Escape from L.A. seems to blend together 1980s and 1990s cheese with a mixture of success while others are just too much, though Kurt Russell is still great as Snake. I will say, this one at least does have some replay value.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood may not be Tarantino’s strongest film though I did enjoy this experience more than The Hateful Eight thanks to his attention to detail for the era along with some fun performances by both DiCaprio and Pitt.
Big Trouble in Little China isn’t one of my favorite films of the 80s nor is it one of my favorites from John Carpenter, but despite some lackluster character development and a plot that feels a bit disjointed, ignoring all of that makes for a fun flick.
Crypto isn’t a terrible movie but like most films in the Grindstone Entertainment portfolio might have a kernel of an interesting story, just not materialized thanks to the script writing, pedestrian direction and relatively cheap budget.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 is a good step down from the first movie but still enjoyable enough even if the jokes at times feel forced and the story not quite as strong, and a villain’s motivations a bit of a letdown. That said, the performances were mostly good especially Karen Gillan and Michael Rooker.
The Fate of the Furious is a perfectly fine entry into the now long-running franchise that doesn’t really show signs of slowing down. The action scenes are well done and although none of the acting, or dialogue for that matter, will impress, I still found myself relatively entertained.
Deepwater Horizon is an intense action-disaster flick that takes the genre to the next level considering it’s based on actual events. The performances by Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell are top notch while John Malkovich was a bit distracting but still an effective antagonist.
John Carpenter’s The Thing is certainly one of the best sci-fi horror/thrillers out there and just might rank behind Alien and Aliens, though I still prefer those two. Where this succeeds, much like those two, is the claustrophobic atmosphere with the added subtext of paranoia.
The Hateful Eight is easily my least favorite of Tarantino’s films and while technically speaking it is a masterpiece especially with a couple of the performances (Russell and Leigh in particular), the cinematography and score, the rest was an utter chore to sit through and it felt every bit of its nearly three hour length.
Furious 7 takes insanity to the next level with incredible action sequences as well as impressive stunt work to go along with seeing characters I’ve come to care about since the beginning. No doubt the loss of Paul Walker weighed heavily on the cast and crew and one must give kudos for getting it done. And all things considered, Wan and company did the best with what they had while also giving the audience an emotional but effective sendoff for Walker.
Escape from New York might be far from perfect, but it’s an entertaining flick with an outstanding, and subdued, performance from Kurt Russell and a fantastic electronic score from Carpenter and Howarth. This new 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release from Shout Factory is phenomenal not only porting over the features from the previous CE release but includes a few more goodies for fans to peruse.
Used Cars is not only a biting and dark satire but it’s also very funny and pretty edgy even by today’s standards to the point I’d doubt a film like this would get widely released. Kurt Russell is fantastic in the lead role and the supporting cast, led by Jack Warden, is wonderful as well.