Has Nobody Ever Watched 'The Terminator' ?? "Ex Machina"

Ex Machina (2015)

Rated R

Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac

Written and Directed by Alex Garland

The Story:


Caleb (Gleeson) is a winner in his company's ultimate giveaway: a weeklong stay with the reclusive CEO of their company (Isaac). When he arrives, he learns that he's actually there to test whether or not the Artificial Intelligence of Ava (Vikander) could legitimately pass as human. It will be a week that changes everyone, forever.

Well, this was certainly something.

It's a small, character focused driven drama that grabs science fiction by the hand and takes you along for the ride.

The plot is essentially man creates life. And then, oops.

:)

If we're being honest.

It's a quiet, suspenseful, gradual build to the final act, and you can almost tell exactly what is going to happen along the way.

Yet the interaction between the great trio of actors keeps you riveted to the film until the very end.

Which come on people, giving machines artificial intelligence is a bad idea! It never ends well!!

:)

Ex Machina is currently streaming on Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

Detective "Bosch" Will Get His Man

Bosch - (2014)

TV-MA

Starring Titus Welliver

Created by Michael Connelly

The Story:

Detective Harry Bosch (Welliver) is an L.A. homicide detective who is facing charges of killing an unarmed suspect and then planting a gun on him when the series opens. As the trial continues, Bosch discovers the bones of a teenager that had been killed decades earlier. Then a serial killer is discovered who claims that the bones are that of his first victim. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues that grips all of Los Angeles with fear while Bosch has to deal with his cases and the politics of the Los Angeles police department.

I went into this one with no expectations as I've not read the novels by Michael Connelly nor heard anything about the show.

Amazon just kept putting it on their page whenever I looked to see if there were any new movies or shows I wanted to watch as I was looking to see if the last season of Justified was ever going to get added.

Don't worry, it was, and I enjoyed it.

But this is about Bosch.

It's a pretty solid crime drama.

High production values, which Amazon, Netflix and the rest are throwing at these shows to rival broadcast and cable television. Solid actors, complex, believable storylines that keep you intrigued to see where the story will go.

Welliver carries the show as the detective who cares about the cases he is trying to solve, even if he doesn't really care for the department or the people who work with him.

Not saying he's a lone wolf rebel, but he's simply someone who doesn't have time for politics and refuses to play that game.

That he is a former member of the military speaks volumes for that behavior.

:)

All of the clichés and trappings of cop shows are to be had here in one form or another.

Bosch doesn't set out to reinvent the genre.

It simply sets out to add another detective to a long list of TV cops we wish and hope there are in real life.

On that note, it succeeds quite well.

Season 1 and 2 streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade: Solid B

So Similar...Still Different... "Silent Night"

Silent Night (2012)

Rated R

Starring Malcolm McDowell, Jaime King, Donal Logue

Directed by Steven C. Miller

The Story:

A deranged Santa is stalking a Midwestern town, killing people who have been naughty this holiday season. A deputy (King) and the sheriff (McDowell) are trying to catch him before he can kill again.

Let's go back a few decades.

The year is 1984 and a movie was released called Silent Night, Deadly Night. It was about a boy who saw something horrible happen to his parents, and he grew up and snapped one Christmas Eve. Dressed as Santa, he goes on a killing spree.

Needless to say, in the 80s, when this movie was announced, all of the usual suspects protested and claimed it was the end of Western Civilization as we knew it to have a movie about a murderer dressed as Santa.

Apparently murderers were fine, but this crossed some ethical line.

The protests of course did nothing but provide free publicity to the movie, and it became a minor cult hit.

I saw it.

I still remember it, it was pretty good, for an 80s horror /slasher flick.

I knew it spawned a sequel, which I didn't find quite as good, but yeah, I watched it.

I didn't know that it spawned an additional 3 sequels after that.

Not sure how excited I am to catch up on the franchise.

: )

So fast forward to 2012, and this film comes along which is a reboot...reimagining... whatever you will of the film.

Doesn't follow the original note for note, but there are some subtle, and less subtle homages during the film.

This film focuses on Aubrey (King) who is tied to the killer in ways she won't realize until the bitter end. The movie offers up several red herrings on who the killer might be...until that person winds up dead, so it will keep you guessing until the end.

McDowell has a great bit of fun as the macho sheriff who vows to keep his town safe.

Again, like the franchise that inspired it, nothing that reinvents horror cinema, but deserving of at least a viewing, if for McDowell's performance alone.

Final Grade: C

It's A Mystery To Me Why People Hated "Scooby Doo".

Scooby Doo (2002)

Rated PG

Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Rowan Atkinson, Isla Fisher,

Directed by Raja Gosnell

The Story:

Mystery Inc. is no more! The gang has gone their separate ways, but the call for them to return to Spooky Island grudgingly reunites the team as they investigate the strange goings on at the request  of Mondavarious (Atkinson). By the time the gang solves the mystery, they will have faced the most evil villain Mystery Inc. has ever encountered!

Of all the attempts to bring Hanna Barbera animated classics to life, this is the best of the bunch.

It gets more than its fair share of ridicule, but really, time has been pretty kind to this one.

I will confess that I do own a copy, but I happened to notice it as a newly added title on Netflix recently and thought, why not.

Hehehe.

It was still pretty darn funny.

As the credits began to roll, here's a main reason why the movie was so good:

Written by James Gunn.

Yep, the same guy that brought Guardians of the Galaxy to life, wrote the screen play and all that was fun about this movie, a giant kudos goes to Gunn.

That said, don't discount the performances by the leads of Mystery Inc.

Prinze and Gellar do admirable with their stints as Freddy and Daphne.

But this movie belongs to Cardellini and Lillard who encapsulate everything we've ever seen with Velma and Shaggy and bring those characters to life straight out of the cartoon. Lillard especially channels the voice and mannerisms and just seems like a perfect cartoon counterpart to Scooby.

When it was all over, I was pleased to have watched it again, probably for the first time in nearly 15 years.

I remember being amused then. I was still amused now.

Can't really ask more than that from a movie, can we?

Now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade:  C+ / B- range

Houston, We Have Another Problem... "The Martian"

The Martian (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Michael Pena, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover,

Directed by Ridley Scott

The Story:

During the latest manned mission to Mars, a violent storm forces an early evacuation by the crew. During the storm, Astronaut Mark Watney (Damon) is struck by debris and assumed dead when the captain (Chastain) is unable to locate him. They leave the planet and head home to Earth. However, Mark's death is slightly exaggerated and he recovers and finds himself alone on Mars. He must find a way to survive, make contact with NASA, and wait and hope for his eventual rescue with the next planned return to Mars in a few years!

The fun part about coming to review these movies so late in the game is that much of the furor has died down. "Greatest movie ever!" "It sucked!" All those varying opinions are out there, and I just brush them aside and figure out if I liked the movie or not. 

And I quite enjoyed it!

I will mention that this one is nearly 2 1/2 hours long, but it's one where it doesn't feel like it, so that's always a plus.

If you're going for distance, make that time spent on the movie an enjoyable one.

Ridley Scott directs a stellar (no pun intended) cast who all provide outstanding support to Damon.

Damon, however, does the bulk of the heavy lifting as he has to be the center of the movie, acting and reacting to dire situations as they arise during his stay on Mars.

That said, though this is essentially a drama, there is enough humor and levity both on Earth and Mars, that you keep smiling and laughing even as you're on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next and will they get to him in time.

Because quite frankly, if they don't rescue Watley, you're going to feel angry and upset when the film is over.

But, at least you know they tried.

It's quite the enjoyable ride, and if you haven't seen it yet, you're likely in for a great experience when you get around to watching it.

Or, you'll hate it.

:)

Final Grade:  B+

Nothing Says Spring, Quite Like "A Christmas Horror Story"!!!

A Christmas Horror Story - (2015)

Rated R

Starring William Shatner, George Buza,

Directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan

The Story:

4 holiday horror stories intertwine on Christmas Eve as Dangerous Dan (Shatner), a local radio DJ plays some tunes and gets some holiday feelings off his chest.

The first story has some teens break into their school to shoot a documentary about some students that died in that place previously.

Next, there is a family that goes to visit their grandma, but by behaving poorly, unleash Krampus to wreak vengeance upon them.

Third, a couple take their little boy into the woods to chop down the perfect tree. The boy gets separated from his parents, and they find him much later in a hollow tree. He comes home but is acting much, much differently than before.

Finally, Santa is dealing with the zombie apocalypse as the elves have begun to turn and they are hunting him down. It's kill or be killed with Christmas on the line!

First, they were wise in going the anthology route with this film, because none of the stories, at least as written or presented was strong enough to carry a 90 minute horror film.

It is quite possible they could have been fleshed out and expanded, but for an anthology film, this works.

The problem or the best part is, depending on the viewer, is the cutting back and forth between the stories. Some stories are stronger than others and getting pulled out of that story and having to wait 3 turns for the next bit to see what happens next can be annoying.

Or, if you don't mind the switches, it can be the perfect remedy to create suspense where there might not be any.

Nothing too remarkable here to make this a must-see or repeat viewing during the holiday season (Halloween or Christmas) but good enough for at least one go round.

Final Grade: C

All Hot And Bothered... "Fifty Shades of Grey"

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Rated R

Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson

The Story:

Literature student Anastasia Steele's (Johnson) life changes forever when she meets handsome, yet tormented, billionaire Christian Grey (Dornan).

Based on the smutty best-selling novel that women can't seem to get enough of, comes the trashy movie version that attempts to make 9 1/2 Weeks and Showgirls look pale in comparison!

You don't really think I watched this, do you?

Happy April Fool's Day.

We'll return to the regular reviews next week.

In all seriousness though, thanks for reading, and for making March's review of Kate & Leopold my most read review on the site since I've been doing this.

Not sure what drove that one, my guess would be Hugh Jackman.

Hmm...

Maybe the ladies that read my reviews are naughtier than I suspected?

: )