Category: movies

Maze Runner series

On By Rick McIn books, moviesLeave a comment

The Maze Runner series is a series of young adult science fiction adventure novels by James Dashner.

For some odd reason I just finished listening to the first 4 books.

You could say they are poorly written. Or written for 13yr-old boys. (No sex, no profanity,  much ultra-violence.)

The plot is somewhat interesting. Better than Hunger Games, for example.

Still, I’d never have even heard of this YA series if it weren’t for the films. The films are slightly better.

The Maze Runner, was released on September 19, 2014 and became a commercial success grossing over $348 million worldwide. The second film, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials was released on September 18, 2015, and was also a success, grossing over $312 million worldwide. The film series is set to continue with the third film, Maze Runner: The Death Cure which is set to be released on February 17, 2017.

Click PLAY or watch a Maze Runner trailer on YouTube.

 

Perry Mason – Raymond Burr

On By Rick McIn movies, TVLeave a comment

I’ve watched some of the excellent old Perry Mason shows over the holidays. My Dad is a fan.

Click PLAY or watch a retrospective on YouTube.

Raymond William Stacey Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian-American actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. …

… His portrayal of the suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Rear Window (1954), is regarded as his best-known film role.

He won two Emmy Awards, in 1959 and 1961, for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons between 1957 and 1966. …

Turns out Raymond Burr was Gay. I’d never heard. And my Gaydar has always been terrible.

Straight Outta Compton

On By Rick McIn movies, musicLeave a comment

In 2014, Dr. Dre was ranked as the second richest figure in the American hip hop scene by Forbes with a net worth of $550 million; he is at the top of the 2015 Forbes list, with an estimated pre-tax take of $620 million in 2014. …

I first learned of Dre when confiscating N.W.A. cassette tapes from teenage boy gymnasts in the late 1980s.

I then listened to albums like Straight Outta Compton and learned to enjoy rap music. 🙂 I still feel N.W.A. is as good as any rap band all time. 

“Fu©k tha Police“ was their most controversial song. I have much more appreciation for that sentiment from the African American community now than I did at the time.

Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical drama film. …

Among the film’s producers are Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E ’​s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright …

N.W.A goes on a national tour in 1989. The FBI demands that they stop performing “Fuck tha Police,” declaring that it encourages violence against law enforcement, but they refuse, and the police raid their Detroit concert, resulting in riots and the group being arrested. Interviewed by the press, the group maintains that they did not start the riot, that their music was a reflection of their reality and that the first amendment protected their free expression. …

Here’s the Rodney King video, in case you’ve forgotten the story. Police brutality. The police unpunished.

Click PLAY or watch the Straight Outta Compton trailer on YouTube.

 

 

The Cartel – A Novel

On By Rick McIn bad news, books, economics, ethics, firearms, government, movies, product complaints, things getting worseLeave a comment

If you’ve ever wondered how nobs like this peasant-farmer-turned-billionaire-drug-lord can exist, read The Cartel: A novel by Don Winslow .

El Chapo

Though it’s getting great reviews, I found it too long. Too violent. The ending not believable.

The rights holders want Leonardo DiCaprio to play the role of Keller, the (so called) good guy of the story.

related – ‘Cartel’ Author Don Winslow Responds To Sean Penn: “Call It Anything You Want – Except Journalism”

The Big Short

On By Rick McIn economics, moviesLeave a comment

The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film …

It is based on the 2010 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, about the financial crisis of 2007–2008 …

The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. …

… On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 87%, based on 163 reviews …

The New York Times‘s “UpShot” series stated The Big Short offered the “strongest film explanation of the global financial crisis.” …

I’d agree. This film is entertaining. And it also provided me with the clearest insight yet as to the insanity of the American banks bringing down the world economy. If I’d lost money in that debacle, I’d be plenty pissed off. 😦

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I’m a new Melissa McCarthy fan

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

Until Warren and Sandy introduced me to a couple of her films I didn’t know Melissa McCarthy from her idiot cousin Jenny McCarthy.

The Heat is a 2013 American buddy cop comedy film …

The plot centers on Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Boston Detective Shannon Mullins who must take down a mobster. …

… a success at the box-office, grossing $230 million worldwide from a $43 million budget. …

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

related – Spy (2015 film)

 

James Bond – Spectre

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

On Hardy’s recommendation I saw it in IMAX, the biggest screen in Europe. Waterloo Station, London. Front row.

I’ve enjoyed every Bond film. This one was good too. Not the best film ever, but not bad. Daniel Craig is excellent as Bond.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

The Martian

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

Loved it. 🙂

The book was great. The film perhaps even better.

The Martian is a 2015 American survival science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. The film is based on Andy Weir‘s 2011 novel The Martian … 

Around 20 sets were built on a sound stage in Budapest, Hungary, one of the largest in the world. Wadi Rum in Jordan was also used as a practical backdrop for filming. …

…  Damon said he and Scott were inspired by the 2003 documentary filmTouching the Void, which featured trapped mountain climbers …

 

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

The Separation (2011)

On By Rick McIn Islam, moviesLeave a comment

I was much impressed with the simplicity and honesty of this little film.

A Separation (Persian: جدایی نادر از سیمین‎‎ Jodaí-e Nadér az Simín, “The Separation of Nader and Simin”) is a 2011 Iranian drama film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini,Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhadi. It focuses on an Iranian middle-class couple who separate, and the conflicts that arise when the husband hires a lower-class care giver for his elderly father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, becoming the first Iranian film to win the award.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

99% on Rotten Tomatoes

Roger Ebert’s review

The Guardian review

Hugo – the film

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

I finally saw this excellent movie. Loved it.

Sasha Baron Cohen weirdly great, as usual.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

Hugo is a 2011 British-American-French 3D historical adventure drama film directed and co-produced by Martin Scorsese …

Based on Brian Selznick’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it is about a boy who lives alone in the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris in the 1930s. …

The film was received with critical acclaim, with many critics praising its visual design, acting and direction. However, it was financially unsuccessful, grossing only $185 million at the box office and barely surpassing its budget. Hugo received eleven 2011 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), more than any other film that year, and won five Oscars …