Searching (2018)
91% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 130 reviews)
Runtime: 102 minutes
Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty
Starring: John Cho, Debra Messing, and Michelle La. You mainly only see those three
From: Sony
This movie had a lot of hype... and to me it lived up to said hype:
This will forever be compared to the Unfriended films (and not just for the obvious reasons; Timur Bekmambetov produced all of them) but this is definitely the more serious of tales from the perspective of a laptop screen.
One day, the teen daughter of John Cho goes missing and he tries his hardest to assist police detective Debra Messing as he tries to figure out who his kid really is. Various characters are seen including the teen's uncle but much of the time it's just Cho and thankfully he does a great job as the grieving dad who goes through a gamut of emotions. Like in the Unfriended movies, real-life Internet entities are used, such as Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, etc. Plus, online videos are shown to advance the story.
A lot of “youths” were in the crowd and of course there were plenty of giggles at seeing an eggplant emoji used in a conversation; that was one of a few humorous moments. I wasn't sure beforehand what the audience experience would be but once it began there was no issue and in fact they were really into Searching. While it can be argued there was at least one contrivance in this story full of twists & turns & misdirections, overall this was an effective and compelling thriller. After the melancholy yet great opening which in a few minutes explains the teen (Margot) and childhood and why Cho is a single dad, I was impressed and hoped the rest wouldn't be a letdown. Much to my relief it was not as I was enwrapped in trying to figure out the mystery.
Those that are wary because of the similarities to the preposterous Unfriended movies... those fears are unfounded. The scenario and the plot are much more realistic in this tale that is much more than just its gimmick.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Bat Without Wings
Bat Without Wings (Wu Yi Bian Fu) (1980)
Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Chor Yuen
Starring: Derek Yee Tung-Sing, Ching Li, Wong Yung, Tang Ching, Au-Yeung Pui-San
From: Shaw Brothers
Wait until you hear about this film and its defining characteristic:
When you stumble upon a trailer for a Shaw Brothers movie where the villain sometimes wears a mask that is 95% Gene Simmons' KISS Demon makeup... you watch the film as soon as you can. Thankfully so much of the studio's catalogue can be seen on platforms like Amazon Prime.
Once I started watching this film, the plot was more complex than I suspected; some would even call it convoluted. This wuxia film has the titular Bat Without Wings is the heel and he is purported to be killed in a battle, but only after he killed 26 other skilled fighters. The rest of the film is set 5 years later; apparently Gene Simmons returns and that means trouble. I might as well call him Gene Simmons as besides the makeup there's the fact that he is described as “lustful and horny”, which are two of the many terms you can use to describe Old Gene! Then again, Batty also sexually assaults women then kills them... anyhow, this return results in a young lady being killed and some fighters are after him. Like I said, things aren't as simple as they seem, and there are plenty of characters to be seen. You can't half pay attention to this one, folks.
The action is not revolutionary by any means and is sometimes shot at a distance where the focus is actually on something tangential (if that) in the foreground... but the action beats are not the reason why you check this out. It's to enjoy the loony story and also to admire the movie's appearance. The aesthetic is great as there are plenty of colors seen and it's typically a pretty movie to look at when you get to witness such lunacy as erotic carvings of women, lakes filled with acid and an ending that in a way could be described as an LOL finish. The atmosphere is also nice as fog is a recurrent theme in Bat Without Wings.
This otherworldly movie has its flaws yet it is more than just a prominent character with an out of place characteristic that was meant to chase a trend; I was for sure charmed by this loopy tale.
Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Chor Yuen
Starring: Derek Yee Tung-Sing, Ching Li, Wong Yung, Tang Ching, Au-Yeung Pui-San
From: Shaw Brothers
Wait until you hear about this film and its defining characteristic:
When you stumble upon a trailer for a Shaw Brothers movie where the villain sometimes wears a mask that is 95% Gene Simmons' KISS Demon makeup... you watch the film as soon as you can. Thankfully so much of the studio's catalogue can be seen on platforms like Amazon Prime.
Once I started watching this film, the plot was more complex than I suspected; some would even call it convoluted. This wuxia film has the titular Bat Without Wings is the heel and he is purported to be killed in a battle, but only after he killed 26 other skilled fighters. The rest of the film is set 5 years later; apparently Gene Simmons returns and that means trouble. I might as well call him Gene Simmons as besides the makeup there's the fact that he is described as “lustful and horny”, which are two of the many terms you can use to describe Old Gene! Then again, Batty also sexually assaults women then kills them... anyhow, this return results in a young lady being killed and some fighters are after him. Like I said, things aren't as simple as they seem, and there are plenty of characters to be seen. You can't half pay attention to this one, folks.
The action is not revolutionary by any means and is sometimes shot at a distance where the focus is actually on something tangential (if that) in the foreground... but the action beats are not the reason why you check this out. It's to enjoy the loony story and also to admire the movie's appearance. The aesthetic is great as there are plenty of colors seen and it's typically a pretty movie to look at when you get to witness such lunacy as erotic carvings of women, lakes filled with acid and an ending that in a way could be described as an LOL finish. The atmosphere is also nice as fog is a recurrent theme in Bat Without Wings.
This otherworldly movie has its flaws yet it is more than just a prominent character with an out of place characteristic that was meant to chase a trend; I was for sure charmed by this loopy tale.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Mile 22
Runtime:
94 minutes
Directed
by: Peter Berg
Starring:
Mark Wahlberg and a bunch of actors that his character constantly
belittles
From:
STX
This was a miserable journey, believe me:
I've known of Mile 22 for awhile and it sounded promising between the people involved and what should have been a simple yet effective plot; it's a trope yet the story of trying to transport someone from Point A to Point B but people are trying to stop this... it's worked in movies for years long; I'll mention The Gauntlet as an example. The trailer looked fine so it was a surprise when I heard really bad things about this movie. While I knew specific details of what went wrong by the time I went into the screening, I still tried to keep an open mind.
Unfortunately, the movie does fail on many levels. Having a lead in Mark Wahlberg who is a tremendously unlikable a**hole is a big problem. I mean, I think we were supposed to like or be charmed by this genius (and we weren't shown this... instead the information was told to us) and yet he's an annoying jerk who not only treats everyone like crap, there is also the wonderful combination of him snapping a rubber band against himself dozens of times in order to get his hyperactive self to focus-it got old pretty quickly-and he delivers acres of dialogue; I mean, he babbles incessantly and having another character mention this at one point does not make it OK.
Then there's the action. I am sure it was staged well and it would have been exciting to watch... if only we could have clearly made out what was going on. Regrettably, this is one of those movies edited to death when it comes to action. The camera moves all around and there are edits every half second so the action beats are almost incomprehensible. This is a crime when that is done to Iko Uwais and from the Raid movies I know this SOB knows how to fight and in an awesome way. His fighting in the movie was probably bitchin'... if only I could have clearly seen him engage in awesome brawls. Talk about frustrating.
As for the story itself, it was no great shakes so overall the experience was pretty miserable for me. I did not like the foul-mouthed characters (Walhberg wasn't the only one who cursed constantly; Lauren Cohan also did so, to the point she couldn't send a text message without casually using vulgar language. As I've said before, naughty words on their own typically don't impress me much), the situation they were in or how fundamentally flawed the action scenes were. As for the ending, not only was it unsatisfying, LOL to the idea of there ever being a Mile 23 or any sort of sequel.
Monday, August 27, 2018
The Happytime Murders
Runtime:
91 minutes
Directed
by: Brian Henson
Starring:
Plenty of actors that are probably embarrassed to be in this
From:
STX
Yeah, stick with the vulgar puppet movie done by Peter Jackson instead:
This is just like Meet the Feebles... if Meet the Feebles was terrible and aggravating instead of funny.
For a long while I was concerned this movie wouldn't be entertaining; honestly, I just avoid Melissa McCarthy movies as from reviews and clips I've seen, most are just comedies I do not find pleasant to watch, let alone tickle my funny bone. That is why I saw this at a drive-in (yes, some of those still exist) in a double bill with something that was even worse-that review will appear about 24 hours from now-as after all, a decent number of film fans don't like Meet the Feebles at all and yet it's hilarious to me.
Unfortunately, while Feebles had fun characters-even the ones that do terrible things-and plenty of amusing one-liners among all the debauchery and graphic acts that those puppets did, this was tame in comparison and much of the R-rated material was cursing; everyone curses and as that alone usually don't impress me much, I found it tiresome. McCarthy was loud and obnoxious, meaning “How I imagine she is in every role” and the character quickly became tiresome also. Ultimately, I did not care too much about the human cop and her ex-partner turned PI having to team up again to try and solve who is killing those that were part of the 90's puppet TV show The Happytime Gang.
I've mentioned before in previous reviews how my comedy tastes are not always normal compared to the norm and also how many genre efforts from the 21st century just don't interest me much. While there were a few chuckles, most of the time I was annoyed by the cop and PI constantly arguing and cursing at each other, along with the trite neo-noir story that just wasn't all that interesting and I was never given a reason to care about it either. I needed a lot more than just a puppet ejaculating a bunch of silly string to make the experience seem worthwhile.
It's a shame, as the idea of Jim Henson's son doing a vulgar R-rated picture with puppets should have been a blast, and there should have been many creative moments. Instead, I was usually irritated by how the premise of a neo-noir movie that happens to feature puppets as second class citizens (I imagine those that have seen this and Bright will note some similarities, and I say that as someone who has only read reviews of Bright, and THERE is a movie you want to be reminded of) was wasted here and instead we saw idiotic characters in a story that wasn't engaging at all. The motion picture that this will always be compared to is much more worthy of viewing, as it's much better all around and actually feels transgressive when you examine them both.
For a long while I was concerned this movie wouldn't be entertaining; honestly, I just avoid Melissa McCarthy movies as from reviews and clips I've seen, most are just comedies I do not find pleasant to watch, let alone tickle my funny bone. That is why I saw this at a drive-in (yes, some of those still exist) in a double bill with something that was even worse-that review will appear about 24 hours from now-as after all, a decent number of film fans don't like Meet the Feebles at all and yet it's hilarious to me.
Unfortunately, while Feebles had fun characters-even the ones that do terrible things-and plenty of amusing one-liners among all the debauchery and graphic acts that those puppets did, this was tame in comparison and much of the R-rated material was cursing; everyone curses and as that alone usually don't impress me much, I found it tiresome. McCarthy was loud and obnoxious, meaning “How I imagine she is in every role” and the character quickly became tiresome also. Ultimately, I did not care too much about the human cop and her ex-partner turned PI having to team up again to try and solve who is killing those that were part of the 90's puppet TV show The Happytime Gang.
I've mentioned before in previous reviews how my comedy tastes are not always normal compared to the norm and also how many genre efforts from the 21st century just don't interest me much. While there were a few chuckles, most of the time I was annoyed by the cop and PI constantly arguing and cursing at each other, along with the trite neo-noir story that just wasn't all that interesting and I was never given a reason to care about it either. I needed a lot more than just a puppet ejaculating a bunch of silly string to make the experience seem worthwhile.
It's a shame, as the idea of Jim Henson's son doing a vulgar R-rated picture with puppets should have been a blast, and there should have been many creative moments. Instead, I was usually irritated by how the premise of a neo-noir movie that happens to feature puppets as second class citizens (I imagine those that have seen this and Bright will note some similarities, and I say that as someone who has only read reviews of Bright, and THERE is a movie you want to be reminded of) was wasted here and instead we saw idiotic characters in a story that wasn't engaging at all. The motion picture that this will always be compared to is much more worthy of viewing, as it's much better all around and actually feels transgressive when you examine them both.
The Resurrection Of Jake The Snake
Saturday night I watched a documentary that dovetailed into what I saw on Friday:
Before (Saturday) night it was not the plan to have the natural followup to
Beyond the Mat be this film, but I noticed it was a 99 cent rental on
Amazon so that is what I did. Jake the Snake Roberts was involved in the
most fascinating and most heartbreaking moments of Beyond the Mat as at
that point he had a messed up life due to his father not being a great
person, his stepfather was pretty rotten also and he was addicted to
various substances. In this documentary, he was still battling his
demons so another ex-wrestler (Diamond Dallas Page, who is now best
known for his DDP Yoga program that has helped many not only get in
better shape but also assists them in becoming better human beings)
brought him to his house to both get him in shape and finally kick his
demons for good.
I feel this can be watched by anyone-as the movie explains who Jake was and why so many were inspired by what he did as a wrestler-and this resurrection is seeing a person try to help their mentor through dire times. Jake is quite honest with himself in how he was human and due to a variety of factors has had a bad life and he does blame itself for becoming an addict. Now, I've never dealt with addiction but I do understand how it is such a difficult thing to battle and you do see Jake fail at various times as this was a big change for him. Tough love does have to be used but Roberts really does try hard to try and make this work.
A part of this is devoted to one wrestler who was arguably even more screwed up than Jake, and that would be Scott Hall. Both have great reasons to try and lick their demons, and that would be their families; they do wish to spend more time with their kids and grandkids. I've seen it argued that at times this seems emotionally manipulative and it's a good point. Even then, I am glad I saw this inspiring documentary which ends on a happy note. Since then both guys have avoided making wrestling news for all the wrong reasons; as a hardcore fan of pro wrestling, I can tell you that for years it was not uncommon to read about Roberts and Hall getting arrested, or making fools of themselves at wrestling shows due to being high and/or drunk. DDP had a lot of success in pro wrestling but the best thing he's done in life is creating a product which has helped out a lot of people in a litany of different ways.
I feel this can be watched by anyone-as the movie explains who Jake was and why so many were inspired by what he did as a wrestler-and this resurrection is seeing a person try to help their mentor through dire times. Jake is quite honest with himself in how he was human and due to a variety of factors has had a bad life and he does blame itself for becoming an addict. Now, I've never dealt with addiction but I do understand how it is such a difficult thing to battle and you do see Jake fail at various times as this was a big change for him. Tough love does have to be used but Roberts really does try hard to try and make this work.
A part of this is devoted to one wrestler who was arguably even more screwed up than Jake, and that would be Scott Hall. Both have great reasons to try and lick their demons, and that would be their families; they do wish to spend more time with their kids and grandkids. I've seen it argued that at times this seems emotionally manipulative and it's a good point. Even then, I am glad I saw this inspiring documentary which ends on a happy note. Since then both guys have avoided making wrestling news for all the wrong reasons; as a hardcore fan of pro wrestling, I can tell you that for years it was not uncommon to read about Roberts and Hall getting arrested, or making fools of themselves at wrestling shows due to being high and/or drunk. DDP had a lot of success in pro wrestling but the best thing he's done in life is creating a product which has helped out a lot of people in a litany of different ways.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Beyond The Mat
Runtime:
103 minutes
Directed
by: Barry W. Blaustein
Starring:
This is that pro wrestling documentary
From:
Several different companies
This documentary has its flaws; that said, what a blast from the past this was for me:
There
are a myriad of different reasons why I don't watch modern pro
wrestling and it'd take paragraphs to go in-depth on each issue I have,
but between storylines being terrible, wrestling becoming a stunt show
where there's guys flipping around like acrobats and/or big moves
constantly used to where it's just insulting to my intelligence... from
WWE and other companies shooting the matches as if Olivier Megaton is
the director to how there is too much dumb crap that exposes the
business... more often it's unwatchable garbage so I don't even bother; I
do follow what's going on via various websites and Twitter accounts,
but I can't standing watching it anymore for the most part and that is
pretty awful considering what my fandom used to be.
This documentary has been criticized in recent times; one complaint I heard was how it was just a bunch of random segments thrown together and they aren't really tied together aside from the overarching theme of how it's all various aspects of professional wrestling. It's true but for me it is a nice snapshot of how things used to be in the industry. I do not know how non-fans would think of the movie yet I never spent too much time pondering that thought. The WWF and ECW were looked at, along with independent wrestling and several different wrestlers at various stages in their career. The WWF was not happy with how the movie turned out-they had a litany of complaints and how negative pro wrestling is portrayed in Beyond the Mat... a valid source of contention. What happened to Mick Foley in the 1999 Royal Rumble and his family's reaction is a haunting moment for the movie to conclude with.
Things are quite different now from how it was in the late 90's when all that footage was compiled. WCW and ECW folding at around the same time did a lot of damage to the industry as the now WWE hasn't had serious competition since then and they turned into awful “entertainment” wrestling. I won't list what happened to all the people shown in the film... but I will mention that some of them passed away for vastly different reasons (Chyna due to years of substance abuse, sleazy promoter Roland Alexander due to health complications) and both the most fascinating and tragic moments were with Jake The Snake Roberts.
Roberts had substance abuse issues for years when his footage was shot and well, they continued off and on for years afterwards. It's a long story but one time at an Applebee's after an indy show, I saw him down many maragritas. Eventually I'll watch the documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake, as it chronicles how in recent years he tried to clean up for good and get in better health with the help of former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. He's also had muscular cancer and a bout with double pneumonia; thankfully as of late he seems to be doing fine. Mick Foley is also doing fine (and he is as nice as everyone says he is) and Terry Funk... his family wanted him to retire in the late 90's and believe it or not, he had some matches this past decade, the last one in late 2015! That was when he was in his early 70's, BTW.
Like I said I am not sure how non-fans would view this look at an industry that has had major changes in the last 20 years but for me it was a nice reminder of how things used to be and it does show how for something that is “fake”, pro wrestling is punishing on the bodies of those who wrestle and how it can be a demanding as being a rock star due to travel, groupies and other complications.
This documentary has been criticized in recent times; one complaint I heard was how it was just a bunch of random segments thrown together and they aren't really tied together aside from the overarching theme of how it's all various aspects of professional wrestling. It's true but for me it is a nice snapshot of how things used to be in the industry. I do not know how non-fans would think of the movie yet I never spent too much time pondering that thought. The WWF and ECW were looked at, along with independent wrestling and several different wrestlers at various stages in their career. The WWF was not happy with how the movie turned out-they had a litany of complaints and how negative pro wrestling is portrayed in Beyond the Mat... a valid source of contention. What happened to Mick Foley in the 1999 Royal Rumble and his family's reaction is a haunting moment for the movie to conclude with.
Things are quite different now from how it was in the late 90's when all that footage was compiled. WCW and ECW folding at around the same time did a lot of damage to the industry as the now WWE hasn't had serious competition since then and they turned into awful “entertainment” wrestling. I won't list what happened to all the people shown in the film... but I will mention that some of them passed away for vastly different reasons (Chyna due to years of substance abuse, sleazy promoter Roland Alexander due to health complications) and both the most fascinating and tragic moments were with Jake The Snake Roberts.
Roberts had substance abuse issues for years when his footage was shot and well, they continued off and on for years afterwards. It's a long story but one time at an Applebee's after an indy show, I saw him down many maragritas. Eventually I'll watch the documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake, as it chronicles how in recent years he tried to clean up for good and get in better health with the help of former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. He's also had muscular cancer and a bout with double pneumonia; thankfully as of late he seems to be doing fine. Mick Foley is also doing fine (and he is as nice as everyone says he is) and Terry Funk... his family wanted him to retire in the late 90's and believe it or not, he had some matches this past decade, the last one in late 2015! That was when he was in his early 70's, BTW.
Like I said I am not sure how non-fans would view this look at an industry that has had major changes in the last 20 years but for me it was a nice reminder of how things used to be and it does show how for something that is “fake”, pro wrestling is punishing on the bodies of those who wrestle and how it can be a demanding as being a rock star due to travel, groupies and other complications.
2001 Is Still Great
The past few days I've revisited some movies, including 2001: A Space Odyssey. I saw it theatrically almost two years ago, which was a tremendous experience. However, it pales in comparison to seeing the classic in IMAX; that is what I did on Thursday night. Even if there were some low IQ people at the screening who did not like the movie (including "the breathing in the helmets was too loud and annoying!" Yes, that was something I unfortunately heard during the 20 minute long intermission), I cannot complain because it is an event all film fans should experience, I say.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The Spy Gone North
Runtime:
137 minutes
Directed
by: Yoon Jong-Bin
Starring:
Hwang Jung-Min, Lee Sung-Min, Cho Jin-Woong, Ju Ji-Hoon, Gi Ju-Bong
From:
CJ E&M
This is my return to South Korean cinema, and it wasn't too bad:
It has been too long since I had seen a South Korean movie; while
this one is not brutal to watch or outrageous, it was still a thrilling
spy drama... albeit one that definitely isn't like a Mission: Impossible
joint and instead is full of dialogue... yet that is OK.
An
important note is that it is not just Hollywood where you have movies
“based on a true story” that are actually loose adaptations; I
understand that applies to this film. Then again, considering it's about
real life spy Park Chae-Seo (code name: Black Venus) and he's still
alive, who knows for certain what he did or didn't do. What happens in
the film is that the lead is recruited to become a spy in order to
discover if North Korea is capable of making nuclear weapons. He goes in
so deep that Kim Jong Il makes more than one appearance in the film,
and the lead establishes a long, detailed con which takes plenty of time
as he has to convince a lot of people... mainly the North Koreans
residing in Beijing for business reasons.
The movie is rather clinical in how it approaches the subject; I can understand how some would find it to be too dry or even dull. Me, I was always riveted as the story was intriguing and there are several pretty suspenseful scenes. The movie starts off as one thing then suddenly pivots over to something else and you realize what the crux of the story actually is... without revealing too much, it's the sort of thing which can resonate with anyone as you wouldn't want to see your country engage in such nefarious acts and have entities in your government conspire like that.
No matter the truthiness of the plot, an interesting yarn was at least spun here.
The movie is rather clinical in how it approaches the subject; I can understand how some would find it to be too dry or even dull. Me, I was always riveted as the story was intriguing and there are several pretty suspenseful scenes. The movie starts off as one thing then suddenly pivots over to something else and you realize what the crux of the story actually is... without revealing too much, it's the sort of thing which can resonate with anyone as you wouldn't want to see your country engage in such nefarious acts and have entities in your government conspire like that.
No matter the truthiness of the plot, an interesting yarn was at least spun here.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Satyameva Jayate
Runtime:
142 minutes
Directed
by: Milap Zaveri
Starring:
John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee, Aisha Sharma, Amruta Khanvilkar, Tota
Roy Choudhury
From:
Emmay Entertainment/T-Series
The past few days I've revisited some movies I previously reviewed here; last night I saw two foreign movies on the big screen; the second one I'll review tomorrow night:
So, I was hoping the first Indian movie I ever saw on the big screen would be the insanity that some of the country's cinema can be... thank heavens it was.
Remember in those halcyon days when MoviePass was supposed to result in moviegoers taking more chances on random flicks they otherwise wouldn't pay a ticket for due to cost or other reasons? Well, yesterday I went and saw a pair of foreign films (the review for the other one will be posted tomorrow) and even though Indian cinema is commonly screened near where I lived, I had never actually seen one theatrically until this one. I knew little about the plot-the schedule just worked out that way where I could watch two movies back to back in the same cinema.
The plot of this: hilariously melodramatic and over the top. Most of the reasons why this became so preposterous won't be revealed by me but we follow an honest cop in Mumbai who is tasked with tracking down a vigilante that is killing corrupt police officers... by lighting them on fire. Note that we spend time with this vigilante (the dude who played Kabir in the first Dhoom) Veer and usually he is portrayed as not a bad dude. Yes, the guy who ends up burning many people alive. Eventually you find out why this specific punishment is done; wild, it is. There are a few musical numbers, and they were well-done. This is 142 minutes long yet considering Indian cinema, the runtime isn't too lengthy.
The entire film is pretty ludicrous and outre-this encompasses the acting, the music, the plot twists, the coincidences, etc. Yet the entertainment value was high despite how technically this was not great. I am pretty sure I was the only non-Indian at this screening; plenty of Indians did show up and they were boisterous, usually not to an annoying degree. I won't speculate as to why I heard some catcalls during a few “sexy” moments involving female characters, though.
The feelings of occasionally laughing during the goofiest moments went away when the rest of the crowd did it also. Another gaudy aspect is the action beats. Veer might as well be in a comic book movie or a Fast & Furious picture due to his superhuman abilities. I mean, he punches through windows w/ no damage, brick walls are knocked down after he tosses people into them, and even rips off a door from an SUV and uses it as a shield. Of course I will guffaw at such ludicrous moments. Thus, in my confusion over how to properly rate such a movie I suppose a nice score will be applicable as I was never bored by this spectacle.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
The Black Cat
Runtime:
65 minutes
Directed
by: Edgar G. Ulmer
Starring:
Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Egon Brecher
From:
Universal
What a Pre-Code delight this was:
Recently, a few Letterboxd mutuals saw the film and gave it the
highest possible rating; because of that, the short runtime of barely
more than an hour, the nice cast, and other people I follow in general
saying it was good... it was not a big investment for me to give this a
shot.
The movie makes it clear this is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same way; the credits mention it was only “suggested by” Poe's classic. What we get in this movie barely more than an hour is a tale which at first seems normal, but as you dig deeper you realize it is pretty wild. Newlyweds are in Hungary on their honeymoon; they run into psychiatrist Bela Lugosi on the train. They are all in an automobile on the way to a destination when rainy weather causes a crash and the wife is injured. It happens to be right by architect Boris Karloff's Art-Deco residence so they end up there. How fitting then, as Lugosi and Karloff are longtime enemies... and Boris is a Satanist!
The movie is still in the Pre-Code era so the movie is rather bold and has shocking moments. I dare not spoil the surprises but I'll just say the movie is like a locomotive on the loose in the final act as that's when the truly outrageous bits happen. I can understand why some would find the first half to be “boring”; I was always riveted. The cast as a whole is fine but no one should be surprised when I say that Bela and Boris were the true highlights; this was their first of eight movies together and when they shared the screen, it was great. Karloff's character, a few times you realize just how magnificent his troll game is; he keeps around black cats in the hope that his enemy shows up, due to his knowledge that his rival has Ailurophobia and is deathly afraid of the animal.
The movie has plenty of macabre delights, great sets and nice musical moments, appropriate lighting/shadows and a chess game where lives are literally on the line depending on the outcome. I was not puffing this up when I mentioned The Black Cat was pretty wild.
The movie makes it clear this is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same way; the credits mention it was only “suggested by” Poe's classic. What we get in this movie barely more than an hour is a tale which at first seems normal, but as you dig deeper you realize it is pretty wild. Newlyweds are in Hungary on their honeymoon; they run into psychiatrist Bela Lugosi on the train. They are all in an automobile on the way to a destination when rainy weather causes a crash and the wife is injured. It happens to be right by architect Boris Karloff's Art-Deco residence so they end up there. How fitting then, as Lugosi and Karloff are longtime enemies... and Boris is a Satanist!
The movie is still in the Pre-Code era so the movie is rather bold and has shocking moments. I dare not spoil the surprises but I'll just say the movie is like a locomotive on the loose in the final act as that's when the truly outrageous bits happen. I can understand why some would find the first half to be “boring”; I was always riveted. The cast as a whole is fine but no one should be surprised when I say that Bela and Boris were the true highlights; this was their first of eight movies together and when they shared the screen, it was great. Karloff's character, a few times you realize just how magnificent his troll game is; he keeps around black cats in the hope that his enemy shows up, due to his knowledge that his rival has Ailurophobia and is deathly afraid of the animal.
The movie has plenty of macabre delights, great sets and nice musical moments, appropriate lighting/shadows and a chess game where lives are literally on the line depending on the outcome. I was not puffing this up when I mentioned The Black Cat was pretty wild.
Friday, August 17, 2018
BlacKkKlansman
Runtime:
135 minutes
This
was a Spike Lee joint
Starring:
John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Jasper Paakkonen,
Ryan Eggold
From:
Focus Features
Yesterday I went to a new luxury theatre not too far from me to see this Spike Lee joint. The prices weren't cheap but at least there was no problems with the sound/picture and the staff all did a fine job... also the food was good. Considering the (effective) trailer for this movie seemed to follow me around for a bit earlier in the year, a theatrical viewing only made sense.
The movie is exactly as unsubtle as you'd expect from someone as provocative as Spike Lee and a topic as combustive as this one. I was not sure about the opening scene or even what the point of it was. After that, though... naturally it is rather bold. There are obvious connections made between Ron Stallworth infiltrating the KKK in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the 70's and the frightening resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and similar elements in recent years... the comparison is blatant at the very end. There is plenty of slurs uttered that I will never repeat here and the white supremacists are all portrayed as blithering idiots, and almost all of them are unintelligent white trash.
Thankfully-at least for me-most of this did not become heavy-handed and so obvious that things became odious. Of course it was well-filmed and I was definitely interesting in the story that sounds too far-fetched to be true and yet actually did happen. From what I understand the basics were accurate and there were only some elements presented for dramatic effect, as you'll always get in “based on a true story” pictures. A big asset was the cast in general; they all were swell and thankfully they chose the right guys to play the true Ron Stallworth and the white cop that will impersonate him at certain points. John David Washington (son of Denzel, which was not a fact I learned until about a week ago) and Adam Driver both did a great job and they interacted with each other well as characters which were quite different from each other. I will also bring up Jasper Paakkonen, an actor I was not familiar with even if he is quite famous in Finland for starring in Finnish films I know little to nothing about. He did well in his Hollywood debut so I imagine he'll be in more high profile movies eventually. In addition, there are nice musical cues throughout.
Naturally, not everyone will be for this sledgehammer approach to the topic or how the movie's themes are robustly connected to what is happening in our world today. For me, this blunt examination of the topic managed to work, and I say that as a dumb white guy who is uncomfortably close to middle age. Of course I know this will play differently to a black audience but IMO, anyone can enjoy this motion picture.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Cannonball Run II
Runtime:
108 minutes
Directed
by: Hal Needham
Starring:
An incredible cast
From:
Warner Bros./Golden Harvest
While this wasn't quite how I remembered it, my opinion years ago was that this was lousy, and in 2018 I feel the same way:
I
hadn't seen this in many years; as I rewatched the first movie a few
weeks ago, eventually the obvious move was to give this another shot,
even though the first viewing did not leave me with a positive opinion
of the film. I mean, the memories were of it having an incredible cast
and the end result was something not too terribly entertaining or fun.
It'd be nice to say my opinion has changed with 2018 eyes... unfortunately, said opinion remains the same. All the talent in the world was here and yet we got an incredibly threadbare, loosely tied together story (even more so than the original Cannonball Run) where a bunch of random crap happens and the movie seemed more preoccupied with showing off celebrities in cameos rather than a cogent story or providing enough laughs for the audience.
At least this was not awful and I did occasionally laugh. Dean Martin (looking just as wasted as he did during the first film) was amusing at times, and we get a Rat Pack reunion of sorts. Jackie Chan and Richard Kiel actually worked well together as a team and I wouldn't had minded if they had done a movie starring them as the wacky mismatched buddies. Heck, Jackie and Burt join up for about 15 seconds and those two as leads in an action film could have been incredible, depending on the script and when it actually happened.
To steal a line from a popular review, this movie can be responsible for a lot of movie trivia questions due to how you have three actors who appeared in Godfather films team up as bumbling gangsters and their first scene is with Dom DeLuise as a Don Corleone parody, or some members of the The Andy Griffith Show popping up. Note that the moments that made me laugh did not include finding out that Jim Nabors spoofed his Gomer Pyle character by playing someone with the name Homer Lyle.
If only all those stars could have appeared in a movie together that was not so loose and sloppy. Even if I am not a fan, it'd be nice for the movie to come out on Blu eventually; even the version I rented from Amazon was fullscreen and the very beginning had a hilarious 1984 graphic noting how the movie was “only for the private use of pay TV subscribers.” If nothing else, the fans of this would get to hear the MENUDO song about the titular Cannonball Run in DTS 5.1 surround sound.
It'd be nice to say my opinion has changed with 2018 eyes... unfortunately, said opinion remains the same. All the talent in the world was here and yet we got an incredibly threadbare, loosely tied together story (even more so than the original Cannonball Run) where a bunch of random crap happens and the movie seemed more preoccupied with showing off celebrities in cameos rather than a cogent story or providing enough laughs for the audience.
At least this was not awful and I did occasionally laugh. Dean Martin (looking just as wasted as he did during the first film) was amusing at times, and we get a Rat Pack reunion of sorts. Jackie Chan and Richard Kiel actually worked well together as a team and I wouldn't had minded if they had done a movie starring them as the wacky mismatched buddies. Heck, Jackie and Burt join up for about 15 seconds and those two as leads in an action film could have been incredible, depending on the script and when it actually happened.
To steal a line from a popular review, this movie can be responsible for a lot of movie trivia questions due to how you have three actors who appeared in Godfather films team up as bumbling gangsters and their first scene is with Dom DeLuise as a Don Corleone parody, or some members of the The Andy Griffith Show popping up. Note that the moments that made me laugh did not include finding out that Jim Nabors spoofed his Gomer Pyle character by playing someone with the name Homer Lyle.
If only all those stars could have appeared in a movie together that was not so loose and sloppy. Even if I am not a fan, it'd be nice for the movie to come out on Blu eventually; even the version I rented from Amazon was fullscreen and the very beginning had a hilarious 1984 graphic noting how the movie was “only for the private use of pay TV subscribers.” If nothing else, the fans of this would get to hear the MENUDO song about the titular Cannonball Run in DTS 5.1 surround sound.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Damnation Alley
Runtime:
91 minutes
Directed
by: Jack Smight
Starring:
Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield,
Jackie Earle Haley
From:
20th Century Fox
This was another case of me having a Blu for a long while before actually watching the movie on the disc in full. Damnation Alley will forever be known for its unfavorable comparison to Star Wars; what I mean is that this was also from 20th Century Fox. It came out a few months after A New Hope and before May of 1977, Fox thought that the adventures of Luke Skywalker and gang would be the movie that would flop at the box office while this could possibly be a nonpareil success. Yeah, even back then movie studios could be kind of clueless.
The apocalypse happens and the few that survived it at an Air Force missile base end up in a bitchin' armored vehicle known as the Landmaster, off to Albany, New York... surely the only time that has ever been the main destination in a motion picture. World War III really F'ed up Earth, to the point the axis was off-kilter and thus you get bad weather, giant mutated bugs (those with a phobia for such things as cockroaches, a segment of the film is devoted to giant versions of those critters), and amusingly 70's techniques that made the skies many different colors.
Admittedly the movie is on the goofy side and is uneven at times. That said, I can still say this was fine, at least for me. I can't complain about the cast nor their performances. I was never bored with the story; a lot of time is spent with the characters interacting with each other and the various people they encounter on the journey. All that was decent. Jerry Goldsmith did an interesting electronic-influenced score, and I was charmed by all the practical effects that created the Technicolor skies, or the giant scorpions, or the various action bits.
The cheese factor is undeniable with this movie; for some that'll be the best way to view the film. For me, I can say this is decent and fine as a time-waster on a random afternoon or evening. Plenty think of it less but I was not bored by Damnation Alley.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Grave Of The Fireflies
Runtime:
89 minutes
Directed
by: Isao Takahita
Starring:
This is an animated movie... and an excellent one at that
From:
Shinchosha Company/Studio Ghibli
Director Isao Takahita passed away this past April and unfortunately until last night I hadn't seen any of his movies. Plenty were saddened by this news, due to how much they love his most famous work. For awhile now I knew Fathom Events would show this on the big screen one week (as they've done with other Studio Ghibli movies the past several years) so I waited until then to see this and also tip my cap to the late Takahita.
What I had always heard about this being depressing or devastating... holy cow was that not an exaggeration. A story from the point of view of citizens in Japan during the last days of World War II (when the country was being bombed constantly and many struggled to even find enough food to survive) was naturally going to be a downer. When the plot is us following a male teen and his younger sister and they are mainly on their own... expect some gut-wrenching moments.
After sleeping on it, this movie has just stayed with me; I am still affected by how great and warm the relationship is between Seita and Setsuko. The very beginning of Grave makes things clear how things will turn out... hint, not well. Yet the love that the two leads have is so great, you are compelled to watch them on this grueling journey and you still hope beyond all reason that things go well for them; they are really put through the ringer with tragedy and otherwise bad things happening to them.
It is a beautiful movie to look at and there is lovely music along the way. This journey of those two siblings was utterly heartbreaking yet there are many beautiful moments that occur. It is not an hour and a half of pure misery; instead those touching bits make their ultimate fate all the more crushing. The fact that this movie will surely linger with me for a long while is why I have to give this the highest possible rating.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Empire Of The Sharks
Empire of the Sharks (2017)
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Mark Atkins
Starring: A bunch of random people I had never heard of before... and some of them I hope to never see again
From: The Asylum
Yes, there is a reason why I watched a random (and terrible) The Asylum film:
I avoid SyFy Channel movies for a reason, and have always done so for many, many years now. They are low budget unexciting cliché pieces of crap, and from what I have heard the SyFy Channel actually prefers it if those movies are braindead and don't have too much imagination. I wish I could tell you why but I am unable to. The fact that their CGI is always TERRIBLE does not help matters. And no I have not seen any of the Sharknado movies; I could write paragraphs as to why... I'll spare you the rant about those douchy motion pictures.
Instead, I'll mention that the only reason why I even saw this: a person I was with had this on and as the movie would be viewed by us as dinner was consumed, I figured I should see something I would suspect was bad and I could also reveal more about my movie tastes by elaborating upon why a certain segment of movies are repelled by me. Now, the plot description for Empire of the Sharks may sound incredible... it is Waterworld, except that a hammy warlord has devices implanted on sharks and he uses a Not Nintendo Power Glove to control them... it may sound like solid gold cheese, yet this was just awful and no fun. Not even the heroes finding randos to overthrow the warlord and rescue the girl inspires any thrills. Instead too much of this-even with some chuckles from me due to absurd moments-was dreadfully dull.
There is diversity among the cast (even if it is people I have never heard of before) and that's all well and good... regrettably, there is some bad acting here. Of course this is from The Asylum so the effects are atrocious and the fact that this was waterlogged and a slog to get through instead of fun BS... of course I wouldn't expect anything more or less from The Asylum. At least there are plenty of other choices to see rather than this: Empire of the Ants, Waterworld, and The Meg... this makes The Meg look like Jaws in comparison.
Empire is actually a sequel to something called Planet of the Sharks; I'll assume that is just as soggy as this was.
Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Mark Atkins
Starring: A bunch of random people I had never heard of before... and some of them I hope to never see again
From: The Asylum
Yes, there is a reason why I watched a random (and terrible) The Asylum film:
I avoid SyFy Channel movies for a reason, and have always done so for many, many years now. They are low budget unexciting cliché pieces of crap, and from what I have heard the SyFy Channel actually prefers it if those movies are braindead and don't have too much imagination. I wish I could tell you why but I am unable to. The fact that their CGI is always TERRIBLE does not help matters. And no I have not seen any of the Sharknado movies; I could write paragraphs as to why... I'll spare you the rant about those douchy motion pictures.
Instead, I'll mention that the only reason why I even saw this: a person I was with had this on and as the movie would be viewed by us as dinner was consumed, I figured I should see something I would suspect was bad and I could also reveal more about my movie tastes by elaborating upon why a certain segment of movies are repelled by me. Now, the plot description for Empire of the Sharks may sound incredible... it is Waterworld, except that a hammy warlord has devices implanted on sharks and he uses a Not Nintendo Power Glove to control them... it may sound like solid gold cheese, yet this was just awful and no fun. Not even the heroes finding randos to overthrow the warlord and rescue the girl inspires any thrills. Instead too much of this-even with some chuckles from me due to absurd moments-was dreadfully dull.
There is diversity among the cast (even if it is people I have never heard of before) and that's all well and good... regrettably, there is some bad acting here. Of course this is from The Asylum so the effects are atrocious and the fact that this was waterlogged and a slog to get through instead of fun BS... of course I wouldn't expect anything more or less from The Asylum. At least there are plenty of other choices to see rather than this: Empire of the Ants, Waterworld, and The Meg... this makes The Meg look like Jaws in comparison.
Empire is actually a sequel to something called Planet of the Sharks; I'll assume that is just as soggy as this was.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
The Bad News Bears Go To Japan
Runtime:
91 minutes
Directed
by: John Berry
Starring:
Tony Curtis, Jackie Earle Haley, Tomisaburo Wakayama, George Wyner,
Antonio Inoki
From:
Paramount... and also Toei, although they went uncredited
So, this will be the longest review of The Bad News Bears Go to Japan that anyone will ever write, God help us all...
If you are wondering why in the blue hell I would actually watch this, good question. I noticed that the director of the movie I watched recently (the director was John Berry, the movie was the noir Tension) also somehow directed this film. I then laughed harder when I saw that the guy who played the manager of the Japanese little league team was Tomisaburo Wakayama, best known for playing Ogami Itto in the Long Wolf & Cub series. Then I looked at who else appeared in this movie... it was so bizarre I know it would give me plenty to discuss, which is what I'll be doing here.
A long time ago I did see the original Bad News Bears; I remembered it as being fine. I never saw in Breaking Training, although maybe I should because it stars William Devane. This film... yes it was not too good. It's not funny, the characters are pretty annoying, the story is poorly told and it is no surprise this killed the series. Tony Curtis plays a huckster promoter who takes the Bears to Japan to play against the country's best little league team. Of course there's a culture clash and of course Jackie Earle Haley falls in love with a young woman; technically, he stalks and harasses her until she relents. THERE is a message kids need to hear...
As I mentioned, a bizarre group of people appear in this movie. Regis Philbin appears in one scene as-get this-a morning talk show host, and one of the Bears utters a racial slur I won't repeat here. I suppose I shouldn't expect more from a movie where one moment in the opening credits is a parody of the famous Iwo Jima photograph! There is another moment in good taste. Figure skater Dick Button appears as himself; note that he competed back in the 40's and 50's. Sho Kosugi has a blink and you miss it sort of appearance as an instructor. Then, there is Judo Gene LeBell showing up; he was a stuntman, actor, Judo competitor and also dabbled in pro wrestling. He would be best known now for the big role he played in training Ronda Rousey back before she went into MMA.. oh, and there is also an alleged incident that happened where Steven Seagal (yes, really) challenged him and the end result was Seagal being choked unconscious.
But the moment that would be oddest for American audiences is Antonio Inoki having a role, playing himself. I could probably write paragraphs about that madman but I'll try to be brief. He was a professional wrestler who was one of the most popular of all time over in Japan. He then went into politics where he has courted controversy by visiting North Korea many times, even if it was in the name of diplomacy. There are articles out there which explain his life and how it often sounds absurd; one example is that he had his promotion (New Japan Pro Wrestling) put on a show in Baghdad, Iraq and in exchange, Saddam Hussein released Japanese citizens that were held hostage in the country; no, really.
It was obvious this was a co-production between Paramount and Toei, even if Paramount never made it clear in the version they released. Americans would only know Inoki at the time for the fiasco that was his fight with Muhammad Ali in 1976, which was broadcast worldwide. Inoki often had worked fights with fighters in various disciplines (like Judo or sumo or karate) and he would naturally win to prove that pro wrestling was the best. As Ali had separately mouthed off about “Oriental fighters”, it was a natural this would happen. The fight turned out to be legit and as it had weird hybrid rules, all that happened was Inoki kicked Ali's legs for 15 rounds, which actually did injure The Greatest and hampered the rest of his career. No one knows for certain why things turned out the way they did... the best anyone figures is that Ali did not want to lose a worked fight no matter how screwy the finish was, so instead the world got an absolutely dreadful shoot.
Point is, I am sure no one in America wanted to be reminded of the boondoggle, yet he has an entire subplot here. I have no idea what American kids thought of him here, or how his first scene is a long one where he breaks boards and then slabs of concrete with a karate expert (actually played by blaxploitation actor Sonny Barnes); that expert knocks himself out. Thus, there is a pro wrestling match that features (unfunny) commentary from Button, Inoki wrestles a masked Curtis. Naturally, the Bears get involved. It was incredibly surreal for me to see Antonio act in a scene with Curtis, not to mention toss around the Bears then get knocked down and the littlest kid-Mustapha-delivering a splash from the middle rope right to his balls!
Believe me, Inoki's presence and the fact that he campaigns for a rematch with Ali in the film-grandstanding has been a popular thing in Japanese pro wrestling for decades-is MUCH more interesting and entertaining than the movie itself, which is a poorly made piece of crap. Sure, I laughed at the amazing 70's clothing on display, but there are plenty of better motion pictures where you can see such duds. There is a long segment where you see the Japanese team on a Japanese variety show, but as the native language is never translated... you can imagine how thrilling it is seeing a bunch of people speak a language you do not know. Ogami Itto actually sings and that was a treat... overall, though, only the surreal factor in some scenes makes me not rate this even lower.
Friday, August 10, 2018
The Meg
Runtime:
113 minutes
Directed
by: Jon Turteltaub
Starring:
Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis
From:
Warner Bros.
This did not blow me away; then again my expectations were not super-high and I never thought this would be the next Jaws. At least I have something pretty interesting to discuss:
Or: When a blue collar family sitting in front of me probably influences my rating...
I saw the trailer for the movie often in the past few months, and back twenty years ago I read the book; then again, I barely remember anything about the book, so how it apparently has little to do with the novel is pretty irrelevant in this review. My expectations were not high, and it does not help that both director Jon Turteltaub and Statham himself said they were disappointed they couldn't make a gory R-rated splatterfest... I guess there's always Piranha 3D for such needs, but it'd be nice to have more of those.
Jason “It's a Megalodon” Statham is Jonas Taylor, a rescue diver who has to go and help save a submarine trapped in the newly discovered lowest point in the ocean, where the title creature resides. As I am sure everyone saw the trailer, The Meg escapes from there and causes havoc on a beach. As it is a co-Chinese production, no surprise some of the cast is that ethnicity, although at least there is some diversity all around.
The movie is quite silly, has some really dumb moments, the humor is hit or miss and it does not rise above popcorn entertainment. Yet as I did not have high expectations going in, I cannot get too mad. The very end, it has a joke that I am sure will sail over the head of the typical Joe Q. Public but all of us will get and you'll probably laugh. What does help in my rating is how the typical family sitting in front of me at the screening reacted.
They were a typical Joe Q. Public kind of clan, with middle aged parents and two kids (a boy and girl) that appeared to be early elementary school age. For the dad, his comments indicated this was his Infinity War; I'll surmise he remembers the novel much more clearly than me. Unfortunately I cannot say if it lived up to expectations for him as I did not hear them comment as we all left the auditorium. Considering this was viewed on an IMAX screen, this must not have been a cheap night for the family of four. They seemed nice so I'd feel like rubbish if they didn't. The girl did get scared a few times but she never cried or became hysterical, so it did not become an uncomfortable situation. The boy, a few times after a big scene, a soft yell of “yay!” was heard by myself; it was perfect that he was into this spectacle.
Most of us would have preferred a rated R spectacle for this shark film. After seeing how that familial unit reacted to The Meg, I suddenly can't get mad about it. Hopefully the fans of the book love it despite the loose adaptation and other families are glad they spent a not insignificant amount of cash to see this and be satisfied.
I saw the trailer for the movie often in the past few months, and back twenty years ago I read the book; then again, I barely remember anything about the book, so how it apparently has little to do with the novel is pretty irrelevant in this review. My expectations were not high, and it does not help that both director Jon Turteltaub and Statham himself said they were disappointed they couldn't make a gory R-rated splatterfest... I guess there's always Piranha 3D for such needs, but it'd be nice to have more of those.
Jason “It's a Megalodon” Statham is Jonas Taylor, a rescue diver who has to go and help save a submarine trapped in the newly discovered lowest point in the ocean, where the title creature resides. As I am sure everyone saw the trailer, The Meg escapes from there and causes havoc on a beach. As it is a co-Chinese production, no surprise some of the cast is that ethnicity, although at least there is some diversity all around.
The movie is quite silly, has some really dumb moments, the humor is hit or miss and it does not rise above popcorn entertainment. Yet as I did not have high expectations going in, I cannot get too mad. The very end, it has a joke that I am sure will sail over the head of the typical Joe Q. Public but all of us will get and you'll probably laugh. What does help in my rating is how the typical family sitting in front of me at the screening reacted.
They were a typical Joe Q. Public kind of clan, with middle aged parents and two kids (a boy and girl) that appeared to be early elementary school age. For the dad, his comments indicated this was his Infinity War; I'll surmise he remembers the novel much more clearly than me. Unfortunately I cannot say if it lived up to expectations for him as I did not hear them comment as we all left the auditorium. Considering this was viewed on an IMAX screen, this must not have been a cheap night for the family of four. They seemed nice so I'd feel like rubbish if they didn't. The girl did get scared a few times but she never cried or became hysterical, so it did not become an uncomfortable situation. The boy, a few times after a big scene, a soft yell of “yay!” was heard by myself; it was perfect that he was into this spectacle.
Most of us would have preferred a rated R spectacle for this shark film. After seeing how that familial unit reacted to The Meg, I suddenly can't get mad about it. Hopefully the fans of the book love it despite the loose adaptation and other families are glad they spent a not insignificant amount of cash to see this and be satisfied.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Frozen In Love
Runtime:
84 minutes
Directed
by: Scott Smith
Starring:
Rachael Leigh Cook, Niall Matter, Sandy Sidhu, Madison Smith, Tammy
Gillis
From:
The Hallmark Channel
Tuesday night (along with a few beers) I rewatched She's All That, this time on Blu-ray. It is easy to make fun of the movie for various reasons, but it's still charming and I still feel a blast of nostalgia from it because I was a teen in the mid to late 1990's. Wednesday evening I watched The Hallmark Channel, but for an interesting reason:
If you are wondering why I watched something on The Hallmark Channel
yesterday, it wasn't for the absurdity of the situation (although it is
chuckle-worthy as most of what they show on the channel is the kind of
tripe I try to avoid... even if by and by I have heard that some of
those plots are pretty ludicrous). Yes, it was because Rachael Leigh
Cook was the star... but that was not her only role. The other hats she
wore were executive producer and also co-writer, which was her first
script. I had to see this then, right?
It is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the premise of a bookstore owner and a brute hockey player having to work together (as the bookstore is in dire straits and the player needs to rehab his bad boy image and not act like such a dick)... they don't get along at first but then things change... and they both become better people, etc. Romance movies usually aren't my thing, I'll be honest here.
Yet I was fine with this movie. I may not be entirely objective here but I hope I am not too biased. What is a big help... the film is usually amusing. I was glad this was the case; on social media Rachael is usually pretty funny, possessing a dry wit. Being able to laugh a number of times was nice with a predictable story. At least the cast did a fine job and the scenery (it was supposed to be Colorado in the winter, but as it's cheaper to film in Canada, the location was actually some town in British Columbia) was quite pretty.
I know that most reading this will never have any interest in such a motion picture; yet it is inoffensive (“I'll be darned” is an actual line of dialogue) and the presumption by me is that many of your moms will love it. I am sure mine will, as she does sometimes watch those sappy movies they typically have on between reruns of such things as The Golden Girls, I Love Lucy and Frasier.
It is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the premise of a bookstore owner and a brute hockey player having to work together (as the bookstore is in dire straits and the player needs to rehab his bad boy image and not act like such a dick)... they don't get along at first but then things change... and they both become better people, etc. Romance movies usually aren't my thing, I'll be honest here.
Yet I was fine with this movie. I may not be entirely objective here but I hope I am not too biased. What is a big help... the film is usually amusing. I was glad this was the case; on social media Rachael is usually pretty funny, possessing a dry wit. Being able to laugh a number of times was nice with a predictable story. At least the cast did a fine job and the scenery (it was supposed to be Colorado in the winter, but as it's cheaper to film in Canada, the location was actually some town in British Columbia) was quite pretty.
I know that most reading this will never have any interest in such a motion picture; yet it is inoffensive (“I'll be darned” is an actual line of dialogue) and the presumption by me is that many of your moms will love it. I am sure mine will, as she does sometimes watch those sappy movies they typically have on between reruns of such things as The Golden Girls, I Love Lucy and Frasier.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Tension
Runtime:
95 minutes
Directed
by: John Berry
Starring:
Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd
Gough
From:
MGM
Here's another film noir I have seen recently, and it was pretty good:
Each August, Turner Classic Movies devotes a day to one particular
star, only showing their films. Yesterday it was film noir queen Audrey
Totter; among the choices, I went with the ratings here and on IMDb in
selecting this motion picture. While it is not a must-see for noir fans,
I still found the picture to be pretty good.
Totter plays Claire, the awful wife of pharmacist Richard Basehart; she treats him like crap then finally dumps him for a rich dude, Basehart plots a scheme to get revenge where he eventually murders both Claire and her lover. Of course in this genre, things go awry and among other things, Cyd Charisse shows up as a potential new love interest. Believe it or not, Cyd neither sings nor dances; still, she and Totter were the most memorable aspects of Tension.
As the plot progresses, there is indeed tension as Basehart ends up in trouble and the cops (one of whom was played by William Conrad and he especially looked like Jack Black here) put the screws to him. A twist is that the narration is provided by the other cop, and he-probably unintentionally-came off as a sordid sort of character. There are plenty of the typical motifs you expect from the genre... the way it was shot, the music, the femme fatale, etc. There's also some 1940's forensics used by the cops, which was of interest to a nerd like me.
A clever ending did help punctuate things and reminded me why I do enjoy diving into this genre.
Totter plays Claire, the awful wife of pharmacist Richard Basehart; she treats him like crap then finally dumps him for a rich dude, Basehart plots a scheme to get revenge where he eventually murders both Claire and her lover. Of course in this genre, things go awry and among other things, Cyd Charisse shows up as a potential new love interest. Believe it or not, Cyd neither sings nor dances; still, she and Totter were the most memorable aspects of Tension.
As the plot progresses, there is indeed tension as Basehart ends up in trouble and the cops (one of whom was played by William Conrad and he especially looked like Jack Black here) put the screws to him. A twist is that the narration is provided by the other cop, and he-probably unintentionally-came off as a sordid sort of character. There are plenty of the typical motifs you expect from the genre... the way it was shot, the music, the femme fatale, etc. There's also some 1940's forensics used by the cops, which was of interest to a nerd like me.
A clever ending did help punctuate things and reminded me why I do enjoy diving into this genre.
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