Category: Thriller
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Virgin Movie Review – Get Smart
Maybe I’ve been watching too many spy movies this month, but I was bored during this otherwise okay comedy spy film. We have a lot of US spy films, like the Mission Impossible series, RED 1 and 2, the Patriot Games trilogy, and Jason Bourne’s franchise. I recently reviewed a glut of British spy movies…
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Virgin Movie Review – RED 2
Well, now. I recently re-watched RED 1, and loved it. I gave it an A. So maybe you can understand my disappointment when I say this sequel was the pits. It made almost no sense, even with Anthony Hopkins doing his usual bang-up performance, acting his heart out in a film so completely narratively lacking.…
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Movie ReWatch Review – RED
To start with, the title RED in this film is an acronym for Retired, Extremely Dangerous. As retirees, we see these characters don’t have much of a life anymore. That’s the set-up, starting with Bruce Willis’ Frank Moses, lost in an empty house devoid of personal decor. I can see where it would be tough…
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What is a MacGuffin? Top Movie MacGuffins, Explained
A MacGuffin is any object that drives the plot and motivates the characters in a movie. You might have seen the name “MacGuffins” over bar bistros in the lobbies of many AMC theaters. That’s an industry in-joke. It sounds like the name of an Irish pub, but it’s really a nod to a long standing…
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Quiz – Stephen King’s The Stand
I’ve wanted to do a quiz on The Stand since I first read the book. I’ll describe a character and you supply their name. Hope you have as much fun taking this quiz as I had in making it! [quiz-cat id=”10907″] The movie of The Stand didn’t impress me nearly as much as the book…
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Quiz – The Hunt for Red October
Hunter Killer is going gangbusters at the box office. Since everyone is excited about this movie, I should pay homage to the submarine genre by doing a quiz on The Hunt For Red October. [quiz-cat id=”10929″] The Hunt For Red October is a timeless piece of cinema history. I’ve seen this movie a number of times,…
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Movie Review – Johnny English Strikes Again
This movie wants to be Austin Powers. It’s the same set-up, the same cringe humor, the same British secret service bumbler who nevertheless gets the job done (in spite of his inherent ineptitude). The difference: Austin Powers is ten times more amusing. Rowan Atkinson tries, and sometimes succeeds, but mostly seems to be resting…
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Movie Review – Hunter Killer
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It’s movies like this that make me love my job. I went in expecting to be bored since this type of movie never appealed to me. After watching this one, I am going to take the weekend to watch Hunt For Red October and any other submarine movie I can find. My eyes were…
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Why There Won’t be a Sequel to Cabin in the Woods
If you’ve seen Cabin in the Woods and enjoyed it, you’ll probably love Bad Times at the El Royale. Both are directed by Drew Goddard, and he uses the same kind of narrative deconstruction technique in each. Cabin in the Woods is a sardonically amusing take on the typical “teens in a creepy cabin the the…
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Virgin Review – Source Code
Source Code (2011) is based off yet another story by Philip K. Dick, always an excellent go-to for exciting mind-bending films about space, time, and supra-realities. Look at past movies mining P.K. Dick: Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, and Paycheck. I know I’m missing others, but the point is he’s a reliable “source” (ha!)…
