What Films Did You Watch Last Week? (01/01-07/01) CLOSED

Yours:
6 Bullets - 6/10
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - 6/10

Mine: All first time views

American Assassin (2017) - 5/10 - DVD
Just an OK action/thriller. Michael Keaton is great as always though.

Black Mass (2015) - 6/10 - DVD
Solid crime thriller.  Johnny Depp is amazing.

Donnie Brasco (1997) - 7/10 - DVD
Very good crime thriller. Great cast.

Kidnapped in Romania (2016) - 1/10 - DVD
AWFUL film in every way. Just a bunch of walking around around a farmhouse. Why Michael Madsen?

Gabrielle (2013) - 1/10 - DVD
Third film this week with Michael Madsen. This one is also awful. Michael Madsen just walks around and drinks while he writes a book. Lame!

Old Boy (2013) - 3/10 - DVD
Starts out very thrilling and gets so damn stupid as it goes along.

The Caller (2008) - 4/10 - DVD
Intriguing drama yet really dull at the same time.

Swelter (2013) - 2/10 - DVD
Really lame. I fell asleep the first time around. One of Jean-Claude Van Dammes worst.

The Lazarus Effect (2015) - 4/10 - DVD
Starts out good but goes down hill.

Event 15 (2013) - 3/10 - DVD
Good story. Bad execution.

Dr. Jekyll & Mistress Hyde (2003) - 6/10 - DVD
Solid erotic film. Nothing great but sexy.

Adventures of a Private Eye (1977) - 3/10 - VHS
Unfunny erotic comedy.

Coffin Baby: The Toolbox Murders 2 (2013) - 3/10 - DVD
Lots of blood and gore but nothing good.

Scavenger Killers (2014) - 2/10 - DVD
Unfunny gore comedy with Dustin Diamond.

Im a JCVD fan but I'll pass on 6 bullets.

E.T.: Classic but havent seen it in over a decade. 8/10

My Week:


Headshot (2016 Netflix):’’ Uwais plays an amnesiac with a serious head injury whose past comes back to haunt him shortly after being nursed back to health by a young doctor. Violence ensues.’’ I enjoyed this Indonesian ultra-violent action movie. Not as great as The Raid but definitely worth it. Its main weakness to my eyes was the cheap special effects for the gunshots. It was ’’I Phone App’’ quality. It was also heavy on the clichés and has a super cheesy ending, but again, it’s worth it. The acting was solid and the cinematography was impeccable.6.5-7/10


Power Rangers (2017 Netflix): ‘’ A group of high-school students, who are infused with unique superpowers, harness their abilities in order to save the world.’’ I did not enjoy this movie. I found it boring, the acting was mediocre and you have to wait 1h30 before the Power Rangers actually start doing their thing. And their thing sucked. Nothing new here, move along. 4/10


Bridget Jones Diary (2001 TV): ‘’ A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.’’ I enjoyed it about as much as I can possibly enjoy any Romcom. It was a good week-end afternoon movie to watch with my wife. 6/10



Black Mirror (Netflix):

-S4E1: Ingenious, fun, captivating and well played. 8/10

-S4E2: Clever idea, drab and boring execution. 5/10

-S4E3: Good, entertaining, shot in nice settings. 7/10

-S4E4: Skillfully executed, well played and a great twist on the typical love story. 8.5-9/10

-S4E5: Succeed in its attempt but does not manage to elevate itself above simple goodness. 6.5-7/10

-S4E6: Great atmosphere, awesome mini-stories, cool story, monkey loves you. 8.5/10


I actually started watching Season 4 by accident but I’m definitely going to watch all prior episodes now. Great show.
Come on Darky, rate each episode for me.

I'd recommend giving Blade Runner 2049 another shot. I only gave it 7.5 the first time.

I knew you were a fan of The Outfit which is part of why I was interested in it.

I don't like the entire finale, starting with the mexican stand-off. 

Hey,

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) 6.5/10 - It's still mildly solid as the original, but it got the better cinematography, editing, casting and the role of Lisbeth. Rooney Mara gave amazing performance!

Your Name (2016) 8.5/10 - I'm usually not a fan of anime films, but this one is one of the better I've seen. So beautiful, interesting original story, amazing animation visual effects.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) 9.5/10 - It was A LOT better than I expected and much better than movie trailer which I thought it was gonna to be bad. Hilarious, funny, exciting and fun movie! I actually think the casting is great, and so is special effects. It has so many hilarious lines and one scene that I couldn't stop laughing when she had to try to do with two man. It's like a dumb fun adventure/comedy of Spider-Man: Homecoming if we're talking about a 2017 movies. Watch it for your enjoyment!

La La Land (2016) 10/10 (rewatch) - Not a bad second viewing, but I'm just so glad I saw it in the theater. Still a masterpiece tho!

Cult of Chucky (2017) 8.5/10 - I can't say if I was excited to see this one, but I actually really enjoyed it. Sure, it's not a horror masterpiece, but It was so fun and bloody movie. The bloody kills are surprisingly awesome, and the gore is on point. The characters were pretty interesting, and it was nice to see Andy, Tiffany and the blonde girl from Child's Play 2 in this. The setting was odd because the insane asylum was too white and clean. The CGI of Chucky really worked for me, he looked like real and was pretty scary. But however, it's better than Leatherface and I think it's as good as Curse of Chucky, so you may like it if you liked Curse of Chucky. I quite enjoyed it and I loved how gory was it was.

Iron Man (2008) 8.5/10

Better Watch Out (2017) 9.5/10 - Holy f-ck! What a unexpected twist! It's such insane movie, but yet, it was a lot of fun to watch. The performance are great by two main actors; the young boy who played Levi Miller showed how good acting did he. Olivia DeJonge (who played from The Visit) as a babysitter was also really good in it. I really can't say anything about it anymore without spoiling it, but overall, just avoid the spoilers, and you'll be glad you did if you haven't seen it yet. This one is really awesome home-invasion psychological thriller movie with fucked up twist.

darksidebeadle

Yours:

36 Hours. James Garner had been a popular TV star who was trying to make the difficult transition to Big Screen stardom. His two movies released in 1964 were what put him over the top. “36 Hours” was one; “The Americanization of Emily” was the other. “Emily” was also very important for Julie Andrews.

E.T. One of Spielberg’s greatest. One that he will be most remembered for.

Mine

The Beguiled / Don Siegal (1971). In the final months of the U.S. Civil War, a Union soldier, Cpl McBurney (Clint Eastwood), is wounded and alone in Mississippi. He is found by a young girl who lives at a ladies’ seminary nearby. Knowing that Martha, the Head Mistress (Geraldine Page), the teacher Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman) and their eight charges will soon turn him over to the daily confederate patrol, he attempts to charm, sweet talk, and romance as many of them as his can, creating an explosive situation. Director Siegal called this film a combination of Ambrose Bierce, Edgar Allen Poe, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote – and he is not far off. Tension builds to explosive levels. If you ever wonder what the phrase “a woman scorned” is really all about, see this movie. (Just kidding, folks.)

In this spot next week, I will review the 2017 version of “The Beguiled” which was a Cannes Film Festival darling.



The Unholy Rollers / Vernon Zimmerman (1972). Roger Corman’s American International drive-in exploitation strikes again. This roller derby sports movie has plenty of skating with derby violence, a chaotic script that makes little sense, some occasional female upper body nudity, women fighting, and cars racing down streets and crashing through fruit carts (well, that last is an exaggeration but the cars do crash through garbage cans and groceries being unloaded from a truck). In other words, all the ingredients of an AI hit. Karen Walker (Claudia Jennings) quits her job at the cannery because of a grabby supervisor. Needing work, she tries out for a roller derby team owned by Mr. Stern (Louis Quinn, “77 Sunset Strip”). She gets the job and quickly becomes the team’s highest scorer but refuses to keep to the team plan. She’s only out for herself, which raises the ire and jealousy of her team mates. This is pretty much retro fun and there are even a couple of genuine laughs. Claudia Jennings rules this movie as the rebellious Karen. She has screen presence and attitude. She had been a Playboy Playmate in 1969 and Playmate of the Year for 1970 back when that was a big deal. She immediately got a movie contract, with “The Unholy Rollers” being one of her first hits. Eight years later, she already had been tagged as “Queen of the Bs” for her work with American International and like companies. Unfortunately (for all of us), she died in a messy auto accident on an L.A. freeway in October 1979.

Claudia Jennings



Mozart: Die Zauberflöte: La Scala Academy. (2016). A live performance (recorded) from La Scala in Milan, Italy. I saw the Met production on screen just last month, but you can’t see “The Magic Flute” too many times.

Unlocked / Michael Apted (2017). A good cast – Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, Michael Douglas, and John Malkovich – are given the job of selling a rather routine spy plot – and they try their best. They are let down by the script, though. If you can’t spot the traitor in the very early going, you’ll have to turn in your Junior G-Man badge. Still, there are a few twists and some good fight action, especially if you appreciate a kick-ass woman protag – and I’m moony for Noomi. If a competently made, well-acted countdown to doomsday spy story is your cuppa, you could do worst, just don’t expect perfection.

Orlando Bloom and Noomi Rapace



…Continuing a watch straight through the 10 seasons of Doctor Who: New Series in anticipation of next year’s introduction of the 13th Doctor.

S.6, Ep. 10 “The Girl Who Waited” September 10, 2011. A very serious and extremely well-acted (especially by Karen Gillan) episode that show just how ruthless The Doctor can be when necessary. One of New Who’s best.

S.6, Ep. 11 “The God Complex September 17, 2011. The TARDIS lands (and then disappears) stranding its crew in what looks like a run-down hotel. They join a group of people fighting for their lives against a mysterious enemy. At the end, The Doctor, afraid he is going to someday get his friends killed, drops off Amy and Rory and goes off to travel alone.

S.6, Ep. 12 “Closing Time” September 24, 2011. Just two episodes away from a series best, comes one of the worst. “Closing Time” depends on my most hated sci-fi cliché, the “you can fight it” scene, the words spoken to someone whose identity is about to be stolen. See also a “Star Trek: New Generation” story where Picard has to “fight it” while being absorbed by the Borg. The Doctor also learns that Amy has become a well-known fashion model. James Cordon reprises his character from “The Lodger” (see last week’s reviews).

S. 6, Ep. 13 “The Wedding Of River Song” October 1, 2011. The series gets back on track with this twisted and often hilarious season finale. We saw The Doctor being killed early in Ep. 1 of this season. Now we find out what really happened.

S. 7, Christmas Special “The Doctor, The Widow, And The Wardrobe” December 25, 2011. I have never been very fond of the Christmas specials and this one is no exception. The sentimentality is laid on with a trowel.

S. 7, Ep. 1 “Asylum Of The Daleks” September 1, 2012. Starts with a shocker: Amy and Rory have split and are getting a divorce. This all goes on hold when they are captured by the Daleks. Jenna Coleman (“Victoria”) who had already been announced as The Doctor’s new companion for mid-season, is introduced.

S. 7, Ep. 2 “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship” September 8, 2012. This starts out in a lighthearted way with the discovery of the title spaceship but soon turns serious when The Doctor encounters mass murderer Solomon (David Bradley, Mr. Filch in Harry Potter). Their meeting results in one of the series’ best acting face-offs: the younger generation (Matt Smith) and a veteran (Bradley) with the winners being the viewing audience.


The Doctor and Amy Pond (Matt Smith and Karen Gillan)