Pick number 3 : Drama/Indie
Special
Special is movie that came out on November 21, 2008. Since then there has been a handful of movies that follow that same premise, movies such as Kick-Ass and the upcoming film Super. The movie stars Michael Rapaport (Prison break, The war at home) as the main character Les Fraken.The film follows the main character Les Franken (Michael Rapaport) a comic book fan who in the need of some cash, signs up for a experimental antidepressant. Meeting with a man named Dr. Dobson (Paul Blackthorne), who instructs Les Fraken to take one pill a day, instructing him to also keep a diary of what he experiences. Beginning his day while on the experimental drug Les Fraken feels nothing, that is until one day. Spending a night alone in his house, as he always does Les Fraken discovers he has super powers. Starting mainly with the ability to float, worried and excited Fraken goes to pay Dr.Dobson a visit. Revealing his ability to "float" however in reality Fraken isn't floating. Through his eyes he sees and feels as if he is floating, but through the eyes and perspective of Dr. Dobson, Fraken is simply laying down on the floor. Even though in reality Fraken has no real ability to do anything, in his mind he finds a purpose in his life. Having these powers Fraken decides he must use them for good, thus becoming a vigilante superhero. Nevertheless Fraken soon finds out that everything he believes isn't what it seems.
Final Thoughts.
Lets face it, since this movie has came out there have been others like it. Kick-Ass followed a teenage kid who wondered why people don't just dress up like heroes and fight crime. What makes this movie even worth mentioning? Unlike Kick-Ass in this movie you actually feel sympathy for the main character. While in Kick-Ass whenever the main character got into a fight or badly injured, honestly you really just didn't care. In Special the main character actually "gains abilities", honestly believing his purpose in life was to be a hero. The main character is such a pathetic human being you can't help but feel bad for him. Believing he honestly has those abilities, trying to fight crime is the only time where you actually see him happy. So when he loses that you can't help but feel sorry for the guy. The movie didn't have a huge budget, and the story may be simple but it still manages to suck you in. For an indie superhero movie with a small budget, the movie is solid. Micheal Rapaport gives a honestly believable performance of a down on his dumps, depressed dreamer. If you missed this movie in theaters, do yourself a favor and give this movie a chance.
Pick number 2 : Action
Ip Man
Ip Man is a semi biographical martial arts action film loosely based on the life of Ip Man. Ip Man was a grandmaster of the martial arts style Wing Chun. Also Ip Man was the very first person to openly teach the style, later on in life he became the mentor of Bruce Lee. Starring Donnie Yen (Shanghai Knights) as the legendary martial arts master. The film is set in the 1930s where it shows Ip Man's uprising, being a wealthy man he doesn't take on disciples seeing no need too. Spending most of his time training, or with his family. Living in Foshan Ip Man leads a peaceful life, already a established martial artist amongst his piers things start to change when the Japanese invasion starts. Life takes a turn for the worse when Ip looses his house, and wealth due to the invasion. Now taking a job as a coolie at a coal mine, life is no longer what Ip expected it to be. Seeing his people being forced to work, and even fight for food he decides to challenge ten karate black belts. Having intrigued the Japanese general, he decides to see more of Ip and his martial arts. Forcing his men to harass Ip's family.
Final Thoughts.
Ip Man is one of the best martial arts movie out there. Packed with some of the most entertaining fight scenes I've seen in a while. There's not many movies out there that can give you this kind of entertainment. Even if you're not an action fan, its hard for you to not be impressed and like this movie. There's a reason why this movie has gained such a strong fan base, and is one of the most well known martial arts movie out despite only being released in 2008. If you're a fan of Bruce Lee or martial arts movie, then this the movie for you. The choreography in this movie is the best you can get. Donnie Yen does a fantastic job portraying a man who would go on to influence an entire generation with his Wing Chun style. Without giving away any spoilers to the movie, what has to be noted is that every fight scene is better than the one before it. That being said this movie only becomes more and more entertaining never loosing itself in the story.
Find out what the number 1 movie you should be watching on netflix is tomorrow! 3-30-11
