Last movie you saw.

[Bear 1817]

Manhunt - John Woo makes a return to the style he more or less started back in the mid/late-80's, a cool style known as heroic bloodshed. His early heroic bloodshed films were also the beginning of the gun fu-style. Cool, often slo-mo action scenes, lots of blood and doves flying all over the place. Manhunt of a remake of the Japanese mid-70's film by the same name, a film I haven't seen in at least 7 years. I know this because I have not rated in on IMDB which I started using in 2011.  Anyway, this does not live up to his classic films, not is it anywhere near the film it is based on. But it's got cool action scenes, a couple of cool characters, nice cinematography and a fine soundtrack. My main problem is the English dubbing in some parts. The actors did clearly speak English during filming in these parts which is natural as the film is about a Chinese man on the run in Japan. But it's clearly been dubbed over in a very weird and un-natural way. But I liked the film, and I don't understand why so many people are negative towards it. Can't see it at all. Cool enough, thought not a film I will re-watch any time soon.

 

It did get me download the original Manhunt which was surprisingly hard to find. So I'll re-watch it this weekend and see if it's as good as I remember.

 

Best of the Best - Cool martial arts competition film, but it does not live up to the best in the genre and to be honest it was slightly disappointing now. Not nearly as good as I remembered. Too serious and too much drama going on. I do love me some James Earl Jones and Chris Penn, tho. Good, but slightly overrated.

 

Best of the Best II - The sequel stars Eric Roberts and Phillip Rhee, the two stars of Best of the Best alongside James Earl Jones. And both is a lot better here, but that is much due to the film being on a whole different level. This is far from as serious as Best of the Best. This is sleazier, more violent and more cheesy. Objective a lesser film, but subjective on a whole other level. Simple as that. Liked it quite a lot!

[Bear 1817]

Shootfighter: Fight to the Death - Shootfighter is one of the million martial arts tournament films that was made after the huge success of the masterpiece that is Bloodsport. Shootfighter is of course no new Bloodsport, but it's a fun little gem with some decent fights, tho shot in a very typical american way which means lots of cuts, some bloody moments, cool characters and of course Bolo Yeung. Bolo Yeung as a good guy, and not a villain. That's so weird. Anyway, very good and fun film.

 

Shootfighter II - A good sequel, but not as good as the original. The story isn't as cool, the villains and nearly as good and it's milder. Not as brutal. But it's a fun time nonetheless.

 

If you like films like Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Undisputed 2-4 and so on these two films are not to be missed.

 

I Kill Giants - Fantasy-drama adaption of a graphic novel of the same name. It was good enough, but follows a very familiar story and the fantasy elements just isn't strong enough for me. Madison Wolfe delivers an amazing performance, and she is helped quite a lot by Zoe Saldana (dear god she is good-looking) and Sydney Wade who both delivers very good.

 

Spoiler:

 

Early on you understand that this troubled girl escapes into her own fantasy to deal with her problems and that they are metaphors of this and that, but that's actually disappointing to me. It's so familiar. I really wish that the fantasy part, everything with the giants, titans and so on, were real. That she was really a superhero saving the world every single month. Because that would've surprised me, and that would've made me go "oh daaaaaaayum! That is so cool!" instead of "Ah, so the regular story it is. Aight.".

 

But it's still a good film. Enjoyed it quite a lot.

[Bear 1817]

Revenge - A very action-oriented rape and revenge exploitation film that is as bloody, gritty and brutal as it is visually stunning and stylish. It's very much a modern grindhouse film, but it's so well-directed, acted and beautifully shot that the majority of people who see it won't notice how trashy it actually is. It's got a cast of five, lead on by a stunning performance by Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz.

 

Incredible film and my top pick for the best film of 2017 alongside Logan. Well fucking done!

[Bear 1817]

7 Days in Hell - I reviewed Tour de Pharmacy a few months ago, and 7 Days in Hell is basically the forerunner of that one. Silly, over the top sports mocumentary with Andy Samberg and Kit Harington. Like Tour de Pharmacy it's really absurd and over the top, but it's also hilarious throughout and just lots of fun. Totally recommended!

Edited May 19, 2018 by Bear

[Ponceau 0]

Terminal - interesting revenge story, great retro-noir style. Robbie was fun and it's always a treat watching Mike Myers play against type. Warning: the film has scenes of violence.

[Bear 1817]

Tomb Raider - Decent enough action-adventure, but the writers really hasn't done Lara Croft any justice here. It doesn't really feel like a Tomb Raider film, and at the end of the day it feels more like a 5th rate Indiana Jones movie than anything else.

 

You have Indiana Jones on the top with Operation Condor: Armour of God 2 just slightly behind, then you've got the 2nd rate rip offs like Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile, The Mummy (1999) and Adventures of Tintin, then the 3rd rate stuff like High Road to China, National Treasure and National Treasure 2, then the 4th rate rip offs like King Solomon's Mines, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold and Firewalker. And I am a huge fan of all these. I am so weak when it comes to adventure films like Indiana Jones. But after those you've got the new Tomb Raider film. Better than the Angelina Jolie films, but still not nearly good enough. It's so superficial and the action isn't good enough. Nor is the CGI.

 

Beyond the Law / Made of Steel - Crime-thriller from 1993 with Charlie Sheen, and what a fucking beast of a movie. It doesn't really know what exactly it wants to be, but despite this it manages to balance perfectly between a dark, serious drama-thriller and cheesy crime-thriller. I expected this to be cool for sure, but I did not expect it to actually be good. Like in a well-written, well-directed and well-acted film That was a huge surprise. Really enjoyed this. Alongside Platoon and the god damned masterpiece that is The Wraith the best films he's ever done. Really cool!

Edited June 10, 2018 by Bear

[Bear 1817]

Deadpool 2 - Just like Deadpool, Logan, Kick-Ass and a few others, Deadpool 2 is a breath of fresh air in the world of superhero movies. I mean, it's as the same as Deadpool for most part, but since Deadpool there's been around 5462756416416 regular superhero films for the entire family. Deadpool 2 is more for a grown up audience with it's violence, dark, black humour and all that. You know what you're getting, but it's well-made and real fun. Loved it!

[Nagisa 131]

I watched Solo two days ago with a friend. I had heard that it wasn't that good so I didn't have very high expectations going into it. The trailer also hadn't really pulled me in like some of the other Star Wars trailers had. However, it turned out to be a very enjoyable movie with lots of plot twists and nicely-done visuals. I talked to my friend after the movie and he seemed to think the same.

[Bear 1817]

Ready Player One - Straight forward, easy-watching popcorn film with a cool-as-fuck universe where the real world sucks and the virtual world rules. A bit like ours tbh. But  as it points out, the virtual world wouldn't feel so awesome without the real world. Anyway, there's no deep meaning to this. It's a nostalgic roller coaster that never really ends. It doesn't give you much time to breathe, and it doesn't try to tell you anything truly important. It just tried to entertain and it does so wonderfully.

 

 

Cons: the visual style in the virtual world. I wish they had gone either full 80's on it, or gone with a better video game-graphics as it looked a bit half-arsed and lame. Even though a lot of the elements worked really well, and the lack of proper physics and shit also worked because it's set in a virtual world. And that's a problem with other CGI-driven films. They just hasn't found a way to properly nail the physics of the real world which means it always ends up looking fake. But because this is supposed to be fake, it works real well.

 

The soundtrack. It's good, it's filled with great songs and has strong nods to the 80's, which is some of the point as the creator of the Oasis fucking loved the 80's. But I wish they had gone full fucking synthwave on this movie. Would be so fitting.

 

Rampage - Brainless big monster action with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It's not amazing, it's not something that'll make you think about life, the universe and all that. But it's nearly two hours of damn good, brainless entertainment that does exactly that: entertain. The only time the film fall flat is when Dwayne Johnson has to really act. He gets hurt in one scene, but where Bruce Willis showed a real sense of vulnerability and pain when his feet is filled with glass in Die Hard, Dwayne Johnson just continues as nothing happens. That one part where he fails, and when he's trying to show lots of emotions. He can play happy and smile and laugh, and it feels real. But when he's sad he falls flat on his ass. But aside from that I was very much entertained.

[Bear 1817]

Italian Spiderman - Best superhero film ever. Simple as that!

 

 

Until Death - 2007 remake of a mid-90's Hong Kong film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It's not your regular Van Damme film. Dark crime-thriller with a really impressive Van Damme in the lead as a broken cop. Van Damme acts really well. Not a masterpiece, but it's was good.

 

Neon City - I expected a playful film with neon lights and shit, but it was a mediocre Mad Max clone. Meh. Disappointed!

 

Cherry 2000 - This is basically what I thought Neon City would be like. It's all over the fucking place, but so nice throughout. Well-written, directed and acted. Thought this was superb!

[Bear 1817]

Death Trance - Japanese action-fantasy a bit in the vein of Shinobi and Blade of the Immortal. It feels more like a mix of Shinobi and Blade of the Immortal, but with a much more fantasy-oriented setting. Aside from the ending which felt a bit dated, this film was awesome as fuck. I really enjoyed it throughout and thought the use of older Dir en grey songs was really cool and surprisingly fitting for a movie like this. Over the top and entertaining.

 

Repo Man - Classic, cult and still original and unique 35 years after its release. So easy to see and understand why it has got its status as a proper cult film. It's fun, it's exciting, and it's really well-made, and it's absurd and very much punk to the core. Good stuff!

 

The Machine - Sci-fi drama from 2013, and much similar to Ex Machina. But where Ex Machina just goes deeper and deeper,  The Machina gets more action-oriented as the film moves along. Not quite as good as Ex Machina, but very good nonetheless.

 

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back - First Jack Reacher surprised me a lot when it was released, but this was a let down. Decent entertainment, but lacks the elements of what made Jack Reacher so good. This is just the same old, same old and nothing more than that.

[Bear 1817]

xXx: Return of Xander Cage - With a cast consisting of Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Rory McCann, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev and Toni Collette, as well as a badass motherfucking cameo by Ice Cube this could never end up as anything but decent fun. This is hardly a masterpiece, and nor does it try to aim for such standards, but I thought it was fun for what it is. Doesn't quite live up to the original film, but still lots of fun. But what it lacks is well-directed action scenes. They're all cut too pieces and everything goes to fast, and as usual with non-asian directors they're not anywhere near to get the best out of Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa. Shame how non-asian directors use these stars on 15-20% of what they are capable of.

 

Flight of the Navigator - Alright sci-fi adventure for kids, but this lacked the element that made similar films like Explorers and E.T. so good. It was perhaps a bit too childish for my liking. Probably perfect for kids, but but not quite there for me as an adult. It was fun, but just not as fun as expected.

 

Sweet Country - Aussie western-crime that takes a perfect look at racism. It's deep, it's got carved out characters, fantastic performances and the beautiful Australian outback as a setting. Shame this will probably get the same treatment as other newer excellent western films such as The Proposition, The Salvation, Bone Tomahawk, Slow West and The Dark Valley and just be overlooked among the "big people". These films deserves a massive crowd!

[Bear 1817]

This review might contain spoilers:

 

Avengers: Infinity War - I don't watch trailers and I don't read plot synopsis, so I did not know much about this film before watching it. I'm not the biggest fan of the Avengers films, and I thought that Captain America: Civil War was a better Avengers film than both the actual Avengers movies so far, and I expected this to be just another Avengers film. But this was actually real fun from start to finish, and I was surprised to see the Guardians of the Galaxy appear too. Suddenly we had "all and everyone" and for some reason it worked out really well. This was just miles and miles ahead of both Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Such a huge difference in quality. It's deeper, it's darker, and it's just hella lot more interesting. Great cast, lots of fun characters and to everyone's surprise, an interesting story. Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Dinklage, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Chris Pratt basically stole the show too. Funfunfunfunfunfun! I never thought I'd say I'm looking forward to an Avengers film, but I really do look forward to the next.

 

 

If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death - Late 60's spaghetti western of the best kind. You know, the dark, moody and violent one, very much similar in tone to films like A Fistful of Dollars and Django. The main character are also very similar, but that's just awesome IMO. I thought this was exceptional and I am looking forward to seeing the others. Brilliant!

[Bear 1817]

Creature Designers - The Frankenstein Complex - A documentary about special effects, but mostly horror make-up, effects and creatures. Very good, informative, interesting and entertaining. Lots of interviews with both make-up artists, special effects people and directors. Good to see some of the people lash out at Hollywood producers too, for how they use CGI and shit. But it's very balanced and manages to find positives about both practical special effects and CGI, and the nice thing is how it ends up with the conclusion that I've used for 46141 years too. CGI is a very good  assistive product for when practical effects gets too hard or technical, but it shouldn't be used as much as it is. It's exactly the same as autotune. There's a tasteful and distasteful way of using it, and sadly Hollywood anno 2018 always leans towards the latter.

 

 

Fear City - Very cool and badass Abel Ferrara flick, and as usual from him it's a "typical" cult film. It's got a nice dark and rather depressive mood to it, cool characters, nice dialogue and it looks really nice. Lots of nudity, some awesome violence and shit. Awesome film!

[secret_no_03 959]

The Foreigner - A movie starring Jackie Chan where he gets revenge on the people responsible for the death of his daughter, it co-stars Pierce Brosnan and it's a good, serious as hell action movie. Jackie always excels in serious films, 1911 about the Chinese revolution was great and so was The Shinjuku Incident, but that one is not for the light of heart. 

[Bear 1817]

My Scientology Movie - Louis Theroux and director John Dower wants to make a film about scientology, but because they get no access to the cult whatsoever they decide to talk with people who was involved in the past, hire actors and act out a few scenes from how it's supposedly is. And being a Louis Theroux film, this is of course both very interesting and funny. It's not as dark and twisted as Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief from the same year, but if you want something lighter and funnier My Scientology Movie is the way to go.

 

The Package - This felt a bit like a blast from the past as it felt like I was watching a film from the early 2000's. A bit cheesy, filled up with dick jokes and all type of childish humour, but I did entertain myself quite a lot. The humour is right up my alley, even though it doesn't end up as a masterpiece. But it was fun nonetheless. Very fun!

 

Tag - A comedy that stars  Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Jon Hamm, and Jeremy Renner, as well as Annabelle Wallis and Isla Fisher about a group of friends that spend one month a year to play tag. It's loosely based on a true story about a group of friends who actually did that, though this is probably a bit darker and more cynical than it actually was. But it's good, lighthearted fun with good pacing and a lot to laugh at.

 

Nerve - I say this advertised as a techno-thriller and thought that this had to be right up my alley, and while it does have a lot to enjoy it's not focused enough for my taste. It ends up being just another teenage flick with boring characters and a boring plot. Shame really, because this could and should have been a lot better.

[Bear 1817]

Sex Drive - Teenage comedy in the vein of American Pie, Road Trip, Euro Trip and so on that came 5-8 years too late. It has its moments, but I think I would've loved it if it had been released some years earlier when I was young and very much into these types of silly flicks. Like, I still like a lot of them, but the new ones rarely touch my heart. I'm getting too old. But it was fun tho.

[Bear 1817]

American Animals - Crime film about a heist based on a true story. It's smart, witty, well-acted and superbly directed. The way it moves between the live action film itself and interviews with the real guys involved is just superb, and it actually make it all a bit confusing at times. But in a good way! Really liked it.

[Bear 1817]

Malibu Express - This 1985 triple B film (bullets, bombs and babes) by Andy Sidaris is his first in the long series of triple B films, or L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies which is some incredibly light-hearted action adventures with tons of Playboy Playmates and Penthouse Pets. In this film there's so much of it that it's not exactly wrong to call this a soft-core film. Because the amount of titties and skin shown is insane. Anyway, film is about a womanizing P.I. with a great mustache. Lots of fun, but far from the best in the triple B series. Cheese and sleaze.

 

 

Extinction - Cool premise, but poorly executed and fairly predictable which makes it feels like such an underwhelming sci-fi actioner. Potential wasted. Shame.

[Bear 1817]

After watching Summer of 84 I was drawn into a world of short film, more precisely fake trailers from François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell (KRSS) and Steven Kostanski (Astron-6). Let's start with the KRSS ones:

 

Ninja Eliminator - Hilarious 4-5 minute long fake trailer spoofing/paying tribute to Godfrey Ho, the master of Z-grade ninja films. It's very similar to the excellent TV-series Ninja the Mission Force, also a homage to Godfrey Ho. It's fun, and every single time the voice over comes I cannot help to laugh out loud. Absolutely genius!

 

Ninja Eliminator 2: Quest of the Magic Ninja Crystal - Another hilarious fake trailer, this time a minute longer. It's basically the same, just even more absurd. Again, the highlight is the voice over and the repeat NINJA ELIMINATOR voice overs. Hilarious! 

 

Ninja Eliminator 3: Guardian of the Dragon Medallion - By far the best one in the "series", and I just can't get enough of this. Seen it several times already. Hilarious, and the voice over is just killing me. The NINJA ELIMINATOR part. Holy cow, it's so good. The voice and everything is just fantastic. Amazing!

 

Ninja Eliminator 4: The French Connection - This one was actually released before Ninja Terminator 3, and NT3 even used some clips from this. This time the torch is handed over to a French man, and the quality drops drastically. It's not bad, but it's just way, way, way too long for this type of a fake trailer. Fake trailers can be long, but then they have to be a bit different than this.

 

And now over to something Astron-6 related, both directed by Steven Kostanski (The Void)

 

Bio-Cop - This is hands down the best fake trailer out there, alongside Rob Zombie's masterpiece Werewolf Women of the S.S. It's a 5 minute long action-comedy with more wit and humor than a regular 90 minute long comedy nowadays. Just hilarious throughout, and kind sad tbh. Exceptional!

 

Lazer Ghosts 2: Return to Laser Cove - This fake trailer is twice as long as the "usual" lenght, but unlike Ninja Eliminator 4 this does it right. It doesn't feel too long at all. Hilarious sci-fi action-comedy that's so over the top, silly and fun. "With great laser comes great responsibility."

 

 

Will continue to watch KRSS and Astron-6 related fake trailers and short movies later tonight. It's just loads of fun.

[Bear 1817]

More Steven Kostanski

 

Fantasy Beyond - Animated film with a girl in an art museum that ends up being saved by two rock 'n' roll maniacs. It's a very cool film, rock 'n' roll as fuck and got a very interesting style to it. There's not much substance tho, but who really gives a fuck?

 

Insanophenia - A really Lovecraftian-esque comedy about two dim-witted exterminators. Really fun, and the blend of real actors and stop-motion creatures are superb.

 

Geostorm - A new disaster film that greatly disappoints. I expected something over the top as fuck, similar to 2012, The Day After Tomorrow and all those film. Like, bad films that still have some entertainments value. This had nothing. Was pure shit from beginning to end. Worthless.

[merchenticneurosis 441]

Heavenly Creatures 1994 - Beautiful and sad story, showcases the elements of puberty and beyond that sometimes can exceed the limits of humanity and "right or wrong".

 

Dark City - Lovecraftian as fuck, i kinda liked it even though the repetiative process in the storytelling... 

 

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - Many same themes as "Requiem For a Dream", you know it. Amazing everytime, adore.

[Bear 1817]

Dark City is one of the best sci-fi, or just neo-noir flicks ever. One of the few films that's been able to give me much of the same feeling as I get when watching Metropolis.

[AmberCrystal17 6]

The Avengers: Infinity War was the last movie I saw, but if you don't count rewatches, then Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (although I was kind of forced to watch it by my mom. But I still enjoyed it, though, since I love ABBA). I am planning on watching The Incredibles 2 soon.

[Bear 1817]

Skyscraper - I like Dwayne Johnson a lot, so I will watch almost any movie that has him in it, and as this does have him in it I just had to watch it. Mildly entertaining Die Hard rip-off without almost all the things that made Die Hard a classic, genre-defining film. It's fun for what it is, filled with cool scenes and a very awesome Dwayne Johnson, but it's nothing special. I do not regret watching it though.

 

Surf Nazis Must Die - The title kinda says all, doesn't it? Cult film with the name of Troma Entertainment attached to it. It's about a bunch of neo-nazi surfers, lead by non other than Adolf himself, Führer of the new beach, who decides they gonna own the fucking beaches around the area. You have Adolf, Eva and Mengele as some of the surf nazis, and that's kinda all you need to know. Awesome film!