I finally did my long flights right this time by watching lots of movies!
Mortal Kombat – When this originally came out, I can tell you that I had absolutely zero interest in seeing in. As the years have passed, this genre of movie has been appealing to me more and more. When the trailer for the second one came out earlier this year I really did contemplate seeing it in theaters, but never actually got around to it. What better place to do it then on a ten hour flight?! I know nothing of the video games, but a co-worker of mine said the game has no plot, so he wasn’t sure what exactly a movie would be covering. Turns out, many worlds fight each other on a fairly regular basis. If a realm gets defeated ten times, then they can be taken over by that particular realm. Turns out Earth isn’t so great a winning fights. And we might be even more screwed because some serious bad guys go up against fighters who didn’t even know about other realms or special abilities until they got transported to another dimension! More serious than I was going to give it credit for, and a cast I’ve grown to know from other projects over the years.
Mortal Kombat II – I mean, if you land Karl Urban for a sequel you must be doing something right. The plot is largely the same as before, only this time, the same realm that’s trying to take Earth over is really serious about it this time. Their main fighter is working to harness the power of a god so that losing isn’t even an option. There are new allies this time, and even some old ones, but the battle is still really close. And literally so many of the main characters die! Sorry for the spoiler, but I was shocked! There is a very clear cliffhanger that better get resolved with another film or I will riot! Just as good, if not better than the first.
Caught Stealing – I don’t know why it took me this long to watch Darren Aronofsky’s most normal film, but here we are. Austin Butler plays Hank, a bartender who once had a future in the major leagues. He’s got a sweet, smart girlfriend, and enough cash to get by in NYC, but one day his neighbor hits the road, leaves his cat with him, and the threat of Russian, Puerto Rican, and Hasidic mobsters looms over his head. They think he’s got a large sum of money for all of them, and the police don’t end up being much help. Poor Hank is fighting for his life and he can’t even drink to forget his painful past! While comedic, this is quite a stressful movie added to the fact that it takes place in the 90s. Terrific!
Street Fighter – Coming off the heels of Mortal Kombat, I was very much looking forward to this movie. Once again, I have never played the video game it’s based on, but it still looked like it was going to be a fun time. And it largely was! “Brothers” Ryu and Ken are at odds in the present day after Ryu becomes a world champion but refuses to save their sensai as he’s about to die. A diabolical, but a little silly, bad guy wants to bring back the tournament in an effort to harness powers of the gods. Ken believes this is his chance for glory, but there are plenty of other parties aware of what’s really going on. The cast is incredible, and a lot of this movie is really fun! It doesn’t quite stick the landing with consistent comedic moments, and there is one clunky transition in the story, but otherwise, I was well entertained. This experience was made even more cool by the fact that I got to watch it while visitng Malaysia!
Clayface – I feel dumb for not knowing anything about this new DC entry until like two weeks before it was slated to come out. Same goes for the fact that it was a horror film featuring a DC villain. Thankfully, a theater in Singapore had this the day it came out! Matt Hagen has worked so hard to get where he is today, which is an Oscar nomiated actor! He’s at the peak of his game, but that all comes crumbling down when he goes out with his friend to celebrate the win. He hooks up with the wrong girl and gets his face mutilated to pay the price. An actor isn’t anything without their face, right? Trying to fight for justice only leaves Hagen even worse for wear, so he goes for broke contacting a scientist to try and help him get his looks back. It both works and doesn’t work, and on his quest for revenge, he kind of loses himself in the process. I thought this was incredibly well done and I’m trying to make sure all of my superhero loving friends make time for this one!
The Running Man – Evidently this is the second adaptation of a Stephen King novel. Who knew! In a dystopian future where “new” money is even tighter than it is now, Ben Richards agrees to join the Running Man in a desparate attempt to help his wife and sick daughter get out of their poverty-stricken neighborhood. The show is run by the Network, a media company who controls basically everything with the power to manipulate whatever they want. Wait…why is this so similar to things happening today? Aside from that sickening comparison, Ben has to make it thirty days without getting killed, which is a hard task when the American public participates in helping him get hunted down. Ben’s got some serious anger but a good heart, which is apparently the combo needed to make a change. Something about it didn’t quite land for me, but still entertaining enough.
Animals – Ben Affleck must have some exclusive contract with Netflix that he’s trying to work through, because not long after Rip hit the streamer, this political crime thriller comes out. He plays Mark Kimball, a man running as an independent to be LA’s next mayor. While he’s doing well, it’s hard to campaign, and really costly. Him not disclosing that all of their money is tied up and dependent upon him winning the campaign doesn’t help the relationship with his wife. In fact, it seems they’ve been disconnected for so long that she’s got a new man in her life. Kids of course complicate the matter, but when the son of their nanny’s boyfriend gets taken for ransom, it puts Mark, his family, and his campaign in a really precarious situation. Gillian Anderson plays the strangest character, but this movie kind of flopped for me. Even with the likes of Steven Yeun on board.
Ready Or Not – Tis the season to revisit this horror masterpiece. And also because it was my work’s movie club pick for October. Not that I’m mad about it! It’s good every time I watch it, and this just made me want to watch the sequel again soon.
Godzilla Minus One – In preperation for Godzilla Minus Zero coming out this week, I knew I needed a refresher on the original. I’m so glad I watched it again, because while many scenes stuck with me, there was still plenty that I forgot. And also it’s just a damn good movie! Tokyo was already at its lowest after World War II, but Godzilla’s arrival threatens to beat them down even lower. For it being a monster movie, there is an incredible amount of heart. I cannot wait to see how they follow this up.