Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[ScarletLion]

Silent Running - (1972)

I was looking forward to this, and maybe some day someone will explain to me their affection for Silent Running. Bruce Dern plays astronaut and conservationist (and murderer) Freeman Lowell. He's our noble hero, rightly trying to protect billions of years of biological diversity in the face of government apathy - but he's also a little too quick to dispatch his three equally apathetic crewmen. There may or may not be some subtle humour on display, but it can't detect it. Directed by effects man Douglas Trumbull, this includes a cowriting credit for Michael Cimino which heightens it's bizarre existence. I found most of the film drudgery after we're left with Lowell and his cardboard box robots - even if ...

...he makes the ultimate sacrifice and proves he's willing to back up all of his actions thus far.

4/10




I really enjoyed it. It has an almost prophetic nature regarding climate change.

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 yes im big fan of fast and furious movie trilogy! and glad they showed brians blue skyline at the end aswell and hope F10 will be the last one.
https://img.cinemablend.com/quill/d/1/7/e/1/3/d17e132345fdc36db4b67271d4511e112cdc4d7e.jpg

[Fabulous]

Man in the Wilderness (1971)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/48CmOcvlqloXfqn0M9eZFR32M3.jpg

[mojofilter]

https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/a-quiet-place-part-2-teaser-poster.jpg
A QUIET PLACE PART II
(2021)

First viewing. As far as sequels go, this is a very good follow-up to a superb original film. Gripping from start to finish.

4

[LChimp]

https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/3b327617071869.562b543ac6203.jpg

3rd view. Probably the best action movie from Brazil. The sequel is also very good

[matt72582]

Mike Tyson: The Knockout
New series on ABC.. II've never been a boxing fan, but I always found Mike Tyson's story fascinating, especially the relationship with Cus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxXVEfQLWEM

[GulfportDoc]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=78319
Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

This often overlooked "soft" noir is an enjoyable film, notably because of its actors, writer, and director. Following 5 months after the steamy The Postman Always Rings Twice, this outing for John Garfield features a sweeter but duplicitous romance with Geraldine Fitzgerald.

Garfield plays a con man just released from the army. He soon sets his sights on an affable widow worth $2MM, but unexpectedly falls in love with her. Along the way to a slam bang ending we are treated to an assortment of bad guys: Walter Brennan (who never quite seems nasty), veteran villain George Coulouris, and the gorgeous Faye Emerson as the chanteuse femme fatale lite.

The director, Jean Negulesco (Humoresque; Titanic) guides a screenplay from the novel, both by W.R. Burnett, whose prolific writing was ubiquitous in Hollywood's Golden Age.

The studios were cranking out pictures at a feverish pace after WWII, and this film is nothing special story wise, but it's worth a watch to see the product of all the talent involved in this production.

Doc's rating: 6/10

[EsmagaSapos]

3rd view. Probably the best action movie from Brazil. The sequel is also very good
Not from Brazil, the whole world, better than Sicario because this one is actually much more real and accurate. Milhem Cortaz and Wagner Moura owned the film entirely. I know Wagner for a long time, I was little, long before Hollywood fond him I already knew him as one of the best Brazilian actors, which is not an easy title to give, most people don't know but Brazil has so many good actors, if only Hollywood had half the talent most of them have movies would be so much more emotionally powerful. The second one hasn't so good, but we have to understand the point in which he was made, they wanted to show the reality of how things work. There's one quote that has so much meaning if one wants to dig into it. When he kills the "bad man" and says: Put it in the Pope's bill. We have a holy man wanting to sleep in the Favelas not understanding it's reality, just so he can give a image of compassion, so, they had to clean the favelas so that holy man could be there. This has many social and moral implications, it's something one can think of, the "do gooders" of this world.

[Captain Steel]

Man in the Wilderness (1971)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/48CmOcvlqloXfqn0M9eZFR32M3.jpg

I caught a bit of this and I was wondering if The Revenant (2015) starring Leonardo DiCaprio was a remake or retelling of the story?

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e0/Willys_wonderland.jpg/220px-Willys_wonderland.jpg

1.5

Snooze factor = Zzz



[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

[CharlesAoup]

Slaxx, 2020 (B)

A horror movie about a pair of possessed, killer jeans.

The movie is set entirely in a single store called Canadian Cotton Clothiers. A store where every employee is a douchebag, and the environment and culture is essentially a riff on Apple stores. There, a pair of revolutionary jeans using experimental cotton begins killing the employees.

I'm not sure if the movie has a clear message, but I don't know what it is if it's there. There's stuff about the way the company meaninglessly embraces the aesthetics of progressive politics, and simply repeats what it hears about it all. It's all unclear.

The movie is a good splatter movie, with interesting kills however. The protagonist is good, or at least unobstrusive, and the flow is nice. I would recommend it.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGFmMjZmYzUtNGQ0Ni00MTY5LTg3OWUtNDIyZDAxNTY3NTI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQ3Njg3MQ@@._V1_.jpg



3

[SpelingError]

25th Hall of Fame

The Long Goodbye (1973) - 3.5

I'm still fairly new to Altman as, other than this film, I've only seen Nashville and his segment in Aria, the former of which I loved and the latter I thought was alright. I thought this film was pretty good and I'd put it in the middle. I was mainly impressed with the dialogue. The various wisecracks from Elliott Gould were quite witty and brought a great deal of humor to this film, especially when he agitated other people with them, like Marty Augustine. Elliott Gould was definitely the main highlight of this film for me, as I imagine he was for many others. I also enjoyed the main conflict with Lennox well enough. I found it fairly compelling and was caught off guard by the various twists and turns of it. While I enjoyed that conflict though, I also felt it was overshadowed by other sub-plots, specifically the conflict with the aforementioned Marty Augustine. The sadism and charisma of Augustine and the strangely lovable qualities of his gang members resonated with me much more. His sub-plot also culminated with a delightfully awkward, yet suspenseful sequence which was heightened by an Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. I found all this more memorable than Eileen and Roger, in part due to the average to poor acting from Pallandt and Hayden. Of course, I still liked their scenes, but comparing them to some of the other major characters and their sub-plots, they simply didn't hold up. Regardless of my thoughts on Eileen and Roger though, I still liked quite a bit about this film and I may revisit it in the future to see if I warm up to it some more.

[Wyldesyde19]

25th Hall of Fame

The Long Goodbye (1973) - 3.5

I'm still fairly new to Altman as, other than this film, I've only seen Nashville and his segment in Aria, the former of which I loved and the latter I thought was alright. I thought this film was pretty good and I'd put it in the middle. I was mainly impressed with the dialogue. The various wisecracks from Elliott Gould were quite witty and brought a great deal of humor to this film, especially when he agitated other people with them, like Marty Augustine. Elliott Gould was definitely the main highlight of this film for me, as I imagine he was for many others. I also enjoyed the main conflict with Lennox well enough. I found it fairly compelling and was caught off guard by the various twists and turns of it. While I enjoyed that conflict though, I also felt it was overshadowed by other sub-plots, specifically the conflict with the aforementioned Marty Augustine. The sadism and charisma of Augustine and the strangely lovable qualities of his gang members resonated with me much more. His sub-plot also culminated with a delightfully awkward, yet suspenseful sequence which was heightened by an Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. I found all this more memorable than Eileen and Roger, in part due to the average to poor acting from Pallandt and Hayden. Of course, I still liked their scenes, but comparing them to some of the other major characters and their sub-plots, they simply didn't hold up. Regardless of my thoughts on Eileen and Roger though, I still liked quite a bit about this film and I may revisit it in the future to see if I warm up to it some more.
For Altman, I definitely recommend MASH, Streamers, And Gosford Park.
Also, Brewster McCloud and MCCabe and Mrs Miller are decent as well.
I did not care for Images and Popeye
Still al out of his films I need to see yet

[SpelingError]

For Altman, I definitely recommend MASH, Streamers, And Gosford Park.
Also, Brewster McCloud and MCCabe and Mrs Miller are decent as well.
I did not care for Images and Popeye
Still al out of his films I need to see yet

I'll keep an eye out for them. Thanks for the recs!

[Wyldesyde19]

I'll keep an eye out for them. Thanks for the recs!
I’m sure there are other who may have seen more his films that can give more recs.
And Images is a film that needs to be seen for oneself, so still see it.

[PHOENIX74]

I really enjoyed it. It has an almost prophetic nature regarding climate change.

(re : Silent Running) I had no trouble with imagining a future where nobody (unfortunately) gives a damn about the natural wonders of this World - and commend the film for having the courage to end the way it did. But a lot of things irked me along the way. I couldn't conceive of a space mission in any reality where nearly all of the crew have no stake in the mission and are happy to blow the lot up and return home to a dead planet. Lowell, however, has the requisite wisdom but resorts to murder so easily that he loses my trust. And then we're treading water...

And Dark Star. I was really expecting it to be a lot more like Dark Star, which admittedly isn't nearly as profound but is a lot more fun. If I want a similar one-character film that is profound I have Duncan Jones' Moon.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Jasperjones2017poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55301782

Jasper Jones - (2017)

There were many moments watching Jasper Jones where I thought I was watching a really good movie, but ever since the credits rolled I've been wondering if maybe this would be better recommended for younger audiences. The 14-year old protagonist Charlie (Levi Miller) and his friend Jasper Jones (Aaron L. McGrath) look too young to realistically be hiding bodies, solving murders and drinking hard liquor. Miller's obvious youth (he looks around 12) nagged at the back of my mind the whole way through, and I'd have had a much easier time if this character was 17-years old or thereabouts. I can't really blame the filmmakers about this - in the novel (of the same name) this is based on Charlie is 13.

The film itself is slick, well-scripted and engrossing - a murder mystery you can certainly enjoy. The great Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving are great and much-needed as supporting actors, and the fictitious town of Corrigan is carefully woven and seeded with characters that make it feel real. I feel somewhat bad for having so much of the film knocked off it's perch by the simple fact that it's main characters look too young to be doing what they're doing. Also taken into consideration is the film's setting in time : 1969 - so "kids grow up a lot faster these days" can't excuse it either. I'd have had a better time if I were watching it and I were 14-years old too, so maybe it's great for young adults.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/Them02.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8950986

Them! - (1954) - DVD

Ahh, them. The radiation from atomic blasts have mutated ordinary ants into ones the size of cars. Now there is a race against the clock - if too many queen ants hatch and make new nests then humanity has only one year before losing their domination over Earth. It's hard to be as cynical about Them! as I was Invaders From Mars - there was obviously a lot of care and attention put into this production and it shows. Surprisingly, Them! is most effective as a film when the giant ants aren't on screen swaying this way and that. Tension and mystery builds in the film's first act, and the evidence of destruction is magnified by an excellent performance by James Whitmore.

Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon (who passed away this February) and James Arness round out a cast who give it their all with production values that bring us interesting choppers, planes, ships and military equipment without having to resort to too much stock footage. The giant ants were impressive in their day but have been superseded by Spielberg's dinosaurs in Jurassic Park - you can either chuckle at them, find them endearing, or both.

Bonus Features - If the remastering and clean-up job can be considered a bonus feature then give it ten out of ten - the film looks flawless and beautiful. Behind the scenes film clips are brief and not narrated. The photo gallery is difficult to operate and sparse. The trailer is what you'd expect for a 1950s science fiction feature.

6/10

[pahaK]

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
1.5
Wow. This was much worse than I expected. It's like a supernatural detective story where every single plot development is done through Lorraine's special ability. No suspense, no surprises, no creativity.

[mark f]

Black Gold (Russell Hopton, 1936) 2 5/10
Arianna (Carlo Lavagna, 2015) 2.5 6/10
Return from the Past AKA Gallery of Horror (David L. Hewitt, 1967) 1+ 3.5/10
Magic (Richard Attenborough, 1978) 3.5- 7/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8grnesLg81qedb29o1_500.gifv
Crazy, violent ventriloquist/dummy Anthony Hopkins reacts to a comment from his audience.
Murder by an Aristocrat (Frank McDonald, 1936) 2.5 5.5/10
The Tell-Tale Heart (Jules Dassin, 1941) 2.5+ 6/10
The Old Dark House (William Castle, 1963) 2+ 5/10
Christ Stopped at Eboli (Francesco Rosi, 1979) 3 6.5/10 209 min
https://fgmxi4acxur9qbg31y9s3a15-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/12-CHRIST-STOPPED-AT-EBOLI_WEB.jpg
In 1930s Italy, exiled political prisoner Gian Maria Volonte tries to practice medicine to help the locals but the Fascist Party won't let him.
The Coming AKA Burned at the Stake (Bert I. Gordon, 1982) 2 5/10
I Want to Go Home (Alain Resnais, 1989) 2.5+ 6/10
The Dove and the Wolf AKA La paloma y el lobo (Carlos Lenin, 2019) 1.5+ 4.5/10
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (Michael Chaves, 2021) 2.5 6/10
https://i.imgur.com/9z6i9ZO_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
Couple Vera Farmiga & Patrick Wilson, both veterans of many exorcisms, try to find evidence to defend a young man against first-degree murder by reason of demonic possession.
The Careless Years (Arthur Hiller, 1957) 2 5/10
Flashback AKA The Education of Fredrick Fitzell (Christopher MacBride, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10
Death in Texas (Scott Windhauser, 2021) 2 5/10
C.O.G. (Kyle Patrick Alvarez, 2013) 3- 6.5/10
https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/cog.jpg?w=680
Gay Yale graduate student Jonathan Groff decides to go off the grid in Oregon and learns a lot about those who profess Christianity - both good and bad - from disabled war veteran Denis O'Hare.
Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (Christopher Speeth, 1973) 2+ 5/10
Edge of the World (Michael Haussman, 2021) 2.5 5.5/10
The Witch's Curse (Riccardo Freda, 1962) 2 5/10
Virtue (Edduie [Edward] Buzzell, 1932) 2.5 6/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/e3304ef14057138a395d4eb6626c87a3/tumblr_plskjp8ITj1wy4x3ro1_500.gifv
Call girl Carole Lombard goes straight and marries cabbie Pat O'Brien, but he never really trusts that she won't revert to her past life.

[Chypmunk]

Yay Virtue :up:

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 rewatched
https://dontworrybemappy.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/6_-goonies-revision-2.jpg

[Anny Brown]

Oldboy 7/10 (Playing with feelings)
Se7en 8/10 (Contains more creepy scenes)

[LChimp]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81dVZvYBqCL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Saturday night movie time with my kid. Oh Ghibli, you never disappoint, do you? Loved it, it's just so adorable.

[John W Constantine]

Perfect Blue (1997) - 4

[Raven73]

Soul
8/10.
Like music to my ears.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Soul_Poster.jpeg

[Aidanc]

Seeing as I joined this blog just over a month ago, I will fortunately be just about eligible to submit a ballot for the Foreign Films list :D. And since I was previously (almost) wholly ignorant of world cinema, I have tried to do a quick-fire blitz over the last couple of weeks. So...


Embrace of the Serpent (2015) - Very well crafted. Weaves nicely between two stories. Brutal, tragic, insightful while maintaining a pathos and sensitivity. rating_4

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) - A stylish and entertaining adventure in 18th century France, complete with wild martial arts fight scenes, forbidden romances and devilish plots. Only downside was the CGI which hasn't aged very well and didn't do the film any favours. rating_3_5

Stalker (1979) - Slow moving, moody and introspective. Asks pertinent questions about human psychology and individuality and focuses on the characters' desires and fears. All fun stuff rating_4



Fanny and Alexander (1982) - I was a little worried this wouldn't live up to the hype but thankfully it did. Shows a transient glimpse of a previous era in Sweden by focusing on the traditions and ordeals of an eccentric, aristocratic family. All told through the eyes of two children (although its mainly Alexander, poor Fanny didn't get much of a look in. I watched the 3 hour movie so she might have featured more heavily in the longer, TV version? I don't know.) rating_4_5

One Cut of the Dead (2017) - Honestly cannot remember the last time I laughed as much while watching a movie. Hilarious and creative take on zombies. I would definitely recommend. Only advice I would give is that if you feel it's a little slow at points - just persevere. rating_4_5



The Wages of Fear (1953) - Reminded me a lot of Ice Cold in Alex both in tone and plot (although Ice Cold in Alex came later so I guess it should be the other way around). Anyway, I love Ice Cold in Alex so I had no problem with that. Details the miserable existence of destitute European labourers stranded in a claustrophobic South American oil town and the lengths they are driven to (pun intended, sorry). Great atmosphere, characters and tension. rating_4


Charulata (1964) - A delicate tale of romance and self-discovery set in Calcutta in the 19th century. Madhabi Mukherjee is fantastic as the lead, a married woman who finds her talents through her husband's cousin. It's slow moving and progresses in a leisurely, dreamy manner that compliments the story. rating_4_5


Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Looks at the daily struggles of Cabiria, who works as a prostitute in Rome. Giulietta Masina gives a fantastic performance; charming and effervescent while also being tempestuous and violent. Excellently put together by Fellini rating_4_5



The Brand New Testament (2015) - Started off fine. An intriguing idea of God creating all the problems in the world out of spite and his 10 year old daughter rebelling against him and trying to put everything right. However, after about 25 minutes the story deteriorates rapidly and gets very messy. The main characters just seem to do the same thing again and again. Similarly, the surrealist humour crumbles from amusing early on to excruciatingly awkward and pointless. Also, the effects were brutal rating_1_5


Closely Observed Trains (1966) - I was a little disappointed with this one. The story follows a group of employees at a train station in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. Parts of it were funny, (including a particularly amusing scene involving stamps) but it also really dragged at times and the ending was rushed. Josef Somr's character was easily the most entertaining. rating_2_5


In the Mood for Love (2000) - Loved this from the first scene until the last. A fabulous romantic drama. Acting, direction, cinematography, etc. all stunning. Also, the main theme that is played repeatedly throughout wonderfully epitomises both the suffocating isolation and the desperate desire for love that the main characters feel. rating_5



I'd better stop now. 4 days left and Oldboy, Fitzcarraldo, Mahanagar and City of God are all lined up and eagerly awaiting my viewing.

[matt72582]

Seeing as I joined this blog just over a month ago, I will fortunately be just about eligible to submit a ballot for the Foreign Films list :D. And since I was previously (almost) wholly ignorant of world cinema, I have tried to do a quick-fire blitz over the last couple of weeks. So...


Embrace of the Serpent (2015) - Very well crafted. Weaves nicely between two stories. Brutal, tragic, insightful while maintaining a pathos and sensitivity. rating_4

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) - A stylish and entertaining adventure in 18th century France, complete with wild martial arts fight scenes, forbidden romances and devilish plots. Only downside was the CGI which hasn't aged very well and didn't do the film any favours. rating_3_5

Stalker (1979) - Slow moving, moody and introspective. Asks pertinent questions about human psychology and individuality and focuses on the characters' desires and fears. All fun stuff rating_4



Fanny and Alexander (1982) - I was a little worried this wouldn't live up to the hype but thankfully it did. Shows a transient glimpse of a previous era in Sweden by focusing on the traditions and ordeals of an eccentric, aristocratic family. All told through the eyes of two children (although its mainly Alexander, poor Fanny didn't get much of a look in. I watched the 3 hour movie so she might have featured more heavily in the longer, TV version? I don't know.) rating_4_5

One Cut of the Dead (2017) - Honestly cannot remember the last time I laughed as much while watching a movie. Hilarious and creative take on zombies. I would definitely recommend. Only advice I would give is that if you feel it's a little slow at points - just persevere. rating_4_5



The Wages of Fear (1953) - Reminded me a lot of Ice Cold in Alex both in tone and plot (although Ice Cold in Alex came later so I guess it should be the other way around). Anyway, I love Ice Cold in Alex so I had no problem with that. Details the miserable existence of destitute European labourers stranded in a claustrophobic South American oil town and the lengths they are driven to (pun intended, sorry). Great atmosphere, characters and tension. rating_4


Charulata (1964) - A delicate tale of romance and self-discovery set in Calcutta in the 19th century. Madhabi Mukherjee is fantastic as the lead, a married woman who finds her talents through her husband's cousin. It's slow moving and progresses in a leisurely, dreamy manner that compliments the story. rating_4_5


Nights of Cabiria (1957) - Looks at the daily struggles of Cabiria, who works as a prostitute in Rome. Giulietta Masina gives a fantastic performance; charming and effervescent while also being tempestuous and violent. Excellently put together by Fellini rating_4_5



The Brand New Testament (2015) - Started off fine. An intriguing idea of God creating all the problems in the world out of spite and his 10 year old daughter rebelling against him and trying to put everything right. However, after about 25 minutes the story deteriorates rapidly and gets very messy. The main characters just seem to do the same thing again and again. Similarly, the surrealist humour crumbles from amusing early on to excruciatingly awkward and pointless. Also, the effects were brutal rating_1_5


Closely Observed Trains (1966) - I was a little disappointed with this one. The story follows a group of employees at a train station in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. Parts of it were funny, (including a particularly amusing scene involving stamps) but it also really dragged at times and the ending was rushed. Josef Somr's character was easily the most entertaining. rating_2_5


In the Mood for Love (2000) - Loved this from the first scene until the last. A fabulous romantic drama. Acting, direction, cinematography, etc. all stunning. Also, the main theme that is played repeatedly throughout wonderfully epitomises both the suffocating isolation and the desperate desire for love that the main characters feel. rating_5



I'd better stop now. 4 days left and Oldboy, Fitzcarraldo, Mahanagar and City of God are all lined up and eagerly awaiting my viewing.


"Nights of Cabiria" is a hell of a movie.. "La Strada" is my #2.. "Closely Watched Trains" was pretty good. I think "Stalker" had some amazing lines, but I couldn't get into that one, or "Charulata". I've tried more than once, especially with TCM having played a bunch of old Indian movies. Bergman is one of my favorite directors, but his last couple movies seemed like recycling.



I looked at your Top 10, and see you have "The Lives of Others", a movie I saw before "Ucho" (The Ear), a movie which I found to be more real, and overall better than "The Lives of Others", which I liked very much. I won't spoil it for you, since you can look it up if you're the type who likes details, and found it on YouTube


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL_qIVaJfmM

[Torgo]

Gilbert - 4

This is a sweet and good natured documentary, which is surprisingly how I'd describe its subject, comedian/actor Gilbeet Gottfried, given his abrasive and button-pushing comedy. His lovely wife Dara and his kids have a lot to do with this, and I very much enjoyed getting to know them, finding out how Gilbert and Dara met and observing their home life. I also found his quirks amusing, such as his thriftiness (he still takes buses to gigs and hoards hotel toiletries). It also gives a fair treatment to his comedy career thanks to a good mix of clips, footage of actual gigs and input from colleagues from Dave Attel to Jim Gaffigan. It thankfully doesn't shy away from the moments that made a lot of people hate him, i.e. his ill-timed 9/11 and Japan tsunami jokes. Speaking of ill-timed, how soon is too soon? The movie leaves that up to you, but then again, none of his colleagues can properly answer the question. I'm glad Mr. Gottfried has such a great family, but I would have preferred if the doc covered his career a bit more instead. It seems like its a 60-40 split. I still recommend it, especially to anyone who cursed his name after the aforementioned controversies.

[Aidanc]

Thanks, I'll give "Ucho" a watch as well. Not getting much work done this week it would seem.

[AgrippinaX]

Possessor (2020)
5
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcShcxoQIaCrl0Y1i9C8Co1dnQYNRfjqiYxT0q7okLSd-kU7PSBV
This was gorgeous, exactly as I was hoping. Even the ending not a letdown, how rare is that?

[CharlesAoup]

Possessor, 2020 (A+)

A film about a group doing assassinations by having the assassin controlling a person through an implant.

Absolutely outstanding. First off, Cronenberg's son is good. Like, really good. You can feel David's influence on him, but you never get the sense that he's just copying his father. There's a certain sensibily and a way of approaching the material that carries through from the father, but with entirely different means and a vibe that is clearly distinct.

The film itself is very violent. Shockingly so. I'm reminded of Strange Days in that sense, or the bar scene in Near Dark. There is no aestheticization of what is happening whatsoever. The camera sometimes moves away from it, and that helps things from steering into the pornographic. Impact is what is sought, first and foremost, in each violent scene. There is also sex, but no sexual violence. Those two things are kept apart.

It's hard to describe any of the events without going into spoilers, but this is a sublime movie. It is intense and visceral, and it will probably make you wince. I would say that if you liked Strange Days, this one should be up your alley. You would never guess how early in his career the director is from watching this. It has the level of visual flair you would expect from someone Refn.

Mild epilepsy warning.

[Takoma11]

Possessor (2020)
5
This was gorgeous, exactly as I was hoping. Even the ending now a letdown, how rare is that?

Yeah, I also quite liked it and I'm looking forward to watching it again soon.

[Thief]

WOMAN IN THE DUNES
(1964, Teshigahara)
A film from the 1960s

https://www.criminalelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/woman-in-the-dunes-top.jpg


"Make the sand work for you, not against you."



That is one of the advices that Junpei (Eiji Okada) gives the titular "woman in the dunes" (Kyōko Kishida) as they ponder about the possibilities given their current situation. You see, they are both trapped in a sand pit and forced by local villagers to work by shoveling sand so the village can survive. The woman, who has been there longer than Junpei, has already accepted her fate, but Junpei holds on to "hope... that things will change tomorrow". But will things change? can things change? or is it us that have to change?

That seems to be one of the statements made by this 1964 Japanese New Wave film; not that it offers any concrete conclusion, but it does put forth that clash between freedom and free will, "rigid thinking" and adaptation, and also complacency. The film puts the lead characters in a situation that seems hopeless, as their respective prospects of life clash. Junpei doesn't want this change as he longs to return to civilization, but in rejecting it, isn't he as "trapped" as his companion?

Grade: 5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2210479#post2210479) and the PR HOF3 (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2210481#post2210481).

[Siddon]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/sgp-catalog-images/region_US/epix-SaintMaud_23679-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-en-US-1614939662761._RI_.jpg

Saint Maud (2021)


This was a nice little blend of the Hammer British Thrillers and the Polanski Apartment trilogy. Saint Maud is the story of a reclusive woman who after becoming a hospice nurse starts to experience religious visions and begins creating her own passion play. While it certainly has a so what quality to it, a strong grounded lead performance and some exceptional body horror elevates the subject matter/genre.


4

[GulfportDoc]

78341
1917 (2019)

Re-watched this landmark film, and was even more impressed with it the second time. Everyone in the production of the movie was at the top of their games. Director Sam Mendes was able to draw together seasoned experts in their respective fields, including the incomparable Roger Deakins as DP, Lee Smith as editor, and Thomas Newman for an unassuming and highly effective score.

The acting was cast and acted perfectly, and surely gave several participants a guarantee of good projects in the future, notably George MacKay as Will Schofield, who brought the message home both literally and figuratively.

In my view the object of the film was not a portrayal of WWI, but a representation of the indomitable spirit of two individuals who put their lives in jeopardy in order to save others which was presented in such an aesthetic way that it superseded the typical "war is hell" theme. In fact there were really only two instances of battle confrontations, and those were in the form of single man to man combat, both of which were brief but necessary to facilitate the plot.

There have been accusations of the film being more of a showpiece in regard the continuous long take effect. In fact Deakins stated in a podcast that the production had never been planned to be a long take wonder. The decision to construct the picture that was decided only after filming had started. Mendes believed that an uninterrupted continuous take effect would serve the narrative better. In fact there were dozens of cuts and edits, but were expertly disguised. Filming took in excess of three months, with several changes of location. The only obvious cut was when the screen went to black after Schofield gets knocked out. When he comes to, it's dark. That was the only way to facilitate the change in day to night.

During the re-watch I was inclined to sleuth out the cuts, but I lost interest after about 5 minutes! This film will be referred back to in years to come by films students and audiences alike. If you haven't yet seen it, treat yourself to one of the few masterpieces of the 21st Century.

[Takoma11]

I am so behind on reviews. I'm in a mad sprint to finish work for the end of the school year. I've watched some good stuff, but I only seem to have energy to watch episodes of The Mentalist while I frantically edit together slideshows, LOL.

[skizzerflake]

Re-watching an old favorite, The Thing From Another World, vaguely adapted from Lovecraft and from the novel by Campbell, directed by Howard Hawks, it's a classic of its kind. It's been remade several times, the best remake by John Carpenter in the 80's. I've seen the remakes, but the 1951 black and white, low-FX version is still my favorite. The thing, itself, was played by James Arness, who had a long career as Matt Dillon in the Gunsmoke TV show.

Strangely, a cheesy 2005 movie, The Naked Monster featured several of the surviving cast members, including the famous Kenneth Tobey (a military guy), George Fenneman (the guy with the stripes on his sweater) and Robert Cornwaithe (the scientist who wants to capture and study the monster). It's a memorable piece of a genre and a terrific period piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05-qogh7GA0

[Siddon]

https://static3.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Conjuring-3-House.jpg

Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

Average film terrible horror film, the big problem I have with these Conjuringverse is sometimes I wonder if the producers just don't know how to edit or shoot or even write a proper story. Michael Chaves who made the frankly unwatchable Curse of La Lorena decides to squeeze three different films in here. And most of it simply does not work because you feel like you are missing massive chunks of the film. 10 minutes after watching this and I have more questions than people have about Prometheus.

The irony is the acting is great, the world buildings is fantastic and the production values are great. The problem is you get these scenes of what the scenes should look like with budgetary restraints but by getting rid of those restraints you get excess. So when you watch a film like this the director is just jaming all of this stuff into the frame where you should be given the chance to breathe.

rating_2

[Steve Freeling]

https://i.imgur.com/pZZaznl.jpg
Suikoden: Demon Century (1993) - First Time on 9anime rating_4
So a few days ago, I found out about this short, 45-minute movie. When I noticed that the dub had a few of my favorite voice actors, I said, "What the hell? It's free, I ain't paying $60 I don't have for a LaserDisc that might not have the dub and almost certainly won't have subs, and I got uBlock Origin, so I ain't getting any of those annoying ads and pop-ups." Let me tell you, it was fun. It's basically wall-to-wall action with all manner of cool martial arts moves and blowing stuff up. The gore hounds should be pretty satisfied, too; it's not every day that you see someone behead two guys over a game of Blackjack or a demonic crime boss get his head quite literally burst wide open by a single punch. The animation is also pretty solid for a direct-to-video early '90s anime. I'm pretty sure the copy I watched is a rip from the ADV LaserDisc, so it's lookin' way better than the crappy VHS-rip-lookin' version floating around YouTube. Its story, based on one from a light novel series, is certainly good enough for a 45-minute movie. I wouldn't mind seeing this material revisited with the capabilities of modern anime if there's more to this story. While Yoichiro Yoshikawa's musical score isn't necessarily anything special, it pretty much works for this. ADV has made a solid English dub, as they basically always did—ADV dub of NGE > Netflix dub of NGE any day of the week. The legendary Spike Spencer, who many will remember as Shinji Ikari and Akito Tenkawa, is excellent as Takateru Suga, a tough guy visiting a rebuilt, though still rundown and deteriorated, version of a Tokyo that was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 21st century to check on his little sister, only to find that she's been abducted by the Koryukai, a vicious gang who may have a demonic power on their side. It's pretty cool getting to hear Spencer voice a real badass like Takateru since he doesn't get to very often. Aaron Krohn, who many will remember as the original English-language Ryoji Kaji, is equally impressive as Miyuki Mamiya, a drag queen who more than knows his way around a fight. Jason C. Lee is also solid as Ryo Hamura, an ex-mercenary who is impressed by Takateru's mode of martial arts after they nearly come to blows near the opening. Needless to say, he's fighting on Takateru's side by the second half. Tristan MacAvery, who many will remember as the original Gendo Ikari, is appropriately insane and "Eeeevil!" as Kyoichi Amamoto, a screwed-up hitman employed by the Koryukai who won't hesitate to behead someone with his katana and who Takateru will eventually have to try to put down for good. Misato Katsuragi herself Allison Keith is also excellent as Kiyomi—who is voiced in Japanese by Kotono Mitsuishi who is also the voice of Misato, Takateru's little sister who is apparently quite tough in her own right since it's mentioned that she didn't give her abductors an easy time. Also, watch out for Rob Mungle and Traci Shannon as a priest and a nun who may know a little more about how to down a gangster than they let on. Everyone else, including Asuka Langley herself Tiffany Grant, is also up to par and the dub script is completely natural. It doesn't have the best reputation—Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network called the flick "buried garbage", but I had a lot of fun watching it. Sure, there's little doubt who will win the day in this one, but since it doesn't take itself too seriously and doesn't pretend to be anything it's not, it works, and if you don't go in expecting the next Akira, you just might enjoy it as much as I did.

[StuSmallz]

25th Hall of Fame

The Long Goodbye (1973) - 3.5

I'm still fairly new to Altman as, other than this film, I've only seen Nashville and his segment in Aria, the former of which I loved and the latter I thought was alright. I thought this film was pretty good and I'd put it in the middle. I was mainly impressed with the dialogue. The various wisecracks from Elliott Gould were quite witty and brought a great deal of humor to this film, especially when he agitated other people with them, like Marty Augustine. Elliott Gould was definitely the main highlight of this film for me, as I imagine he was for many others. I also enjoyed the main conflict with Lennox well enough. I found it fairly compelling and was caught off guard by the various twists and turns of it. While I enjoyed that conflict though, I also felt it was overshadowed by other sub-plots, specifically the conflict with the aforementioned Marty Augustine. The sadism and charisma of Augustine and the strangely lovable qualities of his gang members resonated with me much more. His sub-plot also culminated with a delightfully awkward, yet suspenseful sequence which was heightened by an Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. I found all this more memorable than Eileen and Roger, in part due to the average to poor acting from Pallandt and Hayden. Of course, I still liked their scenes, but comparing them to some of the other major characters and their sub-plots, they simply didn't hold up. Regardless of my thoughts on Eileen and Roger though, I still liked quite a bit about this film and I may revisit it in the future to see if I warm up to it some more.I felt similarly about it, although not because I found one sub-plot more compelling than the next (because the actual plot ends up not mattering that much); rather, it was because the film went back and forth between being a more comedic, satirical take on Noir (like the scene where Marty and his men voluntarily start stripping off their clothes to make Marlowe feel more comfortable doing the same), and taking the genre more seriously (like the moment where Marty does that thing with the glass bottle of Coke), which made it feel conflicted in the end. Plus, its serious side means that it spends a lot of time developing a plot that, again, ends up not mattering that much. Still, it's a solid enough film despite all of that, with enough unique quirk, charm, and entertainment to make it worth watching, even though I can't say that it's a favorite of mine or anything like that.

[SpelingError]

I felt similarly about it, although not because I found one sub-plot more compelling than the next (because the actual plot ends up not mattering that much); rather, it was because the film went back and forth between being a more comedic, satirical take on Noir (like the scene where Marty and his men voluntarily start stripping off their clothes to make Marlowe feel more comfortable doing the same), and taking the genre more seriously (like the moment where Marty does that thing with the glass bottle of Coke), which made it feel conflicted in the end. Plus, its serious side means that it spends a lot of time developing a plot that, again, ends up not mattering that much. Still, it's a solid enough film despite all of that, with enough unique quirk, charm, and entertainment to make it worth watching, even though I can't say that it's a favorite of mine or anything like that.

I wasn't as bothered with that as you were, but I can understand that criticism for sure. It seems like the film is caught between two different tones. Out of curiosity though, could you elaborate on why the plot doesn't matter much?

[xSookieStackhouse]

4.5
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51VX58VM2AL._AC_SY445_.jpg
3.5
https://cf.ltkcdn.net/movies/images/std-xs/58407-340x481-Footloose.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/dt6VM6kN/furnace4.jpg

The Furnace - 2020

How on Earth did this film fly so low under the radar? At the moment I feel like I've just hosted an unofficial and accidental Western Australian film festival in my own home. Strange Colours, Jasper Jones and now The Furnace are all set in the harsh vast landscape - and this last film really deserves due attention. Strange Colours was more artistic, and has a mere 146 votes on the IMDb, Jasper Jones a more respectable 3K, but The Furnace has only been rated a mere 504 times - and it's a detailed, professional production carried aloft on it's shoulders by a commanding performance by David Wenham (who I always mistake for Rhys Darby.) Ahmed Malek is an Egyptian actor of note venturing into English language territory.

Set in the 1890s, during one of the World's biggest gold rushes, The Furnace follows the fortunes and degradation of Hanif (Malek) - a Middle Eastern cameleer of the type dotting the desert landscape in colonial Australia. These foreigners had a close relationship with the native indigenous population but a very poor one with English pioneers, as is evidenced by the brutal end of Hanif's friend and partner. The bloody incident forces Hanif to start a journey home, but not before he's beset at a campsite by the dead and dying members of a gold heist, one of whom, Mal (Wenham) leads Hanif down a hellish path of moral blackening, murder and greed.

At once a history lesson and intense character study, The Furnace reminds me of a pared back Django Unchained without the self-conscious references and star cameos. As rough a Western as you could hope to see, with suffering and greed you can feel in the pit of your stomach. A sorrowful journey that really strikes you. You want Hanif to stop, but understand that once he starts his die is cast. Wenham really inhabits his older character's wisdom and complete lack of moral scruples. He knows enough to divine the motivation behind every action (and very importantly : to survive) but lacks the moral clarity to save his own soul. Behind it all, the madness gold infects into the hearts of men.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Innerspaceposter2.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11987982

Innerspace - (1987) - DVD

I've cheated a bit here at my look at science fiction - needing a bit of a break from the genre as evidenced from the 1950s to early 1970s. This 1987 reimagining of Fantastic Voyage is a huge big expensive dumb Hollywood comedy directed by Joe Dante. I don't want to really lay into it too much, there's a lot of much worse stuff out there - but I can't help getting the feeling we're getting a really cheap Harrison Ford with Dennis Quaid, and a really cheap Steve Martin with Martin Short, making it a bit less than what it could have been. For film fans, there is some relief with Vernon Wells as the heavy, Dick Miller as a cab driver and seasoned performers such as Kevin McCarthy, Henry Gibson and Kathleen Freeman.

The plot involves hotshot Lt. Tuck Pendleton (Quaid) accidentally being shrunk and inserted into putz Jack Putter (Short) as a result of a botched attempt to steal the technology to do this. There you go. Entire plot in one short sentence. The cameos and improvisation between Quaid and Short make this work at times, but by the end you might need some aspirin and quiet time alone. Who misses practical effects? I do. This won an Oscar in 1988 for said FX and it remains quite impressive. Actually feels real, and not a computer game.

Special Features - An army of little helpers have stuffed the IMDb trivia section with almost all of the comments left by Dante, McCarthy, visual effects supervisor Dennis Muran and Robert Picado. At least listening to it meant I watched the film twice and am quite confident I never ever have to watch it again. And yeah - Vernon Wells is a little bit like Jack Palance! Trailer and cleanup job. No - scene selection is not a special feature. Stop trying to beef up your DVD cover with stuff like that...

5/10

[Jinnistan]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/Quilombo_FilmPoster.jpeg


8/10


Technically crude but remarkable account of the free slave 17th century Brazilian territory of Palmares. Visually stunning despite some obvious limitations, an excellent example of Cinema Novo.

[LChimp]

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1057/4964/products/spirited-away-vintage-movie-poster-original-japanese-1-panel-20x29_8360248f-0be2-4314-af3f-8053c1239775.jpg?v=1604782774

Trippy, even for a Ghibli movie. Excellent nonetheless.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODNiMjdmYzYtYjQwOC00NWE5LTk5NzktZDUwM2UwNDY4MmM4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUxODE0MDY@._V1_.jpg


4

[matt72582]

Le voleur de crimes - 7.5/10
Unique movie. I knew it would be low-budget, barely seen. First off, there was no rating from the comcast recording. Then I see his wife directed it in the same cable movie info. Then when it started, I could tell by the picture and music it was definitely low-budget, but its good. Might still be on TCM.


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063789/

[Fabulous]

The Executioner (1963)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/cbocducCXkXT1mA8VNCW5BR56Ki.jpg

[SpelingError]

25th Hall of Fame

Sundays and Cybèle (1962) - 4

This was an interesting watch and I'm glad it was nominated. When it comes to the complex dynamic between Pierre and Cybèle, I figure I'll give my interpretation on the significance and implications of their relationship as there has already been a lot of discussion on this. As others have noted, it's mainly Cybèle who turns the father and daughter relationship between them sexual. Initially, she jokingly suggests marrying Pierre when she gets older, but keeps escalating by making a handful of sexual advances with him throughout the film (which likely occurred due to her young age and her inability to comprehend why her behavior wasn't okay and could backfire). Pierre, on the other hand, doesn't make these advances towards her, nor does he say he's in love with her.

In spite of this, however, I don't think this gets Pierre off the hook. Pierre handled the situation between them quite poorly since he did nothing to prevent or stop Cybèle's behavior as her sexual advances escalated. He instead lead her on and went along with her behavior, especially during the uncomfortably tense Christmas scene at the end where he had an, at best, passive reaction throughout it. Given this, I think it's logical to wonder if he would've escalated (e.g., making sexual advances himself) had the film kept going on. Regardless of his intentions though, while I understand why the two of them wanted to remain together, I think their relationship was unhealthy due to the naivety Cybèle displayed with her sexual advances and Pierre's refusal to put a stop to that behavior. Also, without spoiling anything, I thought the implication at the end gave me a lot more to ponder over in regards to Pierre. While this film doesn't give you the answers on what Pierre's intentions were (Was he in love/not in love with Cybèle?/Did he have malicious intentions?/etc.), it gives you a lot to ponder over and there's a handful of ways one could view their relationship.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. Its refusal to spoon-feed its intentions to the audience and its willingness to leave them up to interpretation is its greatest strength. This makes the film ambiguously menacing and I can see myself rewatching it down the road.

[matt72582]

25th Hall of Fame

Sundays and Cybèle (1962) - rating_4

This was an interesting watch and I'm glad it was nominated. When it comes to the complex dynamic between Pierre and Cybèle, I figure I'll give my interpretation on the significance and implications of their relationship as there has already been a lot of discussion on this. As others have noted, it's mainly Cybèle who turns the father and daughter relationship between them sexual. Initially, she jokingly suggests marrying Pierre when she gets older, but keeps escalating by making a handful of sexual advances with him throughout the film (which likely occurred due to her young age and her inability to comprehend why her behavior wasn't okay and could backfire). Pierre, on the other hand, doesn't make these advances towards her, nor does he say he's in love with her.

In spite of this, however, I don't think this gets Pierre off the hook. Pierre handled the situation between them quite poorly since he did nothing to prevent or stop Cybèle's behavior as her sexual advances escalated. He instead lead her on and went along with her behavior, especially during the uncomfortably tense Christmas scene at the end where he had an, at best, passive reaction throughout it. Given this, I think it's logical to wonder if he would've escalated (e.g., making sexual advances himself) had the film kept going on. Regardless of his intentions though, while I understand why the two of them wanted to remain together, I think their relationship was unhealthy due to the naivety Cybèle displayed with her sexual advances and Pierre's refusal to put a stop to that behavior. Also, without spoiling anything, I thought the implication at the end gave me a lot more to ponder over in regards to Pierre. While this film doesn't give you the answers on what Pierre's intentions were (Was he in love/not in love with Cybèle?/Did he have malicious intentions?/etc.), it gives you a lot to ponder over and there's a handful of ways one could view their relationship.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. Its refusal to spoon-feed its intentions to the audience and its willingness to leave them up to interpretation is its greatest strength. This makes the film ambiguously menacing and I can see myself rewatching it down the road.


Very good movie. I know I gave it a 7.5-8/10. Unique. As it started, I was expecting conflict, but don't remember Cybele getting "sexual", and only remember little-girl, charming prince fantasy.

[SpelingError]

Very good movie. I know I gave it a 7.5-8/10. Unique. As it started, I was expecting conflict, but don't remember Cybele getting "sexual", and only remember little-girl, charming prince fantasy.
Cybele definitely makes some sexual advances throughout the film. It starts out as a harmless comment on how she wishes to marry Pierre, but culminates with her sexually licking blood off of his finger. It does a good job at maintaining a creepy atmosphere, imo.

[GulfportDoc]

https://static3.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Conjuring-3-House.jpg

Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
...
That picture sure is reminiscent of the iconic poster for The Exorcist showing Max von Sydow looking up into the house with the light beaming from the window. And I like it.

[Siddon]

That picture sure is reminiscent of the iconic poster for The Exorcist showing Max von Sydow looking up into the house with the light beaming from the window. And I like it.


The film definitely has some good moments in it, and it's got some strong ties to Exorcist III but it really misses the mark.


It's very odd how The Conjuring appears to get worse as the series goes on but Annabelle is getting better.

[John-Connor]

The Young and the Damned 1950 ‘Los olvidados’ Luis Buñuel
78385
3.5+

The Pawnbroker 1964 Sidney Lumet
78386
4-

The Gambler 1974 Karel Reisz
78384
(I think I understand the ending, but I'm not sure?)
3.5+

Chungking Express 1994 Wong Kar-wai
78364
4-

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Kong_Skull_Island_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51138666

Kong : Skull Island - (2017)

At the very least Kong : Skull Island is entertaining. I've held off on this movie for some time, and I'm kind of glad I did. If I spend $50 going to a cinema, I always feel a little bit cheated. My last really great cinematic experience was seeing Hereditary (or it may have been 1917) and I usually only go for a visual spectacle. Skull Island might have been that, but why do characters fade so fast? Brie Larson's character is a case in point. If you've seen this King Kong movie, do you remember one single thing about her character? (Other than she's a photographer.) Does anyone remember anything, other than John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and a faint recollection of John Goodman?

I guess a lot of people just want the monsters - and there are some great monsters in this movie. But the human element is seriously lacking, aside from the surprisingly endearing Marlow (Reilly) who also lights up the film's trailer. The CGI effects get a little better, especially in relation to King Kong himself, but it still can't quite fool the human eye. Still, they're wonderfully designed (if not understated.) The soundtrack is fine. I never thought I'd be hearing Ziggy Stardust in a King Kong movie.

6/10

[ScarletLion]

'After Love' (2020)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v_REAAfSDlU/maxresdefault.jpg

Great performance from Joanna Scanlon who finds out after a sudden tragedy that her husband had some secrets. Scanlon is unflinching and raw. The string led score by Chris Roe is also very complimentary to the images.

The setting in Dover and Northern France is portrayed well with some lovely drone shots, and the dialogue makes sure that it's never over dramatic or sentimental at any point. It makes the viewer wonder what other secrets the port areas separated by 20 odd miles hold. Really lovely debut from Aleem Khan.

7.8/10

4

[LChimp]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzQxMjVkZjEtMDQxYy00MGIwLWE1NjYtYzZkZmU1NTFlZGFlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY1MTg4Mzc@._V1_.jpg

Definetely the weakest in the franchise. Not much else to say really

[Raven73]

Blue My Mind
6/10.
If Larry Flynt produced, wrote and directed an adaptation of The Little Mermaid, this would be the result.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R5ezrPy-6rE/movieposter.jpg

[Jinnistan]

The Gambler 1974 Karel Reisz
https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=78384
(I think I understand the ending, but I'm not sure?)



Self-destructive people aren't happy until the blood is real.

[John-Connor]

Self-destructive people aren't happy until the blood is real.
Yeah that's it, well put. I went a little too Freud on this character myself. :D

[Siddon]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Kong_Skull_Island_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51138666

Kong : Skull Island - (2017)

At the very least Kong : Skull Island is entertaining. I've held off on this movie for some time, and I'm kind of glad I did. If I spend $50 going to a cinema, I always feel a little bit cheated. My last really great cinematic experience was seeing Hereditary (or it may have been 1917) and I usually only go for a visual spectacle. Skull Island might have been that, but why do characters fade so fast? Brie Larson's character is a case in point. If you've seen this King Kong movie, do you remember one single thing about her character? (Other than she's a photographer.) Does anyone remember anything, other than John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and a faint recollection of John Goodman?

I guess a lot of people just want the monsters - and there are some great monsters in this movie. But the human element is seriously lacking, aside from the surprisingly endearing Marlow (Reilly) who also lights up the film's trailer. The CGI effects get a little better, especially in relation to King Kong himself, but it still can't quite fool the human eye. Still, they're wonderfully designed (if not understated.) The soundtrack is fine. I never thought I'd be hearing Ziggy Stardust in a King Kong movie.

6/10




Much like Aliens the human element gets better on subsequent rewatchs

[Fabulous]

Beginners (2010)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/v5zvoQSSdXVfY7OQy79zOCF1XuM.jpg

[Torgo]

Romancing the Stone - 3

This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.

One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure others have made this joke several times before, but let's hope there aren't any traffic signals on their road to the sea because they or the boat are going to be knocked over.

[AgrippinaX]

Romancing the Stone - 3

This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.

One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure other have made this joke several times before, but let's hope there aren't any traffic signals on their road to the sea because they or the boat are going to be knocked over.

I grew up watching that one. Agree re: Douglas being comically unsuited to the role. But the bus to Cartagena moment is gold! Something about this film is very endearing despite its general silliness. Curiously, having seen it 10+ times at least, I never felt it was an Indiana Jones ripoff just because Joan isn’t really interested in any of that stuff except when it comes to her sister - and she is the protagonist.

[Torgo]

Curiously, having seen it 10+ times at least, I never felt it was an Indiana Jones ripoff just because Joan isn’t really interested in any of that stuff except when it comes to her sister - and she is the protagonist.Good point. I also couldn't find a place in my review that I like the use of the necklace Jack gives Joan to indicate that everything really happened and that Joan's adventure didn't just take place in her imagination. Did Christopher Nolan get the idea for the totems in Inception from this? I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Should I bother seeing Jewel of the Nile? I didn't even know it existed until very recently.

[AgrippinaX]

Good point. I also couldn't find a place in my review that I like the use of the necklace Jack gives Joan to indicate that everything really happened and that Joan's adventure didn't just take place in her imagination. Did Christopher Nolan get the idea for the totems in Inception from this? I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Should I bother seeing Jewel of the Nile? I didn't even know it existed until very recently.

Could well be true. Everyone borrows.

The sequel is very over-the-top and the sort of thing that’s likely to ruin the impression of the original. I’ve seen it plenty times as well, so I’d say if you were to come across it on TV, you wouldn’t turn it off, either. But it’s ever so much worse - the usual thing, capitalising on the original while they can, etc etc. Perhaps give it a miss until you’ve really got nothing to do.

[Captain Terror]

Should I bother seeing Jewel of the Nile? I didn't even know it existed until very recently.

Haven't seen it since childhood but I seem to remember that Danny Devito's role was amplified too much for my liking. Kind of like Pesci in Lethal Weapon 3. They took the comic relief guy and overused him. But keep in mind I was 14.

[Gideon58]

https://resizing.flixster.com/TgnrzLHFBafePyHweJFffdZKSmM=/ems.ZW1zLXByZC1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzLzFjMmE3ZjY2LTA1NmEtNDMwNi1hZDI2LTRiYmJiMDMwYTdkYi5wbmc=


2

[Thief]

THE PROWLER
(1981, Zito)
A horror film

https://wickedhorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/the-prowler-e1423240955144.jpg


"For others - the G.I.s of the 'Dear John' letters - it means starting over, replacing what they have lost. They faced one challenge and won. They can win this one too."



The Prowler opens in 1945 with a soldier being dumped via a "Dear John" letter by her girlfriend. This leads to someone, presumably her boyfriend, murdering her and her new boyfriend during the graduation dance three months later. Fast forward to 1981 and, for some reason, the "prowler" is back again targeting young women during the graduation dance, the first to be held since 1945.

The plot revolves around Pam (Vicky Dawson), a senior that is trying to figure out what's happening, along with her boyfriend, Deputy Mark London (Christopher Goutman). The Prowler features most of the typical tropes of the sub-genre, which is why some might dismiss it as "just another slasher", but one can give it some leeway considering it's one of the first to try the formula. Another thing that kinda sets it apart is that the characters don't feel inherently "dumb", or at least not as much as the genre would lean to in other films that followed.

Grade: 2.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2211030#post2211030)

[cricket]

Cut and Run (1985)

1.5

http://pa1.narvii.com/6115/5fe0422c87fb41cef3b3dc25b35af34759ce3f76_00.gif

This was originally supposed to be directed by Wes Craven but it ended up in the hands of Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust). The result is a much more sleazy type of action film and that's good for me. Unfortunately it was too cheesy for my taste and just not very good. Find the uncut version if for some reason you decide to watch it.

[Gideon58]

I grew up watching that one. Agree re: Douglas being comically unsuited to the role. But the bus to Cartagena moment is gold! Something about this film is very endearing despite its general silliness. Curiously, having seen it 10+ times at least, I never felt it was an Indiana Jones ripoff just because Joan isn’t really interested in any of that stuff except when it comes to her sister - and she is the protagonist.


Personally, I LOVED Romancing the Stone...perfect blend of action and romance featuring my favorite Kathleen Turner performance. I love the transition that the Joan Wilder character goes through in this movie...from prudish, uptight writer to passionate woman ready to live the lives of the heroines she writes about. I think Turner's performance in this film deserved an Oscar nomination more than Peggy Sue Got Married, which did earn Turner her only nomination. Didn't really care for Jewel of the Nile though.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Big fan of the Prowler. In an odd way, it philosophically reminds of Kitano's work in how it takes a genre and strips it of all its fat until there's only something raw, serious and mean left.

I think Zito's deft hand behind the camera and Savini's impeccable gore elevate it to among my favorite slasher films, even if the plot and characters are boilerplate. They're allowed to be because the film has no delusion of being elevated (the Burning for instance, which slogs through weak attempts at character and mystery building) and it unpretentiously shows it's titular slasher getting ready at the beginning. It knows why you're watching this and it will deliver on that level.

Big fan.

[crumbsroom]

Cropsy has the kind of mythological sheen that comes from childhood campfire tales, so all of that character building in The Burning is essential to it being easily one of the best traditional slashers of the 80s. There is a lighthearted and goofy camraderie between the kids in that film, which elevates it above how obvious its character flexes actually are. As a result, Cropsy becomes the kind of ghoul we can expect to defy the laws of mortality and almost emerge at the camp straight from their nightmares.


I agree the Prowler is purely utilitarian in its construction, and that is fine, but most of the actual film is fairly unremarkable. I do think it is a quality midtier slasher, but not worth much excitement (or derision)

[Wooley]

25th Hall of Fame

The Long Goodbye (1973) - 3.5

I'm still fairly new to Altman as, other than this film, I've only seen Nashville and his segment in Aria, the former of which I loved and the latter I thought was alright. I thought this film was pretty good and I'd put it in the middle. I was mainly impressed with the dialogue. The various wisecracks from Elliott Gould were quite witty and brought a great deal of humor to this film, especially when he agitated other people with them, like Marty Augustine. Elliott Gould was definitely the main highlight of this film for me, as I imagine he was for many others. I also enjoyed the main conflict with Lennox well enough. I found it fairly compelling and was caught off guard by the various twists and turns of it. While I enjoyed that conflict though, I also felt it was overshadowed by other sub-plots, specifically the conflict with the aforementioned Marty Augustine. The sadism and charisma of Augustine and the strangely lovable qualities of his gang members resonated with me much more. His sub-plot also culminated with a delightfully awkward, yet suspenseful sequence which was heightened by an Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. I found all this more memorable than Eileen and Roger, in part due to the average to poor acting from Pallandt and Hayden. Of course, I still liked their scenes, but comparing them to some of the other major characters and their sub-plots, they simply didn't hold up. Regardless of my thoughts on Eileen and Roger though, I still liked quite a bit about this film and I may revisit it in the future to see if I warm up to it some more.
Big fan, here.

[Wooley]

Also, Brewster McCloud and MCCabe and Mrs Miller are decent as well.


McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a downright great film.

[SpelingError]

Big fan, here.

For what it's worth, I may like it more if I rewatch it.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Double feature: Private Investigators

https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8183297b3f830f4c7a871d194b22e7cd85845c0679554f76b7678b8828a84f48/Screen-Shot-2021-01-21-at-4.52.21-PM.png

The Kid Detective - This seems like something you'd find running on the CW but since it's a Canadian production it doesn't labor to be overly edgy. It stars Adam Brody as Abe Applebaum, a former child detective in the small town of Willowbrook. He's grown up and is frankly having trouble moving on from both his childhood success and from the one case he couldn't solve, the disappearance of 14 year old Gracie Gulliver. He's approached by high school girl Caroline who eventually hires Abe to investigate the murder of her boyfriend, Patrick Chang.

This put me in mind of Brick, another noirish detective film involving a young protagonist investigating a missing girl. But this is anchored by an unassumingly humane performance from Brody. He succeeds in making you care so that when he finally comes to grips with the unvarnished truth about what he thought he was you're right there with him. You understand his pain. It's a largely sedate and good-natured film until it isn't. But even that tonal shift works itself out quite effectively. rating_4


https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/the_long_goodbye_-_h_-_1973.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1


The Long Goodbye - This is a 1973 Robert Altman noir starring Elliot Gould as Los Angeles PI Phillip Marlowe. He's visited by his longtime friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) in the middle of the night. Lennox is in trouble and asks Marlowe to drive him to Tijuana. It's only when Marlowe gets back and is arrested by the cops that he finds out Terry's wife is dead. After Terry himself is found dead down in Mexico Marlowe is released and is hired by Eileen Wade (Nina van Pallandt) to track down her missing husband Roger (Sterling Hayden). It's only after finding him at a rehab clinic that Marlowe discovers that the Wades and the Lennoxes knew each other socially and he starts having doubts about Terry's supposed suicide and his wifes murder.

Counting this one I've seen a total of eight Altman films and even though this doesn't have the usual huge cast of talent it's still a pretty decent representation of his work. Gould does a fine job as the iconic gumshoe and van Pallandt and Hayden are perfectly adequate. There are small cameos by David Carradine and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Henry Gibson and director Mark Rydell pop up as memorable villains. But what truly brings it all together is the way that Altman captures the grubby and duplicitous nature of 70's era Los Angeles. rating_4

[mark f]

Letters Home (Chantal Akerman, 1986) 2.5 6/10
The Dawn Express (Albert Herman, 1942) 1.5 4/10
Vacation from Love (George Fitzmaurice, 1938) 2 5/10
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, 1989) 3.5 7/10
https://calhum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1985-1994-Common-Threads-Image-1-660x330.jpg
Combo of an overview of the history of AIDS and several specific people's cases, culminating in the monumental display of the AIDS quilt in Washington, D.C.
Spiral (Darren Lynn Bousman, 2021) 2 5/10
Xtreme (Daniel Benmayor, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Legacy of Satan (Gerard Damiano, 1974) 1.5 4/10
Bo Burnham: Inside (Bo Burnham, 2021) 3.5- 7/10
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/06/04/PDTN/07e0d319-4729-45cd-b45d-1e44fc98a00e-Bo_Burnham.jpeg?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp
Creative, funny, politically-charged, one-man show self-made at home by Burnham during the COVID quarantine.
Where Are We? Our Trip Through America (Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, 1992) 3+ 6.5/10
Mysterious Intruder (William Castle, 1946) 2.5 5.5/10
Sisters of Death (Joseph A. Mazzuca, 1976) 2 5/10
Mahler (Ken Russell, 1974) 2.5 6/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/2b7429c6d64fcf2081ddee31fb29d0ac/tumblr_ovffcrbedw1rkivxzo3_500.gifv
19th-century composer Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) must prove his worthiness to perform to Cosima Wagner (Antonia Ellis) for some Nazi reason.
Interrupted Melody (Curtis Bernhardt, 1955) 2.5 6/10
To Kill a Stranger (J. Lopez-Moctezuma, 1984) 2 5/10
Ostwärts (Christian Petzold, 1991) 2.5 6/10
Lisztomania (Ken Russell, 1975) 2 5/10
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cdmxo_dWIAEVfkn.jpg
Franz Liszt (Roger Daltrey) is transported by his adoring fans on his gargantuan penis. Later the pope (Ringo Starr) hangs out with Liszt.
The Loners (Sutton Roley, 1972) 2 5/10
Three Adventures of Brooke (Zhu Yuan Qing, 2018) 2.5 6/10
The Missing Corpse (Albert Herman, 1945) 2 5/10
The Man Who Sold His Skin (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2020) 2.5+ 6/10
https://cdn.stayhappening.com/events4/banners/afb76b759957e55af1f072a082f9bd1302a2d4f52b38675af9a2c426d6ea10cc-rimg-w526-h263-gmir.jpg?v=1618302962
Syrian refugee Yahya Mahayni allows a world-famous artist to tattoo his work onto his back in exchange for being transported away from the Syrian War in Lebanon to Brussels where he's displayed at a museum.

[AgrippinaX]

Personally, I LOVED Romancing the Stone...perfect blend of action and romance featuring my favorite Kathleen Turner performance. I love the transition that the Joan Wilder character goes through in this movie...from prudish, uptight writer to passionate woman ready to live the lives of the heroines she writes about. I think Turner's performance in this film deserved an Oscar nomination more than Peggy Sue Got Married, which did earn Turner her only nomination. Didn't really care for Jewel of the Nile though.

Oh sure, I love it too - to this day! Think it’s genuinely funny and actually quite realistic in terms of human behaviour, apart from the crocs and all. Haven’t really thought of it until now in such detail, it was such a constant in my childhood. Agree with most of what you say. The two of them had a good chemistry at the time - The War of the Roses was a bit more over-the-top but also great, I thought.

[Gideon58]

Oh sure, I love it too - to this day! Think it’s genuinely funny and actually quite realistic in terms of human behaviour, apart from the crocs and all. Haven’t really thought of it until now in such detail, it was such a constant in my childhood. Agree with most of what you say. The two of them had a good chemistry at the time - The War of the Roses was a bit more over-the-top but also great, I thought.


Loved War of the Roses too...it's so dark but it works...didn't really care for Jewel of the Nile

[John Dumbear]

"Nobody" - (7/10)

"Paris, Texas" - (9/10)

[StuSmallz]

"Paris, Texas" - (9/10)First time?

[Rockatansky]

Cut and Run (1985)

rating_1_5

http://pa1.narvii.com/6115/5fe0422c87fb41cef3b3dc25b35af34759ce3f76_00.gif

This was originally supposed to be directed by Wes Craven but it ended up in the hands of Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust). The result is a much more sleazy type of action film and that's good for me. Unfortunately it was too cheesy for my taste and just not very good. Find the uncut version if for some reason you decide to watch it.
I'm not a huge Deodato fan, but I do feel like his sadism gave this movie a pretty nice edge. Or at least it was nice to get that edge in a movie that didn't have real animal killings and execution footage.


Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man is easily his best movie, though.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Double feature - Mentally unstable loners

https://www.ottawalife.com/admin/cms/images/large/unhinged_movie-poster.jpg

Unhinged - Russell Crowe elevates this 2020 road rage gone nuclear thriller. Crowe simply and adroitly embodies the title. That of Tom Cooper, a completely unhinged psychopath who so happens to be triggered by the persistent car horn of largely clueless and overwhelmed single mom Rachel Flynn (Caren Pistorious). She's trying to get her teenage son Kyle to school before he gets yet another tardy notice. When she pulls up behind Cooper's truck at a stoplight little does she know that he's already crossed a line that morning. A line that cannot be uncrossed. And that her laying on the horn after he sits through a green light will be further exacerbated by both her inability to read the bad vibes coming off the guy and her subsequent refusal to return his apology. Thus the wheels are set in motion for a rapidly escalating game of cat and mouse in which Cooper is ostensibly three or four steps ahead of her. The seemingly omnipotent antagonist is the usual MO for these kinds of thrillers. But in this case the script takes care not to set him up as implausibly all-seeing. There are moments of course where coincidences are used to ill effect and to cover a variety of plot holes. And Rachel's character is also guilty of those, "Why didn't she simply...?" moments that strain credulity. But Crowe's masterful ability to project menace and a suitably brisk and concise script power through these hiccups. It's not a perfect movie but it'll do till a better one comes along.

rating_3_5


https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Wander.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1

Wander - Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones and Heather Graham star in this 2020 conspiracy drama. Eckhart plays Arthur Bretnik, a psychologically erratic former detective and present day private investigator. His life and mental faculties have fallen apart as the result of his wife and daughter dying in a car accident. He now lives out in the middle of nowhere and hosts a conspiracy theory podcast with his equally paranoid friend Jimmy Cleats (Jones). Bretnik is hired by one of his podcast listeners, Elena Guzman (Deborah Chavez), to look into the death of her daughter in the small town of Wander, New Mexico. It was ruled a car accident but Elena suspects a coverup and a murder. While poking around the accident scene and the nearby town Bretnik runs across several anomalies that leads him to believe that the girl's accident is somehow tied to his own daughter's death. Director April Mullen goes to great pains to portray the inner workings of Arthur's damaged psyche, using washed out color palettes, disorienting camera angles and a muffled, disjointed soundtrack. So much so that the viewer is never completely sure that what they're seeing and hearing onscreen is actually transpiring. Eckhart gives it his all but the script is such a hot, soupy mess that you might find yourself tuning out instead of hunkering down and investing yourself.

rating_2_5

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/Them02.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8950986

Them! - (1954) - DVD

The giant ants were impressive in their day but have been superseded by Spielberg's dinosaurs in Jurassic Park - you can either chuckle at them, find them endearing, or both.

6/10
I am firmly in the Endearing camp. I love those ants.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Double feature: British gangsters

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0330.jpg

Mona Lisa - I was going to ask whatever happened to Bob Hoskins? The last thing I remembered seeing him in was Doomsday, another Neil Jordan film. I had no idea (or maybe forgot) he had passed away in 2014. That's a shame because he was a genuinely underrated actor. He's just so good in this Jordan directed film as ex-con George, recently released from prison. George was a loyal soldier and never talked so he's looking for some sort of reparation from his former boss, Denny Mortwell (a marvelously sleazy Michael Caine). He's assigned to be the driver/protector of high priced call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson) who gradually makes him over in order to better fit in with her affluent workplace surroundings. In the meantime George finds himself becoming somewhat enamored with Simone while also trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. He's staying with old friend Thomas (Robbie Coltrane) who provides a level headed perspective as well as some comic relief. Simone inveigles George to help find a former friend who's still working as a streetwalker. There's a lot of intrigue and pornography and blackmail as well as a vicious pimp and George quickly finds himself in over his head.

Immediately after finishing the film I was of the mind that Jordan, who also cowrote the script, had unfairly portrayed Simone as some sort of femme fatale. That she had somehow roped a lovesick George into doing her dirty work only to betray him. This was simply not the case and I was basing this on a lot of the other noir films I had seen in the past. She never led him on in any overt way despite realizing how George had come to feel about her. She always took care to keep him at a certain arm's length. This is an astute, mature film with an exceptional performance by Bob Hoskins and able support from Caine and Tyson.

rating_4




https://crimefree865.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/mv5bmtqxnzk3mdc1mv5bml5banbnxkftztcwmdy5mzuwoq-_v1_sx640_sy720_.jpg?w=529&zoom=2

Welcome to the Punch - This 2013 cops and robbers thriller is nowhere close to being the caliber of Mona Lisa. It's set in modern day London and James McAvoy plays Detective Inspector Max Lewinsky. When the film opens he's in pursuit of four men who have just pulled off a lucrative robbery. They're led by Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) who eventually shoots the tenacious Lewinsky in the leg. Flash forward three years where Lewinsky is still nursing his leg as well as a grudge against Sternwood. He finds out that Sternwood's son Ruan has been shot and taken into custody and comes up with a plan to use the boy as bait to lure his father out of hiding. There's a lot of subterfuge and politics and palace intrigue all of which end up muddying what could have been a tidy little thriller with elements of familial bonds and the thin line separating the crooked from the lawful. Maybe it works for some people but I thought all the added contrivance and machinations could have been pared down some.

rating_2_5

[Wooley]

Soul
8/10.
Like music to my ears.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Soul_Poster.jpeg

I watched this night before last under some duress. I don't know why but I just couldn't get my chakras aligned to watch this movie. I like Pixar, I like Existentialism, I like Jazz. This should be a slam-dunk. But I just couldn't get myself to watch it.
So... forced to Monday night I submitted to the will of the group... and got some real rewards.
There is a lot to like and even love about the film. Not everything necessarily worked for me but it's lows (to me) weren't terrible and its highs were legit (like the performances from Tina Fey, Rachel House, and in smaller roles, Angela Bassett and Phylicia Rashad, and, obviously, The Music). In fact, let me remove the The Music from the parentheses and just say that it is such an integral part of the whole production interwoven into not only the narrative but the heart of the picture, and Batiste deserves some recognition for it.
Good movie.

[Wooley]

Romancing the Stone - 3

This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.

One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure others have made this joke several times before, but let's hope there aren't any traffic signals on their road to the sea because they or the boat are going to be knocked over.

That's interesting, I knew him as Jack first. So it totally works for me. I find him a lot more fun in Jack Mode.

[Wooley]

Double feature: Private Investigators




https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/the_long_goodbye_-_h_-_1973.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1


The Long Goodbye - This is a 1973 Robert Altman noir starring Elliot Gould as Los Angeles PI Phillip Marlowe. He's visited by his longtime friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) in the middle of the night. Lennox is in trouble and asks Marlowe to drive him to Tijuana. It's only when Marlowe gets back and is arrested by the cops that he finds out Terry's wife is dead. After Terry himself is found dead down in Mexico Marlowe is released and is hired by Eileen Wade (Nina van Pallandt) to track down her missing husband Roger (Sterling Hayden). It's only after finding him at a rehab clinic that Marlowe discovers that the Wades and the Lennoxes knew each other socially and he starts having doubts about Terry's supposed suicide and his wifes murder.

Counting this one I've seen a total of eight Altman films and even though this doesn't have the usual huge cast of talent it's still a pretty decent representation of his work. Gould does a fine job as the iconic gumshoe and van Pallandt and Hayden are perfectly adequate. There are small cameos by David Carradine and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Henry Gibson and director Mark Rydell pop up as memorable villains. But what truly brings it all together is the way that Altman captures the grubby and duplicitous nature of 70's era Los Angeles. rating_4

Agreed.

[Wooley]

Double feature: British gangsters

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0330.jpg
[LEFT]
Mona Lisa - I was going to ask whatever happened to Bob Hoskins? The last thing I remembered seeing him in was Doomsday, another Neil Jordan film. I had no idea (or maybe forgot) he had passed away in 2014. That's a shame because he was a genuinely underrated actor. He's just so good in this Jordan directed film as ex-con George, recently released from prison. George was a loyal soldier and never talked so he's looking for some sort of reparation from his former boss, Denny Mortwell (a marvelously sleazy Michael Caine). He's assigned to be the driver/protector of high priced call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson) who gradually makes him over in order to better fit in with her affluent workplace surroundings. In the meantime George finds himself becoming somewhat enamored with Simone while also trying to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. He's staying with old friend Thomas (Robbie Coltrane) who provides a level headed perspective as well as some comic relief. Simone inveigles George to help find a former friend who's still working as a streetwalker. There's a lot of intrigue and pornography and blackmail as well as a vicious pimp and George quickly finds himself in over his head.

Immediately after finishing the film I was of the mind that Jordan, who also cowrote the script, had unfairly portrayed Simone as some sort of femme fatale. That she had somehow roped a lovesick George into doing her dirty work only to betray him. This was simply not the case and I was basing this on a lot of the other noir films I had seen in the past. She never led him on in any overt way despite realizing how George had come to feel about her. She always took care to keep him at a certain arm's length. This is an astute, mature film with an exceptional performance by Bob Hoskins and able support from Caine and Tyson.

rating_4



I used to love this movie, too long since I seen it.

[ScannerDarkly]

Solid Z flick 7/10



https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/images/Dawn_of_the_dead_1978.jpg

[John Dumbear]

First time?

Twas'

Just one of those films that eluded my wheelhouse.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/The_Devil_Rides_Out_%281968_film_poster%29.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8913992

The Devil Rides Out - (1968) - (aka : The Devil's Bride)

It's 1929. After promising to look out for his dead friend's son, Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) finds he gets more than he bargained for when it seems the former has fallen in with Satanists and is about to be re-christened and pledge his life to the Devil. Before you know it, Baphomet is hanging out at ceremonies. Giant tarantulas and death himself try to weigh in on all the fun, but this is really a contest of wills between de Richleau and high priest Mocata (Charles Grey). Paul Eddington appears in a rare feature role.

The film looks great, and everybody performs their part well. Everything is played dead straight, but there's enough here to really please fans of old supernatural Hammer Horror films. Charles Grey really nails the slippery, hypnotic Mocata. I really didn't click with the film to the extent I wanted, but ended up enjoying the beautiful old cars (in mint condition,) which are utilized for some surprisingly effective car chases.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/Un_sac_de_billes_%282017_film%29.jpg
By Gaumont - http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=235620.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53586224

A Bag of Marbles - (2017) - France - (aka : Un sac de billes) - rewatch

A sense of Nazi-fatigue overcame me while watching this 2017 French film again. Truth be told, it only came back in fits and starts as I rewatched it - and it may fade from my memory once again, mixed together with 100 other films based around people hiding from Nazi authorities until wars end. In this case, it's two young Jewish boys (brothers) who are sent by their parents to the Italian zone of occupied France. Their father trains Joseph (Dorian Le Clech) and Maurice (Batyste Fleurial) to refute the fact they're Jewish no matter what pressure might be applied - and get them to learn their fake identities down to the last letter.

This true tale is no more or less important than other stories of the persecution of this era. Based on Joseph Joffo's autobiographical novel published in 1973. An early adaptation was filmed, and released in 1975 - and a graphic novel published in 2012. It's a middling film with a few really good scenes in it - the two boys cheekily shield the Jewish sign on their family's barbershop, allowing two members of the SS get their haircuts surrounded by Jewish people, the gag has dire prospects the boys don't understand. The stoicism they both show while being interrogated by Germans is also a highlight.

5/10

[ScarletLion]

'Carmen and Lola' (2021)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGUzZTM3YzYtZTkwMy00YWYwLWFkNTYtOTE5MjFkMTkzMGMzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzcxNDIzMg@@._V1_UY268_CR3,0,182 ,268_AL_.jpg

Average LGBTQ fare. Some good scenes towards the end but the whole film was just too pedestrian and covered a very well trodden path.

2.5

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 johnny depp <3 :love: <3
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjcxMjg1Njg2NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjQ4NzMzMw@@._V1_.jpg

[Wooley]

Twas'

Just one of those films that eluded my wheelhouse.

My favorite movie (not named The Rocky Horror Picture Show).
Glad you liked it.

[Fabulous]

Still Walking (2008)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/lvSB0bnLzuxwrfTlI2l13gctWRn.jpg

[Stirchley]

78429

Unbelievably confusing for the first 30 minutes. (Always worrying if one has to wiki a movie’s plot line in order to understand it.) Glad I stuck with it since it’s an excellent movie about a very dysfunctional family.

78430

Re-watch. Still a classic of American Cinema.

[ThatDarnMKS]

If Happy End remains Haneke's last film, it will be a fitting end to his filmography. While not his best, it seems to capture the quintessence of his works and blend elements from them all into a satisfying singular piece of work.

[John-Connor]

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 2007 Sidney Lumet

78432

4

Marisa Tomei all dei :p

[Stirchley]

If Happy End remains Haneke's last film, it will be a fitting end to his filmography. While not his best, it seems to capture the quintessence of his works and blend elements from them all into a satisfying singular piece of work.

Why would it be his last?

[ThatDarnMKS]

Why would it be his last?
There's been a lot of talk of retirement since he's made it. Even the title carries with it a cryptic and overt sense of finality.

Plus, he's around 79 and usually takes around 3 to 5 years between films with no plans for another feature announced.

I hope he has many more movies within him but I would understand if this marks the end.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWI4NzQ1N2UtNTgzYi00Zjg3LTg2NWItNTVlZDlkMGRiMWQ3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxMTY0OTQ@._V1_.jpg




3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Foriginal%2FewWBAWyRGnLMm3kaqqb9XRUi47c.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Transfiguration, 2016

Teenager Milo (Eric Ruffin) lives in an apartment in a dangerous city building with his older brother, Lewis (Aaron Moten). Both of his parents dead and a social outcast, Milo is relentlessly bullied by the kids his own age, and works to avoid the more dangerous older young men who rule over the building. Obsessed with vampires and believing himself to be one, Milo stays off the radar as much as possible, until the arrival of a girl his age, Sophie (Chloe Levine) shakes things up.

When I took a class in poetry writing in college, one of the pieces of advice we got was to be very careful about starting our own poems with quotes from other poems. Unavoidably, evoking another, better poem will mean that the reader will be comparing your poem to theirs.

This, in some ways, is the trap that The Transfiguartion falls into. Milo believes that he is a vampire, and he is obsessed with their mythology and especially vampire movies. There are explicit references to classics like Nosferatu, Milo raves about Let the Right One In, and Sophie even pitches in with her liking of Twilight and True Blood. This places a heavy contextual weight on the film, especially when it brings up movies like Let the Right One In that focus on a teen vampire and a non-vampire friend.

Now, on the flip side, the constant references (along with the gruesome YouTube videos Milo watches) actually brings a feeling of realism to the way that children and teens try to reconcile their identities. Milo is in the process of constructing his own mythology, one that sometimes matches and sometimes diverts from "classic" vampire mythology. Lacking anyone around who would understand, Milo is seeking out a way to make sense of who he is.

The best aspect of the film is the way that it evokes a kind of teenage misery and ennui. Lewis, Milo's brother, has returned from military service and spends his days on the couch in front of the TV. He has distanced himself from his old friends--the gang that terrorizes and runs the building--but without them he is adrift. Both brothers are alone and lost in their own ways, living on the margins. In fact, the whole film is strangely a world without adults--those who must appear (police, teachers, counselors) are seen from the neck down or even totally off-screen.

Despite some strengths--including good performances and a strongly-evoked setting--the film is lacking some vital oomph. The relationships (Lewis and Milo, Milo and Sophie) are realistic feeling and well done, but they don't really evolve all that much. There's a fun question that hangs around the film: Is Milo really a vampire? And this question is bound up in the way that Milo is trying to reconcile his violent impulses. But much in the way that the relationships don't evolve, this question doesn't get much depth either. For better or worse, the conflict is almost entirely contained within Milo.

There are plenty of teenage vampire films out there. While this one didn't quite cross the line into really good, I did feel that the setting and the psychology of the main character made for an interesting departure. There's something compelling about the combination of an outcast story mixed with racial segregation, poverty, mental illness, and urban decay. I just wish that something more powerful had been done with those elements.

3.5

[Gideon58]

5 johnny depp <3 :love: <3
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjcxMjg1Njg2NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjQ4NzMzMw@@._V1_.jpg


I love Johnny Depp too, but I did not love this movie...here's a link to my review:


https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/935120-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory.html

[kgaard]

78438

Legally Blonde (2001)

There’s a potentially interesting idea at the heart of this, about what and who is frivolous, and what and who is serious, and whether or not you can be both. Reese Witherspoon is good enough to almost make it work, but the script isn’t good enough and, perhaps as a sign of the difficulty of balancing the two, the movie is simply not serious enough when it needs to be. And while Witherspoon is good, Elle Woods is also the only real character in the movie. Luke Wilson and Selma Blair have little to do except react in limited ways. Her ex-boyfriend and her attorney mentor are almost cartoonishly sociopathic. Nobody but Elle has a meaningful arc (well, maybe Paulette, but it’s a pretty small arc). I can appreciate that this movie speaks to some people in a way that is meaningful; I just wish it had been better while doing it.

5/10

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fradikal.ru%2FF%2Fs017.radikal.ru%2Fi420%2F1209%2Fc8%2Fe6a2454a6405.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

My Father, My Lord, 2007

A respected rabbi named Abraham (Assi Dayan) is extremely devoted to his faith. The film traces the way that his faith causes friction between Abraham and his wife, Esther (Sharon Hacohen) and especially his son, Menahem (Elan Griff). As Menahem chafes against his father's rigid rules, the family approaches an unexpected crisis.

This is a film that feels almost more like a short story.Clocking in at just about 70 minutes, the film tells a contained, intimate story of a family in crisis.

Overall my reaction to this film was positive. Despite the short runtime, the movie is willing to take longer moments to show small events, such as repeated sequences where Menahem watches a bird outside his classroom window tending to its chicks. The boy never articulates what he is thinking as he watches the bird, but when he returns home and we watch the strained interactions with his father, the theme is clear enough.

For most viewers, I imagine that the last act will be the make or break aspect of the film. After a very realistic first 2/3, the ending goes to a place that is a bit more outlandish. I would say that it worked for me, in part because of the way that the direction, the acting, and the score all cohered into a really emotional sequence.

Generally I would say that this is a slight, but worth watching film in the subgenre of movies about people grappling with the intersection of their faith and their family life.

3.5

[cricket]

I'm not a huge Deodato fan, but I do feel like his sadism gave this movie a pretty nice edge. Or at least it was nice to get that edge in a movie that didn't have real animal killings and execution footage.


Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man is easily his best movie, though.

I have that and The Washing Machine on my watchlist. Big fan of House on the Edge of the Park and Cannibal Holocaust.

[cricket]

Marisa Tomei all dei :p


Damn straight:fire:

[GulfportDoc]

[Them!] I am firmly in the Endearing camp. I love those ants.
Me too! It's one of my favorite '50s horror movies. It felt so rational. I still enjoy it.

I knew it was one of Edmund Gwenn's last roles, but I'd forgotten that he did The Trouble With Harry after this one.

Remember in Foreign Correspondent (1940) when Gwenn tries to push Joel McCrea off the top of Westminster Cathedral? Great movie.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Double feature - Incompatible and on the run

https://studentedgeapplication.azureedge.net/articles/973358bf-0308-4191-822b-502fbe8d1a7e.jpg


Hunt for the Wilderpeople - 2016 Taika Waititi film about an odd couple on the run from the law. Sam Neill plays Hector Faulkner, a reclusive curmudgeon who, along with his wife Bella, take in troubled foster child Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). He has a history of running away and even though he tries leaving the Faulkner's isolated farm he doesn't get far. He's a city kid so his lack of outdoor skills plus Bella's patient and loving nature convinces him that life with the couple is the closest he'll come to finding happiness. But an unexpected tragedy forces Ricky to leave the farm in order to make good on what he felt to be a dying wish. Hector, who's gone off on his own journey of solitude, comes across a wayward Ricky and the two are eventually forced to throw in together. The authorities in the meantime are convinced that Hector has somehow kidnapped Ricky. The rest of the movie chronicles their weeks long odyssey through the New Zealand wilderness with all manner of police and reward hunters on their trail. Waititi has a knack for gentle whimsy without compromising on the comedy. The script, which was co-written by Waititi, also takes you to unexpected places. Again, without losing sight of the core message. The protagonists are likable and the supporting cast of characters are the usual bunch of affable Kiwis. Another success for Taika Waititi.

rating_4



https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p2583_i_h9_aa.jpg
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins - The premise is about the only thing this has in common with HftW. The cast is certainly respectable with the always intriguing Alan Arkin starring as retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rafferty. He's an aimless and alcoholic Los Angeles driving instructor who meets two hitchhikers while drinking his lunch in a park. McKinley "Mac" Beachwood (Sally Kellerman) is an aspiring singer and her young friend Rita "Frisbee" Sykes (McKenzie Phillips) is a surly and unapologetic con artist. They're on their way to New Orleans where Mac supposedly will get a job singing in Frisbee's dads bar. That's the story they tell Gunny Rafferty until Frisbee pulls a gun and forces him to drive them there. He has no trouble getting away from them but since his old life was an unrelenting pit of despair he doubles back and picks them up again. From there it turns into a road movie with stops including Las Vegas and Tucson. There are welcome appearances by Alex Rocco as a flaky Vegas hustler named Vinnie, Charles Martin as a lovelorn soldier and Harry Dean Stanton as one of Mac's former suitors.

To me it's an archetypal 70's flick having been released in 1975. But it also has that slightly disheveled, shaggy dog story feel to it that so many films from that era had. I want to like it more than I did because I love 70's movies but I'll have to admit it has limits to it's world building potential and it reaches those limits quickly. But even though it really doesn't have much of a story to tell, the cast makes it worth your while.

rating_3_5

[Thief]

QUICKSAND
(1950, Pichel)
A film with Peter Lorre

https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/tskPZdO-asset-mezzanine-16x9-5Eqde40.jpg


"I feel like I'm bein' shoved into a corner, and if I don't get out soon, it'll be too late. Maybe it's too late already!"



Quicksand follows Brady, a car mechanic that in his attempt to woo a mysteriously shady woman (Jeanne Cagney) finds himself ensnared in an escalating chain of disreputable and criminal acts. What starts as a seemingly innocent snatch of $20 out of his work's cash register spirals into theft, kidnapping, and maybe even murder.

This film was brought to my attention by Apex Predator and I was immediately intrigued by it. The film is very small scale in terms of goals and stakes, but that works to its advantage. Rooney is solid in the lead role, conveying that certain naive cockiness to the character, while Cagney is pretty good as "femme fatale" Vera. The cast is rounded out by Peter Lorre as the seedy owner of an arcade that has a history with Vera, and with whom Brady clashes in his descent.

Grade: 3


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2211419#post2211419)

[Jinnistan]

Bo Burnham: Inside

Has Matthew Modine ever been better? I doubt it. I'm dreading the ensuing sub-genre of quarantine self-pity, but hopefully this ties a bow on it. Audacious and winsome.



9/10

[StuSmallz]

I wasn't as bothered with that as you were, but I can understand that criticism for sure. It seems like the film is caught between two different tones. Out of curiosity though, could you elaborate on why the plot doesn't matter much?Well, I'd say that's because of the movie's half-satirical tone, which often felt like it was asking me not to take the story too seriously, especially at the end when Marlowe just walks past Eileen without even looking at her, and then starts casually playing his harmonica, as if the film itself is saying to me "See, even the protagonist doesn't care about the plot!". I mean, that sort of tone didn't hurt my engagement with the plot of M*A*S*H* (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/mash/), because there was essentially no over-arching plot in that movie anyway, just a series of stand-alone "episodes", but when Altman does the same basic thing with another film that does have a real plot (and a fairly convoluted one at that), spends a lot of time developing that plot, but continually chooses to not take it seriously, it feels a bit like wasted time as a result.

[xSookieStackhouse]

I love Johnny Depp too, but I did not love this movie...here's a link to my review:


https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/935120-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory.html
true i know original always the best

[ScarletLion]

'Charade' (1963)

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5639f5f4e4b09e5a29f3d101/1470174351916-FTHQ90L7KH1ZH0SYXYXK/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kLk6AiHk3VCjVyx0bXHY-wpZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxFBdw5PXt5hvfhStZ7cvn0-MX5Omk9VkquqZzsoZn3ZMqf1OgXybDooXHev_mqy80/image-asset.gif

Such a good film. Twists and turns everywhere. Critics say it's the best film Hitchcock never made but Donan's style is there to see as well - the dialogue is full of sharp witty comebacks and sarcastic one liners.

The colours of Paris are brought to life too via Charles Lang's cinematography.

8.3/10

4

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Theatrical_release_poster_for_Critical_Thinking.jpg
By Critical Thinking, LLC - IMDB.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61515209

Critical Thinking - (2020)

Critical Thinking is the kind of teacher movie you'd see on free-to-air television at lunch time, only with a bit more polish. The true story behind it all is the Miami Jackson High School chess team, which won the U.S. National Chess Championship in the late 1990s. A big feat for an inner city high school. The members of this chess team were all troubled individuals who were taken in by Mario Martinez and taught chess, and were soon all nicely dressed nerds (just look at the poster.) This seems to have been a pet project for John Leguizamo who plays Martinez and directed this movie.

It's not a bad movie, but the teacher drama is such an overstuffed genre - clichés can hardly be avoided. We've had some decent chess movies in the last few decades (I really enjoyed Pawn Sacrifice,) and if you do happen to be a chess fan it delves into strategy which is nice - but it's not going to be remembered as a classic chess film either. If you're tired of watching teachers turn no-hopers into winners, or can't fathom chess, stay well clear.

5/10

[cricket]

Dream Home (2010)

2.5

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QtPRt-wayLc/Tbj4BFz6-0I/AAAAAAAACPw/FmuJu99GyPg/s1600/Dream.Home.2010.BluRay.1080p.DTS-ES.2Audio.x264-CHD.mkv_snapshot_01.22.23_%255B2011.04.27_22.15.05%255D.jpg

This Hong Kong film is labeled as horror but I didn't completely see it that way. I saw it more as a socioeconomic commentary/satire. It reminded me of American Psycho except with a female lead. I would have rather it been straight horror as it lacks personality and atmosphere. It's well made and it is brutally and graphically violent.

[the samoan lawyer]

The Last Black Man in San Fran (2019) - 3
Mulan (2020) - 2.5
Babyteeth (2019) - 2.5+
Thoroughbreds (2017) - 3

[EsmagaSapos]

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 2007 Sidney Lumet

78432

4

Marisa Tomei all dei :p

I've been recently thinking of Phillip Seymour Hoffman for no particular reason.

I've re-watched one of his interviews (https://tinyurl.com/InterviewPhillipSeymourHoffman).

Ethan is also a actor I've develop a like for, yesterday I was watching The Purge, was on television.

And Marisa Tomei is probably, alongside with Charlize Theron the sexiest actresses on Hollywood.

Don't know how I've never watched this film.

[John-Connor]

I've been recently thinking of Phillip Seymour Hoffman for no particular reason.

I've re-watched one of his interviews (https://tinyurl.com/InterviewPhillipSeymourHoffman).

Ethan is also a actor I've develop a like for, yesterday I was watching The Purge, was on television.

And Marisa Tomei is probably, alongside with Charlize Theron the sexiest actresses on Hollywood.

Don't know how I've never watched this film.
If you like Marisa like that, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is definitely a must see!:)
Favorite Ethan Hawke films so far are probably; Gattaca & Training Day.

[EsmagaSapos]

If you like Marisa like that, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is definitely a must see!:)
Favorite Ethan Hawke films so far are probably; Gattaca & Training Day.

One film with Ethan that I fell is so over rated, and to some extent unknown is Maudie (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3721954/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_24).

I'm never emotional watching a film, but I was with this one, also, I think was one of his best performances.

I've never seen any other movie with Sally Hawkins, but from that one I can say she's a great actress.

[kgaard]

78452

Invention for Destruction (1958)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this--it’s incredible really. Zeman’s solution for integrating animation with live action is ingenious. By turning the live-action elements into cartoons, the entire design of the film matches the aesthetic of the animation. The actors’ movements are limited but elegant and the settings are crafted to match the Victorian line engravings that inspired the look of the film. The result is spectacular. The story itself, an adventure tale amalgamated from various Jules Verne novels, is simple but effective, but the visuals are the star here.

9/10

[Thief]

I've been recently thinking of Phillip Seymour Hoffman for no particular reason.

I've re-watched one of his interviews (https://tinyurl.com/InterviewPhillipSeymourHoffman).

Ethan is also a actor I've develop a like for, yesterday I was watching The Purge, was on television.

And Marisa Tomei is probably, alongside with Charlize Theron the sexiest actresses on Hollywood.

Don't know how I've never watched this film.

If you like PSH and Ethan Hawke, and have no issues with middle-age crisis and existential dread, then check out Synecdoche, New York and A Late Quartet (with PSH) and First Reformed (with Hawke). Three great films.

[SpelingError]

Well, I'd say that's because of the movie's half-satirical tone, which often felt like it was asking me not to take the story too seriously, especially at the end when Marlowe just walks past Eileen without even looking at her, and then starts casually playing his harmonica, as if the film itself is saying to me "See, even the protagonist doesn't care about the plot!". I mean, that sort of tone didn't hurt my engagement with the plot of M*A*S*H* (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/mash/), because there was essentially no over-arching plot in that movie anyway, just a series of stand-alone "episodes", but when Altman does the same basic thing with another film that does have a real plot (and a fairly convoluted one at that), spends a lot of time developing that plot, but continually chooses to not take it seriously, it feels a bit like wasted time as a result.

Aye, I see what you mean. With that being said though, while you could make the argument that Philip doesn't take the movie that seriously given how he reacts to most of what goes on in the film with wisecracks, by making jokes, or by playing the harmonica in the end as you mention, I think there's plenty of moments where the characters around him take the movie seriously, especially with Roger and Eileen. Really, I think the scene is Augustine's mansion where everyone takes their clothes off is the only main scene where the film dips into a completely satirical tone (not just with Philip, but with those around him), so I do think the viewer is asked to take the movie seriously since (for the most part) the secondary characters do. I think it's mainly just Philip who doesn't.

[EsmagaSapos]

If you like PSH and Ethan Hawke, and have no issues with middle-age crisis and existential dread, then check out Synecdoche, New York and A Late Quartet (with PSH) and First Reformed (with Hawke). Three great films.
I've seen them, Synecdoche, New York rewatched recently, probably my favorite of the three.

[EsmagaSapos]

https://i.postimg.cc/hjgTtzyS/k-Rbs58dp-Ep-RHOCIOo1k-TGr-Q3l-Te.jpg

I honestly thought it would be worse, the book was, but this was made in 1975, there was still a lot of religious implications. There's two scenes that were difficult, one is the poster, the other was the end.

I understand those, who watched this film from Criterion Collection, and said it had no meaning whatsoever, and it doesn't if you see each scene with scrutiny. If you do that, you'll insult the director for making a awful picture for no particular reason, apart from making a awful picture. A idiotic man making disgusting food-for-imagination of the weird and depraved we all would glad lock in a room and throw away the key.

If you see it as a whole, you'll understand it's made to show the worse in human beings when there's a hierarchy to be followed, a hierarchy made by those who bought power but don't follow the other end of the blade. The depravity, the bloodbath, the caos of a social system is secured by ideas, symbols and a moral code, it's a blade with two ends, and the two ends must follow it. In one end you have victory, in the other you have loss, rich and poor, strong and weak, healthy and sick, when one end doesn't follow it, the other won't too, that's social balance.

Trought this film you'll see human nature, nothing we'll ever do will not be natural, realize this, it's difficult but is what it is, and what we can all respect but maybe don't want to see, or agree with, is that, this film is honest in showing our nature obscure part, the taboo, without any type of romanticism, he doesn't want you to be empathetic towards anything, that's another movie to be made. It's not like the violence and depravity that are now displayed across our culture, murder glorified by building pictures of heros and good guys. What we now do is mix a awful action according to our moral code but we justify that action using the same moral code. This film threw the moral code out the window and shown the awful action with the power at the will of a few.

There's so much to talk and discuss about this picture, it's the oldest battle in humanity taken to the extreme.

[Gideon58]

https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0024543401797_p0_v2_s550x406.jpg



2.5

[Gideon58]

If you like PSH and Ethan Hawke, and have no issues with middle-age crisis and existential dread, then check out Synecdoche, New York and A Late Quartet (with PSH) and First Reformed (with Hawke). Three great films.

I highly recommend Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Thief...here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/933355-before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead.html

[GulfportDoc]

QUICKSAND
(1950, Pichel)
A film with Peter Lorre
Quicksand follows Brady, a car mechanic that in his attempt to woo a mysteriously shady woman (Jeanne Cagney) finds himself ensnared in an escalating chain of disreputable and criminal acts. What starts as a seemingly innocent snatch of $20 out of his work's cash register spirals into theft, kidnapping, and maybe even murder.


This film was brought to my attention by Apex Predator and I was immediately intrigued by it. The film is very small scale in terms of goals and stakes, but that works to its advantage. Rooney is solid in the lead role, conveying that certain naive cockiness to the character, while Cagney is pretty good as "femme fatale" Vera. The cast is rounded out by Peter Lorre as the seedy owner of an arcade that has a history with Vera, and with whom Brady clashes in his descent.
Grade: rating_3
Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2211419#post2211419)
I can't remember this film, so I'll have to re-watch it. Many people don't realize what a great actor Mickey Rooney was. He had such a strong image as a goody two-shoes guy next door Americana icon from playing in 1930s & '40s movies, that it took the public quite awhile to see the depth of his talent. He really had a helluva range.

[Citizen Rules]

I can't remember this film, so I'll have to re-watch it. Many people don't realize what a great actor Mickey Rooney was. He had such a strong image as a goody two-shoes guy next door Americana icon from playing in 1930s & '40s movies, that it took the public quite awhile to see the depth of his talent. He really had a helluva range.Quicksand is one of the few noirs that breaks the rules of noir. It's been awhile since I seen it but I remember liking it. Mickey Rooney is way good. Funny thing is in the last week I seen Quicksand on youtube and saved it. I'll have to watch it again someday.

[Allaby]

I just finished watching In The Heights. Spectacularly directed by Jon M. Chu, this adaption of the Broadway musical is about the lives and dreams of a group of people in the neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. The film features a wonderful cast and is brimming with enthusiasm, energy and life. In The Heights is an exuberant blast and I really enjoyed all the lively song and dance numbers. The film looks great and is a joyful experience celebrating community, dreams and life itself. I expect this to be a major Oscar contender. One of the best films of the year and a must see movie event that will make you want to sing and dance! My rating is a 4.5.

[Thief]

I highly recommend Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Thief...here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/933355-before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead.html

Oh, I've seen it. I'm a fan.

[Thief]

Quicksand is one of the few noirs that breaks the rules of noir. It's been awhile since I seen it but I remember liking it. Mickey Rooney is way good. Funny thing is in the last week I seen Quicksand on youtube and saved it. I'll have to watch it again someday.

It's also on Prime, in case YouTube fails.

[Thief]

I can't remember this film, so I'll have to re-watch it. Many people don't realize what a great actor Mickey Rooney was. He had such a strong image as a goody two-shoes guy next door Americana icon from playing in 1930s & '40s movies, that it took the public quite awhile to see the depth of his talent. He really had a helluva range.

I'm trying to think what else I've seen Rooney on and I'm drawing a blank. I mean, I know he was a child actor but I'm not sure if I've even seen any of his child performances.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I'm trying to think what else I've seen Rooney on and I'm drawing a blank. I mean, I know he was a child actor but I'm not sure if I've even seen any of his child performances.
Surely you’ve seen his timeless turn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s as Mr. Yunioshi???

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Bombshell_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62070151

Bombshell - (2019)

I'm not an American but I remember many of the events in this film as if I were, such is the worldwide interest in Fox News (as a kind of right-wing propaganda television network,) Donald Trump and the global campaign to fight sexual harassment - some of which Fox, Trump and Hollywood set in motion. Big, fat, ugly, yet powerful old men using said power to coerce young female employees into sex always shocks me, like I'm some naïve youngster. It's hideous - and maybe I'm part of the problem by consciously burying my head in the sand and pretending it doesn't happen.

In reliving the dramatic fall of Roger Ailes, we're treated to some powerful and particularly good performances by Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow and Malcolm McDowell. I laud Lithgow for taking on such a dark, disagreeable part, and he's fantastic (under some amazing prosthetics.) I enjoyed McDowell and his take on Rupert Murdoch. Charlize Theron is the best of this ensemble though. I like how this wasn't limited to Roger Ailes - we're shown what an organization which almost encouraged sexual harassment in the workplace is like for the women who work there.

7/10

[WHITBISSELL!]

Double feature - Anything worthwhile must be obtained honestly

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Wonder-Woman-1984.jpg?resize=681,383


Wonder Woman 1984 - This is a mixed bag. It's a sequel so more often than not it doesn't quite measure up to the original. On the plus side it does have what made the first one so charming and distinctive which would be star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins. She's back as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and, since this is set in 1984 for some reason, she still hasn't fully owned her heroic identity. She instead lives a quiet life as a curator at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C, off the grid and choosing to discreetly swoop in and help those in need. She meets unassuming coworker and gemologist/cryptozoologist Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) and takes an immediate liking to her. At the same time Barbara is approached by smooth talking dare-to-dream entrepeneur Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzano (Pedro Pascal) who is surreptitiously hunting for the Dreamstone, which is purported to grant the holder one wish. Lord chooses to actually become the Dreamstone, promptly gets his wish, then embarks on a mission to become the single most powerful person on the planet. The wishes, in reality, come at a heavy cost with Lord taking something of value in exchange. Barbara, tired of being disregarded, asks to be more like Diana, then wishes to be an "apex predator". She takes on the characteristics of a cheetah leading to an inevitable CGI overload of a showdown with Wonder Woman. Diana, on the other hand, unknowingly wishes to be reunited with the love of her life, Steve Trevor, which allows Chris Pine to put in an appearance.

It is a mixed bag like I said. There didn't seem to be enough of the rousing WW heroics of the first. That could be put down to a lack of any clearly distinctive villains. The Cheetah (Barbara Minerva) is deceived by Lord and the Dreamstone and even Lord himself is given a redemptive arc. Yet it doesn't ring false either because of this particular superhero's inherent grace and altruistic underpinnings. There is a bit of a bravura set piece in the Middle East desert and there are moments of transcendent charm like the prologue on Themyscira and Steve and Diana's flight through a fireworks show. No, it doesn't quite get there but for fans of Princess Diana of Themyscira it's enough.

rating_3_5



https://www.highdefdigest.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/i-tonya-880x320.jpg

I, Tonya - On January 6th 1994 figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is assaulted by an unknown assailant in Detroit after a practice session. Shortly after, the FBI begin an investigation and they are promptly led to a suspect who's been bragging to just about anyone who will listen that it was his "crew" that was responsible for the attack. Given the collective brain power of the people involved things soon unravel and the trail of bread crumbs leads the feds to fellow figure skater Tonya Harding and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly. As the movie itself touches upon, even though not everyone has heard of the whole sordid affair, at the time Harding and Gillooly were household names and the film does do an accurate job of capturing not only the era but the competitive figure skating milieu.

Counting this I've seen Margot Robbie onscreen seven times so maybe I just hadn't caught her in the right role. Because up till now I just had her figured for an okay actress. Drop dead sexy in Wolf of Wall Street of course, and somewhat memorable in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. But nothing to write home about. And then she goes and does this. Robbie certainly earned her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress but strictly speaking it was a team effort. Craig Gillespie's direction, Sebastian Stan's solid portrayal of Gillooly and, in an all-eyes-on-me performance that won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Allison Janney as Tonya's Medusa of a mother, LaVona Golden. There's also marvelous embellishment provided by Paul Walter Hauser as Gillooly's remarkably delusional co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt. Plus Julianne Nicholson as Harding's longtime coach and Bobby Cannavale as scuzzy tabloid reporter Martin Maddox. It's a trenchant black comedy with cagey use of fourth wall breaking and Gillespie does a solid job of setting up Tonya's background and impetus by way of explaining not only her success but her eventual and inevitable downfall. This is certainly worth a watch.

rating_4

[Fabulous]

Dead Ringer (1964)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/co5UqIlMj8ijm7D0y14IiZ1yBn5.jpg

[AgrippinaX]

I highly recommend Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Thief...here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/933355-before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead.html

Agreed, hands down the best film with the pair.

[AgrippinaX]

One film with Ethan that I fell is so over rated, and to some extent unknown is Maudie (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3721954/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_24).

I'm never emotional watching a film, but I was with this one, also, I think was one of his best performances.

I've never seen any other movie with Sally Hawkins, but from that one I can say she's a great actress.

You haven’t seen The Shape of Water? I don’t blame you, if not, but she’s good in that.

[xSookieStackhouse]

4.5 puppy scene was sad :'(
https://www.legendarytrips.com/wp-content/uploads/John-Wick_Cover_LegendaryTrips.jpg
4.5
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91xz-9LZBNL._RI_.jpg
5
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/36/590x/secondary/john-wick-3-poster-1872224.jpg?r=1558001058589

[Thief]

Surely you’ve seen his timeless turn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s as Mr. Yunioshi???

Nah :laugh: I've seen clips but never seen the film. I read the book a long time ago, though. Should I dive in?

[Thief]

I highly recommend Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Thief...here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/933355-before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead.html

Just read your review. Nice writeup, although based in what you wrote, I thought you would go higher than 3/5 :D But seriously, I agree with pretty much everything you wrote.

[GulfportDoc]

I'm trying to think what else I've seen Rooney on and I'm drawing a blank. I mean, I know he was a child actor but I'm not sure if I've even seen any of his child performances.
I guess he did do a lot of work as a child actor. But he really came into his own with the "Andy Hardy" films, like A Family Affair (1937) and 8-10 other Hardy films. He more or less played the same type of character through the '40s. Then at least by the time of The Big Wheel (1949) and then Quicksand, he was really broadening his range.

Looking back, I'm surprised at the many scores of films he did. One that always sticks out in my mind is Requiem For a Heavyweight (1962) with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason. Really first rate. He was a riot in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) playing a Japanese man.

Funny story: In 1970 I had played in the band for the Smothers Brothers Summer Special. The music was pre-recorded in the studio, but because it was union, we were paid to come out and hang around during the taping in case they wanted to use any of the musicians. I was on a break in the hallway behind all the sound stages at the vast ABC studio complex.

There was a group from other shows standing around smoking. All of a sudden Mickey Rooney walks up, picked out two gorgeous female dancers, put his arm around both of them, and said lasciviously, "Hiya girls. Wanna be in the movies?" Everybody cracked up. He was the same in life as he was in movies. A short man, but very aggressive and larger than life.

[mark f]

Surely you’ve seen his timeless turn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s as Mr. Yunioshi???

Nah :laugh: I've seen clips but never seen the film. I read the book a long time ago, though. Should I dive in?
The movie is a must-see but most find Rooney problematic. I highly recommend National Velvet which you can watch with your kids.

[Thief]

I guess he did do a lot of work as a child actor. But he really came into his own with the "Andy Hardy" films, like A Family Affair (1937) and 8-10 other Hardy films. He more or less played the same type of character through the '40s. Then at least by the time of The Big Wheel (1949) and then Quicksand, he was really broadening his range.

Looking back, I'm surprised at the many scores of films he did. One that always sticks out in my mind is Requiem For a Heavyweight (1962) with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason. Really first rate. He was a riot in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) playing a Japanese man.

Funny story: In 1970 I had played in the band for the Smothers Brothers Summer Special. The music was pre-recorded in the studio, but because it was union, we were paid to come out and hang around during the taping in case they wanted to use any of the musicians. I was on a break in the hallway behind all the sound stages at the vast ABC studio complex.

There was a group from other shows standing around smoking. All of a sudden Mickey Rooney walks up, picked out two gorgeous female dancers, put his arm around both of them, and said lasciviously, "Hiya girls. Wanna be in the movies?" Everybody cracked up. He was the same in life as he was in movies. A short man, but very aggressive and larger than life.

That's the kind of vibe I got for him in Quicksand. There's like a particular bottled up energy in it.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Nah :laugh: I've seen clips but never seen the film. I read the book a long time ago, though. Should I dive in?
The movie surrounding it is pretty wonderful but his performance certainly adds a memorable and distinct “flavor” that’s worth seeing in context, if only for how egregiously ill fitting it is in that context.

[pahaK]

The Long Riders (1980)
2.5
A weirdly paced western about Jesse James and his gang. It relies too much on its gimmick (all brothers are played by real brothers) and feels like a collection of random scenes instead of a story. In a way, it's The Wild Bunch lite with the blood spurts and slow-motion shoot-outs and all.

[mark f]

A Man for Hanging (Joseph Mazzuca, 1972) 1.5+ 4.5/10
A Song for Miss Julie (William Rowland, 1945) 2.5 5.5/10
Awake (Mark Raso, 2021) 2 5/10
The Flesh and the Fiends (John Gilling, 1960) 2.5+ 6/10
https://www.zekefilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/fatf04.jpg
In 1820s Edinburgh, Doctor Robert Knox (Peter Cushing) is surrounded by Hare (Donald Pleasance) and Burke (George Rose) who provide him with cadavers to allow him to teach his autopsy class.
Tragic Jungle (Yulene Olaizola, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10
The Big Chance (Albert Herman, 1933) 2 5/10
The Long Island Cannibal Massacre (Nathan Schiff, 1980) 1.5+ 4.5/10
Insect Woman (Kim Ki-young, 1972) 2.5 6/10
https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/kb-cover.jpg
Yes, the Oscar-winning grandma from Minari (Youn Yuh-jung) stars as a femme fatale mistress in this hyper melodrama.
Mosquita y Mari (Aurora Guerrero, 2012) 2.5 5.5/10
Occupation: Rainfall (Luke Sparke, 2020) 2+ 5/10
Where To? AKA Ila Ayn (Georges Nasser, 1957) 2.5 5.5/10
Gypsy 83 (Todd Stephens, 2001) 2.5 6/10
https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26055&stc=1&d=1466894385
Aspiring singer Sara Rue and gay Goth Birkett Turton [left] take an eventful road trip to NYC.
Bad Boy (Kurt Neumann, 1949) 2.5 6/10
Carmen & Lola (Arantxa Echevarría, 2018) 2.5 5.5/10
The Milpitas Monster (Robert L. Burrill, 1976) 1 3/10
For Me and My Gal (Busby Berkeley, 1942) 2.5 6/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/cd0d7978ed528f7826872e747f99c75f/b728a00c8226276e-2d/s400x600/242c762b1b2f50da08986143805c9c0104d8cbcd.gifv
Vaudeville performer Judy Garland meets and marries Gene Kelly [in his debut] who's unscrupulously trying to avoid WWI.
Mickey the Great (J.A. Duffy, 1945) 2.5 6/10
The Shadow on the Window (William Asher, 1957) 2.5 5.5/10
Missing Women (Philip Ford, 1951) 2 5/10
Profile (Timur Bekmambetov, 2018) 2.5 6/10
https://www.joblo.com/assets/images/joblo/news/2021/05/profile-review-face.jpg
British journalist Valene Kane goes undercover on the net to try to trap terrorist Shazad Latif, but she may be the one who gets trapped.

[SpelingError]

Themroc (1973) - 2.5

This wasn't an easy watch, but even though it's a hard film to recommend, I did enjoy a couple things about it and thought it was competently directed.

To get my issues out of the way, I thought many scenes dragged on for too long. While the film became more watchable and focused once Themroc started destroying his apartment, I also thought many scenes throughout the final hour or so could've been tightened up. The initial conflict with the police, Themroc interfering with a man laying bricks outside his apartment, and the final scene made for some nice humor, but I didn't find these scenes as humorous as the movie did. More often than not, sequences like these overstayed their welcome, in part due to the film's one dimensional themes. I also didn't care for the frequent female nudity. The constant nude shots of Themroc's sister were unnecessary and got tiring after a while. In fact, the film contained no male nudity to balance any of this out. Like, yeah, there were a few scenes where it showed some male actors with no clothes on, but they were only shown from the waist up, at most.

In spite of those issues though, I'd still give this film a loose recommendation. As mentioned earlier, its themes on rebelling against society are one dimensional, but I did find the exploration of this one dimension amusing at times, with its one note constantly increasing in weirdness as it rolled along. My favorite part of the final hour was watching Themroc's apartment and the streets below him grow progressively more beaten up and polluted. It recalled the second part of Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks with how this progression made the film feel post-apocalyptic. I also found the incompetence of the police quite humorous, failing to stop Themroc multiple times and oftentimes simply standing around as he and his neighbors destroyed more things.

Overall, while this film is flawed, I enjoyed enough about it to think it was competent. I don't know of many people I'd recommend this to, but if you enjoy these kinds of films, I'd recommend giving it a go.

[Rockatansky]

The Long Riders (1980)
2.5
A weirdly paced western about Jesse James and his gang. It relies too much on its gimmick (all brothers are played by real brothers) and feels like a collection of random scenes instead of a story. In a way, it's The Wild Bunch lite with the blood spurts and slow-motion shoot-outs and all.
I'm in the minority here, but as far as Wild Bunch influenced Walter Hill movies go, I enjoyed Extreme Prejudice quite a bit more.*Bloodier climax, Powers Boothe in a dirty as hell white suit, Nick Mother****ing Note, what's not to dig?

[Jinnistan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXmqrFVMxBA

[Mr Minio]

The Train (1964) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/rNwiW8l.png

What's the cost of art? Is dying for art worth it? Obviously, art represents the nation and its people. It's got cultural significance, it represents a spirit.

It's almost grotesque how snobbish and dogged von Waldheim is. He doesn't really care about human life, German lives incl., and he's just fixed on getting those paintings across the border. It's degenerate art, thought trash by Nazi, which makes it even more interesting. To other Germans, von Waldheim states that the art can be sold, which can help Germany's war effort, but privately he seems to be a connoisseur and wants these paintings for himself. His snobbish speech toward the end is quite preposterous!

Both Germans and French are willing to take many lives for art, and the shots of box crates juxtaposed to the shots of dead people at the end of the film are quite striking. The film's plot isn't complicated. We get the motivations of the protagonists within the first 15 minutes or so. What's really interesting is the spectacle, or another bizarre juxtaposition: man versus machine. Men are fragile, tiny. Trains are large metal beasts, hoofing and poofing as they speed up, hard brake, or get derailed. The metal beast, the German war machine can and was stopped. In part by people like Labiche. Stopping the train was a victory of sorts but what a bitter victory! Crates full of priceless paintings scattered next to a derailed train and a pile of bodies. In war, there are no winners and losers; only losers.

Gone Girl (2014) - 1

https://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Gone-Girl-Rosamund-Pike-1-1280x720.jpg

Really hated the first 30-odd minutes, but then kinda got into it. Many people's problem with Gone Girl seems to be that it's misogynist in its display of a woman character. I'm too tired of this "portrayal of a single character is (not) a portrayal of a group" thing, and I don't really care. The ending is probably the best argument these guys can present anyway. Gone Girl works fine as a thriller but it's too long and took me some time to stop vehemently hating its characters. Paradoxically, the more assholish/psycho they were revealed to be, the less I hated them because after some point is reached you actually start liking characters like this, partly in an ironic way. Case in point: Anthony Wong in Ebola Hunter or The Untold Story. All in all, an okayish film.

賭聖２之街頭賭聖 [The Saint of Gamblers] (1995) - 2

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3NV2ECXEAMDn4H?format=jpg&name=900x900
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3NV9AOXEAQVOti?format=jpg&name=900x900
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3NWBEqWQAQ3xN_?format=jpg&name=900x900
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3NWHiMWQAEolIf?format=jpg&name=900x900

Jing Wong films are my cinematic happy place and you can't do anything about it, haters! Two Michael Jacksons!!! xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Chingmy Yau marry me please. ;_;

豹妹 [Her Name Is Cat] (1998) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/EXLetyj.png

I like me some cheesy trash once (or rather five times) in a while. Needed nudity but still gr8 cheese. Michael Wong is so cheesy with his insecure-sounding voice. The Wong Kar-Wai & John Woo inspirations are cheesy, too. Lots of cheese and cheese. CHEESIEST FILM OF ALL TIME!!!!!111

異常性愛記録 ハレンチ [‎Shameless: Abnormal and Abusive Love] (1969) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/UZdhopo.png

Teruo Ishii doesn't care about PC!!! This has woman beating but also cross-dressing (SIC!). My favorite scene is a guy saying "I wanna marry you, you're the world for me" while taking a poo and forcing the girl to watch him. Been a while since I've seen such a f*cked up psycho in cinema and trust me I've seen some psychos lately!

[Rockatansky]

I enjoyed Gone Girl in theatres thanks to Fincher's craft, and I think it's a decent media satire with the pileup of twists revealing new depths to the characters' stupidity and moral bankruptcy, forcing you to completely reorient yourself with respect to the narrative. But I've really soured on it over the years, thanks to people treating it like it's some brilliant gender satire (including seeing some really baffling internet drama break out over different readings of the film), combined with Fincher's mix of smugness and nihilism.


You bring up those Herman Yau movies, but they don't pat themselves on the back like Gone Girl does.



TBH the only Finchers I can see myself willingly returning to are Alien 3 and Zodiac, where the genre trappings and real world setting, respectively, temper the nihilism. And I do love Mindhunter.

[Rockatansky]

Oh, and The Train is really good, but I don't have anything smart to add.

[Jinnistan]

I enjoyed Gone Girl in theatres thanks to Fincher's craft, and I think it's a decent media satire with the pileup of twists revealing new depths to the characters' stupidity and moral bankruptcy, forcing you to completely reorient yourself with respect to the narrative. But I've really soured on it over the years, thanks to people treating it like it's some brilliant gender satire (including seeing some really baffling internet drama break out over different readings of the film), combined with Fincher's mix of smugness and nihilism.
Yeah, there were enough attempts at essentializing the gender roles, and interpretations on "the cool girl" that went both positive ("feminist manifesto") and negative ("death of feminism"), to respond to the film in that light.

I'm more on board with your latter comment. I thought it was just mean-spirited exploitation.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I enjoyed Gone Girl in theatres thanks to Fincher's craft, and I think it's a decent media satire with the pileup of twists revealing new depths to the characters' stupidity and moral bankruptcy, forcing you to completely reorient yourself with respect to the narrative. But I've really soured on it over the years, thanks to people treating it like it's some brilliant gender satire (including seeing some really baffling internet drama break out over different readings of the film), combined with Fincher's mix of smugness and nihilism.


You bring up those Herman Yau movies, but they don't pat themselves on the back like Gone Girl does.



TBH the only Finchers I can see myself willingly returning to are Alien 3 and Zodiac, where the genre trappings and real world setting, respectively, temper the nihilism. And I do love Mindhunter.
Gone Girl IS a brilliant gender satire though. It’s also not a movie to take particularly seriously.

It however, like Midsommar, it is not an endorsement of any particular gender idea nor is it a celebration of any particular ideology.*

It’s more like a self aware Lifetime film with superb craft. It’s awesome.

[Rockatansky]

Gone Girl IS a brilliant gender satire though. It’s also not a movie to take particularly seriously.

It however, like Midsommar, it is not an endorsement of any particular gender idea nor is it a celebration of any particular ideology.*

It’s more like a self aware Lifetime film with superb craft. It’s awesome.
Your Lifetime comment seems accurate, but I'm not sure I equate that to brilliant satire.*

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Raya_and_the_Last_Dragon.png

4

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

[Fabulous]

To Sir, with Love (1967)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/7dzE7MywqLklIa3EdmVcIBXWDQs.jpg

[Siddon]

https://25yearslatersite.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Invincible-6-758x373.jpg

Invincible (2021)
rating_4

The deconstruction of the Superman mythos is nothing new neither is the animated Comic series. Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) has put together a distinctive and powerful story that elevates the genre. Mark Grayson is the son on Omi-Man who finally gets his powers, the next eight episodes are a winding road of suspense, surprise and heart.

The vocal acting here is fantastic, JK Simmons, Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Mark Hamill, Walton Goggins, Gillian Jacobs, Zach Quinto, Clancy Brown, Marshala Ali and even Seth Rogan are really good in this. And the pacing, scoring, world building and writing are top notch. This could be watched as an 8 hour film and you will be rewarded by the character development.

The show isn't perfect though, while the story feels like it's shot in widescreen the backgrounds are lacking movement. The action scenes are great but they could be better and one character is really a flat tire on the story. But what's crazy to me about this series is you could spin off a dozen characters and tell great stories and series.

[GulfportDoc]

...
Looking back, I'm surprised at the many scores of films he did. One that always sticks out in my mind is Requiem For a Heavyweight (1962) with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason. Really first rate. He was a riot in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) playing a Japanese man.
...
I was waiting to see how many wokesters would chime in to diss a 20th Century actor and role with 21st Century fashionable notions. Only two. Not as bad as I'd thought...:cool:

[ThatDarnMKS]

Your Lifetime comment seems accurate, but I'm not sure I equate that to brilliant satire.*
I find the subversion of the ridiculous lengths…

a woman goes to in order to shift the public eye and socially accepted role for her husband to play the role she wants him to, when the default is more or less the default expectation, to be pretty hilarious and pointed in the same way the film spits in the eye of sensational media. Like Swift’s baby eating, it isn’t subtle or complex, but it certainly makes an impression and I have a lot of fun with it.

Even the choice of choosing a Lifetime-esque plot seems a part of that pointed attack, as that network lives and dies by reveling in the freak-show fascination of tabloid exploitation and pilfering real life for loose inspiration for schlocky melodrama. Apologies if that last bit isn’t entirely intelligible, I’m headachy and REFUSE to reread it and get caught in the rewrite vortex.

Long story short, Gone Girl,(and most of Fincher’s filmography) as the kids say, slaps

[Siddon]

Gone Girl (2014) - rating_1

https://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Gone-Girl-Rosamund-Pike-1-1280x720.jpg

Really hated the first 30-odd minutes, but then kinda got into it. Many people's problem with Gone Girl seems to be that it's misogynist in its display of a woman character. I'm too tired of this "portrayal of a single character is (not) a portrayal of a group" thing, and I don't really care. The ending is probably the best argument these guys can present anyway. Gone Girl works fine as a thriller but it's too long and took me some time to stop vehemently hating its characters. Paradoxically, the more assholish/psycho they were revealed to be, the less I hated them because after some point is reached you actually start liking characters like this, partly in an ironic way. Case in point: Anthony Wong in Ebola Hunter or The Untold Story. All in all, an okayish film.



Yes the misogynist creator

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxHJ9ma5E0YsYDSO5gJ3nGbsJI9fadaLESAw&usqp=CAU

[Rockatansky]

I find the subversion of the ridiculous lengths…

a woman goes to in order to shift the public eye and socially accepted role for her husband to play the role she wants him to, when the default is more or less the default expectation, to be pretty hilarious and pointed in the same way the film spits in the eye of sensational media. Like Swift’s baby eating, it isn’t subtle or complex, but it certainly makes an impression and I have a lot of fun with it.

Even the choice of choosing a Lifetime-esque plot seems a part of that pointed attack, as that network lives and dies by reveling in the freak-show fascination of tabloid exploitation and pilfering real life for loose inspiration for schlocky melodrama. Apologies if that last bit isn’t entirely intelligible, I’m headachy and REFUSE to reread it and get caught in the rewrite vortex.

Long story short, Gone Girl,(and most of Fincher’s filmography) as the kids say, slaps

Right, but you acknowledge that the satire is broad and glib by design, which I find the opposite of brilliant. At this point I'm quibbling with definitions, but I also hopelessly associate the movie with a lot of obnoxious interneting, so you'll forgive my irrationality here.


I will concede that to the extent that the movie does slap (as the kids say), it's thanks to Fincher's technical finesse. But the movie did not slap me.

[Rockatansky]

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AdeptGenuineHake.webp

[FromBeyond]

Hellraiser

“Jesus wept”

Can’t believe I was allowed to watch this as a child so many times, what was wrong with my parents

Like a comfort blanket.. Sadistic demons and S&M.

I turned out okay. Sort of.

[John Dumbear]

”Greenland” - 8/10

Far superior to “Armeggedon” or “Deep Impact”. Felt this one took it to a believable level, given the subject matter. If I had a top disaster film list, this would be on it.

[Mr Minio]

義蓋雲天 [A Hearty Response] (1986) - 1

https://i.imgur.com/LpUJP3g.png
Finally found the source of that Joey Wong with mustache picture!

POV: Joey Wong gets hit by a car and starts pretending she's your wife upon waking up. Obviously, she has some ulterior motive, but you decide to play along because you feel sorry for her plus, I mean, she's Joey Wong. Very nasty and uncomfortable rape scene toward the end. I'm quite used to this kinda stuff but still made me feel uneasy. Maybe because she's my crush.

斬、 [Killing] (2018) - 1

https://i.imgur.com/vaHXFAM.png

Just freakin' great. Another one of my crushes - Yu Aoi - got raped. Why did I stumble upon two films in which my crushes get raped in just one day? ;_;

野火 [Fires on the Plain] (2014) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/6YJtFsC.png

Great! Finally, a film, in which my crush doesn't get raped. Even better, a film, in which nobody gets raped. Sadly, also a film that doesn't have any of my crushes. Even sadder still, a film, in which people get shot, blown up, and cannibalized. F*ck my life. Seriously, though, I should have rewatched Ichikawa's film before to compare the two adaptations of the novel, but I was too lazy to do that, and now I can't really do that and write anything smart like "Tsukamoto's approach is much more naturalistic".

[ThatDarnMKS]

Right, but you acknowledge that the satire is broad and glib by design, which I find the opposite of brilliant. At this point I'm quibbling with definitions, but I also hopelessly associate the movie with a lot of obnoxious interneting, so you'll forgive my irrationality here.


I will concede that to the extent that the movie does slap (as the kids say), it's thanks to Fincher's technical finesse. But the movie did not slap me.

I rarely find subtext in and of itself to be “brilliant,” but find the exploration of that subtext to be what sets it apart. For instance, There Will Be Blood at its core is about the nature of greed. Well worn territory but it explores it in a fashion I find supremely satisfying.*

Gone Girl explores themes that I’ve not QUITE seen explored in film and does so with such reckless abandon that by the time they’re parodying Gone With The Wind, I’m ready to exclaim it as “brilliant!”

That said, the discourse around this film and Fight Club is often toxic, reactionary and silly in that people bring in a perspective that is antithetical to what the film is critiquing (anyone looking at the titular “Girl” as something heroic or “girl boss” is missing the point like the teen guys that started Fight Clubs). But art is not its audience. If it were, I would probably hate most films.*

Fincher is just too damn fine of filmmaker for me to let dumb reactions spoil me.

[Fabulous]

Possessed (1947)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/d39Pj8OcGQcAmozW7UdyivQrOyy.jpg

[Wooley]

Me too! It's one of my favorite '50s horror movies. It felt so rational. I still enjoy it.

I knew it was one of Edmund Gwenn's last roles, but I'd forgotten that he did The Trouble With Harry after this one.

Remember in Foreign Correspondent (1940) when Gwenn tries to push Joel McCrea off the top of Westminster Cathedral? Great movie.

I remember him from tTwH but I haven't seen FC in probably 30 years.

[Wooley]

[/LEFT]
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p2583_i_h9_aa.jpg
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins - The premise is about the only thing this has in common with HftW. The cast is certainly respectable with the always intriguing Alan Arkin starring as retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Rafferty. He's an aimless and alcoholic Los Angeles driving instructor who meets two hitchhikers while drinking his lunch in a park. McKinley "Mac" Beachwood (Sally Kellerman) is an aspiring singer and her young friend Rita "Frisbee" Sykes (McKenzie Phillips) is a surly and unapologetic con artist. They're on their way to New Orleans where Mac supposedly will get a job singing in Frisbee's dads bar. That's the story they tell Gunny Rafferty until Frisbee pulls a gun and forces him to drive them there. He has no trouble getting away from them but since his old life was an unrelenting pit of despair he doubles back and picks them up again. From there it turns into a road movie with stops including Las Vegas and Tucson. There are welcome appearances by Alex Rocco as a flaky Vegas hustler named Vinnie, Charles Martin as a lovelorn soldier and Harry Dean Stanton as one of Mac's former suitors.

To me it's an archetypal 70's flick having been released in 1975. But it also has that slightly disheveled, shaggy dog story feel to it that so many films from that era had. I want to like it more than I did because I love 70's movies but I'll have to admit it has limits to it's world building potential and it reaches those limits quickly. But even though it really doesn't have much of a story to tell, the cast makes it worth your while.

rating_3_5


I have had a brutal case of The Hots for Sally Kellerman for about 34 years. That is all.

[Wooley]

I was waiting to see how many wokesters would chime in to diss a 20th Century actor and role with 21st Century fashionable notions. Only two. Not as bad as I'd thought...:cool:

Well, I'm "Woke As ****", as they say, but even I can understand that many things are products of their time. Doesn't make them good, but there is context that has to be considered before just judging everybody connected in any way.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Well, I'm "Woke As ****", as they say, but even I can understand that many things are products of their time. Doesn't make them good, but there is context that has to be considered before just judging everybody connected in any way.
Look at these wokesters from 1961 that took me all of two seconds to find:

https://variety.com/1961/film/news/film-review-breakfast-at-tiffanys-1201341653/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/breakfast-at-tiffanys-1961-movie-737095/

Way to jump the gun, guys! Everyone knows finding egregious stereotypes and yellow face ill advised only started last year!!! Get. With. The. Program.

[Fabulous]

Mahler (1974)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oTSFtpq9AHZSAvYYKxiWfAZLdPE.jpg

[John-Connor]

Deathtrap 1982 Sidney Lumet
78524
78523
Much better than 'Clue' and in the league of 'Sleuth', a highly entertaining who-dunnit/who'll-do-it.
Starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.
4+

[EsmagaSapos]

https://i.postimg.cc/gjNXRtZD/MV5-BMj-I0-Nm-Fk-Yz-Et-Nz-U2-YS00-NTg5-LWIw-Ym-Mt-Nm-Q1-MTU0-OGJj-OTMx-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-Mj-Mx-OTE0-ODA-V1.jpg

1

Jezz. They're now flying Pontiac Fiero's to space to destroy satellites. Forget physics, this guys got family. If you asked Matt and Trey to make the most ridiculous script they could manage they wouldn't got near these jackasses. They're sucking this fat titty until it dries, but the titty seems to be endless.

[xSookieStackhouse]

https://i.postimg.cc/gjNXRtZD/MV5-BMj-I0-Nm-Fk-Yz-Et-Nz-U2-YS00-NTg5-LWIw-Ym-Mt-Nm-Q1-MTU0-OGJj-OTMx-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-Mj-Mx-OTE0-ODA-V1.jpg

1

Jezz. They're now flying Pontiac Fiero's to space to destroy satellites. Forget physics, this guys got family. If you asked Matt and Trey to make the most ridiculous script they could manage they wouldn't got near these jackasses. They're sucking this fat titty until it dries, but the titty seems to be endless.

to me i loved the movie and glad they making number 10 but i wish they would stopped after paul walker death

[CharlesAoup]

Left Behind, 2000 (B)

Kirk Cameron plays a journalist reporting about a miraculous crop formula in Israel, right before an attack that is immediately defeated. The movie then follows his investigation into what no one apparently realises is the rapture.

So first off, this is not a well made movie. The actors aren't great, there's an almost entirely useless B-plot with a pilot that could have been nuked with no consequences, and the music is overdramatic every time it's on. It's definitely a movie that's carried by its scope and concepts. I've heard some stupid things about the sequels, so I might not watch them at all. There's definitely something to enjoy here if you're a fan of those grand, globe-trotting investigation/conspiracy type of thing. Sort of like Tomb Raider, but without the action.

[Fabulous]

Magic (1978)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/ai8qwjUNpdkgkVFS6cbF6IUILqS.jpg

[Mr Minio]

男はつらいよ お帰り 寅さん [Tora-san, Wish You Were Here] (2019) - 3

https://i.imgur.com/c8wQ8SY.png

It took me almost 4 months to watch this longest-in-the-world film series spanning over 50 films and 50 years. Long story short, Tora-san is an oddball itinerant peddler who travels all around Japan. He has a family in Shibamata, Tokyo, which consists of his sister Sakura, nephew Mitsuo, his Uncle, and Aunt. However, he rarely ever visits his family and lives a free life of a wanderer. Every film has a so-called Madonna, a beautiful lady Tora-san falls in love with and is inevitably dumped by at the end. Sometimes he is not dumped but runs away after finding out the girl actually reciprocates his love. He's well-known as that guy who never got married.

Yoji Yamada's handling of the series is nothing short of amazing. He co-wrote the films, too, making sure the seemingly repetitious premise is never dull or boring. Some films are better and some worse but they never get below the high standard of Yamada's filmmaking. All in all, the series is excellent, and even though it could have been better, it's hard to demand that since Yamada still managed to keep the quality high in every film, often making two of them a year.

Tora-san, Wish You Were Here is the fiftieth (SIC!) installment in the series and most probably the last one. It combines new footage with scenes from the old movies in the form of Mitsuo's memories of Tora-san and his first love Izumi. Yamada is superhuman to release the fiftieth installment 24 years after the forty-ninth one with 10 actors from the original cast reprising their roles. Sakura, a young woman of 28 in the first installment is now a grandma of 77. You could literally see two-thirds of her life in these films. Just seeing these people, young then, old now, brings tears to my eyes. This is why long-spanning film series is superior to TV series. Time is a congruent ingredient in the first case. And no, digital (de-)aging is not the same thing and please can we stop using it?

The next part of my write-up is full of spoilers of the film, so you can stop reading if you think you will ever watch the series (it really makes no sense to just watch the final 50th film and ignore 49 other parts).

So after all Mitsuo and Izumi did NOT end up together. I will never forgive you, Yamada. ;_;

I do get what Yamada wanted to say with this film but I really hoped Mitsuo will finally get together with Izumi. Yamada teased me with this possibility by first making Mitsuo's wife die 6 years prior to the time the movie takes place and then making Mitsuo reveal to Izumi that his wife is dead next to the end of the film. Izumi kissed him... and that's it. She didn't reveal she's divorced or that her husband also died, or that she lied to him about getting married, or anything else that would make it possible for them to stay together. Why not?! :( Maybe it's kinda juvenile but I hate that! I'd been waiting for their wedding since the first film Izumi appeared and now have to be satisfied with the idea that even though they both love each other, life is a bitch and they can't be together. Thanks, Yamada but I don't need films about what I'm living in my life.

In the end, Mitsuo lost his first love, and can't get her back because it's too late. He also lost his wife to an illness. Moreover, he also lost his dear uncle Tora-san whom he remembers from time to time and holds in great esteem. It's never explicitly stated that Tora-san died in the film's world but it's obvious the film is a tribute to the series and Kiyoshi Atsumi, the actor who played Tora and died of cancer in the 90s. At the end of the movie, Mitsuo sits alone in a dark room while a montage of all Madonnas in the series plays out to a great emotional effect. Mitsuo's only happiness is his daughter now. This is one of the darker shades of mono no aware.

The key to the movie (and even the entire series) lies in the question that Mitsuo posed to Tora-san in one of the earlier films (many bits of old footage are played again in Wish You Were Here). The question roughly states "What's the meaning of life?", and Tora's answer is (again, roughly): "Life's about all these little moments that make it worth living". Tora died unmarried but had some beautiful things happen to him in his life, and at least he was loved by Lily and Sakura and also loved many women. Mitsuo's entire happiness seems to stem from Izumi, though. Maybe it's because we never see his deceased wife (apart from a picture at the altar) and don't learn her story. Sure, he loves his daughter, but even the daughter seems to cheer him up saying she's OK with him remarrying. Mitsuo seems really disillusioned at the end of the film. He'll probably marry his daughter's English teacher (because his daughter likes her) and continue being unhappy dreaming and thinking about Izumi. Sure, Yamada may make part 51, which would be infinitely badass because he's 90 now, but I don't think he will. I guess the Tora series is concluded now. Mitsuo's character gave me these geisha from Ornamental Hairpin feels. Although he was just sitting at home and crying, he really seemed to have been walking up the stairs, holding an umbrella, and looking back into the past.

https://i.imgur.com/Dv8waYv.png

We're all standing on these stairs, heading onto the unfamiliar future, and, unsure and full of grief, taking this last look at our past, knowing it's irreversible. But our small dramas mean nothing compared to all the grief in the world, which Yamada seems to signal by showing all these pictures of Syrian refugees.

Blah blah blah BUT I WANT MY FILMS TO HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS!

[ThatDarnMKS]

THE GREAT BEAUTY

A fitting title and homage to LA DOLCE VITA. Gorgeous and heatfelt existentialism that captured both the empty extravagance that defined Fellini’s film but combined it with a poignant sentimentality of growing old and feeling dissatisfied, as if Sorrentino had slipped in a touch of Bergman’s Wild Strawberries.

Wonderful.

5

[GulfportDoc]

”Greenland” - 8/10

Far superior to “Armeggedon” or “Deep Impact”. Felt this one took it to a believable level, given the subject matter. If I had a top disaster film list, this would be on it.
I agree. Here's some commentary from awhile back:

Greenland (2020)

It's been awhile since I've watched a disaster film, and this movie turned out to be a good one.

Disaster films are tricky because they end up tending to be either unbelievable, or too schmaltzy. This one stays fairly close to what people imagine a cataclysmic comet impact might look like. And although they have the family of three dip into the emotional goo a few times, they pull up before the viewer gets sick of it.

As with most disaster films there's not much to the plot, so they must portray plenty of tension, thrills, and dread. A skyscraper foreman, John Garrity (Gerald Butler), comes home early one day to soon find out that there are mentions of a comet coming near Earth, but that it'll likely miss. Later of course the comet --which now is in several pieces-- is calculated to hit earth after all.

To the dismay of his friends and neighbors, John, his wife (Morena Baccarin), and son (Roger Floyd) have been among the chosen for relocation to a shelter in Greenland, because of John's skills. What happens between that time and to the point they make the perilous quest to Greenland makes up the entire narrative. The boy has insulin dependent diabetes, so that adds to the drama.

To the credit of excellent production design, special effects, and first rate photography the film really holds one's interest throughout. The man and wife do have good chemistry despite a slow start.

If you're a fan of good PG-13 action/thriller pictures, this one is for you. Available on Amazon, HBO (I think), and various streaming services. Doc's rating: 7/10

[Wooley]

Deathtrap 1982 Sidney Lumet
78524
78523
Much better than 'Clue' and in the league of 'Sleuth', a highly entertaining who-dunnit/who'll-do-it.
Starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.
4+

I'm a pretty big fan. Wish Reeve had gotten to do more like this.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTE0MTI4MjY0NDFeQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU4MDE1MTUxMjYz._V1_.jpg



3.5

[Gideon58]

Deathtrap 1982 Sidney Lumet
78524
78523
Much better than 'Clue' and in the league of 'Sleuth', a highly entertaining who-dunnit/who'll-do-it.
Starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.
4+


This movie was amazing...I rated it the same you did. Reeve is a revelation here.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I have had a brutal case of The Hots for Sally Kellerman for about 34 years. That is all.She went without makeup for this and still looked hot.

[StuSmallz]

Aye, I see what you mean. With that being said though, while you could make the argument that Philip doesn't take the movie that seriously given how he reacts to most of what goes on in the film with wisecracks, by making jokes, or by playing the harmonica in the end as you mention, I think there's plenty of moments where the characters around him take the movie seriously, especially with Roger and Eileen. Really, I think the scene is Augustine's mansion where everyone takes their clothes off is the only main scene where the film dips into a completely satirical tone (not just with Philip, but with those around him), so I do think the viewer is asked to take the movie seriously since (for the most part) the secondary characters do. I think it's mainly just Philip who doesn't.Yeah, but it's a sort of a matter of "quality over quantity" for me, in a manner of speaking; you can have every other single character in the film take the story as seriously as possible, but the tone of the film will still feel conflicted because Marlowe doesn't take it very seriously, and since he's the main character (and one that appears in every single scene, if memory serves me correctly), he's the one we're most likely to identity with and take our cues on how to respond to the film from, since he's the biggest "lens" we see the story through. I mean, just try to imagine how dramatically different the tone of Chinatown (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2176127#post2176127) would've been if everything else had been exactly the same, but Jake reacted to the central conspiracy and its repurcussions with the same attitude as Gould's Marlowe; the entire film would come off as a radically different experience, wouldn't it?

[SpelingError]

Yeah, but it's a sort of a matter of "quality over quantity" for me, in a manner of speaking; you can have every other single character in the film take the story as seriously as possible, but the tone of the film will still feel conflicted because Marlowe doesn't take it very seriously, and since he's the main character (and one that appears in every single scene, if memory serves me correctly), he's the one we're most likely to identity with and take our cues on how to respond to the film from, since he's the biggest "lens" we see the story through. I mean, just try to imagine how dramatically different the tone of Chinatown (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2176127#post2176127) would've been if Jake had reacted to the central conspiracy and its repurcussions with the same attitude as Gould's Marlowe; the entire film would come off as a radically different experience, wouldn't it?

Okay, fair enough. I think we're on the same wavelength now.

[Loner]

The Consequences of Love (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398883/)

4.5
I was hoping there would be more films like this on the 1001 movies you must see list. Could really use The Criterion treatment.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Predestination_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43827023

Predestination - (2014)

A time travel neo-noir movie with Ethan Hawke as 'The Barkeep' - based on Robert A. Heinlein's short story --All You Zombies--. The film has to contort itself quite a lot because of it's incredible premise - and I couldn't quite suspend disbelief. Still, it's admirable for what it sets out to achieve. It's damned hard to adapt that kind of story for the screen, and sometimes I want a movie to work so badly that I'll forgive all kinds of things.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/FatheroftheBride1950.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13686487

Father of the Bride - (1950)

Spencer Tracy was incredible in this. What a wonderfully understated performance - he can say so much with just a subtle look or slight enunciation. This film is still funny some 70+ years after it's release. Tracy missed out on an Oscar - beaten by José Ferrer who appeared in the 1950 version of Cyrano de Bergerac - but is awarded one in Alternate Oscars by Danny Peary. One day I'm going to do my own Alternate Oscars for 1992 onwards - something Peary has frustratingly never done.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/A_Man_for_All_Seasons_%281966_movie_poster%29.gif
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6678394

A Man For All Seasons - (1966)

If I'd seen A Man For All Seasons before watching A Hidden Life I'd have surely mentioned it. Instead of one man's defiance of Hitler by refusing to swear an oath we have Sir Thomas More refusing to pressure the church into annulling King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and later his refusal to swear an oath proclaiming the King Supreme Head of the Church. A real Oscar went to the film for Best Picture and Paul Scofield for Best Actor - but alternates went to Cul-de-Sac and Richard Burton for his role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I haven't seen Cul-de-Sac, so I can't judge this selection yet.

The film is enjoyable, and I loved Robert Shaw's depiction of Henry VIII - it was all too brief. Also John Hurt, who was only 26, appearing as Richard Rich and Orson Welles as the bloated Cardinal Wolsey, who was Lord Chancellor before Sir Thomas More. Without those three the film wouldn't be as rewatchable as it is - I indeed intend watching it again.

8/10

[John-Connor]

THE GREAT BEAUTY


Wonderful.

5
Agreed! I hope it makes mofo's top foreign language films list.

The Consequences of Love (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398883/)

4.5
I was hoping there would be more films like this on the 1001 movies you must see list. Could really use The Criterion treatment.
^ watchlisted, I think you will like this one too ThatDarnMKS; Sorrentino + Toni Servillo.


Night Falls on Manhattan 1996 Sidney Lumet
78539
Underrated crime drama/thriller starring: Ron Leibman, James Gandolfini, Richard Dreyfuss, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Andy García, Ian Holm, Lena Olin, Bobby Cannavale.
4

https://youtu.be/9_IVNW48fE4

[EsmagaSapos]

https://i.postimg.cc/1ttsZnQd/MV5-BMz-I3-Zj-A1-ODQt-OGUz-Yy00-MTBl-LWJk-Nzgt-ODZj-ZTU5-MDUy-Nj-Bk-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-MTk2-MDc1-Mj-Q-V1.jpg

5

Every once in a while a good film comes along, it's very rare, and often from the most unexpected of the places, until then, I have to pass trough the two hours crap each time. Someone once said that in order to find real artists in the future one had to go to Africa, those kind of places, because, according to him, people would all think the same way, even those who try to think differently, they're thinking the same. Maybe that's the free speech we all keep in the tongue, maybe once people are told they can do something, they won't do it, and when they're told they can't do something, they'll do it for themselves sparing everyone else, and by that make it truthful and honest, nothing else is needed.

The author is authentic, honest, sensitive, this film is not the typical- what everyone thinks should be mentioned combined and made into a movie for awareness sake, or, what no one thinks made into a movie to make a certain point in order to change people's minds, that's not art, and that's not needed, everyone has opinions and everyone wants to share them. An Elephant Sitting Still unmasks the great journey of false hope. The journey of the grass always greener on the other people's lawns, the journey to enlightenment, the journey to immortality, the journey to truth, the journey to individual knowledge, the journey for social climb, the journey for the hidden goody goody that doesn't exist, the elephant. In that quest the objective makes a entire life always suspended. Although this is one of my favorite films, I don't necessarily agree with the dark picture the author made, the world ain't dark unless you make it, but I appreciate his honesty.

Hu Bo and this film will be revered in the coming years.

1988 – 2017

[Mr Minio]

Decided to watch some entertainment to take it easy after the emotional rollercoaster that
the last Tora-san film was.

魔翡翠 [The Magic Crystal] (1986) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/YxtCrCv.png

Damn good time courtesy of Wong Jing. Lots of badass fights. Also, the guy with his feet and hands swapped is the funniest scene in film history.

劍奴 [Slave of the Sword] (1993) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/OBnWIF2.png

Apart from lots of fighting and some flying, which are inherent elements of wuxia pian, the film features a cast of beauties and has some scenes of lesbian kissing, which I'm partial to. :blush: Still, at its core, this sexploitation film is pretty sad. People either cut each other to pieces or cheat and deceive. In the end, madness and evil win, and any good, even if it was there in the first place, is crushed very early. Not a gay film (although it's kinda gay in one way!). Also, these HK films with beauties and those airy big rooms with curtains moving in the wind are my jam.

They Were Expendable (1945) - 3

https://i.imgur.com/S6okEKl.png

Watching more John Ford? Don't mind if I do! Great and for most time chill flick. Joseph H. August freakin' killed it with outstanding cinematography! Some beautiful, serene moments. Lots of subtle poetry but also some excellent action sequences. In one word: swell!

都会の横顔 [Tokyo Profile] (1953) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/eGyDeQl.png

Quite an adorable film from Shimizu! A little girl gets lost and a billboard man starts looking for her mother. All of this but an excuse to show the busy streets of Ginza. The idea that you are anonymous in a big city is the point of the film, I guess.

The Killers (1964) - 0.5

https://i.imgur.com/63owANW.png

Initially meant for TV but shelved due to explicit violence (features women getting hit). Not enough Lee Marvin roughing up people but at least John Cassavetes punches Ronald Reagan in the face. Quite honestly, I wasn't big on this. I prefer Siodmak's film.

[CharlesAoup]

The Mothman Prophecies, 2002 (A-)

A journalist from DC finds himself oddly stranded in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where strange sightings all around town presage something ominous.

The events of the movie are not crazy interesting in and of themselves. It has all the flow of an average monster movie with not enough budget to actually have the monster on screen most of the time. The concept of the Mothman, however, is built up so well and so carefully, that the movie gains this awesome sense of Lynchian mystery. The movie clearly draws from some esoteric principles for inspiration, and it gives the whole thing a depth that you don't typically find in these movies. There's no point where you feel they went too far or ruined it by trying to overexplain. Good stuff.

[Wooley]

She went without makeup for this and still looked hot.

As women often do.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/The_Old_Man_%26_the_Gun.png
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57635090

The Old Man & the Gun - (2018)

A not bad film about notorious bank robber and escape artist Forrest Tucker, definitely helped by Robert Redford, Casey Affleck and a strong supporting cast. Redford portrays Tucker as the most friendly, helpful and happy bank robber you're ever likely to come across. He has a certain air of class about him. Affleck is also terrific as a cop in way over his head - but determined to track Tucker down. At one point Tucker robs a bank with Affleck in the queue waiting for a teller. The look on his face after being informed the bank has just been robbed is priceless. I love Casey Affleck.

Director and screenwriter David Lowery did a great job with A Ghost Story (I thought) and continues his good form with this. Sissy Spacek is a thankfully age-appropriate love interest. Danny Glover and Tom Waits seem to come as a team (they both appeared in The Dead Don't Die.) The film doesn't reach any great heights, but is at least enjoyable escapism through the lens of a (mostly) true story.

6/10

[skizzerflake]

Revisiting The Mothman Prophecies. It's really a pretty good movie, obscure as it is, with an excellent cast, a quiet, slow-boil plot line and a minimum of cheesy FX. People in a small town in West Virginia are troubled, and a cynical DC news reporter finds himself there (how?). The locals have been seeing things, don't understand what's going on and nobody's OK with what they've seen.

The cool thing about this movie is that it's based on real events in 1966 and 1967, sightings of some sort of entity, labelled Mothman by doubters. It builds to a crescendo that seems to culminate when a bridge collapses, killing dozens of people (real events).

The excellent cast includes Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Alan Bates and Will Patton, all of whom play understated, believable people. Unfortunately for him, the character played by Will Patton carries the burden of sightings that (in real life) were had by about a hundred people, so things don't go well for him.

If you're in the mood for creepy understated creatures, this is the flick.

7.5 of 10, up to 8 because it's a favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCanqLXcxBg

[xSookieStackhouse]

4.5 loved the music and the fashion <3
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-Wla8dTOL._AC_.jpg

[chawhee]

Oceans 11 (2001)
https://d2e111jq13me73.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/share_link_image_large/public/screenshots/csm-movie/ocean-1.jpg?itok=3PKtNXdL
5
Not much I can say about this movie that hasn't been said before, and I've rewatched it many times. One of my favorite Vegas movies, and probably my favorite of the Oceans series.

[mark f]

City Hall (Frederick Wiseman, 2020) 2.5 6/10
No Time to Be Young (David [Lowell] Rich, 1957) 2 5/10
Skater Girl (Manjari Makijany, 2021) 2.5 6/10
The Donut King (Alice Gu, 2020) 3 6.5/10
https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/711x383/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f99c2f0fb1e8f3e5c59412b/960x0.jpg?fit=scale
Ted Ngoy's biography as a Cambodian immigrant who became the Donut King is also full of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.
Dream Horse (Euros Lyn, 2020) 2.5+ 6/10
The Saint in New York (Ben Holmes, 1938) 2 5/10
Infinite (Antoine Fuqua, 2021) 2.5 5.5/10
In the Heights (Jon M. Chu, 2021) 3.5- 7/10
https://thehoneypop.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/tenor-24.gif
Dancing at the salsa club before the power goes out and some major plot points occur.
Fast Company (David Cronenberg, 1979) 2 5/10
Runaway (Michael Crichton, 1984) 2.5 6/10
Rogue Hostage (Jon Keeyes, 2021) 2 5/10
Wish Dragon (Chris Appelhans, 2021) 3 6.5/10
https://images.ctfassets.net/dqbqab5lm2pa/4n0Au9mfKHlMVTEoph3G4I/95d4db34b3c43f0280b6f1f3d661b424/Wish_Dragon-4.gif?w=1000&q=75
The Wish Dragon reveals himself to his new owner.
How to Make a Monster (Herbert L. Strock, 1958) 2 5/10
Walk a Crooked Mile (Gordon Douglas, 1948) 2.5 5.5/10
Nightmare in Wax (Bud Townsend, 1969) 2 5/10
Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 1934) 2.5 5.5/10
http://pre-code.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TwentiethCenturyGif1.gifhttp://pre-code.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TwentiethCenturyGif2.gif
Washed-up actor John Barrymore tries to get back in with his star wife Carole Lombard.
Spare Parts (Andrew Thomas Hunt, 2020) 2 5/10
Zebra Girl (Stephanie Zari, 2021) 2.5 6/10
The Retreat (Pat Mills, 2021) 2+ 5/10
Endless Night (Sidney Gilliat, 1972) 2.5 6/10
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/85/9f/fa/859ffae8b7f7f33ff75993072abd3ecb.jpg
Somewhat muddled yet still-surprising Agatha Christie thriller with newly-wed couple Hywel Bennett and Hayley Mills.

[Stirchley]

78588

Excellent movie, but it took about 2 days to slog through it. At least 25% Lost in Translation.

[Fabulous]

Come and See (1985)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oIQMt3Q6Qa37YD0JOdYkrIAPYDk.jpg

[Stirchley]

Revisiting The Mothman Prophecies.

I bought it last week for my dvd collection.

[Marco]

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Picnicathangingrock1.jpg
I really loved this, thought I'd posted a (small) review....more opinion in my case I guess :)...after watching the BBC series the other year, which was very good, this knocks it's socks off for atmosphere and plotting. Peter Weir is pitch perfect in all aspects of the tale. The underlying frustrations and eroticism are brought wonderfully to the screen.

4.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYmVlNWJkZWYtYmJkMy00YTZlLTgwODMtZjVmOGMzMmM1ZTk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAyMjQ3NzQ1._V1_.jpg



2.5

[GulfportDoc]

Revisiting The Mothman Prophecies. It's really a pretty good movie, obscure as it is, with an excellent cast, a quiet, slow-boil plot line and a minimum of cheesy FX. People in a small town in West Virginia are troubled, and a cynical DC news reporter finds himself there (how?). The locals have been seeing things, don't understand what's going on and nobody's OK with what they've seen.

The cool thing about this movie is that it's based on real events in 1966 and 1967, sightings of some sort of entity, labelled Mothman by doubters. It builds to a crescendo that seems to culminate when a bridge collapses, killing dozens of people (real events).

The excellent cast includes Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Alan Bates and Will Patton, all of whom play understated, believable people. Unfortunately for him, the character played by Will Patton carries the burden of sightings that (in real life) were had by about a hundred people, so things don't go well for him.

If you're in the mood for creepy understated creatures, this is the flick.

7.5 of 10, up to 8 because it's a favorite.
You've piqued my interest with this one. I don't like horror movies, but this one seems tame enough with a PG-13 rating. Is it?

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTcwOTAxNTgyOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTY2NjEzNA@@._V1_.jpg



3.5

[skizzerflake]

You've piqued my interest with this one. I don't like horror movies, but this one seems tame enough with a PG-13 rating. Is it?

It has zero violence aside from a not-graphic fatal car accident that's vital to the plot line. There's no bloodletting and all of the suspense comes from people seeing things that don't make sense and doubting their own sanity, especially the unfortunate character played by Will Patton. Scares are all bump in the night variety.

It's unusual in that there are no villains; everybody in the cast is earnest and decent but scared because they don't know what's going on in their little town. Unlike some "ripped from the headlines" horror movies, this one condenses the real events in Point Pleasant and respects the characters who went through this, culminating in the horrifying bridge collapse. It's a curiosity among horror movies.

The town still has a Mothman festival and a Main Street museum about the events.

[Allaby]

I just finished watching Bo Burnham: Inside on Netflix. I really enjoyed it. Written, directed by and starring only Bo Burnham (with no crew or audience), this musical comedy special is a strange blend of parody, social commentary, personal confession, silliness, and sadness. And it works really well. The songs are really good, even when he is arguing with a sock or singing about sexting, white women's instagram, or Facetime with his mom. Bo Burnham: Inside is certainly a memorable and unique experience. My rating is a 4.5.

[Killer Joe]

The Woman in the Window (2021, Netflix)


Went in to this movie with high expectations, but pretty disappointed after the watch. It's clear the makers were going for an atmospheric, Hitchcockian thriller vibe, but what we get instead is an overwhelmingly dull, dreary mess of a film.
And the surprise reveal at the end was laughably bad.


Amy Adams gives it her all, but the stellar supporting cast is completely wasted - Julianne Moore & Anthony Mackie are relegated to thankless cameos ; the rest (Wyatt Russell, Gary Oldman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry) have nothing much to do with their shoddily written characters.
Overall, I'd rate this a 2.5/5.

[Yoda]

The Mothman Prophecies is odd. Definitely creepy, but it's hard to describe why. There's at least one scene there that totally freaked me out, even though on paper it doesn't sound significant at all.

It might help that, yes, there are lots of Mothman legends nearby (PA abuts West Virginia and it's a pretty short drive there), and that they actually filmed it here in Pittsburgh and I recognize a couple of the locations in the film.

If you haven't seen it and like spooky, psychological terror, definitely give it a watch.

[PHOENIX74]

Ahh, The Mothman Prophecies is very creepy. There aren't nearly enough films out there that can unnerve you like that one can.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Antebellum_poster.jpeg
By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from film's distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62400573

Antebellum - (2020)

On a plantation run by Confederate soldiers, slaves are subjected to violence, torture, rape and other privations to the extent that not many survive long. Escape is critical - but when and how? This film loses a lot of it's momentum...

...when we're transported to the present day and it never quite manages to regain it's footing. The movie also caught some flack for altering scenes in it's trailer to deceive the audience into thinking the movie to be a supernatural tale.

The first half-hour or so is both hard to watch and impossible to look away from.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e2/After-Midnight-poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62969300

After Midnight - (2019)

The start of After Midnight left me with little hope this would be anything other than a low-budget, incompetent affair - but that improved a bit as it went on. There is some decent humour in it, especially after we've been introduced to Hank (Jeremy Gardner) and his various friends. The plot is very simple. Hank's girlfriend Abby (Brea Grant) has left to think things through. Cue happy flashbacks as Hank remembers their time together. Unfortunately, this coincides with a monster trying to gain entrance to his house night after night.

There's obviously a few things the monster in this film represents, and I'll leave it to you to wonder if...

...Abby returns, and if she does what this effect has on the monster.

After Midnight has some unexpected laughs and character development once the movie gets going which elevates it to a just passable level.

5/10

[Wooley]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTcwOTAxNTgyOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTY2NjEzNA@@._V1_.jpg



3.5

Haven't seen this in a long time but man was it a favorite when I was young.
And to say I had a huge crush on Jackie Bisset is the understatement of the year.

[re93animator]

Spiral (2021) - rating_2_5
The story is by the numbers, but not too bad. I mainly just wanted to see Chris Rock play a rugged horror protagonist. CR was good, but I can't disassociate that voice from his wide-eyed comedy. On the flip side, I can't help but root for him for the same reason. When the killer was giving his reasoning monologue, I just wanted to hear: WHATEVA HAPPENED TO CRAZY

https://i.imgur.com/fXOONz6.png?1

[Fabulous]

Secret Sunshine (2007)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/4GB3RbhHV1KCjd51in1mhiq65bL.jpg

[Marco]

Gohatto (1999)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/Gohatto-1999-poster.jpg
Interesting film about the tensions that arise in an elite samurai training camp when a new recruit arrives. The new recruit is a very pretty boy and stirs a lot of suppressed homosexual feelings in the all-male environment. It's a canny wee tale about how the desire can reveal the worst in people.

3

[Thief]

DEEPSTAR SIX
(1989, Cunningham)
A film with the number 6 (Six, Sixth, etc.) in its title • A horror film

https://i1.wp.com/movieassault.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/deepstarsix.jpg


"We have no idea what type of marine life we're dealing with!"



DeepStar Six, the film, follows the crew that then has to deal with this creature, as well as dealing with their respective attitudes and agendas. The crew includes submarine pilot McBride (Greg Evigan) and love interest Joyce Collins (Nancy Everhard). As for the rest, well, they don't matter that much because the plot is so predictable, that 10 minutes in, you can probably guess who's gonna live and who's gonna die, who's the hero and who's a weasel ($20 if you said Miguel Ferrer).

And that's the main issue with the film. There's a certain laziness to it that pretty much neuters any potential effect that the film could have. From its obvious rip-offs of Alien to the amount of stupid exposition and decisions that the characters make. To make matters worse, for a film that's plagued by such a stupid script and dumb characters, you would've thought they would decide to jump right into the nitty gritty, the kills and the gore; but director Sean S. Cunningham decides to spend a whole hour with the empty banter between the members of the crew before the sh-it hits the fan.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2212913#post2212913)

[Torgo]

DEEPSTAR SIX
(1989, Cunningham)
A film with the number 6 (Six, Sixth, etc.) in its title • A horror film
I like Deepstar Six a little more than you did, but I rank Leviathan above it since it's ever so slightly more fun. The Abyss, however, is the best "ragtag underwater researchers discover something dangerous" movie from that year.

[Mr Minio]

愛情萬歲 [Vive l'amour] (1994) - 3 [REWATCH]

https://i.imgur.com/aOYklsR.png

A couple of lose thoughts:


A Tsai Ming-liang film that I wasn't crazy about when I first watched it back in 2013 (that was already 8 years ago - are you kidding me?!). It's still not my favorite of his but I feel like I loved it much more this time around.
I remembered it as slower. I was surprised by how fast-paced it actually was. I kept wishing some scenes went on longer. The reason I'm not watching as many slow films anymore is that firstly, I've already seen all well-regarded ones, but also secondly, because they make me contemplate. Contemplating makes me forget to blink, and that consecutively makes my eyes sore after some time. I know this may sound weird but when watching a slow film I'm more focused than when watching a super fast-paced action film and I actually start... meditating? For lack of a better word. Doesn't happen with every slow film, just "good" ones.
Back in a day when I watched it for the first time I downrated a film if it didn't have what I called metaphysics. I still can't come up with a better word to describe it. Yeah, this film doesn't have it but I no longer decrease ratings for films that don't.
Tsai Ming-liang has some unfathomable fixation on water. It's not as visible in this particular film.
Tsai Ming-liang uses sex in a very interesting way. He's a naturalistic filmmaker and treats sex in a physical way, for what it is.
Tsai Ming-liang mixes humor and sadness in really unexpected ways. The scene with the couple having sex on the bed and the guy hid underneath the bed is as darkly comedic as it is sad. Once the guy gets out from under the bed we relearn how incredibly lonely he really is.
Tsai's fixation on sadness and loneliness is as exaggerated as anecdotally entitled. My friend from Taiwan points out that the Taiwanese are by no means as lonely and sad as Tsai portrays it, and that it's only his own feelings taking over his vision of the world. That's absolutely fine and a thing of an auteur so what gives.
I wish the final scene went on for 30 minutes.
I absolutely love how this is one of these movies that you cannot spoil. You can show somebody the final scene and then the person can go and watch the film and they won't feel like anything has been spoiled to them or that they lost anything by having seen the ending alone beforehand. Werckmeister Harmonies is another such film. I guess if an ending of your film can spoil the entire experience of watching it, then you're in trouble.
Pretty chill film with only some moments of sadness, more understood than felt. Apart from obvious displays of loneliness such as the suicide attempt, I'd say these people lived some pretty chill single lives. Why meet other people then? I'm afraid I'm asocial!!!
Yamada, Kino****a, Obayashi, et al ruined my perception of masterpieces and I subconsciously think that any film that didn't make me cry is inferior, which is wrong because whether it made you cry is only one element of what can make a film great, not to mention not all filmmakers even aim to make you cry, but oh well I've really grown fond of melodramas in the past couple of years.
It's been two days but I'm still thinking about this film. Doesn't happen very often. I kind of miss films that make you think a lot and films that leave a mark imprinted on your brain. Sure, some of the recent masterpieces I watched did that, too, but in a completely different way.

[Thief]

I like Deepstar Six a little more than you did, but I rank Leviathan above it since it's ever so slightly more fun. The Abyss, however, is the best "ragtag underwater researchers discover something dangerous" movie from that year.

Ha! Somebody told me on Twitter "Don’t remember this one. But LEVIATHAN is where it’s at!" It qualifies for this month! (film that starts with K or L) so I'm strongly considering it to round up my underwater monster binge :laugh:

I remember liking The Abyss, but I haven't seen it since the 90s. Should probably give it a shot too one of these days.

[SpelingError]

The Abyss is my favorite Cameron film, but I think the director's cut is a massive improvement over the theatrical cut. I generally feel like director's cuts don't add much to the original versions, but in this case, the DC felt like a magic wand and ironed out the flaws of the original cut. That's the version to watch if you're planning on revisiting it.

[Gideon58]

https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F6%2F2021%2F03%2F14%2Fin-the-heights-1.jpg



4.5

[Raven73]

Real Steel (2011)
8.5/10

I gained an even better appreciation for this movie when I watched the DVD's special features. Sugar Ray Leonard trained Hugh Jackman in boxing, which in turn gave the movie's boxing some authenticity. They actually built scale-size robots for the movie, too, which enhanced the actor's reactions towards them and gave the animators a sense of what the robots should look like for the CGI that they did use. Real Steel is the whole package: it has character development, humour, action, a bit of romance and shows a lot of heart. I often watch this movie around Father's Day because of its relationship themes. Real Steel's definitely one of the most underrated movies of the past decade.

https://englishrosefrommanchester.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/real-steel.jpg

[SpelingError]

The Truth (1960) - 3

I struggled with this one, I must admit. It's definitely well-made and I enjoyed quite a bit about it, but I had some difficulties with getting on board with the story, though I recognize my issue is more of a subjective thing.

Seeing Dominique get pushed around, mistreated, and abused throughout the entire film (with the exception of the first couple acts or so) made for an effective tragedy, I suppose, but it ultimately left me feeling worn down when I finished it. Not a film I'd be eager to revisit. With the exception of Dominique's lawyer seemingly caring for her - though the ending complicates that - it seemed to have bleakness baked into almost every scene (again, save for the opening couple acts). Of course, something like this isn't necessarily a flaw per se. It just made the film hard to watch since I generally don't do well with films where characters are hurt throughout long periods of time. As a comparison, The Whisperers from the 24th HoF was similar in how bleakness filled almost every scene, but its hopeful ending made it an easier film to watch.

Even though this film wasn't for me though, I did enjoy a few things about it. Most notably, how your opinion on Dominique and Gilbert changes throughout the film. Initially, I disliked Dominique since Gilbert and Annie suffered as a result of her free-spirited lifestyle. I also felt sorry for Gilbert since he was often pushed around by Dominique in the first couple acts of the film. I eventually hated Gilbert though once he grew emotionally abusive, while feeling sorry for Dominique since she was treated poorly by him. I found this shift interesting and I think the film found the right balance to make it work. Also, I haven't seen Bardot in many films, but I think she did a great job here. I found the emotions she showed throughout the film, especially in the courtroom scenes, quite convincing. Her final outburst in the courtroom, in particular, was terrific. This is definitely my favorite performance from her.

Overall, while I think this film is well-done, it isn't one I can see myself revisiting. Out of the three films I've seen so far from Clouzot (The Wages of Fear, Les Diaboliques, and this film), this one is my least favorite. Regardless though, I'm still glad I watched it.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/Marguerite_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47178660

Marguerite - (2015) - France/Czech Republic/Belgium

This was a hoot. A funny, touching film about Marguerite Dumont (I'll say more about the true inspiration for the film later) and her attempts to launch a singing career, despite being perhaps the worst singer in all humanity. Not helping the wealthy Dumont is the crowd of hangers-on who insist her singing is marvelous, thereby convincing her she's one of the greats. Hearing Catherine Frot sing as Marguerite is perhaps one of the funniest things I've come across this year :

https://youtu.be/AZsgWFITTu8

Adding more pathos to this 1920s drama are an artist who uses her singing to make a point, a journalist who writes an ironic column which is duly delivered to Marguerite and reinforces her delusions and her husband who is afraid of what will happen when the truth finally dawns on her. The film was inspired by Florence Foster Jenkins, and in 2016 a British/French film called Florence Foster Jenkins was produced starring Meryl Streep (who was nominated for Best Actress at the 2017 Academy Awards for playing Florence.) I really want to see that now, but fear it won't be as good as Marguerite.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/The_Girl_with_All_the_Gifts_poster.jpg
By Warner Bros. - http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50996877

The Girl with All the Gifts - (2016)

Another Zombie movie, this time ripping off 2013 Video Game The Last of Us. I could imagine for those who have never played through the game this film might seem quite innovative. I Am Legend also seems to be an influence, as some of the next generation zombies in this are half-human, and see people who are fully human as the monsters. Glenn Close plays the scientist who wants to dissect young Melanie (Sennia Nanua) to try and find a vaccine.

The plague in this world is caused by fungus and spores, and the zombies eventually reach a plant stage where thousands of spore pods are awaiting opening - and the end of the human race. The make-up and locations (some filming was done in Pripyat - the abandoned town in Ukraine close to the Chernobyl power plant) - they all look good, but I could never forgive the derivative plot and lazy screenplay.

3/10

[Siddon]

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/c4e/3bd/d3d3783c1187ff3d26bb3d289c8ec17ca7-rev-1-ITH-FP-0011-High-Res-JPEG.rhorizontal.w700.jpg

In The Heights (2021)

The most controversial film of the year...well not really because everyone involved is so very sorry that they didn't have enough black people in the story. Well except for Benny who is black but he's not black latino and that's wrong because...telling a story about Dominican's in Washington Heights needed to have more darker brown people. :rolleyes:

Y'know back in my day we allowed artists to tell their stories without needed to fill out some check lists to make everyone happy. That doesn't seem to exist anymore, and frankly any time In the Heights enters the political arena or moves towards Benny's story the plot stutters and my eyes roll. This is an average musical with no songs I'll remember a month from now. It's anchored by some very strong work from Anthony Ramos, Leslie Grace and Melissa Barrera. Sadly the Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Dominican actors are to "light skinned" so the film has failed to some people.

The film runs two and a half hours and it has a number of high spots. Theirs a particular song/performance by Olga Merediz and somes scenes with Jimmy Smits that should get Oscar attention. This is likely the best work of Smits career I'm a little bummed that we didn't get more from him and his relationship with his daughter because that's the stuff that really hits home. The idea of staying, succeeding and living in New York is a powerful idea..it's not gone into enough.

rating_3_5

[Siddon]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/The_Girl_with_All_the_Gifts_poster.jpg
By Warner Bros. - http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50996877

The Girl with All the Gifts - (2016)

Another Zombie movie, this time ripping off 2013 Video Game The Last of Us. I could imagine for those who have never played through the game this film might seem quite innovative. I Am Legend also seems to be an influence, as some of the next generation zombies in this are half-human, and see people who are fully human as the monsters. Glenn Close plays the scientist who wants to dissect young Melanie (Sennia Nanua) to try and find a vaccine.

The plague in this world is caused by fungus and spores, and the zombies eventually reach a plant stage where thousands of spore pods are awaiting opening - and the end of the human race. The make-up and locations (some filming was done in Pripyat - the abandoned town in Ukraine close to the Chernobyl power plant) - they all look good, but I could never forgive the derivative plot and lazy screenplay.

3/10


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


I don't know if it was a ripoff but the source material came out in 2013

[AgrippinaX]

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/c4e/3bd/d3d3783c1187ff3d26bb3d289c8ec17ca7-rev-1-ITH-FP-0011-High-Res-JPEG.rhorizontal.w700.jpg

In The Heights (2021)

The most controversial film of the year...well not really because everyone involved is so very sorry that they didn't have enough black people in the story. Well except for Benny who is black but he's not black latino and that's wrong because...telling a story about Dominican's in Washington Heights needed to have more darker brown people. :rolleyes:

Y'know back in my day we allowed artists to tell their stories without needed to fill out some check lists to make everyone happy. That doesn't seem to exist anymore, and frankly any time In the Heights enters the political arena or moves towards Benny's story the plot stutters and my eyes roll. This is an average musical with no songs I'll remember a month from now. It's anchored by some very strong work from Anthony Ramos, Leslie Grace and Melissa Barrera. Sadly the Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Dominican actors are to "light skinned" so the film has failed to some people.

The film runs two and a half hours and it has a number of high spots. Theirs a particular song/performance by Olga Merediz and somes scenes with Jimmy Smits that should get Oscar attention. This is likely the best work of Smits career I'm a little bummed that we didn't get more from him and his relationship with his daughter because that's the stuff that really hits home. The idea of staying, succeeding and living in New York is a powerful idea..it's not gone into enough.

rating_3_5

No way! I was just asking if anyone had seen this. Surreal.

[the samoan lawyer]

https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/images/newsite/TFF17_NOVEMBER_Mart_Taniel_4.jpg_cmyk_600.jpg
November (2017)


What a crazy film. Absolutely incredible cinematography, this one absolutely took me by surprise. A must see for fans of surreal/folklore.


rating_4

[Jinnistan]

https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/images/newsite/TFF17_NOVEMBER_Mart_Taniel_4.jpg_cmyk_600.jpg
November (2017)


What a crazy film. Absolutely incredible cinematography, this one absolutely took me by surprise. A must see for fans of surreal/folklore.


rating_4
Watched this one without subs, and I'm not sure it made much difference. It was too alluring to turn off.

[mark f]

This Side of the Law (Richard Bare, 1950) 2.5 6/10
Correspondence (Carla Simón & Dominga Sotomayor, 2020) 3 6.5/10
The House Across the Street (Richard Bare, 1949) 2+ 5/10
Deerskin (Quentin Dupieux, 2019) 2.5 6/10
https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Deerskin-618x400.jpg
Bizarre slowburn thriller where Jean Dujardin tries to convince himself his heinous actions are justified.
Wallflower (Frederick De Cordova, 1948) 2.5 6/10
The Time, the Place and the Girl (David Butler, 1948) 2.5 5.5/10
Romance on the High Seas (Michael Curtiz, 1948) 3 6.5/10
Journey to the Beginning of Time (Karel Zeman, 1955) 2.5+ 6/10
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWJjODljMjItYTQzMi00YjI1LTkxNTctNzhkNTc4OTg5Yzg5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_SY450_SX600_AL_ .jpg
A group of boys goes back in time to witness evolution and the beginning of the world.
Three Live Ghosts (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1936) 2.5 5.5/10
The Human Voice (Pedro Almodóvar, 2020) 2.5 6/10
Man Alive (Ray Enright, 1945) 2.5 5.5/10
Forklift Driver Klaus: The First Day on the Job (Stefan Prehn & Jörg Wagner, 2000) 3.5 7/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Forklift-driver-klaus.png
Don't trust Klaus but enjoy this ultra gory short which plays out as a public service safety announcement of what not to do.
One Sunday Afternoon (Raoul Walsh, 1948) 2.5 6/10
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (J. Lee Thompson, 1965) 2 5/10
Flipped (Rob Reiner, 2010) 2.5 6/10
The Woman with the 5 Elephants (Vadim Jendreyko, 2009) 3 6.5/10
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/07/20/arts/WOMAN/WOMAN-articleLarge.jpg
What is ostensibly about a Dostoyevsky translator turns into a powerful reflection on memories that Svetlana Geier recalls about her family in the last days of her life.
Assa (Sergey Solovev, 1987) 2.5 6/10
Spitfire (John Cromwell, 1934) 2+ 5/10
Affectionately Yours (Lloyd Bacon, 1941) 2.5 5.5/10
New Order (Michel Franco, 2020) 2.5 6/10
https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NEW-ORDER_Courtesy-of-NEONc.jpg?w=640
Violence breaks out at a wedding and all over Mexico as a revolution occurs.

[the samoan lawyer]

Watched this one without subs, and I'm not sure it made much difference. It was too alluring to turn off.


:D Fair point. Estonian Mythology isnt my strongest subject, so I dont think I would be able to spoil much for someone even if i wanted to! Its definintely not one that i'll forget for a while though.

[SpelingError]

Forklift Driver Klaus: The First Day on the Job (Stefan Prehn & Jörg Wagner, 2000) 3.5 7/10
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Forklift-driver-klaus.png
Don't trust Klaus but enjoy this ultra gory short which plays out as a public service safety announcement of what not to do.


I love that short so much.

[John Dumbear]

"Teachers" - (1984)

Another '80s teen comedy, but this is more of a black comedy. Darker than most with teen pregnancy, thievery, bullies and other issues that still linger today.. Maybe that's why it isn't rated as high as other films of that era. I found it funny with some great dialog from a pretty solid cast.

7/10

[Jinnistan]

:D Fair point. Estonian Mythology isnt my strongest subject, so I dont think I would be able to spoil much for someone even if i wanted to! Its definintely not one that i'll forget for a while though.
Not that I'm not curious about Estonian Mythology, but since there's no dialogue for about ten minutes into the film, by the time I realized that I didn't have a sub option, I already knew that I had to ride it out regardless. Definitely a testament to its power.

[PHOENIX74]

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


I don't know if it was a ripoff but the source material came out in 2013

Ooops again

https://media.giphy.com/media/N35rW3vRNeaDC/giphy.gif

Damn it, I think you're right. The Last of Us was released in 2013 and the source novel for The Girl With All the Gifts published in 2014, but based itself on a 2013 short story by the same author : M. R. Carey. It means two works being produced at around the same time with remarkable similarities to each other. Interesting that his short story was titled Iphigenia in Aulis - that of a play written around around 405 BC, reminding me that no work is completely original - and to beware of the word 'ripoff'.

I didn't look hard enough, and thought they'd taken most of The Last of Us and rehashed it. Ignore that mini-review.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4e/Maudie_%28film%29.png
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53208918

Maudie - (2016)

I really enjoyed this immensely. Maudie really showcases the talent of it's two leads. Sally Hawkins (who I've had a bit of a crush on since Happy-Go-Lucky) stars as folk artist Maud Lewis (maiden name Dowley.) A fascinating figure, self-taught and expressive in her painting. Her body cruelly twisted with rheumatoid arthritis, she nevertheless meets Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) by answering an advertisement for domestic help. The two marry, their fortune and love for each other riding crests of waves and diving deep down.

What a very talented man Ethan Hawke is - I've never seen him play a character like Everett Lewis. All pent up and angry, and yet shy and reserved outwardly. This story is really a love story, Maud's paintings come second to the remarkable journey these two people go on, and it illuminates her work all the more. She lived something of a painful life, but what we see inside of her from her paintings is a picture of love and happiness. A career high-point for director Aisling Walsh and writer Sherry White who have mainly had success on the small screen.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Marjorie_Prime.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54671089

Marjorie Prime - (2017)

Another really good one this - science fiction along the lines of the incredible film Her. This is a future where it's possible to turn on a hologram of a loved one who has passed - and feed it all the events and personality quirks that person had. Eventually, through Artificial Intelligence, the hologram learns, increasing the likeness. This is what old Marjorie (Lois Smith) has. Her husband long gone and Alzheimer's Disease making inroads into her mind, she has the likeness of a younger version of the man she married to talk to (Jon Hamm.) He tells her stories that have been fed to him, but have been long forgotten by her.

Marjorie has a daughter (Geena Davis) and son-in-law (Tim Robbins) who come to visit - and they try to work out all of the grievances that affect most families...

After a while we realise that Marjorie herself has since passed away and her daughter is talking to a hologram Marjorie. Then, once the son-in-law is older we find that he's talking to a hologram wife. The final scene, where Tim Robbins is nowhere in sight and the three holograms are having a conversation with each other, is an illuminating and rather good ending.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Spontaneous_%28film%29.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65485372

Spontaneous - (2020)

I didn't like Spontaneous as much. Comedy-wise I feel it was reaching for Booksmart but it never felt as real. This isn't just a teen movie though, this is a faux-horror movie where members of Mara's (Katherine Langford) class start inexplicably exploding for no apparent reason. They explode into buckets of blood splashed around - we see no bones, skin or organs - so that takes the horrific edge off things and makes things funnier than they'd otherwise be.

For those of you who love teenage romance, there's one in this. But in ends rather explosively.

Just your average teen 'coming-of-age' story, except with kids exploding all the time. It sounds more enjoyable than it actually is.

4/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Come_to_Daddy_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62938027

Come to Daddy - (2019)

Elijah Wood sports an Adolf Hitler haircut in Come to Daddy. Another odd character for him as Norval Greenwood - someone who is trying to reconnect with his father, having last seen him when he was only 5-years old. You might be able to see what's coming already, so I'll just say that this was fairly average fare. It was a decent horror/thriller/comedy, one where parts of it really worked well at times, but I can't see tomorrow's Criterion in desperate need of adding it to their collection.

5/10

[xSookieStackhouse]

4.5
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0d/fb/88/0dfb880ee3b90f4bb4f0e169f7021566.jpg
3.5
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTJiNGM2NjItNDRiYy00ZjY0LTgwNTItZDBmZGRlODQ4YThkL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY5ODI4NDk@._V1_.jpg

[Wooley]

DEEPSTAR SIX
(1989, Cunningham)
A film with the number 6 (Six, Sixth, etc.) in its title • A horror film

https://i1.wp.com/movieassault.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/deepstarsix.jpg




DeepStar Six, the film, follows the crew that then has to deal with this creature, as well as dealing with their respective attitudes and agendas. The crew includes submarine pilot McBride (Greg Evigan) and love interest Joyce Collins (Nancy Everhard). As for the rest, well, they don't matter that much because the plot is so predictable, that 10 minutes in, you can probably guess who's gonna live and who's gonna die, who's the hero and who's a weasel ($20 if you said Miguel Ferrer).

And that's the main issue with the film. There's a certain laziness to it that pretty much neuters any potential effect that the film could have. From its obvious rip-offs of Alien to the amount of stupid exposition and decisions that the characters make. To make matters worse, for a film that's plagued by such a stupid script and dumb characters, you would've thought they would decide to jump right into the nitty gritty, the kills and the gore; but director Sean S. Cunningham decides to spend a whole hour with the empty banter between the members of the crew before the sh-it hits the fan.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2212913#post2212913)
I preferred Leviathan.

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/Marguerite_poster.jpg
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47178660

Marguerite - (2015) - France/Czech Republic/Belgium

This was a hoot. A funny, touching film about Marguerite Dumont (I'll say more about the true inspiration for the film later) and her attempts to launch a singing career, despite being perhaps the worst singer in all humanity. Not helping the wealthy Dumont is the crowd of hangers-on who insist her singing is marvelous, thereby convincing her she's one of the greats. Hearing Catherine Frot sing as Marguerite is perhaps one of the funniest things I've come across this year :

https://youtu.be/AZsgWFITTu8

Adding more pathos to this 1920s drama are an artist who uses her singing to make a point, a journalist who writes an ironic column which is duly delivered to Marguerite and reinforces her delusions and her husband who is afraid of what will happen when the truth finally dawns on her. The film was inspired by Florence Foster Jenkins, and in 2016 a British/French film called Florence Foster Jenkins was produced starring Meryl Streep (who was nominated for Best Actress at the 2017 Academy Awards for playing Florence.) I really want to see that now, but fear it won't be as good as Marguerite.

7/10



Wow. That actually looks really good to me.

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/The_Girl_with_All_the_Gifts_poster.jpg
By Warner Bros. - http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/the-girl-with-all-the-gifts.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50996877

The Girl with All the Gifts - (2016)

Another Zombie movie, this time ripping off 2013 Video Game The Last of Us. I could imagine for those who have never played through the game this film might seem quite innovative. I Am Legend also seems to be an influence, as some of the next generation zombies in this are half-human, and see people who are fully human as the monsters. Glenn Close plays the scientist who wants to dissect young Melanie (Sennia Nanua) to try and find a vaccine.

The plague in this world is caused by fungus and spores, and the zombies eventually reach a plant stage where thousands of spore pods are awaiting opening - and the end of the human race. The make-up and locations (some filming was done in Pripyat - the abandoned town in Ukraine close to the Chernobyl power plant) - they all look good, but I could never forgive the derivative plot and lazy screenplay.

3/10

Holy ****. I was interested in seeing this but that sounds like a direct rip-off of The Last Of Us and I don't know if I could get over that.

[Wooley]

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


I don't know if it was a ripoff but the source material came out in 2013

Hard to say, I guess, as both the short-story and the game were released the same year, with the full-length novel written the year after The Last Of Us. Development for tLoS began in 2009 and I can't find when the author says he started writing his short-story version, only that it came out in '13, and a film adaptation of The Last Of Us was already in the works when The Girl With All The Gifts novel came out, so who knows. But the similarities between the two are pretty startling it's not just the background story or anything, it's like, nearly the same story.
I guess I'll give it a spin and decide if I can handle it. I've been really looking forward to the The Last Of Us series coming out so maybe I won't, actually.

[Wooley]

"Teachers" - (1984)

Another '80s teen comedy, but this is more of a black comedy. Darker than most with teen pregnancy, thievery, bullies and other issues that still linger today.. Maybe that's why it isn't rated as high as other films of that era. I found it funny with some great dialog from a pretty solid cast.

7/10

I have to say, I thought the climactic scene of JoBeth Williams running topless through the halls was kinda jarring, though it's been a while.

[Wooley]

Ooops again

https://media.giphy.com/media/N35rW3vRNeaDC/giphy.gif

Damn it, I think you're right. The Last of Us was released in 2013 and the source novel for The Girl With All the Gifts published in 2014, but based itself on a 2013 short story by the same author : M. R. Carey. It means two works being produced at around the same time with remarkable similarities to each other. Interesting that his short story was titled Iphigenia in Aulis - that of a play written around around 405 BC, reminding me that no work is completely original - and to beware of the word 'ripoff'.

I didn't look hard enough, and thought they'd taken most of The Last of Us and rehashed it. Ignore that mini-review.



I'm not saying they did but take a look at my post above about the timing. The Last Of Us was in development years before the short-story was published and was already in film development with The Last Of Us Part II already being written, by the time Carey had fleshed his story out into an actual novel. FWIW.

[Thief]

I preferred Leviathan.

I'm strongly considering that one just to round that up. We'll see.

[Stirchley]

78701
78702

Both re-watches. Excellent movies.

[pahaK]

Holy ****. I was interested in seeing this but that sounds like a direct rip-off of The Last Of Us and I don't know if I could get over that.

I can't say anything about the similarities between the two as I haven't played The Last of Us. But the original short story was published in a collection released September 4th, 2012 (according to Goodreads) meaning it was written at least (and most likely, over) a year before the game was released. It was nominated for an award in 2013 (not published as implied earlier in this thread).

In any case, the film is only OK-ish, and I much preferred the book. The film makes changes to the characters and their motivations that contradict the book (too long time gone to be more specific, but I'm sure I've written about this stuff earlier).

[Thief]

RED DOT
(2021, Darborg)
A film from Sweden

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzJiNTQzOWMtNDU2YS00OTBhLWFjYmYtMTkwODNlZmZjMmIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc5MDI5NjE@._V1_.jpg


"You should have turned around long ago."



How often can you say that you've walked into a film completely blind, just a cover/poster and a short description, and be pleasantly surprised by it? Maybe back in the video rental days, but with the Internet and the constant bombarding of trailers, teasers, scoops, and news everywhere, it just doesn't happen often. But that's what happened last night to me as I browsed "Swedish movies" on Netflix and stumbled upon this neat thriller.

Red Dot follows a couple, David and Nadja (Anastasios Soulis and Nanna Blondell), as they head into a hiking trip to rekindle their relationship. Unfortunately, their romantic weekend is interrupted as they start being hunted and terrorized by an unknown shooter.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2213596#post2213596)