#TraintoBusan Egads! #Zombies #FilmFan #MovieReview

Watched Train to Busan last night. It was a bit of a slow burn to start, but I enjoyed it overall. I keep wondering how I would have handled the situation. Zombies will get us one day. You know they will.

The #WeeklyRewind 20/03 - 26/03: #MovieMania #FilmFan #Deals #Coupons #Shopping #Gardening #PetParenting

Over the last week I saw the movies Hidden Figures, Doctor Strange and Fences, and pilots for the TV series Taken, Murder Chose Me, and 24: Legacy. The only thing I liked was Hidden Figures, but as it's a movie about women who broke barriers in STEM fields this is hardly surprising. Fences wasn't badly acted or poorly done, but I simply didn't relate to it. It was flat. And it still seem like a staged play vs a movie and that wasn't my expectation, I guess. Everything else was lackluster and even bad.

I scored some fun shopping deals including a bottle of Colgate Mouthwash and a canister of Maxwell House Coffee (only $0.12 OOP for both), two bags of Brownie Brittle (by stacking a sale, coupons and rebates I actually made money on this deal), a jar of Tostitos Salsa (Kroger Free Friday Download) and a digital copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (movie app test freebie).

I took a couple surveys to replenish my "free" money stash, played SYWR sweepstakes to build up my rewards points balance and scheduled the pickup of the Veggetti Pro Spiral Vegetable Cutter that I ordered with my last round of SYWR points.

I also "pruned" my avocado sapling and nursed pup, who has a cold.

What a week! On to the new one.

Heard #ArrivalMovie Is the Thinking Man's #SciFi? Don't Make Me Laugh!

OK, so I watched Arrival. I rented it at Redbox using a $1.25 discount code, so the 1-night movie rental was only $0.27. It was a very slow starter. (I nearly feel asleep.) It was oddly predictable in spite of its desire to be mysterious. It was pedestrian. Yet, it still managed to pose a few interesting questions. But only this. I had heard it was an "academic" or deep thinking Sci-Fi film.

I would be very surprised if it won the Academy Award for Best Picture this year. (And I do not think the lead actors being "overlooked" was a snub.) It was simply too underwhelming in every aspect. I am actually surprised it garnered the nominations that it did. That's not to say it didn't have any merit.

All I have to say is that if the aliens arrive tomorrow and we humans have to hope for a translator to save us while an incompetent military looks on, then we are already doomed. Just saying...

Well, that's another Oscars nominee checked off my list, at least.

The Legend of #Tarzan Blu-ray #MovieReview #CGI #MatingCall @wbpictures

On Christmas Day, I watched The Legend of Tarzan at the behest of one of my sisters who'd brought along her personal copy. (At family holiday get-togethers, we generally watch movies for at least a part of the day traditionally.) She went to see it in the theater, had previously said it was one of the better movies she'd seen this year, and bought a copy of it during Black Friday sales. Having seen several versions of Tarzan (including a Saturday morning cartoon that I watched as a child on our little B&W television), I was skeptical that this particular film could hold any charm, but I underestimated David Yates (the director).

It was a surprisingly decent movie. Not perfect (the overdone CGI featured in the end "grand fight" sequence seemed especially ham-fisted, for instance) but entertaining overall, mainly due to its sweeping lush scenery, CGI animals, a few inspired performances and some wry humored dialogue. It was a story told with a bit of umpf and I enjoyed it enough that I would purchase my own copy for a fair price.

I had never considered Alexander Skarsgård as a potential Lord of the Jungle. I've seen a few of his Swedish flicks (he wasn't nearly as buff in those days) and one or two things he's done since arriving in Hollywood, but he had not the gravitas of his father, Stellan. But he embodied Tarzan all out in this. His height and size were exactly what was called for, and his grace, in spite of the aforementioned traits, made the perfect counterpoint for a long lost English lord.

Skarsgård and Margot Robbie had a warm chemistry, and Robbie, in her turn, brought enough of an edge to Jane that the character was rescued from the ashpile of annoying females and reinvigorated as a sensible woman with spunk. (A welcome respite from Jane as pitiful damsel in distress.) Samuel Jackson brought his own brand of craziness as usual and Christoph Waltz proved that he is once again an enjoyable despot. To a man, the casting was spot on.

The humor was both unexpected and well-placed. The action punchy, sharp and at times laughable (purposely). The animals majestic, if unreal. And the use of the natural order, from fights for dominance to mating calls, to create tension and resolve plot was a deft touch. You could have pinched me. (My sister and I often disagree on films.) A good Sunday afternoon flick arrived unexpectedly and I'm glad I answered the door to admit it.

There Be Monsters Here. Pete's #Dragon & the Remaking of a Beloved #Disney Classic #Movie

I'm wary of seeing remakes of movies. Hollywood has been on a rampage, seemingly determined to remake every movie in recent (and not so recent) history; sometimes rebooting films mere years after the last remake. As a result, the quality of films being put out is at an all time low, in my opinion. There is little original, and the remakes are uninspired derivative drivel (for the most part).

Considering the landscape, it's a pleasant surprise when one discovers a remake with some merit. Sadly, this is not that tale. On a bit of a lark, a few days ago I rented the remake of Pete's Dragon (2016) on Google Play.

Google Play gave me $1.00 account credit + an "$0.99 Any Movie Rental" promotion = Free Movie Rental w/ 1-cent leftover.

I LOVE DRAGONS! Thought I should state this up front. I wanted a pet dragon as a wee tot, was fascinated with them and was sorely disappointed to be told such creatures did not exist. My personal video library is heavy on dragon flicks. I like them animated, animatronic and/or CGI. I will check out a movie merely because I heard a dragon makes an appearance in it.

Thus, I decided to take a chance on this new version of Pete's Dragon in spite of my distaste for remakes. Since it was a free movie rental, I figured if I absolutely hated it, I'd just stop watching, but I wanted to at least see the updated CGI Eliot. (In all honesty the original wasn't a spectacular film, but it gets a pass due to the gloss of my childhood nostalgia and because... DRAGON.)

Well, the movie started off very slowly. And initially I didn't gel with the fuzzy green CGI Eliot. Frustrated, I stopped watching for nearly 24 hours.

By the way, thanks for the longer active viewing window, Google Play --- so much nicer than "you only have 24 hours to view this title".

But I eventually went back, gave it another chance and finished watching it. Eliot grew on me, the human characters did not. (I actually desired to inflict violence upon several of them.) The storyline employs a good deal of heavy handed over-dramatizations, not to mention its plethora of "stupid human tricks".

I wouldn't purchase a copy and I probably would not watch it again --- unless babysitting a child who was interested in viewing it --- but there were moments of charm (mainly concerning the dragon). However, if Eliot does a spinoff without those pesky humans, I'm so there.