Special ID

Special ID IMDb

After watching Serpico on Netflix, I decided to watch this one afterwards just for kicks.  Donnie Yen is usually a badass but to be honest, other than IP Man, all his other movies aren't that great.  This one was silly but it was aimed to be a great action flick.  I guess it's like a Jason Statham movie.  The action sequences were a little more on the ridiculous side.  You have to suspend your belief big time especially with that crazy car chase scene where both drivers set the car to cruise control in order to fight each other.  Some of the martial arts fighting scenes were pretty awesome but nothing fresh.  Anyways, I wouldn't recommend it.  

That's all I've got.  May kind of sucked with movies except for Mad Max, Avengers, one of the Zatoichi movies, and the Hitchcock movie I saw.  The other ones either sucked or they were alright.  June looks promising though.  The Connection, Jurassic World, Inside Out, Black Sea, Wild Tales, Paddington, Frequency, The Trouble with Harry, and The Vicious Kind are some of the movies I have scheduled to see.

Serpico

Serpico IMDb

Al Pacino in his prime days.  The fucking badass.  I finally saw this classic from the 70's.  Undercover cop masterpiece.  All about corruption.  It's a good drama with a little bit of suspense action.  A little longer than expected but I can see why this movie is considered a classic.  I wouldn't personally buy it but I'm glad to have finally seen it.  Good to see Al Pacino in police action.

Saw this movie this past Wednesday after deciding in checking out a French gangster/cop movie called The Connection.  The Connection is playing at the Alamo Drafthouse and it is distributed by Drafthouse Films.  So I wanted to check out a few cop/crime movies before I see that one.  

Wetlands

Wetlands IMDb

I've heard crazy shit about this movie last year so when I saw that Netflix has it, I had to see what the crazy shit was all about.  Well, I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday last week that I had the fucking guts to see it.  I was disgusted by it.  But, that's what the movie is all about.  The hideous and outrageous things the main characters puts herself through.  It's kind of like punk rock movie.  I've seen some shit in my life and this is one of them.  Now for the story itself, this should have been something better.  I didn't like it too much.  I like that it took balls for them to make this kind of movie.  I liked that it was original.  That's it.  Best Movie dealing with a rebellious sex crazed female teenager with hemorrhoids goes to this movie.

Take it from me, don't torture yourself with this movie.  Human Centipede?  Now that's a great fucking movie.  Kidding!  

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman IMDb 

Wow!  Now this is another great Zatoichi film.  A lot better than the last few I saw.  There's a lot going on.  Lots of kills and some blood too.  Just like the title says, Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman.  It is the same actor who plays the character in the Shaw Brothers version.  A Japanese legend with a Chinese legend.  They're both kind of in the same side at first but because of the language barrier, they have differences.  A big misunderstanding from the One-Armed Swordsman.  Lots of battles with different yakuzas.  I love the intro to this.  Beautiful.  Ending felt rushed a bit.  I wouldn't have minded a little more movie time. 

Spoiler alert:  Zatoichi kills the One-Armed Swordsman. Before he dies, they both acknowledged that this was a big misunderstanding.
Good double feature experience with the original One-Armed Swordsman.

One-Armed Swordsman

One-Armed Swordsman IMDb 

Had me a kung fu and samurai double feature on Sunday.  Posting late due to a crazy week
at work (mother nature decided to give me some overtime in the same week I work the early morning shift).  Anyways, I started with this movie and ended with Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman.  This Shaw Brothers classic was pretty good.  A little longer than what it needed to be but pretty damn good.  I mean, it's got a revenge plot so it's not going to be terrible (though, I've seen some pretty terrible revenge films in my life).  Basic story.  Villains here are very unlikeable.  I just wanted them dead but they got away with a lot of stuff up until the very end.  I love the kung fu score here.  Too awesome.  Too awesome that I searched the internet to see if I can buy the soundtrack.  Of course, it's nowhere to be found.  So instead, I bought the Kung Fu Hustle soundtrack.  Anyways, there are a lot of cheesy scenes but it's supposed to be a serious movie.  I was okay with it.
 

Okay to check out.  There's a special edition to this movie that features a commentary by my favorite director, Tarantino.  Might have to snag that version someday.

 

Before I started the double feature, I went to a Chinese restaurant called, Four Seasons.  Pretty damn good.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service IMDb 

Son of a bitch, Johnny.  This was pretty fucking good.  Not as great as Kick Ass or X-Men: First Class but in par with Layer Cake.  What do all these movies have in common?  They're all directed by Matthew Vaughn.  His latest film delivered in the action department.  Story needed a little more kick.  Didn't care too much about the main character, Eggsy.  Some of the jokes weren't that funny.  I did like a lot of the sequences though.  Good surprises in the first half.  Second half, predictable.  Colin Firth's character, Harry Hart, is a badass in here.  Kudos on the Freebird song.  Church scene was one of my favorite scenes. 

Saw this at the discount theatre this morning.  Good entertainment.  Now, some people think I take movies very seriously and yes they are fucking right.  I've been a cinephile since as far as I can remember.  I also connect them with food and daily events, or try to.

Here are three examples today: 

My son graduated from preschool today before I went to the theatre.  They played the traditional graduation song as he walked to his seat with the rest of his class.  Well, in Kingsman, in another favorite scene of mine, they also played the same traditional song. That was pure coincidence.  Made me a happy camper at the theatre.

The movie had a dinner scene where surprisingly, McDonalds food was served.  So I decided to stop by McDonalds and order exactly what they had, or what Harry Hart had.

And third, Harry Hart had a Guiness during a good scene.  I went to my favorite pub and ordered a refreshing Guiness.  

Here I am at the Draught House as I'm writing this.  Kingsman Movie Day Experience complete.

Hitchcock Thursday: To Catch a Thief

To Catch a Thief IMDb 

Smooth.  Very smooth Hitchcock movie.  Lots of classy scenes and of course, lots of suspense.  Great movie about an ex jewel thief trying to clear his name by catching the real thief.  Forget the police, it takes a thief to catch a thief.  That's pretty much the message here.  Hence, the title, To Catch a Thief.  There's also a romantic sub-plot Hitchcock style.  I enjoyed it a lot.  I should have had brandy, maybe a picnic with chicken and French beer.  Oh, there's wine on here too.  I should have had all that.  There's a quiche lorraine scene here too (Hitchcock's favorite dish).  For those not aware yet, I have a thing for food and movie pairings.  So, I always look out for that.  

Excellent Hitchcock film.  A perfect double feature would be this and a cool Animation I saw a few years back called, A Cat in Paris.  Next month for Hitchcock Thursday, I'll be checking out, The Trouble with Harry.

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival IMDb 

Zatoichi doesn't go to a fire festival here.  The title is a metaphor for the craziness that he endures.
This was a pretty good movie.  Lots of layers and lots of things happen.  My favorite moment has to be the bath fighting scene.  Oh, another great moment is when Zatoichi kills one of the main villains towards the end.  Western vibe to that kill.  Decent movie for the series.

In a few days, I am going to watch the next Zatoichi film, Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman.  And for kicks, no pun intended, I've rented the original kung fu classic,  The One-Armed Swordsman from the Shaw Brothers.  Good double feature this weekend.

Whole movie right here:

Batman Vs. Robin (2015)

Batman vs Robin IMDb 

As I looked at upcoming titles at the Redbox, I noticed this Animated new movie was out.  And I had my son over this past weekend, so it was meant to be.  My son asked, Why Batman and Robin have to fight?  Well, let's find out why.  This version, Robin isn't the same Robin were used to.  It's Batman's adopted son who took over as the new Robin (the old Robin is Nightwing here).
Anyways, little Robin is a rebellious little fucker.  He has a lot of differences with Batman so he joins Talon, one of the villains in the movie.  Some cool dark animation we got here.  Basic stuff. But, if you're a Batman fan like my son, then this is a must.

Spoiler Alert:
Batman and Robin make up at the end.

Giving this a 6 out of 10.

Mad Max:Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road IMDb 

Wowzers!  Balls out great action film this was.  Non stop action that made time go by faster
than a speeding bullet.  Not that fast but pretty fast.  Loved it.  Puts The Expendables and a lot of recent big budget action movies to shame.  This is big budget as well but done right.  Man, that hardcore score.  Tom Hardy is pretty badass but he wasn't the main focus.  The minor characters were more badass.  I love all the hateful villains.  Favorite moment: "Remember Me!" kill scene towards the end.  I'm still overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the chase scenes.  Literally, majority of the movie takes place on the road.  Chase after chase after chase.  What the fuck?  I had a hard time falling asleep last night after the movie.  Love the ultra violent style.

Nothing but nice words here.  Definitely one of the best movies I've seen so far this year.  Enough of my bullshit.  See the movie if you haven't yet and especially for action and adventure seekers. Have yourself a lovely day!
 9 out of 10!

Jesse and Lester

Jesse and Lester IMDb 

 Saw this cheap quality spaghetti western at the last minute last night after a spontaneous drunken night. Yeah, I've said it.  Holy shit!  This western sucked.  We got a preacher named Lester and a whorehouse dreamer named Jesse teaming up together to find gold in order to accomplish their dreams.  That's it.  They were going for a comedic western here.  I didn't mind the story just the quality on this was so poor that I didn't get to enjoy it as much.

So there you have it.  The end!

And in case you are brave enough to see the movie, you can see it right here:

The Gambler

The Gambler IMDb

Say hi to your mom for me!  This movie was pretty awesome.  Not in a way to get excited and tell everybody.  But, solid entertainment.  Great fucking soundtrack.  The mood gets suspenseful in the second half.  The message is clear.  It's the win big or go home kind of message.  Nothing in between.  Some of the gambling scenes get intense like why the fuck is Marky Mark gambling all the money?  Why don't he just quit while he's ahead?  Well, that is all part of having a gambling addiction.  Marky Mark said it himself earlier in the movie, that happy people would never understand why depressed people choose to kill themselves.  What I got out of that is simple, people with no gambling addiction would not understand the addicts.

So, good movie.  Maybe not to buy.  Oh yeah, the soundtrack is awesome.  Worth mentioning twice.  Too bad the Rollin' Stones song used in one of the trailers isn't in the movie.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo IMDb 

Another Zatoichi film bites the dust.  This may be the longest running movie from the collection set.  It sure as hell felt like it.  Zatoichi meets the famous samurai, Yojimbo.  They have their confrontations but they never have an actual good battle against each other.  Then again, this isn't called Zatoichi Vs. Yojimbo.  Zatoichi does have a few close calls.  Lots of yakuza killing action but nothing too special.  For the first time in Zatoichi film history, there's a flashback sequence here.  Overall, not my favorite.  A lot of stuff dragged on.  Most of the Zatoichi movies range from 80 to 90 minutes long.  This one was 2 hours.  

5 more movies and I'm done with the Zatoichi box set.  Zatoichi, motherfucka!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night IMDb

It was late one night last week when I saw this movie.  And I was alone.  Creepy!  It's a Persian vampire movie but it was shot here in the U.S.  All in Black and White.  Kudos for the horror classic nostalgic look.  It had my attention in the first half but somehow that wasn't the case in the second half.  Nothing really happens.  Just some vampire girl killing people in a small Iranian town. Simple as that.  

I was wanting more out of this.  Damn you, vampire girl.  Damn you to hell.  You were just okay in my book.  

Time Travel Tuesday: 11 Minutes Ago

11 Minutes Ago IMDb 

 This movie has a very awesome concept.  Confusing but awesome.  The execution sucked.  Poor acting.  Poor editing.  It sucked.  I mean it wasn't supposed to be intentionally bad but it's one of those I just had fun with (poking fun of how bad it was). It plays in a non-linear way, Memento style.  Our main character comes from the future and crashes a wedding.  He can only be there for 11 minutes.  After that, he goes back.  Then he comes back again to the same wedding but either later in the evening or earlier.  It turns out he's in love with one of the bridesmaids.  So he keeps going back to spend more time with her. I haven't mentioned the fucked up part.  This is all found footage style.  That's right.  And most people know how I feel about found footage.  This was done in the annoying way: multiple cameras.  So, yeah, disappointed. Once again, clever idea, bad delivery.

If this was somehow remade with better actors and director, and steer away from found footage, it would probably be something special.  Can't win them all.  Next month, I'll be watching Frequency for Time Travel Tuesday.

The People vs. George Lucas

The People vs. George Lucas IMDb 

That George Lucas guy is one son of a bitch.  This documentary just made me lose even more respect for him.  He created one of the most iconic things ever but he tried so hard to ruin that over the years.  I must admit, I wasn't disappointed with the Star Wars prequels. Yeah, it's just dust comparing to the greatness of the original Star Wars series.  But, I wasn't disappointed.  I probably hate cgi more than anybody here but I still thought the prequels were "okay."  Watching this doc, made me realize how even more stupid those prequels were.  What the fuck?  Also, it is sad world we live in when the original Star Wars prints are nowhere to be found.  I mean, come on, they could just release a big limited edition box containing both the originals and the George Lucas bells and whistles editions.  It would sell like crack in the streets of Detroit. Stop, you racist bastard!  I didn't say anything racist.  Just saying it's a money grabber.  There are some releases out there that contain both the theatrical cut and director's cut.  Why not do it to one of the greatest movies ever?  Because George Lucas is one son of a bitch, that's why. 

No more venting.  Time to drink my sorrows away.  Happy May the Fourth, everybody.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron IMDb 

The Avengers, man!  Can't go wrong with a big Marvel movie on the big screen.  Saw it this morning at the Alamo. I enjoyed it a lot.  I was a little worried about halfway through but the last part saved it.  There are a few minor things I can think of right now that stopped it from being a perfect movie for me.  Since this isn't a full on heavy duty review, I'll just mention one of them.  Hulk didn't steal the show this time around.  As a matter of fact, during the last battle, there was like 10 or 15 minutes, maybe more, where Hulk was nowhere in sight.  All the other Avengers were kicking ass except for him.  Action sequences were awesome though.  Some good moments.  My favorite moment is actually a spoiler that happens during near the end of the final battle sequence.  The moment with Wanda (Scarlett Witch) and Ultron.  That's all I have to say about that moment.  A few things felt rushed but, overall, action packed.  Thor was my favorite Avenger this time around.  That was a good surprise. He was my least favorite character in the past but now he has finally won me over.  Must see in the theatre.  A good pre-Summer treat.  Kudos for setting up the next Avenger movies.

Giving this a 7 out of 10.