Author: tiki god

Day Shift: Directed by J.J. Perry. With Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Meagan Good. A hard-working, blue-collar dad who just wants to provide a good life for his quick-witted 8-year-old daughter. His mundane San Fernando Valley pool cleaning job is a front for his real source of income: hunting and killing vampires. This isn’t the greatest vampire movie, but it’s in the top 20%, and there’s a pretty good bullet count going on in nearly every scene that made me feel good about what they were doing here. The first scene before the title card is a bit...

Let Him Go: Directed by Thomas Bezucha. With Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Kayli Carter, Ryan Bruce. A retired sheriff and his wife, grieving over the death of their son, set out to find their only grandson. The chemistry between Kevin Costner and Diane Lane is real and palpable on the screen, this is the first time they’ve shared a movie since 2013’s “Man of Steel”, and while they didn’t exactly blow me away in the comic book movie, they definitely did the work for “Let Him Go” which is a standard sounding film but with a few interesting wrinkles to...

Prey: Directed by Dan Trachtenberg. With Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp. The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled female warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth. Vastly better than “The Predator” this is a prequel / sequel / remake / reimagining / homage of the very first film, with plenty of references to nearly all the other films to keep even the most fervent fan of the franchise happy. Of particular note is Amber Midthunder’s...

The Predator: Directed by Shane Black. With Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key. When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe’s most lethal hunters’ return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled scientist can prevent the end of the human race. Perhaps I gave this movie a bit too much gruff in my previous review, but not by much. There’s a lot to dislike about the film, it is over reliant on trope heavy characters and low brow humor, but there’s enough good stuff to still make it a watchable film. The casting is...

Predators: Directed by Nimród Antal. With Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins. A group of elite warriors parachute into an unfamiliar jungle and are hunted by members of a merciless alien race. I would argue, and I believe I’m correct in this, that “Predators” is the best film in the franchise yet, having taken the franchise to it’s next logical step. The next movie after this one is “The Predator” which I found to be a step backward from the heights that Predators reached. The first Predator film was amazing, yes. Arnold and his ‘rescue team’ really were...

South of Heaven: Directed by Aharon Keshales. With Jason Sudeikis, Evangeline Lilly, Mike Colter, Shea Whigham. Convicted felon Jimmy gets early parole after serving twelve years for armed robbery. Upon his release, he vows to give Annie, his childhood love, now dying from cancer, the best last year of her life – unfortunately it’s not that simple. Jason Sudeikis and Evangline Lilly do a great job as a pair of every day people caught up in the stupid things that people get caught up in while they’re just trying to live their lives and do right by their loved ones....

Moscow on the Hudson: Directed by Paul Mazursky. With Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, Alejandro Rey. A Russian saxophonist visiting New York with a circus troupe suddenly decides to defect from the USSR during a shopping trip to a department store, but he finds adjusting to American life more difficult than he imagined. There’s funny portions of this film, but this isn’t a comedy. It’s only funny in sad American ways, and really we should cry at the indignities of things instead of laughing at them. If you ever want to show someone a movie to prove to...