Brucie Bonus - 7.5 - Wyatt Earp

Hang on a second, I hear you cry (for I have excellent hearing), what's this point five crap? Well firstly, watch the potty mouth, I do that around here and secondly, I needed something to squeeze it in.

See on occasion, I will nip out to various towns and charity shop hunt and sometimes an offer will be too good to pass up. Just this past week I found myself in Salisbury (no I didn't try any of the local cuisine) and Romsey. While perusing an Age UK charity shop there, I stumbled over the rather enjoyable 'Solo' movie for a scant 99p. BUT WAIT!  It was 3 for 99p so while umming and ahhing over various DVDs, I finally chose that, Parker and today's film Wyatt Earp.

So seeing as it's a Bank Holiday, why not dip into a quick western that's only....183 minutes long...Oh for fuck's sake...

WYATT EARP (1994 dir. Lawrence Kasdan)

What's he shooting at? The elements? Dumbass...

Why I watched it:

I like me some Westerns. I like me some Kevin Costner and usually, when you put the two together such as Dances With Wolves and Open Range, you've got a tasty combination.

I actually first came across Wyatt Earp in the autumn of 94 while holidaying in Poland. As the big release at that time, Warners were trying their darndest to promote the hell out of it and as such, I remember the posters being slathered all over Torun and vividly in the old train station there.  The option to go and watch it was there, new releases in Poland often are kept in English but with Polish subtitles, but my love of westerns hadn't developed yet and I think a quick glance at the newspaper listings suggested it was freaking long anyhow.

Fast forward to 2019 and I'd seen most of the slew of the big modern Westerns that the late '80s to mid '90s had to offer, all bar one. In truth, there seemed little point to watch it as I'd watched Tombstone that all critics and fans had cited as the far superior Wyatt Earp movie. But I needed to draw my own comparisons finally and get the monkey off my back.

So after a car boot sale, a nap and a few other things, I set the laz-e-boy up and settled myself in for the long haul.

The review:

Well, it's not awful and I did manage to sit through it relatively easily, despite its length.

Don't get me wrong, I had a brief reprieve as this was printed on one of Warner's infamous 'flipper' discs. Meaning halfway through the film I'm instructed to get up and turn the disc over so that I could commence watching the film.  This was good only for when they used to put 'Friends' on DVD the first time so they could fit more episodes on one disc. For films like Goodfellas and Amadeus, it was a pain in the ass.

To give the film its due, it looks lovely in parts, the sets look impressive and it's shot really well in places.  It also boasts a rather impressive cast full of people you'll recognise including but not limited to: Kevin Mcallister's mom, Johnny Cage, The Lawnmower Man, Mr Blonde, Jethro Gibbs and the President of the USA when aliens attacked.

Special mentions do have to go to Gene Hackman, who plays the patriarch of the Earp family, who clearly realizes he's too talented to be in this film and although his character is never killed off, doesn't appear after the first act.

Also, Dennis Quaid, who is usually great in most things he's in, puts in a turn as Doc Holliday where he's clearly having fun and is one of the standout things in the film.  Clearly getting to play Doc was a peach of a role as Val Kilmer proved (and is still the better portrayal).

At no point in the film do the Wyatt boys just stand behind their wives and look at the camera. This is merely a publicity still.

So perhaps the most disappointing part of it is Kevin Costner, who fresh off an excellent turn in Clint Eastwood's, 'A Perfect World', sort of trudges through his portrayal of Wyatt Earp. He's not bad but it's a shame that this portrayal marked the downturn in his career which slowly started taking a downhill slope with Waterworld and The Postman.  Whether he felt he owed Kasdan a favour for casting him in Silverado remains to be confirmed.

Essentially it feels more like 'The Life and Loves of Wyatt Earp', throwing in melodramatic romantic moments which clearly try to entice a female audience. That being said I doubt many women would respond yes to 'Hey honey, do you want to see the new three hour western with Kevin Costner in it?'

It feels overbloated and even I was beginning to roll my eyes toward the end wondering why the film hadn't reached its end yet.

Adding to the collection?

There are better three hours films to revisit by a country mile. Hell, there are better three-hour westerns to revisit than this.

I'm glad I watched it but it is far too long for what it is and Tombstone is much more fun...and shorter to watch if I ever want a fictional account of the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

As such it gets a 6 out of 10 from me and it rests upon the top of the trade pile.

Normal service should be resumed with the next flick.

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major.

Brucie Bonus - BR2 - Shazam!

A quick bonus entry here as I'm seeing my Dad tomorrow and agreed to watch this film first before handing it over to him. I've heard good things and am quite optimistic about this one seeing as Aquaman turned out to be a pleasant surprise also.

One last dip into the Superhero genre this week and for a good while with:

SHAZAM (2019 dir. David F. Sandberg)

Is blowing gum bubbles still considered rebellious in 2019?

Why I watched it:

Yadda yadda, Matt likes superhero movies.  I've sort of beat it into the ground this week. 

For me though, the once and only Captain Marvel was another huge part of my growing up around comics. Being first introduced to the Justice League of the '80s, also known as the JLI, Captain Marvel was a great early addition of that team and it was a little sad that he left so early into his run. That's not to say writers Keith Giffen and J.M. Dematteis who helmed one of my favourite run in comics, didn't give him some choice moments in his brief foray, they treated him exactly how he was, a 14-year-old kid in a Superhero's body and it was the first instance I saw the character used like that.

Before writers had always separated Billy Batson, the boy and Captain Marvel, the man. As soon as Billy would utter those words, he was as much an adult as his body suggested, beating up bad guys and essentially being all Diet Superman on them.

As far as I know, Giffen and Dematteis kept that whole, he's just a kid element to the character and made it more fun.  Upon seeing the trailers for this film then last year, it looked like fun and I was pleased that they seemed to be keeping that element of the character that I enjoyed the first time I watched him.

Oh and he'll always be Captain Marvel to me, DC and Marvel spat be damned...

The review:

Well if this didn't turn out to be a whole heap of fun.

DC has actually been on a hot roll as of late putting out a number of decent films and this actually might be the most enjoyable of the bunch so far.

Capturing the family film formula, the same essence that Marvel is so often wonderful at delivering, this movie is essentially the movie equivalent of often loved Tom Hanks' favourite, Big.  Heck at one point it even realizes it's reference by playing the Piano Floor gag during one of the fight scenes.

It pulls off the impressive feat of casting a child cast who aren't annoying. Not even in the slightest, a feat not seen since Super 8 in my opinion. Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer especially being likeable kids having been dealt with an impossible situation.

The supporting cast is just as impressive with Mark Strong putting in a typically excellent performance as Dr Sivana, a man who can play bad guy roles in his sleep and Zachary Levi plays a funny and amiable superhero in Shazam! No longer second best to Jason Lee in a Chipmunks movie, he stars and shines in this role.

Gone are the moody remnants of the Snyderverse, this is DC's equivalent of Spider-Man: Homecoming and it does a great job of capturing both the comedic feel and swift action that made that film so enjoyable.

Here it is. The one reference that will date this movie...

Shazam! is a blast from start to finish and I genuinely have little bad to say about it, a massive thumbs up from me.

Adding to the collection?

Sure, if I can actually grab it back off my dad as I have an inkling that he'll enjoy this as much as I did.  This is great movie fare, exactly the type of escapist entertainment that movies are supposed to be. With that, Shazam! gets an impressive 8 out of 10 from me and I'm looking forward to the sequel which hopefully will deliver more of the same.

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major.

7. X-Men

OK, let's get this one out of the way.

After the underwhelming revisitation of 'X2' yesterday, it became glaringly obvious that if this hasn't aged very well, the initial film might fare even worse. With it being the next film on the list, and having some crackers on the horizon, I wanted to watch it as soon as possible so that I could move onto more interesting films.

I might be wrong, maybe Tyler Mane and Ray Park make this film far superior to the first one...

That was sarcasm by the way.

X-MEN (2000 dir. Bryan Singer)

Our heroes were well prepared for the tossed pancake to fall from the ceiling...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

I covered this a little in the last review but as stated before, I loved the X-Men, I wanted to be IN the X-Men and when the first film was announced, it felt like an event.

This was the movie that opened the door to the Superhero genre and finally put the long-loved X-Men characters up on the big screen. As news crept in of casting we rejoiced as obvious first choice Patrick Stewart bagged the role of Professor Xavier. Raised an eyebrow at the announcement of Xenia Ontatopp nabbing the Jean Grey role and questioned why Scottish actor Dougray Scott was cast as fan favourite Wolverine.

Of course, Dougray never got his chance to shine in the role as scheduling conflicts on the filming of Mission Impossible 2 caused him to step away. The poor bastard. Instead up and coming Australian musical actor Hugh Jackman was handed the role and we were off to the races. Hugh was so good, he ended up being the best part of the film and now years later, we can't envision anyone else being as good as Logan. Back in 2000, this was a different story.

It was great to finally see Marvel's main franchise on the big screen and we couldn't wait to see who would be in the next film. But as time passed, we sort of realized that the first film was good, a decent introduction to the characters, but more could be done. 10 films later (12 if we include the Deadpool films), they had been and the roasted chicken had been plucked clean of all meat. There was nothing left to eat and our desire for a freshly roasted chicken has arrived.

But it held a dear part in my heart and 1.5, the version I'll be reviewing was a well-received gift with a ton of extras on it at the time that helped whet the appetite for a much-anticipated sequel.

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

I've got more of a chance sleeping with Marisa Tomei.

Realistically, the once fondly remembered Fox/Marvel collaborations once delicious pieces of popcorn to devour have now sort of turned in the hard unpopped kernels that we find at the bottom of the tub and attempt to eat and crack our teeth with.

Sorry, can you tell I'm writing this before I've had my tea?

Regardless, it's slightly shorter run time and perhaps, a grittier attempt may be a pleasant surprise and continue to rest in my collection but I think it's a tall ask.

And for the record, I'm just watching the theatrical version. The 1.5 version inserts the extended scenes somewhat awkwardly, takes you out of the film.

The review:

Well, I wasn't expecting that.

As stated in previous reviews, I didn't know what perspective watching a sequel ahead of the original was going to give me. In hindsight, it's interesting that I actually enjoyed this movie a lot more than 'X2' in that case.

It seems everything is a lot more subtle in this film, as if Bryan Singer was taking a gamble making this movie so was content on just making a decent 'superhero' film, so that if it tanked or he wasn't invited back to the franchise, he wouldn't have a black mark on his career.

Of course, fast forward to 2019 and he wouldn't be invited back to the franchise and would have a black mark on his career, but for different reasons...

 Conor Mcgregor's next heel tactics will involve smoking a stogie in the octagon and getting the place shut down.



There's just better touches here, everyone plays it a little more low-key. The old masters don't have to shout like they do in the sequel. Halle Berry actually attempts a hint of an African accent, playing closer to Ororo's roots and getting a better performance out of it as a result. Logan's hair doesn't look stupid. The late, great, Michael Kamen does the score and as a result, it sounds like a film, not taking me out of the action.


Oh sure, the plot's contrived, Magneto wants to turn everyone into a mutant and needs to use Rogue as a conductor to ensure his plan comes into effect.  This involves some frankly dodgy special effects that looked better in Superman II and some absolutely god awful ones when Senator Kelly turns into a blobfish and dies.  Seriously, cult favourite 'The Secret World Of Alex Mack' had better special effects than this...(Not to be confused with The Secret World Of Smallville Actress, Alison Mack, which will surely be made into its own film eventually...)

I've always hated the design of Mystique in the entire franchise, feeling that the slicked-back hair and scaly look just doesn't cut it and that Singer stuck to his guns in keeping her look when Jennifer Lawrence took over. In a franchise that pisses all over its continuity on a film by film basis, THIS is what you remain consistent with.

Also, Tyler Mane is just the shits as Sabretooth. Liev Shreiber doesn't get enough love for his portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Oh, and everyone seems to get propelled into the next county whenever they get hit which is an odd effect but one that caused a few chuckles.

Overall I dare say that with maturity, X-Men is actually the better film of the two I watched. I certainly didn't expect to be typing that when starting this review.

Should it stay or should it go?

Despite being pleasantly surprised, it still goes on the trade pile.  There's not much extra value to be had if I were to revisit the first film but it can hold it's head up high with a score of 6.5 out of 10 making it the more enjoyable flick for me in the long run. Both films are now stalwarts of CEX's and charity shops and if you're paying more than 50p for a copy, you don't know how to shop around.

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major.

6. X2

Ah, the heady days of 2003. Bush was president, Music was still halfway tolerable, comic book movies were becoming a thing.

Yup today's entry takes our first dip into Marvel movie territory, back to the early days when we didn't have a slew of good to great movies to compare them against so a REALLY good superhero flick would stand out like a sore thumb.

Here's the flick that wore the crown for a good time until arguably the following year when Alfred Molina put in the performance of a lifetime as Doc Ock in 'Spider-Man 2' or when Chris Nolan debuted 'Batman Begins'.

But what was great then may simply just be average fare now. Has the once darling of the X-Men franchise suffered in quality in 16 years or does it still hold up today? Here's where I find out, so join me won't you? JOIN ME!

X2 (2003 dir. Bryan Singer)

 Halle Berry gets top billing as she'd just won the Academy Award for 'Monster's Ball'. She'd undo all that hard work by starring in 'Die Another Day', 'Catwoman' and 'X-Men 3: The Last Stand'. Swings and roundabouts...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

When I was a kid, one franchise opened my eyes into the world of comics and in particular, one cartoon.

Whoa! hold your horses, I'm not talking about the seminal Fox Kids 1992 cartoon release of X-Men. I'm talking about one point in the infancy of Sky, possibly on the DJ Kat show on Sky One, they aired the X-Men pilot show. Pryde Of The X-Men, you know the awesome collab between New World Entertainment and Toei Animations but it had the really lame theme song? And Australian Wolverine? Anyway here's the intro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1qrbAGsEOw

and for no good reason here's DJ Kat:

Burn it with fire.

Anyway, that got me psyched for the announcement of the new and much more famous X-Men cartoon series. The first episode blowing me away, I announced it to my dad. X-Men from before, but new ones like Gambit, Beast and Rogue. My dad telling me that Beast had been in the X-Men years ago but realising that I was interested in comic book characters proceded to bestow me with a gift. From the now sadly defunct Comics and Cards in St Mary's, he dropped this in front of a young Matt:

Now admittedly it was just an adaptation of an episode but it remains my first ever US comic book and from then on I'd grab every UK reprint comic I could when they came out. I'd write stories about the X-Men, submit essays on the X-Men, do histories of the X-Men for school projects, I fucking loved the X-Men and it was the gateway to my love of comic books.

So in 1999 when Marvel UK imprint Essential X-Men stated that an X-Men movie was on the horizon, a prepubescent Matt lost his shit and couldn't wait to see it. Surely bad comic book movies he'd seen like 'Batman & Robin' were a thing of the past.

2000 rolled along. 'X-Men' came out and it was good but it was better than past comic book movies at the time (I was a bit too young to watch 'Blade' at that point), but 'X2' improved on it in all manners and set up The Dark Phoenix saga. Plus debuts of Nightcrawler, Colossus, Lady Deathstrike, if the third film was like this, oh boy, we were in for a treat...

Of course, we weren't. The franchise started tanking, sequel upon sequel upon spin-off disappointed. A reprieve came in the form of 'X-Men: Days of Future' Past but then Singer dropped the ball again with 'X-Men: Apocalypse' and with 'Dark Phoenix' this year, the once-mighty franchise, the one that started the whole Superhero genre off, died with a whimper instead of a bang...

Still, 'X2' was awesome and that's why I bought it and then never returned to it, outside of watching a Rifftrax alongside it...

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

Recently I made the claim that there's really only one great film in this franchise...and that's 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past'. A film ironically that I don't actually own as of this writing.

Subsequently, I do feel that too much time and really great Marvel Films have come and gone that make 'X2' look weak in comparison. While 'X2' was once a mighty king, now it's going to have that post Millenium feel, with awkward frosted tip hairstyles and dodgy special effects.

Not to mention Halle Berry's Storm will now try to seem more important because as stated, Halle was fresh off the Oscars, despite this essentially being the first Wolverine film. We'd taken Hugh into our hearts and now we wanted more of him. We got it, in this.

I have my suspicions that this one is going on the trade pile with Zoolander and Young Guns...

The review:

Well upon revisiting, 'X2' isn't an awful watch but as predicted it hasn't aged very well.

All the typical early 2000's tropes in a Superhero film are there, I'd completely forgotten the trademark opening credits through a wire, or a web, or some cells that Marvel was so keen on doing with these early releases.

Also what the hell were we all thinking when we wanted Logan to have 'the comic hairstyle' in the films and they delivered. He looks like a schmuck with his pointed do.

Bad camera angles, some really poorly delivered lines throughout. Halle Berry takes the lion's share of them but the script itself just lends itself to some horrible moments. Hell, it even makes two Shakespearean knighted actors look bad in parts with SHOUTED LINES.

I laughed once in this entire film and that was unintentional as the reveal of an army guy's terrible camouflage, otherwise, the intended gags didn't really land throughout.

The trio of Rogue, Iceman and Pyro pretty much just come across as Breakfast Club 2000, with mutants.  Channelling their inner Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall and Aaron Stanford trying to summon his inner Judd Nelson. No one can be as cool as Judd Nelson in that film, stop trying. Their scenes are not a highlight.

 The problem was all it made me think about were bad moments in X-Men comic history, like how half the mutants were killed off by the Legacy Virus but inexplicably came back. Or what the hell was Maggot and Marrow. And what the hell was Chuck Austen's run? Not really things to think while watching a movie, I grant you.

Oh and John Ottman's musical score is atrocious, some of the music he uses in scenes defies belief and took me completely out of the movie at times.

I present to you, the MVP of the entire movie. Brian Cox does it again...

On the positive side of things the movie does have a great third act which is probably why this film was so highly regarded at the time, moving at a breakneck pace, had the rest of the movie been like this, we might have had a classic on our hands.

Great performances by Brian Cox and Alan Cumming too. Cox's Styker seems to be the only well-developed character in the entire movie, delivering biting dialogue and providing logical back story and motive for his actions.

Cumming, on the other hand, does a great turn as Nightcrawler and his performance only serves to remind me how sorely missed he was in the remainder of the franchise.

Should it stay or should it go?

As much as I can appreciate the path that the early X-Men movies set, without their success back then we wouldn't have the MCU as we have it now. That being said even trailblazers can age badly and 'X2' is no exception. It finds itself at the top of the pile of films to trade in until the next film expectantly and no prizes for guessing what THAT one is.

A respectable 6 out of 10 for 'X2' but mainly for that third act and another fantastic Brian Cox performance.

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major

5. Young Guns

"We regulate any stealing off his property - we're damn good too!"

(Spoilers - They aren't)

Thus starts Warren G and Nate Dogg's memorable 1994 G Funk hit 'Regulate', the opening spiel taken from 1988's Young Guns and the unsurprising most recent entry in today's blog. It also happens to be the most noticeable thing actor Casey Siemaszko ever did besides wearing a pair of 3D glasses and being one of Biff Tannen's goons in two of the three 'Back To The Future' films.

I mention this because outside of that, there's not much else notable in the modern-day culture about today's film, the aforementioned:

YOUNG GUNS (1988 dir. Christopher Cain)

Having some fun, Crazy ladies keep them on the run...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

As mentioned in our previous Young Guns II review, I'm a big fan of the Western genre and by the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s there was a decent slew of them ranging to incredible to slightly cringe-worthy.

Young Guns was often one of the more modern westerns that would keep getting mentioned in the genre and boasted an impressive 80's cast featuring some Brat Pack favourites including good ol' crazy Charlie Sheen and more reliable hands like Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Terence Stamp and the always awesome Jack Palance.

So when looking to add to my DVD collection at the time and in the mood for some Western action, it made sense for CEX stalwart Young Guns to be added to the collection. It was cheap. I watched, I enjoyed but became much more impressed with the sequel as previously discussed.

Still, it might have earned its place simply because of the fact I enjoyed II so much and felt that not including the first one would do the second one a disservice.

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

As you might be able to tell a little in the intro and subsequent paragraphs, I'm sort of padding this one out as I can remember very little about the original Young Guns since its initial and to this date ONLY viewing of the film.

I don't think things bode well for the first part of our beloved regulators and as a result, bar remembering how good Jack Palance is at playing a bad guy, I think this one is destined for trade city...

Well, I better get to it lest I make any more bad Wham! jokes. It's this or death by matrimony...

Dammit.

The review:

Wow. I sort of knew in the back in my mind that this was going on the trade pile but I don't think I realize how much better the sequel is in comparison.

I knew I was on the back foot when the DVD menu screen is atrocious boasting some of the worst fonts I've seen this side of comic sans.  Following an incredibly oversaturated intro which involves all our main characters looking mean and shooting (despite later on learning that some of these characters can't shoot for shit), I'm in for a lacklustre 103 minutes.

The veterans to their job rather well but it soon becomes obvious that Terence Stamp wants out of the movie as quickly as possible as does Charlie Sheen who becomes the first of the 'big six' to fall barely halfway through the movie. Possibly because Oliver Stone was dangling a script just out of shot remains to be confirmed.

Jack Palance does indeed put in a fun evil guy turn as Lawrence Murphy (Watch out Itchy - he's Irish!) putting on a fake brogue and growling his lines.  He does over ham his exit in the film, however, selling his death scene from getting SHOT IN THE HEAD, as if he's suffering from heartburn or something...

Terry O'Quinn hasn't quite lost all his hair and puts in a decent performance as Alex McSween and there's a blink and you'll miss it cameo by the Cruiser himself, Tom Cruise. No really, look:

Regrettably, the film doesn't feature the handy arrow and name box during the said scene...

Sadly that's about all the positive things I can say about Young Guns. Each of the young actors seems to have a special skill much like the Gunmen of The Apocalypse episode of Red Dwarf. Casey Siemaszko is good with his fists you see. Lou Diamond Phillips is a great knifeman. Dermot Mulroney has a dirty face and has the ability to be in better films. Charlie Sheen's good at dying early.

One scene features all our leads taking peyote and the subsequent scene feature effects replete with slowed-down speech, it doesn't seem to end.

There's a very awkward romance between Kiefer Sutherland's Doc Spurlock and Alice Carter's Yen Sun which just feels tacked on to provide some sympathy for said character but sadly I didn't really care how many of them got shot in the end; as I checked the time stamp hoping said movie was ending sooner, rather than later.

Oh, and the dramatic final shootout is shot in slow motion. Only one thought filled my mind during this part: 'This is wank...'


Should it stay or should it go?

Much like the time period it represents, it's history. I've kept the good one and managed to knock off one more DVD from the collection ultimately proving this project is becoming a success albeit a small one. As such it gets a 4 out of 10 from me as at least Captain Marvel had Ben Mendelsohn in it.

In hindsight you'd garner more entertainment listening to Warren G and Nate Dogg's - Regulate and Wham!'s - Young Guns (Go For It), both songs clocking in at a scant 7 minutes and 51 seconds combined.

Hmmm, denimlicious...

Thus endeth the Y's, next up: a shaky revisitation of a once much-beloved franchise...

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major



 

4. Young Guns II

So we hit an interesting situation here with my zany method of reviewing things in that I'm reviewing a sequel before reviewing the original. But like trying a new crisp flavour or dish on a Chinese menu, it opens up new sensations, a fresh way of thinking. For example, is the sequel better than the original or have I blindly picked up the sequels in a franchise because I'm so high on the characters from the first film?

I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be franchises that will work better backwards (Die Hard, I'm looking at you) but somewhere the sequels may even outstrip the original or even find that the whole franchise itself hasn't aged well.

So then to our first sequel and a movie that I've already done a mini-review before for WhatCulture in:

YOUNG GUNS II (1990 dir. Geoff Murphy)

Ah yes waiter, I believed I ordered the early 90's...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

Ok so to quickly get what might be considered a hipster view, I liked westerns before they were cool. Way before Westworld or Red Dead Redemption II or Ol' Town Road, I used to sit down and watch mid 90's westerns like The Quick & The Dead and reruns of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy with my dad on a weekly basis. I grew up with them, I studied them, I love them.

When growing up and being allowed to buy movies that I wanted to, I needed to do a bunch of catching up and Young Guns fit the bill. I watched, I liked, I heard the sequel was better but it actually became rarer than hen's teeth to find the damn DVD.

Finally, it wandered into CEX and I immediately snapped it up and gave it a watch and did indeed agree that it seems to improve on the original in all manners. It kept all the good ones from the first film and added guys like Christian Slater and Alan Ruck and William freaking Petersen just to bolster the star power and it had a nicer flow to it.

Oh, and it has a kick-ass Jon Bon Jovi soundtrack, Blaze of Glory still a perennial iPod favourite.

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

 I think it will.  More so than Young Guns honestly.  Everyone from the first one has matured as actors and as I mentioned there's an addition of new talent which really helps the film. I'm sure I'll be singing along to the Jovi soundtrack in no time and uttering Kiefer's legendary "William H Bonney, You are NOT a God" line in time also.

I might be wrong though, without Young Guns first to make this film seem better, perhaps as a stand-alone it hasn't aged as well.  Well, the proof is in the pudding so let's get to this:

The review:

From the opening notes of some classical Spanish guitar, I sort of knew that I was in for a good watch.

Young Guns II mostly operates on the classic, do something every 15 minutes principle meaning that every 15 minutes, you're guaranteed an action sequence either in a chase or a shoot-out.  As such the movie rarely gets dull.

There were far more people in this than I remembered including one of my favourite old school actors, James Coburn. See it's clever because he played Pat Garrett in Peckinpah's telling of the story and is synonymous with a number of Westerns. It's smart casting people!

Oh and some Viggo Mortensen guy pops up as one of Garrett's men too, I'm sure he never amounted to anything.

It's interesting how many films sort of glorify the legend of Billy The Kid as in reality the guy was a real piece of work but Emilio certainly plays him with enough charm and as predicted earlier, the film flows at a quick pace ensuring that its 100-minute run-time passed by quickly enough.

Apparently hairdressers were plentiful in the old west...
There are sequences that sort of make you cringe during, the introduction of a child character is simply set up to give the movie pathos, my cynical self snorting at the eventual passing of said character and some of the deaths seem a tad over-dramatic.

That being said, it passes the muster as a fun action-packed western.

Should it stay or should it go?

For a blog called 'Too Many DVDs' and for the intention to help thin out my collection, with 4 movies under my belt, I'm not doing too well on the thinning out front. Young Guns II is an enjoyable enough flick to survive this round of culling and it gets a nice 7 out of 10 from me.

I leave you with JBJ himself, the earth was last night's bed for him apparently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfmYCM4CS8o

No prizes for guessing what the next film is...

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major. 

3. Zack And Miri Make A Porno

Another day, another movie.  I felt slightly intimidated the other day when hooking up with my main man Ross who told me in the short time since I'd seen him last, he'd watched about 20 odd movies, 17 of which were shitty vampire movies, which pretty much put my three movies and one tv series to shame in hindsight. So we hit the last of the Z's with a bit of a sentimental favourite but one I'm dreading hasn't aged well.

So without further ado...

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (2008 dir. Kevin Smith)

What would I do to get out of debt? Probably beg the parents for money most likely...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

It's Kevin Smith. Long story short, Kev was the reason why I fell in love with film and the prospect of film making. I was first introduced to him in a 1998 interview in Wizard and he came across as super cool, really knew his comics and just through that interview I wanted to watch one of his movies, specifically Clerks which in the heady days of VHS was a little hard to come by, especially in the UK.

I did eventually watch Clerks thanks to my Media Studies teacher, the great Jon James, in college and was blown away.  Here was this smart sharp funny script, filmed on a budget and it became one of my favourite movies of all time. Still is. It's number 2 after Wayne's World.

Fast forward many a year and I stayed loyal to Kev, for every dubious film he'd release, there'd be an equally sharp 'An Evening With...' DVD or great comic book series. I stuck with Kev because he always seemed like one of the good guys.

So imagine to my surprise when I saw actual advertising for a Kevin Smith film on the sides of buses, telephone booths and the like.  It didn't hurt that the extremely affable Seth Rogen was starring in it too, a man whose comedies I had started watching and had grown on me rather quickly to the point where he'll appear a few times in this blog.

I watched it and was thrilled that Jeff Anderson had a role too, the man who portrayed Randal in Clerks and was by far one of my favourite characters. So I watched it and was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was too. So when it got cheap enough in CEX (a mere 50p), a purchase I did go...

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

There's a part of me that really wants it to but there's this nagging feeling it'll go on the trade pile.  That's the problem I feel I'll have with a lot of these comedies from a certain period. It's been 11 years, will it have aged well or is the humour just topical of the time it was made?

In truth I can remember like three things about it:

1. It's a sweet story between the two leads
2. Justin Longs deep voice
3. THAT Live song ('Hold Me Up')

Hopefully, by rewatching it I will remember how funny it is and not succumb to my Kev bias. We'll find out...

The review:

Ah shit, it got me.

I knew I was on a back foot when just the menu loaded up and treated me to the audio delight that is Jermaine Stewarts' 'We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off...', one of the most catchy songs of all time.

I must say the intro is weird, almost reminiscent of a TV Movie opening but then the jokes start flowing, dependable performances from Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robertson and it becomes a breeze of a film to watch honestly.

Realistically, in no way is it believable, no way a schlub like Zack could go out with cute next door girl Miri but that's the movies, it sucks you in, it makes you believe that something like that could happen and you have a good time watching it...without taking your clothes off.

Robertson really gives the movie that oomph by just nailing every one of his lines and Mewes puts in his classic Mewes performance by playing the lovable goof. Brandon Routh, the best ever Superman AND the best only Atom, shows how criminally under-used of an actor he is by being charming as all shit in his brief appearance and the whole thing is just shot great and it feels like a warm hug of a movie...with tits.

There are a few cringy bits, Kev's bits involving the 'n' word feel a bit too much like a white guy wanting to use the 'n' word a bit too much (Tarantino sort of has the same problem) and the casting couch scene in which women undress in front of a nervous Craig Robertson. In a movie produced by the Weinstein brothers. *Sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth*

No that isn't LGR on the left and Katherine Ryan on the right...

 I also laughed pretty hard at the inevitable shit gag, proving that my humour is still as juvenile as it's ever been so this could bode well for future movies.


Should it stay or should it go?

Yeah, it stays. I don't think it's Kev bias either, it's genuinely a sweetheart of a film and gets a rock-solid 7.5 out of 10 for me.

As an afterthought even though I forgot most of this film ( I forgot Star Whores!), the Live track always stuck with me and for years I wished that a decent studio quality version of the track existed. Thankfully Throwing Copper turned 25 not long ago and lo and behold, look what got added as a bonus track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhkZnFVb7KI

Phenomenal.

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major.

 

Brucie Bonus - BR1 - Captain Marvel

My dad reminded me that I'd borrowed a film off of him and the fact that it was the only missing piece of the MCU puzzle for me (outside of the current Spider-Man: Far From Home) coupled with a day off, meant that it was finally time to tackle a film I was slightly dubious about. So join me for another Brucie Bonus as I decided to watch:

CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019 dir. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck)

Christ, even the cover's boring...

Why I watched it:

As the intro suggested, I'm a big fan of the superhero genre and the MCU in particular. Rarely have they made an out and out bad film and regrettably, this fell in a period where I was hospitalized so it came and went while I was bedridden for over a month.  Opting to wait for home release and knowing that my dad would eventually pick it up, he did. I asked to borrow it, he lent it to me and here we are.

Now honestly, I've never been a fan of the character of Captain Marvel, especially the Carol Danvers iteration, so immediately I'm standing on a back foot. But there have been instances where I've been uninterested in a character and then become turned around through the course of the movie, through a mixture of strong storytelling and good performances or simply down to sheer explosive fun (Aquaman, I'm looking at you).

Would this be another case of a pleasant surprise?

The review:

The short answer is no, no it fucking wouldn't.

The reasons then: I don't think in the entire history of superhero films that I have been less invested in a character.  Marvel, who so often are great at presenting an origin story decide to forego it essentially to provide us with more action. Perhaps to disguise the fact that Carol Danvers has very little in the way of an origin tale.  But where some characters need little introduction and whose origins have been told countless times (Hulk, Spider-Man, Superman, Batman), Carol is a character who NEEDS an origin tale so that the viewer can have some personal attachment.

Instead, we're treated to a patchwork origin tale that tells us very little about Carol Danvers and what kind of person she is because she's suffering from a case of the Bourne Identity.  Something's happened, I can't remember it and I can't remember to act human either, ably acted by a constantly moody faced Brie Larson who every time she cracks a wry smile comes across as awkward and unlikeable.

Was I really meant to care about her potential death at the hands of an alien threat if I don't even really know who she is? The problem also lies at Brie Larson who just simply blankly stares through various scenes and through her lack of acting doesn't make me care about her.

 I made the same face as I was watching this, a lot...

That's a shame as Captain Marvel boasts an impressive supporting cast involving a typically good Samuel L. Jackson performance and a show-stealing Ben Mendelsohn who is phenomenal in pretty much everything he is in.

What adds to insult is also the casual manner in which they brush over one of the most important events in Marvel history in the death of Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell). Opting to gender change him into Annette Benning and then completely glossing over her death, overshadows the emotional event that was the death of the original Marvel and his passing the mantle on. Here, it's presented as a simple afterthought.

It's clear that this is Marvel's attempt to present a strong female presence in the MCU but while certainly presenting her powers as some of the most powerful in the Marvel universe, this seems to be at the cost of her personality.  But there's certainly lashings of painful 'girl power' moments including the use of one of the most toe-curling uses of No Doubt's 'Just A Girl' in cinematic history. Also a song from No Doubt's 'Tragic Kingdom' which contradicts Captain Marvel's attempted 1995 timeline by debuting in 1997...

Adding to the collection?

Fuck off.  While nowhere near as painful to watch as Iron Man 2 or Thor: The Dark World, I still took four breaks from watching this, either to pee or eat something just to entertain myself by watching.  It's not unwatchable by any stretch but you'd have more fun revisiting any of the other films. A woeful 4.5 out of 10.

Can't wait for the sequel featuring Rainbow Brite Supergirl...

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major


 

Brucie Bonus - TV1 - The Boys

I, by my own admission, have been a little lax in reviewing the past week. I'm not sure why honestly as the next few films are a doddle to watch but in the case of the next one;  Well, nostalgia is a powerful tool and as it's the last of the Z's, might mean that the Z's are whittled down to one in the collection. I'm not spoiling what the next film is, just as I'm not spoiling anything in the following review. It's shiny and new and I managed to catch it on a whim.

THE BOYS (2019 Dev. Eric Kripke)

 I think this is the last thing I saw before I blacked out in my hospital bed...

Why I watched it:

Garth Ennis. To elaborate, Garth was a huge part of my growing up when I was moving into more mature comics. X-Men was just becoming way too complicated to follow, DC seemed to be churning out some big new event every three months and killing off my beloved JLI members for kicks and Image weren't quite the indie powerhouse they were yet, still reeling from art over substance.

Wizard had told me about Garth and I missed the boat with Preacher frustratingly at the time (I have gone back and read through that amazing run.) From then on I vowed not to miss his upcoming Punisher series and from then on I became a fan so when The Boys made its appearance, I was sure to hop on too.

What unfurled was this amazing mix of Garth's over the top action and comedy. Taking shots at beloved parodies of established superheroes, The Boys was an absolute blast to read.

Fast forward and I loved the live adaptation of Preacher when it finally hit home media and I just so happened to earn another free 30-day pass to Amazon Prime so at a trim 8 episodes, I gave it go...

The review:

The Boys does deviate a fair amount from Garth's source material. To be honest though the amount of batshit crazy things he and Darick Robertson came up with, I'm surprised something like this ever got made.

The superhero genre in some people's eyes might be getting a tad long in the tooth, I personally love it. This is the tonic for them. A slam-bang festival of dark humour and gore that lampoons the absurdity of some heroes but also delivers a riveting episode by episode format.

I blasted through the first three episodes in one evening and binged the remaining five the following day. Everyone plays their roles perfectly, it's a fantastic outing by Karl Urban, one of the other main reasons why I wanted to watch this as I'm a fan of his work. He shines as Billy Butcher (slightly dodgy accent aside) and really hits hard when he needs to deliver the emotional moments.

To my surprise however, the real MVP is Antony Starr as Homelander, The Boys' answer to Superman. His performance is exceptional, switching from being wonderfully false one moment to being downright chilling the next. He shines in this role and that's not to downplay the other performances in The Boys but he makes a wonderful antagonist.

 The debate over whether Rocky III was a better movie than Rocky IV had taken an ugly turn...

Adding to the collection?

Oh god yes. I hope they continue the trend of keeping the series at a tight 8 episodes as I rarely drifted when watching this. I can't wait to see what happens in the next series which thankfully has already been greenlit. The bar has been set high with this series and only hope they can continue. A rock-solid 9 out of 10 as it stands.

Much like Sabrina's hit, 'Boys', you'll be looking for a good time with this...

That was terrible, ignore the bad joke but I hope you give it a try, until next time, I remain,

Matt Major


 

2. Zodiac

Ok, mixing it up slightly with this entry. It occurred to me that my predictions would be better suited if I did it in real-time, so I'll predict whether today's film is worthy of staying in the collection BEFORE actually watching the darned thing. I'll then write my thoughts after watching said...(checks box) 151 minutes of said film...hoo boy.

No use delaying the inevitable, its time to go back to the first pairing of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in today's film:

ZODIAC (2007 dir. David Fincher)

Or, 'Attack of the misty bridge' as the DVD cover would suggest...

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

I'm a bit hazy as to how I came about owning this honestly. The faded CEX sticker suggests I paid the sum of £4.00 or £3.40 thanks to the then CEX discount. for this film. Now I'm a bit of a cheapskate so feasibly I either bought it on a whim where I wanted to watch the latest movies that had come out and I'd miss and would opt if I wanted to keep them there and there. You know, sort of like a precursor to this blog.

The second option was that I really liked this film after giving it a rental from the dearly departed Blockbuster Video (Rest in peace old friend) and watching it with my dad and was happy to shell out the money for it.

The third and less likely option was I was such a huge Robert Downey Jr fan after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man a year later that any work that he did in-between must have been good by my reckoning.

I think option 1 is the winner here most likely...

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

Yeah, actually I think it will.  As I recall it has really good acting performances from everyone involved and was a really good thriller. I remember really like Mark Ruffalo's performance, a guy whose films I wasn't familiar with at the time and thing Anthony Edwards is REALLY good in this.

In short, I'm looking forward to revisiting it but that classic Fincher run time might hurt it in the long run. Well enough dilly-dallying, time to put it in the PS4 before the day runs out...

The review:

I don't actually know how long ago it was since I last saw this film but I can honestly say I was as riveted to the screen as I was the first time I watched it.

This clearly is a film about performances and everyone really knocks it out of the park. Jake Gyllenhaal is fantastic as we watch a young bright-eyed innocent cartoonist become chewed up and obsessed over the Zodiac killings. We watch him fall in love and ultimately get divorced throughout the course of the film but the audience wills him on to get to the bottom of a case the police can't close.

 Mark chooses his meal for the staff Christmas party...

The police then, Ruffalo and Edwards are again as great as I remembered throughout the film but there are so many great actors that bulk out the rest of the film.  A clean-shaven Donal Logue for one, demonstrating why he's the best thing in 'Gotham' by a country mile and other noticeable faces like Elias Koteas and the ever-dependable Brian Cox.

Another fantastic RDJ performance again as boozy journalist Paul Avery whose vices slowly eat him up and his alcoholism gets the best of him. He's like pseudo-Tony!

I love crime thrillers such as these and honestly, Fincher's directing is so seamless, the long run-time didn't feel like a chore at all, easily gliding by as strong performance after strong performance rattled off in front of me. A genuine joy to revisit.

Should it stay or should it go?

Seeing as I've been gushing about it, it's definitely a keeper. It gets a solid 8 out of 10 from me and maybe in hindsight, I shelled out £3.40 because it was so darned good the first time I watched it.
I leave you with a pallid looking Jake enjoying his favourite tipple in the film:

Raise an Aqua Velva in honour of this film. But not the Zodiac Killer...he was a dick....

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major



 

1. Zoolander

Hi there,
so a little back story to this blog. Essentially its existence is twofold. Firstly, it's an excuse to get me writing in some capacity again and honestly, I thought this format would be quite fun. Secondly and most importantly, it's because as the blog states: I have too many DVDs.

Back up a second, I hear you cry, DVDs? What year do you think it is grandad? Well it's 2019 and sometimes films haven't been released on Blu-Ray yet or sometimes it's just plain cheaper to buy something on DVD. Like a LOT cheaper. The thing is, I always wanted to have a retirement plan which consisted of a comfy chair and an opportunity to watch some of the classics I've accumulated over the years.

But rose-tinted glasses and time can be cruel mistresses and the films that might have blown me away damn near 20 years ago or rolling on the floor may not be the gems I hold in high regard anymore. So it's time to get serious. Revisit every film I own and make a decision. Is it worth keeping or worth trading in for a penny at the local CEX?

Oh and I'm going backwards alphabetically through my collection. It's easier to grab films this way due to my set up and it takes a break from the norm where everyone else might go from numbers or A respectively.

Right, intro's done. Let's get to it. First film being:

ZOOLANDER (2001 Dir. Ben Stiller)

Why I bought it/Why I liked it:

Shortly after my parents divorced in 2000, my dad would make up for lost time by taking me to the cinema a lot.  It got to a point where we'd end up watching any new release that would come out that week. As a result, I got to watch a lot of good stuff like Gladiator and Batman Begins but a lot of awful stuff too like The Sum Of All Fears and Collateral Damage. No really, I was like one of the 28 people who probably saw Collateral Damage in the cinema. It haunts me to this day...

The 'Frat Pack' were becoming reliable hands, gaining momentum with each movie and Stiller had started making a name for himself after a bunch of stop/start attempts and mostly being known for playing 'Angry guy' in stuff like Mystery Men and Friends.  I mostly bought it because as a 16-year-old, it made me laugh a whole bunch in the cinema and a few years later, working for CEX, it dropped to the paltry sum of £1.50. With my discount, it took a tasty 22p off and in my collection, it would stay.

If I think it'll stay in the collection:

This is probably the best example of revisiting a film and seeing if it holds up today. My estimate is that time won't be kind to Derek Zoolander and chums and it'll feel all early millenium. At a scant 85 minutes, it's not likely to outlive its welcome and might rule in its favour.  I'm hoping to get a few laughs from it but knowing all the big gags, I'm not sure if there's much more left the film has in the tank.

The review:

What makes me laugh is that apparently, VH1 is a big thing in the states where over here in the UK, for years it was the channel that played retro music and gave Paul King and Tania Bryer something to do in the early '90s. Apparently, it was responsible for giving us the 'gift' of Derek Zoolander at their fashion awards in a series of short skits. So in true Saturday Night Live spinoff fashion, here's a film with that character.

Now I checked everywhere for a Lorne Michaels credit because it just has that presence like one of the SNL films. His name is nowhere to be seen but this FEELS very much like an SNL spinoff project. Maybe it's the fact that half the cast is part of its alumni but it has that mid 90's to early 2000's aura of one of those comedies.

Part of the fun of Zoolander is spotting the random cameos, Jennifer Coolidge and Vince Vaughn earn easy paydays for not uttering a single word for their roles. You can laugh along and remember when names such as Victoria Beckham, Christian Slater, Cuba Gooding Jr and Billy Zane were still NAMES back in 2001. You can awww as sweet little Natalie Portman is still young (do not insert inappropriate Moby joke here....) and hadn't made atrocities with Hayden Christensen or Ashton Kutcher - History's Greatest Monster yet.

The film, however, is a one-note joke, it's essentially Ben Stiller making a face for 85 minutes, it is this face:

You now have essentially watched the movie.

Taking shots at the fashion industry is pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel. We know they're mainly mimbo's and bimbo's and the one's who aren't, attempt to push their latest charity venture down our throats and claim to be authorities on the subject because they've been to Africa a couple of times.

There are high points in the film. Milla Jovovich is shockingly good AND expressive throughout the film, something she so rarely does when given her own starring vehicle. No really, look!

She scowls and pouts like a pro.

Jerry Stiller plays classic Jerry Stiller and shows what an old pro he is by making the most out of his role and there's a funny Garry Shandling cameo, may he rest in peace.

By the time a mobile phone gag comes though (they WERE getting smaller, that's very funny...) something hit me that I hadn't noticed before. The plot, as thin as it is, is essentially The Naked Gun's brainwashing theme all over again. The Naked Gun has more classic gags in it throughout though where I sadly only laughed out loud once upon this repeated viewing...

 Should it stay or should it go?

Zoolander is going on the trade pile.  It's not an awful waste of 85 minutes but 18 years haven't been kind to it as the attempt at a sequel and cartoon series have proven. It gets a mediocre 5.5 out of 10.
If you're interested, you can find it for 50p or less now in your local charity shop or CEX. You can also learn how to make your own Orange Mocha Frappucino here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exe_I-tnxpU

Until next time, I remain,

Matt Major.