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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
2016 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
A fantastic gem of a thriller.
Let it be known, regardless of it's connection to Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a pretty solid thriller in its own right.

After walking away from a relationship, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) ends up in a car crash and is knocked unconscious.
She wakes up shortly afterwards, apparently rescued, but chained to the wall in a closed off room.
She has been rescued by Howard (John Goodman) and is being kept in his nuclear bunker.
Whilst she has been unconscious, there has been some kind of attack and Howard claims that the air up on the surface is unbreathable.
As Michelle adjusts to her new life underground, she becomes suspicious to Howard's claims and starts to believe he's hiding something.

10 Cloverfield Lane is absolutely dripping with tension for the majority of the runtime.
John Goodman is absolute fantastic and unpredictable. His character is both caring, and dangerous simultaneously.
Mary EW is also great in her role, and the two of them alongside John Gallagher Jr, make up a pretty solid trio of well fleshed out characters.

As the movie reaches it's climax, you'll be on the edge of your seat.

The connections to Cloverfield become more apparent near the movies finale, and do feel a little tacked on (this movie did start out as a non-Cloverfield related thriller called The Cellar) but it actually works in a neat sci-fi way.
It would be nice though, to see it all tied together a little tighter in future installments.
  
Captive State (2019)
Captive State (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
John Goodman delivers a solid performance, visually appealing, (0 more)
Too grounded in reality, lacked originality, didn't feel satisfying in the end (0 more)
Not Captivating Enough - 6/10
Captive State is a 2019 sci-fi/thriller movie directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Rupert Wyatt and Erica Beeney. It was produced by Amblin Partners and Participant Media with producers Rupert Wyatt and David Crockett. The film stars John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, and Vera Farmiga.


In 2019, Chicago is placed under Martial Law as extraterrestrials invade Earth. Attempting to flee the city, the Drummond family, breaks through a barricade to a tunnel exit. Before they can back up and reverse, the aliens attack, vaporizing both parents, with the children having survived in the backseat. Nine years later, 2028, the world has surrendered to the conquering alien forces, who have now become the governing authority. They are called "The Legislators" because all rules of governance and subsequent laws come from them. Walled off from the rest of the city and deep beneath the ground, they've had conscripted humans build them suitable habitats called "Closed Zones" where only high government officials are granted access. Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), the younger son of the Drummond family is confronted by Chicago Police Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman) who believes he is a part of the resistance. Gabriel's brother Rafe Drummond (Jonathan Majors) was part of the resistance but died on a mission and murals are painted of him in Pilsen, the poor part of town, where Gabriel lives. Mulligan however is not convinced the resistance group, called Phoenix has been neutralized as believed and continues to work towards bringing them down.


This movie was not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be better than what it was and that's because I didn't even have high expectations going into it. So from the previews/trailers it looked like it was going to be a bigger scale resistance. When I hear resistance fighting, I guess I picture more like fighting like Fallen Skies or like the resistance fighters in Star Wars. This was more of a political/spy thriller going back and forth between the point of view from members of the resistance and those tasked with bringing them down. It had sprinkling of sci-fi and aliens but was too grounded in reality to make it entertaining. It seemed very "done before" and lacked originality. John Goodman did a good job and so did Ashton Sanders but I feel this movie suffered from a bad plot to begin with. Or maybe it sounds good on paper but the delivery failed. Visually it was appealing, the aliens and ships and things looked wonderful but after watching seemed like it wasn't enough to leave the audience satisfied. I give it a 6/10.
  
 The Righteous Gemstones
The Righteous Gemstones
2019 | Comedy
Danny Mcbride (0 more)
This raucous comedy focuses on the Gemstone family,a bunch of TV evangelical preachers lead by head preacher Eli Gemstone.

The main story focuses on eldest son Jesse is blackmailed by a couple of thugs who have a vidro of him and other members of the church taking drugs with prostitutes when on a church related trip to atlanta.As things get more complicated the rest of the family are dragged into it and much hilarity ensues.

I was never really a big fan of Danny McBride (who created the show also) but in this he is brilliant as the arrogant son Jesse,as is john goodman as his dad.
  
The Emporer’s New Groove (2000)
The Emporer’s New Groove (2000)
2000 | Animation, Family
8
7.1 (45 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Somehow it took me a full twenty years after release to see this movie. While David Spade has done some other voice over work of quality, this takes the cake. John Goodman is always a favorite of mine and the voice of Patrick Warburton adds another layer of hilarity in the role of Kronk.

There was a time in my life when I didn't really see much in the way of Disney releases as my focus was elsewhere. I do regret not seeing this sooner. It was a great story with wonderful voice acting and classic Disney imagination and imagery. Definitely worth seeing at any age.