Tag Archives: movies in bed

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.

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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.

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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!

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Movies in Bed: Taken

Post by Mark T. Locker.

I don’t often watch action movies. When dialogue comes second to the hand-to-hand combat and shooting, I’m generally not interested. But sometimes, it’s exactly what my brain needs. Especially a movie like Taken. One of those “you just messed with the wrong guy” movies. Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a retired spy for the U.S. Government. Knowing all the bad things that happen, he is reluctant to let his somewhat estranged teenage daughter travel to Europe with no adult companion. Turns out his Spidey Sense was spot-on. Not an hour into her trip, his daughter and her friend are snatched while he is on the phone with her. “Good luck” says the kidnapper when Liam Neeson warns him not to take his daughter or else. He should have heeded the warning!

It’s a pretty formulaic movie. He was married to his work for too long. His daughter loves him but he doesn’t understand that she’s grown up. His ex-wife is fundamentally fed up with his ways. We all know that she’ll be changing her tune when his skills, which have removed him from his family, save his family in the end. I hear there is a Taken 2. Apparently his daughter is extremely takeable!

Totally fun movie to watch on a rainy night. Because those bad guys just messed with the wrong guy.

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Movies in Bed: Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa

Post by Mark T. Locker.

Well, we have had a sick kid in the house. I suppose for the child, the best part about having strep throat is that you get to lie around on the couch all day, slurping popsicles and watching movies. Although I miss the old days of wandering the video store, hoping a copy of that new release will drop through the slot while you browse, in these situations I am exceedingly grateful for instant streaming movies. And so we can pick something on the fly and keep an unhappy little boy distracted from his woes for the next 98 minutes. I’m not sure why he chose the middle movie in the trilogy. I can’t be sure he ever even saw the first one. And the penguins are BARELY featured in this one! And we all know the penguins are hands-down the best thing about these Madagascar movies.

The plot is pretty whatever. The lion Alex finds himself, against all odds, reunited with his parents. Not surprisingly, there’s a bad lion trying to create a rift and steal the pride. The hippo finds love and realizes he only likes her for her body. The lemur does some stuff. The zebra acts silly. An old lady beats the holy heck out of the bad lion. The end.

Pretty harmless, less annoying than some of the other stuff out there and happily low on toilet humor. See it. You’ll be okay and your kids might thank you.

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