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my favorite kung fu movies
horror movies which are actually scary and not gory
Reviews
Le chant du loup (2019)
...a little bit over-rated at this moment in time....
It is not a bad movie for its budget...did not have the tilting hydraulic floor that " hunt for red october " or " crimson tide " or even " u-571 " had. not even close to " das boot ".
for a b-grade and budget movie it will earn high marks, which it has here as of this time....7.1...but if it was an "a" grade film you would have to knock it down 1 point at least. a fair rating for this movie would be low 6.
everything was passable not great. any film over 7 rating we would and should remember. you will not remember this movie same time next year. acting-wise...decent..but for a thriller...i'm sorry...the thrill and suspense wasnt there.
add 1/2 point to 1 point if you are a fan of submarine movies.
over-all impression upon first viewing was okay...not rewatchable...a solid low 6 for me...it helped passed the time....not a clunker tho as so many reviewers have stated.
Extreme Measures (1996)
they got the genre wrong
Great thriller...which is its proper genre. one of hugh grants best movies if not his best. director michael apted is not known for being a great director and it is an uncommon role for hugh grant. don't miss out on this movie if thrillers are your type of movies...especially good ones. really good pacing, rarely ever a dull moment even though the movie is almost 2 hours long and just like any really good thriller...it has its nail-biting moments. dont miss out on this movie if you get the chance to watch it. hugh grant is really really good in this and gene hackman is his usually solid self. great supporting cast...many faces you will recognize and even tho parts of it was shot in canada, alot of it was also shot in nyc.
Gi-eok-ui bam (2017)
is everybody watching the same movie i'm watching....a 7.1 rating?
I voted the movie a 1 star because it sure didnt deserve a 7.1 rating thats for sure.
its been awhile since i've reviewed a movie but an over-all rating here of 7.1 just made me plain mad.
hence the 1 star vote to try to knock the rating down a little bit. i love korean movies by the way and i personally feel that they make the best thrillers in the world at this time.
the true rating if i wasnt trying to knock down the score would be somewhere in the mid 5s' to maybe a 6.
5.5 would be a perfect score for the movie overall as a matter of fact. its a professionally done movie and the story actually starts of well and continue'd to be pretty good, it was fairly imaginative and will probably keep the majority of its audience interested and guessing up to the 1/2 point of the movie. the acting wasnt bad either. even up to 3/5ths of the movie it was still pretty good....but after that, i'm guessing the writer either just got lazy or ran out of ideas on how to end the movie. from a fairly good movie in the 6.5 range, after the 3/5ths point, the movie just falls apart. i mean ridiculous and just plain lazy how they finished the last 2/5ths of the movie...especially after the younger brother accepts the job and is in the house where he was suppose to do the job. it just totally falls of the cliff from there, normal or even unnormal people would not do the things that they did...meaning the 2 brothers but of course it would have been impossible to wrap up the movie and the writer just plain ran out of ideas. i pondered over the ending and admit it was hard to end the movie logically but try at least. so....for the majority of us movie lovers, the first 3/5ths was fairly good and then it loses all logic from there on out. you have been warned.
Ji yi da shi (2017)
no individualism...copies of multiple sci fi and thriller movies...that does not make a good movie
The people who gave it high ratings must watch only 1 movie every 5 or 10 years. you cant tell its a chinese movie except for the chinese faces, everything else is a copy of something else or other already done in movies. copying parts of 10 great sci fi or thriller movies doesnt make it a great movie. the chinese movie industry has more money to spend then hollywood and still really cant turn anything decent to put on the screen. you're lucky if you find a good movie out of 10. the movie gets 5 stars because it is professional but that draws the line. theres also the requisite pop songs they like putting into movies...dont matter if pop songs dont belong in a thriller movie. they try to sell you everything at one time ...lol. again...a professionally done movie with decent actors but so underwhelming and a major copycat of multiple great movies. i love great thrillers and sci fis...sighhh...this had a little potential but sure wasnt it.
La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998)
critics be damned...
...critics be damned...how can you work and get paid for watching movies and not like this movie? as a testament, even with the critics hating it the film is still solidly rated at 8.1 stars as i'm writing this review.
no Oscar nominations for this film...in my opinion...best actor, supporting actor, best film, best director and best score..but alas...not one.
the story itself has been reviewed to death already by other reviewers already so i wouldn't step there. what i can say is that the story moved me to tears on multiple occasions..heartfelt tears...i've watched just about all the good ones and plenty of bad ones too...none has moved me to tears so many times in one viewing. just about everyone that shed a tear watching this movie shed tears at different segments of the movie although just about everyone cried at the end.
i watched the original version...close to 3 hrs. long and not the 2 hr. version. great story, cinematopgraphy, score and of course the direction.
in my humble opinion...the director tornatore is a treasure on the global scale...i've watched a few of his films where i can find them and they have all stayed in my memory.
againnnn....professional critics be damned for hating a masterpiece....not 1 Oscar nomination either...what a joke and farce the people in Hollywood are.
Detour (2016)
warning....hidden little gem
didn't think this movie was going to be any good...boy was i strong. tye sheridan...who by the way looks like a young tom hardy really shows his acting chops in this movie. the other 2 main leads were very very good also...emory cohen and bel powley. gave the movie 7 stars because its much better then a 6 and i strongly believe that the movie eventually will be in the high 6s'. very character driven storyline with a few nice twists...no action...all the action is in the acting, thats what makes a good thriller. there was 1 gory part in the movie...close to the end...extremely extremely gory but it lasts only about a second..no big deal...doesn't detract from the movie. do watch the movie if you get a chance..if you like thriller genre movies or just a good movie in general.
Collide (2016)
one of the best action movies of 2016
nick hoult and felicity jones...2 young stars with solid movies under their belt already...hoult has much better acting chops. anthony hopkins and ben kingsley, 2 of the best thespians of our times. who knew you could cast them in an all out action movie and it would work? not an Oscar winner but it works very well as an action movie. top flight action choreography with an intense focus on high end sports cars chasing and being chased. the gunfights and car stunts are as good as any you will find in the year 2016. predictable story but very well done...kingsley and hopkins could sleepwalk thru their scenes and they would still do well. hoult hasn't made a bad movie yet...all his movies have been entertaining and hes' actually been in a lot of movies as hes started quite young in movies. all in all...OK acting and great action sequences...the time just flew buy...add an extra star for fans of good action movies.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
wow...my favorite horror of 2016.....
...alongside "the girl with all the gifts". before i go on...be warned and this goes for viewers of horror movies who think they're desensitized...and...if you're squeamish...don't even bother watching this movie as great as it is. that's right....it's great. what i mean about squeamish is that some horror movies you can close your eyes or glance away for a few seconds and still get the gist of the movie. this gem of a horror you can't do that...the clues are in the autopsy itself..there's nothing left to ones' imagination. one can look away or close ones' eyes' if one is watching with someone who has a strong stomache and can explain whats going on tho. but that's not even the least of it...the film also has moments of dread and suspense enough to make you bite and chew through all ten fingernails....lol. suspense and dread as strong as "the conjuring", especially the basement scenes.
what a treat this was, i watched "the girl with all the gifts" and then "the autopsy of jane doe" one after the other. these 2 horror movies are 2 of the best in the last decade in my opinion...i gave both movies 8 stars but...i had to turn on all the lights 1/2 way through "the autopsy of jane doe", yah..it creep me out that much. thank goodness i didn't smoke up for jane doe...i don't think i would have been able to take it and i'm not talking about the explicit gore...that feeling of dread was...i don't even know how to explain. but i also had a grin on my face big time too.
2 great horrors but " the girl " didn't have the feeling of dread like " jane doe " even though it was a great movie also. forget about it being great horror..just a very very very good movie in general. brian cox and emile hirsch were great in this movie and they better be for the movie to be this good and enjoyable. not to be missed for true fans of horror and just good movies in general. what a good year for horror movies 2016 was.
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
in my top 5 favorite zombie movies...
...not just a great zombie movie but a very very good movie in general. great cast of glenn close, paddy considine, gemma arterton and the girl was awesome too. the movie costed 4 million pounds and had 3 leads who all could easily command 4 mil lbs each per film so it was probably a labor of love. great story..kept me engrossed for its nearly 2 hrs. running time. so so original and unlike just about all zombie films this particular one will move a lot of people to tears. ..too bad its all over with already and there wasn't much promo done for this movie. all the actors and actresses were on top of their A game...the girl was a wonder...mesmerizing film....not to be missed.
Arsenal (2017)
enjoyable...not taxing on the brain..adrenaline pumping
john cusack shares top billing but is not in the film that much, he's in about 1/5 of the movie...popping in and out. nick cage is way too over the top, that initially turned me off a little bit but no big deal. adrien grenier is getting older and his acting tho not great is improving. this movie is ultra-violent and gory.
there's a lot of little things wrong about this film but in all honesty it was still quite enjoyable. did i mention that nick cage is way way too much over the top???
not taxing on the brain and it should get most viewers adrenaline pumping. action was good...acting was fairly good all around and the time flew by watching this movie. fairly basic plot but who cares, i totally enjoyed it. fans of crime action thrillers should like it.
surprised at the 4 rating here, i didn't try to boost it up and gave it an honest rating of 6...in my opinion its somewhere in high 5s to a 6 but will not make it pass 6. the 4 is undeserving and i really enjoy these type of films every once in a while.
no one actor(ress) stood out but everybody was competent. did i mention that nick cage was way way over the top already...hahaha...enjoy the movie for what it is, don't try to pick it apart. decent crime revenge film, in no way did i feel cheated watching this movie and i've felt cheated many times before.
Spectral (2016)
its not low budget good......
....everybody is calling this a good low budget movie, the budget for this movie is actually 70 million.it was originally made for theatrical release by Warner bros and legendary pictures. why for the heck of me...i can't understand why they didn't release it in theaters and it wound up being sold to Netflix is beyond me.
the movie is solid all around....most of the money went to cgi and it was very very well done. there weren't too many big names because of the cgi..biggest name being bruce greenwood, but he was only in the movie for like 10 minutes. emily mortimer is a fairly well known star and she was fairly good in this movie as was james badge dale. those were the 3 big names in this movie. over-all acting was fairly good.
i don't know...but it was a very very good watch as i was very sleepy and didn't think this movie was worth much...so i could fall asleep and continue the rest of film some other time. not the case...the movie kept me up and i totally enjoyed it.
it wasn't about any 1 part or component of the movie...but when everything was put together the over-all result was very enjoyable viewing. i rounded the movie to 7 instead of 6 stars...it is somewhere in-between..its 7 for me as i am a fan of good sci fi, action and thriller genres and it had elements of all 3 genres.
again...i was surprise at how good it was and watching the movie in 1 go...as tired as i was. wish they would've released it on the big screen tho....sigh....
Election (1999)
one of the best smart and cynical comedies ever
whew....finally i've watched a movie where there is not one main character that i wanted to root for, just like this years election. everybodies got an agenda, everybody is out for themselves...except jock chris klein...but i wouldn't root for him either. plenty of laughs in this movie and you will not guess when they're coming...it just sort of comes..the funny scenes and you'll just laugh or giggle. this is a comedy for intelligent adults...not everybody will get it or like this movie although it is a brilliant one. this has to be witherspoons best performance or in the top 3 in her long career. let me just say that her freeze frame expressions are priceless...there's like 4 or 5 of them and miss witherspoon herself will have a hoot looking back at them. very very intelligent and cynical and just down right nasty business...the election that is...even in high school...one can imagine how bad it can get in the real presidential elections.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)
everybody agreed....great story and premise...
....but you need more then a great story and premise to make a great movie. it was a decent movie...just because the story and premise was so awesome. the main problem with the movie was that the 2 leads..jesse metcalfe and amber tamlyn are not great actors and peter hyams is not a great director in any sense although he has made better movies then this...not much better tho. it will be a decent watch for big fans of courtroom....thriller...or crime genre movies...it has all 3 genres in it. boo for the fact that michael douglass was only in the movie for like 10 minutes and he looked like he was just going through the routine. i've seen much worse movies then this....the premise and story in this movie made it watchable.
Snowden (2016)
one of the top 15 films of the year
filmed way different then the other movies Stone has done in the past. fascinating subject matter...i remember when this happened..it still doesn't get enough attention by the public mass and thats just what the people on the other end involved in all these events want. important to watch this film and awaken yourself to the fact that the u.s. gov't is not controlled and runed by the people for the people..but actually controlled by a faceless few who are more interested in keeping their profits up and controlling world power. J G. Leavitt does another bang-up job and should receive a Oscar nomination come that time of year. i was actually surprise and pleased at seeing how many big acting names appear in this movie in cameos...i particularly enjoyed nick cage and tim olyphant. this is scary stuff and it is a scary world we now reside in where a few shadowy people with nothing but their own interests in mind controll the political leaders of the world. what would be of best in the interests' and well being of the public mass is to upheave all politicians and start over...alas...that is not possible. even the good ones are controlled by the shadow people. funny how most people don't even know that the Federal Reserve is not controlled by any gov't but by private citizens with their own interests. both bushes...sr. and jr. should be in jail....shame on them. great movie...should help open more shut eyes and make us question more the motives of some people in our gov't.
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
feel good rom com
can't believe how venomous some of the reviews were...pointing every little itty bitty thing out as if it were a personal vendetta. all i know is that after watching this movie i was in a much better mood then before watching. as a matter of fact...most reese witherspoon movies will make you feel good after watching. i am not a big fan of rom com or chick flicks but this one totally rocked. the last 4/5's of the movie was sort off bitter-sweet but i thought the ending was perfect...and the cat at the end..... nice enemble cast, everybody looked like they were having fun doing this movie and i as a viewer was rewarded with a movie that was thoroughly entertaining. most of us who've watched the movie will get a warm comfy feeling after watching this movie.
Hell or High Water (2016)
in my top 15 of years best
what really stood out was the dialogue between the characters in this story. some really really great lines of conversation...a lot of it really funny...not comedic but funny and real. Chris Pine is proving that he's definitely more then another pretty face...he can actually act. thats 2 movies in a row that Pine and Foster have been in together...the finest hours...which was a fairly good movie and this outstanding one. great cinematography of the west...in fact you can genre this movie as a modern day western. the 2 standouts in this movie were Pine and Bridges, but everybody was at least good in this movie. awesome movies don't come along but every so often...don't miss out on this one.
The Infiltrator (2016)
very very good thriller...close to the top of its game
like a lot of reviewers said....the whole movie was on cranstons shoulders and he did a bang up job. i would put this movie in my top 15 for the year. totally professionally done movie and everybody seem to be having a good time and seemed to embrace their roles. john leguizamo just enforces the fact that he's way and by far one of americas best male actors. diane kruger is beautiful and she can act. loved the subject matter but its not a true representation of Iran contra gate...it was definitely pro. that is besides the fact though...totally entertaining movie which just kept getting better the further the movie moved. got to the point where it'll can literally just absorb you into the movie.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
deserves to be in IMDb top 250...its that good
didn't and wasn't expecting much from this movie. boy...was i wrong. one of my favorites of this year or any year. the movie made me laugh..out loud to...no lame jokes or body fluid jokes...real comedy here. it made me feel sad...the movie will bring out every emotion. invigorated me after watching the movie...its a gem...movies like this don't come along every year. if you get a chance to watch this movie....please do...you'll not be regretting it. good to see sam neil in a good movie again....haven't seen much of him lately. don't know much about the director except that he's the director for thor 3....but based on the viewing of this movie alone, will go back and check out some of his previous work too.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
it'll be a crying shame if there's no sequel
...this movie deserves a sequel. surprised at how good it was. as the movie went along it got better. Henry and Armie were so incredibly likable in this movie. Alicia wasn't bad either, and Hugh Grant was a joy too. ...this movie has something for everybody to like, the acting was good and what i liked was the fact that they didn't focus on the male female relationship to much. there was humor, action...then more humor and more action. everybody involved in the movie seemed to enjoy being in it and that will certainly infect the viewer. ....what really stood out to me was how much fun the main cast was having being in this movie and like i said...it's infectious. a big thumbs up. ...Guy Ritchie has made some delightful movies over the years and rightfully deserves a spot as one of the worlds best directors.
Running Scared (2006)
maybe Walkers' best film...
Surreal fairytale taking place in the modern world. Devilishly over the top characters...especially the baddies. This movie is 2 hours of freakish fun and it just doesn't let up from beginning to end. Totally loved the fact that good triumphs over evil in this movie. Haven't watch a movie this enjoyable in a long time and i watch lots of movies. OK...so its not an Oscar worthy film, but boy is it good. Some of the action scenes are totally original.....enjoy the action scenes, they are really really well done. Lots of action for the action junkies and it doesn't let up as a superb thriller as well. For all you people like me who just happened upon this movie and are not huge Walker fans...boy are you going to be surprised how good this movie is.
Wicked Blood (2014)
5.4 here is way low for this movie...shame really
i'm wondering why people..quite a few actually reviewed the movie and enjoyed it and wound up giving it 4's and 5's. imo its a solid 6 movie. it was totally engrossing to me. Abby Breslin was the main lead and she did a wonderful job...everybody else were good or better. yes...its not believable that a girl would run packages of hillbilly crack for her uncle at only 10 dollars a trip, that was the only unbelievable thing to me. if you are a fan of either...Breslin...Bean or Purefoy, watch this movie, both male leads get plenty of screen time too. hey...its a good watch if one doesn't fall asleep through the movie..i totally enjoyed the movie.
Tian liang zhi qian (2016)
definitely deserves its 6 star rating here...but what could've have been
another really good performance from Aaron Kwok, the female lead was really good too. overall all the acting was good or above. the director has a pretty good eye and captures some moments really really well, so well i would consider it world class. thats why the movie left me a little unfulfilled. the problem w most Chinese and korean movies is that they have situations in movies that are so improbable that it couldn't happen in real life. in there is the problem..you have a pretty good movie grounded in real life and then throw in a few improbable scenarios that couldn't happen in real life and for me, thats really annoying. i've turned off movies like that..but for some reason this movie wouldn't let me turn it off. if they didn't have the few dumb scenarios this movie would've have been somewhere in the 7 star range. but...what do i know...anyways...i still totally enjoyed the movie. overall...a fairly well done movie about redemption. i'm sure that there'll be people who will watch this movie and shed a tear or two. Fellinis' " Nights of Cabiria " gets a couple of minutes in this movie, so we know that the young director is also a movie buff and like i mentioned in the above...there's some gorgeous gorgeous shots in this movie...the scene where Aarons character is at an old moviehouse was my favorite...it was shot with such love. not a highly highly recommend but nonetheless i will still recommend it as there's a lot more good then bad in this movie.
Marauders (2016)
very good movie...but...it could've have been great...
...don't understand where all the hate is coming from for this movie. you want to watch a bad and stupid action heist movie?...then watch "heist". "heist got almost a full star higher rating here on IMDb and i couldn't even finish it...it was that bad. ...i'm a fan of good movies...i watch independents and art-house movies more then the blockbusters. pus i've watched most of the black and white classics. i'm just a fan of good movies.
that's why i can't understand the hate from the reviewers here and thats why i voted it a 7 out of 10. it's more like a 6.5 tho.
this movie could've been great tho...instead of just very good...but all in all it had me riveted to the screen for its duration. my only gripe was the movie should've been over 2 hours so the nitpickers will shut up about how convoluted and not well told it was. movies require you to use your brain sometimes...this was one of them.
all in all a very good watch if you are an action movie fan and just a enjoyable watch. another big bonus for me which others didn't like as much...the constant rain in the movie. it rained thru-out the whole movie just about...yayyyy.
solid solid action thriller revenge style flick...an atrocity that this movie gets a rating of 5.4 here on IMDb while clunkers like "heist" gets a much higher rating.
Zulu (2013)
...very very good crime thriller drama movie....the ending is a little gem by itself...
how to describe this movie....raw....edgy...gritty definitely not for the weak of stomache..... nice to see Orlando Bloom maturing and becoming quite a fine actor, also nice for a change to see him in a movie with no cgi or special effects involved.... Whittaker....as good as always...and the left eye is hardly noticeable in this movie...almost looks normal...shed quite a few pounds for this movie it seems.... good story and very gripping indeed...had me totally absorbed in the movie... a definite recommend for the 18 and over crowd who don't have weak stomaches...because of fairly realistic graphic violence in a few scenes
À bout portant (2010)
how they packed so much into 84 minutes is beyond me....a must watch....
nice tight story...the acting was very very good all around.... again...movie is only 84 minutes short...wish it were longer.... literally one of the better thrillers i've watched in a long time.... the movie starts of fast and doesn't let go...full of taut suspense and action scene after scene... wish there were more suspense thrillers this well done out there as this is my favorite genre of movie.... what i really liked was that nothing was really over the top acting wise although the story itself might be a little far-fetched for some... but one wouldn't really mind as the movie itself is totally engrossing as too leave one almost breatheless... i also like the fact that the hero wasn't over the top and look like your everyday joe... if you get a chance don't miss out on this movie....definitely a well spent 84 minutes....