Mona Lisa (1986). Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine. A nifty neo-noir from the period when Hoskins was hot. Even knowing how it winds up it still feels satisfying. B+
Watched The Equalizer (Denzel Washington). Kind of a mess. Might as well think of it a super-hero movie given McCall’s shape-shifting antics. A fantasy rather than a serious hope for a justice warrior like Dirty Harry. Amusingly the arch villain was named Pushkin. Made us think Putin.
Dr. Strange - Multiverse of Madness - 3/10 I really enjoyed the first movie. In this film, the wheels fell off. It starts off so poorly, so hackneyed. I watched the whole thing for the spectacle of the visuals (I was watching in 3D). It's a bit better when I don't think about the ridiculous conveniences and plot holes. It ends very flatly as a story. The 3 points is for some of the visual inventiveness in 3D. The visuals probably don't make as much sense in 2D.
Witness For The Prosecution 8/10. Lost half a point with the last scene finale. Just a tad too clever. Still, an imminently watchable drama with outstanding performances by all involved.
Streets of Fire (1984) A re-watch. Is it one of the greatest movies every made? Probably not. Is it one of my favourites? Hell, yeah! 9/10
Nowhere Fast always pops into my head when I see the title of this film. Anybody know if that’s the main title music or does it open with something else?
I watched Parallel (currently on PrimeVideo) Interesting concept but it gets a bit confused the longer it goes on. Still, enjoyable. It caught my attention because some actors I lust..err...like, are in it.
The Shack 8/10 Earnest and sincere. Niche type of drama but if you like things like the premise of this movie, we found it to be moving and entertaining. On the same day we watched The Tender Bar. I'd also rate it 8/10. Better than what I expected and was glad we had watched it. The acting was good (and loved the old cars and 70's soundtrack music).
Women Talking (2022) Profoundly engaging and moving story of a group of Mennonite women who have suffered extreme physical and sexual abuse from the men in their colony. Outstanding performances by everyone in the cast, but especially by Rooney Mara, Ben Whishaw, Jessie Buckley, and Claire Foy. This is definitely my favorite movie of 2022. 10/10
Narvik. A small WWII (circa) 1940 Norwegian flick. Well done, chronicles the personal lives of the citizens amidst the battle for Narvik (Hitler's first loss). 6.5/10
Ricochet: 4/10 Mildly entertaining revenge flick that was too cheesy and cliched. Denzel Washington was great (as usual). But John Lithgow's (typical) overacting almost ruined the whole movie for me. He was terribly miscast as the tough-guy villain. Ice T, who played a drug dealin' thug with a heart of gold, should've been the main villain guy instead. Supposedly it's in the "Die Hard universe," but all I noticed was that it included the same annoying, overbearing female reporter (and, oddly, John Amos played an entirely different character).