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Be Afraid [2017] The Beach House [2019] Beast of Burden [2018]
Beckett [2021] Becky [2020] Bedeviled [2016]
Bedlam [2015] The Beekeeper [2024] Before I Wake [2016]
Believer [2018]
Believer 2 [2023] Beneath [2013] Bereavement [2010]
Bethany [2017] The Betrayed [2008] Better Watch Out [2016]
Beyond Re-Animator [2003] Beyond the Black Rainbow [2010] Beyond White Space [2018]
Big Hero 6 [2014] The Big Ugly [2020] The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man [2018]
Billie [2019] Bird Box [2018] The Birds [1963]
Big Hero 6 [2014]

            

Disney animated film about a brilliant kid whose nano-robots are stolen forcing the boy, a health care robot and a bunch of genius nerds to become superheroes. This is enjoyable enough and certainly an entertaining movie to watch with the kids but, for us, it never achieved anything beyond that. Although humorous and light-hearted, it was never funny enough to get more than a chuckle and the emotional beats never really hit solidly. As a result, it never really stood above most average films of its kind. Overall, fun, enjoyable, likable but really nothing special.
The Beekeeper [2024]

            

After a well-loved neighbor commits suicide over losing everything to an online scam, an ex-covert specialist goes on a rampage. This is a 100% Jason Statham film where you just wind him up and let him go. The characters were enjoyable, even the obnoxious ones, the dialog was crisp and the action is non-stop chaos. I'm usually not a big one for an unrealistically inhuman protagonist that no one can seem to stop but, hey... it's Jason, and he makes it look so natural. One of several films we watched on Christmas and one of the best. Good times!
Beckett [2021]

            

A couple's romantic vacation in Greece is fatally interrupted with a car accident in a small village. The girlfriend is killed and, mysteriously, the police want the boyfriend dead. This is basically just a long distance chase across Greece to Athens in an attempt to get to the U.S. Embassy. Far too much time is spent on just frantically running around and on making sure we're aware that our hero is in both physical and emotional anguish. The in-between moments were fine if not sorta mediocre. Overall, I've seen better but it was generally entertaining and I liked it.
The Betrayed [2008]

            
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A woman and her son are kidnapped and told they'll die if they don't tell them where her husband has hidden $40 mil and she doesn't have a clue. The film has some logic issues and it's rather contrived at times - mostly to give it padding - but it also has Melissa George & Oded Fehr and, as a big fan of both, they did a wonderful job and pulled this off rather nicely. The last 30 mins was tense with lots of twists and turns and, despite it's issues, it all played out quite well. Really good psychological thriller if you don't expect too much and just roll with it.
The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned... [2018]

         
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This doc attempts to find out if all the stories of Bill Murray just showing up at random places is true or not. As we find out along the way that they are true - washing dishes or playing the tambourine at parties he just shows up at, Impromptu bar tending, playing kickball in a neighborhood field, having his picture taken everywhere - we should all pay attention to the message being said in all this... life is fun! Grab it with both hands and party because "nothing else matters". My only gripe is with the filmmaker - he could be quite annoying - but this was fun!
The Big Ugly [2020]

            

A deal between a London gangster and a W. Virginia oilman goes south when the oilman's son can't stay away from the gangster's henchman's girlfriend. This is not so much a crime thriller as it is a solid character drama with some excellent writing and outstanding acting. Not all that much happens, overall, and it has its plot holes, but the characters were extremely compelling making one stay with it to see happens next. The ending wasn't what I expected but it works. My main complaint was the choice of music in the film ...maybe that's just me.
Billie [2019]

         

A documentary primarily of the life and works of Billie Holiday, arguably the greatest female jazz singer that's ever lived, and secondarily on Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who spent much of her life documenting Billie's biography through hundreds of hours of research and taped interviews and who died mysteriously in 1978. Much of Linda's research is what makes up this film ...which is really quite dark. Despite the wonderful music she produced, this is not a happy documentary being a brutally honest depiction of her tragic life full of drugs, sex and abuse.
Beyond Re-Animator [2003]

            
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After one of his experiments escapes and kills a young woman, West is sent to prison. 13 years later, the new prison doctor and West begin a new round of re-animation experiments. The writing is lacking in this one in the area of good lines and lively conversation and there's a few scenes where the acting is actually painful to watch. But, overall, the story is well paced, logical and the gory visual gags are priceless ...especially the last 30 mins where absolute chaos takes hold and nothing is sacred. Wonder if there will ever be another sequel.
Becky [2020]

            
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Escaped convicts invade an isolated home to collect a hidden key. They didn't count on Becky ...an angry, vindictive little girl who is not going to stand down. First of all, the girl's unforgiving and relentless assault on her perpetrators is something we're all going to cheer for. On the other hand, this is a young girl (played to perfection by Lulu Wilson) and the level of anger and violence she demonstrates, even before and after the events, is rather disconcerting. Gruesome, exciting action if you can put aside the somewhat troubling moral implications.
Beneath [2013]

            
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A group of coal miners get trapped in a collapse - including a woman who wanted to share her father's last day on the job. Then really strange things start happening. I'll start off by saying that this isn't a bad movie ...it just doesn't offer anything beyond what you'd expect once you buy the idea that the tainted air is probably causing everyone to hallucinate. It maintains it's tension and claustrophobic feel making it a skin-crawler but not a whole lot beyond that.
Bedlam [2015]

            
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George checks himself into a psychiatric hospital as he believes he's experiencing the same mental problems as his mother and grandmother. He has no idea how bad things are about to get. I believe the filmmakers were shooting for an artful and/or stylized approach to this film but, unfortunately, it comes off as disjointed and unpleasant. It seems to have a beginning and a climax and the time in between is filled with one set of tortures after another. Had a similar feel as Salo ...without the overt obscenities.
Be Afraid [2017]

            
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A basic boogeyman story - once again using sleep paralysis as the gimmick - made by masters of dragging things out. Once we've established that people in a town are being haunted by dark spirits (who are never explained) that take their kids away, nothing else much happens until we get to an ambiguous, non-climatic, severely downbeat ending. Yeah, be afraid. Be very afraid of the time you give up watching this depressing snoozer. Warning: Obligatory bathtub scene enclosed.
Bedeviled [2016]

            
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After a friends mysterious death, 5 students download a phone app that opens a door for a malicious being. This film is just plain fun! It never really provides the exposition to clearly describe what's happening and the tricks they try at the end to resolve the problem went over my head ...not to mention a couple of serious plot holes. But the characters were real and intelligent, they behaved exactly like you'd expect them to, and the highlight of the film, Mr. Bedeviled, was nothing short of supreme entertainment. Guilty favorite.
Believer [2018]
aka Dokjeon
            
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An obsessed task force commander forces a survivor of an explosion to help him find a Mr. Lee, a faceless and illusive drug lord. Excellent story involving some very interesting characters. Not so much an action thriller as it is a drama with some good action sequences, shootouts, and choreographed fights. The ending is about as ambiguous as it gets and, taken in context with the rest of the film, you'll either love it or hate it. I'm still sitting on the fence, myself, but it's a very good film.
Believer 2 [2023]
aka Dokjeon 2
            

A continuation of the first film where everyone is trying to find out who Mr. Lee is ...at least that seems to be the jest of it. This is one of those odd films where the characters are great, everything is all very dramatic, some good, brutal action sequences and, overall, quite enjoyable to watch while not really having any real idea as to what is going on half the time. I found it to be all very perplexing. The ending cleared things up a bit, and did provide a couple minor surprises but don't try to understand this. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride.
Bereavement [2010]
aka Malevolence 2: Bereavement
            
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A delusional psychotic kidnaps a boy, who can't feel pain, and trains him on how to slaughter women. In the meantime, a 17-year-old girl is forced to move to her Uncle's because of the death of her parents. When the two stories meet, everyone becomes really stupid and the movie pulls out one contrived scene after another. Neither characters nor the movie itself have any personality whatsoever ...there is just nothing interesting here. Oh, watch the scar on the kids face ...or the lack thereof depending on the scene.
Bethany [2017]

            
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A woman inherits her childhood home from her deceased mother ...and her imaginary friend appears to still be living in the wall. This movie was one very long sequence of not-all-that-scary scenes, one right after another, without any progression to the story. Finally they progress into the ending which, weirdly enough, was sick, sad and silly all at the same time.
Better Watch Out [2016]

            
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A babysitter and her charge appear to be under attack from an intruder during the Christmas Holidays. I thought this was going to be a typical 'survive the night' style film and kudos for taking us solidly down that path and then making a sudden turn into totally unfamiliar territory. Although presented somewhat light in tone (obviously shooting for the PG crowd, even though it got an R, probably for language more than anything else), this movie is both very unnerving and seriously funny on so many levels ...lots of LOL moments while cringing. Great job!
Beyond White Space [2018]

            
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Moby Dick with the whale being a mammoth dragon guarding an area known as White Space. Lots of space action, cool creatures and high tech eye candy so I certainly wasn't bored. However, space physics were readily thrown out the window when inconvenient, the characters were illogically motivated with all the wrong goals, and the way the story played out was an absolute mess. Seeing the anticipated area beyond white space in the final seconds, was terribly anti-climatic ...albeit not entirely unexpected.
Bird Box [2018]

            

Seemingly without explanation or purpose, malevolent beings appear worldwide and anyone who looks upon them are compelled to commit suicide or driven mad, forcing others to look upon how beautiful they are. Sticking true to the premise, as viewers, we are never shown the beings (except in drawings) making them all the more mysterious. However, not all that much happens with much of it being rather repetitive making the whole thing rather dragged out. Compressing the story by 30 mins would have gone miles in giving it some needed energy. Not bad, though.
The Birds [1963]

            

There's a reason this quite often tops horror and monster lists, along with Jaws. The enemy is real; we're surrounded by them ...and this film is a terrifying example of what may happen should they decide to fight back. Over 60 years old, the film is still quite effective. Some of the spec fx are quite dated but still put to excellent use, along with the acting, to create a real sense of dread that Hitchcock is famous for. If you're looking for a good dose of vintage terror, this is a good one. Also, I've lived in this area for over 50 years so seeing all the familiar territory is a real treat.
Before I Wake [2016]

            

A couple (who recently lost their own child) are approved to be foster parents for a child about the same age who's had a very strange past. The illogic of grieving parents getting approval to raise a foster child not withstanding, what we have here is a remarkably well told story of dreams, guilt, and a child's view of the world. Pacing was an issue in that more time was spent trying to scare the viewer than time spent trying to find a solution but overall, a creepy yet very personal and touching film that I found extremely entertaining.
The Beach House [2019]

            
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Bordering on cosmic horror, a young couple go to a beach house owned by the young man's father only to find out a couple of his dad's friends are also there. As the two couples get acquainted, inexplicable things begin to occur and it's getting worse by the minute. This film had me on edge from the start, intolerably so, especially the first half where nothing is really happening but that gradual descent into something horrible is also the movie's strength. The ending will not be liked by some but I thought it fell perfectly in place. Good job!
Beast of Burden [2018]

            

A drug smuggler is making his last flight over the border to finance a cure for his wife's cancer. Practically the entire film takes place inside the cockpit of the small plane as our pilot is harassed by drug dealers in one ear and the DEA in the other ...which struck me as counterproductive, actually. May have been a nice gimmick if handled properly but in this case, the guy is totally unlikable and a self-proclaimed loser ...which is true. So why would we care if he succeeds or not? This makes for one long, boring plane ride.
Beyond the Black Rainbow [2010]

            
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I'd give you an idea of what this movie is about but I wouldn't know what to say as I have no idea. Ponderously slow with hardly any exposition, you'd think I would have really disliked it ...but I didn't. Surrealistically stark and sterile, yet strangely beautiful and colorful, it was like walking through a dream straight out of THX 1138. Even though I was finding it very difficult to make sense of any of it, I was thoroughly hypnotized right up to the very end. What a long, strange trip this was.
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