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Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
The Ghostbusters Film That I Wanted To See
I can't believe how much I enjoyed this film. My wife, who could care less about a Ghostbusters film, told me about 30 minutes into it that she was really enjoying it as well. My wife rarely likes anything, so this is a huge deal.
All I can say, is a heartfelt thank you to the filmmakers. This is exactly the Ghostbusters movie that I wanted to see 30 years after Ghostbusters II. Their attention to detail, referencing the first two movies, was nothing short of incredible. What an absolutely beautiful way to honor Harold Ramis, in every aspect.
I seriously expected to be disappointed with this film. So many sequels made this long after the original movies were made, fall very short. This was a home run, all the way around.
Monsters of Man (2020)
Very Suprised at How Good This Was
My wife tends to put on the lowest quality B movies that you have never heard of, just to have something in the background while we make dinner or do stuff around the house. I thought "low quality B-movie" was exactly what I was about to get until about 10 minutes in. I can't believe how good this was. 15 minutes in, we had both stopped what we were doing and were firmly glued to the couch. The story was great (and touches pretty close to common day concerns about the potential of artificial intelligence), the actors were fantastic (particularly the young boy who plays Leap), and the special effects were way better than what I was expecting. I typically don't watch movies more than once unless I really like them, I'll give this one another watch soon. Really well done.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2024)
Incredible
This was fantastic. I was a huge fan of "Revelation" and "Revolution" just kicked it up a major notch. I said it before in my "Revelation" review, and it carries over to the "Revolution" chapter: the writers of this show did their homework, across all forms of the Masters of the Universe properties, and managed to pay homage and put nods to almost all of it. So much of what happened in "Revelation" paved the way for the events that happen in "Revolution". I really enjoyed watching all of this up to this point, and am very much looking forward to the next chapter.
If Masters of the Universe was a big part of your childhood, you will likely love this.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
An Enjoyable Film
I read somewhere (who knows if this is accurate) that this was initially developed as a Star Wars spinoff. If that is the case, while this could have easily fit into that universe, I am glad it was spun off into its own thing, rather than being tethered to another property that comes along with too many expectations of what it should be. Also, I am not interested in seeing "A New Hope" recycled for the third (fourth?) time by the powers that be at Disney.
The visuals are incredible, something that goes without saying for any Zack Snyder film. Not many directors can build visuals like this guys does. The story is strong and doesn't lag anywhere. The movie easily sets up what could be a broad new movie universe and does a great job of exploring themes of oppression, rebellion, the horrors of war and the reality of wartime economics.
The actors are top notch, I could easily watch stand alone films with Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam and Ed Skrein's characters in them. If I've seen Sofia Boutella in anything else, I am not aware of it, but she was fantastic as well. The way most of these characters are portrayed, makes me want to see more of them, particularly Ray Fisher and his character.
The only thing that I felt was lacking was some of the character development. I understand that it is difficult to introduce a new world full of these interesting characters to an audience within the span of 2 hours, but still, there are some fantastic characters that are introduced here, that we just don't get enough time with. Some motivations could have been fleshed out a bit more.
I'm looking forward to the sequel, I enjoyed this one a lot.
No Time to Die (2021)
Best James Bond Movie in a Long Time
I've been watching James Bond movies since I was a little kid, and at this point, that makes 4 decades. While I find something to enjoy about every Bond film, at a certain point, most of the Bond movies becomes wash, rinse, repeat. Bond basically goes on a mission, gets a hot chick or three, fights some bad guys, saves the world. This is pretty much the plot to almost every Bond film ever made, with a few rare exceptions.
"No Time to Die" is one of those rare exceptions. I understand that people like the traditional Bond formula (so do I, it is an entertaining formula) however, there are 20 something other Bond movies that offer that. "No Time to Die" offers something different, something that moves the story forward. There are elements here that have never been done in a Bond film before. These new elements give much more weight to the decisions that Bond has to make, and adds a lot more depth to the character. This movie also gives Daniel Craig's James Bond a definitive arc that made me appreciate all of his Bond movies even more. His Bond movies now seem like a cohesive story, rather than one-off adventures where James Bond will be played by a new actor after a few years.
One thing I thought was interesting - the weapon plot of this movie is so similar to the "Fighting American: Dogs of War" comic book mini-series from the early 2000s, that I thought the writers must have been reading those comic books for inspiration. Probably strictly a coincidence, however the similarities are really strong.
I regret I didn't see this in theaters. I can't remember a Bond movie that left me thinking about it days after I saw it. I also can't remember the last Bond movie I saw that I enjoyed this much. Hats off to the cast and crew who made this film.
The Son (2022)
Good Film
I happened to watch this only because Hugh Jackman's name was attached. I wasn't aware of what the plot synopsis was before I watched it, nor was I aware of the the deep emotional issues that the film would portray.
I thought this was a well made film, one that left me thinking about different elements of the film for a few weeks after I watched it. The actors and acting are top notch, particularly the young man who plays Jackman's son.
Despite the intensely emotional subject matter, I would definitely recommend this to someone who is looking to watch a realistic film, one that explores a person's mental health well-being and how that affects different family members around them.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
Felt Like John Byrne's Classic Run Come To Life
The Internet has just become a place where people have too much time on their hands and just want to complain about everything. Half the reviews here are 1 star reviews where people state they only watched the first episode, and then never watched anything else. That is akin to reading one chapter of a Stephen King novel and trying to write a review of the entire book. Ignore those people and their reviews, they aren't contributing anything useful.
I didn't really care for the first episode, I didn't like the change in how Jen gets her abilities, and several questions are left unanswered, but the show itself is pretty good. The fourth-wall breaking was right out of the comics, I felt like I was watching a story by the legendary John Byrne come to life. The lead, who plays Jen Walters, is fantastic, and incredibly charming. Not sure I have ever seen anything else she has been in, but she is definitely on my radar now. The series is well cast, and a lot of elements that were put in the show (either throwbacks, excellent cameos, or Easter eggs) were really well executed. This isn't Infinity War, don't go in expecting that. This is a comedy that ties into the MCU, and was overall pretty well done.
This isn't nearly as bad as a lot of reviews (who only watched 1 episode, apparently) would lead you to believe. In my opinion, the show gets better after the first episode. Really looking forward to see where Marvel takes a lot of things introduced in this series.
Willow (1988)
One of The Best Fantasy Movies Every Made
I loved this when I was a kid. Hands down, one of the best fantasy movies ever made. I still watch it every few years with my own kids, and I still enjoy it as much now, as I did when I was little. Something about an unlikely hero thrust into a conflict that he doesn't want to be in, but he pushes through because he is a good person and it is the right thing to do, really spoke to me as a kid, and it is something I still enjoy now. Plus, the chemistry between the actors was spectacular, particularly between Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer. You had magic, sword fighting, a great adventure, a prophecy, dragons, a bad looking dude that wears a freaking skull helmet trying to kill our heroes, a few loves stories, all wrapped up in a great plot.
For about a decade, George Lucas was doing something incredible and creating magic that will likely never be duplicated again, and this movie certainly benefited from that. I always wanted to see a sequel to this movie.
Willow (2022)
Waited 35 Years....To Really Have Mixed Feelings About This
As a kid, Willow was by far my favorite fantasy movie. Over Conan, the Lord of the Rings animated cartoons, Krull, you name it, Willow was my fantasy flick. What a fantastic story about an unlikely hero, who gets thrust into a conflict not because he wants to, but because he is trying to do the right thing. Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis had incredible chemistry, the story was well paced and overall, it was just a great movie and had a great soundtrack. This is the level of appreciation I am talking about: I had a dog named Willow. My grandmother bootlegged a copy of this off of HBO with her VCR when we were kids, because we liked this movie so much. That's the level of enjoyment I had for this movie growing up. I have wanted to see a sequel since I was a a little kid.
And now, I've waited 35 years to get a sequel, and I have really mixed feelings about it. On the positive side, the show really pays as much homage to the original movie with as much of the cast returning as possible, with many references to the original, and keeping with much of the story and plot lines that the original movie set up. The cast, especially Warwick Davis, are really up to par. It was really great seeing Warwick Davis returning to this role. The show even plants a few pleasant surprises that I was not expecting. Overall, the plot of the story is not bad, I actually want to see where they will take this, if further seasons are released.
The problem with this series is that much of the dialogue is written like a crappy teenage romantic comedy. I felt like this was one of those bad CW shows. I've got no problem with humor, Val Kilmer delivered some great comedic lines in the original film, as did some other characters. But those were well written and well paced. They weren't cracking jokes while people were dying and serious scenes didn't come screeching to a halt emotionally because someone is cracking some jokes that definitely will not age well. The dialogue is mostly awful in this series. Some of the characters, are just straight up goofy. Even some characters that are supposed to be threatening just come across as a joke. If the writers fixed the dialogue and focused on delivering a well crafted story, instead of trying to shoehorn in bad jokes and mediocre comedy every 5 minutes, this would have been a really great series. About 5% of the jokes or comedy seem to work and don't feel wildly out of place. Almost all of the well-delivered jokes (pretty much the entire 5%) come from the Boorman character, who the actor does a really good job of portraying.
If we get a season 2, hopefully they take a hard pivot with the dialogue and have it reflect a more serious tone. Maybe the writers should watch the first movie a few times to understand how well placed comedy can work with a serious plot. I get it, I am not solely the target audience for this show. Disney is trying to hit old and new alike, they are trying to pull the original movies viewers like me in, along with young people, so they pivot to this kind of comedy and dialogue. It just doesn't work well for me, and has almost turned me off of what is a really good story.
See (2019)
Great Show
This is a fantastic show. I've not see a concept like this before, and it was so well executed. Jason Momoa crushes everything he does and his "Baba Voss" character might be my favorite that he portrays.
The show is well cast, and extremely well written. There were a few things, particularly in the last two episodes, that I think could have been better written, but those are minor complaints for a show that otherwise was really well done. Even though I was bummed it ended after three seasons, I feel like this gave the series a higher degree of quality, and afforded us an ending where most everything was wrapped up. Sometimes, really good shows suffer from going on too long and the writers having to draw things out. Not the case here. 3 seasons of a really well done show, and Jason Momoa beating the holy hell out of his enemies, makes for good entertainment.
Ms. Marvel (2022)
Very Enjoyable
I grew up reading and drawing comic books and what the MCU has done is nothing short of amazing. To see these stories I read as a kid being presented so well and cohesively on screen, is incredible. However, I was an adult by the time this version of Ms. Marvel came along, so I was not familiar with her. Ms. Marvel was Carol Danvers when I was a kid (going by the name of Binary in most of the X-Men stories that I recall).
Unlike most Marvel properties that I am very familiar with and read for years before the movies came out, I knew nothing about Kamala Kahn and this version of Ms. Marvel. I went into this with low expectations, because it looked a little goofy, and I came out of it really enjoying the entire series. I think it helped that I didn't know anything about the character, which is a bit of a first for me, when it comes to Marvel characters. Also, if this had been your average white dude from New York getting powers, I think it would have been a lot less interesting and far more vanilla, at least to me, because we have seen that story a thousand times. Bringing in the Pakistani and Muslim elements made it much more interesting to me, because I didn't know a lot about this culture, religion and history. I stayed up reading about "The Partition" that the characters kept referring to for a few hours after finishing the series because although I had heard of it, I didn't know anything about it other than "something that happened in India a long time ago, I think."
This might not be everyone's cup of tea, I get that. And there are some goofy elements to it, even for a comic book movie. But to me this was something new and a bit refreshing. Also while the series was extremely well cast all the way around, the lead actress, Iman Vellani, is extremely talented. She should have a bright future ahead of her. The directing for was also extremely well done. I really enjoyed this series.
Wolves (2014)
This Was Way Better Than It Should Have Been
As my family started up our "October Horror Film Watching" tradition, my wife (probably searching for anything with Jason Momoa's name in it, so she can stare at the man's hot body and ridiculously rugged good looks for 2 hours), found this movie that we had never heard of. Here's the thing: This is solid writing and directing that happened to snag a superstar actor before he was a superstar actor. This movie should have been B level garbage at best. However, with decent writing, directing and acting, this flick turns out way better than it should have been. I went in with rock bottom expectations and came out of it really appreciating what we watched. Sure, a few of the plot elements and character motivations don't make sense, but that can be overlooked by the other, more solid elements of the film. It also helps that the production did not cheap out on special effects, so we aren't left staring at some dude wearing a cheap wolf costume.
Jason Momoa, plus werewolves, plus a decent story, plus a few hot chicks, equals a winner. Check this out if you like werewolf movies or monster movies in general, and you have an hour and half to kill.
Also, if you are watching this with your middle-school aged kids, maybe fast forward through a certain part where two characters take the love train to the station. This scene does not involve Jason Momoa, much to my wife's disappointment.
Prey (2022)
One of the Better Predator Movies
This film is the closest any sequel has gotten to the original feel and film making of the original Predator movie. While each sequel did a remarkably good job of changing the story and putting either the Predator(s) or the humans in vastly different scenarios, most of them fell short of delivering a movie as well-crafted as the first Predator movie.
It's not a perfect movie by any means however, the cast, score, and scenery are top notch. I was not familiar with Amber Midthunder before seeing this movie, she absolutely slayed the performance. Very talented young actress. I doubt any follow-up will ever top the first "Predator" movie, solely because it was such a novel and new idea for most movie goers and is now ingrained so deeply in pop culture, but "Prey" likely comes in as a strong second in the "Predator" franchise ("Predators" from 2010 is also a decent watch and is underrated, I feel). After the terrible "The Predator" movie from 2018, I figured this franchise was done. Not even a really talented cast could save that dumpster fire. "Prey" has resurrected it and given it life for future movies.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
This Was Too Silly, Left Me Disappointed
Thor has always been a tough character to pull off (in the film and in the comics), and I feel like the MCU movies figured out a way to do this really well in previous movies. The first two, are a lot darker, and the humor is peppered here and there. With Ragnarok, they cranked up the humor, and in my opinion made one of the best movies in the MCU. All the elements really worked in that instance. The balance of comedy and seriousness was perfect. With "Love and Thunder" I feel like the film makers said "People loved the humor in Ragnarok, let's do that all movie long!" Unfortunately this just made for a silly movie. This is a two and a half hour comedy, that just comes across as cheesy and silly. Some really intense events happen to the characters and the universe as a whole, but none of these events feel like they have any weight because of the onslaught of silly jokes before, after, and occasionally, during them. This is really unfortunate because you have an absolutely amazing cast (Christian freaking Bale as the antagonist!) that is pretty much wasted on a goofy movie. My wife thought this was one of the worst movies in the MCU (and one of the worst we have seen this this year) and she has previously loved the Thor movies (mostly because of Chris Hemsworth being shirtless and Idris Elba). Not even a super jacked Hemsworth made this enjoyable for her. I enjoy comedy, and think the MCU typically does a great job of finding the right balance. There were some elements of this film that I really enjoyed however, that balance is totally absent in this film. I had been really looking forward to seeing this movie since I saw the first trailer, with Guns N Roses blasting in it, and I was really disappointed in the final product. The film makers just went too hard with the humor and it made for a silly, weightless movie.
The Northman (2022)
Really Thought I Was Going To Love This
I really thought I was going to love this. The wife and I generally like "Viking" type movies and series, so we were looking forward to seeing this. As many other reviewers put it, this was extremely mediocre. It has so many great actors and actresses in it, but the story falls flat, and that fall begins early in the film. Nearly every character in the film is pretty much a horrible human being, so by the end, I found myself just wishing everyone would die and maybe some slaves would escape or something. Hard to enjoy a movie when you are just waiting for the credits to roll. Kudos to the actors, the set designers, and Alexander Skarsgård's abs, though. They did a pretty good job immersing you in the movie's environment. Unfortunately that script needed a few more passes.
Masters of the Universe (1987)
Frank Langella
I am dead serious, Frank Langella should have won an Oscar for his portrayal of Skeletor.
This movie is far better than the IMDB score lets on. I feel like people chastise it because they expected it to be based on the goofy cartoon, rather than the toy line, or the mini-comics that originally came with the toys. Regardless, the movie turned out to be one of the best mediums that Masters of the Universe has ever graced. Sure, there is a bit of "plotholeium" with regard to a few elements, but all things considered the movie took some odd concepts and made them work really well. I loved it when I was a kid when saw it in theaters, and I loved it even more when I watched it 30 years later with my own son (who, knowing nothing about MotU, also thought that Skeletor was one of the baddest dudes alive). Seriously. Oscar for Frank. Right now.
Edit: Shortly after writing my original review, I re-watched this movie. I enjoyed as much as ever. This thing was perfectly cast. I'm not sure you could get a human being to look closer to a real-life He-Man than Dolph Lundgren did. John Cypher as the grizzled, war veteran Man-at-Arms was fantastic. The entire cast, top to bottom was great. I am not sure it would be possible to make this work in live action any better than this movie did, particularly given the restraints the filmmakers were working with.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)
Blows the Original Series Out of the Water
All of these low star reviews, what a bunch of whiners and complainers. I watched this show so much as a kid, that I literally have 5 box set copies that different family members gave me when the show finally came out on DVD. And it was great for what it was: A cheesy 80s cartoon that helped sell a bunch of toys. The plots were never really cohesive, the show could never keep up with the pace that Mattel was releasing the toys, and most of the show's story lines were wash, rinse, repeat. But for a little kid in the 80s, it was fantastic, and I watched it 5 days a week, without fail.
"Masters of the Universe: Revelation" is one of the best things to come out of the MOTU property. We finally get to see something different within the confines of the show, some event that actually has consequences for the universe and its characters. We get to see other aspects of this world, and we get to see more of the toy line, and the original mini-comics mixed in to it. The "Revelation" show creators did their homework, there are some pretty obscure nods to different aspects of the toy line and the mini-comics (and even a situation that nods to an event from the live action movie). Animation, voice acting, character development is amazing. This is the kind of story I wanted to see when I was a kid, watching the original series. This is like "The Empire Strikes Back" of MOTU. I cannot wait to see the rest of it.
All you whiners, go watch the original series over and over again (it is apparently pretty easy to find on DVD...). If you actually appreciate character development and story evolution, and are a Masters of the Universe fan, watch this show. "Revelation" exceeded even my highest exceptions.
Update: I just finished the second half. Terrific wrap up, absolutely stuck the landing. My very minor complaint is that an event at the end did not last a little longer. To the creators of this show, thank you for an amazing piece of nostalgia and story telling. I really enjoyed this from start to finish.
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Great Film
What a great film. For those of us lucky enough to have been kids in the 80s, this was another iconic character that captured our imaginations. Recently re-watched this, it is just as good as I remembered.
Crocodile Dundee II (1988)
A Nice Change of Pace
I thought this is a great sequel, that changes up the pace a bit from the first movie. While the first movie was primarily based around the fish-out-of-water Mick Dundee in New York, this one is more action-focused. The humor is still there, but it has a far more serious plot line.
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)
A Lot of Fun, Much Better Than I Expected.
My wife and kid had never seen the Crocodile Dundee movies, and I had never seen the third one, so we watched them over the course of two weeks. "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" was a lot of fun, I enjoyed it way more than I expected. It is a quality finale to the trilogy with a lot of great humor in it. If you weren't a fan of the first two, then maybe this one isn't for you. But having been a fan of this character, and the first two movies since I was a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed this. My family also enjoyed these movies. As someone once said, "It totally holds up."
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
A Well Crafted Story with Incredible Visuals
I am not going to bash on Joss Whedon, he is an extremely creative individual that has created some amazing stories, movies, and entertainment. He most likely was brought in at the 11th hour to try and get a movie out by the holidays, and was under a mountain of studio demands, after Zack Snyder had to step away because of the extremely unfortunate death of his daughter.
That being said, the 2017 version was not a very good movie. This version is what we should have gotten back in 2017. Yes, it is long, and yes they cover a lot of material, but the length of the film gives the subject matter time to be fleshed out. Not once during the 4 hour runtime, did I feel it lagged at any point or was boring. So much more was explained, the story actually made sense this time around. It is abundantly clear what Zack was building here, and where he was taking the story. The extra film time also allows for the character development to be much stronger. If you aren't going to do solo movies first, you need time to introduce these characters, otherwise only your extreme comic book fans will care. Zack Snyder's Justice League does that, we get characters who we understand, and plot lines that make sense.
Am I a fan of everything in the movie? No. I read the inspirations for almost all of these stories as a kid and teenager. The death and return of Superman is one of the biggest events in comic book history. That story deserved to have it's own movie(s) dedicated to it, not shoehorned into the end of one movie and jammed into the plot of the next. But in the grande scheme of things, that is only one complaint about a movie I enjoyed.
I'll say it right here, people. We will never get another director who does shot-for-shot scenes that look like they were pulled right off of the comic book page. These movies are visually striking. Zack has an incredible talent and attention to detail to make this happen. The guy is a truly gifted artist and creator in this sense. I've watched BvS multiple times, not because I particularly enjoy the story, it's extremely busy and too cramped for liking, I feel like too much is going on. It probably should have been at least 2 movies, probably 3. But the cinematography is absolutely beautiful.
I sincerely hope this movie re-release is successful and leads to a "Justice League 2" with Zack at the helm. The setup he has done with this film is remarkable and leaves the viewer anticipating what is coming next. And on a strictly emotional note, it was really great that he was able to finish this after his family tragedy, and given the resources to do so by the studio. Even if I had not enjoyed the film, I would have been happy that he was able to release his version.
Indebted (2020)
Fran and Steven are Great, Show Has Potential
Only really watched this because I am a big fan of Fran Drescher and Steven Weber, having grown up watching "The Nanny" and "Wings". The writing was a bit hit or miss, some episodes seemed like they were throwing anything on the wall to see what could stick. Other episodes were great. I felt that Episode 9 is easily the best of the series as far as comedy and chemistry goes. Laughed a good bit throughout that one. I thought the series finally was finding its groove at that point. Fran and Steven are great as always, and have great chemistry together. Their chemistry reminded me of my parents a good bit.
I just read that this show was cancelled and we won't get a season 2. That is disappointing, as I think the show had some potential, with a few kinks in the writing ironed out. It would be nice to see Fran and Steven work together again at some point in the future.
Death Note (2017)
Entertaining, I Enjoyed This.
First off, I have not read the original source material manga for this. Right off the bat, I realize this will infuriate people, as the vast majority of comments on here destroy this movie because of the heavy deviation from the manga. I get that, I typically enjoy a book far more than the film adaptation. However, this review is strictly about the merits of the movie, not how it stands up against the original. Knowing nothing of the manga, I really enjoyed this movie. The concept was unfamiliar to me, and I found the characters and plot interesting. I realize if I ever read the source material (which I may, as I enjoyed this so much), I might join the chorus of angry voices who think the movie should have followed the source more closely. Today, having just watched the movie, I liked it a lot.
Again, I get why people who are fans of the original are hating on this so much. Those of us who actually grew up reading "Iron Man" hated the slaughter that was Iron Man 3 (seriously, that is what you are going to do with The Mandarin, arguably Iron Man's most ruthless and deadly enemy?), but the rest of the world, who had no clue about the original comics loved it. So, maybe this is my "Iron Man 3." But ignorance is bliss, so I enjoyed Death Note a lot.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Agreed.....Lackluster
I agree with a lot of posters. This movie, like the first one is very lackluster. The visual effects are amazing, and even the over all plots have promise, but two hours of crappy script, plot holes, and over exposure from Shia and Megan just kill the rest of the movie. And who the hell is the humor in this movie aimed at? Not little kids, and not adults. The humor in these crap flicks are aimed at 12 year olds who like jokes that rappers make with cuss words just randomly thrown in. No way would I take my kid to see this, when every Transformer other than Optimus is screaming out "bitch" in every other line. I fell asleep at the end of this movie. I just got to the point, where I didn't care what happened. I think I'll save my money and go see something else when they further destroy this franchise with Tranformers 3.