Between the hustle and bustle of moving into a new house, raising two young daughters, and figuring out how to use an irrigation trencher on my backyard, I am attempting to fit in a few movies—new and old—during the calm, summer nights. Here are a couple of capsule reviews of my viewings thus far. Feel free to share your opinions and current summer viewings as well…
Hit Man (2023) ** out of *****
It takes little effort to “like” Hit Man, but where is it not the very forgettable, generic Netflix package that killed Blockbuster Video? A perfectly believable and compelling true story on its own gets exploited by the hunk-behind-four-eyes trope to complete a Hollywoodized circle jerk of Richard Linklater and Ben Powell at the right time in their lives to sell out. Just over-voice the overused line, “What can I say?” and you’re set to stream more unoriginality.
Gimme Grosse Pointe Blank (1997).
Prometheus (2012) ****1/2 out of *****
I’m not sure what the hangup is. Only 3.3 on Letterboxd and 64 on Metacritic? This is the audacious sci-fi/prequel to the groundbreaking Alien franchise that chose to defy such descriptors and ended up a spiritual odyssey about life, death, and an A.I. masterclass by Michael Fassbender.
I first saw this stunner at its premiere with my dad twelve years ago, and I have to say it holds up better than I remembered!
Stem cells, Creator, faith, and dogma all play a part in the stars, and when the origin of the “aliens” kicks in, the heart starts to pound at the 40-minute mark.
Charlize Theron is Sigourney Weaver reincarnated. Noomi Repace was a rising star at the time. Sean Harris is still a mega creep. I forgot that Idris Elba is the captain!
Director Ridley Scott knows how to blend the brooding ghosts and slime of the late-70s into a theologian quest for answers today.
It’s horrifying, surreal, bleak, and perfectly unexpected in the Alien-verse.
That self-surgical scene! Oh my.
I just found out that a new addition to the Alien franchise is coming soon—Alien: Romulus. Be sure to watch Prometheus and brush up on your Alien lore before Romulus‘s release on August 16!
Happy Summer,
Reely Bernie
Reely Bernie 
I watched Hit Man the other night – mostly enjoyed it, but eminently forgettable. I had to google it to remember the plot. 😀
Same thing with Pierce Brosnan in Fast Charlie.
Hmm …. what else? …
Freelance with John Cena, playing John Cena – not terrible.
Freud’s Last Session – Anthony Hopkins as Freud – Always good value.
Watched Atlas last night. Jennifer Lopez was surprisingly good in a slightly above average SF techno CGI-fest. I think she’s gotten better with age.
Oh, Argylle – spy-spoof with a mustache-less ‘Superman’ Henry Cavill. That was a bit of summer fun.
Damsel with Millie Bobby Brown – could’a been good, but only occasionally poked its head above mediocre.
Love Lies Bleeding – Kristen Stewart – Phew! 😀
That’ll do. 😀 … hope your trenching goes/went well. 😀
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So nice to hear from you and even better to get a list of your summer viewings so far! This is what this humble blog is all about! Plus, we get to share titles we might not have seen and add them to our Watchlist.
I’ve seen some of the ones you listed: Argylle is perfect no-brainer/summer entertainment for sure; Atlas is so overlooked (no one I know has heard of it, and it’s right there on Netflix), and I’ve always liked Jennifer Lopez on the screen (just not so much off); and, I love anything Anthony Hopkins.
I still need to see Love Lies Bleeding and have been intrigued by its trademark of “being one of the first of (hopefully) many sapphic films that portray queer women as the badasses they are.” It has horror in it too, right? I think I will love it.
Backyard landscaping will continue and hopefully end in mid-July after our vacay in Florida and NY. I’m doing the research and designing now. It’ll be our last big project for our house move. Luckily, the knees are doing better, but now it’s the back
Prayers and good vibes to both of us 🙂
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Love Lies Bleeding – It gets a bit gruesome here and there, but I wouldn’t call it horror, maybe more thriller-ish if anything. Then again my definition of ‘horror’ is more skewed to the classic ‘old-school’ stuff. 🙂
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Can’t wait! I just rewatched Possession (1981). Now, THAT is a horror. Yikes.
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