Well it's been a minute or two since I've been around these parts and it turns out that 2020 is a completely shitty year, for real this time.
The past 3 years have often been called by various left of center folks as "the worst year ever" - well it turns out that yes, 2020 came along and said "hold my beer" and here we are.
I don't have to much to say about the pandemic, other than that it sucks and that I pray every day for things to get better and for it to end sooner rather than later.
I don't think the nationwide lockdown was the correct strategy - in hindsight we cratered our economy for a "good reason" in that we didn't want hospitals overwhelmed, but now there's lots of evidence that that wouldn't have happened regardless. But I'm not really here to Monday morning quarterback, what's done is done, and it's done.
It's very evident now, after 2 weeks of protests and riots that the lockdown was never really about health and safety - if you open a restaurant or nail salon you can get arrested, but marching shoulder to shoulder with 20,000 people is no problem because social justice or something.
Whatever.
No, I'm not here to bitch about the bad strategy of putting ourselves under house arrest for months at a time, I'm not here to say too much more about that - no, the reason I'm here is to say that I'm both scared and angry over what is happening to our country in regards to the ever growing hoard of thought police.
I've warned about this for years - and I am so sad to say I was absolutely right. I have seen it now with my own eyes - on facebook, I have been castigated and shamed for posting what I thought wasn't political. And I have seen much worse happen to much nicer people than myself.
This sweet woman named Alice, who was a co-worker of mine back in the day, now lives in the midwest with her husband and beautiful kids; she borrowed a facebook post of mine that read as such -
"I will never discard a friendship over something so small as politics"
Now I got a couple of lukewarm and borderline negative reactions from my post on my wall - but Alice took my post with my blessing and posted it on her wall, and the comments she got from her so called friends were just disgusting.
"You're making yourself feel better because of your white fragility"
"You can minimize politics because you aren't living under a repressive and systematically racist system"
"You are lost and confused and you need to read Howard Zinn (or various radical left authors) and educate yourself"
"You are perpetuating white supremacy"
I'm paraphrasing all of these - but this was the gist of the comments.
"Alice, you're a racist piece of shit and fuck you."
Actually, if they had said that I would at least respect it. There is almost nothing more infuriating to me than this passive aggressive and cryptic accusation of racism that is now the inevitable response from anyone who has bought into the leftist poison that has infected our schools, universities and corporate America.
And make no mistake - it is poison.
If you say "all lives matter" you are a racist piece of shit.
Now I understand there is an argument to be had that saying "all lives matter" is indeed insensitive and offensive. I don't really care, but the argument goes that you wouldn't say "all houses matter" if people were talking about houses that were on fire. Whatever, it's an argument and that's fine.
But here's the problem - in the minds of these brainwashed people - there is no argument. You are to submit to the narrative that saying "all lives matter" is offensive. There's no argument. There's no discussion, this is not up for debate.
You are to literally bend a knee to this and other weak platitudes.
Saying "I don't see color" is offensive because it implies that you are ignoring the plight of people of color.
Saying "I don't support rioters and looters" or even worse "Looters and rioters are criminals" - is very offensive because you are ignoring the anger and the voices of the unheard. Again - there's no discussion here or dialogue - there is only submission.
Well - I'm here on record to say two things.
First, the less important thing I have to say is. - I disagree with every single one of these infantile arguments, and the seemingly endless other arguments that all feed into this stupid notion that black people are delicate flowers who can't handle being treated as equals.
I mean really - is there anything more racist than saying that black people aren't able to deal with being treated with the same respect and accountability that we treat white people with? How fucked up is that?
Nah. I categorically reject this despicable notion from affluent white people that black people are to be coddled. I'm going to treat black people the way I want to be treated, that means as an equal. And if they fuck up and do something thuggish I'm going to call them a thug just as I would any white asshole who did some stupid shit. If they bust a shop window, they should go to jail and stay there for awhile. Don't care what color they are - I know, a very "triggering micro-aggression" or some other stupid shit. Don't care. Fuck off.
Second - and this is much more important - is that this notion that there can't even be a discussion to begin with over these childish beliefs - is where I stop the ride and get off.
Cancel culture it turns out, is a very real thing - and now it's being exercised on the premise that if you don't swallow the soft-racism of the radical left, you are to be cast out and lumped in with white supremacists.
In tandem with this relatively recent edict that has infected all social media platforms and nearly the entirety of corporate culture - is what I call the 2nd HAMMER.
The second hammer is this - when you inevitably fuck up and accidentally say something truthful like "people who burn down businesses in their own neighborhoods are thugs" (I can hear the gasps as I type this) - and somehow you were foolish enough to say or write this in public - you must immediately be called out as racist of course and of course be made to apologize.
Not just apologize, but flagellate yourself to the extreme and beg for mercy.
That's when the 2nd HAMMER comes and hits hard.
Your apology, your begging - all of it will NOT be accepted or entertained. You are DONE. You are FUCKING HISTORY.
Your life is over - you should probably go kill yourself.
We've seen it over and over and again and again
So here's the thing - I recently went onto facebook and went back and deleted every single one of my posts on the corona virus, even though at the time I thought foolishly that all of these data driven posts weren't political. Turns out, they are and I'm a white supremacist or something.
Yes - it doesn't matter what the truth is here, the point is subservience to the woke mob. The point is to be shamed into fealty.
I also deleted my handful of very recent posts that did stray into political territory - including the post saying I would never de-friend someone over politics.
Really - all of these posts were not put up for me to make a political point, but to call for unity and kindness and healing.
I don't know what I was thinking.
Took all of that touchy feely shit down.
Now once again it's all family, work and silly cat videos.
The reason I did this is because a friend of mine that I played poker with at my local Moose lodge (well I don't play live poker these days, pandemic and all) shot me a message out of the blue the other day. The conversation was mainly me listening to what he had to say.
He works in Hollywood, not sure what he does but he's in the business - he told me of his friendship with Andrew Breitbart and Gary Sinise back in the day, and they had an organization called FOA which stood for "Friends of Abe"
Wow, I thought, that sounds like a great thing. An anonymous support group for people in the biz who have different views than the militant majority in Hollywood.
Well, the point of my friends story was to tell me that after almost a decade the organization had to be disbanded because they were infiltrated with undercover leftists who promptly went out and made a list of the members and called studios and production houses and said don't hire these people because they are nazis.
Yeah, that is a scary thing that I was told that and it caused me to panic a bit and go to town on deleting my facebook "political" posts - which weren't really political but still no doubt would be taken as such.
Now, it may be too late, word is no doubt already out among many industry professionals - Chris is a nazi piece of shit. There's not much I can do if I do end up on a list.
I am hoping and praying that my good reputation at my job and with the crews I've worked with as someone who is relatively easy to work with and professional will be enough - but I don't know...
I've been at the same production company now for 26 years, and I love it and I love my employer. My employer is in his 7th decade of life, and I have no doubt he intends to rock on as long as he can but at some point he will retire, and then I likely will be looking for work elsewhere.
I hope and pray that some of this sickness that has infected our country and is much more destructive than any actual virus, will have abated by then.
By writing my views down here, in this "anonymous" blog, I still am taking a risk. But honestly, I'm going to just have to live with that. At a certain point grown-ups have to take calculated risks, or alternatively just crawl under their beds and never come out.
I'm going to speak my mind here, and to my friends and confidants in private groups on social media - I have to be able to be comfortable with myself and my views. As much as I like to preach that politics don't matter - my views I must concede are part of who I am, just a bit anyways. It's not healthy for me to stay bottled up over issues that are important and watch my country take blow after blow and not say anything.
Someday I pray also that I may have the courage to come out of the political closet entirely. I know a man who I consider a friend, though our relationship is purely professional - he is the host of one of our shows and he also is a working and very visible actor.
He is out of the political closet as a full throated Trump supporter and he still gets work - so he gives me hope. I greatly admire his courage and steadfast refusal to be silenced.
But he is an outlier - there are not many working actors or other industry professionals who can be open about their political views. They understand the consequences of being truthful and they above all fear the 2nd HAMMER.
I have a friend who is on one of my crews on a big network show - he is hilarious and fun and a completely out of the closet gay man and no-one cares because he is great at his job and a super cool dude to be around. Everyone, including me, loves the guy.
He also has a secret that he will never tell anyone. He confided in me late at night, I presume it was a drunken text - that he is a conservative Republican and a Trump supporter. He made me promise I would never tell anyone, and of course I promised - being one myself.
Yes, you read all that right. He is absolutely terrified of being "outed" as a conservative, and confided this to me because he had heard the rumors that I was a FOA as well. Pretty fucked up if you ask me.
I wish there was an easy answer for me, and for no doubt the thousands of others like me in entertainment who not only have to keep their views to themselves (itself not that big a deal) but actually risk losing their livelihoods if they ever slip and say something that doesn't toe the party line.
But for now it will have to be enough for me to vent here and other mostly private venues - and of course risk my banishment and 2nd HAMMER anyways.
But one thing I promise you - as GOD as my witness - If I should ever be called out by the woke mob for something "racist" that I said - I PROMISE YOU - I will not apologize to anyone.
I will not apologize for speaking my mind, for expressing my views, for seeing the world and stating the truth as I see it.
I will not apologize, even if my job depends on it - because it wouldn't be sincere - and also I know, thanks to the 2nd HAMMER, it wouldn't matter anyways. I'm not going to beg and grovel like a bitch, because the mob won't be satisfied anyways.
So fuck them.
If I have to live with being a Subway sandwich artist, or any other noble but low paying profession, than so be it.
I will never bend the knee to this leftist, Marxist garbage, I will never bow my head to this awful nonsense about not saying "all lives matter" or "blue lives matter" because black people can't handle it. Fuck that.
I will never pledge fealty to the woke mob. I was raised, from the time I was born, to not see color, and that's how I'm gong to continue my life. To be kind, to be respectful, and to treat people as I want to be treated. I certainly don't want to be treated as if I'm delicate and can't handle living in a meritocracy - I don't want hand-outs, I don't want special treatment or allowances because of shit that happened in the past. I don't want any of that - and I'm not going to do that to any one else.
I have too much time on this earth - traveling the world to almost 40 countries, many of them deeply impoverished - to change my views on this, the most basic tenets of human decency.
It is MORE than good enough to treat people with kindness and compassion.
It is MORE than good enough to dig deep for empathy when dealing with people who are angry and lashing out.
It is MORE than good enough to still hold these same people accountable for their own behavior and to flatly condemn any kind of violence or criminal behavior that they bring to the table.
It is NOT acceptable to condemn people for doing their best, for being kind, for disagreeing with the majority opinion.
It is NOT acceptable to shame people for different views or even wanting to stay out of the conversation. It is everyone's God given right to abstain from outrage if they so choose.
And really, that's all I have to say for now. Hopefully I can write a bit more here in the upcoming second half of this awful year. I just have to get the energy up and do it - I'm glad I did just now. Much better than keeping all of this pent up, that's for sure.
Peace out for now.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Friday, January 24, 2020
Movies 2019
Once again - my obligatory movie round up of my favorite flicks of the year!
2019 was actually quite a year for movies - and there were a ton that I really enjoyed but yet still didn't make my top ten.
As always, the disclaimer - I'm a big fan of big fun movies. Films are great and all, but really if I'm going to invest my hard earned time and money in a movie theater - I want to see shit blowed up real good as opposed to long scenes of dialogue and contemplation.
Of course this doesn't mean that I don't want a good story - story is actually to me THE most important element of a great movie. Story, story, STORY! I like my stories solid and grounded, but as for the worlds they inhabit, the bigger and more fanciful the better!
So without further ado - the runner ups!
Hobbs & Shaw
Was not expecting this one to be nearly as fun as it was when I caught it on a plane flight to Hawaii. I found myself laughing and giddy throughout. A hell of a good time at the movies, lots of fun and great action set pieces (though not anywhere near believable) - this movie knows exactly what it is and goes all out balls to the wall to show us all that it's got, and it's got a lot! The Rock is a national treasure and so is that Statham guy.
Alita: Battle Angel
Came out a long time ago, but I still look back fondly on it's story and simple execution. Don't know that we'll ever get a sequel, which is a shame, because this is a true comic-book movie, in the sense that it's incredibly faithful to the source material and is designed to keep going with the story. Enjoyed the FX work and really dug the strange looking lead performance.
John Wick 3
For my money, the best of the trilogy so far. Truly awesomely insane action sequences - including a crazy bit with horses that extends into the motorcycle chase of a lifetime. Hyper violent, but also hyper fun - JW3 delivers.
Joker
Was not expecting to enjoy this at all - only reluctantly watched because it got so much acclaim and so many Oscar nominations. Glad I watched - yes, it was grim and bleak to the point of distraction, but it was also exceptionally well done. Joaquin is incredible in his performance, and the rest of the film rises to his level of excellence in writing, pacing, editing and production value. Not exactly blockbuster entertainment, but a dark journey worth taking that adds another layer to the Batman legacy.
Toy Story 4
Like the previous 3 films, this one goes deep into the human condition but unlike the other 3, this one explores what happens when Woody realizes that there's more to life than being a child's toy. It's an interesting and risky proposition - the previous three films being grounded in the values of loyalty and fidelity - but I think it's a worthwhile exploration; plus it has all the usual Pixar excellence in story telling. Enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to it showing up on Disney +.
Frozen II
Loved just about all of this - great production design, great songs (though 'Into the Unknown' isn't nearly the show stopper that 'Let it Go' was) - and plenty of humor and fun moments. I was taken a bit aback when it appeared they were shoe-horning white guilt and genocide into to the story - but all was forgiven when Elza did the right thing and protected her homeland and heritage. Enjoyed watching this with my 15 year old daughter, who was 10 when the first one came out, and was super pumped to see this new one.
Downton Abbey
So in the year leading up to this movie I had the great pleasure of binging the entire show with my wife and daughter. They had watched it before, but for me it was all new. I thoroughly enjoyed the show - the production value, the performances, the time period and of course the often great dialogue and sometimes a bit too soapy storylines. So we were all well prepared when we struck out to the theater and indulged in this very jumbo sized episode that hit all the right familiar notes and also gave a warm and comforting feeling to us Downton fans.
The Irishman
I have to say, it took me 3 days to get through this. But, I was never really bored. Scorcese is such a world class filmmaker, and his gangster game is still so strong -that I was thoroughly entertained and interested through the entire movie. The sight of an 80 year old Robert Deniro (with a pixilated 30 something face plastered on) beating up a man in the streets, was a bit of a stretch - but overall it still works. Pesci was amazing, and all the other supporting roles were well cast and executed. Also very much enjoyed Pacino playing Hoffa - yeah, he's mostly doing himself, but he's still captivating. I actually kind of want to watch this again.
Ready or Not
A blast of a horror/thriller shot in basically one location for a modest budget. Tons of fun, silly violent and profane - but thoroughly engaging from beginning to end. The concept is a bit kooky, but it all works thanks to polished dialogue and confident performances and direction. This is the kind of movie I would love to make with my production company - we are currently exploring low budget horror features, that look good and are made well enough, but could be SO much better with a script like this.
And so we arrive at my top ten!
Keep in mind, I don't get out a ton during the year, so I haven't had a chance to see everything that's out there that's worth watching. I certainly have a list of flicks I want to see, read on down below to see those.
10. Captain Marvel
(From my UDATED Top MCU Movies: Ranked, post)
It kind of sucks that there was so much internet bullshit surrounding this one - both from in-cel neckbeards and from misguided conservatives who brought all of their emotional and political baggage to this very straightforward cosmic adventure that features a fantastic Brie Larson as the modern incarnation of Carol Danvers in the incarnation that many of us know and love from a relatively recent comic book run written and drawn by Kelly Sue DeConnick.
Truly, it is a rip roaring, and sometimes heartstring pulling yarn about our favorite Air Force captain - this time around she has amnesia - which isn't my favorite story telling device, but it works here because most of the audience isn't familiar with who she is either, and so it's an effective way for all of us (including Carol) to get to know her.
As for the internet nonsense - I really don't get it. Life is political enough, I don't need to inject politics into a movie where it doesn't really exist; and that's what I think is going on here. Look, I get it, in real life Brie Larson is a political ding-dong. So what? That doesn't mean the movie has one of her idiotic political agendas, or that the character of Captain Marvel is a 'Mary Sue' (the dumbest concept from the right as of late). Captain Marvel is a fun movie that moves right along and does a great job at straddling the line between earth bound adventure and the Marvel cosmic scene.
I love the young Sam Jackson (amazing) and his chemistry with Brie just crackles - in a totally plutonic way that works. Love Jude Law as the sniveling Kree, and it's great to see him finally dealt with properly at the end. And of course I love Ben Mendelsohn as Talos who brings the funny to his misunderstood Skrull character.
9. Knives Out
Had a blast with this unconventional murder-mystery that Rian Johnson turned inside out for our amusement and delight. Clearly he's a massive fan of the genre - and just like he did with Star Wars, Johnson here subverts our expectations and plays with a bit of meta-commentary on the various tropes. Frame for frame I don't know that there's a more entertaining movie out there this year - this one just kept me engrossed from beginning to end, and really just a delightful journey with ups and downs and just the right amount of anxiety. Reminded me a lot of old Cohen Brothers stuff - Blood Simple in particular leaps to mind.
8. Shazam!
Speaking of genres, this was a hoot and a holler and really what the super hero movies should be. What a blast of a good time! The humor is sharp, the story is tight, even the villain is fleshed out well (something that even the best superhero movies often struggle with). I will say though, no spoilers, that the ending is what really makes this one soar. What a joyous development with our hero and his new family - very, very cool!
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home
(Also from my MCU ranking post)
This one is a blast and a half! Not quite as strong as the first MCU Spider-Man installment, FFH still manages to bring the excitement and freshness only as the MCU can.
Jake Gyllenhaal is truly the very best choice for the very best until-now unused villain in the Marvel pantheon - Mysterio! Everything here works; from the faithful costume design (which works perfectly as a 'manufactured' costume to mock) to Mysterio's half-cocked scheme that he executes perfectly as he transforms from a nice guy who you want to have a beer with, into a snake who is incredibly dangerous.
Love the relationships here - Ned and the blonde chick are hilarious! "Thanks babe!" And Peter and MJ, the whole thing works really well - better than it did in Homecoming.
Love the location work, it gives the movie a much bigger epic feel than the story warrants.
The best stuff is with Happy and Peter on the jet, and the climactic fight is a "marvel" (see what I did there) in visual FX and editing. Beautifully done! Can't wait to see how they deal with the shocking reveal in the mid-credits tag! Great to see JK though!
6. Ford v Ferrari
When I said that Knives Out was very likely the most thoroughly entertaining movie of the year - it completely slipped my mind that 2019 was also the year we got this incredibly engrossing modern American fable. Bale and Damon are at the height of their powers in this expertly crafted and directed Mangold film that makes cars completely compelling, even if you're not a motor head. I absolutely loved this movie - it was funny, it was comforting and has a bitter-sweet conclusion that really makes you sit back and take it all it. Amazing film, I really need to watch this again!
5. Little Women
Speaking of amazing - I guess from here on out they're all great - and this one knocked me on my ass by how good it was.
It was weird, in the way that I get excited for franchise films like Harry Potter, or Star Wars or Marvel - I found myself about 2/3 of the way into this movie, feeling the same way. All the girls feel like old friends, like they are in stories, either their own or ones written by Jo, that we can return to over and over again and feel like we're home. Greta Gerwig is quite a talented director, who takes this fairly familiar and straightforward work of literature, and somehow elevates it to a level that enraptures us and makes us feel like we are gearing up for adventure in the same way all the tent-pole movies do. I don't know how she does it, but she does! I thought all the girls were well cast - the lead boy however seemed to be a bit too young - but it still all works marvelously.
4. Star Wars: Episode IX (spoilers)
Here's the thing - I love all about this movie, the same stuff that I love about all Star Wars movies. The excitement, the adventure - the same feeling of family and familiarity that Little Women gives off - I get it from these expertly done big budget genre films. I love Rey and Finn, and I love seeing what they go through together and how they get there. I love a LOT about this movie and have already seen it twice and will see it again and again before I die, no doubt.
That said, I would be remiss if I didn't quickly go down what disappointed me about this film.
The little stuff - Rose Tico getting sidelined in favor of a different female character that doesn't really need to exist. Don't understand it, don't appreciate it.
Ret-conning every little thing; from fixing Kylo's helmet to inexplicably saying that Rey is now related to Palpatine. Huh? Really annoying, especially in light of how good Last Jedi was - how unconventional and how game changing it tried to be. JJ Abrams apparently just goes down the line like a little fan-boy and ticks off each item that he doesn't like. Sigh. Ok, not the most creative thing.
I loved Last Jedi, and so it makes me sad that so much time and effort was spent to deliberately undo what Rian Johnson had accomplished. Rian, who is an auteur and filmmaker as opposed to JJ who apparently is a very talented hired gun who specializes in fan service - is given a great disservice here and so that leads me to my biggest gripe with the whole movie and really the whole Disney approach.
WHY, in the hell, did we not map out this entire trilogy from the beginning? My understanding is that Abrams and Kasdan turned in the script for Episode 7 and then shot the film with only the barest of outlines for what would happen in episode 8 and literally no plan at all for episode 9.
WHY? Why is this?
As per the usual suspects - time and money. Rather than take the time to really go into pre-production and map the whole story out, they rushed to get Force Awakens out in time for a 2015 release. I really, really don't understand this. Because you're not going to make BILLIONS of dollars no matter what - you really want to rush this stuff out? Very irritating.
That said - this movie itself is still in the top half of my top ten for the year. It was still exhilarating, it was still well more than a thrill and a half. Lots of humor and heart, plenty to enjoy and appreciate. Stuff I loved, in no particular order of preference.
Light speed jumping. Rey training. Lando in old Sandcrawler treads. Rey using force lightning. Rey and Kylo battling across space using Rian's teleport device - so awesome! Poe and his new Felicity girlfriend who's not really his girlfriend. Babu Frik. Rey and Kylo's duel in the water. The return of Han - perfectly done, lump in the throat PERFECT.
Rey and Keylo fighting together and yes - eventually kissing. It works, it's the one thing that JJ didn't retro-con from Last Jedi. There was sexual tension in that film, and he follows through with it here - I really dug it and then really felt it when Kylo passed away. Very well done all the way through.
So really, I loved it - despite my few misgivings. I'm so grateful that we do have Star Wars episodes 7-9, which I never thought we would have. As I've said, I love the characters of Rey and Finn & Kylo as well, sure I wish we had gotten deeper into them - but I am grateful for what we did get. SO much better than the prequels in terms of story and characters. These are films I will be watching for the rest of my life, no doubt.
3. 1917
I've been super excited for months to see this, having recently watched Peter Jackson's amazing documentary on World War I, it's a conflict that is fascinating to me but I also understand that it was absolutely a senseless war that didn't have to happen, which makes it very tragic as it was so horrific in it's carnage and suffering.
1917 turned out to be oh so much more than I could've hoped. I heard they were employing the 'gimmick' of one long continuous shot - but when I saw the film, I realized it's more than just that. The movie is truly all enveloping, because of the never ending shot and also because of the extraordinary surroundings that was the battle field in the first world war. We are absolutely surrounding by this war - completely immersed in the danger and peril, along for the ride with two young men (boys really) and we suffer with them, we cry with them - we really live what they are living, and dying of course.
Absolutely a modern marvel of filmmaking - I'm happy to see 1917 has gotten a ton of Oscar nods, it really deserves to win all of them. Eager to give it another watch, especially to pay closer attention to the invisible shot transitions - I started to look for the cut points when I first saw the movie, but quickly was overwhelmed by the story. Next time through I can relax a bit, knowing how it all ends, and really enjoy the technical feat of the storytelling device.
2. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Wow, Quinton really outdoes himself with this one.
I've seen this movie three times now, and have enjoyed it more and more each time.
I confess, the first time I watched 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood' was by myself in the theater and found myself shifting in my seat quite a bit. The pacing here is slower than what modern audiences are used to. But of course that final act just knocked me on my ass, and by the end I knew I had to see this one again.
A dear friend of mine who is not a QT fan, pointed out to me after we saw the film together (I for the second time) that my complaint about the pacing ran contrary to the filmmaker's intention of taking the audience on a nostalgic trip back in time - where the entire point is to SAVOR the atmosphere and the colorful characters from a bygone era.
My friend didn't care for the movie, but he really made a great point - Tarantino wants us to slow down and enjoy Los Angeles in the 1970's, every detail and aroma that he cooks up on screen - and by the time I watched this movie for the third time I was in exactly the right frame of mind to really appreciate all the effort and detail that QT put into this, what I would say is his masterpiece of a film, second only to Pulp Fiction in excellence.
What I loved about the message of the film - as near as I could tell - it is a harkening for a return to masculinity. That old school, Clint Eastwood / John Wayne - was discarded by the Polanski's and the Scorcese's of the new wave - and it really should've never been that way. The 70's counterculture saw the old guard as tired and useless - when really, they could've learned a thing or two from the Jack Dalton's of the world.
Sometimes, you really need a cranky old alcoholic to step out with a pitcher of margarita and tell those punk ass kids to shut the fuck up. Sometimes, you really need a thoroughly masculine stunt man to knock a dirtbag hippie's teeth out - or sic his pit-bull on home invaders who are little more than glorified beatniks with tiny dicks and big mouths.
I love, love, LOVE that QT reclaims Sharon Tate as a strong, vibrant and quintessentially feminine ray of light - and that QT also reclaims and condemns the dirty, smelly, hippy pieces of garbage that the Manson family was. The final act - OMG - is just so fucking great. Yes, it's once again another Tarantino revenge film, where this time the revenge is against shitty history that didn't have to be.
If someone like Jack Dalton had been at Sharon's gate - you're damn right those cowardly little shits would've never made it up her driveway. That's the old school. That's the virtue and value of real men - for all their faults - they are ultimately what stands-up for the vulnerable and says no to evil.
I could watch this one again and again - and no doubt I will!
1. Avengers: Endgame
Okay, this one I suppose is a bit of a cop-out - but really, I have loved these Marvel Cinematic Movies for over a decade now, going back even before them into my childhood when I was a voracious reader of stories populated with the same characters that now light up the screen - there is really no way I can look at this movie, which is the absolute culmination and payoff to the amazing MCU and not put it at the top of my list.
You can read my entire lengthy review here - but the Cliff notes are; I love these Marvel movies so so SO much; and this Endgame finale is fantastically done, a great movie unto itself that soars with humor, emotions and epic moments - that it is a relatively easy choice for number one, because it really is a great movie but also because it represents all that has come before as well.
So yes, in the way "Return of the King" won all the awards, including best picture, when it arguably wasn't the best of the trilogy (though I have always been of the school that it was) Avengers Endgame also gets top honors from me, because it is GREAT and also because it is the end of this generation of Marvel movies.
And yes, there's still a ton of movies I WANT to see and likely will. They are...
Jo Jo Rabbit
Parasite
Doctor Sleep
Terminator Dark Fate
IT Chapter 2 - UPDATE - SAW IT! Enjoyed the humor and the acting a lot - the story itself was good, but it was a long one!
Harriet
Fighting with my Family
Especially looking forward to Jo Jo Rabbit - Taika is the MAN!
And finally - my short list of disappointments...
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Ugh, what a letdown! I am the easiest fanboy in the world to please - how, how HOW could they do something like this? Wait a minute, let me get this straight - it is LITERALLY the same writer as X-Men 3 Last Stand? That abortion of a movie that butchered the Phoenix Saga? You literally actually hired the SAME EXACT GUY to write and direct this one? Um, no.
The movie was really, not good. No excuse. Nothing to do here but reboot the X-Men into the MCU. A real shame because I LOVE all of the other X-Men movies, like actually LOVE all of them with the single exception of X-Men 3 Last Stand, yes, the one written by THE SAME GUY WHO WROTE THIS PIECE OF SHIT.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Disappointing not because it was terrible, it wasn't - disappointing because it could've been really good to great - and instead was just BORING and uninspired. Nothing rubs me the wrong way more than a mediocre film. I can take it if it's flat out bad, but this was just good enough to really sting because it falls short.
Rocketman
Don't get me wrong, there's lots to like here. Taron Egerton is bloody brilliant and embodies Sir Elton - and I do enjoy the fantasy musical sequences - BUT - as the child of an alcoholic, I find movies that endlessly harp on alcoholics / addicts - really tough to enjoy. This movie for the most part is one note, over and over, and that note is addiction. Addiction sucks - I really don't like being subjected to almost 2 hours of it. I wanted a lot more lighter moments and a lot more moments of joy.
The Queen movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, had a really great mix of ups and downs - and even when we were in the darkest times, we could always count on the music lifting us up. Here, Elton John himself doesn't do the actual singing, and frankly the musical production value (the music itself) really isn't up to snuff. Elton's music should be POWERFUL and here quite often it's forgetful. I especially was disappointed in the shot for shot remake of the "I'm Still Standing" video - in real life it is a grainy video taped piece of work but it is thoroughly powerful in emotion - here it just falls flat.
Anyways, didn't hate it by any means, I just wanted more ups and not so many downs - and I wanted to hear the real Elton singing with backing from his real band and producers. Taron did a great job, but he's not Elton and whoever was tasked on bringing the music to the screen did not bring the wallop that Elton's music usually carries.
So that's it! I laughed, I cried, I kissed my hard earned cash goodbye! Except when I managed to snag a screener or two ha ha.
Hope you enjoyed reading what I thought of the movies this year - again, I think overall it was quite an excellent year as far as these things go.
Hopefully I'll write a bit more in 2020 than I did in 2019 - and hopefully there will be plenty more great movies to come!
2019 was actually quite a year for movies - and there were a ton that I really enjoyed but yet still didn't make my top ten.
As always, the disclaimer - I'm a big fan of big fun movies. Films are great and all, but really if I'm going to invest my hard earned time and money in a movie theater - I want to see shit blowed up real good as opposed to long scenes of dialogue and contemplation.
Of course this doesn't mean that I don't want a good story - story is actually to me THE most important element of a great movie. Story, story, STORY! I like my stories solid and grounded, but as for the worlds they inhabit, the bigger and more fanciful the better!
So without further ado - the runner ups!
Hobbs & Shaw
Was not expecting this one to be nearly as fun as it was when I caught it on a plane flight to Hawaii. I found myself laughing and giddy throughout. A hell of a good time at the movies, lots of fun and great action set pieces (though not anywhere near believable) - this movie knows exactly what it is and goes all out balls to the wall to show us all that it's got, and it's got a lot! The Rock is a national treasure and so is that Statham guy.
Alita: Battle Angel
Came out a long time ago, but I still look back fondly on it's story and simple execution. Don't know that we'll ever get a sequel, which is a shame, because this is a true comic-book movie, in the sense that it's incredibly faithful to the source material and is designed to keep going with the story. Enjoyed the FX work and really dug the strange looking lead performance.
John Wick 3
For my money, the best of the trilogy so far. Truly awesomely insane action sequences - including a crazy bit with horses that extends into the motorcycle chase of a lifetime. Hyper violent, but also hyper fun - JW3 delivers.
Joker
Was not expecting to enjoy this at all - only reluctantly watched because it got so much acclaim and so many Oscar nominations. Glad I watched - yes, it was grim and bleak to the point of distraction, but it was also exceptionally well done. Joaquin is incredible in his performance, and the rest of the film rises to his level of excellence in writing, pacing, editing and production value. Not exactly blockbuster entertainment, but a dark journey worth taking that adds another layer to the Batman legacy.
Toy Story 4
Like the previous 3 films, this one goes deep into the human condition but unlike the other 3, this one explores what happens when Woody realizes that there's more to life than being a child's toy. It's an interesting and risky proposition - the previous three films being grounded in the values of loyalty and fidelity - but I think it's a worthwhile exploration; plus it has all the usual Pixar excellence in story telling. Enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to it showing up on Disney +.
Frozen II
Loved just about all of this - great production design, great songs (though 'Into the Unknown' isn't nearly the show stopper that 'Let it Go' was) - and plenty of humor and fun moments. I was taken a bit aback when it appeared they were shoe-horning white guilt and genocide into to the story - but all was forgiven when Elza did the right thing and protected her homeland and heritage. Enjoyed watching this with my 15 year old daughter, who was 10 when the first one came out, and was super pumped to see this new one.
Downton Abbey
So in the year leading up to this movie I had the great pleasure of binging the entire show with my wife and daughter. They had watched it before, but for me it was all new. I thoroughly enjoyed the show - the production value, the performances, the time period and of course the often great dialogue and sometimes a bit too soapy storylines. So we were all well prepared when we struck out to the theater and indulged in this very jumbo sized episode that hit all the right familiar notes and also gave a warm and comforting feeling to us Downton fans.
The Irishman
I have to say, it took me 3 days to get through this. But, I was never really bored. Scorcese is such a world class filmmaker, and his gangster game is still so strong -that I was thoroughly entertained and interested through the entire movie. The sight of an 80 year old Robert Deniro (with a pixilated 30 something face plastered on) beating up a man in the streets, was a bit of a stretch - but overall it still works. Pesci was amazing, and all the other supporting roles were well cast and executed. Also very much enjoyed Pacino playing Hoffa - yeah, he's mostly doing himself, but he's still captivating. I actually kind of want to watch this again.
Ready or Not
A blast of a horror/thriller shot in basically one location for a modest budget. Tons of fun, silly violent and profane - but thoroughly engaging from beginning to end. The concept is a bit kooky, but it all works thanks to polished dialogue and confident performances and direction. This is the kind of movie I would love to make with my production company - we are currently exploring low budget horror features, that look good and are made well enough, but could be SO much better with a script like this.
And so we arrive at my top ten!
Keep in mind, I don't get out a ton during the year, so I haven't had a chance to see everything that's out there that's worth watching. I certainly have a list of flicks I want to see, read on down below to see those.
10. Captain Marvel
(From my UDATED Top MCU Movies: Ranked, post)
It kind of sucks that there was so much internet bullshit surrounding this one - both from in-cel neckbeards and from misguided conservatives who brought all of their emotional and political baggage to this very straightforward cosmic adventure that features a fantastic Brie Larson as the modern incarnation of Carol Danvers in the incarnation that many of us know and love from a relatively recent comic book run written and drawn by Kelly Sue DeConnick.
Truly, it is a rip roaring, and sometimes heartstring pulling yarn about our favorite Air Force captain - this time around she has amnesia - which isn't my favorite story telling device, but it works here because most of the audience isn't familiar with who she is either, and so it's an effective way for all of us (including Carol) to get to know her.
As for the internet nonsense - I really don't get it. Life is political enough, I don't need to inject politics into a movie where it doesn't really exist; and that's what I think is going on here. Look, I get it, in real life Brie Larson is a political ding-dong. So what? That doesn't mean the movie has one of her idiotic political agendas, or that the character of Captain Marvel is a 'Mary Sue' (the dumbest concept from the right as of late). Captain Marvel is a fun movie that moves right along and does a great job at straddling the line between earth bound adventure and the Marvel cosmic scene.
I love the young Sam Jackson (amazing) and his chemistry with Brie just crackles - in a totally plutonic way that works. Love Jude Law as the sniveling Kree, and it's great to see him finally dealt with properly at the end. And of course I love Ben Mendelsohn as Talos who brings the funny to his misunderstood Skrull character.
9. Knives Out
Had a blast with this unconventional murder-mystery that Rian Johnson turned inside out for our amusement and delight. Clearly he's a massive fan of the genre - and just like he did with Star Wars, Johnson here subverts our expectations and plays with a bit of meta-commentary on the various tropes. Frame for frame I don't know that there's a more entertaining movie out there this year - this one just kept me engrossed from beginning to end, and really just a delightful journey with ups and downs and just the right amount of anxiety. Reminded me a lot of old Cohen Brothers stuff - Blood Simple in particular leaps to mind.
8. Shazam!
Speaking of genres, this was a hoot and a holler and really what the super hero movies should be. What a blast of a good time! The humor is sharp, the story is tight, even the villain is fleshed out well (something that even the best superhero movies often struggle with). I will say though, no spoilers, that the ending is what really makes this one soar. What a joyous development with our hero and his new family - very, very cool!
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home
(Also from my MCU ranking post)
This one is a blast and a half! Not quite as strong as the first MCU Spider-Man installment, FFH still manages to bring the excitement and freshness only as the MCU can.
Jake Gyllenhaal is truly the very best choice for the very best until-now unused villain in the Marvel pantheon - Mysterio! Everything here works; from the faithful costume design (which works perfectly as a 'manufactured' costume to mock) to Mysterio's half-cocked scheme that he executes perfectly as he transforms from a nice guy who you want to have a beer with, into a snake who is incredibly dangerous.
Love the relationships here - Ned and the blonde chick are hilarious! "Thanks babe!" And Peter and MJ, the whole thing works really well - better than it did in Homecoming.
Love the location work, it gives the movie a much bigger epic feel than the story warrants.
The best stuff is with Happy and Peter on the jet, and the climactic fight is a "marvel" (see what I did there) in visual FX and editing. Beautifully done! Can't wait to see how they deal with the shocking reveal in the mid-credits tag! Great to see JK though!
6. Ford v Ferrari
When I said that Knives Out was very likely the most thoroughly entertaining movie of the year - it completely slipped my mind that 2019 was also the year we got this incredibly engrossing modern American fable. Bale and Damon are at the height of their powers in this expertly crafted and directed Mangold film that makes cars completely compelling, even if you're not a motor head. I absolutely loved this movie - it was funny, it was comforting and has a bitter-sweet conclusion that really makes you sit back and take it all it. Amazing film, I really need to watch this again!
5. Little Women
Speaking of amazing - I guess from here on out they're all great - and this one knocked me on my ass by how good it was.
It was weird, in the way that I get excited for franchise films like Harry Potter, or Star Wars or Marvel - I found myself about 2/3 of the way into this movie, feeling the same way. All the girls feel like old friends, like they are in stories, either their own or ones written by Jo, that we can return to over and over again and feel like we're home. Greta Gerwig is quite a talented director, who takes this fairly familiar and straightforward work of literature, and somehow elevates it to a level that enraptures us and makes us feel like we are gearing up for adventure in the same way all the tent-pole movies do. I don't know how she does it, but she does! I thought all the girls were well cast - the lead boy however seemed to be a bit too young - but it still all works marvelously.
4. Star Wars: Episode IX (spoilers)
Here's the thing - I love all about this movie, the same stuff that I love about all Star Wars movies. The excitement, the adventure - the same feeling of family and familiarity that Little Women gives off - I get it from these expertly done big budget genre films. I love Rey and Finn, and I love seeing what they go through together and how they get there. I love a LOT about this movie and have already seen it twice and will see it again and again before I die, no doubt.
That said, I would be remiss if I didn't quickly go down what disappointed me about this film.
The little stuff - Rose Tico getting sidelined in favor of a different female character that doesn't really need to exist. Don't understand it, don't appreciate it.
Ret-conning every little thing; from fixing Kylo's helmet to inexplicably saying that Rey is now related to Palpatine. Huh? Really annoying, especially in light of how good Last Jedi was - how unconventional and how game changing it tried to be. JJ Abrams apparently just goes down the line like a little fan-boy and ticks off each item that he doesn't like. Sigh. Ok, not the most creative thing.
I loved Last Jedi, and so it makes me sad that so much time and effort was spent to deliberately undo what Rian Johnson had accomplished. Rian, who is an auteur and filmmaker as opposed to JJ who apparently is a very talented hired gun who specializes in fan service - is given a great disservice here and so that leads me to my biggest gripe with the whole movie and really the whole Disney approach.
WHY, in the hell, did we not map out this entire trilogy from the beginning? My understanding is that Abrams and Kasdan turned in the script for Episode 7 and then shot the film with only the barest of outlines for what would happen in episode 8 and literally no plan at all for episode 9.
WHY? Why is this?
As per the usual suspects - time and money. Rather than take the time to really go into pre-production and map the whole story out, they rushed to get Force Awakens out in time for a 2015 release. I really, really don't understand this. Because you're not going to make BILLIONS of dollars no matter what - you really want to rush this stuff out? Very irritating.
That said - this movie itself is still in the top half of my top ten for the year. It was still exhilarating, it was still well more than a thrill and a half. Lots of humor and heart, plenty to enjoy and appreciate. Stuff I loved, in no particular order of preference.
Light speed jumping. Rey training. Lando in old Sandcrawler treads. Rey using force lightning. Rey and Kylo battling across space using Rian's teleport device - so awesome! Poe and his new Felicity girlfriend who's not really his girlfriend. Babu Frik. Rey and Kylo's duel in the water. The return of Han - perfectly done, lump in the throat PERFECT.
Rey and Keylo fighting together and yes - eventually kissing. It works, it's the one thing that JJ didn't retro-con from Last Jedi. There was sexual tension in that film, and he follows through with it here - I really dug it and then really felt it when Kylo passed away. Very well done all the way through.
So really, I loved it - despite my few misgivings. I'm so grateful that we do have Star Wars episodes 7-9, which I never thought we would have. As I've said, I love the characters of Rey and Finn & Kylo as well, sure I wish we had gotten deeper into them - but I am grateful for what we did get. SO much better than the prequels in terms of story and characters. These are films I will be watching for the rest of my life, no doubt.
3. 1917
I've been super excited for months to see this, having recently watched Peter Jackson's amazing documentary on World War I, it's a conflict that is fascinating to me but I also understand that it was absolutely a senseless war that didn't have to happen, which makes it very tragic as it was so horrific in it's carnage and suffering.
1917 turned out to be oh so much more than I could've hoped. I heard they were employing the 'gimmick' of one long continuous shot - but when I saw the film, I realized it's more than just that. The movie is truly all enveloping, because of the never ending shot and also because of the extraordinary surroundings that was the battle field in the first world war. We are absolutely surrounding by this war - completely immersed in the danger and peril, along for the ride with two young men (boys really) and we suffer with them, we cry with them - we really live what they are living, and dying of course.
Absolutely a modern marvel of filmmaking - I'm happy to see 1917 has gotten a ton of Oscar nods, it really deserves to win all of them. Eager to give it another watch, especially to pay closer attention to the invisible shot transitions - I started to look for the cut points when I first saw the movie, but quickly was overwhelmed by the story. Next time through I can relax a bit, knowing how it all ends, and really enjoy the technical feat of the storytelling device.
2. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Wow, Quinton really outdoes himself with this one.
I've seen this movie three times now, and have enjoyed it more and more each time.
I confess, the first time I watched 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood' was by myself in the theater and found myself shifting in my seat quite a bit. The pacing here is slower than what modern audiences are used to. But of course that final act just knocked me on my ass, and by the end I knew I had to see this one again.
A dear friend of mine who is not a QT fan, pointed out to me after we saw the film together (I for the second time) that my complaint about the pacing ran contrary to the filmmaker's intention of taking the audience on a nostalgic trip back in time - where the entire point is to SAVOR the atmosphere and the colorful characters from a bygone era.
My friend didn't care for the movie, but he really made a great point - Tarantino wants us to slow down and enjoy Los Angeles in the 1970's, every detail and aroma that he cooks up on screen - and by the time I watched this movie for the third time I was in exactly the right frame of mind to really appreciate all the effort and detail that QT put into this, what I would say is his masterpiece of a film, second only to Pulp Fiction in excellence.
What I loved about the message of the film - as near as I could tell - it is a harkening for a return to masculinity. That old school, Clint Eastwood / John Wayne - was discarded by the Polanski's and the Scorcese's of the new wave - and it really should've never been that way. The 70's counterculture saw the old guard as tired and useless - when really, they could've learned a thing or two from the Jack Dalton's of the world.
Sometimes, you really need a cranky old alcoholic to step out with a pitcher of margarita and tell those punk ass kids to shut the fuck up. Sometimes, you really need a thoroughly masculine stunt man to knock a dirtbag hippie's teeth out - or sic his pit-bull on home invaders who are little more than glorified beatniks with tiny dicks and big mouths.
I love, love, LOVE that QT reclaims Sharon Tate as a strong, vibrant and quintessentially feminine ray of light - and that QT also reclaims and condemns the dirty, smelly, hippy pieces of garbage that the Manson family was. The final act - OMG - is just so fucking great. Yes, it's once again another Tarantino revenge film, where this time the revenge is against shitty history that didn't have to be.
If someone like Jack Dalton had been at Sharon's gate - you're damn right those cowardly little shits would've never made it up her driveway. That's the old school. That's the virtue and value of real men - for all their faults - they are ultimately what stands-up for the vulnerable and says no to evil.
I could watch this one again and again - and no doubt I will!
1. Avengers: Endgame
Okay, this one I suppose is a bit of a cop-out - but really, I have loved these Marvel Cinematic Movies for over a decade now, going back even before them into my childhood when I was a voracious reader of stories populated with the same characters that now light up the screen - there is really no way I can look at this movie, which is the absolute culmination and payoff to the amazing MCU and not put it at the top of my list.
You can read my entire lengthy review here - but the Cliff notes are; I love these Marvel movies so so SO much; and this Endgame finale is fantastically done, a great movie unto itself that soars with humor, emotions and epic moments - that it is a relatively easy choice for number one, because it really is a great movie but also because it represents all that has come before as well.
So yes, in the way "Return of the King" won all the awards, including best picture, when it arguably wasn't the best of the trilogy (though I have always been of the school that it was) Avengers Endgame also gets top honors from me, because it is GREAT and also because it is the end of this generation of Marvel movies.
And yes, there's still a ton of movies I WANT to see and likely will. They are...
Jo Jo Rabbit
Parasite
Doctor Sleep
Terminator Dark Fate
IT Chapter 2 - UPDATE - SAW IT! Enjoyed the humor and the acting a lot - the story itself was good, but it was a long one!
Harriet
Fighting with my Family
Especially looking forward to Jo Jo Rabbit - Taika is the MAN!
And finally - my short list of disappointments...
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Ugh, what a letdown! I am the easiest fanboy in the world to please - how, how HOW could they do something like this? Wait a minute, let me get this straight - it is LITERALLY the same writer as X-Men 3 Last Stand? That abortion of a movie that butchered the Phoenix Saga? You literally actually hired the SAME EXACT GUY to write and direct this one? Um, no.
The movie was really, not good. No excuse. Nothing to do here but reboot the X-Men into the MCU. A real shame because I LOVE all of the other X-Men movies, like actually LOVE all of them with the single exception of X-Men 3 Last Stand, yes, the one written by THE SAME GUY WHO WROTE THIS PIECE OF SHIT.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Disappointing not because it was terrible, it wasn't - disappointing because it could've been really good to great - and instead was just BORING and uninspired. Nothing rubs me the wrong way more than a mediocre film. I can take it if it's flat out bad, but this was just good enough to really sting because it falls short.
Rocketman
Don't get me wrong, there's lots to like here. Taron Egerton is bloody brilliant and embodies Sir Elton - and I do enjoy the fantasy musical sequences - BUT - as the child of an alcoholic, I find movies that endlessly harp on alcoholics / addicts - really tough to enjoy. This movie for the most part is one note, over and over, and that note is addiction. Addiction sucks - I really don't like being subjected to almost 2 hours of it. I wanted a lot more lighter moments and a lot more moments of joy.
The Queen movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, had a really great mix of ups and downs - and even when we were in the darkest times, we could always count on the music lifting us up. Here, Elton John himself doesn't do the actual singing, and frankly the musical production value (the music itself) really isn't up to snuff. Elton's music should be POWERFUL and here quite often it's forgetful. I especially was disappointed in the shot for shot remake of the "I'm Still Standing" video - in real life it is a grainy video taped piece of work but it is thoroughly powerful in emotion - here it just falls flat.
Anyways, didn't hate it by any means, I just wanted more ups and not so many downs - and I wanted to hear the real Elton singing with backing from his real band and producers. Taron did a great job, but he's not Elton and whoever was tasked on bringing the music to the screen did not bring the wallop that Elton's music usually carries.
So that's it! I laughed, I cried, I kissed my hard earned cash goodbye! Except when I managed to snag a screener or two ha ha.
Hope you enjoyed reading what I thought of the movies this year - again, I think overall it was quite an excellent year as far as these things go.
Hopefully I'll write a bit more in 2020 than I did in 2019 - and hopefully there will be plenty more great movies to come!
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Quiet - but not silenced.
You may have noticed, I've been scarce around these parts lately. Well, it hasn't been intentional and it's not because I don't have anything to say - really, it's just because I've been super busy at life. My two passions, my job and playing poker - not to mention the most important thing of all, my family, these days really do take up all of my time.
But today, I have a cold. My head is stuffy, and the stars and planets have aligned at work to allow me a day of respite. So I will attempt to lay out here, where my head is at politically and in regards to the state of our country.
I officially retired from posting and commenting on politics via' Facebook in 2016, and I'm happy to say I have (for the most part) kept to my abstinence from these things. I do slip once in awhile in commenting in a friend's thread (and then immediately withdraw) or posting my own article about the ever deplorable state of the homeless (mentally ill addicts) in this country and more specifically in Los Angeles, but I don't really consider that issue political. (Though plenty of people chime in anyways about Trump this or liberal failures that).
In any case, I'm now quiet about politics.
Well, and then there's also my private chat group on FB where I've summarily taken each and every last one of my liberal friends who have dared to challenge me to the woodshed and basically pummeled them (verbally) into shame and silence. Only one remains, my dear DSR, who though radically wrong in many ways on many issues, still has the brains and self-awareness to understand that politics are in the end not personal. He also has enough faith in his own convictions that he is not as easily cowed as the others who have come and gone - and gone rather quickly when faced with my rapid fire intellectual beat downs.
And so, mostly, I am quiet about politics.
I learned many, many years before social media, to keep my opinions to myself about politics in all manner of company, both polite and also rowdy, if there were liberals among them. I did at times indulge with my closest friends, but even then, as I valued their friendship far more than me being right, I would hold my tongue when we arrived at fundamental disagreements. Which for some of them, our disagreements are scary deep - such as my friend who doesn't think our troops are the best and the bravest, he thinks they are mostly murderers. That is a friend that I have known since grade school, had I met him later in life, I promise you we would not be friends.
But I digress a bit here. My purpose with this post is to check in with this blog (though I plan to check in within this month again with my annual movie round-up) and let anyone who also still checks in here know, that I am quiet for now - but I have not been silenced.
I mostly avoid discussing politics these days, even in my private facebook group, because I have been turned from someone who was repulsed by Donald Trump and did NOT vote for him in the primary or the general - into someone who now will basically crawl over broken glass to support him.
Really, I have been so put off by the radical left - i.e. the mainstream democrat party - and their hatred for our president, who is kicking all kinds of ass policy-wise (record low unemployment, first wage growth in over a decade, record high stock market, GDP growth that Obama said was no longer possible, and on and on and on) that right now I am not avoiding talking politics because I don't want an argument - I am avoiding it because I don't want to bite someone's head off.
I am so angry with the left right now, it's rather scary, even to myself.
It started with Trump's inauguration and his speech that I thought was pretty great.
The media and Trump's opponents called it racist, and it just went downhill from there.
Then there was Kavanaugh and Covington - both cases of crazed lynch mobs, bringing the verdict first and then scrambling to find evidence that didn't exist. Of course Kavanaugh was a gang rapist, what else would he be? Of course that MAGA hat wearing kid was the instigator, and clearly a white nationalist.
Yeah, um, no.
Right now, I am so angry with those who think this impeachment fiasco is somehow justified or worthwhile - and are blind to how damaging it is to our country - that I really don't want to talk about it at all because I fear I will lose my temper and say things that I will regret.
I have to keep reminding myself that most people, even highly educated people, people who get a 100% on the written Jeopardy test and then pass the audition and actually go on the show - really don't care....
But make no mistake - if you are going through life and you think attacking the president, impeaching the president, doing everything and anything necessary to damage him or remove him is okay; half the country, including yours truly, is actually very, very, VERY angry at you for feeling this way.
From our point of view, if you want him removed from office you are un-American and an asshole. I really believe this - and the left has pushed me here. You have nothing on Trump. NOTHING. And you know it, and yet you don't care because an emotional victory is more important to you than logic or reason.
I understand he's off putting, I understand his character at times is questionable. I myself had qualms about voting for him - and I don't know if I've mentioned it here - but I actually did not vote for him in 2016. I don't like his arrogance, his thin skin or his inability to control his temper.
But in the end, I look at what has happened economically, militarily and judicially to our country over the last year - and I can't help but understand that Trump has become a hundred times more the great conservative than I could ever have hoped. And the hate from the left has grown exponentially and is vastly disproportionate to whatever flaws in character he might have.
The hate from the left is coming because of policy, not because Trump at times can be an impulsive jerk. And that is what is so off-putting to me and why now I am a full throated Trump supporter.
Me, someone who has never liked Trump personally - now I think he is the greatest president in my lifetime. More conservative than Ronald Reagan - and also a more effectual president.
Trump doesn't just talk (often like a jackass) - he gets it done.
Look at this tariff thing with China. Across the political spectrum, both sides now are fairly astonished that his weaponization of tariff's actually worked - and we are now in the best position with China, with a workable and enforceable trade deal with teeth that has been signed off on for the first time - all because Trump was right.
Look at what happened with Iran - they are now cowed. They now understand that you don't fuck with us. Their response was to launch rockets into the dirt. An actual red line was crossed and Trump responded viciously and disproportionately - as he should have. The perfect response, and the only thing the Iranian leadership understands and respects - brute strength. For the first time in 40 years, now there is a glimmer of hope for the Iranian people. Trumps speech to them in the aftermath of the rockets into the dirt illuminated this and was a shining moment in his presidency.
Look at our judiciary. As of this writing he has installed over 180 federal judges who are cut in the mold of Scalia. Our Constitution will now be defended for generations across the country. And the Supreme Court as well will be rock solid for decades to come. And when RGB retires or passes away, Trump's legacy of SCOTUS appointments will become a trifecta of victory for liberty.
And finally, look at math. Math doesn't care about your feelings. All time historic record low unemployment numbers for people of color. Wage growth. A GDP at numbers that most on the left said would never be possible again. Krugman said that the economy would 'crater' under Trump. How very, very, VERY wrong he and his contemporaries were.
All I see, when I look at this Trump presidency is winning. Trump himself said in his campaign that we would get sick of so much winning - and he was absolutely prophetic.
We are winning, and winning and winning over and over and OVER. And all the left can do is play fucking games with souvenir pens and fist bumping on talk shows.
Just absurd and incredible really, just how much the left doesn't give a shit about truth or honor.
Yes, so you may have figured out - I've been quiet, but I'm not silenced. I'm just over it. And very angry at what folks on the left are doing to my president and in turn to those of us just right of center and a bit farther to the right of that as well.
Anyways, I'm eager to talk movies (with some political injection in there as well, this is my safe space for talking politics after all) and I'm looking forward to that in this space, in fairly short order, so stay tuned for that!
But today, I have a cold. My head is stuffy, and the stars and planets have aligned at work to allow me a day of respite. So I will attempt to lay out here, where my head is at politically and in regards to the state of our country.
I officially retired from posting and commenting on politics via' Facebook in 2016, and I'm happy to say I have (for the most part) kept to my abstinence from these things. I do slip once in awhile in commenting in a friend's thread (and then immediately withdraw) or posting my own article about the ever deplorable state of the homeless (mentally ill addicts) in this country and more specifically in Los Angeles, but I don't really consider that issue political. (Though plenty of people chime in anyways about Trump this or liberal failures that).
In any case, I'm now quiet about politics.
Well, and then there's also my private chat group on FB where I've summarily taken each and every last one of my liberal friends who have dared to challenge me to the woodshed and basically pummeled them (verbally) into shame and silence. Only one remains, my dear DSR, who though radically wrong in many ways on many issues, still has the brains and self-awareness to understand that politics are in the end not personal. He also has enough faith in his own convictions that he is not as easily cowed as the others who have come and gone - and gone rather quickly when faced with my rapid fire intellectual beat downs.
And so, mostly, I am quiet about politics.
I learned many, many years before social media, to keep my opinions to myself about politics in all manner of company, both polite and also rowdy, if there were liberals among them. I did at times indulge with my closest friends, but even then, as I valued their friendship far more than me being right, I would hold my tongue when we arrived at fundamental disagreements. Which for some of them, our disagreements are scary deep - such as my friend who doesn't think our troops are the best and the bravest, he thinks they are mostly murderers. That is a friend that I have known since grade school, had I met him later in life, I promise you we would not be friends.
But I digress a bit here. My purpose with this post is to check in with this blog (though I plan to check in within this month again with my annual movie round-up) and let anyone who also still checks in here know, that I am quiet for now - but I have not been silenced.
I mostly avoid discussing politics these days, even in my private facebook group, because I have been turned from someone who was repulsed by Donald Trump and did NOT vote for him in the primary or the general - into someone who now will basically crawl over broken glass to support him.
Really, I have been so put off by the radical left - i.e. the mainstream democrat party - and their hatred for our president, who is kicking all kinds of ass policy-wise (record low unemployment, first wage growth in over a decade, record high stock market, GDP growth that Obama said was no longer possible, and on and on and on) that right now I am not avoiding talking politics because I don't want an argument - I am avoiding it because I don't want to bite someone's head off.
I am so angry with the left right now, it's rather scary, even to myself.
It started with Trump's inauguration and his speech that I thought was pretty great.
The media and Trump's opponents called it racist, and it just went downhill from there.
Then there was Kavanaugh and Covington - both cases of crazed lynch mobs, bringing the verdict first and then scrambling to find evidence that didn't exist. Of course Kavanaugh was a gang rapist, what else would he be? Of course that MAGA hat wearing kid was the instigator, and clearly a white nationalist.
Yeah, um, no.
Right now, I am so angry with those who think this impeachment fiasco is somehow justified or worthwhile - and are blind to how damaging it is to our country - that I really don't want to talk about it at all because I fear I will lose my temper and say things that I will regret.
I have to keep reminding myself that most people, even highly educated people, people who get a 100% on the written Jeopardy test and then pass the audition and actually go on the show - really don't care....
But make no mistake - if you are going through life and you think attacking the president, impeaching the president, doing everything and anything necessary to damage him or remove him is okay; half the country, including yours truly, is actually very, very, VERY angry at you for feeling this way.
From our point of view, if you want him removed from office you are un-American and an asshole. I really believe this - and the left has pushed me here. You have nothing on Trump. NOTHING. And you know it, and yet you don't care because an emotional victory is more important to you than logic or reason.
I understand he's off putting, I understand his character at times is questionable. I myself had qualms about voting for him - and I don't know if I've mentioned it here - but I actually did not vote for him in 2016. I don't like his arrogance, his thin skin or his inability to control his temper.
But in the end, I look at what has happened economically, militarily and judicially to our country over the last year - and I can't help but understand that Trump has become a hundred times more the great conservative than I could ever have hoped. And the hate from the left has grown exponentially and is vastly disproportionate to whatever flaws in character he might have.
The hate from the left is coming because of policy, not because Trump at times can be an impulsive jerk. And that is what is so off-putting to me and why now I am a full throated Trump supporter.
Me, someone who has never liked Trump personally - now I think he is the greatest president in my lifetime. More conservative than Ronald Reagan - and also a more effectual president.
Trump doesn't just talk (often like a jackass) - he gets it done.
Look at this tariff thing with China. Across the political spectrum, both sides now are fairly astonished that his weaponization of tariff's actually worked - and we are now in the best position with China, with a workable and enforceable trade deal with teeth that has been signed off on for the first time - all because Trump was right.
Look at what happened with Iran - they are now cowed. They now understand that you don't fuck with us. Their response was to launch rockets into the dirt. An actual red line was crossed and Trump responded viciously and disproportionately - as he should have. The perfect response, and the only thing the Iranian leadership understands and respects - brute strength. For the first time in 40 years, now there is a glimmer of hope for the Iranian people. Trumps speech to them in the aftermath of the rockets into the dirt illuminated this and was a shining moment in his presidency.
Look at our judiciary. As of this writing he has installed over 180 federal judges who are cut in the mold of Scalia. Our Constitution will now be defended for generations across the country. And the Supreme Court as well will be rock solid for decades to come. And when RGB retires or passes away, Trump's legacy of SCOTUS appointments will become a trifecta of victory for liberty.
And finally, look at math. Math doesn't care about your feelings. All time historic record low unemployment numbers for people of color. Wage growth. A GDP at numbers that most on the left said would never be possible again. Krugman said that the economy would 'crater' under Trump. How very, very, VERY wrong he and his contemporaries were.
All I see, when I look at this Trump presidency is winning. Trump himself said in his campaign that we would get sick of so much winning - and he was absolutely prophetic.
We are winning, and winning and winning over and over and OVER. And all the left can do is play fucking games with souvenir pens and fist bumping on talk shows.
Just absurd and incredible really, just how much the left doesn't give a shit about truth or honor.
Yes, so you may have figured out - I've been quiet, but I'm not silenced. I'm just over it. And very angry at what folks on the left are doing to my president and in turn to those of us just right of center and a bit farther to the right of that as well.
Anyways, I'm eager to talk movies (with some political injection in there as well, this is my safe space for talking politics after all) and I'm looking forward to that in this space, in fairly short order, so stay tuned for that!
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Avengers: Endgame - "Review"! MEGA SPOILERS!
Okay it's not really a review, just a big slobbery sopping wet kiss to this amazing conclusion of 11 years and 22 films - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!
Yes, I've said it many times on this blog - I'm an unapologetic fanboy, I'm not a critic, I desperately want every super-hero movie to succeed and I'm very good at overlooking problems because to me, when I compare comic book flicks today with what I had to work with when I was a kid - there ARE NO PROBLEMS of any real concern in the modern superhero big screen world.
I mean seriously, this is what I had to watch when I was 10 years old.
Watch about 30 seconds, if you can stand it. Yeah, and this was one of the better adaptations out there. And who could forget this?
Sure, it's a dope motorcycle - but that's about it really.
And then now we have this -
Absolutely this is THE best time to be alive for action/adventure/sci-fi/superhero goodness up on the big screen. THIS IS IT!!!
And it's why I was so so excited to finally see Endgame last Sunday with my wife and kid. I had managed to avoid spoilers despite the film being out for three days - and thus, like most folks, I was completely surprised and blown away by the last 3/4 of the movie because the Russo brothers (in all of their brilliance) had deliberately withheld all but the first 20 minutes of the 3 hour epic for use in the trailers.
I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen from beginning to end, but from 20 minutes onward every frame was a complete surprise and an unexpected delight.
Okay - so here we go. I'm going to recap and expound on what I loved, which was pretty much the entire frickin' movie (and really I don't want to use 'frickin').
So be fairly warned thee says I - THAR' BE SPOILERS AHEAD MATEY! (Not sure why but I just typed that with a pirate voice inside my head).
Doing this by memory after seeing the movie only once - so forgive any errors in sequence or detail.
My favorite moments (yes, most of them)...
The cold open with Hawkeye -
Interesting side note: Not once has Clint Barton ever been called Hawkeye in the MCU, the closest was 'The Hawk" in Avengers one. Here in the cold open of AE he calls his oldest daughter by that moniker.
I felt a punch to the gut as soon as the film faded up from black. Quiet scene, no music, which was a perfect choice. I didn't know what precisely was going to happen or how it was going to unfold, but I felt dread in the pit of my stomach for this entire scene.
Thankfully we are spared the sight of Clint's children and wife disintegrating before our eyes, their disappearance happens super quick - when his back is turned - and somehow this is both a relief but also more devastating in it's own way. Our brains fill in the detail and anguish as we leave the farm and head into the Marvel logo.
Tony and Nebula Adrift -
Let me just say, my favorite character by far in this film, and one of my all time favorites in the MCU, is Nebula. The way her character has grown and changed exemplifies precisely what is so great and amazing about the MCU...
Yes, the special effects in these movies are top notch. Yes, the humor is always a fun kick in the pants and often makes us giddy. Yes, the killer app is that it's FREAKIN' IRON MAN and FREAKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA, etc. etc. coming to life on the big screen...
But what makes these movies GREAT, what makes them truly stories for the ages; is the deference and determination by the filmmakers to keep these characters as grounded and as real as possible. And over multiple movies we are allowed to get to know them, and watch them grow and change before our eyes.
I think Nebula is perhaps the very best example of this emphasis on realism and growth in the characters.
It is very powerful and moving to see how far she has come. The moment when she gently lifts a sleeping (unconscious?) Tony Stark and puts him in the captain's chair, had me welling up with tears for the second time in about 10 minutes into the movie.
She started out as a ruthless killer, desperate to please her maniac father. She has since fled from her tormentor, made peace with her sister, and has started to come around to the possibility of opening herself up to being kind and even tender with others. It is a remarkable and 100% genuine character arc from anger/pain into willing vulnerability.
Later in this scene, I loved the moment when Carol Danvers shows up outside the cockpit window. Very cool, and I was also very glad that the 'tag' in Captain Marvel was a self-contained scene that stayed in that movie and it wasn't a preview of a scene we would have to sit through in Endgame ala' Bucky's arm in a vice at the end of Ant-Man. This was a 3 hour movie, glad they weren't wasting our time with a replay of something we had already seen. Of course my wife and kid who didn't see Captain Marvel might have been a mite confused.
Nebula's reunion with Rocket was the third tears welling, lump in throat, moment for me. Very uncharacteristic of both of them up until the snap, now it makes perfect sense. We've been along with both of them and we get it.
Scott Returns -
Okay if there was one MASSIVE contrivance in this whole movie (and I understand there's actually about 50 small to medium ones) it's when the rat stumbles across the mini-quantum tunnel's control panel in the La Cucaracha van.
I can't help but wonder, in the 14 million + scenarios Dr. Strange looked at, were there several hundred thousand that had the rat taking a different route over the panel and so Scott never got out? If so, how did Stephen know that this reality in particular would have the exact right kind of clumsy rodent? (The internet is already abuzz with folks saying it was Splinter from Ninja Turtles).
Anyways, I digress a tad. I love how this movie took it's time to spend time with the characters in the first hour and I'm most grateful for the time we got with Scott Lange.
From his desperate search among the stone slabs at the San Francisco snap memorial, to his heart wrenching (in a good way) reunion with his now 15 year old daughter (who looks 20) - I'm so so happy that Ant-Man plays such a large role in this film.
Professor Hulk -
After striking out with Tony Stark, a lovely scene with Tony and his daughter in-between as well, Cap, Natasha and Scott hunt down Banner and he's Professor Hulk!
I never read any Professor Hulk comics, but I was well aware of what was going on with this character through the 90's - now I wish I had read some of these comics, maybe I still will!
Smart Hulk is hilarious! Love how he's a combination of not only Banner and Hulk's bodies, but their personalities as well.
Thankfully Endgame has the trademark MCU humor in abundance throughout. As usual, the filmmakers are ingenious about weaving jokes in and out seamlessly with the rest of the story. Nobody wants a selfie with Ant-Man!
So Tony can't sleep and figures out time travel and says "Ok" - so for the next half hour it's the Blues Brothers, we're getting the band back together!
Natasha returns the favor...
After a bad ass mini-fight scene that involves a dozen dead Yokuza gangsters, the Black Widow shows up to rescue her friend from a rain filled life of deadly justice. The interaction between the two actors is the real meat here, they both bring their A-game acting chops and the result is a very touching scene.
Thicc Thor -
Biggest laugh/gasp in the theater - Thor with a beer gut! The Dude Abides.
Love this development, a LOT. I know there's got to be a bunch of in-Cel neck beards out there who don't like Thor "turning into a joke" but I think Chris Hemsworth is so good and so dialed into the character, he's able to play for big laughs but also portray Thor as deeply troubled and struggling with the path to redemption. Cheers to the writers and directors for taking the unpredictable route with Thor, that also happens to make a lot of sense.
BTW, very excited to see Korg, he's my spirit animal. I've said it in earlier reviews, I want to BE Korg!
And so after Scott gets his taco blown away by the Benatar, and Hawkeye tests the time travel and agonizingly misses seeing his family - we are off to time travel, or rather, time heist.
They do try to explain it, in hilarious fashion by referencing every time travel movie ever made, but it's still a bit confusing. Somehow they are going to go back into the past and change things and they somehow won't effect their own past - I think that was the gist of it.
And so we come to that electric moment, when they drop into the time vortex and end up in New York in the First Avengers Movie! Wow!
I have to say, I was pleasantly bowled over at this story telling approach - what an amazing tribute to the MCU and an absolute love letter to the fans. Yes, it is fan service, but in the very best of ways.
New York, one city, three stones...
Loved Professor Hulk's half assed imitation of his old self.
Nice to see the Ancient One again, a fascinating concept that she (and who knows how many others) was also battling aliens just out of camera range. Very Back to the Future 2ish, bullshit though it may be.
Speaking of asses, America's ass is in fine form. LOVED Cap whispering "Hail Hydra" to avoid a direct callback to Winter Soldier. Genius!
Stark and Lang screwing up and allowing Loki's escape with the tesseract, how conveeeenient - but at least it gave us a great scene with Tony and his dad. Very emotional, once again. I really can't understand the film snobs who insist that these movies are corporate and soulless. Well, they may be corporate - but they absolutely are created by people who love these characters and scene after scene brings all the good kind of feels.
Also can't fail to mention what may be Stan the Man's last cameo - just lovely! I'd like to think they shot another 50 or so generic cameos in front of green screen so we'll keep seeing Stan for a long time, but you never know - this might have been it.
Also can't forget, Cap longingly looking at Peggy. Great to see Ms. Atwell back in the MCU. Also very much appreciated Kevin Fiege's relenquishing TV Marvel characters being banned from the movies (except for Coulson) by showing us the original Jarvis from Agent Carter. Loved that show! (Especially the first season...)
Rody and Nebula and an idiot...
Seeing Peter Quill do his dance from a different perspective... I don't know... yeah, I guess he's kind of a goofball!
Here's the mission of real consequence - when old Nebula and old Gamora are still baddies and set things in motion. Loved seeing Karen Gillan's remarkable work here, playing the same character at two vastly different times in her life. Also great to see Gamora again, even if it was one that effectively was Gamora rebooted.
Return of the most underrated Marvel movie ever!
Of 21 films, the filmmakers looked long and hard at which films they should return to - Guardians of the Galaxy, the original Avengers, and of course... Thor: The Dark World! Huh?
I confess, I really like, borderline love, TTDW. I think it is easily the most underrated film in the MCU. Natalie Portman is great, her friend is hilarious, the film never gets boring (though the Either and the Dark Elves are a bit convoluted.). The best part is the third act, with all the different portals and dimensions - expertly directed, shot and cut together. Dark World rules!
Here, fat Thor goes from a joke to an anguished hero in the blink of an eye. Renee' Russo gets a big juicy scene with Hemsworth, nearly 5 times as many lines as she had in both of her Thor movies combined.
It all works - yes, once again it's lump in the throat time. What wouldn't any of us do to have another chance at a conversation with a parent who has passed away? Thanks to Endgame, we get two of these great scenes.
Also, great seeing Natalie Portman, though I suspect that her shot is unused footage from Dark World.
What We Love the Most
Easily the most difficult and least fun, though emotionally enthralling, sequence in this time travel heist is Natasha and Clint's return to Vormir for the Soul Stone.
The Red Skull gets to do his thing, and then we get our hearts ripped out as BW and Hawkeye duke it out trying to kill - themselves, so the other one can get the stone.
I have to say, I was kind of shocked at the final choice. But we know that both of them are the kind that would not hesitate to lay down their life for each other, let alone half the universe. Yes, it's perfectly within character for both of them.
Natasha's death is shocking and sad, and now after the movie has finished it's even more so because it appears it might be permanent. That would be an amazingly sad, but super strong, choice.
Hulk Straps it On
So they all get back (except for my girl new Nebula) and Tony Stark of course figures out how to build an Iron Man-ish Infinity Gauntlet.
Hulk straps it on and does his thing - burns half of his body - but it appears that it worked. When Clint's wife calls, it is tear inducing moment #73 in this movie.
And then the walls come crashing down when 2014 Thanos (along with back in the day Gamora and new flavor Nebula who's a prisoner) and his big ass ship come through the time portal and rain hellfire down on the Avenger's compound.
Lovely touch with the birds in the courtyard before it all goes to shit. Yes, the snap has been undone, and as our heroes dig out from underneath the rubble, the big moment we've all been waiting for is coming.
Nebula literally killing her old self is a very powerful and emotionally resonant moment - it was also very gratifying for me and cemented Nebs as my favorite character of the movie and perhaps of the whole MCU saga.
But First, this movie's version of Thor and Rocket and Groot touching down on Wakanda
All of these movies have that singular moment - that one electrifying instant where you want to throw your arms up and cheer and scream at the top of your lungs.
In Infinity War it was when Thor/Rocket/Groot landed and the Silvestri score hit - hard.
In this movie, it's when Thor is about to get killed by Thanos, and SOMEONE ELSE wields Mjolnir!
That's right, they've been hinting at it since Age of Ultron, but it's true - Captain America can lift the hammer! "I knew it!" screams Thor with glee, and the audience roars.
And then, the ultimate comic book movie geek-gasm!
With the crackling of static in Cap's ear, we hear it "Cap, it's me Sam... on your left"
Yet another absolutely electric moment and what follows is simply the greatest super-hero comic book movie splash page to ever come to life on the silver screen. So amazing it's hard to put into words - it literally makes the giant fight in Civil War seem quaint in comparison.
Yes, they dragged everyone and their mother out to fight this fight.
I got the chills, over and over and over as every super-hero you could ever imagine tumbled out of Dr. Strange's portals to join in. Black Panther! Wasp! Spider-Man! This was it - 11 years and 22 movies all leading to this moment!
Loved how much time and care was spent to give just about every fighter their moment in the spotlight.
Greatly enjoyed Carol Danvers return to the fray, though it would've been nice if she'd taken out Thanos' ship BEFORE it unloaded all the bad guys right?
This is the scene that I will have to watch again and again when it comes out on home video - I know I missed a ton of cool stuff in the background. Reminded me very much of another one of my favorite movies Ready Player One, in it's scope and attention to detail.
Tony's death is handled well, and yes, I once again got a little misty. But the real waterworks started at the funeral...
Return of the Marvel King (or How many endings can we cram into this?)
The funeral scene was awesome, the Happy and Morgan scene devastating. This was my first true blubbery cry, though there had been plenty of occasional manly tear streaks up until that point.
My wife was a little perturbed that Natasha didn't get a full funeral - but I thought the scene with Clint and Wanda was a lovely way to pay proper respect to both BW and the Vision.
Thor joining the (As)Guardians of the Galaxy is pretty hilarious, and also will be delightful to watch if Thor stays in James Gunn's future movie.
And finally, Cap heading off to put the stones back - which insures that everyone gets to keep their reality, right? This is pretty convoluted and confusing, but I guess I'm ok with it. Cap goes back to be with Peggy (which is a beautiful last scene of the film, very touching and sweet) but somehow everything that happened in the MCU doesn't change right?
In other words, the snap did happen - five years did pass (though why is Peter Parker's friend still in high school?) and all the strong story choices (Gamora's death, Natasha's death, etc.) - none of that gets undone, right?
That was my takeaway, so I hope that stays true. I admit it is a teeny tiny bit annoying (I guess it's in my nerd DNA to nitpick a little bit) that Cap gets to go off and take a life for himself, not that I blame him, and yet somehow he still lives in the same reality as the original MCU and we see him as an old man? So there were two Captain America's, one that we know that got frozen and unfrozen and was in the Avengers - and another one who showed up out of the blue on Peggy Carter's front doorstep and (presumably) prevented her from marrying that other guy, or having kids for that matter. Kind of strange.
Oh well, this is such a minor nitpick for me, truly it is. Avengers Endgame was absolutely wonderful, and somehow exceeded my expectations even though there were already sky-high to begin with!
I can't wait to get back to the theater and see this one again, and again!
---
Okay, one final quibble - appreciate that they gave all the characters a shout out in the credits - but I HATED the wobbly mirror-like visages that floated and bobbed about the screen. Do it correct guys! I hate to say it, but easily the best credits sequence at the end of a franchise finale is the one they did for the Twilight movies. Beautifully shot and artfully crafted - these credits in Endgame, I hate to say it, looked like ass.
Don't want to leave on a down note, I did indeed LOOOOOVE this movie, so much that as of this moment it easily sits on top of my MCU rankings. I will have to wait a month or two before I finalize it's position on my list, I will be sure to update this post when I do!
Yes, I've said it many times on this blog - I'm an unapologetic fanboy, I'm not a critic, I desperately want every super-hero movie to succeed and I'm very good at overlooking problems because to me, when I compare comic book flicks today with what I had to work with when I was a kid - there ARE NO PROBLEMS of any real concern in the modern superhero big screen world.
I mean seriously, this is what I had to watch when I was 10 years old.
Watch about 30 seconds, if you can stand it. Yeah, and this was one of the better adaptations out there. And who could forget this?
Sure, it's a dope motorcycle - but that's about it really.
And then now we have this -
Absolutely this is THE best time to be alive for action/adventure/sci-fi/superhero goodness up on the big screen. THIS IS IT!!!
And it's why I was so so excited to finally see Endgame last Sunday with my wife and kid. I had managed to avoid spoilers despite the film being out for three days - and thus, like most folks, I was completely surprised and blown away by the last 3/4 of the movie because the Russo brothers (in all of their brilliance) had deliberately withheld all but the first 20 minutes of the 3 hour epic for use in the trailers.
I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen from beginning to end, but from 20 minutes onward every frame was a complete surprise and an unexpected delight.
Okay - so here we go. I'm going to recap and expound on what I loved, which was pretty much the entire frickin' movie (and really I don't want to use 'frickin').
So be fairly warned thee says I - THAR' BE SPOILERS AHEAD MATEY! (Not sure why but I just typed that with a pirate voice inside my head).
Doing this by memory after seeing the movie only once - so forgive any errors in sequence or detail.
My favorite moments (yes, most of them)...
The cold open with Hawkeye -
Interesting side note: Not once has Clint Barton ever been called Hawkeye in the MCU, the closest was 'The Hawk" in Avengers one. Here in the cold open of AE he calls his oldest daughter by that moniker.
I felt a punch to the gut as soon as the film faded up from black. Quiet scene, no music, which was a perfect choice. I didn't know what precisely was going to happen or how it was going to unfold, but I felt dread in the pit of my stomach for this entire scene.
Thankfully we are spared the sight of Clint's children and wife disintegrating before our eyes, their disappearance happens super quick - when his back is turned - and somehow this is both a relief but also more devastating in it's own way. Our brains fill in the detail and anguish as we leave the farm and head into the Marvel logo.
Tony and Nebula Adrift -
Let me just say, my favorite character by far in this film, and one of my all time favorites in the MCU, is Nebula. The way her character has grown and changed exemplifies precisely what is so great and amazing about the MCU...
Yes, the special effects in these movies are top notch. Yes, the humor is always a fun kick in the pants and often makes us giddy. Yes, the killer app is that it's FREAKIN' IRON MAN and FREAKIN' CAPTAIN AMERICA, etc. etc. coming to life on the big screen...
But what makes these movies GREAT, what makes them truly stories for the ages; is the deference and determination by the filmmakers to keep these characters as grounded and as real as possible. And over multiple movies we are allowed to get to know them, and watch them grow and change before our eyes.
I think Nebula is perhaps the very best example of this emphasis on realism and growth in the characters.
It is very powerful and moving to see how far she has come. The moment when she gently lifts a sleeping (unconscious?) Tony Stark and puts him in the captain's chair, had me welling up with tears for the second time in about 10 minutes into the movie.
She started out as a ruthless killer, desperate to please her maniac father. She has since fled from her tormentor, made peace with her sister, and has started to come around to the possibility of opening herself up to being kind and even tender with others. It is a remarkable and 100% genuine character arc from anger/pain into willing vulnerability.
Later in this scene, I loved the moment when Carol Danvers shows up outside the cockpit window. Very cool, and I was also very glad that the 'tag' in Captain Marvel was a self-contained scene that stayed in that movie and it wasn't a preview of a scene we would have to sit through in Endgame ala' Bucky's arm in a vice at the end of Ant-Man. This was a 3 hour movie, glad they weren't wasting our time with a replay of something we had already seen. Of course my wife and kid who didn't see Captain Marvel might have been a mite confused.
Nebula's reunion with Rocket was the third tears welling, lump in throat, moment for me. Very uncharacteristic of both of them up until the snap, now it makes perfect sense. We've been along with both of them and we get it.
Scott Returns -
Okay if there was one MASSIVE contrivance in this whole movie (and I understand there's actually about 50 small to medium ones) it's when the rat stumbles across the mini-quantum tunnel's control panel in the La Cucaracha van.
I can't help but wonder, in the 14 million + scenarios Dr. Strange looked at, were there several hundred thousand that had the rat taking a different route over the panel and so Scott never got out? If so, how did Stephen know that this reality in particular would have the exact right kind of clumsy rodent? (The internet is already abuzz with folks saying it was Splinter from Ninja Turtles).
Anyways, I digress a tad. I love how this movie took it's time to spend time with the characters in the first hour and I'm most grateful for the time we got with Scott Lange.
From his desperate search among the stone slabs at the San Francisco snap memorial, to his heart wrenching (in a good way) reunion with his now 15 year old daughter (who looks 20) - I'm so so happy that Ant-Man plays such a large role in this film.
Professor Hulk -
After striking out with Tony Stark, a lovely scene with Tony and his daughter in-between as well, Cap, Natasha and Scott hunt down Banner and he's Professor Hulk!
I never read any Professor Hulk comics, but I was well aware of what was going on with this character through the 90's - now I wish I had read some of these comics, maybe I still will!
Smart Hulk is hilarious! Love how he's a combination of not only Banner and Hulk's bodies, but their personalities as well.
Thankfully Endgame has the trademark MCU humor in abundance throughout. As usual, the filmmakers are ingenious about weaving jokes in and out seamlessly with the rest of the story. Nobody wants a selfie with Ant-Man!
So Tony can't sleep and figures out time travel and says "Ok" - so for the next half hour it's the Blues Brothers, we're getting the band back together!
Natasha returns the favor...
After a bad ass mini-fight scene that involves a dozen dead Yokuza gangsters, the Black Widow shows up to rescue her friend from a rain filled life of deadly justice. The interaction between the two actors is the real meat here, they both bring their A-game acting chops and the result is a very touching scene.
Thicc Thor -
Biggest laugh/gasp in the theater - Thor with a beer gut! The Dude Abides.
Love this development, a LOT. I know there's got to be a bunch of in-Cel neck beards out there who don't like Thor "turning into a joke" but I think Chris Hemsworth is so good and so dialed into the character, he's able to play for big laughs but also portray Thor as deeply troubled and struggling with the path to redemption. Cheers to the writers and directors for taking the unpredictable route with Thor, that also happens to make a lot of sense.
BTW, very excited to see Korg, he's my spirit animal. I've said it in earlier reviews, I want to BE Korg!
And so after Scott gets his taco blown away by the Benatar, and Hawkeye tests the time travel and agonizingly misses seeing his family - we are off to time travel, or rather, time heist.
They do try to explain it, in hilarious fashion by referencing every time travel movie ever made, but it's still a bit confusing. Somehow they are going to go back into the past and change things and they somehow won't effect their own past - I think that was the gist of it.
And so we come to that electric moment, when they drop into the time vortex and end up in New York in the First Avengers Movie! Wow!
I have to say, I was pleasantly bowled over at this story telling approach - what an amazing tribute to the MCU and an absolute love letter to the fans. Yes, it is fan service, but in the very best of ways.
New York, one city, three stones...
Loved Professor Hulk's half assed imitation of his old self.
Nice to see the Ancient One again, a fascinating concept that she (and who knows how many others) was also battling aliens just out of camera range. Very Back to the Future 2ish, bullshit though it may be.
Speaking of asses, America's ass is in fine form. LOVED Cap whispering "Hail Hydra" to avoid a direct callback to Winter Soldier. Genius!
Stark and Lang screwing up and allowing Loki's escape with the tesseract, how conveeeenient - but at least it gave us a great scene with Tony and his dad. Very emotional, once again. I really can't understand the film snobs who insist that these movies are corporate and soulless. Well, they may be corporate - but they absolutely are created by people who love these characters and scene after scene brings all the good kind of feels.
Also can't fail to mention what may be Stan the Man's last cameo - just lovely! I'd like to think they shot another 50 or so generic cameos in front of green screen so we'll keep seeing Stan for a long time, but you never know - this might have been it.
Also can't forget, Cap longingly looking at Peggy. Great to see Ms. Atwell back in the MCU. Also very much appreciated Kevin Fiege's relenquishing TV Marvel characters being banned from the movies (except for Coulson) by showing us the original Jarvis from Agent Carter. Loved that show! (Especially the first season...)
Rody and Nebula and an idiot...
Seeing Peter Quill do his dance from a different perspective... I don't know... yeah, I guess he's kind of a goofball!
Here's the mission of real consequence - when old Nebula and old Gamora are still baddies and set things in motion. Loved seeing Karen Gillan's remarkable work here, playing the same character at two vastly different times in her life. Also great to see Gamora again, even if it was one that effectively was Gamora rebooted.
Return of the most underrated Marvel movie ever!
Of 21 films, the filmmakers looked long and hard at which films they should return to - Guardians of the Galaxy, the original Avengers, and of course... Thor: The Dark World! Huh?
I confess, I really like, borderline love, TTDW. I think it is easily the most underrated film in the MCU. Natalie Portman is great, her friend is hilarious, the film never gets boring (though the Either and the Dark Elves are a bit convoluted.). The best part is the third act, with all the different portals and dimensions - expertly directed, shot and cut together. Dark World rules!
Here, fat Thor goes from a joke to an anguished hero in the blink of an eye. Renee' Russo gets a big juicy scene with Hemsworth, nearly 5 times as many lines as she had in both of her Thor movies combined.
It all works - yes, once again it's lump in the throat time. What wouldn't any of us do to have another chance at a conversation with a parent who has passed away? Thanks to Endgame, we get two of these great scenes.
Also, great seeing Natalie Portman, though I suspect that her shot is unused footage from Dark World.
What We Love the Most
Easily the most difficult and least fun, though emotionally enthralling, sequence in this time travel heist is Natasha and Clint's return to Vormir for the Soul Stone.
The Red Skull gets to do his thing, and then we get our hearts ripped out as BW and Hawkeye duke it out trying to kill - themselves, so the other one can get the stone.
I have to say, I was kind of shocked at the final choice. But we know that both of them are the kind that would not hesitate to lay down their life for each other, let alone half the universe. Yes, it's perfectly within character for both of them.
Natasha's death is shocking and sad, and now after the movie has finished it's even more so because it appears it might be permanent. That would be an amazingly sad, but super strong, choice.
Hulk Straps it On
So they all get back (except for my girl new Nebula) and Tony Stark of course figures out how to build an Iron Man-ish Infinity Gauntlet.
Hulk straps it on and does his thing - burns half of his body - but it appears that it worked. When Clint's wife calls, it is tear inducing moment #73 in this movie.
And then the walls come crashing down when 2014 Thanos (along with back in the day Gamora and new flavor Nebula who's a prisoner) and his big ass ship come through the time portal and rain hellfire down on the Avenger's compound.
Lovely touch with the birds in the courtyard before it all goes to shit. Yes, the snap has been undone, and as our heroes dig out from underneath the rubble, the big moment we've all been waiting for is coming.
Nebula literally killing her old self is a very powerful and emotionally resonant moment - it was also very gratifying for me and cemented Nebs as my favorite character of the movie and perhaps of the whole MCU saga.
But First, this movie's version of Thor and Rocket and Groot touching down on Wakanda
All of these movies have that singular moment - that one electrifying instant where you want to throw your arms up and cheer and scream at the top of your lungs.
In Infinity War it was when Thor/Rocket/Groot landed and the Silvestri score hit - hard.
In this movie, it's when Thor is about to get killed by Thanos, and SOMEONE ELSE wields Mjolnir!
That's right, they've been hinting at it since Age of Ultron, but it's true - Captain America can lift the hammer! "I knew it!" screams Thor with glee, and the audience roars.
And then, the ultimate comic book movie geek-gasm!
With the crackling of static in Cap's ear, we hear it "Cap, it's me Sam... on your left"
Yet another absolutely electric moment and what follows is simply the greatest super-hero comic book movie splash page to ever come to life on the silver screen. So amazing it's hard to put into words - it literally makes the giant fight in Civil War seem quaint in comparison.
Yes, they dragged everyone and their mother out to fight this fight.
I got the chills, over and over and over as every super-hero you could ever imagine tumbled out of Dr. Strange's portals to join in. Black Panther! Wasp! Spider-Man! This was it - 11 years and 22 movies all leading to this moment!
Loved how much time and care was spent to give just about every fighter their moment in the spotlight.
Greatly enjoyed Carol Danvers return to the fray, though it would've been nice if she'd taken out Thanos' ship BEFORE it unloaded all the bad guys right?
This is the scene that I will have to watch again and again when it comes out on home video - I know I missed a ton of cool stuff in the background. Reminded me very much of another one of my favorite movies Ready Player One, in it's scope and attention to detail.
Tony's death is handled well, and yes, I once again got a little misty. But the real waterworks started at the funeral...
Return of the Marvel King (or How many endings can we cram into this?)
The funeral scene was awesome, the Happy and Morgan scene devastating. This was my first true blubbery cry, though there had been plenty of occasional manly tear streaks up until that point.
My wife was a little perturbed that Natasha didn't get a full funeral - but I thought the scene with Clint and Wanda was a lovely way to pay proper respect to both BW and the Vision.
Thor joining the (As)Guardians of the Galaxy is pretty hilarious, and also will be delightful to watch if Thor stays in James Gunn's future movie.
And finally, Cap heading off to put the stones back - which insures that everyone gets to keep their reality, right? This is pretty convoluted and confusing, but I guess I'm ok with it. Cap goes back to be with Peggy (which is a beautiful last scene of the film, very touching and sweet) but somehow everything that happened in the MCU doesn't change right?
In other words, the snap did happen - five years did pass (though why is Peter Parker's friend still in high school?) and all the strong story choices (Gamora's death, Natasha's death, etc.) - none of that gets undone, right?
That was my takeaway, so I hope that stays true. I admit it is a teeny tiny bit annoying (I guess it's in my nerd DNA to nitpick a little bit) that Cap gets to go off and take a life for himself, not that I blame him, and yet somehow he still lives in the same reality as the original MCU and we see him as an old man? So there were two Captain America's, one that we know that got frozen and unfrozen and was in the Avengers - and another one who showed up out of the blue on Peggy Carter's front doorstep and (presumably) prevented her from marrying that other guy, or having kids for that matter. Kind of strange.
Oh well, this is such a minor nitpick for me, truly it is. Avengers Endgame was absolutely wonderful, and somehow exceeded my expectations even though there were already sky-high to begin with!
I can't wait to get back to the theater and see this one again, and again!
---
Okay, one final quibble - appreciate that they gave all the characters a shout out in the credits - but I HATED the wobbly mirror-like visages that floated and bobbed about the screen. Do it correct guys! I hate to say it, but easily the best credits sequence at the end of a franchise finale is the one they did for the Twilight movies. Beautifully shot and artfully crafted - these credits in Endgame, I hate to say it, looked like ass.
Don't want to leave on a down note, I did indeed LOOOOOVE this movie, so much that as of this moment it easily sits on top of my MCU rankings. I will have to wait a month or two before I finalize it's position on my list, I will be sure to update this post when I do!
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Movies 2018
This list is a bit late, as I've had a tough time getting to see all the movies in 2018 that I figured might make my top ten. Life has been busy and that's good, but I know there are literally several of you out there who are desperate to find out which movies floated my boat the last year.
If there is anyone new here, know that I'm all about the big budget blockbuster movie - I like shit that blows up real good, loads of profanity, pointless nudity and traveling to other worlds. In other words, I like my entertainment to be entertaining and not remind me of real life. There's enough bleak nonsense in the real world, I don't need it in my movies.
That's not to say I don't strive for truth in my movies - I want characters that feel real, dialogue that crackles and a production design that feels 100% believable. Most of all, I want a great story that has emotional resonance and let's me lose myself for a couple of hours. That's not too much to ask, right?
Also, and I've said this many many times before on this blog and to anyone who will listen. I am deep down a massive fan of all of this stuff. I WANT movies to succeed, I don't go in with a super critical eye, because I wouldn't be wasting my time or money on stuff that I thought might be lousy. I'm rooting very hard from the get go for all of these massive budget busting movies to kick lots of ass, so I'm not disappointed very often. I'm for sure not a critic, I'm an unapologetic fanboy who is deliberately steering this boat to the land of joy. There are plenty of nerds my age who seem to be doing the opposite, most of the time.
Here first is the traditional list of flicks that I really liked a lot, and maybe didn't love, but movies that I would watch again on tv.
Venom - What a blast! Way funnier than I thought it would be. A fun comic book film that meanders a bit too much and doesn't pack the emotional wallop I would've hoped for - but it still wildly exceeded my expectations.
Incredibles 2 - Wanted to love this so badly. It's full of GREAT action sequences and humor, but ultimately it doesn't crack my top ten because it's got the impossible task of living up to the first movie which is a magnificent libertarian manifest of individual exceptionalism. This movie is about family or something, and it's all good - but not great.
RBG - Super enjoyable puff piece documentary about an extraordinary woman and her remarkable life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has long been a hero of mine - not for her politics, which I pretty much universally disagree with, but for her incredible journey and the way she lives her life. She did some great work with civil rights that is detailed beautifully here. Her best friend in the world, outside of her husband, was Antonin Scalia - who is also a hero of mine and deserves his own slobbering documentary (not holding my breath). I marvel at these two and their friendship. Frequent trips to the opera, out to dinner every week with each other and their spouses. How great is that? We all need to be like Ruth and Antonin.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout - A massive improvement after the enjoyable but somewhat derivative part 5. The action sequences here are stellar, and Tom Cruise I guess never ages and does all of his own stunts. Crazy. Loved the story and the humor and was wrapped up from beginning to end. Just misses my top ten.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Went in wanting to love this, and liked it very very very much. The animation is incredible, and the story is pretty awesome with the whole multi-verse thing coming to life. Wish I hadn't learned about the story before I saw it. Wish it wasn't quite so heavy handed with it's preachiness.
Christopher Robin - I was enthralled with this movie until the very end, where they stumbled just a bit in the payoff. Through watching most of CR, I figured it was a top 10 entry for sure, but it just didn't quite work at the very end. Clumsy mumbo jumbo nonsense shoe-horned into an awkward boardroom scene where every bad dialogue cliche is thrown at the villain and suddenly the villain's dad has a heart of gold. Huh? Did indeed LOVE the rest of the movie though. Ewan McGregor is fantastic and it's great seeing Peggy Carter again. I will definitely be watching this again and maybe the end will play better next time.
12 Strong - So glad there are production companies still making movies that show radical extremists as the truly bad guys that they are. Fascinating true story here, moves along well and is superbly acted and shot. Does not suffer from what many military movies do in that all the characters are readily distinguishable from each other. Nice to see normally wacky Michael Shannon inadvertently work on a pro-military, pro-USA flick. Hopefully it rattled his brain a bit and he's got more common sense now.
The Nun - Saw this with my 14 year old and it was a lot of fun. Apparently there's a whole bunch of these kind of movies made by the same production company and they all exist in the same cinematic universe. I need to see them all! I greatly enjoy horror movies that push the idea of good and evil (and God and the devil) existing as very real things. Good stuff!
The Meg - Wife and I got a big kick out of this one, saw it in the theater for a discount matinee. A pretty weak opening aside, this one fires on all cylinders of fun and outrageousness. Jaws with massive doses of adrenaline and silliness - a great popcorn flick not meant to be taken too seriously.
Ballad of Buster Scruggs - This is maybe the ultimate Cohen brothers movie, as it manages to elicit all the emotions we all get when watching their stuff. It's hilarious, it's exhilarating and it's infuriating. I loved loved LOVED the first two stories of six. Then the third story was pretty dreadful and dreadfully slow. The Jack London story picked things back up again, and might be the best of all of them. The fifth story, the endless wagon train melodrama, didn't do it for me at all. Eye rolling conclusion, despite a great action sequence to close it out. And finally, the final story just flat out pissed me off for it's pretentous meandering and pointlessness. Though I must say, it's the one story I still think about the most. Darn you Cohen brothers! Why do you challenge your audience so much!
Bohemian Rhapsody - My kid took me to see this one in the theater, it was her second time seeing it. Highly enjoyable and entertaining, and 100% a love letter to Freddie which is all good as I don't much care for depressing films. Still, I do feel that they might have missed out by making Mr. Mercury always sympathetic through the entire movie. After all, this is a man who made some really really bad life choices - it doesn't do anyone any favors to kind of gloss over them.
All the same, there's some really nice emotional resonance here in spite of the filmmakers wish to not sully the band. Yes, I laughed, I cried, I didn't mind kissing my $15.50 goodbye. It also gave me a great excuse to look up Queen on youtube and marvel at just how fucking incredible they were. The Live-Aid performance, the real one (as good as the film version is) is absolutely astonishing and stands right up to the very best live acts today, exceeds them really.
TOP TEN. - here we are, these are the golden children of 2018 for me!
10. Black Panther - It's Marvel, what's not to love?! Here's an excerpt from my more lengthy review earlier in this blog.
"The movie's greatest strength is for sure it's emotional power - seeing a prospering African country is very moving. When the King is "killed" it is a heartbreaking sequence. It all works. I also especially love Michael B. Jordon, up until Infinity War he was easily the best MCU villain of all time, he is outstanding in every way. My favorite scene in the entire movie is when Killmonger visits his late father and it's in the old Oakland apartment. Powerful stuff."
As for why this isn't higher on my year end countdown, after all it's the 2nd biggest Marvel film ever in terms of box office and THE biggest in the US, I thought this movie was bordering on great but didn't quite have the highest of highs like some of the other MCU chapters - Guardians, Avengers 1, Winter Soldier, etc. I think there is likely a large Hollywood contingent that has this fantasy about BP being the end all be all in intersectional identity politics, thankfully the truth is that this is a very good movie about a great character that has positive things to say about personal responsibility, masculinity and family. Definitely a worthwhile chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but not especially deserving of the insanely over the top praise and awards when it's in the company of Infinity War and other better Marvel movies.
9. Aquaman - This one is a hoot and a holler! I was pleasantly bowled over by Aquaman's frenetic fun and an outstanding lead actor whose passion and enthusiasm for being Aquaman in the Aquaman movie shines brightly through every frame of his performance.
There are some great action sequences, very dynamic camera movement, and also some nice emotional heft thanks to a story that while silly at times (massive seahorses!) manages to stick to what matters; love, family and justice in the face of entitlement, betrayal and anger. Can't wait to get this on video and watch it again and again!
8. Free Solo - Documentaries rarely make it onto my top ten because I'm looking for movies that entertain more than they inform, but this is one of those special docs that has massive amounts of both qualities. It will also make you a nervous wreck! I had to go onto the iPad while watching this to make sure that (spoiler alert) the climber in the movie wasn't dead! We have a good family friend who went to a screening of this where the climber himself was in attendance - she said "I'm literally sitting in the theater with this guy, and I'm still nervous that he's going to fall in the movie!"
Though I saw this at home, the visuals are still incredibly powerful and gave me that 'fight or flight' queasy feeling throughout. This is truly a remarkable achievement in documentary filmmaking and it's obvious why it won the Oscar.
7. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Another movie with 'Solo' in the title! I was wanting to hate this, for the first time in the history of my life I didn't show up on opening night for a Star Wars movie. I had little to zero interest in seeing a story that I already had in my imagination being spoon fed into my eyeballs. But I'm happy to say, I was wrong and this movie is a heck of a lot of fun and holds up extremely well to repeat viewings.
I'm a little bit bummed that this movie "bombed" making only 392 million worldwide, it's unlikely we will get to see the story play out, which is a real shame because it certainly ended on an intriguing note - though the big reveal of the big baddie was kind of lame.
6. Deadpool 2 - Many have said this one falls flat after the first installment; I could not disagree more! This one has more laughs and more heart than the first installment, by quite a bit. Love the X-Force, love what happens to them - that is some EFFED UP STUFF! Pool is wickedly funny, and Cable is a great nemesis and begrudging friend. Loved it!
5. A Quiet Place- My first truly great movie theatergoing experience of 2018. Saw this on a bro-date with my good poker playing buddy, it was AWESOME! I will never forget how quiet the theater was, how it felt that any teeny tiny noise was going to be irrevocably damaging to the movie watching experience. We dare not eat a snack or sip a drink, heck I didn't even want to breathe - absolutely enthralling! Love the cast, love the story, love the heartbreak and the triumph. And I have no doubt that this movie wouldn't be half as powerful watching it at home sitting on the couch. Movies like this are why we still go to the movie theater!
4. Ant Man & The Wasp - We really are living in the best time ever to be a fan of comic books. I absolutely loved this movie and have watched it over and over again at home on Amazon. Some in the nerd community said that this one was "Just ok" - absolutely could not disagree more. It's fun, it has heart, crackling good action sequences - it's Ant Man and The Wasp! A long overdue adventure with one of the original giants in the Avengers, yes, that would be The Wasp. Even though it's Hope and not Janet, this movie still brings all the feels; and that mid-credits tag, what a gut punch!
3. Avengers: Infinity War - I did an exhaustive full length review on this movie that you can read by clicking here, but if you don't want to wade through that wall of text here's the cliffs: Great Marvel movie, superb action, lots of funny and powerful emotional stuff. This is a giant payoff for over a decade of Marvel movies. So grateful we have this incredible franchise of films and I can't wait for Endgame in April!
2. Ralph Breaks the Internet - I"m a bit surprised that this one finished so high on my list; higher than the original did in 2012. This is a continuation of where we left off, that feels natural and actually necessary - a feat that I didn't necessarily think was possible. The original was so great and so fun, it didn't feel at the end that there was more to tell, but now that RBTI is out, I can't imagine the story without this second chapter. Yes, it's that great.
This time it's just as much about Vanellope as it is about Ralph, and her dreams and aspirations. There is a surprising emotional punch to the choices she makes and to Ralph's reaction at her growing up. It ties directly of course to a dad and his daughter and what they go through when the little girl grows up. So yeah, it made me blubber quite a bit. Plus there is all this cool Easter egg shit that is dope AF. Another movie I watch over and over.
1. Ready Player One- The Beard has still got it! This one for me gets to all the feels because it is an utter celebration of popular culture, i.e. all the stuff in life that I'm interested in. There is a big contingent of fans who disparage the movie because it is so different than the book, for me this is never really a concern as long as the spirit of the original material is still there, and thankfully the book's author was heavily involved in seeing that his intentions (if not the details) of the story were preserved.
I watched this movie for the 4th time this last weekend, and I was crying throughout because it's just so darn awesome; that's what puts it on the top of this list. If I can still mine that emotional well fully after repeated viewings, I know I have something great on my hands.
Love the actors and their performances, love the cultural references, love the production design and most of all love the story that works from top to bottom. This is the ultimate geek movie for geeks made by the king of geeks. It really doesn't get any better!
Disappointments - Thankfully the list this year is short.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Saw this in the theater and like all of these big tent pole action adventure movies, I was rooting for it to succeed wildly. I wanted more than anything to love it. Unfortunately, I'm not even sure I like this movie, which is really tough to do with me.
Almost all of the action, we've seen done before and done better. The characters are entirely forgettable. Bryce Dallas Howard's character is so badly mishandled here, by what I suspect is more unfortunate Hollyweird nonsense, that I found myself actively rooting for her to be eaten; which sucks because I really loved her in Jurassic World. Chris Pratt is shockingly almost entirely forgettable, and this stems from the filmmakers commitment to telling a story that we don't really need to see. I guess this was Colin Trevarow's idea for a trilogy, and of course he left after he got "Me Too"'ed, so now we have a jumbled mess. Too bad.
Tomb Raider (remake)- Don't even know if this one is worth mentioning, as the movie sucks so bad, but really it kind of breaks my heart to see a franchise that has oodles of potential fail miserably for the second time. The Angelina Jolie movies sucked, and this one incredibly is even worse. Flat production design, no emotional component to Lara and her dad's relationship (which is tough to do) and a villain that is remarkable in his pointlessness. Give this one a hard pass.
Hard PASS - New for this year, a category of movies that I will be purposefully avoiding, for all of the reasons you probably expect.
Ocean's 8- See it's good and worthwhile because it's all women, see? Blech. How many times do I have to say it - Good movie first, diversity/inclusion/fairness/other bullshit second.
Mama Mia 2- Still infuriated over the first mess of a movie that managed to take spectacularly fun music and turn it into a terrible celebration of actual white privilege featuring people who couldn't sing even after autotune. Thankfully apparently Meryl Streep is dead in this one. Still not seeing it.
Vice - Cool, a political hit piece! Nothing better in movies. Um, no.
A Wrinkle in Time- Truly terrified to see this, as the book is one of my all time favorites as a kid. Heard a couple of the story changes, and no, can't do it, can't deal with it. The story is about God, okay? Not some mysterious force, not some cosmic energy - it's about God. You can't F with that, you can't change it and you certainly can't package it into some new age intersectional nonsense. HARD PASS.
WANT TO SEE - One of the reasons this list is so late is that I was hoping to catch all of these movies before hammering out a top ten list. Oh well, I will return and make edits if I need to. I especially am anxious to see the Mary Poppins sequel and find out if it's a worthy successor or a waste of time. I reeeeeally hope it's the former.
A Star is Born (Not because I think this was necessary in any way, but Mr. Bradley and Ms. GaGa are two performers I greatly admire)
Sicario 2 - (LOVED the first one, hope this is a worthy sequel)
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. (Bad reviews aside, am anxious to catch up with these characters)
Stan & Ollie (Looks amazing)
Mary Poppins Returns
Widows. (Heard nothing but great things)
Bumblebee (Heard this is shockingly good!)
So there you have it - another year, another batch of movies in the books! Looking forward to seeing the rest of them! If you read this be sure to let me know on social media or the next time you see me if I missed any great ones from 2018.
Peace!
If there is anyone new here, know that I'm all about the big budget blockbuster movie - I like shit that blows up real good, loads of profanity, pointless nudity and traveling to other worlds. In other words, I like my entertainment to be entertaining and not remind me of real life. There's enough bleak nonsense in the real world, I don't need it in my movies.
That's not to say I don't strive for truth in my movies - I want characters that feel real, dialogue that crackles and a production design that feels 100% believable. Most of all, I want a great story that has emotional resonance and let's me lose myself for a couple of hours. That's not too much to ask, right?
Also, and I've said this many many times before on this blog and to anyone who will listen. I am deep down a massive fan of all of this stuff. I WANT movies to succeed, I don't go in with a super critical eye, because I wouldn't be wasting my time or money on stuff that I thought might be lousy. I'm rooting very hard from the get go for all of these massive budget busting movies to kick lots of ass, so I'm not disappointed very often. I'm for sure not a critic, I'm an unapologetic fanboy who is deliberately steering this boat to the land of joy. There are plenty of nerds my age who seem to be doing the opposite, most of the time.
Here first is the traditional list of flicks that I really liked a lot, and maybe didn't love, but movies that I would watch again on tv.
Venom - What a blast! Way funnier than I thought it would be. A fun comic book film that meanders a bit too much and doesn't pack the emotional wallop I would've hoped for - but it still wildly exceeded my expectations.
Incredibles 2 - Wanted to love this so badly. It's full of GREAT action sequences and humor, but ultimately it doesn't crack my top ten because it's got the impossible task of living up to the first movie which is a magnificent libertarian manifest of individual exceptionalism. This movie is about family or something, and it's all good - but not great.
RBG - Super enjoyable puff piece documentary about an extraordinary woman and her remarkable life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has long been a hero of mine - not for her politics, which I pretty much universally disagree with, but for her incredible journey and the way she lives her life. She did some great work with civil rights that is detailed beautifully here. Her best friend in the world, outside of her husband, was Antonin Scalia - who is also a hero of mine and deserves his own slobbering documentary (not holding my breath). I marvel at these two and their friendship. Frequent trips to the opera, out to dinner every week with each other and their spouses. How great is that? We all need to be like Ruth and Antonin.
Mission: Impossible - Fallout - A massive improvement after the enjoyable but somewhat derivative part 5. The action sequences here are stellar, and Tom Cruise I guess never ages and does all of his own stunts. Crazy. Loved the story and the humor and was wrapped up from beginning to end. Just misses my top ten.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Went in wanting to love this, and liked it very very very much. The animation is incredible, and the story is pretty awesome with the whole multi-verse thing coming to life. Wish I hadn't learned about the story before I saw it. Wish it wasn't quite so heavy handed with it's preachiness.
Christopher Robin - I was enthralled with this movie until the very end, where they stumbled just a bit in the payoff. Through watching most of CR, I figured it was a top 10 entry for sure, but it just didn't quite work at the very end. Clumsy mumbo jumbo nonsense shoe-horned into an awkward boardroom scene where every bad dialogue cliche is thrown at the villain and suddenly the villain's dad has a heart of gold. Huh? Did indeed LOVE the rest of the movie though. Ewan McGregor is fantastic and it's great seeing Peggy Carter again. I will definitely be watching this again and maybe the end will play better next time.
12 Strong - So glad there are production companies still making movies that show radical extremists as the truly bad guys that they are. Fascinating true story here, moves along well and is superbly acted and shot. Does not suffer from what many military movies do in that all the characters are readily distinguishable from each other. Nice to see normally wacky Michael Shannon inadvertently work on a pro-military, pro-USA flick. Hopefully it rattled his brain a bit and he's got more common sense now.
The Nun - Saw this with my 14 year old and it was a lot of fun. Apparently there's a whole bunch of these kind of movies made by the same production company and they all exist in the same cinematic universe. I need to see them all! I greatly enjoy horror movies that push the idea of good and evil (and God and the devil) existing as very real things. Good stuff!
The Meg - Wife and I got a big kick out of this one, saw it in the theater for a discount matinee. A pretty weak opening aside, this one fires on all cylinders of fun and outrageousness. Jaws with massive doses of adrenaline and silliness - a great popcorn flick not meant to be taken too seriously.
Ballad of Buster Scruggs - This is maybe the ultimate Cohen brothers movie, as it manages to elicit all the emotions we all get when watching their stuff. It's hilarious, it's exhilarating and it's infuriating. I loved loved LOVED the first two stories of six. Then the third story was pretty dreadful and dreadfully slow. The Jack London story picked things back up again, and might be the best of all of them. The fifth story, the endless wagon train melodrama, didn't do it for me at all. Eye rolling conclusion, despite a great action sequence to close it out. And finally, the final story just flat out pissed me off for it's pretentous meandering and pointlessness. Though I must say, it's the one story I still think about the most. Darn you Cohen brothers! Why do you challenge your audience so much!
Bohemian Rhapsody - My kid took me to see this one in the theater, it was her second time seeing it. Highly enjoyable and entertaining, and 100% a love letter to Freddie which is all good as I don't much care for depressing films. Still, I do feel that they might have missed out by making Mr. Mercury always sympathetic through the entire movie. After all, this is a man who made some really really bad life choices - it doesn't do anyone any favors to kind of gloss over them.
All the same, there's some really nice emotional resonance here in spite of the filmmakers wish to not sully the band. Yes, I laughed, I cried, I didn't mind kissing my $15.50 goodbye. It also gave me a great excuse to look up Queen on youtube and marvel at just how fucking incredible they were. The Live-Aid performance, the real one (as good as the film version is) is absolutely astonishing and stands right up to the very best live acts today, exceeds them really.
TOP TEN. - here we are, these are the golden children of 2018 for me!
10. Black Panther - It's Marvel, what's not to love?! Here's an excerpt from my more lengthy review earlier in this blog.
"The movie's greatest strength is for sure it's emotional power - seeing a prospering African country is very moving. When the King is "killed" it is a heartbreaking sequence. It all works. I also especially love Michael B. Jordon, up until Infinity War he was easily the best MCU villain of all time, he is outstanding in every way. My favorite scene in the entire movie is when Killmonger visits his late father and it's in the old Oakland apartment. Powerful stuff."
As for why this isn't higher on my year end countdown, after all it's the 2nd biggest Marvel film ever in terms of box office and THE biggest in the US, I thought this movie was bordering on great but didn't quite have the highest of highs like some of the other MCU chapters - Guardians, Avengers 1, Winter Soldier, etc. I think there is likely a large Hollywood contingent that has this fantasy about BP being the end all be all in intersectional identity politics, thankfully the truth is that this is a very good movie about a great character that has positive things to say about personal responsibility, masculinity and family. Definitely a worthwhile chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but not especially deserving of the insanely over the top praise and awards when it's in the company of Infinity War and other better Marvel movies.
9. Aquaman - This one is a hoot and a holler! I was pleasantly bowled over by Aquaman's frenetic fun and an outstanding lead actor whose passion and enthusiasm for being Aquaman in the Aquaman movie shines brightly through every frame of his performance.
There are some great action sequences, very dynamic camera movement, and also some nice emotional heft thanks to a story that while silly at times (massive seahorses!) manages to stick to what matters; love, family and justice in the face of entitlement, betrayal and anger. Can't wait to get this on video and watch it again and again!
8. Free Solo - Documentaries rarely make it onto my top ten because I'm looking for movies that entertain more than they inform, but this is one of those special docs that has massive amounts of both qualities. It will also make you a nervous wreck! I had to go onto the iPad while watching this to make sure that (spoiler alert) the climber in the movie wasn't dead! We have a good family friend who went to a screening of this where the climber himself was in attendance - she said "I'm literally sitting in the theater with this guy, and I'm still nervous that he's going to fall in the movie!"
Though I saw this at home, the visuals are still incredibly powerful and gave me that 'fight or flight' queasy feeling throughout. This is truly a remarkable achievement in documentary filmmaking and it's obvious why it won the Oscar.
7. Solo: A Star Wars Story - Another movie with 'Solo' in the title! I was wanting to hate this, for the first time in the history of my life I didn't show up on opening night for a Star Wars movie. I had little to zero interest in seeing a story that I already had in my imagination being spoon fed into my eyeballs. But I'm happy to say, I was wrong and this movie is a heck of a lot of fun and holds up extremely well to repeat viewings.
I'm a little bit bummed that this movie "bombed" making only 392 million worldwide, it's unlikely we will get to see the story play out, which is a real shame because it certainly ended on an intriguing note - though the big reveal of the big baddie was kind of lame.
6. Deadpool 2 - Many have said this one falls flat after the first installment; I could not disagree more! This one has more laughs and more heart than the first installment, by quite a bit. Love the X-Force, love what happens to them - that is some EFFED UP STUFF! Pool is wickedly funny, and Cable is a great nemesis and begrudging friend. Loved it!
5. A Quiet Place- My first truly great movie theatergoing experience of 2018. Saw this on a bro-date with my good poker playing buddy, it was AWESOME! I will never forget how quiet the theater was, how it felt that any teeny tiny noise was going to be irrevocably damaging to the movie watching experience. We dare not eat a snack or sip a drink, heck I didn't even want to breathe - absolutely enthralling! Love the cast, love the story, love the heartbreak and the triumph. And I have no doubt that this movie wouldn't be half as powerful watching it at home sitting on the couch. Movies like this are why we still go to the movie theater!
4. Ant Man & The Wasp - We really are living in the best time ever to be a fan of comic books. I absolutely loved this movie and have watched it over and over again at home on Amazon. Some in the nerd community said that this one was "Just ok" - absolutely could not disagree more. It's fun, it has heart, crackling good action sequences - it's Ant Man and The Wasp! A long overdue adventure with one of the original giants in the Avengers, yes, that would be The Wasp. Even though it's Hope and not Janet, this movie still brings all the feels; and that mid-credits tag, what a gut punch!
3. Avengers: Infinity War - I did an exhaustive full length review on this movie that you can read by clicking here, but if you don't want to wade through that wall of text here's the cliffs: Great Marvel movie, superb action, lots of funny and powerful emotional stuff. This is a giant payoff for over a decade of Marvel movies. So grateful we have this incredible franchise of films and I can't wait for Endgame in April!
2. Ralph Breaks the Internet - I"m a bit surprised that this one finished so high on my list; higher than the original did in 2012. This is a continuation of where we left off, that feels natural and actually necessary - a feat that I didn't necessarily think was possible. The original was so great and so fun, it didn't feel at the end that there was more to tell, but now that RBTI is out, I can't imagine the story without this second chapter. Yes, it's that great.
This time it's just as much about Vanellope as it is about Ralph, and her dreams and aspirations. There is a surprising emotional punch to the choices she makes and to Ralph's reaction at her growing up. It ties directly of course to a dad and his daughter and what they go through when the little girl grows up. So yeah, it made me blubber quite a bit. Plus there is all this cool Easter egg shit that is dope AF. Another movie I watch over and over.
1. Ready Player One- The Beard has still got it! This one for me gets to all the feels because it is an utter celebration of popular culture, i.e. all the stuff in life that I'm interested in. There is a big contingent of fans who disparage the movie because it is so different than the book, for me this is never really a concern as long as the spirit of the original material is still there, and thankfully the book's author was heavily involved in seeing that his intentions (if not the details) of the story were preserved.
I watched this movie for the 4th time this last weekend, and I was crying throughout because it's just so darn awesome; that's what puts it on the top of this list. If I can still mine that emotional well fully after repeated viewings, I know I have something great on my hands.
Love the actors and their performances, love the cultural references, love the production design and most of all love the story that works from top to bottom. This is the ultimate geek movie for geeks made by the king of geeks. It really doesn't get any better!
Disappointments - Thankfully the list this year is short.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - Saw this in the theater and like all of these big tent pole action adventure movies, I was rooting for it to succeed wildly. I wanted more than anything to love it. Unfortunately, I'm not even sure I like this movie, which is really tough to do with me.
Almost all of the action, we've seen done before and done better. The characters are entirely forgettable. Bryce Dallas Howard's character is so badly mishandled here, by what I suspect is more unfortunate Hollyweird nonsense, that I found myself actively rooting for her to be eaten; which sucks because I really loved her in Jurassic World. Chris Pratt is shockingly almost entirely forgettable, and this stems from the filmmakers commitment to telling a story that we don't really need to see. I guess this was Colin Trevarow's idea for a trilogy, and of course he left after he got "Me Too"'ed, so now we have a jumbled mess. Too bad.
Tomb Raider (remake)- Don't even know if this one is worth mentioning, as the movie sucks so bad, but really it kind of breaks my heart to see a franchise that has oodles of potential fail miserably for the second time. The Angelina Jolie movies sucked, and this one incredibly is even worse. Flat production design, no emotional component to Lara and her dad's relationship (which is tough to do) and a villain that is remarkable in his pointlessness. Give this one a hard pass.
Hard PASS - New for this year, a category of movies that I will be purposefully avoiding, for all of the reasons you probably expect.
Ocean's 8- See it's good and worthwhile because it's all women, see? Blech. How many times do I have to say it - Good movie first, diversity/inclusion/fairness/other bullshit second.
Mama Mia 2- Still infuriated over the first mess of a movie that managed to take spectacularly fun music and turn it into a terrible celebration of actual white privilege featuring people who couldn't sing even after autotune. Thankfully apparently Meryl Streep is dead in this one. Still not seeing it.
Vice - Cool, a political hit piece! Nothing better in movies. Um, no.
A Wrinkle in Time- Truly terrified to see this, as the book is one of my all time favorites as a kid. Heard a couple of the story changes, and no, can't do it, can't deal with it. The story is about God, okay? Not some mysterious force, not some cosmic energy - it's about God. You can't F with that, you can't change it and you certainly can't package it into some new age intersectional nonsense. HARD PASS.
WANT TO SEE - One of the reasons this list is so late is that I was hoping to catch all of these movies before hammering out a top ten list. Oh well, I will return and make edits if I need to. I especially am anxious to see the Mary Poppins sequel and find out if it's a worthy successor or a waste of time. I reeeeeally hope it's the former.
A Star is Born (Not because I think this was necessary in any way, but Mr. Bradley and Ms. GaGa are two performers I greatly admire)
Sicario 2 - (LOVED the first one, hope this is a worthy sequel)
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. (Bad reviews aside, am anxious to catch up with these characters)
Stan & Ollie (Looks amazing)
Mary Poppins Returns
Widows. (Heard nothing but great things)
Bumblebee (Heard this is shockingly good!)
So there you have it - another year, another batch of movies in the books! Looking forward to seeing the rest of them! If you read this be sure to let me know on social media or the next time you see me if I missed any great ones from 2018.
Peace!
Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Unacceptable
So here we are - Election Day in America. Hoo boy.
I said a little prayer in my car driving to work today, I didn't ask God for any one side to prevail - I just asked that somehow our country find it's way back to being closer together rather than so severely divided as we have been for the past few years.
God also knows my heart and knows that I would also prefer to see a red wave today, but truthfully - I would take any wave at this point if the result meant less anger and hate in our hearts.
Sadly, I fear that if the Democrats do take back the house, the result will not be unifying whatsoever - but we will widen the gap of fear and fury even more.
Ben Shapiro had a great monologue on his Fox Sunday Election special a few weeks back that went down a detailed list about why we should vote GOP and how terrible the consequences will be if we let the Dems back into power.
You don't need to watch the whole thing - the gist is that the Democrats are frothing at the bit, ready to go to war against our president should they happen to take back the house. In other words, they will aggressively pursue impeachment, along with trying to dig up every little bit of dirt that they can on Trump.
Now I get that millions of Americans detest Donald Trump, but really I don't think that matters as much as the big picture does.
Right now we are a nation divided, certainly more divided than I have ever witnessed in my life time. This division is pernicious in that both sides believe they are righteous and that the other side has lost it's mind.
Clearly, compromise is needed desperately. If I may, here is my view on what has to happen on the left for any sort of bipartisanship to emerge.
As for what has to happen on the right, we'll get to that.
It's one very simple thing the left must do that will singlehandedly help turn the tide from boiling hot rage to at least a manageable temperature:
Our president cannot be called a racist. Period. End of story. When you impugn the man this way, you are painting half of the country with the same brush. It's unacceptable. I don't especially care what people actually believe, but to say this out loud without any actual hard smoking gun evidence, does so much damage to the liberal cause and credibility, it simply has to stop.
Liberals need to understand that when they say Trump is racist, they are saying that we conservatives are racist - or at the very least, racist if we support him.
I have become a Trump supporter, read the previous post for a good explanation why, but I still have misgivings about his character and wish that he wouldn't be so antagonistic all the time.
But I don't believe he is a bigot. If I did, I wouldn't support him. It's that simple. He's a bit of an ass, sometimes a jerk, but I believe he is a good man insofar as other presidents were who also had deep flaws of character.
Bill Clinton has been credibly accused of rape - and has an army of other women who have credibly accused him of various degrees of harassment and assault.
Kennedy was a womanizer of the highest order.
Nixon's deep character flaws are permanently on display in the Watergate tapes.
Clinton is a tough one, because I really do suspect Anita Broderick is telling the truth - and there is a fair amount of corroborating evidence. Unlike the Kavanaugh thing in which there was ZERO.
But the other women that Clinton trampled on, none of them have a story that gets into rape territory; so it's hard for me to know for certainty. Yeah, exposing himself to Paula Jones is revolting and awful - it's not rape. Coming on super strong to a 20 something intern and then demeaning her sexually is revolting and awful - it's not rape. As powerful as he was and as at a great disadvantage she was, it does border on assault but in the end it was consensual.
So when Bill comes up in conversation or on the internet, my first response is not "Oh, you mean the rapist." It does cross my mind, but I keep it to myself, because there is a reasonable doubt.
I admire some things that Clinton did administratively, especially his second term. Along with the GOP congress he balanced the budget for the first time in a long time, and the only time since. He also passed the fantastic welfare reform (which Obama gutted) and an amazing crime bill that saw crime rates fall off a cliff. Obama also had a big hand in weakening all of this good work.
So was Bill a good guy? Probably not. Is it worth it for me to scream RAPIST every chance I get? No.
There is a reasonable doubt, he was our president, not going to do it. Wouldn't be prudent.
I would hope that sensible liberals could step back and use the same methodical reasoning in regards to Trump being a racist.
Are there signifiers that this might be true? Sure.
Can you say it with certainty? No.
Is it worth it to shout 'Racist' to the rooftops every time Trump comes up in conversation? Absolutely not.
The damage done by liberals to our country by smearing Donald Trump this way is truly incalculable.
It really is like dropping hand grenade after hand grenade into a political discussion - entirely unproductive and very harmful because the destruction can't really be undone.
It's time to drop the R word from discussion - and if you can't do it, I really have nothing to say to you.
******
Now, I promised I would touch on what we need to do on the right to get us moving back in the correct direction - that is, less angry and more willing to listen.
Truthfully, I'm having a very hard time coming up with something simple that conservatives can do to affect positive change in our political discourse. I kind of think it has to start on the left. A prominent and respected voice needs to make the argument that that our president is not racist. He/she doesn't have to believe it, but the point needs to be made and the American left needs to be convinced that even if deep down they still think Trump is racist, it does ZERO good and a ton of harm to keep bringing it up.
Once this smear is off the table, then it will be on the right to reciprocate somehow; again, this is tough for me. I see the left as the quickest to anger, the quickest to smear, always the first ones to make things personal.
I think the best thing we can do as conservatives is embrace that there will always be a double standard, and then to work within that framework.
In other words, yes, the left will never be called out for their personal attacks because the media supports them. Meanwhile, when a good conservative slips, it's the end of the world because the media is primed to rip them apart.
We just have to embrace that - and always strive to be the adults in the room. It's not fair, but that's the way it is for now.
When someone on the right, for example our president, launches a personal attack - we need to speak up and discourage this behavior. We don't have to feign outrage the way the left does and condemn him whole cloth; but we can give a gentle rejoinder or suggestion at a different approach.
For example - rather than saying -
"Trump is clearly a racist because he says there's mostly gang members in the caravan"
maybe we can say
"I share the presidents concerns that there might be a criminal element among the thousands marching to our country, but I think it's a bit early to conclude that the majority of these folks are criminals."
In this way we don't give into the leftist hysteria about reading Trump's heart, but we do put ourselves firmly in camp grown-up while still supporting our president.
And that, is the best I can do for now.
The correct approach for conservatives who hope to promote unity is thoughtful and involved.
But the correct way to go for the left is very simple and rudimentary.
Calling President Trump a racist is unacceptable.
I said a little prayer in my car driving to work today, I didn't ask God for any one side to prevail - I just asked that somehow our country find it's way back to being closer together rather than so severely divided as we have been for the past few years.
God also knows my heart and knows that I would also prefer to see a red wave today, but truthfully - I would take any wave at this point if the result meant less anger and hate in our hearts.
Sadly, I fear that if the Democrats do take back the house, the result will not be unifying whatsoever - but we will widen the gap of fear and fury even more.
Ben Shapiro had a great monologue on his Fox Sunday Election special a few weeks back that went down a detailed list about why we should vote GOP and how terrible the consequences will be if we let the Dems back into power.
You don't need to watch the whole thing - the gist is that the Democrats are frothing at the bit, ready to go to war against our president should they happen to take back the house. In other words, they will aggressively pursue impeachment, along with trying to dig up every little bit of dirt that they can on Trump.
Now I get that millions of Americans detest Donald Trump, but really I don't think that matters as much as the big picture does.
Right now we are a nation divided, certainly more divided than I have ever witnessed in my life time. This division is pernicious in that both sides believe they are righteous and that the other side has lost it's mind.
Clearly, compromise is needed desperately. If I may, here is my view on what has to happen on the left for any sort of bipartisanship to emerge.
As for what has to happen on the right, we'll get to that.
It's one very simple thing the left must do that will singlehandedly help turn the tide from boiling hot rage to at least a manageable temperature:
Our president cannot be called a racist. Period. End of story. When you impugn the man this way, you are painting half of the country with the same brush. It's unacceptable. I don't especially care what people actually believe, but to say this out loud without any actual hard smoking gun evidence, does so much damage to the liberal cause and credibility, it simply has to stop.
Liberals need to understand that when they say Trump is racist, they are saying that we conservatives are racist - or at the very least, racist if we support him.
I have become a Trump supporter, read the previous post for a good explanation why, but I still have misgivings about his character and wish that he wouldn't be so antagonistic all the time.
But I don't believe he is a bigot. If I did, I wouldn't support him. It's that simple. He's a bit of an ass, sometimes a jerk, but I believe he is a good man insofar as other presidents were who also had deep flaws of character.
Bill Clinton has been credibly accused of rape - and has an army of other women who have credibly accused him of various degrees of harassment and assault.
Kennedy was a womanizer of the highest order.
Nixon's deep character flaws are permanently on display in the Watergate tapes.
Clinton is a tough one, because I really do suspect Anita Broderick is telling the truth - and there is a fair amount of corroborating evidence. Unlike the Kavanaugh thing in which there was ZERO.
But the other women that Clinton trampled on, none of them have a story that gets into rape territory; so it's hard for me to know for certainty. Yeah, exposing himself to Paula Jones is revolting and awful - it's not rape. Coming on super strong to a 20 something intern and then demeaning her sexually is revolting and awful - it's not rape. As powerful as he was and as at a great disadvantage she was, it does border on assault but in the end it was consensual.
So when Bill comes up in conversation or on the internet, my first response is not "Oh, you mean the rapist." It does cross my mind, but I keep it to myself, because there is a reasonable doubt.
I admire some things that Clinton did administratively, especially his second term. Along with the GOP congress he balanced the budget for the first time in a long time, and the only time since. He also passed the fantastic welfare reform (which Obama gutted) and an amazing crime bill that saw crime rates fall off a cliff. Obama also had a big hand in weakening all of this good work.
So was Bill a good guy? Probably not. Is it worth it for me to scream RAPIST every chance I get? No.
There is a reasonable doubt, he was our president, not going to do it. Wouldn't be prudent.
I would hope that sensible liberals could step back and use the same methodical reasoning in regards to Trump being a racist.
Are there signifiers that this might be true? Sure.
Can you say it with certainty? No.
Is it worth it to shout 'Racist' to the rooftops every time Trump comes up in conversation? Absolutely not.
The damage done by liberals to our country by smearing Donald Trump this way is truly incalculable.
It really is like dropping hand grenade after hand grenade into a political discussion - entirely unproductive and very harmful because the destruction can't really be undone.
It's time to drop the R word from discussion - and if you can't do it, I really have nothing to say to you.
******
Now, I promised I would touch on what we need to do on the right to get us moving back in the correct direction - that is, less angry and more willing to listen.
Truthfully, I'm having a very hard time coming up with something simple that conservatives can do to affect positive change in our political discourse. I kind of think it has to start on the left. A prominent and respected voice needs to make the argument that that our president is not racist. He/she doesn't have to believe it, but the point needs to be made and the American left needs to be convinced that even if deep down they still think Trump is racist, it does ZERO good and a ton of harm to keep bringing it up.
Once this smear is off the table, then it will be on the right to reciprocate somehow; again, this is tough for me. I see the left as the quickest to anger, the quickest to smear, always the first ones to make things personal.
I think the best thing we can do as conservatives is embrace that there will always be a double standard, and then to work within that framework.
In other words, yes, the left will never be called out for their personal attacks because the media supports them. Meanwhile, when a good conservative slips, it's the end of the world because the media is primed to rip them apart.
We just have to embrace that - and always strive to be the adults in the room. It's not fair, but that's the way it is for now.
When someone on the right, for example our president, launches a personal attack - we need to speak up and discourage this behavior. We don't have to feign outrage the way the left does and condemn him whole cloth; but we can give a gentle rejoinder or suggestion at a different approach.
For example - rather than saying -
"Trump is clearly a racist because he says there's mostly gang members in the caravan"
maybe we can say
"I share the presidents concerns that there might be a criminal element among the thousands marching to our country, but I think it's a bit early to conclude that the majority of these folks are criminals."
In this way we don't give into the leftist hysteria about reading Trump's heart, but we do put ourselves firmly in camp grown-up while still supporting our president.
And that, is the best I can do for now.
The correct approach for conservatives who hope to promote unity is thoughtful and involved.
But the correct way to go for the left is very simple and rudimentary.
Calling President Trump a racist is unacceptable.
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