Se7en (1995) Written by: Andrew Kevin Walker Directed by: David Fincher

     It's been a while since I watched this timeless masterpiece, but after viewing it last night with my daughter, it recaptured all the emotion as the first time I watched it. Such a great film, great story, and great performances, which all lead to this being one of my favorite films of all time.

     Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) has been granted a requested reassigned to the big city to fill the vacancy that is about to be left by the retiring Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman). Shortly after Mills arrives, the two are thrust into a series of murders based on the biblical seven deadly sins.

     Gluttony (Bob Mack) is the first murder they find when the two are called to the scene where they find a horrifically obese man that appears to have drowned in spaghetti sauce. Upon further investigation, they discover that the man's hands and feet were bound just beneath the rim of the dining table. The coroner discovers that the man was force fed the spaghetti until his stomach started bleeding, at which time the killer kicked him causing his stomach to burst. Inside the man's stomach, they find pieces of linoleum that fit groves cut into the dead mans kitchen floor. That's where they find the word "Gluttony" along with a note leading them into the rabbit hole.

     In short succession, the sin of Greed (Gene Borkan) is discovered when the body of an uptown defense lawyer is discovered in his office. The lawyer was given a choice this time. He was given the option of where to sever his pound of flesh to atone for having fought to keep criminals on the streets. Our detectives discover that the killer took his time and made the lawyer really think about his crime and how to atone. After questioning the dead lawyer's wife, the detectives discover fingerprints behind a painting spelling out the words "Help Me".

     During the Greed murder investigation, we find that Detective Mills' wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), has invited Detective Somerset to their home for dinner, as a chance to meet him. The three have a nice meal and become closer over several topics of conversation and a closer look into Mills' home life.

     The finger prints left behind the painting at the Greed scene belong to a pedophile who has been staying in a local hotel. Mills, Somerset, and a SWAT team lead by "Code-name California"(John C. McGinley) from their police force ascend on the hotel and come face to face with Sloth (Michael Reid MacKay). The person to whom the fingerprints belonged has been bound to a bed for exactly one year. The detectives find photos taken each day up until the day before the discovery of this latest victim. The killer has provided hair, skin, urine, and several other samples from this pedophile. And surprisingly, this victim is still ALIVE!!!

     The investigation uncovers that Sloth's mind had completely turned to mush, and he ate his own tongue. The killer had severed his hand in order to leave to fingerprints, and a doctor states that a simple flashlight to Sloth's eye could be enough trauma to kill him. 

     After Mills makes an off handed comment about the killer having a library card, Somerset contacts an informant from the CIA, to track local library cards for several key books that have been borrowed. This leads them to the apartment of "John Doe" (Kevin Spacey), whom they believe could be their killer. While Mills and Somerset arrive at the apartment listed for John, they are met with gunfire from a mysterious stranger in the hallway. Mills sets out quickly in an attempt to capture this stranger.

     The brilliant moment in this scene is when Mills descends onto the street via a wet fire escape. When the ladder hits the ground it bucks Mills off and he his a mark and then falls onto the sidewalk. When he falls, Brad Pitt actually severely injures his hand. He doesn't stop the scene and continues with blood pouring from his wound. Fincher left the actual injury in the film because Pitt's performance was real and showed complete dedication.

     Anyway, John Doe escapes. Mills breaks down the apartment door to Doe's home and he, Somerset, and a forensic squad begin their journey into the mind of a killer. Inside, they find over 2000 composition note books filled with a record of John Doe's daily life. They find photos of his victims, along with his stash of money. They also find a receipt from a leather fetish shop.

     Our pair of detectives find "Wild Bill's" and discover that Doe had commissioned a special piece of leather-wear complete with a very large blade in the area where a penis would fit. Of course, this leads into the crime of Lust.

     Mills and Somerset are called to a sex shop where they discover a man (Leland Orser), in total shock, wearing the fetish suit. On a bed across from him lies the mutilated body of a prostitute Cat Mueller). John Doe forced the man in the suit to have intercourse with the prostitute, which of course ripped her body to shreds. Of course, in this type of establishment, not even the doorman (Michael Massee) noticed anyone suspicious.

     Shortly after interviewing the doorman and the physical perpetrator of the Lust crime, Mills and Somerset are called to investigate the scene of Pride. The gruesome scene shows a woman (Heidi Schanz), with her face terrible mutilated, with her nose having been severed. In one have, a telephone has been glued; in the other, a bottle of sleeping pills. John gave this woman the choice, she could live being disfigured, or she could end her suffering and not have to live her life being ugly.

     On their way back to their office, in the precinct, a man calls out to them. It's John Doe. He spreads his arms and proclaims, "I think you're looking for me".  After being taken into custody, we learn that Doe have removed his own fingerprints, is independently wealthy, and well educated. He also claims that there are two more bodies that would complete his mission. Doe explains that he will lead only Mills and Somerset to these victims, and if they agree, he will plead guilty to all of the crimes and sign a full confession. If they do not agree, he plans to plead insanity.

     Obviously, both Mills and Somerset are anxious to end this charade and agree to escort Doe to this new crime scene. I won't delve into the ending, but I will say that all three actors, Pitt, Freeman, and Spacey all give some of the best performances I've ever seen in one scene. The powerful anguish, anger, manipulation, and revealing nature of the big picture are so well delivered that this scene is enough to make this film one of my all time favorites. Envy and Wrath are intertwined in a fantastic explosion with no one making it through unscarred.

     Before this film, I would let myself like Brad Pitt as an actor. It seemed like he was just a "pretty face" actor. That instantly changed with his portrayal of Detective David Mills. And I also understand the controversy of behind both Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey regarding allegations of sexual misconduct. I will say, that I do not condone or support anyone that commits these types of crimes. As of this writing, I am not aware of any indictments having been filed against either actor. That being said, I do believe that you can dislike a person for their actions, and still appreciate their body of work. That is how I feel about both Freeman and Spacey, at this point.

     Anyway, this is a GREAT film. Anyone over the age of 13 needs to see this. I know it's technically Rated-R, but I hate the rating system, and do not follow it in my home. I give my ratings as a father, and at what age I would let my children watch a film. Thanks for reading.

     

Coco (2017) Written by: Lee Unkrich & Jason Katz Directed by: Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina

     I'm not sure how normal it is for a 40 year old man to really want to watch a new Disney/Pixar movie, but that's where I was from the first preview I saw of Coco. I wasn't sure what it was about the short clip that instantly captured my imagination, but it did, and last night, on Father's Day, I finally hit "Play". So glad that I did.

     Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) is a young man growing up in a small town in Mexico to family of shoe makers that all despise music. Miguel, however, has music in his soul and desperately wants to let it out. Miguel's idol is the long dead Ernesto De la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), his towns most famous mariachi. Miguel is very close to his great-grandmother, Coco (Ana Ofelia Murguía), and shares everything with her. 

     We soon find that his town celebrates the Day of the Dead where they display photos of their dead relatives in an effort to allow the deceased a day to be remembered and to temporarily cross over to the land of the living. After an argument with his family over his love of music, Miguel accidentally knocks over a photo of Coco with her mother and father, although the father's head has been removed from the photo. After unfolding the hidden section of the photo, we discover that Miguel's great-great-grandfather was also a mariachi and left his family in search of fame when Coco was still a toddler. This is what led to his families hatred of music. The wardrobe, and guitar belonging to mariachi in the photo are instantly recognized as Ernesto.

     With Miguel's own guitar having recently been destroyed by his grandmother, Miguel attempts to use the guitar of De la Cruz which is on display in this tom, to enter a contest to "Seize his day". The theft of the guitar has unforeseen consequences as Miguel finds himself transported to the land of the dead.

     After meeting his deceased family, Miguel is given the chance to return to the land of the living, under the restriction that he never pursue music again. Refusing, and with the knowledge that anyone in his deceased family can send him home, Miguel sets out to find Ernesto so that he will send Miguel home with the blessing to play music.

     As Miguel makes his escape, he meets Hector (Gael García Bernal); a bumbling spirit that claims to have once played with Ernesto, and in exchange for Miguel taking Hector's photo back to the land of the living, is willing to help Miguel in his quest.

     Hijinks's ensue as Miguel and Hector attempt to reach Ernesto while evading Miguel's dead clan and before sunrise when Miguel will become a permanent resident of the land of the dead.With a great twist in the story, and a tear jerking revelation, Miguel returns home and brings the gift of music back to his family.

     This film is beautifully colored and brought to life by the geniuses at Disney/Pixar. Visually, the most stunning aspect to me was the fluidity of the musicians fingers as they glided over the fret boards. So much attention to detail with every note was simply mind blowing! As usual, these companies also seem to find the most eloquent scripts to bring to life. Miguel's love of music is only trumped by the love of family.

     I will openly admit that I cried several times during this movie, as my wife sat close by laughing and mocking me. I was really touched by this story and it gave me a very special Father's Day memory. Definitely recommended for everyone with the means to watch a movie.

The Vault (2017) Written by: Dan Bush & Conal Byrne Directed by: Dan Bush

     Seems like an ordinary bank heist. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When sisters Leah (Francesca Eastwood) and Vee Dillion (Taryn Manning) decide to rob a bank to save their brother Michael (Scott Haze), they think they have everything figured out. That is until everything starts to go wrong.

     This movie gave me the same feeling as "From Dusk till Dawn". It starts as a heist movie, then takes a sharp left turn. Taryn Manning gives a fantastic performance as the more reckless Dillon sister. She is accompanied by Eastwood and Haze, whom I had not been introduced to until now, both giving excellent performances. The casting I wasn't sure of was that of James Franco as the bank vice president, Ed Maas. I love seeing actors like Franco in these different types of roles. It really shows their scope, and that definitely held true in this case.

     After taking their hostages, the merry band of bank robbers discover that the bank vault is nearly empty. That's when Maas steps in and informs the crooks that there is a basement vault holding $6 million dollars, and he holds the key to the vault.

     We soon finds that Michael isn't quite the bad guy is made out to be, as he begins to protect and care for the hostages while the others continue their heist. Accompanying the three siblings are various other robbers including a skinhead, a technician, and several others impersonating rescue personnel.

     The robbers soon agree to open the basement vault with the help of Maas and that's when the story pulls a 180. While attempting to open the vault, our felons encounter crazed, zombie like beings that go unseen on the monitors that surround the bank.

     Some truly gruesome death scenes, and an unraveling mystery fill the rest of the film. We discover that someone had robbed the bank once before, in 1982. The thief at the time was not as kind as the Dillon's, and had killed all of the hostages and bank employees at the time.

     Long story short, the zombie-like beings that our present day thieves are encountering, are actually the long dead apparitions of the murdered hostages and employees. They are also surprisingly being led by a masked figure, thought to be the dead leader of the past thieves. I'll admit that at this time I was guessing that Franco's character was actually the masked bandit leader. I'll also let you know that I was wrong.

     I've failed to mention, somehow, the always brilliant Clifton Collins Jr. as Detective Tom Iger. This was another character that I read completely wrong. I thought, at first that Iger was in on the heist, but I guess I was wrong? Collins is one of those actors that always put in stellar performances, but always goes unappreciated. He is essentially "that guy who played in that one movie". Which is completely unjustified.

     While we get to see a man run a drill through his own head, and another use a shotgun to decapitate himself, we also get to see Michael give everything to ensure the safety of his sisters. Not only is there some really cool gore, this film comes packed with two twists at the end. What is the final fate of the sisters Dillon? And what mysterious role does Maas play in this twisted tale?

     I didn't really have any interest in watching this movie. However, after watching a really disappointing film earlier this evening, I figured my choice in film couldn't get much worse. I decided to take a chance on this movie that I probably wouldn't have if the last movie would have been any good. I'm glad I did give it a shot though. I redeemed the night, and ended up enjoying myself. I'm sure fans of horror or the paranormal will have fun.

Christine (2016) Writer: Craig Shilowich Directed by: Antonio Campos

     This film tells the tragic true story of television news anchor Christine Chubbuck (Rebecca Hall), who in 1974 committed suicide while on air. Christine shot herself while broadcasting live after a recurring bout with depression and what seems like a form of mania.

     Before her suicide many things compiled on top of her manic episode, including an illness that would cause her the ability to conceive, the inability to land a lead anchor position, and the nightly news format that was in it's infancy during that time.

     While this movie tried to give a voice against the stigma of mental illness, it about drove me insane trying to watch the entire film. While each performance was spot on and very well played, this felt very drawn out. While I did enjoy the performances, directing, cinematography, and other aspects of this tale as a film, it really seemed like it could have been told in an hour max.

     I recall having wanted to see this film for some time, but the realization tonight that it co-starred Michael C. Hall is what made me finally decide to invest the time. Like I said earlier, both Michael C. and Rebecca Hall put on stellar performances, which is to be expected, and they were the shining light behind this film. However, even that couldn't keep my attention for the whole hour and fifty-nine minutes.

     There really isn't much of a story that would warrant my usual synopsis, so I don't really have much more to say. If you have a spare two hours to waste, but like good acting, watch this. However, I'm sure you can find something better staring either of these two fine actors.

Detroit (2017) Written by: Mark Boal Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow

     This ended up being a powerful film about the August 1967 Detroit riots. The performances were really great, but it just took too long to get to the actual story. I did love this film, but with a run time of 1 hour and 43 minutes, it felt like it could have been an hour long short. Great cinematography work after the initial outside riot scenes, which used the dramatic, shaky camera method. You felt like you could be watching an older film.

     In 1967 Detroit, a race riot broke out between the disenfranchise African-American community, and the over-stepping Detroit Police force. The Michigan governor was forced to call in the State Police as well as the national Guard in an attempt to calm the tensions, to no avail. 

     After about an hour of riot footage that lends nothing to the plot of the film, the real story takes place in the Algiers Motel. Two lifelong friends, Fred (Jacob Latimore) and Larry (Algee Smith) retreat to the Algiers after being evacuated from a music hall where Larry and his singing group were about to perform in front of a top music executive. Once outside, Larry and company boarded a bus home, but was engulfed by the riots and decided to escape the bus. the group become separated and the two friends venture off together.

     Once inside the motel, Larry and Fred begin to meet some of the other tenants, including two white girls from Ohio, Karen (Kaitlyn Dever) and Julie (Hannah Murray), who have shacked up with a few of the black men staying at the motel. Upon meeting Karen and Julie, Larry and Fred are introduced to Carl (Jason Mitchell), and his crew of Aubrey (Nathan Davis Jr.) and Michael (Malcolm David Kelley). Carl and his crew seem a bit on the rough side, which puts Fred on the defense, since Fred acts as the body guard for Larry and his singing group.

     After Carl pulls a prank using a starting gun, Larry and Fred retire to their room and Karen and Julie join Army Vet Greene (Anthony Mackie) in his room to play cards. Cut scene to a local grocery store being guarded by Dismukes (John Boyega). Dismukes sees a National Guard battalion pull up across the street and decides to befriend them using a fresh pot of coffee. While chewing the fat, the regimen and Dismukes come under fire from the direction of the Algiers. The squad not realizing that it's just Carl firing his starting pistol, fill ed with blanks, calls out "Sniper" which sends the battalion, local, and state police to the scene.

     Upon entering the motel several of the local police, Officer Krauss (Will Poulter), Officer Flynn (Ben O'Toole), and Officer Demens (Jack Reynor), take over the question of the guests in an effort to find the sniper. They are quickly accompanied by Dismukes and Guardsmen/Warrant Officer Roberts (Austin Hébert)

     Almost immediately, Krauss shoots and kills Carl and plants a knife near his body. This sets the rest of the patrons into a panic, and rightfully so. Seems that Krauss and Flynn are both racist, but Krauss has a real deep seated hatred for the black citizens of Detroit. Krauss and Flynn beat the hell out of Serviceman Greene, more so than the others because he was found with the two white girls.

     Krauss then decides to trick the guests into revealing information by taking them, one by one, into a room, and pretending to murder them. He does this in an effort to scare the others into telling him where the sniper was. During this process all of the guest are assaulted by different means, mostly beatings. After a severe beating to Michael, Dismukes grabs him and takes him upstairs to prevent a further beating under the guise of questioning him one on one.

     Officer Flynn is tasked with taking the two girls upstairs to question them and ends up disrobing Karen before Warrant Officer Roberts intervenes. This of course, just leads to a further beating to Greene. While Roberts and Dismukes try to keep the guests from further beatings, Krauss orders Demens to take Aubrey in the room to execute him as he, Roberts, and Flynn had done previously. Tragically, Demens had not been made aware that the others had not killed their guests, and actually kills Aubrey.

     Eventually, Krauss decides to set those free who agree to say nothing. Greene, and Larry, being two of the only three left inside, agree and escape threw a back door. When it comes time for Fred to escape, he refuses to ignore the dead body of Carl lying on the floor in front of him. Krauss the shoots Fred twice, killing him.

     With the event over, and some time passing, the three officers are being questioned for the killings. Flynn and Demens end up rolling on Krauss. At the trial all three are found Not Guilty on their charges. At one point we see that the detectives working the case put Dismukes in a jail cell, after falsely accusing him of being involved with the killings. We never find out if the is set free. Meanwhile, Larry can't find it in his heart to continue singing with his group, even though they have signed a lucrative record deal. The fallout of that nights events had taken too much of a toll.

     These true events were no doubt extremely horrific. However, until this film, I was completely unaware of this incident, or even of the riots as a whole. It's a real shame that things like this aren't taught in school. We have to seek them out, or, if you're lazy like me, find out about them through a film. I know that here in Cincinnati, they have even stopped teaching Civics as a whole. We need to start giving our kids real world educations. Who cares about calculus unless you're going into a career that requires it. Then you can learn all about it in college. Sorry, rant over.

     Anyway, i did really enjoy the second half of this film. Great, moving performances by the entire cast! Seriously, not one weak character. I don't say that too often. John Boyega has seemed to always put in good performances since I first saw him in "Attack the Block". I think that this is appropriate for everyone, but my opinions are not usually shared by too many parents with younger kids. I say, "Why not let them know what kind of people are out there?", from an early age. So anyway, sit down with your 5 year old, watch this film, and then have a conversation. Enjoy.

     

Mom and Dad (2017) Written and Directed by: Brian Taylor

     You know that my interest has been drawn when I watch a movie with these two actors. I am not a fan of Nicolas Cage or Selma Blair. This is definitely a black comedy, but I'm not sure where the comedy part comes in? Not to mention one of the biggest plot holes I've seen in a long time.

     The story focuses on one family, the Ryan's, a typical family living in suburbia. Brent Nicolas Cage) is loaded with the pressure of being middle aged and a failure in his own eyes. Kendall (Selma Blair) is the housewife who gave up everything to become a mother. Then you have the teen daughter/rebel, Carly (Anne Winters) and her annoying little brother, Josh (Zackary Arthur). 

     This particular morning, however, everything is not as usual. Something is driving the parents of this community to have the uncontrollable urge, to kill their own children!!! The urge seems to be traveling over broadcast airwaves, because the parents only develop these urges after hearing the radio or watching the television. And each parent only wants to kill their own kids, not all kids.

     As the Ryan's set off to start their day, young Josh is left in the care of the housekeeper, Sun-Yi (Sharon Gee) and her daughter.  Within moments of the families departure, Sun-Yi murders her with a meat tenderizer. Sun-Yi then proceeds to calmly clean up her mess. Kendall, while taking to her private school, tries to connect with her daughter, who is busy texting her boyfriend, Damen (Robert T. Cunningham). Damen is taking a pre-SAT test at his public school, and they are making arrangements to see each other. Luckily, this has kept Kendall from turning on her car radio.

     As Damen finishes his test, he, and his teacher notice that there are a large number of parents waiting for their children to finish texting. As Damen exits, he accidentally provides an entrance for the rabid parents to attack their children.

     Meanwhile, Carly and her classmates have noticed a rather large number of students being called to the office, before realizing that the school is under attack! The school guards and teachers attempt to keep the parents from the children, but to no avail. Carly escapes to find Damen and then to try and rescue Josh. 

     While at work, Brent mentally relives an occasion in his youth that involved a cheerleader and his convertible Camero. The passing of this time in his life is what seems to cause him the most inner turmoil. We get a lot of these types of flashbacks, none of them really essential to the story. 

     Eventually, Brent and Kendall both become "infected" and race home to try to kill their children. Of course, Carly and Josh won't give up as easily. With the help of Damen, the kids manage to fight off their parents in a series of inventive ways.

     Now, one of the main reasons for my hatred for Nicolas Cage as an actor, is his need to over act everything. And, of course, this film is no different. Selma Blair, she just kind of reminds me of the original version of Kristen Stewart. Just that same, brain-dead stare. No real emotion. Again, this performance is no different. My biggest problem with this movie lies in the description. The description says that the urge only lasts 24 hours. However, not one time in the film does it mention this fact, nor does the film extend past the 24 hour limit to show the effects wear off. So how do we know it ever ends?

     I never really picked up on the comedy aspect of this "black-comedy" other than the main premise of the film. I'm a huge fan of the genre, but I wouldn't put this film in that category. It was an easy movie to watch, and I enjoyed it. I just honestly think it could have been a lot better.

      

Spawn (1997) Written by:Todd McFarlane & Alan McElroy Directed by:Mark A.Z. Dippe'

     With the recent announcement that Jamie Foxx has been cast in the role of Al Simmons/Spawn in the upcoming reboot, I've decided to revisit the 1997 film and discuss both the triumphs and the follies that were. I'll start by saying that I was an original fan of the comic. I started reading Spawn from the moment issue #1 hit the shelves. Surprisingly, I didn't totally hate the film. Didn't totally love it either.

     Spawn is the story of a Special Forces/Black Ops agent named Al Simmons (Michael Jai White). Al is a ruthless killing machine, and he is really good at his job. Al is also a really good husband to Wanda Simmons (Theresa Randle). She is the one thing that lets him forget all of the killing and mayhem that surrounds him when he isn't with her.

     The head of Simmons' department, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), has set into motion a diabolical plan to shuffle Simmons free from his mortal coil. He baits Simmons to a chemical factory where he uses other agents to dispose of Simmons. Unfortunately, for Wynn, death is only the beginning for Al, and the nightmare for Wynn himself.

     Due to his callus waste of human lives, Simmons goes to Hell where he is told that it will be his destiny to lead the armies of hell under orders direct from Malebolgia. All Simmons can think about is getting back to Wanda, and getting his revenge on Wynn. This causes Simmons to strike a deal with the devil; if Simmons can go back and exact his revenge, then Simmons will return to hell in an effort to lead the unholy army against the angels of Heaven's army.

     Of course, Malebolgia always stacks the odds you, and it's no different for Al. Upon returning to Earth, Al quickly learns that 5 years have past, and everything has changed. Al finds that Wanda has married Al's former partner and best friend, Terry Fitzgerald (D.B. Sweeney). Al also finds that Wanda has a daughter. Cyan (Sydni Beaudoin) is about 5 years old, so is she Al's daughter, or Terry's?

     Al is also terribly burned over his entire body, from going to Hell. This makes him unrecognizable, and terribly frightening. However, Malebolgia did equip Al with some delightfully strange items. Simmons has a suit of body armor that is given to the soldiers in Hell's army. He is also given a living cape, bestowed upon the general of said army. The armor and cape work to protect Al's new form, Spawn.

     Spawn is also greeted by two, very different, "teachers". The first is the violent, venomous, vile, Violator! Violator appears as a clown (John Leguizamo). The Clown tries to get Spawn to kill Wynn and set into motion a chemical spill that will send Wynn to Hell to also serve Malebolgia. Then there is Cogliostro (Nicol Williamson). Cogliostro is more of a guiding light that appears in the form of a homeless vagrant. Cogliostro tries to guide Spawn to do good. He tells Al that his future is not set and that he has been given another chance, and that he should use that chance to battle evil on Earth and to reclaim his soul.

     Now, we do get some pretty great performances from Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen, and John Leguizamo, but that is to be expected. We also get a cameo by the man himself, Todd McFarlane, as a skid row bum. My issues were not with the cast or the performances. My biggest problem was with the overall story, directing, and effects. This film came out in 1997, but looked like it came out in 1987. The best visual from the comics has long been Spawn's cape. His cape looked friggin' lame in the movie!

     Sheen is great as a diabolical, sinister criminal. I loved him in that type of role, and he played it well. However, Leguizamo completely steals the show! I do not believe that The Clown/Violator could have been cast any better. He is seriously the best part of this film. Placed into a hugely grotesque fat suit and covered in prosthetics, you can't even tell who the actor is. Not only that, but he plays the character so well that you can't help but laugh as you hate him more and more.

     White played Spawn pretty well, but with a R-rating, that should have been a PG-13, I'm sure that neither White nor McFarlane had the ability to take the film or character of Spawn as far as they needed to to make the film good. I really feel that the film was hindered by the production company and the need to please the ratings board.

     I have been so excited, for years, in regards to the reboot of this movie. McFarlane promised an R rated script, and really seemed to take his time crafting the story. Then the news came this week that Jamie Foxx would be playing the lead. My heart sank. My excitement left my body. I am not a fan of Jamie Foxx as an actor. He was great in Ray, but that was because he was doing an impersonation. He's good at that. But anything else I've seen him in, I just couldn't stand his character or the way Foxx played that character.

     Now don't get me wrong, I will pay some hard earned money and see the reboot in the theaters. But my expectations have been severely lowered. And maybe that's a good thing? Maybe I will love the movie, even if it ends up being mediocre? Hope it's awesome though!