Day 314: The Legend Of Tarzan (2016)

For this week’s Ass Whoopin Wednesday film, I wanted to do something a little different and watch a film that is based off a legendary story. The film that I am talking about is the 2016 film The Legend Of Tarzan which stars Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) as the title character. The Belgians have invaded the Congo in hopes of finding diamonds that are located somewhere. The King cannot send an army into the Congo unless he has money to pay for them so he sends his most trusted bounty hunter Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz). After encountering Chief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou), he makes a deal to bring the legendary Tarzan to him in exchange for the diamonds. So he kidnaps Tarzan’s wife Jane (Margot Robbie) to lure him to Chief Mbonga. The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson (Die Hard With Vengeance) as George Washington Williams, Sidney Ralitsoele as Wasimbu, Casper Crump (Above The Street, Below The Water) as Major Kerckhover, Mens-Sana Tamakloe (Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation) as Kolo, Osy Ikhile (In The Heart Of The Sea) as Kwete, Antony Acheampong (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) as Kanam, Simon Russell Beale (My Week With Marilyn) as Mr. Frum, and the film was directed by David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2). To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies. 

Day 147: Glory Daze (1995)

Today’s film has been sitting on my Netflix cue for quite some time that I am even surprised that it was still around for me to view. Nevertheless, it was a film that featured Ben Affleck a year after his appearance in Dazed And Confused and I figured why not let’s check out Glory Daze. The film follows five college friends/roommates in Jack (Affleck), Rob (Sam Rockwell), Dennis (French Stewart), Slosh (Vien Hong), and Mickey (Vinnie DeRamus) as they face various dilemmas two days before graduation. Jack doesn’t have a girlfriend, but he’s more scared about the unknown part of his future while Rob is about to move to LA, but is afraid of meeting his girlfriend’s mom. Dennis feels that he should transfer to Michigan for a masters, but an offer from a teacher has him thinking twice while Slosh is just a drunk going nowhere fast. Mickey wants a girlfriend, but he’s just too afraid and dumb to realize when opportunity presents itself. The whole group decides to stay, but is it the right decision after all? The film also stars Megan Ward (Encino Man) as Joanie, Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood) as Dina, Alyssa Milano (Fear) as Chelsea, John Rhys-Davies (Raiders Of The Lost Ark) as Luther, and the film features appearances from Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, Sean Whalen, Brendan Fraser, Leah Remini, and the film was directed by Rich Wilkes (xXx). 

What did I think of this film? Well one thing is for sure and that it isn’t Dazed And Confused and I have a reason for saying that. The film is basically what if O’Bannion grew up and went to college in the 90’s and was an art student. It had that same kind of vibe where the main character is faced with a major life decision and all of a sudden he starts to question the norm. The other thing that made me think of it was seeing Matthew McConaughey in the film. His character made me think that what i that was Wooderson and he had just left Texas and became a UHaul salesman. While it may be one of your typical 20 somethings slacker film, it doesn’t capture the same kind of brilliance other films had before it. It’s surprising considering the caliber of talent that was in this film like Sam Rockwell, Affleck, Fraser, etc. The film isn’t all bad though, it actually nails the 90’s in a way where everyone was overly pissed off at the world and how life wasn’t fair. Thanks to grunge music, Punk made a huge comeback in the 90’s and this soundtrack is full of iconic 90’s punk bands like NOFX, The Bouncing Souls, etc. The film has it’s moments of brilliance, but it’s just too all over the place at times. Like I said, he film is currently available on Netflix as we speak so check it out if you dare. I’m having a hard time giving the film a grade so I say it’s somewhere between a C+/B- as far as a final grade is concerned.