One of my favorite childhood memories was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles whether it was the original cartoon series or the original films. With the series back in action, I decided to take the chance and watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows. In the second film of the reboot series, the turtles Leonardo (Pete Ploszek), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), Donatello (Jeremy Howard), and Raphael (Alan Ritchson) are still living in the shadows because they feel society is not ready for them. With the threat of Shredder (Brian Tee) out on the loose and a giant Rhino and Warthog causing havoc, the duo are forced to come out and try to save New York City from a threat they never thought imaginable from another dimension. The film also stars WWE Superstar Sheamus as Rocksteady, Gary Anthony Williams (The Internship) as Bebop, Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body) as April O’Neill, Will Arnett (The Lego Movie) as Vernon Fenwick, Stephen Amell (Arrow) as Casey Jones, Tyler Perry (Diary Of A Mad Black Woman) as Baxter Stockman, Tony Shalhoub (Monk) as Splinter, Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Krang, Laura Linney (Mystic River) as Chief Vincent, Brittany Ishibashi (Everything Before Us) as Karai, Jane Wu (Captain America: Civil War) as Jade, and the film was directed by Dave Green (Earth To Echo).
I have to admit that I liked this film better than the first one because they kind of got it right with this one. I was super pumped to see Bebop and Rocksteady in the film and they were awesome. They were everything you would expect from them and major props to Sheamus for a job well done in this one. I was also very happy to see Krang and how they made him look in the film. It was a cool nod to the cartoon version of Krang especially with his robotic body. One thing that was a major improvement from the first film to this one was Shredder as he went from Super Shredder in the first film to a bad ass looking Shredder in this one. Although I do have to say that I could of used a little more Shredder than we were given, but that’s OK because we had Bebop and Rocksteady. The movie had plenty of action that keeps you glued to your seat and plenty of comedy especially from my favorite turtle Michelangelo. One of my favorite moments in the film is when the duo is in Brazil and Raphael hits the water and he sees a regular turtle on the shore. I just thought it was a funny moment between the two. I also love the battle scene between Casey Jones and Bebop and Rocksteady. It was a game of wits between the three and we can all imagine who came out on top. This was a step in the right direction for the series and I can only hope that maybe we’ll get one more, but I am not sure. It definitely made more money than what it cost to make so here’s to hoping for a third film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I am doing an entry for the blog because I can’t believe that I have been committed for 250 straight days now. So for the 250TH day, I wanted to watch something special and I chose to watch Casper which was based off of one my favorite cartoons as a child. Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) is money hungry so when she finds out her neurotic father has passed away she goes and finds out that she has inherited an old house with secret treasure inside. When she goes to the house, she discovers that there’s a ghost inside and she decides to hire a ghost shrink named Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman). Harvey takes the job and he takes his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) who befriends the friendly ghost named Casper (Malachi Pearson) while her dad tries to deal with the other three unruly ghosts. The film also stars Eric Idle (Monty Python And The Holy Grail) as Dibbs, Joe Nipote (Viper) as Stretch, Joe Alaskey (Duck Dodgers) as Stinkie, Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Fatso, Amy Brenneman (Heat) as Amelia Harvey, Devon Sawa (Final Destination) as Casper in Human Form, Chauncey Leopardi (The Sandlot) as Nicky, Jessica Wesson (Milk Money) as Amber, and the film was directed by Brad Silberling (City Of Angels).
Believe it or not, it has taken me 21 years to see this film and to be perfectly honest with all of you I have no idea why. The one thing that I can say about the film adaptation of Casper is that it was fun to watch. You can’t expect an Oscar winning film out of it, but a film that you just have fun watching. This was the type of film that really relied on slapstick comedy to drive the laughs especially with the ghostly trio or the unruly three (whatever you want to call them) and Eric Idle who is a master of it. The one thing I liked about the film that I don’t remember happening with the cartoon was Casper crossing back over to be a human. I thought that it was a very cool move to imagine what he would have looked like as a human being or a fleshy as they call us. I loved seeing Christina Ricci in the film although every time I see her I just think that she is Wednesday Adams all grown up. I don’t know if I have a favorite scene from the film because it was just so enjoyable to watch. The scene where he makes breakfast is pretty good and I even enjoyed the sequence with Carrigan as a ghost as well. The film is currently available on HBOGO as long as you have a subscription to that, but I’m sure you can find it just about anywhere. I am going to recommend this film especially if you were a fan of the cartoon. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
Believe it or not there are a heck of a lot of Disney and Pixar films that I have missed seeing over the years. I found out this year that Finding Dory was coming out in theaters and no that I am less than a week away from it, I think it was about time I watched Finding Nemo first. Marlin (Albert Brooks) is a clown fish who lost his wife and most of his kids except for one named Nemo (Alexander Gould) . He has made a vow that he would protect Nemo from anything harmful for fear of losing him. One day after being too clingy, Nemo becomes daring and ends up getting himself caught by a seawater diver. Now, Marlin with the help of a blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), he will go on a massive search for his son while Nemo has to try and save himself being Darla the dentists’s niece’s gift before he dies in her care. The film also stars Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Bloat, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Gill, Allison Janney (Juno) as Peach, Austin Pendleton (My Cousin Vinny) as Gurgle, Stephen Root (Office Space) as Bubbles, Geoffrey Rush (Shakespeare In Love) as Nigel, Andrew Stanton (Cars) as Crush, Joe Ranft (The Lion King) as Jacques, and the film was directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich (Monsters, Inc.).
I needed to lighten up the mood on the blog after two straight days of horror films and Finding Nemo seemed like the right kind of film. I can’t believe that this movie has been out for 13 years and I finally got around to seeing it now. This was one of the reasons I always felt that Disney with Pixar was always ahead of the game as far as animation and stories was concerned. The animation in this film is absolutely amazing and so intricate with so much detail in all the sea creatures that you see in the film. One of my favorite scenes in the film came with the Anglerfish, you know that scary looking mother with the ball of light attached to it. I don’t know what was scarier, that or the sharks? All I know is that I never want to be face to face with one ever. That is one thing I liked about this film is that it’s pretty informative and it teaches young kids about different fish and all the sea life. The film is also very entertaining while it also feels like no matter how close they get, things seem to get so far away before we are riddled with hope again. The story itself is amazing and it kind of reflects the way parents coddle their children for too long. At least that is the message I got in the film when Nemo’s dad finally learns to let go. It is definitely a film to check out and with that being said, I am going to give the film an A for a final grade. Check out my picture of the animated Anglerfish vs a real one below.
For today’s film, I chose a film that I have only seen bits and pieces of either to not having the time to watch or other things had come up. I also decided on the film Suicide Kings because of the mere fact that Christopher Walken (The Dead Zone) starred in the film and he’s one of my favorite film personalities. The film follows five friends who decide to kidnap a mobster by the name of Carlo Bartolucci (Walken). You see the five friends are hoping to squeeze some money out of Carlo in hopes of getting enough to pay a ransom note on one of the friends kidnapped sister. The only problem is that Carlo decides to play mind games with all of them in hopes of turning them against themselves. The film also stars Denis Leary (Rescue Me) as Lono Veccio, Nina Siemaszko (Airheads) as Jennifer, Henry Thomas (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) as Avery Chasten, Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints) as Max, Jay Mohr (Pay It Forward) as Brett Campbell, Jeremy Sisto (Clueless) as T.K., 
This was a pretty interesting film to say the least, but it’s a Christopher Walken film where he plays a mobster. What more can you ask for from a film like this one? The idea of he kidnapping is actually pretty solid and when you find out a detail that the abduction of the sister was an inside job, you begin to try and figure out who did it. All I will say to you is that I should have gone with my first choice personally cause I would have been right. That is the beauty of films with a little mystery thrown in there is that they make you try to guess to the who-dunnit scenario. I really like Johnny Galecki, but his character really annoyed me a little bit, but then again he did his job right. The acting in the film for the most part was really good from everyone even Denis Leary who plays a cool driver/hitman kind of guy. This is actually a pretty good film despite getting a 34% on 
365moviesin365dayschallenge 