Posts

Showing posts from March, 2020

Lost: Season 2, Episode 13 "The Long Con" Review

Image
"There's a new sheriff in town, boys!  Y'all best get used to it." -Sawyer Season 2, Episode 13 of Lost kicks off with Jack (Matthew Fox) and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) locking up all of the guns in the armory.  They are the only two with the combination.  Locke informs Jack that Sawyer (Josh Holloway) has taken some medication and Jack raids Sawyer's tent to get it back, which angers Sawyer. Sun (Yunjin Kim) is attacked and knocked unconscious, which causes an uproar in the camp.  The groups suspects the Others are responsible, but Sawyer points out some logic gaps in that idea.  Kate (Evangeline Lilly) suspects Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) is behind the attack to get her hands on the guns and to scare people into joining her army.  Jack and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) prepare to get guns out of the armory only to find Sawyer has beaten them to the hatch and tipped off Locke, who has hidden the guns. Jack confronts Locke in front of the camp, but Saw

Revenge of the Creature (1955) Review

Image
"I hope you ain't going to blow up my boat, Mr. Johnson.  Like my wife, she's not much, but she's all I have." -Lucas A year after the previous film, a science expedition returns to the Black Lagoon and manages to capture the creature.  They transport it to Florida for further study.  The creature quickly becomes obsessed with one of the scientists,  Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson), and eventually breaks free to go after her. What Works: The underwater sequences look great.  It's absolutely impressive camerawork.  I have some criticisms of the underwater sequences, which I'll get to later, but they look great, that's for sure. I have to give major props to Ricou Browning who plays the creature in the underwater sequences.  It's incredible to watch someone swimming in that big, rubber suit.  There are some really long takes of him swimming.  That can't have been easy.  He also gives the best performance of the film when he tr

Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) Review

Image
"You're looking particularly beautiful tonight." -Johnny English When a cyber attack exposes the identity of all of MI7's agents, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is brought out of retirement to combat the threat.  Allied with his old partner, Bough (Ben Miller), the two of them are the world's only hope in stopping tech-terrorist, Jason Volta (Jake Lacy). What Works: James Bond is my favorite movie series, so I'm always up for a parody as long as it's done well.  There are some pretty greats nods to the Bond films.  We have Johnny knocking over a bunch of cyclists in southern France, a gun sticking out from behind a curtain, which is aimed at a dance floor, and we even get a Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko, as Johnny's love interest.  It's evident that the filmmakers are fans of Bond and I really appreciate that. Rowan Atkinson is always fun in this role.  He sells the physical comedy like nobody's business and I love how c

Survivor: Winners at War, Episode 7 "We're in the Majors" Review

Image
"Get Denise for me!" -Sandra Diaz Twine Another brutal episode of Survivor: Winners at War .  It was a solid episode, but I'm really bummed that Yul was voted out, especially because I'm not so sure it was the smart move.  There was plenty of good and bad gameplay in this episode, so let's take a closer look. Who Played Well: Staring over on Dakal, Denise and Jeremy made the right call in bringing Kim into their trio.  Kim is much more predictable than Tony.  Kim did a good job of making sure she wouldn't be next to go and that Tony would be if they lost the Immunity Challenge. On Yara, Sarah and Sophie are playing the boys like a fiddle.  I really liked Sarah's willingness to dump out her bags to prove she doesn't have the Idol.  And somehow Sophie has completely convinced everyone she doesn't have the Idol.  That's why she's my winner pick! Who Sucked: Sticking on Yara, I don't know why Adam and Ben

Lost: Season 2, Episode 12 "Fire + Water" Review

Image
"I'm not hittin' that." -Jack Shephard The 12th episode of season 2 of Lost picks up with Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) having recurring nightmares about Aaron being in mortal danger.  After one of them, he walks up to discover that he slept-walked and took Aaron out of his crib, which gets most of the group against him.  After speaking about his dreams with Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Charlie becomes convinced that they need to baptize Aaron.  He tries to tell Claire (Emilie de Ravin), but is ignored. Later, Locke (Terry O'Quinn) follows Charlie to his stash of heroin and confiscates it, but does not tell Claire about what he found.  Charlie creates a diversion by setting a fire near the camp and takes Aaron to baptize him, but is quickly spotted.  Claire, Locke, and Mr. Eko convince Charlie to stop and he gives Aaron back.  Locke punches him several times and the group shuns Charlie.  However, Charlie's plan ultimately paid off.  Claire

Amityville 3-D (1983) Review

Image
"I heard you bought yourself a haunted house." -Lisa After busting a group of con artists using the infamous Amityville house for their scam, reporter John Baxter (Tony Roberts) buys the house for cheap.  As he gets settled in, people connected to him start experiencing strange things around the house with some even dying.  John brushes off everything claiming there is a logical explanation, but he is wrong.  Will he accept the truth before it's too late? What Works: The opening sequence of this movie is actually pretty solid.  It starts with John and Melanie (Candy Clark), who we are led to believe are husband and wife, arriving at the house to perform a séance to contact their dead child.  After a pretty straightforward séance sequence, John and Melanie reveal they are actually reporters and prove the con artists are frauds.  It's a fun moment and unexpected.  I wish the rest of the film had been more like this. Finally, there is one solid

The Snubby Awards: 2011 Oscars

Image
It's that time again: The Snubby Awards!  For those of you who don't know, the Snubby Awards take a look at all of the Best Picture nominees from a given year and determine if the best film won or if one was snubbed.  If that's the case, they win the coveted Snubby Award! This time we'll be taking a look at the 2011 Oscars, which was the strongest field of nominees we've had so far on The Snubby Awards.  The nominees were 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, and  Winter's Bone , with the winner being The King's Speech .  Did The King's Speech deserve to win or did somebody else get snubbed.  Let's find out! #10. The Kids Are All Right This movie follows two kids who have lesbian mothers and were conceived by the same sperm donor.  The kids reach out to the donor, played by Mark Ruffalo, to try and get to know him and he turns their world upside down.  T

P2 (2007) Review

Image
"Way to ruin Christmas." -Thomas Barclay When her car won't start, Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols) finds herself trapped in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.  Unfortunately, she is not alone.  A insane security guard, who is obsessed with Angela, is inside the garage with her and doesn't want her to leave. What Works: I love the premise of this movie.  My favorite types of movies are where a group of characters are trapped in one location and have to survive.  P2 fits the bill.  It's a great idea on paper and solid enough in its execution. I used to work as a security guard and frequently had to work in parking garages just like the one in the movie.  The psychotic guard, Thomas (Wes Bentley), uses the tools of his trade to kill his victims, which I got a kick out of.  He uses both a giant flashlight and a Taser.  I think anyone who has worked a security position like Thomas' will appreciate this movie a little more than most. The

Lost: Season 2, Episode 11 "The Hunting Party" Review

Image
"Light 'em up!" -Tom Friendly The 11th episode of Lost 's second season starts with Jack (Matthew Fox) being asked to perform surgery on Angelo Busoni (Ronald Guttman).  It's an impossible procedure, but Jack agrees to do it.  He throws himself into his work, while his marriage to Sarah (Julie Bowen) grows more distant.  Jack becomes close to Angelo's daughter, Gabriela (Monica Dean), and after Angelo dies on the operating table Jack comforts her and they kiss.  Jack returns home and confesses to Sarah.  In turn, she admits to cheating on him and was getting ready to leave him...and she does. In the hatch, Jack finds Locke (Terry O'Quinn) unconscious in the armory.  Michael (Harold Perrineau) locks them both inside and tells Jack he is going after his son.  Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) free them and the guys form a hunting party to bring Michael back.  Kate wants to go with, but Jack angrily tells her to stay behind and

Survivor: Winners at War, Episode 6 "Quick on the Draw" Analysis

Image
"I want to throw up." -Denise Stapley SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!! HOLY CRAP!  What an episode!  I don't know if I've ever been so blindsided watching an episode of Survivor.  I was so convinced Tony was going home that I never even considered Sandra being eliminated as an option.  This episode was amazing, but what about the gameplay?  Let's take a closer look. Who Played Well: Let's start over on Dakal.  We won't bury the lead here and start with Denise.  I liked how she turned on Jeremy when she was told that it was either him or her going out.  She also got an Idol from Sandra and it only cost her one fire token instead of two.  She saved herself with said Idol and blasted Sandra out of the game like a boss!  She technically wasted an Idol on Jeremy as well, but I get she was trying to ensure Sandra's elimination.  It might have been smarter to knock out Tony, but I still think this was a solid move. Jeremy has had a good so

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) Review

Image
"In this house, you've got to believe what you can't see." -Dr. Peter Drury After escaping from a mental institution, the unhinged Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) seeks revenge against his old friends, the Herrick's, who he believe own him a great deal of money.  Griffin comes across a mad scientist, Dr. Peter Drury (John Carradine), who is doing experiments in invisibility.  Griffin becomes invisible to aid in his quest for vengeance. What Works: Jon Hall, who was also the main character of the previous movie, but as a different character, is very good.  He's violent and crazy, but isn't trying to be the original Invisible Man.  His character is more subtle and direct in his madness.  He isn't trying to take over the world.  He has a personal vendetta and that's it. John Carradine is always great and it's fun to see him play a mad scientist.  He doesn't get as much to do as one might hope, but whenever he's on screen

Invisible Agent (1942) Review

Image
"The Fuhrer doesn't like people who think their own thoughts." -Karl Heiser Frank Raymond (Jon Hall), the grandson of the original Invisible Man, is nearly killed by some Axis agents who want the Invisibility drug from him.  Frank decides to use it for the Allied powers instead and turns invisible to spy in Germany.  Frank finds himself in a tangled web of espionage where no one can trust anyone else and has to find away to prevent an attack on the United States. What Works: This series sure doesn't like to make the same movie over and over again.  The original movie was a horror film, the second was a thriller, and the 3rd was a comedy.  Now we have a war/spy film.  I have to commend the filmmakers for doing something different with the concept. The story is actually pretty good.  We get a group of five or six characters who all want different things.  It really does turn into a game of spies, which is pretty fun.  We get uneasy alliances a

Blue Ruin (2014) Review

Image
"The one with the gun gets to tell the truth." -Teddy Cleland I went into this movie knowing nothing about it and that may be part of the reason I loved it so much.  Stop what you're doing and go watch Blue Ruin .  Trust me. Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) lives a quiet life a beach vagrant.  He gets word that the man that killed his parents is getting out of prison.  Dwight returns to his hometown to get revenge, which leads him down a violent path he wasn't expecting. What Works: Macon Blair carries this movie with an impressive performance.  He's just so sad and broken.  He's a fascinating character with a very interesting emotional journey. One thing I love about this movie is that Dwight tells two people about the first murder he commits; his sister and his friend.  Neither of them get on Dwight's case for what he has done or scold him.  His sister is actually happy the man is dead and his friend just offers help.  It's

Lost: Season 2, Episode 10 "The 23rd Psalm" Review

Image
"You gonna beat me with your Jesus-stick?" -Charlie Pace The 10th episode of season 2 of Lost follows Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).  In flashbacks, a group of guerrilla soldiers arrive in Eko's village.  They try to force his little brother, Yemi (Adetokumboh M'Cormack), to shoot an old man, but Eko does it for him and the guerrillas take Eko with them.  Eko grows up to be a warlord and approaches Yemi, who is now a priest, for help getting drugs out of the country.  Yemi refuses until Eko's friends threaten to burn Yemi's church to the ground.  Yemi is forced to make Eko a priest.  In return, Eko pays for polio vaccines for the village. As Eko prepares to fly the drugs out, Yemi arrives at the airfield and begs him not to go.  The military arrives and Yemi is injured in the shootout.  Eko and his partner, Goldie (Ronald Revels), get Yemi on the plane, but Goldie tosses Eko out and flies away. On the island, Eko and Claire (Emilie de

Survivor: Winners at War, Episode 5 "The Buddy System on Steroids" Analysis

Image
"New season, who dis?" -Michele Fitzgerald Winners at War continues to deliver with an emotional tribe swap episode.  We got way more emotions than I was expecting when Yul brought up Penner and his wife.  I was not prepared for that.  Then we got some really interesting swap permutations with Wendell and Michele, who used to date, stuck on a tribe together, as well as the combustible trio of Adam, Ben, and Boston Rob.  Crazy stuff!  Let's take a closer look. Who Played Well: Starting over on Dakal, Kim did a good of keeping her options open.  This was how she won in One World and it's good to see the old Kim back.  Plus she got her other half of the Idol back from Sophie and is in a really good spot moving forward. Jeremy and Sandra managed to pull off an awesome comeback on the puzzle.  Sandra finally doesn't sit out of a challenge and is a key component of winning it! Moving on to Sele, the only person I have to talk about is Parvat