Okay, yesterday was eventful because I watched SO many movies yesterday. I’m talking watching movies from 6am to 9pm before finally passing out into la la land (I’m meaning sleep, not the movie, lol.) It was such a random movie day that I wanted to share miniature versions of my experience with each film that I watched yesterday. Enjoy!

The First Movie: The Last Samurai

If you’re new to my blog you may not know this but The Last Samurai is one of my favorite movies of all time and it’s my personal favorite Tom Cruise film.

This movie, set in the 1800s’ and documenting the last days of the awe-inducing Samurai through the eyes of American Captain Algren (Tom Cruise), is an absolutely beautiful movie. Its sweeping score, composed by Hans Zimmer, carries the emotion of the film incredibly, leaving me in sheer awe (and goosebumps) every time I’ve ever watched this film. Ken Watanabe would get his only Oscar nomination for this movie as he portrays the leader of the last Samurai, Katsumoto.

Honestly, this movie needed more accolades, including a Best Picture nomination because it is utter perfection. Unlike The Great Wall which clearly follows the narrative of the superhero white guy (Matt Damon, in this case) who seems to know more and be more skilled at everything than the actual Chinese, The Last Samurai never tries to act like Tom Cruise’s Captain Algren is the savior of the samurai and I appreciate that.

He is merely a spectator and a friend who happens to share in this historic event alongside Katsumoto.

And yeah, every time I have ever watched this movie it has made me cry buckets. But unlike most movies which have super emotional scenes at the end of the film, The Last Samurai‘s emotional moments start with roughly forty minutes left in the film, hence leaving me sporadically crying my eyes out for forty minutes straight. So, as can be expected, when the movie ended and I was left wiping the waterfalls protruding from my eyes, my head was throbbing. What a way to start the morning right?

10/10 stars

So What Came Next? Freaking Air Force One!

When I was little I remember watching Air Force One every time it came on television. Surprisingly, I forgot basically 99.8% of the entire movie, hence I was on an anxiety-ridden rollercoaster ride that I didn’t see coming.

From beginning to end, Air Force One lets you know what type of movie this will be and yet it still surprises with its tense moments, its constant plot twists and high-stakes scenarios that seem to get worse and worse as the movie progresses. By the time the last twenty-thirty minutes of the film arrived I could not stop shrieking and hyperventilating.

Air Force One is a freaking classic for a reason! Harrison Ford takes the role of a butt-kicking president and instead of it being super corny he makes it work! Gary Oldman’s annoying role as the classic Russian antagonist was driving me batty with his thick accent that left me barely able to hear any word he was saying. And we can’t forget about that super shriek-inducing moment with him and the president’s daughter! Geez, Gary Oldman. Stop being a creep!

All in all, Air Force One had me freaking out and I pretty much enjoyed every moment of it.

(Fun fact: Glenn Close was the Vice President in the film, and now we have an actual Madam Vice President in Kamala Harris. Just, wow!)

8/10 stars

A Small Break Led to I Am Mother

Two years ago the science-fiction thriller starring Clara Rugaard and Hilary Swank called I Am Mother debuted on Netflix and I remember people talking about it. I had always wanted to see it but I never got around to it…until yesterday.

I Am Mother is nothing new. It’s 2001: A Space Odyssey mixed with the “who’s telling the truth elements?” of Cloverfield Lane with the iconic axe-wielding finale of The Shining made all the more intense by the flashing lights of Alien.

At first, I was invested in the story, and honestly I never truly lost my investment in the film, but after a while the movie just got, well, kind of boring. When the film concluded I sat back and felt like, “Bleh.” Yeah, the movie didn’t exactly end like I expected but because the film took great ideas from so many other fantastic movies I was ultimately disappointed.

7/10 stars

Another Break Led Me to Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (The Theatrical Edition)

Every time I have ever watched Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice it has been the extended edition so watching the theatrical edition yesterday left me boggled, laughing, and utterly bewildered.

The theatrical version’s editing is absolutely butchered as scenes literally cut from scene to scene without giving any context to what the heck just happened, or is happening, leaving you to try to fill in the blanks while you’re watching the film. I was so shocked as so many pivotal scenes were left omitted from the final movie, leaving the film to be an utter hot mess.

Speaking of hot mess, the story is a hot mess. The reasoning behind these characters’ hatred for each other feels unwarranted and forced. Superman hates Batman because he’s fighting bad guys in Gotham? Batman hates Superman because he destroyed his building and seems pretty scary. That actually makes sense. And Lex Luthor hates Superman because he thinks he’s a god so he wants Superman to be seen as this monster by killing Batman, a vigilante that isn’t deemed that much of a hero in the first place? But then he creates Doomsday to ultimately kill Superman and then the world would most likely be destroyed because nothing can fight that thing. Oh, it doesn’t make any sense and that’s why it’s hilarious.

My sister and I watched and laughed at this debacle of a superhero film which seemed splattered with foreshadow vomit as the movie continuously seemed to shout to us every third sequence, “This movie is leading to Justice League folks!” Like…okay.

The only saving grace of this film (and the main reason why I kept watching it even as ridiculous as it was) is Wonder Woman. Her role in this film is my personal favorite as we get to see Gal Gadot bring this beautiful epic warrior lady to life in a way that makes her a total bad***! Zack Snyder likes epic and an epic Wonder Woman is fantastic!

She alone saves the movie. Plus, her fashion sense in this movie is top-notch.

6/10 stars (But 10/10 for every scene that Wonder Woman graced. I love her!)

While Watching Batman vs. Superman I Dabbled a Bit into Venom at the Same Time

Venom is the surprising hit back in 2018 that ultimately was pretty ridiculous but people loved. Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is clearly supposed to be played by a younger actor (just look at the clothes, personality, and hairstyle of the character) but because Sony wanted a big name for the film they got Hardy to play a character that he can’t really connect with anymore since he was 41 when the movie came out. Plus, his girlfriend played by Michelle Williams, appears like they should’ve picked an actress in her late teens or early twenties but to match Hardy they went with 38-years-old Williams.

That’s not the only thing a little off about this movie. It just…isn’t that good. Venom is an interesting (and often hilarious) anti-hero but he alone can’t save this ridiculous movie. Riz Ahmed isn’t a great villain. The action scenes are fun but overall not THAT engaging. And that post-credit scene with Woody Harrelson’s Carnage is just, excuse my bluntness, stupid!

I Thought The Movie Extravaganza Was Over…Until Bohemian Rhapsody Was Turned On

Bohemian Rhapsody was one of the critically-acclaimed films of 2018, garnering Rami Malek his first Oscar win and the film several other Oscar nominations, but as I watched the beginning of the movie last night (that’s as far as we got) I was irked to death.

Bohemian Rhapsody has a 60% Rotten Tomatoes score among critics and I think I know why. The early scenes that I saw didn’t grip me. No, they only frustrated me with their cliche transitions and a watered down look at the iconic band. I found myself constantly wishing that the film had been rated-R because this is a rock-and-roll band we’re talking about. If this is supposed to feel like an authentic film about Queen we need to see a darker, truer take on the movie. Not this PG-13 malarkey that just irked me to death.

So yeah, we didn’t get very far. Plus, the prosthetic for Rami Malek’s teeth in the film are just distracting.

But maybe I’ll try to finish it one day…

And Last but Not Least, Captain Marvel

I know that Captain Marvel is ultimately pretty boring and one of the least-exciting MCU movies to date but despite that, I still enjoy watching this every now and then, especially after watching WandaVision.

Carol Danvers is such an awesome superhero and I’m just really, really excited to see her and “Lieutenant Trouble” eventually flying and being superheroes together. In fact, if I see them kicking butt as super ladies together, I’ll probably cry.

So no, I didn’t finish this movie last night, but it brought a smile to my face nonetheless.

So, that was my jam-packed Sunday. And now I need to take a nap just thinking about all of these films. What movie (or tv show) did you watch yesterday? I’d love to know in the comments below.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day.