Blue Steel (1990) – Kathryn Bigelow

The fantastic Kathryn Bigelow directs Jamie Lee Curtis in this crisp, occasionally brutal thriller. Megan Turner (Curits) is a rookie cop, who on her first day on the job shoots and kills an armed thief (Tom Sizemore) in a supermarket showdown. When the thief’s weapon isn’t found at the scene, Turner finds herself suspended, and…

Bone Tomahawk (2015) – S. Craig Zahler

Kurt Russell saddles up for another western, and though the basic premise of the story may sound familiar, where that narrative takes you may be a little too gruesome for some viewers, but it’s a helluva ride. Russell is Hunt, the sheriff of Bright Hope, and he and a couple of locals are about to…

Nightmare Alley (2021) – Guillermo del Toro

Based on the novel of the same name del Toro’s latest is a lush, shining example of the noir genre, and features strong performances and visuals. I loved how faithful it was to the spirit of the novel, there were a few necessary changes, but none that change any of the overall arcs for any…

Miami Vice (1985) – Golden Triangle: Part 2, and Smuggler’s Blues

This week we dive further into Castillo’s (Edward James Olmos) with the second part of the Golden Triangle. Written by Maurice Hurley and Micheal Mann the episode debuted on 18 January, 1985. Castillo works to protect his wife, May Ying (Joan Chen) from General Lao Li (Keye Luke) and his family that run the human…

The Shape of Water (2017) – Guillermo del Toro

del Toro’s latest film, The Shape of Water is very much a fairy tale for adults, as well as sharing a kinship with the horror films of the 1950s, specifically, 1954’s The Creature From the Black Lagoon (as well as to Abe Sapien as seen in del Toro’s own Hellboy series). But in this film,…

Jack Reacher (2012) – Christopher McQuarrie

  Ok. Let’s get this out-of-the-way first… the bus stop gag does not work, and is downright silly. I took a quick break from my lists today to hit Netflix and have a look at the latest Tom Cruise vehicle, Jack Reacher. I’d read a couple of the books by Lee Child, and was interested…

Tim’s Top 12 of 2012

12 is my lucky number, so I figured that would be the number of films I pick for my favorites of 2012, it kind of works, because then that would be one each month, though, for anyone who reads my blog, you’re well aware that I’ve seen a lot more than 12 movies this year!…