It’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these. The last one I did was in January, so it’s been almost 6 months. Well, I’m back at it. Normally, I would do this on one of my podcasts, but I picked up so much over the course of the last few months, that it would strain my voice a little. I’m going to do something a little different here. I’m going to start with my most recent purchases and go backwards from there. So, I’m going to get right to it.
1. A Bridge Too Far
A classic war movie with an outstanding cast that includes Gene Hackman, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Elliott Gould, and Robert Redford, A Bridge Too Far is about Operation Market Garden, one of the biggest tactical blunders during World War II. At 3 hours long, it’s epic and it goes into detail about how this whole thing was set up and fell apart. Worth checking out.
2. Apocalypse Now
Another classic war film, Apocalypse Now is set during Vietnam, but it’s not necessarily about Vietnam directly. Martin Sheen plays an assassin who is ordered to hunt down and kill a rogue soldier in Cambodia. Based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness novella, the movie is a hell of an experience. It definitely takes a turn for the surreal the further they go upriver. Great cast includes Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, and Dennis Hopper. The Blu-Ray is packed with hours of special features including 3 different cuts of the film.
3. Catch The Fair One
This one was quite a surprise. Starring Native American boxer Kali ‘K.O.’ Reis, she plays a former boxer who is looking for her sister that disappeared two years earlier. This has been called a bruising thriller and it is. The tone is grim, but it needed to be in order to get across the hopeless situation that Native American women encounter when they’re forced into sex trafficking. Reis delivers a powerhouse performance that can’t be understated.
4. The Northman
Alexander Skarsgard plays Amleth, a young Viking prince who is out to avenge the death of his father and capture of his mother. This was the Scandinavian legend that Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on. It’s not quite the movie that you’re expecting, but it is a Viking film unlike any other, thanks to great direction by Robert Eggers. The film also stars Ethan Hawke, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Defoe.
5. Moonfall
I’m not going to lie: Moonfall isn’t a great movie. It’s nowhere near as batshit crazy as the title suggests. The disaster sequences, while great, aren’t all that plentiful, and not as catastrophic as they probably needed to be. What saves this movie for me are the performances by Patrick Wilson, Halle Barry, and John Bradley. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure with some really interesting ideas, but not great execution.
6. Uncharted
It took Sony YEARS to make this movie that’s based on the popular video-game. As a fan of the games, this really wasn’t that impressive, but the chemistry between Tom Holland’s Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlburg’s Sully is outstanding, despite the fact that they were incredibly miscast. It’s a miscasting that strangely works. It’s fun, but it’s no Indiana Jones, which is also referenced in the movie. It’s worth a look-see, and it’s definitely not the worst movie based on a video-game.
7. Full Metal Jacket
Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is one of the most iconic war movies of the 80s. It features a young cast of then-unknowns that include Matthew Modine, Arliss Howard, Adam Baldwin, and Vincent D’onofrio in the role that put him on the map. It’s another movie set during the Vietnam War, but the real show-stopper here was former Marine drill instructor R. Lee Ermey in a spectacular first hour of the film. It’s a great film.
8. X
I may have to watch this one again, but I wasn’t completely sold on this slasher film. It’s about a group of wannabe porn film-makers who set up shop at an old couple’s farm. When the old couple finds out what they’re up to, the blood begins to flow. It takes a good hour before anything really bloody begins, but that last half-hour is something else. I wanted to love this one more than I should have.
9. Firestarter(1984)
Firestarter was the first movie that Drew Barrymore did after E.T. It’s unusual for her to carry a movie like this on her shoulders at her age back then, but she does a really good job. The movie’s not perfect, but it more than makes up for those imperfections with some really outstanding pyrotechnics. Firestarter, indeed. The less said about the 2022 movie, the better. This is the one to watch.
10. The Ghost and the Darkness
It’s often been said that truth is stranger than fiction. This movie is based on actual events in which two rogue lions terrorized workers building a bridge on the river in Tsavo. Nothing had happened like that before or since. It’s as much a horror movie as it is an historical picture. Great cinematography and decent acting coupled with an outstanding musical score makes for a truly thrilling experience.
11. Night of the Living Dead(1968,1990)
Night of the Living Dead is one of the most iconic horror movies in cinematic history. The original 1968 film was directed by the late great George A. Romero. It’s wildly entertaining zombie flick that gave birth to an entire sub-genre of films. The 1990 remake is one of the rare remakes that is really good. I prefer the original film, obviously, but you can’t go wrong with the remake either.
12. The Beyond(1981)
When it comes to horror movies, Italians were in a league of their own. The Beyond is about a woman who inherits a hotel that is supposedly one of the seven gates to Hell. This is an absolutely bonkers film. While some of the visual effects really don’t hold up very well, it goes all in on its insanity. If you’re a horror buff, this is a must-see.
13. The Batman
As one of my most anticipated movies of 2022, The Batman had a lot to live up to with Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Well, I can tell you this: It more than lives up to the hype. It’s a three-hour detective film that fires on all cylinders. Great performances all around including Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, John Turturro and Paul Dano as the Riddler. It’s dark, gritty, and has a very Se7en-style feel to it. Absolutely must-see for Batman fans.
14. The Day After
The Day After is an incredibly haunting movie about the potential effects of a nuclear war. It was one of the most controversial movies in the early 80s, but it got people talking about nuclear war. It even made its way to the White House where President Ronald Reagan viewed it before it aired on television. For TV-made movies, this one is one of the best out there. Incredibly well-made, well-acted, and disturbing.
15. Saint Maud
Saint Maud may seem like an ordinary horror movie on its surface, but underneath is a cautionary tale about the dangers of not finding help after a traumatic event. Honestly, it’s surprisingly effective. Maud is a character that suffered a traumatic event when she was a nurse, so she took up religion as a way of dealing with it, but over the course of the movie, we discover that religion isn’t really the best answer, especially without guidance of some kind.
16. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. It’s certainly one of my favorites. A sequel was made in 1984 starring Roy Scheider. 2010 is one of those movies that succeeds at being a science fiction movie, but sucks as a sequel. The ending to 2001 was ambiguous for a reason, so for the sequel to answer that question seems counter-intuitive. But again, there are some really great ideas here, and some of the visual effects are amazing.
17. Spider-Man: No Way Home
When it came to anticipated MCU films, Spider-Man: No Way Home was at the top of a lot of people’s lists. It absolutely delivered on everything and then some. This was a really great progression for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker into finally becoming Spider-Man. We got some old villains from previous eras showing up and with them, even more surprises. This is a great comic book movie with a ton of heart. It’s definitely one of my favorite MCU movies.
18. “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming”
I got this one at the behest of my mother who loved this movie when she was younger. I’m glad I did. It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. The best part about this movie is that it’s not mean-spirited. It’s just a goofball comedy featuring a group of Russian sailors having to deal with a town full of ignorant and incompetent citizens. You have to see it to believe it.
19. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
It took them 30 years, but Sony finally gave as an actual Ghostbusters 3. Directed by Jason Reitman, son of the late Ivan Reitman, Afterlife is a fantastic sequel that delivers on all its nostalgic elements by finishing a story that was started in the original film, but it also pushes the franchise forward by putting it in the hands of kids who will probably become the next group of Ghostbusters. I was hoping that it would be better than the 2016 film, but I had no idea how good it was going to be. I love it.
20. The Matrix Resurrections
This was a movie that I needed to watch several times to understand what Lana Wachowski was going for. It’s a lot better than I initially gave it credit for. Some of the ideas in this movie are wild, and it’s a beautifully shot movie. It’s not without its problems, though. The absence of a key fight choreographer meant that the fight scenes that we got were not as refined. Maybe that was the point. But it was great seeing Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss together again.
21. Alligator 2: The Mutation
It’s funny how memories can often play tricks on you, especially when it comes to movies. I remember liking Alligator 2: The Mutation as a kid, but seeing it now makes me wonder what I was smoking. This is a bad sequel. I’m not saying the original Alligator was Citizane Kane by comparison, but it kind of was. This was a complete disaster from beginning to end. I’m amazing Shout! Factory wanted to put this out.
22. Alligator
Well, how about that? I go from talking about a lousy sequel to one of the most underrated Jaws knock-offs ever. This is a classic creature-feature that really embraces that ridiculous urban legend of alligators in the sewers. Fun Fact: They used real-life alligators in this movie. The tiny variety, but still. Also, you have a great cast with the late Robert Forster and Henry Silva. It’s bonkers, but it’s so much fun.
23. Free Guy
I like Ryan Reynolds as an actor. I really do. He’s likable, he’s funny, and he’s a really good actor. But outside of Deadpool, I’m finding Reynold’s schtick of playing the same kind of character over and over again wearing real thin. Free Guy is a fun little action-comedy, but I would really like to see Ryan tackle more serious roles. He’s capable of it. I’ve seen a number of his more serious movies, and he’s really that good, but he keeps falling back on his goofy character mode more often than not.
24. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
To my eternal shame, I had never owned this movie on ANY format. It’s so damned good. It was also revolutionary for its time, combining live-action and cartoons. The way it was done was brilliant. Bob Hoskins was great, and Roger Rabbit is hilarious. But I also have to give credit to Dr. Doom, the film’s villain played by Christopher Lloyd. He was scary, and the way he dispatched a cute little animated shoe in what he calls dip was haunting as a kid.
25. Action USA
On YouTube these days you can find an enormous amount of reels for stuntmen that feature all different kinds of stunts. Well, Action USA is basically a feature-length stunt reel that showcases every stunt that was in the book during the 80s. It’s disguised as a buddy-cop action flick in the same vein as Lethal Weapon, but far less refined. The stunts though are NUTS. If you’re looking for a mindless action movie with high-flying stunts and big explosions, this’ll fit the bill.
26. Pray For Death
When it comes to ninja movies, no one did it better than Sho Kosugi in the 80s. Pray For Death was a revenge action flick where Sho actually delivered a pretty good performance. It’s helped by outstanding action and martial arts sequences designed by Mr. Kosugi himself. If you like ninjas and revenge movies, you get both with this one.
27. Eternals
For the most part, Marvel’s MCU has been one hit after another. But every once in a while, they give us something that doesn’t quite work as well as the others. Eternals was pretty divisive in that regard. This was a very different kind of movie that Marvel had done. It’s high-level science fiction wrapped up in a superhero movie. I really dug it, but a lot of people didn’t. It runs a little too long, and there are some decisions that feel out-of-place.
28. New York Ninja
I first heard about this last year when this trailer showed up, but I had no idea that it was an abandoned movie. It’s obviously from 1984, but the movie was never finished. The studio that put up the money for it went out of business and the rights were nowhere to be found. Vinegar Syndrome found reels of the movie, but it was never edited or had any sound done for it. They also didn’t have a script, until after they “finished” the movie. Doing the best they can, they hired a bunch of voice actors to do what they could. Don “The Dragon” Wilson did the voice of the main character, John, where John Liu did the physical acting. This movie is fucking insane. It’s bad. Real bad. But it’s amazing. Vinegar Syndrome knew what they were in for, and they decided to have fun with it since the original director was nowhere to be found.
29. Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City
I know a lot of people hated Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil movies, but I really liked them. Even the ones that were obviously bad. But it was one of the most successful movie franchises based on a video-game. This new film is a bit of a reboot of sorts. It combines story elements from the first two games into one movie. While I appreciate that it was more faithful to the games than the other movies, there were issues. Some of the casting was not that great and some of the characters were awful. Leon Kennedy was incredibly irritating, unlike his video-game counterpart. Still, I found a lot about this movie to enjoy.
Whew! That was a lot to go through. I apologize for not keeping up with these, but I hope to keep this up on a more regular basis. We’ll see. As it stands, if there’s any film that you see here that might interest you, feel free to check it out. A number of these movies can be found on various streaming services, while some are only available on physical media. Be careful with the ones from Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow Video, and Shout! Factory. Not because of quality, far from it, but because of limited availability. That’s all I’ve got for you right now, I’ll be back with more movies when I have at least 5 more buys. This is Major Tom, signing off.