Rounders (1998)

20161026:
For the most part, I thought this movie would have a sense of thrill, but for whatever reason, I didn't feel the suspense of the final showdown. Or perhaps I've finally seen enough movies that certain stories and scenarios are just too predictable.

Mike McDermott (Matt Damon)

Overall, I'd probably rate Rounders 3.5 or 3.7 out of 5 stars. Since Netflix doesn't allow partial ratings, I'll go ahead and give it a 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix; prior to my rating, Netflix had it rated at 4 out of 5 stars.

Teddy KGB (John Malkovich)

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Instant Comments:
Ha. "Want a cookie?"
That's good, a slight

Joey Knish (John Turturro)

Ha. "Where's the rest?"
Ha. Threw away all his "earnings" (cigarettes).
Clint Eastwood.

Jo (Gretchen Mol)

Way to screw them over.
"So that's it huh? Just like a young man coming in for a quickie. I feel so unsatisfied."
Changed to No Limit

Worm (Edward Norton)

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Watched 20161026 (Netflix, Instant)
Rounders (1998) John Dahl. 121 min

Relevant Links:
Rounders (IMDb.com)
Rounders (RottenTomatoes.com)
Rounders (film) (Wikipedia.org)

Chicken Run (2000)

Synopsis:
An egg laying chicken named Ginger is set on freeing herself and all her comrades.

Ginger (Julia Sawalha)

Although everything she's tried thus far has been a bust, hope is restored when a rooster named Rocky lands at their doorsteps.

20161021:
While this movie didn't have the most believable plot, it did have some entertaining moments. It also had strong character development.

Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson)

Overall, I would recommend the movie to any fan of Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit. I'm uncertain, however, if the movie retains any appeal to younger audiences who have most likely become accustomed to Pixar-like animation.

The movie was rated 4 out of 5 stars for me by Netflix and then I gave it a 3. If I could assign fractional ratings I'd give it a 3.5.

Mac (center left, Lynn Ferguson) and Ginger (center right)

[20161108]

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Instant Comments:
I'm not sure if I've seen this movie before

Fowler (center, Benjamin Whitrow)

It's familiar due to the Wallace & Gromit style animation [on account of Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park].
Ha. Some of them are less educated, even ignorant.
About 15 minutes into the movie, I get the feeling I have not seen this movie
Rocky Rhodes (a play on "Rocky Road")

Rocky (Mel Gibson)

"It's raining hen!" (a play on "It's Raining Men")
Hahaha. She stitched herself a noose.
"Want to dance?" "Yeah alright."; Oh, when the one rat asked, "Want to dance," he sounded like Pinky - from Pinky and the Brain.

Mrs. Tweedy and Mr. Tweedy (Tony Haygarth)

Haha. One of the lines lines I hate hearing in movies (when followed by interruption): "There's something I got to tell you."
Ha. "Apple."
References Star Trek. "We need more power!" "I cannae work miracles, Captain! We're giving her all she's got."
That exchange sounded like Adrian and Rocky (Rock (1976)). "Adrian!" "Rocky!" Is that why she wears a hat just like Adrian does?

Nick (left, Timothy Spall) and Fetcher (right, Phil Daniels)

Lol. "A cling-on, Captain!" (a play on "Klingon," which continues the Star Trek reference)

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Watched 20161022 (Netflix, Instant)
Chicken Run (2000) Peter Lord, Nick Park.

Babs (Jane Horrocks)

Relevant Links:
Chicken Run (IMDb.com)
Chicken Run (RottenTomatoes.com)
Chicken Run (Wikipedia.org)

Bad Boys II (2003)

20161019:
I know it's suppose to be part of Martin Lawrence's character to freak out and complain but it just wasn't as funny as when it happened in the first movie Bad Boys (1995). In fact, this movie lacked all the good aspects which the first movie had. With that being said, apparently there's a Bad Boys 3 lined up. Anyways, I watched this because it was a sequel and there's this compelling urge for me to watch a sequel, even if it's probably bad.*

Detective Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence)

Detective Mike Lowrey (Will Smith)

Bad Boys II was rated for me by Netflix at 3.5 out of 5 stars. And while Will Smith has been in some solid movies, this wasn't one of them and I rated Bad Boys just 3 out of 5 stars - thought it might even deserve a 2 or 2.5.

*However, I've yet to see any Disney sequel with the exception of Rescuers Down Under, but that one's a sequel which was released in theaters! Oh wait, I've seen The Lion King 2, but that's it.

Syd (Gabrielle Union)

[20161104 Edit]

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Instant Comments:
"I'd like to see how your machine works, baby."
The camera circling around the room during the bust in on the Jamaicans was pretty cool.

Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano)

Hahaha.

Marcus: "My ass still hurts, from what you did to it the other night."
Mike: "Hey, it got rough. I mean, we got caught up in the moment, shit got crazy. You know how I get."
Marcus "When you popped me from behind I think you damaged some nerves. Now I can't -- Now I can't --"
Mike: "Can't what?"
Marcus: "I can't even get an erection. I tried taking Viagra, you know, pop one, pop two. Been eating them like Skittles. And I'm still flaccid."

Hector Juan Carlos 'Johnny' Tapia (Jordi Molla)

Hahahaha.
The conversation continues...
"For the DEA, you ain't nothing but a honeypot."
Ha, they put on a show (threatening Marcus's daughter's date Reggie).

"Move Bitch Get Out Da Way" by Ludacris
The part where Marcus and Mike were joined by others for the rogue rescue mission was over the top (and out of the blue).

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Watched 20161019 (Netflix, Instant)
Bad Boys II (2003) Michael Bay. 147 min

Relevant Links:
Bad Boys II (IMDb.com)
Bad Boys II (RottenTomatoes.com)
Bad Boys II (Wikipedia.org)

Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way (2014)

20161018:
Bill Burr has good material and I liked this special more than his previous special for two particular reasons. The first is his references to previous specials. The second is he seemed to be more fluid with his delivery and didn't add as much filler (e.g., "You know?").

Overall, if you liked any of his previous specials, then you'll probably like this one too. If you haven't seen any of Bill Burr's specials, then you should consider watching one of them.

[20161103]

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Instant Comments:
"Go veggie"
"I have been bitching about the population problem for three specials in a row."
His bit on watching a sports draft is hilarious.

"We like our beers like we like our violence: domestic." I don't support domestic violence, but it's just a joke right?
[Pokes fun at mass] Sings the part of the Church: "Say what we say when we say it... Say it again, then you can go home to your toys." Switches his tone for the response by the people: "All right, I'll say it. I'll say it again. Now can I go home to my toys?"
Ha. That little bit with enjoying heaven without your family members and friends is certainly thought provoking (for those that believe in heaven).

References Full Metal Jacket (1987).
Ha. "That whole 50 shades of rape..."
Hahahaha. Up against the wall. Hahaha, that whole bit is pretty funny.

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Watched 20161018 (Netflix, Instant)
Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way (2014) Jay Karas. 80 min

Relevant Links:
Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way (IMDb.com)
Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel THat Way (Wikipedia.org)

Hellboy (2004)

20161018:
Even though I didn't expect much going into the film, I still found it underwhelming.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman)

In fact, I'm so disappointed by this movie, that I'm tempted to remove Fantastic Four from my 'My List' on Netflix by the following logic: 1) Fantastic Four is a bad movie, 2) I've seen it once and thought about seeing it again, 3) but Hellboy was a painstakingly bad movie, 4) so I don't want to go through the pains of seeing such an equally bad movie again anytime soon.*

Liz Sherman (Selma Blair)

*After finishing Hellboy, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars (Netflix had it at 4 out of 5 stars). I had Fantastic Four rated at 3 out of 5 stars. Curious what Netflix would say, I temporarily unrated Fantastic Four and Netflix had it at 2.25 out of 5 stars.

Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm (John Hurt)

Instant Comments:
Ha. "They must be here for the sheep."
"In the absence of light, there is darkness."
Oh, I never knew that Hellboy gets his look because he files his horns.

John Myers (Rupert Evans)

Haha. "Screw this."
The vision which explains part of the dilemma was quite boring. And I don't really like the look of the different characters...

Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden)

...Though perhaps it has to do with the proportions. The live animation version of Hellboy fails to have the same proportions as the comic version. I find a similar flaw in the X-Men First Class version of Beast.
So... not only do the reproduce, but they also divide when killed? What will the solution be?

Ha. "You never, ever light a cigar that way. Use a wooden match. It preserves the flavor."

During Credits:
"Hello guys? I'm still here. Hello?"

Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor)

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Watched 20161018 (Netflix, Instant)
Hellboy (2004) Guillermo del Toro. 122 min

Relevant Links:
Hellboy (IMDb.com)
Hellboy (RottenTomatoes.com)
Hellboy (film) (Wikipedia.org)

Abe Sapien (Doug Jones)

The Italian Job (2003)

20161015:
While I remembered the overall plot, I had forgotten all of the details.

Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg)

Unfortunately for the film, what I had remembered as being a clever heist film with some good action which included a cool Mini Cooper escape scene degenerated into a partially failed heist film with minimal action and a Mini Cooper exercise scene.

Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron)

Consequently, although I had the movie rated at four out of five stars on Netflix, today I decided to lower it to three stars; it simply wasn't as great as I remembered.

John Bridger (Donald Sutherland)

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Instant Comments:
[I mistook Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), the actor who played Left Ear, with Taye Diggs from Equilibrium (2002)]
Hmm... what movie did I see the old man in recently? [Oh, I guess not recently. He is, however, President Snow in The Hunger Games]

Left Ear (Yasiin Bey as Mos Def) and Handsome Rob (Jason Statham)

"I like what you said, I'll take one of each of yours."
Invented Napster.

Lyle (Seth Green)

"It's the devil inside them I don't trust."
Hmm... I'll assume he can only stop the train (and not start it). Cause if he could stop it and start it, he could have just stopped it, let his teammates pass, and then start it again until it got into position.

They're pretty happy for having only recovered 27 out of 35 million.
"You know this was never about the gold." "Whatever helps you sleep at night sweetheart."

Steve (Edward Norton)

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Watched once before.
Watched 20161015 (Netflix, Instant)
The Italian Job (2003)

Relevant Links:
The Italian Job (2003) (IMDb.com)
The Italian Job (2003) (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Italian Job (2003 film) (Wikipedia.org)

Unforgiven (1992)

20161015:
While this movie was lacking in some respects, I liked how it ended and I liked it as a whole.

William Munny (Clint Eastwood)

Unfortunately, some point after watching the movie, I couldn't help but wonder what it was about.

Nevertheless, I would highly recommend the movie, especially to fans of westerns; though the movie is labeled as a 'revisionist Western' (i.e., 'anti-western').

Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman)

Instant Comments:
Hmm... although the principal was that her face and therefore life couldn't be restored by the mere offering of a pony, it was still a gift out of nothing. I suppose their refusal is equivalent to denying any sort of relief to the man's guilty conscience.

Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman)

"Did pa used to kill folks?"
Ha, brings out a shotgun.
"Would you like a free one?"

W. W. Beauchamp (left, Saul Rubinek) and English Bob (right, Richard Harris)

"Who's the fella that owns this shithole?"
"Deserve's got nothing' to do with it."
"I'll see you in hell William Munny." "Yeah."

The 'Schofield Kid' (Jaimz Woolvett)

[20161015]

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Watched 20161015 (Netflix, Instant)
Unforgiven (1992) Clint Eastwood. 131 min

Relevant Links:
Unforgiven (IMDb.com)
Unforgiven (RottenTomatoes.com)
Unforgiven (Wikipedia.org)

The Imitation Game (2014)

20161011:
I usually enjoy a movie with a good story. And, as often the case with movies based on a book or true story, I end up attributing the movie for the story. Perhaps what I should be saying, however, that the adaptation was well-written.*

Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch)

In any case, because I couldn't hear the introduction in the first three minutes of the movie, I was confused whenever the movie subtly switched between past and present.**

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and would highly recommend it. It is not, however, as good as A Beautiful Mind (2001).

Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley)

*The following article discusses the liberties taken in adapting the story to a movie: How Accurate is The Imitation Game?

Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode)

**During a screenshot viewing (20161013) there was one scene where the year was shown, but that was the only instance.

[20161013]

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Detective Robert Nock (Rory Kinnear)

Instant Comments:
1: Invitation to lunch scene.
1: "SEE YOU IN TWO LONG WEEKS DEAREST FRIEND"

John Cairncross (Allen Leech)

1: "That's my sandwich." "You don't like sandwiches."
1: "Are you paying attention?"
1=20161013, screenshot viewing

Stewart Menzies (Mark Strong) and Alan Turing

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Watched 20161011 (Netflix, Instant) (English subtitles)
The Imitation Game (2014) 114 min.

Hugh, Carincross, and Turing stand before Christopher.

Relevant Links:
The Imitation Game (IMDb.com)
The Imitation Game (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Imitation Game (Wikipedia.org)

Enigma