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Bad Lieutenant Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
Bad Lieutenant Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
2009 | Drama, Mystery
10
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
285. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. The Cage unleashed!! It starts with two cops, The Cage, and The Iceman inside a flooding prison staring down into a cell with a prisoner inside begging to be let out before he drowns, the cops are taking bets on what time the cell will totally flood and the dude drowns, but The Cage decides to go ahead and save him anyway, screws up his back in the process, becomes a hero, and is promoted to Bad Lieutenant!! Ok, its just lieutenant, but you get the point. Now Lt Cage, is hooked on pain pills, and just about anything else the evidence room may hold, and with Michael Shannon guarding the door, Lt Cage gets what he needs... Now don't get me wrong, Lt Cage has a job to do, and after the brutal murder of an African family, Lt Cage is on the case, and oh yes he will solve the case, even if that involves cutting of the airways of a wheelchair bound senior citizen for info, actually joining in the gang of suspects pulling off jobs, working both sides, and parking in a handicap spot!! An instant Nic Cage classic!! The ending is so, beautiful. A must see for the Cagist. Some greatly genuine Cage moments and Eva Mendes playing the hottest drug addicted prostitute in recent years. And the rest of the cast, wow, they dug deep!! Watch now!! 😍 Filmbufftim on FB
  
Friday the 13th (2009)
Friday the 13th (2009)
2009 | Horror
7
6.6 (22 Ratings)
Movie Rating
In the 1980’s the so- called slasher film genre was in full swing. When Michael Myers and the “Halloween” franchise became the highest grossing independent film in cinema history, the studios scrambled to get in on the booming genre and unleashed a flood of psycho killers on the viewing public, for the better part of a decade and a half.

Along with the aforementioned Michael Myers, and the later Freddy Krueger from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series, Jason Voorhees of the “Friday The 13Th” series has become a cultural landmark. He has appeared in over ten movies (eleven if you count “Freddy Vs. Jason”) and unleashed havoc on countless oversexed and loaded teens, as well as those unfortunate enough to cross his path.
While the series, to many fans, become stale and largely self mocking with the Jason-in-space themed “Jason X”, the character rebounded nicely with “Freddy Vs. Jason” and had many fans clamoring for a second match up between the two iconic bad guys.

Eventually the powers-that-be decided to go the remake route, which had proven successful with “Halloween” and “My Bloody Valentine”, and have crafted a new “Friday the 13th” which they hope will re-energize the series.

The film opens with a modern re-telling of what was part of the finale of the original film, and hits the ground running with an impressive opening sequence that has Jason menacing a group of teens camping in the woods. The intense first twenty minutes of the film had the audience at the test screening gasping and cheering as the events set the stage for the body of the film, which revolves around another group of young adults taking a trip into the woods for a scenic getaway.

As the group stops for supplies, they encounter a young man who is looking for his sister who vanished in the area six weeks earlier. Despite little luck in his search, and the insistence by the local police that his sister is not anywhere in the area, he remains undaunted and continues his search.
At the same time, the group of young adults embarks on a frenzy of sex, drinking, drugs, and carefree living in the woods unaware that they are about to gain the attention of Camp Crystal Lake’s most infamous former camper.

As the film unfolds, Jason soon unleashes his customary brutality on the group as well as any townies that come across him, and the film deftly mixes some humor with classic horror mayhem. In the time honored formula, a group of survivors soon finds themselves under siege by Jason and must find a way to survive Jason’s wrath.

While the film lacks much in the way of plot and is loaded with a cast of largely unknowns, the film is a refreshing update to the series, knowing what the fans have come to expect and providing plenty of gore and scares. Since the cast exists to be little more than fodder for Jason, there is little effort devoted to fleshing them out as characters other than to provide excuses for most of the ladies in the film to shed their clothes, and a few of the male cast to establish themselves as comic relief, or the jerk who is destined for something special.

Director Marcus Nispel who has a solid pedigree with the recent “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, viral videos of Resident Evil 5, as well as the pending “Alice.” He clearly knows his subject matter and working with Producer Michael Bay and a script from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (the duo behind “Freddy vs. Jason”), produced a solid by the numbers horror film.

Fans of the series will note clever references to the past films such as Jason’s original mask and will find themselves yelling at the screen over the constant stupidity of the victims as well as the inventive way Jason dispatches his victims. I found myself enjoying the updated Jason because while the movie is faithful to the character, it revitalized him to show a more cunning predator who is not above using traps, bait, and plotting to achieve his means. There was a plot thread in the film that did not really get developed as much as I had hoped, but in the end, the film delivered the goods and sets the stage well for future outings of the machete-wielding Jason.
  
Crawl (2019)
Crawl (2019)
2019 | Horror, Thriller
Killer Alligators and Buckets Of Blood
Crawl is a 2019 disaster/horror movie directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen. It was produced by Sam Raimi and Craig J. Flores and also Ghost House Pictures and Raimi Productions with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper.


Beth advises her sister, Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario), an aspiring University of Florida swimmer to get out of the state, because a Category 5 hurricane is nearing. Concerned for the safety of her father, Dave (Barry Pepper), she goes against police instructions to evacuate, and goes to check on him. Hayley finds Dave's truck at their old Coral Lake home, where she goes into the crawlspace underneath the home to find her father. Now they both find themselves in a struggle for survival as large, ravenous alligators block their escape and they race against time as flood waters rise.


This movie was pretty awesome and better than I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly delightful the way they built suspense and kept the tension in scenes. It was also pretty brutal with the blood and gore in the kill scenes. Kayla Scodelario performed amazingly and was great as Hayley Keller. Definitely an action-packed blood soaked adventure. The special effects were a little too unrealistic for me, especially in the beginning, which I thought would have bothered me more; but the plight the characters were in was done in such a way, that it just really draws you in. I know a lot of people would probably criticize the alligators behavior in this film too but I'm sure that could be said of movies like Jaws as well. If you don't over analyze it, you'll allow yourself to enjoy a rather exhilarating experience. I give it a 8/10.

This movie was pretty awesome and better than I thought it was going to be. It was surprisingly delightful the way they built suspense and kept the tension in scenes. Kayla Scodelario performed amazingly and was great as Hayley Keller. Definitely an action-packed, blood soaked adventure. The special effects were a little too unrealistic for me, especiallywhich I thought would have bothered me more but the plight the characters were done in such a that it just really draws you in. I know a lot of people would probably criticize the way the alligators behavior in this film but I'm sure that could be said of movies like Jaws as well. If you don't analyze it too harshly you'll allow yourself to enjoy a rather exhilarating experience. I give it a 8/10.
  
Miami Vice (2006)
Miami Vice (2006)
2006 | Action, Drama
7
5.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
In 1984 a show arrived on NBC that instantly became a media sensation and set new standards for television dramas, as well as for music and fashion as it soon became a cultural icon.
The show was Miami Vice, and up until the final episode in 1989, legions of viewers tuned in every Friday night for a heady mix of action, music, color, and sex making series stars Philip Michael Thomas and Don Johnson some of the most identified and emulated celebrities in the world.

As time passed, the fickle television audience cooled on the show and it passed to television history, but not before leaving an indelible mark upon pop culture as to this day, the mere mention of the show unleashes a flood of memories and images from fans the world over.

Now close to two decades after the show went off the air, the creative talent behind the show, Michael Mann, has unleashed a cinematic version of his hit series, and it has arrived awash in the trademark neon colors, action, and style that made the series such a hit.

This time out, Oscar winner Jaime Foxx and Colin Farrell are Tubs and Crockett respectively, and they soon find themselves deep undercover posing as drug runners while trying to get to the bottom of a leak inside one of the law enforcement agencies. As troublesome as the leak, is, the fact that leaked information caused the deaths of undercover agents, by suspected white supremacists armed with the latest in high tech weaponry.

The deadly game of cloak and dagger unfolds as Tubbs and Crockett find themselves deep into a major criminal organization, and to add to the tension, Crockett finds himself drawn to an attractive member of the organization (Li Gong), who “belongs” to the head of the criminal plot.

As the plot unfolds, the danger of being discovered as well as becoming lost in the parts they are playing becomes a growing danger for Tubbs and Crockett, as they not only battle to keep their cover, but to stay alive and protect those closest to them.

The film has a plot that is a bit muddled at first, but like the world in which Tubbs and Crockett find themselves, there are not always clearly defines parameters as well as individuals. As simplistic as the basic plot may seem, the varying layers of characters, locales, and motivations keeps Miami Vice, a changing mystery, yet one that is lacking tension and deep drama.

The first hour of the film plods along with plenty of sex and setup, but surprisingly little action. I noted that there were five scenes of sex, and at least two more implied sex scenes before one of the lead characters even fired a weapon, which surprisingly came at 1 Hour and 40 minutes into the film.

While the film may take a while to get to the action, when it does come, it is surprisingly effective without falling victim to the usual Hollywood Traps of numerous gigantic explosions, car chases, stunts, and an abundance of C.G.I.

The violence in the film is also very graphic as there are numerous headshots, as well as splatter moments and gaping exit wounds. Despite this, it does not seem gratuitous but rather realistic as it portrays the brutality of the characters as well as the world in which they live and work.

The surprisingly effective finale confrontation satisfies and like any good director, Mann knows when to pull back, and when to go full out, without letting the action dominate the characters and the story.

Farrell and Foxx do a solid job with their characters without having the luxury of a deep back story. Mann’s script takes the approach that the viewers will know the characters and their history and omits things like Crockett’s ex wife, son, houseboat and pet alligator Elvis.

While this may seem trivial for a film that is over two hours in length, it does provide viewers with a better understanding of the characters and their actions and motivations, which I hope will be fully explored should a second film in the series be made.

That being said, despite the long setup, and a somewhat muddles plot, Miami Vice is a stylish and refreshing film, that should entertain fans of the original show.
  
Halloween (2018)
Halloween (2018)
2018 | Horror
“He’s waited for me; I’ve waited for him”.
A blood-soaked history.
There’s such a familiarity with the content of these films that it’s difficult to put yourself back in 1978 for Jamie Lee Curtis‘s original battle with Michael Myers when the teen-slasher genre was in its infancy. Arguably “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” four years earlier booted the 70’s/80’s genre; but thanks to its huge success John Carpenter’s “Halloween” opened the flood-gates
 or should I say, blood-gates.

The plot.
40 years after the terrifying events of Halloween night in Haddonfield, Illinois, Michael Myers is still mute and incarcerated in a psychiatric unit being studied by Dr Sartain (Haluk Bilginer). He is joined by two investigative journalists – Aaron Korey (Jefferson Hall) and Dana Haines (Basingstoke’s-own Rhian Rees: “Where are your loos?”
 classic!). They are keen to reunite Myers with his nemesis Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to watch the fireworks.

Strode is unfortunately damaged goods: still mentally traumatised and with failed marriages and a child taken into care, she lives in a fortified home in the middle of the woods. But she knows she has a date with destiny. As Halloween 2018 approaches, an ‘incident’ puts Myers on a collision course with Haddonfield’s teenage population all over again.

The turns.
Wow
 you forget what an effective actress Jamie Lee Curtis is and here she absolutely owns every single scene she’s in, bringing enormous energy to the screen as the paranoid but ever-prepared hunter-in-waiting. The original Halloween was Lee Curtis’s movie debut and the film that made her a household name, and it almost feels like this is a passion-project for her to say “thanks for all the fish” for her career. Impressive.

As her eye-rolling daughter, Judy Greer rather pales in comparison (I found her character is a bit whiny and annoying), but the acting stakes pick up again with Andi Matichak as the granddaughter Allyson.

Of the other teens, Virginia Gardner is particularly effective as Vicky: the cute “favourite” babysitter who you can’t help but empathise with.

The review.
It’s very easy to make a very bad slasher movie, but this isn’t such a movie. Although having a wonderfully retro feel (when is the last time you saw “traditional” opening titles like this?) and despite mining every horror clichĂ© known to man (ALWAYS look in the back seat when you get in a car!) it’s all obviously been done with loving care by the director David Gordon Green.

Above all, the director knows that what’s more scary than seeing violent murders is what your imagination can visualise happening off-screen. Don’t get me wrong, there is some SERIOUS gore meted out, with a few ‘cover your eyes’ moments. However, a good proportion of the violence is not shown, and very effective that is too, supported by Carpenter’s classic and insistent theme and some kick-ass foley work to add spice to your imagination!

The script (by the writing team of David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley) also wickedly plays with your darkest fear of where the plot *could* go if it wanted to: in a brilliant piece of misdirection (you’ll know the scene) your “OMG surely not” nerves twang and then un-twang with relief.

The script also works well to help you care about the teens on the menu, in much the same way as “Jaws” did with the tourists to Amity Beach.

Where the plot nearly lost me was in a rather daft twist before the final reel (which actually made more sense of what happened in the first reel, but was still hugely improbable). The ship rights itself fairly quickly (if messily) and normal order is resumed for the finale it deserves.

Final thoughts.
I’m not really a “horror nut” but this was popcorn horror of the best sort and I enjoyed it. Reverential to the original classic, it made for some entertaining reactions in the sparsely populated showing I attended: I imagine if seen in a packed auditorium on a Saturday night (or perhaps tomorrow night!) it would literally be a scream.

One’s thing for sure: when I got into my car in the dark cinema car park, I did take a sneaky look into the back seat!