Movies/TV – Page 50 – Doyle's Space

The Video Game Years

I finished the Video Game Years on Amazon Prime Video last night. Being a retro game fan, I loved the episodes and would give this documentary a 5 out of 5. Each episode was dedicated to a year of the eighties and talked about home games, arcade games, consoles and even pinball. It was informative, funny and nostalgic!

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Watched the 2015 movie Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. It is an excellent documentary on the Scientology cult. I give it 4 out of 5 stars in the documentary status.

[from Wikipedia]

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is a 2015 documentary film about Scientology. Directed by Alex Gibney and produced by HBO, it is based on Lawrence Wright‘s book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief (2013). The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. It received widespread praise from critics and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning three, including Best Documentary. It also received a 2015 Peabody Award and won the award for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.

The film deconstructs the church’s claims by presenting a condensed history of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, examining how celebrities interact with the church, and highlighting the stories of a number of ex-members and of the abuse and exploitation that they described seeing and experiencing. The Church of Scientology responded vehemently to the film, complaining to film critics about their reviews and denouncing the filmmakers and their interviewees.

Going Clear was released in a limited number of theaters on March 13, 2015, and aired on HBO on March 29, 2015. It was a major ratings success and by mid-April 2015 had attracted 5.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched HBO documentary in the past decade. It was subsequently released internationally, showing in theaters and on television despite a sustained campaign by the Church of Scientology to block its release.

Son of Kong

I watched “Son of Kong” on Svengoolie tonight. They travel back to Skull Island looking for treasure where they find little Kong. The Sven additives to the movie help it along. I would give it 1.75 out of 5.

[From Wikipedia] Son of Kong (also known as The Son of Kong) is a 1933 American Pre-Code adventure monster film produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Buzz Gibson and Willis O’Brien, the film stars Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack and Frank Reicher. The film is the lesser-known sequel to King Kong and was released just nine months after its predecessor.

Conan the Barbarian

I just watched the 2011 re-imagining of Conan the Barbarian. I haven’t seen the 1982 original since the 80’s so I can’t really compare. This one was very good, lots of excitement, pretty non-stop action. I would give it a solid 3.5 of 5 stars.
[From Wikipedia] Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films (including Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer), television programs (animated and live-action), video games, role-playing games, and other media. The character was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 for a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine.
[From Wikipedia] Conan the Barbarian is a 2011 American sword and sorcery film based on the character of the same name created by Robert E. Howard. The film is a new interpretation of the Conan mythology, and is not related to the films featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It stars Jason Momoa in the title role, alongside Rachel Nichols, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, Ron Perlman, and Bob Sapp with Marcus Nispel directing. Morgan Freeman narrates the film.

Smokin’ Aces

Watched the movie Smokin’ Aces last night. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars and would compare it to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Here is a write-up on the film: Smokin’ Aces is a 2006 British-American action thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film centers on the chase for Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven), on whom a one million dollar bounty is placed. The ensemble cast includes Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Common, Andy García, Alicia Keys, Taraji P. Henson, Ray Liotta, Chris Pine, and Matthew Fox, all co-starring as the various individuals attempting to either capture or protect Israel.