Summer 2021 Viewings

Format: DVD
Viewing: 2nd (or 3rd)
Thoughts: The success of Van Damme and Seagal martial arts films of the late 80s/early 90s paved the way for some interesting one-off flicks like the somewhat forgotten Only The Strong (Perfect Weapon also comes to mind). Being that this was conceived by the same writer/director as Lionheart and Double Impact, I'm sure this was initially planned as a Van Damme movie (it sure does feel like one). But being that this is introducing casual viewers to the Brazilian martial art Capoeira, they needed someone more ethnic looking. Enter Marc Decascos, as the soldier turned teacher of bad students. Like Van Damme, Decascos is very likeable, with the charm and moves to back it up. Overall this was an enjoyable entry in the teacher-student genre (with a lot of parallels to The Substitute which came out 3 years later), sure it has its typical B-movie trappings and sillyness but the underdog story combined with redemption of the rag tag group of ne'er do well students raises it a notch above the rest. How can you not love that chanting bananaway, bananaway banana...

Format: DVD
Viewing: 2nd (or 3rd)
Thoughts: The Girl Next Door is a somewhat forgotten teen comedy, but I consider it to be one of the standouts of the post-American Pie, pre-Superbad era. Mainly because it manages to balance raunch with smart comedy nicely. It's a pseudo-remake of Risky Business, except here it's a nice guy getting mixed up with a pornstar instead of a prostitute. Which leads to a lot of the film's funniest and awkward moments. Emile Hirsch is great in this role and plays both sides of the coming of age story well. Timothy Oliphant is also great as the sleazy pimp-manager and antagonist of the film. Overall this a very solid teen comedy with great writing and a good amount of heart to go with all the laughs.

Format: Streaming
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: I feel like Netflix has an overabundance of these indie, direct to streaming sci-fi films. I decided to give this one a try because it had a cool concept and the trailer was pretty damn impressive. Well the movie is kind of cool and engaging for the most part. Big fan of Maika Monroe after seeing her in The Guest, here she makes for quite the scream queen. It's easy to get caught up in the novelty and relevance of the smart-home concerns taken to the extreme. Overall this was just a mediocre film that I wanted to reach that next level but sadly never does.

Format: DVD
Viewing: 3rd (or 4th)
Thoughts: I've seen this movie a bunch of times (and have become a huge DGG fan, especially when he does smaller indie films like this), and it never seems to lose its emotional impact. This is for a few reasons: 1) we've all experienced this situation at one point in our lives, the extreme highs and lows of our first love, 2) we rarely see all the little cringey moments of playfulness and awkward jokes on screen (sort of like when your parents tell the story of their first kiss and you have to fight back the vomit in your throat), and 3) there's no BS Hollywood happy ending where the two lovers ride off into the sunset together. Love is messy, especially when you're young, and it can build you up and break you down when you least expect it. The ensemble cast is great, and the characters exist in this small town world that almost reminds me of an SE Hinton novel. There really is no plot, the movie kind of meanders along from moment to moment. But as far as love stories go, this is definitely one of the best ever made.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 3rd (or 4th)
Thoughts: After watching Judgment Night I was eager to see other Stephen Hopkins movies from this period and low and behold he actually directed the sequel to Predator. Now this was big shoes to fill coming off the success of the first film and following McTiernen and Arnie's lean jungle action adventure. Well now the jungle is a near-future Los Angeles and Arnie is replaced by a sweaty, pissed off Danny Glover (not unlike the Sgt Murtaugh character from Lethal Weapon, but maybe here he is a little more spry and a little less "I'm getting too old for this shit"). Ultimately this is a pretty solid sequel that avoids the typical pitfalls of sequel movies by doing something fresh and taking the mythology in a different direction. This allows for cool new Predator weapons and the introduction to other predators in the tribe (that apparently also hunt the aliens from Aliens, gasp!). The movie also has its flaws and can be a little silly at times but still an enjoyable action/sci-fi flick in its own right.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 2nd
Thoughts: The Guest is that rare bird of midnight movie greatness that manages to be exciting, suspenseful and gleefully violent at times. It makes you wish more horror filmmakers would step out of their comfort zone from time to time and experiment with genre a bit more. The story is nothing new, a family takes in a drifter that clearly has ulterior motives. We are along for the ride but just as conflicted as the family, we want to like David but the guy is clearly a psycho. David is kind of like that sketchy pitbull that protects you but can also turn on you at any moment. Very impressed with Dan Stevens, apparently he was mainly doing period British pieces before stepping into this role and he absolutely kills it. Maika Monroe also had great screen presence, sort of like a young Diane Lane with bleach blonde hair. Overall this is as fun as midnight movies get, with a killer retro new wave/electronic soundtrack.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: I'm a sucker for Hanks and I found this to be a fairly solid and enjoyable Western. Nice to see him working with a child actor again, kind of reminded me of Road To Perdition. The story is pretty simple, Captain Kidd (a kind of news reporter of his day) finds a lost child and is tasked with taking the perilous journey of bringing her back home. The young German actress who plays Johanna has this other-worldly look about her, and she was absolutely fantastic in this. Ultimately the film left me wanting a bit more, and never really hit that high point either emotionally or with the action. I definitely wouldn't rank it very high on my list of top Westerns, but it still had its moments and Hanks and the girl were great.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 2nd (or 3rd)
Thoughts: So Co (as I like to call it) is an often overlooked Walter Hill film that has more in common with his previous Warriors film than Deliverance, which it is often compared to. It's just a great concept, taking a group of National Guardsmen and putting them on a training mission deep in bayou country. But the training mission turns into a deadly conflict with some local cajuns. And the kicker is they don't have live ammo, only blanks (but actually some live ammo, but only a limited amount). That's about as simple as the plot gets, survival of the fittest, deadliest game, etc. The fact that the cajuns that are picking off the soldiers are never really seen except quickly running between trees adds to a level of creepyness. It needs to be said that Powers Boothe and Fred Ward are just way too much badass testosterone for one movie. It's the ultimate backwoods baddies B-movie, executed by a real craftsman of intense action sequences.

Format: DVD
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: This movie has been on my list for quite some time and I finally got the chance to watch it. Ozzie director Justin Kurzel has had a pretty interesting run of films, beginning with his stark debut The Snowtown Murders and then switching gears to direct the video game film Assassin's Creed followed by a wild turn at Macbeth. Here I think he's more at home with the rough and rugged Australian Western retelling of the Ned Kelly story. There's been a few incarnations of this outlaw tale from the Mick Jagger film and then the more recent Heath Ledger version. But I think Kurzel's is the best, turning Kelly into more of a punk folk hero. George McKay was great as the conflicted anti-hero, and I was also impressed with Russell Crowe here (shame he didn't get more screentime). The film does have its flaws, the story jumps around a bit and can be hard to follow at times. But aside from that, I put this right up there with John Hilcoat's The Proposition, and that shootout at the end was absolutely riveting.

Format: Theater
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: For my second time this year at the theaters (which is more than I've gone in recent memory), I went to see The Suicide Squad. Always been a fan of James Gunn and always eager to see anything new he comes out with. The film kind of left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is probably the most fun I will have at the theaters this year, the film is jam packed with over the top violence and tons of signature Gunn hilarious moments. But my biggest problem with the film is that it's a mixed bag of characters (Bloodsport, Harley, and Ratcatcher 2 being the only standouts), some I care about, others not so much. Once the movie reaches it's big climactic ending, it kind of reverts back to the formulaic Avengers-style big set piece filmmaking which is what I thought this movie would be a divergence from. Ultimately I'm glad I saw it in the theaters and it was great subversive entertainment, but I don't know if I'd rush to see it again.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 2nd (or 3rd)
Thoughts: There are few movies that transcend the casual viewing experience and become something more, something that pulls you in and gets under your skin. William Friedkin has a reputation of doing this, most notably with The Exorcist but in a very similar fashion in Sorcerer. It's a movie that takes you on a wild ride into the heart of darkness. An uncompromising, unrelenting experience where no one is safe and death is always just a step away. Such an interesting structure from the opening back stories on each main character, then we are thrust into this dangerous third world country, the suicide mission with the trucks and the dynamite, and the climactic descent into madness at the end. Let's just pause for a moment on that Tangerine Dream score, it's beautifully haunting and unusually synth driven, almost like something from a John Carpenter movie but here it works perfectly. I can go on and on about this movie and all it's quirky cult moments, but I'll end it by saying it's truly an amazing film from a time when directors had balls to make any damn film they wanted to. And boy did they!

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: Tales from the Hood is a mildly entertaining horror anthology that's kind of a Hood movie, Creepshow hybrid. I was actually surprised that I never saw it when it first came out in the mid-90s. After seeing it for the first time I have to say that it was interesting to see all the social commentary elements, but overall it was pretty bad and even laughable at times. It did have its moments, Clarence Williams III as the maniacal storyteller, David Alan Grier playing an against type abusive father, and Corbin Bernsen going ham as a racist Southern politician. There wasn't much in way of scares here, and it all just felt like a sub-par collection of Tales from the Crypt episodes.

Format: In-Flight Movie
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: Since I watched this on a red eye flight (along with Judas and the BM below), barely awake at times, I will give an abridged review here. See this for Norton's performance as the tourettes addled gumshoe, it's the best thing he's done since The 25th Hour back in 2002 and a reminder of what a powerhouse actor he once was. The vintage Brooklyn setting was also a treat, however the plot was slow moving and muddled at times which was difficult to follow. Overall this was a mediocre movie, but I'll give it 6 stars for Norton. IF!!!

Format: In-Flight Movie
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: We've seen plenty of movies that have depicted the Black Panthers, but I'd say this is probably the best to date. It's gritty and raw filmmaking, with a great sense of foreboding throughout. It reminded me of Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. It does have the usual trappings of the undercover mole story, but Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya are just so damn good in this that all is forgiven. Also need to point out that the use of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's The Inflated Tear was brilliant. Riveting stuff.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: Man this movie totally went under my radar and I only picked it up at my local library because it mentioned on the cover that it was from the makers of Superbad and Neighbors (meaning Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg). Well this little sleeper comedy turned out to be a blast, and probably the funniest movie I've seen in a while. It's basically Superbad with 12 year-olds. But the writing, the timing of jokes, and the accuracy of portraying 12 year-olds navigating these uncharted waters for the first time was brilliant. Great pacing too, the movie never slows down and keeps the jokes constantly coming. There's also a great message here about how special the bonds of boyhood friendships can be, and despite growing apart and moving on in life, you always cherish those memories. Who would have thought raunch plus kids would work, they took a big risk here and it paid off. Bravo.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: Very interesting and unique take on the female revenge thriller, I didn't know much about this movie going in and was surprised at how refreshing and unpredictable it was. It starts out as this cautionary tale for guys that take advantage of drunk women at the bars/clubs, but then turns into something much more when the overall mission comes into focus. Carey Mulligan is excellent here as the unhinged avenger, and no one is safe from her wrath. This film will likely polarize audiences, I could see women cheering for her while most guys will have to tuck in their manhood a bit. I actually enjoyed it and it kind of felt like a female version of American Psycho. This is definitely a film for our times, and it pulls no punches. It may lose its impact on repeat viewings but nonetheless solid filmmaking.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: This is a very lean and explosive action movie, with a superbly against type Odenkirk in the lead. It starts out as a kind of Breaking Bad, Death Wish type vigilante story (at least it seemed to be going in that direction), but then quickly shifts gears to a more John Wick, Liam Neeson bullet and fighting ballet. The choreography is top notch and Odenkirk doing all his own stunts adds to the authenticity of it. Jaw dropping set piece after set piece, with some nice humor and inventiveness thrown in the mix. Can't put my finger on what it was but there was something that kept it from reaching that level of greatness. Still a very solid action thriller, popcorn movie to the max!

Format: Streaming
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: Similar to Motherless Brooklyn, this was a mediocre film that stands out because of a scary and committed Russell Crowe. It's not your typical cat and mouse thriller in that it offers some great intensely violent scenes. Overall there were a few things that didn't sit well with me, one was the lack of police presence when he is going on this rampage. In a small Midwest town maybe, but definitely not in a city as big as LA. The second was the lack of his backstory, which would have humanized his character a bit instead of the Terminator-like monster we were left with. Once again I wanted to give it only 5 stars, but bumped it up to 6 for Crowe's performance.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: TWWMD is an interesting hybrid of a movie, part cat and mouse thriller, part survival adventure, with a touch of disaster movie thrown in. I'm a big fan of Tyler Sheridan's work, especially his previous directing effort Wind River. He's kind of like the David Ayer of the Midwest in that his movies have this genuine authenticity to them combined with intensely choreographed action sequences. Here I think he's in similar territory as Wind River, but somehow the overall product is not quite as good. Angelina Jolie does a good job (despite my wife thinking she was too old for this role), but I felt that the characters were all very one-dimensional. Aside from that the film is very exciting and suspenseful and the wildfire FX were spectacular. I think Sheridan's touch makes this a very solid action/adventure despite its flaws.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: Finally got around to seeing this as it had been on my list for quite some time. A Quiet Place dares to answer the question, what if the velociraptors from Jurassic Park took over the world and everyone had to walk on eggshells just to survive? I kid, I kid. But that's really the premise of the movie, what if your only means of survival is to make as little sound as possible? That old saying that the silence is deafening, totally agree here and super unnerving to sit through. Krasinski does a great job here both with the directing and acting, he's just got these huge puppy dog eyes that can express so much. Overall this was a pretty solid and creepy (definitely wouldn't call it a horror movie more of an alien invasion) movie that scores points for the atmosphere and brilliant use of sound (and lack there of). I don't think it is something I would rush to see again, but definitely stands out in the modern scary movie landscape.

Format: DVD
Viewing: 2nd (or 3rd)
Thoughts: This movie stands out as one of those movies that played a lot on cable tv when I was a kid and it actually holds up pretty well today. Main reason is because this is probably the most badass Sean Astin we will ever see. The story is kind of like Red Dawn, but more like if Red Dawn stayed at the school that got taken over in the beginning. Here Colombian terrorists have taken over a reform school and it's up to a rag tag group of too cool ne'er dowellers to save the day. Sean Astin looking pretty buff here with the Swayze lions mane, too bad he didn't do more action films in the 90s. Other notable cast is the always likeable and goofy Keith Coogan, Wil Weaton as the pissed off son of a Mob boss (nice change up for him and very believable I might add), and Louis Gossett Jr in his usual heroic paternal role. All in all it's an enjoyable little action thriller, that maybe I'm being too forgiving with due to the nostalgia? Either way you can do far worse with similar 90s movies of this type.

Format: Streaming
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: As a big fan of Dario Argento and Italian horror/giallo, I'm always on the lookout for other films in that vein and unfortunately most of the time I am disappointed. I decided to check out Night of the Devils because it got good reviews and was touted as an atmospheric gothic horror. Indeed the film had a great intro, a man in an almost zombie-like state comes stumbling out of the woods and then collapses on the edge of a river. We then see him in a laboratory being tested on, with some rather provocative images from his mind (including a jaw dropping shot of a woman's face being blown away, awesome practical FX!) I really wanted to like this movie, I mean it kind of looks like a film version of the first Black Sabbath album cover. But it really takes a while to get going, very slow and boring for the first hour or so. The final half hour serves up some good scares and FX (the decaying head FX were awesome, so ahead of its time), but it's kind of too little too late for me. Despite a few good moments, this was just a mediocre entry in the Italian horror catalogue.

Format: Streaming
Viewing: 2nd
Thoughts: Netflix released the entire House Party series, so naturally I wanted to revisit some early-90s nostalgia. The original House Party movie stands as a somewhat classic for me, sort of like the Dazed and Confused of Hood movies. It was essentially a hangout movie, with the only plot being to throw a kickass party and get laid. Well House Party 2 which finds Kid entering college and Play running a local record store, is a far cry from the original. It sheds the harder edge in favor of a lighter, more comical approach. I may have enjoyed this in my youth, but as an adult I found it to be too silly and cartoonish (complete with annoying cartoon sound effects!). If there was any kind of message here, such as the importance of education and female empowerment, it was lost and in the end it was difficult just to sit through. All that being said, admittedly to this day whenever a party is being planned I yell out that we should have a pajama jammy jam, to puzzled faces. Oh well.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 2nd
Thoughts: Deep Cover is somewhat of an anomaly of early 90s Hood movies in that it is way too good and you are really amazed that a movie of this type could be that good. Sure there were other quality Hood movies from this era, but those were mostly coming of age movies (Juice, Boyz N Tha Hood, Menace II Society). I put Deep Cover right up there with New Jack City and King of New York as the trifecta of overachieving Hood B-movies. Two things really stand out for why this movie is a classic. One, the phenomenal acting by Laurence "Don't call me Larry" Fishburne and an against type Jeff Goldblum (I joke with my cousin that this was the movie that got Goldblum Jurassic Park, hey you never know). And second, the brilliant film-noir atmosphere and tone thanks to Director Bill Duke. It's dark, violent and unpredictable cinema. Sure it has its share of B-movie trappings and silly characters (most notable a completely misplaced Sidney Lassick), but overall it's as solid as B-movies get.

Format: Blu-Ray
Viewing: 1st
Thoughts: I was surprised that I never got to see this despite being fairly well versed in 80's Ozploitation films. This movie certainly had a reputation as being Hitchcock-inspired and one of Tarantino's favorite Ozploitation films. Indeed it definitely feels like if Brian DePalma went to Australia and made a road movie it would be darn close to this. Needless to say I had high hopes that were only marginally fulfilled. On the one hand it has all the enjoyable and wacky Ozploitation trappings that I've come to adore and yet the story and characters left me quite underwhelmed. It's like they didn't know what to do with this trucker (played by a wild-eyed Stacy Keech) for half the movie and there was just too little of the gloved killer to be satisfying. It did have its moments and is best appreciated for the setting and tone. Although it was somewhat enjoyable, I put this as mid-shelf Ozploitation with far better examples out there.