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.
Gemini Man is a decent action film that centers on a character (played by Will Smith) who is a super elite assassin who has decided to retire. The people who he works for don't like that idea an try to take him out as they consider him a loose end. It turns out the assassin sent to kill him is a younger clones version of himself.
The movie has some fun action sequences and a decent story --but I really had a hard time accepting one point in the film. They establish at the start of the film that he is such an amazing assassin that he was able to kill a man from a long distance on a moving train and yet when he ends up battling himself both of them have the accuracy of a couple of stormtroopers shooting cans in the desert. If you can get past that fact which I considered a flaw in the film you may enjoy it. It is definitely worth a watch at home if you haven't seen any decent action flicks in awhile.
When Alicia Vikander was first announced as the new Lara Croft I thought.... that is an odd choice. She has proved herself as a solid actress in films like Ex Machina in which she was incredible, but she just doesn't look like the character from the classic video game. She is too skinny and has a very slight figure.
I'm sure I will be labeled by the PC crowd as sexist to even say this --but at least they got the characters look right the previous time around with Angelina Jolie. Alicia is a good actress she just doesn't fit the role. And before you label me sexiest for thinking that Lara Croft should have a body type that more resembles the original character think about this for a second because it goes both ways.
Do you think your wife would be as excited for the next Aquaman if instead of Jason Mamoa she got Raj from the Big Bang Theory.
Or if instead of casting Chris Hemsworth as Thor you got David Spade . I don't think so?
All I'm saying is cast someone who fits the character. People want to see buff Chris Evans as Captain America and not skinny Steve Rogers before the serum.
On a different note they even got the character wrong. Lara Croft is a total badass in the games. Instead she is portrayed quite differently in this film. The character with two guns from the original game seems more of a survivalist in this film instead of a fearless explorer. At times she seems very capable and at others like a victim struggling to just survive. It was almost as if they didn't know how the character should be played.
That aside the movie itself was a total dud. It was like the creators had never seen or played the video games before. A huge pet peeve of mine is when Hollywood tries to reboot a franchise and wastes half the movie giving us an origin story for the character we already know. If you are going to see Tomb Raider you know who Lara Croft is. The film wastes time showing her training as a kick boxer and riding a bicycle through the city in some race to earn extra money. She finally excepts her inheritance from her father who has been missing for 7 years and discovers his secret chamber in his castle estate. She watches a video of him instructing her to destroy his research instead she goes in search of him.
The film takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to anything resembling Tomb Raider after wasting time with her character getting robbed by street thugs in Asia and then hiring the son of the guy that took her father to a mysterious island that I half expected to find King Kong on. Then after falling off a waterfall she runs into her dad who looks like the crazy character from Treasure Island or Professor Oxyley from Crystal Skull. There is a straight out of Last Crusade where he states at least she destroyed his research like he asked. Not so much..... she actually brought the "Grail Diary" with her.
By the time it does get to Tomb Raider worthy story it is instead just a bad rip off of end of The Last Crusade. Unfortunately I had already checked out of the film by this point and was checking how much time was left on the DVD. Everything that could be considered good in this film was taken from other films.
Let's face it Skyscraper is just a remake of Die Hard with a different name. In the world of where everything is remade it is surprising that they didn't actually do it under the Die Hard brand. But whether it says Die Hard on it or not it is a basically a Die Hard film. So what does this film have going for it to make it special?? Dwayne the Rock Johnson of course.
The Rock stars Will Sawyer as a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team Leader and war veteran that lost his leg from an explosion shown the beginning of the film. The film picks up 10 years later and his character has been hired as a security expert to assess the world's newest and tallest skyscraper. This thing is supposed to be the safest building in the world. Whenever you brag about the world's tallest and safest building it is of course doomed like the Titanic. Of course a crime syndicate is after some evidence that the owner of the building holds and decide to set the building on fire after disabling the buildings alarms. Will Sawyer's family happens to be in the building at the time and he has to climb a construction crane and leap with his one leg into the building and then take on the syndicate.
The film is totally ridiculous and over the top and that is a good thing. The Rock just has whatever it is in Hollywood. He is this generations Arnold Schwarzenegger. He shines in this role as a father trying to save his family against the odds. The film is full of fun action sequences and was a fun summer action film. If you like the Rock you will enjoy this flick. The only thing the original Die Hard has on this film is a better villain. You just can't beat Alan Rickman in Die Hard.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a surprise box office hit of the holiday season. When I first heard they were doing a new Jumanji I wasn't confident that they would get it right. The original Jumanji starred Robin Williams and is concerned a classic. Would a Reboot/Remake go over well in 2017? Apparently the answer to that question was a hug yes. Jumanji crushed at the box office coming out shortly after The Last Jedi and holding surprisingly well for weeks into 2018. The film ended up grossing over 900 Million Worldwide. How they got it right: 1. Jumanji wasn't really a remake it was a sequel. I'm glad they went this route with the film. The original film lends itself to sequels and it is surprising that one wasn't made sooner. A sequel of sorts was made by John Favreau 2005 with the film Zathura that was based on a book by the same author of Jumanji. It wasn't a direct sequel but the themes and stories were the same with an outer space theme replacing the jungle setting. This Jumanji movie starts out with the board game from the original and mentions characters from the original and has visual references or Easter eggs from the first film. 2. They took the sequel in an interesting new direction. The original movie featured the board game that when you play it the spaces on the board game that you land on come to life. The sequel puts a spin on that when the magical board game turns itself into a video game to entice the new character that finds in 1996. Then a group of 4 different high school students that are basically like The Breakfast Club get detention and stumble across the game. It magically transports them into a video game version of Jumanji. It also involves body switching in a clever way that turns the high school kids into completely different characters.
3. The cast works surprisingly well together. The Rock and Kevin Hart had already demonstrated their own screen chemistry in a previous film. I'm not normally a fan of Jack Black. In fact several of the worst movies I've seen over the last decade were Jack Black films. Jack Black played as a hot selfie crazy popular girl stuck in Jack Black's body withing the game worked great. Karen Gillian as the Ally Sheedy character turned bad ass skilled in dance fighting in the game was terrific as well. She rounded out the cast with a great sense of humor, especially when she is trying to be sexy which she played to comic effect.
4. The story of the movie was solid and entertaining. It is basically a video game that the characters have to navigate. Working together and completing tasks to get to the end of the game before they run out of lives. This allowed you to have the characters randomly die in funny ways. Jack Black is standing next to the river and giving a speech and ends up getting Deep Blue Sea'd. Kevin Hart's character has "cake" as a weakness. He eats the cake and blow up. Jumanji is a great, fun entertaining family film that is sure to get another sequel based on the box office results.
This sequel started off with a bang. The opening action sequence was over the top, exciting, thrilling and super fun to watch. The Kingsman series sits somewhere between Austin Powers and In Like Flynt and Max Helm in tone. It is like a James Bond parody with more extreme cartoon violence. Unlike my podcast co-host who disliked this sequel I enjoyed it. I didn't think it was as good as the first one mainly because the middle section of the film dragged a little and the main plot wasn't as interesting. The Stateman U.S. version was a good concept, but Channing Tatum who was basically a cameo instead of a new main character. If the film could have sustained some of the momentum that it began with it could have been much better.
The over the top action sequences are the best part of these films. The opening car chase was incredible and included a small tribute to the classic Raiders truck scene. The ending sequence that included a showdown in the drug dealer's 1950's town hidden in a Cambodian ruin was totally fun and silly at the same time. There was a giant rolling Donut that they used for cover a la Temple of Doom with the gong. Elton John in a feather outfit in a bowling alley protecting one of the Kingsman from a robot dog. I enjoy the series and would definitely tune in for a third round. Hopefully the third film will have a stronger storyline than this film did. Because this crazy action with the right story could be incredible.
If you enjoyed the original you will probably enjoy this one as well and yet may feel like you were expecting something a little bit more.
John Wick thought he was out of the killing game --but after the events of the first movie he has been pulled back in again. The second movie picks up where the first movie left off. John Wick goes after the guys that have his car. The film starts out with an action packed sequence where Keanu Reeves tries to get his car back. After this he is forced to return to the underworld to repay a marker that let him out in the first place. He executes the mission in dramatic fashion at an outdoor concert amongst ruins of an ancient city only to have the gangster that gave him the job then turn on him and try to have him taken out.
The movie was visually stunning. Whoever does location scouting and set design for these movies is on top of their game. The locations that the action takes place are like a work of art. It creates a stylish ambiance that draws you into the world of John Wick
The story is action packed and the pacing is as near to perfect as a film can achieve. The violence in the action sequences can feels like a super cool video game. The story in the John Wick films is simplistic --but the film doesn't need a complex plot as the action and the style of the films carries the movies.
I love the world that they have created in John Wick and I'm excited to see more of this world. The John Wick series is my favorite Keanu Reeves franchise. This sequel added to the cool factor of the original film which was a wonderful surprise to me. The world building they have done with this series through two films is already more interesting to me than The Matrix which after the first film went downhill.
For this third installment the 1980's action dream team has added Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes and Mel Gibson I'm still trying to imagine how much money these movies would have made if they could have put this cast together back in 1989. The Expendable movies are just a fun. These films are throwbacks to the time when action movies were the biggest movies of the summer.
This third installment gives us more of what we got with the previous films. A bunch of tough guys taking on an impossible job and facing off against Mel Gibson in top form as the villain. Wesley Snipes has come out of hiding from tax evasion to co-star in the film and even jokes about it. Then of course the addition of my favorite actor of all-time Harrison Ford joins in a role that starts out more like what Bruce Willis and Arnold's characters were in the first 2 films ---but he eventually joins in the action as a daring helicopter pilot.
The action sequences: The action was top notch. Michael Bay would be proud of the explosions in this flick. Each star basically gets their moment to shine in this action packed film. The movie starts with the crew breaking Wesley Snipes character out of a moving train jail. Then the move on to another job that ends with one of their crew getting shot by Mel Gibson's character that is supposed to be dead. Mel Gibson used to be an Expendable himself, but has turned evil so the rest of the story is Sly trying to bring him down. The plotis just an excuse to get these actors into an arena for an fun action battle royale. The whole third act of the film is one big long action scene.
I personally enjoyed Expendables 2 better because it seemed like the ending was a little better, but I would keep watching this franchise for as long as they keep making them, unfortunately it sounds like Sly has decided not to continue with the franchise.
I'm not the biggest Keanu Reeves fan. He has to be cast in the right role and the right movie (See Point Break and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure as examples of the right roles) . When cast in the wrong film like Dracula or Chain Reaction where he is supposed to be a nuclear scientist things don't work. Well this was the right movie for Keanu and I would have to say it is now definitely my favorite Keanu film.
When the trailer for John Wick 2 came out it looked interesting and I'd heard good things about the original which I hadn't seen. I decided to check out John Wick on Netflix with no expectations or really any knowledge about the character or the movie.
Keanu plays John Wick an apparently legendary retired hit man. His wife has just died and his character is literally the Sad Keanu meme from the Internet that we once made fun of on a Podcast discusssing Point Break before it became the Super Fantastic Terrific Podcast.
Then he receives a package....something his wife wanted him to have before he died. A Puppy....the cutest little puppy ever. The film suddenly takes a turn after a trip to the gas station and an encounter with Theon Greyjoy from Game of Thrones. This unlucky dude decides he wants Keanu's ride and with a gang of thugs breaks into his house and beats him up, steals his car and kills his puppy.
Rule number 1. Don't kill John Wick's Puppy.....Well that is basically the only rule. John Wick spends the rest of the film getting revenge and putting his retired hit man skills to great use.
The character of John Wick is amazing. He is described by the Russian gangster as the guy you send to kill the Boogyman. The main bad guy is upset that the owner of the chop shop slapped his son---until he finds out why, his stupid son stole John Wick's car. I love that the villains fear him.
This movie is stylish. It has the look of Black Rain meets Blade. The sets are amazing from the Continental Hotel an apparent safe zone for Hit men run by Ian Mcshane of Deadwood fame. To the Russian club the Red Circle. The music of the film fits it perfectly as well and Keanu Reeves absolutely kicks ass. It is like a bloody video game as he makes his way through every killer that stand between him and the guy that killed his dog. I can't wait to see John Wick 2 now.
I've seen quite a few Kung Fu movies from back in the day with there bad American dubbing --but this one has to be one of the stranger ones. Think basically a Kung Fu movie from 1977 that is like a low budget Clash of the Titans. This was definitely a strange movie.
Back in the day Kung Fu movies could be found on random obscure local TV channels. Now the El Rey Network on cable is a go to spot for old school Kung Fu. The Battle Wizard follows a heroes journey of a young man who is searching for knowledge and more interested in books and has no interest in Kung Fu (How dare he). He goes in search of the mythical Red Python which can grant him powers. Along his journey he encounters a women who fights with Kung Fu snakes. Some guy that looks like Mel Brooks Yoda from Spaceballs if he had a lobster claw hand and bad dental work and a mysterious veiled woman that can shoot lasers out of a prop bone. The special effects are laughable. The Kung Fu action so-so at best. But if you were looking for a Kung Fu movie where the hero fights and battles a giant rubber snake like a scene out of an Ed Wood movie this is the Kung Fu movie for you. If you want to see the hero thrown into an underground tunnel and forced to fight a guy in a store bought gorilla costume in a kung fu battle ----this again is your Kung Fu movie.
The movie was poorly edited as scenes seem to just jump to other scenes with little or no connection -but again it has a Kung Fu Gorilla.
If you like strange and bizarre Kung Fu movies---this one is short enough to give a try just don't expect amazing fight sequences and enjoy the cheap laser effects and KUNG FU Gorilla.
I've now seen all 4 of the Matt Damon Bourne movies and I'm convinced that Jason Bourne is just a disposable action hero. The Jason Bourne movies have perfected the following and avoiding people in a crowd scene. These scenes are filled with tension and look great on screen. Half of the scenes are people trying to find Jason Bourne and Jason Bourne trying to find answers. The first movie in the Bourne series seemed new and unique---but now the formula for the Bourne movies has made them completely unmemorable after viewing. Don't get me wrong: they are a fun and enjoyable ride at the time you are watching them --but other than Jason Bourne getting one small piece of information about his past --nothing really happens. Jason Bourne isn't saving the world like James Bond or Jack Bauer, instead he is just avoiding capture again and again while the people around him die. The series features great action sequences---but after the thrill of watching the film---I feel empty as far as the series goes.
In conclusion: Watch the Bourne films for the action sequences --not for the slowly evolving and redundant story lines.
Central Intelligence is a good buddy cop adventure starring Kevin Hart (playing himself as always) and Dwayne the Rock Johnson. The plot is silly and The Rock's character (despite being kick ass is odd throughout the film, which was a strange choice. They almost lead you to believe he is faking how his character is a first---but it turns out that isn't the case.
A 20 year reunion is approaching and an old class mate know back in the day as Geeky Outsider named Fat Rob contacts Kevin Hart's character who was the ultimate athlete student back in the day for a drink. The flashback to The Rock singing in Fat makeup is probably the best part of the flick. I think and entire movie with Fat Rock would have made a better film Anyway.....Fat Rob is now kick ass Rock a CIA Agent gone Rogue and unknowingly enlists the help of his old classmate. The two end up embroiled in CIA Espionage situation situation. The movie has some good action sequences and chemistry between The Rock and Kevin Hart clicks. The movie had some funny moments. The Rock even in a odd character role) can make any action movie enjoyable.
(Spoilers)
The weak point of the movie was the attempt to try and convince the viewer that The Rock may be the bad guy after all....This red herring just never works and as much as they try the viewer never really buys into this angle. The Rock is too likeable in the the film for the viewer to want to buy into that and so the tension you are supposed to feel in certain scenes isn't really there. I loved the references to Sixteen Candles which is supposedly The Rock's characters favorite flick.
A sniper takes out what appears to be five random people. When interrogated the sniper simply writes the word " Get Jack Reacher".
Jack Reacher is played by Tom Cruise who is an ex military investigator with a grudge against the man in custody and shows up hoping to see him put away. But when he begins to look into the case some things don't add up. And then someone pays some thugs to have him beat up to discourage his investigation. Bad idea....Jack kicks some ass and gets deeper into uncovering the mystery behind what is really going on. The cast includes the beautiful Rosamund Pike as the defense attorney that helps him investigate the shooting. Robert Duvall is great in a supporting role.
Tom Cruise --may be a crazy Scientologist in real life, but he is definitely a movie star. He has that "IT" factor on screen. This movie could have been a TV episode on some cool action mystery series like Castle. The story is fairly simple. The action isn't Mission Impossible over the top on the side of a building and feels more realistic. Tom Cruise elevates what could be a standard film with his portrayal of Jack Reacher. The character he plays which is based on a book series --is like a cool investigator version of Jason Bourne. I really liked this film and now look forward to seeing the sequel.
I enjoyed the movie when I saw it in the theaters the other day.
Jason Bourne is the most recent entry in continuing the
series of Bourne films.
The Cast
The cast for Jason Bourne is solid. Matt Damon returns in this action packed film.Tommy Lee Jones joins the cast as the
Director that is trying to eliminate Jason Bourne. Immediately comparisons to The Fugitive came to mind and made me want to watch that film again. Alicia Vikander also joins as an agent who decides to help him for some reason. The Action Sequences The movie has several great
action sequences. In fact the whole film is basically one action set piece after another. The chaotic chase through the streets of Las
Vegas was especially epic. This movie gets a 7+ out of 10 based on its great action sequences alone. My Issues with the Jason Bourne Franchise The movie was exciting and entertaining on its
own….but my issue with the Bourne series is that unlike James Bond who is
saving the world Bourne just continues to try to solve his own personal issues
and answer questions about his past.So
it feels at this point like nothing is really being accomplished.You feel like you could literally start with
the next movie and you really didn’t miss anything story wise. Jason Bourne is almost a disposable film. Fun to watch in the theater, but of no real consequence. The first movie felt like a fresh look at a spy film--but by this installment it just feels like the character just keeps doing the same things over and over again. Avoiding people in crowds to stay under the radar and occasionally discovering a new piece to the puzzle of his life.
It was exactly what a Conan should be.....and yet it was an epic failure?
I love sword and sandal movies....The R rated Conan the Barbarian with Arnold and its cheesy but still fun PG sequel Conan the were great.....Years I would read the original Conan stories by Robert E Howard and all of the Robert (Wheel of Time fame) Conan books.
They were great. Set in a world with as thick as Tolkien and filled with sword vs Sorcery. All had similar story lines. Conan battling epic forces to save some girl while still being the Barbarian that he is....I wanted more......I wondered how long it would be before they could bring Conan back with modern day special effects...... Well 2011 was that year. Conan hit the big screen with all the spectacle of modern day film making. They made a Conan movie like those I had read and envisioned in my head....That had partially inspired my own short stories of the Pineappleman (which is part Indiana Jones and part Conan). It was brutally violent and graphic and took you right into the books... Jason Momoa did a great job stepping into the shoes of Arnold and yet the movie was a box office disaster......Why? Bad Marketing? What happened to Conan's big comeback? The movie was fun and if you have read Conan books captured those adventures very well. So what went wrong? My hopes of a series of Conan movies dashed yet again --just like when Conan the Destroyer under performed. Somehow the public would rather see Smurfs the movie or a 3rd Chipmunks film (yes I understand different audiences) but still... As a fan of big 80's action films I find it really disappointing that Conan will once again drift away from the film landscape... Just when they got it right.... If you like your action bloody, your taverns filled with topless women and your hero carrying around the heads of his slain enemies...check out Conan quickly before it disappears from the big screen for another 20 years. Follow the Movie Facebook Page Here https://www.facebook.com/The-Super-Fantastic-Terrific-Page-of-Movies-TV-and-Entertainment-178708865473822/
