January 21, 2022

Black Death

Rating: 1-1/2 of 5 Sean Beans
Pretty slow, plodding, gory film about a group of guys with swords, lead by Sean Bean, heading off to find a village that’s rumored to be free of the pestilence, and to kill the witch who’s obviously keeping it that way. Not really recommended. Even for Sean Bean fans.

January 18, 2022

Matrix Resurrections

Rating: 1 of 5 Matrices Well, that was a movie. Not sure how to rate it, or why it was made (other than the usual making bank). Lots of action, barely comprehensible plot, so, it’s much like the second and third installments, but not as good. All the characters you know and love are there, except they’re now played by younger, prettier actors. Except Neo and Trinity, who the younger actors remember as legends, but think are too old to be of any use.

January 7, 2022

Power of the Dog

Rating: 1 of 5 Cumberbatches An unpopular opinion, I know. Many people loved this movie. Every character was unlikeable, I didn’t like them. Or the depressing story. That is all.

January 5, 2022

East Side Sushi

Rating: 5 of 5 California rolls
It’s a local (to me) story about a Hispanic single mom in East Oakland who wants to be a sushi chef. Super low-budget, self-financed by the writer/director. Loved the story and characters. Yeah, it’s a predictable story, but as a very frequent sushi bar patron, and Bay Area native, it felt like a warm pair of socks.

January 1, 2022

The Lost Daughter

Rating: 1 of 5 Depressing flashbacks Well acted, good cinematography. Many people loved this film. I found it endlessly depressing, not a story I needed to see. If we weren’t watching it with friends who really wanted to see it (and they liked it), I wouldn’t have made it to the end.

October 24, 2021

Angel (1983)

Rating: 4 out of 5 walk of fame stars
What appears at first glance to be an 80’s exploitation flick is actually a pretty good horror/serial killer film with interesting characters. What sets it apart is actual drama and character development, and some really good acting. Dick Shawn (brilliantly) plays a cross dressing prostitute, Rory Calhoun plays a Hollywood Boulevard hawker posing as Kit Carson, and John Diehl (Cruiser from Stripes) plays the serial killer. Ostensibly about a teenager (Donna Wilkes) who is a high school honor student by day, and a Hollywood Boulevard hooker by night.

October 22, 2021

Dune (2021)

Rating: 3 out of 5 Sandworms
Watched “Dune” last night. Have to preface this by saying I couldn’t slog my way through the book when I tried 30+ years ago. Bore-ing. Watched other adaptations, didn’t grok them either. So, I expected great visuals, but a confusing storyline. Well, it didn’t disappoint. But, since I didn’t expect to follow the story, it made a little more sense than expected, although I really need to read a cliff note version of who the factions are, and why their fighting.

September 11, 2021

Malignant

Rating: 3 out of 4 mysteriously abandoned hospitals Directed by James Wan (Saw, the Conjuring movies, Aquaman). Loved the set design and photography, some good scares. Plot was thin, broadcast the whole plot pretty early, but the inevitable horror plot twist was fun (surprised me, Syd saw it coming a mile away). And, per my horror movie annoyances, some people turned on the lights when wandering to find the source of the strange noises, some didn’t.

August 21, 2021

Reminiscence

Rating: 2 of 4 isolation tanks Very pretty. Not sure how much was CGI, but it looked great. It’s a “paced” flick, so don’t expect things to speed up or get more exciting. Plot was OK, felt derivative of other “we can read your memories” plots. No surprises, and I found it a bit boring, all in all. Still, worth a watch.

July 26, 2021

Jolt

Rating: 4 out of 4 electric shocks I loved the writing and fairly unique plot. Acting with a great balance of campy/serious/humor. A few parts didn’t mesh, but this is an action flick.