Movies I've Watched

[Desert_Fox]

DEADPOOL 2

5 Stars

The first Deadpool was quite the parody of a superhero film. Sequels are usually less than the original, all too often a mere shadow of the original. If anything this was better than the original. Rude, crude and hilarious. There are few redeeming qualities to this movie but then every so often that’s a good thing and this is one of those occasions. When the gag reel is anticlimactic compared to the film then you know the film was well done. This film has a great sound track. If you are fortunate enough to watch this on a DVD you will enjoy the extras, especially the Celine Dion performance. If you like senseless slapstick, you aren’t offended by crude language, you enjoy a well acted parody, you should love this movie.

• This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by Desert_Fox.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

Topic

[Desert_Fox]

Gale wrote:

Thanks. I’ll watch it. It’s already on Netflix.

It’s more intense than Goodfellas and at least as good as The Godfather.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

SHAZAM

3 Stars

Think a more juvenile Superman and you have this film pegged. Not bad, more of a family movie than most of the DC superhero films.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

A short film showing how it really was in the old west.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

I signed up for Disney + today because there are some movies they will show there that aren’t available on Netflix or HBO Now. Disney is the source for all things Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and of course, Disney. Add National Geographic to that list. At $6.99 per month it’s sort of a why not?

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

CAPTAIN MARVEL

3 Stars

My first movie from Disney + and I can’t say that I was overwhelmed. Some great CGI as you would expect but much of it reminded me why the term ‘comic’ is in the MCU acronym. It was at times juvenile and melodramatic. I guessed the bad guy long before he showed himself to be the bad guy.

The best acting was Samuel L. Jackson as Agent Nick Fury. Several things were explained about Agent Fury as this takes place long before most of the action in the Avengers.

It wasn’t a bad movie and considering the last few Marvel movies I’ve watched, outside of Deadpool, it was about as expected.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

AVENGERS END GAME

3+ Stars

This was a typical Marvel movie with a gathering of super heroes and a fight. I do think it was a tick above most of the Marvel movies I’ve seen recently so thus the + along with the 3 stars.

I thought about not watching this but I had watched the first of the two films.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

6 UNDERGROUND – Netflix

4 Stars – Reluctantly

This is an action film, a Netflix original staring Ryan Reynolds with several good costars.

Using the term ‘action’ to describe this film is more than an understatement. Whether it’s driving through the streets of Florence, Italy causing mayhem (and hilarity when nuns in baby blue, on bicycles show their displeasure at being run off the road with a quite familiar hand gesture), or laying waste to a penthouse in Hong Kong, with jets from the bad guy bombing and gassing refuge hospitals, to destroying a large yacht, the action begins at the beginning and continues until the end.

Realistic? Not so much and that’s why I was reluctant to give it the 4th star, but it had quite decent acting and great action shots through both CGI and stunt doubles.

Not bad at all if you enjoy action and can deal with a lack of realism. Hey, it’s entertainment from Hollywood; what else should you expect?

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

GRISSE – HBO Now

4 Stars

This is a series from HBO Asia about Indonesia, a rebellion against the Dutch East India Company. The acting was average and the writing left something to be desired but I gave this 4 stars because it taught me a bit about the history of Indonesia during the days of colonialism.

It tells the story of Kalia, a beautiful young lady who fights with a mixture of pugilism and oriental martial arts. It incorporates a bit of romance, drama, kung fu fighting, super bad guys and mixed up good guys.

Realistic? Not so much but quite interesting and it led me to do some research about Indonesia which I found very interesting.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

WATCHMEN – HBO Now

5 Stars

Strange. Surreal is the only words that I can think of to describe this series.

I just finished the last episode. It takes us from 1922 Tulsa, OK race riots to New York City in the 30s, the 50s, the 80s, the 90s and to the present. . . sometimes all in one episode.

Science fiction, super hero, misguided intelligence, an alternate history (we won in Vietnam and it’s a new state in the United States), we have a god like figure living on Europa, the moon of Jupiter. We see cloned people, squid that fall from the sky, police that for their own protection wear masks, powerful politicians that are leaders of white supremacists groups (assumed to be Republicans) and the president is Robert Redford and he has been in office for many years. Masked vigilantes fight crime and are themselves sought by the FBI.

Surreal to say the least.

Well acted, hard to follow at times but then it all comes together.

Strange, and oh so quirky. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

BODYGUARD – Netflix

3 Stars

We have a 6 part series from the UK shown on Netflix. Realizing that police procedural in the UK is different than that of the average cop shop in the U.S., this is still a very difficult to believe story.

We have Richard Madden of Robb Stark fame in Game of Thrones as PS David Budd; PS standing for Police Sergeant. Budd is suffering from PTSD yet gets on the police force and rises to the rank of sergeant. Then he’s assigned to a position of PPO – personal protection officer for the Home Secretary, a controversial, pro security advocate even if it costs personal freedoms. Budd doesn’t agree with her politics but winds up in her bed anyway.

We are led through various agendas where there is scandal hidden, state security lines up with organized crime, political methods rule over decorum.

Believable it’s not. Budd’s actions would have him thrown off the force, much less allowed to be a part of the investigation.

Oh, and the ending? Way too filled with ahhhs to be awesome.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

THE MANDALORIAN – Disney +

4 Stars

I’ve just finished the first season of this series and I like it. It is set in a pre Han Solo, Princess Leia, Like Skywalker world where the Empire is foundering and chaos reigns. Enter Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter.

There are eight episodes in the first season and it’s filled with action and adventure, odd aliens and creatures and exotic and desert planets. And a baby Yoda.

The premise is that The Mandalorian accepts a task to find a creature that the dregs of the Empire want desperately. And he does just that. He returns to the client with this bounty who is the baby Yoda. But he has a conscience and can’t walk away leaving the baby to it’s fate. And thus the saga begins.

I thought the acting was up and down, some good, some so so and some was very well done. The CGI effects were, as one would imagine, excellent. The story line was quite well done also.

Action, a bit of comedy at times, lots of mystery. If that’s what you enjoy you’ll enjoy this series.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

GLASS – HBO Now

5 Stars

This was the third, and I think the best of the Unbreakable trilogy which were written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

I admit to being a fan of Mr. Shyamalan and loved one of his shows that was panned; The Village. But then I’ve loved all of his work except for The Last Airbender. I am not alone in not caring for that.

This film brings together Mr. Glass played by Samuel L. Jackson, David Dunn played by Bruce Willis and Kevin Wendell Crumb as one of 23 personalities in one body played by James McAvoy.

The story is the culmination of three superheroes, one who is a megalomaniac, one who is a fighter of crime and one who is a serial killer.

As he often does, Mr. Shyamalan appears in a cameo in the film, carrying on an action that Alfred Hitchcock did in many of his movies.

This film is dark, mysterious and a psychological drama. It is very well done.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

WYNONNA EARP – Netflix

3 Stars

This really only deserves 3 stars but for some reason I like it. It’s not quite camp but close. Acting is so so, writing is OK but no more than that. The scenery is great being filmed in Calgary, Alberta in the winter. Lots of snow and beautiful woods.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Gale]

UNCUT GEM

Not a gem. A bunch of criminals/con artists yelling at and over each other. Dialogue is so garbled and pressured that it’s hard to tell what is going on. In the end you don’t care what happens to anyone in the film. No one is likable.

Some days, I worry about how irredeemably corrupt Donald Trump is.

Some days, I worry about how jaw-droppingly stupid Donald Trump is.

Some days, like today, I worry about both. @rudepundit

[Desert_Fox]

Sounds like the Trump White House. 🤣

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

TOGO – Disney +

4 Stars

I read what this movie was the subject of and thought, “Huh?” I knew about Balto (or I thought I did) who was the savior of Nome by being the lead dog of the sled that brought serum to the sick children during a diphtheria epidemic.

It turns out that I didn’t know that much and have since read more about that epic race against time to save those children. Balto deserves to be remembered as do the other 19 sled teams that were instrumental in getting that serum to Nome. However; none of those teams came close to matching what Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog, Togo did on that run.

Without giving too much away suffice to say that Seppala and Togo ran more than any other team by far and faced hazards far beyond what I can imagine.

How much is true and how much is dramatized in this Disney movie I don’t know but it made a great film. Add to the fact that it has two of my favorite actors; Willem Dafoe and
Julianne Nicholson along with Diesel who starred as Togo, the rugged beauty of Canada (Alberta to be exact) filling in for Alaska and you have a very good movie.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

THE HATE YOU GIVE

3 Stars as best

This is the story of a black family living in a black neighborhood and interacting with whites. It has some very dramatic and, what I would imagine is very realistic, certain behaviors and feelings experienced by blacks but overall I felt the story was poorly told.

There was some very decent acting, notably by Amandla Stenberg who first came to notice as Rue in The Hunger Games. Additionally Regina Hall did a very credible job as the mother.

A good plot but a poor telling.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

[Desert_Fox]

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS – HBO Now

1 Star

I stopped watching this once then went back to it only to ask myself, why the fuck am I spending any more time at all with this?

I enjoy monster flicks if they are well acted, scripted, directed. CGI can have a positive or negative flavor as well.

In this movie the script is ridiculous, the acting is as poor as one would hope it not be (with the possible exception of Millie Bobby Brown) and if it has a saving grace it would be the CGI. However; the negatives far, far outweigh any positives.

This movie is neither camp nor in the realm where one can suspend their belief in reality for the just over 2 hours of the films length.

". . . those who claim to know the Mind of God, who will tell you what God thinks and how He will judge and condemn others—those people are the greatest of all blasphemers." Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast

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