Death Wish

In 1974 not only was I born, but so too was the Death Wish saga with Charles Bronson. The action hero from Once Upon a Time in the West was not carrying a harmonica, but a gun. He played an architect who was seeking vengeance after street punks - so 70s - kill his wife in NYC. It was amazingly gruesome for the time.  I loved it - it was right up there with The Equalizer - I thought he was bad ass. It was based on a book I haven't' read.

It was so popular that it lead to more for this actor and this character. Almost 10 years later Death Wish II comes out. This time - still street punks - but his daughter and his housekeeper are killed - that sets him off.

Only a couple years go by before Death Wish III is released. This time he is hired by a corrupt police chief to clean up a neighborhood - remove the criminal elements.

In the next movie - The Crackdown he is in LA helping to rid the community of drug lords when his girlfriend's daughter is killed.

It's the 90s by the time The Face of Death - Death Wish 5 is released. His fiance is being threatened by mobsters.

They get worse the more of them there are. I only recommend the very first one and the re-make. In the re-make Bruce Willis (Die Hard) is a doctor. His wife (Elizabeth Shue from The Saint) and daughter are terrorized by robbers and his wife dies. His brother is played by Vincent D'Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket) - and played well I liked having this character. He seeks vengeance for his wife - he also gets revenge for the terrorizing of his daughter and for a kid in the hospital being harassed by drug lords. It's gruesome like the original and no one was better suited for the role than Willis. All in all, I say: SEE THE remake and the original, but none of the others.

Red Sparrow

It took me awhile to write this because I just wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I have decided I should have read the book and skipped the movie. I didn't like all the nudity, the rape, the violence, or the torture. I felt like everything about it was too much. The only thing that wasn't was the performance by Jennifer Lawrence. She hasn't done as well since her first film Winter's Bone. Joel Edgerton (Bright) did ok - there wasn't much to his role by the time the film was edited. Matthias Schoenaerts (Disorder) did an amazing job at being super creepy uncle spy guy. The other person who blew me away was Jeremy Irons - like Reversal of Fortune good. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Altered Carbon

Even though I never read the book this plot was eerily familiar. Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) does a great job. It's really hard to describe this plot you would do better to check out the description on Netflix or the summary of the book on Amazon. It's good that's it's complicated though - makes it more unique. It's a 10 or more shirter - meaning he has his shirt off more than 10 times and he looks good. It addresses mortality and class among other things. James Purefoy (The Following) is a main character - and he is completely naked in one scene - if anyone is interested. It was so good to see Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse) again. She uses all her martial arts skills - she's also naked - and does a good job in this. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you like SyFy.

Mute

This strange Netflix movie starring Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) seemed promising. An Amish man falls in love and when his love goes missing he sets off to find her. Also, starring Paul Rudd (Ant-Man). Disappointment - All in all, I say: SKIP IT - plot, acting, everything pretty bad.

Royal Hearts

James Brolin (Life in Pieces) is a rancher that is the only living relative of a dead King in a made up kingdom Hallmark likes to use. His daughter falls in love with a Prince and a Pauper while she's there. It's ridiculous and the flow is horrible. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Please Stand By

Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam) is autistic and lives in a home with others like her. They are teaching her how to live kind of on her own. She has a job and writes Star Trek fan fiction. She wants to enter a contest, but her plan is slightly derailed when her sister's visit results in less than perfect circumstances. She has to set off for LA on her own to get her script entered. She learns a lot on her travels, as does her therapist (Toni Collette from Sixth Sense) and her sister (Alice Eve from Star Trek Into Darkness). Fanning does an amazing job - everyone in this does. All in all, I say: SEE IT - it was on Amazon Prime or Netflix can't remember.

A Bad Mom's Christmas

Nope...it's bad. All in all, I say: NOPE

Private Eyes

Canada's version of Castle. Jason Priestly (90210) is an ex hockey player with a blind daughter who works as a PI. His partner is the daughter of his dad's old friend from the police department. IMDb writes, "The original crime-solving series Private Eyes is a 10-episode procedural drama that follows ex-pro hockey player Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) who irrevocably changes his life when he decides to team up with fierce P.I. Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) to form an unlikely investigative powerhouse. Through their new partnership, Shade is forced to examine who he has become and who he wants to be. Ongoing episodes find Shade and Angie investigating high-stakes crimes in the worlds of horse racing, fine dining, Toronto's vibrant hip-hop scene, scandalous literature, magic clubs, and more.". It's tame, fairly non-violent - not too harsh for a crime show. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Black Panther

The next movie in the Marvel universe takes place after the last Avengers movie. Michael B. Jordan (Creed) plays the bad guy.  The comedy is purely Marvel as is the action. Martin Freeman (Sherlock) plays an American CIA agent. Danai Gurira (TWD) does some awesome action with her staff/sword - Love her so much. It's one of the better Marvels in the series. All in all, I say: SEE IT on the bog screen to get the full effect.

Wedding March 1,2,3

Jack Wagner (Melrose Place) is a musician who settles down and opens a wedding hotel of sorts. His wife died and his daughter is in college. His college sweetheart (Josie Bissett from Melrose Place and a bad wig) comes back into his life. They are just dating in like all 3 - it's kind of annoying and the editing leaves a little to be desired. His music also ruins the plot. All in all, I say: SKIP all 3 of these Hallmark Valentine's movies.

Cooking with Love

Another Hallmark Valentine movie. The main character is usually the supporting actress in Hallmark movies. She gets a lead in this. IMDb writes, "Hardworking and optimistic television producer, Kelly, doesn't have time for love. Along with her mentor Amanda, Kelly dives into another season of the Little Gourmet, a kids cooking show, when hot-headed Chef Stephen is dropped into Kelly's life as a last minute replacement host. As the two struggle to make peace and a successful show, they realize they have a lot more in common than they thought - a love of food, the kids they encounter and each other.". All in all, I say: SEE IT

My Secret Valentine

Lacey Chabert (Party of Five) is a chef who takes a vacation at her family's winery. She ends up with a secret valentine while trying to save her dad's winery from a large chain store. It's a typical Hallmark movie and plot. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Very Very Valentine

A Hallmark Valentine movie starring Danica McKellar (Wonder Years) as a florist who is looking for love. She meets a guy at a masquerade whom she thinks is Mr. Right. Turns out her best friend is the man of her dreams. Follows the usual Hallmark plot. All in all, I say: SEE IT.

Bellevue

Anna Paquin (The Piano) is a cop who is dealing with an ex-husband (Irishman Allen Leech from Downton Abbey) with a drug problem, a daughter trying to connect with a dead girl, a dad who went crazy and died, a stalker, and a boss (Canadian Shawn Doyle from The Expanse) that maybe loves her too much. She's got some demons in her own mind as well. It's a common plot - small town murder - where everyone has secrets that could make them the prime suspect or if told would help cops solve the crime sooner. It's dark. It gets a little over the top sometimes in my opinion - you know to the point where in the real world a person would be fired or in jail. It's different characters than usual though. All in all, I say: SEE IT - if you like dark stuff - SKIP IT if you don't want to deal with some taboo subjects. It's a series that could possibly lead to a season 2.