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Post by Mr PONYMANIA Mr Jenzie on Dec 3, 2020 10:37:58 GMT -5
NOVEMBER RECEIPTS not many silence - 8 immaculately filmed with really good performances, but it's VERY difficult to watch. not because of what is going on but how it's presented john wick chapter 2 - 9 really good sequel and more gun-fu and rent-a-goon target practice, the intricately positioned little edits and effects, and very good acting too. more than a shooty-shooty and very little wrong with it free state of jones - 8 a quiet but brutal real life story from the american civil war the lego ninjago movie - 7 it's a loego movie it's funny it's touching it's lego the story needed a bit of tightening up but IT'S LEGO!
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 3, 2020 23:29:07 GMT -5
#340 - Time Trap
*Netflix
There are some good ideas in here and the mystery of watching things unfold is quite fun. However, it seems to not be as focused as it should be and has a few too many "WTF" moments that hold it back. [**½]
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,168
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Post by agent817 on Dec 4, 2020 1:42:42 GMT -5
194. The Adventures of Pinocchio - Watched this on DVD. For your information, this was the 1996 film with Jonathan Taylor Thomas (mostly doing voicework, but also appearing in the flesh towards the end) and Martin Landau. Don't ask me why, but for some reason I had an itch to watch this. So I requested it from the library. I remember only seeing the beginning to the bit at the school when I was a kid as I did not give this a full watch until tonight.
Anyway, for what it is, it's a passable film. I will note that this was basically the tale of Pinocchio that was basically told in the iconic Disney film, because hey, it was based on an Italian book. I will give the film some credit for the effects in the puppetry, as well as the performances from the actors in the film. I remembered that Jonathan Taylor Thomas was featured heavily in the promotion for the movie back in the day, but he was not actually seen until the end (as mentioned before), but he didn't do a bad job, and neither did Martin Landau as Geppetto. For mid-1990s standards, I didn't mind the CGI used for the cricket and it was fun to hear David Doyle do his voice (I thought he sounded like the grandpa from Rugrats).
Overall, I would say it was a passable film. It had its moments, but it was just...I don't know, a low-budget family film? It even felt like it was direct-to-video even for mid-1990s standards. I heard that this movie bombed back in the day. I didn't mind it, but it's really not something I would go out of my watch again, unless it happens to be on or have a weird itch to watch it again (I often give movies repeated views, so I never say never).
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adamclark52
El Dandy
I'm one with the Force; the Force is with me
Posts: 8,139
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 4, 2020 3:36:58 GMT -5
329. Zombie ‘90: Extreme Pestilence *DVD* Also included with the Violent Shit Collection is this fifth movie: the almost superior Zombie ‘90: Extreme Pestilence. I watched this last month and didn’t need a reason to watch it again, but I did have a reason. Since Violent Shit had its original German audio track on this set I wanted to see if this movie did too. It didn’t and that’s both bad and good. It’s bad only because of my curiosity. I really wanted to see if they were using the original script. I strongly doubted it but I needed to know. But it’s good because the English dub is what makes it so much more even awesome. I’m glad it’s the English dub because I know KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! bought the set too and he’s going to get (what is likely) the superior version of this film. Incredible voice dubbing, brutal gore violence and an incredible script. Zombie ‘90>>>>Fulcis Zombie>>>>>Day of the Dead>>>>>Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead>>>>every other zombie movie
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Dec 4, 2020 9:06:59 GMT -5
586. Scrooged (1988) – Christmas is coming, even though it doesn't feel like it. I thought I'd start my Christmas viewing with something I've probably seen over a 100 times (includes every Christmas since 1991/92). I am a sucker for adaptations (loosely or not) of A Christmas Carol. And speaking of Carol – Carol Kane probably steals the show here for me in a sea of characters that I think are great. Endlessly watachable for me, would love to read an earlier “darker” script. 587. Last Christmas (2019) – Emilia Clarke gives a decent performance and Michelle Yeoh is entertaining in support and if these weren't the saving graces my overall opinion would be much harsher – it feels like it just takes bits and pieces from other movies and... {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}The film takes the first line of Last Christmas literally, that is the big twist, which I just wasn't really emotionally invested in enough 588. The Hunt (2019) – one of those movies in the Most Dangerous Game/Battle Royale type of movies, and I can't really get political but it really doesn't want you to route for either side, it's worth a watch IMO but nothing special and Betty Gilpin is great here. and (another spoiler)... {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}will give it credit for having some familiar faces as those getting hunted as you expect them to last longer – like Emma Roberts gets her head shot off with less than 5 minutes screen time.
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Post by BlackoutCreature on Dec 4, 2020 17:41:36 GMT -5
226. The Pirate Fairy (2014) 227. The Castaway Cowboy (1974)As my journey into Weird and Obscure Disney+ heads into the homestretch, I figured I'd re-visit the genre of the Disney Western. Unlike my last attempt, this is a much more traditional western taking place during Old Western times. It also takes place in Hawaii. Oh well, I can't say that isn't to the west. So James Garner plays Costain, a Texas Cowboy who was somehow kidnapped, dragged onto a ship, taken out to the Pacific, and thrown overboard. I think anyways, the movie's kinda vague on that. He washes ashore of an Hawaiian Island where he's found by a potato farmer widow, her young son and some natives that work for her. While recovering, said widow mentions that the potato farm ain't doing so well, mostly because of the local wild cattle that keep eating her crops. Costain suggests she just round up the cows and turn the farm into a cattle ranch, and after some persuading, he agrees to help do just that. Then the problems set in - she has very little money, no proper cattle ranching gear and the locals are shiftless bums who'd rather spend all day playing at a water slide instead of working. Things only get worse when Costain has a run-in with a local Witch Doctor and incurs the ire of a local businessman (played by the always excellent Robert Culp) who has his eye on courting the widow. But this is a family western so it all works itself out with some gumption, two fists and a gun (actually the movies pretty light on gunplay, so if that's an issue for you don't worry about it), and everybody lives happily ever after. So for the most part this feels like a fairly standard, by-the-book family western. A little outdated for 1974 (really feels like a movie from twenty years earlier), but it's entertaining enough and moves at a good pace. If you're looking for an old-school Disney family flick that even your elderly Uncle that doesn't understand why women-folk need to get them "jobs" nowadays will enjoy, then this will work well-enough.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,168
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Post by agent817 on Dec 4, 2020 21:07:03 GMT -5
195. Kalifornia - Watched this on Blu Ray. For many years I had been curious about this movie. I even remember seeing TV spots as a kid. I mainly recalled only seeing bits and pieces of it on Showtime, but that was about it.
Now that I have finally watched it in full, as well as it being the unrated version, I have to say that it this movie delivers on its story and characters. Brad Pitt did a good job in his role, especially since it was a change of pace considering that when this came out, he was mostly a sex symbol. David Duchovny was good in his role, too. But what I thought stood out were the ladies. Being that this was a story about a writer and a photographer trying to do research about serial killers, I wondered if this was like Natural Born Killers, especially with Juliette Lewis being in it. With that being said, Juliette Lewis surprised me, especially how I couldn't help but feel sorry for her character. Michelle Forbes seemed like the only sane person in the group and she played it well.
Overall, it's definitely an underrated thriller.
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Post by BlackoutCreature on Dec 4, 2020 22:43:02 GMT -5
226. The Pirate Fairy (2014) 227. The Castaway Cowboy (1974) 228. Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)This arrived from Netflix awhile ago. Honestly, after I signed up on Hulu for Animaniacs, I kinda forgot all about the Netflix DVD's I had sitting on my end table as I dug through Hulu for forgotten favorites (just finished Thundercats 2011). Even more ironic is that this is on Hulu, but I didn't even realize it until after Netflix sent the disc. So this was ok I guess. It was a step up from the last few Terminator movies, but nothing that makes me want to scream "this franchise needs to continue". This is just a movie that did not need to exist.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 4, 2020 23:44:10 GMT -5
#341 - Klaus
*Netflix
This is honestly one of the best Christmas movies that I've ever seen. The animation style is unique and beautiful, the voice cast is strong, and the interesting take on an origin story for Santa Claus is phenomenal and creative. I loved it. [****½]
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Post by bibboid on Dec 5, 2020 1:38:23 GMT -5
74. Trading Places
Don’t try to tell me this isn’t a Christmas movie. Dan Ackroyd wears a Santa suit and ruins a company Christmas party. And nothing says Christmas like a topless Jamie Lee Curtis.
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adamclark52
El Dandy
I'm one with the Force; the Force is with me
Posts: 8,139
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 5, 2020 4:41:21 GMT -5
330. Plaguers *Amazon Prime* A bunch of sexy space pirate nurses hijack a space freighter but the tables are turned when they accidentally unleash an alien substance that the freighter was transporting that turns them one-by-one into unstoppable mutant zombies. The acting is some of the worst I’ve seen, and I’ve watched almost all of Andreas Schnaas’ ‘Violent Shit’ movies multiple times in the last few weeks. The makeup is pretty good though and the gore is way better than I expected. The director took a lot of inspiration from Alien, right down to casting some guy who looks a lot like Lance Hendrickson as the android member of the freighter crew (which gives that guy a bit of grace for his absolutely horrible acting). But Lambato Bravas ‘Demons’ was an even bigger influence on the movie. The sounds the mutants make and the style of makeup, not to mention people “turning” in a matter of seconds, is a direct homage to that movie. So you could almost call it “Demons in Space”...just don’t because this doesn’t belong mentioned in the same breath as those movies. It was bad and I usually love bad. But the acting was so terrible that it brought it down a few notches. Most of the cast are probably usually extras in SyFy original movies. They could have redeemed it with some boobs but I guess none of the cast wanted to hinder their careers. Looking at their IMDB profiles I’d say being in Plaguers was a bigger hinderance. All that said once it got going I actually kinda liked it.
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Post by burdette25159 on Dec 5, 2020 13:22:58 GMT -5
91: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) *****
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Dec 5, 2020 16:55:27 GMT -5
589. Gremlins (1984) – I just start by saying I can't be impartial when it comes to Gremlins. All this should tell me where I stand on Gremlins: my cat growing up was named Gizmo, I have a shelf that currently has 4 cuddly toys, 8 figures, 2 Pop Vinyls, unopened pack of trading cards and even a game for the Spectrum, on top of that I own three original posters (British quad, German – which I've had signed by 4 people, and finally a Yugoslavian one). So yeah I love this movie. (*****)
590. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) – I'm not saying every sequel should go off the wall and meta like this but plenty of movie sequels could learn a lot from this. I prefer the first movie overall but there is so much stuff to love her including Tony Randall as the Brain Gremlin. For me a Wonderful double bill. (*****)
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,168
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Post by agent817 on Dec 6, 2020 1:34:55 GMT -5
196. Lethal Weapon - Watched this on DVD. Had an itch to watch these films, as well as the fact that the first film took place around Christmas time. I watched the director's cut (yes, with the sniper scene). This film still holds up to this day, as it has been regarded as one of the best action film of the 1980s. There is no denying that Mel Gibson and Danny Glover had such natural chemistry, which was what made these movies what they are. Of course, there is also the great action scenes and the story was decent, as well as had a great score (RIP Michael Kamen).
197. Lethal Weapon 2 - Watched this on DVD. I watched the director's cut of this as well. Said to be the best out of all four films and I can't argue. Though there were some plot holes here and there, as well as some issues with the writing, the film definitely has its charm, villains you really hate, good performances, etc. Even I could say that Joss Ackland was truly detestable as the main villain. I will note that this was also the last of the "darker" entries of the series. Not to say that this or the first film didn't have comedic moments, especially with Joe Pesci playing the comic relief, but when looking at the ones after this, they have a different feel. Still, it holds up even now. Though I must say that I am curious about Shane Black's original script for it, as I had read that it's even darker, as well as hearing that Riggs dies. I will read it one day.
198. Lethal Weapon 3 - I will explain that I had problems with watching this one and it's not the movie itself, but rather the formats. In the meantime, I will give my take. This was also the director's cut (for half of my viewing; I'll get to that), by the way. I know some people consider the last two films to be the weakest entries. While I can't argue, I can't say that I didn't have fun with this one. Yes, it got a little corny in some areas and I won't argue that the villain was sort of lame in some areas. However, there was still fun to be had, whether it was the scene with the dog, or even that famous scar argument scene. Of course, there was also the action. I might be alone here, but I actually didn't mind the romantic subplot here. Maybe it was because Mel Gibson and Rene Russo had a good dynamic (They even worked together again years later in Ransom). Of course, Gibson and Glover still had the great dynamic, especially in the scene on the boat, which was very dramatic. While I don't argue that it was a weak entry, I don't think it was a bad film. Though I can't argue with some points about story elements and some of the writing.
Oh, and here is what happened with my viewing experience. So I was watching the DVD and suddenly it started to freeze and then skip a few chapters. I hadn't watched the DVD in years, but I didn't think it was damaged or anything like that. I might have to take it to a nearby store to get the disc fixed. I had to go online to stream the rest of the film, even if it was the theatrical cut but watched the additional scenes from the director's cut on YouTube.
And no, I am not leaving out Lethal Weapon 4. I will get to that really soon, like tomorrow. I also want to my Die Hard marathon soon, but I don't have 5, but even I am not sure about including that one.
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Crappler El 0 M
Dalek
Never Forgets an Octagon
I'm a good R-Truth.
Posts: 58,479
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on Dec 6, 2020 8:04:00 GMT -5
Been awhile since I've updated...
November (continued) Paddington (2014) Nice, fun family movie. If you have kids, they should love it.
Paddington 2 (2017) Animated sequels can be hit or miss, but this one hit the mark.
Dark Phoenix (2020) Up there with X-Men Origins: Wolverine as the weakest of the Fox X-Men movies.
Body Double (1984) It's pretty good, but not among the best of Brian De Palma who was coming off making Blow Out and Dressed to Kill. Like many of his films, it has clear Hitchcock influence.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) I liked it. It kind of speaks to the rock music of the time, and its story is an overt blend of Faust, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Picture of Dorian Grey. It's not great, but it was enjoyable for me.
Femme Fatale (2002) A lot of prominent critics loved it, but I side more with general audiences who were indifferent to it. It was fine, not bad at all, but I would not say it's among De Palma's best movies.
Obsession (1976) This is another Brian De Palma film that feels like a Hitchcock movie, namely Vertigo. It's nowhere near as good as Vertigo. It's also not among De Palma's best.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) I didn't like the animation style. Had this been made for television, I think it might have been viewed differently. I thought it was fine, but not really something that should have been released theatrically. That said, it made a lot of money in theaters compared to its cost, though not by usual Star Wars standards.
Pitch Black (2000) Enjoyable action/horror/sci-fi movie that's a perfect vehicle for Vin Diesel.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) Where Pitch Black worked as a slower, simpler horror/sci-fi movie, this movie tries to expand the universe and make an epic action movie deep with mythology. While Vin Diesel is great as Riddick, this really missed the mark. I don't know if they were overly ambitious or out of their element, but this just wasn't a good movie.
December: Mank (2020) (Netflix) I love movies about the early decades of Hollywood, and this one was very enjoyable. This is about the lesser-known (compared to Orson Welles) co-writer of Citizen Kane, Herbert Mankiewicz, and how his experiences with newspaper tycoon William Hearst, Marion Davies, and movie moguls, particularly during the campaign of Upton Sinclair, led him to write Citizen Kane.
Tenet (2020) Tenet definitely feels like a Christopher Nolan movie. If you are a Nolan fan, particularly of movies like Memento, The Prestige, Inception, and Interstellar, I figure you will probably enjoy this one. I don't even want to get into what the movie's about, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 6, 2020 8:43:10 GMT -5
#342 - The Take/Bastille Day
*Netflix
With Richard Madden and Idris Elba, I wanted something more here. Their chemistry is good but the story is kind of bland and uninventive. [**½]
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Dec 6, 2020 14:39:30 GMT -5
591. My Christmas Inn (2018) – made for TV movie that is nothing original, stressed big city employee obsessed with a promotion finds themselves in a small town then finds themselves charmed by it, despite nothing original it's sweet (bad thing for some people), cool that it features 3 people from Sister Sister (lead Tia Mowry as well as Jackee Harry and Tim Reid playing her parents)
592. Christmas With The Kranks (2004) – This is not good at all, the message is terrible (conform or else), none of the characters are likable (Tim Allen is a dick... and so his character here) and the neighbours are just bullies. Honestly this is bottom of the barrel Christmas movie for me.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,168
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Post by agent817 on Dec 6, 2020 16:13:01 GMT -5
199. Lethal Weapon 4 - Watched this on DVD. Okay, I hear a lot of people are mixed on this one. Some don't like it, which is fine. Others like it, which is fine, too. I have even read and heard rumors about why this movie was made was because Warner Bros. needed a hit as they were in a bit of a slump. I even remember when I was 11 and seeing a poster of it at a theater in early-1998 which had the huge red number 4 on it and saw the list of actors and I just knew what film the poster was for (This was also before I had seen the movies, too).
Anyway, onto my verdict. While this movie was rather weak in comparison to the first two, I have a hard time deciding which was better between 3 and 4, because both still have their flaws (Not to say that the first two didn't, but I know people are divided when it comes to the first two and the last two). I will note that this was the first film in the franchise that I actually watched, because I didn't watch the other films until later. There is no denying that Mel Gibson and Danny Glover still had that natural chemistry. I liked that they brought back some characters, like Lorna, as well as the Murtaugh family (Even in all four films, the kids were played by the same actors!), but I really don't think that Leo was necessary. Even in hindsight, I felt that Chris Rock's inclusion was because he was pretty big at the time from one of his HBO specials. Don't get me wrong, some scenes were funny, as it was at the point when the series had gone the action-comedy territory, but some scenes also felt a little forced. Okay, I didn't mind the laughing gas scene in some ways, but then I found myself annoyed at some bits of that.
On the other hand, there were some highlights. Jet Li was great as the villain. He had an aura about him that was pretty scary, add to that he had some great fight scenes. The action still delivered, especially the freeway chase scene and the big climax at the docks. I still had fun with it, even though I saw that the movie had some problems. Personally, if I am in the mood for a Lethal Weapon movie that I would watch on its own, just because I am in the mood for one, I would stick with one and/or two. I would mainly save this for marathons, but now that I think about it, I might say that I like this better than the third film.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 6, 2020 23:23:11 GMT -5
#343 - Knock Knock
*Netflix
The premise is solid and having Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas together is good on paper. The execution is severely lacking, though, and it meanders on. Despite being less than two hours, it takes forever to get to the point. [**]
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adamclark52
El Dandy
I'm one with the Force; the Force is with me
Posts: 8,139
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 7, 2020 4:00:22 GMT -5
331. Don’t Speak *Amazon Prime* This tries to be something but it’s just a A Quite Place ripoff. But let’s just call it a pseudo prequel. Even though there’s only one monster and it’s an isolated incident in a small town. The monsters design really reminded me of the Feast Monsters too. That box art is totally misleading. But it acted totally different. It also borrows heavily from Aliens and is also very similar to Pitch Black. It was okay but it was kinda surprising that they introduced the monster so early. The Jaws route is usually more effective. But in the case of this it really didn’t matter because no ones going to remember this movie anyway. It’s pretty stupid because the characters somehow keep quiet without knowing they’re supposed to keep quiet. The dad figures it out somehow and I don’t know if I just wasn’t paying attention or a few scenes got cut or something. Then after they learn they’re supposed to keep quite the mom does one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen a person do in a horror movie. Like, I actually blurted out ”what the hell are you doing!?” at the TV. And it gets dark really fast. Thankfully there was some nice blood splatter and gore and even though the monster was a complete rip-off of Feast those monsters were cool. The guy playing the monster actually had great movements. The whole movie is just about the monster.
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