What I'd watched recently

These are the movies/films/content that I'd consumed in the last couple of months.

Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files (2011)

A very interesting series with 6 experts who go thru videos and photographs they received and then do in-depth investigations & extensive methods to recreate the videos/photos to see if they are real or hoaxes. Recommended.

Greenland (2020) Gerard Butler

This is a story about a planet-killer-sized comet that is about to hit Earth. The various governments of the world had prepared for such an event but they can only save a handful of people to ensure the survival of the human species.

The movie focuses on John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his wife and young son's journey to the sanctuary in Greenland. 

Despite being very predictable, I really enjoyed watching it and would watch it again.

The Why Files on YouTube

This is my favorite discovery this year as it has consistently high-quality content. Looks like the Why Files Team does extensive research for every video they produce. Moreover, the Host - AJ, is a great orator who manages to hold the viewers' attention. The ONLY element that I don't like about it is their talking fish mascot - Heckle Fish.

Highly Recommended!

Movie Review - COVID-19 Lockdown Special (Part 8)

WOW, how time flies. It's already 2021 but COVID-19 is still a major reason many of us are mostly at home. Anyway, here are more of the cinematic content I continued to consume between the last post and this one.

Freaks (2018)

A father (Emile Hirsch) seems to be over-protective of his 7-year old daughter, Chloe (Lexy Kolker) as she’s constantly locked inside their house. Since Chloe's birth, she’d been told that the mother (Amanda Crew) had been killed as it was really unsafe outside. 

One day, while Dad was asleep, Chloe went outside and was approached by an old man in the ice cream truck in front of her house. The old man was actually Chloe's grandfather (Bruce Dern), who revealed to Chloe that her mother was in fact still alive and being held captive by the govt.

With the truth out in the open, Chloe, Dad and Grandpa decided to go rescue Mom. 

Powers

Dad can slow down time. Grandpa turns invisible. Mom can fly. Chloe is a powerful (Omega-Level?) telepath.

I really liked this as it's what super heroes/mutant films should be. Altho' I admit that the first 30 minutes or so was kind of frustrating as the audience don't really know what was going on. However, once that hurdle is gone, it's a really enjoyable movie. I recommend it, especially for super-hero/comic fans!

Mother and Child (2009)

Karen (Annette Bening) became pregnant at 14, and gave her daughter, Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), up for adoption. 

That decision had haunted her for a large part of her adult life. Karen meets Paco (Jimmy Smits) at work and they eventually get married. Paco convinces Karen to look for Elizabeth at the Catholic orphanage/adoption agency where Karen gave her up.

Elizabeth, having grown up as a self-reliant orphan, is emotionally aloof and guarded. At 37, she's now a renown & successful lawyer, joins a prestigious law firm headed by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson). They have an affair, and Elizabeth becomes pregnant, leading her to move away to a new job and home without Paul's knowledge. Elizabeth dies while giving birth to her child, who is now an orphan.

Meanwhile, Lucy (Kerry Washington) & Joseph (David Ramsey), a black couple, long to be parents but Lucy is barren. They had been trying all channels to adopt a baby but every attempt seemed to end with disappointment. Sister Joanne (Cherry Jones) from the Catholic adoption agency, who had been helping Lucy now suggested Elizabeth's baby for Lucy to adopt.

1 year later, Karen finds out about Elizabeth's death and her baby being adopted by Lucy. Sister Joanne arranges for Karen to meet Lucy and her granddaughter named Ella.

This was such a beautiful movie. Be ready with lots of tissues as this can be a real tear-jerker (if you allow yourself to be invested in the characters who are all so supremely portrayed by the cast). This is a MUST WATCH! 

Sputnik (2020 - Russian Audio with Subtitles)

2 Russian Cosmonaut heroes return from their mission. 

But something happens just before re-entry to Earth's atmosphere. Only Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov) survives.

Due to her unconventional ways, Dr. Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) had been recruited by the Military to help find out what had happened to Konstantin. We learn that he had not come back alone but there's an alien symbiote inside of him that crawls out each night for food.Overall, it's a pretty decent Sci-Fi/Horror movie a la the 1st Alien. It manages to create a really tense atmosphere.

But it was a really hard watch for me, not because it didn't offer anything new but because it uses a dark filter (usually used to hide low budget CGI) that made the WHOLE FILM look really dark LITERALLY.  For 90% of the 2 hours, the screen was 75-95% black or really dark. Even in broad daylight, the scenes were dark.Did it offer anything new? No. Was it a decent Sci-Fi? Yes. Would I watch it again? Not likely. Would I recommend it? I'm neutral on it but leaning towards no.

Undercover Brother (2002)

Undercover Brother (or Anton Jackson played by Eddie Griffin) is recruited by the BROTHERHOOD (a secret organization to preserve all things black) to stop the Pro-White organization run by The Man (with the goal to eliminate all things black and turn everyone into mindless white zombies) from destroying the Black People’s Culture/Soul. 

Anton is sent to infiltrate The Man’s HQ to find out what they had done to General Boutwell (Billy Dee Williams), whom the Black Community was expecting to announce his candidacy for President, but instead, declared he was going to start a Fried Chicken Restaurant Chain. Lance (Neil Patrick Harris), the only White guy in the BROTHERHOOD, was key in preparing Anton for his mission by fast-tracking his knowledge on White culture to ensure a successful infiltration. However, The Man’s organization has it’s own secret weapon that even Undercover Brother can’t overcome – The White She Devil (Denise Richards). Fortunately for Anton, Sistah Girl (Aunjanue Ellis) is not subject to his weakness.This is a really fun movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously and the audience gets the payoff despite many of the jokes are clichéd Black vs White culture tropes. There’s also 2 short cameos by James Brown (YES! THAT James Brown!)

I had a ton of fun watching this. Sure, it's not going to win any awards but I'd definitely be watching Undercover Brother again and again. Recommended.

Vicious Kind (2009) 

Caleb Sinclaire (Adam Scott) tries to “protect” his younger brother Peter (Alex Frost) from a woman Emma Gainsborough (Brittany Snow) he’s fallen deeply for as they return home for Thanksgiving with their father, Donald (J.K. Simmons). 

Caleb and Donald have had a broken relationships since the death of Caleb's mom. This movie looks at how broken relationships are mended. I really liked the warm fuzzy feeling from the movie's end but for about 70% of it, I was made to think that Caleb was such a rotten son and brother to Peter. I recommend it but you must watch it past 70% for the payoff.

You Again (2010)

High school nerd Marni (Kristen Bell) had always had a tough time in school mainly from the bullying from hot cheerleader Joanna (Odette Yustman).

Having achieved success in PR, Marni heads home for her older brother Will's (James Wolk) wedding. But to her horror, Will's fiance is Joanna! Well loved by everyone in Marni's home including their dog and Grandma Bunny (Betty White).

Old wounds resurface and Marni spares no effort in trying to expose the ugly side Joanna to save Will from marrying her.

Added to the mix was Marni's mom, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) used to be the arch nemesis of Joanna's Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver), a very successful business woman.

The sheer star power of the movie really got me amped from the start BUT it doesn't manage to sustain or make the most of them. The Rock made a cameo as a Plane Passenger when Marni was flying home. Victor Garber (of ALIAS fame) plays Marni's dad. Patrick Duffy (of Dallas fame) also made an appearance as Ramona's long lost flame. 

Hall + Oates also plays at the wedding party.

Overall, it's quite a fun watch but it didn't seem to reach it's potential to be so much more. I'm neutral on this  and I probably won't want to watch it again.

Movie Review - COVID-19 Lockdown Special (Part 6)

Here are more of the cinematic content I continued to consume between the last post and this one.

Contender (2000)

After the death of the US Vice President, Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) is President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) leading contender for the post. During the confirmation process, Laine faces a slew of a vicious personal attacks. 

The lengths politicians will go to destroy a candidate’s chance at rising to power. 

The sheer nastiness & all the dirty tricks used to do so. The assault was lead by Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman).

Outstanding performances by all actors in the movie. Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman are 2 of my favorite actors. This is a GREAT movie but it is so depressing as it shows the worst of humanity in the quest for power in the most realistic way possible, I DID NOT enjoy watching the movie and I doubt I would ever watch it again for those very reasons. But for those of you who can endure the ugliness of human ambition, this is a MUST WATCH!

Heidi’s Song (1982)

It’s a classic animation by Hanna-Barbera. Heidi (Margery Gray) is a little 6 year old orphan girl who’s just lost her parents. Her aunt then took her to live with her grandpa (Lorne Greene) in the countryside woods. Well loved by all who meets her, Heidi quickly develops a strong bond with her grandpa and the animals in the vicinity.Not long after, Heidi’s aunt came back to take her away to the city for a better life more suited for a little girl growing up. In truth, Heidi was to become a servant girl to a rich man and his disabled daughter Klara. As the rich man is rarely at home, the mansion is run by 2 mean and vicious care-takers.Heidi brings joy to the lifeless home and the 2 girls develop a strong friendship that seems to threaten the 2 caretakers’ position of power. They take every opportunity to find fault with Heidi to remove her from the house.The remainder of the shows how Heidi & Klara save each other from their respective predicaments. This is a great and entertaining cartoon, bearing in mind that this is a cartoon from a more innocent time and for a less sophisticated audience.

The artwork is beautiful BUT I have to say, there are several parts of the show that are very trippy and extremely dark & horrific. So horrific that it may not pass today’s approvals for General Viewership.I won’t be watching it again (not because it's no good but it's just too dated for me) but if you have never seen it before, you may want to have a look. 

How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017)This is based on Neil Gaiman's short story. 

Enn (Alex Sharp), a Punk-music loving teen & his friends crash a suburban London party but it was actually an out-of-this world alien cult ritual where he meets Zan (Elle Fanning).Eventually, Enn learns that Zan belongs to a group of aliens who are here to destroy humanity. 

What Zan didn't expect was to fall in love with Enn. She is torn between her responsibility to her people and her love for Enn.I was quite surprised to see Nicole Kidman in there as a Punk Veteran. I could barely recognize her in her heavy make up.This is one of those fairly trippy movies with a lot of Punk music (that I'm not a fan of). Altho' I enjoy Elle Fanning's screen time, this was just not my cup of tea. You have been warned.

Mimic (1997)

New York is plagued by disease spread by cockroaches. Entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) develops a genetically spliced insect, the Judas Breed, that effectively eliminates the cockroaches. 

The Judas Breed was only supposed to have a very short life cycle and naturally die off soon after the disease was gone.However, 3 years later, a giant Judas Breed specimen, so highly evolved that it can even mimic the appearance men, stalks the New York city subway and sewerage networks. But is there just 1 or is there a whole colony?

This is a really good Sci Fi Horror flick by Guillermo del Toro (known for the good Hellboy movies). Plus, I really like Mira Sorvino and can’t get enough of her. This show is worthy of several re-watches. I admit this is not my 1st watch. Even then, I still enjoyed it.So, if you have NEVER watched it before, what are you waiting for? Go watch it already!

Scanners (1981)

A vagrant, Cameron Vale (Steven Lack) was captured by government agents after an "incident" at a mall. The incident was his Scanner powers manifesting.Separately, we also see how rogue Scanner, Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside), uses his powers to kill other Scanners. The government is hunting Revok but had little success. Vale seems to be their last chance to do so. 

Vale is guided by Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan) to use and control his powers. Vale was tasked to find Revok by infiltrating his acolytes. However, one by one, these Scanners are killed. 

Only Kim Obrist (Jennifer O'Neill) survives. Obrist agrees to help Vale find Revok.A Pharma Company, ConSec, develops a drug, Ephemerol, that's given to pregnant mothers and their children grow up having telepathic/telekinetic powers.

Now this would be groundbreaking material if I was watching this in the 80s or 90s. Even by today's standards, if we can look past the lack of CGI and thus, were unable to manifest visually on the screen, the manifestation of the Scanners' powers, this was a GREAT FLICK! A MUST WATCH if you are a fan of Sci-Fi or Super-Hero movies.

This is the X-Men/New Mutants before any of the successful superhero movies were made. 

The Ref (1994) 

Unhappily married Lloyd Chasseur (Kevin Spacey) & Caroline Chasseur (Judy Davis) undergoes marriage counseling on X’mas Eve.Gus (Denis Leary), botches a robbery at a neighbor’s house and injures himself after being attacked by the guard dog inside, he runs out to find his bumbling & alcoholic getaway driver, Murray (Richard Bright), gone. Lloyd & Caroline just arrived home from as Gus stumbles upon them while looking for Murray and takes them hostage in Lloyd & Caroline’s house as Gus desperately tried to contact Murray for a getaway. But it’s X’mas Eve and Lloyd & Caroline’s son Jesse is coming back from Military School while relatives are coming over for a X’mas Eve dinner. 

The candle-stand headgear they wore during dinner was a riot! 

Despite being 26 years old. I really enjoyed myself watching it for the very 1st time. Lloyd & Caroline’s constant squabbling despite being hostages is the highlight of the movie. I found it to be very funny and enjoyable despite it being a little dated. Go and watch it.