Movie opinions thread (what have you seen, what did you think?)

[Tarma]

Direct Hit - William Forsythe is a retiring agency hitman who develops a conscious after being told to make "one last hit" on a woman allegedly blackmailing a senate hopeful, in this mid-90s thriller.

PM Entertainment were very much a 90s Cannon, with some really entertaining movies, and some real clunkers.

Direct Hit falls into the latter, sadly. It's rather dull, the script is naff, and Forsythe looks pretty uninterested throughout. Richard Norton, as one of the bad guys, is wasted, and god alone knows why George Segal agreed to be in this other than for free cigars. All the principals deserve better than this lame excuse for entertainment.

Direct Hit is a Big Miss.

If you've ever wanted to see Bill Forsythe pretend he's The Happy Monday's Shaun Ryder for 90 minutes, then this is the film for you.

 

[terry.330]

Good Boy- A guy dying of cancer goes to live in his grandfather’s remote house in the woods with his dog where a malevolent entity is lurking in the shadows and only the dog can sense it.

The movie is shot pretty much entirely from the dog’s perspective. It mostly works especially in the first two acts. The last part of the movie kind of flounders and there’s no real climax. The ending makes sense but just isn’t very satisfying. The movie is also extremely low budget and it really shows a few times which takes you out of it.

Overall it’s okay but never realizes its full potential.

 

[Tarma]

Sci-Fighters - meh sci-fi thriller about a convict who escapes from his prison on the moon and returns to earth infected with an alien virus.

The plot is very hokey, and has more than a few holes in it, but had the potential to either be a decent action thriller, or lean more into body horror. Ultimately it achieves neither.

It stars Roddy Piper and Billy Drago, but both have had better, and the limited budget clearly holds the potential of the story back - I certainly expected more action given the title and Piper being involved, but there's very little of the former, and Piper is kept rather subdued.

Can't really recommend this one, I'm afraid.

If you've ever wanted to see Billy Drago slice someone open with a cut-off saw because they stole one of his cigarettes, then this is the film for you.

 

[terry.330]

No Other Choice- The newest film from Park Chan Wook.

A man who has finally achieved the life he dreamed of gets laid off after 25 years on the job. With mounting financial pressure, anxiety, problems at home and stiff competition in the job market he decides to take matters into his own hands. He decides to eliminate his competitors. Literally. What follows is a hilarious and complicated mess as he fumbles his way from one target to the next.

Incredibly well made all around. Very funny and smart with fantastic cinematography and editing. Excellent performances as well. It’s a little more light than the grim revenge thrillers PCW is known for. This is more in line with Parasite rather than Oldboy. An absurd dark comedy.

It can be a little tricky to follow what’s going on at times because the main characters decisions are often bizarre and unexplained. You have to pay attention and just see what happens. It also doesn’t help that the subtitles were frequently covered by unnecessary descriptions at crucial times on Hulu.

My only real complaint is that it’s a bit long.

Anyways, highly recommended.

 

[terry.330]

She Shoots Straight- Late 80’s Hong Kong action directed by Corey Yuen, starring Sammo Hung’s wife Joyce Godenzi. Like a lot of HK stuff from the time the action is excellent but the plot is convoluted and there’s a fair bit of melodrama. Godenzi a former Miss Hong Kong and model does a pretty good job and is quite cute. While not quite up to the level of stuff Michelle Yeoh or Cynthia Rothrock were doing at the time (but then not much is) it still delivers some great fights. Definitely recommended if you’re an 80’s HK action fan.

 

[mmsadda]

Mario Galaxy was raw dogshit. Zero substance, all dull fan service. I had very modest expectations and was still surprised what a letdown it was. 2/10

The Housemaid was so much better than it had any right to be. Solid thriller , reminds me of some early 2000s flicks like Running Scared and Hard Candy that I really liked. 8.5/10

The Holy Mountain, I still don't know what to make of, but I successfully traumatized 2/3 of the people I was with, so... There's that. ?.5/10

 

[Tarma]

T-Force - If you take elements of the buddy cop genre, elements of Die Hard, and then mix in with elements of The Terminator and Universal Soldier, what do you get?

T-Force apparently. A very enjoyable mid-90s sci-fi action romp starring Jack Scalia. Don't know the name? I wasn't familiar with it either, though I thought I'd seen him somewhere before - he's been in a lot of TV stuff, notably the OG Dallas.

Anyway, he's pretty good as the lead - a robot hating cop, who gets partnered with a robot (natch), as they track down a trio of rogue law enforcement robots led by Evan Lurie.

There's a great opening sequence which features Commando's Vernon Wells, the acting is decent throughout, and special effects aren't bad for what it is.

If you've ever wanted to see two robots try to find out if they can procreate, then this is the film for you.

 

[HornheaDD]

Predestination:

Ethan Hawk plays a temporal agent that hops around different time periods to make sure he keeps his job. At least paraphrased thats what the description of the movie says.

It wasn't bad. Takes place in what appears to be the 60s and 70s, but some of the technology is advanced for the timeframe (think the recent Fantastic Four movie). Unfortunately a couple of the twists are telegraphed and easy to spot a little early on, but still a decent watch. Its whole story not quite as intricate as Primer (but again what is), but also not as loose with the rules as most other movies about time travel. Though the actual time travel sorta takes a back seat to the story and used more as a plot device rather than "OMG TIME TURVLS WE CAN GO MAKE MONEY". This time travel is more along the lines of Donnie Darko or even Looper.

 

[terry.330]

Ballerina- It’s John Wick with a hot chick and less interesting plot. Not necessarily a bad thing but you pretty much know exactly what you’re going to get. That said the action was very well done, the movie looked good and Anna de Armas did a solid job, I really liked how they had her improvise to level the playing field against guys twice her size. The flamethrower fight was legitimately awesome and worth watching the movie for.

 

[Burning Fight!!]

I watched The Dragon on Fire (1978) and I just wanted to share that it's so trippy to have a movie which can't stop for more than 30 seconds in between constant fighting for the plot to have three (3) bruce lee impersonators, but one of those never fights, gets kidnapped (way before the main character's girl), forgotten by the movie, and in the climax he's released (a byproduct of releasing the girl) and told to go home before the final fights.

His character has a name but I'm just gonna start referring to him and the actor as CUCK LEE from now on.

Also this stars BOLO ("A large body, but a very retarded mind") like these movies usually do but this might have the most boring fight of his big screen career in it.

Movie is shite even for me, of course. Godfrey Ho is a Hoe.

the 30 seconds where they play giorgio moroder while dragon lee flexes is cool I guess which is why someone made a fake trailer with that on loop.

 

[Tarma]

Strategic Command - take Executive Decision, The Rock, and Air Force One, remove three-quarters of the budget, put them in a blender and the result is Strategic Command.

An action thriller from 1997, starring Michael Dudikoff and Richard Norton. It's entertaining enough, mainly due to the two leads, but it needed more action given the two leads, and the budget clearly wasn't there to allow for anything more than what you see.

At least the special effects were better than that shonky as fuck CGI they used in Air Force One.

If you've ever wanted to see a group of heavily armed terrorists literally just walk into a secure military compound to steal a deadly chemical weapon unchecked, then this is the film for you.

 

[LoneSage]

Final Destination 6 (the one that came out last year) - thinking about it, I guess this is my favorite horror series. They're just great, dumb fun, with some really cool deaths a la Rube Goldberg machines. Big props to them for giving Tony Todd the closing scene to his career, and his life. On a side note, interesting casting choice for the main girl not being classically beautiful. Not a bad way to spend a movie night.

 

[Tarma]

Midnight Heat (aka Black Out) - pretty dull action thriller starring Brian Bosworth, which is low on thrills and action.

The Boz is a mild-mannered banker who gets amnesia after being hit by a car. As he struggles to piece his life back together he has flash backs of violent episodes involving a gang led by Brad Dourif.

There's a few plot holes, but the direction is fine, the photography is fine, it just lacks action, and Boz doing what he does best - kicking ass. While Dourif is charismatic in his role as the main bad guy, even he can't lift this beyond being a middling made for TV miss.

If you've ever wanted to see The Boz sell a loan to a hick farmer, then this is the film for you.

 

[roker]

Kung Fu Hustle - Stephen Chow's finest. Still a fun and entertaining movie after all these years. Now I need to track down Shaolin Soccer and rewatch that.

 

[LoneSage]

It's a shame that was the height of his career. I think the Hong Kong film industry literally died after that came out.

 

[terry.330]

Final Destination 6 (the one that came out last year) - thinking about it, I guess this is my favorite horror series. They're just great, dumb fun, with some really cool deaths a la Rube Goldberg machines.

They satisfy a very particular itch and are very rewatchable. Well all except for the fourth one, that one is fucking terrible.


Parasite- Second time watching this and while it didn’t hit as hard as the first I was able to pay more attention to the details and filmmaking. It deserves all the accolades it got on release. It’s an amazing film.

 

[Tarma]

The Last of the Finest - dull thriller about a group of elite cops who quit the force to go after a drugs-for-weapons ring led by some naughty politicians.

On the face of it, this should be great - Brian Dennehy, Joe Pantoliano, Bill Paxton, and Jeff Fahey in starring roles, and directed by John MacKenzie - the director who made his name with one of my favorite films - The Long Good Friday.

However, the action is rather tame, Bill Paxton gets killed off in the first act (is there any film prior to Twister where he doesn't die?), and the script is plodding.
It's well shot, and the soundtrack plays like it could have been lifted from a Lethal Weapon film. Overall, a movie that promised much, but delivers little. Disappointing.

If you've ever wanted to see $22 million in cash buried in a cesspool and then blown-up, then this is the film for you.

 

[roker]

It's a shame that was the height of his career. I think the Hong Kong film industry literally died after that came out.

This makes me sad for some reason. It's a lost art now. On the other hand we were at the early days of the Korean film industry breaking out. I've seen plenty of Korean movies now (thanks to Netflix) to fill that void, but I know, it's not the same. That HK grit is missing.

 

[100proof]

Mortal Kombat Deuce - About as good as a Mortal Kombat movie can be, I guess. It's broad and stupid and has plenty of fight scenes/gore to please fans of trashy martial arts movies and people who actually like MK's "lore". I never bothered watching the reboot from a few years ago and only watched this because friends wanted to meet up and watch it but the most amusing part to me was that, in the lore of the movie, Johnny Cage is this last second addition to Earthrealm's warriors that has to get caught up and the movie feels like a terrible direct-to-video B-movie that gets elevated because they introduced a real actor in to the mix. Art imitating life or whatever.

It's complete trash in the way that the original from the mid-90s was (and certainly fits in with a lot of the other Van Damme era "fighting tournament" movies of the time) but is saved by not taking itself seriously, getting in and out without completely embarrassing itself and Karl Urban working his ass off to elevate the material provided.

 

[Lagduf]

I honestly didnt know there was a reboot a few years back. But i have been seeing a lot of ads for this sequel.

 

[terry.330]

Send Help- Not quite as Raimi-esque as I was hoping but still fun. That’s not to say there isn’t a good amount of gross stuff and action but don’t expect Evil Dead or Drag Me to Hell levels. A bit predictable but it didn’t bother me too much.

 

[Tarma]

Lady Dragon 2 - in name "sequel" only, with Cynthia Rothrock returning as the protagonist and David Worth returning as director.

Rothrock sets out for revenge after Billy Drago's bad guy kills her husband over some stolen diamonds.

This is more of a martial arts thriller than the martial arts action film Lady Dragon is. Action scenes are moderate, but are pretty good when they arrive. The acting isn't bad, and Drago excels as the sadistic psychopath that leads the small gang Rothrock takes out.

This was originally titled "Angel of Fury" but I guess they retitled it after the success of the first Lady Dragon, and given it has the same star and director. The movie also has some ADR issues.

Don't go into this expecting a rehash of Lady Dragon, and you might not be disappointed.

If you've ever wanted to see Cynthia Rothrock in a pointy bra that looks suspiciously like a Madonna Blonde Ambition Tour cast-off, then this is the film for you.

 

[Burning Fight!!]

No Country for Old Men: I’m ashamed at myself for not having watched it earlier… 10/10, rsia

 

[HornheaDD]

I honestly didnt know there was a reboot a few years back. But i have been seeing a lot of ads for this sequel.

Are you talking about Mortal Kombat 2021? Havent seen the 2nd one, but the first one was dumb, mainly because they created a completely new character for the movie to - I guess? - be the player's analogue that literally no one wanted or asked for. It didn't work.

The guy literally grows plot armor in it. Not an exaggeration. He's getting his ass ripped apart and then actually grows armor plating as his "power" and defeats his enemy. I cant even remember who the enemy is, might've been Goro, but I can't be certain. The parts with Scorps and SubZero were admittedly pretty decent, but the rest of it was worse than the Van Damme Street Fighter. I'd put it on Super Mario Bro's level bad.

I heard that the character in question - Cole - gets his head smashed in MKII about 10 minutes in or something. That already shows someone was listening. Poor Lewis Tan lol.

Super Mario Galaxy:

An admittedly terrible movie. To the layman, absolutely nothing redeeming about it other than a few sight gags with Luigi (and admittedly Charlie Day plays him well). Its only 'good' for people who grew up playing the games (not even counting Galaxy), just like the first one. It was basically the Ready Player One of Nintendo movies. And when I say 'good' its because I'm referring to Leo Dicaprio Pointing Meme stuff that oldheads like us would catch. Although, the appearance of Fox McCloud voiced by Glen Powell was kinda cool. Seeing an Arwing in 'live action' was kinda neat.

Download it.

 

[Lagduf]

Download it.

At that point why even bother?

Seems like a waste of bandwidth, drive space, and time.