Togo (2019)

Togo (2019)

Spyro Rating: 6,7 /10 as "Recommended" 

Director: Ericson Core 

Stars: Willem Dafoe, Julianne Nicholson, Christopher Heyerdahl, Michael McElhatton

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Togo (2019) is about the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska an event also known as 'Great Race of Mercy'. The movie is focused on musher Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe) and Togo, the lead sled dog.

The 1925 diphtheria outbreak in Nome was a disease mostly affecting children. The antitoxin was 674 miles away and that could not be covered by aircraft due to weather conditions, snowmobile had not been invented. The run had to be covered by sled dogs and it was split to 20 mushers, 19 mushers had to cover 414 miles and 1 musher 260 miles. The 1 musher was Seppala because he had Togo as a lead.

A simple story that many people in the lower-48 got it wrong to the extend that NY Central Park has a statue for the wrong dog. Even Universal Pictures messed up and this gave Disney the opportunity to bring us the right story in a great movie.

Togo (2019) trailer

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Spyro Rating: 6,3 /10 as "Good Movie" 

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Stars: Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Alan Ritchson, Will Arnett

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Everything you need to know about T.M.N.T. franchise is in the title. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) is a reboot that told the origin story afresh with 2014 CGI and Megan Fox in a lead role.

The good turtles have an invaluable vaccine in their DNA and the bad guy wants to acquire it by draining their turtle blood. His evil plan is to spread a disease in New York City and then get rich by selling the vaccine.

Two years later a sequel was released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) that advanced the story. That second movie will be the last as the production is already planning another reboot to TMNT franchise.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) trailer #1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) trailer #2

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Spyro Rating: 3,0 /10 as "Tarantino" 

Director: Quentin Tarantino 

Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Today I gave another shot to a Tarantino film, this time I did not select a movie that is only liked by his fans. I picked Reservoir Dogs (1992) a film that is generally well received and high praised by most critics. However while watching it, I realized that neither this one was for me.

The plot is about a heist gone wrong. Surviving criminals are scattered and head one by one to the rendezvous point. They realize that someone among them has to be a snitch and they need to figure out who it is and how to escape justice.

I am completely unable to see the reasoning this movie is highly praised by most critics and I will not try explaining what I cannot understand.

Reservoir Dogs (1992) trailer

Watchmen (2019 Series)

Watchmen (2019) HBO Series

Spyro Rating: 8,0 /10 as "a worthy sequel" 

Creator: Damon Lindelof

Stars: Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

If you haven't read the 1986 comic by A. Moore and D. Gibbons or watch the 2009 movie adaptation then change your spare time plans and read / watch those the earliest possible. The 2019 HBO series of nine (9) episodes is just a modern day sequel to the 1986 comic book events.

Alan Moore was scammed by his publisher regarding the rights of his comic and the characters he created. Because he is not positive in writing any sequel, the HBO 2019 producers could not consult him on this series so they hired "lesser" writers for the script. After watching all episodes, I think those writers worked very hard and delivered a worthy sequel in a manner of quality -not ethics.

By starting Watchmen 2019 series you need to know that your patience during first episodes will be rewarded in the final ones. Even what this series is about can only be understood halfway. This is one of the rare examples in TV where many elements that seem very random at first, get all connected and explained in the finale.

Watchmen (2019 Series) Comic-Con trailer

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Spyro Rating: 7,1 /10 as "hilarious" 

Director: Rob Letterman

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Detective Pikachu is not another animation of the Pokemon franchise. It is a filmed movie in a real world where all Pokemon are added as CGI. This movie tells its own story and has its own characters. You can simply watch it without knowing anything about past animations or video games.

For those with zero idea about the franchise the summary is that Pokemon in their world are like animals in our own. The major difference is that each pokemon species has its own powers and all pokemon can be captured. The capture devices are called pokeballs which are small enough to fit in a human arm.

This movie is about a Pikachu that has the unique ability to speak to his human partner with the voice of Ryan Reynolds. Together they face a conspiracy about a blue chemical gas that turns Pokemon violent.

Detective Pikachu (2019) trailer #1

Detective Pikachu (2019) trailer #2

The Irishman (2019)

The Irishman (2019)

Spyro Rating: 6,0 /10 as "prolonged" 

Director: Martin Scorsese 

Stars: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Before the superhero trend there was another favorite movie theme in Hollywood, films about organised crime. A tribute to those movies is The Irishman (2019) by Martin Scorsese. A film that could only exist using this specific cast: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino from the "Corleone" family.

The names in The Irishman refer to real people though most events were not proven in court if they stand true. Movie is based in the 2004 nonfiction book "I Heard You Paint Houses" by C. Brandt, an author who formerly was an investigator and a homicide prosecutor.

This film might not be easy to watch if the "mafia" theme is not appealing to you. The trailer might have fool me as it turned out it was just the interesting 150 seconds out of a 3 hour and 30 minutes movie. You can watch and learn those events as how they might have happen, there is no action, no food-for-thought besides the obvious "people respect power."

The Irishman (2019) trailer

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Spyro Rating: 6,2 /10 as "a sequel" 

Director: James Bobin

Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter 
More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Six years after the first movie Alice in Wonderland (2010), a sequel movie was released based on the story out of the second novel: "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" by L. Carroll 1871. Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) has Tim Burton in a producer role instead of director.

The second movie is just intended for the audience that liked the first movie and I strongly recommend checking the origin before jumping on the sequel. The new cast member, Sacha Baron Cohen fits naturally in Alice's world and he is part of what works well and saves the audience loosing interest in the movie.

We are all wondering what went wrong with both Alice movies, the reasoning they were not as successful as they should have been. Having Time Burton's name, highest tier in supporting cast and display an overall beautiful scenery is not enough. My opinion, the major problem is that it is located in the leading role. Mia Wasikowska did not deliver the performance according to Alice role's demands. The problem got way more obvious in the sequel than it was in the first movie and we can all notice how may scenes were just "ruined" due to an overall poor performance.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) trailer

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) IMAX trailer

Chernobyl (2019 Series)

Chernobyl (2019)

Spyro Rating: 9,2 /10 as "A must watch" 

Creator: Craig Mazin 

Stars: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Jessie Buckley, Paul Ritter
More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

A 5-episode TV Mini-Series about  Chernobyl nuclear accident that occurred on Saturday 26 April 1986 and changed the world. The series was released on May 2019 as an HBO production and I recommend to everyone to find a way to watch those episodes.

This series may got some things right and some other things it got wrong. There is one undeniable fact, the reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. That did not happen as a result of an external force, natural or human. The cause were manufacturing and operational errors.

This is one of the rare times when a very strong message is delivered in the form of cinema art. I was shocked watching those episodes as they give you an understanding of the world we live in. It may be nothing new as everybody already knows the incident. However there is a big different from just knowing about this modern-day horror to been provided for the first time the events in a "visual" form.
  

Chernobyl (2019) TV Mini-Series trailer

Joker (2019)

Joker (2019)

Spyro Rating: 8,6 /10 as "Unique" 

Director: Todd Phillips 

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Today at 92nd Academy Awards there was a single moment that will be remembered. Joaquin Phoenix receiving the Oscar in "Best Actor" category for his performance as Joker. A role that has been portrayed before by actors such as Mark Hamil, Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and many other great names. Every new adaptation of the Joker role has to bring something different just to avoid comparisons with existing ones.

There is an audience that likes superhero films, another audience that does not and way many people somewhere in the middle. Everyone who belongs in the first group has already watch this movie. I write for people who lean towards the other two groups that consider giving this movie a chance. Short answer is that they should.

The long answer has already been perfectly given: Joker (2019) would still work even if comics didn't exist. This movie requires zero background knowledge regarding who is the character in comics or other movies. The plot is clear from the first minute in the movie, a mentally ill comedian who struggles to find his place in society. The existing system is not enough to keep providing meetings with his under qualified shrink. A case where the audience sees red flags everywhere that bad things are going to happen but society around this individual does not.

Joker (2019) trailer

Jumanji (1995)

Jumanji (1995)

Spyro Rating: 7,1 /10 as "timeless" 

Director: Joe Johnston 

Stars: Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Bonnie Hunt
More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Inspired by the children book "Jumanji" 1981 from C. Van Allsburg, the movie under the same title Jumanji (1995) is the fist in the franchise. The second book "Zathura" 2002 also got a movie adaptation as Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005). Both books are connected, however the 1995 and 2005 movies differ.

Robin Williams and team (including a 13-year old Kristen Dunst) face the challenges coming from Jumanji. A dice-based board game that appears to be possessed by some kind of evil power and brings out real horrors on every turn as players are forced to go through the end.

The legacy of the movie franchise continues with two direct to the 1995 movie sequels: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) where the board game of the 80s is today evolved into a video game.

Jumanji (1995) trailer

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Spyro Rating: 7,5 /10 as "a true story" 

Director: James Mangold

Stars: Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

I nearly skip this movie because usually when the title is stupid, then the movie is also stupid. However that statement does not apply here and in contrary it is a great movie that I would recommend everyone to watch. Also, some European distributors realized this issue of "bad title" on time and changed the release name to Le Mans '66. The brand name "Ford" not only has no right to be placed next to "Ferrari" but it also has no right to be placed in the title of their own movie.

Before watching this I had no idea of what happened in the real story. Not being a fan in sport racing cars, I neither knew who were Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), now I am glad I learned about both of them and their story.

This is not the story about the bad brand beating the good brand in its own game over 50 years ago, just the story of two remarkable people building their own definition of what is possible and what is not. I think it is safe to use the analogy that "Ford" minds in the 60s are in same level with the minds that could only pick a terrible title for some someone else's movie in the 21st century.

Ford v Ferrari (2019) trailer #1

Ford v Ferrari (2019) trailer #2

The Great Wall (2016)

The Great Wall (2016)

Spyro Rating: 7,2 /10 as "Recommended" 

Director: Yimou Zhang 

Stars: Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Jing Tian, Willem Dafoe

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

An imaginary movie that is set to fill a gap during a time when history was not recorded. The Great Wall (2016) does not intend to present a possible version of history. Instead, this movie is all about providing a Hollywood style spectacle, showing us a war between a monster army and humanity.

A group of European mercenaries are traveling very far to the east. Their goal is to reach a land known as China in order to acquire the secret weapon of gunpowder. As they arrive near their destination, they are attacked during the night by what might looked like a monster. Two of them survive after cutting the monster's hand, they are Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal.

A good movie that in 2016 was not praised as much it deserved. This is one of the many undervalued movies that I started this blog in order to present them and say "enjoy watching this".

The Great Wall (2016) trailer

Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)

Spyro Rating: 9,5 /10 as "a refreshed Masterpiece" 

Platform: Nintendo Switch

More details on Nintendo and Wikipedia 

Only excellent video games will be reviewed in this blog. Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019) for Nintendo Switch is a remake of 1993 Gameboy 'best game. The Switch version offers major gameplay improvements, every graphic is redesigned, only strictly-better changes and last but not least it keeps even the smallest tree in the exact same location as the original game.

My ranking is based on today standards without considering any nostalgia factor about a game I didn't manage to finish when I was a kid. Also, I have not misjudge Link's Awakening for not presenting new ideas on 2019 simply because this game already offered revolutionary ideas back on 1993 -you cannot blame a game for lacking originality when it is the one that came first.

This game could have scored higher but it comes with two completely insane designer choices. The first questionable decision is absence of an option to remove distance blur filter, I hate this because it "hides" parts of a beautiful game. The second development decision is the lack of D-Pad support, you have to use the analog stick to move the character on 8-directions. That been said, if you risk a ban with a homebrew cheat you may disable distance blur, however as of today there is no solution for D-Pad support on Switch Pro controller.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019) trailer

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Spyro Rating: 8,9 /10 as "Excellent" 

Director: Robert Rodriguez | Writers: James Cameron & Laeta Kalogridis

Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Iron City during 2563 is overpopulated and policed by machines. The population depends on the wastes falling from the wealthy city of Zalem that is located in the sky above.  Part of everyday life are cyborgs, they are based on the concept of human brain and machine body.

The movie begins with machine doctor Christoph Waltz recovering a cyborg's head from the sky city garbage. He attaches the head to his life's work machine body and names the cyborg "Alita" after his late daughter.

Alita turns out to be a success as a build-up child with the only imperfection being the absence of previous memories. However there is something that functions better than planned: Alita demonstrates excellent combat skills.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) trailer

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Spyro Rating: 4,0 /10 as "Not easy to watch" 

Director: Mike Flanagan 

Stars: Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran, Rebecca Ferguson, Cliff Curtis

More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

I did not expect I would rank a movie under "5" on the blog because usually I don't go through the end with movies that just are not made for me. This time I was really curious to see which things will be explained in the end of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Doctor Sleep is adapted from a Stephen King novel that is the sequel to another novel which in its turn became a well-known movie: The Shining (1980). 

There is a reason I like The Shining but I don't like Doctor Sleep and it has nothing to do with the absence of Kubrick and Nicholson. Simply put I just fail to find the scrip to be appealing. It feels as if this movie was made only for people who wasted last 39 years of their lives pushing their imagination to cover some plot holes in The Shining.

In Doctor sleep, Jack Nicholson's kid has grown up and turned to be Ewan McGregor. The plot has to do with some people having weird abilities and when they die a "shining" in a "steam" form comes out of their body. The bad guys are grouped and like to inhale death steams of others so they can get high. After two hours in the movie we get to see the hotel from The Shining as both movies are supposed to be connected.

Doctor Sleep (2019) trailer

Firefly (2002 Series) & Serenity (2005)

Firefly (2002-2003 Series) & Serenity (2005 Movie)

Spyro Rating: 8,3 /10 as "A Sci-Fi Classic"

Creator & movie director: Joss Whedon

Stars: Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin

Soundtrack "Ballad of Serenity" by Sonny Rhodes on Youtube

More details on IMDB (Series - Movie) and Wikipedia (Series - Movie)

There are people who gave up on Firefly series when they realized it can be challenging to find the correct "as intended" episode order. Those are the kind of people who miss two gems: the excellent 2002 series and the solid 2005 movie. 

Set in a dystopian future where the earth no longer exists while humanity survived by colonizing other planets. All colonies are ruled by a super-government that won a civil war. The series plot are the inter-galaxy adventures of Serenity's spaceship crew. 

While the Serenity (2005) movie can be enjoyed as a "standalone", it is strongly recommended to watch all series episodes before. Reasoning is not only for understanding characters development, Firefly episodes excellence in quality comes from well-written sub plots and lovely portrayed characters. Both elements do not age and it what makes Firefly an all-time classic.

The "Correct" Episode Order
1. Serenity	8. Out of Gas
2. The Train Job	9. Ariel
3. Bushwhacked	10. War Stories
4. Shindig	11. Trash
5. Safe	12. The Message
6. Our Mrs. Reynolds	13. Heart of Gold
7. Jaynestown	14. Objects in Space
15. Serenity (2005 Movie)

Firefly (2002-2003) series unofficial trailer

Serenity (2005) movie trailer

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Spyro Rating: 6,5 /10 as "Good Movie"

Director: Chad Stahelski

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne
More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

Keanu "Badass" Reeves is a former contract assassin with a bad retirement plan. Today he doesn't like killing but circumstances force him to waste every wannabe.

The first movie idiot (2014), killed John Wick’s dog and in result Mr. Wick reached 77 kills. The second movie idiot (2017) completely destroyed John Wick’s retirement plan, in response the kill count went up to 128 thugs.

John Wick 3 differs than the previous movies as this time the idiot is John Wick. Bad choices got him a 14 million dollar bounty on his head and forced him to score 94 kills. In all three movies, John Wick totals 299 kills.

John Wick 3 (2019) trailer

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Alice in Wonderland (2010) 

Spyro Rating: 6,8 /10 as "Recommended"

Director: Tim Burton

Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway

Soundtrack "Alice" by Avril Lavinge on YouTube
More details on IMDB and Wikipedia 

A great adaptation of the 1865 Novel by L. Carroll. Alice in Wonderland lives us to the legacy of the 1951 Disney animation film under the same title.

Every Tim Burton movie is a must-watch move and Alice in Wonderland is no exception. I do not feel the need to spoil the plot, just watch this movie.

Back in 2010  the soundtrack was a hit, youtube link above if you missed it! The Alice story continues on a followup movie titled Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).

Alice in Wonderland (2010) trailer #1

Alice in Wonderland (2010) trailer #2

It all begins

with a first post!