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Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated A.M.I. (2019) in Movies
Dec 10, 2019
Wow
368. A.M.I. Around the same time Countdown popped into theaters, a movie about a cell phone app that tells you when you die, this movie popped onto Netflix. I'll have to eventually get to the other one to see how bad that one is but this one here, epic. Of the, so bad, it's good genre. Centers around a high schooler named Cassie, her vapid friends, and her douche bag boyfriend Liam. We are introduced to Liam being drilled by the football coach, he needs extra training time after regular practice because, he's the kicker. Oh my. Anyways, a few years ago Cassie's mom was killed in a car accident, Cassie was driving. Since then, Cassie hasn't been too stable. And when her friend starts talking about a creepy app called A.M.I., in which you become best friends with artificial intelligence, coincidentally enough, Cassie finds a cell phone in a park while jogging, takes it immediately to the lost and found, oh wait, no she doesn't. Cassie takes the phone home and tries this A.M.I. app out herself, and why not, because it seems to be already installed, up and running just waiting for Cassie to personalize it, to sound just like, her dead mom. The A.I. then does what it can to be the perfect mother, and to totally disapprove of her friends, especially Liam. So much so, that Cassie may have to take them out with an ax. Complete with a perfect ending that just feels right. Oh yea, must see!!
Code Halos: How the Digital Lives of People, Things, and Organizations are Changing the Rules of Business
Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig and Ben Pring
Book
Harness "Code Halos" to gain competitive advantage in the digital era Amazon beating Borders,...
From Big Data to Big Profits: Success with Data and Analytics
Book
Vast holdings and assessment of consumer data by large companies are not new phenomena. Firms'...
Radical Business Model Transformation: Gaining the Competitive Edge in a Disruptive World
Carsten Linz, Gunter Muller-Stewens and Alexander Zimmermann
Book
Many companies are relying on a business model that is fundamentally suited to a different era. Now,...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Mr. Vampire (1985) in Movies
Jul 24, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
When a 20 year old corpse is exhumed for a re burial Master Gau and his two students find that the body hasn't rotted. When the corpse re animates as a vampire the trio have to protect the vampires family and find a way to stop the monster.
Mr vampire is a Chinese horror/comedy and a breakthrough 'Jiangshi' (Rotting Copse) movie due it's mixing of slapstick comedy, kung-fu, Chinese folklore and western vampire myth and has a number of sequels.
The humour is very slapstick, with people getting hit with furniture or getting their head stuck in prison cell bars and the horror level is quite low and most of the effects are quite cheesy.
The Kung-Fu aspect makes the fight scenes entertaining and both the vampire and the ghost have to be dealt with slightly differently..
The image of the living corpse, be it vampire or zombie, being controlled by a yellow paper talisman stuck to it's head is though to have come from Mr Vampire and has been used in many subsequent Jiangshi film as well as many other shows, including the recent Netflix show 'Kingdom' where we see a scene of villagers selling the talismans when the zombies are threatening their village.
Mr Vampire manages to pull off Horror comedy in a way that is watchable by almost anyone. The film has a 15 (UK) rating and does contain vampires and ghosts but neither are overly frighting, partly due to the effects of the time.
Mr vampire is a Chinese horror/comedy and a breakthrough 'Jiangshi' (Rotting Copse) movie due it's mixing of slapstick comedy, kung-fu, Chinese folklore and western vampire myth and has a number of sequels.
The humour is very slapstick, with people getting hit with furniture or getting their head stuck in prison cell bars and the horror level is quite low and most of the effects are quite cheesy.
The Kung-Fu aspect makes the fight scenes entertaining and both the vampire and the ghost have to be dealt with slightly differently..
The image of the living corpse, be it vampire or zombie, being controlled by a yellow paper talisman stuck to it's head is though to have come from Mr Vampire and has been used in many subsequent Jiangshi film as well as many other shows, including the recent Netflix show 'Kingdom' where we see a scene of villagers selling the talismans when the zombies are threatening their village.
Mr Vampire manages to pull off Horror comedy in a way that is watchable by almost anyone. The film has a 15 (UK) rating and does contain vampires and ghosts but neither are overly frighting, partly due to the effects of the time.
David McK (3721 KP) rated Extraction (2020) in Movies
Jul 25, 2020
Brutal and bloody Netflix actioner starring a post-Avengers Chris Hemsworth, that harkens back to the heyday of just these type of 80's action man movies i.e. little in the way of plot, relying instead on the charisma of its leading man, and on the action scenes.
And that's a good thing (sometimes you just want junk food, or the cinematic equivalent thereof).
In this, Hemsworth plays a black marker mercenary named Tyler Rake (and with a name like that, you *know* there's going to be at least one scene where he uses said implement to dispose of some goons), who is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned Bangladeshian international crime lord, with said son held in a city run by a rival of that crime lord.
He easily rescues the son, but then things take a turn for the complicated when they are betrayed, and he must escort that kid out of the city whilst being hunted by both those who wish to recapture Ovi (the teenage kid), and by those who don't want to pay him for the rescue ...
As I said earlier, little in the way of plot - a straight 'get the package from point A to point B - but that is made up for in some stunning (and bruising) action scenes: in particular, the one seemingly-long-take as Tyler and Ovi are hunted through an apartment bloke, across the rooftops, and out on the streets.
Ambiguous ending also leaves it open for a sequel!
And that's a good thing (sometimes you just want junk food, or the cinematic equivalent thereof).
In this, Hemsworth plays a black marker mercenary named Tyler Rake (and with a name like that, you *know* there's going to be at least one scene where he uses said implement to dispose of some goons), who is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned Bangladeshian international crime lord, with said son held in a city run by a rival of that crime lord.
He easily rescues the son, but then things take a turn for the complicated when they are betrayed, and he must escort that kid out of the city whilst being hunted by both those who wish to recapture Ovi (the teenage kid), and by those who don't want to pay him for the rescue ...
As I said earlier, little in the way of plot - a straight 'get the package from point A to point B - but that is made up for in some stunning (and bruising) action scenes: in particular, the one seemingly-long-take as Tyler and Ovi are hunted through an apartment bloke, across the rooftops, and out on the streets.
Ambiguous ending also leaves it open for a sequel!
Ari Aster recommended Songs From The Second Floor (2000) in Movies (curated)
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021) in Movies
Jul 3, 2021
From it's very Scream-esque cold open, to it's Intruder style finale, Fear Street: 1994 is an unabashed love letter to the slasher genre that benefits from a cast of likable characters, and doesn't shy away from the gory stuff.
The group of friends that the narrative revolves around share some decent chemistry. The vibe that surrounds them isn't to dissimilar to the characters in Scary Stories or even Stranger Things. They're written to be rooted for, which makes all the more impact when the final third comes knocking and the body count piles up. The various killers on the loose are clearly inspired by other slasher icons, but the multiple-killer aspect makes them interesting enough, even if it's just surface level, and the overarching narrative to do with witchcraft is intriguing.
Unfortunately, the pacing is a bit off. 1994 really takes it's time to get to where it wants to be, and the first half drags in places. It also falls into the Suicide Squad trap of spaffing out well known songs, one after another, without any reprieve. One of my absolute pet peeves in modern movies by the way, but thankfully, this doesn't last for the whole runtime.
Overall, 1994 is a fun, if flawed horror ride, with some solid gore to boot, that will surely offer something for any slasher fans out there. Genuinely looking forward to the next two installments over the coming weeks, and it's always a bonus when horror in general gets a big push from the likes of Netflix.
The group of friends that the narrative revolves around share some decent chemistry. The vibe that surrounds them isn't to dissimilar to the characters in Scary Stories or even Stranger Things. They're written to be rooted for, which makes all the more impact when the final third comes knocking and the body count piles up. The various killers on the loose are clearly inspired by other slasher icons, but the multiple-killer aspect makes them interesting enough, even if it's just surface level, and the overarching narrative to do with witchcraft is intriguing.
Unfortunately, the pacing is a bit off. 1994 really takes it's time to get to where it wants to be, and the first half drags in places. It also falls into the Suicide Squad trap of spaffing out well known songs, one after another, without any reprieve. One of my absolute pet peeves in modern movies by the way, but thankfully, this doesn't last for the whole runtime.
Overall, 1994 is a fun, if flawed horror ride, with some solid gore to boot, that will surely offer something for any slasher fans out there. Genuinely looking forward to the next two installments over the coming weeks, and it's always a bonus when horror in general gets a big push from the likes of Netflix.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Old Guard (2020) in Movies
Jul 26, 2020
Decent entertainment
I never hold out much hope for Netflix original films, however I was pleasantly surprised with this as it managed to hold my attention throughout with a decent amount of entertainment.
The star of this film is undoubtedly Charlize Theron. There no one better to call when you want a kick ass female lead, and she plays this role to perfection in the same way she did Atomic Blonde. She is without a doubt the best thing about this film. However the rest of the cast are decent - it’s been a while since I’ve seen Matthias Schoenaerts in anything and Chiwetel Ejiofor is always good, but I do think they have been let down a little by the majority of the focus being on Andy.
The plot is probably the biggest letdown with this film as immortality aside, this is nothing new. It’s full of one dimensional bad guys (Harry Melling hamming it up to the max) and plot twists that you can see coming a mile off. However despite the plot unoriginality, the action and the general fast pace of the film along with the endearing cast, the fitting flashbacks and the decision not to explain the immortality origins (I hate it when films concoct overelaborate explanations that are entirely unnecessary) make for a pretty enjoyable and entertaining watch. The 2 hours virtually fly by. I’m not convinced by the sequel baiting ending as I dislike films doing this, but would I watch a sequel? Actually yes I would.
The star of this film is undoubtedly Charlize Theron. There no one better to call when you want a kick ass female lead, and she plays this role to perfection in the same way she did Atomic Blonde. She is without a doubt the best thing about this film. However the rest of the cast are decent - it’s been a while since I’ve seen Matthias Schoenaerts in anything and Chiwetel Ejiofor is always good, but I do think they have been let down a little by the majority of the focus being on Andy.
The plot is probably the biggest letdown with this film as immortality aside, this is nothing new. It’s full of one dimensional bad guys (Harry Melling hamming it up to the max) and plot twists that you can see coming a mile off. However despite the plot unoriginality, the action and the general fast pace of the film along with the endearing cast, the fitting flashbacks and the decision not to explain the immortality origins (I hate it when films concoct overelaborate explanations that are entirely unnecessary) make for a pretty enjoyable and entertaining watch. The 2 hours virtually fly by. I’m not convinced by the sequel baiting ending as I dislike films doing this, but would I watch a sequel? Actually yes I would.
Logan Eccles (135 KP) rated The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance in TV
Oct 1, 2020 (Updated Oct 2, 2020)
Henson Lives on
First off this is one I will not be able to be unbias because I've been I huge Henson fan my whole 24 years of life. Puppetry helped me find my young voice when I was too ashamed to speak with my speech impediment. That being said here's my Review. Thank you, Netflix for producing this modern-day masterpiece of pure brilliance. The mixture of classic Henson puppetry and CGI was blended well and even though most times you could tell the difference of the change and looked good. As the animation and puppetry were superb so was the story development. The progression of the story was fun, smart, and beautiful. The use of characters from the movie and newly introduced characters for the show were also smart and developed well for the overall story. The cast was a good assembly of voices, though some were easily confused for others with similarity in voices, they were still fantastic. Simon Peg was especially great as The Chamberlin was my favorite character from the movie, Simon did a great job of mimicking the voice and keeping it as special as it was, Helena Bonham also did a good job of this with Ogla. Finally, the way the show ended at a moment that tied it to the movie but also left enough space to make a possible second season was smart. When I first heard this was going to be a show and not a movie I wasn't sure it would work but it was great I highly recommend.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Dec 10, 2019 (Updated Dec 10, 2019)