I Kill Giants | MOVIE REVIEW

Apparently Chris Columbus produced this one, meaning this is the first time in years that something he’s been a part of, didn’t turn out to be an absolute dumpster fire. Credit where credit’s due.

I Kill Giants was directed by Anders Walter and stars Madison Wolfe, Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots, and Sydney Wade. What it is, basically, is a fantasy story about a kid - without much of a real place in the world - who, with the help of some monsters, is forced to come to terms with a really difficult part in her life. Now, if you’re thinking that this sounds very familiar, that’s because it probably does, and it did to me. This movie felt very reminiscent of A Monster Calls - except, in this case, it’s more like A Monster Comes.

7 picks for who should direct the "Terminator" reboot

As many of you have (presumably) heard, James Cameron himself said that he would be producing what should be a reboot of the Terminator series. You might be thinking that this would be unnecessary or that we don't need more reboots, and, while I do understand those concerns, I think it's a good thing. I mean, really, do we want Genisys to be the last movie in the franchise? Do we really want to have the Terminator saga end on a note that sour?

Think about that for a second, I'll give you some time.

So far, it's been announced that a reboot was going to happen, and that Tim Miller's name is floating around as the project's attached director. Production's set to start in October this year, with Arnold himself saying that the project was underway.

Even though Miller is already slated to direcg, that got me thinking. While Miller himself isn't such a bad choice to direct, I've thought up a list of a bunch of other dudes that I, personally, would like to see breathe some life back into a series that just hasn't felt alive since the second movie. And so, here are my...

For this list, I've made the selection based on several criteria (e.g. previous films, strengths as directors, respect for source material, and directing ability), but the underlying basis was whether or not a director's style would blend well with the Terminator property. And I say this because, like I said in my last Percy Jackson movie rant, a director's style and strengths should align with the movie's concept. For example, having Michael Bay direct a Harry Potter movie would be a stupid idea because Michael Bay's strengths certainly don't play to what a Harry Potter movie should be.

Mute | MOVIE REVIEW

I gotta say, Meekus has come a long way since being an orange-mocha frappuccino-drinking male model, to be honest. I'm proud of the guy. I really am.

Mute was directed by Duncan Jones (Warcraft, Moon) - who also happens to be David Bowie's son - and stars Alexander Skarsgard, Paul Rudd, and Justin Theroux. It's also a sci-fi, cyberpunk, noir film, not too unlike Blade Runner - in fact, visually, it did remind me a lot of Blade Runner, but that's not so much a bad thing as it is kind of unavoidable when making cyberpunk anything.

I'm gonna keep it vague here, since I don't wanna spoil anything in case you were planning on catching it, but the plot revolves around Leo (played by Alexander Skarsgard), who is mute, and his quest to unravel a mystery.

What I Want to See in Amazon's "Lord of the Rings" Series

Okay, so as you all might've heard, Amazon secured - what was it - a multi-million dollar deal to turn The Lord of the Rings into a TV series spanning multiple seasons. If that raises some red flags and sets off countless alarms in your head, I don't blame you; that was my initial reaction upon first hearing the news, as well. Despite what many headlines would have you believe, this isn't - in any way, shape, or form - a reboot of the cinematic masterpiece that is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but rather the coverage of events that take place in between LotR and The Hobbit. That probably won't set too many people at ease (myself included), but, at the very least, I find it to be an interesting prospect. So, with that out of the way, allow me to talk about...

Just to be clear, my ass is still squarely on the fence about this. I can't imagine anyone thinking that this would've been a good idea, and I'm even more baffled as to why no one's trying to tackle any of the events in The Silmarillion with this project. But, by and large, I'm cynical about this idea. As a life-long fan of LotR, however, I feel personally obligated to talk about this.

As of now, nothing else about the show has been confirmed, other than that it's happening, that the events in the show take place in between LotR and The Hobbit, and that it's set to be the most expensive one ever. No one's been cast, brought on board to be part of the writing team, tasked to direct, nada, zip, zilch. Since there's nothing in the way for me to talk about in that department, I'll instead talk about the things I want to see from the series, as far as creative and narrative approaches go.

Black Panther | MOVIE REVIEW

I'm not gonna lie, throughout this movie, I was crossing my fingers - hoping - for one of the characters to yell, "WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?" at someone. That would've been fantastic, honestly. It's a missed opportunity if ever there was one.

Black Panther was directed by Ryan Coogler (who did Creed, which I absolutely loved) and stars Chadwick Boseman, Lupita N'yongo, Michael B. Jordan, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, and Forrest Whittaker, among a number of other people. As you already know, this film is the 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and takes place right after the events of Captain America: Civil War. This follows the story of T'Challa and the things he does following the capture of Helmut Zemo, and dabbles a lot in his return to Wakanda.

Personally, I was hyped for this movie, but not for the reasons that most other people were. The reason I was excited to see this was because Ryan Coogler was at the helm, and he had done Creed, which was one of my personal favorite films of the past decade. Many other people who had worked on Creed, such as Michael B. Jordan and composer Ludwig Gorannsson, were also brought on board to help, and that got me excited.

My 7 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018

With 2018 now officially upon us - for, at least, the past three weeks - I think it's about time to put together my list of...

So far, 2018's been a strangely quiet year for upcoming titles. The current slate doesn't have too much that piques my interest, but there's still enough to base a list on. As the title of this post would suggest, these are the movies that I - personally - am pretty freaking stoked for.

To be clear, this list could be subject to change over time. There's a bunch of movies coming out this year that still haven't been announced yet, and some projects on here could end up cancelled for one reason or another. Hell, I might lose interest in a project if nothing else ever comes of it.

This is also my personal and completely biased list of the movies that I'm most excited for. You might only agree with a handful of entries on this list, or probably disagree with the whole damn thing entirely. That being said, let's break the ice with some...

My 7 Favorite Movies of 2017

Okay, I know - it's been a while; forgive me. I've had to balance a lot of things since I last posted on here - classes, a new job and all - and so my reviews and such have since had to take a backseat. That isn't to say I didn't have time to watch movies during my absence here. Instead it was more of a case of me, personally, not finding the motivation or energy to keep posting here for now. I'll do my best to have something on here for you guys every so often - and I know I've made that promise before - just so y'all know I'm still around.

That being said, 2017 is drawing to a close, and it has been a pretty good year for cinema. Sure, we got, The Emoji Movie, Fifty Shades Darker, and Extra Service this year, but there were more great films than terrible ones that came out over the previous 12 months. I, personally, got to see some really good movies in that time, and I got to live some incredible cinematic experiences, as well. So, without further adieu, I present to you my...

In my humble opinion.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of things, this is my personal, completely biased list of the seven movies I enjoyed the most. The (grade) I might've given a movie as I reviewed it (assuming I have) will not matter. This list is based on how much fun I, personally, had while watching these films. Your list, of course, will be completely different from mine, and you might not agree with anything I picked. So, enough chit-chat, let's get right into my...

Okja | MOVIE REVIEW

I'm not gonna lie, that was perhaps the roughest thing I've watched since The Passion of the Christ. That was heavy.

Okja was directed by Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer) and stars Seo-Hyeon Ahn, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, and Jake Gyllenhaal. It's about this girl Mija and her pet hippopotamus "super pig" named Okja, who gets taken away by the folks from Tilda Swinton's corporation, and now she has to get him the fuck outta there.

Spiderman: Homecoming | MOVIE REVIEW

THAT'S what I'm talking about.

Spiderman: Homecoming is the sixth Spiderman movie we've gotten in 15 years and is the third brand-new iteration of the masked web-slinger we've seen in the same amount of time. This one was directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car) and stars Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., and Michael Keaton, and is a continuation of Spiderman's journey following the events that took place in Civil War.

Transformers: The Last Knight | MOVIE REVIEW

As I was watching this, I felt like I was in that episode of Rick and Morty when they were transported to Morty's teacher's dreams and everything is like some twisted, messed-up version of reality. And, much like Rick and Morty, I wasn't having fun. At all.

Transformers: the Last Knight is the sequel to that two-and-a-half hour-long dumpster fire known as Age of Extinction, and is still - still - directed by Michael Bay. It stars Mark Wahlberg among a whole village worth of side characters and - thankfully - is Michael Bay's last ever Transformers movie.

The Mummy | MOVIE REVIEW

In case you forgot, the last time we got a Mummy movie without Brendan Fraser in it, we got that wreck of a movie that was The Scorpion King... But, then again, the last time we got a Mummy movie with Brendan Fraser in it, we ended up with Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. It's fair to say the odds of this movie being any good are mixed, to say the least.

The Mummy was directed by Alex Kurtzman and stars Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, and everyone's favorite Algerian Sofia Boutella. It's the first entry in Universal's (dubiously named) Dark Universe - which, I think is the most unnecessary of the current cinematic universes - and is, more or less, a reboot of The Mummy (the one with Brendan Fraser in it, a.k.a. the one everyone loves). The story in this one's a bit different, and involves a grave robber (Cruise) and an archaeologist stumbling upon a sarcophagus in the middle of Iraq and bringing it over to Europe.

Colossal | MOVIE REVIEW

You know who's the prettiest drunk person ever? Anne Hathaway. I kid you not, Anne Hathaway is supposed to have gotten black-out drunk a number of times in this movie, yet she still looks as gorgeous as ever. Just saying.

Colossal was directed by Nacho Vigallondo and stars Anne Hathaway, who's trying to get her life together while Seoul is getting screwed up the butt by this giant monster thing. It also stars Jason Sudeikis and Dan Stevens and is a very fresh and original movie in this landscape of sequels, reboots, and remakes.

The Lost City of Z | MOVIE REVIEW

I'm kinda lost for a clever intro for this one, so let's just get right into it.

The Lost City of Z (pronounced Zedd, like the DJ) was directed by James Gray and stars Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, and Sienna Miller and is, just for the record, not a zombie movie. It's about Percy Fawcett (Hunnam), a British soldier/explorer, and his search for a lost city in the jungles of Bolivia.

Wonder Woman | MOVIE REVIEW

It took a while, but we finally have it; a DCEU movie that isn't taking a severe beating from mainstream movie critics. How amazing is that?

Wonder Woman was directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster) and stars Gal Gadot as, well, Wonder Woman. It's the fourth entry in the DCEU and DC's fourth crack at making a movie that critics won't rip to shreds. Hopefully, things won't be as hard the fourth time around.

"Alien: Covenant" | MOVIE REVIEW

Pardon me; I'm about to make a reference to a video game that very few people actually care about. If movie directors had FUT cards, at this point, Ridley Scott would have a gold IF upgrade card because - I'm telling you - the dude is in form. The man's on a roll, pretty much is what I'm trying to say.

Alien: Covenant is the latest entry into the Alien franchise and is directed by, like I mentioned earlier, Ridley Scott and stars Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, Danny McBride, and Billy Crudup. However, this actually ties in more to the movie Prometheus than it does the original Alien, so it's moreso a sequel than a prequel, if you get what I mean.

"Blade Runner 2049" | TRAILER TALK

Upon going over the posts on the rest of this site, I noticed that I hardly talk about trailers. I mean, sure, I talk about them with my friends and siblings, but I've never really talked about any of them in detail on here. I've felt like doing so, but there hasn't really been a trailer that interested me enough to dedicate a post on my website to it, until now. So, enough chit-chat, let's talk about it.

Before we get into this, I just wanna say that I love the original Blade Runner. I went into it knowing hardly a thing about it and I was blown away by the sheer scope of everything. The world-building was amazing, and the focus on mystery and philosophical questions as opposed to explosions and action sequences, as well as the frankly amazing score by Vangelis, were all fantastic. I could see the influence it had on lots of other great pieces of science-fiction to follow, and realizing that just made me respect the film so much more.

"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2" | MOVIE REVIEW

Another year, another batch of Marvel movies for us to consume. Let's get to it.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 (which, for the rest of this review, I'm gonna shorten to just Guardians 2 because that is a seriously long-ass title) is the next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is - obviously - the sequel to 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. That being said, you pretty much know the drill by now. Quill and friends get into a mess, their friendship is tested, they find themselves in a bigger mess, and now they have to get out of said mess. This one is still directed by James Gunn and it still makes for some pretty good entertainment.

"Beauty and the Beast" | MOVIE REVIEW

I know, I KNOW. I'm super early in getting this review up.

Okay, fine, I'm at least a week late, and to that, I say... A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he reviews Beauty and the Beast precisely when he means to.

As you all already know, Beauty and the Beast is the latest in Disney's string of live-action remakes of their classic animations and stars Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, and Luke Evans. It was directed by Bill Condon, who helmed, well, this...

Yeah.

It also is quite musical, very much in the true spirit and vein of the original.

Making a Good "Percy Jackson" Movie | THE IDEA TRAIN

HOLD UP. I know what you're gonna say, and I know I should be over this monstrosity right now, but every time I watch a video about how good Prisoner of Azkaban was, I can't help but wonder just how good a Percy Jackson movie series could've been.

Without further ado, let's get to it.

Okay, I know I've bitched about the live action Percy Jackson movies before, and I'm sure a lot of you are probably sick to death of hearing me talk about them (in person, at least). But I've always had this idea as to what the perfect Percy Jackson adaptation would be like, and I figured it was too good to not share with anyone.

My friend also asked me to make a post detailing how these movies could be good, so there's also that (shot out to Ysa). So, I figured, "why don't I piece together a proper Percy Jackson adaptation?"

"Power Rangers" | MOVIE REVIEW

You know, the only thing that's truly surprising about these Rotten Tomatoes scores is that critics were expecting to like a movie based on the original Power Rangers TV show. Just think about that; critics were expecting to like a movie based on this:

I wonder why they didn't like this one.

Power Rangers is a new movie based on the old Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers TV show from the 90's and, much like the source material it's based on, it revolves around a group of teenagers who get powers and team up to become a unit of superheroes. This one's directed by Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) and stars RJ Cyler, Dacre Montgomery, Ludi Lin, Becky G, and my favorite actress in the movie, Naomi Scott.