When I first heard that Keanu Reeves was jumping back into action with what seemed like a generically titled JOHN WICK, I wasn’t all that excited. But the word of mouth on this one was good. So when it hit HBO tonight, I was ready to give it a go ASAP.
POSEIDON is one of those formulaic action films you are bound to see eventually. It is made for commercial interruptions and mindless consumption (though my snobbishness has prevented me from watching ANYTHING with commercial interruptions). It’s been on HBO lately and seemed like a throw away movie perfect for a late night.
I’d like to thank HBO for hitting their summer season. I’ll finally catch up on a bunch of movies I wanted to see in theaters and never got around to. GONE GIRL premiered this weekend, and it didn’t take my wife and I long to get to it.
MARKED FOR DEATH was not the apex of the Steven Seagal era, that would be UNDER SIEGE by any objective measure. But it is right in the middle of when he was one of the above-average action film stars. He never made it to the status of Sly or Arnie or Bruce. But he certainly held the top of that next tier with JCVD. Anyway, MARKED FOR DEATH was one of those I hadn’t seen until now.
In some ways, it is harder for an indie film to sweep in out of nowhere in the current Hollywood model than it was in the 90s and early 00s. While social media has certainly aided the possibility that word-of-mouth will allow the cream to rise to the top, the over saturation of the movie marketplace can also make it harder to sift through all of the muck to find the real diamonds. So when a horror movie with absolutely no stars attached makes waves and earns itself a theatrical release, it is important to take notice. If nothing else, it is clear that IT FOLLOWS had earned its reputation the old fashioned way: It was good and it scared people. 
Continue reading ‘johnlink ranks IT FOLLOWS (2014)’
This is another movie I knew nothing about, but DVRd on a whim off of TCM. Turner Classics is great for finding stuff like this, even if stuff like this isn’t always great. Anyway, it is a bit unique in that Boris Karloff gets to play the good guy for once – at this point in his career he was pretty well entrenched as Frankenstein’s Monster already.
The first installment of the second reboot of the Planet of the Apes movie series proved to be a decent movie. Then word came that a sequel was being made that would have none of the same characters, save for some of the CGI apes. That didn’t appear to be a formula for success. But word of mouth on DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES was good, and this was a nice movie by all accounts. I finally got around to seeing it so I could decide for myself.
![EMBARGOED FROM ONLINE FOR 3:01 AM EDT Malcolm (Jason Clarke) is followed by Caesar (Andy Serkis), Koba (Toby Kebbell) and Maurice (Karin Konoval) as he tries to make peace with them in a scene from the motion picture "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." CREDIT: WETA/20th Century Fox [Via MerlinFTP Drop]](https://johnlinkmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/human-meets-apes.jpg)
Continue reading ‘johnlink ranks DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2014)’
By 2005 I was sort of all set with Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell and comedies starring any number of those guys. Not that I dislike any of them now, I just stopped rushing out to see their stuff because it was all pretty much the same. So, somehow, as WEDDING CRASHERS hits its 10th anniversary next month, it is one of those well regarded comedies that I just never got around to seeing. Until now.
Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson are both actors I like. So put them together in one of my favorite genres, the thriller, and let them run wild? I’ll see that movie for sure. Wasn’t expecting greatness, hoping for some suspense.
Elizabeth Banks is one who usually improves anything she is in. This comedy, WALK OF SHAME, has been circulating HBO for the past month or so. Really didn’t know anything at all about it when I started it.
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