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

Lake Gator

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Anyone seen Battle of the Sexes yet? Going tomorrow with wifey. Actual event was something to watch. Camera caught Howard Cosell drinking champagne on natty TV.
 

Lake Gator

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Wife has 6 free movie tickets. Going to see Only the Brave about Granite Mountain hotshots later this month.
 

TLB

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Gerald's Game <Netflix>

Per gingerlover making me aware it was out, I went ahead and watched it. I can state that I had indeed read the entire book (after half a dozen starts, then putting it aside for personal anxiety reasons from reading it). However, it has been at least a decade and I don't notice any parts missing or changed much from the book. I can say that the film allowed me to face the subject better, and the lead actress provided a great performance. The way she held conversations with her 'inner voices' while coming to terms with her predicament certainly clarified and smoothed a lot of the book's dialogue. As for as gross or gruesome factor, my mind did much worse to me when reading it - this wasn't bad at all. Yes, it manages to provide some moments of unease for the viewer, less on gore and much more on the surreal aspects - the dog, getting out of the handcuffs, and certainly with the moonlight man. However, the ending stayed true to my memory of the story. All in all, this isn't the cheese horror that some of his stories were turned into, nor is it near IT (not much could be, IMO). Lead is in a slip, but the boob factor is down near zero overall. I give it a 6/10. Decent spend of time, especially if you know the story.
 

TLB

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The Witch (2016) <Amazon Prime>

Story set in 1630, pilgrim family outcast from 'the plantation' (town/society of pilgrims) and going to live in the woods on their own. Central character is a young girl about 13 (actress is about 18-19, but pulls it off exceptionally well). The filming itself is good - all woodsy colors, true to the period; no special effects other than a few blood splatters which keeps it feeling more realistic throughout; no artificial lighting only daylight and firelight to also add to the realism. The characters, well, I mentioned the family - you have mother, father, oldest daughter (13), oldest son (10-11?), twins (7-8), and an infant son. The whole dialogue is full of "Thee" and "Thou" to keep with the period and maintain realism. The story, honestly felt like it dragged slowly throughout the majority of the film. In hindsight, that is probably my perception based on the lack of action sequences and CGI explosions, as I'm thinking back now how the plot was moving along from the beginning, laying it's foundation and taking it's intended path with significant events spaced well along the way. Still, it felt slooooowwwww, up until the last 20 min where things got totally f'd up (in the good way you'd expect a horror film to do). Seriously, the payoff for those last 15-20min is worth it. I can't say this is a must see awesome film, but it is very, very well done and if you have the patience and interest then it can be time well spent. No boobs (other than one late shot with the aged mother, and you'll be glad it is by firelight as you don't necessarily want to see that). I'll give it a 6/10 and recommend it if you like horror (not gore, as much as suspense and telling of a story).
 

Lake Gator

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Battle of the Sexes

7.0 on scale of 0 to 10, 10 being GOAT

Those of us sports fans old enough will recall the much ballyhooed exhibition match promoted as The Battle of the Sexes between tennis great, Billie Jean King and former Wimbledon champ, Bobby Riggs. King was in her prime and a champion of women's rights in a sport dominated by chauvinistic men. 55 years-old Riggs was an unrepentant, irredeemable gambler/hustler who played the male chauvinist angle to its fullest. The 1973 match was for $100,000, winner take all, played in the cavernous Astrodome and broadcast to a national audience in prime time by ABC.

I watched that broadcast live back in '73 and think the movie did an admirable job of recreating the hype, tension and uber-carnival atmosphere surrounding the event. The one inaccuracy or oversight I noticed was the failure to show the beginning of Howard Cosell's opening monologue. He was caught red-handed sipping champagne and hurriedly exchanged glass of bubbly for a microphone explaining to millions of viewers, "Yes, it's that sort of night here in Houston."

The movie appropriately spends a good deal of time on Billie Jean's and Rigg's personal trials and tribulations leading up to the match. Both the wife and I were a bit turned off early in the show by the inordinate attention paid to the married King's lesbian relationship with her hairdresser. Though ultimately, it became apparent it played a major role in the immense weight King shouldered up to and during the match.

I recommend the movie to everyone, mature teens and older, but especially to those who witnessed the match live. It brings back great memories and evokes intense emotions.
 

TLB

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The Gray Man (2007) <Amazon Prime>

Film about real life child serial killer Albert Fish from the Great Depression era, based largely on real facts from the case. On the plus side, they do a decent job of showing us Fish with the childhood that shaped him and the adulthood where he could beguile unwitting parents of the era while dealing with his inner insanity. Also, we were carried through an equal amount of narration and perspective from Det. King who became obsessed with solving the case to the point of checking himself into an asylum for 3 months. Both of these lead actors fulfilled their roles very well, though the rest of the cast was thin. Filming was fairly good - quality of colors, scenes, dialogue (not deep or quick, but on pace). On the negative side, the attempt to give us both good (King) and bad (Fish) views of the story as it evolved left me feeling like neither really got me to buy in or accept either character wholly. More time could have been spent on the other murders he committed (around 16 were confirmed, he claimed hundreds) to build the monster deeper - but the director seems to think the singular case for which he was arrested is adequate to represent the monster.

Not horror, per se, as they show no killing and only reference it second hand. Not mystery, as we're with the killer all along. Not suspense, as we know the killer, we are limited on killings, and we are with the cops so we know he gets arrested. More of a acted representation of a documentary that doesn't go deep enough. No boobs. 3/10.
 

gingerlover

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T2 Trainspotting - So I have scene the first one and watched again recently when it came on TV. the first one followed 5 friends in Scotland that were heavy into heroin use in the 90's and were trying to get clean. Deals with mostly addtiction and HIV. One of them makes a decision that affects everyone and leaves to live a better life. This movie picks up around 20 years later and involves 4 or the 5 that survived in the first one. Ewin McGregor's character has a failed marriage and heart attack in his mid forties. He comes back home to see his father and reconcile with friends. The rest are all leading similar lives as before as their addiction controlled their lives for years and many blame him for their troubles. After smoothing things out with two of them he begins to work with them in money making cons along with the girlfriend of one of them. The remaing friend escapes from prison and tries to find them to settle the score.

This one is a much more grown up tone than the first one and does a good job showing the characters evolve in some ways. Drug use is still prevalent at times with how it controls some of their lives, however it plays more like a mini crime movie rather than a drug movie. It's different from the first and in a good way showing people evolve over the span of 20 years.

I was never a huge fan of the first one, as well I've never been into the drug scene, and while it tried to show the dangers of drugs it just wasn't my thing. This one does a good job of showing the transition of an addicts life as they try to get clean or move from one drug to another. My only complaint is that they only spend a short time reminiscing about the friend they lost to his addiction. Its a descent movie. The Bulgarian girl shows here boobs for about 10 seconds. 7/10 if you like the first one. if you hated the first one you will probably like this one better.
 

TLB

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Citizen X (1995, HBO production) <Amazon Prime>

Follows the story of Andrei Chikatilo, infamous real life serial killer in Russia who killed 52 (or more) people, mostly kids, between 1978 and 1990. Film itself has good acting (Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Jeffrey DeMunn, bit parts by Max von Sydow and Joss Ackland), quality looks like it was shot in the 80's but it is intended to be Russia during the 80's so that works. We follow the killer a bit, but spend a lot of time with the police trying to catch him - specifically Rea as Lt. Viktor Burakov, and how he spends years trying to figure this out while being kneecapped by bueracracy and Communist leaders unwilling to admit there is a serial killer, or that they aren't in control....and by doing so, they remain further out of control and allowing this guy to continue. Film is more focused on the characters, primarily that of the killer and moreso of the cop and what he has to deal with under all this personal and political pressure. Good watch, enlightening on the reality of what happened, and what it was like during the events. No boobs. 6.5/10

Now, I thought I'd already reviewed Child 44 but it seems I didn't write it up. The reason I say this is Child 44 was a fiction based on Andrei Chikatilo, but focused almost solely on the cop.

Child 44 (2015) <Amazon Prime, I think it was>

This one is fictional, but has the same foundational killer at work. However, in this story we follow a demoted police officer sent off to rural Russia who comes across a few killings and starts tying them together as the work of a serial killer. He's also under political pressure, but the killer and his MO as well as the cop and his political situation are significantly different from Citizen X. Here, we are only focused on the cop, and while there is a bit of whodunit to figure out who the killer is - it is mostly immaterial in that you want the cop to solve the crime, stop the killings, and redeem his career. The quality of the filming is 20 years later and it shows, but the acting isn't better, necessarily. Nor is the story or anything else really. From recollection, no boobs. On it's own it can stand for a viewing, but given a choice I'd recommend Citizen X. If you compare them, Citizen X is noticeably better despite being aged. 5.5/10
 

TheDouglas78

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My Little Pony (2017): I took my three year old daughter Sunday morning for the $6 movie. The movie is colorful and the artisty is decent. My daughter loved it screaming at times for certain characters. The movie's story is really basic... it felt like a typical 80's cartoon trust in your friends stuff. I don't know the characters outside of a complete of pony's my daughter loves and the dragon. So I was lost for most of the movie, but she loved every minute. So if you have small children who love the ponies it was great for them. For kids I give it a 7/10.

Threat as you can expect there were no boobs seen or harmed in the movie
 

TLB

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The Infiltrator (2016) <Amazon Prime>

I'll admit, I've loved Bryan Cranston since his work in Breaking Bad. In this film, based on true events, he plays a similar role of a high powered drug money launderer while trying to maintain a simple family life at home. He plays the role well, and I've also always liked John Leguizamo who portrays the right hand supporting role very well as well. Really, there are no weak roles or actors in this one. Movie is set in late 80's and focuses on a sting that follows the money trail in an effort to bring down the Columbian cartels' empires. I haven't read the book, but the plot moves smoothly and cleanly. The film draws you into the paradox of infiltrating the cartel network to the point of becoming friends and caring about those you set out to destroy. All in all, very good film. Not a lot of violence (few killings), small amount of language, and no boobs. 7/10
 

Captain Sasquatch

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Rosewood(1997). Film about the Rosewood Massacre near Cedar Key in 1923. White lynch mob destroys black town after a white woman falsely accuses a black man of beating/raping her. Dozens of blacks were killed, although the “official” death count from state investigators is only 6 blacks and 2 whites, despite MANY witnesses claiming otherwise. Kinda sobering to think something like that happened two hours from here not even 100 years ago. Maybe Mike Ditka should read up on this one. :rolleyes3:
 

TLB

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The Girl With All the Gifts (2017) <Amazon Prime>

Only name of note is Glenn Close, but it doesn't matter - the whole film centers on a young girl, acted quite well in the role. The plot is that some fungus has overtaken the world's population, turning them into flesh eating zombies - but don't write this off as yet another zombie film like thousands of others. The story revolves around Melanie, a child of the second generation living with the infestation. First generation just turned into zombies, yay. Second generation, however, are able to reason and have emotion and connections. Remaining humans are using these kids as a tool to try and find a cure (enter Dr. Caldwell, Glenn Close). Melanie is befriended by a teacher at the military base where testing is being done, which draws our inquisitive youngster out and into a position of tenuous trust. The base gets overrun, and a small group try to make it to safety with Melanie in tow. Do you trust the functioning side of her, or fear the zombie part of her? What happens when the humans are forced into a position where their future relies solely on this young, infected girl? Does she have a choice, and if so will it be to help the last few humans find a cure or to preserve herself and the other second generation kids as a new race to inherit the earth?

There are the expected zombies running amok and getting shot, biting humans. But the movie goes a lot further, assuming humans will do whatever they can to survive, but asking if this new species has the right to live. Interesting twist on the genre, well worth the watch. Zombie lovers may appreciate a film that is beyond blood and teeth, or not. Others may appreciate a film that asks about the future, and lets you consider your own decision making in such a situation. No boobs. 6.5/10
 

playzwtrux

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The Girl With All the Gifts (2017) <Amazon Prime>

Only name of note is Glenn Close, but it doesn't matter - the whole film centers on a young girl, acted quite well in the role. The plot is that some fungus has overtaken the world's population, turning them into flesh eating zombies - but don't write this off as yet another zombie film like thousands of others. The story revolves around Melanie, a child of the second generation living with the infestation. First generation just turned into zombies, yay. Second generation, however, are able to reason and have emotion and connections. Remaining humans are using these kids as a tool to try and find a cure (enter Dr. Caldwell, Glenn Close). Melanie is befriended by a teacher at the military base where testing is being done, which draws our inquisitive youngster out and into a position of tenuous trust. The base gets overrun, and a small group try to make it to safety with Melanie in tow. Do you trust the functioning side of her, or fear the zombie part of her? What happens when the humans are forced into a position where their future relies solely on this young, infected girl? Does she have a choice, and if so will it be to help the last few humans find a cure or to preserve herself and the other second generation kids as a new race to inherit the earth?

There are the expected zombies running amok and getting shot, biting humans. But the movie goes a lot further, assuming humans will do whatever they can to survive, but asking if this new species has the right to live. Interesting twist on the genre, well worth the watch. Zombie lovers may appreciate a film that is beyond blood and teeth, or not. Others may appreciate a film that asks about the future, and lets you consider your own decision making in such a situation. No boobs. 6.5/10



wait... so Zombies can procreate? :britney:
 

gingerlover

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Monster Trucks - Bear with me on this one. It looks really bad on the outside, but its not the worst. This is for anyone with younger children between say the ages of 4-8. Watched with my son and he like the parts he actually paid attention to. Basically this small town has been taken over by an oil company many years ago. There is an incident and its discovered these squid like creatures live underground where they are drilling. One of the local teenagers finds one and its a lets help them escape the evil company type of thing. Kids will like it because they make these things look cute and there's trucks doing stunts. I was actually surprised at the amount of people they got to sign up for this thing. A couple I don't know by name, but pop up everywhere. Its actually descnetly acted considering the script itself and never got to cheesy. For adults its probably around a 4-5/10 and for kids most likely around a 6-7/10 depending on their likes.
 

Gatorraid81

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Mindhunter, the new Netflix show, is pretty good. About how the FBI learns how to profile serial killers, takes place in the 70’s. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. 8.5/10
 

gingerlover

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Wilson - Stars woody harrelson and is one of those you see a preview for on the dvd and it looks good. Anyway hes mid-life guy with no connection because he's brutally honest. Tracks down his ex-wife who left him to be a hooker and finds out he's got a daughter she gave up for adoption. He then tracks the girl down and they try to be part of her life. Goes from funny first half to dramatic second half. 6/10

XXX: The Return of Xander Cage - Vin diesel is back to do a bunch more Bmx spy stuff. Luckily those obsurd parts are left out. They just put new obsurd stuff in since he's superman. Everyone from the previous two come back, even if just for a moment including ICE Cube. basically a bad guy makes a weapon and he's the only person in the world that can get it back. Good guys turn bad and bad guys turn good, with the usual can the government people be trusted or are they evil. The good - stunts, explosions, hot women, you know the guy stuff. The bad - the cast, the acting, the script, the story, etc. If you like the stuff listed under good every now and then and don't mind the latter being left out then this is for you. Insert Jason Statham into Diesels role and nothing changes. Seems like they are setting up a mission impossible type franchise 5/10
 
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