Morning Reel

Christopher Nolan's vision of "The Odyssey" is the epitome of EPIC. A great cast, cinematography, entertaining story, and visual journey- shows us the brutality of man and how to get home from the chaos only to find chaos within ourselves.Four out of four tokes.

"Good Will Hunting" is a 1998 Oscar Award-winning drama film written by Ben Affleck & Matt Damon and directed by visionary Gus Van Sant. It stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, and many more in this film about a guy who is a genius in academics but has little direction in life due to the trauma he went through when he was a foster kid growing up. He meets someone who matches not his intellect but his energy. Will Hunting is the guy and Skylar is the woman. He also meets with Robin William's character named "Sean" who is a psychologist and they work together to sort of figure out his life or else he goes to prison for years after assaulting a police officer. The film is filled with lessons about life, adolescence, love, and growing up. A lot of quotables and iconic scenes that we still talk about to this day. I love the film for Van Sant's vision of displaying relationships of not only men and but men and women. This story is simple but layered due to how all these people communicate and their perspectives of life. Everyone seems to own but not Will. Will has a gift and is afraid to do something with it. We see the story line explain that concept of failure or not amounting to anything. We all have people in our lives that help shape us but it's really up to ourselves to prevail even if we know will fail. I dig the film for the dialog written by both Affleck and Damon, these characters pop with life and their own type of wisdom. It's not so much of a rom-com that story line does work with the growth of Will Hunting. He is loved by his peers, but to be loved and cared about from a stranger is as strange and we see what it does to us when we have been through it, when we have been denied that by the very people who were suppose to do that off general principle. Van Sant is a master of handling stories that have to do with growing up and not only does he show us the characters that embrace the screen but he also uses the shots of the environment as well as a character.Four out of four tokes

"Scream 7" is a film where it takes Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z to kill the overpowered killers that are out to get them. A fun film to watch overall. You get to see OG cast members of the original franchise reprise themselves in creative ways. Seeing Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox play their iconic roles are still spot on. The screenplay is wack and some of the dialog is just so silly to take serious. I don't mind some one-liners, but man! The film takes you to the similar formula that we've seen in the first couple of "Scream" films, except our OG characters are now older and much wiser. But that knowledge doesn't do their kin any good as we can already imagine and it's a bit of fun to see how these teen characters get themselves into trouble & danger whether it was intentional or not. It's a very interesting take of how different groups of generations can take on evil ESPECIALLY when you have AI technology being implemented in the overall story line. I wish that could have been better but it did a good enough job to sort of keep you guessing as to who are the killers in THIS film. The AI take on it does leave you confused but at that point, you just stop caring and enjoy the violence and tension. And man, how surprised we get during the third act.Two and a half out of four tokes

"When Harry Met Sally..." is one of the best rom-coms ever made written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. This type of film did set the standard for other filmmakers to take note and make their versions of two people falling for each other such as the works of Éric Rohmer and Richard Linklater just to name a few. It's a very quotable film from beginning to end that highlights the crazy and the dull of the people's ways of handling friendships. Can men and women be JUST friends? Especially when sex is there on the table, figuratively. The film tackles that with Billy Crystal playing Harry and Meg Ryan playing Sally, who are ambitious, filled with goals but they're stuck. They also have needs, a void to be filled by human contact and who would have know that these two would court each other for years to come. "When Harry Met Sally..." is filled with great dialog that I don't mind hearing 'till the end of time, people just talking about the anxieties of dating and self-love. Reiner's cinematographer captured these two and various scenes that doesn't make the film look boring, there's always something nice to look at. We see them, we see New York in it's '80S glories, and we see how Reiner makes us fall in love with all that. Can two people love each other let alone be friends? These two characters demonstrate the human experience. Sometimes we gotta bash our brains to realize who we want in our little lives but it seems it's never too late. I dig the film for the way it ends. It's powerful, corny, BUT powerful. The film gives us the encouragement to break boundaries on the human connection and falling in love again, and again, and again.Four out of four tokes

Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" is a wild and wacky film. PTA wrote and directed the film and much like his other films, it's a smash hit that mixes action, neo-noir and even black comedy. It's about life or death, saving the future by saving the daughter of a famous revolutionary leader of the French 75. It's literally the military vs the main behind the underground revolutionary force but you don't even know who would it be. I love how Leo DiCaprio embodied Pat, especially as a stoner but a bad ass bomber and is very active in the French 75. What's crazy about this film is how it relates to events that happening in modern-day society. A lot of Anderson's films play on the historic side of things. Events where he develops a story towards that highlights reality. I love how realistic this film is in everything it tosses. As funny as it may sound, but there are underground elite societies that grouped based off certain doctrines that we normal people may find ridiculous. But as ridiculous as it may seem, it's very real and very scary because these certain groups really disregard human lives. And this film does play on the disregard of people's existences. I love the film for the use of its cinematography and space. The way Anderson will use a wide shot to play out a comedic scene. The driving shots are incredible, especially how it utilizes the physical environment it's in like the POV of a car driving, we are the vehicle and we are literally driving up and down trails, chasing people and expecting we are gonna get a confrontation we want but Anderson being Anderson, we get something even better. The third act is very nerve-wracking. Especially how the lack of certain technologies would put us at a deep disadvantage but it's people that leads to where we need to go. We are the best technology. I love how the actors really use space to show off the strengths of their characters. There is almost no time to stop the action in this film. It's literally one battle after another and it's all happening just to save one human being. How heartbreaking it is to go to lengths to just save ONE PERSON. The trials and tribulations that each of us face no matter what kind of lives we live in. There is a right and there is a wrong and we gotta fight for what's right and dismantle the wrongs. it's difficult but this film shows how strong unification can be. It shows that everyday person is more dangerous than an army when united. There are underground elite forces out there but best believe there are underground revolutionary groups out fighting the good fight, one battle after another.Four out of four tokes

I am joined by E-Zone, XG, and Chiclets on this review of "Casino" directed by Martin Scorsese. This film is great and will stand the test of time. I like that the film sheds light on how casinos operate and get its' fill. We put man there and see what can come of it. I describe that Las Vegas itself is a character and it's inherently evil, I'd say. The major characters, besides the mobsters, CAN be decent people. It's just the environment that they get molded into. Sam Rothstein and Nicky Santoro ended up being different people as to how they first appeared from the beginning of the film. It's carefully strategic to write a film where a stand up business man is given the keys to a Las Vegas casino and decides to gamble his life's journey with a woman named Ginger. Sam Rothstein is that man and also gambled his life with allowing a well-known & erratic gangster named Nicky Santoro have freedom and pull to do whatever he wants and he gets away with it. It's a recipe for disaster. Like any other famous civilization, good things come to an end and it can end sooner than you know it with a toxic combination. This film about handling what you can possibly handle, knowing very well who you're dealing with, to play the game strategically but also playing it safe, especially when you're dealing corruption, vices, and your own identity. It's harder than it's said, right? To make it, is to sort of gamble yourself. Some bets are good and some bets you know are not worth taking. But sometimes, what seems to be impossible, isn't so. We talk about all kinds of scenes and breaking them down to where we find what we learn from this film. I dig the film personally for its cinematography, the acting from the major characters Lester played by James Woods, the energy of the editing as well as the sound design that goes along with it. Scorsese made sure we are constantly pulling the lever to see if we score and we won at every pull. He won at every pull. It's almost that same effect when one is gambling. This film isn't perfect but it's really up there. Most of the aspects of the film push the notion of the perfect film and it relates to the common man. It's very hard to do that and Scorsese did a great job doing that. He gave us a different perspective of the same stuff he's been visually preaching since "Mean Streets" (which I have yet to review at the date of this description).Four out of four tokes.E-Zonehttp://flavorsbyezone.comXGhttp://instagram.com/xgmarksthespotChicletshttps://www.instagram.com/chiclets_los.angeles/

Gregory Nava's "Selena" is a good biography-genre film about the life of Tejana musician/songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez famously played by Jennifer Lopez. This film showcases the chase of the American Dream that we all strive for. Selena's life was practically a movie in itself - there highs and lows of her personal life and the life of a singer touring across America, trying to make it with her family. There are moments of melodrama, thriller, comedy, and romance of course. I dig the film for the way Nava directed it. He brought out Selena to life and chose the direction of the film to be a portrait of an American family - the very one that put their lives on the line for success and happiness. It came true but a price was paid. I dig the cinematography of the film. You look at the film and it doesn't look like a Hollywood film, it looks natural and appeasing to the eye. A lot of attention to detail in all kinds of aspects of the film from wardrobe to set design. I want to give a great highlighted mention to Edward James Olmos who stars as Selena' father, Abraham. Give the Oscar to Olmos. The man portrayed an American father with values that go beyond American and Olmos gave a great performance of that. I would see the film again just to see the way Olmos embodied Abraham.Three and a half out of four tokes.

B-Real TV alumni, has photographed bands such as Korn and Slipknot, and loves pro wrestling -  Shaun Vizzy and I discuss his favorite film "Friday" directed by F Gary Gray who stars Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. It's a slice-of-life style of a film that's set in south central Los Angeles where two homies hang out and smoke weed but they get into a sort of laid back but messy situation with the neighborhood drug dealer. It's beyond an LA film or a hood film of sorts, but a film that represents community in a raw form. You do get to see life from a perspective that we can relate. You see real people. We talk about how Shaun saw this film but in a bootlegged VHS form BUT features a cut that's different from the actual theatrical version. We also talk about my disagreement of Roger Ebert's review of the film, especially the third act. Shaun and I talk about the legendary cast and we also discuss the character of "Big Worm" and how central it is to the film overall. This is a film where I did say that some of the scenes don't push the story forward but I fail to realize that LIFE itself goes in the pace we set it to be. Thanks to Shaun for wanting to do a podcast with me especially on this film that I personally feel should be in the United States Library of Congress if it's not there already.Shaun Vizzyhttps://linktr.ee/shaunvizzy

XG and I review "Fat Girl" (À ma sœur!) written and directed by Catherine Breillat that was released in 2001. It's a coming-of-age film from France. The French do coming-of-age films very differently from the USA. This is a film that's meant to break the human spirit and eliminates hope. It's a film about two sisters who sort of compete and talk about "girl stuff" to keep it PG. Their family are in vacation and the older sister secretly wreaks havoc in which shatters the innocence of the little sister. It's a film that's aimed for a mature audience and it barely holds back. Just barely. XG Guerrero joins me again on this episode as we discuss what the film centers at consent, which is keeping your children on check regardless of who and cultural background. It is a slice of life of the human experience and it doesn't spoon-feed you at all. Breillat and the cast all together made a brave film about discovering yourself, the trials and tribulations that females at a young age go through. We discuss the tension that the film develops throughout the course of its story time and it's done differently than from a traditional American film. We also talk about if the film is even worth-watching to begin with and what the director was trying to say concerning the subject at hand which is something I feel is important to take notice. No rating on the review but three & a half out of four tokes.

"Opening Night" is a film about acting and a film about aging. Trying to make sense of a role is hard when you are drowning yourself in alcohol. It's hard to cope with loss when your career is on the line. Gena Rowlands, who plays the lead character, Myrtle, is pure tour de force acting. This film is a masterclass of not only acting but cinema overall. John Cassavetes directed this film and he broke the rules of cinema with this film. It shows that you can do whatever you want however you want as long as you make it sense to yourself. To make something of your own, you gotta make sure it even makes sense. I love that Cassavetes made a film where Rowland's characters went through hard trials and tribulations. In this podcast, I talk about the amazing acting played by Rowlands and the cast included. I talk about how Cassavetes uses the space of not only the stage but the venue itself to create a feel of the audience being there witnessing Rowlands act and as well Cassavetes himself. I also talk about how all this acting and meaning derives from what I feel is a strong screenplay written by Cassavetes. You witness the layers and personalities of the characters and how they work with one another. This is a film where there are sharp turns you gotta be ready for it.Four out of four tokes.