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Sideways is a film about friendship, lost love and wine tasting from Searchlight Pictures.

In the world of wine tasting, Sideways does a great job of explaining the reasons behind the behaviors of the wine tasting crowds. They still seem absolutely nuts hearing them talk about wines but some of the things they’re saying actually make a little sense. For the 20th anniversary the film has been rereleased by Searchlight Pictures to 4k. When the folks at Searchlight had send us the film, I had never heard of it. I honestly thought it was a newer film that I just never saw a trailer for.

The film follows Miles who is still reeling from his divorce, two years prior, but also the failure of his novel he is trying to publish. He is accompanied by his closest friend Jack, an actor that is on the verge of getting married. They take a road trip to taste a lot of wine and try to live a little before returning home. Jack spends most of the time trying to cheat on his future bride and to help Miles find himself a woman to spend an evening with.

Despite the education about wine tasting, I found the film to be slow and overall to be quite dull. That’s even with the talented cast delivering great performances through the entire film.

A Nightmare on Elm Street and it’s villain, Freddy Krueger, have haunted audiences for decades and have returned in 4k from Warner Brothers.

Freddy Krueger is back in the 4k edition of A Nightmare on Elm Street and was established as one of the ultimate horror villains when I was a kid. He is still talked about to this day. Of course many of us from the 80’s like to relive those films from our childhood and that is further helped by horror themed conventions and music, like Ice Nine Kills’ American Nightmare. That song was actually what got me not just listening to them but WANTING to see this film for the first time. That’s right, prior to this viewing I had never seen a single movie in the franchise. Thanks to Warner Brothers, this edition also includes the Uncut version as well! Of course, the only real differences between the two is an extension of a couple scenes, making them just a bit more graphic. I’m glad I watched this before letting my son, he doesn’t do well with gory elements.

My understanding about Freddy’s character is that he was simply some sort of demon that killed teens in their sleep and simply put, that is accurate but it goes much deeper than that. He was a man that was hung and is now targeting the children of his own killers. Of course the parents were justified as Freddy was evil even as a man and was already targeting children. Now he is targeting SPECIFIC children.

At this point I should stop being surprised at how well a story is told from the 80’s and learn to accept that to make a great film you don’t need all the new effects and rely more on actual talent instead. Finishing the film I was quite impressed and can easily see why Freddy remains one of the great horror villains.

Today we take a look at Kinds of Kindness from the same director behind of Poor Things and much of the same cast, including Emma Stone.

Some films come and completely change how you viewed the genre or create a new bar to hold all cinema to. Kinds of Kindness is one of those films for me. From Searchlight Pictures and Director Yorgos Lanthimos, the film is broken up into three short films, each more deranged than the last. This film was one of the most difficult I have ever reviewed. I literally spent more than a week just staring at the screen, trying to figure out how to voice my thoughts on the film. For me it was beyond difficult. I even called friends to voice my feelings on the film but even they couldn’t help me voice my thoughts in a constructive manner.

In short, this was probably the worst film I have seen all year, BUT it’s clear, I am not the target audience for the film. The cast, editing, literally everything in the production was done with expert skill, beyond what most films do these days. It just wasn’t a film FOR ME. Now, I have no idea who the target audience really is but they’ve managed to do something great with the film, despite my lack of enjoyment. They proved that a film unlike any other out there, using truly original ideas and stories could not only be well received but also be brilliantly executed. It proves that not all films have to be for everyone. I used to believe that if someone watching it can’t enjoy it even a little then they screwed up. After seeing the film I can respect what they’ve done and what they’ve tried to do and still not enjoy it. If you’re someone that watches a film for the directing, the acting or some other technical aspect then you will love this film. If you focus on the uniqueness of the story then this is the film for you, but if you’re looking for a great story at the same time this one may just fall short.

Deadpool and Wolverine is FINALLY available on Blu-Ray and Digital retailers and we are beyond excited for it!

Deadpool and Wolverine is not only one of the most anticipated films for my household and many others, it is also the highest grossing R-Rated of all time! The film starts with a dance sequence and then jumps back in time to see Deadpool being invited to help the TVA, the same guys Loki fights and then joins in the Loki miniseries. I don’t remember seeing any film by Marvel receive this much attention or receive as much anticipation. I try to leave every expectation at the door but that would be a herculean feat with this film and I failed to do so. My expectations were high considering the first two films were by far some of the funniest films I have ever seen. Once Upon a Deadpool was funny as hell as well, since it was literally Deadpool 2 but modified to allow for more ages to view the film. Part of me was actually worries that this film would be aimed at the all ages crowd, that is until i saw the R rating.

With the death of Wolverine in Logan, Wade learns that without his universe’s anchor being his world was slated for death. He begins are race against time to bring any Wolverine back to his own reality to keep it alive. Eventually he finds himself in The Void and facing off against many new and classic X-Men themed villains, meeting some friends along the way and dealing with an entire Corps of Deadpools. Simply put, this is the funniest damn film I have seen this year and likely in the last decade. Absolutely worth the watch by anyone that likes a good laugh, a better story and amazing performances. Love the film start to finish. Make sure you stay till the end of the credits for the BEST after credits scene to date.

The Team at 20th Century Studios have rereleased three of M. Night Shyamalan’s most famous films including Signs, the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable but we’re only looking at two of them.

The folks at 20th Century Studios sent us copies of both Signs and The Sixth Sense, both of which were written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense was the first film I had ever seen by Shyamalan and was the first film with a major twist I had seen. I remember just seeing the faces in the crowd with me freaking out at the huge reveal. It was brilliantly executed and STILL holds up. Ironically, about a week before we received our review copies I was telling my oldest I would love to watch this film with her and now we have that chance. The Signs was released about three years later and followed a similar story progression but the subject of the story was centered around aliens and not the badass xenomorphs from Alien.

When Signs was first released, I had seen it in theaters and was disappointed. Having watched it again in 4k I have a couple notes. The first is that the visuals were clean and much more crisp than some footage I’d see online recently of the original release (same for The Sixth Sense). The second is that the story was much better told than I had remembered but the overall story still left me wanting more. The Sixth Sense though still holds up as a fantastic film and thoroughly enjoyed getting to share it once again with my family.

The classic Super Friends series is back with the Complete Collection from Warner Brothers and DC Comics!

The original Super Friends series is back and this time you can get, not just the entire series but all of the lost episodes as well! The Complete Collection is currently available from Warner Brothers are Target, Amazon and Gruv. Literally a decade worth of Justice League animated goodness for only about $75. What makes the deal even better is that the quality of the episodes have been increased to DVD format, making a much cleaner viewing experience.

The series is full of long time fan favorites, like Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman and even a bunch of classic villains too. Some may notice that stills from the show have been used for memes for years and spotting them can always be a fun game. The show is clearly meant for children of all ages, some episodes haven’t aged as well as others but that’s to be expected. If you’re a fan of Super Friends or even the Justice League then this will be a treat for you.

Watchmen Chapter 1 is an animated retelling of the film and comics from DC Comics, Warner Brothers and Alan Moore.

Watchmen Chapter 1 is the first of a two part animated series from Warner Brothers, based on the comic by Alan Moore from DC Comics. Originally released in 1986, the story focuses on an alternative history that includes costumed heroes helping through some of the greatest conflicts of the last 100 years. I went into this film without having seen the live action film or having read the entirety of the story either. The only things I was truly aware of was the death of The Comedian, Rorschach is an absolute beast in a fight and Dr. Manhattan is beyond overpowered. When I saw the title, Watchmen Chapter 1, I was expecting some sort of prequel, not an animated adaptation of the book and live action film. Clearly I was wrong.

Chapter 1 is a direct adaptation of the comic and film. I can’t speak to differences based on my lack of experience with either of the prior properties but I suspect that is part of the reasoning behind this adaptation. As with the main story, this film begins with the murder of The Comedian but ends with Rorschach’s arrest.

The animation quality far surpasses most, if not all, of the animated properties from DC and Warner Brothers. It looks very similar to the art style of the Batman games from Telltale Games. The voice acting is great which isn’t a surprise considering some of the names attached. Without knowing the details of the story it kept me on the edge of my seat, needing to know who the killer was and why. Overall it was a fantastic film.

Watchers is the writing and directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, focusing on a group of of travelers that were lost in the woods.

Ishana Night Shyamalan is the writer and director of the film Watchers, starring Dakota Fanning. She is the daughter of film legend, M. Night Shyamalan who also acts as producer on the film. I didn’t know any of this, other than the title and the top billing star of the film. Watching the trailer, the film seemed to focus on Mina as she gets lost in the forest and discovering a strange building and darkness starting to fall. She’s told to enter the building immediately for her own safety and she does. She immediately notices that the room seems to be three concrete walls and a giant two way mirror where something or someone can see within. There she is taught the rules of the building, most important of which is that returning before nightfall is critical and that they are never to open the door during the night.

Based on the trailers I had seen, it appeared that the watchers may be some sort of cult or just some really weird people. Could even be some sort of corporation running some sort of social experiment. Regardless of who the watchers really are, the people within must put on a show of sorts for them, mostly just living within the confines of the their nightly cell.

For such a simple concept I was quite impressed with the film. With Shyamalan involved it comes as no surprise that there is a twist or two but within the context of the story they worked quite well. The lore of the story worked even better by the end. There was so little of it for the first half that I assumed we would never learn what was going on but thankfully I was wrong because the reveals were well worth it by the end. Overall the film kept me on the edge of my seat and was brilliantly written. I know that based on this film alone I look forward to seeing Ishana’s next project.

Disney and Pixar return to their world of thought and emotion with Inside Out 2, this time with four new emotions and puberty added.

Disney and Pixar we kind enough to send us a copy of their latest film, Inside Out 2 for the purpose of our review. The story continues with Riley becoming one of the stars of her hockey team and along with her two best friends are invited to a hockey camp. There she will be learning from the coach of the team she hopes to join in the next year. On the way she learns she won’t be attending the same school or team with her friends as she first thought. This causes a spiral of feelings and emotions to reveal themselves as she decides between her current friends and her future teammates.

With the addition of puberty, several new emotions join, Anxiety quickly taking over Riley’s console. Refusing to give up control, Joy questions and argues against each decision. She is then removed from the control room along with the original emotions, leaving only the new four alone and in control. As the original emotions work to restore Riley’s sense of self, Anxiety works to change her entire personality, eventually spiraling out of control.

The team did a fantastic job with this one. The original film took me a few watches to really start enjoying it but this one, they really knocked it out of the park. Between animation quality, the writing and performances, from start to finish this film far exceeded my expectations.

Furiosa follows the story of how she became the badass heroine from Mad Max: Fury Road and stars Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Furiosa is the latest, or fifth, installment in the Mad Max franchise from Warner Brothers and features Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy. The story follows her from being a child through rising up through Immortan Joe’s ranks. It even covers how she lost her arm as well. The world of Mad Max is responsible for inspiring, or helping to inspire, so many other properties. My own novel I published years ago being one of them. The world has basically gone to hell. As far as anyone can tell, it is all wasteland in every direction. The remnants of society have banded behind blood thirsty leaders that promise to provide them with the best the world has left to offer while maintaining uneasy alliances. Due to Fury Road, we know how her story ends but not see how it truly begins with her abduction from her paradisical home.

The team did a fantastic job making a truly believable wasteland, leaving me curious about where they could have filmed everything. The effects were over the top, but in a great way and the cast was amazing. During Fury Road, Furiosa was my favorite character and this film  further reinforced that feeling. Overall it was a great film for fans of over the top action, fiery explosions and absolutely brutal combat.