billyduran-882-229299 Reviews

American Made (2017)

Forgotten History

[10/10 · 17 July 2023]

I let my prejudices about Tom Cruise affect my viewing of his films for many years. And though I initially learned to "separate the art from the artist" I have come to appreciate Cruise as an actor and I genuinely believe he wants to entertain the audience.

I was in grade school for all the events depicted in this movie. I remember the names of the different factions and the world leaders and such from the time, but I had no idea until viewing this film the true story behind many of the events.

Cruise brings his usual charisma and swagger to the role and the film told a very interesting, engaging story.

Some of the moments were genuinely funny as well. The story could have been made into a more serious film if they had chosen to do so, but I really appreciated the more light-hearted tone taken. It felt very much at home in the stylish, 80s vibe of the director was going for.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

That's Entertainment

[10/10 · 17 July 2023]

What a genuine surprise to see a movie that is entertaining. Not only that, but a movie that was worth the cost of going to a theater.

I never used to be a fan of Tom Cruise, then I learned to "separate the art from the artist". Now, I genuinely see Cruise as someone who truly wants to make a good movie for the audience. It feels wonderful as a movie fan to have an individual involved in the process who appreciates a person like me. A fan, with ready money to spend. Where as so many other franchises want to blame ME because they put out a poor quality product filled with agenda that doesn't make any money.

The film itself is not flawless, of course. But, we were on the edge of our seats the entire time. A thrill ride unlike anything I've seen in recent history... no doubt not since the last Mission Impossible movie, Fallout.

This franchise has become what James Bond used to be. An action packed, globe trotting adventure. The last several Bond films neutered and destroyed the character after spending those films insulting him and constantly pointing out he was old.

Ethan Hunt/Tom Cruise is now in his sixties, but he is never demeaned for his age. He is completely believable in his role. The film is full of many strong female characters who do not need to put the male lead down to elevate themselves.

The stunts are incredible. The film does not feel like it is completely flat and lifeless like so many modern movies that rely so heavily on CGI. And knowing Cruise performed so many stunts on his own makes it that much more thrilling.

This movie has reminded me of how enjoyable it used to be to go to the theater. I thank Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie for that.

Scream VI (2023)

Don't **** With The Original

[1/10 · 6 July 2023]

The greatest sin of all with these last two movies is just how unlikable and arrogant the new cast members are. Each filling one or more diverse checkboxes without actually having any worthwhile character development or being engaging in anyway that would make you hope they survive.

And because of diversity plot armor, the main cast can get stabbed a hundred times and somehow still survive at the end. If at least one of them died, it might have been worth watching.

I am sure Gale and Kirby were only left alive as an attempt to keep legacy fans coming back to see what happens with them if there is a future for this garbage.

The Scream films used to be a commentary on horror as much as they were horror. This movie simply exists to try copying off of the better original films, while alienating fans of the series and pushing "the message".

There were two moments of potential the filmmakers utterly flubbed. The first being when they brushed on the killers using "cancel culture" to go after the main girl (whose name I can't remember because all the main characters are forgettable even after two films). The second, which I will give this movie it's only credit for... the bait and switch opening with the killers being killed by the real killer.

A sad, pathetic attempt at movie making. More trash churned out by Hollywood. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Embarrassing

[1/10 · 3 May 2023]

Taika Waititi managed not only to write a movie with the intellectual prowess of a 4th grader but he made Thor a joke in his own movie. The series has become a parody of itself. Gone are the days of Kenneth Branagh's attentiveness and competence. Even Thor: The Dark World was light years above and beyond this absolute pile of garbage.

The only enjoyable part I think is seeing the mighty Marvel fall under the incompetence of Disney.

And, as a gay man, the inclusion of all the "LGBT" dog whistling was pure cringe. But, I expect nothing less from a company that sees it's customers/fans as total idiots.

Thank the gods I did not pay a single dime to view this trash.

The Sound of 007: Live from the Royal Albert Hall (2022 Video)

The Spy Who Bored Me

[3/10 · 9 November 2022]

This concert felt shockingly dull. Lots of glitz and glam but low energy overall. The modern "artists" they picked to sing renditions of the classic songs overall were uninspired, some bordering on downright terrible.

I had to skip through 'You Only Live Twice' I found it so awful. And the woman singing "GoldenEye" was trying so hard to imitate Tina Turner's singing it was comical.

Perhaps it was the sound editing for the entire thing but the orchestra as well just seemed flat. I heard that there were many renditions of score excerpts left out which is sad, because that music is as much Bond as any song.

I really have to recommend, if you love Bond and Bond music and want to feel the energy of the music being played by people who are as excited about it as you are, look up Q the Music Show online. I found myself wanting to look up their YouTube videos instead of slogging through this.

The Sound of 007 (2022)

Enjoyable to look back

[5/10 · 9 November 2022]

It was great to see some of the original artists discuss their experiences working on their infamous bond songs. And also the focus on the scores of the films. I am an avid fan of the series and aside from owning all the soundtracks/scores I've tracked down all the "unreleased" Bond songs I could find.

There did seem to be a lot of missed opportunities here. So much more time could have been spent with each artist and their song. Lulu didn't even really discuss hers, why have her on and not? Many artists seem to be missing. Not even a mention of k.d. Lang's fantastic song from Tomorrow Never Dies? The Pretenders contributions to The Living Daylights?

Much of the time seemed to be spent promoting No Time To Die with the artists involved patting themselves on the back for their own genius. I don't think the fact Billie Ellish's vocals were used in the score was worth as much mention as it was given. Time that could have been spent talking about Bill Conti's fantastic score in For Your Eyes Only or Michael Kamen's contribution to Licence to Kill.

This could have been a multiple part series but wound up as an interesting but albeit missed opportunity.

Terrifier 2 (2022)

An unentertaining slog that defames the original.

[2/10 · 1 November 2022]

The original film was atmospheric, basic in its plot yet wildly fun and entertaining. A film with a fantastic antagonist who seemed instantly iconic. A film for horror fans.

What happened with this sequel I just do not understand. The main character and her family are boring and at times unlikable. I am not sure if it was the first mention of the sword or the dream sequence when I knew this film was veering off into the tragedy of modern, 'elevated' horror. It was at that point we were already trying to decide if we were going to walk out of the theater.

The scenes with Sierra and her family were horrendous anchors on the momentum of the film. We would get brief and much-anticipated moments with Art the clown but then things would grind to a halt over the personal drama of these awful people, the plot line about a dead father we could have cared less about and this need prevalent in all modern horror, that Scream 5 with all its flaws summed up succinctly, about the (unnecessary) need to thrust manufactured 'emotion' into horror films now.

We got up and left when they got to the carnival and saw there was a rider named "Terrifier". We weren't even the first folks to leave the theater as a group of 3 others had walked out ten minutes before that.

To find out that the uninteresting Sierra had been killed and brought back to life by the sword was both hilariously laughable and the ultimate cringe all at once. Had we stayed and actually seen that, I think I would have demanded my money back from the theater.

To think the writer/director had created something so fantastic with All Hallow's Eve and the original Terrifier. He seemed to really understand horror. You have a killer clown that doesn't talk, it is the perfect formula.

Yet, whether he was trying to get on the modern horror bandwagon or interject 'current year' social commentary into his project he somehow managed to take that perfect formula and destroy it. And I heard this was crowdfunded too... what a waste of people's money.

The film is utter trash. I feel deceived having spent money to see it. We should have known hearing all the buzz around the film that the truth was the opposite of what it appeared.

What is worse is that it was so bad, for me personally, it degrades the previous outings of the character I had found real enjoyment in.

In Search of Darkness: Part II (2020)

In Search Of Victimhood

[4/10 · 21 October 2022]

I liked the first in this series okay, but struggled to get through this second part.

I have no interest in hearing actors or other Hollywood types interjecting their current year cultural politics over the classic horror films of the 80s.

You had no issues at the time collecting your paycheck and selling your morals for a chance at success. Please don't pretend to have integrity now.

The reason I watch classic movies and especially classic horror is to escape the constant finger-wagging, audience-blaming drudgery they pass off as movies in our current time. There is such a freedom and escapism in sitting down to watch these old films. Not to mention the true nostalgia of having see many during those years.

I don't need to see aged actors and has-beens pearl-clutching and moralizing with the specter of modern-year wokeism infecting their commentary.

Nothing makes a film as great as NOT knowing the actors or directors opinions on anything.

Halloween Ends (2022)

Halloween Resurrection Is A Superior Film

[1/10 · 15 October 2022]

This elevated horror trend has got to go. I never thought they could make something worse than Halloween Kills. This movie was made for wine moms and pretentious people who hate the horror genre and want to talk down to the folks who love it.

Give me the classic films where Laurie and Michael are brother and sister. Where he has a reason to stalk her and bad writers don't have to come up with convoluted happenstance to get them face to face in every movie. Thankfully, they can't erase the previous, better, films.

I never even hated Halloween Resurrection like most folks and now I cannot wait to watch it tonight. To see a real Halloween movie and a true horror film.

Just think, the director, editors, producers etc all watching this movie and actually thought it was good enough to release. After claiming they loved the material and wanted to "finally" do it "justice".

Just embarrassing.

No Time to Die (2021)

Disappointing

[3/10 · 17 November 2021]

This felt like a film made by people who did not understand or perhaps even have disdain for the history and mythos of James Bond.

By sprinkling in music cues and a song from a superior Bond film are we supposed to clap and say "I know that music" and cheer? Music cues, the DB5, gadgets, henchmen with quirks.... all things fans love about Bond films, aren't what make a Bond film simply by their inclusion.

Overall, the film was boring and sluggish. The villains motivations are confusing come the climax. The ending was eye-roll inducing. One could get the impression the script writers were patting themselves on the back for their genius because they thought they could do it better than it had been done for decades before.

Again, people involved in the production who seemed to have disdain for the subject matter. All culminating in yet another Craig-era film where we are reminded Bond is old and those younger folks around him can all do it better than he.

If there is one thing this modern take on Bond cannot do, it is erase the incredibly watchable and entertaining decades of films that came before. Those films are eternal.

There was a character named James Bond in this movie, but this was not a Bond film.

Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

Heartless. Unfunny. Agenda.

[3/10 · 10 September 2020]

An utter disappointment and one of the worst films I've ever forced myself to complete. It had none of the heart and charm of the original two films. The jokes were almost all entirely flat. The robot character was especially unfunny in the vein of sitcom humor. Modern agenda was seeded throughout the film even though film reviewers I'd listened to said it did not contain such tripe. Was it necessary that every leader in the future was female? Of course! Because it's 2020. The originals were not high budget blockbusters yet every scene had depth and inspiration making it work. This one was filled with the flat, lifeless CGI. Compare hell in this film to hell in Bogus Journey. It was just pathetic. I can't imagine anyone that is praising this film even saw the first two, if they were even alive when they came out. And possibly the greatest offense of all was the total lack of a soundtrack. The first two films were replete with great music of their eras. The kind of rock and hair metal Bill and Ted loved that helped promote my interest in the genre. What an opportunity it would have been to resurrect some of those old bands on a soundtrack album written in tribute to this return. Instead, nothing. Anyone involved with this movie should be embarrassed. It was a steaming pile of hot garbage.

Halloween (I) (2018)

Endless Disappointment

[3/10 · 28 May 2019]

This film seems like a case study in missed opportunities. It has a pretentiousness to it that is misplaced by filmmakers who claimed to have love for the material, yet have only produced what I'd consider to be weak, predictable fan service. Not even the slightest thread of logic can hold the narrative together. Things happen because "reasons". It's a series of "REMEMBER THIS" and "REMEMBER THAT" moments intermixed with what passes as "humor" in the modern era and what passes for horror (jump scares). Michael Myers has no reason, by the movie's own rules, to have interest in Laurie Strode yet Laurie has spent her entire life preparing for the encounter which only comes to be by some contrived plot twist. The twist itself seemed like the only creative turn in the entire movie, so of course it was dispatched with tout de suite. This movie was such a complete and utter let down upon seeing it at the theater, and upon a second viewing at home is almost sickening with the cringy, inept writing and lost potential. Again, I cannot help but reiterate that by the movies own rules the chances of Michael Myers, the now random killing machine, happening upon Laurie Strode or her family in a town of hundreds or thousands of people is infinitesimal. Do the filmmakers just assume the audience has an IQ of 10?

Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019) Season 8, Episode 5

Things joylessly happen because they have to happen so they can be done with this.

[3/10 · 13 May 2019]

Why are we supposed to care about some random big eared woman and her daughter throughout this episode? Why are we supposed to care about Arya trying to save them? Why are we supposed to care about Arya when they constantly fake out her death?

Why are we supposed to care about King's Landing being destroyed and Dany going crazy when it simply happens because it needs to happen for the show to end?

Why are we supposed to care about the Golden Company especially since their presence made no difference to the plot in the slightest. Why are we supposed to care about prophecy setup IN the show when Cersei is just killed by a pile of bricks? Why are we supposed to care about Cersei dying when it happens simply because it has to happen before the show ends?

Why are we supposed to care about Jamie getting to Cersei, or defeating Euron, or dying with Cersei? His character arc was totally pointless.

Why does Tyrion suddenly care about the people of King's Landing when he previously said in his trial that he should have let Stannis kill them all?

And why would Tyrion rat out Varys (other than because the plot needs him to)? Varys saved him after his trial. And then after getting Varys executed for treason why would Tyrion then COMMIT treason by freeing Jaimie?

Nothing makes sense. It's all happening simply because it has to happen for the show to end. This went from an incredible drama to a manufactured product. It's very, very sad.

I don't blame the actors. I will always love Ramin's music for the show. But I will, with complete joy after I finish this train wreck I cannot look away from, finally cancel my cable after hanging onto it for years simply for GOT and when Comcast asks me why, I will tell them it was because of this epic failure and incredible let down of an ending.

Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019) Season 8, Episode 3

Heaping, stinking pile of garbage

[3/10 · 30 April 2019]

Not sure what I watched but this was not Game of Thrones. In one fell swoop the entire series is rendered unwatchable. Nonsensical writing, inane military strategy, barely visible cinematography, tropes tropes tropes and plot armor. Shouldn't be shocking honestly, since most entertainment churned out these days is absolute trash appealing to the lowest common denominator. Such an epic disappointment that leaves the viewer feeling cheated for the time wasted over the past 8 years.

Tonight She Comes (2016)

Did everyone involved fail film school?

[1/10 · 24 September 2018]

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life, and I generally love a good "bad" movie. This was just a stinking pile of pointless nonsense cobbled together into what someone apparently thought was a movie. From the cast of completely unlikeable, unrelatable characters portrayed by what must have been random people pulled off the street who couldn't act, to the almost grade school level writing. I am awe struck anyone put money into financing this utter cow plop. The only reason I watched was because I heard a track from the film's score and thought it sounded pretty amazing. Now even that one positive is tainted by the tragic waste of time that was this film viewing experience.