Dear James Franco,

Dear James Franco,

I write this post to you today because I consider you my ideal reader. You are my favorite actor at the moment. I consider you my ideal reader because most of my blog posts are about comedies, lots of them being movies you have starred in. Also, you can relate to my posts about superhero movies because you have had that experience playing Harry Osborne in the original Spiderman series.

Franco as Harry Osborne courtesy of https://www.screenused.com

I am a 14 year old boy from Park City, Utah. I have a passion for movies. I almost always watch movies or TV shows in my downtime. I especially love comedies that you and Seth put together. The Interview, Pineapple Express and This is the End are easily on my top 10 movie list.

I use my blog as a movie critiquing website. I named it “Rancid Potatoes” as a twist on the already popular website of the same category: Rotten Tomatoes. My blog is very easy for me to write, because my homework is to watch movies. Also, I can choose any movie I want and have limitless things to write about it. I never experience writer’s block and never not know what to write about. I don’t only critique new releases either. I critique all, old and new, and that’s what I love about my blog. Although I can choose from any movie I want, I often find myself only choosing between comedies and Marvel superhero movies.

Pineapple Express movie poster
courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org

I think you are an excellent actor. The list of your movies that I love goes on and on. The quality that I admire you the most for is your ability to play diverse roles. You have played everything from troubled, mysterious Harry Osborne in Spiderman to hilarious drug dealer Saul Silver in Pineapple Express. One of my favorites of yours is 127 Hours. I was excited for the movie when it was coming out because I was familiar with the story of Aron Ralston. Being from Utah, I have actually hiked the same canyon that Ralston’s accident happened in. I think you played the role excellently. In my eyes, you are capable of playing any role you want to. I can’t wait to see what you have to bring in the future. 

Franco as Aron Ralston in 127 Hours courtesy of http://www.nytimes.com

I hope you come back again to read my blog to see what I have to say about movies. It would be great to have someone who is so experienced in the cinematic universe to hear what I have to say. Also, you don’t have to be scared that I’m going to hate on your movies, because that has never happened before. I would also greatly appreciate it if you left some comments on my posts telling me what you think or what I could do better. Thanks for stopping by.      

Daredevil

Today I will be reviewing another TV Show, Marvel’s Daredevil (2015). I watched season one last year and I can’t wait for season two’s release in March. This show was created by Drew Goddard and released as a Netflix series, which means it doesn’t air on TV. I really enjoy that because you can watch them whenever, wherever, and you don’t have to worry about missing episodes. Charlie Cox starred as Daredevil, and I absolutely loved what he did. I’ll tell you why.

Movie cover courtesy of https://www.netflix.com

Cox is a lesser known actor, who stepped up to take the role as “the man with no fear” out of the blue. It was a big role to take, being Marvel’s first TV show installment. Also, people didn’t want to see their favorite blind lawyer being ruined again like Ben Affleck did in 2003. But he did the job. Playing a man who grew up in the slums of Hell’s Kitchen, New York, he was able to show the sadness and determination of Matt Murdock. The way he played the character was unbelievable. I also think Charlie Cox had the perfect look for Daredevil, unlike Ben Affleck in 2003.

My second favorite actor in this show was Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, or the “Kingpin”. His performance was so gruesomely realistic, that it sometimes made you cringe. Wilson Fisk also grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, son of a deranged abusive father. At a young age, he ends up killing his father due to years of physical and emotional toll on he and his mother. Now, his goal is to destroy Hell’s Kitchen so it can be “rebuilt”. I love how D’Onofrio was able to show the sadness and internal anger of Wilson Fisk. 

Hell's Kitchen courtesy of http://screenrant.com

This show is very dark. It often seems there are never any scenes that are happy. But thats what I like about it. Don’t get me wrong, men in robot suits and incredible green monsters and gods of thunder are definitely fun to watch, but this was Marvel’s first realistic installment. There is nothing superhuman about it. As for the story, Matt Murdock was a young boy growing up in Hell’s Kitchen. He has a terrible accident causing him to go blind. His father “Battling Jack” Murdock raises him and cares for him until his is killed in the streets. Matt then meets Stick, an old man who is also blind that teaches him how to fight and use his other remaining senses. Over the years, Matt becomes an expert martial artist with extraordinary senses. He can hear heartbeats and count how many people are in a room. He can read the words on a paper by feeling the ink. He can smell the metallic odor of blood in the air. He uses these abilities, to become the Daredevil, or the man with no fear. He has to stop the Kingpin and bring peace to Hell’s Kitchen. One thing I didn’t like about the show is how he didn’t get his suit until the last episode. Season one was more like the story of how he became Daredevil, so he spends most of his time running around the streets kicking ass in all black. And the worst part is, when he finally does get his suit is is SO BAD-ASS. I can’t wait for season two to see the suit more. Also, if you don’t like violence, this is not the show for you. It is very dark and graphic, so if you aren’t a fan, I wouldn’t recommend it.

So if you are reading this, I recommend you start watching it as soon as possible! Season two airs on March 18, 2016. I would give season one an overall score of 9.5/10. Stay tuned for more movie reviews and eave a comment for what movie I should review next.

Daddy's Home

So I’ve done a pretty good job sticking to what I said in my first blog post about only reviewing comedies or superhero movies. My last post was another superhero post so today I thought I’d do a comedy. I’ll be reviewing a movie that just came out a couple weeks ago, Daddy’s Home, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Although it didn’t receive the best reviews, I thought it was actually pretty good.

Movie Cover courtesy of http://screenrant.com

First off, the actors. This movie was pretty highly anticipated because of that kick-ass cast: Ferrell and Wahlberg. Both actors have had very successful careers, and I was very excited to see them in their first ever team up. Will Ferrell delivered as always. It was fun seeing him play the older, more civilized role of a stepdad. He kind of started off slow but built up to his normal hilarious self later in the movie. I’ve came to realize that the modern Ferrell-era has had Will starring as pretty much the same character. I understand that he is getting older and has adapted to a new style of movie and character, but personally I enjoy the younger Ferrell. Daddy’s Home was definitely funny, but not funny like Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Stepbrothers, or any Ferrell classic. Others might not agree, but I like seeing Ferrell as loud, crazy and inappropriate as possible, and I just haven't seen it in his newer films. But Will Ferrell is always going to be Will Ferrell and he’s always going to be funny.

Ferrell in Blades of Glory courtesy of http://furlined.com

Next, Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg is more of an up-and-coming actor, receiving his first eye-opening success in Ted (2012). For those of you who don’t know, Wahlberg used to be a 90’s rapper known as Marky Mark. I loved him in both Ted and Ted 2, and am always going to remember him for that. I thought he did a decent job in Daddy’s Home. I wouldn’t consider him a funny actor, but more of an actor that stars in funny movies like Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson. I think he did a really good job showing the bad-ass, muscular dad, Dusty Mayron, and I am excited to see what his future acting career has in store.

As for the story of this movie, I thought it was good. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I see it as almost a sequel to Stepbrothers (2008). But instead of stepbrother versus stepbrother, it’s stepdad versus real dad. We’ve never seen this idea in a movie before, and I thought it was funny and entertaining. The movie doesn’t really get good until the dads really start competing with each other, but after that all hell breaks loose. There were a lot of funny lines and scenes, but also some moments where it wasn’t too great. If I had to summarize the negativity from this movie, it would be that I don’t think they used such a great storyline to the full potential. I think if they had made the movie a little more raunchy and a little less family orientated, it could have been more funny. Although it could have been better, my favorite part was the ending. I think the writers did a very good job with the ending. I’m not going to give too much away, but the way everything works out in the end is very good. 

Overall, I think this movie had it’s highs and lows, but despite all the bad ratings, I thought it was pretty good. For those of you wondering if you should go see it, do it. You just might like it. I would give it an overall score of 7/10.

Iron Man

Hey everyone. I’m finally back for another blog post. To be completely honest, I have not been very consistent with writing my blog posts because I have been waiting until the week they are due in my English class. But enough of that, lets get to the movie. Today I will be reviewing Iron Man (2008). This movie is known for being the first installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also one of the most bad-ass movies of all time. In my opinion, it is the best film from the Iron Man trilogy, and one of the best of all the Marvel installments so far.

Movie cover courtesy of http://www.forbes.com

Robert Downey Jr. plays billionaire genius Tony Stark, and I absolutely love him in this role. Downey Jr. was actually not supposed to play Iron Man when casting first started, instead the role was given to Tom Cruise. No offense to Tom or anything, but I don’t know how well that would have gone. I am very glad director Jon Favreau fought to cast Robert Downey Jr. He did an excellent job of showing every aspect of Tony Stark’s personality, from his cocky, self-obsessed billionaire side to his warm-hearted, heroic side. I really enjoyed watching Stark’s personality transform throughout the movie. He starts off as kind of a dick, and is very selfish and self obsessed. But after being held captive in the Afghan cave, Stark opens his eyes and realizes what he is meant to do: be a hero.

The supporting actors and actresses in this movie were spot on as well. Gwyneth Paltrow starred as Tony’s assistant/girlfriend Pepper Potts. Jeff Bridges played Obadiah Stane and later the evil Iron Monger, Tony’s co-manager and later arch-enemy. Terrence Howard played Tony’s best friend Colonel James Rhodes (soon to be War Machine). All these actors fulfilled their roles very well. I especially enjoyed Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane. For those who have not seen the movie before, he really tricks you into thinking he is one of the good guys. But when you realize he is actually helping the Ten Rings, he is as evil as it gets. I think Terrence Howard also did an amazing job as James Rhodes. Although there is one flaw. Howard was unable to return as Rhodey in the later films; instead his spot was taken by actor Don Cheadle. I was unsure at first because I was pleased with how Terrence Howard played the role, but Cheadle took the War Machine reins just as well.

One of my favorite parts of following the MCU is the abundance of easter eggs. There are easter eggs everywhere. For those of you who do not know what an easter egg is, it is a hidden message in a video game or movie. Often, they predict the future or make references to the original comic books. I am not going to explain every easter egg in this movie, but if you want to know them, click here. My favorite one in this movie is the scene where Rhodey comes to Tony’s house to see what he is working on. Tony puts on the suit and flies away, leaving Rhodey left with the original silver prototype suit. He then says “Next time, baby” as a reference to the future, when he becomes War Machine.

Iron Man being a bad-ass courtesy of http://www.comicbookmovie.com

As for the story, it was awesome like the rest of the movie. One thing that I really enjoy about Iron Man is that is is somewhat realistic. There are no superhuman beings or magic involved, only technology and science. I liked the antagonist in this story, the Ten Rings. The Ten Rings is like a modern day Al Qaeda or terrorist group. In my opinion, the first half of the movie is the best, when Tony Stark is abducted by the Ten Rings and builds the original Iron Man suit. But that’s just my opinion. The whole movie is great. Great enough to receive an overall score of 9/10.