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David McK (3236 KP) rated Blades of Glory (2007) in Movies
Apr 10, 2023
I've always found Will Ferrell to be a bit hit and miss: sometimes he is funny and has some good movies (Elf or The Lego movie belonging near the top); others are cringe-worthy bad (Step Brothers).
This one falls in the middle somewhere, with Ferrell starring as one half of the main duo Michaels and MacElroy (Jon Heder), two former Olympic figure-skating champions who have been stripped of their medals and banned from their sport after a public dust-up on the podium, but who have now discovered a loophole that will allow them to compete again as a pair (and as the first all-male pairing in the sport).
It's as ridiculous as it sounds.
Best bit? Probably the slow-speed chase near the end that shows why skates should only be worn on the ice!
This one falls in the middle somewhere, with Ferrell starring as one half of the main duo Michaels and MacElroy (Jon Heder), two former Olympic figure-skating champions who have been stripped of their medals and banned from their sport after a public dust-up on the podium, but who have now discovered a loophole that will allow them to compete again as a pair (and as the first all-male pairing in the sport).
It's as ridiculous as it sounds.
Best bit? Probably the slow-speed chase near the end that shows why skates should only be worn on the ice!
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated 211 (2018) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
Mike Chandler (Cage) is a life-long veteran police officer ready to finally enjoy his retirement and a well-deserved pension. With his partner and son-in-law, rookie Steve at his side, and Kenny, a 15-year-old court-appointed ride-along (that he certainly won’t forget) reluctantly in tow, they set out on a routine patrol of the city’s streets, only to come up against an explosive situation.
OK, so the first thing you have to remember with this new action movie with Nicolas Cage is it’s a DTV (Direct To Video) movie, so don’t be expecting the big-budget production of the Hollywood movies, the movie is a bit of a slow starter and it’s not really until you get to around the first 30 minutes or so that things really start to happen.
OK, so the first thing you have to remember with this new action movie with Nicolas Cage is it’s a DTV (Direct To Video) movie, so don’t be expecting the big-budget production of the Hollywood movies, the movie is a bit of a slow starter and it’s not really until you get to around the first 30 minutes or so that things really start to happen.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated A Christmas Story (1983) in Movies
Dec 4, 2018
Timeless!
A friend recently reminded me in 1983 when this film was released it only managed to make just over $19 million at the US box office. Movies that beat it in 1983 included High Road to China, Class, My Tutor and Two of a Kind. Ever heard of any of those? Didn't think so.
So how, 35 years later, does this film still endure so much it is played on a 24 hour loop and several US TV stations the few days leading up to Christmas?
Plenty to love. Relateable, enduring characters. Is Santa real? Cute and fun. Not politically correct. Lots of memorable scenes and unforgettable moments.
I would say there is a very short list of holiday films I try and make time for annually, but this is definitely one of them!
So how, 35 years later, does this film still endure so much it is played on a 24 hour loop and several US TV stations the few days leading up to Christmas?
Plenty to love. Relateable, enduring characters. Is Santa real? Cute and fun. Not politically correct. Lots of memorable scenes and unforgettable moments.
I would say there is a very short list of holiday films I try and make time for annually, but this is definitely one of them!
David McK (3236 KP) rated Eternals (2021) in Movies
Jan 30, 2022
I've lost track of how many Marvel movies there are - we must be into our 20s at least by now!
And, unfortunately, I found this one of the weakest so far, despite the 'star power' that it includes in its cast (most woefully the massively underused Salma Hayek or Angelina Jolie), with its large cast of central character - 10, I think - all on the earth since millennia BC, all un-aging (and the inspiration for our myths and legends) and all massively bored.
Which, unfortunately, is how I felt for large parts of the movie - it actually took me several attempts to make it the whole way through (watched in Disney+).
I've heard it works better the second time around, once you know a few key plot points and details, but I'm not in any hurry for a rewatch,
And, unfortunately, I found this one of the weakest so far, despite the 'star power' that it includes in its cast (most woefully the massively underused Salma Hayek or Angelina Jolie), with its large cast of central character - 10, I think - all on the earth since millennia BC, all un-aging (and the inspiration for our myths and legends) and all massively bored.
Which, unfortunately, is how I felt for large parts of the movie - it actually took me several attempts to make it the whole way through (watched in Disney+).
I've heard it works better the second time around, once you know a few key plot points and details, but I'm not in any hurry for a rewatch,
Kevin Phillipson (9970 KP) rated Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) in Movies
Feb 23, 2023
Paul rudd (1 more)
Jonathan majors
Watched today first superhero movie of the year as a fan of the first two antman with the second one being my favourite of the two okay on the film I liked the film not as much as the second the visuals are good some decent set pieces could have done with more bill Murray which was a shame but for me the standout in the movie who steals the movie from Paul rudd is Jonathan majors as kang the conqueror who been plaguing the avengers for 60 years in the comics in one way or another and now hes part of mcu and gonna cause more trouble in future movies and next will be seen in creed 3 which should be interesting overall best superhero movie of yhe year so far
David McK (3236 KP) rated Blade II (2002) in Movies
Sep 25, 2023
We're still a good 6 years or so before the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) here.
Before Comic book movies became the big thing they are nowadays.
Wesley Snipes returns, here, as the titular half-human/half-vampire ("all of their strengths. None of their weaknesses. Except the thirst") waging his ongoing war on the vampire nation, but now finding himself having to 'team up' with some from that nation - who had been training to hunt him - in order to fight a new breed of vampire, the Reapers (whose mouth looks like something out of Predator), who feed on both Vampires and Humans alike and who are led by that-bloke-from-Bros.
This is both more comic-booky (to coin a phrase) than the original, whilst also a bit more of a horror film - those Reapers are nasty!
Before Comic book movies became the big thing they are nowadays.
Wesley Snipes returns, here, as the titular half-human/half-vampire ("all of their strengths. None of their weaknesses. Except the thirst") waging his ongoing war on the vampire nation, but now finding himself having to 'team up' with some from that nation - who had been training to hunt him - in order to fight a new breed of vampire, the Reapers (whose mouth looks like something out of Predator), who feed on both Vampires and Humans alike and who are led by that-bloke-from-Bros.
This is both more comic-booky (to coin a phrase) than the original, whilst also a bit more of a horror film - those Reapers are nasty!
David McK (3236 KP) rated Tomb Raider (2018) in Movies
Jul 21, 2019 (Updated Mar 27, 2022)
Reboot movie based on rebooted series!
Bog-standard movie based on a video-game itself (largely) taking inspiration from a series of movies - Indiana Jane, anyone? - with the more recent entries in that game series seeming to take inspiration from the 'Uncharted' series of games (which is ironic, as they took inspiration from the earlier Tomb Raider games!)
In this one, Alicia Vikander takes over the role of a - very different than previous - Lara Croft, a younger version of the character who has not yet become the eponymous Tomb Raider we are all familiar with (and on which Angelina Jolie based her portrayal). If anyone has played the 2013(ish) Tomb Raider game, there's really no surprises here, with elements of the plot - and, indeed, some of the more memorable scenes - almost lifted wholesale from that game.
In this one, Alicia Vikander takes over the role of a - very different than previous - Lara Croft, a younger version of the character who has not yet become the eponymous Tomb Raider we are all familiar with (and on which Angelina Jolie based her portrayal). If anyone has played the 2013(ish) Tomb Raider game, there's really no surprises here, with elements of the plot - and, indeed, some of the more memorable scenes - almost lifted wholesale from that game.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Annabelle Comes Home (2019) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
Enjoyable, not as good as Annabelle Creation
Annabelle Comes Home is the third standalone movie for the creepy looking doll since her introduction during the original Conjuring movie. It's also the seventh feature movie from the ever expanding 'Conjuring Universe', a series of movies that have seen wildly varying degrees of quality and success thus far. I tend to start my reviews for this series of movies by declaring my love for the first Conjuring, before wishing that the latest release I'm reviewing might actually match that. But so far the only other movie in the series to come anywhere close to doing that for me was the last Annabelle movie - Annabelle Creation. So, I had very high hopes for this next Annabelle installment.
After venturing into the past with the previous Annabelle movies, Annabelle Comes Home begins by expanding on the events of The Conjuring. The Warrens take the Annabelle doll into their care in order to keep it safe in their home, under lock and key in their famous artefact room. The car journey home is an eventful one though and it is a real joy to be back in the company of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and their portrayal of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Their characters, and their performances, have been the most enjoyable aspect of these movies for me and this opening chapter with them gets things off to a great start. With Annabelle in the artefact room, blessed by the local priest and contained in a cabinet made out of chapel glass, the evil is contained. And Annabelle is now home.
From there we shift forward a year, where the focus of the movie turns to the Warren's 10 year old daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace). Her parents occupation and reputation is clearly having an effect on her life, with other children at school poking fun at her and refusing to come to her birthday party at the creepy Warren house. That uncomfortable, uneasy feeling of having a room in your house where unspeakable evil is being contained probably doesn't help things either! When her parents have to go away one night, friendly babysitter Mary Ellen comes over to take care of Judy, stepping in to the role of much needed friend. Mary Ellen's friend Daniela arrives to join them a little bit later, uninvited and proving to be a little less straight-laced than Mary Ellen is.
Daniela is currently grieving from the recent loss of her father and is suffering with strong feelings of guilt surrounding the circumstances of his death. She is clearly fascinated and intrigued by the work of the Warrens, so while Mary Ellen and Judy are outside rollerskating, she wastes no time in hunting down the keys to the artefact room so that she can take a poke around inside. As Daniela slowly and carefully examines the room and its many contents for us, it's clear that we're getting a pretty good introduction to the variety of horrors set to be unleashed on the girls in some form later on in the movie. It's a slow buildup though, and on top of the babysitter buildup we've had so far, it's probably a good 45 minutes into the movie before anything substantial happens. I read my review of Annabelle Creation before seeing this movie, and I'd noted that following a similar pattern, with very good results, so I wasn't overly concerned by all of that if the payoff was worth it.
The thing is though, when things do start going a little crazy, the results aren't entirely successful. To be fair, there are some genuinely creepy and very well executed scares. But there are also plenty that don't work so well too. Some new spirits are introduced too, no doubt destined to have their own spin-off movie at some point - 'The Ferryman', who guides souls into the afterlife and requires payment of two coins placed on the eyes of the dead, and the 'Hellhound of Essex'. One of those works considerably well, the other just being distracting and silly.
Despite it's slow-burn start, and it's generic baby-sitter horror setting, I definitely enjoyed Annabelle Comes Home. It's certainly not as good as either of The Conjuring movies, or Annabelle Creation, but it's definitely much better than The Nun or The Curse of La Llorona.
After venturing into the past with the previous Annabelle movies, Annabelle Comes Home begins by expanding on the events of The Conjuring. The Warrens take the Annabelle doll into their care in order to keep it safe in their home, under lock and key in their famous artefact room. The car journey home is an eventful one though and it is a real joy to be back in the company of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and their portrayal of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Their characters, and their performances, have been the most enjoyable aspect of these movies for me and this opening chapter with them gets things off to a great start. With Annabelle in the artefact room, blessed by the local priest and contained in a cabinet made out of chapel glass, the evil is contained. And Annabelle is now home.
From there we shift forward a year, where the focus of the movie turns to the Warren's 10 year old daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace). Her parents occupation and reputation is clearly having an effect on her life, with other children at school poking fun at her and refusing to come to her birthday party at the creepy Warren house. That uncomfortable, uneasy feeling of having a room in your house where unspeakable evil is being contained probably doesn't help things either! When her parents have to go away one night, friendly babysitter Mary Ellen comes over to take care of Judy, stepping in to the role of much needed friend. Mary Ellen's friend Daniela arrives to join them a little bit later, uninvited and proving to be a little less straight-laced than Mary Ellen is.
Daniela is currently grieving from the recent loss of her father and is suffering with strong feelings of guilt surrounding the circumstances of his death. She is clearly fascinated and intrigued by the work of the Warrens, so while Mary Ellen and Judy are outside rollerskating, she wastes no time in hunting down the keys to the artefact room so that she can take a poke around inside. As Daniela slowly and carefully examines the room and its many contents for us, it's clear that we're getting a pretty good introduction to the variety of horrors set to be unleashed on the girls in some form later on in the movie. It's a slow buildup though, and on top of the babysitter buildup we've had so far, it's probably a good 45 minutes into the movie before anything substantial happens. I read my review of Annabelle Creation before seeing this movie, and I'd noted that following a similar pattern, with very good results, so I wasn't overly concerned by all of that if the payoff was worth it.
The thing is though, when things do start going a little crazy, the results aren't entirely successful. To be fair, there are some genuinely creepy and very well executed scares. But there are also plenty that don't work so well too. Some new spirits are introduced too, no doubt destined to have their own spin-off movie at some point - 'The Ferryman', who guides souls into the afterlife and requires payment of two coins placed on the eyes of the dead, and the 'Hellhound of Essex'. One of those works considerably well, the other just being distracting and silly.
Despite it's slow-burn start, and it's generic baby-sitter horror setting, I definitely enjoyed Annabelle Comes Home. It's certainly not as good as either of The Conjuring movies, or Annabelle Creation, but it's definitely much better than The Nun or The Curse of La Llorona.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) in Movies
Apr 8, 2019
What a Blast
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back for this fifth installment where he gathers a team to stop an international terrorist group called The Syndicate.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
The Mission: Impossible franchise has a way of hopping from one locale quickly to the next and Rogue Nation is no exception. Every location brings them to a different point in the journey, a means to an end, which makes things fun to follow. There’s always something happening that manages to up the visual ante from one scene to the next. My personal favorite was a crazy car chase through a crowded city. Director Christopher McQuarrie really manages to capture the intensity of this moment as cars and motorcycles weave in and out of tight spaces. This is just one of many heartpacing sequences that are visually stunning.
Conflict: 8
While the movie doesn’t skimp on the action, Rogue Nation isn’t quite as intense as other movies in the franchise. Not to say that this movie will put you to sleep by any means as there is plenty to keep the viewer occupied. One scene (actually the scene right before the car chase I love) involves Ethan having to capture data from an underwater security system. I could take a stab at describing it, but I couldn’t do it justice. It’s intense and fun to watch at the same time. I remember watching it for the first time in theaters and screaming out loud at the movie screen as Ethan found himself racing against times. It’s action sequences like that that make me wonder why more people don’t love movies.
Genre: 7
Pretty damn good…but I’ve seen better, particularly in the franchise itself. It falls just a couple notches shy of being great. Despite falling just shy of a classic, it manages to hold its own and gives me a good time with every watch.
Memorability: 10
Car chases. Underwater security fields. Tom Cruise suspended in mid-air hanging on to the side of an aircraft. And, most importantly, Tom Cruise running. This is a movie that reminds you why it’s fun to go to the theater. Rather than beat you over the head with deep messages, it hits you with high-intensity action that inspires a rewatch.
Pace: 9
Plot: 8
Resolution: 7
Overall: 89
I won’t lie to you, I hope they make a million of these movies because it never seems to get old. Since the second film (which was a pure nightmare), the franchise not only bounced back, but continues to improve and stay fresh. Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation is just a flat-out good time.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
The Mission: Impossible franchise has a way of hopping from one locale quickly to the next and Rogue Nation is no exception. Every location brings them to a different point in the journey, a means to an end, which makes things fun to follow. There’s always something happening that manages to up the visual ante from one scene to the next. My personal favorite was a crazy car chase through a crowded city. Director Christopher McQuarrie really manages to capture the intensity of this moment as cars and motorcycles weave in and out of tight spaces. This is just one of many heartpacing sequences that are visually stunning.
Conflict: 8
While the movie doesn’t skimp on the action, Rogue Nation isn’t quite as intense as other movies in the franchise. Not to say that this movie will put you to sleep by any means as there is plenty to keep the viewer occupied. One scene (actually the scene right before the car chase I love) involves Ethan having to capture data from an underwater security system. I could take a stab at describing it, but I couldn’t do it justice. It’s intense and fun to watch at the same time. I remember watching it for the first time in theaters and screaming out loud at the movie screen as Ethan found himself racing against times. It’s action sequences like that that make me wonder why more people don’t love movies.
Genre: 7
Pretty damn good…but I’ve seen better, particularly in the franchise itself. It falls just a couple notches shy of being great. Despite falling just shy of a classic, it manages to hold its own and gives me a good time with every watch.
Memorability: 10
Car chases. Underwater security fields. Tom Cruise suspended in mid-air hanging on to the side of an aircraft. And, most importantly, Tom Cruise running. This is a movie that reminds you why it’s fun to go to the theater. Rather than beat you over the head with deep messages, it hits you with high-intensity action that inspires a rewatch.
Pace: 9
Plot: 8
Resolution: 7
Overall: 89
I won’t lie to you, I hope they make a million of these movies because it never seems to get old. Since the second film (which was a pure nightmare), the franchise not only bounced back, but continues to improve and stay fresh. Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation is just a flat-out good time.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Predator (2018) in Movies
Sep 27, 2018 (Updated Oct 5, 2018)
The Ultimate Hunter Becomes Hunted Trope
After letting my girlfriend drag me to see A Simple Favor at the weekend, it was my turn to drag her to see something and to be honest, I think that she enjoyed this thing more than I did. This is a film that you can look at a couple of ways. You can either look at it and take none of it seriously, in which case this is a fairly fun, if extremely dumb action sci-fi romp, or you can take a bit more seriously, which I think the moviemakers want you to, in which case it is messy and unbearably cringey at times.
The main problem here is that I am not sure how the director wants us to take this film because the tone is all over the place, with some characters playing it totally straight and some just having a laugh with the ridiculously cheesy material they have been given to work with. The cast are okay, but it is as if they are all working on different movies. Boyd Holbrook, Alfie Allen and Olivia Munn are taking the whole thing pretty seriously and playing it straight while everyone else around them plays it comically and the clash of tones never really sits well throughout the movie. I am a long time Predator fan, I love the original and I think that Predators is a solid sequel too, (let's not mention Predator 2,) I am also a fan of Shane Black. I love the Lethal Weapon movies, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, so I should have loved this movie, yet it just didn't work as well as it sounds on paper.
The VFX in the film was okay at times, but at others the CGI, especially on The Predator himself, felt light and floaty and weightless, which is kinda the opposite of how the Predator is supposed to look as he moves about onscreen.
The whole 'hunter becomes the hunted,' trope actually serves as an appropriate metaphor for what this series has become. The once king of action sci fi (Predator) is now on the back foot and being outdone by a bigger, stronger competitor, (Avengers,) and by comparison, the OG hunter can't stand up to it's superior successor.
Overall, it's not the best Predator movie by a long shot, but it's definitely not the worst either. There are some laughs and some cool kills sprinkled through the film, but there are better action films that have dropped this year and there are better sci fi movies out there too that are more worthy of your time.
The main problem here is that I am not sure how the director wants us to take this film because the tone is all over the place, with some characters playing it totally straight and some just having a laugh with the ridiculously cheesy material they have been given to work with. The cast are okay, but it is as if they are all working on different movies. Boyd Holbrook, Alfie Allen and Olivia Munn are taking the whole thing pretty seriously and playing it straight while everyone else around them plays it comically and the clash of tones never really sits well throughout the movie. I am a long time Predator fan, I love the original and I think that Predators is a solid sequel too, (let's not mention Predator 2,) I am also a fan of Shane Black. I love the Lethal Weapon movies, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, so I should have loved this movie, yet it just didn't work as well as it sounds on paper.
The VFX in the film was okay at times, but at others the CGI, especially on The Predator himself, felt light and floaty and weightless, which is kinda the opposite of how the Predator is supposed to look as he moves about onscreen.
The whole 'hunter becomes the hunted,' trope actually serves as an appropriate metaphor for what this series has become. The once king of action sci fi (Predator) is now on the back foot and being outdone by a bigger, stronger competitor, (Avengers,) and by comparison, the OG hunter can't stand up to it's superior successor.
Overall, it's not the best Predator movie by a long shot, but it's definitely not the worst either. There are some laughs and some cool kills sprinkled through the film, but there are better action films that have dropped this year and there are better sci fi movies out there too that are more worthy of your time.