[MacGyverGod]

What's this?

[MacGyverGod]

This looks great.

[denizen]

Got to watching Spider-Man Homecoming this weekend.

So this time round Tom Holland takes the mantle as the formidable hero. Taking place after the events of Captain America - Civil War sees Parker returning home and trying to live with both identities but trying to create a name of his alter ego is tougher than he thought. Enter Tony Stark, the man who watches out for him and supplies him with his gear which could prove useful as Peter comes face to face with a new threat that holds more surprises than he would like; the Vulture...

Homecoming is a great addition to the Marvel family and finally stems Spider-Man to the rest of the cinematic universe. It's not a bad film but does tend to rely on the strengths of Iron Man and at the end you are left missing the previous incarnations. Still it is a good entry and solid fun for the whole family. I give it 3 & a half stars.

[MacGyverGod]

I think this was better than the Amazing Spiderman movies. They were really unnecessary and was a little disrespectful to Sam Raimi.

[denizen]

The Sam Raimi movies did not accurately depict the webslinger's story despite their success but they went with it and of course after the failure of Spider-Man 3, They decided to reboot it correctly. Amazing Spider-Man was more accurate telling the story of Gwen Stacy but they foiled it again with the sequel when they introduced way too many villains. After Fox lost some of the rights Marvel decided to change the origin story again with the new incarnation.

As i said, its not bad at all. Was a fun watch for sure. But I really miss the other ones. They had a magic about them. At least to me.

[denizen]

Got around to watching 2:22.
All seems well in the life of air traffic controller Dylan Branson till one day when at work experiences a strange vision at the exact time of 2:22, taking his attention off 2 planes which almost collide with each other. From there, Dylan starts experiencing daily occurrences at the exact time and meeting a woman that seems to be his perfect match. But his visions soon start to take control of his life leading him to New York's Grand Central Station which seems to hold the key to all of this.

2:22 is a nice idea but has been done before (Already 2 come to mind: Knowing & Pi). And the latters were better executed. It falls to be a little predictable at times and feels like it could have been so much better. Still, it makes for a adequate watch. I give it 2 & a half stars.

[denizen]

This weekend i am so hoping to watch...

[MacGyverGod]

Mother! Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For A Dream & Black Swan). A couple is living in an isolated house and Mother (played by the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence) is redecorating the house while husband Him or He (Javier Bardem) is trying to start to writing poems again. One day stranger (Ed Harris) stand on their doorstep thinking their house was a bed & breakfast by mistake and sort of forces the couple to have him spend the night. Bardem doesn't seem to mind but doesn't ask Mother about it so she is forced to accept. After a few minor incidents with their strange visitor they're also forced to take in his wife for a few nights. Tensions rise when also their sons arrive. Mother gets under severe pressure with their strange visitors and under more pressure when her husband becomes increasingly popular amongst the apparently crazy population after he finally got past his writers block.

The movie clearly has received mixed responses. Praised by some, chewed up and spat out by others. Some are saying it's the worst movie of the century already, which is totally not true and unreasonable. It is not Requiem For A Dream and it is not Black Swan, I agree but the movie is not bad at all. It's just... well Aronofsky. It's a complicated story-telling and somethings may not be entirely clear but that is his way like Nolan works, more or less. 3 stars.

[MacGyverGod]

Prisoners. A bleak grim thriller drama with Hugh Jackman and Terrence Howard. The Dovers are spending Thanksgiving dinner with the Birch family. After dinner the daughters from both family wants to go to The Dovers place to pick something up but never return. When a search in the neighborhood ends up with nothing Keller Dover calls the police. The case is picked up by Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) and begins investigating. A suspect is taken in but they can't keep him because of lack of proof. Dover is convinced he's the kidnapper and goes after him himself in hopes of finding his daughter no matter what it takes. Meanwhile police officer Loki is doing everything he can to find to missing girls as he never failed to solve case before but also has to keep Dover at bay who seems to be descending in deep paranoia.

This is not an easy movie to watch if you have kids of your own because it represents the feelings and emotions what you go through as a parent when your kids go missing. The performance are astounding, especially Jackman's as a frustrated powerless father who will go to the extremes to find his daughter back and Gyllenhaal as the officer who tries to solve the case but has to realise this one is probably out of his league. 4 stars.

[Barry Rowland]

I know this is all old school stuff, but my youngest son has me really into the Marvel series characters lately. We just watched Ant Man, The Avengers, Thor, and the Captain America series. Fun Stuff!!!

[MacGyverGod]

That's like my next next project. Currently I'm going through my watchlist of first timers and second chancers and as a "reward" I can begin on X-Men in chronological order and if I get through that I intend to start on the other Marvel movies also chronological.

[Barry Rowland]

We just picked up Iron man 2 tonight. It's been a lot of fun Macgod!

[MiracleMac]

Cyclone (1987)

It's about a women who's friend engineered some ultimate motorcycle which have all bells and whistles, more like an armed motorcycle with laser guns and rockets. Then a criminal gang tries to steal that bike.

The movie also has interesting characters like the white hair guy named as Rolf, kind of weird goofy criminal. He also had very unique ways to catch that motorcycle women, like trying to throw a grappling hook at the motorcycle during the car chase, he himself was driving a car without a roof.

The movie also had great stunts, explosions and it made me think that why everything have to be really CGI today.
If somebody would make that movie again and would replace those real effects with CGI, because otherwise it would be too expensive to make (probably these days). I barely would believe those peoples would even have money for CGI, because that movie really didn't look high budget to me. In that case the question is I believe more like "They can't or they dont want to?" use real effects.

But anyway, this got pretty bad ratings, but great movie from my opinion. Kind of basic 80's sci-fi action movie, with couple goofy crooks.



Attached Image

[denizen]

I saw Cyclone ages ago.

It was like a Street Hawk ripoff. Don't recall much about it though.

I saw Blade Runner 2049


It has been 30 years and a new Blade Runner called K (Gosling) uncovers a long buried secret of macroscopic proportions. With little choice he goes on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Ford) who was the Blade Runner from the first movie who has been missing ever since...

This is a beautifully crafted sequel to a movie i hold very dear to my heart. Most people that saw the original either loved it or hated it but it was not for everyone. There are so many levels of Blade Runner which is why it is a classic in my eyes. What it is to be human and what we take for granted. And of course the questions we hold about our own mortality.

So far many have praised the sequel and for its very right. It tries to go back to the world we all remember and it does a great job at doing it. ts an impressive sequel and perhaps might endure many watches before it ranks up there with the original. But for now I give it 4 stars.

Then i saw East Side Sushi


Released back in 2014, East Side Sushi tells the story of a Mexican woman who wants more for her struggling family and by some chance finds a Japanese restaurant looking for help. As talented as she is, starting off in the back cleaning dishes is the highlight of her life, but Juana wants more and soon teaches herself the mastery of making sushi. It is an aspiring tale and is well directed. There was no mistaking this movie as a low budget release but it offers some well made production that steers it into an impressive watch. I give it 3 & a half stars.

[MacGyverGod]

Spectre. The fourth Daniel Craig Bond movie. I remember being blown away by Casino Royale. It had been years at the time since I had seen a decent action film. It was my first real Bond movie I had ever seen. Through the years I've seen them all from that movie on. And a handful in the past year during showings on tv but to me Daniel Craig is James Bond. Casino Royale was straight to the top, Quantum of Solace was a massive nosedive, Skyfall was going back up hill while Spectre was climbing a mountain again. During their releases I was never as impressed as I was with Casino Royale. Quantum remains the weakest of them all while Skyfall seemed better and Spectre is nearing Casino Royale territory. This is worth at least 4 stars.

Apparently the next Bond movie will be set for 2019 and will be called (for now) Bond 25 and will still star Daniel Craig, even though he said he was done with it. It has been officially confirmed, he will take on the role and Christoph Waltz will return too as Blofeld. An interesting name that popped up as possible director is Christopher Nolan.

[Barry Rowland]

I really like Bond and how the series has evolved thru the years. It seemed to stagnate a good bit thru the 70's-early 80's, but has really came back.

[denizen]

I think every generation has their Bond. Ironically one of my fave Bond films was the Living Daylights. And Dalton was actually going to reprise his role in Goldeneye but he turned it down. Didn't even know that. Still Brosnan made the movie and his era. Looking at each Bond separately sometimes puts them in more critique but when placing the Bonds together, they all form part of an important pattern. I also agree that Craig's Casino Royale was a solid movie but felt disappointed with Quantum & Spectre. Maybe cause the hype of Blofeld was overblown in certain ways. Let's hope Craig's last Bond outing will make up for that.

I also heard the rumors of Nolan directing but doubt he will step up to the chair. Who knows? At one point even Steven Spielberg wanted to direct a Bond movie.

[MacGyverGod]

Living Daylights wasn't so bad. But I thought License To Kill was considered so terribly which explains the six year hiatus between that one and Goldeneye and why Dalton didn't came back or wasn't asked back.

After seeing Spectre again I changed my opinion about it. I think I will have that with many movies of the past few years. I remember reading something on how Waltz actually acts pretty much the same no matter if he is a good or bad guy after he got so much praise in Inglourious Basterds for being able to be merciless and actual funny at the same time. Now as Blofeld, he again showed he can be a great villain. He really was menacing especially with the scar. Blofeld could actually be the Murdoc of James Bond. The one you can't kill or can kill but he will always come back. Blow him, make him fall of a mountain, drown him, drop him in a mineshaft or let him drive over a cliff. He will always come back.

Steven Spielberg directing a Bond-movie would be interesting though.

Two nights ago I've seen Hulk. The Ang Lee movie with Eric Bana and Jennifer Connolly. I thought she looked young in Requiem For A Dream but Hulk came after it. Also one of those flops and I didn't like it back then but now I think it's not so bad, despite maybe a cheesy effect here or there. Can't believe they spend 2,5 million computer hours to create a CGI Hulk and than the movie appears to be suck. That's painful. I would give it 3 stars.

[denizen]

That is what everyone was made to believe but alas, that was not the case. In actual fact, License to Kill did well at the box office. It was a black sheep mostly due to change of writers and extreme measures like poor Felix being brutally attacked etc..It was also the first Bond movie not titled under a Fleming novel.

With a budget of only 32 Mil it came at around 150 mil which was good for the time of Bond films. They still had Dalton contracted up to 1992 or something like that but then they went into a huge legal dispute with the rights to Bond which lasted for 5 years. This is why we never heard anything. When the time came to make the next Bond, they went straight to Dalton but he decided not to return. Which made them go back to Brosnan who was then out of his Remington Steele contract. Either way it was a good move for them. Although i always wonder how Dalton would have been in Goldeneye.

[denizen]

Yesterday i saw American Made

After recently watching Narcos on Netflix, it was somewhat of a calling to see American Made. This is the true story of pilot Barry Seal who was recruited by the CIA to fly recon around Southern America. But in the midst of this becomes involved in illegal smuggling operations ranging from drugs to guns. And at first all goes well for Barry until his operations get out of hand and things start to fall apart.

This is a well rounded and executed film about a story we never fully grasped and it is an interesting tale told from the other side of things. Cruise is Cruise and his supporting cast carry their own quite comfortably. Solid movie and i give it 4 stars.

Then i got around to watching the Dark Tower.


This was already reviewed by MacGyverGod so i wont get into too much detail. However i have to agree with his review. This is certainly an underrated film with a great plot, visual effects and well acted from a talented cast.

I have never read any of the Dark Tower books so i am judging this solely based on the movie itself. I even have to admit that one thing that put me off originally from wanting to see this was the trailer. For some reason it felt a little predictable and placed too much emphasis on Idris' character however boy was i wrong. Watching the film in its entirety put it in another perspective and it played out marvelously. It's fate can best be described as the same for John Carter. Loved both movies and i can safely give this one IMO a 4 star rating.

[MacGyverGod]

Simply watch this one. 3,5 stars.

Even if you don't...

at least watch the awesome opening credits.

[MacGyverGod]

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Bill and Ted played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are two high school airheads who are about the flunk for history and therefore risk being seperated as friends. With a little help from a man from the future and a time travelling phonebooth they visit several places in history to collect several historical figures for their presentation or their future will be doomed.

I was kinda of thinking, this is like Cory and Shawn from Boy Meets World meets Back To The Future. They kinda acted the same way only a little more airheaded and a little lighter. Especially Reeves is noticeable as this loveable, cheerful dumb kid. I probably won't watch this twice but there was a great message in this: 'Be excellent to each other.' This movie was not made for the big money or to make a point but to have fun in the first place.

Two years later Keanu Reeves became the action hero he is today. I'd give it 2,5 stars.

[Jediferret]

I actually want to see Dark Tower. My sister is a big fan of the books. I'll have to see if RedBox carries it.

I watched Annabelle Creation the other night. It wasn't bad. I felt IT was a better horror movie though.

[MacGyverGod]

Point Break (1991) starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Reeves plays rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah who is sent to L.A. to investigate bank robberies commited by a gang of ex-presidents run by Bodhi (Swayze). Bodhi influences Utah with his lifestyle and teaches him a thing or two about life through surfing. Through all this Utah falls in love with the girl and begins to fail to see right from wrong... Sounds familiar? Lots of people say the original The Fast and the Furious was basically the remake of Point Break. Cop infiltrates in a gang, befriends the leader, falls in love with the girl and in the end has to make a decision out of respect and/or friendship.

This was Reeves first action film and something way different than Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Produced and directed by James Cameron & Katheryn Bigelow. Apparently they even rewrote the script together in the end.

Anyway this one is one of many in the early 90's but is very much fun to watch. 3,5 stars.

[MacGyverGod]

The Lazarus Project, starring Paul Walker. Walker plays Ben Garvey a reformed criminal who gets sucked back in the criminal life and pays the price for it.

In all a pretty decent thriller/drama. I think Paul Walker would've been king of the smaller thriller and action films. As most of his movies are next to Fast and Furious none of his movies I've seen are bad at all. I would give this one about 2,5 stars. Small but entertaining.

[MacGyverGod]

Erin Brockovich. If Ally McBeal, The Spoilers and Bitter Harvest was a movie it would be called Erin Brockovich. Erin is a single mother with three children and is financially strapped. She suffers a car accident and loses when it goes to trial thanks to her big mouth. Eventually she gets hired by her lawyer and ends up working for him and stumbles on to a case against Pacific Gas and Electric who had contaminated the groundwater in Hinkley, California, causing the residents there grow very ill and sometimes even die. This was actually a major case that was settled for 333 million dollars. Very entertaining movie, it gave Julia Roberts her Oscar award. Powerful performance. 4 stars.

Saw. I guess we all know the Saw-story. The so-called intelligent horrorfilm with a suprise twist in the end that turned everything upside down. Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Adam wake up in an old and filthy bathroom, chained to pipes on their bare feet with no recollection on how they got there. They find tapes in their pockets with information, one of which is that Gordon has to kill Adam before 6 am or his wife and daughter will die. While both of them explains to the possibilities of why they are there the clock keeps ticking.

Directed by James Wan. The movie was not so bad and this one differs from all the others. This one is more a grisly psychological thriller than a torture movie. But look at that cast: Cary Elwes (mostly in comedy or bad guy roles), Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Benito Martinez. Seriously? Two actors of Lost and one of The Shield in the same movie? I even missed out Ned Bellamy. The guy that was found by Leung and Glover in the movie. Didn't recognize him.

So this was the first on out of seven or is it eight now? I give this one 3 stars.

[MacGyverGod]

The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Um... euhm... I know this is a movie that gained cult status and is probably one of historical importance but um... what the hell was that? A horror-comedy-musical? I probably just didn't get it. Tim Curry acted great, no doubt about that. But jeez, what an odd genre mix was that? Horror and musical? Let's sing and dance on a cheerful song before killing anyone? I felt like I wasted my time with this. 1 star.

Saw II. The first sequel of many starring Donnie Wahlberg, (brother of...) in the role of Det. Eric Matthews. I really thought Eric Matthews was that kid from Boy Meets World but it appears he's a cop. Anyway, this time 8 people are being held in Jigsaw's house of horror. One of them is Eric's son, Daniel. A dangerous nerve gas is being spread through the house and the people inside have 2 hours to live. Meanwhile Jigsaw wants to play a game with Eric if he ever wants to see his son again. Also 3 stars.

[denizen]

1 star for Rocky Horror?

Ouch! One of my favorites too. Loved it. It's a classic for those who saw it or for those who study it.

Sarandon, Bostwick & Curry built their careers solely on this project.

Is it everyone's cup of tea? Perhaps not. But was never meant to be taken seriously. It was a fun poke for the era it came from.

Did you know it had a sequel? It was called Shock Treatment. But it sadly missed the waves.

[MacGyverGod]

Maybe I was expecting the horror version of Rocky. I know this was the movie version of a play in the UK and most actors appear in the movie. Despite it said 'horror picture show', I didn't see much of it. I didn't expect it to be a musical. I know they have some cult status now but it doesn't deserve the longest run in cinema history. There is a theatre in Germany who has been showing the movie ever since it came out. It's only been 42 years.

Anyway last night I've seen The Cell. A movie about serial killer who ended up in a coma due to his illness of Whalen. Taking into custody while in a coma the police tries to find out where he keeps a young woman that is being held in... The Cell. The Cell is a fully automated cell that slowly floods with water and they only have 24 hours to find her. In order to do so they bring the killer to a research facility where they are experimenting in the human psyche. Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) is a volunteer there who lets herself be connected to a virtual reality system and try to get into the mind of the killer as she has been doing with a little boy to get him come out of his coma, to find the location of the cell.

This was a great and intense thriller. Some say it's an early version of Inception, due to the use of a device to enter dreamscapes. Great directing and a great use of Indian mythology and design. Great score by Howard Shore. Many familiar faces: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Weber, James Gammon, Dylan Baker, Peter Sarsgaard (cameo) and for the watchful eyes: former Power Ranger Catherine Sutherland. 3,5 stars.

Saw III. The film picks up where the last one left off. While Eric Matthews is still looking for his son, Jigsaw is slowly dying of a brain tumor and is being assisted by Amanda Young, one of his victims who survived her torture trap. Amanda kidnaps a female doctor to keep him alive as long as it takes while another game commences with a man named Jeff. Jeff is heartbroken over the death of his son, who got run over by a car and over the injustice that happened when the driver got released after six months. Torn up with revenge, Jeff is captured by Jigsaw and given the chance to take revenge on the people involved in the crash. But is he really able to or is he also able to forgive and save these peoples lives?

Starting from Saw III to franchise takes a darker and more gory turn. The deaths are brutal, there is much more gore and blood but there is also a very emotional side on this story as it focuses on the relationship between Jigsaw and his young protégé Amanda. I actually really like Amanda and the change she makes through the movies. This was the best one so far. 3,5 stars.

[MacGyverGod]

Saw IV. Six months has passed since Eric Matthews got missing and Detective Hoffman has been put on the case after fellow agent Kerry got missing. But this time the FBI gets involved and they bring in Jigsaw's ex-wife: Jill Tuck for questioning while Hoffman's other fellow agent Rigg has to play a game. Rigg is obsessed in trying to save everyone and Jigsaw puts him to the test on that. He has 90 minutes to save Eric Matthews and has to go through several tests to find him.

This one was a little less interesting in my opinion, even though it brings in two new characters: Jill Tuck and Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor: Remember Kenny from Picket Fences?). I also remember Hoffman as one of the cooler characters. Yet somewhere it was less than the previous installment. Two new screenwriters to replace Wan and Wannell, maybe that was it. I do like they try to deepen out Jigsaw character. Turns out Jigsaw is just a regular man who goes by the name John Kramer. A one-time respected engineer, on the cover of magazines and he had a wife who loved him. His live was going great until a drug-addict assaulted his pregnant wife causing them to grow apart. After the loss of their unborn child, John hears he has brain tumor and turns into the Jigsaw killer going after everyone who don't appreciates life. Yet, he doesn't consider himself as a killer since he leaves up to his victims to make the decisions. Despite their attempt to deepen the character, I'd give the movie 2,5 stars.