Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

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The Man with One Red Shoe (1985)

Director: Stan Dragoti
Cast: Tom Hanks, Lori Singer, Dabney Coleman, Carrie Fisher, Jim Belushi
Genre: Comedy Mystery


I watched this for Carrie Fisher. I had only seen her in the Star Wars movies and wanted to see more of her work. She didn't make a lot of big name movies besides Star Wars, but she did a lot of film work and here in this 1985 comedy I seen a different side to her. First off she appears in glasses and a dowdy dress, I didn't even recognize her!




She plays the wife of Jim Belushi who's best friends to a very young looking Tom Hanks...he looks like a kid here. Carrie has a fling with Tom and the 'other side' of her is her Tarzan and Jane costume...a leopard print bikini, none the less!....Wow, she was tiny, I never realized just how petite she was in Star Wars, she was only 5' 1". I have to say she did a really good job of acting here.

Tom Hanks is the star and man did he look young! This was made a couple years after Hank's break through film Splash (1984)...but before his other mega big hit, Big (1988). This is a comedy and Hanks is likable as the everyday guy who stumbles into a CIA clandestine plot. The CIA mistakes him for a top notch spy, but he's just another Joe....err...I mean Tom.



A fun movie if
...you don't expect much. This is just a light comedy spy mystery-thriller. The best part is when Lori Singer who's a CIA operative, lures Tom Hanks into her apartment, which has a full glass mirror so that the CIA can observe her, umm activities...It was funny when she gets her long hair caught in his zipper, ouch! An easy watch, that made me chuckle at times.




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Cloud Atlas (2012)
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski
Writers: David Mitchell(novel), Lana Wachowski(screenplay)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Doona Bae, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent,
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Length: 2h 52min


A film that explores the concept that humanity is connected, including the lives of six different people living in different times. Their stories seem unrelated but through their actions they cause a rippling effect that shapes future events.

This might seem like a complicated movie but if you remember just one thing it will make sense...you are watching six different stories, that are thematically are unrelated. These six stories are inter-cut and not shown in sequential order. They take place in both the past, near present and distant future. The actors appear in all the story segments in very well done make up. Half the fun is seeing if you can tell who is who.



I really enjoyed all six of the story lines. In a way I wish this had been done in three separate movies, as there's only 30 minutes for each story to tell it's tale. Which really isn't long enough, though the movie is almost 3 hours long...and it did hold my attention. It's well done, interesting, but it did not make me believe that our souls are interconnected.

+



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Indignation (2016)

Director: James Schamus
Writers: Philip Roth (novel ) James Schamus (screenplay)
Cast: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tijuana Ricks
Genre: Drama


About: A young working class Jewish boy (Logan Lerman) who's grown up working in his father's New Jersey butcher shop... leaves home on a college scholar ship and attends a small Christian college in Ohio. There he meets a sexual disturbed woman Oliva (Sarah Gadon) and comes up against a self righteous college dean who tries to mold Marcus into something he's not.

Review
: A slow burn, searing drama set in 1951 with the ongoing Korean War as the back drop. Based on the critically claimed novel, Indignation is intelligently written and feels more like a European film in how it takes its time to immerse the viewer in the world of a young man who through circumstance and his own indignation over injustices done to him, sets in motion events that will shape his future life.

I loved how we spend time with the lead character and experience the film through his eyes. This is not the film for the impatient, nothing is rushed, the emotions are not spoon fed to us. The film moves at a leisurely pace and yet I was held spell bound by many of the scenes, which were so well done it felt like being there. I have a few problems with the post production but that doesn't change the overall impact of the film for me.


Logan Lerman...Marcus did a fine job of making me believe he was Marcus. I've not seen him in a lead role before...I hope to see more of his work. He's known for Perks of Being a Wall Flower (2012) and Fury (2014).

Sarah Gadon...Oliva is a fine actresses and I have recently seen her in A Royal Night Out (2015) and Belle (2013). I think she was fine here too. I can't help wondering if another actresses might have brought more of the characters troubled pass to light. Still she was a plus.

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Free State of Jones (2016)
Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Leonard Hartman(story), Gary Ross(screenplay)
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama


About: A Confederate army medic, deserts when he realizes that the south isn't fighting for honor or states rights, but is making the poor farmers fight for the rich plantation owners. After deserting Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey) returns to Mississippi, hiding out in the swamps. There he meets run away slaves and together they form a fighting force that takes on the Confederate army.

Review
: Free State of Jones is based on a real man and his story. Yes a white Confederate solider actually deserted, joined forces with other deserters, women and runaway slaves and formed a fighting force that was able to hold a large area in Mississippi...and declared it a free state that was interracial mixed. Yes, that's true and should be enough reason to watch it. It's a story of hope, humanity and it contains a lot of stuff I bet you don't know about the south during the civil war and the years after it.



Matthew McConaughey, owned the role. I didn't even recognize him, I swear he channeled the energy of the real Newton Knight a man with a vision and the drive to make that vision work. Newt was a force to be reckoned with.



Gugu Mbatha-Raw, plays his common law wife and a freed slave. I last saw Gugu in Belle (2013), she's likable and a good actresses. I bet we'll be seeing much more of her in the future.

Sure this movie has some flaws and at times seemed to take a cue from every other popcorn flick...but those 'I've seen it before moments' were luckily far and few between. I enjoyed this! I learned something too, which is important.





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Saturn 3(1980)
Directors: Stanley Donen
Cast: Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel
Genre: Sci Fi

About Farah Fawcett in various stages of undress, and her aging lover, scientist Kirk Douglas, who doesn't want to go back to Earth...And about Harvey Keitel who behaves like a robot and builds an 8 foot tall, killer psycho robot. Both Keitel and the robot have the hots for Farrah. Everybody has the hots for Farrah!...in this low budget Sci-Fi who's main claim to fame is the former Charlies Angels star and an aging Kirk Douglas.



In one of the funniest scenes, Farrah pulls the hair of an enraged Kirk Douglas trying to stop him...Douglas turns and makes a face that has to be seen to be believed.

This is bad sci fi! the sets are mediocre and look like they're in the studio. The story makes no sense and no one can act...and yet it's kind of fun, in a bad way. There really isn't much of a story, it's about two people on an asteroid orbiting Saturn who grow food for a starving Earth. Why is there only two people producing the much needed food and why station them at Saturn? Who knows? who cares? Along comes a murderer who steals a ship to build a killer robot on the food base and that makes the story.


A young Harvey Keitel faces off against Hector, the 8 foot tall robot with an organic brain, that has been programmed from Keitel's brain. Problem is Keitel is bonkers.



From the deleted 'blue dreamers' scene in which Farrah takes a Earth narcotic giving to her by Keitel...she has some wild dreams.


There was some unintentional funny moments in the film, and the dead pan acting made me wonder if they all weren't replicants

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Let's see how many reviews I can make in a row before someone comments
Don't feel bad, Rules. I have about 20 threads that I started that almost no one responded to! Sometimes I feel like everyone has me on ignore! (Hey, maybe they do!)

P.S. I think Saturn 3 was one of the first movies I ever saw on cable - at my aunt's house. It was such a big deal then, to know someone who had cable!
But WOW on the Harvey Keitel trivia - I had no idea that was him. He looked familiar in the photo but I didn't place him. It's funny just thinking about it - Harvey Keitel in a science fiction!
Have you seen or reviewed Galaxina yet (another sci-fi from the same year that I watched on cable at my aunt's house!)



Don't feel bad, Rules. I have about 20 threads that I started that almost no one responded to! Sometimes I feel like everyone has me on ignore! (Hey, maybe they do!)

P.S. I think Saturn 3 was one of the first movies I ever saw on cable - at my aunt's house. It was such a big deal then, to know someone who had cable!
But WOW on the Harvey Keitel trivia - I had no idea that was him. He looked familiar in the photo but I didn't place him. It's funny just thinking about it - Harvey Keitel in a science fiction!
Have you seen or reviewed Galaxina yet (another sci-fi from the same year that I watched on cable at my aunt's house!)
I like your threads, I usually subscribe to them (I think that's what MoFo calls it). I guess for a thread to hit big it needs to be provocative with a grandiose statement. That's not really me, so that's why I don't often make threads. But you'd be surprised at the neat thread ideas I came up with, but never done. I had a good thread idea today actually.

I just looked up Galaxina and it has a super low IMDB rating of 3.5...that almost makes me want to watch it, almost




Repo Man (1984)

Director: Alex Cox
Writer: Alex Cox
Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Sci-Fi


About
: A young, unemployed street punk (Emilio Estevez) who becomes a repo man after he's tricked into stealing a repo car by veteran repo man (Harry Dean Stanton). As a fledgling repo man he learns of a Chevy Malibu that has glowing aliens in the trunk and is worth a $20,000 bonus reward. Everyone is after the Malibu.

Review: If you're a fan of Quentin Tarantino, watch this movie! I don't know if Tarantino has ever publicly said he was influenced by this movie, but after watching it, there's no doubt he was. The obvious clue is the mysterious glowing trunk, much like the glowing box in Pulp Fiction, but there's much more.

A quirky repo man tells the newbie repo man (Emilio Estevez) about cosmic unconsciousness: "You'll be thinking about a plate of shrimp, and all of a sudden someone will say plate, or shrimp, or plate of shrimp." With the same deep, yet offbeat dialogue that was used between hit man Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction.

Later in Repo Man, we see a diner which features a huge sign in one of its windows reading: PLATE O' SHRIMP $2.95. There's all sorts of kookiness, like the repo men all being named after beer.

Repo Man, is a quirky fun film, that unfortunately has a boggled ending. Let it's influence on Tarantino and it's cult status makes this a must see movie.




I like your threads, I usually subscribe to them (I think that's what MoFo calls it). I guess for a thread to hit big it needs to be provocative with a grandiose statement. That's not really me, so that's why I don't often make threads. But you'd be surprised at the neat thread ideas I came up with, but never done. I had a good thread idea today actually.

I just looked up Galaxina and it has a super low IMDB rating of 3.5...that almost makes me want to watch it, almost
Galaxina definitely has gained cult status on the "so bad it's good" level.
I remember watching it again a few years ago and, in addition to lots of cringe-worthy moments and some laughably bad effects, there were some genuinely funny parts. Dorothy Stratten is the main attraction as a super sexy android (but that aspect is now a bit difficult to watch knowing what happened to her in real life). Part comedy, part spoof, part sci-fi & part gratuitous T&A - it's got something for everyone! It's no Ex-Machina, but might be a close runner up to Cherry 2000!



Nah! Cherry 2000 is surprisingly good, it really does the universe building well and it fleshes out different aspects of the dystopian future, it gives a lot of neat details. I was surprised at how much care went into making it. Now Saturn 3 only had Farrah Fawcett. It didn't even try to do anything cool.

Have you seen Cherry 2000 recently? It's not an easy movie to find.



Nah! Cherry 2000 is surprisingly good, it really does the universe building well and it fleshes out different aspects of the dystopian future, it gives a lot of neat details. I was surprised at how much care went into making it. Now Saturn 3 only had Farrah Fawcett. It didn't even try to do anything cool.

Have you seen Cherry 2000 recently? It's not an easy movie to find.
Not recently, Rules. Probably due for a rewatch (but I do remember it being only a bit better than Galaxina, but not nearly as campy.)
Still haven't seen Ex-Machina though.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds


Cloud Atlas (2012)
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski
Writers: David Mitchell(novel), Lana Wachowski(screenplay)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Doona Bae, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent,
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Length: 2h 52min


A film that explores the concept that humanity is connected, including the lives of six different people living in different times. Their stories seem unrelated but through their actions they cause a rippling effect that shapes future events.

This might seem like a complicated movie but if you remember just one thing it will make sense...you are watching six different stories, that are thematically are unrelated. These six stories are inter-cut and not shown in sequential order. They take place in both the past, near present and distant future. The actors appear in all the story segments in very well done make up. Half the fun is seeing if you can tell who is who.



I really enjoyed all six of the story lines. In a way I wish this had been done in three separate movies, as there's only 30 minutes for each story to tell it's tale. Which really isn't long enough, though the movie is almost 3 hours long...and it did hold my attention. It's well done, interesting, but it did not make me believe that our souls are interconnected.

+



.


I really enjoyed Cloud Atlas and it was my favourite film of that year. I didn't expect to connect or enjoy it as much as I did, but I am glad others are liking it too. It's without a doubt, a polarizing film for sure.
__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



Oh geez, I really like Ex Machina. OK there was a strange dancing scene but it was a good film. It really reminded me of the 1990s Outer Limits show. Did you ever see those?



I really enjoyed Cloud Atlas and it was my favourite film of that year. I didn't expect to connect or enjoy it as much as I did, but I am glad others are liking it too. It's without a doubt, a polarizing film for sure.
I was thinking about Cloud Atlas today and usually a movie goes into my brain, then I promptly forget it. I watched it for the Sci Fi countdown and I'm glad we do those countdowns, I've watched a lot of neat Sci Fi recently.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Oh geez, I really like Ex Machina. OK there was a strange dancing scene but it was a good film. It really reminded me of the 1990s Outer Limits show. Did you ever see those?
That 'strange' dancing scene was nominated as one of the most memorable scenes of the year at the MOFOS!!!!



Oh geez, I really like Ex Machina. OK there was a strange dancing scene but it was a good film. It really reminded me of the 1990s Outer Limits show. Did you ever see those?
Fairly recently as a matter of fact. About a year or two ago I found this channel that would play the Outer Limits episodes late on Sunday night (unfortunately this channel stopped airing them). Not nearly as good as the Twilight Zone, but it had much more of a consistent sci-fi theme to the overall show.

One thing that bothered me about it - don't know if you'll remember this - but there was this sound effect, kind of like an annoying plucking of harp strings that was used whenever anything odd happened. I came to find they used this sound in every single episode! That started to annoy me! (think the zither used in The Third Man)