Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer

Alright folks, this is Trailer 2 for PoC to review! I am so stoked.

S P I D E R - M A N:

H  O  M  E  C  O  M  I  N  G

TRAILER

                  Alright, I'm not sure if y'all are aware, but I am a huge Spider-Man fanatic. Something for the ladies to know, if you just wanna see me blabbing and geeking out, ask me anything about Spider-Man and I will go on an hour rant. I promise you.

                  But we're not here to talk about me, we're here to talk about Tom! First off, I love the fact that Marvel has really shown him to be such a nerd, but one that hints at a struggle to balance being a kid and a hero. And this is kinda like "Spider-Man: Year One", which I really like. DO NOT

GET ME WRONG, I absolutely loved the original Spider-Man Trilogy, Tobey Maguire was my childhood. The Amazing Spider-Man series was phenomenal. Even though Andrew Garfield was kind of a stretch for me at first, he ended up being one of my favorite actors. And I think the same can go for Tom. I'm giving him a chance, and I can't wait to see what they're gonna do with him!

                  First thing we see is Peter running into a back alley and whipping out the suit. And oh my goodness, if you didn't like the whole loose-to-fitting suit feature, just stop reading because that was so freaking cool. I think everyone can agree (especially cosplayers) that that's something that Spidey has needed. It's such a tight suit! So he just keeps it under, but this is cool because it's strip, throw on,

fit button, BOOM, Spider-Man.

                  Next thing is a swinging sequence. I've always loved every single swing sequence we've ever been shown, and this is no different. Spider-Man's agility, seamless swinging, and even his funny character is shown in the next few seconds. I guess what I woulda liked more is the realism of the actual swinging.

                  Not sure if you are completely aware of this, but in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the first time we see Spidey in his new suit, his swinging seems to be heavily rooted in physics. His angel dives give him his momentum to swing far and to swing high. There was even a camera that showed his perspective of the swinging, and every time he came to the bottom of the web, there was a slight lurch. WHICH IS TOTALLY ACCURATE. If you think about it, that lurch would dislocate any regular human shoulder because of the G-Force, but since Spider-Man is enhanced, there's still the lurch, but he can handle it.

                  In this trailer, I didn't see any realism in the swinging motions. Nonetheless, the sequences are cool.

                  Thirdly, we see Peter and Tony together, and Peter is wondering about how he's going to

play a role as an Avenger. Which is pretty cool, but he seems eager to join the team. In the comics, Peter has been eager to join teams before, but in the end, he's always ended up solo because he believes that's the best way he can operate. Even in the new comic series The Amazing Spider-Man (2017) he primarily works alone, even though he's got a giant corporation behind him. The company is simply there to back him.

                  Then Peter decides to be sneaky and climb on the ceiling of his room, which he obviously fails at, which is pretty funny. So he accidentally lets his buddy in on the secret that he's the Spider-Man. Cool!

                  "Can you summon an army of spiders?" Man, I'm telling you, I'm gonna love this kid. He's gonna be so funny. But also, he's going to be a good support for Spider-Man in his times of need. Which I think every hero needs. Think about Tony and Rhodes! They've got it good.

                  "I stole his shield" was probably one of the coolest scenes they showed. Cuz yeah, this movie doesn't take place too long after Civil War. So he's still proud of that.

                  Alright, I geeked out too much, but now we see Vulture. And oh my god, I didn't believe in Michael Keaton, but he is gonna be a hella good villain. And the Vulture suit just looks scary in general. It's dark green, he's got freaking talons, and he's got crazy tech that blows everything up.
                  All in all, I am very impressed with this new trailer and I can't wait for the film.

S P I D E R - M A N:

H  O  M  E  C  O  M  I  N  G

Arrives in Theaters July 7, 2017

Bibliography:

"Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGHGZjDguqw>

"Spider-Man: Homecoming" <https://i0.wp.com/media2.slashfilm.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/spider-man-homecoming-trailer-34.jpg>

"Spider-Man: Homecoming" <http://cdn2us.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeekus/files/2017/01/spider-man-homecoming.png>

"Spider-Man: Homecoming" <https://www.movie-list.com/img/posters/caps/spidermanhomecoming.jpg>

"Spider-Man: Homecoming Vulture" <https://m.elitestatic.com/m/54ad0d380f854d0e/spiderman-homecoming-trailer-16.jpg>

Kong: Skull Island

I saw this movie the other day as a birthday gift from my parents. 17!!!

K   O   N   G

S K U L L   I S L A N D

                  I was very impressed with this movie overall. The CGI was phenomenal and I really like that I got to see so much of Kong. It seemed like the CG Artists forgot virtually nothing when constructing his physique and movements.

                  Overall, character development didn't seem like a very important thing. It seemed like they just wanted to show off a giant ape, giant spider, giant grasshopper, and whatever the hell the

"Skullcrawlers" were. However, Kong was portrayed as a "good king. Keeps to himself", and he protects the native inhabitants of the island who are human. It was like Kong understood that the people didn't want to hurt him at all, and he inherited his duty to protect the natives from his murdered parents.

                  The story to get to the island was quick, underdeveloped, and rushed. The opening sequence was cool though, going from World War II to Vietnam through a series of clips and reels that set the stage nicely for when Kong was first discovered. How he will resurface for his big fight with Godzilla though is a good question that I hope the writers for that big film address.

                  Alright, characters: John Goodman played a man obsessed with the idea of giant monsters being the original inhabitants of Earth before mankind came on the scene. What isn't really explained is why the monsters went into hiding once man "took over". Maybe they were alive when the dinosaurs were so they went into hiding during the meteor shower.

                  Samuel L. Jackson is a general that was originally stationed in Vietnam. And he's just itching for a fight. Sam basically played himself, screaming at everyone and making sure that the giant monsters don't hurt anymore people.

                  Tom Hiddleston is supposed to be an explorer that can handle himself in uncharted jungle terrains. His abilities aren't really showcased, but he looks pretty cool with a sub-machine gun and not a staff (for those Marvel junkies out there, I'm one of y'all).
                  Brie Larson is an anti-war photojournalist who actually contributed to the public's outrage over the war in Vietnam. At this point in the movie, American troops are being pulled home from Vietnam, and Brie is pretty happy about that. She's got a pretty nice camera, too.
                  Those are the main folks, and I'm dipping my toes in the waters of actually going for reviews rather than giving y'all a synopsis of what happens. So we'll see how you like it. If you don't, please comment and I can go back to telling you the movie.

K   O   N   G

S K U L L   I S L A N D

Ratings:

Family Friendliness: 7/10 Helicopters I was rather impressed with the whole movie being relatively kid-friendly. I mean, apart from short sequences of people getting eaten and blood spattering, it's pretty clean. I don't really remember any cursing, but don't take my word for it. I'm sure Samuel L. Jackson would be the one to drop a language bomb.

Story-line: 7/10 Mountains Not really much to go on except for the fact that they just want to get off the island. I guess that's easy to follow, so I gave it a decent rating.

Story-Action Balance: 7/10 Islands I guess there was good balance. We meet an old World War II vet that's been stuck on the island for about twenty or so years and he basically gives the gist of Kong's background and his role as king and protector of the native people. I'm glad that not all of it was shooting and fighting, but there was definitely a good chunk of it.

Acting: 8/10 Monsters Don't gemme wrong, each actor lived up to their character, but because the characters weren't that well-developed, there wasn't a lot of acting to fill into their characters.

Intensity: 8/10 For sure, I was on the edge of my seat for all of the monster fights. At one point I was really worried about Kong, but then I remembered that they're going to do a fight between him and Godzilla so I was okay. But still, all the fights were intense.

Rewatch Probability: 7/10 I probably wouldn't rewatch this as much as I would Hacksaw Ridge or something along those lines, but it's still a decent film overall.

Overall: 7/10

Bibliography:

"Kong Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP0-9FBs2Rs>

"Kong Brie Larson" <http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/23/23/368ACCF900000578-0-image-m-78_1469312651675.jpg>
"Kong Skull Island" <http://artofvfx.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/KongSkullIsland_Final_trailer.png>

Justice League Trailer

I'm sure you guys are seeing this everywhere, and that's great! I just wanted to show it off a bit and then I'll do my own little review of it. I've decided that this blog is going to expand to trailers, posters, reviews, drawings, and anything that's cinema related because hey, it's all a piece of cake.

                  Alright, I'm not the biggest fan of the DCEU, but I have to admit that this trailer is pretty sick. I really enjoyed all of the different scenes, and so far, it looks like the movie is going to be exectured well. Hopefully Zack Snyder doesn't mess it up like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

                  Okay, the first thing that struck me was that the beginning of the trailer is set in a very similar region like that of Batman Begins. Now maybe that's a coincidence, but c'mon, you can't tell me that the icebergs and everything don't remind you of Christian Bale's first climb to meet Ra's al Ghul. Alright, so Bruce Wayne gives some voice-over about a threat coming to Earth, to which Diana

responds that it's already here.

                  I'd like to know how Bruce Wayne is even aware that a threat is coming from off-world. Now, granted, he's rich and he's probably got a secret satellite floating up in space, but that's something I'd like explained.

                  Okay, next thing that comes up that I think is worth a mention is the little box that morphs into a sort of Blue Beetle/robot bug looking thing that is obviously bad. I don't know much about DC, but based off of what people have been saying, I guess it's some minion of Steppenwolf? Don't kill me DC Fan boys.

                  Up next! We have Aquaman, who I must admit looks like an absolute boss. His costume I think was done very well in the sense that Zack Snyder tried to modernize it. The trident is something I wouldn't want to be on the other side of.

                  Cyborg! I dunno, I'm used to the Teen Titans version of Cyborg, so I'm not really digging

the whole skinny Cyborg look, but I like how he's still got the one red eye and that his mechanical figure is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

                  Now, the Flash is probably going to be my favorite character in this film. He's quirky, fast, and weird. Kinda like me. But I like that he's going to be sorta the comic relief in the movie. He's basically everyone's kid. Annoying, but they keep him around. The suit looks stunning, and I really like what they are doing with his zooming and how there's a blue electric aura around him whenever he goes super speedy-like.

                  Alright, next up: Diana's next line in the voice-over. "They said the age of heroes would never come again." Who's "they?" Cuz last I checked, everyone likes a hero. I guess it's just one of those catchy and cool lines that every movie tries to throw in to make it more appealing, y'know?

Probably just to give it an epic feel. If that's it, I dig it.

                  "Justice For All" are the captions we get, which... I guess. But it doesn't seem to pertain to anything. Another epic buff most likely.

                  I think my favorite part of this whole trailer was the dialogue between Barry and Bruce: "So what are your superpowers again?" "I'm rich." Haha, basically. It's good that DC can make fun of themselves a little bit.

                  Right after that, the remix of "Come Together" didn't really click with me. If they had left it with the original version, it probably wouldn't have fit the trailer, but I still didn't like the new singer and heavier chords. It's just not right, and as an 70s and 80s fanatic, that kinda turned me off.

                  But the trailer saves itself by showing A LOT OF ACTION. Oh my gosh, this is definitely going to be a jam-packed movie. I just hope they don't overstuff it like they did BvS, that was just too much. I want a lot of punching, cool one-liners, and stunning visual effects, which is what Zack Snyder seems he's going to be delivering.

                  Overall, I was very impressed with the trailer, and I can't wait to see what they're going to do in the three hour frame they're formatting the movie in.

Bibliography:

"Justice League Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiAmnKUaNmc>

"Justice League Batman" <http://www.newsarama.com/images/i/000/194/215/i02/Batman_JL.jpg>

"Justice League Movie Wonder Woman" <http://cdn1.themovienetwork.com/sites/themovienetwork.com/files/justice-league-movie-image-wonder-woman-600x311.jpeg>

Jjustice League 2017 Trailer Flash" <http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/justice-league-teaser-trailer-screenshots/screen-shot-2016-07-23-at-4-43-51-pm.png>

Logan

Alright folks, this is my first post under the name "Piece of Cake"! The revolution is happening...

L    O    G    A    N

                  The movie begins with Logan in the back of a limousine sleeping. There's a banging on the vehicle and he stumbles out, apparently drunk. This is actually the first time we ever see James Logan Howlett drunk. There's three young men that are trying to take off the chrome plating from his tires. He tells them that they're not going to be able to get the chrome plating, so they shoot him. He

gets back up and then they start beating him up, but he just gets to slicing and dicing.

                  This is also the first time (of many) that we see blood flying and skin being ripped open. It's a pretty graphic scene, and afterwards, Logan drives to the hospital and picks up some medication. It's not for him, though. Oh, BTW, there's a dude with a robotic hand just creepily watch Logan pick up the medication. We see that he drives somewhere near the El Paso/Mexico border, where Charles Xavier and Caliban are camping out.

                  Logan walks into the rusted shack that Caliban and he stay in, and Caliban says "It's your turn", handing Logan the medication for Charles. So Logan goes over to a fallen and rusted water tower and gives Charles his medication. There's a slight complication, though. Charles has a seizure that emits powerful brain waves that can paralyze and eventually kill anyone not of a strong mind. Therefore, mutants not like Logan and humans can die pretty easily.

                  These seizures happen because Charles suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. However, that doesn't mean that his powers are completely taken away. He can still reach out with his mind, but it's just more under control so that he doesn't kill everyone. Later on in the film, we learn that the first seizure Charles had killed seven of his students at the X-Mansion. It's known as the Westchester Incident. From then on, Charles's mind has been deemed a Weapon of Mass Destruction by the President of the United States.
                  Still however, Charles is talking about the Statue of Liberty and saying that people are waiting for him. But the Statue of Liberty fight against Magneto was close to thirty years prior to this film. But wait, what I didn't tell you is that as Logan goes around getting money as a Limo driver, he meets a woman at a cemetery who is begging him for help. "Only you can help me," she says.
                  So this comes up later because the man who had the robot arm (Donald Pierce is his name) is looking for that same woman. But he says that she has something that belongs to him. This turns out to be X-23, also called Laura. She is a clone of Wolverine made by a company called Transigen. Laura's only 11 years old, but she's an absolute animal.
                  The gist is that Laura, Logan, and Charles embark on a journey to North Dakota towards a place called "Eden" that is rumored about in X-Men comics. It's supposed to be a safe haven for the remaining mutants in the world, which, as far as we know, is down to four: Logan, Laura, Charles, and Caliban. But that number suddenly increases when we find out that Transigen has not only been working on a Wolverine clone, but they've been working on cloning the other X-Men, and even Magneto, in order to create an army. Isn't that always the case nowadays?
                  And we also find out that all of the other mutants are dead because of, you guessed it, Transigen. The head scientist who oversaw the creation of X-23 was also the one who isolated the X-Gene in mutants. By isolating it, he was able to create a formula that could kill that gene. He implemented it into things like corn syrup, therefore distributing it all over the world and stripping

mutants of their powers. As a result, there hasn't been a mutant birth in over five or six years.
                  I'm not going to tell you what exactly happens, but just know that this is the wildest ride we've ever been on with Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine. It's the most human we've ever seen him, and the most we've ever seen him invested into someone. And he's willing to lay down his life for Laura in the end. It's definitely a tear jerking, funny, brutal, and heartwarming story that you will never forget. Thanks Hugh, it's been one helluva ride.

Bibliography:

"Logan Tribute to Hugh Jackman" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlWUn9I_KQA>

"Logan Movie" <https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-20-at-9.36.11-AM.png>

"Logan Movie" <https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HhFP0V6n7aY/maxresdefault.jpg>

"Logan Movie Wallpaper" <http://rcysl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Logan-2017-Wallpapers-Great-Collection.jpg>

"Logan Movie X-23" <http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale_crop_768_433/2017/03/logan_2017_22-h_2017.jpg>

Logan

(NON-SPOILER REVIEW) Y'know, walking out of the theater, I realized that Hugh Jackman has been portraying the character of Wolverine for as long as I've been alive. A character that I grew up with has passed on to a place that  I cannot go. That really hit home for me. And I'm sure it will hit you, too.

L    O    G    A    N

                  Hugh Jackman wields the claws for the last time in the most touching and intense journey that we have seen yet. He is caring for a sick and dying Charles Xavier with Caliban as he himself is slowly dying. The fact that he's constantly getting shot at doesn't help at all. Logan drives a limousine in El Paso, Texas. The year is 2029 and, as stated in the Logan trailers, mutants are gone. And we never really know what happened to them.

                  Through the limo business, he's hoping to leave the US and go to Canada, where it's safe for them. As it is, many people believe that all the mutants are dead. They've most likely heard stories, but since they're not as often seen, they're almost like an urban legend.

                  Donald Pierce comes to Logan asking about a woman by the name of Gabriella. He wants her daughter and will stop at nothing to get Laura (aka X-23). This launches Logan, Laura, and Charles onto a cross country journey on the way to North Dakota. Their challenges never stop however, and Logan and Charles are pushed beyond their limits in Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart's last times in their iconic characters' shoes.

Ratings:

Family Friendliness: 1/10 NOT, I repeat NOT, for anyone below the age of 13. It has extreme blood, gore, and plenty of cursing. I mean, all of it works nicely to bring a more human element to Hugh Jackman's character, but you'll definitely want to fasten your seatbelts for all of the intense sequences of violence.

Story-line: 9.5/10 You will be on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, bawling your eyes out, and laughing along as we see Logan come the closest he's ever been to having a family since X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Story-Action Balance: 8/10 I was very impressed with how there was actually a story to carry Logan from the borderland of El Paso to the edge of North Dakota and even into Canada. At almost every moment where there was blood shed, there was a good reason for it. The gore wasn't thrown in simply to give us a "HELL YEAH" moment when Logan got slicing and dicing, although there were plenty of moments like that. The blood was show how Logan's life has been full of killing, and he's had to live with that for almost 200 years. And really, it's sad when you think about it.

Acting: 8/10 As always, Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart put on stellar performances. I can't think of a better way for them to end their almost two decade long careers as X-Men.

Intensity: 9/10 UNREAL. I almost peed my pants quite honestly.

Re-watch Probability: 9/10 I don't care if I will cry every single time I watch this movie. I'm going to watch it over and over again until I'm sick of it (which is most likely impossible) and I will KEEP WATCHING IT.

Overall: 9/10 The actual ratings would come out to 7, but who cares about math, right? Hugh Jackman gave us all the Wolverine we deserved and I am happy that he played the part so well. You had a good run Hugh. I enjoyed every second of your films and I'm sad to see you lay the claws down. But you laid them down in the best way Logan knew how: with a brutal but victorious fight. I can't wait to see you in future films, and I'll be with ya till the end of the line.

Bibliography:

"Logan Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Div0iP65aZo>

Piece Of Cake Website Announcement

                  Hey folks! Emmaus Nakagawa here. I mean, I've been the only contributor to this blog for some time now, but that's okay I can still introduce myself.

                  Alright, as has been so clearly labeled in the title post above, I have an announcement that

I would like you all to be aware of: Piece of Cake's new website is looking great! So far, I have built up the general skeleton and I've put some layering on. Now, the hard part is adding some cool animation so that it's not just a boring click website.

                  I'm going to be working on linking this blog to the primary Piece of Cake site, and also linking some more important pages to that site like a YouTube Channel that I can hopefully start soon. I am saving up for a pretty nice camera, so if I do post YouTube videos soon, don't expect 1080 P Resolution.

                  Now the whole idea behind Piece of Cake was originally that I wanted to do some movie reviews. I love movies so so much, and I loved the idea of being a legitimate film critic while I'm still relatively young. I wanted to do movie reviews because I think we can all agree that film critics today are as trustworthy as Weather Forecasts: most of the time they're wrong, and there's a slight 1/10 chance that they get something right and the viewers agree with them.

                  But now, Piece of Cake has evolved in my mind to be much more than that. I want to put myself into one media form that encompasses who I am as a whole. I have many different interests, and I wanted to see if I couldn't put all of me into something easy and accessible. So I thought, "Well hey! Websites are pretty versatile!" So I started building one.

                  Now, the name of Piece of Cake won't just be related to movie reviews and the occasional video game review. It's going to be about ADVENTURES, WILD IDEAS, MOVIES, VIDEO GAMES, MAGIC, and hopefully so much more. 

                  I want to put myself out there because I want to, not because I need the approval of a bunch of people I call my friends. I want to put myself out there because I am Emmaus Nakagawa, and I feel like I have something to say about myself. 

                  Hopefully people see that and think it's pretty cool who I am, but even if I get three views on my blog and two likes and fifty dislikes on my YouTube videos, I'll keep at it. Because I'm going to love every minute of it. I'm going to keep doing what I love because I don't need your approval. 

                  If you see me and bash me in other videos of yours, you're only making my name more popular. And there will probably be a handful of people that actually go to my channel to see if I'm really that bad, but they'll disagree. They'll like me, and they'll appreciate me. Those are the ones I'll

be thanking for putting up with my shenanigans.

                  Anyway, this turned into a longer rant than I wanted, but I hope you understand that I am making the name of Piece of Cake more versatile. And as such, you will see me posting on this blog, my YouTube Channel, and whatever other platform I take up as "Piece of Cake". Don't worry, I'll still be around, just under a different name and a different banner.

                  Thanks guys! And bear with me! I'm teaching myself how to code my website, so to get it actually up and running may take awhile. But I'll definitely keep you guys posted!

Stay frosty.

-Emmaus Nakagawa

Hacksaw Ridge

If you love true stories, you're definitely going to love this film. If you like Andrew Garfield, even better. And Mel Gibson redeems himself by directing this film, showing off that yeah, he's messed up, but he's still got the talent to deliver a phenomenal and moving picture. I will have to warn you that there is lots of blood and gore. This movie doesn't hold a whole lot back about the horrors of war.

H  A  C  K  S  A  W      R  I  D  G  E

                  Desmond Thomas Doss was born and raised a devout Christian. His father fought in The Great War and he came back an entirely different man to Desmond's mother. Desmond has an older brother, Hal, with whom he's very close. They grow up having adventures together, and even fighting each other.

                  On one occasion, Desmond and Hal were fighting when they were about ten and eleven.

Their father (played by Hugo Weaving) allows them to fight, saying that whoever wins will be the one to get beaten for showing violence. The one who gets beat will have been taught their lesson.

                  Hal and Desmond get separated from each other through a series of swings and throws, and Desmond finds a brick on the ground. He picks it up and swings it at Hal's head, causing Hal to be knocked unconscious. Mr. Doss takes Hal in and he and Mrs. Doss make sure he's alright.

                  Fast forward eight to ten years and Desmond is working on his church wall while the choir is singing. His mother asks him how they sound and he says "Like a choir of angels."

                  "Now don't you lie, Desmond. You know it's a sin to lie, especially in a place like this."

                  "Well I never said a singing choir." (*Note: Desmond Doss is a low-key savage)

                  Outside, an accident occurs, and Desmond goes to look at what's happened. A young man

has been stabbed by a vehicular part while repairing the underbelly of the car and his artery is squirting blood. Desmond takes off his belt and ties it tightly around the man's leg onto his artery. Someone gets a car and they drive to the nearest hospital.

                  Desmond goes in with the injured man, and the doctor that receives the patient commends Desmond's quick thinking and says "You may very well have saved this man's life." As Desmond is letting that sink in, he looks past the doctor and sees a beautiful young woman. He might as well have put on blinders because he simply can't stop looking at her.

                  He enters the room she's working around in, and she asks him if he'd like to give blood. He agrees, looking dream-like at the woman the whole time. He looks to his left and sees a book with her name written on it: Dorothy Schutte. After he gives blood, he leaves a very happy man indeed.

                  Later on at home while the Doss family is eating dinner, Hal walks in in an Army uniform. Mr. and Mrs. Doss do not approve at all, saying that killing is against the Lord's will. Mr. Doss even goes into a story about how one of his best friends died in battle, and he starts crying. "Get outta my sight," he tells Hal.

                  The next morning, Desmond leaves the house looking spiffy-like and goes on down to the

hospital again to find Dorothy working in the same little space he had found her in. When he walks in, Dorothy, with her back turned, asks "Have you ever given blood before?"

                  "Yes ma'am, I have."

                  She turns around and tells him that they can't take his blood twice in a row, to which Desmond replies "Well no, I've come to get my blood back."

                  "That's not how it works."

                  "Well see, I need my blood back because my heart's been beatin' real fast since yesterday, and when I look at you it beats all the faster." I've gotta say that that is probably the best pick-up line I have ever heard. Unreal, I tell you.

                  Desmond and Dorothy go on a date to the movies and afterwards, Desmond unexpectedly kisses her. She pulls away and gives him a slap. Not enough to make him say "Ow" or anything, but a slap is a slap. She asks why  he did that and he innocently says that he thought she might've liked it.

                  "Well I would've liked it if you'd asked." She crosses the street and stops on the other side and turns around. "You comin'?" Desmond takes a step forward and almost gets run over.

                  We skip a few scenes down the line and Desmond has enlisted in the Army and has told Dorothy that he's going to be a field medic. She's pretty mad about that and he asks her to marry him, to which she says yes. He goes into basic training and everything goes well until he refuses to pick up a firearm.

                  The CO's (Commanding Officers) make a huge deal out of it, which, I can understand why. Through a series of happenings and encounters with Generals and Sergeants, Doss is granted his wish of not carrying or even so much as touching a firearm. He simply wants to be a field medic.

He's court martialed, and during the trial, his father comes in with a letter from a high ranking officer in Washington, D.C. saying that Desmond Doss is permitted to not bear arms. He is simply labeled as

a conscientious objector.

                  So he officially enters into World War II. The battle that the movie focuses on is the Battle of Okinawa at Hacksaw Ridge, one of three battles where Desmond Doss served and saved many wounded, never firing a bullet. The first day of the battle, Doss saves a handful of men, all of whom are extremely grateful. The second day, the Japanese take back Hacksaw Ridge.

                  Captain Glover (Sam Worthington) and his men abandon the Ridge, and Doss is about to descend when one of his friends dies before he can save him. There's a naval ship that is firing rounds on the Ridge as cover fire for Glover's company to escape, and Doss asks God what he's going to do. He is just destroyed at the fact that he couldn't save his friend.

                  Almost immediately asking God for guidance, he hears a cry for help. Doss looks in the general direction of the cry and says "Okay." He gets up, puts on his helmet, and heads straight back into the battlefield. He brings the man to the Ridge and using a rope wrapped around the wounded soldier, descends him to where a couple of Glover's company are sitting around.

                  They get the soldier onto a stretcher and onto a buggy when another comes down. When they prep that soldier, another comes down. And they just keep coming. Desmond keeps going back into the field and rescuing the wounded, even if they are Japanese. And he's barely scratched. He almost gets caught by the Japanese, but he's pretty sneaky and is able to move around without being

detected.

                  He goes through two full days of rescuing people, each time after saving one saying "Please Lord, help me get one more." He earns so much respect from Glover and his surviving company after making it safely down from the Ridge. Even the fresh recruits that come in respect him. Everyone knows his name, and everyone wants to have him on the battlefield with them. They feel invincible when he's up there.

                  Desmond makes it back to the camp where everyone is getting ready to take back Hacksaw, and Glover asks Desmond if he'll go back up. Saturday is Desmond's Sabbath, but he understands that he is needed on the Ridge. He accompanies the troop to the base of the Ridge and prays for all of them before the siege begins.
                  They begin climbing the steep mountain side as naval ships are delivering cover for them, and the siege goes very well in terms of domination. They force the Japanese to come out bearing white flags, which, when I was watching it, seemed unusual to me. For those of you that don't know, the Japanese culture has always been one about honor and dignity. As a result, the Japanese have never been known to officially surrender, which is one of the many reasons why the end of World War II was so significant.
                  So the Japanese come out in "surrender", but they pull the pins on about a half dozen grenades and toss them into the waiting American Company. They are all batted away back to the Japanese, and many are blown up and/or shot. Desmond knocks one such grenade back, and it explodes, causing him to fly back. Part of his leg is severely burned, but he's still in one piece. He's evacuated and sent back home.

H  A  C  K  S  A  W      R  I  D  G  E

Ratings:
Family Friendliness: 2/10 The movie is rated "R", and like I said, there's plenty of blood and gore, and there's a brief sensual scene between Desmond and Dorothy. There's also a fair share of cursing.

Story-line: 9/10 The story of Desmond Doss is a true one. He was the first and only Conscientious Objector during World War II to be awarded the Medal of Honor. His bravery and his courage are truly inspiring.

Acting: 9/10 There was an all-star cast and they all did a phenomenal job portraying their respective characters.

Intensity: 9/10 There's no other way to say that this movie was stressful. It wasn't stressful in terms of suspense, but you're sitting on the edge of your seat hoping that Desmond makes it home. Every close encounter has you holding your breath for him, and every wounded soldier he saves is a victory.

Visuals: 8/10 Everything you saw was stunning. It was horrific, but it was stunning. I think this film gives a very clear and nearly accurate picture of what World War II must have been like. Many young men out there sacrificing their lives for their country is truly a humbling thing to think about. Especially when today most teenagers would never even think of picking up a gun and willingly leaving the comfort of their homes to enter the battlefield.
Overall: 9/10 The low family friendliness score gave this an actual rating of 7.4, but for those that aren't sensitive to intense war films, this is a phenomenal film. It's along the same lines of Saving Private Ryan, American Sniper, and Lone Survivor: not for the faint of heart.


Bibliography:
"Hacksaw Ridge" <http://mauiwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Hacksaw-Ridge-790x445.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Desmond Thomas Doss" <http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/06/19/37FA552800000578-3776433-image-a-71_1473186304932.jpg>
"Desmond Thomas Doss" <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/DossDesmondT_USArmy.jpg/220px-DossDesmondT_USArmy.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Sam Worthington" <http://themillimetre.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sam-Worthington-in-Hacksaw-Ridge.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Vince Vaughn" <http://www.hacksawridge.movie/img/gallery/img05.jpg>
"Hacksaw Ridge Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-1hz1juBI>