Welcome back gang. All new batch of flicks this week. Not much, it was a slow week. And it isn't that great a week, but nothing abysmal. Either way, it's here. So read it. It's quick. Thanks. Bye.
Kickboxer (December 14th, 2014)
Directors: Mark DiSalle and David Worth
Starring: Jean Claude Van Damme, Who else matters really?
Right out of the way, this isn't a good movie. It's directed with a laziness that's pretty amazing, the acting is barely enough to be qualified as such, and the writing is like a particularly stupid guys day dream of kung fu fighting. But it manages that amazing 80's feat of being so stupid that it's entertaining. When Van Dammes brother is crippled in a thai fight tourney, he gets really mad at the injustice of his brother losing a fight fairly so he vows revenge. What follows is just a typical training montage and Van Damme falling for a Thai girl. Then theres a fight and he wins, who gives a shit? The action is half assed but in an entertainingly bad way. It's also pretty cheesy and homoerotic. There's also some rape thrown in for good measure. Unless you enjoy Van Damme struggle to act and make goofy faces, stay away. There's really nothing else to it.
Rating: 7/10
Saturday Night Fever (December 15th, 2014)
Director: John Badham
Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Donna Pescow, and Barry Miller
I've pretty much avoided this movie for a while, assuming it was just a goofy movie about dancing. But the reality is that this is a pretty grim movie about broken dreams and failed expectations. And the people in the movie aren't the greatest people in the world. They're all people stuck in place, regretful of decisions and their place in life. They aren't evil or even bad, just broken. Travolta is a guy who is shifting about, living with his parents. The only time he comes to life is Saturday Nights, when he is the king of the club, taking over the dance floor. He has one talent and it is dancing. But he doesn't even think of using that ability to move on, get some work with that talent. But events throughout start to wake him up to the life he's living, with people who don't care about bettering themselves. Some of the elements haven't aged too well, like a fight scene or a climatic scene on the Veranzano Bridge. But the dance scenes are the best dance scenes this side of All That Jazz. Everybody here is someone we know or have known. Everybody is rough around the edges and feel really human. It's weird to say about a movie about disco dancers, but these guys feel like characters in a Springsteen song. It's a shame that the sequel couldn't keep the character alive, failing in every way. But at least we got this. Damn fine flick and a high recommendation.
Rating: 9/10
Night Moves (December 20th, 2014)
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, and Alia Shawkat
An indie flick from an indie darling about environmentalists isn't the kind of movie I'd normally run to. But now that Eisenberg is playing Lex Luthor, I wanna dig into his career to get a sense of his abilities. And while he isn't playing the character, his performance shows some of the traits of Luthor. He's deadly serious and not the shaking little puppy everyone thinks he is after Zombieland or The Social Network. Throw that in with the super intelligent douchey nature of Zuckerberg, I can see it. Now, his performance is really good. The performances here aren't the problem, everyone doing good work. It's that the movie is way too slow. It does it in a way that isn't natural, just way to slow to be slow. It also kinda has a bland ending, typical indie movie stuff. Also has a hilariously bad fight scene in the end. It's well made but nothing special. I'd only recommend for Eisenberg.
Rating: 7.5/10
Grudge Match (December 20th, 2014)
Director: Peter Sagal
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Jon Berenthal, and Kim Basinger
I wanted to like this movie. A boxing movie about old Rocky and Jake LaMotta fighting should be entertaining enough for me. But sadly it isn't and is really kind of a waste of time. The humor isn't funny. Even in a sophomoric way, it's not funny. The drama isn't interesting, just hackneyed. The acting is fine, nothing special outside of Berenthal who is actually really good. There's also some really bad CGI with bad face replacement tech, looking worse than The Social Network 4 years ago. It's not a complete failure, just really mediocre. That's about it.
Rating: 6/10
Top Movies
1. Saturday Night Fever
2. Night Moves
3. Kickboxer
4. Grudge Match
Top 5 Moments
1. The Opening - Saturday Night Fever
2. The Final Dance - Saturday Night Fever
3. The Boat Ride - Night Moves
4. The Final, Ridiculous Fight - Kickboxer
5. Dark Turns After The Contest - Saturday Night Fever
Top 5 Performances
1. John Travolta - Saturday Night Fever
2. Jesse Eisenberg - Night Moves
3. Jean Claude Van Damme - Kickboxer
4. Karen Lynn Gorney - Saturday Night Fever
5. Jon Berenthal - Grudge Match
Saturday Night Fever (December 15th, 2014)
Director: John Badham
Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Donna Pescow, and Barry Miller
I've pretty much avoided this movie for a while, assuming it was just a goofy movie about dancing. But the reality is that this is a pretty grim movie about broken dreams and failed expectations. And the people in the movie aren't the greatest people in the world. They're all people stuck in place, regretful of decisions and their place in life. They aren't evil or even bad, just broken. Travolta is a guy who is shifting about, living with his parents. The only time he comes to life is Saturday Nights, when he is the king of the club, taking over the dance floor. He has one talent and it is dancing. But he doesn't even think of using that ability to move on, get some work with that talent. But events throughout start to wake him up to the life he's living, with people who don't care about bettering themselves. Some of the elements haven't aged too well, like a fight scene or a climatic scene on the Veranzano Bridge. But the dance scenes are the best dance scenes this side of All That Jazz. Everybody here is someone we know or have known. Everybody is rough around the edges and feel really human. It's weird to say about a movie about disco dancers, but these guys feel like characters in a Springsteen song. It's a shame that the sequel couldn't keep the character alive, failing in every way. But at least we got this. Damn fine flick and a high recommendation.
Night Moves (December 20th, 2014)
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, and Alia Shawkat
An indie flick from an indie darling about environmentalists isn't the kind of movie I'd normally run to. But now that Eisenberg is playing Lex Luthor, I wanna dig into his career to get a sense of his abilities. And while he isn't playing the character, his performance shows some of the traits of Luthor. He's deadly serious and not the shaking little puppy everyone thinks he is after Zombieland or The Social Network. Throw that in with the super intelligent douchey nature of Zuckerberg, I can see it. Now, his performance is really good. The performances here aren't the problem, everyone doing good work. It's that the movie is way too slow. It does it in a way that isn't natural, just way to slow to be slow. It also kinda has a bland ending, typical indie movie stuff. Also has a hilariously bad fight scene in the end. It's well made but nothing special. I'd only recommend for Eisenberg.
Grudge Match (December 20th, 2014)
Director: Peter Sagal
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Jon Berenthal, and Kim Basinger
I wanted to like this movie. A boxing movie about old Rocky and Jake LaMotta fighting should be entertaining enough for me. But sadly it isn't and is really kind of a waste of time. The humor isn't funny. Even in a sophomoric way, it's not funny. The drama isn't interesting, just hackneyed. The acting is fine, nothing special outside of Berenthal who is actually really good. There's also some really bad CGI with bad face replacement tech, looking worse than The Social Network 4 years ago. It's not a complete failure, just really mediocre. That's about it.
Top Movies
1. Saturday Night Fever
2. Night Moves
3. Kickboxer
4. Grudge Match
Top 5 Moments
1. The Opening - Saturday Night Fever
2. The Final Dance - Saturday Night Fever
3. The Boat Ride - Night Moves
4. The Final, Ridiculous Fight - Kickboxer
5. Dark Turns After The Contest - Saturday Night Fever
Top 5 Performances
1. John Travolta - Saturday Night Fever
2. Jesse Eisenberg - Night Moves
3. Jean Claude Van Damme - Kickboxer
4. Karen Lynn Gorney - Saturday Night Fever
5. Jon Berenthal - Grudge Match
- Tom Lorenzo
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