A movie about life; "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" shines

  While we have seen both truthful and fictional depictions of war onscreen, we as viewers do not always get an inside scoop of what it would be like to live there temporarily as a war reporter in “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” Fey’s newest film to theaters.

 Other than being a journalist-in-training and obviously wanting to see an out-of-the-box film about the life of journalists, this looked like a different movie. It is, and Fey brings out that ability very well. Her acting has ranged from good to great over the years (see her depiction of Sarah Palin), but she pulls off this serious role as a 40-something journalist bored with her job and eventually her relationship with her boyfriend in this Afghanistan-set drama.\

I think this movie shows that there is still life after for Tina Fey's movie-making career after age 40. I don't know for sure, but I believe that she is approaching 50 as of this writing in 2016. Unfortunately for Saturday Night Live actors/actresses, there is not always a strong demand for "aging" women. 

Nevertheless, Fey is hilarious and also very serious when the moment calls for it in the old-military-named "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot," now available for the thinking person's viewing habits.

Rating: 3 out of 4... but sometimes, after a little reflection, I think it's a 3.25 out of 4 stars. That is, if that's possible to rate a movie a quarter-star.

Video games as.... movies?

I am unaware why studios think that video games make a great adaptation for film story ideas.

As I have been browsing through he current movies that are Coming Soon on the Internet Movie Database, I found something from a video game I played as a high school student.

Ratchet and Clank (2016).

I was a little surprised.

The very animated and very quirky R and C games series got momentum in 2002. Released for the PlayStation 2, it sold much more than 1 million copies.

But the thing is. It was basically a kid's game, with a few double entendres thrown in for good fun. It was rated T for animated violence.

It spawned a PSP port, and enough sequels to compete with the "Friday the 13th" movies.

But why on earth is there a similar version of it coming to theaters? I think that the film business is too crowded as it is with mindless, poorly-plotted films, and the like.

They are so silly, and I think they should go away.

Want proof of this silly thing's existence? Click here to see...and no, I absolutely did not watch the trailer.

Dark Knight or Man of Steel?

The movie all DC Universe comic geeks have been waiting for is here!

Delayed by a whole year, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will hit selected theaters this Thursday evening, and then released for all of North America the next day, March 25.

Starring future Batman movie director and new Batman star Ben Affleck, who will be the oldest actor to have played Batman in live action, it will co-star Henry Cavill (Superman from the well-received "Man of Steel"), Jeremy Irons as Alfred, and new actress Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, the movie is said to focus on Batman's struggle as a rogue agent of sorts, still meandering with his moral compass.

Pic credit: www.screenrant.com

Meanwhile, Superman of course takes the stock, proverbial good-guy character, and the movie's script lets him face off Batman's eternal sense of cynicism, doubt, paranoia, and the pressures of a crime-ridden Gotham City.

I think that if it is anything like the popular "Justice League" comics series or even the cartoon from Cartoon Network that started in 2001, it could be a big hit.

However, my question for the series is: what new content and storyline will this new movie bring to the existing Batman universe? 

The Christopher Nolan films were done very well, and one of them in particular was basically the perfect, psychological crime drama AND comic book movie. 

So, this will have some huge shoes to fill.

Car-Action-Heist movie Gone in 60 Seconds

Whoosh! What was that?

That was the air-pumping sheeeesh of a turbocharger's waste-gate!  That means this could only be one movie. "Gone in 60 Seconds" will be reviewed here today.

Sporting an award-winning cast (but not award-winning for this particular movie) with Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, and co-starring pretty much unknown actor Giovanni Ribisi (from the stock brocker film "Boiler Room"). 

Fun action, some humorous bits, a frightening and creepy villain rounded out this rental-worthy action classic; especially if you are looking for some Friday night fun in terms of 21st century film entertainment.

My Ratings: 

If you like cars and Nicolas Cage movies 3 out of 4 stars

If you don't care for Nicolas Cage movies but still appreciate action: 2 out of 4 stars

Pic credit: Allstate Insurance 

James Bond 007: Spectre on DVD

The Walther PPK compact pistol. Intense hand-to-hand combat. Cutting-edge technology. Seemingly random romantic endeavors with women with “shaken not stirred” martini, followed by that familiar visit to Q-branch and the MI6 director, M.

   Yes, millennials, there was a famous action hero before Matt Damon’s Bourne movies, and that can only be one person: Daniel Craig returns in his fourth outing as James Bond in “007: Spectre” (Metro Goldwyn Mayer), now available in theaters, and, as of this re-working, on DVD in the United States.

    First up: the plot. Similar to Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry character in 1976’s “The Enforcer,” Bond finds his actions at the beginning of the film suspending him from his job indefinitely. M, his boss (played by Ralph Fiennes since Judi Dench's character died in "Skyfall"), had 007 injected with nanotechnology to track his movements so he does not try to “investigate” things as only Bond does.

      “Spectre” tries to dodge some of the usual, ugly clichés of action movie damsel-in-distress formula, and it does with a number of surprises from really old Bond movies. 

Let’s start with the most apparent one and put this review on hold for a moment: the front of the movie’s poster, a top-hatted man with a skeleton costume, rung firstly in my mind a villain from the 1973 Roger Moore 007 outing “Live and Let Die,” which consisted of such a character, Baron Samedi, as a secondary character. 

  However, Samedi makes no appearance in this film other than the aforementioned cryptic poster.

     Back to the review. There are a few major twists and turns in this one that are in places you will not see coming. It is a little tricky to review this one without going too far, but here is a synopsis for you: after receiving that message from his past, Bond goes after the daughter of that messenger in a dramatic, action-filled quest to protect her at all costs from a shady organization known only as Spectre.

   Through this action-filled story, Craig’s Bond starts to show us more depth of his character than something like the disappointing “Quantum of Solace” or the slightly confusing-at-times “Casino Royale,” so the script is obviously trying to breathe some life into the British agent. 

  It works, for the most part.

     I have to honor this movie’s intense action (intense to that the organization which rates movies describe it as “intense violence”), reminiscence, epic car chase between expensive cars, exploding gadgets, and Bond’s refreshing depth. Since I have generally used the 4 star scale, I find it a fun enough movie to give 3 stars to. But the movie’s rather predictable ending a small plot hole stop me from giving it more…and wondering if its director, Sam Mendes, has the ability to stay on track with his interesting take on Bond, James Bond.

    For the easygoing Bond fanatic, “Spectre” will likely please the crowds.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

"Birdman" a home run

"Birdman" Review

March 2016; based on notes on time of my theatrical viewing

Theatrical viewing: sometime in spring semester 2015            

           I like to think of movies that fall into two categories. There are movies. Movies are what people go to escape life, and maybe watch robots destroy each other, or a man in a metal suit save the world, again.

            Movies, simply, are what make money. They sometimes have big budgets, and are more often than not viewed as art forms.

            Then, there are films. I mean artful movies that dazzle, encamp, shine, and otherwise display elements—plot, characters, a good script—that attract attention and buzz of the Academy Awards. “Birdman” is one the films up for this year’s Best Picture nominations. (as of this piece's notes, written in 2015).

            As a radical departure from past Michael Keaton movies, this is not a feel good movie. This genre-bending film is listed as “drama, comedy” under the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) web site, and “feel good comedy” it does not match. Keaton, who has himself seen a career slowdown himself since sleeper horror hit “White Noise” last hit the big screen a decade ago, has mostly held small roles in movies since.

He stars as washed-up actor who is trying to make ends meet financing his first Broadway play with his dramatic producer (Zach Galifianakis) and runs into issues with his ex-wife Sylvia (Amy Ryan) girlfriend Laura (Andrea Risesborough) and troubled daughter (Emma Stone). The kicker in the movie is that Riggan is then forced to hire an additional cast member infamous for his talent, and tumultuous personality (Edward Norton, in a sense playing himself).

It is many of these relationships with the women in his life that make his life additionally complicated. On top of all this, his feathered alter-ego keeps talking to him, adding conflict. It also shows Riggan’s duality: a desire to be an artist, as well as his desire to be a young action star again.

            That is basically the plot, but it is not solely the plot that makes this film hyped up: the acting performances are terrific. The cinematography is actually something new. There are no camera “takes,” but rather one continuous take that flows and moves slickly. It recalls Martin Scorsese, perhaps as an ode. Or, perhaps as something new. It makes for an artsy feel.

            It is important to finally note why this is not a “feel good movie.” This is because it deals with many real-life issues. Loss of self-respect is continued here, as Riggan eventually admits to as well other dynamics between characters show appear to show the face behind the actor.

            Although “Birdman” will not make you feel good, the collaboration of on-and off-screen talent makes the day for the excellent film that is “Birdman: (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”

We have holy ghost power!!

We got holy ghost power! We got holy ghost power today! Why? Because we have the keys to the kingdom. We got holy ghost power!

This quote from a key moment of action of the indie 1997 Sundance Festival film "The Apostle" finds actor Robert Duvall taking on the difficult role of a flawed, womanizing preacher Sonny in Duvall's essentially self-funded film project.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Absolutely a pleasing film to watch, "The Apostle" absolutely shows off the great talents of real-life southern Holiness style preachers.

"The Apostle" finds Sonny Dewey, a gifted, self-aware Pentecostal Southern preacher, going on the lam after committing an act of violence. He does this after discovering his wife sleeping with the youth minister (Horace) at his church, and then going through his own church's by-laws that ends up firing him from his pastoral at the church.

Fast facts: Duvall cast real life Holiness preachers and choir members for the film to add a strong, realistic feel (IMDB).

Source: www.popoptiq.com

According to Duvall, he self-financed the film after possibly near a decade of finding non-supportive studios. After it did sort of well in the box office (around $20 million stateside), he was reimbursed for his film.

I think "The Apostle" is one of those rare gems. It's like that perfect marinade for a steak you have been perfecting, and if you especially like the taste of marinade, it stays with you for years and years.

My rating for it: 5 out of 5 stars

"Fletch" good for the end of a long week

“Fletch” (1985)

ENG 496 Blog Entry

            “Excuse me, my car just hit a water buffalo. Can I borrow your towel?”

            This quote, said to a woman as she recently finished her shower, is a classic example of actor Chevy Chase in the 1980s comedy “Fletch.”

            There is also a scene where he is dressed up like Moses and roller skates down the beach where he talks to a potential source for his drug trafficking story. Classic, I must say.

            “Fletch” is based a series of detective fiction from the 1970s and early 80s. I don’t remember the name of the author of those books, but regardless, I have a gut feeling that he would have approved of Chevy Chase as the unorthodox newspaper column writer.

            

           As a disguise, he introduces himself as Harry S. Truman, Don Corleone, and probably most humorously Ted Nugent.

            While these references show very much just how old this movie is (Nugent being a music star from the late 1970s), it still makes for a fun hour and a half of your time, if a bit quirky part of your time.

            One really cannot go very deeply in the movie-analyzing business by writing articles on “Fletch.”

            Directed by the late Michael Ritchie, “Fletch” is fun, and I must say would make for a good remake idea.

            It is a shame they let a gem like this go, because “Fletch Won” (the second film was released in 1989) has been in and out of development for more than 20 years.

            I recommend this movie if you are feeling a bit low and looking for some old-school deadpan comedic delivery—as former Saturday Night Live actor Chevy Chase could do.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Jaws: because of the music

Tonight is Feb. 5, later at night. The classic Jaws is showing on one of the Showtime channels right now, and it's every bit as good as I remember it.

Excellent music, original score by John Williams it had.

Jaws was powered by a very realistic looking mechanical arm-powered shark machine that was engineered specifically for the film. Released in the summer of 1975, it was one of the movies that started the idea of a blockbuster. 

The only oddity? Back then, it was technically a "dramatic horror" film. It made several million dollars in the U.S., and it starred one of England's famous bad guy actors, Robert Shaw and somewhat newcomer Richard Dreyfuss.

What is the best part of the movie? A satisfying, death-shot that actor Roy Scheider makes with his spear-rifle right before the very end of the film.

Excitement, aspects of horror, ethical situations, convincing acting, and a perfect score all made this a great 1970s blockbuster that is still rewatcheable today.

Zach Filtz Movie Blog for class: ENG 496

Hello,

I'm Zach and this will be used for my class, ENG 496. This is a preliminary post and not meant to be graded--just a sign to my instructor and to my classmates. 

Others from the English department are welcome to read, as well.

The blog will be doing some movie analyses, probably a critique of the Oscars when they come around later in February, and maybe a movie/game adaption, as well. Some movies made for some great video games, I must say.

Toodles!

"The Thing" still rocks

33 years later, it still rocks.

Even if the movie review Web site www.rogerebert.com called it a "geek show" at the time of its 1982 theatrical release. No, as you may guess, old Roger did not like John Carpenter's The Thing very much. He gave it two and a half our of his four-star system.

Last month, I endeavored something I thought that I would never do. I started to watch a few horror movies, and boy, I must tell you that I thought it was good.

To sum things up, I found Carpenter's way of finishing off (most of) the characters was very intelligent.

It definitely found a more creative, intense, and scary way of dealing with aliens by incorporating the mass, continuing sense of paranoia. I found that brilliant.

The best part was seeing the RJ MacReady character sit outside the destroyed camp with the Davis character, I think was his name. The overall cast was a little stereotypical, but the scares, jumps, and pacing made it all quite good.

Pic credit: besthorrormovies.com