F1 and Small Things Like These

Two movies that turned out to be snooze fests.

F1 

Brad Pitt plays a semi-retired but still super active race car driver who is roped in by a friend to help his F1 team win. Slick cars, a decent story and pretty cool trades craft (showing the rules then bending them) made it a little more interesting for us but alas, car racing is just not our thing so even after editing down a full race (50+ laps) with skips to just show... three laps maybe per race... it is ultimately still just cars going in a circle at the end of the day. I know some people love that. For us its like watching paint dry.  

Small Things Like These

Cillian Murphy plays an ordinary Irish coal supplier who is very quiet and introspective, especially when his usual delivery rounds lead to the discover of abusive nuns at the local convent. There are flashbacks a plenty in this glacially paced film and the ending payoff is super weak. It might have actually picked up if it went on for a few minutes but with the threat of something exciting happening the makers decided to end it just short of that. Not worth watching at all.

Cleaner and Nobody 2

Two movies where the hero gets loads of plot armor.

Cleaner

Joanna "Joey" (played by Daisy Ridley) has always liked climbing, as depicted in the opening of this flick where she is climbing around some super strong furniture. Fast forward and she's working as a window cleaner for some high rise building when a bunch of murderous eco-terrorists (who are incredibly slow with their trigger fingers) show up to take some corporate suits hostage. Too bad for them they didn't count on the ex-military cleaner chick hanging outside the window... and her autistic brother. It's... not great. I actually think G20, which has a very similar plot, is a better film (by just a little).

Nobody 2

Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is back and needs to take his family on vacation but his "work", which involves gratuitous and hilarious violence, continues to follow him everywhere. The action and the humor are about the same from the first movie with just a different set decoration this time around, with some minor plot progression in tow - just like a holiday special right? If you liked the first movie, you'll enjoy this one too.

Predator: Badlands and Sinners

Two movies with the unexpected (because I don't watch trailers?)

Predator: Badlands

This predator movie follows a young predator on his first hunt, and somehow makes the ugly alien a very likable and funny guy in the process! While the effects are good and the story is ok, the plot seems to intentionally find every trope from previous Predator and Alien movies, with a dash of Star Wars for the fun nostalgia factor I guess? This definitely isn't a masterpiece but its a pretty decent action flick that is an easy watch. Sure, you need to read subtitles to understand the protagonist but he's not a very wordy guy so its all good. Thumbs up!

Sinners

Twin gangsters (played by Michael B. Jordan) try start up a juke joint for their hometown community of blacks, using money they stole from mobsters to buy up property from the K-K-Klansmen. To this end they also rope in their cousin who is a real good musician, so good that he can summon forth spirits from the past and future but this attracts bloodthirsty and equally musical vampires to the opening night. Does that not sound like the craziest summary ever? It does feel like it takes a super long time to setup the characters which isn't great, and when the action bits finally get around they are over far too quickly. It's billed as a horror, but its actually just boring at the start and tripping balls crazy towards the end. Not recommended.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know its been quiet here as of late and that certainly isn't going to change before the New Year (of the Horse apparently), so take care, stay safe and have a great time with your friends, family, and loved ones. :)

Karate Kid: Legends and Physical: Asia

Shows about physical competition!

Karate Kid: Legends

Li (played by Ben Wong) loves kung fu but is forced to give it up to move to New York with his mom. There's a moment where it looks like it will break the familiar formula of every Karate Kid movie before it which is exciting, but no. There's a girl, a rival, and a karate tournament which he needs to train for. 

Lucky his sifu (played by Jackie Chan) knows someone that can help with that training montage: the original Karate Kid Daniel La Russo (Ralph Macchio) last seen in Cobra Kai. Overall just an OK entry to the Karate Kid universe but I can't help but feel there was a potentially better movie hiding here if the script writers / producers just had enough balls to go for it. 

Physical: Asia 

This next installment of this series features eight teams of six from various countries in Asia (more like Asia-Pacific given Australia is one of the teams). Like previous seasons the very first episode is a lot of introduction but its easier to remember people this time around as there are only 48 in total? 

Some good personalities in this one!

Teams then perform "quests" to knock each other out / survive the competition which involve a good amount of team work, skill, and grit. The editing is again spot on for each episodes cliff-hanger, but if you haven't gotten used to the reaction-rewind-reaction#2 style of Korean TV this will put you through that ringer. :P We found it very entertaining and are even more in awe that many of the contestants from different countries have since become friends! The strong positive vibes make it super cool. It's like Masterchef Australia, but with athletes instead of cooks. Thumbs up!

Mobland and This City is Ours

First season TV shows about protagonists who are crime family adjacent.

Mobland

Harry (played by Tom Hardy) is a fixer for the Harrigan crime family who has his work cut out for him as he needs to clean up messes created by the entitled youngsters and/or crazy elders of the family while attempting to keep the peace with their rivals and trying to keep his wife happy. It's nice how he's portrayed as a really soft spoken, calm bloke regardless of the situation but can "shift gear to six" when things need to happen but you'll also be face palming at all the idiotics everyone else gets up to. Worth a watch. 

This City is Ours

Michael (played by James Nelson-Joyce) is the right hand man to the Phelans crime family patriarch but when things go awry (what with the patriarch played by the walking spoiler Sean Bean :P) he soon finds himself on the outside of the family circle despite actually owning half the business. You'd think that what follows would just be a tale of guns blazing but no... the story makes it a bit more complicated than that. It's not bad, but it does feel that all the characters are lacking the cajones to actually see things through personally. Hopefully they get more drive in season two or this is just going to go nowhere. 

The Bear and Outlander: Blood of my Blood

Two good dramas with vastly different styles. 

The Bear

This currently four season drama follows a top chef (played by Jeremy Allen White) who returns to Chicago to run a failing sandwich shop. It very much captures the stress of that hospitality business and mixes it with what is basically foodporn and a light dash of comedy. Which is good because most of the time the plot is pretty heavy and overlapping screaming matches are common but it paves the way for some really interesting character growth. Recommended.

Outlander: Blood of my Blood

This currently one season prequel series set in Scotland follows two pairs of star crossed lovers, with one pair being displaced in time as is the theme of the original Outlander show. The acting and casting, especially for the people who would be related to the later cast of Outlander, is great and the story is quite interesting. That said if you liked the original Outlander series, this currently has less sexy times and horrible violence which isn't bad. But if you didn't like the original Outlander series then you'll probably want to keep away from this one as well.