Meru

THIS is a "Must See"!

2015's Meru is absolutely the best movie - documentary or not - I've seen in a long time!

Yes, it's a doc. About climbing a high-altitude peak in the Himalayas - the "Shark's Fin" peak of Meru, 20,700 feet - so diabolically steep and technical it had never been conquered.

The climbing itself is well shown (2 of the 3 climbers had cameras). There is a plethora of stunning views, and even more visual goodies that I won't spoil! (Even great on a tv-sized screen!)

Perhaps the greatest stroke of genius was to have Jon Krakauer (author of Into Thin Air and expert climber) help narrate, give context, and generally put the situation into layman's terms. Because of him you don't need to be a climber to appreciate this endeavor.

And appreciate you will! This is truly a remarkable story. I could gush and gush, but I don't want to give away the best parts. It is so much more than a simple climbing adventure!

It's rated R for some good solid cursing and "scenes of suspense". (Who knew the MPAA was that illustrative?)

Elementary (Season 1)

I've been considering blogging about the 1st season of Elementary since I watched it a few months ago. I finally decided to because I would like to know what others think of it. (Hint: this is where you light up my Comments section.)

I'd classify this as Good, not Great. It's not as good as BBC's Sherlock. (How could it be?) And Jonny Lee Miller is no Benedict Cumberbatch, (Again, DUH!) 

But it's worth watching. I'm wanting to re-watch a few episodes. 

Like BBC's, this is Sherlock Holmes set in modern times - New York, in this case. Probably because it's an American show. 

The rest of the cast is really good. Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill play the cops, Gregson and Hill, very nicely.

But where Elementary really shines is it's female characters (and actors)! Lucy Liu is Dr. JOAN Watson - wonderful! And most of all, I love what they do with Natalie Dormer as Irene Adler! She's only in a few episodes, but definitely the best part of the season.

As I recall the cases were intriguing. Some, obviously more than others. 

So rent this and please let me know what you think!

Focus

If you're in the mood for a good caper movie rent 2015's Focus 

Will Smith plays a veteran con-man who suddenly gets week knees when a femme fatale he's had a past with suddenly shows up on his latest scam.

Good is the key word here:

Acting, plot, script, dialogue, pace, everything in this movie's all good.

Honestly, just a shade or 2 away from brilliance. 

But very enjoyable! 

Rent it!

Lambert & Stamp

I'll start by saying that The Who were one of my early favorite rock bands. They were my 1st ever live concert. 20th Anniversary of Tommy at Alpine Valley, Wis. 1989!

I payed attention almost exclusively to their music. The behind the scenes stuff was unknown and never interested me. (As almost all  my fave music is.)

Enter the 2014 documentary Lambert & Stamp. 

Aspiring filmmakers Kit Lambert & Chris Stamp decide to manage an upcoming rock group, filming everything they can, in hopes of making both a successful band and an "in" into the movie industry. 

Complications eventually ensued.

But this is not Metallica: Some Kind of Monster: A 2 hour Jerry Springer show. No Verbal and/or physical fisticuffs on screen. 

This is the story of how The Who got started. There were some bad feelings later. But there is no question The Who wouldn't have been as successful without them - and it's fun to see why.

It's a big gray area. No one comes out smelling like a rose. But it's not all negative.

It's entertaining, interesting, and fun facts abound (Kit's influence on Pete's sound and song writing!)

Ex Machina

I could not recommend this sci-fi drama more: 2015's Ex Machina

It's about the winner of a huge corporation's in house sweepstakes, who finally gets to meet the elusive CEO and see whether or not he's actually created AI (artificial intelligence).

Let me digress to, perhaps, the creepy part of my opening sentence.Yes, it's a drama.With even less action than Blade Runner. No Michael Bay explosions. No John Woo super slo-mo bullets. No Lucas muppets. No Spielberg's kids on bmx bikes...

But that is exactly the point of this movie! It's talky and unravels slowly at first, then grows - bit by suspenseful bit into something a lot better than Scott, Bay, Woo, etc.

This is more Asimov. More a game of Chess rather than Asteroids! 

And it ROCKS!!

Tusk

An obscure Kevin Smith movie?? Not since Clerks, right?

Nope. Not many knew Tusk existed, including me. (And everyone knows how big a fan I am of Smith!) 

Well, I should say, I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan with exceptions. Mallrats, Jay & Silent Bob, and his horror movie, Red State, were not good, in my humble opinion. 

Which is why Smith's horror movie #2, right after Red State, didn't have much appeal to me when I finally did hear of it. 

I was wrong!

WOW! 
This is a very, very creepy movie! Hard to sit through without squirming. But isn't that what a horror movie is supposed to be?

It's about a podcaster who goes to Canada to do an interview and disappears. His friends search for him... Much more is involved, of course.

But the best part of this movie is it's alter-ego! 

After being totally creeped-out watching the movie, watch a couple of the short dvd extras (Making Of's) and you'll see/hear an idea that instantly changes this movie from 1 of the creepiest to 1 of the funniest!

I had to instantly watch it again, based on this new information. And it's hysterical! 
And I came along another Easter Egg hidden in the movie, also!

This is the best metamorphoses I've ever seen in a movie! 

Veronica Mars

The story of Veronica Mars is very cool!

It was a TV show for 3 seasons, starting in 2004. It achieved critical success but a very small, yet loyal audience. Turns out that this audience wasn't just loyal - they were rabid!

Not willing to let go, this small cult funded its movie through a kickstarter-type campaign. And in 2014 Veronica Mars: The Movie debuted.

Very loyal! Very cool!

Based on the idea that such dedication surely can't be misplaced, and on a recommendation from Sezduck (not in that order), I embarked on the journey...

And found it sucks. Just kidding. It's great! But I think it needs to be seen in order. Her story is very cool (see what I did there?):

Veronica (Kristen Bell), in Season 1, is a high school student in the town of Neptune, CA. Her best friend is killed so she uses skills gleaned from her father (ex-sheriff, now PI) to try to catch the murderer. Basically, she's Nancy Drew - in the 21st century using current technology. Lots more is involved, of course. Yes, it does get soap opera-esque here and there, but it also has lots of acerbic wit and gets dark. Dark! Season 1 ROCKS!! Must-see!!

Season 2 is a little more disjointed and soap opera-ish, but it still ROCKS!! In an effort to boost ratings they have some fun cameos. Kevin Smith plays a clerk (HA!) and Joss Whedon pays homage to Smith by playing a clerk (HA HA!!). I liked parts of 2 better than 1! As a whole, I'm not sure which I'd choose. Too close to call. Must-see!!

Season 3 is very disjointed, sometimes hard to keep up with the details, but I still looked forward to seeing that Netflix envelope in my mailbox. Still good! Worth watching!

The Movie: 10 years go by for the characters, 7 years for fans but only 2 days for me! I was really expecting something to knock my socks off and didn't get it. Looking back, and watching it again, I realized that my sights were set way too high (and maybe lack of sleep had a part). But it's still Veronica! It's still good! Maybe better than Season 3?

So, thanks for the suggestion, Sezduck! Best stuff I've seen in a while!