Last Commented Movies & TV Blogs (201)

I have watched a TON of movies, and I have begun to get a somewhat decent understanding on how to craft the perfect story. You need something that captures. Like a well crafted horror story, or a thrilling action story. Given that my favorite genre of films is disaster films, I might go ahead and try to make a rough outline, with a log line that really intrigues.

The problem is, that most disasters have been pummeled to death. Skyscraper disaster movies: Skyscraper and The Towering Inferno. Extreme disaster movies: Independence day, 2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon, Deep Impact, San Andreas. Ship disaster movies: Poseidon, Titanic.

I need to come up with a story, that is completely unique. Something that hasn't been done before. I could write a space disaster movie, but Gravity has that covered.

I'm gonna go into thinking mode, and write some stuff down. Who knows, maybe I will write something that will get made into a movie at some point, but that's not my main objective at the moment. I just want to start writing, and write a few complete movies. After that, we'll see what happens.

I went for many years without a TV in the bedroom. One woman I dated insisted on it as she couldn't fall asleep without some distraction. She brought over a small screen that had a timer. If I recall, her favorite channel was Oxygen. TV shows for and about women. The late night format was stories about women who were abused by the entire world, not to mention disgruntled ex's.
Oh, I mentioned it.
I'm a believer that when you sleep your subconscious is still absorbing your surroundings. That said, a few times I jumped out of my sleep to hear a woman shrieking when a man holding a knife was approaching... Sorry, no more TV when I'm sleeping.
That forced her to buy a clock radio that also played the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shore! I was glad when that relationship was over... and take your stinkin' TV with you.
Fast forward 15 years. There is a TV in the bedroom now. It doesn't get used very often. In the past 3 months, a few evening news reports and on Sunday mornings, it's seen some Kung Fu martial arts and one Chinese comedy with English subtitles. That's it. No more chic channel.

I was told about a movie called Point Blank, and it was hyped up to be a fun action movie, so I decided to see if it was worth the hype.

The movie, which is a Netflix production, stars Frank Grillo and Anthony Mackie, two people who have worked together in the MCU. The story is extremely straight forward: To save his pregnant wife, an emergency room nurse teams up with an injured murder suspect in a race against time, rival criminals and renegade cops.

I enjoyed myself watching it, and I caught myself laughing a lot during some of the bits. It has everything you could ask for in an action thriller: Fights, shootouts, explosions, intense bits and the ever present "Oh man, who will survive at the end of it?"

Besides Frank Grillo and Anthony Mackie, the movie stars Marcia G. Harden, Christian Cooke, Teyonah Parris, Boris McGiver and Markice Moore.

The task of controlling all those actors, and bringing a film to life, has fallen to Joe Lynch, who has directed tv series, low-budget horror movies and a Faith No More music video.

I really liked this movie a lot, and it is a fun hour and a half of entertainment.

Rating: 7/10

Point Blank streams NOW on Netflix!

One of my Facebook-buddies wrote me, and said that I would be expecting a call from a producer on Denmark's biggest tv station. They are doing a segment on Slipknot, and I am the admin of the largest Danish Slipknot group. My buddy is going as well, so I will not be alone. Anyway, they want to invite me on their show, to explain why I love Slipknot so much. So tomorrow morning, at 6.30 am, I will be on screens nationwide, trying not to make a fool of myself!

I have done it once before, been on tv that is, so it's going to be a cakewalk. It's gonna be great talking Slipknot with a friend, and to educate/chat all things metal on NATIONAL tv on a wednesday morning :D

Louis CK. You may love him, hate him, or not know who he is at all. He's mostly known as a comedian and a pervert. This shouldn't really surprise anyone who is familiar with his material though.

He got caught up in the "me too" dragnet but his situation was different than that of Weinstein or Ailes. He admitted to doing the things he was accused of and recognized his role in taking advantage of a position of power in a work environment. To put a finer point on it, he asked female colleagues if he could m**turbate in their presence. Some said yes (according to Sarah Silverman), some said No (Rebecca Corry) and some apparently, went along with it but we're uncomfortable.

He's been all but blackballed (would blue-balled be more fitting?) in the entertainment industry due to his transgressions and it's cost him plenty. (The show, "Louie" and the movie "I Love You, Daddy" being two of many lost ventures).
He dared to make an appearance at a comedy club about 10 months after this all went down and I had mixed feelings about it. He did another and got in some more hot water over a joke about school shooting survivors...I still had mixed feelings. I asked myself what would make me ok with him coming back because aside from gut feeling, I have no way to gauge what would be acceptable for society as a whole on this matter.

Then, The Secret Life Of Pets hits the theaters with Patton Oswalt doing the voice of Max instead of Louis CK who did Max's voice in the original, and that's when it hit me. I want Louie back, Godammit! It's not about the movie or about Oswalt, it's about sandblasting a face from Mt. Rushmore and replacing it with Oprah's.

What would it take for the entertainment industry to welcome Louis back with open arms?

How about if Louis CK's stage name was changed to Willy Wanka?

I just got done watching it on TV AGAIN, while I was working on cropping photos from today.

Terrific actors, wonderful story with many intense captivating scenes, plot twists, and good music with a fabulous finish.
I give it 5 stars out of 5.

If somehow you still have never seen it, make sure you do.
If you haven't seen it in a long time, do yourself a favor and re-visit it.

The movie I am referring to was released 77 years ago
and yet the story is timeless and will endure the ages.

Thankfully, "We'll always have.......

Casablanca"



In my opinion Bogart's best. However, Key Largo and The African Queen, were also excellent.

A few days ago, I began a new show called Designated Survivor. I reviewed the pilot episode, and I have now just finished season 1.

So was it worth it? Was the show as good as the first episode was?

Yes and no. Let me explain in detail!

I went into Designated Survivor with a curious mind. If Kiefer Sutherland is in it, then surely it wouldn't be bad. Right?

It's primarily a political series, with a lot of political doings in it. It also has some humor, and a fair bit of action. But the action scenes are somewhat lacking in excitement. Sure, there are shootouts, fistfights and car chases, but they are so poorly executed, that I was bored by them. I have seen better shootouts, fistfights and car chases in some YouTube shows.

The political bits is where Designated Survivor is best. It is extremely interesting to follow, and I am always enjoying the discussions they have. They use blackmail, extortion and all sorts of other political things, which makes for some excellent drama.

It has a very strong "24" element to it, but only on the political side. The action is sub-par to 24's excellent action scenes.

How about the actors? Surely big names such as Maggie Q, Natascha McElhone, Kal Penn, Italia Ricci and Kiefer Sutherland himself can make up for the dismal action scenes? Some of them do. Kal Penn is excellent as the speechwriter/special advisor/press secretary. I always enjoy seeing him on screen. Fun fact: He served as a consultant on the show, due to his work for the Obama administration. Kiefer Sutherland is great as the cabinet member turned President, and Maggie Q does a decent job as FBI Agent Hannah Wells.

While the show started off strong, is failed in the second half. I am not sure if I will begin season 2. The trailer will have to convince me.

All in all, season 1 gets a middle of the road 5. I guess I was expecting too much of the show.

A few years ago, I heard about a new Kiefer Sutherland show called Designated Survivor, but what IS a Designated Survivor?

"In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is an individual in the presidential line of succession, usually a member of the United States Cabinet, who is arranged to be at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President, the Vice President, and the other officials in the line of succession are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations."

An interesting thing, which makes for good tv! The lead actor is Kiefer Sutherland, who has a history of doing political action series, because he was of course Jack Bauer! The all-American badass!

Anyway, back to the series!

I finally got to see the very first episode, and the story is pretty straight forward: After a devastating attack on the US Capitol, that kills the President and every other members of Congress, low-level Secretary of Urban Housing and Development, Thomas Kirkman suddenly becomes the President of The United States of America. It is now up to him, so lead the country and to calm the public, and also to find out who is behind the attack.

I really enjoyed the pilot, and it's easily a binge-worthy series. Kiefer Sutherland is, naturally, great. His wife Alex, played by Natascha McElhone, is growing on me, even though it's the first episode.

Kal Penn is Seth Wright, a speechwriter, who is sceptical of Thomas' ability to lead the country.

This has very strong 24 vibes to it, and I absolutely love it, since 24 is my all time favourite tv series.

I am excited to see how this season pans out. There are 21 episodes, so plenty of time to get rocked, rolled, thrilled and awed!

The pilot episode gets an 8/10 from me!

Indonesian films are always bonkers. The Raid and The Raid 2 are perfect examples of that.

This film pairs Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim again, after their previous movie, The Raid. Other actors include Julie Estelle, Zack Lee, Sunny Pang, Abimana Aryasatya, Salvita Decorte and Asha Kenyeri Bermudez.

So what is it about?

Joe Taslim plays Ito, a gangland enforcer, caught amidst a treacherous and violent insurrection within his Triad crime family upon his return home from a stint abroad. When Ito turns his back on the Triad, they send their rising star, Arian, played by Iko Uwais, to kill Ito. Ito and Arian are old friends, which makes it a bit awkward, to say the least.

The movie opens with a bang, literally. What follows is a 2 hour brutal film, where there is a lot of blood, dismemberments, guts, broken bones and crushed skulls. The movie is so bloody, that it earned an NC-17 rating, which is only given to movies too violent and brutal to get an R rating.

The acting is great, and the fight scenes are intense. Asha Kenyeri Bermudez does a fantastic job as the child, who Ito takes under his protection.

While I was watching it, I kept thinking "That was absolutely disgusting" several times over. It is definitely not for the squeamish kind of people, and it would most definitely be banned in certain places, due to the graphic violence in the film.

Like I said in the beginning, Indonesian films are ridiculous, but in a good way.

This movie earns a 9/10 from me!

I finally got to see the new Transformers spinoff movie, centered on the yellow Beetle, and later a yellow and black Camaro known as Bumblebee, or B-127 back on Cybertron.

The movie follows Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a 17 year old girl, who is on the verge of turning 18. She has some issues, namely a family, that doesn't really care about her, and three bullies at school. She finds Bumblebee on a marina, and takes him in. At first, she doesn't know that it's Bumblebee. All she sees is a tired, banged up old Beetle. After inspecting his undercarriage, she discovers a face, making Bee transform.

The opening of the movie is great. It shows some war on Cybertron, and it instantly kicks into action with explosions and gunfire. Once Bee comes to Earth, he goes into hiding, which is how he gets to the marina. Bee is not alone in going to Earth, as two Decepticons also come to Earth, to hunt Bee down.

Apart from the impending two Decepticons, Shatter and Dropkick, Bee and Charlie also has the leader of Sector 7, colonel Jack Burns (John Cena) on their heels, and thus begins an epic adventure, full of fantastic action sequences, lots of emotion and a fair bit of humor.

Other actors include John Ortiz, Angela Davis and Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Overall, I liked this movie a lot. It is said that this is the best of the Transformers movies, and I agree. Something about this movie is just right. It lacks the cringe elements that Michael Bay stuffed into his movies, and it's nice to see a Transformers movie, without overly sexualising the lead actress.

So for all that it's worth, after nearly two hours of epic sci-fi action, I am gonna give this movie a 9/10.