Chuck's Movie Breakdown

       Hey guys, Chuck here. And, in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of the original Broadway musical by Jonathan Larson, this is my review of the 2005 film adaptation of Rent , directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Rosario Dawson, Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, and Tracie Thoms.        The movie opens on Christmas Eve in the year 1989, and focuses on roommates Mark Cohen, a filmmaker who has chosen to stop making scripted material and start filming documentary style, and Roger Davis, a former rock star who is struggling with the HIV virus, which also took the life of Roger's girlfriend April. Mark and Roger live in a loft on the top floor of an apartment building on the corner of 11th Street and Avenue B, which is part of New York City's Alphabet City section of East Village. Formerly residing in the lift with Mark and Roger were Mark's ex-girlfriend Maureen Johnson, who left h...

       Hey guys, Chuck here. And, I just got back from seeing DC Studios' new film Clayface , directed by James Watkins, and starring Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan.        Set in Gotham City, Clayface follows Matt Hagen, a rising actor who volunteers for an experimental procedure to fix his disfigured face, only to discover his body has become remade into one made of living clay, and he himself is becoming a polymorph capable of changing his body into anything or anyone.          Now, I will say that while Clayface has elements of body horror due to Matt's newfound abilities, the film itself is more of a tragedy. We see Matt go from being on top, to being on the bottom because of his disfigurement, to using his new abilities to get even with those who wronged him. But, while it's easy to empathize with him, it's not done to the point where we don't eventually want to see his be stopped by B...

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Street Fighter , directed by Kitao Sakurai, marks the third live-action adaptation of the iconic fighting game franchise by Capcom, and stars Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, David Dastmalchian, Mel Jarnson, Cody Rhodes, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Olivier Richters, Eric André, Rayna Vallandingham, Andrew Schultz, Vidyut Jammwal, Don Lee, and Jason Momoa.        Set in 1993, six years after Ryu won the first World Warriors Tournament in 1987, the power hungry leader of Shadaloo, M. Bison, decides to host a second World Warriors Tournament in Metrolao City. Among the roster of fighters this time is Ryu's friend, Ken Masters, who is up against the best fighters in the world, such as Guile, Vega, Balrog, Zangief, Joe, and Dhalsim. But, the tournament itself is a trap, not only by Bison, but by the demonic warrior Akuma, who seeks to fight the ultimate opponent.       ...

      Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, fans have waited decades to see Tim Burton do a take on The Addams Family , and we got it in the form of a Netflix series. Wednesday , developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, stars Jenna Ortega as a teenaged Wednesday Addams, and also features the likes of Gwendoline Christie, Emma Myers, Christina Ricci, Steve Buscemi, Billie Piper, and as the remaining members of the Addams Family: Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzmán as Gomez, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester, and Joanna Lumley as Grandmama.        So, the series opens on an ordinary high school where, after pulling her brother Pugsley out of a locker, Wednesday Addams gets revenge by dropping two bags of piranha into the pool during a swim team practice, leading to her expulsion. This prompts her parents, Gomez and Morticia, to send her to their alma mater: the boarding school Nevermore Academy. During her time at Nevermore, Wedne...

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I just went to check out DreamWorks Animation's new movie Forgotten Island , which features the voice talents of H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, and Lea Salonga.          Set in the '90s, Forgotten Island follows the story of Jo and Raissa, two lifelong friends in the Philippines who are about to part ways, as Raissa is preparing to travel to America to attend college at CalTech. However, the night before Raissa is set to leave, the two girls find a sand dollar, which opens the portal to the land of Nakali, where they find they had a hell of an adventure, but wake up unable to remember it. Can they regain their memories, find the portal key, and return home, or will the island consume their most precious memories?         Okay, so, the island of Nakali, as well as the many mythical creatures that inhabit it, a come from Filipino mythology, and all real...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and this is my review of new movie Resident Evil , based on the game franchise by Capcom. Co-written and directed by Zach Cregger, this movie stars Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Will Merrick, and Paul Walter Hauser.        So, the movie follows Bryan, a medical courier assigned to deliver a vital medical package to the general hospital in Raccoon City, where a deadly mutagenic virus has been unleashed by the Umbrella Corporation. In Bryan's path are deadly monsters that he must get past to make his delivery in tact.         So, obviously, this plot is one made specifically for this movie, as are the characters in the movie. The only elements from the Resident Evil games in this movie are the location, Raccoon City, and the Umbrella Corporation unleashing a deadly mutagenic virus. And, you know what? The movie still works even without such characters as Albert Wesker, or Leon Kennedy, o...

      Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, it's spooky season once again, which means HallowScream begins again. To kick things off, let's take a look at Martin Scorsese's 2010 thriller Shutter Island , based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Ted Levine, Jackie Earle Haley, Patricia Clarkson, Max Von Sydow, and Ben Kingsley.         The movie focuses on a pair of U.S. Marshals, Edward "Teddy" Daniels, a war veteran who was at the liberation of Dachau, and Chuck Aule, who are sent to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Ashecliffe, a mental hospital located on Shutter Island and built from a military compound left over from the Civil War. Teddy and Chuck are taken from the docks to Ashecliffe by the facility's deputy warden, who explains the three main wards: Ward A for male patients, Ward B for female patients, and Ward C for the most dangerous patients on the island, ...

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Say, have you ever dreamed about getting to visit a real life version of Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory? Well, twelve teams of adult pairs got the.golden opportunity to do so in a new reality competition series currently streaming on Netflix called Wonka's The Golden Ticket .        So, the series starts off with the reveal that twelve Golden Tickets were sent out, and collected by twelve adults, who were allowed to bring a friend or relative to compete with them for a grand prize of $3 million. And, I will say it was a nice touch to have Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory open a Wonka Bar that DOESN'T contain a Golden Ticket and remark "Not this time, Wonka "         Each episode features several challenges, all with brilliant recreations of things we loved from the original film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory . For instance, a...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's finally time to return to the world of Buffy  with its spin-off series Angel . Airing for five seasons on The WB, Angel was created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, and stars David Boreanaz as Angel, along with a revolving door of series leads such as Charisma Carpenter, Glenn Quinn, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards, Andy Hallett, Amy Acker, Vincent Kartheiser, James Marsters, and Mercedes McNab, along with recurring cast members like Elisabeth Röhm, Christian Kane, Stephanie Romanov, Daniel Dae Kim, Keith Szarabajka, Alexa Davalos, Jenny Mollen, Sarah Thompson, Gina Torres, and Adam Baldwin, with  Buffy cast members Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green, Eliza Dushku, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau, and Tom Lenk all appearing in a mix of recurring and guest roles.          Starting off around the same time as Buffy season four, Angel debuts with the title character in Los Ange...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's finally arrived. Coyote vs. Acme , the Looney Tunes  courtroom comedy directed by Dave Green, based on an article in The New Yorker , and starring Will Forte, Lana Condor, Luis Guzman, and John Cena. Now, it goes without saying that this movie had quite the odyssey in getting to the screen, but we'll get to that in a moment. Let's talk about the plot of Coyote vs. Acme .          So, the movie follows an Albuquerque based lawyer named Kevin Avery, along with his niece Paige, as the.two.work to represent Wile E. Coyote in a lawsuit against the Acme Corporation, represented by their lawyer Buddy Crane, in regards to defective products the.company sold in Wile E.'s efforts to catch the Road Runner.          Now, such a hilarious sounding movie should've been a must for Warner Bros. However, in the midst of David Zaslav's run of canceling film releases for a tax write-off, fans ...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, Disney had quite a bit of announcements and confirmations this year at their D23 event, and I'm here to dig into them.          Okay, so, among the titles coming up from Disney, we're getting a third Princess Diaries , a new Simpsons Movie  in 2027, new Pixar films like Gatto  in 2027, Incredibles 3  in 2028, and Coco 2  in 2029. Speaking of which, Coco is confirmed to be included as a world in Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts IV , set for release in late 2027, and we're ALSO getting a Kingdom Hearts anime series coming to Disney Channel and Disney+. Lots to look forward to for Kingdom Hearts fans. Oh, and in 2027, we're getting The Bluey Movie , based on the beloved Australian children's series. And, we're officially getting a sequel to last year's live-action Lilo & Stitch in the summer of 2028.         On Marvel's side, we got a trailer for the Disn...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and this is my review of the new Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: Brand New Day , directed by Destin Daniel Crettin, and starring Tom Holland, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Mando, Tramell Tillman, Florence Pugh, and Marvin Jones III.          So, in the years since the events of No Way Home , Peter Parker has been living as both himself and as Spider-Man. But, as his powers begin to go through some kind of mutation, Peter must work with heroes like Frank Castle and Bruce Banner to protect New York from new and dangerous super powered threats such as Mac Gargan/Scorpion and Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone.          So, as a long-time fan of Spider-Man , it is thoroughly refreshing to see Tom Holland's version of the character of Peter Parker truly become his own man, and no longer be in the shadow of Tony Stark. Seeing Tom's Peter really hold his own in fights against Sco...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and the WWE just held the Biggest Party of the Summer this past weekend. That's right, WWE SummerSlam took place over the weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I caught all the action on streaming. So, let's break down the two-day event that was SummerSlam .          So, Day One kicked off with the Women's World Championship match between Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky, in which Liv Morgan retained her title. Next, we had a six-man tag match between Jimmy and Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu against LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys, which saw the trio of Keys, Knight, and Sikoa emerge victorious. Next, we had a one-on-one match between Gunther and Nick Aldis, which saw Gunther win by submission. Next, we saw a six-woman tag team match between the Bella Twins and Paige against Fatal Influence, which saw Fatal Influence gain the victory. Next, we saw a one-on-one match for the Undisputed WWE Championship between CM Punk and Cod...

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Did you know that in the early 2000's, Disney released a movie that can easily be described as a kid-friendly version of The Blues Brothers ? Based on the Disney Parks attraction County Bear Jamboree , the 2002 musical road comedy The Country Bears was directed by Peter Hastings, and stars Christopher Walken, Stephen Tobolowsky, Diedrich Bader, M.C. Gainey, Daryl Mitchell, and Alex Rocco, with appearances by Krystal, Brian Seltzer, Jennifer Paige, Queen Latifah, Don Henley, Willie Nelson, and Elton John, and the vocal talents of Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Michael Richardson, Brad Garrett, Toby Huss, Candy Ford, and Stephen Root.        The movie tells the story of Beary Barrington, an adolescent bear who was adopted by a human family. Having a sense of not fitting in, Beary found solace in a country rock group known as the Country Bears, all four members of which are bears. The Country Bears consisted of Zeb Zoober, Tenn...

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and while I only read about the reveals at Marvel Studios' Hall H Panel at San Diego Comic-Con, I still want to break down the few tidbits that were revealed to fans, as small of a set of announcements we got.           First, Kevin Feige showcased exclusive looks at this year's two Marvel Studios' films: Spider-Man: Brand New Day  and Avengers: Doomsday . In addition, Feige also discussed this September's re-release of Avengers: Endgame , which will be promoted as Avengers: Endgame Encore  and will feature an all-nee post-credits scene setting up Avengers: Doomsday . Unfortunately, however, there were no casting announcements for Avengers: Secret Wars , probably to avoid spoilers for Avengers: Doomsday.           But, Feige also announced two new Marvel Studios films for release in 2028. First is  Black Panther III , which will be directed, once again, by Ryan C...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's time for another game review. And, since I've been geez back into South Park recently, it only makes sense to discuss the 2014 video game South Park: The Stick of Truth.        So, the game sees players take on the role of New Kid, an unnamed new child who, along with his parents, has moved into the town of South Park, and upon meeting and befriending Butters Stotch, is roped into a fantasy role-play game called "Warriors of Zaron," which follows two warring factions: the humans of the Kingdom of Kupa Keep, led by Eric Cartman, and the Drow Elves of the Forest, led by Kyle Broflovski. And, the two factions fight over an all-powerful reloc known as the Stick of Truth. Now, while New Kid starts off with the Kupa Keep faction, the player can decide which faction to side with, and eventually sees BOTH factions join forces against a third faction, led by Clyde Donovan.         Outside of th...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and this is my review of The Odyssey , the newest film from director Christopher Nolan based on the epic Greek poem by Homer, and starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, and many others.         The movie tells the story of Odysseus, Greek king of Ithica and hero of the Trojan war, on his lengthy journey to return home and be reunited with his wife and son, and showcases all of the incredible and unusual creatures and individuals he and his men came across on their journey home. The movie also tells the story of Odysseus' son, Telemachus, as he goes on his own journey to learn more about what became of the father he never knew, and just the kind of man his father was.       And, I will say that the way that Nolan frames both stories together is absolutely brilliant. Seeing how Odysseus recounts the events of his journe...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and we have yet another Fisney live-action remake on our hands with Moana, dirrcted.by Thomas Kail, and starring Catherine Laga'aia, Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Rena Owen, Frankie Adams, and Jemaine Clement as the voice of Tamatoa.         So, much like the 2016 animated original, the live-action remake of Moana  follows the adventures of Moana, daughter of the Chief of Motunui, as she traverses the ocean and teams up with the demigod Maui in a quest to restore the Heart of Te Fiti and save the world. And, of course, Moana and Maui encounter the likes of the Kakamora and the giant crab Tamatoa.         Now, the songs in this movie are all cometely held over from the 2016 original. And, I will say that the new renditions of the songs are pretty good. Hearing Dwayne Johnson's new spin on "You're Welcome," or the new rendition of "We Know the Way," were terrific. Heck, even Catherine Laga'...

      Hey guys, Chuck here. Hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July weekend, and I hope you enjoy today's review: the 2007 Len Wiseman directed action movie Live Free or Die Hard , which marks the fourth film in the Die Hard series, and stars Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kevin Smith, Cyril Raffaelli, and Cliff Curtis.         So, Live Free or Die Hard sees John McClane placed in a situation where he's in way over his head. At the request of the FBI, McClane collects a hacker named Matt Farrell, who is being hunted by men working for former Department of Defense analyst turned cyber terrorist Thomas Gabriel, who hatches a plan , ack the American digital infrastructure and take it down in what the movie refers to as a "fire sale." And, it all takes place over the Fourth of July weekend.         There is definitely plenty of action and stunts in this movie, and some of that...

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and it looks like Johnny Knoxville and those merry band of idiots are back for one last run in Jackass: Best and Last , directed by Jeff Tremaine, and starring Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ehren McGhehey, Dave England, Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña, Preston Lacey, Rachel Wolfson, Jasper Dolphin, Zach Holmes, Sean "Poopies" McInerney, and Compston "Dark Shark" Wilson, with archival appearances by Eric Manaka, Bam Margera, and the late Ryan Dunn.         So, Jackass: Best and Last is a combination of both new stunts and some old favorites from previous films in the Jackass franchise, as well as a few stunts meant for the original TV series that NTV REFUSED to air on television. And, I will say that I did appreciate that a good number of said archived stunts included both Ryan Dunn and Bam Margera, as not including them just would have felt wrong in my mind. Because, here's something to remember: Jackass ...