absolutebadasses

I first came across the name Mario Van Peebles when he starred alongside Clint Eastwood in 1986’s Heartbreak Ridge and then watched his rather enjoyable directorial debut New Jack City about Drugs and Crime Lords in Harlem at the end of the 80’s that starred Wesley Snipes – since 1991 Van Peebles has built up an impressive CV behind the camera, directing many episodes of popular TV shows including 21 Jump Street, Damages & Lost, he has also directed numerous films and starred in many too – his latest film behind the camera is USS Indianapolis that stars Nicolas Cage and is the true, heartbreaking story about the US battle ship that was on a secret mission when sunk by the Japanese in World War II, the sinking of the ship was the least of the crews worries as they tried to overcome the cold, shark infested waters in an attempt to survive….

I’m no historian, I just enjoy movies and Mario Van Peebles latest about the USS Indianapolis hooked me from it’s onset – with cinematography by Pulp Fiction’s Andrzej Sekuła who does a grand job keeping things real especially those interior shots on-board the ship as it’s sinking and the battle the crew encounter on the rafts in the Philippine Sea is dramatic and well shot – the films cast including Cage, Sizemore, Tate and Lanter do a superb job, managing to capture those Men of Courage with their performances, Sizemore especially some small but terrific scenes in the movie

USS INDIANAPOLIS is not a polished Hollywood epic, it’s special effect could have been slightly better BUT overall it’s an excellent, heart driven picture that not only honors the memories of those fallen but makes you think about the perils of War and it’s consequences ★★★★

2016 was not only a year of great loss but it was a year to celebrate some incredible cinema – some damn fine Independent Pictures that made me cry, laugh and sit back in pure amazement at the storytelling and acting involved – it was a year of exceptional Horror, mostly low budget affairs that reminded me of the movies of yesteryear and 2016 was also a year of some lighthearted, enormously fun blockbusters that didn’t quite make this list but I enjoyed thoroughly nevertheless – there are still many movies from last year that I didn’t get to watch but as custom I have put together a list of My Top 15 Movies of 2016 in poster form below – Have a wonderful Movie Watching 2017 from all of us all here A Very Happy New Year!

as a teenager growing up in the 80s I was in awe of this bad-ass Princess that lived through the medium of the movies, she was my first movie crush, a total and utter rebel who gave me hope that the evil scum of the empire would be toppled and the rebellion would win out the day – she was of course Princess Leia aka: Carrie Frances Fisher – born to the wonderful screen star Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher Carrie was like Hollywood royalty and with the help of George Lucas, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill she would soon become a movie idol cherished and loved by legions of movie fans that were not only struck by her immense beauty but also with her humor & intelligence – Carrie not only appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy and 2015’s The Force Awakens but she also wrote novels that included her 1987 autobiographical Postcards from the Edge that would later become a movie starring Meryl Streep and just before her death Carrie was promoting her latest autobiography The Princess Diarist – but to me Carrie will always be that fearless Princess that ignited the Star Wars trilogy and thankfully due to film we all can at any time take a trip to a galaxy far, far away and keep her memory alive, onscreen of course that is…….

A Christmas Treat comes in all guises but this year waking up to this totally dark completely bonkers trailer was unexpected and most welcome – Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel ALIEN: COVENANT looks very distant compared to it’s predecessor and more like the 1979 original that started the ball rolling on one Sci-Fi’s greatest franchises and made Ridley Scott the famed director he is today – Alien: Covenant lands next year and stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollet, Amy Seimetz, James Franco and Danny McBride – here’s the official synopsis:

Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition – Here’s the official movie trailer enjoy and once again a Merry Christmas from Ridley and ourselves here at Absolutebadasses

In my lifetime The Movies have consumed my life they have become hobby, my passion and at times my infatuation and along that journey of countless films collected, hundreds of books read and the endless number of movies watched there has been one constant that stands above all others an actor by the name of Issur Danielovitch aka: Kirk Douglas a giant of a man not in height but in the way he has conducted himself, his film career is nothing short of remarkable, I’m not talking awards, box office success or personal gain I am talking of the many varied roles he has portrayed in his career from being the hero to villain, colonel to slave for me Kirk’s dedication to his craft, his granite stature & movie presence is unequaled, an actor not afraid to take chances on a role & make that role his own whether it be a boxing hero in Champion, the troubled artist Van Gogh in Lust for Life, a slave who goes up against the might of Rome in Spartacus, a cunning self centered reporter in Ace in the Hole and a cowboy just doing his job in Lonely are the Brave Kirk Douglas is without question a living breathing bona fide Movie Legend and although first & foremost I will always think of Kirk Douglas as an actor he has also inspired millions with his writing penning numerous novels and blogging into the 21st Century some of this work has been equally as stirring as some of his most famous pictures and in 1964 showing the measure of the man along with his wife Anne, Kirk established The Douglas Foundation that not only donates countless millions but work tirelessly in helping the less fortunate in building a better future for those in most need – Happy 100th Birthday Kirk Douglas your quite simply a LEGEND…..

With films in the Mid 80s through to the 90s such as Romancing the Stone, The Back to the Future Trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and Contact filmmaker Robert Zemeckis was pretty untouchable, a master visionary with the Midas touch, a director who defined those times with exciting, bold film-making, great storytelling and colorful characters that we all love so well….

His latest ALLIED a WWII movie that’s more keeping with Casablanca rather than the violent brutal Tarantino pic Inglorious Basterds is an absolute treat – Zemeckis delivers on every detail, from the character’s costumes down to the general atmosphere of the times, whether it be the sand dune Nazi occupied Casablanca to the devastation of war torn London, as a filmmaker he keeps his sets simple yet pleasing on the eye making each scenario in the movie more believable – along for the ride are two accomplished actors Brad Pitt who plays intelligence officer Max Vatan and Marion Cotillard a French Resistance fighter named Marianne Beausejour, both finding themselves in Morocco paired up with one assignment to kill a German Ambassador who is stationed there and that’s where the fun and games really start – Brad Pitt is terrific, he absorbs his character that goes from a confident spy to slightly unhinged and carrying self doubt as the story slowly unfolds, the is the Pitt of old he’s in fine form, not only bringing the best out of himself but managing as he always seems to do by getting the best out of his co-star and in Allied Marion Cotillard is the perfect foil, she’s the glue that binds the movie together, there’s something exciting about a movie star on top of their game and this French actress is certainly that, she carries the elegance of an 1940’s movie siren, dazzling the screen with a comfortable ease, her acting in the film’s finale is both haunting and powerful and throughout the film she gives a performance that’s worth the ticket fee in itself – Overall: Robert Zemeckis Allied is an attention-driven, old school romantic thriller with plenty of twists and turns, some gorgeous photography and a dark finale that in my opinion was required and executed superbly – let’s hope it’s not too long before we see the brilliance that is Robert Zemeckis behind the camera once more….

Top Right: 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery – Top Left: 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial with Steven Spielberg & Henry Thomas – Bottom Right: 1976’s Taxi Driver with Martin Scorsese, Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro – Bottom Left: filming 1939’s Gone with the Wind

Here’s the new trailer for monster movie KONG: SKULL ISLAND that’s directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and stars Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman and John C Reilly – this new adaption is set in the 70s and if this new trailer’s anything to go by it looks all kinds of awesome – I mean how can you not get excited for this baby – first up we have a group of explorers, soldiers, island natives and King Kong himself who is BLOODY ENORMOUS by the way all locking horns on a remote island somewhere in the Pacific, secondly we have Captain Marvel herself Brie Larson getting in some action before the Marvel team take over her entire existence & finally Skull Island has a load more monster treats apart from that big infamous Gorilla for us to get totally worked up over – so take a peek at this trailer and enjoy….

Recent Watch – Arrival

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 13, 2016

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: alien, aliens, Amy Adams, arrival, arrival movie, arrival review, arrivalmovie, bradford young, cinema, cinematic treat, cinematography, Denis Villeneuve, enemy, Eric Heisserer, film geek, films, forest whitaker, Heptapods, Jeremy Renner, love films, Michael Stuhlbarg, movie heaven, movies, prisoners, sicario, spaceship, Ted Chiang, Tzi Ma, vision. Leave a comment

“12 Mysterious ships take up positions across Earth leading the military to send in a top notch linguist (Amy Adams) and a scientist (Jeremy Renner) to assist in translating alien communications”

For me Denis Villeneuve has joined a select band of filmmakers that manage to excite me, make me giddy with film fever and have so far delivered with every movie I’ve watched – the likes of Cameron, Tarantino and Nichols are also in that group so as you can see I highly rate this talented Canadian who’s last 3 movies Enemy, Prisoners and Sicario have all left me speechless and for many different reason’s blew my movie loving mind – Arrival is not your typical first contact picture, it’s based on Ted Chiang’s short story titled “Story of your Life” and is somewhat a science fiction love story, that’s powerfully captivating and tugs at your heart strings on so many levels – some of Villeneuve’s strength’s as a filmmaker is how he deals with the characters within the films narrative, managing to humanize them and make you care for them but also building a tension that surrounds them, this is difficult to achieve so it’s no surprise if you look at who he brings on board and trusts to convey his vision – at the heart of Arrival is Amy Adams who delivers a vulnerable yet equally strong performance playing Linguistics professor Louise Banks a women who’s known huge loss in her life yet shows the fight to continue on – Arrival essentially deals with grief and how we handle it, and one of Amy’s strong points as an actress is her facial features she has that honest, natural look, her eye’s give so much away so that her character’s interaction with the aliens is not only a scary encounter but also a thing of beauty too – now if filmmaker Villeneuve and actress Amy Adams are not enough to tempt you to watch this fabulous slice of Science Fiction on the big screen then Bradford Young’s sumptuous, flawless cinematography must surely twist your arm, remember when you first watched Kubrick’s 2001 or Spielberg’s Close Encounters and felt delirious, allowing the vision of the movie to spin into cinematic greatness well Bradford Young’s work is in similar vein, his use of light inside the space ship is paramount to the films overall feel and it’s mastered beautifully so if you thought Bradford’s work on Ain’t them Bodies and A Most Violent Year were great then wait till you see Arrival – this is no Independence Day Arrival is a bold, compelling, original slice of science fiction that’s full of suspense and sentiment – in it’s genre it’s one of the most thought provoking, written pictures for many a year and yet another fabulous cinematic experience by Villeneuve – bring on that Blade Runner sequel this guy can’t wait….

I enjoyed Gavin O’Connor’s 2008 crime thriller Pride and Glory but was totally blown away by his 2011 movie Warrior a boxing gem that is hard hitting, well acted and as tense as Tom Hardy’s biceps but then something unusual happened O’Connor sort of disappeared from the big screen limelight, he spent a few years directing a couple of TV movies and the odd episode of a TV show only to return four years later to helm the problematic western Jane Got a Gun that was not only a huge disappointment considering it’s fabulous cast but a big shame as it could and should have been a pretty decent western – maybe on reflection O’Connor wishes he had left this mess that somebody else had started well alone and stayed out of the limelight for that little bit longer…..

But luckily for us we didn’t have to wait long for filmmaker Gavin O’Connor to get back to doing what he does best and that is a gritty, well written and interesting take on the action thriller and with The Accountant it’s safe to say that he has delivered the goods – Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff the autistic genius who makes his living uncooking the books for dangerous criminal organizations is coolness sublime, his mannerism’s and terminator style action scenes are a thing of beauty, explosive yet done with style, Affleck looks to be having a blast playing this tough, clever yet struggling to socialize anti-hero and some of his off the cuff one liner’s are delivered with a serious deadpan look that makes the moment even more fun to watch – Affleck nails his character’s disorder so well, the scene’s where Wolff sits in his bedroom beating his leg with the stereo blasting shows his vulnerability, his complexity and he is totally compelling to watch, your invested in this character and regardless of his past you end up rooting for him to succeed and have some sort of happy conclusion at it’s end – the infectious Anna Kendrick is yet again a delight to watch and her role alongside Affleck’s Wolffe makes for an unlikely teaming but it so works – I would have liked to have seen J.K Simmons in a more prominent role but nevertheless he’s solid, The Punisher’s Jon Bernthal gives yet another eye catching performance as a paid mercenary who’s protecting someone of interest to Wolff, I really enjoy watching Bernthal tackle the action scenes, it seems so effortless – Overall: Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant is one of my favorite movies of the year, it’s a bloody good thriller with a message on autism that’s handled superbly by it’s lead star & writing team – I can’t wait for a second viewing and maybe just maybe director and star could be tempted to return for a sequel? let’s hope so….

Whether it be DC or the Marvel Comics Universe the excitement of a new movie landing on the big screen is an event, it’s something as a film fan I can honestly say I look forward to – yes I won’t deny my favorite genre of film is Horror and the Western but I grew up watching the likes of Christopher Reeve as Superman, Michael Keaton as Batman and Tobey Maguire as Spider-man so my love for this superhero craze is pretty extreme, I feed of it’s excitement and thankfully in recent years we as comic book fans have been spoilt rotten by the countless comic book movie adaptations that have consumed our screens the majority of which have been wonderful to watch….

First things first you must watch this movie in 3D and on the big screen, a big chunk of what gives Doctor Strange it’s uniqueness, it’s originality is it’s trippy Inception style visuals, for me the magic & sorcery of the film’s narrative comes alive during these colorful eye catching moments and praise must go to Sinister director Scott Derrickson and his team for having the bottle to go against the grain and deliver something bravely unique to the Marvel Cinematic Universe – as far as the casting goes Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch handles Doctor Strange with style – the wit, arrogance and complex nature of Strange is brought alive before your eye’s, Cumberbatch looking every bit the Sorcerer Supreme he will undoubtedly become – The Ancient One who is an old wise man in the comics is portrayed by actress Tilda Swinton – her presence and looks remind me of Tripitaka the ancient bald monk from the Japanese show Monkey, she truly is a delight and owns her character bringing a level of mysterious mysticism to Doctor Strange – my own slight negative in the movie is Mads Mikkelsen’s villainous turn as Kaecilius, as a villain this character is nowhere near as evil or dark as I would have written or imagined him to be and having someone like Mads a great actor coming off possibly his darkest role Hannibal Lector it’s seems a slight waste not to have him be insanely bad BUT that being said it does not deter one jot from the pictures overall enjoyment – Derrickson‘s Doctor Strange is not only a totally bonkers, weird at times experience it’s also a film with intelligence and one that’s magically entertaining throughout – the film thou is not a one trick pony, don’t get too bamboozled by it’s effects and stop thinking about it’s story, that first quarter of the movie showing Strange as the gifted neurosurgeon he once was, his relationship with Miss Palmer played by Rachel McAdams are of great importance as the movie moves forward – oh yeah and before I forget hang around for them customary extras after the credits rise, they’re lots of fun and lay the foundations of what’s to follow….

Logan (2017) – Film Trailer

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 24, 2016

Posted in: Trailers. Tagged: 2017 films, boyd holbrook, cinema, comic, comic geek, comicbook, Donald Pierce, film geek, films, geek, Hugh Jackman, laura, Logan, marvel characters, marvel comics, marvel movies, movie nerd, movies, mutants, professor charles xavier, superhero, third part, wolverine movies, x-23, xmen, xmen movies. Leave a comment

“Set in the future, Logan and Professor Charles Xavier must cope with the loss of the X-Men when a corporation lead by Nathaniel Essex is destroying the world leaving it to destruction, with Logan’s healing abilities slowly fading away and Xavier’s Alzheimer’s forcing him to forget. Logan must defeat Nathaniel Essex with the help of a young girl named Laura Kinney, a female clone of Wolverine”

Here’s the first teaser trailer for LOGAN the third and Hugh Jackman’s final outing as the Wolverine – reuniting with James Mangold who directed the impressive The Wolverine back in 2013 this promises to be epic, western in style with a hint of Mad Max and a darkness that looms across it’s narrative – I’m so looking forward to seeing Boyd Holbrook thrown into the mix maybe playing mutant hater Donald Pierce now that would fun to see and what about the mysterious young girl is she really X-23 the clone daughter of Wolverine? – could Logan really spell the end for the Wolverine as we know him or will the claws be resharpened and a younger incarnation surface for future movies? Enjoy this trailer and it’s superb Johnny Cash cover of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails overlaying proceedings….

Jack Reacher : Never Go Back may not have originality on it’s side and it may not contain loads of superhero CGI but what it does have is Tom Cruise a guy who oozes passion over his craft and knows how to deliver an action movie, create an entertaining vibe and make you clap after the end credits – Never Go Back is a movie based on the 18th book in the series of Reacher novels written by Lee Child and see’s Tom Cruise return as Jack Reacher an army vet come drifter looking for an easy life but find trouble at every turn – Cruise reunites with his Last Samurai director Edward Zwick for this sequel a film that follows in the same vein as it’s 2012 predecessor, a reasonably small budget of $60 Million, gritty realistic action scenes, a well oiled script and an exciting young cast that includes two fabulous ladies Cobie Smulders and Danika Yarosh who not only match Cruise in the running stakes but hold their own kicking ass in the action scenes, and along with the ladies Patrick Heusinger who plays The Hunter a mercenary who will stop at nothing to kill Reacher and anyone who stands in his way – the fight scene with him, Turner and Reacher in the kitchen is bone crunching and so epic I just wanted it to go on a bit longer – Overall: it’s not always the case that movie sequels work but Jack Reacher : Never Go Back delivers, it’s not quite as good as the first but it’s damn close, it’s wildly entertaining and whets the appetite for a third in the series….

Halloween Horror Nights 26 Orlando

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 16, 2016

Posted in: Views. Tagged: american horror story, chance, exorcist, films, florida, halloween, halloween horror nights, hhn26, horror, horror nights 26, krampus, Michael Aiello, movies, orlando, scare actors, scary, scary houses, texas chainsaw massacre, the walking dead, universal studios. Leave a comment

Sadly another year for us at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando has come to an end but what another fabulous event Michael Aiello and his team at Universal has put together for us fans of this scary at times terrifying yearly event – HHN26 is our third straight and we always purchase the Frequent Fear Plus to maximize our nights in the park (this year we visited the event 5 times) – the 2 live shows are always entertaining, the scare actors on the streets and in the houses are mind blowing all acting their particular role with dedication and tireless energy and each year we continue to marvel at the attention to detail on the props, the devilish makeup, the smells and overall appearance in transforming a sound stage into one of our worst nightmares – yes it’s sad that another HHN has come to an end but thankfully my mind is full of lots of cool, disturbing memories that will tide me over for another year – I have posted below my Top 9 Houses of this years event, not purely based on scares but also appearance, all 9 were epic in different ways but the Texas and Halloween houses were just mouth watering, blood curdling fun and for me deserved top marks – we always try to view each house 4 times and this time round in some case we managed 5 so we were able to take more of the scares at different times and admire some of the interior more than if you just visited the house only the once – again a huge thanks to Mike, his creative team and the scare actors and performers at this years Orlando Event – see you all next year….