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Jimmy Ray Davis (0 KP) created a post

Mar 4, 2018  
My official review of...

HELLRAISER: JUDGMENT (2018)

HJ is not a good movie. It is a flimsy slapped together hodgepodge of crazy almost inane visuals and the notion that Pinhead, the Cenobites and the auditor lounge about in a crumbling house luring folks off the street to analyze and then swallow their souls. What the hell happened to Clive Barker's wild, extreme vision of hell and the broad layering of Pinhead and his cohorts? The movie begins almost laughable as a lumbering creep is lured to the house by, get this, a NOTE slipped under his door. What are we in third grade again? Like a moron, he heeds the written summons and winds up at the house. When he disappears in the door, we hear what sounds like him getting jumped and his ass kicked. I almost laughed out loud for real, is this what Pinhead is reduced to? Paul T. Taylor plays the second replacement Pinhead and while he is better than Stephen Smith Collins he pales compared to the original, Doug Bradley. Pinhead has very little screen time and has just as little to do with the film. Throw in a trio of detectives that could have been lifted from the Saw formula of Arrogant guy, smart chick, timid guy and a storyline that seems so brief and abrupt it makes one wonder why it was even made.

HJ is not a bad movie. Sure it strangles Barker's creation and bastardizes everything we love from the early franchise but man oh man is this a visual feast of bizarro over the top crazy Clive Barker goodness. You have the jury made up of three nearly naked women with skinned faces, the cleaners three more naked women who apply their cleaning skills in a very offputting way, The disgusting assessor who pores childrens tears over paper confessionals and devours them only to puke their contents into a pipe system, The Surgeon, a latex masked monstrosity and a hulking baby-masked butcher who seals the deal. While some of the proceedings repulsed, I could not look away and the balsy output was a welcomed if reckless change. Two noteworthy cameos include the 80's scream queen, Heather Langenkamp in a painfully short scene as a sleazy landlord and Horror director John Guluger as the giggling, gnarly assessor. I also loved the twist at the end which turns the series on its ear and begs for another sequel.

All in all there is little to like if you go into this thinking you are getting a film that does justice to Clive Barker but if you go in as I did without expectations that it would be a homage to Pinhead and some kind of really good commentary on the universe of the characters. Go in low and strap yourself in. So bad it's good? Maybe but either way you will watch in morbid fascination, guaranteed!

2.5 of 5 stars
     
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Alien Resurrection (1997)
1997 | Horror, Sci-Fi
Story: Alien: Resurrection starts as we arrive on a US space research facility where General Perez (Hedaya) is working on bringing back the aliens with clones of Ripley (Weaver), the latest number 8 shows incredible strength and development. Waiting for a delivery from Captain Elgyn (Wincott) and his crew Call (Ryder), Vriess (Pinon), Johner (Perlman) Hillard (Flowers) and Christie (Dourdan) a deal is agreed they can spend a couple of days’ rest on the research ship.

After Elgyn’s crew get involved in an altercation with the scientists they must escape but the xenomorphs have escaped onto the ship, joining up with Ripley the crew look for a way off the ship while staying alive.

 

Thoughts on Alien: Resurrection

 

Characters/Performance – Ripley is now a clone and the mother of the xenomorphs being created on the ship, she is stronger than before but becomes the best weapon against the xenomorphs. Call is the newest crew member of the pirates but she is harbouring a secret from the rest of the crew. The rest of the characters are your generic group of fighters, the tough one, the gunslinger, the smart one and the captain nothing original comes from these characters.

Performance wise, this isn’t the best Weaver alien performance but she is also brave enough to take it on with a different approach. Ryder is solid enough through the film. the rest of the cast are also solid with Ron Perlman giving his aggressive dick like performance on the good guys team.

Story – The story might not be the greatest, but it does capture what is needed for an alien movie, we have the military wanting to study the aliens for their own good, this happens every single film, we also have the group of soldiers needing to fight them off, but this film does offer a chance to build the relationship between the xenomorphs and Ripley. The problem for a lot of this story telling it that it isn’t original and isn’t on the same levels as the earlier films.

Action/Horror/Sci-Fi – The action is all mindless like you would expect from big budget style sequel too far down the line, the horror is now nearly all gone from the franchise but the sci-fi angle continues on strongly as we see how the aliens are now finding new ways to breed.

Settings – The whole film is set upon the space facility craft which is good because it keeps everything within the one location which is all we want in these films.

Special Effects – The special effects are good in this film and are one of the extra highlights within the film.

Final Thoughts – The weakest part of the Weaver alien films but still a good enjoyable enough watch.

 

Overall: Enjoyable enough.

https://moviesreview101.com/2017/09/27/alien-resurrection-1997/
  
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Mule (2018) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)  
The Mule (2018)
The Mule (2018)
2018 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Thinking Clint Eastwood is a great actor is sadly not enough to get you through this film.

We open with what honestly reminded me of something you might have seen in Last Of The Summer Wine but with a tinge of melancholy. Those were actual things I wrote down in the screening, it's not often that I can nail my feelings about things like that the instant I see them.

There's some solid acting from some of the support cast. Ignacio Serricchio (amazing in Bones), Robert LaSardo (pops up in lots of different shows and films I watch), Michael Peña
 (aaaaahhhh, why didn't he get more screen time?) and Laurence Fishburne (again, probably didn't get enough screen time) gave their best with the limited moments they had. Bradley Cooper managed to eek out some more lines luckily and I loved the interactions between him and Eastwood.

Eastwood himself played the dawdling old man very well, at this point you have to assume that some of that comes naturally rather than from his acting talent. He managed to get himself a choice role with lots of lovely semi-clad ladies in it that's for sure.

After seeing this I'm wondering if it could have benefited from a shift in focus. The family set up at the beginning was a bit drawn out and could easily have lost a lot of it's run time. Had they moved those minutes over to the police/DEA side and made it more crime than drama I think it might have given it a little injection of pace.

The family angle was the main drag for me, it felt much longer than needed but beyond that the acting was the weakest overall. Coming in right at the bottom was Dianne Wiest. I've been thinking about it trying to work out why I didn't like her part as Mary. Sometimes the characters themselves are unlikeable, sometimes it's a poor script, but I think it was just the way she played it. I can think of a couple of other actresses who in the same part could have struck the right note.

In the end I think there was a lot of potential missed, it felt like it spread itself a little too far into the drama side. Some of the bits are a little crazy but get away with being believable... except when they try to make me believe that an octogenarian can work out how to use a smart phone.

What you should do

I probably would say not to bother, there are a lot of other films out there that have a lot more excitement to them.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I'd like to leave mt keys in the glove compartment of my car and come back to a stash of cash. Alas I think I'd come back to a missing car.
  
American Horror Story - Season 7
American Horror Story - Season 7
2017 | Horror
Season 7 of American Horror Story, subtitled Cult, is a weird one. Instead of focusing on the supernatural, ghosts, witches, haunted houses, Cult is a trip through the delicacy of the human mind. It instead looks at fears, real world issues, and of course, the presence of an all too familiar cult like family.
This makes for some of the best and worst aspects of AHS Cult. The plot leans heavily into politics this time around, originally airing not long Donald Trump was sworn in. I personally like that this season takes this real world event, and explores the horror that some people experienced during this time. Others would argue that it's very on-the-nose, which is somewhat true. Some of the political leanings carry all the subtlety of a stampeding cattle herd, andnat times can feel heavy handed.

Underneath all of the IRL shit that's going on, we also have a plot of intrigue and mystery, as the main character Ally (Sarah Paulson) is being apparently being stalked and pursued by clowns - her worst fear. We are given reason to believe that perhaps Ally is losing her mind, off her meds, upset with the election result, but as the season continues, you find yourself questioning whether she is in fact being gaslighted. Manipulation of what you believe to be true or false is a terrible horror all on its own, and a big reason why I rate this season highly.
The star of Cult for me though was of course Evan Peters. Playing a deranged political candidate called Kai Anderson, it's not long before his extreme right views Garner him a following, and the titular cult is created. To say anymore would be considered spoilers, but rest assured that all of these plot strands weave together by the time the story climaxes.
Evan Peters role in Cult is my favourite performance if his to date. His character is simultaneously charming, terrifying, smart, and unhinged, and he does a fantastic job in bringing him to life.

The plot also touches upon other real world figures, such as Charles Manson. Those parts were pretty interesting, but when the show flashes back and focuses on Valerie Solanis (Lena Dunham), it lost me a bit. I like when AHS includes real life characters, and it's always fun to see how they are interpreted in this kind of media, but it goes a bit overboard with it's hammy stuff (again) at times - the whole Andy Warhol plot was a massive eye roll in my book - and the Solanis stuff is just plain unenjoyable to watch.

This whole side plot really drags down the quality of cult to me, but the strong performances by Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters is enough to keep it in a higher placing for me.

Certainly not my favourite, and certainly not my least, Cult sits somewhere in the middle, and I can only praise the writers for trying something new with the horror element. Good stuff.
  
    Marble Math Junior

    Marble Math Junior

    Education and Games

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    Solve a variety of math problems by collecting numbers as you roll or drag your marble through a...

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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Hawkeye in TV

Dec 23, 2021  
Hawkeye
Hawkeye
2021 | Action, Drama
7
7.6 (9 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Marvel Studios continue their streak of enjoyable mini-series with Hawkeye, a series that was met with a fair amount of indifference upon its announcement, which is understandable. On the surface , Clint Barton isn't the most exciting Avenger to build a series around, but Hawkeye surprises with a team of decent writers, and a story adapted from Matt Fraction and David Aja's acclaimed comic book run.
Most of Barton's specific plot beats revolve around his family, and his loss of hearing. The human elements ensure that he remains a relatable, street level character. The "Hawkeye" that this series is really about of course is MCU newcomer Kate Bishop, a fan favourite comic character who is portrayed wonderfully by Hailee Steinfeld. The series is essentially her origin story, and I for one can't wait to see her in future projects. The chemistry between Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner is great, and provides a huge amount of heart to the overall story.
Florence Pugh has a welcome return as Yelena, and her involvement ensures that Hawkeye is as much of a tribute to Black Widow as anything else, and serves some much needed closure for her concluded story arc that has been frustratingly absent since the events of Avengers: Endgame.
Elsewhere, the likes of Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton, and Alaqua Cox make up a strong supporting cast, and sets up an upcoming series for Echo, a deeper cut from the Marvel vaults, but one that I'm intrigued to see develop.
And then of course, there's motherfucking Kingpin. Arguably the most popular character from the Netflix shows, the decision to bring Vincent Donofrio back as Wilson Fisk is a smart one. His presence in the MCU is incredibly exciting to me, and Donofrio does and excellent job once again, at filling the boots of one of Marvel's most intimidating villains. Welcome back sir.
There are plenty of exciting action set pieces sprinkled throughout (a car chase involving various trick arrows is a particular highlight) and the decision to keep Hawkeye firmly street level in its execution is a wise one. It allows New York City to feel like a character in it's own right, and the Christmas setting adds to that. It does feel like a proper holiday watch at times, and this is probably why the show feels so goofy on more than one occasion. I know that the MCU likes to keep the mood light for the most part, and is often found guilty of undercutting serious or epic moments with jokes. Hawkeye occasionally goes overboard with these moments, especially in the finale. It's not enough to derail what is an incredibly entertaining series, but it's a little frustrating.

Overall though, Hawkeye is another decent and fleshed out mini series in this sprawling franchise. The extra runtime of a season has ensured that all of the MCU shows this year have been high quality and worth watching. I just hope it's not too long until we get a Kate Bishop/Yelena reunion!