The Kingsman: The Golden Circle 2017 7 out of 10

The Kingsman: The Golden Circle 2017 7 out of 10

This sequel started off with a bang. The opening action sequence was over the top, exciting, thrilling and super fun to watch. The Kingsman series sits somewhere between  Austin Powers and In Like Flynt  and Max Helm in tone.  It is like a James Bond parody with more extreme cartoon violence.   Unlike my podcast co-host who disliked this sequel I enjoyed it.  I didn't think it was as good as the first one mainly because the middle section of the film dragged a little and the main plot wasn't as interesting.  The Stateman U.S. version was a good concept, but Channing Tatum who was basically a cameo instead of a new main character. If the film could have sustained some of the momentum that it began with it could have been much better.

The over the top action sequences are the best part of these films.  The opening car chase was incredible and included a small tribute to the classic Raiders truck scene.  The ending sequence that included a showdown in the drug dealer's 1950's town hidden in a Cambodian ruin was totally fun and silly at the same time.   There was a giant rolling Donut that they used for cover a la Temple of Doom with the gong.  Elton John in a feather outfit in a bowling alley protecting one of the Kingsman from a robot dog.   I  enjoy the series and would definitely tune in for a third round.   Hopefully the third film will have a stronger storyline than this film did.   Because this crazy action with the right story could be incredible.

If you enjoyed the original you will probably enjoy this one as well and yet may feel like you were expecting something a little bit more.

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Birdman 2014 9+ out of 10

Birdman 2014  9+ out of 10

Every once in awhile there will be a movie that you just overlooked and when you finally stumble across it is a complete and utter delightful surprise.   Birdman was one of those films.  I knew that it was supposed to be great, but the subject matter didn't send me running to the theaters or even to put it at the top of my Netflix queue when it came out on DVD.  I saw that it was starting on a film channel on TV as I was flipping through channels and set the DVR to record and was very glad that I did.   It now sits at  near the top of my 2014 movie list which includes films like John Wick and Guardians of the Galaxy.  

The movie features a washed up actor that once played an iconic superhero known as Birdman trying to regain his career by directing and starring in a Broadway play  The fact that they got Michael Keaton to play the role was brilliant and Keaton absolutely nailed the role. It is likely the best work of his career.   The entire cast that includes Edward Norton, Zach Galifanakis, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts was excellent.

The film seems so fresh and original.  The film basically roles out as if the whole thing was done in one shot.  It follows characters from dressing rooms..... to the hallways backstage....to the stage itself..... and then backstage again.....then out onto the streets of New York and into a bar next door.  The film jumped forward in time from the same shot and yet it felt seemless. The cinematography was brilliant.  The soundtrack was excellent as well.  A drum beat that is both background and then occasionally a part of the actual story as they pass the drummer on the street playing the soundtrack that has been following the characters backstage.   I see why this film got so much attention at the Oscars in 2014 - because it was an incredible work out art.  I graduated with a degree in film and television, but my movie tastes tend to be in popcorn escapism.  This film tapped into my love of the film making process.  It was so well crafted that not only did I enjoy what I was seeing --but I also recognized what went into making this film and admired it on that level.

If you overlooked this film like I did I would recommend correcting that and seeing it.  It is a work of art.

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Bright 2018 6 out of 10

Bright 2018 6 out of 10

Bright is basically an Alien Nation remake with an Orc cop instead of an alien.  It stars Will Smith in what sounds like a really silly concept.    Instead the movie takes itself a lot more serious than one would expect.  It is more a serious buddy cop film in which the two cops uncover a dangerous plot by rogue elves to gather up some magic wands in order to bring the dark lord back.  It was an interesting concept and is actually a decent film--- but it really would benefited from a lighter and more comic tone.   One would it expect it to be in tone similar to Will Smith's Men in Black or at least between that and the TV series G Vs E.  

The action scenes in the movie were good and the story was actually interesting.  The lack of humor and fun that the film had with it's story is just kind of bewildering.  It could have been a lot more fun if just a little bit of humor was injected into the film.  It is definitely and odd movie --but probably worth watching if you can buy into the world and embrace the seriousness of a film that one would expect to be lighter in tone.

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Mute 2018 2 out of 10

Mute 2018  2 out of 10

The trailer for Mute looked interesting.  I'd just watched Altered Carbon a Netflix tv show that heavily used the visual style of BladeRunner and for the most part enjoyed it and it's visual look.  Mute looked like a movie that would be interesting. The story of a Mute Bartender that seeks out what happened to his girlfriend after she disappears sounds intriguing.   It featured Alexander Skarsgard,  Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux so it had a good cast.  

I was so wrong,  I literally had to endure Mute to get to the end.  Unfortunately the movie was a just a strange mess.  Just because you have flying cars, neon and rain --that doesn't make you Bladerunner.  

The murder mystery aspect of the story was incredible dull.  A Mute man wandering around a sexually deviant underworld trying to ask questions without being able to talk didn't work.  Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux's characters were just odd and at first their scenes just seem like they were put there just to try and have some type of interesting dialogue.  They seem to have nothing to do with the main plot at first.  It quickly becomes clear early on that somehow they are involved in the disappearance of the Mute bartenders girlfriend.  If they aren't the killers then there is no reason for their characters to exist in the story at all.  This takes any sense of mystery out of the story.  It is apparent from early in the story that the angry Mute (ex amish) bartender is going to have a showdown with them at some point.   I also I found the subject matter in this seedy underworld obnoxious.   I literally thought about giving up on the movie about an hour into it.  I struggled to get to the end.

Apparently it took 16 years for the director Duncan Jones to get this movie made.  Maybe there was a reason that it was so difficult to get this movie made,  because it was just a difficult watch.   I definitely wouldn't recommend this film.  So far it is the worst movie I've watched in 2018 (of course the bad shark movies of the summer on Sci-fi haven't come out yet).

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The Super, Fantastic, Terrific Podcast #29 In this Podcast we discuss The Last Jedi, Black Mirror, Stranger Things 2 and Lumberjacks

In our latest Podcast we discuss The Last Jedi, Black Mirror, Stranger Things 2 and Lumberjacks  We also give the 20 Questions style apps another chance after the ill fated Akinator from many podcasts before.   Enjoy our latest journey into Movies and TV. 

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Cloverfield Paradox 2018 5 out of 10

Cloverfield Paradox  2018  5 out of 10

An interesting concept that doesn't live up to it's potential.  Originally a movie called the God Particle this movie was slapped with the Cloverfield title after the fact which is an insult to the audience.   The concept behind the movie is interesting and the movie could have been something along the lines of "Event Horizon"  but instead it becomes a standard trying to fix a broken spacecraft movie instead of exploring the story it sets up.

The story features a group of scientists on a space station testing a device that hopes to solve a dying Earth's energy crisis.  Instead they end up propelling themselves into an alternated reality with Earth no longer on their radar.  They discover a crew member they don't know trapped inside a panel of the spacecraft with wires stuck in her.  Then other unexplainable strange events begin to happen.  The film uses many sci-fi space ship tropes in scenes that mirror other sci-fi films you have seen before.  There is an a scene that is straight out of Alien when a crew member is infected. 

 The film blows its potential as it turns as the crew tries to get back to their Earth and turns into a  predictable battle with the crew member from the other universe.  And then at the end they throw in a random ending that ties it to the Cloverfield universe.   It really isn't a Cloverfield movie -but that franchise name holds some weight so they decided to try and link it to draw more people into what was just an average Sci-Fi film

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Altered Carbon TV Series Review

Altered Carbon is a strange yet intriguing Sci-Fi Series on Netflix. It is set in a future that is visually ripped off from Bladerunner (down to the neon and rain soaked streets)  that features a world where consciousness is digitalized and stored in cortial stacks implanted in peoples necks. It allows humans to survive physical death and basically have immortality (if you can afford it that is).  It delves into the lose of morality of those who are basically immortal.

The story follows a trained assassin who is downloaded from a prison and is uploaded in a disgraced cops body by some super rich person in order to solve his murder.  The TV series basically starts out as a an interesting murder mystery set in this weird future but about 6 or 7 episodes in takes some strange tangents into a much more personal story for the protagonist.  I personally wish the story had stuck to the murder mystery roots, but instead it went into a different direction.

It is a visual interesting story series with some really cool Bladerunner style sets that provides some cool action sequences and gratuitous nudity.  It is definitely worth a watch for Sci-fi fans and at 10 episodes in length easily binge worthy.  I binged it in a weekend.  I wouldn't say that it is great, but it was still an enjoyable watch.

  

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