I wasn't sure what to expect, but I rather enjoyed it I didn't know the characters but it seened kind of like The Avengers but with a rag-tag bunch of villains (?)/antiheroes for some reason I only recognised Harley Quinn
I liked the Deadpool-esque humour, but it's a pretty stupid movie
Drop Zone (USA, 1994) [TV] - 3.5/5
Another under-rated John Badham film, with many of the same strengths as Blue Thunder. Wesley Snipes is a cop who goes after sky diving criminals (lead by the awesome Gary Busey). The Point Break influence is obvious, but the film contains breathtaking aerial stunts, and like Blue Thunder, it builds all its action and plotting around this one central theme, giving it a solid “Skydiving Action Film” identity to be remembered for.
I enjoyed this one more than I remember. While some of this movie feels like its' cashing in on the popularity of Star Wars and the like, and the theme song isn't Shirley Bassey's best, Roger Moore does well, Holly Goodhead is a companion who doesn't immediately fall for Bond, and matches him - Jaws and Drax make excellent, threatening villains - recalling some of the best like Goldfinger and Blofeld IMO. Drax is darker and more interesting than most villains with his plot to create a Nazi-like race in space.
Surely some of the best lines are:
"Look after Mr. Bond. See that some harm comes to him"
"What is Bond doing?"
"I think he's attempting re entry"
HungFist wrote: 06 Aug 2021, 12:45Drop Zone (USA, 1994) [TV] - 3.5/5
Another under-rated John Badham film, with many of the same strengths as Blue Thunder. Wesley Snipes is a cop who goes after sky diving criminals (lead by the awesome Gary Busey). The Point Break influence is obvious, but the film contains breathtaking aerial stunts, and like Blue Thunder, it builds all its action and plotting around this one central theme, giving it a solid “Skydiving Action Film” identity to be remembered for.
Came out around the same time as fellow sky-diving actioner Terminal Velocity.
In the 90s these things always came in pairs.
grim_tales wrote: 07 Aug 2021, 00:18
Moonraker (UK, France, 1979): 3.5/5
I enjoyed this one more than I remember. While some of this movie feels like its' cashing in on the popularity of Star Wars and the like, and the theme song isn't Shirley Bassey's best, Roger Moore does well, Holly Goodhead is a companion who doesn't immediately fall for Bond, and matches him - Jaws and Drax make excellent, threatening villains - recalling some of the best like Goldfinger and Blofeld IMO. Drax is darker and more interesting than most villains with his plot to create a Nazi-like race in space.
1000% wrong!! It's not only Bassey's best theme song but THE best theme song.
I didn't think it's as memorable as Goldfinger or Diamonds are Forever. Maybe it needs another listen
I didn't remember the disco version at the end, wasn't expecting that. There have been worse themes though - Die Another Day (WTF) and Tomorrow Never Dies (opening theme) and Another Way to Die (Quantum of Solace), not a fan of those.
That's Entertainment! Part 1 (1974) - first time: 3/5
A documentary looking back at MGM musicals - some of the clips were very good and that I'd never seen before in full or at all (the Esther Williams stuff, a song from The Great Ziegfeld, Fred Astaire walking on his hands on the ceiling - or a 17 year old Debbie Reynolds), but many of them seemed to be "Wasn't this film/star amazing" variety with little real context and it doesn't really talk about the history of the studio like the excellent When the Lion Roars documentary does, the presenting feels like a puff piece for the studio.
What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord? (2021) - 1/5
Holy fuck, this episode was bad. T'Challa (Black Panther) here is a literal Mary Sue, perfect dude who has everybody kissing his ass. T'Challa is so amazing that he talked down Thanos from his big plan, now he's a Flanderised comic relief character.
If you want genuinely good animated comic superhero adaptations then watch the DC animated ones. The Long Halloween was fantastic.
Transformers: The Movie (1986) - 4/5
Just re-watched this because I received the 35th anniversary 4k BD. It completely holds up, it's a simple story but it is told very well. I really loved the foreshadowing moment when Hotrod picks up the Matrix of Leadership before handing it off to Optimus Prime's named successor, Ultra Magnus. There's the usual obvious problems with plot armour, i.e. when and if a particular character has it activated at the time, but they can be easily ignored.
The 4k remaster looked great IMO. A suitable grainy look that you would expect from a film made on celluloid. The HDR here is certainly vibrant.
Snake Eyes - 2.5/5 (2021)
Meh, it was okay. Entirely forgottable, give it a month and I probably won't even remember the plot.
Probably the most hilariously bad part was the female head of security who's suspicious of Snake Eyes falling in love with him out of nowhere and then dropping her guard and starting to trust him, because she's thinking with her hormones. Also the part where the small, elderly Japanese woman is being a bad ass who takes out probably a dozen fit men ~2.5x her size. The "super action woman" trope in modern Hollywood is already stretch when you have the likes of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn beating up dozens of dudes in Birds of Prey (2020), but a granny? Even Reed Richards and Monkey D. Luffy would get tired from reaching that far.
The Green Knight (2021) - 2.5/5
A tale that boils down to being a simple morality lesson about being honourable and selfless, (i.e. the qualities expected of a knight) padded out needlessly. This could've easily been 80-90 mins and lost nothing of consequence to the message. Beautiful cinematography, score and solid acting.
The blatant woke casting of having random Indians and other miscellaneous brown people in medieval England stuck out like a sore thumb at first, but I quickly got over it.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020) - 4/5
Another retelling of the first game (and subsequently the 1995 film). All killer, no filler. Focus is squarely on the tournament, there's no farting about with extended dialogue scenes or training montages. The fight scenes are suitably cartoonishly gory, doing the games justice. Characters are fleshed out with arcs of growth and are accurate to the source material. This easily better than both the 1995 and 2021 live action films.
I don't know how these Direct-to-video WB Animation films have managed to be almost consistently of high quality in recent years, but fingers crossed it stays that way. They're a gleaming beacon in the otherwise sea of shit that's the present day American animation industry.
That's Entertainment! Part II (1976) - BD - first time: 3.5/5
I found this an improvement over the first one. There's a wider variety of clips (from comedies etc) as well as musicals - the Marx Bros were good in a scene where Groucho and Chico and many others are crammed together in a really small room Arthur Freed performs 'Wedding of the Painted Doll', an old song from the 1920's I'd never seen in it's complete form, a scene where Katherine Hepburn asks Spencer Tracy to marry her in a very long winded way is funny, and the clips are presented in a more novel way with Kelly and Astaire singing new words to the That's Entertainment song and performing together.
'Make 'em Laugh' (from 'Singin' in the Rain') sounds very similar to 'Be a Clown' from a few years earlier.
The song 'I Remember it Well' with two aging lovers is pretty funny yet sad at the same time as it shows how memory can change with age ('I came at 7/It was 8/I was on time/No you were late')
And Cyd Cherise was indeed lovely
Toy Story 4 - 3/5
What was intended to be a cash grab film by Disney the filmmakers miraculously managed to make it work. It's an overall a fairly fun film with some heart.
Hilariously the film's unintended key message seems to be don't be a simp. The catalyst of the conflict of the second and third act is Woody pining for his old girlfriend, Bo Peep.
The film does shit upon established characters. Buzz is reduced to being a comic relief moron who treats his canned voice lines as his conscience, which he treats as gospel. This undoes Buzz's arc of the first film where he started off as a non-self aware ignoramus who didn't know that he was a toy.
Casino Royale (UK, 2006) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Bond goes Bourne, only colder. Weak action (the airport sequence is particularly boring) and aimless plot almost sink the 1st half, but the 2nd half is some of the best filmmaking in the Bond series. The casino scenes are excellent. Some good characterization too, and the funniest torture scene ever. The theme song is in line with other modern Bonds: you'll forget about it before it has even finished playing.
Quantum of Solace (UK, 2008) [VoD] - 3/5
The worst action scenes in the entire franchise (the opening car chase, where you can't tell what the hell is going on, isn't even the worst offender when the film's got the ridiculous church / Spiderman fight coming later). The storyline and characterization, however, are actually quite good. It's a solid film whenever there's no action.
Skyfall (UK, 2012) [VoD] – 4/5
An excellent anniversary Bond that manages to balance fun nods with a good storyline. Deakins’ cinematography looks marvellous, although a tad digital. The action scenes are good as well, with the kind of sense of physicality that proper action films need. Just one gripe: the scene at the end with the flash light! Really? Can’t think of a dumber scene in the entire series.
HungFist wrote: 29 Aug 2021, 15:11Skyfall (UK, 2012) [VoD] – 4/5
An excellent anniversary Bond that manages to balance fun nods with a good storyline. Deakins’ cinematography looks marvellous, although a tad digital. The action scenes are good as well, with the kind of sense of physicality that proper action films need. Just one gripe: the scene at the end with the flash light! Really? Can’t think of a dumber scene in the entire series.
Skyfall better than Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace??
Markgway wrote: 02 Sep 2021, 10:15
Skyfall better than Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace??
I think you've drunk too much sake, mate!
I still think that Quantum of Solace is shit, but after seeing Spectre it didn't seem as bad in hindsight.
They seem to be going full woke with No Time to Die. The script was rewritten by the feminist who played the annoying civil rights activist droid from "Solo: A Star Wars Story", Phobe Waller-Bridge. I'm expecting nothing but a dumpster fire.
Spectre (UK, 2015) [VoD] – 3/5
There’s a lot wrong with this film, being probably the dullest looking film in the series (despite the 35mm lensing), and trying some ridiculous “it’s all connected” crap with its storyline. Yet, it’s a captivating, entertaining film all the same. Léa Seydoux makes the best Bond girl in a couple of decades (even if the character is still pretty forgettable).
Why is that most Netflix and Amazon Prime Video original films are either A. thoroughly mediocre and forgettable, or B. downright bad? It's definitely a case of quality over quantity with these video streaming platforms.
Sweet Girl (2021, Netflix) - 2/5
Low budget Jason Mamoa action vehicle, entertaining enough but I'll have forgotten it in a week's time probably. The absurdity of the 3rd act plot twist had my jaw hit the flaw. The heroine looked utterly tiny, the thought of such a small woman taking out fit men probably 3x her size pushed the tired Hollywood action girl trope utterly past suspension of disbelief breaking point for me.
Jolt (2021, Prime Video) - 1/5
Really boring action comedy. The film was only 91 minutes and I watched it on 1.3x speed but the pacing was still glacial. I was so thoroughly disengaged with what was happening.
Kate (2021, Netflix) - 2.5/5
Entertaining enough action, but the plot was tired and cliched even by my low expectations for Netflix content, it has been done far better elsewhere. Just rewatch Leon: The Professional in stead of wasting your time here. Hollywood action girl trope again out in full force with this flick. I normally don't care about acting quality, but the teenage actress playing the mafia boss daughter Ani, was quite painful to stomach.
Candyman (2021) - 3.5/5
Actually a well made film, the pacing and suspense was on point. Too bad that the story was such "current year" woke cringe. OG Candyman villain Tony Todd only has probably a minute long cameo at the end and has only one line. I was very disappointed on that front.
The plot was about creating a new Candyman who's purpose is to specifically get revenge on racist white people, mainly crooked cops. I'm not making this up, it was such cringe.
Fear Street trilogy (2021, Netflix) - 3/5
Surprisingly entertaining homage to 1980s/1990s slasher flicks.
First half of the 3rd film was a prequel set in a 17th century colonialist American village. I'll give the filmmakers real props for their creative work around for having a racially diverse casting in a European period setting. They did a "Quantum Leap", i.e. to the viewer they're whatever diverse cast but the "in universe" characters are implied to be period appropriate UK immigrants.
Malignant (2021) 2.5/5
Over-rated director James Wan returns to his horror thriller roots after doing a few big stupid action blockbusters. Nothing scary here at all, just loud sounds and quick editing. Seeing the action scenes where the villain is tearing shit up in the 2nd and 3rd acts had me laughing out loud at how cheesy they were.
Reminiscence (2021) - 2.5/5
Blade Runner-esque, sci-fi detective noir. Competently made but it was so thoroughly dull and boring. Good on the filmmaker for exploiting nepotism opportunities to get a big budget studio film with actor star power for their directorial debut, but sadly they didn't deliver the goods. Strange Days this ain't by a long shot. (Context: Kathryn Bigelow using nepotism of being married to James Cameron to get directorial work.)
Beckett (2021, Netflix) - 2/5
The guy from Tenet limping and wheezing his way through shitholes in Greece for almost 2 hours. An utterly barebones story could've easily been told in 80 minutes. Don't waste your time. Yet another filler film from Shitflix.
Stillwater (2021) - 2.5/5
Good performance from Matt Damon but the film was ultimately pretty dull. The high points were Damon's character interacting with the little girl of the French woman that he was staying with, it was very sweet. The daughter character in French prison (an Amanda Knox stand in) was thoroughly unlikeable, I didn't care what was happening with her.
Cry Macho (2021) - 3.5/5
Charming, feel good road film. Eastwood had good chemistry with the charismatic Mexican boy. 143 minutes was a good length, it doesn't outstay its welcome.
No Time to Die (UK, 2021) [DCP] – 2.5/5
Spectre, part II. This one starts out very strong with some excellent action and equally riveting drama. Then it just... goes... on...for nearly 3 hours. We've got an attempt at presenting a more sensitive Bond, one of the lamest Bond villains of all time, and a new female 00 agent who steals screen time but never really the spotlight (one might ask why bring her in at all if she’s not allowed to shine, but I suppose that's the underlying ideology behind the film: make everyone equal until no one stands out). And all this is before some they throw in one particularly cringeworthy element tailor made for the modern era. Also disappointing is how routine and unexciting all the action becomes after the excellent opening. All that being said, the film’s last few moments are satisfying. And I must reprise my praise for Léa Seydoux: she’s stunning.
I didn't know the characters but it seened kind of like The Avengers but with a rag-tag bunch of villains (?)/antiheroes for some reason 
I only recognised Harley Quinn 
