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craigfordavid
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The Creator (2023)
A Tale of Two Movies
3/4 terrific classic sci-fi, 1/4 cobbled together action movie tropes. I question whether it really asked the question of whether is AI is truly conscious effectively enough. A great effort, but as a fan of classic sci-fi I think they came close to creating something special but missed the mark. With that said, the acting was terrific and the world they created was very convincing. Definitely worth watching, but not quite a classic.
3/4 terrific classic sci-fi, 1/4 cobbled together action movie tropes. I question whether it really asked the question of whether is AI is truly conscious effectively enough. A geat effort, but as a fan of classic sci-fi I think they came close to creating something special but missed the mark. With that said, the acting was terrific and the world they created was very convincing. Definitely worth watching, but not quite a classic.
Hustle (2022)
Never in my wildest dreams
Never in my wildest dreams could I have hoped for a basketball movie involving pros that was so realistic. It scratches an itch I never even knew I had and boy was it
satisfying.
No fake teams with laughable jerseys. No guys pretending to be athletes who clearly can't play ball. For my money only Hoop Dreams and White Men Can't Jump compare for customer/viewer satisfaction!
Love on a Leash (2011)
Folks Don't Kid Yourself
Anyone here who is saying it's a so-bad-it's-good movie is out of their minds. This is a bad bad movie, really truly terrible and I found nothing redeeming about it. It's not good-bad like Samurai Cop, Ninja Busters, Dangerous Men, Miami Connection, or Chopping Mall - Love on a Leash is truly garbage and you will find yourself wishing for the time you spent watching it back.
Les Misérables: The Staged Concert (2019)
Redemption for the 25th Anniversary Performance!
I'll start by saying the 25th Anniversary performance was terrific, and still one of my favorite shows to enjoy from time to time. With that said it wasn't without it's flaws (mainly but-not-limited-to Nick Jonas' spirited yet underwhelming performance). These were especially apparent when viewing this next to the phenomenal 25th Anniversary performance blu ray of Phantom of the Opera which was nearly flawless.
I'm delighted to say I just received the Japanese import blu ray of this performance (which plays perfectly on a US blu ray player) and it redeems Les Miz at a level I wasn't prepared to hope for. I would consider this new blu ray of the West End staged performance on-par with the Phantom 25th anniversary, and the picture quality is incredible.
If you love Les Miz do yourself a huge favor and invest in this performance!!!
Hell in the Pacific (1968)
Watch it with the theatrical release ending the first time. Watch with Directors ending any/everytime after that!.
Strangely if you watch this on Blu Ray the director's ending is the 'alternate' ending. Somehow the producers altered this upon the film's release and their edit became the standard ending. Does the last 1-2 minutes impact the film that much? I would say it's a 7/10 film with the director's ending, and at best a 6/10 film with the butchered producer's ending. The producer-altered theater released ending is a head-scratching, mind-boggling catastrophe and unsatisfying to say the least. You will literally sit there saying to yourself "uh... what???" for 30 seconds when the film concludes. I even rewound it to see if I completely missed something. I did not. Yes, there is that much of a difference and impact on quality between the two endings.
If you are one of the producers responsible for this theatrical release ending and are somehow still alive and reading this I can only ask WTF were you smoking? We invested two hours into the relationship between Marvin & Mifune for that??? It may be the worst ending I've ever witnessed in a decent movie. On the bright side for you, I may keep the blu ray for that reason alone!
Roar (1981)
Beyond what you might have imagined. Borderline horror.
OMFG. I imagine the direction went something like this: "In this scene try not to panic. Don't run but at the same time don't get playfully eaten. If you're being mauled don't look directly at the camera for help, and for god's sake have fun with it." Similar words were probably said ad nauseam to not only the actors, but also to the poor souls filming this madness who did not have the benefit of being able to look around themselves, or behind themselves, or above themselves while soiling their garments getting a shot.
The most profound question raised is not whether the people who made this are significantly insane because that immediately answers itself, but whether humanity is doomed because of the distorted way it views it's relationship with nature. Is any of this really OK? I would argue that it is not, and that humanity would be wise to stop goading nature to satisfy it's own ego amongst superior creatures it ultimately cannot control.
With that said, I am as guilty of being captivated by this terrifying spectacle as anyone else. I Tippi my hat to this Fitzcarraldo-esque pursuit of an offbeat dream.
Deadly Prey (1987)
So bad it's good? Eh, not so much.
Not much to say, it's really just a crappy movie with a few laugh-out-loud moments. Mostly just a garbage movie though. Also, be prepared that the source for the blu-ray was something like a beta-max copy. It's a decent image considering that, but overall it's DVD quality at best. Also, the audio is terrible. I had to rewind for dialog several times and even then had to abandon all hope on several occasions. At the end of the day it's entertaining enough, but I feel like people make it out to be more than the crap movie it is.
The Apple (1980)
1 1/2 hours of musical WTF-ery
Wow. Well that was a hot mess complete with Gandalf living in a cave under the bridge leading a hippie commune and oh my god there's a flying interstellar ghost car that the almighty rocks around in. These are some of the 'highlights' you have to look forward to with this campy misfire, and that's really just scratching the surface.
One the one hand I feel like everyone should see The Apple once just to witness a jumbled spectacle unlike anything else available in this universe or any other. On the other hand I have legitimate fears that many years from now on my death bed images from this bizarre misadventure will pop into my head and I will be be eternally doing the BIM. Chilling stuff.
In the end I can't really recommend it. I see how someone looking for a overlooked campy classic might wander into this one and be intrigued, but it's mostly a mess and most especially because the songs just aren't any good.
Ninja Busters (1984)
All Aboard the Ninja Buster Train!
Recently I've been watching a lot of so-bad-they're-good movies with mixed results, however it must be said that Ninja Busters is pure gold. Go online and read about the recent re-discovery of this film as it's a compelling story. I'll skip the plot as you can seek this out for yourself. All I really have to say is this movie really works. It's generally funny when it's supposed to be, it's very funny when it's not supposed to be, and has a plot that doesn't go off the rails leaving you wondering what the heck is happening. BONUS the movie contains an army of ninjas-for-hire who are made out to be badasses by a dragon lady who manages her ninja bodyguard agency. A crime lord somehow gets duped into hiring them but in the first all-out brawl it seems clear that these are the WORST g*ddamned ninjas EVER! These guys obviously have day jobs and then hardcore phone-it-in during ninja practice after work. So crime lord gets scammed, but somehow never realizes that his army of ninjas is getting trampled, at one point, by a lady with a white belt in karate. For those of you unfamiliar to martial arts, that's like your three-year-old beating you in an arm wrestling match. By the end of the movie no heros go down but like 60 ninjas are in ICU or dead. Suffice it to say it's rad, and the most enjoyable example of relatively family friendly WTF-ery i've seen in some time. Get a copy today because this is something you have to see with your buddies over a few beers more than once!
Saturn 3 (1980)
Unfortunately not so bad it's good
This movie is just plain bad. There are a few humorous moments mixed in here and there, but probably not enough to be worth an hour-and-a-half of your life. If you're looking for something so bad it's good, look elsewhere because this pretty much stinks although to it's credit it is relatively entertaining.