Paul_SD

...someone would (have) cast her as Storm, a character I've always loved.

Not that it would have papered over the other issues I have with Singers first two films, but it still would have been a net improvement over Halle Berry and her "arc of the disappearing accent".

JeffTheAlpaca

I thought it was decent and not as bad as the 12% critic score at rotten tomatoes.

JimRochester

I'm much more interested in audience reaction than critics opinions.

JeffTheAlpaca

Agree though sometimes they are right on some movies.

asianxcore

In The Mouth of Madness (1994)

Paul_SD

Had a blast with it again, and I'm still in awe of what the production end and filmmakers were able to achieve here.
As much as I admire what Whedon was able to do over the course of his entire oeuvre, I gotta admit that the writing and directing here leaves the earlier two Avengers films in the dust. Each character has a distinct voice and the action, scope, and pacing are sublime.

asianxcore

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

JeffTheAlpaca

It was good though not my favorite Paul Schrader film since he has so many great movies to choose from.

kd5

Watched Paranormal Activity 2 (Unrated Director's Cut) this evening.

Goonies85

Horrible Bosses. Way better than I thought it would be. This is a solid comedy. Jason Sudekis, as per usual, really steals the movie, but Colin Farrell and Jason Bateman are also quite good (as is Kevin Spacey, god forbid). I was actually surprised that I liked Jennifer Aniston in this, as I've pretty much hated everything she's ever done. This made me actually appreciate her. I don't really have much of a desire to see the sequel, but this was solid entertainment.

The Death of Stalin. Probably the most disappointing movie I've watch in the past couple of years. I loved In The Loop, and I love the first four seasons of Veep (once Iannucci left and David Mandel took over, it got increasingly weak; I really hated the last season and don't hold up much hope for the final season). I barely laughed at all while watching this, and yet I'm a giant Steve Buscemi fan. Don't understand why this has attained such positive reviews.

Hellboy. Finally, finally got around to watching this. It was okay, but a lot of people overrate this just because it's a Del Toro movie. If I'm going to watch a Del Toro comic book movie, I'd take Blade 2 over this one any day. I prefer Del Toro's movies that are based on original stories he comes up with...I loved The Shape of Water...

Evilspeak. Didn't know much about this early '80s horror movie starring Clint Howard until Scream Factory released it. It was surprisingly good...and incredibly gory...But just bear with the opening, which makes it seem like a completely different movie...

Deadly Eyes. Amazing horror movie about killer rats in the Toronto subway system. Released in 1982. I went in with very low expectations, but this was a very pleasant surprise. Lots of great shots, and the gore is there but not overwhelming. No real stars to speak of (aside from a cameo from Scatman Crothers), but the Scream Factory Blu-Ray was quite good.

The Squad. Columbian horror movie. Very atmospheric, but the plot takes forever to get somewhere. It really only picks up steam after the first hour and twenty or so...I wouldn't highly recommend this one...But the cinematography was great, and I'm amazed they were able to make this on the budget that they had...This was another movie released by Scream Factory...

Creature. Relatively weak TV movie based on a Peter Benchley novel. Aired in two parts in the late '90s (I remember this being one of the last TV movies that actually had hype and I made an effort to watch). Craig T. Nelson is pretty good...But overall it's not really worth watching...

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. A complete bore. Peter Weir has only made a few movies I like (i.e Gallipoli, Witness...maybe The Truman Show), but oftentimes I find his movies boring (I absolutely hate Picnic at Hanging Rock). Avoid this one. The sound on the Blu-Ray is outstanding, though...Demo-quality...

Always For Pleasure. One of the so-so movies in the Les Blank Criterion Blu-Ray. Around 50 minutes. Didn't really did this one, which largely seems to revolve around a parade in New Orleans.

Deadpool 2 (Extended Cut). Loved the first one, but this was kind of a letdown. First off, the theatrical cut could very well be better, as this felt like it was 20 minutes too long. I liked Domino and Cable, but it seemed to take forever for them to appear in the movie. As per the first movie, I liked Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, but again, they weren't in the movie long enough. The only part of the movie I was really happy with and laughing out loud was the "X-Force sequence". I won't spoil it, but that part was hilarious...

The Sender. Somewhat decent horror movie (I've heard Tarantino is a fan). Largely about telepathy and whatnot. I didn't enjoy this that much, but have to admit that the Olive Films Blu-Ray looked and sounded pretty damn good. If you're looking for a somewhat cheesy horror movie to watch on a rainy day, you could do much worse...

Sprout Wings and Fly. My favorite from the Les Blank Criterion Blu-Ray set. This was fantastic, and at only 30 minutes, it really just breezes by. I love the musician that is featured in the movie (a violin player). Very old guy. Very cool. Lots of great life stories. Highly recommended.

Goonies85

A Quiet Place. An okay feature from John Krasinski, but I don't understand the hype it's gotten. It was a solid movie, but nothing too spectacular. The sound design on the Blu-Ray was pretty good...Emily Blunt was great...Didn't much care for the kid actors; I thought they were mediocre...

JeffTheAlpaca

A weird movie



Dafoe does not look that different way back in 1994 compared to today. He has good genes.

I did not know Donald Moffat the guy who plays the president was British.

He was a big fixture in 90's movies.

kd5

Watched Paranormal Activity 3 (Unrated Director's Cut) this evening.

Paul_SD

Not a "good" movie per se, but I was quite entertained watching this again. In some ways, it's head and shoulders above most of the Jaws rip-offs from the second half of the seventies (and I'm including land based rip-offs like Grizzly in that).

The Newfoundland setting is distinctive and rich in local atmosphere, and the psychology herding the main character through the story is interesting compared to how the majority of these films play out.

Glad I picked this up.

PQ is not state of the art, but I noticed no glaring issues. Any DNR is negligible and didn't impact my ability to stay in the movie at all.

The region free Au import is readily available from several US retailers like Amazon and DD.



Amusing thriller that plays like an extended episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Show (but in color).

Granger, who supposedly could be quite an ass in real life, makes a good, murderous cad while his IRL wife Simmons, plays effectively slightly against type.

I've read some criticism about the PQ to this. It does have a ever so slightly off patina to it, but not having any prior experience with it, I wasn't bothered by it. I thought it looked fine for the most part.

Stuck around to watch a brief feature on one of the supporting players which was quite interesting.

Another region free import available stateside from the usual suspects.

JeffTheAlpaca

Nobody has seen this but I thought it was good. I am a sucker for anything with Saoirse Ronan in it.

kd5

Watched Paranormal Activity 4 (Unrated Edition) this evening.

Goonies85

88 Minutes. Not a particularly good Al Pacino movie, although the overall premise sounded interesting (obviously, it's a ripoff of the classic film noir, DOA). Lots of decent actors/actresses appear in this, but most follow Pacino's lead and act way too over the top. There's also way too many red herrings in this one...That said, Pacino has made much, much worse movies over the course of the past few years...

Trespass. Not the Ice-T/Bill Paxton one, but the Nicolas Cage/Nicole Kidman one from 2011. I don't think this one deserved the bad reviews that it got...It's not the greatest movie, but it's hardly a horrible movie. Dash Mihok and Ben Mendolhson were also good in this one...It's also at a pretty decent length of 90 minutes...So not too long, not too short...Surprised I liked this Joel Schumacher movie...

The X-Files: Season 4 - Zero Sum. One of my favorite episodes, and it has several ties to the movie that was released after the following season. Basically, Skinner is compromised by the Cigarette Smoking Man and works to cover up some sort of crime in order to help Scully. Mulder gets suspicious and tries to figure out what is going on. The storyline involves bees, which are also featured in the movie. Really great conspiratorial episode. I'd rate this one 4.5/5.

Goonies85

I remember picking up Orca: The Killer Whale on DVD when it originally came out. I think it was Richard Harris in that one, who was quite good. But the scene that really got me was...

Goonies85

Johnny Guitar. Watched the original Olive Films Blu-Ray release, not the deluxe edition they released a year or two later. It was interesting. Pretty slow for the first half-hour, but Joan Crawford is good, and I've always liked Sterling Hayden (especially the film noirs he did, but also his role in The Godfather). The movie definitely has a cult following (and Scorsese does have a brief intro to the film on the Blu-Ray) but overall I was kind of let-down. It's not a bad movie by any means, but I've heard so much about it over the past several years that to finally watch it kind of disappointed me. Nicolas Ray definitely made better movies...But I do get why they call this one a subversive Western...It was much different than other Westerns that were released during its time...

Goonies85

The X-Files: Season 4 - Elegy. One of my least favorite episodes. Pretty dumb plot about some bowling alley where a dead body was discovered. Kind of a "monster-of-the-week" episode, but really doesn't live up to the typical standards that were established in the previous seasons. I'd rank this one 0.5/5.

Goonies85

The X-Files: Season 4 - Demons. Another "mythology" episode that doesn't really go anywhere. Kind of an interesting story, with Mulder waking up covered in blood with no memory of what happened (oh, and his gun had also apparently fired two shots). Scully is the only person that believes that Mulder is innocent of what transpires in the episode. It was okay, but it's one of the early signs that Chris Carter clearly had no idea where he was going with the series, and was making it up along the way. Thus, not one of the greatest episodes. I'd rank this one 1.5/5.

Goonies85

The X-Files: Season 4 - Gethsemane. The season finale. The episode opens with the beautiful setting of northern British Columbia (doubling for the Yukon). Some scientists have discovered something in the ice. It appears to be an alien, so Mulder goes to investigate. The episode starts off well, but kind of trails off towards the end. Nevertheless, it ends with a helluva cliffhanger, and I remember watching this when it originally aired and was psyched to see the next season premier. 3.5/5.

Goonies85

Nightmare City. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I wouldn't even really call this a zombie movie. It's more like The Crazies, in that the people that become "infected" just become extremely violent. But the movie makes no sense. These "creatures" know how to use firearms. They know how to drive. Oh, and they know how to operate elevators that have stalled. Just a really, really horrible movie. And the Raro Blu-Ray didn't even look that great. Pass on this one.

JeffTheAlpaca

It was decent.

Goonies85

The X-Files: Season 5 - Redux. Solid season premier, and much better than the previous season finale. Mitch Pileggi has a chance to shine in the first two episodes, as does the Cigarette Smoking Man. Solid entry. 3.5/5.

The X-Files: Season 5 - Redux II. Again, another generally solid episode. I loved the whole sequence with Mulder in the Pentagon. That was well done. 4/5.

The X-Files: Season 5 - Unusual Suspects. A pretty entertaining and unique episode where the Lone Gunmen take front and centre. Pretty humorous at times...I don't think Scully appeared in this at all, because she was off filming the movie. I was never a giant fan of the Lone Gunmen, but this episode made me appreciate them more. I also get a kick out of seeing Richard Belzer in character as Detective Munch, the character he's most famously known for playing on both Homicide: Life on the Streets and Law & Order. He has some good lines in this episode. 4/5.

The X-Files: Season 5 - Detour. One of my favorite "monster-of-the-week" episodes, I vividly remember watching this when it originally came out. Very suspenseful, as Mulder and Scully are trying to track down some strange creature in the woods that has been attacking people. Very reminiscent of the movie Predator, but not so derivative that it detracts from the episode. There's also, once again, a decent amount of humour in the episode. And I also liked the scene where Mulder and Scully do some bonding in the woods late at night. 4.5/5.

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers. I would've never thought someone would make an entire movie (okay, a 50-minute movie) all about garlic, but Les Blank manages to pull it off. Now, I'm not a giant fan of garlic, but it was kind of fascinating watching these people show us these recipes and how they cook certain meals. The music was also good. A very bizarre movie but if you like the kind of documentaries where the director just kind of fades to the background and documents people just living their lives, then you might enjoy this one...

The X-Files: Season 5 - The Post-Modern Prometheus . One of the most famous episodes. This is the one that was shot in black-and-white and was suppose to pay homage to old-school Universal Monster Movies. In that, they were extremely effective. The cinematography looks amazing in black-and-white. The only issue I have is that the humour is a little bit too much, at times. Although, I have to say that the actor that played J. Peterman in Seinfeld plays a part in this, and he fits in perfectly. I've always liked his over-the-top acting style. Almost like it's a parody episode (and largely it is, but oh well). Nevertheless, a solid entry. 4/5.