After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
I obviously I don’t watch enough “mindless” blockbusters any more. Either that or it just started out a bit too Poe-faced. Maybe it was the very real flight scenes that threw me?
By the time I realised what I was watching it was a bit too late to enjoy it as intended. I’ll need to watch it again!
★★★
Two Brooklyn siblings' summer in a rural Oahu town takes an exciting turn when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an adventure, leading them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.
This works for me across the board. Whether as a Goonies homage, a weird anti-tourism commentary, family bonding drama or a fun family film.
It is WAY too long but, for me, there were some moments that made that worthwhile.
★★★½
The Addams get tangled up in more wacky adventures and find themselves involved in hilarious run-ins with all sorts of unsuspecting characters.
Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are—or how they got there. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted turns the tables on her pursuers.
I always thought Betty Gilpin was kind of badass.
★★★½
Six friends hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown — but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realize they might not survive the night.
The kind of film where, afterwards, you think twice before switching the light on. Or turning round too quickly.
Or the dog next door coughs as you pass the window and it scares the living shit out of you…
★★★★
Each year the population of sleepy Lake Victoria, Arizona explodes from 5,000 to 50,000 residents for the annual Spring Break celebration. But then, an earthquake opens an underwater chasm, releasing an enormous swarm of ancient Piranha that have been dormant for thousands of years, now with a taste for human flesh. This year, there's something more to worry about than the usual hangovers and complaints from locals, a new type of terror is about to be cut loose on Lake Victoria.
Sadly I did not see this in 3D.
If you are looking for boobs and gore this delivers in spades and on that basis I can’t fault it. I don’t even think it is trying for any real tension. It’s just shore to shore bikinis and blood.
★★★
When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.
I liked it a bit more on second watch. The visual effects are way better than I remember. I dunno if I just took against those big eyes.
I think another factor is that now I have seen Rotoscoped Rosa Salazar (in Undone) I can see her performance in Alita, and somehow that elevates it for me. Like you can see the Andy Serkis in Gollum (right?) You appreciate what the actor is doing under the CGI that bit more.
The script clangs a bit in places and I can, in no way buy Waltz and that massive hammer.
I kind of would have liked to see the second part now. Shame.
★★★½
A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.
Starts out pretty darn unsettling but sorely needed some shocks in the finale. It sort of wanders into more familiar territory and it loses something.
★★★½
Jen's romantic getaway with her wealthy (married) boyfriend is disrupted when his friends arrive for an impromptu hunting trip. Tension mounts at the house until the situation culminates in an unexpected way.
There are films that you can describe as “dumb fun”. This has all the dumb and none of the fun. It looks pretty decent in places, which is something. But my strongest reaction was definitely concern for the upholstery.
★
Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens' welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.
I listened to a discussion about this today and it was pointed out that this hasn’t been redone to death. And it kind of makes me sad that some amazing films age badly just because there are inferior attempts to “do it” again.
There are so many great things about this film. You do have to wonder just how hands your man PJ was with this, cos certainly NB hasn’t even come close since…
