John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum (2019)

I’ve been having a not-great time with second sequels of late. I was not exactly convinced a third John Wick would bring anything useful to the table. I do know what most people seem to want out of a series like this, and I’m really not interested in “World-Building: The Movie”. Give me plot, ideas, […]

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

Next in line for my “watch second movies in series” would’ve been Highlander 2, but many who know the film could guess why that’s not what I’m watching. Given the secondary rule (after “have watched my own copy of the first film”) is “I have to own a copy of it”, that one went completely […]

‘จั๊กกะแหล๋น’ (Jukkalan, lit. a descriptive folk word for a type of young girl) [This Girl Is Bad-Ass!!] (2011)

I had literally no idea what this movie was, and I don’t trust English titles for movies in general, but even less when it’s an Asian comedy and/or martial arts flick that isn’t at all famous. The advertising, too, tends to start misrepresenting things, and I definitely still got a little goofed on this one […]

精武英雄 (Jīng wǔ yīngxióng, lit. “Jing Wu Hero”) [Fist of Legend] (1994)

I still haven’t pushed too hard into Asian action cinema, martial arts or otherwise (for “otherwise”, think, for example, John Woo–or even modern yakuza films). I opened myself to the notion years ago, despite not growing up on any of it, but have still been relatively slow in taking it forward. I pick things up […]

J. Edgar (2011)

Another in my string of “I’ve got a lot of Clint Eastwood movies I bought used”, I was only vaguely aware of this one even existing, honestly. Probably given this came out during a rough year for me, or maybe because I was transitioning out of media retail that year as it was. I’m not […]

Joyeux Noël [Merry Christmas] (2005)

One of many films that I acquired in the days of Big Lots and $3 DVDs, this one fell into my ‘auto-buy’ category by virtue of being distributed by Sony under the “Sony Pictures Classics” label. I’ve yet to be let down by a movie that came under that label, definitively passing (as a number […]

Judgment Night (1993)

I randomly caught this film from about the middle about, oh, I don’t know 12-14 years ago when it first hit cable. I meant to see it from the beginning ever since. I don’t really know why–usually I am struck by the urge in such situations when someone says something that alludes to an interesting […]

Just Before Dawn (1981)

I used to stumble back and forth through Best Buy's horror section looking for anything interesting I didn't own (ha! right!) until I gave up, but once in a great while some strange obscure special or collector's edition of a cult flick would suddenly (and rather inexplicably) show up and catch my eye. Once I […]

地獄 (Jigoku) [Hell] (1960)

A random Criterion purchase that I forget my reasoning for acquiring; I vaguely recall that it was trying for their first tier pricing (29.99) for some reason at work, but I have no real idea. Might have just randomly done it. Anyway, I knew very little about it, I've got to say, except the title, […]

Jackpot (2001)

What a weird little movie. No, not Tetsuo weird, but weird in a more, “Well, that was odd…” sort of fashion. I’m not sure what I think of the plot, but I know I liked the movie–that probably sounds insane, and maybe it even IS insane, but there you are. It stars Jon Gries who […]