Love Hurts, 2025 – ★★★½

Another movie, like last night’s watch of Fight or Flight that unfortunately follows better movie.  It really should not be in the discussion along with Everything Everywhere at Once as they are very different movies but I see a bunch of reviews where people mention it. 

I loved the Raven & Ashley story and even got a kick out of other hitmen pair and their characters. The Marvin & Rose story is okay.  The action is fun enough but not outstanding.  Overall an okay fun watch.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/love-hurts-2025/

Bloody Parrot, 1981 – ★★★½

Convoluted but also a bunch of fun with witches, hopping vampires, lethal poisonings, nudity, and fun fights.  It feels like it was influenced by Evil Dead but it also came out in  1981. There are a bunch of widely known and seen Shaw a Brothers films and the. There are the lesser known ones that are a blast to discover.  If you can track this down it’s a fun watch.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/bloody-parrot/

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, 2023 – ★★★★★

Still love the art style and the movie still holds up on a rewatch with its amazing story. It’s powerful, thrilling and fun.  I love how meta the series is.  Of all the superhero movies and series this is the top.  I can’t wait until the end. I wish it wasn’t going to be another year or more.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse/

The Italian Job, 1969 – ★★★★½

Sure the movie is of its time with Caine’s and Hill’s characters but this one is one I have a total soft spot for.  The getaway scene is amazing in how it feels fast paced even though it’s not really that fast paced and it has so many cool for the sake of being cool shots.  I love the ending and Caine singing the theme is a total blast.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/the-italian-job/1/

Ne Zha 2, 2025 – ★★★★½

The more I think about it, the more I love it. It does suffer from a few moments of the bad kid humour that the first one also suffers from but the spectacle, action and the overall story is great.  It really builds through the whole movie and the end battle is wicked. I also loved the look and feel of the animation.

Can’t wait for part 3 which is sure to happen since this may already be the highest grossing world wide film to date by now.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/ne-zha-2/

The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, 2023 – ★★★★

What started out as a good but standard crime redemption story takes a turn half way through and becomes something cooler.  All I’ll say is that this isn’t your standard action thriller and it’s worth checking out.  I do kinda wish we had 1/4 stars as I feel it fits more of a 3.75 instead of a 4 out of 5.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/the-pig-the-snake-and-the-pigeon/

Nosferatu the Vampyre, 1979 – ★★★★

Looking at my previous 4.5 out of 5 for this makes me wonder if I just wasn’t feeling it as much tonight in the double bill with Murnau’s because I was a bit tired.  

It is making me question my feeling of ranking all 3 from top to lowest as Eggers, Herzog, and then Murnau.  I may need to do a triple bill sometime to really figure the ranking out.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/nosferatu-the-vampyre/1/

The Searchers, 1956 – ★★★★

I really don’t have a problem with characters and their actions as being problematic especially when it comes from a different generation.  I’m not for movies that promote hatred or other bad things but I don’t feel that THE SEARCHERS promotes the problematic nature of Wayne’s character or that it is promoting the violence. His character is meant to be disliked but still shows some compassion.  

So taking away the whole discussion of it being problematic then I enjoy THE SEARCHERS as it is a beautiful movie.  It has some humour that works and the action is done really well.  I will also say that my tastes for westerns aligns much more with the spaghetti westerns and the other grittier stories.  

Still enjoyed seeing it up on the big screen and it is a movie you must watch if you are into westerns.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/the-searchers/

Django Unchained, 2012 – ★★★★½

YouTube has been showing me clips of DJANGO UNCHAINED for the past little while so it was finally time for the first rewatch since seeing it in the theatre.  I know Tarantino riffs on so many classic films but that doesn’t impact my enjoyment at all.  I loved the rewatch and I am going to have to revisit HATEFUL EIGHT also.  I am torn on how I feel about it being written and directed by Tarantino.  I have nothing against him but this wasn’t his story to tell.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/django-unchained/

Werewolves, 2024 – ★★½

I had heard a few good things so I decided why not and the werewolf  suits/effects and the gore effects are done really well.  But the rest of the movie is dumb and generic plus what the hell is with all lens flares.  At least it stopped with the strobing lights.  I have seen way worse movies but this one is dumb with some of the plot points made me groan in pain.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/werewolves-2024/

The One-Armed Swordsman, 1967 – ★★★★

Even though it is still a bit gimmicky in its concept and the clasping weapons  this Is more of a  heroes journey and rebuilding of oneself than a straight up fun Kung-fu flick when compared to a bunch of other Shaw Brothers flicks.  I prefer the fight scenes in many of the others more but I really enjoyed how this felt different.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/the-one-armed-swordsman/

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics, 1974 – ★★★★

Pretty much the entire running time is the war amongst the Yakuza and the downfall of the leaders from the first three movies. It’s solid and compelling but not as twisting as the first three movies as the war plays out to a logical conclusion once the Police get involved.  

It also focuses and spells it out more plainly on the benefits of being a leader and how the society preys on the yakuza who do not have power plus also how they dealt with leaders who were in it for themselves. 

On a side note it took me until the 3rd movie to realize the series is from the eventual Director of BATTLE ROYALE.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/battles-without-honor-and-humanity-police-tactics/

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, 1987 – ★★★½

Haven’t seen this one since it came out on home video.  I saw the original in the movie theatre.  I only remembered the general plot going in. Comparing it to the first it’s much more over the top and it is actually a bit more fun, but it feels less like a movie about ninjas and even more of a cheesy James Bond knock off with 80s action martial arts (ie. low key silly fun fights).  I would love to see this and the first remade with more modern style fighting.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/american-ninja-2-the-confrontation/

Battles Without Honor and Humanity, 1973 – ★★★★

Great start to the series and what a wicked ending.   Looking forward to diving into all the movies over the next bit.  I am also going to guess that the star rating for this one will go up upon rewatch as I can dive deeper into the world and have a better feeling for all the characters that come and go.

source https://letterboxd.com/jballison/film/battles-without-honor-and-humanity/