Early review: San Andreas!! Maybe A Must See!!!

SAN ANDREAS
Directed by Brad Peyton
Screenplay: Carlton Cuse; Andre Fabrizio; and Jeremy Passmore
Starring: Dwayne Johnson; Carla Gugino; Alexandra Daddario; and Paul Giamatti



In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot (Johnson) makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his daughter (Daddario) and wife (Gugino).

Oh my gosh!!!! This film is sooo much fun. And it makes no sense!! Scientists will rip this apart, but let it go, sit back and enjoy!! It reminds me of 70's films like Earthquake and Towering Inferno. Running from an earthquake???!! Driving boats through building?!! The science makes no sense!! Funny coincidences that I rolled my eyes at and I did not mind. This should not work, but it does. And it is sooo much fun in 3D, I ducked often!!
A summer movie at its best. It has a likable lead in Johnson (Screw everybody I am just rescuing my family. He did not say that but, that is what he was doing. It is kind of funny). It has Gugino and Giamatti, wonderful actress and actor. The most beautiful young actress working today in Daddario (True Detective), who can also act! This is the ultimate, leave your brain at the door fun, harmless, big screen summer film. No super heroes allowed!!!

I was ready to give this 4 1/2 but the one scene with a boat and a tsunami was beyond leave my brain at the door and a corny ending was a little "Cringy".
Still 4 out of 5 stars for this fun movie!!! See it on the big screen!! And in 3D!! Just exciting big screen fun.

Oh and kudos to casting ....Johnson does not have a younger wife but an actress older than him plays his wife. When is the last time you have seen that??!!


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

Early Review: Aloha!!

ALOHA
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Screenplay by Cameron Crowe
Starring: Bradley Cooper; Rachel McAdams; Emma Stone; Bill Murray; and John Krasinski



 A military contractor (Cooper) returns to the site of his greatest career triumphs and re-connects with a long-ago love (McAdams) while unexpectedly falling for the watchdog (Stone) assigned to him. However this time he is working as a subcontractor, not for the military.

Cameron Crowe returns!! Again spotlighting on someone facing life changing decisions having to decide which door to walk through. Very much like Jerry McGuire and Elizabethtown (Which I think is underrated). He also, as always, brings his music with him. This time he uses it almost constantly, almost knowing he was fighting a tone in the film, so he needed the music to manipulate the tone a bit.
I see two big problems with the film:
1-Too much is going on. Bill Murray and his wealth and contracts. Cooper with his ex and his watchdog and the locals. Krazinski is suppose to be funny...no. McAdams will she go back to her ex or stay with her husband. Stone the supporter for the Hawaiian people and her stripes. A mystery daughter. A satellite battle that made know sense. Throw in the spiritual theme. It is just so much the film cannot find its tone.
2-Cooper; Murray; McAdams; Krazinski; Baldwin are all not likeable!! So it is hard to connect or care about them. In fact I think we are suppose to care about Cooper's character, and I just found him to be a jerk.

Notice I left Stone's character off that list. In the trailer she seems miscast but not true. In fact I think she shines!! She owns this film. There is one scene where she is dancing with Bill Murray and it is magic. She is really good in this film.

3 out of 5 stars for Aloha. Sadly just better than average. Kind of disappointing because Crow does not make too many films. It has its moments...most of the time when Stone is in the picture.
Oh and one last thing. A professor in Hawaii criticized this movie for it being insulting to the people of Hawaii. He sure did not see the movie. If anything this film shows nothing but respect to the people....in fact it puts down the main landers.


From the shadows!! Thanks for your time.

A Film Revisit!! 40 Years Ago This Week We Were Introduced To Monty Python And The Holy Grail!!

Yes 40 years ago this week we were introduced to the Knights Who Say Ni!!!



So here are my fun and not so fun facts on the quest for the Holy Grail!!!

-Michael Palin played the most parts in the film:
1-The First Swallow Savvy Guard
2-Dennis
3-Right Head
4-Sir Galahad The Pure
5-King Of Swamp Castle
6-Brother Maynard's Brother
7-Leader Of The Knights Who Say Ni
8-Peasant 2
He was also the Narrator

-Money from Pink Floyds Dark Side Of The Moon went to funding the film. The band loved Monty Python.

-In the script the knights were going to find the Grail at Harrods Department Store but it was never filmed.

-The Black Knight was first played by John Cleese, but when Arthur cuts off the first leg a real one-legged actor (a local silversmith) was used. A marionette was used to film the shot of the second leg being cut off.

-The famous depiction of galloping horses by using coconut shells came about from the simple reason they couldn't afford real horses.

-In the Killer Rabbit scene, a real white rabbit was used. He was dyed with what was assumed to be a washable red coloring liquid in the shots after the battle. When filming wrapped the rabbit's owner was dismayed to learn the dye could not be rinsed off.  The cast desperately attempted to clean the rabbit before the owner found out, an unsuccessful attempt. Otherwise the rabbit himself was unharmed. The rabbit-bite effects were done with puppets using  Terry Gilliam and special effects.

So yes 40 years ago this week the quest was started. Look for it on BluRay for the DVD version seems to be dated and grainy. The BluRay version is available on Netflix.

Wednesday!! Yay Or Nay Trailers!!!! With New Nancy Myers And Woody Allen Films!!

On Wednesday I judge movies Yay or Nay just by watching the trailers. Watch and play along!!


THE INTERN
Release date September 25 2015



The title may confuse people with the film The Internship with Vaughn and Wilson, they probably should have changed the title. As for the Trailer, it looks funny and cute. Not going to win awards but it looks fun, and it is Nancy Myers who is never critic friendly but audience friendly. My only worry is I feel like I saw the whole story in the trailer. Still it does not stop me from going YAY!!


PAN
Release October 9th 2015



Boy...I think it is a prequel. I like Rooney Mara a lot in fact she is getting early positive buzz for
Carol that previewed at Cannes last week. Other than that...not sure here. It looks like it could be to scary for little ones and it seems...well messy. I lean toward NAY.


IRRATIONAL MAN
Release July 17 2015



Wow it looks like Joaquin Phoenix is really miscast in this!! Wait a minute is that Parker Posey and Emma Stone??!! I am in!! YAY!!


From The Shadows!!! As always thanks for your time.

Tuesday New Release On BluRay/DVD/Streaming...And Some Questions Answered

Only one release this week of note so I will take some time to answer some questions this week.


Q:Steve in Minnesota asked me my first name because he thinks he knows me from my writing style.
A:Thanks for the email Steve. My name is Scott. Based out of Pennsylvania. Writing style made me laugh, I have no style:)!! I just write like I speak and it most likely it is grammatically incorrect but I do the best with the brain I was given. Maybe Steve Martin can help me with a new brain.

Q: Phil in Vancouver asked how I get to see some movies early because I seem like a small time blogger with no ads.
A: Phil...I am not small I am 6'3!!!! I do think about ads, maybe in the future,...but it was not why I started this blog. I started this just because I started to think the film reviewers were becoming sheep and just agreeing with each others so they do not look stupid to their peers. I just thought...the common person just wants to be entertained/or learn something...and the common person wants to know should I spend my hard earned money on this or wait for home release. Well back to your question...I get early looks because I know people who know people and if I told you I would have to.........well you know.

Well I answered a couple questions and hope to do this again in the future on slow release weeks.
Again, only one release of note this week:

THE LOFT
Directed by: Erik Van Looy
Screenplay: Bart De Pauw and Wesley Strick
Starring: James Marsden; Karl Urban; and Wentworth Miller



Five guys secretly share a penthouse loft in the city--a place where they can carry out hidden affairs. But the loft becomes a nightmare when they discover the dead body of an unknown woman in the loft, and they realize one of the group must be involved.

Well acted movie (the only one I really knew was Marsden), it comes off as a stage play a little bit. The film is intriguing as a mystery, and if you think about it, when is the last time you have watched a real good mystery on the big screen??!! Well sadly, this is one is just okay. We see most of the film in flashback scenes looking at each of the loft "Participants" and how they carried out their days leading up to the mess they are in. To me, the big problem here is, there is no one good. There is no one to grab on to. So I really did not care who did it just so they solve the mystery, and because of that, it felt long, I just wanted it to end I did not like anyone. They are all doing things that are not "for good". It just so happens that one maybe a "psychopath"!

2 1/2 out of 5 stars for the loft. Just an okay film. May be worth a look at home.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

Monday Recommended: For Memorial Day The Lucky Ones

Directed by Neil Burger
Screenplay by Neil Burger and Dick Wittenborn
Starring Rachel McAdams; Tim Robbins; and Michael Pena



Mondays I try to recommend movies that may have passed you by and here on Memorial day I have a good one.

The story revolves around three soldiers - Colee (McAdams), TK (Pena) and Cheever (Robbins)- who return from the war and they end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S. With Colee on a mission to bring her boyfriend's guitar back to his family because he saved her life, TK,on leave, seeking confidence to face his wife after a shrapnel injury, and Cheever heading back home to his family and realizing life moved on while he was fighting.

I love a good road trip movie, and this one is one of the best. Three strangers together with different goals in mind now that they are back in the states.
The best performance since The Player for Tim Robbins. Rachel McAdams I thought may have been miscast in this when I saw the trailer, however after watching the film she is very believable and plays the part very grounded almost naïve.. Michael Pena, every time I see him in a film I wonder why he is not a bigger star/name, he is fantastic here and probably should have got a Oscar Nom.

Take the road trip with them it is sad, funny, and sweet. When we reach the quiet ending, you decide if it is a happy ending.....I tend to believe they are pushing down the path they were meant to go.
I give The Lucky Ones 4 1/2 out of 5 stars,,move it to the top of your queue!!!!!!!


As always from the shadows thanks for your time. And hands on your hearts for the stripes and stars!!

An Early Review: Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland
Directed by Brad Bird
Screenplay by Brad Bird; Damon Lindelof;  and Jeff Jensen
Starring: George Clooney; Britt Robertson; Raffey Cassidy; Tim McGraw; and Hugh Laurie



A young teenage science wiz (Robertson) and a older former teenage science wiz (Clooney), with the help of a, well I do not know what she is (Cassidy), fight to get to Tomorrowland for some reason.

It is early in the summer movie season and I have found the first major disappointment!!

Let me get the positives out of the way. Britt Robertson for the second film this year (The Longest Ride) shows that she is near the top of our bright young actresses today. Raffey Cassidy...wow...I have never seen her before but amazingly she acts circles around Clooney.
I also like that in the screenplay the brilliant science mind is a teenage female which is rare in films today where the teenage girl is sexed up and a little loose.
Now the bad. Brad Bird....(Incredibles and Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol) missed here and should be kind of ashamed that he let Disney misrepresent a movie, and he has to have some pull at Disney. Shame!
Do you want to see Tomorrowland like in the posters and in the trailer? Well don't miss the first 10 minutes because that is it. Sucker!!! That is right, the Tomorrowland in the posters is only in the beginning and later on you see it and it is much different. You want to take your children? Go ahead if you want them to see police officers get disintegrated into dust. Or let them try to figure out the plot which is way over their heads and they will get bored because the last half hour is a lecture on what the film is about. Adults you want to see this? Be prepared for really bad green screen work and be prepared to be lectured because what this film is all about is an agenda to tell you how lazy and fat you are and how the world is coming to an end soon because of that.
I detest this movie. I had a pass but I felt bad for the people who paid for this lecture. I did get my answer on why George Clooney would do a Disney kid movie...because he has an agenda....and not to get to political on a review but if George gives up his giant yacht or his private plane then he can come back and then he has some grounds to lecture us on being lazy and not caring. Other than that shut up. And they try to soften the lecture by using children and kind of saying your parents suck so it is up to you. Great!!! Glad I people paid to watch that.
1 1/2 stars out of 5 for this garbage and that is just because of Robertson and Cassidy. Do not go watch it, if you want to see it wait for home viewing.


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

Wednesday YAY OR NAY Trailers including Bond James Bond

Wednesdays I take three trailers and judge the film Yay or Nay just by reviewing the trailer.


SPECTRE
Release date November 6 2015



Well it does not give us too much of a plot. However it shows us Christoph Waltz as the bad guy, he makes a great bad guy!. And we see the fantastic and beautiful Italian actress Monica Belluci is somehow involved. Ralph Fiennes is back as M and Ben Whishaw is back as Q. It will be hard to match Skyfall but this cast could give it a run. YAY!


ENTOURAGE
June 3 2015



Entourage was a really good show when it started, then it got stuck in a rut, with the same plot over and over. Piss off Ari. Lose money. Make money. They are a success. Then it starts over. Now it looks like this plot is the same thing. It is feels old, and the actors are getting to old to behave this way and it seems pathetic. NAY!


THE OVERNIGHT
Release date June 19th



Wow. this looks like it may be too over the top. Play date from hell maybe.
I like Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling, and they look like a believable couple. Adam Schwartzman can be too much sometimes, he reminds me of Joaquin Phoenix a little bit, in which he is hit or miss, sometime going way to far over the top. All that being said, the movie looks so different at least it has me intrigeued so a slight YAY!


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.

Tuesday New DVD/BluRay/Streaming release: American Sniper

American Sniper
Based on the book by Chris Kyle
Written by Jason Hall
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring: Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller



No synopsis needed. You know (unless you are living in a cave) the story.
The week before Memorial Day comes the release of American Sniper.
This movie made my top three films of 2014. It is a film that I really was not looking forward to seeing. Not because of the subject, but because Eastwood directed it. He makes good films but think about it, there is death at the end of all his movies. UGH!
But being the sheep that I am...I mean I had to see it. Bradley Cooper is great in this movie. He says so little, but his face says sooo much. He really convinces you he is Chris Kyle. He is the movie, he makes it work. He makes it tick.
The controversy. My thoughts: Somebody has to do the dirty work. It was that way in WW1. In WW2. In Korea. In Vietnam. And will be in the future. I think some people are up in arms because they see it here. It is a tough job physically and mentally but has to be done. Get the one, before that one gets maybe thousands of us. Chris Kyle is a hero. The problem with the Chris Kyle story is there is no way to prove to the naysayers that the "Bad Guys" he took down would have caused destruction if "The Bad Guys" lived. You just have to trust the information our military gathers. I tend to believe in Kyle.
Still it is a hard movie to recommend because I like to recommend movies that I want to watch more than once. As of this date I still cant bring myself to watch this again. It does not make it a bad film but I think it can be an unpleasant film bringing decisions soldiers have to make to our door steps and understanding that these decisions they made and their past stays with them.
I know I am all over the board on this film but trust me, it is a very good film...I give 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
If you are one of the few who has not watched this film...please do!!


From the shadows as always thanks for your time.