drunk_please_disregard Reviews

Knox Goes Away (2023)

Good movie but buy a Lincoln

[7/10 · 12 May 2024]

What a great premise for a movie. Casted and acted well. An expertly directed film. Michael Keaton, at his age, is perfect for this role. And I really haven't enjoyed him in anything since Tim Burton's Batman. Pacino delivers a surprisingly adept performance as well. This movie is written superbly. Reduction of a full star however for the repulsive and heavy handed product placement that was bashed upon my head like a blunt object unleashed from some elderly assassin. All I can say is buy a Lincoln. Anyone else who has had the unfortunate experience of personally dealing with Alzheimer's may find parts of this film difficult.

The Channel (2023)

Son of Mann

[6/10 · 4 February 2024]

A fun, shoestring-budget type, heist movie that borrows heavily from superior films in the genre. Namely and obviously the 199x movie "Heat". It's almost like the writers of this movie just finished Breaking Bad and then watched Heat directly preceding receiving the inspiration for writing this film. All that said, you could do worse than Breaking Bad and Heat for touchstones imo. The acting is not great (especially from the dude who played the good bro and the dude who played Pacino's cop character) and some of the lines are just awful but I found it enjoyable. Lots of gunfights and sincere but laughably terrible attempts at N'Orlins accents. I have definitely seen worse.

Thanksgiving (I) (2023)

Bad even for an Eli Roth movie

[5/10 · 6 January 2024]

Five stars out of ten and I gave it a full extra one for the end credits theme song and another one for the kind of loose commentary about the selfish materialism and endless insatiable greed and commercialism that is eating us and our society alive more and more every single day that this film leads with but sadly doesn't elaborate much on or revisit after the first act. The cheesy halfass cg ultra-violence and senseless kinda over-the-top gore would have been alot more effective and resonant if the writers had stuck with that instead of the laughably bad Murder She Wrote plot that features a twist so obvious that even I saw it coming probably 10 minutes in. Good god this was bad.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Better than it should be

[9/10 · 11 October 2023]

Also longer than it needs to be maybe, but that was probably true of the original as well. Entirely reverential to the original and appropriately so. Innumerable great call backs to the original. Most great science fiction takes awhile to get going in my opinion, and this film conforms completely to this this notion. Also I believe that great sci-fi requires stunning visuals and convincing performances. This movie checks all of these boxes for me. It could have been so terrible, and I was bracing myself completely for this, however this film hopefully demonstrates that Hollywood can actually produce a quality, original sequel in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I feel that, in a way, this mirrors the overall message of the movie in its entirety. Well scored and perfectly casted (also like the orignal). A benchmark for sci-fi sequels. My highest recommendation.

Upgrade (2018)

William Burroughs-style review.

[6/10 · 11 October 2023]

A stream of consciousness review: Interesting concept. Robocop times Ex Machina times Blade Runner. Stanley Kubrick called and said he'd like HAL's voice back. Mega Man in real life is dumb. Bad moustache = bad man. Bad acting, bad writing. Obvious twist. Computers... bad? Computers... good? Itchy and Scratchy- Scratchtasia. Poochy. Cops are so totally mad cool in the future. They work the touch screens like Tom Cruise in Minority Report but can't see the future. If AI could make a dumb, wimpy revenge movie non-wimpy and clever, would it be ethical to make it so? Voice commands are as retarded in the future apparently as they were in the past. "Xbox off!". Robots fighting like robots is remarkably dumb. Twist is further obvious. Acting and writing continues to be bad.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

Solid, if sometimes silly and unbelievable

[6/10 · 13 July 2023]

A super low budget, sincere and surprisingly well made mockumentary with an interesting concept and acting performances that were excellent and believable almost without exception, which is so rare with a movie like this. Hard to watch at certain points, not for the gore and violence so much as for the horrific psychological terror inflicted on some of the characters. And this is because of the believable portrayals of the victims. The main problem with this movie however are the numerous and major logical fallacies found within the plot. Also the ending is obvious and predictable from a relatively early point in the film. Still I feel that it is recommendable for fans of the genre.

Infinity Pool (2023)

face tattoos are always a bad sign

[6/10 · 8 July 2023]

Like many of either Cronenberg's recent films, there is depth of concept here as well as good writing and sincere and mostly decent acting performances. Also of course there are repulsive depictions of extreme violence and graphic nudity/sexuality. Unfortunately there are also poor production values and a kind of a heavy-handedness that detracts from the the overall impact of the interesting, if obvious, concept mentioned earlier. The whole thing has a kind of low budget, shot on video quality that I found distracting and unbecoming. All in all a recommendable and solid entry into the Cronenberg library as long as you're aware of what you're getting into though.

Annihilation (I) (2018)

Not a great movie

[3/10 · 22 June 2023]

I was aware of this movie and declined viewing it upon my impression of it but I watched it upon the emphatic recommendation of a friend. After viewing I wish I had stuck with my initial impression. I guess the thing that stood out to me most considering the positive attention paid to it was the cheap, almost low budget shot-on-video look. Like soap opera quality. And in my opinion the excessive and constant computer-generated effects only exacerbate the problem. It makes it hard to become immersed in or really care about the characters or what's going on. The writing doesn't help in this regard. Some of the acting is good though and the premise is interesting. However the plot progresses in a melodramatic fashion and the writing is fairly poor. Not a total loss but hard to recommend. Just kind of a dumb movie overall.

Jaws (1975)

One of the best

[10/10 · 15 March 2023]

Simply one of the best movies I've ever seen. Start to finish- it's near impossible to find fault in this movie. Peak Spielberg, directing a perfectly written script, perfectly acted by a talented cast with almost impenetrably good special effects captured flawlessly by the cinematographer and crew. That's without even considering John Williams' amazing soundtrack. A nearly perfect film. It starts, happens, and ends without the viewer even being aware that it's happening. And then you realize that that you just watched a timeless classic of a film that I'm confident will endure as long as people are sane because of it's overall quality. There are literally no faults with this movie. A top 5 all time for me.

Hardcore Henry (2015)

Do Androids Dream of Brutally Killng Electric Sheep?

[9/10 · 9 March 2023]

Think Crank but lurid and gory and in first person. Kinda Gordon Freeman times James Bond but with Russian sensibilities by way of Call of Duty with a dash of Blade Runner. I really appreciated the trippiest parts which were many. I also appreciated the lighthearted humorous bits, which were also many. The assumably thriftily licensed music as well as the eurotrash-techno original music adds to the mayhem and madness. Definitely aimed at the short attention span, internet gaming, slot machine loot box crowd so I think it would be unwise to expect a transformative experience but it was much better than I thought it would be. Solid ending.

Tooth and Nail (2007)

Man, this movie was terrible

[4/10 · 9 March 2023]

It's a shame because there are some nice shots in this film. The cinematography is solid. And for a B movie the overall production values are sufficient including the special effects. However, the acting, writing, lighting, casting, music, and practically every other aspect of this movie is at best subpar and at worst just dreadful. There are so many logical paradoxes to the characters' actions that it is not hyperbole to say that the movie just makes no sense. On any level. For a decent, relatively recent post apocalyptic cannibals-are-going-to-eat-me-oh-no! Movie I'd recommend The Road or maybe Doomsday (though I could live without the Bentley product placement in that one).

Killing Them Softly (2012)

Its all BS

[4/10 · 8 February 2023]

Brad Pitt always ruins everything. Thank goodness there are some good actors and decent music in this movie because Mr. Pitt is as terrible as ever. He is a no good, garbage actor and he is in almost every scene. He can't even be convincing in slow motion. That is rough. The silver lining is that, fortunately, he is surrounded by at least mostly competent and sometimes talented co-stars. So many bad NY/NJ accents though. And in a film where there is so much dialogue it really stands out. A shame because the story is solid and the writing is decent. It could have been good. The only reason I watched this is because I recently watched "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" and really enjoyed it. I would not place this movie in anywhere near the same class. I chose to ignore the ham-handed political metaphors and consider the movie at face value and it didn't help. Not worth the watch.

A Wounded Fawn (2022)

so much for our big plans for the weekend

[6/10 · 1 February 2023]

I have seen worse and I have certainly seen better turn-the-tables-on-the-serial-killer movies. But seldom have I seen one with less relatable nor less sympathetic characters. From scene one, the viewer should be rooting for gruesome death to all involved. And it rolls forward from there. A few less rich, pretentious , and self-obsessed city-dwelling jerk holes might actually be a win for society as a whole. But this is a fairly well-made and produced film however and it features some truly strange and trippy visuals. But maybe I missed the point somewhere along the way, because to me the movie seemed to drag on about 30 minutes too long. It just kind of keeps trudging towards the obvious destination set forth probably 25 minutes in. Slowly and boringly. Hard to recommend except maybe to seekers of the bizarre like me and the most man-hating amongst us.

The Leech (2022)

merry xmas!

[8/10 · 25 January 2023]

Public service announcement: this is not a slasher movie. I entered into this movie 100% blind. To the filmmakers, actors etc. But I found it entertaining. Especially considering how low budget it is apparently. It is a well made, sincerely acted film. Kinda hilarious but also kinda gross, somewhat unexpectedly. Not really a horror movie, mostly comedy. Dark comedy but pretty funny and ultimately very dark. Not what I expected. Some real truth here though. Regarding human nature. Our broken society. The repulsive over-significance of Christmas in this broken ass society. The practical effects of drugs and alcohol. Love the cassette tapes, it was a nice touch. Kind of an anti-xmas movie. We need more of these.

Sputnik (2020)

Solid, Enjoyable, Flawed

[7/10 · 17 January 2023]

I really enjoyed the premise and concept of this movie. 80's Soviet Union is the perfect setting as well. The acting is solid and the production values are high. However there are numerous illogical progressions of the plot that interfered with my overall enjoyment of this film. Also I felt that while the creature was interestingly conceived and animated well, the computer generated effects were probably overused and at least slightly detracted from my sense of immersion. Even when done well like this one, when it's overused, cgi always presents the issue of just seeming "a little off" to me. All in all, a great early hook and a satisfying watch that I would recommend to the like-minded though.

3 from Hell (2019)

Good for Mr. Zombie

[7/10 · 13 January 2023]

The acting is bad, the story is worse, the writing is terrible, and there's way too much slo-mo. But the music is good and all in all it somehow succeeds. In terms of violence and shock I believe you can only push the envelope so far. It has already been pushed here so if you're expecting some sort of progression in those areas then I feel you will surely be disappointed. Not that Devil's Rejects was some sort of high watermark in that regard, but it seems to be the goldilocks zone for Rob Zombie. In this one the new guy's character is weak and kinda sucks overall and the actor is not great and Mrs. Zombie still has about 60% more screentime than she rightfully deserves. But on the bright side it is filmed well and I have always dug what I think Mr. Zombie has been trying to express cinematically, or maybe the vibe he's going for and in that regard this movie works. In his terrible bizarre alternate and sometimes funny 70's universe this is a solid entry and I fully recommend. Not sure about the Lucha Libres at the end but whatever.

Bull (2021)

What a revenge movie should aspire to be

[9/10 · 6 October 2022]

A simple premise that is presented in a straight forward simple way that works perfectly albeit in a nonchronological fashion. There are too many revenge movies generally and there are definitely too many revenge movies that suck. And the top reasons that they suck is usually that they are just super wimpy (see Taken, Taken 2, Taken 3, Taken 4 etc) or that they are poorly made (acted, directed, shot etc). At least in my experience anyways. This movie is none of these things. It is super well made (acted, directed, shot, written, etc) especially for this genre. And it may be a number of things but I would not say that it is wimpy in any way. Unflinching, violent, gory definitely but also sincerely and legitimately presented. Fair warning that it may take a bit to adjust to the gutter English spoken by the characters if you're American like me but well worth it if you're inclined to enjoy bloody bloodbath revenge movies like this one.

No Time to Die (2021)

Weakest of the DC Bond Films

[3/10 · 29 September 2022]

Action is super weak, story is weak, casting is weak. It is campier than even the average Bond movie. Beyond Lifetime Network-level melodramatic. The plot premise is bad even for an overrated video game series (which it seems to have borrowed heavily from). Bad Haircut Man is an extremely wimpy nemesis. Other Bad Haircut Man is a pretty lame super-villian. Let's just say he's no Hank Scorpio. Too much Q. It's a shame that apparently the Craig era of 007 seems to be going out with a resounding whimper instead of a bang. I liked the other Craig ones in spite of their obvious flaws just fine but this one stands out to me for its overall level of cromulence and half-assedness. The recurring characters don't offer the same diversion as they used to somehow, they just seem to pile on to the cringiness. I guess the series was starting to lose steam in the last one and I can say that this installment unfortunately continues its downward trajectory. And I know repulsively obvious product placement is a time-honored Bond tradition but good God it is now to the point of distraction. Maybe it just stands out more because this one is so terrible in almost every way. Ana de Armas was alright and she looked super good. My rating just kept going down as I continued to watch. Just awful.

Buffalo '66 (1998)

A real film with heart

[10/10 · 9 September 2022]

Hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, like real upstate New York. Seldom have I experienced better acting performances in a sincere and obvious comedy. Outstanding soundtrack, excellent writing. So many low key jokes if you're familiar with the area. Wide right. Goddamit. 'Nuf said. Can you imagine if Scott Norwood opened up a strip club in Buffalo in 1998? Maybe this happened and I missed it, I haven't lived in Buf for a long time. Vincient Gallo kind of sucks and this movie oozes VG but somehow it all works. This will be considered Mr. Gallo's peak as an entertainment personality (or artist or whatever) I believe (and also Ms. Ricci, and maybe Rosanna Arquette too). I mean that in a good way though, this is a very good movie. Even though Gallo's Billy personality dominates the story, all of the characters are given the opportunity to shine- no matter how minor. Ultimately very uplifting, maybe a realistic love story in alot of ways. Maybe my favorite last 15 minutes in cinema history, but that's just me. Highest recommendations. Worth noting perhaps that Norwood was a very good kicker that year except for that one FG attempt.

The Cursed (2021)

The Werewolf Thing

[8/10 · 9 September 2022]

Very cleverly and significantly similar to my favorite horror movie of all time. Different time, different place, different monster, but undeniably the vibe is there. From the intermittently placed and minimal, foreboding music to the barely perceptible low howl of the nighttime wind to the inescapable feeling of isolation and loneliness, I feel that this movie captured the essence of John Carpenter's 1981 masterpiece almost perfectly. I can't help but speculate that it would have been better without the CG and some of the modern filmmaking conventions but still a highly recommended viewing if you're a fan of The Thing. Very well directed and well acted. Easily the best werewolf movie I've ever seen.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)

WEAK

[4/10 · 22 August 2022]

The first one is one of the all time great crime/drug movies. Tense and well crafted, This one is weak and predictable. Plays more like a silly fantasy documentary. Disappointing.

Sicario (2015)

Badass crime/drug movie

[9/10 · 13 August 2022]

Del Toro at his minimalist best. Brolin in the asshole role he was made for. Somehow makes you root for the bad guys then you realize they are the good guys maybe. Gold standard for modern drug movies. Highly recommended.

Birds of Passage (2018)

Legit gangster flick

[9/10 · 13 August 2022]

Kinda a Colombian Godfather 1&2, only told from a somewhat neutral perspective and if Fredo had become the patriarch instead of Michael. Reminded me of Brother and Scarface as well. Great flick.

The Void (I) (2016)

Makes a solid case for abstinence

[8/10 · 1 August 2022]

Very reminiscent of early John Carpenter and I mean that in a good way. Kind of Hellraiser times The Thing. Earnestly acted and well shot. Gory and disturbing, legitimately scary. I appreciated the ending. We need more horror movies like this.

Charley Varrick (1973)

Totally badass!

[8/10 · 21 July 2022]

I love heists/thrillers and this is one of the best that I've seen from the period. Made me look at Matthau in a whole new light. Great story, writing, performances, and directing.