Category Archives: Movies in Bed
Movies in Bed: Sherlock
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Leave it to the BBC to do everything awesome in the awesomest way. Way back in 2010 the first episode of the modern spin on Sherlock Holmes aired. I was a little uneasy about how a modern spin might be interpreted. I mean, the year before introduced us to the Robert Downey, Jr. historical interpretation. My personal feeling was that this version was…not good. Then again, I come from a staunch Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce background. So I was wary of this new modern Sherlock. Maybe you all have seen it. I had never heard of Benedict Cumberbatch, though the awesomeness of his name could not be denied. His faithful sidekick Dr. Watson is portrayed by Martin Freeman. I didn’t realize who he was, but many now know him as Bilbo Baggins from the (inferior) remake of the Hobbit movie.
The creators of this show did an admirable job. Sherlock is brilliant, and has absolutely terrible social skills. He’s a bit of a self-centered jerk and it’s clear from the beginning that many think so. I also like that Dr. Watson is no fool and is not a little lap dog to Sherlock. He is among those who knows full well what a jerk Sherlock can be. That said, he’s not unlikable. You can’t blame him for being so darned smart that he has no idea how to interact with others.
Each episode is 90 minutes long, and at least the first six are available on various streaming services. It’s like six awesome mystery movies just waiting for you!
Movies in Bed: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Post by Mark T. Locker.
My kid has gone completely Star Wars crazy. It’s mostly my fault, though I didn’t realize just how absolutely bonkers he would go. It’s my fault because although he was aware of Star Wars and kind of liked some of it, I made the mistake of getting the LEGO Star Wars game for the Wii. Take two things lots of kids love and put them together in a video game?! Marketing genius and a surefire way to spend 5 days a week explaining that we only play it on the weekends (and then most hours of the weekend saying: not yet).
Scrolling through the Netflix collection recently, it was pointed out to me that I had just passed over some animated Star Wars show. Sure enough, I had totally skipped Star Wars: the Clone Wars, a CGI animated series which is apparently in its sixth season! It’s apparently set between the stories of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I don’t remember the Clone movie, and never saw the third one, but this show is actually pretty enjoyable, even for an adult. Sometimes I’m shocked by this mostly not violent show because suddenly someone will get run through with a light saber or something. (In our video game, this isn’t a problem: all the people are LEGO! They just fall apart!) That aside, it’s kind of funny and well-written and aside from that horrific Jar Jar Binks, not a bad show at all. If you like Star Wars and have thirty hours to kill, I recommend you check this show out. Even if you just watch it for the droids. They are remarkably hilariously dumb.
Movies in Bed: Journey 2: Mysterious Island
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Journey 2: Mysterious Island
This is definitely a movie for the family. Featuring the impeccable acting skills of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, this was a follow-up to the Jules Vernes-inspired blockbuster Journey to the Center of the Earth. Like Journey to the Center of the Earth, the sequel is inspired by one of Jules Verne’s fantastical 19th-century adventure novels, fluffed up with a contemporary interpersonal relationship issue (this time it’s a clever teen and his step-dad) and some humor elements (brought to us courtesy of Luis Guzmán).
The premise is somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean is a perpetually hidden island. The grandfather of the teen supposedly went in search of it. When the kid picks up a signal with mysterious coordinates, he is sure it’ from Grandpa. The Rock graciously agrees to go to Palau to help him find this island. I think he’s a former Navy Seal or something. And what an island it is! Gold flowing from a volcano, gigantic bees and tiny elephants! What a trip!
This movie is less terrible than I thought it would be. Whoever wrote the script has a decent sense of humor, if a lowbrow one. I found myself chuckling a couple times, in spite of myself. So if you are looking for something silly, exciting, and not too scary, this is a perfectly passable Friday evening movie.
Movies in Bed: The Italian Job
Post by Mark T. Locker
Oh, those heist movies. I just love them. The best part about being bed-ridden with sick is the excuse to fire up a bunch of movies in the middle of a Wednesday. As a dad who hardly ever stays up past 10:30, I watch very few movies. So imagine my delight and overwhelmedness when I was well enough to know what was going on, but not enough to move.
I started with a good one. “The Italian Job” is one of those heist movies where the thieves, for some reason, are the good guys. I guess they’re stealing from mobsters or something? Well, they are of course very good at what they do and this, the Italian Job, is to be Donald Sutherland’s one last gig before retiring. Which means, of course, it’s going to go wrong. Betrayed by one of their own, Donald is killed and the others left for dead. Fast forward a few years. The others lived! And they’re quite upset and plan to recover their ill-gotten goods from the badder bad guy.
Full of all the stuff that makes these movies fun: awesome hacker guy, safe cracker, explosives expert, incredible driving skills, and lots of really careful timing and execution, this is a great movie for watching in a fevered stupor. You know what? It would be pretty fun to watch with full capacity of the senses too.
Movies in Bed: Resident Evil: Retribution
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Amazingly, this is the fifth installment in the Resident Evil movie empire, amazing in part because they are all based off of a series of video games. And a sixth one is in production! I cannot recommend this movie enough. Wait, let me rephrase that. I cannot recommend this movie. Through inexplicable circumstances, my friend and I have become bound by tradition to watching each and every one of these movies together. The first one was an enjoyable, if bloody, piece of fluff. The second was okay, if a bit weird. The third was so terrible that I forgot the entire plot immediately. Or perhaps I never quite got it to begin with. The fourth I also forgot the plot to within a couple months.
Well, I just got around to number five, “Retribution”, a couple weeks ago. Here is what these movies seem to be about: Alice (Mila Jovovich) worked for the Umbrella Corporation, which was some kind of genetic research company. When something called the T-virus is accidentally released, it turns everyone into zombie-like monsters and the animals into ravaging mutant beasts. There is your basic premise. Alice is about the only one out there to stop them. I couldn’t quite tell you what the object of the fifth movie is. I think they are trying to get out of a secret subterranean compound before getting destroyed.
Really, it’s so bad. And chaotic. And confusing. And I can never remember from one movie to the next who is who and why anything is happening. It’s pretty incredible. If you really want to watch, I recommend sticking with the first one and leaving it at that. Happy watching!
