The Legacy Of A Whitetail Deer Hunter (2018) - Movie Review

You know that it’s been a weird year when Danny McBride, an actor and writer better known for his comedic works, is currently riding high on a horror movie. This kind of step into different genres doesn’t have to be a bad thing (worked a miracle for Jordan Peele), but if McBride wants to keep up with his standard trade, it’s an easy ask that he be attached to works worth their salt. And this kind of is, in a roundabout way, as despite this being billed as a comedy, laughter isn’t exactly the first reaction this gives. It’s a little too low-key and a little too preoccupied with moodier pursuits for that.

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: After discovering a possible link between the Mexican cartels controlling the U.S./Mexico border and a string of stateside terrorist attacks, the U.S. government is prepared to take special measures to control the problem. To that ends, CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) brings Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) in to create some chaos among the cartels and, hopefully, put a stop to the terrorists they're smuggling across the border.

Deadpool 2 (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), in-between killing anyone he sets his sights on, is contemplating starting a family. Whatever domestic roles may be involved will have to wait, however, as his reconnection with the X-Men leads to him to a young boy named Russell (Julian Dennison), a powerful mutant with the potential for great disaster. As he connects with the young mutant, time-travelling mercenary Cable (Josh Brolin) has arrived in the present to hunt down the one responsible for the death of his family. With multiple threats on his life and others and his anti-social tendencies making his want to start his own superhero team a bit wonky, it's just another day in the life of everyone's favorite Merc.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: After many long years of planning and machination, the alien despot Thanos (Josh Brolin) is ready to initiate his ultimate plan: Gather all of the Infinity Stones and, with their combined power, wipe out half of all life in the universe. As he and his lieutenants make their way to Earth, where most of the Stones now reside, the now-scattered Avengers have to reunite and, with the help of the Guardians Of The Galaxy, stop Thanos from decimating the universe.

Only The Brave (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: The Granite Mountain Hotshots, led by Eric “Supe” Marsh (Josh Brolin), are a group of first response firefighters. As they are sent all over the country to help curb wildfires, Marsh along with new recruit Brendan “Donut” McDonough (Miles Teller) begins to question why are they putting themselves on the front line and whether they have what it takes.

Hail, Caesar! (2016) - Movie Review

I have a bit of a hot and cold relationship with the Coen brothers. While their approach to crime stories is definitely commendable and they’re responsible for one of my all-time favourite films with The Big Lebowski, the majority of their work doesn’t elicit that much more than shrug from yours truly. Hell, their 2013 penned effort Gambit was ultimately so unengaging that I couldn’t even come up with a full review for the thing. Although, in the interest of fairness, that film was also riddled with production troubles and most of their actual script ended up being rewritten. Still, even with all this in mind, I can't help but admit to their obvious skill behind the camera as well as their aptitude for scripting. Considering that, even if today’s film doesn’t work out too well, it will at least show more effort than an awful lot of films released in the last two months. How much more effort, however, is the big question.

Sicario (2015) - Movie Review

In today’s day and age where people have grown more and more sceptical of their nation’s military and government (rightfully so, in most regards), the question of how they justify their actions has grown in poignancy. This is especially true in the world of entertainment, where the times when propaganda pieces about the 'Red Menace' are long since behind us. There’s a reason why action films involving soldiers rescuing hostages in foreign jungle settings aren’t nearly as prevalent, and it’s not just because they mostly suck the big one: Violence with lack of justification, when it comes to government-sanctioned officers, isn’t nearly as accepted as it once mystifyingly was. One look at the works of Kathryn Bigelow and Clint Eastwood will see this mindset in full force, where actions are constantly brought into question and that lingering question hangs over everyone’s heads. Today, it’s time to dip into that pool once again.

Everest (2015) - Movie Review

Way back when, long before YouTube put Andy Warhol’s words to their most logical extreme, great feats of physical endurance were usually carried out with some reward of societal achievement backing it: Swimming unfathomably long stretches of water, navigating ungodly deserts and scaling unimaginably high mountains; history has put a lot of weight behind the people who did these things first. Now, humanity seems to have stopped caring as much about discovering new frontiers to conquer (on Earth, at least) and now want to share the experience as much as possible. It could be argued that this idea of hosting events where these previously-superhuman feats are available to the everyman cheapen the challenge of the event itself, but there is a feeling of bringing the world closer together through collective experience that gives it some urgency. This is why the idea of scaling Mt. Everest, barring my own aversion to physical exercise, is weirdly appealing despite the very clear danger involved. Something tells me that the idea is going to be substantially less appealing after sitting through today’s subject.