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Reviews
Civil War (2024)
Usual Trope
Essentially a story of a group of journalists getting through a war zone. It could have been a great premise, it could have been an amazing story.
However, we just can't seem to make a movie anymore in which the "good" guys aren't the strong women, the under represented name your group, etc. All the "bad" guys are of course white males, all the "good" guys of course are not.
We spend so much time in our media preaching how terrible and evil the majority of our population is, it's a wonder we function at all. Frankly, I'm tired of the constant preaching, admonishment, and general theme of "you are bad and you need us to remind you of it in every possible way". Just make a movie. Tell a story, stop with the preaching and racism. It's not just old anymore, it's just foolish.
The Boys in the Boat (2023)
Wonderful show, clapped at the end, it was that good.
We decided to go see this movie today, it didn't seem to be getting a lot of time slots at our local theater and we thought it must be a limited release film. I am so glad we decided to go. What a wonderful show. If you like stories about the underdog coming out on top, this is it.
Frankly, I have gotten so jaded with the films out today I seldom bother. Most are full of "social" messages, thinly veiled lectures on how terrible middles class America is or some revisionist silliness out to appease the fringe.
This movie had none of that. It was a good story about an underdog school and an underdog group of kids working hard, struggling and ultimately coming out the winner. A real feel good movie that had us jazzed and feeling good at the end.
Highly recommended.
Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Present change from today's drivel
We just came back from seeing this. What a lot of fun, a throw back to the good old monster movies of yesteryear. It felt like stepping back to the campy, silly, old fashioned monster movies of the past. Great acting, a real story and plot, tons of action and a big ol Godzilla making a mess of Tokyo again. That poor city seems to attract an unnaturally large number of monsters, lol. Well worth the time, the fact it's done in Japanese and Godzilla looks just as sorta campy to mimic the original with enough of a modern facelift to not be "to" campy made it all the better. Recommended for anyone that likes a bit of fun.
The Covenant (2023)
Great movie
Movies have been so disappointing lately, we haven't bothered to go to a theatre in months. We decided to give it a try, although we didn't know about this movie and so didn't know what to expect.
It was one of the best we have seen in a very long time. A great story, acting, mix of action and drama. We were on our toes from start to finish. It's not your typical "good guys always win and bad guys always lose" movie. That's what made it really shine, you go in expecting the typical US military kicks ass and all the bad guys go down. What you get is a more realistic story where things don't always go as planned and bad things happen when you don't expect them to. Just a great movie, definitely recommend.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Wonderful show
We were hesitant to go see a cartoon, but choices these days are limited and we had time to burn.
What a pleasant surprise. Lots of subtle and not so subtle humor, fun story, decent message around appreciating what you have vs what you think you want. It really was a great little picture that was as good for the adults in the audience as it was for the kids.
So many of the movies today just seem to miss the point. Lots of political messages or some social commentary and such. This has none of that. It's just a good story, well told, without any of the unnecessary social messaging or lessons. Definitely recommended for anyone that wants to go see a movie, just to enjoy the movie.
Plane (2023)
A good action flick, as long as you don't get caught up in reality.
We decided to see this on a whim really. Was raining and not much else to do, so we figured why not? Didn't really know what to expect.
It's your run of the mill action flick, kinda entertaining but it gets harder and harder to suspend your disbelief as it goes on.
It starts off as a plane crash disaster flick, with the brave pilot crash landing a commercial jet after being damaged in a storm. They manage to find an island with a farm road to land on and all is good. Turns out the island is the base of some bad guys, who kidnap and hold people hostage. So the movie shifts to a die hard sorta action flick. After some mercenaries hired by the airline get into a shoot out with the bad guys, they make a dash back to the plane, which apparently isn't all that broken after all. More shoot outs, and they fly the plane off the island and find a landing strip 50 miles away on another island. Everybody is mostly ok, end of movie....
Ok, so lots of really unbelievable stuff, to the point of just being silly. So, yeah, as long as you can get past the really, really, really silly plot devices, inconsistencies and face palm smacking, it's actually ok to watch.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Basically a remake of the first movie
Great visuals and effects no doubt, but the story was essentially the same as last time, just with a few dependents thrown in. Lots of plot holes (choking a person unconscious underwater for example), a new valuable resource only found in smart alien whales or whatever new name they have, evil professional soldiers taken out with bows and arrows, that sort of silliness. As with the first movie, I still have qualms about a guy that decides to start killing off his own people, combatants and civilians alike, because his new forest family is apparently better, but that's Hollywood for you.
Anyway, the movie is ok and maybe worth a glance when a streaming service picks it up.