Spotlight Look: In Reality (2018)

In Reality 
Directed by Ann Lupo
Starring 
Ann Lupo as Ann Lupo
Kimiko Glenn as Lallie
Miles G. Jackson as John

Opening Thoughts: I knew next to nothing about this film going into it other than what I saw in a trailer. The trailer showed scenes of the main character being interviewed, that she wants to tell the story of a past relationship, and at times scenes may go in and out of reality in a fantasy sort of way. The film looked enjoyable. I just hope we don't get another Izzy Gets the F**k Across Town type film.

Plot: Ann Lupo is talking with her friend John. All of a sudden she lets a bombshell out to John that she wants to make a film about their relationship. John becomes dumbfounded not sure what to think one thing is for sure he no longer has a poker face.

A few moments later we see Ann preparing a film for edits and suddenly we are thrown back in time three years. Ann is an film editor for a talent group  she seems to enjoy her job, but at times seems insane in the head. The only that might cure here is to find true love. Love conquers all and lifts us up to where she belongs in her mind.

Unfortunately in the love department she is not doing well except a relationship with a man to which she is nothing more than a F Buddy. Her life is so messed up that she goes in and out of it with visions in her head. It is almost as if different emotions like in Disney's Inside Out take over and screw with her to make her feel certain things she is not supposed to. One thing is for sure Hopelessness the Game Show host wants her to die alone.

The thing is Ann has a wonderful support group around her like her friend Lallie. Lallie is qwirky funny Asian girl who just wants to have fun, possibly a free love relationship with Ann, and loves sleepovers. You know sleepover you might see in Grease. The issue is Ann tests their relationship.

A test in which Ann never meant to test her in. The type of test that happens when a man enters a woman's life and friend gives every detail to her bff. What makes it worse it was an arranged date by a family member. That man is John.

John finds Ann cool and great to hang out with, but the problem is likes Ann just doesn't want to be her boyfriend. Ann believes she can convert John into loving her. The issue is everyone around Ann sees the relationship with John is killing her on the inside. So much so that they may be willing to end their own relationship with her.

Does Ann find true love? Is Ann able to salvage her relationships with her friends? Or does Ann become the crazy old cat lady?

Review: Ann Lupo's telling of her true life story is brave and inspiring. Not the kind of inspiring where we all get a happy ending, but the kind of inspiring that relationships in life all around around are just messy. You might view one thing going one way in life, but you are embarrassed when you misread a situation. I can count on one hand how many films I think get relationships right. On that one hand In Reality is one of those films that just stands out.

One of the clear reasons the film stands out is the dream like sequences you could see in Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or in Baz Luhrmann film. Ann beautifully is able to take the fantasy sequences in her daydreams and is able to make a beautiful Haiku out of those sequences while seemlessly able to combine them with the real world.

Yet the other reason the film stands out is the onscreen chemistry of Kimiko Glenn and Ann Lupo they just seem like they have been bffs for life. They remind me of French and Saunders or Fey and Poehler. Able to deliver comedic moments that seems like only they can. I don't laugh often in film, but these two made me laugh.

Final Thoughts: Director Ann Lupo is making her tour across country screening In Reality. I really think you should watch this film at a screening she will be at. Ann is funny and qwirky in a Mayim Balik or Aubrey Plaza type way. This film is clearly a must own film for me and is my favorite I have seen in 2019 so far. I hope to see more films from Ann Lupo in the future. I will warn you though this film might not be for everyone. I am giving this film a solid 9/10 for a fantastic story, acting in which I don't want to replace a single actor, magical sequences that shows just how fun film can be, and on the on screen chemistry of Lupo and Glenn.

The Day the Rock Hall Got it Wrong

The Day the Rock Hall Got it Wrong!?!?!

Last week the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame made herstory by making Stevie Nicks the first women to be put in the Hall twice. On the onset to the casual music listener that seems great. Stevie always had a lot going for her with listeners of all genres and outside of music as well.

The one thing Stevie never had going for her was a great solo career made up of prolific great songs that was the stuff of a legend. Instead most of Stevie's solo career success actually relied on her taking Fleetwood Mac songs putting her own touch on them for tours and throwing in one fantastic song "Edge of Seventeen". One great song in her solo career does not equal that she should be in for her solo work.

I am not saying she shouldn't be in the Hall, but she already is in the hall with Fleetwood Mac. Stevie got her recognition already and in a Hall lacking the presence of famous women she took away a more worthy candidate's spot. I am sorry I want the Hall of Legends not the Hall of Good.

Is Stevie Legendary? Yes in a mysterious way that leaves you in awe. A fashion sense that seems like only she can pull off. A spirit that makes you think she is the good witch in Oz. Should she be looked up at? Yes no issues.

I'll be the first person to admit Stevie gets more airtime than most artists do, but  it is mostly Fleetwood. She was recognized for Fleetwood.

By the logic the voters of the Hall used. We might as well throw in bands like Iron Butterfly and Steppenwolf for putting out one phenomenal song. You are not going to throw a sports player in for one phenomenal performance and you shouldn't do that for music either. Now Canton does recognize individual moments and put those moments in the Hall of Fame.

I think this is where Stevie should have been recognized a 2nd time. The Rock Hall placing individual songs that were so influential that it was a moment in time that should be remembered.

Edge of Seventeen is worthy of being in the Hall of Fame as a song by itself just as much as Steppenwolf's Born to be Wild and Iron Butterfly's InDaGaddaDaVida. Yet to recognize the bands themselves for more than that and say they deserve to be talked about in the same breath as  Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors os ludicrous.

There were alot of women shafted by the Rock Hall with Stevie getting in twice who have not yet been recognized or possibly were better suited to be the first two time women inductee.

Yeah I said it there was at least one women who defied the odds and should have been the first two time inductee who better represented America than Stevie ever could.

Tina Turner should have been the first two time woman inductee into the hall of fame. Tina is currently sharing the spotlight with Ike "Wife Beater" Turner. I'm sorry, but to escape conflict like that just to become broke then get back up on your feet to have a solo career that eclipses your duo career that says alot. Then to become arguably one of the three best women performers of the 80s on her own songs I have nothing, but the upmost respect for her.

If you came to me ten years ago and said Kate Bush should be in the Hall I probably would have laughed at you. Alot of things have happened between then and now. One of those things is that certain sounds of the past have become retro so much to the point that they are being copied today. Kate Bush in the last 10 years has became the most influential artiston female rockers of today. 

Lorde, Sia, Bats For Lashes, Florence and the Machine, and Lady Gaga are heavily influenced by Kate Bush it is about time we recognize her for her amazing career. Kate Bush is the most deserving lady currently not in the Rock Hall.

Ummm Hello!!!!! Houston we have a problem!!!! I'm baffled at how Stevie got in for her solo career before Whitney did. Whitney was a solo artist that for almost 15 years dominated the charts being played on multiple type of music stations. Whitney is a talent yes you may say she is R and B, but somehow she is in alot of people's collections who normally hate R&B. If 2Pac is in then Whitney should be in. Nothing Stevie can ever do whether in Fleetwood or as a solo artist ever measured up to the greatness of Whitney.

Well it is tough to put Siouxsie Sioux in as a solo act, but one thing is for sure she should be in with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Siouxsie love it or hate it is the Queen of Punk Rock and with the Banshees and ability to evolve with each album made a discography as years go by that is getting more noticed. Her influences can be felt through bands like Metric and Garbage. 

Pat Benatar was like no other lady in the 80s. Pat was unafraid to pick up the guitar and play in your face riffs one moment with a song like Hell is for Children and then the next moment deliver an anthem for women of all ages with Love is a Battefield. Unapologetic, rough, and a breath of fresh air she accomplished more in that time span as the female rocker than any other lady did including Joan Jett who is already in. You might not like her style, but you can't say she doesn't deserve to be in.

Rock Hall Voters take your jagged little pill and get over yourselves. Alanis Morrisette is a rock goddess that by far dominated the 90s. Untouchable really is the gap between today's women and the women rocker of the 80s. Stevie's solo career again is nothing on this caliber.

Sinead OConnor the lady who chose to sacrifice everything to make a statement about the social injustices of the world. Oh people remember that SNL incident like it was yesterday. They turned their backs on her only to find out she was right years later. Yet people seem to forget Sinead was that artist who bridged the gap between Pat Benatar and Alanis Morissette. She gave us songs Bout social injustices with a fantastic sound that even made Bono jealous. Yet her career didn't end that night she continued to deliver us fantastic music for years sure she had a few bad albums in there, but her comeback this decade despite her health issues is fantastic.

This is the top of the surface of women who have been shafted by the Hall and got shafted by Stevie's 2nd induction.

Captain Marvel Afterthoughts

Opening Thoughts: Captain Marvel is a film I wanted to see earlier, but to be honest both sides the Brie Larson haters and the unapologetic trolls who wanted to rub in the haters faces hey look what she has done in box office numbers really put a bad taste in my mouth. I almost refused to watch this film because of both sides actions. That said I had no vested interest in seeing the film either way other than some plot elements may affect Avengers Endgame.

That said let me make one thing clear and I will be unapologetic about. Do not jump on the bandwagon in support of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel if you refused to see Ghostbusters (2016) or the new Doctor Who. You are a hypocrite and a pos in my book and you can't have it both ways when it conveniently works for you.

Plot: Vers (Brie Larson) is a Kree desperately wanting to go into battle to prove herself and fight for her people, but her inability to control her anger makes her a liability to her team. So as a result she is still in training with her master Yon-Rogg. Yon refuses to take her on a mission until the great intelligence says she is ready.

That day finally comes in which Yon's team has to infiltrate the Skrull planet and get his agent back. The thing is Skrulls are shape shifting aliens that will fight to the end. The mission as General Ackbar will put It's a Trap. Nothing goes right and Vers finds herself stuck to a machine on a Skrull spaceship. That machine's sole goal is to bring the past out of Vers mind and lead the Skrull to Lawson and her secret weapon.

Vers escapes with limited knowledge about her past, but has to get to planet C53 before the Skrulls invade the planet and take Lawson's weapon for themselves.

Vers finds herself on Earth with no one to trust and being the last line of defense. Will Vers find an ally? Will Vers unlock the secret of the past? Can the Skrull Invasion be stopped? Watch and find out for yourself.

Review: Captain Marvel is alot of things, but one thing is for sure the film is not good and especially not great. The film is what you call a mediocre piece of a bunch of things thrown into a blender by writers hoping the public will just buy it. Not to mention a few actors completely misused who are capable of performances that can leave your jaw on the ground.

Let's just get the cat out of the bag and focus o  Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Vers/Carol Danvers. I will be honest she is a great actress, but miscast in this film and let down by terrible writing. The film takes place in the mid 90s and once the film got to that point all I could say to myself was why does Captain Marvel have to look like DJ Tanner (Candace Cameron) of Full House. I couldn't buy her as Captain Marvel. Then we get into the writing of her character as a naive, weak most of the film, and mostly uncaring woman terrible. Carol Danvers is like the Wonder Woman of DC Comics. She is supposed to empower women yet they wrote her character so out of character for 90 percent of the film that not even Meryl Streep could have made her likeable to comic fans.

Then let us focus on the real problem of the film trying to tie this film into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure the last few cameo scenes after credits were fine, but the meat and potatoes of the story is the problem. Hey writers we want you to somehow fit in Captain Marvel so it connects multiple films together to tie up loose ends and questions before Avengers Endgame happens. The thing was I have no questions going into Endgame  before seeing this film. So I am now watching a film that is a cross between Green Lantern and Dragonball Z that somehow is a prequel to Guardians of the Galaxy and I am seeing the main villain of Guardians working with Yon. Where is my element of surprise instead of saying really did we have to go this route?

That is the other issue the villain is mediocre and to be honest to make up for shortfalls we had to Disneyfy this movie making characters seem useless and unimpressive like Nick Fury. This is honestly the worst Marvel film since Doctor Strange.

I don't hate the film, but would never buy it. After multiple homeruns in a row with the MCU we get a strikeout. I rate this film in the 14th place out of 20 Marvel films. The only reason this film is not lower is because those films are real stinkers and this was a nice to see film that gets a 6/10 from me.

That said hats off to Annette Benning for delivering a performance that is the one shiny light on an otherwise completely hot mess of a film.

Closing Thoughts: When it comes to comic films I am the harshest critic you will meet. So you can take my review with a grain of salt. What I will say is this to the writers of MCU films. Get your head out of your butts and stop focusing on how many cameos you can get in film, how many films can we attach this too, and how can we Disneyfy this film for kids. Focus on giving us story that is solely on the hero and make that story about them if another character pops up fine, but don't do it to the point it is distracting.

Suspiria Ultimate Collector's Edition

Wow two weeks without a post from me has the film industry been that boring with nothing to watch, view, or report? Nah life just gets in the way and sometimes you need a small break from posting and some huge announcement is needed to make you post.

Well possibly the best announcement and yet controversial at the same time came out this weekend. The Suspiria Ultimate Edition UHD BluRay release details have finally came out. I knew about this release in December, but with a 90 pound price tag and no details I was questioning my own preorder til this weekend.

The only thing keeping me attached was the Koch release is one of two releases of Suspiria 2018 that featured UHD BluRay and my love of Suspiria in which this film was by far my favorite horror film of 2018.

That wait was worth it. Here is the juicy details that came out over the last three days.

1. This set is massive at 10 discs.

What set needs 10 discs you ask yourself? Obviously Suspiria does.

Disc 1 Suspiria 2018 UHD
With 7.1 Dolby Atmos English
English and German Subtitles
Disc 2 The Film on BluRay
Disc 3 Bonus BluRay including a MasterClass in English  with Luca Guadagnino
Disc 4 DVD of the Film
Disc 5 Thom Yorke's Suspiria Score Disc 1
Disc 6 Thom Yorke's Suspiria Score Disc 2
Disc 7 Suspiria 1977 UHD
Disc 8 Suspiria 1977 BluRay
Disc 9 Suspiria 1977 DVD
Disc 10 Suspiria Goblin score

Throw in posters for both films, artwork cards, and a nice book this set has alot going for it. Not to mention alot of the special features are in English.

Outside of the redundancy 4 discs are unnecessary for me this release has been the best kept secret of 2019 andis going to be a contender for best home video release of 2019 which for me currently belongs to All the Colours of the Giallo with fantastic commentary by Kat Ellinger. Figures it would take this behemoth of a release to knock out the Severin's release.

Samsung Calls It Quits can Physical Media Survive

On February 15th this year Samsung officially announced they were going to quit production not only of the 1080p Blu Ray players, but also the 4KUHD players as well. Why Samsung are you doing this to us? Do you want physical media to die?

I can see why in their eyes they would like physical media to stop because if you walk into a Best Buy, Target, Barnes and Noble, and more their selection seems to be getting smaller and smaller like they plan on phasing it out like most of them have done with music.

This may be happening as a result of pressure from the elite studios who wish they could stop production altogether on physical media and push their will onto masses. It is not Shatner or Friedle they are trying to push on us. The studios seem to want us to watch an inferior product through downloaded material or stream it.

The problem is there I have not seen a good digital source or stream yet without some kind of problem. Whether your movie that you watch cuts midstream in the middle of you watching it or the film just looks a step above DVD quality, but you get something inferior looking to BluRay. Now this can be an issue I own the WWE Network and have never been able to watch a Live Event without it breaking up or even a movie without some pause.

Yet the studios want to educate you streaming is the way go to go and that they can convince the majority of the population who don't care or try to see the difference in quality this is the best route to go. Honestly this irritates me because a 4K stream looks subpar to BluRay and BluRay is below 4KUHD. The Cinephiles are not buying it.

The Truth: The days of Physical Media as we know it did die and Samsung's announcement proves that. Is that a bad thing? At first glance yes, but in all honesty that may be the best thing happening at the moment in film the fall of studio handled releases.

What I am seeing in the last few years is the rise of boutique labels in the industry. Sure Criterion is the king when it comes to boutique labels that not only the Boutique Labels follow, but the big boys followed for quite a while as well. The thing is the big boys don't know how to handle their releases or even care on some if the film can get a release or not.

What this means for us not all films may see the light of digital or streaming or may just ne available for a limited time. What that has done is open a new market for boutique labels to say hey let us license the film from you and release it under our label.

The Result: Companies whose main goals are to restore older films with love get them and release them on to physical media for us. Sure they make a stream and digital copy as well, but these individuals who restore them actually love these films and went us to enjoy them as much as they do. That may be why on most top ten releases of 2018 onto home media the overwhelming majority of the picks actually came from Boutique Labels.

So what Physical Media has evolved into is the hipsters reason for vinyl. We want the best quality of video possible, but at the same time stay true as possible to the source material. What we also want is access to the films we fell in love with as kids or in our college years. The studios are not giving us that because they don't want to do small print runs of 300 to 2000 releases onto BluRay or 4KUHD they don't see the money they want. These boutique labels as long as their is a profit will deliver us the films we want. Here are a few you should research.

Twilight Times: They seem to mostly release the older catalog films 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures onto BluRay. This group takes the time to clean and restore the films they release. Some of the highlights include 9 to 5, Bob Ted Carol Alice, and more. So they tend to release popular films that are older and just might not have enough sells to warrant a release from the studio. I was shocked 9 to 5 was not released by Fox Studios directly.

Criterion: They are the kings, but the films they pick lately you have to ask are they Criterion worthy. That said they do a great job on restoration and release what they feel are the most influential films of their time. That said some people look at these films for snobs or the general public wont understand. I don't care if a film I like is getting a Criterion release I'll pick it up.

Vinegar Syndrome: They release B films of all genres thay fall under exploitation.  I'm not saying. If you like exploitation films this is your company. The odd thing is they clean up their releases, but leave some damage in to give the films a tough grindhouse look to them. For people who want to complain they hate the look BluRay gives to film, Vinegar Syndrome is your company. Stand out releases are Sex World and Penitentiary.

Arrow Films: If Criterion is the king of world, indie, and arthouse cinema, then Arrow Films are the king of important Cult, Grindhouse, and exploitation films across the world. Arrow in many ways is a gateway drug to a fantastic new world that once you are hooked you can't stop watching. Arrow's Restoration for older films is to give them the look, grain, and color the film deserves to be seen in. Alot of films from Japan and Italy are in this collection. Stand out films The Baby, Deep Red, and Shock and Gore Box Set.

Severin Films: As a Boutique Label Severin Films is all about the overall experience. Severin if you pre-order will include goodies with their releases which could be anything from collectable pins to sign films posters or even black gloves. They are probably the most fun company to buy an item from directly.

Other Indie Labels: Kino Lorber also specializes in cult films, foriegn, and indie films, but they mostly license from other companies that do the work. So as a result a film from the can be like a box of chocolates. I personally love the sexploitation horror line from them called Redemption Films. Issue is they don't get released on a regular basis. I would also check out Shameless from the UK. Raro Video is another company to check out that specializes in Italian Films.

The thing is while places said they had a loss in sales in 2018 with Physical Media these boutique labels said they had record sales by providing hard to get films, stellar restorations, and sometimes goodies that let you know these video companies care that there name is on the label. 

Don't let that Samsung article scare you, instead be happy that physical media is becoming hip again thanks to boutique labels and will now be thought of as fondly as vinyl is now.

Next Review: Faust

Oscars 2019 or The Academy Why so Corrupt?!?!?!?

Oscars 2019 or The Academy Why so Corrupt?!?!?!?!

It has been almost 24 hours since the Oscars has ended. I had time to sleep on the winners, take in the shocks, take in the morning news, and reflect on what I saw. To all the winners congratulations and if your name is brought up it is issues with the current system in place.

The Oscars tends to bring out the worst in my ci ephile friends we can protective of films and actors we love that year. I am no exception. I'll be upfront and honest. Last night it was funny watching Deborah Hildebrandt scream everytime Bohemian Rhapsody won an award. I was preparing myself to how many FBombs might fly with my group of that film won Best Picture. It was the winningest film of the night unfortunately. I think the film should have taken two awards sound mixing and best actor. I am not sure what the voters saw in that film.

I am sure as I write that my mail bag for my birthday and Christmas will be filled with that film im various formats.

That just leads me to questions how does a film get nominated, selected, and win in it's category. Are there improvements to be made? Simply the studios pick who they think should be nominated for each category and then the nomimees eventually get selected from that pool and people from within the industry vote.

So the Oscars biggest problem in our age is that they are controlled by the major studios. It is honestly a corrupt system that leads to holding films back to a certain period for release and allowing the studio to make more money offnofna film the public normally wouldn't see. What happens is simple whether it is intentional or not people get snubbed, nominated for the wrong categories, and the right films don't get the attention.

Let's take a look at a few areas of controversy. The definition of Best Actor or Supporting Actor. When Olivia Colman won last night I was excited for her, but the studio put her in the wrong category. Not Olivia's fault. PS Olivia best speach of the night. Olivia's character was a supporting character in The Favourite. The film centers around Emma Stone's character. Clearly Emma while recognized herself was nominated for the wrong category. Poor Glenn Close sorry girl, but even Olivia knows that award belonged to you. You got snubbed Glenn.

Now to two other categories Best Foriegn Film and Best Animated Feature. Best Animated was created after the controversy that followed Beauty and the Beast's loss and Foriegn Film falls into category of segregation for me to make sure neither style of film wins Best Picture. Yeah in online post I said Roma was not my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean the film was not great because it was I made that clear in my post as well. The film didn't speak to me.

The film that did speak to me was SpiderVerse. Spider Verse was hands down the most groundbreaking film I have seen in almost 20 uears. To give you context I was speechless when I left the theater. The last film to have that effect on me was Dark City.

The two types of films in these categories have never won best picture. It's the hahaha you have your prize go home category because you will never win. Indirectly those categories segregates those films from having a chance. I am not sure if it is time for them to go or not.

What I am sure is the Oscars needs some changes to the system to be more in line with today's world and be more popular with the at home viewing experience.

The necessary changes to the system

1. The selection/nomination process

The Oscars are a global thing and more studios exist besides the big boys. It is time for a vasectomy. Yes a vasectomy.

All nominations should come from approved film critics across the world who work within the industry. After that list has been narrowed down and a committee of film critics narrows down that list of films to an appropriate number. A semi final round will begin of voting with the critics. The top nominations of that semifinal round make the final round.

2. The Final Round Voting Process
This is a 3 way weighted vote
1. Critics their vote counts towards 50 percent of the final votes
2. Industry Workers 25 percent of the weighted vote (Actors, Directors, Producers, and etc.)
3. The public vote
The Academy should take a page from the Rock Hall setup an online vote to where the public can register and vote. Give us the at home viewer a reason to watch the Oscars and a stake in it.

Nobody has seen more than the critics their vote counts the most, but each party has a stake. While at the same time eliminating studio control. I know it's a pipe dream, but its how you find out the true winners.

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

Written and Directed by Robert D. Krzykowski

Cast
Sam Elliott - Old Man Calvin Barr
Aidan Turner - Young Calvin Barr
Caitlin FitzGerald - Maxine
Larry Miller - Ed Barr

Opening Thoughts: Growing up in my household, with as as big as a movie fan I am you might be surprised if I told you my mom is just not into cinema. She has only been to the theaters once in the last five years as context. So there are not many actors or films she speaks about. One thing is for sure she doesn't understand my passion for films.

However she will talk about one actor with a passion of love. That actor is Sam Elliott. To my mom, Sam Elliott screams what man should be inside and out. A moustache, hairy chest, and a sense of sensibility few actors have that makes him attractive to  both women and men. Outside of Robert DeNiro, Sam Elliott is the actor I have watched with my Mom.

So anytime I get a chance to experience  a new film with Sam Elliott I cherish those moments. That said watching Sam in a film that appears to be an exploitation is nothing I have experienced before. This may work for him and may not the film seems outside of his wheelhouse.

Well at least the trailer looked fun and hopefully the film lives up to that. The film from that trailer looks like it came from the mind of Quentin Tarantino. I just can't see Elliott in a Tarantino film it's so not Elliott.

Plot: Calvin Barr, an ederly man, is a man who appears to be just going through the motions at this point in his life to survive. Barr, doesn't seem to have a lot of friends and wants to keep his past a secret even from his closest relatives and best friend Ed Barr.

The past is eating him alive from the inside, on any given day you will find Calvin in a dive bar drowning his regrets in liquor. Those regrets, especially when drinking trigger PTSD moments to where he remembers his past like it was happening right now. Calvin as result looks like a sad excuse for a man and an easy target for criminals to take advantage of at his age.

One day on his way home from the bar a group of young hooligans decide they want to mug Calvin and steel his car. What they didn't expect was Calvin to fight back with cat like reflexes. Calvin easily subdues the men, but that moment triggers flashbacks of his past that he wish he never did and regrets.

The next day Calvin finds himself in his younger brother's barber shop. Ed can tell Calvin is troubled, but nothing Ed can do can get Calvin to open up to him. So Calvin is reliving, a period in his life feom the late 1930s to mid 1940s by himself.

That past finds Calvin in a relationship with a young school teacher Maxine. The relationship appears to be one that most of us would long for, but with the United States going into World War II every man wants to join including Calvin. Maxine doesn't want Calvin to join. Calvin is already an accomplished person with musical talent, Maxine knows Calvin doesn't need to join.

Maxine ultimately decides to end their relationship based on Calvin's decision to join the war amd go back to her hometown to teach. Ultimately it's this decision of what if that bothers Calvin years later. Yet Calvin is also bothered by the assassination of  Adolf Hitler he carried out back then.

It is those skills years later that brings the CIA knocking on his door asking him to search, hunt, and kill the bigfoot that is carrying a virus that could wipe out more people than the 1919 Spanish Flu virus. Calvin refuses because he is pacifist that can't live with the blood of another person or creature on his hands. The thing is Calvin is one of the few people immune to this virus and quickly realizes he has no choice but to accept this mission because the fate of the world relies on him not just mankind, but animalkind as well.

As Calvin prepares for the showdown with the bigfoot he finally opens up about his past to Ed. Ed finding it hard to believe supports Calvin and understands this may be the last time he sees his brother alive.

Who wins in the final showdown Calvin Barr or the Bigfoot?

Review: What I thought I might see going into this film, is not what was delivered after I watched the film at the Film Bar Phoenix. With RLJE films attached and the title of the film, I expected an exploitation film. What I saw in the theater played out as a classic western in which a lawman regrets something of his past and must atone for what he felt was his sins years later in order to move on. An atonement that requires that lawman, or some instances a criminal, to come out of retirement despite the fact he or she don't want to.

In alot of ways this film is comparable to Unforgiven or First Blood. Krzykowski should be applauded for this. What Kryz did was give such an outlandish concept, but made it believable as a serious film worthy of being in Sam Elliott's catalog of films. The fact he went this route  makes me excited to see more of his films in the future since this was his directorial debut as feature film director.

Special shoutouts should go to Larry Miller and Caitlin FitzGerald as well. Sam always delivers in his performances no matter how bad his films are. Aidan Turner I have had similar experiences im both film and television with. Larry Miller is a great character actor in films like The Nutty Professor and Necessary Roughness, but he always plays the villain in roles that I have seen him in. I have never seen Miller play sympathetic character that you are supposed to like in a film. It's the first time I saw him break this mold and honestly I want more of it.  Caitlin on the other hand provides a performance that is perfect you love her and you want Aidan to end up with her. You can feel what she is thinking without having to hear her say it. I am hoping she becomes a bigger actress.

The film, including the forest scenes, were shot in Massachusetts. I think the most breathtaking scenes cinematography wise happen in the forest. I wish this sequence longer because of those shots.

That said this film does have its flaws. With Krzy making this a serious film, the design and how the bigfoot scene played out was cringeworthy at times. This is probably the biggest flaw of the film having a bigfoot that didn't seem frightening and an exploitation fight sequence when the rest of the film up til that sequence was serious took the film back a notch or two. The bigfoot throwing up in Calvin's mouth while funny just didn't seem to belong.  The bigfoot looked like tje witch from Henson's Dark Crystal again just out of place.

The other flaws of this film develop in the aftermath of the showdown and unexplored opportunities with Calvin and Maxine when he returned from WWII. I just wish that aspect was explored more.

Final Thoughts: I'm glad I saw this film in the theater. Overall everyone attached to this project delivered. Sure the film has its setbacks, but the good outweighs the bad. As far as 2019 goes, this is the best film off the 27 films I have seen this year in the theater. That said the year is early and I would give this film a 7/10. So as you can see I don't think the film is great, but the film is worthy of watching in the theater and good for repeat viewing. If you can deliver that then as a team you accomplished what uou were meant to. If this was Sam's last film I would be okay with it.

Side News: I  don't know anybody who loves Sam Elliott as much as my Mom does more than Shelly Grant of BS Movies Podcast. I love BS Movies Podcast and while I have influenced both Brian Haas and Shelly Grant into watching films they have also influenced my cinematic journey.

BS Movies wants to take their show on the road throughout cinemas across the nation. Films are a passion of love and that is what they want to share on their road trip. However to share that passion of love it does cost money and they are looking for support to take this show on the road. BS Movies has started a wonderful Indiegogo project with wonderful perks.

To see more about this project visit this link

igg.me/at/bsmovies