I saw in theatres Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, part 5 of the franchise starring Johnny Depp. This entry is the first with Javier Bardem and was written by series newcomer Jeff Nathanson. My plan was to go to the theater for a fun time, pay to see Jack Sparrow 5, and I did have fun seeing it (except for most of the computer animation). What I liked about part 4 (On Stranger Tides 2011, see…
I first noticed Karl in The Bourne Supremacy (2004 starring Matt Damon), he was like Jason Bourne, highly skilled, good looking, and dangerous. Matt is the star of the franchise, but he needs a strong enemy to go up against, (like Clive Owen in the previous film in the series), and Karl was equal to the task (Matt). He went to toe to toe with Bruce Willis in RED (2010) and had one of the best fight scenes in the…
I wanted to watch some comedy movies so I thought why not try some with foul language? These are all rated R in the U.S. but a couple earned only 14A ratings in Canada. Baywatch just hit theatres (it is the summer now), Sausage Party made me feel guilty about having a bbq (I liked the film last year), Frank (I have been watching a lot of Michael Fassbender lately, my first viewing), and The Change-Up (because why not have…
I first saw Mark Wahlberg in Three Kings (1999 with George Clooney and Ice Cube), where he was assertive and yet somewhat playful, a role that he has been perfecting throughout the years. When Mark was in Planet of the Apes (2001) and now that he is in the latest 2 Transformers (Age of Extinction in 2014 and coming soon, The Last Knight) he takes some of the attention off of the apes and robots, which should be the major…
I first saw Angelina Jolie in Playing God (1997 starring David Duchovny), where she pouted her lips and played a character that can be both tough and vulnerable. She was the girl stuck between David’s doctor down on his luck and Timothy Hutton’s criminal, and she made the role stand out with her wrestling with the choices she has made. With other roles standing out against my cinematic regulars like Denzel Washington (1999 The Bone Collector) and Nicolas Cage (2000…
The Fifth Element is 20 years old and is one of my all time favorites with a wonderful blend of eye candy, action, laughs, and international talents. I watched it again today on blu-ray, this time with a fact track on, (please someone bring back pop up video!). When I first saw this film, it captured my attention with over the top performances, cool alien species, a great soundtrack, and has always kept me wondering if someone would make a…
I first saw Morena in the tv show Firefly, which was only on for 1 season (2002-2003) and 1 movie, Serenity (2005). Morena was part of a group lead by Nathan Fillion but it was the dynamic between the two of them that gave the show its most watchable moments. Fast forwarding 15 years, Morena continues to be at the heart of what made Deadpool (2016) and tv show Gotham (2015-present) successful. She can match wits with Ryan Reynolds and…
I was recently talking with friends about comedy films that parody other movies and the discussion very quickly included actor Leslie Nielsen. I brought him up because I have not seen a movie with him in it that I did not laugh, except for I did recently cross Forbidden Planet off of my cinematic bucket list (1956, sci-fi that helped inspire the original Star Trek tv show) but that was not made as a comedy (although if you only appreciate…
I have always known who Clint Eastwood is because my dad watched his share of westerns and as I saw more and more of his movies, I learned the guy knows what to do in front of and behind the camera. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly made me want to see every movie with Clint in it (and wear a poncho) as he commanded respect and captured attention while barely breaking a sweat, making the craft of acting…
A friend of mine recommended I watch the 1988 version of The Bourne Identity, a made for tv movie that has been on my radar ever since seeing the Matt Damon version in 2002. I liked that this film was longer, clocking in at over 3 hours, as it gave more time to expand the turmoil Bourne was going through and develop more secondary characters. The film started off loud, in fact the music was quite loud throughout, but it…