Most Liked Movies & TV Blogs (201)

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

Do any other men find Stephanie Beatriz from Brooklyn nine nine strangely attractive. shes not conventially pretty but I think she is hot!!!!!

The other day we got about a 3" (7-8 CM) snowfall. I turned on the TV and got an error message saying something like "searching for satellite". After waiting about 5 minutes with nothig happening, I went outside and looked up on the roof and sure enough, the Direct TV dish was covered in snow. I went back inside and flipped a couple of Co-Ax switches and plugged in the little power inserter, took all of about a minute and Bam, I have about 15 channels to watch from the antenna I bought & mounted on my chimney.

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 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.

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!

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!

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.

This isn't about the SOTU.
Its about alpha waves, predictive programming & the Eagle in the White House. Thanks to technology, no one who reads this not-blog can feign ignorance of the subject.
..Those of you who still think Trump colluded with Putin to over awe the NY computers within the Electoral College
Need to pay closer attention to the TV
Namely:
Trackdown: end of the world ( 1958
[ hint: pay attn. to the Trump-- yeah, that's his name- character who wants to build a wall.]
Back to the Future...'84 ) no other motion picture has more Easter eggs
Per foot of film than this film & it's sequels. The Biff character is Trump-esque.
The Simpson's...in the year 2000, the Trump presidency is predicted, parodied, and unfinished ??...because
Lisa Simpson came to town & tamed or subdued the swamp creature.
Donnie Darko...? Didn't see it & don't recall the year..
But it predicts [ trump] will not complete his term of office..( this info was gleaned from a YouTube decode.
Thus this insane Mueller investigation is simply to paralyze half the country with alpha waves ( mindless TV.
Just yesterday CNN deliberately put a non-magical R next to the name of a governor who in fact-- parties with magic Dave. The reason they do this is because they are criminally insane...and are greasing the skids for regional ( read, beaster) government.