Change Your Image
mfuson77
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Defending Your Life (1991)
A movie that helps you look forward to dying!
If Judgement City were real, I'd step in front of a bus tomorrow.
Albert Brooks brings us a story of what happens after we die, that is so refreshingly different I am I proud to call Defending Your Life one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.
After more than 3 decades, I can still watch Defending Your Life, and have a laugh and a smile. Not many movies can do that.
Without giving away too much of the story, Daniel Miller dies and finds himself in Judgement City, an assessment period that occurs at the end of each life. If the universe decides you were able to conquer your fear before you died, you get to move on to a more advanced plane of existence.
Daniel is defended by Bob Diamond played brilliantly by Rip Torn.
While in Judgement City Daniel meets the recently deceased Julia, played by the timeless Meryl Streep. The movie spends time developing a relationship between the two. If there is a weak spot in Defending Your Life, it was this. I never thought Daniel came across as actually being into Julia. That always bugged me.
That said I would love to see a Netflix sequel with Brooks and Streep as Daniel and Julia in the next level and let's add some Melissa Mcarthy in place of the late Rip Torn. Daniel and Julia have been such a big part of my life, it would be nice to see how they are doing.
If you haven't seen Defending Your Life, and you feel like watching something uplifting, check out this title. You won't be disappointed!
Star Trek: Picard: The Last Generation (2023)
All Good Things...
I'm rating the episode as a 9 out of 10. I knew going into the final episode they had a bit too much plot to wrap up in a neat and tidy manner. This ended up being true to a degree.
Going into episode 10 there was a lot of speculation on who would die, and who would show up for a cameo appearance. Fortunately, no one died.
As for cameo's, I was still holding out for an appearance by Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Janeway, but this did not come to pass. Tim Russ returned one final time as Tuvok to give Seven a promotion to captain, at the recorded recommendation of Captain Shaw.
Listen carefully, Walter Koening (Chekov) has a voice cameo as the President of the Federation.
As for the story...
The Borg had assimilated everyone under age 25, space dock was under attack from the assimilated Federation fleet and a Borg cube was hiding inside the giant red spot of Jupiter.
There are holes in the plot that viewers can fill in the blank using some Trek universe knowledge, but this is still the biggest weakness of the episode.
On the cube, the Borg appear to be rotting away and many drones are dead in their alcoves. Even the Borg queen has wasted away and the Cube itself is only functioning around 38%. I don't know that I missed the explanation, but I immediately thought of the neurolthic pathogen that admiral Janeway infected the Bord queen with in the series finally of Voyager. The problem with that is the queen and unimatrix zero-one were destroyed in that incident.
Alas, this plot ambiguity doesn't ruin the episode, but detracts a bit.
Now for the wonderful moments!
The humor is fantastic! Worf gets injured and Riker goes to use Worf's bat'leth, but can't lift it because it's so heavy! Riker says something about the weight and Worf indicates he prefers the bat'leth because it's "fun"!
Another wonderful Worf moment is when they return to the Enterprise after the battle and Worf promptly falls asleep in Counsellor Troi's chair on the bridge, just like an old man.
I don't want to paste this review with too many spoilers because this episode was so important to so many of us.
It's a happy ending, and it certainly sets us up for a new show, with the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-G with Captain Seven of Nine, Rafi and Jack Crusher along with ensign Laforge at the helm.
The last we see of our hero's, the whole group is playing poker one final time on the holodeck.
It left me satisfied.
Final spoiler!
Watch the entire end credits!
There is one final plot drop that leads into the new series! You won't be disappointed!
In the absence of a family and friends, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D raised me. The best of who I am comes directly from the words the characters spoke and the actions they portrayed.
They are, and always shall be, my family.
I thank the cast and crew, the creators and Gene Roddenberry for creating a world that I could be welcomed into and be a part of. You can never understand how impactful and positive the Star Trek universe has been. Very few shows can say the same. Thank you, sincerely.
It was,
All good things...
Star Trek: Picard: Võx (2023)
WOW!
All good things...part 1
Where to begin?
As we near journeys end you just knew they would have to end with a bang, a big bang.
Frontier day is here, and the fleet is assembled. The crew of the Enterprise D, with the help of Troi, Laforge and Data discover Borg coding written inside of Jean Luc Picard that caused a misdiagnosis of his irumodic syndrome. The coding was passed on to Jack who is hearing the Queen. What is worse is the coding has been written into the transporter systems fleet wide, and anyone who has used a transporter now has the Borg code inside of them. The code was remotely activated by the Borg and all the younger officers assimilated on the spot and the entire Federation fleet became Borg. Fortunately, the Borg are ageist and anyone with wrinkles was seemingly unaffected by the Borg transmission.
We say goodbye to Captain Shaw who hands the Titan over to Seven - and he actually refers to her as Seven of Nine - nice to see some growth in his character.
The biggest spoiler and the greatest surprise from Gordi Laforge was the unveiling of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. Gordi has been resorting the enterprise for several decades after the saucer section was retrieved from Verdian 3 (because of the prime directive). Gordi explains the drive section was rebuilt from other galaxy class star ships.
The episode is packed full of twists and turns and its loaded with some great humor! Worf seemingly acknowledges he destroyed the Enterprise E, but claims it wasn't his fault.
Data is told to be more positive in another scene and he smiles and says "I hope we die quickly".
As we approach the end, the crew is back together on the Enterprise D and are warping to the Sol system to engage the Borg!
How the journey will end is anyone's guess, but with Seven still on the Titan - it seems like we are being set up for a series hand off! Fingers crossed!
I'm not ready to say good bye.
I just loved the little quirky humor jabs.
Star Trek: Picard: The Bounty (2023)
Another Fantastic Episode!
Talk about keeping the audience at the edge of their seats!
"The Bounty" is stocked full of easter eggs from the Trek library. Even though some items are only given a glimpse, it was a well put together, reminiscent episode of years gone by. The Daystrom Institute provided us with a quick glimpse of a Thalaron Generator from Nemisis, the Genisis device from Star Trek 2 Wrath of Khan among a few others.
Off to the fleet museum where we see The Enterprise NCC-1701-A, USS Voyager and the Bounty from everyone's favorite whale Trek!
The episode is fun to watch and full of laughs!
Worf and Rafi have found their way to the Titan in episode 6 and the old crew is in agreement that the need to "Burgle" the Daystrom Institute to acquire the manifest of what Vadic stole aside from the portal device.
Yes! We meet Professor Moriarty again! And in addition to that, some conglomerate form of Data, Lore and B4. And yes, the cloaking device from Star Trek 4 The Voyage Home - ends up on the Titan for use.
What was the other thing Vadic stole? Human remains of one Jean Luc Picard.
The episode ends on a tense note with Riker being abducted by Vadic and Deana Troi being held hostage by Vadic to sway Riker to cooperate.
It's a wonderful episode that has kept me guessing where we are going.
Set a course for episode 7, engage!
Star Trek: Picard: Imposters (2023)
Season 3 is so much better than the previous 2!
The USS Titan has escaped Captain Vadic and the "space babies" of the nebula and is enroute to rendezvous with Starfleet.
I'm rating the episode a 10, but I do have the odd strike against the story.
Captain Shaw has his command returned to him from Riker. Once again Liam Shaw shows his charm by gloating that he's already contacted Starfleet and the Titan is going to rendezvous with the USS Intrepid. Minor point, but the Intrepid was a "class of vessel" i.e. USS Voyager. For the USS Intrepid to be called that, it should have been an intrepid class vessel, in my humble opinion, but I digress.
I have to admit this episode had me at the edge of my seat once the Titan meets up with Starfleet. The investigator decides to board the Titan using a shuttle craft instead of beaming over. As soon as they did that, my mind went to Dr Catherine Polaski because she was terrified by the transporter. Instead, we are greeted with Ro Laren, who was unexpected, but cool to see again!
Now in TNG Ro Laren abandoned Starfleet and re-joined the Maquis. That was the last we ever see of her, until she boards the Titan. Somehow she survived the Dominion war, surrendered to Starfleet, went to prison and was eventually recruited by Starfleet intelligence.
I don't know that I love the back story. It's still a stretch to see her in a position of trust, but here we are.
Picard and Crushers son (Jack) is experiencing nightmares and hallucinations. At one point Jack admits to his mom that something is very wrong with him.
Jack successfully killed 4 changelings, and he doesn't seem too sure how he did it.
Ro Laren decides to interview Picard and the friction between the two is intense. Picard doesn't trust Ro for abandoning the crew 30 years earlier, and Ro doesn't seem to trust Picard.
This episode is layer upon layer of who do you trust and how do you stop the changelings?
Near the end of the episode Worf is reunited with Picard and Riker on a subspace channel. Worf's handler had been Ro Laren and this is who Worf expects to see, setting us up for episode 6.
What Picard season 3 is doing is weaving together a tapestry of story that brings the old crew together while at the same time showing the strength the team from the Enterprise had as a crew, is still there.
I have a feeling the remaining episodes in Picard Season 3 will be a rollercoaster of action and emotion as we say our final farewell to Admiral Jean Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, I guess Enterprise E too.
Star Trek: Picard: Disengage (2023)
One of the Greatest Scenes in Star Trek History
Picard Season 3 Episode: Disengage is a well-constructed story that keeps you "engaged" and wanting more.
On the bridge of the USS Titan, with only one minute to a deadline to handover Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) to Vadic (Amanda Plummer). Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) prepares to handover Jack Crusher to save the Titan from certain destruction by Vadic. Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart), with no more options to save Jack seems, desperate and lost. The sound of the turbo lift draws Picard's attention to Will Riker (Johnaton Frakes) and Beverly Crusher (Gates Mcfadden) walk onto the bridge. Nothing is spoken. Their eyes meet and Picard knows what to do. As Admiral, he orders the ship locked down. When Captain Shaw protests, Picard says. "He's my son."
Absolutely brilliant writing. This is going to be a tear-jerker season, I can feel it!
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
Picard Season 3
I have watched the first two seasons of Picard and I think as a true fan of the TNG crew I was disappointed in season 1, mostly because the universe it takes place is was far to dark for Star Trek, in my opinion. Season 2 improved and had some wonderful scenes, but still had its issues. I'm on episode 2 of season 3 and it's riveting!
Season 3, thus far, has done a wonderful job weaving in suspense and mystery. It many ways it reminds me how TNG wasn't good in season 1 or 2 of TNG, but by season 3 they seemed to have figured out their path. Picard Season 3, appears to be in the same category!
Jack Crusher (Edward Speleers) has been a wonderful addition, tying together TNG central characters and giving a great motive for Picard and Riker to head out on one last adventure.
The most important thing is the show is keeping me "engage(d)" to want to watch more!
I suspect at the end of season 3, we will say good bye to the Enterprise D crew, and we may just be left with a new crew for a new reboot? Captain Seven of Nine at the helm? It feels like the direction it may be moving...so very exciting!
Wolf Pack (2023)
Lots of room to improve
There are many things wrong with Wolf Pack, but there are also many elements that are off to a good start.
The dialogue is rough, not well written.
The CGI, is CGI - rarely is there good CGI.
The story draws you in, but the forest fire doesn't work beyond the opening sequence. Although the story is good in parts, other parts surrounding the forest fire make continuity and timing issues in the plot that just don't work. Frankly they did a horrible job with effects with a home that was "burnt" down only hours before, but just looks dirty. Probably to do with the budget.
Sara Michelle Geller, glad to see her again, but between the bad dialogue and the forced feeling of her character...well it's a character I would axe. The "monster" being perused by a pesky "hunter" has been done to death. I hope Wolf Pack goes a different route.
Overall, I'm enjoying it more than Teen Wolf, but Wolf Pack has to step up soon or face being a one season flop.
Teen Wolf: The Movie (2023)
This Movie Didn't Know What It Wanted To Be
The highlight was seeing Ryan Kelly's (Deputy Parrish) bare butt! Hopefully it wasn't a stunt butt.
Teen Wolf, the show and the movie, suffered from the same issue. The stories were over the top, hard to follow.
The opening scene at the Sushi bar with Dylan Sprayberry left me with my head scratching. If the jar was so damn important, why did they leave it out in the open in a public space? Also, I think Liam (Sprayberry) could have kicked the intruders ass instead of having his ass handed to him.
Derek Hale has a son who is afraid to turn into a werewolf...transformation hesitance? Kick him in the junk, make him angry, that should do the trick.
It was good to see that gang, minus the best character, Stiles!
I thought Jackson (Colton Haynes) felt out of place, with little to add to the story, other than some eye candy.
Like the TV show, some well imagined antagonists with great imagery - but the story itself fell flat.
Hero Dog: The Journey Home (2021)
dumb and wreckless
I love the dog, but that's where the love ends. The concept is silly and goes against basic survival skills. The main character who is a blind war vet from an Afghanistan road side bomb is lost in the wilderness after his chartered boat goes off course and crashes after the captain has a medical issue. Apparently the war vet forgot basic survival skills and decides to abandon the boat and to start walking blindly with the dog - who is not a seeing eye dog and the duo attempts to walk the rest of the way home.
Then his two bratty children decide they can find their lost blind father in the forest faster than search and rescue can, so they go looking for him.
The blind man wastes his flares by shooting at a cat he can't even see. When he finally hears an aircraft he has no flares because he wasted them.
All in all, this movie was a great example of what NOT to do if you become lost in the wilderness.
It's a family movie and that's fine, but don't make movies that portray characters as being beyond stupid. I think a war vet would know, stay with the crashed boat which was out in the open for the fastest rescue.
This movie was so bad I stopped watching at the half way point.
Zero Day (2002)
A riveting film!
I rented Zero Day from the local video store last week. I had never heard of the film and I had my reservations about it. Just from looking at the box I knew the film was an Indie film and therefore the quality was going to be less than a mainstream film.
I can tell you that after I finished watching Zero Day I immediately started it from the beginning again. The film was clearly following the basic outline of what happened at Columbine High School of April of 1999, but what struck me was how believable the two lead actors were. My first time through watching this film I wasn't entirely sure if what I was watching were actual tapes left behind by the shooters at Columbine. In the back of my mind I knew what I was watching could not be real but at the same time the acting was so convincing you had to keep giving your head a shake.
Is the film disturbing? Absolutely! Are you going to see things that will make you question the merit of the film? Probably. I think what most people will find disturbing is they will actually have feelings for the two lead characters, Calvin and Andre (Played by Cal Robertson and Andre Keuck). Why is that problematic for some people? Calvin and Andre are planning a massacre at their high school. I know for myself, I felt an immense sadness for Andre and Calvin. I had empathy for them because their lives had come to such a horrific point. They had fallen so deeply through cracks that they had begun a journey down a road which could have been stopped, if only people around them had taken notice to their plight.
Zero Day is a phenomenal film. It gives you an up close and personal look to events that most of us will only ever see the conclusion to on the news. It leaves you thinking about the lives involved. And it leaves you perplexed how people get to this point. A week after seeing this film, I still think about it.
Those of you who have not seen Zero Day please keep in mind the following: The film is an independent with little to no budget and the film is shot on camcorders. The material in the film is disturbing. This is not mainstream Hollywood and there is no happy ending.
But if you can put all that aside, Zero Day is a film that will stick with you and just maybe help you to open your eyes a little.
The Amityville Horror (2005)
OK movie - but that's not what happened!
I was looking forward to this remake. Last years Dawn of the Dead impressed me, even though it was considerably different than the original; so I thought we might have another winner. Boy was I disappointed! The Amityville Horror remake falls so flat it makes the viewer beg for some kind of film interruption. A power failure or a small fire in the projector room would have done nicely.
As horror films go, it was okay. Someone seeing the moving knowing nothing about the history might actually have a good time watching this film. As someone who knows the story inside and out I found myself cringing at the storyline.
The Amityville Horror remake was so far from the actual reported events that it is shameful they even put the tag line "based on true events". Even simple facts surrounding the Dafoe murders were incorrect.
Granted there is debate whether the haunting actually even took place in real life. But putting that aside if you are making a film based on the events as told by the Lutz family would you not try to tell that story as closely as humanly possible. Having read the book and all related material surrounding the events in Amityville in 1975 I was very surprised that this movie chose to rearrange time-lines, omit happenings and create situations that were never, ever, claimed to have happened.
I guess you can say I was extremely disappointed because the real story, as told by the Lutz's, is scary on its own. Hollywood did not need to tinker with a "true" story to make it scarier. I also found that the 90 minute running time for this film was too short. The 1979 film (running time 2 hours), though cheesy, was better as it more fully explored the haunting, despite its own factual errors. As a 90 minute film the Amityville Horror (2005) seemed too rushed and very choppy.
The acting in the film was not bad. The children were quite convincing most of the time. And Ryan Reynolds did a nice job playing a lunatic; a nice change from his Van Wilder persona. Not to mention he is a nice piece of eye candy! All in all if you know anything of the Amityville Haunting or plan on doing any research on the subject try not to be disappointed when you realize how inaccurate and flawed the Amityville Horror (2005) really is.
Cursed (2005)
Remember, Werewolf movies are almost never scary...
I've been waiting to see Cursed for a very long time, probably more than a year, since the first time I heard about it. I expected a great movie, with Wes Craven at the helm why wouldn't it be a great film? I went to the opening day matinée showing and this is how I sum it up.
Cursed fails to capture the audience's attention for a few main reasons. First and foremost, it follows too much standardized formula and fails to think outside the box. Watching Cursed, you can almost predict exactly what will happen and when it will happen. The script could have been improved with a few minor changes which would have changed the entire direction of the film. Instead you have an A-Typical werewolf film with the protagonists fighting to save them selves from the "curse". Sorry folks, this story has been done in other horror films more times than I can count, and not just in werewolf films!
One element I didn't care for was when the brother, Jimmy, suggests being a werewolf could be cool. This is exactly where the story should have gone from that point onwards. But as quickly as he says being a werewolf could be cool, he falls back to the standard "gotta kill the head werewolf and end this curse" attitude. The movie would have been better if Jimmy had welcomed his "curse". Had that one change in plot occurred the story could have gone off in several darker and more interesting plot lines.
I can't fault the CGI effects for a change. I am strong opponent of CGI technology as the effects usually look awful.In Cursed the effects are better than normal, although they are still no where near the traditional "An American Werewolf in London" make-up and prosthetics quality.
I did enjoy the humor in the film. Cursed does offer several very funny moments and a few corny ones too. Without the humor the movie would have been an utter waste of time. The humor helps detract from the poor plot line which you can tell was attempting to be clever like Scream, but failing miserably.
I wonder if Wes Craven was even on the set when this film was made. It seemed to lack of the trademark qualities of a Craven film. Whatever the case may be it is obvious he did not do his research in what makes a great werewolf film.
Werewolf films, to be effective, must have several good transformation scenes, graphic mauling and mutilations and an innocent protagonist who is seduced by the curse. Cursed really has none of these qualities.
Overall I did enjoy the film, but I also expected the movie would fail to "wow me", which it did. It seems to me that the problems with Cursed were mostly script and plot related. Don't expect to be scared, but try to have a little fun with what it is.
Remember, werewolf movies are almost never scary...especially if they throw in a happy ending!
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
A Canadian perspective...
I love Michael Moore. His films are funny and thought provoking. I saw the film Fahrenheit 9/11 on Saturday the 26th. For an American film and American subject matter the theater was nearly full (and for a matinée showing) It was an excellent film, it was excellent in many ways. My only criticism was it seemed lack a little direction. It merely followed the progression of the past 4 years - never really drawing any conclusions. But maybe that was the point; maybe we were supposed to draw our own conclusions.
I also like America and I take an interest in what goes on with my neighbor to the south. As a Canadian watching Fahrenheit 9/11 I felt I learned nothing more than I had already known . When Bush stole the election in 2000 I knew immediately that he was bad news. I was baffled why more objections weren't made about a presidential election being decided in the state where his brother is governor. That has to be the biggest conflict of interest in history. After that I couldn't take the man seriously - he didn't belong in office. Few Canadians respect this man; his idiocy is too prevalent to miss. Michael Moore is right, if someone kills 3000 people, you go after them - so what's up with Iraq? I have sat back scratching my head for the past 4 years wondering why more American's don't see what's happening to their country and way of life. Hopefully as many Americans as possible will see this film and open their eyes to the dishonor that's been occurring in your government.
Fahrenheit on the surface appears to be one sided. But in reality a pro-Bush movie would be hard to make. His reasons for the invasion of Iraq were lofty at the time and now after the fact there is no valid reason for the war on the table as no weapons were found - and Iraq certainly had nothing to do with 9/11. The Patriot Act and erosion of American freedoms...well if all you have to hold on to is your internal belief that he's made America safer - you really need to reassess your values.
See Fahrenheit 9/11. Democrats and Republicans alike. Even if you don't agree with everything Michael Moore is pointing out, at the very least one has to admit something is desperately wrong and a severe change in thinking is needed.