3 films today: London Has Fallen, X-Men Apocalypse, and Warcraft.

If you've seen Olympus Has Fallen, then London is pretty much the same but with more special effects. Gerard Butler protects the president, shoots lots of bad guys, shoots some more, explosions happen, the end.

X-Men was quite enjoyable, but these origin films are just a bit confusing. It's never clear if this is an alternate timeline, or if the old films are still considered canon at all. I like X-Men, but this was one of the weaker films in my opinion.

Warcraft was also quite fun. The story was average, but I really like the way the orcs look and the special effects were well worth however much money Blizzard chucked at them. This was the best looking advertisement for a video game I've ever seen. I just wish the film had slowed down and had some decent dialogue and character building rather than jumping from one fight to the next without much explanation. Travis Fimmel did a decent job as Lothar, but I much prefer him in Vikings.

That is what I expected from all three of those films! London Has Fallen went straight to be ignore list. While I plan to Netflix both Apocalypse and Warcraft once they are out on disc.

I had some fun moments in Wiseguy's Dead Dog arc these last few days, recognizing the same actors playing different characters in different story arcs. The first was a guy hosting a record company party in the Dead Dog arc, who also plays a film critic in the Lynchboro story arc. The other is the dealer in a high stakes poker game in the Dead Dog arc, who is none other than No-Money Mahoney from the Sonny Steelgrave arc!

Because going to the cinema is becoming increasingly - and absurdly - expensive, we're having to be a bit more choosy about what we see...So there was a straight choice between TMNT2 and Warcraft...

We chose wrong, it appears... ...*Le sigh*...Still, this is what DVDs are for...

X-Men we did enjoy, though...Much fun!...And while it was quite as good as the other two McAvoy ones, I enjoyed it far more than any of the X-Mens that were done a while ago...

I couldn't stand Olympus Has Fallen...

I've got no problem with a single agent taking apart a highly trained gang of insurgents...Fine...No problem whatsoever...And yet...Couldn't stand it...Just got right on my nerves...Not watching the second one, that's for sure...

Supernatural...After 11 series/seasons, it's still awesome and fun...

Also...McWife is rewatching Quantum Leap...I managed to catch one where Sam Beckett leapt into a chimp called Bobo...(He'd been training to be a Space Chimp™ for NASA)...Anyways...Am I the only one that thinks that Scott Bakula should really have been one of the biggest actors, like, Ever?...Bloody awesome man!...

I do love NCIS: New Orleans though...Proper awesome!...

Went to see the Conjuring 2. Much to the amusement of the guys next to us, I screamed. Mr. Grits assures me that I was not the only one.

Don't feel bad one man died watching that movie, and then his body vanished!

I shall miss Penny Dreadful when it ends...That's been both fun and silly... ...

I am in the middle of Creed. Excellent movie.

I'm cheating here, not having watched into feature length movies lately. Just want to mention that Olivia de Havilland, partner of Errol Flynn in many classic Hollywood swashbucklers and last surviving major actor of Gone With the Wind, amongst other honorifics, turns 100 today, 1 Jul 2016! The only movies of hers in my collection, to the best of my recollection, are GWTW on laserdisc and The Adventures of Robin Hood on both laserdisc and DVD.

I watched little clips from an anime called Mary the Virgin Witch and I must say, the medieval combat I saw depicted there was..... MOST REALISTIC. I'm not kidding here. Totally legit. I mean listen; there was this one guy who used a single-armed underhook to trap and neutralize his enemy's weapon arm. He then finished him off with a shield bash upper cut. I was surprised the first time I saw it. I'm super eager to give this one a try, and maybe you guys -if you're interested in stuff like this- should too.

Just watched Kingsman: The Secret Service

It's a bloody awesome film. It's like a proper, classic Bond film, but with a little comedy thrown in to smooth things out.

Thanks to Decrepit's review of it a while back, I bought it on dvd. Like you said, the real life longswording is terrific to see. There is another scene where a guy takes an arming sword with one hand half way down the blade, and morte strikes his enemy over and over again on the head with it, using the crossguard like a club.

That was terrific to watch as well! Galfa (I think his name was) cemented himself as a smart and dirty fighter when he waited for his enemy to do such a straightforward move. Smart tactics and murder stroke FTW!

I started watching the American version of The Bridge. I tried watching it once before, but could not get into it. I think because it was shortly after I had seen the original Swedish/Danish version of it. But now that I have not seen Bron/Broen for a few years, I can accept the US version on its own merits.

It does mostly follow the original Scandinavian version, but with the twist of the Mexican border and its attendant drug cartels tossed in for good measure. I was pleased to see that Ramon Franco is a regular. He was one of my favorites from Tour of Duty, many years ago. Diane Kruger does a good job of playing the slightly autistic American detective, and Demian Birchir is fantastic as her Mexican counterpart.

I am liking it. But I still have to admit that the original was better. Plus, I do have to admit disappointment in their choice of the Bridge of the Americans between Texas and Mexico for the titular bridge. I would have preferred the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor. We have plenty of murder, violence, and corruption here in The D. Certainly more than Copenhagen!

I'm on one of the last episodes of Wiseguy - when Steven Bauer stepped in for Ken Wahl. At one point he is staying in the Niagra hotel, which has a neon sign like a waterfall. Well, I was watching an X-Files episode just earlier this week - Beyond the Sea, and the same hotel with the exact same sign was in it too! It was even a plot point.

I am sure the reason is James Wong. I have been noticing his name lately, because he was a producer of both Wiseguy and X-Files. Both shows were also filmed in Vancouver. So obviously he liked the hotel sign, and decided to use it again!

I'm about to start rewatching Vikings again, because it's a bloody awesome series.



I'm not even sure if I'm going to bother with Apocalypse, I'm not really a fan of the younger X-Men. First Class was such a continuity cluster**** that it can't exist in the same timeline as the first three films. Then they tried to integrate it instead of simply scrapping it with Days of Future Past, which admittedly is a damn good film. But the ending makes any film featuring the younger X-Men pretty much redundant, since we know that everything works out just fine since Logan woke up in the present(or the future, relatively speaking). And it does leave the impression that it's removed the original films from canon, which in my opinion is a mistake. But some bright spark probably decided they'll sell more films with a younger cast.

And to be blunt, I just don't think the casting is as good. Fassbender and Mcavoy are both good actors, but Patrick Stewart was pretty much the perfect man to play Xavier, and Ian Mckellan was brilliant as Magneto.

I just finished The Final Girls. It was a delightful satire of 80s horror films, in which the characters are people who have been pulled into a Friday The 13th-like slasher film. They even hear the sound effects of the big bad before he approaches.

I'm watching Alien.

I'm disappointed. It's bland, predictable(barring the robotic science guy, but that just comes across as pure WTF rather than a plot twist or anything), and the characters are either useless(Lambert takes the prize for that), annoying(too close to call out anyone in particular), or moronic(frankly its Darwin Awards all round).

This film is nothing but a catalogue of idiocy, from start to finish. So far no-one has taken a single intelligent action, and I'm counting from the moment the scriptwriter got started. And then there are the numerous inconsistencies scattered throughout the film.

And don't get me wrong, I love cats. But with an alien killing machine loose on the ship, there is no power in the universe that could make me go looking for the cat, without anyone to watch my back. Especially considering that's what got one of the crew killed. I think Ripley cares more about that cat than she did most of the crew.

The only thing I like is some of the visuals, and beyond finding it amusing that the future has never looked so out of date, the age of the film really doesn't register.

I'm watching Back to the Future. Just as good as it ever was!

That reminds me of a movie quote!

I just watched The Force Awakens. One interesting thing I noticed this time is that the lightsaber duels/force user battles were not as acrobatic and super-heroic as those of the Prequel Trilogy. For example there are places where young Obi-Wan would have simply leaped the 100 feet chasm without so much as a grunt of effort, where Rey and Ren just stare at one another across the gap. The sword fights themselves look clumsy and simple in comparison to Darth Maul's duel with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as well. Its not really a slam on Force Awakens. The difference is just noticeable.

I suspect that one reason is that JJ Abrams probably wanted the actors to do all of their own stunts. Rather than using martial artist stunt people with the actors faces digitally transplanted over them. And he probably didn't want to hire a martial artist for a role instead of an actual actor, like Ray Park (who was awesome as Darth Maul, but lets face it, he never had more than half a dozen words to say in the entire Phantom Menace). OTOH, he was still a better actor than Hayden Christensen...

Another reason might be that they specifically wanted the Jedi/Sith (or whatever the Darksiders call themselves now) to be less accomplished. After all, the Jedi of the late Republic were at their zenith as far as training and abilities. Those of the Post-Empire are pretty much scavenging what they know of the Force from wherever they can find it, just as Rey was scavving for parts from the wreckage of the Imperial and Republic ships on Jakku.

I haven't watched a feature length film or meaty television series in ever so long. With movies/series I've always been hot and cold. There are periods when I watch a lot of 'em and add favorites to my DVD collection. There are equally long or longer periods when I watch no movies at all. This is a no-movie period. (With book reading I am far more consistent. With music listening I was extremely active until hearing loss took its toll.)

I do consistently watch YouTube, mostly Let's Plays at the moment. Been watching early episodes of a great many ARK LPs. I tend to prefer early adapter LPs, when the world was new and everyone was learning the ropes. I also tend to abandon an ARK LP once the player becomes too advanced/sophisticated.

Noticed that History Buffs YouTube channel, which I've reported on in the past, has a new review of Saving Private Ryan. Watched it. But that's not what I want to bring to your attention.

Just over a month ago History Buffs posted a 29min review of the film Agora, covering the life of an individual who had the misfortune of living in Alexandria during the turmultuous transition between tolerance of and support for 'classical' philosophies and teachings and Christianity's rise to dominance and intolerance towards differing viewpoints. She also had the misfortune to be on the losing side. Much as I enjoy history I had no knowledge of the lady prior to this review. Nor was I familiar with Alexandria during the transition. I found the video fascinating from start to finish. Makes me want to acquire either the movie or an accurate written bio of the lady and her times.

The real Hypatia was truly an amazing woman, who met a really bad end. I thought the movie was really depressing. Because, well, reality.

Yeah. The review mentions that her actual demise is worse than how it's portrayed onscreen. Being flayed alive is, I suspect, not the most comfortable way to go.

I am now watching Batman vs. Superman on 4k, which is also the ultimate edition with an extra half hour and Rated R. I just came across the first easter egg. Clark Kent is reading up on Batman, and one article reads: "If the GCPD endorses masked vigilantes as our city's watchmen, who watches the watchmen?"

For those who don't know, BvS was directed by Zack Snyder, who also directed Watchmen. 'Who watches the watchmen?' was a central issue in the Watchmen comics and films, to the point where in that universe the government actually banned superheros.

Edit: I finished watching it a little while ago. It was good, definitely better than the bad reviews it got. I think Angry Joe was spot on with it. It is not great, but it is good, definitely a 7 out of 10. Affleck was excellent at Batman/Bruce Wayne, Henry Cavill epitomizes Superman, and I thought Gal Gadot was great as Wonder Woman. She isn't in a lot of the movie, but when she is, she chews the screen. Wow, does she have an entrance in the final big battle! I definitely want to see a Wonder Woman movie now.

One thing I liked was that like Watchmen, Zack Snyder chose to make a real issue out of human society's reaction to not only aliens being among us, but one so astoundingly more powerful than anything else in the world. Fear, adoration, trepidation, and even a few attempts at understanding. What I did not like is that there is no payoff to it. The whole False God subplot is just dropped and ignored when the final battle begins.

I have been watching the bonus features of Batman V Superman, and had some other thoughts to share.

One thing I liked about the film was that it took a lot of inspiration from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Down to one line practically word for word: "The world only makes sense when you force it to.". There is also a shot in the fight between Bats and Supes where Batman uses a grappling gun to swing up onto the side of a building, then lightning strikes in the background, and he springs off. It only lasts for a second. But it was an almost exact duplication of the cover of The Dark Knight Returns. It gave me an awesome fangirl moment. I literally backed the movie up, went frame by frame, and got out my copy of the graphic novel to compare. Here is what it looks like

Batman's Mech Suit follows the same art design as the power armor he wore in the graphic novel for his showdown with Supes there. Starting of course with the fact that he built a suit of powered armor just for that battle!

The new bat suit looks very cool. I have always liked the grey design. The new batmobile was really neat too. The one from the Nolan movies was big, chunky, powerful, and utilitarian. OTOH, the Snyder batmobile is smaller, very sleek, stylish, graceful, and deadly-looking. It is like comparing a bull to a panther, and I prefer the panther.

Like I said before, Affleck was good as Batman. I look forward to seeing him as Bats in future films. He's a very uneven actor. When he started in Good Will Hunting I thought he was fantastic. But then he became a movie star, and I think he just got lazy, and didn't bother trying to act. After his career tanked, I think he regrouped, and when he returned in The Town he put his heart back into what he was doing, and it showed there. He was good in Argo too, and he is good here. I think hitting the skids was good for him, in that it gave him a better work ethic.

I have never been a fan of Superman. The character always felt way too Marty Stu to me. He is just better than everyone else in the world at everything else in the world. But Snyder definitely makes the character more accessible here, because he reveals some real vulnerabilities in the Man of Steel. That is both physical thanks to kryptonite, and moral with the ethical quandary he is faced with over the issue of people both worshiping and hating him because of his using his powers to do the right thing.

Of course I have waxed over Wonder Woman already. I just cannot resist gushing over her. I am so excited to see a WW movie now. I just loved her look, which is a lot more muted than the bright colors of the comics, and has a look similar to bronze age armor, while retaining the overall comic book feel. I especially liked the Greek shield and infantryman's sword. The latter has a wonderful quote of Jospeh Campbell engraved on it: "Life is killing all the time and so the goddess kills herself in the sacrifice of her own animal." And damn, she was awesome with it!

As I have remarked before, I often watch movies and think "What would Persephone do in this situation?" Wonder Woman does exactly what Persephone would. She just does it with a sword and shield instead of a zweihander. She is pure awesomesauce.

It was also kind of neat to get a glimpse at the other characters in the new DC Universe, which they obviously want to cultivate into a pantheon of heroes like tha Marvel Cinematic Universe has done. Aquaman looked the most interesting to me. Jason Momoa plays him, which feels perfect to me, given that he is a Pacific Islander. In the bonus features someone pointed out something interesting. Aquaman lives at depths that would crush steel. So imagine how tough he must be. Plus of course, Jason Momoa, we don't need to imagine how tough he is!

I continue to watch no feature-length movies. However, I've been thinking on a film I saw at a theater in Moreno Valley CA sometime between the late 1970s and the mid 1980s. It was one of the many retched zombie movies so prevalent at the time. So laughably bad it was, in its ridiculous way, good, if you take my meaning. Only, I don't recall its name. Nor has net research unearthed it.

Here's what little I recall. Bear in mind this was a long while ago. I'm sure to have misremembered some of it.

1) The film opened (????) within some sort government or industrial research (?) complex. Almost immediately the plot thickened, with the leaking of a harmful substance, contaminating the air. What stood out about this otherwise same-old same-old scene is that it focused on a gentleman holding a small 'radiation' counter or similar device. He hammily reacted to the 'meter's' abnormally high reading, then, in obvious view of the audience, slightly turned device dial, at which point the needle moved higher (duh!), triggering more hammy panic. This dial turning, needle rising, overacting repeated itself several times.

2) A team of intrepid adventurers (?) is sent by boat to investigate the zombie outbreak. They land on a coast and proceed inland. They eventually come upon an apparently recently abandoned house, its contents still in place. The team proceeds to separate. One fellow explores several rooms, assault weapon at the ready. He enters a room with closet. The closet contains, among other things, a top-hat, tux jacket, and cane. The investigator sets aside his weapon and maybe pieces of protective gear, dons hat and jacket, picks up the cane, and dances from room to room in imitation of Fred Astaire. (Not a good imitation, mind you.) He eventually dances into a room with one or more zombies, who do what zombies do best. This scene has always been a top contender for my "most deserved death by zombie" award.

3) At the film's end, the team arrives at the research center, if that's what it is. We are shown stock scenic footage of the center at distance, perched atop cliffs overlooking what appears to be a sea. Wait? If the center is on a cost, why did the team, who arrived by boat, spend the entire movie traveling overland to reach it?????? In fairness, I suppose the body of water might have been a large lake, but it didn't seem so to me.

4) I want to say it was not US-made, but might well be wrong.

Does anyone know what movie this is?

Could it be Hell Of The Living Dead?

OMG, that picture on the front of the vid is hilarious! I was rolling just from their facial expressions! That has to be a comedy horror, right?

The film I saw, in many ways, matches what SubRosa's link describes. However, I have absolutely no recollection of hostages held at a US Embassy in Spain. That's not to say it wasn't in the film. I simply don't remember it. The mention of Spain does ring a bell in that while laying in bed after retiring for the night it came to me that the film itself might be a Spanish production, which the Wiki article says it partly is.

As to the film being an intentional comedy, who's to say? Parts of it are so silly that at the very least it was surely shot tongue-in-cheek. Then again, maybe not.

Now that I know its name, I've found a number of reviews on YouTube. I obviously misremembered certain things, such as giving extra prominence to the manipulated contamination meter near the film's beginning, and confusing a tux jacket for the correct tutu later on. But Hell of the Living Dead (among its several titles) is definitely the movie I've been thinking of. Here's a review in which the presenter points out many of its 'virtues'.

I still have no recollection of the US Embassy business, which is why I initially dismissed the film as a possibility.

Just finished watching all three episodes of a roughly three hour "documentary" on knights. It has its problems but is, in my opinion, well worth watching. One thing that held my interest is that while shown with English narration and English subtitles it seems to be Germanic (????) in origin, whereas most such "documentaries" I've seen focus primarily on English and/or French knighthood. Here's episode one:



The continuing episode(s) should be available from my linked page.

"The Island" - SciFi Awesome!

Always liked The Island, although that may just be nostalgia talking.

This was my first time seeing it, or even knowing of it. Really well done and great premise!

Holes! For the hundredth time.

Is that a Pr0N?

BWAAHAA!!!! No, in fact I think it is PG, I just like it.

Havingly recently watched Jurassic Park, I decided to watch another of my all-time favourite films: Small Soldiers.

It's been years since I last watched it, and I genuinely don't know why. It's an absolutely fantastic film. The Gorgonites are brilliant(and hilarious), the Commando Elite are great entertainment, Hel, it's all just great! And that scene with the dolls is still the closest I've ever been to being scared by a film!

Also, watching it when I was a kid gave me a huge crush on Kirsten Dunst.

Band of Brothers! I remember watching and following the series as a kid with Daddy Uleni and Momma Uleni back in what, 2001? Thereabouts? Since I was a kid at the time I really couldn't make any sense on what was going on, didn't know who was who and what was what. And because the show didn't pull any punches, I remember being scared out of my wits; probably had a few nightmares from that, particularly from that scene where an Allied guy was running through a forest - running away from the enemies, I think - and ended face to face with the very enemies themselves! Hooooooo boy!

It'll be fun to revisit that scene, and this series in general.

BoB was good. I was an adult when I first saw it, and I still had trouble telling who many of the characters were. The trouble is the series might have an actor in one episode, then go for 5 more episodes before featuring them again. Then I am left scratching my head and wondering who was that again?

But that last part about the American running away from the Germans, and actually running into them sounds like the movie When Trumpets Fade.

I loved Band of Brothers. Watched it with my dad when I was younger, got the box set when I was old enough. Been a while since I last watched it...might remedy that.

Lol you were right; I looked up that movie and watched it until I found the scene that gave the kiddie me some nightmares! Looks like I jumbled different stuff together but it's all good. Now I have another movie on my list to watch (again)! Thanks SubRosa!

Watching the original Twilight Zone series. Awesome series and is on Netflix so if you want some surprisingly good entertainment then this is for you!

My favorites so far are an episode where anything a man says into a tape recorder becomes reality, a camera that takes pictures of the future, and one where astronauts land on a alien planet and become a zoological attraction.

Even I have a crush on Kirsten Dunst, who doesn't?









My favorite episode was a ship out in the ocean hearing a metal banging sound over the spot where their captain had once lost a submarine full of men in his command. (I think he saved himself at the expense of the crew) The ship's power goes out and it won't run and they keep hearing that banging.

So he sends a dive crew down; they find the sub and the remains of 11 men - and the last line of dialogue in the show = "And one of them had a hammer in his hands..."

When Trumpets Fade is definitely a good one to watch again. I really loved Ron Eldard and Martin Donovan in that one, and Dwight Yoakim as the Captain. Somehow he managed to wear his steel helmet like a cowboy hat! Maybe I'll dust it off and give it a rewatch again as well.

Try watching Saints and Soldiers if you can as well. It's another nice little WWII gem. I think it was an Indie movie, so it might be hard to find. But I know Netflix has it on dvd. It spawned a couple of sequels, which were not even really sequels since they had completely different characters in completely different stories. But the first was really good.

Agreed wholeheartedly. Saints and Soldiers was a really good film that I went into with zero expectations.

Because Uleni forced me to, I watched When Trumpets Fade again today. Excellent movie about the horror of the Hurtgen Forest. There are no heroes. Just the living, the dead, and the soon to be dead. I love how it starts, and how it ends.

Watched Suicide Squad last night. Meh.

Even for a 'superhero' film it was really fast paced, and just jumped from fight to fight without introducing the characters properly or developing them at all. They had some 'emotional' scenes shoehorned in there, and tried to show The Joker off as much as possible for whatever reason.

Deadshot and Harley Quinn were the main focus, but even they only got a couple of flashback scenes to tell their story. It's a shame because they have some really good actors in the film, and really cool comic book lore to work with, but don't make good use of them.

Other characters, like Katana, have no story at all. All she got was a couple of lines of dialogue from someone else while she sobbed in a corner. I have so many questions! Who is she? Who was her husband? why did he die? who killed him? Where does her sword come from? How does she have the sword? Why does she work for the US government? Who what when where why how?

What a wasted opportunity for what could have been a really good film.