jdavisjdavis Reviews

Black Mold (2023)

Solid film, multi-dimensional, keeps you entertained

[9/10 · 9 January 2024]

Sitting here, unable to sleep, feeling miserable with a head cold, I stumbled across this made by Tubi movie. So let me say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had more energy to write a proper review I could try to do it justice, but if nothing else I'll put my vote out there.

Starts off, first third feels like an art film. Camera work is good. Main actress good. Those YouTube videos of old buildings, abandoned places... take that creepy backdrop and then apply some original ideas for a story, and you start to get a feel for this well done movie.

Just a small cast but everyone held there own. The story keeps you pulled in tight, and there are things to keep considering... why, what, who, how. Good stuff.

Near the end...The initial credit scene, before the text centric credits, brought back that eerie vibe you got at the start. It is truly unrelated, but it somehow reminded me of The Walking Dead's opener. Maybe I was imagining it, but I really dug it regardless.

Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (2008 Video)

Must see. Loved it, Brought me right back to the books

[9/10 · 15 November 2023]

Watched this with my teen kid who is a fan of high fantasy. We both really enjoyed it, me having read them 20 years ago and my kid who only knows 3.5 and 5e Forgotten Realms / generic DnD, essentially.

Stories and characters are of course 10/10.

Voice acting, 10/10... real actors providing their voices were great.

Raistlin: 10/10, OK I might be biased, but he was exactly as I recalled him, smirks and all. The interaction with the G**** D*** truly rounded out who this guy truly is.

Animation: 6.5/10 Granted, the mixing of 3d and 2d was a little weird, and perhaps it is not a 1930s era super animation... nothing much is anymore... it was completely fine . The characters and the story really dragged me back into it, every other scene was a "Oh yeah, I remember that!" and it just kept going.

Anyway, got to run, but if you are a fan of fantasy this is a MUST SEE in my book. And then read the books!

Baldur's Gate III (2023 Video Game)

Some Great, Some Issues

[6/10 · 30 October 2023]

To sum it up... 10 stars on the monsters and the ability to build out various characters in D&D 5e to test out and play in an amazingly varied and deep campaign.

2 stars on the in your face social commentary; please, just let me enjoy my time away from the news and modern troubles.

Let's get into the nitty gritty.

What is great: Mostly very entertaining. Lots and lots of D&D that you can see with your own eyes. Variety of monsters. So many character building options with cool spells, fighting abilities, and effects that closely match D&D 5e. I just started playing 5e in real life, and this is helping me learn the tabletop game faster, despite a few small homebrew style differences.

1. Do you like cool, really cool, looking monsters? They get this right 95% of the time. Love it. Some incredible, incredible reveals... play the game for this if nothing else.

2. Character designs, specifically outfits are pretty great designs also.

3. Character visuals, specifically they didn't go for the everybody-uses-steroids thing, thank you very much. People seemed like real people.

4. The story even got me interested, and that's saying something for a game. The dialogue is excellent - very professionally written, better than some big Hollywood movies I dare say.

5. Fey monsters and "people" are varied and interesting, done better than any D&D game I've ever heard of.

6. Elves, Dwarves, Drow, half-elves mostly felt pretty darn right, except for my gripes below.

7. Can't wait to play a Dragonborn, that'll be my second play through.

What I didn't like: 1. Mages feel weak, damage-wise. It's hard to hit enemies without a grid to line up spells perfectly, example: Burning Hands. Counter example: But Wall of Fire works well enough if you take your time and rotate the camera a lot.

2. Not based on human history or human realities enough to feel realistic. More 2023-social-change-in-your-face-Hollywood style than D&D game. The stronger default fighters are female, but I will say that it's at least a nice change of pace from always making the females the mages. Your male side-characters try to romantically hit on your main male character, not a fan. Lots of distracting and weird Rated R romance potential all over that I didn't need in this game, don't let the kids play this.

3. Deviations from classic D&D. Goblins have funny colorful hairstyles and half the goblins and other baddies are again female fighters/guards. Half-devil Tieflings are the good guys. Half the human guards are women. The human racial and non-human racial representation is more like downtown big city USA than a medieval world where different races would be special. The male-female divide is much more 2020s USA than anything medieval ever had. I was about to say the children felt wrong, but without giving too much away there are some typical scoundrel kids that pan out to be classic D&D.

4. Too much space sci-fi feel instead of medieval feel in the beginning and randomly here and there. But it definitely got better once you got past the beginning (I haven't beaten the game yet but getting sort of close).

5. Too much gore too, actually. That's probably typical of the bad guys you deal with in the beginning, but... pretty yucky.

6. Accents are too pronounced. I love real accents in real life, but I love fantasy worlds where accents aren't perfectly matched to a certain stereotypical social status class in a town in England. At least stick to non-modern dialect/phrases... come to think of it they did OK on the dialect/phrases for the most part.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Avoid trailers! Great movie!

[9/10 · 10 April 2023]

Done so well, it's surprising. What a fun movie... it hit so many different levels of movie entertainment, I'd be hard pressed to list them all. Let me try.

Actors did a great job. Character development had me rooting for all the good guys by the end and even some of the bad guys. Writers and directors did a great job.

CGI wasn't too distracting, had some very good moments, also. I enjoyed the magic CGI more than most all movies or shows to date, so that was really nice to see.

One small complaint: I do dislike the current Hollywood conversion of fantasy from the more classical variety, but that was a small mark against such a well done movie.

Can't wait to go see it again... going to even bring the girls this time!

Das Boot (1981)

Super Good, I'll Nitpick for Fun

[9/10 · 13 January 2023]

Great movie, really. Others have given just praise, and I agree with most all of it. Now let's have a little fun and nitpick a few items.

Some wild overacting aside from the captain's lead role, he was moderate and realistic. Many others had lots of funny and extreme facial expressions and arm movements. And other typical movie stuff like crying loudly in front of your military buddies when your team kills the enemy. Shaking like mad when it will cause you to bleed to death. It was all like a modern Hollywood drama.

Repairs to a metal hull with... wood boards and wood wedges? Is that for real? Maybe, but it stood out as far fetched to me.

The anti-Nazi stuff was a little too on the nose. I mean, would a captain really talk s*$# about the government... in front of anybody and everybody? Seems unlikely. It is appreciated and American audience pleasing, but I am sure it was done to assure viewers would identify more easily with the crew.

That dramatic ending. Heh, I knew it couldn't end on a high note. But dang, captain-man Prochnow was on cue coughing up blood and dying when the ship sank right before his eyes. Add some spastic arm and face movements by the witness (Grönemeyer), and it was the perfect Hollywood-style ending.

But yeah, minor nitpicks compared to the impact of the whole thing... especially the setting and production aspects. Prochnow was amazing, I like him in everything but wow, what a likable captain. Great work folks, great work.

Erzulie (2022)

Entertaining if Tonally Mixed

[8/10 · 11 December 2022]

It is always fun to watch a flick not made by Hollywood, because you never know what the story or director might be going for. I'll give this team an A for effort. All the main actors were natural and believable. The tone was consistent in some ways but had some over the top comedy hijinks towards the end. You know I was fine with some comic relief, we laughed. Female characters were well fleshed out, yet the male parts were mostly a combination of mean, aggressive, and comedy. I suppose it fits their description of a feminist voodoo mermaid flick.

One thing I had hoped for was less year 2022 Hollywood/politics in movies. I didn't read the descriptions going in so was open to whatever. I haven't seen Chen's other movies to get a feel, but this one sort of ticked off all the current political tropes I was hoping to avoid. Women good, man bad. Even more so, white man bad. Check. Friends/couples must be different races. Check. Non-standard sexuality, check. It wasn't overbearing at least, and I could see these gals being friends just fine, so I could enjoy the movie no problem.

The actors: Kirkpatrick was able to portray various styles quite well. Rose had perhaps the most nuanced portrayal, you could see something haunting in those close-ups, well done. Graham was believable as an abused, broken young lady. Trieu was interesting as someone I've perhaps witnessed as (I'm guessing she is adopted based on her character's generic white American name) the somewhat spoiled adopted kid that cares about friends but is perhaps too selfish to be the heroine. Oliviér seemed genuine and likeable... I think she spoke like a counselor would. Scott was a great choice as a voodoo monster with a slight attitide... her annoyed demeanor while sitting high and dry with the fish tail was funny.

What could have been done a little better- near the end I couldn't tell who was on which team as the struggle near the water unfolded. Also I would have enjoyed more local color... Kirkpatrick's accent was natural, but one of the thug's was more Civil War confederate than natural. One extra with a true Cajun accent would have been nice.

Random things I liked about the setting: The weird houses on stilts, the general store, tubing in muddy water, cypress knees, and an invasive bamboo forest all were nice touches... felt like Southern Louisiana. The idea of a voodoo mermaid was strange yet fun.

Curse of Crom: The Legend of Halloween (2022)

Hidden Gem on Tubi. - Spooky fun with a great cast

[9/10 · 28 October 2022]

Randomly picked this movie with zero knowledge or expectations, and it delivered brilliantly! Word of advice, turn off closed captions to avoid hints during some scenes. But yeah, this was just a fun, slightly spooky, good for the whole family type of movie. Zero blood, no nightmare inducing murder clowns, no serial killers... just a ghostly monster and a gang of teena to solve a mystery. Me and my oldest enjoyed the heck out of it. Highly recommended to anybody who wants some Halloween fun. The naturalistic acting was great, even when they cranked up the comic relief, it was just the right balance of serious and comedy. Just watch it, you'll enjoy it.

Doc Martin: Of All the Harbours in All the Towns (2004) Season 1, Episode 5

Sorry, annoyed me

[3/10 · 3 August 2022]

Love the show mostly so far, but not this episode. Morally crap. I hate affairs in shows... the hell is wrong with these other reviewers? Unbelievable to boot. The lie at the end so obvious. The relationship so unreal... was she like 25 years older than him or what? No worse than James Bond marrying a woman 30 years younger you say? Well maybe... well only if he was looking like a 90 year old with a 60 year old. Bah humbug.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Bad to the Bone (2004) Season 4, Episode 18

Great but where is the conclusion??

[9/10 · 29 September 2021]

I was really looking forward to the conclusion, the wrap up, the explanation of this super powerful, lifetime fever, sudden death guy... Walter. But there were no explanations for any of those things. What the heck?

Was his lifetime of being too hot mean something, like a disease? Was his heart enlarged due to something related to the 103 Fahrenheit temperature or something else? Why was he such a psycho, that he would kill you for nothing... and yet was never arrested or caught?

Joker (I) (2019)

Phoenix's Acting is Beyond Most in this Film

[9/10 · 14 April 2021]

Phoenix is always very good, but he will blow you away in this. It is a depressing movie; you feel empathy for the pitiful Arthur character... and yet what he slowly becomes is so menacing. The recent societal events and riots that are reflected in this movie are a stark reminder of how those with the feeling of being trod upon, cheated, belittled, or abused might push back hard and create a small scale war. Violence is there.

The director and/or writer did a good job, with a huge helping from Phoenix, of making you feel for this pitiful yet ultimately evil person that is Joker. The music, the feel, it is all done well. Now your picky critics who do background research on the makers might have a gripe on one of them, but as a normal movie-goer do not bother with critic reviews. This one is gold for a reason.

By the way don't let the kids watch it, and you might flinch here and there... but it is worth a watch for sure.

Residue (I) (2017)

Unique, good acting, throwback horror with solid character building

[9/10 · 31 October 2020]

Loved the actors, the monsters, the build up, the humor, the weirdness... it just really worked for me. Thank you Mr. randomYoutube guy who listed this, Lake Mago, Let the Corpses Tan, etc. I'll be checking out more of his recommendations.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Just Fine 8.5 Stars

[9/10 · 22 December 2019]

Don't read spoilers. Don't worry if you were slightly annoyed by The Last Jedi, because that director is gone. Abrams basically channelled the anger of fans and sticks a middle finger up at most of the things that just weren't sitting right from TLJ.

The Endless (I) (2017)

Interesting and Weird-Good

[8/10 · 14 November 2018]

A low budget movie with good acting, good enough special effects (minus one minor tree scene), and a mind-bending set of events/things? Sign me up. Yeah, this was a good movie that I have recommended to everyone who likes sci-fi, horror, fantasy, or any of that sort of thing. Unlike anything I've seen before, this movie delivered. These directors now have my attention... I'll be checking out their other movies ASAP.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

100% of Star Wars fans in my house enjoyed it!

[10/10 · 3 June 2018]

I went in with moderate expectations... something about the earlier trailers had me worried. Well, as it turned out the movie was just excellent. I'd say a 9 out of 10 for any fans of the originals... I'm giving it a 10 because, well, it deserves it for all the things it got right. Unlike one of the recent additions to the franchise, this movie paid true homage to us old fans while still delivering tons of action, excitement, and smiles for everybody. Well done, Ron Howard!

I'm going with a spoilery review, I've got to in order to get it all of my chest.

Random thoughts ahead:

So I have a shirt with Han's pistol and the words "Han shot first". Yes he did... yes he did. ;) You have to see it, very well-timed, and it felt very true Han.

Glover REALLY did Billy Dee Williams justice man, he sounded like him so much it was kinda scary. Loved it, loved his whole performance!

Chewie, CHEWIE! Crazy intro, and nice scenes throughout. I could have done with a bit more something though, it felt like he never got the spotlight entirely. The other Wookie's head scratch scene was flipping great, my little reached around and messed up my hair for me right after. ;) Yeah Han, I feel your pain man!

So many Easter eggs/nods and done so well... loved it! The Boba Fett-style suit at the rear of that scene stood out as a fun one.

Is it pronounced "Han" or "Hahn"? I loved how they handled that whole thing.

Harrelson did a great job. Actually they all did great jobs, I believed every single part. None of the main characters were hokey, but while the main tone was serious it was always balanced by Ehrenreich's delivery. I'm really digging that guy's performance. Who the hell has the stones to step into that roll after Ford made it so iconic? Who could get it right while not just being a copy cat? Well, it has been done... never thought it was possible. D@#n good!

Nothing was too predictable, and I appreciated it greatly as we all know what eventually was supposed to happen. Everything went though nicely, nothing struck me as "Oh, that's totally not how it should have happened", which I totally dig.

The characters had a lot of depth and development, so despite being an action movie, you felt for all the main characters. The main baddie, oh wait, baddiES perfectly represented their criminal or otherwise evil selves. I loved the reveal for the main main heavy, boss of the boss... oh yeah, and that was cool of them to bring back the only character I or anyone liked from that particular movie.

The first chase scene was nice, and the setup made me grin. Then for the 'Falcon and the Kessel Run, well that was just classic Solo wasn't it? It was done in how many parsecs? "If you round down"... lol!

One thing I just loved about this movie was that it felt so very Star Wars. 1,000,000 points to the design teams, thank you so much! Next to zero distracting CGI (the early trooper losing it had me worried, but he was the first and last out of place CGI). The high representation of non-human looking life was perfect. The droids were great. And the masks and costumes were just &**&ing spot on... well maybe not the weird pimp fur coats, but otherwise loved every bit of it!

OK, that's all that I can come up with quick enough to get rolling, but I'll leave you with this: Star Wars Fun is to be had with this movie! I highly recommend it!

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

The recent X-Files Episode said it best

[5/10 · 12 February 2018]

If your explanation is "alternate universe", you got lazy. That was a recurring joke in the recent X-Files "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" comedy episode. That was a fun episode. So was The Cloverfield Paradox fun? Well no, but Chris O'Dowd was funny even when I would have lost my mind. Weird but worth several chuckles... that guy is always great. He wasn't taking things too seriously... I wish I had his attitude!

Overall, it wasn't the worst thing ever. I liked a few of the actors, I liked bits of the ending, the beginning couple scene plus the lost girl at the end had an interesting human element, and the special effects were more than decent. The explanation that ties all the movies together, while I guess lazy if you listen to the X-Files, is fine.

But as a whole, it just wasn't something very enjoyable. Was it the plot? Was it the body horror not my favorite thing, despite the fact that I'll enjoy the classics? I am not sure, but it just didn't come across as a great movie. This isn't a great review either... sorry for the incoherence but the flu isn't helping any.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

8.5 Stars for me, Loved the good parts, was so so on some other things

[8/10 · 21 December 2017]

Overall a very good movie. Non spoiler review first: 1/3 of the comedy didn't sit well. The casino felt very not Star Wars and was off putting. The action was great, beyond great, spectacular! The the Luke, Rey, Kylo dynamics were incredible... very excellent writing and acting. The story was really good, I like where they are going with everything and how it is fresh material.

SPOILERS BELOW:

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Let's get the gripes out of the way first. They didn't overshadow the movie, but as a HUGE Star Wars fan (originals), things that aren't right must be pointed out. To nitpick, a few of the comedic turns didn't sit well with me, especially the phone call piece early on in the movie. But a lot of the humor past the 30 minute mark worked for me, so it's all fine I say. My biggest gripes on the comedy are:

a. Don't use very modern phrases in space opera movies. 20 years ago people did not have cell phones, so that lingo just screams "the years 2000's and up".

b. I think they shouldn't turn Hux into a complete idiot from a cartoon; he might be rabid but he can't be a complete idiot and be in that role... keep him more scary I say.

c. I was OK with the cute factor of the Porgs... not my favorite thing, but I can deal with it. But if you are going to have cute style animals for comedy or kids, stick with the cute factor and see it through. Don't have good guys eat them or have them nearly kill themselves. That is just messed up... what the hell, did the movie makers love Porgs or hate them? Or was it purely for critics to "get", because critics are grownups and can't handle cutsie kid stuff, so there needed to be an underlying disdain for them? There certainly were tons of critic pandering in this movie, not that I am complaining for most of it, but this is one spot that it bothered me a lot. I do have kids, and if you want to put cute fluffy stuff in a movie, don't show them being skinned and cooked by my kids' other favorite character(s). And then Chewie and the Porgs become buddies. Where the Porgs begging for meat or making Chewie feel bad for eating them? None of that &^%$ made sense. I won't attempt to overthink possible PETA and gun rights messages... I love animals, but I do eat meat, OK, I believe in "if you kill it, it is honorable if you use that to continue to live, it is dishonorable to kill for only sport". The animal cruelty message worked well enough with the fathiers, I'm down with that. The Porg stuff... no it didn't work for me at all.

d. Luke was a little weird. For one he seemed a little too flippant about his old saber. Throwing it over the shoulder... meh, kinda weird. It could have been worse I guess. The milk scene... also kinda weird.

e. BB-8's disguise... um, no. That wouldn't fool anybody would it?

OK, biggest gripe: The Casino. It was not Star Wars. Too much CGI on the buildings. And inside it just looked like a real casino on Earth, I didn't buy it at all. Also, the way the aliens were portrayed, they looked too human or something. It just didn't sit well with me at all. The stuff with the animals and the kids on that world were fine by me, I get it. The CGI with the fathiers was distracting only during the run, but somewhat tolerable. They looked cool when in the stables. Tauntauns were more unique, but fathiers looked pretty cool.

Second to last gripe, shouldn't Rey require some kind of training? Some kind... just a little? What does she get, 2-4 days with Luke? It seems incorrect, so you just have to accept it... she's some serious prodigy.

One final gripe, Kylo's helmet. Oh dear lord, I mean what if Vader hadn't had his helmet on for 2 of the 3 movies? It would have been awful; he would have lost that mystique and scare factor. So Adam Driver is a great actor, no doubt, and he can do more without that helmet. OK, ... but to completely destroy the helmet and most of what drove him to be sort of "OK" with the dark side, following Vader? No. And mostly, the helmet just looks great. We need it back, he should rebuild one for episode VIX!!!!!! He doesn't have to wear it nonstop. Please?!?!

---Now for the good stuff---

The action and visuals. Oh my goodness, the action. The Kylo and Rey scene towards the end was just so awesome to behold! Was it the best fight scene in any Star Wars movie? Probably! The Holdo scene... wow, just wow.

The Luke and Kylo scene... yeah yeah yeah, it was stellar! SPOILERS, yeah I noticed Luke's beard was no longer white at all, and didn't figure he dyed it, but still I had no clue what was really going on till the reveal. Cool, and just how powerful is Luke, huh? Badass.

The walker + speeder visuals were beautiful, just beautiful. And I was totally down with the Rose "crash"... what a nice change/surprise!

The acting. All the supporting roles were great, loved the new characters, loved 'em! Rose and Holdo especially stood out as interesting. While some say it's impossible for Luke, Mr. Hopeful, to have been so negative... if you accept it was possible for something like that to happen, you will enjoy one of his best performances ever.

The story. Loved it. Loved how they kept you guessing (so did the critics it seems, I figured that). Loved that part with Snoke... I am not a "read all online theories before the movie and get upset when my favorite theory doesn't pan out", so your mileage may vary. I had avoided all that speculation as much as I could. Loved how Kylo keeps flip flopping, ... Adam Driver makes that very believable.

I could go on, but I must run. Go see this movie! I need to rewatch it ASAP!

The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)

A Creepy, Moving, Gut Wrenching Thinker

[10/10 · 20 January 2017]

I just watched it, loved it and am watching it again immediately. Excuse the quick review but I hate typing on my tablet. Overall I simply loved it.

The movie has/is creepiness, acting, dialogue, period piece, supernatural, grimness, and emotion. You truly feel for the characters and wonder what is going on in their head.

The Cinematography is incredible. Music, perfect. I just can't say enough to how well this thing delivered.

Expect a slow burn with enough drama for a typical critic to get it and enough horror for a creepy movie fan like myself to enjoy themselves along the way.

Highly recommended!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Very Entertaining, Very Star Wars

[9/10 · 19 December 2016]

I wholeheartedly enjoyed this movie. We get to see a well fleshed out story line on how the plans went from the bad guys to the good guys. We get plenty of Star Wars feel to it beginning to end. Emotionally there are scenes to make you laugh, cry, cheer, and hold your breath. Truly entertaining! Old fans and new will enjoy at all ages I have no doubt. Now for a few specifics (no spoilery details) without giving away anything really.

We get a dry humor droid that just about steals the show. If you read other reviews, K-2SO (is that a zero?) is probably in them, and he is just plain great.

Vader exists as a background character who is not to be trifled with. We get a ridiculous, ridiculous action scene with Vader... it is short but dear God it literally had my adrenaline flowing and heart pounding! I felt like a kid again seeing the old Vader scenes. I could give the movie a 10/10 just for that scene, but I'm older and will rate the entire movie fairly (why, I don't know!).

A very nice ensemble cast, but I'd like to mention the support guys here. I felt the main new bad guy, Krennic, really pulled off his part well and acted exactly as you'd expect... bouncing from sleazy sweet talking to raging anger. Krennic is a man driven by and seeking for more power. Whittaker is always great and doesn't disappoint. You get the feeling he's really torn up over what he's been through, and you feel he has seen and done a lot. Yet there is still his very soft human side at the core of his being. Finally let me quickly mention how much I enjoyed Jiang and Yen's characters. Those force worshippers (guardians?) are just cool dudes.

Now for the quick gripes: Two CGI scenes were less than perfect, but that is 90% of movies I see these days. Overall it was fine. I perhaps would have changed the ending, but I have other people who would feel the opposite so it depends on the viewer as you'd expect. That's about it! In conclusion, I recommend this movie to any Star Wars fan or sci-fi fan without a blink of the eye. For those who don't follow Star Wars at all, you will be fine and should see it; you don't need to know anything and you will still enjoy it a lot.

The Hitcher (1986)

Finally watched this one - anti-spoler review

[10/10 · 4 January 2016]

This movie... It had a sort of legendary, mystical quality before I watched it. Heard it was pretty good many years ago, always liked Haur a lot, had bits of the trailer imprinted in my memory from 30 years ago, but just never got to see it. So glad I watched it today of all days... it was just one of those days (my normally sweet fat lazy cat bit my 6 year old daughter and drew a tiny bit of blood because she disturbed him by trying to put a blanket on him to keep him warm... Stupid flipping cat... Water spray bottle x 100 revenge/punishment) and now I can sleep better having purged some aggravation from my heart. More from the movie than the water bottle (all he had to do was stay in the kitchen instead of coming near me to beg for a fourth meal after attacking my kid).

To the review, I just loved it. Rutger gave his best performance I think. The word menacing doesn't do it justice. I won't spoil it, but do this if you can. Avoid plot summaries, reviews, or spoilers of any kind. When you watch the movie, try to figure it out. Ask yourself what is happening for certain and what parts are a hallucination or the supernatural. I think this movie has several layers to it that come together nicely if you pay close attention to detail. Great performances all around truth be told... A few people launched careers off this movie if I am not mistaken.

Wild (I) (2014)

Moving yet too Selfish

[6/10 · 27 December 2015]

It had a lot of emotion and drama, but the underlying theme of screw the world because "me me me" grated on my nerves. It felt true to the character at least, because I have certainly met a couple of people in my life with that attitude. I mean sure, life is hard, bad things happen. But if you turn into a selfish beyond belief type, break everything and everyone's heart around you just to avoid dealing with pain... Well that sort of makes you a broken and at least slightly evil sort doesn't it? So does the main character get to have her cake and eat it too? Does the story end on a high note with rainbows and such? If you were a self-centered person and proud of it, how would your story end?

Oldboy (2003)

Worth a watch for certain

[8/10 · 10 June 2015]

It's sort of goofy and comical, but mostly it is trying to be shocking and gritty. Sort of artsy. And definitely with a huge twist. A good bit of overacting, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. The action was choreographed and shot in a very unique way. The side view hallway bit was just incredible!

Crazy scenes you won't see elsewhere, including a crazy seafood part, trippy flashbacks or dreams, weird Korean stuff we never see, etc. I could write more.

The pacing is very good throughout and it ties in with the story. There are a,few scratch your head what the hell is going on moments, but fear not it all works out.

Again, I'd recommend to anybody who likes violence, torture, weirdness, grossness, revenge, action, and love. Certainly a guy movie but my guess is women may like the art house aspect of it. Go watch it already!

The Rover (2014)

Performances

[8/10 · 14 January 2015]

How in the world did Pattinson nail the crazy accent so well? I am from the deep south, and I can't tell you how rarely do actors get any of the accents from this area correct unless they are born here. I suppose the thicker accents are perhaps easier to pull off, but even then I have a cousin with a thick accent nearly identical to the one in the movie... this blew me away. My only gripe would be that here and there the dialog used a word or two that wasn't perfect for the regions familiar to me, but it just was a little off. Anyway, hats off to the man.

Pierce was as great as ever playing a potentially lost soul, but the emptiness of his character isn't without reason as you eventually discover. In this he will make you flinch, scratch your head in confusion, clench your fists in anger and disgust, and perhaps shed a tear. I rarely tire of this fellow.

As a whole, the movie is brutal, strange, terrible, wonderful, sad, and even funny if only once or twice. It's well worth the watch. Just don't expect some CGI summer popcorn blockbuster or something else the movie isn't.

Maleficent (2014)

A "What if it were real" Fairytale

[9/10 · 29 December 2014]

The younger me would not have liked this, because I never liked remakes that changed the story. But the older me likes it quite a bit. Even more so that I'm reading the "original unedited 1st edition" Grimm Fairy Tales (in English) while I still read the lighter and newer versions of the same tales to my kids. So I get it now in more ways than one that there can be many versions of one story. Some of the old fairy tales don't really teach nice things to kids, so the stories get changed in modern day prints. Not only that, but even back in the 1800's when the Grimm brothers were writing the stories down after traveling around and gathering the verbally handed down stories, there are often two (or more) versions of the same story at that time floating around! So there is no perfectly "correct" version that exists that anyone can put a finger on to begin with.

This movie aims to approach a fairytale, a story that is obviously fabricated or exaggerated to the point of not being realistic, in a more realistic manner. Realistic in the sense of motivation, humanity, and plot I mean to say. It is still very much a fairy tale about magic and literal fairies, but it's something to watch and think about from a new angle. If you loved the first one, and I did as a very small child, then see this one not as a remake but as a completely different version of the same story. A "what if". Great stuff.

Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist (2014)

Surprisingly Good

[9/10 · 29 December 2014]

If you like martial arts and video games, then there is no excuse not to watch this. It's a Street Fighter non-cartoon that is actually good, yes really! I'm a gamer, and Street Fighter is one of my favorites so I may be a little biased. But I have been burned in the past, so I typically avoid movies that aren't a sure thing. Still I heard good things about this, finally bought it for my 7 year old who is crazy about Street Fighter, and I was very much pleasantly surprised. It even caught the attention of my wife and she stopped what she was doing to watch half of it... that's right my wife who has never sat through an entire movie while at home, ever, much less 5 minutes of a martial arts flick! This is very much the story of Ryu and Ken, Akuma and Gouken. It is very Japanese, in that it's set entirely(?) in Japan and has a fair bit of Japanese dialog. The older Japanese actors and the young lady are what made it for me... they were quite convincing. The other guys did a fine job as well. The fighting was more than respectable, and you could tell these guys knew what they were doing. The effects are not Hollywood, but they are not emphasized much and the other aspects of the movie make up for it.

Godzilla (2014)

Three Movies in One

[10/10 · 19 May 2014]

One part disaster movie, one part drama, one part monster movie... Godzilla 2014 was perhaps the perfect mix of all three. Some parts of the movie are a build up. Some parts are emotional. Some parts are pure raw awe inspiring visuals and sounds. Speaking of, be SURE to see this thing in a theater with good audio... and I never say that. As a matter of fact I may have to go all out on my home audio now, because the sounds truly put you in this movie. The roars, the explosions, the everything. It felt real.

I will have to say while I enjoyed the acting (I can see how Bryan Cranston made such waves lately) and the place the director made you look internally while viewing (I found myself analyzing my relationship with my family, my job, my country), my favorite parts were definitely when Godzilla showed up in full view. Wow! It was so well done, and somehow stayed true to the many iterations of Godzilla and the many generations of Godzilla fans. It truly is a hair raising, visceral experience to see Godzilla in such a believable way. I just loved that.

And to the director, I saw your 2010 Monsters and was very impressed. When I heard you were doing Godzilla, I had very high hopes. I thank you and everybody who put you in the driver's seat to make this thing happen. My 7 year old son, another huge Godzilla fan, thanks you too. You did it man, you really did.