10 Directors Whose Movies Will Never Be Remade

Hello, WORLD!!

  Smokkee here. I been kinda quiet on the movie review side but I haven't stopped writing. I finally feel like I reached the halfway point to finishing my first book of short stories, 'Is There A Third Option?'. Anyway, lemme got to why I decided to write this non-review post. If you're familiar with any of my Smokkee's WORLD blogs, you know I start every post with that one lone sentence at the top, "Hello, WORLD!". I been saying it so long when I wake up in the morning, I can't remember how long ago I started saying it. So naturally, I felt it's the best way to introduce something that I've wrote. Well this is one post, given the topic, that I think I might have started just a little bit different. I might have started this one like "Well, I'm almost sure they'd never have to worry...."

The reason this post even came about is the fact that Spike Lee is remaking Park Chan-wook's unclassifiable movie OLDBOY. It is one of the most unique movies I've ever seen and I'm totally interested in seeing Spike's version...just to see how Spike makes it his own or even if it's remotely possible to do that. I doubt either is possible, really. I can't even figure out what genre to put it in. Is it gangster? Hell yeah! Horror? Well, even after the umpteenth viewing the ending still gives my chills. Romance? There's a love story in here that I don't see how I can explain without giving away the movie, ruining the end, or short circuiting my mind which is still trying to compute what the ending is telling me. I get it but I don't think I want to get it, feel me. 

With that said, and one of my choices for this post ( Park Chan-wook, obviously) disqualified from this discussion, here's the top 10 directors that never have to worry about any of their films being remade.

10) Spike Lee

Had to include him since he's the guy that kicked Chan-wook off the list. But think about it: can you really see SCHOOL DAZE remade? Right, me neither. Of course there may be another film based on Malcolm X but will it capture the essence of the former Malcolm Little like Spike's version? Hell no, it won't. Besides, I think if Spike hears that somebody is even thinking about remaking, say, DO THE RIGHT THING, he would blow gasket unlike any he already has. Speaking of which....

9) Quentin Tarantino

If Spike reads this list, coming behind this 'n' word loving director would have him blow another gasket. But thinking about it, I can see JUNGLE FEVER remade before anything Quentin has directed. PULP FICTION started a whole legion of filmmakers using the disjointed story telling style but none even come close to the greatness that is this movie. Not one. JACKIE BROWN, a film made to pay homage to blackpolition movies, turned those on it's ear with an involving style that I don't think any director alive today can mimic. I'm not gonna even mention DJANGO UNCHAINED or INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. These movies are boardline tactless to most people. Any director attempting to remake these movies is committing career suicide. Seriously. Only a man like Quentin can get away with it and I feel bad for any director that wanna prove me wrong... 


8) Martin Scorsese:

GOODFELLAS single handedly reinvented the gangster film genre, CASINO was a genre buster as well. What really made me consider Scorsese for this list is TAXI DRIVER, one of the most complicated movies I've ever watched and Travis Bickle maybe the most complicated movie 'hero' ever. So complicated, this movie deserves a blog post of it's own (coming soon, I guess). His SHUTTER ISLAND is one of the best mind fucks of recent history and it too is also worthy of it's own blog post to discuss the ending only. I'm not gonna even bring up his take on Jesus Christ but you see my point here. No director would put out such a film even though directors have way more artistic freedom and the studios are more open-minded than they were when THE LAST TEMPTATION was released in the 1980s. What's interesting here is Scorsese himself has a couple of remakes under his belt too, 1991's CAPE FEAR and 2006's Best Picture Oscar winning THE DEPARTED.


7) M Night Shyamalan / Christopher Nolan

The one director on this list that I am the least fond of, there's no arguing that his first movie, THE SIXTH SENSE, changed the thriller game much like 1995's THE USUAL SUSPECTS did. The famous plot twist
here has been duplicated so many times, a remake would be overkill. Shymalan's career takes a hit with each movie that came after that original movie, which surprisingly still holds up. I hated to include him but nobody will remake any of his movies so yeah he deserves a spot here. But it's a spot that he has to share with Nolan, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors working today. It's kinda fitting that he shares this spot with Shyamalan; with the exception of the first two films in the Dark Knight Trilogy, Nolan's movies
all have a perverse twist to them as well. The ending of MEMENTO is haunting if you truly think about it and given how many people don't quite get it, yes I think it will get a future blog post of it's own or it will share one with the not-quite-similar but not-too-different SHUTTER ISLAND. Can you imagine somebody tackling a remake of THE PRESTIGE? Or INCEPTION? No? Neither can I, thankfully.


6) Frances Ford Coppola: THE GODFATHER trilogy has defined mafia movies from the time the first one was released in the early 1970s to this very day. Every mafia movie that has came out since is indebted to one of, if not all three, of these masterpieces. Who's gonna attempt to remake any of these classics? Nobody. Ain't nobody that stupid. His THE CONVERSATION, released between GF 1 and 2, is another classic and way more harder to find a genre for. One thing it has in common with the GFs is it is as equally un-remakable. If you seen the film then you know star Gene Hackmans descent into madness is almost unparallelled, partly because we're not quite sure he is mad. Then you have the ultimate war movie APOCALYPSE NOW. Imitated often, never quite duplicated and almost impossible to remake.  



5) Stanley Kubrick: When you think of directors whose movies can never be remade, you MUST add Stan Kubrick to this list. His take on Stephen King's THE SHINING was remade but that was remade from the book, not Kubrick insane vision. His CLOCKWORK ORANGE could be remade, I suppose, but if it is you'll still have Kubrick's version playing in your head. Trust me. His remake of the taboo touching LOLITA is the definitive version. Jeremy Irons starred in a remake from the source material but Kubrick's vision danced in my head the whole time I watched it.


4) David Cronenberg: Cronenberg, like Kubrick, has his own defining touch of film making. You can almost tell you're looking at a Cronenberg movie just by looking at it. Almost every director on this list is like that really, which makes remakes almost impossible. Cronenberg's THE FLY, HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, DEAD RINGERS, VIDEODROME, and EASTERN PROMISES all have his signature creepiness coursing through their veins. I can't think of a director that can bring the same energy to any of these movies if a remake were in the works.


3) Lars Von Triers: One of the most interesting directing techniques of recent memory is the Dogme 95, which basically avoids using any real special effects and chooses to accentuate the acting chops of the actors involved as well as the script of the movie in question. Lars Von Triers is one of the directors that fhelped start this movement. Nevermind that MELANCHOLIA is the most beautiful end of the world movie I've ever seen. Nobody is gonna remake this movie as depressing/uplifting as this story is (it's one of my newest favorite movies, BTW). Nevermind that his THE IDIOTS is an insane (sorry) look at being insane on purpose or as politically incorrect as possible. Nevermind that his gangsta film DOGVILLE doesn't even resemble a gangsta movie, thanks to the Dogme 95 style it was shot in, even when it goes totally gangsta at the end. Take a look at a trailer for his upcoming movie NYMPHOMANIACS. Tell me you see this movie being remade. I'll tell you you're lying.



2) Wes Anderson: Think 'good clean quirkiness'. That's what Wes goes for and that's what he delivers. From RUSHMORE to MOONRISE KINGDOMS he has managed to make lighthearted rom-coms almost as sublime as they are touching. His FANTASTIC MR FOX is a kids movie that's NOT for kids & THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS boasts one of the weirdest families cinema has ever seen. Unremakable is one of the words that come to mind.



1) David Lynch: BLUE VELVET? Untouchable. INLAND EMPIRE? Indescribable. MULHOLLAND DRIVE, one of my favorite movies of all time? Undefinable. Hell, if I can find one person who's seen this movie to agree with me on what this movie is about, I'd be happy with that! Hands down, Lynch is the most untouchable director of my generation. His movies make sense only after multiple viewings. I can only imagine a director tasked with trying to remake one of these movies sitting in a screening room trying to figure out what the hell is going on first before he even attempts to rewrite the scripts.

Right On 'About Time '!!

Hello, WORLD! Smokkee here. I've been holding off this
review for a few days now but can't put it off any longer. Why? Not really a long story but...lemme just get this review started first.

Not that this unique British movie About Time isn't a great movie, it's fantastic really. It's also kind of hard to catorgoize. I guess it's a love story at it's core but then it kind of does this complete spin away from that initial story line to address other types of love. I know I might be a bit confusing here but bear with me.

Tim's face when he hears the family secret the first time.

About Time opens with slim, lanky, and awkward teenager Tim starting his narration duties introducing us to his family and their traditions, including a family gathering at the family's summer home, and the movie begins during the year his life changes for ever. Usually just hearing that line only induces a groan but in Tim's case, I think you gotta make an exception. By the way Tim is played by Domhnall Gleeson, whom I was unfamiliar with but would've been familiar with if I'd really paid attention to the Harry Potter series. Domhnall does bear a resemblance to Brendon Gleeson, whom I've learned is his father.  On Tim's 21st birthday, his father (Bill Nighy, lovable here even if his acting like an asshole) tells him the family secret: the men of the family can time travel. All they have to do, Mr Lake says, is find a dark place, think of a time that's like to go back to, close their hands and they're off. Some of the funniest little bits in this movie is watching him find a dark spot to use to correct his missteps. 

After the initial shock of hearing this, and the initial shock of finding out it's actually true by going back to a New Year's party where he's too shy to kiss the girl next to him (managing to kiss her this time), Tim is overjoyed. After the initial warnings of using his powers for monetary gain, Tim's first course of action is to find himself a girl, something that doesn't come too easy to overly awkward teens. He doesn't have to look very far since his sister Kit Kat's drop dead gorgeous friend is spending the summer with them. 

Tim's face when he uses the family secret the first time.

Tim doesn't make a move on her til the end of her stay and she rejects him, saying he should have asked her when she first got there. Tim naturally goes back to the past and tries to do just that. Here's where the first unexpected move comes in. He gets rejected again. Now if he knew anything about women, he would have known that all he had to do is go back and actually talk to her instead just expressing how much he adores her. The movie lets Tim take this initial reaction as she doesn't want him and he just moves on. 


Tim moves in with a playwright friend of his father in London named Harry (Tom Hollander) while he's practicing law. and it's here that he eventually meets Mary (Rachel McAdams, who has been more attractive to me here than anywhere else I've seen her and here she's almost seems middle-aged believe it or not) at a blind blind dating site. Yes, a blind blind dating site and if you think about it, the idea is genius. It's love at first site when they do finally see each other but thanks to a time travel to aid Harry's latest play avoid a disastrous opening night, he some how manages to unmeet Mary. 

I won't describe any more of this movie from this point on. I've only described to you maybe the first 20 or 30 minutes. Of course at this point I expected this movie to be about Tim's efforts to re-meet Mary but I was wrong there. This issue is resolved fairly quickly too. Any time a movie can throw you through a loop with something you're not expecting is cause for celebration, especially in a day and age where we've basically exhausted every genre available. See, this movie goes from telling one type of love story to several, including what I feel is the best love story of them all: the love of living a life worth living. The acting is great but as Bill Nighy really stands out; he owns every scene he's in. I also feel like I fell in love of McAdam's frumpy Mary right along with Tim. She just has this down to earth quality here that I find extremely attractive. Speaking of attractive, London looks absolutely gorgeous. 

Another thing this movie did for me was it made me really think about how precious time is. We really don't have a lot of it to start with and the simply fact is a lot of us waste it by doing absolutely nothing at times when some of everything can be done. I'm definitely guilty of this myself, especially since I saw this movie last Wednesday and I'm just getting around to actually writing this review.    

Avoid this movie if you don't like British accents. Everybody else is gonna love this movie, lol.
Seriously if you want to see a great love story see this movie.

A+

'Captain Phillips' Deserves a Promotion!

Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee here. I saw Tom Hanks latest movie, 'Captain Phillips', this past Wednesday. I wasn't totally shocked that it was great, but I can say I didn't expect it. It earns an 'A', easy, but it wasn't as thought provoking as the other movie I screened this week, 'About Time', so I'll keep this one brief so I can go focus on that one.


'Captain Phillips' tales the incredible story of Captain Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, a US container ship. It's set to deliver some goods in Somali, which is notorious for pirate activity. Of course you know that that's exactly what happens: the ship gets hijacked naturally. There wouldn't be a tale without that happening.

We're introduced to these 'pirates' early and they're nothing like Jack Sparrow. They're more like the grown up version of those kids we see on those "Just $1.00 a day can help feed.." commercials and they're looking like they haven't really changed much from those days. They're the native Somalians who work hard enough as fisherman and other odd jobs to still not have much to live off of who're presented with an opportunity of a lifetime for them: big bucks for finding a ship worth hijacking. All of these guys jump at the chance. It was interesting to see that these characters, for all of their impoverish looks, are actually tech savvy. Those selected to aid the would be pirates rush off to find the lone container ship that separates itself from the rest of the ships, which they scoped out their radars. One tells ultra slim Somalian Muse (Barkhad Abdi) that he better not get in his way. The surprise here Abdi, he who looks slow on the up-think at times but is no where near as naive or as fragile as he appears. From this point on, this movie gets intense.

I'm not gonna get into to much detail about what happens after the first attempted hijacking. It's one of the best scenes in the movie because you really get a sense of who Phillips, and Muse, are. It also sets the stage for a global version of chess that some of these players ain't ranked high enough to play.

As for the acting, Hanks here is flawless. I would say he carries this movie because he's the one lone American we see the most of, even though there's gotta be at least 30-40 crew members on deck. I should add that I should've known Hanks would be flawless here; he thrive's as the everyman against all kinds of insurmountable odds (Cast Away, Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan, and of course Forrest Gump). An Oscar nod would not be undeserved so no shock if he gets one. But as I said earlier, Abdi is the real surprise, more than holding his own against Hanks' Phillips in a battle that won't turn out as either expects.

I'm sorry if I haven't gave you enough info to decide if you want to see this movie or not. I know I didn't want to see it at all. I didn't think I would be entertained. I was wrong. A tense movie with a great share of comedic moments you may or may not hate yourself for laughing at. I know I felt like I shoulda suppressed a few chuckles. But this is one of the most intense movies I've seen all year. Definitely worth a viewing.

A  


 

Why 'Superior Spider-Man' Writer Dan Slott Is The Vince Gilligan of Comic Books

Hello, WORLD!! Smokke here again with another confession: I was a geek when I was younger. Since I'm being honest, I'm still sorta in geek mode but we're all a bit geeky these days, aren't we? The way some people fawn over TV shows like The Walking Dead, Hell On Wheels, The Simpsons (my personal favorite), or classic TV shows and characters like Star Trek and Dr Who, or any of the millions of lame-ass reality TV shows proves that. But right now I'm geeking out over the geekiest of all topics: comics.

The main reason I've been actually reading these nerdgasms again is because of the death of one of my favorite heroes of all time: Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man....sorta. Writer Dan Slott, the master minded behind the last 50 + issues of the Amazing Spider-Man, felt like Spidey needed a make over. A lot of people disagreed, even going as far as stupidly making death threats to Slott's life.

For the uninitiated, as of issue 700 of the Dan Slott-helmed Amazing Spider-Man (the last one in the series) the Spider-Man we all knew and loved is no more. But there's still a Spidey running around and he's still the original Peter Parker bodywise... but this new version of Spidey is none other than Dr Octopus, who came up with the brilliant idea to switch his dying body with that of his arch nemesis. And it worked, but as Peter (in Doc Ock's body) was dying, he forced Spidey-Ock (SpOck) to see his memories via some kind of mental connection they had established thanks to that body swap. And doing that showed Ock why Peter was Spidey in the 1st place. So there's still a Spidey saving New York because SpOck then vowed he would carry on Parker's legacy.



Still with me so far? OK.

The Amazing Spidey may have died but according to the man formerly known as Otto Octavius, the new Spidey would be better than the first one, a 'superior' Spider Man and there's now a new Spider-Man series called 'Superior Spider Man' detailing this Spidey's crusade against crime.

18 issues into this new series and the anger from fans who were pissed this even happened (myself included) has turned into something else entirely, an addiction to one of the most memorable comic book storylines I've ever read. Ever! This young series has already had TONS of WTF?!!?!?! moments including issue #9. I won't mention anything about these previous issues because you MUST check them out to even believe them, with #9 probably being one of the most depressing comic books I've ever read. It has these... moments
worthy of their own blog posts. Trust me. These early issues establish a fast tempo and a storyline that gave the reader a sense of hope that Peter could somehow revive from the dead and get his body back but all of that hope is muted by the end of the ninth issue, just the way Slott intended.   

From issue 10 on, all bets were off and the latter issues got even more intense. Why? The element of surprise. See even though Ock has taken over Parker's body and is actually trying to be a hero, he still has a villain's mentality and he applies that to his crime fighting. This Spidey ain't the friendly-neighborhood guy you grew up with. This Spidey has no problem killing, even shooting one villain in the head at point blank range. What else unhero like has this Spidey done? Well, how about hiring henchmen, even calling them 'Minions'? Or what about have the current mayor of Spidey's New York, former Daily Bugle editor in chief and another Spider Man nemesis J Jonah Jameson, FINALLY show support for Spidey only to have SpOck blackmail him into giving him his own headquarters and spoiling that rare peace between them? And the funny part is everybody and I do mean EVERYBODY knows this isn't gonna be permanent, despite what Dan Slott, the mastermind behind the Superior series, has said. Peter Parker will come back somehow.

How? Who knows? The fact that it doesn't even matter how at this point is proof that Slott is a genius at storytelling. We all want our original Spidey back. That hasn't changed. What has changed is we're in no rush for him to get back. Is that really the case? Maybe, or maybe we don't want to see SpOck gone just yet. My preference is that both Spidey's coexist at the same time. Why not? We already have Scarlet Spider, a Peter Parker clone, running around too and he's already clashed with the new Spidey. And thanks to the events of Marvel's huge company wide Summer crossover series The Age Of Ultron, the time stream itself has been broken and the current issues of Superior Spidey have him fighting the Spider Man from the year 2099. The one thing that is irking me is all of this that has transpired is all just undercards to a main event Slott has been setting up since day 1: Dr Octopus (as Spidey) vs the Green Goblin, a Goblin who may or may not be the original, Norman Osborne. Another future story line has Octavius battling the former Spider Man suit that turned out to be a parasitic alien, Venom, who is currently using Parker's high school friend/bully Flash Thompson as it's host. One more storyline has Dr Octopus along with the Indestructable Hulk and the all 'new' X-Men, which is a joke in itself since these are the original X Men who've been brought to the future because they may be able to stop their own future selves' actions (I know ??????, right?), fighting a villain named Dr Octopus. Yeah. Its getting crazier.

What's crazier is the world Peter Parker will have to deal with once he does return. Superior Spidey has done so much damage to the already fragile life of Peter Parker and the image of Spider Man that maybe Parker is better off dead. He's alienated himself from his friends, particularly the former Mrs Parker, Mary Jane. Recently he's gotten Peter fired from his job at Horizon Labs. He's even has his hero allies like his teammates the Avengers, who have him on 'probation' following a very brutal televised beating of two d-list criminals, raising there eyebrow at him. None more dangerous for Otto than Police Chief Yuri Watanabe who knows Peter is Spidey, knows there's something not quite right bout this Spidey, and is actively investigating what the change behind this Spidey is all about.

Which brings me to another great aspect of this series. The other shoe hasn't dropped yet. Otto's plan working, to some extent, is one thing. It's very interesting to see Otto face the same challenges that Peter faced, easily overcoming some like getting proactive on crime as Spider-Man, failing with typical Parker flare with some like Parker's love life. The other thing is somebody is bound to find out that this is Dr Octopus. He may be in a hero's body now but he's still a comic book villain; no comic book villain succeeds for long. What happens when the truth comes out? What happens if that truth comes out and it's our beloved Petey back in the Red and Blue costume? Fireworks, and storylines galore, for sure.    
 
Yeah I'll admit that when I first heard this idea, I hated it. Spidey is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. For him to go through this is crazy but crazier still is Slott himself has got to be a bigger fan of Spidey than I am. The history Slott has turned over and over and reworked into this current series is incredible. Also the similarities between the two characters, Peter and Otto, have been made quite clear thanks to Slott's plotting. One was bullied, you say? Well, which one? He's also a genius? Could you get a little bit more specific? The one that lost his parents? Well, Peter's died but Otto's parents....  It's genius how all of it comes into perspective, all the while still telling a fresh story that never seems to let up on the surprises as well as really highlight what being Spider Man means. Slott's characterization also gives the world a Spidey I know a lot of people actually wanted for a long time: a take no prisoner type of hero. Maybe not how everybody expected but that's what we got. He's saved the day numerous times so far but everybody, and once again I do mean EVERYBODY, knows that Otto's downfall is coming.

I'll give you a few moments to gather all what I just said. Got it? Good. Now go read the most fascinating story since....IDK.

Actually, duh! Yeah, I do.


The only thing I can even come up with that can even compare to how exciting this book has been is the tale of a certain chemistry teacher who finds out he has cancer so he starts cooking meth to leave behind for his family to be financially stable after he's gone.

Sound familiar? It just won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama series this year.

Yep, I'm talking about Breaking Bad. There is no denying that AMC's revolutionary show is fascinating TV. Each week there's something of a sense of dread that creeps up on you for no reason whatsoever some of the times but often it's most certainly warranted. Bryan Cranston's antihero Walter White is the most original character we've met in a long time. We love him but we shouldn't. He's not a good guy. He started in the meth business because he wanted to support his family but as the show went on, we've learned that's not quite the case, is it? Some of the things he has done has not only jeopardized his family but cost him a member or 2 maybe. I won't spoil nothing for the uninitated, all 2 or 3 of you, but you've got one week to cram 5 1/2 seasons into before next Sunday's series finale. Be forewarned: you're probably gonna need a doctor before you make it to Season 4. It's that intense.

What 'Breaking Bad' creator Vince Gilligan has done has been phenomenal. This TV show may be coming to a close but the legacy of what it was able to achieve will be talked about for years. I believe that a great story isn't about what happens to what characters. It's about caring for all of the characters themselves, even the villains. If we didn't care, we wouldn't watch. We love Walter White; he's just not a hero and he's not a role model. He's a liar, a killer, a drug dealer, and he's a manipulator but we care about him. Why? I have no idea. His wife, Skylar, has done stuff we don't like but we're not against her either. Her sister Marie and her DEA agent husband Hank, one of Walt's nemesis, aren't bad people either. Jesse, Walt's former student turned partner in meth selling? Lovably dense. One thing all of them have in common is we hope they make it through the series end alive, which if you've been paying attention definitely is not gonna happen now. Over the last 2nd half of the 2 part Season 5, particularly the 'Ozymandias' episode, we've seen Walter stripped down to his bare essence. What we have left is disheartening not because he become a monster but because we understand why he become a monster. Couple that with the fact that he started off just like any normal person would and you could see how we got to this point. And even though Walter has done too much for us to assume he'll be redeemed by Sunday's series finale, aren't we asking for that anyway? We want to see him walk away from this ordeal alive, He certainly doesn't deserve that kinda happy ending but we're gonna be glued to the TV sets regardless just to see for ourselves.

It's kinda the same thing with Otto. I'd love to see if this will make him a super hero when things do return to normal but he doesn't deserve to live after all he's done. Believe me, for all the good Otto as Spider Man he still hasn't redeemed himself for all the wrong that he's done. Just 50 issues before the swap, he tried to destroy the earth! What he's done is made us like him despite his less than righteous actions. We're starting to love the guy that killed Spider-Man. That's about as ludicrous as loving a high school chemistry teacher who turns into drug kingpin. Or any other villains, when you think about it.
 Either we're starting to root for the bad guys more or shows like 'Breaking Bad' and books like 'Superior Spider-Man' are doing a damn good job on blurring that once clear line between hero and villain. I've never been so amped up for a series finale in my life and at the same time, I wish it wasn't THE END of Walter's tale. I bet I'm gonna feel the same way when SSM ends too.

Til that day then. In the meantime, I'm definitely gonna stay tuned, WORLD. Dueces.

DON JON: JERSEY? SURE. BUT...

Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee, back again after another screening. The movie I saw the other night maybe pokes fun at Jersey Shore and the guido mentality. I'm not sure myself, having never watched an episode. I would suspect based on the people you run across in this movie that maybe, just maybe, they're a little more likable than what I assumed. I can also say that this movie is my SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK of this year, which was my 500 DAYS OF SUMMER (another movie starring Gordon-Leavitt) of 2012. What I mean by that is these three romantic comedies, the one movie genre that makes me cringe each and every time, are not cringe inducing. Also they were the best romantic comedies of their respective years.

First time director Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and his HitRecord Productions gives us a movie that starts off with some of the most memorable moments of recent pop culture history. Read that as 'the sexiest'. If this opening montage is to be taken at face value, then sex, with all of its images and implications, is one of the biggest influencers of the people that we became. It certainly shaped Gordon-Leavitt's character. He stars as the title character DON JON, a guy who has anger issues, objectifies women, and seems to just drift through life one sexcapade after another, all the while keeping an impeccably clean apartment to boot. And that's his whole story, at first. Jon Martello, nicknamed Don because his success with the ladies is on par with that of legendary lover Don Juan, would be considered the typical ladies man except for one thing: he doesn't like ladies. No, he's not a homosexual. He's more of a, what, solosexual? Or is it mono sexual? Whatever.

Jon explains in the early goings of this film that for him, real life sex pales in comparison to the sex he sees in porn. He finds himself turning to porn religiously, sometimes even with that night's conquest still asleep in his bed.

Speaking of religion, Jon is definitely a devout Catholic, going to confession and giving very descriptive details of his sins for penence each week with his family. His father, Jon Sr, is played by Tony Danza almost as an older version of the Don himself. You can certainly see the apple hasn't fell that far from the tree. Youll see early on that his father is also a piece of work. Casting Danza in such a role blindsided me but Danza totally pulls it off. His mother, Angela (Glenne Headly, beautiful but underused) is one of those mothers that dote on their kids no matter what kind of oafish behavior they display, more than likely a side effect of marrying an oaf herself. And I found it extremely satisfying that Jon's sister, Monica (Brie Larson) is one of the most interesting people in this movie even though she says less than 5 lines during the whole movie. The looks she give whenever she does decide to take her eyes off of her cellphone, are priceless.       

Jon's nights are filled with hanging out with his friends (Rob Brown and Jeremy Luke) at clubs looking for 10s or extremely beautiful women. One night he meets Barbera (Scarlett Johansson) and even though he fails to score with her that night, he manages to track her down and starts to date her exclusively. She seems pretty wholesome, making Jon wait for sex until she feels they've known each other long enough. Oh, and they've hung out together with his and her friends. Oh yeah, and until she meets his family and vice versa. He doesn't want to wait but he does, partially because she has this particular talent that I don't want to even ruin for you. That said, she eventually becomes the object of his masturbation fantasies until they do finally hook up. Then, as you'd expect, he's right back to his porn. Barbera actually catches him looking at some porn one day, something she finds disgusting and he swears he doesn't need it. He swears it off but old habits are hard to break.   

Jon is at least attempting to get somewhere further in life than where he's at now. He takes night classes and it's at school that he meets Ester (Julianne Moore). She's...different, to say the least. And troubled, as she sometimes unexpectedly cries at random times. And very outspoken, even questioning Jon on his taste in porn when she catches him looking at some on his phone.

If you think you know where this movie is going, you probably do. I did. I also thoroughly enjoyed everything about it despite that fact. I found it interesting that there are no antagonist in this movie, per se. Or any over the top caricatures, which is what I expected. Gordon-Leavitt delivers us a movie that takes a closer look at a type of guido and shows that guidos are not as bad as people make them out to be. They've just been influenced by the wrong images, mentality. And if they meet the right person, even that can change.
Go see this movie, trust me.

A+   

Dueces, WORLD!

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2: Announcing The New Horror Kings. Who SAW ThisComing?

Hello, WORLD! Smokke here. Finally, I can say I've seen a spooky horror flick in 2013 and it was the last

movie I thought it would be. INSIDIOUS, Chapter 1 I suppose, was a decent horror film but way over rated to me. It had one truly terrifying moment. You know which scene I'm talking about. Tip toe thru the tulips... The ending works only because it didn't cheat to get to that last scene. It doesn't save the whole movie but its enough to make it a modern cult classic. I:C1 introduced the Lambert family: the father Josh (Patrick Wilson, a frequent actor used by director James Wan), mother Renee (Rose Byrne) and their sons Dalton (Ty Simpkins) and Foster (Andrew Astor). Josh and Dalton had a secret: they can travel into what is called 'The Further'. 'The Further' is later revealed as one realm for the dead. Dalton went to far into it and Josh had to go in to get him back. Dalton made it back OK. Josh...

If you haven't seen the first chapter, maybe you should see it before you see this one. The only reason I suggest this is so you can see for yourself how much Chapter 2 improves on the original. Chapter 2 picks up right where Chapter 1 ends after a flashback to young Josh's childhood during the time when it is first discovered that Josh can travel to 'The Further' and a psychic named Elise (Lin Shaye) hypnotizes young Josh to take way his ability to travel there (which she unlocks for the elder Josh in Chapter 1). We get a sense that there's something wrong with Josh early. WE (those of us who saw Chapter 1) know what's wrong but the family still needs to be convinced. It isn't until the Lamberts realize there ordeal isn't over quite yet that they start to get a better understanding of what's going on here.

The original demon is back and explained.

What else can I say besides I loved this movie! I loved the fact that Wan and cowriter Leigh Wannell (who also stars in this movie as part of a comic relief duo who worked for Elise) took time to explore the mythology they established in Chapter 1 and expand on it in detail here. I loved the fact that this horror movie got horrific and terrifying and stayed horrific and I'm more than thrilled that the backstory for the original's demon got explored and was just as terrifying as it should have been. Wan's other movie released this year, THE CONJURING, served as a good reminder why we should be paying attention to this guy's movies. I:C2 says that James Wan is the new king of horror and I doubt anybody takes this title from him anytime soon, something that the SAW series implied but could never fully back up. I'm ready for Chapter 3 of this series right now. Hell, I'm ready for the whole damn book!

A+     

Dueces WORLD!

AFTERNOON DELIGHT: A Different Section Of Revolutionary Road

Hello, WORLD! Smokke here with a confession: I love Kathryn Hahn! Every time I see her she's reinvented herself. From her turn as a brash car salesperson in the hilarious THE GOODS: LIVE HARD SELL HARD to her doting housewife that's been unattended to for too long in another comedy classic STEPBOTHERS, Hahn has shown she has an uncanny comedic ability, getting mileage from a look alone like the best comedians.

But it's her turn as the suburban wife of David Harbour's Shep Campbell in Sam Mendes' drama REVOLUTIONARY ROAD that's etched in my brain as the moment I knew I loved her.

 In that movie, Hahn and Harbour are next door neighbors to a couple of newlywed dreamers, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet). Although she was a supporting character in this movie, she still managed to shine here.That shine continues with her as the focal point in the very delightful, often funny, and sometimes deeply touching AFTERNOON DELIGHT.

AD opens with Hahn at an automatic carwash, with her alone inside the car bouncing from seat to seat, trying to decide if she wants to call her husband or not, just showcasing how indecisive she is in regards to some things. AD is a tale of a woman who knows what she supposed to do as a wife and mother but can't do, for reasons that are touched upon but not fully explained. That doesn't matter one bit. Hahn's Rachel is marriage Josh Radnor's Jeff isn't in trouble per se: it's just....not right. They sleep in the same bed but they haven't had sex in months. She sees a lesbian psychiatrist (Jane Lynch) who keeps bringing her own personal relationship anecdotes to the session. The thing that changes the schematics of this whole movie is when it is suggested that she goes to a strip club with her husband and while there, she gets a lapdance from McKenna (Juno Temple, just oozing sex appeal, confidence and OOOMPH) and that's where we finally see Rachel actually get actively decisive, even though she is doing something that even a blind person can see is a bad idea...

I could tell you more about the plot, these characters, the settings, etc. But why? You really wanna know if this movie is worth watching, right? I certainly feel it is. Director Jill Solloway takes a conventional story, throws in the unconventional element, and watches the story progress on it's own in a way that feels totally natural after the insane deed Rachel does. That deed is... nah. The suspense was killing me while watching this movie and I'm the type of person that likes to share my pains. If the release of the last scene is any indictation, Rachel will be the type of person who can share hers too.

Maybe.

A+

Dueces, WORLD.

The World's End: Death At Its Liveliest

Hello, WORLD!!! Smokkee here again. Just checked out the last part of the Cornetto Trilogy, a series of movies that were directed by Edgar Wright, cowritten by Wright and Simon Pegg, who also starred in each along with Nick Frost. The earlier two movies, the zombie movie Shaun Of The Dead and the buddy cop flick Hot Fuzz, both turned their respective genres on there heads. 

Wait...

Honestly, if you've seen those 2 movies, you know exactly what to expect here. This movie bends genres, merges a few actually. This movie is beyond funny; easily equaling and in many ways surpassing Seth Rogan's same-plot-device-but-means-etc film THIS IS THE END. (SN: I haven't seen that other 'The End' flick T'S A DISASTER yet but it's on my list of Netflix flix this weekend). I

seriously never knew Armmageddon could be so funny. This movie is definitely worth watching. Trust me. 

A

Deuces, WORLD.

You're Next: Another Genre Reborn! Cabin In The Woods Too

Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee, natch. While I still feel 2013 sucks movie-wise, there have been some bright spots. Guillermo Del Toro's MAMA comes to mind; many people feel like its the best horror movie of the year so far. I agree... but by default. Unless you're counting STOKER as horror (not to far from it) or you feel like THE CONJURING was better (another great argument), I'm hard pressed to name a better one. I can name a ton of dissappointments like DARK SKIES though, none more so than EVIL DEAD. E D wasn't bad but it coulda been so much more.

I blame my current disdain for current horror movies on 2012's love letter to horror flicks CABIN IN THE WOODS, the title itself a nod to one of the most overused conventions of horror. What CITW did wasn't game changing.  It was different, refreshing even, and the fact that it was done using one of horror's most overused plot settings is even more awe inspiring. If you haven't seen it.... you know what I'm about to say right?

Of course you do and THAT'S my point! Or rather the point of CITW and this new movie from Adam Wingard, YOU'RE NEXT.

A family in the woods is stalked by killers but there's a twist...

Lately Hollywood has felt it has got to go to extreme violence and gore to make a great horror movies. Most of the great horror movies of the past came from very few genres. Exorcisms, zombies, monster movies and slasher films are all what use to scare us. They still can when used right, said CITW and now YOU'RE NEXT.

Here's the premise and please stop me if you've heard this before: a family gathering at a cabin in the woods turns deadly when strangers decide to party crash it. You haven't heard of anything like this? Really? Sounds like you're in denial then. But what I didn't see coming here was how this movie decides to flip this genre to another level. I'm sure if you've read enough web updates you know might know what the twist is. I went in knowing the twist and it still managed to surprise me. Not scare me, though. I know I can still be spooked by horror movies, 2005's THE DESCENT proved that a few years back.  But I was more than just a lil entertained by this movie. I don't think I've laughed so hard at a movie all year and I wasn't the only one laughing either. In fact, most everybody in the theater was cracking up at the exact same stuff I was.

I know I haven't gone into any kind of details but this is one of those movies where the less you know, the better it will be for you. I can tell you that Wingard is getting to be one of those directors whose movies I look forward to seeing. He directed one of the best shorts in the horror anthology V/H/S and had one of the better shorts out of the 26 shorts in another horror anthology called The ABC's Of Death. although his short in V/H/S/2 was somewhat of a let down. Here he displays a great sense of comedic timing. What he doesn't do, even though he invokes the spirit of those 1970 horror classics like the original HALLOWEEN and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, is terrify you like the earlier movies did. I'm more than sure this is being marketed as a horror movie; marketing did not do it's homework. But I digress. I still feel like this is one of the Top Three horror movies of 2013...but by default; everything but MAMA, THE CONJURING, and THE EVIL DEAD sucked. And even EvilDead wasn't as good as it coulda been. C

Bottom Line,

See this movie if :
You want to feel that old school horror movie vibe. It's most certainly felt here. Oh, and you wanna laugh. Yes, there will be cackling.

Skip this movie if: You want to be spooked. You're gonna leave dissappointed.

The Conjuring: Everything A Horror Flick Should Be...Except Scary.

Hello, WORLD!!!

Yep, Smokkee again. In case you hadn't noticed, this blog was formerly known as Smokkee's WORLD Favorites but since most of my favorite's these days are movies, I figured the name should reflect that. MOST but not ALL, which is why I added the + sign. I'll still be reviewing apps, books, etc, whatever. But most reviews will be movies, no doubt about that. Lemme get cracking.

So far the horror movies of 2013 have been less than horrifying, MAMA being a lone exception but even that wasn't scary. It truly had the horror movie mood going for it though, something that can not be said for THE PURGE or the truly disappointing DARK SKIES. Even though I liked the remake of EVIL DEAD, that too was somewhat of a disappointment. The people behind the new E D most have thought 'instead of actually trying to scary our audience, let's try to gross them out instead.'

                                                                                                                         So now I'm beginning to think that Hollywood has forgotten how to make a scary movie. Director and writer James Wan
may be Hollywood's greatest horror champion at the moment but his latest outing, THE CONJURING isn't scary. It does manage to effectively bring the atmosphere of those classic horror movies of yesteryear. One of my Twitter followers Joe Cicero (@radiojoecicero) believes it has a lot to do with the fact that this movie takes place in the 1970s. I believe he has a point.

THE CONJURING starts with two girls telling paranormal activity experts Ed and Lorraine Warren the story of a menacing looking doll that is haunting them. Ed (Patrick Wilson, in his 2nd Wan film) informs the girls that this doll is possessed by a demon who really wants to possess them. We next see this doll in a room in the Warren's home that houses all kinds of supernatural knick-knacks from previous investigations. Ed tells his young daughter that she must never, ever play in this room because of... well, you know, the evil spirits and all.

Ed is the bookwise expert of the couple and his wife Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) is a clairvoyant. There's two things that I should tell you about this movie at this point. First of all, this movie is based on a true story. The Warrens were investigated a numerous amount of paranormal incidents back in the 70's, the most famous being what became known as the Amityville case. Yes, THAT Amityville. Second thing is Wan takes that at face value and plays it like that. This movie portrays the Warrens as legit; not once questioning whether or not they are fake as history has. A wise choice, albeit not an honest one. Most folks would have been having their doubts (especially people of my generation,  for sure).

After meeting the Warrens, we next meet the Perrons:

Carolyn (Lili Taylor) investigates a strange noise coming from the cellar.

Carolyn (Lili Taylor), Roger (Ron Livingston) and their 5 daughters. They have just moved into a new house where, after their kids crash into something playing a game called hide-and-clap, they discover a cellar has been sealed off for some reason. Of course they go exploring it and before you know it, they seek out the Warren's expertise because of the very strange occurrences that start happening right after that. After the Warrens agree that something strange indeed is going on, believing it's another demon after finding the reasons behind it all, they conclude an exorcism is in order and they try to enlist the services of the Catholic church, who must give their authorization before an exorcism can happen. All of that leads to a last act that falls back onto the exorcism. 

I have not done the plot justice. I loved this story and how it's told. Wan obviously knows horror, being one half of the duo behind the SAW series and DEAD SILENCE (one of the better horror movies of the last few years and yes, that movie does manage to spook you). I'm interested to see how his next movie INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 will fare. I wasn't that much of a fan of the first one but it did manage to give the classic ghost story a modern day update. CONJURING manages to do the same for exorcisms. Most exorcism movies don't work well this days because exorcisms have been overused lately, bordering on cliche even, but THE CONJURING manages to throw some much needed curveballs with theirs.

This movie will not bore you. The only bad news is this movie wont scare you either. It's full of BOO! moments though and if those scare you, you just might be scared by this movie after all. Me? I long for those horror movies that stay with you weeks after you've seen them. This manages to stay with you until you leave the theater. Maybe until you get in your car. Still, that's better than the majority of horror movies released so far this year. Wan is already working on part 2 to this movie.
           

NOW YOU SEE ME = Cinematic Magic?

Hello, WORLD!!! Smokkee here, continuing to play catch up on all of my movie reviews. If you know anything about me, you know I've been disappointed by most of the movies that have been released in 2013. There's only a handful that truly stand out with STOKER being my favorite 2013 movie up to this point. I can now add  NOW YOU SEE ME to this list too. I don't know what it is about magician movies but most are pretty good. THE ILLUSIONIST starring Edward Norton and THE PRESTIGE with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale were both great.

NYSM starts off by introducing us to four magicians: Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinley (Eisenberg's ZOMBIELAND co-star Woody Harrelson), Henly Reeves (Isla Fisher) & Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) showcasing their unique brands of illusion. Each receives a mysterious Tarot card that leads them to an apartment and allows them to meet each other, although there's some kind of past history between Daniel and Henly. After their initial meeting, the film fast forwards to one year later in Las Vegas where the 4 performers are headlining a show as the Four Horsemen, with their benefactor Arthur Tressler, the man who sponsors the quartet, watching from the audience. Tresslrr is played by Michael Caine, who's just as great as always here. And also in the audience is Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician who may hold the key to the grand finale of the Horseman's show. Bradley is played with a smarmy to a tee attitude by Morgan Freeman. The grand finale to end this show, which we find out is the first of three, is they rob a bank...in Paris! Interesting, right?

 Enter FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) who is teamed up with Interpol agent Alma Vargas to figure out how they do it and what could they possibly do for encores at their next two shows... 

I loved this movie until the end. I walked out the theater still liking this movie but not as much as I thought I would when it ended. Also, you never really get to know any of these characters nor do you care about them. For one brief second, this movie appeared to be heading to greatness but that too was an illusion. Not bad but coulda been way better. It's definitely worth viewing.

B-

Later, WORLD!

THE ICEMAN: He Comeths But He Looks Awfully Familiar

        Hello, WORLD!!! Smokkee here, talking about a film from a genre that I thought would never get old. That film is THE ICEMAN, the genre is gangster movies, and that assumption was dead wrong.

        Based on a true story, THE ICEMAN tells the tale of Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), who was just a porn distributor with a bad temper until he met a goodfella by the name of  Roy DeMeo (played here by the goodfella Ray Liotta) who comes to him to kill him for a bad video deal but instead notices that Kuklinski is a steely type of fellow. "He's as cold as ice." DeMeo observes at one point in the movie, made clear by the fact that DeMeo has a gun looking squarely in Kuklinski's face at the time.  Instead of killing him, DeMeo gives Rich a better money making opportunity as a hitman for DeMeo's mafia family.

        Speaking of family, Rich is totally devoted to his wife Deborah (Wynona Ryder, acting a bit rusty here) and later, their two daughters. He has hidden the fact that he's a hitman from her and their friends. Hell, he even hid the fact that he was a pornographer from her too. Soon separating the two Richs are as hard for Kuklinski to do as is socializing and everything comes crashing down. The only guy he really could talk to is another hitman who names himself after the icecream truck he works out of: Mr Softee (Chris Evans, one of the few acting bright spots in this movie).

         ICEMAN may have seemed like a good idea for movie. According to his Wikipedia page, Kuklinski is said to have killed anywhere from 100 to 250 people between 1948 and 1986. In most cases I'd say yes, make a movie about that guy. This movie isn't bad however, it's just a rehash of almost every gangster movie cliche you've ever seen, from THE GODFATHER to SCARFACE even to Ray Liotta's riveting turn in GOODFELLAS. The question is if you've never seen any of those movies would I recommend this movie to you. I don't think I could. Besides Liotta and Evans the rest of the cast doesn't do much to make this story compelling or to make their character stand out. Not totally surprising, though I did expect a better showing from Shannon but he didn't have much to do but glare most of the time. Now name me a gangster movie that didn't have a gangster doing that. Go ahead. I'll wait. D



  

THIS IS THE END - A Decent Way To Go

       Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee here, for now. With all the apocalyptic movies that have been coming out lately, it almost seems like the end is nigh. But who knows right? Actually, if MELANCHOLIA, SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, ZOMBIELAND, and WARM BODIES are any

indication, maybe it won't be so bad after all. I loved those movies & I'm half-halfheartedly adding THIS IS THE END to that group. It's not quite as good as the former movies but it still manages to entertain.

       THE END starts out with Seth Rogan meeting his friend Jay Baruchel at LAX. Seth is played by a Seth Rogan and every almost every other actor in this movie is playing a version of themselves as well. It's clear early on that there's gonna be tons of self depreciating humor in this movie when the in the opening scene alone Seth gets ridiculed for the GREEN HORNET, his laugh, and the fact that he plays the same character in every movie. Almost everybody has a little fun with themselves and there's tons of stars in this movie, from Rihanna to Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse. I won't reveal everbody though because part of the beauty of star cameos is finding out the that star was in the movie in the first place. One star's cameo towards the end of this movie in particular and the manner in which he appears is beyond insane. 

        Jay is out in LA for to visit but makes it clear from the onset that he hates LA and LA-ish people. He just wants to hang out with his buddy Seth. Seth has a better idea: he talks Jay into attending a party hosted

Michael Cera's cameo almost steals this whole movie.

by James Franco at his new house with people like Franco, Jonah Hill, & Michael Cera (who makes every scene he's in hysterical) in attendance. LA-ish people.

         Needing some air from all of the LA-ness, Jay heads for a convience store with Seth in tow and that's when all hell breaks loose. Literally? Maybe... Anyway, when all is said and done, only Seth, Jay, James, Jonah, and Craig Robinson are still alive at Franco's house. The spend time trying to make sense of it all in between making movies like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS 2 to entertain themselves.
        
         If you loved any of the earlier Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg movies, you'll love this one too I suppose. I liked this movie enough to recommend it but I did have some problems with it. First, at 106 minutes, this movie last entirely too long. It's premise starts to wear thin towards the middle. And it has a strong sexual innuendo that appears early in the movie and stays throughout the movie but doesn't quite provide the chuckles I imagine the writers thought it would. This movie isn't super bad but it isn't SUPERBAD either. Here's hoping Simon Pegg's similiar themed comedy AT WORLD'S END due out this August is as good or better than this.  C+  

DISCONNECT: Maybe One Of The Most Important Films You'll See This Year.

Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee Singleton here. Yep, It's been a long time. I got TONS of reviews for you but I'm trying to play catch up here so I'll try to stick to the movies that's out now and movies that you may have missed but I've been too busy on The Simpsons: Tapped Out (Yes, I've become addicted to that freaking game!) to write. I'm gonna kick my return to movie reviewing off with what I feel is one of the most important movies I've seen this year.


DISCONNECT stars ensemble cast in various stories about socializing in this age of technology we're in. One narrative features Jason Bateman acting as what is fast becoming his type of character as Rich, a family man that doesn't spend nearly as much time with his wife Lydia (Hope Davis) or their kids (Haley Ramm and Jonah Bobo) as he does on a computer until a tragedy hits. How this tragedy comes about also causes a crisis between a father and son (Frank Grillo and Colin Ford). In another story Andrea Risebough plays an up-and-coming TV reporter who happens visits a mail escort site and lands a story with one such escort under the condition that he remains anonymous, that leads to a bigger opportunity....if she'll reveal her source. Lastly, in what to me is the center piece of this movie, Alexander Skarsgard and Paula Patton play the Hulls, a married couple who become victims of identity theft due to one or maybe more of their online activities, including online gambling and chatroom conversations. Their relationship is strained by their actions and because of Facebook and Twitter, their story is probably the most accessible and the most relative to our society.

Alexander Skarsgard and Paula Patton as the Hulls in DISCONNECT

The first thing that strikes you about this movie is how much it will remind you of CRASH. To put it mildly, this feels like a continuation of the tone of that earlier Oscar winning movie, with the racial issues replaced with modern day socializing issues. That said, director Henry Alex Rubin does a great job showing the connected world as we know it as well as highlighting the dangers of it as well. My only complaint is that this movie gets wrapped up nice and neat with no issue truly resolved or ended on bad terms. We all know life usually doesn't work that way. How many truly happy endings have there been? Still, because of the issues this movie addresses, I feel that this is a must see for anybody that uses a smart phone or a computer. Log off and check this movie out. B-     

IRON MAN 3 Goes The Distance

Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee here. Just got a chance to watch the last part of the IRON MAN movie trilogy. It certainly ended like the last chapter but we all know after the inevitable AVENGERS 2 there may be another solo outing for Tony Stark yet.

This movie starts with that Stark at a New Year's Eve party in 1999, years before he became the hero we know him as today. Accompanying Tony at this gathering is his date Dr Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) and his loyal bodyguard Happy (the first two IRON MAN movie's director Jon Favreau). Sneaking aboard their already crowded elevator is the slightly unsightly Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce, unrecognizable at first). He wants to offer Tony a chance to be part of his new company AIM and Tony plays a mean prank on him as a way of saying 'beat it'.

(SN: Interestingly enough I remember meeting Aldrich, Maya and Maya's invention, Extremis, during a period of time when I still read comic books on a regular basis but not in the capacity of how this movie portrays them.) 

Flash foward to the Iron Man Stark. How is Tony (Robert Downey Jr) these days anyway after the events of last summer? He doesn't appear to be too scarred by them but it's revealed early that he isn't the same. Of course he just met a god, a monster, a living legend from decades ago, not to mention an entire alien army. So nobody can blame him if he's not quite the same fun loving billionaire after all that. That entire experience haunts him. He starts to have panic attacks anytime somebody brings up the New York incident. So what does he do? He does what he does best: he works. He's become another type of Iron Man, one who just keeps going and going. He reveals he has barely slept since the event, dragging himself out of bed to work on, what else, improving his Iron Man techonology. In earlier scenes it appears his robotic assistant Jarvis (voiced by Paul Bettany) has more personality than the former fun loving Stark.

The one thing that he has going for him is the love of his best friend Pepper Potts (the always lovely Gweneth Paltrow). She has a meeting with a now handsome Killian (Pearce, now looking like Pearce) and she too rebuffs his offer, albeit not as cruelly as Stark. Meanwhile, Stark's friend Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), still in possession of the War Machine outfit, now called Iron Patriot (Marvel Comics fans would remember that name too), is on the hunt per the POTUS for a terrorist called the Mandarian (Ben Kingsley, who should be arrested for stealing every scene he's in), the mastermind behind a series of bombings that is confusing the hell out of everybody because no bomb casings are recovered from the scenes of the crimes.  

This sets in motion a chain of events that will leave.... No since spoiling anything right?

You're just here to see if this movie works, right? It totally works! And the 3D for once doesn't take anything away from the great story telling. If I have any complaints, it's that IM# starts kinda slow but once it takes its foot off the brakes, you're in for one hell of a ride. Wanna talk about this movie with me? Find me on Twitter as @MrGBIZ or catch me on Bunch.com.





F  

Whodunnit? There's An App For That!

Hello, WORLD!! Smokkee Singleton here, back again after fighting a losing battle. As much as I love trying new apps, sometimes I have TOO much fun with them. One of my favorite genres of movies, books, and games is mysteries. I grew up reading Donald J Sobol's Encyclopedia Brown and Agatha Christie's Poirot and Miss Marples. I also maybe the only guy who thinks that Clue is better than Monopoly too.

I still love mysteries to this day. Some of the best mysteries these days can be found in video games. Square Inc even has a game coming out for the PC, the XBox 360 and the PS3 where you get to solve your own murder. Using that logic, I knew there had to be at least 1 good mystery smartphone app I could play but since I haven't found one in 5+ years I was starting to give up hope.

Til I found one. Then that one app opened a floodgate.

Turns out there's a slew of great apps for people like me. I've been totally distracted lately playing a few of them. The first mystery game that I played was Murder Room although the one I ran across first was Ellie.....Help Me Out Please, both created by ATEAM, Inc. I downloaded both at the same time.

That tablecloth will come in handy.

Murder Room (for Android & iOS) starts you off locked in a room with a another man who has a chainsaw wearing a pig's head and a little girl that, well, play the game and find out. The object is simply: try to escape the room and/or the chainsaw. The puzzles rang from simple to WTF but I got several bad endings before I got what is labeled a "True Ending" It kinda reminded me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books in that regard. Even more, after you get the "True Ending", you're then able to purchase "Another Room", it's the back story concerning the guy in the pig and the events that happen prior to the events in the first story (maybe). Both games are equally fun to play but the plot of both halves don't add up totally, a minor flaw.








Ellie (Android, iOS) has a different mystery to solve. You're watching a monitor of a room that has a the titular character locked inside. Your objective here is to help poor Ellie escape the room. I haven't finished playing this story yet, but I believe their is a 2nd mission here too. And it isn't as dark a story as Murder Room so the experience isn't quite as good to me as MR but it does have some tough puzzles to figure out nonetheless.

This dream sequence may hold the answer.

Now for my favorite mystery app so far, Who Is The Killer (Episode I) (Android, iOS)! In this game you're an unnamed detective that is the house guest of a lady named the Baroness. She's one of 7 other people who are there besides you. You're only here for 7 days but not without excitement. You see, every day you're there, somebody dies! Now, this game differs from the above two because THIS is my idea of a mystery. You have to obtain clues to figure out who the killer is and there's various ways to do this. One such way is to talk to the other guests. In this sense, it definitely reminds one of the board game Clue. There's several mini games, including dream sequences and anagram puzzles, that also help you solve the mystery. I think. I haven't solved it yet but wait til I get done with this review. Of course by this being Episode I it's safe to assume there's more chapters and so far I think it there is an Episode II and III already.

Like I said, I ran across TONS of these apps but a lot of them are those boring point n click games that make you sick after about 10 minutes of play. These games haven't made me nauseous yet though. Well, that's it for now WORLD.   Let me know if you found any of these games enjoyable.

As always, you can catch me on Twitter as @MrGBIZ.