Hollywood Chop Shop

In a world occupied by elemental monsters that can be domesticated and repurposed for sport, an insurance appraiser must come to terms with the death of his estranged father. While trying to find closure Tim Goodman comes across an electrically charged rodent with amnesia that sounds an awful lot like his dad. Reluctantly the two team to uncover the pikachu’s past in hopes of finding out what actually happened to Tim’s father.

A single mother and her teenage daughter don’t always see eye-to-eye, which somehow validates the gross misuse of magic, allowing them to walk in each other's shoes, literally. After breaking open a set of mystic fortune cookies the two swap bodies and now must come to understand the pitfalls of each other's existence or risk remaining in the other’s body for all eternity. What’s the worst that could happen when a 15 year old is giving therapy advice on the eve of her host's wedding and a 40 something year old is sent back to high school during exams week?

We wrap up the Tune-In Trilogy which consisted of Casino Royale (2006), Footloose (1984) and Men in Black (1997). See which of these soundtrack spawning flicks are worth watching, what characters make a slip into other films and our overall thoughts of the trilogy.

A New York City cop is recruited by a veteran secret agent into a covert organization responsible for protection and safe harbor of aliens… of the extraterrestrial variety that is. It’s a trial-by-fire as the the partners soon begin to investigate a series of unsanctioned earth departures and a string of murders leading to yet another world ending threat. To make matters worse, the perp causing the ruckus is a giant cockroach hell bent on seeing earth and the galaxy's destruction, parading around NYC in the skin of a disgruntled farmer.

A small town girl and a city boy must ban together with their high school peers to legalize dancing in time for their prom. It’s been ten years since the city council criminalized a bop, swirl or twirl, after the untimely death of the reverend's son sent shockwaves through the community. Can the two sway the town to cut the rug again, or will the reverend and his troupe continue to outlaw the rhythm in them?

Secret agent James Bond has just earned himself 00 status and must now prevent the math prodigy Le Chiffre from funding terrorists originations across the globe. After 007 foils a suspicious attempt to short airline stocks, Le Chiffre looks for a way to quickly score cash before his malicious investors come knocking. Now Bond must stop the seedy financier in the most daring mission of them all, a poker tournament using her majesty's checkbook.

We wrap up our first annual Star Wars Trilogy with the prequels The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005).

After years of honing their skills in the clone wars, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin attempt a daring rescue of Chancellor Palpatine, the not so secret Sith lord. After freeing Palpatine, Anakin is tasked with spying on the Chancellor for the Jedi council to prove his nefarious ways, but when he starts having visions of his dying wife, the young Jedi’s allegiance is brought into question. With the future already written, how will the story before the story end?

Ten years after preventing the invasion of the Naboo, Anakin Skywalker is reunited with Padme Amidala for the first time after a failed assassination attempt is made on the former Queen’s life. It doesn’t take long for the post-pubescent Jedi apprentice to start making moves on the now galactic senator, forging a secret relationship you don’t need to force to sense. Meanwhile Anakin’s master/father-figure, Obi-Wan Kenobi, tries to track down Padme’s would-be killer leading him to a conspiracy for galactic war.

A galactic conflict is escalated after negotiations between a Trade Federation and two peacekeeping space wizards known as Jedi fail before they can begin. After being marooned on a desert planet, the two Jedi and the royal party they rescued, find a human boy with unknown power whom they believe could be a prophecy and bring balance to the mystic force. Surely nothing can go wrong when you gamble on people’s lives, ignore safeguards or jump headfirst into a conflict that seems out of place for a group of cowards…

We wrap up the Introducing Sci-Fi* Trilogy which consisted of Brazil (1985), Life (2017) and Equilibrium (2002). See which of these science fiction rip-offs are worth watching, what characters make a slip into other films and our overall thoughts of the trilogy.

*Full disclosure, Introducing Sci-Fi was not intended to imply these three movies are a good introduction to the film genre, but that we were using this trilogy as a gimmick to add sci-fi to potential chop shops... whoops, and sorry for any confusion.

In a future post WW3, humanity has been deemed unworthy of emotion and banned from feeling. To enforce this passionless world, citizens are required to administer a suppressant known as Prozium II, and enforcers known as Clerics, trained in the art of Gun Kata, root out and destroy all contraband and personnel that could lead to any sensation.

I group of international astronauts is responsible for overseeing the ISS while reviewing fresh samples from Mars. During their experiments a primitive lifeform is discovered and foolishly reawakened. The crew's excitement is short lived as the organism, lovingly named Calvin, begins to rapidly grow and adapt before escaping the lab that contains it. Now fear takes center stage as the crew attempts to contain the specimen and ensure life on earth isn’t doomed by humanity's innate curiosity.

Sam Lowry relishes his average life and dead-end job in the bureaucratic policy state he resides in… that is until the woman from his dreams shows up in real life. Now the fantasy that plays out when he’s asleep is beginning to seep into the real world, sending him down a path that will surely get him noticed in a sea of gray monotony. Will Sam rise to the occasion and find true love, or find himself bound and gagged by the red tape he once found comfort in.