F-Fi
<< E   ||  Index   ||  Fj-Fz >>
The Factory [2012] Fahrenheit 11/9 [2018] Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America [2003]
Farm House [2008] Fast & Furious [2009] Fast & Furious 6 [2013]
The Fast and the Furious [2001] Fast Color [2018] Fast Five [2011]
Fatale [2020] The Fear Chamber [2009] Feast [2005]
Feast II: Sloppy Seconds [2008] Feast III: The Happy Finish [2009] Feral [2017]
Fermat's Room [2007] Fever Night... [2009] The Fifth Commandment [2008]
Fight Club [1999] The Final [2010] Final Destination [2000]
Final Destination 2 [2003] Final Destination 3 [2006] The Final Destination (4) [2009]
Final Destination 5 [2011]
Final Score [2018] The Final Wish [2018] Finding Steve McQueen [2019]
First Blood [1982] First Knight [1995] First Men in the Moon [1964]
The First Purge [2018] Five [1951] Five Million Years to Earth [1967]
The First Purge [2018]

            

The new national ruling party conducts an experiment on Staten Island. For 12 hours no one will be punished for any crime. However, when the people decide to throw block parties instead of kill each other, the NFFA decides to throw in a few mercenaries. The 4th film released, if you're looking for something as insane as the first 3 films, this ain't it. The reason is obvious ...this was the first purge. Not well written - lots of silly plot points and stupid behavior - but the overall concept made a fitting prequel and generally quite entertaining.
Final Destination [2000]

            

7 people get off a plane when a young man has visions of it exploding ...and it does. But death doesn't like to be cheated. This interesting and unique premise has indelibly left its stamp on our modern culture as anyone who has been killed instantly and unexpectedly due to some freak accident is referred to as a "Final Destination" death. With 4 sequels that get even freakier, this is a great intro with believable, likable, intelligent characters trying to survive when the intrinsic nature of the universe wants them dead. Although outlandish at time, it still hits its mark.
Final Destination 2 [2003]

            

A young woman's vision of a horrific accident prevents the death of several. As with the 1st film, we observe these folks' puny and feeble attempts to find a pattern and prevent death from reclaiming them. Taking it up several notches in imagination, establishing David R. Ellis (whose specialty is stunts) as director was a good choice as he effectively pulls off the manners of death like Goldberg machines. And sometimes that machine is a red herring with the death coming as something simple afterwards. Acting, meh. But who cares. Incredibly fun stuff!
Final Destination 3 [2006]

            

This time it's the horrific visions of a roller coaster crash that prevents the demise of a bunch of high school students that death now must reclaim in incredibly elaborate ways. Not quite as well structured as the last entry; It deliberately concentrates on the kills dismissing attempts of a group effort to coordinate a stop to the onslaught and some of the characters were ridiculous caricatures. The kills were over-the-top, as usual, but some of them went a bit outside the realm of probability ...but that's ok! These films are still damn fun. Keep them coming.
The Final Destination (4) [2009]

            

This time, a guy saves a bunch of folks after visions of a stock car accident crashing into the stands. Death has to clean up the mess ...and messy is how this film came off overall. I didn't know it was made in 3D going into it but that become apparent within the first 10 mins. I don't know how it looked on the big screen in 3D, but the constant in-your-face fx's looked cheap and silly on my 2D 70" 4KTV ...not to mention abandoning basic physics and the improbability of some of the kills. It was fun and entertaining but this is a pure case of 'You're trying too hard'.
Final Destination 5 [2011]

            
  
Some company employees on a retreat are saved from a bridge collapse when one foresees it happening. Much like the last one, far too much emphasis placed on the 3D special fx which look pretty bad in 2D. Really nothing notable among the characters except for a couple of really ridiculous ones. However, the kills were good and if you have an an issue with sharp, pointing things and eyes, they really raised the cringe level. It's high point was making subtle changes in the mythos that struck me as odd until the twist ending. Kudos for that. Still fun.
Five [1951]

            

After a nuclear apocalypse, five people (technically six with a baby) deal with each other in a remote cabin. This character drama / art film is incredibly melodramatic, even by early 50s standards. But the characters, and their personalities, were fully formed making their interactions honest and compelling. Despite the over-acting, the course of events were logical and played out in a very realistic manner and, just when you think they were going to ignore social issues at the time, they cleverly paced in the sudden appearance of greed and racism. Well done.
First Blood [1982]

            

A Vietnam veteran, now a drifter, walks into a small town and butts head with the local police department lorded over by a sheriff that will not have it. Let the war begin. A product of the 80s, there have been numerous similar films made since with a lot more action and excitement but this is still one of the best. The actors portray their characters flawlessly and realistically making the extreme illogic of the events perfectly understandable. Stallone is great with a monologue near the end that is savage and heartfelt. Good enough to spawn 4 sequels.
Fatale [2020]

         

With his marriage on-the-rocks, a man spends the night with a woman he just met. Subsequently, when he's the victim of a home invasion, the detective on the case happens to be that same woman. Then things get twisty. The high point of the film is the twists and turns it takes setting up the scenario. But, once it does that, it plays out exactly how you'd expect with no real surprises. The acting was excellent, especially between our two leads and, overall, the characters presented themselves like real, genuine people. Good tension and I enjoyed it.
Five Million Years to Earth [1967]
aka Quatermass and the Pit
            
  

While excavating a new extension for the London subway, workers run across what may be a space ship that's been buried for 5 million years ...and it may not be dormant. This one is, by far, the best of the original Quatermass movies, imo. Special fx were great for its time and the story is advanced, imaginative, and quite intriguing. Overall, a very exciting movie that's worth watching more than once.
Fahrenheit 11/9 [2018]

         

Michael Moore's latest documentary is basically asking the question, if we are supposed to be a democracy, when are we going to become democratic and are we ever going to be a true democracy. Whether you believe in his personal political views or not, there's some real eye-opening information in this film concerning the elections in 2016, school shootings, the political corruption and poisoning of Flint, MI., the rising teen movement and the teacher's strike that nearly started a revolution. Good information.
The Fear Chamber [2009]

      

A detective (with visions) continues to hunt a psychotic killer after the killer forced the detective to get a heart transplant from an earlier confrontation. The overall idea for the story wasn't that bad but the writing was so abysmal, the amateur actors never stood a chance! They should of had one of their office workers read the script first and try to at least incorporate some logic and have people talk sorta maybe normal? The twist ending was mildly surprising and I really like the post-credit music by Digital Mindy. Otherwise, Hall of Shame material, here.
First Knight [1995]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
Taking several chapters from King Arthur's legends and mish-mashing them together to create a story that's heavily focused on the romantic triangle of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot amidst a war between Camelot and the conquests of Prince Malagant. If you're not looking for accuracy with the Arthurian history, legends, and literature and take this as it is, it's pretty good. Performances are heartfelt and emotional, fight scenes were well done, albeit not heavily choreographed, and I enjoyed it.
Final Score [2018]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
A friend takes the daughter of a fallen wartime comrade to a soccer game and finds himself in the middle of a siege. Very reminiscent of Die Hard with the first 40 minutes or so following the DH story so closely, I figured this must be some sort of re-imagining of it and just went along for the ride. Eventually it took it's own course and became a tense, exciting, high-action battle of wills between a terrorist, who's willing to kill everybody, and a man who has to save everybody just to get his friend's daughter back home. Good action and very well casted. Excellent film.
The Fifth Commandment [2008]

         

An assassin refuses to take a job as his brother is the bodyguard of the target. Then he tries to help protect them. Low-budget action movie that tried to make it look worth more than it is and failed miserably. Any 5th grader could have written this simple, contrived story with no surprises, the dialogue was laughable, void of any humor, the acting was lame, characters have no personality, one action scene after another with nothing special to offer and the fight scenes were generically choreographed. There's just simply nothing here get excited about. Nothing!
The Final Wish [2018]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
A down-on-his-luck, unemployed lawyer is forced to return home when his father dies. While there, he discovers that the wishes he's made, nonchalantly over the past couple days, are coming true. I wasn't expecting much and boy, was I surprised! This film is not a thriller and I wouldn't consider it that scary, either. But it is an extremely subtle and darkly well-written psychological character study on the dangers of wishing. The characters were human and normal, albeit angry and bitter, and the story was a compelling slow burn with a logical climax. Bravo!
Feast [2005]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
The late night patrons of a desert bar are under assault from some ultra-savage and ravenously hungry monsters with really big teeth. The first in a trilogy of films, this one is definitely the best of the bunch. Whereas the other two capitalized mostly on the savagery of the creatures (and several gags), this one was much tighter as far as story, humor, characters and imagination ...albeit just as gory, gross and outrageously over-the-top in gut wrenching violence. Great fun!
Fermat's Room [2007]
aka La habitacion de Fermat
         

Four mathematicians are invited to a gathering to figure out a master puzzle. They find themselves locked in a room and must answer various mind twisters and logic problems to keep the room from shrinking while trying to figure out who wants them dead. Quite an interesting tale with complicated characters and quite few twists and turns. Most of the puzzles are quite common among folks who like mind twisters - I knew three of them - so having new ones would have been nice but, overall, I had a lot of fun watching four confused people puzzle out their survival.
The Fast and the Furious [2001]

            

A cop goes undercover to expose a theft ring inside the world of street racing. If you like macho, he-man movies full of muscle cars, you've probably seen this already ...and for those that don't, I'm probably not going to change your mind. I hadn't seen any of the films but I knew that they get increasingly insane. So, I approached this one as an introduction and found it to be quite satisfying. The story is simple and has been played out a hundred times but the characters were great, the action was excellent and it was a really fun way to start a franchise.
Fast & Furious [2009]

         

Dom seeks revenge when his girlfriend, Letty, is murdered by a member of the Braga cartel. O'Connor, now a cop again, is out to shut down the Braga cartel. Things are going to collide in a big way. Pretty much a formula film for the franchise. Story's simple and not a lot of time spent on characterizations but the action is exciting, full of car stunts, crashes and high action and a load of fun. Also features Gal "Wonder Woman" Gadot's debut feature film role. Good stuff with no complaints.
Fast Five [2011]
aka Fast & Furious 5
         

After breaking Dom out of a life sentence, the pack moves to Brazil where a job to steal a couple cars makes enemies with a powerful drug kingpin and federal agent Hobbs, in the form of Dwayne Johnson. 5th film released but 4th in the timeline, this one is not nearly as vehicle centric as the previous films but still has loads of outlandish car stunts that border on the unbelievable. Lots of high-end action, a very good, intelligent story that was more than just a reason for shootouts and car crashes, and the characters were in top form. High-octane fun.
Fast & Furious 6 [2013]
aka Furious 6
         

Special Agent Hobbs tracks down Toretto and his team, living the high life, as he needs a crew to take down a crew that's stealing military technology. Simple but tightly constructed story, great performances all around, writing was fine (although it was a bit flat at their attempts at wit in this one) and the stunts and action choreography is beyond description. Yes, the runway in the final sequence would have to be 10 miles long to pull all of that off but, who cares! That's some of the most exciting stuff I've ever seen! Spec fx easily as good as any MCU film.
Fever Night aka Band of Satanic Outsiders [2009]

         

Three friends perform a satanic ritual in the woods and things get funky. This no-budget film has no real story to speak of, the spec fx consists of basic camera tricks and fog, and every scene is dragged out well beyond it's limits making most of the film completely devoid of energy ...the trailer is twice as energetic. However, it's strikingly clear these guys were having a great time with no illusions about what they were making and never tried to do anything else. As a result, the film has a certain charm that I actually found weirdly enjoyable.
The Final [2010]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
A group of students, who are constantly being harassed and bullied by the jocks and divas, invite everyone to a party to exact their revenge. This could have been a simple revenge film of which we've seen many. However, this one was done on a very personal and psychological level. People like me, who didn't have the size or ability to fend off the bullies when we were growing up, will probably identify easily with this film. It does get sort of lost in it's own dogma and it's painful to watch at times but overall, I liked it (he says with a sadistic smirk).
Feral [2017]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
6 young adults enter woodland that features infected, flesh-hungry humans. No one was capable of making a logical decision in this contrived mess that gave us absolutely nothing new to the genre. The girl that's supposed to be the film's hero basically gets everyone killed. Also, I certainly have no issues with same sex partnerships but this film goes out of it's way to show us the lead two girls are lesbian to the point of , "OK, I get it!" and it doesn't add anything to the story. You can even see it in the trailer. Total lack of imagination on this one.
Feast II: Sloppy Seconds [2008]

         
   Watch for FREE right now!
As if the first film wasn't disgusting enough, why not pull out all the stops. Campy, gory, perverse, and wacky, I don't know who I enjoyed watching more ...the creatures or the characters. One thing I like about the Feast movies is that they are true sequels, i.e., each one starts exactly where the other leaves off. If you don't mind messy, bloody disgusting films, this is great entertainment. Bet you can't watch all 3 in one sitting. Watch for the dissolving woman.
Feast III: The Happy Finish [2009]

        
   Watch for FREE right now!

Typical Feast movie with lots of campy gore and bloodshed, especially in the first 30 mins, so if you enjoyed the first two, you'll like this one. Biggest problem is that the rest of the movie was filmed in storm drains. DARK!! Can barely see anything.
The Factory [2012]

            

The daughter of an obsessed detective - who has been investigating a series of kidnappings for 3 years - just happens to be kidnapped by said kidnapper seemingly at random. The film has it's exciting moments and has a rather profound twist which I didn't see coming, although, in retrospect, the clues were there. However, you really have to accept that this film is firmly grounded in the cinematic universe as it is far too implausible and over-dramatic to exist in the real world. Events and decisions simply would not occur this way.
Farm House [2008]

         

We spend the first 45 minutes watching a couple traveling to Seattle and, to keep the trip from being too monotonous, they treat us to a large dose of back story through an enormous number of flashbacks - involving gambling debts and the loss of a child - that don't seem to have anything to do with anything. Then they get tortured on a farm for an hour (watch for the cheese grater). Finally the twisted ending that brings everything together is far too absurd to appreciate. Ho hum, at best ...except for the cheese grater. That'll make you pucker up.
Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America [2003]

            
   Watch for FREE right now!
3 painfully intimate and dark tales that left me fascinated and appalled in equal measure. Examining the twisted relationships of incredibly dysfunctional people - usually depicting men as dominating and abusive and women as timid and subservient - as they descend into madness, perversion and grotesque violence. The gore in "Cutting Moments" is barely watchable and, although "Home" doesn't take us to that level, its end result is even darker. Although interesting, "Prologue" dragged and was rather tame by comparison. Haunting character study.
Finding Steve McQueen [2019]

            

5 guys rob a bank vault that they believe contains President Nixon's illegal slush fund. Based on a real theft, the story is told by the one of the thieves to his girlfriend when he finds himself on the FBI's most wanted list. There's no violence or action in this film and it's not presented as a wild bank heist caper. Rather, it comes off as a relatively light drama with a good deal of humor focusing on some extraordinarily likable characters that are an absolute joy to watch. Although the dialog got overly vulgar for the film's light tone on occasion, it was still quite fun.
Fight Club [1999]

         
  
A man, with a rather skewed view of the world, teams up with another guy, who has an opposite but equally skewed view of the world, after his condo is destroyed by an explosion. What develops is ...interesting. Despite the fact that the film is waaaayyy toooo long, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are exceptional, the writing was top notch (I really like the constant philosophical and humorous banter being tossed around), and the film has a rather profound twist I didn't see coming. Not bad.
First Men in the Moon [1964]

            

A mission to the moon discovers that someone has already planted a flag there ...in 1899. Made in 1964, there wasn't a whole lot of knowledge about space travel or the moon so, the filmmakers wisely stuck to the original Wells story written in the late 1800's. If you're looking for a realistic sci fi, this ain't it. But what it is is a fantasy adventure that's exciting, colorful, fascinating, philosophical, sometimes goofy, and just good fun. A childhood favorite for the senior generation.
Fast Color [2018]

            

A woman - with seizures that cause earthquakes being pursued by scientist who want to "study" her in a world starving for water - returns home to her mother and daughter in an attempt to control her powers. Although this sounds like something out of X-Men, it's really nothing more than a slow, personal drama that takes its time examining the interactions and history of the family members and the occasional outside threat. The acting is good, characters likable and genuine and the dramatic aspect of the film is great but if felt like an overly long TV episode.
<< E   ||  Index   ||  Fj-Fz >>