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 Jan 24, 2021 1:00:08 GMT -5
18. Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood*
*DVD*
This instalment was a trip. The guy slowly disemboweling the woman was bad enough but the sparse music and dialogue made it even creepier. The effects were really good and it’s not hard to see why thirty years ago Charlie Sheen called the FBI upon viewing this.
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Post by bibboid on Jan 24, 2021 1:07:39 GMT -5
10. The Call of the Wild
I never could finish reading the book. It was wordy and annoying. This took the story, added in CGI dogs and a dose of Harrison Ford. Sad at times but it has a “he lived happily ever after” ending.
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Jan 24, 2021 6:02:51 GMT -5
45: The Sandlot (1993) – I knew of the film but not really much about it other then it involved baseball, like for example I didn't know it was a period piece (it's set in 1962) and I also thought it was one of those underdogs take on the superior athletes sort of films, but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed up really enjoying this. (***)
46: Wild Cherry (2009) – it's fair to call this a female American Pie, but unlike that film series this fails to really have any memorable set pieces which is a shame because the girls are actually likable enough, it's surprising to say this, giving the actor involved but Rob Schneider plays the Father of one of the girls and it's quite sweet him as single parent struggling to want to see her go off to college, that is not enough though to recommend it (*)
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 24, 2021 7:57:14 GMT -5
#25 - The Lost City of Z
*Prime
It features some strong performances led by great work from Charlie Hunnam but the pacing of this is way off as the long runtime somehow feels even longer. [***]
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,159
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Post by agent817 on Jan 24, 2021 20:18:27 GMT -5
21. Wonder Woman 1984 - Watched this on HBO Max. Seeing as this was my last chance to see it, I went ahead and watched it. Unless there was a theater in my area showing it and I would have to set it up in advance, but I wasn't going to do that, despite me preferring to see it in theaters. Also, because I had heard that this movie was panned by critics and movie fans, I went in with an open mind and I decided to see it for myself. This won't be a short review, by the way. The first thing I will say is that I didn't hate the movie, but I did see a lot of the problems with it and I did find some redeeming qualities about it. I am not going to pretend that some people were being unfair to it, but at the same time I will note that I didn't think it was as bad as people say it is. Even then, I often try to see some redeeming qualities even in bad movies, or movies deemed bad. Hell, I remembered watching that terrible movie "Death to the Supermodels" and while it was a waste of time, I did find some bits entertaining. The thing that I will say is that I enjoyed the action scenes, especially the chase and also the mall bit in the opening. The performances weren't bad at all, especially from Kristen Wiig, who I didn't think did a bad job at all (I also liked how she looked as Cheetah). Pedro Pascal also did a decent job, even when going full-on ham towards the end. The biggest problem with it is the story, especially with too many things going on and not enough time to build up some elements, as well as some execution in the subplots. I even wonder if there were other scenes related to one plotline that they could have edited better. Being that this movie is still relatively new as it came out last month, I will put the spoilers in. {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}The whole Cheetah subplot felt like an afterthought for the most part. Like I said before, Kristen Wiig did fine, but I can only wonder if there were scenes shot with her to help build up the character. Really, the main villain was Maxwell Lord, and I remember that prior to this movie being shot, Wiig was cast as Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman's nemeses. I don't mind movies having multiple villains, as some can work, especially when talking about comic book movies. But her story just wasn't explored enough. Not to mention some bits reminded me of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, something I'm sort of tempted to revisit, along with its predecessor, despite not being that great of films.
Then you have the whole subplot of Steve Trevor being in the body of someone else, but I think we kind of get the problem there.
On the plus side, I did like Lynda Carter's cameo in the stinger. Overall, I do acknowledge a lot of the issues, but I didn't find this to be a complete waste of time. Again, I enjoyed the action scenes and also thought the performances were fine. The real problem was the writing and the editing. I also did not think it needed to be as long as it was.
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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 Jan 24, 2021 22:58:44 GMT -5
19. Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood
*DVD*
This is one that stuck with me (not in a good way) and deserved a repeat viewing.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 24, 2021 23:36:36 GMT -5
#26 - Uncle Frank
*Prime
Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis are both great in this and their scenes together are fantastic. The subject matter is also mostly handled well, though I do think things wrapped up too nicely into a neat bow at the end. [***½]
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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 Jan 25, 2021 3:27:09 GMT -5
20. Blackenstein* *Tubi* I was expecting something totally different than what I got from this. Given the ridiculous title I was expecting something cheesy, funny and purposefully bad. But it was just a 1940’s-1960’s horror movie, only in colour. The acting was just as bad and the music pretty much exactly the same. It does get a little gory midway through and this monster has a lot more evil intent than Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, including cannibalism. Why it got the title “Blackenstein” is beyond me. Probably to rope more people with the same expectations I had in. Were it given a “normal” horror movie title it would have just been a bad movie rather than a huge letdown.
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Jan 25, 2021 3:48:25 GMT -5
47: Gods and Monsters (1998) – telling the last few days of film director James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein etc.). I thought this was a fantastic movie with an equally fantastic performance by Ian McKellen, while obviously Brendan Fraser isn't in the same league as McKellen he is more then capable here. There is also some great flashback scenes to WW1 and the sets of his movies.
48: The Last Man On Earth (1964) – actually a bit better made then I was expecting and the flashback to the fate of Vincent Price's family was surprisingly effective. I honestly dug this more both then The Omega Man and I am Legend.
49: The Stoned Age (1994) – stoner comedy where the goal was to make one of the main stoners incredibly unlikable (the other one of the duo is a bit better since he has some growth during the movie) in this movie that seems to have it's fans but I overall just didn't like it. Firstly and this movie is far from the only one that did this we are expected to believe a girl is both ugly and fat while she is never and secondly the liberal use of gay slurs really dates this.
50: The First of the Few (1942) – biographical movie about the inventors of the Spitfire, this leans into propaganda but I will give it a pass since this was made in the height of the Second World War. Really well made and some good performances, the star and director Leslie Howard was killed a year later when the plane carrying him was shot down.
51: Scare Me (2020) – I like horror anthology films and this is what I was expecting, but it was more two strangers telling ghost stories during a power outage (we got music and sound effects sometimes to go with these stories), and it's not bad to be fair, the two characters are enjoyable and they a briefly joined by a pizza delivery guy (SNL's Chris Redd) who is enjoyable here too. This could have ended up being a chore to get through but glad it wasn't.
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Post by BlackoutCreature on Jan 25, 2021 21:05:11 GMT -5
7. King Solomon's Mines (1985) 8. Without a Clue (1988) 9. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)Latest arrival from Netflix. This was ok. I appreciate its focus on Diana's relationship with the Kapatelis' and the use of Villainy Inc. as the antagonists. Too many modern Wonder Woman stories have a tendency to focus on the mythological aspect of the character instead of the superheroine aspect, so she's more often fighting gods and monsters instead of her rogues gallery. Of course the good will this story built up with that was flushed away when they revealed the true end boss. Also the movie felt rushed at times, like rather then telling the story it was just hitting the bullet points of it. You could have easily added another twenty minutes of just character interaction and it wouldn't have felt padded at all. Not the worst way to kill an hour and twenty minutes, especially for a DC movie, but I honestly liked the 2009 animated movie better.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 25, 2021 23:29:33 GMT -5
#27 - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
*Netflix
On the shortlist of my favorite movies ever. It's true to the comic and features all of the Edgar Wright stuff that I love. The cast is outstanding from top to bottom, with everyone getting a chance to shine. There are legitimate laughs, great fight scenes, fantastic music, and so much more. It's hard to really list all of the reasons that I love this so much. [*****]
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Jan 26, 2021 7:18:11 GMT -5
52/ Care (2018) – British made for TV movie that was very effective, which show a struggling woman's Mother have a stroke while driving which brings on dementia. You really felt for the characters and adding subtitles to what the Mother was trying to say ended up having a nice touch, biggest issue is it feels like it was all tied up too easy at the end.
53/ Starsky and Hutch (2004) – I remember seeing this at the cinema and on DVD after and I do think there is enough funny moments still here to make it worth the revisit, however it's fair to say Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are more playing Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson rather than S&H. I owned Ben Stiller Show on DVD and it was nice seeing him basically bring back a character from that, something like the 21 Jump Street movies are better but it's still enjoyable.
54/ Circus of Horrors (1960) – Okay, the first thing I learnt from this movie is that no matter how happy you are when drunk, do not try to dance with a bear – it will ended badly for you! Besides that, it's a fun ridiculous movie about a plastic surgeon who gives surgery to crooks etc who end up working in his circus, and it doesn't end up good for them if they want to leave.
55/ The Nutty Professor (1963) – I've seen very few Jerry Lewis films and I guess he would be acquired taste and if I compare this to it's remake, the Eddie Murphy character you just feel for more, the character here just isn't as likable and the films best scenes come when he is Buddy Love, which I assume was either a tribute or shot at Dean Martin. I enjoyed it overall.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 26, 2021 23:29:41 GMT -5
#28 - John Wick: Chapter 2
*Blu-Ray
It’s not without flaws, but John Wick: Chapter 2 manages to build upon what worked in the first film. It’s cool, fun, and features a ton of action. [****]
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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 Jan 27, 2021 3:49:58 GMT -5
21. Class of Nuke 'Em High Part 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid* *DVD* I didn’t really care for this one as much. It kinda fell right in the middle of the second movies goofy charm and the first movies general boringness. I did like how some of the cast were beyond terrible actors, especially the guy who played Dr. Slag. PhD. And it was so hilarious that everyone always addressed him as “Dr. Slag. PhD”, as if that was his full given name. Brick Bronsky was great as the lead again. The movie just didn’t do anything for me. I think it was because Bronsky cut off the rattail from the last movie and it was like Samson.
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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 Jan 27, 2021 3:51:06 GMT -5
48: The Last Man On Earth (1964) – actually a bit better made then I was expecting and the flashback to the fate of Vincent Price's family was surprisingly effective. I honestly dug this more both then The Omega Man and I am Legend. The part when his wife comes back was legitimately creepy
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Jan 27, 2021 5:03:32 GMT -5
56/ The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) – objectively it probably leans a bit towards average but did enjoy this since I have a soft spot for 80s films. I thought Michael Paré and Nancy Allen had nice chemistry and there is some fun effects.
57/ Mona Lisa (1986) – a film I knew of but this wasn't the film I was expecting and totally in a good way. It's a bit Taxi Driver, a bit crime movie and there is some excellent performances not least from Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson (I also enjoyed Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane in support roles). Great.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 27, 2021 23:35:12 GMT -5
#29 - Locked Down
*HBOMax
This is a frustrating film. THe COVID aspect of it is a bit much to take right now and that makes it hard to watch. The rest of it isn't great, though. The heist isn't that interesting and the best scenes are when Hathaway and Ejiofor get to act against each other at home. [**]
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,159
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Post by agent817 on Jan 28, 2021 1:35:49 GMT -5
I watched both of these on Tubi.
22. American Yakuza - This was an early-1990s B-movie that starred Viggo Mortensen where he's an FBI agent going undercover with the yakuza and then comes some subplot of him getting in too deep and all that. It's enjoyable with its plot and it definitely had some good action scenes, even for low-budget standards. Some bits were a bit predictable, but then you had some parts that were pretty unexpected. It's an entertaining film that one could use 90 minutes to kill if you're not doing much. You could even believe the chemistry between Mortensen and Ryo Ishibashi as they worked well together.
23. American Yakuza II: Back to Back - Despite its title, it's not really a sequel per se, though it has somewhat of a similar plot to the alleged first film. Both films have to do with the yakuza against the Italian mafia, and of course someone who managed to get involved. The difference here was that it had a major character's daughter involved, as well as a dirty cop involved. Oh, and Ryo Ishibashi appeared in this as well, though he wasn't the same character from the supposed predecessor. With that being said, I will note that I remember watching this a long time ago. I think it was the 2000s (like ranging from 2006 to 2008 at most, though I remember seeing parts of it on Starz years prior). This movie has more a cheesy feel to it. Michael Rooker was good in his role as a down-on-his-luck deadbeat father and former cop who was also a badass. One part that I will always remember, especially when seeing bits of it before giving it a full watch, was the part with Bobcat Goldthwait as this bank robber/suicide bomber. He was still pretty funny even as a psychopath. Hell, there were some comedic bits that sort of worked, even in some scenes involving this Elvis Presley-obsessed yakuza member. It's a fun film to pass the time. Then again, I do enjoy B-movies sometimes.
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Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Jan 28, 2021 6:43:15 GMT -5
58/ The Pledge (2001) – I would say this movie is too downbeat but given it's subject matter it's understandable but I did like the story and it's mystery and there is some terrific performances including lead Jack Nicholson and a smallr role for Mickey Rourke.
59/ The Witch Who Came From The Sea (1976) – okay this is an horror/thriller and it's nothing like the title suggests, there is no witch (let alone one that came from the sea). This was another tough watch after The Pledge since this deal with abuse. Millie Perkins is excellent in the lead and there is some surprisingly witty dialogue in a film I overall liked.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,159
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Post by agent817 on Jan 28, 2021 17:44:34 GMT -5
24. Enough (2002) - Watched this on Tubi. For some reason I was in the mood to watch it. I had maybe seen only bits and pieces of it ever, though I remember TV spots for it way back when. What I can say about this is that this movie feels like a Lifetime movie with a bigger budget. I know people criticize Jennifer Lopez, but I can't say that she didn't give a decent performance in this, nor would I say that she didn't try. I will, however, say that the husband/villain was more over-the-top than what I would usually expect. Not to say that villains from Lifetime movies weren't over-the-top because it's either the way they were written or the way the actor portrayed them, or maybe it can be both. I even felt that the villain was over the top in 2015's The Boy Next Door, another Jennifer Lopez movie that was more of a Lifetime movie that was given a theatrical release.
Back to the main topic, I know that this movie was criticized a lot, but I didn't mind the movie. Yes, the villain was over-the-top, in a supervillain-sort-of-way, no less. I didn't mind this movie and just felt it was just passable. However, the big climax was a bit overdone in some areas. Yes, we all saw it coming, but even in some ways that part was just a bit much.
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