At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

Angel Has Fallen

Forgettable. It's moves away from the geopolitical action world and what you end up with is a generic 2019 update of The Fugitive. The movie spends most of the time with Gerard Butler on the run after an assassination attempt on the president now played by Morgan Freeman who is sleepwalking though this. Once the movie introduces a couple of actors who are known for playing bad guys, you know the twist coming from a mile away. The only salvageable part about the movie is Nick Nolte who's playing old man Rambo meets Alex Jones. As for action, it was not bad for the most part until it got to the 3rd act... same goes to the cinematography. Overall, it's exactly the kind of movie that belongs in a bargain bin next to Rambo 5.
4/10

 

[Kane52630]

The Two Popes

A grounded and meditative drama that takes a look inside Vatican City and the life of Pope Francis. It's a great showcase of Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce's acting prowess. The movie is kinda watching a tennis match of ideas and beliefs, it does take a look inside how Pope Francis got elected and the stark differences between him and Pope Benedict. There's a part where it goes back in time to Pope Francis and his upbringing in Argentina and Juan Minujín, who plays him, does a phenomenal job. I will say the movie doesn't really go into the criticism of the Catholic Church as much as they should have, but they do mention it. Overall, it's a light and riveting watch.
9/10

 

[Kane52630]

Bombshell

Pretty well done for the most part. It's more or less this years Vice and The Big Short where it takes serious political subjects and add levity to it for balance... and in this case, it's the Roger Ailes scandal and Fox News during the 2016 election. It's definitely an actors movie and Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, and John Lithgow deliver some of the best performances of the year. The make up and effects for Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly was really well done and she's almost completely unrecognizable in certain angles. While this has a lot of good moments that are mostly comedic, the scene with Margot Robbie and John Lithgow is probably the scene stealer and elevates the entire movie. Overall, it's a really solid and engaging film no matter where your politics lie.
9/10

 

[Kane52630]

Cats

Imagine if Tim Burton directed a musical for Island of Doctor Moreau, this would probably be that movie. It's truly the most utterly bizarre and boring film of 2019. I'm not a fan of musicals and Cats is probably the poster child of why I'm not. It doesn't have a plot or have any effort into making one. It's nothing but a showcase of singing and dancing... which could be interesting, but aside from the Jennifer Hudson solo, it all comes off as rambling. It gets super exhausting to watch 20 minutes in. I will say the cinematography was pretty interesting. I wasn't necessarily freaked out by the effects of the cats, but outside of Francesca Hayward, they all look like a bad faceswap. Overall, it's probably one of the worst movies of year.
2/10

 

[Kane52630]

Uncut Gems

It's the Safdies brothers with another hit. While I don't think it's as good or intense as Good Time, it does deliver on the chaotic energy of a guy digging his own grave. It's a great Adam Sandler performance who is playing a gambling addicted jeweler from the diamond district. The supporting cast was also great in it like LaKeith Stanfield, Kevin Garnett and Idina Menzel, but I thought Julia Fox was one of the more interesting characters in the film. It might be the best movie that showcases gambling addiction to the extreme. Just like with Good Time, they do an excellent job on making the environment look so grimy and unappealing that it adds character to the film. The 3rd act is probably the most intense viewing of a basketball game I've ever seen on film. Overall, it's definitely one of the better films of the year.
9/10

 

[Kane52630]

Little Women

It's comfort food for fans of period pieces and and old Hollywood that comes with a modern tinge. It essentially is a coming of age film for four characters set in the Civil War era. Greta Gerwig does a great job directing it and for the most part cuts through the dryness with these kinds of movies. While some of the performances were good, Florence Pugh and Saoirse Ronan were the clear stand out stars and they had the most to work with. That being said, it is one of those movies that you know where it's headed and even through it was acknowledged. isn't doing anything new necessarily outside of the non linear storytelling. I've never read the original novel, but this seems to be the typical movie teachers play during the last week of school after the class read the book. Overall, it's just fine.
7.5/10

 

[Kane52630]

Late Night

A pretty conventional yet charming comedy/drama that takes a look inside the late night talk show scene and the workplace environment. Because of the very formulaic plot, the film kinda goes through the motions. It works best when it's just Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling on screen and even then, the movie isn't really as laugh out loud hilarious as it wants to be. Another problem is they don't flesh out Mindy Kaling's character as much as Emma Thompson's character. It's one of these cases where on paper it sounded great, but it needed a punch up writer to give it some life to it. Overall, it's just average.
6.5/10

 

[Kane52630]

47 Meters Down: Uncaged

It's 1,000x better than the original, but that's not saying much. The movie takes a page from other horror sequels by starting completely new with new characters and not really redoing the first film. It's also more competently made and directed than the first one. However, it's still got the same horror cliches that happen in every shark movie. They did a good job setting up the final girl and having that pay off at the end. It's gets super claustrophobic which really worked at times and there's some good horror action in the 3rd act. That being said, it ends up pretty average overall. Crawl is probably the better version of this kind of movie.
6/10

 

[Black Narcissus]

Angel Heart

First Watch. For some damn reason always felt like I've seen this before, but that wasn't it. I really liked the noir type vibe and setting, while mixing horror elements. Mickey Rourke was a good lookin' dude, now he just looks like an alcoholic Clay Face. Damn shame. A young Lisa Bonet here is just damn sexy af. Her role was seen as controversial and she was soon fired by Bill Cosby for this. Man, Robert Deniro's character didn't even hide who he was physically at all, so Mickey Rourke isn't that good of a detective, sweet lawd. It couldn't of been more clear who he was from the opening scene with him, which only makes his reveal later on the film hilarious to me. I guess the other flick this kinda reminded me of was 'The Ninth Gate' with Johnny Depp. The ending scene stays with you tho. This also ran with the cliche that black folks in the south are vooodo lovin folks who are dangerous and mysterious, which doesn't surprise me as cliches goes, just felt eye rolling to me.

7/10


Watched a total of 97 flicks in 2019.

@Kane52630 what's your total count?

 

[Kane52630]

Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans

While not nearly as ambitious or polished as Go! To The Movies, this was a lot of fun to watch. It's essentially DC's answer to Spider-Verse for the small screen and they get to the point of the multiverse even if it might sound contrived. The movie becomes a love letter to the Titans over the years, even the original comic. There's plenty of jokes that mostly work and I dug how silly it got. Overall, it's a solid little movie.
8/10

 

[Kane52630]

Watched a total of 97 flicks in 2019.

@Kane52630 what's your total count?

I'm still working on my 2019 (and the reviews for them), but so far I got 186.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Martin

Written and directed by George Romero.

Why didn't you @Kane52630 @Ash J. Williams tell me mister Romero made a great vampire flick?!

The producer who owns the rights to this has been asking for a lot of money, so the us bluray/digital copies won't be seen anytime soon, but there is a good copy up on YT, which is how I watched this, it even has the proper Romero screen ratio. Man, from the opening scene I didn't know what to expect, but what a way to meet your protagonist. Kinda rough to see to be honest, even for a 70s type flick. A rapist Vampire on a train. Goddamn. I did laugh at the character of ''Cuda'' looking like a real life Colonel Sanders, seemed way out of place, but it went along with some of the story points. The old generation not letting go of the old ways, and its their way or the highway. John Amplas plays Martin with a kinda soft spoken wouldn't kill a fly persona, which only is more disturbing to see what he does to his victims. Romero has a nice cameo as a priest.

The ending was a bit of a letdown, but it made sense. The characters told you right from the beginning it would end that way. The black and white flashbacks are haunting and just great stuff from Romero. Apparently, there is a longer cut of 2hrs and 45 minutes which is now lost and has never been seen.

8/10

 

[Kane52630]

I actually haven't seen it, it's been on my must see list since forever.

 

[Ash J. Williams]

I haven't either, but I've heard of it. Looks like your best option in terms of Blu-ray is a Japanese release, which you don't need a region free player for since it's region A. The Arrow DVD release from 2006 also looks to be interest since it's a double disc set, but it's a region 2 release. I used FilmAF to see what is available: Film Aficionado

 

[Kane52630]

Wonder Woman: Bloodlines

Yet another typical Nu52verse animated feature that tries to do one too many things in a short amount of time. They burned through the origin story within 10 minutes and from then on it kinda became a Sinister Six movie for Wonder Woman's rogues gallery. The Silver Swan subplot could have been better and not too on the nose. Once it got to the action set piece in the 3rd act with Medusa, it got slightly better. Overall, it's pretty mediocre stuff. The 09 animated movie is still superior.
5.5/10

 

[Kane52630]

Sextuplets

After seeing Cats, I just had to make sure where it falls in the worst of list and Marlon Wayans manages upstage almost all the worst films I've seen of 2019. It almost like he took that Jack Black movie from Tropic Thunder as a challenge and combined it with the Nutty Professor. Overall, it's a manifestation of a trash fire that's thrown into a pile of sh**. It's a movie that shouldn't exist and yet it does.
1/10

 

[Kane52630]

The Addams Family

Pretty enjoyable for the most part. It's a nice love letter to the Addams Family franchise and the original comic. The animation took some time to get used to, but I dug the character designs ultimately. I dug some of the comedy and the references to the other characters that make a cameo. As for the story, it's better than a lot of the low end animated features where it's got no story. They try to make it relevant again for 2019 with the gentrification plot... which mostly works. Overall, it ends up pretty average.
7/10

 

[Kane52630]

Judy

A pretty typical yet classical biopic on Judy Garland that has all the marks on the Oscar bingo card. Renée Zellweger holds her own and she delivered a pretty solid performance especially when she has to sing and perform. I thought flashback scenes were far more interesting and emotionally engaging with Darci Shaw playing a young Judy Garland where they highlight how awful the studio system was to her. Overall, it's definitely a solid movie even though on the surface it's a pretty cookie cutter Oscar bait film.
8/10

 

[Kane52630]

Iron Sky: The Coming Race

Lizard. Hitler. On. A. T-Rex. Sadly, it's not nearly as batsh** insane as the last one. It definitely tries to be more like Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica than something like Kung Fury, but they do have their moments like Hitler on a T-Rex and Tom Green as a Steve Jobs preacher. On a pure enjoyment level, it ends up being just okay.
6/10

 

[Black Narcissus]

Young and Beautiful

Double Lover

A french perv double feature by the same director and lead actress.

Young and Beautiful
I'm convinced more than ever that A LOT of these so called ''french auteurs'' are just straight up pervs, and their films are just an excuse to do so, while passing them off as high art. Still, I couldn't look away. Marine Vacth is goddamn hypnotizing to look at, even when she is a bland actress, but beauty goes a long away. In the first film ''Young and Beautiful'' she plays a 17 year old escort, but we really don't get an answer as to why she becomes an escort. She has a nice family, money, goes to a good school etc, but I guess she just wants to explore. The film doesn't really make it clear. So we see her meet her clients and then go up to their rooms for a mere 300 euros, shot in that ''artsy'' type of a way with a nice soundtrack to go along with it, but one kinda feels like a taking a shower after. No real point to this story to be honest, except for seeing Vacth.

5/10

Double Lover

Vacth this time has mental issues, so she falls in love with her therapist, which is to be expected in these french flicks. One day going home, she runs into a man who could be his double, so she follows him. Things get soap opera type cliche soon after, but it wouldn't be a french film without the explicit sex scene montage. lol

One can see the twist coming a mile away, but this one at least tried to give some horror type elements, even if they didn't work.

6/10

 

[MovieSlave]

Martin

Written and directed by George Romero.

Why didn't you @Kane52630 @Ash J. Williams tell me mister Romero made a great vampire flick?!

The producer who owns the rights to this has been asking for a lot of money, so the us bluray/digital copies won't be seen anytime soon, but there is a good copy up on YT, which is how I watched this, it even has the proper Romero screen ratio. Man, from the opening scene I didn't know what to expect, but what a way to meet your protagonist. Kinda rough to see to be honest, even for a 70s type flick. A rapist Vampire on a train. Goddamn. I did laugh at the character of ''Cuda'' looking like a real life Colonel Sanders, seemed way out of place, but it went along with some of the story points. The old generation not letting go of the old ways, and its their way or the highway. John Amplas plays Martin with a kinda soft spoken wouldn't kill a fly persona, which only is more disturbing to see what he does to his victims. Romero has a nice cameo as a priest.

The ending was a bit of a letdown, but it made sense. The characters told you right from the beginning it would end that way. The black and white flashbacks are haunting and just great stuff from Romero. Apparently, there is a longer cut of 2hrs and 45 minutes which is now lost and has never been seen.

8/10

Glad you really liked it. One of my favorite Romero films.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Glad you really liked it. One of my favorite Romero films.

I still can't believe how under rated it is tho. I think it has to do with that producer who owns the rights and not making this far more well known.

 

[MovieSlave]

I still can't believe how under rated it is tho. I think it has to do with that producer who owns the rights and not making this far more well known.

It definitely is not very well known. I love a good vampire film that does things a bit different than the majority of them. Truly underrated.

 

[Kane52630]

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Kinda mixed on this. It's simultaneously ambitious and generic at the same time. It pretty much becomes a family drama for the first part once Aurora and Prince generic gets engaged and the inlaws come in. I dug the showdown between Michelle Pfeiffer and Angelina Jolie and it kinda makes up for the dullness surrounding them. They do some interesting world building with the Maleficent species and for the second half of the movie, it becomes the Disney version of Game of Thrones. That being said, it's got a lot of padding of uninteresting moments and characters that keep it from being great. Overall, It was interesting enough.
6.5/10

 

[Kane52630]

Pain and Glory

A therapeutic and also very sentimental drama that's loosely based on the Pedro Almodóvar's life and upbringing. It becomes a great vehicle to show off the acting chops of everyone in the cast especially Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, and Penélope Cruz. And as much as I was digging the main plot, the flashbacks to his childhood was to me, the more interesting part of the movie and they do something with that that's unexpected. It's also got some incredible camera work and composition with certain scenes. Overall, it's a mostly solid film.
8.5/10