Last Commented Movies & TV Blogs (201)

This is Stephen Colbert's wonderful interview of former First Lady, Michelle Obama the other day;



Make sure you hear about, how Barrack proposed to her.

Today, I spent about two hours in the dark, watching a steampunk adventure written and produced by Peter Jackson and some other people.

The premise of the movie is about a mysterious young woman named Hester Shaw, who joins forces with Anna Fang, a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head, and Tom Natsworthy, an outcast from London, to lead a rebellion against a giant predator city on wheels.

So how is it? Is it just another mediocre film, or does this have some meat to it?

In short: This movie is a great popcorn time!

Hera Hilmar, Hugo Weaving, Jihae, Robert Sheedan, Stephen Lang and Colin Salmon lead the cast on this enormous adventure, that is a visually stunning piece of film. It's rare that I sit and go "Wow!" to a film, but this one really made me sit in awe.

The CGI is on point, and it is very entertaining. There is one chase sequence, where I found myself on the edge of my seat, thoroughly enjoying the action taking place in front of me.

The acting is good, but some of it is wooden, at best, and there are several cheasy oneliners, that really makes you go "Oh my God, really?!". There is also a funny bit, where you go "Heh, fun!"

But all in all, it is a great time. If you are a fan of huge action sequences, with lots of things happening, then you definitely need to see Mortal Engines!

I shall rate this movie 8/10!

At home, in the Vierk-Aaltarboy Tajmahal-like mansions, I do not have land lines, ISP or cable TV. Smart/cell phone much better, occasional wifi use in some favorite places and cable during travels (hotels/hostels/AirB&B/Home away) suffice just fine. Still use antennas on rotator in tall trees for many broadcast TV stations/HF wire lines, even some from ooooott there Oh Canada-Eh?, conditions permitting. Like much in our friends' country to the north, TV and radio are quite different there, and often much better. When twins were still at home, I begrudgingly (tight wad) had all three, supporting lots of fake news sources, and ample brain pollution for children and adults alike. And now amateur radio and short wave broadcasts allow for diverse coverage of world issues, from blended viewpoints, while at the home front. But on this trip, watching cable, have noticed two improved TV sources. Al-Jazeera and i24. By comparison with my using many sources at the V-Aa castles, these sources seem to be far less biased. Of course, apartheid Israel takes it deep up the back side on Al-J., as well she should. And likewise, i24 tends toward the (slightly) more left leaning Eurotrashy view on reality, at times. But in general, I'm seeing these as a breath of fresh air, in trying to feel informed. Silly me? Onward, nose ever straight forward, through the dense fog.

I was browsing Amazon Prime, when I came across a movie that I always wanted to see - the 1998 action/crime/drama/conspiracy flick The Negotiator.

The film stars Samuel L. Jackson as Danny Roman, a hostage negotiator, who is framed for his partners murder, as well as taking some money from a Pension Fund. With his life unraveling in front of him, he makes a desperate move, and takes hostages in an office building in Chicago. It is now up to Danny to find the truth, with the help of another hostage negotiator named Chris Sabian, played by Kevin Spacey. Just how far does this conspiracy go?

Let me be clear about this from the start: This film is excellent! It is a thrill from start to finish, and it keeps you guessing as to who killed Danny's partner.

Besides Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey, the other roles are filled by some pretty major names: David Morse, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, J.T. Walsh, Paul Giamatti, Regina Taylor, Michael Cudlitz, Dean Norris and Nestor Serrano. It is directed by F. Gary Gray.

Movies from the 1990s always have a certain quality to it, that most films lack today. Many of the major blockbusters, that we know and love, are from that era. We are talking about Independence Day, The Rock, Bad Boys, The Big Lebowski, Saving Private Ryan, American History X, The Truman Show, Deep Impact and Armageddon. This was also a time when Kevin Spacey had a clean reputation, regarding his alleged s*xual deviancy.

I really loved how they managed to keep the suspense until the end. It was only in the last 5 minutes of the movie, that we got to know who did it. Something films today lack. Most of the times, a new movie gives away the villain at the end of the first act.

I shall give this movie an 8 out of 10!

What do you get when you take Gerard Butler, Michael Nyqvist, Gary Oldman and Common and put them in a spy thriller?

The answer is a movie, that has a great premise, but somewhat lacks a bit of a punch, to make it into a home run, and it comes across as a bit boring. The story is relatively straight forward: An untested submarine captain named Joe Glass, played by Gerard Butler, assumes command of the USS Arkansas, and he is told that the USS Tampa Bay has been lost in the Arctic. At the same time, a Russian general stages a coup against the Russian President, so now it is up to Glass to stage a rescue operation with some badass Navy Seals, in order to free the President, and fix everything.

I hadn't seen ANY marketing for this movie, only the posters, hanging in my local cinema, so I had my assumptions. If a movie doesn't have any marketing, then it's probably a bit terrible. But I am a big fan of Gerard Butler, and I love submarine thrillers, so I had to see it. I was excited, because Gerard Butler in an action film guarantees a good time.. Just not this time around.

It doesn't spare anything regarding the action. There are shootouts, explosions and exciting bits, but that's about it, really. There is also a TON of CGI work, and you'd think that we in 2018 can make decent submarine CGI, and that you could make explosions look amazing in CGI, but no! The special effect- and visual effect team really dropped the ball on this one, particularly towards the end.

Acting wise, well it has its moments. Gary Oldman is great as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Donnegan, and Gerard Butler is great as Joe Glass. Other actors worth mentioning is Toby Stephens as Bill Beaman, the leader of the Navy Seals. He is a no nonsense, hardcore soldier, who enjoys going into battle and killing. The reason why I think he is worthy of a mention, is that he is SUPPOSED to be a hardcore badass, but he just ends up being a parody of every war-hungry team leader.

Common is also doing a decent job as RADM John Fisk, but it is clear, that he isn't suitable for military parts. He is more suited for secondary parts or even third degree parts.

All-in-all, it's a sub-par film, that is forgotten very quickly. The only stand out thing about this movie is Michael Nyqvist, Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler. If you are thinking about seeing it, wait until it is out on dvd.

Rating: 3/10

It has been one of my secret likings lately.

I don't get this african american community portrayed on these shows.
They really are making their own kind of hell.

I was browsing Netflix, looking for something to see, when this movie popped up in my recommended feed. The synopsis reads: "Two roguish brothers' penchant for stealing vintage sports cars gets them tangled in the animosity between two French mafia rivals", and the cast was listed as Scott Eastwood, Freddie Thorp and Ana de Armas.

Now, I am a sucker for movies with cars in them, so I thought "Fine, I'll watch this. It'll probably be terrible, since most car movies are."

The movie begins in Monaco, with an auction where they are auctioning off a rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, of which there are only 2 in the World. (I did some fact checking on that one, and it turns out it's correct information. Nice research!).

Anyway, the car is sold, and is put on a transporter, bound for an unknown destination. On the way out of Monaco, two brothers are ready to intercept and steal the car. They manage to do so, but upon delivery, they are knocked out and taken to a guy called Jacomo Morier. They wake up, tied to a chair, with the threat of impending death. They are given an ultimatum: Steal a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO within one week, or die. Naturally, our two brothers decide to steal the car, or at least attempt to.

They gather a crew, and then the movie really kicks into high gear (no pun intended).

I enjoyed this movie immensely, and it's a fantastic movie for any car fanatic out there. A few of the cars in this movie is an E Type Jaguar, an AC Cobra, numerous Ferrari's and of course that stunning 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. It has some great stunts, but some of the car chases felt sped up. A pity, considering it would have been a joy to watch some intense car chases.

Overall, this movie lands in the 8/10 area.

You can see it on Netflix, or own it on blu-ray/dvd!

I am on a bit of a horror binge today. I have seen the remake of It, and now I have finished Quarantine, the 2008 remake of the Spanish movie .

The story is pretty straight forward: A journalist and a cameraman has been tasked with shadowing a LAFD crew for the night. They get a call to an apartment building, where something strange has occurred. It soon becomes clear, that this is no ordinary call, and that there is something bizarre and more sinister at play than they had been anticipating.

The movie is found-footage style, and I like that about this one. It gives it more of an authentic and terrifying feel to it. I enjoyed the way that the movie went from "Just a regular day" to "Oh my god, what's happening and how do we stop it from happening any further?"

The actors in this movie are doing a great job, and they really put on a great performance. Jennifer Carpenter has the leading role in this movie, and I enjoyed her performance as a reporter, who gets WAY in over her head, and ends up a nervous wreck. Steve Harris is her camera man Scott, who we rarely see, but has quite a big role to play, because we see the movie from his perspective.

Other actors include Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short, Rade Serbedzija and Andrew Fiscella.

If you are into found-footage style horror, with plenty of terror, you will love this film. Me, as a film lover, enjoyed the way it was shot. I also enjoyed the acting from Jennifer Carpenter.

Quarantine lands on a solid 9/10!

I mentioned in a previous blog, that I had seen the movie It, but I never wrote a review of it. So I thought that I would do just that.

The story is extremely straight forward: In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.

I am not usually into horror films, but It has captured what a good horror film is: Exciting, creepy and full of great performances.

The runtime for this movie is a genre-breaking 2 hours and 15 minutes. Usually, horror films has a strict 90 minute runtime. Think about it: Every horror movie you have seen lasts 90 minutes. It's like there were some committee going "Right, we need a standard runtime on our horror movies. Waddaya got?"

Anyway, sidetrack! Let's get back to the review!

Bill Skarsgård stars as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. He gives an awesome performance, and he is sufficiently creepy enough to pull off what will undoubtedly be hailed a legendary performance!

The kids are being played by Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer and Wyatt Oleff, and they are each doing a wonderful job. There is also a particularly nasty bully called Henry Bowers, who is played by Nicholas Hamilton. Being the victim of bullying myself, I can confirm that this Henry Bowers is THE single worst person I have ever seen in a movie. He is a vicious, nasty piece of human garbage, but all bullies have a weakness - in Henry's case, it's his cop father.

The six kids, lovingly named The Losers Club, Henry Bowers and the entity known as Pennywise form a fantastic horror movie, that I really, really enjoyed. For the first time ever, I am looking forward to a horror sequel!

10/10, hands down!

So yesterday, I was down in the living room, and my roommate put on a movie. It looked fun, so I asked him what movie it was. "It's the first Kingsman," he told me, so I decided to watch it.

What is it about? The synopsis reads: "A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program, just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius"

Taron Egerton plays the street kid, named Eggsy. He is into some bad stuff, with an abusive kingpin-stepfather and a penchant for petty crime. One such petty crime lands him in police custody, where he is being freed and recruited by Galahad, played by Colin Firth. Together with 9 other people, he embarks on a brutal training programme, that will shape him into a secret agent.

One of the people working for Kingsman is named Merlin, who is played by Mark Strong. I liked his character, because he was a welcome sight. He was extremely dry, but kind at the same time.

The tech genius is played, very well I might add, by Samuel L Jackson. His character, whom Samuel L Jackson made have a lisp, was one of the best things about the movie, which had plenty of actors where you go "Eeeey, nice!".

The action in the film is also one of the strong parts. There is one scene in a church that is both chaotic, brutal and funny at the same time, and it sends the entertainment value skyhigh!

A new feature of my movie review is to rate them on the John Wick scale. For those of you, who doesn't know what "The John Wick scale" is, it's primary objective is to rate movies on three criteria:

1: How heavy are the punches? Can you feel them in your face, once the movie is done?

2: How many times do they sacrifice something to the Lord of Fire? (explosions)

3: How many times do they call The Grim Reaper? (Deaths)

Kingsman: The Secret Service gets 7 John Wicks out of 10. Lots of death and fights, but not enough explosions.

Overall, the movie was enjoyable. There is a sequel, which I will look into tomorrow!