Movies you saw in April

here are three carryovers from March >>>

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014). had a Dish-TV PPV comp and used it for this movie. I think a reviewer from Rotten Tomatos said it best. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is just a long, slow teaser for next year's grand finale, Mockingjay - Part 2". NOT a lot of action in this one and really NO compelling new characters although Julianne Moore does join the cast as District 13 President Alma Coin. I would NOT spring for a DVD or PPV. found it really kind of "meh". neither of the two "followup" movies were nearly as good as the first. is notable that it is the late Philip Seymour Hoffman's last movie. I rate it   of four

The Wiper Times (2013) BBC TV movie about a trench magazine that was published by British soldiers fighting on the front lines of Ypres, Belgium during WWI. it is typical British "dark humor" about the war and pretty funny in spots. The paper consisted of poems, reflections, wry "in-jokes" and lampoons of the military situation the Ypres Division was in. was a thorn in the side of the British General Staff pointing out that they they didn't know what the situation really was at the front and were pretty much incompetent. plays again on Showtime-Showcase Friday April 3rd @ 5:35am pacific time. I rate it    of four

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) SciFi "war of the worlds" style action thriller with a really weird "flash back" plot BUT has pretty much non-stop action and pretty cool alien monsters. the battle scenes CGI is outstanding. gets pretty goofy with with the main character played by Tom Cruise getting killed in battle BUT, because of a time warp, coming right back to life. I would actually rank it above Cruise's last Sci-Fi Oblivion (2013). plays again on HBO-Signature Thursday April 4th, Saturday April 6th and on HBO east & west channels Monday April 6th. I rate it    of four

Lone Survivor (2013) war film from the 2007 nonfiction book of the same name by former SEAL Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson that dramatizes the failed Navy SEAL's mission Operation Red Wings to take out a Taliban leader which turned into a disastrous "cluster fukk" do to failed communications and NO secondary support when needed. though it was well acted by Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana as the SEAL Team and the rest of the cast. pretty much non-stop action in the mission scenes. won't say I "enjoyed" the movie because it is painful to watch good people die BUT thought it was an excellent telling of the story and a warning for future special forces operations

plays on Cinemax "ActionMax" Thursday April 4th, "5StarMax" Friday April 3rd and Cinemax East & West Saturday April 4th. I rate it of four

I watched Interstellar last night... all 2 hours and 40 minutes of it.  It actually kept me hooked for the most part as it avoided long lags and extended scenery shots.  I guess I liked it, but if you're not a sci-fi fan I'm sure the entire black hole/time-bending premise would leave you .     

I have one Dish-TV PPV comp left to use. BWS77 and I'm thinking either Interstellar or OR Exodus: Gods and Kings. I'm a Sci-Fi fan too BUT the previews of Exodus looked excellent and the CGI of the Plagues looked spectacular. you seen Exodus?

'The Drop'..Worth a watch.

Furious 7

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) more "action hero" manure for the Marvel Comics pile. 2 hours and 15 minutes of mindless CGI "ultra violence" with an absurd plot. you want to bother watching, you can look it up in the TV guide, I didn't bother. I found it to be repetitive boring tripe with totally wooden acting and thought it a complete waste of time. 

I've seen Birdman and now Boyhood, both kinda sucked...Whiplash is probably my movie of the year so far.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) epic "screwball" comedy produced and directed by Stanley Kramer one of the BEST ever. stars Spencer Tracy, Edie Adams, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas and Jonathan Winters with bit parts or cameos by just about EVERY top comedic actor of the 1st half of the 20th century. a MUST SEE at least once for comedy fans. Frank Tallman's flying stunts in a vintage Beech 18 are spectacular for any aviation fans. plays again on HBO-Family again Wednesday April 15th @ 9:35am pacific time. as one of the top five "screwball" comedies of all time I obviously rate it     of four

Death Wish II (1982) 2nd of the Charles Bronson "Death Wish" crime-action movie series this time with Vigilante Paul Kersey wacking bad guys in LA instead of NYC. also features Vincent Gardenia again as Detective Frank Ochoa and Bronson's real life wife Jill Ireland as his love interest. early work by Laurence Fishburne as a street gang member/robber. NOT as good as the original BUT still worth watching IF you like the genre. plays again on EPIX2 Friday April 10th @ 7:50am and Saturday April 11th @ 12:45am pacific. rate it   of four

LRR, I like the first three Death Wish movies.  They do go downhill following each one but I call them guilty pleasures.  About time for me to go back and watch them again.  I like that movie Charles Bronson was in called 10 to midnight.  The one with him and Lee Marvin was good too.  Think that was called Death Hunt.  Something like that.

LRR, I like the first three Death Wish movies

Ya the first two of the series were the best and definitely went "down hill" from there probably because they killed off Vincent Gardenia's character Detective Frank Ochoa in the second. Bronson's other big "breakthrough" movie that made him a star in America back then was The Mechanic (1972) with Jan-Michael Vincent. also excellent

Donnie Brasco (1997) we all know what an TRUE excellent crime drama this is with Al Pacino, Johnny Depp. Michael Madsen and the late Bruno Kirby. only reason I mention is it plays on the HD Net Movies channel Tuesday April 14th @ 11:10pm pacific time in full theater 1X2 ratio IF you want to record. usually  plays in either 3X4 "skinny scope" or "fill the screen" 9X16 HD on other movie channels

Bug (2006) Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Michael Shannon.

The Expendables 3 (2014) more of Sylvester Stallone and his "Metamucil Mob" fighting, shooting and blowing shite up. the usual non-stop action with "oodles of ordnance", hand to hand combat and "stuff that goes boom". Mel Gibson the villain with Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes as "old school" expendable and Arnold Schwarzenegger now just flying the plane. introduces 5 new younger kids the Stallone's crew including Antonio Banderas. the addition of Harrison Ford as the teams CIA handler and attack helicopter pilot excellent casting.

I personally think it is the BEST of the series. actually had some "twists" in the plot and the CGI was excellent. action fans will O D on this one because VERY few breaks in the action. I can watch this one again. plays again on EPIX1 Sunday April 12th, Monday April 13th, Friday April 17th and Saturday April 18th. may think I'm nuts BUT rate it of four for action fans. Rotten Tomatoes with only a  33% rating and I think THEY are NUTS

The Faculty (1998). SciFi horror movie with elements of both Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Thing. good suspense and action and an interesting cast including Elijah Wood, Laura Harris, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie and Jon Stewart (yes the one from The Daily Show). I thought it pretty good. had some "jump out your pants" startle scenes  and interesting "plot twists". plays again on Cinemax channels Sunday April 12th, Tuesday April 14th and Sunday April 19th. rate it   of four

Minic (1997). more SciFi horror which is kind of an Alien/Aliens only with genetically engineered insects designed to destroy cockroaches then die of themselves morphing into some thing that attacks people in the NYC underground. excellent suspense and loads of "startle scenes" to keep horror fans on the edge. you really do NOT get a real good look at the "Judas Bugs" during the movie until close to the end much like the "Zenomorph" in Alien. plays again on Showtime-Beyond Monday April 13th and Saturday April 18th. you liked the Alien/Aliens series you should enjoy this one. rate it    of four

Blow (2001)  biopic about the American cocaine smuggler George Jung played by Johnny Depp with Penelope Cruz as his pain in the azz wife Mirtha (must have been type casting). pretty much true story about the cocaine trade back in the 1980's with some good action and I thought an interesting plot. Depp and the others in the movie all interesting characters BUT Cruz is SUCH a pain you wonder why someone didn't wack her. plays again on Encore Sunday April 12th, Monday April 13th, Wednesday April 15th and Friday April 17th. rate it    of four

also the original Charles Bronson Death Wish (1974) is on EPIX3 next Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th IF you have never seen it or want to record

I thought Mimic was a really good movie.  

watch Mimic 2 last night and although NOT nearly as good as the original was still pretty good suspense

No God, No Master (2012) well acted crime-suspense drama about the anarchist bombing plots of the early 1920's and the efforts of the then new FBI to stop those involved. also somewhat covers the Sacco and Vanzetti trial and the Wall Street bombing which was the most deadly terrorist attack on American home soil until 9-11. worth watching IF you are into history OR just like a good crime story. plays on The Movie Channel-East in HD Monday April 13th @ 2:00am pacific time. rate it  of four

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 2 hours and 45 minutes of repetitive CGI "ultra-violence" that probably would have been much better an hour shorter. after the initial action scene about the first 30 minutes is all "set up". Transformers movies in the past were kind of fun. this one actually gets pretty boring, plays again on EPIX channels again Monday April 13th, Tuesday April 14th, Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th IF you want to bother. was pretty much for me

Amistad (1997) historical drama film based on the true story of the 1839 uprising aboard the slave ship La Amistad and the resultant court cases when the ship was captured by a US revenue cutter. VERY well acted by all involved including Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, Djimon Hounsou, Morgan Freeman and the late Pete Postlethwaite. the minor but important part of Mende interpreter James Covey very well acted by Chiwetel Ejiofor who later went on to play Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave (2013). this movie worth watching just for Hopkins as John Quincy Adams summation before the US Supreme Court. may be one of his greatest scenes ever. if you like historical drama or just excellent acting you will enjoy this one. John Williams music score one of his best. plays again on EPIX channels Wednesday April 15th, Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th. rate it    of four

Domino (2005) crime-action movie VERY loosely based on the life of Domino Harvey, the English daughter of stage and screen actor Laurence Harvey, who became a Los Angeles bounty hunter. pretty good cast with Keira Knightley as Domino and Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Delroy Lindo and Mo'Nique with Jacqueline Bisset, Christopher Walken and Lucy Liu. had a "Guy Richie style" feel to the way it was filmed. worth a watch IF you like crime-acton dramas with plenty of action. plays again on Sundance channel Saturday April 18th @ 7:15am pacific time. you need to record if interested because Sundance, like FX Movies and IFC, is over-run with commercials,. rate it   of four

A pair of Mark Wahlberg movies. "The Departed" from 2006 was everything that 2013's "Broken City" was not. 

"A Million Ways to Die in the West"

"Blended"

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) biblically inspired epic directed by Ridley Scott and staring Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramesses II with John Turturro as Seti I, Aaron Paul as as Joshua, Ben Kingsley as Nun and the lovely María Valverde as Moses wife Zipporah along with Golshifteh Farahani as Ramesses wife Nefertari. outstanding CGI throughout esp of the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea. definitely spectacular and found it went pretty fast paced for 2 hours and 30 minutes. watched on Dish-TV PPV and thought it worth my comp certificate. Rotten Tomatoes threw rocks with a "rotten" score of 28%. I think they are way overboard and I rate it    of four. I will watch it again for any thing I may have missed and to review the plague scenes again. interesting that Ramesses doctor and advisor actually gives a pretty good scientific explanation of the sequence of the plagues in the movie (ex for the death of the 1st born which NO one has ever explained)

Prisoners (2013) Hugh Jackman, Terrence Howard, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis

Noah (2014) biblically inspired epic that I thought was gonna be pretty "meh" from the trailers BUT turned out to have pretty good action and somewhat an "off beat" telling of the story. stars Russell Crowe as Noah and Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah. pretty sure the bible does NOT mention anything about any  "Watchers" who are "fallen angles" stone figures that help Noah build the arc and fight his enemies but they are interesting characters. the CGI is excellent throughout and I thought the 2 hour 15 minutes went pretty fast although it DOES slow after the flood floats the arc. plays on EPIX1 Friday April 17th, Saturday April 18th and EPIX3 Monday April 20th. I rate it    of four

The Rum Diary. Johnny Depp.

Stumbled across it on IFC. Fantastic movie.

 

 

Great movie. Edge of your seat kind of storyline. Jake Gyllenhaal's performance was intense - he played the homocide detective right to the letter.