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The Marlow Murder Club (2024)
Lighthearted murder mystery
I like Jo Martin and Samantha Bond so was excited to see this.
This is not a deep story, and the murder aside, you could have substituted almost any other crime in there - who stole the cookies for the bake sale - and it could have worked. Three people end up helping the police, of course using some life experience and knowledge coming from their individual jobs.
This reminded me of Murder, She Wrote when I used to watch it with my grandmother. Everything was just a happy fun time solving a mystery. None of the deeper darkness you'd get with Vera. Even Death in Paradise, as light as it can be, feels like more is at stake.
The acting can be hit or miss from character to character, or even scene to scene, but there are some good performances, even if not always believable. There are some very archetypical characters, and there are a couple deeper stories with the vicars wife and the SIA that I would love to see fleshed out more than the main character story.
If nothing else, it does a great job of showing off a bit of the UK I would have never heard of, painting that idyllic mythical calmer, gentler English country atmosphere.
If nothing else,
The Border (2009)
Well...that was a movie alright...barely
Overall the story wasn't a bad one. It could have been good if not for the writing and the acting. Just two minor parts. Or perhaps it's the writing and directing.
No effort was made to get any performance out of anyone - just some cheesy lines to deliver.
For better or worse, it did avoid being yet another women in prison story with gratuitous nudity.
It tries to present itself as a story about drug prices, but ends up falling flat. Remember some of the Original Star Trek episodes, such as Let That Be Your Last Battleground where they tried to take a social issue and work it into a story but instead it felt like you were being beaten over the head with it. This movie was about as subtle as that.
If you like any of the actors and actresses in it, you can get through it. But otherwise, skip it.
Strain 100 (2020)
Tolerable low budget zombie flick
It's been a while since I've watched a low budget zombie movie - they have definitely got better. This doesn't look like your cheap, shot on a camcorder style. Even an iPhone can give you good visuals.
The blood was done well enough, including a kill I've not seen done before that worked well.
The problem was with the characters and shots. There were a lot of shots that made me wonder if they had to hit record and then run to get in the shot themselves. But even some of those worked.
The acting was painful in many parts of the film. Not to say there weren't a few standout moments, but it went from a very rough (asylum pictures rough) start to some typical characters not well realized to stung YouTuber casting - which while not bad, they should stick to talking about what they know. That many followers doesn't mean they are naturals in front of every camera.
No need to ever watch it again, but kudos for everyone keeping their shirts on - rare in this class of movie.
Quantum Leap: The Family Treasure (2024)
Low-Key Goonies Vibe
Like many serial shows, it's kind of nice to have episodes that are more or less stand alone and not part of the overall arc being carried through a season - X-Files was a good example of this.
This episode felt like someone liked the Goonies and wanted to re-create that, but didn't have the budget for it.
Like many episodes, it makes you wonder just how the person that Ben jumps into can re-incorporate back into their lives without having thousands of questions.
The last couple of minutes seemed like a desperate attempt to try and create more pointless mystery. We have a show where someone can jump through time into other people - if you can't create compelling stories around that feat, then what are you doing? The back-home team is just growing too large and convoluted.
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Better than the first
I saw Annabelle in the theaters with my daughter years ago, and then forget about it. Enjoyed it well enough, but I figured this would be like Chucky movies - going down hill every sequel.
This sequel worked out better than the first. Maybe it's because you don't hear "Leah" yelled 57 times.
The story line isn't too groundbreaking, but does maintain a little mystery as it moves along. I found the jump scares to be pretty predictable, but like the elevator sequence in the first, there are a few scenes where there is a dark, ominous, slow burning terror that feels inescapable.
The child actors all did a pretty good job, which can always be an unknown.
The attempts to link it deeper to the overall conjuringverse seemed a bit forced, especially trying to tie it to the first movie. The story just seemed to work, and the farmhouse setting fit the overall tone of of the movie better than an apartment building.
The Ark (2023)
If the 80s/90s did a serial sci-fi drama
I keep watching this. It's not that bad once it gets going....but it's not some genre changing paragon of sci-fi.
The more I watch it, it has hit me that it has an 80's show vibe. More or less a catastrophe of the week, silly premises, a nod to science existing.
And to throw in some 90s TV - all of the cast are eye candy, mostly under 30, with some stupid interpersonal dramas and acting that ranges from ok to "you'll regret this when your famous"
The FX aren't that bad overall. There have been a few "oh honey, you tried" moments, but they are watchable.
I would like to see this go a couple of seasons just to see where they take it. It would be interesting to see them make it to whatever colony plantet they are going to and completely transform the show into a survival and starting over on a new planet...I just fear it would go very deep down the route of inter-personal drama issues.
Ghosts (2021)
A rare good remake
I loved the original BBC version and was nervous about this remake after so many failed copies of great British content.
This is one of the rare success stories.
The characters are similar but different enough to make this a fresh take. Many plot elements have been lifted from the BBC version, but with some fresh spin and direction.
The characters are played well. Sas is one of my favorites due to his blending of his 1500's character with modern day understanding.
I have enjoyed it so much that I pretty much binged the first season in three days (only good thing from being sick!) I am hoping that Season 2 continues along with some of the unique plot elements they have introduced and expands the world a little more while maintaining the cohesive cast they have created.
Sick (2022)
Nothing special...
I loved the scene in the trailer where the girl was asked for a mask before the lady would help her. Wish there had been some more humor like that...it would have helped...as would some lighting.
This is just a standard slasher film with the added backdrop of COVID. There really isn't anything too special about it. Once the baddies are revealed, it really goes into standard tropes.
There really wasn't much suspense, you never really cared about any of the characters, and the whole movie was just too dark.
Not that it was all bad - the way texts were worked into it (and eventually out of it) worked pretty well and the throwbacks to covid issues were pretty good. If you really like slasher movies then you may enjoy it. If you're expecting something smarter and fun like Scream, you're going to have a bad time.
Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019)
An okay conclusion
This one was weird. It wasn't as good as the first, but better than the second. It did more-or-less redeem the second one as a setup for this one.
The acting was hit or miss. Honestly I can't tell if the acting of the main guy was on purpose based on the ending, or just wooden to begin with.
There are a few more jump scares in this one than the last two, but there is more character building than horror. It makes good use of flashback to old footage to remind you of what happened in the first two.
They did a good job of bringing a bit more light into the movie. It did affect some of the creepy atmosphere of the first, but it works okay in this one for the story being told.
Towards the end it tries to get a little gory and that failed miserably. The conclusion was interesting - I was expecting it to go one way, but it went opposite, but that was a good thing.
Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel (2018)
Not as good as the first but expands the mythos
This one takes a more direct approach with some of the scares, unlike the subtle background mysterious happenings of the first.
However, it does help with the mythos, explain a few loose ends from the first and hopefully is just a needed chapter to get you ready for the third.
Even though I just watched the first one last night, I was a little confused as to what character was which, who was a return, or not. Also, found it a little difficult to keep track of what was part of the in-film documentary, and what was currently happening in the movie timeline.
A few more outright jump scares, some more movement of the baddies, and a lot more "oh...spooky happenings affecting video recording" fx.
Overall it was worth watching even if there wasn't a third one to round out the original, but it wasn't a better film than the first.
Hell House LLC (2015)
For a found footage film, well done
I usually can't stand found footage films - they try to make up for poor filmmaking with lots of nausea inducing camerawork. This one was pretty well shot. At some points you forget it's a found footage story.
The plot wasn't that special - pretty much a basic haunted place played havoc with people in its domain. You never do get a full answer but there are enough clues in the documentary part of the film to get a good enough idea what is going on.
What makes this special is how well some of the "scares" are done. If a camera records a position for a little bit, pans over during a conversation and then back, there is a high chance you should pay attention. But the cool thing that makes this different than many is it doesn't call out every detail. You may see something the camera people don't "see" which adds to the creepiness.
Lots of stupidity in the characters but otherwise there wouldn't be a story.
Last Shift (2014)
Well done lower budget horror film. Chills more than scares
I've been meaning to watch this for a while, and since it's October, seemed like time.
Overall it wasn't a bad movie. Nothing really too surprising in it...typical of this type of movie where you never know what may be real or in the characters head.
What was impressive was the use of light. Almost all of it is in a building with white walls and decently lit hallways, yet there are areas of pure darkness. Whoever did the lighting for this movie did an amazing job.
The whole movie just has a very uncomfortable vibe to it, but very few jump-style scares. (or at least not to me...I've seen so many of these I can pretty much call out when there will be one).
The main actress does a pretty good job. For the most part, she is the movie. She has an interesting job to play between scared and someone assuming she's tired. Other characters are such bit parts that you don't get much opinion, other than the guy playing Sgt Cohen. Guy nails being a jerk!
Moonfall (2022)
Stupid fun - a sci-do flick
This is a Roland Emmerich movie - plausibility does not exist. The goofs page on IMDb could take terabytes. But it was a fun sci-fi flick with some disaster scenes tacked on. Predicable and formulaic but still fun. Don't expect too much and leave your mind at the door for two hours and have some fun.
The Wonder Years (2021)
Off to a good start
Wasn't sure what to expect but I really enjoyed this. Only thing I had a hard time with was Dule Hill's character being so different from Gus from Psych.
A solid start with a difficult time covered with optimism.
Another Life (2019)
Mixed Feelings
This show is a hard one to categorize. I think it started off kind of strong, stumbled and lost its way and am not sure if it stuck the landing.
The first four episodes are drawing from all sorts of sci-fi tropes, almost a space disaster of the week. While not great, it was good for checking your mind at the door. Some character development, but mostly just archetypes and action.
Then they seemed to decide to make it a character driven show - which felt like a hard fast shift. Maybe they ran out of budget and just had to use the actors and sets? It didn't get horrible, but the writing wasn't there to support the less action oriented episodes.
I am glad there will be a second season, because there are two storylines - the ship and Earth, and they way they are diverging from one another could end up being interesting.
Not bad overall, but would have been better at about 6 or 7 episodes.
Lost in the Pacific (2016)
Brandon Routh owed someone a favor
Not a good movie by any stretch. More or less bad acting, whole thing looks like it was shot on a greenscreen set with everything else CGI'd in. Very predictable.
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Bogus! Kinda worthless
Loved the first one (so long ago), second one had its moments. This one was just a rehash of the same stuff from the first two, but is painful to watch. Seeing Bill and Keanu act like they're perpetually 18 was just offsetting. It doesn't really add anything to the overall story, it's just a very long end-credit scene to Bogus Journey.
I think I laughed about 4 times through the whole movie. I had a bad feeling about this when I saw the trailer and it lived up to that.
Magellan (2017)
Not bad for low budget, doesn't end though
For a low-budget film, they did a great job. They knew their limitations and played to them. I watched Dr Who from the 70s, so story will always triumph over fx. The limited sets did well, and the other environments were done in a way that they felt alien without having to go overboard.
The acting - the lead did a good job carrying the movie. Most of the other acting is delivered via recorded messages, and those are always awkward - acting or not.
The story - not too bad. Some uniqueness to the concept. But there is something mentioned earlier on that never really comes back, there is a subplot that is sorta alluded to, but not in enough of a way to make it make sense when they try to bring it back around.
It feels that a lot of the material may have been cut out, or they had the story well in their head and some of the exposition left out for those not as familiar. And as for material being cut out... the ending.
While not every movie needs a big happy ending, needs to resolve all plot points, etc. this ending is rather anti-climatic. If I was watching this on network TV, I'd expect there to be a commercial break and then the final 10 minutes.
All and all - it was an enjoyable film. I've seen much more expensive movies that were worse than this. Imagine this as Interstellar (or Contact) without any real resolution.
Stargirl: S.T.R.I.P.E. (2020)
Not bad for a second episode
I enjoyed the pilot, and see this as more of a part 2 of the pilot.
Luke Wilson, while a sidekick role, is turning out to be a favorite in this show. His character adds some needed humor, but is still done with some heart of a husband/dad/step-dad that cares.
A couple characters seem so much a stereotype trope that I'm not looking forward to seeing more of them, but overall the way they are putting the pieces together work so far. I do fear it's going to devolve into cartoony, mustache-twirling bad guys eventually, instead of multi-faceted characters. But of all the DC shows, this is up there pretty high so far.
A Ghost Story (2017)
May not be for everyone, but amazing how a sheet can make you feel
I came across this movie by accident. I saw a still that made me think it was some atmospheric horror movie. After seeing the synopsis, I gave it a shot anyway.
What this movie is not: not a horror/suspense movie. Not a lot of dialog. Not any sort of traditional story. Not something with a firm resolution.
Without explaining some of the points, it's hard to describe this movie. There are parts that move very slow. Parts where you wish something would happen. For much of the movie, it is long slow shots of Casey Affleck in a white sheet.
But somehow it works. It makes you feel for this sheet. It makes you feel the loss. It also makes you wonder why sometimes. So much of what happens is left up to the viewer to try and make sense of or interpret what is meant.
While it may not have much rewatch value to it, if you have 90 minutes, it is worth watching once.
Lethal Weapon: In the Same Boat (2018)
Good recovery from casting changes
While sad to see Clayne leave, I don't have my head up my rear like some people and will give things a chance. They did a good job of coming up with a replacement for Riggs, something I didn't think they'd be able to pull off. And they did so with a story that doesn't just pretend nothing ever happened. While a little different, the spirit of Lethal Weapon is still there.
Lost in Space: Mutiny in Space (1967)
God awful!
I've been watching the whole series in order, and so far this is the absolute worst episode. The whole thing seems to be a vehicle for Ronald Long to do his best Brian Blessed impersonation and just yell a lot.
Ocean's Eight (2018)
Better than Ocean's 12
I enjoyed Ocean's Eight. We'll start with that. It was better than 12. Sandra Bullock fits in the family. Anne Hathaway was great in her part. But otherwise, there wasn't really anything to invest you into the rest of the crew - for example Rihanna could have been traded out for any other hacker.
The story line was very straight forward - a normal heist movie - scout, execute, outfall. No real twists - until near the very end.
It worked as a movie, it fits well into the Ocean series, it just didn't bring anything new to the table.
Perhaps a little more time to flesh out the team relationships - though I've seen three movies with the other team, so maybe that's why I think they are a little more fleshed out. Also, a little more humor.
But if they come out with a sequel, I'd go see it.
WarGames: The Dead Code (2008)
Bad movie, worse sequel
As a thriller movie, it's almost passable. It has a couple moments, but it ranks up there with The Net as far as "computer does anything." or Person of Interest for computer surveillance. In other words, you need a lot of suspension of belief.
As for a sequel, it is horrible. Where War Games was marginally plausible, and more of a movie about characters and surviving pursuit, this pile of trash took the main concepts from the original, and tried to put the technology and wow factor first and failed horribly.
And all that doesn't even touch on how wooden all of the acting is.
Lost in Space (2018)
Entertaining, but a different take than you may be used to
I have vague memories of the old series. I also may be one of the few people who enjoyed the 1998 movie. I found this series to be interesting to watch, however the Universe seems to be populated by people who make stupid decisions.
Without getting into spoilers, the characters are going to be different from the past iterations. West is not military (and really my biggest complaint about the series is how he is treated), the Robinsons are not the perfect family, Will is still bright, but not the usual prodigy. On the plus side,we get some better rounded female characters who are not just add-ons.
Dr. Smith is still Dr. Smith, however a darker version than the original one. One of my favorite lines from the movie "Evil knows evil" would fit this new version very well. And the infamous robot - completely different from before.
And Debbie even makes an appearance, albeit very different from the original and 1998 version.
Overall they seem to have modernized the original concept, added some family tension which fits more with today's society, removed some of the humor and light heartedness, and planted them on a planet where if something can go wrong, it will. If you remember how many disaster movies came out in the 1990's, this planet may have been the inspiration.
I'm not the best judge of acting, but I liked Molly Parker a lot in this, found the kids did a good job, as did most of the cast. Toby Stephens reminded me of John C. McGinley, so I didn't see John Robinson as much as I did Dr. Cox from Scrubs, but I really did like the way he handled the role of basically a shunned father.
If you're looking to see the original series redone with new fx and in color, you're not going to like this. If you remotely liked the 1998 film, you'll probably like this. If you don't mind some stupid decisions made by characters (and writers included) and can just enjoy something, this makes for a great weekend binge.