kahuna

Miller's Girl (2024) - Netflix

DWilson

My Life with the Living Dead Burning Bulb DVD
Directed by Jamie Lockhart. 2024
A documentary feature based on the career of John A. Russo - the man who created flesh eating zombies and co-wrote the 1968 classic "Night of the Living Dead"

This is not a documentary, but rather an extended monologue by John Russo. Russo goes through his career trying to put together low-budget features usually as a writer, sometimes as producer, and occasionally as an actor. John is proud of his accomplishments, but he also harbors a lot of grudges, -particularly with George Romero, -and makes sure to include them. It's a deep dive into B, C, and Z level films, -mostly Horror and Sexploitation, -and will only be of interest to fans. "My Life with the Living Dead" is a threadbare affair with Russo basically sitting at one angle and talking to the camera, with sound quality that sounds kind of hollow. There are a plenty of film clips to liven things up.

JeffTheAlpaca

Did you like it?

I thought it was awful and boring.

kahuna

I felt the same way. Gave it a thumbs down on Nextflix.

DWilson

Mad Max: Fury Road Warner Bros 4K
Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron. Directed by George Miller. 2015
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.

I’d been dodging my 4K of “Fury Road” for a while. I had heard some criticism of the disc’s picture quality after I had bought it and was afraid I might have made a bad buy. That, and my Amazon copy looked suspiciously like a “Return” that had been re-wrapped and heat-gunned. As it turned out, the discs played just fine, and I preferred the 4K when I compared it directly to the companion blu-ray. In addition to the increased detail, the film’s aggressive color scheme seemed overly harsh on the blu-ray, while the 4K was more tempered and natural.

The "Bonus" content on "Fury Road" is quite a treat, too. The featurettes call attention to the stunts and props used during the film and George Miller’s extensive and highly creative world-building. The level of detail might be ridiculous, but it’s never stupid. It’s surprising how much of the film’s stunt-work was achieved practically, using CGI primarily to hide safety rigs and such.

This is my first time watching the film at home after seeing it a couple of times in the theater. This time I was better able to appreciate the performances in the midst of all the chaos. Tom Hardy’s version of "Max" has grown on me. Perhaps my problem was that George Miller used the character more as a prop in the film and gave the dramatic weight to Furiosa. Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult just disappear into their roles and it's a pleasure to watch them work. What I most appreciate is the relentless quality of the action, which always seems to be leading you somewhere and never lets you go.

DWilson

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Max 4K
Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga. Directed by Michael Chaves. 2021
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one of the most sensational cases after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry unlike anything they've ever seen before.

I've enjoyed the "Conjuring" films, primarily because of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as "The Warrens". The actors have a warm and genuine chemistry and I just like the idea of a Horror franchise led by a happily married couple. I find the third film the weakest of the three, -perhaps because James Wan didn't direct this time, - though the last fifteen minutes or so land pretty well.

Boondock Saint

DWilson

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Owen Teague. Directed by Wes Ball. 2024
An ape leader begins to enslave other groups to find human technology, while another ape, who watched his clan be taken, embarks on a journey to find freedom. A young human woman becomes key to the latter's quest, although she has plans of her own.

Compared to the previous trilogy featuring Andy Serkis as Caesar, this is more of a conventional Action film. It begins well, with Owen Teague as "Noa" making an instant connection with the audience, giving his character some dimension and sensitivity. Kevin Durand is excellent as the pretentious leader "Proximus", the villain of the film. Freya Allen is a vocal, intelligent woman among the otherwise non-speaking primitive humans who eventually asserts herself as the "Girl Boss" who's smarter and wilier than the males in the cast. Wes Ball keeps things moving, but eventually it becomes just another Action film where the heroes have to get to something before the bad guys do. The thin plot is effectively camouflaged by the outstanding quality of Weta Studio's FX work. Things get interesting with a final twist I won't spoil, but it's just there to set up the next film, and it leaves more questions than answers.

JeffTheAlpaca

2024

Netflix

Written and directed by Nicola Peltz Beckham.

"A young woman struggles to save enough money to get her little brother out of their toxic home."

I don't think it was as bad as the reviews.

A indie movie about broken and damaged people that is in my wheelhouse.

Virginia Madson did a great job playing the abusive god fearing homophobic mother.

JeffTheAlpaca

1994

"Pete Bell (Nick Nolte) is a college basketball coach who has to improve his team's standing -- by any means necessary. His hopes are pinned on a trio of talented players: Neon Boudeaux (Shaquille O'Neal), Butch McRae (Penny Hardaway) and Ricky Roe (Matt Nover). But in order to get them to sign to his school, Bell will have to illegally pay the players off. If he's caught, it could destroy Bell's coaching career and cast a cloud of shame over his team. Will he risk it all to win?"

I own this

$6.99 was not a bad price to pay at Amazon.

A rare sports movie directed by William Friedkin and maybe looked at with a new perspective and appreciation since he is gone.

Nick Nolte put on one hell of a performance.

Maybe the plot seems outdated now since college athletes can now receive compensation.

kahuna

Mother of the Bride (2024) - Netflix
This is a movie that should of been on the Hallmark Channel or movie of the week on ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.

Cellar Door

Akira - I was aware for a long time that this is considered a great anime movie, but I'd never seen it nor even knew anything about the plot. Based on the poster (see below) I'd expected it to be more about the bike. Instead, it's a weird tale about mutant kids with psycho-kinetic powers. It's engaging and pretty much action-packed from beginning to end. I'm not sure about the motivations of many of the characters, maybe a rewatch some day will help.

Cellar Door

Fast X - this franchise just keeps getting more and more like some crazy fever dream. Dom has basically become "Car Superman." And dead characters keep coming back, so basically everyone is invincible. Jason Momoa's villain character was essentially a god--a goofy, psychotic god. I mean, what's up with that scene where he's talking to the dead guys? That felt really out of place. This whole movie is just a mess.

DJariya

Flightplan (2005)

I was at Book-Off a few days ago and bought the DVD for $2 on clearance. I couldn't remember if I owned it or not and I can't remember the last time I saw it.

Anyway, it had some suspenseful moments and Foster gave a good performance, but ultimately the premise was so ludicrous. It relied way too much on coincidences and how the villains chose Foster's character to target for their plan made no sense.

Cellar Door

Tremors - one of my comfort movies that I've seen countless times. This is a good example of a movie that does a lot with a little, when it comes to the monsters. It's also a great example of how--even in a monster movie--the human characters are the most important element.

DWilson

Mean Guns FreeVee on Roku
Christopher Lambert. Directed by Albert Pyun. 1997
A crime syndicate puts 100 of its enemies in an empty prison, provides them with weapons and tells them that the last three to survive will get $10 million.

"Mean Guns" was made back in 1997 when everyone was knocking off gun-happy Hong Kong Crime films, with men in long black coats holding a pistol in each hand. Albert Pyun filmed it in widescreen with a stylized high-contrast look, but it's only been available in a poorly-transferred chopped-in-half aspect ratio for all these years, even on DVD. And that's still how you'll find it on all the streaming channels, except for the version of FreeVee on the Roku. So, just today I was finally able to see the film as Albert Pyun intended.

At first "Mean Guns' seems like a lot of derivative macho posturing, with a lot of terse, terrible dialogue. But after a while the film sort of creates its own little Tough Guy universe and I rather enjoyed it. It's pretty much not for everybody, -Hell, it may not be for anybody, -and you'll know where you're at with it pretty quickly.

JeffTheAlpaca

I bought Flightplan when it came out on DVD and was hoping someday for a Blu-ray release though it was kind of silly.

JeffTheAlpaca

Amazon Prime

Marissa Tomei looked like she was having fun and maybe the only reason I had any interest to see this but I did not care for it.

The girl that played one of the bitchy characters Rachel Matthews was a lot hotter than the lead actress Camilla Mendes.

DWilson

Run All Night Warner Bros Blu-Ray
Liam Neeson, Ed Harris. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. 2015
An aging, broken-down hitman is forced to take on his brutal former boss to protect his estranged son and his family.

Liam Neeson gets to play a seedier character than we usually see him play, and the early scenes with him made me wince. Neesen is filled with remorse and regret for the life he has led, and a sad realization of how far he has fallen in the organization. "Run All Night" tries to walk the line between a Noirish Crime Drama and a "Shoot 'em Up" Chase film and sometimes it actually pulls it off. Collet-Serra loves his big action stunts and occasionally that gets in the way of the film's gritty believability. The scenes that Neeson shares with Ed Harris are a real highlight.

kahuna

I Saw the Devil (2010) - Hulu

DeFan

Criterion - Oddball 1962 satire(?) with Timothy Carey as a bored insurance salesman who renames himself God and becomes a rock and roll evangelist. Soundtrack by Frank Zappa. The first 30 minutes are shouty but fun. Then it decides to become serious and is a chore to watch. Ultra low budget but at 77 minutes worth a watch for fans of bad movies.

DWilson

Survivor Alchemy Blu-Ray
Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan. Directed by James McTeigue. 2015
A State Department employee newly posted to the American embassy in London is framed for crimes and targeted for death. She is forced to go on the run while she tries to clear her name and stop a large-scale terrorist attack set for New Year's Eve in Times Square.

It's not a bad film, not really. It's a "Woman on the Run" Thriller with a good cast and a competent director. It's just all very familiar and routine. The film's one distinguishing characteristic is Pierce Brosnan in a rare Villain role as the ruthless assassin chasing Jovovich. Perhaps on another night, I'd have enjoyed it more.

JeffTheAlpaca

I had this on the DVR for maybe 4 years.

I did not care for this or the movie that came before it.

I dont know WTF Kevin Hart was doing with that voice and accent and trying to sound British or like Danny Glover?

The Robin Williams 1995 movie was better.

JeffTheAlpaca

Maybe a animated movie in the future is out of the question since this bombed.

gerrythedon

First time owning & watching the TV Extended version