Highly Recommended
Drug War (2012) (Chinese Action/Suspense/Drama) (repeat viewing) – A drug cartel boss (Louis Koo) who is arrested is coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation. This film by Johnnie To is briskly paced, with the protagonists moving from location to location as their colleagues perform surveillance and support in secret. The script is intelligent and at times subtle in its use of indirect communication. There’s not much traditional character development, but the characters are somehow multi-dimensional. In terms of action, there are two sweet shootouts: one in a warehouse involving mute gunmen; and the finale which is inventive and violent. Koo doesn’t say much but expresses himself well in a fine performance. This is a damn good movie.
Recommended
The Love Bug (1968) (American Comedy/Drama/Action) (repeat viewing) – A race car driver meets a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own. The filmmakers do a good job of making the car look abnormally fast. There are a bunch of fun races here too because most of them are on streets or off-road races (instead of a repetitive circular track). The protagonist is not that good of a driver and he has personality flaws, but it creates the opportunity for a character arc and also makes the story and conflicts more interesting. The funniest scenes are the “Irish Coffee hangover” race and the bear scene. This is better than I remember when I last saw it in my childhood years.
Gerald’s Game (2017) (American Horror) – While trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house, Jessie must fight to survive when her husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame. The main premise going into effect by the 15-minute mark, but can simplistic premise stay interesting during the 103-minute runtime? It does feel a tad too long, but it successfully uses inner monologue and flashbacks to fill the runtime. It also relies on suspense and psychological stress, which is a good thing. Viewer beware that there is one scene that is wince-worthy.
Revenge (2017) (French Thriller) – While accompanying her boyfriend on a desolate vacation, a woman is sexually assaulted and seeks vengeance. Every shot in this film attempts to be stylish, which does feel a bit too artificial and obnoxious at times (e.g., the chocolate eating scene), but it does succeed at being interesting to watch in its visual excessiveness. Regardless, there are a few legitimately surprising moments that I did not expect. This has some good suspense. Violence and gore get pretty nasty and sufficiently wince-worthy at times. Electronic score is effective, and the desert environments are visually pleasing. Viewer note that there are a few extremely unrealistic elements at play, but I thought they made the film more interesting.
Golden Job (2018) (Chinese Action) – A group of mercenaries (Ekin Cheng, Jordan Chan, etc.) come together to pull off an epic heist. The script is generic, but there is a bunch of moderately entertaining action in the form of shootouts, chases, and explosions. Pacing is very brisk.
House (1985) (American Horror/Comedy) – A troubled writer moves into a haunted house after inheriting it from his aunt. This is quite different from most modern haunted house movies. The character interaction is odd and it’s also on the wacky side (the tone gets unexpectedly goofy near the 30-minute mark). Character reactions to many things make no sense, but the film seems to play it off as humor. Special effects range from good to bad (a few of the monsters are fun, and the final bad guy is cool looking). The ending is a bit of a cop-out, but this is a charming mess of sorts.
House 2: The Second Story (1987) (American Horror/Comedy) – The new owner of a sinister house gets involved with reanimated corpses and demons searching for an ancient Aztec crystal skull with magic powers. This has even more humor than it’s predecessor. It is hit or miss and is at times too goofy for its own good, but it has a lively and fun feel overall. Some of the monsters are entertaining to watch, due to practical effects. The setting temporarily changes unexpectedly near the mid-point, which is a nice surprise. The supporting actresses are really hot.
Not Recommended
Believer (2018) (Korean Crime Action/Suspense/Drama) – The story follows an investigator who, in an effort to bring down the boss of Asia's biggest drug cartel, conspires with a lowly member of the gang seeking revenge against the boss. This is a remake of the film “Drug War” (2012), but has an overly convoluted plot with a really stupid twist. The original film uses a stifling suspense during its situational conflicts, but this version is too over-the-top and blunt in its style to create compelling moments and leave a lasting impression. There are two decent action scenes, but this mostly falls flat.
Little Monsters (1989) (American Comedy/Horror) (repeat viewing) – A boy (Fred Savage) discovers an incredible and gruesome world of monsters under his bed. This movie starts off very well as it focuses on the kid’s normal life and the traps that he sets for the monster. However, it flies completely off the rails once the monsters are shown and start talking. Howie Mandel does an obnoxious and hopelessly lame impression of Beetlejuice (he even steals one of his lines) that automatically tanks the movie into an unwatchable endurance test. Then, more monsters show up later who are equally irritating. The monster world is cheap-looking and events that take place there are boring to watch. At least the finale is half-way decent. Ugh.
Along with the Gods 1 and 2 (2017, 2018) (Korean Fantasy Drama/Action) – After a heroic death, a firefighter navigates the afterlife with the help of three guides. Right from the messy opening scene, this movie pissed me off. It’s basically a badly written Hollywood-style blockbuster with flimsy melodrama that results in a plethora of embarrassing, unwatchable moments. Some cartoonish, run-of-the-mill fights and chases are thrown in. At 140 minutes, this is torture to sit thru. Pure crap. The sequel titled “The Last 49 Days” is better, but that’s not saying much.
