STAGED NOSTALGIA FOR 'SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAbg0y9rosGuX-CL6_fXSsC76Lo_JyDhrjkrNEkOHnmHfRbRWZhu_oSWdlrb95oHzmhlgcw9iHPhZOqFlwu39zT0SSl8iegNvkrqeGCvL5rZpG2XEY18Ad148mAiJEvsxPa2VeDiQd8qEx-qvyjnKoHEJ5w35Ow05KePR-1FsOgPjaWSA6J4Cyaj2kiak/s1254/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-12%20at%209.45.04%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAbg0y9rosGuX-CL6_fXSsC76Lo_JyDhrjkrNEkOHnmHfRbRWZhu_oSWdlrb95oHzmhlgcw9iHPhZOqFlwu39zT0SSl8iegNvkrqeGCvL5rZpG2XEY18Ad148mAiJEvsxPa2VeDiQd8qEx-qvyjnKoHEJ5w35Ow05KePR-1FsOgPjaWSA6J4Cyaj2kiak/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-09-12%20at%209.45.04%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2025 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Rob Reiner's completely unanticipated sequel to THIS IS SPINAL TAP wants to play it both ways: on the one hand, the fictional Heavy Metal group hasn't played together for years, their music is forgotten, and they have insanely mundane/downright bizarre jobs, like making cheese or creating background themes to cellular on-hold services...<br><br>But at the same time, while the old boys are reunited in a homey New Orleans studio, anticipating one big reunion show, they're visited by and jam with the likes of Paul McCartney and Elton John (who both consider them "legendary") with a sold-out crowd singing along to their lyrics, even somehow understanding the ironical nuances of their stage show (like the size of <i>Stonehenge</i>)...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

2025, christopher guest, comedy, elton john, harry shearer, michael mckean, mockumentary, music, new, paul mccartney, rob reiner, sequel

STAGED NOSTALGIA FOR 'SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES'

Year: 2025 Rating: ** Rob Reiner's completely unanticipated sequel to THIS IS SPINAL TAP wants to play it both ways: on the one hand, th...

STOMPING THROUGH 'GODZILLA X KING KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIxWx9ap7LYu4dHnuPME8V35ssQJGK-TVixSKAQ1f0t9dN2vqw8lzmK_LUDllvOIvKy1TLMT75v9VBCE8tsmH3tz80V-OvOaypbVkJu7yhS41ruN6-Y_lmxT7ipAMBoK6pR_U0-692VeWzWDuM1r8Vf9MkJbUZ_HkNANmTK1qIsxJnfiTcg4-PzYD6gbm/s1366/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-24%20at%2012.18.25%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIxWx9ap7LYu4dHnuPME8V35ssQJGK-TVixSKAQ1f0t9dN2vqw8lzmK_LUDllvOIvKy1TLMT75v9VBCE8tsmH3tz80V-OvOaypbVkJu7yhS41ruN6-Y_lmxT7ipAMBoK6pR_U0-692VeWzWDuM1r8Vf9MkJbUZ_HkNANmTK1qIsxJnfiTcg4-PzYD6gbm/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-12-24%20at%2012.18.25%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>From GODZILLA X KING KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE Year: 2024 Rating: B</u>—</td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the worst things about these new GODZILLA and KING KONG or GODZILLA <i>and</i> KING KONG movies are the humans, and someone must have sent a memo to the director, because people take the backseat here...<br><br>But this is not really a GODZILLA picture despite him getting first-billed... it's really a KING KONG adventure as he traipses around Hollow Earth (which is basically the same deep-underground/inner-earth portal from the original LAND OF THE LOST), trying to survive a horde of competing apes before finding one youngster he can partner with... while leading to the main "titan" antagonist, which is a let-down, only because it takes over half the screen-time to anticipate what's basically a red-headed Kong on ozempic (with an angry expression like Caesar from the new PLANET OF THE APES franchise), trashing a magical whip with an enslaved giant dragon-like creature and...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

2024, action, adventure, dan stevens, fantasy, godzilla, king kong, monster, new, rebecca hall

STOMPING THROUGH 'GODZILLA X KING KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE'

From GODZILLA X KING KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE Year: 2024 Rating: B — One of the worst things about these new GODZILLA and KING KONG or GODZILLA ...

BELATED REVEIW OF FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S 'MEGALOPOLIS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZ8q1Mj5PLZ2Jt-JuoO5u4jqZLviofcQxOYzOC8-RG5sdumUM440AcfZJJOmFmASpPpNpxbD1QuUz0cwx3-T1DnDDhRnR1-TIghhKtBRnNUYLK6t5-OR5Z44v9IUhP6tMqOcKnwwXGrPIGy4Vwm_AYaE5XXv09zVRVFFIH6NQPXaOg4PBqSfIgf3kPiK7/s2102/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-19%20at%2011.42.19%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="2102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZ8q1Mj5PLZ2Jt-JuoO5u4jqZLviofcQxOYzOC8-RG5sdumUM440AcfZJJOmFmASpPpNpxbD1QuUz0cwx3-T1DnDDhRnR1-TIghhKtBRnNUYLK6t5-OR5Z44v9IUhP6tMqOcKnwwXGrPIGy4Vwm_AYaE5XXv09zVRVFFIH6NQPXaOg4PBqSfIgf3kPiK7/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-19%20at%2011.42.19%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nathalie Emmanuel and Laurence Fishburne in MEGAOLPOLIS Year: 2024 Rating: *1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With theatrical trailer/promotions promising the Francis Ford Coppola who made THE GODFATHER and APOCALYPSE NOW, the infamous MEGALOPOLIS is actually a reworking of Coppola's SE Hinton adaptation RUMBLE FISH: as a giant clock beneath rolling clouds shadow an urban city skyline with a massive metronome-like clock ticking; an overall theme about time; and Laurence Fishburne as a narrating tagalong/bodyguard to a misunderstood dark-haired male lead... </p><p>And the only two characters that actually seem to matter are Adam Driver, the utopian creator of a gelatin-like substance to build cities, with his rival mayor's beautiful daughter Nathalie Emmanuel, who loves him — particularly since a superpower to literally stop time only occurs if she's around... </p><p><span></span></p>

2024, adam driver, aubrey plaza, dustin hoffman, francis ford coppola, jon voight, laurence fishburne, neo noir, new, science-fiction, shia labeouf

BELATED REVEIW OF FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S 'MEGALOPOLIS'

Nathalie Emmanuel and Laurence Fishburne in MEGAOLPOLIS Year: 2024 Rating: *1/2 With theatrical trailer/promotions promising the Francis Fo...

EDDIE MURPHY RETURNS FOR NETFLIX'S 'BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvnJqRG52UbPmbO2aHYbcUJWaq6u_y_4vuZPpvbJ7msbgm0EV8WeddCzVq0_DgMsVWOTaX2hlY1otJcmUOYZLahXn_c2kQ_NR77MWhIzUdhTU_nFYRnF3bEfAjr255_NW0TGhTRiqAR4puRlX11gNmW5IBnA0pKM3iscdaDkmghqNlrkhtQ3Qar_uWB_Z/s2144/Screen%20Shot%202024-07-03%20at%203.57.28%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="2144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvnJqRG52UbPmbO2aHYbcUJWaq6u_y_4vuZPpvbJ7msbgm0EV8WeddCzVq0_DgMsVWOTaX2hlY1otJcmUOYZLahXn_c2kQ_NR77MWhIzUdhTU_nFYRnF3bEfAjr255_NW0TGhTRiqAR4puRlX11gNmW5IBnA0pKM3iscdaDkmghqNlrkhtQ3Qar_uWB_Z/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-07-03%20at%203.57.28%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Beverly Hills Cop: Axl F from 2024 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Between a fan-service opening where Axel Foley winds up in a truck chase through Detroit, like the original... only orchestrated with the second movie's song and with <i>him</i> behind the wheel this time... and vignettes with Eddie Murphy doing various imitations to trick people within the comparably soft and gullible Beverly Hills... he's hanging around his idealistic lawyer daughter (Taylour Page), so severely uptight and painfully miscast it's never quite clear if BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F is the pilot for a Netflix series or a stand-alone feature...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Because there's no real character or story-arc to fit within an effective 2-hour mainframe while Murphy, no matter how hard he tries to be funny with those cute little voices, simply cannot play off this new smug sidekick the way he did Judge Reinhold and John Ashton... both seeming thrown in here at the last minute... who were his polar opposites, dead set against before inevitably joining into the original classic's infectiously entertaining revenge-plot misadventure — that should have been left alone in the first place.</p><span></span>

2024, action, comedy, eddie murphy, franchise, john ashton, joseph gordon-levitt, judge reinhold, kevin bacon, netflix, new, sequel

EDDIE MURPHY RETURNS FOR NETFLIX'S 'BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F'

Title: Beverly Hills Cop: Axl F from 2024 Rating: ** Between a fan-service opening where Axel Foley winds up in a truck chase through Detroi...

ALEXANDER PAYNE & PAUL GIAMATTI REUNITE FOR 'THE HOLDOVERS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGek7Sz7Y0VIBHFoc-XjUJnSO-WL1PIYTjquUqUyW4SVXn3iICoPBCshEJHW2ZtsPhxMuZr62FhmrUa02Eq20K6ubCWf4RlW0CMPWoUQk_AsqM7tQRRDuNDySQEDxnt2CbC0CTpcQgDp4fsUwSCv6EedpRBd7XGtCfQAcnQLwOdwOMoCDHvSKnstMZqXQD/s1703/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-03%20at%2012.20.05%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1703" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGek7Sz7Y0VIBHFoc-XjUJnSO-WL1PIYTjquUqUyW4SVXn3iICoPBCshEJHW2ZtsPhxMuZr62FhmrUa02Eq20K6ubCWf4RlW0CMPWoUQk_AsqM7tQRRDuNDySQEDxnt2CbC0CTpcQgDp4fsUwSCv6EedpRBd7XGtCfQAcnQLwOdwOMoCDHvSKnstMZqXQD/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-03%20at%2012.20.05%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE HOLDOVERS Year: 2023 Rating: ** </u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Director Alexander Payne is passive/aggressive when it comes to his previous SIDEWAYS star Paul Giamatti's character Paul Hunham, a stuffy, curmudgeon-like professor at an all-boys boarding school, who in one scene angrily lectures his students while glibly handing-out failing grades, and the next idealistically defends the institution's grieving African-American cook from one of a small-handful of HOLDOVER teens, unable to go home for Christmas and having to spend a melancholy "detention" (like THE BREAKFAST CLUB meets DEAD POET'S SOCIETY meets 1972's CHILD'S PLAY) stuck in an otherwise empty campus...</p><p>Ironically, that particular scolded brat winds up getting a last-minute Christmas vacation reprieve... a shame since he had the kind of antagonistic attitude that would inevitably transition by the end...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

2023, alexander payne, comedy, counter-culture, drama, new, paul giamatti, teen, time period

ALEXANDER PAYNE & PAUL GIAMATTI REUNITE FOR 'THE HOLDOVERS'

Title: THE HOLDOVERS Year: 2023 Rating: ** Director Alexander Payne is passive/aggressive when it comes to his previous SIDEWAYS star Paul G...

REVIEW CRUISING THROUGH 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierViQkA7CjN-ie-R-rUPHjZaU9AYiDXojRL_rxStIspYAGyzZoAtP309hQ0GIiAIZz4qn1g0NtdZIhfTn5FDxxnJNhyPr9doMjUDondR5hmsIF2tdlliDDekfLv_KdRq6krqMynuUzShQ2qIMbciZSoxncwwR2QTzw_ruDy_iBGBqkguUx-m9fMsccqz9/s2048/brighter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierViQkA7CjN-ie-R-rUPHjZaU9AYiDXojRL_rxStIspYAGyzZoAtP309hQ0GIiAIZz4qn1g0NtdZIhfTn5FDxxnJNhyPr9doMjUDondR5hmsIF2tdlliDDekfLv_KdRq6krqMynuUzShQ2qIMbciZSoxncwwR2QTzw_ruDy_iBGBqkguUx-m9fMsccqz9/s16000/brighter.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Make an important note while <i>experiencing</i> Quentin Tarantino's entirely different kind of revisionist-history revenge picture: It not only centers around real life counter-culture figures Sharon Tate; Charles Manson and Family (including main slayer Tex Watson and skanky moll Squeaky Fromme); a love-lorn Steve McQueen; a rich, contented Roman Polanski; and pixie hairstylist Jay Sebring... <br> <br> There's also the last of the victims, Donald "Shorty" Shea, a would-be stuntman who thought the hippie horde was taking advantage of his friend/employer George Spahn at the formerly-active Spahn Movie Ranch: the infamous location where Manson and his followers made their very own drug-fueled, Beatles-blaring, conspiracy-plotting, paranoiac playground, ultimately setting stage for the "Helter Skelter Murders" that infamously included an eight-month pregnant Tate...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

2019, al pacino, brad pitt, bruce dern, counter-culture, dark comedy, exploitation, hangout, hollywood satire, leonardo dicaprio, madisen beaty, margot robie, new, quentin tarantino, thriller

REVIEW CRUISING THROUGH 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD'

Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD Rating: **** Make an important note while experiencing Quentin Tarantino...

TOHO GOES SPEILBERGIAN FOR 'GODZILLA MINUS ONE'

<p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3bOsrmL-Coo7oeANJ1VLy-UhN-oI671FoUI0fCxE2V7buusfmKoFDgt5mdAeEo1ZDFo9SkOUwAixIVyx3x5_xoszsouBE0TS4IrwlOz82TLqu5uP05zOTJ4Hw9h_WRlK2-hVHrOf43UdCIt_o7Kd0ShOuDPwwMSk0Z2BY0vcGiprl7L61YUzymI2vZaN/s2294/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.19.05%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="2294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3bOsrmL-Coo7oeANJ1VLy-UhN-oI671FoUI0fCxE2V7buusfmKoFDgt5mdAeEo1ZDFo9SkOUwAixIVyx3x5_xoszsouBE0TS4IrwlOz82TLqu5uP05zOTJ4Hw9h_WRlK2-hVHrOf43UdCIt_o7Kd0ShOuDPwwMSk0Z2BY0vcGiprl7L61YUzymI2vZaN/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.19.05%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ryunosuke Kamiki in GODZILLA MINUS ONE (doing a JAWS imitation) Year: 2023 Grade: C</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Japanese cinema (Toho Studios in particular) have made a popular Godzilla vehicle in GODZILLA MINUS ONE, which makes sense since the creature was literally born there: only it pays more homage to American auteur Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK... as the roaring T-Rex-style monster first appears where a failed (hence living) kamikaze pilot takes a military-island breather... and JAWS, after the same central character gets a job on a tattered yet dependable fishing boat, where they drop and shoot floating land-mines instead of barrels (and the approaching dorsal fin's replaced by the creatures' spiked-back resembling immense reindeer horns)...<br /><br />And while attempting a searing human story in-between the monstrous ocean-to-city attacks... including our much too vulnerable hero meeting a pretty girl raising an orphaned baby in the ruins of their hometown... the action and downtime feels awkwardly imbalanced as the titular GODZILLA, looking fitfully menacing and formidably ferocious, seems like a special guest star crashing an otherwise slow-burn postwar-melodrama.<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD78mxaZB5XQrZCs-v43nvj4iH5ng2WK-Mj3kdi2KIWkkRF2meg2POReful_YNpTTjxHdFJd5tO1H_0OaFvVpOMuH8FY4fA_70ZWPJd2nAYN1xC3mMXKT-Np_K3mcidc08SaNCfm27TkUSAOs2mvPUpcbGtW2Q6ZVgef4US7dhvW1tK9KfdPsi2tieLu5D/s2288/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.17.11%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="2288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD78mxaZB5XQrZCs-v43nvj4iH5ng2WK-Mj3kdi2KIWkkRF2meg2POReful_YNpTTjxHdFJd5tO1H_0OaFvVpOMuH8FY4fA_70ZWPJd2nAYN1xC3mMXKT-Np_K3mcidc08SaNCfm27TkUSAOs2mvPUpcbGtW2Q6ZVgef4US7dhvW1tK9KfdPsi2tieLu5D/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.17.11%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Godzilla in GODZILLA MINUS ONE aka Gojira -1.0</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7H4Bgl_RJ5tOYl97UwbPwNuickMFXDEkK6bVut7BViWtS4UHaOwUzsz7yUOIWfzIhsbeIu7UXbiYrDGhzpr6mq-0i22GCOlGXsRU6aIzrUmdsCv5GfSa6L2SVO2mBmoz_oK9RRjoJ3jU107rgiXtGvr1PqgdKlPnQ8fDvA7Wl_wJEq6TS87ILo55p-cS/s2286/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.15.12%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="2286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7H4Bgl_RJ5tOYl97UwbPwNuickMFXDEkK6bVut7BViWtS4UHaOwUzsz7yUOIWfzIhsbeIu7UXbiYrDGhzpr6mq-0i22GCOlGXsRU6aIzrUmdsCv5GfSa6L2SVO2mBmoz_oK9RRjoJ3jU107rgiXtGvr1PqgdKlPnQ8fDvA7Wl_wJEq6TS87ILo55p-cS/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.15.12%20AM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Godzilla in GODZILLA MINUS ONE aka Gojira -1.0</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNk_HuhyvHmS2arFdFz2Gh5IqJ8dHZz19Jrti0e8mptSdR0oVqkAyi5hAyDBaHKL8WEixmFdrpip4NFt-Hsl7ebzQUCbifTXq3X78N98JMVqOCWjATi8CBVSazZ6z6_RRcPwZakFt0dFoIQWDRG1NylDqZY2BdiwugkPaBB6n-9gmHAv6ZYg0cWx2X3YPq/s2058/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.20.31%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="2058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNk_HuhyvHmS2arFdFz2Gh5IqJ8dHZz19Jrti0e8mptSdR0oVqkAyi5hAyDBaHKL8WEixmFdrpip4NFt-Hsl7ebzQUCbifTXq3X78N98JMVqOCWjATi8CBVSazZ6z6_RRcPwZakFt0dFoIQWDRG1NylDqZY2BdiwugkPaBB6n-9gmHAv6ZYg0cWx2X3YPq/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-06-04%20at%2012.20.31%20AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Godzilla in GODZILLA MINUS ONE doing a JURASSIC PARK imitation</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p>

2023, action, creature, franchise, godzilla, new

TOHO GOES SPEILBERGIAN FOR 'GODZILLA MINUS ONE'

  Ryunosuke Kamiki in GODZILLA MINUS ONE (doing a JAWS imitation) Year: 2023 Grade: C Japanese cinema (Toho Studios in particular) have mad...

HARRISON FORD AS 'INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zUQRh0vSzDw43U9Z4EsjeY8Zk57E_l06aOAE5gWozrTZcwGDe9sh6tTWN8LeK20g1eNiNVOAmbYl4OLa4JuN3i74_GAVJb40a0J4XaBml7-6S3a4_YaktpVlrCezDJX-zfmHupn5SdVbvIbYD8cXgkw4c58ZjbGdNHt7UsSnMlTytxBLgqJErd5036Li/s2240/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-01%20at%203.29.45%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zUQRh0vSzDw43U9Z4EsjeY8Zk57E_l06aOAE5gWozrTZcwGDe9sh6tTWN8LeK20g1eNiNVOAmbYl4OLa4JuN3i74_GAVJb40a0J4XaBml7-6S3a4_YaktpVlrCezDJX-zfmHupn5SdVbvIbYD8cXgkw4c58ZjbGdNHt7UsSnMlTytxBLgqJErd5036Li/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-01%20at%203.29.45%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Year: 2023 Grade: C</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For diehard defenders of the entire INDIANA JONES franchise (not just those who feel that RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK stands alone since it was <i>never</i> called INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK), they'll throw the titular Ark of the Covenant coming alive with floating spirits whenever the later episodes go too far into the fantasy or, for the last two ventures, science-fiction and/or science-fantasy realm... but had RAIDERS ended up with Indy in Jerusalem B.C. or seated at The Last Supper for THE LAST CRUSADE, well, then... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>To give one small thing away with DIAL OF DESTINY would blow the entire cover, but basically new helmer James Mangold deliberately makes the Steven Spielberg action-directing-playbook a helluva lot noisier and way more needlessly violent: anyone helping-out the now extremely-aged and initially grouchy Jones will wind up quickly dead, making those random map-scattered characters not matter much beyond moving the bombastic adventure from one point to another — in itself an important action-packed aspect which is often done decently enough...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, adventure, franchise, harrison ford, indiana jones, james mangold, john rhys-davies, karen allen, mads mikkelsen, nazi, new, science-fiction

HARRISON FORD AS 'INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY'

Title: INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Year: 2023 Grade: C For diehard defenders of the entire INDIANA JONES franchise (not just those...

SYLVESTER STALLONE'S UNBREAKABLE SUPERHERO 'SAMARITAN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXQLxD0AVyJDdtluIeSgd9IeglSKk7NnNs0pH5b6pZc5lMWpTNBaKi3mYxatVj_VTgT5Mp6bysKGcfcoG4bbYiPvlFYqpEv0rVzyOn_lZjZKWQ6iitR7shGizG_zaVFFuiwL4N_f3cV1iGxpua4QL1a4lKvmED9619ZM-4disFP1eT4yoQm4naDirdQ/s2272/fribt.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="2272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXQLxD0AVyJDdtluIeSgd9IeglSKk7NnNs0pH5b6pZc5lMWpTNBaKi3mYxatVj_VTgT5Mp6bysKGcfcoG4bbYiPvlFYqpEv0rVzyOn_lZjZKWQ6iitR7shGizG_zaVFFuiwL4N_f3cV1iGxpua4QL1a4lKvmED9619ZM-4disFP1eT4yoQm4naDirdQ/s16000/fribt.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Expository intro for SAMARITAN with Sylvester Stallone from 2022 Grade: C—</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The last time standard-action-flick icon <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/sylvester%20stallone">Sylvester Stallone</a> played a superhero was the last time he would... until now... and both JUDGE DREDD and SAMARITAN concern a backstory involving good against evil brothers, who in this case supposedly died fighting each other, twenty long years ago, and...<br><br>Well as the description goes, a ghetto kid thinks an old garbage man named Joe Smith, played by Stallone with a NIGHTHAWKS beard gone grungy gray, is actually yesteryear's titular crime-fighter...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><span></span>

2022, action, cable, crime, fantasy, gang, javon wanna walton, new, pilou asbæk, sophia tatum, superhero, sylvester stallone

SYLVESTER STALLONE'S UNBREAKABLE SUPERHERO 'SAMARITAN'

Expository intro for SAMARITAN with Sylvester Stallone from 2022 Grade: C— The last time standard-action-flick icon Sylvester Stallone play...

TOM CRUISE RETURNS FOR THE POPULAR 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK"

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciyXZqCJUAWS6a3tOpSJa1pCMv-Qar0jf5WuZhvbyM6UxMf8To1l4Fr6UP7maWIK6GKcNBV-xZIayYkO30rdmr9DKXkvbDK6ZNusHdrbaIWVM-DgLA7bSjWJYIrrfyj2CdNBjm4vMnnIZquz56jWHtg3USqSNGLDdlCEdiBZo8-Y8erPF0t6e73YCgQ/s960/top-gun-maverick-poster-crop.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciyXZqCJUAWS6a3tOpSJa1pCMv-Qar0jf5WuZhvbyM6UxMf8To1l4Fr6UP7maWIK6GKcNBV-xZIayYkO30rdmr9DKXkvbDK6ZNusHdrbaIWVM-DgLA7bSjWJYIrrfyj2CdNBjm4vMnnIZquz56jWHtg3USqSNGLDdlCEdiBZo8-Y8erPF0t6e73YCgQ/s16000/top-gun-maverick-poster-crop.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TOP GUN: MAVERICK Year: 2022 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before deliberately channeling the STAR WARS Death Star trench run, TOP GUN: MAVERICK mirrors THE RIGHT STUFF with a breaking-the-barrier sequence that even features Ed Harris, playing the first of two uptight authority-figures, frowning and scowling at anything our returning/rebellious hero does... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The thing is, Tom Cruise's MAVERICK really doesn't break many rules, sent back to the familiar TOP GUN headquarters to train a group of youngsters for the Lucas-inspired mission: a single plane (flanked by guardians) needs to strategically drop a bomb into a perfectly tight space to blow-up an entire villainous compound...<br></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

2022, action, adventure, ed harris, jennifer connelly, jon hamm, miles teller, military, mission, new, sequel, tom cruise, val kilmer

TOM CRUISE RETURNS FOR THE POPULAR 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK"

Title: TOP GUN: MAVERICK Year: 2022 Rating: ** Before deliberately channeling the STAR WARS Death Star trench run, TOP GUN: MAVERICK mirror...

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SWINGING FLASHBACK 'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIJAV_P77rp7qBmWbf_9KbHpEAAIPx3pP9jYhJXHUHpxmGk9oKmY43yyZKqcDszRQyMu391bjA3I2PRLPYY_SWiHkVLifGENN-h0iuAB2IHGFD-ygI6MCUEgQivoOHo3Sx8KyehIi1JXI_l0GgqXaD55lNfUqXqpaZxXsQy0mB6wfcKxlSmDC0ezg-Q/s2119/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-01%20at%2011.33.50%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="2119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIJAV_P77rp7qBmWbf_9KbHpEAAIPx3pP9jYhJXHUHpxmGk9oKmY43yyZKqcDszRQyMu391bjA3I2PRLPYY_SWiHkVLifGENN-h0iuAB2IHGFD-ygI6MCUEgQivoOHo3Sx8KyehIi1JXI_l0GgqXaD55lNfUqXqpaZxXsQy0mB6wfcKxlSmDC0ezg-Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-01%20at%2011.33.50%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Thomasin McKenzie from LAST NIGHT IN SOHO Year: 2021 Rating: *12</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In an otherwise ambitious, uniquely original horror/thriller mashup concerning a young female art student thrust back into the legendary Swinging Sixties of the titular Soho, London, Edgar Wright, the most creative director of the last twenty years, whose style is quick, to the point and ferociously clever, relies on lazy dissolves and cop-out fades, and even his usual Tarantinoesque jukebox of groovy deep-cuts all seem forced, vacant, uninspired...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And the two-tier story about our cute modern girl going back to the wild nightlife <i>back in the day</i> has absolutely no connection to each other, and neither seem either relevant or nostalgic... Added to that, the colors aren't vivid and robust like the counter-culture era, and with so much icky-green neon, from yesterday's nightclubs to today's raves, it all resembles Las Vegas in the 1990's... after you've lost...</p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

2021, anya taylor-joy, british, counter-culture, diana rigg, drama, edgar wright, horror, new, rita tushingham, terence stamp, thomasin mckenzie, thriller, time travel

EDGAR WRIGHT'S SWINGING FLASHBACK 'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO'

Thomasin McKenzie from LAST NIGHT IN SOHO Year: 2021 Rating: *12 In an otherwise ambitious, uniquely original horror/thriller mashup concern...

DAVE GROHL POSSESSES THE FOO FIGHTERS HORROR 'STUDIO 666'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdNXk1RhrodkI5yVWEenwymS3jpWzEvM45VHmw4ZYZuevYJ5tsgwLnxjUcjcc6AGKuMRpebI3syQ5VJeV9hGV0ft1pUbeaxHF54ifsuPWQeRuMcsGeQ9k2Q1OT0y7vJqE7lEqfw4RXPFI0dJcCaYVcgzt1_1fYaGM83DEhuwKQrdIcUo7I5s-Schhlw/s2140/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-27%20at%207.59.36%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="2140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdNXk1RhrodkI5yVWEenwymS3jpWzEvM45VHmw4ZYZuevYJ5tsgwLnxjUcjcc6AGKuMRpebI3syQ5VJeV9hGV0ft1pUbeaxHF54ifsuPWQeRuMcsGeQ9k2Q1OT0y7vJqE7lEqfw4RXPFI0dJcCaYVcgzt1_1fYaGM83DEhuwKQrdIcUo7I5s-Schhlw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-27%20at%207.59.36%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: STUDIO 666 Year: 2022 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's common in horror movies to center on a novelist suffering writer's block so that whatever terrifying situation he-or-she winds up in will then become inspiration for their next bestseller... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>So The Foo Fighters made their own comedy/horror flick where Dave Grohl, forced to hurriedly record a 10th album, is fresh out of <i>song</i> ideas, and, after moving into a spooky and dilapidated, infamously haunted mansion in Encino California to record, he obsesses on a heavy metal riff that (to the chagrin of bandmates Pat Smear, Chris Shiflet, a quirky Rami Jaffee and late drummer Taylor Hawkins) has no hook, bridge, chorus, or ending... </p><span></span>

2022, body count, comedy, dave grohl, exploitation, foo fighters, horror, horror satire, john carpenter, music, new, pat smear, taylor hawkins

DAVE GROHL POSSESSES THE FOO FIGHTERS HORROR 'STUDIO 666'

Title: STUDIO 666 Year: 2022 Rating: ** It's common in horror movies to center on a novelist suffering writer's block so that whatev...

JASON REITMAN'S NOSTALGIC 'GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKa20lcUUu6EHof4LXIK1zHyi-h_99bFGQTHTr5e_ST8ZBMLYhJ2OGwjNNaP_OAYRYBC5cHdHeJq8uyLPp8B_QwDhfbM96A0veqwetSrBLK1XMsKgFYZAWpTBRpa2aSGm8dhs20vxDtwqKQ4J54EWO-WyU4CrQSa8thfpMzZHr7hQveb-bigVqiDAmuw=s1015" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1015" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKa20lcUUu6EHof4LXIK1zHyi-h_99bFGQTHTr5e_ST8ZBMLYhJ2OGwjNNaP_OAYRYBC5cHdHeJq8uyLPp8B_QwDhfbM96A0veqwetSrBLK1XMsKgFYZAWpTBRpa2aSGm8dhs20vxDtwqKQ4J54EWO-WyU4CrQSa8thfpMzZHr7hQveb-bigVqiDAmuw=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Year: 2021 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The whole "Mary Sue" comparison is dated... a talented youngster with a built-in knowledge of everything who can do no wrong, right off the bat... but in GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE the token super-girl in the late Harold Ramis's late Egon's antisocial granddaughter Phoebe is not only the best character, she's the only one who <i>really</i> seems into the movie that director Jason son-of-Ivan Reitman has attempted to make...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A retro-driven Spielbergian adventure set in a modern day yet 1950's-style small town, with one of everything from a school to a diner to a hardware store to a jailhouse to a dusty main street, and Carrie Coon as Egon's abandoned daughter feels extremely <i>not</i> at home... </p><p><span></span></p>

2021, action, adventure, bill murray, carrie coon, comedy, dan aykroyd, ernie hudson, finn wolfhard, franchise, mckenna grace, new, paul rudd, science-fiction, sequel

JASON REITMAN'S NOSTALGIC 'GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE'

Title: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Year: 2021 Rating: **1/2 The whole "Mary Sue" comparison is dated... a talented youngster with a bu...

KICKING FRONT THROUGH THE FOURTH SEASON OF 'COBRA KAI'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiAPxg4QPwWQuQmpdjiwEftlBpkNpuvW_Ivc3UEeoqBtY9czSZn5CsPQqJN-NDFHdi7Egg1XXiuGLaP1zXsdCNO9FHw1lR5cVxCX3vj3WeindoycBts5I35NYHVKLAXXz5xkbFIA4HHMGEcNw7F7nGeKL_ZA-C-mLXcgVGDA0sURB4GvZ055bRCH5u4g=s907" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="907" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiAPxg4QPwWQuQmpdjiwEftlBpkNpuvW_Ivc3UEeoqBtY9czSZn5CsPQqJN-NDFHdi7Egg1XXiuGLaP1zXsdCNO9FHw1lR5cVxCX3vj3WeindoycBts5I35NYHVKLAXXz5xkbFIA4HHMGEcNw7F7nGeKL_ZA-C-mLXcgVGDA0sURB4GvZ055bRCH5u4g=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>William Zabka and a Coors Banquet in COBRA KAI Season Four DATE: December 31 2021 Overall Season SCORE: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Right before 2022, Netflix's Season Four of COBRA KAI has dropped, and for a show with mostly great seasons it's by far the worst... which is like the weakest album of a band that's had only exceptional ones... The main problem being the main antagonist in Martin Kove's John Creese having to share the titular dojo with the USA-Channel-style co-sensei-villain from the horrendously awful and infamous third <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2014/01/waxing-on-karate-kid-franchise.html">KARATE KID</a>... </p><p></p><p></p><p>Ironically, whenever Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso mentions that particular timeline (usually the failed Banzai Tree store as compared to his successful car lot) he shakes his head in sheer disbelief (almost as if, say, THE GODFATHER III were remade with Robert Duvall alongside George Hamilton)... </p><span></span>

2021, action, binging, cobra kai, franchise, karate, martin kove, netflix, new, ralph macchio, thomas ian griffith, william zabka

KICKING FRONT THROUGH THE FOURTH SEASON OF 'COBRA KAI'

William Zabka and a Coors Banquet in COBRA KAI Season Four DATE: December 31 2021 Overall Season SCORE: *** Right before 2022, Netflix's...

LEONARDO DICAPRIO & JENNFER LAWRENCE IN 'DON'T LOOK UP'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKBUqVcHUrtxZIJSoXj2eo3JIA2FVB1tytNFO6wvbh9nZ4c6YZP6y37W1Po3T6lwFHBcx00jUWIM3AcsiDO2cZrQe4Do2Ms0oatx4BY2qJNRy5LxGW8X8mVVWHYyDW_UJSqA31x3a8Pj8oPIuvZf9btX0h9XBVXTDbHqOUaKzQ7d42fxiWKePC-IKwSA=s1692" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1692" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKBUqVcHUrtxZIJSoXj2eo3JIA2FVB1tytNFO6wvbh9nZ4c6YZP6y37W1Po3T6lwFHBcx00jUWIM3AcsiDO2cZrQe4Do2Ms0oatx4BY2qJNRy5LxGW8X8mVVWHYyDW_UJSqA31x3a8Pj8oPIuvZf9btX0h9XBVXTDbHqOUaKzQ7d42fxiWKePC-IKwSA=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: DON'T LOOK UP Year: 2021 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Adam McKay's DON'T LOOK UP is as much a satire of <span aria-level="1" class="yKMVIe" role="heading">the gigantic-falling-space-rock-about-to-destroy-Earth DEEP IMPACT and ARMAGEDDON as MARS ATTACKS was to INDEPENDENCE DAY, and the anticipated political bias by the unapologetic liberal director isn't completely one-sided since capitalistic big-tech Mark Rylance channels mousy Covid guru Dr. Anthony Fauci </span><span aria-level="1" class="yKMVIe" role="heading">— while Meryl Streep's intentionally-vapid female American President suffers a nude-text scandal liken to New York's once-beloved Democrat Anthony Weiner... </span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span aria-level="1" class="yKMVIe" role="heading">But the two genuine main-characters are both intensely camera-shy, awkwardly idealistic, science-minded astronomers, one a student the other academically-legit in Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio respectively (the latter falling into what aging sex symbols rely on when the movie itself has to continuously mention how handsome they are)...</span></p><p><span aria-level="1" class="yKMVIe" role="heading"><span></span></span></p>

2021, ada mckay, disaster, jennifer lawrence, leonardo dicaprio, mark rylance, meryl streep, netflix, new, political, satire

LEONARDO DICAPRIO & JENNFER LAWRENCE IN 'DON'T LOOK UP'

Title: DON'T LOOK UP Year: 2021 Rating: **1/2 Adam McKay's DON'T LOOK UP is as much a satire of the gigantic-falling-space-rock-...

ZACK SNYDER'S ZOMBIES IN VEGAS FLICK 'ARMY OF THE DEAD'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFRm5jZxv90VaptbotR0DZxfpOowqyKjI5VaJofU6TaocZkp7WXV2_44GGjx66khTxUYU3OquLTTnhyphenhyphen7TvEMArEP_P19d2BRk5x42NkjXt3x0xzJlRq99Ms2PlYBxXdvVnAO3338TmAYS/s1031/Screen+Shot+2021-05-26+at+1.07.22+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1031" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFRm5jZxv90VaptbotR0DZxfpOowqyKjI5VaJofU6TaocZkp7WXV2_44GGjx66khTxUYU3OquLTTnhyphenhyphen7TvEMArEP_P19d2BRk5x42NkjXt3x0xzJlRq99Ms2PlYBxXdvVnAO3338TmAYS/w400-h294/Screen+Shot+2021-05-26+at+1.07.22+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Army of the Dead Year: 2021 Rates: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's no secret Zack Snyder's ARMY OF THE DEAD has a Zombie Tiger. But the funny part is that, during what's supposed to be an action-packed third act, the Zombie Tiger actually yawns, watching passively as a horde of intelligent "Alpha Zombies" rush towards a building where a ragtag group of heroes, anti-heroes and just plain terrible <i>men</i> are stealing loads of cash from a casino in Las Vegas, an enclosed city much like Manhattan in ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, and the only place in America still harboring zombies from a zombie war we see via montage during the opening credits...<br><br>Long review short... The good guy, led by a stiff, monotone Dave Bautista, is, along with his daughter, so painfully idealistic they're boring, and annoying. Then there's a lesbian chopper pilot trying for the smart allecky Han Solo mixed with Ripley from ALIENS; the deliberate weak-link nerd who's technically important nonetheless; an honorably tough second-in-command; a rogue female tougher and deadlier than any male; and of course, those dirty rotten macho characters who, in today's age of preachy political correctness, you can no longer "love to hate" since their own hatred of everything the filmmaker loves makes them deserving of not only extra-horrible deaths, but they're not even supposed to be guiltily-entertaining in the process...<br><br></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6bgWXSrSH-1HHnm7onjuACoqpkKH_9XUxUnIFTsPnVaqBMpZqPhAzw0OEs3i24j_xKAvHaeK9a1hrOXNh5R-4KikMWM9eATqjT2K0EA2LvvR73x1cZLf28kUFM4LPqLKwPCYcrQ-Jqh1/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-05-25+at+8.35.50+PM+2.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="2048" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6bgWXSrSH-1HHnm7onjuACoqpkKH_9XUxUnIFTsPnVaqBMpZqPhAzw0OEs3i24j_xKAvHaeK9a1hrOXNh5R-4KikMWM9eATqjT2K0EA2LvvR73x1cZLf28kUFM4LPqLKwPCYcrQ-Jqh1/w400-h228/Screen+Shot+2021-05-25+at+8.35.50+PM+2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Yawning Zombie Tiger of Army of the Dead</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So ARMY OF THE DEAD <i>is</i> a pretty bad movie, although not as bad as some are saying because you MIGHT want to stay till the end, to see how things pan out...</p><p>At which point the ultimate let-down finale and post-finale finale could leave you hating yourself for having wanted to stick around in the first place, but... Either way, movies, as well as their characters (far too many here to remain interesting), are just not as fun as they used to be...<br><br>The reason that spitfire-dialog comedies and pure-action action flicks were once only 90-minutes long is there's just so much we can either laugh along with or immensely marvel at... 2 1/2 hours is fine for an epic, say, like GOODFELLAS, detailing the entire life of a character in peril. But for a basic Heist Movie with a zombie twist... or a basic Zombie movie with a heist twist... it's an hour too long, and just not worth the wait. </p><p><span></span></p>

2021, action, body count, heist, horror, netflix, new, zack snyder, zombie

ZACK SNYDER'S ZOMBIES IN VEGAS FLICK 'ARMY OF THE DEAD'

Army of the Dead Year: 2021 Rates: ** It's no secret Zack Snyder's ARMY OF THE DEAD has a Zombie Tiger. But the funny part is that, ...

EDDIE MURPHY 'COMING 2 AMERICA' (BACKPOSTED FROM 3/5/2021)

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32mM5rXOXw8VwAiZpfskDvgRjMX28l5rY3rlgCziyvuzvpJCW8pxR0wt9zRTrAQME5j-XAnVfaxYgAo0FQwzBd5PuV7wEKdL2c6WZK9JLwOLXxiH192L3vczznaCuyVfauTPyjsY9rh83/s1313/Screen+Shot+2021-03-05+at+10.48.20+PM+2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1313" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32mM5rXOXw8VwAiZpfskDvgRjMX28l5rY3rlgCziyvuzvpJCW8pxR0wt9zRTrAQME5j-XAnVfaxYgAo0FQwzBd5PuV7wEKdL2c6WZK9JLwOLXxiH192L3vczznaCuyVfauTPyjsY9rh83/w400-h300/Screen+Shot+2021-03-05+at+10.48.20+PM+2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>COMING 2 AMERICA Year: 2021 Rating: *1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The original COMING TO AMERICA was no accident. It took experienced filmmaker John Landis to pull off what he did for THE BLUES BROTHERS, which came out before working with Eddie Murphy in TRADING PLACES: That is, blending music into comedy without it being a musical-comedy, and very few directors could pull that off, and this sequel is proof... they still can't.<br /><br />It's understandable that the semi-retired Landis isn't on board, but in trying to recreate that same magic originally sparked by the collaboration of Landis and Murphy with only an older, overweight Murphy just doesn't feel or look right... </p><p>The biggest problem is his "bastard son" from Queens, Jermaine Fowler, with a loud, annoying mother. Then again, their Bad Sit-Com rhythm fits this contrived sequel more than the once-great Murphy, again alongside sidekick Arsenio Hall, who, like the other familiar faces, is going through the motions. The only new characters that kind of work, allowing Fowler's "young Prince" to stretch beyond the intentionally recycled plot, is KiKi Layne as his half-sister, reluctantly aiding in a semi-involving, dangerous task... And Nomzamo Mbatha as his royal hair-cutter and basically the new version of Sheri Headly: a free-thinking bride to change the age-old rules. Unfortunately, this love story is far too rushed to matter, inserted into the 11th hour what took the entire original movie to pan-out more naturally, and humorously. <br /></p><p></p>

2021, arsenio hall, comedy, eddie murphy, john amos, new, sequel, shari headley

EDDIE MURPHY 'COMING 2 AMERICA' (BACKPOSTED FROM 3/5/2021)

COMING 2 AMERICA Year: 2021 Rating: *1/2 The original COMING TO AMERICA was no accident. It took experienced filmmaker John Landis to pull o...

RIAN JOHNSON DIRECTS THE ENSEMBLE MYSTERY 'KNIVES OUT'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYHbcACOouiO9Yj5Po1m5SAznZQVSfCoTNicwQOs8PeufrsJc9F3hDVSe24c6iyA_-ddFr83q2CJNiGHn74KTvI3HUA-LfvMFd8eXDWy0tkL8d-qLg7Er_5uou4FB20md48Xs6gSFGk7S/s1600/knives_out_ver5_xlg.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1006" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYHbcACOouiO9Yj5Po1m5SAznZQVSfCoTNicwQOs8PeufrsJc9F3hDVSe24c6iyA_-ddFr83q2CJNiGHn74KTvI3HUA-LfvMFd8eXDWy0tkL8d-qLg7Er_5uou4FB20md48Xs6gSFGk7S/s400/knives_out_ver5_xlg.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lakeith Stanfield solo poster for KNIVES OUT Year: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Rian Johnson must be seething that he didn't make the singular Spanish "Help" a Black woman given that, a year after KNIVES OUT hit theaters, we'd have a pandemic (closing all theaters) followed by a political uprising of African Americans, making the whole "Undocumented Worker" issue — which owns 51% of the story-line here — as dated as the Sony Walkman, Legwarmers and Bellbottoms...<br> <br> And Johnson <i>has</i> successfully resurrected the <i>Ensemble Cast Whodunnit</i>, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson (no relation), Toni Collette and Michael Shannon. But in the past they'd be playing rich, white, crooked culprits who are also eclectic, darkly-humorous, interesting and intriguing enough to create an entire story around. But as noted in, ironically, another review involving Michael Shannon (THE SHAPE OF WATER): <i>Antagonists are no longer people who do bad things, but simply, bad people...</i><br>

2019, anna de armas, christopher plummer, daniel craig, don johnson, ensemble, jamie lee curtis, lakeith stanfield, michael shannon, mystery, new, politics, thriller

RIAN JOHNSON DIRECTS THE ENSEMBLE MYSTERY 'KNIVES OUT'

Lakeith Stanfield solo poster for KNIVES OUT Year: 2019 Rian Johnson must be seething that he didn't make the singular Spanish ...

DELROY LINDO STARS IN 'DA 5 BLOODS' DIRECTED BY SPIKE LEE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYbDHXrIICo7ZAQTEOm8KB7PCyaOrnqpgrE8xqUa-ckWhTUZruB4oobIPrpJRjzsbqXbXy48jM_Bxy7k5JbSSGtPLocdZwOWWyrWyvFJds8nS7pQoScZzYwycSJcM6bAPLz0dObDJZ61H/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-06-18%252Bat%252B3.36.52%252BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYbDHXrIICo7ZAQTEOm8KB7PCyaOrnqpgrE8xqUa-ckWhTUZruB4oobIPrpJRjzsbqXbXy48jM_Bxy7k5JbSSGtPLocdZwOWWyrWyvFJds8nS7pQoScZzYwycSJcM6bAPLz0dObDJZ61H/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-06-18%252Bat%252B3.36.52%252BAM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Photo of Delroy Lindo from More American Graffiti used here in Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS Year: 2020</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> As shown in an archive photo turning up in DA 5 BLOODS, this isn't the first time Delroy Lindo goes to Vietnam. In <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/01/more-american-graffiti.html">MORE AMERICAN GRAFFTI</a> he has a quick cameo (credited as Army Sergeant) and now, forty long years later, he's basically the only character in Spike Lee's current "Joint" that means anything...<br> <br> Consisting of four really old African American Vietnam Vets returning to retrieve their deceased leader's/mentor's remains and many bars of gold, BLOODS is a hybrid of THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE for the hunt; UNCOMMON VALOR about a group of returning vets (ten years later/thirty years younger); and COCOON, where some cranky old-timers get a second wind of sorts...<br>

2020, action, adventure, delroy lindo, ensemble, history, jean reno, new, politics, spike lee, treasure, vietnam, war

DELROY LINDO STARS IN 'DA 5 BLOODS' DIRECTED BY SPIKE LEE

Photo of Delroy Lindo from More American Graffiti used here in Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS Year: 2020 As shown in an archive photo turni...

ADAM SANDLER TAKES A SERIOUS GAMBLE WITH 'UNCUT GEMS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Fgtw2JxXKpQwmDBlfwfotFc58iOYAi5ZeXGDDulgy5XruMKJR2OMNCxIPGPQsZjFhRaIqqWF-RwjKhcJlyYhusNCaITX2a4Ma59CIKNasbgCYc9Tf1FmSe3iyyEYeIREZlZLraBMAsUM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.48.29+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Fgtw2JxXKpQwmDBlfwfotFc58iOYAi5ZeXGDDulgy5XruMKJR2OMNCxIPGPQsZjFhRaIqqWF-RwjKhcJlyYhusNCaITX2a4Ma59CIKNasbgCYc9Tf1FmSe3iyyEYeIREZlZLraBMAsUM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.48.29+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A very loud Adam Sandler is louder than ever in UNCUT GEMS Year: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A movie that literally begins deep inside Adam Sandler's ass (during a colonoscopy), UNCUT GEMS has provided Sandler — as a jeweler in debt from reckless gambling — accolades for a different kind of performance...<br> <br> And while not another goofy Happy Madison production, his "Screaming Guy" routine is nothing new — sans the soft-spoken baby talk before the inevitable Nirvana-like shift from clean to distorted loudness occurs...<br> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziF-P-bvV2uj0c3_OSsBQWCqFCDWZwMdf36CJqdf5iEiVwubIok32SLW420exspB64Xn92CgaOymOs7pg-YYbbWJfEPpwVCpS2C2SYnBRqhbSq60Mn1zDMpZdNOJoKyfO7whXgW2QbFZG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.33.56+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziF-P-bvV2uj0c3_OSsBQWCqFCDWZwMdf36CJqdf5iEiVwubIok32SLW420exspB64Xn92CgaOymOs7pg-YYbbWJfEPpwVCpS2C2SYnBRqhbSq60Mn1zDMpZdNOJoKyfO7whXgW2QbFZG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+9.33.56+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Adam Sandler pointing the way in UNCUT GEMS Rating: **</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> For the most part, GEMS is a gritty New York City arthouse flick that never intentionally settles into one place comfortably; and the frantic, neurotic, fast-talking Sandler has his moments...<br> <br> The problem is that the directors — throwing in too many characters and an annoying, intrusive score — keep trying to out-frantic their leading man, making it tough if impossible to know what's going on, or why. Unlike the far superior, equally artistic PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, the man simply gets lost in the shuffle.<br> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qP-5WjclHsdTiHXBluTuaVJ9wNERKxtCs9wJOMNEUqC98KQRRtEKNsmpN3cJMinFdqdaGxL6w_Z1wk6r5kPuSEwWug_IoY9dy65LKSLxUl0-Kry6SmrthznXKOY_3Vsz14K_z7uZCP9c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+10.00.37+PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qP-5WjclHsdTiHXBluTuaVJ9wNERKxtCs9wJOMNEUqC98KQRRtEKNsmpN3cJMinFdqdaGxL6w_Z1wk6r5kPuSEwWug_IoY9dy65LKSLxUl0-Kry6SmrthznXKOY_3Vsz14K_z7uZCP9c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-26+at+10.00.37+PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Adam Sandler running in circles for UNCUT GEMS</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

2019, adam sandler, drama, gambling, new, suspense

ADAM SANDLER TAKES A SERIOUS GAMBLE WITH 'UNCUT GEMS'

A very loud Adam Sandler is louder than ever in UNCUT GEMS Year: 2019 A movie that literally begins deep inside Adam Sandler's ass (...