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WESTERNx32 - challenge [2025]
25. Watch a western film with some sci-fi elements.

Now... first things first! COWBOYS & ALIENS is not a great movie, and it’s not “cinema” by any means... but it’s a unique and fun movie to watch, and therefore, I like it quite a lot!
And to be honest, I would probably even rate this with 4-stars if I was watching the theatrical cut... but I watched the extended cut instead, which is around 17 minutes longer compared to the theatrical version... and with those 17 minutes, the extended cut definitely feels way too long. So therefore, I went with 3.5 instead of 4-stars...

You know... there aren’t many sci-fi westerns out there... especially westerns that include aliens. WESTWORLD is probably the most well-known sci-fi western... and so is WILD WILD WEST, and there’s also BACK TO THE FUTURE 3! There’s probably a few more, but generally, that’s about it... especially when it comes to big-budget titles.
But if you're looking for a sci-fi western with aliens, and I mean real westerns set in the 1870s, not post-apocalypse stuff... COWBOYS & ALIENS is almost the only one out there done with a big budget!
I say almost because there are a couple of low-budget DTV titles you can find, like ALIEN SHOWDOWN: THE DAY THE OLD WEST STOOD STILL, ALIENS IN THE WILD WILD WEST, or 1994's OBLIVION, and maybe a few more...
But as I said... all of those are cheap, low-budget, some even trashy movies... with COWBOYS & ALIENS being the only big-budget representative of that genre combo.

As for the movie itself... well, like I said, it’s not great... but it’s a hell of a lot of fun and as ridiculous as it sounds... and with a title like COWBOYS & ALIENS, it should be! Hell, that’s half the charm!
Hollywood... or in this case, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks (and a few other companies)... surprisingly opened up their pockets for this silly high-concept project, investing as much as $163 million in it, and you can see almost every cent on screen and behind it!

Jon Favreau, actor-turned-director who basically kickstarted the MCU with IRON MAN back in 2008, is behind the camera, while in front of it is an all-star cast that includes Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown, Paul Dano, Olivia Wilde, Adam Beach... and even Keith Carradine and Walton Goggins in smaller roles...
Ron Howard and Spielberg are among the producers, Harry Gregson-Williams did the score, and ILM handled the VFX... so yeah, you’ve got all the best involved with this one!

With all that being said... you’d expect a masterpiece. Instead, we got a silly yet entertaining movie which... considering it’s PG-13, is actually quite violent for that rating... or at least it feels that way.

Either way... as I mentioned... I really like this movie! Sure, the pacing could’ve been tighter, and the movie could’ve been shorter (even the theatrical version). But there’s some great action in it, some mystery, the effects are pretty good... plus the cast is killer, and overall, the movie is entertaining... as a movie titled COWBOYS & ALIENS should be. So you either dig it, or not...
Honestly, I don’t know what else anyone should expect from a movie with a plot like this!? Certainly not some serious, dramatic, Oscar-worthy film...

You know... Christopher Reeve is my SUPERMAN... the Superman of my childhood, and he will always be my Superman!

But even so, truth to be told... prior to this documentary, I honestly didn't know much about Christopher Reeve other than the generally known facts... that he played Superman in 4 movies, and that he fell off a horse and broke his spine, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down for life...

Also... I don't think I’ve seen him in anything else except his SUPERMAN movies! And even with those, I still haven’t watched the fourth movie... only the first 3...

But from what I understood from the documentary, apart from the first two SUPERMAN films, he unfortunately didn’t have any other major hit films in his career, even though he dabbled in all sorts of genres... so that may be why I’ve never watched any of his other films...

But movies aside... what a life story this was!

This documentary honestly brought tears to my eyes on several occasions, and to see what happened to him, how he was dealing with all that... and to see what happened to his wife Dana, just a year after his death... it just shows you how life really isn't fair sometimes!
Also... I had no idea he and Robin Williams were such good friends... and to see how much Williams ed him and his family after the accident... it's a proof of true friendship, and made Williams even a bigger man in my eyes, although I always loved that guy...

As Glenn Close said in the documentary... maybe if Reeve was still alive, maybe Robin would be too, and they would probably have helped each other during their dark moments (Robin’s depression, and Dana’s death)...

But yeah... we will never know...

Anyway... really great and emotional documentary about one truly super/man...

PS. I've been planning for a while to show my kids the original SUPERMAN movies with Reeve (at least the first 3... I'll watch the fourth one on my own)... maybe now is finally the time to do it...

Kind of a random pick. Noticed this on Max... heard about it a couple of months ago, and knew that it involved some kind of monsters or something like that... but other than that, didn't know much about it.
But the thing that made me decide I wanna watch it is the fact that it was only an hour and a half long, so with that in mind, I decided to give it a go...

And you know what... it was fine!

Look... it’s nothing new... nothing to write home about, and in many ways, it reminded me of A QUIET PLACE... but as I said, it was fine. It basically has all the same ingredients as A QUIET PLACE... monsters that react to us and want to kill us, a parent trying to protect/save his sick kid, and the restrictions that the main characters must adhere to in order to try to survive.
There's even a twist at the very end, thrown in just for good measure. But I'm not sure if that twist made this any better... on the contrary, it made the movie more uninspiring and cliché! Although it did offer some concrete answers to the question of where the monsters came from, and why they possibly can't go above 8000 feet?
But since these monsters reminded me a bit of giant cricket nymphs, I had a theory about what they might be... so maybe that’s why the twist at the end felt like a resort to cliché...

There are a couple of intense moments, but other than that... there's a lot of walking and talking. Although strangely, I wasn't bored. I guess the mystery of where these monsters came from, and why they can't go above 8000 feet, kept me intrigued...

Anyway... Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin are both fine, special effects are OK, and overall the movie is a fine time-waster for a rainy Sunday afternoon. But you'll forget about it in a heartbeat...

This review may contain spoilers.

So... since M:I is one of my favorite (action) franchises, I was naturally really excited about the latest addition to the franchise, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING!
So, a friend and I went to watch it day one... on the first day of preview screenings before the wide release, which wasn’t cheap (ticket was around 10€), but neither of us really wanted to wait!

So... was it worth it!?

Well... I would say yes, but... I must say right away that the film did not fully meet my expectations, and is definitely a weaker addition to the franchise...

And here's why...

The thing is, THE FINAL RECKONING starts kind of messy and rushed... like it’s in a hurry to cram everything in without really letting anything land. In those first 40 minutes or so, the plot felt kind of choppy, and the constant, yet mostly unnecessary callbacks and flashbacks to previous films didn’t help at all. They just slow things down, which is probably one of the reasons why THE FINAL RECKONING has a 170-minute runtime!

For example... the movie opens up with Angela Bassett’s character kind of sweet-talking Hunt in order to convince him to surrender. Although she’s actually giving him a new mission in a way... and during that monologue, we see a bunch of flashbacks to all the previous movies. And in of rhythm, flow, and storytelling, that felt so weird.
It would make more sense to put that at the very end of the movie, as some kind of nostalgic send-off to the character(s) and the franchise. But to open the movie that way... I dunno, it just felt so weird...

And as I said... some of those flashbacks were totally unnecessary.
For example... the first time we see Paris in this movie (played by Pom Klementieff), there's an immediate flashback of her from the previous movie... which, apart from being unnecessary, felt kind of insulting!
It's like the filmmaker didn’t trust the audience or their knowledge of the previous movie, which this sequel directly continues. So in order to watch this, you just have to watch DEAD RECKONING first, so you will most defnitelly know what happened to Paris and who she is.
But instead, they treat us like we don’t know shit, so they’ll just show us... again...

And speaking of flashbacks furthermore... we’ve seen flashbacks from Hunt’s past in DEAD RECKONING and this movie as well, and we know Gabriel is responsible for Hunt ing IMF because he framed him for murder, and we know he killed someone very dear to Hunt!
But unfortunately, this movie never gives us answers to the question of what exactly was the deal between Gabriel and Ethan in the past? Or who was that mysterious woman being killed?

As for the callbacks... some of them worked, like the one connected to the Langley heist from the first MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and William Donloe (played once again by Rolf Saxon). Loved seeing that character back, and seeing what happened to him after that heist. The way they introduced him into this story felt really organic and natural.
The callback to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III kind of worked, especially since it gave Hunt a reason to feel guilt over the dangerous situation the world has found itself in! But at the same time, it kind of felt unnecessary. Then again... maybe it felt that way because the flashbacks were a bit too much...
But one callback that didn’t work at all, in my opinion, was when this movie unnecessarily connected Agent Briggs (played by Shea Whigham) to Jim Phelps (played by Jon Voight in the original MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE).
And my question is... WHY?? What exactly was the meaning of that connection?? Because it felt so random and didn’t really do much for the story. Actually, it didn’t do anything for the story... so why make that connection at all!!?

Also... the editing in some moments really bothered me as well, especially in flashbacks! This is not STAR WARS, so there’s no need for swipes or circular transitions between shots/scenes. That style of editing looked so weird in an M:I movie!

Honestly, this might be the weakest entry in the franchise when it comes to flow and narrative structure, because it felt kind of disted, with some weird narratives and subplots (for example Luther’s subplot... I mean, why is he sick in this sequel?).
But thankfully, after the first hour or so, it starts to find its footing and things kind of settle into place, and by the end of it, THE FINAL RECKONING blows our mind with grandiose and intense underwater and aerial action sequences!

However, almost the entire team is somehow “thrown” into the background, while the main focus is on Hunt and his struggle with the fact that he may be responsible for the end of the world that’s possibly coming... and his determination to save it as best he can, because the stakes have never been higher for him!
And I mean, all the team had things to do here, but I had the feeling like their screen time is far less than in previous films, and not all of them were really important to the story...

For example, Grace (played by Hayley Atwell) was almost a central figure of the last movie and really important to the story... but here... well, here she’s just... here! And the same could be said for Agent Degas, who suddenly decides... for some unknown reason... to the renegade IMF team. I guess they needed a “replacement” for Ilsa, because neither Grace nor Benji are that skilled in combat...
As for Luther... as I mentioned earlier... his subplot was really weird. We know that Luther decided to go off the grid in the last film, to work completely offline in a place where the Entity can’t find him, in order to find traces of its encoding and create a weapon to destroy it.
But why and when exactly did he get terminally sick?? And why was it necessary for him to be diagnosed with an unspecified illness?? In order to make his fate easier for us or what!? If so... I think that just did an injustice to Luther, and his exit from the movie (and franchise) just didn’t have the impact it should have had...

And one last complaint before I finally say a couple of good words about THE FINAL RECKONING... it’s about the tone of the movie.

You see... this part is way too serious compared to the rest of the franchise, and is kind of missing the charm and levity that made earlier installments stand out.
There’s really not much humor in THE FINAL RECKONING, like there was in previous movies. I mean... I get it, as I said... the stakes have never been higher, and the world is on the brink of its end in this sequel! And the movie is fun as it is... but still... a little more humor wouldn’t hurt the movie...

And now finally... why I actually liked THE FINAL RECKONING, despite all the flaws I mentioned!?

Well... as I said earlier... once things kind of settled into place, and the narrative structure was finally established, same as Hunt’s objective... THE FINAL RECKONING finally became the M:I movie we all wanted... a spectacular and extremely intense action ride!
To be honest with you all... I really didn’t feel that 170-minute runtime... not in the pacing or rhythm of the movie. I felt it in my body after sitting in a chair for 3 hours... although, that had more to do with me and my age, because the chairs in the cinema were actually comfortable. But I’m getting old so my body gets stiff after sitting for several hours, lol...
What’s even funnier is that while I was struggling just to sit for 3 hours, I was watching 62-year-old Tom Cruise doing insane shit on screen, for real, in-camera! And here I am, 43... barely getting up after sitting for 3 hours, haha...

But anyway... an extended submarine sequence, where Hunt makes his way through the sub as it slowly sinks deeper into the Bering Sea, is so mesmerizing and intense, that you don’t even notice that you’ve stopped breathing at certain moments as well...
The ending to that sequence does require you to suspend disbelief... but hey, it’s not the first time we’ve done that in the M:I franchise...

As for the finale... with Cruise dangling off the wing of a plane during a biplane chase, hitting zero Gs and literally hanging on for dear life as the wind whips and distorts his face... that has to be one of the most insane and craziest stunts ever put on screen!
Cruise is a freaking beast for doing that at 62, and this is truly a highlight of the “stunt” side of his career! I watched that entire sequence with my jaw on the floor, literally sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time...
The only problem I had with that sequence is that it kind of feels like a copy of the aerial sequence from FALLOUT... only this time, the helicopters have been replaced with biplanes. But Hunt’s objective is basically the same in both. Once again, he has to jump from one vehicle to another to get hold of something the villain has around his neck before the time runs out...
But you know... considering how awesome the whole sequence is... I’m willing to overlook that.

Now... I know... when you read all this and compare the amount of criticism with the amount of praise, you’re probably wondering "how did I even like this movie", and why did I give it 4 stars!?
And truth be told, I was struggling with myself... and the more I think about it, the more I’m leaning toward a 3.5-star rating instead of 4.
But I did like this movie... a lot... and I’m willing to keep my faith in THE FINAL RECKONING for a second viewing.

If this is the final M:I movie, I don’t mind that. Hell, I even hope it is... because it’s better for them to stop now while they still have a slight edge.
If anything, this movie proved that it’s really hard to compete with the rest of the franchise, especially with FALLOUT, or even GHOST PROTOCOL and DEAD RECKONING.
So if this was the last time we see Hunt saving the world, and the last time we hear Schifrin’s M:I theme on the big screen... so be it. I can rest peacefully knowing that...
Sure, there’s always a way to make it work... it just takes someone who knows how to do it. But why force it? If, by some chance, we do get another M:I movie in the next, let’s say, 6–7 years… it will have to be something completely different in order to make it work...

So... is this the best send-off to this franchise and this character?? Well... probably not. But Cruise did his best, and leaves the franchise on a somewhat high note...

I’m actually looking forward to his next projects...

So...bon voyage, Hunt. Keep going, Cruise...see you at the movies!

PS: Now that I’ve finished the entire M:I franchise... if you like, check out MY RANKING of all the M:I movies!!

You know... I wasn't really in the mood to re-watch the entire franchise to prepare myself for THE LAST RECKONING, especially since I already did that pretty recently, back in 2023 when I was getting ready for Part 7.
So instead, I just re-watched the only movie you really need to revisit before THE FINAL RECKONING, and that's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING.

I had already re-watched it once before with my family, so this was actually overall my third time watching DEAD RECKONING, and although I loved it from the start, I have to say... this latest re-watch made me appreciate it even more. It's still easily my third favorite M:I movie in the entire franchise.

Now... despite kind of repeating the familiar formula... the IMF team gets disavowed again and saves the world again... DEAD RECKONING does its own thing. It tries to stand apart with its stunts, action set pieces, and central storyline, all while staying true to the tone of the last few entries.
The whole team is back - Hunt, Luther, Benji, and Ilsa... with the addition of a newcomer, a professional thief named Grace, played by Hayley Atwell. And they all have to stop a mysterious, all-powerful enemy: AI.

As I mentioned in my first review of DEAD RECKONING, putting AI as the main villain kind of pushes the film into sci-fi territory... but not fully since AI is more relevant than ever today and already a part of our daily lives... though still under control.
Still, no one can guarantee it’ll stay that way. So honestly, the scenario doesn’t feel that far-fetched, especially considering how dependent we are on tech and the internet.

There’s also a human villain, though more like AI’s henchman: the mysterious Gabriel, played by Esai Morales. Gabriel is possibly the weakest link in the whole movie... not because of the writing, but because Morales just doesn’t bring that threatening energy. He never really feels like a real danger to Hunt.
But hey, he's backed by all-powerful AI and has his right hand in the form of Paris, played flamboyantly by Pom Klementieff. She’s not that intimidating either, but unlike Morales, she’s fun to watch...

Either way... the stakes are high, and the action is an adrenaline rush from start to finish, and the stunts... once again.. are incredible!
Speaking of which... the big stunt, Tom Cruise jumping off a cliff on a motorcycle, was massively hyped before the release. People were psyched about it... but a lot of them ended up feeling kind of underwhelmed.
And yeah, the way it was shot... from behind Tom, as he goes over the cliff... does make it feel a bit flat. Like it could’ve been a stuntman doing it.
But the whole build up toward that stunt, and why is that stunt/jump important in the context of the story, and the fact that Hunt doesn’t wanna really do it... but has to! That’s what gives it power. He does it reluctantly, because there’s literally no other way to complete the mission.
And that’s what makes Ethan Hunt such a great hero... he doesn’t do these crazy things because he’s fearless and wants to do them... he does them because he has no choice. He'd rather not! And when you see that disbelief, that outcry, that grit on Tom’s face... that’s what makes him compelling. And honestly? It often adds a lot of humor to the movie, too.

For example, the car chase in this one... starting with a motorcycle, moving to a BMW, and ending in a little yellow Fiat 500... is easily one of the most entertaining and funny chases in the whole franchise. Hunt's chases are usually intense and precise, threading the needle every second.
But in this one, he’s not in control...not fully. And you can see it’s not easy for him as Grace takes wild turns, barely dodging cars... or trying to. Cruise, or rather Hunt, is hilarious in those moments.

So yeah... Tom Cruise might be an adrenaline junkie who loves doing crazy shit, but Hunt?! Not necessarily!

I just wanna address one more thing before I wrap this up... and that's the death of one of the major players in this sequel. I won’t spoil it...if you’ve seen the movie, you know who I’m talking about.
The reason I mention this is that when I first watched this film, that moment didn’t really hit me. It felt kind of underwhelming, like the movie just brushed past it.
This time around, I didn’t have that issue as much. I still think the moment lacks follow-up... there’s no real impact on the characters afterward. But I get it... Hunt and the rest of the team just don’t have time to grieve. Not at that moment...
But the whole scene sequence leading up to the death is actually really well-directed... and the build up is actually great. The only flaw is how fast the story moves on... but again, there's a reason for that.

Anyway... DEAD RECKONING. Another great addition to the franchise... at least in my book. I’d even say it’s kind of underrated and underappreciated. The thing is, FALLOUT set the bar so high, and I don’t know if any M:I movie can top it... but this one came pretty damn close.

Now onto THE LAST RECKONING...

So... the plan was to go to the cinema and watch THE ANT 2. But I figured, since I was already going to the cinema and had some time for myself, and I was intrigued by all those positive reviews I have read, why not watch THUNDERBOLTS as well?! And so I did!

However, due to the cinema schedule, I was forced to watch THUNDERBOLTS first, and then the film I had initially planned to see, THE ANT 2.
But as it turned out... that order worked out even better because after THUNDERBOLTS, I definitely needed something to cheer me up... and I was hoping THE ANT 2 would do the trick...

And guess what... it did!!

Now, unlike THUNDERBOLTS, I was actually really looking forward to this movie because I really liked the original. But the fact that there was almost a 10-year gap between THE ANT and this sequel did kind of make me slightly worried...
But... as it turned out in the end... I had no reason to be worried, because this sequel turned out to be great, delivering even more entertainment than the original...

The thing is, THE ANT and THE ANT 2 are two different movies, and this sequel is not a carbon copy of the original. The original was basically an origin story that showed us how Christian Wolff became who he is today... how he was raised, how he acquired all those skills, and how he handled his high-functioning autism... and all of this was intertwined with the puzzle that Wolff was trying to solve.

And the sequel... well... the sequel also has a puzzle that Wolff needs to solve, but this time he's doing that with his brother, and the focus is more on him having a great time with his brother, which makes it a buddy movie!
The sequel also shows us more about how his intelligence network works and how he gets all the information he needs... stuff that legit agencies can't even get...

Jon Bernthal, who plays Wolff's younger brother Braxton, and who didn’t really have a lot of screen time in the original movie, is almost a central character in this sequel... shoulder to shoulder with Ben Affleck. And the two of them are just freaking brilliant together, and they're the reason why I had so much fun with this sequel!
Those two have awesome on-screen chemistry, and the way Bernthal plays this character... all energetically flamboyant and wisecracking, yet kind of charming... totally adds to the film’s dynamic. I was literally laughing my ass off at some of the scenes and his reactions!

So... is this sequel better than the original?? I honestly can’t say or decide, as I like both movies almost equally. As I said... they are different movies, and I liked them for different reasons.
I’m just glad this turned out to be so much fun! If they ever make part 3... even if it’s in another 10 years... I’ll watch it! But hopefully, we won’t need to wait that long lol...

Fake-ass Avengers vs depression – that's basically THUNDERBOLTS in a nutshell...

Honestly, I dunno what the hell I expected from this!!?

Actually, scratch that...

The truth is, I wasn't expecting anything, since I wasn't even planning on watching it... just like I haven't watched most of the Marvel movies in the last few years, except for GUARDIANS 3 and DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE...

But all those 4-star rating reviews I kept seeing on my wall, and reading some of them, tricked me into watching this, because I figured... maybe THUNDERBOLTS really is as good and fun as people say it is... because I know the vast majority are already tired of Marvel, so... if they all liked this, it had to be good, right!?

Well, to quote Arnie from COMMANDO - “Wrong!”

Now... considering my 3-star rating, obviously it's not that bad either, and I obviously had some fun with this movie... but is it as good as most claim it is? To deserve a 3.7 on Letterboxd, or 7.6 on IMDb??! Hell NO!
And I'm definitely sorry for paying 6.20€ for the cinema ticket! Luckily, I wisely avoided the 3D screening, which is even more expensive. But ideally... this is a movie for home viewing...to stream, or catch on TV one rainy Sunday...

In my book, this is mid-tier Marvel... in the same league as CAPTAIN MARVEL, BLACK WIDOW, or even ETERNALS. So it's OK, it has its moments, but ultimately... it's nothing special, and easily forgettable...

First half of the movie is kind of fun, mostly thanks to all the characters and their reluctant team-up. Not all of them are equally fun to watch, but Wyatt Russell as second-grade Captain America, aka John Walker, and David Harbour as Red Guardian do stand out from the others...
Florence Pugh also isn’t bad in that first half and has her moments, but later on, she becomes so dull. Same goes for Hannah John-Kamen aka Ghost. She’s fine as part of the team, but probably the least interesting member of it...

Sebastian Stan aka Bucky feels like he accidently got lost here... like Marvel doesn’t really know what to do with his character, but he’s still here, trying to be badass. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus as kind of a “baddie” of the movie... well... she’s mostly just annoying...
As for Bob... well, I dunno what to tell you about Bob. A fucked-up Superman... or depressed Homelander... or all in one!? He had some fun moments in the first half, but once he became mentally unstable and anxious... I just stopped caring about him...

Where the movie completely lost me was the third act (which the movie doesn’t actually have), when it turned into DOCTOR STRANGE and became a therapy session...

Yeah... there’s no third act here... at least not your typical third act. Instead, as I said, the movie turns into a fucked-up therapy session for all these characters, dealing with their mental health... and it stops being fun.
Honestly, by that point, I was under the impression the movie was halfway through, and that the (real) finale was still ahead of us... but then that whole part of the movie just ended, and suddenly everybody was saved with the power of a hug, and end credits start rolling...

Now... don’t get me wrong... I know what Marvel was trying to do here, and them tackling mental illness through this movie is kind of intriguing, and even commendable...

But when you have all these characters cracking jokes and being smartasses through the first part of the movie, competing at who’s the best asshole... and then you switch off the fun mode and turn the movie into a dark and kind of psychological tale about depression, anxiety, trauma, and healing... well, as I said... they lost me there...

Also... them being the NEW AVENGERS... well, that’s kind of ridiculous when you think about it!
In the first AVENGERS, when Hulk alone stopped and took down that flying alien creature!? Well, in THUNDERBOLTS, the greatest achievement these NEW AVENGERS manage... and only as a team... is to stop and turn over a piece of concrete that was about to crush a little girl...
Instead of being heroic... I found that moment extremely ridiculous. But that’s just me, I guess...

Anyway... the more I think about THUNDERBOLTS, the less I care about it, and at this point, I’m almost on the verge of lowering my rating to 2.5! But you know what... I’ll keep those 3 stars after all, because that was my first impression of the movie when I stepped out of the cinema, so I’ll stick to that... for now (although I have a feeling I won’t be watching this again anytime soon... if ever)...

I still watching this for the first time back in the 90s, not knowing what the hell I was getting in for, and being blown away by the movie in the end!
I watched this because of Robert Rodriguez, and I probably thought this was another action movie of his...hopefully in the vein of DESPERADO, which I loved at the time (and I still do, for that matter)...

Now... imagine my surprise, and probably shock...considering I didn't like horror movies as a kid and avoided them... once the bloodthirsty vampires showed up and the bloody carnage started!

I honestly don't know how the hell I didn't turn it off right at that moment lol...

But yeah... I didn't... and I ended up loving the movie! And not just that... over the years, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN became one of my favourite movies, and is possibly the best movie Robert Rodriguez ever directed, at least in my book...

But... considering how big a fan I am of this movie, I can't believe I haven’t watched it once in the last 10 years or so! You see... the last time I watched this was back in 2013, on the "big" screen... well, kind of...
My brother-in-law brought his movie projector, so we projected the film onto the white wall of the house in the backyard one late summer night... and had a blast watching it!

But anyway... watching SINNERS almost three weeks ago made me want to finally re-watch this again, for completely obvious reasons...

And you know what, I have to say this right away. With all due respect to everybody who loved SINNERS... FROM DUSK TILL DAWN does it better - from setting up the story, to setting up the characters, to switching from one genre to another in a more natural and convincing way, to awesome bloody carnage and action in the third act!

Now... I know what you're gonna say...that I'm not very objective in my statement. And you know what... I'm probably not! But still... I found way more flaws with SINNERS than I found with FROM DUSK TILL DAWN... that's all...

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN starts as a gritty, high-stakes crime thriller, following two dangerous outlaw brothers on the run!
The very beginning of the movie... the opening scene... is a masterclass in tension and dark humor, starting off in a casual tone before quickly escalating into an intense situation, and ending in sudden, explosive violence... all before the guitar tears through the screen with "It's a Dark Night" and the title hits...

That scene immediately hooks you, and establishes our two main characters, the Gecko brothers, setting up very early on who's the boss and who's the "loose cannon," so to speak.
George Clooney, playing Seth Gecko, obviously is trying to have everything under control... and almost does... all except his brother Richard Gecko, played by Tarantino. Still, Clooney is the boss, and the one with the brains and sense of sensibility, because as it turns out later on... he may be a bastard, but he’s not a fucking bastard...

As you know... or don’t know... this was Clooney's breakout role in a major feature film. He was very popular at the time thanks to ER, but this is the role and the movie that turned him into a movie star.
And it’s no wonder it did, since Clooney delivers an awesomely intense, yet effortlessly cool and badass performance, dominating the screen with sharp charisma and edge. To this day, this is still probably my favorite performance of his...

Tarantino is also great as this messed-up and deeply unhinged psycho hiding behind an awkward, almost childlike “good boy” demeanor that makes him even more disturbing when you think about it...
He and Clooney share great onscreen chemistry, with Clooney clearly taking the lead... both in performance and character presence... while Tarantino's unsettling unpredictability adds tension and contrast to their dynamic...

And speaking of Tarantino... he co-wrote this movie, and his writing is just awesome! The dialogues these characters have are truly unforgettable! I could quote a bunch of them, but I’d just unnecessarily lengthen this already long text...

Anyway... very soon after the opening scene, we meet a new set of characters... a former preacher, Jacob Fuller, and his kids, Kate and Scott, played by Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, and Ernest Liu.
Interestingly enough, this was Liu's debut, and you can tell that, because out of the entire cast, Liu is the only one who sticks out like a sore thumb!
What's also interesting... he didn't pursue a prominent acting career afterward, and this is his only notable role in a very short career...
I always wondered how the hell he got the role in this movie anyway... especially considering how stacked the cast is with well-known faces and names (Danny Trejo, Fred Williamson, Michael Parks, John Saxon, John Hawkes, and Cheech Marin awesomely playing three different roles)...

But enough about Liu... instead let me say a word or two about Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis...

Now... Keitel was always considered a great actor, but he was never a traditional “big star” or leading man in Hollywood blockbuster films.
He’s known for powerful ing roles and working with acclaimed directors and indie projects, making him a standout character actor rather than a conventional Hollywood star. And almost the same can be said about Juliette Lewis as well...
But in FROM DUSK TILL DAWN... both of them are almost shoulder to shoulder with Clooney, and are some of the most important characters in the film. Hell, Lewis is basically the final girl of the movie...

Keitel plays a father of two and a preacher who lost his faith, and he and his kids are forced into this intense situation. His calm and calculated presence clashes against the chaos brought by the Gecko brothers.
Their uneasy alliance with Clooney’s character evolves from hostage tension to reluctant teamwork, marked by moments of mutual respect amid the blood-soaked madness.
You see... before the shit hits the fan, there are these short but crucial moments when the characters reluctantly interact and get to know each other, and those moments are such great character-building beats that even adds a certain emotional weight to the carnage that follows...

And speaking of carnage! Oh boy... once the movie takes a wild, genre-bending turn into full-blown vampire horror chaos... things go bonkers real fast, with gory mayhem, exploding bodies, and buckets of blood flying everywhere!
And almost all of it is done for real, with prosthetics and in-camera visual effects... the makeup, juicy blood splatters, fake body parts, even animatronics... all adding to that gloriously gritty and kind of campy, old-school horror feel.
There is some use of CGI in a few scenes, mostly for morphing between human and vampire appearances, and during the bat sequences. Those effects do look kind of cheesy, but at the same time, they totally add to the campiness...

And before I finish this already too-long review/text... I have to mention two extremely crucial and iconic things! That badass soundtrack, and Salma Hayek and her dance!

The hard rock/heavy metal soundtrack, featuring ZZ Top, Tito & Tarantula, The Blasters, and many others, is one of the most badass soundtracks ever... and it perfectly complements the film’s gritty and badass energy!
As for Salma Hayek... well, let me tell you this. When I first watched DESPERADO, and I first saw Salma walking down the street in that sexy white outfit, I was immediately in love for the rest of my life!
And when I saw her in FROM DUSK TILL DAWN... Jesus Christ... I was in total ecstasy! Salma Hayek’s dance scene in FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is peak cinema in every possible way... a hypnotic, sexy, and instantly iconic moment that burns itself into the memory of everyone who sees it.
Some say Tarantino wrote that scene specifically for himself... and that’s probably true considering his foot fetish, because that dance scene... and that moment when Salma is pouring tequila (or whatever it was) down her leg into his mouth... that’s got to be the highlight of his life!
But you know... as lucky as Tarantino was in that scene... Clooney probably also had the time of his life... I mean, his view was... well, let me just tell you, I would kill for that view lol!
But then again... I’d probably out with a boner if I was him hahaha...

But anyway... it's time to wrap this up, so all I’ll say is this... simply put, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is dark, funny, badass, and bold... a balls-out mashup of action, pulp, horror, and grindhouse mayhem. Pure Tarantino-Rodriguez madness at its best and most entertaining... an iconic ride every blood-soaked step of the way!

I can’t when or where exactly this movie popped up on my radar, way before it appeared here on my Letterboxd wall a couple of times...
I think I either saw the trailer or read the synopsis (or did both), and got intrigued by it. And then later on, a couple of great reviews popped up, basically saying that THELMA is a great movie... so it ended up on my watchlist...

Anyway...for some reason, I decided to pick this for our family movie night. And I say that with a certain amount of uncertainty, because, despite it looking like a possibly fun(ny) movie, I wasn’t sure my kids would like THELMA!
After all, based on the trailer and synopsis alone, this felt like a quirky indie dramedy (in the vein of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and such) more than your typical comedy, and I wasn’t sure if my kids would handle that kind of humor... or a 94-year-old hero(ine)...

But let me tell you one thing right away...they handled it just fine! They laughed their asses off through almost half the movie, and loved it in the end, same as I did.
My wife also had a great time watching it, but she was tired, so she went to bed halfway through the movie. But the kids stayed with me, watched the whole thing, and had a blast with it!

Essentially, THELMA is a quirky, charming, and quite hilarious indie dramedy about an adorable elderly woman on a determined quest for justice while riding on a Mobility Scooter for seniors! Movie is a great blend of heart and humor, with a dash of action.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (franchise) and Tom Cruise are the central backbone of this film and a huge inspiration for Thelma on her quest. Because, if Tom Cruise can do it, so can Thelma.

But THELMA isn’t just a quirky comedy...beneath the humor, it’s a deeply thoughtful story about aging and the fear of becoming "invisible" or a burden to others.
A story about the loss of independence and the challenges of relying on others. And also a story about the importance of dignity, resilience, and human connection as we grow older!
It also sheds light on the everyday struggles older people face... including the very real threat of being scammed...

To be honest, I’m afraid of getting old... and the way I see it, getting old sucks... especially if your mind and mobility start to go. But THELMA delivers a heartfelt message about strength and determination...telling us that, no matter what, we should never really quit. And as long as our mental health is alright, so we can make conscious decisions and move our arms and legs...age is just a number!

Thelma is played by June Squibb, who was 94 years old at the time (95 now), and she’s great here! So sweet, so charming, yet totally believable as this determined old lady. And as IMDb trivia stated, just like Tom Cruise, she also did most of her own stunts.

She’s accompanied by Richard Roundtree, in what ends up being his final film role before his ing in October 2023 (R.I.P.), three months before the film’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The two of them share a great and touching chemistry, and their dynamic adds real emotional depth to the story...

But you know...the entire cast is great, including Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell, and Fred Hechinger, who plays Thelma’s grandson.
Throughout the movie, I had a feeling I knew Hechinger from somewhere, but I couldn’t place where! So right after the movie ended, I googled him... and turns out, I ed him from GLADIATOR II!
He was one of the two Emperors...the weird one with the monkey! I never would’ve guessed on my own...

And last but not least, I have to mention the soundtrack by Nick Chuba. There's a part of it... let’s call it the “action theme”... that’s somewhat reminiscent of the M:I theme, and every time it kicks in, it brings a playful energy that makes the whole movie even more fun.

Anyway...really loved this little hidden gem, and in my opinion, THELMA is easily one of the best 2024 movies. So...if you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend you watch it... and hug your grandmother as well...

You know... ever since I watched LOST BULLET 2 back in 2022, and knowing how it ended... I was waiting for part three! And finally... here it is, dropping out of nowhere on Netflix, appropriately titled the LAST BULLET!

Almost the whole crew is back, both in front of and behind the camera, and once again, they’ve made one hell of a fun action flick, stacked with fights and awesome vehicular stunts... all done for real, in-camera...

Now... if I'm being completely honest with you all, I have to say right off the bat... in my book, part 2 is slightly better than the LAST BULLET. And if I were to rank the entire trilogy, LOST BULLET 2 would be in first place, with LOST BULLET and the LAST BULLET right behind!
Although I'm still undecided which one I like more between those two... the first one or this third movie... so I'm torn about second and third place on that "imaginary" ranking lol...

But anyway... the LAST BULLET... let's talk about it!

As I said in my review of LOST BULLET 2, director Guillaume Pierret really stepped up his game with that sequel. Everything about it was better than the original... from the directing, to the choreography, to the cinematography, to the action.
And the LAST BULLET mostly manages to maintain that level of quality. Plus, it perfectly rounds up the story from the previous two movies...

Now, don't get me wrong... none of these movies are classic material! You wont see nothing new and ground-breaking here! These are simple, straightforward films... but well-made films that deliver the goods... that is, entertainment and cool action that, while awesome and spectacular, still feels grounded in reality, with no CGI... or at least no obvious use of CGI...

The biggest surprise of this entire trilogy, at least to me, is actually its star, Alban Lenoir! When I first saw him in the first movie... he looked kind of funny to me, and reminded me of another French actor, Dominique Pinon... and at first, I couldn’t take him seriously as an action guy!
But boy oh boy... did he prove me wrong, as he quickly turned into a French Gerard Butler or Statham. I'm really looking forward to his next projects... and the same can be said about the director, Guillaume Pierret. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him and his next project...

Anyway... if you watched the previous two movies and liked both, and if you like well-made action movies with real car stunts and awesome fights... in that case, the LAST BULLET is a movie for you!
It’s a shame these movies won’t be getting a Blu-ray release, because I would love to own all three in my collection...

PS. I naturally watched this with my son, since we watched both previous movies together back in 2022... so when I told him the new one was out, he got excited about it right away.

ACTIONx52 [2025]
28. Watch an action film from The Cannon Group, Inc.

So... as I watched UNIVERSAL SOLDIER with my son the day before, it got me thinking that the two of us could watch OVER THE TOP as well... again, just us boys.
I had this on my ACTIONx52 challenge list anyway, and was planning to watch it next, so I figured... why not watch it with my son! After all... it is a movie about father-son bonding... and arm wrestling lol.
I mean, I could've watched this with the whole family, and my wife probably wouldn’t mind it, since this is family-friendly movie... but I don’t think she would’ve liked it that much, considering OVER THE TOP is a bit silly and cheesy in some parts...

And yeah... OVER THE TOP is generally considered a silly, campy, and cheesy '80s movie! And yes, it is all that, every step of the way!
But OVER THE TOP also has a lot of heart, because beneath all the muscles and arm-wrestling montages is a surprisingly sincere and heartwarming story of a man trying to reconnect with his son against all odds and obstacles...

The dramatic part of the film works really well in my opinion, and Stallone’s performance, while not necessarily Oscar-worthy, is actually great. He brings a quiet sincerity and emotional weight that grounds the film’s over-the-top premise.
Stallone and David Mendenhall, who plays his son, share a genuinely heartfelt onscreen bond, capturing the awkward, tender, and sometimes cheesy journey of a father and son slowly finding their way back to each other...
Plus, Sly has a cool name in this one - Lincoln Hawk - and has a couple of great wisdom: "The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something, you gotta take it."

The arm-wrestling aspect of the movie, on the other hand... with all the sweaty, hulking macho bozos, all yelling and making faces... is as cheesy and ridiculous as people say it is! But that’s also what makes OVER THE TOP so much fun to watch!
I guess making a movie about arm wrestling back in the day was probably as ridiculous as making a movie about Power Slap would be today lol. But Sly, and the whole father-son bonding story, somehow makes it work.
Plus, I really love the rock/ballad soundtrack, which, in my opinion, really fits the whole trucker/arm-wrestling setting...

As you may know, Stallone is not a fan of this movie, and the only reason he made it was because Menahem Golan offered him a lot of money... so he figured, "What the hell—no one will see it!" Well... he was wrong about that lol.
Apparently, he was paid $10 million to star in this movie (some reports even say $12 million), and at the time, that was by far the most any actor had received for a film role! So... you can't really blame Sly for making this movie.
But then again... as I said... he really has nothing to be ashamed of, despite all the comments and opinions about the movie being cheesy and silly...

All in all, OVER THE TOP is a pure '80s movie in every aspect... a fun and heartwarming mix of a weird sports movie and a father-son drama, set in a trucker world... but somehow, it works... at least in my book!
My son liked it as well...even, as he itted, slightly more than he liked UNIVERSAL SOLDIER! Was it because of the trucks or the arm-wrestling... I dunno lol.

You know... I wasn't really planning on re-watching this at the moment. But a clip from UNIVERSAL SOLDIER popped up on my Facebook! It was the restaurant scene, where Van Damme eats everything in sight and beats up everyone around him... and my son saw me watching it.
He watched the clip too, liked it, and asked, "What is that from?" So I told him it was from the movie UNIVERSAL SOLDIER and gave him a quick rundown of what is all about, to which he asked, "Can we watch that movie?"

Now, of course I wanted to show my son a movie I like, a movie of my childhood... after all, that’s what I’ve been doing during our family movie nights! And I had planned to show him UNIVERSAL SOLDIER eventually, so I was all in.
But I wasn’t really sure my wife would appreciate us watching UNIVERSAL SOLDIER... not with Dolph Lundgren cutting off people’s ears and making a necklace out of them lol...

So I figured... it’s better if we watch this alone. Just us boys lol...

And so, one afternoon, after my son came home from school and finished his homework... while my wife was at work and my daughter was at school... I popped in the UNIVERSAL SOLDIER Blu-ray!

Now... as I said in my previous review of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, I love this movie! Always have! In my opinion, it’s an underrated and really entertaining '90s sci-fi action flick, and one of the top 3 Jean-Claude Van Damme movies!
Hell, the last time I watched it, back in 2016, I even gave it 5 stars... even though I itted it might not deserve a full 5 stars... but I just love it so much that I wouldn’t rate it below 4. So I went with 5 stars anyway.
This time, my rating dropped slightly... I bumped it down half a star... just because that’s how I felt about it now. But my love for this movie hasn’t changed!

I won’t go into too much detail here about why I love it so much... if you want that, check out my previous review (linked above).
But if you’re lazy and don’t wanna read all that (lol)... the short version is this: UNIVERSAL SOLDIER is a badass, underrated ’90s sci-fi action flick that still holds up with slick pacing, explosive action, and a killer showdown between Van Damme and Lundgren.
Lundgren absolutely steals the show as the unhinged villain Sergeant Scott, delivering one of his most entertaining performances ever. It may not be deep, but it’s pure popcorn fun... and easily one of Emmerich’s and Van Damme’s best! At least in my book...

Anyway... my son had a great time with it too! Loved the action, loved the humor, and... just like me in his age... he also loved that UniSol truck. But I knew he would, since he’s into cars and all that stuff...
I won’t be showing him the sequels (the official ones, not those TV movies), because let’s face it... UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN is really bad... entertaining, but bad.
REGENERATION, as good as it is, probably wouldn’t be his cup of tea since it’s a DTV... and DAY OF RECKONING is awesome, but way too mind-boggling for him to understand it, and is way more violent than this one. But one day, we will watch that one as well...just not yet...

So... I'm planning on watching THE ANT 2 in theaters one of these days, and so in order to prepare myself for the sequel, it was only right for me to re-watch THE ANT...

Seen this twice before... in theaters and at home with my wife, and loved it both times! And that didn't change after this new re-watch... still love this movie...

Now... don't get me wrong, THE ANT is not a perfect movie, and it has some flaws, but it's still a great movie in my book! A smart, tightly constructed thriller that plays out like a puzzle where everything ties together in the end.
It reveals its pieces with precision and purpose, blending slick action, compelling character drama, and a little bit of mystery... keeping you hooked from start to finish...

Sure... the movie does feel predictable in certain beats and is slightly too long overall. Plus, the ambitious blend of tones... action, drama, dry humor, and the portrayal of autism... can occasionally feel uneven, but none of these flaws ever take away from the movie or make it less enjoyable...

I'm really looking forward to Affleck and Bernthal reuniting in the sequel, because as little screen time as they had in the first movie, they were both great together and had great on-screen chemistry! So I'm glad that the sequel apparently is centered around the two of them, and that Bernthal has much more screen time...
But I'm also glad that Anna Kendrick isn't back, because she was probably the weakest link of this movie. It's not that she's bad, but I'm not fond of her in general, and she felt kind of miscast.
And I'm glad that the film didn't force a romantic relationship between her and Affleck, because the two of them simply don't have that physical chemistry...

Anyway... once again I enjoyed THE ANT, and I'm really looking forward to THE ANT 2!

SCI-FIx52 [2025]
35. Watch a Space Opera.

So... if you, by any chance, read my non-review of NOVOCAINE, you know that approximately two weeks ago, I tried to watch FLASH GORDON with my family...

And to summarize what I wrote in that text... we actually managed to get through the first 15-20 minutes of the movie! But my son was tired and sleepy that night and said he was heading to bed, while my wife wasn't really in the mood for FLASH GORDON, so she barely paid attention, and my daughter didn’t seem much more interested either.
So I stopped the movie at the scene where Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov are brought to Ming's palace, hoping we could continue it the next night.

But... the next night, my family... especially my wife, who was the loudest... said they didn’t want to watch FLASH GORDON anymore because they didn’t like what they saw the night before, and that I should find something else for us to watch...

And as you probably know... I picked NOVOCAINE instead, and I fucked it up even more, lol. For more about that...read that NOVOCAINE text lol...

But anyway... almost two weeks later, I finally found some free time to watch FLASH GORDON again, but this time, only by myself...

But you know... the fact that my family didn't like the first 20 minutes of FLASH GORDON "shook" me a little bit and made me think that maybe the movie no longer had the charm it once had! For a moment, I even thought it was possible that I, as well, wouldn't enjoy this movie as much as I had enjoyed it countless times before...

But you know what... that didn’t happen! Once again, watching FLASH GORDON was a BLAST!

I guess the gloriously campy, delightfully trashy, and irresistibly trippy vibe of the movie didn't really sit well with my family, while I, on the other hand, have a lot of nostalgia for this film, and therefore enjoy every second of this entertaining and schlocky sci-fi romp!

The grandiose, colorful sets, fabulously chic costumes, a surreal comic-book world that's as stylish as it is absurd, the phenomenal Max von Sydow as the menacing yet magnetic Emperor Ming, the electrifying Brian Blessed as the boisterous and larger-than-life Prince Vultan (with some of the most unforgettable lines ever), swashbuckling Timothy Dalton as charismatic and charming Prince Barin... and the unforgettable, pulse-pounding soundtrack by Queen that makes every scene feel iconic... and which, let's not kid ourselves, makes up 50% of this film... are just some of the reasons why FLASH GORDON is such an unforgettable classic! At least in my book...

Sam J. Jones will always... but ALWAYS... be ed for this role, and this movie! He appeared in 87 movies and TV shows during his career, but FLASH GORDON is the only title of his that anybody, including me, really knows about!
He did a whole bunch of B-movies back in the '80s and '90s... hell, he was even in Michael Mann's LA TAKEDOWN, which was later made into HEAT... but no one re him for that, but absolutely no one. He is, and always will be... FLASH GORDON!

As some of you may know, since I mentioned it a couple of times in some of my reviews... I never watched STAR WARS as a kid, and therefore I didn’t grow up with STAR WARS, and (unfortunately), never really cared about STAR WARS...
But the way I see it... THIS WAS always MY STAR WARS! And FLASH GORDON, to this day, still gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes at some moments, because of how awesome it is! Among other things, because of how awesome the Queen soundtrack is!

And to test that, I'll give you an experiment. Take, for example, this CLIP from AQUAMAN, turn off the sound on that clip, and play it from 0:45, and then play this CLIP below... and just see how awesome the whole sequence becomes!
Don’t get me wrong, the underwater battle sequence in AQUAMAN is great as it is... but with the Queen soundtrack from FLASH GORDON, it becomes freaking EPIC! That's the power of Queen's soundtrack...

But anyway... lets wrap this up by saying that watching FLASH GORDON again, for the umpteenth time, filled me with delight and emotions! I freaking LOVE THIS MOVIE! And therefore, I'm also kind of sad that my kids didn't really like it, but... who knows... maybe someday we'll try again...

So...as I said at the very end of my BEDAZZLED review, watching that movie with my family got me thinking that we should watch more Brendan Fraser comedies...and so, a few days later, I pulled BLAST FROM THE PAST from my collection!

And this was literally a "blast from the past" for me, since it's been at least two decades since I last watched this...maybe even more! But I ed really liking this movie back in the day, and I was hoping it aged well...

And well...after (re)watching it with my family...I can tell you - it did!

Now...BLAST FROM THE PAST is no classic, at least I don't think it is...but it's a fun little movie! Essentially, BLAST FROM THE PAST is a silly yet delightful, charming, and funny rom-com with an intriguing yet heartwarming fish-out-of-water premise.
And while the premise is great...the cast is even better, making BLAST FROM THE PAST a really enjoyable and entertaining movie to watch.

The star of this movie is of course Brendan Fraser (as Adam), who is perfect at playing these fish-out-of-water types of characters, with a perfect blend of goofiness, naivety, and innocence...turning Adam into a charmingly silly hero.
Although, this is not the first time Brendan played a character like this... he did something similar in ENCINO MAN, only much more ridiculous and over-the-top...

But he's not alone on his silly journey, as he's accompanied by Alicia Silverstone as his love interest, Eve (Adam and Eve...get it?). And she's...she's something! I mean, she's cute and sassy, and at moments seems a bit obnoxious, but in the end, turns out to be just as likable and charming. And the two of them have a nice chemistry...

And there's also the excellent Christopher Walken as this wildly enthusiastic and casually unhinged inventor and scientist... and also a father who actually enjoys spending time underground, teaching his son everything he knows. Walken definitely adds his signature charm and eccentric flair to the character...

And there's also Sissy Spacek as his wife, who is slowly but surely losing her mind because of the whole situation in which she and her husband found themselves - locked up for 30 years in a shelter deep underground! But she successfully numbs her creeping madness with a bottomless glass and booze! Lots and lots of booze. The two of them play off each other really well...

And last but not least...let's not forget Dave Foley, who brings wit, warmth, and perfect comedic timing to his role as Eve’s loyal and delightfully quirky gay friend...

So yeah...all in all, BLAST FROM THE PAST is a cute and silly, but really entertaining rom-com with a specific charm that's hard to resist. My family had a blast with this (pun intended), and so did I...
Anyway...I have plans to also show the family ENCINO MAN, AIRHEADS, and maybe...just maybe GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE. But I don't want them to get bored of Brendan Fraser lol, so I'll 'stretch' these movies out over time...

Well, GODDAMN!! Gareth Evans is back! And he's back with a BANG!! Literally!!

As you may know, HAVOC got stuck in production and post-production hell for almost four years! Although some sources say even six years, because apparently, filming for HAVOC began in late 2019 and was then halted due to COVID in early 2020, postponed to 2021, halted again due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but they somehow managed to wrap filming by the end of 2021... and since then, it was in post-production, waiting for its release!

Now... someone might think that Tom Hardy is cursed or something, because almost the same thing happened with MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, and also the second season of the TABOO series, which was renewed in March 2017, yet filming still hasn't started...

But either way... HAVOC... let's talk about it!

Now... I don't know about you all, but I've been waiting for this movie like a desert waits for rain! So... was the wait worth it!?

Well... I would say... abso-fucking-lutely!!

After THE RAID 2, Gareth Evans kind of vanished from the scene, leaving us in complete darkness, hoping and waiting for THE RAID 3! Unfortunately, THE RAID 3 never happened, and apparently, never will! However, he did one movie in the last 10 years... a psychological horror, APOSTLE, which somehow didn't really interest me, so I ultimately didn't watch it (yet)... but hopefully, I will someday.
He also did a couple of episodes of the British TV show GANGS OF LONDON, which he also wrote and produced... which, to say the least, somewhat satisfied all those eager for Evans' action...

But yeah... Gareth didn't make an action movie since 2014 THE RAID 2... and that's a pretty long time! Too long if you ask me, and hopefully, we won't have to wait another 5–10 years for Evans' next action movie... or any movie for that matter...

Now... HAVOC is not THE RAID or THE RAID 2! It's NOT! But it's awfully close, at least in my book, and I honestly don't understand all the hate and disappointment for this movie by so many!
Especially since HAVOC delivers exactly what you expect from it, and in the literal and true sense of the word, HAVOC is indeed havoc... a bloody carnage that only Gareth Evans can deliver!

I keep seeing people complaining about the story... or lack of the story, or how we've already seen all this before in other movies, which I find funny and hypocritical at the same time for a couple of reasons!

You see... in my opinion, HAVOC isn't lacking a story, not at all... if anything, I would even say that the story in HAVOC is slightly too complicated for a movie like this, since there's so many characters and different factions that have their own agendas in this movie!
Small criminals, corrupt cops, corrupt politicians, big criminal families, and one cop seeking redemption... they all come together in the end to do their thing, for all kinds of different reasons... some for revenge, some for greed, and some for redemption... and it's all cramped up in a 100-minute movie, and yeah, it does feel a bit too much...

But funny thing is, a lot of people complained about THE RAID 2 as well, because it actually had a "complicated" story to tell, with lots of different characters and intertwining subplots, which made it feel more like a crime saga than a straightforward action flick, and which apparently was too much for some who just wanted simple wall-to-wall action, like in the first RAID. Difference is, unlike HAVOC, THE RAID 2 had like an additional 45 minutes to handle all that...

HAVOC is somewhere in between... it's not as simple as THE RAID, but it's not as complicated as THE RAID 2. But yeah... either way... people say it's no good for them...

As I mentioned earlier, one of the frequent comments is that HAVOC offers nothing new, and that we've seen all this before, and that it's therefore bad and boring!
And yeah... we have seen all this before in other movies... for example, in STREET KINGS... TRAINING DAY, DARK BLUE... RUN ALL NIGHT, SLEEPLESS NIGHT... you name it! We've seen it all...

But I say to you: SO WHAT!?? Is it really that hard to get over the fact that the plot is not original and that everything here has been seen before, and just simply enjoy the visuals and action carnage?

I mean... no one cared about the story in THE RAID, which is basically a simplified DIE HARD rip-off with very little story, and a whole lot of ass-whooping and broken bones! Everybody just enjoyed the action carnage, and that's it...
Nobody cared about the story in the first JOHN WICK (or any of the sequels for that matter), despite the fact that we've seen this plot about a badass dude who goes on a revenge killing spree after somebody kills or injures someone close to him (wife, daughter, brother, father, mother... or in this case, dog)... we've seen it a million times, half of which are in Seagal's movies!

And there's also the newest example of a movie that has a story that we have seen before, yet people don't seem to make any drama about it, but instead enjoyed the visual aspect of the film... and that film is SINNERS!
I don't even know how many times I've read how SINNERS is an original and well-written movie, with a great plot... but the fact is that we've already seen the story of two criminal brothers who are having a great time in a bar during one nigh, listening to great music and watching an awesome dance performance, but are soon forced to fight against bloodsucking vampires with the help of a handful of people... as well as the story of a group of people who have to survive the night when vampires suddenly appear out of nowhere and want to kill them at any cost...

But enough of my rant!

Before I wrap this up, let me try to explain why I loved HAVOC so much, and why I will stand on a hill alone, defending it till death...

As I said earlier... HAVOC delivers exactly what you expect from it, and what you expect from an action movie directed by Gareth Evans! And that's glorious violence, mayhem, and carnage!
Yet, compared to THE RAID movies, this is less of a martial arts movie, and more of a gunfight movie... almost a heroic bloodshed movie, and it's more than obvious that Evans was inspired by John Woo while making HAVOC!

HAVOC delivers relentless high-octane action, captured through dynamic, immersive, and distinctive Evans camera work that pulls you right into the brutal and bloody chaos!
Evans blends brutal and cinematic carnage with clear influences from John Woo’s heroic bloodshed style, crafting shootouts that feel and look spectacularly brutal! Sparks, destruction... the way these guns sound... the way they fire, reload, the way shells hit the floor... it's more than obvious that those sounds are taken from John Woo movies in order to honor the action maestro!
There were also some complaints about how people don't reload their guns much in this movie, and how they fire and fire rounds and rounds of bullets before their guns empty! And that's true... but I wonder if those people ever saw a John Woo movie at all!? This is not HEAT, or COLLATERAL, so it's not like something like that takes away from reality! If anything, it adds up to over-the-top style of the movie...

There were also some complaints about the use of CGI, especially in outdoor scenes, with car chases and the look of the scenes. But if you ask me... I just love the way CGI enhanced the look of this movie, and because of that, visually, HAVOC leans into a gritty, snowy, neon-lit neo-noir aesthetic that, in my book, evokes the mood and atmosphere of the MAX PAYNE games, which were also inspired by John Woo!! Anybody who played MAX PAYNE and MAX PAYNE 2 probably knows what I'm talking about...
And last, but not least... the cast. I mean, you have Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker, doing their thing. Sure, none of them delivers an Oscar-worthy performance here... but they all fit so perfectly into HAVOC!

So yeah... to conclude the obvious at the end, I loved HAVOC! It's not a perfect movie by no means, and I'm not saying that the story is awesome, but it works in the context of the movie, and helps to deliver what matters the most here...an awesome action!

And don't kid yourself... this is not just some random Netflix movie, despite being a Netflix production... this is a Gareth Evans movie every step of the way, and it really doesn't matter who paid for it or where you can watch it.
If there was any justice in the world... we would be watching HAVOC on the big screen, where it deserves to be! Long live Gareth Evans... and dude, hurry up with the next one! Don't let us wait another few years!

Just for the record... my wife picked this one for our family movie night. And after that debacle with NOVOCAINE a few days ago, I didn't mind her picking our next movie lol...
Although, truth be told... I think she picked great, and I really don't know why I didn’t think of this movie before... especially since I always liked this movie! IMO it's one of Fraser's better comedies!

But it's been a while since I actually watched it, even though I always had fond memories of this movie...
And now, after re-watching it with my family, I have to say that I still like it very much... but probably not as much as I used to. Back in the day, this was easily a 4-star movie in my book... well, it's not anymore...

But it's still a hell of a fun flick, mostly thanks to Brendan Fraser and his tour de force performances! And I say performances (in plural) because Fraser had the chance to play multiple characters in BEDAZZLED and truly show off his comedic talent!
Elizabeth Hurley is hot as hell in this playing the Devil (pun intended), and she catches the eye of the (male) audience every time she appears on screen... and every time in a different sexy outfit... but this is Fraser’s show from start to finish, and he’s rocking it hard, giving his best all the way through...giving 110% the entire time lol!

Essentially, BEDAZZLED is a silly and kind of weird romantic comedy in which romance isn’t really important at all. It mostly feels like a side topic, while Fraser and the characters he portrays are the real focus... along with his back and forth with the Devil herself, Elizabeth Hurley! And thankfully, the two of them have great chemistry...

I completely forgot that this was directed by Harold Ramis, so that was a nice surprise as the opening credits rolled. Most of the jokes still land quite well, especially the segment with the Colombian drug lord and the one with the 7-foot basketball star...those were hilarious.
But not everything was hilariously funny (as I it being when I was younger), and that’s probably why I enjoyed it slightly less than I used to...

But anyway... the kids loved it and had a blast with BEDAZZLED... although some of the jokes weren’t exactly kid-friendly, which I totally forgot about lol. And I still had a great time with this movie as well, and hopefully, I'll revisit it again sometime down the road...
And of course... watching this got me thinking that we (my family and I) should watch more Brendan Fraser comedies... so expect more of those in the future here on my wall...

You know... I was like 99% sure that I won’t like this at all, and I was ready to blame Letterboxd for that, because of all the hype SINNERS has been getting here in the last 3 or 4 weeks!

Truth to be told, I wasn't really hyped about SINNERS before its release, or even after all the raving reviews! I still wasn’t that hyped even once it started hitting headlines and getting so much attention... but I’d be lying if I said that all the hype didn’t make me at least a little more intrigued by SINNERS... and made me wanna watch it sooner rather than later...

There were a couple of reasons why I wasn't particularly interested in watching SINNERS!
For one, the trailer for this movie didn’t really win me over. I think I saw only one trailer, and only once, and I’m not even sure I watched the whole thing. I just thinking, “Yeah, whatever... I don’t really know what this movie is about, and I don’t really care.”

Also, Ryan Coogler isn’t really one of my “must-watch directors,” because out of his entire feature filmography so far, I’ve only really liked one movie... and that’s CREED.
I never watched his debut feature, FRUITVALE STATION, and truth to be told, I’m not really interested in watching it... not at the moment.
BLACK PANTHER is, in my book, one of the worst Marvel movies out there, and I really didn’t like that piece of crap... so I didn’t even bother with the sequel, BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, and I doubt I ever will.
So yeah, that leaves us with CREED... the only movie of his that I really liked, even loved. But I’m not sure if that had anything to do with Coogler’s directing, but rather with Stallone, Rocky and his legacy...

So yeah... when you take all that into ... plus the fact that a friend of mine, who usually shares my taste in movies, saw SINNERS before me and fucking hated it (I think he gave it just 1 star here on Letterboxd)...and add to that all the hype (which usually backfires for me), and the fact that some reviews described SINNERS not just as a gangster drama and horror but also as an arthouse movie... and I freaking hate arthouse movies... well, like I said... I was 99% sure I wouldn’t like this at all!!

I went in with low expectations... or no expectations at all... and surprisingly, I ended up liking it. A LOT!

Still, I have to say right off the bat... all this hype, and people calling it a masterpiece, slapping it with 5-star ratings... that shit is a bit too much in my book.
Look... SINNERS is a good and fun movie, and I get the allegory with the mythology of the music, the cinematography and soundtrack are great, the production design and costumes are awesome, the cast is excellent and all that...
But SINNERS has its share of problems... problems that, it seems, just simply don't bother many people. At least not the way they bothered me...

One of those problems, in my book, is definitely the dissonance in tone.
What I mean by that is that the whole “musical gangster drama” buildup... setting up the characters and story... takes way too much time. It’s an extensive buildup that dominates the movie. Meanwhile, the “horror-ish,” action-packed vampire part of the movie feels rushed and too short in comparison.

Also, there are way too many unanswered questions. The movie never really explains Remmick’s background...like who is he? How old is he? Or where did he come from?
He just shows up out of nowhere, alone, all burning and smoking, and soon he’s got a little army of singing and dancing bloodthirsty vampires.
Also, halfway through the movie, are introduced Native American vampire hunters chasing Remmick... but they’re in the film for like 2–3 minutes, and then they completely disappear. We never see them again, and we learn nothing about them.
So what was the point of even introducing them if you're not going to use them again? There was definitely potential for them to be involved in the plot... especially during the vampire siege on the Juke club. So yeah, as I said...more questions than answers...

The whole soul music angle... breaking boundaries of space and time, uniting people, and Remmick wanting Sammie’s gift... works great as an allegory.
A white man trying to take over Black heritage and claim it as his own, under the pretense of unifying and erasing racial borders. As I said, it works perfectly as an allegory...
But as part of the story, that idea is a bit unclear. What exactly would Remmick do with Sammie’s gift if he turned him into a vampire? How would Sammie’s music “unite people”? Magically? Like in that fairy tale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”? I didn’t really get that part, and what was the point of Remmick wanting to turn Sammie so badly?

But the thing that bothers me the most is a fact that people keep calling SINNERS an “original” movie. And yeah, I do understand what people refer to by that, since this is no sequel, prequel, reboot, remake or comic book/book adaptations. So yeah, in that context, this is a truly original film.
But in of plot and themes, SINNERS is not original. And in many ways it borrows heavily from FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, just with a Southern soul twist on it.
Now, I won’t go into detail about what exactly it copies...but those who’ve seen all three films will know the similarities.
The thing is...many people just don’t acknowledge that, or mention it at all. They focus only on what’s truly original in SINNERS: the music legacy and the Southern setting.

I was sure this movie would spark a FROM DUSK TILL DAWN rewatch trend, since it clearly influenced SINNERS. But that never happened...or at least not on my wall where that movie barely popped up once or twice in the last 3–4 weeks.
Which is weird to me and makes me think...either people don’t want to acknowledge the influence... or worse... they don’t even know about the film! Maybe it just doesn’t mean much to them because they’re too young to appreciate it. So for them, this is their FROM DUSK TILL DAWN...

But anyway...after reading all this, you’re probably thinking: “How the hell did you end up liking SINNERS?” But believe me... I did like it. I just don’t think it’s a perfect movie.

All in all, as I said... SINNERS is a good and fun movie. It was entertaining and visually engaging. I really liked the cinematography and movie looks awesome visually. And I loved how juicy bloody it was!
I’m not sure if the gore was CGI or practical effects, but either way... it looked great, and so juicy...
I also liked that SINNERS leans into all the classic vampire clichés and doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Garlic, sunlight, wooden stakes... it all works on these vampires.
Michael B. Jordan is great in the dual role... dude’s charismatic and has strong screen presence. Sets, costumes, and makeup were all excellent. Delroy Lindo had a nice little role, and Jack O'Connell as Remmick was really cool with those red eyes, and I loved the finale with the KKK . That probably even bumped up my enjoyment a bit!

So yeah... I liked SINNERS, and surprisingly had a great time with it.
But yeah... it’s not a masterpiece. Not in my book. That’s a title it’ll have to earn over time.

So...I was planning on watching 1980 FLASH GORDON with my family. I figured, I'm going to watch it anyway since it's part of my SCI-FIx52 [2025] challenge, so why not include it in our family movie night... that way I'd hit two birds with one stone!

And we actually managed to get through the first 15-20 minutes of the movie! But my son was tired and sleepy that night and said he was heading to bed... while my wife wasn't really in the mood for FLASH GORDON, so she barely paid attention, and my daughter didn’t seem much more interested either.
So I stopped the movie at the scene where Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov are brought to Ming's palace, hoping we could continue it the next night. You see, sometimes we watch movies like this... in parts...

But...the next night, my family... especially my wife, who was the loudest... said they didn’t want to watch FLASH GORDON anymore, because they didn’t like what they saw the night before, and that I should find something else for us to watch...

The first thing that popped into my mind was NOVOCAINE, which had just shown up on some VOD services! I had seen it in theaters three weeks earlier and had a blast with it, because the movie is really funny and entertaining... so I figured it could be a great pick for our family movie night.

Now...I knew it was a violent and gory movie, and that it goes a bit over the top in a few scenes.
But the thing is... we've watched violent movies before, and my family loves shows like DR. HOUSE and CHICAGO FIRE, and those are filled with gory stuff...broken bones, open fractures, excessive bleeding, open wounds, and all kinds of nasty shit.
So I figured... violence in NOVOCAINE shouldn’t be a problem!

Oh boy...was I WRONG!

I did explain to my family that there's some gory violence in this, but I also said the movie was funny, so I was sure the fun factor would outweigh everything else.
And for the first 15 minutes or so, everything was fine... character introductions, setup, even the bank robbery scene went down without any complaints.
But then came the restaurant kitchen scene, where Nathan shoots one of the robbers in the head after a short but silly fight... and that’s when my wife started complaining, saying, "this is maybe a bit too violent for the kids!"
To which I replied, "but we’ve already seen people getting shot in the head a bunch of times in movies... how is this any different?"

But OK, she didn’t push it further, so we kept watching. Then came the tattoo parlor scene, where Nathan fights a huge, buffed-up dude.
The moment Nathan started smashing the glass on the floor that got stuck in his fists and jumped up to slam the guy... my wife snapped!
She jumped up, totally pissed off, yelled "that's it, let's go to bed," and stormed off with our daughter!
She told our son to go to sleep too, but he wanted to keep watching, so he stayed.

I knew right away I fucked up... because, man, she was PISSED. And she was pissed at ME...

Well... my son and I finished the movie after they went to bed. And honestly, maybe it was for the best they left...because I don't know how I would have survived the scene of pulling out nails, or the arrow through the head of one of the bad guys...or the severed arm fracture at the end...and a bone through the head of one of the characters...lol

So yeah... maybe I picked wrong after all...

But hey... despite the situation that kind of killed the mood that evening, I still had a blast with NOVOCAINE... and my son ended up liking it too. So at least there’s that...

Well... this was kind of a random pick for a family movie night! I actually picked two titles...THE SHADOW and THE QUEST... and let my kids choose between them. And after I briefly explained what each film was about, they went with THE SHADOW!

I wasn’t really sure if they would like it, given its specific campy vibe, stylized visuals, and slightly outdated special effects... but thankfully, in the end, they enjoyed it!

Now... THE SHADOW is no classic, and it definitely has its share of problems, but it also has a certain charm! Russell Mulcahy’s directing and camera work help elevate the film slightly above average and give it a distinctive feel.

Therefore THE SHADOW is a slick, pulpy throwback based on the classic comic and radio character, blending a noir atmosphere with campy vibes, stylized visuals, and a gothic aesthetic. And at times, it almost feels like you're watching 1989 BATMAN...
And honestly, the visuals and that campy, pulpy tone are the highlights here. The movie leans hard into that 1930s noir comic book style with moody lighting, exaggerated sets, dramatic flair... and that gives it a unique charm, and makes it look cool!

Alec Baldwin plays the mysterious vigilante with a dark edge, wrapped in a swirling cape and shadowy mystique, wielding two guns. Unfortunately, we don’t really learn much about The Shadow, as the movie barely explores his origins or powers.
There’s a brief, vague intro set in Tibet that ends up being more confusing than helpful... and after that, the film skips over any deeper backstory, leaving his abilities and motivations pretty unclear for anyone unfamiliar with the original pulp character.

The story also doesn’t always hold up... it stumbles narratively, which doesn’t work in the film’s favor.
But the same can’t be said for the visual effects... while they do feel a bit outdated today, they still add to the movie’s charm and fun, over-the-top campy style.

Anyway... like I said, THE SHADOW is no classic, but it’s a unique movie with a distinctive charm thanks to its awesome visuals and style. And that’s probably why I gave it an extra half-star.
Truth be told, I’d love to see a modern take on this comic book... with more action and a deeper backstory... but the visual style would have to stay the same: pulpy, campy, and set in the 1930s. Otherwise, a reboot just wouldn’t work...

So… watching G20 recently got me thinking that it’s been a while since I actually watched WHITE HOUSE DOWN, one of the three films that G20 shamelessly rips off. The other two being, of course, >DIE HARD and AIR FORCE ONE .
Of those three films, WHITE HOUSE DOWN is arguably the weakest, but from what I … it’s still better than G20! But as I said… it’s been a while since I last watched it, so I decided to put it to the test and see who actually does it better... WHITE HOUSE DOWN or G20!? And I also decided to bring my family along for the ride...

Well… right off the bat, I can tell you WHITE HOUSE DOWN does it better! Way better...

Truth be told, I never actually loved WHITE HOUSE DOWN, and when it was released in 2013 back-to-back with OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, which shared almost the same premise, OLYMPUS came out on top as the better movie in my book… and I can tell you that I still prefer OLYMPUS over WHITE HOUSE DOWN!

However, despite the problems that still bother me (and I’ll get into those soon), I believe I actually enjoyed it more this time around, then I did last time I watched it!

Essentially, WHITE HOUSE DOWN is a classic, overblown Roland Emmerich blockbuster, and it has almost all of his well-known shenanigans… explosions and destruction of iconic landmarks (in this case the White House and the Capitol)… cheesy humor and one-liners… and (overly) patriotic flag-waving heroics… all that wrapped in a Die Hard-in-the-White-House setup.
It’s silly, it’s ridiculous, loud and over-the-top in almost every aspect... but it’s also a really entertaining action flick that definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously, and therefore, it works...

The problem is… it has a slow start, it takes a bit too long for things to finally get going, it’s a bit too long overall, with some rough green screen and CGI moments, and more than a few cheesy lines and scenes that’ll make your eyes roll.
Also, Joey King’s character... who unfortunately features a lot... comes off as really annoying, which doesn’t help the movie. And that ending with her and the flag… yeah, one of the stupidest things ever, lol.

But hey, the action is solid and fun, and sometimes even spectacular. The cast is stacked with heavy hitters like James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Jason Clarke and Maggie Gyllenhaal... and they all seem to have fun with the material.
And Channing Tatum is believable and kind of charming as an action hero, and he’s got great buddy-cop chemistry with Jamie Foxx, who’s obviously playing a movie version of Barack Obama.

So… when all that’s taken into , ultimately, WHITE HOUSE DOWN manages to be a fun ride...dumb but fun ride!

Still, it’s not a great movie, and OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN sweeps the floor with it… but hey, WHITE HOUSE DOWN does the same thing with G20! And I honestly don’t mind rewatching it again somewhere down the line…
As for my family... well, they liked the movie. I mean, it’s big and loud action flick... of course they had fun with it:..

WESTERNx32 - challenge [2025]
1. Watch any western film of your choice.

TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA, or possibly the best spaghetti western that ain't a spaghetti western at all!

TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA marks the second collaboration between Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel, who went on to create five films together, with DIRTY HARRY and ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ being their most famous... and arguably their best! In my opinion, SISTER SARA lands at number three, right behind those heavy hitters.

As I mentioned a few seconds ago, TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA has a distinct spaghetti western feel. Clint Eastwood, with his familiar stoic demeanor and bad-ass appearance, seems to be reprising roles from the DOLLAR TRILOGY, and Ennio Morricone’s great soundtrack only deepens that vibe.
However, despite its obvious spaghetti western influence, the film was actually an American production, produced by Universal Pictures. The “spaghetti” style was likely adopted to tap into the massive popularity of the DOLLAR series at the time, trying to capture some of that success and earn a few dollars more (pun intended)...

At its core, SISTER SARA is a simple but entertaining western that mostly relies on a fun dynamic between Eastwood’s tough-as-nails gunslinger and MacLaine’s lively and unpredictable Sister Sara. The two of them have nice chemistry on screen, and their back-and-forth adds extra layers of charm and dynamic to the movie, which is perfectly rounded off by a cheeky twist.
Essentially, it’s a good mix of action, humor, and a touch of romance, with a great Ennio Morricone score to top it off.

All in all, TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA is not necessarily a ground-breaking western, but it’s definitely a top-tier Eastwood western and a highly enjoyable ride!
The combination of Eastwood’s classic no-nonsense persona and MacLaine’s unpredictable energy, set against the backdrop of a uniquely styled "spaghetti" western... blending American and Italian filmmaking styles... makes it a fun and memorable film within the genre.

I've always loved this movie, and that hasn't changed after this re-watch... I still love it!

To many, many, many people, Chris Evans is known thanks to the CAPTAIN AMERICA movies and THE AVENGERS movies... and eventually thanks to SNOWPIERCER and maybe FANTASTIC FOUR movies.
But I actually first met Chris Evans and ed him thanks to CELLULAR! Maybe I’m wrong, but I believe that was his first major role in a feature film! Prior to this, he only did a bunch of appearances in TV shows and that stupid parody NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE (which I didn’t watch).
Of course... the main reason why I watched CELLULAR in the first place back then wasn’t Evans, but actually Jason Statham, who was hot off THE TRANSPORTER and THE ITALIAN JOB that I loved, so anything with him was an instant watch in my book at the time (and still kind of is)...
So, imagine my surprise when I found out that he is actually playing the bad guy in this, while this guy named Chris Evans is the good guy, trying to save Kim Basinger and her family!
But I don’t think I ever had a problem with that, as Statham is equally good at playing bad guys as he is at playing good guys. And Evans... well, Evans has that likable charm to him, and is successful in balancing humor and intensity, which CELLULAR has plenty of!

Now... right off the bat, I have to say that CELLULAR is an underrated gem!

Sure, it’s not a masterpiece or a cult classic, but it knows exactly what it is and delivers a whole lot of fun with a really clever premise. It’s a fast-paced, high-concept action thriller that keeps things tight, tense, and entertaining from start to finish... a lean, energetic ride with just enough heart and humor to make it stand out. Therefore, IMO, it definitely deserves more love than it gets!
In a lot of ways, CELLULAR feels like a spiritual successor to SPEED... minus Sandra and Keanu, of course. It’s got that same adrenaline-fueled, race-against-time energy, with a simple yet gripping premise that still works, despite the fact that the technology is a bit outdated compared to today. And honestly, it feels more like the real sequel to SPEED than the cruise ship mess we actually got in SPEED 2...

Evans is really great in this... very likable and charming, and extremely believable as a fish-out-of-water guy who’s way over his head in this shit, yet still trying his best to save a complete stranger and her family in every way he can.
Jessica Biel has a really small role here, and the only real purpose of her exit is to literally tell us that Evans’s character is an irresponsible guy you can’t count on... so that by the end, we see he’s grown up at least a little bit...

And thankfully for him, Evans isn’t alone in this hot mess, as there’s also William H. Macy, playing a seemingly silly, low-key cop who turns out to be surprisingly resourceful and clever.
He’s clearly underestimated by the bad guys, which makes it all the more satisfying when he starts turning the tables. Macy brings a calm, grounded presence that balances the chaos perfectly, and also brings in occasional laughs...

And let's not forget the lady who is the main reason for this whole mess that Evans' character finds himself in... and that is, of course, Kim Basinger! Her character, Jessica Martin, definitely adds some emotional weight to the story, giving the film some genuine stakes beyond just the action. Sure, her performance leans a bit cheesy at times, but it fits the heightened tone of the movie and still manages to keep you rooting for her...

And last but not least… Statham, playing one of the bad guys. Surprisingly, he’s not the main baddie, but since he does all the heavy lifting anyway, it kind of feels like he is. As I mentioned earlier, Statham is just as effective playing villains as he is playing heroes... and here, he’s clearly having fun with it.
He comes off as more skilled and dangerous than both Evans’ and even Macy’s characters, so when they finally go up against him... you just know it’s going to take a small miracle to bring him down, as none of them have a chance against him. Thankfully, the movie smartly uses its own high-concept setup to do just that...

BTW, I watched this with my family, and they all had a total blast with this one! Even my wife, who usually doesn't pay much attention to movies and often scrolls on her phone while we watch something, was totally into this, glued to the screen from start to finish!
And they all loved that needle drop moment with "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone. They had that on repeat for 2-3 days after the movie...

But anyway... as I said earlier, CELLULAR is not a masterpiece or a cult classic, but it's most definitely an underrated gem and one extremely fun ride, and possibly the best movie that late David R. Ellis directed! And if you’re in the mood for a tight, slick little thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously and delivers laughs and tension... this one’s absolutely worth dialing into...

You know... I wasn't really planning to watch this... at least not anytime soon. And there's a few reasons why...

When I first saw the poster for this movie, I was actually intrigued by it. But then I saw it's starring Viola Davis, and my interest quickly waned because I don't like Viola that much.
I dunno... she may be a good actress, but the way I see it, she has a very distinct presence on screen... and not necessarily in a good way. Her acting style is often intense, emotionally raw, and unapologetically direct, which can come across as powerful to some, and a bit overbearing to others.
I obviously fall into the second group, because in my opinion, her sharp delivery and piercing stare often comes off as annoying, and it feels like she’s playing the same note in almost every movie I’ve seen her in...

I also checked the trailer for this and wasn’t really impressed with what I saw, as G20 felt like a poor man's copy of AIR FORCE ONE (although it rips off more than just that, but I’ll get to that in a bit).
I was also under the impression that this was going to be a TV show, and since the footage didn’t win me over... I wasn’t exactly eager to spend 8+ hours of my life on it...

But then, recently, it started popping up on my wall here on Letterboxd and I realized it was a feature film after all! And despite the mixed-to-bad reviews, for some unknown reason, I decided to jump on the G20 train and watch the damn thing after all...

Well... maybe it would've been for the best if I had trusted my instincts and "left the G20 lying on the shelf gathering dust"... that is, left it to slowly disappear in some forgotten corner of the internet as just another forgettable streaming junk film.

Look... G20 is not the biggest shit I’ve ever seen, not even the worst movie I’ve watched this year (so far), but it is crap. The thing is, we’ve seen this before, and we’ve seen it done better... many times... because this is a direct copy of AIR FORCE ONE, WHITE HOUSE DOWN, and of course... DIE HARD!
And it’s not even that it’s a copy of a copy... I wouldn’t mind that if G20 was at least a little entertaining... but it’s not. It’s way too serious for its own good, playing it straight most of the time, and therefore it just ends up being cringe and kind of dull. Movie lost my attention halfway trough...

Now... some may say “but AIR FORCE ONE plays it straight as well”... and yeah, I could even agree with that to a point. But both Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman somehow make it work, and that movie is way more fun to watch!
But Viola ain’t Ford, and Antony Starr ain’t Oldman, nor is Patricia Riggen anything close to Wolfgang Petersen... so yeah, G20 just doesn’t work.

I dunno whose idea it was to cast Viola Davis in this, but the role of an action heroine just doesn’t suit her. And let me tell you something else... in the movie, she looks nothing like she does on the poster! They photoshopped the shit out of her, giving her a waist she probably last had in her 20s.
And Antony Starr... well, I love him in THE BOYS as Homelander... and that’s probably one of the main reasons why he got the part in this Amazon Prime production movie.
He’s once again playing the baddie, and he’s basically doing more of the same as in THE BOYS... even with the same haircut. But in THE BOYS, he’s menacing because he plays a sick and twisted superhero who can do whatever the fuck he wants, and no one can stop him.
Here, he’s just some ex-soldier boy who’s neither the smartest nor the strongest in the room. So despite Starr’s effort, he doesn’t come off as menacing or dangerous.
But maybe I’m just biased because everything else in G20 didn’t work for me, so I’m giving Starr shit for no reason... I dunno...

Anyway... despite my rant about almost everything here, as I said earlier, G20 is not the worst movie ever made, and there are definitely worse films out there. And hey, I’m sure some of you might even have fun with it.
But if you haven’t watched G20 yet... trust me, you’re not missing anything. Just leave it where it is... and move on to better things.

ACTIONx52 [2025]
17. Watch an action movie that is a western.

I had this movie on my watchlist for quite some time now! I even own a Croatian/Ex-Yu version of the poster at home, simply because I liked the poster when I first saw it, so I bought it for my poster collection... but I had never watched QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER before.

That is... not until a few nights ago...

I didn't really know what to expect here... I didn’t even know that Alan Rickman plays the baddy in this. And I actually spoiled that for myself a few weeks prior, after watching a video called Top 20 BEST Western Movie Duels, which featured the duel between Selleck and Rickman from QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER.
Of course, that video also spoiled the ending for me as well...which, in the end, wasn't really a deal-breaker for me personally. But if you haven’t watched this movie yet... don’t watch that video!

Anyway... I went into this mostly blindly... knowing only that it's a western starring Tom Selleck and Alan Rickman, and of course, knowing the ending. Everything else was unknown to me...

And you know what? I actually had a ton of fun with QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER!

You see, QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER is a fun and action-packed old-school western inspired by horrific real historical events in Australia in the 19th century. But despite its dark inspiration, the movie itself blends adventurous charm with moments of surprising darkness. It walks a fine line between a lighthearted, humorous undertone and grim historical themes... but somehow, it manages to make that tonal balance work.

Truth be told, I never thought much about Tom Selleck, mostly ing him for his comedic roles... like his appearance in FRIENDS, or THREE MEN AND A BABY. And of course, occasionally catching an episode of MAGNUM P.I. (never actually watched the whole show).
But in this, Selleck brings rugged charisma and quiet badassery to the lead role, and it's a shame he didn’t do more action roles in his prime. He definitely had the chops and the looks for it...

Also, I have to mention Basil Poledouris' sweeping score... masterfully shifting between grand, heroic swells and playful, comedic undertones that match the film's shifting moods.

As I mentioned earlier, Alan Rickman plays the main baddie in this... and while having Rickman play a bad guy is always welcome... as we saw in DIE HARD or ROBIN HOOD... in this movie, his performance is a bit more constrained than in some of his other iconic roles. He’s not given much to do and ultimately feels a bit underused in the grand scheme of the film.
But hey... even underused Rickman is still fun Rickman... so yeah, better having him as the villain than some bland unknown dude...

And the last but not least thing I have to mention is the romantic undertone, centered on Crazy Cora’s bond with Quigley. It may seem secondary at first, maybe even like an unnecessary part of the movie, but it ultimately works as a meaningful element of the story, giving her a satisfying character arc that ties emotionally into the film’s resolution. And Laura San Giacomo did a fine job with the role...

So yeah... all in all, this was a really fun and great (Australian set) western that I definitely plan to revisit sometime down the line...and absolutely want to get a copy for my Blu-ray/DVD collection.
BTW, I watched this on Amazon Prime, but would love to own it myself...

SCI-FIx52 [2025]
52. I pick, you watch (I will give you the 52 film after you post your list).

So...honestly, I'm not sure if I ever watched this entirely before! I've seen big chunks of the movie, and a lot of scenes and moments were familiar to me during this (re)watch...but for the love of God...I just can't if I've seen the entire movie before, or just some scenes!

But the thing is...even if I have seen the entire movie before, truth be told, I never really cared much about HACKERS, and I was never really a fan of this movie! That's one of the reasons why I'm not sure if I’ve seen it before and forgot about it, or if I just caught it occasionally on TV and saw parts of it...

I am aware that the film has acquired a kind of cult status over the years... decades, even... but still, never really cared much about it. The only reason I watched it now in the first place is because it was on my Sci-Fi challenge list, which is kind of funny considering this isn’t sci-fi at all...unless you count how hacking is portrayed in the movie as sci-fi lol...

But anyway...I (finally) watched it, and you know what? It wasn’t that bad!

HACKERS is a wildly silly and ridiculous, yet somehow fun ride...stylish, vibrant, energetic, and soaked in ‘90s style...a product of its time. The costumes are cool, and the soundtrack is awesome, even iconic! But as I said already...the portrayal of hacking is completely over-the-top and hilariously unrealistic, which makes it feel kind of trashy and campy.

The cast is intriguing, but some of the over-the-top performances really push it more into silly camp territory.
A young Angelina Jolie stands out with her sharp, edgy performance, while Jonny Lee Miller adds just the right mix of confidence and charm in the lead role.
But ing actors like Matthew Lillard and Fisher Stevens go all-in with their wild, over-the-top energy, matching the film’s fast-paced, chaotic, and kind of campy vibe...

I won’t lie...I expected to have a miserable time with this, but instead, I had fun watching it! Although the movie didn’t grow on me, and I haven’t become a fan, and I doubt I’ll ever re-watch it again... at least not on my own (unless I catch it on TV or something)...

So...my son was doing history homework the other day, and he had to write something about knights and jousting tournaments. He even had to draw two knights competing with each other with a lance.

And that gave me a brilliant idea... we should watch A KNIGHT'S TALE! And so we did... the entire family did!

Now of course, A KNIGHT'S TALE is not a historically accurate movie... especially when you have an audience at a tournament singing Queen's "We Will Rock You" lol.
So no, it can't serve as a real history lesson, but I thought it could still give him a general sense of what those tournaments were like... plus, it's a hell of an entertaining movie to watch!

It’s a light-hearted, unpretentious, silly, satirical romance wrapped in a breezy, fun, rock-and-roll medieval adventure, with a whole lot of humor and heart. It doesn’t take itself seriously... not for a single moment... and that’s what makes it so easy to watch, easy to love, easy to enjoy and just have fun with!

Also, the cast is great and packed with familiar names and faces... from Heath Ledger to Paul Bettany, Alan Tudyk, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, and James Purefoy! The dynamic between them is great, and it’s obvious they all had fun making this... which is another reason why it’s so entertaining.

And I can tell you right away... my son loved the movie! The entire family did... but he laughed the most from the very beginning, and had a great time watching this all the way through to the end...

All in all... this was a great family movie night!

As you all know, Val Kilmer died recently! And despite his 11-year struggle with throat cancer... which he ultimately beat, although the battle took a toll on him and damaged his voice... the news about his death was still shocking to me, because he was only 65!

It's funny how the concept of age changes as you get older. When I was young, in my early 20s, 60 seemed so far away, and I thought people in their 60s were frail old folks...
Now that I'm in my early 40s (43 in June), the 60s seem (too) close to me... and I definitely don't think of people in their 60s as frail anymore. They're older, sure... but not frail.

But anyway... let's get back to Kilmer...

As I said in my review of VAL, the documentary about his life and career... I never really considered myself a fan of the guy. I liked him, and I like some of his movies... but yeah, I just wouldn’t call myself a fan.
Yet, like many others, the news of his death made me want to watch something of his, in his honor. But instead of HEAT, TOP GUN, KISS KISS BANG BANG, or TOMBSTONE (which I am going to watch one of these days because it's part of my WESTERNx32 - challenge [2025]), or even BATMAN FOREVER... I decided to watch FELON! A low-budget 2008 prison drama written and directed by Ric Roman Waugh.

Although, truth be told, I picked this because it was the only Val Kilmer movie available on all three streaming services I have. TOP GUN was there too, but I wasn't in the mood for that... and, as always, I was too lazy to dig through my DVD/Blu-ray collection to find something else.
But either way... I'm actually really glad I rewatched this, because FELON is an extremely great and underrated movie, with one of the best and most overlooked performances from Kilmer! It's Oscar worthy...I kid you not!

Some may think this is just a simple prison-fight movie... but NO! FELON is an intense, gritty prison drama that totally flew under the radar but absolutely shouldn’t have.
Made during Kilmer’s DTV phase, when he was doing a bunch of low-budget direct-to-video stuff, it’s easily one of his most underrated performances ever... raw, menacing, yet surprisingly heartfelt.
The film itself is a brutal and emotionally charged look at the prison system and all its flaws, anchored by strong writing and standout turns from both Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, who share fantastic onscreen chemistry. This movie is, unfortunately, criminally overlooked and deserves way more love than it ever got.

Kilmer may steal the scenes here, but he’s not the only powerhouse. As I mentioned, Stephen Dorff also delivers a great performance as Wade Porter... a regular guy thrown into an unforgiving system... and you can feel every ounce of his desperation, rage, and resilience as he’s pushed to the edge.

And it’s certainly worth mentioning Harold Perrineau as the chilling and sadistic prison guard Lt. Jackson... calm, calculated, and terrifying in how casually he abuses power, making every scene he’s in unbearably tense.

It's interesting how each of these characters... whether his good or bad, criminal, killer, or corrupt prison guard... has a reason behind their actions and who they've become. And in a way, those reasons help us understand them, maybe even sympathize with them. It blurs the line between right and wrong and brings them closer to us as real, flawed human beings.

In my opinion, this is possibly Waugh’s best movie to date! I watching SHOT CALLER, another very similar film of his, and I loving it as well... but I’ll have to rewatch that one to decide which I prefer. For now, FELON takes the top spot.
After all, this is the movie that put Waugh on my radar and made me excited for everything else he’s done... and will do... because the guy is a great filmmaker, and FELON proves that!

I was struggling between a 4.5 and a 5/5 star rating... and while 4.5 is probably more realistic, the movie had such an impact on me on this rewatch... and I liked it so much... that I decided to seal it with a 5-star rating!
Watch it if you haven’t already! Maybe it won’t be a 5-star movie in your book... but you surely won’t regret watching it—trust me on this one!

So...as I mentioned in my NOVOCAIN review...on that same night I watched NOVOCAIN in theaters, I also watched A WORKING MAN... a new addition to Statham's "Job Cinematic Universe" lol...

After he was THE TRANSPORTER three times, THE MECHANIC twice, and THE BEEKEEPER once (for now)...Statham is now A WORKING MAN... a hardworking construction worker who also has a special set of skills which he uses to get rid of human traffickers...

Look...I was really looking forward to this movie, just like I'm looking forward to any other Statham movie. I don't mind him basically always playing the same character in his movies...I just love watching him wrecking the shit out of bad guys left and right! That shit never gets old in my book...and thankfully, he's still not tired of doing it, which makes him, next to Scott Adkins and Gerard Butler, the only action guy these days who consistently brings that badass old-school action back to the screen(s)...

Now...it's impossible to talk about this movie without mentioning THE BEEKEEPER, because both movies are directed by the same dude, David Ayer (with Sly Stallone ing in as a screenwriter on this occasion)...

To my big surprise, THE BEEKEEPER was a huge hit, both with the critics and the audience, earning some really solid money at the box office, followed by good reviews! Some even went so far as to declare THE BEEKEEPER Statham's best film since THE TRANSPORTER, and a top-tier Statham movie in general!

Now look...I was looking forward to THE BEEKEEPER probably more than most people, and I liked the movie like any other action junkie out there...it was a fun Statham flick! But let's not kid ourselves...THE BEEKEEPER was not a good movie! And most definitely isn’t a top-tier Statham...not even close! That’s why I can’t wrap my head around the amount of love that movie is getting!

As I mentioned briefly above, THE BEEKEEPER was a fun movie and all, and as I wrote in my review of THE BEEKEEPER, it was "your typical old-school Statham actioner...every step of the way!" But MY GOD...the damn thing was so cartoonish, and dumb as a box of rocks, which kind of ruined it for me and made me not enjoy it as much as the majority of people.
The attempt at world-building and creating some background to Statham's character and the whole secret Beekeepers society was ridiculously stupid and superficially executed, making it feel like a parody of some sorts.
Some of the characters acted like buffoons most of the time, while Statham was punching bad guys through walls and dropping bee-puns every step of the way lol...

Now...I'm not saying that A WORKING MAN is much better, or even a good movie! Again...it's your typical Statham actioner, and in the end this is just a cheesy B-movie, and also a TAKEN rip-off! And the movie does have some ridiculous elements...like ridiculously over-the-top bad guys dressed funny lol.
But, it wasn't nearly as stupid or cartoonish as THE BEEKEEPER, and the tone of the movie was closer to WRATH OF MAN (which is in my opinion Statham’s best movie in the last few years, and a top tier Statham) than it was to THE BEEKEEPER...and therefore, I liked this more, and I think A WORKING MAN is better than THE BEEKEEPER. And surprisingly, I’m in the minority with that opinion...

Personally, I liked the more serious approach over the ridiculousness. There are even some procedural elements in the story, and it's not like Statham just runs around like a Terminator, destroying everything in front of him like in THE BEEKEEPER.
I mean, ultimately he is a one-man army and kills everybody in the end, but to get there, he searches for clues, follows leads, does surveillance, goes undercover, interrogates people...all that to find a kidnapped girl. And he's not always necessarily successful...which makes him a flawed hero...

Yeah...there's some unnecessary stuff in here...like the whole subplot with his daughter, his dead wife, and his fight for custody with his father-in-law.
His daughter does give him extra motive in his search for the kidnapped girl, but other than that, it doesn't do much for the story, and unnecessarily prolongs runtime. The same goes for the subplot with the father-in-law. A completely unnecessary character in the movie...
Also, the subplot with Gunny played by David Harbour doesn't do much for the story either, and he could have been left out of the movie as well...or used in a different way.
For example, Statham's character, Cade, could have left his daughter with Gunny for safekeeping before he set out in search of the missing girl, just as a precaution! And then when the Russians discovered who was attacking them and picking them off one by one, and find his daughter, they could have sent people to Gunny, and we could have seen that Gunny, even though blind, is still a skilled warrior as he defends Cade’s daughter. It would’ve been a really cool action sequence and would give that character a reason to be part of the story...

But hey...it is what it is...

Anyway...as I said, A WORKING MAN is not much better than THE BEEKEEPER, but in my book, it is better, and I did like it more. Also, to repeat myself once again, this is not necessarily a good movie and I most definitely wouldn’t put it among Statham's best movies, or in his TOP 10, or even TOP 15, and my 4-star rating is probably a bit too high...but it's a fun movie, and I enjoyed the heck out of it, and that’s all that matters!
Looking forward to the next Statham/Ayer (and possibly Sly) collaboration...

PS. What’s up with that moon in the last third of the movie!? That shit was HUGE!! I thought it would fall to Earth at some point haha...

I finally found some time to hit the cinema, and while I was there, I decided to kill two birds with one stone... that is, I decided to watch two films in the same night: NOVOCAIN and WORKING MAN... which resulted in an awesome action double feature cinema night!

First up that night was NOVOCAIN... a fun action comedy in which Dennis Quaid's baby is trying to save a girl from the hands of Jack Nicholson's baby... or something like that lol...

Ever since 1975, Nazareth has been singing that "Love Hurts"! And sometimes, love indeed hurts... a lot. Not necessarily physically, but mentally... in most cases. But in this case... physical pain is more of an advantage, as thankfully Dennis Quaid's baby doesn't feel any...

Anyway... I watch THE BOYS, and I love THE BOYS, and I really like Jack Quaid in that show. He's great at playing these silly underdog-type characters, like Hughie (or Novocain), and in THE BOYS, he's proven that he can pull off both comedy and drama equally well... and sometimes even at the same time. And thanks to that show he's no stranger to action either...

So when I first saw a trailer for NOVOCAIN... a movie where he plays this nerdy, geeky bank manager who is incapable of feeling physical pain and decides to turn his rare condition into an unexpected advantage to rescue the girl of his dreams (who was kidnapped during a bank robbery)... I was immediately intrigued to watch it!

NOVOCAIN has a really intriguing, and even kind of unique concept... a gimmick, if you like, that it successfully uses to its advantage, resulting in some brutally violent yet funny action scenes and an extremely fun movie overall as it gets creative with countless ways to put Novocain through the ringer...
Jack Quaid slips into this role like a hand in a glove, easily carrying the film on his back, balancing between quirky and sometimes ridiculous humor and equally ridiculous action moments/kills.
On top of that, he is accompanied by a great ing cast that includes Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Betty Gabriel, and Matt Walsh, all making it a fun and wild ride...

You may wonder why I didn't mention Jacob Batalon here!? Well... in my book, he is the weakest link in the entire movie, and I didn’t really like or care for his character much! Maybe if he had been played by another actor... maybe... but Batalon somehow didn’t suit me in that role.

But truth be told, that’s my only major complaint about NOVOCAIN! Other than that, I had so much fun with this, laughing my ass off at some scenes, because of how brutal, bloody, and funny they were.
So yeah... all in all... this was great, and it delivered everything I expected from it! So... if like me, you also enjoy entertaining and violent action flicks... sit back and enjoy the ride!

PS. Yeah... I also saw the resemblance with Max Payne once Quaid slipped into a letter jacket, and I think he could pull that role with the right director... but we can only hope!

So...this popped up on Max recently, and I figured this would be a great pick for our family movie night!
I watching this movie back in the day, and I liking this fun blend of action, adventure, and costume drama. Quite a bit, if I’m being completely honest...

And you know what...my memory served me right this time!

THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK is indeed a fun and intriguing old-school swashbuckling musketeer adventure, packed with sword fights, royal intrigue and schemes, humor and dramatic flair...and above all that, it’s packed with an awesome cast that includes heavies like Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gabriel Byrne, Gérard Depardieu, Peter Sarsgaard, Hugh Laurie, and a very young Leonardo DiCaprio in a dual role.

And the cast is probably the biggest strength of this film! Great actors in fancy wigs and musketeer gear, having fun and delivering great performances.
Some criticize the film for its historical inaccuracy and for leaning more into fun than facts... but those people probably take this way too seriously... and they shouldn't! After all, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, so why should you!?

It’s not a historic drama or biopic... it’s the kind of old-school adventure flick that wears its heart on its frilly sleeve...and underrated movie with a pinch of honor, betrayal, brotherhood, and dramatic reveals... making a fun adventure for audiences from 7 to 77 (and more)! How could someone not have fun with that!?

It's a shame that Randall Wallace didn't directed more movies in his career... or at least more bigger movies...

Anyway...my kids liked the movie, and we all had a great time watching this! And because the liked this so much, I’m thinking of showing them that other ’90s musketeer movie as well... probably sooner rather than later!

And so, with DIE ANOTHER DAY, our little Brosnan Bond marathon came to an end. Overall, this marathon was a good introduction to Bond for my son, and he expressed his desire to watch more Bond movies, which we’ll probably do in the near future... but first, a little break from Bond...

But anyway... DIE ANOTHER DAY... let’s talk about it!

As most of you already know, DIE ANOTHER DAY is considered to be the worst of all four Brosnan Bond movies... and also one of the worst Bond movies to date!
And yeah... there was a time when I would agree with you all that this is the weakest of the four Brosnan movies, but as one of the worst Bond movies in general? Well... I most definitely disagree with that statement!

Truth to be told, I never really hated this movie like many others! I understand why people don’t like it, and I agree that the movie is over-the-top and silly, and that it leans too far into camp territory and loses the grounded edge that made previous Brosnan’s Bond cool.
But still... I find this to be a really entertaining Bond movie! And after a recent rewatch of all four, I wouldn’t even agree that this is the worst of the Brosnan era! Personally, I prefer it over THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, which feels kind of dull in comparison...

The way I see it... when I think of Bond in general, I think of a stylish, suave secret agent saving the world with charm and precision. I think of beautiful Bond girls, slick one-liners, cool cutting-edge gadgets, and high-tech cars armed with rockets, machine guns, and other tricks...
I also think of exotic locations, cool sets, over-the-top villains with grandiose world domination plans, and bombastic, dramatic action set-pieces... from underwater battles to ski chases to space fights. I mean, all of that marked Moore’s Bond films, and some of Connery’s as well.
And the thing is... DIE ANOTHER DAY checks almost all those boxes, and in a way, it feels like a tribute to the entire Bond series! So why do so many think this is so bad!??

My guess is that by this point in time (early 2000s), and after the previous three films that were kind of more grounded in reality and had a more serious tone... people just weren’t ready for this ridiculously over-the-top style of Bond that almost turns into full-blown sci-fi, with invisible cars, DNA-switching villains, and a killer satellite laser that melts ice lol. It’s a ridiculously over-the-top entry that feels more like a cartoon than a spy thriller.
But you know what? I don’t mind that... at all.

With the exception of Craig’s Bond movies that go over the $200 million mark, DIE ANOTHER DAY is one of the most expensive Bond films, with a budget of a whopping $142 million. Yet... surprisingly... the CGI and green screen in this are pretty bad, which also didn’t help the film or how audiences experienced it.
That’s the reason why the infamous tsunami surfing scene is widely mocked today for its laughably bad CGI, turning a high-stakes moment into an unintentional comedy...

Also... by this point, Brosnan had had enough of Bond and seemed visibly tired of the role, and was ready to give his 007 license to kill to someone else. And in a way, you can feel that in his performance. It’s more relaxed, even lackluster at times... he still delivers the signature Bond charm, but with less of the sharp edge and intensity we saw in his earlier films.

He was ed by Halle Berry in this one, playing U.S. agent Jinx. Similar to Denise Richards in the previous movie, she didn’t really have great chemistry with Brosnan either... but her performance was way better and stronger. She brought a certain charm and confidence to the role, which made their dynamic somehow work...

There’s also Rosamund Pike in one of her first bigger roles, as Miranda Frost... a cold (pun intended) double agent, with a sharp and icy (yep, pun intended again) performance. She’s fine, although nothing to write home about...

And let’s not forget Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves... he was definitely a fun villain! Totally over-the-top in the best (and sometimes worst) way. Similar to Jonathan Pryce in TOMORROW NEVER DIES, he leaned into the theatrical side of Bond villains with smug arrogance, flashy one-liners, and mad-scientist energy. But unlike Pryce, he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and take on Bond in a fight...

The action is big and spectacular, and like everything else in this movie, completely over-the-top... packed with explosions, wild gadgets, and physics-defying stunts (done once again by the legendary Vic Armstrong).
My son, of course, loved the invisible car... the Aston Martin Vanquish... and the whole car chase on the ice. For him, that was the highlight of the movie! And honestly... I kind of have to agree with him on that. That whole sequence is really cool and well done...

After the movie ended, I asked him which of the four films he liked the most, and he said his favorites were TOMORROW NEVER DIES (because of the remote-driven BMW) and this one (because of the Aston Martin), but he also really liked GOLDENEYE (because of the tank scene).
His least favorite was also THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH...

As I mentioned at the very beginning, he expressed a desire to see more Bond films, and I’m thinking of showing him Moore’s films, and probably Dalton’s... but before that, we’ll continue with the latest ones... Craig’s Bond movies. I’m sure he’ll love those.
So yeah...Bond will return on my Letterboxd lol...but as I said, all that after a short break from Bond...

WESTERNx32 - challenge [2025]
7. Watch a 1980s western film.

In the first few years of his directorial career, Walter Hill was cranking out hit after hit, a classic after classic - HARD TIMES, THE DRIVER, THE WARRIORS, SOUTHERN COMFORT, 48 HRS... just to name a few!

But during that era of his career, he also made THE LONG RIDERS... a western about Jesse James and his gang that must have broken some kind of record for the number of real-life brothers being cast to play on-screen brothers, as the film stars four sets of actual brothers: the Carradines, the Keachs, the Quaids, and the Guests.

James and Stacy Keach play the James brothers... David, Keith, and Robert Carradine play the Younger brothers... Dennis and Randy Quaid play the Miller brothers, while Christopher and Nicholas Guest play the Ford brothers.

Shame they didn’t squeeze the Baldwin brothers in somewhere as well lol...

But anyway... I watching THE LONG RIDERS once before, although a long time ago, but it stuck in my memory as a really great film! But after re-watching it now, I have to say I didn’t enjoy it as much as I liking it!
Don't get me wrong... THE LONG RIDERS is still a great little movie and, in a way, a unique take on the Jesse James tale. But the movie has its share of problems...

The biggest issue is the pacing and the fact that the narrative is all over the place. It seems like the movie is trying to cover too much ground, dealing with too many aspects of the James/Younger gang’s lives all at once.
We get small bits and pieces of insight into their personal lives, their outlaw adventures, their exploits, and ultimately, the fate of the entire gang... but all of it feels somewhat scattered throughout the film. It’s like there’s "everything, everywhere, all at once"... lol.

Even Walter Hill himself called this movie a "strange piece." He (apparently) said: "Instead of the logical conclusion being at Northfield, it then goes on to another phase of a spiral downward and ends with Jesse's death. It's very hard material to give the proper dramatic curve to. It doesn't lay out in a classic three-act structure." And I would add...that kind of hurt the flow of the movie...

But you know... I should give credit where credit is due, as Hill really directed the shit out of those shootout scenes and elevated this movie to another level with them!
The Northfield shootout in THE LONG RIDERS is a masterfully staged sequence... stylish, artistically cinematic, and brutally intense, capturing the chaos with stunning slow-motion visuals and great sound design. It’s definitely the highlight of the movie!

So yeah... that scene probably stuck in my mind the most, and I built my memory of enjoying this movie around it. That’s probably why I didn’t like it as much this time around.
But again... despite my lack of enjoyment on this re-watch, THE LONG RIDERS is still a great western, and if you like the genre, I definitely recommend watching it at least once.

Well... when it comes to Brosnan's Bond run, quality-wise, his run can be described as half good, half bad. And so after two great Bond movies, GOLDENEYE and TOMORROW NEVER DIES... you get, well... two not-so-great Bond movies.

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, the third in line, is where everything went south... but like really, really south!

From mediocre action to poor casting, missed opportunities, and annoying characters...

Funny thing is, on the surface, it seems like THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH has all the right ingredients for a great Bond film... a world dominance plot involving nuclear threats, high-tech terrorism, beautiful women with funny names (an oil heiress Elektra King Bond needs to protect and a scientist named Christmas Jones who helps him save the world), and a bad guy who can't feel pain!

And maybe the ingredients really are good... but the problem is... they just don't work as a whole.

This film cost a whopping $135 million, but unlike the previous two movies, somehow it just doesn't feel or look that "big" and spectacular. If anything, there are moments where the movie even feels kind of "cheap," so to speak (but I'll get to that a little later)...

While there's a lots of action and stunts, like always in Bond movies...there's not one action set piece that looks really impressive or spectacular... nothing truly jaw-dropping! The opening sequence, which starts with Bond retrieving some money after killing a couple of guys and then continues with a speedboat chase on the Thames, is fun and possibly the highlight of the movie, but it doesn't impress much as a whole.
The whole mountain skiing sequence with para-glider-equipped snowmobiles is a nice throwback to some previous Bond films (like THE SPY WHO LOVED ME or A VIEW TO A KILL), but it's short and, again, not very impressive in the end.
The shootout in the underground Russian ICBM base in Kazakhstan is... fine, I guess, but it's just another shootout... nothing really worth writing home about.
The pipeline sequence, where Bond and Christmas are trying to deactivate a bomb, is probably the worst "action sequence" in the entire movie! It's a pretty lame, green-screen/CGI-heavy scene with no excitement, energy, or emotion.
The caviar factory sequence is a bit silly with those buzzsaw helicopters (there are way more efficient ways to kill Bond, lol), but it has its moments... as well as missed opportunities. You see, in this sequence, Bond finally uses his car... another BMW... but he uses it for like 15 seconds, blows up one helicopter before it gets destroyed, and that's about it. Also, for some damn reason, the whole set for that sequence looks so fake and cheap.
As for the finale in the submarine... well... finale it's incredibly underwhelming. A sinking submarine is impractical for any bigger and better action set piece, so all we get is some swimming and diving, and one short, lame "fight"... if you can even call it that.

So yeah... the action. I mean... it's fine in general, with a couple of good moments, but overall, for a Bond movie, it feels kind of mediocre. But that may have more to do with the direction of Michael Apted, whom I personally had never even heard of before... despite knowing some of the movies he directed...

Now, let's talk briefly about the casting (and annoying characters)! Because the casting in this movie is probably the biggest fail of them all... and truly ruins the film.

First, there's Sophie Marceau as Elektra King, an oil heiress supposedly in danger who needs Bond's protection. Now... Sophie is a beautiful woman and probably a good actress... but in this movie, I just didn't find her very likable... like, at all.
Her character feels annoying from the start... even before she becomes the villain. And when it's revealed that she’s behind everything, and that she’s the real mastermind, she becomes so delusional and unbearable that it’s hard to watch.
The way she thinks she has Bond wrapped around her little finger just because she slept with him once... Bond... the ultimate womanizer, who changes women like I change underwear (actually, scratch that... Bond probably changes women more often than I change underwear)... and she thought she was irresistible and untouchable? It was just ridiculous and dumb to watch!

And then there's Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones. Now... I like Denise... she’s a really good-looking woman, or at least she used to be! But whoever thought casting her in this movie was a good idea should be fired!
She has no chemistry with Brosnan whatsoever, and her acting... her performance in this... it’s just Godawful! Almost painfully unconvincing, with some of the most cringe-worthy line deliveries. And she isn’t a typical Bond girl throwing herself at 007, but she’s also not an action heroine like Michelle Yeoh in the previous movie either. She just awkwardly exists in the film, feeling more like unnecessary baggage than a meaningful part of the story.
If anything, this served as an unintentional audition tape for TOMB RAIDER, so it’s a shame she didn’t get the part, lol.

And finally, let's talk briefly about missed opportunities...

I already mentioned the missed opportunity with Bond’s car and how he used it for like 15 seconds before it got destroyed! Hell, even my son didn’t like this movie as much as the previous two because he was disappointed by how quickly they got rid of the car lol...

But another major missed opportunity was the villain! And no... I’m not talking about Elektra... I’m talking about Renard, played by Robert Carlyle. Renard is an interesting villain, especially in the Bond universe. He’s unique because of his condition... he can’t feel pain, which makes him a perfect antagonist for a Bond flick!
But unfortunately... he’s completely underused and wasted in this film. And in the end, his condition doesn’t really do much for the story.

Unfortunately, this was the last film to feature Desmond Llewelyn, aka Q, who had been arming Bond with gadgets and vehicles for decades. It’s a shame he didn’t get to go out with a banger...

Now... after all this being said, you probably think I hate this movie!? But I don’t! No, really... I don’t. It’s just that I used to like this movie way more before, but after this rewatch, I was surprisingly disappointed with it. I was even kind of shocked by how much I didn’t enjoy it this time around!
Still... I have to say, it’s not a complete disaster! In a way, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH is still a fun Bond movie (I mean, even the worst ones are still fun to watch, even for all the wrong reasons), and I’m sure I’ll probably rewatch it again somewhere down the line... just won’t be anytime soon, and I won’t be expecting much from it.

At the very end of GOLDENEYE, it was written "James Bond will return"... and they weren't lying. He indeed returned two years later, in the 1997 movie TOMORROW NEVER DIES. After being thrilled by GOLDENEYE, my son, of course, wanted to continue with the Bond movies, so we tackled this Bond title next...

Well... TOMORROW NEVER DIES technically feels more polished than GOLDENEYE, with slicker action, a faster pace, and a more modern feel, but it lacks the same impact and depth of GOLDENEYE, and it's not as good in the end. Yet, next to GOLDENEYE, out of all four movies Brosnan did, this is the only other one truly worth mentioning.

The plot, centered around a media mogul trying to start a world war for ratings, is a bit silly and probably the weakest link of the entire movie (although the war for clicks and ratings on news portals is more pronounced today than ever before.)!
But still, silly as it is, it fits well within the Bond universe because you expect silly and over-the-top moments from Bond movies... in acceptable doses, of course.

Brosnan is once again awesome as Bond, and he obviously fully embraced this role as his own with his blend of charm, wit, and badassery. But he's not alone in action this time around, as he's accompanied by Michelle Yeoh, who doesn't play your typical Bond girl here. That role went to Terry Hatcher... she had a short but sweet appearance in this movie as Bond's love interest.
Michelle Yeoh's Wai Lin, on the other hand, is just as badass as Bond, bringing her trademark martial arts skills and a strong, independent presence into the mix, which makes her one of the best Bond allies. She’s not a "damsel in distress," like the usual Bond girls, but a true equal, holding her own in the action and almost stealing every scene she’s in.
Hell, when she and Bond finally get into a love clinch, it even seems a bit uncomfortable... as you are watching brother and sister kissing, lol.

And let's not forget Jonathan Pryce as the villain! Well... Jonathan Pryce's Elliot Carver is more of an over-the-top, theatrical villain than a real physical threat to Bond. While his media-mogul mastermind scheme fits the Bond world, he lacks the menace of the best 007 villains, making him more entertaining than truly intimidating. Thankfully, he has his henchman who does all the heavy lifting for him...

The rest of the cast is once again stacked with familiar faces and names, many of whom reprise their roles from the previous movie, with the addition of Ricky Jay and Vincent Schiavelli.

As for my son... he loved TOMORROW NEVER DIES even more than he loved GOLDENEYE, and you know why? I believe you can guess why!!

Yup... he loved it because of that scene when Bond remotely drives the BMW and uses all kinds of gadgets on his car as he's trying to escape his pursuers... and for that motorcycle chase. But the scene with the BMW car really won him over! And it was such a pleasure watching him enjoy that scene... a smile on his face is just so precious.

So yeah... all in all, TOMORROW NEVER DIES is another win in Brosnan's Bond era. It's flawed and kind of silly, but despite its flaws, it's still an entertaining ride, featuring well-executed action, couple of great stunts (handled by legendary Vic Armstrong) and some cool Bond moments...

So... my son is into car kit model builds, and whenever we can, we buy a new kit model for him to build. It’s his hobby, and he loves doing it. He assembles them himself, glues everything together, paints, does all the details, etc...
Truth to be told, some of his finished models are still kind of "rough around the edges," so to speak, but with time, his skills will probably improve, and he’ll learn some model-maker tricks that will help him make even better models...
But he really loves doing this stuff, and I'm sure he’ll probably keep at it his entire life...

But anyway... recently, he saw the Revell Aston Martin DB5 kit model. And as some of you probably know... that's James Bond's car from GOLDFINGER (and some other James Bond movies)... it’s even written on the kit model box.
He had also seen that car before in GTA Online... there's an obvious replica in the game called JB 007. So, I told him a bit about the car and about James Bond... both the character and the movies... and my son expressed his desire to watch those movies, as well as to buy that model kit.

It's a bit more expensive than the usual kit models, so we still haven’t bought it, but we will soon enough. In the meantime, I decided to show him a couple of Bond movies. I was sure he would like them, if nothing else, for the awesome cars and gadgets...and of course, action!

I wasn’t sure he would enjoy the older Bond movies with Connery or even Moore, so I decided to skip those (at least for now). I thought about starting with the Dalton movies, but in the end, I decided to go with Brosnan instead. After all, that's my James Bond... the Bond I grew up with. Plus, he drives the Aston Martin DB5 in some of the movies, even if only for a short time...

And so, we started with GOLDENEYE... the first Bond film of the Brosnan era and, according to many, the best film from that era...

I’ve always loved this movie, and like many others, this has always been my favorite Brosnan Bond film... but also one of the best Bond films in general.

Now... it had been some time since I last watched any of these movies, although I ed a lot of scenes and moments from them, including this one.
Still... after re-watching all four Brosnan movies recently (yes, we had seen all four by the time I’m writing this), I have to be honest and it that some of them didn’t really age well... including this one...

Don’t get me wrong... GOLDENEYE is still an awesome James Bond movie and one of the better Bond movies in general. And out of all four Brosnan movies, this one has the best song, "GoldenEye" by Tina Turner.
But even this movie has a couple of really cheesy and cringey moments! I never noticed them before, or maybe I just didn’t care back then, or didn’t think about it that way... but now that I’m older... I just couldn’t not notice them...

Also... GOLDENEYE feels kind of "rough around the edges" in some parts, and not entirely polished, like some later Bond movies. But still... Martin Campbell really did an awesome job here, balancing spectacular action, some crazy stunt work, and stylish espionage, setting the tone for the modern Bond era.
As for Brosnan... well, he’s absolutely tailor-made for this role (or maybe it’s the other way around)... charming, confident, and effortlessly blending the suave, witty, and action-hero sides of 007. The way he shoots bad guys is truly savage, but with a certain refined charm...

Also, GOLDENEYE features a stellar cast. In addition to Pierce Brosnan's debut as James Bond, there’s also Sean Bean as the classic Bond villain... a former 00-agent turned rogue. Also, Famke Janssen had her first really big role here that made her famous, as the deadly and over-the-top Xenia Onatopp (one of the reasons for the cheesiness and cringe lol)... Izabella Scorupco as a slightly atypical Bond girl, the resourceful and intelligent Natalya... and Judi Dench in her first appearance as M, bringing a fresh and authoritative presence to the role.
And let’s not forget Joe Don Baker, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming (another source of cringe in the film), and Gottfried John...

Anyway... my son really loved the movie and was glad to see the Aston Martin DB5 on screen, even for a short time... but he was kind of disappointed that the BMW wasn’t featured more in the movie or used in action. But he absolutely loved the whole tank chase sequence and how Bond destroyed every single car that came his way. And that truly is one of the best and most spectacular sequences in the movie...

So yeah... GOLDENEYE... a great James Bond flick!

Well... it was Bruce Willis' 70th birthday, and I decided to watch something of his on the occasion. Truth to be told... I've been in the mood to rewatch SURROGATES for some time now... and I should have gone with that movie instead!

But me being me... and me being too lazy to dig through my DVD/Blu-ray collection to find that movie... I took the easy way out and decided to check out what was available on the streaming services I have (Netflix, Max, and Prime).
Max had only DEATH BECOMES HER, but I wasn't interested in re-watching that at the moment. Prime had only GLASS, but I wasn't interested in re-watching that either. Netflix had the "largest" selection and offered TEARS OF THE SUN, HUDSON HAWK, THE EXPENDABLES, and this... PERFECT STRANGER.

Now... any of those other three titles would have been a better choice, but I've watched them all before and wasn't in the mood to rewatch them right now... so after thinking about it for a few minutes, I finally decided to watch PERFECT STRANGER, simply because I'd never seen it before (my first mistake)...

To be honest, I knew this movie had a bit of a bad reputation, but I decided to ignore it (my second mistake). Also, I expected this to be an erotic thriller, so I figured, Halle Berry in a few hot scenes with Willis... why the hell not!? (my third mistake)...

Well... long story short... I had a miserable time watching this!

You see... this is not an erotic thriller... there's no hot scenes with Halle Berry (except for one short sex scene, but she's fully dressed in that one), and the movie is slow, boring, and a forgettable mediocrity without suspense or tension!
The only saving grace of this movie is an interesting twist at the end... a twist that actually makes no sense when compared to the rest of the movie because there's no hint of it anywhere... but it's cool nonetheless.

The character Berry plays, some journalist who loves to dig up dirt on rich fucks, is extremely annoying and not very likable. The same can be said about Giovanni Ribisi, who plays her journalist partner and obviously has a sick crush on her!
And Willis... well... Willis is naturally second-billed as a co-star, but his role is so minor, so forgettable, and so minimally played that it is simply not worthy of a star of his caliber at the time!
Why was he in this movie? Why did he agree to do this movie? Anybody could have play that part...literally anybody, and it would make no difference!
And who the hell is the PERFECT STRANGER here? Because Willis' character sure as hell ain't perfect in any way, and Ribisi's is no stranger lol. So yeah... the title also makes no goddamn sense at all...

All in all... PERFECT STRANGER is a piece of crap, and if you haven't already, don't watch it! Among the thousands and thousands of other films you probably haven't seen yet, just like me, but want to... you won't miss a thing if you skip this one...

ACTIONx52 [2025]
26. Watch an action movie set on a plane or at an airport.

Well... I guess back in 1996, it was probably shocking for the audience to see Steven Seagal die so early in the movie... or to die at all! But then again, it was probably a surprise for them to see him in the movie in the first place, since he's not even named in the opening credits!
I always wondered why he agreed to do this movie at all, considering his character dies in the first 10 minutes!? Sure... by the mid-'90s, his career had started to slowly decline, but he was still a big star at the time, and we all know he's an egomaniac who loves to beat people up on screen and be the hero. Even when he played a bad guy (like in MACHETE), he basically died by his own hand lol... so him taking this role is a real head-scratching decision!

I tried to Google it but didn’t find any real explanations. Only rumor that Seagal was initially under the impression that his character, Lt. Colonel Austin Travis, would have a much bigger role when he signed on to this project.
Also, some stories suggest that he was unhappy when he learned his character would die early but was convinced to stay on board due to contractual obligations or studio pressure.

Either way... he's out of the movie after the first 10 minutes, which is why EXECUTIVE DECISION is many people's favorite Steven Seagal movie today lol!
And once he's out of the picture, from there on, it's a Kurt Russell show! OK, not entirely, because this is an ensemble cast movie, but Russell is the lead here...

Essentially, EXECUTIVE DECISION is another one from a long list of those "DIE HARD on a plane" movies, such as CON AIR, ENGER 57, AIR FORCE ONE, NON-STOP, and many more...
The only difference is, it’s not just one guy against the terrorists... it's an entire team of eight (four commandos, one engineer, and one intelligence expert, plus a flight attendant secretly helping them). And they all have to work together to stop the terrorists and save the hostages.

The first few minutes of the movie are kind of a mess. It opens with a sequence in Trieste, Italy, where Lt. Colonel Austin Travis and his team are trying to recover a stolen Soviet nerve agent called DZ-5. But their mission ends up being unsuccessful, with one of the team getting killed.
It’s a solid action opening (and the only action scene that involves Seagal), but the thing is... the whole sequence is basically unnecessary, and it doesn’t do much for the story.

A few minutes later, we are introduced to Dr. David Grant (played by Kurt Russell), a U.S. Army intelligence expert, who has just ed his pilot’s test. That sequence is abruptly interrupted by an action-packed flashback of the abduction of terrorist leader El Sayed Jaffa from his daughter’s wedding. And that is the important scene for the movie...
In my opinion, the movie should have opened with this sequence and cut the Trieste sequence out completely. Then, after that kidnapping scene, introduce Dr. Grant.

The only reason why the Trieste opening sequence exists in the first place is to create a certain tension and hostility between Travis and Grant, since Travis holds him responsible for the failed mission in Italy and the death of one of his men, because of the bad intel he gave them...
But you know... we could have gotten that information just through dialogue, and that would have worked just fine, in my opinion. Instead, Travis and his team could have been the ones to kidnap Jaffa, because from the flashbacks, we don’t really know who kidnapped him...

Anyway... I know I’m probably ranting and nitpicking here, but the way the story is set up in those first 5–10 minutes really affected my enjoyment of the movie and my final rating...

But thankfully, the rest of the movie is actually pretty great, and EXECUTIVE DECISION has some really exciting moments and a tense, engaging plot that keeps you on edge the whole time.
Surprisingly, this is not an action-packed movie... it’s more like Jack Ryan type of movie, and it’s more about the planning and preparation for the final action within time restrictions, because it has to be done perfectly... otherwise, everyone is dead, one way or another!

As I mentioned earlier, this is an ensemble cast, and the movie is stacked with well-known names and faces! So, next to Russell (and Seagal in an extra minor role), there’s also Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, J.T. Walsh, BD Wong, Richard Riehle, and David Suchet (aka Poirot) as the main villain.
And everybody got enough screen time and their moment to shine... even Seagal lol...

All in all, EXECUTIVE DECISION is a fun movie... an entertaining ’90s action thriller... and I had a great time watching it! It’s not one of those all-time ’90s classics, but you could definitely have a good time watching it if you decide to do so...

PS. It’s funny how back in the ’90s, this was considered a hot project, and Warner Bros. decided to buy it from Paramount Pictures in exchange for the rights and screenplay to FORREST GUMP, which was going through multiple problems with the script and casting.
In addition, some Warner executives were afraid that the success of RAIN MAN would preempt GUMP, due to the perceived similarities of the projects’ subject matter...
Yet... EXECUTIVE DECISION is mostly forgotten today, while FORREST GUMP is #11 on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies of All Time! Go figure...

So... this is the only LETHAL WEAPON movie that I watched in a movie theater, so it always had a special place in my heart, no matter what.
I still watching it with my school buddies back in 1998, in Kino Zagreb (which they closed and remodeled many years ago), on a rainy night and having a blast with the movie!

And as I mentioned in my LETHAL WEAPON 3 review, upon this rewatch of the entire quadrilogy, I preferred LETHAL WEAPON 4 over LETHAL WEAPON 3... so that’s how much I love(d) this movie!
What changed my mind this time is that, on this rewatch, I felt the length of LETHAL WEAPON 4 (after all, it is the longest LETHAL WEAPON movie of them all), and at moments, the film felt a little too slowish, so to speak... especially compared to Part 3, which is fast-paced and full of energy almost the entire time!

But that in no way diminishes my love for this sequel!
Sure... LETHAL WEAPON 4 is not nearly as good as LETHAL WEAPON or LETHAL WEAPON 2, but it’s still a fun and entertaining ride. It has the same old elements... great chemistry between Gibson and Glover, big action, humor, and some heartfelt moments... but it leans more into comedy than the earlier films... so what!?
It’s still a great sequel that once again expands the family by introducing Murtaugh's secret son-in-law, Lee Butters, played by Chris Rock, bringing new dynamics into the mix and causing a whole series of hilarious moments!

Also, the action is big and explosive, with spectacular set pieces and intense fight scenes, especially with Jet Li as a menacing villain. Every LETHAL WEAPON movie had some cool fight scenes, but none had as good and elaborate choreography as Part 4!
Li's Wah Sing Ku completely outmatched Riggs and Murtaugh, and both of them had to go the extra mile to take him down... and even cheat a little to do so.
Also, that freeway car chase with Riggs sliding on a table is a truly spectacular and crazy stunt, and I don’t seeing anything like that in any other movie...

LETHAL WEAPON 4 also wraps up Riggs' story so nicely. He’s long gone from that maniacal and suicidal loner, and he’s not that fierce daredevil anymore either! He wants to be, and he tries to be... but his age doesn’t let him! And after finding family in Murtaugh’s family... he’s finally ready to have a family of his own and become a father!
And speaking of Riggs’ age... Murtaugh has been saying from the very beginning that he’s "too old for this shit"... but finally, it seems that Riggs has become "too old for this shit" as well (although he doesn’t want to it it), as he gets beaten up more than in all the previous films combined... because, well... you can't beat the clock!

And besides Riggs getting the perfect happy ending... the entire franchise got the perfect happy ending with this movie as well.
"Are you all friends!?" "No. We're FAMILY!"
It’s such a sweet ending!

Anyway... everybody got their time to shine in this sequel (even Leo Getz got a heartwarming moment with Riggs and helped him out to get the massage he needed), and everybody had a good time... especially us, the audience... and I will never understand the hate for this sequel... NEVER!
As I said in my LETHAL WEAPON review... there’s no bad movie in this franchise... and I stand firmly by that statement... always will!

As for my kids... hell yeah, they enjoyed this sequel as well!! After all, as I mentioned earlier, Part 4 leans more into comedy than the earlier films, and therefore has more funny moments.
The moment when Murtaugh is pretending to be a siren in the middle of the chase especially made them laugh, as did the "laughing gas" scene... and my son loved the "If you can read this, you're too close" moment as well...

So yeah... LETHAL WEAPON 4 was fun for the whole family!

Interestingly enough, LETHAL WEAPON 3 used to be my least favorite LETHAL WEAPON movie! And when I say used to be... it means it's not anymore! But then again, the difference between this and Part 4, which I used to like slightly more than Part 3 prior to this rewatch, is almost minimal...

I can’t really explain why exactly LETHAL WEAPON 3 was my least favorite movie in the entire franchise, especially since this sequel isn’t that much different from the others.
If anything, LETHAL WEAPON 3 is possibly the biggest, most action-packed, and most spectacular out of all four movies! Starting with that intense and funny opening bomb sequence, through the armored car chase, Riggs' motorcycle chase, the subway shootout, all the way to the explosive finale at the construction site!
Plus, the addition of another new character... who will become a big part of the family and Riggs' love interest, Lorna Cole, played by Rene Russo, brings some fun fight scenes into the mix...
And speaking of Russo... the chemistry and interplay between her and Gibson is almost as good and fun as the chemistry between Gibson and Glover, which makes her a great addition to the family...

LETHAL WEAPON 3 is also the only movie in the franchise that has that fiery "James Bond-style" opening credits sequence, accompanied by a fantastic song by Sting and Eric Clapton—"It's Probably Me." That song marked the entire franchise, or rather, LETHAL WEAPON marked that song, and whenever I hear it, I always think of LETHAL WEAPON movies...

Similar to LETHAL WEAPON 2, everything is even more laid back here, with everyone having fun... including us, the audience! But the movie still has some serious and darker moments... especially the moment when Murtaugh kills one of his son’s friends in self-defense.
That moment hits hard for him because it’s not just some random bad guy; it’s a kid he knew... a kid that reminds him of his own son, and you can see how much it devastates him.
The guilt and emotional weight he carries afterward add depth to the film and remind us that, despite all the humor and action, these characters are still dealing with real consequences...
Riggs, on the other hand, is just a crazy jokester in this sequel compared to the maniacal loner from the original movie. But that's fine because that transition seems so organic for him once he's pulled out of his dark place...

If I have to nitpick about something, and if there's a reason why I used to like this movie less before... it would probably be the villain... ex-crooked cop Jack Travis, played by Stuart Wilson.
He’s fine overall and serves his purpose, but there’s nothing really memorable about him... nothing that makes him stand out like the villains in the other two movies... or even the fourth one.
He’s definitely not as challenging an opponent as the others. But the armor-piercing bullets do add some additional danger and raise the stakes in the end...

Anyway... same as the previous two movies, I watched LETHAL WEAPON 3 with my family, and once again, we all had a lot of fun! There were even more jokes this time around, and almost all of them landed perfectly! The beginning, with Riggs and Murtaugh cutting the wrong wire—resulting in an exploding building but still saving the cat—was especially funny to them since we have a lot of cats, and they love cats...
Also...a scene of Riggs chewing an onion made them laugh out loud as well...

I dunno if you even noticed this, but LETHAL WEAPON 2 starts with a Looney Tunes tune! Just seconds before we see the opening shot of Gibson's Riggs going crazy in a car chase, the Merrie Melodies theme is briefly heard during the opening sequence!
I don't know if I ever noticed this before! Or if I did (and it’s kinda hard not to notice it)... I totally forgot about it in the meantime, so hearing it now surprised me...

Honestly... I'm not sure why that was put into the movie!? I tried to find some explanation, and all I came up with is that it’s either because the film was produced by Warner Bros., the same studio behind Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, or it was just a fun nod or in-joke by the filmmakers...

Either way... funny thing is, the tune kinda fits the film's tone, as LETHAL WEAPON 2 blends intense action with comedic moments, much like a Looney Tunes cartoon with its mix of chaos and humor. Plus, the tune plays right before the movie literally jumps into action (a car chase), almost as if setting up a wild ride ahead of us...

As I said in my LETHAL WEAPON review... the first movie is the most serious overall out of all four. And while LETHAL WEAPON 2 has its share of serious and even dark moments (especially knowing how it was supposed to end)... this is where things became a bit more laid back in the dynamics of the characters and the tone of the film(s), setting up the formula for the rest of the sequels...
Riggs is still a crazy son of a bitch and still has that crazy-eye energy that makes him a fearless daredevil... but he’s not a suicidal maniac anymore, because he found a new family in Murtaugh's family... and they brought him back to life and accepted him as their own...

We also meet a new character... a character who will become part of the big family in the next installments, and that character is definitely responsible for the additional Looney Tunes vibe.
That character is, of course, Leo Getz... sometimes annoying yet lovable, a fast-talking crook played by Joe Pesci, who talks way too much and way too fast, and always tries to weasel his way into Riggs and Murtaugh’s business, whether they like it or not.
Leo is here just to get on their and our nerves, and in higher doses, he would probably become unbearable, but it's timed just right throughout the movie (and scenes) so that he doesn’t overstay his welcome. Plus, Pesci is just perfect in this role, and it’s definitely one of the highlights of his career...

A lot of people prefer LETHAL WEAPON 2 over LETHAL WEAPON, and I can totally understand why! As I also mentioned in my LETHAL WEAPON review... in my opinion, the first movie is probably the best out of all four, but LETHAL WEAPON 2 is right up there with the original, and no one can deny how good and fun this sequel is!
Sometimes I'm on the fence, deciding which one I like more, but the thing is, I just LOVE BOTH movies! That's the honest truth...

All in all, LETHAL WEAPON 2 takes everything that made the original great and cranks it up a notch... the chemistry between Gibson and Glover is better than ever, the action is intense and explosive, and the humor lands perfectly. With a badass soundtrack once again, a memorable villain ("diplomatic immunity!"), and the hilarious addition of Joe Pesci’s Leo Getz, it’s a sequel that not only lives up to its predecessor but, in some ways, even sures it...

Anyway... same as the original, I watched LETHAL WEAPON 2 with my family, and we all had a blast with this one as well.
A running gag with Roger’s wife’s car getting more and more destroyed throughout the movie is what made them laugh the most...

So... sometime last year... I believe in late September 2024, I pre-ordered a Blu-ray mediabook box set of the LETHAL WEAPON franchise from .
Now... I already own the entire franchise on Blu-ray, and I have all the movies on DVD (with Croatian subs lol)... but this was a really cool release, and I really wanted to grab a copy!

Originally, that edition was supposed to be released before the end of 2024. But for some reason, it was delayed to February 2025. And so finally, about two weeks ago or so... I received a package from ! It was the mediabook release!

As I was unwrapping this edition, my son came into the room and asked me, "What is that?" So I started telling him about the LETHAL WEAPON franchise, about Riggs and Murtaugh... but I soon stopped and just said, "Hey, you know what? We'll watch it." And so we did!

I honestly don't know why we didn't do this sooner, because it's not like LETHAL WEAPON movies are over-the-top violent or unsuitable for kids in any other way... and that's usually the main reason why I still haven't shown them some movies (like ROBOCOP, for example).
Yeah... there's a couple of shots of tits and drug use in the opening minutes of the film, and Gibson's ass... but hey, it's nothing they can't handle lol...

But OK... it doesn't matter now... the point is... we finally watched LETHAL WEAPON. And not just the first movie... over the course of a few days, we watched the entire franchise. Because that's the only (right) way you watch LETHAL WEAPON... all or nothing...

Well... long story short... we had a blast!

I know, I know... after such a long introduction... this conclusion seems a bit anticlimactic. But what can I tell you... the kids really liked the movie, and that's it.
And when I told them that the sequels were even more entertaining, because they had a little more humor and comedy, they couldn't wait to see the rest of the movies...

As for me... well... I LOVE LETHAL WEAPON! And not just the first movie... I LOVE THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE! And in my book... there is NO BAD MOVIE in the LETHAL WEAPON franchise! You may agree with me or not, but that's just the way it is, and I stand firmly behind that opinion...

The first movie is a classic! A cult classic that introduced these two fantastic characters, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh... complete opposites who ultimately work perfectly together. And that movie laid the foundation for one of the best action franchises ever!

I won't lie... the first movie is probably the best out of the four, as it's the most serious overall, and it works perfectly as an action movie, a mystery thriller, a comedy, but also a drama and character study of two completely different characters and the development of their relationship.
One is Roger Murtaugh, a devoted family man who just turned fifty and is eager to retire, hoping for a quiet life. The other is his reckless new partner, Martin Riggs, who is basically a suicidal maniac... he's lost the one person he cared about (his wife), and he can't get over it. And by all s... he's not only a danger to himself... but also to his partner...

So... can they work together!?

Well... as you all know... YES... they can! And not only that... by the end of the movie, they become like a family... and by the end of the entire franchise, that family is bigger than ever...

Richard Donner masterfully balances awesome and intense action, sharp and sometimes subtle humor, and heartfelt moments, creating the perfect blend of buddy-cop energy. Through his direction, he transforms Riggs and Murtaugh’s partnership from reluctant allies to a deep, almost family-like bond...
Both Glover and Gibson are great here, and the chemistry between them is unmatched... but Gibson is especially the one who almost steals the movie! His crazy-eye energy, cool badass appearance, and intense and charismatic performance that so easily switches between crazy, heartbroken, and charmingly funny is fantastic. Almost Oscar-worthy... and no, I'm not kidding by saying this!
And of course... Gary Busey as the main henchman is a nice addition... a cherry on top...

Also... the soundtrack! The soundtrack is incredibly unique, and the smooth, moody mix of saxophone, guitar, and orchestra perfectly complements the film’s emotional beats... balancing between melancholy and drama, to comedy and action...

Anyway... it's time to wrap this up, because there really is nothing more to say about this excellent film. I'll just add, Murtaugh said he's "too old for this shit" ... well... I will never be too old for this shit... NEVER!

Truth to be told, I wasn't really planning on watching another Gene Hackman movie so soon after PRIME CUT because I have other titles "on my plate," waiting for their turn.
But this was on Prime, and it has Andrew Davis behind the camera, along with Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones, and the legendary Dennis Franz (among many others) in front of it...so this was really a no-brainer for me!

The way I see it...THE PACKAGE isn't necessarily among Hackman's or Davis' best movies (for Davis, those spots are taken by THE FUGITIVE, UNDER SIEGE, and possibly ABOVE THE LAW and CODE OF SILENCE)...but THE PACKAGE is still a great and underrated/underappreciated movie that deserves slightly more love.

It's a gripping action-spy thriller with an engaging conspiracy plot and well-executed suspense by Davis, who keeps the tension high throughout.
There are some pacing issues, with a few slower moments that might test your patience. However, the solid performances... especially from Hackman... well-crafted suspense, and engaging storytelling keep it compelling overall...
And I just love seeing Dennis Franz on screen! Guy is a legend!

Anyway...enjoyed this once again, and probably more than most people...but come on...you really can't go wrong with Andrew Davis, Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones, and a touch of old-school espionage!

So... ever since I saw the trailer for DEMON CITY, I was actually looking forward to this. Plus, I loved the idea behind the movie... about a demon-possessed hitman who gets killed, then revives from the depths of Hell and unleashes his inner demon to take his revenge!

Yeah, I know... you're probably confused now, thinking, "What the hell is he talking about??! This is not that movie!"

And yeah... you're right. DEMON CITY is not a movie about a demon-possessed hitman who dies, revives from the depths of Hell, and unleashes his inner demon to take his revenge! But I swear, I read this description about DEMON CITY somewhere... and for the love of God, I can't where!

Either way... this created some false expectations for me because I was expecting an action martial arts movie with supernatural elements... something like THE CROW (the original, not that crappy remake), but more action-packed and violent...

And I sure did get action and violence, lots of it... so no complaints there. But there were no supernatural elements in this one... and to be completely honest with you all, that disappointed me.

DEMON CITY is a great action reel! There’s some really brutal and bloody action on display here, some gory violence, and fun moments. But story-wise... this is ridiculously dumb! So dumb it hurt my brain... and I didn't even know I had one lol...
DEMON CITY hits all the clichés about hitmen and revenge movies you can think of, adding some mysterious gang with demon masks into the mix. And that's fine...I don’t mind clichés...
But the lack of the supernatural aspect I expected, plus the dumb moments in the story, lame ending, and the complete lack of information about the demon-masked gang and their reasoning behind their actions (for example, why did they kill Sakata’s family and try to kill him? Why did they leave him alive after noticing he survived a bullet to the head? What demon of Shinjo City was the main baddie talking about??!) really hurt this movie for me...

Also... the fact that there are no supernatural elements in the story, yet Sakata is almost invulnerable to all the punching, shooting, throwing around, stabbing, slicing, and all the other shit... and he just keeps on pushing forward like he's Michael Myers or Jason... makes the whole thing even more ridiculous...

But anyway... DEMON CITY... all in all it's well-directed, and the cinematography is good too. There were a couple of really cool "noirish" shots of the city. As I said, the action is great... violent, bloody, and well-choreographed. Plus, the soundtrack is kind of badass, with hardcore guitars tearing up the screen. But unfortunately... the story is ridiculously stupid, and that kind of killed it for me, along with my wrong expectations....

Yet... I’d be willing to give DEMON CITY another shot one day, knowing what to expect this time around... but not anytime soon...

So... last night I watched the Oscars! But truth to be told... I really don't care about the Oscars anymore! Nor do I care about the movies that were nominated. With the exception of DUNE: PART TWO, I haven't watched any other Best Picture nominee, nor do I plan to watch most of them...
Maybe I'll check out ANORA... maybe. But not because it won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress! But because my friend, with whom I often share the same taste in movies, loved it... so that intrigued me enough to watch it... someday.

But despite my lack of interest in the Oscars for a long time now... I still like to watch them, and I do it year after year. It's just part of my tradition... a habit. So as I said... I watched them last night as well...

However... there was one thing about this year's Oscars that did intrigue me! You see... this year, a Croatian film, THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT, was nominated in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
It won all the major awards around the globe (Palme d'Or at Cannes, the César Award, and the European Film Award), so I was curious to see if it would win an Oscar as well. If it did... that would have been the first Croatian Oscar! But... spoiler alert... it didn't! But I'll talk about that briefly a little later.

Before the whole Oscar ceremony and the award for Best Short Film, it was only right for me to actually watch this movie! And thankfully... it was screened on Croatian national TV in a special broadcast before the Oscars...

Now... before I say anything else about THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT, I have to repeat what I always say when I talk about Croatian films... I'm not a fan of Croatian cinema!
And the fact that this film won all these awards doesn't mean much to me... especially considering that it's yet another Croatian movie dealing with the theme of war. And I'm sick of that because it feels like Croatian filmmakers can't make a movie that doesn’t deal with war in one way or another.

But OK... let's put that aside for a moment and focus on the film itself.

So... THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT is a 13-minute short film based on a true event that happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. A enger train was stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. And as they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 engers dared to stand up to them.

Well... truth to be told... I actually liked this. I especially liked how the film was not shot from the point of view of "the man who could not remain silent"! No, he is almost a secondary and unnoticeable character throughout the whole film. We only see glimpses of him until the very end, when we finally realize he is the man who could not remain silent... and not the guy we’ve been following with the camera the entire time.
Instead, the story is told from the point of view of the man who remained silent... a man who wanted to say something... but didn't. And that man, Dragan, in a way, represents most of us. A lot of us would love to be that other guy, the man who could not remain silent, the one who stands up... but in most cases, we do nothing. We stay quiet. But that’s just the way it is...
Anyway... that was a really clever way to tell this story. Plus, the whole thing was really intense, anxious and kind of uncomfortable to watch because, as a viewer, you know what’s going on and what will happen next...

But... I have one big problem with THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT. You see... in my book, this is not a movie! It’s actually just a 13-minute scene with no real beginning or end. It feels more like a single scene from a feature film. A feature film that doesn’t exist...
I know short films have their limitations, but still... to me, this just didn’t feel like a short movie. And just when the "movie" pulled me into the story and made me think about what would happen next... it just ended. And I was like, "That’s it!?" It needed "more meat on the bones"...

So... is this Oscar-worthy!?

Well... I dunno... I’d say no. But am I glad it got nominated? Actually, yes. Would I have liked it if the film won an Oscar? Well... probably, just for the sake of winning. But did it deserve to win? I don’t think so. A single scene just isn’t enough for that, in my opinion. But hey... what do I know lol...

Despite everything, congratulations to the team on the success they achieved...

Same as FAST FIVE, DOUBLE JEOPARDY was also on TV last night, and since it's been a while since I watched this... I decided to leave the channel on and watch the movie...

Well... I liking this back in the day, and it seems that hasn't changed after all these years! I still like it...a lot!

Now... don't get me wrong... DOUBLE JEOPARDY isn't a 90s classic or a critically acclaimed movie, and it possibly doesn't deserve a 4-star rating... but it's a lot of fun to watch as it delivers a gripping and entertaining ride.
And with a fast-paced plot, solid thrills, and Tommy Lee Jones chasing down another fugitive... this time in the character of the seemingly fragile Ashley Judd... it's arguably a better FUGITIVE "sequel" than the actual FUGITIVE sequel, U.S. MARSHALS. At least in my book...

And speaking of those two... well, as I said, Ashley Judd looks like a fragile woman, but she delivers a strong and believable performance as a woman seeking justice. And Tommy Lee Jones... well... he's Tommy Lee Jones, a no-nonsense badass... though he’s basically playing a less intense version of his FUGITIVE character, being a bit more laid-back. But hey...that type of role fits him so perfectly...

But anyway... as I said, DOUBLE JEOPARDY is no classic, and it's easy to forget it... but as I also said earlier... it's a lot of fun to watch as it delivers a gripping and entertaining ride in a 100-minute runtime...

Truth to be told, I wasn't really planning to re-watch this right now, but this was on TV last night, and my son wanted to watch it... so we did...

Well... as you all know, this is a fan-favorite movie in the entire F&F franchise! But what you probably didn't know is that I kind of disliked this movie when I originally watched it back in 2011. I genuinely liked every other previous F&F movie more than this at the time, and I felt that FAST FIVE was just overrated...

I can't really explain why that was so... but that's just how I felt about this movie... until a few years ago, when I re-watched the entire franchise with my son... and suddenly, I fell in love with FAST FIVE, and it became one of my favorites in the whole franchise!

What really changed... I dunno! Especially since the fight between The Rock and Diesel, which should be a highlight of the movie, is still so underwhelming! It's badly directed and edited (shaky and choppy) and lit so poorly that you really can't tell who's beating who between two big and bald muscle guys in a dark room...

But hey... that's the only weak link in an otherwise extremely fun and exciting movie crammed with spectacularly crazy stunts and action... so I'll forgive them for that fight...

Anyway... my son loved this once again, and we both had a lot of fun watching this...

As you all know, a few days ago, news broke that the legendary Gene Hackman had died! Truth be told... at first, I wasn't shocked by this news because I knew he was old (he was 95), so I figured that his time had come... that's all...
But then I actually read one of the articles and saw that Hackman was found dead along with his wife and one of their dogs, and that their deaths were being treated as suspicious! Now... that was shocking news!

But while I, like everyone else, wait for updates on this situation and new details about the case, I too have decided to watch a movie with Hackman, in his honor...

I could have picked almost any title from his long and rich filmography, and I wouldn't have gone wrong with a single choice, because Hackman truly left behind an impressive legacy!
But I decided on a slightly atypical pick... I chose PRIME CUT! A gritty '70s gangster action thriller with a unique Midwest setting, blending crime, exploitation, and dark humor as Lee Marvin takes on a ruthless meatpacking kingpin played by Gene Hackman.

I discovered this movie accidentally about 7–8 years ago, thanks to my late friend Jürgen from , who sent me the DVD...

Now... before I say anything more about PRIME CUT, I think I have to say a thing or two about Jürgen...I own him that much. You see... Jürgen was probably one of the best and nicest guys I knew... without even knowing him in person.
Yeah... I sadly never met the guy in person, yet movies and movie collecting brought us together online. We exchanged dozens and dozens of emails... about movies, about life, about our families. Jürgen was a slightly older guy (in his late 50s, soon to be 60s), living with his wife in some small town in . They unfortunately never had kids (at least to my knowledge), so it was just the two of them.
Maybe that’s why, or maybe he was just that generous of a person... but Jürgen sent me boxes and boxes of movies (DVDs and Blu-rays) every month. Sometimes he would throw in a music CD or a book (some he even wrote), even though I couldn't read German, and that always surprised me. I couldn’t believe that someone could be so generous to someone they didn’t even know personally...
Sometimes he would even send me an email with a couple of titles, saying, "Pick three that you want... I’m buying," and he would buy me those movies and send them my way. And no... there were no hidden intentions behind his gifts... he was just that kind of guy. He even donated 2,000 euros to the SLICE OF LIFE Kickstarter campaign, which secured him and his wife the title of producers on that film...

Sadly, he suddenly ed away in mid-2020... I believe he had a heart attack. At least, that’s what I managed to find out from a mutual online friend. I sent his wife a letter... one of the rare letters I’ve written and sent in my life, trying to express my gratitude for everything he did for me and tell her what she probably already knew... how good of a man he was.
I never got a response back, which is fine...I’m not complaining. But I don’t even know if she ever got the letter... I hope she did, and I hope she’s OK...

As for Jürgen... Rest in peace, my friend...

And with those words... let’s get back to Gene Hackman... and PRIME CUT...

So... as I said, I discovered this movie about 7–8 years ago, and that’s when I first watched it! And as I mentioned in my 2018 review, I was thrilled by PRIME CUT! I loved it!
And I still loved it this time around...on my firs re-watch since then, only slightly... but just slightly less. And that’s why I gave it 4/5 instead of 4.5/5...

Now... I’ll probably sound like a broken record, because I’ll probably say/write more or less the same stuff I wrote 7 years ago in my original review... but hey, it is what it is... I still love this movie, and I still feel more or less the same about it...
So yeah... PRIME CUT is a very simple yet brutal and gritty crime thriller that wastes no time getting to the point. Gene Hackman plays a sleazy and depraved butcher and crime boss who owes money to the Chicago mafia. But instead of paying up, he sends them sausages... made of human flesh from the guy who was there to collect! So, the mob sends Lee Marvin to set things straight and teach Hackman a lesson or two. And boy oh boy... these two go toe to toe till the very end...

As I said... a very simple and very short movie that gets right to the point and delivers the goods!
Also... the film looks fantastic, with stunning cinematography... especially those wheat field scenes. And the action is sharp, stylish, and well-directed... simple old-school shootouts, but brutal and bloody. Plus, Lalo Schifrin delivers another killer soundtrack that elevates the film’s gritty tone.

Unfortunately, Hackman doesn’t have as much screen time as Marvin, and I was surprised to find out that he made this movie right after THE FRENCH CONNECTION. Apparently, he was unemployed for nearly six months after filming THE FRENCH CONNECTION, so he accepted the secondary role of Mary Ann in this movie. Which is kind of shocking, knowing how much of an acting legend Hackman was, and how much of a hit THE FRENCH CONNECTION was at the time...

But anyway... PRIME CUT... an awesome and possibly underrated '70s gangster action thriller! A hidden gem in my book... a gem that I always love to recommend...

Rest in peace Gene Hackman! You made an unforgettable mark.

My wife was watching a documentary about the Tham Luang cave on TV, and in that documentary, they mentioned the incident that happened back in 2018, when a group of 12 boys and their soccer coach ended up trapped in an underground cave system that was flooded by monsoon rain.

My wife immediately ed this movie and suggested we watch THIRTEEN LIVES with our kids! Truth be told...I wasn't really in the mood to re-watch it right now...but since we, as a family, hadn't watched a movie together for some time... especially since they had been sick lately... and they were all in for it...I agreed with her.

Well...the kids really liked it, and they watched the movie intently. And I don’t think they’ll ever want to dive lol...

As for me...well, look...I feel more or less the same about this movie as I did three years ago. I think THIRTEEN LIVES is a great but underrated and underappreciated movie that kind of flew under the radar for many...or they just took it for granted and didn’t really appreciate it as the film deserves.

I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so I’ll just repeat what I wrote three years ago in my original review, which I still believe to be true about THIRTEEN LIVES:
"Despite knowing that the whole situation ended happily, THIRTEEN LIVES is immensely horrifying, intense, emotional, and suspenseful as fuck! It also feels so claustrophobic, and it will make you gasp for breath watching divers navigate those narrow and dark submerged tunnels. It’s stressful to watch!!"

However, in the end, I have to it one thing that has changed since my last viewing. Simply because this movie was still fresh in my memory, my overall impression has faded a bit since my initial watch... hence the 4.5/5 stars instead of 5/5.
But as I said, and I still stand by it...THIRTEEN LIVES is a great movie that deserves to be seen! Definitely one of Ron Howard’s best since 2013’s RUSH...

SCI-FIx52 [2025]
41. Watch a sci-fi environmental disaster film.

Believe it or not...but I've never watched this movie in its entirety before! This was my first time!
I've seen some bits and pieces here and there on TV, but never the whole thing, and that's probably one of the main reasons why I picked WATERWORLD for my SCI-FI challenge...to finally cross it off the list!

I'm aware of the film's infamous reputation as one of the most expensive box office flops of its time! And I know that critics mostly crucified it at the time, and the audience wasn't overly fond of it either... some enjoyed its adventurous spectacle, while others found it underwhelming.
And all that is probably the reason why I never watched this before...

But as it seems, WATERWORLD has gained a cult following over the years, and people are more fond of this movie today than they used to be. And considering that this has become a cult film in the meantime...it would only be right for me to finally watch it!

I own the Arrow Video release with multiple cuts, but for this occasion, I watched the original theatrical cut...because I think it's best to start with the version that caused so much outrage at the time...

Well...long story short...I kind of liked WATERWORLD!

Sure...it's far from a perfect movie, and there's a lot of problems here (which I will talk about later)...but all in all...WATERWORLD is a fun post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure flick, with some great action and stunts!
And it's more than obvious that stylistically and visually, the film steals from MAD MAX, or more specifically, ROAD WARRIOR, only putting everything on water instead of a big dusty desert.
But still, despite that... the world-building in WATERWORLD is ambitious, the practical effects are great, and the unique post-apocalyptic water world setting is interesting! Plus, the movie is action-packed, and therefore, fun to watch...

But as I said...it's far from perfect, and it has its share of problems, with the 135-minute runtime being one of them...

You see, story-wise, WATERWORLD isn't particularly deep, elaborate, or interesting. You have Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and an annoying kid played by Tina Majorino sailing, floating, and "running away" from Dennis Hopper for 135 minutes before finally finding dry land...and that's about it. And finding dry land seems so random and sporadic in the movie, as if it's not important to the story at all, when that should be the main plot point...
Also, compared to some of Costner's previous films, WATERWORLD doesn’t feel as epic, dramatic, or serious. The film has an uneven tone...the costumes and sets portray a bleak, post-apocalyptic future with a gritty edge, while some other elements make the movie lean into cartoonish, goofy, almost campy moments.
Dennis Hopper's over-the-top performance, in particular, adds a goofy, exaggerated villainy that clashes with the film’s darker elements.
For example, if you check the original teaser trailer... WATERWORLD feels so big and epic, without traces of cartoony elements...

But anyway...as I said...I had fun watching WATERWORLD, and I'm interested in watching The Ulysses Cut! But I will probably wait a couple of months before I do that...

Well...the title says it all...my ranking of all M:I movies (so far). That's all...

PS. Of course, I will be adding MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART 1 once I see it (later this year), and PART 2 eventually down the road...

1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
2. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
3. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
4. Mission: Impossible III
5. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
6. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
7. Mission: Impossible II
8. Mission: Impossible

So...as some of you already know...for the last 3 years, I've been participating in ACTIONx52 challenges. And, funny enough, I keep failing these challenges year after year.
But year after year...I also keep ing new challenges, simply because I love action movies and have a lot of fun with these challenges. So this year, once again, I ed the ACTIONx52 [2025] challenge...

But...as if one challenge wasn't enough for me, last year, for the first time, I decided to another one...SCI-FIx52 [2024] challenge!
Of course, I failed that one as well, although, in my defense, I did the challenge a little later in the year, so that had a bit of an impact on the final outcome as well...
Well...since I love sci-fi almost as much as I love action movies, I decided to the SCI-FIx52 challenge once again! So yeah...wish me luck lol...

Now...last year, I ed the sci-fi challenge hosted by HiFive789, not knowing that Michelle (Guyver Spawn) also hosted a sci-fi challenge. So this year, I'm ing Michelle's sci-fi challenge...

Anyway...the rules are basically the same as for the action challenge...which means...

...you pick a list of 52 sci-fi movies sorted into various categories, and your task is to watch them all during 2025.
For more help, details, and rules, check the ORIGINAL LIST.
And be sure to Michelle (Guyver Spawn) in the comments on his/her list if you decide to take on this challenge, because then he/she will choose your final, 52nd movie on the list (that's one of the rules of this challenge).

Anyway, these are the categories...

1. Highest rated sci-fi film on your watchlist.
2. Lowest rated sci-fi film on your watchlist.
3. Go to your watchlist, filter the genre to sci-fi and sort by "Shuffle". Then pick one of the first five films that appears.
4. Watch a sci-fi film before the 1960s.
5. Watch a 1960s Sci-Fi film.
6. Watch a 1970s Sci-Fi film.
7. Watch a 1980s Sci-Fi film.
8. Watch a 1990s Sci-Fi film.
9. Watch a 2000s Sci-Fi Film.
10. Watch a 2010s Sci-Fi Film.
11. Watch a 2020s Sci-Fi Film.
12. Watch a Sci-Fi film released in 2025.
13. Watch a sci-fi film you haven't seen that someone else watched as part of last year's challenge.
14. Watch a sci-fi film directed by or produced by Roger Corman.
15. Watch a sci-fi film with "Star" in the title.
16. Watch a sci-fi film starring Milla Jovovich.
17. Watch a sci-fi film by Michael Crichton or a film based on one of his sci-fi novels.
18. Watch a short sci-fi film.
19. Watch a sci-fi film starring Lance Henriksen.
20. Watch a sci-fi film from China or Hong Kong.
21. Watch a sci-fi film based on a Philip K. Dick novel.
22. Watch a sci-fi movie that was directed by a woman.
23. Watch a sci-fi film from Letterboxd’s Top 250 Science Fiction Films.
24. Watch a sci-fi film directed by Fred Olen Ray.
25. Watch a sci-fi film with giant monsters or Japanese kajiu.
26. Watch a sci-fi film set in a future now in the past.
27. Watch a sci-fi film from .
28. Watch a sci-fi film directed by David Cronenberg or Brandon Cronenberg.
29. Watch a sci-fi movie from the Black Life on Film list.
30. Watch a sci-fi film with dinosaurs or any other prehistoric animals.
31. Watch a french speaking sci-fi film.
32. Watch a sci-fi horror film.
33. Watch a sci-fi film with time travel.
34. Watch a sci-fi film directed by Roland Emmerich.
35. Watch a Space Opera.
36. Watch a sci-fi animated film.
37. Watch a cyberpunk sci-fi film.
38. Watch a sci-fi film from Japan (no anime or kajiu).
39. Watch a sci-fi film with cyborgs or robots.
40. Watch a killer animal sci-fi film.
41. Watch a sci-fi environmental disaster film.
42. Watch a steampunk sci-fi film.
43. Watch an alien invasion film.
44. Watch a sci-fi film from the UK.
45. Watch a sci-fi film that is under 90 minutes.
46. Watch a sci-fi film with a mad scientist.
47. Watch an sci-fi film based off an graphic novel/comic book/manga.
48. Watch a sci-fi film that was feature on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
49. Watch a sci-fi film suitable for children (rated G or PG).
50. Watch a sci-fi film from the Disturbing, Controversial, Shocking, Bizarre and Messed Up list
51. Watch any sci-fi film of your choice.
52. I pick, you watch (I will give you the 52 film after you post your list).

1. Peacemaker

   1. Highest rated sci-fi film on your watchlist.

2. Guardians

   2. Lowest rated sci-fi film on your watchlist.

3. Officer Downe

   3. Go to your watchlist, filter the genre to sci-fi and sort by "Shuffle". Then pick one of the first five films that appears.

4. Forbidden Planet

   4. Watch a sci-fi film before the 1960s.

5. Barbarella

   5. Watch a 1960s Sci-Fi film.

6. Silent Running

   6. Watch a 1970s Sci-Fi film.

7. Alien Nation

   7. Watch a 1980s Sci-Fi film.

8. Death Machine

   8. Watch a 1990s Sci-Fi film.

9. Idiocracy

   9. Watch a 2000s Sci-Fi Film.

10. Sector 7

    10. Watch a 2010s Sci-Fi Film.

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

"Western is dead!"

This is a phrase we've been hearing for decades now! And yeah...the western genre has declined greatly since the 60s and 70s...there's no question about that!
But...almost every year, we still get new western films. Some are even big-budget productions, like last year’s HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA - CHAPTER 1 by Kevin Costner. And he's planning 2 or even 3 more movies in this series!
Hell...just recently, I watched a YouTube video where a guy announced EVERY New 2025 Western Movie and TV Show! So...how can the western be dead!?

The western is not dead! It's alive...its doesn't kicking, but it's alive, quietly living on the prairie of cinema, occasionally "going to town to get the groceries," so to speak...

But anyway...I always loved westerns! And I still do! Unfortunately, I don’t watch them enough. So, to fix that, especially since I’m in the mood for westerns lately, I decided to start this challenge: the WESTERNx32 challenge!
As you guessed, this challenge is inspired by the ACTIONx52 and SCI-FIx52 challenges, with one difference...I went with 32 movies instead of 52. The reason for this is that I’m already participating in the two other challenges I mentioned, so I didn’t want to overwhelm myself...

Honestly, I created this challenge for myself, but if any of you want to me, be my guest! In fact, I’d be more than happy if you do!
There are no particular rules. Basically, you pick a list of 32 western movies sorted into various categories, and your task is to watch them all during 2025 and write a review for each movie, even if it’s just one sentence. That’s it...

Anyway, these are the categories...

1. Watch any western film of your choice.
2. Watch a spaghetti western film of your choice.
3. Watch the highest-rated western film on your watchlist.
4. Watch a 1950s western film.
5. Watch a 1960s western film.
6. Watch a 1970s western film.
7. Watch a 1980s western film.
8. Watch a 1990s western film.
9. Watch a 2000s western film.
10. Watch a 2010s western film.
11. Watch a 2020s western film.
12. Watch a western film starring Clint Eastwood.
13. Watch a western film starring John Wayne.
14. Watch a western film starring Gary Cooper.
15. Watch a western film starring Glenn Ford.
16. Watch a western film starring Lee Van Cleef.
17. Watch a western film starring Charles Bronson.
18. Watch a western film starring Burt Lancaster.
19. Watch a western film starring Gregory Peck.
20. Watch a western film starring Randolph Scott.
21. Watch a western film set in the snow (some examples).
22. Watch a modern-day western film (some examples 1 and some examples 2).
23. Watch a western film with some elements of horror (some examples).
24. Watch a western film directed by Sergio Leone.
25. Watch a western film with some sci-fi elements (some examples).
26. Watch a low-budget/DTV western film (some examples).
27. Watch a western comedy (some examples).
28. Watch a western film directed by Howard Hawks.
29. Watch a western film produced by Republic Pictures.
30. Watch a western film produced in Spain.
31. Watch a western film directed by John Ford.
32. Watch a western film from the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by (all) of Letterboxd" list.

1. Two Mules for Sister Sara

   1. Watch any western film of your choice.

2. Day of Anger

   2. Watch a spaghetti western film of your choice.

3. Tombstone

   3. Watch the highest-rated western film on your watchlist.

4. High Noon

   4. Watch a 1950s western film.

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

   5. Watch a 1960s western film.

6. Jeremiah Johnson

   6. Watch a 1970s western film.

7. The Long Riders

   7. Watch a 1980s western film.

8. Wyatt Earp

   8. Watch a 1990s western film.

9. Appaloosa

   9. Watch a 2000s western film.

10. The Revenant

    10. Watch a 2010s western film.

...plus 22 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

You know...back in January 2024, when I started my ACTIONx52 [2024] challenge, I was so sure that the third time would be the charm after failing the previous two challenges! I was convinced this would be it—that I’d finally reach the finish line!

But...that wasn’t the case! Noooo sir! I failed it once again...third time in a row! lol

As I mentioned in my PAINT DRYING entry, I have only myself to blame for that. After a strong start, I simply stopped watching movies as much, which definitely affected the challenge. By the time it hit me that I actually wanted to finish the challenge after all...it was already too late.
Plus, me ing the SCI-FIx52 [2024] challenge midway through the year didn’t really help me stay focused on ACTIONx52. So instead of completing at least one challenge, I ended up failing two lol.

But hey!! The show must go on!! Life keeps moving...and all that stuff! Plus, these challenges are so much fun, so let’s give it another shot! Shall we!?

So here we GOOO!!!

This year’s challenge is once again hosted by a Letterboxd fellow named Michelle (Guyver Spawn), who stepped in last year for THX 04 after he decided to retire from hosting these challenges.
Everything is the same as before—the rules remain unchanged.

Basically, you pick a list of 52 action movies sorted into various categories, and your task is to watch them all during 2025 and write a review for each movie. For more help, details, and rules, check out THIS LIST.
And be sure to Michelle (Guyver Spawn) in the comment section under his list if you decide to take on this challenge, because he will choose your final, 52nd movie on the list (that’s one of the rules of this challenge).

Anyway, these are the categories...

1. Go to your watchlist, filter the genre to action and sort by "Shuffle". Then pick one of the first five films that appears
2. Find the most popular action film on your watchlist
3. Find the lowest rated action film on your watchlist
4. Watch an action film from the 1960s or earlier
5. Watch an action film from the 1970s
6. Watch an action film from the 1980s
7. Watch an action film from the 1990s
8. Watch an action film from the 2000s
9. Watch an action film from the 2010s
10. Watch an action film from the 2020s
11. Watch a new action movie that you’re excited to watch in 2025
12. Watch an action film you haven't seen that someone else watched as part of last year's challenge
13. Watch an action movie that was directed by a woman
14. Watch a Blaxploitation action movie.
15. Watch a film from the Shaw Brothers
16. Coin flip. Heads watch an action film starring Sylvester Stallone. Tails, watch an action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
17. Watch an action movie that is a western.
18. Watch an action film directed by Jesús Franco
19. Watch an action film starring Pam Grier
20. Watch an action film from Canada
21. Watch an action film from PM Entertainment.
22. Watch an action film starring Willem Dafoe
23. Watch a Direct to Video action film.
24. Watch an action film starring Cynthia Rothrock
25. Watch a Tokusatsu action film (Godzilla, Ultraman, Super Sentai/Power Rangers, and more)
26. Watch an action movie set on a plane or at an airport
27. Watch an action film with music composed by John Williams
28. Watch an action film from The Cannon Group, Inc.
29. Watch an action film starring Meiko Kaji
30. Watch an action film from The Official Splatter Movie Guide
31. Watch an action film from Golden Harvest
32. Watch an action film with music composed by Alan Silvestri
33. Watch an action film starring Lucy Liu
34. Watch an action from Indonesia
35. Watch an action film starring Billy Blanks
36. Watch an action movie from Japan (No anime or tokusatsu)
37. Watch an action film starring Michelle Rodriguez
38. Watch an action film with music composed by Danny Elfman
39. Watch a Girls with guns action film
40. Watch an action film directed by Tony Scott
41. Watch a Poliziotteschi action movie
42. Watch an action movie from .
43. Watch an action film based off an graphic novel/comic book/manga
44. Watch an action film directed by Mark L. Lester
45. Watch an action film based on a video games or a action film film with a plot centered on video games
46. Watch an action film produced by United Artists
47. Watch an action film released by Arrow Video
48. Watch an animated action movie
49. Watch an action film directed by Jim Wynorski
50. Watch an action movie from the The Weirdo’s Videostore (aka The Weirdos Paradise) list.
51. Watch any action film of your choice
52. I pick, you watch (I will give you the 52 film after you post your list)

1. Mayhem!
2. Southpaw
3. Code of Honor
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
5. The Towering Inferno
6. Eastern Condors
7. Jungleground
8. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
9. Asura: The City of Madness
10. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Well, the title says it all. It's just a list of movies featuring bald guys (or guys with really short, short haircuts) with two guns on the poster. It's an ongoing list, so feel free to drop suggestions in the comments...

• The Transporter
• Transporter 2
• Transporter 3
• Hitman
• Hitman: Agent 47
• Wake of Death
• The Perfect Weapon
• Tactical Force
• Con Air
• Blood Out

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.