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Skincare (2024)
Interesting Story
I saw Skincare, starring Elizabeth Banks-Charlie's Angels_2019, Slither; Luis Gerardo Mendez-Narcos: Mexico_tv, Charlie's Angels_2019; Lewis Pullman-Outer Range_tv, Top Gun: Maverick, he is also the son of Bill Pullman and Nathan Fillion-Slither, Saving Private Ryan.
This movie is based on a true story. Elizabeth is a skin care specialist that is about to launch her new product line. Luis is a competitor that opens his skin care boutique right across the street from Elizabeth. There is a little tension between the two competitors at first, but nothing serious. Then, Elizabeth starts having problems. Her web site is hacked by someone that puts messages and photos that are quite unflattering on the internet. Her tires are slashed and her reputation starts to deteriorate, with her loosing clients. Of course, her new neighbor, Luis is her main suspect. Lewis plays Elizabeth's friend that says he will take care of her problem-he also likes her a lot-and Nathan plays a tv journalist that wants to interview Elizabeth before her new product launch.
It's rated R for violence, drug use, language and sexual content-including nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 36 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it is an interesting enough story to stream.
The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe (2024)
For Surfers
I saw The Greatest Surf Movie in the Universe, starring Ronnie Blakely, Mick Fanning, Craig Anderson, Matt Wilkinson, Matt Wilkinson and Vaughan Blakey. This is their first appearances in a movie.
This is a movie for surfers, and starring them as well. It is an attempt to be funny and different-which it is-but it is also totally off the wall. It is narrated by Luke Hemsworth and goes back and forth between being stop motion animated and live action. It takes place about 10 years from now, where a scientist created a virus that kills off about half of the world's population. A side effect is that it also made the remaining population forget anything about surfing. Ronnie plays the surf God Huey that shows up to Mick and tells him to gather Craig and Matt-and any other former surfers he can find-and see if they can restart people's interest in surfing or maybe even find a cure. Vaughan plays a scientist that is working on a vaccine. The story line is full of things that a 13 year old would want in his movie. There are fart jokes, unicorns, ninjas, rock stars, urinating contests, and lots of surfing shots of the stars showing what they can do. Like I said, off the wall.
It's rated NR and contains violence, language and nudity and has a running time of 1 hour & 21 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but if you are a surfing fan, it would be alright to stream.
My Penguin Friend (2024)
Family Friendly
I saw My Penguin Friend starring Jean Reno-The Doorman, Mission: Impossible; Adriana Barraza-Blue Beetle, Rambo! Last Blood and Alexia Moyano-Eternal Son, The Irish Prisoner.
This is a family friendly movie that is based on a true story. Jean and his wife, Adriana live a modest life in Brazil. Jean is a fisherman that finds a penguin that inadvertently gets caught up in an oil spill. Jean takes him home and cleans him up and sets him free. The penguin follows Jean back to his house and they become friends. It's not like a pet situation, either. The penguin does whatever he wants to do, usually sticking close to Jean or visiting some of the other villagers-a little girl even names him Din Dim-and then he leaves whenever he is ready to go back into the ocean, presumably to be with his own family. This goes on for about 6 years. Alexia plays a research scientist that is studying penguins and their habits-she tags him.
It's rated PG for thematic content and has a running time of 1 hour & 37 minutes.
If you are looking for a heartwarming story, this one is for you. It would be a good one to stream.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
If You Liked The First 2....
I saw Alien: Romulus starring Cailee Spaeny-Priscilla, Bad Times at the El Royale; David Jonsson-Industry_tv, Deep State_tv; Archie Renaux-Shadow and Bone_tv, Morbius and Isabela Merced-Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Transformers: The Last Knight.
This movie takes place between the 1979 Alien and the 1986 Aliens. Cailee works on a mining colony with David, a synthetic, and her two best friends, Archie and Isabela. They have dreams of leaving the mining colony for a better life on another planet. The life expectancy is not long and pay is not great at their present jobs. When they hear about a derelict space station that is orbiting them-the orbit is decaying on the station and it will soon crash-they hatch a scheme to try and find some escape pods or life boats on board and use them. The station is called Romulus and once onboard, Cailee and crew soon discover what they need, but also that the station was once infested with Xenomorphs, which unknown to them, have been sleeping after their last meal and are just waiting for their next one. This film has everything that you have come to love about the franchise, from the Facehuggers to the one liners-Get Away From Her...You B!&%$. I know, they used that line before but it is an homage to that time and it fits the scene here, too.
It's rated R for bloody violent content and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 59 minutes.
If you like the Alien movies-especially the first 2-then you should enjoy this one. I certainly did and I would buy it on DVD.
Borderlands (2024)
Wholes in Plot
I saw Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett-Nightmare Alley, Thor: Ragnarok; Kevin Hart-the Jumanji movies, Night School; Ariana Greenblatt-Barbie, In the Heights and Edgar Ramirez-The 355, Point Break_2015.
This is a poorly made action movie that is based on a video game. I don't know much about this video game, so maybe this is how the movie is supposed to be but it has wholes all through the plot. Cate plays a bounty hunter that is hired by Edgar to find his daughter, Ariana on this weird planet that looks like it could have been used in the Mad Max series. Kevin, a soldier that used to work for Edgar, shows up, telling a different story, saying that the missing girl Ariana is not his daughter but she knows about a treasure that is hidden and can make someone real powerful. So you have a team of misfits in search of a valuable treasure, fighting bad guys and alien monsters, sometimes even fighting themselves over trust issues. There is a cameo appearance by Jamie Lee Curtis as a scientist and Jack Black voices a robot called Claptrap that is supposed to be the funny sidekick of the film.
It's rated PG-13 for action, violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 42 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be okay to stream.
Coup! (2023)
Class War
I saw Coup!, starring Peter Sarsgaard-The Batman_2022, The Magnificent Seven_2016; Billy Magnussen-No Time To Die, As the World Turns_tv; Sarah Gadon-Ferrari, Dracula Untold and Faran Tahir-Escape Plan, Iron Man.
This is a movie about class war. A coup is usually when a group of people overthrow another group of people, usually concerning governments. The story takes place in 1918 as Peter shows up at a wealthy mansion that needs a new cook. The plague has hit and good workers are getting hard to find. Billy is the rich writer that occupies the house with his wife, Sarah. Faran is another employee working for Billy. The employees all live in a separate house from the big mansion and Peter doesn't like that so he starts doing things to change who has control of all the power in the house.
It has an NR rating but contains language, smoking and sexual content-including partial nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 38 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright to stream.
Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
Children's Movie With A Message
I saw Harold and the Purple Crayon, starring Zachary Levi-the Shazam! Movies, the Thor movies; Lil Rel Howery-Free Guy, Get Out; Zooey Deschanel-New Girl_tv, Elf and Jemaine Clement-Legion_tv, What We Do in the Shadows.
This is a children's movie that is based on a children's book called Harold and the Purple Crayon that was created by Crockett Johnson. Zachary plays Harold, who has a magic purple crayon that he can use to create almost anything he can think of by just using his imagination-kind of like a Green Lantern ring. When Zachary grows up, he decides he wants to see what the real world looks like and draws a door to get there. Lil, plays his best friend that comes along too. Zooey is one of the first real people that they meet and befriend. Jemaine plays a librarian that has written a book that he wants to publish-it's sort of a hybrid of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings-but no one likes it because it's too complicated. When Jemaine hears about the Purple Crayon and it's powers, he decides that it's exactly what he needs to make his dreams come true. The movie is a mixture of live action and animation and it is has a message aimed at preteens.
It's rated PG for mild action and has a running time of 1 hour & 32 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but if you have little ones around the house, it would be a good one to stream.
Trap (2024)
Good But Different
I saw Trap, starring Josh Hartnett-Oppenheimer, The Faculty; Ariel Donoghue-Wolf Like Me_tv, Blueback; Hayley Mills-Wild at Heart_tv, the The Parent Trap movies and introducing Saleka Shyamalan-M. Night Shyamalan's daughter-in her first movie.
This is a movie that is written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that is good but different from what he usually does. Josh plays a fireman that is taking his teenaged daughter, Ariel, to a concert. The concert is sort of like a Taylor Swift concert, with Saleka playing a singer called Lady Raven. FYI: Besides being the real life daughter of M. Night, Saleka is also a real musician/singer and has supplied the songs for this film, as well as for a few others of her father's movies. Anyway, after arriving at the concert, Josh notices a heavy police presence surrounding the stadium and asks an employee what is going on. Josh is told that an infamous serial killer called "The Butcher"-yep, that is Josh-left evidence at one of his crime scenes that he would be attending this concert. Hayley is a psyche profiler that is working with the F. B. I. To apprehend Josh and thinks that this would be the perfect time to set up a trap to finally end The Butcher for good. There is a scene after the end credits so don't leave too soon.
It's rated PG-13 for violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 45 minutes. I enjoyed it and would buy it on DVD.
The Beast Within (2024)
Horror Story That Is Not Scary
I saw The Beast Within, starring Kit Harington-Eternals, Game of Thrones_tv; Ashleigh Cummings-Citadel_tv, The Goldfinch; James Cosmos-Wonder Woman, Game of Thrones_tv and Caoilinn Springall-Stopmotion, Citadel_tv.
This is a horror movie that is not that scary. They don't even show the creature-a werewolf-until late in the movie. Kit and Ashleigh are a married couple living in the woods with their daughter, Caoilinn and grandpa, James. Caoilinn is 10 years old and apparently, the only one in the family that doesn't know that Kit is a werewolf. Kit goes out at night after Caoilinn goes to bed, and comes back in the morning, after she wakes up. Sometimes, Ashleigh goes with Kit and she will chain him up for the night. Caoilinn gets suspicious and follows her parents one night and sees what is going on. This doesn't happen until later in the film-it is a little slow moving. There is not much violence shown and only one person is killed by Kit-and it's not shown.
It's rated R for violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 37 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but if you are interested in seeing it, it would be alright to stream.
The Fabulous Four (2024)
Mediocre
I saw The Fabulous Four, starring Susan Sarandon-Blue Beetle, Ray Donovan_tv; Bette Midler-the Hocus Pocus movies, The Stepford Wives_2004; Megan Mullally-Will & Grace_tv, The Disaster Artist; Sheryl Lee Ralph-Abbott Elementary_tv, Ray Donovan_tv and Bruce Greenwood-Doctor Sleep, Passenger 57.
This is a perfect example of how movies can affect people differently. I thought it was mediocre for this type of movie-aimed at an older audience-but my wife loved it. Susan, Bette, Megan and Sheryl are long time friends until Susan & Bette have a falling out. Susan thinks Bette stole her boyfriend when they were in college and has not even spoken to her in years. Megan & Sheryl decide to try and put them back together and when Bette decides to get remarried-her husband that was supposedly stolen from Susan died recently-it seems like a good time to reunite them. Bette lives in Key West, where Ernest Hemingway lived for a time, and of course, there is a lot of trickery and out right lying involved in getting Susan to go there-they tell her she won a trip in a contest. After she is there, she can not just get on a flight and go back home, now could she? Of course not. Things get better when Susan meets a local bar owner, Bruce and sparks are igniting. FYI: If you like Michael Bolton, he pops up for a mini concert.
It's rated R for drug use, language and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 39 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD-I'm not the target audience-but it would be alright to stream.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Great But NOT For the Kids
I saw Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds-If, Green Lantern; Hugh Jackman-The Greatest Showman, Real Steel; Matthew Macfadyen-Succession_tv, Death at a Funeral and Emma Corrin-The Crown_tv, Pennyworth_tv.
This is the third in the Deadpool series-the first was in 2016 & the second in 2018-and it is the best in the trilogy. This is the first R rated Marvel movie and it is definitely NOT for kids, no matter how much your little ones beg you to take them to see it. Ryan returns as Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth, joined by Hugh as the Wolverine and if you saw 2017's Logan, you know Hugh died at the end of it. But have no fears, his resurrection is addressed here. Ryan is trying to live a normal life when Matthew shows up saying that he needs Ryan's help to correct things affecting the entire multiverse. Matthew works for the Time Authority that keeps tabs on any changes in the timelines. Emma plays Cassandra Nova-the daughter of a rather famous character-and she is the main villain that is trying to destroy all timelines, except for her own, of course. If you liked the first two Deadpool movies, you will love this one. It has more bloody carnage, more filthy language, more guest cameos-one of my favs was of an actor that has played two different heroes and he is here in his less popular role-and there are Deadpools galore, including Lady Deadpool and Dogpool. You also get to see Hugh in the Yellow & Blue costume and there is also a shirtless scene for all his fans. FYI: Keep your eyes peeled for a quick scene of Henry Cavill as Wolverine.
It's rated R for bloody violence, language and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 2 hours & 7 minutes.
I really enjoyed this movie and would buy it on Blu_Ray.
Oddity (2024)
Irish Horror
I saw Oddity, starring Gwilym Lee-Bohemian Rhapsody, The Last Witness; Carolyn Bracken-The Gone_tv, Dublin Murders_tv; Tadhg Murphy-The Northman, Wrath of Man; Steve Wall-Dune: Part Two, Rig 45_tv and Caroline Menton-in her first movie.
This is a horror movie filmed in Ireland with mostly Irish actors. I hadn't heard much about the film so I wasn't expecting too much but I was pleasantly surprised. Gwilym is a married doctor that works at a mental hospital and he just bought a new house that he is renovating. Carolyn plays his wife, that has to stay at the house alone, while it is being worked on, since Gwilym works nights. Tadhg plays a patient at Gwilym's hospital that escapes one night and goes to Gwilym's house, where Carolyn is later found dead the next morning. Tadhg is blamed for her death but claims he is innocent. Steve plays an orderly that saw Tadhg on the night he escaped. Carolyn also plays her own twin sister, who is blind and has psychic powers, usually manifesting when she touches objects. After several months, Gwilym starts dating Caroline-with an I-and Carolyn decides to try an uncover what really happened to her sister. There are some good scares.
It's rated R for bloody images, gore and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 38 minutes.
I liked it enough that I would buy it on Blu_Ray.
Clear Cut (2024)
Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
I saw Clear Cut, starring Clive Stan den-Vikings_TV, Taken_TV; Jesse Metrical-the Fortress movies, John Tucker Must Die; Stephen Doff-Deputy_TV, Blade and Alec Baldwin-97 Minutes, the Mission:Impossible movies.
This is a low budget action movie about drug dealers and people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alec and Clive are loggers working in the middle of a forest that come across Jesse and his friends at their meth cooking site. FYI: Tom Welling-aka Superman-has a cameo role as one of the drug dealers working for Jesse. Clive takes the bad guys bag of money and high tails it, leaving Alec in his dust. Jesse and friends take off in pursuit, knowing how the drug cartel would not be very happy without their money and that's pretty much the plot. There are a few unsurprising details you learn during some flashbacks. Stephen plays the local forest police presence that gets involved after finding dead bodies littering the forest.
It's rated R for violence, language, drug content and sexual content-including nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 28 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright to stream.
Twisters (2024)
Remake, Not A Sequel
I saw Twisters, starring Daisy Edgar_Jones-Where the Crawdads Sing, Cold Feet_tv; Glen Powell-Top Gun: Maverick, The Expendables 3; Anthony Ramos-Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, In the Heights and Maura Tierney-The Iron Claw, ER_tv.
This is a sequel that has no reason to be called a sequel. Maybe it's a remake or a relaunch-but I have heard it called a sequel. Like the 1996 Twister, it is about tornadoes and the people that chase them. It does not have any of the same actors-or characters-to connect the two movies. The effects are good and it does have a good story, quite similar to the original. They even want to send little spheres up into the tornadoes to get measurements like they did in the first movie. Anyway, Daisy is a member of a group of tornado chasers in Oklahoma and when she looses several members of her team to a tornado, she retires and moves to New York to become a meteorologist. Anthony plays one of her fellow survivors from the old days that continued chasing tornadoes for five years before contacting her and asking her for help. Reluctant at first, Daisy decides to go back to help him. That's when she meets Glen, a popular social media star in the tornado chasing field-he even has pictures of himself on t_shirts and calls himself the Tornado Wrangler. Egos clash before they combine forces to fight tornadoes. Maura plays Daisy's mother.
It's rated PG-13 for action, peril, language and injury images and has a running time of 2 hours & 2 minutes.
This would be a good one to stream.
Lumina (2024)
Alien Road Trip
I saw Lumina, starring Rupert Lazarus-Requiem_tv, Disobedience; Eleanor Williams-Halo: Nightfall_tv, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans; Andrea Tivadar-Safe Inside, One Fine Day; Sidney Nicole Rogers-Maya, Astral Mam_tv and Ken Lawson-Benjamin Troubles, Malibu's Most Wanted.
This is a low budget sci_fi movie with sub par effects and aliens, that was filmed in Morocco. Rupert plays a rich playboy that is throwing a party to let all his friends meet his new girlfriend, Eleanor. Andrea and Sidney are among the guests. That night, Eleanor goes out to the swimming pool for a swim and disappears in a flash of light. After reporting everything to the police-with no helpful results-Rupert contacts Ken, his friend that believes in alien abductions. Ken convinces Rupert that they need to find Eleanor before the aliens operate on her-or something worse-and they go to meet a friend Ken met on the dark web. Andrea and Sidney tag along on the alien road trip. The friend is Eric Roberts in a small but humorous cameo. All roads lead to aliens in the desert. There is fighting in and out of the alien ships, where they will run inside one ship and out into the desert before running into another ship and then back outside again. FYI: I looked up the word Lumina and it said, the central cavity of a tubular or hollow structure inside an organism or cell. There is a statement at the end about how many people have been abducted by aliens etc. And there is a scene just after the end credits start that has Eric in it.
It's rated R for language and violence and has a running time of 2 hours.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD. If you want to see it, I'd wait until it's on basic cable or MST3K.
Longlegs (2024)
No One Could Play Longlegs Better
I saw Longlegs, starring Maika Monroe-Independence Day: Resurgence, It Follows; Nicolas Cage-Renfield, Con Air; Blair Underwood-Quantico_tv, Madea's Family Reunion and Alicia Witt-Orange is the New Black_tv, A Madea Christmas.
This is a horror movie that is written and directed by Oz Perkins, the son of Anthony Perkins. Nicolas Cage plays Longlegs-a serial killer-and he does not have top billing and is barely even mentioned in any trailers for the movie. I read that this was done on purpose, though I don't know why, myself. I guess to surprise people when they see the movie. Nicolas does a fantastic job and no one could play the part of Longlegs better than he does. He is almost unrecognizable in both his appearance and mannerisms. Maika plays the F. B. I. Agent assigned to the case by her boss, Blair. The victims are usually found dead in their houses, all looking as if they had killed themselves and there are no traces of Nicolas having ever been there-DNA evidence, etc.-except for a note with weird symbols on it and the name Longlegs at the bottom of the note. Maika is sort of semi psychic-she has visions pop into her head about Nicolas-and discovers that there might be an occult angle to the killings. Alicia plays Maika's mother. Nicolas likes playing the music of T_Rex and he has posters of Marc Bolan on his walls. FYI: Usually the credits at the end of the movie will scroll from the bottom of the screen to the top. Here, it does just the opposite, from the top to the bottom.
It's rated R for bloody images, violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 41 minutes.
I enjoyed it and would buy it on Blu_Ray.
Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
Conspiracy Theory Handled
I saw Fly Me to the Moon, starring Scarlett Johansson-just about any Marvel movie, We Bought a Zoo; Channing Tatum-the Magic Mike movies, White House Down; Jim Rash-Home Sweet Home Alabama, Community_tv and Woody Harrelson-the Venom movies, War For the Planet of the Apes.
This movie is about the Apollo 11 space mission to land on the moon in the late 1960's. It's also a comedy and a rom com. Scarlett plays a marketing genius that is hired by Woody-a government agent that works for the President-to help with the public image of NASA. America was in a race with Russia to get to the moon and the President wanted to have a win. Channing is the launch director of the mission-and love interest to Scarlett-so they disagree on lots of things, as they usually do in rom coms, before falling for each other. When Woody wants Scarlett to film a fake moon landing-in case something goes wrong on the real one-she hesitates at first, because of Channing, but she is forced by Woody to do it. Jim is the director of the fake film and Woody wants to use the fake film, no matter what happens on the mission, just to hedge all his bets. The conspiracy theory about the moon landing being faked is handled beautifully in the movie.
It's rated PG-13 for language and smoking and has a running time of 2 hours & 12 minutes.
I enjoyed it and it would be a good one to stream.
MaXXXine (2024)
Lifelong Dream
I saw Maxxxine, starring Mia Goth-Infinity Pool, Suspiria; Simon Prast-Filthy Rich_tv, A Death in the Family; Giancarlo Esposito-The Boys_tv, Abigail and Kevin Bacon-X_Men: First Class, Tremors.
This is the third part of a trilogy, with X in 2022 being the first part and Pearl in 2022 being the second part. It's the 1980's and Mia is an adult movie star that wants to transition into regular movies. Simon plays her father, a preacher, so you can expect that he is not happy with Mia's choices in life. Mia travels to Hollywood and finally gets her chance to be in a legitimate film, just when a mysterious night stalker starts killing young people-in particular, young starlets that Mia knows. Giancarlo is Mia's talent agent that gets Mia her big break. Kevin is a private detective that is hired to find Mia for someone that knows about Mia's past. Will Mia fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a real actress or will the night stalker catch her first? That is the question.
It's rated R for violence, gore, language, drug use and sexual content-including nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 44 minutes.
If you have not seen the other two parts, you might want to skip this installment in the series. I enjoyed it and it would be a good one to stream.
Despicable Me 4 (2024)
Antics Are Still There
I saw Despicable Me 4, starring the voices of Steve Carell-Space Force_tv, the Anchorman movies; Will Ferrell-Barbie, the Anchorman movies; Stephen Colbert-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Pierre Coffin-True Tunes_tv, Too Too Boy_tv.
This is the forth in the Despicable Me series-not counting the Minions spin offs-and villains change with each movie but the antics are still there. For those that are counting: 2010 was the first Despicable Me movie, 2013 the second DM, 2015 the first Minions, 2017 was the third DM and 2022 the second M. Steve returns as Gru, the former villain, now turned good guy. He has three girls-four, if you count his wife-and now a new baby son is added to the mixture, Gru Jr.. Will is the new villain that wants revenge on Steve and Stephen is Steve's new neighbor that likes to play tennis. Pierre, of course, still voices all the Minions. Steve and family have to go into hiding, with new identities after Will threatens them and there are some new super powered Minions. FYI: There is a prison scene that you need to watch carefully, all the previous villains from 1,2 &3 are shown.
It's rated PG for action and rude humor and has a running time of 1 hour & 35 minutes.
I really enjoyed it and if you like these movies, you should too. I would buy it on Blu_Ray.
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
A Little Off Kilter
I saw Kinds of Kindness, starring Emma Stone-Poor Things, Cruella; Jesse Plemons-Civil War, Fargo_tv; Willem Dafoe-Poor Things, Asteroid City and Margaret Qualley-Drive_Away Dolls, Poor Things.
This is a strange little movie that is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who also directed Poor Things & The Lobster. There are three different stories and all the actors are in each one-playing different characters, some with bigger parts & some with smaller parts-but the stories are not related. There is one connection; each story has a title and the three initials RMF are in the title of each story. If you stay after the end credits, you will discover exactly what the RMF connection is. Anyway, the first story is about Jesse wanting to quit his job because of the demands of his boss, Willem. The second is about Jesse looking for his wife, Emma, after she was lost at sea and then, after she is found, Jesse doesn't believe it is really her. The third is about a cult run by Willem that has Emma searching for Margaret, a spiritual guide. Some of the stories are funny, some are dark and some are just weird, but they are all entertaining.
It's rated R for violence, language and sexual content-including nudity-and has a running time of 2 hours & 44 minutes.
If you like stories that are a little off kilter, this one is for you. I enjoyed it and it would be a good one to stream.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)
Different Stories Converge
I saw Horizon: An American Saga_Chapter 1, starring Kevin Costner-Yellowstone_tv, Open Range; Sienna Miller-21 Bridges, G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; Sam Worthington-the Avatar movies, Hacksaw Ridge and Luke Wilson-Stargirl_tv, Zombieland: Double Tap.
This is the first part of a four part western story-the second part will be in theaters on August 16, 2024 but no word yet on the other two. Kevin Costner wrote and directed it, as well as stars in it. The basic story is about the settlement of the old American west and a new settlement called Horizon that everyone is headed to. Sienna plays one of the few survivors of an Indian attack and FYI, Hayes Costner-Kevin's real son-is playing her son. Sam plays a soldier that comes to help against the Indians. Luke plays the leader of another group headed for Horizon. Kevin basically plays an unknown. He shows up in a town and gets into a gunfight with a bad guys' brother-guess who wins?-and goes on the run from the rest of the dead guys' family. I have a feeling things from the different stories will converge in some of the latter chapters. Before the end credits start, there is a preview of the next part.
It's rated R for violence, language and sexual content-including partial nudity-and has a running time of 3 hours & 1 minute.
If you like westerns, you should enjoy this one. I did and would buy it on DVD.
Daddio (2023)
Cab Ride Confessions
I saw Daddio, starring Dakota Johnson-Madame Web, the Fifty Shades movies and Sean Penn-Licorice Pizza, Milk.
That's right, there are only two stars in the movie. A couple of other people are seen in the background every so often but most of the movie is the two stars in a cab. Dakota is the passenger and Sean is the taxi driver. The talking starts off slow, with the usual pleasantries, but soon, the conversations get deeper into both of their relationships. Dakota is coming home to New York after a trip to see her sister in Oklahoma. While talking to Sean, Dakota is also carrying on a conversation-well, actually, texting-a man she is in a relationship with. And, it is a sexually graphic back and forth conversation between the two, involving texting pics of body parts to each other. Sean has seen a lot, being a taxi driver and being married twice, and gives plenty of advise to Dakota which is pretty on the mark for her situation. They both have their own cab ride confessions to each other, as Sean tells her that they will probably never see each other again anyway, so what difference does it make?
It's rated R for language and sexual content-including nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 41 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright to stream.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Early Stages Of Invasion
I saw A Quiet Place: Day One, starring Lupita Nyong'o-the Black Panther movies, the Star Wars movies; Joseph Quinn-Stranger Things_tv, Dickensian_tv and Djimon Hounsou-Charlie's Angels_2019, the Shazam! Movies.
This is a prequel to the other two Quite Place movies-not a sequel-and it has all different actors. Well, Djimon was in the second movie but I don't know if he is playing the same character here or not-his role is more of a cameo. Lupita is the main character here and she has a pet cat she carries everywhere. She is in a hospice when the story starts-she is on medications-and when her group goes to New York City on a field trip, the aliens attack. For those who may have forgotten-or haven't seen-from the previous films, the aliens can not see, but have very sensitive ears, hence the being quite part for anyone wanting to stay alive. Lupita meets Djimon in a shelter after the creatures attack and then leaves in search of medication that she needs and her own treasure hunt for pizza-yes, I said pizza. She runs into Joseph on the street and they become traveling companions on her quest to find meds and pizza and also evade the aliens while trying to stay alive. You also learn of an Achilles heel of the aliens-I won't spoil it here-which leads to a chance to reach an evacuation area.
If you liked the first two movies, you should enjoy this one, that showcases the early stages of the invasion.
It's rated PG-13 for violence, terror and bloody images and has a running time of 1 hour & 40 minutes.
I liked it and would buy it on Blu_Ray.
Thelma (2024)
Comedic Look At A Real Situation
I saw Thelma, starring June Squibb-Hubie Halloween, Love the Coopers; Fred Hechinger-Pam & Tommy_tv, The White Lotus_tv; Richard Roundtree-the Shaft movies, Speed Racer and Malcolm McDowell-the Halloween movies, Fantasy Island_tv.
This is a comedic look at a real situation. In fact, it was recently covered by Jason Statham in a movie called The Beekeeper but it was a little more dramatic there. June plays a 93 year old woman that falls victim to a scammer, claiming to be her grandson, Fred, and says that he needs ten thousand dollars or he will go to jail. Of course, she gathers the money and mails it to the address given to her-she loves her grandson very much-and of course, she is duped. Malcolm plays the man targeting her and Richard plays a friend that tries to help June get her money back. June and Richard try to track Malcolm down and there are some action scenes-not quite up to Jason's level, but still entirely watchable-and I read that June did most of her own stunts. FYI: this is also Richard's last movie since he passed away in October of 2023 and although June has been in around 98 movies, this is her first time being the headlining star. Overall, it's a nice, feel good movie.
It's rated PG-13 for language and has a running time of 1 hour & 37 minutes.
I enjoyed it and would probably buy it on DVD. Shari liked it too.
The Exorcism (2024)
Good Idea But Doesn't Work
I saw The Exorcism, starring Russell Crowe-The Pope's Exorcist, The Mummy_2017; Ryan Simpkins-Please Baby Please, Revolutionary Road; Adam Goldberg-The Equalizer_tv, Dazed and Confused and David Hyde Pierce-Julia_tv, Frasier_tv.
This is a not so scary horror movie that has a good idea but it just doesn't seem to work. The idea is that they are making a movie about the bad things that happened on another movie-in this case, The Exorcist from 1973-which has been rumored to be true for years. Russell plays the actor playing the priest and he has problems of his own, including addictions to alcohol and pills. He is estranged from his 16 year old daughter, Ryan, who got kicked out of school for vandalism. Adam plays the director of the new film and David plays a real priest that is consulting on the movie. Things start happening like lights flickering or stage props will fall and almost hit someone and when Russell starts acting weird, Ryan thinks he might be off his medications. Little does she know that Russell is being possessed by a demon that makes him do backwards stretches and wear Alice Cooper eye make up.
It's rated R for violence, language, drug use and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 35 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD. I don't think it's worth streaming, either. If you really want to see it, I'd wait until it comes to basic tv.