This is a tribute to the Expendables. Barney did well in fighting off all of the villains and always being ready for another round. Alex is the kind of guy who definitely would not win a fight straight up. He would always need the element of surprise at the bare minimum and a whole lot of weapons by his side. Even with that there’s no way he could beat Barney. Barney Ross wins.
Leo Aiolia may always be in Aiolos’ shadow to an extent, but his power is still comparable to even the best of the Gold Saints. Azalie won’t be able to stop him. While her sword can theoretically turn anyone into a dragon with a single slice, she is not fast enough to hit Leo with it and I have doubts if it could also do that when he is protected by the cosmos. Either way Aiolia is just on a different level here and won’t be doing down easy. Leo Aiolia wins.
It’s definitely been many years since I saw this film so it was time to give it the re watch. The story of Ben Hur is always a classic and this retelling was really solid. It definitely feels nostalgic with how long it’s been and the animation holds up quite well. It tells the story in a really streamlined way so you get the key parts while still keeping the runtime fairly short.
The movie starts off with Ben’s old friend Messala finally coming back to town. It’s been several years so Ben is thrilled to see him, but unfortunately Messala has changed quite a lot. The guy now works for the roman empire and will even cheat at little things like a race. Fortunately Ben sees this coming and was able to win anyway. I was glad about that because losing to a cheater like that would have been quite sad. Throughout the intro Messala keeps on bragging and trying to get Ben to join him.
The film leaves no doubt from the start that Messala will be the big villain here. He even takes Ben into custody on false charges where Ben has to work for years of hard labor. With his family gone and his wealth/power stripped away, Ben will now have to really look deep within himself to find out the next steps. Should he look for revenge? Live in peace? Try to find his family? Ben has a lot of options here but will have to choose very carefully.
Fortunately Ben was blessed to meet with a lot of reasonable people throughout his journey. He got to live in a rather good environment after being washed ashore which ended up happening as a direct result of Ben refusing to kill and being a loyal ally through and through. Ben always gives everyone a fair shake and it works out here. He’s just a nice guy who follows the rules and ultimately does well during crunch time. Only at one time is he tempted for revenge by joining the army and ultimately doesn’t go through with it.
Not to say that joining the army would be bad of course but it’s clear that at that point he was quite upset and needed to calm down. Ben had been through quite a lot by this point. Fortunately he was able to meet up with Jesus Christ on two occasions who showed him the true meaning of compassion. From then on Ben had a renewed energy about himself. His journey certainly would not have had a happy ending without this faith.
Esther is the main heroine here and while she means well, I do think she made the wrong call in lying to Ben about his family being dead. Even though it was a direct order from them, it’s still not the kind of thing you should do there. A lie even with good intentions ultimately has a way of bouncing back and causing all sorts of trouble. It’s why you also shouldn’t pressure someone to lie on your behalf since it places a big burden on them. The burden of information can be a heavy one and so just because you know something doesn’t mean that you should automatically spread it around so much.
At least once the truth was out in the open then they could all be a family again. Ben’s family also did well in enduring their hardships for as long as they did without any complaints. They really didn’t want Ben to worry. While Messala was the main villain here, we also had the corrupt kind. I think the film may have gone a little too far with making him sound so whiny though. I know it’s to show that this villain wouldn’t last long and was outmatched but I think you should still make them sound tough so that you can sense the danger they’re in.
That’s why I enjoyed Messala. Ultimately he got what was coming to him but in the meantime he was portrayed as a serious threat. First he tried to get Ben on his side and then after that he did everything that he could to tear him down. You could tell Messala was evil to the core here and so he was not going to hold back. Anything he could do to put Ben in a bad spot was something he was going to do right away. He had no doubts on that.
This film also directly has Jesus Christ appear which is cool. A lot of times you don’t see films actually go this far as to have the characters witness the true events of the Bible. I can understand why many would be hesitant of course. You don’t want to do anything that directly alters the timeline or changes events but if you do it like in this film then there’s no real risk. It’s not like Ben is suddenly giving speeches to the masses or having a lengthy conversation with Jesus. This is a nice way to just have him see what’s happening though. It’s also something that would be good to normalize as a main character in a movie witnessing any historical event.
Ben also learned a lot from these experiences. He would have died had Jesus not come to his aid in the first meeting and then later on he got to learn more about the Bible and really become a Christian. It was a good way to connect everything together and to also directly have those Christian elements in the film. Ben Hur is a film that was not beating around the bush and that’s a very good thing. It ultimately adds some extra depth to the film. It takes a lot more courage to make this up front than to be subtle after all and what’s more up front than having Jesus appear in the flesh?
Overall, Ben Hur was a solid title. I dare say that I even preferred it to the live action version. The film effectively streamlines everything so you get the main points and nothing drags on. It’s also a bit more of a toned down version so you can really enjoy the horse races more. In general I prefer not to see animals in the mix at all but this film does all right there. I liked the animation and even the occasional CGI shift like when the boats are approaching. It felt like something out of a video game in a nostalgic way. If you’re looking for a solid film with a good main character that you can respect, this is the title to check out. Ben Hur’s the kind of character that can serve as a role model to anyone because he goes through so much and never falters. He ultimately uses this as a chance to get closer to God and so that made all of the trials worth it.
Hawks and Android 17 both have a rather laidback way of looking at things but secretly work hard. Android 17 worked so hard patrolling the island that he went from being under SSJ2 level to being in the realm of the gods. Meanwhile Hawks works harder than most pro heroes with how he’s leading multiple lives and having to memorize so many cover stories. Ultimately there isn’t much that Hawks can do in a fight against this guy though as 17 could just end the world in an instant. Android 17 wins.
It’s time for the ultimate clash between someone who is grounded in reality and someone who has long since dived headfirst into the realm of the magical. Billy can throw a mean fastball that could deal some serious damage but Waver has any number of magical tricks that could dismantle Billy right at the start. As a result it’s hard to see Billy lasting very long here. He’s just not in the same league as someone like Waver, even if I’m not the biggest fan of the guy. Waver Velvet wins.
This review is of the edited TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative
This is definitely a film that you had to have seen around a lot back in the day. It got quite a bit of promotion because of how many big names it was grabbing. The concept was always solid as well with all the action going on. Well, the film lives up to the hype pretty well for the most part although if you’re watching some specific characters then you won’t be in luck here.
The movie starts with Barney’s squad of Expendables saving some hostages and destroying the terrorists. One of their members (Gunner) goes too far with this though and Barney is forced to take him off the team. He then receives a new mission for the team by the mysterious Mr. Church. The group has to head to Viena where there is a lot of strife going on right now. The people are suffering as a group of rogue American forces have conspired with the King to take the place over. The heroes have to take out General Garza which should effectively stop this movement in its tracks. If they do that they things can finally go back to normal. This is an extremely difficult mission though where the heroes will be heavily outnumbered. Can their band really take out a whole army?
The film starts off with a lot of action right off the gate which is good. I also liked how for once the heroes didn’t just drop their guns when the villains took a hostage. I’ve mentioned in the past how this is always a bad idea and the characters here seemed to know it. In general the Expendables are very reluctant to drop their guns which is good. If you do that then the villains can just take out the hostage and your group at the same time. We also got the “traitor” fairly early on with Gunner. Cracking immediately was not a good look for him although apparently it just tends to happen to guys who are in the field for too long.
We get the best scene in the film very early on though as Barney gets his assignment from Church and then Trench shows up. Both Church and Trench don’t really do anything for the rest of the film which is unfortunate but it was such a fun scene to have the 3 of them in the same room like that. The banter and hype levels in that scene where through the roof. It was only one scene but you could already see a solid dynamic between the characters.
That’s really one of the biggest strengths of the film. The characters all have big egos and are top notch in their respective fields. Only the best of the best can be Expendables and if you are in a position where you’re a rival or working for Church then you’re at that level too. So there’s a lot of tough talk throughout the film and it works well. The banter here is very strong and the writing is definitely on point. I don’t think the film would be nearly as good without that. Even the villains talk tough to each other the whole time. In this movie, everyone can talk tough and everyone can fight hard which makes for a good balance.
Then of course there is a lot of action throughout the movie as well. The gun fights don’t hold back and we also get a lot of close combat battles as well. The film never really runs out of explosions and fighting. The highlight fight would probably be Yin taking on Gunner since that felt like a real boss fight. Of course seeing the heroes beating up on the random minions is cool too and all but it’s always nice when you have a villain who can really fight back as well. The characters all have different fighting styles too which works out well so it’s not all the same kind of action scene throughout.
The movie has some decent themes as well. They may not be super memorable or anything but they work well enough with the scenes. Expendables is a film that moves fairly quick so you’ll be at the end of the film in no time. There isn’t a whole lot of down time between action scenes either. So as long as you’re enjoying the hype of all these characters looking so good then you’re definitely going to have a blast here.
While the movie is very intense, I would say a lot of the action is very stylized so it’s not too bad. It’s much more like John Wick than Halloween for example. So most of the scenes are over quick and I wouldn’t say they dwell on the violent scenes. The only scene that was a bit much is when Sandra is tortured by the villains through waterboarding. I definitely could have done without that as that’s always the kind of grit I’d rather the film just skips. We know these guys are villains and don’t really need to go any further than that. It hurts the film’s momentum a bit there.
That’s really the only issue I had with the film though. Beyond that you’ve got a fun cast and lots of action which is always a good combo. Barney works well as the main character and clearly has a lot of experience here. Without him getting the group set they probably would have been in for a rough time. You also get the impression that he is the glue that keeps the team together. He’s always got a quick comment ready to defuse any situation as needed. That’s not something that just anyone could do.
Christmas is a solid right hand man as well. I like his confidence and he may be the only character who surpasses Barney in that aspect. Christmas really isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and may be the best close quarters fighter in the group aside from Yin. You can always count on Christmas to get in there and get the job done. He also has the best working relationship with Barney and their banter is a lot of fun.
Now, if you are a fan of the Expendables as a team then you may be disappointed that quite a few of their members don’t do much. Aside from the main two who spend most of the film without the rest of the group, the only ones to do much of anything are Gunner and Yin. The rest are saved until the climax where they help out but the film is nearly over by then. For Yin, he’s a solid fighter but I was surprised that he wasn’t a bit stronger.
The whole time you figure that he is absolutely going to crush his opponent and instead he’s on the losing side. Perhaps that’s not so bad but as his first big fight you just expected him to do better. I suppose martial arts aren’t as handy when you’re fighting someone who is already an expert fighter in their own right but I still thought it would go down a bit differently.
As for Gunner, well I definitely didn’t like him. The guy completely cracked and the first thing he thinks to do is to join the other side? Nah, I don’t want someone like that on my side. That means you can absolutely never trust him again and so that really means that he’s an absolute liability. Once you go traitor you don’t really go back so easily.
As for the heroine Sandra, well she gets a lot of credit for being so tough under pressure. Ultimately she never betrays her ideals and also stays home until the very end. It may have been wise to leave but now she can proudly tell her people that she was here from start to finish. It was definitely not an easy journey either. The villains really gave her a tough time here. As for the villains themselves, well Garza got better by the end but he’s really not smart at all. The scene where he starts to give a big speech while surrounded by the other villains was a really horrible idea and you can immediately tell how that’s going to go.
As for Monroe, well he’s your classic villain leader who just wants a lot of power. Not much to say about him and I can’t say that I liked the guy at all. Posturing is all good and well to an extent but beyond that you need more of a big plan to stay in power. Even if things didn’t go great for the Expendables he still would have been doomed down the line.
Oh yeah there’s also a small romance subplot where Christmas finds out that his girlfriend is cheating on him. It feels like an extremely random subplot to be sure and that should have definitely ended the romance right away. There wasn’t much of a good excuse either. In their line of work the Expendables probably shouldn’t start a romance anyway since it might end badly though. At that point you should probably just fly solo because it’s such a dangerous profession.
Overall, The first Expendables film is pretty fun. It’s nice to get the nonstop action here as the heroes all show their stuff. I look forward to Church and Trench getting bigger roles next time though. They had the best scene here so imagine what they can do with some real screen time? The rest of the Expendables squad needs to get more action next time too though because you could really say that over half of this film is just the Barney and Christmas show. The others really got the shaft for the vast majority of the film.
Overall 6/10
Henry Poole makes for a very unique film and it’ll take you on a fun journey. I found Henry himself to be super unreasonable for most of it but the rest of the characters were solid enough. It’s a good drama film in the end even if it can be a bit long at times.
The movie starts with Henry moving into a new house. It’s a rather beat up old place and he considerably overpaid for it but he doesn’t seem to care. His real estate agent even offers to knock down the price but he declines. He then meets his neighbors and everyone seems reasonable enough, if not a little over friendly. One day a water stain appears by his wall outside though and the neighbor Esperanza declares that it is the Face of God. Henry is incredibly doubtful of this since it just looks like a normal water stain but pretty soon she is inviting lots of people from her Church to check it out. Henry sees how his house is quickly becoming a public attraction and he wants to stop it, but doesn’t really know how to do so. Also, why is he so uncaring about everything?
The film answers that question soon enough although you can probably guess it fairly early in the film. I can say that I can see why he’s not sweating the small stuff anymore and isn’t even trying to have much in the way of conversation. In his situation he may as well just do his thing and not worry about the rest. He has a lot of snacks, pizza, and the works. I’d say I would probably do something similar. No reason to break off human contact but I would definitely be getting a lot of pizza and snacks. At that point you may was well, there’s no reason not too.
I also don’t blame him for doubting the stain initially. After all, the whole thing did seem bonkers so I probably wouldn’t even humor everyone by touching it. As mysterious miracles start to happen to people though, I would certainly have given it a shot. It’s not like you have to do anything crazy either, just reach out and grab it. I think there’s a line between being healthily skeptical and being unreasonably so. Henry crossed that point after the lady with glasses tried the wall.
See, there’s a super market cashier named Patience who has really poor eyesight and needs thick glasses in order to see. So one day she touches the wall and she can see now. I don’ blame him for being skeptical of the congregation since they could just be lying but it’s clear that Patience was being honest there. At that point you really don’t have anything to lose.
He also takes things really far in the other direction like when he starts to yell at the crowd or beat up on his house. At the very least if you’re not going to buy into it then you have to be careful not to panic. The whole group breaking into his own every time does sound invasive so he should be pushing back there. Keep on building gates or something but wrecking your own house probably wasn’t the play.
Instead of trying to cover the stain with paint I would have just put a poster or a picture over it though. I feel like that would have worked a whole lot better and I don’t think the group would be as active about removing it. If they tried you could always nail it down the next time. All I’m saying is Henry had a lot of other options but I felt like he gave up rather early on.
As for Esperanza, while she meant well you do think she could have respected boundaries a bit more. She was always sneaking around and the fact that she had to “sneak” means that she knew she was doing something wrong. You would think that would be going against her faith since that’s something Henry didn’t want her to do. So in a way she’s not being quite as virtuous and honest as you would be expecting. Then you have the whole congregation getting in on this too so I guess they were all cool with this? I get that it was a big deal that doesn’t happen very often but I still don’t think that’s an excuse for breaking and entering.
The film does a good job with the humor and a lot of this is meant to be in good fun but of course you still have to think about it. It’s pretty fun to see Henry avoiding contact with everyone the whole time. The supermarket discussion with Patience for example definitely feels very one sided as she tries to make a friend. I can’t say I that I do much talking while at the check out line myself though. Definitely not really my speed. Patience means well though and is a solid character.
Then we get to the next door neighbor Dawn and her daughter Millie. Millie doesn’t talk anymore after a traumatic event from her past so now she just walks around and records people. Naturally this may be another case for the wall as well. Dawn and Millie are probably the only two characters that Henry is nice to from the start. Millie has a rough time of things but gets better as the film goes on. As for Dawn, she’s definitely very compassionate and does her best to welcome Henry into the neighborhood as well.
I would say Esperanza was best at this by bringing her empanadas over and everything. She really tried hard even when Henry was rather rude the whole time. Now the film does have a romance going with Henry and Dawn that I don’t think needed to be here. At one point Henry wonders if it’s selfish of him to be starting a relationship now and of course my answer would be an absolute yes. Look, you know the score here if you’re Henry and this is really something that will mainly help himself. I don’t see any way that this would be good for Dawn. This just puts her in a rough spot.
Now if Henry was in a different situation then fine, shoot your shot and try to have a good relationship. I don’t think this was the right time and place though. The romance is also a rather quick one and ultimately doesn’t change a whole lot in the film so I think it could have been skipped and wouldn’t have really created any issues. In the end you certainly won’t forget this film though. It’s a rather low key title through and through but the premise is just so unique that it works.
The movie portrays the wall as the real deal here but I’m definitely glad that it likely wouldn’t work out that way in real life. God can of course create miracles like this, but I don’t like the idea of applying it to a specific place or object. Some religions differ on this but in Christianity, we know that you can pray at any point, anywhere and God will hear you. You don’t need any intermediaries or anything like that to get the message across. The idea of the miracles only happening when you place your hand on the wall does introduce an intermediary though.
It would quickly become easy to start worshipping the wall if such a thing were to happen. That would become an idol of sorts and sure enough, people were leaving offerings under the wall. Of course it is meant to be left for God in this instance but I just don’t like the idea of this all being limited to one spot. Of course it can happen but this is why I don’t think it ever would. When God performs a miracle, it will be at a time and place we cannot guess. Not a specific location each time. Miracles happen every day too and we just can’t ever notice/know all of them.
Which if you don’t know the plot of the movie before watching, it’s fun to follow the scenes along and try to guess what genre this even is. At first when Henry kept on hearing flashbacks in his head, I figured he had some kind of supernatural power which is why he kept to himself. Like he is forced to keep on living all of his old experiences. Then I thought this was going to turn into some cult type film with Esperanza and her gang heading in. It takes a while to really know what kind of film this is.
You never think it’ll suddenly turn super dark or anything though. The film has a lot of solid comedic moments from the start so it doesn’t have a sinister flavor. I’d still say that the film was quite fun even through to the end. Some of the jokes can end up feeling more painful than funny like the nurse messing up on the shots a lot but the script was solid for each of those moments. A lot of the scenes are quietly funny too so it never feels like the film is really trying to make you laugh. It’s just witty and easy to follow along with.
As a final note, the film had a pretty solid soundtrack. There were quite a lot of songs in the movie and I thought they fit the tone rather well. The beat was very catchy and while I didn’t always catch a lot of the lyrics, they all seemed to represent Henry’s state of mind in the scene that he was in. I haven’t seen this many songs in a movie for quite some time and it was executed quite well here.
Overall, Henry Poole Is Here is a solid movie with some pretty good themes. The movie can be a bit long but ultimately it gets to accomplish quite a lot in that period of time. Henry is put in a tough situation so you can understand why he is so upset even if you don’t always agree with it. Of course it’s easy to say that you would handle the situation differently but it’s hard to say until it happens to you. Knowing that you will be safe after death plays a big role in being okay in this kind of situation though. Personally I would just try to maximize my enjoyment in the last days and have lots of junk food and pizza while trying not to think about it too hard. That’s only if I had definite knowledge of what was going to happen though. Most likely I wouldn’t be too convinced and would mostly still be living in a normal way, albeit with maybe a few more goodies than usual. Definitely check this out if you want to watch a more off beat kind of film.
Overall 7/10
Fafner Leorange is a strong Guardian but he did spend most of the series getting kicked around. Gray may not be the strongest Fate character around but she can still hold her own when the going gets tough. Her speed and power are both superior to Fafner’s. He may have a little more durability but it’s really not enough to save him when he will be the one eating the most attacks. Gray (Fate) wins.
Time for some Baseball action. This film also throws some romance into the mix but it’s probably the weakest part here. Ultimately this is a classic story of having to choose between your love for someone else and your love of the game. There’s a lot of drama over here and what is going on ends up being bigger than any single game.
The movie starts with Billy getting ready to pitch his final game. He’s gotten quite a bit older and can’t really throw the way that he used too. He’s just too old and he knows it, but he doesn’t want to leave the game either. He’s had a great career so his coach Frank is reluctant to pull him out but at the same time he does want to win. Billy can continue his career if he really wants to do so, but it will be on a different team. He reflects on his life as the game goes on and how it all led to this.
A big part of that is in his romance with Jane. So this one falls flat for a few reasons. One of which is that they hook up almost immediately without really knowing each other so both come off as really desperate. Jane tries to say later on that she isn’t usually that kind of person but it’s a bit late for that and then Billy certainly proves that he is that kind of person when he cheats on her later on. They just never really ended up connecting in the long run and so the romance wasn’t one that you could really root for.
Put it this way, if Billy was able to cheat on Jane after a single disagreement then he was never too serious about her in the first place. You just don’t cheat on someone like that, especially so quickly. It was really a terrible look for him. Jane really shouldn’t have even attempted to bridge the gap here after that. From the start another red flag was that their relationship was going to be a long distance one where they aren’t supposed to call each other or even think about each other. They were supposed to live their lives and just hang out when they’re in the same town. That doesn’t sound like a winning way to go through life now does it?
The Baseball scenes are fun though even if they never feel like the main part of the story. The final game in the present is certainly dramatic since Billy wants to go out on a high note. No better way than to try and pitch a shutout right? That’s extremely rare in any game and almost never happens. Billy also has a good team by his side. There’s the up and coming outfielder who initially has a hard time not messing up on the field but learns to tune out the media and just play ball.
There’s also the catcher Gus who was with Billy every step of the way. Billy would also fight to keep Gus on the team when the coach wanted to put someone else in. They made for a good duo and clearly had a great career even if the time was almost up there. So the movie’s got a lot of emotional stories going on and especially plots about how age always catches up to you. Sure enough, it’s not something that you can escape forever. Ultimately it will always return to make you retire at some point.
Jane’s daughter Heather also gets to appear for a bit. She’s used in a way to try and patch things up with Billy and Jane. Heather’s nice enough even if she starts out as a bit of a rebel. She can give Billy a hard time at first but warms up to him later on. Her role isn’t super large but she does appear near the end of the film in the current timeline and she’s now more of an outgoing person. Perhaps Billy had a positive effect on her there.
I would have liked to have seen some more Baseball action though. That’s really what I’m here for and I felt like it didn’t really get a big role. More Baseball games would have been nice, maybe take us through the whole season as Billy’s play began to deteriorate more and more. Particularly given the title of the film focusing on that would be best and by constantly seeing Baseball games in the flashback, it would also be a meta way to show the audience that it was still the first thing that he thinks about every day. It could further show Jane that she ultimately made the right choice in deciding to head out.
The writing’s decent enough here. You’ll be invested as the film goes on and the pacing is good too. It doesn’t drag out or anything like that either. I wasn’t a fan of the two main leads here but I did like the friend and the coach. Ultimately the coach especially has a tough job here since he needs to keep the locker room happy while also making the tough business decisions so that the team can keep on winning. The whole thing is impossible to keep impersonal here since everyone has known each other for so long. Still, he does a good job of it and is also careful to make sure Billy isn’t overdoing it.
Overall, The film’s main weakness is that the romance doesn’t really work. Both characters made massive mistakes with how the relationship was started in the beginning and then Billy ruined it beyond repair. The Baseball scenes were always great but they were just so few and far between. I really think we should have gotten more cool Baseball moments and that also could have let us meet more of the team. When you think about it, we didn’t actually know too many of the players.
Overall 5/10
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