Quick-Take Movie Reviews!
One thing I look forward to on my trips is the time to catch up on some movies. Here are a few I fit in these past few trips, with some brief thoughts (plus my rating, using my arbitrary 64-point scale).
The Grey, 2011. Fairly typical Liam Neeson fare, without many likeable characters (and of course this time the villains are the weather and wolves rather than ne'er-do-well humans). Not a bad flick on the whole, beautifully shot. The ambiguous ending was an interesting choice. 48.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this one, but it was different. Again, a visually beautiful film (Roger Deakins remains my favorite DP). A bit slow story-wise, but an interesting slice of history. Good cast, great acting. 39.
John Wick, 2014. I dig revenge flicks. This was a fun watch with a nice high bodycount. Truck-sized holes in the plot, of course, and not very high on the originality scale, but still a good ride. 47.
Lone Survivor, 2013. I've not seen many modern war movies, but this one was impressive. It tells the true tale of a team of 4 Navy SEALs on a mission in Afghanistan. The mission goes badly wrong, of course, and the title already gives away how many make it out alive. But there's a good twist near the end, which makes it a little more heartwarming than expected. If you like war movies in general, I would recommend it. The credits feature photos of the real men portrayed in the film, which was a nice touch. 56.
Taken 3, 2014. Since I dig revenge flicks, I loved the first Taken film. The second one was not as good, but still pretty decent. This one is definitely the worst of the lot, with a lot of going-through-the-motions feel and some overly-frenetic editing on the action set pieces. Neeson is clearly getting too old for this shit, as the trope goes. Still pretty fun, though. 44.
The Raid 2: Berandal, 2014. I enjoyed the first Raid film from 2011, which was a very straightforward action flick about a squad of cops storming the apartment building stronghold of the Bad Guys. Brutal, bloody, nonstop. The sequel tries to cobble together a far more ambitious plot, with the hero cop from the first film betrayed by his crooked superiors and forced to assimilate into an organized crime family whose psychotic and ambitious son is scheming to overthrow his father and orchestrate a war with other crime syndicates. It's all a bit much, and more than fits comfortably into the story. But we're here for the fight scenes, which definitely deliver. 42.
Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014. I'd obviously heard lots of good about this film, notably the soundtrack, which I did find to be a very nice touch. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and I could tell that everyone had a blast making the film, which I always appreciate. I will look forward to the upcoming sequel. 52.
Maniac Cop, 1988. I'm not even sure how this one ended up on my radar, maybe it's because it features Bruce Campbell or had some connection to some other film I like. Anyway, it was a fairly typical '80s horror film, with the twist that the killer seems to be a police officer. But is he really? Cheesy to the max, but I enjoyed it. And there were two sequels to look forward to! 37.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, 1974. I've been meaning to watch some Sam Peckinpah films, really I've seen very little of his stuff though I know he was a huge influence on Tarantino and surely many others. As do most movies made in the era, this one reeked of the 70s, even though it was set in Mexico. Fairly enjoyable, though much of the violence and nudity seemed gratuitous and the ending was kinda ridiculous. I guess all of that is a Peckinpah thing, though. (Side note: I didn't realize going in that the lead was Warren Oates, who played police captain Braddock in Blue Thunder, which was a favorite flick of mine as a kid. That one was actually released after he was killed by a sudden heart attack in 1982.) 38.
Little Boy, 2015. I had a free evening in Bakersfield so I figured I'd catch a movie at the theater. This was the only one that appealed, as it appeared to be a whimsical and magical story set during WWII, all of which seemed up my alley. I didn't realize it's actually one of the recent spate of faith-based films, though thankfully it wasn't TOO heavy-handed with that stuff. Overall it was a good story, though the kid playing the title role left much to be desired, the story was definitely thin, and relied on a bit of bait-and-switch at the end to ensure the required happy ending. I enjoyed it well enough, but can't really recommend it. 35.
All Is Lost, 2013. This was a hell of a film, very impressive. In case it slipped below your radar, it features Robert Redford (playing an unnamed character credited only as Our Man) as a man sailing his small sailboat alone across the Indian Ocean when it's struck and crippled by a drifting cargo container full of tennis shoes. From there it quickly becomes a struggle for survival, of course, though one with a fairly deliberate pace as Our Man squares off against the sea. As a one-man show with almost no spoken dialogue at all (apparently the script was only 32 pages long), it's a sort of dramatic tour de force for Redford, who apparently even did most of his own stunt work (at 77 years of age, no less!). It was a stunning film all the way through (even if it did maybe botch the occasional technical detail), and I very much enjoyed it. 57.
Speaking of Roger Deakins, I'd been wanting to re-watch No Country For Old Men, so I'm in the middle of that presently. Good stuff.
I'm also feeling like I should take a moment to document my 64-point scale, for future reference. Basically:
<20: Dreck, of varying production value.
20s: Not a complete waste of time, but not much redeeming quality either.
30s: Enjoyable, worth seeing, but not worth multiple viewings.
40s: Quality stuff. Not necessarily worth seeking out for re-watching, but the sort of thing you'd not flip away from while channel surfing.
50s: Outstanding filmmaking, with solid writing, great performances, and high production values. Deserving of re-watching on purpose.
60s: Stellar stuff. The cream of the crop, timeless classics, desert-island fare.
The Grey, 2011. Fairly typical Liam Neeson fare, without many likeable characters (and of course this time the villains are the weather and wolves rather than ne'er-do-well humans). Not a bad flick on the whole, beautifully shot. The ambiguous ending was an interesting choice. 48.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this one, but it was different. Again, a visually beautiful film (Roger Deakins remains my favorite DP). A bit slow story-wise, but an interesting slice of history. Good cast, great acting. 39.
John Wick, 2014. I dig revenge flicks. This was a fun watch with a nice high bodycount. Truck-sized holes in the plot, of course, and not very high on the originality scale, but still a good ride. 47.
Lone Survivor, 2013. I've not seen many modern war movies, but this one was impressive. It tells the true tale of a team of 4 Navy SEALs on a mission in Afghanistan. The mission goes badly wrong, of course, and the title already gives away how many make it out alive. But there's a good twist near the end, which makes it a little more heartwarming than expected. If you like war movies in general, I would recommend it. The credits feature photos of the real men portrayed in the film, which was a nice touch. 56.
Taken 3, 2014. Since I dig revenge flicks, I loved the first Taken film. The second one was not as good, but still pretty decent. This one is definitely the worst of the lot, with a lot of going-through-the-motions feel and some overly-frenetic editing on the action set pieces. Neeson is clearly getting too old for this shit, as the trope goes. Still pretty fun, though. 44.
The Raid 2: Berandal, 2014. I enjoyed the first Raid film from 2011, which was a very straightforward action flick about a squad of cops storming the apartment building stronghold of the Bad Guys. Brutal, bloody, nonstop. The sequel tries to cobble together a far more ambitious plot, with the hero cop from the first film betrayed by his crooked superiors and forced to assimilate into an organized crime family whose psychotic and ambitious son is scheming to overthrow his father and orchestrate a war with other crime syndicates. It's all a bit much, and more than fits comfortably into the story. But we're here for the fight scenes, which definitely deliver. 42.
Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014. I'd obviously heard lots of good about this film, notably the soundtrack, which I did find to be a very nice touch. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and I could tell that everyone had a blast making the film, which I always appreciate. I will look forward to the upcoming sequel. 52.
Maniac Cop, 1988. I'm not even sure how this one ended up on my radar, maybe it's because it features Bruce Campbell or had some connection to some other film I like. Anyway, it was a fairly typical '80s horror film, with the twist that the killer seems to be a police officer. But is he really? Cheesy to the max, but I enjoyed it. And there were two sequels to look forward to! 37.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, 1974. I've been meaning to watch some Sam Peckinpah films, really I've seen very little of his stuff though I know he was a huge influence on Tarantino and surely many others. As do most movies made in the era, this one reeked of the 70s, even though it was set in Mexico. Fairly enjoyable, though much of the violence and nudity seemed gratuitous and the ending was kinda ridiculous. I guess all of that is a Peckinpah thing, though. (Side note: I didn't realize going in that the lead was Warren Oates, who played police captain Braddock in Blue Thunder, which was a favorite flick of mine as a kid. That one was actually released after he was killed by a sudden heart attack in 1982.) 38.
Little Boy, 2015. I had a free evening in Bakersfield so I figured I'd catch a movie at the theater. This was the only one that appealed, as it appeared to be a whimsical and magical story set during WWII, all of which seemed up my alley. I didn't realize it's actually one of the recent spate of faith-based films, though thankfully it wasn't TOO heavy-handed with that stuff. Overall it was a good story, though the kid playing the title role left much to be desired, the story was definitely thin, and relied on a bit of bait-and-switch at the end to ensure the required happy ending. I enjoyed it well enough, but can't really recommend it. 35.
All Is Lost, 2013. This was a hell of a film, very impressive. In case it slipped below your radar, it features Robert Redford (playing an unnamed character credited only as Our Man) as a man sailing his small sailboat alone across the Indian Ocean when it's struck and crippled by a drifting cargo container full of tennis shoes. From there it quickly becomes a struggle for survival, of course, though one with a fairly deliberate pace as Our Man squares off against the sea. As a one-man show with almost no spoken dialogue at all (apparently the script was only 32 pages long), it's a sort of dramatic tour de force for Redford, who apparently even did most of his own stunt work (at 77 years of age, no less!). It was a stunning film all the way through (even if it did maybe botch the occasional technical detail), and I very much enjoyed it. 57.
Speaking of Roger Deakins, I'd been wanting to re-watch No Country For Old Men, so I'm in the middle of that presently. Good stuff.
I'm also feeling like I should take a moment to document my 64-point scale, for future reference. Basically:
<20: Dreck, of varying production value.
20s: Not a complete waste of time, but not much redeeming quality either.
30s: Enjoyable, worth seeing, but not worth multiple viewings.
40s: Quality stuff. Not necessarily worth seeking out for re-watching, but the sort of thing you'd not flip away from while channel surfing.
50s: Outstanding filmmaking, with solid writing, great performances, and high production values. Deserving of re-watching on purpose.
60s: Stellar stuff. The cream of the crop, timeless classics, desert-island fare.