banner’s seemingly cures the Hulk, he discovers Mr. Blue’s true intentions which inadvertently causes the creation of the Abomination. Can Banner control the Hulk long enough to stop the Abomination?

While some hate this movie, I personally love this darker take on the Hulk. There’s a lot more action and the poetry and despair comes through without the utter pretension of Ang Lee’s. Hulk has never looked better in my opinion and though Abomination looks somewhat like a Resident Evil boss, was pretty badass. I do really like Edward Norton as Banner and William Hurt as Ross but some of the other acting can be a bit bland. In the end, Incredible Hulk is a pretty epic movie and a damn good installment of the MCU. May the gaming gods bring you glory and stay tuned for the rest of our upcoming MCU reviews.

Ant-Man

Ant-man

So let’s talk a movie that once announced in the MCU made me say “Wow, really dude? A freaking Ant-Man movie!” but like many times before, I ate my words. This movie is pretty freaking entertaining and it’s about a superhero I don’t even really like.

Scott Lang is a ex con looking for redemption so he can do right by his daughter. Once a thief though, after a hard time getting back on his feet, Lang finds himself thieving again and getting busted trying to rob famous scientist Hank Pym. But Pym has a job for the thief; his Pym particle technology has fallen into the hands of his old protege Darren Cross (Yellow Jacket) who wants to replicate it and sell if off to Hydra. The particles can help him shrink while increasing his strength while wearing a helmet that helps him communicate with ants…hence Ant-Man.

I loved this movie because of the creativity behind it, especially during the fight scenes at the end. It was amazing to see how otherworldly everyday things can be shrunk down and it is filmed on a epic scale. The characters are solid and the tone is fun but Cross is overall a eh bad guy with a cool costume. My biggest flaw with the movie is that it is extremely formulaic, much how Doctor Strange ( 2016) followed the Iron Man formula pretty damn closely but the movie is fun and imaginative enough to stand on its own, especially if you can watch it in 4K or get to watch it in theaters in 3-D. May the gaming gods bring you all glory.

 

Suburban Gothic (2015)

suburban gothic

Suburban Gothic is one of those silly horror movies that isn’t quite funny, but isn’t really serious either. Its pretty well written with decent effects in that better than a B movie nut clearly isn’t AAA title, and that actually helps the movie out very well. There are some laughs to be had and Matthew Gubler (criminal minds) and Kat Dennings (Thor) work amazing together. You actually believe they are both former fat kids that are awkwardly spending time together but also have a strange attraction.

The movie is pretty far from perfect however, for example the main characters parents are basically insane and abusive. The town itself is apparently full of rednecks, rapist and criminals but no one noticed or simply doesn’t care. I’m not really sure which one it is. Also don’t expect this to be scary, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Fantasia

fantasia

I’ve always been inspired by imagery connected with music, especially if it has a darker tone. When writing, I can listen to a piece of score and create something completely different than what it was intended for, or reinterpret it. As a kid I was utterly fascinated by this very odd Disney film that remains to be my favorite decades later. Fantasia is a blend of live classical orchestra composure with Disney’s animations to create stories whether concrete or abstract. Duke had some fun stories about seeing this in theaters during the late sixties- use your imagination why that may be.  The most famous of the selections is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, where Mickey enchants a broom to do his chores but it gets out of control and he’s being swamped by evil brooms. While there are bright, vibrant colors there are also some dark and scary ass images- I’ve never been more scared of the devil than I was in this movie. While not for everyone, I think everyone should experience this film at least once and I urge people to give it a shot. May the gaming gods bring you glory.