Category: Movies

Miguel’s Friday Thoughts: Tina Turner, Melo Retiring

By Miguel Mike Medina

Tina Turner has passed away at the age of 83. She’s known as the “Queen of Rock and Roll.” I was never a big fan of her. I do think it’s a blessing she got to live a long life. I’ll mostly remember Tina for her song “What’s love got to Do with It,” a legendary and classic song. I remember when Fat Joe made his version featuring Ashanti and Ja Rule for the Juwanna Mann movie soundtrack. Tina Turner also had domestic issues with her ex Ike Turner. They were a musical duo from 1960 to 1976. She divorced Ike Turner in 1978. Turner has sold over 100 million records worldwide and won 12 Grammy Awards. 

The remake of the 1992 White Men Can’t Jump was a failure. I’m glad I didn’t see this, and I’m not planning to. Hollywood and their obsession with doing remakes and reboots is cringeworthy and a waste of money. The series is on Hulu, and there’s no point in why these creators wanted to make this series. Leave the classics and originals alone. 

Gary Sanchez has been designated for assignment. Sánchez, in his first season with the Mets, has one RBI and zero home runs through just three games played. I think Sanchez will find another home to play, but he still needs to improve his game. The Mets are better off with Francisco Alvarez as the starting catcher. He’s the future at that position for this franchise. 

Carmelo Anthony recently announced his retirement from the NBA. Melo is one of the greatest scorers of his generation. He’s a 10-time All-Star and a three-time gold medalist.

He’s a lock to go to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Anthony had opportunities to be part of a title-contending team, but he dropped the ball. For example, he could’ve joined Wade and Lebron in Miami, but he wanted to get his money. He didn’t take a pay cut. Also, his isolation Game didn’t help him win championships. Melo is known for playing one on one. That’s his game. I’m not really into that kind of style of play. He played for some good teams like the 2009 Denver Nuggets and 2013 New York Knicks, but for the most part, anywhere he went, winning didn’t follow him. 

HBO Max Sounds Better Than Max

By Miguel Mike Medina

Why HBO Max Sounds Better Than Max?

Today is the launch day for the streaming service under the new name, “Max.” HBO Max has a better ring than “Max.” It doesn’t make sense why they want to switch to this new name for the streaming service. It’s nuts, like in Sports. For example, Staples Center was a better name than “crypto.com arena.” HBO Max has a lot of great content. I don’t regret subscribing to their service. 

At the beginning of my journey with HBO Max, I had difficulty logging into my phone after setting everything on my TV screen. This was back in 2020 or 2021. I don’t know why it was giving me problems, but it wasn’t delightful. Thank god I don’t have that problem anymore. Serving service at expense, but HBO Max and Netflix are two streaming service that is hard for me to let go of. I don’t spend all day watching content because there are other important things in life. But if I want to take an hour during the weekend to watch something entertaining, those two services, especially HBO Max, are my go-to place. 

There are many movies and shows that I’ve enjoyed watching on HBO Max: Barry, Succession, The Flight Attendant, and many more. 

Max better bring something great since they are making this push. Naming the service Max is like calling someone by their first name. Max is not a strange name for me because I have two family members with that name. One of my friends’ sons has this same name as well. HBO Max sounds way better. But then again, with three creative executives, they’re forever changing their platforms, rules, and content, whether for the good or bad. 

Chiwetel Ejiofor Joins ‘Venom 3’

By Miguel Mike Medina

Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor will be joining the cast of Venom 3, starring Academy Award nominee Tom Hardy. It’s an exciting role for Chiwetel. He is one of the best actors of his generation and quite likable when you see him on screen. British actors are very talented, and most come from a theatre background. 

Tom Hardy and Kelly Marcel will be the producers for this movie, and Marcel will also be writing the screenplay from a story she and Hardy wrote. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker also are producing. 

Chiwetel should’ve had more momentum after his performance in 12 Years A Slave. It’s crazy to think it’s been ten years since he delivered that performance. If it wasn’t for Matthew McConaughey’s performance in Dallas Buyers Club, Chiwetel could’ve won Best Actor for his role as Solomon Northup. There was heavy competition that year for Best Actor because you had Matthew, Chiwetel, and Leonardo DiCaprio with outstanding performances. 

Elajor has been part of other films after 12 Years A Slave, such as Ridley Scott’s The Martian and Doctor Strange 1 and 2. We shall see who he will be portraying in this new Venom movie. He is no stranger when it comes to Comic Book projects. 

Happy Birthday, Emilio Estevez!

By Miguel Mike Medina

Actor, writer, and filmmaker Emilio Estevez turns 61 today. Isn’t it hard to believe that Coach Bombay is in his 60s now? Emilio comes from a family filled with artists, and it starts with his parents, especially his father, Martin Sheen. Emilio and Martin look alike, and they’ve always been together. The Estevez-Sheen family business is nothing but success and loyalty. Emilio is the brother of Charlie Sheen. 

Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez recently went to “The Jennifer Hudson Show” Jennifer asked Emilio if it’s true that Laurence Fishburne saved his life when he was 14 years old and Emilio said it’s true. Emilio and Laurence were 14 while working on the movie, Apocalypse Now in the Philippines. Laurence saved him from drowning in quicksand. They bonded and connected ever since that incident. When Martin Sheen found out about it, he called Laurence to thank him. If it weren’t for Laurence Fishburne, we would’ve not recognize Emilio Estevez, that we know today, and the many classic movies he brought into our homes. 

Emilio Estevez was part of the “Brat Pack” in the 80s, which featured stars Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, and many more. All of them were part of teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s, such as The Breakfast Club and St Elmo’s Fire. Emilio is one of those actors who give you the impression that he’s a calm, cool, collected guy. He’s one of those actors who you want to tune in and easy to like when you watch him on screen. 

The Breakfast Club is one of my favorite films from Emilio Estevez. He plays the role of a wrestler and takes no crap from anyone. The Breakfast Club is arguably the most outstanding high school ever. It’s cool to see the group reunite for significant anniversaries, but Emilio never attends them. It makes me wonder why he never participates in anything that involves The Breakfast Club. It’s an iconic movie that defined and influenced future high school movies, and we can’t forget about the music score. 

The Mighty Ducks trilogy films bring nothing but incredible memories. The first two films of the series are the best. Which one do you think it’s better? The first one or the second one? I would say that the second one is the best because I like the setting in which Team USA goes to Los Angeles to compete in the Olympics. You also saw Coach Bombay act like a celebrity and a diva more than a coach. Part One of the Mighty Ducks film series brings more attention to me because I like that you see the early beginnings of how this team was put together. Coach Bombay was a successful lawyer but a mess on the inside. He was betting drunk and even got arrested. But when he became a coach, he changed his life around, and with the help of his mentor (Hans), he made his team into title contenders. 

There are other films that Emilio Estevez was part of that you can check out on streaming service platforms:

– Young Guns (Amazon Prime)

– The Public (Peacock) (Directed, Written, and Starring Emilio Estevez)

– Judgment Night (Free on YouTube) 

Happy birthday to Emilio Estevez! He will always be Coach Bombay to me. 

Academy’s New Requirements for Next Year

By Miguel Mike Medina

The Academy Awards continue to lose their mind. It is unbelievable that we live in a time when art doesn’t matter anymore. It’s about promoting political agendas and diversity, inclusion equity. This is getting out of hand. Recently, one of my friends sent an article from The Hollywood Reporter published back in March of this year. The article describes the new diversity criteria you must meet to be nominated for best picture at next year’s Oscars.

You heard that well. There will be new rules that filmmakers must meet before they submit their films to the Oscars. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is the ridiculous idea that we will begin to see more often beginning next year. 

STANDARD A: Onscreen

The film must meet one of the following:

At least one of the lead or significant supporting actors is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.

At least 30 percent of all actors in secondary and minor roles are from an underrepresented group.

The main storyline, theme, or narrative of the film is centered on an underrepresented group.

STANDARD B: The Team

The film must meet one of the following:

At least two creative leadership positions and department heads, such as the director, cinematographer, or costume designer, are from underrepresented groups. At least one must belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.

At least six other crew and technical positions, such as the first AD or script supervisor, are from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.

At least 30 percent of the film’s crew is from an underrepresented group.

STANDARD C: Access 

The film must meet both criteria:

The distribution or financing company has paid apprenticeships or internships for underrepresented groups.

The production, distribution and/or financing company offers below-the-line skill development to the underrepresented.

STANDARD D: Audience Development

The film must have multiple in-house senior executives from underrepresented groups on the marketing, publicity, and/or distribution teams.

All of these rules are blasphemy. The Academy has gone super woke. The ideas of the rules began to circle in 2020, but next year it will be through the stratosphere. It’s an issue when the message becomes more important than the story. Why are we forcing things on people? It’s an outrage. 

Actor Richard Dreyfuss criticized the Academy for the new diversity and inclusion requirements. He said that these rules make him vomit. The comment made me laugh because he has a point, and I feel the same way. 

Dreyfuss, 75, won an Oscar for Best Actor for his in the 1978 film, The Goodbye Girl. 

Jamie Foxx Remained Hospitalized


By Miguel Mike Medina

Academy Award-winning Actor, Singer, and Comedian Jamie Foxx remained hospitalized for over three weeks after suffering a medical emergency. The rumor is that he suffered from a stroke or heart attack. 

What’s crazy about this situation with Jamie is that he looks healthy. When I heard the news about Jamie Foxx being in the hospital, it surprised me. But then again, with these celebrities, you never know their situation. We hope he didn’t do drugs or is a result of years of doing drugs. Another possibility could be that he wasn’t checking himself often with the doctors. The general recommendation is to check yourself every six months or every year. Many of us are hesitant to see the doctors because we might be afraid of hearing bad news or don’t want to take prescriptions, or it’s a waste of time because some doctors don’t help us like they should be helping us. It could be many reasons. 

Regardless, this is a wake-up call and a lesson in life for Jamie Foxx to probably slow down on his work and focus more on his health. There will come a point in our lives where we must deal with health situations. The important thing is to have a lot of faith and self-discipline. No one is alone because God is always with us to guide and protect us. 

Foxx is 55 years old. He won an Oscar for his role as Ray Charles in the movie Ray in 2004. Since 2017, Foxx has served as the host and executive producer of the Fox game show Beat Shazam. In 2021, he wrote his autobiography Act Like You Got Some Sense. Foxx is involved in eight projects between this year and the foreseeable future. In three of those eight projects, he serves as the producer. Seven of those eight projects are in postproduction. 

‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Reaches $1 Billion

By Miguel Mike Medina

The movie crossed $1 billion at the global box office on Sunday, and it continues to break box office records as it remains in the No. 1 spot for the fourth consecutive weekend. The Nintendo videogame adaptation dominated the month of April in theaters. The movie continues to break records. 


Are we surprised by this? Should we be surprised? It’s Mario, for crying out loud. The Super Mario Bros is very special to me. I played video games on Super Nintendo during the late 90s and early 2000s. Some games I used to play were Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Bros 1, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario All-Stars, and Super Mario World. All of this is making me want to play those games again.

PS. I still have a Super Nintendo in my apartment. The kid inside of me will forever live on. 

As for the movie, “Super Mario Bros.” is the 10th animated film in history to cross $1 billion, making it the 10th biggest animated movie of all time globally, beating out the $942.5 million that “Minions: The Rise of the Gru” grossed in 2019.

For four consecutive weekends in the United States and Canada movie theaters, the Super Mario Bros movie has led in ticket sales. It’s an astonishing accomplishment for everyone involved in making this picture. I still haven’t seen the movie, but I’m more determined than ever to watch it today or sometime this week. 

The last time we saw a Super Mario Bros movie was back in 1993, starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. These kinds of movies are movies that you enjoy watching with your family. It’s about having a good time and not taking it so seriously. Therefore, I won’t pay much attention to the movie critics. I’ll be my own critic for this one.