Category: Reviews of Movies
A former Marine confronts corruption in a small town when local law enforcement unjustly seizes the bag of cash he needs to post his cousin’s bail. I never reviewed this when I first saw it back in 2024, but I definitely enjoyed it at the time and I enjoyed it again when I watched it due to Aaron Pierre’s perfect portrayal of John Stewart in the current “Lanterns” show. Here in Rebel Ridge he plays a modern day John Rambo, just passing through a small town with a very small bit of business to do while he there, but is...
Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter Parker he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves – a powerful villain no one can even see. It’s been a full week since I’ve seen “Spider-man: Brand New Day” and during that time it’s started to close in on nearly 2 BILLION dollars in box office income, which is...
When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction. This was as fun as I was hoping it was going to be, it’s tightly scripted with local problems that could become global problems if the local problems aren’t nipped in the bud in a timely manner. Enjoyable! Buy On Amazon!
After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor. To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela and Duncan/Man-At-Arms, and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe. A perfectly enjoyable film, I’m sad I wasn’t able to experience on the big screen, as many of the action pieces had some really fun visuals, including some MCU bifrost inspired interstellar travel. I’m hopeful that this does well...
When diabolical genius Dr. Evil travels back in time to steal superspy Austin Powers’s ‘mojo,’ Austin must return to the swingin’ ’60s himself – with the help of American agent, Felicity Shagwell – to stop the dastardly plan. Once there, Austin faces off against Dr. Evil’s army of minions to try to save the world in his own unbelievably groovy way. The second of the series, this is the superior movie of them all. Buy On Amazon!
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction. It’s streaming on Amazon Prime now and I enjoyed it for what it was, a fun but rushed adaptation of a book that I really liked starring an actor that I’m still on the fence...
As a swinging fashion photographer by day and a groovy British superagent by night, Austin Powers is the ’60s’ most shagadelic spy. But can he stop megalomaniac Dr. Evil after the bald villain freezes himself and unthaws in the ’90s? With the help of sexy sidekick Vanessa Kensington, he just might. I got all three of these movies to watch, a situation that I’m still not sure why I set myself up for. There’s plenty of fun to be had here, but why revisit them? Most of the jokes are pretty timeless with only a few that didn’t age well....
Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls. Why in the world did I watch this again? It’s not like this is a terrible movie, but it’s not all that great either, is it? I long...
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination. Much sadder than I though it was going to be, I only found my way to this film because the Danny Trejo scene showed up on Tik Tok a few times. Sabrina Carpenter is completely unrecognizable here in comparison to her blonde music persona, which is of course a normal thing for artists to keep their various efforts slightly apart...
Jeff Arcuri’s rapid-fire wit is nonstop as he balances outrageous jokes with heartfelt reflections on making his wife laugh during her cancer journey. This guy’s pretty funny and has a very specific way of working a crowd that gets old after about an hour, but golly, would you look at that, this special is about an hour long. He’s quick on his feet, very witty, and is the perfect example of an active listener. Buy On Amazon!
A headstrong orphan discovers a world of spells and potions while living with a selfish witch. Studio Ghibli was somehow involved in this movie and it’s obvious they did the storyboarding for the end credits, but the rest of the film feels pretty far from what they’ve done in the past. It’s a great film with an unfortunate cliff hanger of an ending, but getting to that ending was fun adventure with enjoyable story elements that kept my attention. Buy On Amazon!
Socially awkward Muriel Heslop wants nothing more than to get married. Unfortunately, due to her oppressive politician father, Muriel has never even been on a date. Ostracized by her more socially adept friends, Muriel runs into fellow outcast Rhonda Epinstalk, and the two move from their small Australian town to the big city of Sydney, where Muriel changes her name and begins the arduous task of redesigning her life to match her fantasies. Sometimes the dreams we have aren’t the dreams we should want, and sometimes when we get what we dreamed of we realize that those dreams weren’t ever...
When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea. Ponyo has a fun theme song! The rest of the film is a lovely Studio Ghibli story of family and how it’s made, but with some terrifying tsunami situations and questionable magic implementation. Buy On Amazon!
When once distant UFOs become a terrifying threat and an alien invasion force begins attacking Earths major costal and riverside cities, a U.S Marine staff sergeant and his team are sent into battle only to find they must take it upon themselves to defeat an unknown enemy and protect what remains of Los Angeles. Oh I’ve seen this one before, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen it that I forgot that I didn’t have a high opinion of it. It’s by no mean by bad film, but the story is pretty shallow and the patriotism is firmly tattooed...
14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items “borrowed” from the house’s human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty. A lovely story of little people that borrow a fair bit of things from the much larger humans that they cohabitate with in a rural home. There’s plenty of shenanigans and a bitter sweet ending, but this is classic and fantastic Studio Ghibli. Buy On Amazon!
Something bizarre has come over the land. The kingdom is deteriorating. People are beginning to act strange… What’s even more strange is that people are beginning to see dragons, which shouldn’t enter the world of humans. Due to all these bizarre events, Ged, a wandering wizard, is investigating the cause. During his journey, he meets Prince Arren, a young distraught teenage boy. While Arren may look like a shy young teen, he has a severe dark side, which grants him strength, hatred, ruthlessness and has no mercy, especially when it comes to protecting Teru. For the witch Kumo this is...
FBI Agent Lee Harker is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family. The trailers for this were spooky as all get out, but the actual movie is hilarious, every time Nick Cage was on screen I was rolling with how hilarious he looked and sounded. His whole vibe was supposed to be “Satanist Horror” but was...
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is “allergic to everything”, and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada’s father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse… My wife was aghast when I admitted that i had never seen this, she promised it was a fun movie with a very sad ending and that’s exactly...
When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. Did we need another movie about an autistic team of computer hackers and their autistic accountant / murder for hire bounty hunter friend? Maybe not, but this was definitely a fun ride with the addition of Jon Bernthal’s expanded role and the...
A grieving woman pushing her limits on a solo adventure in the Australian wild is ensnared in a twisted game with a cunning killer who thinks she’s prey. Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton have a creepy kind of chemistry that works in a creepy kind of way, right up until the point where the creepy mask is unceremoniously removed and the “cunning killer” gets to playing his most dangerous game. The scenery is gorgeous and seems real, though now I have to do actual research to say they actually did anything in the real world and it wasn’t all just...
A group of friends facing mid-life crises head to the rainforest with the intention of remaking their favorite movie from their youth, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives against natural disasters, giant snakes and violent criminals. This was the fun movie I expected it to be and enjoyed it. Buy On Amazon!
The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his young apprentice Grogu. I’m excited to report this movie was everything I could have possibly hoped for in a Mandalorian movie and is essentially two episodes of the tv series sandwiched together in the most perfect way. No notes. Buy On Amazon!
As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight. I feel like this was based off one of the more ambition comic book stories, but I’ve done no research and refuse to spend another second thinking about this waste of time. The comic maybe had a lady getting eaten by a polar bear at the end of the story arc? Maybe! This made for TV movie was lower quality that I though the MCU was aiming for, featuring bad fight scenes, bad cgi, and a story that bored me. Buy On Amazon!
After Kevin finds a ghost named Ernest haunting his new home, he becomes an overnight social media sensation. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of the latter’s past, they become targets of the CIA. Watched again with my wife, I enjoyed it again, and she enjoyed it for the first time! Buy On Amazon!
A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own. Inspired by a true story. Netflix really did me dirty with this great movie. The trailer they played was pure comedy, but this has only a few truly light hearted moments, it’s mostly a heavy and emotion film about the exceptionally tragic death of a woman immediately after she gives birth, then the women that express their believe that the new widowed father is going to be unable to raise the kid. It’s a great movie that...
Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a terrifying, sadistic headmistress. As she becomes fed up with the constant cruelty, she discovers she has a special gift that she just might be able to use to outwit the unruly adults around her. I have no memory of seeing this before and when I said as such to my wife while she was endlessly scrolling through thousands of movies and television episodes. I’m...
A group of college students go downstairs to their dorm lobby to get a delivery pizza. There’s only one issue: They’re insanely high on a homemade drug, turning their simple journey down two sets of stairs into a mind-bendingly transformative quest. A fun drug filled adventure that takes our team of college druggies from their dorm to the far away lobby. There’s plenty of psychedelic moments, some fun body transfer moments, moments of legal peril, and a pizza delivery drone that will certainly pull at your heart strings. I lol’d several times and I’m completely sober these days, I can...
When a downtrodden janitor, Winston Gooze, is exposed to a catastrophic toxic accident, he’s transformed into a new kind of hero: The Toxic Avenger. Now, Toxie must rise from outcast to savior, taking on ruthless corporate overlords and corrupt forces who threaten his son, his friends, and his community. A surprisingly great retelling of a classic story with a modern sensibility and budget of this classically sensible and low budget movie from the 80s. I found it to be as entertaining as the original version of the story that spawned several sequels, but unfortunately I’m not sure we’re ever going...
Two gangsters and the woman they love try to survive the most dangerous night of their lives. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s one wild ingredient added to the mix: a time machine. A rather fun adventure in time travel, as experience by a mob guy who unwittingly sends himself back in time to stop a murder. Everyone seems to be having fun with the settings and script and the 2 hour run time goes quickly. Buy On Amazon!
After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action. A spy craft movie like many others, with the significant and interesting twist that our main spy character really has no clue what he’s doing and it’s play seriously throughout the entire flick. There’s been humorous versions of this like Get Smart or Austin Powers, but this is the first in my recent memory where there’s a matter of vengeance to be settled, the...
A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit. I’ve been seeing this all over Tik Tok and as luck would have it, it’s on Hulu/Disney, so it was readily available for me when I needed something to watch at 1am while my son was having a midnight wake session and refused to go back to sleep. “Code 3” is at times hilarious and fun, then at other times a series look behind the lives of nearly minimum wage ambulance jockeys and the lives they impact during their shifts. The humor...
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone. The first movie that my wife and I went to see after my son was born, his grandmother was over and offered...
After cracking the biggest case in Zootopia’s history, rookie cops Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a great mystery when Gary De’Snake arrives and turns the animal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before. This was definitely a movie that I had on in my house, but I’m struggling to remember much about it. I watched it just a few days ago, but other than knowing it was way over packed with adorable...
Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve. I truly did not expect to enjoy this film as much as I did, fully expecting it to be just like every other video game adaptation: fully full of itself and missing the heart of what made the originating video game worth a movie adaptation. I was entertained from the...
On one last grueling mission during Army Ranger training, a combat engineer must lead his unit in a fight against a giant otherworldly killing machine. Alan Richson is quickly becoming a modern go to muscle man with a great acting range and a great taste in role selection. This movie reminds me of a game I played named “Generation Zero” crossed with a Ranger specific patriotic film that you would expect from director Michael Bay. If you’re even remotely interested in either of those concepts or really enjoy over the top military science fiction, this should be on your watch...
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: Directed by Christopher McQuarrie. With Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg. Hunt and the IMF pursue a dangerous AI called the Entity that’s infiltrated global intelligence. With governments and a figure from his past in pursuit, Hunt races to stop it from forever changing the world. The missions were certainly impossible in this, the possibly final Mission: Impossible movie, the latest entry in a multi-billion dollar franchise. It’s much better than the previous film but continues the rather silly Terminator storyline in which an artificial intelligence is taking over the world’s nuclear...
Knock Knock: Directed by Eli Roth. With Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Aaron Burns. A devoted husband and father helps two stranded young women who knock on his door, but his kind gesture turns into a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse. I thought this was going to be a totally different movie than it actually turned out to be, which is weird “all women are crazy and can’t be trusted” kind of psychological horror film that makes little sense if you think about any one part of it for more than a couple...
Wild: Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. With Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffmann, Thomas Sadoski. A chronicle of one woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy. My wife hadn’t seen it and she wanted to watch something interesting. I warned her this was going to be much more extreme than she was likely looking for, but I think she still enjoyed herself. Buy On Amazon!
Muppets Treasure Island: Directed by Brian Henson, Mark Loparco. With Bill Barretta, Kevin Bishop, Kevin Clash, Billy Connolly. This game is played by Jim Hawkins from a first person view, as he finds the map as you go to four places, first at “The Benbow Inn”. “The port town Bristol”, on “The Hispaniola Ship”, and on “Treasure Island”. My sister came to visit my son and we put this on while we were up way too late with the new born child. He slept through the entire movie, but the mildly awake adults enjoyed the film. Buy On Amazon!
Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Directed by Robert Wise. With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan. When an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it. I watched this with my son, he slept through all of it and has no concept of the final frontier, but I believe this was his first film. Buy On Amazon!
I Swear: Directed by Kirk Jones. With Robert Aramayo, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson. John Davidson: diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at a young age which alienated him from his peers, he struggled with a condition few people had witnessed. A remarkable true story with an absolute shit ton of cursing. I think this fantastically told story has the record for the most uses of the word “cunt” in a modern film. It’s great to watch, particularly the final act in which he finds his place in the world. Buy On Amazon!
Iron Man 3: Directed by Shane Black. With Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle. When Tony Stark’s world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution. Solidly the worst Iron Man film of them all, it’s taken a long time and several other films and tv products to fix some of the weird decisions that were made behind the scenes here. I’m still salty about the way they treated The Mandarin, still salty about the billions of dollars of wasted Iron Man suits, and still salty about...
Thor: The Dark World: Directed by Alan Taylor. With Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins. When the Dark Elves attempt to plunge the universe into darkness, Thor must embark on a perilous and personal journey that will reunite him with doctor Jane Foster. Not the strongest Thor film, but still not the worst Thor film, it’s solidly mediocre, which is a sad place to be for a god of thunder. Buy On Amazon!
The Avengers: Directed by Joss Whedon. With Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo. Earth’s mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity. Such an amazingly solid film that brings together all the pieces that had been put into play by previous films. Buy On Amazon!
Thor: Directed by Kenneth Branagh. With Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston. The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders. A great continuation of my marathon of the MCU movies, as mandated by my wife. The best part of this is the Bifrost! It’s such a fantastic implementation of a goofy sounding concept: a rainbow bridge. Buy On Amazon!
Iron Man 2: Directed by Jon Favreau. With Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle. With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father’s legacy. IMHO, this is still the best MCU stand alone character films with some of the best action scenes in the entire MCU. Two scenes in particular get me every time I see them: the racing scene with the suitcase suit, then the “kill zone” battle with Iron Man and War Machine just...
Captain Marvel: Directed by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck. With Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law. Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. As part of of my wife’s mandated MCU rewatch, Captain Marvel is a pretty ok film, but it could have been so much better. The bones of a trilogy are here but they’re not used, which is something we’ll see repeatedly with this character. Buy On Amazon!
The Wrecking Crew: Directed by Angel Manuel Soto. With Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Roimata Fox. Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father’s mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart. A pretty solid movie about family, set it Hawai’i, and includes and excessive amount of computer generated violence that’s only just barely acceptable in a live action film. The plot is a familiar and safe one but it’s entertaining enough. One thing I was surprised about those was that Bautista allowed himself to be portrayed...
Iron Man: Directed by Jon Favreau. With Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges. After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil. On my wife mandated MCU rewatch, we’re skipping around a little bit to Iron Man, which remains one of my favorite characters in the MCU, which isn’t exactly a unique opinion to have. Buy On Amazon!
Captain America: The First Avenger: Directed by Joe Johnston. With Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell. Steve Rogers, a rejected military soldier, transforms into Captain America after taking a dose of a “Super-Soldier serum”. But being Captain America comes at a price as he attempts to take down a warmonger and a terrorist organization. My wife has demanded that we do a full MCU rewatch, sans television shows, so here we are, sorta at the beginning. Turns out that the order we’re watching them in is a “in universe” chronology. The First Avenger is still by far...
