Jurassic Park (1993)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Jurassic Park (1993)

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Michael Crichton

David Koepp

Starring:

Sam Neill

Laura Dern

Jeff Goldblum

Richard Attenborough

Blurb:

A pragmatic paleontologist visiting an almost complete theme park is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park’s cloned dinosaurs to run loose.

Thoughts:

Jurassic Park is a fun movie, but I think John Williams’s score pushes it to be a good movie. I like Steven Spielberg as much as the next person and he’s a really good director, but the music in Jurassic Park is iconic.

There are so many good quotes in this film. My family frequently quotes, “Hold on to your butts.” Because of course, we do.

Nothing really problematic jumped out to me during this re-watch, though, admittedly it’s been a few days since I watched. Well, I do think they put the young girl through hell just for the stereotypical reactions. Still, considering everything else I’ve watched that barely registered.

Jurassic Park is a classic and definitely worth keeping and re-watching.

The Suicide Squad (2021)

HBO Max

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Director:

James Gunn

Writer:

James Gunn

Starring:

Viola Davis

Joel Kinnaman

Margot Robbie

Idris Elba

John Cena

Daniela Melchoir

David Dastmalchian

Sylvester Stallone

Blurb:

Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.

Review:

At this point, I’m not sure if DC deserves to have their movies reviewed. Unless I’m angry at them.

This is the second Suicide Squad movie and it has nothing to do with the previous one, only it does? This one has a ‘the’ in the title, which is the only different thing. This one is a much better story, but personally, I think the music in the previous one was better. That was the only good thing about the first one, though.

The Suicide Squad was the best DC movie hands down, but the bar was really low. It’s also the best movie to come out in 2021, but again, the bar was low. It was not, however, James Gunn’s best. Still, if he’s at the helm for the first time in a long, long time I have some hope in DCs future offerings.

4/5

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Netflix Movie

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

Director:

Navot Papushado

Writers:

Navot Papsuhado

Ehud Lavski

Starring:

Karen Gillan

Joanna Bobin

Lena Headey

Paul Giamatti

Carla Gugino

Angela Bassett

Michelle Yeoh

Chloe Coleman

Blurb:

Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them.

Review:

It’s been a couple of weeks since I watched Gunpowder Milkshake. I needed time to let it percolate. I know that I enjoyed the movie, but I’m not sure how much. In parts, it reminded me of John Wick, but Sam was a little off. I’m not sure why and I’m trying to pinpoint it. She’s very good at being an assassin. She’s damaged because her mother left her at a young age. She’s capable, but still learning. She’s been doing her job for quite some time and is feared by her coworkers because of how good she is, however she still flounders in places. She’s not perfect and John Wick is, for the most part. Maybe that’s it?

Michelle Yeoh is amazing and I love her in everything. I was so happy to see her in this. I loved each of the matriarchs, with the exception of Sam’s mom, Scarlet. The lore was interesting and similar to John Wick, but female-led, which I liked.

I think what I disliked the most was that Sam ends up “killing” a person, but not really, and I didn’t like that. She’s supposed to be a “good guy” and even though she didn’t technically kill the person, she still kind of did. If she was the caliber of professional she was supposed to be I feel like she could have avoided the issue, but I could be expecting too much.

I always enjoy a child sidekick, so I had no issues with Emily. I do know that some people don’t like that, so be forewarned. Chloe Coleman plays a similar character to the one she played in My Spy, though, somehow more innocent.

I’m going to need to watch Gunpowder Milkshake again before I can come to a final opinion. It’s at least 3.5 stars, but it could be more.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Director:

Frank Oz

Writer:

Howard Ashman

Starring:

Levi Stubbs

Rick Moranis

Ellen Greene

Vincent Gardenia

Tichina Arnold

Michelle Weeks

Tisha Campbell

Steve Martin

Bill Murray

Blurb:

A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.

Thoughts:

Technically I should do a review of Little Shop of Horrors because I don’t own it, however, it’s such a classic that I don’t feel the need.

Seymour and Audrey have serious self-worth issues. They don’t believe they deserve anything more than the worst. Since they aren’t homeless and have jobs, no matter how horrible, they feel like they shouldn’t ask for more. Until one day, an alien plant comes into their lives and begins to give Seymour everything he wanted.

Seymour can not handle what Audrey II wants from him. He has absolutely no forethought and once Audrey II started drinking blood he should have known where things were going. The fact that he didn’t take a step back and reevaluate when Audrey II started asking for people says a lot about him. He’s a follower, not a leader, and didn’t have the will to question.

Poor Audrey I, I feel for her. After her songs and seeing her boyfriend, you can’t help but want her to have a happy ending. Even though Steve Martin’s parts were some of the best in the movie, you definitely don’t want him anywhere near her.

My favorite part had to be the final battle and the last song. I can relate more to Audrey II than the others, even though I sometimes struggle with my own self-worth. I loved hearing it go on it’s villain rant. I’m also glad the film ended the way it did. I would have not have liked the movie if it ended how the writers originally intended. Test audiences did us a solid there.

Hard Target (1993)

Great Movie Re-Watch

Hard Target (1993)

Director:

John Woo

Writer:

Chuck Pfarrer

Starring:

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Lance Hendrickson

Yancy Butler

Arnold Vosloo

Blurb:

A woman hires a drifter as her guide through New Orleans in search of her missing father. In the process, they discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance.

Thoughts:

Hard Target is about peak Jean-Claude Van Damme and yet, despite some egotistical comments, he did not demand writing credit, worked really hard, and didn’t ruin the movie. He did make an attempt in all fairness. They had to send the movie back multiple times because it was so violent and his people did their own Cobra take where they cut everyone else, but thankfully that wasn’t the one that was chosen. It would be nice to see the original unrated version, but that’s never going to happen.

My re-watch quest has revealed some bitterness towards several Hollywood people and apparently, Stallone is one of them lol

Hard Target is one of, if not the last good 80s style action movie. It has a saxophone. It has a bare-bones plot that upon any kind of thought makes no sense. It has Jean-Claude Van Damme with a mullet so greasy you could fry chicken from all the oil. There’s Yancy Butler with a disappearing black eye. And, according to my husband, you’ve got Lance Hendrickson playing the best action villain of all time. Plus, it’s John Woo’s first American movie.

It’s a lot.

Wait, did I mention it’s got the Diabetus man in it? Wilfred Brimley plays Van Damme’s cajun, bow and arrow toting, uncle.

As if you needed another reason to watch.

The final fight scene is set in a cross between a barn and a warehouse. It’s filled with Mardi Gras floats that explode at a moment’s notice. There are also doves flying all over the place. I believe there was a crossbow, a sword, guns, and, of course, flying splits.

I’m fairly certain Hard Target missed nothing on the 80s action movie bingo card. Well, Yancy Butler did not kiss Jean-Claude Van Damme, but she would have.

This is my husband’s favorite movie but I’ve surprisingly only watched it two times. It’s entertaining and if Van Damme’s hair wasn’t so greasy I would enjoy it more. Despite that, it’s a fun film and was a good re-watch.