JRodFilms Reviews

Tina (I) (2021)

Archival footage keeps the HBO Documentary Tina engaging

[6/10 · 28 March 2021]

Those familiar with music and rock and roll history will remember Tina's early career alongside Ike Turner; making a name for themselves with the Ike and Tina Turner revue. Sold out shows and radio hits were putting Ike & Tina on the map, grabbing the attention of many industry insiders including music producer Phil Spector.

However, behind the shining lights and glamour was a dark cloud that hung over Tina; with infamous reports of domestic violence with then husband Ike. After divorcing him, Tina was able to keep her stage name and begin her solo career, which is all documented in Tina - with incredible archival footage.

Although the home movies give a nostalgic view into the lives of two music stars, the end result can unfortunately feel like a disservice to its subject. Many times throughout the film, Tina mentions her desire of putting the issue of Ike Turner to rest, only for it to lurk in the shadows as her career reached astronomical heights.

Fans of the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do With It will find the first half of this documentary familiar, as it is nearly an exact retelling of that film, confirmed by home movies and testimony from Tina and those around her during that time. The footage is incredible and sometimes disturbing, especially seeing Tina visibly uncomfortable when Ike reaches her personal space.

With everything that felt familiar, there was information I didn't know: such as the 1981 People magazine interview, and many of her comeback gigs: like appearances on The Brady Bunch Hour, Hollywood Squares and a collaboration of Hollywood Nights with Olivia Newton John.

Alas, films and documentaries are flawed in that you can only cover so much of a person's life. True, Ike Turner was an integral, major part of Tina'sTurners story. But it seems that part of their history could've been glossed over in this specific documentary, and instead focus on Tina's plight after the divorce; especially her trajectory from performing disco cover songs to selling 20 million copies of her Private Dancer album and performing to over 100,000 people in Rio.

Overall, I was left unsatisfied by the documentary, but recommend it especially if you are not familiar with the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do With It. Unfortunately, the existence of that film hurts this documentary for me, where as another recent HBO music biopic, The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, felt like new information, as there never was a Hollywood produced film on that group.

Fatman (2020)

'Fatman" is just as boring as Christmas Mass

[4/10 · 23 November 2020]

I kind of wondered why I wasn't impressed by the trailer to 'Fatman'. I also wondered why I sort of ran to the theater to see it. It's really because movie theaters are open in my area, and I have been enjoying Mel Gibson's career resurgence. Since I didn't really follow "Fatman" leading up to its release, I didn't know much about it except that it sort of is a 'Revenge Santa' movie. Given Mel Gibson's reputation with his films being violent, and my interest in alternate Christmas content ala 'Silent Night, Deadly Night', I was willing to give 'Fatman' a try.

The concept of "Fatman" sounds like something out of B Movie Heaven: When a spoiled brat receives a lump of coal for being naughty, he hires a hitman to kill Santa! Unfortunately, "Fatman" never charters into B-movie territory; but takes itself entirely way too serious. Sometimes this works, most of the time it doesn't. There is entirely too much buildup and not enough payoff.

Fatman has a charming, almost Hallmark movie-of-the-week like quality; such as the location of the film being set in North Peak, Alaska, and that Mel Gibson's character name is actually Chris Cringle. Taking the realism even a step further, Cris' business of bringing joy to the world has been in a steady decline, with the kids around the world seemingly turning more bad. With profits not being what they're used to, the government is forced to step in to subsidize the cost.

The idea of a child hiring a hitman to kill Santa sounds like the perfect opportunity to see a Jolly Ol' Saint Nick from Hell. "Fatman" never dives into those waters, but instead focuses on the Cris Cringle we already know: He is a family man and he loves his elves. I don't think I caught the reason as to why our antagonist Billy had entirely way too much power in his hands. By the end of the film, "Fatman" of course has the opportunity to destroy Billy. If the reason for Fatman letting him get off easy was for a sequel, then my faith in a higher power has diminished.

Freaky (2020)

"Freaky" will make you say Yass Queen!

[5/10 · 20 November 2020]

"Freaky" is the new slasher comedy starring Vince Vaughn who plays The Blissfield Butcher, the brutal killer terrorizing a town and who ends up swapping bodies with 17 year old high school student Millie, played by Kathryn Newton. It's sort of a slasher 'Cinderella' where the protagonist Millie has 24 hours to stab the butcher back with his own dagger, or else she stays The Blissfield Butcher forever!

The story begins with Millie, the unpopular girl at her school organizing a boring evening with her mom instead of getting ready for the prom. That's what her sister thinks anyway, who plays the local deputy with her own struggles; such as distancing herself from the family since their father is no longer in the picture and their mother is an alcoholic.

Millie's mother works at the local discount outlet in her town; and this is pretty much the fodder for the torment she receives from Ryler, the mean girl at school. Millie does however have a few friends at school, Nyla and Josh, who seem to be cooler than Millie and come to her defense against her tormenter.

However, her friends can't save her all the time; especially from her mean shop teacher and being constantly humiliated on the football field while posing as the team's mascot. One night when Millie's mom has one too many drinks and forgets to pick up her daughter, Millie is stalked by the Blissfield Butcher, and ends up being stabbed with his dagger. Millie's sister comes and saves the day, but it's too late, as Millie transitions from geeky nerdy unpopular girl, to brutal and sexy serial killer seductress!

Truthfully, I wasn't sure about seeing "Freaky" so quickly as I have a disdain for horror comedy. I find that sub genre to be almost a parody of itself; overly meta and self aware. I will give "Freaky" credit for knowing what it is from the beginning; with the advertising of the film gearing towards a female and gay male audience.

As a slasher film, "Freaky" may even get some horror fans excited, with its somewhat shocking opening and the many references to the classic films that inspired it: such as "Friday the 13th", "Halloween" and "Candyman". But just like any horror slasher comedy, "Freaky" comes with its inherit flaws.

Although individually, Millie and The Blissfield Butcher have their own personalities and qualities, this seems to be lost during the transition. Instead of acting shy and awkward, The Blissfield Butcher (as Millie) comes out swinging with a new wardrobe and hairstyle; as she slow-mo walks into school in a wonderful nod to the 80s film "Heathers".

This definitely treads into the geek to chic sub-genre; as now the football players want to date her, and even Ryler tries to befriend her, which... let's just say Millie gives her the cold shoulder. Besides some of the kills which are already given away in the trailers such as Ryler freezing to death and the shop teacher's run in with a buzzsaw, Millie does not get all Blissfield Butcher on our ass.

The Blissfield Butcher, when portrayed by Vince Vaughn, seemed like an interesting, brutal, demented serial killer. Unfortunately, Millie is never really given a chance to become him in that way. The same goes for Vince Vaughn as Millie. When he becomes her, he is no longer awkward but conventional and ready to kiss boys.

"Freaky" is not perfect, but at least somewhat takes itself seriously. The concept could be interesting if really approached with darker material. Sort of like if Chucky really did possess Andy, and then Andy started killing. Still, it says a lot when one of the more interesting moments of the film is a clip from "The Real Housewives of New York City".

The Devil All the Time (2020)

Some people are born just to be buried - The Devil All the Time (Film Review)

[7/10 · 2 October 2020]

Much like fate bringing together two strangers, The Devil All The Time attempts to do the same with its muti-layered story. The Netflix film starring Robert Pattison and Tom Holland begins with Willard, played by Bill Skarsgard, who returns home from war and starts a family. After marrying and having a son Arvin, his wife suddenly falls ill with cancer.

Willard prays for his wife at his makeshift church in which he calls a prayer log. This is where he first teaches Arvin how to pray to the lord. In hopes of God answering his prayers to heal his sick wife, Willard sacrifices the family dog, breaking young Arvin's heart. Once his wife succumbs to her disease, Willard kills himself and Arvin is sent to live with his relatives, and is introduced to his step sister Lenora.

Years pass and Arvin is now a young man, portrayed by actor Tom Holland. One morning at church, the family is introduced to the new Reverend, Preston Teagardin, played by Robert Pattison, who gives his best attempt as an evangelical southern preacher. Tensions are raised immediately when the Reverend embarrasses Arvin's family at a service, and continues by taking advantage of Lenora.

The story of Arvin and the Reverend is the main story while in the background we follow around a murdering duo who travel along the highway picking up unsuspecting hitchhikers and killing them. If it sounds out of place, thats because it is, and unfortunately acts as a separate film altogether until the final act. That's not saying the duo don't have their purpose in the film, including a memorable scene in the beginning in which a preacher lands in the duo's clutches and comes to face his own mortality.

The Devil All The Time has many themes such as religion, god, redemption, and betrayal, but unfortunately never ties them together to make an impactful story. There are other films which tackle that subject better such as John Huston's 1979 film Wise Blood. In that film Brad Douriff plays a man eager to start his own Church and reveal Jesus is not the son of God.

Much like the murdering duo's story that could be in a separate film altogether, The Devil All The Time seems like pieces of a story instead of one complete one. What stayed with me longer than the film was the wonderful soundtrack filled with classic country songs which had me pausing the end credits for nearly a half an hour researching the tunes.

Random Acts of Violence (2019)

"Random Acts..." attempts to make Slasher Scary Again!

[4/10 · 8 September 2020]

Random Acts of Violence tells the story of a comic book writer who is having trouble coming up with an ending to his new story, all while being stalked by a killer who is stylizing the murders after his books.

The story beings on a road trip with Todd played by Jesse Williams and his girlfriend Kathy played by Jordana Brewster heading to a publicity interview for his comic book series Slasherman, with his two assistant friends Ezra and Aurora, played by Jay Baruchel and Niamh (Neeve) Wilson, respectively.

The interview starts out great, but quickly gets railroaded when Todd begins getting grilled about basing his comic book on actual murders that happened along the highway. He then receives a phone call during the interview with a cryptic numeric message from an unidentified man. The gang think nothing of the phone call, until they stumble upon a crime scene which is similar to how Todd's characters were murdered in one of his books.

Random Acts of Violence is a throwback to the 80s slasher film but unfortunately, there are some flaws to the film. It seems like a lot is missing from this story, and it was quickly wrapped up in its short 81 minute runtime. There is really no introduction to the killer aside from his lair which looks eerily similar to Leatherfaces in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There is also a Christmas themed side story which does not get resolved until the end of the film. Christmas themed movies during Summertime is always awkward.

The title Random Acts of Violence is actually appropriate. However, while things were unfolding on screen I was questioning why the film was moving in this direction. I think with a story a little more fleshed out, it wouldn't have felt so shocking and random.

Horror film these days are too funny and do not take themselves serious. Many people argue that real life is scarier than movies. If that is the case, then horror should be at peak right now because it should be flooded with real life inspiration. Films like Silence of the Lambs and A Nightmare on Elm Street were based on real life events that were able to be transformed to film. The one thing I was able to take away from Random Acts of Violence is that it actually attempted to take itself seriously. Where so many horror films are now dual genres pairing oh so well with Comedy, Random Acts of Violence hopefully will begin to set a trend of making the slasher film scary again.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Delroy Lindo Shines in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods

[8/10 · 19 June 2020]

Da 5 Bloods, the Spike Lee film exclusively available on Netflix, premiered in June of 2020, and lately I have been somewhat lacking in the film reviews because I think if I don't tackle it right away and put a review up within the films premiere that it's essentially old news. And I almost felt my review as old news as I started writing it. I became uninspired and quit the review altogether.

But then I scrolled through some movie forums and became inspired again, especially when I thought about the performance of lead actor Delroy Lindo, who plays Paul; one of four living Bloods who return to Vietnam to retrieve lost gold, where it is buried along with the remains of the deceased Blood, Norman, played by Chadwick Boseman.

Da 5 Bloods begins in a at times awkward first act, opening with all 5 Bloods in Vietnam and the ensuing helicopter crash which sets up the forthcoming adventure to seek the gold. We are then shifted into present with the four living bloods, Paul and his 3 other Vet buddies Otis, Eddie, and Melvin, played by Clarke Peters, Norman Lewis and Isiah Whitlock, Jr., respectively, arriving in Vietnam and begin to get re adjusted to their surroundings. Paul is later surprised at the hotel by his son David, played by Johnathon Majors, who appears throughout the film wearing Moorehouse attire.

Before Da Bloods head out on their adventure, some unfinished business needs to be settled between Melvin and a former lover, meanwhile Paul and David make a decision that David will get the deceased Blood's share of the gold if they are to retrieve it.

Da 5 Bloods gave me feelings of Apocalypse Now from the opening movie themed dance party, to the nostalgic soundtrack filled with songs from Marvin Gaye and others, to the technical aspects of the film: including shifting aspect ratios between the present and flashback footage of the younger Bloods in Vietnam and most importantly the powerful performance from Delroy Lindo, which evokes a often times 'decent into madness' as I like to call it, that needs to be mentioned along with other great performances.

With as much as I did like I did find some flaws with this film, as I mentioned before, the first act felt awkward to me. I would recommend having some patience, to give the story time to build. Spike Lee recently praised the composer of this film, however I felt the score, especially at the beginning of the film did not fit, it just jumped out at me and not in a good way.

I felt the flashback scenes should have had younger actors, with the only one being Chadwick Boseman. The makeup was not convincing, and as great as the performances were, it was another thing that jumped out as pretty noticeable to me.

For the flaws the film does have, I feel is redeemed by the end of the film. And most importantly I felt the film grow as it progressed. And when most of the time I feel, that films fizzle out especially during their middle act, Da 5 Bloods actually kept getting better and better. So thats why I say give the first act a chance because I feel it pays off in the end,

Spike Lee has been in an upward swing lately with Academy Award Winning 'BlacKKKlansman' from 2018 and 2020s Da 5 Bloods, which sees him tackling current political commentary and being able to blend it with past history grievances so well that even if you don't agree with his politics, it is impossible to deny his talent as a storyteller and filmmaker.

Waves (I) (2019)

Waves (2019)

[7/10 · 12 December 2019]

Waves, from A24, who right now is probably the leader in independent cinema in America. I pretty much went into this movie blind, only saw the trailer once and that was enough to get me to see it.

The film begins with Tyler and his girlfriend enjoying their youth in South Florida. He lives with his family in an upscale house with an overbearing father who pushes him and plugs into him that he has to work 10 times harder than everyone else and does not have the luxury to settle for mediocre.

Tyler's girlfriend reveals to him that she is pregnant. Unfortunately the scene came off to me as cliché and something you have seen thousands of times as Lifetime, but luckily, the film begins to shift after that scene and Tyler's life begins to collapse around him.

He and his girlfriend decide to get an abortion but are met by protesters, his girlfriend has a change of heart and does not go through with the abortion. As they leave the clinic a woman shouts a racial slur at Tyler, and fights with his girlfriend in the car and kicks her out of the car.

Tyler begins to spiral out of control as he starts to steal Oxycodone pills from his father. His father suspects his son but never confronts him. Tylers performance as a wrestler begins the decline, and it is affecting his mood. Once Tylers girlfriend decides to keep the baby, he goes ballistic and she breaks up with him.

He loses all hope and stalks her through social media on Prom Night, drives to the party she is at, gets into a fight with her and he hits her and she cracks her head on the garage floor and dies.

Tyler is sentenced to life in prison and then the film shifts to focus on his sister, who is pretty much in the background during the first half of the film. After her brothers trial and sentencing, she begins to isolate herself at school, but Lucas Hedges comes up to her and introduces himself, and they start a relationship which is portrayed more mature than a couple of high school kids could handle.

There are scenes of them taking showers and baths together, and end up driving to Missouri to see Lucas Hedges dying father. I found their relationship to be somewhat far fetched and unbelievable.

The story may have a typical after school special narrative, but it is the performances and the pulsating soundtrack that carry the film. Songs from Tame Impala, Animal Collective, Tyler the Creator, Kid Cudi The Glenn Miller Orchestra and a host of others surround the film and will definitely keep you awake.

The opening of the film gave me a lot of memories of past teen films from my time like Varsity Blues, She's All That, even Dazed and Confused and having the film set in South Florida location reminded me of the Larry Clark film Bully which is a true story captures the twisted minds in cookie cutter suburbia. Waves isnt twisted like Bully, but it is another tale of the high school experience that is really lacking in cinema today.

Honey Boy (2019)

Honey Boy (2019)

[7/10 · 12 December 2019]

Honey Boy, starring Shia Lebouf, is supposed to be about the life of Shia Lebouf as a child actor and the relationship he has with his father, who is managing his career.

The movie begins on a film set with Lucas Hedges portraying main character Otis, in the year 2005 - he gets into some trouble and is admitted into a rehab facility, where they diagnose him as having symptoms of PTSD. Otis begins having flashbacks of himself as a child actor 10 years prior, set in 1995.

The main focus of the film is the relationship Child Otis played by Noah Jupe and his father played by Shia Lebouf. Otis and his father live in a dingy motel looking apartment complex, where their neighbors sit outside their porch till all hours of the night, and Otis develops a friendship with the character known as Shy Girl who is played by singer FKA Twigs.

It wasn't exactly mentioned if Shy Girl is a prostitute or not, but that's the impression I got. Otis sees Shy Girl being verbally abused by probably her female pimp, and then have a really intimate scene where they get really close together on a bed and share a kiss on the cheek. It's honestly one of the most intense scenes in the film, and although it may be awkward at times, I think the scene works.

Honey Boy is essentially a two man show between Otis and his father. The beginning kind of starts out humorous although cruel where his father comments on his sons urinating skills, but as the film goes on, we dive deeper into the father's jealousy of Otis relationship with his step father Tony, who Otis father lures him to Otis only to beat him up and throw him in a pool.

Otis relationship with his father is abusive but its also mature, with Otis cursing at his father and smoking cigarettes with him, and eventually confronting each others insecurities.

Meanwhile back at the rehab center, adult Otis grows frustrated applying the rehab cliches to his life. He acts like a brat for most of his stay there but who can blame him. His roommate ticks Otis off by enjoying his time at the rehab. Its not until Otis does the cliché go yell in the woods, that he does get his epiphany and begin to battle his demons.

Although most of Honey Boy takes place in a dark motel room, its Shia Lebouf and Noah Jupes performances that carry this film. There is a mysterious and intriguing feel to the film, with Shy Girls character and Otis father appearing as a rodeo clown. It lacks exploring more outside of the motel room. There are only a few scenes of Otis working on movies, and they are all shown in the trailers for the film.

Still Honey Boy is worth watching for both Shia Leboufs transition in cinema, and for watching up and comer Noah Jupe act along side Shia. Be sure to check this one out.

3 from Hell (2019)

3 From Hell (2019)

[4/10 · 22 November 2019]

"3 From Hell" is a sequel to both The Devils Rejects and House of 1000 Corpses.

So let me get my rating right out of the way I gave it a 4 out of 10 or a solid 2 stars. While I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would, I didn't love it either and out of the 3 films, this has to be at the bottom of the list. The whole movie felt like The Best of Rob Zombie films: a little bit of Corpses, mixed with some Rejects, sprinkle a little Halloween, and you get 3 From Hell.

The movie has a rough start in the beginning and comes across somewhat amateurish and low budget, so if you were expecting something exciting and action packed like the farmhouse shootout from the opening of The Devils Rejects, you will be disappointed . The film opens with grainy and ugly newsreel footage complete with narration, as it replays some of the final scene from The Devils Rejects just before the trio get into the highway shootout with the cops. The film skips over the shootout and we find them arrested and jail, followed by a quick trial and news clippings which show the trio are found guilty. Around this time is when we see Sid Haig's only scene as Captain Spaulding, where he reprises his famous line 'Do I Stutter' and then is shipped off to be executed using lethal injection.

For those who can't stand Sherri Moon be prep red because essentially this is her movie. Sherri Moon pulls out all the stops in this film, and her character Baby is presented here more on the side of the crazy feel she has in 1000 Corpses than that of the laid back feel she has in Rejects. In this film Baby is presented as extremely unstable, she hallucinates about cats, she purrs like a cat, teeters on the fence of lesbianism, and can't make parole. Only during a scene in which she challenges some hombres to a knife throwing contest does Sheri Moon display Baby in the chilled out relaxed character like she does in the Rejects. However like I said, she is very unstable in the film and is essentially a killing machine and has the best kill in the movie, which I won't spoil, because it is indeed a nasty scene.

Let me talk about Otis' escape from jail which not only is it lazy and entirely too abrupt, but it sets up the failure for the rest of the film. Otis and Rondo, who is played by Danny Trejo are in the same prison and end up on a work truck together. Otis recognizes Rondo and says 'I remember you', to which Rondo says, 'I don't remember you' and Otis says 'You will #x27; and ends up shooting and killing him. Fast forward to when the trio decide to escape to Mexico, it takes absolutely no time for someone to recognize the Fireflys and snitch to Rondos brother, who will exact revenge on the trio with his army team of luchador shooters called The Black Satans.

In order for the film to work, there needed to be more time to find out more about Rondo and how he ends up in prison next to Otis. The escapes needed to be written better because Otis escapes first and him and his half brother Foxy end up in a house torturing a few people, while Baby plays a fine line between being a lesbian and a psychotic killer in jail. Entirely too much time is spent with Baby and even after she escapes, they are cooped up in a motel room and nothing is happening to the point where Foxy says something along the lines of, Whats the plan, We need to move this along.

3 from Hell is essentially beat by beat, a re hash of The Devils Rejects. But what is missing is purpose. In The Devils Rejects, Wydell has a vendetta against the Fireflys for killing his brother in 1000 Corpses. We don't get purpose in this film. If there was more backstory on Rondo and his brother, we could've cared a bit more and related to his brother and his revenge on the Fireflies . Instead this movie is basically Sheri Moon's highlight reel as she is given top billing at the end credits, Otis seems bored and his dialogue is lazy which just rehashes lines and gags from the other two films. The one thing I enjoyed is the music which is more along the lines of the songs found in Rejects and the score is a bit more synth-y like 1000 Corpses.

All in all, the film seems like a DVD extra, or a fan made film. It holds absolutely no purpose and now keeps the story of the Fireflies open. See it if you love Zombie and love the Fireflies, but just be aware that this is not better then The Devils Rejects.

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Dolemite is My Name (2019)

[8/10 · 21 November 2019]

For those unaware to Rudy Ray Moore watching this film will give you the cliffs notes version of his life and career before he catapulted to fame in the mid 70s with the blaxploitation classic Dolemite.

The film begins with Rudy Ray Moore portrayed by Eddie Murphy and at the point he was at with his career before hitting it big with Dolemite. In the opening scene he is hustling his home made records to a radio DJ played by Snoop Dogg who informes him that the material is old school and not what listeners want to hear.

We then see him bombing with his tired comedy act at local club, but his buddies played by Craig Robinson and Mike Epps, who play in a band are seeing more success at the club than Moore.

After the usual tired performance. Moore and his friends gather at a diner and Moore gets the idea of telling and updating classic jokes he heard from a bum on the street.

This proves to be the winning formula, after he rejects his boss' negative attitude toward his new look, and performs his new set anyway which proves to be an instant smash and allows him to find local success and begin making more home made records of his new material.

However he is unable to secure a reputable record deal, so starts selling records out of his trunk. This catches wind to another record label willing to take the risk, and once again prove to be an instant smash.

Celebrating his success Moore takes out his friends and watches an old film called The Front Page and sees how audiences reacted to what he thought was a boring film. He has a gut feeling that the world is waiting for a Dolemite movie so after getting his record label to finance the film. He can't secure a buyer, so once again locally presents his movie and it becomes such a hit that a company eventually buys the Dolemite film.

Fans of the Dolemite film and Eddie Murphy fans will have alot to reveal with this film as it showcases a performance by Eddie Murphy not seen in some time. But great to know he hasnt lost a step and the films story about making a film gives it a Bowfinger quality that fans of Eddie's will appreciate. Even.though at times the film is lacking in surprises. This is a great story of a comedian first striking a.local celebrity and eventually hitting the mainstream where eventually a Netflix film was made and of the most important times in his life.

The Irishman (2019)

I Heard You Paint Houses (2019)

[3/10 · 20 November 2019]

The Irishman, the highly anticipated film from Martin Scorsese which reunites actors Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino for the first time in decades, in this adaptation of the book I Heard You Paint Houses which recounts the final days of Jimmy Hoffas life and the connection Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran had to Hoffas disappearance.

There are at least two moments in the film where Robert Deniro's charcter Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran mentions how young people of today dont know much about Jimmy Hoffa other than the fact that he dissapeared. And I am definitely in that category and that is how I will be approaching this review.

The name Jimmy Hoffa was etched into popular culture as being a notable figure who went missing. I have not done any research on the topic, nor watched or remember previous films on the subject of Jimmy Hoffa, so this story was able to shed some light on Hoffa, who was the head of the Teamsters, and how he was basically the most important figure of the American worker next to the President.

The story is told through 3 different timelines. The film begins with an elderly Sheeran telling the audience his story, which then shifts to the present with DeNiro and Pesci on a road trip to Detroit. During their roadtrip, Sheeran recollects the first time he met Bufalino and then shifts to the past to when he began his life of crime.

Like other gangster films of the past there are many players and characters to come and go as the film progresses. These films are telling stories that span decades, so even if the viewer is confused or not really know what is going on, you can view it and compare it to gangster films of the past.

And in that regard. I feel The Irishman just cant compare to other films that were told better. Goodfellas, Casino, The Godfather Alot of the times while watching this I felt I had already seen it before. Which is how some people feel about Casino being another version of Goodfellas.

And I guess I was expecting something as epic as those films, but nothing ever comes close.

My opinion may be unpopular, but wait for Netflix. And hearing the hefty pricetag on this film, I just couldn't see it on the screen. It really didnt feel cinematic at all. When I went home I had to do a double feature of Goodfellas and Casino just to remind myself that Gangster movies can be a plethora of things: exciting funny and sad. The Irishman is mostly a slog and in time wont be remembered like other classics.

The Last House on the Left (1972)

One of the best

[9/10 · 2 November 2006]

"Last House on the Left" is one of the best and one of the very first horror movies. Taking a realistic approach, this film is about 2 teenage females looking to buy some grass before heading to a concert. Not using their judgement correctly, they are taken hostage, raped and murdered by a gang of escaped convicts. I don't want to spoil the rest of the story, but it takes an interesting turn after another. This film is dark and gritty, with a classic soundtrack, and believable performances. This film is also very ironic. Taking place during the peace and love generation, there is an evident battle between good and evil and who will reign. But most viewers wont even see this, but they will notice the dated look of the film. The only complaint is the during some sadistic parts, it is intercut with slapstick comedy. It may be confusing, and unsettling to some viewers, but it is one of the ironic moments this film takes.

Halloween (1978)

Halloween

[10/10 · 3 September 2006]

"Halloween" is the first infamous slasher film to come out after "Psycho." Almost in the same formula of a mystery but brutal multiple murders have defined it to the genre known as slasher. Followed by countless sequels, the 1978 original still remains as one of the creepiest movies ever. What helps that is the brilliant direction of John Carpentar setting the story during the autumn season and even though horror is amidst; it is still looking to crisp and clear. The score which has also become infamous, along with fresh performances give moviegoers a treat they will never forget. The story follows Dr. Loomis whose patient Michael Myers has escaped. He fears the anniversary murder of his sister is going to bring him back to his hometown for more terror.

Wolf Creek (2005)

Didn't think Id be giving it a perfect score....

[9/10 · 6 January 2006]

But this little nasty vomitorium of a movie is excellent in every way. This movie reminded me a lot like "Open Water" and "The Blair Witch Project." I recommend this to every horror fan, this is by far, one of the most realistic horror films ever to be made. The set up, is long and appropriate. Whoever told you the movie sucked obviously has no patience and just wanted to see a gore fest. Well, the story isn't extremely intricate, but enough to be very real. This movie doesn't seem like it will shock you, but before you know it, you'll be wanting to walk out of the theater as some people did. The violence is implied, the suspense is mental, the reviews are mixed, decide for yourself.

Recommend to all horror fans.

Hostel (2005)

'Hostel'

[3/10 · 6 January 2006]

The wait is over. Was it worth the wait? Yes and I enjoyed myself a lot at this movie. First off, the movie is not nearly as brutal as the previews and other people make it out to be. For a brutal, twisted (American) torture flick watch "Strangeland." As a horror film, this movie does stand alone. Everything else you heard about the movie, you already heard. Its not "scary" but disturbing, and yes scary to think that yes, there are people like this. The long torture sequences are pretty tame, while the brutal ones are extremely quick, but trust me you probably saw enough.

Highly Recommended.