Consider the strong points of the original Blade Runner (1982), the mystery of the replicant hunt, the love story of Rick and Rachel, the elegiac death of Rutger Hauer. A little out of the ordinary to turn into a HBO/VHS classic, but it did.
To call 2049 a sequel is to damn with faint praise. Here the characters generally pick up where they left off. We have a new blade runner "K" (Ryan Gosling) and a new cop boss (Robin Wright). When K takes out an early model replicant (Dave Bautista), he starts investigating a mystery which leads him down memory holes, to orphanages, and ultimately to Harrison Ford.
With so many years elapsing, we have a narrative about what has happened, what is going on, what might occur in the future. In that aspect, it's like the middle part of a trilogy, which is fitting for the original to set up and pays good homage. A good new character arrives towards the end in Jared Leto. We'll see him again.
Better than the original? No, but good in its own right. Director Denis Villanueve and Director of Photography Roger Deakins make this an event suitable for the big screen.
A little slow at time, and that reminded me of Arrival, scrolling out the action and reveals as long as possible.
Siskel and Ebert's worst movies 1981-1998
An interesting list - I'd say you should take out the sequels to pare it down.
Some of these I would call classics - reviewed here on my blog
Porky's
St. Elmo's Fire
Stealing Home
Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Striptease
Happy Gilmore
These serious men were not too much into comedy, Rom-com or otherwise ...
http://www.listchallenges.com/siskel-and-eberts-worst-movie-list/checklist/6
Little Children (2006)
In place of the actual movie review, this is the book review, both written by Tom Perrotta:
Kate Winslett plays Sarah, a stay at home mom of Lucy in a leafy suburb. She spends time with the other moms during the day and they of course notice the one stay at home dad. When Sarah finally talks to Todd on a dare (name changed to Brad in the movie) [Patrick Wilson] she impulsively kisses him and that begins a clandestine suburban affair between her and Todd/Brad, which includes everyone to some degree.
Their little children, who are friends at the playground.
Their spouses, who may or may not know about the affair and who have problems of their own.
Their friends, who have some jealousy, and who also have problems of their own.
And the Perrotta twist, a dark force lurking behind leafy suburban doors, right in their midst.
Kate Winslett plays Sarah, a stay at home mom of Lucy in a leafy suburb. She spends time with the other moms during the day and they of course notice the one stay at home dad. When Sarah finally talks to Todd on a dare (name changed to Brad in the movie) [Patrick Wilson] she impulsively kisses him and that begins a clandestine suburban affair between her and Todd/Brad, which includes everyone to some degree.
Their little children, who are friends at the playground.
Their spouses, who may or may not know about the affair and who have problems of their own.
Their friends, who have some jealousy, and who also have problems of their own.
And the Perrotta twist, a dark force lurking behind leafy suburban doors, right in their midst.
The Lost Boys (1987)
A 30th anniversary showing at the Cine El Rey led to a packed house for this campy vampire tale. Much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, we have a pair of Normals, brothers Michael and Sam who move to Santa Carla, the Murder Capital of the World. They start to find out unusual things happen in that town.
Michael (Jason Patric) is seduced by the vampires of the dark side, Kiefer Sutherland and Jami Gertz. Sam (Corey Haim) on the other hand is under the obligation of the enforcement side, so to speak, and seeks to quell this vampire uprising. Predictable conflict ensues, with the inter-family aspect the most interesting part, especially their mother (Dianne Weist) and grandpa (Barnard Hughes). The family interplay was reminiscent of Back to the Future (1985) , one of the underrated parts of that movie.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, we see beginnings of the dark, over-the-top aspects of movies of that era, such as Beetlejuice and Batman.
Michael (Jason Patric) is seduced by the vampires of the dark side, Kiefer Sutherland and Jami Gertz. Sam (Corey Haim) on the other hand is under the obligation of the enforcement side, so to speak, and seeks to quell this vampire uprising. Predictable conflict ensues, with the inter-family aspect the most interesting part, especially their mother (Dianne Weist) and grandpa (Barnard Hughes). The family interplay was reminiscent of Back to the Future (1985) , one of the underrated parts of that movie.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, we see beginnings of the dark, over-the-top aspects of movies of that era, such as Beetlejuice and Batman.
IT
Adapted from the book by Stephen King, this 80s homage (set in the 80s) is about a group of young boys about 12 on the cusp of puberty. As part of their coming of age, they start to realize that their town of Derry, Maine is not what is seems to be. Kids disappear and adults do nothing about it. The lead character Bill's brother Georgie has "disappeared" and Bill suffers from a guilt about it.
Georgie has fallen victim to Pennywise the Dancing Clown, played by Bill Skarsgaard. Pennywise is a Satanic force, tempting his victims to choose the evil side.
In fighting the violence of the age of a budding pubescent kid in the 80s, a disparate group of 6 comes together to discover in Encyclopedia Brown fashion, that a dark force is in the Derry sewer. And the epicenter of the sewer just happens to be the location of the haunted house in town. And you know what happens when you go into a haunted house in the movies...
But to call it simply a horror movie gives it short shift. It's a horror movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark might have been a scary movie (which it was). Lots of 80s movies shine through - in no particular order:
Raiders of the Lost Arc/ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Stand By Me
River's Edge
Breakfast Club
Breaking Away
Angel Heart
Halloween
Lethal Weapon
Batman (see the movie marquee)
Nightmare on Elm Street
Back to the Future
Ordinary People
The Fugitive
Good themes of horror movies that no one is coming to save you but yourself. Very subversive in its description of the complacent adults of Derry. That is probably the scariest part - the town itself.
***** Highest rating!
Georgie has fallen victim to Pennywise the Dancing Clown, played by Bill Skarsgaard. Pennywise is a Satanic force, tempting his victims to choose the evil side.
In fighting the violence of the age of a budding pubescent kid in the 80s, a disparate group of 6 comes together to discover in Encyclopedia Brown fashion, that a dark force is in the Derry sewer. And the epicenter of the sewer just happens to be the location of the haunted house in town. And you know what happens when you go into a haunted house in the movies...
But to call it simply a horror movie gives it short shift. It's a horror movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark might have been a scary movie (which it was). Lots of 80s movies shine through - in no particular order:
Raiders of the Lost Arc/ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Stand By Me
River's Edge
Breakfast Club
Breaking Away
Angel Heart
Halloween
Lethal Weapon
Batman (see the movie marquee)
Nightmare on Elm Street
Back to the Future
Ordinary People
The Fugitive
Good themes of horror movies that no one is coming to save you but yourself. Very subversive in its description of the complacent adults of Derry. That is probably the scariest part - the town itself.
***** Highest rating!
Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets
This sci-fi story is certain a credit to Star Wars. Legend has it that Valerian was what influenced George Lucas first. It's a comic book story come to life, so there's a lot of history to cover.
Dane DeHann and Cara Delevingne stars as Hans and Leia (er, Valerian and Laureline) who are tasked to go find the mysterious force that is threatening their space world. It's a complicated Christopher Nolan-esque plot, so of course you find the familiar of The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Blade Runner. And it wouldn't be reminiscent of Blade Runner without Rutger Hauer who plays the Federation President.
Nice subplot involving Rihanna (Bubble) and Ethan Hawke (Jolly). One of the better parts.
Good lead casting - Dane and Cara reminded me of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow.
* * * * of 5
Dane DeHann and Cara Delevingne stars as Hans and Leia (er, Valerian and Laureline) who are tasked to go find the mysterious force that is threatening their space world. It's a complicated Christopher Nolan-esque plot, so of course you find the familiar of The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Blade Runner. And it wouldn't be reminiscent of Blade Runner without Rutger Hauer who plays the Federation President.
Nice subplot involving Rihanna (Bubble) and Ethan Hawke (Jolly). One of the better parts.
Good lead casting - Dane and Cara reminded me of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow.
* * * * of 5
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