Moviewatcher122's 2016 Film Diary: July

July 1



"We aren't dealing with ordinary machines here. These are highly complicated pieces of equipment. Almost as complicated as living organisms. In some cases, they have been designed by other computers. We don't know exactly how they work."

I was expecting this movie to be good, but I had no idea that I would like it this much. It's kind of like an early version of Jurassic Park which is no surprise considering that Michael Crichton was also involved in this movie. It's an awesome movie with a great story, interesting characters, great performances all around especially from Yul Brynner and it was a highly entertaining thrill ride from start to finish. Easy recommendation from me.

July 2



"I'm hungry."
"Hi Hungry, I'm Dad."
"Not funny."
"I'm not Funny, I'm Dad."
"Still not funny."

Wasn't sure what to expect from this, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. It was a very suspenseful movie that was very hard to watch at times and the characters were developed very well. Owen Wilson isn't very good when it comes to serious roles, but I actually thought he pulled it off this time and Pierce Brosnan's character was really cool. The kids in this movie also did a very good job and they actually did a more than convincing job of pretending to be scared to the point where it felt genuine. As for the story, it isn't the most original, but the way it was handled was very good and it was very intense from start to finish. While it did go a little overboard when it comes to disturbing content like near the end, but it's still a very solid movie and not as bad as the critics made it out to be.

July 3



"I'm gonna bury you."
"You know, Westmoreland made all of us officers write our own obituaries during Tet, when we thought The Cong were gonna end it all right there. And, once we clued into the fact that life is finite, the thought of losing it didn't scare us anymore. The end comes no matter what, the only thing that matters is how do you wanna go out, on your feet or on your knees? I bring that lesson to this job. I act, knowing that someday this job will end, no matter what. You should do the same."

This was a good if not pretty standard kind of movie you'd expect from Peter Berg. It is a very well-made movie with strong performances from it's respective cast and it is a very gripping movie, but it's also missing that something to make it stand out. It's a standard action movie that's has some things going for it, but it's nothing too special.

July 4



"I'm talking about dying."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean lying in the ground with dirt on your face and holding your breath forever."

This is a highly underrated dark comedy that doesn't get the recognition or praise it deserves. It's a very funny movie about a dark subject matter, but is also portrayed in a serious light at times and Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise are both hilarious in this movie. A lot of the jokes worked as well and it hasn't lost it's comedic touch over the years. I wouldn't go far as to call this movie great, but I really enjoyed it and is worth checking out and even people that aren't a fan of Burt Reynolds will still enjoy this.

July 4



"How'd she die?"
"It was sorta a do-it-yourself thing?"

This was a good movie and I liked the whole storyline of this as it was an interesting look on what is probably a horrifying job to have. It was a good mix of comedy and drama and the casting really makes this movie work. It's not a great movie and it probably could've been better, but I'm glad I watched it and it's something I might watch a second time.

July 6



"Well, actually, writers and serial killers are very similar. They're practically brothers."

I was very skeptical about this movie for the longest time as I thought the trailer looked good, but when it came out I mostly heard that it was average by most people and have only heard one or two good things about it. Turns out that I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and actually liked it quite a bit. It was a very delightfully weird movie that had a lot of interesting visuals while also being very funny at the same time. The Final Countdown scene in particular really made me laugh. However I can understand why it's not very well-liked as it isn't for everyone, but it is worth checking out for fans of Simon Pegg or just really enjoy British humor. Just lower your expectations while going into this.

July 8



"Technically sir, tomatoes are fags."
"He means fruits."

After seeing this I can easily say that the criticisms this movie has gotten over the years hasn't been deserved. It's one of these kind of B-movies where the people who made it knew how ridiculous the concept was and had fun with it. The scenes with the tomatoes causing havoc really had me laughing and that alone made this movie. As for the dialogue-based humor in this movie it does have it's moments, but there were some times where this movie was a little boring at times and was waiting for the tomatoes to cause chaos. Still it's a very funny movie and it's worth watching if you like cheesy b-movies. Definitely not deserving of the 4.6 IMDB rating it has.

July 10



"What have you done? Thousands of years of building and rebuilding, creating and recreating so you can let it crumble to dust. A million years of sensitive men dying for their dreams... FOR WHAT? So you can swim and dance and play."

Yep, this is definitely a classic. It is a great sci-fi film with great acting, storytelling and special effects that still look very impressive to this day and it's one of the many classic sci-fi movies that made the genre what it is today. I'm not going to go on and gush about how great this movie is and instead I'm just going to say that you should watch this if you haven't already.

July 11



"Do you understand half the shit he says?"
"No, but I know what he means."

I've went on how I'm not a fan of Steven Soderbergh's work before, but for whatever reason I keep going into his movies hoping they're good. In this case however this is probably his best movie I've seen so far. Sure, it's not too different from your standard revenge film, but what makes this one good is Terrence Stamp's performance and the way the story was executed. It also had an interesting style of editing which I really liked. Even though it is the standard revenge movie, I did really enjoy it and this movie is part of the reason why I watch Steven Soderbergh's movies. I may not be a fan of him, but he can still surprise me every now and then.

July 12



"Friday I had a pretty cushy gig. Had lots of friends, I was the office hottie... now I'm a severed head in a fridge. Sucks to be me, Jerry."

This movie had a very interesting premise for a dark comedy, but it's not quite as good as it could've been. Ryan Reynolds does deliver a solid performance and I did like how weird it was at times. It even had it's share of funny moments, but with a premise like that I was expecting it to be a lot more funny than it is. It's a decent movie, but I guess I was just expecting more from it.

July 14



"How did you get shot down, Colonel?"
"It was five to one. I got four."

OK, I just did something a little unorthodox. I used a quote from the original Red Dawn. Actually it was the same quote I used from when I watched the original two years ago. It doesn't matter anyways since this is a godawful remake that didn't need to be made. While the cast does an OK job with the material they are given, I just hated everything else about this movie. Even though the original Red Dawn was cheesy, the tone suits it pretty well as a movie about teens fighting against Russians in a war is pretty ridiculous. In this version however it takes itself way too seriously despite its implausible premise.

Also the action in this movie failed to interest me in any way and the ironic thing about this movie is that even though it's PG-13 just like the original, there's barely any blood and is just as tame as any other action movie with that rating while the original Red Dawn was pretty violent back then and it was the first movie to get a PG-13 rating because of it. The worst thing about this remake though is that it's absolutely useless. It brings nothing new to the table and it's mostly just a neutered version of the same movie. The only real difference I noticed was that instead of it being about teens fighting Russians, instead it's against North Korea. Wow, what a mind-blowing change. It really makes it feel like a completely different movie. Screw this remake! While the original Red Dawn was far from being a great movie, at least it was entertaining. This remake should just have every copy in existence destroyed into oblivion... or maybe keep a few copies for the people that actually like this movie.

July 16



"When life gives you razor blades, you make a baseball bat... covered in razor blades."

Honestly I enjoyed this one more than the Machete films. I thought it captured the whole grindhouse style better and as messed up as this movie is, I still found it very enjoyable. Rutger Hauer is great as the title character, it was very darkly humorous at times and it had some really gruesome and creative kills. I'm probably going to hell for saying this, but I laughed at the school bus scene. As awful as it was, it was just so out of nowhere that it got a laugh out of me. Overall this was a pretty fun movie that delivers what you'd expect from the title.

July 17



"Nerds, jocks. My side, your side. It's all bullshit. Its hard enough just trying to be yourself."

This was another one of those average 80's teen films that haven't really stood the test of time. The story is pretty average and it wasn't anything too special, but I did like some things about it. I really liked seeing an early Seth Green who was the best part about this movie and the chemistry between the two main characters was good. Not a bad movie by any means, but it's pretty generic 80's fluff.

July 18-19



"There's a girl there who will do *anything you want* for fifty dollars an hour."
"Like what?"
"Anything! If you want she'll dress like Santa Claus!"
"Will she bring me a pony?"

This was a decent movie. It was a different kind of movie from John Landis with a dark storyline, a ton of celebrity cameos and it did have its share of funny moments, but it is one of Landis' lesser movies from his catalogue and it's not as funny as it could've been. Still I did enjoy it and I'd probably watch it again at least once.

July 19



"The object of matching is to beat down the opponent."
"Wrong kid, the best way to beat the opponent is to use a gun."

Out of all the Jet Li films I have seen so far, this one is the best. While the martial arts here as great as one would expect from this kind of movie, it also had a compelling story and well-written dialogue. The highlight of this movie though is the fight near the end which was really intense and the overall ending was very surprising. It's a great movie and I think to say it's better than Jet Li's American films.

July 21



"Death is the best kick of all. That's why they save it for last."

I honestly don't get the low ratings for this movie. Sure it's not much different from being a standard cat and mouse story, but it's still done very well. Jamie Lee Curtis delivers a very good performance here and it's one of her more overlooked performances in her career. The rest of the cast does a good job as well, most notably being Clancy Brown as the detective. I fail to see what's wrong with this movie as it's definitely not deserving of a 5.6 on IMDB. It's a very gripping cop thriller that's one of Katherine Bigelow's most underrated movies overall.

July 23



"You ate here a lot?"
"No. I never did. I remember looking in the window and wishing I could."
"Well why didn't you? Were you like a homeless street urchin?"

This was actually a really solid rom-com. It's kind of like a mix between Ghost and All Of Me while still being it's own thing at the same time. This was a very funny movie that handles it's premise very well and the overall feel of this movie is very down to earth. The cast in this movie was also very good as Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo both have good chemistry and Jon Heder who I normally don't care for is actually really enjoyable here. While this movie does have a couple of ridiculous moments, it's doesn't hurt this movie that much. It's a pretty good movie that even people who don't like romantic comedies might enjoy.

July 24



Going into this I thought this would be a movie that Stephen Chow directed, but it turns out that he's just the leading role. Regardless of that, this was a little-seen gem that not many people have seen. It was a highly entertaining film that really funny and had so much crazy stuff going on. I'm not going to any further detail into this because I don't want to spoil the experience for the people who haven't seen it. So go on and check this movie out.

July 25



"I can come in anytime I want. And I can get you, anytime I want. But I'm not going to. Not until it's time. When you wish you're dead... that's when I'll come inside."

As tired as the whole home invasion scenario can get in horror films, every now and then there's one that offers a new perspective on the genre. What makes this particular one interesting is that the main character in this movie is deaf which makes for some different possibilities. Besides that Kate Siegel delivers a great performance especially for a non-speaking role and is part of what makes this movie effective. This was a damn good movie that's far from your standard home invasion film.

July 25



"First there was darkness. Then came the strangers. They were a race as old as time itself. They had mastered the ultimate technology. The ability to alter physical reality by will alone. They called this ability "Tuning". But they were dying. Their civilization was in decline, and so they abandoned their world seeking a cure for their own mortality. Their endless journey brought them to a small, blue world in the farthest corner of the galaxy. Our world. Here they thought they had finally found what they had been searching for."

This was a fantastic movie. It's such a fascinatingly bizarre movie with an original premise, amazing visuals and great acting all around. It's a dark city alright and it's one that's worth visiting.

July 27



"I saw a gay porno once. I didn't know until halfway in. The girls never came. The girls never came!"

This movie started off pretty stupid with the jokes being hit or miss, but to my surprise it actually started to get good when the plot started to kick in. From that point on it was a consistently funny movie with a ton of good laughs, likeable characters and many amusing situations that the characters get into. Honestly I would've given this movie an 8 if it wasn't for the not-so-good beginning, but regardless of that it's a funny movie and I could see myself watching this one again.

July 28

Re-watch



"Hey, Mr. Peanut Butter Cups!"
"Hey, Mr. Could-Kill-Me-In-One-Punch!"

On this particular night, I felt like watching a movie I had already seen instead of something I haven't, so I went with this one which I've been wanting to revisit for a while. Since the last time I watched this movie was before I started this whole movie-logging thing, it means that I can actually go more into detail of what I thought of it.

I'd actually consider this to be one of Adam Sandler's best movies. It's a really nice feel-good movie with a storyline that's portrayed in a believable way. It does a good job of combining a romantic story with Adam Sandler's brand of humor and there were so many funny moments that I had forgotten about. Like for example, I forgot how funny Rob Schneider's character was. Actually the casting in general was very good as besides Adam Sandler there's the stunning Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin who was also very funny, Dan Aykroyd and Sean Astin's who delivers one of the best moments of this film. I also really liked how it doesn't have most of the cliches that most romantic comedies have and really feels genuine. Overall this was a very good movie and it's one that I'm proud to have in my DVD collection.

July 29



Just like Tammy, I was surprised that it wasn't that bad. I don't really understand the hate for this one either and so far I've mostly seen negative reviews for this movie. Hell, I've seen more hate for this movie than the new Ghostbusters movie.

I thought this movie was funny for the most part. It did have quite a few moments that actually made me laugh and the characters in this movie were enjoyable. I did like Melissa McCarthy's character and this is coming from someone who isn't a big fan of her and the rest of the cast like Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage also were good here. This is actually close to being a good movie, but there's a couple things that keeps it from being that way. The third act kind of brings this movie down. It becomes pretty dull to watch at times and there aren't really that many jokes that are funny. Even in the first two acts the humor is still hit or miss, but it's not as bad there and I could honestly forgive that if it wasn't for the third act. It's an OK movie which again is more than I can say for most of the Melissa McCarthy vehicles and like I said when I watched Tammy the fact that she wrote the script for this proves that she can be funny. Unfortunately though it seems to be wasted on these average movies that are fine, but you won't remember a lot about it when it's over.

July 30



"Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity Kitai. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed."

I know I'm in the minority of this, but I actually liked After Earth. I didn't think it was anywhere near of a failure as people made it out to be. I honestly thought that most of the hate felt exaggerated to me. The first thing I'm gonna touch on is that most infamous part of this movie and that is Jaden Smith's performance. A lot of people were won over by his role in The Pursuit of Happyness, but here a lot of people hated his performance with some even going far as to say it was the worst child performance of all time. Now I'm not even going to defend Jaden Smith's performance as a great one or even a good one for that matter. There are a couple instances where his acting in this movie wasn't that great, but for the most part it was alright.

Now I'm going to get into why I liked this movie. I liked how it felt different from the standard M. Night Shymalan fare. Well, that's probably because they tried to hide that it was a Shymalan film during the marketing of this film which didn't work, but still. It was an entertaining sci-fi adventure that did keep me interested from start to finish. I also liked Will Smith's character here even though it's not much of a stretch from his other roles. Also the stunning twist of this movie is that there is no stunning twist which is a good thing considering how uninspired M. Night Shymalan's twist endings had gotten after Unbreakable.

So in conclusion: I am in no way praising this as a great movie or anything, but I do think it is better than it's been given credit for and it's a huge step up from The Last Airbender.

July 31



"Wesley, I'm gonna slap the black off you."

I was in a blaxploitation mood today, so I decided to end the month with a blaxploitation double feature. This was a very cheesy, but also really fun movie. Jim Kelly's character was cool, had some fun fight scenes and it was pretty funny at times. Overall it was a very solid movie and it's worth checking out if you like blaxploitation films.

July 31



"Why didn't you kill me too? Well go on and shoot! I don't want to live anymore!"
"I know. That's the idea. The rest of your man is still around, and I hope you two live a long time, then maybe you can feel some of what I feel. Death is too easy for you, bitch. I want you to SUFFER."

This was a pretty good movie to end the blaxploitation double feature on and a good movie to end the month overall. While it's not quite as good as Coffy and it feels a little slow at times, it's still a very fun movie. Despite it not being a direct sequel to Coffy, it still feels like one and I enjoyed this movie for the same reasons I enjoyed Coffy. It had some fun action scenes, cheesy one-liners and had some inventive ideas just like the first movie. I really enjoyed this one and I'd probably watch this one again along with Coffy some time in the future.