12 Rounds 3 Lockdown

This is not bad. Maybe I am being generous but I enjoyed it. WWE star Dean Ambrose stars as a cop returning to duty after he got shot and his rookie parter died. However there are corrupt cops in his precinct and he has evidence against them.

The movie turns into a c level Diehard ripoff. The corrupt cops put the station house and try to get Ambrose and destroy the evidence. Ambrose is not bad and there are a few nice fights and one surprise stunt.

This is called 12 Rounds 3 because of the name value of the series. The films have nothing to do with each other and each one has a different lead actor. That is a series in name only.

Do the makers of Diehard get a cut from any profits from these Diehard rip-offs? If they did, I guess they’d never to work again.

I might never need to see this again but I don’t regret seeing it.

 

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Movie thoughts 2-4-2017

Logan opens in March. Previews have looked good. It looks grim but it still looks good. I hope it will be good. The use of Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt was a good choice for the trailer.

I skipped xXx the return of Xander Cage. I didn’t feel that interested. I barely remember seeing either of the two previous films in the series. Also I heard Donnie Yen was the best part of the film, so I figured that I could wait to see him in another film.

John Wick 2 comes out next weekend. Maybe it will be good. Or maybe it will be not good. Maybe one adventure of John Wick is all we needed. I will find out soon I guess.

Do we need a solo Han Solo movie? Maybe it would be nice to explore another time period in the universe. Also maybe all new characters could be fun. There seems to be more to explore in the universe.

Movie thoughts 1-21-2017

There is news that James Cameron is planning on rebooting the Terminator in 2019. I am bit unsure what to think about this. Only one of the last three Terminator movies was good and even that one might not be worth re-watching. I guess a full out reboot might work. Deadpool director Tim Miller is reportedly going to direct, that is a plus.

There is news that Dwayne Johnson will get a solo film as Black Adam. I am still not sure if he is the right guy to be Black Adam. Black Adam is a villain or at least an anti-hero and I don’t know if Johnson will be good as an antihero. More thoughts on this as news develops.

Monster Trucks got some good reviews. This is the movie that the studio apparently took a tax write off on. Maybe it will be fun.  It looks kind of fun.

 

 

 

Zoolander 2

This was bad. I heard it was really bad and it is pretty bad. I wonder how many worst films of the year lists it will be on. Oh well, at least it was under 2 hours. If that is one of the best things you can say about a movie, that is not good. I watched this movie on a streaming service if I had gone to see it in a theater, I would have walked out.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson return as dim male models Derek Zoolander and Hansel. It has been years since a tragic accident that killed Derek’s wife and hurt Hansel. Now they’re back investigating a series of murders and Derek is trying to get his son back. Apparently the murder victims were doing one of Zoolander’s poses before they died.

Wow, this film is not funny at all. Kristin Wiig speaking in a terrible accident and manageling words is not funny and it doesn’t get funnier the more it is repeated. (And it is repeated each time she appears.) Will Ferrel is not funny as the fashion designer turned bad guy, at least not in this film. Stiller and Wilson’s characters aren’t funny either.

I can see what the filmmakers were going for but it didn’t work. Perhaps this never should have been made. Maybe these characters didn’t need another movie.

The Lord of the Rings:the Return of the King re-watched

Okay, this movie is long. The credits are nearly ten minutes. However the ending always gets to me. Or perhaps the endings get to me (the movie has a few points that seem like good endings).

The quest ends. The final battles are fought. Choices are made and some people die. Evil is defeated. The world is saved.

Okay that last paragraph was a bit glib. In this movie, Frodo continues his quest to destroy the one ring and the rest of the fellowship tries to fight off the evil lord Sauron  and his hordes.  At times things seem hopeless.

This was a good end to the series. The performances are good, as always, and even some of the minor characters are likeable and interesting.  Seeing the four Hobbits re-united at the end was nice.

Yes, this triology is better, much better, than the later Hobbit series. I liked the Hobbit movies but that series was bloated and should have been two movies, not three. (I don’t think I will re-watch the Hobbit series again for a while, if ever.)

This film, and the whole series, benefits from the musical score composed by Howard Shore. The score for this film is reallly good, maybe even a classic.  He returned for the Hobbit series and did a good job in that series too.

Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers re-watched

I’ve re-watched Lord of the Rings the Two Towers and have a few thoughts. One thought is the movie holds up. Another thought is that the Hobbit films aren’t as good as the Lord of the Rings series. (I don’t hate the Hobbit films but I think maybe they could have been better as two films, not three.)

Viggo Mortensen could have done more major films after this trilogy. I am not sure why he didn’t.  I think he done some smaller films. It is hard to believe that he was a last minute replacement for another actor.

I like the battle of helmsdeep. It is epic but doesn’t go on too long. The characters don’t seem overwhelmed or lost in the scope of the battle. I think it might be better than the later large scale battle in the Hobbit the Battle of the Five Armies.

I think the cast was really good.  Maybe there is so much spectacle and special effects that the main cast might get a bit overlooked at times. Elijah Wood is very good as Frodo, the hobbit who must destroy the one ring and Sean Austin provides solid support as Sam.

Catalyst a Rogue One story

I liked Rogue One but didn’t love it. I am currently listening to the audio book of Catalyst a Rogue One story.  It is by James Luceno and performed by Jonathan Davis.  Both are veterans of previous Star Wars audio books.

It It is set towards the end of the clone wars and involves the building of the Death Star. So far it has the parents of the female hero from Rogue One trying to stay out of the war. One of the villains from Rogue One is making his way up the ranks. That is kind of interesting.

I am enjoying it. Davis is giving a good voice performance and the story so far is pretty interesting.  I think I’ve listen a few audiobooks by Luceno over the years. He is pretty good.

I am glad I bought it. I don’t think you need to read this book or listen to the audio book to enjoy the movie but it might enhance your enjoyment of the movie.