Righteous Recommendations

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Righteous Recommendations Check out the movie reviews at www.righteousrecommendations.com We suffer through the bad movies so you don't have to! OK OK this isn't really a magazine.

I didn't know how else to classify it. It's a page to inform you of the updates to the Righteous Recommendations web site. www.righteousrecommendations.com RR is a place for reviews and discussions of entertainment with a special focus on spiritual elements. I like movies and I like God (love Him even ;o) so I made a place where I can share thoughts on both.

04/02/2022

I think my 2 biggest complaints about Let There Be Carnage are (SPOILERS!!)
1) I would have preferred more screentime for Carnage and Shriek and less of Eddie feuding with Venom. We spend a lot of time with them (and others in their "family" who are absent from this story) which makes their time here feel too limited. I kept finding myself craving more development of the couple to the point of not enjoying some of the Venom material as much as I thought I would.
2) The ending hints that Venom may be crossing paths with Spidey in the future which is extremely exciting, but it doesn't leave much room for Carnage to meet the web-slinger. I was hoping to see the two of them go head-to-head almost as much as I can't wait for Spidey and Venom to clash. The original Maximum Carnage was more Spidey's story than Venom's, and while making it Venom's story works for the movie universe the complete lack of Spidey vs. Carnage hurts my feelings. They could very easily have had the best of both worlds if they'd wanted to.

04/01/2022

Watched a few movies I got for Christmas. Here are some brief thoughts.
-Candyman: I guess this could qualify as a reboot since it sets up a potential ongoing new storyline, but it's actually a sequel to the original. It showed tremendous promise at first but kind of fell apart. We don't see enough of the titular character, the retcon of the backstory isn't as strong as the original, the killer's actions at the end do not keep up with what we've seen, and it feels heavy-handed with it's racial message. Acting is quite good for the most part with some very creepy scenes. Maybe worth seeing if you like the original a lot or if they continue the story into a series worth revisiting.

-Spiral (Saw 9): My least favorite of the Saw movies. By the time it was half over I knew 95% of what we were getting at the end. With the exception of Sam Jackson acting wasn't as good as I expected, and the characters feel too forced - like shoving your face in the aspects of Chris' character and his social standing then repeatedly smearing it all over you. Every heard of subtlety? It really adds nothing vital to the story of Saw.

-Escape Room (2) Tournament of Champions: Exciting and tense but without enough to sell the reality of the evil organization. It expands on the larger story somewhat but not in a way that has me dying for more. It's worth seeing if you like the original, but definitely not a must-see.

06/12/2021

I have finally seen all the Phantasm movies. I want to like this series more than I do. It's original, frequently very creative, and is worth seeing if you like bizarre stories with multi-dimensional villains who have strange powers. In some ways it's a lot like Hellraiser just with a different aesthetic. Unfortunately the story is all over the place throwing out one confusing event after another without ever establishing a universe that feels immersive. The movie-watching experience is a lot like a dream - a series of events with minimum coherency making it hard to remember clearly. There's meaning there if you care to dig for it but is only going to be worth such an effort for a select few.

I got The Grand Budapest Hotel for free and decided to watch it for some of the cameos although I didn't expect to like ...
09/11/2021

I got The Grand Budapest Hotel for free and decided to watch it for some of the cameos although I didn't expect to like it. It is better than I thought it would be even if I don't love it. It feels tedious at times, particularly with the early narration and the transition to a story within a story within a story. It can be slow and drawn out at times making me wonder where the humor in this comedy went. However, the story can also be quite interesting, and the comedy had us laughing out loud. It also has some great acting and fun cameos although not enough Bill Murray. It's rated R with enough material that you may not want to watch it with your kids but is relatively mild for an R. Nudity and s*x are very brief though s*xual dialogue and innuendo are a bit heavier. Language is strong but not constant with a little bit of violence and brief glimpses of gore. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2278388/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Directed by Wes Anderson. With Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody. A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.

I really need to start posting my reviews on here again rather than just on my personal wall. So with that in mind here ...
09/11/2021

I really need to start posting my reviews on here again rather than just on my personal wall. So with that in mind here are some thoughts on Freaky. It's a fun premise with some great comic moments especially with Vince Vaughn playing a teenage girl. The movie is worth seeing for his performance. He's not the only good actor, but he is the best one. Happy Death Day strikes a better blend of horror and comedy than this one, but Freaky has some LOL moments. There are some character inconsistencies and a plot hole that bug me, and it often feels like it's trying too hard to be rated R. Speaking of which, this is not a good movie for your young teens to see. Violence and gore are extreme at times (playing up the trope of ridiculous, over-the-top slasher movie kills), strong language is so nonstop that it becomes a distraction at times, and s*xual dialogue can be unnecessarily graphic. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10919380/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Freaky: Directed by Christopher Landon. With Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O'Connor, Misha Osherovich. After swapping bodies with a deranged serial killer, a young girl in high school discovers she has less than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.

16/08/2019

Just because I could I played the Blade Runner Blu-ray and 4K at the same time and flipped back and forth between them. I don't see much difference in the level of detail, however the colors on the 4K are more stunning. The sound is the biggest surprise. There is a huge difference in power and a noticeable difference in surround sound immersion. I can tell a difference between the Blu's standard and HD tracks, but the difference between the HD track and the 4K is surprisingly dramatic. The DVD, which I had no complaints about before I got into HD, looks and sounds like utter crap next to the 4K. The difference in quality really demonstrates what HD can offer. While I have no interest in trying to upgrade all my movies, (though I'd be more likely to upgrade a DVD than a Blu-ray with the obvious exception of Star Wars which I am sure I will buy on every format I can) this one, being among my absolute favorite movies of all time, proves to definitely be worth the upgrade.

09/08/2019

I forgot to post reviews of last week's movie night so I'll try to do that soon. Tonight it's Twilight part 3 (Mallory's choice) and Alita Battle Angel (my choice). I've not seen the former and she's not seen the latter. I got my hands on the Target exclusive 4k (last one they had in stock!) of Battle Angel so when I review it I'll throw out a few details of what you get with that.

04/04/2019

I had a motel movie night. I didn't set out to have such a theme, but a series of events lead me to watch 2 movies with that setting thanks to a title mix-up.

-Identity: I'd seen this one a long time ago. I got it mixed up with Vacancy, but that got me thinking about this one again so I decided to revisit it. 10 people are trapped at a remote motel by a raging storm. They are murdered one by one and must find the killer to survive. What sets this story apart is a rather massive plot twist that changes the viewer perception of the events. Some feel that this makes the movie more interesting, some feel that it destroys what had been a hitherto great narrative. I took it for what it was and enjoyed it as something different and interesting. Performances range from good to fantastic, production quality is high, and even though I knew the big twist I still enjoyed seeing it again.

-Vacancy: I picked up the prequel when I wasn't paying close attention and thought it was related to Identity (which is what made me decide to revisit that one). I decided to check this one out partly because the likes of Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale are not who I would expect to see in a slasher flick. But then Vacancy turned out to be not a slasher at all. It's more a survive-the-invasion type story not unlike Strangers though I like this one a great deal more than the other. A husband and wife check into a remote motel for the night where they are terrorized by people who want to film their deaths for fun and profit. The two fight back with minor successes and failures that make the struggle exciting giving us hope that they might make it while thinking that they probably won't survive. I think what I like most about this movie is Luke as the protagonist. He's smarter than the typical slasher movie teenager but not a specially-trained ex-Navy Seal or some such. He's just a regular guy highly motivated to get out of a dangerous situation. It makes him more relatable than many other characters in similar movies. The movie is better than I expected and is one I'm sure I'll watch again.

04/04/2019

I've gotten back in the habit of writing short movie reviews on a semi-regular basis so I decided I should start posting those here since I have the page already. I had a Godzilla movie night thanks to some loaners from a friend. Here's what I think.

-Shin Godzilla: This is a pretty good take on the Godzilla concept. It's altered and more modern than the original, but it has strong social context (knowing about it ahead of time increased my appreciation of the movie so I recommend reading about it before watching) which made it feel like it had real depth. It falls into some overused tropes like the very young, very gorgeous, single, young woman in a high ranking position to offset the similarly big-screen handsome, single male hero. It does not, however, become a story of two people falling in love as they single-handedly save the world. There's more to it than that. The changes to Godzilla may bug some long-time fans, but there is purpose behind his design. He looks good and feels dangerous.

-Godzilla Final Wars: This is pure Godzilla fan service. It is not a good movie in virtually any way, but it is fun and therefore worth seeing if you are, indeed, a fan. Godzilla tears through a roster of his most famous monster pals. I enjoyed the mission to release him, the aliens that made turning to Godzilla necessary for the human race, and the "what have we gotten ourselves into" reaction from the villains. Unfortunately, Godzilla occupies a small portion of the story with the bulk of it being human mutants vs. humanoid aliens which gets dragged out too long with terrible acting and worse fight choreography. This movie BEGS for a Mystery Science Theater style commentary. I wouldn't want to watch it again, but I had a good time with it. Flaming Mothra is a must-see.

02/04/2015
Absolution | Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

Absolution is a suspense/mystery involving priests and students. It boarders on worth watching (if you can find a decent print of it) with Richard Burton and Billy Connolly.
http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog #!Absolution/cu6k/61C6F7EA-0C98-4EB3-B92F-9D026056EE5C

Absolution seems like it would make a better novel than a movie. It's a decent story. I like the twisted ending and unexpected plot turns even if they sometimes...

01/04/2015

Lots of new updates have been put into place by my web host. I'm still exploring what all it can do now, but you can count on more frequent posts and hopefully some upgrade in navigation capabilities. There will be lots of new stuff to read up by the end of the day today and more coming later this week. Check it out!

17/02/2015

I finally broke down and got Black Belt Jones on DVD. Hope I enjoy it as much as an adult as I did as a kid.

06/02/2015
Gothic | Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

I wanted Gothic to be good. A horror tale crafted around the night Mary Shelly came up with Frankenstein sounds promising. But no, the only horror involved here is how horrifically bad it is. http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog #!Gothic/cu6k/C09BF08B-B5F0-4ABD-A1CE-9CC47585C276

Gothic sounds like it might actually be a good movie. Take the real life event of the night Mary Shelley came up with the story of Frankenstein and spin it into...

05/02/2015
Funeral Home | Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

Here's another obscure gem. Funeral Home is low budget suspense at, or at least near, its best. With less camp and more story than usual for these kinds of flicks it's worth checking out.http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog #!Funeral-Home/cu6k/BE4590B2-49F5-44E9-A588-A7A8297C34D0

Funeral Home is a sleeper that should be more of a hit. I'd never heard of it when I put it in to watch it but found it quite good despite its obscurity. Some c...

23/01/2015
A Bucket Of Blood | Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

Chances are you've seen Dick Miller even if you don't realize it. He just tends to play supporting actor rather than lead. Not this time. See what happens when he goes from pining for acceptance to killing for it. http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog #!A-Bucket-Of-Blood/cu6k/35E15DF4-DDB0-47D9-9365-54A038C0C372

Dick Miller is a face plenty of people will recognize, but he's never been one to star in movies. He's always the side character. A Bucket of Blood is his chanc...

21/01/2015
The Bloody Brood | Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

This flick is beatnik overload. The culture is an important part of the plot, but still it becomes almost unbearably too much. Even so, it's a rather enjoyable old flick thanks largely to Peter Falk. http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog #!The-Bloody-Brood/cu6k/A47738B3-5774-4D9C-B581-C741AD759BCE

When The Bloody Brood began my expectations were low. I soon found myself moderately engaged with the story thanks largely to the lead actors. There's a reason ...

19/01/2015
Bad Taste | Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

I'm testing out the functionality of the blog with some obscure movie reviews I had started writing for another site. Hopefully they'll still be fun to read even if you've never heard of them. Here's one worth checking out, Peter Jackson's very first flick. http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog #!Bad-Taste/cu6k/2F21472E-68F4-4FC5-8AE3-753704B13135

Peter Jackson has talent. I'm a big big fan of what he did with Lord of the Rings and have enjoyed other movies of his. Bad Taste is not going to make it to tha...

19/01/2015
Righteous Recommendations: The Review Blog

As much as I like writing movie reviews, and as much as I want a fancy website with full menus and interlacing links, I just don't have enough time to do it all. So I'm changing over to a simpler blog format. Hopefully the tags will make up for the loss of everything being organized in a pretty menu, but site searching is unfortunately something that is not going to happen anytime soon with this web host. I'll be leaving the current site as is, but you can read new review posts at http://darthsheol.wix.com/righteousblog

Movie & TV series reviews with thoughts on the spiritual and religious content and offering guides to questionable material.

13/01/2015

I've been wanting to check out Bones for a while. I've read a little bit of Kathy Reichs' stuff and thought it was enjoyable (though not enough for me to become a dedicated fan). So I finally got around to seeing the first few episodes. I like the archaeologist crime-solver angle and the male lead reminds me of Eddie McClintock in Warehouse 13 (which is a good thing). But the show seems obsessed with s*x to the point of becoming annoying instead of entertaining. Even if they had written in some varied points of view (a traditional married couple in the mix, a character with a religious view of s*xual activity, or even just a young person wanting to wait for the right partner to come along) instead of every single person treating s*x like it were no different than having a card game I might not have been quite so bothered. And even then if it didn't feel like every single conversation in 1 entire episode didn't revolve around s*xual exploits in some way (including a fair amount of distasteful and inappropriate interactions even when it was out of character for what they show had established) I might not have been quite so put off. I found myself disinterested in continuing the series. There are better crime dramas out there.

13/01/2015

I decided it was time I had a high-quality copy of at least 1 silent film (the ones I have currently are cheap and show it). So the order has been placed for Nosferatu on Blu-ray. Besides being the highest quality transfer I could find it includes both the English and original German text, the original score in 5.1, and a handful of extras. I'll let you know if it was worth getting.

06/01/2015

As it looks like we will have the opportunity to interact with one of its stars at ConNooga (I am the horror track coordinator for the con) Christyn and I began watching American Horror Story. My first impression of the pilot was not entirely favorable. It seemed to push the rated R material for no other reason than because it could. This level of strong language, nudity, and crude s*xual references added nothing to the story (hey, we can say "s**t" on this channel so let's say it every 5 minutes even if we have to make excuses to fit it in the dialogue!). What's more, after the initial creepy opening, it seemed to be more darkly odd than horrific (not necessarily a bad thing but not what I wanted out of the show and not done well enough to keep me watching if that's all it ever had been). I'm still not liking it as much as I had hoped I would, but it has gotten better. I'm wondering what's going on with the characters and what is reality in a way that keeps me interested in seeing more.

01/01/2015

Righteous Recommendations's cover photo

01/01/2015

Untitled Album

18/05/2014
The Exorcism Of Emily Rose review

More reviews have been migrated over to the new site. Did you realize The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a frightfully good horror flick, was written and directed by a Christian? Go read about it! http://darthsheol.wix.com/rrreviews #!exorcism-of-emily-rose/c1b4e

Chad the Sith Lord's review of The Exorcism of Emily Rose directed by Scott Derrickson.

02/05/2014
Dungeons & Dragons (the series) review

After a brief hiatus we are back to bring you more reviews transferred to their new living quarters. Everything under the letter D has been republished. One of the most notable of these is the fantastic Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series. The buying guide still needs to be reformatted so the link to it might not work until next week. http://darthsheol.wix.com/rrreviews #!dungeons--dragons-series/c24wg

Chad the Sith Lord's review of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series.

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