Category Archives: 7 Star Movies

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Review

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Now we are on to the third Indiana Jones film. This time even his father gets in on the action. It’s definitely a considerable step up from the last film although I would give the first one the edge. The father gets some fun moments here and there but as a whole I do think he tends to take away from Indiana’s moments instead of bolstering them. If you’re up for another big adventure then you’ve come to the right place.

The film sets the stage early on with the goofiest intro scene as a young Indiana tries to outsmart a bunch of crooks but is naturally defeated. In part because his father doesn’t try to help at all. Well, in the present Indiana gets his revenge but when he gets home, he is told by his friend that his father has vanished. The last thing he did was send Indiana his diary which was focused on his quest for the Holy Grail. He must have been on to something which is why he has disappeared so suddenly. Indiana is on the trail now but can he find him? Additionally, will he be able to keep things professional with Dr. Elsa? Yeah…I didn’t think so either.

Indiana isn’t able to stay professional for 5 seconds as he immediately starts to flirt with her. If she was an enemy operative trying to seduce him it could not be any easier as he falls for her immediately. His dad’s in a real bind so you’d think that would make Indiana focus but here is no such luck. The romance here is quite bad once again. It’s played for laughs a bit as they both try to talk tough about how they’re not easy but even they don’t take that seriously. It also makes Indiana look really gullible like in one scene where he is given a heads up but all he can think about is Elsa. Not his best moment at all.

Fact of the matter is, Indiana is completely over his head. Before the mission he is told to trust nobody and yet he ends up showing Elsa the secret diary rather quickly. He also buys some rather terrible excuses. Yeah it’s no wonder why he is always being defeated in every film. This one may be his worst appearance overall but it’s close since he is constantly devastated in every film. The villains just keep their eye on the ball longer than he does which gives them a real advantage.

Meanwhile there is a little drama with Indiana and his father but there’s just not enough time within the film to really get started on that. It feels like a subplot you didn’t really need since it barely goes anywhere. Henry (The father) doesn’t change at all from the beginning of the film to the end. He still calls Indiana “Junior” to annoy him and ends up being more of a liability. He is just a really weak character the whole way through and unfortunately he also has Indiana’s weaknesses. That doesn’t put him in a good situation at all. With more self control maybe he could have solved the mystery already.

Indiana’s partner Marcus is unfortunately also at his worst here. He is even more oblivious than usual and has no idea what he is doing. I initially thought this would be his time to step up but it wasn’t to be. The guy is just not equipped for battle and doesn’t even know when it has begun. Forget calling him an asset to Jones, the guy is basically just a distraction at best. I liked him more in the previous films where he stayed home.

As for Elsa, well there’s not much to like about her. She’s very wishy washy the whole time and really doesn’t see the big picture. Elsa doesn’t stay logical during the case and lets her emotions run away with her. Not a smart move for someone with a big plan like this. I would also hit Indiana with the same complaint since he starts to make a crazy rookie move near the end which makes no sense with how he had just been acting a second prior. It’s like he forgot everything that had just happened a minute prior.

While the characters tend to all be really annoying, this was definitely a good return to form on the adventure front. You finally had a clear goal with different steps needed at every corner in order to get closer to it. This feels more like what you would expect from an Indiana Jones film. Additionally the film had good humor with funny jokes sprinkled in. It matched the first film more in that regard. Generally it is more light hearted than the first film without a doubt but without going too far. This is still a serious adventure after all and the writing is good either way.

We also got to see more of Professor Jones which is always fun. The guy is definitely a really well respected teacher so you can imagine how much everyone misses him when he’s gone. You get the feeling that the school probably wouldn’t put up with all of his absences otherwise. Although I guess we can assume that off screen he wins enough to have a very solid reputation as an explorer who gets priceless artifacts to the museum so I may be selling him a bit short here. Either way I’m still waiting for a film to dig into the human identity a bit more although this had the most screen time by far so I can accept that. Jones almost seems to have a completely different personality while at school as he’s a lot harder and more sarcastic about the legends. It would be nice if he always had that attitude during the film.

Overall, This was a fun movie. It’s a good adventure that goes by quickly while covering a lot of ground. I think there was some potential with the father son dynamic but the film didn’t really make full use of it at all. To a degree I dare say that you didn’t even need the father there. It’s not like he contributed a whole lot to the story anyway. The movie should have gone into the drama a bit more and tie in a satisfying conclusion. Ah well, the movie succeeds on the other fronts with the writing and humor. I appreciate how they made this one more light hearted. If you haven’t seen it yet then you definitely ought to.

Overall 7/10

Raiders of the Lost Ark Review

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It’s time for the original Indiana Jones adventure. It’s definitely been quite a while since I’ve seen this movie. Did it age well or has the film absolutely been devastated by the cruel march of time? Well, I can safely say that the film is pretty solid. It’s actually a fun adventure that may drag on just a tad but there is a lot going on. We get a good amount of fight scenes and chases throughout. I’d actually like to see more of Professor Jones in his day job since I like the idea of an alter ego like a superhero. I mean he doesn’t keep it a secret…but you know what I mean.

The film starts off with Indiana Jones on a big mission but he ends up getting double crossed by his travel guide and then being wrecked by his rival Rene. Rene has historically always gotten the better of Jones and this adventure is no exception. Rene just has too many tools up his arsenal. He’s smart, rich, and always one step ahead of the adventurer. Jones crawls back home where he is then sent on another mission to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazi’s. The problem is that the Nazi’s have hired Rene and Jones has never beaten him before. He will need the help of his old friend Rene but she has not forgiven him for the dubious relationship of the past. Can Jones turn on the charm and win her over?

I would say the main adventure gets even worse for Jones because he has a clear step up over Rene since he knows where the key is which will help in getting to it. Unfortunately Jones forgets that Rene always likes to skip the adventure and just steal things at the end. Get ready to see Jones lose a whole lot of fights over and over again but he refuses to give up. Jones is no quitter, he will keep on fighting to the last. It’s why he is a professional. In a way it’s almost impressive how much plot armor the guy has because he should have died many times.

The worst instance is probably when he grabs a rocket and tries to hold everyone hostage. Rene calls his bluff and Jones surrendered. Look, you can’t surrender at this point. There’s no reason why Rene wouldn’t just shoot him there or be overruled by the Nazi’s where Jones would still be shot. You have to just go down with everybody at this point. Every time a hero decides to just throw in the towel I have to shake my head because that’s just a really bad idea. Jones makes a lot of questionable decisions though like leaving Marion in enemy camp where she might be tortured and beaten by the enemies because he doesn’t want them to know that he’s around.

Jones is a guy who really puts the mission first and the film makes that clear. He’s not here to make friends or anything like that. No, he’s here to do what he has to and live the adventurous life. For that reason the romance definitely doesn’t work at all here because there is no way Marion would forgive Jones, let alone get together with him. He showed how little he cared about her throughout the film. Honestly she should have just back stabbed him and ran away. It’s not like she is a great character either. She makes a lot of mistakes and can be annoying but she seems to have had a rather rough upbringing and was in a terrible situation so you can empathize there.

You certainly sympathize more with her than with Indiana Jones. Make no mistake, Jones is a fun character to watch. The film wouldn’t be the same without him but that’s definitely different than being a quality character. Meanwhile the rival Rene was good until the film inevitably made him girl crazy. It’s always a cheap way to suddenly make the villain look weak and give the hero a chance. Why make him so gullible? He was basically willing to throw everything away for a quick fling and that doesn’t make sense from a man who was so determined and strategic.

If he wants romance then he can find that on his downtime. The guy is rich so that should be easy. No, instead he messes around during a mission. Ah well, I’d like to see more of him and his rivalry with Jones in some prequels. There’s probably a whole lot you can do there, maybe even the reluctant team up. Now that would definitely be a fun way to go about things.

Naturally the film does well on the technical aspects. It looks good and the soundtrack is fun. The Jones theme itself has always been well known and it’s fun. Definitely has that heroic feel to it. Meanwhile the backgrounds look good and the fights are on point. They incorporate some nice humor into them as well like when Jones just shoots someone instead of trying to outfight them. The blend of action and humor works really well and that comes down to the writing which is really sharp. The script is good with all of the characters and helps to support the rest of the film.

At times the film can be surprisingly violent with how the characters die. The spinning airplane death and the trap near the beginning of the film definitely come to mind. This is definitely a movie where they aren’t afraid to really have characters bite the big one. It also underscores how Jones nearly dies on several occasions only to get bailed out. Can you believe he was ready to eat some fruit while in a dangerous territory? Yeah you definitely have to wonder how he survived this long. The film does keep things from being too extreme though which is good. It has a better balance than the next film does.

Overall, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a pretty good film. It has a whole lot going on and the fun script makes it go pretty fast. As I said it can feel a bit long at times, I would say particularly the part in the desert but not enough to really hurt the film or anything like that. It is also a long film in general so to an extent this may have been unavoidable. If you haven’t seen the film yet then it is a good time to check it out. The movie is known as a classic after all and you can see why that is the case.

Overall 7/10

Bicycle Thieves Review

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It’s time for a film that was fairly short but also a good deal of fun. It’s what I would call a very subdued film but one that still gets the plot across. At the end of the day, a bike is stolen and while for most of the characters this isn’t a big deal, it’s definitely huge to the main character. You can feel the drama and ultimately the film shows how he gets more and more desperate to the point of his undoing.

The movie starts by introducing us to Antonio who is having a hard time providing for his wife and kid because there are no jobs available. You have the ultra rich and then most of the people in town who are super poor. There isn’t really much of a balance to be found here at all. Well, he finally gets a job but it is contingent on getting a bike. Antonio sells the last of his earthly possessions in order to get a bike but then it is promptly stolen one day while he is on the job. Can he get the bike back or is it curtains for him?

Right away Antonio sees how he won’t have backup on this mission. The cops basically give up immediately as they say it just won’t be possible to track down the bike. By this point it has likely been disassembled or is just out of their reach. Still, if Antonio can find the bike, they will keep the serial number on file so that he can make a claim to it. It’s a huge city though and everyone has a bike. There are hundreds on the streets and in the markets so this is really like finding a needle in a haystack. It will not be easy to complete this mission.

Finding the individual thief might be easier but even then how do you get the proof that he is guilty? A lot of the crooks all stick up for themselves too so he will really be in enemy territory here. Due to the nature of the job (Putting up posters) it will also be tough to constantly be guarding the bike even if Antonio gets it back. It may just get stolen again. Faced with all of this, Antonio also starts considering going down the dark path and just getting a bike of his own.

It’s a film about being pushed into a tough spot and seeing how you will react. Some will go off the deep end and just sink to the same level while others will push through. It’s easy to determine what to do from the couch but of course in that situation it could be a whole lot different. Either way the film is written well and has quick pacing. The movie is really over in the blink of an eye.

I can use this one as a good example of how quality writing can get you far. Objectively speaking it’s not like this film has a huge story or anything like that. It’s a very small and direct one. What really sets it apart is that the film establishes the situation well so you can sympathize with Antonio right away. It’s not like he’s an amazing character or anything but he’s just a guy trying to get through the day. He’s persistent and uses every connection available. There are just limits to what one person can do, especially on such a timer. Additionally it seems like the crime rates were rather high here which makes it all the more unlikely that he would find the bike because it’s just not a great neighborhood to be in.

There is also a character who is supposed to be all knowing and at first he writes her off as a scam but begins to think better of it later on. It’s one of those things where he just got really desperate but his first hunch was correct. If anything he just ends up wasting money along the way like with that scam or buying a bunch of food in a burst of frustration. The problem only gets worse the more that he tries to pursue it. It’s why theft is such a stressful crime. Odds are that when someone takes something from you, you’re never going to find it again.

It’s also a reminder of how tight money can be at times. When you’re going through a slump and have to cut back on meals and food, you remember how much worse it could really be. These people were really just trying to survive and doing so without the knowledge of a steady job to back you up is really something. I’ll also give Antonio’s kid some props for doing his best to help out. He was a good sport as they kept running around everywhere. He did make some mistakes and at times could be a bit slow on the ball but for his age he did better than most would.

Antonio’s wife seemed more the panicky type and wasting money on a seer seemed like a really bad idea considering how they were doing financially. It’s like if you’re down to your final $5 but you still want to go to the bar and get a quick drink. It’s just not a good idea at all and will only make the situation that much worse. I suppose she really thought that the lady had all the answers and could help but yeah it was not a good idea.

Overall, You definitely couldn’t call this a happy film but it also isn’t downright depressing or anything. I would say it’s a sad film and one that ends right before things are about to get even sadder for the characters. It was a good look for the city but definitely in an annoying kind of way. It’s a satisfying watch and while I don’t think there will be much in the way of replay value here, I would definitely recommend checking it out. I can see why people enjoy watching this film.

Overall 7/10

The Man From Utah Review

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It’s time for a film where John Wayne plays a character named…John? Yeah you already know this is going to be a good one. It’s a very old film since it’s from the 30s but it still does have a full soundtrack and everything so that was nice. The film does feel its age but it still holds up as a solid experience. It is incredibly short though so things have to move quickly but in a way that may be a good thing. I think the novelty could have worn off if this was too long.

The film starts off with John singing and having a good ole time as he dashes through the wild west. This is clearly a man on a mission but then he bumps into a bunch of bank robbers. He holds his own against them but they run off and John nearly gets framed for being one of them. Fortunately, John gets away but the Marshall catches up to him and enlists the guy’s help. See there is going to be a big contest in a few days and these crooks have been cheating to win a bunch of them. If John enters, they will try taking him down as well and then the Marshall will have caught them in the act. John agrees to help.

Now I do have to admit that the whole thing does make the previous heroes look sloppy since they didn’t notice the villains fiddling with the equipment all the time. These guys don’t exactly seem like top professionals or anything like that after all. They’re also not the smartest crooks in the bunch as they desert the girl member of the group right before the heist. Seems like an easy way to get yourself double crossed right? They should have brought her along or made up some lie on why she would be joining them later on. Just straight up ditching her is absolutely the worst decision you could make there. It makes them look real bad there.

Granted they still put up a fight at the end and overwhelm the bank worker. It would have been nice if they could have been stopped a bit sooner but at the end of the day the heroes still took care of business. John could have been one of the ultimate sheriffs but instead he decided to go for the romantic life. This won’t surprise you but the romance here is very rushed. When a film is only around an hour or so that is very likely though.

The actual competition is okay but all of them involve animals which is not a pastime I can really support. Having to tie up bulls or stay on horses that don’t want you there just feels mean spirited. If the animal is not having fun then I’m not either. I can appreciate that it is difficult to pull off these challenges and yet I feel like it just should not be a thing. I would have had more fun with it being able lassoing different objects or something like that.

This is the main chunk of the film though as it builds up to the villains getting ready to cheat. The Marshall was a fun character for his limited screentime though. You actually feel bad for him and the town when John says that he just wants to settle down now. He was the best shooter that they had and so it was crazy to lose a mega asset like that. No sirrrrrrr, but I imagine off screen he would probably get back into the action at some point. The Wild West has a way of dealing you back into the fold.

Interestingly the film seemed to have a hard time having music on during any dialogue scenes. So when the characters are running with the horses it can get eerily quiet and that’s how you know they’re about to start talking. Then you have some chase scenes where some fun music plays so you know there won’t be dialogue for a while. I’m guessing there is probably some kind of really old technical reason for why this is the case. Maybe you could not mix the different audio tracks together at once or something like that. It makes for a pretty interesting gimmick though.

Again it comes down to that novelty factor. It was fun while watching this movie but I probably would not want it to be a regular thing. The shooting and everything was fun enough though. The film had good action and a fun story. It almost goes without saying that the writing and the script were good as well. These old films rarely ever missed on that angle. I would say the movie did as much as it could within the runtime.

Overall, The Man From Utah is sort of like an abridged wild west film. It goes by really quickly and its got all of the usual elements you would expect to see from a Wild West but doesn’t take too long with them. It basically has to jump from story beat to story beat with impressive speed. As a result it is easy to keep your attention though and I did enjoy John as the main character. Most of the others don’t get a whole lot of screentime though. If you’re looking for a retro film then this one is as good as any to check out. Sometimes you just want to watch a peaceful film like this where there is a little danger but you know you’re on your way to a happy ending.

Overall 7/10

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Review

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The original Pelham film was definitely a solid one and I had pretty good hopes for the remake as well. The story has a strong foundation after all so I don’t see any reason why the remake would be any different. You’ll be pretty engaged the whole time with what’s going on and while the original would still take the win, this one can definitely hold its own. The film has to succeed in spite of the technical aspects that threaten to hold it back though.

The film starts with Ryder and a bunch of other terrorists running into a train and taking it over. These guys are professionals and trap it in the middle of a tunnel. It will be difficult for anybody to get in there and do much of anything now. Their demands are simple, they want 10 million dollars and they want it in 1 hour. The MTA employee who gets the call is Garber and so you can say that he’s really drawn the short straw here. He’s been dealing with a lot himself as he was demoted after being accused of taking a bribe. Garber declares that he is innocent but the investigation is still ongoing. If anybody dies during this event, it won’t exactly help his case.

There is a lot of tension the whole time since the majority of the film is really about the conversation happening over the phone. Garber is trying to prevent anyone from dying but of course he ultimately doesn’t have much control over that. He is dealing with somebody who is absolutely crazy and so you can never tell exactly how such an encounter will go. There is a professional hostage guy here to help out but even for him this is ultimately a bunch of guesses based on prior experience. The same tactics don’t always work.

Over the course of the film the villain begins to feel a connection with Garber as two men who were betrayed by the system although he never actually gets through to Garber to see it that way. Garber won’t let himself be pulled into the lies and the only time I would say he really faltered was when he allowed Ryder to dictate the terms and make him confess to a crime. I was originally thinking Garber would just fake it in order to appease the guy but I guess in the end he just wasn’t very innocent here. That part was too bad since it would have been nice if he actually did have everything together and didn’t make such a big mistake. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes of course but it would have been a good way for Garber to break away from the narrative that he was similar to Ryder in any way.

Regardless since it’s under duress I assume the confession couldn’t be used for much. Garber definitely takes a lot of real chances during the negotiations and of course it is a lot easier to backseat drive than to be in the situation. Ultimately I think you can never go anywhere with terrorists and you have to try going out fighting. Take out the gun and at least nail one or two of them. Inside of the train, one guy ultimately can’t think of a plan and just tells the villains to shoot him. They oblige and it was nice that he took the bullet for another passenger but if you’re going to die anyway, I say you should at least make a play for the gun.

Your odds are slim but at least they’re not 0 like when you give up. The instant you give up is when it is all actually over. You have to prolong that period for as long as you can. I would also bring up the numbers advantage but realistically you can’t count on any of the passengers. Odds are that they will fold or back out when the going gets tough. So if you make a move, it’s with the understanding that you really could die there. Not an easy thing to have to contend with.

As for the villain himself, Ryder was definitely real unhinged. The guy was smart enough to have a big plan and everything but it was definitely clear that he wasn’t afraid to die either. He was taking a big swing and absolutely did not want to live through any outcome other than victory. So he really made sure that winning or dying were his only two options. Most of his speeches ultimately come down to the crazed ramblings of your average villain but they’re still entertaining enough. The film did a good job of showing just how unhinged the terrorists can be.

The Mayor also has a fun role here. He’s definitely not the nicest guy but he has quite a bit of backbone in this version and can back up his tough talk. The guy has a lot of unhappy constituents but he does try to help in the end. Additionally I appreciated that he had Garber’s back in the end. It seems like otherwise everyone was going to railroad him even after helping out during the adventure which would have been annoying considering just how many risks he took by this point. It would have been such a bad look for everyone.

I will say that part of the ending was a bit contrived though. The film really wanted to finish off on a personal note but it relies on plot armor with the cops not making any kind of move. Realistically I would have expected either Garber or both him and the villain to have been shot. It’s rare to see the cops just standing around while actual gunfire goes out. I get the overall message but they could have implemented it better.

The only particularly weak part of the film is the soundtrack and directing though. The opening song is so bad that you’re just rolling your eyes the whole time. Then for the directing, there is way too much slow mo to the point where you think your TV is starting to lag. Then you have the zoom ins when people talk as if this is a comedy show. The film is doing a whole lot but none of it really services the film. I would have removed all the freeze frames, all the slow mo, and definitely had less camera shaking during the event. These things just felt like elaborate distractions and they did not pay off.

Overall, This was a pretty fun movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time and the writing was really solid. In the ending I would have liked Garber to have gone home with a whole gallon of milk but you can’t have everything. It takes a very different approach from the original film in different ways and that does help to keep things fresh. It means that you have a good reason to watch both versions of the film since they won’t be ultra similar to each other. As long as they can keep it fresh, I’ll welcome more versions of the story.

Overall 7/10

McQ Review

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It’s time for one of those thrillers that doesn’t always make a ton of sense and people act out of character for no real reason but at the end of the day we accept this for the plot. I wouldn’t put it in the same conversation as any of the truly great thrillers but at the end of the day it’s not bad. It will keep you entertained on just how over the top it can be the whole time. McQ definitely does whatever he feels like.

The movie starts off with a cop looking corrupt and there are some shootings and handling of mysterious packages. Shortly afterwards the final cop is murdered and then we’re introduced to McQ. McQ is one of the most intense detectives out there but as a result he doesn’t play well with others. He’s an absolute solo act and I can tell you this right off the bat, you don’t want to get in his way. His partner was one of the guys who got bumped off so he wants to quickly find out what happened. He will have to get through a whole conspiracy though.

Whether you like the film or not will probably depend in large part on how much you like McQ. The guy always has a bit of an odd look on his face although I would describe it as he looks like he’s going to cry as opposed to it being a tough guy look. It’s pretty true to form with how often he gets rocked in the movie though. He walks into every possible trap and is on the back foot almost the whole time. I think he’s meant to be portrayed as an absolute powerhouse but it just didn’t come across that way for me. He had me shaking his head when he walked in on the villains and they made him drop the gun. Which time? Oh that’s tough since it happens more than once…

I do appreciate that he just beats up the villains whenever he wants but of course that makes it easy for him to be demoted as well. Then once he’s off the cops it is even harder to gather evidence…or is it? He basically has free reign to all of the police facilities and equipment anyway since nobody seems to care that he quit. He’s pals with everybody so they just laugh and give him experimental new guns. In some ways I might even say that this is super realistic but still I think it was maybe played up just a litttttttle bit more than I would think it should.

It’s at the point where they may as well have had him working for the cops the whole time because it didn’t actually impact the plot pretty much at all. He’s basically still a cop the whole time although where things get crazy is near the end as the cops are hunting him with the dog and are definitely going to injure him badly before he escapes. Makes the ending a little more interesting hehe. Again this is not a film that you are really watching for the logic so you don’t want to pay too much attention to any of that. Just remind yourself that this is just how things go when McQ is on the case.

I think the real low point for him is when he goes to get intel from one of the girls who has been on the scene for a while. You might be expecting a James Bond type moment where he woos her into revealing the info and that would be a bad enough scene but it actually gets worse for him. She basically says that she won’t say anything unless he has a one night stand with her and the guy has no rebuttal so he just goes ahead and does it. The guy has absolutely no main character energy to be letting himself get pulled into something like that. It’s such a sad scene for him and he needed to find another way. I mean it’s not like he has too many morals since he brought her some drugs to bribe her but I was still expecting a little better.

Yeah McQ is pretty shady. At least he is a good shot like when he takes someone down at the beginning of the film from a long distance. The film just can’t decide if he’s this ultra powerful vigilante or someone who is completely out of his depth. I’m inclined to pick the latter. Meanwhile his supervisor is absolutely unhinged the whole time. He tries to say that he is McQ’s friend but the actions would have you believing otherwise. He is constantly yelling and doing his best to destroy McQ while also yelling “I told you so”s throughout the movie.

In the climax we have a pretty interesting shootout but McQ forgets that he has the mega cluster gun for part of this battle. He should have used that as the cars were driving in and it would have easily murdered the driver both times. Instead he plays it safe so the climax takes a bit longer. In true thriller style we get a whole bunch of twists near the end. One of them feels like it was spoiled during the intro scene tbh but the characters don’t act like it’s a big shock anyway so maybe that’s the point.

All in all, the story itself is interesting but I dare say that the film’s leaps in logic are even more interesting. Yes, you want to see what’s going to happen but you’re more curious about what McQ is going to do next. Is he going to buy a gun while he is forbidden from owning one by the cops? Will he try playing vigilante as he chases a laundry truck down the street only to pick the wrong one? Will he even go as far as to beat someone up in the bathroom? McQ is always one step ahead of the movie audience and in a way that’s admirable. I feel like the film is 2 degrees short of going into comedy mode at times with how seriously the film portrays itself as.

Overall, I had a good amount of fun with the film. I feel like it’s not always in the way that the film had planned but hey it works for me. The film balances the seriousness of the case with a good amount of light hearted moments as well. The over the top cheesy ending is really the cherry on top here. I would recommend checking this movie out. It’s not great but as a random stand alone film it actually manages to be rather memorable. Whether you keep up with the film or not, you will certainly be entertained. Just try to make it past the unbearable romance scenes which do drag quite a bit.

Overall 7/10

Hoosiers Review

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It’s time for one of those emotional sport titles. Hoosiers does a good job of including a lot of the actual sports action. Sometimes these films focus more on the off the field drama but deep down we are here for the sports so it makes sense to really show that off. This movie is pretty well done all around with the only real weakness being the romance. That part definitely didn’t seem to be needed and was a bit on the rushed side but that’s how it goes sometimes.

The movie starts with a guy named Norman walking into a small town. He is here to coach the Basketball team and everyone is a bit wary of the guy. They don’t take kindly to new faces and this team has been pretty bad for a long time. It’s going to be hard to change everyone’s minds unless Norman can pull together a really big win streak. It’ll be tough though since the team’s best player Jimmy doesn’t play Basketball anymore and a fellow teacher Myra in insistent about leaving him alone. Can Norman defy the odds?

Okay so the town does look pretty bad here with how they are totally against Norman the whole time. It’s not like their team was already amazing or something. In the films where you have a new coach coming in to a championship then it’s a bit more understandable. In this case it’s not like they could get much worse so why give him such a hard time? Additionally they didn’t even have much of a plan so it would have just resulted in more losses. You half want Norman to just walk out of there since the town was being so resistant.

Props to Norman for sticking it out though. He’s not a perfect coach or anything either. The guy is stubborn to a fault and wants to make the team respect him even if it means losing a few games. And he’s not bluffing about that last part either so even when the team is losing because of his strategies, he will have them press on. At one point this even means fielding an incomplete team. If you let someone get away with breaking the rules then everyone will, so he had to make some really tough choices there.

As for the romance, well Myra can’t stand Norman initially. Right from the start she attacks him for his age and then never lets up for the rest of the movie. Due in part to that and how much older he looked than her, I was expecting a father type relationship here. She would gradually respect him and then things would work out from there. Instead that didn’t even come close to being the case and the inevitable romantic ending just didn’t make sense here. The tone shift happens way too quickly for it to be believable so this would have been better in a trilogy or something like that.

Meanwhile for Myra, I appreciate her looking out for Jimmy but it does feel like she starts several fights for no reason. She basically went in assuming that Norman would be a bad guy and never even let the guy try to make a case for himself. It’s good that she ended up changing her tune later on but it does make her appear unreasonable right from the jump. As for Jimmy, he was a good character all the way through. He made his own choices throughout the film and came in clutch when it counted.

One character who did not step up quick enough was Shooter. He starts out as being an unreliable drunk and even as he improves, he also relapses at one point. It was definitely a disappointing outcome for him since I was hoping that he would really improve. You can’t relapse on the main stage and embarrass everybody. It’s true that Norman threw him into too big of a situation right away but at the same time, he still should have been able to come out on top there. Particularly with the stakes being as high as they were.

The film is at its best when it is focused on the sports and less on the drama though. I enjoyed seeing the characters play ball as we see the various teams go at it. The practice drills were also solid and Norman’s experience definitely came through. While his on the field skills may have been lacking at times like with how easily he would be thrown out of the game but the team was definitely in way better shape than they were before he started.

It’s hard to say how good Norman was as a general teacher because surprisingly they didn’t really show that at all. It is mentioned how he has to teach two subjects as part of the contract but I guess that wasn’t seen as a big deal to the core story. It could have been an interesting subplot but it was not needed so I’m cool with it being left to the side. I imagine that any further plots could end up getting in the way of the sport itself and that would not be a good bargain. At the end of the day the Basketball has to be enough to really win the day.

Overall, Hoosiers is a pretty inspirational story about how anyone can rise to the top with a good work ethic. It can be a bit cheesy about how they start wrecking everybody and the next best team is naturally playing dirty. It would make sense to have the other best team just also be a well oiled machine with talented players but you get the message they are going for. If you enjoy Basketball or just like a good story then you will probably enjoy this movie. It’s well executed and while the story itself may be pretty straight forward, you don’t really mind that since it keeps you entertained.

Overall 7/10

Over the Top Review

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It’s time for a film that actually gives a whole lot of screentime to an arm wrestling tournament. It’s definitely a pretty unique spin on things because there really aren’t very many films about that at all. I’ve never been interested in the sport myself. It looks way too painful and so many things can go wrong. Still, I know people tend to enjoy it and the film does a good job of presenting it as something exciting. In the end it’s a fun movie even with a really annoying kid.

The film starts off by introducing us to Hawk who is a young kid that has been doing well for himself in a private military school. He is shocked and dismayed when his father comes in to pick him up. Lincoln has been out of the picture for 10 years so this is all sudden but his mother really wants them to find a way to bond. She is super sick and so having a father will be good for Hawk. Hawk is determined not to get close to Lincoln and spend the whole trip in silence but what he doesn’t know is that Lincoln is entering the world championships for Arm Wrestling. Lincoln is really trying to win big and make his family proud but he will have to get past his father in law, Jason. Jason doesn’t approve of Lincoln and intends to do whatever is necessary to push him away.

Now you do sympathize with Jason to a rather large degree. It can’t be ignored that Lincoln straight up abandoned his family for 10 years. It’s not like it was one year or something, 10 years is absolutely crazy. The film never gives us much of a solid reason on why he left. It seems like he just couldn’t take the heat and so without any kind of justification (Which would be tough to get in the first place) there isn’t really a reason to root for him here. It’s great that he wants to make amends, but that should not be forced upon Hawk.

Lincoln is the main character so we see things from a very sympathetic viewpoint to him but even so, it makes sense why other characters would oppose him. His wife giving her blessing is nice but since she was basically on her death bed, Jason has a point that she might not have been in her right mind. The film shows that Jason is way too crazy with how he hires actual hoodlums to beat up Lincoln and kidnap Hawk so you’re not rooting for him but the movie had to make him super extreme because otherwise you may have found that he actually did have a good point.

The movie really needed to give us a better reason for why Lincoln was gone for so long. In the present he is fun with how he beats up the enemies and saves the day. He seems like a really good guy, you just can’t ignore the history. With all that said, I still don’t like Hawk. He looks unreasonable and annoying right from the jump. He’s really full of himself and even puts himself in mortal danger like when he ran across the highway. Hawks is very emotional and keeps on switching his feelings every few minutes. He seems like the kind of kid who doesn’t really own up to the situation and is always ready to pass on the blame. Definitely not a good thing to do in any context. I was expecting better out of him, even if just by a little bit.

Yes he gets his big moment by the end but it’s way too late. He was just way too emotional. Fortunately the climax is really more focused on Lincoln fighting off all the big opponents. The movie probably made the final boss a little too powerful though to the point where it is completely unbelievable that Lincoln is able to take him on. Not only is this guy way stronger but he barely struggled throughout the tournament. He’s at near peak condition while Lincoln already needed ice packs and rehab from the earlier matches. He really should have gotten absolutely crushed here.

Ah well, it’s always fun to see the hero win. This movie is generally a pretty light hearted film with quick pacing. It may not always be the most grounded but you will be having a good time as you watch it. I can’t really fault the movie for that. Having a good time should always be the main priority after all and this film never really forgets that. The ending is satisfying and things just work out. I also appreciated how big in scale and presentation the tournament felt. We had intros for the various characters, announcers hyping them up, etc. It felt like a true event and I don’t see how you can take arm wrestling much further than what this film did with it.

They even did have the obligatory arm break during one of the rounds which is absolutely why I would not engage with the sport. It seems to me that everyone who engages in the sport long enough breaks their arm at least once. It’s like Skiing where everybody says you break your leg at least once. Once is already too much for me. I know every sport carries a degree of risk but at least in most of them you can mitigate it. Once the other guy has your arm, I don’t know how you can fight it if they really want to break your arm or there is a big power gap. Too risky for me.

Overall, How much you enjoy this film will all come down to how much you can tolerate the kid. If you can’t handle how annoying and cringy he is the whole time then the movie may falter for you. If you can get past that hen it is a good film. It’s entertaining with a lot of good competitive energy the whole time. The villain and even the kid both have valid points so the movie makes sure to undercut them as necessary to ensure that you can still root for Lincoln. At the end of the day you want a main character you can root for after all and in the end this did the trick. It’s not amazing but it is pretty good and that was enough for me.

Overall 7/10

John Q Review

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It’s time for a pretty intense film about a guy who is given the run around by a hospital until he finally snaps. You may be getting some Luigi flashbacks around this point although the circumstances are still different. It’s a pretty good movie with a lot of tension and a pretty intriguing plot. Additionally John really tried every legal method that he could until he was eventually forced t take drastic measures. With a film like this you naturally aren’t rooting for the lead to go and shoot everyone but you definitely get how he came to this point. After a while there really aren’t any other choices to be made.

The movie starts by introducing us to John who is rather down on his luck right now. The hours at the factory he works at have been shrinking in each pay period and it is getting hard to provide for his wife and son. The tax collectors have even taken away his car. John says he will fix all of this but it’s an old tune at this point and his wife isn’t sure about that. Well, one day the kid suddenly faints while on the baseball field and it tuns out that he is in critical condition. He will need a heart transplant but it turns out that John’s insurance changed classes recently and so they don’t cover it. Meanwhile the hospital won’t even add him to the chart as a possible donor until John coughs up thousands and thousands of dollars. So John decides to take drastic action and takes over the emergency room by force with his gun. Either his son gets the proper treatment or none of them are walking out of that room.

It’s definitely a drastic situation and I’d say the most intense thing about it is how possible the whole thing is. Obtaining a gun doesn’t seem like an impossible feat for someone who is properly motivate and most locations just aren’t equipped to handle someone with a gun. Now it may not happen as smoothly as it did in this film but someone could definitely take over for a while like in this film. It’s all about what happens from there. Clearly the gunman won’t escape but it’s more about the damage he could do in the meantime. You don’t want to listen to his demands since it could inspire copycat killers but at the same time you can’t just sacrifice all of the hostages in there. It puts the cops in a tough spot.

The main focus here is really on the determination John has in making sure that his kid is okay. Throughout the movie there are a lot of people telling him to give it up and just accept the death but John won’t take no for an answer. It’s not like he is a pro at this either so he does make his share of mistakes but he is trying to keep the situation contained the whole time. You definitely have to give him a lot of credit there. Things easily could have gone real sideways real fast there. Particularly when it comes to money you can definitely get biter about how things are set up. John really tried his best and worked a really hard job but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough.

Meanwhile it’s not quite the best portrayal for the hospital but realistic. They hear countless stories all the time about sick people who can’t pay and have their lives at stake. it does make sense that they can’t take every case or they would be out of business. The main contact lady is particularly antagonistic the whole time with her delivery but what she said was mainly correct. You either have the money or you don’t and if the insurance doesn’t cover the operation then that’s really the end of the story. Changing the laws is the only way to really stop that, otherwise their hands are tied. It’s certainly not the most satisfying answer but at the end of the day that really is the response to this situation.

Frank does the negotiating for the police here at least when he isn’t being compromised by the chief of police. They definitely clash heads quite a bit in this film with their different approaches. Frank is trying to de escalate and see what he can do while the Chief wants a quick end to this. Both plans have their merits. The chief comes across as a jerk the whole time but he did seem to have more of an endgame to his plan. It may have failed but I didn’t have any qualms with taking the shot. The instant John took hostages, he was not just an “innocent man” the way the reports were describing him. Taking him out using lethal means was absolutely a valid plan and I don’t even think it’s a particularly controversial one. Yes the optics don’t look good but the #1 objective is to save the hostages.

Meanwhile John’s wife does good in not selling him out or falling for any traps. She was on his side the whole time and didn’t waiver. I also appreciated that while they had some fights throughout the movie, it never became a big deal or tore them apart. They stayed strong under stress and kept on pressing. They worked as a good team when trying out all available options. It may not have worked but they did make all possible attempts which is good.

While the film is fairly tame, I should note that there are some medical procedures in the film. As a result you do see a live heart for example which is a bit on the intense side. So you’ll want to keep that in mind but otherwise the worst thing that happens is somebody getting roughed up a bit. Both times the guy getting beat up definitely took actions that led up to that point as well. You want to be real careful who you make upset in a situation like this.

If the film has any issues, it can be that it’s a little heavy handed with how antagonistic it makes everyone who opposes John. For example you have the cops laughing it up as they plan to murder him, the chiefs not taking things seriously, the main hospital director smirking as she declines coverage, etc. Almost everybody in the film comes across as a jerk. Then you have the nicer ones but for example the young doctor in training has a very jaded view on the whole hospital business so he talks about how they plan to cheat people out of coverage, etc. It’s all a grand, sinister plan to keep people sick and dying. It’s definitely a bold accusation although we do know that those insurance companies can get really shady.

Overall, One of the big morals here is to make sure you don’t drive while in a rush. If you have to get somewhere quickly, allow yourself to be late instead of trying to speed during a curve. It’s just not worth it, likewise with running through a yellow light. Sometimes you just need to hold the massive L because at least you’ll keep your life. The movie itself is definitely a solid one. You’ve got a sad situation and a father doing his best to make the most of it. There are a lot of fun philosophical and ethical questions to ask about the situation as well. It’s the kind of film that works well with debate as there are a lot of different positions you could take here. The film is fairly long so it gets to spend a lot of time on the story without rushing things. I’d definitely recommend it.

Overall 7/10

The Shaggy Dog (1959) Review

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It’s time for a retro dog film with a good amount of fun cheer to it. The Shaggy Dog is one of those titles that moves at a quick pace and delivers on a fun premise. It even randomly throws in a big climax with high stakes and I hadn’t been expecting that. It’s a very retro experience that knows how to have a good time even if the cast themselves are a bit on the weaker side. Lets just say there aren’t a lot of likable characters here.

The movie starts off with Wilby messing up on another one of his inventions. He’s a kid genius but it does take him a lot of trial and error to get where he wants to go and often his father, Wilson has to clean up after him. Wilson is a nice guy overall except that he can’t stand dogs and even has a PTSD type allergy to them. He intends to shoot them all if they ever get into his house. Well one day they get a rich next door neighbor named Francesca who has a big dog and now this could be trouble. Wilby and his friend Buzz both like her and after a fateful trip to the museum, Wilby ends up with an amulet that turns him into a copy of her dog. How will he end this curse?

The way the magic works is also a little unique here. Ordinarily you would expect the human and dog to change places or something but that’s actually not what happens here. Instead the dog just vanishes from existence temporarily while Wilby slowly transforms into a lookalike. The transformation lasts a while until he turns back but it is difficult to predict when this will happen and for how long. So it’s definitely inconvenient for Wilby and even dangerous since of course Wilson will be shooting on sight.

Of course as a dog, most people don’t pay attention to Wilby which gives him a chance to hear some villainous secrets. So I enjoyed the whole gimmick here as the scenes were pretty fun. Wilby really got to show just how helpful it can be to turn into a dog. I do think he could have done a much better job of convincing everyone that he was actually Wilby though since the film didn’t really place any limitations on him. Wilby can still walk around and talk in human language so automatically you figure it shouldn’t be too hard. Wilby doesn’t try this much until the very end though.

As a character Wilby is okay but definitely a bit of a pushover. He gets taken advantage of by Buzz and is also easy to trick. The museum trip didn’t go well because he let his guard down too quickly and then even in the climax he’s put in the same boat as Buzz instead of being one step ahead. I don’t see the dynamic ever getting a whole lot better for him. Wilby needs to just focus on his inventions and hopefully make a real game changer at some point.

Meanwhile for Buzz, the guy is no real friend. He is always quick to blame Wilby when the lead isn’t around and quickly goes from girl to girl. Buzz is certainly not a serious character and so you really aren’t rooting for the guy. You hope that the girls will know better around him but until they figure out what’s up, it was up to Wilby to mess up the guy’s plans while in his disguise as a dog.

As for Wilson, he was a little too extreme in how he was actually shooting at the dog. Even ignoring the body swap, that means he was willingly shooting at his neighbor’s dog just for getting into the house. It’s just such an extreme response and makes him look really bad. Throughout the film Wilson is always proving himself to be the kind of guy who jumps to conclusions and then at the end he is basically just basking in the glory of something that he only played a small part in.

It all works well enough for some laughs but it doesn’t make the character super likable. Even Francesca looks pretty bad as she is quick to be tricked by Buzz and then even starts to go after Wilby just to make another girl jealous. The fact that she gave away her dog in the end was also absolutely crazy after everything he did for her. A really bizarre way for the film to end if you ask me.

Still, the important thing is that the film is fun like I said. The writing is on point with a really solid script all the way through. The retro writing style really works well for this movie and the pacing is good. I may not say that it’s laugh out loud levels of being funny but it didn’t really have any issues either. The movie never drags and it has plenty of replay value. I also enjoyed the sub plot with the one cop who was going crazy after seeing the dog so many times and then how the government shut down Wilson on suspicion of being a traitor. That was a pretty fun battle even if Wilby’s younger brother sold the dad out there.

Overall, The Shaggy Dog is a pretty good movie. I like the concept of turning into a dog as there are a lot of fun gags you can do with that. Clearly the industry thought so too since this wouldn’t be the last Shaggy Dog film. This may not be the kind of film that you walk away from every year to point out how awesome it was but it is something you could watch at any time. The intense climax also helps with the replay value. I’ll be curious to see if the newer films can really match this one and if they can’t, hopefully they will at least be close.

Overall 7/10