Jay Reviews Films

IT (2017) Movie Review (Non Spoilers)

2017-10-03T16:14:00.000-04:00

We all float down here....

Every 27 years, the creature arouses from its deep sleep to feed. Much like myself with this movie review blog!

So what has kept me in the sewers all year and what has forced me to rise again? Why, only my favorite story of all time!

This review is intended for audiences who are not necessarily Stephen King fans or readers of the classic IT novel. If you are here to read a review based solely on the quality of the movie ITself (pun intended) and not for any fan service, then this is for you!

King fans, and those who are looking for spoilers, never fear! A lot of thought and research has been put into a separate review for you! I PROMISE you the review is on its way!

"You'll float too..."

Now, onto the movie!

IT is a film about a creature who takes on the form of its victim's fears in order to feed. The monster tends to stick with terrorizing children as they are more susceptible to fear and, therefore, make the best meals. In 1989, several children come together through friendship, similar circumstances and issues to form a group who call themselves The Losers. As they find they have common enemies, a fight for their lives (and the lives of everyone in their town of Derry) ensues.

As a fan of the source material, I had to constantly remind myself throughout the film that I should be watching with the eyes and mentality of someone who is just looking for a good horror film and not King fan service.

So what is "IT"? Well I can tell you what it's not: this was NOT a horror movie.

I don't say this with ill intent or malice. I actually enjoyed the movie very much for what it was, which is NOT HORROR.

I viewed a film back sometime in June or July this year called "Before I Wake," which I found to be grossly underrated and overlooked. It completely fell below the radar of films and was cast aside. It was billed as a "horror" but was not scary enough for audiences. However, when I saw it, I immediately had to watch it again because not only did I enjoy it, but I had been prepared for a horror movie, which this was not!

Definitely recommended

Much like "IT," this film was falsely labeled. "IT" is not a horror. I do not say this because I laughed throughout almost the whole movie (which I did), or because there were no scary parts (which there were); I say it is not a horror because it is actually a dark fantasy adventure.

Recently, I looked up "Before I Wake" online and found a pleasant surprise: they had changed the genre from "horror' to 'fantasy/drama' which is EXACTLY what it is!

"What's the difference?" you ask? A movie like 'The Conjuring" is horror. It breathes horror from the moment it begins to the payoff at the end. It is made to keep you on edge and gives you no hope of overcoming. The Conjuring consistently batters you through your eyes, ears and psyche, drumming dread and fear and hopelessness into your subconscious. It's claustrophobic and unyielding. Even old school movies like Halloween have this element. It's claustrophobic, it's unrelenting, you're hopeless and helpless because the killer kills EVERYONE.

Now THIS is horror

Think of "IT" in the vein of a Guillermo Del Toro film. Del Toro does not have a horror movie, he has a list of dark fantasy films with horror elements in them. The focus is not on the horror, but on the story. This is what "IT" is.

Pennwise, The Dancing Clown

The good thing about him is that he isn't overly done with CGI. In this day and age where bad CGI villains and/or monsters reign supreme, Pennywise was done right by making Bill Skarsgård up with red and white paint and letting him loose; and boy does he deliver! Yes, some aspects of him are computer generated and, aside from about three occasions that come to mind immediately, they were all wonderfully done but Skarsgård did his part in delivering the performance.

His creepy smile, sometimes calm and sometimes feral attitudes will keep you on your toes. Sometimes he can be a little silly while trying to be scary, but remember that we are seeing him through the eyes of children.

Speaking of the kids, I must admit that the child actors were fantastic! Every one of them played the characters to perfection and the movie did a wonderful job of giving them substance with their backgrounds and personal struggles and fears. It helped to bring them to an Avengers-esque point where they all realized they needed to come together to defeat Pennywise.

Bill Denbrough

Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) is the leader of the Loser's Club. He has a bad stutter and was the first of the Losers to be affected by the malignant entity by having his younger brother killed at the hands of it. His unrelenting search for answers about his brother, along with his sense of personal responsibility to seek some sort of justice, put him and the Club right in the crosshairs of Pennywise.

Richie Tozier

Richie (Finn Wolfhard) is Bill's loudmouth, wise cracking politically incorrect buddy who uses humor as a defense mechanism. Oddly, I can't remember an instance where he had an individual run in with the killer clown as his cohorts did. From the amazing Netflix show, "Stranger Things," this actor once again steals the spotlight with his believability and commitment to the role. He is, by far, the scene stealer of this misfit group.

Eddie Kaspbrak

Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) is a hypochondriac who has been nurtured to a fault by his single mother. Despite being the smallest of the group, he has a lot of heart and has the most to say about their situations and how everyone can contract diseases from them.

Ben Hascom

Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) is the lovable loser in the Losers club and maybe the most relatable these days. He's the new kid who gets picked on relentlessly by the bullies because he's overweight, smaller and very smart. Despite his role in the group, he happened to be my favorite of the bunch. In a group of self proclaimed underdogs, Ben seemed to be the real underdog of the pack.

Mike Hanlon

Mike (Chosen Jacobs) is a kid with a tough background. He's lost almost everything in life and had to grow up faster than all the other kids. Unfortunately, he was not featured as much as the others so he felt more like a third wheel in the group because of how late he joined.

Stanley Uris

Stan (Wyatt Oleff) struggles with his beliefs. His religious beliefs and his belief in the supernatural are both tested, and he seems to have difficulty grasping either one. I believe he’s much more complicated than he’s portrayed in the film and you can see it brimming just below the surface of him throughout the film.

Beverly Marsh

Beverly (Sophia Lillis) is the only girl of the bunch, and she may just have the greatest of issues compared to the rest of the Loser's Club. Dealing with abuse, bullying, growing into womanhood and having a less than stellar reputation in her entire town; there is a lot for her to fear and a lot for her to overcome.

Henry Bowers

Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) is a tortured boy who grew up in an abusive home, like Beverly, but chooses to project that abuse onto the weaker and smaller children by terrorizing them. Aside from Pennywise, Henry is the other driving force in uniting the Loser's Club as they all have a common enemy in him.

Overall thoughts:

As a film, “IT” delivers on almost every level. It gives you some scares; it gives you great chemistry between all the actors across the board; it gives you laughs where appropriate. As I mentioned before, however, the movie does fall victim to horror tropes such as: falling down when running away, jump scares (although there weren’t any false ones), people exploring scary places despite knowing something terribly wrong is happening, etc.…

But the negative aspects do not outweigh the positive, and I feel this movie will become a classic over time. I loved how the movie took place in the 80s yet the makers did not feel the need to overload it with an abundance of cheesy 80s references and callbacks. It felt organic.

The ending left it open for the anticipated sequel, but if the sequel is bad or scrapped for any reason, this film works wonderfully as a standalone.

Highly recommended!

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

SUICIDE SQUAD NON-SPOILER REVIEW

2016-08-05T20:31:00.001-04:00

Just shoot me.....

It feels so good to be so bad

SUICIDE SQUAD

Synopsis:

In the aftermath of all that happened in Batman v Superman, the US government realizes that not all men of steel who fall from space will fight for truth, justice and the American way. With contingencies for every foreseeable human circumstance, they decide it's time to come up with one on a superhuman scale. Should another Superman come to earth and decide to waltz in to the White House and take the president, the government now has a rag tag group of bad guys they can use to fight him off.

They're immediately put to the test when a supernatural threat calls for the special skills of the Suicide Squad to deal with it.

THE ROSTER:

Deadshot (Will Smith)

Essentially the best assassin in the world, Will Smith brings the sharpshooter to life and is as Will Smith about it as only Will Smith can be.

With his 11 year old daughter used as leverage, Deadshot will do all he can to see her again.

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie)

The queen to the Joker, played by Margot Robbie, puts on her crazy face armed with her Louisville slugger and is ready for action. The voices are strong in this one as she prances around dreaming of her puddin' coming to rescue her.

El Diablo (Jay Hernandez)

Involuntary arsonist and apparent former Latin King (look for the scene where he adorns a golden crown made of fire), Diablo is tormented by his power and the consequences of losing control of it.

Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje)

The reptilian monster with the insatiable appetite for raw flesh is needed for his muscle.

The Enchantress (Cara Delevingne)

Over 6000 years old, she has seen more than anyone in the group and holds secrets that they wish they'd never know.

Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney)

Jai Courtney delivers a surprisingly animated performance as a violent Australian bank robber who uses an obvious weapon for everything from killing people to scoping out an area.

Slipknot (Adam Beach)

Calm down metal heads, this is a lesser known villain whose "power" is climbing. He uses indestructible ropes to be able to get around not unlike Batman with his grappling hooks.

Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman)

The babysitter of the baddies, Flag keeps a tight leash on them with the threat of blowing their heads off via explosive chip implanted in their necks. He's Captain America without the superpowers.

Katana (Karen Fukuhara)

Another character named after their weapon of choice, this masked warrior wields a sword that traps in it the souls of those whose lives it takes. Katana is a friend of Flag and assists him in keeping the squad in check.

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis)

The brains behind the whole operation and the finger on the trigger of the implanted bombs, Waller proves over and over again that no matter how bad these villains are, she's always worse.

Joker (Jared Leto)

Not part of the squad himself, Joker does all he can to get his queen back by his side!

Batman (Ben Affleck)

Batffleck appears to continue kicking some butt after his awesome portrayal in Batman v Superman. Don't look for him to appear often, or even to do much, but at least we're left salivating over the prospects of who he'll face in his own movie other than the Joker.

THE VERDICT:

So I can't blame this on DC Comics because it isn't their fault...Warner Brothers has a problem: In trying to catch up with Marvel Studios, Warner Bros is trying to stuff a massive amount of story lines into DC Universe movie to get us through their phases 1 & 2 and have us at phase 3 when Marvel reaches theirs. The issue with this is that while Marvel has gone through a long process of making bad movies and bad movie mistakes, they have grown into what they are now. Warner Brothers is trying to bypass the mistakes by making extremely plot heavy and badly paced movies which are making them look worse.

Another problem seen in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and now Suicide Squad is the extremely heavy reliance on CGI. Unfortunately, the CGI quality Warner Brothers uses is not as good as Marvel and it's evident with their unnecessarily large open spaces in the middle of cities and extremely dark environments used to hide flaws.

"They'll never notice the painfully fake background lol"

This is what made me like the movie a lot less. Instead of putting the squad up against yet another generic villain with the generic plot of world domination, they should have started with a super villain who cannot be touched by military. Maybe instead of the villain used, the Joker could have been the one they tried to take out. It certainly would have made for a better story.

The squad themselves were pretty likeable and one of them pulls off quite an unexpected surprise in the climactic battle in the end.

Will Smith is my favorite actor, but I was expecting an edge out of him in this. He's supposed to be an assassin, a villain, and instead I just got Mike Lowery from the Bad Boys movies. I understand he loves his daughter, but even in Bad Boys 2 the villain loved his daughter yet he was a ruthless killer who did not joke around.

Hey! It's Deadshot!

Harley Quinn was not used nearly as much as you would think. Her action scenes were limited and did not show the athleticism and skill we know she's capable of. It felt as if Robbie was trying too hard to be Harley-esque with her little quips and jokes way too often.

Killer Croc, I felt, was the stereotypical black man from the ghetto. From the way he spoke to the way he dressed and even walked, I actually felt a little uncomfortable about him.

Jai Courtney is usually emotionless and bland, but he did a great job in this film as Boomerang. I'll let you be the judge of the role Slipknot had in the film (I also can't wait to hear the backlash from him punching a woman in the movie).

By far, the two most interesting characters were the Enchantress and El Diablo. While the Enchantress was dazzling and scary at the same time, Diablo was interesting as a man who saw his power as a curse after doing the wrong thing all his life.

Jared Leto gave a fair performance as the Joker. I tip my hat to him. Heath Ledger was better in my opinion, but he was also a different Joker. Leto's Joker was similar in some ways, more outlandish in some ways, more dangerous and less threatening in some ways. It will ultimately be a personal decision on your part as to who did better as the clown prince of crime. For this current DC Universe, Leto's Joker works well and I cannot wait to see him clash with Batman.

Which do you like better?

The standout in this movie, however, is Amanda Waller! I won't say much about her as I believe you should experience her for yourself, but Viola Davis did a REMARKABLE job! She was calm, collected, vicious, cold and calculating. I look forward to seeing her character in future movies.

One thing I must give this movie much credit for is the introduction and use of heavy "magic" and supernatural activity in a superhero world that is meant to be as close to reality as possible. It was a good move considering Marvel has Doctor Strange coming out soon.

Unfortunately, the positives did not outweigh the negatives for me in here.

MY RATING:

2.5 out of 5 stars

Keep your eyes open for a special cameo that has not been publicized. It was good enough to make me hope there was going to be more later on in the movie.

"We promise we're better on DVD"

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE REVIEW (NO SPOILERS)

2016-05-27T01:03:00.004-04:00

The end is nigh....

The X-Men face their biggest threat yet in their latest blockbuster, X-Men: Apocalypse!

I managed to watch the film on premier night and I can't wait to tell you what I think! Don't worry, it's spoiler free!

Synopsis:

Charles Xavier and his young group of mutants are in for the fight of their lives when an ancient mutant is awakened and begins a quest for world domination.

The Rundown:

Professor X (James McAvoy)

He's back in all his Professor X-ness. Reading minds and saving the world. No biggie. As always, he tries to convince his friend, Magneto, that humans and mutants can coexist if the effort is put in.

In all honesty, I'm not a fan of Professor X in any of the movies, so I may be a little biased in saying that he could have done better. His role just seemed redundant to me. It felt like I was watching "First Class" or "Future Past" again; and while I like those movies, I am growing tired of Xavier's whining.

Magneto (Michael Fassbender)

The prime example of a character who gets better with every showing. He just never gets enough screen time. We need a Magneto solo movie before Fassbender gets tired of playing him! There is so much time that passes in between his appearances in movies that we can get a nice movie out of one of his adventures while off the X-Men cameras. Please jump on this Hollywood! His star is shining bright and he won't want to play this role forever.

In this movie, Fassbender shines as usual and delivers a performance that makes you believe in his cause and also gives him legitimate credibility in his hatred for mankind. I actually cheered him on in this.

And I'll also say this: Magneto was already dangerous, but Magneto with his powers fully recognized is very scary.

Mystique/Raven (Jennifer Lawrence)

The not so blue Mystique is back with her complicated love/hate relationships with Xavier and Magneto.

Jennifer Lawrence walks around looking very Jennifer Lawrence-ish due to barely ever being blue despite her love for natural appearance. She tries to elevate her status by being very Katniss-like with her grand speeches and leadership into insane battles.

Unfortunately, it feels as if Lawrence is phoning her performance in. She appeared to be more Katniss than Raven.

Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac)

Let's make this very clear: Oscar Isaac is one of the top actors today. He is just so amazing and convincing in his roles.

That being said, I have a slightly complex opinion on the Apocalypse character. I really enjoyed the acting element that was put into the role, but his physical stature really bothered me. For my taste, he was too short and not physically imposing at all. Even when he grew to an enormous size, as seen in the trailer, it was still not intimidating.

He has immense power but, as with almost all overpowered villains, his plans for world domination were more complex than they needed to be.

Cyclops (Tye Sheridan)

Sheridan does a wonderful job embodying the young Cyclops who is afraid of his own power with trouble controlling it.

It is made clear from the first time we are introduced to Cyclops that he's got more than just Superman's heat vision. No, Summers' laser eye power is incredibly strong and not to be taken lightly. Not only is it strong, but it is a burden to him and he makes you feel the weight of it.

Jean Grey (Sophie Turner)

Speaking of burdened by powers, Grey is depicted as being tortured by hers. Not only does she feel the effects of having probably the greatest level of psychic powers in existence, but the other super powered mutants in Xavier's school make sure to steer clear of her because of it.

Sophie Turner really shines in portraying Grey. Her performance was excellent and the movie does a great job in revealing the limits of her power.

Beast (Nicholas Hoult)

Beast takes a page out of Mystique's book in choosing to stay away from the blue look....which is a little annoying. Yes he transforms (like a werewolf) when it's time for action, but I'd rather see the hairy smurf.

Beast's role was underwhelming. He was there but he really did not have to be. However, he remains one of my favorite X-Men characters in the movies (yes, even when his role was played by Kelsey Grammer in "Last Stand").

Quicksilver (Evan Peters)

When asked how he felt about the death of "that other" Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Peters stated that he was actually sad. He had hoped they could have a friendly competition in trying to top each other in every subsequent movie they portrayed the white haired speedster.

While I agree that this would have been great, I must admit that I loved Peters' portrayal much more even though his screen time was significantly less than that of his rival. In Apocalypse, he does not disappoint! I wondered if, and how, Quicksilver's role would be on par with his appearance in "Future Past".....turns out it was done even better!

Angel (Ben Hardy)

Not much to say here. The character is not used much and although he is considered to be 'special' by Apocalypse, his only asset is his power of flight and scratching things with the claw on his wings.

Storm (Alexandra Shipp)

While she gets some time on the screen, Storm's impact is not felt as greatly as the other mutants. Shipp is great as Storm and her portrayal definitely has me anticipating her being Storm in future movies. She's a worthy successor to Halle Berry and actually fits the role better.

Psylocke (Olivia Munn)

It seems that Magneto is the only one of Apocalypse's horsemen who really gets to shine. Even with Psylocke being a very big part of the X-Men universe, her role is very limited and unclear. Olivia Munn looks the part and she's great in the action sequences, but there isn't enough of her to truly judge. I hope this is just the beginning of us seeing her and Storm.

Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee)

Yes, yes, yes!! We have been waiting for Nightcrawler to return since seeing his greatness in "X-Men 2"! We were teased with Azazel in "First Class", but he did not have the personality and likability that Nightcrawler does.

McPhee does an impressive job of bringing a young Nightcrawler to life in a performance similar to that of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Captain America Civil War. He stole every scene he was in and brought life to the character. OG Nightcrawler Alan Cumming should be applauding Kodi after seeing this!

Havok (Lucas Till)

Till does a good job reprising his role and getting more face time to showcase his powers. Unfortunately, his brother Cyclops is there to steal the spotlight.

Honorable Mention:

Jubilee (Lana Condor)

The trailers go out of their way to show you that an Asian Jubilee will be in the movie. Well, this is not exactly a spoiler, but more a warning: she does nothing. I was disappointed that we got no light show from her at all. Hopefully we see her in action in the next installment.

The Verdict:

On a scale of Batman v Superman to Captain America: Civil War, with Batman v Superman being the worst and Civil War being the best, X-Men: Apocalypse falls dead center.

The movie has awkward pacing, rushed introductions and too much CGI destruction. Much in the vein of Batman v Superman. However, there are a bunch of mutants flying around the screen fighting, Magneto is awesome, Nightcrawler and Quicksilver are too epic to not watch and Oscar Isaac acting alongside Michael Fassbender is just amazing despite them only having a couple of scenes together.

The climactic fight scene did not impress me much because Civil War has spoiled me. It has set the bar insanely high for big superhero battles and the big battle in X-Men: Apocalypse did not meet that expectation.

It's a fun movie at times, other times I felt like I was watching the same old thing again. Seeing the same characters having the same conversations for the third time in a row just had me wishing Apocalypse would end everyone already.

All in all, I think it would be best to wait for it to be released to DVD before watching it.

My Rating:

2.8 out of 5 stars

I came to this movie with low expectations. Usually when I do that, I am pleasantly surprised. This time I was not. The movie was exactly what I expected it to be: the worst of the new X-Men movies, but still better than the older ones except X-Men 2.

Stick around after the credits for a neat little scene that corresponds to a cool scene in the movie.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR REVIEW

2016-05-07T19:34:00.004-04:00

The First Avenger declares Civil War!

Don't adjust your monitors (or mobile device screens) ladies and gents, your vision is just fine:

I'M BACK!

Let's dispense with the tears and fanfare my faithful peeps, let's just bask in the fact that I have returned.

"Why now," you ask?

Well, I've had the itch, and now I finally have the time to scratch! It's the right time and the right movie for a comeback.

So let's get to it:

Captain America: Civil War

I knew from the moment I sat down in my comfy reclining seat in the Hoboken Bow Tie Cinema that this would be my movie review comeback, and because of this, I took notes throughout the flick.

Please pardon the rudimentary style of this review as I'll just go through note by note and let you know what the deal is.

Synopsis:

Upon yet another Avengers mission ending with innocent people being killed, the government (well, more like the United Nations) demands that the superheroes register in order to be under legal scrutiny should they cost anymore innocent lives. Footage from the previous movies (like the first and second Avengers movies, Thor: Dark World and Iron Man) is shown from the perspective of the civilians, and it looks awesome! One scene showed footage taken from the street as the Hulk took his famous leap from one building to another in his first action sequence with the Avengers. It shows the debris of the buildings falling right onto the person filming as they looked up at the Hulk landing on the building, and now, all of a sudden, the reality of the effects of the Avengers battles really hit home. A good point is actually made during this meeting: the Avengers come in and kick butt, destroy a city, then go home. Yes, they saved lives, but they don't even help with the cleanup!

"Um...got a broom or something?"

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) embraces the decision to register because of his feelings of guilt in his part in causing much of the chaos. After all, he did create Ultron along with the technology of his suits which caused all kinds of damage.

Captain America (Chris Evans), on the other hand, understands the circumstances but feels that it'd be best to work without the possibility of having a Hydra-compromised government send them on missions that may incriminate them. He feels that they have a good grasp on who and where to fight, and while there are sometimes casualties, they save many more people than those that are lost.

While this argument plays out throughout the movie, there's a certain Winter Soldier who is on the run whilst being hunted by the US government and a vengeful panther prince who believes the assassin murdered his kingly father. Cap finally intercepts Bucky and tries to prove his old friend's innocence and save his life from the Black Panther who aims to kill the one armed man.

Despite what the trailers imply about the movie, this is NOT a continuation of the Avengers, but a continuation of Captain America: Winter Soldier, which happens to have the Avengers involved in it.

"Whose side are you on?" was the recurring theme from the moment this movie was announced, and I must say that walking into this I was on Captain America's side.

If you have feelings, you WILL flip flop between sides until the end of the movie. Just based on the trailers, I walked into the movie on Cap's side, but as the movie progressed, I switched back and forth until I settled on one final side at the end. This movie does an excellent job explaining the reasoning for both Cap and Iron Man's views which will really make it hard for you to stay firmly on one side.

The movie jumps right into the story. No extended credit scene and no long drawn out unnecessary sequence to get you involved (ahem, Avengers Age of Ultron.....).

PLAYER PROFILES:

Iron Man, Captain America & Black Widow aka the Usual Suspects.

These three have essentially become the Holy Trinity of the MCU much like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are that of DC. There isn't much to say about them that you don't already know from the plethora of movies that have them involved. Cap is in four movies before this (five if you count when Loki took his form for about 2 seconds in Thor's movie), Iron Man has three movies under his belt with two Avengers movies and a post credit scene in the Incredible Hulk movie, and Widow showed up in four movies herself including Iron Man 2, both Avengers movies and Winter Soldier. Although we've gotten all the backstory we can from Iron Man and Captain America, we still haven't gotten all the details of Widow's (Scarlett Johansson) past yet; BUT, her character has been explored more with each passing movie she's in and she has gotten more screen time with every flick.

War Machine (Don Cheadle) aka who cares?

Now don't get me wrong, I actually really like the War Machine character. He was one of my favorites from the comics and I was excited when I heard he was coming to the big screen in Iron Man, but I was a little disappointed when Terrence Howard was cast as Rhodes. When I learned Cheadle was brought in to replace Howard, I jumped for joy! Then the jumping turned to eye rolling and deep sighing when I saw how ridiculous they were making his character in the movies. Not only was he a second rate Iron Man, he was made into a joke and was not intimidating at all. From his horrible one liners to his ridiculous story telling in Age of Ultron, he's constantly played second fiddle to everyone else in the MCU.

The War Machine has appeared in four movies before Civil War....FOUR! That's as many as the power players (Cap, Tony and Widow)! Yet we know close to nothing about him other than he's Tony's good friend and he's military. We know nothing about the man himself or where he's from, but we know that Hawkeye has a family and a baby on the way when he's only been in two movies before Civil War with a 10 second cameo in Thor. Every time we see War Machine, he's failing at making jokes similar to Tony when in the suit.

The only time I feel he would have been validated in the MCU was in the first Avengers battle when they fought off the alien invasion in NYC. If he would have been there and been SERIOUS when fighting, I think we'd have all accepted him as an extended part of the team (like Hawkeye).

"Yea, where was he anyway?" you ask?

According to an Iron Man 3 prequel comic, Tony actually called him to help fight the alien army, but he couldn't be there because he was in China fighting another threat (possibly the Mandarin who was the baddie in Iron Man 3) and wouldn't make it to NYC in time. So we get to see him get slapped around in Iron Man 3, then he comes in Avengers: Age of Ultron to make corny jokes while chasing Ultron robots who are running away (not even trying to fight him).

All this leads to him being in Civil War and taking a nasty fall when hit in mid-flight. The trailer shows Tony kneeling next to a bloody nosed Rhodes (new nickname?) looking very upset and suggesting War Machine might be dead. You know what? I didn't care. I saw it as the weak one being weeded out.....and that's a sad thing considering I liked this dude before the movies came out.

"Dead or alive, nothing about this story will change sooo....."

Falcon (Anthony Mackie)

Mackie is so much better in this movie than in Winter Soldier and Ant Man. He's no longer a joke, but a viable threat and great addition to the team. His wings now do more than make him fly; we find that they can become a bulletproof shield for him and can shoot missiles. The first movie I ever saw Mackie in was 8 Mile where he played 'Papa Doc', and I haven't let go of him in that role until this specific movie. I know he's been in many roles since then, but they never felt as genuine to me as Papa Doc until right now. I think he finally found his stride and is comfortable putting himself into this role. It's also worth mentioning that Falcon finally gets his sidekick Redwing (in a roundabout sort of way) and it's actually pretty cool! In the comics, Sam Wilson is telepathically linked to an actual bird he calls Redwing whose eyes he can see through. In Civil War, we are given a technological incarnation of Redwing and because of Iron Man-like tech, Sam can see through its eyes like the comics. Very, very cool.

Wanda "Don't Call Me Scarlet Witch" Maximoff

The chemistry and teamwork between Wanda (Elizabeth "I still don't believe she's the Olsen Twins' sister" Olsen) and Captain America is great. They make quite the double team. She may be the least used hero in this movie, but they made the most of every second she was on screen. You really see her powers on display and realize how strong she can be.....and she still hasn't even used her powers to her full potential yet! Can't wait to see how she meshes with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)!

Side note: if you haven't seen the trailer for Dr. Strange, I don't know where you've been. Please watch it.

Bucky (Sebastian Stan)

I honestly don't know what to say about Bucky. I mean, I absolutely love the guy. He's, in my opinion, been the best comic to movie character in all comic movies! Stan can play both a villain and a hero convincingly, as seen in all three Cap movies. His fights are intense and he's truly convincing as a tortured soul trying to be free. You actually feel sorry for the guy while cheering him on to kick some serious butt!

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)

As usual, Boseman is just an amazing actor! He is so believable in every role he's played so far and gets me excited for the solo Panther movie. He's been James Brown and Jackie Robinson already, so what better way to test his acting range than to play a Nigerian Prince who isn't trying to get your money through an email scam?

Motivated by the murder of his father, Prince T'Challa is on a warpath that leads straight to the Winter Soldier's front door, and only killing Bucky will satisfy him.

Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)

Not much to report on the archer. He gets his usual shine as a marksman with trick arrows and he's still just as uninteresting outside of a fight.

The Vision (Paul Bettany)

I'm a huge fan of Bettany, so I was super excited to hear he was chosen to be The Vision. So far I feel he doesn't get enough screen time, but the time he gets is usually well spent. I like the dynamic between him and Wanda, it plays out really well on screen with him still learning how to be more "human".

SPIDER-MAN (Tom Holland)

He was amazing!

He was spectacular!

He was sensational!

I have a 'Superhero Syndrome' post for Spider-man coming very soon, but I'll tell you right now: this was the PERFECT Spider-man.

Tom Holland has been my favorite portrayal of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man in any movie BY FAR (and I'm a huge fan of those played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield)!

He's just a teenage boy who's had these wonderful powers for all of six months and wants to make the world a better place for the little guys who were like him before he became a hero. Him yelling "you have the right to remain silent!" at Falcon was just epic.

There has already been talk that he has no business being in the movie, which is essentially true, but he was still a very welcome addition to the cast and it helped in giving him a spotlight to show what we can expect in his upcoming movie

On a similar note, it was so refreshing having a young Aunt May. Marisa Tomei is just an extremely wise choice of an actress! This casting of Spider-Man and Aunt May just makes the prospect of the Spider-Man solo movie so much better!

Ant Man (Paul Rudd)

Rudd meshed amazingly well with everyone. The casting directors knew what they were doing when they picked these people. Not only do they all portray their characters well (except maybe Cheadle as War Machine), but they have such great chemistry together!

We get to see Ant Man grow to a giant (a power of his in the comics that we were all wondering if they would show in the movies), and it was not cheesy!! The only problem I have with it is that, for some unknown reason, he moves tremendously slow when big. I don't get why giants move so slow in movies. Regardless of that, he shows that he can hang with heroes and give it as much as they can dish it out.

Crossbones (Frank Grillo)

While not getting nearly enough screen time as he deserves, Crossbones makes an impact from the very beginning. I was hoping he'd have a bigger impact on Cap himself, but his role in the movie was still great and he more than served his purpose.

Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp)

Carter is given essentially the same amount of time as she was given in Winter Soldier. With no real backstory, she finally shares a kiss with Cap and is then gone, but even she gets a little hand to hand combat time.

Whose Side Am I On?

Like I said at the beginning of this post, Civil War will have you jumping from side to side between Cap and Iron Man. I changed sides about four times throughout the movie.....but, I now stand firmly on the side of:

CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!

The Bucky chase scene and ALL the fighting was absolutely EPIC. Everyone had a chance to shine. Plenty of intensity throughout the movie with just enough levity to keep it from being overly dark.

It's a highly enjoyable movie, though if you really want to understand what's going on, you'd have to watch the Captain America and Avengers movies. If you just want a fun and intense superhero movie to watch, you're safe with this one.

Highly recommended!

My Rating:

4.9883875 out of 5 stars

"Why not a perfect score?" you ask? While this is just a personal dislike, Vision looked ridiculous dressed in a sweater and khakis. It would've been better to keep him in his superhero garb the whole time, but you get past that silliness when he starts fighting!

.........really?

So there it is folks! It's been awhile, and I may be a bit rusty but you now officially have my comeback post!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go and watch Civil War again!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

"X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" REVIEW

2014-06-03T18:32:00.001-04:00

"Every hero, every power will unite."

Well, not EVERY hero....but still, there were a lot!

X-Men: Days of Future Past

The future is bleak (isn't that ALWAYS the case with time travel flicks?).

It's not looking good for mutants, or for the humans who try to protect the mutants. The scourge of mutant-kind are synthetic drones called Sentinels. These synthetic robotic mutant killers have torn up the planet in battling the super powered mutants.

With all mutants facing imprisonment or execution, our favorite group of non-humans are forced to either fight the losing battle or find a way to change the current events.

The only way to turn the tide in the future is to find the pivotal point in the past and change it. Only one member of the X-Men can physically handle the time travel, without a Delorean, and try to make the difference it will take to ensure a better tomorrow for the mutant species and the human race.

Other than dealing with the time travel itself, dealing with the extreme personalities of the younger Professor Xavier and Magneto will prove to be the greatest challenge.

Can young Erik and Xavier coexist after their last battle?

My Rating:

AWESTUPENDCREDIBLE!!
(Yes, I made my own word from a combination of other words to describe 5 star rated movies)

5 out of 5 stars

My Reaction:

WOW!!

Not only have I watched this movie three times in a row, but I'm still itching to watch it again! There have not been many movies that I have felt this way about, very few, in fact. Definitely one of my top 10 favorite all time movies (yes, that list is coming soon).

I don't want to make the classic film reviewer mistake and oversell a movie to the point where you, the reader, walks into a movie with too high expectations only to be let down horribly.

To date, I must say that this is the best superhero movie since The Avengers......and I'm still debating internally as to whether it is better or not.

Let's Talk X-Men:

What made this movie so good? Well, let's get this straight: this movie was only so good because it had 6 (yes SIX) predecessors connected to it that pretty much ruined the franchise, and Days of Future Past took 99% of the problems and solved them. After 14 years (the original X-Men movie was released in 2000), the franchise FINALLY got it right!

X-Men

X2: X-Men United

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men: First Class

The Wolverine

When you have very low expectations for a movie, even a mediocre showing will seem like an Oscar-worthy film....BUT, while my expectations WERE low, I was expecting a decent film seeing as this movie featured the all stars of the three original X-Men movies and those of First Class.

What we were given was not only a great superhero movie, but a tremendously acted and plot-rich epic! The actors were wonderful in their roles; the new members of the cast fit in perfectly, the older ones delivered as usual, the First Class actors brought great depth to the characters and meshed well with their counterparts.

The story was brilliantly played out (which is a GREAT feat for a movie translating a story from the comic pages to the big screen) and left me wanting to watch again and again.

**Now, of course, this is all a matter of my own opinion. I'm a huge sucker for well done time travel movies, espionage movies, and movies that feature technology ahead of its time period (imagine 21st century technology in the 60s and 70s that only the government had), this film had it all!**

And, of course, STAY AFTER THE CREDITS!

The Roster (SPOILER ALERT)

Old X-Men

The real interesting aspect of this movie when we first saw previews for it was that it would feature both crews, young and old. While not ALL the former X-Men returned (WE MISS YOU NIGHTCRAWLER!), we did get the all-stars!

"Miss me?"

Patrick Stewart, once again, plays his role perfectly as the wise and all knowing Professor X. He leads the remnant of the X-Men in the dystopian future, trying to save all mutants.

The artist still known as Gandalf, Ian McKellen, plays his role as he should: helping the X-Men he fought so hard against after realizing the futility of his cause. As always, Magneto has his highlights, even though his role is small.

Oh where, oh where has Halle Berry gone? Oh where, oh where could she be? Storm shows her face for a minute, makes a storm, and that is all. It seems Halle's roles in these movies just continues to shrink with each flick. As a matter of fact, she's reached the point of extinction already in the X-Verse. She won't be returning for the next (and last?) X-Men installment, X-Men: Apocalypse.

Man, that third X-Men movie really destroyed her career! It took her six years to make a Hollywood-worthy appearance in a movie again (Cloud Atlas), and it wasn't even well received!

Hugh Jackman is the obvious star of the entire series as Wolverine; even his 20 second scene in First Class was one of the top 3 best scenes in the whole movie! He literally stole the move, not just the scene, in those 20 seconds! Days of Future Past proves no different as he takes the helm of this flick and makes all his parts memorable, as he's done in all the other ones.

Like his appearances in the other movies, Shawn Ashmore's role as Iceman was small but relevant to the story. We get to see him in action a little more than we have in the past, and it works.

Poor Ellen Page. Yes, she's kind of a big name right now, especially since her big coming out announcement, and the fact that she's a terrific actress. However, this was apparently not enough to get her the lead role for this movie. You see, the comic book story which this movie is based on features Kitty Pryde as the main character as she is the one who actually travels back in time to save the future. But director Bryan Singer felt that Wolverine going into the past made more sense as he's a character who has a deep connection with the audience already (true). While Pryde's part is massively reduced, she's still the most important character as she's the one responsible for the time travel.

I wonder how many would be as surprised as I was to learn that Colossus was actually in all three X-Men movies? While he was just a background extra in the first, he was still in it, then his presence is obvious in the next two films. He sees more action in this film and leaves his mark as far as action is concerned.

I'm not sure as to why Kelsey Grammer accepted a flash-in-the-pan role here, but it just shows that Beast survives longer than before the whole time traveling fiasco. Don't look for any action out of his older self here, just a nice little cameo where he says 'goodbye' to the franchise.

Anna Paquin had an even smaller role than Grammer. At least Beast had a line, Rogue only waves from down the hall. When I first heard that Rogue was in this movie, I thought we'd see (at least in the future) a more powerful Rogue who's learned to harness and use all her powers......but no. Just a pointless cameo that seemed to be her waving goodbye to the franchise as she continues up the ladder of stardom which began with True Blood.

Young X-Men

The group from First Class returns to show the old school how to REALLY act out the roles of their characters!

James McAvoy does a great job taking the reins of Professor Charles Xavier and encompassing his struggle with his own powers, his feelings and his apparent responsibility of being a leader.

Arguably one of the best actors out there right now, Michael Fassbender, once again, plays young Magneto to perfection. He perfectly portrays all the ideals and inner struggles that make Magneto unique. You can see his struggle to maintain the only friend he's ever had while totally working against him because of his hatred for humanity. The guy knows how to use his powers to the maximum degree and the actor makes it look genuinely horrifying!

Jennifer Lawrence is a busy woman. Hollywood's "it" girl right now works "it" as the ever nude and ever shape shifting: Mystique. Lawrence, like Rebecca Romijn in the past, steals scenes while shape shifting and karate kicking.

Nicholas Hoult reprises his role as young Beast/Hank McCoy and performs about the exact same as he did in the first. The character is always around, but is mostly unimportant. I think the only kinda cool thing about the young Beast is that he, more or less, transforms between human and beast form like a big blue werewolf.....although I'm still not sure how cool I actually feel it is.

Why did Havok not get a larger role? Obviously, because he had no actual place in the story....but his power is awesome and he looked ready to do some damage. What a waste of awesomeness.

New Bloods

With every X-Men movie comes featured, and/or short glimpses of, mutants that are pretty well known in the X-Verse. In this film we get both featured mutants and glimpses of others we may be familiar with.

Booboo Stewart.....what a name. The super overrated and severely miscast actor who played a throwaway character in the Twilight series plays a throwaway character in this film, Warpath. The only true reason for his presence in this movie is the fact that part of his generic powers (flight, strength, stamina and speed) include "super senses" where he's able to detect danger from far away. A fully powered Rogue could have easily filled in this position and gotten more face time.

Sunspot is one of my favorite mutants, but they did not do him too much justice in this. I barely even noticed the actor who played Sunspot because most of the time he was in Human Torch mode. Small but important role (as is the case with all the future mutants).

Blink uses her powers VERY effectively; creating multiple portals to gain the upper hand against her opponents. While it's another short role, her powers really make her stand out.

Bishop, the mutant who brought time travel to the X-Verse, was largely unimpressive compared to his comic book counterpart, but was still pretty cool when using his power of absorbing energy and using it as ammo for his gun.

There was probably nothing better in this movie than Evan Peters' rendition of Quicksilver (although he was referred to as Peter Maximoff in the film). After seeing a rendition of him at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier, I was worried that the Days of Future Past version would be a huge disappointment. Boy, was I wrong. Yes, he was different (and younger) both in attitude and look, but it was such a good difference! Not only is his short role excellent, but it proves to be a little informational as he mentions that his mother once dated a man who could control metal. Can't wait to see him in the next X-Men movie!

In two blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments, we see a very very young Scarlett Witch. Keep an eye out for her as Magneto flies with a stadium, and then a little later when Peter is shown watching Magneto on television with Scarlett on his lap. No powers shown, but a cool character cameo. Maybe she'll have a little shine in the next movie as it's supposed to take place a little under 10 years later than the events of this film.

Extremely small cameo showing Ink using his powers (which are pretty awesome when you know them). He can project whatever tattoo he has on himself onto his victim of choice, like how he used his bio-hazard tattoo to make some people sick. Nice little show of his talent.

I've exhausted myself trying to find out what mutant is in the barracks with Ink and Havok. He looks like Spike, but Spike's power is actually to grow the spikes on his skin and shoot spikes out of his arms with deadly accuracy. However, this Spike-looking mutant seems to make people bleed from their eyes.

Don't Call Them a Comeback

Just when you thought they were gone, dead, or forgotten about, they show up again to remind you that they're still in the mix!

Although he appeared totally different in the first film (played by the super athletic and underrated Ray Park who played tiny roles like Darth Maul and Snake Eyes in the G.I. Joe movies ), we see Toad once again in the X-Verse.
Seeing as the young Toad interacts with Mystique, we may be seeing Magneto's old band getting back together (for the first time.....again).

New timeline, old faces! The extremely beautiful Famke Janssen returns as Jean Grey to say goodbye to the franchise that elevated her to super stardom.

Just when we thought we'd seen it all, James Marsden returns to reprise his role one final time as Cyclops. And in true Cyclops fashion, he's right there to stop Wolverine from stealing his girl. Nice send off for the veterans!

Every movie has its faults, and every franchise has its continuity problems.....and while this movie has its minor problems along with the problems the entire franchise has, Days of Future Past turned out to be an epic win and an epic movie!

"We win"

Stay tuned for a post on the entire X-Men movie franchise! Coming Soon!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 REVIEW (NO SPOILERS)

2014-04-29T23:25:00.000-04:00

Does whatever a spider can!

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is swinging back into theaters for another round of thrills and webs for The Amazing Spider-Man 2!

Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield) is living a hero's life. He's got his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), by his side, throwing bad guys around, and graduating high school. Life is good for Spidey.

But while the web-slinger is slinging webs, danger is lurking. Harry Osborn (played by the super talented Dane DeHaan) has returned to be with his father, Norman (portrayed by the underrated Chris Cooper), in his final moments. When Harry learns a dark secret about his family, he does everything he can to keep his life from falling apart using all the resources available to him in OsCorp, which was inherited from Norman.

Parker, in the meantime, begins to discover that having a relationship isn't easy when being a superhero.....especially when the relationship itself breaches a promise made to Stacy's fallen father (Denis Leary). As Peter deals with the guilt of breaking his promise, he begins to question what happened to his own parents and why they have not kept their parental promise of always being there for him. He digs into his parents' mysterious past and discovers that the Parkers have a few family secrets as well.

Peter soon finds that his decisions as both Spider-Man and Peter Parker affect everyone he comes into contact with, and he must deal with the consequences of his choices.

Friends and foes collide as everyone is looking for the answer to their collective question: "Why me?"

While this movie is much darker than the first (MUCH darker), don't look for it to be as serious as the likes of the Dark Knight trilogy or Man of Steel.....this is still a comic book movie made more in the line of comics than real life.

Humor, action, high flying and amazing 3D effects make this movie one you MUST see in theaters!

My Rating:

4.113538 out of 5 stars

I must apologize to all my friends and anyone who has read any posts I've written here or on my Facebook page regarding my disapproval for this movie before. I was wrong. There, I said it.

After the abysmal Spider-Man 3 starring Tobey Maguire, I was more than worried about how this film would turn out with yet another trio of super villains. Venom, Sandman and "New" Goblin, while on paper seemed to be an unbeatable force, were ridiculous alongside a dancing goth Peter Parker.

This movie brings back so many bad memories.

But this new trio of villains worked together flawlessly!

Firstly, the new Green Goblin looked great! He did not look, as my nephew so eloquently put it, like a Power Rangers villain like the first Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Secondly, Jamie Foxx, although a little over the top as a "normal" guy in the movie, was terrific as Electro! The special effects were great and he was ruthless. What really made me enjoy his character was the music that played whenever he was onscreen. Foxx was definitely a scene-stealer and definitely could have used more screen time, but I understand that the story was not about him so it's forgivable.

Glad Jamie didn't go with the green and yellow suit!

Now, let's talk about the rhinoceros in the room....Rhino. Many, including myself, were EXTREMELY skeptical of seeing this movie because we felt Rhino (played by Paul Giamatti) was simply thrown into the mix just for the sake of it. Well, maybe he was, but he was still a great addition! Let me put your minds at ease folks: Rhino's contribution to the movie was minimal but memorable, and, if anything, was just a setup for him to have a bigger role in the next Spidey movie. Also, his mechanized suit was so awesome, I'm glad they didn't use the leather suit I was used to seeing in the comics and cartoons.

Can't see Paul Giamatti like this....

.....but this looks good on him!

I won't divulge anymore info, but I'll just say that these villains were necessary to the movie and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg with them.

I did not like the first Amazing Spider-Man movie, but this one I will see more than once in theaters! If it's on IMAX, I HIGHLY recommend it! Just go see it!!!

**Warning and semi-spoiler**
There IS a scene after the credits! But don't get your hopes up like I did when I first saw it....the scene is just a promotion for the upcoming X-Men movie and NOT a crossover between Spider-Man and X-Men. This scene was a once shot deal between the studios the rights to each superhero franchise. You can read about that deal here.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER REVIEW

2014-04-28T06:32:00.000-04:00

In Heroes We Trust

The Cap is back kiddies! The First Avenger returns to avenge more stuff in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"!

Two years after the events in the Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, (played by Chris Evans) has been running missions for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D. He quickly finds that Fury is not through with his secretive ways while on a mission accompanied by Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

When Cap comes across a flash drive containing a deadly secret, enemy troops are mobilized to retrieve the data and kill anyone who gets in their way. Super assassin "Winter Soldier" is deployed and gives Cap a run for his money.

All the while, Rogers is still coping with having to live a life in a new world where all he loved has died.

My Rating:

4.628347 out of 5 stars

This Captain America solo installment was infinitely above and beyond the level of the first film. The action was bigger, the story was deeper and the roster was larger! Let's take a look at the heroes and villains Marvel brings in this time WARNING SPOILERS BELOW!!!:

Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie)

We are introduced to Captain America's sidekick immediately upon starting the movie and we get to hear a little about his background. While his power to communicate with birds seems to be non-existent, it's definitely forgivable! His flight suit is great and he does a good job in his limited screen time.

Brock Rumlow/Crossbones (Frank Grillo)

When Agent Rumlow was introduced, I was surprised he was being portrayed as one of the good guys because he happens to be a pretty significant villain in the Captain America comics. But all is made right as the movie goes on to reveal his true colors! .........portrays Crossbones wonderfully as he goes from regular soldier to (what appears to be) super soldier. I believe he was shone burnt but alive on purpose at the end; I believe the evil corporation HYDRA will make a super soldier out of him for the next Captain America movie.

Georges "The Leaper" Batroc (Georges St-Pierre)

This villainous mercenary, who is a master of kickboxing and the French martial art savate, was played perfectly by St-Pierre. He looked great and had a wonderful fight sequence with Captain America that made him stand out and be a memorable character even after the movie was over. I hope he makes another appearance in the next Cap movie.

The Winter Soldier/Bucky (Sebastian Stan)

I'm sorry, but if you didn't see this coming from a mile away, you've been out of touch with reality. The Winter Soldier is Cap's long lost BFF, Bucky, and he's THE MAN! The question is: where does Bucky stand after visiting the Smithsonian after the end credits and seeing the display about himself and his brotherhood with Rogers? If it's anything like the comics, Bucky will take up the mantle of Captain America when Cap dies/disappears.

Why would I say something like that?? Well, first, it happens in the comics, and second, Chris Evans has announced his impending hiatus from acting (so he can go into directing on a full time basis) after he's satisfied his multi-movie contract with Marvel. So someone will have to take up the mantle during the upcoming phases of the Marvel movie-verse in the absence of Captain America.

Agent 13/Sharon Carter (Emily Van Camp)

The girl next door with the girl next door looks is the girl next door to Captain America. When asked her name by Cap, she simply replies "Agent 13". For those who don't know her, she's essentially a less assassin-like version of Black Widow (did you catch her sharpshooter scene at the end?) who is also Captain America's on and off again girlfriend in the comics. While her name is not revealed in the movie, Sharon Carter's alias in the comics is Agent 13.

What makes her so special other than being Cap's love interest? Well, she also happens to bear the last name of her dear aunt....Peggy Carter! Yes, THE Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) who was Cap's former love interest decades ago and is now an old woman lying on her apparent death bed. If you have a good ear, you heard Sharon on the phone with her "auntie" when Cap is returning home, could she be talking to Peggy whom Cap just left from visiting? Hmm.....can't wait to see how this plays out in upcoming movies.

Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange

Wait what?? He was in the movie??

Okay, okay....no he wasn't.....in a sense. While he wasn't in the movie physically, he WAS name-dropped by Agent Sitwell (played by Maximiliano Hernandez who I found, upon a little research, also appeared in the Avengers and Thor) when being questioned by Cap, Widow and Falcon.

Why is this, in any way, important? The third phase of Marvel movies will include a solo film featuring the Sorcerer Supreme!

Now he may not have become the sorcerer yet at the time he was mentioned, but the fact that Sitwell called him out is HUGE! If you remember, the main issue Cap has is that HYDRA has discovered an algorithm that basically predicts the future of any individual. If Strange is not a sorcerer yet, he will be soon! And why is he a potential problem for HYDRA? Well, there's too much to explain there, but let's just say he plays a pivotal part in battling the ultimate enemy of the Avengers: Thanos! You can catch a glimpse of Thanos during the end credits of the first Avengers movie.....he's the scary dude that turns around and smiles at us like he's ready to bite our faces off and wash it down with a glass of Chianti.

"Your face looks tasty...."

This single name dropping scene all but solidifies the fact that we will see Doctor Strange VERY soon! I must say, of all the moments in this movie, hearing Strange's name was the one that had me smiling until well after the movie ended!

Dr. Arnim Zola (Toby Jones)

The creator of the dreaded algorithm returns after his disappearance in the First Avenger. In the comics, this mad scientists' consciousness is constantly transferred to more complex robotic bodies; in this film, it's transferred into a super computer and it's AWESOME!

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann)

Strucker is to HYDRA as Nick Fury is to S.H.I.E.L.D.

According to comic lore, Strucker was born sometime in the 19th century and is virtually immortal. He's got a pair of twins locked up in hopes of ridding the world of Cap and an infinity gem (in Loki's scepter) for the infinity gauntlet we will eventually see again (yes, AGAIN; the gauntlet makes a literal "blink and you'll miss it" moment in the original Thor movie) either in Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers part 3 (not Age of Ultron, but the next one).

I have a feeling we will see at least a cameo of Strucker in the next Avengers movie.

Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver & Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
(Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Elizabeth Olson)

In probably the most exciting scene of the movie, we get our first look at the twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch!

Don't get your hopes up like I did though kids.....yes, the twins are the children of the X-Men character, Magneto, but we won't be seeing an Avengers/X-Men crossover movie anytime soon. The next X-Men movie will feature the twins also, but they will be played by totally different actors in a totally different timeline. (Rats.)

Being that 20th Century Studios (who are pumping out X-Men movies almost annually) maintains all the rights to the Magneto character, so Marvel Studios cannot portray or even mention his name. However, there was a deal made between the studios in which they are both allowed to portray his children, so it will be interesting to see how the next Avengers movie explains their origins.

In the comics, the twins are introduced as villains (much like dear old dad), but eventually have a change of heart and join the heroes' team to take on a bigger villain (much like dear old dad).

Quicksilver is basically the Flash with more attitude. He may not be as fast as the Flash, but he's definitely a formidable opponent to anyone. His sister can manipulate probability and, at her most extreme height of power, can change reality!

Man oh man, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!

What do you think about the future of the cinematic Marvel Universe? Where do you see it going?

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

SUMMER MOVIE MADNESS!!!! part 1

2014-04-26T20:06:00.007-04:00

It's the summer of love man!

Big movies, epic sequels and awesome originals are headed our way this summer, are you ready?!

Let's take a look at some of the blockbusters (and sleepers) that will be hitting theaters throughout the summer:

"Chef" (May 9)

The cast of Iron Man 2 returns to support Jon Favreau who plays a high profile chef that leaves the restaurant he works in and opens his own food truck. Feeling under appreciated in his job and wanting more out of life, and culinary expertise, Favreau's Chef character looks to free himself by delivering an experience to enrich and nourish lives through his food.

I, working in the culinary field and having a passion for cooking Cuban food, find this to be a great story being that this chef specializes in CUBAN FOOD!!!! An extra bonus, as an avid movie watcher, is that about half the cast (Favreau, Robert Downy Jr. and Scarlett Johansson) has proven to have great chemistry in other movies already, add to that mix some great actors in Dustin Hoffman, Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo and we have a recipe for some fun! I've got my theater seat reserved!!

"Godzilla" (May 16)

Need I say more?

The king of the monsters is back and FINALLY appears to be in the shape he should be in (not looking like a Jurassic Park reject like the 1998 version starring Matthew Broderick). Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (star of Kick-Ass) give this movie instant street cred as the mighty fire breathing lizard destroys San Francisco, New York City and more!

IMAX will be the ONLY way to watch this!

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (May 23)

Our favorite mutants are in dire straits in the future and must contact their younger selves in the past to rectify the problems.

How could anyone NOT want to see this?? I've heard so many complaints about the X-Men movies, and how they "messed up" the characters and story lines somehow; but these are MOVIES folks, not the comics!

Either way, with the older cast returning (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman) to meet with the younger cast (James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender), this movie may just be all the epic we're looking for! Also starring the amazing Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Anna Paquin and Shawn Ashmore.

"Blended" (May 23)

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are single parents who are forced to share a suite in an African resort with their various children.

Adam Sandler sliding further and further down the rabbit hole here. I'll be skipping this.

"Maleficent" (May 30)

The absolutely beautiful Angelina Jolie stars as the titular witch from Sleeping Beauty who has gone down in history as one of the most evil characters of all time. We are introduced to the villainess and will be shown her origins and, hopefully, how she got the power to transform into a dragon.

I love the concept of a dark Disney movie with a villain as the "hero" of the film, and watching Jolie with the trademark black horns is surprisingly easy on the eyes. I have a seat with my name on it in theaters for this. Also starring Elle Fanning......by the way, what ever happened to big sis Dakota? It's like she vanished off the face of the earth!

"A Million Ways to Die in the West" (May 30)

For fans of the classic comedy movie "Blazing Saddles" by the legendary Mel Brooks, Seth McFarlane creates, and stars in, a quasi-remake of the Western. Starring Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson along with co-stars Sarah Silverman, the hilarious Neil Patrick Harris and Giovanni Ribisi!

I wonder if anyone punches a horse in the face in this?

"Edge of Tomorrow" (June 6)

Tom Cruise does his best Bill Murray in Groundhog Day impression as he relives the same day over and over again when stuck in a time loop. Only in here, he's destroying aliens alongside Emily Blunt.

While we all know Cruise tends to be kooky, he still brings the awesome in action movies. This will be a must see in theaters type of movie.

"Jimi: All is By My Side" (June 13)

Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 of OutKast) plays the uber-legendary Jimi Hendrix! I love music and Hendrix is one of my all time faves, but I'm a little nervous about this movie. The Hendrix family has complete control over the rights to all of Jimi's songs and they are, apparently, not going to allow this film to use his more popular hits. Because of that, this film will only portray his life before the height of his popularity.

Interesting, but not enough to warrant a trip to the theater.

"How to Train Your Dragon 2" (June 13)

Four years after the animated Viking epic dragon story soared into our lives, we finally get the sequel! Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) returns with his fire breathing buddy to prove his worth as a Viking.

I usually don't watch animated movies in the theaters, but I may make an exception for this movie being that I thoroughly enjoyed the first and felt it would have been better on the big screen rather than the TV where I saw it. This movie looks to be as large as the first and should probably be seen in the theaters.

"22 Jump Street" (June 13)

In the sequel to the hit comedy 21 Jump Street, based on the cult classic television show that brought Johnny Depp and Richard Greico to stardom (although only one of them stayed in the spotlight while the other plummeted into obscurity), Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill return as undercover cops to take on college!

I may not be seeing this in theaters, but I WILL see it! The first movie was hilarious, just not theater worthy, in my opinion. Part two looks to be as funny as the first.

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" (June 27)

A Transformers movie without Megan Fox? Sure, I can live with that. A Transformers movie without Shia Labouf?? I don't know how to feel about that one.

The falling star, famous for repeatedly saying "no", will not be making an appearance in the fourth installment of the robotic franchise, but Mark Wahlberg will be taking the helm. Michael Bay is going a little darker, a little more serious and more on the robot side with this movie, so it should feel much different than the others. Wahlberg is a great replacement to be the face of the franchise as he's more serious, mature and believable as an action hero.

Here's an equation for you mathematicians out there: vintage Michael Bay explosions plus lens flare plus giant robotic dinosaurs equals IMAX!

What are you looking forward to seeing? Anything I may have missed that you're excited about for the beginning of this summer?

Stay tuned for Summer Movie Madness part 2!!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

SUPERHERO SYNDROME: THE FLASH

2014-03-01T23:20:00.001-05:00

"My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive."
Let's face it, Marvel Comics have cornered the market on making great comic book movies, far surpassing main rival DC Comics. However, DC Comics has never quit and continues upping the ante in an attempt to make it's way to the top.

With the announcement of the Man of Steel sequel, Batman vs Superman, came the news that we would see some more superheroes to lead us into a future (but way too quick and forced) Justice League movie!

The news of seeing the likes of Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Flash (even though they may just be cameos), got my mind's gears moving and made me remember the numerous times the Flash has been on screen.

In 1979, DC Comics tried bringing a bunch of its heroes to life in the two hour variety show special: Legends of the Superheroes. Donning the red jumpsuit was Rod Haase who made history by being the first to portray the Flash live!

While the show itself may have been very cheesy and did not make any significant impact, it did manage to bring Adam West's Batman back along with a slew of DC Comics heroes not seen onscreen before and (possibly) will never be able to see onscreen again. It was, in fact, intended to be humorous. Characters featured on the show consisted of: the Flash, Batman, the Riddler, Captain Marvel, Solomon Grundy, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Huntress, the Atom, Black Canary and many more!

Eleven years after Legends of the Superheroes aired, television executives saw fit to bring the Crimson Comet back to the small screen with a short lived (but still memorable) television series starring John Wesley Shipp. To this day, many acknowledge Shipp as the best incarnation of the Flash seen live.

With the red jumpsuit now layered with pads to make the Flash look like a bodybuilder and decent special effects, this series not only showed what the Flash could do onscreen, but gave everyone a good look at what a cool superhero actually looks like!

Seven years after the Flash went off the air, CBS attempted to bring him and some buddies back with a Justice League of America show. The show never took off after the pilot failed miserably. Yes, when the Justice League movie happens, it will be the SECOND time bringing them too life!

Kenny Johnston starred as the Scarlet Speedster in this pilot which looked more like it was made 20 years earlier rather than seven years after the show with John Wesley Shipp!

In, arguably, one of DC Comic's best television series based on Superman and some of his buddies, Smallville gave us a glimpse at what many of our beloved superheroes would have looked or been like in their teens; before they became actual heroes. One such character was "Impulse", aka Bart Allen (played by Kyle Gallner) who was the Flash in his teen years in a group called "The Justice Society" along with Clark Kent and others.

In yet another DC Comics television series, Arrow, the Flash was brought back to the screen in the form of Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin of Glee). While I, personally, do not watch Arrow, I have heard good things about it and good things about Gustin's portrayal of Allen. Although he only portrays Barry Allen in Arrow, production is just about underway for his very own Arrow spin off set to air in 2016: The Flash!

Grant Gustin's first photo wearing the Flash suit!

Batman vs Superman looks to be DC's "do or die" attempt at catching up to Marvel in superhero littered mash up movies. Knowing they do not have the time to make five or six individual movies to build up to the inevitable crossover epic "Justice League of America", the big wigs have decided to toss a bunch of super friends into the Man of Steel sequel and hope to muster up enough of a story to bring the JLA together for the next movie. While we know Ben Affleck will be Batman (who DOESN'T know that by now?) and Gal Gadot will be Wonder Woman, there are still talks about who will portray the Crimson Comet.

It's safe to assume that, unless by some extreme situation, whomever assumes the role of the Flash in Batman vs Superman will also portray him in the 2017 Justice League movie. Some interesting names have been dropped to potentially fill out the red jumpsuit.....who do you think could keep up?

Bradley Cooper

From The A-Team to Limitless, Cooper has shown he can handle action. He has also shown some acting range in other movies like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. He may be able to pull this off, but I also feel he needs to brush up on his acting a little more to be truly convincing.

Charlie Hunnam

Who can deny the toughness Hunnam could bring to the Flash's character? I think he'd fit well as an action hero, as he did in Pacific Rim, but I haven't seen him show range past the 'tough guy' role. After seeing him in Green Street Hooligans and Sons of Anarchy, I feel he'll need at least a small comedic edge to him as the Flash is usually as much for fun as he is business.

Chris Pine

The Star Trek hero is a great candidate. He has everything it takes to bring out the best in the Scarlet Speedster. While he'd certainly make a fine Flash, I feel as though he's very one dimensional in the way he plays the action hero. His portrayal of Captain Kirk in Star Trek and the titular character of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit were both very similar in my eyes. But then I see him in a movie like Unstoppable, and I believe he can pull off the acting side needed to round out the role of the Flash.

Ryan Gosling

Gosling could be the perfect fit as the Flash. He's shown he could be a dark character in Drive as well as a comedic relief in Remember the Titans without being too cheesy. He's got the look, the jawline and the physicality to play a believable Flash. I'm rooting for Gossling!

Any thoughts on who may be a better fit? Let me know!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

"THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY" REVIEW

2014-02-17T15:26:00.004-05:00

"The man who has no imagination has no wings"

It's been a few weeks since I last posted here, working and trying to start a business is EXTREMELY time consuming! But in the interim, I've been able to watch some movies here and there, so I have a couple of reviews in mind.

Walter Mitty (played by Ben Stiller) is a negative assets manager at Life magazine who has quite the imagination. The quiet, laid back man constantly daydreams of doing things he would never be able to do in order to make his life more interesting. While the world moves around him, Walter is a slave to routine and a prisoner in his dark room where he processes pictures for the magazine. He wishes he could talk to the woman he works with (Kristen Wig), but can only do so when he's in one of his trances.

When the company is acquired and its employees face layoffs, Mitty is given the responsibility of processing the final cover of Life magazine which is a photo taken by an eccentric world renown photographer named Sean O'Connell (played by Sean Penn).

Walter Mitty discovers that in the set of negatives given to him by O'Connell, the one negative intended to be the cover of the magazine which he describes as the "quintessence of life" is missing! Now Walter faces a decision: either stay and deal with the consequences of losing the most important negative of his life, or go on a trip around the world following the famed photographer (who has no phone or permanent address) to find out what the ultimate photo is.

My Rating:

4.8723948734 out of 5 stars

This, in my opinion, is one of Ben Stiller's best movies in his career. Now I know it may not be saying much considering the fact that he's known more for slapstick comedy, and while this movie is comedy, it isn't as adolescent as his other projects.

Stiller does a wonderful job at playing the "little guy" who's constantly being looked down on and has no escape other than his own subconscious.

An honorable mention in this flick is fellow funnyman: Patton Oswalt. While his role is small, it's constant throughout the movie and always refreshing even though you only hear his voice.

Walter Mitty has more talents then he lets on and a bigger heart than anyone can see. This movie captures the importance of having a balance between imagination and reality, but never having too much of one or the other. It also shows us that the world can be more beautiful than we can imagine.

This flick was so good that it made me actually want to see the original 1947 movie, and also read the 1939 short story and 1942 book (which I have to thank my mother for revealing its existence to me. Apparently this book was mandatory reading when she was in grammar school.....this is what we should be reading today)!

I highly recommend this movie for families and individuals alike. Extremely beautiful and colorful cinematography along with lots of laughs. If you had a big imagination as a child, or as an adult, or just have this soul-sucking ambition to get out and explore the world, this movie is for you!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE? MOVIES TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2014 (First quarter of the year)

2014-01-24T22:54:00.002-05:00

I'm back children! After Christmas I took a break (mostly due to an insane work schedule) but 2014 is here and we've got some flicks to get ready for!

This year and next are going to be exciting for the movie world as we get epic conclusions to great series, continuations of budding series, and much more!

The choice we are left with now is whether to spend our hard earned money watching these movies in theaters, waiting for the DVD/on demand releases, wait to watch on public programming, or just not even waste time watching.

Now the following list is NOT of ALL the flicks coming out in the first three months of 2014, but it is comprised of either big and highly anticipated movies, or movies I personally have an interest in.

JANUARY

Ride Along

I like Kevin Hart and think he's hilarious. I like Ice Cube and think he's a better actor than given credit for. However, I can't seem to bring myself to a place where I'm eager to see this flick immediately.

The verdict: I'd say wait for the DVD/Netflix release.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Based on the wildly popular novel series by Tom Clancy, the Jack Ryan character has actually been on the big screen a whopping four times before this film! Alec Baldwin was the first to play Ryan in "The Hunt For Red October", followed by Harrison Ford in both "Clear and Present Danger" and "Patriot Games", and Ben Affleck played Jack Ryan in an attempted reboot of the character's movie franchise in "The Sum of All Fears".

Now Chris Pine (who is making waves after a great portrayal of Captain Kirk in the recent J.J. Abrams adaptation of "Star Trek") takes the reigns in this second attempted reboot of Jack Ryan.

I was never a huge fan of Ryan, mostly because I was very young when the first three movies came out, so I did not understand at the time who the character was. I also did not enjoy Affleck's run at the character.

The verdict: Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley aren't enough backup to cause me to want to watch this movie in the theater, I'm waiting for it to show up on Netflix.

I, Frankenstein

Fans of the transparent fantasy action movies (like "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" and "Van Helsing") will probably enjoy this film. A butt-kicking supernatural ninja-like Frankenstein (played by Aaron Eckhart) comes across the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde and other fantasy creatures in this high octane flick.

The verdict: Just like Van Helsing, Hansel and Gretel, and all the Underworld movies, I'll be waiting until it comes out on Netflix.

FEBRUARY

RoboCop

A generic remake of a classic 80's movie franchise that will probably not live up to its predecessor (much like every other remake of 80's movies). While Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson are a swell bunch of actors, they still don't peak my interest in seeing a "RoboCop" remake.

The verdict: I'm towing the line between waiting for the release and just not seeing it....but curiosity will get the better of me in the end and I'll watch it on Netflix Instant. I won't bother to have the DVD sent to me.

Cuban Fury

Nick Frost stars as a former dance prodigy who attempts a comeback to try and impress a woman.

I'm Cuban and I love Nick Frost. 'Nuff said.

The verdict: I would love to see this in theaters but I know myself too well to spend the money to do so. The movie has to be completely worth the trip, the ticket price, and the snack price.

I'll watch this on Netflix DVD.

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Comedic great Simon Pegg stars as a children's author turned true crime novelist develops an extreme phobia of death as he writes about serial killers and violent crimes. He is forced to confront his fears when a Hollywood executive approaches him with interest in his writing.

The verdict: I love Simon Pegg as much as I love Nick Frost....even more so. In my humble opinion, you cannot go wrong with any of his films ("Run, Fatboy, Run", "How To Lose Friends and Alienate People", "Hot Fuzz", "Shaun of the Dead" to name a few), but this one seems to be the first that might let me down. I'll be waiting for it on Netflix Instant.

The Monuments Men

A platoon in WWII is tasked with retrieving priceless artifacts before the Reich destroys them as Germany fell.

Simple enough plot (which is based on a true story) that seems very interesting.

The verdict: Clooney, Goodman, Damon and, my favorite, Bill Murray headline this WWII flick! This is theater material!

Non-Stop

On a long flight, an Air Marshall receives a threat saying one person will be killed every 20 minutes until a certain amount of money is transferred into an offshore account. He must race against time to find the culprit and protect the passengers!

The verdict: This is Liam Neeson kicking butt on an airplane. Since when is it not fun to watch Neeson kick butt on the big screen?? This will be a theater movie for me!

MARCH

300: Rise of an Empire

Themistocles is a Greek general who leads his armies against the invading Persians on the high seas as Xerxes presses on to finish what he began on Leonidas and his 300 Spartans.

The verdict: This movie will be an action magnet with big scenes and bloody sequences like the first film. The problem is that it is filled with B-List actors and no one to really lead the way. While it will not be held together by a prominent Hollywood actor, it still looks to be a large action film that should be seen on the big screen. I will take a risk and see this in theaters.

Special ID

A Chinese police officer and his team go undercover to stop a ruthless gang and its leader, but they begin to be exposed one at a time. Can the officer keep his whole team from meeting its end?

The verdict: What makes this different from any other undercover cop story? Well, Donnie Yen makes all the difference in the world! The man is a kung fu genius who is highly underrated and under used in Hollywood. You can see his awesomeness in his fight choreography in the epic movie "Blade II" (which also happened to be the best movie of the trilogy) and you can watch him kick some butt in there as well. Now while I really enjoy Yen, I usually watch his movies on Netflix.

Noah

Following the biblical story of the man who built an ark to save his family and every animal on earth from a massive flood that would wipe out all humanity; Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman and Anthony Hopkins lead the way in this supernatural action thriller.

The verdict: I am a sucker for Bible based movies made in Hollywood. It's hard being a Christian and only seeing low budget films made, so this is such a refreshing change of pace. While we've had "One Night With The King", "The Nativity Story" and "The Passion of the Christ", this movie will be the first (that I can remember) with an A-List cast and supernatural special effects since Charlton Heston's "The Ten Commandments"! I'm theater bound for this film!

The Raid: Berendal

Picking up only two hours after the first installment, this movie follows Rama who goes undercover to continue taking apart the syndicate his squad infiltrated earlier while uncovering the corruption revealed in the police force.

The verdict: While there isn't much known about this movie just yet, I know I will watch this in theaters! I made the mistake of passing on the first one in theaters and I regret it to this day. The Raid movies are all about the action and making it as big but realistic as possible. The martial artists are amazing and will make you believe you're watching real fights!

So what do you think? What will you be seeing in theaters or waiting to be released on DVD?

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 12: "THE SANTA CLAUSE"

2013-12-25T16:01:00.006-05:00

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.....

THE BEST SANTA CLAUSE EVER!!!

Here it is ladies and gents, the twelfth day of Christmas! On this day, I suggest watching one of the greatest Santas onscreen in history!

Scott Calvin (played by the SORELY underrated comic, Tim Allen) is a major player in his company who is caring for his young son Christmas Eve. Although Scott doesn't believe in Santa, he assures his son, Charlie, of his existence.

What occurs next is straightforward: Scott murders Santa Claus (which is sure to get him some coal in his stocking) and, as a result, has to assume the duty of Santa by becoming him. (Don't be fooled by the "murder" part....it's all PG).

In the process of becoming Santa, Scott gains major weight, grows long white hair immediately after shaving, and has an uncontrollable appetite for Christmas goodies like cookies and milk.

My Rating:

4.886946978 out of 5 Christmas Trees

"The Santa Clause" is an absolutely fantastic Christmas movie! Tim Allen is such a great actor and funny comedian, it's a crime he isn't in bigger movies with the top movie stars!

I highly recommend seeing this before Christmas is over!!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 11: "RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE"

2013-12-24T14:42:00.002-05:00

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Eleven elves a-swingin'

Everyone knows jolly old Saint Nick. Everyone knows Santa Claus. The classic claymation movie "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" even tells us his origins.....

But what if those stories of joy and good spirits weren't true? What if Santa's origins were actually dark and scary?

"Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale" explores the unknown origins of the immortal Claus.

Did you know Santa didn't reward good children, but punished the naughty children by tearing them apart?

"I've made a list, I've checked it twice. You've been naughty, Billy...."

What about the cute little elves? Did you know they were really pickax wielding mini Santas who protect the big daddy Santa with blinding speed and murderous intent?

Rare Exports is a refreshingly original take on Christmas and Santa Claus as it reveals the true sinister back story to a beloved children's icon!

When a group of reindeer herders find their source of income slaughtered, they believe the scientists near their facility are to blame. According to local info, the scientists are excavating an ancient grave, but find that its mythological occupant is still alive!

My Rating:

4.00000123478 out of 5 Christmas Trees

Like I said, this film is extremely original and it is also very well done. Almost all of the things that mean something to us at Christmas (Santa, the elves, his sack for gifts, his clothing, the reindeer) are explored and explained.

"These pickaxes? Uh yea....we need them to wrap gifts for kids....now let us in"

Now don't let this movie fool you when you start watching it. Yes, it's in Finnish and it's subtitled.....yes it may start off a little slow....but this is how most European movies are made. They set the story for you so that when the action starts, you're completely invested in it (much like the awesome movie "Trollhunter").

This movie is a true Christmas miracle! I must warn you: there is a short minute or two of nudity (the Santas are not tame in the beginning, but more wild man-creatures).

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 10: "THE REF"

2013-12-23T23:27:00.003-05:00

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Ten refs a-reffing!

While "The Ref" may not be a traditional Christmas movie, it definitely resonates real life issues that arise and seem to escalate during the holiday season.

A married couple (Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis) are having marital problems. They are constantly bickering, there is infidelity, their son is feeling the effects of their dysfunctional relationship and they are ready to divorce. Unfortunately, it's Christmas and they have their family coming over to enjoy the holiday.

What's more unfortunate for them is that they cross paths with a burglar (fast talking, hilarious Denis Leary) who takes them hostage while trying to figure out an escape from the town which is thick with police searching for him. In the meantime, the burglar is playing referee to the couple as they cannot seem to stop arguing about everything and anything.

Just when the burglar believes his patience cannot wear any thinner, the rest of the family show up and prove to be as dysfunctional as the couple!

Now posing as the couple's therapist, the burglar must try to survive the family while trying to find a way out of town before he's driven to insanity!

My Rating:

3.57298234 out of 5 Christmas Trees

The comedy of this flick is all in the dialogue. When you have two TREMENDOUS improv actors like Spacey and Leary, you let them do what they do best in order to make one fantastic moment after another: you let them talk.

Dennis Leary is great in this role and although this movie came out almost twenty years ago, his comedy is still relevant today! You take any movie where he's played even a minor role and you'll remember he was there simply because of the legendary stand up comedian's extensive vocabulary. He made an uninteresting character important in "Demolition Man", he made you believe he could be evil in "Judgement Night" and he made you feel for him in "The Amazing Spider-Man".

I definitely recommend "The Ref" to admirers of dialogue, comedy and Christmas!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 9: "ELF"

2013-12-22T19:39:00.001-05:00

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Nine elves a-helping!

This Christmas classic (yes, I'm saying it's a classic. I dare any of you to try and find someone who doesn't know about this holiday gold) is one of the funniest Christmas movies ever!

Will Ferrell stars as the childlike giant helper of Santa, Buddy Hobbs, in "Elf". On a routine Christmas night, Santa Claus is making his rounds in an orphanage when a baby unexpectedly crawls into his sack of gifts. When Santa reaches the North Pole, Papa Elf volunteers to raise the child as his own.

As the years go by, Christmas Spirit dwindles as more and more people stop believing in Santa. Unfortunately, Christmas Spirit is what powers his sleigh, so Papa Elf has to continuously upgrade the sleigh's engine to continue to have it run every year.

While doing the duties of an elf, Buddy finds that he isn't the "special" elf everyone tried telling him he was, but a human. After being given his true father's (James Caan) name and location, Buddy sets out to find him; but this will prove to be more difficult than he imagined.

My Rating:

4.734617823 out of 5 Christmas Trees

This movie basically has everything you need for a holiday flick: Christmas spirit, Christmas carols, comedy, action, Santa Claus, elves and miracles!

In my humble opinion, this movie has the perfect blend of holiday goodness to make this a Christmas story for the ages.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 8: "BAD SANTA"

2013-12-20T23:50:00.000-05:00

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Eight Santas drinking!

Wait....Santa's drinking??

Bad Santa features a drunk Billy Bob Thornton (surprise, surprise) and his partner who go around scamming stores by posing as the store Santa Claus and his little helper (played by the SUPER talented Tony Cox).

Little do they know their lives are going to take a turn when they meet a lonely child who truly believes in Santa Claus and a security expert (the late comedy legend Bernie Mac) working for the store owner (the late great John Ritter who's appearance in this film marks his final appearance in a movie before his untimely death) who is on to their scheme.

The bad Santa gets an opportunity to be good for once; will he take advantage of it?

My Rating:

3.7981938 out of 5 Christmas Trees

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies. It's a fantastic dark comedy that delivers heavy on the comedy thanks to all the hilarious actors. The child, Brett Kelly, is funny in his own way with his sad eyes and oblivious nature.

Some scenes may be too dark for children, but the adults will thoroughly enjoy this flick!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 7: "SCROOGED"

2013-12-19T23:48:00.001-05:00

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Seven Scrooges Scrooging!

Who doesn't know the timeless story about the rich Ebenezer Scrooge who found the true meaning of Christmas when he's visited by three spirits.

"Scrooged" takes the classic story and turns it on its head, in a GREAT way!

Frank Cross (played by comedy deity, Bill Murray) is a TV executive who plans on airing a live version of the classic Dicken's tale, A Christmas Carol. Because of a childhood of disappointment, Cross is not a fan of Christmas; and this disdain has cost him relationships in his life.

Now, this Christmas, Frank gets the opportunity to turn his life around when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future show him what life was, is, and would be without him.

Can Cross survive a night of insanity?!

My Rating:

4.1123487 out of 5 Christmas Trees

Okay, I just have two words: Bill Murray.

The guy is one of the funniest actors ever and he's the star of this movie. 'Nuff said.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 6: "DIE HARD"

2013-12-18T23:09:00.001-05:00

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Six bullets flying!

Before John McClane (played by the awesome Bruce Willis) was killing helicopters with motorcycles, jumping off buildings hand in hand with his son, and rescuing his daughter from psychotic computer hackers, he was just a regular cop in the NYPD.

Since "Die Hard" McClane has gained cult status and is one of the biggest action characters of all time.

This film starts off showing an Average Joe on an airplane trying to get to his wife's office party on Christmas Eve in her job's headquarters in Los Angeles to make things right between them.

Little does he know that his already bad luck will get worse as German terrorists, led by the evil Hans Gruber (played by the always great Alan Rickman), take over the nearly empty building to jack over $600. As the building is put on lockdown by the terrorists, McClane takes it upon himself to do his duty as a police officer and bring order to the chaos.

The terrorists are already a handful for old John, but having to dispatch them in bare feet proves to be almost too much for him to handle!

My Rating:

4.7283249 out of 5 Christmas Trees

All I can say about this movie is WOW! Not only is it an 80s treasure, but it's the cornerstone of one of the most recognized and timeless action series of all time. The McClane character has evolved with time, and even though the movies haven't gotten better, he has.

We don't watch his movies for the movies themselves, we watch them for the "yippee ki-yay!" or "come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..."

McClane's attitude is what makes the Die Hard movies special!

Willis can thank this film for boosting him up to action hero status as he was only known for his comedic chops before this movie. He was actually at the end of a very long line of actors who were presented with an opportunity to play McClane. It was pitched as a sequel to the 80's bloodbath "Commando" in which Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked to be the lead, but he turned it down (which we all realize was a VERY good thing!).

Hmm....nope. Still can't see it.

On a side note, it's fun to see McClane's children for a few minutes in this film as young kids before you see them in later movies shooting bad guys alongside daddy.

Writing this post now just makes me want to watch the movie again! I'm off to see some kick-butt Christmas action!!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 5: "THE POLAR EXPRESS"

2013-12-18T00:22:00.002-05:00

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Five giant trains!

The Polar Express is a Tom Hanks pet project in which he voices pretty much every character.....and pulls it off wonderfully!

A young boy is losing his hope in Santa Claus, and his spirit of Christmas, when a mythical transport vehicle pulls up to his home.

This train is headed to a place our young hero stopped believing in: The North Pole!

While the destination of the Polar Express is, in itself, an adventure, it's the journey there that makes the ride worth it.

My Rating:

4.72789234 out of 5 Christmas Trees

There's no need to go into detail about this movie, it's just spectacular. The imagery, the action, the comedy, the imagination....it's all there and it all works!

There are few movies that can get me into the spirit of the holidays, and this is one of them. I never get bored with this film as it does something that movies today just don't do anymore: it captured my imagination.
A must see Christmas movie! Who cares if Santa isn't real?! This season is about the power of belief in the impossible!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 4: "PRANCER"

2013-12-16T22:45:00.001-05:00

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

4 Prancers prancing!

Ya know, unless you've memorized the phrase uttered by Santa Claus as he gets ready to unleash the hounds of hell....or take off with his reindeer, you (like me) probably don't know the names of Santa's pets or even how many there are.

The one we do know about for sure is the black sheep, Rudolph. I mean, come on, the guy has his own song (which lists the reindeer in the beginning of some versions) and timeless Christmas claymation movie; and everyone knows, when you've reached claymation status, you've arrived to the show!

Well anyway, before Rudolph blazed onto the scene, there were eight reindeer who pulled Santa's sleigh: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen.

The movie Prancer focuses on one of the little known reindeer who fly one night every year. A young girl who lives in a town slowly losing its Christmas spirit notices that the third reindeer in Santa's lineup has fallen from a display above the main street.

Mysteriously, a live reindeer appears in town and is injured when mistaken for wild game. The girl is immediately taken to the animal and is convinced it is one of Santa's pets.

My Rating:

3.561867 out of 5 Christmas Trees

A refreshingly original Christmas movie centered around a character that we never think about. This movie really does embody the spirit of Christmas.

Sam Elliot does a really great job in this film (as always). This is a great family movie and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

If you'd like to watch it online, click here to see the full movie on YouTube.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 3: "GREMLINS"

2013-12-15T23:03:00.001-05:00

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

Three gremlins eating!

Yes, yes, yes....if you want a good movie full of Christmas spirit, don't look to much further than Gremlins! Just remember that while you're waiting for Santa to deliver your gifts, you shouldn't feed the Mogwai.

While a father searches Chinatown for the perfect Christmas gift for his son, he comes across a mysterious little creature, called a Mogwai, in an antique shop. While the owner doesn't believe the man can handle the responsibility of having this pet, the owner's son sells it anyway because the store needs the income.

The man is given three simple rules in keeping the pet:

1. Never expose it to bright light (especially sunlight, which will kill it).
2. Never get it wet.
3. Most importantly: never, EVER, feed it after midnight.

The father, being an inventor, names the Mogwai Gizmo and presents it to his son along with the three rules.

When one of the rules is broken, craziness ensues as things spiral out of control in the household and the town.

My Rating:

3.38378 out of 5 Christmas Trees

This 80's cult classic is legendary, and it spawned (no pun intended) one of the hottest pop culture icons: Gizmo!

Who can forget that cute little furry koala bear/squirrel hybrid with his cute little voice that yelled "bright light!" whenever a light was shone on him?

The moment that will live with me for eternity is where the mother is walking through the house trying to find out what is scurrying about, and out of nowhere, the song "Do You Hear What I Hear" starts blaring! This would be the first time I ever heard the song, and to this day it still frightens me when I hear it.

The cast was pretty good, but when we talk about 80's movies, all you need are actors who are willing to go a little nuts. Corey Feldman, Zach Galligan and the beautiful Phoebe Cates give us just the right amount of comedy and horror to make this a movie to remember!

For a Christmas movie to make you afraid of a Christmas carol, you KNOW it's a movie to remember on the holidays!!

Give it a gander, I think you'll like it!

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Hope to see you soon!

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 2: "ROCKY IV"

2013-12-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Two boxers boxing!

Whoa! Wait! What?! Rocky? Christmas? How??

I know, I know, you've got questions about this....but let's lay it all out: It's Saturday. The weather conditions aren't great outside and you need a pick-me-up.

Rocky IV is your cure!

It may not be the best installment of the series, but who can forget the classic David & Goliath between Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren)?

This film contains yet another awesome Rocky soundtrack that makes us want to run outside and punch the Grinch in the face.

After the death of his best friend, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), in the ring to the hands of Drago, Rocky seeks revenge on the comrade in a match. In order to get the fight, Rocky must agree on two conditions: the first being that the fight will be in Russia, and the second is that the fight will take place on....(pause for dramatic effect).....CHRISTMAS DAY!!

Oh those dirty scoundrels!

"Merry Christmas, you filthy animal!"

Rocky has to not only overcome the physical odds of taking on a man twice his size and on steroids, but overcome the mental anguish of having his own wife tell him he can't win.

My Rating:

4.272348 out of 5 Christmas Trees

What says "Christmas" more than an Italian American boxer flying over to Russia to fight the man who killed his best friend AND unite two countries at odds on Christmas day?!

"Come on, Rock! Santa ain't gonna pull his own sleigh and Rudolph got the night off!"

If you've been living somewhere in Tibet in a monastery where there has not been any television or entertainment, then I can understand why you never saw this movie....if not, I just don't want to talk to you anymore.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is! If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.

Hope to see you soon!

Jay

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, DAY 1: "THE KID WHO LOVED CHRISTMAS"

2013-12-13T22:32:00.006-05:00

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.....

A heart warming movie to see!

Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas! Traditionally, the 12 days begins on Christmas day and ends January 5th (the night before the 3 King's Day), but, let's be honest, we don't watch holiday movies AFTER Christmas; we watch them throughout December BEFORE Christmas day!

So I'm bringing the Jay Reviews version of the 12 Days by recommending twelve movies every night leading up to Christmas day!

Let's start with probably one of the best unknown holiday movies I have seen:

The Kid Who Loved Christmas is a 1990 made for TV movie with an all star cast (at the time) who deliver an amazing performance that will bring warmth to your hearts and tears to your eyes.

Young Reggie is an adopted boy who has encountered a major tragedy in his life. His world is torn apart when he is forced to separate from the family he has come to love and looks to take things into his own hands and get his family back. Along the way he meets adversity from other foster children to a case worker who believes his best interest is to be with a new family.

Reggie has one thing that no one counted on to help him on his journey: belief in miracles during the holidays.
My Rating:

4.00001378 out of 5 Christmas Trees

Now I haven't seen this movie since 1990 when it aired, but to remember it over 20 years later with delight should be a testament to how good it is!

Until recently, I did not know that Eddie Murphy was the executive producer of this film! His hilarious brother, Charlie Murphy, appears in the movie (although not for laughs).

The star of the film, Trent Cameron, may not be a household name but he did very well in this movie. He really delivered the emotion and his belief in miracles was infectious.

If you're a fan of old school Aftican American movies and actors, you are going to LOVE this cast! We've got a cameo by the beautiful Vanessa Williams and the super entertaining Ben Vereen; then there is the LEGENDARY cast consisting of:

Esther Rolle (who played the mom on the classic TV show "Good Times")

Della Reese (who was in too many movies and shows for you NOT to recognize her)

Ken Page (if you don't recognize him, you've heard his voice as Oogie Boogie in "The Nightmare Before Christmas")

Michael Warren (he's been in countless television shows)

Cicely Tyson (you can catch her in pretty much any Tyler Perry film these days, but she has been in PLENTY of movies. "Hoodlum" is one in which a few of her "Kid Who Loved Christmas" co-stars are in with her.)

And, in his final film before his passing, the man known as the "greatest living entertainer in the world", the great actor, singer, musician, dancer and stand-up comedian: Sammy Davis Jr.!! Watch him in the original "Ocean's 11" with the rest of the famous group of actors known as The Rat Pack!

I remember this movie bringing tears to my eyes and they still well up when thinking about some of the moments in it....especially the ending.

I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to truly experience the meaning of the Christmas we have embraced since we were children!

Jay

THANKSGIVING SPECIAL: "KILLING SEASON"

2013-11-28T18:46:00.005-05:00

"The purest form of war is one on one"

First off, let me wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I apologize for not posting in almost a month, my job is INSANE during November and December!

I figured the perfect film to review today would be an independent film that came out this year, and although it has two major actors, it is a very little known movie.

Seeing as I'm returning on the day where a bird that's been hunted his eaten, I thought Killing Season was fitting seeing as it's about two types of hunters played by two returning actors. (I know, it's a bit of a stretch....but bare with me, I haven't done this in a while!)

During the Bosnian war, a squad of American soldiers execute a squad of Serbian mercenaries. Among the mercenaries is a survivor (John Travolta) who has sworn to hunt down the man who pulled the trigger on him (Robert De Niro).

As time goes by, the American soldier retires in solitude to cope with the things he's had to do in his life. Estranged from his family and physically broken down, he just wants peace.

Meanwhile, the Serbian has discovered who the American is and where he lives; it's now time to seek revenge.

The two warriors meet, and the action begins!

My Rating:

3.88572381 out of 5 Turkeys

After a couple of years of being very quiet in the film industry (other than Travolta's legal issues), these two great actors finally bring us a solid action flick together. I can't recall if they have been in a movie together, but I don't think they have been. I must admit, they work extremely well together. The chemistry is there and the story is decent, but the action is so much better than I expected. It doesn't try to be over the top and keeps pace throughout the movie. The action reminded me of the movie The Hunted (which I love).

On top of all that, Travolta with a Serbian accent is just plain awesome!

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Jay

SHOCKTOBER END OF THE MONTH FINALE: TRICK 'R TREAT

2013-10-31T22:41:00.001-04:00

Always check your candy....

Let me start by apologizing for not posting last night (Day 30). I was so exhausted and had such a severe migraine that I went straight to bed when I got home from work.

I would've recommended the 1988 cult classic: Night of the Demons. Great old school scare fest!

But tonight children, it is All Hallows Eve, and I will bring you the film that I believe deserves top spot on this frightful night!

Trick 'R Treat is an anthology of horror and surprises!

This anthology is played out perfectly and is greatly varied. In this movie you will find werewolves, vampires, serial killers, vengeful ghosts and a thing called "Sam" stalks and kills people who do not honor the traditions of Halloween.

Everyone meet Sam. Do not call him Sam I Am, he does not eat green eggs and ham.

There isn't much I can say without giving the plot for this movie away. Let's just say Halloween turns out to be one bloody and crazy night for a bunch of people!

Five stories intertwine in this Halloween epic.

Creepy Factor:

4.932723548 out of 5 pumpkins

Trick 'R Treat has a great cast including:

Anna Paquin (star of the hit show True Blood)

Dylan Baker (who has appeared in numerous television shows and movies like Spider-Man 2 as Dr. Connors)

Brett Kelly (hilarious actor who starred in Bad Santa)

Brian Cox (heavy duty actor who starred in multiple big hits like Troy, X2 and both Red movies)

Leslie Bibb (Will Ferrell's onscreen wife in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)

Now don't look for an award winning performance from this wily bunch, but what you will get is a great horror anthology with some great twists!

Jay