|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 18, 2024 23:45:38 GMT -5
#162 - Argylle (Apple TV+)
*1st Viewing
This must've set the record for most plot twists in one movie. Most of them aren't good either. Two stars for Dua Lipa, the cat, and Matthew Vaughn's stylish action scenes and that's me being generous. [**]
#163 - Mad Max (Prime)
*2nd Viewing
Didn't like this the first time around but it's actually really good even if the pacing is pretty terrible. [***½]
#164 - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Theater)
*1st Viewing
The human characters are as lame as ever here and some of the plot points here are ridiculously stupid. But we do get a tag team main event with big monster action so I can't hate it. [**½]
|
|
agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,170
|
Post by agent817 on Apr 19, 2024 20:48:53 GMT -5
62. Elektra (2005; Theatrical Cut) - Watched this on Max. After watching "Daredevil" recently, I made a point to watch this. I also made a point that I will watch the director's cut of this film, which I have heard is an improvement, but I will talk about the theatrical cut first. I have to note that if there are different cuts of films, I always watch the theatrical version first because not only is that version more common, there is more than just additional scenes added, but there are also different camera angles, different dialogue, etc. Ergo, I watched this version first.
For nearly two decades, I had heard a lot of negativity surrounding this film. Some say that the positives are Jennifer Garner's outfit (Though I liked the one from "Daredevil" a tad better), as well as one scene involving the henchwoman kissing her. Personally, I couldn't tell you the reason it took me this long to finally see it, but here I am, and I finally saw it for myself. What I will say is that I wasn't completely feeling it, but that doesn't mean that there weren't redeeming qualities.
I am no expert on the Elektra character and lore. Yes, I know she is often featured in Daredevil comics (and on the TV series, which I still need to watch). I have seen different takes on the character, as well as read a few comic series related to her (I must read "Elektra: Assassin," though). I know that this film was a spin-off of the 2003 Daredevil film. I also recall that when I saw TV spots for it back in 2005. I wonder if there were different scripts for it, like maybe there was one where Elektra went after Bullseye (was Colin Farrell busy at the time?). I read that there was supposed to be a cameo by Ben Affleck. Instead, we get a story about Elektra being hired for a hit and then protects the people she was supposed to kill, while her comrades from The Hand go after her. I have seen a story like this done many times.
I think Jennifer Garner did okay, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Terrence Stamp did fine. I wasn't annoyed by the teenage girl in the film. However, some of the writing could have been so much better. I also think that because Fox distributed this film, they probably meddled in the production because some of the characters felt more like mutants. I will note that I researched some of them and they are mutants who have powers in the comics, but it kind of felt like an X-Men spin-off. Also, some of the action scenes could have been so much better, but I didn't think they were horrible.
This film felt like it was rushed to be released. I know Jennifer Garner was still doing "Alias" at the time, so maybe that was why she wasn't fully invested in her role. There could have been so much potential, but I wasn't angry when watching it. It could have been a lot better.
Now I must see how much of an improvement the director's cut is.
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 19, 2024 22:06:04 GMT -5
#165 - Okja (Netflix)
*1st Viewing
It's hard to not be emotionally grabbed by something like this and Bong Joon-ho always seems to be great in everything he puts out. [****]
|
|
Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
|
Post by Bobeddy on Apr 20, 2024 4:56:09 GMT -5
2024 New Releases
#19 Civil War
The film is not an action packed battle heavy feature as the trailer might suggest. Nor does it really delve into the opposing sides or explore the reasons for why modern day America has collapsed into a state of civil war. There are a handful of passing references to fictional events that can help fill in some of the blanks but ultimately the 'Second American Civil War' is just a framing device for the movie's real story which is much more focused on war journalism and the ethics involved. Are those that document these scenes of barbarism impartial documenters or complicit bystanders?
By far the highlight of the movie comes towards the middle of the feature during an incredibly tense confrontation between our characters and a militiaman played by Jesse Plemons.
Verdict: While it wasn't the movie I was expecting it to be, I still enjoyed this well enough. An interesting exploration of war journalism and the morality involved.
|
|
|
Post by Andee9001 on Apr 20, 2024 7:53:26 GMT -5
Just got back from watching Abigail. I liked it. The girl who plays her did a great job making her both creepy and hoffifying and the cast of characters was fun. Not an overly scary film but it had its moments. I won't spoil it but it may just be the wrestling fan in me but it felt like there were a couple of nods to Bray Wyatt in there which if they were were pretty cool.
|
|
|
Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Apr 20, 2024 11:52:46 GMT -5
148. Lethal Weapon (1987) - holds up really well, the chemistry between Gibson and Glover is great (unsuprisingly). Gary Busey, the arch villain makes a better villian then the main one.
149. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) - on par with the first movie, with a memorable villian with diplomatic immunity (spoiler: who may or may not get it revoked)
150. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) - not as memorable as the first two but I still enjoy it, feels like the duo happen to be there when stuff happens and thats how they are dragged into stuff.
151. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) - partly gets by on the chemistry, but is the weakest of the four despite Jet Li being the villian. Still enjoyable with some funny moments and good action.
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 20, 2024 22:20:28 GMT -5
#166 - The Spider Withing: A Spider-Verse Story (YouTube)
*1st Viewing
I forgot this existed and somehow never watched it until now. Has the Spider-Verse look that I love but has a spooky feel while also dealing with something as serious as panic attacks. [****]
|
|
agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,170
|
Post by agent817 on Apr 21, 2024 0:01:23 GMT -5
Repeated Viewing - Daredevil (2003; Director's Cut)
Watched this on DVD.
After watching the theatrical cut, I had enjoyed it to a point, at least when it came to the action and the feel that the director went for. I had stated before that the story and direction was really trying to capture the feel of Frank Miller's run in the comics, and I do plan to read them soon. Despite that, I was still a little underwhelmed with that version. I had heard that the director's cut was an improvement. With that said, what do I think of it?
I could say that it truly was an improvement.
One of the notable factors in this version is that there is a more coherent plot and that there was focus on a plotline involving a case that Matt Murdock was working on from the beginning of the film. Hardly any of that was touched on in the theatrical version. There is also more backstory to when Murdock got blind and his senses were enhanced. So I could see that there was more in the story.
As for anything else, there were a few extra scenes and also a few omissions, which made the story work a little better.
At the end of the day, this is definitely the better version of the film, but I wouldn't be against watching the theatrical cut again. However, I would rather watch the director's cut before I would watch the theatrical cut.
Also, just a little off-topic, but being that I kind of got back into Daredevil (I have started reading some of the comics again), I feel like watching the TV series. I wonder if I should subscribe to Disney+ to see it.
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 21, 2024 23:59:14 GMT -5
#167 - Out of Time (Max)
*6th Viewing
I totally get that this is overly convoluted at times but I kind of love that about this and it's one of my most watched Denzel movies. [****]
|
|
Bobeddy
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Made a Terrible Mistake
Posts: 15,151
|
Post by Bobeddy on Apr 22, 2024 9:17:40 GMT -5
2024 New Releases
#20 Abigail
I remember being disappointed with M3GAN last year, feeling like the movie had been sterilised in order to hit the PG-13 market. This movie certainly did not do that and is far far the better for it. It's basically the same set up as Don't Breathe (group of criminals stuck in a house where the tables get turned), but the overall tone is much more like Ready or Not. It's over the top, almost slapstick at points and it has plenty of blood splattering.
All the criminal characters are fun in their own ways, but Alisha Weir is the absolute highlight as Abigail. If you'll pardon the expression, she sinks her teeth into the role and looks like she had a ball doing it. Her performance is creepy, threating and when her character is fully unleashed she makes the ensuing carnage very enjoyable to watch.
I wouldn't at all be surprised if blood covered ballerina vampires become a staple of trick-or-treaters in the Halloweens to come.
VERDICT: A refreshing addition to the well trodden vampire subgenre, this an over-the-top bloody romp that was a super fun watch.
|
|
|
Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Apr 22, 2024 12:28:19 GMT -5
152. Batman and Harley Quinn (2017) - enjoyable animated movie especially if you like a sexy Harley Quinn flipping between a farty Harley Quinn (there is people out there who thinks the second one is sexy).
153. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) - I'm a sucker for A Christmas Carol adaptations and this is a non-Christmas themed one about a lothario visited by ghosts (who are not actually dead tbf), this is pretty much flat overall and Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner give us no reason for us to root for them to be together.
|
|
agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,170
|
Post by agent817 on Apr 22, 2024 20:32:33 GMT -5
Repeated Viewing - Elektra (2005; Director's Cut)
Watched it on Max.
The first thing I will say is that I was hesitant to revisit this film after three days, difference in cuts notwithstanding. I know I did this with "Daredevil," but I can say that I even enjoyed the theatrical cut of that film more than the theatrical cut of this film. I also can say that the director's cut of that film is an improvement over the theatrical cut. Now that I've watched the director's cut of "Elektra," is it an improvement? Well, let's see.
Now I will say that I was not a big fan of "Elektra." I don't mean the character, because I have developed an interest enough to read some comics (I do plan to read "Elektra: Assassin" soon, as well as Miller's run of Daredevil that feature her), but I mean the film. I did not feel the film the first time I watched it, despite it only being a few days ago. Again, I was reluctant to watch it again. However, because this was a different cut of the film, I could that some dialogue was removed and some was added, as well as removing some scenes and adding a little extra footage in some of them. There was a little more violence in some scenes, but it wasn't gory, either. Not that it needed to be, mind you, but it could have worked. I also noticed a little more backstory in some scenes. They had improved in some elements of the story, but I don't think it was enough to improve on it completely.
What's weird is that this version didn't feel like a slog to sit through or anything like that. I would call this version average at best. I didn't exactly hate the theatrical cut, either, but I still thought it was a weak film. This version is...well, somewhat passable. I still found it kind of "eh" than anything else.
|
|
|
Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Apr 23, 2024 18:41:07 GMT -5
154. White Coats (2004) - starring comedy alum from three of the most popular North American sketch comedy (SNL, SCTV and Kids in the Hall), it as some funny moments to be fair but nothing to recommend that much.
155. Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) - enjoyable overall with a couple of faces you'll recognise in small parts.
|
|
mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,373
|
Post by mystermystery on Apr 23, 2024 21:55:25 GMT -5
101. WHISPERS (1990), Dean Koontz's Whispers is a movie where a woman is being stalked by a powerful man who has police willing to look the other way. One cop trusts her and, after she defends herself, somehow maintains that trust when she starts swearing that the man she killed is still stalking her for revenge. It becomes a bit of a police procedural and...goodness...what an answer they reveal.
Random Fact: This was the first novel that Dean Koontz sold under his real name and he sold the rights of the film for a small amount. Once he caught on later, and movies were starting to develop from his more famous works, he tried to buy back the rights and the producer rushed and made this film instead.
102. LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2023) David Dastmalchian is a daggone star. A late night host's attempt to bump sweeps week ratings and potentially defeat Johnny Carson leads to a live presentation of a little girl presumed to be possessed.
Things. Go. Poorly.
I loved it.
103. DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS (2024) I now have a very solid idea which Coen brother wrote the part of BURN AFTER READING where George Clooney designs a chair.
It was...something. Incredibly quirky.
104. UNDERGROUND EARTHQUAKE (2024) I follow Billy Butler on Instagram and he was the line producer for this, so when he posted that it was live on Tubi, I gave it a shot. It's an incredibly basic "Natural disaster occurs and people stuck in a modern wonder have to try and survive" film that adds in a character with diabetes for a little different approach.
It's an Asylum movie and that studio seems very comfortable with their Tubi relationship.
105. HYBRISTOPHILIA (2022) A reporter gets an invite from a famous serial killer for an exclusive interview. Turns out...the killer means it and, after kidnapping everyone, sits down and spills their story for the camera. A very low budget effort. The ending is decent enough for a "Wait, what?"
106. FEAST (2005) Yes, the efforts of the winner of the initial PROJECT GREENLIGHT is a time capsule for "cool" movie making moves of the early 2000s. The camera shakes more than the earthquake in EARTHQUAKE UNDERGROUND.
Does a bit of pausing to introduce characters and list their "chance of survival" stats because that's the type of joke you make in a movie like this. Plenty of gore and practical effects. His style was rather chaotic but it is a shame that Gulagher was essentially ran out of the industry by shrinking budgets years later. Nice to see his father Clu Gulagher as the bartender.
107. THE CHANGELING (1980) Judge me, for this is my first time viewing. George C. Scott was great in everything, huh?
More than deserving of its reputation.
108. DEAN KOONTZ'S FRANKENSTEIN (2004) A failed pilot treated like a movie on Tubi. Essentially sets up a (man-made) Monster of the Week formula where this story's Frankenstein (instead named Helios) has been constantly trying over and over to create the perfect life and now the original creation is going to help police hunt down rogue creations while doing everything to bring down Helios.
Might have been an okay show. Definitely doesn't wrap anything up because of that hope. Michael Madsen is in here being bizarre to the point that he feels like a Vince Vaughn without comedic timing. Vaughn can carry an aura of intimidation (See the horror parts of FREAKY) and that's pretty much Madsen's vibe in this one as DETECTIVE HARKER. Geez.
Parkey Posey and Adam Goldberg are the cops. Just sharing that bit of info.
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 23, 2024 22:34:19 GMT -5
#168 - Where The Crawdads Sing (Netflix)
*1st Viewing
It's too long and lifeless at points but Daisy Edgar-Jones does a solid carry job when she's on screen. [**½]
#169 - Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (Tubi)
*1st Viewing
Takes what worked in the first film and makes it bigger and better. [****]
#170 - Saving Sakic (ESPN+)
*1st Viewing
An interesting documentary focusing on some behind-the-scenes stuff I never knew about. Also a fantastic ad for 1997's Air Force One. [***]
|
|
Ultimo Gallos
Grimlock
Dreams SUCK!Nightmares live FOREVER!
Posts: 14,400
|
Post by Ultimo Gallos on Apr 23, 2024 23:51:02 GMT -5
47-Deathbed-Full MOon DVD
What a pile of crap.
3 turds in the bed out of 10
48-BTK-Lionsgate DVD
Wow Kane Hodder has acting range. Fictionalized retelling of the BTK killer storyline.
7.4 Grey poodles out of 10
|
|
|
Post by BlackoutCreature on Apr 24, 2024 14:10:38 GMT -5
59. Tower of Terror (1997)60. The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018) 61. Corvette Summer (1978) 62. What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018)For those not familiar, this is a retrospective documentary about Deep Space Nine. I had heard about this when it first got its limited theatrical release in 2018, but wasn't particularly interested in seeing it even though I was a big DS9 fan. Then a few weeks ago I discovered that the documentary includes a pseudo-episode for a theoretical eighth season told with some rough animation, and I was curious. Plus, it was on YouTube for free. It's a cool documentary. It kinda goes more in the way of celebrating DS9's influence on the Star Trek franchise and its fandom and sci-fi in general then it does re-visiting old stories. That said, just about everybody who had anything to do with the series shows up in this, including the notoriously reclusive Avery Brooks, and it's just fun to hear what they all have to say. As for the pseudo-episode, it makes some decisions that I wasn't a huge fan of (I'm sorry, I just don't see Kira becoming a Vedek/Priest), but it sounded entertaining and engaging enough. The biggest problem really is that it introduced a bunch of plot lines that will never ever be followed up on, let alone resolved. Oh, and Ira Steven Behr's blue goatee was really stupid looking. Seriously man, what were you thinking?
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 24, 2024 22:35:23 GMT -5
#171 - Gangster Squad (Blu-Ray)
*2nd Viewing
I remember going on a date to see this in theaters and really liking it. This was first my time watching it since then and it's painfully average. I now question why my date ended up marrying me. [**½]
#172 - House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute (Tubi)
*1st Viewing
The one star is for Meagan Good. [*]
|
|
|
Post by BlackoutCreature on Apr 25, 2024 12:57:04 GMT -5
61. Corvette Summer (1978) 62. What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018) 63. Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)Heard about this movie for the first time a few weeks ago and, since it's on YouTube, decided to check it out. For those not familiar, a 1960 test pilot's experimental rocket plane goes awry and sends him into the future to the far off year of 2024 (bum-bum-bum). There he discovers that after a plague (?!) caused by atomic testing, the bulk of humanity has turned into an underground society of (surprisingly attractive) sterile deaf-mutes. The leaders of this society are hoping said test pilot can, well, help "revive" the human race with his unaffected seed. Falling in with a group of fellow time travel refugees, the test pilot attempts to escape the underground city and get back to his aircraft so he can travel back to his own time and stop the aforementioned plague. There's some decent special effects, at least for its time, but otherwise it's a pretty boring movie with a lot of wooden B-movie acting.
|
|
|
Post by I'm Team Bayley and Indi on Apr 25, 2024 13:02:34 GMT -5
156. Shriek if You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (2000) - the other 2000 slasher spoof is obviously weaker then the two with jokes coming thick and fast and some surprisingly actually landing, Simon Rex one of the stars went onto star in a couple of the none-slasher Scary Movie sequels.
157. Land of Smiles (2016) - okay horror, even being low budget does have some nice locations. Nothing to recommend though.
|
|