Bob Oderkerk is a former assassin turned suburban schlub. His dad, Christopher Lloyd is ex-FBI, and in a retirement home. His brother is in hiding. He's shuffling thru family life, but part of him is itching for his old life and circumstances present themselves and he goes full John Wick on a bunch of Russian heavies...things escalate and it coalesces with him prepping for a showdown in a factory, making lots of improvised weapons and staging them. He draws the bad guys into his trap, and the battle plays out with help from the brother and dad. Lots of gratuitous violence that you could predict as you watched him build and set the traps. 

In the sequel, the fam has relocated and he's doing "assignments" and keeps coming home late which is putting a stress on the family. He decides to take them on a vacation to a funland water park type place his dad took he and his brother to when they were kids. Turns out the town is a hub for illicit activities and the sheriff tries to run him out of town. Things escalate. Dad and brother reunite...more scenes of prepping the battlefield. Then the big battle in the carnival at night. More gratuitous violence. It's almost like a B-horror movie in a carnival, but without the horror and jump scares. Of course the cartel's biggest bad guy happens to have a sword tuck behind his back...best line: 

"Don't bring a machete to a fucking katana duel"

Silly, but not terrible... If you liked Reacher, this is about the same speed and tone. 

--tg

This is a buddy film that you've seen a bunch of times. Dak is a loser predator that has to go on a journey to prove himself to his father. He's very serious. Along the way he picks up an annoying, chatty travel buddy, Elle Fanning...a synth, with no legs. So he carries her around while he pursues his quest. The film is all about the flaura/fauna of this planet. Really well done cgi creatures...

Weyland/Yotani is up to their usual tricks: collecting specimens from around the universe and being generally nefarious.

Hilarity ensues. 

The other CGI isn't stellar. The army of synths (all identical) isn't great. Some of the ground vehicles are pretty fake looking, but generally, it was a fun watch. 

I'm not big into the Predator franchise, but I enjoyed this.

Recommended.

--tg

I went to Alamo in Mountain View for an early preview. I had high hopes going in, I really like Sam Rockwell...but I got there early enough to catch the Alamo pre-show reel which included an interview with the director talking about other movies that influenced this. He cited Dog Day Afternoon for act 1, some anime (Akira?) for act 2 and Repo Man for act 3. I didn't get that watching the film, but I did get that he was referencing other films constantly. This movie was all over the place. Mostly, it's a zombie movie and really badly wants to be a funny Black Mirror. It gets heavy handed with the messaging: mobile phones and AI are bad, but doesn't really get any deeper than that. There's a monologue bit near the end that was very conspicuous and didn't really need the rest of the movie.

It tries to be funny, the monster that appears in the trailer is like a bad, early, genAI dog images/videos with recursive heads in a fractal nightmare. They could have pulled that string harder for great effect...Generally I found it all a little flat.

It almost redeemed itself towards the end with an extra act. I'm not a Michael Peña fan. He always stands out as himself. I find it hard to take him as a character. I think the movie might have been better if they cast all unknowns with Sam Rockwell.

Wait for the small screen...

--tg

--tg

Did you know that Michelle Yeoh is getting her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week, the first Malaysian star to do so?

My IG algorithm has dialed me into some accounts that post weird movies, which is great. Been getting lots of tips through there. Last night there was a crazy fight scene from this film and I just had to know more. 

The Traveller is by one of my fav directors, the always irreverent Wuershan. It's based on a manhua that I've never heard of - translated as Under One Person. It's full on Xianxia, delving deep into the world of magical martial arts and qi blasts. Kinda cheesy but Wuershan specializes in this sort of cinema. A 'chosen one' kid is the inheritor of some divine power that can control the martial world, and suddenly finds himself being abducted and assaulted by all manners of crazy characters with magic fighting skills, including several hawties. 

The movie is a blend of live action, special effects and animation. Flashbacks, of which there are many, are told in surreal animated sequences that remind me of A Scanner Darkly stylistically. There's some great cinematography, accentuated by CGI enhancements, that capitalize on drone shots. The costumes and story is outrageous. There are zombies, smoke demons, kinky dwarves in straight jackets, awkward teenage blues as the chosen one is seduced by hawties, qi lightning, magic missile weapons, and goofy villains. The special effects are cartoonish, but that works here - seems like it's meant to be. 

Set in modern day, the clans harken back to ancient times, and the themes of warring clans stand strong. One concept I liked was the idea that Xianren (warriors with magic powers) exist today in underground places like an Amazon-esque warehouse, using their magic to do mundane things like ship merchandise.

But where this movie shines is the fights. These are total superhero fights - flying about with impossible physics, blasting through walls, juggling flying weapons, pole dancing (srsly) and other imaginative spins on hackneyed super fights. I rather enjoyed its irreverent approach to action. 

Seen here:


Note that the subtitles are likely AI-generated and make a lot of mistakes. In Chinese, the distinction between pronouns (him vs her) is subtle - different radicals in the same character but sound the same - so the sexes are messed up a lot. Also many of the idioms are translated literally which doesn't make a lick of sense. But therein lies the fun, or at least some of it. 

D00M recommended, at least for a taste - don't have to watch the whole thing because it gets longwinded and confusing but just fast forward to the fight scenes for some violent fun.

Ethan Coen directs without his brother this detective story set in Bakersfield, CA. Honey is the titular detective trying to find out what happened to the girl who died on her way to a meeting with Her. Naturally, Honey has her run ins with the cops. Most of the friction because the lead male detective wants to date her but she keeps telling him she only likes girls. Chris Evans plays the head of a church where the girl was headed when she died.

There are lots of different threads running around in this movie but they never really gel together into one complete story. It feels a bit disjointed. Because it'a Coen picture, there is plenty of violence. Lots of women having sex, too. Lots

Everyone has heard of this guy, even if you don't recognize the name.

Quote:Steven Matthew David

Steven Matthew David was the man who put the Top of the Hill on the map.
A ubiquitous presence on TV and the radio during the 60s, 70s and 80s, David founded the first store in the San Francisco Bay Area to sell discount electronics. During its 25 years in business, Matthews approached retail uniquely: the store often had lines around the block while customers waited to be escorted around the store by a salesperson. In addition to campaigns featuring everyone from Davy Jones to Jerry Rice, Matthews became known for offering champagne and popcorn to customers as they waited.
David's legendary bicycle promotion-offering a free bike with the purchase of almost any product costing $150-became part of local lore and his tag line "Top of the Hill, Daly City" still remains known today. Matthews became the largest single store retailer of home electronics in the country and David among the first business owners to personally appear in his own ads.
A high school valedictorian who scored an 800 on his math SAT, David attended Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude. Though accepted at Harvard Business School, he opted instead to start and grow Matthews.
After a long illness, Steven Matthew David died peacefully on January 18th. He is survived by his two children, Ned and Anna, brother Anthony David, and sisters Barbara Dali and Linda Williams, as well as the many who remember him as an integral part of Bay Area history.

Fox night 1
Took me 2 1/2 hours to get here and another half hour to sort my parking credit, but I’m across the street at Xolo’s enjoying a chile rellano burrito.