Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Weekly Review #8 Thanksgiving Themed

Review of the Week:

Road Trip Gold

Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone! While this review is past thanksgiving, it’s never too late to post it. For my first holiday review, I’ll be reviewing a comedy classic directed by the genius that is John Hughes: Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

            The film’s plot is nothing special, it’s your average road trip movie, something many people have seen before. But with someone like John Hughes as the director, it’s anything but average. Family man Neil Page (played by Steve Martin) is struggling to get back to his home in Chicago, along the way he meets an estranged fellow by the name of Del Griffith (played by the late John Candy). Through bad and worse, Neil and Del travel cross-country in order to get Neil home.

            This film’s greatest strength are the two leads, Steve Martin and John Candy have the most impeccable chemistry on screen. Most of their interactions are part of what make this a comedy classic, which is saying something considering this from the director of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. What sets this movie apart is the fact that the inner conflict between the two characters is resolved almost near the beginning of the film, this is something not many other movies like this do. With the inner conflict out of the way this makes for more interesting conversations, less time wasted and better comedic timing. The movie also hints at a revelation on one of the characters throughout. When the revelation is revealed along with the end scene, it makes for an emotionally satisfying conclusion.

So, when Thanksgiving comes around the corner, you should definitely pick this one up and watch it with the whole family, it makes for a greater experience.
      
                                                            Final Rating:

 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is available on Blu-Ray and DVD for a reasonable price, at your local video store and should not be very hard to find. As for alternate movie recommendations, I first point you towards Due Date, it’s a more current road-trip movie starring Robert Downey Jr., and Zack Galifianakis, it may not be as good as PTA, it’s still entertaining regardless, lastly, I recommend checking out Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it’s an iconic film, which makes it so memorable. That’s all for today feel free to check out the other reviews on this site and do let me know your thoughts on this film down below.

Until Next Time… Be Thankful for Others

Starship Troopers: Weekly Review #7 Veteran's Day Themed

Review of the Week:

Only Dead Bugs Are Good

 

In honor of those who serve in the military, I’d like to commemorate the brave men and women who do their part for the Federation. This is one of the most satirical movies I have ever seen in my life and that’s why I love it so much.

The movie wastes no time and brings you straight into the action. The military Federation is in the middle of a conflict that spans across our galaxy, the enemy: Bugs. Now these aren’t your average insects, not by a long shot. Some are the size of a dinner table, some of them are 8 feet tall and then are some bugs that are the size of four-story buildings! The film centers around a high school kid named Johnny Rico, who has just graduated and decides to join the military just as the dispute with the Bugs starts to intensify. As for the rest of the movie, you’ll have to find out for yourself.

Everyone in this movie is fantastic, hands down. Rico’s played by Casper Van Dien, who’s mostly known for b-movie roles including Python, meanwhile Dina Meyer, who plays Rico’s fellow cadet Dizzy, has made appearances on several famous TV shows like Monk, and Burn Notice, lastly I can’t help but laugh, the movie also stars Neil Patrick Harris as Johnny’s best friend Carl. I think it’s hysterical, the contrast between his performance in this movie and his role as Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother.

The society that the movie establishes may seem fascist, but the way it’s presented and how satirical it can be at times, lets it off the hook in my opinion. It mainly focuses on the pros of what this society brings and how it unifies people, which isn’t a bad thing because again the film plays it as satirical so it doesn’t take itself too seriously and so people don’t get upset over this movie (but I’m sure people will get upset anyway). Besides the fascism, the action in this film is what it has going for it. Seeing a bunch of soldiers in a massive shootout against decently animated CGI alien bugs is pretty sweet.

So, as long as you don’t have a light stomach and totally okay with a satirical fascist society, you should definitely check out Starship Troopers at your earliest convenience.

Final Rating:

Starship Troopers is available on Blu-Ray and DVD at your local video store and you can probably pick it up at good price these days (it honestly shouldn’t be hard to find). As for alternate film recommendations, I first point you towards RoboCop, an '80s film by the same director who did Starship Troopers and lastly I recommend checking out the sci-fi classic Aliens, though it’s a sequel I still say you should check it out because, it’s Aliens (anyone who has seen it, would probably tell you the same thing). That’s all for today, if you have any other thoughts about the film I just reviewed please sound off in the comments below, let me know if you agree or not.

Until Next Time, Hold Your Ground…

Dr. Strange: Weekly Review #6

Review of the Week:

A Journey into The Strange

 

Marvel once again shows off its superiority in bring comic book characters to life on the big screen with its FOURTEENTH installment in their ever-expanding cinematic universe. This film franchise has explored various heroes and villains, some more unique than next, for example, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Thor, Loki, Vision and many others. This time they tackle (HA, right) with the Sorcerer Supreme himself: Doctor Strange.

            Spoiler Alert! This is another origin story, but a visually satisfying origin story. The film centers around an esteemed neuro-surgeon by the name of Stephen Strange who one day loses his hands in a near-fatal car accident (not literally, but close). Now he no longer possesses the ability to firmly operate on his patients and slowly loses confidence in himself and seeks outside help. As his options start to run low, Strange decides to visit a secret temple in Nepal, where certain people might be able to help with his situation. Instead of finding a solution, Strange finds an alternative.

            This movie has THE most impressive cast list I’ve ever seen in a MARVEL film. Probably the greatest casting choice from MARVEL comes in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) as the title character. He embodies Doctor Strange without any effort whatsoever, basically he was born to play this character. Though I can say the same for everyone else in the movie and all the other MCU* films (*Marvel Cinematic Universe). Another memorable performance for me, was Madds Mikkelsen (Hannibal) as the villain. He just adds this charisma and swag that many of the bad guys in the MCU lacked and not to mention that him and Cumberbatch have some of my favorite interactions between a hero and villain. I will admit, to me, I thought of this film as more of a battle between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, to be honest (which is still pretty awesome).

            Visually… good lord! This IS the most visually stunning MARVEL film I have ever seen. Just from the opening scene alone, I could tell a lot of hard work was put into this. While some people have pointed that the visuals are very reminiscent of Inception, that’s not really a bad thing, in fact Doctor Strange takes the visuals from Inception and amplifies them times ten! Another thing the film has going for it is the magic as well. While the magic the character’s use, may seem limited by some fans of the original comic, it does help the film from straying too far from the story and keeps it on point (it still looks cool regardless).

FINAL RATING:

I had the opportunity to watch the film in IMAX 3-D and I can confirm it is worth every single penny. You can get the most out of this movie when it’s on a big screen especially an IMAX screen. I highly recommend watching Dr. Strange while it is still in theaters and available on IMAX, or else it will not be as memorable for you (who knows, maybe it still will be).

Until Next Time, Believe the Unbelievable...