cdcrb Reviews

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

say no to meg 3

[2/10 · 19 August 2023]

This is the kind of summer movie where you sit back and relax and have fun. Not so much here. I would say for a major "hollywood" release, its unprofessional. Acting, direction, story, script all stink. Its stupid, on top of that. And its so dark most of the time, you don't know what's going on. Not everyone survived meg 1 and some chose not to continue. So there are a few new faces. Sadly, not up to the job. Of course, there is always one saving grace in a jason statham film. And you guessed it, you devil. Good old jason himself. He propels this this along, like it's shakespeare in the park. Is that enough for you"

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

bombs away

[7/10 · 27 July 2023]

I am surprised at the interest in this film. I doubt that most americans know who oppenheimer is. We can't find florida on a map. Of course the ads started over a year ago and the tie in to the barbie opening helped. No one wants to be left out of an "event". As for the film itself, it's long. The person across the aisle checking the time didn't make it shorter. And it doesn't really focus on dropping the bombs, but on robert oppenheimer's dilemma with what he had wrought. Because his ideas were not popular in the early 50's, a very scary time in the usa, they did all they could do to shut him up and discredit him. As for the actors, hats off to robert downey, jr. He steals the show. But like the movie, you get tired of him, too. So go, join the crowds and you can tell your friends you saw oppenheimer. Knock yourself out.

Biosphere (2022)

i heard it was funny?

[5/10 · 18 July 2023]

What is it with movies this summer. They're all way too long. This is a perfect example. They could have chopped thirty minutes easy. Anyway two guys are living in a bio dome. One, the ex president, the other his long time friend and aide. The aide is the brains behind the duo. The aide designed the dome and had it prepared for the end of the world. He didn't plan very well, as supplies are running out and fast. Someone who has watched nature programs might catch on early to the plot. Things take an odd turn and then comes all the social commentary. Blah, blah, blah. By the end i couldn't help but wonder. Do men ever grow up? Not worth your time. But at least it's not the same old.

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

don't count to 10 backwards.

[7/10 · 14 July 2023]

Ty simkins and sinclair daniels make a nice combo. Bright futures ahead. I hate to say this, but there were actually moments that were scary. And i had to say to myself , it's only a movie. The story is about hidden secrets and evil that lurks in the darkness. I know. Sounds familiar. For the most part it's ok. As with all these films it doesn't quite make it to the finish line. But it tries. For those of you not born in the last century, that song they play is tiptoe through the tulips. By someone named tiny tim. Fifteen minutes of fame back in the day. He married his bride, miss vicky on the tonight show. History lesson for free. I always enjoy patrick wilson. He directs and co stars here.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

oh no. there's a part 2

[4/10 · 12 July 2023]

No one liked my indy review, so they're really gonna hate this. Its long. Long. Long. Even tom looked bored. It could have been the botox. But i doubt it. Something about a key to world domination. Did i mention the key. You'll be sick of it after almost three hours. Pegg and rhames are barely in this one. Maybe they'll have more action in part deux. I can't image another two plus hours of this, but hey. They don't pay me 20 million. You've literally seen all this before and if you haven't, they do all of it at least twice. I think the 20 minute car chase in the middle of rome was supposed to be funny. It wasn't. Did i mention the key. Oh brother.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

re dial

[6/10 · 30 June 2023]

Its 42 years and counting since raiders and let's face it. We're all tired. Including indy. At two hours and thirty minutes, you get your moneys worth. But what a price. It seems much longer. There is nothing actually wrong here. Everything is very professionally done. The story, sadly is the real problem. It's dopey. And let's get real. Archimedes. I vaguely remember something about mathematics two thousand years ago. Other than that, not too much. Mads mickelsen needs a new agent and quick. Phoebe waller bridge is ok. I almost didn't recognize antonio banderas. There's action, but its forced. There's little excitement to be had. Maybe that's expecting too much now.

The Boogeyman (I) (2023)

no, no. no.

[1/10 · 5 June 2023]

If you haven't seen all and i mean all this before, then you never go to the movies. There is not one original moment to be seen. Every light switch seems to be broken, so every room is in the dark. Every room. Plus closets, attics, basements. Whatever. And yet people still go looking around. Looking. Strange noises don't stop anyone. We have two psychiatrists on board. Both promising us that everything that's happening is nonsense and in our imagination. "i should have listened to you" someone says. I guess. The acting is pretty bad. The father, chris messina, is sadly miscast. The two girls playing the daughters, do the best they can. Sadly, a sequel looks possible, if the box office numbers work. Save you money, please.

Chile '76 (2022)

fighting for justice

[10/10 · 26 May 2023]

Aline kuppenheim. Remember that name, if you can. She's not the only reason to see chile 76, but she sure is one of them. She is spectacular. In 1976, there was a military coup in chile and gen pinochet was "in charge". It was a brutal and intense time. Over 100k young men disappeared. I mention this because the movie doesn't. If you don't know the history here, the movie will be meaningless. We know something is going on, but not really. Things happen off camera. We sense somethings not right, but don't know what. So its really a mystery. Enjoy the film with that in mind. If you don't know about the coup. Do a little homework. It won't hurt you.

Guy Ritchie's the Covenant (I) (2023)

two heroes for the price of one.

[8/10 · 22 April 2023]

Why jake gyllenhaal isn't a huge star is odd. He has all the ingredients necessary. Maybe no real super hero credentials. Who knows. Here he plays an army sgt after the taliban, with the help of dar salim, an interpreter. Not translater. After the taliban put a price tag on their heads, jake is almost killed and captured, but saved by dar salim. Heroically. Jake gets sent back home. Leaving dar hiding from the taliban. He had been promised visa's and passports to the usa. Promises not kept. Naturally jake has to get salim and his family out and that's our story. Because i knew where we were headed i was not enjoying this cliche ridden story. However, it won me over, finally. Maybe it will you, too. The nyc audience applauded at the end. That always says a lot.

Renfield (2023)

will a smile get you through

[7/10 · 15 April 2023]

Remember how obnoxious nicolas hoult was in menu, well we forget sometimes that these guys are actors. Because here hoult is absolutely charming, as dracula's right hand man, redfield. The story is sort of fun. Redfield wants to get out from under drac's thumb. He joins a group of self defeaters and tries to tell his story. Dracula, upset he will loose his assistant, finds and destroys the group. Redfield then finds his inner strength and takes matters into his own hands. Surprisingly lots of john wick stuff by hoult and cage, for a change, is actually not terrible. He seems to revel in this made to order role. He's actually ok. A sequel looks possible, depending on box office performance.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

nice surprise

[8/10 · 5 April 2023]

Hey, its not half bad. Almost enjoyable. Even ok. I wasn't planning on seeing thiss movie, but pickin's are mighty slim these days and weekends are long. Anyway, chris (fill in the blank; any one of them will do here) leads a bunch on nice folks on an adventure, fighting off bad guys all the way. They keep getting themselves out of one jam and into another. Only to find trouble around the next corner. And the next. Lots of cgi. Of course. I wasn't bored at all and even had some fun. Hugh grant again plays a bad guy. So funny, since he started out in movies being just the opposite. With a budget thru the roof and a modest opening, profitability looks hazy. They'll need lots of help over seas.

Spinning Gold (2023)

sealed with a kiss

[6/10 · 4 April 2023]

Neil bogart ne bogatz from bklyn, ny was one of the founders of casablanca records, a very hot, short lived disco, ersatz r n r label from the very late 1970's. You would have to be a baby boomer to have any interest in this film and to have any understanding of what is going on. Unfortunately, not much. Drugs, sex and alcohol. Nothing has changed since then. The story is so familiar, i'm surprised it doesn't have a copyright. Anyway the film lacks spark and just sits there, especially after the first hour. It seemed to me to just come to a complete stop. Somehow we plowed on for over another hour, but to no avail. It was just boring. The electric personality jeremy jordan has shown in many other places, especially live, is completely missing here. That's a shame, since he carries the entire picture on his shoulders. When things like that happen, i always blame the director. Tim bogart. In this case. This is not for you if you want to learn about the so called disco era. Love to love ya baby. Rock on.

Inside (I) (2023)

he's not van gogh. this time.

[8/10 · 24 March 2023]

Willem dafore is the kind of actor you either like or not. He's not show offy. See his van gogh for reference. Here he is an art thief, who gets trapped in the owner's apt. When there is a glitch during the escape phase. The owner has left the country and dafoe is to steal a couple of paintings, one in particular. Which of course is missing. It's the pent house of a n y place. Very stylish. Probably billionaires row. Trapped, dafoe tries everything imaginable to get out. With very little success. He's in the apt for a while. We don't know exactly, except that the temp varies from 100f to 56f? Maybe lower. We do see snow at one point. So its at least dec. He eats whatever is left by the owners, including the tropical fish. Maybe fish balls? Not sure and pasta cooked in cold water. Julia, can you hear me. Anyway its dafoe, dafoe,dafoe. Since he has lots of time on his hands and he can only do so much "breaking out" he destroys most of the art. I won't spoil the end for you. I didn't think i was going to like it, but i did. If you like a well made film, you might too.

Scream VI (2023)

let's scream for more

[7/10 · 11 March 2023]

First of all, we miss neve campbell. Anyway, as things go, number 6 is pretty good. Lots of everything we love. Gore, gore, gore. The story is a continuation of the earlier films. Its all very familiar, but sort of new. The body count is huge, so much so, that one loses count after a while. I had a hard time keeping up. The odd thing for a horror movie is people don't do really stupid things. They do answer the phone, big mistake, but without that there is no scream. So we give them that much. Otherwise, things move right along.

Everyone looks guilty . Pick someone. They're probably the one. Scream away.

65 (2023)

dinosaurs lose. so do we.

[1/10 · 10 March 2023]

I'm a complete sucker for dinosaur movies. One of my favorites is "beast from 20000 fathoms", 1953. A dinosaur is released from the ice at the polar cap due to nuclear testing and ends up killed inside the cyclone, the roller coaster at coney island. Probably cost 2 cents to make. Its way better than 65,a turkey. With a 45 million budget. It was annoying right from the start. His gps gadget tells him that the reflection he sees in the distance is 15 kilometers away. Seriously. This guy is from another planet. Are kilometers universal. And listen. If you land on a strange foreign planet in the dark of night, would you really go out looking around. Personally, i'd wait to see if the sun was going to come up. Naturally he finds a young girl, who speaks a language he doesn't understand. He speaks english. See what i mean. Anyway, he seems to be in possession of every tool, and gizmo needed to fight off every nasty animal he runs across. By the way, 65 refers to millions of years ago, the last year of the dinos before the asteroid crashed into earth and killed them off. I was even able to figure out how the emergency vehicle would get turned over so they could fly away. Its just stupid. Adam driver isn't bad, though. Really, save your money. Go see scream 6. Its way better.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023)

misfortune

[6/10 · 3 March 2023]

Ok. So i'm a big fan of jason statham. As such, i know how things are going to end up in one of his movies. He'll be the big winner. So what. The thing is, along the way we should; have some fun and have a good time. Not so much here. Its strictly movie making 101. Guy ritchie can direct, but he doesn't seem to have any imagination. He just gets us from a to b. The plot is old hat. Bad guy wants to disrupt world currency and make gold "the" commodity to own. Jason must stop this from happening. He is helped by aubrey plaza. Bugzy malone and josh harnett. All very good and a pleasure to see. Even hugh grant is ok. That's about it. Its not bad, its just not very good.

Selfiee (2023)

its all a misunderstanding

[6/10 · 25 February 2023]

Big movie star needs to renew driver's license so he can complete movie shoot so producer doesn't lose shirt. Complications ensue. Movie star misreads situation and blames driving license officer. Officer vows revenge in mistaken idea movie star responsible for attack on his family. And on it goes. One mistaken episode followed by another. I thought it was a comedy, but it's more like a dramedy/soap opera. And not very good. There is a subplot, which doesn't really add much except for heart tugging scene near the end. It gets tiresome after a while and never really builds up ahead of steam. It just slogs along. Kumar/hashmi make a great team, with hashmi very good indeed keeping up with the big star. Who looks great, btw.

Of an Age (2022)

don't go breakin' my heart

[8/10 · 22 February 2023]

Falling in love. Painful memories. Anyway if you think you have a nice smile, thom green will put you to shame. The camera is on him close up for a very long time. Anyway two guys fall in love in australia. Then move on. Aided by ebony, who you wouldn't know spoke english. I guess you could describe this as a "road" movie, from the bad old days of the 60's. Adam is cool and aloof, while kol is young and naive. He came to australia from bosnia in 1991. Not gay, he says, but he's open. And he's 19 here. When i looked at my watch, i couldn't believe 2 hrs had gone by. I guess it's the kind of film that you either get or not. If not, i can imagine it's a long slog. It's also heartbreaking. As an aside, did anyone notice during the reception scene they played a song called "brazilian waltz". It sounded alot like the same cords of "flowers". Just saying.

Marlowe (2022)

enough already

[6/10 · 18 February 2023]

The good news, it's not "taken 4". The rest not so much. I guess i've seen just about every philip marlowe movie, from humphrey bogart, dick powell, james garner, etc. And the thing is always the plots. They stink. The actors are always ok, but when you leave the theater you ask yourself '"what's up?" i can never figure out what is going on. The bad guys are obvious, but no help in following the non story. Liam looks and acts half asleep. And he's not even drugged. Jessica lange was quite good and allen cumming was interesting. I noticed the movie was filmed in barcelona and dublin, two beautiful cities, but they don't contribute to a hollywood vibe. No offense.

Living (2022)

better late

[8/10 · 9 February 2023]

An 8 rating is a little high, but bill nighy is always worth a look. The movie is simple. A man has cancer and 6 or so months to live. From what we can tell he lives a very regimented and unhappy life. After the diagnosis, he tries to recapture the joy of living he enjoyed long ago. His relationship with his san and daughter in law is non existent and he doesn't tell his son about his cancer. He does tell a young woman of his acquaintance and tries to form a platonic friendship with her. They go to fortnums and the movies. The acting is all first rate and the whole thing is sentimental as heck. Be warned. Colin farrell is getting a run for this money here and better look out on oscar night.

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

cabin to avoid

[1/10 · 6 February 2023]

No bruce willis surprise folks. Here's the premise-would you sacrifice yourself or a member of your family to save humanity. If that's a dilemma for you, then have at it. Other wise not so much fun here. Four nut cases break into cabin and threaten family with this problem. Very violent and no place for children. Slow moving and repetitive. I like dave bautista, very good, and two gay actors play gay fathers. I kept thinking about the little girl actress in the film and how awful this must have been for her. Should a child be around this much violence. I know its just a movie, but. There really isn't much of an ending and certainly no "twist or surprise" that we are so used to. Quite disappointed. Sad to say. I like m. Night.

Pathaan (2023)

exciting and fun

[8/10 · 31 January 2023]

Hey, guys. An awful lot of 1's. Its a movie. Made up. Fiction. Its not a real thing. Anyway lots of action. Shah khan and deepika podukone are on a mission to stop john abraham from destroying the world with small pox virus he has come across . The action is non stop and although you will no doubt have no problem figuring out what will happen next, that won't impede your enjoyment of this james bond kind of movie. There are surprises and unexpected thrills. I saw this on imax in the usa and it benefits alot from that. John abraham looks great as per usual. And shah khan is no slouch either. Make sure you stay thru the credits.

Maybe I Do (2023)

too lame, even for hallmark.

[5/10 · 28 January 2023]

For a short moment i was thinking this wasn't too bad. That didn't last long and things went steadily down hill. The acting is terrible all around. Susan sarandon says she never got a part from an audition. She obviously didn't audition here. The stupid plot goes like this. Cheating spouses end up at dinner with actual spouses and comedy ensues. They are together to save the relationship of their respective son and daughter. The son is having a hard time coming to grips with the reality of marriage. The ending is artificial and awkward. It seems the writers ran out of material and tacked it on. Weird. Save your dough.

Infinity Pool (2023)

you'll have a better time with m3gan.

[1/10 · 27 January 2023]

7.1. Seriously. All those 10's? Listen up. Here it is only jan 23 and we have the worst movie of the year. Top to bottom, this thing stinks. Briefly, a couple on vacation in some exotic and dangerous place find themselves in trouble right off the bat. Things go down hill fast, especially with a husband as stupid as this guy. There is a great deal of so called psychedelic gobbly gook, which takes up a lot of screen time and requires zero acting. I kept wondering if this skarsgard is the same one i have liked so often. Maybe he's one of the duplicates from the film. If this is art, we are in for a very long year. I heard that this was a terrifying experience. Laughable, would be a better description, . Except there are no laughs.

Skinamarink (2022)

fool me once.

[1/10 · 14 January 2023]

Do you enjoy looking at lego blocks for two hours. Ceilings, baseboards, dimly lit rooms. Then this baby is for you. Because that's all that's here. Supposedly a study in childhood fear, blah, blah ,blah, don't you be fooled by critics. This thing stinks. I was thinking that it must be some kind of joke that the film makers were pulling on me trying to make me into a jerk for watching this piece of junk. In a semi full theatre i was waiting for mass movement to the exit so i could join them. No such luck. We all sat there like morons waiting for something, anything to happen. No such luck. Hey, its your dime. Just listen to me and i'll save you the cost of the ticket. No amount of popcorn will get you thru this.