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Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)
Solid despite its limitations
Wanted: Dead or Alive reminds me a lot of 24 with Hauers character running afoul of glow agencies with his methods and attitude, but being 100% effective because his gut instincts are so good.
The movie has good procedural elements and good performances by Gene Simmons as the antagonist, Jerry Hardin and Robert Guillaume as his CIA contract handlers although I'm not sure if the CIA would involve itself in homeland security beyond intelligence sharing.
Regardless, Rutger plays the quintessential 80s tough guy and looks the part. As Rutger often delivered, his character has more air and complexity than meets the eye. His character, Nick Randall, maintains professionalism and vulnerability, even if the inferences were few in the script.
Unfortunately, the movie suffers from pacing issues and a somewhat cheesy soundtrack, but the budget was probably way below average at the time. Overall, they did well and it's worth a watch, especially if you want some cool 80s tough guy imagery.
Body Heat (1981)
Plays like a lifetime movie with nudity
Granted, it was noir in 1981, but the movie seems very.. plain. There's no real tension evoked as William Hurt's character Rancine finds himself way out of his depth as a lousy lawyer who falls in love with a mysterious wife of a wealthy financier. The score, while good, bleeds into every scene and makes it seem like a low-budget TV movie by today's standards.
With that said, the acting is top notch. Kathleen Turner's performance highlights how women actors have changed in the modern age.. maybe not for the best. Ted Danson does a good job as Rancine's assistant DA friend with a droll perspective on the human activities he observes. William Hurt brings a good performance also, presenting confidence and recklessness, simultaneously. Mickey Rourke does a lot with his small amount of screentime as well.
All and all, it was a good setting (Florida), decent story, bland presentation, but solidly acted.
Extraction 2 (2023)
Another example of why streaming has killed cinema
Derivative plot, masturbatory video game fantasy violence, uninspiring protagonists, fake-serious tone, silly villainization (again, it's part 2 after all) of a geographic area not in the west, and, ugh, a Hemsworth.
Filmmakers of earlier eras used the medium of film to inspire or cast attention on themes and ideas that galvanized civilization. Failing that, they at least understood the irony of wholesale violence on film, forming characters that understood their placement in the absurdity of their respective stories.
That just doesn't exist anymore. Modern audiences want movies to be simplistic video game cutscenes with set-piece choreography involving fake-real martial arts. To me, it is just another indicator of the cultural shift in our society that Internet streaming and kit-kot provides, effectively making moviemaking of past eras obsolete.
Do I like this? No, and I really disliked this movie.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Awful movie
This, along with the Trump presidency, will serve as future case-studies for the damaging potential from low-effort Internet meme campaigns. Fury Road is an awful movie with a lazy plot, uninteresting characters, and a more-is-less cacophony of CGI action . That did not stop internet forum and Millennial, social media blowhards successfully brigading it into being a successful 'art' action movie.
This was a massive downturn from the previous three installments of Max Rockatansky. Tom Hardy lacks everything that Mel Gibson brought to the series, and George Miller phoned it in so badly that it probably ruined the franchise for much of the old fanbase, similar to what has happened with the Star Wars franchise.
Robbery Homicide Division (2002)
Short lived but excellent
RHD was Mann's foray into digital production which resulted in Collateral after its quick cancelation. The show is great, showing the nightwork of detectives as they hunt, wheel, and deal their way through cases. It highlights the actual procedural work that detectives do compared to Law & Order which seems so dull despite all the legal lingo.
Sizemore was apparently under the influence of drugs during that period and I think it possibly gave his performances an additional edge that made him very captivating. Regardless, the episodes had an amazing look and feel that you don't get with other police procedurals. I do have one gripe, which is the short life of Mario Van Peeble's character, Alton Davis. He was the perfect villain for the series and deserved a continuation.
Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu (2003)
Surreal Yakuza tale of brotherly love
I had to give it an 8 because of a lack of rewatchability, but the movie is very interesting. We have Minami taking his unknowing, mentally devolving brother Ozaki on a trip to his arranged death. Minami initially displays little emotion about the task, but he arrives at the town of his disposal after accidentally incapacitating Ozaki at a river that suddenly appears on the road which he drives. Ozaki disappears.
It is later revealed that Ozaki was indeed executed, but only after Minami embarks on a grotesque odyssey through a ghost town, meeting a cast of mysterious and vulgar characters along the way. Ozaki 'returns' to Minami in the form of an attractive young lady who avenges and later rebirths Ozaki, and the three live happily ever after.
To repeat what others here have said, I believe that the story presents a take on Greek tragedy, subtly revealing Minami's guilt and despair over his brother's fate, later recompiling his love via the rebirth.
Miike's willingness to take a story to extreme absurdities provides cinematic experiences that are hard to match, but there is much depth behind the madness, and Gozu is yet another example.
Shutter Island (2010)
Very good, but not great
Shutter Island has a amazing atmosphere and the acting is done well, but Scorcese is too overbearing with it. The fugue imagery sequences have the subtlety of a canon, and some of the interactions just seem overblown and spoon-fed. I'll credit Scorcese with some great camera work to establish the mood, and the story itself is engaging although seemingly supernatural as far as psychology goes.
I feel like the final third is too hasty as the final conflict is revealed. I would've liked more details to expand Leo's internal conflict so as to create the ending, but this largely goes back to my issue with the preceding interactions in the story.
Ultimately, I'm glad the film got made since the 2000s have been poor for psychological thrillers, and again, the atmosphere is beautiful and makes me crave for more of these types of movies. I believe that it's a movie I can watch multiple times, so that adds an extra star from me.
Raging Bull (1980)
Mediocre Oscar bait for its time
I remember being a teenager trying to justify the movie to myself. Black and white was supposed to make it special. The violence, verite', and 'honest' acting was supposed to make it relevant. Most of all, the concensus of movie critic books that I glanced through couldn't be wrong, could it? 4 stars out of 4, etc etc.
Now I just view it as boring and exploitive, of Lamotta, no less. I'm sure he adored the movie, but it only focuses in, with a clumsily implemented style. on the bad elements of LaMotta's life, failing to show complexities, and failing to provide any redemptive arc.
Despite showing all of the abusive behavior, there's no genuine element of self-reflection in the movie, despite the fact that LaMotta was completely
forthright about his life and his demons.
I think the movie would've been far better in the hands of another director.
Oh yeah, the boxing scenes are ridiculously staged.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Ridiculous violence, but a good modern movie
The violence seems over the top, but it's a good philosophical movie from a great korean director.
So the story is a simple one. The train can be seen as industrialized civilization, and the outside can represent the feared and inhospitable unknown.
Humans have advanced enough to properly ruin the climate for most life, but also were able to create a perpetual motion machine train that can sustain a synthetic ecosystem. Unfortunately, the ecosystem is not compatable with morality, as 'balance' requires that class stratification must be maintained as default, that the lower class must suffer and serve as the beasts of burden for the bourgeoisie and elites, that children must be exploited or brainwashed, that bourgieoisie must be decadent and drugged out of their minds, and, eventually, that 74% of the entire train roster must be culled for maintainence of the system(and probably for the elites to continue rule.)
The story starts as a mysterious journey for the protagonist to discover his true place in the system, and culimates with the final and fateful decision as to whether he should continue the train's operation, or to get off of the train
altogether with his comrades, and venture into the great unknown.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
I liked it
H8 is a strange movie. It doesn't have anything that I would consider plot twists; it takes place in chapters and has more of an 'and now for the rest of the story' type of attitude.
The movie can basically be summed up as a remake of The Thing, but instead of the drama occurring between trustworthy men of average to high character, H8 takes place between men (and a woman) of exceedingly low character. It's also darkly humorous in contrast to the seriousness of J. Carpenter's masterpiece.
I think what makes the movie for me is the ending. *SPOILER* The finale shows the two most diametrically opposed characters, mortally wounded, putting aside their hatred and forging a common bond as they mete out a final 'frontier' form of justice before their final breaths are taken.
Although it's bleak and bloody, H8 gave me a sense of hope at the end, a feeling that camaraderie, nobility and honor can be discovered and upheld by even immoral men during the most immoral times.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Disappointing
Admittedly, I did not enjoy the prospects of a Blade Runner sequel since I considered the first installment to be a one-off story for which a sequel would ultimately harm.
Unfortunately, this movie did just that. I did not like the plot at all, which I considered both ridiculous and tacky, despite being drenched in massive amounts of self-importance.
The visuals were nice, and lots of care seemed to be made to maintain the original's style. The problem is, again, the story, narrative, etc.
I'd say it's worth a watch, but I don't believe many will return for a second viewing.
Predator 2 (1990)
One of the best sequels of all time
I'm throwing on an extra point, since it's one of my favorite movies to watch. P2 is not a perfect movie, but it's a fun and thrilling experience. If the third act could be completely overhauled, then it would rival Predator 1 in overall quality.
What P2 has that P1 does not have is the fun-factor. It has more colorful characters and a wide variation of scenery, offering a very good presentation of Los Angeles. The decision to make it more humorous was a correct one, but unfortunately problems arise.
The third act for whatever reason became a campy mess. Let me just add her as well that I wish Keyes would've lived, as he was a solid character as Harrigan's mysterious rival. The predator up to his unmasking was presented masterfully, but the unmasking turned it into a comedy puppet. Did Fox do this on purpose to make the movie flop? Who knows. Regardless, it excels where most sequels do not, and as-of today is the only true sequel for the Predator franchise
Gokseong (2016)
A movie about a buffoon and...
*SPOILER ALERT FOR MORONS* I can't rate this high because the movie is overlong for such a simple story, the special effects fall short, and the main character is so irritating. There is a lotof WAILING in the movie for sure, but instead of it being satisfying,you're left with a keen sense of annoyance. I guess the lead should be praised for portraying such an oafish buffoon, but in light of the story (zombies and demonic possession), it tends to grate to the point of masochism.
The movie takes itself very seriously, which may cause one to exalt it as something higher than what it is. Ultimately it's a fairly simple demonic possession and zombie movie. There's a subtext that hints to a poor relationship between paganism and monotheism, but it's not explored to any satisfaction.
I do like the cinematography - apart from the 'rain on cue', the lush scenery of rural Korea is presented well.
Devil (2010)
Guilt by association? I think it's decent
M Night Shyamalan probably deserves criticism. As far as I'm concerned, he totally ripped off that novel for 'The Village'. His dialogue style makes even house-pets cringe.
The director that did that annoying catacombs found footage movie as well was the director. Talk about annoying - it made me want to throw a chair at my TV.
Regardless, DEVIL is a decent movie, and here's why: -Acting: You can see Shyamalan's hands all over the production, from the shady mattress salesman to the dramatic lynch-pins of the lead's crisis and final resolution. In this case it works. The actors do a great job at their roles, in what is a very multicultural setting. The 'good guys' are all immediately sympathetic characters, while the characters of intrigue effectively provide conflict. -Score: I rate the intro as the best I've seen in the 2010s. Velazquez made an amazing score that might be the best I've heard of the 2010s. -Story: Apparently M.Night got the idea from an Arthur canon Doyle story. It's simple but very entertaining. -Overall: The movie does things that I like - mainly it has characters that i can enjoy watching, which most movies fail to do now. I guess I'm partial to morality plays involving the devil, but DEVIL delivers.
High-Rise (2015)
POOR is the word
Never read the book or heard of the book prior to watching the movie. The surreal plot certainly intrigued me, and the trailer was very flashy. Unfortunately the trailer showed all the cool parts, and what was left was a very shoddy looking movie. Green screening and cgi were rampant throughout, and it stood out like a sore thumb. The slow-mo was overused imho as well.
Much of the filmresembled a TV movie, and it really misfired in the delivery of the philosophical elements, because it tried so hard to be ironically comedic, and was drenched in its own pretexts. The score, while good, did not feel appropriate, and often droned. This was a real disappointment because I was looking forward to watching this. Ben Wheatley is a total nostalgia nerd, which resulted in some interesting imagery, but on a substantive level, he utterly failed.
The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
Quite simply - an awful movie. This year's It Follows
I saw it last year at a festival and disliked it heavily. I found the movie to have no scares and scant dread for that matter. The reason being? I couldn't get past the ridiculous heavy-handedness of the ridiculous themes that the movie addresses. I found myself confused as to what the final bit of the movie did to garner such shock and awe, as I found it to be rather stupid and intelligence-insulting. Also - there was NO HORROR! Common to modern garbage filmes, it was another drama posing as a horror movie.
You're better off spending your money on superior offerings: The Village, Blair Witch Project, Antichrist, the original Wicker Man.. even Kill List. I'm sure there are others!
Indie movie offerings largely turn out to be disappointments, and this was another example.
The Way of the Gun (2000)
should be titled: "Yes, I've read Cormac McCarthy"
Seems like 1999-2000 was an interesting period for movies with adult themes, but 'Gun' was the one that had to take on the Peckinpah Western (and fail)
here are some highlights: -All innocent die quick, while the main chars are either criminals or selfish manipulators. -All the lead characters spout incoherent philoso-babble and hint at convoluted backstory elements in attempt to define their character -gratuitous violence that tries to convince you that it's realistic action -Bad acting - Ryan Phillipe is horrible throughout, while del Toro so pathetically tries to act like a subdued psychopath as his sidekick. James Caan and Tye Diggs do a good job at playing... James Caan and Tye Diggs -really poor plot progression - 'reads' like McQuarrie was too lazy to revise the script after the first draft
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
NOT a Star Wars movie
Some will try their best to deny it, but the truth is the truth. JJ Abrams made an(other) annoying JJ Abrams movie, not a Star Wars movie.
George Lucas had an uncompromising vision that made Star Wars stand out from other space-based movies, and was revolutionary for its time. His prequels, while not as well-made as the original trilogy, still had hints of George's vision, most notable in the amazing VFX that stand up even by today's standards. Lucas's themes throughout have more relevance today than they did at the time of creation, which is indicative of great story-writing
JJ Abrams in-contrast made what he always makes, a millennial farce of an existing franchise. Everything about it feels cheap and manipulated, and moreover, the CGI is inferior !! I do not recommend this movie - 1/10
Sicario (2015)
Awful.
Denis Villeneuve is not that good of a filmmaker. None of his movies have been of any merit, in spite of the nice cinematography from that guy who i can't remember. Anyway Sicario continues the trend. The plot is absolutely preposterous, and is easily out-shined by any season of 24 or homeland.
Emily Blount is totally unconvincing in her role, the action is totally unbelievable, in spite of the hyped up grim, slice-of-life thriller it promotes itself as, and worst of all, it presents a completely ludicrous picture of the Mexican drug trade, along with the law enforcement agencies that attempt to stop it.
And Villeneuve gets the blade runner job? What a farce
It Follows (2014)
Disdain Follows
Common to what you find in today's cinema, it's a poor movie that uses hipsteresque elements to draw attention to itself.
-The soundtrack: it is a mix of retro-wave garbage and poor synth sound fx. The main highlight is that the composer drenches the soundtrack with that iconic cs-80 sound that you would immediately remember from Blade Runner. I found the soundtrack to be grating, not to mention inappropriate for the nature of the movie. It just plain fit wrong.
-The main story: This is the one good aspect of the movie, as it's actually a clever premise. The movie is basically a hybrid ripoff of both The Ring and Halloween - which doesn't necessarily make for a bad thing. The problems arise from the fact that the narrative does not measure up to the quality of the premise; the story plot points are dull and feel lazy and cheap, and all of the characters amount to being mysterious bystanders. The writer/director shrouds some elements in mystery, but ultimately I lost interest or concern for any of it by the final conclusion.
-The cinematography: I found the cinematography to be gimmicky and ultimately dull. It, like the soundtrack, amounted to an additional distraction and annoyance to the rest of the package. More than once there was a full 180-degree pan, which served no purpose. There were lots of long-shots that perplexed me, as they served no purpose for what was taking place.
-The location: It was filmed in Detroit, and it felt uninspired. Random scenes in abandoned(?) houses and buildings seemed to be more about showing the structures, rather than advancing the story ...
That is all
The Interview (2014)
Exactly what I thought it was (trash)
Not going to go into details, but I'll just say that James Franco is a terrible actor. He fell flat, was generally humorless, and that silly half-grin expression that he has 85% of the time just grated.
I've yet to enjoy a Seth Rogan movie, and this continued the trend. Unfortunately Lizzy Caplan is in it, who I generally regard(ed) to be a solid actress.
In light of the hacking scandal I must say this was a good case of making lemonaid from a dog turd, as they went from making zero dollars to making a few millions if not more!
Oh yeah, The movie even managed to use some song without getting clearance from the artist - I hope she sues and makes a mint from $ony.
Prisoners (2013)
If you ignore the absolutely ridiculous plot holes, then it is enjoyable
I will not go too deep into the movie, but this is a movie that should not take place, past the discovery of skilrex in his RV. The children would be found at his aunt's compound almost immediately; there is nothing she would be able to conceal in the face of a search warrant for missing persons. The story would end right there, as the children are found, and are reunited with their parents.
They had to make detective loki the worst detective in the history of movie detectives in order to continue the story.
Here are some more silly contrivances. -Loki drives at high speed, the child to the hospital, suffering severe vision problems after being shot in the head upon the discovery of the aunt's dead husband -skilrex and the wannabe snake guy are past abductees, obsessed with mazes.. but the backstory of mazes is not explained in any way, shape or form -skilrex is supposed to be mentally retarded? I've never met a mentally challenged person that acts like that.. why couldn't he just be autistic? -loki sees the dead pig head in the sink, but has the parents identify the clothes, leading to the parents believing their kids are dead, ahead of receiving the lab report on the blood -loki for some strange reason dismisses the B&E from the wannabe, despite there being an open window.. only later does he find clues left by wannabe ..
I can't remember the rest, but there are more
In any case the acting and atmosphere are pretty good, so if you ignore the gaping plot hole, you might enjoy it.. 5/10
Doomsday (2008)
Should receive "razzie of the decade" award
In my opinion, given the budget and the result, this is probably the worst movie of the 2000s. The film has a completely unlikeable lead in Rhona mitra, whose character instead of getting beheaded or shot in the head from the get-go, manages to kill loads of people, despite weighing 110 lbs. The rest of the crap in this film aside, I have a big problem with her, as there is no physically possible way that she could do anything that she does.
The background is a really stupid plague storyline, beset with sequences of referential winks and blatant copying of story elements in many of the successful or at least infamous action movies of the 80s and 90s. Some bits of aliens gets blatantly ripped off; check out other reviews for detailed lists.
All and all, another piece of trash by the director Neil marshal
V/H/S (2012)
not good
It starts out promising with the overarching story about a group of four scumbags going to some house to steal a VHS cassette, and watch a few videos which lead to the anthology of short movies that include murder and supernatural occurrences. The problem is that the stories are very bad, and the payoffs are complete garbage. Luckily however this is the easiest genre of film to make, so we'll probably get VHS 2,3,4 etc over time. Maybe they'll be able to put together a better anthology of movies that don't absolutely suck, but this one was a complete disappointment. At the very least there was some T&A with the actresses getting nude in a couple of the movies. I guess it has a tiny bit of appeal in that.
Chugyeokja (2008)
TERRIBLE finale
As you can ascertain from the other reviews, the final part of the movie has an utterly horrible plot point to drive the story to resolution.
What the movie does well is humanize the lead protagonist from a jaded and callous pimp as he searches for one of his girls. The movie also has great interactions between the characters, as the pimp and police use every hook and crook to find the missing girl. The interaction with the psychotic serial killer is well done as well. The acting all around is sublime. Unfortunately the forced termination of the girl in question is madness-inducing. Also the way the killer is released from the precinct is stupid and ridiculous. Anyone confessing to being a serial killer will be held until all leads are exhausted, and there was extensive evidence to be processed while he was detained - whether there is a political upheaval over the mayor being assaulted with a cup of crap or not.
7 stars removed due to the terrible ending
3/10