Tag film review

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. We’ve returned with Part 14 to highlight Barbarian and See How They Run!

Barbarian

The story centers around an AirBnB that has a sinister secret, a passage that leads to catacombs where something lurks. The name of the film didn’t make much sense to me but a random TikTok I saw explained it in a way that made sense- it is almost a phonetic anagram for AirBnB. Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgard were fantastic but were really the only members of the cast that were. Overall the buildup in tension was well crafted but once the climax hit the rest went downhill from there. The story was interesting to start and a disappointment by the end.

See How They Run

Despite the fact that this is officially the third film of this title this is an entirely original story. Centered around the murder of a film director who was going to direct the film adaptation of a play that was based on a book by Agatha Christie. Following the traditional Christie process for the story the film is a classic whodunit where the least likeable person is killed and every character had reason enough to do it. The cast did a fantastic job and at many points the story shifted away from the exact direction I thought it was going and that almost never happens. Typically murder mysteries don’t entertain me much because I quickly pick out who the killer is and almost the entire film I doubted my instinct. I was right in the end but they did a fantastic job fooling me.

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. We are back with Part 8 and Lightyear!

Lightyear

This film starts off with a slight disclaimer, specifically that this is the film that Andy loved when he got his own Buzz Lightyear figure and that the release of the film was in 1996. Visually the film is stunning and considering how much backlash there has been over a same sex couple I was expecting it to be a bit more in your face. The fact that there is a same sex couple is handled without any fanfare, it’s there and no one draws attention to it, like it was any other couple and this is EXACTLY how it should be. It does not affect the story in any fashion. Additionally the film tackles some big topics that may be a bit out there for kids like time paradoxes, worm holes and even loosely covers the theory of relativity. I found the film to be good and was surprised that the story was not what I was expecting in any way. My expectations were that we would see a film that would be an epic action film based in science fiction, I also expected some campiness because this is meant to be the 90’s. We instead got a film that is more progressive than any 90’s scifi film would have been and much more inclusive than they would have been either. As I said, the film was good but it fell short of the scifi epic it could have been had they expanded the scope of the film more.

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

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 we’ve returned with Part 13 to talk about The Bob’s Burgers Movie!

The Bob’s Burgers Movie

Having never seen a single episode of the show before I didn’t know what to expect, however, many friends rave about how great it is. After watching it I spoke to several of those friends and they all absolutely loved it, I however did not. I suspect it was built up too much by them and having never grown to enjoy the show I didn’t love the movie. It was an entertaining movie, good enough even to convince me to give the show a chance, until then the jury is still out on this one for me.

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 is here to highlight Death on the Nile!

Death on the Nile

The only thing I knew about this film prior to seeing it, other than who was among the cast, was that it was the direct sequel to Murder on the Orient Express. This released soon after the negative press hit regarding Armie Hammer and was surprised that reshoots weren’t done prior to the actual release. I don’t know if it was how he played his character or just the actor himself but watching he came off just slimy felt dirty watching him. I thought he heavily detracted from the film as a whole but when not focused around him it pulled me in as I tried to piece the clues together myself. Comparing the two films I thought this one as a whole was the better story and hope that we see more films centered around Hercule.

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. We’ve returned with Part 11 to discuss Nightmare Alley and West Side Story!

Nightmare Alley

After torching his family home, Stan wanders around a carnival, eventually taking a show and leaving without payment. After getting caught he accepts a job doing manual labor and eventually learns the art of mentalism. Throughout his mentalism performances he is reminded to never perform what they refer to as a spook show but don’t give too much insight into why. He eventually leaves the carnival to take his mentalism act tot he big city and gets an offer of a large sum to start performing these shows. Greed is the cause of many men’s fall from success and watching as things start to unravel make this film worth the watch as tries to pull himself out of trouble while being manipulated from outside sources. The acting is fantastic but the overall story failed to impress.

West Side Story

This was directed by Steven Spielberg, telling the story from the classic play. Having never seen the original material I can’t say with certainty if anything changed between the original and this adaptation but I can say I did not enjoy the film. The cast did a great job but the story felt like a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but based in the slums of a US city.

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 we are back for Part 10 to talk about The King’s Man and Summer of Soul.

The King’s Man

Telling the story of the origin of the Kingsmen, an elite group dedicated to protecting Britain and by extension the world. Following a Duke and his aides as they race to bring an end to the first World War, its secret organizer and the cabal he leads. The film is full of action, the acting and cast were great.

Summer of Soul

During the same summer as Woodstock was another similar musical event based in Harlem. The event was filmed and that footage was then placed in storage for decades. The documentary follows the event and some of the things that happened behind the scenes. Some of the biggest names in African American music were there and its amazing that many of us were not even aware this event took place. I am not a fan of documentaries but I was captivated by the story and I am even less of a fan of the music and it was an integral part of the story that and fan of music will enjoy.

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

Recently the fine folks at Paramount Pictures had sent me a code to some of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. Part One discusses Overlord and Instant Family and Part Two focuses on Bumblebee and What Men Want! Part Three discussed Isn’t it Romantic, Pet Sematary and Wonder Park. Part Four discussed Rocketman, Addams Family/Addams Family Values Anniversary Edition, Light of My Life, Galaxy Quest Anniversary Steelbook, Crawl, Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Night Hunter! Part Five discussed Official Secrets, Playing With Fire, Shutter Island Anniversary Edition, A Quiet Place Steelbook, Gemini Man, Terminator Dark Fate and Beverly Hills Cop Triple pack! Part Six covered Like a Boss, Clueless 25th Anniversary Steelbook and The Hunt For Red October Anniversary Steelbook. Strap in and grab some popcorn and let’s get started! For our first segment of this series with NerdCultOnline we are resuming the series with a new numbering with Part 1 discussed the classic film Airplane and we have returned with Part 2 to talk about Jungleland and The Little Prince!

Jungleland

Jungleland follows two brothers, one is an amateur boxer and the other his manager, find themselves in debt to a local crime lord. Giving them an offer they can’t refuse they travel towards Jungleland, a bare knuckle maxing match and they are on the ticket. The only problem is they need to drop someone off on their way. As one can expect things go south rather quickly and the brothers learn more about family and sacrifice. The story itself is quite slow but very real. Acting was fantastic, both Charlie Hunnam and Johnathan Majors were brilliant.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince is an adaptation of the beloved children’s book of the same name but with some big changes. The story of the Prince himself remains the same but the telling is where this film takes root. The little girl meets her unorthodox neighbor, a retired aviator looking to repair his plane, who then tells her the story of the Little Prince leading to her own adventure to find the Prince. Visually the animation was top notch and covered some big feelings for children that not all can understand but did it in an way that allowed them to enjoy it despite their lack of understanding.

THANK YOU TO PARAMOUNT FOR SHARING THESE FILMS WITH US!

SO WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THESE FILMS FROM PARAMOUNT? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

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. We are back again with Part 4 to talk about The Empty Man.

The Empty Man

Based on the comics from Boom Studios The Empty Man follows a former detective, now locksmith, as he tries to locate his neighbor’s missing daughter. As he tracks down her friends he learns the stories of The Empty Man and how he comes to those who think of him while standing on a bridge and blowing air into a bottle. Silly concept with the bridge but it is clearly meant to be one of those urban legends like Bloody Mary. Things get weirder as the legends start to seem like they are coming true.

The atmosphere is handled fantastically, building a suspenseful ambiance that makes the experience quite tense as I literally found myself on the edge of my chair. The acting, directing and effects were absolutely top notch, and this is from a guy that doesn’t like the horror genre. If you enjoy the occasional scary film this is a must see!

WHICH OF THESE FILMS FROM 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS HAVE YOU SEEN? WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE?

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. We’ve returned with Part 3 we will talk about The Personal History of David Copperfield.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

Charles Dickens wrote The Personal History of David Copperfield as an almost autobiography of his own life, pulling some of there world’s most well known literary characters from his own life and telling them as the life of David Copperfield himself. David struggles to find his way through life until he learns about his gift of writing. Visually the director used some original methods to tell the story with past characters interacting with the present as David relates various memories. The cast did a fantastic job but the story fell quite short of finding a way to capture my attention and hold it. This film was easily one you could have playing in the background and feel like you didn’t miss much as you look back to the film on occasion.

WHICH OF THESE FILMS FROM 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS HAVE YOU SEEN? WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE?

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 One of this article I discussed The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Red Sparrow. Part Two discusses Maze Runner: Death Cure, Alien Covenant and Love, Simon. Part three covers Super Troopers 2 and Murder on the Orient Express. Part Four discusses Sorry To Bother You and Darkest Minds. Part Five discussed The Predator and Bad Times at the El Royale. Part Six covered Bohemian Rhapsody, The Hate U Give and Once Upon a Deadpool. Part Seven talked about The Sisters Brothers, London Fields, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Widows and the Favourite! Part Eight covered Destroyer, The Prodigy, Alien 40th Anniversary Edition, Vice, The Kid Who Would Be King and If Beale Street Could Talk, and Part Nine we discussed Missing Link and Alita Battle Angel. Part Ten we discussed Tolkien, Booksmart, X-Men Dark Phoenix and Stuber. Part 11 discussed The Art of Racing in the Rain, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Ad Astra, and Ready or Not. Part 12 talked about Ford v Ferrari, Spies in Disguise and A Hidden Life.  Part 13 was the last part I did with PNTV and discussed Downhill and The Call of the Wild. Part 14 (forever referred to as Part 1 on this site and our first with the Nerd Cult) was all about Underwater and we are back with the New Part 2 with The New Mutants!

The New Mutants

The New Mutants is intended as a horror film within the X-Men universe and begins with Danielle Moonstar as she runs from something chases her into the forest and almost immediately kills her father in front of her. She is knocked out almost immediately after and awakes in some form of hospital for mutants that looks more like a psychiatric facility or the medical ward of a prison. It film successfully gives a solid creepy vibe and handles some of the dark tones from Illyana’s past quite well but fails to hit the point of actually being a scary film. As a darker drama it works quite well and handles the universe around it quite well, making several nods to it without relying on having seen any of the other films. When the true villains are revealed however it relies more on an intimate knowledge of the comics to know how bad things have gotten and left the rest of my family confused by the implications. I felt the film was quite solid and really enjoyed it but the rest of the family (not knowing the same comic history as myself) thought it was worthy of only 2.5 out of 5 stars, I gave it a solid 3.5.

WHICH OF THESE FILMS FROM 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS HAVE YOU SEEN? WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE?