Anyone But You - Netflix

I really enjoyed this film, and would not have regretted it if I had seen in theaters.

Madame Web (2024) — Is Madame Web the worst superhero movie ever made? Not by a longshot as Superman IV, Batman & Robin and Supergirl would take a front seat in that department. Now the argument can be made it's the worst in the modern era of superhero movies, though personally it's "better" than Suicide Squad but even that one had costumed heroes in it versus MW which only had maybe a few minutes of the ladies in their costumes and even then, it's via future visions.

Beyond that, nothing really works. The direction, even with the twisty-turny camera movements felt familiar as I'm pretty sure I've seen it done before but minimally. The performances from everyone was either bland, Dakota Johnson especially, or downright awful (Tahar Rahim), not helped by the stilted and oft atrocious dialogue from no less than four writers, two of which were responsible for Morbius.

I didn't hate Madame Web more so that I found it downright dull and boring. There's no reason to watch this and with the terrible box office, the last line of "And you know the best thing about the future? It hasn't happened yet" is pretty poignant. **/***** (Blu-ray)

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson. Directed by Guy Ritchie. 2024
The British military recruits a small group of highly-skilled soldiers to strike against Nazi forces behind enemy lines during World War II.

I really enjoyed The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare's trailer, which was set to "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen. The movie itself doesn't quite live up to the trailer (though it downplays Henry Cavill's tongue, thankfully). The movie is entertaining and delivers a strong Third Act, but there are some pacing issues along the way. The film features two storylines that eventually converge, -a "Men on a Mission" Action story with Cavill and his men, and an espionage storyline with Eiza Gonzalez and Babs Olusanmokun. Cavill's story delivers the Action goods, but the spy story lacks tension and flair, until a rather modern performance of "Mack The Knife" by Gonzalez that gives the film a much-needed kick in the ass. It's a good film, but I was hoping for a great film.

Mostly depressing auto-biography of William Shatner. Has some good clips of stuff he's done over the years. Remarkably cognizant for a 91 year old, although he does prattle on. My Dad was losing it at 91 and and a year later he was in care and didn't know who I was. That may have affected mt feeling o the film.

Blitz (2011) - a Jason Statham thriller that I hadn't heard of before. I picked it on a whim while scrolling through Amazon Prime videos. It was okay, but nothing special. Statham plays a London cop trying to track down a serial killer targeting cops. Feels like Dirty Harry was an inspiration to some degree, as Statham plays a violence-prone detective and the serial killer is pretty brazen and openly taunts the police. The supporting cast is excellent, with Paddy Considine, Aiden Gillen (Littlefinger from GoT), Luke Evans, Mark Rylance, and Zawe Ashton.

To Die For (1995) — Great performance from Nicole Kidman but this dark comedy didn't always do it for me, though it also could be I'm not the biggest fan of these mockumentary-like style films where actors (in character) talk to the camera. Still well worth watching for a fine cast. ***ľ/***** (4K Ultra HD)

Night Swim Peacock
Wyatt Russell. Directed by Bryce McGuire. 2024
Ray Waller, a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, who moves into a new home with his concerned wife Eve, teenage daughter Izzy and young son Elliot. But a dark secret in the home's past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror.

Honestly, by the time "Horror Movie" things started happening in the Third Act of "Night Swim", I'd already checked out. The only thing I found scary was how dull it was.


Hellraiser Hulu
Odessa A'zion. Directed by David Bruckner. 2022
A young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.

I started watching the reboot of "Hellraiser" when it first dropped on Hulu a while back, and for some reason, I drifted away after about an hour. I was thinking about the "Hellraiser" films the other day, -the first three are quite good to varying degrees, -so I thought I'd give it another go. As it turns out, I checked out again about an hour in. I've liked David Bruckner's work in the past, so I was surprised it didn't work for me. Perhaps it's the film's glacial pace, or perhaps it's that I find most of the characters unsympathetic, or perhaps it's a combination of both. Also, I watched the 4K stream via Disney+, and the HDR rendered key scenes so dark I could barely see what was going on.

Dune: Part Two

I own that on Blu-ray

Were you turned on when Joaquin Phoenx nailed Nicole Kidman?

I think this and Batman Forever were the peak hotness years for Kidman.

I own this.

It still holds up and a great movie.

I must have lost my mind thinking $10 + for this at Amazon was not worth the price but it is a lot better than some of the movies I own.

I own that on Blu-ray

Were you turned on when Joaquin Phoenx nailed Nicole Kidman?

I think this and Batman Forever were the peak hotness years for Kidman.

New on Netflix

"The film stars Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman as a student and teacher who enter into a complicated relationship after a creative writing assignment. "

I wanted to like this but I was bored

Starz


"After losing the woman of his dreams, Merlin moves to Las Vegas to pursue work as a magician, only to get hired as the frontman in a revival of the notorious Black male stripper crew, the Chocolate Chips"

A parody of the Full Monty.

Wesley Snipes never ages

Argylle (2024) - Apple TV+

The Alien Dead (1980) — Extremely low budget ($12,000) take on Night of the Living Dead, this is a pretty dull movie with terrible dialogue and bad sound design along with the acting, which I can forgive since these were likely friends or family of the filmmakers. Nothing to write home about and not worth the time even with its 73-minute running time. *ľ/***** (Blu-ray)

Indeed. I'll have to re-watch BF, haven't seen it in years.

You can just google the images and don't have to suffer through watching Batman Forever again.

Cloverfield Amazon Prime 4K
Lizzy Caplan. Directed by Matt Reeves. 2008
A group of friends venture deep into the streets of New York on a rescue mission during a rampaging monster attack.

I became a fan of Matt Reeves with his first Directorial effort, "Cloverfield", and he hasn't let me down yet. I think the film does an amazing job of conveying the feeling of being at "ground level" during a "Giant Monster" attack, and that's something that fascinates me. I know the film has a great many "haters", but I love it.

a classic

Immaculate…terrible.

2011

Starz

"An Australian dog manages to unite a fractured community during its epic quest to find its beloved human."

At least it was not a kid's movie but it was ok but kind of cheesy.

It seems like there are a bunch of movies based on this story.

2009

"After spending time in a psychiatric facility, young Anna (Emily Browning) finds significant changes in store at home. Her widowed father (David Strathairn) is now engaged to her mother's former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). One night, the ghost of Anna's mother appears, screaming for revenge and accusing Rachel of murder. Anna and her sister, Alex (Arielle Kebbel), start to investigate, but they may be unprepared for the lethal battle of wills that ensues."

Elizabeth Banks who is my age was smoking hot and would still take her any day over her stepkids Emily Browning and Arielle Kebbel.

Netflix

It was ok and passed the time

It does not hurt to look at Sydney Sweeney for close to 2 hrs though maybe she is not the greatest actress though I thought she was good in Reality a 2023 HBO movie.

Enter the Clones of Bruce (2024)

Hilarious and very informative new documentary on all the knockoff Bruce Lee movies from the late 70s and 80s. They had a bunch of interviews with key players and interviewed some of the knockoff Bruce Lees.

On VOD now for $10. Totally worth it.

The Bricklayer Netflix
Aaron Eckhart. Directed by Renny Harlin. 2024
Steve Vail, a seasoned ex-CIA operative, is drawn back into the shadows to confront a formidable extortionist threatening the agency's very existence.

Aaron Eckhart has reached the grizzled badass level of his career ("Muzzle", "Rumble Through the Dark"), and it looks pretty good on him. He does quite well with the film's several brutal fight scenes. It's a fairly routine film otherwise. Seeing Renny Harlin's name as Director stills piques my interest based on his early works, but he hasn't done anything to earn it in years.