Here comes one of the best of the year. The seventh in the Rocky franchise, Creed is the the second best of the series next to the Oscar winning original from 1976.
It's not often that there is applause at the end of a movie, but there was here. And it's deserved. This movie is the story of Apollo Creed's son that he never knew because of his death. His son is from an affair he had. Adonis (Micheal B. Jordan) his son, is a troubled young man who only wants to fight. So he leaves his full-time job to pursue his dream of being a champion boxer. And he tracks down, and enlists the help of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to manage him.
This is terrific in every regard. This movie is so careful to stand on its own, all the while channeling the magic of the original in its emotional feel. It's back to basics for this franchise. This series of course became a sort of eye rolling joke after a while, but there is no denying the original is fantastic in every regard, and so is this! I would see this again in a heartbeat.
Jordan is terrific, but the real story is Stallone. He is brilliant in this movie and not only should be Oscar nominated for this, but he should win for supporting actor. Stallone recaptures Rocky again just as he did when this character was new. This movie also boasts the best supporting cast since the original. This movie is filmed remarkably, edited magnificently and the overall production is first class in every aspect.
Creed. It's rare that one of the years biggest hits with fans will be one of the years most honored movies, but this one will. One of the years best pictures - period.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Saturday, November 21, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - New Releases This Week
The Night Before
Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Anthony Mackie star in the new Christmas comedy, The Night Before. Right up front, this is a stoner comedy and there are some very, very funny moments in this. But there are also a few really harsh and regrettable decisions made in the name of "comedy" here that really don't work.
This is the story of three friends all in their early 30's that have a tradition of going out on Christmas Eve and party up a storm. And this is the final time they will be doing this as they have all grown up and seemingly gone their separate ways. They spend the night getting completely messed up on various drugs and other substances and looking at where they each are in life. Much of this is parody and works well. It also channels other Christmas movies, borrowing the premise from A Christmas Carol, and others. But this is a comedy where they don't know where to stop, stepping into a few scenes that are so amazingly offensive it's hard to sign off on it all the way.
Those parts don't make this a better movie, just a more desperate one. This could have stood up much taller on its own without really glancing off into the tasteless realms that it does a few times. It completely waters down the really funny parts that it does have. This is a hard R rated flick.
The 33
The new movie, The 33 is certainly a story worth telling. It's just a bit of a shame that this true story of an amazing experience wasn't given a slightly better script. It's always challenging to make a movie about actual events where everyone knows the outcome, and make it still engaging.
This is the story of the 33 miners from Chile that we all saw come to safety about 5 years ago in a truly remarkable fashion. They were buried underground for 64 days, and all made it to the top. The story is truly miraculous. But this movie tries so hard to be so many things, it forgets to be as interesting as it could be. It tells the story from the perspective of the miners trapped, and that's terrific. But on the surface, it gets bogged down in politics, and side plots that for me just do not work. The truly amazing part of this true story is the drilling and the technology that saved these men as it had never been done before. And they simply glaze over that aspect and that's a shame.
This stars Antonio Bandaras, Lou Diamond Phillips and a nice supporting cast. This is not a bomb by any means, as it is a good and inspiring story. It just needed to be as interesting and compelling of a movie as it was a true story.
scott@wqmx.com
Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Anthony Mackie star in the new Christmas comedy, The Night Before. Right up front, this is a stoner comedy and there are some very, very funny moments in this. But there are also a few really harsh and regrettable decisions made in the name of "comedy" here that really don't work.
This is the story of three friends all in their early 30's that have a tradition of going out on Christmas Eve and party up a storm. And this is the final time they will be doing this as they have all grown up and seemingly gone their separate ways. They spend the night getting completely messed up on various drugs and other substances and looking at where they each are in life. Much of this is parody and works well. It also channels other Christmas movies, borrowing the premise from A Christmas Carol, and others. But this is a comedy where they don't know where to stop, stepping into a few scenes that are so amazingly offensive it's hard to sign off on it all the way.
Those parts don't make this a better movie, just a more desperate one. This could have stood up much taller on its own without really glancing off into the tasteless realms that it does a few times. It completely waters down the really funny parts that it does have. This is a hard R rated flick.
The 33
The new movie, The 33 is certainly a story worth telling. It's just a bit of a shame that this true story of an amazing experience wasn't given a slightly better script. It's always challenging to make a movie about actual events where everyone knows the outcome, and make it still engaging.
This is the story of the 33 miners from Chile that we all saw come to safety about 5 years ago in a truly remarkable fashion. They were buried underground for 64 days, and all made it to the top. The story is truly miraculous. But this movie tries so hard to be so many things, it forgets to be as interesting as it could be. It tells the story from the perspective of the miners trapped, and that's terrific. But on the surface, it gets bogged down in politics, and side plots that for me just do not work. The truly amazing part of this true story is the drilling and the technology that saved these men as it had never been done before. And they simply glaze over that aspect and that's a shame.
This stars Antonio Bandaras, Lou Diamond Phillips and a nice supporting cast. This is not a bomb by any means, as it is a good and inspiring story. It just needed to be as interesting and compelling of a movie as it was a true story.
scott@wqmx.com
Saturday, November 14, 2015
MOVIE REVIEWS - New This Week
My All American
This is a small movie about a really big, true story from the University of Texas' football program. It's the story of a young and overachieving football player named Freddie Steinmark as told through the eyes of former great football coach, Darrell Royal (Aaron Eckhart). Steinmark is an incredible personal story that is absolutely worth telling.
This is very reminiscent of movies like The Rookie, Remember The Titans, and others. National critics have been tough on this, and frankly I don't understand it. This is a family movie, with a story you don't know, told in a fashion that is mass appeal. Sure, there are better movies with stronger scripts and bigger budgets, but so what? We need movies for all kind of audiences, and this is a spot on family movie that all can enjoy. Perfect? Heavens no, but this is alright.
Love The Coopers
It is becoming more commonplace, where you put a bunch of big Hollywood names together on stage, and belch out a real dog. And this is the latest debacle. Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Amanda Seyfried, Ed Helms, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde and many others got together to make a new holiday movie that was a very bad idea.
There are a few moments that are funny, but by and large this is a story about people you don't like, that are amazingly dysfunctional, and telling a story you wish had never been written. There is some real horrible writing here, and we finally get learn just how bad some of these actors really are. Filmed horribly with some seemingly silly filter on Keaton's face for much of it that is really elf absorbed and distracting. Wilde, who looks great on camera, turns in a dog of a performance, and why Helms and Seyfried are even cast here is beyond me. This is one of the dogs of the year.
This is a small movie about a really big, true story from the University of Texas' football program. It's the story of a young and overachieving football player named Freddie Steinmark as told through the eyes of former great football coach, Darrell Royal (Aaron Eckhart). Steinmark is an incredible personal story that is absolutely worth telling.
This is very reminiscent of movies like The Rookie, Remember The Titans, and others. National critics have been tough on this, and frankly I don't understand it. This is a family movie, with a story you don't know, told in a fashion that is mass appeal. Sure, there are better movies with stronger scripts and bigger budgets, but so what? We need movies for all kind of audiences, and this is a spot on family movie that all can enjoy. Perfect? Heavens no, but this is alright.
Love The Coopers
It is becoming more commonplace, where you put a bunch of big Hollywood names together on stage, and belch out a real dog. And this is the latest debacle. Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Amanda Seyfried, Ed Helms, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Wilde and many others got together to make a new holiday movie that was a very bad idea.
There are a few moments that are funny, but by and large this is a story about people you don't like, that are amazingly dysfunctional, and telling a story you wish had never been written. There is some real horrible writing here, and we finally get learn just how bad some of these actors really are. Filmed horribly with some seemingly silly filter on Keaton's face for much of it that is really elf absorbed and distracting. Wilde, who looks great on camera, turns in a dog of a performance, and why Helms and Seyfried are even cast here is beyond me. This is one of the dogs of the year.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - James Bond: Spectre
Daniel Craig is back as James Bond in the new saga, Spectre. For the record, I like Bond movies. He was been a superhero in movies of over 50 years, and somehow they keep this brand going strong.
This picks up right where Skyfall left off, with new characters and gadgetry. The enemy now is a new organization called Spectre that is bent on being the biggest gatherer of sensitive information from all the major governments in the world. They essentially want to spy on all the spy agencies on earth and basically become the worlds largest unstoppable terrorist organization.
This is pretty savvy. Bond movies have really tuned into the times we live in. This addresses the concern we all have about our private information, and the concern we have about other entities gathering information from the people that are supposed to keep us safe. This is highly topical and right on target. Thank goodness we have Bond and the Double 0 program to save the day.
Since Craig has taken over the Bond flicks, they seem to have a more dark tone to them. Well, after all we do live in some darker times in some regards than before, and the new Bond tackles that. This movie also celebrates some more of the humor that has been lacking recently in some Bond flicks, and that was good to see. What has always made these movies work is the willingness to be all things for all people.
This is very good in all regards. Craig is great again, and Christof Waltz is terrific as our main villain. This has all the good things you want from Bond. The amazing action, the humor, the beautiful women, and a story that is right on time. Great to have him back for the holidays.
James Bond: Spectre. Very entertaining. Well, well done.
This picks up right where Skyfall left off, with new characters and gadgetry. The enemy now is a new organization called Spectre that is bent on being the biggest gatherer of sensitive information from all the major governments in the world. They essentially want to spy on all the spy agencies on earth and basically become the worlds largest unstoppable terrorist organization.
This is pretty savvy. Bond movies have really tuned into the times we live in. This addresses the concern we all have about our private information, and the concern we have about other entities gathering information from the people that are supposed to keep us safe. This is highly topical and right on target. Thank goodness we have Bond and the Double 0 program to save the day.
Since Craig has taken over the Bond flicks, they seem to have a more dark tone to them. Well, after all we do live in some darker times in some regards than before, and the new Bond tackles that. This movie also celebrates some more of the humor that has been lacking recently in some Bond flicks, and that was good to see. What has always made these movies work is the willingness to be all things for all people.
This is very good in all regards. Craig is great again, and Christof Waltz is terrific as our main villain. This has all the good things you want from Bond. The amazing action, the humor, the beautiful women, and a story that is right on time. Great to have him back for the holidays.
James Bond: Spectre. Very entertaining. Well, well done.
MOVIE REVIEW - Our Brand Is Crisis
What a complete and total disaster. The latest movies from Sandra Bullock is a complete failure.
This is movie about political corruption, and the underhandedness that ensues in elections with the horrible people that are behind the shady candidates. Like we don't have enough of this in our daily lives, we need to pay a ticket price to watch it play out for entertainment? Plus this tells a story of a election in Bolivia from 15 years or so ago. Who cares?
This movie, I think was thinking it was real smart, and this was going to be an eye opening saga that we were all going to be shocked over. Please! We all know about these horrible people and the shady business politics is. This movie reeks of "we are smarter than you," but it's not. This movie also looks to be about 25 years late in thinking we all don't know this stuff and see it every single night on the news.
It takes a real bunch of total buffoons to take Sandra Bullock, and Billy Bob Thornton and have this be the worst opening of her entire career in a A-listed movie. But they did. They took a story no one cares about, created characters no one likes, and put it in a movie that makes people even more apathetic than they already are about the election system sometimes. What on earth were they expecting?
Our Brand Is Crisis. This is maybe one of the worst ideas for a major motion picture in a very long time.
This is movie about political corruption, and the underhandedness that ensues in elections with the horrible people that are behind the shady candidates. Like we don't have enough of this in our daily lives, we need to pay a ticket price to watch it play out for entertainment? Plus this tells a story of a election in Bolivia from 15 years or so ago. Who cares?
This movie, I think was thinking it was real smart, and this was going to be an eye opening saga that we were all going to be shocked over. Please! We all know about these horrible people and the shady business politics is. This movie reeks of "we are smarter than you," but it's not. This movie also looks to be about 25 years late in thinking we all don't know this stuff and see it every single night on the news.
It takes a real bunch of total buffoons to take Sandra Bullock, and Billy Bob Thornton and have this be the worst opening of her entire career in a A-listed movie. But they did. They took a story no one cares about, created characters no one likes, and put it in a movie that makes people even more apathetic than they already are about the election system sometimes. What on earth were they expecting?
Our Brand Is Crisis. This is maybe one of the worst ideas for a major motion picture in a very long time.
Monday, November 2, 2015
VARIOUS MOVIE REVIEWS -
Some movies are so not worth an entire review, there is a new way to package them here. As we get into real legit movie season, they will get the attention they deserve, while others will be lumped into this format. So let's start here.
The Last Witch Hunter -
I like Vin Diesel. We all like Vin Diesel. We just don't care for this. This is an over produced, uninteresting special effects fest, that doesn't do anyone any justice. Diesel plays a character that has been alive for centuries fighting against, and keeping the balance between the witch world and the modern world, as they walk among us. Boring, unoriginal and poorly done in about every way. Hard to make it to the finish of this one. At least Fast And Furious has three more installments in the years ahead. This is not worth your time.
Steve Jobs -
Wow! What a look at one of the great innovators of our lifetime. Or is he? This pic paints Steve Jobs, one of Apple's founders as one horrible person. Not really good at anything in his real life. This is the second movie about Jobs, and this one is equally not as good as the first, although very different. This is paced semi well, but I will tell you this is simply 2 hours of nonstop dialogue. This is not very compelling movie making, but there are decent performances. Micheal Fassbender is good as Jobs. Seth Rogen is then best thing in this movie in his supporting role, as is Kate Winslet. But this is simply not interesting, and gets in a long line of "computer guy" movies that just are not all that captivating.
Burnt -
Bradley Cooper is Hollywood's biggest leading man. But this is not good. Do anything else except go to this movie about a chef that no one cares about, in a story no one cares about. This was a bad career decision of the first order.
scott@wqmx.com
The Last Witch Hunter -
I like Vin Diesel. We all like Vin Diesel. We just don't care for this. This is an over produced, uninteresting special effects fest, that doesn't do anyone any justice. Diesel plays a character that has been alive for centuries fighting against, and keeping the balance between the witch world and the modern world, as they walk among us. Boring, unoriginal and poorly done in about every way. Hard to make it to the finish of this one. At least Fast And Furious has three more installments in the years ahead. This is not worth your time.
Steve Jobs -
Wow! What a look at one of the great innovators of our lifetime. Or is he? This pic paints Steve Jobs, one of Apple's founders as one horrible person. Not really good at anything in his real life. This is the second movie about Jobs, and this one is equally not as good as the first, although very different. This is paced semi well, but I will tell you this is simply 2 hours of nonstop dialogue. This is not very compelling movie making, but there are decent performances. Micheal Fassbender is good as Jobs. Seth Rogen is then best thing in this movie in his supporting role, as is Kate Winslet. But this is simply not interesting, and gets in a long line of "computer guy" movies that just are not all that captivating.
Burnt -
Bradley Cooper is Hollywood's biggest leading man. But this is not good. Do anything else except go to this movie about a chef that no one cares about, in a story no one cares about. This was a bad career decision of the first order.
scott@wqmx.com
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