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

[Vyn]

Never even heard of Cold Storage. Might have to check that out.

[Charger]

Pretty new..came out couple of months ago, just got onto Amazon prime this week.

[Vyn]

Cool, I have a Prime account!

[Typhon]

Sea Fever (2020)

The crew of an Ireland trawler become marooned at sea by a lengthy tentacled parasite that begins to invade the ship.  A young college girl, who happens to be aboard as part of her studies, helps them deal with the problem.

Interesting story with good characters and fine acting.  8/10

[Typhon]

The Ninth Gate (1999)

A rare book dealer (Johnny Depp) finds himself in the middle of a series of paranormal events when he is hired by a rare book collector (Frank Langella) to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.

The feeling of mystery is constant throughout the film.  Kind of reminded me of The Omen.  Very enjoyable.  9/10

[Typhon]

Walkaway Joe (2020)

A teenage boy (Julian Feder) goes on a search for his pool-hustling father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) after he abandons their family.  During his search he meets Joe Haley (David Strathairn), a drifter wrestling with a past he'd rather forget.

Interesting character study of father-son relationships.  9/10

[Typhon]

Contraband (2012)

When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord, family man Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) turns to a skill he abandoned long ago—smuggling—to repay the debt.  But the job goes wrong, and now his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and children are in danger.

Well made action packed film with some clever twists.  8/10

[Typhon]

Miss Meadows (2014)

Miss Meadows (Katie Holmes) is a school teacher with impeccable manners and grace.  However, underneath a sweet exterior hides a ruthless gun-toting vigilante who takes it upon herself to right the wrongs in the world by whatever means necessary.

Odd yet interesting portrait of a vigilante.  8/10

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

While I've seen Contraband, I don;t remember much about it, but I must have reasonably impressed as I scored it a 8 on IMDb!

Never heard of Miss Meadows before, but it does sound intriguing!

[Typhon]

While I've seen Contraband, I don;t remember much about it, but I must have reasonably impressed as I scored it a 8 on IMDb!

Never heard of Miss Meadows before, but it does sound intriguing!

Don't forget about Walkaway Joe.  I think the girlfiend will like that one.   

[Charger]

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

After Skeletor attacks Eternia The Sorceress sends young Adam to Earth with the Sword of Power for safety. There Adam grows up to be a bit of an oddling after having lost the sword until he finds it again and monsters from Eternia come to seek it so comes an old friend. Adam must return to Eternia and fight Skeletor and his cohorts and rescue his parents.

Based on the old 80s tv show and comics and toys this modern take isn't as childish as one might fear.

Choosing an unknown actor Nicholas Galitzene to play Adam/He-Man actually works quite well and he does actually resemble the old cartoon Adam. There is quite a cast of side characters including Morena Baccarin as Sorceress, Idris Elba as Man At Arms and Jared Leto as Skeletor who against my initial thoughts actually does a very good job.
And there is one Dolph Lundgren making a short cameo which was in fact hilarious.

This is a bit of a mixed bag...there's a whole ton of humor and some of it quite rowdy/double minded (which the original cartoon also did have but not sure all of it was intended) which was funny...they changed the characters a bit from what I remember (having grown up with the cartoon He-Man) but it's not too bad..

One thing that did bother me more than anything was the sound effects...especially from the ships. They stole those directly from Star Wars which to me was annoying as hell.

This is something of an origin story and ofcourse sets up for more to come...However this did not do as well in the box office as they'd hoped so who knows..

Fun movie, that could have been better but could have been a whole lot worse too. Intentional Cringe-factor is through the roof here though!


*  *  *

[Typhon]

Knox Goes Away (2024)

A contract killer (Michael Keaton), after being diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia, is presented with the opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son (James Marsden).  But to do so, he must race against the police closing in on him as well as the ticking clock of his own rapidly deteriorating mind.

Interesting plot, good acting, and Al Pacino has a nice part to help his old friend.  9/10

[Typhon]

The Haunting (1963)

Set in New England, a doctor (Richard Johnson), who is interested in studying possible supernatural events, recruits 3 strangers (Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn) to spend a week at the eerie and isolated Hill House.  The mansion is rumored to have a sinister history, and the group must confront the nature of its horror.

I had heard that this film had some good scares, but I didn't find any.  There were a couple of surprises when a very quiet scene was suddenly interrupted by a loud bang.  Well big freakin' deal!  The film is slow, boring and unimaginative.  The film did score a couple of points with me because the mansion was a gothic-type castle that was impressive looking inside and out.  But everything else is awful.  2/10

[Charger]

NAVY SEALS

On a routine rescue mission a SEAL team discovers that a group of ruthless Lebanese terrorists have stolen Stinger missiles in their possession but are unable to destroy them so the team goes on a hunt for the terrorists and the missiles with help from a reporter. The mission turns out to be bit more dangerous than they imagined when they are forced to go into an active warzone.

Michael Biehn is the team leader and Charlie Sheen is the second. Other members include Dennis Heysbert (who'd later go on an play a leader of a Delta Force team in the tv show The Unit), Bill Paxton and other who all do a great job. You can see the comeradery between the cast just like it would be on a real team... Joanne Whalley plays the reporter.

The action is quick and brutal as it's supposed to be. There are some clever one liners and a Star Wars reference thrown in.

The script isn't perfect and the story sometimes moves along bit too fast. But the cast and the action are both brilliant. This is a good example why action movies were so great back in the 80s and 90s. And Bill's character uses the .50cal BARRET Sniper rifle my all time favourite weapon so what's not to like!


*  *  *  ½

[Typhon]

Love Happens (2009)

Dr. Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart) is a successful self-help author and motivational speaker with a secret.  While he helps thousands of people cope with tragedy and personal loss, he secretly is unable to overcome the death of his late wife.  It's not until Burke meets a fiercely independent florist (Jennifer Aniston) that he is forced to face his past and overcome his demons.

Fine performances all around in this well made film on a serious subject.  9/10