The theme for my Blog

I have finally chosen a theme to do may blog on. Each online reviewer has theme, some settle for the topic at hand, but I am going to use Cult followings as my main theme. Film's, for the longest time, have left a deep impression on people. Whether the film be good or bad, there is some thing in the back of our mind that will help us decide. the film can be a guilty pleasure, a film so bad you have to enjoy it or so over hyped you would despise it(eg. Twilight). But usually a franchise will develop a cult, for the film they crave so much will have flaw's or plot holes that the devoted fan's must root out and explain. Some of the largest media cult following's in the world include The Evil Dead Trilogy, The Rocky horror picture show, Fight club, star trek, etc. my first review will be Wednesday with "the Evil Dead   

The Wiz

This one I found recently. Apparently, in 1975 there was a release of The Wizard of Oz for the stage, only this show had some major changes. Instead of a the classic song's like 'we're off to see the wizard' or 'If I only had a heart', we are instead treated with 'Ease on down the road' and 'Brand new day' and the cast is now all black. This was a major turn in theater and Broadway. The show was a major hit with audiences and critics alike and won many award's in the Tony awards, including Best Musical and a Drama desk award for 'Outstanding Musical'. In 1978, the film right's to the show was bought by Motown, the legendary american RnB record label and was released by Universal. What we got was a very interesting film, to say the least.

What differ's from the show in this film is that instead of taking place in Kansas, it take's place in New York with Dorothy(played by Diana Ross) being swept off to the land of Oz, a sort of scitzo version of New York. So, instead of a scarecrow of straw we are given one made of garbage(Michael Jackson) , a tin man based on an amusement park piece of animatronics(Nipsy Russel) and a lion based on a library statue(Ted Ross). I find this a clever adaption of the Wiz by making it take place in New York, although I would have liked it to be more faithful to the stage show. Other changes include changing the Witch of the north to Miss One(number obsessed), flying monkey's no longer flying or monkey's and multiple song's added or replaced with some new one's. In fact the Wiz himself gets no song's when he did in fact have three song's in the show. The story is more or less the same, so I won't bore with the details. We can thank Joel Schumacher for it's strange, yet interesting story line.

Let's see, I dislike some of the change's and the fact that some of my favorite song's where removed(all the song's were my favorite). I do believe that Diana was a bit of a miscast, but now I cannot un-see her in the role, her singing saved her. Richard Pryor did a good Wiz, although they made Nipsy sing, so they could have given him a song or two. Also the main issue I had was how dark in lighting and story it was, but I think that was the idea to make all hope and good seem lost, only for darkness to be triumphed over at the end.

But what was good is really good. The song's, singing and choreography was stellar, the costumes were very good, the effect's were good for it's time and for the most part the acting is pretty good. It was able to rely on it's reputation of the show and not eat off the classic musical by using nostalgia. Overall a strange, but enjoyable film. It's a guilty pleasure i'll freely admit to. It's got me planning for a remake anyway.

Script Fix

The Dark knight Rises
Along with my review of this movie, I am also going to give my opinion on how it can be fixed. There are many aspects I can change , while a good movie has its flaws like most movies. So here is how I'll do it.

1. Swap the stories of the Dark knight(DK) and the Dark knight rises(DKR). The second movie will have Bane and Talia avenging Ra's al Ghul's death as this is connected to Batman Begins(BB)
2.  Aaron Eckhart should play Harvey Dent Deputy Commissioner  (played by Matthew Modine) who then runs for office as district attorney in the DKR. This is then completed when Joker make's him go insane and dies at the end. 
3. Instead of showing Batman in 'The Bat', just show 'The Bat' flying away. This will make the it more realistic to think that he escaped the explosion.
4. More gadgets, less voice. Enough said.
5. After the "Disappearance" of batman, the joker rises to take advantage of this absence. This will cause batman to come out of retirement after faking his death at the end of the second movie. 
6. Bane's plan is to merely show what a lie can change in a city by releasing the inmates arrested under the law of liar's before finally destroying the city that has too much corruption and destruction. 

These are some of the thing's that I would change to make it less confusing or stop making haters find ways to make this movie less than it is.

I am going to do a list.

The main reason for this is because I was inspired by the nostalgia critic for his top 11 list on things like movie themes, cliches, etc. 

In movies one type of horror movie is a constant, zombie apocalypse!
There is just something about these movies that makes them so interesting. Maybe it's the gore, the idea of being trapped with only household objects to protect you or maybe it's the relentless, yet comedic hunter/killers of the living dead. If I were trapped these are the people I would choose to fight beside.
I'm only doing five because it's easier.

Number 5: Shaun, from Shaun of the dead. He is a loser, a layabout and clueless. Why the hell would I need this guy on my side. As a zombie he would be equally as clueless. Well my reason is that he is devoted enough to save his ex-girlfriend, make up with his mother and he kills zombies with a cricket bat and jukebox. Just don't let him choose a place to hide.

Number 4: Tallahassee returns as my choice of a ass-kicker who enjoys what he does, squeezes in a joke whenever he can and has a soft spot for Twinkies. This can be a problem when using him as a scout, but when he is in a group, you can leave him to take on all the zombies. Just give the man a twinkie and everything is cool.

Number 3: Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead. A natural leader, sharpshooter and a strong sense of morality.
He found it easy to negotiate with others and is willing to take the initiative to do whats right. Recently he has been through a lot and some might question his authority, but I would follow him to the end of the earth if it meant escaping the hoard.

Number 2: Alice, I was saying to myself that I shouldn't, but I had to. Her abilities in the first two movies were cool, but being telekinetic, super-strong and psychic, that's pushing it just a bit. If they remake the movie series I hope they do it right, but keep a depowered Alice in the background somewhere. I'll leave the showing off to the top gun on this list.

Number 1: Taking the number one spot on this list is Ash, from the Evil Dead series. While they are not necessarily zombies some of the time, these fiendish undead are no match for the one man army that is Ashley J. Williams. With a chainsaw hand, seriously it's awesome, and an unlimited ammo double-barrel, Ash is armed with fast thinking, the ability to get any girl he wants and an endless supply of one-liners. What else can I say except.....'Groovy'.

That's my list if you have any opinions on who should have made it, please comment. Runner up Daryl(The walking dead)

To conclude the Top ten bad-asses list lets begin with:

Number 5: The Doctor, Doctor Who. This guy is a bit of a mystery. Not only is his name missing but at some point's even his sanity. let's see what he can do, he has infinite knowledge of  everything in the universe,    the ability to restore and change his physical form(regeneration), immune to toxins and forms of radiation, can go without breath for a long time and possesses psychic powers(a la Vulcan mind meld). DAYYM! Armed with a sonic screwdriver, a Tardis(don't know what it is? LOOK IT UP) and has the trust of any of his companions. Allon ze!

Number 4: Hannibal 'the cannible' Lecter. This guy is awesome. Not only does this guy commit murder and consumes humans like a steak, but he plot's and play's the authorities like fiddle and cuts their strings. He can boast being a psychologist, a chef, even a baron. Scarring for life Jodi Fosters character Clarice Starling and Edward Norton's character Will Graham, falling in love with one and hating the others gut's. Even from prison he can harm us, with such sophistication one would wonder what is going on in this mans head. This is one cold blooded maniac I would rather befriend than hate. You cook the fava beans, I'll bring the Chianti.

Number 3: Ash Williams, Evil Dead Trilogy. Who would have thought an S-Mart clerk would become the greatest zombie killer ever, a chainsaw hand, metal hand, unlimited ammo double barrel shotgun and the best one liners ever. Fast thinker and ever resourceful, I say that lightly, he is one cool mother. Yes, he is a bit of a dimwit, but he eventually does what's necessary. Groovy!

Number 2: The joker, I'm serious about this. And no i do not mean just Heath Ledger, I also mean Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill(Batman animated series and Arkham series). They each made their mark on society and comics. With his lunatic mind, clever gadgets and his manic personality, the clown prince of crime is the best villain ever, he is uncontrollable, underestimated and unknown, he may claim to not to have a plan, but he is not to be fooled around with.

Number 1:Clint Eastwood, which film? ANY FILM. Clint has been one man I always comeback to see. His voice, his enigmatic persona and who knows what else. Famous for Dirty harry, the dollars trilogy and his great film directing. The fact that he can make a dramatic film and portray a bad-ass is epic. Don't agree with me well you got to ask yourself one question, Do I Feel Lucky? Well do ya PUNK!

Runners up: Chuck Norris and wolverine

               Les Miserables

Les Miserables, based on the enormous novel by victor Hugo and the stage musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Jean Marc Natel, has joined on to be one of the many adaptions of classic novel and maintains the power of the great musical.

In 19th century France, convict Jean Val Jean is freed from prison after twenty years. He is taken in by a Bishop, who eventually gives him silver to start a better life for himself on the condition that he leads an honest life and gives back to society. Breaking his parole he goes in search of a better life. Jump to years later he starts up a factory and is elected mayor the village. After finding Fatine, a woman whom he had inadvertently caused the unemployment of, dying, he takes her to hospital telling her he will raise her illegitimate daughter Coisette as his own. Meanwhile Javert, a man of the law , is on Val jeans trail and pursues him in order to bring him to justice. Years later, Coisette has grown into a young woman and find's a suitor in the form of Marius and forms a love triangle as Marius loves Coisette, but Eponine, an acquaintance from her youth, is in love with Marius. All of this happening during the July Rebellion. Val Jean must balance this turn around to maintain being a free man, honor his fallen friends memory and maintain a father to Coisette.

Lets begin with what I dislike about this film. There is a mile long list.
For starters I dislike the pacing of the film, scenes fly by leaving you wondering, what the hell just happened.  I admit that it is a very long musical and shaving moments  can help sometimes, but not all the times. If they wanted they could have added twenty minutes of screen time. Long films have a certain artistic flair to them, I could do nothing but sit and watch a film for hours on end with a large popcorn, bag of minstrels and a large coke. Problem two is cinematography. Apparently some, if not most of the scenes are CGI, but that's not important. The close-ups are so close that  you can practically see the pores of their skin. My major problem however is not Russell Crowe, but what I call the Disney Romance. It is such a ridiculous way to fall in love. They meet, they proclaim their love, they separate, they meet and someone dies(Whether its the protagonist, antagonist or an extra in the back, It matters not, for they are in love).

After all this, one might think I dislike the film, but the fact is, I do not, I just looked at what annoyed me most. Here is what I love.

I love the casting, especially Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, these two lit up the screen by their presence. Their vocal performances were phenomenal especially in the way they express emotion.  I enjoyed the two innkeepers played by the hilarious Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Boham Carter. They were chosen to deliver some lighthearted moments and they delivered. I surprisingly enjoyed Amanda Sayfried and Eddie Redmayne as Coisette and Marius, a much bigger improvement over Nick Jonas and Katie Hall from the 25th anniversary concert. In fact most of the cast has been improved in this transition, but Alfie Boe and Norm Lewis are actually very good. I want to see more Samantha Barks, she was awesome as Eponine and she needs to be in more movies.
I loved the music(as you would) and the way they performed. I enjoy the directors creation of new worlds and showing them off. They showed off the world as best they can and showed the passage of time as best they can.

Overall I felt this Musical Extravaganza to be a triumphant success. I had a felling this was an experiment, to bring one of the most difficult and exciting stage musicals to life, on screen. I still wouldn't mind seeing an extra half hour to give extra breathing space, but with what he could do Tom Hooper has made magic again and I hope to see this do well in the future. 

Top 10 film BAD-ASSES
Cinema is full of bad ass characters that entertain us and make us laugh and why not, with their cheesy one liners, improvised use of gadgets and weapons and their wit. Today I would like to honor those heroes by counting down the top ten, Let's begin with:

Number 10: The Terminator, the metal man built to kill. admittedly he did lose some bad ass points being told what to do by a thirteen year old and reduced to maiming humans instead of killing whoever crosses him. But he has the awesome arsenal of cheesy one liners, the model 1887 shotgun and mini gun and he is played by the human punchline himself Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nothing else to say but 'Astala Vista Baby'.

Number 9: Tallahassee, from Zombieland. Not only did he save most of the main characters life, but he has the sickest sense of humor since jack the ripper. Using anything he can find, from shotgun to Banjo to hedge trimmer, he cuts down any zombie in his path for the sake of that one last twinkie. 'Time to nut up or shut up'.

Number 8: Edward from twilight, ONLY KIDDING. Indiana Jones, with an entire trilogy under his fedora. THERE IS ONLY THREE, NO MORE. His whip abilities, his private war against the Nazi's, the encyclopedia of archaeology and he is the son of the coolest dad ever. His image is landmark, whip, fedora, satchel and leather jacket. Although he is based on the B-movies of old, including Zorro, he has made his own character and is just awesome for it. Just keep your snakes away.

Number 7:   Batman, again a bit of a shock, but I have my reasons. I do think he is the best superhero of all time, HANDS DOWN, NO EXCUSES. But he does dress like a bat, has bat themed gadgets and vehicles ( by the way bat mobile is the coolest car EVER)  and his constant sidekick is a teenager. But what is awesome is his story, his abilities, his character( more than just a bat) and his villains, my god this guy has more villains than the rest of the DC Universe combined. Who is he? HE'S BATMAN.

Number 6: Darth Vader. This seven foot asthmatic, dark lord of the force is one of the most iconic screen villains of all time. His deep voice(courtesy of James Earl Jones), mastery of swordplay( thank you Bob Anderson) and his his historical connection to Luke Skywalker. With the command of the galactic empire and the power of the force, he is a formidable opponent and not a force to be reckoned with. The power of the force is strong with this one!

I will conclude my list tommorow. The final five bad-asses of cinema