Has there ever been a time that when you first saw a poster of a car with a bulletproof vest on that it didn’t make you curious as to what the heck the film was about? That is the exact feeling I had when I first the poster for Keanu displayed at my local theater chain. The film stars Jordan Peele (Key And Peele) as slacker Rell Williams, a man who was just dumped by his girlfriend and is hating life. That is until an adorable kitten shows up at his doorstep and gives him a whole new outlook and lease on life. One day while out his cousin Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key), he comes home to find his apartment broken into and Keanu is missing. Now with his cat missing, he will stop at nothing to find his dear sweet friend and bring him back home safely even if it means mixing it up with a gang. The film also stars Method Man (How High) as Cheddar, Tiffany Haddish (Meet The Spartans) as Hi-C, Darrell Britt-Gibson (Squatters) as Trunk, Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton) as Bud, Jamar Malachi Neighbors (Underbelly Blues) as Stitches, Luis Guzman (Carlito’s Way) as Bacon, Will Forte (MacGruber) as Hulka, Nia Long (Friday) as Hannah, and the film was directed by Peter Atencio.
I can’t begin to tell you how pleasantly surprised I was at how awesome of a movie this was. I was going into it thinking that this could be complete crap, but I left still laughing at some of the scenes I had just witnessed in the film. This is a perfect example of a nerd comedy where we are laughing with them with the pop culture references and their take on racial weirdness. If you loved what they did on their show Key and Peele, then there is no reason why you wouldn’t love this film. One of the examples of the racial weirdness would be the part when Peele tells Key that he sounds like Richard Pryor making fun of white people and Key tells Peele that he sounds like John Ritter. That is until they fall into the criminal world where they pretend to act like tough African American Gangsters. Oh and Key’s character is obsessed with George Michaels which doesn’t get anymore white than that. Although, I loved the scene where Key is going through a trip ad he’s in a George Michaels video. One of the highlights of the film is Kenau, I mean let’s not lie he is so adorable. There is a special cameo in this film that I won’t mention who, but I think you can figure it out. I was so happy to see Jason Mitchell who in my opinion had the breakout performance in Straight Outta Compton as Eazy-E does a terrific job as Bud in this film. I was a big fan of the film and think this is one that you should check out. I am going to give the comedy an A- for a final grade because they take their style of sketch comedy and they made it work as a film.
There are times when you have too many movies to watch that you miss one at the cinema every now and again. Today’s film, Jane Got A Gun is certainly an example of a film that didn’t last long at the box office and I missed my chance to see it then. Jane (Natalie Portman) is trying to live her life like any normal woman in post civil war New Mexico with her husband and daughter. Things get very complicated for Jane when her husband returns home with several gunshot wounds from a past that has finally caught up to them. In order to protect her injured husband and make a stand, Jane will enlist the help of an ex-lover (Joel Edgerton) to help against the man bringing all the havoc. The film also stars Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting) as John Bishop, Noah Emmerich (The Truman Show) as Bill Hammond, Boyd Holbrook (A Walk Among The Tombstones) as Vic Owen, Rodrigo Santoro (300: Rise Of An Empire) as Fitchum, James Burnett (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trails) as Cunny Charlie, Sam Quinn (Transcendence) as Slow Jeremiah, Alex Manette (Lee Daniels The Butler) as Buck, Jenny Gabrielle (Employee Of The Month) as Whore, and the film was directed by Gavin O’Connor (Pride And Glory).
I want to start this off by saying that Joel Edgerton is becoming one of my favorite actors in Hollywood. I have yet to be disappointed by anything that he has put out whether it was a film he strictly starred in or had something to do with the story, etc. Joel Edgerton was one of the screenwriters for this film and I have to say that it’s kind of an unorthodox western in which the back story is being told while the story is unfolding. One thing that I thought was cool was that I had no idea that Ewan McGregor was in the film and he is the antagonist of the film. He does such a great job playing the villain in the film and in fact I thought everyone from Portman to even a person with a minor role did a fantastic job. The last western I watched didn’t make the top 25, but this one definitely has a chance because I liked everything about it. The difference between westerns today versus the days of Eastwood and such is that the kills look a lot more realistic with the abilities we have now. The story structures and the subplots are all the same as they were before, but now they get a little more creative. To make the story even more of a happy ending, they throw a little twist at the end that was a little lame (I’ll admit), but it didn’t bother me at all. The film is available at Redbox now so if you love westerns then give this one a chance. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
For today I chose a film from Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore) because the first film in the Hotel Transylvania series was very good despite what people may be saying about his career. When I saw that Netflix had Hotel Transylvania 2 available to watch, I took the shot and it’s todays’ film. The film starts off with Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Jonathan (Andy Samberg) getting married and that follows with them having their first child Dennis (Asher Blinkoff). Dracula (Sandler) is having a hard time with the idea that his new grandson could be a human and not a monster. It’s gotten to the point that Mavis and Johnny are thinking about moving away to give Dennis a normal upbringing. Not liking the idea of that, Dracula has Johnny take Mavis on vacation in an attempt to see if he can bring the monster out of Johnny. The film also stars Kevin James (King Of Queens) as Frank, Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) as Wayne, David Spade (Tommy Boy) as Griffin, Keegan-Michael Key (Let’s Be Cops) as Murray, Fran Drescher (The Nanny) as Eunice, Molly Shannon (Superstar) as Wanda, Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation) as Grandpa Mike, Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) as Grandma Linda, Mel Brooks (Spaceballs) as Vlad, and the film was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.
I thought for a very long time that I was the only person n the whole wide world that was waiting for some sort of sequel to the 1994 Richard Linklater (Boyhood) classic Dazed And Confused. Go 22 years into the future and now we have our spiritual sequel (Linklater has stated) to the classic film in Everybody Wants Some!! which takes place in the 1980’s (or at least the beginning of the decade). The film follows incoming freshman Jake (Blake Jenner) and his ragtag baseball teammates as they navigate through the life of college and everything that comes with it like partying, sex, and anything else you can think of as it’s all unsupervised by adults. Will they survive that three day weekend before classes start or will we have some casualties along the way. The film also stars Juston Street (My All American) as Jay, Ryan Guzman (The Boy Next Door) as Roper, Tyler Hoechlin (Road To Perdition) as McReynolds, Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street) as Willoughby, Glen Powell (The Dark Knight Rises) as Finnegan, Temple Baker (Love Is Relative) as Plummer, J. Quinton Johnson as Dale, Will Brittain (A Teacher) as Beuter, Austin Amelio (The Walking Dead) as Nesbit, and Zoey Deutch (Dirty Grandpa) as Beverly.
For a while as I was watching the film, I had a hard time figuring out what the plot of the film was. Was this a film that was just about partying? Dazed And Confused had a plot to it that was easy to get while this one just seems like a movie about endless partying and gamesmanship. Then after a while, it became clear as soon as I read IMDB’s explanation. One thing is for certain with this film is that just like the first film, it has a killer soundtrack that features the likes of Foreigner, Devo, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Pat Benatar, and so many more. The soundtrack was always a huge part of the film and they do a terrific job picking the songs once again as it mixes some disco with rock and a little country too. Another thing Linklater has a knack for when it comes these films is discovering young talent to go with the already established guys. There are a lot of guys who make their feature film debuts in this film and they do a great job. One of the true highlights for me was Juston Street who plays an absolute awesome comedic relief as a pitcher who takes himself way too seriously. Every time he appeared on screen, I was laughing my butt off and couldn’t get enough of him. I like how the film ended however cause it was kind of a nice way to end the adventure that was the film. One thing I will say is what they hell were they thinking in the 80’s when it came to their outfits and those short shorts guys wore? Anyways, I am going to give the film an A- only because it doesn’t top Dazed And Confused, but it was very enjoyable to watch.
Since last week’s Cheeseball Cinema film, I decided that I should keep going instead of doing it just one time and I have another good one for you guys this week. The name of today’s film is Hardbodies and it’s an 80’s instructional video on how to pick up chicks at a beach. Well, I am just kidding, but the film stars Grant Cramer (Killer Klowns From Outer Space) as Scotty, a hip and cool California beach kid. Three older guys Hunter (Gary Wood), Ashby (Sorrells Pickard), and Rounder (Michael Rapport) are having a hard time picking up ladies. One day, they see Scotty doing it and they want him to teach them the ways of picking up hardbodies (gorgeous beach girls). Everything is going great for all of them until Hunter puts a move on Scotty’s girl Kristi (Teal Roberts). Now he has to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. The film also stars Courtney Gains (Children Of The Corn) as Rad, Cindy Silver as Kimberly, Kristi Somers (Rumble Fish) as Michelle, Crystal Shaw Martell (Hard Rock Zombies) as Candy, Darcy DeMoss (Can’t Buy Me Love) as Dede, Kane Hodder (Friday The 13TH Part VII) as Older Geek, Kathleen Kinmont (Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers) as Pretty Skater, and the film was directed by Mark Griffiths (Hardbodies 2). To continue reading the rest of the review, please visit my other site 
For today’s film, I was simply flipping through my guide when I saw that Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) and Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) were starring in a film that I had never heard of. So, I took the chance and for today’s film I watched Home Sweet Hell. Don Champagne (Wilson) seems to have it all from the perfect wife, family, home, and he even owns his own business selling furniture. Not everything is what it seems as his wife Mona (Heigl) pretty much runs his life by making decisions and even when they have sex. At his business, Don hires a sexy woman by the name of Dusty (Jordana Brewster) and the two begin to have an affair. When Don finds out that she is pregnant and wants money, Mona will stop at nothing to fix the issue and keep her perfect family together. The film also stars Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting) as Freeman, A.J. Buckley (Disturbing Behavior) as Murphy, Jim Belushi (Mr. Destiny) as Les, Heath Freeman (Skateland) as Benji, Chi McBride (Let’s Go To Prison) as Chief Malcolm Brown, Madison Wolfe (The Campaign) as Allison Champagne, Aiden Flowers (The Big Short) as Andrew Champagne, and the film was directed by Anthony Burns (Skateland).
I have to be honest and say that I was sold on this film the minute I saw the sweet behind of Jordana Brewster. She is so sexy in this film and she does an amazing job playing a seductress. I mean who would fall for her trap? You’ll have to see the film to know exactly what I am talking about there, but this film was pretty enjoyable to watch. Katherine Heigl did such an amazing job playing a really creepy housewife who is obsessed with the idea of perfection. She has everything mapped out in a scrap book that she calls goals. As soon as somebody tries to mess with it, she snaps. She definitely sold her part very well to the point where I believed that she was who she was playing. Patrick Wilson also did a terrific job playing a guy who thinks he’s confident, but when things get real, he’s a bubbling idiot who certainly can’t take confrontations. So, you can definitely tell who wears the pants in that family, but the end will certainly shock you a tiny bit. There are times however that certain events happen that are a little too predictable and you say to yourself that you saw that coming. Jim Belushi does a great job as sort of the alcoholic sidekick that works for Don at the furniture store. The film is pretty decent and it’s certainly worth checking out if you get a chance. It’s airing on Encore as we speak, but for how long I do not know. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
There are actors from the 1980’s that I have always thought were iconic and Matt Dillon (The Outsiders) is certainly one of them. So, when I saw that a movie of his was on sale at a grocery store for 3 bucks, I jumped at the chance to watch it. So, today’s film is the 1984 film The Flamingo Kid which stars Dillon as Jeffrey Willis. Jefferey is your everyday average 18 year old who just graduated from high school. He is certainly uncertain as to what the future may hold for him despite his parents expectations. That summer, Jeffrey gets a job a very exclusive beach club called The El Flamingo and he begins to think he knows what he wants when he listens tot he club’s prestigious gin player Mr. Brody (Richard Crenna). Brody fills his head with dreams of fortune, but Jeffrey will have to figure it out for himself on this coming of age story. The film also stars Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman) as Arthur Willis, Jessica Walter (Archer) as Mrs. Brody, Janet Jones (The Beastmaster) as Carla, Brian McNamara (Caddyshack II) as Steve, Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit) as Hawk, Leon (Above The Rim) as Fortune, Bronson Pinchot (Risky Business) as Alfred, and the film was directed by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman).
We call it a coming of age story because the character goes in not knowing a lot and through some event, he grows and comes out smarter than before. Jefferey Willis has a coming of age story through his relationship with Carla and his experience with Mr. Brody. Her thinks Mr. Brody is the king sh**, but soon learns through an event that he’s just as much a phony as anyone. He comes out at the end knowing what’s right and what’s wrong and what he should do with the rest of his life hence the coming of age story. One thing that we can certainly say about Matt Dillon is that he puts on an incredible performance in the film as he normally did back in those days. The truth is that a lot of the actors in the film did an amazing job including the great Hector Elizondo who plays the hard working father with a dream that feels threatened by the flashy Mr. Brody. I loved how the film was set in the 1950’ss I believe with the cars, the clothing, and the music. The 50’s is definitely one of my favorite eras of history in America. The set designers and wardrobe people along with hair and makeup deserve some definite kudos from me for the good job they did on this film. Overall, this is just a great film from beginning to end and it’s definitely one you should check out if you are a fan of Garry Marshall. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade. Plus, How many of us out there can relate to Matt Dillon’s character when we were 18 years old? I bet it’s quite a lot!
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t get to read a lot of books with everything I have going on, but that is when I thank God when a book gets turned into a film. That is the case with today’s film The Giver which is based off of the book of the same name and released in 2014. Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) lives in a world that seems a little too perfect where there is no war, no pain, no suffering, and everything is pre-destined for you. That is right, when you turn a certain age, a job is selected for you. That all seems grand for everyone until Jonas is chosen to be the receiver of memories and to be taught by the giver (Jeff Bridges). The Giver opens up Jonas’s mind to things he had never seen in his life or imagined were possible and so Jonas wants to change the world he lives in, but he’ll face opposition from the elders. The film also stars Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada) as Chief Elder, 
The concept of the film should seem rather familiar to a lot of you book worms out there especially if you are a fan of the Maze Runner or Divergent series. A dystopian society that hides the ugliness of what happened in the past world. A life that is pre-determined for you right from birth, that should sound familiar to Divergent fans. These types of things happen all the time as it’s just in movies or music, but books do it too. An idea comes out that was really captivating and years later people expand on it and create their own universes. It also shouldn’t be a surprise that they released this film to try and capitalize on the popularity of those films too, but I am glad this is a one and done (or at least I think it is). Now I am not saying that I didn’t enjoy the film because I actually was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I thought everything about it was actually very good and I am talking from the set, the acting, and the score were all amazing. The cinematography was well done and the different sets were terrific. I also liked the insert of the memories which included real life events as well as other things. The soundtrack is what stood out to me the most because it matched the typical mood and emotion of the film. I love how the film is mostly in black and white until Jonas starts to see color while others cannot. I thought that was very cool and it added emphasis to the change he was going through. If you were a fan of the book or you enjoy films like this, then check it out. For a final grade, it was hard to decide, but I am putting it on the B+/A- line.
For today’s film, I chose one that for some strange reason I had only seen bits and pieces of it because something always pulled me away from it. The film that I chose for today is called Brothers and it stars Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) as brothers Sam and Tommy. They are two brothers who took distinctly different paths in life with Sam (Maguire) being a marine and Tommy (Gyllenhaal) always being someone in trouble. While in Afghanistan, Sam and another Marine (Patrick John Flueger) are captured by the Taliban. The two are presumed dead and to comfort his family, Tommy will step in to take care of Sam’s family. While Sam’s wife Grace (Natalie Portman) is hesitant at first, she allows Tommy to spend time with the girls and to fix things around the house. That is until, she finds out that Sam was saved and is still alive, but Sam has a lot of demons inside that he is battling and things become unnerving at home. The film also stars Sam Shepard (Swordfish) as Hank Cahill, Mare Winningham (Turner & Hooch) as Elsie Cahill, Bailee Madison (Just Go With It) as Isabelle, Taylor Geare (Dream House) as Maggie, Clifton Collins Jr. (Star Trek) as Major Cavazos, Carey Mulligan (Drive) as Cassie Willis, and the film was directed by Jim Sheridan (In The Name Of The Father).
I have to be honest in saying that I used to try and avoid watching Tobey Maguire films only because I wasn’t a huge fan of the last two Spider-Man films he was in. So, I have to admit to everyone right now that this was definitely one of his best performances. There is so much passion in the role and there is one scene that he makes me a believer that he is a soldier fighting inner demons. In my opinion, it was just so convincing that I felt bad for him even though I know it’s just a movie. Jake Gyllenhaal I recently started becoming a huge fan of his and he doesn’t disappoint me in this film and Natalie Portman does a terrific job as well. The film really reminds you that if you’ve never been in the military and been to war then you will never know what these guys have been through. You are always just on the outside looking in and you feel as helpless as Sam’s family in this film. The scenes in Afghanistan aren’t as bad as they could’ve made it out to be, but there are some scenes that may be hard to handle. It’s hard to pick an MVP in this film because not only did Gyllenhaal, Maguire, and Portman do well, but there kids in the movie did an amazing job being kids that are having a hard time adjusting to this different version of their dad. While it may not be the greatest movie ever made, I really enjoyed watching this film. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
For today’s film, I wanted to watch a spoof film and at one time The Wayans (Scary Movie) were synonymous with the genre. For those of you that don’t know, spoof films are films that poke fun a certain film or genre. Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie) wrote today’s film Fifty Shades Of Black which is a spoof film of you guessed it, Fifty Shades of Grey. Hannah Steal (Kali Hawk) is a very naive and inexperienced college girl with low self esteem whose life is about to change. It changes when she meets the mysterious and successful business man Christian Black (Wayans) when she goes to interview him for school. The two end up involved in a relationship that just gets more and more complicated as they go when his sexual practices puts a strain on their relationship. The film also stars Fred Willard (American Wedding) as Gary, Mike Epps (Next Friday) as Ron, Affion Crockett (The Wedding Ringer) as Eli, Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) as Claire, 
I haven’t seen a good spoof movie since Scary Movie 2 or Not Another Teen Movie and this film is definitely not one of them. Some people may think that you had to have watched 50 Shades Of Grey to get the jokes, but everyone just about knows that story and this movie is laugh at loud funny. They make fun of various pop culture events that took place in 2015 like the Break The internet with Kim Kardashian and many other things but hey fail to do any good. You kind of look at it like oh, he’s making fun of that now. I did like the part when they made fun of Magic Mike XXL and for the whole film I was trying to figure out of Jenny Zirgrino was trying to be Rebel Wilson or not. I wasn’t sure about that while I was watching the film. I do want to thank them for including Affion Crockett who is hilarious even though he had a small role in the film. He definitely brought some laughs to the screen with his giant anaconda. The film does exactly what you think it would do and it make fun of the way Christian Grey acts by making him over obsessive in this film and a sex freak. They just tried way too hard to try and make it funny. If I was them, I would had more of Andrew Bachelor in the film who played a Kevin Hart like best friend to Hannah and believe me he was a scene stealer, but he’s forgotten about for the rest of the film. For a final grade, this may seem harsh, but I am giving it an C for a final grade only because I didn’t enjoy it.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 