When single mother Kate (Faris) is unjustly fired from providing a service to rich snob Leonardo and quite literally thrown overboard, the tables are turned when Leonardo gets thrown off his boat one night and awakens offshore with no memory. When Kate hears about it, she tries to take advantage of the situation by seeking her revenge.

Based on the original 1980's film of the same name, this incarnation plays as a reboot but it's actually an unrelated sequel. It's nice to see a Hollywood flick with no swearing or excessive sexual content for a change. Family values and fair humor make the film a fun see but there's nothing new here.

I give it 2 and a half stars.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972).

We all know the story on that one. A passenger ship called Poseidon capsizes on sea after a tidal wave hits it. A group of the survivors plans on trying to get out of the upside down ship by going through a maze of corridors.

This is the original movie that was remade by Wolfgang Petersen in 2006 and is considered one of the first good ones in it's genre. The movie was rather entertaining and was quite spectacular on special effects for the time. It stars Gene Hackman in probably one of his first leading roles and also Leslie Nielsen in a rare serious role as the captain. John Williams has scored the movie, also probably one of his first scores. 4 stars.

Deliver Us From Evil.

Ralph Sarchie, a tough-as-nails NY cop takes the call to investigate a couple of particularly gruesome crimes that happens in one night. What seems to be seperate crimes, it turns out they're connected and when Sarchie is approached by a renegade Spanish priest called Mendoza, they find out that evil has come to New York.

Deliver Us From Evil was based on the events of the actual Ralph Sarchie experienced and quit the police force to study demonology. This movie is a rarity in it's genre, despite mixed reviews this was an effective film on scares and did well at the box-office too. It's relentless and unapologetic in mood and material. The movie is quite disturbing in an unforgiving way. What starts as a war-movie, turns into a buddy action movie and evolves in brutal horrorfilm. I think what makes the movie even more rare is that the leading characters are cops.

Looking for a good scary horrorfilm? This is the one. 4 stars.

Looks better than Ridley Scott and Russel Crowe's version but if it can beat the Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman version, we'll just have to wait and see.

Actors who have been considered to play John McClane including our own... see for yourself.

The films I've seen in the past few days.

The French Connection.

One of the earliest buddy cop films ever I guess starring Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider who play the leads that stumble upon a drugdeal that intends to bring in heroine from France to New York.

This movie probably inspired everything else in the genre in the 80's and 90's. One of the movie's highlights is a lengthy chase scene where Hackman pursues an EL train. Also a very surprising ending for a movie in that genre and directed greatly by William Friedkin. 4,5 stars.

Revenge of the Green Dragons.

Sonny and Steven, two young Asian immigrants end up in New York where they are recruited to join the Green Dragons gang. Through the years they rise in the ranks of the gang. But after a relationship goes sour, their lives start to fall apart. They're involved in the underworld life, clubs, guns, girls, drugs, violence and also have to deal with other gangs on their territory.

A movie that has been destroyed by critics. Interesting since Martin Scorsese was the producer of the movie. This is a nearly full blown Chinese movie with mostly Chinese actors speaking both English and Chinese. It was a pretty good and violent movie but it could also be a bit confusing with so many characters. It was hard to keep them apart sometimes. Especially the leaders of the gangs and an Asian cop. Despite that it was pretty good, just confusing sometimes. 3,5 stars.

Breakout.

Jack is an environmentalist who was send to prison after unintentionally killing a lumberjacker. While he's doing time he got estranged from his children and his wife left him but still serves as his lawyer trying to get him out of jail. Meanwhile released convict Tommy Baxter and his simpleton of a brother Kenny intend to stay in a cabin the woods. Tommy however gets into a fight with the landlord and hunts him into the woods. At the same time Jack's kids are kayaking on the river and witnesses the crime. Tommy starts to chase them around the woods to get rid of them. When Jack's wife find out about it, she tells him what happened and plans to escape prison in order to save his kids.

This movie stars Brendan Fraser and Dominic Purcell. I know Fraser doesn't have the reputation of being a good actor and this is a direct-to-dvd film but I was excited to see Fraser in a serious action thriller. He can do this kind of film, it's just a shame his career went nowhere. I hope he can find a way to restart his career and does more action films. 3 stars.

Passenger 57.

Long before Wesley Snipes became Blade, in the early 90's he did Passenger 57. As a security employee on airplanes, he witnesses the hijacking of a plane by a feared terrorist who was send to Los Angeles to stand trial. Snipes jumps into action to save the day.

Basically some people call this movie Die Hard on a plane and most of the movie is set on the plane. The score reminds of Lethal Weapon and this is another brainless fun movie from the 90's. Nothing more and nothing less. 3 stars.

2010 The Year We Make Contact

Quite like it's counterpart, 2001 A Space Odyssey, 2010 is an continuation of Arthur Clarke's famous story arc. In this, a group of Russian and American astronauts head to Jupiter after they find the location of the missing space ship Discovery of the first film and try to uncover what happened, more so, to the missing astronaut David Bowman and the ship's computer Hal 9000.

This film was always panned by critics as the inferior sequel to 2001 however although some truth lies in that statement, this film is still a good entry. Both films are different but both are thinking films. 2010 doesn't turn into a Star Warsesque action flick. The pacing is faster than it's predecessor and it also brings back a few treasures from the original movie.

For MacGvver fans, being all of you this film also stars Dana Elcar & Elya Baskin.

Many usually reply by saying, "I tried watching 2001 but it was just so looooooonnngggg" I know. I get it. Really. It took me about 5 times before i finally sat down and actually saw the whole movie. Was it rewarding? Absolutely. 2010 is probably more watchable to most being an updated version to the original and far shorter. I still hope to see the remaining 2 sequels being developed into films but time will tell. 2010 gets 3 stars from me.

Nell.

When Nell's mother Violet dies in her cabin in the woods, Dr. Jerry Lovell finds her completely isolated and alone from the outside world. At first sight she might seem like a crazy wild woman who has no ability to speak properly but after Lovell's observations Nell has more depth and love and innocence inside her then anyone could ever imagine. With the help of Dr. Paula Olsen, Jerry sets out for a three month observation before the courts decide what should happen to Nell. Jerry wants to simply study her in her own environment while the psychiatric hospitals wants her taken in.

One of the few big Liam Neeson movies, I had never seen before. These are always the gems I'm looking for in someone's career. A one time big movie that now seems long forgotten. But all credit goes to Jodie Foster. I think this is one of her best if not the best movie she ever did. Also starring was Liam Neeson's late wife Natasha Richardson. 4,5 stars.



Chicka, chicka, chickabee. T'ee an me an t'ee an me. Ressa, ressa, ressa me, Chicka, chicka, chickabee.

Move over, Marvel. The monsters are coming.


I thought Vinnie Chase was Aquaman?

Saw Skycraper last night.

A movie with a very simple premise. Mindless fun, getting good reactions. It's a mix of Die Hard and the Towering Inferno. A 220 storey building is taken over when one of the lower floors is set on fire. Inside are the Sawyer family who are being threatened while father Will Sawyer is trying to find his way in the building to get his family. Sawyer was a former military and FBI-agent, who lost a leg in a hostage situation and eventually married his doctor before moving to Hongkong where he works as a security expert in the world's newest tallest building.

The movie is a simple basic action movie. Spectacle over script and it delivers, unfortunately, I felt the script fell a little short. They could've deepened out the motivations of the people taking over the building and why they tried to frame Sawyer for it but that seemed to be less important to the filmmakers. They also kept the movie on the short end with only 95 minutes but it was well spent and definitely a good movie if you have some spare time. 3 stars.

I watched Ready Player One yesterday. I liked it way more than I thought I would

It certainly was a fun movie!
I saw Red Sparrow.

When ballerina Dominika Egorova suffers an unjury during a play, her dream of being a dancer is shattered until unseen forces lure her to a Sparrow School, a secret service in Russia that trains people to use their bodies and minds as weapons. Egorova soon becomes one of the best agents until a CIA operative opens her eyes.

Red Sparrow is a rough tough cookie of a film to watch. Acting is first class and there must have been several uncomfortable moments the cast endured to make this film but it is sharp and edgy. I give Red Sparrow 3 stars.

Next was Poltergeist 2 - The Other Side.

Set approximately 1 year after the events of the first film, The Freelings, now broke, are living with Diane's mother in the hopes of trying to get their life back, till the past literally comes back to haunt them when a team studying the site where the house of the first film was identify that the entity has now taken a form of a reverent and is searching for Carol Anne.

After the success of the first film, there was no doubt a sequel would be made. Spielberg and Tobe Hooper opted out of this one but the original writers remained along with most of the cast. Although the sequel was less exciting than the first, it was still a fun watch. Following the continued Poltergeist curse as it was known, star Julian Beck who played the reverend died shortly before production ended. He was one creepy fellow in this film though.

I give Poltergeist 2 - The Other Side 3 stars.

Red Sparrow was good but a little slow not like Atomic Blonde.

Poltergeist. I saw the first two but didn't like them. Strangely enough I like the remake a little better. Some say Poltergeist is cursed because of the real skeletons they used in the pool scene of the first movie. First the oldest daughter gets killed by her boyfriend, the reverend dies and after the third movie even little Carol-Anne dies of some illness though she never complained.

My sister and I rented it last Friday. It was pretty good! LOTS of 80's and pop culture references.

It kinda reminded me of a updated Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, except with games instead of chocolate. XD

I also watched Into the Storm as well. Then we got a tornado warning... XD Gosh darn tornadoes... always throwing their weight around.

My sister and I rented it last Friday. It was pretty good! LOTS of 80's and pop culture references.

It kinda reminded me of a updated Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, except with games instead of chocolate. XD

I also watched Into the Storm as well. Then we got a tornado warning... XD Gosh darn tornadoes... always throwing their weight around.

Yeah, I saw the bonus features yesterday, and the producers said a lot of it was based on Willy Wonka.

Lol, that tornado warning was just a coincidence, right?

It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't living on the top floor of my complex. XD Great if there's flooding, bad if there's a tornado. And we get both flash flood and tornado warnings a LOT.

I need to get out of Kentucky.

The fire tornado was cool though.

First official screenshot of the upcoming Terminator film to be released next year.

Attached Image

I'm still irritated that those two hillbilly idiot guys survived. Well, I've heard that God protects the stupid... Lol

Woohoo, Linda!

Mission Impossible: Fallout.

Ethan Hunt is being put the test once more in this sixth and spectacular installment of the Mission Impossible movies. After losing plutonium spheres in Berlin, Ethan and his team go on the mission to retrieve them and has to go undercover to prevent a terrorist organization to use them. While being forced to take an outsider on the mission, everything turns fuzzy on who's doing what for whom.

The script in a nutshell. To be honest, this is the best MI-film of the bunch. The first one was masterly crafted, the second one was the weakest, the third one added much more action, the fourth one goes underground, Rogue Nation was almost a British spy thriller but Fallout... it would almost make you forget the other five movies. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the one who helmed the previous film worked solo on the script this time and he delivers like none other did before. 4 stars.

Not necessarily my choice but we saw Mamma Mia Here We Go Again on the weekend.
Set both as a sequel and a prequel, the story focuses on Sophie trying to bring about a reunion of her friends and family on the island in Greece while many share tales of her mother's escapades when she was much younger.

It is more of the same of the first film with a few surprises however given the central theme of the sequel somewhat diminishes the feelgood aspect of what made the first film so good, leaving an uncomfortable frog in your throat.

I give Mamma Mia Here We Go Again 3 stars.

I've heard good things about Mission Impossible: Fallout. I'm not big on Tom Cruise, or Mission Impossible movies, but I may give this one a go.

I just finished watching Chernobyl Diaries. I've always had an weird interest in abandoned places like Chernobyl. Interesting movie, not as bad as I thought, but not as good as I hoped. But it was fun. lol

If you do Jedi, watch Rogue Nation first. Despite I have seen it, during some points of the movie I really had to think back hard sometimes to remember how, what, when and where some things happened. There are a lot of references to the events of the previous movie. I recommend you watch Rogue Nation first, Fallout will be much clearer then.

I attended a special premiere of The Meg last night.

When a special research team uncover what seems to be a secluded and untouched eco-system below the presumed ocean floor, they discover all forms of life which has yet to be discovered and some which were thought to be long since extinct but this exciting find is abruptly halted when the teams deep see vehicle exploring the new world is unexpectedly attacked by something very large.

With a crew trapped at over 11, 000 feet (A new record), the team are forced to find rescue diver Jonas Taylor, a renowned expert in the field to assist them. Problem is, Jonas has a tarnished reputation from a previous rescue which went wrong and some of the team members cast their doubts on him, especially when what they find lurking below the ocean is an extinct Megalodon, a giant shark with a giant appetite...

After the release of Jaws, many films decided to try and take to the water so to speak and many have never come close to Spielberg's classic. It's just that most of them are monster movies or cheap thrills. Although The Meg tries to be something else, it ultimately becomes a Jaws clone on a much bigger scale and carries a cast that, although amusing, are not memorable in their roles.

It's a popcorn flick. Bottom line. There is no musical score you will be whistling, no lines from the movie you will be reciting and no scenes you will be recalling in years to come. But it is a fun movie. And certainly has all the elements of a film to entertain the crowd. I am very glad Megalodons dont exist anymore because they are scary!

The Meg scores a 3 from me.

L'amant Double. (Double Lover)

Chloé, a French fragile depressed woman goes into therapy for her stomach pains. There she falls in love with her therapist, Paul, and not long after they move in together. However after the move she is beginning to have to suspicions that Paul may not be who he says he is.

This movie was directed by the same director and starred the same leading actress of the movie Jeune & Jolie (Young & Beautiful). A movie I saw last year about a teenage girl who after a vacation fling starts prostituting herself at home but remains emotionally detached of what she is doing. Marine Vacth is a beautiful yet slender woman but has shown acting skills in both movies. From an emtional detached teen in one movie to a fragile unstable twenty-something woman in the other. If you like to try something different this might be for you but be warned Double Lover is described as an erotic thriller and contains scenes of nudity. There's even a touch of horror in it. 3 stars.

Psycho.

The original directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I guess we all know the movie. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) takes off with 40.000 dollars she was supposed to deposit at the bank. After a car switch she ends up exhausted in Bates Motel and we all know the story from there.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the few (if not only) directors I still haven't seen anything from until now. Something I need to do something about. The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo... In all this was a very good film and a classic but I do have to say after the infamous shower scene, I had the idea the movie was slowing down a bit. Which was a bit of a let down. But otherwise the movie was good and one of the earliest attempts on a horrorfilm as we know them now. 4,5 stars.

Oh and by the way keep an eye out for a young John Anderson as a car salesman. And remember showering will never be the same again after you see this movie. You never know you might see a womanly shadow holding a kitchen knife behind the shower curtain while your eyes are full of soap.



Psycho II.

22 years has passed since the Bates Motel murders and Norman Bates is declared sane again to re-enter the society. Only Marion Crane's sister Lila thinks otherwise and conjures up a wicked plan to have him reinstitutionalized. While Bates seemingly tries to reintigrate as a normal human being he is put up to the test of his sanity.

This is I think one of the very few first sequels that appeared long (23 years) after it's original. And maybe against all odds, it was an effective one too. The movie got positive reviews and I think it was an attempt to make an intelligent horrorfilm. Though the movie wasn't particulary suspenseful in my opinion there was some great character development. Bates again played by Perkins becomes a tragic hero rather then a villain in his attempts trying to stay sane. 3 stars.

I think it's also obvious now where some elements for Dr. Zito and The Secret of Parker House come from, although for Zito it had a different outcome and he is more associated with Dr. Lector but the hearing scene reminded me of Lesson in Evil and for The Secret of Parker House it was more then obvious where they took the you-know-you-saw-someone-at-the-window-scenes from.

Psycho III.

A sequel directed by Anthony Perkins himself. Norman Bates is still living by himself and mother in the Bates mansion near the hotel. Only this time something unexpected happens. He falls in love with one of the guests and hires a young traveller to help him for a while when a college football arrives to play a game. For once his motel is full.

Surprisingly this smalltime sequel was rather good. Mostly by the time a horrorfranchise reach the third movie it's time to move on. But Psycho doesn't have any weak entry's so far. Not counting Bates Motel from 1987 which apparently doesn't even have to do anything with the franchise. A fourth Psycho movie was made for tv in 1990. This one however also get 3 stars.

Dresden.

Anna, a beautiful and compassionate German nurse falls in love with Robert a British RAF pilot who got shot down in an aerial battle and ends up behind enemy lines. She however is about to be engaged with a doctor who also works at the same hospital that is run by her father. During the fall of Dresden in WWII, she has to make the most important decision of her life.

This is actually the German equivalent of Pearl Harbor. Two people fall in love right before a major disaster. This is considered to be Germany's biggest and most expensive tv-production (even though there was a theatrical release) to date with a budget of 10 million euro watched by 13 million people in Germany. The theatrical release was 144 minutes long and the tv-release was 176 minutes long (unless that is counting commercial time). Anyway the mood and the acting was pretty good. The first part was filled with suspense, while the second half was filled with special effects and good ones too for tv-standards. Also Felicitas Woll the actress who plays Anna is a very attractive woman. 3,5 stars.

Time travelling sharks in a tornado?

I decided to give Extinction a watch on Netflix.

When a man's recurring nightmares about the end of the world take a toll on his credibility, the tables soon start to turn when his visions become a reality as the earth prepares against an unknown alien force and protecting his family becomes priority no 1.

Like most Netflix films, they don't jump at you but sitting down to them can surprise you. Extinction, although has a low budget and a mediocre cast, brought about an interesting twist making it different from its competition. I give it 3 stars.

Then I got around to watching Deadpool 2.


After going through some rough changes in his life, Wade AKA Deadpool comes face to face against a enhanced soldier from the future by the name of Cable whose primary mission seems to be the elimination of a young boy named Russell. Protecting the boy from the crazed soldier becomes Deadpool's goal,but soon doing this alone becomes harder than it seems.

More craziness is on board for this high budget full throttle sequel to the hit first movie. If you can stand the insanity, you'll likely give this one 4 stars, like me, too.