Friday, June 24, 2022
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Geeks and Jocks: Episode 120
Last episode of this fourth season.
https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-120-Fall-with-Style-e1k937k
Friday, June 17, 2022
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Geeks and Jocks: Episode 119
New episode
https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-119-Soft-Roar-e1jv75n
Last episode of the season will be up next week.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Top Gun: Maverick Review
Top Gun: Maverick has been a film that was on my radar for well over two years. With the amount of success it has had since it hit theaters, it's not a shock. This is one of the best movies of 2022 and it is amazing. From a technical and production standpoint, it's through the roof. The best part though is not being an 80s macho fest. It's a crafted drama that finds a way to be very fresh and know when to show its callbacks.
Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is still the same cocky guy as he was 30 plus years ago. Still angering top officials and using jet fighters in outrageous ways. The Navy has an important mission that has to be done within a few weeks. With special recommendation, he is teaching a new group of pilots to do the mission in the same Top Gun class. Through the ups and downs, he will make sure everyone comes back alive and also solve his personal demons from long ago when he was that young brash pilot.
By no means is the original film bad. It's a product of its era. This sequel gets the 80s treatment for the first couple minutes complete with some Kenny Loggins and the main theme to go with some tight editing of the jets. The writers made Maverick more of a human and less of a complete dickhead. Tom Cruise is top notch with reprising his character and you feel for what he is trying to do. He still has regrets and can't let go of what happened to Goose. Speaking of which, Miles Teller holds his own playing Goose's son, sign name Rooster and provides good chemistry with Cruise as their characters share moments of awkwardness and letting things.
You got pilots who are just like Maverick. Other pilots who struggle with preparing for the mission. There are a number of callbacks aren't there to simply reference the original film. It has an excellent cameo for one character and is one of the tender moments that shows how high of a bar the sequel leapt over its predecessor. A love interest does exist and that comes from a throwaway line in the first. One Admiral's daughter, Penny Benjamin and she gets a bit of time on screen. Kind of that pushing power to help Maverick and some motivation to get his pilots prepared.
From a cinematography perspective, some of the shots are wild. These actors were probably training so hard to do some of these things that were in script. Cruise has become better known for doing a number of his own stunts. You get that authenticity that is lacking in a number of big name movies. Granted, they're not risking their lives to film those scenes, but that sense of realism is crazy. Even the non-flying scenes are shot beautifully. There's also some of the effects that are brilliant. With sound, this is the type of movie that is made to be seen in a movie theater. That last half hour with the sounds gives it a more exciting experience. The music is mostly a score with hints of the main theme and it sprinkles some songs at points. It stays at being a score driven film
The film could have cut at least 5 minutes or so at points. Could be a little too long, but not too ridiculous. That doesn't deter the fact that Top Gun: Maverick is a movie you need to see. A must watch film for the summer season. An 80s sequel that can stand on its own ground and arguably better than its predecessor.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Friday, June 10, 2022
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Friday, June 3, 2022
Thursday, June 2, 2022
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