I caught the last part of X-Men movie on cable when I was changing channels looking for anything to watch . I never knew Jennifer Lawrence was the X-Men blue skin lady.
Her career has definitely cooled off. It seems the big push she got from the success of the Hunger Games trilogy dried up a while ago.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
I have seen a bunch of movies in the last month, but because of traveling, have not been able to post anything about them, so in no particular order(usually they are chronological):
1) "Posessor" -- What a sick, twisted premise--the precise kind one would expect from David Cronenberg's Son. Mother and wife at times, psychotic body infiltrating suicide assassin when at work. Watch. *** out of **** stars.
2) "Extract" -- The more Mike Judge productions I view, the more I am convinced he is fairly intelligent--far more than one would expect from the creator of Beavis and Butthead. This was a fun comedy that actually had me laughing at times. *** out of **** stars.
3) "Intruder" -- Budget 80s horror movie that I watched only because Sam Raimi played a role. Better than expected, and picks up pace after the slog opening. ** 3/4 out of **** stars.
4) "The Hunt"(2012) -- Europe is quite different from America, so I often enjoy watching films that take place on the continent, especially the kind that occur in realistic settings and show slices and samplings of culture. This was a hard to watch drama/thriller about a man wrongly accused of abusing students in a daycare center/preschool/whatever they are called in Europe, and the aftermath. Worth a watch and was well done. *** 1/4 out of **** stars.
5) "Trick or Treat" -- Okay 80s horror film with quite a bit of period cheese. I've seen better. 976-Evil is one that comes to mind which was easily better than this one, which happened to feature Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne as a preacher, no less. Don't confuse this with Trick 'r Treat from 2008, either, as that one was better, also. ** 3/4 out of **** stars.
6) "Dredd" -- Modern screenwriters/producers/directors must seriously consider comic book audiences stupid retards. The Stallone 'Dredd adaptation was rather blah, so going into this I hardly expected this to be worse. I don't like superheroes. They're pretty stupid. Dredd isn't a superhero, he's a cop, and a judge, and I needed to scratch the cop itch so this film was on the menu. And oh boy, there was a lot of idiocy, from villains that stood still and waited to die, to back and forth dumb dumb tactics, to simply... well... yeah, this was a dumpster fire in a land of dumpsters. Despite this, I have seen far worse, and somehow managed to be on par with the bad 90s film. Not awful. Not terrible. Okay I guess. ** 1/2 out of **** stars.
7) "Modern Romance" - I watched the Albert Brooks documentary by Rob Reiner, and afterwards decided to watch this Brooks film. For those unaware, Brooks is a very unconventional comedian. Sometimes he is funny, others he is not. He's basically the Wes Anderson of comedy. His jokes are often intellectual(not so much as Mike Judge--yes, there's more to fire fire), so they require some contemplation, and sometimes the setup is long. This was a pretty decent take on early 80s dating. Not bad. *** out of **** stars.
8) "Heartbreakers" (1984) -- The best for last. This was a bang up strong buddy drama from the halcyon days of 1980-1984--the most creative musical period in history since Mozart composed on this Earth. This film delivers in many ways, starring Peter Coyote, finally my "Less than Zero" itch has been scratched, at last, after a desert drought of two years. Great film. *** 1/2 out of **** stars.
9) "A Simple Favor" -- Fun, uplifting movie about a bunch of scummy characters. Yes, even the protagonist is pretty rotten, once her backstory is revealed. Despite this, the peppy dialogue and plot kept my attention focused on the screen. The film's novelistic roots are quite apparent, throughout, producing a quality of character depth and drama seldom seen from those written solely for the screen alone. *** 1/4 out of **** stars.
6) "Dredd" -- Modern screenwriters/producers/directors must seriously consider comic book audiences stupid retards. The Stallone 'Dredd adaptation was rather blah, so going into this I hardly expected this to be worse. I don't like superheroes. They're pretty stupid. Dredd isn't a superhero, he's a cop, and a judge, and I needed to scratch the cop itch so this film was on the menu. And oh boy, there was a lot of idiocy, from villains that stood still and waited to die, to back and forth dumb dumb tactics, to simply... well... yeah, this was a dumpster fire in a land of dumpsters. Despite this, I have seen far worse, and somehow managed to be on par with the bad 90s film. Not awful. Not terrible. Okay I guess. ** 1/2 out of **** stars.
I never saw it but I've heard that the "Dredd" adaptation with Karl Urban in the lead role was quite good.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
6) "Dredd" -- Modern screenwriters/producers/directors must seriously consider comic book audiences stupid retards. The Stallone 'Dredd adaptation was rather blah, so going into this I hardly expected this to be worse. I don't like superheroes. They're pretty stupid. Dredd isn't a superhero, he's a cop, and a judge, and I needed to scratch the cop itch so this film was on the menu. And oh boy, there was a lot of idiocy, from villains that stood still and waited to die, to back and forth dumb dumb tactics, to simply... well... yeah, this was a dumpster fire in a land of dumpsters. Despite this, I have seen far worse, and somehow managed to be on par with the bad 90s film. Not awful. Not terrible. Okay I guess. ** 1/2 out of **** stars.
I never saw it but I've heard that the "Dredd" adaptation with Karl Urban in the lead role was quite good.
It was good. Maybe not great, but it had a nice small scale plot that it stuck to with some good action. As far as lack of comic book knowledge goes, it seems to stick to the Dredd comics tone and story much better than the 90s one did.
6) "Dredd" -- Modern screenwriters/producers/directors must seriously consider comic book audiences stupid retards. The Stallone 'Dredd adaptation was rather blah, so going into this I hardly expected this to be worse. I don't like superheroes. They're pretty stupid. Dredd isn't a superhero, he's a cop, and a judge, and I needed to scratch the cop itch so this film was on the menu. And oh boy, there was a lot of idiocy, from villains that stood still and waited to die, to back and forth dumb dumb tactics, to simply... well... yeah, this was a dumpster fire in a land of dumpsters. Despite this, I have seen far worse, and somehow managed to be on par with the bad 90s film. Not awful. Not terrible. Okay I guess. ** 1/2 out of **** stars.
I never saw it but I've heard that the "Dredd" adaptation with Karl Urban in the lead role was quite good.
That's the one I watched. The enemies acted like idiots. Some of the gunfights were laughable, as they stood there, waiting to be choreographed to their doom.
The atmosphere was great, as was Karl Urban, but the film left me a bit unsatisfied. Die Hard was a much better building siege movie, and thus, I must rate films versus their peers, not their lineage.
That's the one I watched. The enemies acted like idiots. Some of the gunfights were laughable, as they stood there, waiting to be choreographed to their doom.
Ah ok, I misunderstood then. I thought you were talking about the Stallone one.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
6) "Dredd" -- Modern screenwriters/producers/directors must seriously consider comic book audiences stupid retards. The Stallone 'Dredd adaptation was rather blah, so going into this I hardly expected this to be worse. I don't like superheroes. They're pretty stupid. Dredd isn't a superhero, he's a cop, and a judge, and I needed to scratch the cop itch so this film was on the menu. And oh boy, there was a lot of idiocy, from villains that stood still and waited to die, to back and forth dumb dumb tactics, to simply... well... yeah, this was a dumpster fire in a land of dumpsters. Despite this, I have seen far worse, and somehow managed to be on par with the bad 90s film. Not awful. Not terrible. Okay I guess. ** 1/2 out of **** stars.
I never saw it but I've heard that the "Dredd" adaptation with Karl Urban in the lead role was quite good.
That's the one I watched. The enemies acted like idiots. Some of the gunfights were laughable, as they stood there, waiting to be choreographed to their doom.
The atmosphere was great, as was Karl Urban, but the film left me a bit unsatisfied. Die Hard was a much better building siege movie, and thus, I must rate films versus their peers, not their lineage.
If you want a siege movie that came out around the same time, try The Raid: Redemption. Had a budget of only like $1.1 million and is a bit cheesy at times. Has some over the top martial arts action too. Plot of that one is an Indonesian SWAT team gets trappeed in a tenement building. So almost the same plot as Dredd.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest President in the history of the United States.
I think events came together to give him too much to do.
Bay of Pigs within 3 months of him taking office. Then civil rights unrest in Mississippi and Alabama. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis. Then more civil rights unrest. Then add cold war, nuclear arms race, Khruschev, Kennedy was overwhelmed.
The peak of his Presidency was 5 months before his assassination when he visited West Berlin and almost 1/2 million Berliners came out to watch him speak, which was the best speech of his Presidency.
I don't know why they assassinated him, maybe they didn't like how he handled The Cuban Missile Crisis and wanted him to go to war with Russia but that would had resulted in total end of the world. Or maybe because he didn't want to escalate America's involvement in South Vietnam.
Whatever reason he was assassinated, it's very sad. From watching this 8 part series, I came away with the impression that he was a Great President.
He was a great president, of similar caliber to Ronald Reagan, with likewise some bad policy that adversely affected America for decades to come. Those policies are best saved for discussing in PWEC.
An American patrol has to cross behind enemy lines by skis in order to blow up an important railroad bridge. The task is made harder by conflicts between the platoon's veteran sergeant and its inexperienced lieutenant and by constant attacks by pursuing German troops.
An American patrol has to cross behind enemy lines by skis in order to blow up an important railroad bridge. The task is made harder by conflicts between the platoon's veteran sergeant and its inexperienced lieutenant and by constant attacks by pursuing German troops.
That sounds incredibly formulaic and cliched.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
It's a 3.5 hour movie that has zero fluff scenes and the pacing never drags. Now THAT is film-making genius by Kurosawa.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
It's a 3.5 hour movie that has zero fluff scenes and the pacing never drags. Now THAT is film-making genius by Kurosawa.
First seen by me on a wet Sunday afternoon on British TV back in 1962, the film that piqued my interest in Japanese culture and later inspired me to take up Kendo, and more recently Iaido & Kenjitsu.
It's a 3.5 hour movie that has zero fluff scenes and the pacing never drags. Now THAT is film-making genius by Kurosawa.
First seen by me on a wet Sunday afternoon on British TV back in 1962, the film that piqued my interest in Japanese culture and later inspired me to take up Kendo, and more recently Iaido & Kenjitsu.
Impressive. You first saw this brilliant film one year before the Beatles were known to the world.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
