In a departure from the reviews of movies from my bucket list I wanted to take the time to write a short review of the long awaited and highly anticipated Top Gun sequel. They've been talking about releasing this movie since 2020, I think, but it kept getting delayed. Nevertheless it was definitely worth the wait. Tom Cruise returned as Lieutenant Pete Mitchell, a.k.a. Maverick. I won't give too many details as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to see it. Maverick is recruited by his longtime friend Iceman (Val Kilmer) to train a new class of Top Gun pilots for what was billed as a suicide mission. In the new Top Gun group is the son of Maverick's deceased co-pilot Goose. The make-up/costume directors/casting directors did one heck of a job selling this actor as Goose's son (down to his rousing rendition of "Great Balls of Fire" on the piano at the bar). It was briefly explained why Goose's widow (played by Meg Ryan in the original) did not appear in the film (not going to spoil it). I heard that a lot of people were upset that Ryan was not tapped to reprise her role, but I honestly don't think she would have added much to the storyline. Also notably missing from a return appearance was Charlie (played by Kelly McGillis). But as with Ryan, I don't think a return by Charlie would have served any real purpose. Sometimes it is better to leave original characters out of a sequel than force them into a storyline where they do not really belong. Personally I applaud the writers for not forcing these characters into the plot. It helped to make the story more relevant to the modern era. But...if for some reason you have been living under a rock for the past 30+ years and never saw the original Top Gun it is an absolute must see before watching Maverick. There are too many references from the original that would confuse someone who has not seen it. With that said, for those who have seen Top Gun and at least enjoyed it I highly recommend Top Gun: Maverick. Overall rating: A+++
02 July 2022
Memorial Day 2022: Movie Marathon Continued
I know I am a bit delayed in writing up the last of the movies from the weekend movie marathon. Saturday I watched 4 movies, but I only managed to watch 1 more the rest of the weekend for a total of 7 over 3 days. Here are the last 5 from the bucket list in the order viewed.
Up: The last of the animated films on the bucket list. I'll admit to liking this one more than its predecessors. However, it was still a bit too long for my taste (for an animated film) and I found my attention fading a little over halfway through. I'm not sure how kids with short attention spans managed to watch the entire movie. Overall rating: B
Memento: It seems the further I progress through the list the more bizarre some of the films are. I kind of thought of this as a very dark, revenge oriented version of 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler. Odd would be something of an understatement. To be honest, I'm not sure I even remembered the end of the movie. Overall rating: C-
Blade Runner: Here's another film that had a very futuristic view of Los Angeles (if I recall it is set in about 2017 or 2018). Interesting how filmmakers of the 80s and 90s thought L.A. in the 21st century would appear. Premise was somewhat intriguing, but still the movie was at times very hard to follow. Harrison Ford was, as always, a good leading man here. Overall rating: C
Reservoir Dogs: Ah, my old friend Quentin Tarantino (sarcasm). If I have learned one thing from all of the Tarantino films I have subjected myself to over the years it is that one should expect over-the-top violence and gore that is not entirely necessary to the telling of the story. However, I will say that this movie is one of his better ones in my humble opinion. Given the subject matter of the movie, the violence (while somewhat exaggerated) was at least logical. Overall rating: B- (very high for a Tarantino flick).
The Prestige: The first plus to this film is that it stars Hugh Jackman. It was all about two magicians who were friends/partners turned bitter rivals. The other leading man was played by Christian Bale (who personally I do not much care for). Over all the story was engaging and at least kept my attention for the better majority. The surprise casting was David Bowie as Nikola Tesla and he did a phenomenal job (nearly unrecognizable). Of these last five movies, this was far and away my favorite. Overall rating: A- (still a bit too long for a solid A).