Day 297: The Prophecy II (1998)

They have always been trying new angles and different kinds of stories for horror than the usual conventional stories of slashers, monsters, etc. Last year, I covered a film that was a different kind of idea where an rogue angle comes to Earth to destroy humans in The Prophecy.So for today’s film, I decided to cover the sequel The Prophecy II which sees the return of Gabriel (Christopher Walken). In the sequel, the Earth is still in peril over the war that is happening in Heaven so an Angel by the name of Danyeal (Russell Wong) impregnates a nurse by the name of Valerie (Jennifer Beals) as the child will be the savior. When Gabriel (Walken) learns of this, he comes back to Earth to destroy the woman and the child with the help of a suicidal teen (Brittany Murphy). The film also stars Eric Roberts (Best Of The Best) as Michael, Glenn Danzig (Portlandia) as Samayel, Steve Hytner (In The Line Of Fire) as Joseph, Bruce Abbott (Bride Of Re-Animator) as Thomas Daggett, Renee Victor (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) as Nana, J.G. Hertzler (Zorro) as Father William, Tom Towles (The Devil’s Rejects) as Det. Waltrip, Nicki Micheaux (The Replacement Killers) as Det. Kreibel, and the film was directed by Greg Spence (Children Of The Corn: The Gathering). To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 144: Suicide Kings (1997)

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., Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) as Ira Reder, Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Jeckyll, and the film was directed by Peter O’Fallon (Legit). 

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 Rotten Tomatoes, but according to the audience score it must be a cult classic by now. I saw that one reviewer compared the film and it’s style to Quentin Tarantino and I can honestly see that as far as the dialogue is concerned. That was definitely the highlight of the film for me was the dialogue because the film was well written. The film is currently available to watch on HBOGO so check it out if you dare. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.

Day 106: The Jungle Book (2016)

There are some stories in life that are so amazing when they are brought on to the screen which is what the original 1967 Walt Disney animated film The Jungle Book did. Now, what if we take one of the coolest stories combine it with the director that helped put Marvel back on the map in Jon Favreau (Iron Man), and made it a live action film for today’s feature film. For Mowgli (Neel Sethi), the only life he has known since he was a baby was the life and laws of the jungle as he has been taken care of by a pack of wolves and a panther named Bagheera (Ben Kinglsey). That is until one day when he is confronted by an evil Tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba) who is intent on killing the child for living in the jungle. So in order to ensure his own safety and the safety of all the animals, Mowgli agrees to leave, but he may have to come back to save them. The film also stars Bill Murray (Ghostbusters) as Baloo, Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave) as Raksha, Scarlett Johansson (Avengers) as Kaa, Christopher Walken (Dead Zone) as King Louie, Garry Shandling (The Larry Sanders Show) as Ikki, Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects) as Akela, and Brighton Rose (Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy) as Gray.

This was by far one of my favorite movies of the year and it’s ranked up there with Deadpool and any other movie I’ve seen this year so far.This film is non stop fun and adventure from beginning to end and I was so disappointed it was over because I wanted more. All of the characters in the film were absolutely amazing from the acting to the design and the scenes themselves. Bill Murray was an absolute star in this film as everyone’s favorite bear Baloo and believe me Murray delivered. It was such a joy to see him as the bear on the big screen and Neel Sethi did a terrific job as Mowgli too. You were 100% sold that this kid was raised in the jungle and that he communicated with the animals. Now if you are looking forward to seeing Kaa on the big screen, I am going to warn you that you may be a tiny bit disappointed on the amount of screen time she has in the film. Another pleasant surprise for me was hearing Christopher Walken play everyone’s favorite Orangutan King Louie (except he’s a giant one in this film). The story is amazing, the way it came to life on the screen was amazing, and the cinematography was amazing too. Like I said this is definitely one of my favorite films of the month so far and I think everyone should go and check it out in the theaters. A second Jungle Book film has already been announced according to IMDB so I look forward to it. With all of that being said, I am going to proceed and give the film an A+ for a final grade.

Day 22: Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser (2015)

There is a sudden trend in Hollywood where they take comedies that were hits and they try to make sequels 15 to 20 years after the fact. Well, that is the case when Crackle took over and made the sequel to the 2001 hit Joe Dirt with Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser. David Spade (Tommy Boy) assumes the role of Joe Dirt once again and everything seems Ok as Joe is married to the beautiful Brandy (Brittany Daniel) and they have triplets together. I said everything seems Ok until a tornado hits Silver Town and sends Joe Dirt back all the way to 1965. Now Joe has to try and make it to that moment when he first met Brandy before it’s too late. Otherwise, everything he worked for will disappear as we know it. The film also stars Christopher Walken (Seven Psychopaths) as Clem, Patrick Warburton (Ted) as Foggle, Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) as Jimmy, Dennis Miller (The Net) as Zander Kelly, Tracy Weisert, (My Name Is Khan) as Woman, Charlotte McKinney (Dancing With The Stars) as Missy, Matthew Curry (Fred And Rose) as Ronnie Van Zandt, Adam Beach (Cowboys & Aliens) as Kicking Wing, Kevin Farley (2gether) as Cal, and the film was directed by Fred Wolf (The House Bunny).

I am feeling so torn with this film because I was such a fan of the original film and I am disappointed in this film. I am so disappointed with the writing department because the story just didn’t stand up to the original. At times, the film just felt like it was a spoof film as we got references to Forrest Gump, The Wizard Of Oz, and so much more. It was just all over the place and the ending of the film just pissed me off completely. They waited 14 years to make a sequel to the film and they could’ve gone another 14 without one. Apparently, it also didn’t matter that at the end of the first film Joe received a new hairstyle, but it’s Hollywood they can do what they want. One of the other things that bothered me about the film was at one point the camera was so shaky that it was nauseating to watch. I wanted to really love this film, but it relies too much on stupid jokes like their overuse of farting to get laughs.  The only great thing about the film is the fact that Brittany Daniels looked absolutely amazing. Time has been very kind to her and I loved every second of her onscreen time. Mark McGrath was actually the other breath of fresh air the film needed and had. I was looking forward to seeing Kid Rock, but McGrath did a great job as the new enemy. The soundtrack was actually pretty amazing as well, but that couldn’t save the film. I am going to give this film an C-/D+ for a final grade because it borders between the two.