龍虎小英雄 - 龍虎少爺 - Treasure Hunters

龍虎小英雄/龍虎少爺 (Treasure Hunters) is an 1982 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Alexander Fu Sheng and Gordon Liu. The movie is action slap stick that would eventually birth Stephen Chow's type in the 1990s.

There a treasure linked to a Monk. The mystery has spread across the martial arts world and many people want their hands on it. Enter a clueless monk, a couple of street thugs, and a sinister mastermind. Death and misunderstandings ensue until the end for the final super long battle.

This movie was towards the end of the Shaw Bros era and where people were sick of kung fu flicks. You'll see the rise of modern flicks from other major studies of the time like Golden Harvest that incorporate kung fu a la Jackie Chan. In comparison, the formula they incorporated here was more the old style super long fight scenes. Which does get tedious and the blood looks real fake.

However, it was still fun to watch while I was washing my dishes. I caught this via Amazon Prime.

Mile 22 - 拳力逃脫

Mile 22 (拳力逃脫) is an 2018 film. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, and Ronda Rousey.



A specials team group is sent in to retrieve caesium before the substance can be weaponized. However, they do not and there are some out in the open market now. 6 months later, in a Indocarr, a South East Asian country, a police man with knowledge of the caesium turns himself into the US consulate. Indocarr's leadership want him back and actually attack the convoy. They have 22 miles to get to the airstrip to get the police man out. Along the way, the team slowly starts to get picked off, but the police man starts to help them. Can they make it through the 22 miles to the escape plane?

This movie was all sorts of hard to follow. They set the movie in South East Asia, but during the run through the city, it felt like they were in South America or a Latin American country. Not Asia. Form that point on, I just couldn't. Just Can't, pick a meme for that phrase. That's how I felt. I ended up watching it all because of Lauren Cohan and Iko Uwais. Just had too.

Got this movie via T-Mobile Tuesday Redbox Promo.

Uncle Drew - 德魯大叔

Uncle Drew (德魯大叔) is an 2018 film. The movie stars Kyrie Irving of the NBA and Lil Rel Howery. The supporting cast include former NBA players Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, and Nate Robinson, as well as former WNBA player Lisa Leslie. Kyrie reprises his Pepsi character of the same name for this movie.

The movie is about Lil Rel Howery' character of Dax Winslow who wants to win the Rucker Classic, a legendary street ball tourney. But he loses his team and than his girlfriend. Seeing Uncle Dew destroy some youngsters in a pick up game. He convinces him to join his team. BUT uncle Drew will only play with his boys. The roadtrip begins of rounding these folks up and playing.

Sweet simple story and a tail of redemption for all the main cast folks. Its hard not to like the movie. The underdog wins!

I picked this up via T-Mobile Tuesday's Redbox Promo

Hotel Artemis

Hotel Artemis is an 2018 film. The movie stars Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, and Sofia Boutella. The supporting cast include Jeff Goldblum, Charlie Day, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Dave Bautista, and Zachary Quinto. The movie takes place in a futuristic Los Angeles.

In 2028, the water supply of the world becomes the main form of currency. When the private organizations take advantage of this, the public unrest is at a boiling point, resulting in a massive riot. On that same night, criminals are injured and they call upon a underground nurse who runs a hotel for them. Subscription based, you can enter if you're a member. The movie suggest that there are other hotels like this in other cities. A bank robbery goes wrong and one of the parties is injured leading them to the hotel. One of the major bosses of the underworld is injured and goes to the same hotel. During the earlier robbery, the diamonds are from the boss, which they stole. As the night unfolds at the hotel, the boss wants his diamonds back. Can they all survive?

Interesting post apocalyptic take on an future Los Angeles. The characters were pretty interesting. Zachary Quinto's character was so over the top, I had a hard time with the movie after his appearance. Of course, the convergence of all these parties in LA on the same night was very interesting. Leading to lots of action.

Siberia

Siberia is an 2018 film. The movie stars Keanu Reeves and Ana Ularu. Molly Ringwald makes a couple of brief appearances. The film is set in Russia.



Keanu plays a diamond agent from the US that flies to Russia to close a deal for blue diamonds. Keanu's partner Pyotr was to procure the sample and the diamonds. However, upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Pyotr is MIA. The buyer is a stereotypical Russian mobster that will hurt you if the deal goes bad. Keanu is now in a panic to get the sample and to deliver the shipment. Pyotr is still nowhere in sight, but leaves a location. Keanu thus goes out to Siberia to try to investigate and close the deal. While there, Keanu meets Ana Ularu's character of Katya at the local café. They begin an affair while he's trying to close the deal. Will he find the diamonds and still love Katya?

This movie was really slow. But it was meant to be that way. I was prepared for a slow moving film with convoluted plot twist. So I didn't think it was so bad. It's not a typical Keanu role, but he hasn't really played to type ever.

I watched this film via Amazon Prime.

Skyscraper - 摩天大樓

Skyscraper (摩天大樓) is an 2018 movie. The film stars Dwayne Johnson. The supporting cast include Byron Mann, Hannah Quinlivan, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, and Pablo Schreiber. The film set in Hong Kong.



Dwayne Johnson plays former FBI agent who internally battles a decision he made that killed many on his team. After leaving the FBI, he's become a security expert consultant. Specially for skyscrapers. He's hired to rubber stamp the most sophisticated ever help in Hong Kong. While he's there, a mercenary group tries to take down his employer and the building. His family is also in the building while its falling apart. Can you save his family and survive the Skyscraper?

Fun movie. I was thoroughly entertained throughout. The twist and turns were expected so I went along for the ride. The Rock is building himself into a certain type of persona. Tough but has a soft side. This movie puts all those pieces in play.

Caught this movie via T-Mobile Tuesday Redbox promo. Highly recommend this if you want to have fun and turn your brain off.

2019: Top 10 Movies To Look Forward To

2019 is now upon us. Here's a list of my top 10 movies that I really want to watch. Movies that may get me out to the local AMC.

Glass (異裂)



Captain Marvel (驚奇隊長)



Shazam! (沙贊!)



Avengers: Endgame (復仇者聯盟:終局之戰)



Godzilla: King of the Monsters (哥吉拉II怪獸之王)



John Wick 3: Parabellum (捍衛任務3:全面開戰))



X-Men: Dark Phoenix (X戰警:黑鳳凰)



Spider-Man: Far From Home (蜘蛛人:離家日)



Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (玩命關頭:特別行動)



Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (Star Wars:天行者的崛起)

Sicario: Day of the Soldado - 怒火邊界2:毒刑者

Sicario: Day of the Soldado (怒火邊界2:毒刑者) is an 2018 film. The movie stars Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin. The supporting cast include Jeffrey Donovan, Isabela Moner, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Catherine Keener. This is a sequel to the 2015 film, Sicario. The returning characters are played by del Toro and Brolin.



After a suicide bombing that was linked to a border crossing via Mexico, the government send the hounds to stop these type of things. Enter the Sicario. With the plans in place, they set out to stop coyote groups. Things get messy when he's made and shot. Out to protect the daughter of a drug cartel boss, del Toro's character goes Sicario. Now, he's going against the US gov't too.

This second installment was based mainly in Mexico and felt very different. The main characters of del Toro and Brolin go head to head to see if they win. However, that show down doesn't really happen the way you'd expect. The ending is pretty anticlimactic, but set up for future installments.

Hereditary - 宿怨

Hereditary (宿怨) is an 2018 horror film. The movie stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro and Gabriel Byrne. The movie falls within the horror genre.



The plot from the trailer is that the family has many family secrets and that the brother sister pair try to fit into society in the state of Utah. There's a family secret and it will come back to haunt them.

This movie is within the horror genre and rightfully so. This film is more of a drama thriller than a slasher type movie a la Halloween. There are super natural elements that you have to subscribe to for the story to move on and an understanding of the occult stereotypes.

If you like occult type movies shrouded in mystery, you may like this film. I watched this via my T-Mobile Tuesday Redbox free rental. At the moment, it is available via Amazon Prime.

Bumblebee - 大黃蜂

Bumblebee (大黃蜂) is an 2018 film. The movie stars Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena. The movie is part of the Transformers universe, but takes place in 1987. Which brought back a bunch of nostalgic moments as I grew up in the 1980s.



On Cybertron, the Autobots have lost the advantage and much flee to regroup in order to try to take back the planet from the Decepticons. On of the pods flees to earth but is chased there. Upon entering earth, it causes a bunch of damage and the military forces are there to take it down, but when the two sides of transformers fight, it causes lots of destruction. Bumblebee goes into hiding as a VW bug from the 1970s. When Charlie Watson, played by Hailee Steinfeld, finds it, the adventure begins. First is the bond that they form and the eventual huntdown by the Decepticons. When that happens, the military forces get involved and things get complicated.




This is by far the best of the Transformers movies. I would dare say that it will go down as a classic in the coming years with many even thinking it really is an 80s film. Travis Knight does a great job of taking great elements of the 1980s and incorporating them into a modern 2018 film. A really fun watch.

Hailee Steinfeld started in True Grit (真實的勇氣) years ago as a teenager and has blossomed through the years. I hope Hollywood give her the chances to shine, she deserves it and owns the screen.

I am hoping that this installment makes enough box office monies to continue their new storytelling direction.