The Movie Review Thread

[Bando]

I hate how they squeeze every cent out of franchises until they are dry shriveled lumps of nothing. They have bungholed pretty much every one of my beloved movies.....Alien

I'm a big sci fan, Alien was great, but it really needed to stop at just a movie. So many great things about that movie. We didn't know who the hero would be. Sigourney in her underwear being stronger than any of the Dudes. The music....

[sy2502]

I'm a big sci fan, Alien was great, but it really needed to stop at just a movie. So many great things about that movie. We didn't know who the hero would be. Sigourney in her underwear being stronger than any of the Dudes. The music....

Those were the days when they didn't splat the monster all over the screen with crap CG. The alien shows up in the movie a handful of times, usually in a way you can't see it very well so a) It doesn't show that it's a dude in a suit and b) Your mind fills the gaps with something infinitely scarier than they could ever show you. Like for the shark in Jaws, it was done out of necessity because of low budget, but it worked beautifully. Now it's cheesy CG everywhere and how the heck can you be scared of a cheesy CG monster.

Besides the scariest part of the movie don't even have the alien in them, except at the end for the "jump" effect. Like the guy searching the cat. There's literally nothing other than a guy going around calling the cat. All achieved with awesome acting, lighting and cinematography. What we would call "good movie making", you know? That thing that doesn't seem to exist anymore?

I do have to say I liked the 2nd one too. It's a different kind of movie, more fun action than suspense, but I love it.

Also those were the days where they had what today's PC crowd would call "strong female character" without mercilessly hitting you over the head with it about how woke it is. I'm female and I'm the first one who can't stand movies being marketed as "finally Hollywood has a movie about women, who are so underrepresented and objectified; so go watch it to show everyone how woke you are, and if you don't you are sexist".

[Mark1T]

I watched The Old Guard (Netflix) with Charlize Theron. It was ok and the story line was interesting, but IMO it would not do well at the box office.

I did enjoy it, but it could have been more I guess with a higher budget. I am sure there will be follow up movies and this was a set up for a Netflix franchise.

sy should take Charlize's place. Then, it would be a blockbuster.

[Bando]

Besides the scariest part of the movie don't even have the alien in them, except at the end for the "jump" effect. Like the guy searching the cat. There's literally nothing other than a guy going around calling the cat. All achieved with awesome acting, lighting and cinematography. What we would call "good movie making", you know? That thing that doesn't seem to exist anymore?

Alfred Hitchcock could make you jump without ever seeing a knife. In black and white. With music and switching scenes.

I remember good movie making. IIRC the first Halloween movie didn't overdo the gore thing, but the suspense is what got to you.

[sy2502]

Richard Jewell

I am really digging Clint Eastwood as a director. I like the stories he chooses, they make you think, and for a foreigner like me, they give me the opportunity to learn more about fact I may not know much about. He just does a great job overall, and chooses great actors.
Richard Jewell was the security guard who found the backpack with the pipe bomb during the Atlanta Olympics. He went from hero to prime suspect, and the media completely demolished him, his family, his friends, and his character. Turned out the culprit was someone else completely unrelated.
A very current, relevant movie since the media only got worse in putting people through the meat grinder. It also shows how you can take anyone's quirks or shortcomings and use them to turn them into a monster depending on how you spin them. It also shows how even law enforcement sometimes just care about closing a case quickly rather than digging for the truth. That was sad because Jewell was raised with great respect for the law and never imagined they were perfectly willing to bulldoze him.
If you like Clint Eastwood directed movies, don't miss it.

Also, if law enforcement ever gets you into their sights, don't talk to them or sign anything without a lawyer.

[marinevet63031]

I hate how they squeeze every cent out of franchises until they are dry shriveled lumps of nothing. They have bungholed pretty much every one of my beloved movies. Alien, Terminator, Indiana Jones (the 3rd was awesome, 4th was criminally bad), Star Wars... If it's not a sequel it's a prequel, if not a prequel a reboot, if not a reboot a spinoff. Each must be done cheaper than the previous. Just throw chit CGI at it, that'll fix it!

As a kid I got issue 1 of "Star Wars" I loved the IV-VI, I was okay with the prequels. However, I am with you. Please quit, jeez. VII-IX had no story or character building compared to IV-VI. Alien I and Aliens, cool. But damn talk about beating a dead horse. I am tired of "Legacy" movies series though. Hollywood is just not thoughtful at all with idea formulation.

[sy2502]

Enemy

What a weird azz movie! That's all I can say. If you want a movie that by the end, you are scratching your head wondering wtf you just watched, this one's for you.

It has Jake Gyllenhaal doing a very decent job at playing a history professor, disheveled, nerdy, insecure, a bit depressed, with a very weird relationship with a girl where neither seems to give much of a crap about the other. Then one day he watches a movie and notices a tertiary character that looks exactly like him. Intrigued and a bit creeped out, he tracks down the actor and manages to meet him and sure enough they are identical, down to the same scar. The actor is of course confident, outgoing, etc all the things the teacher is not. And then... well... they... heck I am not even going to try go there because seriously I had to go online to see what people thought the movie meant, that's how obscure it was.

Definitely not a movie for everyone.

[Mark1T]

Enemy

What a weird azz movie! That's all I can say. If you want a movie that by the end, you are scratching your head wondering wtf you just watched, this one's for you.

It has Jake Gyllenhaal doing a very decent job at playing a history professor, disheveled, nerdy, insecure, a bit depressed, with a very weird relationship with a girl where neither seems to give much of a crap about the other. Then one day he watches a movie and notices a tertiary character that looks exactly like him. Intrigued and a bit creeped out, he tracks down the actor and manages to meet him and sure enough they are identical, down to the same scar. The actor is of course confident, outgoing, etc all the things the teacher is not. And then... well... they... heck I am not even going to try go there because seriously I had to go online to see what people thought the movie meant, that's how obscure it was.

Definitely not a movie for everyone.

Oooooo. Another movie review by sy, The Movie Chick

sy, I've never really been a Jake Gyllenhaal fan. I don't hate him. I just have never been intrigued with any of his characters for some reason only a psychiatrist could speculate. So, I'll probably pass on this one, but I did enjoy your review, as I am a subscriber to your movie blog and Instagram

[sy2502]

Oooooo. Another movie review by sy, The Movie Chick

sy, I've never really been a Jake Gyllenhaal fan. I don't hate him. I just have never been intrigued with any of his characters for some reason only a psychiatrist could speculate. So, I'll probably pass on this one, but I did enjoy your review, as I am a subscriber to your movie blog and Instagram

Yeah I'm ambivalent about it, but it may have to do with the kind of characters he plays, he never really took roles that would make you say "oh that's a good actor". I didn't use to think much of Joaquin Phoenix either, until I saw "Joker".
Movie blog... mmm... that's an idea... I could use some extra cash these days... I have been debating either that or a YouTube video for all the wildlife around here. I mean who doesn't want to see baby raccoons?

[Bando]

On Netflix.

Had all the makings of an epic sci-fi sleeper, end of earth, aliens, area 51, mysterious tattoos etc. It tried to do too much and the story crossed over into weird super hero stuff. I stayed with it until the end hoping somehow there would some kind of plot twist that saved the film, but it's just a crappy story that no amount of CGI could fix.

Keep swiping when this one comes up.

[whatevergirl]

The Invisible Man

So, I wanted to really like this movie but it got super far fetched at the end. Acting, perfect and the plot was chugging along nicely until...the end. Unless you like far fetched, then this is the film for you.

Spoiler!

I really wish it had all been in her head.

[Bando]

On Netflix, actually watched twice since my Wife only caught part of it and liked what she saw

Documentary, guy feels stiffed by a Colorado community (he wasn't) he's a gifted welder and turns a bulldozer into a tank and knocks down all the buildings owned by people that pissed him off. Even though he ruined a kids playground and a public library I found myself rooting for him from time to time.

[Samraiwise]

9/11 (2017)

I watched it against all the reviews in well known movie web-sites, which told me not to watch it.

Maybe it's because my expectation was so low or,

I'm strongly biased with a family with children facing the difficulty in their family lives or I'm a complete third person to this tragedy, however I'm really glad I watched it.

Any further comment from me will spoil the experience, so I won't give it.

[Bando]

I went to see the gambler yesterday and Id say dont bother its a complete waste. Mark whalberg did a very good acting job though.

Just got around to seeing this. Free on the Roku channel. I think John Goodman was great but not one of Marky Marks best performances. The story had a lot going for it but somehow it just came out flat. Worth a free watch if you have time to kill, but definitely not must see. I would really like to see Wahlberg do something great like Boogie Nights, The Fighter, Rock Star, Shooter or even the Perfect Storm again. He's a pretty capable actor and needs to stretch himself more IMO.

[Corbi]

Watched 3 last night:

Project Power starring Jamie Foxx was pretty good and revolves around these pills that have developed that when taken give you a super power for 5 minutes but you never know what that power will be, also sometimes it results in pretty much an instantaneous death.

Acts of violence with Bruce Willis pretty much phoning it in with a bit part. This one is basically Liam Neesons Taken only nowhere near as good an extremely predictable. Wasn't horrible and if you have nothing better to do it's merely ok.

Killing Gunther is extremely absurd but also pretty funny at times, the story centers around a pretty much inept group of hitmen going after Gunther who is the #1 hitman in the world in order to make names for themselves. The saving grace is having Arnold in the film as he totally makes it worth the watch and is hilarious.

[sy2502]

Since not too many new movies are being made, I have been watching some exceptional oldies. I don't know if they have been already mentioned, but I'm sure most of you have seen them (and if you haven't, SHAME SHAME SHAME) so I'll just post the quotes and I know you'll figure out what they are

Film #1
"You're not in your hut? What are you doing here?"
"Mopping up."
"And you?"
"Shower. I need a wash."
"I'm watching him. I'm a lifeguard."


Film #2
"All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!"
"Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists."

[Mark1T]

I saw The Tax Collector with Shia LeBeouf, Bobby Soto, George Lopez, Jimmy Smits in a cameo and Conejo (Jose Conejo) who steals the show, but all the actors were excellent. Conejo is a popular Hispanic rapper who lives the life and brought the real.

Ok, not date material. It is violent and bloody. sy is the only chick I think that can handle something like this - ha

But, it is real and the acting is so good, it might scare you. The drug culture is probably literally much more violent than you can imagine and this movie makes you more aware of it. A different world and much different culture.

I did not watch it in a public theater and I will not, because the movie might and will influence violence.

Highly recommend if you would like to experience the underworld of drug dealers. This 'aint no Disney film.

I did the best I could at this post, knowing sy is watching

[sy2502]

I saw The Tax Collector with Shia LeBeouf, Bobby Soto, George Lopez, Jimmy Smits in a cameo and Conejo (Jose Conejo) who steals the show, but all the actors were excellent. Conejo is a popular Hispanic rapper who lives the life and brought the real.

Ok, not date material. It is violent and bloody. sy is the only chick I think that can handle something like this - ha

But, it is real and the acting is so good, it might scare you. The drug culture is probably literally much more violent than you can imagine and this movie makes you more aware of it. A different world and much different culture.

I did not watch it in a public theater and I will not, because the movie might and will influence violence.

Highly recommend if you would like to experience the underworld of drug dealers. This 'aint no Disney film.

I did the best I could at this post, knowing sy is watching

bwahahah!

[Mark1T]

bwahahah!

hehe

[weiss1967]

folks, did you know that online movie rental is returnable?

[Bando]

The Endless

On Netflix in the dark movies category. Couple guys leave a cult and return 10 years later to find that none of the members have aged. It's an interesting cult becuase they make their own beer and grow their own smoke as well. They apparently worship some kind of a monster over the mountain. The story gets pretty interesting after that, actually I would say it's on par with an early Stephen King short story. Couple shocking moments, nothing gory, leads you down a couple side roads that are never really explored. I had a feeling it was going to lead up to lame ending but that wasn't bad either. If you enjoy a dark story/sci fi that moves a little slow and keeps you guessing, I recommend this.

[Bando]

"Nightcrawler", overall I enjoyed this and my wife found it boring. it was a tad long at 2 hrs and there are some parts where it does drag a bit but overall the storyline was very good. Had a couple twists that I didn't expect and it turned out far different than I had thought the director was going with it.

Got around to watching this last night (on Netfix). My Wife sat through the whole thing, it was very engaging. The actor annoyed me at first but after awhile I couldn't think of anyone else playing the role. Been feeling ripped off by Netflix lately but this made up for some of it.

[Mark1T]

I admit that I watched "Ava." Starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Geena Davis and John Malkovich. Kind of big names, but I have to give this movie 1 Potato out of 5 Potatoes.

Ok, try to imagine Cassie-Sassie as a highly trained assassin who works for a black ops organization (no racist). She is a very white, white supremacist and travels around the globe until it all goes wrong and she has to fight for her survival, killing a whole lot of people. I mean it was like if I saw you in the movie, you are going to die. She was cold. She would shoot a guy or girl, use ninja skills only known by monks in Tibet, stab someone and you get the drill. In fact, she used a drill on a guy. Not exactly someone you take home to meet mom.

Now, try to imagine that not being a comedy

Here's Cassie right out of her dressing room. All she said was: "Where is my damn Popeye's Fried Chicken sammich?!" It got real quiet.

[KeepItMoving]

Amazon Prime: Heredity.

Scary movie involving a satanic cult. I think good scary movies are harder to pull off than a good comedy, and this one is worth a look if you're in the mood for some pretty creepy/scary moments.

[Bando]

Dark Skies

On Netflx. A true Alien abduction movie. Way darker than I usually watch but once I started I couldn't stop.

Very creepy, very spooky, well written with no cheesy stuff.

[Bando]

American Made

Tom Cruise movie based loosely on the Iran-Contra scandal, delves into that pretty well. It's on Vudu and 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so it's a time and money investment. That said, I enjoyed all of it.

I don't want to give too much away but it brings up this question I've always had. If you're dealing in so much cash that you can hardly find places to keep it, wouldn't you find a few hours someday to just bury a few suitcases of money in the woods an hour away? They all get busted, all get their cash confiscated but no one in these movies could get up early on a Saturday and bury a million or 2 where no one can find it for some reason.

[Corbi]

American Made

Tom Cruise movie based loosely on the Iran-Contra scandal, delves into that pretty well. It's on Vudu and 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so it's a time and money investment. That said, I enjoyed all of it.

I don't want to give too much away but it brings up this question I've always had. If you're dealing in so much cash that you can hardly find places to keep it, wouldn't you find a few hours someday to just bury a few suitcases of money in the woods an hour away? They all get busted, all get their cash confiscated but no one in these movies could get up early on a Saturday and bury a million or 2 where no one can find it for some reason.

I enjoyed this one.

[Bando]

I enjoyed this one.

Generally when Tom Cruise signs up to do an action movie we get our money's worth. Guy is still sharp as a tack.

[sy2502]

Red Sparrow
Set in post cold war Russia. A ballerina has an accident that ends her career and is pretty much forced to become a spy, which in Russia seems to be another word for whore. In her assignment she comes in contact with the CIA, with a bunch of deceptions and double crossings along the way.
It's gritty and violent and explicit, but doesn't feel gratuitous. Jennifer Lawrence is good as the spy, not so convincing as ballerina, but overall does a decent job. Good surprise play at the end (I like me movies with twists and surprises). It's based on a novel written by an ex CIA. What I didn't like is that all Russians are shown as a-holes and kiddie fondlers. Russian government doesn't care one bit about its agents, who are all expendable and treated like crap, which seems strange to me since you'd want your intelligence to be motivated to do a good job. Besides it's an investment to train good speis, it's hard to think they'd just get rid of you for stupid reasons. And of course the CIA is shown as being all really good, willing to selflessly risking their neck for their agents, their assets and even the russian spy. That part just seemed really forced to me.

Beirut
Set in Lebanon right before and then after the 70s civil war. A former US diplomat stationed in Beirut before the civil war is called back to negotiate after a colleague is kidnapped by the same terrorists that killed his wife years earlier. It's a slow character driven movie, pretty well acted (Jon Hamm plays the alcoholic negotiator really well). The movie got lots of flack for not being shot in Beirut, which didn't bother me, but maybe it would bother people more familiar with that part of the world. Also I think some complained they made the post civil war Beirut more crappy than it really was, again I don't know enough to comment on it.

It was an interesting coincidence to watch those 2 movies pretty much back to back, as the 1st movie shows the CIA as super awesome while the 2nd shows them as a mixed bag of good and corrupt that I suspect is closer to the truth.

[Mark1T]

^^Ms. sy, I watched Red Sparrow some time ago and might have been my mood at the time and thought it was a little boring. But, I will watch again with a little more attention since you have a way of subliminally demanding your readers to do as you say I don't mind bossy ladies

Do you remember La Femme Nikita with Bridget Fonda? I liked that. Too many movies these days are so rushed with little depth of character.

I would subscribe to sy's Movie Reviews YouTube Channel, as long as she adds a slight Italian accent for a dramatic and sexy effect