Movies
Being who I am with the background I have (comics and role playing games, along with playing guns), it's not surprising I find myself attracted to action movies, so excited by the Marvel movies that start coming out a bit ago, loved the Lord the Rings movies (of course I read the books in middle school) as well as other quality movies in the fantasy genre. I love good action/war movies, and some not so good ones as well as martial arts movies. However, I also like good dramas that are interesting and compelling and some horror as I often like the mythos' they create. Below are some of my favorites that stand out. And, I suppose it goes without saying, this is all subjective.
Young Me
One of the first movies I would call "my favorite movie." I had the lyrics to one of the songs (Brave Sir Robin) on my book cover in middle school. I loved this movie so much: still do. The humor silly, yet intellectual humor, of Monty Python is so rarely appreciated in so many people I run into now. Still love it.
This little known movie might have had something to do with my fandom of special forces and guns in the way it has manifested. A slow burn movie about the SAS (the British Special Air Service). This movie, unlike so many of it's time shows realistic small unit tactics and weapons use, something that made a strong impact on me at an early age. The action still pans out.
A movie from my childhood. I went and saw it 2 times in the theater and read through all the fan mags at the bookstore. It also got me inspired to go down in the tunnels below the city.
Another childhood movie I loved. The remake was terrible, and I was so young the first one could be terrible too, but I wouldn't have known. Haven't watched it in years, but loved it when little
Adult Me
This is easily my favorite science fiction movie. I love hard sci fi...and I love monsters, and military stuff that seems plausible, functional and real. Add great characters and sets. Masterpiece.
My girlfriend many years ago read the short story this was based on. So when it came out in the theaters she wanted to see it. I loved it right away. It's the top highest rated movie on IMDB, and for good reason.
For many years now I think of this as my favorite movie. The message I get from this movie resonates deeply within me. Plus it has great characters and narration.
My favorite romance movie. I love this movie. The soundtrack is great, the story sweet and it makes me misty-eyed. I love this movie.
When I was younger I read Marvel titles. When they started making good Marvel movies, it was a fantasy come true. I love the MCU and hope the quality just keeps on coming. (edit) Sadly, see below.
I read the Lord of the Rings books first in Middle School. I have reread a few times. I don't know why return of the King gets so much love. To me, easily the best one is The Fellowship of the Ring. Amazing! Followed by Two Towers...then Return of the King. We won't speak of the abomination that is The Hobbit trilogy.
The first comic book movie that rocked my world. The intro scene is amazing and the whole movie is really great and was ahead of all the great Marvel movies we have now.
I was pessimistic about how good this movie would be, and then it was amazing! The music, the characters and fun tech. Great movie. Not my favorite Marvel movie, but it was such a surprise. I think my favorite MCU movie might be The Winter Soldier?
My new favorite comedy from whenever it was I saw it for the 2nd or 3rd time. It's just so goofy and fun...and I just love Mugatu, he's the icing on the cake that's just a great, funny, silly, movie that plays on so many things.
Booksmart. The newest movie on the list. A great, thoughtful, funny, movie about two best friends finishing high school and their struggle to get into good colleges, and yet have one last great night. Great performances, woke themes, and so positive overall. Love, love, love it!
Another Comedy. This movie didn't make much money at the box office, but has since turned into a cult classic. Such great characters and a great tear down of some of the things office people and other working professionals deal with.
Another "cult classic" movie. What a great fun, magical movie
My favorite war movie. Great fights, special forces action, and acting. It also shows the human side of war to some extent the misadventures of American military adventurism around the world, trying to solve complex geopolitical, historical and cultural issues with the application of military operations. Afghanistan is a good recent example...but there are many others from S.E. Asia and Latin America to the Middle East.
Love this movie. It's cute, fun, inspiring, cultural, Kiera is so cute, and Jess is so great. I rented it when just when video stores were going away and watched it twice in one day. The only bummer, in a way, is that I've shown it in my sociology class so much that I am sick of it now. Finally, the thing I really like about this movie is there are almost no real bad people. Everyone just wants what they think is best for them or their kids.
What a great movie. When this came out it was so cool with the special effects and the characters, but mostly the story and the concept of living in the matrix. I still can't prove to myself I am not living in a simulation. Too bad all the movies that have come out since (except The Animatrix) were quite bad if not TERRIBLE and ruined the concepts and mythos of the first movie.
Another Reeves movie that I loved so much. The action and the concept. The cool Continental Hotel idea and John Wick being this amazing assassin. Then, the later movies made it clear he needed help to leave the mob, that he forgot or just ignored "the marker" and needs help currently as he can't take care of his problems by himself, and that EVERYONE is an assassin. I really think they got lost in the sauce in the 2nd movie and never recovered fully. A particularly dumb part was that part where they are shooting at each other in the subway and NO ONE notices, but there's a lot of no one noticing in public in the second: really, re-watch it and notice yourself just how stupid it is. More, how is it that they are such good shots, until they shouldn't be (even the first one has this when John Wick is shooting at Viggo's son at the Red Circle)?
Some of my favorite characters
My favorite Pixar character. Dug is so sweet, goofy and fun. He just wants to love and be loved.
Hicks from Aliens. Just a cool, collected, bad ass. Shows respect, gets respect. From a humble corporal to the man in charge in one mission. Hicks is the man.
Jacobim Mugatu from Zoolander. The best character from the movie, my favorite Will Farrell character and someday I will dress up like him for Halloween and if nobody knows who I am I will yell, "feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"
Nebula. This is my girl. Bad ass and tough with a vulnerable damaged side deep inside. I feel like the guy version of one of those girls who likes damaged tough guys when I think of how I like her. She's my favorite MCU character and I have a small framed poster of her in my office. Yep, it's that bad.
Hit girl from Kick Ass. From her foul mouth to her confidence to her ability to totally waste people, she's just so awesome. But she has a sweet side too, and she cares. But what a badass...
Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. I read the books when in middle school. I had a Lord of the Rings poster in my room through H.S. I have seen and imagined Gandalf many times in many ways...and when he was put to cinema I was nervous and excited and they NAILED IT! This is Gandalf.
Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder. I didn't even recognize Tom Cruise when I first saw this movie as the actor playing this over the top, ruthless, bizarre, insane movie producer. What a funny, great character and Bill Hader as his assistant is perfect as well.
A special place in hell... Movies that sucked out parts of my soul.
This movie ruined Star Wars for me. Star Wars was already on thin ice after the horrible prequels. But, I liked "The Force Awakens," especially Kylo Ren and Rey. And then this and tore down what was built up already and tore up the opportunities "The Force Awakens" presented to shreds. It also broke Star Wars canon, and set up stupid ideas, idiotic characters, and gave us a pathetic version of Luke Skywalker that's not even close to the person he would have been.
If you want to know how I feel you can listen to Ben Shapiro's review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-t4bU3-lHA
Or this one may even be better from my point of view:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ8ir66M5XU
or just about any other review on YouTube about this dumpster fire of a movie. Not only was it bad, but the way Disney interpreted the bad press was pathetic. Then the follow up tried to save it...it was pathetic. I have nothing but contempt for this movie. This was the GoT Season 8 of Movies.
I LOVED Aliens by James Cameron and I like the original Alien by Ridley Scott. The other Alien movies were not very good...but they weren't by either James Cameron or Ridley Scott. Now with Ridley back writing and directing and with amazing trailers I was so hopeful for this movie. However, while visually stunning, it is full of supposedly smart characters acting like total idiots. Such a great concept, and such a huge let down. Covenant wasn't much better, but at least my expectations were low enough to not rage watch negative reviews when I got home, for days...
Note: It was hard to find a good Phase 4 image that is all the stuff they put out and not the stuff that was canceled of moved back: this should do.
Marvel Phase 4: I LOVED the MCU. I read comics as a kid and pretty much only Marvel...pretty much. The MCU was so good and they had such epic and cool characters and a great interwoven universe. Sadly, the days now of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man, Spiderman Homecoming, etc... are now seemingly gone. How far it's fallen with quantity over quality. Most of the phase 4 movies (not to mention most all of the shows on T.V.) have been at the forefront of my mind in representing the fall of the MCU. I will add to part of this in time I suppose, but there are so many terrible things. Here's my list as it stands right now:
-Way too much heavy-handed messaging and fake wokeness
-Way too much humor and no gravitas or stakes
-Tearing down of established heroes.
-Too many young girl boss characters that didn't "earn" their right to be respected heroes. They're just automatically amazing/crazy smart/powerful/righteous, etc... if they have a weakness it's just not realizing how awesome they are. They never had to get over or past anything else. No struggle, no growth = no character.
-Too much CGI, and not very good CGI. Bigger and more is not better.
-Too many world and universe ending stakes, making it all seem meaningless. Now the worlds in peril doesn't even get a reaction out of me. Of course it is, of course they'll save it...again. Soon it will be that way with reality, the multiverse...
-Too much content: hard to keep up with, too many connections that are lose and nonsensical, too many characters to care about. It use to be tightly woven and sensical.
-Time Travel and the Multiverse: Time travel worked for a bit, but it's starting to unravel (the blip and different timelines) as I knew it would, and the Multiverse makes the whole undertaking too high stakes, yet paradoxically too low stakes at the same time. They're also too confusing and take away from the intimacy and familiarity of the movies by creating universes and realities so strange to and nonsensical to be meaningless CGI fests.
...this list will grow with time and energy.
In the end there was more dumb products than good products. I did think Black Widow as pretty o.k. especially with Yelena, Shang-Chi was pretty good, No Way Home had some amazing stuff, I enjoyed Wanda Vision (the ONLY good TV show), and I liked Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special. Sadly. phase 5 with Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania just kept the dumpster fire burning.
My comments on Antman and the Wasp: Quantummania...