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The Running Man (2025)

Glen Powell is running like the clappers from the public and hit squad alike in this cracking remake of the 1987 action classic. While a different experience to the original it's just as much fun overall, with each film offering it's own charm.

Spookies

1986 horror film, in which to preserve his wife a Warlock offs a load of people that end up in his mansion due to plot reasons.

Never heard of this, but popped up on Instagram as a clip and I had to check it out.

It’s…odd. The effects range from bloody impressive, to pretty awful. For instance, one of the victims is possessed early on, and the prosthetics are genuinely solid quality. Until the addition of fangs, which just look cheap. They take the look from creepy and effective to just plain goofy.

The acting is of course dire, but that’s par for the course and part of the appeal.

Probably one for fans of cheap horror.

Silent Night, Deadly Night

How to succinctly explain? Young boy, recently given a fear of Santa by his mentally ill grandpa, witnesses his parents murder at the hands of a criminal dressed as Santa. He’s then raised in a Convent School type thing.

Once grown, begins working at a toy store where all is well. Until he has to dress up as the store Santa and goes tonto on a killing spree.

Something of a classic, and doesn’t rely on sensationalism as much as you might think.

Good Boy (2025)

The one where the dog is really a dog.

Good Boy is a somewhat “elevated” horror movie told from the perspective of the dog, Indy, in that the film is deliberately paced and bleak. There is a lot of time spent creating tension and giving atmosphere, so not a lot of jump scares or action. We were all really engaged the whole movie, but I don’t know if anyone who doesn’t love dogs would sit through it. In terms of horror, the movie is more spooky than scary. Fortunately the doggy has real presence.

I’d recommend watching it for anyone who loves dogs or is curious about low budget horror movies.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Good Boy (2025)

The one where the dog is really a dog.

Good Boy is a somewhat “elevated” horror movie told from the perspective of the dog, Indy, in that the film is deliberately paced and bleak. There is a lot of time spent creating tension and giving atmosphere, so not a lot of jump scares or action. We were all really engaged the whole movie, but I don’t know if anyone who doesn’t love dogs would sit through it. In terms of horror, the movie is more spooky than scary. Fortunately the doggy has real presence.

I’d recommend watching it for anyone who loves dogs or is curious about low budget horror movies.

I might have an opinion on the highlighted part. Dogs don't do much for me and I only watched the movie out of curiosity. I don't think it has much substance if you remove the motivation to watch a befuddled dog for an hour and a bit.

I wouldn't call it a bad movie. It seems competently made, just with a very niche appeal.

Running Man (2026) It is a fun watch but seeing it at home streaming would give the same experience. It seems to want to be both gritty like the book but occasionally going for goofy so it ends up having bizarre tonal shifts. At the end of the day the Arnold film is a lot more memorable and engaging even if it took a lot of liberties.

Fantastic Four: First Steps

The first thirty minutes, I thought to myself "Man, I am glad I did not go to the cinema for this." However, the big space chase was really well done and I found myself liking it more and more. Ultimately, I enjoyed the rest much more.

The first 30 minutes had a lot of heavy lifting to do to establish the F4, their world, and who they were. That was a huge lift, and it almost killed the rest of the movie.

I loved the vibe and setting of the flick. I am glad that they placed it on an alternate, Marvel earth, I know in THIS earth there is little chance the whole world would work together on a project, even to save all mankind. I saw COVID with my own eyes. However, as a semi-nostalgic look backwards and a riff on the "Can Do" attitude of 50's SCi-fi.... it worked.

Ultimately, it was a solid flick but it was no Thunderbolts. Worse, I think The Incredibles does it better.

Nobody 2

Sequel to Nobody, Bob Odenkirk still stars.

It’s like a dark comedy John Wick. It’s not a satire on that genre though, I will stress that. It’s not sending anything up or thumbing its nose at other films.

Instead, where John Wick is played Poe Faced? Nobody instead embraces the inherent silliness of the action movie genre. Because it is a silly genre, with bullet proof heroes of infinite ammo and baddies as maniacal as they are incompetent.

What Nobody does right is portray Hutch (Odenkirk) as a former assassin of such incredible skill? People getting on his tits and/or messing with his family are just an irritating inconveneince. You get the genuine impression he’d be perfectly happy to just be left alone to get on with his family life, but others will insist he kicks their heads in.

Glorious!

Because the God's are actively planning my downfall, I watched Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country with someone who has not only never seen Star Trek, but considers all Scifi movies to be 2001: A Space Odyssey.

And I would've heard less commentary had I turned on the Director's Commentary.

Is there some rule that allows me to evict someone from watching a movie with me if they are going to ramble on and on during the movie?

If you've never seen a Star Trek movie you should at least see the Wrath of Khan. Fair warning though, Khan is very upset.

Ted (2012)

Marky Mark and his magically alive teddy bear navigate adult life. Complications ensue!

Ted 2 (2015)

Marky Mark and his magically alive teddy bear navigate adult life. Complications ensue: the sequel!

I enjoyed both movies. They're overall good fun. I found the odd bit to drag, but that's to be expected. Can't win 'em all.

I ended up liking the second movie better. The first one is overwhelmingly focused on the relationship nonsense. The second one has more variety in themes and locations, which made it flow better for me.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Nobody 2

Sequel to Nobody, Bob Odenkirk still stars.

It’s like a dark comedy John Wick. It’s not a satire on that genre though, I will stress that. It’s not sending anything up or thumbing its nose at other films.

Instead, where John Wick is played Poe Faced? Nobody instead embraces the inherent silliness of the action movie genre. Because it is a silly genre, with bullet proof heroes of infinite ammo and baddies as maniacal as they are incompetent.

What Nobody does right is portray Hutch (Odenkirk) as a former assassin of such incredible skill? People getting on his tits and/or messing with his family are just an irritating inconveneince. You get the genuine impression he’d be perfectly happy to just be left alone to get on with his family life, but others will insist he kicks their heads in.

Glorious!

Watched it a bit ago. I had hoped I'd enjoy the second one as much as the first one. I liked Nobody a good bit the first time I watched it.

Nobody 2 ended up too much of a rehash for my taste, especially since I watched them back to back. Without bringing anything new to the table, Nobody 2 felt kind of pointless the longer it went on, and my enjoyment of it suffered accordingly. Shame, really.

Another Running Man viewer.... very enjoyable and scores higher than the Arnie version because although I've seen it, I can remember anything about it.

Fun action, nice premise, good movie.

The Arnie version is mostly memorable for having some of the worst one liners in Arnie's catalog. "Plain zero" remains the bottom of the barrel for me.

"I love this chainsaw. Its like a part of me. Now I want to make it a part of you." Classic stuff

"I am going to make you eat that contract, but I hope you leave enough room for my first, becasue I am going to shove it down your throat, and break your damn spine...... arrraggghhagahgfh!"

To paraphrase

“I’ll ‘uplink’ your ass and then you’ll be ‘underground’!!”

“Wuaaaghaagahaghaaaghaaaaa!”


“Whitman. Price. Hadad. Last season’s winners.”
“Last season’s losers.”

I cannot overstate the number of times I’ve been able to fit Whitman, Price or Hadad into a game or story.

Not entirely convinced by the new one. Edgar Wright has never landed for me when it’s not Pegg and Frost leading.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The Expendables 4

Well. It’s better than Expendables 3. But otherwise a largely by the numbers action nonsense flick.

Not entirely sure why 50 Cent is in it, given he’s not only a not very good rapper, but an even more not very good actor and brings absolutely eff all to the table except the odd moment where he’s so extremely wooden you mistake him for a sideboard.

Also, shame on the Director for having a scene where Tony Jaa gets assistance in kicking someone’s arse.

That’s Tony Jaa, you cretin. Star of Ong-Bak and Tom-Yum-Goong (aka Warrior King) and other excellent martial arts films. Tony Jaa does not need support.

Spesh when there’s not very good rapper, even more not very good actor, and even worserer more not very good action fighter 50 Cent farting around the place achieving Absolutely Nothing and frankly needs all the help he can get - and who I suspect has some kind of Dirty Dossier which enables him to have some kind of career given he’s demonstrated very little ability in any field.

A Ghost of a Chance

1967 children’s movie, by the Children’s Film Foundation.

Three children, aided by two friendly ghosts and the town busybody strive to save a historical home from demolition. Genuine hi-jinx and entertainment genuinely ensue.

Reminds me of things like Bedknobs and Broomsticks, with added British Charm. Despite being damned near 50 years old, this has a real timelessness about. The overall quality is such it could be a period piece made at any point up to now, really.

Ronnie Barker, Bernard Cribbens, Terry Scott and Patricia Hayes are our starting adults. You may know Patricia Hayes as Raziel from Willow. And frankly? With that case you should know you’re in safe hands, and in for an enjoyable time.

Available on DVD on the BFI’s second Children’s Film Foundation Boxed Set.

Helllpp Meeeee.....

Ive watched Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The First Avenger and now I'm watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier....

One after another... I'm sure I had something to do today... anything...

Why can't I go do something else?

Age of Ultron.

It sets up a lot of what was to come in terms of storylines, and so was somewhat unfairly judged when it first came out. In hindsight.

Age of Ultron wasn't received well at first? Curious. I liked it the first time I watched it.

Anyway...

Death Race 2000 (1975)

It is the futuristic year 2000 in an authoritarian USA. Five drivers compete in a cross country race from New York to Los Angeles, where not only speed counts but also a scoring system based on running over (more or less) unsuspecting pedestrians. Who will win? And what does it have to do with the resistance movement against Mr. President?

I think it's a satire. It's not a good movie, but not a terrible one either. The costumes and vehicle work are very dated, which is okay given the time it was made, but the vehicle action is kind of lame. Which is far from ideal for a movie about racing. It has some fun ideas and the setting leans on the ridiculous side of authoritarianism, so at least it isn't some grim drag. Bonus points for Sylvester Stallone acting like he's trying to get a career started.

Overall I think the remake, Death Race 2050 from 2017, did it better. The vehicle action in there is even worse, which considering the competition from just the last quarter of the century makes it look all kinds of ridiculous, but it's a also a full on comedy that goes all out on the dystopian setting and over the top characters. Which I think works better than the original playing so many things straight.

Actually, I take it back. The French don't feature in the remake, and that's just unforgivable.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Age of Ultron.

It sets up a lot of what was to come in terms of storylines, and so was somewhat unfairly judged when it first came out. In hindsight.

A lot of the critics thought it was essentially a retread of the first one. With a finale of our heroes "just fighting more robots."

Hence the hindsight. It set up the team fractures for Civil War, and dynamics that otherwise wouldn’t play out for a while.

So, whilst I agree that at the time it felt quite messy? We now know judging it purely as a single film is a bit like reading a book to the middle chapter, and declaring it not great because where’s the resolution.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Hence the hindsight. It set up the team fractures for Civil War, and dynamics that otherwise wouldn’t play out for a while.

So, whilst I agree that at the time it felt quite messy? We now know judging it purely as a single film is a bit like reading a book to the middle chapter, and declaring it not great because where’s the resolution.

But it took good Directors to not only salvage, but elevate the Avengers films.

That is some strong revisionism for Age of Midtron. It’s not The Phantom Menace, you know.


And the original Death Race 2000 is a classic. Jason Statham has nothing on David Carradine.

Well, other than perhaps the ability to amuse himself while breathing.

I too prefer the more recent Death Race movies. Including the one starring 1/3rd of Bros.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
That is some strong revisionism for Age of Midtron. It’s not The Phantom Menace, you know.


And the original Death Race 2000 is a classic. Jason Statham has nothing on David Carradine.

Well, other than perhaps the ability to amuse himself while breathing.

The Phantom Menace had one of the best Soundtracks ever.

I watched a version where it was just the score without any speaking... it was actually really good and easy to follow.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I too prefer the more recent Death Race movies. Including the one starring 1/3rd of Bros.

1/3rd of Bros?

But yeah, the modern Death Race movies are good fun. They just get so much stuff right, even if they aren't perfect The second one is a bit of a low point because of both the premise and jump to home entertainment budget. Fortunately the later ones get better again.

I've definitely never understood the hate for Age of Ultron. I suspect a lot of it comes from being going in with expectations they didn't have with the original and stands alone more than people wanted in the great age of "its all connected".

Like, there's a lot of things in it I can pick at. Widow's story is super cringy and Thor gets put aside for exposition being the two stand outs. Personally though I think it has some of the best character work and goes a long way towards making the cast characters beyond their costumed personas. Evans, Renner, Olsen and Bettany in particular really define themselves in ways that would elevate the franchise beyond the Iron Man show through to the Endgame.

It's probably the weakest Avengers movie, but its still one of the better MCU movies overall.

As for Death Race 2000? I mean, its terrible, but that's what's so fun about it. You just don't get movies with this lack of professionalism anymore and the industry is far worse off for it.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

The Phantom Menace had one of the best Soundtracks ever.

I watched a version where it was just the score without any speaking... it was actually really good and easy to follow.

That sounds like a superior viewing experience.