Quarantine movie reviews part 5

Bloodshot (2020)

Had I made it to one more movie before theaters shut down  this likely would have been the one. I kinda dug this one. As far as Vin Diesel movies that don't fall into the Fast & Furious or Riddick franchises go, this one is probably the best of those. It's got just enough actual plot and just enough humor about itself. And it has Eiza Gonzalez in A+ peak hotness form. 

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

For about the first 90 minutes of this 2 1/2 hour movie, it looked like we might have another top of the line Spike Lee film. The ensemble is terrific (Delroy Lindo is the year's first no brainer Oscar nominee), the story compelling, the cinematography amazing. I would still probably put it as the best movie of the year so far, but the last hour really knocks it down. It becomes one big mess after the land mine sequence. 

Eloise (2017)

A horror movie that co-stars Eliza Dushku. It's basically just Shining Flashlights In A Dark Room: The Movie. It's absolute garbage. Unwatchable. 

Leave No Trace (2018)

The follow-up for the director of Winter's Bone. The always excellent Ben Foster and Jojo Rabbit's Thomasin McKenzie are a father & daughter living in the woods. This has that same ultra raw feel as Winter's Bone, and even shares a couple supporting actors. McKenzie is big time. There's really no other young actress right now in her lane. 

Gotti (2019)

This was kind of a notorious flop, but I kind of just thought it was a generic gangster flick. Travolta isn't very compelling as John Gotti. Frankly, if you are not a scholar-level expert on his story you have no chance to follow this movie, cause they do a horrible job of explaining who everyone is or why they matter. 

Rabid (2019)

Took a shot on this cause it stars the crazy hot Laura Vandervoort. So it pained me when she was facially disfigured for about the first third of the movie. But then to my surprise, this turned out to be a pretty damn solid horror flick. It's a David Cronenberg remake, so it has that body horror aspect, but it also has a zombie thing going on and it works awfully well. 

Days Of Thunder (1990)

Tony Scott's film starring Tom Cruise as a hotshot race car driver. It's basically Top Gun in a different setting. It's not bad. Robert Duvall is great. Young Nicole Kidman is actually pretty hot here.

48 Hrs. (1982)

The movie that made Eddie Murphy a movie star. You can see why it happened. Murphy jolts this movie big time whenever he appears. It's often credited as the movie that spawned the buddy cop genre (Nick Nolte being the only actual cop here though). The movie though is never as funny as I'd expected, nor is the plot anything memorable. 

Another 48 Hrs. (1990)

The sequel though is a near total dud. Again the plot stinks, but this time there are almost no laughs. Nolte is actually way better here than a visibly bored Murphy. 

When Love Is Not Enough (2010)

This Winona Ryder movie about a woman dealing with her alcoholic husband felt very TV-movie-ish. And that's because it actually was one, one of those Hallmark Hall of Fame ones. Its heart is in the right place, but it's melodramatic and repetitive and the performances are really not that good. 

Ode To Joy (2019)

A preposterous, but fairly charming and funny romcom where Martin Freeman is a guy with a medical condition that makes him pass out when he is happy, which is extra awkward since he just met Morena Baccarin, who is into him. Baccarin is one of the most gorgeous women alive and should be a huge star. 

Blow Out (1981)

Early John Travolta. Early Brian DePalma. Travolta witnesses what he believes was a political assassination, then gets mixed up in a really convoluted coverup. The plot has too many loose ends to tie up, but DePalma absolutely shoots the hell out of this movie. And Travolta is really good. 

Running Scared (1986)

I liked this more than 48 Hrs. It's the same buddy cop formula, this time with Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal. Crystal never again did an action comedy, but his jokey, easygoing style of humor is really a nice match here. I wish he had done more. 

Top Secret! (1984)

I have no idea how I avoided this one. It's from the guys who did Airplane and the Naked Gun and Hot Shots movies, which I watched constantly. This one has Vsl Kilmer in his movie debut, and is a spoof of WW2 movies and Elvis musicals. It has even less actual plot than the other ZAZ classics, but is really funny. There are some really hilarious set pieces here. 

The Abyss (1989)

Sort of the forgotten James Cameron movie, this one slipped in between Aliens and T2. It's not on the level of his other classics. The whole middle section where Michael Biehn is going crazy is really not good. It lacks iconic characters. But the story is simple yet good. The The fx work, which was state of the art at the time, holds up pretty well. I'm not sure I'd wanna see the 3 hour version of this. 

Life On The Line (2016)

Come for the Travolta movie about power line workers during a hurricane. Stay for the rather awful movie that's actually all about a bunch of tedious familial melodrama. 

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

This Netflix movie doesn't reclaim Will Ferrell's mojo. Unfortunately it's one of his trying too hard comedies, where instead of having material he just sports wacky clothes and hair and an accent. Rachel McAdams fares a little better, cause she has a bit more to do. I'm not sure if the songs were meant to be bad as a joke or not. 

The Warriors (1979)

Released about a month before I was born, this is a big cult film, and I kinda see it. It's as stripped down and simple as it gets, but in a good way. Some of the acting is atrocious (few of these actors went on to have any career). But I liked the look of it, the music, and some of the fights. 

Dressed To Kill (1980)

Another Brian DePalma film. This is no Blow Out though. This one is just a total Hitchcock ripoff (and actually reminded me a lot of Color Of Night), with some rather laughable twists and dialogue (this is not Michael Caine's finest hour). At least DePalma can shoot a movie so well that it stays watchable.