MLBFan24

Flipped (2010) - this movie just landed on Netflix and even though it's been out for a decade, I never heard of it (or the book it is based on). Wow, I loved it. Great coming of age story set in the 50s/60s. Reminded me of Bridge to Terabithia.

Cellar Door

^Yeah, Flipped is a cute movie. It has several good actors and is directed by Rob Reiner.

JeffTheAlpaca

TheMovieman

The Conjuring (2013) — Hadn't seen this in a while and watching it again in preparation for the third movie, found it to be well done. I'm not much for these supernatural horror movies but with James Wan's camera work, and the screen presence from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, makes it an entertaining flick. ***¾/*****

Death Race (2008) — Loud and brash but ultimately entertaining thanks mostly to Jason Statham and some decent racing sequences (well, when the camera wasn't jittery or quick edits). Also some love for Joan Allen making for a fine villain and never a bad thing with Ian McShane even in a supporting role. Nothing great but pretty much well within Paul W.S. Anderson's wheelhouse. ***½/*****

Nick Danger

Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines. I only made it 2/3rds of the way through the movie. The physics in the big chase scenes were too cartoonish to create any tension. John Connor has been changed from a thirteen-year old natural leader who takes command of a team consisting of the terminator, a brilliant scientist, and his own mom, to being a whiny twenty-something who doesn't contribute anything, ever. Kristanna Loken, the new terminator, doesn't project menace like Schwarzenegger or Robert Patrick did in the previous movies.

I don't mind if movies have stupid plots, so long as they're aware that they're doing it and do it with style. This movie was just a dumb cash-grab. (YouTube)

TheMovieman

Flashback (2021) — Interesting ideas and a bit pretentious with the dialogue at times, this one reminded me a bit of The Butterfly Effect. I was mostly confused throughout the entire thing, but can at least admire the performances from both Dylan O'Brien and Maika Monroe, albeit every character doesn't have a whole lot of depth. I normally enjoy mysteries but this one was way out there for me to follow or care about by the end. I'll give it this much, it is unique... ***/*****

Goonies85

Punisher: War Zone - Felt like rewatching this after viewing Ray Stevenson do such excellent work on the HBO Series, Rome. I actually have a soft spot for this movie. I feel the level of violence is adequate and nicely stylized (albeit a bit too stylized at times), and I've said it before but I thought Ray Stevenson made a pretty excellent Punisher (although, Jon Bernthal's portrayal is the one I'd prefer bringing over to the MCU, as he just seemed like a natural in the role). I actually thought the weakest part of Punisher: War Zone, and the part that to a large extent kind of ruins the movie or at least really negates it's impact, is the absolute terrible acting from Dominic West (who I absolutely loved in The Wire). Now I don't completely blame West, although he has to take a pretty big portion of the blame, I just think the writing/lines he was given were just total trash. I can't believe no one in the editing room was like, "Okay, guys and gals, look: We need to do something about this character, whether that means some quick reshoots or rewrites or whatever, but we gotta do something cause this ain't gonna work." Like, that should've been apparent the minute the first footage/dailies of West started rolling in. And that's really unfortunate because in my mind, aside from villains like Kingpin, Tombstone, Hammerhead, et. al., Jigsaw has always been one of Punisher's greatest enemies (and one of my personal favourites). Really interested to see how Marvel handles The Punisher character now, and whether or not (and how) they possibly incorporate him into the MCU. They have to do something with the character, otherwise they're just pissing away money, which you know the character would generate...

JeffTheAlpaca

What did you think of the Thomas Jane Punisher?

I own this.


I did not think it was that bad though they could have eliminated the ben foster, romjin, and that other guy characters.

I heard it was loaded with continuity errors.

JeffTheAlpaca

Netflix

Not a good week for movies but this was not that bad.

Seyfried with this guy and Kevin Bacon has had bad luck with her movie husbands lately.

Goonies85

It has it's moments but in the end it really pulls its punches when it comes to the level of violence and mature subject matter, so ultimately its a pretty big let down. Now I tend to like Thomas Jane, and thought he was decent enough Punisher, but John Travolta made a horrible villain; just wayyyy over the top. He comes across as one giant cliche or caricature. In terms of those other "peripheral" characters, that was obviously taken from the Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon run they did initially for Marvel Knights. I'm not a giant fan of them, but I felt that they could've been pulled off with the right approach, which this movie lacked. The other thing is, if you're going to draw certain aspects from the Ennis/Dillon run, you need to realize that a large part of the appeal of that particular run was that creators were finally allowed to really cut loose and make a real, insanely violent and over-the-top Punisher comic book, and the movie audiences probably would've responded to that approach more than they did for the neutered approach they were given. Ultimately, I'd say it's worth watching once, but my favorite Punisher movie (the Netflix show obviously reigns supreme) is the Dolph Lundgren one from the late '80s. Biggest drawback to that one is the fact that he never wears the friggin' skull logo on his chest...and yet he's The Punisher...

Goonies85

The Founder - Second time watching this one. I enjoyed it the first time I saw it and still enjoy it, but don't get the level of acclaim it got when it was initially released. Based on a great story (largely adapted from the extremely enjoyable book), it's just a solid movie through and through. Michael Keaton continues his resurgence, with another great, nuanced performance. John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman are a joy to see playing the two brothers who came up with the initial McDonalds concept only to be taken advantage of. I don't know if I'd recommend buying the Blu-Ray. The bonus features are surprisingly lacking, as I would've thought a subject matter like this would've meant countless hours of historical and documentary footage and vintage interviews and television appearances, etc. And I would've appreciated a commentary. Oh well, just kind of a middle of the road, solidly entertaining movie, but nothing special.

Furious 7 - Wow. Everytime I write this series off, it comes right back and kicks me in the ass. I thought this was a fantastic action movie. From the opening scene (which served as a terrific introduction for Jason Statham) onward, it was just a propulsive movie. The fight choreography was off the charts good. The camerawork that accompanied it was innovative and intense. The driving scenes, obviously, were first rate and extremely nerve-wracking. The incredible and varied settings gave the film such a great international flair. And the acting just seemed so natural between this group of actors, who've known each other for years and years at this point. Just a really solid action movie, and now I'm dying to see The Fate of the Eight...

TheMovieman

And shows how great a filmmaker James Wan is. If you have the Blu-ray (and it might be available online, not sure), check out the featurette on how that opening sequence was shot. Pretty cool.

Speaking of Wan:
The Conjuring 2 (2016) — Really solid sequel, and a re-watch before seeing the third film, in fact probably liked this one slightly better, with some good scares but better, a nice heart at the center with the relationship between Ed and Lorraine, played wonderfully by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Once again, craft-fully directed by James Wan, a style missing from the others in the 'Conjuring Universe', though the plots didn't help matters. ****/*****

DWilson

Animal House 4K UHD

At first the 4K picture seemed a bit soft, but the colors were very engaging. The longer I watched it the more I enjoyed the picture quality. Just for comparison, I slipped in the included blu-ray, which was an older version, not a re-master. It looked decent at first, but really harsh; perhaps it was intended to look better on smaller screens and devices. The 4K is much more natural and pleasant.

The Marksman blu-ray
Liam Neeson Director: Robert Lorenz
An aging down-on-his-luck rancher stumbles across and mother and her son illegally crossing the border into his property. Before ICE can respond to his call, cartel soldiers show up to kill the mother and son and the rancher steps in to save them.

This is pretty much a predictable, by-the-numbers film... but its a really well-made film. It's solid on the technical aspects and the performances are good. Also, Neeson is playing a fairly normal, older man (though he was a marksman in his Marine days), and the film doesn't over-stretch his abilities. This was directed by Clint Eastwood's long-time second unit director and feels very much like a cousin to "The Mule".

mwbmis

Battle of the Sexes - Emma Stone wouldn't have been the first person to come to mind to play Billie Jean King, but I thought she was very good. Carell was born to play Bobby Riggs. I thought the tennis stuff was more interesting than BJK's sexual awakening. (iTunes)

Take Me Home Tonight - Topher Grace's 80s movie. I read that he wanted it to feel like a movie made in the 80s rather than a nostalgia movie. Had this movie been made in the 80s then the camera angle would not have changed during the trampoline scene. There are few fleeting moments when this is entertaining, but not enough of them. (HBO Max)

Under the Silver Lake - Odd movie about a lay-a-bout who tries to find his missing neighbor. There were things I enjoyed in this movie, and it was fun for a while, but it gets too weird, and it's just way too long. (Prime)

Goonies85

Good call on that featurette. I checked it out last night and enjoyed it so much I ended up watching probably 45 minutes of it as it was filled with all sorts of cool little details. James Wan has definitely impressed me with this film, and now I kind of wanna check out his Conjuring movies, even though I'm generally turned off by most paranormal stuff (aside from more comedic versions like Ghostbusters, etc.)...

RichC2

Army of the Dead - I liked certain aspects of it, but it did run too long and the whole "We're in a hurry. Let's have dramatic conversations now." thing always, ALWAYS annoys the piss out of me. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mostly entertained by it.

Wrath of Man - I could nit pick this one to death but it was an involving movie that I enjoyed.

Midsommar - Enjoyed it, though I just expected "more" to happen during it. Still, Ari Aster is one of the more interesting writer/directors out there.

Woman in the Window - Bad.

DWilson

Chaos Walking Blu-ray
I was able to rent this from my county library, so figured I'd take a chance. The central gimmick, -that each person's innermost thoughts could actually be heard by everyone as if it were spoken aloud, -tested my patience and eventually I threw in the towel. I listened to a bit of the director's commentary and was surprised at how directly Doug Liman addressed the troubled production of the film and how they tried as best they could to take what they felt was a mess and make it somewhat coherent.

JeffTheAlpaca

Take Me Home Tonight was kind of lame except for maybe 2 moments. Maybe all the detail they put into that record store from the 80's was the highlight.

I will watch the Founder again maybe on Netflix. I have it on Blu-ray but it is probably hidden in a stack.

JeffTheAlpaca

It was ok but could have been better though Rahim delivered and Foster was good as usual and I will see anything she does since she does not do a lot of movies.

DWilson

Rollercoaster Shout! BD
A Federal Safety Inspector (George Segal) pursues a mysterious bomber (Timothy Bottoms) who targets amusement parks. Also starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Susan Strasberg.

A Thriller from the Universal Pictures "factory" of The '70s. Universal ground out hundreds of Films and TV Shows during that period but there was a consistent look and general quality to their output. Basically this looks like every episode of every older Television show you've ever seen on Me TV or any similar cable channel. It's an agreeable enough Procedural but there's also nothing exceptional about it.

TheMovieman

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) — Decent enough third entry that gets a little goofy at the end but I liked it, though not quite as good as the first two. I'd say Michael Chaves did a fine job directing utilizing some of the tricks James Wan did in the previous entries (like a one-shot scene going through the house early on). But like the others, the biggest plus is with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga who were again wonderful together. ***½/*****

JeffTheAlpaca

Not a big horror fan but this was pretty good

Morfydd Clark might be on the verge of stardom.




Nick Danger

Trading Places (S: Eddie Murphy as Eliza Doolittle). I've never seen the movie before. I'm probably the only one here who hasn't. I don't like much comedy, and old comedy usually ages badly. This is still a good movie. Great performances from everyone. I looked up the cast on IMDB and discovered that Woman Passed Out on Couch was played by a porn star. Huh.

Goonies85

Willy's Wonderland - Huh. Well...that was certainly...different. I don't know, I tend to like a lot of the odd choices and roles that Cage takes, so even though I can't really say I'm a fan of this movie, I still hope he continues to choose unique and interesting projects. And I still think overall he's a great actor. He may choose some silly projects and occasionally star in some hammy roles, but he'll still do the odd Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call - New Orleans or The Frozen Ground or Dog Eat Dog or Dying of the Light or Joe, etc. This movie?


It wasn't as campy as I was hoping for. The effects weren't that great (I know a lot was practical but I could've sworn there were some poor uses of CGI. The plot was ludicrous, but that was to be expected, and there really was no motivation to Cage's character, who we pretty much know nothing about (and the decisions his character makes are just so off-the-wall you kind of get the impression that whoever wrote it just didn't care to have the movie make even a lick of sense, even if it's completely based on it's own logic and rationale; like, it can't even follow it's own rules. And it just wasn't cheesy enough in a good way. Honestly it was a chore to sit through. And it didn't help that the rest of the cast consisted of some pretty awful young actors that were basically completely forgettable. I was really hoping to like this movie, but it just didn't click for me. When it comes to Cage's kind of crazier movies, I'd take stuff like Drive Angry, Mandy, Mom and Dad, or, hell, even the unintentionally hilarious remake of The Wicker Man...Even if this were on TV and it was free, I'd probably skip it...I will admit, though, the music was good, at times...

Spider-Man: Far From Home - Second viewing and I still love it (even moreso than the first one). Just the camerawork and the action sequences are so well done they show a filmmaker who is confident and at the top of their game. And I know it's generated some controversy, but I actually loved Jake's performance as Mysterio in this, and I thought that whole storyline was very well-crafted and suspenseful. Even the romance between Aunt May and Happy could've come across as being corny, but due to the acting talents of Jon Favreau and Marisa Tomei, it actually comes across as sweet and charming. It's hard not to smile when they have dialogue or scenes together. And obviously it had that killer ending(s)...Just really looking forward to the next one...

JeffTheAlpaca

If Whittacker was not in this I would have passed.