Kaos' way behind movie reviews

[Kaos]

Train to Busan

I've been looking for the next great horror movie for quite a while.  This one comes close. Really really close.  It also comes from South Korea. 

It's not horror in the Michael Myers/Jason Voorhees slasher style.  It's the psychological horror of dealing with a zombie outbreak in a confined space. 

It's well done.  Well acted (for Koreans) and the story has enough turns to keep you interested.  Of course having to read the subtitles does that too. 

Very good movie.  I really hope they don't take this and try to make it into an Americanized version starring Tom Cruise, Dafne Keen, Dakota Fanning, John Cena and Alec Baldwin.

It's a familiar story but well told, well laid out and well paced.  Worth watching. 

[wesfau2]

Dunkirk

Beautifully shot: wide panoramic beach and sea scenes.

Excellent cast of mostly unknowns.

The plot?  Meh.  Except for Nolan's trademark timeline-futzing, it's a straight forward story.  Another WWII movie.  Meh.

[chinook]

Dunkirk

Beautifully shot: wide panoramic beach and sea scenes.

Excellent cast of mostly unknowns.

The plot?  Meh.  Except for Nolan's trademark timeline-futzing, it's a straight forward story.  Another WWII movie.  Meh.

Did you see it in 70mm?

[wesfau2]

Did you see it in 70mm?

IMAX

[WiregrassTiger]

IMAX

IMARVIN. Please to meet.

[Kaos]

Wish Upon
Another attempt to find quality horror. 

Some mid-level talent including Ryan Phillipe, Elisabeth Rohm, and a very weird cameoish appearance by Jerry O'Connell.

Story is basically a variation on the time-tested Monkey Paw theme. Make a wish but be careful what you wish for. There is always a price to be paid.

The film was geared toward a teen/tween audience as much of the wish angst centered on the stereotypical teenage need to be acknowledged, loved and respected.

The cast was adequate but not stellar. The musical choices were 80s-ish and badly out of place. The storyline was muddled, rushed in place, not fleshed out well, too predictable and occasionally superfluous. But it wasn't all bad.

It didn't reach for the cheap cat-out-of-a-garbage can jump scares. It didn't lean on a blaring soundtrack to create faux suspense.  It just told a predictable, choppy story.

[Kaos]

Pet

I like a movie that has the capacity to surprise.  This film managed that and managed it well. 

From the trailers I expected a story about a lovelorn guy who captured the object of his affection, locked her away in a cage and tried to figure out how to turn imprisonment into love. 

I got that, but I also got that turned completely on its head. 

Ksenia Solo plays the titular Pet and she does so with a combination of bitchy bitch face and wide-eyed seduction that's pretty convincing.  A really good performance.  Her motivations aren't always obvious but they come into focus over time. 

Dominic Monaghan takes on the role of the Pet's temporary owner and while he's okay, he wasn't able to match the psychotic Solo and faded as a result.  Wasn't bad, but just didn't paled in comparison to his Pet. 

As with all movies, especially those made outside the mainstream, there are a couple of dangling plot threads.  The most glaring here is the question of what happens to the detective and his obvious suspicions.  Why even open that storyline door if you're not going to look in that room again? 

I didn't really expect much from this and got way more than I bargained for.  I enjoyed the movie and was impressed with Solo in particular. 

[Kaos]

#1 Serial Killer -

Awkward skinny JapaChinese nerd is fascinated by girl in the office while simultaneously having an obsession with Ted Bundy and other serial killers.  Her rejection -- which doesn't even actually come from her -- sets him on a path to surpass Bundy as the nation's most notorious serial killer.

Along the way he extracts revenge on those who've wronged him, gets seduced by the paramour of his boss and continues a long, unfunny running gag about not being Asian when he obviously is. 

The movie has some similarities to Pet, but fails to deliver on every level.

The lead is creepy acting but overdoes it.  The boss is a buffoning caricature. The paramour is the only truly interesting character in the film but her continually shifting personality -- and her unbelievable attraction to the lead character -- destroys that. 

The girl he's mooning over is pretty hot, though. 

[AUJarhead]

The Emoji Movie

If you're sitting around the house with nothing to do, I recommend this movie to take your kids to.  Make sure it's really balls hot outside, and that the movie theater you pick has the A/C cranked up, this way, you can enjoy a nice, cool 90 minute nap.

[Kaos]

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

I finally got around to seeing this. 

It's pretty much what I expected.  It falls into the same pattern (to a lesser degree) that's plagued other great unexpected first films.   Take Pirates of the Caribbean for instance.  I didn't expect much when I went to see it. But it was a really enjoyable film full of surprising performances.  Same with the first Guardians.  Went hoping it would be okay and it far exceeded expectations. 

The sequel to Pirates, though?  Trod a lot of the same ground with a bigger budget and less focused story. 

Same with this one. 

Familiar characters doing essentially the same things but with a bigger budget and more forced humor. 

Not saying it wasn't good or that I didn't enjoy it.  It was and I did. 

It just crept right up to the edge of sensory overload.  The whole Sgt. Pepper planet that was Peter's dad?  Too much.  All the slo-mo rainbow action sequences? Too much.

The movie reeled it in at the end for a predictable, but satisfying resolution.  But it was so special effects heavy and so blindingly colorful that it almost lost me. 

The first film was a four and a half star effort.  This one only rated three and a half at best.  Not because it wasn't good, but because it didn't break any new ground. It merely threw more special effects money at the same tilled field.

[wesfau2]

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

I finally got around to seeing this. 

It's pretty much what I expected.  It falls into the same pattern (to a lesser degree) that's plagued other great unexpected first films.   Take Pirates of the Caribbean for instance.  I didn't expect much when I went to see it. But it was a really enjoyable film full of surprising performances.  Same with the first Guardians.  Went hoping it would be okay and it far exceeded expectations. 

The sequel to Pirates, though?  Trod a lot of the same ground with a bigger budget and less focused story. 

Same with this one. 

Familiar characters doing essentially the same things but with a bigger budget and more forced humor. 

Not saying it wasn't good or that I didn't enjoy it.  It was and I did. 

It just crept right up to the edge of sensory overload.  The whole Sgt. Pepper planet that was Peter's dad?  Too much.  All the slo-mo rainbow action sequences? Too much.

The movie reeled it in at the end for a predictable, but satisfying resolution.  But it was so special effects heavy and so blindingly colorful that it almost lost me. 

The first film was a four and a half star effort.  This one only rated three and a half at best.  Not because it wasn't good, but because it didn't break any new ground. It merely threw more special effects money at the same tilled field.

Congrats you've broken Hollywood's code.

[Buzz Killington]

Dunkirk

Beautifully shot: wide panoramic beach and sea scenes.

Excellent cast of mostly unknowns.

The plot?  Meh.  Except for Nolan's trademark timeline-futzing, it's a straight forward story.  Another WWII movie.  Meh.

Plus, no female heroes.

[Godfather]

Plus, no female heroes.

What like Wonder Woman?

[Kaos]

What like Wonder Woman?

As hot as anything I've ever seen. 



Was Wonder Woman good?  Yeah.  I think so. Pretty sure it was.  But I didn't breathe the entire time she was on screen.  Transfixed is what I was.  Betwitched. 

[Godfather]

I don't think that picture is her.

and Wonder Woman was horrible.

[Kaos]

I don't think that picture is her.

and Wonder Woman was horrible.

It's her. 

And your little brain must be on vacation.

[Godfather]

It's her. 

And your little brain must be on vacation.

No doubt she's hot, movie still sucked

[Snaggletiger]

No doubt she's hot, movie still sucked

And I suppose she puts her make up on with a  trowl....trowel.

[wesfau2]

Was Wonder Woman good?  Yeah.  I think so. Pretty sure it was.  But I didn't breathe the entire time she was on screen.  Transfixed is what I was.  Betwitched.

I said almost the exact thing: she was distractingly hot.

[Godfather]

And I suppose she puts her make up on with a  trowl....trowel.

She does not appear to ....no