Day 134: The Book Of Life (2014)

the-book-of-life-movie-wallpaper-2014For today’s film, I wanted to watch it because I am a big fan of animated movies when they are done right and cool and because I’ve seen every Friday The 13TH film ever so can’t do those. We’ve seen Disney and Dreamworks dominate the field, but in 2014 20TH Century Fox released The Book Of Life. In the town of San Angel, Mexico, there lives three kids with very different paths in life. You have Manolo (Diego Luna), a young man who belongs to a long line of bullfighters. There is Joaquin (Channing Tatum), a man who will go off and fight wars and battles to become a great general and then there is the beautiful Maria (Zoe Saldana), the sophisticated daughter of the General Posada (Carlos Alazraqui) who both of the men I mentioned are fighting for. So a couple of spirits in La Muetre (Kate del Castillo) the ruler of the land of the remembered and Xibalba (Ron Pearlman) ruler of the land of the forgotten place a wager on who will win the hand of Maria in marriage. Will it be Diego or Joaquin? The film also features the voices of Christina Applegate (Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitters Dead) as Mary Beth, Ice Cube (Ride Along) as the candlemaker, Hector Elizondo (Unnecessary Roughness) as Carlos Sanchez, Danny Trejo (Machete) as Skeleton Luis, Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre) as Skeleton Carmen, Placido Domingo as Skeleton Jorge and the film was directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez.

book-of-life-2640_0180_0127_beauty5k_v001_cropI am definitely fascinated by these types of stories and the lure of the Day Of The Dead festival that takes place in Mexico. I saw one review call the film’s story line formulaic and while it might be it is definitely visually stunning to say the least. In the film, you get taken into three different worlds that are all so visually stunning and enchanting to the eye. I mean you get to check out some old Mexican folklore with some very stunning animation, what more could you possibly want from the film. The story is typical where two men are fighting over the girl, but you already know who is going to win her heart right from the beginning. It’s just a question of what obstacles and road blocks is he going to have to face to get there. I think that is what most reviewers are referring to because we’ve seen it all before, but with the effects I can easily forgive them for that. You have to pick and choose your battles with films, but this one is easily enjoyable and pleasant to watch. It has quite the amazing cast attached to it and Guillermo del Toro’s name is attached to project as a producer so what else could you possibly want from the film? I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Day 43: Deadpool (2016)

deadpool-movie-2016-5k-wallpaper-5120x2880I have been waiting so long to see this movie ever since Fox announced that it was making a Deadpool movie with Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). The film Deadpool is the perfect marriage as Reynolds plays the role he was born to play as Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool. The film explores the origins of Deadpool and how he became the Merc with a mouth. Everything is going great for the mercenary as he found the perfect girl for him in Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). That is until Wade finds out that he has terminal cancer and things start to fall apart for him until a man (Jed Rees) tells him that he can cure him. Wade goes for it, but because of the treatment and what Ajax (Ed Skrein) does to him leaves him disfigured. Now, Deadpool is out for revenge and he is looking for Ajax and maybe a cure for his disfigured body. The film also stars Michael Benyaer (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen) as Warlord, Stefan Kapicic (Tears For Sale) as Colossus, Brianna Hildebrand (First Girl I Loved) as Nagasonic Teenage Warhead, T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) as Weasel, Gina Carano (Fats & Furious 6) as Angel Dust, and the film was directed by Tim Miller in his first feature film as a director.

deadpool-gallery-04-gallery-imageSpoiler Alert: if you do not want to know what happens in the film then do not read any further because I may give information away. I am just going to go ahead and say that this is one of the best superhero movies out there that was not done by Warner Brothers or Marvel/Disney. I am so glad that they made the film rated R because it added so much and it allowed Deadpool to be Deadpool in all the ways we want him. My favorite thing about the film is how he breaks the fourth wall with us and he knows that he is in a film. He cracks so many jokes in the film and he pokes them at Fox, Marvel/Disney, etc.which is just awesome. There is so much action and blood shed in the film to satisfy any fan of action and superhero movies. The soundtrack to the film is pretty awesome as well with a huge mix of so many types of pop culture. I also loved how in an idea Colossus represents Marvel and DC in a way symbolically. Think about it, they don’t really want people dying in their films and that is what Colossus is constantly preaching in the film. Deadpool told all you parents out there and I am saying that if you can’t handle nudity, strong language, and violence then don’t be an idiot and do not bring your kids to see the film. We do not want you complaining about all of those things. This is our movie and we want to enjoy every second of it and the sequel as well which has been announced. Stick around for the last scene because Deadpool tells you whose going to be in it. Check the movie out because it is totally worth it. I am giving the movie an A+ for a final grade.