Search

Search only in certain items:

Slither (2006)
Slither (2006)
2006 | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Cheesy gruesome goodness (1 more)
Practical effects
Before writer/director James Gunn made us familiar with Star Lord and Rocket, he wrote and directed this fantastic creepy gory thriller starring Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker.

The film starts out with a similar first act to The Blob, then quickly goes its own way. Slowly, little, juicy caterpillar creatures make their way through the small town and infect the inhabitants while the main creature infects another group of townspeople.


You have to like B movie quality cheese and gore to enjoy this movie, but I thought it was a lot of fun. The actors definitely do not take it too seriously, but you find yourself squirming in your seat once all hell has broken loose.


I return to the film often when I need to lighten my mood.


  
40x40

David McK (3180 KP) rated Uncharted (2022) in Movies

Mar 6, 2022 (Updated Jan 1, 2024)  
Uncharted (2022)
Uncharted (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure
Where's Elena?
So, Uncharted.

Naughty Dogs Playstation exclusives, which are some of the most cinematic games I've ever played, following middle-aged adventurer Nathan Drake, his partner-in-crime and magnificently moustached Victor 'Sully' Sullivan and love interest Elena (with fan favourite Chloe Frazer appearing in the alter entries, and getting her own spin off game).

Yes, I did say middle aged.

So, for my money, Tom Holland is simply too young for the role.

However, I can understand why he was 'aged down' in order to appeal to the younger audience, or to those who have never played the games (although Nathan Fillion did a brilliant fan film a load of years ago, getting the character down to a 'T'). it's also the case that films-based-on-games don't have that great a reputation: very few, if any, ever hold up to their source material.

I'm happy to say that, while this one doesn't *quite* match up, it also falls much less shorter than most adaptations do.

Yes, there are elements lifted almost wholesale from the game: the opening cargo plane shoot-out springs to mind, as does the ships buried in a cave, but Holland does manage to bring a fair amount of banter and swagger to the role, especially in his interactions with Chloe Frazer.

I'm sure there'll be sequels: if so, maybe he will grow into the role more; become more the Nathan Drake players of the games know and love? Only time will tell ...
  
Super (2011)
Super (2011)
2011 | Action, Comedy, Drama
9
6.5 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
When I first heard about Super, written and directed by James Gunn, my first thought was “Dwight (from The Office) will be a superhero?” However what I saw on the screen was anything but Dwight, it was 75% awesome and 25% “I can’t believe they did that!”

The film begins with Frank (excellently played by Rainn Wilson) happily married to Sarah (Liv Tyler) who is a recovering drug addict. The happiness is shattered when Sarah begins using again, thanks to Jacques the drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) and then one day she disappears. Frank searches for Sarah and eventually finds her under the control of Jacques. Unable to get her away from Jacques, Frank goes to the police for help. Unfortunately because Sarah left on her own accord, no law has been broken (except for the drug stuff) so they are unable to help him.

Frank tries to move on, but without Sarah life seems meaningless. Then in his darkest hour he has a vision of The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion). Heeding the vision, Frank becomes The Crimson Bolt, pledges to fight crime and to save Sarah. There is just one small problem – Frank has no idea how to be a superhero. Research is needed, so off to the comic book store he goes, of course, and there he meets Libby (Ellen Page). Libby advises him which comics to read that have superheroes who do not have powers. Armed with this knowledge, The Crimson Bolt officially begins fighting crime in the most unusual of ways and not too long after, Libby becomes Boltie, his trusted, sexy sidekick.

This very entertaining, action-filled, dark comedy has more twists and turns than a game of Chutes and Ladders, and it will keep you glued to the screen until the end. Will they save the city from villainy? Will they save Sarah’s bacon? (Sorry, with Kevin Bacon playing the bad guy I couldn’t resist.)

Super has a different take on the superhero genre than what I’ve seen in past movies. Only Rainn Wilson could have properly portrayed the uniqueness that is Frank/Crimson Bolt and the same goes for Ellen Page in regards to Libby/Boltie (possibly the best sidekick ever). To make a long review short, let me sum up this way, everyone in the movie no matter the length of their part did an amazing job in their role. With that said, my only wish was that the story would have allowed for more screen time for Gregg Henry (Detective John Felkner) and a musical number for Fillion’s Holy Avenger. if you liked Fillion as Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, then you’ll love him in this role. But those things would have most likely thrown off the perfect balance of action, humor and character interaction that made this movie so enjoyable.
  
The Suicide Squad (2021)
The Suicide Squad (2021)
2021 | Action, Comedy, Crime
James Gunn returns with the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad. This time, the nefarious company woman Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), returns to Belle Reve to recruit the next iteration of Task Force X. Initially, we are introduced to the new recruits: Savant (Michael Rooker), Blackguard (Pete Davidson), Javelin (Flula Borg), Mongal (Mayling Ng), T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion) and The Weasel (Sean Gunn). We meet our favorites from the first film: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). They have signed on to be dropped into a small island nation, Corto Maltese.

This country, just taken over by a military coup has a lab with a 30-year secret weapon. Ms. Waller offers them years off each team member’s sentence to “Save the World”. Or, in this case, infiltrate Corto Maltese to find and destroy the project. Our hapless but highly skilled group lands and takes on heavy fire.

Meanwhile, we have Team B led by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), King Shark (The physical, John Economos with the voice of Sylvester Stallone). As the separate teams go forth and bond in violence, we find out more about their personal childhood traumas that made them the criminals they have become.

This sequel has James Gunn’s DNA all over the film. He raised the bar from the first film by providing bright, visual treats. The action is violent in a cartoonish manner that buffers the impact when one looks at the many ways one can dispatch a human. The story goes from sarcasm, dry wit, demented clown to the stooges’ physical hilarity. As we watch the Squad fight their way across the island, there are points where these characters are skilled killers despite the humor in their murderous madness.

I was laughing throughout the film, it certainly felt like a panacea for these challenging times. Pay attention, there are little moments of snappy comebacks that feel like they’re from old-school Mad Magazine. The pace runs steadily which helps the dissonance become more impactful. The Suicide Squad was not boring, it was very entertaining and such a campy ride. FYI: there are TWO after-credit scenes.

The Soundtrack is so very good from the first shot, to the after credit, shotsThis Summer Blockbuster certainly delivers the entertainment.

4.75 out of 5 Stars