NEW Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth [2006]

One thing I noticed when talking to a new friend whom I met yesterday about horror movies is that I actually am a fairly large fan of foreign films. One such foreign film is Pan's Labyrinth. I actually saw this movie in theaters twice when it first came out.. primarily because I was late the first time around [I had paid to see 'Wild Hogs' but when I saw that this was in theaters, I naturally chose Pan's Labyrinth] I absolutely love the atmosphere within the film itself and the story behind it. Just knowing that [as the movie portrays] fantasy/make believe is a much better place then real life/reality. This film shows that sometimes, it's better to get lost in a fantasy world rather than live in reality.. If I had to choose a favorite character though, it would have to be 'Pan' or 'The Faun'. Just the way that Guillermo Del Toro had envisioned him [Del Toro is the director], and then made him come to life is very essence of a beautiful creature in my eyes. For those that aren't aware- Pan is the god of the Earth and the forests [according to myths and fairy tales] So naturally Guillermo Del Toro made Pan look exactly like he was part of the Earth. [see below for a picture of Pan from the movie]

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Now bear in mind, being a foreign film- it is subtitled. It's spoken in Spanish and the amazing part is all the actors that were in the movie, actually spoke Spanish as their first language.. Everyone except for The Faun. Pan was actually played by Doug Jones [who is American], whom you may know from other movies..even if you don't know it.

[This is Doug Jones- in case you weren't aware..]
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If you still don't recognize him, don't worry too much- not many people do. It's because Doug is actually known for wearing very obscure costumes when playing a part in a movie.. Here are some other examples of characters who Doug Jones has played in other movies, whether you've realized it or not.

The Pale Man

..definitely an odd character to say the least; He's also from Pan's Labyrinth

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The Angel Of Death- Hellboy2
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Abe Sapien- Hellboy 1 & 2
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Billy Butcherson- Hocus Pocus

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Needless to say, Doug Jones has played in multiple movies without us being aware, all because of the costume. [If you watch the special features of Pan's Labyrinth, he actually says that Pan was the most comfortable suit he's worn yet..] So there you have it, Pan's Labyrinth. It's one of the best [if not the best] foreign horror/fantasy movies out there- the story is superb, the acting is well done, and Doug Jones plays not one, but two characters. [although one doesn't speak] If you're into horror/fantasy type movies, check this one out.. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Guess where I was this past weekend?

This past weekend was a weekend to remember as the family and I [and by 'family', I mean Stephanie , Isabella- my sister, Samm- a friend of mine, my father & my grandfather] went to the very first Comic-Con in Ottawa!

[I feel that this GIF sums up my feelings for how excited I was..]

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Now I was very lucky to be able to go, because although I got 2 tickets back in March [they were a birthday gift, one for Stephanie & I], and although I asked work for the date off the very next day [I gave them literally just over 2 months notice ahead of time], I still ended up getting a shift on the day of Comic-Con. I wasn’t impressed. I found it completely unfair- especially since one guy I work with asked if he could have the day off cause his cat was sick the day he was scheduled..and he got it off. Yet I asked 2 months early, and got denied. Luckily another guy I work with was totally cool with the idea of taking my shift for the day, and I’m very thankful. anyways! This post isn’t to bitch and moan.. but rather talk about Comic-Con!

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[The line up was HUGE, apparently Saturday- the day we went- was sold out with over 18,000 people!]

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For Stephanie, Samm, Isabella & I, we left at 8:45am[ish] [although the actual thing started at 10:00] and drove out to the place it was being held, and even then- there was a crazy line already started. Immediately after seeing all the people slowly show up to join the line, we noticed that we should have showed up in costume [in the picture above you can see The 11th Doctor from Doctor Who- the one wearing the red fez] We saw a lot of different costumes too [I'll show pictures at the end] There was a lot of Avengers costumes, probably due to the fame the movie is getting, but also a lot of costumes I had never seen before!

[Need a costume idea? Why not Zoidberg?]

There was so much to see, from Zoidberg, to all the stands selling comics [hell, we even found a corner- behind Zoidberg in the picture, where you could buy Archie Comics!] Now the real highlight was knowing that there were guests appearing- although you have to pay to see them/get pictures. There was William Shatner [who was charging 75 fucking dollars for a picture with him..so naturally we didn't go to him], Elvira- who although I love her- the line to see her was really lengthy, and sadly, she wasn’t in costume [that part kinda killed me inside]. But the final guest, was the whole reason my father went. Long story short, growing up I was the Spider-Man fan- always was, always will be. Dad on the other hand- he was more of a HULK fan. So naturally [although it came to a whopping 60 some dollars] we had to get pictures with this guy! [below]

[from left to right we have my Dad, Our Special Guest, Myself, and Isabella. Slightly to the right of my head you can see my grandfather, Stephanie, & Samm!]

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Still don’t know who it is?! I’ll give you one last hint [even though I'm pretty sure that the photo above was hint enough]

It was LOU FERRIGNO! He’s known for playing the original HULK in the old TV show with Bill Bixby! [RIP Mr. Bixby..] It was probably the craziest thing ever- he was easily a foot or two taller than me, and each of his arms were like quadruple the size of my itty bitty neck! It blew my mind- he was even quite friendly- but I think that’s part of the gig. Ultimately, we stayed at Comic-Con for a LONG time- like rest of the day [making our visit to Comic-Con a total of 9 hours!] I was really glad to be able to say I was there..cause it was extremely worth it. bring on next year’s Comic-Con! [below you will find more pictures of people in costume for your entertainment- CHEERS]

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[Left to right: Warren- Me, Isabella, & The 4th Doctor- Doctor Who]

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Optimus Prime- Transformers!

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[Left to right: Stephanie, Master Chief- Halo series]

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Pyramid Head- from Silent Hill- I had to chase him down to get a picture!

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PS: I apologize for the sideways pictures..they wouldn’t load if I flipped them.. lame- I know.

Something you MUST watch now: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN- 4 MINUTE SUPER PREVIEW!

For those who know me [and even those who don't], know that Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. Even since I was a child, I'd run home from school and watch the 1990's series of The Amazing Spider-Man- the one that I still desperately want to find on DVD, but no one has made a full collection; just various episodes sprawled across 5 or 6 different DVDs..

[Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers this cartoon!]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I already own the original 1967 Spider-Man cartoon on DVD, and it is still one of my most prized possessions. [that and my Nightmare On Elm Street DVD collection- I like collections..don't judge me just yet.] I am also a fan the live action Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire. Now before I get any hate- I did have some complaints, I won't say they were perfect. I read the comics, and I found they were way off in some aspects, but alright in others. When I heard they were remaking the Spider-Man films; I was a little uneasy [considering they kinda messed them up before]. I held my tongue and watched the trailer. Eventually, I found myself still concerned for the movies because of the whole Lizard tie-in.. Yet every time there is a TV spot, or a new trailer- I find myself to watch it; hoping it'll change my mind. Now when I went to see Avengers [I have a review for that movie which can be found here] there was a 3rd new trailer...and that is the one which made me realize that this remake- the remake of a movie about my favorite hero- will be a huge success. I have a few reasons for this:

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1. Spider-Man actually makes fun of his enemies this time around. [Tobey's Spider-Man did a little- but not as much as he should have..he's Peter Parker for crying out loud!]

2. Spider-Man has webshooters, rather than the webs coming out of his actual wrist. [this is a big deal for me, cause that's how it was in the comics- Spider-Man actually made his webshooters after being bitten.]

3. Gwen Stacey came first! NOT Mary Jane. [although we all know Peter Parker ends up with Ms. Mary Jane Watson in the end; Gwen Stacey- who will be played by the lovely Emma Stone- was Peter's first girlfriend in the comics..way before he even knew of MJ's existence!]

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So to make this super short and to the point [I think I've rambled enough], I logged onto both Twitter & Tumblr this morning and found a 4 minute SUPER PREVIEW that I could not just keep to myself.. [I think of the other Spidey fan's, y'know?] it makes me stoked as hell for the new Spidey flick, and I'll say it- Andrew Garfield- who is playing our new Spidey, looks Amazing as Spider-Man! [get it? Amazing? Amazing Spider-Man? ..too soon?] So enough rambling from me and get watching the SUPER PREVIEW- It's bloody fantastic!

Movie Review: AVENGERS [2012]

-Being as it broke all sorts of crazy records, I figured it was time to do an Avengers review!

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Although I want to assume, I want to let you guys know that as always this is a review and my thoughts on a movie [and being that it is on Avengers, it's gonna be have pictures from the actual film-] so expect spoilers! Now.. to begin, I'd like to point out that I didn't get to see the movie opening night as I originally had planned. I actually had to work- and holy shit was it ever busy.. out of 12 of our theaters playing the movie, 5 of them were playing Avengers [both having 3D, 2D & AVX] and 2 of those theaters were sold out for the rest of the day! [bear in mind that I mean 12 theater screens in one complex] Luckily, although I worked the next day as well, I was finished at 4pm- so naturally, Stephanie, her friend Jessica, and I went to see Avengers then! It was a late show [as stated before, the others were sold out] around 9:45, and there was a line already started.. we eventually got into the theater. .

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By the end of the movie, I was amazed. I couldn't help but find the movie was fantastic! Josh Whedon [the guy who wrote and directed Avengers] did a fantastic job writing let alone scripting the story. It tied all the superheroes together from their own respective movies which made me happy. [please note that this is going to sound bad, but I haven't seen Captain America yet.] There was a lot humor,

[this actually happens in the film!]
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there was a good story that was easy enough to follow, Loki was as beautiful as always,

and there was superb actors in it! [I always like me some Robert Downey Jr as well] But hold on- I wanna go back on that 'superb actors' part. Now, I'm not saying that he was a bad choice- as he actually won me over by the end of the film..But I was feeling off at first about Mr. Mark Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner/Hulk.

Don't get me wrong- he did win me over- just the first thought of him playing Banner really messed with my head. [Spoiler Alert! there is a part in the film where he's pretty much naked after changing into The Hulk for the first time- below!]

Ultimately, I'll conclude this review with planting the idea of telling you guys to go see it! It's really amazing, and I cannot stress enough [as a guy who reads Marvel comics] that it was really well put together! If you go see it however, stay after the credits- there are 2 extra scenes [the first of which actually lines up Thor2] .. I'll post a picture- but consider it a major spoiler! Anyone ever heard of Thanos? [pretty sure it was him- let us compare from movie to comic-]

[here's Thanos at the end of Avengers]

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[here's Thanos from the comics]

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[*Deep breath*- geek moment-] He's the guy who wants to steal The Infinity Gauntlet [he is seen wearing it in the picture above- the comic version] from The Armories in Asgard. If he succeeds, He can pretty well rule the galaxy- I want to assume he's going to team up with Loki in Thor2 and from there, attempt what he started in Avengers. But that's where I'll leave you- 1. go see Avengers, it's well worth it! 2. Make sure you see the credits! and 3. After going to see the movie [assuming you haven't already..], let me know who you think the army Loki had in the movie were. [I'm just hopeful that it's The Skrull]<- Here I go again, sounding more nerdy than I need to! Until my next post/review/rant, CHEERS.

Movie Review: Kick-Ass [2010]

Please note- before I officially begin this review, I'd like to point out that I will be in fact use pictures and GIFs from the movie in this review [so there are spoilers]: If you still wish to read the review, it is found below.

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ALSO! As I've stated before, I'm moving all my movie reviews over to this blog from Tumblr. This is one of the first reviews I actually ever did on a movie [or at least the first one I ever wrote- rather then explain out loud] The movie? It's Kick-Ass!

I actually really enjoy this movie- there's good actors, it's an amazing script [oddly enough, it's based off a comic book], and I can pretty much relate.

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Our story starts off with a voice over of a teenager [roughly 19 years old] explaining exactly that: ‘who wouldn’t want to be a superhero? We see it all the time in the movies? why not in real life?’ Dave [the teen main character who's voice we heard earlier] has two best friends, and together they always love going to the comic book store to look up on the new releases of Spider-Man & Hellboy [I mention Hellboy cause there is a comic poster showing Hellboy in the background of the comic store. Keep an eye open!] & one day, he mentions his thoughts on real live superheroes to his friends; who reluctantly shrug his idea off. Dave thinks otherwise, especially after they got mugged on the way home from the comic store and gave over their newly bought comics [either that or get killed..right?] so that night he goes on his Macbook to Amazon.ca [‘.ca’ cause the movie is Canadian.] and is looking at…Diving Gear? .After getting his delivery in the mail, Dave looks at his new diving gear and tries it on, and he looks exactly like a superhero!!
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Dave then heads to school, costume under his shirt and all- and he feels pretty damn good about himself. So while he’s walking home that day, Dave catches up to the two guys who mugged him and his friends earlier [took their comics, remember?] and proceeds to take his shirt off and become the superhero he always dreamed of being. He begins to talk tough to the two muggers [who by this point are trying to break into a car.] and the one mugger tells Dave that he’s clearly high based on his appearance. Dave denies being high, and talks harshly again to the muggers, who begin to get ready to attack. Dave starts out fighting well, although it’s clear as day that he is swinging too widely, and ultimately; gets stabbed..
It's from there that he's rushed to the hospital and he begged the ambulance driver to throw out his clothes- cause it'd be too embarrassing. This doesn't stop Dave though- in fact, it actually pushes him harder. This is where I'm actually going to end the review- I don't wanna ruin it too much, because it's a really good movie and you almost have to see it for yourself to understand the the whole story. ALSO! there is actually a gory scene! anyways, I strongly recommend it! Especially if you love superheroes, and/or always wanted to be one! [I was like that when I was younger- maybe this is why I enjoy this film so much?]

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Did I mention Nicholas Cage is in Kick-Ass? ...with a creepy pedo 'stache?