Category Archives: 7 Star Movies

Runaway Jury Review

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It’s time to look at a solid courtroom drama. You know how I always love those films and this one is no exception. There’s a lot of tension and drama going on here the whole time with a few twists for good measure. The idea of two people trying to fight over the jury makes for a really entertaining plot and it’s a satisfying watch all the way through.

The film starts off with a big shooting in a work office and a lot of people end up dead. The gun manufacturer ended up being sued for this so the court case becomes a big deal. After all it would set a huge precident if the company was on the hook for the murder that happened using one of its guns. As a result they hire a man named Rankin to take care of this. He’s a jury consultant meaning he helps make sure that the jurors who are selected are ones that will give a not guilty verdict. Technically only the two attorneys are allowed to be in the room when selecting the jurors so this guy patches in through a wiretap and some cameras. It’s a whole conspiracy but the gun company wants to make sure they are taking absolutely no chances here. They are going for the win one way or another but a hiccup occurs when it turns out that one of the jurors is planning to destroy the gun company from the inside. Can Rankin find out who this is and take the juror out or will he have to watch as the company goes under?

So this is really a high stakes cat and mouse game with both sides making a lot of moves. The poor jurors are basically completely unaware of what is going on but hey that keeps them impartial. The man at the helm trying to make sure the gun company is found guilty is a man named Nick. Nick and his girlfriend Marlee have a personal vendetta here and the film goes into this and some plot twists at the very end. They are very well prepared for this case, in a lot of ways you could say they’ve been waiting their whole lives for this moment. Not that they ever wanted a shooting to occur but if it were to happen, they would be ready.

One twist I’m glad didn’t happen is that they set up the shooting. For a minute there I thought it was a possibility, like they had to make a shooting happen so this lawsuit could happen and then they would bury the gun company. It would be a really poor case of “The end justifies the means” which 90% of the time isn’t just in any kind of way. So that doesn’t happen and you can rest assured that while these two are breaking all kinds of laws they didn’t start it. They’re just here to end it.

Both of them are also very solid characters here and have a lot of confidence. Nick is fine being sarcastic, wholesome, and switching personalities on the fly in order to get his objectives. At times it does mean that he will appear to be insincere and one of the jurors calls him out on it but generally he’s a nice guy. It’s just when someone is too nice and always has the perfect answer he will naturally appear to be a little suspicious.

Meanwhile Marlee also stays strong under pressure. Even when she is physically attacked she is able to gather her bearings and keep the blackmail game going. She gives Rankin a whole lot of trouble and is contributing pretty heavily to the plan the whole time. Nick and Marlee really have a very solid 50/50 partnership going and both are completely crucial to succeeding here.

While he is the big villain, I actually liked Rankin quite a lot. It would be fair to say that he is the best character here. He’s manipulating quite a few characters and has had a lot of success for many years. He very nearly could have won here but his helpers aren’t quite up to his level and they cost him at times. He handles his end of the phone calls well and fights to the end. Ultimately you can’t win every fight and this guy handles the situation rather gracefully. I’d be down with seeing him in more films although I imagine the average juror situation isn’t quite as entertaining. If there was no opponent then he would have won rather easily which is probably how most of the previous cases go. So it wouldn’t be enough to hold a movie without some kind of threat.

If there is any weakness in the film it’s that the actual case doesn’t get a ton of screentime as a result. Even when we are in the courtroom, you’re focused more on the tricks everyone is pulling on each other rather than what the prosecutor and defense are actually saying. The focus here is clearly on the tactics both sides are using to sway the jurors. I’d have also been interested to see more in depth the logic being used to attack the gun manufacturer over the crazy guy running in and shooting everyone.

Still, this is a courtroom film through and through. Whether the focus is on the stage or on the jurors, it does scratch that court drama itch I’ve got. The writing is solid throughout and the characters are really solid. One of the twists may hurt the romance a bit but I remember even while watching the film I couldn’t totally tell to what extent the twist happened. Basically if the main pairing is a rebound then that’s no good, if not and they just have a shared goal then this works well enough. I believe it was the latter although either way it’s not the kind of thing that would really impact the score.

Overall, This is a pretty fun film to watch. The intro really starts the film off fast because I was not expecting the scene to play out the way that it did. In hindsight I suppose it had to in order for the story to get started but I remember I was pretty startled. The film never loses its momentum all the way through. There is always a sense of danger even amidst the tension here and I love these mental battles between both sides. They have to keep their “official” and “unofficial” stories separate while debating each other since anything you say can and definitely will be used against you. A true thriller all the way through.

Overall 7/10

Tormented Review

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It’s time for a fairly emotional film with some supernatural intrigue thrown in. It’s definitely one where you don’t feel all that bad for the main character though and your sympathy wanes more and more as the film goes on. Ultimately this really works as a retro thriller of sorts and while it may not be the most well known film out there, it holds its own.

The movie starts with Tom getting ready to be married to his fiance. He’s been waiting a long time for this and he’s finally made it. Unfortunately a wrinkle arrives when his ex girlfriend Vi shows up to blackmail him. She will not let him go off with another girl and makes it clear that she will end his life socially if he tries. She gets a bit careless around the railing though and Tom decides not to save her from falling to her doom. He figures nobody will know that she died. There are just two things he could not account for. One is a shady boat owner named Nick who suspects what is going on here and the other is that Vi’s spirit tanked the fall and she still has not given up on ruining his life. How can he hope to deal with a ghost?

Now the film is a bit vague on exactly when Tom’s relationship with Vi took place. Since he really tries hard not to let Meg know about her, it does feel as though he was cheating on Meg at some point with this girl. Otherwise the easy thing is to just talk to Meg and explain that his ex is being crazy. The fact that Tom cannot do this is very suspect in itself. As for not saving Vi, well obviously he should have but given the circumstances and how quickly it happened, it’s not a death sentence for the protagonist morally.

That happens later on in the film as he gets more and more unhinged. Sure he is being haunted and all that but it’s definitely not an excuse that I would give him. Ultimately Tom is responsible for all of his actions and in the end he didn’t make the right ones. He could have handled things a lot better and since he did not, that means he just wasn’t cut out for the job. The ending is very suitable for him when you really think about it.

Vi is written as antagonistically as possible so she is a villain from the start. As a villain I would say she is fairly decent. She is really determined and stealing the wedding ring was just such a petty move that it works out really well. My only real question here is why she didn’t do more to directly get in Tom’s way. She can evidently touch the real world and make herself solid so there’s no end to the things she could do. Beating Tom up or kidnapping him for example is very much within her tool house. I wouldn’t say any of these are negatives though because you could validly say that she was just toying with him the whole time and that works too.

Meg isn’t as solid as the main heroine mainly because she is a little too oblivious and puts up with too much the whole time. When Tom is starting to act crazy, running off by himself and such she needed to ask more questions. From her point of view the guy should have seemed absolutely crazy and while she had some doubts at one point, she basically just talks herself out of them. I cut the kid (Sandy) more slack because of how young she is. There’s just not much she can do about the situation and she doesn’t see as many of these moments first hand until the very ending. At that point, yeah she ends up changing her mind which made sense. So Sandy was more on top of things here.

My favorite character has to be Nick though. He’s the perfect balance between being shady and an evil mastermind the whole time. Don’t those things go together most of the time? Eh maybe but it still feels like the right way to describe him. He goes around giving a lot of tough talk to Tom and always has a handle on things. The only point where he falters is in the very end which is arguably the worst spot to falter. The guy does make a very dumb move in following Tom to an abandoned location. If you’re blackmailing someone you have to be prepared for every kind of response. Surely a violent response is one of the first ones that you are ready for right? He never seemed to entertain the idea that someone who already murdered one person may want to add another body to that count.

It was a little hard to believe. Either way the writing for the film is really solid beyond that. The movie has good pacing and the suspense works out well as you’re not sure how each character is going to turn out by the time this is all over. There are a lot of ways the plot could go after all and the ending really stuck the landing which was good. The ending is really a determining factor in a movie like this after all. So no complaints on my end, full steam ahead!

Overall, Tormented is a pretty good movie. It may not be the most explosive and exciting but it works well as a slow burn. I’m not sure if you’re meant to root for the main character or not. I’m thinking you are but personally I wasn’t on his side from the start. At least to me the guy seemed guilty just based on how he handled it all. So in the end everyone is probably better off with how things went by the end. Ghost stories can really be a lot of fun and this one really worked out. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d recommend changing that.

Overall 7/10

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man Review

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All right we’re back to the Abbott and Costello adventures! What trouble will these two get into this time? Well we’ve got some actual boxing on the docket in addition to the usual slapstick comedy and it makes for a good mix. We’re still not quite up to the level of the film with the Werewolf but this does beat the Mummy film so in the end you would have to count that as an absolute win!

The film opens with Bud and Lou graduating from detective school so they can be official PIs. You may wonder how Lou actually made it and it turns out that Bud actually paid off the teacher! The brilliance of the gag is you can take this at straight value or assume Bud was taking a shot. I prefer the former but both work pretty well. They get a first client right away, a boxer who is on the run for attempted murder. This boxer isn’t just anyone though…he is the new Invisible Man!!

You can probably guess how his being invisible is going to mess with Lou a whole lot. Lou gets framed constantly and is the butt of every joke because he can’t properly explain himself. It means that things keep on going from bad to worse for him. Poor guy is what you might think right? I’d usually feel bad for him but he’s just a bit too desperate all the time and the film has a final gag at the very end which destroys his character. Lets just say that he’s the type of guy who would abuse his power immediately so whenever he is on the losing side or getting defeated by everyone…I’m actually kind of glad now. Seriously there’s no coming back from that.

A big chunk of the film involves boxing. Basically the way the boxer was framed was by an underground circuit of mafia members betting on the games. This guy refused to take a dive and so they murdered the trainer and pinned it on this guy. At least that’s what the Invisible Man says. Bud basically couldn’t care and doesn’t believe him so he tries to betray the Invisible Man many times and keeps on getting into hot water. Honestly he’s lucky that the guy didn’t bump him off after a while. Lou usually ends up taking some punishment too despite not being on board with betraying him.

To an extent you can get why the Invisible Man would not be trustworthy though. He makes a whole speech about how he could use this power for evil and has a super evil laugh the whole time. The guy seemed to be cracking immediately and we already knew that the serum had some side effects. It’s almost a bit hard to root for the guy at some points because he’s also not very smart. He talks and moves food around when other people are around which nearly outs him.

This is a comedy of course so you expect some stuff like that but I’m still going to be taking shots at the guy anyway. At the end of the day he’s the one performing the actions so of course he has to be blasted for that. The Invisible Man wasn’t quick on the uptake and you expect that form someone like Lou. Lou really looks bad here but that’s to be expected. He barely moves to play along during the fights at times and it nearly costs him big.

Bud is pretty fun in that he’s great as bluffing and reading the situation. It doesn’t always work out well for him but I appreciate the attempt. Like when he stood up to the opposing boxer who was trying to intimidate Lou. That was fun. Ultimately his confidence gets the best of him as he gets punched out when expecting the Invisible Man to come to his rescue but why would he right? Bud was getting on his bad side the entire film.

One thing that works out well here in addition to the main plot is how the Invisible Man actually has his own set of supporting characters and things happening. That helps it to all feel a lot more like a real film all the way through. The characters do tend to be a bit annoying and in particular the doctor strapping him to a table and nearly costing him everything was rough. If he can’t prove his innocence he would be sent to the electric chair anyway so at that point you have to let him try to clear his name.

The climax actually involves a full battle scene which was pretty fun too. Naturally Bud and Lou can’t really fight but they are good at running around which buys some time. The mobsters also made for fairly decent villains. Nothing special of course but i liked the scheme and it added a little danger to the film. Having one of their minions dress up as a security guard to stop the police from suspecting anything was pretty smart.

If there’s something that would have made the film better it would be to take the boxing scenes a little more seriously. Now completely serious of course but I think there is some wiggle room between what we got and what we could have gotten. Also the idea of an invisible helper assisting during the match is a pretty fun idea for even a serious film. I suppose it would be really hard to beat that scheme but you could say that’s the point right?

Overall, This was a pretty fun film. As with any comedy film that has tons of gags like this one, not every gag will land but most of them do and that’s definitely the important thing. The film goes by really quickly and if you like the series then you’ll like this installment. For better or worse it’s not really trying anything all that different from before. I would say if anything the strength of the series is probably in its familiarity to the fans who watch each installment. You know more or less what to expect in each film and it’s a calming experience.

Overall 7/10

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy Review

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It’s time for another Abbott and Costello film. These two are always getting into a lot of crazy shenanigans filled with comedy and slapstick. It’s really a winning formula and this film is no different. You can feel the series weakening the longer that it goes on but it’s till solid enough where it can stand on its own and you will have a good time all the way through. The gags are on point and the films are fairly quick so the pacing is never an issue. No matter how you slice it, you’ll be having a pretty good time here.

The main characters are messing around as always when they get wrapped up in a pretty dicey situation. A Mummy is being uncovered and someone has been murdered. The are ready to help out so they can make a lot of money. Costello even gets his hands on the legendary amulet which is perfect since that can lead to big bucks but he has to find a way to get the money since everyone is after him. A mysterious lady seems awful interested in the guy as well so he’s feeling pretty good about himself but what if she actually only wants the amulet?

By this point in the series you should pretty much see all of the gags coming a mile away. That said, one that was particularly good was when Bud raises his fist to seemingly hit Lou, so Lou flinches and blocks. Bud asks why he did that so Lou explains he thought Bud was going to hit him. Bud tells him to knock it off so Lou lowers his arm…and then Bud hits him. The execution of that gag was really on point and showed why Lou always needs to keep his guard up around that guy.

Lou actually gets more wins than usual here though. One really solid moment for him was when he was tricking Bud with the money but then later on he does end up eating the medallion so he lost to Bud there. It’s a bit more of a back and forth than usual since typically Lou is getting beat up the whole time. The only area he consistently beats Bud in is with the ladies and of course often times that is part of a villain’s scheme. Lou tends to not realize this though so he’s just having a grand time until it inevitably goes sour for him. At that point he is really out of luck.

One of the weaknesses in this film is that the Mummy gets very limited screentime and isn’t very intimidating even when he does appear. Most of the film has him locked up in the tomb and when he finally gets out the movie is nearly over. His followers get more of a role if anything and none of them look super impressive. In fact the leader must have been a parody type character because he talks really tough about how he’ll finally have to step in and all that jazz only to get defeated immediately. It gets so bad that the main two actually knock him out at one point. Let me tell you…getting knocked out by those two has to be the absolute worst humiliation you could ask for. Seriously that’s really hard to come back from.

The girl’s group were a little better as they actually captured the leads and had the advantage in a fight for most of the film. Ultimately they still go down but at least they put up a fight and had a better goal. They just weren’t ready for the slapstick duo to get in the way and ruin all of their plans.

The ending of the film is pretty fun with how things worked out. It wasn’t exactly what I had been expecting but it still worked pretty well and gave all of the characters a decent amount of closure. It squeezed in some comedy without being too over the top which is really the important part here. The tone and such wasn’t ruined but then again the films are really good at keeping that tonal balance the whole time.

Ultimately there really isn’t much to this film beyond the gags. I would argue the movie is built around the gags as opposed to the other way around in this case which is why the monster plot takes a backseat. It may not win against the previous films but fortunately the gags are good enough for the film to stand on its own. I would say there is a decent amount of replay value here due to the sheer number of gags. Something is constantly happening after all and I would probably already rewatch the film and I wouldn’t remember quite a number of the jokes. That’s the benefit of using so many in such a short amount of time.

Overall, This is a movie that I would recommend. Naturally you do have to be a fun of comedic films and this slapstick style of humor in particular. If you are not then you are definitely in the wrong place. It’s consistent all the way through and I’ve got another Costello review coming up shortly so get ready for that one. This time the monster does get much more of a role. I’d say they learned from this one but this movie actually came out after the one I’m going to review next.

Overall 7/10

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Review

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It’s time for a fairly retro film and a pretty fun one at that. It’s sort of part western to an extent while also being pretty original in its own way. It really deals with the power of the pen vs the gun and lets just say that back then the latter always had a tendency to win. The film has good writing and a likable cast of characters which ultimately makes this a big winner in my book.

The movie unfortunately does start in the future which removes a ton of tension. I still think this is an awful movie technique but yeah we start with Senator Ransom and his wife Hallie heading over to a small town to pay their respects to someone who died. The local newspapers figure they have a right to know what’s going on here and pester the guy until he finally tells the story. So the rest of the film is a flashback but hey we now know that the main two characters get out of this alive. Why would you do this? Seriously whyyyyyyy.

Yeah so in the past Ransom is attacked by a group of thugs led by Liberty and that’s when he realizes that it’s time to clean this town up. The problem is that he’s effectively a stranger in this town and while he wants to begin practicing law, it’s difficult when the villains don’t respect him. He doesn’t lose hope though and wants to hold an election and make this a safe town. It will take a lot of guts though and some planning because Liberty makes it clear that he will shoot Ransom. There is one guy who isn’t afraid of this villain, a guy named Tom.

Tom is an excellent shot himself and has taken many opponents down in the past but he’s really not going to go after Liberty. If Liberty gets in his way then Tom will shoot him dead but Liberty is mainly gunning after Ransom so Tom holds his peace. The villain is making allies though so soon the whole village may be doomed. In the meantime Tom is in love with Hallie but she is in love with Ransom making things a little tricky. Gee I wonder who she picks….after all we already saw the flash forward from the first scene….

So for the good parts, as I mentioned earlier I did really like the writing here. The characters are very reasonable and the dialogue is strong. I thought the movie did a good job of also showing why Ransom’s ideals were not going to be enough here. At the end of the day you do need some power in order to push through with your convictions. That’s the way that it’s always been as otherwise you will just be destroyed and nobody will remember you. Ransom starts working on his shooting later on but it’s just a little too late.

You’re not going to beat a lifelong gunman when you just started training. I mean you can possibly win because in a shootout all you need is one good shot but the odds aren’t in your favor. At times I do think Ransom was a little overly naive though like when he yelled at Tom for saving his life in the diner. Liberty would have kept escalating and Ransom just didn’t want to admit that having a gun was real useful at that point. Ultimately while he would likely never admit it to Tom, he does see the value here. The ending works really well with this as Ransom has a really good life but will always have some memories about the past that he would rather forget.

Tom is absolutely the standout character here though. I like how tough he is and that he was the only character who would actually stand up to Liberty the whole time. You always got the feeling that he would have crushed Liberty in a straight fight and the villain knew it which is why he always backed down. Tom wasn’t the hero type so he wasn’t going to save the town but I just liked the idea of him being a wild card. The guy was having his own cinematic adventure off screen as we hear about him winning fights and shooting opponents down.

He also gets the best directed scene in the movie involving a flashback to a scene we saw earlier in the film but with a different camera angle. Not only does it fix a potential power levels issue but it just enhances the film quite a lot. At the end of the day Tom’s a fairly complex character but someone you can count on. He definitely starts to slip a lot in the end and things don’t always go great for him, but he was definitely a lot of fun.

His partner Pompey was also great. You can’t forget that he saved Tom’s life on several occasions and you can assume the same has been true for a while. There are many situations where being on your own would be fatal in these fights. Having a strong ally makes for a world of difference. Then you have the heroine Hallie who is nice enough. She probably could have been a little more direct in who she wanted to be with between Tom and Ransom but I would put the least amount of pressure on her because Tom was the one trying to pull moves the whole time. Even if you don’t get a direct rejection you can often tell where the wind is blowing and he was being intentionally oblivious I’d say hoping that he would win.

As a villain Liberty isn’t bad. I think the film did a good job of showing how he would act really tough and cocky around people who can’t fight back but would shrink to the actually powerful opponents. I’d say that’s probably true for many villains. This guy could look rather whiny and weak at times but it made for a fairly realistic villain. Then we have the comic relief Link who was mainly here to show how this town got so weak in the first place. He was definitely not ready to fight off anybody and naturally that empowers the villains.

Overall, This was a pretty fun film and I really don’t have many complaints. Of course I would have cut out the first scene so it doesn’t spoil almost the entire movie’s stakes but the actual movie is still high quality. Also the reporters are completely unlikable with how they forced Ransom to tell them the story. He honestly should have told them to get lost instead of answering their questions with the kind of attitude they were having but I guess that’s just how it goes. In the end Ransom was always a nice guy even if it was to a fault at times.

Overall 7/10

The Shootist Review

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It’s time for a fairly somber wild west film. There isn’t a whole lot of action here but the film definitely delivers with a pretty solid climax. The build up for that was definitely a lot of fun and ultimately ties everything in well. It’s a pretty good film that takes itself seriously and has a lot of solid writing. It’s not perfect but I had a consistently good time all the way through.

The movie starts by introducing us to Books. He is a very notorious killer. The guy has never lost a fight and is one of the only survivors of the true wild west. What people don’t realize is that he’s dying. The guy is old but it’s not that, he has developed cancer and his doctor confirmed the diagnosis. There is no way out for him now and so he has only a few weeks to live. He decides to rent out a room in a quiet town and just wait for his death. That was the plan at least but he isn’t ready to just die like this and so he prepares to see the world a bit and get into one last fight. The stakes are pretty high for him but what’s the worst that can happen in the fight right? He’ll be dead soon anyway.

It’s got to be tough knowing that the end of your life is approaching but at the same time I always rather liked the idea of having a rough time table. If I know I’m going to die in 4 weeks for example then I would go crazy enjoying every kind of food and activity I wanted in the meantime. Of course the reason you wouldn’t want to do that is because no diagnosis is 100% accurate. If they made a mistake and you just spent your life savings…that won’t go over very well. So it’s always important that no matter what you don’t do anything that would be irreversible. Trust me it’s not a good idea. Of course back in the wild west days there were far less resources so the diagnosis could be said with more confidence since it’s not like he could have an operation.

A big portion of the film is Brooks getting to know Bond, the owner of the house, and her son. The weakest part of the film is definitely the mild romance with Bond and Books though. It doesn’t really make sense, he’ll be dead soon anyway and they got off to a really rocky start as it is. Granted the film doesn’t really go anywhere with this but that’s part of why it’s just filler and could have been removed. Having this connection didn’t actually add anything to the film and you could have replaced it with something a whole lot more useful. At least if you ask me that definitely could have been changed quite a bit. At most have her see him with some respect for leading a tough life but you don’t need anything more than that.

I’d also say it’s selfish of Books to be driving around with her and asking her to accompany him. There’s not much use in building bonds when you’re about to die because you’re just going to leave the other person in a rather rough spot. Of course it provides him some comfort but hey you don’t always get to win out. I’d have preferred he just hang out with everyone a little like his scenes with Doc, Gillom, and the others. Books is still a solid character and the film goes out of its way to show that he was no common criminal. He didn’t start fights, he just ended them.

I do think it was pretty unreasonable when Bond was giving him a hard time over murdering the home intruders. Clearly they were going to finish him off so he had to defend himself. For the most part Bond is reasonable in the film though and I definitely didn’t blame her at all for wanting Books out after he lied to her about his identity. I think most people would feel the same way because right out of the gate you can’t trust your tenant. That’s not a good way to start things off.

Gillom manages to be really annoying throughout the film though. The guy ends up being a thief by the end and while he apologized, I didn’t buy it. It also wasn’t the best of apologies either. He gets a good moment at the end of the film at least so I’ll give him that but for the most part he was definitely really weak. I much preferred the guy at the stables who was good at bartering. He had a decent sense of humor too and was able to hold his own without being insecure or over the top like Gillom.

Finally I liked the doctor, he was a good friend to Books throughout the adventure. He also didn’t sugar coat how things would end up if Books died naturally which I appreciated. At the end of the day that’s probably the worst thing you can do. You need to give your patient the right tools and knowledge to make the best informed decision possible. That’s just not going to work if you don’t explain the situation 100% accurately and clearly.

The highlight of the film is definitely the big climax. I liked how each of the 3 big gunmen just walked into the saloon waiting for Books to show up. Each one was super smug and confident in their abilities. You were wondering if they would turn on each other, team up, or just watch in the end. It made for a good setting and I liked how Books just walked in with a ton of confidence. He was maybe too confident as he was wide open during the first shot and is just lucky that the guy missed.

It’s a full action climax that you may not have expected for this film and it ended up working out really well. While most of the film is more dialogue heavy and just about life in general, you always want to have some kind of explosive climax and this film definitely delivered on that. The fight scene was handled really well and you got to clearly see Books’ accuracy all the way through. An ending is supremely important for any film so it was really good that this one stuck the landing.

Overall, This is a film that I could easily recommend whether you enjoy wild west type films or not. It’s really more about deciding how you die and making a final stand. The classic hero having to enter one last fight is certainly a popular kind of plot and it makes sense because there’s a lot to enjoy with that. The writing is really solid which is naturally important and I also really liked the cast of characters. These films can sometimes make the lead a little too unlikable so you’re rooting for him to lose or at least to go for a draw but in this case Books was actually likable so that worked out well. He had a lot of fun banter with the local Marshall which made for a little injection of humor into the film. That guy was definitely as mean as he could be but that never broke Books.

Overall 7/10

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Review

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Wait a minute, shouldn’t the title actually say that they met Frankenstein’s monster? Hmmmmm, well that’s a mystery for another day. Honestly I would have exchanged that for the Werewolf since it makes the most sense personally but I suppose it gets the idea across that the supernatural monsters are here and they are ready for action. It’s a pretty good film and the Abbott and Costello banter works really well. It’s always fun to see them having a hard time communicating with one taking everything super literally and the other one not knowing how to phrase things a bit better. Ultimately the monsters have the edge in firepower but can they overcome this duo’s creativity and unexpectedness?

The movie starts off with Larry Talbot stealing the show as per usual as he calls in to try and stop the world from unleashing the powers of Dracula and Frankenstein on the world. Unfortunately his power is too great and he turns into the legendary Wolfman which ends the call. We then cut to Chick and Wilbur who are messing around and getting into trouble! They got the deliveries of the monsters and end up bringing them to the client’s place but allow the monsters to escape. Now Dracula and Frankenstein are primed to destroy the world and even steal Wilbur’s body if they aren’t stopped. Will Larry arrive in time to stop them? Also can Wilbur stay focused as the villainess Sandra tries to pull the moves on him?

There’s quite a bit to unpack here but first off it’s really nice to see Larry return. He was always the best out of the original Universal monsters and is an even more sympathetic character than Bruce Banner/Hulk and Jekyll/Hyde. You actually feel his distress with how he wants to keep the Wolfman at bay but it’s just so difficult. Ultimately in this movie I would say he has a decent handle on it as he uses his abilities to take on Dracula. His scenes are all played straight as true scenes of terror and he’s consistently great. The film may not be the best way to end his legacy in terms of a happy ending but his role was powerful.

Fans of Dracula should enjoy him here as well because he does get his respect. On the minus side he does get scared of Chick and hides a lot but on the other hand he is treated as the mastermind on the villains’ side. He is the one who powers up Frankenstein and leads all of the attacks which is pretty good. The guy is the most iconic out of all the universal monsters after all so it makes sense he would get the top billing as the leader there. As for Frankenstein, well he’s back to being fully mindless so you can really ignore him. He’s not actually doing much of anything here except stumbling around. I wouldn’t consider him to be nearly as much of a threat if you ask me.

Chick is one of the highlight characters in the film. I like how he always dominates the conversation and keeps Wilbur in line. Of course a lot of the time he does end up being wrong but you can always get why he would make the assumptions that he does because Wilbur is the kind of character who is always exaggerating and making a mess of things. Put it this way, he is always super hyper so aside from this adventure he’s probably panicking like this every day. I’m sure Chick has seen a ton of false positives over the years and in the end Chick helps out when it counts. He even talks tough to Larry. I just like how Chick doesn’t back down.

He is a bit desperate when it comes to girls though so he loses some points there. For example when all of the girls like Wilbur he keeps asking if he can have one for himself to which Wilbur is basically saying “No!” which makes sense. Additionally it’s not like he would have a ton of input in that. Either they like Chick or they don’t and in this case it seems like they don’t. The guy just needs to take his L gracefully and move on. No need to dwell on it, it is what it is after all.

Wilbur looks pretty bad though. He is pretty crucial to the humor of course and gets a lot of funny moments there but as a character he just isn’t very focused and often makes the wrong moves. He panics constantly and also doesn’t have the strength of will to stick to his girl. When the other girls start flirting he immediately folds and it’s a very sad look for the guy. He loses a lot of points in that instance and never really gets them back. The guy never really mans up by the end either. So while he is a net positive to the film because the scenes are funny, I wouldn’t say he ranks as a character.

In general of course the reason why the film is so good is because of the humor. The humor is really handled well with a lot of high quality moments. It’s pretty guaranteed to get some laughs out of you and especially if you like this humor style then you’re in for a treat. The movie never slows down with all of the jokes and gags so they keep on coming rapid fire. We also do get some action in the monster battles which was pretty nice to see. Mix in the solid cast and you have all of the right elements here. I’d also have been game to enjoy this film straight up as a serious adventure with Larry as the main character but we already had a bunch of those so this works as a change of pace. It has definitely withstood the test of time and you don’t really see this kind of humor style anymore. It’s a relic of its time and a pretty solid one at that.

Overall, Abbott and Costello have another solid film here. It’s a pretty good time with a lot of funny jokes and good pacing. I would say the jokes hit the hardest during the first half while Chick doesn’t believe him so you have a solid dynamic there but of course the second half is still good too. The ending really works well with that last scene stinger and I really don’t have very many complaints with the film. It’s an all around solid title with a lot of positives going its way. My favorite film in the series is still the one where they meet Boris but this is another really good entry. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10

Escape Plan Review

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This review is of the TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a thriller that’s pretty fun. Admittedly the whole setup to the main part of the film is extremely unbelievable but I suppose it can be tough to get the characters into position sometimes. I would have changed that but otherwise I didn’t have many issues here. I haven’t seen tons of prison break movies either so it felt fairly fresh.

The movie starts by introducing us to Ray who has a very interesting job. He allows himself to be arrested in order to test out a prison’s defenses and see if there are any weak points. Naturally this is all worked out with the prison in advance so he has a code word to get out of there safely and it’s a fairly controlled environment. Most don’t know that he’s a fake prisoner so the experience can be as authentic as possible. Well, the government has shown up with an offer to try his luck at breaking into one of the strongest max prisons ever. There are some shady parts to the deal though. They won’t allow the company to track Ray’s location and he can’t even know where it will be. Both of these conditions completely go against Ray’s rules so obviously he won’t take the job right?

Wellll…yeah he decides to do this anyway. So now nobody knows where he is and it turns out that this whole thing is a bit of a scam as his safe word doesn’t work and it seems like the wardens actually want to break him. Ray’s experience in breaking out of jails is his only hope now because this time he will have to break out for real. His only real ally here is Emil who wants to help but Ray doesn’t trust him. The guy’s trying just a little too hard to be helpful you know? Doesn’t really feel legit is what Ray’s thinking and I don’t blame him since I wouldn’t be trusting anyone at all. Still, it looks like they will need to team up to stand a chance here.

The film’s very interesting from the start which is absolutely crucial for a title like this. The world building is good and while there aren’t a ton of main characters, they are all very memorable. You’re not going to just forget about them after watching the film. I would also say the writing is pretty good. Naturally there is a bit of plot armor going on here for Ray and the others since the guards really could just go in and finish them at any time. The plans for escape often involve a lot of surveillance and scoping things out which only works because the villains take their eyes off of the monitor briefly. Things have to work out absolutely perfect for this to work out and you will probably have to suspend a little disbelief here.

The actual prison also stands out because of its unique architecture. This is definitely not looking like your average prison and that’s a good thing because as a maximum level one it should look a lot different. That’s the whole point after all. The heat room also seems like it would come really close to breaking a lot of inmates since you have to deal with bright lights as well. So now you can’t really sleep and are getting dehydrated. The guards really have every possible advantage here since they can also apply beatings whenever they want. There’s a whole montage where they just keep beating Ray up at all times of the day and there really isn’t much that he can do about it at all.

Ray is a good main character. I may deduct some points for going through with this crazy idea in the first place but at the end of the day he is good at what he does and that’s what gives the heroes a chance in the first place. Without him it really would have been curtains for everyone. Then you have Emil who is definitely a fun character. I would even say that he is the best one. He gets a ton of standout scenes and I like the way his character arc ends. In general the end of the film is very satisfying. This is a movie that absolutely sticks the landing.

The villains are a bit more on the generic side. I guess I won’t say who the mastermind is but I would say it’s not a twist that should surprise you. This guy seemed rather tricky right from the start and so that’s just how it goes. He’s okay but it’s not like he can fight. The main head of the guard loves beating up on people but ultimately that’s about it for his character. The villains don’t have a whole lot going for them but you will remember them because these roles are fairly critical to any prison breakout movie.

The film is surprisingly tame for the most part. Make no mistake there are violent moments that will happen during the adventure but they aren’t nearly as deadly or frequent as you may have expected to start this off. This is a good thing as the movie maintains a serious tone and a high level of tension without having to be all over the place. It’s not trying to be edgy or anything like that which is a really good idea. It lets you really get into the film and enjoy the detective work.

After all a big chunk of the film is planning out the escape. Learning the guards’ movements, doing some recon, etc. If the characters tried to jump into the escape without that then it really wouldn’t have worked. It is fair to say that the prison really was impossible to escape for any single prisoner because you needed teamwork and a whole lot of resources and specific situations in order to pull this off. You can’t really see anyone replicating this so in a way the prison doesn’t need any upgrades.

Overall, Escape Plan is an intense prison film that reminds you just how scary it can be. Sometimes you hear stories and figure that prison isn’t so bad…but make no mistake it can absolutely be a nightmare. Perhaps they aren’t all as intense as a max security setup but you can bet that most still are not a walk in the park or anything like that. This film is the type that will always be best the first time around as it’s a bit of a slow burn that gradually gets you to the end. You wonder who will make it and who wouldn’t. So go into the film as blind as possible for the maximum experience. Do that and you should be all set.

Overall 7/10

Baby Driver Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

I remember seeing a whole lot of promotion for this film back in the day when it was coming out. It really got to be quite the big deal back in the day and who doesn’t like a high speed car film right? now that I’ve seen it I can safely say that it is a solid title. It’s a pretty well rounded film with a solid cast of characters.

The movie starts by introducing us to Baby who is the best getaway driver out there. He doesn’t want to be living this life of crime but doesn’t really have a way out yet. Doc has some serious dirt on the guy and he’s a powerful mobster in general so if Baby crosses him then it’s lights out. At least Doc says Baby just needs to do one last job and then they’re square. Is that really the truth? Well, Baby can’t really risk that either way. His foster parent Joe isn’t happy about this life of crime but it’s hard for Baby to explain exactly what’s going on. Then he falls for a lady named Deborah while at a café. Baby is trying to move forward in his life but the past just keeps on catching up.

Baby makes for a fairly unique character as he’s always listening to music because he suffers from tinnitus. Definitely a really rough condition to have and one that can be hard to fix even in modern times. So listening to music helps him tune out the constant whistle at least. He’s got a ton of different pairs of glasses and Ipads at the ready and even makes mixtapes in his spare time. This all makes for a fairly compelling main character and I think most impressively is how he’s able to stay strong and not flinch when the other villains try to mess with him.

I also liked that he isn’t naïve about the whole thing. Sometimes you see the main guy being blackmailed to being a villain but is really slow on the uptake the whole time. That’s not the case with Baby, he’s always alert and always ready to make a move. His plans towards the end of the film were actually really solid, just the wrong thing kept happening at the wrong time. So he’s definitely a unique main character and worked well in the role.

I also enjoyed Doc as the main villain. He’s a fairly ruthless guy who definitely doesn’t take no as an answer from the other characters. He will make sure they get their money and are fairly compensated though. The guy is a full businessman, an evil one but he’s not crazy. So the guy has had a steady business as a result and just keeps it moving. Perhaps his last scenes felt a bit rushed in terms of character but I’ll just take the scene at face value for now and he just wasn’t all bad.

As the main heroine Deborah is a fun character as well. She tries to cheer up Baby when he seems down and generally seems like a nice person. She had the right attitude on the job and she was quick on the uptake when Baby walked in with the gang. Deborah really didn’t make any mistakes so I appreciated that and she didn’t just freeze when the villains show up. She grabs a pipe and actually hits one of them which was really key since it bought enough time for the heroes there.

Then for the other villains, I would say Bats was the highlight. He’s a very tough guy who has been around the block a lot of times before. Nothing bothers him and he is always ready for a fight. The guy can be a little too perceptive for his own good at times but nothing just gets past him. I enjoyed having him around and he’s the kind of villain you want on your side in a heist. You don’t want to be going against him or it’s not going to end well.

Finally we have Buddy and Darling who really love flaunting their relationship in front of everyone. Darling in particular seems to get a kick out of it since she’ll have Buddy murder anyone who takes a look at her. They make for a solid toxic duo on the villain roster and Buddy is definitely a really determined guy. At first he seems like one of the nicer ones on the villain squad but once you’re on his bad list then it’s over.

What helps put Baby Driver at a solid level here is that the characters are fun. I feel like I’ve seen a ton of films with the main guy helping some gangsters and they’re all super forgettable criminals. You finish the film and you just won’t remember these guys at all. In this film they all had full character personalities so you won’t be forgetting them any time soon. I’d say that’s a good credit to the movie.

While the soundtrack’s fairly well known here I would say it can be hit or miss. I wasn’t particularly impressed with many of the tunes here but it certainly did have a lot of them. Music is a good way to build intensity during the chase scenes so that is appreciated. The specific songs just weren’t all that great compared to what they could have been but they were all fast paced which is the main important part. I enjoyed all of the car scenes and there was a lot of effort put into them. The actual shooting battles were also on point. They felt like true gunfights with a lot of back and forth. The whole climax is very hectic in a good way.

Overall, Baby Driver is a pretty good movie. It lived up to the trailers and you don’t always know what’s going to happen next. The pacing is on point and the writing was solid too. It works really well as a stand alone film and covers everything that it needs to. I think a sequel to this could be fun too since there’s a lot of avenues you can go for it. Baby Driver isn’t trying to be super ambitious or anything like that, just a good film to pass the time by and that works out well. It is a lot of fun and you’ll finish the movie feeling satisfied. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10

3:10 to Yuma (2007) Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

3:10 to Yuma was a pretty fun film back when I saw the original and this remake does it justice. It’s a remake that keeps very close to the original with minimal changes but they work well. The lead’s wife gets less of a role here as his son gets to do more instead but the film makes the main villain and his right hand man a little more memorable. Ultimately it’s close but I would say this one does beat the original. There’s a whole lot to enjoy here.

The movie starts off with Dan in a rather rough place. He isn’t very well off as it is and then gets all his stuff stolen and burned due to the debts he has. It gets worse when he watches someone get robbed and does not help. Now he feels like his kids won’t respect him as much and so this leads him to join in with a posse to stop the legendary robber Ben. It’s actually not a job that sounds very hard. Ben has already been wrapped up by the proper authorities. Dan just needs to get him to a town where he will be taken in to jail. They just have to last a few days until the train pulls in. The only real complication is making sure that Ben doesn’t get into their heads. Most of the fighters are in the same boat as Dan. They have big debts and need money badly. Often times money can really mess with your morals and of course if there are less people around then each person’s cut of the money might be a little bigger eh?

Perhaps you can cut a deal with Ben rather than getting money from the company. Either way Ben may be the guy in handcuffs but Dan and the others are the ones who feel outnumbered. Another complication is that Ben’s crew is very loyal. Particularly his right hand man Charlie who will not rest until he has found Ben and freed him from these guys. Dan may have bitten off more than he can chew but at the same time he knows there is no turning back now. His honor and reputation is on the line right now.

Now there’s always a question of how far is too far with honor. Of course you need to do the right thing always and you can’t stop on that. The real question is if you should be risking your life for respect when it’s something you don’t actually need to do. In this case Dan absolutely could have stayed home and lived a decent life. Sure he would not have been known as a tough guy but he’d be around. I think if he was doing this because he really wanted to see justice done then that’s one thing but I’d say he should have stayed home after getting the money. It’s not like he’s trained as a police officer or anything like that.

That said, I agree with him on staying to see it through once he was there. It’s not like it went any better for the guys who left since they all got shot anyway. Particularly back in the wild west I never get why people just leave and assume the villain will keep their word. Seriously you’re just going to get shot right away I can guarantee it. So instead of putting your gun down you should at least go out blazing. Maybe you take one or two of them with you. Ideally you take out the villain leader that way. When you have a gun like this, you can always guarantee mutual destruction for at least one person.

Meanwhile Ben is a great villain and I would even say the best character in the film. He’s a villain through and through but at least he is one who has his own set of principles and an honor code. He’s not just going around blasting everyone randomly. He steals and generally does whatever he wants but he’s not going after kids or anyone who is not in his way. For example he was not going to go after Dan initially and he let him go. Then by the end he was actually helping out a whole lot in trying to get Dan to safety.

I also liked the fact that Ben was shown to be a great shot. He was probably the most skilled fighter in the whole movie and that really goes to show how he wasn’t trying to hurt the main characters. If he wanted them dead then they would absolutely be dead. The film is fairly light on gun fights but at the end his fight scene is really impressive. Definitely not someone that most of the characters could dream of taking on.

I’d say the only one who was close would be Charlie and to an extent you feel bad for him. He’s definitely a cruel villain and someone who has no mercy but he is loyal. He never waivered in his mission to help Ben out of the jam and really didn’t take any disrespect towards the guy. If Ben actually was as evil as the rest of the characters thought he was then these two would have been the perfect duo and really impossible to stop. So when they have to fight it’s one of the most emotional moments in the film to be sure.

Yeah this is definitely a very satisfying film all around. It’s also a movie where I think you can take a message about being careful what fights you jump into. You may not start a fight but after you jump in you suddenly find yourself as the last one standing. Everyone abandoned Dan by the end and of course there were legitimate reasons for doing so. The mission did start to seem impossible so you definitely get it and Dan had his own reasons for sticking around but it’s got to be tough when everyone is just gone like that.

Perhaps it’s better that way in this case though as most of the other “heroes” were extremely annoying. You had one guy who spent the whole film trying to pick a fight with Ben which made him easy to manipulate. It was another impressive moment for Ben with how he took him out. One of the older guys just got super greedy, etc. These were moments to show how Ben was able to easily turn everyone against each other but you feel like in part it’s because the characters were all just lousy people to start with.

Overall, 3:10 to Yuma is a pretty good movie. It gets all the positive elements of the wild west in there and has good pacing. It never ends up dragging on and the characters are very interesting. The verbal battles between the main character and villain are on point. Some characters definitely look pretty bad in how easily they are manipulated but for the main two they at least have a good respect for each other. The tension is constantly high with Dan knowing that he could die at any point and even Ben realizing that this won’t be an easy situation. Ben definitely does have the edge since even if he is captured he could escape. Definitely a must watch if you like the wild west genre.

Overall 7/10