Reviews

I was excited to see this movie. I love Henry Cavill. I'm a big Alan Ritchson fan (I was a bigger fan of them before his social media diarrhea of the mouth), but I still appreciate Reacher. Ritchie is coming off a massive success with "The Gentleman" TV series on Netflix. I have ranked it as the top new show of the year. I love World War II movies, and I also love stories based on actual events.

It started well. I was enjoying the setup. I liked how Calvin was introduced. Also, with the melting in of famous historical characters, he built his team, the samurai/magnificent seven trope. However, after the team was assembled, it was apparent that every character would be one-dimensional with zero depth. The writing was off, and the dialogue could have been better. From the get, you're getting a Tarantino vibe, not only with the setup of the shots but also with the music. It was such an apparent mimicry it got comical. It's as if Guy Ritchie took the Inglourious Basterds shot by shot and just did an overlay and introduced his characters without any of the dialogue or character development that made you love in Inglourious Basterds.. it was such a cheap imitation, especially since they took the Nazi Hunter and put him in as the role of the badass Nazi in this movie, but he doesn't nail it. He is an actor who's best with very little dialogue, and the scenes he had with the heroin were mediocre at best.

Roza Gonzalez is gorgeous in this. She reminds me of Gal Gadot when she first came on the scene. She has a magnetic screen presence. Her role could have been written better. She is your Mary Sue/Girl boss who is great at everything: espionage, shooting every weapon known to the man, dancing, singing, seduction. She is good at everything except acting at a high level. She needs some work on her acting, but I will put that on the Director. Cavill and Ritchson must be more fully utilized, a drawback of poorly written characters. Again, the rest of the cast couldn't have been more forgettable with writing and development issues. They could've used motion capture or deep fakes and been about as good for the cast as a whole. The 3rd ACT could have been better; there is an anti-climactic ending and a ridiculous setting up for a movie sequel (that no one will watch.) There are some fun action sequences, and I enjoyed aspects of this film to some degree, with a solid C- rating. I wish it was more original and creative. Also, Guy Ritchie is a hit-or-miss Director in my book; he's overrated. This was a Money grab, and the only winner was Quentin Tarantino, who is a far better mimic of other people's material. If Guy Ritchie were a premier league football team, he would be relegated after this movie.

On multiple occasions, while watching this movie, I asked myself where they were going with this and if it really made sense, and then in the end, I would give it a resounding YES. The writing is a top-notch non-tradition take on the thriller genre. It seems like it's this innocuous modern film making a mess at first look; the whole process is giving a wink to the audience, and my interpretation was that if you're a male watching for his and you're getting frustrated, then you need to finish the whole thing because it's a wink to The Y chromosomes in the audience.

Emilia Jones Is the female lead; I remembered her from "Lock and Key," a forgettable role; as an actress, she doesn't emote enough for my purposes. She always looks a little bit lost and depressed. Maybe that's just the roles she's taking or the condition of her generation. Likability isn't a takeaway in this performance; her best friend/ roommate is painful to watch; every role I've seen this actress is in one word...Insufferable!

Nicholas Braun, this is the only thing I've ever seen him in besides his succession role. GREG was my favorite character on the show in many ways. This very authentic, quirky, dry sense of humor will take him a long way in this business. He will be a working character actor, AKA William H Macy or John C Reilly mold. It was interesting to see him in a different type of role. Though it wasn't all that different from Greg's season of succession, it was a departure. I liked that his character was a cinephile, a massive Harrison Ford fan, which I can identify with because I grew up being a significant fan of his until he destroyed his career. The emasculation and killing of all the beloved characters that made him a legend was a travesty.

I'm looking forward to Braun's next role. Hopefully, it'll be a complete departure from Greg, but this was a step in the right direction.

Overall, I was pleased with this film; sometimes, I don't like many "fantasy thinking setup shots" constantly using that trope because it's typically a cop-out, but it's essential in the context of this story. It's nice that the Genre that has been Done to Death has a fresh voice-Cat Person's Director Susana Fogel.

This show embodies the problem with modern storytelling. Every actor/actress in this show underperforms in acting ability, likability, and comedic timing. This is your typical Netflix show where you're trying to check every box and focus on D. E. I. And E. S. G. Rather than on the quality of the talent for each role. It was a great concept, and if it had been done without identity politics messaging, it would've been a successful show. The plot was good, and the characters were enjoyable, even though they were only one-dimensional, standard procedure from Netflix, Disney+, or Apple +. The problem is when you virtue signaling, you lose a lot of chemistry, primarily where "Obliterated" suffers. I almost jumped off, but I stayed on for the ride because there were a couple of fun, shocking moments every time there was a good setup; I felt like it could've been "a knocked out of the park hit" by a better cast. The Mary-Sue/Girl-Boss cliché was complete, with the dumb as a bag of rocks Brad Pitt-type cuck-sidekick. We're the only one-dimensional characters with lots of alphabet soup representation. The only actor with real comedic chops was C Thomas Howell, who spent 2/3 of the first season at the weekend at Bernie's. It had a good plot, some good characters that weren't great, just suitable enough to keep the story moving, and some hilarious, raunchy setups that hit but didn't score. Overall, I would give this a C minus rating. It would never make any Best of 2023 list, but it managed to stay off the Worst list of the year(in which Netflix has a lot of entries.) It had a lot of promise and could've been much more, but it was barely scraped by, mediocre at best. It reminds me of what Outback Steakhouse has become.

This is a new low for filmmaking, especially dog movies. Who doesn't like their raunchy comedy on a Friday night unwind? Usually, they make the characters a bit more endearing, there are some significant pauses between each raunchy joke; Strays was a constant stream pouring Vomit of sub-par material. The trailer made this movie seem pretty funny, and then when it came out, I noticed how badly it went to the box office. So when it dropped on Peacock, we were interested in seeing it. Will Forte does a great job at the beginning of being the worst dog owner in history, and he plays it up(he made me miss Last Man on Earth.) But when you sit back and realize that kids are going to go out and watch this even if it has an R rating. Still, you and I both know that all these kids will watch this movie because it has dogs in it, and they always want to see what is unavailable to them (it's the Barbra Streisand effect) personified. When you realize that they're going to watch this terrible garbage, junk food for the mind. That it's just diminishing our culture to a level where "Idiocracy" would be a higher bar. We kept going back and forth as if we were going to keep watching it, but when we got to the scene, we were all the dogs; we were going to start pissing on each other it was time to pull the ripcord. It reminds me of Disney, where the agenda overrides the storytelling; anybody watching the dailies and looking at the voice work to dog mouth animation movement could've told you it wasn't working. The only thing this was trying to achieve was to reduce our youth to moronic troglodytes. The same kids vaping candy-flavored poison do the same thing with cinephile parasites in their mind's eye. I've got to question the filmmakers at this point. Let's raise the bar a little bit, guys. We need to go back to Comedy 101; how many crap and penis jokes can you have in the first 15 minutes of the movie. It's like ten-year-olds with no vocabulary wrote this monstrosity. It's the equivalency of an action movie that threads a story between all the action scenes; this does the same thing with dog crap jokes.

There are very few directors that you can see their signature from the way they shoot a film, the lighting, the color palette, and most importantly, in this case, the camera work by Wes Anderson. His masterclass filmmaking style exemplifies why he can bring so many brilliant actors to his cast. The earlier films of West Anderson had some semblance of a story, a beginning, a middle, and an ending of three acts. Moonrise Kingdom was my favorite Wes Anderson movie because it told an actual story. Still, since then, he Has degenerated into some form of Characterization of himself as a Director. All of his characters are now devoid of any humanity. All these intellectual Noah Harari "Sapiens" are walking around pretending to be human. Again, I have yet to like any of his films since Moonrise Kingdom, but this was by far the worst, and to try to intellectualize the whole filmmaking process is not fun. There's no escapism in these films anymore; they're so dry, and even the fun elements, when the alien shows up in asteroid city, were bland (the SGI Alien had more facial expressions)than the rest of the cast. I've never seen a Director do less with more quality actors. Still, visually, it's so unique that compared to the rest of the filmmakers today, he elevates the film because of his skill, but is it enjoyable? Andy Warhol was a famous artist, but was he great?? Anderson's earlier work was far more interesting; Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, and the Life Aquatic all had some redeeming qualities. Still, lately, it watches like reading The New Yorker, which is very predictable and a bunch of intellectuals you would want to spend at least five minutes sitting next to on the Darjeeling Limited. This film would target the kinds of people going to Davos during the World Economic Forum, a small target market, and I'll pass next time.

I gave this movie an extra star because of the sheer magnetism of Jonathan Majors. That tells you how bad this movie was. As a lifetime marvel comics fan, and to understand that Ant-Man is not even sidekick worthy in comic books growing up, Ant-Man is a fringe, not very well-thought-of character historically. The MCU tried to build up this character because they didn't have licensing rights to the X-Men, Fantastic 4, Ghost Rider, and many other mainstream characters, so they were trying to build out the rest of the universe with characters where the rights were not sold. This is like a CW network production of "my little pony" and "hello kitty" teaming up and saving the universe. Taking Ant-Man and making it an essential element for phase 4 and beyond as a macro theme for anybody who is a true fanboy of the material is insane. Kang the Conqueror is an Apex predator Thanos-level villain. Having Janet Van Dyne Defeat him twice and relegate him to the quantum realm and beyond is ridiculous. The most frustrating part was that a teenager who just got released from jail could develop Stark-level technology by reading her grandfather's papers and playing around in the garage as the trope to get the whole gang into the quantum realm.

The problem with the MCU is they need comic book writers to look at this and say, " OK, what makes sense and comic book logic?" There are rules in fantasy writing, and when you insult your audience from "the get," you won't gross $1 billion box office. Not only is she a genius, but she is also a badass with more morality than her dad and is the driving force pushing the plot forward. Yet again, another male lead has become a sidekick in his film with a "Sally Mae" daughter who does everything the best. You have Michelle Pfeiffer, a +70-year-old doing all this badass action. The special effects were so terrible and cheesy that the universe they created in the quantum realm with rejects from Fraggle Rock. But by far, the worst element of this is having M. O. D. O. K. In the quantum realm(without A. I. M.) and being a henchman for Kang's terrible character usage. Ridiculous special effects for the M. O. D. O. K. Character were the worst in MCU history. The writing for his character was so bad, especially after having an excellent template from the animated series for M. O. D. O. K. On Hulu; this was a shame.

M. O. D. O. K as the antagonist with premium SGI in the MCU prime reality would've been a far better direction for this film, especially with the comedic talent of Paul Rudd, that would've been a perfect sendoff.

The Kang character needed to be developed far more. They made him one dimensional and whiny. I wish the writers on the picket line never return to the industry. I can go on and on scene by scene, but it's just bad plotting , bad character development, clear agendas all over the place, and you got a weenie character with a weenie crew trying to set up the subsequent phases in a grand way. Mind-boggling bad, the only thing worse then the overall acting cast, etc., was the Eternal's. That includes Wakanda Forever, which was horrid, mainly because of what they did with the NAMOR character. I'm reviewing this so late because I refuse to pay for any Disney content, so I am on a cruise ship, and I was able to see it for free that's the only way I will watch any of this content any more. It will have to wash up on the shore like Allie Fox said in the Mosquie Coast movie, for me to be able to view Disney content. I will not pay another dollar to aid in this horrendous direction the MCU & Disney Studios has headed.... Shame, Shame, Shame!

You go to a steakhouse and have a steak, a baked potato, and a wedge salad with the same ingredients everywhere you go. But there's a big difference between Sizzler and a Primo steakhouse...This movie was Sizzler.

I like Sizzler, don't get me wrong. Some of the action sequences were spectacular, and that's why this movie is getting a better rating than it deserves. The hype around the action sequences ultimately hurt this film because it is an action movie with all these action sequences that try to plug the character development and the transitions from action scenes into the story after the fact. I love the cast, and the story concept of Dead Reckoning for this plot was perfect. Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt is on par with James Bond(it helps that James Bond has been neutered and is dead.) I would rather watch the last four Mission Impossible movies before this one than any consecutive four films based on the James Bond series release date; it was an excellent run for Mission Impossible. As the heavy, Essa Morales was solid (his best heavy since Bad Boys with Sean Penn), and the addition of the Sharon Carter actress was good, but that was the critical point where this film broke down. They were spending more time developing her character for future films versus developing the rest of the cast and the dynamics between them.

Rebecca Ferguson is my favorite "Sally Mae" badass chick. She's so believable, and I think the way they handled her character and the new female lead addition is where this film made a grave error. They hoped this film to do over $1 billion, especially with the Indiana Jones dial of dysentery's failure. Everyone thought it was in the bag, but nobody accounted for the Sound of Freedom and the Barbie madness. This movie is going to make money, and they are going to have a sequel. It's just different from the magnitude they would've hoped for. This year's box office is down; many factors contribute to cinephile fatigue everywhere. I had a good time; it felt like a ride, especially the train sequence. I could see that being an attraction ride at universal studios, but concerning the overall plot, character development, dialogue, and good solid storytelling on my list of Mission Impossible movies, this is number five; the only ones below it are the original in the god-awful sequel. Mission Impossible is one of the only franchises that got stronger over time, and I'm happy to say it never bowed to Hollywood political agendas. I wish they'd get back to telling good stories. Mission impossible 3 through Fallout all flowed better, were more sincere, and had more believable Character interactions that were less melodramatic. Hopefully, Dead Reckoning Part 2 is a Pimo Steakhouse experience.

The first episode was a complete mess if it was supposed to set up the next five episodes it missed by a mile. This would be a one star if it wasn't for John Kaczynski who I think is one of the best Jack Ryan portrayals in the Tom Clancy film history. I was a big fan of season one I thought season two went off the rails I didn't understand how they just had Kathy disappear, so many plot holes, poor twists, bad casting. The last season was excellent from a plotting standpoint there were some holes but overall I thought it ended strongly. But if the first episode is any indicator for how this story arc is going to proceed I'm very concerned for season 4.. Conceptually I love the idea of trying to clean up the CIA but we all know that's impossible. I like that Greer is back in the overall Cast is actually pretty strong it's just some of the performances are lacking and Michael Peña as Ding Chavez is pretty embarrassing. His performance is so flat and listless I can't believe anybody's mentioning a spin off series for him he just phoned this thing in or he just doesn't have the chops. Michael Pena does not exude CIA top assassin he's much more likely fitted for a New York City cop at a Dunkin' Donuts. After starting the second episode I almost think you can flush the first episode down the toilet and not miss a thing.

What was the purpose of shadow-banning this movie? If 80% of the films being released have occult, hermetic, and gnostic themes, why is it so repulsive to have a film that explores the Christian worldview?

This movie exemplified the "Streisand effect" that the mainstream media was so trying to keep away from the viewing public that it drew me in even more. I wasn't keen on watching this because modern-day horror has gone too far. Since Hostile, everything has been a sadomasochist torture session that doesn't sit well with me. But in no way when I consider this a horror movie; even the film producers did this film a disservice by marketing the film in this manner. A psychological thriller should have been the label and been positioned in that space.

Sean Patrick's Flattery was utterly unrecognizable to me from his chronicles of the Young Indiana Jones Days(Too bad he's not playing Indy in the Dial of ((dead on Arrival)) Destiny".) His serial killer portrayal was a stellar performance, definitely a high-level for the genre. Totally unrecognizable reminded me of James McAvoy in "Split." It's impressive when you play multiple personality/disassociative disorders and nail it. We've also seen it not work, a.k.a. Doom Patrol's "Crazy Jane." His performance holds the whole story together; it makes it believable. The most authentic-seeming/feeling of demon possession; I wouldn't throw Linda Blair's head-twisting performance in the exorcist because that was just pure sensationalism. Cary Solomon does an adequate job as his foil, more of a craftsman performance. He felt he was direct to the DVD-quality actor overshadowed by a masterclass performance.

The majority of the film was shot in one room, and those are typically more difficult films to nail. It was like a stage play on the screen. I liked the pacing. I liked the overall story architecture; it had a pleasing, well, constructive conclusion. This type of story tends to go off the rails at the end, so I was glad they kept the crazy train on the tracks, All Aboard!!

This was undead upon arrival; 80% of fans could tell that from the trailer.

I was disappointed primarily because this was Nick Cage's proper coming comeback party to the "A" list (not that he ever went anywhere.) His performance as Dracula was excellent. He embodied what the scriptwriter tried to convey through the terror/power of Dracula with an added comedic nuance. Any casting Director or studio heads that look at this performance should continue to cast him in franchise films marketed for theatrical release. Nicholas Hoult is a top-five Millennial generation male actor. His performance in "The Great" separated him from the rest of the herd, but this performance did him no favors, not that he didn't execute on his low testosterone beta bug-eating attic, it's just that nobody cares.

Positioning Renfield as a codependent victim and using that as the theme of a character-driven narrative was a massive failure from inception. This missed the whole point of a monster movie. In this genre, audiences don't want story time depicting beta group therapy in their monster movies; it's not desirable or marketable. The executive that Greenlit this project at Universal should be banned from the business. But having said that, the greater atrocity is whoever cast Awkwafina as the lead heroine of this picture. In a supporting character role in the right genre with the right part, she's almost adequate, but in this role, it was a complete disaster. She is just not likable, and if you understand anything about storytelling, the likability of your heroine is critical. When are we gonna get into the real world, where somebody almost 5 feet tall is kicking ass of a vampire-powered henchman. She's not a believable action star; her loud mouth, obnoxious and repulsive behavior would also repel most leading men. She always plays the exact same character which is annoying. I've never seen this individual display acting acumen in any performance she's given. Single-handedly, took this C- Flim on its best day to an absolute failing grade. This film failed on plot, theme, and Awkwardfina. Too bad Nick Cage's Dracula couldn't save the day but disintegrated in the light of studio decision-making.

These BETAS need stem cells to JUMP.

Does the Movie have the same chemistry and magic as the Original: NO. Is this a fun, enjoyable basketball ball movie? YES. Does this deserve the crappy rating that is on IMBD right now? NO. Did I have a couple of cocktails before my viewing to help lube up my excitement? DEFINITELY

This is a popcorn movie for a basketball fan, but if you have preconceived notions from the original and are bent on having the same result, change your expectations. This is not a 90s comedy but a 2020s post "shelter in place" dramedy. It doesn't have the same whimsical fun vibe of the original, but it has enough to make it enjoyable. The chemistry between the two leads is there; it's not Wesley Snipes on top of the pyramid pre-IRS compound BS level coupled with a breath of fresh air Woody Harrelson's first significant role in a film, then goes on to legendary career after Oliver Stone discovers him. These cats are Hollywood legends; they have stories people will discuss for years. I'm sure Charlie Murphy has some stories we never got on Chappell. So now that we've reduced it to a PC nation level, let's discuss this Film.

You're watching this on a streaming service that you're already paying for, so it's a much different discussion than if you're paying 20 bucks to go to a movie and dinner and the concessions and all that; maybe I would feel differently if I had to invest more. It's serviceable for what it is; perhaps our expectations should have an adjustment because movies in the theater have a different expectation level than television, and we must recognize that streaming is between those classifications. Harlow and Walls have good chemistry; it's whimsical, and it works; they've got a bit of a Bromance going, but it's a millennial-style Bromance which is a little whiny and seems a little less authentic(like they would rather be spending their time on their phones.) I think it's pretty ridiculous that one of the show's elements is that Harlow's character is injured, and that's why white men can't jump, which is like PC reason for the title of the Film (That's implied). I liked their significant others in this Film; they were both solid, beautiful, strong women. The women had their acts together far more than these two BETA hustlers, but isn't that what we've been getting Nonstop for years? That theme does work in this Film. Good to see Lance Reddick again. I didn't realize he did this also in addition to John Wick 4; note to self if you're doing a Hollywood movie right now, I would be carefully dying in consecutive movies because, in the last two films, Lance Reddick died, and so did Ray Liotta and then shortly after in real they both died so I would only do one Movie if you're getting up an age where you're going to die(Just saying.) I love part of the Film was set in Venice, and you had a couple of the regulars down there that showed up in the Movie. It's a light, fun basketball movie; it's not on Netflix's "Hustle" level, but it will make my best basketball movie list, and as reboots or remakes go, this one gets a passing grade. BZ rating = 6.1.

Elizabeth Banks has made a considerable jump here to be an elite female director in my book(leapfrogged "Power of the dog" Jane Campion). This film had great pacing, good beats point and a solid story arc. I love that it's a throwback to 1985; all the costumes and the soundtrack were paired perfectly. This was clever and poetic casting for a horror comedy romp. First of all the great Ray Liotta's last movie(Nuff Said.) Having three cast members for the final season of "The Americans" was superb. Also, having her modern family cast mate as the wildlife inspector was fun. The judge from "your honor," best buddy being the sheriff, was dynamite too. I can go on and on about the casting; ice cube's kid, I can't believe it; he looks almost the same as his dad. I can't stress how difficult this type of film is to do. I've seen fewer than a handful of horror comedies work, and this one works so well I was spitting up Junior mints every other scene. This is also a brutal movie to sneak in a burrito and try to eat while watching; if you were going to do it, do it early. Now I see why this film cut into the Ant-Man quantum mania box office. Cocaine Bear is pure storytelling and fun with total escapism and no agenda. And for this reason, I am grading lesson eight probably if this was released, and 85 would be like 6 1/2 or 7 stars because of the overall content we have to watch these days; it's such a delightful pleasure to have something that is just pure entertainment. This movie is "the Maverick" of 2023 YTD, and I can't wait for the sequel Cocaine Cubs.

I love a good creepy coming to age flick especially anything to do with dreams ,shadow people and horror but goodness gracious can't this be done better. I'm not expecting Tarantino level dialogue or character development masterclasses bur boring is an understatement. The lead was solid as a despondent teenage girl that had family issues and a lack of direction and meaning. She did about as well as can be expected with the materials she was given. I was very hopeful that things were going to develop especially because some of the dream sequences early were quite good and I thought we were building on something it was really going to climb to the next level. But after about the third dream it completely collapsed the middle act was a disaster following a third act that quite frankly everyone in the theater left already. And who was this movie servicing, was it the writer or the Director or the producer definitely not the audience? Anybody who read the script in development should've automatically realized this was going to lose every dollar that was going to be invested. I love a story that questions are preconceived notions of consensus reality but this really didn't do it, this was a mess. I have to give Jay Dyer a major fail for recommending this movie no matter how stylistic or cool the concept if it isn't an enjoyable experience or a well framed and plotted story there's no reason to view it. This was like that one rare slice of pizza at 2:01 AM when you're drunk off your ass and you're just looking for a greasy slice and it's like, damn that tomato sauce taste like mayonnaise and you spitit out of your mouth and you throw it in the garbage.

Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon's chemistry was spectacular especially when 90% of the relationships you see on the screen are just hollow, empty and soulless. The cast was good but you forget that they even exist because the two are just so magnetic and steal the screen. I think there was a missed opportunity to flesh out some of the other characters because you have some fantastic character actors in roles that were underutilized. To be fair Steve Zahn came on strong as the show went on. He's probably the perfect amount of famous, just famous enough to be recognized but never gonna have a stalker. Jessica Chastain is the greatest "Tammy" of all time she's done two based on true stories about Tammy's in the last couple years(Tammy Faye Bakker and Tammy Wynette.). After this run of hers I would have to say she is the best female American actress of her generation. The story just tears your heart out if it's even 40% true it is a true country song played out in real life. Somethings were a little unrealistic about the family life, and actually think this show could have used a couple more episodes especially one with their honeymoon and marriage in Mexico. Also the first couple years of marriage was just skipped, but other than that I loved this show. I think this should be used as a public service announcement for anybody who's life goal is to become a celebrity.

How can we have a guy nominated for best actor when he clearly didn't sing all the songs and he didn't even play guitar properly. The dialogue for Elvis was sparse at best, and never really even developed his character. This isn't only the worst Elvis biography movie this makes Elvis's actual movies look good( 90% of them were sun-par back in the day ). Again how can this Austin Butler get an Academy for best actor when the actual lead of the movie Colonel Tom Parker played by Tom Hanks is nominated for Razzie award the same year? Tom Hanks also nominated for best supporting actor in Pinocchio for a Razzie award. So Tom Hanks has his worst acting year ever and we get this Elvis movie that nobody understands the backstory of Elvis from this generation and now we have a retcon'd Elvis looking like a shadow of his former self. At first I was thinking this needed a "Snyder cut" because it was really a Colonel Tom Parker film but you couldn't cut him out and save this movie because the rest of the material is hollow and "Soulless". They try to capture the exterior image of Elvis and they miss the most important element his emotionally lead aura that captivated a generation and helped birth rock 'n' roll. By honoring these empty vapid performances we're just going continue the downward spiral into "C movie Mediocrity" faster. Go back and watch the 1979 Kurt Russell Elvis movie and then you'll see a side by comparison which is no comparison. If Austin Butler wins the award he should give it to Kurt Russell. Filmmaking is in a seriously sad state of affairs.

Actually started strong and was pretty original first Act. Michelle Yeoh is always strong I thought this was definitely her best role in a decade but once we got to about the halfway mark it turned and by the third act it was completely off the rails. Another example of style over substance and leaning on the special effects and martial arts choreography. It was fun seeing "short round" all grown up but he was pretty flat, he had a couple moments but not enough to win me over. Worst role I've ever seen Jamie Lee Curtis in and the actress that played the daughter not dynamic, seemed like she was way out of her element. Pretty alarming that a film this bad has been nominated for this many Oscars. This is how far we fallen In our film going expectations, If "the room" was released now it would probably have about five nominations.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or race this is the moral of Tar. Cate Blanchett performance was spectacular but not enough to save a very boring long snore. She is the greatest actress of her generation in my opinion. It felt like whiplash without the pay off or plot. It's very difficult to go on a journey with the character that there are very few redeeming qualities other than their talent. Interesting juxtaposition after the #meeto era with this particular case. Narcissism is just a hard pill to swallow especially for 2 1/2 hours "want to be"art house film dragging out every scene without much plot moving the storyline. Literally could've edited this down to an hour and 40 minutes and had a better result. The overall cast was overshadowed by Cate Blanchett's performance. I wouldn't pay a dime to watch this I would wait until it was on free television that you can pull up with rabbit ears on your grandma's TV, even then I wouldn't recommend it. The visuals and set design were very stark and empty that we're trying to convey the personal life of the lead. I even noticed the scenes where she was performing music you could tell she was playing very few notes on the piano she could've spent a little more time working on her piano skills. It's sad that this movie is going to win a lot of awards and it's just not entertaining on any level.

OK if we can watch movies like King Kong and Godzilla and pacific rim and enjoy them why the hell not a troll. My biggest Takeaway is how international filmmakers have caught up so much to the US that we're on the precipice of them overtaking us as the preeminent filmmaking country in the world. Then we watch this on Netflix and there was voiceover work that was really well done. I could really barely tell that it was going on(But maybe that was because I was watching it in on an iPad in a dark hotel room). I would say acceptable( some voiceover work) is terrible. I enjoyed the story and the dynamic between the father and daughter, and the government that was way over there pay grade. The story was probably stronger than some of the Godzilla movies that King Kong is still king of all Monster movies in my book. There were some good comic relief, Couple of the characters were framed well enough to give a break of the levity of the doomsday scenario. If King Kong rules and Godzilla is his queen then the Troll is a solid Rook.

I love Ben Foster and medieval period films but even with all of that encoded desire to want to enjoy it, it missed the mark. Reminded me of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series where it was supposed to be about Luke and it ended up being about Leia, also the inquisitors couldn't keep her kidnapped! What is it with all these plot devices that I just mired in the hero not being to execute what they're good at. Production value was there and actually there was a fairly good cast especially with Michael Caine and also the kings brother was great in "the offer". Some excellent actors underutilized with a poorly written script with terrible dialogue. Funny thing is I did some research on this character from antiquity and he existed and was a military genius. I think this script got off kilter with focusing on the wrong moment of Jan Zizak's history. This had potential but gonna end up in the bargain bins at Wal-Mart.

This is more than just a movie it's a ride and a Journey into another universe. I forgot 3-D was a thing for the last 11 years and that's because James Cameron hadn't made a movie since avatar. It's like being on a star tours ride for three hours and 10 minutes. Now we can sit here and nitpick some of the exposition and development of some of the newer characters but as the ride went we figured all that out and it really didn't take away from the fun and escapism factor. This is a popcorn movie with a heart and all of the agendas are embedded so deeply that it's not offensive. We are all are rooting for Pandora and the Navi people and if that is politically correct, so be it. This was a great continuation of the original story and the motion capture underwater scenes were absolutely breathtaking (pun intended.). When I heard that Kate Winslet held her breath for over six minutes I was even more excited to see this film. This is nowhere near James Cameron's finest work but he should win all the Oscars for a lifetime of great storytelling... he is due!

How could anyone expect less from the guy that created "the last Jedi" and destroyed the universe that we all loved as children. I'm not a huge "knives out" fan the first one was entertaining I was able to finish it. This movie was such a mess from the get go, ensemble cast are pretty tough even for great directors but with this schmuck it was dead on arrival. Seeing Edward Norton back was probably the only upside. The whole cast acted Hollow and played down to the talent level of a hack Director. The dialogue was awful and clearly didn't have the same panache as the original knives out. If anybody is able to stay in their seat until the murder then they are a lot more patient than me.... another reviewer said it best "this is the end of western filmmaking as we know it." Another great review comment was "it's a Netflix movie what did you expect?"

This was the exact perfect time for a movie that is self deprecating and pokes fun at the Hollywood elite as a ...caricature of themselves. Nick Cage is one of those actors that I've enjoyed just about everything he's done since Valley Girl. To see his journey from 2 billion in box office to perennial "B" movie Hell(and embracing it) is ultimately refreshing. The first 20 minutes was just a "laugh fest" I really just got tickled. This film has a lot of elements it's a comedy, it's a action film and buddy flick, and ultimately it's the heroes journey.

I think this is a love letter to Nick Cage fans. Also this is what we love to do in this country, build them up tear them down and build them back up better. This is that moment for Nick cage and thank goodness its end of the "B" list, until his Action comics #1 is stolen ......again.

Referring to the show as merely an excellent MMA fighting show would be a disservice to this franchise. It reminds me of how Walking Dead was a show about zombies but the zombies were a secondary background element. Kingdom has rich characters that are all fighting some demons as well as their opponents in the cage. A rich tapestry has been woven between Alvey and his family and all the people that interact with them. All these characters are so well-developed to you feel like you know them. They deal with some issues like mental illness and drug addiction in ways you haven't seen on the small screen. The son of Alvey, Jay's character steals the show a larger-than-life screwup that has a big heart. The relationship between Ryan and his halfway house buddy Keith is truly unique and special. I noticed that Frank Grillo's star has been rising and I understand why after watching the show, he holds it all together and at the emotional center of everything going on with a very conflicted character that is trying to hold it all together as he feels attacked on all sides. I also adore that it's set in Venice Beach it feels like another character in the show. The MMA fight sequences in the show have a physical prowess and you walk away amazed by what they do on the show. Without question, the best show ever made about any form of fighting on cable TV. We need to start a campaign to have 4th season made, we want to see where this story goes. With Netflix dropping it hopefully Amazon prime can pick it up and see the next segment of what's going on at Navy St gym. I have nine days to finish 27 episodes before it get pulled from Netflix, wish me luck. BZ.