DUNE part one

“Dreams are messages from the deep”

A superb cast

Based on the novel series, film attempts have been made several times. This one finally seems to have captured the epic scale of the books.

A vision of a holy war

Lots of opening dialogue, similar to Fellowship of the Ring, help explain the vast setting. Much better than the 1980s Dune movie. This film is easier to follow along with for someone who has never read the books.

Duncan is an incredible fighter

War, politics, mystery, loyalty and betrayal. Dune is a complicated movie with many characters, but the visuals alone make this movie worth watching.

Bigger than the worms from Tremors. These things are massive!

The battle on Arrakis is short, but promises much bigger things in the future. It’s initially a lot to get your head around, but fans of the book should really enjoy it.

A sci fi movie that is truly epic in scale. A beautiful beginning to what is sure to be an exciting series. I look forward to Dune: Part Two.

Movie Score: 85%

Muppets Haunted Mansion

The newest Muppet movie released exclusively to Disney+ this October.

It is both a love letter to the Haunted Mansion, arguably Disney’s most popular attraction, and a throwback to the old school muppets.

Filled with music, comedy and several references to the Haunted Mansion attraction; Muppets Haunted Mansion is a good family movie.

I don’t think Kermit is too fond of the couples costumes Piggy picked out

Muppets Haunted Mansion follows the fearless Gonzo and Pepe the king prawn on a wacky adventure inside a haunted mansion. Gonzo is excited to see the haunted house where his favorite magician, Macguffin, disappeared all those years ago while Pepe thinks he is attending a Hollywood party filled with big stars. Ultimately Pepe is disappointed, but he does get to meet one star…kind of.

Like all good muppet movies and shows, Muppets Haunted Mansion is filled to the brim with famous guest stars. Some are in larger roles (see pic) but most are just quick cameos.

Is it ironic that in Ed Asner’s last film, he portrays a ghost? #TooSoon

While not as good as Muppets Christmas Carol (the definitive best muppets movie of all time), Muppets Haunted Mansion is a solid entry into the franchise and will have your family laughing and singing along. Watch it now on Disney+.

Score 82%

#MovieReview #MovieMondays #NatApproved #Muppets

Fun Size

Fun Size really surprised me. After the first time I watched it, it immediately became one of my top Halloween movies and something that became a tradition for me to watch every year.

Released in 2012, Fun Size (starring Victoria Justice, Thomas Mann, Jane Levy and Osric Chow) is a funny teenage romp in the vein of party movies of the past.

In this strange tale, four high school kids have a night full of hilarious misadventures: outwitting parents, fighting bullies, meeting new friends, chasing crushes and making memories for a lifetime all while trying to locate the main character’s missing little brother.

If you’re looking for a fun Halloween movie, look no further. This laugh out loud comedy will definitely bring a smile to your face!

Score 85%

#MovieReview #MovieMondays #NatApproved #HighlyRecommended

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/VqP64AyJNTQ

October Baby

Since it’s October, I thought it was a good time to do a review of a movie from several years back that I really enjoyed. It was released by an independent studio, so it never got a lot of buzz. I didn’t see it in the theater, but picked up a copy of the DVD when it hit Walmart.

Released in 2011, October Baby is a emotion filled drama chronicling the story of 19 year old Hannah and her freshman year in college when she finds out information about her early childhood that changes her entire life.

Fair warning, this movie is definitely a tear jerker! Sad tears, mad tears, happy tears…it’s all there

The film is beautifully shot and the music is near perfect. The songs fit the mood and their lyrics are so very well timed to what’s happening in the movie. This film introduced me to one of my all time favorite songs: Life is Beautiful by The Afters.

This film can be slow at times but ends up being so powerful that you will need time to just sit and think after watching it. A movie that I have watched many times over now and has found it’s place onto my top 100 films list.

Don’t cry…don’t cry

This film is not normally the type I watch, but it won me over. I highly recommend viewing this. Make sure you’re well hydrated beforehand as you may lose some liquid as the film will rip out your heart and stomp on it over and over again.

Score = 93%

#MovieReview #MovieMondays #HighlyRecommended

CRY MACHO

Simultaneously released to theaters and the HBO Max streaming service, Cry Macho is a screenplay written by N. Richard Nash. After various rejections he turned his screenplay into a novel (released in 1975) and then spent the following decades trying to get it made into a movie. He died in 2000 having sold his screenplay but would never see the results on film.

Though it has had many attempts to be brought to the silver screen, starring such names as Burt Reynolds, Pierce Brosnan and most recently Arnold Swartzenagger, this movie finally arrived in September of 2021 directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.

Cry Macho is the story of a retired American rodeo star named Mike Milo (Eastwood) who is sent across the southern border to find and bring back his friend’s estranged teenage son from Mexico where he lives with his mother, kind of. Turns out he lives on the streets.

Mike Milo and his friend’s son

Clint Eastwood seems like a pretty cool guy, but he is way too old to be portraying this character. A geriatric ninety one year old man is not the person you send into a dangerous area of Mexico to track down and bring back your estranged, street wise teenage son.

This already ridiculous plot gets even more ludacris as things go sideways when his truck breaks down. He can’t get his friend’s son back to the U.S., so he decides to earn some money by breaking wild horses because, you know, 91 year old cowboys are physically capable of doing that kind of stuff. *que the pulled back wide shot of a stand in actor (probably a stunt man) riding a wild, bucking horse.

Then he falls for a young Mexican woman that takes care of him. His love for her is awkward at first until he realizes that this young widow has grandchildren and that makes her old enough to be with him!

Yeah…that attractive woman in her late 30s, early 40s TOTALLY wants that 91 year old fella!

I found nothing to enjoy in this film. Cry Macho is slow paced, poorly written, casted and acted. A complete waste of time. It’s 104 minutes of your life you’ll never get back. Save yourself and do not waste time or money on this B grade film.

Movie score: 17%

#NatsJourneys #MovieReview #CryMacho #NotRecommended

The Suicide Squad

• 

2021

The Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn brings the irreverent, bloody comedy of the comics to your screen. The deaths are sudden, intense and continuous. Neither fan favorite actors or even beloved characters are safe in this film. It definitely lives up to it’s name. *SPOILERS

The Suicide Squad (or their official name, Task Force X) is a black ops unit of captured villains held at Belle Reve, a top secret government prison in Louisiana.

Led by Amanda Waller, Task Force X is used by the U.S. government to do things the government doesn’t want the general populace to know about. Each prisoner is implanted with a tiny bomb at the base of their neck, so they can be executed if they don’t obey orders.

Team #1: Weasel, Blackguard, Mongal, Javelin, Captain Boomerang, T.D.K., Savant and Colonel Rick Flag

The movie starts out quickly, introducing Savant, Colonel Rick Flag and his team that consists of Blackguard, Mongal, Captain Boomerang, Weasel, Javelin, T.D.K. and finally, Harley Quinn. They are put on a chopper and sent to the island of Corto Maltese. The chopper drops them off and they begin their suicide mission…..literally. Almost all of them die within the first 12 minutes on screen.

We then learn that there is a second team also landing on the island. This team is led by Bloodsport and it includes Peacekeeper, Polka Dot Man, Nanua, Rat Catcher 2 and her pet rat Sebastian.

This is when the title comes up and the movie begins. A bouncy song about death plays while the camera pans over all the corpses and the government employees exchange money from their bets on who from team #1 would die during the assault.

Polka Dot Man, Peacekeeper, King Shark (Nanaue), Bloodsport and Rat Catcher 2 (with Sebastian on her shoulder)

The main movie follows the story of team #2 and the surviving members of team #1 (Rick Flag and Harley Quinn) who they “rescue”. The big bad guy is Starro the Conqueror, a giant intergalactic Starfish that can control peoples minds through attaching little starfish to their faces.

Starro the Conqueror

The action is intense, bloody but not too overly grotesque. Definitely deserves it’s R rating from the blood, the nudity and the language. Do NOT takes kids to see this movie!

The fighting is intense, the comedy is laugh out loud funny and sometimes adult oriented. It also has strong emotional moments, an entertaining soundtrack and a solid storyline which is actually relevant to today (surprise, surprise the real bad guy is the U.S. government).

I would list The Suicide Squad as a solid entry into the DCEU. You don’t need to know all about the comics or movies to enjoy this. It works well as a stand alone film and at the same time fits in the #Snyderverse by not contradicting anything from those films. I quite enjoyed it’s story and style of humor. P.S. watch ALL THE WAY through the credits

Score = 82%

#NatsJourneys #MovieReview #MovieMondays #NatApproved

I hope to see Weasel in more films.

RIP Polka Dot Man. You were my new favorite super hero 😔