stormslinger Reviews

Steel Magnolias (1989)

The Perfect Ensemble Nails It

[10/10 · 10 October 2023]

Okay, so full disclosure...I'm a guy...and this is one of my favorite movies & casts EVER.

There are so many things to love in this movie, starting with a brilliant casting of talented storytellers. Every single role in this movie was perfectly cast and the dialogue only accentuates just how great they are as an ensemble. Every single character is explored in the finer details throughout, giving you a glimpse into who and why they are as personalities. That alone sells this movie.

If I had to pick out the standouts in this one, they would definitely have to be Sally Field (shocker, I know...She's amazing in everything), Olympia Dukakis and Shirley MacLaine. For me, these 3, would leave the movie less to be desired because of the wisecracking shenanigans from the latter 2 and the powerful performance by Sally Field.

The balance of cast is great as well and altogether, they make this a movie that will make you laugh, make you cry (early and often for me, anyways) and make you look at life as more of a journey, one that you should enjoy while you can. They make you appreciate every little moment of your own lives and to understand that no matter what, life happens. How you face it, who you have with you and how you forge on is what really matters because it defines you.

This movie will forever be in my regular viewing rotation and is, in my opinion, a timeless, heartfelt masterpiece.

Somewhere in Time (1980)

Time Could Not Keep Them Apart

[10/10 · 28 September 2023]

When I was 14 (1987), my Father told me about this film. I have always realized that the older I got, the smarter my Father was. At first, I scoffed at a chick flick.

I sat down in my early teen years and finally watched this film. It became, and continues to be, one my all time favorite love stories. Not only does this film pull you in with great performances by Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer, it serenades the deepest reaches of your heart with a most amazing soundtrack from John Barry. The music alone was so moving that to this day, every time I hear that piece, I am moved to the moment I first heard it in Somewhere in Time.

The story, while cliche and corny at times, is actually very good. The choreography, costume and backdrop of the Hotel help fill this movie with everything needed to transport you back to 1912, where the bulk of the story takes place.

Christopher Plummer's performance is by and far one of favorite of his EVER. He is a protector of Elise McKenna, a Father Figure to Elise and a Manager to her. But, he also sees her as his meal ticket to being revered in the business as a manger and will not allow anything to interfere with his plans, regardless of Elise's wants and desires.

Richard Collier (Reeve) becomes obsessed with Elise after seeing her in a photograph from 1912 and makes it his mission to meet her, be with her and love her...forever.

One of the minor aspects of this film that I love to entertain is whether the ending is a sad ending or happy ending. I see it both ways, at different perspectives. He is whisked back to the present time, losing Elise in the process. He dies of a broken heart, due to not being able to go back, which I view as the sad ending aspect. But, as he passes on (with a peculiar subtle smirk on his face), he is once again reunited with his Elise, which is what Elise had wanted all along. The fade of into heaven, together, hand in hand, which is why it is also a happy ending.

In the end, this movie is one I hold dear to my heart and forever will.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Indiana Jones and the Great Big THUD

[5/10 · 5 July 2023]

When I first saw Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I went into it knowing Indy was getting old. I had hoped they didn't have him doing things a man his age couldn't do and it was a pretty good movie.

Fast forward to the Dial of Destiny.

Going in, I knew Harrison Ford wanted to write an ending to his adventures as Indy. Because of that, I was hoping to see a "riding off into the sunset" moment for a childhood hero.

When it was all said and done, I had just witnessed the most disappointing, lackluster installment in the series. Every single character, including Indy, was uninteresting and all the storylines were lame and cliche. Every attempt that Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd. Made to make this entertaining was an utter failure. Most of the entire picture, they employed the same action sequences over and over, trying to wow the audience. They didn't wow me, they bored me after the first couple sequences.

In addition, the lead female, Phoebe Waller-Bridge was Elsa Schneider (which is an insult to Allison Doody) incarnate. She may be Indy's God daughter, but she is a boring, personality-less character did nothing to improve this film. The last 15-20 minutes of the movie showed promise, but in the end, the only moment to remember from this one is a surprise cameo at the end that references a similar moment in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The first 3 were Produced/Written by George Lucas and Directed by Steven Spielberg. The last 2 were not. With all respect to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, they clearly were the lesser installments, with this one hitting rock bottom as nothing more than a cash grab.

Even though I love Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the ending of The Last Crusade was the perfect way for Indy to "ride off into the sunset".

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Let the Phantom take you where you long to be!

[10/10 · 24 May 2023]

As an avid, obsessed fan of Andrew Lloyd Weber's stage production, i have seen it live a dozen times and even own the Libretto book, original posters, etc.

When I saw Joel Shumacher was reimagining this wonderful, timeless story, I was skeptical, to say the least. Too many times has somebody "reimagined" something that was already perfect. The weekend this movie came out, I got my tickets and kept my fingers crossed and hoped it would not trash it's legacy.

At first, I wasn't feeling Butler's version of the Phantom, mainly because I felt his voice talents weren't strong enough to take on the role. I thought Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson were good casting decisions, early on in the film. Cinematography was on point, costume design was great and we were off and running.

FAST FORWARD TO THE END OF THE FILM...............

Oh, dear God!! That was absolutely PHENOMONAL!!!

Throughout the movie, Gerard Butler morphed into a fantastic Phantom, emotionally, emphatically and completely. It showed me that he is truly capable of taking on any challenging role and hit it out of the park. Emmy Rossum was divine! She was a perfect Christine Daae, with every moment she was on screen. She is beautiful, talented and was everything I had hoped for character. Patrick Wilson, I think, impressed me the most. Sure, he was upstaged by Phantom and Christine the whole movie, but he absolutely NAILED it. So much so, my 2 favorite scenes in the whole movie are the Cemetery Scene and the "Point of No Return" finale, which was done so well, I was moved to tears, cheers and exhilaration!

All in all, I was absolutely blown away at how good this version was and still is to this day. I have always measured any Phantom production up against the Original London Cast Recording and this one CLEARLY measured up very well.

Bravo, Joel Shumacher. THIS is your masterpiece. You have definitely taken my soul where it longs to be!

The Green Mile (1999)

Easily a Top 10 movie of all time !!!

[10/10 · 9 May 2023]

I have seen The Green Mile dozens of times and still, to this day, very few movies move me to tears quite like The Green Mile. It is easily one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen, thanks in part to an amazingly powerful performance by Michael Clarke Duncan.

Firstly, as with most Frank Darabont films, it is superbly cast. Each character comes to life, from the novel by Stephen King, through it's perfect casting. Tom Hanks is, as you would expect, is perfect for Paul Hedgecomb, the head guard at E-Block. David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell and the balance of cast is awesome.

But, Michael Clarke Duncan literally BLOWS ME AWAY as John Coffey (like the drink, only not spelled the same). To me, this is his defining performance in a career and life, sadly cut short. Throughout the entire film, John Coffey touches your heart, soul and unknowingly commands your sympathy. I have seen very few performances with more heart, conviction and brilliance better than Michael Clarke Duncan's performance.

For me, this is the penultimate Stephen King adaptation of any novel he has ever written and most likely will never be succeeded. I would use a Quote from Melinda Moores' interaction with John Coffey as a way to express what Stephen King fans experienced after seeing this film:

"I dreamed of you. I dreamed you were wandering in the dark, and so was I. We found each other. We found each other in the dark."

For so long, Stephen King adaptations have fallen short and this one was simply the most incredible, heartfelt and powerful adaptation ever. Us King fans finally have our Crown Jewel.

If you have ever needed to immerse yourself in an absolute masterpiece, this is it.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

This movie will forever be relevant!

[10/10 · 10 March 2023]

High School life and growth, individually, is always a challenge, whether it is socially or academically, for everybody in some fashion. There are always Cliques and where one fits in is a difficult journey to complete. As teenagers, we all tried to find ourselves, learn about the adults we want to be and strive for acceptance.

The Breakfast Club, which came out 38 years ago, is still a very relevant and great example of how difficult HS life can be (from the HS Life perspective and Home Life perspective). Whether you are younger viewer or older, you will identify with the themes in this movie.

Firstly, the cast is perfect in every way. Each actor/actress portrays those cliques to perfection. The powerful acting just proves the quality of casting was paramount.

Secondly, everything about this movie's production was superb. From camera angles in key moments, moods conveyed through the storytelling, dialogues and believability, this movie hits a home run. There are few movies nowadays that truly mirror real HS/Teenage life accurately, but this one does...And always will.

The Last of Us (2023– )

An amazing start to an iconic game!

[10/10 · 17 January 2023]

As far as game adaptations, they have all pretty much sucked, including the last Uncharted adaptation. The source material is always lost in the final product.

After watching episode 1 of The last of Us, I can tell you that it's definitely not the case with this one. I love the games and they were dedicated to the source material.

The prologue of the game was the most tense, cinematic and emotional gut punch I have ever experienced in a video game EVER. This show, in episode 1, completely and totally NAILED IT. All the intensity, anticipation and emotion came flooding back during the adaptation's prologue (so much so, my wife asked me if I was alright...LOL)!

The casting, although not perfect, was very good. The cinematography and dialogue translation from the game was excellent. I really don't have much to complain about and am totally stoked to see if they maintain the storyline from the source material.

Bravo!!!

Uncharted (2022)

Uncharted Game Franchise lovers will hate it!!

[4/10 · 21 February 2022]

When I heard this movie was being made, I knew casting and storyline would be absolutely paramount in honoring the game franchise and it's legacy. As with any Video Game adaptation, I went into this as a Skeptic (see Assassin's Creed). My reservations would be justified after seeing this movie.

Look, I absolutely LOVE seeing Mark Wahlberg in just about anything and Tom Holland is a capable actor. But, this movie was cast COMPLETELY WRONG. Victor Sully is 20-30yrs the senior to Nathan Drake and his portrayal of Sully was more selfish, more physically capable and less the father-figure Nathan Drake has in the game.

Tom Holland was way too upper class and his sarcasm was not even close to the real character. Nathan Drake is a rough, weathered treasure hunting veteran and he was overshadowed too much in this movie, as Sully was more the star of the show (which, in every single game in the franchise, always was a background assisting character).

Now, if you enjoy action movies, this is for you. But, there are so many ridiculously UNBELIEVABLE action sequences that defy the laws of air speed, freefalls among others, which take place on an open C-130. There are 400yr old wooden ships being airlifted out of a cave, which clearly would have crumbled at the thought of movement.

Overall, I feel the people responsible for this movie solely banked on Mark Wahlberg's star status and shoddy effects to wow the audience. In the end, it was just another average action flop with a funny line here and there.

Fatherhood (I) (2021)

Kevin Hart shows his talents!

[8/10 · 23 June 2021]

When my wife and I saw the trailer, we figured it could be really good or just alright (most trailers these days show the best parts because the movie sucks). Kevin hart was superb in this one, starting from the Gut Punch you get right off the bat, up to the ending. The trials, tribulations and doubts he goes through as a working single parent are easily identifiable by countless single parents throughout the world. This movie will make you laugh, cry and appreciate the efforts of parenting, share in the grief of loss and identify with his frustrations of self-doubt. In the end, this movie was really great. I am only giving it 8/10 because, aside from Marian and Maddie, the balance of supporting cast was just average. Definitely worthy of watching at least once!

Ghosts (2019–2023)

Misfit Ghosts that don't miss the mark!

[9/10 · 12 April 2021]

My wife and I found this show and decided to give it a go. My wife isn't particularly a fan of British Humor, but we were both delighted with this show. The cast, writing and feel of the show is amazing! There are so many laughs, CLEAN humor and great storytelling that it is definitely worth the time! Can't wait for Series (Season in America...LOL) 3 to come in the fall!

The Little Things (2021)

A Great Cat & Mouse Thriller

[8/10 · 15 February 2021]

My wife and I first saw the trailer for this in the cinema and initially, it looked intriguing. It could either be really good or really bad. We watched this one on HBO Max and it was pretty darn good! In a serial killer movie that had a lot of feels to it like the movie "Se7en", this one didn't disappoint. Denzel is involved with the case because of personal reason, one that has lasted 5 years, and the case has striking similarities to one of his cases. Rami Malek plays the new hot shot with the LAPD and partners up with Denzel to find the killer. Their prime suspect is played by Jared Leto who, quite honestly, steals the show. The suspense and writing make this movie a MUST SEE. Definitely worth watching at least once!

Schitt's Creek (2015–2020)

One of the most SUPRISING shows ever!

[10/10 · 4 January 2021]

I had skipped over this show several times and have heard people raving about this show. My wife and I started watching this over the New Years weekend and have to say....WOW. This show is amazing! The writing is absolutely brilliant, the casting is perfect and I haven't found an episode yet (halfway through season 4) that I haven't laughed in. The old Riches to Rags storyline works brilliantly because at first, the Rose's are disgusted by everything. Throughout the show, they discover new selves after opening up to the town, it's people and the support of the community only seen in small town life. They all grow from their experiences on the show and they become such a lovable family.

The humor in this show is sublime. It is well-timed, sarcastic, dark and hysterical. David Rose (dan Levy) is the character that steals the show for me. His facial expressions, retorts and self awareness makes for an absolute riot of a time!

Listen to the reviews on this show and give it a chance...It definitely will not leave you "Up Schitt's Creek"!!

The Irishman (2019)

Simply a waste of 3-1/2 hrs!

[1/10 · 31 December 2019]

This is one of the longest, most boring movies ever. Even with a cast like this one had, the movie still sucked. I fell asleep 2 or 3 times in this one because there were no big moments, drawn out sequences and very little suspense. Clearly, this is not one of Scorsese's best work (it's not even in his top 100 for that matter) and it fell flat. Over half of the people that died in this story were not killed on screen. They would freeze the frame and tell you how and when they died. For those that DID die on screen, there was no build-up, no flare...Nothing. Just a surprise Pop-Pop-Pop to the back of the head and the movie moved on. This was just an utterly boring piece of crap, much like what Robert DeNiro has become in real life. Instead of spewing garbage out of his mouth, DeNiro should spend his time making better movies or just disappear into oblivion because he is no longer in the top echelon of actors.

The Lion King (2019)

Easily one of the Top 5 WORST movies ever!

[1/10 · 18 October 2019]

When the remake of Beauty and the Beast came out, I was skeptical. It was already a perfect movie, so why remake it. But, it was AMAZING.

When Lion King got remade, I was optimistic because of Beauty and the Beast. After watching this movie, I feel as though they took the original and crapped all over it. Oh dear GOD! The utter disappointment was incredible.

Here is what was good about this movie: 1. Visually stunning 2. Seth Rogen

Yep. That's about it.

Here is only some of what was wrong with the movie: 1. The ENTIRE cast (with the exception of Seth Rogen) 2. Politically angry Hyenas 3.The music (all of which were trimmed to about 40-60 seconds) 4. Line delivery (felt like cue card reading by amateurs) 5. The cutting/changing of the greatest dialogue from the original 6. 30 torturous minutes longer 7. Mufasa's death scene was not as emotionally gripping as the original 8. The Director chosen to film it 9. No emotion, laughter or Disney Magic 10. The amount of money spent by viewers to see this

My wife and I pretty much HATED everything about this movie. We felt like it had taken such a classic, stripped it of all entertainment value and turned it into a National Geographic made-for-TV fictional story and forever tarnished the legacy of what Disney was good at - making us laugh, cry, sing and yearn to watch it over and over again. Disney has seemingly gotten way off track at doing that and is only concerned with taking our money. Watching this was painful, disheartening and just a waste of time. I only hope that somebody at Disney actually reads these reviews and rights the ship, but we all know they don't care, as stated by the quality of this one.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

An Amazing Tribute to one of the greatest Artists and Bands EVER.

[10/10 · 5 November 2018]

Going into this movie, I was already a Queen fan. I had some reservations that the movie would focus too much on Freddie's sexuality and not enough on his creativity and musical genius. I was very pleased with the end result, as this movie was nothing short of perfect.

When I say it was perfect, keep in mind that some of the events were out of order. But, not so much as to de-emphasize the impact of his life/music on the story as a whole.

The casting of Rami Malek was dead-on! At some point, early in the movie, Rami and Freddie became one. Every mannerism, all the flamboyance and all the showmanship that Freddie was known for, was represented flawlessly. The rest of the casting was amazing, with the exception of Mike Meyers, and the film played out as I had hoped it would.

This was by far one of the 3 best biopics ever, Amadeus and The Doors being the other 2. This movie had everything you could want in it. Humor, Humility, Drama, Forgiveness, Sadness, Great Soundtrack (obviously) and Triumph. To watch this movie's re-creation of Live Aid, you could feel the power of the fans, feel the power of Freddie's stage presence and it felt like you were actually there.

If Rami Malek does not win the Oscar for Best Actor, it would be an absolute TRAVESTY.

Do yourself a favor. If you are considering whether or not to see this in the theater, GO.

If I could give this movie 100 Stars, I would!