Film Reviews - what have you seen lately, what did you think?

[TLB]

Shot Caller (2017) <Netflix>

We open with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (only credit I can find of note is GoT, which I never saw so I dunno this guy at all), getting released from prison, with a van waiting courtesy of 'The Beast'. We follow him as he returns to open society and connects with the brothers he bonded with in jail, and we start mixing in flashbacks to tell you how we got to this point. Plotline is a rich executive gets a DUI, killing his partner in the accident, and goes to jail. He leaves outside his wife and young son. Upon entering for what should be 18-24mo, he is confronted with survival = be a warrior or be a victim. He gets in with the Aryan Brotherhood there and works his way up the power structure; and in doing so commits more vicious crimes and has time added, eventually moving to a bigger, more serious prison. Once out after serving about 10y (?) he comes across as someone higher up in the brotherhood, sent on a mission from 'The Beast' with a group of the brothers. The rest of the cast have a few recognizable faces, but nobody of note. The story is about 'Money' (the name he earned in prison), working with the brothers on a gun sale to the cartel, where we can't read some of his own team and their motives...but mostly we spend the film trying to understand Money and what his motives are. There are a few scenes touching base with the wife, and even the kid (before, during, and after prison), but they are only one facet of this guy and we can't tell where they fit into his big picture. Not to spoil the film, but it gives a good look at what the prison system can do to an honest man without making THAT the point of the film. The point is Money, why is he doing what he is doing? And he carries the film quite well for this purpose. Not a great film, but a good solid character film if that's what you're looking for. 7/10.

 

[TheDouglas78]

Ghost Rider (2007) <Netflix>

Son wanted to watch a super hero movie, and he'd asked about this one. I'd seen it before, and was sorely disappointed in my earlier viewing, but for the boy, I'd watch it again. Maybe some of my distaste for the film was because this was one of my top 2-3 comic books growing up, and Nick Cage just doesn't pull it off.

Nick Cage again (groan), but with Eva Mendes as the love interest (yay!), and Wes Bentley as the evil son of Satan "Blackheart" (who?). Oh, and a small roll for Sam Elliot (as the previous generation Ghost Rider, the horse one) and Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles (The Devil Himself). Film opens with a young Johnny Blaze helping his stunt riding dad at the shows and Eva as 'Roxie' in the stands. Dad gets cancer, Devil shows up to make a deal with Johnny to clear the cancer in return for his soul. Johnny doesn't believe this old guy and signs anyway. Next morning, dad is 'strong as a horse' and feeling great....is it true? Then dad dies that afternoon of a crash, and the Devil laughs into the sunset saying he'll be back when he needs Johnny for something. Johnny ditches the girl and goes on to be his own stunt super rider. JB and the girl connect later, Blackheart escapes hell and rounds up some demons to help take over the earth, and Fonda....er, the Devil, shows up to call Johnny to work. Oh, what bad timing. It's not explained why the Devil can't reign in his son, Blackheart, or deal with the demons, but he sends JB to go collect them and return them to hell as the Ghost Rider. Fight, fight, fight, and a boss showdown with Roxie pitching in (she now accepts GR is part of who JB is) and Devil says 'JB you paid your debt, I'll take back the power and let you have your soul, your life back." JB says he's keeping the power of the GR and will use it to come back on the Devil anytime innocent blood is spilled. Cage does this in a longer dialogue but it still sucks. So, overall review. Marvel fandom scale is 1.5/10. Sexy Eva is worth a point, even though we never really see anything. All the actors, the action, plotline and dialogue drag this back down. Overall 3.5/10 (and yes, I'm still bitter they cast Cage as GR....they even made a sequel).

Got another GR in the Agents of Shield (never watched), and they are rebooting the character overall for the MCU or MCUtv.

 

[TLB]

Got another GR in the Agents of Shield (never watched), and they are rebooting the character overall for the MCU or MCUtv.

Yeah, I dropped AoS about a season in, just didn't hold me. I'm assuming this is Disney+ doing the reboots, which means they will be Disney'd :\ But they can't do much worse than Cage. When Netflix did the Defenders characters, it couldn't hold me either.

 

[TheDouglas78]

Yeah, I dropped AoS about a season in, just didn't hold me. I'm assuming this is Disney+ doing the reboots, which means they will be Disney'd :\ But they can't do much worse than Cage. When Netflix did the Defenders characters, it couldn't hold me either.

Don't know if it's gonna be Disney+ or Hulu, on the Hulu platform they might going a bit darker. It is rumored that is where they are going to move Daredevil and if it is anything like seasons 1&3, I'll invest the time. If its anything like Iron Fist, Luke Cage or Jessica Jones i'll pass.

 

[DocZaius]

I don't want to rehash what everyone else said about WW84, but I also thought it sucked. And I liked the first one. I have nothing against female heroes or even GRRLLL POWER! movies, but they at least have to make sense. And WW84 was just blech.

As for the Mr. Rogers movie with Tom Hanks - I didn't see it, but if anyone is interested in reading the story by the journalist who inspired the movie, here it is: Can You Say...Hero? - Mr. Rogers Profile Interview

Finally, Hillbilly Elegy was a really good book. I recommend you read it.

 

[TLB]

Finally, Hillbilly Elegy was a really good book. I recommend you read it.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Wakefield 2016 Bryan Cranston. Have you ever wondered how boring it would be to be stuck in your attic for a year? Well wonder no more. Mercifully this movie boils it down to an hour and 46 minutes. It just seems like a year. So Bryan comes home from work one night and decides to hide in his detached garage attic and spy on his insanely hot wife (Jen Gardner) for a year. Never mind the holes in this plan. So Bryan narrates most of the movie because there is no one to talk to in the attic. Very riveting stuff. So after a year he gets a haircut and a new suit and returns to his family. Then the movie ends. Maybe I imagined it but you see a lot of Jen Gardners flesh. For that reason Joe Bob says check it out.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Molly’s Game 2017 Netflix.
Stars Jessica Chastain at her sexiest. Written and Directed by Alan Sorkin. If you don’t know Sorkin you should. Based in a true story (?) Jessica is a former Olympic athlete with daddy issues (not in the good way) who runs a high stakes poker game. This gives her lots of oppurtnuties to wear sexy dresses showing off her glorious assets. Jessica runs a clean game however the feds go after her. She has to choose between protecting her clients or going to rapey prison. This may interest you if you play poker. The dialog is sharp. Chastain is gorgeous. Kevin Costner plays her dad and Michael Cera a “movie star” card shark. Much better than I expected. Joe Bob says Chevk it out.

 

[gingerlover]

Molly’s Game 2017 Netflix.
Stars Jessica Chastain at her sexiest. Written and Directed by Alan Sorkin. If you don’t know Sorkin you should. Based in a true story (?) Jessica is a former Olympic athlete with daddy issues (not in the good way) who runs a high stakes poker game. This gives her lots of oppurtnuties to wear sexy dresses showing off her glorious assets. Jessica runs a clean game however the feds go after her. She has to choose between protecting her clients or going to rapey prison. This may interest you if you play poker. The dialog is sharp. Chastain is gorgeous. Kevin Costner plays her dad and Michael Cera a “movie star” card shark. Much better than I expected. Joe Bob says Chevk it out.

Apparently one of the aholes is based on Toby Maguire

 

[Gatorbreath]

DO NOT waste your time on the Clooney movie on Netflix...sci-fi Earth is doomed lets all go to one of Jupiters moons. blah, blah. Horrible

This.

This movie was such a disappointment because I do like me some good sci-fi and, politics aside, I like George Clooney. He seems like he'd be a fun guy to hang around. And who wouldn't like a best bud that buys you motorcycles and gifts you $1M?? But this movie was dreadful. Downright awful.

I also watched The Professor and the Madman starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. Based on a true story, this is about a man in the late 1800s charged by Oxford University to assemble and publish the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Literally every word. And Mel's character takes things a step further by tracing each word back to its origin and how it evolved over the centuries. Not the worst way to kill a couple of hours in an evening, but this was disappointing, especially given the two lead actors. It also features the queen from GoT - the one who married that awful kid then died in the fire, if memory serves. I find her very hot, though her face is a bit polarizing.

 

[Spurdog98]

This.

This movie was such a disappointment because I do like me some good sci-fi and, politics aside, I like George Clooney. He seems like he'd be a fun guy to hang around. And who wouldn't like a best bud that buys you motorcycles and gifts you $1M?? But this movie was dreadful. Downright awful.

I also watched The Professor and the Madman starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. Based on a true story, this is about a man in the late 1800s charged by Oxford University to assemble and publish the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Literally every word. And Mel's character takes things a step further by tracing each word back to its origin and how it evolved over the centuries. Not the worst way to kill a couple of hours in an evening, but this was disappointing, especially given the two lead actors. It also features the queen from GoT - the one who married that awful kid then died in the fire, if memory serves. I find her very hot, though her face is a bit polarizing.

Red head chick. She's hot but she can look at you like she'd just soon tear out you throat.

 

[Spurdog98]

Netflex series "The Yorkshire Ripper". It was pretty good and worth the binge, particularly now since the world is coming to an end and fat head Toad is still DC.

 

[Gatorbreath]

Red head chick. She's hot but she can look at you like she'd just soon tear out you throat.

No. And shame, ding, shame on you for getting it wrong and for making me have to download a snap of her.

This one:

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Apparently one of the aholes is based on Toby Maguire

Interesting. In the movie he doesn't play for the money, he plays because he enjoys destroying people. And he screws over Molly just because he can. I wonder how much is true.

 

[TLB]

the one who married that awful kid then died in the fire, if memory serves. I find her very hot,

 

[gingerlover]

Interesting. In the movie he doesn't play for the money, he plays because he enjoys destroying people. And he screws over Molly just because he can. I wonder how much is true.

Who knows. It’s based on her book that names more people also. Her brother played football for Colorado around 2002 before the NCAA made him choose between that or his Olympic ski sponsorship

 

[TLB]

Monsters: Dark Continent (2014) <Netfilx>

Bills itself as 'soldiers vs alien monsters (in the desert)'. However, in the rollout we start with some friends in the Detroit hood who sign up and head to the Middle East together. Are we in for a 'band of brothers' character type film? No. We are assigned under a sergeant who's done many tours, has the experience to get these sheep up to speed. A third of the way in most of the platoon is torn apart. Are we in for a 'war is hell' type film? No. So...about these aliens, do we get some cool action combat? No. What we end up with is a long film in the Middle East mostly focusing on one central Detroit punk on his first trip out from the hood and a sergeant that must complete the mission (rescue some soldiers from some faraway village). The film never uses the aliens much for the story, though they are decent special effects. I suppose what we're supposed to take away from it is our misguided efforts to stop the inevitable and the collateral costs we incur for it which leave us questioning our own purpose - but it is a long 2h to get there and it isn't worth the journey. Nothing notable about this film at all. I can't recommend it for action, soldier bonding and self-doubt, nothing really. Skip it. 3.5/10

 

[TLB]

In the Shadow of the Moon (2019) <Netflix>

Trailer is about an obsessed cop chasing a killer who appears once every nine years. Boyd Holbrook plays our central character 'Lock', a Philly cop, and does a very good job throughout the film. You'll recognize his partner (Bokeem Woodbine) and his brother-in-law / boss (Michael C Hall, lead from Dexter). We start in 1988 with Lock heading out for his shift leaving his pregnant wife at home as he and his partner stumble into an odd killing that is replicated around town a few times = all same MO, all with some unknown injected substance, all seemingly random. They come across the perp and chase her to a subway station where Lock and her have a short dialogue and she shares things about him she shouldn't know. He accidently knocks her in front of a train, killing her; and is then made aware of his wife's delivery that night so he rushes to see his new baby...with the wife dying in the process. Skip ahead 9 years, and he and his partner get pulled in again as the same style killings start to occur. Another chase, brief encounter with the SAME killer, his partner is killed accidently, more shared dialogue she shouldn't know....then she disappears again. Skip ahead 9 years, Lock is now unemployed, obsessed, chasing down leads; nearly estranged from his daughter as she lives with his BIL who is concerned for Lock's mental health. A more in depth discussion with the killer whom he is convinced is time travelling, and if he can kill her he can stop the deaths that occurred in the past...but she escapes. Skip ahead 9 more years and we have a final confrontation that lays out all that is occurring = it explains the other connection he has to the killer beyond obsession, which we can feel is there but can't quite put a finger on during the lead up. Her reasoning for time travel and killing leaves us with an 'uh....ok' explanation that fits, and is likely all they could do at that point for the storyline, but isn't powerful from my takeaway. Bottom line, decent concept without too much science explanations, a bit of story telling that unwinds steadily, great acting by all 3-4 leads with good effects to show the passage of time. One huge knock is no acknowledgement of WTF does anyone do for the 9y in between??!?!?!!!! Still, worth the watch. Not awesome, not terrible, pretty ok. 6.5/10.

 

[TLB]

Outside the wire (2021) <Netflix>

Only real notable face is Anthony Mackie (Falcon from Avengers, a few other films since) as the central role. We open with Damson Idris as a UAV pilot disobeying orders to blow up what he perceives as a threat to the soldiers on the ground (2 pinned down, 38 more under fire). As he's never been on the ground or in a firefight, and therefore may not feel the weight of his decisions upon the lives of others, his punishment is reassignment under Capt. Leo (Mackie). Arriving at Leo's base, we are shown many marine soldiers AND robotic soldiers (Gumps) setting us in a futuristic world where ground forces are supplemented with these robots. The conflict is in Eastern Europe where a region has fallen under war. Most nations have backed out, our US troops are there as Peace Keepers, and within the warzone is a warlord attempting to recover lost codes for the Russian nukes in the region = this is Leo's mission, to stop the warlord.

We quickly learn Leo is an advanced robot-cyborg who has historically worked alone but actually requested having Lt. Harp (Idris) with him. Harp has to wrap his head quickly around the shift from going home to his fiancé in California after work, to being behind the lines relying upon and supporting an advanced robot. The first half of the film deals with this transition and has decent action for shoot'em up and hand-to-hand, but as a plot it stays pretty shallow. At the midpoint, the plot pivots, and Leo begins explaining in more depth WHY he requested Harp as a subordinate, and we watch the plot take on the old theme of primary directives for robots and how an advanced AI may try to maneuver around them, while Harp deals with understanding and making human-moral decisions in conflict with orders from a superior. More action, more explosions, and a good (not great) pace. Pretty decent, though not ground breaking, special effects on Leo and the Gumps (and their Russian equivalents). In the end, a decent spend of time on an action film, though if you care for ANY military accuracy you should skip it as the film defies reality on that count. 5.5/10.

 

[Spurdog98]

No. And shame, ding, shame on you for getting it wrong and for making me have to download a snap of her.

This one:

That's the same one I am referring to. Not the one that John Snow hammered in the cave.