Sic Transit Gloria - A few words about RUSHMORE

Rushmore is the story of Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a brilliant teenage underachiever who has coasted on the wave of privilege, perks, and patience that being labeled a gifted student at an early age has afforded him.

Chief among these benefits is his continued attendance at the prestigious Rushmore Academy, situated among the children of the wealthy elites despite being the son of a humble barber.

When Max and his new friend Herman (Bill Murray) become infatuated with the same pretty young first grade teacher (Olivia Williams), hijinks ensue.

THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION - A Few Words About BLACK ADAM

 

I went out to see BLACK ADAM on opening day.  Which was good, because people were already filling my timeline with magnanimous opinions about how good or bad DC's latest cinematic offering was before it had even come out. 

7 Things (Some Good, Some bad) About James Gunn's THE SUICIDE SQUAD

So I finally coaxed myself out of the house to see James Gunn's action-comedy sequel THE SUICIDE SQUAD.

I liked James Gunn's vision of Amanda Waller's super-villain-fueled Task Force X, but I definitely had some issues with it.

Here's 7 points that drive my opinion of the movie, SPOILERS AND ALL, after the jump.

LOKI is good, but let's talk about Hunter B-15 ♥

I think I'm in love with a T.V.A. Agent. . .

Since I haven't really spoken too much about it publicly, I should start out by saying that I'm really enjoying LOKI, the marvelous Marvel streaming show starring Tom Hiddleston as the eponymous Asgardian god of mischief.  

Marvel's Falcon + Winter Soldier Hits and Misses... But We'll Take It.

As of this writing*, we are three episodes into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which, from now on, I will refer to as Falcon and Bucky, because damn).  Now that any excitement or annoyance (and I have felt both) has had time to wear off, and we are half way into this 6 episode series, I feel safe saying that I can give this show a passing grade so far, but not high marks.

SNYDE or DIE!

 

 A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE LONG-AWAITED AND HIGHLY DIVISIVE DIRECTORS CUT OF ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE 

Unless you've been living under a rock since 2017, you probably know that Zack Snyder left filming of Justice League before it was finished due to the death of his daughter.  He was replaced by Avengers helmsman Joss Whedon, who was charged not only with finishing the movie, but changing the tone and story to meet Hollywood marketability concerns.

That is just about universally considered to have been a bad move. 

Veteran Actress Cloris Leachman Dies at 94

 

"I love everybody. That's what's killing me."

-Evelyn Wright (Cloris Leachman, Spanglish)

I just found out that Cloris Leachman died yesterday.

Movies That Should Be Comics #22- THEY LIVE

As a lifelong comic book fan, there are movies everyone always expects I have seen already.  One of them is the 1988 John Carpenter classic They Live, which stars pro wrestling star "Rowdy Roddy" Piper.  I never bothered to watch it. Didn't feel like I needed to, because people had told me so much about it.

I found out today that his sidekick Frank was played by a young, scrappy Keith David.  That was enough to push me over the edge to watch it.

A few words about "The Foreigner"

So I got around to watching the dead-serious Jackie Chan action revenge flick The Foreigner, the story of humble restaurant owner Quan Ngoc Minh's single-minded campaign to avenge the death of his daughter at the hands of Irish terrorist bombers.

Finding Dory delivers an entertaining story and a topical message.

I never got around to watching the Pixar fish story Finding Nemo, so I was not necessarily the ideal audience for the sequel Finding Dory.  At least I didn't think I was when my homegirl asked me to attend a press screening and review the movie for Jedi Goddess Presents.  Still, we all know I love me some Pixar, so I welcomed the chance to watch their latest joint.

Putting the MESS in Messianic: A few Words about BATMAN VS SUPERMAN

So I finally caught Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice last week. It follows lots of Hollywood trends that irk me, like overly-long names (as if Batman Vs. Superman doesn't cover it), bloated running times, and superhero costumes that are dark for no reason. But don't get me wrong! I really enjoyed most of the movie.
But I guess my expectations were not that high.

A few words about the late, great Roger Ebert...

My favorite "Teen Titans Go" episode

The 2 parter Homecoming is probably my favorite story from the dearly departed cartoon show Teen Titans Go. Launching the show's fifth and final season, Homecoming introduces Beast Boy's former team the Doom Patrol, and their evil archenemies the Brotherhood of Evil.

I finally saw Avengers...

"So, is Avengers the greatest superhero movie ever?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen it yet."

"...
You need to see it..."

MI4: Ghost Protocol is pretty sweet!

After watching Young Adult at the sneakeasy* last week, I couldn't resist the urge to sneak into Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol. Besides having a long name that is nevertheless fun to say, Ghost Protocol is directed by one of the best storytellers in animation: Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, Ratatouille), and it was just starting as I was leaving Young Adult. It's like they WANTED me to sneak in and see it!

Movies That Should Be Comics #21- Young Adult

A Beautiful Mess

After 3 straight days cooped up with me and my three year old , my wife snapped suggested I go (by myself) to the movies. For whatever reason, the movie I most wanted to see amid all the holiday blockbuster hooplah was Young Adult, the story of a ghost writer of a once-popular teen novel series. Besides the fact that it stars the lovely and talented Charlize Theron, Young Adult was written by Diablo Cody (Juno, United States of Tara) and directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking). Obviously disturbed by a recent divorce, Theron's character Mavis Gary randomly fixates on an old boyfriend, her highschool sweetheart Buddy (Nite-Owl from Watchmen), who just so happens to be married with a new baby. The combination of subject matter and creative team was too much for me to resist, so I decided to check it out!

5 reasons why I cuts for "Colombiana" even though you told me not to watch it...

When I announced my intention to go watch Colombiana, the new shoot-em-up popcorn flick starring rising star Zoe Saldana, I received many texts, tweets, and other assorted comments suggesting that my hard-earned money would be better spent elsewhere. They're welcome to their opinions, but I had several good reasons to put my chips on the deck to watch this one, whether I really expected it to blow my mind or not. I wasn't expecting an Oscar-worthy tour de force (and it wasn't one), but I was hoping for a good time, which it delivered. Here's five reasons I watched it, and you should too...

Movies That Should be Comics #19- Meet Dave

For reasons i'm still at a loss to explain, I watched the sci-fi comedy Meet Dave starring Eddie Murphy (48 Hours, Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming To America, Boomerang, Dreamgirls) on television the other day. I'm a big fan of Eddie's old movies and stand-up, and while I did enjoy the first Daddy Day Care (there was a kid who spent the ENTIRE FILM dressed as the Flash... I'm sorry, that's funny!), I am extremely perplexed by Eddie's family comedies. Eddie is still a phenomenal talent. He's funny, good looking, and has super star charm. he's just waiting to work with a great director, in a great film...

Rise of a Supervillain, or Clown Prince of Street Art Strikes Again?

So I finally got around to watching the heavily talked-about, Oscar-nominated street art doc Exit Through the Gift Shop this weekend. The film is directed by the anonymous street artist and culture critic Banksy, constructed primarily of footage shot by the film's presumably unwitting star, the would-be filmmaker-turned street art sensation Thierry Guetta (above), aka Mr. Brainwash.

I need to peep this anime...

This movie Summer Wars looks hard...