Legend

London,  you know bad teeth, even worse weather, fish and chips, cup of tea, London!  Apparently according to this movie in order to speak proper English, you first must fill your mouth with a handful of marbles.  Make sure you have the subtitles on for this one cause the Kray twins really suck at talking!  Here we have the true story of the infamous London gangsters of the 60's, Ronnie and Reggie Kray.  These guys were real bruisers, and controlled the night club and money laundering scene out of sheer brute force.  Ron, the schitzo, crazy half, and Reggie, the crazy practical half.  The story revolves around a short period of their life, and from what I have read mostly true.  There is actually a lot of rumors of what really happened to a lot of the dead blokes they were associated with.  The best part is, both parts were played by Tom Hardy, who is arguably one of the best actors of our time.  He nails both roles and makes you think you are really watching two different actors.  There could have been a lot more to the story and would have liked to see more of the iron fist ruling with these guys, but overall pleased.  Give this one a shot, if anything for Tom Hardy as he is phenomenal in just about everything.

FYI:  Hardy also played Charles Bronson, another famous British criminal.  Reggie Kray knew him in prison and called it the most frighting experience he has ever had.

****

Willow Creek

If only they would have brought a Slim Jim.  That should be the tag line for this movie, it would really tie the movie together.  Ready for this one?  New concept, couple goes into the woods in search for the infamous Bigfoot.  All the while they are capturing the events on a hand held camcorder.  If you have read any of my past reviews you know I love found footage films.  I feel like there is an authenticity to it that makes it a little scarier.  This film, although low budget, slow and somewhat boring at times, was enjoyable with nothing unique to offer.  Another directorial by Bobcat Goldthwait, and not to spoil to much but he must have some weird fetish with bestiality.  Good jump scares as well as built up tension scares.  Good characters and creepy atmosphere.  Also, very good job of building up the story with the hidden messages and foreshadowing.  There will be no Oscars given for this film and probably no recognition but worth a good horror movie watch fix.

FYI:  The tent scene was a single one take 21 1/2 minutes long blast!

**1/2

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Another great movie that basically serves as a guide on "how not to raise your child".  When raising a child there are two roads you can take.  One is the denial, sweep every action under the rug type style just chalking it up to boys will be boys (Dad).  The other is a yearning for any approval from your offspring that flows so deep it destroys you while passively doing nothing hoping for the best, (Mom).  Poor little Kevin, a sick, psychopath, with deep seeded issues ranging from pure evil and hatred to a narcissistic, manipulating arrogance.  I will just go ahead and say it, this kid is better off not being born!  The movie is based on two main characters, a boy and his mother.  She desperately wants his love and he has basically hated everything about her since birth.  She constantly tries to understand his shocking behavior and when it starts to get worse, she is already in over her head.  Tilda Swinton, although one of the weirdest looking people, plays the part perfectly.  Ezra Miller nails the part of a complete psychopath, and you really hate John C. Reilly as the total aloof.  This disturbing movie is streaming on Netflix now so give it a shot, you wont be disappointed.

FYI:  The colors red, yellow and blue are together in every scene representing the bow and arrow target.

***1/2

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Well Star Wars fans, here it is!  Finally!  Oh, wait, it came out like a month ago.  Sorry, I finally got around to seeing it after introducing my son to the first 6.  I want to warn anyone reading this who hasn't seen the movie that there are major SPOILERS because, I just don't care.  I want to start by saying, I really liked this movie and appreciated it for what it was, Star Wars.  I had low expectations because after parts 1,2,and 3 I have lost some faith in the franchise.  I will break it down with good vs bad in my opinion of the movie.  First off is Good:  Rey was great!  She was a good actor which is rare for the franchise, and her character kicked ass.  The introduction of the original characters was goosebump style cool, especially Han and Chewy.  The new light saber was pretty awesome and showed some originality.  Abrahams gave his good flair and "Star Trek" style to it which worked. All the flying fight scenes were great as well.  And last, the imagery was outstanding, as expected.

Now for the Bad (deep breath everyone):  Abrahams, way to kill off the only good actor in the films history!  Why didnt they use more force.  It was cool when they did, but it only showed up a few times.  Kylo Ren was supposed to be this total bad ass and when faced with a battle, he is almost beat by a sanitation engineer with no powers and first time light saber user.  Then, he does get beat by a new to the force, also first time light saber user!  Finn, poor Finn, he was just terrible.  How many close up shots of him can there by of him mouth breathing?!  Also, did he have a love at first sight bro-mance with Poe?  Luke?  Anyone seen Luke?  Oh there he is, you know the top billed actor with 3 seconds of screen time.  I really wished he would have shown up to fight Ren in the end.  

Thats enough for now, but in all, well worth the watch!  I am really glad that the series continues and am hoping for the best in the next one.  To be fair, I am 40, but my son who is 8 absolutely loved it!  Even though he said Revenge of the Sith is still his favorite????

FYI:  Gary Oldman has been snubbed twice trying to get into the Star Wars franchise.  My point confirmed!

***1/2

Stretch

When you realize how much you actually need your job, how much better at it are you?  I'm pretty sure most people will either rise to the occasion or bail.  That pretty much sums up the premise of this awesome Netflix streamer!  This movie was awesome, and a true hidden gem in the que.  I have been passing this one for months and finally took the chance only to want to watch it again immediately.  It felt like "Crank" or the "A Team" remake with great comedy, hidden Easter eggs and great action.  The story is based around a down on his luck looser limo driver who is in debt to some nasty bookies and needs a payout quick.  He lands an eccentric billionaire client (and by lands, I mean steals) and is promised if he can deliver through the night he will get his cash.  I am sure you know by now that his night is crazy and he goes through hell for the client.  The cameos and hidden star power in this movie make it perfect.  Casting was excellent and Chris Pine is awesome as always!  Definitely give this one a watch, it will not disappoint, and the next time you think about fate, just put the pieces together and go with it!

FYI:  Randy Couture plays a main character in the story, see if you can find him!

****1/2

Spotlight

How many times do we see a movie surface that tackles a controversial subject, claims to be historically accurate, pretentiously gives you just enough history for viewers to lie and say, "I remember that", along with loads of A List actors to bring in the bucks?  Well, the answer is, A Lot!  Don't this the viewer comments fool you, this one is no different.  Lucky for you, I will break it down for you in a simple paragraph.  First off, just because a movie regards a terrible uncovering in our history doesn't make it worth watching.  This one was extremely boring, touching on the subject but never really talking about the subject.  Yes, it was about the actual reporting, but what they were reporting about was almost completely lost.  As I stated, it was pretentious and pushed to make you think it was a much more important movie than it was.  The actors, although good, had not so good roles.  Liev Schreiber was possibly the most uncomfortable cast member in history.  Keaton is good as always but take the serious stance a little too, serious.  As much as I want to like Ruffalo, I just cant.   I came to the conclusion that this was like watching regular people at work.  The only reason I would suggest this movie is to get your fix on all of the Oscar Nods, otherwise, forget it.  Everyone else will, soon!

FYI:   6 of the main actors have played in recent superhero movies

**

The Big Short

How great would it be to have a billion dollars, 4 years of time, patience and it was 1997 again?  All the while betting against make believe money for real profits.  Incredible story with a horrifying inevitable outcome.  Lets begin with a quote from Ice-T, in the mid 90's, "I'll never go broke, I got property!"  Obviously there was a bit of arrogance in that statement, along with no idea of what the future would bring.  So you want to know what this movie is about?  Well, strap on your seat belt and follow closely:  In the early 2000's a few money managers discovered a fault in the housing market bubble as it was supported by sub-prime mortgages through basic economics, fraudulent activity by lenders and holders, falling intrinsic value, over utilization all the while credit market institutions who rely on corporate limited liability protection turned a blind eye to connecting borrowers, lenders and investors resulting in high risk and impossible loans to excess, an exchange of monetary notes that would change hands from one investor to the other growing like a snowball with more and more risk creating a burst in the economic financial bubble that was the staple of the worlds economy.  Whew!  Did you get all that?  I think I blacked out for a minute.  Well no worries, watch the movie because the way it is scripted, you will fully understand, or not.  Excellent cast, script, acting, soundtrack, and story that may scare the shit out of you.  Highly recommended movie, especially if you own a home or are shopping for one.  Times have changed a little, but living in AZ, we are seeing the trend all over again.

FYI:  First Adam McKay film not featuring Will Ferrell.

****1/2

The Hateful Eight

Bad teeth, foul mouth, nasty clothes, mean to the bone, and that's just Jennifer Jason Leigh's character!  So the question is, "what do you get when you put 8 strangers in a one room lodge in the middle of a blizzard, in a Tarantino movie"?  Blood, gore, awesome stories, great casting, and a twist or two that keeps you wanting more.  Before I begin I want to say that this may be my new favorite Tarantino movie so far.  I loved every minute of it!  There were some good and bad reviews on this flick and didn't quite understand why people didn't like it.  I have heard comments like worst Tarantino movie ever, and painful to watch.  I think these people were short sided and didn't have the vision of an actual mystery story that is being told.  Dialogue is a backbone of a good story and although many of the conversations didn't come to a brilliant epiphany, they were extremely entertaining.  This is a bit of a who done it film with eight strangers trapped in a lodge, all with a dark side and mystery surrounding every aspect.  There are ulterior motives, double crossing, and murder that only gets more gruesome as the night goes on.  I would highly recommend this movie, especially is you are a true Tarantino fan with patience for a great movie.

FYI:  The composer of this score claimed he would never work with Tarantino again after Django...

****1/2

Burnt

Who's ready for a 1/4th soft boiled egg on top of a 2oz piece of fish cooked with 4 different types of salt garnished with a coil of rutabaga and cabbage?  If you didn't catch that its about enough food to maybe feed a baby bird.  Oh, and your bill sir, is $278.00.  Thank you for reserving your table 3 months ago.  If you have ever experienced this before, than you are eating at the right restaurants and will never see me there.  This was a pretty good story of a reckless American who fled to Europe after a trying childhood only to finagle his way into one of the top chef's kitchens in the world.  There he learned his trade and became the best in the world.  Unfortunately for him he loves booze, drugs, women and gambling.  You know, all the good things in life.  He gets back on track only to make his mark in the culinary world as the top dog.  Along the way he finds himself, like every movie of this premise and reaps the happy ending.  This movie made being a chef look very cool, and glorified kitchen work.  On the other hand, I would never work for these arrogant assholes.  Woo hoo, you can saute a cranberry, you must be a God!  Good acting and cool premise but fell a little short for me.  It really needed more darkness and some depth in the story, but worth a throw away watch.  I would rather watch "Chef" again with Favreau.

FYI:  At age 8 Cooper wrote that he either wanted to be an actor or a chef.

***