Movies You've Watched Recently

Well the Red Scare was definitely part of the appeal of the 1956 version but the 1978 version? The seventies were all about mistrust of the government. Some of the most nihilistic mainstream films came out of that decade. I haven't seen it in a decade but my reaction was the same as yours.

I saw the best martial arts film of the year last night. Unfortunately the English title can be misleading since it's called Kill Zone 2 (original title: SPL 2: A Time For Consequences) and is a sequel in name only to Kill Zone, an excellent martial arts/crime film with Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung.

This one stars Tony Jaa and Wu Jing (who was in the first one and playing a different character this time) and the plot is a little complex for me to sum up but I think you should come into it cold as possible. It feels forever since there's been a good Jaa film but the man actually gives a great performance here. The real MVP may be Zhang Jin as the main henchman; his final fight with Jing and Jaa is wonderful insanity. There's also a great chase scene during a prison riot that has amazing camerawork. I don't think this is streaming anywhere yet but I know you can find it at Redbox. If you're an action or martial arts fan, you're in for a treat.

I definitely think the red scare played a huge role in that movie, especially when the pod people start to talk about losing your emotions and individuality along with the idea of not being able to trust anyone. I mean, mistrust of government might have been the big thing, but communism was still an issue then.

I watched 10 Cloverfield Lane which I really liked. I get why some wouldn't like the end, but I still liked that part if not as much as the majority of the film. Hard to explain without saying too much now that I'm attempting it, but I thought it was all pretty cool.

Saw War Dogs. Really liked that movie, wasn't a comedy like I was expecting from the trailers, cast, and director though. Movie had funny moments, but mostly focused on the drama. Would recommend it.

Watched Green Room. Pretty intense thriller. I basically rented it because a few people recommended it months ago, so forgot Patrick Stewart was even in it until he popped up.

Watched It Follows which I really liked. Pretty interesting idea for a horror movie with some really creepy moments and I liked all the little anachronisms going on. They had me pondering stuff as did how to best solve the central problem.

I wanted to watch that movie, and since we seem pretty in touch when it comes to horror I'll definitely have to watch it now. Is it on Netflix?

The one thing that really put a damper on that movie for me was the scene at the beach. I know teens in horror movies are dumb but that was such an easy situation to avoid and they did everything they could to get themselves into it

For me it was the pool/resolution. It just felt really rushed and lame. It was so creepy before!

I found it on Showtime OnDemand Bret. Not sure it'd be your thing or not, but if it shows up on Netflix it would definitely be worth a shot.

I didn't really like the ending that much either (honestly I am still pondering the whole film, so I may feel differently in time), but I guess it didn't bring the whole thing down that much for me. I also thought the soundtrack and some of the shots in the movie were pretty cool. Meant to mention that. Overall very unsettling I thought. As for the beach, I only thought Jay was being particularly dumb there as I don't think everyone else totally got what was going on before that scene? I don't know. I could see why that would bug someone though.

I'm trying to get back into watching movies again and since I used to love watching horror movies I thought I'd start there. Do you guys have any recommendations from the last ten years or so in that genre?

You're Next is a good choice if you love horror. Not that scary a movie, but once they hit the halfway point you get why it isn't.

I watched Creep recently and really enjoyed it. I'd say it's more like a thriller though. Most of the "scares" are fake scares. There's also a bunch of awkwardly funny bits in it. It's a bit of an oddball

I really enjoyed the movie Hush. Has a The Strangers vibe to it. The fact that the victim isn't a dumb ass is a plus. Also really cool concept with her being deaf and they use that very well in the movie.

Thanks guys. I have access to all three of those via Netflix or Gamefly, so I'll be giving them a try soon.

Highly recommend The Witch. It's a slowburn but once it gets ugly, it's really effective. Just a well-made film on every aspect. I think this is playing on Amazon Prime, though I could be wrong about that.

I also loved The Conjuring. Still need to watch the sequel.

I have seen The Witch. I liked it, but not as much as most people I guess. I will add The Conjuring to the list. I went and saw Don't Breathe which I enjoyed. One of those thriller/horror combo sort of deals.

Oh yeah, I loved The Conjuring. Apart from the final act, it was by far my favorite hollywood horror movie in a long time

I watched Hush. Good call on that one Bret. Had a bit in common with Don't Breathe (home invasion and the deaf/blind aspects though they are much different elsewhere). Thought the sound design was really good in it too.

I also watched Hardcore Henry. It didn't do much for me, but it did have some neat action sequences. My favorite was the bike/van chase probably. And there were a lot of moments that I watched and said, "Yeah I did that in 'Game X'" or whatever.

I watched You're Next (pretty cool, I liked the ending and that blender bit), The Invitation (eh, this wasn't horror, but I happened to watch it), and The Purge (blah, my brother really liked the second one of these, so I mostly watched this so I could watch that).

Going to keep the horror theme going for October and try to check out some old favorites too. Been a bit too heavy on the home invasions so far, so going to try and get more other stuff mixed in going forward.

The only thing I liked about The Purge was the villain. I have no clue whether he treated that movie like a joke or took it way too seriously but every scene with him was hilariously bad in a great way. Haven't bothered with the sequels, may check out Anarchy eventually but have no interest in Election Day.

I vvatched the vvitch not too long ago. It vvas really good. Being a little late to the party helped me go in vvith the right expectations, I think. It took me a vvhile to get used to ye old english, though.

I really liked The Witch. It left a stronger impression than any other film I've watched this year so far. It's one of those "I get why other people don't like it but...there's something about it for me" type of films and I'm OK with that.

Watched Kubo and the Two Strings. BEAUTIFUL film as with all that studio's stuff, and while I did really like it I felt the script was...lacking. It just lacked that special something that would have made it great. Still good, would totally recommend checking it out though.

I watched the Evil Dead remake from a couple years back. Thought this was pretty cool. The final sequence was particularly insane. Been a long time since I watched the older movies, so I might squeeze some of them in if I have the chance this month.

I finally watched Audition, which I've been debating on watching for a while now because it sounded too gruesome for me. I was surprised because there wasn't really all that much shown... But it was definitely effective. Good movie. Made me a bit queasy.

At least nobody got stabbed in the back of the hand. I don't know why but that's always so hard to watch in movies

Checked out Halloween 3. Didn't have any interest in the others because I didn't want to know more about Michael Myers, but really liked this one. Was a pretty unique idea and loved how much Halloween stuff was in it. Really only seeing myself rewatching this and 1 in the future.

Saw Dr Strange. Another solid Marvel movie, not their best and the story wasn't the strongest, but the visuals and Cumberbatch's performance made up for it. Also has a really neat way for him to beat the villain.

Also watched Zootopia which was okay. It was funny and I liked the idea it was going for, but it was a very confused movie. Like it's a very pro-affirmative action movie, but AA makes no sense in this world where some animals just do physical jobs better than others. Or how the predators are treated like minorities, but unlike minorities in the real world, their ancestors did eat others so bad blood makes sense. I feel like its script needed a rewrite or two if it wanted to tackle the themes it did even if it was still funny and charming.

Star Wars: Rogue One- Overall a pretty fun movie. Plot could have flowed a little better and wasn't as big a fan of the characters here as I was in the original trilogy or TFA, but still worth your time and money.

Moana- Think this might be my favorite this year yet and in my top five Disney movies. Definitely my favorite since they transitioned to CG. Main character is fun, but also has a great arc while The Rock does a great job creating a smug, kinda douchey demi-god who's still really likable. Really great chemistry between the two also. Songs I felt were better than Frozen's despite not being quite as catchy, just a great soundtrack. Really loved this one.

Rogue One was ok but I didn't really care about any of the characters. The big battle at the end was cool.

Checked out Tangled. Really liked this one, actually enjoyed it more than Frozen. Granted I'm not that big into Frozen, liked Wreck it Ralph and Moana more than it also. Just surprised it's not getting as much of a due as Frozen. Songs were pretty meh (something Frozen honestly did much better), but everything else was great. Best part by far was the horse. I'd watch a cartoon about him, second only to Dug from Up as far as Disney animal sidekicks go.

Lego Batman was pretty amazing. Not as good as The Lego movie, but that's an unrealistic goalpost to measure up to. It's probably the most comic booky movie I've ever seen too, even more than X-Men DoFP which was made to retcon past movies. I won't spoil it, but the Joker's plan is a kind of absurdity I don't think any of DC's comic events have come close to, and I mean that in the best way possible. Also Michael Cera is a perfect Robin.

Saw both John Wick movies also. Great action movies, but feel if I rewatch them it would be like 300 where I just fast forward to the next fight scene.