I keep hoping Schwarzenegger will find a really good project. End his career on a high note. He’s 78 now and it’s probably not going to happen.
Last Stand is a lot better than Escape Plan. But they neither compares to his earlier films.
I suspect the upcoming film in which he plays Santa Claus is unlikely to be that project. Nor would I bet any money on this potential monstrosity.
You know what? Good for him. He almost certainly doesn’t need the money - he probably just likes working. I can respect that.
Upthread, someone mentioned Maggie, a 2015 drama film in which he played a father. I believe it received fairly good reviews.
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
The anime movie based on the 1989 manga. Major Motoko Kusanagi is the titular Ghost in the Shell - a completely cybernetic body (shell) with a human mind (ghost) - is tasked with stopping a mysterious hacker called the Puppet Master and battles her way through cyberpunk Japan to find him. There are some interesting thoughts about what makes us human set up with the story and the Major is fairly dismissive of her cybernetic body throughout. To her, it’s just another tool. This is seen the most when she tears her body apart stopping a tank. It’s a bit of an underwhelming denouement and feels like there should be more coming, but in the end she is more than just a “ghost in a shell.” There is nudity that leans towards gratuitous, all female and all cybernetic. Not sure if that makes a difference.
Punisher War Zone
I’m also not sure what I can say about this. It’s over the top and gratuitous in a way that previous incarnations couldn’t achieve. Ray Stevenson looks good as the Punisher, Dominic West makes a great Jigsaw, and director Lexi Alexander is game as the director. Patton Oswalt loves this movie because it’s so cartoonishly brutal but I’m kind of worn out on the character now. I thought the comic miniseries in the 80s was good but after that, it seemed like the character himself was kind of limited and now even problematic.
Hellraiser
I had never seen it before but I know I’ve seen parts of the sequels. I think everyone is relatively familiar with Pinhead and the Cenobites due to the franchise but in this first movie, their presence seems limited. Frank, a hedonist seeking otherworldly pleasures, buys a puzzle box in Morocco that unlocks the Cenobite’s dimension and is torn apart for his efforts. Years later, he is resurrected when his brother’s blood drips on his carcass and convinces his sister-in-law Julia to bring him men so he can take their life force. I found it odd that she agrees fairly easily, but we wouldn’t get much of a story if she didn’t. Julia’s husband Larry is killed and the two try to kill his daughter Kirsty but she manages to escape with the puzzle box and accidentally summons the Cenobites. They kill Frank and Julia and almost get Kirsty before she manages to close the box and send them back to their dimension. The effects with a gooey, skinless Frank look good and the Cenobites all look bizarre and unique, so I want to see more of them. The story itself felt a bit underwhelming but I am going to work through the sequels next.
I found it weird that, considering that she killed men by hitting them on the head with hammers, she didn’t try to do that with the head Cenobite, Pinhead, whose head is covered with nails just begging to be hammered in. The two were Made for each other!
It’s like this, but for adults
I agree, although I think he’s got one more solid film in him if the right one comes along. Think something along the lines of Gran Torino.
The Smashing Machine
Generally recommended.
Yes, Dwayne Johnson is excellent in this movie and he should really just pursue other acting gigs that are better than Jumangi, Jungle Cruise, and the like.
The movie is pretty good, but not actually all that amazing. A nice, apparently true, story about Mark Kerr, an early UFC fighter. His ups, his downs, his relationship with his girlfriend.
Emily Blunt plays the girlfriend and she is honestly the one who gives the strongest performance of the movie. But, it is true that Johnson gets quite a bit to do and delivers a performance that, for once, isn’t just him on the screen saying lines.
I have heard rumors of him being nominated for an Oscar. I don’t know he deserves it for this, to be honest. I mean…he’s just doing what other actors do quite frequently and it isn’t a performance that blew me away…just unexpected from him.
Decent, movie, though.
It truly was. It’s Tarantino and a well known story so through most of it I was dreading seeing Sharon Tate’s mutilated corpse and the rest of the historical carnage.
What we got was surprising and satisfying.
I recommend that you don’t research anything about Mark Kerr or Dawn Staples or anyone else in the movie before you see it.
Oh, is he much worse in real life?
It’s not a matter of him being better or worse. Much goes on after the second to last scene in the movie. What has gone on since then is interesting in its own way.
Arnold looks younger than 78 and still exercises regularly. He is on Netflix tv (FUBAR) and staying busy. Maybe one last good script will come along.
I will watch Maggie on Max. It looks interesting and has good reviews.
I hadn’t seen the original Tron since its original release, so I watched it on Disney+ last night. Not great, not bad. Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner look like kids. Lacey Underall! David Warner as his usual evil self. I noticed Peter Jurasik’s name in the end credits - I might have to go watch it again and see if I can pick him out. I obviously didn’t recognize him not dressed up as Londo Mollari.
I’m not seeing a picture, just an icon that indicates a picture should be there.
Android tablet.
Same on iPhone.
Same on ancient HP laptop.
Discourse only shows linked images when the url ends in an extension it recognizes. The original link has a bunch of crud at the end, which I stripped off.
Friday the 13th 1980 It was a very early role for Kevin Bacon. Friday 13th was a low budget film and couldn’t afford established stars.
I hadn’t seen the movie in at least 30 years. I’m surprised how restrained it is compared to the sequels.
I strongly recommend.
Friday the 13th is one of the films that established the slasher genre.
Wikipedia has some interesting production details. How the story was developed, film location, and the effects used in the killing scenes.