Kong: Skull Island - 金剛:骷髏島

Kong: Skull Island (金剛:骷髏島) is an 2017 film. The movie is an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, and John C. Reilly. The movie reboots the King Kong monster for the modern times and is the second movie of Legendary's MonsterVerse. The first being the recent Godzilla (哥吉拉) reboot. The two franchises will meet someday.

There is a secret island in the South Pacific. During WWII, two pilot crash land there, the Japanese and US pilots clash but are interrupted by a monster. Fast forward to the 70s. A group of researchers identify a strange island that needs investigation. However, in order to get there, a lot of parties join the fray. And all of them have there own agenda when they get there. As each group seemly tries to destroy the island. The protector of the island gets involved. King Kong of course. Can they get out of the island alive? Will Kong climb the Empire State building. Inquiring minds want to know.

This movie was well made. The addition of Jing Tian is to attract the Zhong Guo market. When seems like they did better than Godzilla. As a movie, I was entertained. Even though Samuel L. Jackson's character was cray cray, it had to done to move the story along. Lots and lots of beautiful people in this movie which make watching this movie a breeze. Not gonna watch it a second. It's been on rerun on HBO recently and haven't stopped to watch once. I got this via Redbox back in the day.

Atomic Blonde - 極凍之城

Atomic Blonde (極凍之城) is an 2017 film. The movie stars Charlize Theron. The supporting cast include James McAvoy, John Goodman, Sofia Boutella, and Bill Skarsgård. The movie is directed by David Leitch, the uncredited co-director of John Wick.

During the late 1980s cold war, a British spy is found and killed, but not before he's got the list of all the undercover agents in the Eastern block. The killer is set on selling the list to the highest bidder. Trouble is, its still the cold war, and its in the communist side of Berlin. Lorraine Broughton, played by Charlize Theron, is a MI6 field agent sent to track down the list. The agent on the inside is David Percival, played by James McAvoy. Together, they have to figure out where the killer is and how to get the list back before it goes public.

This movie played much like the action of John Wick. Fast paced and hard hitting. When the action starts, it's relentless and brutal. If you're a fan of Gun-fu and the John Wick series, this will be right up your alley. I for one really like the film. The music added a bit of nostalgic for me.

I rented it on Redbox and recently picked up a digital copy on sale. I am set to watch this again someday.

Flight - 機密真相

Flight (機密真相) is an 2012 film. The movie stars Denzel Washington. The supporting cast include Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, Melissa Leo, and John Goodman. This film was in no way based on the US Airways Flight 1549 crash on the Hudson, as I had incorrectly assumed.

Denzel plays Whip, a Captain of an commercial airline. On an routine flight from Orlando to Atlanta, the plane malfunctions and Whip is forced to take evasive action. This action leads to an simi safe landing of his plane. 4 passengers and 2 crew members did not survive. Throughout the film, you'll witness Whip drink his way through ordeal after ordeal. Finally faced with an hearing, what will he do. Lie himself out of it again?

The film was extremely hard to watch. Whip is not a good character. Whip is not a good guy. Whip is someone that seeks to abuse his position and leverage those around him. However, this is "America", the land of second chances. Time after time, people let him go protecting their own butts. Whip doesn't change. I take no pleasure thinking about the movie as I write this. I would not recommend this. I may force my kids to watch this when they get older. Bad decisions, self destructive behavior, abuser, and user. Not much to say.