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Terry Crews recommended The Thing (1982) in Movies (curated)

 
The Thing (1982)
The Thing (1982)
1982 | Horror, Sci-Fi

"The next one is The Thing, the remake with Keith David. That was the first Rated-R movie my mother ever let me see, and oh, dude, I was scarred. I was scarred in a good way. [laughs] John Carpenter’s The Thing took me to a whole other place, man. I was like, “Oh my god!” It was almost like losing your virginity. [laughs] Remember what I said about coming out of the theater a different way? The Thing was so violent and so creatively crazy, no one had ever seen anything like that on screen. You know, heads growing legs and walking away? I think Rob Bottin was the special effects guy on that. But, you know, heads ripping themselves off, dogs having three heads, it was just “Oh my god, there’s no stopping this!” One of my favorite movies; if it’s ever on, I can’t turn it off. I just can’t. It’s impossible. And the thing is, you see how most of the movies that I’m mentioning have always had copies, you know what I mean? It’s like, any movie that’s out there, you can see they’re trying to be like The Thing, or they’re trying to be like Aliens. It’s so wild how you see this kind of dynamic, because it changed for those filmmakers when they saw it too. So those are my top five for today. I tell you, that’s so hard to say. [laughs] Again, I love movies man. I just love it."

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La Vie en Rose (La Mome) (2007)
La Vie en Rose (La Mome) (2007)
2007 | International, Drama
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I remember it was showing in New York City, and I walk over with my friend [to the theater] sort of not knowing what I’m about to see, which is always kind of my favorite thing. I try more and more to not read a review of a movie before I go see it, to not read a review of a play before I go see it, so that I’m not inundated with other people’s opinions about things and I’m able to sort of … It really speaks more to my susceptibility to other people’s opinions than it does about anything that could be playing. I want to have a clean experience that’s just mine. I didn’t know anything about Edith Piaf. I had, of course, recognized many of her songs and had loved many of her songs, but I had no connection to, nor did I know historically, what had happened to her and what her story was. But I was just bowled over by Marion Cotillard’s performance. And of course then I started Googling her and trying to understand where she came from. And she had been in that Russell Crowe movie, and she was so much younger than Piaf, playing that part, and it was just another acting feat! The combination of all the beautiful and tragic things you learn about someone who is so gifted, and then also to see it portrayed by someone equally as gifted and once again be transported into a world you knew nothing about – that’s really the power of the movie."

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Midsommar (2019)
Midsommar (2019)
2019 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Just saw Midsommar. This is a very artsy horror movie, as is expected from A24 and Ari Aster. The cinematography for this movie was unreal. I really felt like I was sinking into a trip and almost felt nauseated a few times. So, bravo on the camera work. It's a visually stunning film, very beautifully shot. Aside from the opening scene, which gives a disturbing surprise start to things that I didn't see coming, the rest of the film becomes fairly predictable as the festival gets in motion. I'm not saying that as a bad thing though, this isn't really one of those trying to surprise and scare you type of movies. It's a, how can I put it, let's go on this trip and really horrific experience together type of movie. After the movie several of us, not knowing each other, that had just watched Midsommar together gathered out in the bright lights of the theater hallway and we immediately felt like family. We stared at each other for a moment, was half expecting to hug, and we were all like what just happened? I broke the ice and said I feel like we all just tripped really hard together. We kinda laughed and agreed and pretty much everyone was just stating in their own words that they were trying process what a weirdly, disturbing, trip of a movie that was. Then we all parted ways and danced back into the real world. I've never been happier to see the sunset on my drive back home.
  
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Broken Heart Attack
Broken Heart Attack
James J. Cudney | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Deadly Theater
When Kellan Ayrwick attends a dress rehearsal of King Lear with Nana D. and her friends, he expects the deaths to stay on stage. But not too long into the second act, he realizes that Gwendolyn Paddington isn’t asleep on his shoulder, but she’s passed away. Gwendolyn had been saying someone in her family was trying to kill her. Is that true? If so, can Kellan figure out who did it?

When you have a book with characters as dysfunctional as the Paddington family, it always makes me appreciate my own family. But it also makes for a great mystery plot, and that’s the case again here. There are plenty of twists along the way to catching the killer at the end. While some of the characters can be over the top, we care about enough of them, including Kellan, to keep us invested in the book. I did feel like the humor was hit and miss for me here. Sometimes, the character’s teasing worked, and other times it felt like they were picking on Kellan more than actually teasing him. Unfortunately, there were some timeline issues and a red herring that felt like it jumped quite a bit. Both could have been resolved with a good editor. There are several sub-plots involving Kellan and his family. While they veered a little more into soap opera territory than is typical for the books I read, they have me hooked and I can’t wait to make time for the next book to find out what happens.
  
The Muppets (2011)
The Muppets (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Family
8
7.3 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
As a child, I have fond memories of watching The Muppet Show and enjoying the mix of comedy, music, and dance with my family and recapping the show with my friends the following day. Kermit, Ms. Piggy, Fozzie the Bear, and the whole gang were my childhood icons and provided countless hours of entertainment with their brilliant and inspired variety show as well as the three movies that followed. It is hard to believe that 1989 was the last time the gang graced the big screen with “The Muppets in Space”. Thankfully they are back in a big way to delight fans, old and new, this holiday season.

The new films stars Jason Segel as Gary, a mild-mannered guy who has a swell life in his small community. He has been dating the lovely Mary (Amy Adams) for ten years and they are excited to plan their first visit to Los Angeles. Gary has a younger brother named Walter who is a huge fan of the Muppets, having grown up watching the beloved show with Gary. The fact that Walter actually is a Muppet might explain his utter devotion to the show and characters. So when Gary invites Walter to accompany Mary and him on their trip, Walter is ecstatic. At long last, he can visit The Muppet Studios.

Upon their arrival in L.A., Walter is shocked to find the studio in shambles and disrepair. Undaunted, Walter sneaks into Kermit’s old office and accidentally overhears a businessman named Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) plotting to steal the property from the Muppets. Determined to thwart Richman, Walter and Gary look up Kermit the Frog who, despite his reluctance, agrees to reunite the gang to put on a tele-thon to raise the needed money to save the theater.

Along the way there are some great and touching segments where we see what many of the characters have been up to in the recent years, and more than a few laughs and musical numbers also follow. In a race against time, and despite the lack of confidence the network has in their relevance, Kermit must whip the cast and theater into shape for an epic performance.

The movie was an absolute joy. It was so refreshing to see how Segel and director James Bobin have brought the Muppets to a new generation without losing the previous ones and staying very faithful to the characters and to Jim Henson’s vision. Segel, who came up with the story and co-wrote the script, seems to be having the time of his life as he sings and dances his way through several production numbers and gives a very funny, and in turns, tender performance.

Adams is a joy as the sweet, yet determined Mary, and the addition of the new Muppet Walter was a treat. Sure the plot may have been fairly formulaic but there were more than enough moments to keep the adults happy. At our screener, the adults were laughing even lauder than the kids in attendance, especially at the numerous pop culture reference, celebrity cameos, and nostalgic nods to the show.

I do not want to spoil the film but from Beaker doing his take on the Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, to the Swedish Chef channeling Tony Montana from “Scarface” I was thoroughly entertained. I can honestly say this is not only one of the best of the Muppet movies but it is a perfect film to take the family. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself enjoying the magic as much, if not more, than the kids.
  
Murder at the Palace
Murder at the Palace
Margaret Dumas | 2019 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
First Days are Murder
When Nora Paige’s movie star husband is caught having an affair with a co-star, she decides it is time to start over. Fortunately, Nora’s friend Robbie needs someone to manage the Palace Theater up in San Francisco. However, Nora’s first day doesn’t go as planned. She’s barely met the staff when she finds a dead body in the backup ice maker in the basement. Naturally, she doesn’t recognize the victim, but none of the staff know who he is either. Could his murder be tied to the death of the previous manager? And, if that shock weren’t enough, Nora starts to see a hallucination that just might be the ghost of an usherette named Trixie from the 1930’s. Is Nora going crazy? Can she figure out what is going on?

Since I rarely do paranormal cozies, I almost skipped this book, but I was so drawn to the classic movies theme that I had to give it a try. I’m very glad I did because it was fun. While we find the body early on, the set up, including introducing Trixie to the mix, does slow thing down at the beginning, but there is a strong mystery for Nora to solve. Nora, Trixie, and the rest of the cast are a hoot, and I can’t wait to hang out with all of them again. And there is plenty of talk about old movies. While I haven’t seen many of the movies mentioned yet, the discussion certainly made me want to fix that. I’m already buying my ticket for the next entry in this series.
  
Epic (2013)
Epic (2013)
2013 | Action, Animation, Family
5
7.0 (18 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Epic, this is not. A young and lonely teenage girl is transported into the secret forest world and makes friends and family of the leaf people as they band together with the goal to save the world from decay. This latest film from the creators who brought us Ice Age and Rio falls short of being epic and creates nothing more than an average unoriginal children’s film at best.

To go along with an average plot, there was average, unemotional voice acting from a diverse cast of actors with no real standout performances other than the comedic voices of Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd. The two play a slug and snail and deliver some much needed laughs after a long and dry first half hour.

However this movie makes up for limited laughs with action. For a children’s movie there is a lot of action as the forces nature versus decay battle against each other. Parents take note, the 4 year old child who watched the movie with me got a little scared at parts, but made it through to the end when held safe in the lap of his mother for the remainder of the film.

Visually, the film is pleasing and its 3D is solid, especially during any scene where the characters are flying on top of birds. In the end I left the theater without a second thought for the film. Enjoyable, but it does not have the charm as recent family films like The Croods. Kids may not mind the average story, but it is one that is easy to forget.