Movie | Mission: Impossible 4 | PASS

If you loved the third movie, you're going to love this one. Also under the auspices of JJ Abrams, this is another super slick, faster paced entry to the franchise. It was very cool that they explained some things that happened between this and the last movie and included Ving Rhames, even though it's only a bit role.

1 and 2 are slow and old school. 3 and 4 are frantic and new school. You can't go wrong with any of the them, it just depends on what you're in the mood for.

Cars | Threatened, Endangered and Extinct | PASS

Here's a fantastic article from the classic an collectible car insurers, Hagerty Insurance about cars that are threatened, endangered or extinct. Some are totally expected, but others are hugely surprising. For example, the 1984 Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager - how many of those were made?!? I guess they just weren't made all that well.

I suppose this list doesn't prove anything other than that the cars listed are not insured by Hagerty. Still, it's an interesting list and and food for thought if you are a collector. This the cycle with collectible cars. Today's generation will want what they had "back in the day".

Movie | Mission: Impossible III | PASS

Undoubtedly,  most definitely, the best of the first three. Super slick, tight production and fastest paced.

Short | Jonah Hex DC Showcase | PASS

Awesome! Watch it on Youtube!

Movie | Mission: Impossible II | PASS

John Woo is up to his usual tricks. Seems like he recycled Face Off for M:I2. Still, great slammin' action fun to be had here.

Movie | Mission Impossible | PASS

In preparation for seeing the fourth installment, we reviewed the first movie in the series. It's funny how old the tech is and how it's darn slow for 5/6 of the time, but it's still very good and features an outstanding cast.

TV | The Mercury Men | Pass

Good, pulpy stuff a la 30s sci-fi.

Movie | S. Darko | Pass

I rather liked this sequel. NK did not, but watched the entire thing nonetheless. I think it helps if you are a rabid fan of the fantastically unique (which S. Darko is not, unfortunately) original, like me. If you aren't or you haven't seen Donnie Darko, you should skip this one. Intentionally weird, to the point of being almost too hip and out there for its' own good, this is a continuation of the same concepts created by Richard Kelly, with mostly positive outcome. Cool soundtrack that isn't available for some reason. If you like movies that make you go, "Huh?!?", this one is for you. But see Donnie first, that's for sure.

Movie | The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford | Pass

A great cast and gorgeous cinematography compensate for one of the worst titles ever and impossibly slow pacing. I would rather have seen Brad Pitt and Sam Rockwell switch roles. That would have been more interesting. Still, it's a good movie, worth seeing if you've got over two and a half hours to kill and like watching skilled actors do a lot with so little.

But in the end, it all comes across as painfully self aware and a rather boring viewing experience. A character study more than anything else.

Movie | Eating Raoul | Pass

Ridiculous, dated, kinda gross (though there's no gore) and mildly humorous.

Movie | Bran Nu Dae | Fail

It's nearly impossible to make a musical work as a film. Unfortunately, here's another example of why, despite earnest intentions.

Movie | Metal: A Headbanger's Journey | Pass

I enjoyed the TV show so much, I watched the movie that predated it. Very, very good and a must see for genre aficionados and lovers of music in general.

Movie | Zombimania | Pass

Entertaining documentary about the past and present state of the zombie genre. Quite good and thought provoking. "Many of us are zombies in real life..." Amen, brother, amen.

Movie | The Mechanic | Pass

Predictable and rather bland big budget hitman movie and a remake of the superior Charles Bronson 1972 classic. Still, when the action finally gets going, you get what you paid your hard earned shekels for.

Can Statham do anything other than this role? YES! See Revolver. He got a real chance to stretch, which he did a great job of. No, it wasn't outside of his genre wheelhouse, but the character he played was quite different from all of these other silent but deadly, square jawed roles.

Movie | Rubber | PAss

Pointless and supposed to be. One of characters even declares it in a long diatribe in the beginning of the movie.

Whacked out story of an old car tire named Robert who has murderous psychokinetic powers and likes to blow things up. Particularly human heads. Unfortunately a bit boring. Still, highly original, well acted and beautifully filmed. Probably not for the average moviegoer.

Movie | Let Me In | PASS

I swore to myself that I would never see this. The original was such a disturbing, compelling, beautiful, gruesome and heart wrenching horror movie that there could be no way that a remake could be a smidgeon as good. And just 2 years after the release of the original! Clearly they just jumped on the bandwagon and tried to ride it.

Wrong. While it loses any originality points, all of the elements are there in a fascinating, superb way. Yes, it's slightly different (ever so), but somehow the dumbing down for us 'Mericans seems to have worked in a positive way and the plot is a tad more linear. Though, that could also be seen as a negative. But still, the story is so complex and stunningly interwoven, that I don't think so.

Half-heard conversations, out of focus frames and long periods of isolated and isolating scenes...fantastic production all the way round. And they didn't screw it up with a ludicrous soundtrack. Instead, they created a subdued orchestral piece, interspersed with 80's gems like "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors.

Same director as Cloverfield (who also adapted the screenplay and don't worry, he dumps the nauseatingly shaky camera here) and if you liked the original, you'll like this one. In fact, you may enjoy it more if you have seen the original, because you can really savor the twists and turns. If you haven't seen Let Me In, be prepared for one of the best horror movies for thinking people of the last couple of years. It's not necessary to see the original. See either, or if you don't like subtitles, see this one. You won't be sorry either way. A PASS and possibly one of the best blatant remakes ever.

TV | Grimm | Pass

Without Silas Weir Mitchell, this would most likely be a Fail. Having watched the first two episodes, I'll probably watch another one or two to see if it gets better.

Movie | Gnomeo and Juliet | Pass

Cute enough.

Movie | Detective Dee | Fail

This is obviously a pretty good movie, but I just couldn't get into it. I think a lot of people would like it, just not me. Tsui Hark just doesn't do it for me and I'm so bone tired of Wuxia.

Movie | Willard | Pass

I was trying to think of another remake that surpassed the original. Here's another good example, mostly due to the power of Glover's performance. Hilariously, they also integrated the Michael Jackson song that appeared in the sequel to the original, titled Ben.

Movie | Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows | PASS

Marvelous documentary about genius producer Val Lewton.

Movie | Battle: Los Angeles | Pass

If you liked the Marines versus alien robot scenes in Transformers, you'll like this. We found it surprisingly entertaining for a mindless Hollywood smash 'em up. What was also surprising was how horrifically bad the soundtrack was. It was if they could only afford one track, so they just kept playing it over and over and over. Still, a good way to turn off your brain and enjoy a simple action movie. Sometimes that fits the bill just perfectly.

Movie | Man From Nowhere | Pass

A good hit-man movie that owes a whole bunch to a certain Mr. Luc Besson. Thanks for the recommendation, RM!

TV | Metal Evolution | Pass

Excellent first episode! Especially the connection made to Holst, Elvis, Little Richard and Howlin' Wolf. Looking forward to more from Dunn and crew. I haven't seen his other work, but now I want to. He's sort of a cool Ken Burns, if you can imagine that.

Movie | No Maps For These Territories | Pass

I insulted the Godfather of cyberspace, even though he most assuredly wouldn't remember it. And why would he?

At a book signing, I had him autograph my Johnny Mnemonic poster and although I can't recall exactly what I said to him, it was not a positive comment about that project. He was nice enough to smile and chuckle about it.

Cool guy and this is a neat documentary detailing his thoughts on today's society and his works that foretold them. A must see for scifi fans.

Movie | Moontrap | Fail

So bad, it was almost good in a cheesy way. Despite the presence of Bruce Campbell, it wasn't.

Movie | Scrooged | Fail

We watched this again, for research into another project that we're up to. I remember this being much better than it was. It's a mess. The cast is enjoyable, but it's really pretty bad. The best part is the Danny Elfman soundtrack, which is amazing.

Movie | SUPER | PASS

Imagine Taxi Driver envisioned by a comic book fanatic. That's what you get with SUPER. The violence is really vivid and you get the whole thing wrapped in an "indie" movie container. Same director that brought us Slither. NK said at one point, "Haven't we already watched this movie?" She's right, we have seen this all before, a mix of the aforementioned, Kick-Ass, Defendor and Special, to name a few. If you have the stomach for it (in your face violence, depressing characters) and you liked those other movies as much as I did, then this is a must see. The ending is extremely well done and really makes the movie.

Web Series | Enter The Dojo | Pass

Not quite up to the same standard as The Foot Fist Way, but a must see for long time martial artists. See the latest in the series.

Movie | Animal Kingdom | Pass

Modern, violent, thriller about a psycho Aussie crime family. Well done and the excellent cast really sells it.

Movie | No Escape | PASS

Hadn't seen this one in a long time and don't remember it being all that good. Wrong. It's fantastic!

Another take on the The Most Dangerous Game theme, this has sort of a Waterworld/Mad Max feeling to it. The restrained gore makes it all that much better. A forgotten classic.

Movie | The Thing (82) | PASS

How rare is it when a remake surpasses the original? VERY. I can't think of one just off the top of my head. Some were good, most were bad, but it never happens that a remake is better than the original.

This one really works because of the cast and John Carpenter. Very gross, actually pretty scary and Kurt Russell's weird sombrero is just plain awesome.

The original was pretty good, too. I don't know about the 2011 remake. I'm sure I'll see it sooner or later.

A horror keeper.

Movie | Attack the Block | PASS

This was the second movie of our two night Halloween movie marathon. Was it any good? Two words for you:

Massive Fun!

A crew of English ruffians take on an alien attack on their "block". A straightforward concept, but it has surprising complexity. For example, there are times when we were actually rooting for the aliens!

Definitely R rated, with some gore and lots of foul language. There's a hilarious scene where even the kids are repulsed by the "potty mouth". Be prepared for almost impenetrable accents at times. But, you'll get the gist.

Fantastic soundtrack featuring Basement Jaxx.

It was a perfect Halloween movie. A total keeper sleeper and a must see!

Movie | Forbidden Planet | Pass

A couple of months ago, someone asked me if there were any scifi movies before Star Wars, as if there weren't any. And this person was a full grown adult in his 40s.

Uhh.... somebody needs to rent an old movie once in a while. That statement/mock question so flabbergasted me that my mind went utterly blank, like an empty lead balloon.

While there are plenty of genre films that predate it (Metropolis being a prime example), Forbidden Planet is arguably the first big-budget, recognizably named cast scifi movie and a shining example of what this person has completely missed (sarcastically).

Sure, it's dated. That's because it was made in 1956, not 2010. And, it's rather slow. What?!? A movie can survive if it's not all guts, explosions and actors phoning it in?!? Despite all of that, it's just as cutting edge as Star Wars. How about the first movie to have an entirely electronic soundtrack? It's also loosely based on Shakespeare and Gene Roddenberry was inspired by it to create a little show called Star Trek.

Yes, Bucky, there were scifi movies before that Vader-fest. Lots of them. Lots of them were actually really good, too.

I know...shocking.

Movie | House | PASS

Part of our two night Halloween movie watching fun, we (re)watched the comedy/horror classic starring William Katt. The end sort of fizzles out, but the first three quarters is pure fun.

Movie | The Handmaid's Tale | PAss

A cross between 1984 and The Stepford Wives, this excellent and disturbing (but not on the scale of many of today's nastiness) dystopian classic features a killer cast. Based on the superb book by Margaret Atwood. Thiiiiis close to being a full on PASS.

Movie | Slither | Pass

Gross-out horror comedy that owes more than a thing or two to the old monster movies from the 50s and 60s (and a certain Mr. Cronenberg). Very good cast and high production values. A must see if you are into this sort of thing, no pun intended...or was it?!? Mwhahaha!

Looking forward to more from this director, like Super.

Movie | Tooth & Nail | Fail

A Philadelphia setting and a decent cast (Vinnie Jones!) don't make this dystopian movie about a group of survivors who are attacked by a band of cannibals any good. This is a great example of how really, really bad editing can completely screw up a movie.

Movie | Hoodwinked Too | Pass

TV | Suburgatory | Fail

So bizarre that it's not funny. And that's not good for a comedy. Despite a really good cast, the pilot barely raised a smirking lip. Instead, the eyebrows shot up in confusion - what in the Sam H is going on here? Made no sense, I tell ya.

TV | Whitney | Fail

Painfully written and produced. Seems like it could have been potentially good, but isn't.

Movie | The Tingler | Pass

Infamous director/producer William Castle liked to rely on gimmicks to promote his low budget monster movies. For The Tingler, he stuck electrical wires underneath film goers' chairs and gave them a jolt or two periodically. Surprisingly, the movie ain't bad either, mainly due to the presence of the always amazing Vincent Price. The twists and turns of the script also helped. No, it ain't no The Last Man on Earth, but it entertained me all the way through. Is that saying much?

Movie | Damnation Alley | Pass-ish

A staple from the dystopian catalog, this still is a pretty bad movie all around. Peppard and cast do the best they can, but this is so cheesy that it's nearly unwatchable. Especially the FX, they're just so ridiculous. Still, if you're crazy for movies from this genre like me, you'll need to see it.

Movie | Lawnmower Man 2 | Fail

Okay, it was really bad. Still, it was fun to see the cast (and crew from Max Headroom!). There are certainly better cyberpunk movies out there...this one went for the PG-13, "isn't the future dirty, grungy and cooooool?!?" thang, which never works.

Movie | Wild Target | Pass

Highly enjoyable hitman comedy with a superb cast and music from Imelda May!

Move | Triangle | PASS

Thanks for the recommendation, MK! This was an excellent horror/thriller that was quite similar to Los Cronocrimenes (especially the mask/hood), which will most assuredly be made into a stupid remake. Bloody, but not excessive. Good suspense. The heroine's getup was hilariously ridiculous and she somehow bugged me a bit. Regardless of the nitpicks, she did a fantastic job. Two thumbs up!

TV | Homeland | PASS

A weak premise, but some compensation by the incredible cast and a very good production. We'll see.

Update: Excellent. The acting is so powerful, it makes up for the snails' pace. Some superb plot twists, too.

TV | No Heroics | Fail

Unfunny. Won't it be great when they make a US version. It won't, in case you're wondering.

Movie | Bridesmaids | Pass

A surprising amount of heart and character development saves what could be another horrific Hangover.

Movie | Terri | Fail

Too familiar territory and unsatisfying, despite an excellent cast.

People | Steve Jobs | RIP

Visionary.

Movie | Death Machine | Pass

Reminds me of Hardware a bit. Also Aliens, Robocop and Terminator. I rather enjoyed it, in a cheesy B-movie sort of way. I think Dourif is underrated and I liked Sharian's performance (and the humor that went along with his role) a lot. If the listed movies are your thing, this is a surprisingly decent way to spend your time. Is it great? No. But, still...

Movie | Tucker and Dale vs Evil | PASS

Hilarious horror comedy, mainly due to the two brilliant stars - Tudyk and Labine. Hopefully, they'll make a sequel. When was the last time I said that?!? Great effort by the newbie director. Long live Tucker and Dale!