Movie Reviews 2017

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) Dish-TV PPV. 2nd in the John Wick staring Keanu Reeves again in the title role. like the first movie good action with oddles of gunfights, hand-to-hand combat AND gun fights WITH  hand-to-hand combat BUT didn't think the plot as good as the first. NOT worth a pay-per-view. wait for a movie channel premier. I rate it   of four because it gets repetitive AND the "bad guys" NOT as good as the original

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)  sequel to Jack Reacher (2012) also staring Tom Cruise in the title roll. like the John Wick films a good action adventure BUT got a little "slow" in the middle and the plot NOT as good as the original. still is worth a look for action fans. plays on EPIX-2 channel Friday July 21st and Thursday July 25th. I rate it only for the same reasons as John Wick: Chapter 2

Always enjoy checking this thread.

Thanks for all you do,

Agree with Dytide.  Much respect RinK!  

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) biographical war-action drama based on the early life of Desmond Doss, a "conscientious objector" pacifist combat medic who refused to carry or use a firearm or weapons of any kind. Doss became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor for service above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Okinawa. the movie was directed by Mel Gibson and stars relatively unknown Andrew Garfield as Doss.  it has a well deserved 86% "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes. was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Garfield Best Film Editing. and  Best Sound Editing, winning the awards for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. it It also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Garfield).

I am a war-action movie fan and this one is outstanding. it is VERY well acted by a mostly "unknown" cast with extremely realistic CGI battle scenes. the first half of the movie about Doss fight to stay in the Army and gain the acceptance of his fellow soldiers is an interesting and inspiring story. that part has many elements of the 1941 Gary Cooper movie Sergeant York which is an all time personal favorite of mine. plays again on HBO channels Thursday July 27th and again on Saturday the 29th. definite "must see" for war-action movie fans or those that just enjoy an interesting well acted story. I rate it     of four

that's finny, i don't write too many reviews in here but saw hacksaw ridge on friday and thought it was worth some comments.  unfortunately, my comments are completely different from rink's.

i think it was mostly garbage.  just overly dramatic, unrealistic garbage.  which is a shame because it's a great story and had a better director made this movie, it could have been great. 

i don't want to give spoilers if people are going to see it but i think it's a combination of Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones and Swingers.

the way they made this movie, it would have been better off as a comedy. 

i rate it:

i also watched the thin blue line recently.  after making a murderer, this one doesn't hold up as well (it's an old movie) and they didn't do as good of a job of fleshing out the evidence against the guy who was framed but an interesting story that helps people understand how police and prosecutors have a tendency to draw conclusion first and then try to make the evidence fit that conclusion later.  also, if you get the wrong judge (one of these law and order fool), who lets the prosecution do whatever it wants and won't let the defense show how the witnesses are shady or lying, the defendant is pretty well fucked like this guy was.  that's our system. 

also, if you watch it, google the movie to see what happened later.

maybe, most of all, it's amazing that people can be in favor of the death penalty after seeing stuff like this that happens way more often than the random documentaries would indicate.

Don't ever watch Lion (2016).  Saw it was available on Netflix and IMDB rated it a 8.10/10 so I thought I'd give it a while

appreciate your comments about Hacksaw Ridge ClubDirt. I guess we will have to "agree to disagree" on that one. HOW can a TRUE STORY be "unrealistic garbage" ??? I thought the battle was at least as well presented as in We Were Soldiers (2002) and Gibson only used CGI for deadly scenes with flame throwers and such. other than that it was pretty much live action

a few things.  don't read this if you haven't watched the movie yet but plan to.

first, he wasn't terrible but casting vince vaughn as some tough sergeant is a stretch.  he still has that swingers persona about him.  but the weirdest part of that is, at some point in the movie, he throws out the line: "We're not in Kansas anymore" which was really a stupid unnecessary linje at that point in the movie.  or any point, really.  but it's an exact line from the movie swingers (although it was said by the jon favereau character).  why cast the guy from swingers as the sergeant who still has that swingers personality and then have him say a line directly from swingers that really adds nothing to this movie.  did none of the editors catch that?  have none of these people seen full metal jacket?  that's how you cast the mean sergeant. 

as for the realism,

1. the court martial ending was ridiculous.  this kid is seconds away from being courtmartialed but the ultimate opinion saying he's actually innocent (which was fairly simple yet no one in the hearing had a clue about that law apparently) comes from a general but rather than the general actually calling or sending an official to the hearing to make sure an innocent solider isn't put in prison, the general just write a letter and gives it to the kid's dad who the general knows is not allowed in the hearing.  so as far as the general would know, a solider is about to get wrongfully convicted and sent to prison and the general is letting it happen by merely giving a letter explaining the injustice to someone who can't get into the hearing.

2. the kid is being chased by the japanese and they follow him to some tunnel, that the japanese made and don't follow him into the tunnel and somehow the kid walks all over the tunnel and never gets caught although he actually does run into one japanese solder but that guy doesn't seem to have a problem with an enemy solider being in their tunnel.  that's some indiana jones garbage right there. 

3. the only way the americans can apparently get to the japanese and fight them on the ground is to climb this ridge using the rope ladder.  the japanese know the rope ladder is there and have control over the top of it.  why wouldn't they cut it down.  problem solved. 

4. you know this is coming.  at the end when the japanese thrown grenades at the american soldiers and the kid does a linle messi with one and a bruce lee on the other.  not even indiana jones could do that.  i need to come up with a movie reference for that one.  maybe enter the dragon. 

so this movie was a combination of swingers, forrest gump, indiana jones and enter the dragon.  should have been a comedy.

anyway, i couldn't get past these parts of the movie.  which is a shame because it is an interesting story.  we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. 


i'm not sure if i saw we were soldiers but it was a good book. 

the only way the americans can apparently get to the japanese and fight them on the ground is to climb this ridge using the rope ladder.  the japanese know the rope ladder is there and have control over the top of it.  why wouldn't they cut it down.  problem solved. 

well here is a picture of the face of the Maeda Escarpment. looks pretty close to as depicted in the movie BUT, you are correct about NO rope "boarding ladder" up the face. how would they get one up there in the first place ??? looks like they just used long ladders like the Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc on D-day which was a similar assault

picture >>> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/181832903676151084


a few things.  don't read this if you haven't watched the movie yet but plan to.

first, he wasn't terrible but casting vince vaughn as some tough sergeant is a stretch.  he still has that swingers persona about him.  but the weirdest part of that is, at some point in the movie, he throws out the line: "We're not in Kansas anymore" which was really a stupid unnecessary linje at that point in the movie.  or any point, really.  but it's an exact line from the movie swingers (although it was said by the jon favereau character).  why cast the guy from swingers as the sergeant who still has that swingers personality and then have him say a line directly from swingers that really adds nothing to this movie.  did none of the editors catch that?  have none of these people seen full metal jacket?  that's how you cast the mean sergeant. 

as for the realism,

1. the court martial ending was ridiculous.  this kid is seconds away from being courtmartialed but the ultimate opinion saying he's actually innocent (which was fairly simple yet no one in the hearing had a clue about that law apparently) comes from a general but rather than the general actually calling or sending an official to the hearing to make sure an innocent solider isn't put in prison, the general just write a letter and gives it to the kid's dad who the general knows is not allowed in the hearing.  so as far as the general would know, a solider is about to get wrongfully convicted and sent to prison and the general is letting it happen by merely giving a letter explaining the injustice to someone who can't get into the hearing.

2. the kid is being chased by the japanese and they follow him to some tunnel, that the japanese made and don't follow him into the tunnel and somehow the kid walks all over the tunnel and never gets caught although he actually does run into one japanese solder but that guy doesn't seem to have a problem with an enemy solider being in their tunnel.  that's some indiana jones garbage right there. 

3. the only way the americans can apparently get to the japanese and fight them on the ground is to climb this ridge using the rope ladder.  the japanese know the rope ladder is there and have control over the top of it.  why wouldn't they cut it down.  problem solved. 

4. you know this is coming.  at the end when the japanese thrown grenades at the american soldiers and the kid does a linle messi with one and a bruce lee on the other.  not even indiana jones could do that.  i need to come up with a movie reference for that one.  maybe enter the dragon. 

so this movie was a combination of swingers, forrest gump, indiana jones and enter the dragon.  should have been a comedy.

anyway, i couldn't get past these parts of the movie.  which is a shame because it is an interesting story.  we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. 

i'm not sure if i saw we were soldiers but it was a good book

you would remember We Were Soldiers (2002) about the the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam November of 1965 IF you had seen it. outstanding war-action movie I also give of four. been playing every so often on various movie channels lately

sorry for being so verbose. my "copy&paste" just SUCKS in threads lately

well here is a picture of the face of the Maeda Escarpment. looks pretty close to as depicted in the movie BUT, you are correct about NO rope "boarding ladder" up the face. how would they get one up there in the first place ??? looks like they just used long ladders like the Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc on D-day which was a similar assault

picture >>> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/181832903676151084


interesting.  that had to have been brutal for those guys.  

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) this classic Hollywood "film noir" is a "tour de force" for both Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Lancaster plays the powerful "gossip columnist" J.J. Hunsecker (a thinly veiled portrayal of Walter Winchell),who has the power to destroy a reputation with a sentence in a his newspaper column or word on his radio broadcast.  Curtis plays  his "toady" of a press agent Sidney Falco who is trying to become a "player" in media. early film work by Martin Milner as Hunsecker's younger sister's (played by Susan Harrison) boy friend J.J. is out to destroy. also features the "blond bombshell" Barbara Nichols, who was quite the "sex symbol" in her day, as Sidney's girl friend Rita.

excellent acting by all involved in this one. it was a very different part for Curtis from his usual comic "good guy hero" rolls. J.J. Hunsecker is listed as #35 on the API's "Top 50 Villains' list he is that nasty. it is definitely worth a look for those into mid 1950's thru 1960's "film noir" or just enjoy great dramatic acting. plays on the MGM movie channel Saturday August 8th @ 11:00pm pacific time and I rate it    of four

Blow (2001) biographical crime film about the life and crimes of American cocaine smuggler George Jung. fascinating story that goes inside the world of the "cocaine cowboy" drug smugglers of the 170's thru early 1980's. Johnny Depp is excellent as Jung with Penelope Cruz as his b!tch of a wife Mirtha (was type casting) and Jordi Molla as George's partner Diego Delgado (based on the real Carlos Lehder). small bit part for Ray Liotta as George's father Fred Jung and Cliff Curtis as cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. I thought the whole story was very entertaining. for George and the other "cowboy's" the line from Casino "In the End, We Fukked It All Up" really applied. plays again on the Action-MAX channel Thursday August 3rd @ 7:00pm, Sunday the 6th @ 1:25pm and Wednesday the 9th @ 10:35am pacific times. I rate it    of four

saw two somewhat similar movies that were very good.  definitely not for everyone but if you like movies that show you about people you normally wouldn't ever have contact with in a realistic way without all of the big movie budget nonsense, these are as good as any.

tangerine

american honey

The Accused (1988) this excellent courtroom drama staring Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis earned Foster her first Best Actress Oscar as rape victim Sarah Tobias which was loosely based on a 1983 gang rape in New Bedford, Mass. in that trial too it was more the victim on trial than the rapists and those that encouraged them. Kelly McGillis plays ADA Kathryn Murphy going after those that encouraged the actual rapists for "criminal solicitation". young Bernie Coulson is outstanding as young college student Kenneth Joyce who's testimony is key to the case. IF you like courtroom drama's this one is worth watching. plays again on Encore-Classics Friday August 11th @ 8:40 am pacific time. I rat it    of four

well I finally have seen a recent Sci-Fi movie that is a MORE over-rated convoluted MESS than Interstellar (2014). watched the premier of Arrival (2016) with Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. this story about humans trying to figure out how to communicate with aliens that suddenly arrive on earth is just about unwatchable and doesn't even have the "wow" CGI or action of Interstellar. you gotta go some for me to dislike an Amy Adams film as she is one of my favorite actresses and was outstanding in Trouble With the Curve (2012) and American Hustle (2013) BUT even her skill can NOT save this thing. funny thing is, the critics raved over it as they did about Interstellar and Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 94% "fresh" but I found it VERY slow and plodding with almost NO action. I think it is pure 

I like Val Kilmer so these are 2 movies that I really enjoyed..

EXCELLENT selection with Wonderland (2003). do NOT forget The Doors (1991) where Val Kilmer played the band's "front man" Jim Morrison. Kilmer actually did much of his own singing. I think he deserved at least an Oscar nomination. I will have to check out Spartan (2004). has it been playing on any TV channels ???

three recent viewings >>>

Margin Call (2011) maybe the BEST depiction of the chaos of the 2009 market crash and it's effect on an un-named Wall Street firm (but sure looked like Lehman Brothers to me). all star cast ot Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci. played on EPIX-2 the other night and hopefully will repeat soon. VERY interesting well acted "history lesson" about those times. as a movie I can watch numerous times and not get bored I rate it    of four

Star Trek Generations (1994) the first of the Star Trek movies staring the "next generation" TV series cast of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander Riker Picard's XO, Brent Spiner as Lt Commander Data, LeVar Burton chief engineer Geordi La Forge, Michael Dorn as the Klingon security officer Lt Worf along with Gates McFadden as Dr Beverly Crusher and Marina Sirtis as ship's counselor Deanna Troi. William Shatner reprises the roll of Captain James T. Kirk in this one and Malcolm McDowell has the villain role of Tolian Soran. as a Star Trek fan I enjoyed this one and it's follow up Star Trek: First Contact (1996), where the nasty azz Borg travel back in time to try and destroy humanity's future, even more. First Contact plays next Sunday August 13th @ 12:50pm on EPIX-1. I rate both movies    of four

Master and Commander (2003) aka  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. good old fashioned sea battle "yarn" set during the Napoleonic Wars between France and England. based on the Aubrey-Maturin series book series by the late Patrick O'Brian about British Naval Captain "Lucky Jack" Jack Aubrey and his ships ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin and their adventures fighting the French. really well done action-adventure movie staring  Russell Crowe as "Lucky Jack" and Paul Bettany as Dr Maturin with a good supporting cast including James D'Arcy as Lt Pullings Aubrey's XO. the Midshipman are all compelling characters esp Max Benitz as Peter Myles Calamy and Max Pirkis as William Blakeney who show great bravery in battle. Lee Ingleby as Midshipman Hollom is a rather tragic figure in the story

all in all I find it a very entertaining movie with excellent battle scenes I can watch again and again without being bored. I am rather surprised they have NOT done a follow to the story. the movie was nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director (Peter Weir) and won for Best Cinematography (Russell Boyd} and Best Sound Editing (Richard King) and has a well deserved 85% "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes. plays again on "Action Max" Friday August 8th @ 1:05pm,  "5-Max" Monday the 14th @ 1:50pm and Wednesday the 16th on Cinemax-East @ 11:00am and West @ 2:00pm all times pacific. I rate it    of four and a "must see" for action fans or those that just enjoy a good well acted "yarn"

Catch-22 (1970) the classic "dark comedy" war film from the 1961 novel by Joseph Heller is a "must see" for war movie fans or those that just want a good laugh and was rated "sh!t hot" among ready room movies on the aircraft carrier back in the early 70's. has an outstanding cast with Alan Arkin as Yossarian the bombardier, Art Garfunkel (his movie premier) as Nately the pilot, Charles Grodin as "Aarfy" Aardvark the navigator and Martin Sheen as Dobbs the co-pilot of the B-25 crew. Jon Voight plays the always scheming Milo Minderbinder.  the bomb group "bosses" are played by Martin Balsam as Colonel Cathcart (CO), Buck Henry (also the screen writer) as Lt. Colonel Korn (XO), Bob Newhart as Major Major (Squadron CO), Richard Benjamin as Major Danby (Group Ops Officer) with the great Orson Welles as General Dreedle (Wing CO). Jack Gilford is hilaroius as"Doc" the flight surgeon as is Anthony Perkins as Captain Tappman the chaplain. both Susanne Benton as Dreedle's WAC and Paula Prentiss as Nurse Duckett are great "eye candy". overall this is a VERY funny and entertaining film. IF you like the movie M*A*S*H (1970) you will enjoy this one too . plays again on  Retroplex channel Sunday August 20th @ 9:20 am pacific time. i rate it    of four

Battleground (1949) outstanding WWII era war film about the101st Airborne at the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, it is the first significant American film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war. stars Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, Richard Jaeckel and George Murphy. it features James Whitmore as staff sergeant Kinnie for which he got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and won the Golden Globe and was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. it won the  Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and  Best Writing Oscars that year. it is an excellent depiction of the famous battle with an emphasis on the performance of various individual soldiers. it is one of the BEST WWII war movies I have ever seen. played in Turner Classic Movies the other night and hopefully will re-peat soon. I rate it    of four

They Were Expendable (1945) is another John Ford directed WWII classic staring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne and Donna Reed with Ward Bond, Cameron Mitchell and Russell Simpson as "Dad" the boat yard owner (he had previously played Pa Joad in John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath in 1940). the story is based on the exploits of the PT boat squadron commanded by lieutenant John D. Bulkeley (played as Lt John "Brick" Brickley by Montgomery and his XO Lt (jg) Robert Kelly (played as Lt (jg) "Rusty" Ryan by Wayne) in the Philippines early in WWII. like ALL John Ford WWII movies it has "oodles of action" with realistic battle scenes. played on Turner Classic Movies the other night and hopefully will repeat soon. like Battleground (1949) it is a VERY entertaining movie based on true events and I rate it    of four

Sucker Punch (2011)  fantasy action movie in a similar "oodles of ordnance" genre as Shoot 'Em Up (2007) in that it has pretty much non-stop action with one battle scene after another. basic plot is a young girl who is committed to a mental institution. In order to cope, she envisions the asylum as a brothel and teams up with four dancers/prisoners to escape. they must have four items to pull off the escape, a map, fire, a knife and a key. their fantasy adventures are in pursuit of the items. it is pretty much "mindless action" BUT the five girls Emily Browning as Babydoll, Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea, Jena Malone as Rocket, Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie and Jamie Chung as Amber are all VERY foxy and the CGI action is fast paced and pretty good. Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff. The Hunt for Red October, The Silence of the Lambs and The Bourne Ultimatum) must have needed a quick paycheck as he plays the Wise Man / General / Bus Driver. the critics threw rocks and it has a poor 23% "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes BUT I thought it was decent entertainment. it has been described as "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns". plays again on the IFC channel Sunday August 28t7th @ 7:45 am pacific. you definitely want to record as IFC is over-run with commercials. I rate it   of four

2 Days in the Valley (1996) "dark comedy" crime film that just happened to catch my eye because of the cast. stars Danny Aiello and James Spader with Jeff Daniels, Eric Stoltz, Teri Hatcher, Glenne Headly, Marsha Mason and Charlize Theron (before she bought some boobs). bit parts by Keith Carradine and Louise Fletcher. the story revolves around 48 hours in the lives of a group of people who are drawn together by a murder. LOT of crazy "twists" in the plot and some very funny LOL moments. I thought the ending was very well done. I would put this in the same "screwball crime comedy" genre as The Nice Guys (2016) with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. plays again on EPIX1 Sunday August 27th @ 2:40am. VERY entertaining movie I rate    of four