themusicaddict's Reviews "12 Monkeys TV", "Last King of Scotland" and My Super Bowl Pick

Hello,

***** you need to experience this right now!
**** pretty darn good
*** good
** with a lot of work, there might be something there
* avert your eyes and the eyes of your children

Can you believe it's already been 20 years since the release of the "12 Monkeys"(*****) movie? It's crazy how time flies by while one is doing other things. Anyway that's one of my favorite movies ever. An amazing story, a great cast and all directed with the flair of the great Terry Gilliam. Gilliam is one of my favorite directors, directing such amazing movies as "The Fisher King" (*****), the imaginative "Brazil" (***) and the bizarre "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (***).

Now 20 years later a television show based on that movie has made it's way to your TV. The actors aren't the same caliber of the movie, but Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull still both do a good job. Not to mention Schull looks amazing in a dress, at the :37 mark, of the "12 Monkeys" trailer:

And why is it that the creepy Zeljko Ivanek seems to be in nearly everything?

Anyway I've only seen the first episode of this show and so far, so good. (***) I do wonder how they'll stretch this two hour movie into several episodes and still maintain high quality. I plan on watching the second episode tonight.

A movie that I tried to watch last night was "Snowpiercer" (**), it was so exciting that I fell asleep halfway through. I'm not quite sure I want to finish watching this movie. Ultimately what I saw of this movie was very disappointing, a movie that would have been much improved with a more thorough editing process. I wasn't real impressed with the casting, very few of the characters were convincing. The story has some potential and it does have some amazing visuals. I had no problems staying awake during the episode of "Castle" (*****) I watched afterwards.

Tonight's planned viewing is the movie "Liberal Arts" and "12 Monkeys" episode 2.

Movies: I also recently watched "The Last King of Scotland" starring James McAvoy's naked butt and Forest Whittaker as Idi Amin. Also playing a major part is Martin Luther King Jr (David Oyelowo). Both the movie (***) and the book (*****) it's based on are good. However Giles Foden's book is much better. It's a book I only read because it was recommended for a book club. And I'm not going to lie, I love the book. I can't believe how much they changed from the book to the movie. If you can only pick one, go with the book.

I also recently watched the latest in the "Purge" series, "Purge Anarchy" (*****). It stars Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo), backup qb Matt Saracen (Zack Gilford) and some other not as famous actors. The Purge is about a 12 hour event in future America where you can commit any crime you want including murder. This is one of those rare instances where the sequel is better than the original. Having the action spread over several locations rather than just mainly one place is the best way forward for this series. A pretty good and clever story and I love the ending. The ending feels both right and possible after the 12 hours of a gluttony of violence that comes from a violent purge.

I also love the political undercurrent about the devaluation of the poor simply because of them simply being poor. And the level of importance of some people simply because they are rich. One of my favorite scenes is when Sgt. Barnes takes the fight to the rich, especially spraying their viewing box with an automatic weapon. Also I love Carmelo also brings the fight to the rich, evening the odds only seems just and right.

Music: There was a third band traveling with Motley Crue and Alice Cooper on the first leg of Motley Crue's alleged farewell tour. That band's name is the Raskins. I quite like their self-title debut CD (****). They remind me of a young Motley Crue. They have some true rock moments, but they also have some very pop metal moments ("On The Radio"). I highly recommend their self-titled debut CD.

Here's a taste, "We Had It All":

Incidentally I do have tickets to see Motley Crue, Alice Cooper and hopefully The Raskins on July 29th in Salt Lake. There will be a review coming following the concert.

Other quick reviews: Dum Dum Girls "Too True" (**) and Brody Dalle's "Diploid Love" (**).  I was looking to shake up my music listening and I took a chance on these two CDs. While neither one of these are terrible CDs, neither is great. Both CDs, especially the Dalle CD, have good ideas. Ultimately that's all they remain. And thankfully neither are as bad as the stink bomb of the movie "Black Hat" (*).

And my Super Bowl pick is Seattle. I predict a fired up Seahawks team, who have righted themselves and have won 9 of their last 10 games, will win by at least 3 touchdowns. This game could turn ugly very quickly, especially with bad karma coming New England's way following Deflategate (0 *).

Other recently viewed/ read/ listened to media:

"Selma" (*****) A great movie that should have received more Oscar nomination love. A great movie and Ava Duvernay's directing was excellent. 

Sleeping With Sirens "Feel" (***)
Pierce the Veil "Collide With The Sky" (***)

The Donnas (Greatest Hits Volume 16) (*** 1/2)
Joan Osborne's "Relish" (*****)
Motley Crue's "Theatre of Pain" (****)

themusicaddict