Joel's Reviews

I went into this blind so I'm not going to divulge too much plot info other than Vince Vaughn

this guy:


is now a full blown action hero.

I don't remember the last time I saw such graphic violence in a movie. This stuff is gruesome. It's so bad that I found myself laughing hysterically at how detailed it was. I laughed because I had a feeling the director was laughing, that everyone was laughing.


Anyway, Vaughn's character is an ex junkie come clean who just lost his job and is having marital issues. We see early on his temper and physical strength when he disassembles his wife's ride out of jealousy. He now has to go back to work for a drug runner and that's where things go even worse, but not before the news that his wife is pregnant again after a miscarriage years prior.

Vince Vaughn. I always knew this dude could act and he once again acts his ass off here. The difference is that he's not all mouth. He has control. This was an interesting move on his part, and testament to the director's creative prowess.

At over 2 hours this film is essentially a smart and slowly simmering crime drama but it also plays out like a video nasty - filled with incredible fight sequences and violence. The thing is, you'll have to wait a while for all of the payoff. I kept looking at my watch wondering how they could wrap things up. Trust me, they do!

Though some of the thematic elements I thought were carried away and distasteful (one involving how the bad guys plan to exact revenge), I still couldn't stop watching.

Was this an incredible movie and the best of Vaughn's career? I don't think so. Vaughn has thrown down the dramatics better before in "A Cool, Dry Place", and here I am not sure his accent is consistent, which I forgave..but he definitely gives a top performance, a different performance, and the fact that he got through his physical sequences the way he did - all in one shot most of the time - shows an actor really ready to reinvent himself.

Great stuff!!

I was definitely laughing. The dude he flipped over with the mutilated skeleton face had me bawling.

Good review. I liked all of the prison stuff alot i just thought the first nearly hour was terrible personally.

I think when he flipped skeletor over, what really made me bust up - was the quick body convulsion..haha, it's like, OKAY ENOUGH! But they had to throw in the guy evacuating his pants..oh man..twisted minds

I want to see a still of Vince's head when it gets blown to mush at the end, something really nuts happened there but i could only see it briefly.

The one thing that made me squeamish was the arm break of the first guard at the first prison, there was objectively worse things in the film and even other armbreaks but the bone and everything really grossed me out in that one.

Yeah, that was horrific, that arm break. I wasn't convinced at the guard's reaction, either. If that happened, aside from initial shock, anyone would be crying loudly.

OMG yeah. He mildly shouts "he's crazy" absurd reaction.

You're building quite an impressive collection of reviews, Joel! I've never checked in here before, but even just by going back and reading the last few pages worth, I've already found several interesting films I'd never heard of before to add to my watchlist, like Lady in White, Don't Kill It and Red Christmas, among others. I admire your eclectic viewing habits. It's always a pleasure to learn about films off the beaten path. I also appreciate your ability to write entertaining, informative reviews without spoiling any of the specifics. You've reviewed many films, like Popcorn and Gandahar, that I've been curious about for awhile now but still haven't seen.

I'd never heard of Brawl in Cell Block 99 until recently. It sounds like a film that should appeal to me, and I'm very curious to see Vince Vaughn play a bad ass, but I was underwhelmed with the director's previous film, Bone Tomahawk. The latter had all the makings of a new favorite -- a hybrid of my favorites genres (horror and western), cannibals, Sid Haig -- but with the exception of a memorably brutal last act, I found most of the film tediously slow and borderline amateurish. Hearing that this new film follows a similar structure -- long, slow burn before a violent payoff -- has me a bit skeptical.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread going forward while hopefully commenting more frequently. Keep up the good work.

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Thanks, Captain!

I won't tell you to rush for Brawl in Cell Block 99, but if you're bored and curious about VV turning over a new leaf as an actor/badass..it's definitely worth a look. If you go in armed and knowing that it's a film that tries to aim for a serious tone, overstays its welcome, but has ridiculously brutal fight sequences and violence, you should be OK. It's no masterpiece. My high rating was based on my shock of how well VV did in his "long take" sequences. He had his moves down pat.

And thanks for the kind words. I've done a lot of scouring at video stores back in the 80's, and developed a real taste for cinema that isn't all box office. Thanks for taking the time to read!

Krull is just a good fantasy. Boy, does it take its time, too. It's 2 hours long. I think the perfect time to watch it is before bed, in installments. It's just not a movie to be on the edge of your seat for. It's silly and yes, it's even a bit dated, but the committed James Horner score hardly rips off John Williams at all (fingers crossed behind back). Honestly, though - it's a damn fine score.

This is a huge, epic, feel good yet tries to be suspenseful-film. I enjoyed the dialog. There's nothing brilliant about it, it's just there...existing. What I did like about the acting and dialog was that, for the most part, it wasn't offensive. I didn't find myself cringing. Big points for that!


This is just a super-chill flick you can enjoy as a sci fi fantasy. True, Krull rips off Star Wars to a degree, but for me, it's forgivable because I simply don't care. It's not Star Wars. It's KRULL, and it is different enough. But damn, there are some serious parallels.

Everything seems to be handled very competently; the special effects (great blue and red lasers), the score (as mentioned - and James Horner pulls out a lot of stops for this particular film, even going so far as to use some chord progressions in folk songs known throughout ages of humankind), the acting is down to earth enough to establish camaraderie between the cast, and the story, though derivative, has a beginning, middle and an ending.


I think Krull is one my new favorite fantasy films based on its ability to remain calm and not disgust me, and the aesthetics of color within the film. It really does look beautiful.

Krull is a charming fantasy. It is a little silly, but it has some powerful visuals and emotion. It was very striking to me when I was a kid, even gave me a bit of nightmares. I love the sound the aliens make when they die.

I haven't seen Bone Tomahawk but that's not how i'd describe Brawl In Cell Block 99. The first 45 minutes or so to me were tedious and amateurish like you said, the whole next hour is violent and brutal though, the majority of the film. Think you may like it.

Yeah and theres an elusive squid slug that slithers out. Need the blu ray for frame by frame

This is one of, if not my most, favorite ghost stories on film. George C. Scott helps believability in the supernatural department, delivering his usual confident, slightly understated and mature brand of acting. This movie just makes me feel comfortable despite its chilling plot line and atmosphere.


A master composer takes holiday to work on his music for a local curriculum after his wife and child are accidentally murdered in a car collision. He rents an enormous mansion hoping to focus on work but soon finds that there is a spirit in the house that wants to send him a frightful message.

The film then turns into a murder mystery, and a damn good one at that.

I really enjoyed the mood this movie creates between the music and haunting cinematography. By haunting I mean the camera just kind of looms over staircase balconies, down dark hallways of multiple floors, and this all works in perfect conjunction with carefully made sound design and music score.


I've seen this film three times before and I doubt this will be my last time seeing it. It's like the mac and cheese of movies to watch when you're wracking your brain for some entertainment on an otherwise boring night.


My only complaint is that I felt the ending was kind of muddy. I didn't understand how that final resolution was an actual final resolution to allow the unrested to finally rest. Actually, maybe it didn't? I dunno. Not a big deal. I'll take it.

American Psycho

Christian Bale is not a favorite of mine but after revisiting his work in The Machinist I remembered that at one time his chops were incredible, and he was the new actor that all others would be judged by. I don't feel this way anymore, and for years I had kind of written him off, even going as far to say that Michael Keaton was not only a better Batman, but a better actor. Well, I don't think so, Joel.

Bale's acting in American Psycho is phenomenal. His big moment comes late in the film, but what an incredible piece of acting it is. He is a severe craftsman. Severity, that's what comes to mind when I think of the routines he must put himself through to come across so controlled yet somehow naturalistically jazz oriented on screen. His emotions are bobbed and weaved on top of his otherwise stoic expressions, but when he decides to step out in these moments he does so in such a funny way. He has his choreography down to the point where I am reminded of Ed Harris in China Moon, and how just brushing the knees of a well tailored pair of slacks can seem sensual. I say sensual as a straight heterosexual man. Why has this come across to me? It's because of the acting. It's a craft, and things come across whether you like them or not, and whether you want to see them or not.

American Psycho is chock full of great humor and late video rental fees. Eventually the plot takes a wild turn into a surreal paranoid nightmare and I've never had any real world closure on the wrap up, but it still doesn't bother me enough to minus any like for this movie. It's just expertly done as a film.

Glad you liked The Changeling. I'm a big fan.

Anthony Hopkins plays a sort of Hannibalesque character minus the farva and chianti while Ryan Gosling flares a little less nostril because he's too busy eating fruit and snacks during his strutting scenes.

This handsomely photographed picture is about as Hollywood thriller as you can get with the orchestral swelling around every turn and the ideal climate exterior shots, but inside the procedural workings of the film I was reminded of the kind of lawyer bond created with a victim in the hospital that The Verdict brought in as part of its morality.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes I had gotten past the cliches and settled into a semi complex thriller that had its cards in order, waiting for the final reveal, and sitting on the edge of my seat.

This is a very well played and written courtroom drama mystery that once again showcases the talents of Anthony Hopkins and reaffirms my slow reappraisal of Ryan Gosling as a good actor. Here Gosling does really good work with the cards he's been dealt. He plays quiet and cocky as competent as I could expect from a talent as heart throbbish as his genetics enable. Underneath his foxy grin there is a serious actor who makes a perfectly sly companion to Hopkins' usual devil.

I was satisfied with the ending not only because it started to really show good dialog chops leading up to it, but also because it didn't need to put a shiny bow as a pin the tail on the donkey. It had enough confidence to write itself into a new beginning that tapered off into the viewers imagination, even if what the viewer imagines only lasts for as long as it takes to stand up and walk out of the room after they've switched off and moved onto something else.

Thanks Joel nice reviews

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Great film.

Jon

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The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

Story of a nerdy momma's boy who calls a horoscope hotline and is granted evil powers to exact revenge on his wrong doers. Problem is that it takes more than half the movie to establish what exactly is going on here. What the HELL is going on here?!!

Director Englund absolutely nails atmosphere and hires 2 great composers ( Thomas Chase & Steve Ruckerto) to offer up a score in the tradition of Charlie Berstein's original A Nightmare on Elm Street style synth darkness, but as a story-teller he is way out there. Scenes run on too long creating a weird and murky awkwardness. Is he joking with us? I wasn't always sure. There was a fair amount of really subtle humor in this, especially from the woman who plays the over bearing religious mom, but some of the long takes feel like a punch line is coming, and then nothing happens.

I can totally see why this film is a cult hit nowadays. It has everything you want in a twisted horror; humor, gore, creepy vibes, creepier music, insane camera placement, great night time sets, smoke filtered matte paintings..the whole nine.

As a story it is barely able to hold itself together. It seemed like a bunch of filaments stringing together notes and scene outlines with no real dialog or direction to work from. Englund definitely takes his time with this one. It stands on the edge of boring, but then something genuinely inspired happens and we get another ten minutes we forgive.

I liked this movie. It was just about inane and absurd but that also works in its favor. I'd go so far as to say that Robert Englund was a visionary at this time. It's true he did have his Elm St films to use as a template, but there's more to this film, and it's able to stand apart from his franchise. He's no Wes Craven, and he's no Tobe Hooper, but if he had kept going in this direction, and with a better script supervisor, he may have held a place as director all its own class.

I put Fracture on my watchlist. My wife and I love the typical Hollywood thriller and that's one I just forgot existed.