- Jul 15, 2014
- 28,569
- 47,470
No, I get it, just couldn’t resist getting the joke in
Film Reviews - what have you seen lately, what did you think?
- Thread starter TLB
- Start date
- Aug 11, 2015
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- 15,955
It spends a few minutes telling us the moral of the story. It’s accurate and a good one, archetypical even. Thinking about it a little more, it’s a good thing. Young people need to hear it, has to do with facing fear, but movies don’t usually do that.
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,136
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How does it compare to the original? Or can you say?
The book in went a bit 'out there' for the ending, and the first film (1980's ?) was a bit weak on it - I'm just curious how the new film addressed that aspect, but I appreciate no-spoilers...I do hope to see it myself this week.
- Aug 11, 2015
- 8,315
- 15,955
- Aug 28, 2014
- 16,541
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I can hardly take DeNiro or Pacino seriously anymore. DeNiro has been in so many bad movies in the last decade or two and Pacino chews scenery.
- Jan 6, 2015
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Another movie binge weekend
Starting at home with some low quality Stallone flicks:
Escape Plan (2013)
Stallone is someone with a natural talent for escaping. As such he's partnered up with businessman Vincent D'Onofrio and they have been contracted by the gov't to go into every max security prison and find the weaknesses. The movie opens with him being in such a prison, pulling off a fairly slick escape, and then allowing himself get captured so they can go to the warden and explain to him what they just did. In the mix comes Amy Ryan who is also in their business, but more as a support role for Stallone, along with 50 cent (the "techno thug" also supporting Stallone and a bit at odds with D'Onofrio). They are approached by a person wanting to contract their services on behalf of certain un-named, off-the-grid, no-political-affiliation group running a black ops prison where they wish to check the strength of their prison. After some debate, Stallone commits against the advice of his partners, but the strong urging of D'Onofrio. He gears up, and heads off to meet with his new captors. Things go wrong in the first 30seconds as they bag him, throw him in a van, dig out any transponders, and vanish him. He reaches prison where the warden (James Caviezel) isn't who he was told it would be, his 'get out free' code is not recognized, and the head guard (Vinnie Jones) takes a personal dislike to him. So, you see, a good cast thus far - but wait, there's more. He bumps into Schwarzenegger as another prisoner and together they work a plan to escape. Without spoiling much, there are a few interesting turns as to where this non-existent prison is located and how it's run; we get beat over the head with the three principles in any prison escape, and there are a few plot twists of characters at the end - most of them you can see coming, but others are kinda meh-ok. There is a bit of personal history between Stallone and Ryan and his motivation for what he does but it is teased out over the film and doesn't really tie up very well leaving you with a loose thread and no major connection to the plot. All in all, decent but you aren't missing anything here. 6.5 / 10 with no boobs.
Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)
Stallone is back with 50cent, and a new actress taking Ryan's role. Now Stallone is leading a team of younger guys who do the work he used to - breaking out of places, starting the film off with a 'rescue' of hostages somewhere in the middle east. Things go wrong, a team member acts on his own and it costs the rescue so he gets canned. Shortly thereafter, another of the team 'disappears' so the team goes looking. He wakes up in a new 'hidden prison' known as Hades, complete with a 'zookeeper' type warden who pits the prisoners against each other in fights. Our new prisoner crosses paths with the outcast team member who must have been caught a few days earlier. Our lead is decent, the villain is decent but largely predictable, the setting is a concept that's never given teeth, and the rest of the story is breaking out our lead while he tries to mature into a proper team leader. Again, we're beat over the head with the three principles for a prison break, we have a fistful of random supporting cast that barely make an impact (most notable was the addition of David Bautista with a typecast he seems to be filling often), and... well, when I say 'some things happened' it isn't protecting the plot, it is more that it was that unremarkable I can't really remember. Skip it. Like many sequels, this one should not have been made. I assume Stallone owed a favor and that is why he was in this one. 3.5 / 10 and still no boobs.
But wait...Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019) was released in June....odd I haven't seen it anywhere. But Stallone-50cent-Bautista are there!
Starting at home with some low quality Stallone flicks:
Escape Plan (2013)
Stallone is someone with a natural talent for escaping. As such he's partnered up with businessman Vincent D'Onofrio and they have been contracted by the gov't to go into every max security prison and find the weaknesses. The movie opens with him being in such a prison, pulling off a fairly slick escape, and then allowing himself get captured so they can go to the warden and explain to him what they just did. In the mix comes Amy Ryan who is also in their business, but more as a support role for Stallone, along with 50 cent (the "techno thug" also supporting Stallone and a bit at odds with D'Onofrio). They are approached by a person wanting to contract their services on behalf of certain un-named, off-the-grid, no-political-affiliation group running a black ops prison where they wish to check the strength of their prison. After some debate, Stallone commits against the advice of his partners, but the strong urging of D'Onofrio. He gears up, and heads off to meet with his new captors. Things go wrong in the first 30seconds as they bag him, throw him in a van, dig out any transponders, and vanish him. He reaches prison where the warden (James Caviezel) isn't who he was told it would be, his 'get out free' code is not recognized, and the head guard (Vinnie Jones) takes a personal dislike to him. So, you see, a good cast thus far - but wait, there's more. He bumps into Schwarzenegger as another prisoner and together they work a plan to escape. Without spoiling much, there are a few interesting turns as to where this non-existent prison is located and how it's run; we get beat over the head with the three principles in any prison escape, and there are a few plot twists of characters at the end - most of them you can see coming, but others are kinda meh-ok. There is a bit of personal history between Stallone and Ryan and his motivation for what he does but it is teased out over the film and doesn't really tie up very well leaving you with a loose thread and no major connection to the plot. All in all, decent but you aren't missing anything here. 6.5 / 10 with no boobs.
Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)
Stallone is back with 50cent, and a new actress taking Ryan's role. Now Stallone is leading a team of younger guys who do the work he used to - breaking out of places, starting the film off with a 'rescue' of hostages somewhere in the middle east. Things go wrong, a team member acts on his own and it costs the rescue so he gets canned. Shortly thereafter, another of the team 'disappears' so the team goes looking. He wakes up in a new 'hidden prison' known as Hades, complete with a 'zookeeper' type warden who pits the prisoners against each other in fights. Our new prisoner crosses paths with the outcast team member who must have been caught a few days earlier. Our lead is decent, the villain is decent but largely predictable, the setting is a concept that's never given teeth, and the rest of the story is breaking out our lead while he tries to mature into a proper team leader. Again, we're beat over the head with the three principles for a prison break, we have a fistful of random supporting cast that barely make an impact (most notable was the addition of David Bautista with a typecast he seems to be filling often), and... well, when I say 'some things happened' it isn't protecting the plot, it is more that it was that unremarkable I can't really remember. Skip it. Like many sequels, this one should not have been made. I assume Stallone owed a favor and that is why he was in this one. 3.5 / 10 and still no boobs.
But wait...Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019) was released in June....odd I haven't seen it anywhere. But Stallone-50cent-Bautista are there!
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,136
- 26,529
Off to the theater for a double feature!
Joker (2019)
Never much of a DC fan, but wanted to see this both because I do like Jaoquin Phoenix and this is an interesting character (I do like origin stories). The film had only the lightest of connections to Batman or Bruce Wayne, and focused exclusively on the life and world of Arthur Fleck. Arthur has a day job as a clown for hire, and aspirations of being a standup comic. He lives with his mother, is enrolled in public services for counseling and medications, which of course get cut by the budget constraints of Gotham. We get to see inside the world of man barely hanging on, as if life is an ice rink and though he tries to steady himself it is always with footing that continues to keep him off balance. And as he slips further and further, and the world he believes fails him again and again, we see man not insane but giving up and embracing the reality he finds himself in. Wanting to be 'somebody', to be known, and loved....and finding rejection and ridicule everywhere.
Some may try to take political narration from this, a statement on today's society with big gov't failing people and mental illness going unaddressed. But I just went in for the ride, a two-hour escape into another world. I enjoyed that ride. There is word of a HUGE budget, and it shows without being overpowering...and it will make the money back several times over. It isn't a classic as either a film on it's own or in the sense of a cornerstone for the DC Universe, but it's a good film and worth seeing. No boobs, but a solid 8.5/10.
It Chapter 2 (2019)
The older film version was limited by the special effects of the day (and a ho-hum cast, IMO), and couldn't really bring to the screen the dread and terror one could conjure in their own mind from the book. The old film relied heavily on Tim Curry as Pennywise, which was very powerful but still held back by being a 1990 TV Miniseries. This one, made for the big screen, in 2017-2019 does it right proper, IMO. We still don't have an all-star cast, but it's much better. We have a big screen budget and 30y of special effects development. This was done right. Those who know the story get what they expect, while those that don't shouldn't have it spoiled by my comments. I will come back and answer this, however
Out of curiosity, did you catch the inside joke in the dialogue that was used too many times? The bit about Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) being a writer and everyone criticizes his film for an ending nobody liked - a self deprecating shot by King on how nobody liked the original book-miniseries ending
Joker (2019)
Never much of a DC fan, but wanted to see this both because I do like Jaoquin Phoenix and this is an interesting character (I do like origin stories). The film had only the lightest of connections to Batman or Bruce Wayne, and focused exclusively on the life and world of Arthur Fleck. Arthur has a day job as a clown for hire, and aspirations of being a standup comic. He lives with his mother, is enrolled in public services for counseling and medications, which of course get cut by the budget constraints of Gotham. We get to see inside the world of man barely hanging on, as if life is an ice rink and though he tries to steady himself it is always with footing that continues to keep him off balance. And as he slips further and further, and the world he believes fails him again and again, we see man not insane but giving up and embracing the reality he finds himself in. Wanting to be 'somebody', to be known, and loved....and finding rejection and ridicule everywhere.
Some may try to take political narration from this, a statement on today's society with big gov't failing people and mental illness going unaddressed. But I just went in for the ride, a two-hour escape into another world. I enjoyed that ride. There is word of a HUGE budget, and it shows without being overpowering...and it will make the money back several times over. It isn't a classic as either a film on it's own or in the sense of a cornerstone for the DC Universe, but it's a good film and worth seeing. No boobs, but a solid 8.5/10.
It Chapter 2 (2019)
The older film version was limited by the special effects of the day (and a ho-hum cast, IMO), and couldn't really bring to the screen the dread and terror one could conjure in their own mind from the book. The old film relied heavily on Tim Curry as Pennywise, which was very powerful but still held back by being a 1990 TV Miniseries. This one, made for the big screen, in 2017-2019 does it right proper, IMO. We still don't have an all-star cast, but it's much better. We have a big screen budget and 30y of special effects development. This was done right. Those who know the story get what they expect, while those that don't shouldn't have it spoiled by my comments. I will come back and answer this, however
Overall, I very much liked this film better for many reasons. But my biggest concern was how they'd handle the ending. The book, as I mentioned, went off in a direction that was really tough to follow or imagine, so it didn't make a lot of sense and left me feeling a bit empty. The miniseries tried to give it a visual sense, but flailed about and was still unsatisfying, IMO. This time, it finally clicked and made sense. The origin of Pennywise, the timelessness of his being and his previous battle(s?) now had something visual, believable, and gave me a context I could grasp and accept. So, as to the meaning of what was going on, I finally felt satisfied. As to the execution of that ending, well, there was a bit of hokiness abound starting with how they were able to knock Pennywise down to size...I mean, it fit and made sense, but still felt a bit cheap (in hindsight, it is actually perfectly fitting with the fear he fed upon, but c'mon, man). But I'll accept it.
Out of curiosity, did you catch the inside joke in the dialogue that was used too many times? The bit about Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) being a writer and everyone criticizes his film for an ending nobody liked - a self deprecating shot by King on how nobody liked the original book-miniseries ending
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,136
- 26,529
And then we're back home for a bit
Dark Phoenix (2019)
I must be on a McAvoy kick (I do like many of his roles). Variant universe of the X-Men where we follow Jean Grey's evolution from being one of the most powerful mutants into someone possessing a interstellar force of destruction and becoming perhaps the most powerful being in the universe. Oh, and that interstellar force is being sought after by aliens from another world who arrive to take it from Jean. Meanwhile, Jean is struggling to come to terms with her place among the X-men, which is much further complicated by the force within her starting to seep out uncontrollably. We have a decent cast of the younger X-Men main characters, though I kinda like the lead alien lady too, if I'm honest about it. If you like the X-Men, you'll mostly like this. I say 'mostly' as there's a decent sprinkling of modern liberal political statements ('maybe you should reconsider X-Men as it seems the women are always saving the men', and of course the three principle characters are Jean Grey, Raven, and the Alien Lady= all female, except for Charles Xavier). No boobs but tight spandex. Gains points for Marvel characters, but loses some for political statements. 7.5/10
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
This follows the 2014 film establishing his existence. This time, we learn there are tens of titan beings around the globe, including Monster Zero (his arch nemesis). Some eco-terrorists team with scientists to awaken these beasts, laying waste to human kind around the globe in an effort that the radiation from the monsters replenishes nature after they destroy mankind (not a hopeful thought, but the facts of this universe, accept it). We have some humans, trying to figure out how to navigate the situation and eventually team up to support Godzilla as King of the Monsters as he takes on the three headed King Ghidorah (M-zero). It seems all the other monsters are looking for an alpha to follow, and they fall in line with our bad monster, leaving Godzilla to defend his place in the hierarchy...but wait, there is Mothra, Queen of the Monsters, there to help Godzilla...oh, and the humans. Mothra's main counter character is Rodan, something on par with a Pterodactyl from a volcano. Any who, we learn a lot about monsters, and about Godzilla in particular, while we watch humans push buttons and run around a lot trying to help while avoiding getting eaten or stomped on. If you're looking for a monster fight, this is ok. If you're looking for anything else, go watch anything else...anything. 6.5/10
Dark Phoenix (2019)
I must be on a McAvoy kick (I do like many of his roles). Variant universe of the X-Men where we follow Jean Grey's evolution from being one of the most powerful mutants into someone possessing a interstellar force of destruction and becoming perhaps the most powerful being in the universe. Oh, and that interstellar force is being sought after by aliens from another world who arrive to take it from Jean. Meanwhile, Jean is struggling to come to terms with her place among the X-men, which is much further complicated by the force within her starting to seep out uncontrollably. We have a decent cast of the younger X-Men main characters, though I kinda like the lead alien lady too, if I'm honest about it. If you like the X-Men, you'll mostly like this. I say 'mostly' as there's a decent sprinkling of modern liberal political statements ('maybe you should reconsider X-Men as it seems the women are always saving the men', and of course the three principle characters are Jean Grey, Raven, and the Alien Lady= all female, except for Charles Xavier). No boobs but tight spandex. Gains points for Marvel characters, but loses some for political statements. 7.5/10
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
This follows the 2014 film establishing his existence. This time, we learn there are tens of titan beings around the globe, including Monster Zero (his arch nemesis). Some eco-terrorists team with scientists to awaken these beasts, laying waste to human kind around the globe in an effort that the radiation from the monsters replenishes nature after they destroy mankind (not a hopeful thought, but the facts of this universe, accept it). We have some humans, trying to figure out how to navigate the situation and eventually team up to support Godzilla as King of the Monsters as he takes on the three headed King Ghidorah (M-zero). It seems all the other monsters are looking for an alpha to follow, and they fall in line with our bad monster, leaving Godzilla to defend his place in the hierarchy...but wait, there is Mothra, Queen of the Monsters, there to help Godzilla...oh, and the humans. Mothra's main counter character is Rodan, something on par with a Pterodactyl from a volcano. Any who, we learn a lot about monsters, and about Godzilla in particular, while we watch humans push buttons and run around a lot trying to help while avoiding getting eaten or stomped on. If you're looking for a monster fight, this is ok. If you're looking for anything else, go watch anything else...anything. 6.5/10
- Jul 15, 2014
- 28,569
- 47,470
- Aug 11, 2015
- 8,315
- 15,955
Off to the theater for a double feature!
Out of curiosity, did you catch the inside joke in the dialogue that was used too many times? The bit about Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) being a writer and everyone criticizes his film for an ending nobody liked - a self deprecating shot by King on how nobody liked the original book-miniseries ending
Great reviews. I will see Joker soon and you sealed the decision.
I caught the recurring line but didn’t connect it with King. As I said, I read it so long ago the ending was hazy. But I get it. That’s pretty cool. I loved King’s cameo.
So many of King’s books were not adequately brought to the big screen. This was among the better ones (Stand By Me & Shawshank being the best.)
- Aug 16, 2018
- 1,948
- 5,685
I love movies that have a "moral of the story".
Death wish
Moral of the story: You don't F with Charles Bronson
Dirty Harry
Moral of the story: You don't F with Clint Eastwood
Rambo
Moral of the story: You don't F with Sylvester Stalone
Preditor
Moral of the story: You don't F with Schwarzenegger
- Aug 11, 2015
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- 15,955
- Jan 6, 2015
- 14,136
- 26,529
Death Wish (2018)
Remake, done with Bruce Willis. Shallow plot, shallow characters other than Willis. Some gun play violence, but overall nothing great. No boobs (dammit, Elisabeth Shue & Camila Morrone). Time better spent going back to the original. 5/10.
Quoted just because of the coincidence of me watching that one last night and being mentioned by 51
- Jul 15, 2014
- 28,569
- 47,470
They actually had some funny, non-political, stuff last night
- Aug 28, 2014
- 16,541
- 26,096
Might the funniest thing out of them in 30 years.
- Jul 15, 2014
- 28,569
- 47,470
They still do really well on these "not live" produced things... it's the "live" that's been hurtin' for a long, long, time.
- Jun 11, 2014
- 4,834
- 8,299
Founding Member
- Jan 6, 2015
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The Predator (2018)
Ok, so we're on what, the 4th? 5th? installment of the series? At this point you have to accept this isn't going to be top notch. When you have Keegan-Michael Key as one of the key supporting actors, our lead is Boyd Holbrook (who? you'll recognize the face but he's not a lead) and his nemesis is Sterling K Brown (another face you'll recognize, but not a lead), and we have Olivia Munn as the female role of note..lower your expectations.
That said, they all did their roles decently well. But I have to say with B-movie expectations, I was delighted. The storyline moved along well enough with a plot that made sense to progress the series. There is some obligatory suspension of belief (Predator can scan a kids drawing, read his name and school, and know where that is to go get him states away? Ok). Despite my knocks on the cast we have a fun mix of A-Team rejects, who pull off a decent fistful of funny lines throughout. Sterling makes a good villain, dick but you enjoy it. Boyd makes a good lead, sniper with morals. All in all, a pretty good flick. No boobs, but better than B-movie. 7/10.
Ok, so we're on what, the 4th? 5th? installment of the series? At this point you have to accept this isn't going to be top notch. When you have Keegan-Michael Key as one of the key supporting actors, our lead is Boyd Holbrook (who? you'll recognize the face but he's not a lead) and his nemesis is Sterling K Brown (another face you'll recognize, but not a lead), and we have Olivia Munn as the female role of note..lower your expectations.
That said, they all did their roles decently well. But I have to say with B-movie expectations, I was delighted. The storyline moved along well enough with a plot that made sense to progress the series. There is some obligatory suspension of belief (Predator can scan a kids drawing, read his name and school, and know where that is to go get him states away? Ok). Despite my knocks on the cast we have a fun mix of A-Team rejects, who pull off a decent fistful of funny lines throughout. Sterling makes a good villain, dick but you enjoy it. Boyd makes a good lead, sniper with morals. All in all, a pretty good flick. No boobs, but better than B-movie. 7/10.
