Horrorfest 2018 Presents: The Meg (2018, Jon Turteltaub)

Sometimes you just want to enjoy a big dumb action comedy horror film that has Jason Statham battling a giant prehistoric shark. He even has help from a wide cast of people ranging from Li Bingbing to Robert Taylor. Rainn Wilson is along for the ride as the comic relief, and The Meg actually has a fairly diverse cast. Also the creature effects are pretty good despite being mostly CGI, and I did love the underwater scenes. Besides how can you hate a movie that has Statham singing “Just keep swimming” while dealing with a huge shark? It never hurts to turn your brain off sometimes, although this film is more clever than some critics think.

Besides there are a few good jump scare moments, and the film is smart enough to have a good pace and run time. While this should have been an R rated gore fest, The Meg has enough to keep most entertained. Also the little girl who plays Bingbing’s daughter is beyond adorable, and is the highlight of the film. The ocean is full of terrors, so they say, and even wonders. As long as mankind never awakens something hidding in the deep.

2018 Movie Viewing Log

At this point, I do these simply to recall everything I watch every year. The 100+ movie viewing streak is alive and well, for now anyways.

Top 10 of the Year-

1. Heat (1995, Mann)
2. Requiem For A Dream (2000, Aronofsky)
3. Lady Bird (2017, Gerwig)
4. The Rider (2017, Zhao)
5. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
6. Sorry To Bother You (2018, Riley)
7. The Shape of Water (2017, del Toro)
8. Call Me by Your Name (2017, Guadagnino)
9. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018, Sollima)
10. Mandy (2018, Cosmatos)

January:

1. Requiem For A Dream (2000, Aronofsky)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing
2. New Year’s Evil (1980, Alston)-75, YouTube
3. The Giant Gila Monster (1959, Kellogg)-5, Netflix Instant Viewing
4. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971, Banno)-81, DVD
5. Godzilla vs Gigan (1972, Fukuda)-65, DVD
6. The Post (2017, Speilberg)-96, Theater Viewing
7. The Protector (1985, Glickenhaus)-88, Public Libray Blu Ray
8. Crime Story (1993, Wong)-84, Public Library Blu Ray
9. Darkest Hour (2017, Wright)-87, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: Requiem For A Dream (2000, Aronofsky)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing

February:

10. Time Chasers (1994, David Giancola)-50, Netflix Instant Viewing
11. The King’s Speech (2010, Hooper)-83, DVD
12. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017, McDonagh)-97, Theater Viewing
13. The Shape of Water (2017, del Toro)-98, Theater Viewing
14. Call Me by Your Name (2017, Guadagnino)-98, Theater Viewing
15. Phantom Thread (2017, Anderson)-95, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: The Shape of Water (2017, Del Toro)-98, Theater Viewing

March:

16. The Florida Project (2017, Baker)-93, RedBox
17. Lady Bird (2017, Gerwig)-100, Theater Viewing
18. Sleeping With Other People (2015, Headland)-85, Netflix Instant Viewing
19. Black Panther (2018, Coogler)-94, Theater Viewing
20. Blood Feast (1963, Lewis)-80, Blu Ray
21. Vertigo (1958, Hitchcock)-100, First Time Theater Viewing
22. Hostiles (2017, Cooper)-84, Theater Viewing
23. Real Genius (1985, Coolidge)-93, DVD

Movie of the Month: Lady Bird (2017, Gerwig)-100, Theater Viewing

April:

24. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017, Kasdan)-86, Theater Viewing
25. A Quiet Place (2018, Krasinski)-95, Theater Viewing
26. Isle of Dogs (2018, Anderson)-96, Theater Viewing
27. Game Night (2018, Daley and Goldstein)-90, Theater Viewing
28. Heat (1995, Mann)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing

Movie of the Month: Heat (1995, Mann)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing

May:

29. Avengers: Infinity War (2018, Russo Brothers)-95, Theater Viewing
30. Pump Up The Volume (1990, Moyle)-90, DVD
31. Deadpool 2 (2018, Leitch)-92, Theater Viewing
32. Shin Godzilla (2016, Anno and Higuchi)-88, Blu Ray
33. Porco Rosso (1992, Miyazaki)-95, First Time Theater Viewing
34. Guide Dog (2006, Plympton)-88, Theater Viewing
35. Day of Anger (1967, Valerii)-91, Blu Ray

Movie of the Month: Porco Rosso (1992, Miyazaki)-95, First Time Theater Viewing

June:

36. RoboCop 3 (1993, Dekker)-68, Comet TV
37. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, Howard)-81, Theater Viewing
38. Dark City (1998, Proyas)-90, Blu Ray
39. The Rider (2017, Zhao)-100, Theater Viewing
40. Dead or Alive (1999, Miike)-97, Blu Ray
41. Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961, Edwards)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing

Movie of the Month: The Rider (2017, Zhao)-100, Theater Viewing

July:

42. American Made (2017, Liman)-88, Public Library
43. Blade Runner 2049 (2017, Villeneuve)-90, Blu Ray
44. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018, Sollima)-98, Theater Viewing
45. Bao (2018, Shi)-83, Theater Viewing
46. Incredibles 2 (2018, Bird)-86, Theater Viewing
47. The Prowler (1981, Zito)-70, Shudder
48. Sorry To Bother You (2018, Riley)-98, Theater Viewing

Movie Of The Month: Sorry To Bother You (2018, Riley)-98, Theater Viewing

August:

49. Tourist Trap (1979, Schmoeller)-84, Shudder
50. Sleepaway Camp (1983, Hiltzik)-75, Shudder
51. Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988, DeCoteau)-53, Shudder
52. Daughters Of Darkness (1971, Kümel)-82, Shudder
53. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018, McQuarrie)-95, Theater Viewing
54. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018, Reed)-90, Theater Viewing
55. Basket Case (1982, Henenlotter)-79, Shudder
56. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016, Zwick)-88, Hulu
57. The Meg (2018, Turteltaub)-80, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018, McQuarrie)-95, Theater Viewing

September:

58. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988, Wayans)-84, Tubi TV
59. The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009, Zombie)-60, Tubi TV
60. The Void (2016, Gillespie and Kostanski)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
61. Smokey and the Bandit (1977, Hal Needham)-90, Theater Viewing
62. A Simple Favor (2018, Feig)-91, Theater Viewing
63. The Addiction (1995, Ferrara)-92, Public Library
64. Killing Zoe (1994, Avary)-88, Tubi TV

Movie of the Month: The Addiction (1995, Ferrara)-92, Public Library

October:

65. Bad Moon (1996, Red)-70, Tubi TV
66. House by the Cemetery (1981, Fulci)-93, Shudder
67. Don’t Go In The Woods (1981, Bryan)-30, Shudder
68. Curtains (1983, Ciupka)-70, FilmRise TV
69. Magic (1978, Attenborough)-91, Shudder
70. Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971, Cavara)-81, Shudder
71. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988, Simpson), Tubi TV
72. Smokey and the Bandit (1977, Needham)-90, Theater Viewing
73. Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989, Simpson)-45, Tubi TV
74. Scream Blacula Scream (1973, Kelljan)-70, Tubi TV
75. Split (2017, Shyamalan)-88, Public Library
76. Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (1981, Bianchi)
77. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989, Tsukamoto )-100, Shudder
78. Cannibal Holocaust (1980, Deodato)-90, Shudder
79. The Giant Spider Invasion (1975, Rebane)-31, Tubi TV
80. Teenage Zombies (1959, Warren)-22, Tubi TV
81. Dracula (1973, Curtis)-80, Shuddder
82. Creepshow 2 (1987, Gornick)-85, Shudder
83. Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977,Barry)-35, Shudder
84. Zombie Holocaust (1980, Girolami)-90, Shudder
85. The Gate (1987, Takács)-82, Shudder TV
86. Chopping Mall (1986, Wynorski)-80, Tubi TV
87. Halloween (2018, Green)-87, Theater Viewing
88. Hell of the Living Dead (1980, Mattei)-60, Shudder
89. The Bat (1959, Wilbur)-75, Tubi TV
90. Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994, Coscarelli)-75, Shudder
91. Contamination (1980, Cozzi)-80, Shudder
92. We Always Find Ourselves in the Sea (2017, Hogan)-83, Shudder
93. Madman (1982, Giannone )-87, Tubi TV
94. Willow Creek (2014, Goldthwait)-81, Shudder
95. Ghostwatch (1992, Manning)-92, Shudder
96. The New York Ripper (1982, Fulci)-87, DVD
97. The Deadly Spawn (1983, Douglas McKeown)-66, DVD
98. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961, Fisher)-90, Blu Ray
99. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986, Hooper)-83, Blu Ray

Movie of the Month: Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)-100, Shudder

November:

100. The Wraith (1986, Marvin)-84, Shudder
101. WolfCop (2014, Dean)-77, Shudder
102. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, Singer)-87, Theater Viewing
103. Overlord (2018, Avery)-92, Theater Viewing
104. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018, Coen Brothers)-80, Netflix

Movie of the Month: Overlord (2018, Avery)-92, Theater Viewing

December:

105. Mandy (2018, Cosmatos)-98, Shudder
106. Maniac (1980, Lustig)-80, Shudder
107. Christmas Evil (1980, Jackson)-88, Shudder
108. Christmas Vacation (1989, Chechik)-87, Theater Viewing
109. Blue Sunshine (1977, Lieberman)-90, Shudder
110. Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998, Coscarelli)-83, Shudder
111. Phantasm: Ravager (2016, Hartman)-63, Shudder
112. Amsterdamned (1988, Maas)-80, Shudder
113. The Christmas Chronicles (2018, Kaytis)-82, Netflix
114. Liquid Sky (1982, Tsukerman)-95, Shudder
115. The Last Dragon (1985, Schultz)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
116. Revenge (2018, Fargeat)-93, Shudder

Movie of the Month: Mandy (2018, Cosmatos)-98, Shudder

Somewhere In Wyoming

Thanks to Netflix Instant Viewing I was able to view Longmire. I’m currently on the 7th episode of the first season, and its a really good show. Maybe even great. The credits say it’s based off of the book series about Walt Longmire, the local sheriff of a town in Wyoming that is in the middle of nowhere. The show’s cast is great too, as Robert Taylor does an excellent job in the title role and the show also has Katee Sackhoff, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bailey Chase, Cassidy Freeman and Adam Bartley. My favorite character is The Ferg-a nickname bestowed on him by Longmire and the others-who in despite being large and at times not as smart as the others still does his job to the best of his ability.

I love that this show is set in the West, as I’ve always been a fan of westerns. One episode has Longmire shooting a man with a Winchester lever-action rifle, and Longmire and the rest of his deputies all usually sport cowboy hats and operate in a rural setting. The Ferg even carries a six shooter cannon, although the rest of the group sports semi-automatic handguns. Many of the episodes feature cases that involve murder, although a really good political oriented one had Longmire hunting for missing Native American boys.

I’m hoping to finish up Season 1 soon and then wait eagerly for Season 2 to hit Netflix Instant Viewing. A&E has surprised me with a good action/western drama that is well made, expertly paced, and really entertaining. I’m hoping it runs for at least 5 seasons, although I’ll settle for whatever I can get. And I would like to read the books at some point. Especially since there are probably many of them.

PS: I finished Season 1 late last night/early in the morning. Pretty good, maybe almost great, season that finished really strong down the stretch. Having to wait for Season 2 to hit Netflix really sucks, but it will be worth it.