Recent viewings

[FatFreddysCat]

"Batman: Hush" (2019)
As Bruce Wayne's relationship with Selina (Catwoman) Kyle deepens, a mysterious villain calling himself "Hush" starts using the Bat's rogue's gallery of villains (incl. the Joker, Clayface, Bane, Poison Ivy, and more) as mind-controlled puppets to attain his ultimate goal.
It's been a while since I've seen one of these DC Animated movies, but this is definitely one of the better ones. The animation is slick, the voice cast is excellent and the ultra-violence and foul language guarantee that this is not a cartoon for the kiddies. Good stuff, I may have to track down the graphic novel it's sourced from.

[Rev. Powell]

CHILDREN OF THE SEA (2019): A troubled girl with a connection to the ocean meets two boys who have been raised at sea; meanwhile, a mysterious song is drawing marine creatures together for a festival at sea. It doesn't make a lot of sense and isn't as philosophically deep as it thinks it is, but the trippy psychedelic imagery (undersea nebulae and such) provides some sweet eye candy. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2019)
Yeah, I'm getting caught up on my DC Animated flicks this weekend...
The Turtles come to Gotham on the trail of Shredder, who has hooked up with Batman's old enemy Ra's-Al-Ghul in a plot to turn everyone in the city into homicidal mutated creatures. Of course, it takes a while before Batman and the TMNTs realize they're fighting on the same side, then they join forces to kick some serious shell (yeah, I went there)...
Obviously this DC/Nickelodeon crossover is one of the goofier Batman adventures of late, but it's lots of action packed fun, especially if you grew up reading both Batman and TMNT comics (like I did). I never realized how bad-ass a fight between Batman and the Shredder would be!

[bob]

Heredity (2018)    I missed something, the final hour made no sense  -- I need to rewatch

[Gabriel Knight]

BRAIN DAMAGE (1988)

One morning, a young man wakes to find that a small, disgusting creature has attached itself to the base of his brain stem. The creature gives him a euphoric state of happiness but demands human victims in return.

What can you say about this crazy movie? It screams 80's at every corner. The music, the overall look, the mix between comedy and horror, and the cheesy puppet. You cheer every time Elmer shows up and starts talking with that smooth voice, even when he's supposed to be the bad guy. But as Tom Servo would say, "he's not bad, he's just misunderstood". I wish we knew more about this mysterious creature, there's a plethora of stories to tell about it.
The characters are kinda bland but still, the main protagonist is awesome, you're totally invested in his fall into addiction and madness. The only thing that I believe it lacks it's a proper ending. It kinda seems like the director just ran out of ideas or budget and decided to end the thing right there, which is a shame.

Really entertaining movie, with disgusting scenes and others just plain absurd, like the infamous fellatio chick. 8/10 

[indianasmith]

I re-watched the entire CHERNOBYL series this weekend.  So well-done!

[Rev. Powell]

JOJO RABBIT (2019): The adventures of a timid 10-year-old Hitler Youth---whose imaginary friend is none other than the Fuhrer himself---in the closing days of WWII. Featuring the funniest onscreen Hitler ever, this comedy doesn't completely shy away from the darkness (as seen through the childlike eyes of a German boy too young to grasp the significance of the times), but it has heart and hope. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CHAINED FOR LIFE (2018): A Herzogian director has gathered "freaks" together to make a movie; behind the scenes a beautiful actress (Jess Weixler) gets to know her co-star, Rosenthal (Adam Pearson), whose face is disfigured by neurofibromatosis. Dry wit, sharply observed characters, meta-movie hijinks, and revelatory acting highlight this hard-to-describe but thought-provoking exploration of beauty and ugliness. 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Shazam!" (2019)
Surly foster teen Billy Batson discovers his true destiny when a wizard bequeaths upon him the powers of seven legendary heroes -- just in time for him to battle the crazed Dr. Sivana, who controls the Seven Deadly Sins.
The "other" 2019 Captain Marvel movie is tons of fun, taking a much lighter-hearted approach to the usual superhero formula, without skimping on the flashy FX or the action. A pleasant surprise.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Krampus" (2015)
A dysfunctional family's stressed-out Christmas celebration is crashed by the Yuletide demon of German folklore, whose job is to punish the naughty. Hilarity ensues.
Michael "Trick r' Treat" Dougherty's holiday horror is loads of black-humored fun, and has become a December perennial at my house.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Batman Ninja" (2018)
Gorilla Grodd sets off a time-machine experiment in the middle of Arkham Asylum, which sends the Dark Knight and an assortment of his friends and foes back in time to medieval Japan. Each villain stakes out a "territory" of his/her own and they soon begin to battle each other for total supremacy, with the Bat-Family caught in the middle.
Produced by the Japanese arm of Warner Bros.' Animation studio, this bizarro world Bat-adventure has a great Anime-inspired look; the steampunk "redesigns" of the various characters are very cool. Unfortunately, the story is a total mess, shoe horning in pretty much every cliche you can think of about Japanese cartoons (lots of ninjas and samurai, a pair of cute monkey sidekicks, and of course, giant transforming robots!)  
I usually enjoy these DC Animated features, but cool visuals aside, this one went completely off the rails so quickly that I was checking my watch way before the half way point.
AVOID.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Better Watch Out" (2017)
A teen girl accepts a Christmas season babysitting gig and soon there are unseen people banging on the door, making crank phone calls and generally scaring the hell outta her and her young charge. I can't say much more without giving away the whole movie, so let's just say that there are lots of twists and turns in this darkly funny, tight lil' holiday psycho-thriller. A pleasant surprise.

[Gabriel Knight]

EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS (2009)

A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.

By far, my favorite argentinian movie. It simply gets better with each repeated viewing. It has some really powerful scenes, my favorite is when Espósito goes back to his house and finds... well, you know. 
A perfect movie any way you look at it. Excellent blend of mystery, drama, and romance, with some humor thrown in. The music is superb, the dialog is extremely natural (trust me, that's how we usually talk, for real), and the overall look is very well done - you really feel like you're in Buenos Aires in the 70's.

10/10 

[Rev. Powell]

MONOS: A squadron of teenage soldiers are tasked with holding a hostage in a remote jungle location, but bad decisions lead to tragedy. Some critics threw out comparisons to "Apocalypse Now," but it's more "Lord of the Flies" meets "Aguirre, the Wrath of God." Very fine work no matter what touchstone you choose. Colombian. 4.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE KINGMAKER (2019): Portrait of Imelda Marcos, the should-be disgraced ex first lady of the Philippines, as she plots a comeback for the Marcos family by sponsoring her son Bongbong's vice presidential campaign. Extremely depressing reminder that democracy and dictatorship are not incompatible. 3.5/5.

WEATHERING WITH YOU (2019): A teenage runaway meets and woos a "sunshine girl" who can manipulate the weather. Dramatic anime that loses its way in the final act with a confusing and contradictory conclusion. 3/5.