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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Santa Jaws (2018) in Movies
Aug 7, 2020
It really shouldn't have been such a challenge for me to see this film. Nearly two years after its release I finally managed to see it... and spoiler alert for my conclusion... it was fintastic.
Cody makes a Christmas wish to be alone, little does he know that his Christmas present is going to make that wish come true in a very festive and gruesome way.
I very quickly want to get a negative out of the way first. There is very noticeable music playing throughout the film. Now, I'm one of those terrible people that doesn't notice music unless it's brilliantly placed or horrendous, and while this music isn't horrendous it does suffer from being way too familiar. You've got Christmas tunes which work fine but the film has the Home Alone theme/feel about it and I think most people can identify those songs when they pop up anywhere.
This film has a little Inception moment at the beginning and we get a representation of the comic the boys are writing. I'm honestly a little disappointed that we didn't get to see that as a whole film of its own when it brings us the amazing line "See you in jingle hell!" spoken with such heart.
Once we get down to our regular programming it's very easy to sink into the ideas at work, there's nothing over complicated and the characters are easy to place. You get the chance to make predictors/wishes early on for who you want to die, and I was not disappointed... at the same time though I was super angry about Santa Jaws' first kill, BAD SHARK!
The acting isn't bad overall, there are some bits that come across a little cheesy and forced when we keep getting Home Alone-esque pieces thrown in, but at the same time... it's a movie about a Christmas themed shark sooooooo.
I'm not entirely sure that the comic book shop was a necessary inclusion on the whole but I can't argue with the choices the owner made... kudos... I wouldn't have wanted those missed out of the final piece.
Shark movie logic abounds and characters make tremendous leaps in deductions that further the plot. My favourite being about the Christmassy nature of the shark. I don't know how the shark's powers and weaknesses came about it the storyline but, standing ovation to you, I loved it.
I ended up getting an imported shark DVD box set so I could see this, it was definitely worth the effort. (Not the stress of trying to play it, but that's another story.) I can only hope this one hits our screens on SyFy or the Horror Channel, I'm honestly surprised it hasn't already. Santa Jaws is an amusing romp in the creature feature genre, it's a great twist on the classics (shark or Christmas film, take your pick) and for the brave I'm sure you could make a drinking game out of Christmas puns and Home Alone references... though maybe not with anything too strong, you might not make it to the end.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/08/santa-jaws-movie-review.html
Cody makes a Christmas wish to be alone, little does he know that his Christmas present is going to make that wish come true in a very festive and gruesome way.
I very quickly want to get a negative out of the way first. There is very noticeable music playing throughout the film. Now, I'm one of those terrible people that doesn't notice music unless it's brilliantly placed or horrendous, and while this music isn't horrendous it does suffer from being way too familiar. You've got Christmas tunes which work fine but the film has the Home Alone theme/feel about it and I think most people can identify those songs when they pop up anywhere.
This film has a little Inception moment at the beginning and we get a representation of the comic the boys are writing. I'm honestly a little disappointed that we didn't get to see that as a whole film of its own when it brings us the amazing line "See you in jingle hell!" spoken with such heart.
Once we get down to our regular programming it's very easy to sink into the ideas at work, there's nothing over complicated and the characters are easy to place. You get the chance to make predictors/wishes early on for who you want to die, and I was not disappointed... at the same time though I was super angry about Santa Jaws' first kill, BAD SHARK!
The acting isn't bad overall, there are some bits that come across a little cheesy and forced when we keep getting Home Alone-esque pieces thrown in, but at the same time... it's a movie about a Christmas themed shark sooooooo.
I'm not entirely sure that the comic book shop was a necessary inclusion on the whole but I can't argue with the choices the owner made... kudos... I wouldn't have wanted those missed out of the final piece.
Shark movie logic abounds and characters make tremendous leaps in deductions that further the plot. My favourite being about the Christmassy nature of the shark. I don't know how the shark's powers and weaknesses came about it the storyline but, standing ovation to you, I loved it.
I ended up getting an imported shark DVD box set so I could see this, it was definitely worth the effort. (Not the stress of trying to play it, but that's another story.) I can only hope this one hits our screens on SyFy or the Horror Channel, I'm honestly surprised it hasn't already. Santa Jaws is an amusing romp in the creature feature genre, it's a great twist on the classics (shark or Christmas film, take your pick) and for the brave I'm sure you could make a drinking game out of Christmas puns and Home Alone references... though maybe not with anything too strong, you might not make it to the end.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/08/santa-jaws-movie-review.html
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) in Movies
Jun 18, 2019
Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) becomes the most desirable girl in high school over one fateful summer; she's definitely not like the other girls her age though. While most guys want to do everything imaginable to her, she's turned them all down. The only guy she really gives the time of day is her best friend, Emmet (Michael Welch). That is until a certain incident at a pool party comes between them. Now nine months later, Mandy has distanced herself from Emmet and has a group of new friends. These friends have decided to invite Mandy to a ranch out in the middle of nowhere for a few days and the guys who tag along hope to accomplish what, up to this point, has been impossible. But when people begin to turn up missing, they soon realize that they're not alone and someone is taking their obsession with Mandy Lane a little too far.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was like an urban myth for the longest period of time. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006 and released in the UK in 2008. It seemed to be released in every country other than the US shortly thereafter and it took another excruciating five years since it didn’t debut stateside until October of 2013. For a film that was originally shot in 2006, taking seven years to finally see distribution is bizarre and disheartening. The horror film originally caught the eye of The Weinstein Company immediately after debuting at TIFF, but the Weinstein brothers couldn’t come to a decision regarding its release (Harvey wanted a wide theatrical distribution while Bob thought the “artsy” film deserved more of a limited release). Rights to the film were eventually sold to a German company called Senator Entertainment US, who released the film in Germany and Austria and had the intention of premiering the film in the US. But the US branch of Senator Entertainment US went under in 2009 and rights to the film were dead in the water until The Weinstein Company reacquired distribution rights in 2013. The film was released on demand on September 6th with a limited theatrical run October 11th the same year.
The crew for the film consisted of college students freshly graduated from the American Film Institute. Producer Chad Feehan had the film as his thesis during college as work on the project initially began in 2003. Written by Jacob Forman and directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies), the film garnered an unbelievable amount of positive buzz online that accumulated into this massive pile of insurmountable expectations. Reading about the film for so long and hearing about how good it was from the biggest of horror sites probably inadvertently hurt the film more than it escalated interest for it.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane takes a Dazed and Confused approach to the first half of the film. Similar to how Wolf Creek had you swimming through 45-minutes of character development before the actual horror began (or how Hatchet was silly for the same amount of time before diving into awesome practical gore effects), All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is mostly high school kids getting into typical teenager shenanigans; drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and having sex. The second half of the film is pure horror and is essentially a slasher film. The horror is teased at first with little glimpses of terror before diving right back into high school mode, but the film is able to intensify its sense of dread to the point where it’s eventually beautifully horrific in every scene.
For a film that is made by first time filmmakers for less than $1 million, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane has beautiful cinematography. Vivid colors jump off the screen and seem even lusher once the film begins to cover itself in mud and dirt. Cinematographer Darren Genet has an eye for dynamic angles and utilizing when to focus and blur menacing figures in the background (or foreground) for maximum impact. The film also has a tendency to overlap shots in order to create an entirely new, which can probably be contributed to the talent of film editor Josh Noyes (The Wackness). These impressive filming techniques shine brightest when Bird (Edwin Hodge) is on-screen; when he goes to start the generator after the power goes out, when he confronts the killer, and the car chase. Like other successful film genres, horror can often become formulaic not only when it comes to its writing or how its acted but how it’s shot. It’s always a breath of fresh air when you can say a film is unique in some capacity; especially horror.
With Michael Welch mostly being associated with portraying popular high school student Mike Newton in the Twilight franchise, your expectations for a memorable performance from Welch in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane are probably fairly low. Around the time Mandy Lane was in peak hype mode, Welch was in the abysmal Day of the Dead remake. Directed by Steve Miner (Halloween H20) and also starring Nick Cannon, Day of the Dead is an atrocious remake (but maybe 2018’s remake Day of the Dead: Bloodline is worse). However, Welch’s portrayal of Emmet in Mandy Lane is exceptional. His performance, especially during the closing moments of the film, is captivating. He has this American Psycho quality to his psychotic behavior that is hauntingly mesmerizing.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane puts a different spin on the slasher film that would have had way more of an impact had it originally been released ten years ago instead of five. The film does require patience from the audience as the film takes a slow and steady approach to its eventual slasher nature. While the outcome is likely fairly predictable, watching how everything unfolds in Mandy Lane is where it shines. The ending is the film’s crown jewel and even though the killer is revealed its open ending suits the film’s already ambiguous nature. Now that All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is readily available at your fingertips, its originality seemed much more promising when it felt like it was the holy grail of horror films (kind of like The Poughkeepsie Tapes). The film’s consistency to offer a slasher that cuts in a different direction than most horror films along with Michael Welch’s brilliantly unbalanced performance makes All the Boys Love Mandy Lane a worthwhile experience.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is currently free to stream on Amazon if you have Starz with Prime Video Channels. It’s also currently available to rent via Amazon Video ($2.99), Vudu ($2.99), and iTunes ($3.99). The film is can be purchased on DVD ($9.91) and Multi-Format Blu-ray ($12.99) on Amazon and is even cheaper on eBay (the Blu-ray is available for $8.99 and the DVD is $7.98, both have free shipping).
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was like an urban myth for the longest period of time. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006 and released in the UK in 2008. It seemed to be released in every country other than the US shortly thereafter and it took another excruciating five years since it didn’t debut stateside until October of 2013. For a film that was originally shot in 2006, taking seven years to finally see distribution is bizarre and disheartening. The horror film originally caught the eye of The Weinstein Company immediately after debuting at TIFF, but the Weinstein brothers couldn’t come to a decision regarding its release (Harvey wanted a wide theatrical distribution while Bob thought the “artsy” film deserved more of a limited release). Rights to the film were eventually sold to a German company called Senator Entertainment US, who released the film in Germany and Austria and had the intention of premiering the film in the US. But the US branch of Senator Entertainment US went under in 2009 and rights to the film were dead in the water until The Weinstein Company reacquired distribution rights in 2013. The film was released on demand on September 6th with a limited theatrical run October 11th the same year.
The crew for the film consisted of college students freshly graduated from the American Film Institute. Producer Chad Feehan had the film as his thesis during college as work on the project initially began in 2003. Written by Jacob Forman and directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies), the film garnered an unbelievable amount of positive buzz online that accumulated into this massive pile of insurmountable expectations. Reading about the film for so long and hearing about how good it was from the biggest of horror sites probably inadvertently hurt the film more than it escalated interest for it.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane takes a Dazed and Confused approach to the first half of the film. Similar to how Wolf Creek had you swimming through 45-minutes of character development before the actual horror began (or how Hatchet was silly for the same amount of time before diving into awesome practical gore effects), All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is mostly high school kids getting into typical teenager shenanigans; drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and having sex. The second half of the film is pure horror and is essentially a slasher film. The horror is teased at first with little glimpses of terror before diving right back into high school mode, but the film is able to intensify its sense of dread to the point where it’s eventually beautifully horrific in every scene.
For a film that is made by first time filmmakers for less than $1 million, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane has beautiful cinematography. Vivid colors jump off the screen and seem even lusher once the film begins to cover itself in mud and dirt. Cinematographer Darren Genet has an eye for dynamic angles and utilizing when to focus and blur menacing figures in the background (or foreground) for maximum impact. The film also has a tendency to overlap shots in order to create an entirely new, which can probably be contributed to the talent of film editor Josh Noyes (The Wackness). These impressive filming techniques shine brightest when Bird (Edwin Hodge) is on-screen; when he goes to start the generator after the power goes out, when he confronts the killer, and the car chase. Like other successful film genres, horror can often become formulaic not only when it comes to its writing or how its acted but how it’s shot. It’s always a breath of fresh air when you can say a film is unique in some capacity; especially horror.
With Michael Welch mostly being associated with portraying popular high school student Mike Newton in the Twilight franchise, your expectations for a memorable performance from Welch in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane are probably fairly low. Around the time Mandy Lane was in peak hype mode, Welch was in the abysmal Day of the Dead remake. Directed by Steve Miner (Halloween H20) and also starring Nick Cannon, Day of the Dead is an atrocious remake (but maybe 2018’s remake Day of the Dead: Bloodline is worse). However, Welch’s portrayal of Emmet in Mandy Lane is exceptional. His performance, especially during the closing moments of the film, is captivating. He has this American Psycho quality to his psychotic behavior that is hauntingly mesmerizing.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane puts a different spin on the slasher film that would have had way more of an impact had it originally been released ten years ago instead of five. The film does require patience from the audience as the film takes a slow and steady approach to its eventual slasher nature. While the outcome is likely fairly predictable, watching how everything unfolds in Mandy Lane is where it shines. The ending is the film’s crown jewel and even though the killer is revealed its open ending suits the film’s already ambiguous nature. Now that All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is readily available at your fingertips, its originality seemed much more promising when it felt like it was the holy grail of horror films (kind of like The Poughkeepsie Tapes). The film’s consistency to offer a slasher that cuts in a different direction than most horror films along with Michael Welch’s brilliantly unbalanced performance makes All the Boys Love Mandy Lane a worthwhile experience.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is currently free to stream on Amazon if you have Starz with Prime Video Channels. It’s also currently available to rent via Amazon Video ($2.99), Vudu ($2.99), and iTunes ($3.99). The film is can be purchased on DVD ($9.91) and Multi-Format Blu-ray ($12.99) on Amazon and is even cheaper on eBay (the Blu-ray is available for $8.99 and the DVD is $7.98, both have free shipping).
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Bad Boys II (2003) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
What ya gonna do
this time?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Whilst the first outing of the Bad Boys shocked me by how good it actually was, this one left me a little disappointed. I was hardly expecting an Oscar winning deal here, as this was always going to be a Michael Bay adrenalin rush, but for a film with a two and a half hour running time, the adrenalin came in too short a bursts.
Bad Boys was Bay's first film and was but a taster of his over the top film making, which first arrives in The Rock a year afterwards, but this made eight years later was obviously going to take this to the next level, if not several levels further than that. But to me, it didn't. Granted, the action was thrilling, outrageous and very enjoyable, but the character development was barely visible. They bicker, Lawrence moaned a lot and Smith was cool and likable but there was just a shell of what there should have been. The entire story, including what's left of their character dynamics are only present to set up the next great action sequence.
Then, the was the taste issue. The crux of the plot as it developed was that the drug dealing villains where using corpses to smuggle drugs, and this was used to "Comic Effect" in two major set-pieces. Though in the first, a car chase, it was black comedy as bodies came thick and fast from the back of a van to be run over by the pursuing cars, the second was pushing the boundaries in a to a more disturbing area.
A criticism levied at Michael Bay by British critic Mark Kermode has been that he is a filmmaker with "pornographic sensibilities". Not just in the literal sense, but in the way that he views everything from cars, women and explosions for example. But this was no more clearly re- enforced than in a scene about 90 minutes in, when our two 'bad boys' are searching a morgue and after pulling back the sheets on fat white guys, they reveal a large breasted young woman, who is refer to as "The Bimbo" if my memory serves. It's worrying because I don't know whether this was being played for laughs or was supposed to be a titillating shot of a well endowed woman? Is it right to show a dead woman, who looks to have been strangled to death and referred to a bimbo in a mainstream 15 certificated movie?
I don't want to sound like a prude but the tone of this and pretty much every scene with the bodies being used, seemed to be in plain Bad, BAD taste and though this humour can play well in the right genre of movie, this just simply wasn't the film to do it in, in my opinion. But, that criticism aside, my main issues are the pacing. It was just too hollow to sustain its running time and my mind was beginning to wander from time to time between the spectacular action and the few moments of decent comedy.
It just didn't have the magic of the 90′s actioner, a genre which had faded considerably by the early 2000′s, and without offering anything new besides improved action, which was worth the ticket or DVD price in its own right, or even retaining the original character of the original, this was a sequel failed to hold its own.
Bad Boys was Bay's first film and was but a taster of his over the top film making, which first arrives in The Rock a year afterwards, but this made eight years later was obviously going to take this to the next level, if not several levels further than that. But to me, it didn't. Granted, the action was thrilling, outrageous and very enjoyable, but the character development was barely visible. They bicker, Lawrence moaned a lot and Smith was cool and likable but there was just a shell of what there should have been. The entire story, including what's left of their character dynamics are only present to set up the next great action sequence.
Then, the was the taste issue. The crux of the plot as it developed was that the drug dealing villains where using corpses to smuggle drugs, and this was used to "Comic Effect" in two major set-pieces. Though in the first, a car chase, it was black comedy as bodies came thick and fast from the back of a van to be run over by the pursuing cars, the second was pushing the boundaries in a to a more disturbing area.
A criticism levied at Michael Bay by British critic Mark Kermode has been that he is a filmmaker with "pornographic sensibilities". Not just in the literal sense, but in the way that he views everything from cars, women and explosions for example. But this was no more clearly re- enforced than in a scene about 90 minutes in, when our two 'bad boys' are searching a morgue and after pulling back the sheets on fat white guys, they reveal a large breasted young woman, who is refer to as "The Bimbo" if my memory serves. It's worrying because I don't know whether this was being played for laughs or was supposed to be a titillating shot of a well endowed woman? Is it right to show a dead woman, who looks to have been strangled to death and referred to a bimbo in a mainstream 15 certificated movie?
I don't want to sound like a prude but the tone of this and pretty much every scene with the bodies being used, seemed to be in plain Bad, BAD taste and though this humour can play well in the right genre of movie, this just simply wasn't the film to do it in, in my opinion. But, that criticism aside, my main issues are the pacing. It was just too hollow to sustain its running time and my mind was beginning to wander from time to time between the spectacular action and the few moments of decent comedy.
It just didn't have the magic of the 90′s actioner, a genre which had faded considerably by the early 2000′s, and without offering anything new besides improved action, which was worth the ticket or DVD price in its own right, or even retaining the original character of the original, this was a sequel failed to hold its own.
Lucy Buglass (45 KP) rated King of Thieves (2018) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
A Surprisingly Disappointing Heist Film
Upon seeing King of Thieves listed as a Limitless preview screening, I immediately snapped up the opportunity to see it because I had been looking forward to it since the first trailer I saw. With a well-known cast, an iconic real life heist story, and a classic ‘British crime’ aura, I was anticipating something great. I really can’t understand how they managed to mess that combo up, but here we are. Out of all the reviews I’ve ever written, this one is probably the hardest because of how disappointed I feel. As a film fan it’s difficult when you get yourself hyped up, only to be let down by the finished result.
For me, King of Thieves started off promising then rapidly declined into a bit of a mess. If it weren’t for a few redeeming features, I would’ve rated it even lower. One of the positives to come out of this film is the performances; it’s no surprise to any of you that these are actors at the top of their game, and I believe they worked as hard as they could with what they had. I don’t have a problem with any of the actors, my main problem lies with how utterly awful and cringe-worthy the screenplay was. They had an opportunity to work with some brilliant talent, but even they couldn’t save this film.
I appreciate the script was trying to encapsulate the ‘tough, working class London’ stereotype through these characters, but for me there was too much swearing and casual racism/homophobia than actual exposition. We learn barely anything about these characters, with the exception of Michael Caine’s, so all we see for almost two hours is a bunch of old men arguing and swearing constantly. We aren’t encouraged to connect or sympathise with any of them, none of them are particularly three dimensional, so you find yourself hating everyone on screen. Even a little emotional moment here and there would’ve been nice. With no chemistry between characters, the heist becomes very dull indeed.
If the weak script wasn’t bad enough, I wasn’t impressed with the cinematography either. The film seems confused throughout, not really sure what visual styles it wants to settle on so it jumps about here and there. As a result, this is very jarring and I found it hard to watch. The camera is all over the place, it doesn’t seem to have any fixed techniques, and it becomes a nuisance more than anything. That being said, the heist scenes themselves were very well-shot which is even more frustrating for me. How can you shoot certain things brilliantly, then mess up others? It doesn’t make any sense. If anything, it’s proven that the people involved did have the potential to create something great, but somehow managed to throw it all away.
King of Thieves feels a lot like a straight-to-DVD crime film that you might watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon when you’re a bit tired or hungover. It’s certainly not the kind of cinematic, high-quality film I would expect to see on the big screen. It’s mildly entertaining and delivered a few laughs, but ultimately it’s forgettable. My advice for this film would be: don’t let them rob you of a ticket, catch it on TV instead.
https://lucygoestohollywood.com/2018/09/08/king-of-thieves-a-surprisingly-disappointing-heist-film/
For me, King of Thieves started off promising then rapidly declined into a bit of a mess. If it weren’t for a few redeeming features, I would’ve rated it even lower. One of the positives to come out of this film is the performances; it’s no surprise to any of you that these are actors at the top of their game, and I believe they worked as hard as they could with what they had. I don’t have a problem with any of the actors, my main problem lies with how utterly awful and cringe-worthy the screenplay was. They had an opportunity to work with some brilliant talent, but even they couldn’t save this film.
I appreciate the script was trying to encapsulate the ‘tough, working class London’ stereotype through these characters, but for me there was too much swearing and casual racism/homophobia than actual exposition. We learn barely anything about these characters, with the exception of Michael Caine’s, so all we see for almost two hours is a bunch of old men arguing and swearing constantly. We aren’t encouraged to connect or sympathise with any of them, none of them are particularly three dimensional, so you find yourself hating everyone on screen. Even a little emotional moment here and there would’ve been nice. With no chemistry between characters, the heist becomes very dull indeed.
If the weak script wasn’t bad enough, I wasn’t impressed with the cinematography either. The film seems confused throughout, not really sure what visual styles it wants to settle on so it jumps about here and there. As a result, this is very jarring and I found it hard to watch. The camera is all over the place, it doesn’t seem to have any fixed techniques, and it becomes a nuisance more than anything. That being said, the heist scenes themselves were very well-shot which is even more frustrating for me. How can you shoot certain things brilliantly, then mess up others? It doesn’t make any sense. If anything, it’s proven that the people involved did have the potential to create something great, but somehow managed to throw it all away.
King of Thieves feels a lot like a straight-to-DVD crime film that you might watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon when you’re a bit tired or hungover. It’s certainly not the kind of cinematic, high-quality film I would expect to see on the big screen. It’s mildly entertaining and delivered a few laughs, but ultimately it’s forgettable. My advice for this film would be: don’t let them rob you of a ticket, catch it on TV instead.
https://lucygoestohollywood.com/2018/09/08/king-of-thieves-a-surprisingly-disappointing-heist-film/
Darren (1599 KP) rated All The Devil's Men (2018) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: All the Devil’s Men starts as we meet the bounty hunter team working for CIA agent Leigh (Hoeks), we have Collins (Gibson), Brennan (Fichtner) and new member Samuelson (Akinnagbe), whose latest job was a success, now in London they start to investigate the latest mission.
When the team gets set up Collins must lead the remaining members of the team in an operation around London which puts him against an old military brother Deighton (Millson).
Thoughts on All the Devil’s Men
Characters – Collins is the seal that has been working as a bounty hunter for the CIA, he has a dark past with missions he has completed and knows to trust the team around him, he won’t give up till the mission is complete. Leigh is the one that runs the operations, she puts the team together and tends to be their eyes in the sky, though she is willing to do anything to close the deal for the good of the country. Brennan is the older member of the team and the member that Collins has worked with the longest, he knows how the system operates and who to bring in when needing extra hands. Samuelson is the newest member of the team, he doesn’t want to be known as a bounty hunter more of a shadow warrior, he does following instructions well, but talks more than Collins wants him too.
Performances – Milo Gibson as the leading action man is solid, he doesn’t have too much to do that is overly difficult, few driving, shooting and ducking scenes, no real emotional moment required. Sylvia Hoeks was fantastic in Blade Runner 2049, which is a disappointment here because we know how great she can be, it feels like this wasted her talent. William Fichtner is solid enough which is here to give the biggest name for the film and Gbenga Akinnagbe gets laughs for the film when needed.
Story – The story follows CIA bounty hunters that are tracking down suspects in London over one night before a major deal goes down, which could see weapons being giving to the wrong hands. The story gives us a chance to see how the unit uses their skills to track and try to stay ahead while also showing the villains planning for what happens next. For an action film the story is very simple, it doesn’t have anything overly complicated when it comes to twists and can be watched without needing to give the full attention. This is a late-night action film story which is all we want at times.
Action – The action gives us set-up location for confrontations with bullets flying around, the fights are simple, though not shot the best with too many cuts. With the bang, bang and bodies falling it is easy to watch.
Settings – We are mostly set in and around London at night, which is fine, we know London can be busy and full of deals going on, we do seem to stay on the outside of everything going on though.
Scene of the Movie – Plane chase.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does waste Sylvia Hoeks full talents.
Final Thoughts – This is good for a late-night action fans, it keeps everything very simple and could easily be put in the lists of any straight to DVD Seagal or Van Damme movies.
Overall: Simple actions film.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/11/23/all-the-devils-men-2018/
When the team gets set up Collins must lead the remaining members of the team in an operation around London which puts him against an old military brother Deighton (Millson).
Thoughts on All the Devil’s Men
Characters – Collins is the seal that has been working as a bounty hunter for the CIA, he has a dark past with missions he has completed and knows to trust the team around him, he won’t give up till the mission is complete. Leigh is the one that runs the operations, she puts the team together and tends to be their eyes in the sky, though she is willing to do anything to close the deal for the good of the country. Brennan is the older member of the team and the member that Collins has worked with the longest, he knows how the system operates and who to bring in when needing extra hands. Samuelson is the newest member of the team, he doesn’t want to be known as a bounty hunter more of a shadow warrior, he does following instructions well, but talks more than Collins wants him too.
Performances – Milo Gibson as the leading action man is solid, he doesn’t have too much to do that is overly difficult, few driving, shooting and ducking scenes, no real emotional moment required. Sylvia Hoeks was fantastic in Blade Runner 2049, which is a disappointment here because we know how great she can be, it feels like this wasted her talent. William Fichtner is solid enough which is here to give the biggest name for the film and Gbenga Akinnagbe gets laughs for the film when needed.
Story – The story follows CIA bounty hunters that are tracking down suspects in London over one night before a major deal goes down, which could see weapons being giving to the wrong hands. The story gives us a chance to see how the unit uses their skills to track and try to stay ahead while also showing the villains planning for what happens next. For an action film the story is very simple, it doesn’t have anything overly complicated when it comes to twists and can be watched without needing to give the full attention. This is a late-night action film story which is all we want at times.
Action – The action gives us set-up location for confrontations with bullets flying around, the fights are simple, though not shot the best with too many cuts. With the bang, bang and bodies falling it is easy to watch.
Settings – We are mostly set in and around London at night, which is fine, we know London can be busy and full of deals going on, we do seem to stay on the outside of everything going on though.
Scene of the Movie – Plane chase.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does waste Sylvia Hoeks full talents.
Final Thoughts – This is good for a late-night action fans, it keeps everything very simple and could easily be put in the lists of any straight to DVD Seagal or Van Damme movies.
Overall: Simple actions film.
https://moviesreview101.com/2018/11/23/all-the-devils-men-2018/
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
It has been four years since Harold and Kumar embarked on their munchies induced quest for White Castle hamburgers. The resulting chaos and mayhem that resulted led to solid box office and DVD sales and spawned the sequel “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”.
The film picks up at the conclusion of the last film and finds Harold (John Cho), planning a trip to Amsterdam with his friend Kumar (Kal Penn), in order to surprise his new girlfriend Maria (Paula Garces). Kumar is thrilled at the idea of the trip fueled in large part due to Amsterdam’s very tolerant attitude towards drugs.
As they prepare to board their plane, the duo meet Kumar’s old girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris), who is about to marry a powerful and conservative Texan named Colton (Eric Winter), who has designs on being the President someday.
Unwilling to let on that he still holds a torch for Vanessa, Kumar attempts to get high during the flight and ends up getting himself and Harold mistaken for terrorists. Before the duo know what has hit them they have run afoul of Homeland Security agent Ron Fox (Rob Corddry), and are sharing a cell in Guantanamo Bay.
Desperate to escape their plight, the duo soon find themselves on the lam with Fox and the nations law enforcement officials in hot pursuit.
Harold and Kumar hope to make it to Texas in order to seek help from Colton as Harold thinks that due to their friendship and his connections he can get the duo out of their predicament. Kumar is all for this as not only is it the best way to get out of their situation but he secretly thinks he can get Vanessa to come back to him before it is too late.
Along the way the duo look to find help from their bizarre friends, and run into all manner of obstacles ranging from the Klan, Rednecks, and Neil Patrick Harris in a very funny cameo, and countless other bizarre people and situations.
The film is crude but if you were a fan of the last film, you will likely find this film very funny. The chemistry between Cho and Penn is good and it is fun to see the misadventures of the two best friends and hear them argue amongst themselves over their plight. Harold being the more level headed of the two is furious over the irresponsible Kumar and how he got them into this situation, but he is willing to stand by his friend to a point, which results in one of the fun moments in the film when the duo end up in a brothel in Texas.
Penn and Cho also seem to be having a good time playing the characters and despite the abundance of crude and drug related humor, there are some genuinely funny moments in the film and it is better than the first film in the series.
Those expecting a deep plot and characters will be disappointed, but if you came into this film looking for those elements, then you must have gotten into Kumar’s stash. That being said, take the film for what it is, and enjoyable if light piece of comedy, and you are likely to be glad that you are along for the ride.
The film picks up at the conclusion of the last film and finds Harold (John Cho), planning a trip to Amsterdam with his friend Kumar (Kal Penn), in order to surprise his new girlfriend Maria (Paula Garces). Kumar is thrilled at the idea of the trip fueled in large part due to Amsterdam’s very tolerant attitude towards drugs.
As they prepare to board their plane, the duo meet Kumar’s old girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris), who is about to marry a powerful and conservative Texan named Colton (Eric Winter), who has designs on being the President someday.
Unwilling to let on that he still holds a torch for Vanessa, Kumar attempts to get high during the flight and ends up getting himself and Harold mistaken for terrorists. Before the duo know what has hit them they have run afoul of Homeland Security agent Ron Fox (Rob Corddry), and are sharing a cell in Guantanamo Bay.
Desperate to escape their plight, the duo soon find themselves on the lam with Fox and the nations law enforcement officials in hot pursuit.
Harold and Kumar hope to make it to Texas in order to seek help from Colton as Harold thinks that due to their friendship and his connections he can get the duo out of their predicament. Kumar is all for this as not only is it the best way to get out of their situation but he secretly thinks he can get Vanessa to come back to him before it is too late.
Along the way the duo look to find help from their bizarre friends, and run into all manner of obstacles ranging from the Klan, Rednecks, and Neil Patrick Harris in a very funny cameo, and countless other bizarre people and situations.
The film is crude but if you were a fan of the last film, you will likely find this film very funny. The chemistry between Cho and Penn is good and it is fun to see the misadventures of the two best friends and hear them argue amongst themselves over their plight. Harold being the more level headed of the two is furious over the irresponsible Kumar and how he got them into this situation, but he is willing to stand by his friend to a point, which results in one of the fun moments in the film when the duo end up in a brothel in Texas.
Penn and Cho also seem to be having a good time playing the characters and despite the abundance of crude and drug related humor, there are some genuinely funny moments in the film and it is better than the first film in the series.
Those expecting a deep plot and characters will be disappointed, but if you came into this film looking for those elements, then you must have gotten into Kumar’s stash. That being said, take the film for what it is, and enjoyable if light piece of comedy, and you are likely to be glad that you are along for the ride.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Deep Space Nine (2018) in Movies
Jul 23, 2019
Where would we be without DS9?
Maybe the best Trek of all time?
Sisko, Odo, Kira, O'Brien, Dax, Quark, Bashir and the rest of the massive cast brought Star Trek to life as never before in this vastly different "station"ary style of Trek.
At the time, syndication was where it was at for reruns and additional revenue for a TV program. DS9 bucked the trend of wrapping up everything within one episode and began a TV serial which pretty much ran almost the entire run, much to the dismay of studio executives. Nowadays, shows like The Walking Dead, Lost, or Game of Thrones do this every week, but in the mid 90s this was not common.
Sandwiched in between The Next Generation and Voyager, DS9 did not get a lot of respect during its initial run at all. Also at that time, Trek TNG movies were in full swing so the show had to compete with that as well. Television stations would often preempt the show, skip a week or run the show in the early morning hours which made it even harder for its audience to keep track of the action.
DS9 certainly got a 2nd life with the current popularity of "binge watching" on your favorite streaming service. Having the ability to watch multi-part episodes or entire seasons within a few weeks brought back to life the en genius writing, acting and production quality of the series.
For this documentary, former showrunner Ira Steven Behr took several years worth of cast, crew and fan interviews, clips, behind the scenes footage and compiled a wonderful interesting film for any Trek fan. Many cast members major and minor as well as producers, writers and tech workers told tales of working on the show and how they very much enjoyed their time.
Throughout the many iterations of Trek, original creator Gene Roddenberry felt the show should entertain as well as provide social commentary on the issues of the time and DS9 was no exception. Throughout the show's 7 year run they dealt with issues such as racism, homelessness, same sex relationships and even genetic engineering.
One of the most fun subplots of the film was gathering the show's original writers in a room to formulate the first episode for the fictitious "Season 8" which will never actually happen (although I wish it would). The ideas, plot points and arcs they went through and came up with were extremely interesting, keep with the high level of writing the show originally produced, but also through us a few curveballs with some fun surprises.
Through the cast interviews we got to hear how the crew got along, some of their favorite and least favorite episodes and even the friendships they have maintained with one another.
The DVD set I received also had included a vast assortment of additional footage featuring even more nuggets and stories of what made the show great.
Overall, this film was one of the best documentaries I have ever seen about one of my favorite television programs in my lifetime. I might have to start binge watching the show again very soon.
Did I mention my name appears in the end credits?!? 😊
Sisko, Odo, Kira, O'Brien, Dax, Quark, Bashir and the rest of the massive cast brought Star Trek to life as never before in this vastly different "station"ary style of Trek.
At the time, syndication was where it was at for reruns and additional revenue for a TV program. DS9 bucked the trend of wrapping up everything within one episode and began a TV serial which pretty much ran almost the entire run, much to the dismay of studio executives. Nowadays, shows like The Walking Dead, Lost, or Game of Thrones do this every week, but in the mid 90s this was not common.
Sandwiched in between The Next Generation and Voyager, DS9 did not get a lot of respect during its initial run at all. Also at that time, Trek TNG movies were in full swing so the show had to compete with that as well. Television stations would often preempt the show, skip a week or run the show in the early morning hours which made it even harder for its audience to keep track of the action.
DS9 certainly got a 2nd life with the current popularity of "binge watching" on your favorite streaming service. Having the ability to watch multi-part episodes or entire seasons within a few weeks brought back to life the en genius writing, acting and production quality of the series.
For this documentary, former showrunner Ira Steven Behr took several years worth of cast, crew and fan interviews, clips, behind the scenes footage and compiled a wonderful interesting film for any Trek fan. Many cast members major and minor as well as producers, writers and tech workers told tales of working on the show and how they very much enjoyed their time.
Throughout the many iterations of Trek, original creator Gene Roddenberry felt the show should entertain as well as provide social commentary on the issues of the time and DS9 was no exception. Throughout the show's 7 year run they dealt with issues such as racism, homelessness, same sex relationships and even genetic engineering.
One of the most fun subplots of the film was gathering the show's original writers in a room to formulate the first episode for the fictitious "Season 8" which will never actually happen (although I wish it would). The ideas, plot points and arcs they went through and came up with were extremely interesting, keep with the high level of writing the show originally produced, but also through us a few curveballs with some fun surprises.
Through the cast interviews we got to hear how the crew got along, some of their favorite and least favorite episodes and even the friendships they have maintained with one another.
The DVD set I received also had included a vast assortment of additional footage featuring even more nuggets and stories of what made the show great.
Overall, this film was one of the best documentaries I have ever seen about one of my favorite television programs in my lifetime. I might have to start binge watching the show again very soon.
Did I mention my name appears in the end credits?!? 😊
The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated The Lord of the Rings in Books
Nov 7, 2019
Lord of the rings is written by professor J. R. R. Tolkien and began as a squeal to the Hobbit but evolved over time into its own stand alone book. It was Published by Allen and Unwin (who also produced the hobbit) on July 29th 1954 in three segments; The Fellowship of the Ring, The Towers and The Return of the King. Structurally the book can be separated into six books with an appendices at the end. The book was intended to be one volume of a two volume set (Partnered with The Silmarillion). The title refers to the main antagonist the dark lord Sauron, who had in an earlier age created the one ring to rule them all and use it to conquer and rule Middle-Earth. The story starts in the shire at the 11th birthday of Bilbo Baggins and follows the journey of Frodo Baggins – Bilbos relative and heir as he ranges across middle-earth all the way to the fires of mount doom to destroy the magical ring (which Bilbo found during the Hobbit) during what ended up as the War of the Ring. The story is seen through the eyes of several characters including Frodo, and fellow Hobbits Sam Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took.
Now I own a copy of the lord of the rings and have done so since I've left school. The copy I own however is the single whole copy as such I've always struggled to read the book in one go. Its always taken me a long time to read it and as such I only re-read it every two years or so. Whilst I'd known of the hobbit and read it numerous times as a child and young adult. I wasn't aware of the Lord of the Rings until the movies came out and as such I came to LoTR through the movies instead of the book. If you want to know a brief history of Professor J.R.R Tolkien and my opinion of him have a look to last weeks book blog on The Hobbit.
The book was turned into the popular movie franchise by Director Peter Jackson, Weta Workshop and New Line Cinema. The movies followed the pattern of the books and were subsequently released under The fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The return of the King (2003). Lord of the rings is widely regarded as one of the most influential and greatest film trilogies ever created. Its ended up being both a major financial success and is amongst the highest grossing film series of all time (earning over £2.9 billion in worldwide receipts). When award season came around each film was critically acclaimed and heavily awarded they won 17 out of their 30 nominations. An extended copy of each movie was released on DVD after the theatrical release.....I still have my extended copies after 13 years.
I was introduced to the Lord of the Rings Movies during Secondary school and had spent a good chunk of my time out of school watching the movies. By the time I left school a knew a plethora of random knowledge of the Tolkien legendium at large and as I said earlier in this post I saw the movies first before I read the books and as such It does make it harder for me to read the books. Thanks to these movies however I now own several LoTR related books and have a healthy love of Fantasy and fiction at large.
Now I own a copy of the lord of the rings and have done so since I've left school. The copy I own however is the single whole copy as such I've always struggled to read the book in one go. Its always taken me a long time to read it and as such I only re-read it every two years or so. Whilst I'd known of the hobbit and read it numerous times as a child and young adult. I wasn't aware of the Lord of the Rings until the movies came out and as such I came to LoTR through the movies instead of the book. If you want to know a brief history of Professor J.R.R Tolkien and my opinion of him have a look to last weeks book blog on The Hobbit.
The book was turned into the popular movie franchise by Director Peter Jackson, Weta Workshop and New Line Cinema. The movies followed the pattern of the books and were subsequently released under The fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The return of the King (2003). Lord of the rings is widely regarded as one of the most influential and greatest film trilogies ever created. Its ended up being both a major financial success and is amongst the highest grossing film series of all time (earning over £2.9 billion in worldwide receipts). When award season came around each film was critically acclaimed and heavily awarded they won 17 out of their 30 nominations. An extended copy of each movie was released on DVD after the theatrical release.....I still have my extended copies after 13 years.
I was introduced to the Lord of the Rings Movies during Secondary school and had spent a good chunk of my time out of school watching the movies. By the time I left school a knew a plethora of random knowledge of the Tolkien legendium at large and as I said earlier in this post I saw the movies first before I read the books and as such It does make it harder for me to read the books. Thanks to these movies however I now own several LoTR related books and have a healthy love of Fantasy and fiction at large.