elhonig-902-129896 Reviews

Life (I) (2017)

Enjoyable,but turn off your logical brain.....

[6/10 · 27 April 2024]

Life has enough good actors, good cgi, and decent sci-fi horror plot to keep you engaged. That being said, it also has plot holes in abundance. They do not totally destroy the movie, however to enjoy watching you will need to just go along and ignore the lapses in logic. The acting ftom Jake Gyllanhall, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sana a and others is pretty good for what the writers have given them. CGI is well done for being in a fairly limited movie set, and all actors do a good job of working with effects. The plot of a seemingly non-threatening, simple alien life form gradually becoming horrendous is a good concept. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel, or perhaps a remake. Enjoy it for what it is.

Immaculate (2024)

Added a star for Sweeney acting, otherwise a 3

[4/10 · 21 April 2024]

Immaculate aspired to be a somewhat different horror movie but fell far short. It tried a twist on the usual anti Christ formula but did not actually deliver. The plot had holes, the acting (except for Sydney Sweeney) was blah, and the locale missed out in terms of being scary. There was a mediocre intro, started to get interesting in the middle, but the ending just fell off a cliff. Totally disappointed as the story at the mid point went off the rails and at the very end was a train wreck. Kind of felt badly for Sweeney, who is a good actress, but tied herself to this lemon. Skip this one unless you just want to kill time.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

Lift your spirit...

[9/10 · 13 April 2024]

If ever there was a movie to lift you out of a low mood, or perhaps cure you after watching a bad horror movie, this is it. The light, the colors, the themes, all will give brighten your day. From the very beginning, it made me want to be nowhere else but on a beautiful spring day in the town square of Rochefort, and the feeling keeps on throughout. The music by Michel Legrand is jazzy, happy, romantic, sometimes wistful, but consistently high quality (Oscar nominated in 1969 for best music, and best musical film score). Acting, singing, and dancing was all top notch for this genre - Catherine Deneuve, Francois Dorleac, George Chakiris, and Gene Kelly. It ls in French, with subtitles, but don't let that stop you. Do yourself a favor and see this movie.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

A spectacle - better than the old Dune movie

[8/10 · 11 April 2024]

Dune 2 was a spectacular movie visually. The sheer cinematography made me stick with watching the entire story, even when I wasn't crazy about how this unraveled. I read the Frank Herbert books many years ago, so long ago that most of it is now forgotten. I may go back, now that I watched this movie, and re-read at least some of the books.

The acting was great. I think Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet had chemistry together, and individually did an excellent job. The other actors -Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Christopher Walken also did well. Have to say Austin Butler, in my view, not so much. Worth seeing. But if you are a real fan of the original books, you might not be as happy with this.

The Green Mile (1999)

Would recommend this film to anyone....

[9/10 · 2 March 2024]

The Green Mile, from a novel by Stephen King, is an emotional roller coaster. You may find yourself chuckling at some spots, and sobbing a little while later. The story takes place in a prison death row down south, and Michael Clarke Duncan has been sentenced to die in the electric chair. Tom Hanks plays the head guard here. Duncan is paradoxically a physically giant man but who is actually the gentlest person imaginable, accused of a horrible murder. Hanks and Duncan both are masterful in their parts, and the supporting cast is excellent as well. I believe Duncan was nominated for a best actor Oscar the year it came out. Overall, this film was not what I expected. It is most definitely not your typical prison death row movie. It turns out to have elements of the supernatural, a little religion thrown in, and something of a comment on the death penalty. I would highly recommend this movie, and bring a box of tissues with you.

Shōgun (2024–2026)

Amazing, smart, and draws you in...

[10/10 · 29 February 2024]

Have watched the first two episodes, and I have nothing but praise. This is totally head and shoulders above the 1980 version, as it should be, otherwise why make it. I thought it is brilliant to have the Japanese cast speaking Japanese with subtitles. Definitely adds to the feeling of being present in feudal Japan. I finished reading the Clavell book a couple of weeks ago, and so far these episodes are very close to the narrative in the book. The casting is superb. Pretty much every character has quite a lot of depth and for the most part are what I imagined they would be. From what I heard, the director and production team did extensive research about this era in Japanese history, and their care shows. My opinion so far is that Game of Thrones has nothing on this series. Looking forward to watching this story play out on the screen.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

Great idea, poor execution...

[2/10 · 28 February 2024]

For those who read the Bram Stoker Dracula novel, we learn Dracula came to England by ship. When the ship landed the crew was all gone. Of course Dracula killed everyone and we know how the story progresses. This film is about how the crew dealt with their on board monster. Good idea to make a movie about it, but basically Dracula is fully seen only at the very end.

The movie is set up like a regular psychological thriller which is not very thrilling at all. Most of the movie takes place in darkness, the storyline gets too convoluted, and the few remaining crew near the end come up with a chaotic plan that does not turn out well, as you might imagine. Acting is just ok, and the cinematography is not much to look at. The Dracula costume looks like Nosferatu for those who saw the silent film from the 1920s. I hoped for a better film and was disappointed.

Train to Busan (2016)

Better than most zombie movies

[7/10 · 6 February 2024]

I generally do not enjoy zombie movies with few exceptions, like World War Z, 28 Days, and now this one. Train to Busan has a little more depth, and tries to answer basic survival questions , such as everyone for themselves vs try to help others. The actors do a fair job, but the stand out was the child Soo An. She steals the show for sure. The story is ok, but not spectacular. I think it might have benefitted from some trimming. There is also the matter of some plot holes and some actions that do not make sense even in a zombie flick. Even so, it is worth watching. It gets off to a slow start, but after the first 20-30 minutes it takes off like a freight train.

Tarzan the Ape Man (1981)

Worst movie I've ever seen.....

[1/10 · 31 January 2024]

This is a movie in search of a story, a script, anything that would make it worth your time. The acting by Richard Harris is terribly annoying. It was such a relief when he died so that I didn't have to hear any more words he spoke. Unfortunately, he doesn't die until the very end. It would have been a more tolerable film without him. Richard Harris has been in some decent movies, so I can only guess he did this one for the money. As for Bo Derek, the only plus for her is her nice body. There is considerable nudity and she is good to just look at. Her acting is nonexistent. Obviously, Richard Harris did not inspire her. Tarzan has no dialogue. All we get is his his trademark yelling to call his animal friends. Skip this movie and watch just about any other Tarzan movie.

The Promised Land (2023)

A must see movie...

[9/10 · 4 January 2024]

The Promised Land takes place in 1700's Denmark and tells the story of a retired military officer who wants to settle and farm in an inhospitable area where no one else has been able to survive. He has visions of making a great success, and being greatly rewarded by the King and other noble people. That is just the vaguest outline of the story but the film goes deep into the characters involved and becomes unexpectedly dark, much darker than I had imagined. I will not say more so as not to spoil it, but this is a truly great movie. The main character is played to perfection by Mads Mickelson. The associated actors Amanda Collin, Kristine Thorp, and the young child actor Melina Hagberg are very much up to the task of making their characters come alive. A great film that I could not recommend more.

The Woodmen (2023)

A decent film with a very low budget....

[5/10 · 30 December 2023]

The Woodmen was made with the low budget of 10,000 dollars, according to IMDB, so with that in mind the small cast, cinematographer, director, and writer did a fair job. The movie, for the most part, takes place in remote areas of the Appalachian trail. It is found footage made by several folks on the trail for various reasons. All of them deviate ftom the main trail, and overstay the time they planned, leaving them in the wild, in the dark. They encounter feral humans living in the woods and sound and behave as animals. Without giving away too much, the encounters do not go well for the civilized humans vs the feral ones, with some on both sides meeting gruesome ends. It has scary moments, with some reminiscent of Blair Witch. It is worth a watch, just don't expect too much.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Actually pretty good....

[7/10 · 28 December 2023]

This movie is a little long, there are some weaknesses in the script, and is somewhat uneven. That being said, I think it had some strong actors, a decent story that got stretched more than it should have, and an ending that did not work for me. The CGI was fairly good overall. A problem with the story was that they borrowed a bit much from other Sci fi movies. Not enough to be destructive for this movie, but Sci fi fans will recognize the borrowed pieces. There were some good actors who could have done more with an overall stronger story, but the acting was ok enough to keep me engaged. At the end of the movie, they let us know there will be a Part Two coming next April. I am hopeful it will be as good or better than Part One.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

Improved version of the 2017 film....

[9/10 · 6 December 2023]

This version of Justice League is fairly improved over the 2017 movie. It seemed like Snyder left in a lot of the older version, but removed some the scenes that were unnecessary, and added new scenes that I thought enhanced both the story and the characters. The additions made the whole story make much more sense, and closed some of the gaps that the older version had. The superhero characters were given some scenes that filled out their own narratives. I also thought the additions added some needed interactions that helped the group as a whole more integrated, and in some instances gave us a little more humor. I think this is the version that should be considered the better movie overall.

Deliver Us from Evil (I) (2014)

A decent horror possession movie

[7/10 · 7 November 2023]

Deliver Us From Evil has a lot of good scares and a somewhat convoluted posession story. It was stretched out a bit much and would have benefited from cutting some fat from some of the scenes. Still, it had enough good to keep you engaged. It is supposedly based on actual events and characters. It made me wonder though about distinguishing facts ftom Hollywood puffing up the story. Eric Bana as the main character turns in a credible performance, as do most of the other actors. The setting and overall atmosphere were appropriately scary. A few special fx were ok and not heavily relied upon. If you like demon posession movies, with an exorcism thrown in, you will be pretty much satisfied with Deliver Us.

The Equalizer 3 (2023)

Denzel does it again

[8/10 · 5 November 2023]

I liked this thurd installment of The Equilizer trilogy. The characters that Denzel gets involved with are a little more compelling, both good and evil, and this movie works the drama a little more than just predictable action scenes, although there are some great ones. The setting is a small Italian seaside village where everyone knows everyone, and are friendly to a sort of mysterious stranger. The cinematography is nicely done using the natural charm of the village. Of course Denzel does the best acting of the film. The other cast people are ok, but do not shine as much. It was nice to see Denzel and Dakota Fanning kind of teamed up, since their earlier film, Man on Fire, when Dakota was a small child.

This was a very good dramatic action movie and deserves an eight star rating. It will keep you glued to the screen.

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

Why? Why? Why?

[3/10 · 29 October 2023]

This is a movie that did not need to be made. I agree with all the reviewers who say this film pales compared to the original. I gave it 3 stars because the acting of the kids was ok, as was Leslie Odom as the dad of one of the two possessed girls. Ellyn Burstein was pretty ok too, but in my opinion did not measure up to her acting in the original. Of course, the material she had to work with here was a mess. They even brought in Linda Blair for about 15 seconds on screen. The special fx and cgi were fair, but not enough to save this movie. As far as I am concerned, the first hour was a jumbled mess. The last 45 minutes were ok, but not enough to rate this more than 3 stars. Supposedly there are two more Exorcist movies to come. We can only hope they bring in some better writers, great actors, and decent directors.

Haunted Mansion (2023)

A fun move for the family...

[7/10 · 9 October 2023]

I enjoyed Haunted Mansion. It had a very good core cast . Rosario Dawson, Lakeith Stanfield , Owen Wilson, Danny Devito, and Tiffany Haddish all worked well together. It was funny most of the time, with a little drama in parts. The only knock I have was the length. In my opinion, two hours got me restless towards the end. If they had cut 20 or 30 minutes Haunted Mansion would not have suffered from a few cut scenes. The set up for the mansion was perfect, and while it was dark for most of the film , it was ok. The plot had much in common with haunted house movies, but there was enough difference to make it entertaining.

Malignant (I) (2021)

Some good, but story is a jumble

[6/10 · 17 September 2023]

James Wan has done much better than this. Malignant has a great premise, but something went wrong in the execution. I was getting bored until around the middle and then the story started to come together. This is where the story started to make some sense and improved the character development, with added people getting in the mix. Unfortunately, as the plot started to get going, some plot holes became bigger and more frequent. The last 15 minutes or so got really messy - literally and figuratively. The acting was inconsistent, partly due to the story becoming jumbled and partly due to the actors. The F/X and CGI maybe get a grade of B or B+ It's an ok movie but I've come to expect better from James Wan.

The Boogeyman (I) (2023)

Takes a while to gather any steam....

[6/10 · 5 September 2023]

These people should have called John Wick. Those of you who have seen the first John Wick movie know that he is the one they call to kill The Boogeyman. In any case, this movie has a very slow beginning and doesn't become interesting until about halfway through. The acting by the two children deserves applause. I thought the dad kind of sleep walked his way through the entire movie. A likable character, but does not really generate any heat. The storyline is a little twisted and gets confusing at times. The final 30 minutes finally get some action going with some ok Fx and CGI. I think this is just an ok horror film that is fine to watch if you can tolerate the snail pace development.

Hijacked: Flight 73 (2023)

A futile effort to explain an horrific event....

[4/10 · 15 July 2023]

Hijacked Flight 73 is a dramatization of an awful hijacking of Pan AM flight 73 in Karachi Pakistan. The plane was taken by 4 terrorists while still on the ground, and loaded with 300 passengers and crew. As per Pan AM policy, as soon as the terrorists took control of the passenger cabin, the flight crew escaped from a hatch in the pilots cabin. The terrorists then spent hours in negotiations trying to get the pilots back, so they could be flown to Cyprus. Sometime near the beginning of the negotiations, they killed a passenger to make a point. This film then basically showed 90 minutes of nothing else happening until the end. I won't put any spoilers here, but I felt this could have been told in a more compelling way. It was a waste of time to watch, and all you can do at the end is feel badly for everyone hurt or killed.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Tops the other Guardian movies....

[9/10 · 7 July 2023]

What an entertaining movie that covered just about everything in the series, and gave more substance to the main characters. It had quite a lot of humor, but it was also a sort of love story and and also gave all the characters real growth. As you might expect, the CGI was great but did not get in the way of the story. We also got a chance to see Rocket have an expanded part with lots of time in the plot. The other characters Drax, Mantis, Peter, Groot, and Nebula also got a chance to stretch out their characters. To avoid spoilers I will leave out some surprises. This was a fitting end to the Guardian movies, and hopefully at least some characters will get a spin off.

Nefarious (2023)

Trying to sell Theology as a horror movie.....

[5/10 · 30 June 2023]

Watching Nefarious was a little like watching a big balloon slowly deflate until it is just a limp piece of latex. It was captivating for the first 30 minutes. Acting was great, the dialog very interesting and captivating. A lot was conveyed without CGI, no fancy sets, no elaborate makeup, and no demons, even though this was a movie with demonic possession. After about 30 minutes setting up the premise, we got a lecture on Christian theology which got more and more boring as it droned on. The eternal battle between God and Satan, heaven and hell - the whole story, with a little very weak demonstration of demonic power - not the CGI demonstration, just words. I stuck with it - with a little fast forwarding - and was relieved when it was over. This was not a horror movie by any measure - just a long and boring lecture. Look for something else to spend your time watching.

Impact (2009)

If only they cut it in half...

[5/10 · 26 June 2023]

This could have been a better movie if they had managed to tell the same story in two hours rather than four. It still would not have been terrific, but it probably would have been more enjoyable. With the money they might have save by eliminating the two hours, maybe they could have had better CGI and a fair story. As it is, it was a just about a copy of a similar end of the world movie - Deep Impact, which was not much better, but at least it was shorter. Natasha Henstridge did an ok job here as the lead scientist. She actually delivered her lines with some feeling. James Cromwell was as good as he usually is as the cranky old grandpa. The rest of the cast was meh. It was not a terrible movie, but you are better off if you can watch it in two sittings instead of all at once.

Extraction II (2023)

Had enough action to fill two movies....

[8/10 · 17 June 2023]

A little light on the plot line, but more than enough action for people looking for this type of movie. The action scenes were long, and pretty much non stop. Definitely did not skimp on their cgi, explosions, shooting heavy weapons, hand to hand combat - had just about every kind of action imaginable. Chris Hemsworth and all the main cast did a good acting job with what they were given, but the main focus was not so much on character depth. All in all, an enjoyable movie and will not disappoint action movie junkies. In the last scene they set us up for a guaranteed sequel. Idris Elba makes a brief cameo appearance at the beginning and the end.

Renfield (2023)

Entertaining for some....

[7/10 · 16 June 2023]

You may know the character Renfield from the original Dracula film and book, but this puts a different twist on both the story and the character. Nicholas Cage pretty much steals the movie as Dracula. His portrayal of Count D is funny, quirky, and over the top. He is not in every scene, but manages to make you look forward to his next entrance. Nicholas Hoult does a good job as a Renfield deserving of our sympathy, and even our support in his effort to change his miserable life as the slave of Dracula.

Reading over some of the other reviews, I can see not everyone is an Awkwafina fan. If you don't like Awkwafina, then this movie is probably not for you. She has a lot of time on screen. However, I do like Awkwafina and she gets her character Rebecca right on the mark. She plays a cop trying to make good in a corrupt police department with the odds against her. Awkwafina plays her with just the right amounts of drama and comedy, and does a great job. I recommend you give Renfield a try and prepare to be entertained. Both the new take on the story, and the acting, are worth viewing.