Recently watched movies!

[lhb412]

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Hijackers take control of a NYC subway car and demand one million dollars within an hour or they start killing hostages. Their actions have been meticulously planned, and the various officials scramble to react. Robert Shaw plays the leader of the gang and Walter Matthau plays the frumpy Transit Authority Police Lieutenant who ends up coordinating the response. This is a great procedural type film, where we follow the crime in and the the following crisis in real time. The leads are great, some nifty character actors in supporting roles, and a last scene - a last shot that made me smile.

[Dr Kain]

Was that the remake or origina?

Anyway, stepping away from the Kaiju genre for a moment to take a look at another series of films I adore, Film Noir. Film Noir is a style of film that utilizes lighting and shadow as its story progresses, often at times showcasing the underbelly of humanity. Here is a look at the pinnacle of cinema with the 1944 cinematic masterpiece "Double Indemnity."

[lhb412]

[lhb412]

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

An entertaining doc on the premier schlockmeisters of the 1980s, which was apparently run by two complete lunatics. Everyone who's being interviewed for the film has the strange, bemused tone of someone who can hardly believe the outrageous things that they're reminiscing about.

[Dr Kain]

Star Trek Beyond - Star Trek Beyond starts off as little sloppy as the opening segment feels tacked on and rushed as there is very little in the ay of a purpose to it. Thankfully, that is ttruly the only place where the movie's plot fumbles as the rest of it is down right solid with some truly great comedic one liners to go with the action. The effects are really well done and none of the characters feel out of place. On the other hand, once again Star Trek seems to have a problem with providing a kick ass villain, as the villain here is just another Saturday morning cartoon cookie cutter one. I just don't know how every other science fiction franchise can come up with some of the most badass villains in the history of the genre, while Star Trek seems to fail on this aspect all of the time. Idris Elba does a good job, but the character he plays is just subpar. Also, a few of the characters from the previous movie seem to be missing without even a mention as to why they are not there. Overall, Beyond may not be as good as the first one, but it is better than Into Darkness and does an outstanding job of trying to not be just a Star Wars clone. It isn't anywhere the best movie of the year, but it is an enjoyable ride nonetheless. I give it an 8/10.

BTW, my freaking god, we had 10 trailers before the movie and they were all for sequels and remakes. Another Jack Reacher, the new Bourne movie, Magnificent Seven, The Joneses, another Triple X movie, Rogue One, Ben Hur, The Space Between Us, and I can't even remember what the other two were at this piont.

[Dr Kain]

Brewster's Millions - This was an interesting movie. It wasn't spectacular or anything, but it was highly entertaining especially with the way they had Brewster just start giving people jobs. Quite hilarious. John Candy was great in it. I'm going to give it an 8/10 because Richard Pryor was absolutely fantastic.

The Bourne Identity - This movie just flat out rocks! It takes an interesting dive into the spy thriller by giving us an assassin who not only failed his mission, but also suffers from amnesia because of it. The acting is great, the characters are interesting and it is hard to know who is really a good guy and who isn't, there are some great action scenes, but most of importantly, the soundtrack just flat out rocks. In a time where Bond had become flat, the movie industry needed something refreshing like this. The shaky cam fights are well done too because it shows how hectic a situation like this can be. Lastly, thank the gods this movie was made in 2002. If this thing came out today, it would have been made just to set up the sequels instead of being its own story. As is, you don't have to watch the sequels to enjoy this one as it is its own story. I give this one a wonderful 9/10.

The Bourne Supremacy - After an excellent ending to the first movie we get a sequel that pretty much feels like one. It rehashes everything the first one did, but decides up the ante by trying to unnecessarily raise the stakes. It is still a fun and entertaining ride, and there are a lot of likable characters to be had, but there is no self contained story in here as it feels like it is part of something bigger. The music continues to rock though while the villains leave something to be desired because you already know who is the villain and who isn't. Oh, and the pacing is kind of erratic. I give it a 7/10.

The Bourne Ultimatum - Still not better than the first one, but a vast improvement over Supremacy. We finally get to see just how far down the rabbit hole of conspiracies go and how far they were willing to go to keep their secrets. The pacing is also much better this time around, but it is the ending that makes the second movie worth sitting through. Everything comes to a nice conclusion that feels complete. It all ends in a manner of how it begins, which is a great way to send off this franchise. The soundtrack continue to impress and the visuals are gorgeous. Overall, Ultimatum gets an 8/10.

[Dr Kain]

Only Angels Have Wings - I've never heard of this movie until Criterion released it last month and overall, it was quite good Not the greatest Grant movie I have ever watched, as it was about 15 or minutes a little bit too long, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. I believe this is the first time I have ever watched an aviation movie though, so that really took me by surprise. It is interesting to see how things have changed so much since this movie was made though. Add on top some really great dialog and insults of love towards the characters and you do have solid performances. I give it an 8/10.

[jellydonut25]

Solaris (The 2002 version) - honestly kinda dull enough that I don't want to really track down the 70 minute longer original version. I can see how it's probably a better film (a lot of what this movie asks you to be shocked or saddened or buy-into at all relies on you doing so just because it happens, and not because of any characterization or interpersonal relationships that are developed), but I also don't think I'd be interested enough for 2 hrs and 46 minutes.

[lhb412]

Ghostbusters (2016)

A fair but unspectacular remake. The cast has great chemistry, they make a great team, but Feig seems more and more out of his element the more special effects there are. The finale seems more like something out of a Scooby Doo movie. The first two thirds or so are definitely a lot stronger. Kate McKinnon and Chris Hemsworth are the comedy MVPs, and I'd argue the film is worth watching just for McKinnon, who hopefully has a big career ahead of her. Poor Leslie Jones has a ton of natural likability, but in the scenes not focused on her (where she thrives), they tend to give her a lot of groaners.

[klen7]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)- I just got the ShoutFactory! disc in today and checked it out. The PQ is pretty good especially for an obscure movie such as this. As for the film itself it's no Wolf Man or AAWiL but it's still a decent werewolf flick. I recommend checking it out.

[lhb412]

Shane

A corrupt rancher attempts to clear out all the homesteading families from a remote Wyoming valley sometime soon after the Civil War. A wandering gunfighter, Shane, happens to be passing through and takes up with one of those families, supporting the husband's (Van Heflin) idealogical stand, all the while have a subtle sexual tension with the wife and becoming the object of their young son's hero worship. Jack Palance plays and evil gunfighter. The relationship between Shane and the kid gets all the press, but I think Heflin's performance is what holds the movie together (and it's kind of a spin on the character he would play in 3:10 to Yuma, one of my favorite films).

The location used for this movie is spectacular. Huge mountains loom in the background of most of the shots.

[Dr Kain]

To Catch a Thief - Another solid movie from Hitchcock, and yet, I felt something was missing in it. I'm not sure what though as Cary Grant was as excellent as always. Grace Kelly was wonderful. The story was entertaining and I love the symbolism in the movie with the fireworks scene. Yet, something felt off to me and I can't put my finger on it, so I can't explain it. I'm not sure whether I want to give this one a 7 or an 8, and I hate that I'm not sure I want to give it an 8.

[lhb412]

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Seeing this on the big screen brings attention to just how cool the locations are in the beginning of the film.

Here's the thing about a movie star with innate star power like Charlton Heston: he (or she) can make a tough character palatable. Taylor is a misanthropic creep, and the film doesn't really shy away from that.

Mobile Suit Gundam I

It's crazy to revisit this series (in movie form) all these years later. I watched this series at age 13 on Toonami in the summer of 2001, until it was interrupted in the final week by 9/11. Since then I've watched a few anime series, and there were several moments where I mentally went back to Evangelion and Eureka Seven and was reminded 'Oh, yeah: Gundam did that first.' I read somewhere that the release of these Gundam movies was a big moment for anime fandom as it exits today. Mobile Suit Gundam was a failed 43 episode (cut back from 50) anime series, and the fans, through the power of their fandom (and all their money spent on merch) saved it and brought it back reedited as a successful movie series. It felt like a big victory, and I suppose we can give these movies credit for otaku as we know them today (uh... yay?).

Anyway, for those who don't know, or only know what a Gundam model kit looks like; the plot is in a society where most of the population has moved into space colonies a group of colonies declares itself the Principality of Zeon and starts a war of independence with the Earth Federation. The war has gone on for 8 months with heavy losses on both sides, and Zeon has managed to fight of its larger foe largely through their innovative new weapon: mobile suits (giant piloted robots). When Zeon mobile suits attack a colony a bunch of young, untested soldiers and hastily recruited civilians end up in command of the Federation's new experimental weapons, a battleship and the Federation's first mobile suits. They end up on the run helped by their powerful new weapons but hindered by the fact that they're figuring out how to use them on the go. Flaky computer whiz kid Amuro Ray ends up as the pilot of the mobile suit Gundam, which was designed by his father, and quickly excels at fighting with it only to also quickly buckle under the psychological stress of battle.

... oh, and they go up against Char Aznable, a ace Zeon mobile suit pilot so mysterious he wears a mask!

The plot description was kinda more for me, as I wanted to see how briefly I could sum it up while still getting the essential elements. It still feels fresh: the bad guys are fighting for independence, the good guys are alternately competent and terrified, you even see Federation soldiers (the nominal good guys) harassing civilians! I enjoyed following this soap opera again. I don't think much is noticeably lost in condensing about 15 hours of show into 7+ hours of movies (and there's a lot of repetition in a show like this anyway), but I do feel the breaks in the episodes probably sold the passage of time in a way that doesn't carry in one big chunk. I had a few moments of wondering how much time is supposed to have passed. They're fighting Char again? Didn't they just fight him a few minutes ago? That sort of thing.

[Dr Kain]

Yeah, the passage of time is something that is always troublesome to figure out in general, but the compilation movies do make it harder. I believe the first series occurs over the course of 4 months. It's supposed to be in Sept when Side 7 is attacked, Oct when Garma meets his fate, Operation Odessa is in Nov, and the final battle is in on New Years Eve.

[Dr Kain]

Batman The Killing Joke - Man, oh man, where do I begin? First off, what the hell Bruce Timm?! This movie should have been the best animated Batman movie since Mask of the Phantasm, and instead, it ends up being an unremarkable, run of the mill mess. The first half is not only an insult to the fans of the franchise, but also to the masterpiece Alan Moore gave us. The characters in the first 30 minutes are pointless and add nothing to the overall plot, but it is how degrading it gets as far as the relationship between Bruce and Barbara goes. It was unnecessary and highlights everything wrong with DC's perception of what people want out of these movies. They have been riding on a thin line of ice ever since Justice League War, and now they broke it. What should have been a celebration has turned into a tragedy. Hell, Barbara's friend at the library serves absolutely no purpose to the story at all and is only there to exposit details we did not need, nor care about. In fact, that is the biggest problem about the first thirty minutes of the movie, we have no reason to care about anything that occurs. That is not what we are watching the movie for, so why put it there? If you don't know who Batgirl is by now, this movie isn't for you.

So that brings me to the actual story, and it is fine, but the excitement has been diminished by this point, so it goes by without the impact it should have had. Mark Hammil does a fantastic job and it was nice to see him get to do a true representation of Joker, something he hasn't been able to do outside of Mask of the Phantasm and the Arkham games. Kevin Conroy is perfectly fine, but this isn't anywhere near his best work. He sounds like he is just going through the motions of Batman as if he is kind of burnt out on the character or something.

The animation was on par with the other movies. The ears on Batman looked a bit off, but there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Sadly though, the music is pretty forgettable, which is a shame because not only did Batman The Animated Series have one of the greatest soundtracks in the history of animation, but even a lot of the other Batman animated movies, such as The Dark Knight Returns, have had tracks that would stick in your head for days. For this movie, I watched it two hours ago and I can't remember a damn thing about the music.

Overall, it saddens me that I am unable to talk about how amazing this movie because I was expecting to gush over it with immense fangasms. The reality is that it is just another DC animated movie that completely missed its mark, which is annoying when these are direct to video movies, there is no reason why something should not be as long or as short as it needs to be. Instead of cramming too much into a 75 minute run time for one movie and then having to needlessly stretch out another to meet that 75 minutes, do what is best for that movie. If one movie only needs to be 50 minutes in length, make it 50 minutes in length and save the budget for the unused 25 minutes for a different movie that could benefit from it. I would say rent this before you spend the money on it to see if it is worth it to you. I personally wouldn't pay more than $10 for the BD. My score for it is a 7/10.

[Dr Kain]

Jason Bourne - Unfortunately, this movie is as bland and unoriginal as its title. Everything that occurs in the movie is done in a cookie cutter manner where it feels like they are just rehashing the same concepts from the trilogy and putting them into here. Nothing feels like this movie is meant to be the end of Jason's story, but rather a new beginning that will lead into another trilogy of stories dealing with government corruption and super soldiers. The whole movie is by the book in all of its execution, making it the most predictable in the series. Thankfully, it is at least better than that abomination that starred Jeremy Renner, but that doesn't mean this is a good movie by any means. The music repeats the same tracks we have had in the previous movies to the point that I don't even think there was a single new tune to be found, and if there was, it wasn't noticeable. Also, Alicia Vikander couldn't keep her American accent worth a damn as it kept changing throughout the movie. If you are a fan of the trilogy, this is definitely worth a rental, but I'm not sure I could recommend paying the price for its theatrical run. In the end, I give this generic action borefest a 6/10.

[jellydonut25]

I attempted to watch Rebirth of Mothra II. I fell asleep pretty fast.

[Benjamin Haines]

Kain, I have never been able to wrap my head around your scoring system for movies. You say Batman: The Killing Joke "completely missed its mark" but you still give it a 7/10. You call Jason Bourne a "generic action borefest" yet you give it a 6/10. A few pages back you also called Independence Day a borefest and gave it a 7/10.

Are you grading them from the perspective of a teacher, like how getting a 70 out of 100 on a math test would be a D or a low C depending on where you go?

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

The Uninvited


This '40s flick is historically important because it was one of the first Hollywood flicks to seriously dramatize a haunting, instead of playing it for laughs or having the ghosts be explained as a hoax or hallucination or whatever (which was a cliche back then). It's not really a horror film, more a melodrama with supernatural elements, and it makes from a pleasant, slightly spooky time with some good actors (it stars Ray Milland and features a nice supporting part of Alan Napier - Alfred from the '60s Batman show).

[O.Supreme]

TMNT Out of the Shadows. ok...I Have a ton of nitpicks with this film, but oddly enough, in the end I enjoyed it for the most part. I took the kids to see this at the discount theater at our mall. This was basically their first big "action flick" that i felt comfortable taking them too, until now they have seen mostly animated films. They enjoyed it quite a bit as well.

Cons:
Shredder- basically is pointless in this film. Baxter could have just as easily gotten all the mcguffins for Krang, and turned Beebop & Rocksteady into Mutants. The turtles do not even fight Shredder?!?
Will Arnett- maybe just me, but "Vernon" got way too much screen time. He is good as Lego Batman, but in small doses elsewhere.
Splinter-some of the best scenes in the first film involved the interaction between Splinter & the Turtles. In this film, he basically does nothing, has *maybe* one good moment with Casey Jones speaking of which...
Stephen Amell- Sorry was just not convincing as Casey Jones. One scene in a bar does not a deranged vigilante make. Plus who knew he could be so whiney...

Pros:
The Turtles: all were in top form, and really had good chemistry. Great action sequences & comedy throughout the film
Beebop & Rocksteady: well done. Fans of the 87 toon had to wait 29 years, but they finally got them done right on screen.
Baxter Stockman: not much to say here, but he seemed to be pretty faithful to the comic adaptation. perhaps a tease at him turning into a fly (ala the cartoon) would have been cool. But oh well
Krang: Bard Garrett? Interesting choice but ultimately not a bad one. He did pretty much exactly what he would do in the 80's series, and the Technodrome had those little touches that made it *almost* true to the 80's version right down to the big eyeball and giant laser-thingy in the front.
Karai: younger and more attractive this time around, though again she really didn't do anything
Foot Soldiers" looked better, more menacing, even fought harder against the turtles despite still getting beat up constantly.

The CG for the most part was great, until the Turtles start to fight on the Technodrome. Some of those daytime scenes looked really unfinished, almost Transformers AoE bad... I see this as pretty much a love letter to fans of the 80's toon, right down to the theme song at the end credits. The first film seemed to want to distance themselves from it , but this was pretty much full on, just a bit edgier without being *dark*. I know the film performed poorly overall though, so i dont know if we'll be getting a 3rd film. If we do, I hope we actually get a Shredder that is a real threat. and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...no time travel.

If this is cheap when it comes out on Blu Ray, will probably add it to my collection.