Action

Oldboy

OLDBOY Y’all tired of these cutesy Netflix or Amazon Original films that deal with teenage coming-of-age, or relationship issues that your girlfriend or wife asks/makes you watch.  It’s time for a change – at least for 2 hours. Watch the original 2003 Oldboy, a South Korean action thriller film written and directed by Park Chan-wook. …

Extraction

EXTRACTION Extraction is a better than the average action movie on Netflix, set in an interesting but saddening city, with lots of action (killing), and one long uncut action sequence.  That sums it up, but I’ll go on. Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, is a mercenary named Tyler Rake.  He works with a high-tech firm lead…

Doom: Annihilation

DOOM: ANNIHILATION Doom: Annihilation (a 2019 film) is the second Doom movie since the 1990s video game. History: The first Doom movie in 2005 was a money-losing $60 million blockbuster. The 2005 Doom movie starred The Rock, Karl Urban, and Rosamund Pike.  id Software, the developer of the Doom video game, supported the original Doom…

Shazam!

SHAZAM! Tired of watching Oscar-worthy 3 hour movies, so for the first movie of 2020, I watched Shazam! a light action comic book movie. Shazam! is the seventh film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).  The preceding six DCEU films are: Man of Steel (2013) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Wonder Women (2017)…

Ford v Ferrari

FORD v FERRARI In the race to the 2020 Oscar award season, Christian Bale may edge out Matt Damon in this semi-historical Ford v Ferrari car racing drama showing the years leading up to the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans (The Grand Prix). The Grand Prix auto race in France had always been won…

Avengers: Endgame

AVENGERS: ENDGAME I squandered all my chances to see Avengers: Endgame when it was in the theaters.  But, I still felt obligated to watch this big screen epic film.  Avengers: Endgame is the massive conclusion to the Avengers: Infinity Wars, the war that was so devastating to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  So, I watched…

The Meg

THE MEG A prehistoric monster shark, the Megalodon (The Meg), is accidently released from the Mariana Trench while a team is researching the depth of the Trench. A plausible theory in this DC & Marvel Cinematic Universe age, I bought it, I was ready for mayhem, fear, and destruction. But what I got in this…

Skyscraper & Die Hard

SKYSCRAPER & DIE HARD While watching Skyscraper, thought I was transported back to 1988 the year the best Die Hard movie was released. The differences between these two action movies – 2018 Skyscraper and 1988 Die Hard – include:    Dwayne Johnson as Will Sawyer in Skyscraper versus Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die…

Triple Frontier

TRIPLE FRONTIER A retired USA Special Ops unit, starting to feel their age – agree to dispense with the patriotism and their “save-the-world philosophy” – and finally cash in on their abilities. This Special Ops unit plans to steal a lot of money from a South American drug lord. This “Hey Bro” action thriller is…

Close

CLOSE Include Close with the growing number of recent female protagonist movies showcasing strong women, such as Wonder Woman, Ocean’s 8, Annihilation, Tomb Raider, Red Sparrow, and Mary Queen of Scots. Close may lead the women’s list since this movie is directed and co-written by a woman, Vicky Jewson. The film stars a woman, Noomi…

Tomb Raider

TOMB RAIDER A Little History First: 2018 Tomb Raider is a prequel to the earlier Tomb Raider movies (2001 & 2003) with Angelina Jolie. This Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander, 2017 Supporting Actress Oscar winner for Danish Girl) is a refreshing change to the previous Tomb Raider heroine which was really just an extension…

Outlaw King

OUTLAW KING FREEEEDOM!!! Screamed William Wallace (Mel Gibson) before he was drawn & quartered by the English in the 1995 Oscar-winning movie Braveheart (do not google drawn & quartered you don’t need to be horrified just yet, but you will learn about hanged and drawn later in Outlaw King).  Outlaw King begins a couple of years before…

Eye of the Needle

EYE OF THE NEEDLE After a Whidbey Island, Washington State beach fire on a cold, clear November day, the Eye of the Needle was intriguing enough WWII movie that only one of the six people watching fell asleep. Had to rewatch it the next day when there was no laughing, talking or spouting sarcasm to…

Black Panther

BLACK PANTHER   Being superficial, one could say that the T’Challa / Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is just like Batman or Ironman – a man wearing a high tech suit – but unlike Batman or Ironman, Black Panther is also on a performance-enhancing substance, the “heart-shaped herb”, allowing him to be a Superhero and rule…

Avengers: Infinity War

AVENGERS: INFINITY WARS   Marvel Cinematic Universe 101: Greek Mythology centering on the twelve gods that live on Mt. Olympus (Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, Aries, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaistos, Hermes, and Poseidon) was first written down in 700 BC by the ancient Greeks based on stories told since 1,900 BC (Bronze Age). Ironman, Spiderman,…

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, four kids in present day high school are sent to detention – a brain, an athlete, a princess and a basket case – (the criminal was left out of the equation, replaced with a coward later in the movie). Comparison is instantly made to…