20s Movie Review - Expendables 4

Director: Scott Waugh
Genre: Action
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Anday Garcia

Description: Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on, the Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team gets called when all other options are off the table.

Review: The “Expendables” were never really good, but at least they managed to give the impression that they would be good. Posters filled with big names like Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, Jason Stathman and many others made it clear that plenty of Hollywood stars were happy to show up for them, so that had to be some sign of quality. Part four, however, has to make do with… Megan Fox and 50 Cent?

Okay, Fox is an easy headline, because the problems of “Expendables 4” are bigger than one mismatched actress. But her presence is somewhat exemplary of how the source has dried up nicely. The previous volumes packed in plenty of action heroes of yesteryear, but now we have apparently arrived at actors we know mostly from modern blockbusters. That’s remarkable for a film series meant to capitalize on nostalgia for a time when action movies were a lot rougher and simpler than the ones Fox is known for.

Regulars like Jet Li, Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger are nowhere to be found, while the newcomers from the previous installment also proved completely expandable. Initiator Sylvester Stallone also seems to be a bit don with it, and Jason Statham is upgraded to lead actor in this fourth installment.

This movie is really bad. No memorable one-liners, the new characters are forgettable and uninteresting, and this film is just no fun. The other three were so much fun, they didn’t take themselves serious. “Expendables 4” looks like it does. If all these previous action stars that weren’t in this fourth film said no to it, I understand why and they should be happy about it. I’m just going to pretend this film never happened and I will stick with the other three films.

Rating: 1/ 5

10s Movie Review - Rambo: Last Blood

Director: Adrian Grunberg
Genre: Action/ Crime
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Yvette Monreal, Adriana Barazza
Description: John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) must confronts his past and unearth his ruthless combat skills to exact revenge in a final mission.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 16: A FILM FROM A DIRECTOR YOU’VE NEVER SEEN A FILM FROM BEFORE
 
Review: Already the fifth installment of the “Rambo” franchise, and given the title, probably the last. Although, they were hinting at this in the previous film as well.

Rambo was portrayed as a Vietnam veteran shaped by war to the point where he could never really come home in “First Blood”. Hence, in the sequels, this one-man army was then unleashed on Amerca’s enemies.

“Rambo: Last Blood” no longer has anything to do with war traumas or thoughless military interventions, it feels a bit more like the movie “Taken”, but then with Rambo. We find John Rambo where the fourh film has left him: on a ranch in Arizona where he once grew up. He spends his old days in the company of a Mexican lady and her granddaughter Gabrielle, for whom Rambo has taken care as a father. This peaceful existence comes to an end when Gabrielle wants to meet her father in Mexico, against the advice of Rambo. When something happens to Gabrielle, Rambo blames himself and wants revenge.

It's a no-nonsense revenge movie, with lots of blood and action. The final act is kind of satisfactory and entertaining, but the rest of the movie is just bland and unoriginal. Not a very necessary sequel, lets hope that this is really the last in the franchise.

Rating: 3 / 5

Movie Review - Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

Director: Adam Wingard
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Rachel House, Alex Ferns
 
Description: Two ancient titans, Godzilla and Kong, clash in an epic battle as humans unravel their intertwined origins and connection to Skull island’s mysteries.

Review: The world has now learned of the existence of a second world far beneeath our earth, and the Monarch orgination knows that Gozilla is there to protect humanity from oher monsters (Titans). Kong now lives in that Hollow Earth and searched daily in vain for conspecifics. But then suddenly a signal turns up.

“Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” is a lot, but not boring. Godzilla himself doesn’t get particularly much attention, but the build-up toward a spectacular fight is exciting. The human characters have a fun adventure and Kong’s journey also captivates because the emotions are aptly portrayed. You easily empathize with Kong, more then with the humans. Because their characters are a bit flat. But these kinds of movies you don’t go and see for them.

Dan Stevens introduces a new character, whom I really liked. And I liked his dynamic with Brian Tyree Henry’s character.

The universe has expanded a bit again. Kong remains a hero. “Godzilla X Kong: The new Empire” is a successful new installement, a simple but entertaining movie. Exactly what you expect from a monster movie like this.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Book Review - Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

Title: Don’t Let Her Stay
Author: Nicola Sanders
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2023
 
Description: Joanne knows how lucky she is. Richard is a wonderful husband, Evie is the most gorgeous baby girl, they live in a beautiful house… Life couldn’t be better.
 
Until Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up. Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But Chloe wants to make peace. She’ll even move in for a few weeks to help Joanne with the new baby.
 
It sounds perfect, but then things happened that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind, she begins to wonder: is Chloe really here to help? Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in? And is it too late to ask her to leave?
 
Review: Joanne and her husband Richard are living a great life, with their baby daughter Evie. Everything seems perfect. Until Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter decides to show up. Richard is of course over the moon about it, having not spoken to her in two years. And Joanne is happy for her husband and really could use some help with Evie. But Chloe acts strange around Joanne and something is off with her. And she is the only one that seems to see that.
 
The book starts a bit slow, but eventually the pace picks up and you go through it fairly fast. It’s very clear from the get go, that Chloe is bad news. She is insufferable, annoying, strange, spoiled and just highly unlikeable. The things Chloe says and does are just unacceptable and I never understand how Joanne lets her get away with all this. Richard isn’t helpful either, since he always picks Chloe’s side. Which I can understand at first. He’s his daughter and Richard is glad to have her back in his life. But both Chloe and Joanne accuse each other of the most outrages things and he seems to believe only Chloe. When she is the unreliable one in the story.
 
The book has some twists at the end. Totally not credible and because of this, some of the events happening up until this reveal make absolutely no sense whatsoever. It makes Richard’s rhyme and reason even dumber then I initially thought.
 
Everyone in this book is suspicious from the get go (everyone but the dog Oscar, loved him), but the most obvious scenarios that you might think of while reading the book, are the ones turning out to be the truth. You’re led to believe certain things, but you already know where it is going. And they throw in a final twist, like it is a big shocker. It wasn’t.
 
It’s a very easy read, enjoyable enough to finish, but those final twists really ruined it for me.
 
Rating: 2/ 5

10s Movie Review - Toy Story of Terror

Director: Angus MacLane
Genre: Animation/ Comedy/ Family/ Adventure
Runtime: 22 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Carl Weathers, Timothy Dalton, Stephen Tobolowsky, Wallace Shawn, Kristen Schaal, Kate McKinnon, Ken Marino

Description: Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang are held up at a roadside motel and members of the group start to disappear. Woody sets about getting to the bottom of the mystery.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 15: A FILM STARRING YOUR FAVORITE ACTOR OR ACTRESS
 
Review: The “Toy Story” series is very high on my list of favorite Pixar films. The third film is my favorite and I really enjoy all the characters in this franchise. Even in a short story like “Toy Story of Terror”, you get tons of laughs from all these fun characters.

The toys are in the trunk of the car, traveling with Bonnie and her family, when they get car trouble. They have to stay overnight at a roadside motel. Strange things start to happen at night, when members of the gang start to disappear.

This short film was release around Halloween time in 2013 and has a pretty simple premise. It even introduces a few new characters. It’s not a horror film of course, it’s supposed to be for the entire family. But there are some nods to “Psycho”, for the adults. It’s a fun little short film, I enjoyed it and really loved seeing all the characters together again.

Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Murder Road by Simone St. James

Title: Murder Road
Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery/ Horror
Published: 2024
 
Description: July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to be a one hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But nor long after the hitchhikers gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.
 
When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible strtch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.
 
Review: April and Eddie, a young newly-wed couple, have taken a wrong turn. They pick up a woman by the side of the road, who clearly needs help. When she enters the car, they see she’s bleeding and drive her to the hospital. The hitchhiker dies and April and Eddie are the prime suspects.
 
When trying to find out the truth, the road that they found the hitchhiker called Atticus Line, has a dark history. It seems that many people have been found dead there. The police is not really being friendly to April and Eddie, but they get help from a few of locals.
 
I consider Simone St. James one of my favorite authors. I have read three other books by her, which I had all rated 5-stars. I had high hopes for “Murder Road”. Even though I didn’t give it a perfect score this time, I really enjoyed her newest novel.
 
Where we normally follow different timelines in St. James’ stories, we only follow one in “Murder Road”. The story is set in 1995, which I really loved. I loved the 90s vibes, the nostalgia, pop culture references and the fact that the main man is called Eddie (Vedder, from Pearl Jam anyone?). The book had a supernatural element to it, which is also something this author does a lot. And again I enjoyed it. It’s a fast paced thriller that I couldn’t put down. I liked reading about the history of the town and that titular murder road. But, I did found the story a bit predictable and the ending felt a little lackluster.
 
Yet another win for Simon St. James. She still has a large backlist that I need to get to. “Murder Road” is not an all-time favorite, but I would recommend it to people who have loved her books before.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Pines by Blake Crouch

Title: Pines (Wayward Pines # 1)
Author: Blake Crouch
Genre: Mystery/ Science Fiction/ Thriller
Published: 2012
 
Description: Wayward Pines, Idaho, is quintessential small-town America, or so it seems. Secret Agent Ethan Burke arrives in search of two missing agents, yet soon is facing much more than he bargained for. After a violent accidents lands him in the hospital, Ethan comes to with no ID and no cell phone. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but sometimes feels… off. As days pass, Ethan’s investigation into his colleagues’ disappearance turns up more questions than answers.
 
Why can’t he make contact with his family in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And What’s the purpose of the electrified fences encircling the town? Are they keeping the residents in? Or something else out?
 
Each step towards the truth takes Ethan further from the world he knows, until he must face a horrifying fact – he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive…
 
Review: Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with one clear mission: to search and find two federal agents that were sent here month ago and went missing. But Ethan gets into an accident and ends up in the hospital. When he wakes up, his ID and cell phone are missing. He quickly realizes that something is very wrong in Wayward Pines. While investigating, Ethan gets more questions than answers.
 
“Pines” is the first book ne the Wayward Pines trilogy, by author Blake Crouch. There was a TV-show based on this books series, which was canceled after only two seasons. A shame, because I highly enjoyed the show and always wanted to know what would happen next. But, we never got that answer. I didn’t even realize that series was based on Blake Crouch’s books. I was ready to delve into the book series.
 
We mostly follow Ethan and his investigation. He is an interesting character. We know just as much as him, trying to find out the secrets of Wayward Pines. What happened to the two special agents? Why is this enormous electrical fence surrounding the town. Who took his personal belongings? Why can’t he get in contact with his wife? There are so many questions and just can’t stop reading, because you want to know what is going on.
 
“Pines” is a very action-packed and eventful story. It is a thriller, with mystery, horror and science fiction elements. And you constantly feel frustrated for Ethan, because nobody seems to be very helpful in Wayward Pines. There is a good character development for Ethan, we get know his background thoroughly and understand him.
 
I absolutely loved “Pines” and I will most definitely continue this series and want to read more by Blake Crouch. This is just right up my alley.
 
Rating: 5/ 5