Best Film Villains

Best Film Villains

     
·        Agent Smith (The Matrix)
·        Alex DeLarge (Clock Work Orange)
·        Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction)
·        Alonzo Harris  (Training Day)
·        Annie Wilkes (Misery)
·        Anton Ciguhr (No Country For Old Men)
·        Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (Gangs of New York)
·        Bridget Gregory (The Last Seduction)
·        Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs)
·        Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)
·        Colonel Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)
·        Count Dracula
·        Cruella De Ville
·        Darth Vader
·        Detective Norman Stansfield (The Professional)
·        Dr. Christian Szell  (The Marathon Man)
·        Emperor Commodus (Gladiator)
·        Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
·        Freddy Krueger
·        General Zod (Superman 2)
·        Gordon Gekko, (Wall Street)
·        Gunnery Sgt. Hartman (Full Metal jacket)
·        Hal 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
·        Hannibal Lechter
·        Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
·        Ivan Drago, 'Rocky IV'
·        Jack Torrance (The Shining)
·        Jason Voorhees
·        Jigsaw (Saw)
·        John Doe (Seven)
·        Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)
·        Khan Noonien Singh (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
·        Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
·        Lt. Amon Goeth (Schindler's List)
·        Marsellus Wallace (Pulp Fiction)
·        Max Cady (Cape Fear)
·        Michael Myers (Halloween)
·        Mommy Dearest
·        Mr. Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)
·        Norman Bates
·        Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
·        Pinhead (Hell Raiser)
·        Roy Batty (Blade Runner)
·        Sheriff Little Bill Daggett ((Unforgiven)
·        Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes (Platoon)
·        The Joker (The Dark Knight)
·        The Predator
·        The Shark (Jaws)
·        The Terminator
·        The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
·        Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
·        Tony Montana (Scarface)
·        Vincenzo Coccotti  (True Romance)
·        Warden Samuel Norton (Shawshank Redemption)
 
 

Furious 7 – Review

Furious 7 – Review

“Furious 7” starring Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Vin Diesel, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell, Tony Jaa, Dwayne Johnson, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Brotherton and Iggy Azaela once again takes us on another global action packed journey of fast cars, women, insane special effects, guns, explosions and unrelenting carnage.  

The plot? Well, Dom’s (Vin Diesel) best friend in Japan……………seriously, me writing the plot of this film going to make any difference if you see it or not?

Pros: Running two hours plus F7 is absolutely a nonstop action thrill ride. It is also entertaining as well, just as long as you leave your mind stuck in neutral and have not one scintilla of knowledge involving basic physics. Also, on a positive note this entire F&F franchise of 7 films may have carved something totally unique in film development in Hollywood; that being something that makes both no sense and yet is entertaining

.

Ultimately, all seven films are one in the same, with no shortage of corny one liners, completely ridiculous and outrageous subplots and some very preposterous transition points i.e. speed racing scenes that have Dom’s crew racing somewhere in United States, only to have the story of them racing somewhere in the Middle East, only again to transition them back to the United States on the streets of Los Angeles.

I saw No. 7 only because the general reviews of this installment have been its highest of the entire group. I also was a bit curious of how they would handle Paul Walker’s character given his tragic passing before the film was completed. I can honestly say they did a pretty good job of keeping his character fully engaged in the entire film with an ending that was respectfully and touching to his passing.

Cons: Can’t really complain about anything in this film as I knew what I was going to see when I paid for my ticket. I guess I was a bit amused at the reaction of some of the viewer’s comments coming out of the theater singing its praises as it they had seen Shakespeare Othello or Richard the III. I get it that this film – these types of films caters to an audience who’s attention span last as long as the width of the wing on a Tsetse fly. So let them eat cake.

Conclusion: F7 made the time go by pretty good. Meaning I must of enjoyed it since I was never bored even if it makes no plausible sense to have as a strategy 6 cars being parachute dropped on to heavily forest meandering road, have the characters be shot at close range, have fist fights on the hood of fast moving cars and have those cars go over multiple cliffs with everyone managing to survive without as much as a scratch or a torn T shirt.

It’s clear they will make another in the form of F8 and why not they make tons of money. But the next time they should take the humor approach to possibly changing its title to “Car Wars – The Return of the Dodge Challengers”.

3 -1/4 Stars 

Danny Collins - Review

Danny Collins - Review

Academy Award winner Al Pacino stars in what is headlined as being “inspired by a true story” as an aging 1970s legendary rocker in the film named “Danny Collins”.

Essentially, “Danny Collins” the character and the film itself is a pretty straight forward story about a singer who in his advanced age is still living fast with lots of women, drugs, booze and in general just plain old hard living which he knows that he should not be doing. The fact is Danny is stuck emotionally in his youth, doing the same things he did decades ago including singing the same old songs that he is tired of sing. In both cases he knows he just can't seem to give any of these things up.

But one day he gets a surprise from his lifelong manager (Christopher Plummer) that he has uncovered a 40 year-old letter written to Danny by famed Beatle John Lennon that was supposed to be delivered to Danny that he never got. Feeling it is a sign, Danny decides to change his life course to embark on a soul searching heartfelt journey of living a better life style and to rediscover his family that he has not been on good terms. With both goals in mind, Danny feels he finally can be a better father and also reinvigorate his career by hopefully writing some new songs for him to sing on his tour.

Pros: The real strength of Danny Collins is the acting across the board with Pacino leading the way as once again reminds me that he is clearly one of the finest actors ever. He and the film itself have a clever funny streak that runs throughout the film with a sense of maturity and sensitivity for the audience to become genuinely attached to Danny as he goes through the paces of interacting with the many characters ranging from his way too young girl friend, his disconnected biological family and some new found friends he meets along the way at a hotel. It’s the performances of this entire cast that makes Danny Collins fun to watch.

Cons: Danny Collins works the cliché and the emotional heart string tugs a little too much with its predictable execution. That doesn’t mean it’ was all that bad to do so, it’s just I didn’t feel that it was written as well as it could have been to make the story evolve along the sentimental way. 

Conclusion: In spite of some screenplay structural missteps, Danny Collins is pleasant enough to watch. Any while it took me a while to think of Al Pacino as a rocker from a casting stand point, by the end of the film I didn’t care and was genuinely pleased I had seen him and the film.

3 -1/4 Stars

Western Films For 2015

Western Films For 2015

ALL:

I am always up for an around the camp fire good western film whether it’s new or a remake (i.e. R. Crowe – C. Bale "3:10 to Yuma"). See listed below those Western films that are mostly to be released in 2015 with one only still in production to come to a theater very soon in 2016.

1. "Jane's Got a Gun" - Have been looking forward to Natalie Portman's Western since it was originally scheduled for release 2013. No trailer yet for "Jane GG" and also, unfortunately, they have had been multiple rescheduling of its release which (most often) means something is wrong with the film i.e. more reshooting or re-editing or late casting. 

PLOT: Jane Hammond (Natalie Portman) has built a new life with her husband Bill "Ham" Hammond (Noah Emmerich) after being tormented by the Bishop Boys gang. She finds herself in the gang’s cross-hairs once again when Ham stumbles home riddled with bullets after dueling with the Boys and their relentless leader, Colin (Ewan McGregor). With the vengeful crew hot on Ham's trail, Jane has nowhere to turn but to her former fiancé Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton) for help in defending her family against certain death. Haunted by old memories, Jane’s past meets the present in a heart-stopping battle for survival

2. "The Salvation" is already out in Europe and to be released soon (Date TBD in USA) is starring the excellent Danish Actor Mads Mikkelsen.  He is always excellent and does a good job at selecting unique small slice of life projects (The Hunt") of which in this Western effort is a true story.

PLOT: The Salvation takes place in the 1870s America. When settler John kills his family murderer, he unleashes the fury of notorious gang leader Delarue. Betrayed by his corrupt and cowardly community, the peaceful pioneer must turn vengeful hunter, slay the outlaws, and cleanse the towns black heart. The Salvation is an epic tale of revenge, lost love and greed.

3. "The Magnificent Seven" has rounded out some of its cast. Sources say the Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke is in serious final negotiations to join Denzel Washington again in MGM’s “The Magnificent Seven" remake with now slated Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) to be behind the  camera, along with HBO's True Detective" creator Nic Pizzolatto and John Lee Hancock (films "The Alamo" and "The Blind Side") co-writing the script. Also Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy & Zero Dark Thirty), and Actress Haley Bennett are also on board to star. With Director Fuqua blood will be shed.

PLOT: if you saw the original with Yul Brenner and Steve McQueen from the 1960’s then you basically already know.

4. Quentin Tarentino's "The Hateful Eight" is on schedule to be released this year around November 13, 2015. 

PLOT: After the Civil War in Wyoming eight westerners who seek refuge in a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass during a blizzard realize cooped up in one room they may not survive the wintery night. The casts include:

Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren aka "The Bounty Hunter"  

Kurt Russell as John Ruth aka "The Hangman"

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue aka "The Prisoner"

Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix aka "The Sheriff"

Demián Bichir as Bob aka "The Mexican"

Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray aka "The Little Man"

Michael Madsen as Joe Gage aka "The Cow Puncher"

Bruce Dern as Gen. Sanford Smithers aka "The Confederate"

5. "The Revenant" with Leo DiCaprio and British Actor Tom Hardy (Hardy soon to be seen in the Mad Max reboot this summer).

PLOT: A western of sorts taking place in the 19th century, here Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), a fur trapper is brutally mauled by a bear while hunting. His companions (Hardy and friends) rob him and leave him to die, but he manages to survive and sets out to exact some hellish brutal revenge on the 3 men who betrayed him. This is also scheduled to be released December 25, 2015 (shooting for Oscar consideration). Directed by recent Academy Award Winner Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman).

6. "Slow West" is an upcoming American-British action thriller western film directed and written by John Maclean. The story follows a 16-year-old boy on a journey across 19th Century western frontier America in search of the woman he loves, while accompanied by mysterious traveler Silas (Michael Fassbender).

7. “Bone Tomahawk” is a story about four men set out in the Wild West to rescue a group of captives from cannibalistic cave dwellers. Stars: Lili Simmons, Geno Segers, Sean Young.

8. “Diablo” is a story of a young civil war veteran intent on building a normal life while fighting the ravages of PTSD is forced on a desperate journey to save his kidnapped wife before she disappears forever. Stars: Scott Eastwood, Walton Goggins, Camilla Belle.

9. “Forsaken” is a story about a man who after abandoning his gun and reputation as a quick-draw killer, John Henry returns to his hometown in hopes of repairing his relationship with his estranged father. Stars: Demi Moore, Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland.

10. “The Timber” is a story in the Wild West where two brothers embark on a journey to collect a bounty in a desperate attempt to save their home: but what they find along the way is more than they bargained for. Stars: James Ransone, Elisa Lasowski, Mark Caven.

11. “The Unbroken” is the story that is set in the Arizona territory in 1863, a loner goes up against a gang of outlaws led by his father in order to save his mail-order bride. Stars: Jeremy Sumpter, Booboo Stewart. 

12. “Western Religion” is a story set in the year is 1879. Gunfighters from the far reaches of the globe descend on the mining town of Religion, Arizona to compete in a legendary poker tournament. Stars: Peter Shinkoda, Miles Szanto, Jonathan Erickson Eisley.

71 – Review

71 – Review

“71” is a fictional story that takes place in 1971 in both the UK and Ireland with the arc of the film’s story covering a single 18 hour period mostly at night. We also see early in the film the principal figure; a young British soldier named Private Gary Hook played by actor Jack O'Connell who was last seen in the film “Unbroken” and the real life Lou Zamperini.

Initially, we see Gary (somewhat gleefully) going through the rigors of his basic training somewhere in the UK countryside. While a bit shy, Gary is committed to his unit as well to being a devoted father to his 12 year old son who is being taken care by others until he completes his training. His obvious hope is to make the Army his career so as to provide a better life for both him and his soon, which seems especially all the more promising after he gets the general understanding from his commanding officer that upon completion of training he will probably get a relatively easy safe assignment somewhere in Germany or Europe.

But shortly after his training is completed, senior officers tell him and his unit that they will be assigned temporarily to British occupied Northern Ireland to suppress a recent outbreak of riots in the occupied area of Belfast, just long enough to arrest some individuals who are responsible for the violence.

When his Army unit arrives, rioting and chaos start almost immediately on the Belfast streets where they are to make their arrest. During the rock throwing chaos Gary is given orders to chase a particular trouble maker that results in Gary being accidentally separated and ultimately abandoned by his unit. Lost, alone and being hunted, Gary is unable to tell Protestant friend from Catholic foe and increasingly wary of everyone he inadvertently meets as he tries to find his way back to safety.

The Pros: Directed by first time director Yann Demange, the film runs about 1:40 minutes with every moment seemingly had me sitting on pins and needles as I watched Gary literally fight for his life.  While the film clearly has a position - a point of view who is just and right and those who are unjust and wrong (to a degree), it never takes sides so demonstratively to totally not understand respectfully the merits of both sides and their hard fought positions. It also never gets buried down in the needless weeds of ever discussing the specific historical origins and politics of this domestic violent strife.  It stays purposely focused on telling a truly convincing story of raw heavy emotions of real DNA hatred and real DNA revenge without ever being cluttered with unimportant personal backgrounds.

Watching this film I found myself having goose bumps of real tension and real anxiety of what it must be like to being placed in such a perilous situation where the slightest wrong move could result in a quick execution.

“71” is a truly potent, emotional and highly effective film both as a humanistic thriller and as a military thriller, blending very creatively feelings of real drama in the living moment. It also at the same created very convincingly an almost dreamlike sense of confusion as it parallels the feelings of horror; the horror feeling of having something or someone out there purely evil lurking about just to kill you.

The Cons: With the few rare occasions where the dialog involved a heavy Irish brogue accent that left me wondering what someone said on  a few occasions, 71 is executed fabulously in acting, directing, imagination and writing.  

Conclusion: The film is only being released in a limited number of theaters which probably means it is not playing in your community. But when it comes to On Demand I implore you to sit down to see it. For me it is the best film I have seen thus far for 2015 as it is masterful, clever, smart, intense and exhilarating from minute to minute.

4 Stars   

Chappie – Review

Chappie – Review

From Director Neill Blomkamp, whose previous works includes the provocative and imaginative science fiction films “District 9” and “Elysium,” we see his latest effort entitled “Chappie”. A story in the not so distant future where crime is now managed by a strong armed mechanized police force and the counter balance story of gang infestation running amuck throughout the city.

The films story begins in the troubled Soweto region of Johannesburg where we see finally the local police is getting its crime problem under control thanks to the performance of a genius designer named Deon’s and his robot police officers who are totally functioning walking and talking robots that can go in and do the dirty work no one else wants to do.

Of course (for story sake) all this peace and harmony must be destroyed by the human vices of temptation and greed; and such is the case when one of the police droids (who is eventually named Chappie) is stolen and given new some programming that allows him to become the first robot with the ability to think and feel entirely for himself. As powerful, destructive forces start to see Chappie and Deon’s ideas as a danger to mankind and order, those forces will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo and ensure that Chappie is the last of his kind.

The Pros of the film: While rated R (for violence, language and brief nudity), there is plenty of action adventure to this film tale that I believe is always critical to any good science fiction effort. It also draws off of being very inventive and realistic looking with its plot point of “Chappie” evolving from being a totally working technically managed device by humans (like computers) to having his own consciousness infused into his software where he starts to learn initially like a child to eventually like an adult figuring out both complicated situations to eventually understanding the nuances of the human mind and soul.

The Cons of the film: Running almost 2 hours long, “Chappie” is an intellectual sink hole of a film as the dialog is almost laughable with it attempts to be serious. It also hampers some rather accomplished actors here i.e. Hugh Jackman – Sigourney Weaver, who seem to be almost fighting the instincts of either not laughing on screen or to the point of almost cringing on screen in having to say time after time some rather corny lines. I have seen better dramatic story screenplay development on the old “Dukes of Hazards” TV show.

Conclusion: With only a few moments that connected with me that were genuinely heartfelt and meaningful, overall Chappie is an abundant waste of your movie going time.

With the exception of some rather fascinating visuals, the film “Chappie” is “Crappy”.

1-1/2 Stars 

30th Anniversary of 1985 Films

30^th Anniversary of 1985 Films

A Chorus Line (1985)  Nightmare on Elm Street 2:(1985)          A Room with a View (1985)    A View to a Kill (1985) After Hours (1985)      American Flyers (1985)          Back to the Future (1985)       Better Off Dead... (1985)        Brazil (1985)    Brewster's Millions (1985)       Clue (1985)     Cocoon (1985) Commando (1985)     Day of the Dead (1985)          Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)    Enemy Mine (1985)    European Vacation (1985)      Fletch (1985)   Friday the 13th: A New Beginning Fright Night (1985)      Girls Just Want to Have Into the Night (1985)   Jagged Edge (1985)   King Solomon's Mines (1985) Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)   Legend (1985) Lost in America (1985)           Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)        Mask (1985)    Murphy's Romance (1985)     My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)          Out of Africa (1985)  Pale Rider (1985)    Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Phenomena (1985)

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)  Police Story (1985)     Prizzi's Honor (1985)            Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)       Ran (1985)      Real Genius (1985)     Red Sonja (1985) Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)            Roadhouse 66 (1985) Rocky IV (1985)         Runaway Train (1985)            Silver Bullet (1985)     Silverado (1985)         Spies Like Us (1985)  St. Elmo's Fire (1985) The Breakfast Club (1985)     The Color Purple (1985)       The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)            The Goonies (1985)    The Jewel of the Nile (1985)  The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)        The Man with One Red Shoe (1985) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)       The Return of the Living Dead (1985)            To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)            Vision Quest (1985) Weird Science (1985) White Nights (1985)    Witness (1985)           Year of the Dragon (1985)      Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Nominated for Academy Award Best Picture

Winner of Academy Award for Best Picture