The World's End (2013)

I watched this a bunch when it first came on cable. Pretty much every few days, I'd give it another whirl, but it's been a few years and I'd mostly forgotten about it.

Of the Cornetto trilogy, I definitely like Shaun the most, but Fuzz and this one are tied. I wish Edgar Wright would be more redundant with his career and make these types of movies again. Baby Driver was alright, but it was definitely trying too hard to be 'cool', whereas these movies are so funny, the effort to be cool is less emphasized, so it hits harder and is overall more effective.

The five muskateers are great. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, and Eddie Marsan work on all levels and I really love the fights with the blanks/nobots/blue-bloods. They're well choreographed and they get me jazzed up.

Plus, this movie makes the beer look so delicious.

Oxygen (2021)

For the most part, I like Alexandre Aja's movies despite the handful of remakes he did early on in his career. I'm one of those people who still groans at the mention of yet another remake, but I occasionally enjoy them. That includes Aja's remakes even though the most memorable aspect about them tends to be the gore.

When I heard there was going to be a new Aja movie on Netflix, I was looking forward to watching it. I was a little disappointed to discover it wouldn't be a horror movie, but I was still optimistic.

The premise for Oxygen is fairly simple: a woman wakes up in a cryogenic chamber and can't remember who she is or how she got there. She can't open the door and her only contact with the outside world is through phone calls the cryo chamber's built-in, talking computer can make for her. The reason she woke up is because the chamber is running low on oxygen and it's steadily getting lower. The chamber is small and it's a movie meant to feel claustrophobic.

While I never really found myself bored with Oxygen despite the slow pace, it'll probably be a long time before I feel any urge to watch it again. Some of the details the main character learns about herself and the situation she's in are mildly interesting, but by the end, I mostly felt indifferent about the whole thing.

On the subject of Aja and remakes, Oxygen reminded me of Buried, where Ryan Reynolds is buried in a box and his only contact with the outside world is through a cell phone. Does that mean Oxygen is a remake or rip off of Buried? Maybe, but it wouldn't surprise me if other movies had a similar concept before Buried.

Rating: 5/10 4/10. The more I think about this movie, the less I like it.

The Banquet (Legend of the Black Scorpion) (2006) 7/10

The same basic setup as Curse of the Golden Flower: Tail end of the Tang dynasty in the Chinese imperial court in the late 9th century.
Whereas Curse had the Empress as the figure the story revolves around, Banquet revolves around the Crown Prince, who has left the court to be am actor. He is dragged back into the imperial intrigue when he gets news that his father, the Emperor, has died from what can best be described as less than clear conditions.
Complicating the matter is that the Empress and him have a relationship, as well as his love for the daughter of a high official. The Emperor's brother has lain claim to the throne, and has decided to marry the Empress.
The Empress, meanwhile, is not happy that the Prince has another lover, is not happy with the new Emperor, and wants the prince for herself.
Complicating matters (as if they are not complicated enough) is that the father of the prince's par amour wants his son to be Emperor.

Whew...

Alien Resurrection

I always liked this movie. I remember renting it on vhs in the late 90s and said it was my favorite of the Alien movies. It's easy to hate on Alien3, but most people only suck the first two movie's dicks. AR is never held in high regards.

Over the years, my opinion changed to think Aliens was the best when I was in Cameron fanboy mode, but now, I think the first movie is the best. It's visually defining, slow burning, and moodier than all the other movies.

A1 - single alien on space ship
A2 - multiple aliens on planet
A3 - single alien on planet
A4 - multiple aliens on space ship

As you can see, they had to play around with the formula to get all the right combinations, but I think the space ship setting for AR is pretty cool. This movie has a lot of good things going for it: cast, characters, action, gore, alien slime, sets, colors, clones, mad science, military schemes, and ugly monsters.

Every time a movie has someone holding their breath underwater for a side plot, I try to hold my breath too. This movie has one of the most difficult stretches out there. It's a great scene sandwiched between more great scenes. If I was in the movie, I would have died before I even got to that scene, thank God.

I can understand why the series wanted to try out a crossover after it, but those AVP movies sure did suck. I'm glad Prometheus tried to go back to the roots while not doing the same shit again, but the same shit was saved for the next movie, which wasn't as great.

AR did leave it open for a sequel with future clone Ripley on earth, so why didn't that ever happen? Later talks had her in talks for that Blomkamp sequel to Aliens, which would have disregarded AR entirely at the bonus of reviving Michael Biehn's Hicks, so I can't say I wouldn't watch it, but I would have easily accepted a sequel to Resurrection as is. With that said, the original Alien "Quadrilogy" ends on a high note.

Go for Broke! (1951) 7/10

This movie is about the 442nd Infantry Regiment, from inception and one of their most well-known engagements, where they rescued a group of soldiers surrounded by German artillery.
Another really well done war film, with a lot of action, as well as a surprising amount of humor, but well placed.
I appreciate how the deaths were handled. There were no long lingering scenes with someone crying over the death of a good friend. It's treated like what I imagine it would be in combat. "He's dead." and move on up the hill.
The violence wasn't as high as it was in Gung Ho, but it was enough where you really get the feel for it. The film also made the racism against the regiment a central theme, but as in real life, that was almost completely eradicated by their valor.
Another war movie I highly recommend.

'Gung Ho!': The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders (1943) 7/10

US Marines use tactics learned from the Chinese by a Marine Colonel to take the strategic island of Makin.
This movie is based on the real troop of marines that cleaned out Makin Island. Not sure how much is fact based as opposed to fiction, but I intend to find out. Going to pick up the book Carlson's Raid.
The first half hour or so is about the forming of the unit, training and such. Gives you a little background on some of the troops, so if/when they die you may feel some sympathy.
The characters themselves are about the typical group you find in war films: hothead, cool and collected, farmboy, etc.
This was filmed after the United States' entry in WWII. There are some obvious propaganda included, most notably the colonels speech at the end.
There is a lot more violence than I was expecting. Some of the deaths/wounds were surprisingly vicious.


Recommend if you are into war films. It's a movie I didn't know about.

Another Rant

Wut up, jerks? I haven't rambled in a while, and this is going to suck since I don't have any weed, but whatever.

I'm in a stupid transitional phase right now where I have to move in two weeks, then get a new job, but on the plus side... I finished the necessary courses to get an associates degree in programming.

That's right, bitches! I tried out some college and I kicked its ass! But I still hated it very much and probably wont do any more, but I definitely finished it, and I didn't set foot on campus the entire time. It was all online, and I learned nothing from it!

But I hate talking about myself because we're not here for me. We're here for TRASH, and my upcoming circumstances may enable more trash output on my end. I've had some vague Trash Epics RPG in mind that I'm still fleshing out, but my dilemma is that I can't really explain it well. I've discussed aspects of it with @ballz, but it's mostly theoretical at this point, though I'm defining pieces of it in the TE database. If you ever see me online and wonder wtf I'm doing, it probably has something to do with the rules for this game I'm thinking about.

Fortunately, I'll still have access to various streaming services and a VPN, so I'm also hoping to relapse back into my obsessive movie-watching mode. I hate how few posts there have been lately, and I hope to better incentivize that through some of this garbage RPG related shit, but if anyone has any great ideas, lay 'em on me. I'm fairly desperate at this point, and I'll do anything for acknowledgement.

What's on everyone's mind? RAMBLE ON.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 8/10

Bio-pic of Wall Street wunderkind Jordan Belfort, who rose from nothing to make many, many millions of dollars, most of it shady.
Interesting flick giving a little insight into the background workings of the NYSE, and how easily money can corrupt an otherwise decent person. Drugs, hookers, alcohol, drugs, insider trading, stock manipulation, drugs. All (allegedly) a big part of Wall Street.
Clocking in at three hours, it does require a time investment. They could have knocked out at least fifteen to twenty minutes pretty easily, but still a really good watch.
Recommend.

Hell in Normandy (1968) 5/10

Three spies infiltrate the German bunkers at Normandy to get info on the defenses. Meanwhile, a group of paratroopers jump before D-Day is postponed, so find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. One of the spies and the troopers eventually group up.If you're a fan of war flicks, you might want to check it out. Not really too much here for the casual film fan or someone who doesn't like war films.

Warhead (1977) 4/10

A U.S. experimental nuclear weapon is accidentally jettisoned over Jordan, and an Air Force officer is sent in to destroy it. Meanwhile, an Israeli task force is operating inside Jordan to eliminate a PLO leader.
Nothing too extraordinary about this film except for the hot blonde sharpshooter with thick glasses.