Conan the Barbarian (1982)- Iron Age King

A cult classic stumping the critics.  Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Conan, was at his best form.  The #1 movie of its warrior/sorcery fantasy niche.  Conan is the hero of the Robert E. Howard novels, considered the father of the science-fiction and fantasy genre, until his death in 1936.  Way ahead of its time, Conan literature didn't get widespread fame until the 60s.  The Conan crew and cast succeeded in transporting us into Conan's Dark Ages.
Director John Milius fulfilled his work of a lifetime.  A USC colleague of George Lucas, Milius even designed some of his own props like the giant milling wheel where Conan grew up as a slave.  He shot the arrows that brought down the monster snake coiled around Conan.  He didn't wipe Arnold's real blood when Arnold accidentally fell during the wild wolves chase scene, because it looked gorier that way.
Conan the Barbarian was basically a silent movie.  It was too good to survive beyond the sequel, because Milius was axed after Part 1.  The excellent musical score by Basil Poledouris, also studied with Lucas, narrated the movie transcendentally.  The script was first written by Oliver Stone.  Its conciseness gave credence to the raw emotion that spoke for itself of a beguiling bygone age.
The characters seemed hand-picked straight out of a Howard reading and are portrayed by a motley mix of foreign and distinguished talents.  The witch (Gava) that turned into a demon when Conan made love to her, the ally wizard (Mako) living next to a cemetery home of the gods, Doom's bodyguards (Ben Davidson, an NFL player, & champion Swedish bodybuilder Thorsen), Subotai the thief/archer (a novice actor but pro surfer, Valeria (Bergman), Conan's sword maiden (who won the sole notable award for the movie: a Golden Globe), and King Osric (the legendary Max Von Sydow, who even did his role for free) to name some.  This was not made just for adolescents--among whom I counted when I first saw it!
After many adventures, Conan battles the sorcerer Thulsa Doom (the great voice James Earl Jones) in a one of the greatest final battle of battles!!  A TOUCHDOWN for sure!!!

Unbreakable (2000)- SuperWillis

Director Shyamalan created this movie about superheroes at the most human level.  You see this hero, Mr. Dunn (Bruce Willis), appear this year at the end of the movie Split, which Shyamalan also directed.  In comic book drama, it probably means he's working on the Unbreakable sequel with the Split villain Horde (James McAvoy), as the third movie in this series.  A good reason to revisit this old cult flick.  

Shyamalan sets up characters trying to answer the proverbial question 'why am I here.'  The movie is a bit slow going, but succeeds in enveloping you in its comic book narrative.  David Dunn (Willis), a security guard, learns about his powers through Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), an influential comic book collector in a wheelchair.  David is apparently indestructible.  Mr. Glass exposes himself to Dunn as his nemesis, having blown up various airplanes and cruise ships.  The best thing about the movie is the musical scores and camera shots as Dunn takes us through his journey of self-discovery. This is a refreshing way of portraying the superhero without all the cliches and predicable action scenes.  David only discovers these powers until the end, leaving us panting for more.

17 years later, amid our cheers, Shyamalan's superhero reemerges.  This intensifies his humanity.  Just a regular Joe like us stuck in the mix of time.  Despite the lagging development and limited heroism, I was still enthralled by a unique approach to the super hero genre, and now I see it begin to pay off.  I give this a Winning 25 yd. Line. 

Lucy (2014)- Non-Lucid

What happens when a husband, Director Luc Besson, and wife, Producer Virginie Besson-Silla make a movie?  It was very lucrative for them.  I saw an intriguing beginning, but a disappointing development.
Besson directed some of my favorite movies like The Professional and The Fifth Element.  You notice a little of that genius as the movie begins.  Once again he elevates a heroine, Lucy (Scarlett Johansson), the streetwise girlfriend of a drug trafficker (Pilou Asbaek).  After her boyfriend sets her up, she is forced to carry drugs for Korean drug boss Mr. Jang (Choi Min-Sik) inside her body.  Those drugs begin to leak into her organs.  The drug is CPH4, which allows users to utilize up to 100% of their brain.  The movie leads us to imagine what it's like to use more than our theorized 10% of our brain.  Professor Samuel Norman (Morgan Freeman) adds to this wonder by rattling off brain facts and theories about our brain's potential.  Lucy becomes a super mutant with unfathomed powers.  She can travel throughout time, control electronics by manipulating electromagnetic waves, manipulate other human brains, and throw in telekinesis too.  Limitless leads to boring.  Amazing special effects soon lose their appeal, as the plot to find all the bags of CPH4 that her boyfriend sent with her is quickly resolved.
The ending seals the deal.  The drug lord Jang failed in becoming the archenemy he was set up to be. He was just a bad guy that pestered a demigoddess until the end.  Besson's greatest failure is the fate of Lucy.  She continues as a sentient being like his former heroines, but in a very improbable body. My teen really liked it.  Still, I can't believe a Besson movie gets a Losing 45 yard Line from me.

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (2014)- My Fav Books

Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, prequel to his Lord of the Rings movies, ends with this film.  Thank you Mr. Jackson for bringing my favorite J.R.R. Tolkien books to life!
It deserved more than a mere Oscar nomination, but that's why I am the Critic of the People, so the masses be heard.  Peter was shy of a masterpiece.  Bilbo the Hobbit (Martin Freeman) ends his journey at Erebor's Lonely Mountain.  The dragon Smaug should've been killed in the previous movie which makes this movie drag on.  Once the dragon is dead, 5 armies converge on Smaug's horde of treasure being defended by Thorin's (Richard Armitage) company of dwarfs inside the Lonely Mountain.  Jackson over embellished!  There's worms straight out of Frank Herbert's Dune, and the inconclusive, silly romance between an elf and a dwarf continued logging on minutes.  Some parts were repetitive from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy enemy marches, like orcs emerging from Gundabad with redundant scripts.  No wonder Thorin's band goes out to battle armorless; filmstrip's running short.  Bilbo lies to Gandalf (Ian McKellen) that he lost the ring of power, despite showing it to Gandalf in Jackson's the Fellowship of the Ring. 
Nonetheless, only Jackson goes to Middle Earth.  He synthesized Tolkienesque CGI creatures and settings together.  Some history on Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, is a bonus that Tolkien left us wanting to know more about, and Jackson expands on.  There are plenty of dramatic skirmishes supplementing this battle of 5 armies that equals or tops the final battle in The Return of the King.
I haven't given a movie a FIELD GOAL in a while.  Well, I give it to this flick due to how close it came to greatness.  That's Peter Jackson for you though.  Adding Del Toro as cowriter was a good try, but he needed more fresh minds.  More likely his management style was on automatic after making 6 of these Tolkien movies.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)- Episode VIII Ate It

Episode VIII marks the much awaited full return of Luke Skywalker (Hamill) to the new sequel series.  Hooked onto sci-fi since I beheld the deserts of Tatooine, I still don't love VIII, even though teenagers rave about it, but it was better than Episode VII: The Force Awakens. 
Fortunately, J. J. Abrams is limited to executive producer, instead of writing and directing as in The Force Awakens.  Abrams is not even good for the new Star Trek, as I mentioned before.  Rian Johnson directs this one, from the well-acclaimed Looper; better but still not the right cut.  I started confused again, as in VII, noting more gaps in the Prologue.  It read that the First Order is now as powerful as the previous Empire and the Resistance is more overwhelmed than ever.  Didn't the First Order's planet killer just get blown up and their champion Kylo Ren (Driver) was out dueled by amateur Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Episode VII?  Also, the restored humor descends into corny levels from the outstart.
This film is best rated on its disappointing movie form: it's really about Luke and his nemesis Kylo Ren.  Luke's development sucks while Ren's peaks.  Luke went on anti-Jedi rants?  Ghost of Yoda appears, treating Luke like a total novice again.  Luke throws his light saber away!!!  We waited all these years for this tomfoolery??  Kylo Ren was the real centerpiece!?!  Ren continues to display his struggles with the Force, having to prove anew that he is Sith enough.  Ren deals with Luke, Rey, and even his own Supreme Leader (Andy Serkis).  Rey's development is the worst, as the elephant in the room.  We know the rest of the series depends on her, but casts her aside to make room for more subplots to make it the longest Star Wars flick ever.  As if begrudging this, Rey loses it and raises a light saber against Luke.  Yet, the twists and turns, and the swan song performance of Carrie Fisher as Leia keeps it worth reviewing.
George Lucas, ...how could you go on TV and give VIII your blessing???  The ending was anticlimactic and unStar Wars-like.  Of course, Luke battles Ren.  Although, Force wielders always act within the realms of the physical, these act like DC Comic heroes.  The much expected battle was a nothing burger.  Luke's fate is unlike any other Jedis'.  Another embarrassing episode of this trilogy, but I move it up to the Winning 35 yd. Line, due to improvements since Episode VII.  Only Star Wars: Rogue One has recaptured the flash of the original Star Wars for me.

  

The Ingraham Angle (FOX)- Fake News Too?

Laura Ingraham at last has her own well-deserved televised show.  I admire her growth through conservative radio and CNN into a FOX primetime slot.  It just premiered October 30, 2017, and airs at 10:00 PST.
Please, hear me out, in the midst of divided times, I watch all types of news shows.  Media is biased, and we're entitled to form our own opinions.  She spars with guests from opposing views to bring her own twist to the current climate of 'fake news' vs. the conservative island of FOX.  In a field being remade with the fall of giants on both sides, due to allegations of sexual harassment, from the likes of Matt Lauer to Bill O' Reilly, Laura has always been a dependable source of thought-provoking items. She even injects some social gusto to keep it entertaining. Overall, she is an iron maiden, demanding admiration regardless of political persuasion.  I don't think anybody has ever frazzled her, surviving in such a punishing field. Laura provides an arena of time-tested discourse that adds perspective to the national protests.  While some might brand her as Far Right, I've always enjoyed how she exposes the worst and best of the Left and Right that I don't glean from other news shows.
She needs to spice it up a bit more though, being on primetime.  No, singing nuns won't keep me awake.  Laura, this is not radio.  Yes, we can see you now: cover that golden cross; no other anchor flaunts their religion for long.  I lay it on the Goal Line until then.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)- Prequel II

Finally, Part II of the Planet of the Apes prequel continues to answer so many questions left by the original series led by Charlton Heston.  Caesar the chimpanzee, leader of the colony of genetically modified super apes, has fortified his foothold in the woods north of San Francisco while humanity continues to wane.  As 1 in 500 humans survive the plague of simian flu, the Franciscan humans' clash with the apes escalates.
Director Matt Reeves' CGI dominated cast should have won the Oscar for its Best Visual Effects nomination. The homo sapiens are actually pretty good too with Jason Clarke as Malcom, the leading protagonist for the "good" humans.  There will never be another Charlton Heston, yet Clarke fills the role with enough moral passion.  Gary Oldman is Dreyfus, the leader of the San Franciscan community.  Gary, his usual face contortions and all,  insists on going to war against the apes.  There is a true warmth and nobility portrayed by Caesar, which is a stark contrast to what the ape society turned into in the Planet of the Apes that is entertaining to see evolve, and it's amazing to remember that he is mere pixels.
The ending is foreseen in each of these movies, so the action and suspense is vital.  Indeed, it comes delivers, with rivalries proliferate within both camps while bridging both worlds; thus, polishing this series to gain its place in the apocalyptic pantheon.  10th & Goal is my rating after multiple-watching!