This blog covers Movies, TV, and other Geeky things...... Movie Reviews (over 3,400 movies rated so far) Countdowns of my top movies by year.... and much more.
In 2:22 an air traffic controller has a strange occurrence on
the job that leads to a couple of planes crashing.His quick actions help to avoid the accident,
but he is put on leave while the incident is investigated. His friend gives him tickets to an interesting
acrobatic play where he meets and hits it off with a beautiful woman.They find out that both of them share the
exact same birthday.
He starts to notice some strange patterns that seem to keep
repeating over and over again every single day at the same time. He investigates these weird occurrences trying
to explain it and discovers that he is destined to replay the deadly events of
a murder that happened 30 years ago on the day he was born.It was a clever and interesting film.I have seen TV episodes that play with this
theme before, so it isn’t a completely new concept –but I really enjoyed how
this version of that theme was told.The
noticing of the daily patterns was interesting and could have gone in many
different directions which was interesting.
Time Freak 2018 7 out of 10 (Time Travel Movie # 15)
Time Freak was a fun Time Travel comedy/drama
about a physics student who is dumped by his girlfriend. He is devastated by the breakup and channels
his frustration into building a time machine. He and his stoner best friend
travel back to key points in his relationship trying to fix the things that
went wrong. This time travel machine basically works as a phone app where they jump
into their bodies in those moments in the past.
He can basically rewind moments and try them over again. This app leads to some good comic moments for
example as he keeps reliving a really good moment his friend is stuck in an
elevator and going insane. He is finally able to successfully fix things to where
they don’t break up, but he becomes obsessed with using the machine to
basically fix even the slightest of things to create the perfect life, which
ironically is too perfect and flawed by its lack of conflict. He finds out his friend has been secretly
using the machine as well to fix his life. We fast forward two years and now he is married and we see a dinner party where she burns the meal. He uses the time machine to set a timer so it doesn't burn. He finally comes to the realization that he is basically playing god and
has basically been unfairly manipulating his wife into a what amounts to a
prison of a relationship he has created.
His use of the time machine is basically equivalent to a drug addiction.
Despite
being a comedy – when you really think about what he is doing it is really a
dark film, which is why for me it should have ended differently. The film should have ended differently. If it had ended the way it should of it
probably would have been an 8 out of 10 instead of a 7 out of 10. Who wouldn’t want the chance to fix things in
their life that have gone wrong? To
correct bad decisions or moments and avoid pain. I really like how this movie made me think
about things. That is probably one of
the reasons Time Travel films interest me so much.
Curvature 2017 5 out of 10 (Time Travel Movie # 16)
As Time Travel movies go Curvature is a very average film with nothing really new or super interesting to add to the genre. The film centers on Helen whose husband as recently died from "suicide". Still grieving she returns to work only to blackout for several days awaking at home where she receives a phone call from herself warning her the someone is coming to kill her. From here the movie turns into a cat and mouse chase film as she tries to figure things out with the help of a friend. She unravels the mystery which involves her husband's work on a time machine in which somehow she has sent herself back to keep herself from killing the person that actually murdered her husband.
Other than revisiting Veronica Mars this was one of the
first things that caught my eye to watch on Hulu.I like Natalie Portman.I like Sci-fi movies and it was directed by
the director that did Ex-Machina.I even
thought the concept of the movie seemed interesting, so I was hoping that I was
in for a good sci-fi film.Unfortunately,
I found the film dull and boring and lost interest in the story and the
characters about halfway through the movie.Being a completist I reluctantly stuck it out to the end.
It was like watching grass grow.Sure, the grass was some mutant multi-colored
fungus grass that formed in the shape of people –but it was still grass.It felt like watching characters sleepwalk
through a boring dream that has no purpose.The ending although visually interesting was predictable.Needless to say, this film was a real
disappoint.
Three years in the making, we finally review the “cult classic” Bloodsucking Freaks. The film was originally called “Sardu: Master of the Screaming Virgins”. Later on it was renamed as “The Incredible Torture Show” and then finally as it’s final title, Bloodsucking Freaks. This strange film was earned cult status among our group of friends because of the characters Ralphus and memorable lines that were often misquoted and remembered differently. The film was never as good or funny as we remembered, but the stuck in our heads. After name dropping it since the start of the podcast we finally felt brave enough to discuss it.
WARNING this episode is not for the faint of heart or easily offended. I can't even include the trailer on this one.
I was adding some movies to the Facebook Movie Archives the other
day and I came across Arena which I had apparently given a 1 out of 10 back in
the day.I watched the trailer and said
to myself “There is no way this is a 1 out
of 10" I found it on YouTube and settled in for a
re-watch.The creature masks alone make
this show better than a 1 out of 10.Upon re-watch, I was starting to dig certain aspects of the film and had
high hopes that it could end up being much more enjoyable than I had thought
back in the early 1990’s when I first saw the film. The movie has a very simple plot. Steve Armstrong is a bumbling short-order cook on a space station in the year 4038 who ends up in a fight with a creature named Fang. After defeating Fang Steve ends up in a series of circumstances that lead to him being the first human in over 50 years to fight in "The Arena" an intergalactic boxing match. So the movie is basically the Star Wars Cantina scene meets UFC.
What there was to like about the film on re-watching it:
1. The Creatures. There are some cheap-looking monsters straight out of the background of Star Wars and there are also some pretty cool looking Muppety creatures like the slug monster he battles in his first match and a dinosaur creature seen below that he spars with.
2. I actually liked some of the sets in the movie. This movie was made in 1989 but some of the sets felt like a mix of original Star Trek meets Logan's Run. They were definitely going for the Star Wars Cantina scene which upon re-watch made me like the bar and casino scenes. The casino scene in this film actually felt more Star Wars to me than the casino in Last Jedi.
3. The fights were cheesy which actually enjoyed. Watching Steve Armstrong battle a giant slug monster --was like watching Jabba in a boxing match. Pretty funny stuff. Meet his final opponent Horn. Talk about a cheesy villain. Cyborg Minotaur.
4. Hottie 1980's Sci-Fi Blonde. Shari Shattuck as Jade.
I so wish he had actually fought this shark looking dude.
As I revisited this film --there were many things I enjoyed about it the second time around. There was enough good campy chessy stuff to elevate this from a 1 (What was I thinking) to a 6. But I can't give it higher than that. The plot was just too simple. This easily could have just been an episode on a Sci-Fi TV show like Trek or something. The story itself wasn't really movie-worthy.
The Sharknado franchise came to a wacky and strange time
travel conclusion last year. Ian Ziering not
wanting to fade from the public eye decided to move on to the zombie/natural disaster genre. Instead of just battling zombies
---why not spice it up a little with a Tidal Wave.Zombie Tidal Wave is a decent campy low budget
zombie flick.The problem with modern day Zombie films is
that post The Walking Dead –viewers are never going to connect with and care
about the characters in a zombie film as much as they did for that TV show. Basically,
with that series Zombies have already been done just about as good as possible.All these low budget zombie flicks are generally
not as good as the best episodes of the TV series - that being said they can still be a fun distraction if your expectations are not too high.
So, what is the point of watching Zombie Tidal Wave? Ian
Ziering has in my mind become the new king of cheesy and campy low budget fun.It is fun watching him with a Taser/Machete
electrocuting zombies that look like they have been dipped in Windex to save
money on zombie makeup. It was pure campy goodness.He has one
great fight with a Zombie that seems to know so wrestling moves near the end
that was enjoyable.
In the Tall Grass (Netflix Movie) 2019 1 out of 10 Instead of reviewing this film I'll just post my thoughts while watching it that I posted on the Facebook page.
Jupiter Ascending was a big budget jumbled mess.With a budget of almost 176 Million dollars you
can see the money on the screen, but it feels like it was without purpose.There are some decent action sequences and
amazing visual effects- but as a movie it just really didn’t know what it
wanted to be.The story was just
underwhelming and at times felt like an after thought to the action
sequences.Instead of reviewing it I
just have a list of observations or questions about the film.
11.Why give Channing Tatum’s character Spock ears?He is supposedly part Wolf but looks like a Vulcan
and then at the very end of the film has wings……. What??? I'm so confused by the choices they made with this character.
2.The film seemed like it had potential early with
a cool action sequence of some hired bounty hunters battling to try and capture
Mila Kunis’s character. At this point it felt like the movie could be a pleasant
surprise………Then it started to fall of the rails.
3. Eddie Redmayne as the main villains was awful
choice.That character was laughable. The
way the character was played was over the top and I was completed unimpressed.
4. Sean Bean is great in everything.Even in a bad movie Sean Bean stands out as
a great actor. I wish he had been the main character instead of a supporting character.
5. At first Channing Tatum’s characters rocket jet
shoes seemed interesting…… by the end of the film it become annoying as it was
overused and just looked like he was rollerblading. What is this Starlight Express.
6. The movie really didn’t seem to know what it
wanted to be.The biggest example of
this is in the middle of the film when Mila Kunis’s character goes to get recognized for her royal lineage and ends up in five-minute comedy bit about having to go
to 10 different departments to get approvals and forms filled out.This seemed like something out of a
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and didn’t fit with the tone of the rest of
the film.It just feels like there was
no clear vision for what exactly the movie was or what tone the film should
have.
7. The villains were basically three spoiled brats that have lived for many generations.All three just felt super cheesy to me.Mila Kunis’s character basically visits all 3 of them during the film.They
all want her inheritance.One tries to
marry her and then kill her.Another kidnaps
her family to get her to sign it over.Channing Tatum’s Sky roller blader saves her each time.One-man vs entire spaceships and guards.At the end she defeats Eddie Redmayne’s super
cheesy villain, but the others are almost completely forgotten at the end to
the story.
(Spoiler Warning) I don't think I could talk about this without spoiling the concept. It is best to go in cold and not read this.
When their professor goes missing in a cave some of his students and their younger siblings go looking for hims and end up finding something unexpected in the cave.
The concept of this low budget film is what makes it good. Basically they find out that time inside the cave moves a lot slower than time outside the cave. It is like it is in its own time bubble. Years pass by outside the cave when only seconds happen in the cave. This allows for encounters with others in the cave from both the distant past and distant future. How this is revealed is done well and the film does a pretty good job of making the concept as interesting and mysterious as possible. The ending of the movie is unexpected and made me want to know more.
I'm a sucker for any movie that is Time Travel or Time Loop related. What I liked about this the most is that it felt like a fresh new approach to this type of film. I'd definitely recommend Time Trap.
Katee Sackoff stars in 20136 Origin Unknown a sci-fi film about watching paint dry in space. I'd review this film if there was anything worth reviewing, but that would just waste additional time on top of the time I wasted watching it. A terrible 2001 rip-off. The entire movie is basically Katee Sackoff sitting in a room talking to a computer.
The Girl on a Train is slow to get going, but makes it's way down the track to a satisfying end. It reminded me a little bit of Presume Innocent with Harrison Ford. The story follows Rachel Watson (played by Emily Blunt) as she takes her daily train ride into New York. She is obsessed with the life of a what appears to be a happy couple that she sees from the train everyday until one day when she sees the girls kissing someone else on the balcony. The girl whose life she dreams about turns up missing that same night and Rachel suffers from missing time from her drinking problem. Is she responsible or is it someone else. Without giving away the rest of the story an interesting mystery unfolds following the girl's disappearance.
Like I mentioned above this film felt in tone very much like Presumed Innocent which I loved. The film does a decent of job of keeping you guessing throughout. I thought the mystery was satisfying and the acting was solid. Definitely worth a watch if you like murder mysteries.
Our latest Podcast is now online.In this episode we discuss what we liked and didn’t like about Stranger Things Season 3. This week with have a special guest which made for a spirited discussion. Join us as we go into the mall and the underground secret Russian base.
Hercules Against the Mongols 1963 5 out of 10 This Italian film features Hercules (played by Mark Forest) battling against the sons of Genghis Khan that have over run a city and taken the princess captive. The film features some decent action sequences --but the plot feels at times like a poorly constructed Kung Fu movie. Hercules displays his legendary strength at several points in the film --like in his first battle with the Mongols where he wields a giant tree to swat away his enemies. But when he battles in hand to hand combat he seems to struggle against his foes. These inconsistencies in his strength pretty much sum up the fell of the entire film which at times is good and at other times feels sloppy in its storytelling.
This film was the 45th out of 48 films featuring these characters. The Bowery Boys. By this time in the series one of the main characters Leo Gorcey had left the franchise which puts Huntz Hall as Sach front and center.
Spook Chasers finds the gang helping cafe owner Mike Clancy fix up a mountain house (that used to belong to a gangster) that he just bought from a crooked real estate agent. The gang finds some money hidden in the run down house and then must contend with some gangsters and the shady real estate agent. They basically find themselves in Scooby Doo episode where the real estate agent dresses up as a ghost to scare them away. The house has trick doors and secret revolving doors which leads to fun and some good slapstick moments. 45 films in the gags of this troupe are pretty refined. I like this film better than the Spook Busters which the group did over 10 years earlier.
The trailer for this Netflix film looked incredible. The idea for the movie was really solid. Unfortunately the film itself was a little slow and dull at times and didn't live up to the potential of the trailer.
The film takes place after an extinction event and follows the story of a robot that is bringing up and raising a human child. The only contact the human has ever had is the robot which it calls Mother. Then another person shows up outside of the airlock of their human. The rest of the movie is a battle for the main character between who to believe the human or the robot that raised her. Who is telling her the truth?
The premise of the film is cool, although it feels like it borrowed from the recent Lost in Space as little. Although the concept was good it just didn't grab my attention as much as I thought it would. I also felt that the main character too easily put her trust in a random stranger over the robot that had raised her. That just didn't ring true to me.
