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mickdansforth
Reviews
The Marvels (2023)
SO MUCH HEART!!!!
I saw The Marvels at my local Regal theater.
On a scale of One to Five Stars I give THE MARVELS 1000 Stars!!!
I was constantly cheering and excitedly stomping my legs during this movie.
My heart grew 1000 sizes while watching this.
I love these characters and I loved them together.
Ms. Marvel is absolutely the heart of the film, but Monica Rambeau and Carol Danvers were also great. I spent the whole movie wishing we had lots more of both of these characters in the MCU.
The Kahn family were also great. Funny for sure, but also supportive. And helpful. And Goose the cat was also a delight.
And all of the future teases...
This was all of the fun and more.
I probably have to see this again tomorrow after work!
Taz: Quest for Burger (2023)
Different, but AWESOME!!!
This is one of the Tough Guy vs Kid movies like Kindergarten Cop, with Taz as the tough guy. Taz and Quinn bicker as they go on their journey together. There's also a hilarious Crocodile character.
Instead of taking a very Looney Tunes concept and stretching it to feature length, like many movies featuring SNL alumnus, (Wayne's World, Night at the Roxbury, Austin Powers), this is a movie first, that is sprinkled with Looney Tunes stuff.
It takes a while for Taz to find his mojo and do his whirlwind spin. There's also a bit where a character spouts a couple Looney Tunes catch phrases.
Taz merch blew up in the late 80s/early 90s and so Taz was given his own TV show, that feels a lot like other 90s TV shows. Taz was given a bunch of supporting characters, including two parents and siblings. None of them show up in this movie. Taz is mentioned to have parents, but he's estranged from them as they left. (But there's never really been canon with Looney Tunes.)
This movies is awesome and heartwarming. It's farther away from standard Looney Tunes than King Tweety, but I liked it more than King Tweety, which I also liked.
The Deep (2015)
The Deep Season 4 Review
Season 3 of The Deep was huge. It was all about the search for Lemuria, and had a multi-episode ending.
So I really expected the search for Will's missing parents to be even more epic, and possibly involve other dimensions and/or time travel.
In the first episode of the entire series, Will says, "I just wish my parents were still here to see this.", implying that they've been long dead.
But Season 4 ends up being a lot like season 2. Filled with regular episodes. We get episodes featuring the pirates of the Dark Orca, Dolos, Devil Daniels. We meet a new scientist friend. We see some new Monumentials. And we get clues that push the search for Will's parents throughout the season.
It's a great season that stays true to the previous seasons. But the ending does imply that if we are lucky enough to get a 5th season, that the search of season 5 could be on par with season 3.
Brooklyn 45 (2023)
Quite Impressive
This Shudder Original from director Ted Geoghegan takes place in one room.
4 WWII veterans and a spouse gather for a séance. Things go off the rails.
Most of this movie is talking/yelling, with truths revealed over the night. But there is some well done spookiness.
This year's The Sixth Secret is also a movie that takes place in one room. And while in the Sixth Secret you can feel the filmmakers stretching to fill the "feature length" run time, not a moment is wasted in Brooklyn 45.
The whole movie is deliciously tense, and it all very much works.
My one errant thought during the early part of the movie is that these are 4 WWII war veterans who got home from the war in the same year the movie happens. But they're all in their 50s and 60s. But it turns out that they're all Major and above in rank, so not youngsters. Like Colonel Potter and his best friends, age-wise.
This movie really worked for me.
Pillow Party Massacre (2023)
This Portland Slasher Does The Things
I bought Pillow Party Massacre on Prime Video.
Along with Jim Wynorski's Murderbot, Calvin Morie McCarthy's Pillow Party Massacre has been a film I have been following the progress of on FB since last year. And have been looking forward to.
This slasher movie does the things. The girls are attractive and scantily clad. The kills are gory and interesting. And there's a mystery about who the killer is, that is held back until the end. And that reveal works.
There's a musical reference to a band that I was obsessed with for a bit in the 80s but haven't heard anyone mention since the 90s, if then.
This movie really works for me.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
So much AWESOME!!!!
THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!
The movie does a great job of condensing two 6+ hour video games down to 140 minutes.
This is the movie I have been waiting decades for.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Milla Jovovich/Paul W. S. Anderson series of Resident Evil movies. (Except 5. It has no sympathetic characters.)
But Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is the dream come true.
I REALLY hope they make sequels to this.
I'd also love to see adaptations of the S. D. Perry books Caliban Cove and Underworld!
This movie makes me soooooooooo Happy!!!
The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997)
A Good Old Time
I bought and watched this on Prime Video.
Prime Video has Reunion (1997) and Vudu has Hazzard In Hollywood (2000), each are $10.
They managed to make most of this feel like the original show, just with older people.
The adventure part of the story more or less works.
Emily Proctor (West Wing, CSI Miami) plays a mechanic in this.
Action/Fight star Cynthia Rothrock is a fighter in this and also best friends with Daisy Duke.
This was a good time.
Celebrity Family Feud: Deon Cole vs. Tisha Campbell and Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes vs. Justin Long (2021)
Kevin Smith vs Justin Long !!!!
At the time of this writing, this episode is currently available on Hulu.
I'm a Kevin Smith/Marc Bernardin fan and have been watching their podcast Fatman Beyond/Fatman on Batman for years.
It was great to see Kevin, Marc, Jason Mewes, Ralph Garman and Jennifer on a TV show.
I have feelings/jokes I want to make about their appearance, but such thoughts would obviously contain spoilers/hints.
But the third Answer of the first person in the final showdown thing is absolutely hilarious. And if you are a fan of this team, you will know which answer when it you see it.
This was a good time.
A Kid Called Mayonnaise (2017)
Super Fun and Quirky
It was part of 2017's Amazon Pilot Season with Skyward and Will vs The Future.
After being gone for years, currently Mayo and Will vs The Future are back on Prime Video. I rewatched and loved this show again.
This is an extremely quirky show that revels in being weird.
Brooke Markham is really great in this. She's also in the CW's In The Dark. (I enjoyed the first season but haven't been back.)
This would have been an amazing show had Amazon took it to series.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1993)
Irwin Allen-style fun in failed pilot
This originally aired on NBC around the same time as the first Babylon 5 pilot movie, early 1993.
Both were pilots that hopefully would land series, but only Babylon 5 got a series.
NBC was aiming at Star Trek underground. That fall they launched Star Trek underwater instead with SeaQuest.
They built a semi-diverse team. Built in some lore and a lot of mystery. The creature effects are practical and fun. The ship/tank thing looks like it was designed by Toho. There's a lot here and it's all great fun.
And the beginning of the film we get F Murray Abraham doing his best Daniel Jackson a year before Stargate and 8 years before Milo in Atlantis The Lost Continent.
Also Sam Rami (Spider-Man, The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness) has a tiny role as he travels with Abraham in his first drill-ship.
There's plenty of movies that are relatively faithful to the Jules Verne book, most or all of which are fun. This was supposed to be a TV show, aboard a subterranean ship with a crew. It was never trying to be anything else.
I watched this when it first aired and loved it. Now decades later I rewatched it on Prime Video and loved it all over again. Currently it's just free w/ subscription. Hopefully it gets a purchase option because I would love to purchase it so I can watch it again after it's no longer free w/ subscription.
If you are down for adventure fun with rubber monsters, this is a good time. But also a little sad because there is no more.
Between Worlds (2018)
Weird movie that's probably worth seeing
Between Worlds (2018) on Netflix - The Nicolas Cage movie that dares to ask the question, "Is it wrong to have sex with your wife who has possessed the probably legal-aged daughter of your new girlfriend?"
The answer is yes. Yes it is wrong.
The Wonder Years: Pilot (2021)
Impressive!
I really wasn't planning on watching the new show, as I only watched the original show because of a lack of options at the time.
But I am a big fan of Dulé Hill from The West Wing and Psych. He also made HBO Max's Locked Down more watchable.
So as I was waiting for the new episode of Only Murders In The Building To Drop, I decided to try the new Wonder Years.
First, Hill isn't playing the same curmudgeon that Dan Lauria (Sullivan & Son) played. He's a musician who says, "Be Cool." And that montage absolutely works.
The kids stuff is a lot like the original Wonder Years or Everybody Hates Chris.
And then there's everything about the civil rights issues of that era and how they reverberate in our current era of out racists in powerful positions of influence.
The show is quite impressive.
And it's obvious why racists would hate the show. The people who are trying to ban the teaching of history in school. I'm sure this sticks in their craw, but they claim it's because it's a reboot.
The Pursuit of Happiness (1995)
Okay
I found episodes 1 and 5, as well as some promos on YouTube.
This is Brad Garrett's first series regular gig. He did a ton of voice work and a few guest star roles before this. After this was Raymond and then several really enjoyable sitcoms. If you track the trajectory from Raymond to Single Parents, you can guess where his performance is in this.
Melinda McGraw is really great in this. She's the wife of the lead and gets to do some interesting things.
Meredith Scott Lynn nails her part well. Very biting.
Larry Miller is doing a very Larry Miller part, but more oblivious than usual. Some of it works.
Tom Amandes, fresh off The Untouchables, is very unlikable. He's supposed to be playing the honest lawyer, and the straitman to both Miller and Garrett, but the less he is in the show, the better it is.
The first episode focuses on Steve Rutledge, played by Tom Amandes, and it's about the creator's thesis of the show being about the pursuit of happiness and how difficult it is to achieve. Or something. Each scene is a different birthday for someone so it takes place over the course of about a year. And Steve has a mustache for one of these scenes.
The first episode is an ill conceived mess.
The fifth episode hits some common sitcom tropes. Guest star Steven Weber, from sister-show Wings, in the same NBC comedy block, plays an Italian man with a thick accent that both Garrett and Lynn want to bang, but he find's make's a date w/ McGraw, who is married to Amandes. It's all been done better elsewhere, but it is enjoyable here.
The incredible Carole Davis guest stars as Weber's wife, but the director or DP obviously hated her because someone is always in her light and she never gets any closeups.
The show would have been better with someone else in the lead.
Of interest: Brad Garrett's character comes out as gay in the first episode. He is one of 3 second leads. This was a year and a half before Ellen came out on Ellen. (April 14, 1997)
It's possible hate groups helped the demise of the show, but I'm guessing few people who tuned in for the first episode returned to watch more.
Apparently only 7 episodes were made.
The show is not great, but if all 7 episodes were available on Prime Video for $5-$10, I'd easily buy it.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)
YES! YES! YES!
This was everything I hoped it would be and more. The story, the action, the character designs, the toys and characters they packed in.
Very very cool. I can't wait for the back half of episodes and I hope Kevin Smith and his team get a second bite at the apple to tell another 10 episode (or more) story.
As a kid I was Star Wars/G. I. Joe not He-Man/Transformers, but I saw plenty of episodes because there wasn't tons of options back then. I saw the end of episode 38 of the 200X series and was super impressed with how very metal Evil Lynn's black magic was, but then Cartoon Network didn't air another episode while I had that DVR. I bought that series on DVD and eventually watched and loved it. In recent years I have watched ton and tons of YouTube videos from Pixel Dan and Spector Creative on the toys and the lore of MOTU. I watched and loved the Netflix She-Ra show and recently bought and loved all of the Ladybird (UK) MOTU/She-Ra books.
If you are deep in the lore of MOTU, this series is for you. The MOTU Classics line of action figures took various concept versions of He-Man and made them their own characters, and those characters show up in the show. So do some fan-favorite original line action figures that came too late to make the Filmation series. As do Skeletor's very cool minions from the Ladybird books.
I could not possibly be happier with this show.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Absolutely All Of The Fun!!!
I watched this on HBO Max.
I had very high hopes/expectations for this movie and it cleared them by a mile.
Godzilla KOTM and Kong Skull Island were easily my most favorite Godzilla movies ever. This is easily my new favorite.
The Monster stuff/fights were AWESOME!
The new lore in this movie was beyond fascinating.
And I really loved all of the new human hero characters. Though as soon as we got Brian Tyree Henry (Superintelligence), we weren't allowed to have Chris Chalk (Gary Cooper from The Newsroom) any more.
This was all of the fun and more!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Times (2019)
Bloody Fun!
Purchased and watched on Prime Video. It's not available on Vudu or Fandango..
If I understand correctly, this is an Israeli film about a family of Israeli-Americans living in Los Angeles. The language is mostly Hebrew w/ a smattering of English.
This is a lot like All Of My Friends Are Dead (Netflix) except instead of young 20-somethings, the people at this holiday dinner party are in their 30's and 40's. And this one is far more linear.
Once things go off the rails, everything continues to escalate.
This was a good time.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
YES! YES! YES! Now give us an animated spinoff series!
WOW!
That was totally worth the $30 3-month rental. Especially if it gets us Black Widow Premier Access.
The adventure, the characters, and millions of cool things about this world make this movie a complete winner.
I hope we get a Disney Afternoon type spinoff series based on this movie.
Ji xian feng (2020)
A Chinese GI JOE film! Giant Piles of Fun!!!
This is basically a Chinese GI Joe film.
The movie is filled with globe trotting action and really cool gadgets.
Jackie Chan is more or less General Hawk. In the action the whole way through, but not the one tasked with the most outrageous fight bits.
There's outtakes in the end credits, as per usual, (which features a song sung by Jackie Chan), and one of the outtakes has Jackie Chan in the drink as his jetski capsizes.
What we learned from Bela Lugosi in Bride of the Monster and Boris Karloff in The Terror, is don't get the old guys wet. The water is cold and they never recover.
This is a Chinese movie, so after getting through the censors, all the sharp edges have been sanded off, so there's not a lot in this movie to offend anyone.
The version I watched on Prime Video was mostly in Chinese w/ English subtitles, though the bad guys often spoke English.
The movie is a little cheesy in spots, here and there, but I had a great time watching it.
Moxie (2021)
ALL OF THE AWESOME!!!!
I watched this Netflix Original on Netflix.
Man that was just giant piles of AWESOME!!!
My eyes were leaking the whole time.
It's cool seeing Anjelika Washington (Stargirl) playing someone louder.
There's a 30% chance that the pic of Amy Poehler w/ Bikini Kill in the memory box wasn't created for the movie in photoshop.
I really really liked this movie!!!
Wszyscy moi przyjaciele nie zyja (2020)
Giant Piles of Fun (Watch the Sub not the Dub)
The sub is better than the dub. The writing choices made in the English dub are very broad and on-the-nose. Watch w/ the Polish Audio and English Subtitles.
The movie starts with two detectives and a forensic team surveying the crime scene, showing us all of the very distinctive dead bodies. Then we flashback to the party where the host introduces everyone to a new couple. And then over the course of the movie we find out out how everyone ended up where the ended up.
It's really interesting.
All of the personal drama that gets everyone there is really interesting.
I also REALLY like the ending of the movie.
This movie is a good time and I'm very impressed.
Tenet (2020)
Fun Spy Action Movie
The definitive way to enjoy Tenet is at home (on a biggish TV) w/ the subtitles on, broken up into 2 parts, w/ at least a day in between. The 2nd half has more action/answers, so you will have a good time and forget how bored/confused you were in the 1st half.
Tian · Huo (2019)
Jurassic Park, but with a Killer Volcano
The opening action sequence is exhilarating. I was pumped.
This movie is very much Jurassic Park, but with a killer Volcano instead. Including the Monorail drama of the Netflix Jurassic World cartoon.
Jason Issacs is basically the Mayor in Jaws.
At the core of the movie is the story of a heroic geologist working out her issues with her geologist father.
We get the majestic before scenes showing the hubris of Issacs and his team. Then the eruption begins.
Plenty of characters make dumb choices, which heightens the action and the stakes.
The action and effects are really great! I was onboard with this movie at every point in the journey.
To the left of the end credits we get a music video showing some Chinese band dressed in black like some 00's alternaband intercut with Behind The Scenes footage showing us how many of the scenes were shot.
This is a really good time.
Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
SO MUCH FUN!!!
I REALLY EXTRA SUPER LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!!!!
It was everything I could hope for.
The action and story are great.
There's a bit of Looney Tunes physics. But I feel that it explained by the presence of the gremlin, if not the sting of the gremlin.
Beulah Koale (Hawaii 5-O) plays the Co-Pilot.
This was a really really really good time!
This is my first 2021 film and I think it could go all the way for being Top 5 for 2021.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
Super 70s Kung Fu Justice league type fun
Batman, Richard Dragon, Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger join forces in a very 70's adventure.
Bruce Wayne lives downtown instead of out at Wayne Manor, like in the 70's comics.
Richard Dragon is more or less the main character.
There's parts that feel familiar to Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow, Daredevil vs The Hand, TMNT, and others. There's also some bad guys who I think GI Joe or MOTU made action figures of.
If you have seen and liked the trailer, you will enjoy this movie.
This movie is a good time.
Grizzly II: The Predator (2020)
I left the film very Happy!
This was filmed in 1983, but part way through production, someone absconded with the dough and the film had to shut down. So what was left was restructured and stuffed with nature footage and other filler.
Not a lot of the film makes sense.
George Clooney, Laura Dern and Charlie Sheen are campers who get killed at the beginning of the movie. But Laura Dern does do a bit of a strip tease down to her skivvies before jumping in a sleeping bag with George Clooney.
Louise Fletcher (Vedek Winn from DS9) is a politician turned rock concert promoter. She's basically the Mayor in Jaws.
John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones, TLOTR, The Untouchables, Sliders) plays Bouchard, a skilled and wise hunter.
This is 12 kinds of silly, but some real skill went into fixing this movie. Some jeep footage was run at 2x speed because it was important to keep the ending moving and not slow it down.
I left the movie very happy with it.
I think it's important that these lost films see the light of day.