We are ( wife & I ) are huge fans of the Halloween movies and feel you are very generous with a 5 1/2.

Seen many movies that do flashbacks and jump around but this was like a time travelers nightmare of confusion.
Gave it a 4 at best.

I had another friend who didn't like it either so I'm glad it wasn't just me. Very disappointed in this!

Shine a Light (2008)

Martin Scorsese directed this (mostly) concert film of two Rolling Stones shows at the Beacon Theater (NYC) during their A Bigger Bang tour in '06. It starts with a few minutes of Scorsese doing his director thing (mostly bitching about not having a set list), and includes some lame footage of wincey interviews from various parts of the Stones' career No matter: the concert's excellent. The band and their musical entourage are in great form, relaxed and at ease; Jagger, in his master showman role, is energetic as ever, the songs are well chosen from their enormous repertoire, and the filming, lightingn and audio are brilliant. Buddy Guy is one of the guest performers; at the end of his song ("Champagne and Reefer"), Richards, ever in obeisance to classic bluesman, gives Guy his Guild guitar. Nice touch.

DUNE

I've never seen the original movie or read the novel so I went into this completely fresh and I'm glad I did. A captivating sci-fi story that mixes politics, eye popping technology, gorgeous visual FX, and a rock solid cast.Timothée Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides, played by Oscar Isaac. The Atreides are a powerful family within the galaxy and as such, the emperor has given them the planet of Arrakis, a dessert planet that's home to the most precious commodity in the galaxy: spice. However, Arrakis is already being ruled and plundered by the Harkonnen family, thus making the two families enemies when the emperor takes it away from the Harkonnen's to gift to the Atreides. The Fremen or natives on Arrakis live underground, is home to dangerous sand worms, and is so hot that without the proper equipment and water, people die rather quickly. The Harkonnen's ravaged the planet for its resources and paid no attention to the Fremen; however, now with the Atreides in power, they wish to make peace with the them. Very impressive performances all around, especially in regards to the mother/son duo of Chalamet, who is very mature for a 26-year-old actor and Rebecca Ferguson. I hope this does well in the theaters and HBO Max as I'd love to see the next installment and continue on this story's journey. Definitely worth your time to check it out. 7/10

COPSHOP

Frank Grillo plays Teddy Murretto, a con man on the run from Gerard Butler's Bob Viddick, who is contracted to kill him. In order to get away from Bob, Teddy purposefully assaults a police officer so he can be sent to jail. With a wily plan of his own, Bob fakes a drunk driving accent by almost running over a couple of state troopers so he too can be locked up. And as fate would have it, they're in the same precinct together, staring across each other from their separate cells divided by only bars and the walkway through the holding cells. The film starts out quite intriguing, with an interesting setup that peels enough curiosity into the audiences mind to see how this'll play out. Add heavy doses of expletive humor early on from frustrated Sgt. Duane Mitchell (Chad L. Coleman) and it was off to a good start. The film slowly begins to unfold before we're later introduced to another contract killer, southern speaking Anthony Lamb played impeccably by Toby Huss. However, once Huss is introduced and had his fun, the film slower begins losing steam as well as my attention. Before the end credits roll, you're ready for it to be over as the film comes a little off the rails. Pacing is an issue as too much time is spent between Teddy, Bob, and Officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) hiding in the holding cells upon Lamb's arrival. The film started with promise and was pretty fun for the first 30-45 minutes, but after that, it doesn't play as well on the back end. 5/10

THE LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

Thomasin McKenzie plays Eloise, a simple English countryside girl who has big dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer in London. The film opens with her receiving her acceptance letter to a fashion school in London, thus thrusting the fish-out-of-water girl into Soho. However, Eloise has a gift where she can feel and even see things before or after they've happened. This has allowed her to still have a relationship with her dead mother, who committed suicide when she was only 7 years old. Upon her arrival in her dorm room, she's quickly greeted by her two faced roommate, who smiles and acts as her friend but runs her down behind her back. Having a difficult time adjusting, Eloise comes across a notice on campus about a room to rent. Needing some distance from her roommate and her own space to adjust to the move, Eloise jumps at the chance, even picking up a job at a pub to assist with the rent. However, the more Eloise stays in the room, the more she's visited in her dreams by Sandie, played wonderfully by the very talented Anya Taylor-Joy. She stayed in Eloises' room back in 1965 and Eloise, being obsessed with the 60's, is captivated to learn more about Sandie and her story. Sandie is a singer and falls in love with Jack (Matt Smith) until she's tragically murdered. Eloise then turns her obsession to finding Jack and bringing him to justice over 50 years later. If ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD is Quentin Tarantino's love story to Hollywood, then this (or at least the first act or two) are Edgar Wright's love story to Soho and London during the 1960's. Wonderful music, costumes, and set designs enthralls the audience into the time period. McKenzie and Taylor-Joy both do a spectacular job at carrying this film: McKenzie for making the audience constantly question her mental state as the film progresses and Taylor-Joy for her range. Throw in Terrance Stamp as well as 1960's icon Dianna Rigg (nice touch Mr. Wright) and you've got a hard hitting lineup of talent. A lot to take in and I would definitely be up for another viewing. This may not appeal to everyone as the opening is absolutely beautiful, energizing, and exciting; however, it definitely takes a different turn into a roller coaster of a crescendo by the finale. 7/10

ANTLERS

Set in Oregon, Antlers tells the story of elementary school teacher Julia (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother Paul (Jesse Plemons). Julia becomes concerned when one of her students, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) is showing signs of abuse. His clothes are raggedy and have multiple holes in them. He's extremely quiet and is bullied by some of his classmates. Julia takes it upon herself to befriend her young student, as she grew up in an abusive household herself. As she gets to learn more about Lucas, she also comes to discovery they both have something else in common: they were both young when their mothers died so Lucas and his brother are being raised by his father, who's dealing drugs and has an extensive history with the local police. But, an ancient being is roaming the area, feeding off individuals and Lucas seems to be the key in determining how to stop it. The trailer doesn't show much and not a lot is explained about the film and after viewing it, I can see why. It's a far fetched theory that unless you buy into it, you're not going to enjoy it otherwise. I didn't buy into it so you know how my experience went. A rather limp explanation is giving about this mythical creature and not much else. As such, you don't invest too much into the creature, the characters, or the story. I was quite disappointed by this and it seemed to have some promise based upon the trailers. Pass if you come across it or are considering watching it. 4/10

ETERNALS

ETERNALS tells the story of 10 eternals from the planet Olympia, who are sent here to protect mankind from the Deviants, an alien species who prey upon us. Having been here the entire time, the big question everyone is asking is why didn't they intervene when Thanos eviscerated half of the planets population? A limp answer is given and that's how the rest of the movie fares. A weak opening with little character depth, the film does a poor job of gaining the audiences attention outside of the sporadic fight scenes throughout. Even with a cast featuring names such as Angelina Jolie, Selma Hayek, Kit Harington, and Kumail Nanjiani, this film is more of a sleeper than anything. I guess after 13 years of the MCU we've been spoiled to anticipate greatest every time out and to their credit, Marvel usually delivers; however, this was definitely a miss on their track record. 5.5/10

Finch 2021[b][/b]

Tom Hanks does it again with one for the books.

Will remember this movie for a long time, he made me love his robot and the method he uses to win you over.

Great flick, highly recommend.

5 STARS.

Mant

CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG

Based upon the children's book, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG tells the story of red colored, 10-foot tall Clifford and his owner Emily. While her mother (and no mention of the father) is in Chicago for work, she's left in the care of her bumbling Uncle Casey. While walking to school one morning, Emily convinces her Uncle Casey to stop by a rescue animal tent that's set up on her school's campus. She soon falls in love with the young pup, who at this point is a normal pups size. However, her Uncle knowing her mother would never allow or forgive him and her daughter for bringing in an animal while she's away at work, they leave the tent empty handed. That is until Emily returns home from school to find Clifford hiding in her backpack. She convinces her Uncle to allow the dog to spend the night before returning him in the morning. However, when she wakes up, some magic happens as Clifford is the size we all know and love him for. Shenanigans quickly ensue as Clifford is still a pup: playful, naive, and doesn't realize his own size or strength yet. Once spotted, the villain of the picture sees the larger-than-life sized dog as an opportunity for his food creation business; hoping to harness Clifford's DNA to unlock the mysteries that are preventing them from achieving their goal of feeding the planet. I have to admit I had a soft spot for this going in as I grew up on the books and this, thankfully, did not disappoint. It's a beautiful, heartfelt, and fun family movie, without being too cheesy for the kids or talking down to the adults either. I'm usually not much for child actors but 14-year-old star Darby Camp puts together a great performance for an actor her age. Keep an eye on her as she could be on the rise. I had a blast with this and would definitely take another walk around the block with Clifford should they franchise this property out. 7/10

SPENCER

Kristen Stewart marvelously fills the shoes of Princess Diana in this story which unfolds within the course of 3 days: Christmas Eve - Boxing Day at the Sandringham estate. The film beautifully portrays Diana's mental health concerns and her patches of being out of touch with reality due to the shocking scandal of Prince Charles' affair being made public and the impending end to their marriage. Diana is a prisoner, a fish within a fish bowl. She's constantly on display and judged by the Royal Family, her country, and the world for that matter. Although, Stewart does a fantastic job in honing in on the grace, vulnerability, and humbleness that made Diana loved around the world. The scenes with her children are at times heartwarming and heartbreaking. At other times, you share Diana's pain whether she's constantly being harassed by the paparazzi or having to maintain her poise within the estate, knowing full well how much she's looked down upon and talked about behind her back. She also has to go up mostly against Timothy Spall who plays Major Alistar Gregory and is hired by the Royal Family as security but also to look after Diana. Look after in the manner of ensuring she's where she's expected to be and on time; wearing the proper wardrobe for the specific occasion, etc. Stewart's and Spall's chemistry is terrific as Spall is always respectful and knows his place around the Princess, but also doesn't back down from her either. Hair, makeup, and costumes did their best to make Stewart look as close to Diana as they could and they absolutely succeeded, as there are flashes where you believe it really is Diana onscreen. Not much of a marketing push behind this one but worth checking out! 7.5/10

RED NOTICE

Staring an A-list cast of Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot, RED NOTICE tells the story of master thief Reynolds who gets busted by FBI agent Johnson and their pursuit of another master thief, Gadot. All of them are after 3 priceless eggs that belonged to Cleopatra that were gifted to her by Mark Antony. The whereabouts of 2 are known, however, the third eggs location has been lost to history. Jet setting around the world and multiple continents, this is your typical formulaic action film. Nothing breaking new ground or standing out, action scenes are lacking, and Reynolds & Johnson both play their stereotypical selves. Reynolds as the funny man, Johnson as the brute who gets a few one liners in as well. The only one of the trio not regurgitating former roles is Gadot as she plays the villain and even though it's lighthearted, she seems to be having fun with it and I'm glad she at least changed things up a bit. Not bad if catching this on Netflix but there are also better options around. 6/10

BENEDETTA

Set in Italy and based upon true events, BENEDETTA tells the story of a nun who claims to have visions of Jesus and stigmatic episodes while serving in a convent. While receiving a visit from her parents, the family quickly saves the life of a young peasant girl, Bartolomea, from her abusive father as the girl claims she wishes to stay at the convent with Benedetta's parents footing the bill. Benedetta becomes a mentor to Bartolomea but what begins as a mentorship, soon turns into a romantic love affair. Benedetta continues to have visions of Jesus and convinces the rest of the convent that God is speaking through her and as such, becomes the new Mother Superior of their group while in the process making an enemy of the former Mother Superior's mentor all while playing against the backdrop of the plague that's ravishing Europe at this time. The film kind of was and kind of wasn't what I expected it to be. At times it's sheer blasphemy and at other times it can be religiously moving. Storyline wise, I was checked out within the first 30 minutes but pushed through to see how it would end. I would recommend skipping this one. 4/10

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE

The true sequel we deserved and have been waiting for since 1989. GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE is more of a direct sequel to the original film than its 1989 predecessor, which is seldom mentioned. Over 30 years after the events that transpired in New York, Egon Spengler has left the Big Apple behind, now residing in Summerville, Oklahoma. A small rural town where he's known as the town nut. Upon his passing we're introduced to his daughter and grandchildren who are being evicted from their apartment back in New York. With little resources and even fewer options to choose from, the family makes the trip to Oklahoma to settle Egon's affairs. This allows the family, or more precisely the mother, who is the head of the household, to decide if they wish to stay in Oklahoma or move back to New York. From here the story follows the grandchildren Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). Phoebe is a brianiac like her grandfather: wise behind her years but socially awkward and has difficulty making friends. Trevor meanwhile is more outgoing and quickly finds love in the form of Lucky (Celeste O'Connor), a waitress at the local burger joint Trevor gets a job at simply because she works there. The story begins to unfold of how the events of the original film are now very much coming alive in present day Summerville. A well balanced mix of nostalgia and contemporary, the film plays well to its hardcore audience while introducing it to another generation of moviegoers. Plenty of Easter eggs throughout with only one characters lack of involvement missing, which was disappointing (unless I did miss an Easter egg along the way). Getting the original cast of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts validates this film for those who are uneasy going into it after the disastrous 2016 reboot. For someone such as myself who grew up with the franchise, both movies and the cartoon, this was fun and paid it's respects to those films that came before it. Keep your eyes on Mckenna Grace as I can continue seeing big things from her as she single-handedly carried this film. 6.5/10

KING RICHARD

Will Smith serves us another outstanding performance as Richard Williams, the father and coach to tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Armed with unshakable confidence in his girls, Richard gambles and in the process, rewrites the books of how young tennis protege's are thought of. Taking place on the hard streets of Compton during the 1980's & 1990's, the film shows the family's struggles to rise out of poverty, with Richard seemingly keeping an eye on his girls every waking minute with the exception of when he works nights and the girls are asleep. An overbearing, but loving, positive reinforcing father, Richard wants greatness for his girls and knows they're capable of it. In addition, he tries to keep the girls as busy as possible between school and tennis so they can't get into mischief on the streets. In fact, it doesn't seem the girls have time for friends either as the film stays strictly with the family. Once the film establishes our characters, the story then turns more into the story of Richard and Venus as opposed to Serena, who's relegated to the background due to her younger age. Unable to afford tennis lessons, Richard makes tapes and begins searching for a tennis coach who'll do it for free and finds such a man in Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn). Cohen, having coached the likes of John McEnroe and Pete Sampras, further develops Venus as she begins entering and dominating tournaments against her peers. She seems to be on the right path until Richard, shockingly cuts ties with Cohen for no apparent reason and switches to another coach, Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal). The family moves from California to Florida where Macci's tennis academy is located but the relationship between Richard and Macci quickly takes a turn upon their arrival, as Richard states he's no longer going to allow Venus to play in junior level tournaments and only wants her to train and have fun being a kid. I will tip my cap to Richard as he bet on his girls big and won big in the process, going against every logical and historically road it takes to become a professional tennis player. Smith is outstanding as the soft spoken Richard Williams and could garner an Academy award nomination but I wasn't 100% convinced he did enough to win it once the credits rolled. Also Saniyya Sidney who played Venus and Demi Singleton who played Serena need to be recognized as they too were very enjoyable as the teenage stars. 6.5/10

HOUSE OF GUCCI

Ridley Scott and Adam Driver return for their second release this year in HOUSE OF GUCCI, a story about Maurizio Gucci (Driver), who falls in love and marries Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga). Maurizio and Patrizia could not be any more different: he obviously comes from money, is more delicate with his language and in the beginning, has no interest in the family business (instead, we find him studying to become a lawyer); whereas Patrizia, who's family owns a small trucking company, is ambitious, power hungry, and wishes for the finer things in life. Their relationship soon ensnares the family and business. Jeremy Irons, who plays Maurizio's father, sees Patrizia for what she really is: an attempted passenger on the Gucci gravy train. Al Pacino, who plays Maurizio's Uncle Aldo and owns 50% of the company along with his brother, Maurizio's father Rodolfo Gucci, handles the day-to-day operations. The final member of the family portrayed is Aldo's son Paolo, played wonderfully by Jared Leto. The casting in this is top notch as there isn't a single weak link in the bunch and Gaga continues to pad her already impressive resume. The film in many ways plays like a soap opera with family discord, greed, and self-discovery. In addition to the cast, with the subject matter being about fashion, the costumes are top notch. Everyone's looking their best in every scene. With roughly the same runtime as THE LAST DUEL, this doesn't drag as much as that film as the power struggle within the family, plus the fate of Maurizio at the films end is able to hold the audiences attention. 6/10

BRUISED

Hallie Berry makes her directional debut and it's a winner. The story follows Jackie Justice, a former undefeated UFC fighter who unceremoniously fled the ring when it looked like she was about to lose her first fight. She then went into hiding and became the butt end of jokes. However, Berry puts forth a strong performance and directional effort. Even though the film follows the same paint-by-numbers effort of previous films that follow the same formula and Berry brings nothing new to the table, the story is still engaging as she's thrust upon her new role as a mother. Having previously bore a son who was living with his now deceased father, the 6-year-old boy is brought back into her life and she's tasked with providing and establishing a relationship with him. Living in an emotional, abusive relationship with her live-in boyfriend and manager, he brings her to an underground fight to "sign a new talent" before said talent picks a fight with her. Beating her ass and becoming a topic of conversation again, she's thrust back into the spotlight, reestablishing her training now ready for a championship match that brings her name back to the forefront, with a potential to an invite back into the UFC if she can prove herself. Another rags to riches story that rips off the ROCKY storyline but even though it's something you've seen before, the story is still enough to keep you wanting more. Berry and her trainer Buddhakan (Sheila Atim) piece together a wonderful, comeback story. You already know how the story will end but worth spending the 2 hours with Ms. Berry. 6.5/10

Where 2 find Irish??? Netflix or ???

Where 2 find Irish??? Netflix or ???

Yes, it's on Netflix hoodlum. Happy Birthday by the way!

8 bit Christmas

5 Stars for New Christmas movie

8-BIT CHRISTMAS

We open the film to find Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) being harassed by his 10-year-old daughter Annie, about getting her a cellphone for Christmas. With unbendable will power, Annie becomes increasing frustrated with her father for turning her down at every request. Believing her father to be overly harsh, Jake recounts the tale from when he was her age, in 1988 and how badly he wanted a Nintendo Entertainment System. There is only 1 kid in their town who owns 1, and kids camp out all morning for the opportunity to be picked to play along side him (technically, he allows 10 kids in per day to play). However, it's soon announced the local boy scouts troop (of which Jake and all of his friends with the exception of one due to her gender, are apart of) is giving away a free NES to the scout who can sell the most Christmas wreaths. Another 1980's nostalgia fest as well as a "it's the journey, not the destination story" and while this doesn't bring anything new to the table for a Christmas or throwback film, it's still entertaining, at times funny, and heartfelt as well. With the ability to watch it on HBO Max, if you're a fan of the 80's or were into the NES, this will appeal to you. And if not, the Christmas themes should still be enough to grab the attention of even the most casual viewer. 6.5/10

Loved it…. Watching now….
“ Father Christmas is back”

DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995)

It's 1948 in LA, and Ezekiel Easy) Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is out of work and about to lose his home. A friend introduces him to seemingly amiable Dewitt Albright (Tom Sizemore, always good), who gives him $100 to locate Daphne (Jennifer Beals), missing girlfriend of a mayoral candidate who dropped out of the race. Rawlins soon finds out, like Jake Gittes in "Chinatown," that he's way over his head in a lethal plot that has him battling Albright, a ruthless gangster, the racist LAPD, and assorted black hoodlums and traitors. He sends for his murderous pal Mouse (Don Cheadle), and the combination of Easy's cool intelligence and Mouse's cheerful lethality save the day. Director Carl Franklin shows how to make a convincing film noir from a black perspective; and while he doesn't hit you over the head with the race card, you see how Easy's skin color makes his survival a crapshoot. The filming and design are richly authentic, and the cast is all-around brilliant, especially the three principals. But, the plot is almost too convoluted to follow, and at times it seems as if characters are added just to make the movie longer. Still, a good watch.

Devil In A Blue Dress is an underrated flick. I like the early Denzel stuff. I watched Ricochet the other day and it still holds good

SILK ROAD

An intriguing story of 27-year-old Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the silk road website, which allowed its users to (illegally) purchase drugs over the internet and have them shipped directly to a buyer (think Amazon for illegal drugs). Ross was brilliant in his creation: using a browser such as Tor and bitcoin for currency to protect the site and it's users through encryption. However, Ross finds out the hard way that anonymity can work for or against you. The film opens with Ross, an intelligent young libertarian with a desire to change the world. The only problem, he doesn't have the faintest idea on how to accomplish that. Very much against big government, he soon gets the idea for the people to make their own choices and exercise their own freedoms. This leads to the creation of his website as part of a F U to government but also empowering the people at the same time. He bounces the idea off of his girlfriend Julia (Alexandra Shipp) and best friend Max (Daniel David Stewart). They both try to talk him out of it but Ross is determined this is his calling. After about the first 20-30 minutes, Max drops out of the story until much later on and we're left with Ross and Julia and their relationship as the site grows but also consumes Ross' entire life soon afterwards. A former drug addict and DEA agent, Rick Bowden (Jason Clarke) is demoted to cyber crimes after a recent suspension. A complete relic of the past, Rick is an old-school cop. Moved off of the streets as punishment and relegated to a desk job, he's 9 month away from retirement and nothing is expected from him. His new boss is 26-years-old and their relationship is rather cantankerous: Rick feeling his boss is too young and inexperienced, doing everything behind a keyboard without getting his hands dirty; while his boss feels Rick is outdated and the world has passed him up as police work has changed. Attempting to prove his boss wrong and to himself he can still be a valuable asset to the team, Rick struggles but embraces the underdog role in trying to crack this case. A formulaic story, with parts and clues that suddenly appear to drop into law enforcements laps to quicken the pace of the film, with no real performance standing out save for Nick Robinson who plays Ross and Paul Walter Hauser, who plays Ross' only employee. Hauser's levity is always welcomed in any film he's in but appears he's being typecast in that role. Not the greatest introduction to the story but perhaps there's a documentary out there that's more worthy of your time. 5.5/10

Love your reviews Irish keep them coming, you watch a lot of movies lol. I'm more of a sport buff watch around 3/4 movies a week.

Thanks H, I appreciate it. Yes, movies are my passion. I follow sports but don't watch them as much unless it's a playoff game.

Murder By Numbers

Forgotten crime thriller led ably by Sandra Bullock's detective reckoning with a traumatic past. She's on the hunt of two savant high school students, played by Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt, who have committed "the perfect murder". Interesting premise with a dynamic interplay between the two killers. Has a bit more going for it than the standard movie of its ilk.