Taken (2008)

When it came out I avoided it, as it seemed too formulaic and boring.

Then it became it an internet meme, but still formulaic and boring.

Then it became old, and forgotten, and nostalgic.

So now I watch it, but it's formulaic and boring. Only the nostalgia factor remains.

Freaky Friday (2003)

Didn't know what to expect, but I knew it was a Disney product, so I knew the parameters.

Surprisingly pleasant, even despite that.

I've heard of Lindsay Lohan, and that she is/was some troubled celebrity, so I guess that's interesting. Reading the wikis, I realize now what I really should have watched was Mean Girls.

Wind River (2017)

Worth watching.

Has a strong western feel, with hints of Silence of the Lambs, Fargo, Shoot to Kill, No Country for Old Men, etc.

Reign of Fire (2002)

Looking for stuff to watch on HBO Now before cancelling (end of promotion pricing); find Reign of Fire, don't think I watched it, got some name actors, why not give it a try.

There's a lot to nitpick here, like a magical helicopter that never needs refueling, but in a dragon movie, you're willing to just let that go. It's basically a zombie movie, and the difference is there's a lead zombie you can kill to win the war.

Plot doesn't matter, but writing and acting does. Good actors, OK writing in some spots but mostly just OK.

Production is overall good, but they made everyone look too pretty. We're supposed to be on the knife edge of hunger here, but everyone looks like they've been feasting on craft services. They could have at least made people look a little more gaunt and harrowed with makeup, but no.

When did CGI get good? Because 2002 dragons from a medium range look pretty decent, but up close do not pass.

I feel bad for the good actors here, who had very little good writing to work with, but sold it fairly well anyway.

I think I've watched this before, but its so forgettable I don't recall. Part of the reason I am writing this blog is to remind future self you have been here before, please don't bother coming this way again.

Shape of Water (2017)

This movie got academy awards because of all the Hollywood self references.

Inverse story of The Little Mermaid is fine, I can suspend disbelief for the dude in the rubber fish suit, but you lose me at evil 50s dad. Our culture has been making fun of 50s dad for 50 years now - when is it enough? Does anyone around even remember 50s dads anymore, with their coonskin capped children watching TV, while the wife goes on about jello molds and he has to escape to his shark finned behemoth of a car to feel safe? I had a 70s dad, so I'm OK, but were those of you stuck with 50s dad still so traumatized by it that you're still making movies about him half a century later?

Solo (2018)

Just like Rogue One, you don't just forget this movie after you watched it, you forget it while you watch it.

The characters in the third hour don't feel like the characters in the second hour, who don't feel like the characters in the first hour, and I don't mean to imply there's character growth, it just feels like they were written by different people, making it hard to relate to anyone.

I've been a fan of the adventures of young Han Solo ever since the Brian Daley trilogy. When I saw Firefly I thought this was the closest we're ever going to get to seeing those adventures on a screen. Sorry Solo, but Firefly is a better adventures of young Han than you (and the Daley books might be better still).

Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert (2014)

Watched some time around Sep. 2018.

Uh... depressing? inspiring? moving?

(E) All of the above.