Film Reviews - what have you seen lately, what did you think?
- Thread starter TLB
- Start date
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,033
- 26,106
I'd watched the original Terminator (1984), and seen Judgement Day (1991) as well as Rise of the Machines (2003) but hadn't kept up with the series after that. Wanted to kill some time this weekend so...
Terminator: Salvation (2009)
I'll start by saying I like Christian Bale. I don't love him as an actor, but I generally like what he does in films. This is mostly anchored in what he did for the role in The Machinist (2004), as I didn't see American Psycho until later. Let me just follow that statement with my assessment of his performance in this film being "did he lose a bet with someone and have to take this role?" It looks like he gives it his all, and it comes off with the same criticism many have of Keanu Reeves in that it appears canned, unemotional (even his yelling is just volume, not emotion), and the same actor stuck in yet another of the same old same old. Bale just doesn't do it in this film. Though, I suppose nobody does as they are on what 6? 7 in the series? and nobody other than Ahnahld gets brought back. I will say, in this one, I really bonded with Sam Worthington who, while being a 'supporting actor' kind of face really took the story and carried it on his back throughout. His story was THE story. Yes, there's lots of explosions, gunfire, and killing as required by the genre and title, but they did well with Worthington's role. He brings this from a 5 up to a 7/10.
ThreatMatrix: Nuthin. They got nuthin.
Terminator: Genisys (2015)
New film, new cast...other than Ahnahld returning yet again. Here, we introduce timelines and how they can get changed. Meh, ok. I struggled to determine if I found the new Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) attractive; however Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese for this go'round did very well in his role. Ahnahld got a bit more screen time, with plenty of VFS for de-aging. But our protagonist in this one as John Connor was Jason Clarke. No offense intended for Mr. Clarke or his parents, but it just didn't look good on screen. His acting outdid his looks, but overall it couldn't be overcome and it detracted from the film. Story wise, they did well to take things up a notch. The time travel twists opened a few plot opportunities, and they used Ahnahld very well, but for me Kyle Reese's (Jai Courtney) relatability kept me in the story line better. They also brought in the T-1000 liquid metal baddie for a bit, which is always cool, but then connected him to others in new ways that were both interesting, believable, and sure to set up another film (Dark Fate 2019). Final verdict 8/10
ThreatMatrix: We get a shadow of Sarah while she gets nekkid for the time travel thing. Her and Reese. We see their backs from shoulder up in the light. So, nuhtin.
Terminator: Salvation (2009)
I'll start by saying I like Christian Bale. I don't love him as an actor, but I generally like what he does in films. This is mostly anchored in what he did for the role in The Machinist (2004), as I didn't see American Psycho until later. Let me just follow that statement with my assessment of his performance in this film being "did he lose a bet with someone and have to take this role?" It looks like he gives it his all, and it comes off with the same criticism many have of Keanu Reeves in that it appears canned, unemotional (even his yelling is just volume, not emotion), and the same actor stuck in yet another of the same old same old. Bale just doesn't do it in this film. Though, I suppose nobody does as they are on what 6? 7 in the series? and nobody other than Ahnahld gets brought back. I will say, in this one, I really bonded with Sam Worthington who, while being a 'supporting actor' kind of face really took the story and carried it on his back throughout. His story was THE story. Yes, there's lots of explosions, gunfire, and killing as required by the genre and title, but they did well with Worthington's role. He brings this from a 5 up to a 7/10.
ThreatMatrix: Nuthin. They got nuthin.
Terminator: Genisys (2015)
New film, new cast...other than Ahnahld returning yet again. Here, we introduce timelines and how they can get changed. Meh, ok. I struggled to determine if I found the new Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) attractive; however Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese for this go'round did very well in his role. Ahnahld got a bit more screen time, with plenty of VFS for de-aging. But our protagonist in this one as John Connor was Jason Clarke. No offense intended for Mr. Clarke or his parents, but it just didn't look good on screen. His acting outdid his looks, but overall it couldn't be overcome and it detracted from the film. Story wise, they did well to take things up a notch. The time travel twists opened a few plot opportunities, and they used Ahnahld very well, but for me Kyle Reese's (Jai Courtney) relatability kept me in the story line better. They also brought in the T-1000 liquid metal baddie for a bit, which is always cool, but then connected him to others in new ways that were both interesting, believable, and sure to set up another film (Dark Fate 2019). Final verdict 8/10
ThreatMatrix: We get a shadow of Sarah while she gets nekkid for the time travel thing. Her and Reese. We see their backs from shoulder up in the light. So, nuhtin.
- Jun 12, 2014
- 16,320
- 14,761
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Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019): Was hoping this movie would decent. But it wasn't that great, not even that good. It was basically the same movie as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The jokes which worked 20 years ago, didn't work as well today. They are older and they just don't hit the same way. You can definitely feel the age of the main actors and all of the cameos that come from the former movies. Just the same characters that felt fresh 20-30 years ago felt very dated now. I give this a solid 4/10 and I'm a Kevin Smith fan.
Threatmatrix Matrix: there needed to be more tits and ass, but there was zero.
Rambo Last Blood (2019): In series of movies that that should have stopped in the 1980s the fifth movie is here. After the last movie (which I made the mistake to see on opening night with a buddy) I didn't have high hopes for this one at all. This one starts out 10 year after the last one, he rejoins his family. He has turned his family farm into a compound. His neice, goes to mexico gets kidnapped. He goes down there, gets the **** kicked out of him. Then it's like just about every other Rambo movie. Instead of the Vietcon, Redneck Cops, Russian, or what ever the last asian country was last time... this time it was Mexican sex trafficers. The leaps of logic are huge and it's really really dumb... like injun or Urg dumb. Then he kills a bunch of mexicans. I give it a 4/10.
Threatmatrix matrix: another movie that could have used some more tits and ass.
Threatmatrix Matrix: there needed to be more tits and ass, but there was zero.
Rambo Last Blood (2019): In series of movies that that should have stopped in the 1980s the fifth movie is here. After the last movie (which I made the mistake to see on opening night with a buddy) I didn't have high hopes for this one at all. This one starts out 10 year after the last one, he rejoins his family. He has turned his family farm into a compound. His neice, goes to mexico gets kidnapped. He goes down there, gets the **** kicked out of him. Then it's like just about every other Rambo movie. Instead of the Vietcon, Redneck Cops, Russian, or what ever the last asian country was last time... this time it was Mexican sex trafficers. The leaps of logic are huge and it's really really dumb... like injun or Urg dumb. Then he kills a bunch of mexicans. I give it a 4/10.
Threatmatrix matrix: another movie that could have used some more tits and ass.
- Jul 23, 2014
- 11,782
- 26,665
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,033
- 26,106
Bit the bullet and watched the latest installment
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
I presume this picks up off the back end of Genisys where the timeline for the early movies had been avoided, Skynet was killed (oops! Spoiler Alert!) before it launched Judgement Day. Here, we have an opening shot of Mama Sarah Connor with her son John (about age 12?)....and an Arnie terminator shows up and kills John, flat out establishing the old timeline (John is the savior for humanity) is not in play anymore. After the opening scene, we have about 20min of non-stop chase scene where some tall blond drops out of a time travel bubble and starts going, and later another time bubble pops out a new liquid terminator. The two look for a Mexican girl, and when they chase/fight awhile, Gramma Sarah Connor shows up to try to kill the terminator. While I'm generally ok with foreign language and subs, this was tough to swallow. The first third is nearly ALL in Spanish because MEXICO! I was worried I'd pirated a version in Spanish, but no, this was intentional. Add to that the 2019 virtue signal changes of the blond 'Grace' being the new Arnie replacement of human protector sent back in time, our traditional Asian liquid terminator being replaced by a Hispanic actor, and of course Gramma Connor looking old as **** and providing gunfire and F-bombs abound, and I was really struggling to view this as more than one of those sequels made for a money grab in the death throes of a franchise. There, I got that rant out of my system.
That said, that extended action sequence between Grace and Liquid is pretty well done (though the liquid seems to have an ongoing issue with windshields spanning several movies and is overplayed here). Midway we bring Grandpa Arnold into the storyline, and he drops a few good laugh lines; the dynamic between him and Gramma Connor is a decent sub-plot*; and his own story takes a new turn based on the old timeline being voided. The main plot of protector Grace and team v Liquid is at it's heart a repeat of Sarah's story in the early films, it seems while the original timeline was averted the events still occur just slightly different. I'll also say they special effects have moved forward since the earlier films = Connor & Arnie get VFX aging (par for the course now), and the producers did some interesting things with Liquid. Oh, and the actor for Liquid deserves some praise. I mean, it's a limited role = keep focused on hunt-find-kill, however the interactions they have with him and the general population along the way is pretty varied and allowed the actor to stretch his vocal range if nor just his look and acting in general.
Bottom line, better than just a money making sequel. There are some reasonable complaints to be had*, but if you like the franchise, this is a step above the last two (Salvation & Genisys), IMO once you get past the first third (and even that is salvaged by the action). 8/10
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
I presume this picks up off the back end of Genisys where the timeline for the early movies had been avoided, Skynet was killed (oops! Spoiler Alert!) before it launched Judgement Day. Here, we have an opening shot of Mama Sarah Connor with her son John (about age 12?)....and an Arnie terminator shows up and kills John, flat out establishing the old timeline (John is the savior for humanity) is not in play anymore. After the opening scene, we have about 20min of non-stop chase scene where some tall blond drops out of a time travel bubble and starts going, and later another time bubble pops out a new liquid terminator. The two look for a Mexican girl, and when they chase/fight awhile, Gramma Sarah Connor shows up to try to kill the terminator. While I'm generally ok with foreign language and subs, this was tough to swallow. The first third is nearly ALL in Spanish because MEXICO! I was worried I'd pirated a version in Spanish, but no, this was intentional. Add to that the 2019 virtue signal changes of the blond 'Grace' being the new Arnie replacement of human protector sent back in time, our traditional Asian liquid terminator being replaced by a Hispanic actor, and of course Gramma Connor looking old as **** and providing gunfire and F-bombs abound, and I was really struggling to view this as more than one of those sequels made for a money grab in the death throes of a franchise. There, I got that rant out of my system.
That said, that extended action sequence between Grace and Liquid is pretty well done (though the liquid seems to have an ongoing issue with windshields spanning several movies and is overplayed here). Midway we bring Grandpa Arnold into the storyline, and he drops a few good laugh lines; the dynamic between him and Gramma Connor is a decent sub-plot*; and his own story takes a new turn based on the old timeline being voided. The main plot of protector Grace and team v Liquid is at it's heart a repeat of Sarah's story in the early films, it seems while the original timeline was averted the events still occur just slightly different. I'll also say they special effects have moved forward since the earlier films = Connor & Arnie get VFX aging (par for the course now), and the producers did some interesting things with Liquid. Oh, and the actor for Liquid deserves some praise. I mean, it's a limited role = keep focused on hunt-find-kill, however the interactions they have with him and the general population along the way is pretty varied and allowed the actor to stretch his vocal range if nor just his look and acting in general.
Bottom line, better than just a money making sequel. There are some reasonable complaints to be had*, but if you like the franchise, this is a step above the last two (Salvation & Genisys), IMO once you get past the first third (and even that is salvaged by the action). 8/10
*Sarah Connor has her roots in the old timeline where she had to survive and have John to lead the resistance. And she knew of that experience up to the point established in Genisys where that timeline was averted and a new branch was followed. But in Genisys, her younger self was allied with the protective Arnie terminator. Not to spoil that movie too much, it closed with Arnie being with her as allies to go forward. However in this film, they seem to ignore that part of history. She immediately hates Arnie when he arrives mid-film, and it is the heart of their dynamic in this film. Is the hate solely on a him killing her son (he admits he DID kill John at the opening of the film), or on the original film's chase-kill relationship with Sarah-Arnie, or what? There is no acknowledgement of the end of Genisys other than it gave a new timeline.
- Sep 20, 2014
- 3,925
- 4,676
Caught a few over the weekend
Arkansas (Prime) - Centers around two young drug dealers (Thor's brother and Clark Duke) promoted in Arkansas under the empire of Frog (Vince Vaughn). They are put under the watch of John Malkovich and are sent to do low level deliveries. On one they are followed home which causes their story to go awry as they try to not run, but also cover it up because everything is so secretive they don't know who to call for help. This leads to the ending and everyone involved fate.
This movie was better than expected and I wish I could give a better description. Has some different story paths showing the past's of each character and how they came to be in the story. If you have Prime I would check it out. 6.5/10
The Tax Collector - This was heavily marketed as something good to watch during the COVID shutdowns. Stars Shai Lebouf and a bunch of people you may recognize, but have no clue what there name is and has some smoking latino women in it. Basically it was made for you to believe that Shai is the star and leader of the drug ring, but in reality he's just he muscle for the head guy. New guy comes to town, wipes everyone out, kidnaps the one guys kids and he has to join up with his loyal gang friends to go and get them. The end.
This movie was not good. The preview made it out to be something different and left you disappointment. I would pass unless free. 4/10.
Arkansas (Prime) - Centers around two young drug dealers (Thor's brother and Clark Duke) promoted in Arkansas under the empire of Frog (Vince Vaughn). They are put under the watch of John Malkovich and are sent to do low level deliveries. On one they are followed home which causes their story to go awry as they try to not run, but also cover it up because everything is so secretive they don't know who to call for help. This leads to the ending and everyone involved fate.
This movie was better than expected and I wish I could give a better description. Has some different story paths showing the past's of each character and how they came to be in the story. If you have Prime I would check it out. 6.5/10
The Tax Collector - This was heavily marketed as something good to watch during the COVID shutdowns. Stars Shai Lebouf and a bunch of people you may recognize, but have no clue what there name is and has some smoking latino women in it. Basically it was made for you to believe that Shai is the star and leader of the drug ring, but in reality he's just he muscle for the head guy. New guy comes to town, wipes everyone out, kidnaps the one guys kids and he has to join up with his loyal gang friends to go and get them. The end.
This movie was not good. The preview made it out to be something different and left you disappointment. I would pass unless free. 4/10.
- Jun 11, 2014
- 21,065
- 33,767
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- Jul 23, 2014
- 11,782
- 26,665
Holes was good
So is Peanut Butter Falcon
He was very good in Lawless and the first Transformers.
Other than that - mixed bag
- Sep 20, 2014
- 3,925
- 4,676
Project Power (Netflix) - Stars Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Set in New Orleans and a new drug has hit the streets that grants superpowers for five minutes. It is random based on your DNA. Some people go invisible some catch on fire, etc. Foxx is an ex military guy that was experimented on and his daughter taken. JGL is a cop who knows his Chief is covering something up. They cross paths as they both know a teenager that is an informant helping them find the big guy. Big fight then happens.
For a Netflix movie I would say this is one of their better ones. Still doesn't feel like it would have made it to theaters, but not horrible for their standards. I watched mostly due to Levitt as he did some amazing work, like Brick and the Lookout over a decade ago, but I have no idea what happened to him as he was rising in the Nolan films and then disappeared the last few years. Overall this wasn't bad from Netflix action standards. 6/10.
If looking for a few good indy movies you haven't seen and you can find Brick or the Lookout I recommend them.
For a Netflix movie I would say this is one of their better ones. Still doesn't feel like it would have made it to theaters, but not horrible for their standards. I watched mostly due to Levitt as he did some amazing work, like Brick and the Lookout over a decade ago, but I have no idea what happened to him as he was rising in the Nolan films and then disappeared the last few years. Overall this wasn't bad from Netflix action standards. 6/10.
If looking for a few good indy movies you haven't seen and you can find Brick or the Lookout I recommend them.
- Jun 12, 2014
- 7,124
- 6,174
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- Jun 12, 2014
- 16,320
- 14,761
Founding Member
- Jun 12, 2014
- 16,320
- 14,761
Founding Member
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,033
- 26,106
Never heard of it. So, I watched last night. Can't really add to your review, as you seemed to have nailed it. I suppose my only additional comment was whomever was doing the soundtrack with all those crap-rap songs ought to be shot. Other than that, your assessment is spot on.
- Jun 12, 2014
- 3,564
- 5,385
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Uncut gems
Probably the best movie I've watched on netflix. It was very good.
Adam Sandler is a jewelry dealer and gambling addict with his own little shop in NYC.
Kevin Garnett plays himself , and becomes interested in the prize possession Opal, Sander has at his shop.
Sandler's character is a basket case, always living on the edge with massive debts to dangerous
people. His own wife hates his guts, and she has every reason to. Yet you find yourself
rooting for the guy. I highly recommend this good flick, A-.
Probably the best movie I've watched on netflix. It was very good.
Adam Sandler is a jewelry dealer and gambling addict with his own little shop in NYC.
Kevin Garnett plays himself , and becomes interested in the prize possession Opal, Sander has at his shop.
Sandler's character is a basket case, always living on the edge with massive debts to dangerous
people. His own wife hates his guts, and she has every reason to. Yet you find yourself
rooting for the guy. I highly recommend this good flick, A-.
- Jun 11, 2014
- 22,331
- 28,422
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Binging Designated Survivor with the wifey.
It’s been pretty interesting, at least up until episode 11. I’ve been told it’s not bad for the first 2 seasons then it nosedives.
It’s been pretty interesting, at least up until episode 11. I’ve been told it’s not bad for the first 2 seasons then it nosedives.
- Jun 12, 2014
- 3,564
- 5,385
Founding Member
Blow the man down
This one is on Amazon prime. The thing I like about it is it's 90 minutes and doesn't
waste time with parts of a story that aren't relevant. Two young ladies, early 20's
lose their mother. After the funeral one gets drunk at a local pub and ends up
going home with a guy that is a killer. She runs and ends up killing him. With
help from her sister they dispose of the body. Overall it's well acted and has
a decent plot. The older woman from the Americans is great in this one.
It's a slightly better than average thriller, B-.
This one is on Amazon prime. The thing I like about it is it's 90 minutes and doesn't
waste time with parts of a story that aren't relevant. Two young ladies, early 20's
lose their mother. After the funeral one gets drunk at a local pub and ends up
going home with a guy that is a killer. She runs and ends up killing him. With
help from her sister they dispose of the body. Overall it's well acted and has
a decent plot. The older woman from the Americans is great in this one.
It's a slightly better than average thriller, B-.
- Jul 23, 2014
- 11,782
- 26,665
Not to get political here... but it "nosedived" towards the "wokeness" side of the spectrum.
That's when I bailed...
- Jun 30, 2014
- 9,363
- 31,118
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I watched it . I can't remember when it tanked, but it started getting too lecture like.
