Aquaman 4/10 i couldn't find a single good thing to say about this movie. I couldn't stop laughing it was so bad.

 

Saw Captain Marvel last night.

7.5 - It was solid and on par with the other recent solo movies.

 

A Coal Miners Daughter. Nice movie 7/10. Obviously the inspiration for the Colonel Homer episode of the Simpsons

 

Oz the Great & Powerful: 2/10.

good GOD this was a trainwreck. James Franco looks high as a kite through most of it. I'm usually a fan of Mila Kunis but she is TERRIBLE in this.

plot "twists" are so badly telegraphed you can see them coming a mile away. And the big reveal is that the Wicked Witch of the West is wicked because she's a woman scored. RIVETING storytelling there.


effects are really shoddy, too.

 

I thought it looked visually gorgeous in many places, and it was dumb fun, but if it was "Transformers" instead of "Aquaman," it would have gotten VERY negative reviews.

In fact, I think every single one of the Transformers movies actually had a better story than Aquaman. People love to rip apart The Last Knight, but I think The Last Knight's and Revenge of the Fallen's plot were actually more coherent than Aquaman's.

 

Really should have gone with Robert Donny Jr. like they originally planned for this movie. Would have sold the OZ wizard a bit more.

 

You don't like laughing?

 

I love laughing but during serious moments i shouldn't be.

 

That entire film is like a bad acid trip had a bad acid trip. I know it was supposed to be "quirky" but it just came off really, REALLY poorly.

 

Over spring break I watched two AI movies and one family comedy (and one Marvel movie, but I already covered that)...

Ex Machina - 9/10

I've seen this movie twice, and I love it. It's just such a good AI story, it does a great job exploring the concept realistically without getting too on-the-nose, or keeping it too vague. It finds a nice sweet spot. The characters are really nuanced, there's not really a "bad guy" or a "good guy". You can understand where everyone's coming from to an extent. I can honestly place myself in any of these characters' heads, and see them as the 'hero'. I have a feeling I'll notice something new each time I watch this movie. Plus, you just can't go wrong with a movie Poe Dameron dances in.

My main complaint is that it kind of ruins other AI movies for me, lol. I'm sure there are other ones I'll enjoy, but I find it hard to care about something goofy like Age of Ultron after seeing this, it just feels shallow now.

Instant Family - 8/10

I've heard several people I know saying this was really good, and yeah, I really enjoyed it. I found it really funny and touching. It does a good job highlighting the struggles of having a family, but also how rewarding it can be. As someone who's kind of been struggling with the question of whether or not I ever want to get married and have a family, this movie kind of made me lean towards "yes". My only complaint is that it makes light of everything, even though some things probably could/should have been handled with more weight. For instance, did we really need the neighbor interjecting jokes during the dramatic scene at the end? I kind of got Last Jedi flashbacks there, lol. Just let the interaction between the parents and the teenager play out naturally, that was the culmination of the tension that had been built up throughout the entire movie. Still, most of the humor worked, and it was a great overall story.

Blade Runner (Final Cut) - 7/10

Sorry to rank this a little lower than some people would. I absolutely loved it on a visual-level (seriously, this looks better than most modern sci-fi environments), but it didn't do a lot for me outside of that. I didn't find the story overly compelling, but I don't think it was supposed to be. I liked how humans and replicants sort of blend together, to the point that there might as well not be any difference (which obviously raises questions of whether or not they should be treated as human). I just kind of wish that theme was explored in a story I was more invested in, and with characters I was a bit more attached to. Maybe I'll get that when I watch the sequel? I might have enjoyed this a bit more if I hadn't just watched Ex Machina a few days before. I can't say Blade Runner left a huge impact on me overall (outside of the visual style, obviously), but I could see enjoying it more on a rewatch. I'm sure I'll notice more little details and whatnot.

 

Wonder Park:
Wow is this movie completely insane. Where Captain Marvel was a rather bland Mary Sue, June is a rather awesome Mary Sue.

Spoiler

Super power is creating a theme park with her imagination, but she's also creates other things like Chimpanzombies. Who picks people up, and tosses them into a gigantic blackhole in the sky, that looks like a big butthole in the sky. It's a butthole of death. And again, she created this shit.

This film is like Inside Out, but if Riley interacted with the emotions inside her head, throughout the entire film. I know the director got fired for "reasons," but I'm now convinced those reasons is a cover for just how high he got during the production of this film. As this film is more high than Yellow Submarine. And, that's saying something.

I know they fired the director, but no, you hire this director back. Screw things like Frozen 2, and Pets 2, I want more of this shit. And I know they're making a series too. Which I'll be sure to watch. But, no this film is too insane not to have more made like this.

I absolutely love it. It's a blast for start to finish. This film is way more fun then the third Dragons' movie. Way more fun than Captain Marvel too. I recommend this over both. Although, still love Alita more.

9 out of 10. Absolute blast. Plus double points for John Oliver's performance as the sarcastic, sadistic porcupine commentating how all this might be a really bad idea, through out the entire film.   This film is genius.

Oh, Warning,

Spoiler

there is a song about Pi, on the way to Math Camp. They made a song about Pi. (This is a very catchy song, and may never leave your head.) Oh, and there is a bus to Math Camp. Which good on June for getting off that bus as soon as possible. Because after three minutes of those math puns, I would have jumped off too. Especially since it was going to last all summer long.

 

Lego Movie 2
8/10
That’s being Generous. The message was a little weird, it’s bad for kids to grow up? Why was the while family torn apart just because they couldn’t play with Legos? Oh well. I liked the LEGO parts, Rex is really cool. I liked the Bill and Ted Cameo. (get on it lego!) And The songs have been stuck In my head.

Alita: Battle Angel
9/10
Hugo had the worst actor of all time. “ yEaH, I lIkE oRaNGes” Other than that, I loved this movie. The race scenes were cool, I want To see a TF Scene like that. Pretty neat.

 

Escape from Alcatraz. Great movie! 9/10

 

Captain Marvel

7/10

Much better than I thought it was going to be, going in.

There was plenty of action, the special effects were pretty fantastic, and the twists in the plot (which I already knew beforehand), were well done and didn't feel too jarring.

It was also nice to see Larson showing more than one emotion, which was a relief after her basically be a stoic cardboard cutout in any promotional material I saw. The rest of the cast were even better - Jackson & Ben Mendelssohn were entertaining as hell, and Law made for a fun character. You could tell everyone was enjoying themselves.

On the flip side, there were a couple of eye-roll moments, and things were a little hammy in places. There also weren't any particularly standout set pieces, and the climax is a typical over the top CGI action fest. Plus, Cap Marvel was far too OP against the villains....it didn't do much to maintain stakes, when she wrecked everyone/everything without breaking much of a sweat.

Overall, it was a perfectly enjoyable, but typically middle of the road MCU installment. There's plenty of potential for Captain Marvel to become much more, if her sequel can pull off the 'Winter Soldier' effect.

Current MCU Ranking:

1. Avengers: Infinity War
   
   
2. CA: The Winter Soldier
   
   
3. Iron Man
   
   
4. Thor: Ragnarok
   
   
5. Iron Man 3
   
   
6. Guardians of The Galaxy
   
   
7. The Avengers
   
   
8. CA: Civil War
   
   
9. Ant Man
   
   
10. Spiderman Homecoming
    
    
11. Captain Marvel
    
    
12. Ant Man and The Wasp
    
    
13. Doctor Strange
    
    
14. Black Panther
    
    
15. Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2
    
    
16. Iron Man 2
    
    
17. CA: The First Avenger
    
    
18. Avengers: Age of Ultron
    
    
19. The Incredible Hulk
    
    
20. Thor: The Dark World
    
    
21. Thor
    

 

Captain Marvel 9/10 great origin story, action was light but after seeing the whole film i understand why, loved the use of the supporting cast (ie Sam Jackson and others), good not great 90's setting (the trains that were not in LA in the 90's), Brie was very lovable as Carol. Bring on End game!

 

Captian marvel 6/10 bree larson brings down a okay movie by just begin a charisma black hole

 

Jonh wick 1 8/10

 

So I had minor surgery a few weeks ago and have been relegated to just doing light cardio at the gym, so I had time to watch a few movies recently. Over the last few days I've managed to fit in:

The Thing (1981)
I'd not seen this before. The first half of a bit of a slow burn but it's a good watch. Tense, with gruesome practical effects. Worth watching at least once, if only to appreciate Kurt Russell's hair and the special effects work. 7/10.

Aliens (1986)
An all time classic. Is it as good as Alien? They're arguably equally classic. A seminal work that is one of the fundamental must watches for fans of both action and science fiction. 9/10.

John Wick (2014)
I was introducing a friend to this as he'd not seen it. Slick, visually strong and great stunt work. Aside from the enjoyment I got from it, there's an incredible amount of action film making craftsmanship on show. 8/10.

Star Wars Episode XIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
A film that is not only visually stunning, has strong themes and clear messages, but also manages to advance the series lore when it could have just stagnated. I can't not love this film. 8/10.

From last weekend

Dog Soldiers (2002)
Neill Marshall's first film. Low budget, but excellent. Equal parts Jaws, Aliens and the Predator, but with werewolves. Definitely worth watching if you've not seen it before. 7/10.

The Wildling (2018)
I found this on a list of 2018's underrated horror films. It was trash. Anything resembling a twist is spoiled in the trailer, and the whole second half of the film is an unmitigated illogical mess. 3/10.

 

Jesus, they made 13 of these films already!?

 

The First Purge - go away now/10
This is a film that didn't need to be made. It took the entirety of what the first Purge film did, which was pretty basic in concept and execution but worked because of that basicness, and just utterly trashed the entire concept. In trying to develop a backstory, they just went with the dumbest, most idiotically politicized garbage they could come up with and played it out in the most predictable, cheesiest, hammiest way possible. And even worse, there was zero tension throughout because they made the characters detestable non-connectable travesties.

It made me regret having seen the other Purge movies. It was truly a horrible way to destroy what was an interesting concept for a horror series.

The Elvis Special from NBC - 4/10
Not really a movie, but it was a TV special that lasted close to two hours with commercials included, so close enough.

Blake Shelton being Blake Shelton, we kicked off the show with him inserting himself into some historic Elvis footage: the performance that kicked off his 68 special. OK, whatever. Would have rather seen Elvis's original performance unaltered.

Then we had a few fun jams with folks like Keith Urban, John Fogerty, and several other artists with careers spanning from way back to current. Some of the performances were quite enjoyable. Adam Lambert knocked it outta the park, which is not something I would ever expect myself to say about Adam Lambert, so kudos to him. Then they threw a twenty something minute gospel theme at us with a couple of really good singing women that were handed horrible gospel tunes to shove down our throats. Then they ended the show with a smattering of the previously appearing stars inserting themselves into another Elvis performance in a truly cringe inducing snoozefest that sort of destroyed Elvis's legacy. They blatantly said before they started that Elvis never performed this song again after the 68 special because he truly believed he would never be able to duplicate how perfectly it came out. So they take that performance, which again should have just been played as is, and as a "tribute" inserted themselves in it. It honestly made me a little queasy to see. Even my wife, who is a music appreciator but not an actual musician like me, got angry about it and called them hypocrites.

In the end, I'm glad I saw the good performances in the middle of the show. I do wish they'd have reigned in Blake and his cohorts on the Elvis original footage.

Now I feel like seeking out the actual 68 special to see it in all its glory.