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AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/26/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch
Note: This movie recently turned 30 years old and I decided to revisit it. The last time that I watched this movie was back in 2007 and I haven't seen it since then. Darkman is a childhood favorite of mine and I remember watching it when it was on TV back in the 90s when I was 5 or 6 years old. After rewatching this movie, I feel like it holds up very well. Darkman is a fun and creative take on the superhero genre in my opinion.
It's cool that Darkman can create fake skin and disguises himself as other people. You can't tell who is who when he is using a disguise. I think Liam Neeson does a wonderful job of playing a tragic character that must cover his ugly face to avoid other people being scared of him. Darkman is like if The Phantom of the Opera, The Invisible Man, Elephant Man, and The Shadow fused together into a neat character. The rest of the characters in this movie are fun and memorable including Larry Drake (RIP) as a crime boss.
What I also enjoy about Darkman is the cool visuals and the dark Gothic atmosphere. The movie feels like a mix between a horror movie, a pulp gangster film, and a superhero film similar to Tim Burton's Batman. The set pieces are impressive, and the makeup work holds up very well. They did a wonderful job of making Darkman look scary and gross looking. The only thing in this movie that I felt like that didn't age well is the green screen effects. Some scenes in the movie, you can obviously tell that it was filmed with a digital green screen. I also like how Sam Raimi didn't want the movie to be 100% serious by adding some humorous moments in the movie. Just like most superheroes from the Golden Age, Darkman can be campy at times and I don't consider that to be a bad thing. Even the Evil Dead sequels from Sam Raimi were campy at times too. The score by Danny Elfman is fantastic as well because it is fun to listen too.
Darkman still has its fair share of flaws too. In the movie, Darkman can somehow increase his strength at random and the movie never explains why. Darkman is still a great movie nevertheless and it is worth checking out.4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/23/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
First viewing
Note: This movie is the very few movies from Stuart Gordon that I have not seen yet. I do remember seeing DVD copies of this movie at my local video store back in the early 2000s and I've been curious about it for ages. This movie is now available on Amazon Prime (As of 8/23/2020), I thought I might as well check it out. After watching this movie for the first time, I thought it was pretty good. King of the Ants is a cool crime thriller that mixes elements of horror and neo-noir.
This movie is not the best movie from Stuart Gordon and it's a flawed movie as well. I do like that this movie is different from most movies from Stuart Gordon because it's not a splatter comedy or a body horror movie. It's a gritty crime thriller that deals with a normal everyday guy that ends up picking between redemption and vengeance after doing something that he never wanted to do in the first place. The movie almost has a David Fincher vibe to it in my opinion. You get to see the emotional trauma that the main character (played by Chris McKenna) goes through after leaving the life of crime. You should also not let the poster fool you because this movie is not about killer ants at all. Ants are used as a metaphor to describe how people are always in the same life cycle doing the same thing every day as ants do. It's a pretty interesting social commentary and Stuart Gordon did a great job on exploring those themes in the movie.
The movie handles the sex and violence in the movie very well because they have a purpose in the film. The sex scenes and graphic violence are there to show the proximity of lust and violence in humanity. The main character ends up losing his humanity as time goes on in the film, and he begins to care less about the people that he kills. You also have solid performances from Kari Wuhrer, George Wendt, Vernon Wells, and Daniel Baldwin. George Wendt is always fun on camera, no matter how bad the movie is. As I said before, this movie is far from perfect. The movie does have some plot holes and the dialogue could have been better at times.
Overall, King of the Ants is a nice gem from the early 2000s that people tend to overlook. Check it out if you've got time to spare. 4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 voted for list
Films I couldn't put down in high school (10 movies items)4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/22/2020
Viewed: Netflix
First viewing
Note: I have been excited to see this movie ever since it was first announced. Spike Lee made a great comeback with BlacKkKlansman (2018) in my opinion because I felt like his movies after 2006 started to drop in quality. I finally had the time to sit down and watch it on Netflix today. After watching it for the first time, I really enjoy it. I don't think it is Spike Lee's best movie, but I still consider it to be a solid movie nevertheless.
Da 5 Bloods is a very good movie that deals with greed, racism, and anti-war. Watching this movie felt like that I was watching a mixture between The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Apocalypse Now (1979), Do the Right Thing (1989), and Three Kings (1999). The acting and dialogue are top-notch in my opinion. I can't think of a single bad performance in this movie and I hope that Delroy Lindo gets an Oscar nomination. I do love the great cast of characters that Spike Lee created for the movie because he did a wonderful job giving them their own personalities. Every character in this movie is pretty likable, and they do feel like real-life people. You get to see the relationships and the conflicts that these characters went through during the Vietnam War.
I just love how you can really feel the bonds that these characters have and you start to feel upset when something bad happens to them (without spoiling too much of the movie). The movie's message about how war is about money is spot on too. You also get fantastic cinematography from Newton Thomas Sigel, and he did a fantastic job of making the colors in this movie really pop out. It was really neat how the movie switches from 16mm during the 1970s to the movie being shot digitally in the modern-day. The 16mm scenes almost feel like they filmed it in the 1970s. I was also surprised that they used de-aging technology for the flashback scenes on the actors because I didn't know that they did after the movie was over. It did felt convincing that they hired younger actors during the flashbacks. The ending in this movie is wonderful because it will punch you in the gut.
If I had to pick one thing that I didn't like about the movie is the pacing. This movie is too long and I felt like it could have been 2 hours at max. The movie also started to feel disjointed during the middle act of the movie in my opinion. Overall, Da 5 Bloods is a great movie and it is worth checking out. 4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/21/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
First Viewing
Note: Michael Mann is one of my favorite film directors and I never saw this movie until now. People have recommended this movie to me for ages, but I never had the opportunity to watch it. Thankfully, I was able to buy the Criterion Blu-Ray a while ago and I finally sat down to watch this movie for the first time. After watching this movie for the first time, I thought this movie was awesome. This may be my favorite Michael Mann movie yet.
I love the dark atmosphere and the colorful cinematography that this movie has. Everything in this movie is wonderful to look at because I love the use of colors that this movie has. Donald E. Thorin did a wonderful job of creating cinematography that looks and feels so expressionistic. The best shots are this movie is when the movie is set during night time because you get some awesome color palette that knows how to use lights and reflection to capture the tone of the story. I can look at any night time scene in this movie and stare at it all day long. I also love the music from Tangerine Dream because it is so catchy. It has a synth-wave vibe to it and it works so well with the movie. How it was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Musical Score is beyond me.
The story and characters are excellent because Michael Mann created a cast of interesting characters. James Caan as Frank is a total badass and his acting was very well done. James Cann knows how to play a really cool anti-hero character on camera in my opinion. You also have a great supporting cast with Robert Prosky, Willie Nelson, James Belushi, and Tuesday Weld as well. Pretty much everyone else in this movie did a wonderful job of acting in my opinion. The movie is also 2 hours long and there is not a single boring moment in the entire movie. This movie is one great thrill ride from start to finish. I also love the ending because you get plenty of action at the end of the movie without spoiling anything. The only thing that I didn't like about this movie is that I felt like the subplot of Willie Nelson's character went nowhere.
Overall, Thief is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend checking it out.4 years, 8 months ago
4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/21/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First Viewing
Note: This is another popular movie that I missed out on when it came out because I was super busy with community college at the time and I didn't have the time to go to the movies. I remember many people who I knew at my college was crazy over this movie and would not shut up about it for months. This is also the highest-rated movie on my watch list, so I was going to watch this movie eventually. I did like Jojo Rabbit from Taika Waititi and I'm curious to check out his other movies (Except for Thor 3, I have no interest in that one. Sorry). After watching this movie for the first time, I thought this movie was pretty good. I can see why many people love this movie because What We Do in the Shadows has a great cast of fun characters.
This movie was an interesting take on the vampire genre by having it be done in the style of a mockumentary. It is a fun and creative idea that I'm surprised no one has really thought about doing until now. I also like the main cast of characters because they have fun personalities to them. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi did a good job of creating a cast of characters that feel unique to each other. Jonathan Brugh's character was probably my favorite character in this movie because I thought he was very funny. The makeup and the special effects in this movie are surprisingly good too. For a movie that is made with a budget under 2 million, nothing in this movie looks cheap or super fake looking. Even the zombies and werewolves in this movie look neat too.
If I had to pick one thing that I didn't like about this movie is that some humor didn't work for me. You have some humorous moments in this movie that didn't feel funny in my opinion. Even some jokes were getting old during the last act of the movie. Other than that, I have nothing else to say about this movie. Overall, What We Do in the Shadows is a fun and creative vampire movie that is worth checking out. I will probably check out the TV show in the near future. 4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/20/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
First Viewing
Note: After watching three movies from Gregg Araki so far, I now consider myself a fan of his work and I still want to see the rest of his movies. I was unaware that he directed this movie until recently. I do remember when this movie came out when I was a Junior in High School and I didn't bother with it because I thought it was another lame stoner comedy. After watching the movie for the first time on Amazon Prime (As of 8/20/020), I end up enjoying this movie. Smiley Face is absolutely hilarious from start to finish in my opinion.
This is probably the weakest movie that I've seen from Gregg Araki, but I still consider it to be a good movie nevertheless. The story and characters are pretty simple, but the simple nature of this movie works very well. It is a stoner movie and I don't think anyone was expecting something deep out of this movie. Anna Fairs and the rest of the actors did a good job of acting in the movie in my opinion. I was surprised to see Carrot Top in the movie because I haven't seen him in anything after 1999.
The wacky comedy and the ridiculous over the top decisions is why this movie is so funny. I found myself rolling on the floor laughing when watching this movie. Almost every moment in this movie is hilarious and Gregg Araki did a wonderful job of telling a story with likable characters. Normally, these types of movies would have flat and forgettable characters. However, Smiley Face has a very enjoyable and memorable protagonist in my opinion. The rest of the supporting cast is great too because I can't think of a single forgettable character in the movie.
Overall, Smiley Face is a solid comedy movie and it is worth checking out. 4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/17/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First Viewing
Note: I have always been curious to check out this movie for the last 10 years now because I always like killer animal movies. I end up renting the movie from Amazon Prime because you can only watch it in HD if you rent it or buy it digitally. After watching this movie for the first time, I honestly enjoy it. This is not a perfect movie, but it is pretty good for what it is. Burning Bright is a straight-forward killer animal movie that is both fun and suspenseful.
The movie is similar to Crawl (2019) with both movies having a similar theme of two people being stuck in a hurricane while dealing with a killer animal on the loose. Obviously, this movie came out first by almost a decade. I do feel that this movie did a good job of making a suspenseful movie because you can feel the tension that these characters are going through. The movie does a good job of showing how scary and deadly tigers can be. If I was around a tiger, I would probably shit my pants. I also like how this movie didn't overuse any jump scares because the movie knows how to use them right.
The special effects are not bad for a direct to video movie because the CGI looks decent. Some scenes in this movie, they used a real tiger while most scenes use a CGI tiger on-screen. While the special effects won't win any major awards, but you can tell that they put a lot of effort into making it look believable. I do like that this movie is under 90 minutes and it moves at a nice pace. This movie is a good way to waste 86 minutes without feeling like a total time-waster in my opinion.
The worst thing about this movie is the story logic and character choices. You also have a plot twist that is so badly written because it is so stupid. It felt like this story needed some depth, and they decided to add a plot twist that made no sense. The ending of this movie feels rushed too. Also, Meat Loaf has a cameo in this movie and is not credited for some strange reason.
Overall, Burning Bright is a fun movie because it knows what it wants to be. It is worth checking out if you enjoy killer animal movies.4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I watched in August 2020 list
Date: 8/15/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch
Note: It's been a while since I have seen this movie and it is still awesome in my opinion. Tokyo Drifter is filled with non-stop action and beautiful cinematography. This movie is wonderful to look at because you have many amazing looking set pieces. You can take almost any scene of this movie and hang it up in a museum. The colorful imagery in this movie also has a dream quality feeling to it in my opinion. Tokyo Drifter has a simple, but yet very well-told story about an enforcer that can't enjoy life without crime being involved in his life.
Seijun Suzuki did a great job of creating a cast of characters that you really care about. Every action sequence in this movie is fantastic. I can't think of a single dull moment in this movie at all. You also have a fantastic music score from Hajime Kaburagi that is very noteworthy as well. I highly recommend this movie.4 years, 8 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 6 items to their collection
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4 years, 8 months ago
Watched In August 2020AVPGuyver21 commented on a list
Movies I watched in August 2020 (52 movies items)"I plan on watching his English movies soon. I can see why people could not get into Dogtooth."
4 years, 8 months ago
4 years, 8 months ago