Yep, nice score. Going into this I thought it was going to be more of "so bad it's good" movie, but it's actually quite well made and nicely filmed, with decent acting and some great action scenes.

Watched Prometheus this evening, for the third time since I bought it, enjoyed it just as much as the first 2 viewings...

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage...just dumb and uninteresting. The action has been done, the effects were hokey and seeing Vin Diesel try to have a personality and talk in some sentences was just painful. I didn't make it to end needlesstoday and couldn't care less how the uninteresting bad guys bought it. I don't mind him persay, but brooding and little words in action movies is where he excels.

XXX Return of Xander Cage is on a long wait at Netflix.

Desierto

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

New Japan Pro Wrestling: G1 Climax 26

G1 Climax 26 – Block B: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma

G1 Climax 26 – Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tama Tonga

G1 Climax 26 – Block A: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii

G1 Climax 26 – Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs. Naomichi Marufuji

G1 Climax 26 – Block A: Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA

G1 Climax 26 – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

first four eps from



I've seen comments from many people the first half of the second season was stronger than the second.
I hope I don't find that the case as I wasn't especially bowled over by the first four Punisher eps.
Also was a little disappointed to see some macroblocking more than a few times in darker ares of the image.

Eps 5-9 from



Digging the middle of the season much more than the Punisher centric first third. I haven't reread the original Miller Elektra issues in a long time, but I know the show is taking massive liberties with the material. No complaints from me so far though. That was one of my all time favorite runs, and this really feels like it's capturing the spirit of it, if not the text. And the casting of the show continues to be spot on.

Great Hammer sci-fi/horror hybrid. I originally saw it on DVD about 15 years ago. This second viewing left an even better impression.
Great presentation on the Bd too- well worth the import if you are region free.





I bailed out on reading the X-men a while before Apocalypse ever showed up, so I have absolutely no preconceptions of the character to hamper my viewing.

While I could quibble about are some of the casting choices (not a fan of Turner as Jean), or some of the internal plot points and continuity headaches- overall I have to admit I was mightily entertained.

Even though it comes in well behind First Class and DoFP, it was still much more involving than I expected given the mostly disappointing word of mouth. And to be perfectly honest, given that this is supposed to take place in 1983 or thereabouts, even with it's flaws it blows away all the mediocre crap we had to make do with back then. If this is one of the weaker superhero movies now, comic book geeks are doing pretty damn good.

Exactly what you expect. Very enjoyable and entertaining.

Split

Dredd

XXX: Return of Xander Cage

Split - I liked the movie until the end. Afterwards, it made me love the movie.

The Rock...I forgot how much fucking fun this one is. Just so enjoyable. When Cage was peaking. Too bad. And Bay was Bay.

Moonraker (1979)

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. What a fun "Drive In" type movie.

At over 4 hours -- it's a masterpiece and it just flies by. Edgar Ramirez's greatest performance.

Last night I pulled out the 'ol "Alien" Anthology (the spiffy one with the hard outer case) and re-watched the first two films. After watching "Alien" again for the umpteenth time, I was amazed how well this film holds up after nearly 40 years. It was superbly written and directed and the effects shots still convincing. As with his other masterpiece, "Blade Runner," Ridley Scott created a wholly believable world that drew you in from the very first frame. But the real kudos have to go to the actors. The performances put you on that ship and make this film chillingly real. I laughed at myself for still reacting physically at key moments...that's pretty amazing. The same unfortunately can't be said about the fan-favorite sequel, "Aliens." I'm sorry, but this movie pales in comparison to the original in every possible way. The dialog and performances create more cringe-worthy moments than the aliens themselves. These sophmoric, comic book stereotypes are simply not believable. In fact, those moments only serve to remind you that this is nothing but a mindless action film. Even dozens of xenomorphs can't create the same terror as a single alien in the original film. The score which was so effective in creating a sense of foreboding in the first film is a bombastic mess here and the minature effects work reminded me of Gerry Anderson's "Thunderbirds Are Go! Is it an entertaining rollercoaster ride? Well, looking back when I was ahem, much younger, I loved it. But through the eyes of an adult, it just fails to hold up. It's just not in the same league of the original. Tonight it is on to the much-maligned "Alien 3."

^ I had nearly the exact same reaction as you did when I spun Aliens again a few weeks back.

A film I had ALWAYS enjoyed and frequently loved, rang so false now- nearly start to finish. I was honestly startled by how much it rubbed me the wrong way this time.

The Raid 2 (2014)

Picked this up because the wife had seen it in the theater and said it was pretty good. Saw this last night and it was OK. Great chemistry between Gosling and Stone. In retrospect I think a rental would have been good enough since I don't know how much replay value it will have. Even though it was only $5 OOP after $RZ, I could have saved for something else.

You can watch the dance sequences again and the scene near the L.A. Observatory.

Miles Teller and Emma Watson passed on that movie. I wonder how it would have turned out if Anna Kendrick played the Emma Stone role.

Sleepless

Infernal Affairs (2002)