Bending The Rules

Starring: Edge, Jamie Kennedy, & Jennifer Esposito

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

WWE Superstars aren't seen as actors, but in fact make some of the best action heroes on the big screen. They may be athletes showing off impossible moves in the ring, but they are also actors, who portray characters and memorize lines on a weekly basis. They are tailor made action stars, who even do their own stunts. That's why I was looking forward to Bending The Rules, It's star Edge is one of the most charismatic superstars in WWE history and he certainly didn't disappoint, unlike the script. The story follows a by the book District Attorney, who turns to an unconventional cop to help him, when his late father's prized possession is stolen. In order to score points with the man who is out to get him, the officer agrees, having no idea the case would take him into something much bigger. As I said Edge was great, the stunts were terrific, he was funny, and had great chemistry with Jamie Kennedy. This comedic duo could have made a great film together, if they didn't get stuck with a script that made little sense and was all over the place. This film randomly jumps between scenes without any context and without completing the scene before it, A lot of it just doesn't make sense. The whole premise is a bit ridiculous to begin with, a D.A. turning to the cop he's trying to bust to help him get back a stolen car, which leads to an international conspiracy, involving the police, the D.A., the FBI, gangsters, drug dealers, gang-bangers, and everyone else they could throw in there. Honestly, I continued to watch this film for it's humor and it's exemplary choreographed action sequences, beyond that, Bending The Rules is a pretty forgettable film.

The Fear of 13

Starring: Nicholas Yarris

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I don't generally review Documentaries, but sometimes a documentary comes along that is so compelling, people need to know about it. The Fear of 13 is the biography of a man, that most of us have never heard of, Nicholas Yarris. His was one of the first cases taken on by the Innocence Project and he is a prime example of not only the system failing to help someone, but a reason that it should scare the hell out of you. Yarris wasn't a great guy, when he was pulled over in the wrong place at the wrong time. Given his criminal history and inability to pay for a proper defense, Yarris was the perfect target for an over zealous District Attorney. Despite being based on completely circumstantial evidence, Yarris was convinced of murder and sentenced to death row. His life was troubled on the outside, but what happened in prison made it seem like a walk in the park. For twenty years, Yarris's cries fell on deaf ears, and it wasn't until he gave up and said, just kill me already, that someone finally noticed him. Nicholas Yarris's story is the kind of thing you can't make up and someday, I'd love to see a movie version of it. This man was never considered innocent and he wasn't proven guilty, yet he was forced to endure government sanctioned torture, the likes of which we couldn't possibly imagine. This is an eye opening documentary that must be seen by all and afterwards it may just change your opinion on our criminal justice system.

Get Out (2017)

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, & Cathrine Keener

Rating: 1 1/2 out of 5 stars

It's the new movie everyone is talking about and critics are raving about, as for me, I couldn't wait to get out...of the theater. Guess who's coming to dinner? It's a black man coming home to a rich suburban white families house for the weekend, and despite their black servants, they're extremely nice to their daughters new boyfriend, too nice, something weird is going on. Yes, something weird is going on, only Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is too stupid to realize it! He's so deeply in love with his girlfriend of all of four months, that not only can't he see what's going on right in front of his face, but he doesn't try to talk to her about it, he doesn't try to investigate any of it, he just sort of goes with the flow. People are raving about this noir thriller, when it is one of the most poorly written films I've seen in a while. Major plot holes aside for the moment, there is absolutely no character development, no chemistry between the actors, and worst of all they don't even reveal the main plot until twenty minutes before the thing is over! Yes, it's weird, yes, something is going on, but the writers don't even hint at what that is! They don't even give us a chance to figure out what it could possibly be. At first it was interesting and I was hoping there would be clues to help us figure out what might be going on, that maybe Chris would find evidence or over hear something, but no such luck. Maybe there could have been a scene without him, that gave us some insight, there was absolutely nothing until the very end, when it was all thrust into our faces and even then it really didn't make a whole lot of sense. Without giving anything away, they never answer the fundamental question, why black people? I never liked traditional noir, but at least most of the time the acting is good and you have some idea of what's going on. This film is just one big circle of confusion and to be honest with you, aside from some terrific comic relief, I hated every minute of it.

The State of The Blog Address

I know it has been a very long time since I have updated everyone on what is going on with myself and the blog, and I do apologize for that, so without further a do, let me catch you up...

In May 2016, I finally graduated from college, however getting a job on Long Island has been impossible to date. As a result I have had to go out and do what I've done in my younger years to make money; tutoring, odd jobs, managing & booking local rock bands (https://www.facebook.com/rockislandmanagement), and buying & selling on eBay. While I'm not making much, it has kept me quite busy and hasn't left me as much time to work on the blog. That is why the update schedule has been sporadic and there haven't been weekly updates.

The sponsors have been understanding, but I understand you guys are frustrated. The e-mails and comments have all but stopped here and on the Facebook page. As a result I really have no idea what you guys want in terms of specialty post or what to include or exclude from the reviews. As you may have noticed I have tried recently to add a more personal touch to the reviews, while not the most professional thing in the world, I have noticed that those types of reviews tend to get more likes on IMDB & Amazon and since that's the only feedback I have to go on lately, that's what I've gone with.

I humbly apologize for not having as much time to work on the blog as I used to. I do encourage you all to LIKE "The Ultimate Movie Review" on Facebook. I share all the trailers I like, all the movie and TV news I read, related content that I like, Netflix monthly streaming additions list, and I just added a "LIKED BY THIS PAGE" section which includes some of my favorite movies and TV shows, including stuff I haven't even reviewed yet!

I will try to update on a more regular basis, most likely Sunday mornings or early afternoons, so please stay tuned! Until then...

Current Streaming Recommendations: 

TV Shows:                                               Movies:

Dark Matter                                                          The Giver

The 100                                                                ARQ

Iron Fist                                                                Spotlight

Zoo                                                                       St. Vincent

The People vs. O.J. Simpson                                The Good Neighbor

Blog Notes: 

•  Current Review Count = 953
•  Amazon Reviewer Rank = 10,204
•  Blog Hit Counter = 90,743 

 

Expedition Unknown

Starring: Josh Gates

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Josh Gates is best known as an archeologist, who for five seasons, hosted Destination Truth on Syfy. On that show, Gates along with a team of investigators went into the wild to try to prove or disprove urban legends such as the Loch Ness monster and big foot. Aside from Gates' unique brand of humor, it was pretty much you're run of the mill paranormal investigation show, and there was always that feeling that Gates could be doing so much more, enter Expedition Unknown. In his new series on Travel Channel, Gates becomes a real life Indiana Jones, as he once again returns to the wild, only this time, he's trying to solve some of histories biggest mysteries. What really happened to Amelia Earhart? What happened to the Incas? Is there a really a Templar treasure and is Nicholas Cage's character Ben Gates based on him? Not only does Gates take us on a real life adventure every week, but he still brings along his unique brand of humor, and this time he includes history lessons for us recent college graduates who made the mistake of majoring in history and still can't find a job. For someone who loves history, mystery, comedy, and real life adventure I couldn't ask for more, as Expedition Unknown defines what a reality tv show should be. Honestly why would anyone sit and watch the Kardashian's talk about who has the bigger ass when they could be tuning in to watch the real life Indiana Jones tackle real life mysteries every week? Think about it...

The Purge: Anarchy

Starring: Frank Grillo, Zach Gilford, & Kiele Sanchez

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

When I saw the trailer for the first Purge movie, I thought it was a wildly innovative idea and I absolutely loved it! I was so excited to see the film, unfortunately it amounted to little more than a slasher movie. The story had all the potential in the world, but they really didn't go into it, they just wanted to show off the violence and hatred people had towards one another. I was hoping they would correct this in the sequel and boy did they ever! Anarchy isn't about some family hunkered down in their home, fighting off attackers. In the second installment of the Purge, we learn a lot more about it. The pro and anti-purge factions that exist, the professional companies that make a fortune off that one night, the way the rich purge, and the main story which centers around what happens on the streets when two families are trapped outside on purge night. Two families are easy pickings until they find Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), a man on a mission that he can only complete on Purge night. Barnes however is a man of conscience and won't complete his mission until he begrudgingly gets the families to safety, which means a wild trek through the city. The Purge: Anarchy is a wild ride through a city of ordinary people turned into killers, with home made weapons, booby-traps, and pure anarchy, just as the title promises. If you're looking for action and violence, there are a million places to turn, that's not what the appeal of this movie is. It's the idea, that crime virtually is nonexistent, except for this one night, where society turns on each other. Where almost everyone's craziest fantasy becomes reality and just how some people react. What will each character turn into when they are allowed to do whatever they want? How does society feel about this law and is the benefit worth the cost? This story has just so many directions it can go in, that why I'm not surprised to hear they're working on a fourth film. The Purge series may just be a series of action/slasher films, but this one idea puts a whole new spin on them and makes you see things through a whole different set of eyes and I for one think it's ingenious.

 

J. Edgar

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, & Josh Lucas

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Clint Eastwood's films are extremely historically accurate. The academy and critics love his work and especially the way he manages to get the best out of his leading roles. That being said, his films also tend to be extremely long and very dry, J. Edgar was no different. J. Edgar Hoover was the man who started the FBI. He is the man solely responsible for creating a fingerprint database, cataloging and investigating forensic evidence at crime scenes, and he was also completely paranoid and spied on just about everyone he could. It was sad to see just how lonely, narrow minded, and repressed this man was his whole life. He was so narrowly focused his entire life, that he didn't seem to ever enjoy anything besides his work. As for the film, Leonardo DiCaprio gives another stunning performance, one that rivals all his other work. People who worked with Hoover, in his later years, say that DiCaprio was so good that it was like seeing Hoover himself back in charge. When he was first starting out, people thought DiCaprio was just another pretty face, who would do films like the Beach his entire career, but they couldn't be more wrong. He has emerged as one of the best leading men in all of Hollywood and J. Edgar is a prime example of this. You can't have a DiCaprio greatest hits compilation without including this performance, it really was that good. I learned a lot from this film and the performances were truly fantastic in every sense of the word. How DiCaprio's performance didn't get nominated for an Academy Awards is beyond me and does lend some credence to the theory that the Academy is bias towards him. As for the rest of the film, it's long, very long and parts of it just don't move at all. You'll learn a lot and from a historic stand point, I think this is one of those film everyone should see, but at times it's not easy to sit through. Don't expect much in the way of action, comic relief, or deviation. It's just a lot of vintage Eastwood, DiCaprio, and criminal justice history.