Life Gamble ( 1978 )
The problem I have with most of the Venom Mob films is that most of them are waaaaaaaay too complicated. Case in point, Life Gamble. Every couple of minutes a brand new character is introduced, each with a back story and/or is hatching a plot against a different character. About fifteen main characters are introduced in the first fifteen minutes, all which you need to keep track of. This is the second time I have seen this film, and even knowing the plot, I was still confused watching it the second time around. The plot centers around stolen Jade, which every character is after, either to steal for themselves, or to return to the owner. The four bandits who stole the Jade are bringing it to a gambling house where they plan to gamble for who gets to keep it. Meanwhile the owner of the gambling house plots to steal the Jade from the bandits, as does everyone else who has learned about the game. Before the film is over just about everyone has double-crossed someone, and one or two characters that are supposed to be the heroes turn out to be villains. Keeping track of what is going on is such a chore that it is a relief when characters finally start getting killed, and you no longer need to keep track of them.
Ben 10: Alien Swarm ( 2009 )
An original animated series was produced for Cartoon Network about a boy who finds a magic armband that allows him to change into different aliens, and uses it to battle criminal aliens. It was a hit, so Cartoon Network produced a live action movie of the series. The live action movie was also a hit. So what did Cartoon Network do? They rebooted it. Ben 10 was cancelled and replaced with a different series called Ben 10 Alien Force which takes place seven years later. Ben and his cousin are now teenagers, and one of their former villains is now part of their team. Ben 10: Alien Swarm is based on the reboot series.
I didn't like last week's Ben 10 film. Because it was aimed at kids in grade school, and felt every bit the lame kids film it was. But with the reboot series Cartoon Network was targeted to teenage viewers. That made the second movie more adult, and this time around the film was actually good. Not good enough to recommend other than to Ben 10 fans, but at the quality of an average episode of a CW superhero series. Funny how the age of the target audience determines the quality of the film. It use to be that children's films were entertaining enough for adults. Now ages 1 to 5 get something on the quality of the Teletubbies, 6-12 get bad broad comedies with fart jokes, and teenagers get quality stuff like the Harry Potter films.
Mississippi ( 1035 )
WC Fields gets second billing under Bing Crosby. There is a love story with the Bigger, but it is pointless and forgettable. Bing is engaged to a woman in the old South of the 1800s. When he refuses to get into a duel with a rival, he is branded a coward and his fiance calls off the wedding and throws him out. Five years later he runs into his fiance's kid sister, who had a crush on him back then, and is all grown up now. So they hook up. The plot is that thin. WC Fields plays the riverboat captain who hires Bing as a singer on his show boat. He is a habitual liar, and soon begins promoting Bing as a gunslinger with an impressive resume of kills so that people will come to his shows. While the Bing Crosby part of the film is mostly a dud, the WC Fields parts inject the film with much needed entertainment. Fields is as funny as he has ever been. Too bad his participation in the A plot is very limited.
Topic: What was the last movie you watched? (Read 1733557 times)
