Infamous

This week I saw two films. One I knew nothing about and hadn't even heard of. The other I knew all too well and was not looking forward to seeing, I'll be honest. The Iceman featuring Michael Shannon and Winona Ryder is up first:

As I said, this one was a complete surprise. A friend mentioned he was going to check it out and I tagged along because I was curious. You're telling me Winona Ryder made something new and I have never heard a thing about it? Let's see where this goes.

This year is all about true, shocking stories. The Iceman is no exception. Again, i knew nothing about the story and was blown away to learn it all really happened once the credits rolled. 

Michael Shannon plays a man with a troubled past. He meets Winona Ryder, an innocent church-going gal, and does everything in his power to hide from her, the man he really is. They get married, have children and live normal lives. 

Only, when Mike leaves the house, he goes off to kill people. 

He started off as an editor working on illegal pornography flicks and when the mob decided to shut down his business, he started working for them as a contract killer. He's really good at what he does and doesn't seem conflicted about any of the jobs he carries out. He makes a ton of money and keeps his wife happy so she tries not to question what he does everyday at the "office".

Unfortunately, Mike's boss runs into some trouble and he shuts down all jobs until further notice. This leaves Mike with a lot of time on his hands and he starts to get a little fidgety. He needs an outlet, without one, his relationship with his family gets a little rocky. So Mike decides to start taking on some side jobs which his boss is not too happy about. 

The family is threatened and one of his daughters is actually attacked. Mike is more paranoid than ever and his wife blames him (rightfully so) for the destruction of their perfect lives. I won't give away the ending, but considering there's a film about it now, I think you can draw your own conclusions as to what happens to our hitman in the end. 

Not being a huge fan of Michael or Winona, I must say, their performances were fantastic! If you like suspense, if you like mob films, if you like a super surprising cast (David Schwimmer where the fuck have you been?!), you'll want to see The Iceman. Again, it's based on a true story but thankfully, the writers don't treat the main character like a hero as they did with Pain & Gain. You should check it out if you get the chance. 

Now for the one we all know and, most of us, love:

Ah yes, Gatsby, The Great Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann sure does know how to make a movie! Like Les Mis, if you know and love this story, you will be extremely pleased with this one. If you're like me, and hate the book, you'll at least be pleased with the overall quality of the movie. 

The writers did an excellent job sticking to the story. The visuals were amazing. The actors were fantastic. But I still hate the story. 

I wish I could say more about it but the above statement pretty much sums it up. I think you should see it regardless of your feelings about the book-the film really is gorgeous.

Go, boldly

Happy Birthday to me! Star Trek: Into Darkness is finally here!

Say what you want about the direction J.J. Abrams is taking the franchise-the film was excellent! 

I know folks get touchy when their beloved stories' formula is altered, but let's move on people. We all complain that Hollywood isn't doing anything original, so why do we then get mad when someone comes in and tries to keep our dreams alive? 

This movie had everything Trek fans crave. Action, adventure, suspense, comedy, love, dedication, revenge and the ever powerful urge to always do good for one another. 

Did the writers take the characters in a different direction then you would expect? Yes. Did they also try and keep in line with the storyline from the past while still keeping it fresh and original? Yes, absolutely! 

The hard part for true fans, is the fact that the writers are using characters they love and putting them in situations they feel they might not have been in. What everyone needs to realize is, they are in fact the same characters but, the storyline-the timeline-the world that is Trek has changed for a new generation. If you accept this, you can view each film with a smile on your face. If you can't move on, you're going to tear everyone of these movies apart and that's a damn shame. 

I wish I could give you a synopsis of the film but it would just be too tough without including some spoilers and I really want you guys to see it. Like, really really. You may not like sci-fi, you may not be a trekkie, but if you love movies and can appreciate a film that is brilliantly and so obviously made with love and passion, you have no reason to miss this. 

Can't wait to see it again!

Hi, my name is:

This was a big weekend for me. All three films that I got to see were ones that I was seriously looking forward to checking out. As usual, I'm going to go through them in the order I saw them. Let's start with the big boy:

Iron Man 3:

I feel silly even writing about this one if I'm honest. It's freakin' Iron Man. Is it amazing? Yes. Should you see it? You mean to tell me you haven't seen it yet?!?! Yes. See it. More than once. Bring your mom like I did, she'll love it. Robert Downey Jr. is awesome as usual. Don Cheadle kicks ass and is tougher in this film than I'd ever seen him before. Ben Kingsley was incredible as always and his role is one you will not see coming. Wait, that was his line from the movie in fact, awesome. 

What can I say? Please, see it. And if you haven't seen the first two Iron Man flicks, or Avengers for that matter-WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! 

Here's one that will surprise you, Pain & Gain:

You'll see the trailers and you'll think this is going to be one bananas comedy. You are correct, however, the film itself is based on a true story that you simply will never believe. Mark Wahlberg is brilliant in his role of this crime dramas "mastermind", Daniel Lugo, who decides he's had enough of this minimum wage, paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, and recruits his friends from his local gym to help him kidnap and steal from one of his clients. Dwayne Johnson and  Tony Shalhoub are starring in roles the likes of which we have never seen and they were positively amazing. 

I won't go into too much detail, but I can guarantee you, you'll never believe something so insane could actually have happened. Furthermore, you'll wonder how such a comedy of errors turned roller coaster of crime could have taken place without any serious public attention. Honestly, how did no one know about this?! It's actually pretty horrible when you sit back and think about it. 

A group of roided out meatheads decide to steal from the rich. However, they have no idea what they're doing and end up killing two people and ruining countless people's lives. Sure, the movie makes light of it by focusing on how supremely stupid the bad guys were but let's keep it real. People actually died. 

I'd like to tell you to see the film because the actors' performances really were crazy but I feel like I'm encouraging ya'll to laugh at other people's tragedy. Puts me in a real moral bind...

Mud:

I saw the trailer for this film and was instantly hooked. The performances looked incredible and I was really excited to see Matthew McConaughey once again, doing what he does and acting his arse off. Matt plays a drifter named Mud who comes back to his hometown after being on the run for a few years. Mud is in love with Juniper, played by Reese Witherspoon and we come to find he was on the run because he killed a man who was hurting her. 

Two local boys, played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland, discover Mud hiding out on an island in the middle of the river and they become friendly with him and try to help him get out of town. It's not the fastest paced film out there right now, but it's definitely one I'd suggest you see. Those two boys are going places-they were absolutely incredible. If they never act again, it'd be a real shame. Watch the trailer, you can a small taste of their talents in a 30 second clip that will explain it all. Those boys should be extremely proud of their performances, just fantastic, I can't say enough about them. I was extremely impressed!

Go see Mud!