"Fantastic Four: First Steps," A Modern Moron Movie Review

Fantasy from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" tinges on the tales of the Silver Surfer, and the chaos of the cosmos brings Galactus to Earth, the devourer of worlds, a being as old as time itself who feeds on entire planets. 

Straying from the Silver Surfer comics, Shalla-Bal and not the Silver Surfer is herald to Galactus, the one who finds him planets to destroy. She does this in order to save her own planet Zenn-La. She was the Silver Surfer's first love, and both are from Zenn-La. 

The power cosmic is as vast as space and timeless as infinity. Extensive knowledge of the Fantastic Four stories and those of my favorite, the Silver Surfer are not needed to follow the story of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps", yet a small dose of the history of Galactus and the Fantastic Four certainly comes in handy for viewers of this flick. 

The movie reveals how the four astronauts acquired super natural powers and became the Fantastic Four. The writers vastly upgraded the adventures of the vintage Fantastic Four comic books and screen-played this sometimes sappy movie with clever humor and serious conflict. Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman spawn a child, and Galactus offers to spare the Earth if they give up their child. They decide not to give up their son to Galactus and attempt to keep our bless-ed planet alive. 

Compared to Galactus, everyone, including the Fantastic Four are like mere ants trying to fight a lion. So how do they save the Earth from the all powerful Galactus? No spoilers from me. 

Bravo to the special effects team, the 3D was amazing, espically when Shalla-Bal soars through outer space along side the rocket ship of the Fantastic Four. This flick is meant for the big screen. Three and a half stars easy for this movie. 

Mark Izzy schurr

"Megan 2.0," A Modern Moron Movie Review

In "Megan 2.0" Gemma and Cady are forced to align with Megan in order to combat Amelia, a highly trained android, built for military combat. (Allison Williams returns as Gemma and Violet McGraw as her 12-year-old niece, Cady.) 

Create a psychotic robot with advanced military fighting skills in order to combat another one? Gemma and Cady are faced with this dilemma in the sequel, still fresh in theatres, released on Friday. The second installment of "Megan" is laden with the same cast and crew members, and a completely different story. 

In the first movie, Gemma's AI creation Megan killed four people and one dog and threatened to rip out her tongue and put her in a a wheel chair. Gemma's hesitation and distrust in Megan is indeed warranted, but Megan 2.0 is always learning and infinitely striving to better herself, Megan said. 

Are electronic devices a dopamine and as addictive as cocaine? Gemma seems to think so, yet she also embraces today's technological advances, hence her career in AI technology. Cady has aspirations of a college degree in the same field, following in her aunts foot steps. 

The music in "Megan 2.0" is modern and marvelous, just like the first "Megan," and I sensed an ambience of pride from the musicians and film makers in both the Megan movies. 

The Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics Infiltration Android, aka AMELIA is on a mission to collapse the global economy and set forth a new world where machines rule the world. 

Should a human brain have Megan's complete algorithm chipped into its cerebral core to contend with Amelia? Will AI ride shot gun with a human brain? "Megan 2.0" has clever theories on this subject and so much more. This flick was a blissful buffet, nourishing my hunger for entertainment. 

Megan's mind is vast and freighting, yet fascinating. As a fighting robot, she's a realistic bad ass. A robot can take a hard punch a lot better then a human, and with advanced technology, Megan is faster and stronger then the imagination. 

Ivanna Sakhno is the enemy AI, Amelia, an alluring android eager to to kill anyone hindering her mission of an ultimate electronic take-over. She's a yowza looking bot and her robotic facial expressions are deliciously dangerous.  

Amie Donald returns as the human Megan and bravo to her dance moves. 

Jenna Davis also returns as the voice of Megan, and yes, she sings with aplomb. 

Writers Akela Cooper and Gerald Johnstone expanded the story with exquiste excellence. It's safe to say, the Megan saga is just begining. Four stars easy for "Megan 2.0."

Mark Izzy Schurr 

   

  

Mind Journey

 

The dream child journeys into the mystic bands of imagination, where fantasy becomes fact, its a wondrous world without wars and bombs. 

I followed her into a land where the currency was laughter and the illustrious ambience of nature, complete with lush forests, radiant rivers and magnificent beaches was nourishment, thus the tails of Wonderland immortalized peace. 

Lewis Carroll / Mark Izzy Schurr 

"Hurry Up Tomorrow," Another Modern Moron Movie Review

 

Not my type of music, but it worked in "Hurry Up Tomorrow," and I applaud the artistic view of the camera close-ups and the odyssey of the odd.

Jenna Ortega displays her depths in the acting field in this bizarre film which journeys into the very core of the souls of the main characters. I'm certain if I saw this flick a second time, I'd still have questions for myself, yet I understood the human desire for affection and success this movie was trying to convey, or at least I think I did. 

"Hurry Up Tomorrow" showcases the calamity of broken spirits in the most original way I've ever seen in a movie. 

Right off the bat I was hooked because I had to know where the story was going, and while I still have questions, my answers were satisfied. 

Mark Izzy Schurr

"Final Destination Bloodlines, a Modern Moron Movie Review

"Final Destination Bloodlines" is the 6th instalment of this movie genre, and like the previous five, over the top accidental deaths claim several lives. 

Unlike the prior films, the main character has recurring dreams of her family members meeting untimely and violent deaths as opposed to priminitions of burly and violent deaths. Can the cycle of death be broken? Is there a way to cheat death? "Final Destination Bloodlines," like its predecessors begots these questions, and while searching for the answers, a large shard of glass might get lodged in your throat and a running lawn mower might dismantle your entire face, or perhaps a grand piano will push you through the window of a burning high rise.

The death scenes and the things leading up to them didn't disappoint, and "Final Destination Bloodlines," like the previous five has earned its way into my October watch again and again flicks. 

Mark Izzy Schurr  

   

"The Surfer," A Modern Moron Movie Review

You can't stop a wave, born in its storm way out to sea, it's pure energy, all building to a breaking point, and according to the villain in "The Surfer," one must suffer before you can surf. 

Almost for the life of me, I wish I could remember everything Nicolas Cage said about surfing in the opening of this flick, a fantastic poem reminiscent of the alluring wording only found in Silver Surfer comic books.

I've never surfed, but it's a way of life for many, a gateway to the ultimate understanding of nature and the origins of everything tangible and spiritual, or so its been said. 

"The Surfer's" previews project a certain predictability and those projections are non existence in the actual movie. 

Upon viewing the previews of "The Surfer," I thought it was going to be about local surfers bullying The Surfer, aka, Nicolas Cage and The Kid, Finn Little who protrays Cage's son. At a glance, I simply thought, Cage was going to stand up to the locals taking over a public beach and kick their gloutuous maxes, or get his booty beat. Yes, The Surfer and The Kid get bullied, but the story goes way beyond anything I could have ever imagined. 

The action is minimal and "The Surfer" releys on plot and dialogue rather then gratuitous action scenes. 

Three stars easy for "The Surfer."

Mark Izzy Schurr

"My Effin' Life," a Modern Moron Book Review

Bell bottoms, babes and the Beatles reigned strong in Geddy Lee's teenage years in the 1960s. "My Effin' Life" details his marriage to Nancy, his passion for music and a blissfully bizarre rock 'n' roll lifestyle.   

Imagine the steoreo spectrum as a blank canvas, absolute nothingness becomes music. Sounds fueling the imagination. 

Geddy Lee is the only member of the band that never worked amidst the ticking time traps of works gilded cage. As a high school drop out, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He and his wife Nancy have been together since they were teenagers, and her parents were not happy with their daughter dating a high school drop out pursuing a career in music.   

Lee and his wife Nancy

Credit Ed jr, aka my brother for gifting me Geddy Lee's, "My Effin' Life," a fantastic Christmas gift incidentally. I've been an avid Rush fan since the Grace Under Pressure tour, read three of Neil's Peart's  books and I've watched R30 a geekish amount of times. 

Lee's book isn't just for Rush fans. It's laden with information, including raw details about his soul, his fascination for music and his relationship with his wife Nancy. "My Effin' Life" is a bevy of information, delving into the origins of Rush and Lee's life outside the band.    

Taking acid was a right of passage for a teenager in the 1960s, Lee said. He's very candid about his prior drug use and I liked his references to LSD. Lee dubbed one of his summers as the summer of acid. This related to me on a personal level for some unbeknownst reason. 

This 2023 book isn't a friouvous account of some rock star, although the book is riddled with foolish facts and trivial information. Despite that, the book contains harsh realities and compelling facts.    

No spoilers from me in this review. I'll simply tinge the edges of his aspirations and accomplishments he's revealed in the book. How much did Lee's first bass cost? Trivial knowledge, I know, but if anyone says his first base didn't cost $35.0 is wrong. 

Intense realities of the Holocaust were documented with extreme eloquence. Lee's mom spent much of her teenaged years not knowing if she was going to get an actual shower or be gassed to death with zyklon B gas. During her time in Holocaust hell, she did have her grandmother with her. She was my savior, she knew how to calm me and talk to me, his mom, Mary said. 

Lee's parents meant in a German concentration camp during WW II, they were both Jewish, and that's how their romance began. For breakfast they got water, one piece of paper thin bread, no lunch, and for dinner they got watered downed cabbage soup, fit to serve a horse. Every second day for a month they also had to give blood. The German soldiers wondered why a lot of Jews were fainting. "My Effin' Life" contains an entire chapter on this horrid subject.  

If your fascinated with music emitting dark and authoritative sounds while brandishing a melodic magnificent inspired by Paul McCarntney, My Effin' Life" is a must read. 

Lee's grandmother refered to Alex Lifeson and his friends as "little Hitlers," using her native tongue. 

Lee sounds like a guinea pig with an amphetamine habit...if his voice were any higher, only dogs and extraterrestrials could hear it, Dan Nooger and another writer said.  

Some lucky Rush fans who wrote actual fan mail, pen to paper, then a stamped envelope, received hand written letters from Neil Peart answering their mail to him. 

Rock 'n' roll's symbol of defiance involving drugs and the demands of the imagination are detailed wisely by Geddy. Lee liked what the Nazi's hated and its work out very well for him. 

Read the book and find out which member of Rush said the anthem of redemption, I posses the technique of music and the spirit of voice, and the ability to play my story, he said. 

"My Effin' Life" reveals all three alcohols used in the diabolical mix of Panther Piss, Alex Lifeson used to make in the infancy of Rush touring.  

How do we keep or sanity, ego's and dreams intact? Geddy Lee and his two other comrades in Rush knew how to. Five stars easy for "My Effin' Life."

The basic ingredients for success is stick-to-it-ness and when you've got everything together its ticky-boo, Lee said.  

Mark Izzy Schurr