In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's Reviews

Sounds good GS! Not out here yet until the end of Jan but I might actually check this one out.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

I don't believe you.

I didn't believe either until the end credits rolled.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

That is a longass review. I thought I was in JayDee's thread.

Wasn't going to see this but you put it on my radar Slinger. Good review.

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Letterboxd

I just heard of 13 Hours for the first time this morning. I watched the trailer and thought it looked awesome. Now, your review has me psyched to see it!

I think I'd be disappointed if 13 Hours is as good as you say it is. Michael Bay is supposed to be that dude who cranks out crappy movies every year or two and keeps balance between good and bad, and not make decent war films. But I do like that fact that Bay tried something different for once.

Yeah, I liked it. I give it the same rating. In fact, i agree with everything you said. My favorite scene is when he saves the folks falling out of the airplane:

Deadpool

Hello MoFo’s! Once again it is time for another installment of At the Theater with The Gunslinger 45. I saw this movie on Friday but due to occupational responsibilities, this review is a little late. I have been looking forward to this movie for a while. As a guy who has more than his fair share of geeky knowledge, my favorite character in all comics is Deadpool. Don’t know who he is? Let me explain him the best I can. To describe Deadpool I think of him as a combo of 4 different heroes.

The first two are Punisher and Wolverine.



Deadpool is like Wolverine because both were projects by the Weapon X program, both have incredible healing factors, and both have a pension for stabby cutty kinds of weapons. Wolverine has his adamantium claws; and Deadpool slices and dices with his trademarked Katanas. Deadpool is also a lot like the Punisher since he an antihero, has no problem killing people, is a former military man, has tons of guns, knows how to use them, and is definitely a much more “greyer” kind of hero morality wise.

Next up he is kind of like Spider-Man.



Deadpool is very acrobatic is his combat. He jumps around a lot, does incredible feats of agility, and like Spider-Man; is very quick with the quips. Hence why he is called “the Merc with a Mouth.”

Finally, he is has just a little pinch of someone NOT in the Marvel Comic Book Universe…



That’s right, Freakazoid! A cartoon produced by Steven Spielberg. Freakazoid was a cartoon superhero who was cognizant of the fact that he was a character on a TV show. He broke the fourth wall for comedic effect and he was out of his mind. Deadpool is a character much in the same vein. Only Deadpool is not family friendly.

So naturally I wanted to see this movie. Not to say that this was always the case (when the green light was given I heard it would be PG-13). But then I heard it got the hard R rating, and I was excited again. This made my anticipation heighten even more considering the history this film had. This was a movie long overdue and in production hell for a while. The film had been an idea since 2004 when the rights were owned by New Line Cinema. And even then Ryan Reynolds was still the first choice to play the Merc with a Mouth. Fast forward to 2009: I was sitting in the theater to a little movie called X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was the origin story of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine who was a big hit at the box office with the X-Men movies. And in a supporting role was Ryan Reynolds as the ex-Special Forces Canadian mercenary code named Deadpool. Spoilers, it was a piece of s**t. But I came out of the movie thinking one thing: Ryan Reynolds was great in the first 10 minutes of the movie. Sure they ****ed up the character in the last 15 minutes or so, but we won’t talk about that here. And after that movie came out the idea of a Deadpool movie took up steam on the internet. Ryan Reynolds seemed to the only legitimate choice to play Wade Wilson. Ryan wanted to make the movie, and rumors had Zombieland director Rubin Fleischer ready to direct. But the green light was never given. Mostly because Deadpool is a very rated R character. He is a mercenary, an assassin and a notorious potty mouth. Which means piles of bodies and violence. And since the really big and successful comic book movies that grossed in the hundreds of millions of dollars were all PG-13, that was never going to happen with Deadpool. Not to mention Deadpool is a tricky character to do in a movie. He KNOWS he is a fictional character. He frequently breaks the fourth wall and he does have a very unique sense of humor. Which is part of what his so popular in the comic books. So even if someone did this faithfully, there was a good chance that it could be mishandled or be a swing and a miss with the general audience. But thanks to the good will comic book movies have had with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Men franchises, the expectation of the inclusion of humor with The Avengers, and the fact that a movie featuring a talking raccoon was a big hit; someone decided to give this film the okay. Well that and certain “test footage” being leaked and going viral on YouTube. Footage that would eventually be a big part of the opening action scene. So was this a good movie?

YES!

Want to know more? Well then grab your katana’s, load your door knobs, and hide your Hit-Monkey’s as we set our sights on Deadpool.

Deadpool opens with an action scene that builds upon the test footage that you have probably seen in the trailer. Good news: there is more action and gags withheld from that scene for the film. This scene sets up the flashback of a young pre KFC faced Wade Wilson. He is a merc who takes on jobs which may or may not involve doing unkind things to worse people. He meets a hooker named Vanessa (played by the VERY beautiful and talented Morena Baccarin). What follows is a tale perfect for Valentine’s Day. Merc meets girl, merc and girl fall in love, and merc and girl have weird holiday themed sex to show the passing of time (which may or may not involve something very uncomfortable on National Women’s Day). But their happiness does not last as Wade gets diagnosed with terminal cancers. That’s right. Cancers. Plural. Vanessa wants Wade to fight on, but Wade does not want Vanessa to suffer while she watches him die. So he leaves. Dick move Wade. Wade however is given a second chance at life when he is offered a chance at a cure and a life as a super hero. While initially refusing, Wade eventually accepts the offer. Problem is the organization doing the testing is not as benevolent as they first appeared and Wade is tortured and abused at the hands of Ajax. Ajax is trying to activate any mutant genes that might be latent in Wade’s body (in the comics they were trying to replicate and produce more Wolverines). And the key do doing so is adrenaline and stressful situations. Long story short, Wade gets his healing factor that makes it virtually impossible to kill him, he goes a little nuts because of the torture, and he looks like a Hot Pocket after being in the microwave for too long. Wade takes on the identity of Deadpool to track down Ajax (or Francis as he likes to call him). The goal is to initially get Ajax to fix his ugly mug, but then turns into a rescue mission when Ajax gets his hands on Wade’s woman.

I LOVED this movie! The production team here managed to take my favorite comic book character and bring him to life on the big screen. First off, the casting. I have been saying this for years; Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool. Reynolds joins the likes of Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in that they now embody what the character has become on screen. They were perfect casts. Reynolds has become so intertwined with the role that no one else could play him on the big screen. Say want you want about Green Lantern (we all have) and that Reynolds was miscast for the role (he was). But Reynolds is NOT a bad actor. He does however need the right part. He needs to be a Van Wilder, a Monty from Waiting, or something that allows his to be a wiseass. And when he has the opportunity to do that, he is actually pretty damn charming. Hell we know this from the first 10 minutes of that crappy X-Men Origins movie. But in addition, Deadpool needs to be “The Merc with a Mouth.” Meaning that Wade NEVER shuts up! Much to the displeasure of his enemies (and his allies). Causing an either love him or hate him response. And Ryan Reynolds is pretty much that to a T. You can’t train that kind of effect. In addition he perfectly nailed the 4th wall breaking meta humor that has become Deadpool’s trademark in the comics. Reynolds speaks directly to the audience, makes jokes about the James MacAvoy / Patrick Stewart Professor X stuff and the fact that he knows he is in a movie. He even has a nice little MCU style end teaser at the very end of the credits (in a very Ferris Bueller manner). But there are also a LOT of little moments here and there that you will notice if you are a fan, but might miss if you were not an avid reader of the Deadpool comics or have a mountain of his trade paperbacks in a green footlocker (like I do). Like nuances like Wade’s Bea Arthur t-shirt (Wade is a big Golden Girls fan and loves Bea), his references to chimichangas, or his little scene with the pizza boy which is a call back to something he did do in the comics. Top it off there are two scenes in the movie that really got the spirit of the character. The first one was when Wade tries to fight the X-Man Colossus, and the final moment is at the end of the movie following a speech given by Colossus. I won’t spoil the scenes, you will just to watch them play out. But it is those two scenes where I found myself sitting in my seat saying to myself "Holy ****, these guys get the character and they pulled it off." Also, keeps your eyes peeled for the Stan Lee cameo.

So that is the humor, what about the action? Is the movie violent? Yes, the movie is indeed violent. While initially announced that it was intended to be PG-13 (by Rob Liefeld no less), the movie earned a hard R rating. This actually bucks the trends of most Marvel superhero movies. With the exception of the Blade franchise and Punisher: War Zone, all the other Marvel comic adaptations have been PG-13. Mostly for the reason of keep the rating low, so butts get in seats and people make money. Then again, after looking at the box office numbers for this movie’s opening weekend, this movie has changed the rules up a bit. There is blood, guts, nudity, VERY crude language and humor, and Ryan Reynold’s bare ass. And for action fans, there are fight scenes a plenty. Since Deadpool is known in the comics and a very high jumping and acrobatic character, the makers of the flick felt they needed to do so as well. Deadpool throws in plenty of fight scenes from the kick ass opening fight to the final showdown. If you saw in the trailer, you got a taste of the scenes to come in the movie.

As I can tell, I loved it. But will you like it? Naturally if you are a fan of the character like I am and you are familiar with his comic books; you will like and or love this movie. As I have stated this flick pretty much brings Deadpool to life. If you like the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies or are a fan of the X-Men movie franchise then odds are you will like this movie. If you are just a fan of action movies or a fan of very blue humor, you will like this movie. But there are points of this flick that will repel certain movie goers. If you are one of those “there are too many comic book movies” kind of people, odds say you will not like the movie. While this film is still very different from say the likes of Iron Man, this is a movie heavily targeting the fan base of people who like those movies. I say if you are curious you can rent it. If the sight of Ryan Reynolds causes you to enter a furious rage resulting in you needing to punch small children and animals I say give this movie a pass altogether. If you are turned off by potty mouths, crude humor, and or meta humor I say stay away. Also stay away if you just hate fun. If you do not fall into this any of these categories I say the movie is worth your time. If you are very centered of plot being the most importent thing to you when watching a movie, I say stay away as well. The plot is not exactly newand original. But the main draw for this movie is the character of Deadpool and the humor; not so much the plot and story.

As one of the resident fanboys of the site, I was at an advantage to like this movie. I was a tad concerned that it might be a disappointment, but thankfully that was not the case. Now it did not make me reach the fanboy peaks of say The Avengers or Mad Max: Fury Road, but it did come pretty damn close. The movie was everything it needed to be and was a fantastic execution of the character. If you are a fan of the character, see the movie. If you are curious about the movie, see it. If you don’t like foul language, crude humor, and violence you best stay away. Well played boys. Well played.

Good review. I understand you giving it a high score, I hadn't seen much of the Deadpool character prior to seeing this but completely get why fans of the comics would love it. From what I read about Deadpool beforehand, Reynolds seemed to really capture the character. For me, it was very entertaining and had a fun time watching it despite not being the biggest comic book movie fan.

Oh and the Punisher movie from 2004 (before Warzone) was also rated R.

Said this to your Black Mass review from waaay bacl,
... I don't think I ever did.

But despite being late, I'm not gonna bail on you! Serioulsy though, I must've forgotten, but I just read it and really enjoyed it tbh. Very well written. I don't agree 100% with you, but Depp was indeed great.

Anyways, I'll most likely read some more very soon, especially in connection to compiling a top reviewers list for the oncoming countdown.

Keep it up, Guns!

See Swan and Seanc? Deadpool is gonna be great! I'll probably see it next week. Thanks for the preview Guns.

Glad you enjoyed it so much GS. I'm not sure about the film to be honest. I'm a big fan of the character in the comics but so far none of the trailers or TV spots have really done much for me; don't think I've laughed once. A lot of it just came off like it was trying way too hard

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glad to hear your high praise of this movie. Never read any of the comics but pretty damn hyped to see this

GREAT JOB, Guns!!!

There was a LOT in the movie that was not in the trailers. I say see it.

I figured I'd have more reviews to catch up on than just two. You're slacking, Gunslinger!

I rarely watch the news or pay much attention to world events anymore, so I probably learned twice as much about Benghazi from reading your 13 Hours review than I knew beforehand. I'm skeptical that the movie is as great as you say, but I can see how it might play to Bay's strengths while cutting down on his weaknesses. I'm not a Michael Bay hater. Granted, I've never seen Pearl Harbor, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the single most excruciating theater experience of my life . . . but still, there are worse directors out there. I mean, like you said, Bay created The Rock, one of the best action movies of the 90's, so he has the potential to make a good film. I'm sure your military background helped play a role with your enjoyment of 13 Hours, but after reading your thoughts, I'll definitely give the film a chance when I rent it somewhere down the line.

We're on opposite ends when it comes to Deadpool. I watched it last week and rated it , but I'd now lower it by half a popcorn. As the days have passed and I've reflected on the film a little more, the less I like it. I also think it's one of those situations where all the positive reactions are helping to feed my dislike. I'm not familiar with the character or the comics, so I don't have that going for me. I do like Ryan Reynolds and I agree with you that he's a perfect fit for the character. And I think it's cool that an R-rated superhero film is lighting up the box office. I've heard that Deadpool's success means we're finally going to get an R-rated Wolverine movie, so I'm excited about that. As for Deadpool, though, I found it incredibly obnoxious. Rarely has a film tried so ridiculously hard to be edgy, but it fails even at that. If anything, it's a "safe" edgy. Nor is it clever, although it certainly thinks it is. For a film that aims to mock and parody other superhero films, it stills follows the same tired formula of other origin films without adding anything new outside of profanity and fourth-wall breaking. I think I chuckled maybe three or four times during the entire film, which is an abysmally poor ratio when it feels like there are twenty jokes packed into every minute.

Admittedly, I have a pet peeve when it comes to films breaking the fourth wall. I don't like a film reminding me that I'm watching a film. It destroys the illusion. I hear the writers instead of the characters. So it's hard for me to invest in the story or the characters when a film constantly brings attention to itself. Deadpool does that incessantly. I hated how the film was structured. The villain was about as one-dimensional and bland as you can get. There's very little sense of conflict. I also felt let down by the lack of action, which is one area you'd expect the film to excel in. Naturally, though, everyone else in the world seems to love the film, so what do I know? Maybe I'm just one of those people you reference in your review who hates fun.

Anyways, great reviews, as always.

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Yoga Hosers

Hello MoFo’s! It is time again for another edition of At the Theater with The Gunslinger45. Been a long while since I posted a review. This is for various reasons: work, busy working over time, work, it is harder for me to get out to the movies, work, I have rewatching all 6 seasons of Game of Thrones, work, I have started to read the Game of Thrones books, and yeah also work. But another big reason is that for the past few months, the releases of summer movies I wanted to see have either been very few and far between or the flick just doesn’t inspire me to write. I mean I liked Sausage Party, but nothing I needed to write more than a paragraph on. But tonight is different. I just got back from seeing the latest movie from my FAVORITE DIRECTOR … not named Martin Scorsese. KEVIN SMITH! Kevin Smith has been a director near and dear to my heart ever since I was a teenager; a man whose movies helped shape my sense of humor and was to my teenage years what Spielberg, Lucas and Disney were to my childhood. I remember first falling in love with his work when he made a little film called Dogma. That was about 16 years ago, about the same time a certain Harley Quinn Smith was born. Harley Quinn Smith is Kevin’s daughter and the star of this little movie along with her real life BFF Lily Rose Depp. Both Lily and Harley had minor roles as two convenience store clerks (shocker right?) in a little film called Tusk. Kevin Smith loved the scenes where the two girls were playing off each other so much that he wanted to make a movie about those characters. And somehow he secured funding and got Johnny Depp to come back to reprise his role from Tusk. And much like with Tusk, I am pretty sure Smith wrote this while he was high. How so? Well let me tell you. Grab a mat, don some yoga pants, and engage the downward dog, as we look at YOGA HOSERS!

The movie is about two 15 year old high school girls who are addicted to their phones, obsessed with yoga, work in a convenience store, and foil a decades old plot set forth by Canadian fascists involving cloning and Nazi Bratwurst. That is the plot. I think you can see where the weed came in. Remember, the last movie this man made involved Michael Parks turning Justin Long into a walrus. A film I really liked. As such, I am sure you can guess I really dug this flick too. The plot is weird in idea, but was excellent in execution. The chemistry between Lily and Harley was fantastic. Which makes sense; the two have been close friends since kindergarten. On top of the excellent chemistry, they acted just like teenagers. Which might be weird to hear, but let’s face it how many times have we seen child or teen actor playing a role where they are supposed to be kids or teens, and sound like tiny adults? Here they felt like teenage girls. And Kevin got a good cast of people around the girls to make the flick feel fleshed out. Aside from a few issues that make some production values seem a little low end (namely some green screen effects), this is a really fun and enjoyable movie. So yeah, I really liked this movie. And thankfully so did my girlfriend, otherwise date night would have gone to hell.

Now normally I go into a lot more detail with the pros and cons of the flick. But I want to do something different with this movie. I bought the tickets ahead of time before me and my lady went to the theater. It was a special FATHOM event where it was a mini premiere party. In such party there would be a live feed of Harley Quinn and Kevin Smith at the Jersey Yoga Hosers premiere and would give an exclusive intro to the movie. So I felt it best to secure our seats ahead of time. As it turns out that was not needed, as me and the girlfriend were the only people in the damn theater. And I started to have flashbacks to Tusk. Needless to say, I don’t think this will be making Zootopia money. So instead of a pros and cons, I will instead do a list of reasons why you should see this movie and support the film, and a list of reasons why you might want to pass on this flick.

People who should see this movie:

Kevin Smith Fans: Yeah I know this seems kinda obvious, but yeah, if you like Kevin Smith flicks, this is worth a shot.

If you liked Tusk: Kevin has admittedly taken a very different path recently then he has with his previous works. Red State and Tusk were both horror movies with dark senses of humor. And while this does have some elements of horror and is certainly unique like Tusk, this film has a heavier focus on the comedy. But if you like the direction Kevin is going with his flicks these days, then this will be up your alley.

If you like to see films with strong female leads save the day: In this flick we have to strong willed teenage girls who find themselves in a messed up situation and are the only ones equipped to save Winnipeg. If you are one of the people who demand that we see women headline more movies, then start by supporting this one!

If you miss practical monster effects: Sure there is some CGI in the flick (namely to make the Bratzi’s a foot tall), but the monster effects are all rubber and prosthetics. It is a movie where heavy prosthetic make up was applied to Kevin Smith to turn him into a walking Bratwurst Nazi dressed in tiny RCMP cloths and a WWI Keiser style pointed helmet.

If you like movies that are tongue in cheek: We all have seen movies that are over the top and ridiculous. Movies whose premise is kinda silly, but they know it is too and have fun with the flick. Whether it be in flicks like The Hangover, Hot Shot, or the like. This is basically one of those flicks. Sit back and have some fun with a movie that you know will be silly, but the cast had a blast making.

If you are tired of seeing the same movie over and over: Let’s face it, you don’t see films like this made very often. Or at all.

If you prefer to see a film with less cursing in it: Surprisingly enough, there is not a whole lot of cursing in the flick. Now there is some crude humor, but NOWHERE near usual Kevin Smith fair. Smith kept it PG-13. He said the flick is targeted towards teenage girls anyways.

If you wanted to see what a John Hughes / John Carpenter co-production would look like: The best comparison I can make really. All teenage drama of a John Hughes flick paired up with all the fun, practical effects, and out there premise of Big Trouble in Little China.

If you listen to Hollywood Babble-On regularly: Director Kevin Smith is also a huge podcaster as well as director. And one of said podcasts is called Hollywood Babble On that he co-hosts with LA based radio host and character actor Ralph Garmin. And several jokes or bits in the flick can be pulled straight from the podcast. Including Ralph’s impressions, and the two very over the top and silly German accents used by Kevin and Ralph. They basically are doing their German shtick from the podcast.

Well there are my reasons to see the movie, but how about the counter point? Here are some reasons you might not want to see the movie:

If you hate Kevin Smith and or hated Tusk: See points one and two from the other list, reverse the logic and apply.

You can’t get past the premise: Yeah, the movie is very weird. If you can’t get past that premise or are not into weird movies, sit this one out.

You are a very serious and or inflexible cinephile: Let’s face it; this flick is weird and silly. And aside from it being Kevin’s own way of dealing with and coming to terms with the critical reception of Tusk, there is not a whole lot of symbolism to the flick. There is no deeper meaning to the Nazi bratwurst, it is not an allegory to some social condition, and it sure as hell ain’t going to be up for any awards. Not even the MTV Awards. If this film just seems “beneath” you, pass.

If you don’t like jokes about Canadians: Kevin Smith is a big fan of Canada. So much so he is setting three movies in the Great White North. But this flick presents a very… cartoonish version of Canada. Lots of jokes about pronunciations, like how they say Zed instead of Zee for the letter Z, “aboot” instead of about, and other such Canadian stereotypes. If you are Canadian and find such jokes upsetting, just remember, it is just a movie. And one that most likely will be seen by very few people in theaters.

There are probably more reason’s I could think of not to see the flick, but these cover the biggest issues one might have.

So yeah, I really dug the flick. But also I am a huge Kevin Smith fan, and enjoy his recent work as well as his classics. So naturally I was going to enjoy it. But I think I got a pretty good list of reasons someone might or might not want to see the flick. Give it a look over and check it out. If not in the theater, there is always NetFlix. Lord knows it would not be the first time a Kevin Smith movie found its audience on home video release. Looking at you Mallrats. And if you are unsure about the movie because of the critics, just remember: the critics gave The Blair Witch Project overwhelming praise when it was released, and the remake is sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes right now.

Critics are dumb. I say take a chance on Yoga Hosers.

lol at a review calling critics dumb like writing a review doesn't make you some kind of critic

But seriously, I think I fit into a lot of your criteria on both the "like" and "dislike" side of things. Smith used to be one of my favourite filmmakers but he's been slipping in my estimation ever since Zack and Miri (with Red State being what Sick Boy from Trainspotting would call "a blip on an otherwise downwards trajectory") and I like his back catalogue less and less with each passing year. That being said, I get the feeling that I'm going to end up seeing everything he does, and I do hope that the weird potential of this one yields better results than Tusk, but we'll see about that. Also, what've you got against Blair Witch?

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

I am just a guy on the net. The pros who get paid for their opinions are. Or certainly can be at least.

As for the Blair Witch, worst movie going experience ever. Also the flick that made me not care about the reviews of professional movie critics.

Not sure how being a guy on the net helps your case against critics, but whatever. I wish I'd gotten to see Blair Witch in theatres.