This week was not a very productive week for the Movie list. Sometimes work must come first before movies. But here are some of the few films I saw this past week:
Staring: Patrick Wilson; Rose Byrne; Ty Simpkins; Lin Shaye
Director: James Wan
Ebert's Review- 2 ½ Stars
Leo's Review- 2 ½ Stars
If you are a fan of scary movies I would say that "Insidious" is a movie for you to see. The first half of the film is actually very scary. The movie starts with a haunted house style with images and ghosts popping out at you around the corner or out of a closet. It stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne as the parents and their 3 kids moving into a new house. After an accident in the attic to the oldest son Dalton (Ty Simpkins), he mysteriously goes into a coma. After this happens, scary images, people, ghosts start springing up all over the house. Is it the house? Is it all imagination? All things that cannot be explained. When the boy is in a coma the doctors cannot explain why- then the parents seek help of a woman who speaks to ghosts (Lin Shaye). At this point Ebert and myself both felt the movie started to fall apart. The spooks and scares are fading and we get a moment to catch our breath. Unfortunately, for me all the air was taken out of the movie. The ending has a twist to it but not big enough for me to think this movie was better than 2 ½ stars. Not a bad film. You would not be wasting your time.
Staring: Sean Connery; Robert Shaw; Daniela Bianchi; Lotte Lenya
Director: Terence Young
Ebert's Review- DNR (Did Not Review)
Leo's Review- 3 ½ Stars
"From Russia with Love" is the second installment in the "James Bond Series". This movie was released in 1963 and has all the action of a movie made in 2011. I wish Michael Bay would watch this movie because it has all the explosives with no CGI to lean on- and it looks great! Bond is sent on a mission to Istanbul to find a Lektor decoding machine before the evil organization SPECTRE finds it first. The movie has your usual action scenes with Bond being chased in a boat and my favorite when a helicopter tries to fly down and kill Bond, but the spy just finds a way. There are must see parts of this film that are Bond staples: The agents of SPECTRE training is very funny and cool. Roger did not review this movie but it is really a gem. A must see.
Staring: Sean Connery; Gert Frobe; Honor Blackman; Bernard Lee
Director: Guy Hamilton
Ebert's Review- 3 Stars
Leo's Review- 2 ½ Stars
Not my favorite of all the Bond films that I have been viewing recently. Bond is trying to stop the power hungry Auric Goldfinger from his plot to take over Fort Knox and destroy the world economy. It has some moments that are exciting and must see that define the Bond movies. It is the first time we see Bond strapped on a table with a laser heading toward his prized possession-his private region. We also see the Aston Martin car that is provided by Q and is very helpful for Bond to get away in a chase. The overall plot of the movie is good but it is in my opinion not very well directed. There is a fight scene between Bond and the hat throwing Oddjob that is very clumsy, awkward, and has no music for dramatic effect. There is also an uncomfortable scene where Bond forces himself onto Pussy Galore that my girlfriend and I were still wondering if we should have called the police. Roger Ebert reviewed "Goldfinger" after its re-release on DVD/Blu-Ray. He loves the film but also stating, "If it is not a great film, it is a great entertainment, and contains all the elements of the Bond formula that would work again and again." This I agree with, but that is true with every Bond movie. Always good entertainment.
Staring: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Olivia d'Abo; Wilt Chamberlain; Grace Jones
Director: Richard Fleischer
Ebert's Review- 3 Stars
Leo's Review- 3 Stars
"Conan the Destroyer" is not a great movie and maybe I am biased to any Arnold film since he is my favorite actor, but this movie does tell a story. The actors do not need to do much acting because what you are essentially watching is a journey film. A group of thieves, warriors, and magicians leading a princess to get a magic crystal and horn back to their palace. As I said, the dialogue is scarce and used sporadically but the sword fights, magic spells, and epic battles are pretty cool. Schwarzenegger is a classic Conan! It really gets 3 stars for its great costumes, sets, and cinematography. Of course you do not have any Academy Award nominations in this one but it is good clean adventure and fun.
Staring: Sylvester Stallone; Antonio Tarver; Burt Young; Geraldine Hughes
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Ebert's Review- DNR (Did not Review)
Leo's Review- 2 Stars
As soon as "Rocky Balboa" came to an end I thought to myself "Well it is better than Rocky V". That does not say much since I thought "Rocky V" was terrible. In what is the 6th installment of Rocky movies "Rocky Balboa" is not as bad as you may have thought it would be, but still does not stand up to any earlier Rocky films. Overall, the fact is that Rocky is just too old. The plot of the movie is about how Rocky is old and wants to try one more chance in the ring. For me this is what was sad to watch. Stallone is better then what people give him credit for since he directs, acts, and funds everything that is done in this film. Uncle Pauly (Played by Burt Young) is classic Uncle Pauly. There is even a really good Rocky speech to his now older and "business like" son. Still, I just think there is so much more that could have been brought up. There is only one montage, Adrian is dead, Apollo, Mick, or even Tommy Gunn are not talked about. It is almost like Rocky 1 through 5 did not exist and any head trauma or problems that Rocky had in the past are just figments of ours or Rocky's imagination. "Rocky Balboa" would be good if it had happened right after "Rocky IV", but it didn't. Overall it is a nice attempt by Stallone just a little too past its prime. I just hope this was the end. Please let Rocky retire!
i think that you said it all right there Leo. It's not as bad as you'd thought it be. I mean, this being the 6th Rocky film, the fact that it isn't terrible seems to be contributing to how people view this film. I agree with your two stars. Cuz after Rocky V, which was like 1 1/2 stars, i thought Rocky was dead. But i like how this movie ended the Rocky saga on a note of valiant trying. a nice bookend to the original.
ReplyDeleteI agree I thought it was a nice way to tie up things. I liked that Rocky didn't lose all his money in some shitty Ponzi scheme because his Bro-in-law was a dope. He was back in Philly owning a nice restaurant, mixing it up with patrons, they even had Spider Rico in there. I even didn't mind that he lost in the end. To me it was a nice way to go out. Way better than street fighting in Philly. When I saw this movie, I thought it was Stallone's way of saying forget Rocky V, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!
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