Looking Back at the Films of 2019 Part 5 - Men in Black: International/The Dead Don't Die/Child's Play/Annabelle Comes Home

Hey everybody and welcome back to Looking Back at the Films of 2019. Today's movies I'll be reviewing are Men in Black: International, The Dead Don't Die, Child's Play, and Annabelle Comes Home. Let's begin.

Why Didn't I See Men in Black: International?

The main reason why I didn't see Men in Black: International is because it just wouldn't have had the same feeling for me if I had being watching Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The trailers and TV spots seemed good but like I said before it just didn't feel the same without Will and Tommy.

What is Men in Black: International?

Men in Black: International is a science fiction action film and a spin-off of the Men in Black film series. The movie was produced by Columbia Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Parkes + Macdonald, Image Nation, and Tencent Pictures and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Men in Black: International was written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway and directed by F. Gary Gray. The story is the secret organization called Men in Black have expanded to cover the globe. Now a new threat to the planet Earth has arrived and just to make it worse these aliens can shapeshift into anybody, so Agent H and the newest rookie Agent M must stop the newest bad guys, save the agency, and must importantly save the world.

My Thoughts

The Good: None!

The Bad: One thing I hated about the movie was how despite Men in Black is suppose to be a hidden organization this movie completely threw that out of the window. There were two instances where they blew their cover. One was when two agents went to Molly's (Agent M) house when she was a little girl and straight up told her parents that they have an alien going through their trash. Sure they wiped her parents memories afterwards but why would they say that out loud? The other example of this is when H and M are in the desert, have a super powerful weapon, shot it, and then make something that's essentially the Grand Canyon. Yeah, that's not gonna raise any questions?! Another awful aspect of Men in Black: International is our main characters Agent H and Agent M. H is such a buffoon it really makes you wonder how is he even apart of this agency? It especially makes your head tilt when almost every character says he's the best agent they have on the force. Then there's M. A buddy of mine (FilmJunkee) called her a Mary Sue....honestly looking back at it I understand why. There are so many things she was able to accomplish even though story wise she shouldn't have. Like climbing a mountain without any gear, hack into satellites with ease, and know how to fire/adjust the setting to a weapon despite the fact it's her first time using it. Seriously how does she know how to do this stuff? All she did for her entire life was read books about the universe. Don't think any of those came with directions to what I just described. Then we have the humor. All I want to say is none of it lands, it really doesn't. Now for my last grievance with Men in Black: International is even though the credits say it's a F. Gary Gray film, that's not the case. If you seen he's previous films such as Friday, The Italian Job, Straight Outta Compton, and The Fate of the Furious the guy clearly has his own style but with this movie not at all! This is so by the numbers that it makes me think that this movie got messed with during production.

UPDATE!: YUP. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH THE MOVIE GOT DICKED WITH. BECAUSE WHY SHOULD A DIRECTOR'S VISION BE SHOWN? 😒

The Meh: There were two things that were alright with the movie and those are Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson's chemistry and the action. Those parts of the film are fine but they're not enough to save this movie.

Final Verdict: Awful

Why Didn't I See The Dead Don't Die?

Now I love good zombie comedy film, I mean who doesn't love Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland? So when I heard about this movie I was excited but sadly my theater apparently thought nobody wanted to see this because there wasn't a single showing on their website.

What is The Dead Don't Die?

The Dead Don't Die is a horror comedy movie. It was produced by Kill the Head and distributed by Focus Features. The Dead Don't Die was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The story is everything seems peaceful in the small rural town of Centerville, then out of nowhere a zombie outbreak starts to happen. Now the remaining citizens must fight their way out of the town and find a safe haven.

My Thoughts

The Good: The best thing about the movie was Bill Murray and Adam Driver. They have such great comedic chemistry and overall they just work off each other seamlessly. Another aspect of The Dead Don't Die that was good was the cinematography. It has this nice dull and bleak look to it, which is good thing since this is a zombie movie after all.

The Bad: The worse thing about the movie was it's script. There are so many things wrong it. Such as it's heavy handed environmental message. There was no subtly to it what so ever, because throughout the movie we're told about polar fracking and that somehow ties into the zombie apocalypse. Then we have subplots that went absolutely nowhere. Like we had this one subplot with kids from a juvenile detention center, and after awhile we never hear from them again. That entire story could have been cut from the entire flick and quite literally nothing would have changed. The other negative is wasted talent. I have no idea what that whole thing was with Tilda Swinton's character, Steve Buscemi & Danny Glover had some things to do but their roles were so small they might as well have not been there. And Selena Gomez really didn't get to do anything but say how she likes a song, talk here and there, and then watch TV.

The Meh: I enjoyed the humor for the most part. There were some jokes that didn't work but I liked most of them.

Final Verdict: Bad

Why Did I See Child's Play?

Same reason as The Dead Don't Die. Theater didn't have a showing. They more interested in showing Toy Story 4 than Child's Play. Which sucks because I would have loved to see two movies about toys put in a completely polar opposite way on the same exact day.

What is Child's Play?

Child's Play is a horror movie and remake of the 1988 film of the same name. The film also serves as a reboot to the Child's Play film series. The movie was produced by Orion Pictures, KatzSmith Productions, and Bron Studios and distributed by United Artist Releasing. Child's Play was written by David Katzenberg, Tyler Burton Smith, and Seth Grahame-Smith and directed by Lars Klevberg. The story is Andy's mom has given her son a gift, a Buddi doll named Chucky. The doll seems innocent enough until horrifying things start happening which are all connected to Chucky. Now Andy must put a stop to this sinster doll or the bloody rampage will continue.

My Thoughts

The Good: One good thing about this new version of Child's Play is the performances from Gabriel Bateman and Mark Hamill. Bateman was a good lead and his acting was well done, then you have Mark Hamill who just nails it as this incarnation of Chucky. He made the character sweet when he needed to be and of course made Chucky as creepy as he should be. What I also liked about it has a fun vibe to it instead of going dark and gritty. Now yes a dark and gritty mood can work for horror films such as Friday The 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I really can't imagine that tone for Child's Play. Because even the newer movies prior to this one (Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky) while they are just a tad bit dark still have a fun tone to them. The final thing I'll give the movie credit for is it's new direction with the whole A.I. thing actually works. The writers found a way to execute this idea for the remake and I wasn't disappointed with it.

The Bad: I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

The Meh: One mix bag is Chucky's design. It's fine but they really should have made the face look less weird. I mean if I was a kid and I saw that in stores I wouldn't be scared of it but I definitely wouldn't be begging my parents to buy me that. Another piece of the movie that could have used more work is the characterization. We get a good bit of development with Andy and his mom and him with Chucky, but everyone else is either just a click or fall to the wayside. Then we have an issue with the first half of the film. It drags for a bit but once things get into gear I think you'll forgive it for that first half.

Final Verdict: Good

Why Didn't I See Annabelle Comes Home?

The reason is the same as the last two, my theater didn't have a showing. Which was very confusing because they had a showing for The Conjuring 2, Annabelle: Creation, and The Nun. So I thought it would make sense for them to have a showing for this movie but I guess not.

What is Annabelle Comes Home?

Annabelle Comes Home is a supernatural horror movie, a sequel to Annabelle: Creation, and the seventh installment in the Conjuring Universe. The movie was produced by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions, and The Safran Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Annabelle Comes Home was written and directed by Gary Dauberman. The story is after Ed and Lorraine Warren have successfully taken care Annabelle and the evil contained within her, they think they have the situation under control. One year later the Warrens leave their daughter and their babysitter home alone hoping that nothing will happen and it'll just be an average day for them. However someone has opened the case that's containing Annabelle and the nightmare is about to begin.

My Thoughts

The Good: Now much like the previous films I reviewed where it was a first time director, this movie along with the previous ones really doesn't show it. Gary Dauberman did a good job directing this film despite it being his first time. Another great quality to Annabelle Comes Home is the performances mainly from McKenna Grace as Judy Warren. She was really good, I wasn't expecting a child actor like her do such a phenomenal job.

The Bad: The real issue I have with the movie is it's way longer than I should have been. It clocks in at an hour and forty-six mintues. When in reality it doesn't feel like it should be that long, if anything it could have worked as ninety mintue movie or something slightly in that ball park.

The Meh: For the most part the scares are fine, they're defintely not as good as Annabelle: Creation's scares but I thought some of it was okay. Another thing that could have used more work was our main characters. Much like the scares they're fine but it still feels like we could've gotten a lot more. Some backstory fleshes them out just a bit but still felt like there's something missing.

Final Verdict: Okay

Okay so I'm all done here. Come back on Thursday, July 2nd for my Cinematic Disasters review of Epic Movie. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

A Look Back at Doom Patrol - Season 1

With Doom Patrol Season 2 coming out in only three days it only makes sense that I review the first season. So let's do this.

Doom Patrol is a web tv show based on the DC Comics' team of the same name. The show is produced by Berlanti Productions, Jeremy Carver Productions, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television and distributed by Warner Bros. Televison Distribution. The show was developed by Jeremy Carver.

The story is four people who have gone through tragic events have been brought together and treated by Niles Caulder aka The Chief. One day The Chief is kidnapped by Mr. Nobody, now this unlikely pair of heroes along with Cyborg go on a cross country roadtrip to find Chief and put a stop to whatever Mr. Nobody is planning.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. So let's move on.

• Mix

One thing I'm mixed on is the CGI. I don't hate it because in some areas it's fine nothing mind blowing but passable, however there's times when I just wasn't a fan of what I saw.

The other thing I thought was okay was the suit for Cyborg. I understand why it looks the way it does because it wasn't in the budget for something a bit more cinematic but at the same time it is hard to believe that the character has advanced technology when people will be comparing it to a Halloween costume.

• Positives

Now let's get on to more positives things to say about Doom Patrol, one of those being the performances. The cast does a fantastic job portraying these characters, two of my favorite performances come from Brendan Fraser and Diane Guerrero. Mainly because Brendan has to do a ton of voice work to let us know what or how the character of Cliff/Robotman is feeling and Diane is playing a character (Crazy Jane) who has 64 personalities. And she does great with how each personality is supposed to be.

What also makes the show a great watch is it's humor. There were so many times when I was just laughing and smiling at whatever joke or a huge WTF moment was going on. That one scene where a character flexed the wrong muscle gets me everytime, if you watched the show then you all know what I'm talking about.

Now to praise Doom Patrol's strongest aspect which is it's character development. We really dived in on who this people are, how they feel, and what there going through whether it be the adventure itself or whatever problems they're trying to work through. And it's not just the team that gets this treatment it's also characters like The Chief and Mr. Nobody we also get to understand.

While I have mix feelings on the CGI and Cyborg's suit what makes me forgive those slight short comings are the performances, the humor, and the well written character developments.

My final rating is Great

So yes before season two premieres on DC Universe or HBO Max which ever streaming service you use, I strongly recommend that you watch season one of Doom Patrol. So that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Jun 29th for part five of Looking Back at the Film's of 2019. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

Raiders of The Lost Media - Super Mario Spikers

Hey guys and welcome back to Raiders of The Lost Media, and this time we take a look at a Mario that left many fans sad that it got cancelled. Let's begin.

Part One - What is Super Mario Spikers?

Super Mario Spikers is a cancelled video game that was developed by Next Level Games. The game was worked on from 2006 to 2007 and was planned to be released on the Wii.

Part Two - Development & Cancellation

Development on the game started in late-2006, Next Level Games just completed Mario Strikers Charged, this along with the success of the previous Mario Strikers game (Super Mario Strikers), Nintendo decided to reward them by financing their efforts in creating a volleyball game. This game had the working title of Mario Volleyball, it's concept was simple just like the other Mario titles where the characters would just play the game much like they did in Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. Over time the developers thought it would be a fun idea to put wrestling in the game then they would later add more aggressive gameplay, what inspired this was Next Level Games was working a video game for WWE called WWE Titans Parts Unknown (which much like this game would eventually get cancelled), because of the wrestling elements the title was changed from Mario Volleyball to Super Mario Spikers. Nintendo was originally fine with this idea, they would even give more money for the game. But then things changed, Nintendo decided not to green-light have they saw the levels of violence. In matter of fact because of the violence an unnamed member of the development team stated clashed with Nintendo's "code of honor" was the main reason why the game was rejected.

Part Three - What Remains

The only things that remain of Super Mario Spikers is test footage and concept art.

Original logo

Well that's all for me. Come back on Monday, Jun 22 for review of season one of Doom Patrol. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

Artemis Fowl Review

Artemis Fowl is a direct-to-streaming science fantasy adventure film based on the Eoin Colfer's 2001 novel of the same name. The movie is produced by Walt Disney Pictures and TriBeCa Productions and distributed by Disney+. Artemis Fowl is written by Conor McPherson and Hamish McColl and directed by Kenneth Branagh.

The story is Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old criminal mastermind with an exceptionally high I.Q. One day Artemis' father goes missing and he sets out to find, this adventure soon leads him into a battle with a race of powerful fairies who may be behind his dad's dissappearance.

Initial Reaction

Now truth be told I wasn't really excited for this movie. Soon the trailer came and I got little invested in the movie, not completely but still enough to the point where I wanted to check it out and make a review for it.

Cons

Now, when I was finished watching the movie something about it just didn't feel right. And you know what that feeling was right, because here we have a movie that clearly got butchered by the studio. Don't believe me? Well watch last year's teaser trailer...

All that stuff in this teaser such as certain shots and the overall tone...yeah that's not in the movie! By doing so we a cut of a movie that has quite a few yet big problems. One of those issues being a VERY rushed flick. Like this movie just literally wants to get from point A to point B as quick as possible. I mean this version of Artemis Fowl is so rushed that when a character died and was brought back to life it's only in the span of a minute maybe two and then we're off to the next scene. Another problem with the film is it's not accurate from the books. Now from what I've gathered from fans is Artemis is supposed to start out as a villain and throughout the series becomes a hero. That sounds way more interesting than this generic "let's save the world" dreck. After saying that that brings me to yet another issue with Artemis Fowl and that's this is going to be forgotten about. Because Disney told the filmmakers to make a movie about a 12 year old super genius wanting to rescue his Dad and save the world as supposed to something more like the books you get a generic and forgettable movie.

Middle Ground

One of the only decent things about Artemis Fowl is the special effects. They're fine I wouldn't say they're all that mind blowing but at least they look like there was people who put a good majority of work into them. The other decent thing about the flick is the acting. Nobody is going to any sort of award but despite the quality of the movie everyone was still trying to give a good performance.

Pros

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Artemis Fowl is a disappointment. It obviously has a bad case of studio interference, a rushed plot, it's not like the books it was inspired by, and because it's so generic it's going to forgotten about very quickly. The grey areas are the special effects and the acting.

My final rating is Bad

So yes, while Artemis Fowl is bad still no where near as awful as Dolittle and The Last Days of American Crime. Anyways that's going to do it for me. Come back on Thursday, Jun 18th for a brand new Raiders of The Lost Media. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

Da 5 Bloods Review

Da 5 Bloods is a epic war drama. The movie is produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks and distributed by Netflix. Da 5 Bloods is written by Spike Lee, Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, and Kevin Willmott and directed by Spike Lee.

The story is four African American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam. Here they search for the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. During this quest they battle through the forces of humanity and nautre all while confronting the last ravages of the war.

Initial Reaction

What really got me interested in this movie was the synopsis. I really got my attention and I really couldn't wait for the movie to arrive. Then the trailer dropped and I was even more excited for Jun 12th.

Cons

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Middle Ground

One mix feeling I had with the movie was, it felt like there could have been scenes that could have been removed. Because while there are tons of good scenes in the film there were moments were it just felt like we've already been here before. Another grey area with Da 5 Bloods which will mostly likely be it's biggest grey area is while the movie's message does have a good balance there are scenes that will spark a debate. Which I feel did drag the movie down just a bit. Because it felt like it was going to learn towards a side but then things happen that makes it seem like it is leaning towards one side of the political spectrum.

Pros

One thing I enjoyed about Da 5 Bloods was some of the techniques. For instance there were times when the aspect ratio would change, not only was a cool trick but it also showcase what tone the movie was going for. Another thing I liked was how the movie showed the absolute horror that was Vietnam. Not only with graphic images (which by the way if you get sick very easily you may not like this movie) but also with the characters. They're all broken way one or another because of this war. It really shows us the audience just how horrible it was back then. What I also liked about the film and something I wasn't expecting was the escalating events. Because at first you think it's just going to be a treasure hunt/them looking for the remains of their fallen soldier/friend but then it turns into a fight to survive. The final thing I'll give praise for the movie for is the performances more specifically to Delroy Lindo as Paul. Lindo did an amazing job with this character. He nailed how a former soldier would act if they didn't get any sort of treatment for their PTSD. So good job for Delroy Lindo.

Da 5 Bloods is a good movie. What with it's filmmaking tricks, showing not telling about the horrors of Vietnam, escalating events, and performances, mostly from Delroy Lindo. The mix bags are the runtime and how the story has a slight habit leaning towards a specific side.

My final rating is Good

Okay, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Jun 15th for my review of Disney's Artemis Fowl. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

The Last Days of American Crime Review

The Last Days of American Crime is a action crime thriller movie based on the 2009 graphic novel of the same name. The movie is produced by Radical Studios and Mandalay Pictures and distributed by Netflix. The Last Days of American Crime is written by Karl Gajdusek and directed by Olivier Megaton.





The story is it's the not too distant future, the U.S. government has only one last response to crime. They come up with a signal that'll make it impossible for anyone to commit any unlawful acts. Before this signal goes out three criminals plan a heist and head down to Canada to celebrate their last crime.

Initial Reaction


With my reviews of Extraction and All Day and a Night getting some views I decided to review another Netflix movie. What really peaked my interest was the synopsis, it got me curious so I marked my calendar down and got ready.








Cons

The absolute worse thing about this movie is it's runtime. It clocks in at 2 hours and 29 minutes and it doesn't need to be that. There was quite a few stuff that could have been cut, like long shots that have no reason to be long (e.g. when two characters are heading to the Canadian border) or cutting parts of the story out such as this cop subplot that by the end of the movie really didn't have any need to be there. I've sat through long movies before such as Avatar, the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman, and Avengers: Endgame, but the thing with those movies is despite their runtime they go by pretty quickly, even It: Chapter Two where even though I slightly criticized it's runtime I wasn't looking at the timer for a large portion like I was with this movie. The other negative with The Last Days of American Crime is even though we learn some bits and pieces of our characters, there's ultimately nothing. Nothing other than stuff we were already told does it seem like anything changes with them. I mean how can you have that lengthy runtime and not give so much development for them? That was a wasted opportunity. Another downside with the film is the action is choppy. There were instances when the camera would cut away for scene where it didn't need a cut. Now I wasn't expecting something like John Wick but I was hoping for something good or at the very least decent, but NOPE! The last thing I trash the movie for is the acting. Gotta say there wasn't a performance that really stood out nor did any of it impress me.

Middle Ground: I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Pros: I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

The Last Days of American Crime can be skipped. It has a runtime for a movie that doesn't deserve it, character development might as well not exist, not a single action scene hooks you in, and the acting wasn't that good either.

My final rating is Destroy It!

So yeah, if you want to watch a heist flick don't bother with this one, but that's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, Jun 13th for my review of Netflix's next movie, Da 5 Bloods. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

What You Probably Didn't Know About Taxi Driver (1976)

Hello everybody and welcome to another installment of What You Probably Didn't Know About. This time around I tell you things you might know have known about 1976's Taxi Driver. Let's begin.








1. Martin Scorsese has said that he offered the role of Travis Bickle to Dustin Hoffman. According to Hoffman, the reason why he turned down the role was because he thought Scorsese was crazy. He has since regretted this.







2. When the movie was being made there was a garbage strike going on. So much of the trash you see in the movie is real.








3. When Scorsese was filming his cameo he had to sit on a blanket in order to see over the front seat.








4. Robert De Niro studied Midwest dialects in order for Travis Bickle to have a flat voice.








5. Jodie Foster was only twelve years old when the movie was being made. Which means she couldn't do any explicited scenes, so her older sister (Connie. Who was ninteen at the time the movie was being filmed) acted as her body double for those scenes.








6. Some of the illegal things Easy Andy was listing was improved by Steven Prince.

7. Taxi Driver's shooting schedule was set for forty-five days but would later go five days over schedule.








8. Martin Scorsese was very reclutant to edit the climactic shoot-out to a avoid an X rating. However he was shocked by the MPAA's changes because they made the scene even more shocking than what he originally intended.

9. Steven Spielberg once visited the music recording session and told the composer (Bernard Hermann) how much he admired his work. Hermann responded with "Oh yeah? Then why do you always use John Williams for your films?"

10. Robert De Niro claims the "You talkin' to me?" scene was inspired by Bruce Springsteen's banter with his audience in the mid 1970s.

11. Speaking of the "You talkin' to me?" line, it was voted the number 10 quote by the American Film Institute and number 8 of "The Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.

12. While filming near Time Square, Scorsese shot footage of protesters throwing smoke bombs at the theater showing of Coonskin (1975). He would later send the footage to Ralph Bakshi (the director of Coonskin) to which Bakshi would say "I don't know whether to laugh or cry."

13. The restaurant where Travis and the other taxi drivers eat at was a real-life hangout for cabbies, it was called Belmore Cafeteria. It has since been demolished and turned into an apartment building but it still keeps the Belmore name.

14. It was the last movie to feature Columbia Pictures' "Torch Lady" logo in her classic appearance.

15. While only a few changes were made to Paul Schrader's script from the first draft to the final one, Martin Scorsese allowed a lot of improvisation in the final cut.

Okay everyone that's going to do it for me. Do come back on Saturday, Jun 6th for my review of the newest Netflix movie, The Last Days of American Crime. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

Classic Film Night - The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 drama film based on the 1982 Stephen King novel, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The movie was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The Shawshank Redemption was written and directed by Frank Darabont.

The story is Andy Dufresne has been sentenced to life in the Shawshank State Penitentary despite he's claims of innoence. In prison Andy befriends fellow inmate Ellis "Red" Redding and helps make a money-laundering operation led by the warden, Samuel Norton. While this is happening Andy is trying to find a way to escape from this prison.

My Thoughts

What made The Shawshank Redemption one of the many great movies is how it exceeded expectations. Because when I first watched this movie I was just expecting a plain prison flick, but no it's not that at all. It has great development, beautiful shots, fun characters, and a emotional moments that really hit ya.

Another thing that makes the movie a classic is Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins' performances. They were truly spectacular together. They had a great chemistry and really worked well with one another.

The other aspect of Shawshank I want to give praise is it's villain Warden Samuel Norton. This guy was truly a scumbag, with every evil deed he did you just grow to hate him more and more. And by the time the movie's over I feel like you'll enjoy his fate.

The last thing I'll give the film credit for is it's showcase of institutionalization. What I mean by this is it really shows how prisoners just grow to get use to being in prison. It was really shown with the entire Brooks scene and a scene where Red says (and I'm paraphrasing by the way) how at first they grow to hate these walls but then they grow to find comfort. Really well written stuff.

The Shawshank Redemption is a true masterpiece. It exceeded expectations, Freeman and Robbins' performance are amazing, it has a great villain, and how it shows life in institution was one of the greatest and emotional moments of the entire movie.

My final rating is A Must Watch

Okay, I'm done here. Come back on Thursday, Jun 4th for a brand new What You Probably Didn't Know About, and this time it's all about Taxi Driver. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.