Blu-ray thumbs

UNBROKEN (2014)


Angelina Jolie produced and directed this WW2 drama and I was impressed.
Based on the true story of Louis "Louie" Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned airman who survived his bomber crashing into the ocean for 47 days. He was captured by the Japanese and sent to various POW camps. He survived multiple beatings and terrible conditions, only to be freed when Japan lost the war. The actors are all unknowns and they do their jobs admirably.
Jolie can really direct!
Inspiring story of survival against all odds.

Nicolas Jarecki has brothers, Andrew Jarecki, Eugene Jarecki, Thomas A. Jarecki. Can you get them straight? I can't. But two of them made interesting documentaries, When you say ARBITRAGE was his first film... there's only been one since, nine years later.I did not see Angelinna's film, but Jack O'Connell is an excellent actor, from "SKins." And the must-see STARRED UP.

UNBROKEN: PATH TO REDEMPTION (2018)



This is the sequel or companion piece to Angelina Jolie's film.
Directed by Harold Cronk, and starring all-new actors, this is the continuing story of Louie Zamperini, post WW2. We see him drinking alcohol, being angry/short-tempered, dealing with post-traumatic stress, getting back into running, helping sell war bonds and ultimately convert to Christianity after seeing a Billy Graham Crusade in 1949.

This is more sentimental or Hallmark card-ish than the original Unbroken. Not essential, but still a good watch.

ASSASSIN'S CREED (2016)



I've never played the video games, but Assassin's Creed the movie rocks.
It's a medieval Matrix!!
Some heavyweight actors lift this into the realm of action/adventure cinema:
Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Michael Fassbender, Charlotte Rampling and Brendan Gleason.

The Knights Templar are searching for the Apple of Eden, but they are thwarted by the brotherhood of Assassins.
Great movie. I had a six pack with it and really enjoyed it.

Justin Kurzel directed.
Generally unfavorable reviews. Metacritic rating 36% - in the RED ZONE .
Maybe if you'd watched it without the six-pack, it wouldn't have looked quite so great. The Glenn Kenny NYFimes review suggests the video game version is much better.

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As articulated in video game form, the “Assassin’s Creed” saga is a knotty one that has taken players to revolutionary France, the Italian Renaissance and other historically significant eras. But the cramming of information into an average-length feature film only undermines it in this adaptation.

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I guess the big European stars were hired for the video game, which has tons of money, and they were carried over into the feature film offshoot.
Kenny writes:

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Ms. Cotillard, Mr. Irons and several other distinguished thespians, including Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams, mostly glower and intone dialogue like “I assured the elders we’d have the apple for London.” For an ostensible action movie, the cast spends an awful lot of time standing around and looking lost. I can only guess that they were following their director’s lead.

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I just watched Brendan Gleeson with Colin Farrel in THE BANSHEES OF INISHIRIN. Now showing in theaters.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)



Pretty much a perfect movie from the Coen brothers.
Josh Brolin stumbles upon a crime scene in 1980 West Texas; several men are dead (including their dog), a truck is loaded with heroin and he finds a briefcase with $2 million next to a dead man.
He takes his gun and the money, setting off a roller coaster ride because the money has a tracker in it.
Anton Chigurh is hired to track the money down, played by a ruthless and excellent Javier Bardem.
Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson provide solid support.
Brilliant cinematography by Roger Deakins.
See it at all costs. You won't regret it.

Perfect except not "theirs" because iti's a literary adaptation, from the text by Cormac McCarthy, and all their films were always their own original writing I think, and I think they have that reervation about it.

I wrote about it as part of my coverage of the 2007 New York Film Festival HERE. I wasn't giving release details then, but it was five months after the Cannes premiere. Nonetheless there was just as much excitement around the NYFF press screening, especially since I was a big fan of Cormac McCarthy and loved the book. I say something about that in my review. It's a fantastic book and these were only my 3rd NYFF. press screenings Is it a typical Cormac McCarthy book? No, because he had originally written it as a screenplay and it's simpler.

I’ve never read Cormac McCarthy but I heard The Road was amazing.
The Coens can adapt, or do original stuff.
They’re real filmmmakers.

All of Cormac McCarthy is amazing. Not just The Road. In fact I'd not put that near the top, personally.

I was mistaken and as you hint the Coen brothers have collaborated with other writers or simply done a few adaptations. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is the only one for which they were nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

TRUE GRIT - Charles Portis.
THE LADYKILLERS - William Rose.

Quote:

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The Coens have written a number of films they did not direct, including Angelina Jolie's biographical war drama Unbroken (2014), Steven Spielberg's historical cold war Bridge of Spies (2015), and lesser-known, commercially unsuccessful comedies such as Crimewave (1985), The Naked Man (1998) and Gambit (2012). Ethan is also a writer of short stories, theater and poetry.- Wikipedia, "The Coen Brothers.."

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The Beatles: GET BACK (2022)



Holy Moses, what a first part.
This is the Beatles, Undistilled, from 60 hours of video footage unearthed by Peter Jackson.
Jaw-dropping.
We see the Fab Four at Twickenham studios, rehearsing and laying down tracks for what was to become the LET IT BE album. Champagne to the editor, as he gives us a portrait like no other.

I was happy to be a fly on the wall for this.

Part 2 wasn't as good as part 1, but still riveting.
We see the Fab Four rehearsing more, this time with Billy Preston.
George quit the band for a few days over Paul's domineering ways.
We don't get complete versions of songs here, they're all works in progress.
Peter Jackson chose to have a calendar onscreen, to show each day crossed off.
I have a musician friend who said it would be hard to work with Lennon, that his constant interrupting and little voices would annoy to no end. And John does seem frustrating/frustrated here. But it's not explained.
Yoko didn't break up the Beatles in my opinion. If any one person is responsible, it's Paul.
I think they were fracturing anyway; the break-up was going to happen no matter what.


Part 3 is the final rooftop concert on Savile row in it's entirety.
If you love the Beatles then this 3-disc blu-ray set is a must buy.

It was interesting to see what takes of songs made it onto the Let It Be album.
It was also interesting to observe George Martin, who seemed unimpressed with the work, yet had zero control.
The "boys" were by then an untamed beast..

I loved the street-level interviews/capturings. One old man is asked if he'd let his daughter date a Beatle. "YES! They have money!" was the reply.
The editing of this film deserves an Oscar, no joke. And not just for the video- for the audio too. There was over 150 hours of audio to sift through.
A herculean task to whittle it down..
Peter Jackson and crew have done the world a great service.
A heartfelt thank you from this fan.

HELL (2011)


This is a German/Swiss production directed by Tim Fehlbaum.
It's a post-apocalyptic horror flick, with the actual title of APOCALYPSE.
It's a fast watch, at 90 minutes.
The actors are all dubbed into English, and that feels weird, adding to the uncomfort of actually watching the movie.
The sun has increased the temperature on Earth by over ten degrees, scorching everything, laying waste to social structure, food and gas supplies.
We follow 3 characters who are doing their utmost to survive, trying to drive their beat-up Volvo to the mountains of Germany for water.
They get ambushed and taken to a farm where cannibals hunt humans for food.
You can guess the rest. haha
Disturbing movie but not that bad. I would recommend seeing it for something different.

I missed this one. Don't think I ever heard of it.

ANCHORMAN (2004)


Directed by Adam MacKay, this was a deceptive comedy.
I thought it was gonna suck really bad when it started, but then it became hilarious.
Will Ferrell stars as Ron Burgundy, a newsman in 1974 San Diego.
His goal is to be the main journalist/anchorman at his station.
Enter Christina Applegate, a savvy woman who has the exact same goal.
The laughs came quick after Will & Christina hook up (the "Take me to Pleasure Town" sequence was a riot).
Ron's pals are a hoot (Steve Carrell & Paul Rudd) and I loved it when they all sang "Afternoon Delight" a-capella.
Jack Black has a funny cameo- he gets hit by a flying burrito from Ron's car, crashing his motorcycle on a bridge,
then proceeding to kick Ron's dog over the bridge.
The gang fight between all the competing stations was outrageous and hilarious too.
The plot is the silliest thing ever, but you know that going in. Thumbs up for Anchorman. It had me laughing.

ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES (2013)


The cast and director are back, and so are the laughs.
However the jokes are more crude, more offensive and edgy than the first film.
Ron and his pals are back, this time going National in New York City.
They get back together to work at GNN, a 24-hour news station.
There are funny moments, but they're fewer than before.
I liked when Ron's Winnebago rolled on the highway and love the banter between all characters.
Sexual humour again too- the sequence of interracial sex was a howl.
The cameos are plentiful this time around: Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Smith, Jim Carrey, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Liam Neeson and Vince Vaughn again.

THE TOURNAMENT (2009)



This was one of the best action movies I've ever seen.
Super-rich elites have a gambling game they like to play: watching hired killers and super-assassins kill each other systematically until there's only one left alive. "The Tournament"
takes place every seven years, with contestants volunteering to be tracked and be lethal to the extreme. There's big money involved- the winner takes home ten million and the title of "World's Deadliest".
Starring Ving Rhames, Kelly Hu and Robert Carlyle, this was literally non-stop action.
And it looks like they did it with very little money!
Tarantino would love it.
Big thumbs up. Directed by Scott Mann

ALLIED (2016)


I really enjoyed Allied, a Robert Zemeckis war thriller.
Brad Pitt is Max, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force with intelligence assignments.
He is paired up with Marion Cotillard to assassinate a German Ambassador in Casablanca.
She is a French Resistance fighter, and Max falls for her. And that is dangerous in their line of work...
They get married and have a daughter, Anna, who was born during a bombing raid on London.
Long story short, the authorites suspect Marion is a German spy, who adopted the persona of a French resistance fighter. They inform Max he will have to leave some intelligence for her to find, and see if she uses it. If she does, she will be executed. He is ordered not to conduct his own investigation, which he ignores...
Great movie.
I was wondering how it was gonna end and I was very happy. It was an ending with closure.

THE CIRCLE (2017)


This was a lukewarm thriller.
Emma Watson stars as Mae Holland, a call center worker who lands a job at tech giant THE CIRCLE, a clear imitation of Facebook. Tom Hanks is the CEO, and he introduces camera tech called "SeeChange"- whereby people wear a small camera 24/7, broadcasting their entire lives in real time. This is welcomed and scorned.
After Mae steals a kayak and is caught on camera, she volunteers to be the first employee at the Circle to wear the camera. She is credited with changing the world, even tho she has zero privacy. The Circle is progressive, they want 100% of the people to vote in America and are working to facilitate that. They also want to find lost or obscure people, criminals or family members alike. This is where the drama comes in, as Mae's reclusive friend Mercer is traced and tracked to his home via drones, and he flees, being chased all the way to his death on a bridge when he crashes.
This movie makes you think about privacy and how "on camera" we all are.
I don't think I'd watch it again.

SUPERFLY (2018)


This was a modern "remix" of the blaxploitation classic, directed by Director X.
We are taken to cocaine town, drug dealing at all levels in Atlanta, Georgia.
The main character is dealer "Priest", a young black man with a wild hairdo.
Priest wants one final huge score, to be set for life, to not deal with rivals and two-timers anymore. He gets it, in the form of a Mexican cartel.
There's guns, nudity, violence and drugs drugs drugs...We are witnesses to dirty cops, backroom deals, murders and all around unsavoury shit. There is no one to root for, no one to care about. They are all involved in high stakes crimes and misdemeanors.
Good rap soundtrack, but hollow movie overall.

More blu ray thumbnails to come…

THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey (2012)



Peter Jackson returned to the world of LORD OF THE RINGS with the Hobbit trilogy, and the first part is fine fantasy filmmaking. This time the focus is on Bilbo Baggins, 60 years previous to the Fellowship of the Ring.
He’s writing his memoirs for Frodo, and his adventures are just as harrowing as Frodo’s.
CGI aplenty here, and Gandalf returns and figures prominently.
There are other familiar faces: Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett and the animated Gollum. (Andy Serkis).
I enjoyed this movie.
It’s long but doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

THE HOBBIT: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)


I have to admit, Tolkien's story and characters bamboozle me. So many wild names and places...
That said, this part of THE HOBBIT was way better than the first.
This was an amazing entertainment. If the giant spiders sequence doesn't impress you, then the dragon Smaug will. That dragon really steals the show. Smaug speaks english (?) and is rendered better than the dragons in Harry Potter.
Orlando Bloom reprises his role as Legolas, and the elves figure prominently.
Gandalf still has his role, as do all the dwarves accompanying Bilbo.
This film looks so magnificent on blu-ray it's crazy. It was filmed in 3-D, and I'm sure seeing it that way would be optimal.
I have nothing but praise. I was wowed. Peter Jackson's passion is clearly evident.

THE HOBBIT: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)



The final part of The Hobbit is epic indeed.
The opening sequence is spectacular, involving Smaug wreaking havoc and being killed.
Bravo to Peter Jackson and his creative teams for having the vision and wherewithal to actually make these amazing films. He really achieved greatness here, as he did with the LOTR trilogy.
For all the swordplay, war and violence onscreen there is very little blood.
The good guys win in the end, but not before facing formidible enemies and taking heavy losses.
Legolas really gets to do some Heroic stuff, and the dwarves prove their mettle...
Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett are back, and so is a great Christopher Lee.
Excellent movie.
I get my fantasy fix from Harry Potter, so I won't be buying these on blu-ray but they come highly recommended.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)



I could see how someone could make the case that this is a bad movie, even a bad fairy tale.
I personally think it's a masterpiece. I should already own this on blu-ray but I don't.
I'm waiting for the Criterion version.
Steven Spielberg (saviour of cinema that he is) thankfully made this in tribute to his friend Stanley Kubrick.
It tells us the odyssey of a robot child, in a world where humans and machines are on the brink of civil war.
It looks gorgeous on blu-ray and it's my favorite Spielberg.
Dazzling vision, unique sfx and sets, and solid acting from all involved.
I think Stanley would have been pleased, as Steven used the bulk of his original screenplay and added hundreds of accentuations.
Odd film in Spielberg's canon, a one-off, like Minority Report. I love it and always will.
There's enough Kubrick in it to feel the Master.

HERCULES (2014)



This was a nice surprise. I didn't have much faith in this when I saw the dvd cover, but it was surprisingly good, starring The Rock, Dwayne Johnson.
It turned out to be a decent epic.
Directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), this was the exploits of half man/half god Son of Zeus.
Good battle scenes and CGI coupled with great supporting acting from the great John Hurt, Ian McShane and Joseph Fiennes make this very entertaining.
The Rock is a tad wooden, but he looks the part and he's believable as Hercules.

WINDTALKERS (2002)



Excellent war film from John Woo.
In WW2 the Americans secured victory on Saipan with help from Navajo radio code breakers.
Their code was never broken, and they called themselves "windtalkers".
Nicolas Cage is Sgt. Joe Enders, in charge of two such Najavo radio men.
We see them in action in very realistic and intense battle scenes- I was impressed.
A young Mark Ruffalo is also part of Enders' Marine squad.
Highly recommended movie based on true events.

LORD OF WAR (2005)



Andrew Nicchol directs Nicolas Cage and Jared Leto in this wild movie about the arms trade.
I can't say I endorse anything onscreen, but it highlights the truth.
Weapons deals happen every day, and the five countries that are tops in weapons dealing are the top five permanent members of the security council! Fact.
AK-47's, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, Uzi's, M16's, bombs and rockets and bullets are all for sale here, coupled with copious amounts of cocaine.
Crazy movie. Well made, well performed.

DELIVERANCE (1972)



This was an outstanding classic film that everybody should see at least once.
4 friends (Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox, Jon Voight and Ned Beatty) go on a camping/canoe adventure in the South. Everything is kosher until they run into a couple gay hillbillies who threaten to rape and kill them. Getting out/back to safety then becomes their priority.
Beautiful direction from John Boorman, with nice cinematograhy/shots of the great outdoors.
Highly recommended.

SHOOT EM UP (2007)


A wild and wooly actioner that lives up to it's title.
Directed by Michael Davis, this is a lighthearted guns a-blazing extravaganza.
Clive Owen and the gorgeous Monica Belluci battle Paul Giamatti and an army of baddies, all in the name of protecting a newborn baby from a slain mother.
The gunplay is insane, and there's plenty of blood and gore.
It's thrilling to see crazy action scenes with Motorhead's Ace of Spades, the White Stripes and Nirvana.
Motley Crue play over the excellent end credits.
Shot in L.A. and Toronto- I recognized shots in downtown T.O.
Recommended for a good time- very satisfying movie. Clive is as ingenious as Rambo.

THE BAD LIEUTENANT: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)



Werner Herzog once again proves he can make a seriously compelling dramatic film just as easily as a documentary. Here he directs Nicolas Cage as Terence McDonagh, a police sgt. in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.
McDonagh is corrupt as fuck, and it all flies above the radar of his superiors.
In fact he's promoted twice in the film!
Eva Mendes plays his drug-addled girlfriend and Val Kilmer provides solid support as a fellow cop. Outstanding cinematography is used to tell this story, which covers a lot of landscapes in New Orleans- including gators and iguanas. Michael Shannon also has a small role.
Cage's character steals drugs, does cocaine, crack, weed and anything else he can get his hands on, especially heroin. He's high-functioning alright, and you can hardly believe what he gets away with.
Top-notch film.

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)



After Batman, this may be my favorite Tim Burton film.
This is the weird time loop story of gifted children in 1943, under the care of Miss Peregrine (Eva Green).
Asa Butterfield plays Jake, grandson of Terence Stamp, who he finds in a field outside his house with no eyes (?) and dying. Before expiring, he tells Jake what to do, leading him to Wales with his father. There he finds the old bombed-out home that once belonged to Peregrine. He goes inside, and finds apparitions- or are they?
From then on this movie becomes a kaleidoscope of macabre set pieces, all revolving around the 24-hour time loop the children and Peregrine are in. Visually spectacular, I really enjoyed this movie, even tho the ending is a bit rushed. Also starring Judi Dench & Samuel L. Jackson.

DARK CITY (1998)


One of the best sci-fi films ever made.
This was dark indeed- no sun shines on this city.
Rufus Sewell plays John Murdoch, an amnesiac who's suspected of murder.
Kiefer Sutherland plays his bizarre psychiatrist, who's chased and tormented by the "Strangers", pale-skinned baddies who wear fedoras. The strangers can alter memories and landscapes, claiming their methods take several lifetimes to master.
This was a mind-bending trip, no different from an LSD trip.
It's a cult classic, and Roger Ebert championed it early on, even doing audio commentary for the blu-ray.
Jennifer Connelly is luminous, and William Hurt provides stellar support.
A must-see from director Alex Proyas.

STOKER (2013)


From the director of OLDBOY comes this chilling thriller.
Nicole Kidman stars as Evelyn Stoker, indifferent mother of India (Mia Wachowski).
India is young and sullen, and when her uncle Charles arrives on the scene after her father's death, things get creepy, eerie, horrifying and bone chilling.
I won't spoil anything- see for yourself how one man destroys lives in a soulless way, building up to an ending you won't see coming. Disturbing yet great movie. Exquisite cinematography and editing.

LUCY (2014)



Written and directed by Luc Besson, this sci-fi actioner may be his best work.
Scarlett Johansson stars as Lucy, a young woman inadvertantly caught up in a synthetic drug scam.
The film opens with her boyfriend making her a drug mule, witnessing his death.
He handcuffs her to a briefcase filled with a weird blue synthetic drug. From then on she's at war with Mr. Jang and his small army of baddies. Jang sews a pouch of the drug into her stomach, and it eventually enters her bloodstream, giving her enhanced physical and mental abilities.
This movie makes you wonder about the myth of brain capacity, how we only use a fraction of our mind. There are some brilliant/spectacular special effects shots here, especially at the end.
Lucy is able to time travel at will, and even goes back in time to witness the big bang!
Thoroughly entertaining flick, with lots of gunplay, blood and incredible sfx. Also starring Morgan Freeman.

SLOW WEST (2015)



Great neo-western by John Maclean.
Michael Fassbender stars as a bounty hunter named Silas Selleck. He encounters a young Scottish man named Jay Cavendish who is roaming the prairies alone, looking for his lost love Rose.
Jay pays Silas to escort him west, unaware that there's a bounty out there for Rose and her father, which Silas plans to claim, using Jay.
Excellent evocative cinematography- this was compared to Roger Deakins work with the Coen bros.
Low budget, shot in New Zealand, this one's a winner. It won a prize at Sundance.

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL |(2019)



Was this movie needed? I don't think so.
F. Gary Gray directs Chris Hemsworth and newcomer Tessa Thompson as MIB Agents H and M, working out of the UK branch.
A totally convoluted plot revolving around rooting out a mole in the organization was mighty tiresome. The sfx were serviceable, but it just rang so hollow. No Tommy Lee Jones or Will Smith here. This movie had zero laughs, while trying to be hilarious.
Which reminds me of another sci-fi movie that isn't even worth reviewing: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL with Keaunu Reeves. Boring as hell.

Men in Black are past their expiry date then.
Keanu has loyal fans. We may not be among them.

The first Men in Black was a nice novelty film. Sequels weren't needed.
Keanu is a decent actor, but I'm not his biggest fan. John Wick is the only blu-ray of his I own. John lent me 47 Ronin, and I'll thumbnail that one soon.
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL might be Keanu's worst film. The best thing about it was Jennifer Connelly. She did the best she could with what she was given...The blu-ray came with the 1951 film with Michael Rennie as a bonus. It was cheesy, but better than the modern remake!

Agreed. Keanu has loyal fans for John Wick and seems to do a good job. I watched one but it was not for me.
By the way, I just tried to send you an email via your Yahoo.ca address, has it changed? It seems to have bounced back.