Movie Review: In a Valley of Violence

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening....whenever it is that you have come across this entry.  Today (9/23/17) I am checking out the flick In a Valley of Violence.  It stars Ethan Hawke, John Travolta and Taissa Farmiga.  "A mysterious stranger and a random act of violence drag a town of misfits and nitwits into the bloody crosshairs of revenge."  It currently has a rating of 6/10 with 9018 voters.  

• Ugg, a Western?  I dislike Westerns...
• Blumhouse did the flick?  Well that is a good sign
• Ethan Hawke however is not a great sign
• Oh it is the guy from Torchwood!  Burn Gorman is a great character actor!
• I have a friend from high school that looks like Ethan Hawke
• Any movie with a dog as a main character gets points from me!
• Awesome a snake oil salesmen
• Yeah, the bowl is for the dog son
• This is an interesting cast
• Hey it is Ziggy from the Wire!
• Hey it is Pond, where is the Doctor?
• Don't mess with a mans dog!
• Wow Travolta looks a little bit like Kurt Russel
• They shot his dog?  Oh that is just foolish, they don't know what they've done
• I personally want to kill Ziggy now
• Wait a minute, Harris is the superhero guy from Pete and Pete I think
• To paraphrase Firefly there is no power in the 'verse that would stop me if someone did that to my dog because dogs are family
• I do love a good old fashion revenge story
• Let him soak...that...um...is really gross sounding!  Hasn't he seen the well walker?
• This is much better than I expected
• I don't think quitting is going to help you Tubby
• Told you to get away from the window Lawrence
• Ziggy, you know your daddy is dead, you shot him just like Hawke did
• Sweet baby Jesus, with a spur!

This was actually a much better flick than I expected.  The story was well done and as a dog lover believable if not slightly a stretch.  

The acting we well done and I was impressed with everyone, even Mr. Hawke, who usually I dislike.  I can't say why but I just don't like the guy for some reason.  I enjoyed the flicked I really did.

I can't say anything was great but I can't say anything made me want to slit my wrists either.  

As far as a rating goes, I think a 6/10 is about right.  It was there for me and it did drag on just a bit.  I can't tell you what I'd cut though that is the problem.  No scene really drug on or seemed unimportant.  Maybe the scene with Hawke and the girl at her dad's cabin but I'm not even sure about that.  

Overall if you like Westerns or revenge stories this one isn't a bad one to check out.  

Movie Review: Its A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening...whenever it is you have come across this entry.  Today, 10/07/17, I am watching the holiday classic Its a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.  Yeah I'm probably using the word classic very liberally there but sue me, I love the Muppets!  It stars Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz and Bill Barretta and I am sure a slew of cameos!  "On Christmas Eve, an angel petitions God to send help for Kermit the Frog who has lost all hope after losing the Muppet Theatre."  Well this already sounds like a rip snorting laugh riot!  It does have a 6.5 out of 10 with 2951 votes

• I admit it is weird to watch a Christmas flick this early but...well.. MUPPETS!
• Oh Beaker!
• Would a solid gold record player sound good?
• Wrong sounding Muppets bother me sometimes, that wasn't Robins voice!
• Wait...isn't this also the story from the Muppets?
• Cameo number one...and there is number two!  
• And David Arquette looks like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys
• and the cameos keep on rolling!
• I love the overacting with the Muppets, it is wonderful
• I never did like Pepe
• I knew Joan Cusask was a bitch!  
• Spongebob is great
• God is kind of a dick
• Ugg, wrong muppet voices!
• So many cameos
• Yeah you can tell it was on NBC
• pagers?  In 2002?
• The Moulin Scrooge?
• Fozzie does look like Zidler
• Okay I'm loving this Muppet version!  I want to see a full muppet version of Moulin Rouge!
• It is weird to see Rowlf but not to have him talk
• I would seriously pay money for this movie!  I wonder how I become a producer....it seems pretty easy on Get Shorty
• Really?  Trusting Fozzie?  
• A really bad Steve Irwin impersonator?  Really?
• That is some creepy Dr. Seuss characters!
• I am loving this by the way, the Muppets are wonderful
• There are action figures?  AWESOME!
• Worst security system EVER!
• Nog funnel?
• Trip Frog, you don't deny that!
• I think he wishes he had never been born
• Yoda?
• Muppet legs scares me
• DOC HOPPERS!?  CALL BACK!!!!
• I think this is actually the life Scooter would prefer
• Why take candy?  Piggy doesn't know him
• Oh good grief...not that kind of call....oh thank goodness it is Miss Cleo
• I do enjoy Gonzo singing
• Is it a kiss....no it is spit in the eye?
• YAAAY!!
• Really?  Eugene plays the Tuba...I AM SUING!!!
• Christmas is about revenge, Pepe is correct
• Not enough Bobo in this!

It is weird to be watching a Christmas movie but it was the Muppets and it just makes me smile!  I give it an 8/10 because...well Muppets.  

Seriously I enjoyed this because it was very much classic Muppets.  I honestly don't have a lot to say because I really enjoyed the Muppets.  It is was fun and worth checking out if you love the Muppets like me!

Movie Review: Free State of Jones

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening...whenever it is you have found this entry.  Today (9/19/17) I am checking out the 2016 flick Free State of Jones.  It stars Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mahershala Ali.  "A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters and women in an uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government."  I wanted to see this flick back in theaters and din't get to so I hope to enjoy it.  It currently has a 6.9 over on IMDB.

• Marching in rows always seemed like such a bad idea yet every military seemingly does it
• And there is the reason that it seems foolish to me
• Matthew McConaughey should NEVER have a beard, it looks horrible
• I don't know why I always forget that McConaughey is a good actor
• Wait...the old cap thing actually works?
• Shit, that quick and he was shot already, stupid war
• It is true, honor means nothing when someone is dead
• I don't think I knew Keri Russell was in this flick
• Just awful the way this country was back then...and now...
• If this is truly a true story good for all of these people for doing what is right
• Poor doggie!
• Swamp water really is extremely disgusting!
• This has an excellent cast!
• Gary Grubbs is such an underrated actor!
• Anyone who thinks mutton chops is a good look is crazy!
• Not a lot to say during this flick, I keep finding myself sucked into the flick
• Sweet baby Jesus....
• The Newt character is an interesting character
• Sweet baby jesus again...it was like a claymore mine!
• The flick is starting to drag just a bit...
• Running to live another day is worthwhile sometimes
• Wait...are they socialist?
• Seriously how great is this cast?
• Of course.  I know it is probably what happened but still it disgusts me

I have to say I really enjoyed this flick.  It is not a typical "Gene" movie but it was so well done how could I not enjoy it.  The cast itself made this movie wonderful, and I mean EVERYONE in it.  Was it hard to watch at times, yes it was...because this, or stuff like this, actually happened.  

I will not get more preachy then that here because I have declared I'm staying out of politics as much as I can.  I will say however that perhaps if we were all just treated everyone like we wanted to be treated things might be different!

Back to the flick I can't say more good about this.  The one draw back is it drags near the end after the war.  It is important to continue the story but it started to drag when everyone was "free".  But I would give this a 8 out of 10, only because I can't do half votes on IMDB.  

Check this flick out, find it and enjoy it because it is part of our history that CANNOT be forgotten.

Movie Review: Isle of the Dead

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening....whenever it is you have found this entry.  Today (10/06/17) I'm checking out the zombie flick Isle of the Dead.  It stars Joey Lawrence, Maryse Mizanin and Todd Cattell.  "A military squad is sent to a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean in order to secure top secret records involving a zombie epidemic that wiped out the large scientific team experimenting"  It has a 5.3 rating with 1020 votes.

• Well this started off quickly
• Is that Enzo Amore?
• That is the toughest Doctor I've seen in a zombie flick
• Yeah watch her feed 
• Nice fake helicopter
• Is that the Miz wife?  It is Maryse!  I didn't notice it was Maryse Mizanin above
• Wow Joey Lawrence looks awful
• That was a lot more than half an inch there
• Yes, fall into the jungle where they can get around you easier!
• Of course he dropped the suitcase or GPS bomb or whatever
• Maybe take the RPG.....since this whole island is overrun...no...okay
• Really bad CGI in this flick and the debris CGI made no sense
• What is with the doctors face?
• Yeah I wouldn't eat anything he gave me
• Why aren't any of them asking about the bandage on his arm?
• Good grief this guy is a nut job kill him and leave
• Wait...it can talk?  I mean she can talk
• Pretty sure I'd just piss myself instead of going into the bathroom
• Also why not silenced weapons
• Gotta turn that hat backwards to type
• Your mother is the talking dead head Maryse
• super zombies of course
• I'm actually surprised this hasn't happened for real considering how stupid humans are
• I think that lead super zombie is about to hit his finisher (wrestling reference)
• And this fences/gates will open any moment....nope 
• Did she just get bit?
• Oh so Dadddy Doctor is going to turn into a super zombie...no...the super zombies are going to fight each other....wait...how did a few punches kill him?  WHAT ARE THE RULES HERE!!
• I think I'd let them bomb the place
• Gross super bugs are gross
• This isn't horrible but kind of boring to be honest but it is  a typical Asylum flick
• Now they're all bit, good
• Of course he goes back for the RPG now because taking it with was too easy
• Daddy is awake complete with Dead Island Video Game roar
• Yeah give yourself the crazy super zombie drug, why not
• I do not like super zombies, nope

Yeah that was a TV/SyFy Asylum flick.  That about says it about this flick.  Bad CGI, okay acting at best, subpar writing.  It is exactly what I expected the second I saw Asylum come up...and I loved it! I love that they know what they are give us what we expect from them.  A campy horror flick for last years 31 days of Halloween.

I think a 5/10 is exactly what this deserves!

Movie Review: Hell House LLC

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening...whenever it is you have come across this entry.  Today (10/05/17) I am checking out the flick Hell House LLC.  As of today it has a 6.4 on IMDB with 1906 votes.  "Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened."  It stars Gore Abrams, Alice Bahlke and Danny Bellini.

• Ah a fake documentary/lost footage...interesting
• That guys beard is awesome!
• This is weird...I'm not sure what is happening right now...which I think is the point
• So it'd be hard to deal with but you're now going to tell us?  
• Hitch is not a good flick
• These are the kind of people I hate in real life
• Really?  Staying overnight there?  Not enough money in the world
• What was in that bottle?  I know I wouldn't drink it
• A little rapey?
• That piano shouldn't be even close to that in tune after 30 years
• Dear lord tell me he isn't naked!
• Doesn't find it weird that Sara did that?
• He does know that everyone is going to be watching this so perving on your friends girlfriend probably isn't the best idea
• I don't know how many times I see the world hanged, it just doesn't look right!
• That is true, Abaddon is a pretty evil name
• Yes go investigate a strange noise, that is always wise...especially considering you know you're in a haunted hotel
• I'm...I'm kind of bored right now
• And there is Tony in the other room obviously
• Is the mask blood in the basement? (I went back and it is)
• Well, that should alarm the guys...and then it is nothing?  They don't ask her more then that?  I know I would!
• I hate strobe lights
• Its weird that they keep showing their own scares
• It never made sense to me in these found footage flicks that the first thing people do is grab their camera
• For the record clowns are kind of creepy, especially Halloween clowns
• They are doing the weird staring at walls thing that they did in Paranormal Activity
• Why go looking for the clown/dummy?  Obviously the correct path is to leave the hotel completely....or to run upstairs...yes upstairs is the correct path in movie logic
• Why the jump cut?  If this was just his recording it wouldn't be there
• Also why does he have the camera on?
• Man movie logic makes no sense
• Did he just hide under his covers?  Really?  
• That is the same song that Paul played earlier!
• I will say that they build the suspense well in the flick
• I think I'd turn on the lights in the basement but that is just me
• Yeah he looked normal
• It never made sense that the tapes in these things have "glitches"
• Really?  I don't care what he told me there is no way I'd stay after things turned that can't turn. Nope
• Its a little hard to see what is going on there
• Wait...go to the basement?  Really?  Where everyone was running from?
• Oh there is not going to be a room 2C
• Yeah...break in....nothing bad will happen to you guys if you break in
• More movie logic, scared and being hunted by robed killers...lets pick up the camera
• Well that ending was predictable

I have to say I give this pretty much what the average is, 6/10.  It was good and had its moments of suspense but overall it felt predictable and done.  They didn't really break any new ground and honestly now that I think of it it feels like they just took aspects of a lot of the Paranormal Activity flicks and threw them together here.

The acting was okay.  I honestly feel like Melissa, the girl in the basement, was the most natural and had the smallest role.  

If you are looking for a decent to okay horror flick for the holiday season this isn't bad but it isn't anything special.