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Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review
I went to see the latest Marvel movie, Captain America: Brave New World, at my local theater on Saturday morning of February 15.
Anthony Mackie plays Captain America in this very good action movie/political thriller.
After going on a mission to recover a package, Captain America is being asked by The President Of The United States (played once again by one of my favorite actors ever Harrison Ford) to restart The Avengers.
However, an assassination attempt on The President thwarts this idea because the person who seemingly attempted to kill The President is one of Captain America’s closest friends.
However, more is going on here than appears.
Spoiler alert: mind control is involved and even The President is not exactly how he appears to be (Red Hulk).
As I said, this is a very good action movie but also a political thriller within a Marvel Comics superhero movie, which I find quite entertaining and refreshing.
Anthony Mackie is great. Harrison is awesome as always, and even though he’s not a completely likeable guy, he’s not totally bad either.
Giancarlo Esposito also has a small, but good part as a villain.
I’m not up on all my superhero stories, but I really enjoyed this movie.
I cannot recommend it enough.
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Becoming Led Zeppelin Movie Review
One of my best friends, Kevin Montavon, and I went to see a documentary/movie about one of the biggest and greatest bands ever: Led Zeppelin.
The film, called Becoming Led Zeppelin, chronicles the members of the band, singer Robert Plant, guitarist/producer/leader Jimmy Page, bassist/organist/multi-instrumentalist/arranger John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham, before they became the band.
The members themselves tell the story. Plant, Page, and Jones were interviewed in 2018 and the Bonham interview was archived somewhere for decades and was not heard until this film was about to get put together.
The guys really tell their story. About their upbringings, how they got into music, early bands they were in and early recordings they made, the formation of the band Led Zeppelin, the recording and writing of the first two albums and their concert tours.
This is a great film not to be missed by any Zeppelin or rock music fan all around the world.
My only complaint, like everyone else I’m sure, is that I wish it chronicled the rest of the band’s career.
But the title, Becoming Led Zeppelin, says it all.
Hopefully there will be another film chronicling the rest (I know the guys were interviewed plenty so hopefully there will be more.), but either way, this is a great piece of film, and up to this point, the only true authorized documentary/film involving the band.
And when you watch this film, you can tell how proud the guys are of their work and of their time being together when they were. And they should be proud.
I love this band and I wish I could time travel back to see them at any and every tour they did.
I’ve seen Robert Plant twice in concert, John Paul Jones in concert 3 times, and the son of John Bonham, Jason in concert, 6 times. I’ve sadly never seen Jimmy Page in concert or in person period, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to, but hey, I’ll keep hoping. I do have his autograph, though, as well as John Paul Jones’ and Jason Bonham’s autographs.
They are arguably the greatest band ever, and I would not disagree with that.
See this film!!!!!
Every member of Led Zeppelin is phenomenal.
All of their albums are phenomenal.
Led Zeppelin is phenomenal.
Great documentary/film, but I hope there will be more.
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Anvil The Story Of Anvil Movie Review
Anvil The Story Of Anvil is a documentary/movie that was made in the mid-2000s.
It chronicles the band Anvil, who have been around since the late 1970s and have made several albums.
Unfortunately, they never got to be huge.
They’ve always had their fan base and never stopped, but never quite got over the hump and became a household name and huge band.
As it turns out, a fan of theirs from the 80s who became a friend also, Sacha Gervasi, later went on to become a screenwriter for movies (including The Terminal) and he got back in touch with the singer/guitarist from Anvil, Steve “Lips” Kudlow.
Gervasi came up with the idea of filming the band, which also includes drummer Robb Reiner (no not the actor/director) and then bassist Glenn Five and guitarist Ivan Hurd and making a documentary movie about them.
This movie shows the band playing many places, sometimes with decent crowds, other times not so much, and getting screwed out of getting paid many times, and sometimes not even having proper transportation between shows.
It also shows the band, Lips and Robb in particular who formed the band and made a pact at 14 that they would rock together forever, getting back in touch with an old colleague, music producer Chris Tsangarides (rest in peace) and they agree they will make another album together. Although Lips and Robb have to come up with the money to make it too so they can own it, which is also chronicled in this movie.
It shows the internal struggles in the band while making this album, struggling to shop it around to different record labels, and ultimately, the album got shopped around enough to where Anvil got an opening slot on a huge Japanese festival called Loud Park, showing the band in all their glory rocking out to a big crowd.
There is a lot in this movie that has to be seen to be believed.
And I know some or many who have seen Anvil The Story Of Anvil believe it to be like the movie This Is Spinal Tap, and that it’s not real.
Believe me: It is real!!
And it must be seen.
It’s been out for many years now, and luckily, the movie was a big success and ultimately catapulted Anvil up enough to where they have been able to make a living finally with their music and have not had to work day jobs ever again.
No they didn’t make it to Led Zeppelin’s level of success, but they have done well.
And I’m glad they have been able to get to the level that they have.
Because they have worked hard and they are a good, solid band.
Check out their albums.
And please check out this movie.
Again, it’s called Anvil The Story Of Anvil.
I have two DVD releases of it.
The original and a re-release with even more bonus features.
And I’m sure it’s able to stream too.
Rock on Lips and Robb!!!
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Flight Risk Movie Review
I went to see the movie Flight Risk, which was released a week ago.
It stars Mark Wahlberg as a hitman posing as just a pilot out to get this government witness (played by Topher Grace) from testifying against someone.
Grace is being taken from Alaska to New York by a U.S. Marshal (played by Michelle Dockery) and let’s just say it’s a wild ride.
I really enjoyed this movie.
Wahlberg initally plays a pilot but his character goes from being very friendly and maybe even annoyingly friendly to being very dark and menacing.
Very well directed by Mel Gibson (regardless of his controversy, he’s a great filmmaker), Flight Risk is a very good thriller, keeping you guessing and on the edge of your seat throughout.
Go see it.
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Keaton’s Cop Movie Review
Keaton’s Cop is a movie I have been wanting to see for many years.
I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it, but it was worth the wait.
I’ve been a Lee Majors fan since I was in middle school, and a fan of Abe Vigoda and Don Rickles for many years also.
And I’ve been a fan of the distribution company of this movie, Cannon (MGM now owns their catalog.), since I was in the 3rd grade.
It delivers everything I wanted and more. Action, comedy, over the top in most ways, and I loved every second of it.
The story centers around Abe Vigoda having to be protected by Lee and Don’s characters (Spoiler alert: Don gets killed.) from getting killed my mobster hit men.
Very basic story, but I think the movie is so much fun.
Lee’s character loves to shoot and hit people out of windows.
There is a fun/funny car chase.
Some good shoot outs and explosions.
Lee and Abe work really work together. Abe especially is funny as always.
Don actually plays against type and is a little more straight laced and not cracking jokes.
It’s kind of a buddy cop type movie that has action and is serious at times, but even then, it’s quite funny I think.
I was very entertained.
It may not be for everyone, but if you like a fun action/comedy that’s soooooo not meant to be taken seriously, then Keaton’s Cop is a movie for you.
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Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus Movie Review
I’ve been a Charles Bronson fan since I was in the 3rd grade.
I grew up watching his movies and am still a fan to this day.
I’ve even made my girlfriend Mariah a fan of Bronson.
However, as much of a fan as I am, there was one movie in particular I had never seen until many years after it aired on television.
Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus was a TV movie released in 1991, actually when I became a fan, but I just missed it.
Hey better late than never.
This is quite the departure for what Bronson had become known for at this point.
He started off playing all kinds of different roles, but later on, he became known for playing killers, cops, and basically all tough guy roles. And he did them well.
This movie brought him back, I think, to being a more well rounded character actor.
He plays Frank Church, a newspaper reporter who has covered so many big stories in his career. However, his editor/friend played by Ed Asner, gives him the assignment of a lifetime: writing a piece in reply to a little girl named Virginia asking the newspaper if there is indeed a Santa Claus.
Bronson’s character is also self destructive, having lost his wife recently, so he is struggling. However, he does find inspiration and is able to respond to Virginia with this great, touching piece declaring that there is indeed a Santa Claus.
This is a very heartwarming and inspiring movie.
Also starring Richard Thomas as Virginia’s Dad, this is a great Christmas movie and just a great movie for the whole family to see.
Yes quite a departure from what Charles Bronson had become known for, but if you only know of his tough guy roles, this movie I feel will pleasantly surprise and show you that he really could act.
Although he does have one moment in the movie where he punches someone, his character here has much more depth and it was refreshing to see, even though I love his tough guy roles tremendously.
Also, I miss him very much.
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Red One Movie Review
The day after I saw the great movie Wicked (review here), I went back to my local theater to see the movie Red One.
I’ve been looking forward to this one for some time and I was not disappointed.
Dwayne Johnson (The Rock in WWE) plays Callum Drift, the body guard and friend of Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), and is one day away from retiring.
However, Santa is kidnapped and Callum has to find him.
A great cast includes Chris Evans (Jack O’ Malley, who ends up helping Callum and he’s awesome in this movie), Lucy Liu (Zoe, who is a top government agent working alongside Callum), Kiernan Shipka (Gryla, the main villain who is a shape shifting witch plotting to imprison every person on the naughty list in a snow globe), Kristofer Hivju (Krampus, Santa’s brother), and Bonnie Hunt (Mrs. Claus).
This is already a favorite of mine and I want to see this movie many more times over the course of my life.
It is a fun action movie (which I’m all about) and it’s also a fun Christmas movie for everyone to see.
Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans make a great team in this very fun, action packed, Christmas thrill ride.
Red One is a great movie. Period.
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Wicked (2024) Movie Review
My girlfriend Mariah went to see the movie Wicked and loved it. She really wanted me to go see it so I did.
I was not sure I would like it, but as it turned out, I loved it.
This movie mainly focuses on the characters Elphaba Thropp (played by Cynthia Erivo), later known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda Upland (played by Ariana Grande-Butera), later known as Glinda The Good. It focuses on their relationship, which is not good at first, but they both later become friends.
If you are a fan of The Wizard Of Oz or a fan of this story, then I think you will enjoy it.
Along with Erivo and Grande, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh plays Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum plays The Wizard of Oz. That’s just some of the great cast.
And the songs are phenomenal too and it’s a beautiful looking movie.
This movie is also part 1 of a 2 part story. I know some people may not like this aspect of it, but I’m ok with it. It’s more to look forward to.
Like I said, if you are a fan of The Wizard Of Oz or of musicals, I cannot imagine you not enjoying this movie.
I’m not an expert on this story and I loved it.
Go see it!!
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The Substance Movie Review
My girlfriend Mariah and I watched the movie called The Substance this past weekend.
We became aware of this movie some time ago and thought it looked really good.
Well, we were right.
If you have not seen this yet and want to, avoid reading the rest of this because I will be giving spoilers. Otherwise, please read on.
Demi Moore, in may I say one of her best roles, plays an Academy Award winning actress who is now hosting an exercise show. However, she finds out indirectly from her boss (played by Dennis Quaid in a very over the top performance) that she is being fired for being too old.
After this, she gets in a car accident (she suffers no injuries) and while she is at the hospital, a nurse gives her a USB drive that features an ad about a way to be young again.
Intrigued, she goes to this very shady, isolated looking place to get the stuff needed to make the procedure happen.
And let’s just say it initially works. What happens is that another form of her (played by Margaret Qualley) comes out of Demi and for 7 days, this part of herself will exist and Demi will basically not exist. But after 7 days, she has to “not exist” and Demi will exist for 7 days.
This goes on for awhile and as I said initially, it works. However, both get greedy let’s say with their time and how they handle things, and in the end, it does not work out for either part.
I think this movie is excellent.
Again, Demi gives one of her best performances.
Dennis Quaid is soooooo over the top.
Margaret Qualley is great.
The cinematography, sets, music, everything is phenomenal.
This movie I consider science fiction, but also an extreme story of how people will do anything to remain young.
Seek out The Substance.
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My Thoughts on the Terrifier Franchise
As I’ve said in earlier posts, I’m late to the Horror genre.
I’ve been a fan of some Horror movies over the years (Halloween franchise and some of the Horror movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s), but overall, was never a big fan until the last few years.
I’m still catching up and have a long way to go, but this year, I finally decided to watch the Terrifier movies.
The main character, Art The Clown, started off in an anthology movie called All Hallow’s Eve, and was so popular that a movie with him as the main star was made.
Terrifier is a very low budget Horror movie in which a killer clown (David Howard Thornton) wreaks havoc in very bizarre and gruesome ways.
Terrifier 2 involves Art getting even more gruesome and also has a “final girl” as they are called in Horror movies named Sienna (played by Lauren LaVera) who has to fight against Art.
Terrifier 3 has Sienna being released from a mental hospital and spending Christmas time with family members (her mother was killed in the second movie and her father has been dead for some time), and ultimately having to fight Art again, who of course is more gruesome and evil than ever.
These movies are DEFINITELY NOT for everyone.
I usually would hate movies like these because I am not a fan of extreme blood and gore, but for these movies, this works.
The Terrifier movies have become extremely popular (as I type this, Terrifier 3 has been number one at the box office for a few weeks) and Art The Clown has become a modern day Horror movie icon.
I look forward to seeing the next one because I’m sure there will be another and more after that.
