Category Archives: 7 Star Movies

Innerspace Review

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It’s time to look at a classic Sci-Fi film in Innerspace. This is not a film that I was familiar with back in the day so it comes across as a totally fresh experience. I’m not a huge fan of the premise of turning small in general as it’s not quite as exciting as going out into space but I’d say this film did a good job with it. Some of the opening scenes will feel especially painful like when something happens to Jack’s eye but for the most part the film is a blend of action and comedy so it balances those out pretty well. One of the villains in particular is a standout character here.

The movie starts off by establishing Tuck as a drunk guy who really threw his career down the tubes. He originally had a chance to do some great things with his life but that’s all over now. After Lydia left him for good, Tuck decided to volunteer for a life threatening experiment. The experiment is to turn him tiny and place him inside of a rabbit. Unfortunately a group of villains attack first so the doctor is forced to inject him inside a local grocery store owner named Jack. Tuck is able to establish contact with Jack so the guy can hear and see him. Tuck must now find a way to get this guy to take him back to the lab and restore his size. There is just one problem…Jack is an extremely nervous person who is afraid of just about everything.

One of the highlights of the film is definitely Igoe. He’s a villain who is meant to be like the Terminator. They even got an actor to look like Arnold which makes the role ideal. His hand also works as a gun and he’s part Cyborg. The guy goes around knocking people out like it’s nobody’s business. You just can’t mess with this guy. I’d say the best scene in the film is when he uses a guy as a baseball bat to knock someone else out and then jumps in the truck. Part of what makes Igoe’s scenes work is that he makes them all look effortless. He’s not sweating or anything like that. He just takes guys out like nothing. In a sense because of that it’s hard to have a satisfying climax for his character. Honestly I would have preferred that he went down fighting in a traditional fight or something with the characters using a rocket launcher or something. Still, you can’t deny that he elevated the film.

Then you have Tuck and the question is really if he can get past his initial scenes or not. The guy definitely destroyed his career and can’t really blame anyone for it. You can’t help but appreciate his gusto though. At least the guy is a good fighter and takes things in stride. I’d say he’s a little below average as far as main characters go but ultimately I would say he was entertaining. In a lot of ways he’s far better than Jack. I had quite a few issues with Jack to be honest. I’m cool with him being so scared of everything. It’s a decent character trait when handled well and I thought it was here. He has a delusion about getting shot while at the supermarket which is pretty crazy but certainly scary. You can definitely see why this would shake him up. He’s a very exaggerated character but much like Shaggy from Scooby Doo it can work as long as it’s not at the expense of putting everyone in danger.

No, my problem with Jack is the rushed romance plot with Lydia. Here’s the main issue with this, she was already with Tuck. Sure, they may not be actively together right now but when the ex is literally inside of you at the moment forced to watch everything…shouldn’t you just not make a move? Out of everyone you have to go for her right now? The romance was pretty terrible here. Lydia’s also to blame here as she seems to be okay with having an affair with both characters. It really doesn’t add anything to the film except for some extra drama which never really amounts to anything either. This should have just been skipped.

Early on I actually thought Lydia was a villain. She just looks a lot like one of the main villains for some reason. I also thought it made perfect sense with how quickly she left Tuck and it would explain why she wanted to put some depth between them. Ah well, that didn’t work out and so I can’t really give Lydia any extra props here. Ultimately she just wasn’t very good here and would have improved if the film had focused more on her being a reporter. She does have connections such as finding out when “The Cowboy” was going to show up. So I wouldn’t say the character cast was particularly strong here. In some films that could be deadly but this isn’t a movie that is particularly character driven. It’s really about enjoying the humor and the unique concept of having someone shrink and so you have to share a body temporarily.

Particularly back in the day I imagine it was a pretty new concept. It’s handled pretty well. I did like the humor most of the time and the film goes by pretty quickly. I’d say the writing was on point and you’ll have a good time here. Could the film have been better? Definitely, a better cast would certainly elevate the film somewhat. As it is, Igoe has to hold most of the film on his own. Jack’s character arc of finally getting tough just doesn’t work out nearly as well as you’d think. As long as no character ends up downright terrible it won’t crush the film so this one managed to survive throughout this.

The ending is also pretty solid here which is worth noting. It has one of those “cliffhangers” where it’ll likely never be resolved but ends things off on an epic note. Given how overconfident some of the characters can be I dare say that the villains may have a shot here. I also think a sequel could work out rather well. There’s always room for more secret agent films that have a touch of humor. Look at Kim Possible as an example of this. Comedy blends together with other genres rather well. Naturally execution is key as always, but I think a sequel could be quite fun.

Overall, Innerspace is a solid Sci-fi film. I definitely thought it was pretty funny at times and has a solid villain. It may feel like it overstays its welcome a tad bit in the second half with the romance plot between Jack and Lydia being rather pointless but for the most part this is a pretty solid concept that was executed well. (I wouldn’t have minded more scenes at the supermarket, I feel like that’s a setting that’s prime for a lot of jokes) I was also glad that Jack was fairly quick on the ball like when the first messenger showed up. When Tuck told him that the guy was fake Jack quickly sprang into action. A lot of times you see the heroes have a dazed look on their face as they wonder what is going on and that could be annoying. So Jack avoided that which I’d say was definitely a good thing. If you like comedy films with some danger then this is a good one to check out.

Overall 7/10

The Heiress Review

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It’s time for an old school romance film. This one definitely serves to remind you that trust is something that needs to be earned. If you’re rich then you end up with a lot of advantages in life but also some unique disadvantages. One is that you never know if people are being straight with you anymore or if they’re just watching your pockets and trying to get some money. You need to be aware of this at all times. People say “More money more problems” which is probably a saying from someone who had a lot of money since I don’t buy into that, but being rich certainly doesn’t mean you’re problem free. Oh no, you’ll definitely have a lot of new worries so in a way it’s a trade off. You may have to live a bit more of a lonelier life if you’re rich so you’ve got to be clever and discrete. The main character was neither here.

The movie starts off by introducing us to the family of Catherine, her father Austin, and her aunt Lavinia. The three of them now live under one roof with Catherine feeling like the odd one out. Lavinia’s had a very social life and just has a lot of fun in day to day activities. Then you have Austin who has built an entire empire although he is now old and getting closer and closer to death. Catherine has an inheritance of 10,000 dollars a month and once Austin dies that will go to 30K. The only issue is that right now she has no suitors. Catherine hasn’t done a lot to really stand out in appearance or in manners. This created a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy where she has lost all confidence in herself and can’t hold up even the beginnings of a normal conversation.

Time after time she is taken to parties but nobody wishes to dance with her or anything like that. Then one day she meets a man named Morris who is incredibly interested in her. He claims this to be love at first sight and wants to marry her that same week. He quickly pressures her into agreeing to engage and then get married a few days later. Catherine’s father Austin is not thrilled at this. He claims that Morris is a bounty hunter just looking to take her money. He decides to try and prove this to Catherine but she simply won’t believe him. Is it really true that Morris is just using her or is he actually a good guy? The stakes are quite here as she might lose her one true love or prepare for a loveless life.

There’s definitely a lot to say on this matter. For starters, this is why you can’t just fall for someone so instantly. I’ve never believed in love at first sight. I believe people mix that up with infatuation or a crush. Those things can happen in an instant since it’s purely superficial attraction. Love is something you build up as you hang out with such a person and begin to admire their other traits. There’s a world of difference between a crush and love. So even if Morris is on the level with his feelings, they come across as quite shallow here. The only reason he has so much sway over Catherine is because she is so desperate for love after being turned down for so long. She is quite desperate to be in a relationship.

It’s why you have to be content with yourself first. If you’re not having a good time then getting into a relationship is hardly going to change things. At most it’ll just tide you over for a little while but you need internal happiness as well, you can’t just be happy when someone else is around. It’s also a fair point that Catherine didn’t put in a lot of effort if she really wanted to impress the men around. There’s a whole lot you can do with your appearance to try and catch someone’s eye. Assuming that she simply preferred this look which is fair, she could have learned some talents. Dance for example is something she could have definitely studied and I also question why she was so slow on the uptake with everything. Catherine never seems to understand what is going on even if it’s being done right in front of her face.

While the film sometimes uses this as dark humor, it doesn’t really hurt her case. Either way you’ll feel bad for Catherine regardless. The film can be quite tragic and even if she should have picked up on some of the things everyone was saying, you can’t help but empathize with her plight. It may not be all that relatable but she does get crushed quite a few times in this film. That’s not to say that other characters don’t make mistakes though. I liked Lavinia quite a bit and for a while she was the best character in the film. Then she starts to get played as a sucker towards the end which really hurts her. I suppose you could make the case that she knows how this will end but still feels like Catherine will be happier. I don’t see why she would believe that though. It’s just not a good look there. I did appreciate the energy and spunk she gave the film though.

The best character in the end would be Austin. Austin was looking at things scientifically right from the start. He may come across as rather cold and aggressive but at the end of the day he was still looking out for Catherine. He figures it’s better to stop things now even if it hurts her a bit rather than letting them go too far and then having her realize what is going on. As a result he has to play the bad guy for most of the film. He does go a bit far at times like not being able to see any qualities in Catherine. If she doesn’t currently possess any skills then it’s his job to help her acquire them. We know that he has made a reasonable attempt at this but he could surely do more. Even in terms of looks he has wealth and means so he could take her to beauty salons and such. If he were more helpful to her during all of this that would have been nice as well.

Finally we have Morris who certainly gets a pretty big role in the film. He’s certainly bold if nothing else like his final scenes. You’d have to be living under a rock to really accept what’s going on at the end there. If anything I’m not sure the jewels were needed, but I guess to build up the anticipation further so there’s a bigger fall to rock bottom. I get the concept at least. I can’t say that I was a big fan of Morris from the start though. You really should never come across as too desperate and he seemed desperate from the start.

The writing here is pretty solid. The movie does a good job of keeping a sad tone afloat the whole time for Catherine without going over the edge with it. You’ll definitely feel bad for her the whole time and you don’t even need a lot of sad music tunes to get that across. There’s one section in the film where she wears the Sith Lord cloak from Star Wars and that was pretty intense. Her character definitely started to change towards the end and it made for a very interesting character shift. I wouldn’t have minded if that had been her regular attire for more of the film. It has aged pretty well.

Overall, This film definitely reminds you to play things close to the vest. If someone tries to rush you into something then you should think twice about it. The film has a pretty satisfying conclusion so it makes this a very complete experience. At times you’ll definitely wish Catherine would be more active or at least a little smarter but it is what it is. If you like a good romance drama film then I’d recommend checking this one out. The pacing is good and quite a lot happens here. You also get a few verbal debates with solid back and forths like the scene with Austin vs Morris in the dining room. Now that’s the kind of scene I would definitely like to see more of.

Overall 7/10

To Each His Own Review

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It’s time to look at an old school drama film. It shows how keeping secrets and making elaborate plans can really end up backfiring for you. Of course, it also sounds like being in a small town like this would backfire as well. I feel like there are many better ways Jody could have handled things. Still, it’s a pretty entertaining film and while it may be a pretty sad one for most of its run, it does have a happy ending at least to balance things out. Always good to end on a solid note.

The movie starts with Jody spending New Year’s Eve by herself once more. It definitely hasn’t been the best year for her but she’s used to being alone anyway. She ends up saving the life of another fellow by the name of Desham and he lays the situation out for her. They’re both rather old right now and don’t have anybody to live for which is why they are so lonely. They wasted their youth but at least now they can be friends. Jody reluctantly has to admit that he has a point but she’s too busy for that. She heads to the train station and then gets a flashback to explain how things got this far which ends up being most of the film.

Jody grew up in a small town where all of the guys were always after her. Particularly Mac and Alex who asked her out many times but she always refused. She just didn’t think she was actually in love with them. Well, eventually she met a pilot named Bart and had a connection with him. The guy got murdered shortly afterwards but Jody did end up having the kid. The problem is that having a kid without being married was a big taboo in this town so she arranged for the baby to be brought to her friend’s house and since they were so packed she would inevitably get to keep the baby right? Wrong, the lady gave the baby over to Jody’s “friend” Corrinne instead. Corinne refuses to give the baby back so now Jody needs to figure out a ways to reunite with Griggsy before it’s too late.

There’s a point where the film is really just an endless string of tragedies for Jody. Nothing goes right for her at all and of course growing up without her own kid is pretty haunting. She at least gets to hang out with him a lot at Corrinne’s place, but as the “aunt” so it’s just not quite the same. She wanted to have that true mother son relationship but Corrinne eventually forced her to stop visiting. I can’t say I really blame Corrinne in this respect as Jody was starting to go a little far in bonding with the kid. Of course from Jody’s perspective this makes sense but why would Corrinne want to put up with this right?

Jody has some pretty decent plans for getting control of Griggsy though. You have to give her a lot of points for determination and will power. She never quite gives up during the film. No matter how things keep on backfiring she gets right back on the saddle again and again. She’s a pretty solid character for sure. She didn’t give up on finding true love as opposed to settling and also didn’t rebound afterwards. Jody’s a solid main character who sacrifices quite a lot again and again. It’d be hard to find a nicer character here.

The best character would have to be Desham though. The guy is a really quick thinker and definitely comes up with a really solid plan to try and get everyone back together by the end. Without him Jody would definitely have been pretty doomed the whole time. The guy just comes across as a true gentleman and one who sees the big picture. He also does respect Jody’s wishes even if he thinks she is incorrect in at least one decision. For a while there I was wondering if we would get back to the present timeline but we do and it all makes for a complete ending. The film is rather long so there’s a lot of time for all of the plots to get a good amount of screen time.

Griggsy doesn’t get to appear a whole lot but at the same time he is a huge focus of the story. I can’t say he was very likable as a kid but at least he tried being nice during the scene when they went to the rodeo. As an adult he’s a whole lot more reasonable. He may change plans quite often on the spur of the moment but he does tend to mean well. He has 0 context on what’s going on around him so he’s just going about business as usual. He certainly seems like he’ll be a much more dependable guy than his peers from the older generation. Alex turned out to not be very good as he admitted to loving Jody more than his own wife. Not a great look even if everyone suspected this by how quickly he rebounded. I liked Mac, but dependable wouldn’t be the right word for him. He started out as a swindler but Jody helped show him the error of his ways and from there he only got better. Now he’s an upstanding businessman who is actually quite solid.

Then you’ve got Corrinne who is okay. She was a bit rude during her first scenes like questioning if Jody was actually happy but the scenes with Griggsy are much more understandable. No matter the origin of how the baby got there, Corrinne is the mother now so of course she wasn’t about to surrender the kid up without a fight. There’s no way anyone would do that so it just all makes sense. In general the writing here was pretty realistic with the characters. I do think Jody just overthought things with the plan though. The town would gossip either way so just come up with a shorter story and that could work pretty well.

As mentioned, there’s a lot going on here. It’s easy to forget that most of the adventure is a flashback at that because it’s so long before the present timeline shows itself up again. The present makes all the more sense thanks to this extra development though so it all works out quite nicely. That said, spending the holidays by yourself isn’t so bad if you go and grab some food. I think part of why Jody wasn’t too happy was because she wasn’t doing much of anything so she had too much time to think. Instead she should have made some kind of goal like visiting every diner and that would give her a great opportunity to stay distracted all the while.

Overall, To Each His Own is a pretty solid film. I’d say that it is a good one in all aspects. The writing is solid and the characters are on point. The pacing is good and since the ending is satisfying that goes a long way as well. The film can be quite sad for most of its run so how much you enjoy it will likely depend on how much you think the ending ultimately ends up canceling this out. The ending is really what you remember the most though so I would say it works out. All’s well that ends well right?

Overall 7/10

Creature with the Atom Brain Review

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It’s time to look at a film that gets pretty emotional for a lot of characters because the body count is quite high. Characters are going down left and right before the heroes find a way to stop these guys. The Creature with the Atom Brain is a film that’s written pretty well and makes for a compelling movie. It’s one of those films you just don’t see nowadays. I say that a lot for these older films but that’s because it’s simply the case. You just don’t have writing like this anymore which is always a tragedy. The film is a lot of fun from start to finish.

The film starts with one guy swearing revenge on the gang that didn’t help him out when the going got tough. He gets a scientist over and they quickly use this sci-fi thunder formula to reanimate the dead. These bodies now have super strength and since they feel no pain they are bullet proof as well. They aim to take down all of these guys one by one until none remain. Pretty good plan eh? Things hit a snag when Chet shows up and figures out the plot. It’s hard to get people to believe him at first, but he does a good job of explaining and it’s hard to deny the facts after a while. Well, the cops and the army are ready now but can they really stop the zombies?

I always feel like the fighters are slow on the uptake here though. We’ve established that these guys are dead so why even bother shooting them in the chest? Realistically you should be aiming for the legs so they can’t stand well. Even if they can’t feel pain it’s not like they can block out the injuries entirely so if you ask me that would do a lot of good very quickly. Also, engaging in hand to hand with them seems like a bad idea as well. The climax is fun as we actually get a fairly big action scene but they didn’t play the matchup very well at all.

There’s also a higher body count than expected. The entire gang gets wasted and then you also have a ton of innocents taken out. The villains blow up trains, planes, and whole factories. It’s crazy how far it goes before the heroes are able to track them down. In fairness, there’s not much you can do once they’re right next to you with the bomb. People were always slow to figure out they were fake though. I guess they somehow don’t see that the head has been stitched back together? The only thing I can think of is that it’s for the viewer’s benefit and in the actual movie you can’t see any kind of stitching. Otherwise that would make the characters look really bad. In that case I can blame them a little less although the robotic movements + voice would still be a giveaway if you ask me. Hey, I can only cut them so much slack!

Chet makes for a pretty solid main character. He has a lot of good plans and does think things through more than most of the other characters. The only part of his character that doesn’t age well is how he wants to keep the family in the dark the whole time. Even when his wife tries to get in on the conversation he basically tells her to go away. She’s not handled particularly well in the film as we get a random scene where she chokes on a martini. Not sure how that helps anything. I think the writers were struggling with how to write a home scene at this point but not a whole lot of time is spent there anyway. For the most part Chet is always on the case with his partner.

It’s also nice to see everyone teaming up here. There’s no bickering or characters trying to one up each other. The community is in trouble so they all band together and get ready to face off against the villains. That’s exactly how this should go down so it ends up working quite well if you ask me. Part of the fun of the film is how things are always happening. There is quite a lot of action here as you might have guessed. Nobody is really safe and the film adds some tension when the villain breaks into Chet’s house as well.

While the main villain is pretty solid, the scientist is definitely very wishy washy. The guy’s creations have already murdered countless people and now he’s starting to want to back out of this? It’s far too late for this and he should have known that it wasn’t going to end well. Look, if you are going to betray the evil organization at least do so when you are holding the controls. The guy had the power over the zombies so he literally could have had them grab the other villain first and then surrender to the heroes. The problem is that the scientist still wanted to escape so he was probably hoping the other guy would have some ideas. Well, you can’t have it both ways and ultimately that’s why he was doomed from the start.

Overall, The Creature with the Atom Brain is a pretty interesting movie. Zombies can definitely be tricky to deal with, especially when the town was not ready for them in the slightest. It just goes to show that you’ve always got to expect the unexpected. Only by doing this can you really be prepared for the big villains that are to come. I’d be down with a sequel to this. So, if you are in the mood for a solid thriller with some sci-fi elements then this is definitely a movie that I would recommend checking out. While you may be hard pressed to remember any names by the end, the characters themselves are very solid. There is even a bit of a mystery factor here as the heroes try to figure out who is behind this.

Overall 7/10

Oh, God! Review

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All right, it’s time to look at a comedy film from a while back. The plot is definitely a tricky one since it’s about God showing up and the film’s going to be poking some fun at it. I’d say it’s pretty harmless though and you never feel like the film is trying to be mean spirited about it. It’s not going out of its way to do anything crazy at the very least unlike certain other films that are coming out soon. It’s a pretty enjoyable film I’d say and the movie never really makes any critical mistakes.

The movie starts with an average day in Jerry’s life. He’s trying to make his supermarket the best one in the country and he’s doing rather well with it to be honest. One day things take a turn though when he is contacted by God for an interview. Jerry has not been given a message to spread the word and get people to believe again. God appears to Jerry as an older man who may not be very smart at times but does have all the powers that you would expect. For the purposes of the review we’ll call him George though just because even if that’s how he’s addressed I’d rather keep the word for when it’s about the genuine article. Can Jerry really convince the media that this is happening?

Jerry’s definitely very skeptical at first but who wouldn’t be? As a Christian myself I’d be extremely hard pressed to believe that he would appear and start talking to me out of the blue. Why? Because the Anti Christ will also be showing up soon and it’s already confirmed that he will have all kinds of supernatural abilities and will perform miracles. So, I don’t even know what would convince me. That’s part of the point though, it would have to be something utterly crazy that only God could think of. In the meanwhile if I see someone come back to life or other big things like that I’d first assume it’s the other guy to be honest. When God actually returns we’ll certainly know about it.

Back to the film, Jerry does go on board with this after a miracle or two and really tries his best. I was pleasantly surprised at how eager Jerry was to accomplish the mission. Usually the main character grumbles for what feels like the entire film before being bullied into action. Here Jerry takes quite a few losses but he always tries his best. If anything George appears quite ungrateful at times as you can tell that Jerry was giving this all. He put his career and life on the line to deliver the message. It may not have worked out perfectly but I don’t really see what else he can do.

The film has fun with this as Jerry goes just about everywhere to help out. At most he can just be a little slow on the uptake with the whole changing appearances thing. He probably could have handled that better instead of making himself look bad every time. At least Jerry never gave up though. His family wasn’t quite as supportive at times. The kids were definitely a little more on the annoying side. They should have had his back instead of literally backing off instead. Only Bobbie was there to help even if she wasn’t the best at it. She has good reason to think that he’s making a lot of this up though as Jerry doesn’t always do a good job of explaining his experiences. Bobbie definitely had to go through a lot the whole film so she gets more slack than the other characters.

The pacing is solid and the film just flies through. It feels like we got to accomplish a lot as well which is probably what helps the pacing. I enjoyed the round table discussion when Jerry met with the religious leaders. While one of them definitely ended up being corrupt the others felt fairly reasonable. Although as students of the scripture they should have remembered Matthew 4:7 ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” before giving Jerry the equivalent of a pop quiz. The whole point of faith is that you don’t know all of the answers so there’s no reason why God actually would do such a thing. He could, but that’s not the same thing as saying he would.

At the end of the day with the writing and script being solid, the only thing that could stop you from enjoying this film is if you simply dislike how the movie handles the premise. This certainly isn’t a serious look at what could happen if God were to return like this so the film has a lot of laughs. As I mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t say it’s mean spirited though and does at least reference some interesting topics. I was fine with the film. My only complaint would be that they went too far in trying to portray God as not being very smart at all. I thought that was overblown, I understand making him appear to be a kind old man who’s very calm about everything. Flat out not being intelligent? You lost me there film.

Jerry asks a lot of questions that the film doesn’t give great answers to. One of them “Is Jesus your son?” is an easy one. Yes he is. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who dies for our sins and was resurrected after 3 days. The film quickly misdirects the answers so that God takes it as a figurative question so as not to offend any other religions, but you can’t have it both ways. Jesus is his one and only son when we’re talking in the literal and of course we all are Children of God when you talk about it in a meta sense. It’s important to make the distinction though so as not to undermine the importance of Jesus himself. I remember a long time ago I met someone who said they believed all religions and that can’t be true inherently because to believe one is not to believe the other. There’s no scenario where you can pick and choose.

As for the classic “Why do bad things happen?” well, that’s the struggle of life. If God solved everything for us then there would be no choice. It’s the same reason why he won’t suddenly show up in a bolt of lightning or anything like that. Anyone can believe in God if given absolute proof which defeats the entire purpose of Faith. You have to be able to believe in him without having any proof. The possibility that he is not real is what makes are faith legitimate. Everyone knows that the Sky is real because we can see it so it would be impossible for us to believe in the Sky. This is really the same concept when you think about it. It’s easy to feel like life is unfair and that some have it easier than others. Sure, to an extent that may be true but everyone faces their own personal trials and tribulations. Some may do a better job of hiding it than others, but I don’t believe it’s possible to go through life with no problems. God never gives you more than you can handle but nobody has a perfect life.

There are always a lot of good debates on that kind of subject and you could go back and forth for hours but that’s why it’s all so interesting. Also, Religion is different than having a personal relationship with God. That’s something the film gets right even though several characters seemingly aren’t able to wrap their heads around it in the movie. It’s very different to know about God vs knowing God intimately. Then there’s the third step of actually taking him into your heart. Put it this way, The Devil fits into the first two sections, he just loses out in the third. Anyone can know about God and there are those who believe in him but choose not to serve him. It’s the third category that really counts.

Finally, the film also talks about God not being comprehendable which is why he takes a human form. That’s something I can buy into. I don’t think it would be possible for a mere human to really be able to understand or see God. It’s why in the Bible people die or go blind if they even get a glimpse of him. He’s a being we can never fully grasp which is why he is God. Of course it’s well within his ability to help us comprehend him and I believe in Heaven he would take a form similar to Jesus or something we can’t yet understand but will as Angels. It’s all about waiting until then.

So I went off on a bit of a side tangent there, but while the film is entertaining I also think it’s good to straighten up some of the topics the movie tackles but doesn’t go into. At the end of the day it’s a film that’s not meant to be used for study so you should never take these things at face value. Do your own due diligence and it’ll pay off quite well. Whether you’re a Christian or not I believe you would be able to find this film entertaining. If you’re bothered by the premise and would rather skip it, there’s nothing wrong with that either. I don’t expect this movie would be for everyone. It does have a court case at the end though which I always tend to enjoy. I doubt the sequels would be quite as good but you never know. Maybe they would be legitimate follow-ups.

Overall 7/10

Arsenic and Old Lace Review

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It’s time to look at a comedy/parody film from a while back. I’m always up for that combo that’s for sure. The plot is pretty out there but of course the unnerving part is that it may not have been all that difficult to pull off a scheme like this back in the day. With all of the characters acting rather insane here you’ll have to try to keep up and see who has the upper hand by the end of the film. The lead definitely changes a lot as things go on.

The movie starts with Mortimer and Elaine about to get married. He’s feeling pretty shamed about the whole thing because he was always a huge critic of marriage in general. He just changed his tune after meeting up with Elaine. After being married they’re ready to go to the Honeymoon but just have to go home for a few minutes to say their goodbyes and such. They live next door at least so they’re close to each other. Unfortunately, it turns out that Mortimer’s two aunts Abby and Martha have been going around murdering people. They have a sign that says room for rent and then any guy who walks through the door is promptly poisoned and buried. They have already bumped off 12 people. Mortimer decides to pin the blame on his brother Teddy who believes that he is actually the President of the United States Teddy Roosevelt. Complicating matters is the fact that Mortimer’s other brother Jonathan has escaped from jail and intends to make this his new home. Can Mortimer solve all of these problems in time to get back to Elaine and enjoy the honeymoon?

Mortimer’s character arc in the early part of the film is definitely the Hollywood dream. That while you may be a skeptic of falling in love and all you will eventually break once you meet the right person. Mortimer certainly didn’t last long after all since this was literally the first scene of the movie. I think being against marriage is definitely not the right play though. If you’re content to be single that’s one thing but if you still want romance without marriage then that’s a mistake. Being committed to one person for the longhaul is far better than deciding to stay free during the relationship. This doesn’t play almost any part in the movie though.

From all the plots, the one with him and Elaine gets the shaft. Basically any time she tries to enter the house Mortimer stops her or she gets involved with the murder conspiracy. Nobody’s really of any help to her when it counts aside from Mortimer so at least he helps out. He handles that situation rather poorly though. She has a point that they just married and he is already ignoring her and pushing off their events so that’s not a good start. Mortimer really doesn’t have any excuse for being like this either so that hurts him a bit as the main character. I think this plot almost should have been cut out or at least handled in a very different way.

The main plot is of course about how crazy the family is. It’s not every day you see old ladies like Abby and Martha just bumping everyone off like this. They were really on a roll with taking everyone out of the picture. I can’t say that I was a fan of them though. A more reasonable main character would have been able to win the verbal debates a little easier but Mortimer would keep on getting defeated at every turn. If anything Jonathan and Herman did better but that’s due to the fact that they’re total villains of course. Then you have Teddy who is pretty insane the whole time and never really ends up helping the heroes.

The cops show up a few times and I do like the younger one. He seems like a very earnest guy and just wants everyone to read his script. Nothing wrong with that although he does get quite distracted at times so he probably needs to show a little more restraint. Jonathan is certainly an intimidating presence here with the only character who is able to stand up to him being Mortimer. That’s one angle I would have liked to have seen more. Mortimer clearly doesn’t fear him the way the others do but they don’t get a lot of scenes together. Mortimer usually has to dash off to try and frame Teddy or something like that. The closest we get is when Mortimer is trying to blackmail Jonathan with the body in the chest.

Of course Herman is also a fun character. He certainly gets drunk a lot and constantly seems stressed out. He’s just as villainous as Jonathan despite being this timid though which is clear in how he still helps carry out these plans at the end of the day. Surely he would have put a stop to this if he had a moral compass. So there are quite a lot of characters running around here that’s for sure. The film is surprisingly long and that allows it to push all of these plots forward quite a bit.

It’s definitely a pretty fun film. In some respects I felt the writing could have been better but there’s enough funny moments to keep the pacing tight. You won’t get bored or lose focus during the movie, I can definitely say that. Surprisingly the poisoned drinks don’t actually get much of a focus after the first scene. That’s okay with me though because it makes for a solid red herring throughout the film. You just never know when the characters are going to bust it out. The best scene in the film to me is when Mortimer tries explaining to Herman how the main characters of the plays he critiques aren’t very smart at all. Did I mention that he was an art critic? Like I said, there’s a whole lot going on here.

Overall, This is a pretty solid murder parody. It’s definitely been tough for the town with everyone getting bumped off though. It’s a subtle reminder that you can’t just trust anyone even if they appear harmless. As long as you like a good blend of thriller and parody you’ll definitely enjoy this film. There’s a lot to like here and quite a lot going on. The constant suspense of hiding the bodies keeps the film interesting and of course you have to decide who to root for. The only reasonable option here is the cops since everyone else is either a murderer, accessory to murder, or trying to frame someone else for the murders. It’s pretty fortunate for Elaine that she wasn’t in the house or she would have also gotten mixed up in all of this.

Overall 7/10

Le Samouraï Review

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It’s time to look at a French thriller from a while back. The title may be a bit misleading though. I suppose it’s using the Samurai term more figuratively than anything but if Jef thinks of himself as a samurai then he’s quite mistaken. He’s just a common murderer trying to evade the cops long enough for the next job. This film was better than I had expected and gives a pretty satisfying case for you to watch unfold. We know that the main character is guilty so the suspense is in seeing how the cops will be able to arrest this guy.

The movie starts with Jef walking into a club. He nonchalantly walks all the way over to where the boss is and shoots him in front of everyone. He then returns to a Poker game with some of his associates. The cops quickly arrive and take him in as a suspect along with 99 other people. Jef manages to get out of there without being seen as guilty since most of the witnesses were unable to ID him. His bosses don’t like the fact that he was caught at all though and decide to put him down. Meanwhile the Policeman in charge of the investigation is confident that Jef is his man. He wasn’t able to prove it quit yet but he is determined to get the information so he has the Police tail Jef. Jef must now shake the mafia and the cops if he is to get out of this in one piece.

When your main character is actually the villain a film always has to walk a pretty fine line. It shouldn’t bother with trying to make the lead likable as it is far too late for that. The only option left is to have you root for the good guys here to take down the lead. You still need a lot of twists and turns involved here to keep things from being too easy though. It’s definitely interesting seeing this from the villain’s point of view and this movie makes the most of it. The police are given a lot of credit with the various tactics they use to try and catch him. Both sides look intelligent and have a lot of different plans at the ready. The excellent writing is part of what sells this film.

The Police chief instantly became the best character after just a few minutes with his character. He’s very sharp and has a good intuition. He plays things by the book and ultimately doesn’t cross any lines in trying to get his man. He just knows how to run an investigation and cover all of the bases. Tailing someone is pretty difficult, especially someone like Jef who is a professional but the unit here is quite good as well. Throughout the film the chief continues to pour on more and more pressure so that Jef will inevitably make a mistake and then they can slam him with everything they’ve got. Now that’s really high quality Policework.

As for Jef, he’s just your average hitman. He was paid to take someone out and he did. The piano player Valerie questions why he would do it and he even explains that his targets may or may not be good people. It doesn’t matter to him, he just wants the money. Valerie’s character is an interesting one since Jef has some theories on her but the film never goes out of its way to tell us if we should believe him or not. I’m inclined to think that he is right based upon the final mission of the film though. She seems to be a loose end which would support his theory but was definitely an interesting character either way.

Jef plays the situations rather well for the most part although the final scene wasn’t a good play. This is intentional as it seems he wanted to stop causing trouble for someone but after going through all of this that just doesn’t seem like the way to go about things. If anything it puts the heroine in some more trouble since this doesn’t really help her case. Jef’s character is very robotic in how he goes about his business. Even by the end of the film we really don’t know almost anything about his character and that’s good with me. The mystique behind everything going on is part of what makes the Noir genre so much fun.

The heroine Jane is also interesting. She’s definitely very loyal to Jef and that’s part of the tragic element here. It’s always a shame to see a character like that get in with the wrong crowd. That said, it’s not like she’s a good person either. It seems like she is playing the field and turns out to be as much of a crook as Jef. In a way that makes them perfect for each other and cuts the sympathy points down even further for both of them. There’s never any doubt on your side as to who you should be rooting for. So that’s a good thing, the writers knew what they were doing.

it’s also just a very fun movie to watch because you get a good understanding of the police procedures in France. It’s a little different and very methodical. I liked seeing them try different experiments like having the suspects switch clothing and line up. The chief definitely was very thorough in the measures he was using and it’s easy to see why he did so well. I do think the audio bug was a super longshot that was never going to work but I suppose he had to at least give it a try right? It’s not like there was much harm in the attempt since Jef was on guard anyway. There were also quite a lot of agents running around which was fun to see as they tried keeping tabs on him.

Overall, Le Samourai is definitely a solid film. It’s a low key thriller so don’t expect a lot of shots or anything like that. It’s more of a mental thriller as the characters play cat and mouse with each other. The police chief knows Jef is the guilty party but he does need solid evidence in order to convict him. That’s why Jef is able to be quite cocky about the whole thing since the alibi is so air tight. Then we’ve got his revenge trip on the mafia group. Their agent looks pretty naive the whole time so I assume he was new to the force. Otherwise he just looks awful in one scene that occurs. You may chuckle at that moment even if the rest of the film is super serious. The ending is also satisfying which is the right way to cap things off.

Overall 7/10

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Review

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It’s time to look at a comic book movie. It didn’t exactly get the same amount of fanfare as something like Spiderman or Superman, but then again..why would it? This film is based on a comic that isn’t super well known or anything. The poster’s pretty cool though and the concept is interesting. I wonder how many people would have really noticed its arrival though. The whole thing felt rather low key to me. It’s a fun film, one that certainly could have been better but it should hold your interest. It looks like a sequel is doubtful but if we ever do get something more in this series there’s a lot they could do with it.

The movie starts with the government approaching Quartermain and asking for his help. Someone is trying to start a World War by bombing different countries and blaming each other for it. Quartermain doesn’t want to get involved as he’s tired of fighting for the country but a group of gunmen show up and murder his friends so now it’s personal. He heads back to base where they have rounded up a group of the toughest fighters on the planet. This exclusive group is made up of Quartermain, the man who cannot die while in Africa; Captain Nemo, the greatest sailor who ever lived and who has access to boats that should not exist yet; Mina Harker, a vampire who possesses the ability to transform and also has regenerative abilities; Skinner, The legendary Invisible Man; Dorian Grey, A man cursed with complete immortality as long as he doesn’t look at his picture; Dr. Jekyll, A Man who can transform into the beast known as Hyde.

Together this group must team up to stop the villainous group led by Fantom. The tough part will be getting along with everyone as they aren’t exactly used to working as a team. Most of these guys are loners and have done a good job of saving the planet on their own. Why should they want to play second fiddle to someone now? It’s part of what I always love about crossovers. When you crossover characters who are from stand alone adventures it offers a lot of promise for various team dynamics because by nature they shouldn’t want to be on a team. This film doesn’t really go into that much though apart from some opening banter with Quartermain and Nemo. The rest of the group seem to just ignore each other for the most part and focus on the mission. That’s nice and all, but I would have liked some more banter. I think the film could have gone really far with that.

From the lore I’m familiar with most of the characters but not really with Mina Harker. We definitely needed someone from Dracula’s camp to fill in the ranks though so she made sense. Adding in a Mummy would have been nice too but as it is I suppose the team was pretty large. Let’s start with the positives here first. The action scenes are definitely pretty solid. The opening gunfight was pretty good as Quatermain had to deal with several enemies all at once. It’s a simple fight next to most of the others in the movie but did a good job of showcasing his skill with a gun. He’s definitely well ahead of Tom in that regard.

The effects are also pretty nice in general. The film uses a lot of darker environments like something out of Man of Steel or BVS. The solemn atmosphere works pretty well with this group as none of them are known for being particularly cheerful. At most maybe the Invisible Man and even then I wouldn’t say the guy is always laughing or anything like that. Everything is rather grayscale so there’s not much time for vibrant colors but none of the characters really have a moveset like that so the film’s not missing out on a whole lot this time. I also appreciated the city landscape.

One of the weaker parts of the film is Skinner though. Naturally he uses his invisibility to be a little cheap at times and I’m surprised Harker didn’t just rip him to shreds after his whole scene. He allows himself to be manipulated rather easily and vanishes for large parts of the film. Given how he was handled I think the character could have easily been cut out. Realistically he just should have been given a much better role though. As always, I wasn’t a huge fan of the vampire stuff though. The drinking blood scenes are always rather gruesome and not really my thing. The battle of regenerations with Dorian and Harker was also intense but not nearly as interesting as it could have been. I also feel like the last person you should ever turn your back to is someone who keeps on saying that they have the ability to regenerate wounds. You know….it just doesn’t make sense to do that.

At least Quatermain makes for a solid main character though. He’s got experience and seems like the perfect guy to lead this group into the fray. He may be rather normal next to the others but he’s a crack shot which is what counts. The film could have maybe picked people with different abilities though. Quatermain, Harker, and Dorian all have immortality. The only difference is that Quatermain’s only works in Africa, Harker can also transform, and Dorian’s regeneration is close to instant. In a fight Dorian would definitely demolish the other two to be honest. The weakest member of the group is Tom though. He’s an American Agent here to watch over everyone and help to stop the war. He crushes on Harker (Like almost everybody in the film) and that’s really the extent of his character. He was never all that interesting.

Nemo’s a good character. It is interesting to see him as a hero since apparently he was a villain for a while. He certainly doesn’t do anything villainous here though so I guess he has completely turned over the new leaf and is not looking back. Harker’s motivations in this mission seem a little smaller than some of the others to the point where you really have to assume that she is doing this out of the goodness of her heart. If that is true, well that’s definitely really nice of her. I can certainly say that not everyone would do that. That being said, she doesn’t seem super nice like that so it would have been interesting to have given her more of a plot.

I already talked about Skinner so lets move on to Dorian. He’s a pretty interesting character to be sure. He has a history with some of the other characters and never really looks all that concerned compared to the rest of the cast. Why should he be right? Dorian is effectively invincible. Nothing can harm him for very long. He has quite a large role in the film and it’s a pretty pivotal one. Finally, Dr. Jekyll rounds out the group. I’m not typically a fan of his character and this film didn’t really do anything to change that for me. He’s still the same ole scientist as always and his Hyde form is all brute strength. I guess I wouldn’t say he’s that bad, he’s far better than his film appearance at least. Still not my kind of character though.

Fantom is the big villain here and he looks good. He has a big twist at the end that I thought was brilliant and makes him more memorable You have to give the guy credit for always being at the right place at the right time. I was not expecting him to corner the heroes 20 minutes into the film. it feels like they barely leave the base before he’s already there and ready to mock them all. I suppose he expected things to play out a certain way based on scenes later on but otherwise it’s definitely an interesting moment to be sure. The plan is one of those convoluted ones where you feel like he could have done things in a much easier way but I suppose he got greedy and that is definitely a trademark for any villain.

Overall, A lot is definitely going on in this film. It can get pretty convoluted and messy but that will keep you engaged. It’s also a good way to mask the fact that the characters aren’t always very interested. By having everyone run around you can help disguise that. In the end this turned out to be a pretty good film. As I said it could and should have been a whole lot better than it was but I was still satisfied with the end product. At the very least it still delivered on giving us quality action scenes and that good crossover appeal. I like seeing various characters interact with each other and a crossover of iconic public domain characters is a good way to go about it. (At least I’d assume most are public domain at this point and Skinner was a good loophole on the Invisible Man) If you like action films and know these characters from your childhood it should at least be a nostalgic watch.

Overall 7/10

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad Review

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It’s time to look at a classic Sinbad film. Believe it or not but I’ve never really seen a Sinbad movie before. He’s one of those classic characters that I certainly know about but that’s about it. The guy’s effectively been a mystery to me. I’m also not typically a big fan of pirate films because I’m not a huge fan of the water. You typically can’t have great fight scenes there and while the ocean might look nice, it can get old. Fortunately this film is actually quite good though. I’d definitely say that it will keep your interest pretty well and has aged very well.

The film starts with Sinbad deciding to rest a bit on an island. His crew has been on a long voyage to get the princess Parisa back to the kingdom where she and Sinbad will be married. Their visit to the island is a short one as it turns out a Cyclops lives there. A magician known as Sokurah joins the crew but insists that they go back to the island because he clumsily dropped his magic lamp. How do you drop a lamp that is pretty much all powerful? The lamp has some limits like the fact that is can’t directly attack but its use is still only limited by your imagination. Sinbad says it would be foolish to go back to Sokurah has to think of a plan. His plan is to shrink Parisa down to the size of an apple. Sinbad must now go back to the island to reclaim the Lamp which will allow Sokurah to turn her back to normal. Can Sinbad really stop the Cyclops?

Pretty fun plot but I give Sinbad too much credit in it. Put it this way, Sinbad actually doesn’t realize that Sokurah shrunk her down. He seems to think it was some kind of crazy coincidence even though Sokurah was about as obvious as he could be. Seriously, it seems like he would have had to draw a huge sign or something given how slow on the uptake everyone is. This guy pits the two kingdoms against each other with ease. Part of the issue is that Parisa’s father is quite gullible indeed and thinks Sinbad’s kingdom is to blame. I get the kingdom rivalries and all but this was just too obvious.

I guess you had to get Sinbad back to the island somehow though. His portrayal here is a bit different than what I was expecting but not in a bad way. He’s actually not the kind of guy to take on any risk. He chooses his battles and that’s worth noting. It’s why he initially says that going back to the island is crazy. It’s not so much that he’s afraid of the Cyclops but why fight a battle that you don’t need too? There is wisdom in what he says.

I liked Sinbad. He’s a pretty good guy and a solid fighter. His best scene is probably when he has to take on the whole crew once they start a mutiny. I was expecting a few people to turn on him but just about everyone? That was intense and a great fight scene for sure. Sinbad had a few allies but they never really got much of a role so it’s hard to tell if that was a homage to his original crew or just some loyal fellows.

Parisa is also pretty solid. I did appreciate the fact that she tried helping despite her size. She was good with helping unlock the heroes while they were in the cage and any contribution is a good one if you ask me. She was much better than the two kings. Her maid was also pretty unreasonable so Parisa comes across as the voice of reason here. I’m not sure what they would do without her.

As for the villain Sokurah, it’s hard not to like that guy. He’s so obviously evil the whole time. You half expect him to start cackling at any given moment. Yet, his powers are very real. If he can do all of these things like altering someone’s shape and shrinking others, I feel like he could have taken down the Cyclops a lot easier than he did. Maybe he has a size limit but even so if he had hyped up his magical powers sooner the kingdoms may have actually helped him. Kingdoms love raw power so they would very quickly have him as an ally.
Finally we have Barani but he didn’t work so well as a Genie. I didn’t like the fact that he would always say that he would try to grant a wish. Don’t try….you’re a genie!! He should be able to just do it and in the end he always does so I question why it was so difficult. Barani is just underestimating himself at this point.

Ultimately a big reason as to why the film was so good is because the writing is on point and the pacing is solid. The script is quite solid and gets us a lot of good banter with all of the characters. As I mentioned, it’s also just aged really well in general. Sinbad has a lot of good fights like with the Skeleton or the crew. It’s all ahead of its time in that respect. It’s also a pretty surreal film like when the Ogre first shows up. It can be a bit sudden and unexpected if you aren’t familiar with Sinbad because of how realistic it all appeared to be at first. We even get a monster fight near the end which I was definitely not expecting.

Overall, I dare say that this is the definitive version of Sinbad. I haven’t seen any other Sinbad films so this might feel a little early to say but it’s just that good. It hits all the right beats of what a Sinbad film should contain. How can you go wrong right? The film is also over in a flash. It doesn’t drag on at all and its fairly close to getting an 8. There are some films like this where I’m tempted to give an 8 but I guess it would need a bit of an extra push. Still, there’s nothing wrong with being a 7 because that just means you were very fun. This title has a lot of replay value and I would recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10

Lethal Weapon 3 Review

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This review is of the edited 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 to follow the pair of cops on another adventure. Lethal Weapon 3 has a little more fun with the premise compared to last time as we see them foil a few quick crimes in addition to the main plot. Due to this I consider it to be an improvement over the second film although I ultimately still wouldn’t put it over the first film. It’s a fun way to end off the trilogy so to speak even if we did get a fourth film after this one. The series has managed to be pretty consistently good so far.

The movie starts off with Martin and Roger getting themselves involved in stopping yet another criminal plot. They end up being a little out of their depth when trying to defuse the bomb though. Blowing up a building was the last straw though so they have been demoted from their positions. Martin and Roger keep getting involved with a lot of different crimes like people trying to steal money, running around with guns, etc. The cops are going to need the heroes back in the action pretty quick because an ex cop known as Jack has shown up and is abusing his power. He ventured undercover into the prison and even murdered a witness. If Martin and Roger don’t stop him soon, Jack will have finished enacting his plan and made millions of dollars.

Right away you can tell that this film is a lot busier than the last one and that’s a very good thing. There’s always something happening with a lot of ongoing plots at once. That’s always a good thing to do in a thriller kind of film because it helps keep you glued to what’s going on. When you keep changing the location and the case then you have to do your best to keep up. We actually see Martin and Roger doing a lot of patrolling in this film which is good because that is one of their main tasks. I also feel like the film was having a little fun with this. The characters can’t even sit down to have a burger without someone getting murdered or trying to evade arrest.

We get a new character named Lorna who is pretty fun although regrettably the film could not resist going for the romance angle right away. It’s handled pretty terribly like in the last film. Lorna and Martin don’t get along at all in the beginning and then suddenly they hit it off later on. There’s no real reason for this and it all just happens way too quickly. Even if you know it’s coming it doesn’t make the plot any better. Still, as a character Lorna is still good though. She’s always ready to put the main characters back in their place and she can actually fight pretty well which is always a thumbs up in my book. Lorna can hold her own and has apparently cracked a lot of cases back in her day.

Martin is still a solid main character as always. He jumps into action at every turn and never lets a villain get away. He’s much more intense about his job than any of the other characters. Roger may get fed up about how many risks Martin takes but at the end of the day it’s what makes Riggs so effective. He holds his own story pretty well. Meanwhile it’s a fun film for Roger as well. The dynamic of him trying to play it a bit safe now is enjoyable and since he’s so close to retirement it makes sense as well. Nobody wants to be taking huge chances when they’re so close to being out the door right?

Leo also returns here and does his best to help the characters out. He’s even helping Roger sell his house which is pretty nice of him. The guy has come a long way from being a big drug dealer. The rest of the cast is pretty self contained. You’ll recognize some supporting characters like the captain of the police or the psychiatrist that Martin doesn’t take seriously. They all help to make the police base pretty inviting and it’s easy to see how everyone gets along so well with the banter. The place is pretty informal so everyone can just relax and have a good time.

The writing here is solid and the pacing is definitely good. As mentioned, something is always happening here which is part of why the film manages to be so good. I think it was quite a solid way to kick off the first 3 films while leading us up to the final one. The action scenes here are good and the movie manages to balance out the buddy cop dynamic while still being an intense thriller. Jack may not be a particularly memorable villain but he was reasonable enough. I think I would have liked to have actually seen him fight a bit more though. That would have made him more memorable.

Overall, Lethal Weapon 3 gets real close to topping the original film. It didn’t quite do it but operates at the same level. I was glad to see Martin get another dog here. Now he has two and they seem to get along quite well. It also shows that he has pretty solid morals since he wouldn’t attack the first dog even when the villains owned him. If you want to watch an action film that also has a lot of fun then this is definitely the title for you. There’s really not much to say against it as this film hits the right notes and doesn’t drag on. We’ll see if the next film continues the trend and ends things on a high note.

Overall 7/10