What was the last movie you saw...? Part IV

[Charger]

MILE 22

A team of elite intelligence officers get tasked to transport an asset from an US embassy to an airstrip with local corrupt operatives chasing them. Making the journey extremely dangerous and all the time thinking is the asset really who he says he is.

A rather simple plot line but director Peter Berg delivers one adrenaline filled action ride that offers quite the plot twist.

Mark Walhberg does a great job with the lead character Jimmy Silva who is a savant and has somewhat of a blunt personality to say the least. Adding some humor to the otherwise rather brutal action.
The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan does a great job with the other lead.

The best part of the movie is that it's just 1 hour 30 minutes long. Taking us back to the golden era of action movies both action wise and length wise. There is nothing pointless here just good old school action. Movies like these aren't really being made anymore which makes this that little bit more special!


*   *   *   *

[Typhon]

Never heard of that movie before Typhon but I am interested in it as I love the rocky movies especially the original movie

I got the DVD from my local the library.

[Typhon]

10 Rillington Place (1971)

The true story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed nearly all of his crimes at or right near his residence, is played brilliantly by Richard Attenborough.  A young couple, played by Judy Gleeson and John Hurt, have just moved in the flat above him.  The film makes a point to use the actual dialogue, from court records and such, whenever possible.  On a side note: I can't recall a single note of music, other than the opening credits, in the entire film.  Yet, the drama and suspense is mesmerizing.  9/10

[Charger]

THE ACCOUNTANT

Christian Wolff is an extraordinaire accountant. Not only is he incredibly good with numbers dues to his autism he is also very equipt with weapons and combat due to his father's extensive training.
He gets a job reviewing the books for a succesful company and with a help of a beautiful young book keeper he finds irregularities that soon cause both of them to be in the cross hairs of a very talented hitman and his team.

The movie starts off rather slowly and building up characters and introducing several in fact. Some of which share unique connections. The action is fierce and suitably brutal.

I most certainly am no fan of Ben Affleck as he tends to be about as stiff as a steel telephone pole. But here he actually does a pretty good job although in the action sequences he is not at his finest. Jon Bernthal on the other hand is brilliant. Bit over the top as he usually tends to be. Anna Kendrick is as beautiful as ever and John Lithgow did not get nearly enough air time...same can be said about JK Simmons.

There's quite a lot of stuff fitted into 2 hours and it works for the most part but the slowness in the beginning half could have used better pacing.

Pretty good action movie even despite Affleck.


*  *  *  ½



THE ACCOUNTANT 2


The death of JK Simmons' charcter King from the first movie puts Christian Wolff and his Brother Braxton at odds with a bunch of human traffickers and an extraordinaire hitwoman who might not be just who she seems.

The sequal adds bit more humor and more character dynamics between Chris and Braxton. But it is still for the most part quite slow in the first half. And there is also quite a lot less math.

Jon Bernthal once again outshines Ben Affleck by a country mile and Cynthia Addai-Robinson has a much bigger role than in the first one. Rest of the cast isn't really worth mentioning even.

This is basically a buddy movie with a twist. It is very different from the first one...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I think I enjoyed the first one bit more.


*  *  *

[Typhon]

THE ACCOUNTANT

Thanks for the review.  I'll have to check this one out.

... but the slowness in the beginning half could have used better pacing.

Well the guy's an accountant, not James Bond.   

[Charger]

 

That's true I guess.

[Typhon]

Devil's Knot

This story is based on real events, which were the savage murders of three 8 year old boys and the subsequent trials of 3 teenagers charged with the crimes.  The trials were controversial, because the 3 teenagers were accused of killing the kids as part of a Satanic ritual, as well as the strange rulings of the sitting judge.  The main stars, Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon, do a fine job.  The crime took place in 1993, Arkansas.  8/10

[Typhon]

Moon (2009)

An astronaut nearing the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, works alongside his computer sending back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.  However, he accidentally discovers something unexpected.  Well done science fiction.  8/10

[Charger]

BONE TOMAHAWK


A quiet small town is shaken by the kidnapping of a young lady doctor and a deputy sheriff in the hands of a brutal cannibalistic Indian tribe and the aging Sheriff with his other deputy, a cripple husband and a gunslinger go after them. But once they find them they quickly realise they are facing something much more than your average indian tribe.

Starts out as a humoristic slowpaced western and ends as a very brutal survival horror film. A total change of genre really. Think of The Searchers meets The Hills Have Eyes.

The movie is quite slow but is packed with rather great dialogue with subtle humor. Bit Tarantino-esque actually. Kurt Russell does an amazing job as the Sheriff. Other 3 actors do a good job as well...and they have to as they carry the majority of the movie.

Maybe this could have used a bit more heavier editing job as 2 hours 15 minutes is bit on the long side especially with most of it being just the 4 men riding on. But once they do find the tribe then things get interesting fast.

Some of these genre mixing movies don't really work and some again work brilliantly. This lands somewhere in between.


*  *  *  ½

[Typhon]

Sisu (2022)

This story is set in Finland, right near the end of WWII.  A Finnish man, who has had enough of the war, goes prospecting for gold and finds some.  On his way home he runs in to some Nazis, then things get interesting.  I thoroughly enjoyed the film, start to finish (no pun intended).    9/10

@Charger:  If you haven't seen this film, then you should definitely seek it out.  I would lay serious $$ that you would enjoy it.  According to the credits, a good portion was taped in Helsinki.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Karate Kid: Legends 2025

A reboot I suppose inspired by the success of Cobra Kai. This has returning stars Jackie Chan, and Ralph Macchio with new to the franchise faces Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley and Ming-Na Wen.

When Li Fong (Wang) finds out his mother (Wen) is moving to a new job in New York, he leaves beind in Hong Kong (I think it was!) his marshall arts instructor (Chan) and has to find new challenges. He falls in with cafe owner (Jackson) and his daughter (Stanley) and it transpires that they owe money to some bad people! He enters a series of tournaments much against his mothers wishes.

Why are there always a series of Kung Fu tournaments in these films? While the action is competently done, the plot seems flimsy and as familiar/predictable as every other Karate Kid film! Not really for me, but the girlfiend really enjoyed it. 5/10

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

How to Train Your Dragon 2025

A live action remake of the 2010 animation of the same name. Starring Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler and Nick Frost.

A remote Viking community has to regularly defend itself from marauding dragons stealing their sheep etc. On one attack Hiccup (Thames) looses a ballista at the dragons and is convinced he's wounded one of them. He searches the nearby woodlands and discovers a wounded dragon. Initially planning to finish the job, he can't do it and needs to help the dragon and nurse it back to health. After a while others learn about its existence like Astrid (Parker) and other youths just learning how to do battle against dragons. When his dad and village leader Stoic (Butler) finds out he uses the dragon to find the hidden nest of the dragons and destroy them once and for all.

This is how to do a live action remake of an animated film. It's basically the same as the 2010 film but adds to the story (it's about 20 minutes longer). I agree it's not necessary but it's a great film in it's own right!

Only Butler reprises his role from the animated films and it's clear he's having a whale of a time. The new cast are very good too. Toothless the Dragon looks a little less cartoonish which I think is a good thing. Very well done 9/10

[Typhon]

Owning Mahowny (2003)

A bank manager with a gambling problem and access to a multi-million dollar account, bets huge sums at the casinos.  Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.  Philip Seymour Hoffman does a great job, as well as Mini Driver as his unsuspecting girlfriend.  9/10

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Superman 2025

DC reboot their universe having handed over the reigns to James Gunn (fresh off the Guardians of the Galaxy finale). This version stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult.

From IMDb - Superman (Corenswet) must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.

Lex Luther (Hoult) once again has it in for Superman and exploits a rift to a pocket universe to ensnare Superman.

I'm not a fan of the Superman character, I did enjoy Man of Steel until the OTT final battle, but that's the only one I remotely care about. This is not MoS level but it *is* an improvement over recent DCU films (Batman IP aside!). The inclusion of Krypto the Super Dog was a nice addition, and I liked the robots at Superman's secret hideout. But it's still not up to MCUs quality even with their mixed offerings in recent years. 6/10

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Fantastic Four: First Steps

A reboot of the Fantastic Four story which is now part of the MCU. This time starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson.

The Silver Surfer (Garner) arrives on Earth and herald's the imminent arrival of space god Galactus (Inneson) who will destrpy the Earth (Johnny Storm - Quinn - immediately fancies the Silver lady!!). The Fantastic Four must find a way to save the Earth and rid it of the god. Things are hindered by the news that Sue Storm (Kirby) is pregnant with Reed Richard's (Pascal) baby, which on discovering this makes Galactus very interested!

The Earth in this instance is in an alternative universe where styles and fashions are very 1950s/60s even though they have advanced technology such as interstellar travel.

This is one of the better MCU films since Endgame, not Guardians 3 good but with Thunderbols* and now FF I think there is some inkling of hope again for the MCU. BTW How many projects has Pedro Pascal been involved with in recent years, he seems to be in just about everything!! 8.5/10