I have pretty much completely given up on action movies over the last decade or so. I long ago grew tired of more car chases, more explosions, more bigger and bigger guns. I still do watch superhero movies which I suppose are kind of like action flicks, but with capes, but whatever. Straight up action is pretty much gone from my movie queues. The exceptions being the Bond films (which I can call spy films and still get away with my “no action movies” mantra) and the Mission: Impossible films (also technically spy films, but who are we trying to kid?). Lucky for me, there have only been six M:I films in the last 20-plus years so I’ve not had to modify my belief system too much.
The reason for my willingness to watch the Mission: Impossible films despite my annoyance with action films is obvious – they make some of the best action films in the business. Say what you will about Tom Cruise’s personal life but the dude still has serious on-screen charisma and he knows how to put together a great cast and hire interesting directors to make a good action flick.
I’ve not yet seen Fallout, but our own Matthew St. Clair has and he delivered a good review.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
The Serpent’s Egg: Late period Ingmar Bergman gets the Arrow Academy treatment. I should have a review for you soon.
Doctor Who: Peter Davison – Complete Season One: A while back they did this with the first season of Tom Baker and now we’ve moved on to the Fifth Doctor. Not sure why they didn’t do the second season of Baker, but I’m totally on board with this method of distribution.
The Nun: The fifth film in the Conjuring Universe (I can’t believe I just typed that) stars Taissa Farming as an almost nun who investigates the hanging of a nun in Romania and uncovers an unholy secret.
Castlevania: Season 1: Netflix just launched Season Two of this animated series based upon the popular video-game franchise, so I guess it’s time for Season One to come to Blu-ray.
The Happytime Murders: Melissa McCarthy and a bunch of puppets try to solve a murder. I guess that’s funny.
Operation Finale: Chris Weitz directs Oscar Isaac, Haley Lu Richardson, and Ben Kingsley in this true story about the hunt for Adolph Eichmann, the Nazi who supervised the transportation logistics of the Holocaust.
Westworld: Season Two: I was a big fan of the first season of this HBO series about a massive theme park filled with realistic robots that humans pay to sex up and kill. The buzz for Season Two died down pretty quickly leaving me to believe it falters in quality, but I’m excited to find out for myself.
The Handmaid’s Tale: Season Two: I really loved Season One of this dystopian series based upon the Margaret Atwood book. I started Season Two, was watching it with the wife on my lunch break, then the girl went on Summer break and we stopped watching. Keep forgetting to pick it back up. What I saw of it was good, but it is starting to reach the bleakness saturation point. A little light might do it some good.
Yellowstone: Season 1: Kevin Costner stars in this Taylor Sheridan series about a cowboy dealing with politicians, Native Americans, and land developers while running the largest ranch in the U.S. that happens to border Yellowstone National Park. I don’t know if the show is any good, but I bet the scenery is fantastic.
