Ty Watches "Weapons"

Now that I have finished my preseason football stuff, I have some movie and album write ups I want to get to. The first movie I want to talk about is "Weapons".

I wrote a blog a while back about the trailer and how much it made me want to see the movie. And I found a way to see it on opening weekend, going to see it solo on the Sunday it opened. And I absolutely loved this movie. I will be as spoiler free as possible moving forward by the way.

The story of the movie is as follows, 17 kids from one single classroom all leave their houses at 2:17am and "never come back". The movie then tells the story of the aftermath from different perspectives. Julia Garner plays the teacher of the classroom and we get her story first. It's clear she has some deep seeded issues, but in the end she is a person who cares about her kids. She wants what is best for them, she just doesn't really know how to go about it the right way. Garner does some great stuff in this movie, and after seeing her in "Fantastic Four: First Steps", which she is also very good in, she is amazing here. I was very impressed with her work. Alden Ehrenreich plays a local cop who isn't on the job about the missing kids, but he has insight because he works in the police office. Ehrenreich does some solid work too. He is always anxious and nervous about everything around him. He has an overbearing girlfriend.His girlfriend's dad happens to be the chief of police in this town and he may or may not have issues with alcohol. He is also a friend of Garner's, and they may or may not have a personal past. Ehrenreich was fun to watch. He also brings a little humor in an otherwise very scary movie. Josh Brolin plays a parent of one of the kids who left their house. Brolin is about as reliable as they come in Hollywood. He portrays the ache and anger of a parent whose kid is gone. He wants answers and he will stop at nothing to figure it all out. He is also involved in what I found to be the scariest part of the whole movie. There's a long scene with him that made me jump in my seat in the theater. Benedict Wong plays the principal of the school and he is incredible in the movie. He has to do a bunch of different things in his ten minutes on screen and boy oh boy does he nail it. He is probably my favorite part of the whole movie. I also appreciate how he handled the whole scenario as the principal for the school where the kids left. Austin Abrams plays a local junkie who is the catalyst for uncovering the mystery of the movie. But, since he is constantly high, no one will listen to him. It doesn't really end well for him. And then we have Amy Madigan, who gives a performance of a lifetime. She is top notch in this movie and I hope she gets some kind of awards consideration. I was absolutely blown away by the work she did.

"Weapons" worked on a ton of levels for me. I thought about how I would handle this situation if it happened to me. I thought the kid actors did good work. Zach Cregger knows how to make a scary and mysterious movie that always has me on the edge of my seat. "Weapons" is definitely scary, but it also has moments of humor and levity. I appreciate that it isn't entirely shot at night. They created a universe that I'm interested in seeing much more of.

Overall, I'm stoked I was able to see this movie on a big screen and I cannot recommend it enough. "Weapons" is amazing. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Dune"

Yesterday I watched "Dune". We got back from our trip earlier than we thought, my wife and I had already decided to move our date night to Sunday since we were gone Friday, and it was my turn to pick the movie.

I have been pretty pumped for this movie since I first heard about it over a year ago. I have seen bits and pieces of David Lynch's "Dune", and it is not a good movie. It has some great ideas, but it definitely falls off the rails. I have seen most of "Jodorowsky's Dune", and that is a great documentary and I would love to see his version. But that would have also been a crazy movie. I have never read the book, but I am somewhat aware of the story. But what made me want to see his one so much, why I was so excited, was the fact that Denis Villenuve was directing it. I loved "Blade Runner 2049", "Prisoners" is a tough watch, but a good movie and although I have never seen it, and RD despises it, "Arrival" won itself some awards. Villenuve has a very good eye for directing these big, lavish features. He has a good vision of how to show these vast landscapes. "Dune" was no different.

This is, hands down, one of the most beautiful looking movies I have ever seen. The landscape was beautiful. The worlds that were created looked so real. Maybe they looked real because this movie was shot in some beautiful places. I read they shot some in Norway. I have to assume that is where they got the water planet, and it looked glorious. I also read they shot in Abu Dhabi and Jordan, and that is most definitely where they got these seemingly never ending deserts. The deserts used in "Dune" were so big and so expansive and looked amazing. It was an incredible treat for your eyes. The set designs, while minimal, were just as beautiful. These futuristic homes and planets were perfectly constructed. I was blown away by how pretty this movie looked.

The acting was just the same. Timothee Chamelet, who I have not been a big time fan of, was very, very good in this movie. He is the main character and I loved watching his story unfold. I also bought his performance tenfold. He committed and he totally stuck the landing. Rebecca Ferguson was perfect as the mom trying to help her son, but also her people. Again, I bought her story. I loved her passion and ability to fight and stick her neck out there. Oscar Issac was a bit more subdued in this role, but he also did such a good job. He had very good vision as a leader and a father. He is a totally dependable actor. Josh Brolin was badass as the leader of the army and the weapons expert. I love this newfound fame Brolin has found the past five years, and he has more than earned it. Jason Momoa was also very good in his role. He can be hit or miss, but he hit in this one. It was a perfect role for him. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who I did not know, was excellent. She was smarter than anyone else in the desert and she knew it. I found myself actively rooting for her. Dave Bautista and Stellen Skarsgard were creepy looking, ruthless and scary as hell. I found myself kind of sitting back in my chair every time they showed up on screen, which I believe was their job. Javier Bardem had two of the best scenes in the movie, and I have found that I really enjoy his acting. And Zendaya was really good in a very minimal role until the very end of the movie. Everyone in this movie totally nails it. The casting was tremendous. They totally stuck the landing.

While this movie is confusing, "Dune" is a confusing story, I cannot stop thinking about it a day later. I just keep going back in my memory and thinking about more and more stuff I liked about it. My wife was a trooper for sitting through this with me, she is not a big sci-fi fan and this movie clocks in at over two and a half hours, but she did it and she even found things she liked. To me "Dune" is like a modern day "2001: A Space Odyssey". It has that same feeling. And while I do not think this is a spoiler, this appears to be only part one. The movie starts with opening credits and it even says, "Dune: Part 1". I have to assume that they are going to greenlight a sequel very soon, especially considering how much money it made this weekend. I also like that approach to this story. Make it a five hour long two-part movie. "Dune" needs that large of a scope to get the full story across. I highly, highly recommend this movie to anyone out there. It is glorious, beautiful and awesome. I adore this movie. I cannot wait for part two.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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We are So Ready to Go See "Deadpool 2"

Today the newest trailer for "Deadpool 2" was released, and the movie looks absolutely amazing.

I have said before that I am not big on trailers, I do try to avoid them, but with the whole "Deadpool" franchise, the trailers are part of the whole movie watching experience. It all started with the trailer for the first one being like nothing we had seen before. It was crazy, violent and had all the fourth wall braking that everyone wanted from the character of Deadpool. The movie makers and Ryan Reynolds took the love for the different trailers for the movie and ran with it. They started to do things like, have intros, have Deadpool speak to the audience beforehand, they added crazy music videos and nonsensical stuff, that didn't even make the movie, and it all worked to perfection. You needed to see all the trailers to understand any of the little jokes that were placed in the first movie.

Now, I have watched every single teaser trailer and any other videos attached to "Deadpool 2". I loved the whole old school painting show spoof trailer that Deadpool did. The poster of the entire cast in character sitting around a dining room table was so awesome, and I seriously considered making it my screen saver on both my phone and computer. There was another teaser that had Deadpool acting out all the stuff between him and Cable, the villain, with action figures. It was hilarious. My favorite teaser trailer though was the very first one. This 45 second trailer showed Deadpool walking around in street clothes, hearing a crime, going into a phone booth, a la Superman, trying to get his suit on, and completely missing the criminals. It ended with him sitting next to a presumably dead guy and just chit chatting with him. This trailer was attached to the excellent movie "Logan", and it felt so perfect in its place. The movie theater in the background of this trailer had "Logan" on the marquee as well. It was great.

Well, when I woke up today I saw that there was a brand new trailer, and as soon as I dropped my son off at school and sat my daughter down for breakfast, I watched it. It makes me want to see the movie so much more than I already did. It started out with Deadpool holding some cue cards that read 3,2,1. After he dropped the 1, he covered up his private parts, and the trailer started. I was blown away. I do have to say, if you haven't seen the trailer yet, and you want to watch it, do not watch it at work, or if you have kids and they are present. It is filled with curse words and there is a ton of blood shed. It is brutal and funny in all the right ways, just make sure you are watching it in the right context. But, when the trailer kicked off, it started with Deadpool's usually fourth wall breaking and joke making. I swear, this role is the perfect role for Ryan Reynolds. You can tell, just from the preview, that he loves this role so much. He also fought for this role, so you know he also giving it all he has. He is amazing as Deadpool.

Throughout the trailer we see all the fighting and cursing and crazy shit we have come to expect from this movie. At one point we see Deadpool running towards the taxi from the first movie, and the driver is deep into an Air Supply song before Deadpool smashes the window, gun shots follow, and then the driver snaps to and takes off, telling Deadpool that he is "living the dream". From there on out it is pure insanity. We see Cable, played by Josh Brolin, and he looks like a real badass. I'm super excited to see how he does with this role. And, if the preview is any indication, he is going to crush it. We also see Colossus and the young girl, the Negasonic Teenage Warhead I believe her name is, being recruited to join Deadpool's team, which he calls X-Force. A very funny moment from the preview is when he reveals the name, and Zazie Beets, who is awesome, tells him that the name is redundant. I loved it. I'm pretty sure Terry Crews is also in this movie as one of Deadpool's new members on his super hero team. I was also pleased to see that Deadpool and is girlfriend are still together, and she is still just as crass as he is. My favorite thing though was the reveal of Julian Dennison. He was amazing in "Hunt For the Wilderpeople", a movie that I have talked about a bunch of times. And, I knew he was going to be in this movie, but I didn't know in what capacity. Well, he seems to have a very big role as the child that Cable is trying it get, and Deadpool and the X-Force are trying to save. I'm so pumped that people like Zazie Beets and Julian Dennison are started to get cast in big time movies. They deserve it. My absolute favorite part of the new trailer was when we see Deadpool about to get shot, he puts his hand on the gun, the bullet rushes through his hand, then he turns the gun on the bad guy, and we see blood spatter.

This movie looks so badass and I am so pumped to watch it. I didn't see the first one until it came out on video. I will not make that mistake again. My wife and I will definitely be seeing "Deadpool 2" in the theaters. This trailer rules, and if you have even the slightest inkling to see "Deadpool 2", watch all of the teasers, but make sure you watch this new full trailer. It will get you just as excited as I am to see the movie. What a great, great preview. Well done.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has the mutant power of being able to crush 64 ounces of Gatorade in the time a normal person would drink 32.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.