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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003) in Movies
Dec 3, 2020
And so we come to the end of the emotional journey that is Warwick Davis' Leprechaun, and I need pinching because it's actually not half bad. The first Leprechaun Hood movie had some good aspects, but was bogged down by cheap ass production standards. This "sequel" manages to retain what was good about the previous film, looks more professional, and is just an all round better experience.
Lep himself is different - he doesn't do his rhyming schtick from every other entry, and has a darker coloured new costume. It was a bit jarring at first but it grows on you. He comes across colder than before, and the movie as a whole feels much more like a slasher than ever. It also boasts some pretty decent kills, and some solid dark humour!
The lead human cast are once again pretty interesting, as far as slashers go, and much like In the Hood, makes this film engaging to a degree.
It still has trashy dialogue, and some dodgy effects sure, but it's miles ahead than say Leprechaun in Space in terms of quality. It's even starts with a genuinely great animated sequence.
It's also worth noting how low key hilarious it is when Lep is getting roughed up. Honestly, he just gets the shit kicked out of him in this one, over and over again, and keeps getting back up, over and over again. The dude is relentless, and is another reason why this Lep is arguably the best portrayal in the whole series. He actually feels quite threatening, and the climax involves a mother fucking magic fight with a witch. Way to step it up Back 2 tha Hood!
It's obviously not the Citizen Kane of horror, but you could do a lot worse, and this might honestly be my favourite entry in the whole franchise, which I certainly didn't expect going in!
Lep himself is different - he doesn't do his rhyming schtick from every other entry, and has a darker coloured new costume. It was a bit jarring at first but it grows on you. He comes across colder than before, and the movie as a whole feels much more like a slasher than ever. It also boasts some pretty decent kills, and some solid dark humour!
The lead human cast are once again pretty interesting, as far as slashers go, and much like In the Hood, makes this film engaging to a degree.
It still has trashy dialogue, and some dodgy effects sure, but it's miles ahead than say Leprechaun in Space in terms of quality. It's even starts with a genuinely great animated sequence.
It's also worth noting how low key hilarious it is when Lep is getting roughed up. Honestly, he just gets the shit kicked out of him in this one, over and over again, and keeps getting back up, over and over again. The dude is relentless, and is another reason why this Lep is arguably the best portrayal in the whole series. He actually feels quite threatening, and the climax involves a mother fucking magic fight with a witch. Way to step it up Back 2 tha Hood!
It's obviously not the Citizen Kane of horror, but you could do a lot worse, and this might honestly be my favourite entry in the whole franchise, which I certainly didn't expect going in!
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Dreamers (2003) in Movies
Dec 3, 2020 (Updated Dec 3, 2020)
Actual lines of dialogue from this movie:
"๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต-๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต."
"๐'๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ [๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ]."
"๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ง๐ง, ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฐ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ... ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด."
The far less entertaining ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด meets... idek, the really long talky parts from ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ? A woeful experience - uses a ton of intellectual jargon but says next to nothing. On the one hand, perfectly emulates this sort of 20-something who thinks they're the most original being on the planet despite being another clichรฉd story no one wants to be around... but on the other, at what cost? These people seem beyond insufferable to be around - three pretentious, odious fucks sit around drinking wine and smoking while spewing superficial first-year-film-major histrionics, jerking off, and smelling each others' underwear. Every bit as lumbering, surface-level, and pompous as that sounds. Usually I'm all for these conceited combinations of toxic people, self-destruction, and explicit sex but this is virtual parody levels of this sort of "wants to be a 70s movie really bad" cinema. Has a few good scenes that actually find a palpable mood but otherwise exists almost solely to brag about how many old movies it's seen, uses both those aforementioned films and the real life 1968 Paris riots as not much more than mere window dressing while failing to confront whatever shred of an idea it briefly poses for a scene or two. Eva Green and the dad are the only two tolerable performances. All but begs you to find it audacious and daring with a shit-eating sneer while simultaneously gutting the homosexuality from the original text so this won't steer *too* far off the hetero curve. And then it ends with a total "who cares?". Pretty but dumb. The sex stuff is kind of decent, though.
"๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต-๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต."
"๐'๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ [๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ]."
"๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ง๐ง, ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต? ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฐ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ... ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด."
The far less entertaining ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด meets... idek, the really long talky parts from ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ? A woeful experience - uses a ton of intellectual jargon but says next to nothing. On the one hand, perfectly emulates this sort of 20-something who thinks they're the most original being on the planet despite being another clichรฉd story no one wants to be around... but on the other, at what cost? These people seem beyond insufferable to be around - three pretentious, odious fucks sit around drinking wine and smoking while spewing superficial first-year-film-major histrionics, jerking off, and smelling each others' underwear. Every bit as lumbering, surface-level, and pompous as that sounds. Usually I'm all for these conceited combinations of toxic people, self-destruction, and explicit sex but this is virtual parody levels of this sort of "wants to be a 70s movie really bad" cinema. Has a few good scenes that actually find a palpable mood but otherwise exists almost solely to brag about how many old movies it's seen, uses both those aforementioned films and the real life 1968 Paris riots as not much more than mere window dressing while failing to confront whatever shred of an idea it briefly poses for a scene or two. Eva Green and the dad are the only two tolerable performances. All but begs you to find it audacious and daring with a shit-eating sneer while simultaneously gutting the homosexuality from the original text so this won't steer *too* far off the hetero curve. And then it ends with a total "who cares?". Pretty but dumb. The sex stuff is kind of decent, though.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) in Movies
Oct 15, 2020
This first sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger is everything a sequel should be. It has bigger and better set pieces, it has a bigger emotional centre, it brings in already established MCU characters and introduces new ones, and is arguably one of the best entries into the MCU to date.
Chris Evans does nothing more than tighten his grip around his most famous role. He joins Robert Downey Jr. in the category of irreplaceable actors for these characters.
Scarlett Johansson is once again great as Black Widow, and newcomer Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon provides Cap with a likeable new ally. The three of them as a sort of mini Avengers in this movie are fantastic.
Sebastian Stan plays The Winter Soldier with aplomb, and gives us a truly dangerous antagonist. The dude is fucking terrifying, yet his relationship with Steve Rogers gives us the heart of this movie. It's a tragic story which of course will be further explored in Civil War further down the line.
The cast is rounded off with Samuel L. Jackson returning as Nick Fury, Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, Emily VanCamp as Agent 13, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow, and some smaller roles for Cobie Smulders and Hayley Atwell.
It's a really solid cast all in all, an area that Marvel Studios rarely missteps.
The set pieces are hugely high octane and thrilling. The opening scene on the barge is a highlight, as well as the teams fight with the Winter Soldier midway through. Even Nick Fury gets a banger of an action sequence. Also, this film boasts probably the biggest plot twist gut punch in the whole MCU with the SHIELD/Hydra reveal. It's an extremely well crafted, ballsy narrative that impacts the shape of the MCU going forward.
There's honestly nothing bad to say about this one. It's top tier comic book cinema.
Chris Evans does nothing more than tighten his grip around his most famous role. He joins Robert Downey Jr. in the category of irreplaceable actors for these characters.
Scarlett Johansson is once again great as Black Widow, and newcomer Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon provides Cap with a likeable new ally. The three of them as a sort of mini Avengers in this movie are fantastic.
Sebastian Stan plays The Winter Soldier with aplomb, and gives us a truly dangerous antagonist. The dude is fucking terrifying, yet his relationship with Steve Rogers gives us the heart of this movie. It's a tragic story which of course will be further explored in Civil War further down the line.
The cast is rounded off with Samuel L. Jackson returning as Nick Fury, Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, Emily VanCamp as Agent 13, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow, and some smaller roles for Cobie Smulders and Hayley Atwell.
It's a really solid cast all in all, an area that Marvel Studios rarely missteps.
The set pieces are hugely high octane and thrilling. The opening scene on the barge is a highlight, as well as the teams fight with the Winter Soldier midway through. Even Nick Fury gets a banger of an action sequence. Also, this film boasts probably the biggest plot twist gut punch in the whole MCU with the SHIELD/Hydra reveal. It's an extremely well crafted, ballsy narrative that impacts the shape of the MCU going forward.
There's honestly nothing bad to say about this one. It's top tier comic book cinema.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018) in Movies
Dec 9, 2020
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot is a fantasticly B-Movie style title, hiding a genuinely touching and quite beautiful character drama.
The film focuses on the life of Calvin Barr, an old man portrayed by Sam Elliott. He's a guy who's lonely, seen some shit in his time, and feeling his age until one day, he's approached by the government to hunt and kill the legendary Bigfoot, and put a stop to a potential world ending plague. Calvin is a bit of a legendary creature himself, having served in WWII, and is said to have killed Hitler himself before it was covered up, and his immunity to this killer plague makes him the perfect candidate.
This quirky other wordly narrative is quite a jarring contrast to the otherwise grounded drama that makes up the rest of the plot. Flashbacks tell of Calvin's life before the war, and how he met the woman he wanted to marry. It's essentially a love story, that veers into bonkers territory at the flick of a switch.
Somehow though, it all works really well. The screenplay is top notch and gives us some engaging characters with a great cast. Sam Elliott has the grizzled old man role down to a tee by now. Aidan Turner plays the younger Calvin, and the relationship between him and Caitlin Fitzgerald's character is believable and touching. Larry Miller also stars as Calvin's brother and the two of them also have decent chemistry.
This movie is overflowing with gorgeous shots. The last third especially is a visual feast, and it's all complimented by a wonderful score, courtesy of Joe Kraemer.
If you're looking for a schlocky bad-good film suggested by the title then you're in the wrong place. This is a charming and quirky character drama with sprinkles of a creature feature, and I can fully see why some might not get on with it, but for me, it just works.
The film focuses on the life of Calvin Barr, an old man portrayed by Sam Elliott. He's a guy who's lonely, seen some shit in his time, and feeling his age until one day, he's approached by the government to hunt and kill the legendary Bigfoot, and put a stop to a potential world ending plague. Calvin is a bit of a legendary creature himself, having served in WWII, and is said to have killed Hitler himself before it was covered up, and his immunity to this killer plague makes him the perfect candidate.
This quirky other wordly narrative is quite a jarring contrast to the otherwise grounded drama that makes up the rest of the plot. Flashbacks tell of Calvin's life before the war, and how he met the woman he wanted to marry. It's essentially a love story, that veers into bonkers territory at the flick of a switch.
Somehow though, it all works really well. The screenplay is top notch and gives us some engaging characters with a great cast. Sam Elliott has the grizzled old man role down to a tee by now. Aidan Turner plays the younger Calvin, and the relationship between him and Caitlin Fitzgerald's character is believable and touching. Larry Miller also stars as Calvin's brother and the two of them also have decent chemistry.
This movie is overflowing with gorgeous shots. The last third especially is a visual feast, and it's all complimented by a wonderful score, courtesy of Joe Kraemer.
If you're looking for a schlocky bad-good film suggested by the title then you're in the wrong place. This is a charming and quirky character drama with sprinkles of a creature feature, and I can fully see why some might not get on with it, but for me, it just works.
Fashionably Forever After (Hot Damned Series, Book 10)
10.0
Rate It
Book
A movie deal for the Devilโs autobiography slash romance? Priceless. Maybe I should choose...
Paranormal PNR demons vampires
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Halloween Kills (2021) in Movies
Oct 17, 2021
I can safely say, that I'm not 100% sure whether I liked Halloween Kills or not. There were parts that I genuinely enjoyed, in no small part thanks to Michael Myers. As in Halloween (2018), this Myers is a brutal and unforgiving one. His aesthetic is great and he's intimidating as fuck. This movie pulls no punches in making him out to be a monster, shying further away from the days of rooting for slasher villains. To top it off, Kills easily has some of the best Michael moments in the entire franchise. This is bolstered by some truly fantastic cinematography.
However, the positives are marred quite severely by everything else. The script is hammy as fuck, which is fine, but the tone of the movie is pretty damn serious, and a lot of the screenplay just doesn't land properly. There are endless characters saying something along the lines of "it's my fault, and I'm going to be the one to kill Michael Myers" for no real reason. Additionally, there are a whole bunch of "legacy" characters from the OG Halloween making their return. It's lovely to see the likes of Kyle Richards, Charles Cyphers, and Nancy Stephens back for another round, but they do kind of feel shoehorned in. Tommy Doyle being thrust into the spotlight as a main character is in no means a bad idea, but he's just a bit of a gammon for the entire runtime, and quickly becomes a tiresome protagonist. All of this is exacerbated by pacing that just plummets around the mid point. The whole subplot of a mob chasing down a small bald man who clearly isn't Michael Myers is just ludicrous, and it's goes on FOREVER. All just to throw in a forced "maybe we were the monsters all along" conundrum. It's really dumb.
I didn't hate Halloween Kills by any means, but for me, it was a huge step down from the fantastic 2018 effort. Hopefully, Halloween Ends will bring the quality back up (with more Laurie Strode fingers crossed)
However, the positives are marred quite severely by everything else. The script is hammy as fuck, which is fine, but the tone of the movie is pretty damn serious, and a lot of the screenplay just doesn't land properly. There are endless characters saying something along the lines of "it's my fault, and I'm going to be the one to kill Michael Myers" for no real reason. Additionally, there are a whole bunch of "legacy" characters from the OG Halloween making their return. It's lovely to see the likes of Kyle Richards, Charles Cyphers, and Nancy Stephens back for another round, but they do kind of feel shoehorned in. Tommy Doyle being thrust into the spotlight as a main character is in no means a bad idea, but he's just a bit of a gammon for the entire runtime, and quickly becomes a tiresome protagonist. All of this is exacerbated by pacing that just plummets around the mid point. The whole subplot of a mob chasing down a small bald man who clearly isn't Michael Myers is just ludicrous, and it's goes on FOREVER. All just to throw in a forced "maybe we were the monsters all along" conundrum. It's really dumb.
I didn't hate Halloween Kills by any means, but for me, it was a huge step down from the fantastic 2018 effort. Hopefully, Halloween Ends will bring the quality back up (with more Laurie Strode fingers crossed)
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Hellboy (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Trivia question for youโฆwhat does an immortal evil queen, King Arthur, Nazis and a boy born from Hell itself have in common? If you answered Hellboy you win a prize. The prize is going to the theater and watching the film and whether itโs a prize worth winning is something youโll have to decide for yourself. Iโm getting a bit ahead of myself though, so letโs rewind a bit and start at the beginning.
Hellboy (David Harbour) is a demon from Hell (hence the name), his backstory as we learn early on in the movie is pretty standard fare. The Naziโs are on the verge of losing World War II and in a desperate move to turn the tide call upon the evil sorcerer Rasputin to call upon the depths of Hell and raise a champion who will fight for them. The incantation is interrupted when famous Nazi hunter Lobster Johnson (Thomas Haden Church) goes in with guns blazing, as other allied troops join the fray. Their relief at stopping the incantation is short-lived as the alter opens and a young demon climbs through. Professor Broom who had infiltrated the Nazi team had been brought in to put down any evil that was successfully summoned. Upon seeing the young demon, Professor Broom (for reasons known only to him at the time) decides not to kill him, but to take him in and raise him as his own.
Flash forward to present day, and Hellboy as we now know him alongside his father are members of the B.P.R.D (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense). On a mission to defeat some giants that are roaming the countryside in England they stumble upon an ancient evil that dark forces are trying to retrieve. It seems back in the dark ages a war between humans and monsters was being waged. Seeing no end to the violence King Arthur (Mark Stanley) and his faithful wizard Merlin (Brian Gleeson) offer to surrender to The Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich). On top the hill where the surrender is to take place, the Blood Queen is betrayed by one of her own and King Arthur, using the infamous blade Excalibur, cut the Blood Queen into several parts. While she canโt be killed, she can be contained and each of her body parts are placed in separate boxes. These boxes are then sealed with holy water that only a holy man can unlock and are sent to the farthest corners of England. If the Blood Queen ever returns, she will release a plague that will not only destroy England but spread across the entire world. Thus, sets the stage for Hellboy.
Being a fan of the previous movies and in particular the portrayal of Hellboy by Ron Pearlman, I wasnโt sure how to feel about David Harbour in this role. Itโs always a bit hit or miss when a series is rebooted, and I was pleasantly surprised with how David Harbour stepped up and into the role. While he doesnโt have the same menacing size and gruffness that Ron Pearlman possesses, it didnโt take me long to adjust to this new version. He is joined by a strong supporting cast consisting of Sasha Lane as his ghost whispering friend Alice and Ben Daimo as an MI-11 agent weary of teaming up with a monster. Milla Jovovich does an outstanding job as the Blood Queen and her fairy-pig friend portrayed by Stephen Graham and Douglas Tait.
Visually the movie is stunning, with the numerous monsters and fairy creatures coming to life before your eyes. The movie is exceptionally gory as one might expect, with numerous limb dismemberments, decapitations, and more blood than anyone would expect to erupt from such wounds. Itโs over-the-top and meant to be that way which tended to bring some uncomfortable laughter at times from those around me. Having recently played Mortal Kombat 11, I couldnโt help but feel that some of the fatality screens in that game would have felt right at home in this movie.
Story is where I feel Hellboy falls a bit flat. There are so many characters and side stories going on that itโs easy to get lost in it. From my description above, you can see that it includes King Arthur, Rasputin, Nazis, Secret Societies, Witches that eat children, monstersโฆand thatโs only in the first half of the movie. There is a ton going on and there are a lot of disconnects. While trying to avoid spoilers, there is a part in the film where Hellboy is talking to Baba Yaga (see another character reference), and after tricking her she places a curse on him. Iโm still trying to figure out if the curse she placed on him occurred in the movie or not. In fact, Iโm trying to figure out exactly what the point of that scene was. Itโs not a bad story, but it tries to pack in a TON of references in its brief hour and forty five-ish minutes.
Iโll be the first to admit that Iโve never read any of the Hellboy graphic novels, I have seen both of the previous films, so I had a little bit of background going into this movie. I donโt know if all the references in the movie are pivotal to the novels or not. You certainly donโt have to have read them or seen the previous movies to appreciate this one, I just wonder if they tried to fit in too many Hellboy references into one film. Hellboy is an enjoyable ride, and it certainly doesnโt drag at all, in fact I was surprised at how quickly it was over. With all that being said, itโs a fun action-packed movie, with lots of gratuitous violence if thatโs your thing. I certainly wouldnโt recommend taking your children to see it, violence aside, I just think there is way too much going on and it can be difficult to follow. Oh, and donโt forget to stay through the credits for the end credit scene. Itโs not pivotal to the movie, but worth waiting around for.
Hellboy (David Harbour) is a demon from Hell (hence the name), his backstory as we learn early on in the movie is pretty standard fare. The Naziโs are on the verge of losing World War II and in a desperate move to turn the tide call upon the evil sorcerer Rasputin to call upon the depths of Hell and raise a champion who will fight for them. The incantation is interrupted when famous Nazi hunter Lobster Johnson (Thomas Haden Church) goes in with guns blazing, as other allied troops join the fray. Their relief at stopping the incantation is short-lived as the alter opens and a young demon climbs through. Professor Broom who had infiltrated the Nazi team had been brought in to put down any evil that was successfully summoned. Upon seeing the young demon, Professor Broom (for reasons known only to him at the time) decides not to kill him, but to take him in and raise him as his own.
Flash forward to present day, and Hellboy as we now know him alongside his father are members of the B.P.R.D (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense). On a mission to defeat some giants that are roaming the countryside in England they stumble upon an ancient evil that dark forces are trying to retrieve. It seems back in the dark ages a war between humans and monsters was being waged. Seeing no end to the violence King Arthur (Mark Stanley) and his faithful wizard Merlin (Brian Gleeson) offer to surrender to The Blood Queen (Milla Jovovich). On top the hill where the surrender is to take place, the Blood Queen is betrayed by one of her own and King Arthur, using the infamous blade Excalibur, cut the Blood Queen into several parts. While she canโt be killed, she can be contained and each of her body parts are placed in separate boxes. These boxes are then sealed with holy water that only a holy man can unlock and are sent to the farthest corners of England. If the Blood Queen ever returns, she will release a plague that will not only destroy England but spread across the entire world. Thus, sets the stage for Hellboy.
Being a fan of the previous movies and in particular the portrayal of Hellboy by Ron Pearlman, I wasnโt sure how to feel about David Harbour in this role. Itโs always a bit hit or miss when a series is rebooted, and I was pleasantly surprised with how David Harbour stepped up and into the role. While he doesnโt have the same menacing size and gruffness that Ron Pearlman possesses, it didnโt take me long to adjust to this new version. He is joined by a strong supporting cast consisting of Sasha Lane as his ghost whispering friend Alice and Ben Daimo as an MI-11 agent weary of teaming up with a monster. Milla Jovovich does an outstanding job as the Blood Queen and her fairy-pig friend portrayed by Stephen Graham and Douglas Tait.
Visually the movie is stunning, with the numerous monsters and fairy creatures coming to life before your eyes. The movie is exceptionally gory as one might expect, with numerous limb dismemberments, decapitations, and more blood than anyone would expect to erupt from such wounds. Itโs over-the-top and meant to be that way which tended to bring some uncomfortable laughter at times from those around me. Having recently played Mortal Kombat 11, I couldnโt help but feel that some of the fatality screens in that game would have felt right at home in this movie.
Story is where I feel Hellboy falls a bit flat. There are so many characters and side stories going on that itโs easy to get lost in it. From my description above, you can see that it includes King Arthur, Rasputin, Nazis, Secret Societies, Witches that eat children, monstersโฆand thatโs only in the first half of the movie. There is a ton going on and there are a lot of disconnects. While trying to avoid spoilers, there is a part in the film where Hellboy is talking to Baba Yaga (see another character reference), and after tricking her she places a curse on him. Iโm still trying to figure out if the curse she placed on him occurred in the movie or not. In fact, Iโm trying to figure out exactly what the point of that scene was. Itโs not a bad story, but it tries to pack in a TON of references in its brief hour and forty five-ish minutes.
Iโll be the first to admit that Iโve never read any of the Hellboy graphic novels, I have seen both of the previous films, so I had a little bit of background going into this movie. I donโt know if all the references in the movie are pivotal to the novels or not. You certainly donโt have to have read them or seen the previous movies to appreciate this one, I just wonder if they tried to fit in too many Hellboy references into one film. Hellboy is an enjoyable ride, and it certainly doesnโt drag at all, in fact I was surprised at how quickly it was over. With all that being said, itโs a fun action-packed movie, with lots of gratuitous violence if thatโs your thing. I certainly wouldnโt recommend taking your children to see it, violence aside, I just think there is way too much going on and it can be difficult to follow. Oh, and donโt forget to stay through the credits for the end credit scene. Itโs not pivotal to the movie, but worth waiting around for.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021) in Movies
May 16, 2021
Brilliantly original animation (1 more)
Fantastic laugh-out-loud gags throughout, many with a movie nerd bias
Dog-Pig-Dog-Pig-Loaf of Breadโฆ KERBOOM!
Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) dreams of being a great film director (joining her icons on her version of Mount Rushmore!). She's about to travel to a west-coast film college when her dad Rick (Danny Mcbride) decides to cancel her air ticket and try to re-engage with her through one last epic road trip. Together with wife Linda (Maya Rudolph), dinosaur-mad son Aaron (director Michael Rianda) and cross-eyed pug Monchi (Doug the Pug!) they set off on their journey.
But the world is set to change forever, as sentient operating system PAL (Olivia Colman) and her army of robots take over the world and prepare to launch human-kind into deep dark space. The Mitchell's, as the world's unlikeliest Avengers, appear to be the only ones available to prevent the evil plan!
Positives:
- In my review of the lamentable "Thunder Force", I commented that it failed my "six laughs test" for a comedy. I only laughed 3 times in the whole film. In contrast, this movie hammered home guffaw-generating lines and scenes about six times a minute! It's hilarious. It's one of those films (like the best Pixar ones) with so much hidden detail buried in every shot. You could watch it a dozen times and still find new hidden gags.
- This is a movie that is the perfect family film. A film that kids will love for the knockabout comedy and a film that adults will also fall in love with. This comes from three different angles:
-- Excellent character development of the whole family. Katie feels like a fully rounded stroppy teen: she seems to be struggling with her identity (lesbian? - "It took me a while to figure myself out"); and she is struggling towards her personal goals despite the well-intentioned but destructive doubts that her rough-and-ready father keeps sowing. This feels like a journey that the family is on towards enlightenment, before it's too late.
-- This is also a film with considerable emotional heft. It channels at times some of the best elements of the Toy Story films (most notably "Toy Story 3" with Andy's departure for college). (Any parents who have never experienced that joyous yet dreadful day when you drive your chicks to university or college for the first time: brace yourselves!)
-- It's a dream for film fans. Like "Ready Player One", it's populated with lots of fun movie easter-eggs scattered throughout. Katie's 'Mount Rushmore' by the way has Greta Gerwig, Cรฉline Sciamma (from "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"), Lynne Ramsey and Hal Ashby as her directorial inspirations.
- And finally, it's a film for adults appreciative of some truly great satirical one-liners, including some razor-sharp zingers at 'big tech'. For example:
"It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing"
Negatives:
- My only minor criticism - and its a debatable one - might be the running time of 113 minutes. It might be a little too long for younger kids' attention spans. A 90 minute, more condensed, movie might have ticked the 'perfection' box.
Summary Thoughts: I don't normally "go" for animated films much. But this one is a different breed. An instant classic. It knocks you round the chops and forces your respect by being like no animated feature you've seen before. Witty, irreverent, gloriously entertaining it's a no-brainer that this gets 5-stars from me.
I said in my review of "Nomadland" that although that wasn't a 5* film for me, I could see why its brave and different slant at film-making earned it the Best Film Oscar. Well, almost regardless of what epically beautiful production Pixar might bring out before the end of the year, if the Academy doesn't vote this Best Animated Feature at next year's Oscars, then some sort of crime might have been committed.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/05/16/the-mitchells-vs-the-machines-dog-pig-dog-pig-loaf-of-bread-kerboom/. Thanks.)
But the world is set to change forever, as sentient operating system PAL (Olivia Colman) and her army of robots take over the world and prepare to launch human-kind into deep dark space. The Mitchell's, as the world's unlikeliest Avengers, appear to be the only ones available to prevent the evil plan!
Positives:
- In my review of the lamentable "Thunder Force", I commented that it failed my "six laughs test" for a comedy. I only laughed 3 times in the whole film. In contrast, this movie hammered home guffaw-generating lines and scenes about six times a minute! It's hilarious. It's one of those films (like the best Pixar ones) with so much hidden detail buried in every shot. You could watch it a dozen times and still find new hidden gags.
- This is a movie that is the perfect family film. A film that kids will love for the knockabout comedy and a film that adults will also fall in love with. This comes from three different angles:
-- Excellent character development of the whole family. Katie feels like a fully rounded stroppy teen: she seems to be struggling with her identity (lesbian? - "It took me a while to figure myself out"); and she is struggling towards her personal goals despite the well-intentioned but destructive doubts that her rough-and-ready father keeps sowing. This feels like a journey that the family is on towards enlightenment, before it's too late.
-- This is also a film with considerable emotional heft. It channels at times some of the best elements of the Toy Story films (most notably "Toy Story 3" with Andy's departure for college). (Any parents who have never experienced that joyous yet dreadful day when you drive your chicks to university or college for the first time: brace yourselves!)
-- It's a dream for film fans. Like "Ready Player One", it's populated with lots of fun movie easter-eggs scattered throughout. Katie's 'Mount Rushmore' by the way has Greta Gerwig, Cรฉline Sciamma (from "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"), Lynne Ramsey and Hal Ashby as her directorial inspirations.
- And finally, it's a film for adults appreciative of some truly great satirical one-liners, including some razor-sharp zingers at 'big tech'. For example:
"It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing"
Negatives:
- My only minor criticism - and its a debatable one - might be the running time of 113 minutes. It might be a little too long for younger kids' attention spans. A 90 minute, more condensed, movie might have ticked the 'perfection' box.
Summary Thoughts: I don't normally "go" for animated films much. But this one is a different breed. An instant classic. It knocks you round the chops and forces your respect by being like no animated feature you've seen before. Witty, irreverent, gloriously entertaining it's a no-brainer that this gets 5-stars from me.
I said in my review of "Nomadland" that although that wasn't a 5* film for me, I could see why its brave and different slant at film-making earned it the Best Film Oscar. Well, almost regardless of what epically beautiful production Pixar might bring out before the end of the year, if the Academy doesn't vote this Best Animated Feature at next year's Oscars, then some sort of crime might have been committed.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/05/16/the-mitchells-vs-the-machines-dog-pig-dog-pig-loaf-of-bread-kerboom/. Thanks.)
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
The heating in the screen for this was broken so I was sitting with my scarf wrapped up tight around my face... which came in very handy to soak up all the tears at that ending.
I can't tell you the last time I watched the original two movies, what I can tell you is that Toothless is a comedic genius and should probably just be allowed in every animated film... live action ones too... I might have to start a campaign for that.
This review has the potential to be a massive contradiction. I loved it, I'd totally see it again, but it isn't great for a couple of reasons. We've got a very bland bad guy who should be menacing but manages to stop somewhere at forgettable, then to top it off the storyline isn't great. I've seen a couple of people on Letterboxd refer to it as Thor: Ragnarok... and they're basically right.
Those things aside though it's still a funny and entertaining film. The animation is beautiful and the different landscapes they had to create came together as one world really well. Everything is also accompanied by a wonderful score, when they first come across the hidden world it's particularly dramatic.
When you look at the characters beyond our villain nothing has really changed. Ruffnut was very amusing and one of her scenes had me laughing and realising I have friends just like her. Everyone else was just there... I can't say any of them did anything you wouldn't have expected them to. The only thing that I did find amusing was Hiccup getting the Captain America treatment at the end of the film.
The dragons are by far the most amusing part of the whole film and Toothless practicing his dance with his shadow was super cute. I personally would have been happy just to have a whole movie of dragon "behind the scenes" pieces or one that focused on everything from the dragons' point of view. Something that was a little more goofing off than trying to be an actual story.
Hidden World has lots of flaws but that doesn't stop it from being a lighthearted and amusing movie. I'm going to miss Toothless, I might have to hit Netflix and binge the series they have on there to get my fill.
What you should do
It's a great family film, definitely see it. It doesn't tax the brain and it'll leave you feeling entertained.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
If I could have a little panda dragon that would be wonderful. They don't get too big, right?
I can't tell you the last time I watched the original two movies, what I can tell you is that Toothless is a comedic genius and should probably just be allowed in every animated film... live action ones too... I might have to start a campaign for that.
This review has the potential to be a massive contradiction. I loved it, I'd totally see it again, but it isn't great for a couple of reasons. We've got a very bland bad guy who should be menacing but manages to stop somewhere at forgettable, then to top it off the storyline isn't great. I've seen a couple of people on Letterboxd refer to it as Thor: Ragnarok... and they're basically right.
Those things aside though it's still a funny and entertaining film. The animation is beautiful and the different landscapes they had to create came together as one world really well. Everything is also accompanied by a wonderful score, when they first come across the hidden world it's particularly dramatic.
When you look at the characters beyond our villain nothing has really changed. Ruffnut was very amusing and one of her scenes had me laughing and realising I have friends just like her. Everyone else was just there... I can't say any of them did anything you wouldn't have expected them to. The only thing that I did find amusing was Hiccup getting the Captain America treatment at the end of the film.
The dragons are by far the most amusing part of the whole film and Toothless practicing his dance with his shadow was super cute. I personally would have been happy just to have a whole movie of dragon "behind the scenes" pieces or one that focused on everything from the dragons' point of view. Something that was a little more goofing off than trying to be an actual story.
Hidden World has lots of flaws but that doesn't stop it from being a lighthearted and amusing movie. I'm going to miss Toothless, I might have to hit Netflix and binge the series they have on there to get my fill.
What you should do
It's a great family film, definitely see it. It doesn't tax the brain and it'll leave you feeling entertained.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
If I could have a little panda dragon that would be wonderful. They don't get too big, right?
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Pet Sematary (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Nov 1, 2020)
A Really Good Remake
Pet Semetary is a 2019 supernatural horror movie directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. The movie was written by Jeff Buhler with screen story by Matt Greenberg. It is a remake/reboot of the original 1989 film adaptation of the 1983 Stephen King novel. Starring Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow.
Moving to the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his family: wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), children, Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugo & Lucas Lavoie), and Church, Ellie's cat, Louis Creed takes a job at the university's hospital. Ellie stumbles upon a procession of children, while exploring the nearby woods of their new home, who are taking a dead dog to a pet cemetery. Their neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), finds Ellie climbing a large stack of branches forming a wall and warns Rachel and Ellie not to venture out alone as the woods can be dangerous.. The following day, Louis fails to save a student Victor Pascow (Obssa Ahmed) fatally injured from a car accident, and is left shaken. That night Louis meets Pascow in a vivid dream, where he is lead to the pet cemetery and warned not to "venture beyond". When Louis awakens he is disturbed to find his bed sheets and feet, muddy and dirty suggesting his "vision" could be more than just a bad dream.
As far as remakes go this one was really good. Especially for the horror genre. I mean I can't tell you how many remakes/reboots I've seen that just bomb and don't do the original justice. This one however seemed to keep the original in mind, while still making changes to keep it fresh and relatively different. That being said I do feel it was a bit over-hyped and didn't live up to certain expectations. To me it was a very creepy movie and had me wanting to cover my eyes in one part as memories from the original played back in my head. The sounds of the character Rachel's sister calling out to her got goosebumps on my forearms. Those parts were very unsettling to me but I didn't feel enough was "scary". I really enjoyed the twists and changes or differences from the original. They were welcome and kept it from being an exact replica and a copy of the original. As another critic stated, Jeffrey M. Anderson-Common Sense Media, the film was "...effectively unsettling, focusing on the characters and their understandable emotions rather than on overt gore and FX." I give it a 7/10.
Moving to the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his family: wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), children, Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugo & Lucas Lavoie), and Church, Ellie's cat, Louis Creed takes a job at the university's hospital. Ellie stumbles upon a procession of children, while exploring the nearby woods of their new home, who are taking a dead dog to a pet cemetery. Their neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), finds Ellie climbing a large stack of branches forming a wall and warns Rachel and Ellie not to venture out alone as the woods can be dangerous.. The following day, Louis fails to save a student Victor Pascow (Obssa Ahmed) fatally injured from a car accident, and is left shaken. That night Louis meets Pascow in a vivid dream, where he is lead to the pet cemetery and warned not to "venture beyond". When Louis awakens he is disturbed to find his bed sheets and feet, muddy and dirty suggesting his "vision" could be more than just a bad dream.
As far as remakes go this one was really good. Especially for the horror genre. I mean I can't tell you how many remakes/reboots I've seen that just bomb and don't do the original justice. This one however seemed to keep the original in mind, while still making changes to keep it fresh and relatively different. That being said I do feel it was a bit over-hyped and didn't live up to certain expectations. To me it was a very creepy movie and had me wanting to cover my eyes in one part as memories from the original played back in my head. The sounds of the character Rachel's sister calling out to her got goosebumps on my forearms. Those parts were very unsettling to me but I didn't feel enough was "scary". I really enjoyed the twists and changes or differences from the original. They were welcome and kept it from being an exact replica and a copy of the original. As another critic stated, Jeffrey M. Anderson-Common Sense Media, the film was "...effectively unsettling, focusing on the characters and their understandable emotions rather than on overt gore and FX." I give it a 7/10.