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Reviews
The Equalizer 3 (2023)
Robert McCall is back with his watch
There's a couple of interesting tie ins with this movie and Denzel's "Man on Fire". Dakota Fanning (Pita Ramos in MOF) is now all grown up and plays a CIA agent (a different character than Pita) he connects with and brings into the storyline. Also for anyone who has read the novel "Man on Fire" (which I highly recommend in case you haven't) it takes place in Italy and Naples for the most part as does Equalizer 3.
Also as in the novel MOF Robert dismantles a Mafia organization. Like many other reviewers I would rate this between the first and second in the Equalizer trilogy. The action as always is top notch and the script is exceptional with the typical McCall subplots.
SEAL Dog (2015)
Great story which I would have rated higher if not for.....
.....the inclusion of politicians adding commentary. I have no idea what purpose their commentary served. Two politicians who have absolutely no military experience commenting on something they know nothing about just so the Smithsonian can earn some political capital. Maybe it was just to add some run time to the documentary. I almost quit watching upon seeing the same politician a second time but I am glad I persevered. Trevor's story is an amazing story in and of itself. His is a story of dedication and perseverance, add in the story of his SEAL dog Chopper and you have an unbeatable combination.
Kateo (2022)
This is what happens when you mash too many genres into one movie.
Combine Jason Bourne, John Wick, any of the Matrix movies and any pending zombie apocalypse movie, cram all of them into a movie and you get this two hour plus mishmash of a movie. Like the first Bourne movie this movie begins with the character having no memory of who he is. Like John Wick there are extended running gun and martial arts scenes. The kill count probably exceeds all three Wick movies combined. Like the Matrix there is a lot of supernatural stunt work and the CIA agents just keep coming like the agents in the Matrix. Throw in zombies who can run, fight and use weapons just for good measure. The run time is at least thirty minutes too long. It got to the point where I just kept hoping it would end.
Above the Shadows (2019)
A unique and highly imaginative film and script
Being a fan of Ritchson's role as Jack Reacher in the very popular series I was curious as to what else he had done and came across this gem. Part sci-fi, part love story but mostly about dealing with loss for both of the main characters. This will leave you wondering until the last 15 minutes if Holly actually exists in the real world and if she does is she a ghost or what exactly is the explanation. If you can make through the final sciences without shedding a tear you might want to check your pulse to make sure you are alive. A highly imaginative story with not the ending you might be expecting but to me a very satisfying ending nonetheless.
The Day the Music Died (2022)
The story behind the writing of American Pie
A well done documentary on an iconic song that not only gives you the backstory on Don McLean's writing of the song but is also acts as a biography of McClean and how could you possibly have one without the other, the song and the writer are so intertwined they are impossible to separate. There are a lot of interesting interviews with different musical artists explaining the impact the song has had on them.
At one point McLean explains the lyrics which I wish he had not done, one of the great things about the song is that everyone has their own interpretation of the lyrics. It was a mystery for 50 years, why ruin it now? The documentary goes on probably 15 to 20 minutes too long with interviews of musicians that very few people have never heard of and never will outside of this video. If not for the length I would have rated it higher.
Arrow (2012)
If not for the soap opera around the billionaire family....
...this had the potential be a great show. Some background story around the characters is to necessary but it is the vast majority of each episode. The show would have benefited more by focusing on the Hood hunting bad guys scenes and the flashbacks to the island. This really should have been 3 seasons, 5 at the most but to drag it out for 8 seasons is intolerable especially with all the crossovers (none of which I admittedly watched). The writing really suffers because of the 20 plus episodes per season and with the enormous cast it was inevitable that some of the acting would be really bad even for the CW. It's a shame this wasn't done by Netflix along the lines of Daredevil and The Punisher.
Treason (2022)
A script written to conveniently fit into an unrealistic story.
I was looking forward to this show when I saw the actors involved, unfortunately I could not make it through episode one. If you buy into the story you might enjoy this but if you have the ability to think logically you will be picking apart the flaws in the script within the first 20 minutes. The second in charge at MI6 finds out who poisoned his immediate supervisor and does not arrest the person because of a past professional and personal relationship with her. She is a self proclaimed "former" SVR officer and he just takes her word for it. His wife has a friend who works at the CIA who suddenly shows up in London for a visit as soon as her husband takes command at MI6 and the wife just starts confiding her husbands suspicious behavior to her CIA friend.
Revenger (2018)
The best martial arts movie I've seen in several years
If you don't watch this with any expectation of the story being on par with the fight scenes I think you will thoroughly enjoy this movie as I and many others have. The lead actor Bruce Kahn was also the fight for the film and for someone who was 50 when this movie was filmed he is shredded. Other reviews have negatively commented on the plot but I thought it was rather unique, especially for this genre. There are a lot of clownish supporting characters in the movie but I think it was an attempt to add some humor, nonetheless it was a poor attempt. I enjoyed the mother and daughter characters on the island and had hoped that Kahn's character would have stayed on the island with them and had attempted to help them escape also.
The Recruit (2022)
Thrown into the deep end at the CIA cesspool without having swum before.
I had this rated as high as a 9 through 4 to 5 episodes but it took a dive down to 7 by the end. In the beginning the main character (Owen) admirably and adeptly navigates the cesspool of backstabbing and politics. As the episodes progress his immaturity and ignorance escalate to the point of being annoying. His confiding in his friends and his use of them in his work puts them in danger more than once. I believe the writers were trying to show his vulnerabilities but by the end of the season he's just incredibly naive to the point of being an idiot. As one example in episode 7 he facilities an international bank deal from the US to Geneva, Switzerland but doesn't factor in the time difference, a 12 year old would know to do that but a lawyer working for the CIA doesn't? Another example he tells one of his roommates that he is going to Geneva, then while he is there he tries to call the other one. They wind up getting personally involved in the operation. At this point it felt as if the 3 roommates where in junior high or were characters in Scooby Doo. The acting of the supporting cast was excellent aside from the main character and his roommates. This had so much potential it's sad how they (writers, director) seemed to have lost control of this show.
Echo 3 (2022)
When the storyline inaccurately dictates the action.....
....you wind up with bad action scenes and ruin the storyline. I don't believe they have a combat veteran on the set as an advisor, if they do he or she is a REMF. This is evident in the opening action sequence which is suppose to take place in Afghanistan. The alleged special forces squad charges up the open terrain of a hillside to rescue a teammate even though there is the cover of trees on both sides of the hillside. Of course one of them gets shot from the tree line. In the meantime the squad member they are trying to rescue has taken the machine gun nest on top of the hill which he abandons to come down to his teammates leaving the machine gun untouched for the enemy to reuse in the future.
See How They Run (2022)
A rather poor attempt to imitate a Wes Anderson comedy.
Other than Saoirse Ronan's performance I cannot recommend this movie. The casting for this film is abysmal and distracts from the story. The story itself and the scenery are rather cartoonish with a heavy dose of CGI, which gives the fillm, as a whole, a cheap look. Sam Rockwell, to his credit, has turned in excellent performances in both in comedic and dramatic roles in the past but to cast him as a Scotland Yard detective in 1953 London is a role he is incapable of pulling off. He doesn't even attempt a British accent. The rest of the cast is typical of present day Hollywood PC casting which is not at all accurate for 1953 London.
Inferno (2016)
A jammed packed mess of a movie
I'm editing my review after going back and reading the novel. My conclusion is that there is no way to cram a 600 page novel into a 2 hour movie and do it justice, unfortunately that is exactly what Ron Howard tries to do with disastrous effects. This was released in 2016 and probably would have been greatly improved if it had been a season of 8 episodes on a streaming service. With any novel turned into a film you expect the screenplay writer and director to take advantage of dramatic licensing but Howard takes a hatchet to the novel by changing the ending which veers away wildly from the ending in the novel. The ending in the novel is quite controversial, especially with what we have experienced the last couple of years, I imagine at the time Howard was pretty hesitant to follow the ending of the novel. Characters from the novel are expectedly dropped from the film and the motives of other characters are changed to fir the time limit of the movie, very sad. If you are one of those who just watch the movie you are doing yourself and the author (Dan Brown) a disservice.
Wrong Turn (2021)
Made by someone who wants to keep you off the AT :)
Did you ever wonder what happened to those friends who hid behind the chainsaws in the commercial? No, I haven't either but regardless they turn up in this movie and that made me almost turn this off. If you make it through the first 20 minutes or so that's when the action and suspense start to happen. Having not seen the original Wrong Turn movies I am only judging this movie on its own merits and I have to say despite all the moronic characters including the father (I mean who waits six weeks to go looking for your missing daughter?) it turns into a worthwhile survivalist, thriller movie with a nice twist at the end.
The Kings (2021)
The last golden era of boxing.
An in depth look at four great champions (Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran, Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns and Surgar Ray Leonard). This documentary delves in detail into the backgrounds of each fighter and each of their personal backgrounds and struggles. I would have rated this higher but the partisan political commentary from some of the social narrators took away from the story. Narration by the fighters, those involved in the fight game and those that actually knew the fighters was well done but the others clearly had their own personal perspective they were unfortunately pushing.
While the Rest of Us Die: Secrets of America's Shadow Government (2020)
Thought this might be an interesting documentary
I WAS WRONG! It's complete political bias. The producers of this wasted a great opportunity to inform only to end up fear mongering. In the 1st episode they talk about the US being at the brink of nuclear war during the Nixon administration and then jump directly to the Trump administrations but failed to mention the one time we came the closest to nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis.
JFK Declassified: Tracking Oswald (2017)
Got started on the first episode....
.....and right away it seemed as if they were attempting to make a reality show of the investigation. Then they give a short bio of Oswald and skip over that he was in the Marine Corps and go right to his defection to the USSR.
The best source related to the assassination I've come across is Phillip Shenon's book "A Cruel and Shocking Act"
Slow West (2015)
A young Scots man travels west...
....to find his true love who has fled Scotland and the law with her father. I am not really sure why this Scotsman has no Scots accent in this movie, got this movie off on the wrong foot for me. I really doubt that in the 1870s of western America they would have wanted posters for people wanted in Scotland, struck me as absurd.
Unlocked (2017)
Ironic how real life events can imitate art (in this case this film)
A suspenseful thriller filled with twists and turns. Noomi Rapace gives another outstanding performance. I highly recommend watching the entire movie but In reference to the title of this review it is spoken by Michael Douglas at the 1 hour and 24 minute mark.
Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (2022)
A snippet of one of the greatest men of the 19th century
A much needed work but poorly produced. The documentary would have been better served if the entirety of the speeches were read and then commentary given. To interrupt this great man's speeches does him and the viewer a great disservice. The title of the documentary gives the impression of being about Frederick Douglass so a better production would have left the political biases and personal opinions of the speakers and producer on the cutting room floor.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
Batman meets Bruce Lee in a real "mishmash" of a film
Add Jim Kelly and some PC characters to round out the cast. All these characters vs Thulsa Doom from Conan the Barbarian. All set on Hong's island in Enter the Dragon along with similar soundtrack to Enter the Dragon. The big "but" here is there is no acknowledgement of any of the characters or movie that this is ripped off from. I guess that saves on royalties.
Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)
Schlock fest!
I thought this might be similar to Army of Darkness or Bubba Hotemp. I was sadly mistaken. It lacks any remoteness of humor and is basically just a gorefest. The writer, director and producer of this all are very sick individuals. I started to watch because I'm a fan of the late Rutger Hauer, he must have been very hard up for some money to make this.
DMZ (2022)
A wasted cast!
Seems like most of the movies and series these days are either super heroes stories or some type of dystopian future, this series is the later. A mother and son get separated as Manhattan gets walled off from the rest of the country (sound familiar?). She supposedly spends the next 8 years searching for him all around the country except in the most obvious pace "where she last saw him"🙀. I hung in for 4 episodes but Rosario Dawson's character is so naive that she doesn't realize that her actions have consequences in spite of her self righteous attitude. Up to this point she is responsible for an acquaintance being killed along with a friend.
Blacklight (2022)
Following in Steven Segal's footsteps
Not really sure why Neeson keeps making these generic C movies. He lost me about 20 minutes into this one when on his suggestion the character Dusty is released from police custody, at Neeson's request, after Dusty commits DUI, resisting arrest and aggravated battery on four police officers. Just not going to happen no matter how much pull you have.
11 settembre 1683 (2012)
Not the movie I had hoped for such a historical battle
The victory by the Christian armies at the Battle of Vienna marked the end of Ottoman incursions into Europe so it's historical importance is epic. This movie unfortunately doesn't live up to that importance. It would have been nice if this had the production value of Kingdom of Heaven but unfortunately the CGI often looks cheap and the battle itself is over simplified. F. Murray Abraham as always gives a fine performance and his character of. Marco d'Aviano did exist and was at the battle and gave the pre battle mass but to make him the lead character in this movie was pushing the use of dramatic licensing a bit too far.
The 355 (2022)
Such a disappointment......
.....to waste all these talented actresses in such a poorly written script. This movie should have ended at the 53 minute mark when they were first in possession of the device that could destroy the world, all they had to do was take a hammer to it, which takes them another hour into the film to do.