Category Movies

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO Marvel Entertainment I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Marvel Entertainment (their home page is here) had sent me a code to one of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on it with you. This will be a regular series and Part 1 we talked about Black Widow. Part 2 discussed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Part 3 shared our thoughts on Eternals and straight to DVD release Spidey and his Amazing Friends. Part 4 focused on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Part 5 discussed Thor: Love and Thunder. Part 6 shared Black Panther Wakanda Forever and we are back for Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania!

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

The Ant-Man movies have quickly become favorites in our family and have been looking forward to this one more than almost any Marvel film in the last year. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame Scott is living life in the public eye while his daughter Cassie has been getting herself into trouble with law enforcement. Scott quickly learns that she’s also invented a device that allows her to map the Quantum Realm but that included a signal that could be traced back, allowing the evils of the realm to pull them down into the world below. Visually this film is absolutely stunning with a great story and even better acting. My only complaints with the film are with two members of the cast- Jonathan Majors and Kathryn Newton. Majors is a fantastic actor but him cast as the role of Kang poses a major issue for the future of the MCU due to his recent legal troubles. Marvel has yet to make a public decision but if he is convicted then keeping him would be quite problematic for the franchise and I expect that even if not convicted we will see him recast before the next film is completed. It’s a shame because his performance was one of the best in the entire MCU. Kathryn Newton on the other hand did fine in the role but not enough time had passed between Endgame and Quantumania to justify ANOTHER recast for Cassie and it just seems odd. What makes it even more odd is that I can’t find any information as to why beyond the speculation that she is a bigger name that the original actress. I would have preferred they keep the original casting from End Game. Overall the movie was fantastic with some of the best acting in the MCU and can’t wait to see where the overall storyline goes next!

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection. Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. Part 16 had Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day. Part 17 has returned for the 4k release of Rocky the Knockout Collection and Margic Mike’s Last Dance!

Rocky the Knockout Collection

All four Rocky films in 4k. Not much else needs to be said. The last time I had watched these films they already looked dated but in 4k and on my HDTV it looks better than ever. I would argue they look better than it did in the original theatrical releases. Rocky IV was always my favorite of the franchise and the Ultimate Director’s Cut seriously makes it even better!

Magic Mike’s Last Dance

I have watched maybe 30 minutes total between the first two films in the franchise so this was my first real film in the series. The film focuses on Mike’s relationship with Maxandra but sadly seemed to be lacking chemistry between Tatum and Hayek. Pacing seemed to be all over the place. With this being my full introduction into the series I would say that I didn’t miss anything but must admit Tatum CAN DANCE.

Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED.

Recently the fine folks at 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios- their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. Part 1 was all about Underwater and Part 2 focused on The New Mutants. Part 3 we talked about The Personal History of David Copperfield. Part 4 discussed The Empty Man. Part 5 talked about Nomadland and Speed 4K Ultra HD. Part 6 discussed The Night House and Free Guy. Part 7 focused on The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Part 8 had The Last Duel. Part 9 discussed Ron’s Gone Wrong and Part 10 talked about The King’s Man and Summer of Soul. Part 11 discussed Nightmare Alley and West Side Story. Part 12 highlighted Death on the Nile and Part 13 talked about The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Part 14 highlighted Barbarian and See How They Run. Part 15 discussed Amsterdam and Part 16 talked about The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu. Part 17 shared our thoughts on Empire of Light and we’ve returned for Part 18 and Avatar: The Way of Water!

Avatar: The Way of Water

The first Avatar film was an epic story about a Marine that is filling in for his dead scientist brother to move his consciousness into the body of an Avatar. Avatars are clones of their own human DNA mixed with that of the Na’vi. This is to allow them to integrate into the communities and improve relations. Jake Sully soon learns that the Na’vi are not the problem on Pandora and helps lead a revolution against his own species, driving the invaders from the planet. That brings us into the sequel. Jake and Neytiri have prospered and added their own children to the tribe but of course the good times wouldn’t last. I won’t go into specifics about the story because I’d hate to spoil it for anyone and this is a film that you should watch. The first film was visually one of the best films I’d ever seen and still holds up to this day- we still watch it regularly as a family. There was no way that The Way of Water could do better, or so I thought. Visually this film is stunning but some of the fights may be just a little too graphic for younger audiences, our seven year old enjoyed it but was freaked out by a few scenes. Overall I feel like this installment in the series far surpassed the original and even though it took what felt like forever to get this film, I still can’t wait for the finale.

Mad Heidi is a film about revenge from Swissploitation Films and funded entirely the fans and for the fans!

The folks at Swissploitation Films partnered with the fans to fund and release Mad Heidi. The film focuses on a town where war is being raged over cheese against those that are lactose intolerant. The Swiss President has made it his mission to enslave the world through cheese and eliminate those that can’t process it. Seeing this condition as a sign of weakness. Anyone found to be suffering from this are collected and sent to the prison. There they are tested to see if they are weak or just unwilling to partake in cheese. Some of those that are intolerant have been seen eating goat cheese as a way of hiding in plain site, this cheese sold by Goat Peter. Peter just happens to be the love interest of Heidi who also watches as he is executed in the town square for his cheese related crimes. Thus starting us on our path to revenge.

The film prides itself on it’s sploitation background as does the team behind it. So what is sploitation anyway? My understanding is that is was more about underpaying actors for roles that may be beneath their skill and typically full of racist commentary. Reading the information on the dedicated Mad Heidi site it seems to be it’s own genre where it doesn’t take itself too seriously. You can expect some nudity, you can expect some gore effects and just a tad bit of perversion. Based on that definition this is a perfect representation of a sploitation film.

Some of the cast were over the top to a hilarious degree and this made the film so much better. Overall, the acting quality wasn’t Oscar worthy but it fit the film perfectly. The stand out performances being Alice Lucy’s Heidi and Casper Van Dien’s President. Heidi’s intensity was perfect and the President was absolutely nuts but in a good way.

My biggest complaint about the film was the pacing for the first act. The build up to the action took a while but it was worth the wait. Overall I found the film to be one of those fun films that are great to make fun of and the gore effects were some of the best I’ve seen!

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED.

Recently the fine folks at 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios- their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. Part 1 was all about Underwater and Part 2 focused on The New Mutants. Part 3 we talked about The Personal History of David Copperfield. Part 4 discussed The Empty Man. Part 5 talked about Nomadland and Speed 4K Ultra HD. Part 6 discussed The Night House and Free Guy. Part 7 focused on The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Part 8 had The Last Duel. Part 9 discussed Ron’s Gone Wrong and Part 10 talked about The King’s Man and Summer of Soul. Part 11 discussed Nightmare Alley and West Side Story. Part 12 highlighted Death on the Nile and Part 13 talked about The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Part 14 highlighted Barbarian and See How They Run. Part 15 discussed Amsterdam and Part 16 talked about The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu. We have returned for Part 17 to share our thoughts on Empire of Light!

Empire of Light

This film centers around a cinema in the 1980’s where the white manager falls for her black employee and dealing with the racism and hate of that time period. The overall performances are fantastic despite the depth provided for those characters. The film felt like it was more meant to showcase the experiences of the black male and not on the person himself. Overall this film missed the mark and was quite dull in terms of story but I appreciated the quality of the performances.

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection. Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. We are back with Part 16 and Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day.

Bones and All

What limited trailers I had seen hinted at something dark happening in the story of this film but focused on a central theme of travelling and love. There was nothing in them I saw that indicated that this is a love story about two cannibals. Despite feeling a little misled at the start I wasn’t upset. The film was great over all. I found it odd how well the love story mixed with horror but they blend perfectly.

Training Day (4K)

As expected from the title, this is the 4k release of the Training Day, the same film that Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for. Despite it’s age the film still holds up just as well as it did back when it first came out.

House Party

Listed as a “Remix” of the 90s classic film of the same name, this is truly a reboot. This time around our characters are played by a new cast and a throwing the party in the home of Lebron James. They are both house cleaners and failing party planners assigned to clean the James house. They decide to throw a party and things get a bit nuts. Overall we found the film to be enjoyable, laughs aplenty with a few dragging moments.

Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO DISNEY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Disney Studios (their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. With Part 1 we were taking a look at the live action version of Mulan. Part 2 discussed Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon. Part 3 looked at the live action story of Cruella. Part 4 discussed Luca and Part 5 talked about Jungle Cruise. Part 6 discussed Encanto and Part 7 talked about Turning Red. Part 8 covered Lightyear and Part 9 with Strange World. Part 10 is here to talk about Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1!

Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1

Presented as Mickey & Minnie reviewing images from a scrapbook that showcases ten of their classic animated shorts. Most include both characters but others include one or the other. Having watched most of these previously I wasn’t expecting much from them but it had literally been decades since I had seen them. Watching them again I realized so much has changed about what is acceptable for the animated shows we let our children watch. Specifically the use of tobacco products and some cultural insensitivity when Mickey poses as a Native American. Considering how old some of these shorts were though it was quite impressive to see what Walt had created and achieved with these and personally felt the Figaro themed shorts were not only the best but the mannerisms of the cat were captured perfectly. Despite the social issues these shorts were simply fun and plan on watching them again with my youngest.

Have you had a chance to see this release from Disney Studios?

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO Marvel Entertainment I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Marvel Entertainment (their home page is here) had sent me a code to one of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on it with you. This will be a regular series and Part 1 we talked about Black Widow. Part 2 discussed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Part 3 shared our thoughts on Eternals and straight to DVD release Spidey and his Amazing Friends. Part 4 focused on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Part 5 discussed Thor: Love and Thunder. We have returned with Part 6 for Black Panther Wakanda Forever.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever

Filming had started after the passing of Chadwick Boseman and required some drastic changes to the original story. What we have left is the results of this pivot. The film starts with Shuri trying to recreate the heart-shaped herb as a way to try to save her brother from a mysterious disease and ultimately fails. I was expecting a CGI version of Chadwick for at least the start of the film but the studio decided against that. Overall I thought the story was great considering the fact that this is not the original planned story and leaves me wondering what could have been. Even with this hanging over the film the story was great and the performance of the cast was absolutely stellar especially from Leticia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett and newcomer Tenoch Huerta.

Have you had a chance to see this film from Marvel Entertainment? If not it can currently be seen in Disney+ as well as purchased from your favorite distributer (releasing February 7th).

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED.

Recently the fine folks at 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios- their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. Part 1 was all about Underwater and Part 2 focused on The New Mutants. Part 3 we talked about The Personal History of David Copperfield. Part 4 discussed The Empty Man. Part 5 talked about Nomadland and Speed 4K Ultra HD. Part 6 discussed The Night House and Free Guy. Part 7 focused on The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Part 8 had The Last Duel. Part 9 discussed Ron’s Gone Wrong and Part 10 talked about The King’s Man and Summer of Soul. Part 11 discussed Nightmare Alley and West Side Story. Part 12 highlighted Death on the Nile and Part 13 talked about The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Part 14 highlighted Barbarian and See How They Run. Part 15 discussed Amsterdam and we have Part 16 to talk about The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu!

The Banshees of Inisherin

This film follows two lifelong friends that have suddenly fallen out of friendship. One is a bit simplistic and wants to rebuild the friendship while the other wants nothing to do with him. He instead wants to focus his time and energy on leaving a legacy of creativity behind. The film was well written and the landscapes were stunning but I thought the pacing was quite too slow for my taste. I also found it odd that this film was marketed more as a comedy but it felt like a serious drama. If you are looking for a thought provoking film that is full of depth then this is a great choice but if you are looking for something faster paced or exciting then you’ve chosen the wrong film.

The Menu

The Menu centers around a young couple that visit a lavish restaurant on a private island where a chef is providing a unique experience along with his tasting menu. Equal parts horror and comedy this one will keep you at the edge of your seat. Between the chaos of the kitchen and the refined dining experience this film blends the experiences together wonderfully. The real stars of the film are Anna Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes but the cast overall is nothing short of phenomenal, surpassing my already high expectations from all of them.

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection. Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and we’ve returned for Part 15 and Black Adam!

Black Adam

This is the final installment of the current iteration of the DCCU after the changes at Warner Bros and the first to include Black Adam. Knowing how The Rock tends to play comedic roles I was expecting this very serious character to be more campy that he would be in the comics. I am happy to say this is not the case. He gave the character the look and feel we hoped for from the comics. I didn’t know much about Adam’s history other than him being tied to Shazam in some way so getting to see this in depth made the character more interesting. The story follows Adam’s return to the world as he is called to save his country from tyrants once again. With the serious tones of the story, great effects and some better acting than we normally see in a DC film I thought this one was a total win!