Gran Turismo Review

 

Gran Turismo is a biographical sports drama movie, based on the racing simulation of the same name. It's produced by Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions, and 2.0 Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Gran Turismo is written by Alex Tse, Jason Hall, and Zach Baylin and directed by Neill Blomkamp.

The story is Jann Mardenborough is a young man who dreams of becoming a professional racer. One day his dream comes true after winning a Nissan sponsored video game competition. He soon learns that the road to this dream will be a lot tougher than he imagined.

Why The Delay?

If any of you read my review for Room 237, then you should've gotten this review on Saturday. Sooo...what happened? Well, on Friday, mother nature decided to gift us a nice, lovely storm, which knocked out my wifi. So I had to wait until Saturday for it to come back. Which also meant pushing back this review. On well, on the bright side, this wasn't as bad as last time. Still pissed with Ohio Edison's reaction time on that one.

Initial Reaction

This was one of the many movies on my most anticipated list. At first, it was just because of the director they have [Neil Blomkamp], but after seeing the trailers, I became very interested in the overall story.

Cons

I've got nothing to say here. Move on.

Middle Ground

If there's one slight issue it was the pacing. Now 95% of the time, the movie breezes by fairly quick, than other 5% on the other, those are the moments where things feel slow and you're almost getting impatient wanting for the final race to get here.

Pros

One thing I enjoyed was the bits of humor. What made it work wasn't the feeling of the movie trying so hard, everything feeling like it was put on pause for the jokes, or an overabundance of jokes. It was used appropriately. The other aspect that made Gran Turismo quite the experience was the directing. I was very surprised by how Neil Blomkamp successfully stepped out of his sci-fi comfort zone to give us this movie. And his racing scenes were fantastic. If you liked the racing from something like Ford v Ferrari, then you'll get a kick out of this. I was liked how he used very video game-esque graphics and didn't make it look ridiculous. It was primarily used to telling us what place the racers were in, or used to get inside our main character's head. Which now brings me to one of two of the movie's biggest strengths, and that's the acting. Whether you like the movie or not, I think we can agree that performances are astounding. They're very grouded, real, and there was a lot of good chemistry throughout. The best one goes to David Harbour. He's basically playing a man who had his shot at going big, much like our main character, but due to a tragic event wanted to retire, and since then has become very cynical. And David never once misses a beat with this role. The last thing I'll give credit to is the story. Now yes, this is your typical underdog story, so you pretty much know where the story is going, before seeing it. So why didn't I put it up in the middle ground part? Because as I've stated quite a few times, that when writing a story you're pretty much gonna have no choice but run into certain tropes, it all depends on your execution. The execution here was really good, far better than what I was expecting. That's because the writers were not only being earnest about the movie they were writing, but still managed to get to the heart of said movie. We truly get to witness Jann's journey from being treated as joke because his a gamer, going through some very tough training, dealing with a horrific events, all in effort to truly go from gamer to racer just like the posters have stated.

While it's clearly Gran Turismo has issues, I found this to be a very crowd pleasing movie. I don't think critics really should be given this one such a mixed response.

My final rating is, Good.

So yeah, if by any chance you're curious about this, I recommend you give it a try. So, that's all for now. Come back on Monday, Sept 4th, for my Underrated Films review of 1977's Slap Shot. Apparently I'm going through a sports genre phase in my movie reviewing. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Cinematic Disasters - Room 237

 

This one was a little challenging to do because I've never done a documentary before. But I decided to take a chance and review this anyways.

Room 237 is a documentary movie that was produced by Highland Park Classics and The Ebersole Hughes Company, and distributed by IFC Films and IFC Midnight. Room 237 was directed by Rodney Ascher.

The documentary is about people through voice-overs discuss their interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror classic, The Shining. While we're given those theories, we're also given a possibility of a bigger thematic oeuvre.

My Thoughts

Before I start getting into some of the theories, I want to write about how the documentary is structured and along with another problem I had with it, but let's stay with how it's structured for now. Basically the way this was edited was, footage of The Shining, footage from another Stanley Kubrick movie, footage from The Shining, footage from a completely different movie, footage from The Shining, and so forth. This cycle was repeated so many times, that I actually got sick and tired of seeing The Shining. Yes, one of the many greats in the horror genre, and I got sick of seeing it. When you make people got sick and tired of seeing footage from a great movie, you messed up big time! Not too mention, that doesn't make this movie feel like a documentary, if anything it felt more like something that's better suited for a YouTube video.

The second problem is a lot of this movie isn't gonna be remembered. If the theory these people are talking about isn't crazy enough, you just wind up forgetting about it. Like I remember a lot of the commentators talk about Danny riding his bike around the hallways and there was something about it being odd, I don't quite remember what is was. Like I said, it wasn't so out there that you really don't care, and there's many more things like that as well.

Then there's the problem of what people are saying about this doc. Basically a lot of people are claiming this to be a satire. But the problem is, satire much like every other form of comedy, needs a punchline. So if this was meant to be satire, then it failed miserably. Because there is no punchline!

Okay, now that I've got that stuff out of the way, let's get into some of these theories. I say some and not all, because like I said previously, unless is sounds bonkers, you're not gonna remember much, anyways, 

Theory #1 - The Shining Parodies Horror Movies.

Now the basic idea for this theory is about a scene when Jack and Wendy are talking. During that scene, a chair can be seen in the background, but then we cut to Wendy's face, then when we cut back to Jack, the chair is gone. That's it, that's what the guy was going by. To him, that wasn't a simple movie mistake, the was a sign that Kubrick was spoofing horror movies.

Now, Stanley Kubrick was a very talented director, there's no doubt about that, but even he wasn't above making mistakes when it came to his films. You can find continuity mistakes in Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut. And I highly doubt any of those mistakes were Kubrick parodying black comedy, epic sci-fi, crime films, war dramas, and mystery films.

Theory #2

Just watch this.

I firmly believe this lady has never been anywhere near a skiing site. I mean...seriously?! First off, that pose, that the skier is making, it's a very common pose to do. Whether you're a pro skier or not, you're gonna make a pose like that. And those ski poles, they're actually there! There's no "suggestion" that they're there, they are there!

Theory #3 - The Moon Landing

This'll be the last one because I don't want to go on forever with these theories, cause then this post will be longer than it should be but, oh boy. This theory. This theory has haunted Stanley Kubrick all the way up to the day he died.

Here's a video regrading that theory.

Let's break this down, shall we?

1) Have you ever considered the possibility that those Hollywood special effects artist were just screwing with you? You've got a crazy conspiracy saying Stanley Kubrick directed the moon landing, and you really think they didn't take the chance to mess with you?

2) So because Danny is wearing an Apollo 11 sweater, that means your theory is absolutely right? Going by that logic than anytime any film director ever put an Apollo 11 reference in their movie, then they also admitted to directing the moon landing, whether they were a newborn, a baby, a toddler, or they weren't even born yet. Also, what if Danny didn't wear the sweater? What then? Would that have proven you were wrong?

3) I don't what resort you called pal, but I did research on that same exact lodge and they do indeed have a room 217. So Kubrick most definitely changed the room numbers at the request of the hotel. So that part of his theory is ruined.

4) The distances between Earth and the moon varies within its orbit. Scientist have said at its apogee is 252, 088 miles, on its perigee it's closer to 225, 623 miles, with the average being 238, 855 miles. And as of Aug 18th of this year, the distance is 252, 250 miles. You'll probably noticed a lack of 237, 000 miles.

5) Really? The only word you can spell with those letters are Moon Room. You can't spell any other words with those letters! Just Moon Room!

Room 237 is such a disappointment. The premise of making a documentary about what The Shining could be and the theories surrounding it is actually very good, the problem is, this wasn't the documentary for it. This whole thing is just a waste of time. You're better off avoiding this, and making your own assumptions with The Shining, or just enjoy it as a really good horror flick, whatever floats your boat.

My final rating is, Awful!

So that's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Aug 26th, for my review of Gran Turismo. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

What You Probably Didn't Know About Full Metal Jacket

 

First a brand new Differences Between, then a new Raiders of The Lost Media, later a new Is It True?, and now this. I sure am doing a lot of new things for segments I've been putting on the back burner for quite some time...feels nice actually. Anyways, let's get started. Here are somethings you probably didn't know about this Stanley Kubrick classic.

1. One scene that was cut from the entire movie was the Marines playing soccer, only to reveal they weren't using a typical soccer ball, but a human head.

2. Vincent D'Onofrio tore two ligaments in his knees on the obstacle course because of all the weight he put on.

3. To create a realistic effect for the Vietnam battle scenes, Douglas Milsome experimented with a camera with a shutter thrown off sync. This same effect would later be used for another classic war movie, Saving Private Ryan.

4. During filming, a family of rabbits were accidentally killed. Stanley Kubrick (who was an animal lover) was so devastated by this that he canceled filming for the rest of the day.

5. All of the Vietnam sequences were shot first, then the Parris Island basic training scenes were all filmed second. The opening shot of the streets of Da Nang with the local prostitute was the very first scene to be filmed, while the shot of the Marine recruits marching during their graduation was the very last scene to be filmed.

6. Denzel Washington was originally considered to play Eightball, but he declined because he couldn't read the script before auditioning. He's said that this is the role he regrets missing out on.

7. This was Stanley Kubrick's first movie to be edited by a computer when all of his previous films were linearly spliced.

8. There was going to be a sex scene between Pvt. Joker and the prostitute but it was later cut. This was because Kubrick thought it would've detracted from the cold mood of the film.

9. Shooting is a critical skill for Marines to learn, therefore the discipline is typically more relaxed than any other training exercise. This explains why Hartman is less harsh during this time even going as far as tolerate jokes.

10. In some parts of Canada advertisements for the movie were censored. This was because at the time, Canadian censors didn't know if the phrases "it sucks" or "this sucks" were considered obscene.

11. Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to play Animal Mother, but turned it down in order to star in The Running Man.

12. There is no background information given about the characters, nothing is known about them before they joined the Marines. We're only given small things like Joker wrote for his high school newspaper, Cowboy is from Texas, and the lieutenant that was interviewed played football at Notre Dame.

13. Each recruit had to have his head shaved every day, this was so continuity didn't look so questionable in some scenes.

14. Stanley Kubrick had nothing but praise for R. Lee Ermey for his skills as a performer. Kubrick was going to write dialogue for Ermey's character himself, but he was so impressed with Ermey's improv he decided against it. So he simply just let him ad-lib, something very unheard of in a Stanley Kubrick film.

15. According to Vincent D'Onofrio, the production schedule was so drawn out, that lead actor Matthew Modine got married, conceived a child with his wife, then the kid was born, and turned 1 year old...all during the course of filming.

Well, I'm all done here. Come back on Thursday, Aug 24th, for a Cinematic Disasters review about a documentary about a Stanley Kubrick film. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Classic Film Night - American Graffiti

 

American Graffiti is a coming-of-age comedy drama movie. It was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and The Coppola Company and distributed by Universal Pictures. American Graffiti was written by George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck and directed by George Lucas.

The story is it's the last of summer of 1962, and friends Curt, Steve, Terry, and John plan for this to be the best summer before their grown up lives begin, and they'll also bring Steve's high-school sweetheart, a hot-to-trot blonde, and a disappearing beauty in a Thunderbird along the way. They'll have a great time cruising the streets of small-town California awhile a mysterious disc jockey plays classic rock n' roll tunes.

My Thoughts

One reason why American Graffiti is such a classic is because of the humor. Even though I think the movie mostly goes towards drama, there is still plenty of humor to be found in it. Like somehow a simple visit to the liquor store, results in seeing the aftermath of a hold up.

What also made the movie was George Lucas' directing. His directing is mostly associated with Star Wars and those movies big epic scopes, but American Graffiti (released three years prior to the first Star Wars movie), shows that he's capable of directing something more grounded and realistic. If you don't believe me, look at the last shot of this movie, and try your damnedest to deny that it's beautiful.

I came to realize something about this movie looking back at it, and that's it's quite the period study regrading the early 60's. While you get a nice stylized look at the cruising scene with all of the gorgeous old school cars, but you also get the transitional sense of the movie. Which makes sense, during this time rock 'n roll music was changing (something the movie touches a upon), America was getting closer to entering the Vietnam War, and the hippie movement wasn't too far along.

The last thing I'll praise is the storylines. Three characters go though some very big changes in their lives. Those characters being Curt, Steve, and John. John has to come to the realization that things are changing and needs to stop living in the past. Steve needs to decide if he truly wants to leave his small-town, or if what he's looking for was right in front of him. Meanwhile, Curt is a weird phase in his life, where he doesn't really know what to do with himself, and really needs a good kick in the pants to help with the next chapter in his life. Not only do these story keep you interested, but they also have a good payoff at the end.

American Graffiti has this really weird position. It is a classic, especially since it's in the National Film Registry, but it's also George Lucas' most underrated film. Guess that should be expected when you go on to make a sci-fi franchise so big that it's able to compete with Star Trek, that your previous works will fall by the wayside. But regardless of that factor, you should still give this film a watch.

My final rating is, A Must Watch!

That's all for now. Due come back on Saturday Aug 12th, for my review of The Last Voyage of the Demeter. And if I can't review that, then come back on Monday, Aug 21st, where I'll tell you things you might not of known about Full Metal Jacket. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Is It True? - Nemo Wasn't Real

 

Man, it's been a long time since I did one of these. Anyhow, let's get started with today's newest fan theory.

Who is Nemo?

For any of you that don't know, Nemo is a character that appears in both 2003's Finding Nemo and the 2016 sequel Finding Dory. In his story he was kidnapped by scuba divers, and while this is happening his father (Marlin) goes above and beyond to find. In the sequel, both him and his dad agree to help their amnesiac friend Dory, find out who she is, and if her parents are still around.

The Theory

The theory goes something like this, at the start of the movie Marlin's wife and numerous kids (who are eggs at this point) are both tragically killed by a vicious predator. Marlin thinks everything he ever held dear is gone, that all changes when he finds one egg fully alive, or so we're lead to believe.

In actuality, Nemo isn't real. He's really just a grief-stricken imagination. Created as a way for Marlin to cope with his tragic loss. As for the journey he goes on, he's really just going through the five stages of grief.

Is The Theory Believable?

No. Simply no. Why? Well if any of you watched the movie, you would've seen other characters interacting with the supposedly made up Nemo.

The school kids interacted with Nemo, The Tank Gang interacted with Nemo, Dory herself interacts with him and even touches his face. And if Nemo isn't real then how did the filter in the tank get jammed? There's also the story with the dentist. Are we lead to believe he just scooped up nothing but a bag of water, and then give his niece said bag of nothingness as a gift for her birthday? Cause if that's the case, that's a dick of an uncle.

Also, we're really just going to have to believe Marlin imagined the entire movie? Including the scenes where he wasn't even there? Which is about half the movie.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Aug 10th, for my Classic Film Night review of, American Graffiti. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Meg 2: The Trench Review

 

Meg 2: The Trench is a sci-fi action horror movie based on the 1999 novel, The Trench, and it also serves as a sequel to 2018's The Meg. It's produced by CMC Pictures, DF Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures, and Apelles Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Meg 2: The Trench is written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris and directed by Ben Wheatley.

The story is, Jonas Taylor was leading a research team until something went wrong when a mining operation crosses their paths. Just to make matters worse, a new megalodon appears and causes havoc. Now Jonas and his team must outrun, outsmart, and outswim a merciless predator in a high-stakes fight for survival.

Initial Reaction

It's very simple as to why I wanted to watch/review this. I had a lot of fun with the first. Sure it undoubtedly had its issues, but it was still a fun movie in a turn off your brain way. So when I heard a sequel was coming out, I was hoping to have another fun time just like the first.

Cons

If there was one issue I had with the movie, it was the villains. They were pretty bland. Now I by no means was expecting something deep, I mean come on, this is the Meg movies we're talking about. But they could've at least had some sort of personalities to them. Instead all we got was generic greedy villains #4576.

Middle Ground

I've got nothing. Just move on.

Pros

One thing I liked was much like the first was the tension. There were some pretty good suspenseful moments here. One of those being when Jonas and co. are running for their lives from creatures other than the Megs. And just to add to it, they've got a ticking clock both metaphorically and literally. Then there's the special effects. While there are times when things don't look right, most of the time the effects are really good. Then we have the humor, which is something you should really expect from these movies. Especially since they know exactly what they are. Anyways, admittedly I wasn't a the biggest fan of the jokes in the first movie, here, there's still somethings that didn't work, but for the most part, not too bad. The last thing I write about is the action. There's a lot of thrilling stuff here. You of course have all the things with the Meg, but you also get some fun gun fights. And for any of you that were disappointed that Jason Statham didn't get any hand-to-hand martial arts fights in the first movie, don't worry, this one's got you covered.

Overall, Meg 2: The Trench is a very good popcorn flick. Yes, there's no doubt some issues, but if you're more than willing to forgive the movie for that by just wanting an entertaining giant monster movie, then you won't be too disappointed. Besides, it's very clear these movies aren't trying to be anything deep like Jaws is.

My final rating is, Good.

That's all for now. Come back on Monday, Aug 7th, for a brand new Is It True? For that it'll be all about a fan theory regarding Pixar's Finding Nemo. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Review

 

NOTE!: AFTER THE REVIEW I'LL BE GIVING MY OPINION OF WHERE THE FRANCHISE SHOULD GO FROM HERE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THAT THEN LEAVE AFTER READING THE REVIEW.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a comic book movie based on the TMNT series by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It serves as the seventh theatrical release for the TMNT film series. It's produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Point Grey Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is written by Jeff Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, and Brendan O'Brien and directed by Jeff Rowe.

The story is four mutant turtle brothers have been sheltered from the world above the sewers. Wanting to feel accepted, the turtles decide the best way to do this will be through acts of heroism. However, these actions soon catch the attention of other mutants who don't agree with the turtles' ideology. Now, it's a clash of mutants in a battle to save New York City.

Initial Reaction

Now initially I was fully pumped for this movie. I thought it was awesome we were finally getting a new TMNT movie after waiting so long when there wasn't gonna be a sequel to Out of the Shadows. Then I saw footage from trailers and commercials and got very skeptical. Was still hoping for something decent, but still remained skeptical.

Cons

The absolute worst thing about the movie is the characters, and I'm gonna break them down one by one.

-Leonardo: This Leo is no leader at all. He hardly gets respect from his brothers, he doesn't really take charge that much, and his most defining character trait is he gets a crush on a human.

-Donatello: Typically in the TMNT franchise Donnie is the genius with a massive super brain, but not here! Not once does he ever feel like the brains of the team. He doesn't even make a gadget that comes in handy later. If anything he's just a geek who likes animes like Attack on Titan. Aren't you just feeling that remarkable, deeply layered character work?

-Michaelangelo: I'll admit, his character was the only one they got right, the problem? Everybody is Michaelangelo! All the Turtles basically have his personality. It's the same exact mistake they made in Rise of the TMNT. So since everyone's like this, Mikey doesn't stand out at all.

-Raphael: I hate what they did to my favorite. Again, he's a goofball like Mikey, and they really try to convince you he's the rageful one, but they failed! Whenever his "rage problem" appears, it's not anger. If anything he's just going through an adrenaline rush. How the hell did Seth Rogen and co. screw up such a basic emotion is beyond me, but they did it.

-Splinter: I don't know who this guy was, but he wasn't Splinter. In no way was this character a wise sensei who properly carries himself. He's mainly a grumpy old man who doesn't like humans, and is mostly a buffoon. And when he's not those, he desperate for a girlfriend...because whenever I think of Splinter, I definitely think of that.

-April O'Neil: First let's get this out of the way, yes, she was designed the way she is for a diversity quota and nothing else. But the biggest problem is how she's written. She in no way is the confident reporter we know. She instead is a reporter who gets so nervous in front of the camera, she pukes all over the place. They try making this problem a character arc for her, but it's brought up, never mentioned, and isn't brought up again until it's convenient for the plot.

-Superfly & Cynthia Utrom: I put these two together mainly to shorten things, and because they're equally bad villains even if it's in two different ways. Superfly in no way felt like a threat. Even when he has bits of angry and has a super weapon, he's still not intimidating. Then there's Cynthia. Not only is she a generic mad scientist, but she was barely in the movie. So much so that she might as well have not been here. Kinda makes it pointless to have a second baddie, when he or she could've been easily written out of the entire movie.

Then there's the issue of the art style. Yes, art is subjective, but I'm sorry, these designs are just ugly. We've seen cartoon designs where the proportions aren't very realistic, but a lot of times they're still nice to look at. Here like I said before, they're ugly and very distracting. Now we've come to the humor. The jokes in this movie are just terrible. They're either dead on arrival, out of place, didn't need to be there, or trying to appeal to people who think TikTok is hilarious. And that wasn't me taking a random jab at TikTok, the movie literally felt like it was trying to appeal to that crowd, especially in the dialogue. Don't believe me, the Turtles actually used 'sus' and 'rizz'. You have no idea how much I wish I was making this up. And when it's not that, it's just pop culture references. Because using pop culture references as a replacement for jokes worked so well for those Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer "parody" movies. The humor was so bad, I heard nobody laugh. Not kids, not teens, not full grown adults, nobody! If a pin dropped in that theater, you more than likely would've heard it.

Middle Ground

Now the animation for this movie is okay for the most part. They're clearly trying to emulate the Spider-Verse style, but sometimes it just doesn't work in some areas.

Pros

The only good thing about Mutant Mayhem was Ice Cube. Despite the incredibly weak script, he managed to provide a very entertaining performance. So thank you Ice Cube for making the experience somewhat tolerable.

If you guys weren't fans of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or any other time the Turtles were just a full blown comedy, then you're really not gonna like Mutant Mayhem, and it'd be best if you just skip this.

My final rating is, Bad.

What The Franchise Should Do Next

After watching this, I'm officially done with comedy Ninja Turtles. Instead of giving this movie a sequel and a tv spin-off, what they should do is take the franchise in a more serious direction.

I'm talking a full blown adaptation of the Mirage comics, or something similar to the 90's movie. After all, the Ninja Turtles did start off a dark story and not something lighthearted like the cartoon from the 80's. And if they don't want to do the Mirage stuff, then they can always take inspiration from the IDW comics, or a Last Ronin movie! Please give me that! There's plenty of fans who would like a movie about The Last Ronin story.

Now I do admit there is one problem with making the franchise more mature than we have now, and that's Nickelodeon. They really need to take the chance at this kind of direction. Which honestly they really shouldn't have a problem with. They allowed a lot not so kid friendly stuff to happen in the Michael Bay produced movies, and they also gave the okay to THIS in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 👇

Also, during that same movie, one of the ninja turtles gets his arm so broken that it looks like a wet noodle whenever it just flaps around. So if Nickelodeon is okay with these two extremely violent things, then they should have no problem with making this franchise much more serious, darker, edgier, whatever word you want to use, the point is, just give us something that isn't gonna make us cringe afterwards.

So that's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Aug 5th for my review of Meg 2: The Trench. And if I can't post a review for that, then come back on Monday, Aug 7th for a brand new Is It True? For that I'll be tackling a fan theory regrading a beloved Pixar movie. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.