Change Your Image
kupcr
Reviews
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Rear Window For COVID
I'm definitely an Amy Adams fan, but it was her movie 'Leap Year' that solidified that and also 'The Arrival', but watching her in this movie, well she's a great actress and the plot of this movie is regarding a woman psychologist named Dr. Anna Fox, played excellently by Adams, who has a breakdown and she doesn't leave her house for almost a year, as she cocoons herself with classic films, food delivery and a steady diet of prescription drugs and red wine. She the witnesses a murder and the movie moves on from there. I love the extreme 'Amy/Anna' close-ups of her face in the foreground. I would suspect that the mixture of substances and isolation makes Anna's perspective unreliable from the start, which means the title cards indicating days of the week are useful only to the audience. Then again, who among us hasn't felt like time is a flat circle over the past year or so? I would watch this movie again. There is a part in the film Dr. Fox remembers a car accident and since part of the movie is in apartment, so is the car. Interesting scene.
Escape Room (2019)
Saw Meets Zoey
Taylor Russell was quite an actress in this film, playing Zoey Davis, an inquisitive university student who finds her courage in participating in an interesting concept, the Escape Room. It's easy to rethink whether you wish to participate in an Escape Room, but basically it has a sort of a "Saw" feeling to it, which is tantamount to an adrenaline rush you get from both, except as you watch each character connect with each other in the Escape Room, you allow yourself to immerse in each excellent dialog, who they are and eventually the plot. If you haven't seen this movie, it's not THAT great a plot, but don't get me wrong, I'm paying attention to the several plot twists and turns and honestly, if I was stuck in these rooms with twists and turns to solve overall puzzles, it would be a fight to live in spite of how the rooms are designed to kill all of the players at one stage or the next. Also, the other actors in this movie are less well-known, except Molly Parker, who I've seen in other movies and basically she has no emotional depth in her acting, not like the other players like Jason Walker (Jay Ellis - Insecure) is among the other players in the room with her that is the complete opposite of Zoey, cut throat and unapologetically consumed with survival.... I give this a 7/10.
The Age of Adaline (2015)
A Lively Movie
I found this film very clever, the plot surrounding the story of a young woman named Adaline Bowman, played by actress Blake Lively, who was born on New Year's Day in San Francisco in the year 1908 and after a certain accident in a thunder storm, loses the ability to age, so Adaline remains in her late 20s, even as the world advances around her. It actually causes problems for her, as she can't get too attached to her lovers, friends and has to change her name and identity every ten years. One day, an ex-classmate, now a lot older, recognized her and freaked out and sometime in the late 1950s, the FBI started to hound her because they think she's a spy, but over many decades of remaining young, she keeps albums filled with photos of pet pooches that have died; her daughter, played by Ellen Burstyn, grows up to become an old woman. The good news for Adeline, is she can't die and she'll always be harrowingly beautiful, except the day her past gets caught up with her. I love the forest scenes and how the director's were able to re-create a 60s scene and how they found an actor that looks like a young Harrison Ford to play her boyfriend William. I appreciate the library scenes and the dialog was great. This is the second time watching the movie.
Agent of Deceit (2019)
"Who's Stalking Me?" WAS THE TV Title
I couldn't locate this movie at all on IMDB until I realized it's under its actual title "Agent Of Deceipt". I remember watching this before as soon as I watched actress Chelsea Ricketts walk across the kitchen floor and WOW, she looked awesome! Now, I LIKED actor Michael Welch as Detective Dawson and remember him in an episode of Stargate: SG1 as a young Colonel Jack O'Neill in the season 3 episode "Fragile Balance" as a cloned Jack O'Neill. He's quite a versatile actor, but also in an episode of "LAW &Order: SVU". Regarding this movie, most of the reviewers here didn't really like this movie, but it was typical of a 'stalker' movie and the ending was quite a twist. I won't give it away, but What an ending. I suggest that you cast all your doubt aside and just watch for that explosive ending.
Passenger 57 (1992)
Considerably One of my Favourite Wesley Snipes next to 'Murder AT 1600",
This is the only movie I consider the casting of actor Snipes as the main character John Cutter was a great move. In this film, he plays one of the world's top men in the field of anti-terrorism strains credibility with his street charisma, this action-thriller soon makes it clear that John Cutter is a hands-on security consultant and martial arts expert. He unwittingly shares a flight with a handcuffed hijack specialist Charles Rane played by Bruce Payne. I don't want to give this movie away, but this movie is essentially "Die Hard" on a plane. Actor Snipes certainly magnetic and an athletic action hero, while Payne is a brilliantly disconcerting madman. You may consider insane Rane, with his blond Jesus locks and armour-piercing stare, a casual sadist as he makes Hannibal Lecter look like a social worker - and like Sir Anthony Hopkins' serial killer, part of the man's menace is in the apparent contradiction between his articulate, well-spoken English and his off-hand brutality. I give this movie an 8
Non-Stop (2014)
Watch Something Else !
I watched this film during a down-time and couldn't really get into it. I found it boring and uninteresting, but the premise of this 2014 film follows a Federal Air Marshall named Bill Marks, marvellously played by Liam Neeson, who must locate a killer on his international flight after he receives texts that say someone on board will be killed every 20 minutes until financial demands are met. It seems a little far fetched, especially all the security you have to go through in an airport. Liam Neeson's character elevates, what I think is forgettable material, as this film doesn't hurt that Julianne Moore's in the cast, too, playing a gal named Jen Summers, so it really feels like putting those two amazing actors together are just slumming it. If you watch carefully, these characters give the movie their all, as everyone pales in comparison. It's so maddening, that the film does an extreme job at heightening the tension. I feel that this plane is hurtling NON-STOP at an enormous pace, but barely makes it to the gate with momentum intact. Did I like this film? Not really and apart from Moore and Neeson working together, it sucked, actually, so sucked that Neeson has been quoted recently that he has retired from making action movies, which means we won't get a promised 'Taken 4'. Sooo sad.
Family Vanished (2018)
Never Trust A Man Holding Two Guns
This movie had a bad script. Wish the screenwriter Mark Sanderson gave me this script. I definitely would have tore it apart and made it better because this movie was terribly orchestrated and bad dialog, especially scenes when the vacationers arrive back from their vacation and already discover a family have broken in and taken over their house and 'stuff'. The actors are really great, but It could've been better. Also, the neighbour that followed the criminals into desert with the family blindfolded in the back of the van, got himself killed because he witnessed the whole charade. Not to give this away, but near the end, while there was a nine millimetre with a silencer on the bar, they still decided to beat them with baseball bats. This movie was rushed and not very well done. If this was actually real life, the family taken hostage would already have been killed and disappeared never found again and the ones who took the family hostage would have been already on their way spending the $350000 cash they stole from them.
Bad Samaritan (2018)
Tenth Doctor Becomes Psychopath
'Bad Samaritan' is not too bad of a Tennant film or should I say the Tenth Doctor has gone murderous! I like writer Brandon Boyce's idea behind this thriller and also kudos to Director Dean Devlin who previously was a screenwriter for Independence Day, has remarkably made this film the thriller it is. I loved the protagonist character Sean Falco marvellously played by Robert Sheehan and although the plot has been done before in some respects, it works well enough thanks to Sheehan's relatable, believable, flawed hero and absolutely think Tennant's terrifying character, psychopath Cale Erendreich, was well-done! David is such a talented actor, that's why he was my favourite Doctor on 'Dr. Who'. So good! The writer created this realistic situation and the scenes and relationships do feel a little genuine, despite the fact that Sean Falco's career as a photographer and a burglar, was in his panicked hesitation to help a person in jeopardy, so he earns our trust with his feverish attempts to rescue someone in need, but Tennant's performance is reminiscent of his work on Jessica Jones as the nasty Kilgrave, as he brings a disconcerting level of class, education, and breeding to the vicious Erendreich. He just makes your skin crawl, but he can play a psychopath really well. Being a Dr. Who fan, this movie is excellent!
The Matrix (1999)
What Is The Matrix?
'Matrix' is a 1999 film by the brothers (now sisters) Wachowskis, and about a character that's a computer programmer named Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), but he's also has an alias named "Neo", who's a computer hacker and in the story, an elusive figure named Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) who's the most dangerous man alive, is the only one that can answer Neo's question "What is the Matrix?" And when he is contacted by Trinity, marvellously played by Carrie Anne Moss, leads him into an underworld where it is revealed to him about the world he lives in. The CGI at the time was pretty awesome and you'll notice this in the fight throughout the movie between Agent Smith, played incredibly by Hugo Weaving and the character Neo. The ending fight scene was AWESOME! The scenes are unbelievable, as well. Also, the locations and the similar DiCaprio "Inception" type infusion and the way each character moves, is pure gold. Love the idea of how far A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) could go to make human citizens second class. The idea that computer viruses could be human isn't far fetched. The idea to transform the final film footage with LUTS, a conduit or code to transform colour (RGB) input values from the film to different colour (RGB) output values to give your final footage a different look or feel, like a greenish tinge which is prevalent throughout the film, gives 'Matrix' a mysterious feel and emotion to the film. I will give this film an 8 for cleverness
Fantastic Four (2015)
The Second Time Is Worse Than The First
I decided to watch this 2015 remake of the first bad 2005 Jessica Alba Marvel film 'Fantastic Four' and although it was interesting at the beginning, whoever scripted this really didn't get it right either. I liked Kate Mara as Susan Storm as she is a much stronger character actress than Jessica Alba who's a really awful actress. I prefer Mara. Also, actor Reg Cathey and Tim Blake Nelson, who plays Mole Man, are great! Overall, the adventure and the plot were ok, but many of the scenes didn't make sense and their friend Victor who fell into a lava type substance on the planet in the beginning of the movie, survived to become Dr. Doom, as it wasn't really explained. The 'Dr. Strange' type thing that he did to planet earth was pretty cool, but there was no rhyme or reason why he became evil and why he wanted to destroy earth wasn't known. The ending regarding the new research laboratory is where they came up with their name and apparently the new facility the F4 will be working from is not on any 'government books'. To tell you the truth, it was an enjoyable film, but Rotten Tomatoes gave this a 37%, but I think a 5/10 is a good rating. Some Marvel films are terrible, but why remake the Alba Fantastic 4, only to make it worse than the first?
Men in Black (1997)
I Want To Believe
I'm not so sure, as this movie is laughable, but doesn't negate the fact that in real life, there are actual men wearing black suits that appear during UFO sightings and landings, but they're not anything like Rip Torn, Wil Smith or Tommy Lee Jones. 'Men In Black' is, I think, more of a comedy than actually grounded in reality. It's a fun movie to watch, I admit. Love the types of aliens shown and the tech that MIB possess. BRING IT ON! I want the 'amnesia' device. I'd use it on myself. LOL! The best scene of this movie is the autopsy scene on an alien. That's more believable. I believe the scriptwriters wrote this screenplay and make it more comical than serious. I like Rip Torn's character X, but Tommy Lee Jones looks is more like an actual man in black and if there was any UFO activity in my area, his MIB would be the one I'd want to show up at my door. He's more believable. Seriously, Jones as the character K is perfect for the part, but Wil Smith as J? Not so much! I've watched this movie maybe 3 times and Jones is a much stronger character than Smith and the 'I Am Legend' actor doesn't belong in this movie, but that's just me. In the beginning, Smith plays an NYPD cop named James Daryl Edwards III who is chasing a criminal. Eventually, he is recruited by the MIB to take care of alien criminals who live on earth. The MIB strip Smith's character of his name and identity and is now known as J! Many of the shapes and sizes of the aliens shown in this movie are hilarious, including a 20 foot tall gigantic alien cockroach who resembles one of the bugs in a sequel to 'A Bug's Life' because that's what he looked like, but if there were actual aliens living on earth, they'd look more like humans, than large bugs or alien creatures with extra heads or tails. I mean, seriously? I think the TV series FRINGE's version of Men In Black looked more real than the characters in this movie and what they're all about and more grounded in truth. Even the X-Files may be more grounded in reality than this movie. I was a little surprised, though, that Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie a 92%, so I can't compete with that. I will, however, rate this an 8 to satisfy you!
Unhinged (2020)
Over The Top Action Pact
'Unhinged' was definitely one of my favourite Russel Crowe action films thus far, filled with 'edge of your seat' suspense, action-pact car chases between 'The Man' and Rachel Hunter's (New Zealand actress Caren Pistorius) character. Pistorius is such a wonderful actress and really knows how to make Rachel her own, except I still feel that she is reminiscent of actress Sarah Butler, who could probably do more of bang up job as the strong woman Rachel, but there's enough room in movies for many female heroines. I kept re-watching the highway car chase scene over and over again because it was really well done. Later on after the movie, I watched the 'behind the scenes' video on this and how they did this fantastically! The dialog between 'The Man' and Rachel was over the top and I was impressed how Crowe can still hold his own after all these years. Overall, I liked this film.
Peppermint (2018)
Peppermint Makes Things Right
When we discuss a favourite action film, this one wasn't too bad, actually and even with the several plot loopholes, I still loved Jennifer Garner's 'PEPPERMINT', an action movie in the same vein as that high-powered Geena Davis movie 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'. The 'Alias' actress Garner portrays Riley North, a strong headed woman who takes revenge against a drug cartel who murdered her family. Suspenseful, it left you guessing the outcome, however there was excessive violence and most of it was unnecessary, but Peppermint did follow through with its promises as keeping you on the edge of your seat as she believed that right-overcomes-wrong. The dialog was much to be desired, but the locations were very dark and dangerous. Jennifer Garner really is a subtle action star and was pleasantly happy with the ending!!
Anon (2018)
Mind's Eye Hijacked
In this film, Clive Owen plays Sal Frieland, a detective living in a world where crime has been eliminated at the expense of privacy in ANON where everything everyone sees is recorded and kept in something called "The Ether," so solving crime is merely a matter of finding and playing back the recordings of the parties involved. It's like the Robin Williams film 'Final Cut', only this time it's more of a sci-fi noirs murder mystery using a clever use of elements, setting the tone and shape of the world. For me, it would be a crazy challenge to try to live in Sal's world knowing that nothing is secret and all privacy is gone. I like Amanda Seyfried's character. The motivations of both characters speak louder than words and they have concerns around privacy and the film is done in a clever use of FX, lighting and the use of great locations making this film feel clinically sinister. It only amplifies the oppressive and dystopian mood of the storyline, adding up to giving the film a believable near-future quality and I think it compliments and enhances the story. It also shows how a complex and immersive world can be created using excellent design rather than a green-screen and hours of computer-generated eye-candy. You have to watch this in expectation that it gets slow in some parts and there are sex scenes, if that's your thing.
Undercover Cheerleader (2019)
COULD'VE BEEN BETTER IN THE AUTUMN ....
It's Autumn (actress Kayla Wallace from the show "The Good Doctor"), who is amazing in this LIFETIME movie and a great actress. She's definitely attractive, but as she goes undercover as a cheerleader in a highschool to do an exposé on the cruel culture of the squad for her school newspaper, someone is viciously attacking the other cheerleaders and Autumn begins to fear for her own life. My thoughts on this story is it is like the Stephen King movie Carrie and Get It On. It isn't really known who might be the villain in this movie, since there are several girls who could be the killer, but maybe the principal or maybe the Cheerleader Captain? It's a regular plotline with LIFETIME where you think you've figured it out and at the end you're like "What the....?" I loved the interaction between Autumn and Kara, especially with Jordan, her boyfriend. Maybe he's the killer? In this movie right from the get go, you're already Horatio Caine from CSI and Nancy Drew combined, but GOOD LUCK on that, because you won't know who the killer is until.... watch the film and it gets a low mark because it's a very confusing mess and until Autumn discovered something, THEN you figure it all out and quite sad, really....
The Neighbor in the Window (2020)
The False Victim
This LIFETIME suspense thriller was actually released this year and one of the newer ones with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. You might know her exceptionally well from from the holiday movie "The Christmas Note". In "The Neighbor in the Window," this is Lifetime's newest movie that is actually a real story made into a movie from the book "False Victim" by Kathie Truitt. The movie shows just how much HELL a person can go through when one neighbour invades your space, both figuratively and literally.
The film is about Karen (Sigler) when her and her family relocate to Washington because her husband has a new job and she falls in love with her new home, which is a beautiful house with large, impressive windows, but this new dream life quickly morphs into a nightmare when the looming presence of her neighbor, Lisa (Jenn Lyon), is all that cascades into those large panes of glass and the devil is scorned. Great movie also because it was based on a true story.
Stolen Dreams (2015)
Lost and Then Found
About 14 years ago, a mother named Laura Paddington (Brooke Langton) had a 3 year old daughter Zoe who went missing from a boardwalk and as the years go by, Laura has suffered from guilt, but she's also seen her marriage to Richard (Mike Dopud) end in divorce. When I started watching this LIFETIME movie, I was a little sceptical at how she met her newest beau Jacob at a support group, played marvellously by Peter Benson, and as he seems like the perfect guy, Jacob tells Laura that she has to move on from the disappearance of her daughter and under Jacob's guidance, Laura finally decides to clean out her daughter's old bedroom. Suddenly when Laura tries to donate her daughter Zoe's clothes to a local shelter, Laura is shocked when she meets Rebecca (Stephanie Bennett) and she not only looks like a teenage version of Zoe, but also has the same birthmark on the back of her neck! After Rebecca gets a DNA test, it is confirmed that she is Laura's daughter ...or is she?
Of all the thousands of children that go missing and never found, this movie gets a high mark because a missing child is found!
A Mother's Suspicion (2016)
A Lifetime of Suspicion
Polish actress Paloma Kwiatkowski plays college freshman Emily Yates who keeps mostly to herself and suffers from depression, but her mom Jill (Lindsay Hartley) is concerned that she may resent her boyfriend Conner (Dan Payne) and as it turns out, Emily has secretly started dating this psycho blonde haired guy named Gary and if that isn't a good thing, Gary's violent temper gets someone killed and he loves using guns! Emily is DEFINITELY blinded by her own love for him and they both get in trouble with the law. Keep watching this movie because the plotline gets a little silly culminating in a pretty interesting 'on the edge of your seat' foot chase through a forest, but we have the basic building blocks in place with lots of bits built around it so we have the troubled daughter, the protective mother, the troublesome boyfriend and of course some things which don't quite add up. I've re-watched the forest chase scene over and over again because that's the only good action scene in the movie.
Happy Gilmore (1996)
With This Movie , You Have To Turn Off Your Brain
"Happy Gilmore" is not a bad Adam Sandler film if you're a fan of his. I think If someone chose one Sandler movie to see in their life, I would seriously hope this is the one. It's a great golf and hockey movie, but I don't think there is another Adam Sandler movie out there that makes me laugh more, enjoy and laugh some more. "Happy Gilmore" is not a bad Adam Sandler film. In the plotline, you have an ultimate hero-type character named Happy and he's fighting to win a life of security for his grandma. Actor Christopher McDonald plays Shooter McGavin, a villain you love to hate and he attempts to foil Happy's quest. There are other actors in this movie, including 'James Bond' actor Richard Kiel, who plays Happy's 8' tall former employer who threatens Shooter at every turn. Bob Barker is also in this movie and he doesn't get much funnier than Mr. Price Is Right insulting our hero. Ben Stiller plays a great part in all this, as he corruptly directs a retirement home. This whole movie is one hilarious moment after another.
Hancock (2008)
Great Movie First Time, Not So Great Second Time Around
I wondered why I would want to watch this movie after 12 years because at the time, I was dating and both LOVED the film, but then that was in 2008 and we literally watched it the day it came out in the theatre. When she noted that I LOVED this film being a big Will Smith fan, she bought me the DVD after it was at BLOCKBUSTER, but I never bothered re-watching it. It just didn't really do anything for me after we broke up and it was her fil , although I liked Charlize Theron's character Mary Embrey in the film, i guess my feelings for this movie wained and never watched it again. I had a different perspective and it doesn't really excite me as it did 12 years ago. The movie has an interesting premise, though where Smith plays a wino named John Hancock who has superheroic powers, but his drunken attempts at fighting crime have caused huge damage and alienated people. Actor Jason Bateman who wonderfully plays Ray, offers to advise HANCOCK trying to rehabilitate his image. Will Smith's acting career is following a recent run of serious efforts, one of the lightweight, crowd-pleasing action comedies which made his name. As Smith's drunken-idiot superhero blunders through the apprehension of a carload of speeding crooks, this feels like a (better) male-slob answer to My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and one vaguely expects Martin Lawrence to show up as Jimmy Olsen. I think the first time I watched this movie, maybe I would've given it an 8, but now the rating is much lower.
Blue Streak (1999)
Martin Lawrence Is Annoying
Martin Lawrence is annoying as Miles Logan in "Blue Streak", a movie that pokes fun at the Lethal Weapon film. It thrives on the violent action scenes, foul language and unethical behaviour, but Lawrence's character only has one motive only and to get rich quick. He'll do anything. First, he impersonates a police officer and ford perfectly being even a better cop than those with whom he works and he also strikes up friendships that serve only to accomplish his own selfish goals. In this film, the "bad guy" is the good guy and that sends messages to kids that if you're clever enough and funny enough, you can do all sorts of immoral things and still be "okay." NOT! In the end, Logan gets off scott free-with his diamond-and lives "happily ever after." It may be grand entertainment, but it's a sorry theme. Definitely worth another watch, but it gets old in the end. Luke Wilson and Peter Greene play major characters.
Antboy (2013)
SUPER EXPERT FILM!
I really liked this Danish Superhero movie ANTBOY, a quirky yet engaging movie that both celebrates and has fun with the conventions of the superhero story as chronicled in both movies and comic books. The overdubbing of this film in English was expertly done. Danish actor, 12 year old Oscar Dietz, plays a character named Pelle Nohrman who gets bitten by an ant and he's a lot like Spiderman. I really felt the tension between Pelle and the flea, who might I say, is the perfect villain. This movie is great for people of all ages and anyone can get a kick out of Pelle when he pees acid for the first time. Danish actress Amalie Kruse Jensen plays Isa!
The Cold Light of Day (2012)
A Stupid Thrill Ride
"The Cold Light of Day" is an all-action pact movie starring Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver and the plot plays out like a stressed out recipe for danger that Alfred Hitchcock might have enjoyed. Take a stressed-out American businessman, plop him into a foreign country with no luggage or ability to speak the language, then thrust him into a plot in which he must rescue his family from kidnappers while being pursued by bad guys and sought out by police who are either in on the conspiracy or who wrongly assume that he has killed a cop. OYY VAY! The only best part of this movie was that the movie ended.
Fatal Affair (2020)
A Fatal Error
This 'Fatal Affair' movie was a Fatal Mistake to watch. I really thought this was another fantastic Omar Epps film, but it was just another Trollope of uninteresting film dialog between an ex-girlfriend and her unsuspecting husband with Epps character David Hammond a psycho. Although no matter how bland this movie is, you can't help but to marvel at the cinematography efforts of Eitan Almagor put behind the lens. With some great wide aerial shots of the sea and beautifully captured corners of the sea-facing house the family lives in, 'Fatal Affair' is a miniature of 'Big Little Lies' on camera, but however, fatal or not, this affair isn't something one would be interested in learning about; let this one slide. There are better movies, like 'Fatal Attraction' and 'Bed Of Roses'. Omar Epps has better movies out there.
Last Moment of Clarity (2020)
An Edge Of Your Seat
I wanted to finally settle down and relax on a Friday night and start watching the movies I have saved on my NETFLIX and ended watching this Indie film "Last Moment Of Clarity" and at first, I thought it was all in French with English subtitles because the movie listed it as French, but this was not the case. I was a little skeptical about this movie, although when I started it, the opening credits certainly play out over the familiar-looking "wall of crazy," and the movie had its TV staple of dedicated investigators and the wall of photograph with news clippings pinned to a board and connected by red strands of string. It is DEFINITELY a clichéd way to signal that a character is a single-minded obsessive, and there's every reason to believe that main character, Sam (Zach Avery), is a bit unhinged. When we first see him, he's waking up and suddenly springing upright in bed brandishing a weapon at a nonexistent enemy. He accosts a random pedestrian he believes is following him and one day at the movie theater, he sees an actress onscreen he becomes convinced is his ex-girlfriend, Georgia (Samara Weaving). So, the movie begins and you're hooked. Love the actress who plays Kat (Carly Chaikin) and you put a gun in her hand and she's a deadly weapon, herself. This movie is definitely worth a 7! Only reason I gave it such a low rating is because the movie is slow at the beginning, but it does build up tension to its final moments.