Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[ScarletLion]

Onibaba is pretty great, though I LOVED Shindo's Black Cat, which is more overtly supernatural.

Kuroneko
Onibaba
Woman in the Dunes


are a sort of pseudo trilogy. I find I can't think of one of them without thinking of one of the other two.

[Ezrangel]

Badlands (1973)

*** 1/2 out of *****

Great debut for Malick, a very well shot and directed movie with a straight forward narrative about the theme of guilt. Sheen delivers one of his best performances. Can't wait to see the rest of his filmography this week.

[Thief]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Peter Hunt, 1969)
This is certainly the most visually compelling and stylish film in the series thus far and it really needed to be because its paired against maybe the least compelling story in the series thus far. Even with the wonderful camerawork doing a more than admirable job carrying the film it does still start to drag through the middle. Fortunately, it starts to pick up in the back end and actually has the strongest finish of the films up to this point. Would have been nice if Lazenby had a pulse outside of the fight scenes (a loop of him throwing and uppercut should be hanging in a museum somewhere) but it helps that he's undercover as a dweeb for most of the film so he doesn't always feel miscast, though its not like Connery is that much less of a dweeb tbh. Overall, I was always entertained enough by the shot composition to at least be on board and I marked out enough times during the final act to make up for the duller bits and the conclusion was genuinely emotionally moving.
rating_3_5

Diamonds are Forever (Guy Hamilton, 1971)
Probably the most wall-to-wall entertaining film of the series thus far. A great cast of side characters, great fights, a super dope car chase and an abundance of genuinely funny writing are the many highlights here. While not the strongest film of the series visually its certainly an improvement from Mr. Hamilton's previous go at the franchise in that regard and more than gets the job done, even having its fair share of flashy moments. Though the one unfortunately holdover from Goldfinger is just how underutilized the music is which unfortunately sucks the air out of a few key scenes, most notably in the final act. It's a blast for sure but it losing that bit of steam in the third holds it back from being a truly great Bond film.
rating_3_5

Current Bond rankings:
01. From Russia with Love
02. Thunderball
03. Diamonds are Forever
04. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
05. Dr. No
06. You Only Live Once
07. Goldfinger

Lazenby's is easily in my Bond Top 5. I love his demeanor and approach to the role, and the film is a lot of fun.

[Thief]

Bone Tomahawk - 2015

Holy hell. That escalated quickly Anchorman meme comes to mind. So it basically felt like a pretty normal western for about the first hour and 40 of the movie. Then about the last 30 minutes it accelerates into the horror genre. There is a scene towards the end...if you have seen it you know...that is seared into my brain forever. Yikes. It's a slow burn but goes from 0-60 quickly.

Kurt Russell is fantastic as usual. He knows how to navigate a western. The whole cast was pretty good. Richard Jenkins was especially a stand out to me. I thought the plot and writing were fine with the exception of some minor stuff that would get into spoiler territory. My biggest gripe is just a personal taste one. I was all in on the western stuff but once it dissolved into some horror boundaries it started to lose me a bit. It's just not my favorite genre. If you like westerns and horror then you will have a field day with it. Horror is just not my cup of tea. So it gets knocked a bit for that for me. I like subtle horror. But listen it was entertaining and well executed. Phew...that one scene is not for the faint of heart.

2.5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Bone_Tomahawk_Poster.jpg

Personally, I didn't mind the shift; I even think that *boom* moment worked to the film's advantage, but I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone. Overall, I liked the film. I know a lot of people have condemned it as "racist", but I never got the notion that the filmmaker was saying that "every Native" is like this. All I can say is that I was thrilled and yeah, disgusted :laugh:

[Takoma11]

Kuroneko
Onibaba
Woman in the Dunes


are a sort of pseudo trilogy. I find I can't think of one of them without thinking of one of the other two.

Yes, and I enjoy them in roughly that order, though I think that is largely because my personal taste leans more toward horror.

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YhWipD-nZEs/VNqWhkQxDQI/AAAAAAAAATY/k9oJQb_1gFs/s1600/16035151689_edf231d652_o.jpg
Wild River (1960, Elia Kazan)
3

The cinematography was probably the best thing about this movie (some shots were breathtakingly beautiful), as was Jo Van Fleet's memorable performance as Ella Garth, but otherwise I was pretty underwhelmed. It started out fine with an interesting premise, but from the moment Montgomery Clift entered the screen till the end of the movie he annoyed the **** out of me - overacting with his face way too much. I was almost screaming at the screen for him to get it together and finally knock that disgusting racist jerk out with a punch, but no luck.:nope: I couldn't understand his character, his motivations, weak and unlikable afaic (not that weak characters can't be likable, mind you). Lee Remick wasn't bad but there was not enough chemistry between her and Clift , and their relationship just didn't come across as believable to me. I felt the flow and pacing were off at times, some scenes just didn't work (for me), the ending was a bit too choppy and lacked punch, and overall the second half of the film failed to deliver the way I hoped it would. On a positive note, aside from the central theme of progress vs nature, the film tackles other important issues, like the harsh reality of racism, with an unflinching eye and shows exactly what it was like living in those times without sugarcoating it.
Good but flawed imo.

[Iroquois]

I liked the film a lot, but what did you not like about it?

A slapdash exercise that settles for surreal non sequiturs or overly literary digressions while ultimately being anchored to a story that is at once simplistic yet unfocused. There may be some interpretation that vindicates it but so far my own attempts to figure it out are unsatisfactory in one way or another, like I'm either going "still don't get it" or "I get it, but so what".

A masochist Iroquois huh? I found it interesting but too clever-clever. Certainly a 1 time watch.

You don't know the half of it.

Yikes. Been looking forward to this, since it's Kaufman and all. Still gonna have to see for myself, but that's a bummer to hear.

I've generally liked everything else I've seen from Kaufman so I was disappointed that this one didn't work for me. It's like Tenet in that it sees its creator indulging his worst tendencies for their own sake than anything else.

The Garden - 3.5

Jarman out here doing the "God is female and doesn't talk" thing long before Dogma was a thing

[this_is_the_ girl]

I thought I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS was great. *shrug*
I agree.:yup:

[hell_storm2004]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjcxNGYwMmEtM2QxZi00MTUzLTlkNmYtYmVhYjg2NDBhYmY3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjEwNTM2Mzc@._V1_.jpg


The Art of Political Murder (2020) - 7/10. Another great documentary from HBO. The same year they did Collectiv.... An incident that not many people know about coz it's from one of those lesser known South American countries. Enjoyable and recommend.

[Fabulous]

Antonia's Line (1995)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/sOkUBkwq21ZEThCX7wboY2Xl3m5.jpg

[Whammy]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=72180

rating_4

I liked Gemini Man. The action sequences were a bit much and the cgi was obvious in parts but I was still entertained.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Personally, I didn't mind the shift; I even think that *boom* moment worked to the film's advantage, but I can see why it wouldn't be for everyone. Overall, I liked the film. I know a lot of people have condemned it as "racist", but I never got the notion that the filmmaker was saying that "every Native" is like this. All I can say is that I was thrilled and yeah, disgusted :laugh:
I mean, the film is racist. Not because it says "every native" is like that but because it WHOLLY embraces the worst stereotypes of natives that were used to commit genocide (sub-human monsters that rape and cannibalize any that aren't there own, kidnapping a white woman, etc) and only used the laziest means to hand wave it by wasting the great Zahn Maclarnon to step in as a token Native American and say "these things aren't like us."

If there was a movie about a bunch of former Nazis hunting down some horned, well poisoning, children stealing Jewish monsters and had Seth Rogen pop up to say "these things aren't really Jewish," it probably would've caught a lot more heat.

That said, despite being racist and the equivalent of "I have a black friend," as well as having all of the pacing and filmmaking issues that are inherent of a first time director and the DTV market, the cast and violence make it entertaining enough to pass the time with.

Dragged Through Concrete is a much better film from Zahler that actually confronts the racism ideologies instead of using them as set dressing.

[Fabulous]

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/3ypZEsPA7nR0Ul7xBPBhZvhrU7t.jpg

[CharlesAoup]

Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, 2018 (D)

Antrum is a movie that starts as a documentary about a movie that causes people who watch it to die soon afterwards. The Antrum movie itself is said to be a 1979 Hungarian movie about two siblings digging a hole to hell. After about 15 minutes of documentary, you see the movie itself.

It's pretty good at building hype, but that hype dissipates pretty fast. I was excited when Antrum actually started, and it had some interesting stuff at first. The big problem is that, if you've ever seen Eastern-European movies from the 70s or 80s, this movie will never convince you it's one of them. Even if you haven't, the movie is eminently a modern movie filmed on 35mm. The audio is digitized, the subliminal stuff is very much liminal, and the movie itself is in English, which is what bothered me the most. They talk too much and, outside of mentions of odd things, there isn't that much odd stuff in this that doesn't feel forced. The technique just isn't there to support the vibe that they tried to build.

With all these technical shortcomings, what you're left with is just a slow, modern-style horror movie that doesn't offer much at all.

[BooBooKittyFock]

The Big Country:

4.5/5

Great film

[BooBooKittyFock]

How does one post pics here via phone?

[cricket]

Carcinoma (2014)

2-

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/c654lLeNNrHedA2o7zKflOLXZwRunJQ1rSIMCBQ5A1sWRcBvIpTGYImyWTRF9i9Hxx7ogLSCoz1n9_UyAmVBhqXfpnCdqH6KNT1z ppJTUg

This was the 5th movie I've seen from director Marian Dora. I would call him the king of extreme films as his movies are not only the most vile, but also pretty well made. Carcinoma is about a guy with a really bad stomach ailment, not the most appealing storyline and the reason I've watched other Dora films first. It's certainly disgusting, but it's also slow as the director goes heavy into symbolism and meaning.

[xSookieStackhouse]

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/3ypZEsPA7nR0Ul7xBPBhZvhrU7t.jpg

gosh i didnt know mighty joe young from 1998 was a remake of this movie

[Corax]

Penninsula - One part Escape from New York. One part Sorcerer. One part Dawn of the Dead.

[xSookieStackhouse]

Wanted (2008) 10/10 rewatched again one of the good movies in the 2000s
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1416/8662/products/wanted_2008_original_film_art_1200x.jpg?v=1577727978
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/02/a0/c3/02a0c3dba733c8eed6d307e7733eab60.gifhttps://giffiles.alphacoders.com/117/11722.gif

[Fabulous]

Meek's Cutoff (2010)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/ka7hFCNXqd1G4XgX4sDcZDoYdHz.jpg

[BooBooKittyFock]

On a binge today

It happened One Night:

4/5

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/17/Mulan_%282020_film%29_poster.jpg/220px-Mulan_%282020_film%29_poster.jpg

2.5

Snooze factor = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

[BooBooKittyFock]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/17/Mulan_%282020_film%29_poster.jpg/220px-Mulan_%282020_film%29_poster.jpg

2.5

Snooze factor = Z




[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it



Shame you didn’t nod off. Seems like the perfect movie to fall asleep to.

[Nausicaä]

^ Possible but I was watching it with a relative and she is the type to keep asking questions about what is happening and so on during a film, so that kept me awake... :scream:

[Thief]

I mean, the film is racist. Not because it says "every native" is like that but because it WHOLLY embraces the worst stereotypes of natives that were used to commit genocide (sub-human monsters that rape and cannibalize any that aren't there own, kidnapping a white woman, etc) and only used the laziest means to hand wave it by wasting the great Zahn Maclarnon to step in as a token Native American and say "these things aren't like us."

If there was a movie about a bunch of former Nazis hunting down some horned, well poisoning, children stealing Jewish monsters and had Seth Rogen pop up to say "these things aren't really Jewish," it probably would've caught a lot more heat.

That said, despite being racist and the equivalent of "I have a black friend," as well as having all of the pacing and filmmaking issues that are inherent of a first time director and the DTV market, the cast and violence make it entertaining enough to pass the time with.

Dragged Through Concrete is a much better film from Zahler that actually confronts the racism ideologies instead of using them as set dressing.

I haven't seen any other Zahler film. Did you like Brawl in Cell Block 99?

[SpelingError]

The Day of the Jackal (1973) - 8/10

While I'm not huge on police procedurals normally, I enjoyed my time with this film quite a bit. Maybe not as much as I thought I would, but it certainly offers a decent bit to like.

This film does a fine job at showing how the two main characters, the Jackal and Lebel, work to opposite purposes. The former works at carrying out the assassination, while the latter works at trying to stop him. As the films rolls along, the Jackal gets closer and closer to the president as bodies keep piling up around him. This is set against the procedural elements of Lebel trying to track him down throughout the film. This element persists all throughout the film and grows in intensity the further you get into the film, specifically during the last act once Lebel begins running out of time to stop the Jackal. Both the Jackal and Lebel were smart, competent characters, which made them an enjoyable pair to watch.

Though you'll probably side with Lebel, both characters can be hypnotic to watch. With the Jackal, I found myself drawn to the sense of solitude he displayed throughout the film. When he had to kill people, for instance, he went about these acts with a sense of tranquility. He'd calmly move to them and murder them fairly quickly, without them being able to scream, fight back, or resist. It's clear he's had enough experience with his profession to the point he knows exactly how to handle any situation which arises. The occasional slip up will come off as a huge surprise. Not only to the viewer, but also to the Jackal since it's implied he almost never runs into them. Overall, I found it interesting to watch the Jackal go about his task and deal with the various problems which arose along the way.

I don't have much to offer in the way of flaws, except I did feel the film's runtime at certain points, especially during the middle. However, I imagine it will flow smoother with another viewing. As it stands, this film currently stands at a low 8/10 for me, but I may enjoy it more if I watch it again.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I haven't seen any other Zahler film. Did you like Brawl in Cell Block 99?
I did. It flirts with racism but its more like how early Tarantino used it rather than trying to say anything about it other than "these characters are bad people."

It's problems are more with the way it evokes grindhouse cinema in random fits and spurts but does nothing aesthetically or creatively that captures the essence of the era. It has all the pitfalls of modern low budget DTV filmmaking (flat cinematography and ugly color filters lazily slapped on).

I thought it was tedious (took 90 mins to even get to the prison) and hackish.

DAC is the only one of his that I liked quite a bit with very few misgivings (there is a couple of unforgivably bad scenes with Don Johnson and Laurie Holden) and I hope he continues on that path. It's his least popular film though.

[LChimp]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDBhZTg2ZGItMjQ4ZC00NmNkLTg5NGYtMzE1ZGU0N2JiMjIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTc5OTMwOTQ@._V1_.jpg

It's called "Sementes Podres" in Brazil, which literally translates to Ripe Seeds. Pretty good movie

[gbgoodies]

How does one post pics here via phone?


I don't post from my phone, so I can't help you, but maybe Yoda can help.

I think cricket posts from his phone too.

[mark f]

Hellzapoppin' (H.C. Potter, 1941) 2.5 6/10
Psychomagic, A Healing Art (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 2019) 2 5/10
Desperate Search (Joseph Lewis, 1952) 2.5 5.5/10
Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself (Frank Oz, 2020) 3.5 7+/10
https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Derek-Delgaudios-In-Of-Itself-.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618
Breathtaking, unique, emotion-inducing experience where the magician may perform the greatest trick ever and it's not remotely what you think.
Tension (John Berry, 1949) 2.5 6/10
Safe Inside (Renata Gabryjelska, 2019) 2 5/10
Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (Mark L. Lester, 1976) 2.5 6/10
What Would Sophia Loren Do? (Ross Kauffman, 2021) 3 6.5/10
https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/WHAT-WOULD-SOPHIA-LOREN-DO-MOVIE.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618
Italian-American Jersey Girl Nancy Kulik grew up idolizing Sophia Loren, and in her later years, she gets a nice treat.
Stunts (Mark L. Lester, 1977) 2.5 6/10
Bring Me a Dream (Chase Smith, 2020) 1.5 4/10
East Side, West Side (Mervyn LeRoy, 1949) 2.5 5.5/10
The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (Chuck Jones, 1965) 3 6.5/10
https://i1.wp.com/www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/thedotandtheline1.jpg?w=500&ssl=1
Animated Ménage à trois involving a dot, a line and a squiggle.
The White Tiger (Ramin Bahrani, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Fugitive in the Sky (Nick Grinde, 1936) 2+ 5/10
Take the High Ground! (Richard Brooks, 1953) 2.5 5.5/10
It Should Happen to You (George Cukor, 1954) 3 6.5/10
https://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i376/itshouldhappentoyou_areyouher_FC_HD_2997_470x264_100920150334.jpg?w=400
Uncommon woman Judy Holliday learns how ro "become somebody" in NYC, but documentary filmmaker Jack Lemmon, who loves her, doesn't really approve.
Born to Kill (Robert Wise, 1947) 2.5 6/10
Blonde Cobra (Ken Jacobs, 1963) 1.5+ 4.5/10
Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello, 2019) 2.5 6/10
It Could Happen to You (Andrew Bergman, 1994) 3+ 6.5/10
https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/it-could-happen-to-you-movie-image.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=646&h=335&crop=1
Romance between bankrupt waitress Bridget Fonda and unhappily-married NYC cop Nicolas Cage involving a lottery ticket plays out as a fairy tale, but we'd all be better off if it were reality.

[Allaby]

Act Naturally (2011), a comedy about two estranged sisters who inherit a nudist resort from their father. It was amusing and enjoyable, a charming and pleasant comedy. My rating is a 7/10.

[Yoda]

How does one post pics here via phone?
There should be a Manage Attachments button at the bottom of the reply page on mobile.

[Fabulous]

The Ascent (1977)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/u8jAkrMAH2EwzYS3rrhGSIaiCIE.jpg

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://lwlies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/rope-1948.jpg
Rope (1948, Alfred Hitchcock)

4

"Am I a trembling creature or have I the right?"
"No, you're just a creepy psychopathic Jake Tapper lookalike committing a senseless murder just for kicks and then purposefully doing everything you can to get caught"

Definitely one of the better Hitchcocks I've seen so far, this one feels like it was shot in one continuous take - it's almost like watching a play enacted live on stage. Fascinating premise, lots of suspense, excellent performances by the cast - an unmitigated classic, for sure. I still kind of expected more from the ending, which was just a tad too transparent and obvious to me.

[Marco]

I'm Your Woman (2020)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/I%27m_Your_Woman_poster.jpeg
This was quite entertaining and kinda neo-noir in its dialogue and situations.

Hood turns up to wife>hood gives wife a baby (as she cannot conceive naturally)>hood goes missing>women has to deal with the situation (baby and a missing husband).

Rachel Brosnahan does exceptionally well in portraying the "worm has turned" wife and I thought this was a good film despite never having heard of it or of any of the actors!
3.5

[Thief]

https://lwlies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/rope-1948.jpg
Rope (1948, Alfred Hitchcock)

4

"Am I a trembling creature or have I the right?"
"No, you're just a creepy psychopathic Jake Tapper lookalike committing a senseless murder just for kicks and then purposefully doing everything you can to get caught"

Definitely one of the better Hitchcocks I've seen so far, this one feels like it was shot in one continuous take - it's almost like watching a play enacted live on stage. Fascinating premise, lots of suspense, excellent performances by the cast - an unmitigated classic, for sure. I still kind of expected more from the ending, which was just a tad too transparent and obvious to me.

This one isn't top-tier Hitchcock for me, but it's still pretty darn good and a lot of fun. Aside from the technical marvel of seeing Hitchcock "pretend" it's one shot, Stewart is always a joy, and John Dall is wickedly good.

[Thief]

VAMPIRE'S KISS
(1988, Bierman)
A film with Nicolas Cage

https://www.cageclub.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/vlcsnap-2015-08-27-19h10m16s181.jpg


"Oh, Christ! Oh, Christ, where... where am I? Where am I? Where, where am I? Oh, c... Christ, where am I? I have become one. A vampire. Oh, God..."



Vampire's Kiss is not perfect; most notably, the subplot with the secretary is awkwardly executed. Despite that, he film is definitely worth it only to watch Cage crank it to 11, while making others wonder if Loew has changed or has he always been like this. If we look at Cage's career evolution, we might end up wondering the same about Cage; has he changed or has he always been like this? I think this film provides the answer.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot thread (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2170519#post2170519).

[mojofilter]

https://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/24803/movieposter/julie--julia-53f9e1ee444d7.jpg
JULIE & JULIA
(2009)

First viewing. Charming little biopic by the late Nora Ephron. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are terrific, specifically Streep who I truly believe is the greatest actress that ever lived. Excellent performances by Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina as the supportive husbands respectively.

3.5

[Wooley]

https://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/24803/movieposter/julie--julia-53f9e1ee444d7.jpg
JULIE & JULIA
(2009)

First viewing. Charming little biopic by the late Nora Ephron. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are terrific, specifically Streep who I truly believe is the greatest actress that ever lived. Excellent performances by Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina as the supportive husbands respectively.

3.5

Yeah, I was surprised how much I liked this. I kinda wanted to see this because I do think Streep is the best living film actor and certainly one of the best film actors ever and I like Amy Adams and I grew up watching Julia Child on TV, but I couldn't see how this was going to be an interesting movie. It is, although it has some studio-movie flaws, and while Streep just shocks me yet again, the movie really rides on Adams' shoulders.

[Marco]

Instant Family (2018)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/InstantFamily.png/220px-InstantFamily.png
This was fairly "alright" treaded the line between emotion and farce quite well but fell off either side a few times. Heart-warming story though.

2.5

[this_is_the_ girl]

This one isn't top-tier Hitchcock for me, but it's still pretty darn good and a lot of fun. Aside from the technical marvel of seeing Hitchcock "pretend" it's one shot, Stewart is always a joy, and John Dall is wickedly good.

Yeah, for me too - I mean, it's not on the level of Psycho, North by Northwest or Vertigo but it's up there among the runners-up for sure.

[Daniel M]

It Should Happen to You (George Cukor, 1954) 3 6.5/10
It Could Happen to You (Andrew Bergman, 1994) 3+ 6.5/10

So we should be getting It Would Happen to You in 2034, right?

[ScarletLion]

Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself (Frank Oz, 2020) 3.5 7+/10
https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Derek-Delgaudios-In-Of-Itself-.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618
Breathtaking, unique, emotion-inducing experience where the magician may perform the greatest trick ever and it's not remotely what you think.

I was so intrigued by this (and the fact it was worthy of a rare 7) that I just watched it. It's great. Very emotional in parts. No idea how some of the tricks were done but a real human experience and one that must have taken meticulous planning. Also, is it my imagination or did Bill Gates pop up at one point?

[mark f]

Yes, and Tim Gunn too.

[kgaard]

Pretty sure Larry Wilmore is in there as well.

[kgaard]

I liked In & of Itself, but I do think it loses a little bit in the transition from stage to film. It's not a show I went to see myself, but it's clear that the interaction with the audience is a big part of the experience, and with the film you are now an audience watching an audience watching a show. That extra remove leaves a little emotional gap. Nonetheless it's an intriguing concept and worth a watch.

[Stirchley]

Meryl Streep and Amy Adams are terrific, specifically Streep who I truly believe is the greatest actress that ever lived.

Amazing to me how Meryl became Julia Child.

The original book by Julie Powell is very good too. Funniest of all is her original blog, which was hilarious. Its profanity was cleaned up for the movie.

[martyrofevil]

Live and Let Die (Guy Hamilton, 1973)
The most notable change here (even more so than our new Bond) is simply the change in decade. Going from the lush Panavision/Technicolor combo to whatever it is that makes 70's films just look dark and muddy is unfortunate to me personally but its not wholly out of place for the film and its still competently shot. I wasn't ever all that hot on Connery's portrayal of the character but I may have developed a bit of Stockholm syndrome and feel it might be unfair to judge Moore at this point but he's at least fine in the role. I don't have a ton to say about the plot/story. It's passably entertaining throughout and doesn't drag very much despite it having the longest runtime yet (I think) but it doesn't have a ton of standout moments. The only thing I'd say as an outright downside is just how bad the McCartney song is as a Bond theme and even just having bits of it worked into the score don't seem to fit that well either. A bit forgettable when all's said and done but its never really "bad" at any point.
rating_3

The Man with the Golden Gun (Guy Hamilton, 1974)
I'm a huge fan of the initial set up and plot and Christopher Lee is great here, I just wish it stayed focused on that instead of all that stuff in the second act (really did not need the return of that annoying cop from the previous film) and with the film being over 2 hours cuts could have easily been made. I think this marries the Bond tone with the 70's aesthetics a lot more harmoniously than Live and Let Die (which I found to be a bit at odds with itself) with brighter, more consistent use of colour whilst maintaining just enough of that 70's roughness. I do like this one a good deal overall but it definitely feels like a missed opportunity in ways. Also to note, I'm 100% on board with Moore as 007 now.
rating_3

The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 1977)
Really loved the rival spies dynamic here and the great villains of course but the standouts, as in all the great Bond films, is the visual flair and not only the score (of course) but specifically the use of said score. It maybe doesn't have the absolute hypest moments of the franchise but there's something dope happening pretty much every scene. It just doesn't miss.
rating_4

Current Bond rankings:
01. From Russia with Love
02. Thunderball
03. The Spy Who Loved Me
04. Diamonds are Forever
05. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
06. Dr. No
07. The Man with the Golden Gun
08. Live and Let Die
09. You Only Live Twice
10. Goldfinger

[Fabulous]

Ammonite (2020)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oiExOZrf24ExUrfw81eAsFgvWm.jpg

[Iroquois]

Blade Runner 2049 - 4

First viewing since theatres and I've already had to dock at least half a popcorn. Still one of the better films of the decade, but the best doesn't really seem to be out-and-out excellent.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffilmforum.org%2Fdo-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase%2Fclient-uploads%2Fwelles%2FARKADIN_IN-TEXT1520.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report, 1955

I know that this film has a complicated history. I have not had time to read up a ton on it, but for reference I watched the "Corinth" edit.

Guy Van Stratten (Robert Arden) is a small time smuggler who happens to be present at the aftermath of a murder. The dying man is able to give Guy's girlfriend, Mily (Patricia Medina) a single name: "Arkadin". Guy eventually becomes entangled with a wealthy, mysterious man named Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles) and romantically entangled with Arkadin's daughter, Raina (Paola Mori). Arkadin has an extensive network of spies and other figures working for him and is obsessed with collecting information. Claiming amnesia, he hires Guy to learn more about his past.

Because this was a slightly "work in progress" edit, there were certain things I didn't hold too strongly against it (such as some really awful dubbing in a handful of sequences with Arden's character).

The style of the film is incredibly in-your-face, with stark angles and zooms. One part of me appreciated the audacity of it, but the flip side was that there were several times when the style seemed to be trying to impart an intensity or suspense that the narrative itself didn't quite support.

When it comes down to it, Arkadin (in both character and the performance from Welles) is larger than life. There are very few characters who manage to harness that same energy and presence, and many of the in between scenes felt kind of flat. Guy is a decent main character, especially once he really gets on his quest to learn about Arkadin's history, but for a guy who is supposed to have been around the block a few times it takes him a LONG time to figure out certain things that seem pretty obvious from the get go.

With a movie that has such a complicated backstory (apparently a ton of different cuts exist, with varying loyalty to Welles' original vision), it is easy to guess at what could have been. My gut instinct is that Arden's performance would have made this a tricky film, even in a perfectly cut version. The energy of his scenes always depends on who is playing opposite him. There's also something a bit half-baked about Guy's romance with Raina, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Raina doesn't feel so much like a real person as a prize for Guy and Arkadin to wrestle over in the final act.

Certainly an interesting watch, but doesn't live up to its potential or the promise of those crazy angles/zooms.

3.5

[Allaby]

Catchfire (1990) Theatrical cut. This was directed by Dennis Hopper, but he was not happy with it and disowned the film. I can see why he disowned it. This film was pretty bad. It was dull, dragged on, and very poorly written. There is a director's cut that might be better, but this version was an incompetent mess. Too bad, because it had a good and interesting cast. My rating is a 4/10.

[hell_storm2004]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQujv1tLejf0ghMZqb7kOBMATbLRac28SDtPA&usqp=CAU


Company Limited (1971) - 7.2/10. A very good story about corporate ruthlessness. Portrayed nicely by the master, Ray. Well acted.

[WHITBISSELL!]

It Should Happen To You - 1954 B&W comedy directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon and Peter Lawford. Holliday plays Gladys Glover, a NYC model who's fired for being three quarter of an inch too large. She meets Pete Sheppard (Lemmon), a freelance documentarian and they start keeping company. Their relationship develops in typical movie fashion both despite their not having much in common and even not seeming to like each other very much. It's not a strong script BTW. Anyway, Gladys has these dreams of fame that are never fully explained so she decides to rent a billboard with her name on it. Through more movie logic it turns out a soap company executive (Lawford) also wants that particular space and trades Gladys several other billboards. She quickly gains notoriety and eventually becomes the company spokesmodel. Meanwhile she keeps seeing Pete while also fending off the advances of the rich executive. It ends in a predictable manner with her apparently settling for the only option that was available to women back then which was marriage. I thought the screenplay by Garson Kanin was very much a product of it's time and didn't do right by Holliday. 75/100

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffilmsofthefifties.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F07%2Fweb-of-evidence-1959-2.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Web of Evidence/Beyond This Place, 1959

In the middle of a bombing raid in WW2, a woman is murdered. 20 years later, Paul Mathry (Van Johnson) arrives in England from America. He was evacuated to America during the War and believed his father had died. Paul is shocked to find that his father is not only alive, but was 20 years earlier convicted of the murder. Paul sets out to learn about the case and begins to uncover some unsettling truths.

Talk about a movie with an identity crisis!

The beginning of this film is really striking with the chaos of the air raid providing cover for the murder (I'm blanking on the name, but there's a TV movie from a few years back with this premise of someone using air raids as a cover for killings). And Paul's arrival and shock is also reasonably compelling. But then the film just splits into so many different parts.

On one hand we have Paul and his investigation, talking to detectives and witnesses. On the other hand we have some shady conversations between the prosecutor and his cronies that lets us know something is up. On top of that we have a subplot about a tentative romance between Paul and a (very obviously traumatized) woman named Lena (Vera Miles) in whose boarding house he is staying.

From a mystery point of view, this film is decently satisfying. It is kind of fun watching Paul track down various witnesses, uncover inconsistencies, and come up against the "system". Because the film incorporates other subplots (especially the romance and later Paul's attempt to actually track down his father), the momentum of the investigation tends to stop and start a bit. There are a lot of conversations in similar looking rooms, and also several conversations that seem to cover the same ground over and over.

Overall this could have been a passable, if a bit subdued, mystery thriller. But the romance . . . yikes.

Paul immediately develops a "vibe" with Lena, one of the women working in the boarding house where he is staying. Right from the beginning when Lena tells another worker that she is nervous about going upstairs alone to deliver a cup of tea it is glaringly obvious that she has been the victim of violence/sexual violence. Then we are subjected to numerous sequences that follow the same pattern--Paul, uninvited, tries to get physically intimate with Lena (trying to kiss her, trying to suck blood out of her cut finger (?!?!)) and Lena pulls away in fear and Paul gives her a look like a puppy that just got kicked. He's just SO CONFUSED. Eventually, another male character tells Paul about the fact that Lena was gang raped, and Paul's response is to run straight to Lena and GRAB HER AGGRESSIVELY and KISS HER and tell her it "DOESN'T MATTER" (?!?!?!). Vera Miles gives a good performance as Lena, but this whole subplot is so stupid and so offensive and it simply doesn't fit with the rest of the film. Paul's treatment of Lena is supposed to come across as "oblivious nice guy", but instead reads more like "petulant entitled dip". The fact that these scenes grind the film to a halt each time only adds insult to injury.

And without getting into spoiler territory, the ending when it finally arrives is very unsatisfying. The conclusion of a mystery should feel like it has naturally built from what came before. While in some ways that is technically true of the solution, there is another way in which it feels like a bit of a cheat and as if parts of it come out of nowhere. The end of the film feels both overdue, but also provoked a bit of a reaction of "Oh, that's it?". It doesn't help that Paul became less sympathetic to me the longer the movie went on. His story is compelling, of course, but as a character he feels poorly defined. Some scenes later between him and his father have a bit of heft, but it's too little too late.

This isn't, like, a horrible movie. But there is very little to recommend it aside from Vera Miles' performance.

2

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2Faf%2Fle%2F00%2Fph%2Ffrench-cancan-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D7df4e23770&f=1&nofb=1

French Cancan, 1955

Henri (Jean Gabin) is a down on his luck theater producer running a bankrupt cafe. One day he gets an inspiration to revive the tradition of the French cancan, and he also stumbles on a young laundress, Nini (Francoise Arnoul), whose star quality he hopes to use to add youthful energy to his new show. But a series of romantic entanglements and jealousies threatens the success of the show.

This is one of Ebert's Great Movies, and it is one of Takoma's Meh Movies.

I usually don't read other reviews before writing my own, out of fear of being unduly influenced. But in this case I just had to know why someone loved this movie. And while I certainly saw and liked everything that Ebert did, it did not thrill me and nor did it overcome the elements of the film that I didn't care for.

To begin with the positives, the film has a vibrant, painterly quality in both the color and the framing of various sequences. It looks great and has a sort of unabashed artificiality that makes everything feel like a stage within a stage within a stage. This style creates a lightness and levity to the different scenes and allows the film to flow from one part to the next. The various characters are also well-acted and distinct, from Henri's strong-willed lover, Lola (Maria Felix) to Nini's jealous boyfriend Paolo (Franco Pastorino), to Nina's wealthy suitor Alexandre (Giani Esposito). A really fun character is the older woman, and former cancan dancer, who is brought in to train the new squad of cancan dancers.

The comedy that I enjoyed the most in the film was actually the non-verbal stuff, such as a sequence in rehearsal where Nina is kicking with the opposite leg to the other dancers, finally collapsing in exhaustion when they make it to the end of the number. Or a scene in which several characters wait in a hallway to hear the outcome of a man who has been injured and the scale of the hallway (speaking to the man's wealth) seems to engulf the characters.

As for what I didn't love, it came down to two things.

The first was the romance between Henri and Nini. Just . . . no. He is in his 50s (but the character felt a bit older to me) and she is in her early 20s (but the character felt a bit younger to me). It looked like a man making out with his granddaughter. And the fact that she is clearly treating it as a serious relationship while he simply regards her as the latest on a long list gives the sense that he is taking advantage. The various jealousies that ensue from their relationship are largely directed at Nini instead of at Henri, and that also feels kind of yuck. There's a scene later when Henri gives Nini a big speech about exactly why he doesn't care about her as a person, and while it's supposed to be this neat expression of the pure love of art/theater, it seems to ignore the fact that he knew full well the effect he was having on Nini and many other people. It's one thing to have a pure passion for theater that eclipses love/passion for anything/anyone else, but quite another to treat people poorly and then excuse it with such a stance. I wish the film had confined the relationship between them to mentor/mentee and let the consequences of her performing ripple into the two relationships she already has in her life.

Setting the romance aside, I was also hoping for more spectacle. There were a few scenes that I enjoyed, and the final cancan performance probably looks totally fantastic on the big screen. But this film never grabbed me. And it doesn't help that the final performance follows that speech from Henri that I felt was so insensitive and off-putting. There's this whole subgenre about (often women) artists/dancers who are treated like total crap by male mentors, but it makes them great!!! And I feel perpetually unmoved by these stories. Especially when it doesn't feel like the artist actually is able to consider their own choices because their heads have been so messed with by the time they get to that decision point.

It had its charms, but there are half a dozen dancing/musicals I'd watch again before this one.

3

[pahaK]

Leviathan (1989)
2
A quite weak monster feature that rips off Alien and The Thing. Poor acting, silly script, and even the effects aren't that good. And could someone explain to me why did they have flamethrowers in an underwater mining station?

--
Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray (1962)
aka Sundays and Cybele
4
The first I heard of this film was a few days ago in the MoFo Movie Roulette. It seemed interesting so I had to give it a go, and it was really good. It's sad and tragic but at the same time a beautiful story of two broken people finding connection and some happiness. The world doesn't approve of or understand their relationship because it goes against the perceived normalcy.

I really liked both of the leads. Pierre felt so vulnerable and lost after his war trauma, and Cybele was desperate for someone to love her after everyone had abandoned her. Cybele went quite high on my favorite child performances. One of the better films that have come to my attention from practically nowhere.

[WHITBISSELL!]

The Big Heat - 1953 noir directed by the legendary Fritz Lang and starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin and Jocelyn Brando (Marlon Brando's older sister). Ford plays homicide Sgt. Dave Bannion, who's called out on a suspicious death that turns out to be a suicide. The dead guy is a bent cop who has left a written confession that implicates local crime boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) along with a raft of corrupt, high level cops. Since everyone seems bent in the fictional town of Kentport, the dead cop's widow keeps the confession and starts blackmailing Lagana. After the conscientious and tenacious Bannion starts investigating the suicide he's first warned off by his superiors then threatened by Lagana's goons including Vince Stone (a marvelously slimy Lee Marvin). It quickly escalates with Bannion suffering a heavy loss. I've probably seen one too many bleak movies because I thought there might have been a lull or two in the action but when the proceedings heat up they do so in an eruption of hot bullets and even hotter coffee. This is a downright charcoal noir with good performances all around. 90/100

[StuSmallz]

Blade Runner 2049 - 4


First viewing since theatres and I've already had to dock at least half a popcorn. Still one of the better films of the decade, but the best doesn't really seem to be out-and-out excellent.For me, 2049 only improved upon rewatch, (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/blade-runner-2049/1/) as my previous issues with the film's length, tone, and pacing bothered me less since I knew what to expect, and while my issues with those aspect were still somewhat there, I was still better able to appreciate what the film did well, whether it be the overwhelming sensory experience of the affair (which still impressed even on my tiny tablet screen), or how, like the best Sci-Fi, it was truely a film driven by big, bold ideas, rather than just repeating every single basic things its predecessor did, Force Awakens-style (although I still liked that movie as well). Anyway, 2049 still isn't a perfect movie for me, but it is a very good one, and one that's only improved with time.

[xSookieStackhouse]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/17/Mulan_%282020_film%29_poster.jpg/220px-Mulan_%282020_film%29_poster.jpg

2.5

Snooze factor = Z


[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

i didnt like this movie at all espcially when they removed mushu and music. to me animated mulan is better

[Chypmunk]

Nice to see a few more people on here watching and enjoying Sundays And Cybèle, young Patricia Gozzi was very good in that and excellent in her next film Rapture imo. Shame she only made a handful of films.

[Fabulous]

A Single Man (2009)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/uhrOJIcnk222zU7epuSaqfKiMaZ.jpg

[LChimp]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qqKSRT5TL._AC_.jpg

The ending is kinda bad, but overall, it's a good movie.

[ScarletLion]

'The Painter and the Thief' (2020)

https://www.docville.be/sites/default/files/thepainterandthethief_poster_2000x2832px_21_01_20.jpg

In 2015, Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova had two of her most famous paintings stolen. She then met the thief who was convicted of stealing them, and he not only became her friend but also almost a 'muse' for her inspiration as an artist. This is a very emotional and fascinating documentary. The trouble with it is that it is just a bit too real. It blurs the line of documentary and film. There are positions where the camera is filming at the point where you think it normally wouldn't have been present (inside the jail at the moment a prisoner is released, or inside a pharmacy when something crucial happens). The main protagonists never look at the camera either, which gives the viewer the feeling that they are very comfortable with the crew being there at every moment.

It is a very interesting documentary, it just feels that little bit too 'engineered' to be a great one.


3

6.4/10

[GulfportDoc]

The Big Heat - 1953 noir directed by the legendary Fritz Lang and starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin and Jocelyn Brando (Marlon Brando's older sister). Ford plays homicide Sgt. Dave Bannion, who's called out on a suspicious death that turns out to be a suicide. The dead guy is a bent cop who has left a written confession that implicates local crime boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) along with a raft of corrupt, high level cops. Since everyone seems bent in the fictional town of Kentport, the dead cop's widow keeps the confession and starts blackmailing Lagana. After the conscientious and tenacious Bannion starts investigating the suicide he's first warned off by his superiors then threatened by Lagana's goons including Vince Stone (a marvelously slimy Lee Marvin). It quickly escalates with Bannion suffering a heavy loss. I've probably seen one too many bleak movies because I thought there might have been a lull or two in the action but when the proceedings heat up they do so in an eruption of hot bullets and even hotter coffee. This is a downright charcoal noir with good performances all around. 90/100
I agree. Here's some commentary I did from last year:

The Big Heat (1953)
Directed by the formidable Fritz Lang, with memorable noir lighting by cinematographer Charles Lang (no relation), the film features one of Glenn Ford’s grittiest roles, while the other stars themselves compete for similar grittiness in this sordid tale of murder, graft and betrayal; all prime noir ingredients.

Ford plays a detective who initially investigates the suspicious suicide of a fellow detective who may have had ties to the mob which is virtually running the city. As a result, his wife played by Jocelyn Brando (Marlon’s sister), ends up accidentally paying the price. Ford embarks on a possessed revenge hunt which brings him into contact with the incomparable Gloria Grahame, the sadistic Lee Marvin, and the chilling crime boss Alexander Scourby.

In 1953 the good guys still won out in the end, but there is a full array of story and action packed into the movie’s 90 minutes. There is a surprising amount of frank brutality and violence for its time, unique for its day. In one scene Gloria Grahame is the recipient of a cruel act that was so shocking that it remains today as a memorable example from the era. Lang had a penchant for brutality, and he let out all the stops in this picture.

An interesting point about this film is that, although films noir are often noted for their use of a femme fatale, here we see Ford used practically as anhomme fatale: all four women who he is involved with meet a violent end.

Despite that noir had already been well developed by 1953, this picture is a prime example of the form in general and Fritz Lang’s style in specific.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Frobsmovievault.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F09%2Fthe-nutty-professor-1963.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Nutty Professor, 1963

A nebbish professor named Kelp (Jerry Lewis) is disastrously clumsy and socially inept. After inventing a magical potion of sorts, he unleashes an alter-ego named Buddy Love. Stuck between the two versions of the same man is Stella (Stella Stevens), one of Kelp's students and an immediate target for Buddy's aggressive affection.

My run of completely underwhelming films continues with this entry.

And as with the last few movies I've watched, I am struggling to have much to say about it.

The film has two strengths. The first is Lewis in his admittedly impressive double performance, with his character of Kelp being the more fully-realized, but his Buddy Love being a well-realized suave sociopath. Lewis brings strong comedic timing and physical energy to both characters and he is the battery powering the entire film.

I also have to say that I enjoyed the more "shtick" comedy--like the infamous sequence where Kelp tries to bulk up at the gym and a barbell stretches his arms to an impossible length. It was goofy and over the top and I didn't hate it.

On the downside, though, there were two problems I had with the film.

Anyone who knows me will be entirely unsurprised that I took issue with a subplot about a professor lusting after one of his students. Some movies try to take the edge off of this kind of power dynamic by making the male character shy and reserved and "innocent", but a sequence in which Kelp stares at his female student and imagines her in increasingly small and revealing outfits was the deal breaker for me. It's gross. It's unethical. And it significantly lowered my opinion of Kelp's character. In "reality" he is 37 and she's 24, but even with her looking a bit older than college age, it still comes across as lecherous and inappropriate. It doesn't help that Stella is pretty one note (okay, two note: nice and confused).

Then there's just the fact of the mixed messages that the film seems to be sending. At times the film seems uncertain whether men who bully and browbeat women are objects of mockery or admiration. You would think that the strong theme would either be that (1) Kelp learns to love himself or (2) Kelp learns something from his more confident self, but by the end of the movie I didn't feel that I understood what it was trying to say. It's a lot of movie to sit through when it can't go about building its themes in a coherent way. The film would have probably been better if they had gone super simplistic with the themes and just leaned into the comedy.

I did genuinely enjoy watching Lewis perform. I haven't seen him in much, though obviously many of his cultural ripples have crossed my path (like in the scientist character in The Simpsons). But the muddled narrative and unappealing central romance made this a borderline-tedious watch.

3

[Wooley]

The Big Heat - 1953 noir directed by the legendary Fritz Lang and starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin and Jocelyn Brando (Marlon Brando's older sister). Ford plays homicide Sgt. Dave Bannion, who's called out on a suspicious death that turns out to be a suicide. The dead guy is a bent cop who has left a written confession that implicates local crime boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) along with a raft of corrupt, high level cops. Since everyone seems bent in the fictional town of Kentport, the dead cop's widow keeps the confession and starts blackmailing Lagana. After the conscientious and tenacious Bannion starts investigating the suicide he's first warned off by his superiors then threatened by Lagana's goons including Vince Stone (a marvelously slimy Lee Marvin). It quickly escalates with Bannion suffering a heavy loss. I've probably seen one too many bleak movies because I thought there might have been a lull or two in the action but when the proceedings heat up they do so in an eruption of hot bullets and even hotter coffee. This is a downright charcoal noir with good performances all around. 90/100
Yeah, this is one of my favorites of the genre, I just saw for the first time a few years ago, and now I recommend to everybody, whether they like the genre or not, classic movies or not, whatever, watch this damn movie.

[Captain Terror]

I did genuinely enjoy watching Lewis perform. I haven't seen him in much

Lewis was a family favorite when I was a kid, but even back then I was never crazy about this one. As a youngster, I didn't tune into a Jerry Lewis movie to see Buddy Love. And as an adult, I suspect that Mr. Love is a bit too much like art imitating life, if you know what I mean. Always kind of bugged me that this one is so much more prominent than some of the films I liked more.

[Takoma11]

Lewis was a family favorite when I was a kid, but even back then I was never crazy about this one. As a youngster, I didn't tune into a Jerry Lewis movie to see Buddy Love. And as an adult, I suspect that Mr. Love is a bit too much like art imitating life, if you know what I mean. Always kind of bugged me that this one is so much more prominent than some of the films I liked more.

The part where he demands that Stella make out with him in the car and then we she refuses he repeats the demand in an angrier voice (a scene that happens in the first encounter between the two) put me off of his character so much. And then once Kelp is also a lech, there's no one to really click with.

Also, OMG THIS QUOTE: "A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world."

[Captain Terror]

The part where he demands that Stella make out with him in the car and then we she refuses he repeats the demand in an angrier voice (a scene that happens in the first encounter between the two) put me off of his character so much. And then once Kelp is also a lech, there's no one to really click with.

Also, OMG THIS QUOTE: "A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world."
Yes, the key to enjoying a Lewis film is to pretend that Lewis the actual person doesn't exist. I've never heard of him doing anything on a Cosby level, he just strikes me as a sleaze. As much as I like (some of) his films, he's not someone I spend a lot of time reading about, let's put it that way.

[Rockatansky]

I did genuinely enjoy watching Lewis perform. I haven't seen him in much, though obviously many of his cultural ripples have crossed my path (like in the scientist character in The Simpsons). But the muddled narrative and unappealing central romance made this a borderline-tedious watch.
I haven't seen The Nutty Professor in ages (although it looks like it's on Prime, so might revisit it soon), but from my experience, the less Lewis talks, the better his movies are. I find him to be a really strong comedian and director of comedy, but anytime he opens his mouth...yeesh, like nails on a chalkboard.



I will gently recommend The Bellboy and The Ladies Man, directed by himself, and The Disorderly Orderly, directed by Frank Tashlin. They show off his strengths in those departments pretty impressively and put him in much more endearing (or at least less off-putting) roles than The Nutty Professor.

[Rockatansky]

Also on the topic of Lewis, I'm tempted to half-heartedly recommend Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, which stars Duke Mitchell of Massacre Mafia Style and Gone with the Pope (the Grindhouse Releasing blu-rays of which include this as a special feature), a Jerry Lewis impersonator whom Lewis sued for stealing his act, and the Lord God of Cinema Bela Lugosi putting in a committed performance like the ********* professional he was. Not a "good" movie, but an interesting curio and not without its charms.

[Captain Terror]

I will gently recommend The Bellboy and The Ladies Man, directed by himself, and The Disorderly Orderly, directed by Frank Tashlin. They show off his strengths in those departments pretty impressively and put him in much more endearing (or at least less off-putting) roles than The Nutty Professor.
Pretty much the same ones I'd recommend. I'd add The Patsy to that list too.

[Rockatansky]

I haven't seen The Nutty Professor in ages (although it looks like it's on Prime, so might revisit it soon), but from my experience, the less Lewis talks, the better his movies are. I find him to be a really strong comedian and director of comedy, but anytime he opens his mouth...yeesh, like nails on a chalkboard.



I will gently recommend The Bellboy and The Ladies Man, directed by himself, and The Disorderly Orderly, directed by Frank Tashlin. They show off his strengths in those departments pretty impressively and put him in much more endearing (or at least less off-putting) roles than The Nutty Professor.
I will add that The Ladies Man has one sequence so disarmingly beautiful that it feels like an outtake from The Red Shoes. But because it features Lewis doing his (silent) shtick, I also chuckled all the way through.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Yeah, this is one of my favorites of the genre, I just saw for the first time a few years ago, and now I recommend to everybody, whether they like the genre or not, classic movies or not, whatever, watch this damn movie.Damn good movie. I don't know if you've seen it yet but you should try out Ride the Pink Horse with Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix and Thomas Gomez. Another first rate noir.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I agree. Here's some commentary I did from last year:

The Big Heat (1953)
Directed by the formidable Fritz Lang, with memorable noir lighting by cinematographer Charles Lang (no relation), the film features one of Glenn Ford’s grittiest roles, while the other stars themselves compete for similar grittiness in this sordid tale of murder, graft and betrayal; all prime noir ingredients.

Ford plays a detective who initially investigates the suspicious suicide of a fellow detective who may have had ties to the mob which is virtually running the city. As a result, his wife played by Jocelyn Brando (Marlon’s sister), ends up accidentally paying the price. Ford embarks on a possessed revenge hunt which brings him into contact with the incomparable Gloria Grahame, the sadistic Lee Marvin, and the chilling crime boss Alexander Scourby.

In 1953 the good guys still won out in the end, but there is a full array of story and action packed into the movie’s 90 minutes. There is a surprising amount of frank brutality and violence for its time, unique for its day. In one scene Gloria Grahame is the recipient of a cruel act that was so shocking that it remains today as a memorable example from the era. Lang had a penchant for brutality, and he let out all the stops in this picture.

An interesting point about this film is that, although films noir are often noted for their use of a femme fatale, here we see Ford used practically as anhomme fatale: all four women who he is involved with meet a violent end.

Despite that noir had already been well developed by 1953, this picture is a prime example of the form in general and Fritz Lang’s style in specific.
That hot coffee scene was shocking even though it happened offscreen. Then having her turn around and do it to Lee Marvin's character was an audacious touch.

[Rockatansky]

Pretty much the same ones I'd recommend. I'd add The Patsy to that list too.
*adds to watchlist*

[WHITBISSELL!]

Captain Marvel - Finally watched this. Now all I need to do is rewatch Dr. Strange, Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame and my Marvel debt is paid up.This isn't upper tier Marvel though. Too many callbacks, too many unintended (intended?) homages to other movies. Not to mention an alien villain with an inexplicable Australian accent. British accents I can handle but Ben Mendelsohn's, "What is it that I'm going for here?" bad guy was kind of hard to buy into.

I know the whole point was that he wasn't actually the bad guy but I thought this was a weird way to get to that point.
Anyway, it might not be prime Marvel but it's okay. 80/100

[martyrofevil]

Moonraker (Lewis Gilbert, 1979)
This clearly only exists because Jaws turned out to be such a massively popular character and thus this film is structured to squeeze him into as many scenes as possible. This is (of course) a wonderful thing and the scattershot nature of the plot leads to an abundance of cool set pieces and Lewis Gilbert really knows how to shoot these kind of films. It is a bit of a double-edged sword as the plot is impossible to follow and any scene that's pushing the story forward in any way feels like its getting in the way of something fun happening just around the corner. That being said though, the fun is there far, far more often than not but there's always that mild sting of cynicism that comes with a film made to specifically capitalize on a previous success.
rating_3_5

For Your Eyes Only (John Glen, 1981)
A refreshingly (as I've been watching two of these a day) small-scale Bond adventure that's far from perfect but I enjoyed the vibe of it and despite the lack of spectacle has some really impressive stunt work and some decently suspenseful moments. A likeable, though perhaps not must-see entry to the franchise that I'm probably overrating a tad. Great theme song though.
rating_3

Current Bond rankings:
01. From Russia with Love
02. Thunderball
03. The Spy Who Loved Me
04. Diamonds are Forever
05. Moonraker
06. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
07. Dr. No
08. The Man with the Golden Gun
09. For Your Eyes Only
10. Live and Let Die
11. You Only Live Twice
12. Goldfinger

[ScarletLion]

'Promising Young Woman' (2020)

https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/promising-young-woman-2020/large_promising_young_woman.jpg

A fun film. Wasn't sure about the ending but Carrie Mulligan was absolutely excellent. Very promising for a debut feature from Emerald Fennell.

6.8/10

[WrinkledMind]

Just finished watching Nameless Gangster. It didn't work for me. It didn't have any structure. The plotlines were bizzare at times (specifically how the hero manages to come out of every tricky situation is a little unbelievable).

[Thief]

Current Bond rankings:
01. From Russia with Love
02. Thunderball
03. The Spy Who Loved Me
04. Diamonds are Forever
05. Moonraker
06. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
07. Dr. No
08. The Man with the Golden Gun
09. For Your Eyes Only
10. Live and Let Die
11. You Only Live Twice
12. Goldfinger


Still surprised to see Goldfinger at the bottom after all those films 😲😁

[Wooley]

The part where he demands that Stella make out with him in the car and then we she refuses he repeats the demand in an angrier voice (a scene that happens in the first encounter between the two) put me off of his character so much. And then once Kelp is also a lech, there's no one to really click with.

Also, OMG THIS QUOTE: "A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world."

Wait, who the hell said that?!!!

Also, I wonder if there was a more misogynistic time in American History than the 1950s and 1960s. As thoughtful people so often say, when people in this country pine for "The Good Old Days", they're really talking about that brief period between WWII and Civil Rights when the White Male was at his absolute worst in this country and everyone else was at their most oppressed (since Slavery).

[Wooley]

Yes, the key to enjoying a Lewis film is to pretend that Lewis the actual person doesn't exist. I've never heard of him doing anything on a Cosby level, he just strikes me as a sleaze. As much as I like (some of) his films, he's not someone I spend a lot of time reading about, let's put it that way.

I agree. I also grew up on Jerry Lewis films (we were probably watching the same channels at the same time from what our history talking sounds like) and despite the appeal to a young person of his comedy, Lewis really strikes me as kind of a piece of ****.

[Wooley]

Damn good movie. I don't know if you've seen it yet but you should try out Ride the Pink Horse with Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix and Thomas Gomez. Another first rate noir.

I have not but I will definitely add it to the queue.

[Wooley]

That hot coffee scene was shocking even though it happened offscreen. Then having her turn around and do it to Lee Marvin's character was an audacious touch.

If any beverage can really amp a movie up to 11...

[Wooley]

Captain Marvel - Finally watched this. Now all I need to do is rewatch Dr. Strange, Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame and my Marvel debt is paid up.This isn't upper tier Marvel though. Too many callbacks, too many unintended (intended?) homages to other movies. Not to mention an alien villain with an inexplicable Australian accent. British accents I can handle but Ben Mendelsohn's, "What is it that I'm going for here?" bad guy was kind of hard to buy into.

I know the whole point was that he wasn't actually the bad guy but I thought this was a weird way to get to that point.
Anyway, it might not be prime Marvel but it's okay. 80/100
This was probably the most disappointing film in the MCU (thus far) for me.
I mean, when Thor: The Dark World came out, expectations for Marvel movies weren't that high yet and Iron Man 2 had already checked my expectations (another big disappointment, but hey, it confirmed The Avengers was coming!) so, as (rightly) maligned as it is, I wasn't that disappointed. Doctor Strange was too paint-by-numbers for me and that disappointed me to.
But none of them as much as this one.
When I heard they were making this, I was giddy. I grew up a huge Captain Marvel fan, he was one of the shortest list of the Marvel heroes I wanted to be.
When I heard they were going with the female version, I was totally on board as this is a character that was primed for that, and I had actually grown up a Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel fan from the comics as well (I was a comic-book kid in the late 70s and early 80s). I bought all the recent Captain Marvel collections to get caught up on what the Carol Danvers version of this character was about.
When I heard they had gotten some indie directors to do it, I was hopeful they would understand how to handle a cosmic property and that Feige would hold their hands through it. Hell, Taika rocked it.
When I heard they cast Brie Larson I was... ehhhh... I was thrilled they landed an Oscar-winning actress for the role, I really wasn't sure Brie was the right person for it.
The movie comes out and, let's face it, Brie is not the right person for this. Maybe it'll get better but she was miscast. The script is... really not great. Really. And I just don't think the directors were comfortable in this film. A lot of stuff doesn't really work and the movie almost comes off feeling more like it should have been a Disney+ release than a theatrical one.
It has some wonderful moments and some really great call-backs to the comics, including my favorite Nova moment, stolen for this character and film, but hey I was happy to see it on-screen and I like this character too, so, fine, but overall the movie has some really stupid **** in it, some of which irreparably damages the MCU (like Fury's eye).
Hopefully, they'll do better going forward, I hope they get someone else to direct CM2, for sure, though I know we'll see Carol in other Marvel crossovers before then.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I have not but I will definitely add it to the queue.I'm surprised at it's relative obscurity. It certainly has all the ingredients of a good noir. The taciturn loner antihero, double and triple crosses, a femme fatale and a Maguffin that sets the whole thing in motion.

Maybe it was the movie's choice of settings that put people off. A small village in New Mexico as opposed to crowded big city streets. Either way I highly recommend it.

[Fabulous]

Clean (2004)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/yh5SOPN4qKj23xfXy4eJaJ1HB86.jpg

[Stirchley]

72319

Rewatch of a lovely movie.

[WHITBISSELL!]

This was probably the most disappointing film in the MCU (thus far) for me.
I mean, when Thor: The Dark World came out, expectations for Marvel movies weren't that high yet and Iron Man 2 had already checked my expectations (another big disappointment, but hey, it confirmed The Avengers was coming!) so, as (rightly) maligned as it is, I wasn't that disappointed. Doctor Strange was too paint-by-numbers for me and that disappointed me to.
But none of them as much as this one.
When I heard they were making this, I was giddy. I grew up a huge Captain Marvel fan, he was one of the shortest list of the Marvel heroes I wanted to be.
When I heard they were going with the female version, I was totally on board as this is a character that was primed for that, and I had actually grown up a Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel fan from the comics as well (I was a comic-book kid in the late 70s and early 80s). I bought all the recent Captain Marvel collections to get caught up on what the Carol Danvers version of this character was about.
When I heard they had gotten some indie directors to do it, I was hopeful they would understand how to handle a cosmic property and that Feige would hold their hands through it. Hell, Taika rocked it.
When I heard they cast Brie Larson I was... ehhhh... I was thrilled they landed an Oscar-winning actress for the role, I really wasn't sure Brie was the right person for it.
The movie comes out and, let's face it, Brie is not the right person for this. Maybe it'll get better but she was miscast. The script is... really not great. Really. And I just don't think the directors were comfortable in this film. A lot of stuff doesn't really work and the movie almost comes off feeling more like it should have been a Disney+ release than a theatrical one.
It has some wonderful moments and some really great call-backs to the comics, including my favorite Nova moment, stolen for this character and film, but hey I was happy to see it on-screen and I like this character too, so, fine, but overall the movie has some really stupid **** in it, some of which irreparably damages the MCU (like Fury's eye).
Hopefully, they'll do better going forward, I hope they get someone else to direct CM2, for sure, though I know we'll see Carol in other Marvel crossovers before then.Good write up. Who do you think would have made for a decent CM? I mean, I liked Larsen in Room and kind of crushed on her in 21 Jump Street but thought she wasn't all that good in Kong: Skull Island. Anyway, the reason I want to rewatch Dr. Strange and Black Panther is because I was also a little underwhelmed by the former and didn't get all the love and box office success of the latter. As for Endgame I only caught it the one time and that was on my laptop while it was still in theaters. I want to give it another go but on a bigger screen.

[WHITBISSELL!]

72319

Rewatch of a lovely movie.Damn, she was gorgeous. I dated a girl years ago that bore a striking resemblance to JL so she'll always be one of my favorite actresses.

[Stirchley]

Damn, she was gorgeous. I dated a girl years ago that bore a striking resemblance to JL so she'll always be one of my favorite actresses.

Yes, & she’s still handsome. You probably know she & Shepard were an item for many years.

[Captain Terror]

I will add that The Ladies Man has one sequence so disarmingly beautiful that it feels like an outtake from The Red Shoes. But because it features Lewis doing his (silent) shtick, I also chuckled all the way through.
I'm drawing a blank here, are you referring to the spider-lady scene? I haven't seen The Red Shoes, but I assume you're not talking about Jerry's "ballet" performance.

[Captain Terror]

I agree. I also grew up on Jerry Lewis films (we were probably watching the same channels at the same time from what our history talking sounds like) and despite the appeal to a young person of his comedy, Lewis really strikes me as kind of a piece of ****.

Yep. All the best movies were on Channel 26, am I right? :)

But yeah, I just want to repeat that I don't know of any specific wrongdoing on Lewis' part in terms of abuse or harassment, it's just that he comes across as an arrogant turd. I've rarely seen an interview with him that left me thinking "what an awesome dude". I think it's why I love King of Comedy so much. He's like Buddy Love again, but shown in a more negative light this time.

[Rockatansky]

I'm drawing a blank here, are you referring to the spider-lady scene? I haven't seen The Red Shoes, but I assume you're not talking about Jerry's "ballet" performance.

Turns out I may have wildly misremembered the scene when I was posting last night, and I'd need to do a proper rewatch to confirm, but thinking this was the one.

*https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4suRfdbWU

[LChimp]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91215Jdgw1L._RI_.jpg

Awesome! Warner/DC more of this, less of that (WW1984)

[Rockatansky]

Turns out I may have wildly misremembered the scene when I was posting last night, and I'd need to do a proper rewatch to confirm, but thinking this was the one.

*https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4suRfdbWU
Note to self: don't make highly suspect claims about the quality of a Jerry Lewis movie when you haven't seen it in years.



I watched Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla only a few months ago, so you can trust me on that one, folks.

[Captain Terror]

Note to self: don't make highly suspect claims about the quality of a Jerry Lewis movie when you haven't seen it in years.



I watched Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla only a few months ago, so you can trust me on that one, folks.

Ok, just clarifying because there is an actual ballet performance in Ladies Man which is, of course, a disaster and not something one would refer to as "beautiful". The Miss Cartilage scene is a weird one that I used to skip when I was a kid but now I kind of dig how weird it is.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Yes, & she’s still handsome. You probably know she & Shepard were an item for many years.Oh yes. Talk about the stuff of legends. Those two must have produced some beautiful children.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91215Jdgw1L._RI_.jpg

Awesome! Warner/DC more of this, less of that (WW1984)I've never heard of this but that poster is awe inspiring. I wonder if that one guy is modeled on the great Jim Kelly. "Bullsh*t, Mr. Han Man!"

[Stirchley]

Oh yes. Talk about the stuff of legends. Those two must have produced some beautiful children.

They did have a couple.

[Wooley]

Yep. All the best movies were on Channel 26, am I right? :)

But yeah, I just want to repeat that I don't know of any specific wrongdoing on Lewis' part in terms of abuse or harassment, it's just that he comes across as an arrogant turd. I've rarely seen an interview with him that left me thinking "what an awesome dude". I think it's why I love King of Comedy so much. He's like Buddy Love again, but shown in a more negative light this time.

All the best movies were on Channel 26. :up:

[pahaK]

Cathy's Curse (1977)
2
I decided to try if TubiTv works through VPN, and it does. And what better way to try than a campy B-horror that's bad enough to not be altogether bad. The story is incomprehensible, acting is weird (especially the father who looks like he's about to laugh any moment, or he's just high), and cinematography is outright inept. I guess the girl playing Cathy is the best performance in the film and she isn't exactly Tatum O'Neal either. And the absolutely weirdest thing is, that Omen IV feels almost like a ripoff (who in their right minds would like to ripoff Cathy's Curse). For some reason I thought this film had a reputation because it's good, but seems the reputation is due to badness.

[Captain Terror]

Watching Cathy's Curse was absolutely the right choice

[Gideon58]

https://imgc.artprintimages.com/img/print/dance-girl-dance-lucille-ball-louis-hayward-maureen-o-hara-1940_u-l-p6tmed0.jpg?h=550&p=0&w=550&background=fbfbfb



3.5

[Takoma11]

Wait, who the hell said that?!!!

Also, I wonder if there was a more misogynistic time in American History than the 1950s and 1960s.

It's a quote attributed to Lewis on his Wikipedia page.

I always go back to that quote "When people talk about the good old days, ask yourself, who were they good for." Every time that icebreaker question pops up about "What past time period would you like to live in?" I'm like . . . . um . . . none of them?

I haven't seen The Red Shoes.

Shame! SHAME!

[BooBooKittyFock]

Modern Times

4.5/5

Absolutely stunning film, smiled or laughed through its entirety. A true king of comedy!

Burden of Dreams

4/5

Truly breathtaking, the tenacity and vigor of Werner Herzog.

[Captain Terror]

Shame! SHAME!

My Powell/Pressburger resume is sorely lacking. Two movies, maybe?
I have seen Cathy's Curse however, so I'm not a total rube.

[Takoma11]

My Powell/Pressburger resume is sorely lacking. Two movies, maybe?

I held off on The Red Shoes for so long because some part of me was like "A dancing/ballet movie? Meh." But it is truly awesome in that way where you're like "Oh, right! The topic almost doesn't matter when a movie is this good!"

I have seen Cathy's Curse however, so I'm not a total rube.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2F54pho1sPmfnri%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1&nofb=1

[Captain Terror]

I held off on The Red Shoes for so long because some part of me was like "A dancing/ballet movie? Meh." But it is truly awesome in that way where you're like "Oh, right! The topic almost doesn't matter when a movie is this good!"


All of their movies look gorgeous which is usually enough for me, so I don't have any excuses.

[Wooley]

Good write up. Who do you think would have made for a decent CM? I mean, I liked Larsen in Room and kind of crushed on her in 21 Jump Street but thought she wasn't all that good in Kong: Skull Island. Anyway, the reason I want to rewatch Dr. Strange and Black Panther is because I was also a little underwhelmed by the former and didn't get all the love and box office success of the latter. As for Endgame I only caught it the one time and that was on my laptop while it was still in theaters. I want to give it another go but on a bigger screen.

Ya know, it's a good question on who I would have preferred to be CM. A lot of people I like are too old for it (considering what the character's age is supposed to be) and I'm not that familiar with a lot of the actors in their 20s. I will contemplate this.
Yeah, I was also underwhelmed by Doctor Strange but man do I love me some Black Panther. I really enjoyed the world they built, I thought the acting was uniformly excellent (especially from Boseman who I preferred greatly to Jordan, who was also good, but also Lupita, Daniel Kaluuya, a great turn from Andy Serkis, and the show-stealing performance, to me, from Winston Duke, who I now want to be in everything), I thought the conflict was actually powerful and meaningful, and I thought it was full of good humor and genuinely touching moments. The action was good enough too (despite some very spotty CGI late) but there's always action in these movies that's not what I come for or I would watch DC more.
Endgame is what it is. It's the culmination of a 21 film investment and all the stories and characters that have been built coming together. It's silly enough that I think you have to be invested but if you are then I think it delivers on many fronts.

[Wooley]

I held off on The Red Shoes for so long because some part of me was like "A dancing/ballet movie? Meh." But it is truly awesome in that way where you're like "Oh, right! The topic almost doesn't matter when a movie is this good!"


I also held off many years on The Red Shoes because, despite all the praise, I just didn't think it would work for me. I was wrong. But I also think so much of it is in the dream-like dance sequences. The rest of the movie is good enough but obviously it's those scenes that push it over the top.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.4grUFpdqCUvCmYH9Z_QbywFNC7%26pid%3DApi&f=1

Sister My Sister, 1994

Christine (Joely Richardson) is delighted when her sister, Lea (Jodhi May) joins her in the job of domestic work for a wealthy woman, Madame Danzard (Julie Walters) and her daughter, Isabelle (Sophie Thursfield). But the two sisters have more than a healthy dose of trauma and mental illness, and in the isolation of the home, both sets of women move to an unhealthy place of mistrust and anger.

Finally, a movie to shake me out of the underwhelming rut of the last few films!

This film is based on the infamous true story of two sisters who, after worsening relations with their employers, committed a scandalous act of violence against them. There are several film tellings of this story (I just watched The Maids last year), and it's not hard to see why: violence, class conflict, lesbians, and the monocle-dropping element of incest.

This isn't a perfect film, but there were many aspects of it that I thought were very interesting!

To begin with, there are multiple levels on which this film evokes the isolation of both sets of women. Aside from a handful of dialogue-less background characters, the film belongs entirely to the four main characters. There are figures that loom large in the narrative who never appear on screen (the sisters' mother, a man Isabelle is possibly going to marry), and their absences--and the characters' longing for them--are deeply felt.

And pushing this even further, the two pairs of women rarely interact directly. When Madame Danzard and Isabelle speak about the sisters, they never use their names. They refer to them as "the older one" or "the younger one"--as if they were animals and not people. The conversation between the sisters likewise puts the other women in a bubble. Christine notes that Madame Danzard doesn't come into the kitchen because "she knows her place." While they all live under the same roof (the sisters live in an attic apartment of the home), they live in very different worlds. And as the film goes on, the rift between those two world widens.

Further, the film shows the way that unhealthily dependent relationships can gain momentum through a sort of see-saw dynamic. While at first it seems that Lea is a bit unhinged and Christine is the "calm" one, through the film we watch the sisters trade these roles: perpetually in a state of one of them freaking out and the other soothing her. It becomes a sort of role play--the uncomfortable line that is blurred between a parent/child relationship and the relationship between lovers--but it is a role play that escalates as their freakouts become more and more hysterical and the solutions to their problems become more extreme. Likewise, the wealthy mother and daughter take turns praising and then criticizing the sisters, using the sisters' paychecks as leverage.

Maybe the best-realized aspect of the film is its understanding of the way that, in such a closed, isolated situation, people can fall into an unhealthy, toxic web of attention and affection. The house is rife with jealousies, and it makes sense: there is only so much attention to go around. It hurts to feel that you are no longer someone's priority, especially when they are literally the only ally you have. The sister's have an intense history of abandonment, and so they respond with particular fear to the threat of being left behind. The two actresses playing the sisters do a fantastic job of portraying the physical side of this intensity--they tremble with the intensity of their emotions.

On the negative side, I thought that the film leaned a bit much on the lesbian incest scandalous hook of the story. The film does a good job of helping you understand how such a relationship could begin, and also how the physical intensity of their relationship only heightens their feelings about each other and their dependence. The sex scenes were generally kept "classy", but it also felt like there were a few more of them than were needed. The story on its own is interesting enough, and at times it felt as if the sex scenes were being used to "amp up" the film and it just wasn't necessary. I thought that the more subdued moments of tension--the sisters exchanging glances as they try to hem a dress under the insults of their boss--were far more effective.

It is an interesting sidenote that this film is totally female-dominated both in front of and behind the camera: actors, writers, the director--all women.

I would say that I liked this film a bit more than The Maids, though they are both interesting takes on the true story.

4

[xSookieStackhouse]

72319

Rewatch of a lovely movie.

loved her on american horror story!
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/b3/30/4eb330c1eca563a99583ef69065672b7.gif

[James D. Gardiner]

https://i.imgur.com/P54NMOd.jpg
Saratoga Trunk (1945)
D: Sam Wood
Starring: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Flora Robson, Jerry Austin

Period drama/romance from the novel by Edna Ferber. This well produced film brings together two characters by chance who are each in the pursuit of righting past wrongs against their families. A powerful attraction is inevitable, but conflicting personal interests create sparks in their volatile relationship. Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman both give very good performances, Bergman particularly dynamic and radiant. Some elements would no doubt be considered beyond tolerable for today, not least of which includes Dame Flora Robson in dark makeup as a Haitian maid, and dwarf character actor Jerry Austin serving up much of the comedy relief.

Thought the photography was particularly good and well thought out, well directed. Wonderfully elaborate costumes and sets throughout, and the reasonably long runtime of 135 minutes given the high standard of production feels like time well spent. As is often the case one gets the impression that Warner Bros really knew how to make a good picture. Of interest, although the film was shot in 1943 it was not released until late 1945 due to the high number of war films in production. It was also the second occasion that veteran director Sam Wood had worked with stars Cooper and Bergman together, the previous entry being Paramount's highly successful production of For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943).

8/10

[Fabulous]

A Late Quartet (2012)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/zgQc4XgrVFu0LrhAd6CiFiV8rQA.jpg

[mark f]

Rosita (Ernst Lubitsch, 1923) 2.5 6/10
The Right to Live (William Keighley, 1935) 2 5/10
Kika (Pedro Almodóvar, 1993) 2.5 6/10
The Flower of My Secret (Pedro Almodóvar, 1995) 3- 6.5/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/64dc457614250a346cda44744c0b8d2d/tumblr_oten14Sq961rxjpb7o1_500.gifv
Successful romance novelist Marisa Paredes welcomes her busy husband (Imanol Arias) home on leave, but things aren't really going well in her personal and professional life.
The Painted Veil (Richard Boleslawski, 1934) 2.5 6/10
Citadel (John Smith, 2020) 2 5/10 16 min
Psycho Goreman (Steven Kostanski, 2020) 2.5 6/10
A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching Siu Tung, 1987) 3 6.5/10
https://giffiles.alphacoders.com/117/11768.gif
Joey Wang tries to keep Leslie Cheung from revealing himself to one of the many freakish spirits out to get them.
Run Hide Fight (Kyle Rankin, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10
Trio (Ken Annakin & Harold French, 1950) 3 6.5/10
The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque (Eric Rohmer, 1993) 2 5/10
The Kid Detective (Evan Morgan, 2020) 2.5 6/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/64628957b9176d65321704c1c4a405ff/c3313880728c60ca-f0/s540x810/19481d68298a65d975d33a56ea293efc5a7c8624.gifv
Successful kid-detective-turned struggling-adult-detective Adam Brody takes a case to try to solve the murder of the boyfriend of high schooler Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato.
Hysteria (Freddie Francis, 1965) 2.5 6/10
The Village in the Woods (Raine McCormack, 2019) 2 5/10
No Fear, No Die (Claire Denis, 1990) 2.5 5.5/10
Meanwhile on Earth (Carl Olsson, 2020) 2.5 6/10
https://d2t8nixuow17vt.cloudfront.net/movie/shot/2320541/h280_44860096.jpg
Bizarre "documentary" about the disposal of human [and pet] life at the morgue and cemetery.
Breaking Fast (Mike Mosallam, 2020) 2.5 6/10
The Strange Ones (Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein, 2017) 2 5/10
Diggers (Katherine Dieckmann, 2006) 2.5 6/10
Born a Champion (Alex Ranarivelo, 2021) 2.5 6/10
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/92/0d/51/920d51ff889320cd8739e2070502fe7a.jpg
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Sean Patrick Flanery seeks revenge against an MMA fighter who nearly blinded him, put him in a coma and may have cheated while doing so.

[xSookieStackhouse]

step up all in 10/10 cause love to rewatch it cause ryan guzman from 9-1-1 is in it :love: https://64.media.tumblr.com/8940182b8f87fc065564ec8965c1f7b8/tumblr_oj4n7nRR841sgaqfho1_250.gifv https://64.media.tumblr.com/7466bc8fcd8107e6c6c5b995f19b653a/tumblr_nhqdchHAFC1tdyinro3_400.gif
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTUzMjUyODA1Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjIwNTQ5MTE@._V1_.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Frobsmovievault.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F09%2Fthe-nutty-professor-1963.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Nutty Professor, 1963


3

Enjoyed your review and agree with everything you said. This was an alleged comedy classic that did not live up to its reputation IMO.

[matt72582]

Ditte Menneskebarn - 7/10


Simple director mistakes, plot holes, jump in chronology without explanation, but it's good to finally complete a movie. <sigh of relief>



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Ditte_Menneskebarn_DVD.jpg

[martyrofevil]

Still surprised to see Goldfinger at the bottom after all those films 😲😁


None of the other films had anything as bad as the Oddjob fight or Bond saving the day via rape :shrug:

[martyrofevil]

Octopussy (John Glen, 1983)
Ngl I'm running out of things to say about these films but this is a fun entry with a good amount of laughs mixed in with the action scenes and some real creative ideas. This one's solid.
rating_3

A View to a Kill (John Glen, 1985)
The John Glen run of Bond films all seem have more or less the same visual approach (ie nothing) but they all manage to be fun, if unspectacular, entries to the series and Moore's final outing is no different. The team of Christopher Walken and Grace Jones as the villains is some inspired casting and are responsible for a lot of the standout moments here including the climax of the film which some may find underwhelming but I dug it. Also can't believe they got Duran Duran for the theme and it sucked :(
rating_3

Current Bond rankings:
01. From Russia with Love
02. Thunderball
03. The Spy Who Loved Me
04. Diamonds are Forever
05. Moonraker
06. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
07. Dr. No
08. The Man with the Golden Gun
09. Octopussy
10. A View to a Kill
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. Live and Let Die
13. You Only Live Twice
14. Goldfinger

[hell_storm2004]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTWZ0CutJ1u7dlmbPBg1vM0sqR1jb6XPShW6Q&usqp=CAU


Small Axe: Mangrove (2020) - 6.8/10. A very very good film from Steve McQueen. Went under the radar a bit for me. But liked the story very much. I will go over the other four movies pretty soon.

[pahaK]

Black Christmas (1974)
3
I finally fixed one of the bigger holes in my horror expertise. Yeah, it's a slasher, but fortunately one of the better ones. It's kind of Giallo-like, which is a bonus (I especially liked the murder using the glass unicorn). Like many slashers, it does drag a little, but at least it builds an atmosphere. Some nice shots and creepier than normal phone calls make it almost good (which isn't shabby for the genre).

[McConnaughay]

I recently watched Snowpiercer. It is a film I had been ignoring for a long, long time, for a reason I can't really explain other than - the cover looks real serious and boring. I liked it though. A lot, in fact. I would highly recommend it.

[Gideon58]

https://pics.filmaffinity.com/George_Lopez_We_ll_Do_It_for_Half_TV-488750882-large.jpg


1.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Ftangerines-2013%2Fhero_Tangerines-2015-1.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Tangerines, 2013

Ivo (Lembit Ulfsak) lives and works in a small village that is all but abandoned as an armed conflict gains momentum nearby. Along with his friend Margus (Elmo Nuganen), Ivo hopes to harvest an orchard full of tangerines before being forced to move away. When two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict, Nika (Misha Meskhi) and Ahmed (Giorgi Nakashidze), end up wounded and staying in Ivo's home, Ivo must walk a delicate line between the two sides.

This film is a great example of a simple but powerful story.

As with some international films, I am not very familiar with the conflict portrayed in this movie. And yet I do not feel that understanding that conflict is a requirement for picking up on the film's very clear themes about violence and decency. At one point a character literally says of the soldiers on both sides, "What if they just picked tangerines?".

So many elements of this movie fall into the category of simple-but-effective. And nothing anchors the film more than Lembit Ulfsak's performance as Ivo, a man in whom decency is so ingrained that it compels similar decency in others just out of pure expectation. In his treatment of Nika and Ahmed, Ivo becomes a mix of a father figure and a friend. He sees people, all people, as being human above all else: above nationality, above occupation, above age.

In my review of God's Own Country I talked about the gentle power of kindness and the way it can effect change on others. This is another film that shows that dynamic very well. Ivo cares about other people. He asks them questions and really listens to the answers. For both Nika and Ahmed, you can see the way that Ivo's simple expectation of reciprocal respect impact their behavior and, eventually, their attitudes.

Zooming out, the film as a whole walks a lovely line between optimism and realism. The tangerine grove looks like a little slice of heaven, and the firing of guns and explosions feels borderline sacrilegious in a place of such peace and beauty. But many of those who fight do not see such beauty, or have had to shut themselves off from caring about it in order to survive. At its heart, there is tragedy in this film. For all that characters change and grow and mature, kindness alone cannot stop the beating of war drums. What we do see of the fighting between the two groups is messy, disjoint, and wasteful.

Something I have not fully thought through yet is the way that this film explores the idea of violence and war as erasing identity. There are no women in the film, at all (save a sometimes-discussed photo of Ivo's granddaughter). And with Ivo's family all gone, his own identity has become more abstract. The relationships that define who these men are (fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, etc) are conspicuously absent until the different characters tease it out of each other.

I had no complaints about this film. It is a simple story told with a strong eye for characterization. The performances are good and the scenery is gorgeous.

4.5

[John W Constantine]

Casablanca (rewatch)

4.5

[WHITBISSELL!]

The Blue Dahlia - 1946 noir starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake and directed by George Marshall with an original screenplay by Raymond Chandler. When I finished this my first thought was that it was altogether convoluted. But then I felt I was being a little hard on it. Until I researched it and that actually turned out to be the case. Alan Ladd was one of Paramount studios biggest stars so when he was called back to serve during the war the studio panicked and started production with a half finished script. Chandler had to complete it under a tight deadline, sometimes providing a couple of pages a day during the shoot. This brought on a bad case of writers block which only exacerbated the situation. He was also forced to change the ending by the Naval War Office in order to "avoid disparaging an American serviceman".

So it was quite literally convoluted. And the script also relies on so many coincidences that they're eventually a distraction. But it does have a great noir vibe with Ladd a returning WWII veteran accused of shooting and killing his wife. And he and Lake do make for an appealing couple, proving that This Gun for Hire was not a fluke. The rest of the cast is solid with Hugh Beaumont, William Bendix, Doris Dowling and Howard Da Silva. It might be a somewhat flawed movie scriptwise but there's still plenty for noir fans to love. 80/100

[gomorra82]

Der Fan (1982) Genre: Horror.

A teen girl is idolizing pop singer “R”. writing letters, letting him know of her devotion to him. As she wait for him to reply, everything else in her life falls into the background. I saw the version dubbed to english, and it did not ruin the style, i feel.

72411
8,5

The Faculty (1998)

Rewatch. Was not aware Robert Rodriguez directed this one. Also, the cast is nice.
Elijah Wood, Usher, Salma Hayek, Josh Harnett, Jordana Brewster, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick, Danny Masterson.
7,5.

[letsolar]

The latest power supply: boundless space, it's OK

[Fabulous]

Official Secrets (2019)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/hV52VYRbrKbPCL7RWYvkbdFXnhe.jpg

[matt72582]

Lord Of The Flies - 7.5/10
Another reason Google sucks. When you type in the movie, you get some ****ty re-make. Respect the original, even if it isn't as good (which has never been the case).

I have seen this movie before, and after noticing it would be appearing on TCM, I decided it would be a good idea to see it again, since it has been a handful of years since initially viewing this.

I'm wont to like movies with simple stories, but encompass society. The movie is very political/social.

There are two groups that appear shortly after the movie begins. They realize they are stranded, but think "We'll survive, we're English" and mention democracy and have a vote on how to operate. The choir boys (initially dressed in black robes) are led by Jack (who I will call "Group #2"), but Ralph is elected as Chief (who I will call "Group #1"). They decide to have meetings to decide on how they are structured, and future decisions, using the conch shell for communication; to call out, and to hold as if it were a microphone and to have some order, with everyone else is silent while the one who holds the conch is listened to before further discussion takes place.

When Group #2 comes with the dead pig, Ralph looks a little defeated that it had nothing to do with his leadership and just sits and watches until one of the younger kids brings Ralph a big piece of pork (sounds like politics, eh?).

Jack who is the de-facto leader in part because he has a knife, kills a pig and they finally have something substantial to eat. Jack has the other choir boys responsible for keeping the fire going, but they become negligent and the passing aeroplane does not notice because the smoke has dissipated.

A nice young lad is told "Damn you for being weak", and like any society, those who aren't "useful" will not enjoy the benefits others have, enabling a caste system.

Jack seems emboldened after his bloodthirsty expedition, and breaks away by telling the others, "MY hunters will protect you from the beast, which could be a ghost" after one boy looks around and sees nothing after Piggy claims a giant squid could never come on land, to which Jack can only reply with "Who cares what you think, Fatty?" and smashes one of Piggy's spectacles, making him half-blind. Jack goes on and on about this mysterious "beast" - the age of misinformation and religion - having an answer to consolidate power by having a solution for something unknown, something that doesn't exist, but the boys are gullible, just like many who fall prey to superstition. Even on the hunt, the boys use face paint as if they were native warriors. Ralph even sticks the head of the dead animal on a stick as a tribute to the gods.

During a meeting, Ralph talks about rules, and Jack quickly interjects with "We hunt, who cares about the rules?" and mentions how Piggy can't do anything, with Ralph yelling back wondering how a boy with one-eye can do anything. Welfare. Not all people are equal, and to this day, it's a constant argument between the haves and have-not and what is fair when it comes to the distribution of scarce necessities. Piggy is subsequently told by Ralph to watch the little ones, and with some intelligence and imagination, Piggy tells the boys stories to keep them occupied. Even during the most dire moments and circumstances, entertainment is always necessary to function normally.

When Ralph is alone with Piggy, he says he should quit, after it seems he has lost his power. Despite Ralph telling the others in the beginning of Piggy's nickname after being told to keep it a secret, Piggy urges Ralph to keep going as leader, probably because he is defenseless and being closer to the chief is for his own survival.

As an aside, one boy says aloud, "Grown-ups would have tea, discuss, and everything would be all right" as if the mere fact being over a certain age were to solve every problem, including theirs, man vs. nature and man vs. man.

At night, a boy sees a dead pilot but as he tries to tell Group #2, they figure (in their frenzy) it must be the beast, and instead kill him, developing the swarming behavior not unlike some who stormed The US Capitol on January 6th. Ralph is troubled and calls it murder, while Piggy tries to ignore the fact and quickly changing the subject, but scared of even using the word "murder" and attributing it to an accident.

Even though both sides need each other, Jack challenges the power of Ralph and anyone else with comments like "Who says so?" and how "My tribe does what I want".

Group #2 steals Piggy's glasses, and when Piggy takes the conch, the hunters disregard the rules, and one of the wicked hunters rolls a boulder from a hill that kills Piggy, whose body washes away into the ocean, which only leaves Ralph, who is being pursued by the others, until he stumbles upon the feet of a man who is part of the rescue crew.

It's important that the characters are all children - who have yet to be conditioned by the adult society - because they are more prone to behave by instinct, instead of influence. I never saw the re-make of this movie, but it would have been an interesting sociological experiment to survey the disparity in behavior had the children been younger, and perhaps less interested in ego, but perhaps with other problems, such as further immaturity and co-operation.

It might have been a nice idea (maybe as an epilogue or the introduction) to show the children as they were before this incident, and to show how certain events can change a person. We certainly see less division and more uniting initially before the groups become more fractured.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Lord_of_the_Flies_%281963_film%29.jpg

[Stirchley]

Official Secrets (2019)

Good movie.



72444

Very strange movie. I enjoyed it.

[Gideon58]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b9s7wJ-PC70/maxresdefault.jpg



4

[WrinkledMind]

Watched Togo earlier in the evening. Such a fine fine movie. Even with not a lot to show, this had me on the edge at some key moments (which were well done) and melted my heart in the end.

[Dr. Badvibes]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTczMDkzNTg0OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzk2NTAyMQ@@._V1_.jpg

Beyond Bedlam - ★★☆☆☆
- Vadim Jean, 1994 -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bit better than people give it credit for, but still not exactly good. The atmospheric visual clinicality and a solid cheeseball performance by Keith Allen certainly work in its favor. Unfortunately, the lame script and flailing, long-winded direction do not. This thing has no energy whatsoever, nor any noteworthy substance to account for it. Still, I kind of found myself getting pleasantly lost in its weirdo dreaminess, at times.

-------------------------------------------------------

https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2019/2019-08-14/90885886-862e-4aed-b433-3404a02459ae.jpeg

Parasite - ★★★★★
- Bong Joon Ho, 2019 -
---------------------------------------

First rewatch. Funny thing is that the film's only disappointing aspect for me - the payoff of the "bad smell" arc during the climax - only got more pronounced on my second viewing, whereas the rest of the film firmly solidified itself as some of the best material produced in the last 30 years or so. I had also kind of forgotten how lush and consistently beautiful the film looks, with every shot meticulously crafted, inserted and highlighted, to the point where you just can't wait to see the next shot in al its contextual glory. I'm not usually one to whine about cinematography snubs, but this one definitely should've gotten at least a nod in that category.


-----------------------------------------

https://namba.net/imdb/bgs/133709movie.jpg

It's in the Air - ★★★☆☆
- Anthony Kimmins, 1938 -
-----------------------------------------------

Cute little feelgood comedy. In fact, it's so feelgood, that it somehow manages to completely ignore the rising tensions at the time, its subject matter and settings notwithstanding. No, this movie is only interested in being cute and adorable. And that it is.

[Stirchley]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b9s7wJ-PC70/maxresdefault.jpg

What year did this come out? I love ballet, but I have never come across this documentary. Or is it new?

[Gideon58]

2014...appointment viewing for lovers of ballet

[Gideon58]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/e6/a1/09e6a11c932a8aa4a857c6cd4e6530fc.jpg



1st Re-watch...There are plot holes you can drive a truck through, but Gerard Butler ad Jamie Foxx are so good that you almost don't notice.

3.5

[Gideon58]

https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2019/2019-08-14/90885886-862e-4aed-b433-3404a02459ae.jpeg[/IMG]

Parasite - ★★★★★
- Bong Joon Ho, 2019 -
---------------------------------------

First rewatch. Funny thing is that the film's only disappointing aspect for me - the payoff of the "bad smell" arc during the climax - only got more pronounced on my second viewing, whereas the rest of the film firmly solidified itself as some of the best material produced in the last 30 years or so. I had also kind of forgotten how lush and consistently beautiful the film looks, with every shot meticulously crafted, inserted and highlighted, to the point where you just can't wait to see the next shot in al its contextual glory. I'm not usually one to whine about cinematography snubs, but this one definitely should've gotten at least a nod in that category.


-----------------------------------------


Personally, I LOVED Parasite even more on the second watch and am planning a third.
After my second watch, I upped my original rating of 4 to 4.5

[Dr. Badvibes]

Personally, I LOVED Parasite even more on the second watch and am planning a third.
After my second watch, I upped my original rating of rating_4 to rating_4_5


Good! Personally, I think the film is a masterpiece.

[Gideon58]

It is a masterpiece.

[pahaK]

Wicked Little Things (2006)
2.5
A very 80s B-horror. Zombie children wreak havoc from their mine, and single mother with two daughters tries to manage. Not a single original idea, but still moderately entertaining.

[John W Constantine]

Day of the Outlaw

3

[Slentert]

Catch Me If You Can (2002, Steven Spielberg)

Top 5 Spielberg for me, a director I'm a lot colder on than most (while still acknowledging his undeniable craftmanship). He directed this one the same year as Minority Report, and both feel like interesting reflections on the tragic events of 9/11 from the year before, where Minority Report seems to comment on the super surveillance future that was ahead, with Catch Me showing a past where a teenager could cross borders pretending to be an airline pilot and fake passports without much problems, something that would be impossible in current times. Obviously, both movies had already been in production for a long time, so maybe (most likely) I'm just reading too much into it.

Christopher Walken is incredible in this, so is Tom Hanks, but I think this might be one of the best uses of DiCaprio in a movie. The trick behind *most* great DiCaprio performances is that, deep inside, he is just a scared little boy. Despite this being a rather charming and joyous caper about a young con man imagining himself a superhero or even James Bond, it's also a sad tale of a kid from a broken family who gets tired of being smarter than everyone else, tries to enter the real, adult world, treats it like a game (and plays it well) until he has to face the consequences of it.


4/5

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/The_Wilde_Wedding.jpg



3

[Gideon58]

Catch Me If You Can (2002, Steven Spielberg)

Top 5 Spielberg for me, a director I'm a lot colder on than most (while still acknowledging his undeniable craftmanship). He directed this one the same year as Minority Report, and both feel like interesting reflections on the tragic events of 9/11 from the year before, where Minority Report seems to comment on the super surveillance future that was ahead, with Catch Me showing a past where a teenager could cross borders pretending to be an airline pilot and fake passports without much problems, something that would be impossible in current times. Obviously, both movies had already been in production for a long time, so maybe (most likely) I'm just reading too much into it.

Christopher Walken is incredible in this, so is Tom Hanks, but I think this might be one of the best uses of DiCaprio in a movie. The trick behind *most* great DiCaprio performances is that, deep inside, he is just a scared little boy. Despite this being a rather charming and joyous caper about a young con man imagining himself a superhero or even James Bond, it's also a sad tale of a kid from a broken family who gets tired of being smarter than everyone else, tries to enter the real, adult world, treats it like a game (and plays it well) until he has to face the consequences of it.


4/5


I love this movie, never tire of watching it, my favorite DiCapriio performance

[Slentert]

I love this movie, never tire of watching it, my favorite DiCapriio performance
Yeah, it is incredible rewatchable, I could see this become a comfort movie for me.

[StuSmallz]

Funny thing is that the film's only disappointing aspect for me - the payoff of the "bad smell" arc during the climax - only got more pronounced on my second viewingHuh?

[ThatDarnMKS]

The Little Things

4

Copied from my letterboxd...

A solid police procedural made in the shadow of Fincher's works, which places it in the realm of Prisoners, True Detective and Denzel's own Bone Collector.*

With a strong sense of tension and atmosphere, the film glides through its perfunctory plot with minor but upsetting stumbles in the direct build towards its climax. One could complain that the film is largely predictable but I find it culminates into something I haven't quite seen explored in a movie like this (and it's very easy to find many movies like this.)

The performances are uniformly strong, including Leto, who appears to be trying to transform into Johnny Depp at this stage in his career but succeeds in making the most of his make-up and contacts as he transforms into an almost comedic level of creep (emphasis on almost).*

There's not a lot to complain about, outside of a few rushed plot points and easy contrivances in the 3rd act. I doubt this will set anyone's world on fire but if you're a fan of this subgenre, especially of the series True Detective, of which this feels strongly akin, there's a lot to enjoy.*

Genre pulp taken seriously and executed effectively. Sometimes, it's hard to ask for more.

[James D. Gardiner]

https://i.imgur.com/baus7F5.jpg

The Spy in Black (1939)
D: Michael Powell
Starring: Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Sebastian Shaw, Marius Goring

With the screenplay partly written by Emeric Pressburger, it marked the first collaboration of the famous Powell & Pressburger duo. Conrad Veidt plays Captain Hardt, a First World War German U-boat commander who is tasked with a special assignment against the British fleet at Scapa Flow. He lands on the Orkney Islands in disguise and makes his way to his pre-arranged contact Fräulein Tiel, played by Valerie Hobson. There he must gather information for an upcoming surprise attack. Captain Hardt is an interesting character, a sort of anti-hero who as the German is naturally the villain, but is portrayed with enough humanity so one can understand and appreciate his position.

The story maintains a decent pace throughout and is full of interesting dialogue, some of it quite humorous, as well as some good plot twists. An early scene in a smoke filled bar/restaurant looks remarkably similar to a scene from Das Boot (1981). Good quality naval scenes as well with a mix of genuine footage (albeit 1930's vintage) and respectable looking models (the seagoing type). The film was released merely weeks prior to Britain declaring war on Germany for their part in the Second World War.

9/10

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2Fmc%2Fuz%2Fem%2F1v%2Fthe-secret-in-their-eyes-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3Dead3741483&f=1&nofb=1

The Secret in Their Eyes, 2009

In the late 1990s in Argentina, a former judicial investigator named Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is haunted by the lack of resolution he feels over a case from the mid 1970s in which he investigated the rape and murder of a young woman. Turning his memories into a novel, Esposito brings his writing to a former colleague, Irene (Soledad Villamil), and eventually to the bereaved husband, Ricardo (Pablo Rago) in an attempt to make sense of what happened and his own feelings about it.

This movie has been on my radar ever since it came out, and I can only point to the lack of availability on streaming services as to why I hadn't seen it before. I expected to really like it and I did.

The entire film operates under a fascinating interplay of reality, memory, and fiction. The question of perspective and point of view, both in the literal and figurative sense, haunts almost every scene. Esposito is telling his version of the story. And as he writes and has conversations with Irene and Ricardo, he must reconcile his own reality with theirs.

The embedded idea of perspective is wonderfully realized in the way that the film is shot. Frequently we see characters in motion, and as the camera moves we see something that they failed to see: someone standing in a doorway, or another person moving behind them. Things that are there that you don't know are there is a running theme, and it plays thematically as Esposito himself begins to discover truths. Probably my favorite sequence in the film that demonstrates the way that the camera seems to fluidly move from objective to subjective is a scene where the police chase a man through a busy soccer stadium. As the camera (seemingly floating around objectively) follows the man, he suddenly ducks down a flight of stairs and the camera, surprisingly, remains on the upper level, following where you think the man is running, and forcing a horrible suspense as you wait for a clearer view to see if he is still there.

I think that the film walks just the right line with the character of Esposito in terms of showing the way that we all process the actions of others through our own understanding of the universe and human behavior. As he begins to confront the decisions he made in the past, Esposito must contend with the way that the others have chosen to regard that time. In one scene, Irene pushes back a bit on Esposito's portrayal of her in his writing. When he responds that it's the truth, she then questions why he didn't make a different decision. We find Esposito at the tipping point between looking to the past and trying to formulate a future. There are regrets, yes, but I really appreciated that the film didn't play into the bias that once characters pass middle age all they can do is rue their incorrect decisions. Even in their 50s, these characters are still emotionally "in the moment" and can find a way forward.

It's rare that I want more exposition in a film--and maybe to a certain degree it isn't needed--but I did want a bit more insight into the political dynamics in terms of the government and the judicial branch. A young woman being raped and murdered would be quite the scandal in most communities, and at times I wish there had been more clarity about why events were able to evolve the way that they did. (Trying to keep that vague for spoiler purposes).

On a personal note, one of my favorite Spanish instructors in college was Argentinian, and I was surprised at how much nostalgia I had for the Argentinian accent. (And the shock of remembering the prolific use of "vos" as second person!).

4.5

[hell_storm2004]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTW8DTLjgDv0zxfoUz2roIDU6bOMbJ3VVcDWA&usqp=CAU


Nomadland (2020) - 8/10. Watched this early December. Having lived through recession, this was a special treat. Absolutely heart warming and fabulous. Loved every minute of it. Wonderfully directed. Well acted. McDormand might be in for another Oscar with this one. It will be between Vaiola and Frances for now. I haven't seen The Father, let's see what Olivia Coleman does on that. But this is a must watch.

[CharlesAoup]

Zyzzyx Road, 2006 (C)

Finally got my hands on the biggest box office bomb of all time!

The movie is about a guy and a gal in a car, after apparently (or did they?) killing a guy who burst into their motel room and tried to kill the lady. They're headed to bury him in the desert, but he's not there after the guy turns around to see the trunk again.

The movie starts with some promise. Some sort of vaguely Lynchian slapstick noir, where you wonder why Heigl's character is acting like a weird, baby, talking about Britney Spears while sucking on a ring candy.

It's not entirely coherent, mostly pointless, and the directing is generally discohesive. It starts interesting enough, but it's as if the director was looking at every scene and saying nah, I'll try another vibe for the next scene. A significant portion of the movie is about a pathetic, out of shape, middle aged guy running around the desert trying to find the person he's trying to kill. The movie starts out not terribly ugly, if a bit dark, and at dawn, goes between an ugly, overly saturated yellow and a desatured, even uglier mess.

Not a movie that'll disgust you with how bad it is, but if you're not interested in this for being the biggest flop ever, then you have no reason to watch it.

[BooBooKittyFock]

The Kid:
4/5
Also watched the commentary, what a delightful film.

The Gold Rush:
4/5

The Thing:
4/5

[LChimp]

https://i2.wp.com/teaser-trailer.com/wp-content/uploads/Max-Cloud-poster.jpg?ssl=1

Would've been better if it was shorter, like Kung Fury. It was fun for the first 15-20min, but it got old pretty quickly. At least it seemed like Adkins was having fun, so that's a plus... I guess

[Thief]

SHAME
(1968, Bergman)
A film from the Criterion Collection whose number includes the #1 (#961)

https://64.media.tumblr.com/ca3944358b97c50dab5a5fbb209120e2/f404611834ab29bf-48/s640x960/d3251ce80562f9567d1e7ff1b02eb9ff5f956692.jpg


"It's not something you can talk about. There's nothing to say, nowhere to hide. No excuses, no evasions. Just great guilt, great pain... and great fear."



Shame is a story about the deterioration of this couple at the mercy of a war that ravages them from both sides, it's a story of survival at the expense of life itself. A story of great guilt, great pain, and great fear.

Grade: 4

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2173278#post2173278)

[Ezrangel]

Predator 2

*** out of *****

Drop of quality and directing from the first, but still has good visuals, good acting and good action scenes. An enjoyable sequel overall.

[WHITBISSELL!]

The Picture of Dorian Gray - 1945 urbane horror thriller starring Hurd Hatfield in the title role as a well to do and ostensibly pure of heart young man. As the films opens Gray is having his portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. The garrulous and amoral Lord Henry Wotton (played to perfection by George Sanders) stops by for a visit and is immediately taken with the mysterious young man. Since he is naturally inclined to share his opinions at length and on most anything, Lord Wotton holds forth on morality and man's inclination to deny themselves the pleasures of life. Gray takes it to heart and wishes out loud that he would love to stay young and let his portrait age in his stead. Regrettably, he does so in front of a carved statue of an Egyptian cat imbued with supposed mystical powers.

So starts Gray's inexorable downfall as he first falls in love with the lovely and innocent Sybil Vane (a beautiful and young Angela Lansbury) who works as a singer in a local revue. He first romances her then, again following Wotton's morally questionable advice, spurns her. This of course leads to tragedy and to Gray fully embracing the dark side.

This is a good looking production and no expense seems to have been spared to portray the lives of the blasé and idle rich. And in keeping with their pursuits it's also an intellectual sort of screenplay with numerous references made to the classics. The cast is first rate and also features Donna Reed and Peter Lawford. 90/100

[StuSmallz]

The Little Things

4

Copied from my letterboxd...

A solid police procedural made in the shadow of Fincher's works, which places it in the realm of Prisoners, True Detective and Denzel's own Bone Collector.*

With a strong sense of tension and atmosphere, the film glides through its perfunctory plot with minor but upsetting stumbles in the direct build towards its climax. One could complain that the film is largely predictable but I find it culminates into something I haven't quite seen explored in a movie like this (and it's very easy to find many movies like this.)

The performances are uniformly strong, including Leto, who appears to be trying to transform into Johnny Depp at this stage in his career but succeeds in making the most of his make-up and contacts as he transforms into an almost comedic level of creep (emphasis on almost).*

There's not a lot to complain about, outside of a few rushed plot points and easy contrivances in the 3rd act. I doubt this will set anyone's world on fire but if you're a fan of this subgenre, especially of the series True Detective, of which this feels strongly akin, there's a lot to enjoy.*

Genre pulp taken seriously and executed effectively. Sometimes, it's hard to ask for more.It's the little things that kill
Tearing at my brains again
The little things that kill
It's the little things that kill
Tearing at my brains again
The little things that kill

Why is the film called that, btw? Seems like a weird name for a Serial Thriller to me...

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/PosterBroadwayMelody1936_01.jpg



3.5

[ThatDarnMKS]

It's the little things that kill
Tearing at my brains again
The little things that kill
It's the little things that kill
Tearing at my brains again
The little things that kill

Why is the film called that, btw? Seems like a weird name for a Serial Thriller to me...

It’s in reference to something Denzel says about how it’s “the little things that get you caught.”

[Takoma11]

The Picture of Dorian Gray - 1945 urbane horror thriller starring Hurd Hatfield in the title role as a well to do and ostensibly pure of heart young man. As the films opens Gray is having his portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. The garrulous and amoral Lord Henry Wotton (played to perfection by George Sanders) stops by for a visit and is immediately taken with the mysterious young man. Since he is naturally inclined to share his opinions at length and on most anything, Lord Wotton holds forth on morality and man's inclination to deny themselves the pleasures of life. Gray takes it to heart and wishes out loud that he would love to stay young and let his portrait age in his stead. Regrettably, he does so in front of a carved statue of an Egyptian cat imbued with supposed mystical powers.

So starts Gray's inexorable downfall as he first falls in love with the lovely and innocent Sybil Vane (a beautiful and young Angela Lansbury) who works as a singer in a local revue. He first romances her then, again following Wotton's morally questionable advice, spurns her. This of course leads to tragedy and to Gray fully embracing the dark side.

This is a good looking production and no expense seems to have been spared to portray the lives of the blasé and idle rich. And in keeping with their pursuits it's also an intellectual sort of screenplay with numerous references made to the classics. The cast is first rate and also features Donna Reed and Peter Lawford. 90/100


I also watched this recently and I really liked it.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Frevealbaltimore.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F11%2FThe-Deer-Hunter-1.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Deer Hunter, 1978

Among a larger group of friends are three men, Nick (Christopher Walken), Mike (Robert De Niro), and Steve (John Savage), who are slated to leave for service in the Vietnam War. After a boistrous wedding between Steve and Angela (Rutanya Alda). Before they leave, Nick asks Linda (Meryl Streep) to marry him and she agrees. After a final deer hunt as a group we jump to their time in Vietnam where the men endure horrific treatment. After returning from the war, their experiences haunt them (and their loved ones) in different ways.

I have avoided watching this movie for a long, long time. It's not a good sign when even the cover of a film gives you the shivers. As I imagined, this film was both incredibly strong and it really hit me on an emotional level.

There is something amazing when a director is able to hit that special pace where an hour can feel like nothing at all. This is probably one of the shortest feeling 3 hour films I've ever seen. In my brain, there were three main parts (the wedding, the war, the final act), and the arc between them managed to both fly by and build suspense.

I think that what this film best captured for me was the way that surviving an intense experience changes who you are. It doesn't matter which man breaks, which man dissociates, or which man stays "strong"--in the end their trauma lives inside of them and unavoidably rears its head in even the smallest of moments. Of the three men, Mike is the one who comes out of the experience the most "normal", and yet he has also been fundamentally altered. And whatever degree of normalcy he can hold onto is further shaken by the ripple effect that everything has had on his friends from the war and those left back at home.

There is also a powerful exploration of violence--what it means to witness it and the capacity for it. Mike has a rule about always taking a deer with one shot, and when the film gets into the Vietnam sequences and the infamous Russian roulette scenes, the idea of "one shot" adopts a new meaning. In an interesting dichotomy, after returning home from the war Mike has both an uncomfortable relationship with violence (finding himself unable to take a shot at a deer) and an explosive reaction to encountering it (majorly losing his cool when one friend jokingly points a pistol at another).

The performances are, of course, amazing. I'm enjoying seeing more of De Niro's earlier work, and Walken's performance as Nick is heartbreaking and haunting. Meryl Streep is head-turning in her role as Linda and her presence on screen is undeniable. While the focus is obviously on the main characters, and specifically Mike, the film gives each character a moment--even if it's just a short, quiet sob alone in a kitchen--and it's a compliment to the entire supporting cast that all of the characters feel real and the connections between the larger group feel legitimate. You can feel the shift in the aftermath of the war, and there's a good deal of empathy to go around. Characters like Linda obviously didn't go through what Mike and Nick and Steve experienced, but they have also been impacted and as part of the landscape for the veterans, their pain also matters.

I haven't read anything about this film, and I'll be interested to hear what others have written. I did think that the Vietnamese characters were all of a similar type, but at the same time it reflects the experience of the characters. On the other hand, cruelty and atrocities were not only confined to one side of the conflict. I'm a bit torn on this aspect of the film.

This was a really hard movie to watch. The last two hours are varying degrees of pain and suffering. I sort of regret watching it so late at night and am now trying to use some comfort TV to regain my equilibrium. I'm not sure that I could watch it again anytime soon.

That said, this was an amazing film. I would unhesitatingly recommend it. I found no major flaws with it, aside from being put through the emotional wringer.

4.5

[pahaK]

Bloody Birthday (1981)
3
Lots of good stuff that I've had on my watchlist for ages on TubiTV. Another decent slasher. It's definitely campier than Black Christmas, but quite entertaining. I guess Debbie's peepshow to her sister's room was the highlight of the film.

[Wooley]

The Picture of Dorian Gray - 1945 urbane horror thriller starring Hurd Hatfield in the title role as a well to do and ostensibly pure of heart young man. As the films opens Gray is having his portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. The garrulous and amoral Lord Henry Wotton (played to perfection by George Sanders) stops by for a visit and is immediately taken with the mysterious young man. Since he is naturally inclined to share his opinions at length and on most anything, Lord Wotton holds forth on morality and man's inclination to deny themselves the pleasures of life. Gray takes it to heart and wishes out loud that he would love to stay young and let his portrait age in his stead. Regrettably, he does so in front of a carved statue of an Egyptian cat imbued with supposed mystical powers.

So starts Gray's inexorable downfall as he first falls in love with the lovely and innocent Sybil Vane (a beautiful and young Angela Lansbury) who works as a singer in a local revue. He first romances her then, again following Wotton's morally questionable advice, spurns her. This of course leads to tragedy and to Gray fully embracing the dark side.

This is a good looking production and no expense seems to have been spared to portray the lives of the blasé and idle rich. And in keeping with their pursuits it's also an intellectual sort of screenplay with numerous references made to the classics. The cast is first rate and also features Donna Reed and Peter Lawford. 90/100

Yeah, as I think maybe Tak and I were talking about recently (I think), this is a surprisingly good film and I mean that it really seems to step outside of its time a bit

[mojofilter]

https://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/img11/BeegeesHBODocMainposterbig59902.jpg
THE BEE GEES
HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
(2020)

First viewing. Beautiful documentary about one of the greatest pop/rock groups in the history of music.

4.5

[WHITBISSELL!]

Good documentary about one of my all time favorite musical groups. When it comes to harmonies the brothers Gibb have few if any peers. The Everly Brothers are the only ones I can think of offhand.

[Fabulous]

Hanna (2011)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/6YSsan5UnIM81ZMjidJWXGfBFvN.jpg

[Thief]

MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT
(1968, Gutiérrez Alea)
A film from Cuba

https://4columns.org/img/column/Haslett_Memories_1.jpeg

"Everything seems so different today. Have I changed or has the city?"


Memories of Underdevelopment follows Sergio (Sergio Corrieri), an affluent writer that's trying to make sense of the changes around him in the early 1960s in Cuba. But the changes aren't all political, but personal. His wife and friends are fleeing to Miami, while he tries to cope with his new surroundings and the isolation that comes from it.

The Cuban situation is always one that tends to be polarizing whenever discussed. However, this film manages to be an interesting inside look into the more societal aspects of the country and its people, in the midst of impending change. Like most changes, it might not be perfect, but then again, what is?

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2173406#post2173406)

[John W Constantine]

The Narrow Margin (1952)

4

[BooBooKittyFock]

The Tale of Zatoichi

First film of its 26 movie universe.

4

[Wooley]

Hanna (2011)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/6YSsan5UnIM81ZMjidJWXGfBFvN.jpg

I really liked this one. Caught me totally off-guard.

[mark f]

Penguin Bloom (Glendyn Ivin, 2020) 2.5 6/10
Bulldog Drummond Escapes (James Hogan, 1937) 2+ 5/10
The Saint Strikes Back (John Farrow, 1939) 2.5 5.5/10
Our Friend (Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2019) 2.5 6/10
https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.5273222.1611084156!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg
Husband Casey Affleck and best friend Jason Segel take care of Dakota Johnson as she approaches death by cancer.
The Little Things (John Lee Hancock, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Sweet Home (Rafa Martínez, 2015) 2 5/10
Criss Cross (Robert Siodmak, 1949) 2.5 6/10
The Dig (Simon Stone, 2021) 3- 6.5/10
https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1355382257368719363/Fi6ptcDd?format=jpg&name=600x314
Jusr prior to England's entry into WWII, wealthy but ill Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) hires archaeologist Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to make a potentially-important dig on her property.
Beginning (Dea Kulumbegashvili, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10
The Caller (Arthur Allan Seidelman, 1987) 2.5 6/10
When a Stranger Calls (Fred Walton, 1979) 2.5 5.5/10
Below Zero (Lluís Quílez, 2021) 2.5+ 6/10
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tLjg-i0e0jk/hqdefault.jpg
Policeman Javier Gutiérrez guards a prison transport bus during a constantly-morphing adventure of survival.
Finding 'Ohana (Jude Weng, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Splendor (Elliott Nugent, 1935) 2+ 5/10
Woman Chases Man (John Blystone, 1937) 2.5 5.5/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg, 2017) 2.5 6/10
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6sziEIGqsLM/WNbgaxSK2EI/AAAAAAADmgE/SbdownkJQKM-91Q3ZdyYz_Cb5jcAxvNFACLcB/s1600/giphy%2B%252878%2529.gif
Ghostly pirates attack because there's only so much schtick Jack Sparrow can do after this many films.
Cutie and the Boxer (Zachary Heinzerling, 2013) 3- 6.5/10
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Ôshima, 1983) 2.5 6/10
Hollywood Cop (Amir Shervan, 1987) 1.5 4/10
The Late Show (Robert Benton, 1977) 3- 6.5/10
https://patrickmccoy.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c6e6853ef01bb09e3b8de970d-500wi
New age wacko Lily Tomlin wants to find her kidnapped cat, so she hires old school private detective Art Carney, and they get involved in what turns out to be a complex murder plot.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Falfredeaker.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F07%2Fthe-black-cat-1934-karloff-the-uncanny.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Black Cat, 1934

Newlyweds Peter (David Manners) and Joan (Julie Bishop) meet a doctor named Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) on a train ride. Werdegast is returning home from a brutal experience in WW1, hoping to reunite with his wife and daughter whom he hasn't seen in over 15 years, and en route to visit an old friend named Poelzig (Boris Karloff). When the bus crashes, injuring Joan, all three end up seeking shelter at Poelzig's home, where a dangerous game ensures between Poelzig and Werdegast.

There was a short while where I thought that this film might be truly great, though unfortunately an unerring thread of sexism and some plotting/writing issues keep it from achieving greatness.

At its very best, this film achieves a kind of other-worldliness in both content and the way it is filmed. Werdegast learns that his wife, Karen, died. What he (and I as the audience!) is not prepared for is the fact that Poelzig has somehow meticulously embalmed her and she now floats, ethereally, in a glass box in Poelzig's basement, her hair streaming and her feet delicately pointed. After the shock of this scene (and a walk around the basement that shows that she is not the only woman in Poelzig's "collection"), the camera becomes almost disembodied. It roams through a door, up a staircase. Is this Werdegast's point of view? Poelzig's? The effect is startlingly modern, as the roving camera is underscored with Poelzig's narration.

The lighting here is also really great. While the scenes shot in the upstairs part of the house look relatively bright and normal, scenes in the basement have stark shadows that fall at strange angles. One place in the upstairs that darkness intrudes is in Poelzig's bedroom, where, seen at first through a sheer curtain, Poelzig is seen to have taken Werdegast's daughter (who he has also called Karen) as his wife.

Having mainly seen Lugosi in Dracula mode, it was really fun to see him playing a sympathetic (mostly) protagonist. Werdegast is a man who has been hurt many times over, and yet he still retains his humanity and does not want Peter or Joan to be hurt on his quest for vengeance. Likewise, this was a different type of character than the ones I have seen from Karloff before. The two have very strong chemistry as different sides of an unhinged coin--in both men there is the potential for unexpected violence, but for very different reasons.

I also really liked the portrayal of the evil cult that Poelzig leads. There were very much vibes of The Seventh Victim for me in the idea of evil looking very mundane. These are everyday, normal looking people who are totally cool with watching a human sacrifice.

What kept this movie from greatness for me were two different factors.

The first is simply the constant, borderline oppressive sexism. It starts out innocently enough when Peter introduces himself and his wife to Werdegast, "I'm Peter Allison. And this is Mrs. Allison." This is emblematic of the way that women in the film are regarded more as possessions or trophies than actual human beings. To be sure, there is something of condemnation when we see that Poelzig has embalmed, preserved, and displayed Karen like a scientific specimen. But all three of the main male characters treat the women in the film with condescension. This may seem like a small detail, but there is one scene in which three different men just walk into Joan's bedroom without knocking. And instead of focusing on Joan's discomfort, the point of the scene is to reinforce the growing rivalry and tension between Poelzig and Werdegast. The fact that every woman in the last act seems only capable of screaming, fainting, or screaming then fainting doesn't really help matters. There is a short, kind of sexy and fun scene between Peter and Joan--the way that he holds the front of her robe as they lay together and their obvious comfort and attraction makes them feel much more like real people. I wish the film had contained more sequences like this.

The other thing that bothered me was simply a sense of the story having been written a bit carelessly. The movie is called The Black Cat. There's a disturbing sequence early on where Werdegast kills a black housecat and we learn that he has a deep phobia of cats. Later, a cat appears at a critical moment to distract Werdegast. But in the final act, the whole theme of cats just seemed to fall by the wayside. Peter, who was never all that well written in the first place, seems to become even more blundering and more like an instrument of the script. Profound revelations and plot moments are raised and resolved way, way too quickly. Werdegast's story/tragedy has been building the whole film, and then really key parts of it just come and go in like 10 minutes. There isn't time to absorb as a viewer, much less to watch Werdegast absorb these things as a character. I think that it's possible to build tension and generate momentum while still allowing a narrative time to breathe. But The Black Cat barrels full steam ahead to its climax as if its life depends on it. And with such a short runtime, barely clocking in at 70ish minutes, it's not like there wasn't time to spare. I also thought that the film's epilogue was super cheesy and undercut the macabre, dark tone of the rest of the movie. There is also the matter of the use of yellowface in the character of Werdegast, but as the character himself is not too much of a caricature and the makeup is only mildly appalling, it doesn't do the film too much of a disservice.

For all these complaints, however, I really enjoyed this film. The imagery and lead performances were great.

4

[SpelingError]

Hard Times (1975) - 4

I'm not the biggest fan of sports films (or, at least, it's not a genre I find myself drawn to). However, I really like/love a handful of sports films out there and am always open to checking out more of them. Even though I didn't know about this film beforehand, I was pretty impressed by it. It would definitely land somewhere in my 10 favorite sports films.

I appreciated the way this film handled street fighting, with how winning appeared to be everything for that sport. For instance, Speed was initially treated as an outcast in the film since the wrestlers he worked with usually lost all their fights. It wasn't until he started working with Chaney when his reputation began to grow. On the other hand, Jim Henry's arc was in direct opposition to Speed's. He initially had a reputation for being undefeatable, having won multiple boxing matches in the past. Once he lost his first match though, his intimidating demeanor was gone, he was treated as an outcast by his boss, and ultimately became a shell of his former self. Normally, if you were to lose a boxing match, it wouldn't be a big deal. Just learn from your mistakes and practice to get better. With this film though, being undefeatable came with a price as, once you lost your first match, your reputation would be destroyed.

Chaney had a lot in common with Clint Eastwood in the Dollars trilogy for a number of reasons. Both Chaney and Eastwood were mysterious characters who would wander from town to town and only stay if necessary or if there was something significant for them to do (the final scene lingered with me as it helped to enhance the mysterious aura around Chaney). This also extended to the alienation and his difficulties with getting along with the various people he met, like Speed, who he occasionally got into arguments with, or Lucy, who he was emotionally distant with during their affair. Also, like Eastwood's character, both characters excelled at what they did (street fighting v. Western gunfights), carrying out these acts with an immense precision that none of their opponents could match. Chaney's skill in the fighting matches made for a pleasing style, yet didn't rob the film of tension or narrative momentum since the direction and editing of the various boxing matches were top notch (the fight with Jim Henry was my favorite from the film). This film had a unique feel which I don't recall seeing in any other boxing film.

Overall, I enjoyed this film quite a lot. I can understand someone feeling distant from the characters, but I wasn't bothered by that. The film had quite a lot to offer, like the "winning is everything" feel to street fighting or Chaney's characterization. I can see myself watching this film again.

[Whammy]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=72511

rating_3_5

This is a low budget flick with bad acting and bad costumes that I still enjoyed watching. I went into Blood Moon (2014) expecting a B-flick and that's what I got so, there's really nothing to complain about.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapolloscrow.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F10%2Fspirit-of-the-beehive.png&f=1&nofb=1

The Spirit of the Beehive, 1973

Ana (Ana Torrent) is a little girl living in rural Spain in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Ana lives with her older sister Isabel (Isabel Telleria), her beekeeping-obsessed father (Fernando Gomez), and her mother (Teresa Gimpera). After a traveling show screens Frankenstein, Ana finds her world transformed into a mix of reality and superstition.

I just loved this.

From the get go, Ana, with her brown, wide calf's eyes, seems like a character who was always meant to see things differently. When Isabel introduces her to the idea of invisible spirits, Ana's imagination takes flight and you can practically see her synthesizing the events and ideas around her into her own personal mythology.

I think that this film does an excellent job of capturing that potent mix of fear, excitement, and fantasy that can capture a child's imagination. The wisest thing that the movie does it keep the events subdued. A lesson in basic anatomy in Ana's elementary school classroom goes from whimsical to horrifying when the teacher stands next to the eyeless anatomical model and asks Ana what is missing.

There was something really neat to me about the way that, from the start, Ana empathizes with Frankenstein's monster. You would think that the critical scene where the creature throws the little girl in the water would instill fear in Ana. But instead Ana retains her sympathy. After viewing the film, she wants to know why the creature killed the little girl and why the villagers killed the creature. Later when Ana stumbles on a wounded and hiding soldier, her instinct is to help protect him. I really loved this scene, and especially that the film takes the time to show the soldier's reaction of gratitude to her kindness. A lesser film would put all the emphasis on the sense of danger: is this man going to do something to Ana? But the film isn't about that. It's about how Ana processes what happens in the world around her.

The visuals alone are worth mentioning. Beautiful stretches of land, but all in a muted yellow and brown palate. And the family's house is layered with the father's love of bees, including gorgeous windows with a pattern that evokes honeycomb.

This was a really beautiful film on all levels. I did feel that the subplot about the mother writing letters to her lover was a little underdeveloped, and it didn't quite cohere with Ana's story as well as the subplot about the father's interest in the bees.

4.5

[Captain Terror]

https://media.giphy.com/media/dCL1xQMvsVEMuNY6gI/giphy.gif
La Casa Lobo/The Wolf House (2018)

I was warned ahead of time that some knowledge of the true events on which this is based would be beneficial, so I made the mistake of googling Colonia Dignidad.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonia_Dignidad

Short version is that an accused child molester fled his native Germany in 1961 and settled in Chile where he established a colony (aka cult) with a bunch of ex-Nazis. Care to guess how that turned out? ugh.

I was pleased to find that this film does not deal directly with that story (only because I'm not really in the mood for such things right now, if ever). Instead it's a sort of fairy tale told with the colony as a backdrop. In fact, it is presented as a story being told by the colony's PR department, if you will. So I guess it's not necessary to know the full story before you watch but I recommend visiting that link anyway.

As for the film itself----
So when I watch an animated film I have a tendency to focus on the technique above all else. And when the technique is as mind-blowing as this is, I can sometimes forget to follow the story. There were a few times when I had to rewind because my eyeballs were too busy to read the subtitles. It's all very surreal and I suspect that even if it was in my native language I wouldn't understand all of it, but my main takeaway was the oppressive dream/nightmare vibe and the overall sense of melancholy. (AND the technique too! I don't want to waste a lot of space discussing it, but seriously if you're at all interested in stop-motion you need to watch this.) I'll definitely give this a rewatch soon so I can make an effort to focus more on the story being told.

My 5 star ratings are reserved for my all-time favorites like 2001 or Psycho, so when I give a film 4-1/2 stars after only one viewing that means it has my highest recommendation.


4.5

[pahaK]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapolloscrow.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F10%2Fspirit-of-the-beehive.png&f=1&nofb=1

The Spirit of the Beehive, 1973

Ana (Ana Torrent) is a little girl living in rural Spain in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Ana lives with her older sister Isabel (Isabel Telleria), her beekeeping-obsessed father (Fernando Gomez), and her mother (Teresa Gimpera). After a traveling show screens Frankenstein, Ana finds her world transformed into a mix of reality and superstition.

I just loved this.

From the get go, Ana, with her brown, wide calf's eyes, seems like a character who was always meant to see things differently. When Isabel introduces her to the idea of invisible spirits, Ana's imagination takes flight and you can practically see her synthesizing the events and ideas around her into her own personal mythology.

I think that this film does an excellent job of capturing that potent mix of fear, excitement, and fantasy that can capture a child's imagination. The wisest thing that the movie does it keep the events subdued. A lesson in basic anatomy in Ana's elementary school classroom goes from whimsical to horrifying when the teacher stands next to the eyeless anatomical model and asks Ana what is missing.

There was something really neat to me about the way that, from the start, Ana empathizes with Frankenstein's monster. You would think that the critical scene where the creature throws the little girl in the water would instill fear in Ana. But instead Ana retains her sympathy. After viewing the film, she wants to know why the creature killed the little girl and why the villagers killed the creature. Later when Ana stumbles on a wounded and hiding soldier, her instinct is to help protect him. I really loved this scene, and especially that the film takes the time to show the soldier's reaction of gratitude to her kindness. A lesser film would put all the emphasis on the sense of danger: is this man going to do something to Ana? But the film isn't about that. It's about how Ana processes what happens in the world around her.

The visuals alone are worth mentioning. Beautiful stretches of land, but all in a muted yellow and brown palate. And the family's house is layered with the father's love of bees, including gorgeous windows with a pattern that evokes honeycomb.

This was a really beautiful film on all levels. I did feel that the subplot about the mother writing letters to her lover was a little underdeveloped, and it didn't quite cohere with Ana's story as well as the subplot about the father's interest in the bees.

4.5

I just watched this because of your review, and it was really good. I don't really need to write anything as I almost completely agree with you. I'm just a little stingier by nature, so I'll only give it 4. This was the second great film straight of nowhere I found here during the last week (the other being Sundays and Cybele) - such a great forum to be.

[Takoma11]

I just watched this because of your review, and it was really good. I don't really need to write anything as I almost completely agree with you. I'm just a little stingier by nature, so I'll only give it 4. This was the second great film straight of nowhere I found here during the last week (the other being Sundays and Cybele) - such a great forum to be.

There are so many movies whose titles exist in my head and I think I know what they are about and then I am 100% wrong. I think I perpetually mix up titles and synopses. In this case, I was sure that there was some real animal violence, and when I read more about the film and realized I was totally wrong about the plot, I checked it out.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[WHITBISSELL!]

The Third Man - I hadn't watched this in years and years and if I would have had a fresher memory of it I wouldn't have placed it so low in my Top 25. This is so close to perfection and such a precise and tidily constructed undertaking that I could easily move it all the way up to #2 and would even give it serious consideration as my #1 overall. Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martins, a hard drinking, down on his luck writer of pulp westerns. He shows up in postwar Vienna at the behest of his longtime friend Harry Lime only to find out that his friend has been killed in a mysterious hit and run accident. At Lime's funeral he takes notice of Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), an attractive and enigmatic young woman who turns out to have been Harry's lover. He makes the acquaintance of two British Royal Military Police, Sgt. Paine (Bernard Lee) and Major Calloway (Trevor Howard).

He also runs across Baron Kurtz (Ernst Deutsch) who tells Holly that he and a Romanian national named Popescu (Siegfried Breuer) were with Harry when he died and that he lived long enough to tell them to look after Holly and Anna. He then goes and sees the porter at Harry's apartment building who tells Holly that Harry died instantaneously and that were not two but three men who helped carry his body out of the street. These glaring discrepancies in Kurtz's version along with Major Calloway's implications that Harry was involved in criminal activities convince Holly to stay in Vienna and investigate who this mysterious "third man" may have been.

Director Carol Reed employs disparate techniques to set the proper tone including night time shooting and a wealth of Dutch angles. He also uses shadows, and not just the contrast between light and dark of which there are plenty of effective examples. Literal silhouettes. Thrown against the sides of buildings and tunnels and characters faces. There's also the iconic scene where someone stands in a darkened doorway on a nightime street. And the abrupt revelation prompted by someone in the room above turning on a light. It get's so many things right that it's hard to keep up with all of them. The character of Anna is what writers must have in mind when they attempt to create a femme fatale or an object of desire. She's mysterious without seeming impenetrable and for Holly remains maddeningly elusive. That last protracted shot of a lone figure slowly coming closer and bracketed between two rows of bare trees is the perfect ending to a perfect movie. 100/100

[GulfportDoc]

The Picture of Dorian Gray - 1945 urbane horror thriller starring Hurd Hatfield in the title role as a well to do and ostensibly pure of heart young man. As the films opens Gray is having his portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. The garrulous and amoral Lord Henry Wotton (played to perfection by George Sanders) stops by for a visit and is immediately taken with the mysterious young man. Since he is naturally inclined to share his opinions at length and on most anything, Lord Wotton holds forth on morality and man's inclination to deny themselves the pleasures of life. ...
There was nothing quite like George Sanders. That blase but intimidating "ever so" accent and deep voice always got a viewer's attention, and usually cause him to be the focus in any scene. His presence alone could make a movie worthwhile.

[BooBooKittyFock]

The Lusty Men

4

[SpelingError]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapolloscrow.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F10%2Fspirit-of-the-beehive.png&f=1&nofb=1

The Spirit of the Beehive, 1973

Ana (Ana Torrent) is a little girl living in rural Spain in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Ana lives with her older sister Isabel (Isabel Telleria), her beekeeping-obsessed father (Fernando Gomez), and her mother (Teresa Gimpera). After a traveling show screens Frankenstein, Ana finds her world transformed into a mix of reality and superstition.

I just loved this.

From the get go, Ana, with her brown, wide calf's eyes, seems like a character who was always meant to see things differently. When Isabel introduces her to the idea of invisible spirits, Ana's imagination takes flight and you can practically see her synthesizing the events and ideas around her into her own personal mythology.

I think that this film does an excellent job of capturing that potent mix of fear, excitement, and fantasy that can capture a child's imagination. The wisest thing that the movie does it keep the events subdued. A lesson in basic anatomy in Ana's elementary school classroom goes from whimsical to horrifying when the teacher stands next to the eyeless anatomical model and asks Ana what is missing.

There was something really neat to me about the way that, from the start, Ana empathizes with Frankenstein's monster. You would think that the critical scene where the creature throws the little girl in the water would instill fear in Ana. But instead Ana retains her sympathy. After viewing the film, she wants to know why the creature killed the little girl and why the villagers killed the creature. Later when Ana stumbles on a wounded and hiding soldier, her instinct is to help protect him. I really loved this scene, and especially that the film takes the time to show the soldier's reaction of gratitude to her kindness. A lesser film would put all the emphasis on the sense of danger: is this man going to do something to Ana? But the film isn't about that. It's about how Ana processes what happens in the world around her.

The visuals alone are worth mentioning. Beautiful stretches of land, but all in a muted yellow and brown palate. And the family's house is layered with the father's love of bees, including gorgeous windows with a pattern that evokes honeycomb.

This was a really beautiful film on all levels. I did feel that the subplot about the mother writing letters to her lover was a little underdeveloped, and it didn't quite cohere with Ana's story as well as the subplot about the father's interest in the bees.

4.5

That's a film I need to revisit. I remember liking it quite a bit, but was very surprised by how little the wounded soldier was in it. Maybe it's the fault of the synopses I read which which made it seem like that would be the main premise of the film, but I was a bit baffled by that. I'll have to give it another shot someday though.

[James D. Gardiner]

https://i.imgur.com/j2KQwvJ.jpg

Checkpoint (1956)
D: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Anthony Steel, Odile Versois, Stanley Baker, James Robertson Justice

Okay British crime drama about industrial espionage in the world of sports car racing. A somewhat mediocre script and cast of characters, but made up for by pleasant location filming in Italy, and nice footage of competing 1950's British and European sports cars.

6/10

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbloody-disgusting.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F08%2FA-Nightmare-on-Elm-Street-The-Dream-Master-Freddy-Krueger.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master, 1988

Kristen (Tuesday Knight), Kincaid (Ken Sagoes), and Joey (Rodney Eastman) are all that survive of the Dream Warriors from the third film. But Freddy isn't as dead as they'd hoped and he comes raring back. Falling in his sights are Kristen's friend Alice (Lisa Wilcox) and her brother Rick (Andras Jones), along with Alice's crush, Dan (Danny Hassel).

I mean, the picture above says it all. I was hoping to watch the third film tonight, but it is the only one not available on any of my streaming services. What I got was the fourth film, a movie that has fun ideas here and there but struggles to find any kind of coherent tone and shortchanges its most interesting characters.

The most frustrating thing about this film was that I actually cared about most of the characters. This is maybe the most likable group of teenage protagonists I've seen in a slasher film in a good while. I genuinely liked Deb (Brooke Theiss), the weight-lifting tough chick who would rather watch [i]Dynasty[i] than do her trig homework. I liked her easy friendship with Sheila (Toy Newkirk), the brilliant nerd (SIDENOTE: Brilliant Black nerd girl, a character whose presence actually made me check the date the film was made). Rick and Alice, who both deal with their father's alcoholism following their mother's death, are likable as well.

Unfortunately, in its haste to move from one one-liner cracking death to another, the film almost never gives the characters a chance to breathe.

The film's strength and weakness, as is typical with many a slasher, lies in the creativity of the kills. And it's a mixed bag, to be honest. There are a lot of incredibly obvious set-ups (like Sheila's asthma or Deb finding a cockroach in her food. And the payoffs are a mixed bag. A few of them show visual or thematic creativity, but Kruger is so jokey-jokey that it adds an element of disinterest to the proceedings. These likable characters are mostly just there to be the victims of set-pieces.

I didn't hate this film, but I wish that with such a good lineup of characters the tone had been a little more serious and there had been a more cohesive narrative arc. A few bold choices here and there just don't quite cut it.

2.5

[WHITBISSELL!]

There was nothing quite like George Sanders. That blase but intimidating "ever so" accent and deep voice always got a viewer's attention, and usually cause him to be the focus in any scene. His presence alone could make a movie worthwhile.That silken voice must have run in the family because there was also his brother, actor Tom Conway, who starred in a host of well known movies like Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie. He had the pencil thin mustache going too.

Like buttah.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fd13ezvd6yrslxm.cloudfront.net%2Fwp%2Fwp-content%2Fimages%2FThe-Rhythm-Section-trailer.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Rhythm Section, 2020

Stephanie (Blake Lively) is addicted to drugs and working as a prostitute years after her entire family was killed when their plane crashed. One day Stephanie is approached by a journalist named Proctor (Raza Jaffrey) who tells her that the crash was no accident. With information from Proctor, Stephanie soon connects with a former MI6 agent (Jude Law) who agrees to train her in the art of spycraft and assassination so that she can take revenge on the people who killed her family.

This is a pretty run-of-the-mill action/revenge thriller, buoyed by the performances of its leads and weighed down by the aggressive mediocrity of the script.

The positive is certainly the performances. Lively is solid as the damaged but determined Stephanie. While the whole trope of "useless person becomes skilled killer with a few months of training" is just as silly here as in any other film (maybe more so because of Stehanie's serious drug problem), Lively imbues her character with a believable level of grit and determination. Jude Law (as the man who trains Stephanie and serves as a central exposition machine) and Sterling Brown (as a man Stephanie meets later in her mission) do their best and they do add more legitimacy to the film than it deserves. But their presence and creative line reads can only do so much.

And the writing. Woof. I don't mind action movie tropes when they are done well. But in this film there is a sense of neglect in the script. Basic elements of the plot come off as so incredibly improbable--like Law's character deciding that a woman so riddled with drug addiction that she can barely stand would make a tip-top operative. The direction and staging also feel incredibly old-hat. Because Stephanie is a lady, there are numerous sequences of male characters pushing her up against walls in a vaguely sexual way. The film constantly tries to exploit Stephanie's vulnerability, such as in a sequence where Law's character suddenly tells her to take off her clothes. The script loves walking us up to unpleasant moments, only to pull back from them, seemingly pleased to have just been provocative. And because there isn't much character development to be found, the numerous tropes just grate instead of flowing.

Once the training montage portion of the film is over (expect lots of running and a bonkers "training" exercise where Law's character lets Stephanie try and stab him with a knife, a sequence saved somewhat by the physical commitment of the actors) and Stephanie is actually out in the field, it all becomes even more disjoint. The solid cast manages to get a few moments of emotional heft out of their different scenes, but overall the film has a lurching, clunky feeling. It seems to want to be a serious film, and one that takes the consequences of its action seriously, but this is undercut with just how improbable and rote so much of its structure is.

This is a below-average revenge thriller that is given a lift by its cast. I can't say I would recommend it, but it wasn't the worst thing to watch. At the very least, if you go in with really tempered expectations you might be able to enjoy what does work in the film.

2.5

[BooBooKittyFock]

Cinema Paradiso

5

Oh.... my...... god.....

Such an amazing film!!!! I can’t stop smiling and crying!!! Such a great film!!!

Bravo!!!! Bravo!!! Magnifico!!!!


Edit:

Cinema Paradiso is film that personifies our love of film, through the eyes of a young Italian boy, Salvatore. Taking us on a heartfelt journey that nostalgically reminds us why we love film and why it’s an essential part of our everyday lives.

Salvatore lives in a small village with a theatre in the center of town. There, the theater brings joy and a way to escape the everyday hardships of life, by providing the town with a low cost source of entertainment for everyone to enjoy.

Directed by a fellow film enthusiast, who used some of his own past experiences to the story, brought to life a magnificent film, with an extraordinary cast, beautiful cinematography and a phenomenal score.

Cinema Paradiso is sure to be a favorite among cinephiles and casual movie goers alike.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pride.com%2Fsites%2Fwww.pride.com%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F07%2F20%2Fsteven_universe.jp g&f=1&nofb=1

Steven Universe The Movie, 2019

Steven Universe (Zach Callison) has finally managed to broken peace with the Diamonds. Along with Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst (Michaela Dietz), and Pearl (DeeDee Magno), he settles in to enjoy a respite from their ongoing struggles. But when an old acquaintance of Steven's mother, an embittered gem named Spinel (Sarah Stiles), appears on Earth, it seems that their peace has been short-lived.

If you are a fan of the Steven Universe TV show, this movie plays like a pretty good, long-form episode of that show. In fact, considering that each episode is often only 12-20 minutes long, the fact that the writers were able to craft a 90-minute film that doesn't lose its momentum is admirable.

All of the usual themes are here: betrayal, love, trust, loyalty, and atonement for past actions. Something admirable about the TV show, especially when I think about children watching it, is its interest in why people behave the way that they do and how to go about making amends for hurtful actions. In particular, I like the the film allows Steven and his father to miss his mother, Rose, but also acknowledges the way in which her actions hurt others.

As with the TV show, there are songs aplenty, and I enjoyed most of them. They move with a nice energy, and I thought that Spinel's more dramatic, sad song about her abandonment was really moving.

When it comes to the animation, I am a fan of the color scheme of the show and also the overall style of it. I have always appreciated the unforced way that a wide diversity of characters and character types are woven into the main and background casts.

I would say that if you are not familiar with the TV show, many of the characters and character dynamics might seem a bit unclear to you. But for a fan of the TV show this one is an easy recommendation. It was the perfect film on which to end my weekend.

4

[StuSmallz]

The Third Man - I hadn't watched this in years and years and if I would have had a fresher memory of it I wouldn't have placed it so low in my Top 25. This is so close to perfection and such a precise and tidily constructed undertaking that I could easily move it all the way up to #2 and would even give it serious consideration as my #1 overall. Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martins, a hard drinking, down on his luck writer of pulp westerns. He shows up in postwar Vienna at the behest of his longtime friend Harry Lime only to find out that his friend has been killed in a mysterious hit and run accident. At Lime's funeral he takes notice of Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), an attractive and enigmatic young woman who turns out to have been Harry's lover. He makes the acquaintance of two British Royal Military Police, Sgt. Paine (Bernard Lee) and Major Calloway (Trevor Howard).

He also runs across Baron Kurtz (Ernst Deutsch) who tells Holly that he and a Romanian national named Popescu (Siegfried Breuer) were with Harry when he died and that he lived long enough to tell them to look after Holly and Anna. He then goes and sees the porter at Harry's apartment building who tells Holly that Harry died instantaneously and that were not two but three men who helped carry his body out of the street. These glaring discrepancies in Kurtz's version along with Major Calloway's implications that Harry was involved in criminal activities convince Holly to stay in Vienna and investigate who this mysterious "third man" may have been.

Director Carol Reed employs disparate techniques to set the proper tone including night time shooting and a wealth of Dutch angles. He also uses shadows, and not just the contrast between light and dark of which there are plenty of effective examples. Literal silhouettes. Thrown against the sides of buildings and tunnels and characters faces. There's also the iconic scene where someone stands in a darkened doorway on a nightime street. And the abrupt revelation prompted by someone in the room above turning on a light. It get's so many things right that it's hard to keep up with all of them. The character of Anna is what writers must have in mind when they attempt to create a femme fatale or an object of desire. She's mysterious without seeming impenetrable and for Holly remains maddeningly elusive. That last protracted shot of a lone figure slowly coming closer and bracketed between two rows of bare trees is the perfect ending to a perfect movie. 100/100While it's been a while since I've seen TTM, I can't really feel that Anna was portrayed as much of a "femme fatale", seeing as how naive and trusting she was portrayed in general, pretty much the complete opposite of what a true fatale would've been (like Harry Lime himself said, she "loved too much"). Besides that though, I agree with everything you wrote, since it's currently my favorite Noir of the classical era, so :up: to everything else.

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allhorror.com%2Fpublic%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F07%2FikHYByc2bSQkdsyRLV7q71i3HgH-1366x445.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Paranoiac (1963, Freddie Francis)
3.5

Solidly enjoyable, compact mystery thriller with Oliver Reed and a beautiful Janette Scott - a typical Hammer production with its special charm and aesthetic. Directed by renowned cinematographer Freddie Francis (the man who lensed the Innocents), it expectedly delivers in spades in terms of camerawork, boasting gorgeous black-and-white visuals coming through crisp and clear in hi-def.
Thumbs up.

[Fabulous]

A Good Woman (2004)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/i88hi6An8WtjG0yuj7c3gkBqBVR.jpg

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapolloscrow.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F10%2Fspirit-of-the-beehive.png&f=1&nofb=1

The Spirit of the Beehive, 1973

Ana (Ana Torrent) is a little girl living in rural Spain in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Ana lives with her older sister Isabel (Isabel Telleria), her beekeeping-obsessed father (Fernando Gomez), and her mother (Teresa Gimpera). After a traveling show screens Frankenstein, Ana finds her world transformed into a mix of reality and superstition.

I just loved this.

From the get go, Ana, with her brown, wide calf's eyes, seems like a character who was always meant to see things differently. When Isabel introduces her to the idea of invisible spirits, Ana's imagination takes flight and you can practically see her synthesizing the events and ideas around her into her own personal mythology.

I think that this film does an excellent job of capturing that potent mix of fear, excitement, and fantasy that can capture a child's imagination. The wisest thing that the movie does it keep the events subdued. A lesson in basic anatomy in Ana's elementary school classroom goes from whimsical to horrifying when the teacher stands next to the eyeless anatomical model and asks Ana what is missing.

There was something really neat to me about the way that, from the start, Ana empathizes with Frankenstein's monster. You would think that the critical scene where the creature throws the little girl in the water would instill fear in Ana. But instead Ana retains her sympathy. After viewing the film, she wants to know why the creature killed the little girl and why the villagers killed the creature. Later when Ana stumbles on a wounded and hiding soldier, her instinct is to help protect him. I really loved this scene, and especially that the film takes the time to show the soldier's reaction of gratitude to her kindness. A lesser film would put all the emphasis on the sense of danger: is this man going to do something to Ana? But the film isn't about that. It's about how Ana processes what happens in the world around her.

The visuals alone are worth mentioning. Beautiful stretches of land, but all in a muted yellow and brown palate. And the family's house is layered with the father's love of bees, including gorgeous windows with a pattern that evokes honeycomb.

This was a really beautiful film on all levels. I did feel that the subplot about the mother writing letters to her lover was a little underdeveloped, and it didn't quite cohere with Ana's story as well as the subplot about the father's interest in the bees.

4.5
Masterpiece!

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2019/2019-08-14/90885886-862e-4aed-b433-3404a02459ae.jpeg

Parasite - ★★★★★
- Bong Joon Ho, 2019 -
---------------------------------------

First rewatch. Funny thing is that the film's only disappointing aspect for me - the payoff of the "bad smell" arc during the climax - only got more pronounced on my second viewing, whereas the rest of the film firmly solidified itself as some of the best material produced in the last 30 years or so. I had also kind of forgotten how lush and consistently beautiful the film looks, with every shot meticulously crafted, inserted and highlighted, to the point where you just can't wait to see the next shot in al its contextual glory. I'm not usually one to whine about cinematography snubs, but this one definitely should've gotten at least a nod in that category.

I rewatched this recently and I agree, it's not perfect (I think I gave it a 4.5/5), but, as you say, it's just such a masterfully shot, acted and directed film it overshadows whatever minor flaws there may be. It's not a short film but it's paced so beautifully there's barely a minute wasted in the entire thing. Really a masterclass on how to tell a story.

[mojofilter]

Good documentary about one of my all time favorite musical groups. When it comes to harmonies the brothers Gibb have few if any peers. The Everly Brothers are the only ones I can think of offhand.
I don't think there will ever be a group quite like The Bee Gees. It's amazing how they started off sounding like The Beatles, faded away shortly afterwards, and then reinvented themselves with the falsetto sound, revolutionized the "disco" movement, faded away again with the public turning on disco, reinvented themselves yet again as prolific songwriters, and then reemerged as a veteran pop/rock group once again. It's quite sad how older brother Barry is the last man standing. The interview where he remembers Maurice, Robin, and Andy was heartbreaking.
I know there's going to be a movie about them, and I can't wait to see it now.

[chawhee]

Arrival (2016)
https://in.bookmyshow.com/entertainment-news/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Arrival-Movie-Poster-810x339.jpg
4.5
First rewatch, and it's still a brilliant film. I was able to pick up some plot pieces that I might have missed the first time, and I think I enjoyed it a little more because I could relax my mind along the way a bit knowing how the movie was going to end. The only thing keeping it from a 5/5 might be the simple fact that one could argue that not a lot really happens over the course of the film in terms of actions/events.

[GulfportDoc]

That silken voice must have run in the family because there was also his brother, actor Tom Conway, who starred in a host of well known movies like Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie. He had the pencil thin mustache going too.

Like buttah.
I forgot that Conway was George Sanders' brother. Geez, both men had pretty sad endings; Conway's maybe worse.

[ScarletLion]

Beginning (Dea Kulumbegashvili, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10


What platform is this on please Mark, been looking for it for a while.

[the samoan lawyer]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/he/g5/af/0e/shadows-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=515afd89c0 (https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fletterboxd.com%2Ffilm%2Fshadows-of-forgotten-ancestors%2F&psig=AOvVaw3yyfVKLq4LnpYP3cmUmEE-&ust=1612276169607000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNDflf7yyO4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
https://blogs.iu.edu/aplaceforfilm/files/2018/02/Featured_Shadows-of-Forgotten-Ancestors-1ftflct.jpg (https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.iu.edu%2Faplaceforfilm%2F2018%2F01%2F29%2Fshadows-of-forgotten-ancestors-multidimensionality-of-memory-and-eternity%2F&psig=AOvVaw3LmETN0ZNCdSjZdpq6lTd0&ust=1612277252135000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCICV2P72yO4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965)


Ive been watching so many mainstream movies recently, mostly due to having little spare time, so it was nice to get watching something a bit different. Beautiful visuals with amazing colours and the camera work is quite masterful at times. Not ashamed to admit that parts of the story went right over my head but I got the basic plot. Its by Sergei Parajanov, who directed The Colour of Pomegranates and in my opinion this is the more superior film.


rating_4

[skizzerflake]

Tonight, it's on the Noir theme, but a 1998 sci-fi-fantasy version of film noir, Dark City. In this strange twisted, complicated and genuinely bizarre story, a man wakes up in a vile bathtub and finds out that he's a murderer, pursued by a detective named Bumstead.

But (a big but), this is all a delusion. A race of strange extraterrestrials wants to understand human emotions, has created this dark city on a spacecraft, where it's always night, and sets up situations to see how humans react. Nobody knows that they are specimens in a study, nor that the scenes are re-run because the ET's just don't get us. They especially don't realize that, when everybody is asleep, the city is remade in a different form.

It really is a completely cool movie, amazingly creative, and right up there with non-sci-fi noir movies like The Stranger, Whirlpool or DOA, but infinitely stranger. It stars Rufus Sewell, William Hurt Keifer Sutherland and Jennifer Connelly and a cast of mind-controlling, pale, head bursting aliens whose bodies are inhabited by transparent spiders. How's that for strange.

If you have the Blue Ray version, there's a theatrical cut and a director's cut. They mainly differ with some additional plot elements that fill in a few gaps, but either one is terrific. I might have a slight preference for the theatrical cut, which has a pace that is nearly musical in nature with a visual rhythm, but either cut is terrific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxqhywhPGL4&fbclid=IwAR3sOXpS12mUBu2htgHtbjwwzlTFr-Tgb_eYuaMVOsNSw66DzITe8qy512M

[SpelingError]

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/he/g5/af/0e/shadows-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=515afd89c0 (https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fletterboxd.com%2Ffilm%2Fshadows-of-forgotten-ancestors%2F&psig=AOvVaw3yyfVKLq4LnpYP3cmUmEE-&ust=1612276169607000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNDflf7yyO4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
https://blogs.iu.edu/aplaceforfilm/files/2018/02/Featured_Shadows-of-Forgotten-Ancestors-1ftflct.jpg (https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.iu.edu%2Faplaceforfilm%2F2018%2F01%2F29%2Fshadows-of-forgotten-ancestors-multidimensionality-of-memory-and-eternity%2F&psig=AOvVaw3LmETN0ZNCdSjZdpq6lTd0&ust=1612277252135000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCICV2P72yO4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965)


Ive been watching so many mainstream movies recently, mostly due to having little spare time, so it was nice to get watching something a bit different. Beautiful visuals with amazing colours and the camera work is quite masterful at times. Not ashamed to admit that parts of the story went right over my head but I got the basic plot. Its by Sergei Parajanov, who directed The Colour of Pomegranates and in my opinion this is the more superior film.


rating_4

That's one of my favorites. It's one of the few films I've seen, along with The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, where the music feels like an actual character in the film. Not just background noise I half-acknowledge as I watch the film. I also love the sensual power of the visuals and camerawork which makes the film feel like folklore.

As for The Color of Pomegranates, I'll have to revisit it some time soon. I admired the music, dancing, and the gorgeous visuals of the film, but I felt the story mostly flew over my head.

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pride.com%2Fsites%2Fwww.pride.com%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F07%2F20%2Fsteven_universe.jp g&f=1&nofb=1

Steven Universe The Movie, 2019

Steven Universe (Zach Callison) has finally managed to broken peace with the Diamonds. Along with Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst (Michaela Dietz), and Pearl (DeeDee Magno), he settles in to enjoy a respite from their ongoing struggles. But when an old acquaintance of Steven's mother, an embittered gem named Spinel (Sarah Stiles), appears on Earth, it seems that their peace has been short-lived.

If you are a fan of the Steven Universe TV show, this movie plays like a pretty good, long-form episode of that show. In fact, considering that each episode is often only 12-20 minutes long, the fact that the writers were able to craft a 90-minute film that doesn't lose its momentum is admirable.

All of the usual themes are here: betrayal, love, trust, loyalty, and atonement for past actions. Something admirable about the TV show, especially when I think about children watching it, is its interest in why people behave the way that they do and how to go about making amends for hurtful actions. In particular, I like the the film allows Steven and his father to miss his mother, Rose, but also acknowledges the way in which her actions hurt others.

As with the TV show, there are songs aplenty, and I enjoyed most of them. They move with a nice energy, and I thought that Spinel's more dramatic, sad song about her abandonment was really moving.

When it comes to the animation, I am a fan of the color scheme of the show and also the overall style of it. I have always appreciated the unforced way that a wide diversity of characters and character types are woven into the main and background casts.

I would say that if you are not familiar with the TV show, many of the characters and character dynamics might seem a bit unclear to you. But for a fan of the TV show this one is an easy recommendation. It was the perfect film on which to end my weekend.

4

By any chance did you watch the recent She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power series?

[Wooley]

Tonight, it's on the Noir theme, but a 1998 sci-fi-fantasy version of film noir, Dark City. In this strange twisted, complicated and genuinely bizarre story, a man wakes up in a vile bathtub and finds out that he's a murderer, pursued by a detective named Bumstead.

But (a big but), this is all a delusion. A race of strange extraterrestrials wants to understand human emotions, has created this dark city on a spacecraft, where it's always night, and sets up situations to see how humans react. Nobody knows that they are specimens in a study, nor that the scenes are re-run because the ET's just don't get us. They especially don't realize that, when everybody is asleep, the city is remade in a different form.

It really is a completely cool movie, amazingly creative, and right up there with non-sci-fi noir movies like The Stranger, Whirlpool or DOA, but infinitely stranger. It stars Rufus Sewell, William Hurt Keifer Sutherland and Jennifer Connelly and a cast of mind-controlling, pale, head bursting aliens whose bodies are inhabited by transparent spiders. How's that for strange.

If you have the Blue Ray version, there's a theatrical cut and a director's cut. They mainly differ with some additional plot elements that fill in a few gaps, but either one is terrific. I might have a slight preference for the theatrical cut, which has a pace that is nearly musical in nature with a visual rhythm, but either cut is terrific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxqhywhPGL4&fbclid=IwAR3sOXpS12mUBu2htgHtbjwwzlTFr-Tgb_eYuaMVOsNSw66DzITe8qy512M

Yikes. Some pretty serious spoilers there.
Good movie, though.

[mark f]

What platform is this on please Mark, been looking for it for a while.
MUBI.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I don't think there will ever be a group quite like The Bee Gees. It's amazing how they started off sounding like The Beatles, faded away shortly afterwards, and then reinvented themselves with the falsetto sound, revolutionized the "disco" movement, faded away again with the public turning on disco, reinvented themselves yet again as prolific songwriters, and then reemerged as a veteran pop/rock group once again. It's quite sad how older brother Barry is the last man standing. The interview where he remembers Maurice, Robin, and Andy was heartbreaking.
I know there's going to be a movie about them, and I can't wait to see it now.A big :up: to all of this. Anyone with even a passing interest in them should watch the documentary. It shows just how important they were to music. And for actual fans it's a major treat.

[Takoma11]

By any chance did you watch the recent She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power series?

I've seen (and enjoyed) the first season, but I'm way behind in my TV watching.

[Marco]

Hell Drivers (1957)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Hell_bpmp.jpg
Nice bit of down to earth, threatening drama here starring the wonderful Stanley Baker. Mad cross between noir and kitchen-sink. Story is good and the action (lorry) is actually very believable and well constructed (albeit the romantic angle is a bit clunkey).

Rating, a strong 3.5.

[BooBooKittyFock]

Rewatched Gran Torino and I never noticed that he sings at the end, with the same voice you hear throughout the movie.

[Stirchley]

72537

Never seen this in its entirety. Not a huge Eastwood fan, but a very good movie. The guy who played the killer was excellent. It was only his 2nd movie & since then he’s done a ton of stuff. But I doubt anyone knows his name or what he looks like now. I know I don’t.

[Marco]

Rewatched Gran Torino and I never noticed that he sings at the end, with the same voice you hear throughout the movie.

It was lovely to hear Clint/Walt and Jamie Cullum sing that out. The film had it's failings but I liked it and that close was perfect.

[Marco]

Never seen this in its entirety. Not a huge Eastwood fan, but a very good movie. The guy who played the killer was excellent. It was only his 2nd movie & since then he’s done a ton of stuff. But I doubt anyone knows his name or what he looks like now. I know I don’t.[/QUOTE]

He is manic to the Max (the Scorpio)...seen a few times so know its Andrew Robinson...did more TV roles following this.

[BooBooKittyFock]

It was lovely to hear Clint/Walt and Jamie Cullum sing that out. The film had it's failings but I liked it and that close was perfect.

I thoroughly enjoyed it myself, as I always do. I loved the story, I thought the camera work was great but the acting was something to be desired.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I forgot that Conway was George Sanders' brother. Geez, both men had pretty sad endings; Conway's maybe worse.I do remember David Nivens wrote in his autobiography that Sanders had told him in 1937 that he would die by his own hand. Both men had health problems but Conway basically drank himself to death. I always thought Conway was the younger brother but he was the older by almost two years. Sanders himself underwent a lot of heartache the last year of his life, losing his wife, his mother, and his brother.

He also once ran a tobacco plantation in South America and liked playing the piano and marrying Gabor sisters.

[WHITBISSELL!]

While it's been a while since I've seen TTM, I can't really feel that Anna was portrayed as much of a "femme fatale", seeing as how naive and trusting she was portrayed in general, pretty much the complete opposite of what a true fatale would've been (like Harry Lime himself said, she "loved too much"). Besides that though, I agree with everything you wrote, since it's currently my favorite Noir of the classical era, so :up: to everything else.I thought the same thing when I wrote that. Anna was much too genuine to ever be considered a FF. But I meant it as more of a standard of how women were so often portrayed onscreen. The fact that she didn't have a hidden agenda and was basically a woman mourning the man she loved made her all the more winsome. Yet another aspect that the movie got right.

[Stirchley]

He is manic to the Max (the Scorpio)...seen a few times so know its Andrew Robinson...did more TV roles following this.

Right. And he’s still busy.

[Thief]

GRAND HOTEL
(1932, Goulding)
The first Best Picture winner I haven't seen

http://pre-code.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/GrandHotel4.png


"Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens."



Although one would certainly want a bit more development from some characters, Grand Hotel does manage to balance its ensemble cast fairly well. Still, the pace seems a bit scattered at times and, although the film maintains a mostly light tone, there's a shift towards the bleak that seemed a bit abrupt to me. However, most of the performances are pretty good, with John Barrymore and Joan Crawford being the highlights for me. Finally, the set design was quite impressive, highlighted by some neat camerawork, especially in the lobby scenes.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2174060#post2174060)

[Gideon58]

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_zDiRKA17BM/WP2TUFO0lUI/AAAAAAAAMnU/-oI8eVWXifIjtGy-XSuC8QgenYdT9BXOQCLcB/s1600/IMG_4161.JPG



3

[WHITBISSELL!]

Right. And he’s still busy.Yeah, I remember he was kind of typecast around that time as this annoying creepy type who came to an especially bad end. Like Charley Varrick where he and Joe Don Baker had that blow up. And Hellraiser (which was a totally wholesome role and everyone lived happily ever after).

Of course, as far as being typecast he was certainly no Paul Koslo. That guy basically played the same role in countless movies.

[Citizen Rules]

Never seen this in its entirety. Not a huge Eastwood fan, but a very good movie. The guy who played the killer was excellent. It was only his 2nd movie & since then he’s done a ton of stuff. But I doubt anyone knows his name or what he looks like now. I know I don’t.

He is manic to the Max (the Scorpio)...seen a few times so know its Andrew Robinson...did more TV roles following this.Star Trek Deep Space Nine fans sure do!

[Stirchley]

Star Trek Deep Space Nine fans sure do!

LOL. I knew when I wrote that that everyone here would prove me wrong. :)

[Ezrangel]

Bad Boys For Life (2020)

*** out of *****

Entertaining and action packed, no explosions and just enjoyable dumb fun. It has some flaws sure but a good watch when you want to "shut your brain off".

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.winwallpapers.net%2Fw1%2F2013%2F11%2FPaths-of-Glory-1957-Pictures.png&f=1&nofb=1

Paths of Glory, 1957

In the midst of WWI, a French company is ordered to make an obviously-doomed attack on an entrenched German position. When the attack, which from the get-go was estimated to kill over half of the men even if all went well, goes even more poorly than planned, and a humiliated leadership decides to put the soldiers on trial for cowardice. Three men are selected to "represent" their squad and face potential execution. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) has previous experience in trials, and steps up to defend the men.

I am not the biggest fan of Kubrick. But I want to give a real thank you to whoever it was in the last few weeks who wrote something on here about one of his films and used the term "dehumanizing". I think that this element of Kubrick's films is both where his great skill is and what keeps me often from fully engaging with his movies.

That said, I think that this is easily--by, like, a wide margin--my favorite film that I have seen from Kubrick. It raised questions about what allows such dehumanization to happen in the first place and how different personalities react to it.

The difference, for me, is largely in the character (and Douglas's amazing performance) of Dax. Before the action even begins, Dax has the haunted look of a man who has seen too much. We know from beginning exposition that his men have already been through punishing encounters and have yet to recover to their full strength. He is a kernel of empathy and determination in the middle of a war machine that puts no value in the former. He is a much needed audience surrogate--a witness within the madness, even when he is powerless to stop grave injustice.

The film is bookended with two sequences that reveal the way that people talk themselves, essentially, into cruelty and dehumanization of others. In the very first sequence, two generals meet in the office of one, Mireau (George McReady). Mireau is ordered to send the men out on their disastrous mission. He immediately points out that the men are too worn out, that they are short on munitions, and that even a group at full power would struggle to accomplish what they are being asked to do. Then he finds out that there might be a promotion in it for him. As he walks the room, literally walking in circles, we watch as he slowly convinces himself that the extra munitions aren't necessary. That the men are up for anything is properly motivated (and to suggest otherwise would be to insult the soldiers!). That they can make it happen.

This movie also contains what may be one of the best darkly comic lines I've ever heard. (MAJOR SPOILERS)when one general compliments another that "your men died well today."

In the end of the film (no spoilers! I promise!) we see a young German woman who has been taken prisoner. Tear-streaked and dragged up on stage in front of a group of rowdy and leering soldiers, she is first ordered to greet the men and then berated for not speaking a "civilized" language. While the sympathy of the film lies largely with the soldiers for most of the film in a dichotomy of powerful/powerless, this sequence is a good reminder that anyone can fall prey to a mindset in which other people are worth less and do not deserve mercy. Dax bears witness to this moment as to all of the others in the film.

This film has great use of point of view shots: everything from a man walking a seemingly endless trench filled with soldiers to the lonely point of view of a man regarding the post of a firing squad. But though the film makes good use of these shots, I loved that it always returned to a shot of Dax watching, observing. We are privy to the pain of injustice but also the pain of witnessing injustice. Too often with Kubrick I feel as if the film, in portraying dehumanization, itself has pushed the characters away. I often struggle to emotionally connect to his movies beyond the basic mechanics of his plots. Most of the time I find myself experiencing a distanced appreciation for his technical skills but not much deeper than that.

This film, much like any well-made war film, was hard to watch and emotionally wrenching. At the same time, of any film I've seen from Kubrick, this one most felt like there was a beating heart in the center, even if that heart was breaking. Highly recommended.

4.5

[Thief]

Nice! It's probably on my Kubrick Top 5.

[SpelingError]

Paths of Glory is one of my all-time favorites. Glad you loved it! It's my second favorite Kubrick.

[Marco]

Right. And he’s still busy.

Though not on school buses I hope :)

[Marco]

The Conversation (1974)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Theconversation.jpg
Realise I wrote this a short thumbs up a while ago. Watched again on Sat night, my goodness, the styling. The intrigue. The reliability of an unreliable narrator (as we effectively see things through Harry Caul's insecurities, paranoia and guilt). A real bloody high ebb in Coppola's canon. It will still leave you with theories as the writing, direction and performances are *so strong*. I've heard references to "Blow up" but seen it and it's rather dated and affected...this film seems almost timeless, apart from the setting.

4.8/5 Popcorns...I'll let you share the 0.2 popcorns :)

[pahaK]

Continuing my adventures in Tubi...

6 donne per l'assassino (1964)
aka Blood and Black Lace
3
I no longer need to guess where Dario Argento drew his inspiration to his visual style. Mario Bava's Giallo is absolute eye-candy. Almost every shot is a piece of art. Sadly the script isn't on par with the visual extravagance, and especially the big reveal is poorly managed through exposition. Still definitely worth seeing for the cinematography alone.
https://i0.wp.com/dianaprincexxx.com/kinkyhorror/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/babl5.gif

--
Satanico Pandemonium: La Sexorcista (1975)
aka Satanic Pandemonium
2.5
A Mexican nunsploitation. It's nowhere near the quality of Alucarda, but still mostly entertaining. I guess I have a thing for these sexy nuns who turn to Satan. I was going to give this half-point more, but the ending was cowardly and stupid.

[Thief]

GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
(1988, Takahata)
An animated film

https://the-take.com/assets/img/article/Screen_Shot_2015-12-07_at_7.46.29_PM.png

"Why do fireflies have to die so soon?"


The overall animation is pretty much flawless, but the real beauty and tragedy of the film lies in the relationship between these two siblings, which is one of undeniable love, support, and care. A snapshot of the millions of children from all "sides" that died during World War II. Beautiful creatures that brought joy and light to each other, for however long or short their lives were. Why did they have to die so soon?

Grade: 4.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2174192#post2174192)

[GulfportDoc]

The Third Man - I hadn't watched this in years and years and if I would have had a fresher memory of it I wouldn't have placed it so low in my Top 25. This is so close to perfection and such a precise and tidily constructed undertaking that I could easily move it all the way up to #2 and would even give it serious consideration as my #1 overall. ...
100/100
You made some great points. It's a near perfect film. Here is my review (rather long):

The Third Man (1949)

Producer Alex Korda had sent British novelist Graham Greene to Vienna after WWII to conceive and write a screenplay which would capture the wantonness and treacherous times in the post war-torn city. After much research Green developed a screenplay, The Third Man, the novelization of which was published following the film’s highly popular reception.

The opening monologue over depictive scenes of the war-changed city, and how it was divided up into policing sectors by the Allies, set the dynamic expectant mood. Holly Martins, an American pulp western writer, has been invited to come to Vienna by his old friend Harry Lime, who has promised Martins a job. Unfortunately upon arrival Martins learns that Lime has been killed in a pedestrian auto accident. Martins soon suspects that there has been some foul play after inquiring about the incident with some of Lime’s associates, physician, girlfriend, and the porter where Lime resided.

Lime suddenly appears in the flesh, and eventually meets with his old friend. The truth comes out about Lime’s nefarious deadly black market schemes which had resulted in many innocent deaths. A British Major Calloway convinces Martins to help snare Lime, who has agreed to meet again with Martins and Lime’s girlfriend Anna Schmidt. On his arrival Anna warns Lime who flees to the city’s mammoth sewer system. The police lead by the Calloway and Martins chase Lime, who is ultimately shot.

This film is as close to perfection as one could imagine. Everyone involved in the production was at their finest: co-producers Alex Korda and David O. Selznik, Director Carol Reed, cinematographer Robert Krasker, musician Anton Karas, every single actor in the cast, and the phenomenal editing by Oswald Hafenrichter.

Reed had brought with him both Krasker and Hafenrichter who had worked with him on Odd Man Out, and The Fallen Idol respectively. With these men Reed captured the deepest essence of noir darkness and design, never to be outdone in film to this day. Although Reed had three crews working simultaneously (one each for night, sewer system, and day shooting), it was the impressive night framing, glistening cobblestone streets, back alleys, ubiquitous rubble, and foreboding mood that he captured so palpably.

Each actor was perfect. When David O. Selznik agreed to join as co-producer he brought along Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles to fill the roles of Holly Martins and Harry Lime, originally written as British characters. Also under contract to him was the ravishing Alida Valli, who was being promoted by Selznik as the next Ingrid Bergman. Some of Germany’s finest actors were enlisted: Paul Hoerbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Erich Ponto, and the feisty Hedwig Bleitreu as a landlady.

It’s hard to imagine the impact of this picture without the phenomenal score by zither artist Anton Karas. In a happy accident, Reed heard Karas play at a party, and was galvanized by the sound and its relevance to the story and mood of Reed’s picture. He practically hired Karas on the spot to fashion the sole music track, and brought him to London to overdub the music during a 6 week session-- the same amount of time used for the entire Viennese shoot. Never has a score represented the style of a film, and in this case the era of mid 20th Century Vienna, more exquisitely than did Karas’ stylings. It evokes the gamut of emotions from nostalgic, to haunting, to lively, to humorous. And its use was unique in film as being a single instrument without vocals. The only other score that comes close is David Shire’s eerie piano score for Coppola’s The Conversation.

The film includes two of the most famous scenes in movie history: Harry Lime’s electrifying first entrance into the film by suddenly shining a night time spotlight on Welles, framing him in a doorway displaying his sardonic and whimsical smile with hat askew; and possibly the most iconic ending in film history-- after Lime’s funeral, as Anna takes the long walk back to town on the autumn leaf strewn lane, she walks straight past Martins, who had been leaning on a wagon waiting to reconcile with her. Rebuffed, Martins lights a cigarette, then throws down the match in disgust. The screen goes to black.

Books and countless articles and lectures have been written about The Third Man. The British Film Institute selected it as the #1 film in their list of top 100 British films. In my view it’s one of the best films ever made.

[GulfportDoc]

The Conversation (1974)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Theconversation.jpg
Realise I wrote this a short thumbs up a while ago. Watched again on Sat night, my goodness, the styling. The intrigue. The reliability of an unreliable narrator (as we effectively see things through Harry Caul's insecurities, paranoia and guilt). A real bloody high ebb in Coppola's canon. It will still leave you with theories as the writing, direction and performances are *so strong*. I've heard references to "Blow up" but seen it and it's rather dated and affected...this film seems almost timeless, apart from the setting.

4.8/5 Popcorns...I'll let you share the 0.2 popcorns :)
Two thumbs way up for this one. It sets a mood like few others. Excellent story, acting, photography, and the score was simple but deadly effective. I have it as #7 on my Best All time list.

[Takoma11]

The Conversation (1974)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Theconversation.jpg
Realise I wrote this a short thumbs up a while ago. Watched again on Sat night, my goodness, the styling. The intrigue. The reliability of an unreliable narrator (as we effectively see things through Harry Caul's insecurities, paranoia and guilt). A real bloody high ebb in Coppola's canon. It will still leave you with theories as the writing, direction and performances are *so strong*. I've heard references to "Blow up" but seen it and it's rather dated and affected...this film seems almost timeless, apart from the setting.

4.8/5 Popcorns...I'll let you share the 0.2 popcorns :)

Yeah, The Conversation is great.

Fun fact! This was the first DVD my family ever owned because one of my parents' friends did something related to the film (maybe he was the sound editor?) and he sent us a copy when it was released. So this movie is the reason our family got a DVD player.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F7lwy5tgst9-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2Fdownload-13.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Overlord, 2018

On the eve of the D-Day invasion, a squad of paratroopers are tasked with destroying a signal-blocking device that is mounted in a church in a small German-occupied French town. After a disastrous landing, the group is reduced to Boyce (Jovan Adepo), the fresh-out-of-boot-camp nervous soldier; Ford (Wyatt Russell), the enigmatic, pragmatic new transfer; and Tibbet (John Magaro), the cynical, wise-cracking one who constantly provokes Boyce. But as they infiltrate the French village, they realize that there is something strange and horrific afoot.

The first half or so of this film was really enjoyable. Starting with a genuinely tense and character-building sequence of the men flying through a firefight to their paratrooper drop-point, there's a sense of momentum and stakes. Boyce is a good lead--just an honest man who wants to do his duty, but with too much empathy to ignore the human cost. Ford is a less interesting character--and a less lived-in performance--but he plays reasonably well off of Boyce.

And on the horror front, the sequences in an underground Nazi medical experimentation facility are brutal. There are wise choices made about showing fleeting glimpses of things--like a woman somehow suspended/impaled in some thing that looks half-medical and half-torture. These partial glimpses are much more satisfying than if we were given more time with these horrors.

Overall, I don't know. I started to get worried as soon as the men discover a frightened French woman in the woods, Chloe, and end up going back to her home. From there we meet a sadistic German officer named Wafner (Pilou Asbaek) who, surprise surprise, he is in the habit of coercing/forcing sex from Chloe. Wafner ends up being the film's main antagonist, and it's around this point that the story begins to feel overstuffed. The film hits a lot of familiar beats. It does them well, but at the same time there's some originality missing.

I know that this film has an overall good reputation among horror buffs. I can see why. The performances are good, the horror is well-realized. But by the final 30 minutes I started to have story fatigue. I just sort of lost interest, which coincided with the bulk of the action and bloodshed. And the more the film explains about the village/monsters, the less it makes sense.

Definitely worth watching for horror buffs, but just missed the mark a bit for me.

3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn3-www.comingsoon.net%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F1970%2F01%2Ffile_597753_pawn-sacrifice-movie-review-0972014-110856.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Pawn Sacrifice, 2014

This film follows the true story of Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) and his quick rise to prominence in the chess community, finally centering on his infamous World Championship run against Soviet Union player Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber). In particular, the film focuses on Bobby's declining mental health as the pressure heats up and the chess matches become more and more explicitly an extension of Cold War tensions.

I'm not overly familiar with Bobby Fischer or the world of professional chess. I can't really comment on the accuracy of Maguire's performance, but I thought that he did a good job of portraying a man who is incredibly eccentric in a way that masks the slow decline of his mental health. Peter Sarsgaard plays a priest who becomes Bobby's advocate and second in the different tournaments and realizes the path that Bobby is on. I also enjoyed the film's portrayal of Spassky and Schreiber's performance of the character. Rather than be a one-dimensional villain, Spassky is another eccentric. It is hard to tell at points how much his own paranoia is simply feeding off of the vibes that Bobby puts out.

The most compelling part of the film, for me, was just the acknowledgement of the way that in the interest of the "greater good," people will look the other way when someone is being harmed. It becomes more and more clear that Bobby is going down a dangerous path in terms of his mental health. He begins to foster conspiracy theory about the Russians and "the Jews" (despite his family being Jewish). When his sister tries to get Bobby to a doctor, Bobby's representative smoothly intercepts her attempts. The film has sympathy for Bobby and for the Russian players, who have become symbols in a War that isn't their interest.

Often when I watch biographical films, I wish that I was watching a well-researched documentary instead, and this one was no exception. It wasn't bad, just the kind of film that leaves you wondering "Was that how it really happened?".

3.5

[Wooley]

I've seen (and enjoyed) the first season, but I'm way behind in my TV watching.

Really enjoyed that one, much to my surprise.

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn3-www.comingsoon.net%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F1970%2F01%2Ffile_597753_pawn-sacrifice-movie-review-0972014-110856.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Pawn Sacrifice, 2014

This film follows the true story of Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) and his quick rise to prominence in the chess community, finally centering on his infamous World Championship run against Soviet Union player Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber). In particular, the film focuses on Bobby's declining mental health as the pressure heats up and the chess matches become more and more explicitly an extension of Cold War tensions.

I'm not overly familiar with Bobby Fischer or the world of professional chess. I can't really comment on the accuracy of Maguire's performance, but I thought that he did a good job of portraying a man who is incredibly eccentric in a way that masks the slow decline of his mental health. Peter Sarsgaard plays a priest who becomes Bobby's advocate and second in the different tournaments and realizes the path that Bobby is on. I also enjoyed the film's portrayal of Spassky and Schreiber's performance of the character. Rather than be a one-dimensional villain, Spassky is another eccentric. It is hard to tell at points how much his own paranoia is simply feeding off of the vibes that Bobby puts out.

The most compelling part of the film, for me, was just the acknowledgement of the way that in the interest of the "greater good," people will look the other way when someone is being harmed. It becomes more and more clear that Bobby is going down a dangerous path in terms of his mental health. He begins to foster conspiracy theory about the Russians and "the Jews" (despite his family being Jewish). When his sister tries to get Bobby to a doctor, Bobby's representative smoothly intercepts her attempts. The film has sympathy for Bobby and for the Russian players, who have become symbols in a War that isn't their interest.

Often when I watch biographical films, I wish that I was watching a well-researched documentary instead, and this one was no exception. It wasn't bad, just the kind of film that leaves you wondering "Was that how it really happened?".

rating_3_5
Haven't seen it in years, but I remember Bobby Fischer Against the World being a pretty good doc on the subject. I'll give that a rec if you haven't seen it.

[Wooley]

Continuing my adventures in Tubi...

6 donne per l'assassino (1964)
aka Blood and Black Lace
3
I no longer need to guess where Dario Argento drew his inspiration to his visual style. Mario Bava's Giallo is absolute eye-candy. Almost every shot is a piece of art. Sadly the script isn't on par with the visual extravagance, and especially the big reveal is poorly managed through exposition. Still definitely worth seeing for the cinematography alone.
https://i0.wp.com/dianaprincexxx.com/kinkyhorror/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/babl5.gif

--


This really is a gorgeous film, just a pleasure to watch.

[Rockatansky]

Continuing my adventures in Tubi...

6 donne per l'assassino (1964)
aka Blood and Black Lace
rating_3
I no longer need to guess where Dario Argento drew his inspiration to his visual style. Mario Bava's Giallo is absolute eye-candy. Almost every shot is a piece of art. Sadly the script isn't on par with the visual extravagance, and especially the big reveal is poorly managed through exposition. Still definitely worth seeing for the cinematography alone.
https://i0.wp.com/dianaprincexxx.com/kinkyhorror/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/babl5.gif

--
Satanico Pandemonium: La Sexorcista (1975)
aka Satanic Pandemonium
rating_2_5
A Mexican nunsploitation. It's nowhere near the quality of Alucarda, but still mostly entertaining. I guess I have a thing for these sexy nuns who turn to Satan. I was going to give this half-point more, but the ending was cowardly and stupid.


Blood and Black Lace I was initially a bit cold on but came back to a few years later and ended up loving it. In my case an improved transfer was largely responsible (my first viewing was on a washed out, low-res DVD while the rewatch was the Arrow Blu-ray), but I think I also better adjusted to Bava's slower rhythms. I prefer Black Sunday and Black Sabbath over this, though.



I also liked Satanico Pandemonium more than you did, but I think a large part of it was that unlike some other nunsploitation I'd seen (I must disclose that I am far from an expert here), it seemed to take the heroine's temptation to blaspheme fairly seriously, meaning that her embrace of Satan had an actual dramatic impact. I contrast this with School of the Holy Beast and Behind Convent Walls, which treat their subjects largely as a joke and fall flat for me as a result.

[Allaby]

I watched 5 movies today. Here are my ratings for each:

Watermelon Man (1970) 7/10
A Night to Remember (1958) 8/10
Snowkissed (2021) 6/10
A Novel Romance (2015) 7/10
Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) 6/10

[TheUsualSuspect]

Elephant Man - 4

I need more Lynch in my life.

[pahaK]

Blood and Black Lace I was initially a bit cold on but came back to a few years later and ended up loving it. In my case an improved transfer was largely responsible (my first viewing was on a washed out, low-res DVD while the rewatch was the Arrow Blu-ray), but I think I also better adjusted to Bava's slower rhythms. I prefer Black Sunday and Black Sabbath over this, though.

Tubi has a pretty good quality 720p version of it. I haven't watched a lot of Bava, but I've rated Black Sunday the same as this. I haven't seen Black Sabbath. Thus far my favorite has been Kill, Baby, Kill.

I also liked Satanico Pandemonium more than you did, but I think a large part of it was that unlike some other nunsploitation I'd seen (I must disclose that I am far from an expert here), it seemed to take the heroine's temptation to blaspheme fairly seriously, meaning that her embrace of Satan had an actual dramatic impact. I contrast this with School of the Holy Beast and Behind Convent Walls, which treat their subjects largely as a joke and fall flat for me as a result.

First, I need to emphasize to our newer members that I'm quite stingy with ratings (there was a time when some mofos thought I hated every movie). As silly as it is, even my top-25 ballot for the all-time countdown had more 4.5 films than 5's. 2.5 is pretty much an average film (just as it's the average score mathematically) and 3 is already above average.

I agree about the seriousness of Satanico Pandemonium. I'm not a nunsploitation expert either, and I haven't seen the films you mentioned. I'm pretty sure I'd dislike them for the reasons you mentioned, though. The only films of this sub-genre I've seen from the top of my head are The Devils and Alucarda which both take themselves quite seriously. Alucarda as another Mexican film from the 70s is an easy comparison and, in my opinion, a superior movie. Even without the lackluster ending Satanico Pandemonium wouldn't have been even close to that level.

[Wyldesyde19]

All this talk about nunsploitation is seriously making me consider buying that book that lists every grindhouse film made.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Continuing my adventures in Tubi...

6 donne per l'assassino (1964)
aka Blood and Black Lace
rating_3
I no longer need to guess where Dario Argento drew his inspiration to his visual style. Mario Bava's Giallo is absolute eye-candy. Almost every shot is a piece of art. Sadly the script isn't on par with the visual extravagance, and especially the big reveal is poorly managed through exposition. Still definitely worth seeing for the cinematography alone.
https://i0.wp.com/dianaprincexxx.com/kinkyhorror/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/babl5.gif


I have a history with this movie after first stumbling across it on television when I was a kid. It was a B&W set so all those marvelously lurid colors weren't a factor. All I remembered were the scantily clad women and that notorious scene with the red hot stove. I finally got a chance to watch it again in glorious technicolor and I'm in complete agreement with all the points you made.

[pahaK]

The Vampire Doll (1970)
2
A Japanese vampire film (sort of) that combines influences from many western movies (The City of the Dead, Hammer's vampire films and Corman's Poe films are the first that come to mind) with some local folklore and the always popular hypnotism. I didn't particularly like this mess, but Yuko (like most female ghosts, spirits, monsters, etc. in Japanese movies) was kinda cute. A disappointment after mostly positive reviews in Letterboxd and IMDb.

[MovieBuffering]

The Little Things - 2021

Figured I'd give it a whirl. Denzel is always massively entertaining. It starts off very promising then just gets progressively more disappointing as the film goes along. It's bizarre where it ends up going. Denzel is rock solid per usual, but I gotta say...I thought it from the trailer...Malek is miscast as a lead cop. I think he should have been the suspect he still has that Bond villain creepiness he needs to shake off. His performance was just out of place to me along side Washington. I haven't seen him in much but wasn't impressed in this. Leto plays the creep well enough I suppose. He is fine enough...nothing spectacular but adequate.

The movie itself just decides to go down a weird path. The ending will remind you of a poor man's famous movie ending. I won't say it to spoil it. But it gives you the vibes that's what they are aiming for, it almost feels ripped off lol. Anyways I found the ending very underwhelming. I'll give it credit for the atmosphere and for being engaging, but that could be because of Denzel alone ha.

2

https://data1.ibtimes.co.in/en/full/754220/little-things.jpg

[xSookieStackhouse]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F7lwy5tgst9-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F11%2Fdownload-13.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Overlord, 2018

On the eve of the D-Day invasion, a squad of paratroopers are tasked with destroying a signal-blocking device that is mounted in a church in a small German-occupied French town. After a disastrous landing, the group is reduced to Boyce (Jovan Adepo), the fresh-out-of-boot-camp nervous soldier; Ford (Wyatt Russell), the enigmatic, pragmatic new transfer; and Tibbet (John Magaro), the cynical, wise-cracking one who constantly provokes Boyce. But as they infiltrate the French village, they realize that there is something strange and horrific afoot.

The first half or so of this film was really enjoyable. Starting with a genuinely tense and character-building sequence of the men flying through a firefight to their paratrooper drop-point, there's a sense of momentum and stakes. Boyce is a good lead--just an honest man who wants to do his duty, but with too much empathy to ignore the human cost. Ford is a less interesting character--and a less lived-in performance--but he plays reasonably well off of Boyce.

And on the horror front, the sequences in an underground Nazi medical experimentation facility are brutal. There are wise choices made about showing fleeting glimpses of things--like a woman somehow suspended/impaled in some thing that looks half-medical and half-torture. These partial glimpses are much more satisfying than if we were given more time with these horrors.

Overall, I don't know. I started to get worried as soon as the men discover a frightened French woman in the woods, Chloe, and end up going back to her home. From there we meet a sadistic German officer named Wafner (Pilou Asbaek) who, surprise surprise, he is in the habit of coercing/forcing sex from Chloe. Wafner ends up being the film's main antagonist, and it's around this point that the story begins to feel overstuffed. The film hits a lot of familiar beats. It does them well, but at the same time there's some originality missing.

I know that this film has an overall good reputation among horror buffs. I can see why. The performances are good, the horror is well-realized. But by the final 30 minutes I started to have story fatigue. I just sort of lost interest, which coincided with the bulk of the action and bloodshed. And the more the film explains about the village/monsters, the less it makes sense.

Definitely worth watching for horror buffs, but just missed the mark a bit for me.

3.5

that movie reminds me of cod zombies