Child of God

 Child of God IMDb

 Woke up this morning to see another James Franco movie on Netflix.  This one is actually directed by him and he also comes out in a minor serious role towards the end.  I went in with low expectations because of what I heard.  This was shown as a secret screening at Fantastic Fest in 2013.  People were disappointed with it.  It is based on a Cormac McCarthy novel (author of No Country for Old Men).  This movie reminded me a lot of the Coen Brothers.  Could have fooled me.  Anyways, I didn't like it.  So, I agree with those that were disappointed.  It sucked.  It's a crazy drama about this one guy who lives in the woods by himself.  He does a lot of crazy shit including necrophilia.  That part reminded me of Lars and the Real Girl mixed with Deadgirl.  Anyways, it gets annoying and tiring in the third act.  I just felt like I wasted my morning on this.  I should have had pancakes.  Yeah, pancakes! Pancakes!  Cabin Fever rules.  Stay away from this one.

I haven't read the novel it's based from but I didn't really care about this redneck guy.  Downer in a bad way.

Homefront

 Homefront IMDb

So I decided to do a James Franco triple feature just for kicks.  Or maybe because I noticed on my Netflix list that I had three movies with James Franco in it.  Fuck it!  I'm not doing a back to back triple feature but three James Franco movies in three days.  Last night, I started with this action movie starring Jason Statham.  James Franco is in a villain role here as a drug dealer.  There were some cliches but this movie was okay for an action no brainer kind of movie.  Don't mess with Jason Statham.  People don't learn but then again, we wouldn't have this movie if it weren't for those idiots.  A movie called Homefront starring an English guy.  Hmmm?  It was short and simple.  Nothing memorable.

I caught it on Netflix.  Been doing a lot of that lately.  Trying to catch up and clear my list.

Anyways, this isn't nothing I would recommend but it doesn't hurt seeing it once.

American Sniper

American Sniper IMDb

Another Oscar nominated movie down, two more to go.  It is obvious why this one was nominated.  Hollywood love their war hero movies.  Saw it this afternoon at the Alamo Village.  It was pretty good.  I wish they would have extended the ending a little more but pretty good and emotional.  Directed by Mr. Clint Eastwood himself.  I haven't really loved any of his directed films since Mystic River.  Bradley Cooper plays famous U.S sniper, Chris Kyle.  A lot of crazy war scenes.  I was into it, especially the intense moments.  I wish they would have focused more on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder scenes.  This movie is about praising a heroic sniper.  For that, it was pretty good.  I love the sniper versus sniper moments.  On a side note: this movie references, The Punisher, one of my favorite Marvel characters.  So it made me want to read some Punisher comics.

This would make an awesome double feature with "Lone Survivor." 
Both are very entertaining.  

As far as Bradley Cooper for Best Actor, I liked his performance in Silver Linings Playbook better.
My heart for Best Picture still goes out to Boyhood, Birdman, and maybe even Whiplash.

Out of the Furnace

Out of the Furnace IMDb

This was pretty fucking awesome.  Except for that last ending shot, which was okay.  But, fuck, revenge films hardly disappoint me.  Christian Bale plays a lost soul trying to do the right thing.  His younger brother, played by Casey Affleck, is a war veteran who turns to illegal street fighting to make money.  There's Willem Dafoe, which I had no idea he was in this.  I should read and see trailers more often before watching movies.  And we have Woody Harrelson playing a hardcore cold blooded motherfucker.  Well, the veteran brother gets mixed up with some shit with Harrelson's character and before you know it, he's dead.  It is up to our main character to set things right and go after the cold blooded motherfucker.  Saw it on Netflix late last night.  I didn't know what to expect so I came out satisfied.  Loved it!  There were a few flaws I didn't like, but overall, pretty awesome.

I would recommend this movie if you're in the mood for a crime drama.

Zatoichi Challenged

Zatoichi Challenged

My favorite number is 17 and this is the 17th Zatoichi movie to see from the Zatoichi Collection.  Once again, Zatoichi becomes a father figure.  This lady dies and Zatoichi picks up the responsibility of taking her son to his dad he's never met.  The father is an artist who secretly draws illegal art for yakuzas.  The boy is also an artist himself.  This movie gets a bit political.  The government interrupts and controls the village and certain yakuzas.  There's a samurai who represents the government and he is after the artist.  But, he has one obstacle: fucking Zatoichi.  Challenge accepted.  Beautiful battle at the end. 

The story was okay.  Maybe I was overwhelmed with too many Zatoichi films.  

Maybe I just need to watch one at a time as the mood arises.  But, dammit, I'm trying to finish the box set so I can finally put it with the rest of my collection.  The struggle is real!

Zatoichi the Outlaw

Zatoichi the Outlaw IMDb

Wow, this Zatoichi movie is one of the bloodiest and most violent one yet.  Heads come off right here.  The story was okay.  Those battle scenes, though.  I had me a big Japanese feast this Sunday and saw a Zatoichi double feature.  Here, Zatoichi arrives in a village where a gambling ring kidnapped a group of people because of debt.  A rival gambling ring pays them to set them free but shit hits the fan.  Before you know it, there's hands and heads flying in the air.  This is also the first time that I noticed that Zatoichi refers to himself as a traveling yakuza.  At least he mentions that in one of the earlier scenes.

No one never learns.  They always underestimate poor Zatoichi.

And here is my Japanese feast for this occasion.

Zatoichi's Cane Sword

Zatoichi's Cane Sword IMDb

Another great Zatoichi movie.  Saw this one this past Saturday night.  I offered my son Nathan to sleep in  the living room next to me while I watch this.  He agreed and saw some. Oh, the torture.  Here, Zatoichi gives up his sword because it is old and it is about to break.  But, knowing the tyranny of evil men, Zatoichi is going to eventually need it.  He leaves his sword with a retired famous sword maker.  This sword maker is forced to make a powerful sword for a yakuza.  Well, the twist is that the sword maker gives Zatoichi the newly made sword and the yakuza the old sword.  Beautiful scenes in here.  There's a barrel scene where Zatoichi is trapped inside.  Using his wonderful sword skills, he slices through the barrel and kills a few people around him.   

Enjoyed it! Straightforward awesome samurai movie.