Farewell Jack?

There is a report going around that one of the most recognizable faces of all time is retiring from acting. The amazing Jack Nicholson is reported to have chosen to walk away due to struggling with his memory. Now while I understand the reasons given for his retiring, I hope the report is false. There aren't a lot of actors or actresses I like. I don't go see a movie based on who is in front of the camera, I never have actually. I have always been drawn to a film by who's behind the camera, except when it came to Jack.

I first became aware of Jack thanks to Terms of Endearment for which he won a best supporting actor Oscar award. I became a fan of his the moment that film ended and I walked out of the theater (yes I saw that in the theater). I then went on to see pretty much everything Jack was in. I went back and saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and I even went back to when he played Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors. 

Jack won his first Oscar for Cuckoo's Nest and everyone thought he was snubbed when he didn't even get a nomination in his most memorable role as the demented father in The Shinning. His second Oscar win was for Terms and his third was for the romantic comedy As Good As It Gets. He is tied with Daniel Day-Lewis and Walter Brennan for the most Oscar wins, and he and Michael Caine are the only two actors to be nominated for an Oscar in every decade from the 1960's to the 2000's.

Jack was a force no matter where he was or what he was doing. Whether it was in front of the cameras in films like Batman as the Joker, Easy Rider, Chinatown, Wolf, A Few Good Men, the hilarious About Schmidt, The Pledge, Tommy, Mars Attacks, The Passenger, Hoffa, The Departed, The Witches of Eastwick, or cheering on his Lakers from the floor of the Forum, when Jack was around all eyes were on him.

It would be nice to see him in front of the camera just one more time. Greedy maybe, since he's got such a massive volume of work already under his belt, but I'm a fan and that's what fans root for, we root for more. If this is the end though, if this report is true and Jack is hanging up his star for good, he's earned the right to do so. So here's to you Jack, and thanks.

DVD Recommendation...Elegy

If you're looking for a good movie to rent from Netflix or itunes, or one worth buying, might I suggest the scarcely seen and graceful Elegy. Released in 2009, it stars Sir Ben Kingsley who plays prefessional critic, author, and teacher David Kopesh. He is a man who seems to have everything under control. That is until Penelope Cruz, who plays Consuela Castillo sits down in his class. Suddenly things get cloudy and David feels something he hasn't felt in a very long time.

Elegy is a smart, edgy, and touching film with a fantastic cast. It's one of Dennis Hopper's last roles before his death and he is great in this movie as poet George O'Hearn. It also stars one of my all time favorite actresses Patricia Clarkson who is super sexy in the role as the independent Carolyn. Directed by the talented Isabel Coixet from the screenplay written by the amazingly talented Nicholas Meyer who adapted it from novel written by the equally talented Phillip Roth, Elegy is a film that is hard not to love, and I think it's a film everyone should see if they get the chance. Give it a look, you won't be sorry.



KillerKorn121@gmail.com

True Blood Bows Out!

It looks like all you fang bangers out there will have to find a new show, or at the very least a hobby. Why is that you ask? It's because next season of True Blood will be the last season of True Blood. So after the last episode there will be no more adventures of Sookie Stackhouse and her motley crew down in Bon Temps (pronounced Taw), Louisiana.

I can't say I blame the show for finally bowing out. Creatively there was nowhere else the show could clearly go without making a mess of itself. After last season where Bill Compton became a God and saved vampire kind and made them all day walkers, along with saving Sookie from the half fairy, half vampire murderous Marlow, and Tara became a vampire herself I think they mined all they could creatively. What would be next, Sookie on the moon?

I think True Blood needs to bring the final season back home, back to the beginning. Bring it back to the charm True Blood originally possessed that drew the fans in, in hordes. To try to top last season would be a huge mistake in my opinion. I feel the show should bow out by showing the viewer that nothing is going to change in Bon Temps, that life will go on as un-usual, back when we all first tuned in. That would rock for me and it would be one hell of a send off, once they get rid of the zombies of course.

Farewell True Blood, thanks for everything.



KillerKorn121@gmail.com

Just wondering

Has anyone else seen the trailer from the upcoming movie entitled We Are What We Are? I don't get it and was wondering if anyone can spell it out for me...lol



KillerKorn121@gmail.com

Christian Grey? REALLY?

Okay, while I could rationalize and stomach Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, the casting of Charlie Hunnam as Christian Grey is a sure fire way to ensure the failure of the movie version of 50 Shades of Grey. Charlie is good at doing one thing and one thing only and that's playing Jax from Sons of Anarchy. He was barely any good in Pacific Rim and I thought that film was fantastic in spite of him (maybe Idris had something to do with that).

I have never read the books so I never had a picture of who Christian Grey should be, but I would have thought the producers would have wanted someone who could, I don't know...ACT maybe? The problem with Charlie Hunnam is that he's Jax in everything he's been in so far. That was Jax up on the screen in Rim, and I'm fearful he'll turn into another Clive Owen, being the same guy in every film he's in.

I don't know, maybe Hunnam will surprise me, not that I'm going to see the movie, but maybe I'll hear about how good he was. Maybe I'll hear about how perfect he was as Christian Grey, and maybe I'll hear about how the movie didn't suck. Maybe, but I doubt it.

KillerKorn121@gmail.com

Ben as Batman? Why Not?

People have lost their shit over this, literally. It's like EVERYONE feels Batman is their baby and that casting the horrid actor Ben Affleck is just going to ruin the one movie some people have been waiting for all their lives. Now I will say this, without Christopher Nolan being involved with this movie makes me cautious, I can't lie. It's not that Zack isn't a good director, it's just that Christopher Nolan's name tells me that what's going to be on screen is going to be quality.

Ben is a great director, but as great of a director he is, he is an equally bad actor. I loved Argo, LOVED it and wished to GOD he wasn't in it. That movie was fantastic, yet Ben looked like he was on Ambien the entire time he was in front of the camera. So I understood when people flipped out about Ben being cast as Batman, I partially flipped out too until I realized one very important thing, this isn't a Batman movie. This is the sequel to Man of Steel. That means more Henry Cavill than Ben Affleck, more of Superman's world than Batman's.

Granted there will be stretches of this movie when there will be Ben doing his Bruce Wayne/Batman thing, but for the most part, with most of the cast back from MOS we won't have to suffer through too much Ben. Now if Ben were directing this movie I'd be all in (not like I'm not all in now, but you know what I mean), just coming off the best picture Oscar with for Argo, I think Ben would do one hell of a job directing this film. But since Zack's MOS has made half a BILLION dollars, it's Ben to the bat cave.

Thankfully this Batman vs. Superman movie is being penned by the same guy that did MOS, David S. Goyer, and you know how I feel about the need for a good script, it's more important than the director most times. That also calmed me down and it should calm the movie world down as well. Ben won't dominate this film, he'll just be in it, and while I never in my wildest dreams thought Ben Affleck would ever be Batman, here he is. I trust Zack and David to get it right though, and hey, you never know, Ben could actually surprise us all...right?

Side note: Talk about a good thing getting better. A good amount of the production of this film will be shot in Detroit, a city that really needs help. There will be a major influx of money to all aspects of industry as the production rolls. I couldn't be happier for the motor city.

KillerKorn121@gmail.com

Short Term 12

Short Term 12, the newest film by writer/director Deston Cretton is simply amazing. It is powerful, moving, heartbreaking, and inspiring. It is well acted, competently directed, and superbly written. There are little to no flaws with this film, and yes if you were to nitpick you could probably find more than a few, but overall Short Term 12 is a masterpiece and I feel lucky that I got to see it. Because of that I am giving it five buckets of Killer Korn.










Short Term 12 starts of slight. It slowly draws you in, in much the same way Mason's story when the movie starts pulls in Nate, the new guy. Mason is played by the new hot kid on the block John Gallagher Jr who is a lot of fun to watch on HBO's Newsroom where he plays the affable associate producer Jim Harper. Nate is played by the chameleon like and incredibly talented Rami Malek and this role suits him perfectly. Short Term 12 is a story about the island of broken and misfit toys, it's about the young boys and girls who have been abused, used, and who are broken in such a way the State doesn't know what to do with them. Therefore, they get sent to a sort of halfway house until they're returned to their parents or turn 18.

The head of this particular island is Grace, played by Brie Larson and while she seems like she's the most put together individual, we later come to find out that's nothing but a facade. She is one of the most broken ones there, but because she is, she knows what these kids are going trhough on the most intimate level, because she's been there. She is a fighter for those kids under her care and she will go down swinging with and for them against anyone that seeks to hurt them. That's shown and proven time and time again when she lovingly and gently deals with the shattered Sammy, played by Alex Calloway, the would be ticking time bomb Marcus, played by the brilliant Keith Stanfield, and the abused Jayden, played by the amazing Kaitlyn Dever. If you want to see some truly great performances then Short Term 12 is an absolute must see!

There's a lot of hand held camera work, which puts you right in the middle of the hallways, bedrooms, and minds of the kids and their counselors as they all try to make it through the day. Simply put, the cinematography by Brett Pawlak was perfectly done. You felt like you were there, eavesdropping in on conversations that felt so private and personal, that you are bearing witness to moments that are none of your business. The music is forgettable but that's a good thing, it doesn't overshadow or drown out the performances, and it doesn't make the film sappy. So in that way, Joel P. West did a fine job of getting out of the way. I strongly recommend Short Term 12, both the short film and the feature length one by the same director, and I will see you at the...wait a second....


FORMAT CHANGE!!!!

Killer Korn will be changing. It is going to grow right in front of your very eyes. I will not just be doing movie reviews, I am instead turning KK into your one stop shop for all things movies. That includes who's directing what, who's cast in what, what's upcoming that I think looks interesting, and lastly DVD recommendations. Ambitious I know but it's time to diversify and have KK realize its potential. Please be patient with me as I embark out on this journey and I beg you to join me, cause it'll be fun. Should you have any suggestions, questions, or comments you can email me at KillerKorn121@gmail.com...and I will definitely see you at the theater!