Ranking The Indiana Jones Films

I realize that everybody else out there has done there own ranking systems on YouTube using Letterboxed, but I’m not going to do that, because I’m just too damned lazy.  Again, this is going to be another list, but this time, I’m going to narrow it down to franchise films.  To preface this, I want everyone to understand that with these rankings is that I feel that within certain franchises, there’s not really a bad movie.  There’s clearly ones that are better than others, but not all of them are awful.  I will be getting to those franchises, but for this one, I’ve chosen the Indiana Jones movies to be the first.  I’ve been a huge fan of the movies since I was a kid.  Harrison Ford as the whip-wielding archaeologist is one of his most memorable roles aside from Han Solo.  The movies were inspired the old-school adventure serials of the 20s and 30s.  Combined by stellar directing by Steven Spielberg, solid story-telling by George Lucas and an epic score by the brilliant John Williams, the Indiana Jones films are some of the most fun you’ll ever have at the movies.  For these rankings, I will go from best to worst, so let’s get started.

1. The Last Crusade

When I was thinking up this list, I was debating on putting Raiders of the Lost Ark at number one.  Most people would, it’s the first and the best of the bunch.  If I had made this last before 2018, Raiders absolutely would’ve been at number 1.  When my father passed away, I developed a more personal connection to the film, because the characters of Indy and his father, Henry Jones, Sr.  Let’s just say that I understand the…animosity between the two.  Ultimately, this is the most light-hearted of the bunch, but it’s also the most satisfying, at least for me.  This film also has a bit of an origin story for Indy, starring the late River Phoenix.

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Here at number 2 is what many consider to be the best of the bunch, and rightfully so.  This is an old-school adventure flick using old-school stunts, action sequences and effects.  What makes this stand out amongst its peers, even today, is it’s sheer sense of fun.  The introduction of Indiana Jones is one of the coolest moments in any movie, but the side-characters are also outstanding.  Indy’s chemistry with Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood is fantastic.  You’ve also got some really nasty villains with the Nazis played to perfection by Paul Freeman and Ronald Lacey.  The desert chase is one of the most iconic action set-pieces in the entire franchise.  If there’s a movie that truly defined the adventure genre, it’s Raiders of the Lost Ark.

3. The Temple of Doom

Temple of Doom is the Indiana Jones movie that I actually grew up watching the most.  This was my first foray into horror as a genre.  Now, technically it’s an action-adventure film, like the rest of the films in the series, but this was the darkest one of the bunch.  Child slavery, human sacrifice, voodoo.  Those aren’t exactly cheery ingredients in your run-of-the-mill adventure film.  This movie was a result of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg going through some tough break-ups and divorces.  Their mood was pretty dark, and the film reflects that.  The bugs still make my skin crawl(pun intended), but it’s the main villain that sends shivers down my spine: Mola Ram, played with menacing perfection by Indian actor Amrish Puri in his only Western-made movie.  Mola Ram’s scary as fuck.  This movie was controversial on a number of levels.  First, there accusation of cultural insensitivity in regards to the Hindu religion and what Indians ate.  The dinner sequence was pretty off-the-wall.  Secondly, this movie was very violent.  It depicted human sacrifice with Mola Ram ripping people’s hearts out and lowering them into lava pits.  It’s brutal.  It’s the reason why the PG-13 rating would be created.  Kate Capshaw’s Willie Scott irritated a lot of people including yours truly, but Ke Huy Quan’s Short Round was awesome in my opinion.  Quan recently received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Everything Everywhere All At Once.  THIS is where he got his start.  When it comes to action, this has some of the most memorable action in any movie.  The mine-cart chase and the bridge fight, again, are truly iconic.  But as dark as this movie is tone-wise it still maintains a sense of humor and adventure throughout.

4. Dial of Destiny

The fifth and final entry in the Indiana Jones films to star Harrison Ford is also the first film in the franchise to not be directed by Steven Spielberg.  The wheel has been given to James Mangold, who directed Logan, the 3:10 to Yuma remakeand Cop Land.  For a final adventure, this was pretty decent.  It’s not ground-breaking and doesn’t even come close to the first three, but maybe that was the point.  At 2.5 hours, it’s the longest film in the bunch, but the pacing is surprisingly nimble.  The opening 20 minutes are pure Indiana Jones.  The film sees Indy taking on the Nazis again with Mads Mikkelson playing the main villain.  The film also sees the return of fan-favorite John Rhys-Davies as Sallah.  Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Indy’s god-daughter…and I’m not a fan.  The actress does a fine job, but the character is incredibly unlikable.  Her side-kick though, is a hoot, and so is Antonio Banderas as Spain’s finest frogman, Renaldo.  This time the MacGuffin is Archimedes’ Antikythera dial.  Essentially, time travel’s involved.  But of course.  Still the movie feels more like an Indiana Jones movie than our final entry into this list.

5. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Crystal Skull’s placement on this list should come as no surprise to anyone.  Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the by far the weakest entry in the series.  Not just from a narrative standpoint, but also character, and visual effects as well.  The biggest issue with this movie that I have is there is no tension or fear of death for our heroes, which was extremely prevalent in the original 3 movies.  A lot of that comes down to the over-use of CGI.  The original 3 movies had to do it through miniatures and practical effects, but Crystal Skull eschews that for CGI.  To be fair, some of that CGI is impressive, but it’s also really obvious.  Because of that, the sense of danger isn’t there.  Not only that, the characters aren’t particularly memorable outside of Indy and Marion.  With all due respect to Cate Blanchett, the villains in this movie are some of the most stock and meme-worthy villains to ever threaten Indiana Jones, and quite frankly, they’re forgettable.  Is it really a bad movie, though?  I don’t think it is.  The idea of using aliens is not far-fetched for the film, because it was set in the 50s.  There was a lot of that stuff going on back then, especially in the cinema.  It’s a fun, inoffensive romp that never overstays its welcome, and it’s got some pretty decent action to boot.  Hell, it’s even got a decent sword-fight in there between Shia Lebouf and Cate Blanchett.  Harrison Ford and Karen Allen just knock it out of the park.

That’s it.  That’s my ranking of the Indiana Jones films.  I expect that we haven’t seen the last of this character in the movies.  Harrison Ford is done with the character, but someone else may end up taking up the whip and fedora in the future.  I don’t know who that’ll be, but they’re going to have some pretty big shoes to fill.  There’s a new game coming out for Xbox and PC called Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that looks like fun, so I’m sure that more adventures are to come.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) - IMDb

Released: June 1989

Rated PG

Run Time: 107 Minutes

Director: William Shatner

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Genre: Science Fiction

Cast:
William Shatner: Kirk
Leonard Nimoy: Spock
DeForest Kelley: McCoy
Laurence Luckinbill: Sybok
James Doohan: Scotty
George Takei: Sulu
Walter Koenig: Chekhov
Nichelle Nichols: U’hura

Star Trek is one of the longest-running franchises in the entertainment industry, spanning TV shows, movies, books, video games, and theme park attractions.  It’s a franchise that’s been widely regarded as a possible look into our future.  The original series from the 60s gave us a glimpse of what our future could be with an all-inclusive cast of characters that included African-Americans, Asians, Russians, and non-human crew members like the Vulcan, Spock.  It’s a very forward-thinking franchise that’s had a large number of successes across the decades.  The original series only lasted 3 season, but there were plans for a follow-up series called Phase II.  It didn’t work out, and when Star Wars hit the big screen in 1977, Paramount decided to respond with a movie of their own, which would end up being Star Trek: The Motion Picture, directed by Robert Wise and released in 1979.  The reception was mixed with some people praising the visual effects and outstanding music by Jerry Goldsmith, but others lambasted the film for its slow-pacing and bizarre story.  Myself, I love the movie.  It feels the most Star Trek of any of the movies, but that doesn’t make it the best one.  The movie would get a sequel for a much lower budget: The Wrath of Khan.  Thanks to director Nicholas Meyer, Star Trek II became a smash hit in 1982 and is regarded by many to be not only one of the best sequels of all time, but the best Star Trek movie of all time, and it’s really hard to argue that point.  Obviously, the success meant that Paramount wanted more movies, so we got The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, and what most people think is the worst movie in the franchise, The Final Frontier.  Today, we are going to look at why the movie is hated by so many, and why I think it’s over-hated.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) - Movie Review : Alternate Ending

The film begins as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are on shore leave at Yosemite National Park with Kirk climbing Mount Capitan.  During their camping trip, their leave is canceled because of an emergency situation on the planet of Nimbus III.  Representatives of the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan Empires have been captured by a renegade Vulcan named Sybok.  Sybok, as it turns out is Spock’s half-brother who decided that emotion was the key to self-knowledge, not logic.  After being betrayed by the representatives, who were…”brainwashed” by Sybok, he takes control of the Enterprise, and sets a course to the center of the galaxy, where he believes that God will be found.  The overall story here is a bit of a mess, if I’m being honest.  There’s some really interesting ideas here that don’t get fully fleshed out.  Shatner wanted to make a movie that was more akin to The Motion Picture, but with as much action as brains.  Paramount didn’t agree, so the script was forced to be re-written during production, which means there was a lot of inconsistency in the film.  Plot holes abound, and things felt stitched together.  The overall story was a narrative wreck.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 4K Blu-ray Review

On top of the lackluster storyline, the visual effects in the movie were incredibly poor.  Lame stop-motion animation and completely unfinished effects gave the film a ridiculously cheap look, despite impressive set and costume designs.  The painfully obvious blue-screen effects make you want to pour bleach into your eyes.  These were some of the worst visuals in a movie that really needed a bigger budget for.  Star Trek was also known for some its scientific accuracy in terms of theoretical ideas.  The whole “Great Barrier” sequence was odd, but to be fair to the film-makers at the time, we had no way of knowing what was at the center of the galaxy, so the Great Barrier was kind of interesting idea that looked silly as hell.  Obviously since then, we’ve learned that the center of the galaxy houses a massive black hole and millions of red giants and other massive stars.  Not exactly what I would call a vacation spot.  Also, there’s a scene where U’hura dances to distract Sybok’s henchman.  So stupid.  Oh, and I can’t forget “God.”  Oh, this was just badly executed.

Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | Tor.com

Let’s talk about what DOES work.  First of all, the pacing is pretty fast, but that might be because of all the questionable edits.  Jerry Goldsmith returns to score the film with his legendary theme from the original film.  The music is too good for the movie, to be truthful, but you can never say that Jerry Goldsmith half-asses his work.  The other thing that really works here are the characters.  Most of them, anyway.  The movie focuses on our three main characters, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy and their relationship with each other.  It’s actually fairly well-written, despite a painful fart joke at the beginning of the movie, but you can definitely sense the comradery between the three, as they’ve been through a lot together.  We’re introduced to a new Vulcan, Sybok just before opening credits, but he’s revealed to be Spock’s half-brother, Sybok.  I really liked this character because while he’s the antagonist, he’s not a villain.  He’s not evil.  He’s driven by a single goal, knowledge.  But while he doesn’t want to hurt people to achieve his goal, he’s willing to cross some lines to get there, as a zealot would.  What makes him so interesting is not just his relationship with Spock, but his apparent ability to help people with their pain.  There’s a scene on the observation deck where Sybok wants to explore people’s pain.  We get to see a side of McCoy that we never have before, and DeForest Kelley gives one of his best performances in the entire franchise.  We also get to see some issues with Spock.  This scene is Star Trek at its best, it just should’ve been in a better movie.  That brings me to William Shatner as the director.  This was his feature film debut as a director, and you know what?  I thought his direction was really strong.  He brought out some excellent performances, including that of Laurence Luckinbill who played Sybok.  It’s just a damn shame that Paramount didn’t let him make the movie he wanted to make.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 4K Blu-ray Review

While a lot of people would place the blame at William Shatner’s feet, I feel that Paramount is mostly to blame here.  They saw the success of The Voyage Home and its sense of humor and they wanted more of that in The Final Frontier, which went against what Shatner was trying to accomplish.  They didn’t have faith in his ability to deliver a successful movie.  As I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of re-writes and re-shoots that ended up taking place that just made the film feel more disjointed and rushed.  Look, I’m not going to go out there and say that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is some misunderstood masterpiece.  It’s not.  I wouldn’t even classify it as a good movie, but I feel that there’s stuff in here that’s really good and outshines a lot of what Paramount has produced over the years.  Of course, the film also had the misfortune of being released in 1989 against behemoths like Paramount’s own Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Tim Burton’s Batman.  There was NO conceivable way that Star Trek V was going to succeed during that summer.  Reactions from the critics and the negative word-of-mouth kept people.

Over the decades, there was this idea that the odd-numbered Trek films were the worst.  I’ve always felt that THAT idea was bullshit.  I loved the original movie, I even loved Star Trek III.  Well, guess what?  I actually enjoyed Star Trek V as well.  Maybe it’s because I’m a far more forgiving fan than most, but I’ve always felt that Star Trek V deserved another look.  I ruffled some feathers on social media when I said I actually prefer The Final Frontier to The Voyage Home.  I don’t mind humor in my Star Trek, but The Voyage Home was way too much of a comedy for me to handle.  Granted, it was successful and it brought in non-fans, but I didn’t particularly care for it.  Now, the original crew would get a proper send-off with The Undiscovered Country when Nicholas Meyer came back.  So…is Star Trek V the worst Star Trek movie?  No.  Generations is much worse.  That movie’s handling of Captain Kirk was SHAMEFUL.  Yeah, I guess I’m really in the minority on this one, but you know what?  I’m okay with that.  Come at me.

 

Spawn 2 Update?

Spawn (Simmons) screenshots, images and pictures - Comic Vine

Of all the superheroes that have gotten movies over the past 50 years, the one that really got the short end of the stick was Todd McFarlane’s Spawn.  For those who may not be familiar with Spawn, the comics centered around a man named Al Simmons, a soldier that was betrayed by his employer and sent to Hell, where he makes a deal with the Devil so he can see his wife, Wanda, one last time.  After 5 years, he returns to Earth as a Hellspawn with barely a memory of who he used to be.  He encounters a former Hellspawn, Cogliostro, who tries to help him turn away from evil.  He also encounters a demonic Clown who can transform into the demon known as the Violator.  Spawn is one of the darker comic book “superheroes” out there.  His abilities include teleportation, wielding chains, immortality to a certain extent, and shapeshifting among other things, and that’s just the supernatural side of things.  When he was alive, Simmons was an expert marksman, martial artist, and former special forces operative.  The first Spawn comics were released in the early 90s, and were fairly well-received, just not by mainstream fans.

Will We Get Another Spawn Movie?

In 1997, New Line Cinema, in association with Todd McFarlane released a live-action film of the infamous character.  The reception to that movie was, shall we say, less than stellar.  Personally, I enjoyed it a lot.  It had a pretty solid cast which included John Leguizamo as Clown, Martin Sheen as Jason Wynn, and Nicole Williamson as Cogliostro.  Leguizamo and Sheen chewed the scenery like it was nobody’s business, and it was fun to watch.  Honestly, the real smart casting here was martial arts actor Michael Jai White as Al Simmons.  White had the charisma and physicality to match, which made him the perfect fit for the character.  The problem?  The script was awful and the CGI, especially during the Hell sequences was awful.  As a PG-13 movie, Spawn also suffered from not being able to have the dark and violent edge that made the comics so memorable.  There is certainly some inventiveness to the visual effects, and the actual Spawn suit is amazing.  I like what they did with it.  The movie bombed at the box office making only 88 million dollars on a 45 million dollar budget.  So, between the box office results and the negative reception to the movie, a sequel just wasn’t going to happen, at least not a direct sequel.

Exclusive: John Leguizamo On What Went Wrong With 1997's 'Spawn' Movie

So, I said all that to bring THIS up: According to Superhero Hype, Todd McFarlane has announced that he’s going to try and make a new Spawn film, even without the aid of Hollywood studios.  Here’s the problem.  McFarlane’s been trying to get a new movie off the ground for over 20 years.  The disastrous release of the 1997 film has turned a lot of people away.  There have been a lot of different concepts of what the new movie would end up taking.  One would focus more on two detectives with Spawn being more of a background force than a main player.  The whole reason for making a movie about Spawn, is that we could see what he’s capable of on the big screen.  Todd McFarlane wants to make a new Spawn film.  Great.  Here’s the problem: McFarlane has NO experience directing a movie.  The only experience he has as a film-maker is in the writing department.  Even then, it’s a very short list.  He claims that he has investors willing to help fund his movie.  I can’t imagine any investor worth his/her salt that’s going to give an unproven film-maker enough money to resurrect a character that’s been abandoned in the film industry since 1997.  I don’t see it happening.  Now, making it a low-budget movie is a good idea, and Blumhouse Productions is the best bet for a film of this sort.  Their specialty is low-budget movies and they’ve done pretty well.  So, I hope that McFarlane and Blumhouse can really work it out, because I’m totally down for a new Spawn.  As for who would play Al Simmons: I don’t know if Jamie Foxx is still up for the role.  I would honestly like to see Michael Jai White get another shot at the character, despite White not really liking the movie that he was in.

Spawn 2 has had an incredibly rough time getting off the ground.  I’ll believe it when I see it.  It’s one of those projects that may never see the light of day.  Spawn also doesn’t have the kind of following that’s going to make it successful.  When most people think of Spawn, they think of either the 1997 movie or the animated HBO series that followed.  But the reputation of the 1997 movie is going to very hard to shake.  So, will another Spawn movie happen?  Honestly, I don’t know.  I wouldn’t put money on it, and it’s a shame.  Spawn is a very interesting character with some truly memorable villains.  But nobody wants this again:
Spawn (1997) - Black Horror Movies

 

Favorite Movies of 2023

2024Gifs] Happy New Year 2024 GIF, Animated New Year Wishes GIFs Collection

I hope nobody partied too hard last night, because those hangovers are a bitch.  While I should’ve done this a couple of days ago when it was still 2023, now’s a good as time as any to go over my favorite movies of 2023.  Usually, I would do a best and worst list for the year, but 2023 was just really weird.  We had all these big-budget blockbusters that fell on their faces, and some controversial movies that ended up being more successful than I would’ve thought.  Between the high-profile failures and the strikes, 2023 was a year that felt like it was just…drunk.  Because of how 2023 ended up, I’ve decided I’m just going to go over my favorite movies of the year.  Some of them aren’t the most widely received movies and some are widely accepted, but this is my list, so not everybody is going to agree with it.  Let’s get right into it, shall we?

The Last Voyage of the Demeter – Universal Studios

This is a movie that should’ve done better than it did, but thanks to Universal Studios and their awful marketing, The Last Voyage of the Demeter never stood a chance.  It bombed at the box office, but this is an outstanding thriller.  Yeah, it deals with Dracula, but what makes this movie special is that it takes place on the open ocean where the sailors are completely isolated.  It has a very Alien-ish vibe throughout.  If you’ve read Bram Stoker’s novel or seen any of the other adaptations, you know what happens here.  Still, it was handled quite well, and it was just a lot of fun.  I absolutely recommend it.

Barbie – Warner Bros.

If I’m being honest, I had no real expectations for this movie.  Whatsoever.  Yet, I found myself enjoying this movie immensely.  It’s funny, it’s visually interesting, and the writing is really sharp, even if it is heavy-handed.  But the performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling just elevate the movie to a whole different level.  It’s a surprisingly heart-felt movie that never fails to entertain.  Unfortunately, Mattel seemed to take the wrong lesson from this movie and want to create a cinematic universe.  Did they not pay attention to how they were skewered in the move for having those kinds of thoughts?  Still, it’s one of the funniest and earnest movies I’ve seen in the last 5 years.  It’s absolutely a must-see.  This is one half of a unique trend that happened last year.  The second half of this is:

Oppenheimer – Universal Studios

Barbenheimer was the most unexpected thing to happen last year.  July 21, 2023 saw the release of BOTH Barbie and Oppenheimer.  One movie should’ve failed outright in the shadow of the other, but they didn’t.  The success of Barbie actually helped Oppenheimer to succeed.  While Barbie was a comedy, Oppenheimer was a dark biopic about the father of the atomic bomb: J. Robert Oppenheimer.  Played to perfection by Cillian Murphy, the film follows Oppenheimer as tackles perhaps the most important job of the 20th century.  Supported by an outstanding cast that includes Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Robert Downey, Jr., and Josh Hartnett, Oppenheimer is a powerful, yet thrilling look into the life of the famous physicist and the aftermath of the invention of the bomb.

Godzilla: Minus One – Toho Entertainment

I’ve been a Godzilla fan since I was a kid.  I loved all the 60s and 70s Godzilla movies, even if they were really goofy.  I finally got around to seeing the original 1954 film a couple of years back, and I was shocked at how serious the film was and how little Godzilla was in it.  It was a movie about people coming to grips with the consequences of nuclear power, and the monster was the physical embodiment of that power.  Minus One also takes a serious approach.  G-man is not the hero or anti-hero.  He’s the main problem.  The movie is set a year and a half after the end of World War II, so Japan was already picking up the pieces when Godzilla strikes.  While there’s awesome action in this movie, it’s more about the people of Japan coming together to fight a common problem, and they do it without the assistance of a government that is broken and uncaring.  The acting is great and the visuals are amazing.  For a movie that was made for less than 15 million dollars, it looks a hell of a lot better than most of the crap that was released by the west last year.  If you are a fan of Godzilla, you owe it yourself to see this movie if you can find it.  It’ll hit home video in the next couple of months for sure, but it’s best on the big screen.

Evil Dead Rise – Warner Bros./New Line Cinema

The Evil Dead franchise holds a special place in my heart.  It’s one of those franchises that always delivers.  Maybe not in the video game arena, but in terms of film and TV.  I’ve never thought that there was a bad movie in the franchise at all.  The weakest one, Army of Darkness, is probably the silliest and most quotable of the bunch.  The original is a masterclass in guerilla-style film-making, while Evil Dead II is an amazing sequel.  The 2013 remake is one of the best remakes I’ve ever seen.  Evil Dead Rise isn’t the greatest of the bunch, but it’s still a really good chiller.  It’s gory, insane, and absolutely worthy of the Evil Dead name.  It takes the action out of the woods and sets in a soon-to-be-demolished high-rise apartment building.  It’s wild.  I just wish the home video release had special features(apparently the 4K release has a commentary, but that’s it).

Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Trying to make a movie based on a famed IP such as Dungeons and Dragons has always resulted in movies that mostly suck.  I fully admit, I enjoy the original 2000 film with Jeremy Irons.  It’s bad, but it’s hilariously so.  The DTV sequels?  Oy vey.  So, when it was announced that a new movie was coming in 2023, nobody was excited, despite the great cast.  Because of the earlier films, Honor Among Thieves tanked at the box office.  It’s a shame, really, because this is a really good fantasy film.  You don’t even need to know what the IP is to enjoy it.  If you know, it’s better, but it doesn’t leave people in the dust about what the world is all about.  It’s fun, funny, and exciting with a really good story.  Chris Pine is great, and so is Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant.  This was a movie that should’ve done better.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Illumination

The general rule of thumb when it comes to movies based on video game properties is that they generally suck.  It’s been that way since the 1993 Mario movie.  But every once in a while, something comes along that ain’t too shabby.  Mortal Kombat was one…and that’s really about it.  Well, Illumination’s new Mario movie is Nintendo’s second foray into the business and its fantastic.  Instead of live-action, we got an animated film courtesy of Illumination, and it really does stick to the spirit of the original games while throwing in a lot of fan service.  You don’t need to be a hardcore fan of the franchise to appreciate the movie, but you get more out of it if you’ve played the games, and I have.  The voice acting’s pretty good overall, even from Seth Rogan, who plays Donkey Kong, and Anya Taylor-Joy who voices Princess Peach.  But it’s Jack Black as Bowser that steals the show entirely.  I’m not a fan of Jack Black, but he absolutely nails it here, especially when he starts singing about Princess Peach.  It’s so much fun.

The Pope’s Exorcist – Sony Pictures

There was another movie about exorcism that was release last year: The Exorcist: Believer.  While I fully admit that I enjoyed that movie to certain extent, it failed to live up to the impact that the original film had 50 years ago.  The OTHER exorcist movie last year was The Pope’s Exorcist and this was by far the more entertaining with Russell Crowe playing Father Amorth, an actual priest that was the main exorcist in the Catholic church for decades.  Crowe’s clearly having a blast with this movie, and it’s a very spirited film(see what I did there?).  It’s intense, it has a sense of humor, and it has more in common with William Friedkin’s film from 1973 than the new Exorcist film.  Who would’ve thought?

The Creator – 2oth Century Studios

Good science fiction is surprisingly hard to come by these days, especially if you want something truly original.  While The Creator clearly borrows from other movies, the way it’s been put together is incredibly original.  John David Washington puts in an amazing performance, but it’s the kid that steals the show.  Not bad for a first movie.  But from a visual standpoint, this movie is stunning.  It looks like Gareth Edwards spent 158 million on the movie, but it only cost about 85 million.  Granted, it still didn’t do well, because people didn’t go see it.  Let this be a lesson for people who claim they want original, but refuse to see originality.  You can’t have it both ways.  This is one of the more compelling movies of the year, and while it isn’t perfect, it definitely swings for the fences.  It’s really good.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part 1

I’m a huge fan of the Mission Impossible movies.  The last few movies in the franchise have been absolutely bonkers, but that’s because Tom Cruise loves doing his own stunts.  He ups the ante with each movie.  Story-wise, this one tackles AI, but not in the same way that The Creator does.  Also, this is one movie that I forgot to put on my Recent Blu-Ray Hauls last year.  Ultimately, it’s the characters that make this work.  I’ll be honest, it’s generally not Tom Cruise’s character that I find interesting anymore.  It’s the side characters played by Haley Atwell, Esai Morales, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Vanessa Kirby, and Henry Czerny.  This is one of the most action-packed movies of the year, and it doesn’t slow down.

I know that a lot of folks would’ve put movies like John Wick Chapter 4 on the list, but I’ll be truthful, it’s too much.  It’s almost three hours of straight action.  Great action, mind you, but it doesn’t leave the audience time to breathe before amping it up.  It’s too long.  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was also too long.  Again, I enjoyed, but it could’ve benefited from a few more cuts here and there.  Scream VI was also pretty good, but the controversy surrounding the main actresses and now the director that ended up leaving the project, I don’t see a path forward for the franchise outside of a reboot, which is what they have in mind.  Also, Sound of Freedom is a movie that while I enjoyed, is another controversial film for a huge number of reason that I won’t go into again.  I’ve made several posts about it, so you can read those.  Just click on the News and Opinions tab.  There’s still stuff that I haven’t seen like Napoleon.  I’ll probably ended up checking that one out on streaming when it hits.

2023 had its moments, but the overall year has been disappointing.  Movies that I wanted to see like Dune: Part II get pushed until 2024 while others have been canned outright.  It hasn’t been a great year for movies in my opinion, aside from the movies that I just mentioned in my list here.  2024’s got some real bangers coming our way, so I can’t wait.  Hopefully, it’ll be a better year.