Set in a 1970s Arcology, a self-contained building where the residents can have all their needs met within, we find a new tenant who doesn’t quite fit in. He’s a doctor who seems to be concerned about finding the perfect color for his walls and the perfect partner for his bed. Since this the 1970s, everyone is part of the swinging set. At first, all seems well enough. The people on the lower floors aren’t quite as posh as the people on the higher floors, but they all still get along. It’s kind of like being on the Titanic, with…
Category: movie review
Batman V Superman Ultimate Edition
Clocking in at a bit over three hours, the Ultimate Edition of Batman V Superman adds about thirty more minutes of CGI mayhem and snappy dialogue. We open up with Batman’s origin story, and thankfully don’t have to sit through a retelling of how Superman came into the picture or Wonder Woman or even Lex Luthor. The story is mainly from Batman’s point of view. He’s an older and sadder Batman who tends to be a bit mopey and sighs a lot. That is when he isn’t killing people left and right. Yes, the once noble Batman who would never…
Hail, Caesar!
The Coen Brothers decided they missed out by not being a part of the Hollywood Studio System, so they banged out their own Studio System style movie. They did a great job of recreating the sets, songs, and looks of a movie from those glory days of yore. The problem with Hail, Caesar is that it’s a movie about making movies that drops scenes from three or four movies into a story where they don’t belong. The ode to On The Town was fun, but pointless. And so was the Esther Williams style water ballet bit. The singing cowboy portion…
Hello, My Name Is Doris
For the most part, they don’t make movies for me anymore. I hate CGI and stupid people, and it’s hard to find a movie that doesn’t feature one or both. Hard, but not impossible. Hello, my name is Doris tells the story of a hoarder who falls in love with a younger man. It stars a 69 year old Sally Field and a 35 year old Max Greenfield. Wendi McLendon-Covey, Peter Gallagher, and Tyne Daly are also familiar faces. The rest of the cast was good, but this was really Sally Field’s movie. I’m married to a hoarder and have strong…
Cell
I resisted getting a cell for a long time. I always thought of them as the Mark of The Beast. But it never occurred to me to write a story where they really were the mark of the beast. Cell the movie stars Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack and lots of random people turned into zombies/pod people while they were using their mobile phones. Our hero, John Cusack, is using his cell when his battery dies and he is forced to use a land line. This means his wife is on her cell phone when the attack comes. But…
10 Cloverfield Lane
Spoilers The big mystery in 10 Cloverfield Lane isn’t much of a mystery. The name Cloverfield refers to a rather horrible monster movie that J.J. Abrams made a few years back. That was a lost footage film about New York being destroyed by a number of odd critters from space. So it follows that this film will be set in the same universe as that one. But we have left New York City for a farm in Louisiana. The bulk of 10 Cloverfield Lane sees a woman who finds herself hostage in a crazy man’s fallout shelter. John Goodman does…
The Counselor
Spoilers This movie sucks. Cormac McCarthy writes shit stories that are somehow viewed as High Art and Great Literature. The Road and No Country For Old Men are pretty much downers. So I should have hit the STOP button as soon as I saw McCarthy’s name in the opening credits of The Counselor. Sadly, I didn’t. There are a lot of shows where people suffer and die. Game of Thrones is pretty much nothing but people suffering and dying. All cop shows deal with death as a matter of course. Doctor shows also involve a lot of suffering. But these…
Barista
Barista is a documentary that follow a handful of baristas around as they talk about coffee, make coffee, practice making coffee, drink coffee, make more coffee, talk more about coffee and then compete in a contest to see who can best baffle a panel of judges in 15 minutes by making the most bizarre coffee they can think of. Then they talk some more about coffee. Every profession has its devotees who cross over the line of fan to frantic, from dabbler to Master, from someone who presses a button to someone who takes control of every step of the…
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was not one of my heroes. I’ve always been a Bill Gates man. Until he died, I knew next to nothing about Jobs. After watching Steve Jobs, I feel like I now know nothing. The bulk of Steve Jobs sees Steve as he prepares three product launches. We watch him wander around backstage and yell at his underlings. He interacts with a slightly mad woman he may or may not have had a daughter with. The child hangs around as well and Steve appears to be fond of her. He doesn’t not appear to be very fond of…
The Good Dinosaur
Why The Hell Is Pixar Still Making Cartoons?? Ok, The Good Dinosaur was a good movie. It was basically a remake of Bambi or Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer or any other cute small animal who has to fin for himself in a cold, cruel world before heading home a stronger and wiser fellow. Pure formula and there’s nothing really wrong with that. This a frame from the film of a branch and some leaves. Most of the film looks like this. Hyper realistic images. Amazing mountains, clouds, trees, rocks, water, and every background image is picture perfect. Pixar is pretty…