Geostorm:
A resounding "meh" on this one. Which is a shame, as I generally quite like Gerard Butler, but the reasonably interesting premise of the film (post-global-warming society pools its resources and builds a big ol' weather control satelite system) is badly let down by some stoopid hollywood couldn't-possibly-work nonsense masquerading as sci fi. eg lightning strikes do not cause concrete roads to explode in giant fireballs. They just dont. Likewise, (and this is one of my pet peeves. it riles the shit out of me every time I see it, which is lamentably frequently) big complicated computer systems do NOT have helpful loading bars/robo-voices/beepy noises to indicate that the whole system is nearing shutdown/has been helpfully reset/whatever. Shit like that just happens quietly and non-cinematically. Srsly, hollywood, learn to raise the tension some other way, ffs
Anyway, tolerable hokum for a saturday evening in front of the telly, but not much else.
Hardcore Henry:
um. Definitely not "meh". Not sure what a one-word descriptor might be, but it's probably the opposite of "meh". Overall, I actually enjoyed the movie, but watching it in a dark room on an ipad about 2ft from my eyes, sound being applied to my ears via in-ear headphones, was akin to being thrown around by a large bear whilst having Children of Bodom blared at me at high volume. Disorienting isn't the half of it. A basic plot summary would be: man wakes up from coma-or-something, gets attacked by bad men, sets out to rescue wife, fights people. Actually that's not even a summary. That's the whole plot right there. What rescues the movie from being another-fighty-movie is that it's entirely, start to finish, filmed in the first person, presumably on a go-pro or similar.) So, when Henry rides a motorbike at high speed, leaps off it, engages in some (very!) gory fisticuffs on top of a van, leaps off and lands on another bike, then fires a bazooka at another van, the whole thing is one big eyeball wrenching punchy-explode-a-fest. But in a good way. It's also, btw, astoundingly violent, to the point of comedy. Props go to the stunt guys, particularly Henry (who you never actually see), as you get a very clear view of the risks they're taking. The rest of the cast was pretty good, too. Anway, it's well worth a watch, if only to say you've seen it. You'll defintely have an opinion on it, I can tell ya that for sure.
Venom:
I'd love to have an opinion on Venom, but I don't, because my youngest got too scared about half an hour into the movie and we had to leave. First time that's ever happened actually. Bit disappointed, tbh, as what I saw of it was pretty good.
Black Lightning (TV, netflix):
I'm on Season 2 ep 3 at the mo, and quite enjoying it. It's pretty similar to netflix's Marvel TV stuff (although, clearly, it's unrelated, being a DC property and all), but overall it's a strong cast (props to the actors playing the hero and villain, particularly.) A nice deviance from the standard superhero stuff is that the main character is a bit older and has a wife and 2 nearly grown kids, and the show spends a lot of time on his family life as well as his superhero stuff. There are a few things early on where I was a bit "hang on - where did he get all that funky stuff from, exactly?" but it gets cleared up in later episodes. It suffers a little from the writers staying a bit too close to the comic-book stories, I think, as some stuff is just a bit too convenient for a TV show (bit more explanations for events/motivations for characters would be nice) but generally it holds up well. Worth a watch, I'd say.
Anybody else seen owt worth recommending to folks, recently?
