Godzilla Minus One, Die Hard, The Abyss, & The Iron Claw

Sometime on New Year's Day I will post something lengthier where the other events of December will be discussed but before people (potentially) have plays for New Year's Eve that will begin soon, it was time for me to mention the films I saw theatrically this month. I did not get the best night's sleep last night; otherwise, this would have been all written out then posted a few hours earlier.

First, I went to a theater nearby I hadn't been to in a long while for a meal and a screening of Godzilla Minus One. The Cinepolis at Hamlin in the southern area of Winter Garden offers meals and they aren't the cheapest yet at least I had good food as probably the best Godzilla movie ever was shown. It was a serious version of Gojira which was set right after World War II as the focus was on a flawed young soldier turned civilian and his ragtag group of pals as Godzilla was an utterly terrifying & unstoppable monster. It was like a Hollywood blockbuster of old-meaning good, rather than the typical mediocrity or worse we get now-and actually is as good as you may have heard.

The Abyss was screened for one night only on a random Wednesday. I had never seen that 1989 James Cameron movie before. Partially it was due to how for unknown reasons, the best disc release that and True Lies have had is DVD. However, in March both those movies will finally come out on 4K UHD disc and this screening was a way to flex how the film looks & sounds remastered. As for the movie itself, I understood why I saw some comparisons to Christopher Nolan's Interstellar... except The Abyss was better than that. It was Cameron as his most sentimental & heartfelt as he presented an anti-war movie which was also a love story while also providing the expected thrills in a great underwater setting. There was no better way to experience a first-time viewing, in other words.

Die Hard was released across the country for 2 weeks; do you believe that came out 35 years ago? It may be my favorite film so even though it wasn't my first or even second theatrical experience, that had to be watched. It's still incredible.

The Iron Claw was a few days ago. As a giant pro wrestling buff who is pretty knowledgeable about its history, of course I need to check out a big release of the tragic Von Erich story. Those that don't know, the trailers will not fully prepare you for how full of tragedy it is. Now, the timeline was at times fudge but the one big inaccuracy: The Iron Claw is missing an entire brother, Chris. That decision was literally done to not make the movie even sadder but it's still not right to me. Otherwise, the movie did present many of the details big and small right... Kerry's major injury and how that was kept secret from the public for years was true, as absurd as it may seem for those that didn't know. Overall, it was very good and as long as you aren't averse to films that may make you teary-eyed, it's a strong recommendation.

Hopefully everyone has a nice New Year's Eve even if you're like me and the plans are to stay home & watch movies and/or YouTube videos. I always mention how the year flies by too fast & had its ups and downs. Well, 2023 was more of the same. Still, it wasn't a bad year and here's to hoping that '24 is even better.

Thanksgiving, Pollo Campero, Mountain Dew Game Fuel & Skyline Chili

The past few weeks actually weren't too terribly eventful, but that is OK. Thanksgiving (the holiday) was spent out of town; that went well and I was even happy to help someone out with something. Thanksgiving (the movie) was watched by me at an AMC as I liked the faux trailer that played during Grindhouse; can you believe that movie-well, pair of movies plus those fake trailers-came out way back in 2007? The movie could be nitpicked yet overall I was still entertained by this 80's-style slasher that just had an over-the-top amount of bloody gore. As that was exactly what I expected from Eli Roth, no complaints there. The crowd I saw it with also helped w/ the experience; they were a small yet boisterous bunch. Their reactions was what Roth would have wanted so that made it fun. After all, it's a movie that has a cat in a scene but thankfully does NOT kill the feline; in fact, the villain literally pets the cat then feeds it! Note that it was the cat of someone that they just killed...

One day I made the long drive down to Kissimmee; it was to try a fast food restaurant that was discovered via the “interwebs”; it was Pollo Campero, literally a chain from Guatemala. As I've known for years now, many Hispanics live in and around Kissimmee, so I had a long wait there before receiving my order. Thankfully, that food was quite good; if that location was closer... the chicken nuggets I had looked quite similar to Chick-fil-A, except they tested better than at the place always closed each Sunday. Another restaurant visited was a Skyline Chili; last year I ate at one in Clearwater and since then sometimes purchased their version of chili that can be found in the freezer aisle of some grocery stores. No complaints about the new location that just opened at Flamingo Crossing; it's a shopping plaza a mile west of an entrance to Walt Disney World property. Speaking of Disney, one day I spent it at a crowded Magic Kingdom. OK, I wasn't there that long but still had a good time despite occasional rainy weather.

There otherwise isn't too much else to share. I was glad that Mountain Dew's limited edition Game Fuel returned (this time to advertise two different videogames) as I always enjoyed the Citrus Cherry flavor and the new Mystic Punch flavor is also pretty good. As most probably hold zero interest in my opinions of soda, I'll bid adieu now, but not before mentioning that the plan is to write something at the end of 2023. December will be more eventful than November... there will be more than a few theatrical experiences, among other items for discussion.