Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[Gideon58]

Hidden Figures (2016)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/kJJ50CR1ktLIHyBHuAXeili85rZ.jpg


I think I rated this half a bag of popcorn higher than you did.

[Takoma11]

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/styles/full/public/image/night-of-the-demon-1957-002-man-with-hat-holds-paper-note-00m-qkr.jpg?itok=AbgXGLlo

http://www.cineoutsider.com/reviews/pix/n/ni/nightofthedemon_07.jpg

Night of the Demon (Curse of the Demon) - You can't go wrong with Jacques Tourneur. He directed 31 movies (plus four in his native France) and I've watched 7 of them (They All Come Out, Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Leopard Man, Out of the Past, Curse of the Demon and The Comedy of Terrors), all of them decent and some of them classics. Curse of the Demon would qualify as both.

Dana Andrews plays American psychologist John Holden and he's on his way to the UK to attend a conference but also to investigate a satanic cult run by Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). Professor Henry Harrington (Maurice Denham), a colleague of Holden, has died under mysterious circumstances which the local authorities have ruled an accident. At the funeral Holden meets the man's niece Joanna (Peggy Cummins) who later gives him her uncle's diary which outlines Harrington's growing fear of Karswell. He believed himself to have been cursed which the skeptical Holden immediately dismisses as superstitious nonsense. But a series of unexplainable events work to subvert Holden's resolve on debunking Karswell's cult.

Tourneur was a master at building and maintaining tension, ratcheting up the urgency and conveying menace and inherent danger solely through the use of sound effects and lighting. His offhand use of shadows in a scene spoke volumes and this movie is no exception. There is a major plot point that I won't give away, but it was a huge bone of contention between producer Hal E. Chester and Tourneur and screenwriter Charles Bennett. It would have certainly turned this into a much more abstract treatise on the power of belief versus discipline. But that would have made for an entirely different film. I personally think there was room for compromise. As it stands though this is a throughly enjoyable supernatural thriller that's fit to stand with some of the heavyweight horror classics.

rating_4_5

I love, LOVE this film.

[Fabulous]

Malcolm X (1992)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/kPdAZIqPgegqbv4QF1FshbVXNrx.jpg

[Takoma11]

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Good Morning, Vietnam, 1987

In 1965, Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) arrives in Vietnam as the new DJ for the Army's radio station. His irreverent humor is a big hit with the troops, but rubs his direct supervisors the wrong way. But as he spends more time in Vietnam, getting to know both the soldiers and the local people, the the reality of the war begins to hit home.

This is one of those Robin Williams comedies where most of the approach is wind him up and let him go. For the most part, it works. Not only because Williams is clearly at home in his mile-a-minute routines, but the manic approach creates a kind of natural tension, where the stream of jokes and impressions feels like something desperate to stave off the reality of a very grim situation.

The balance between drama and comedy here is an interesting one. How do you mix Walter Cronkite impersonations with crimes against humanity? The subplot about Adrian's friendship with a young man in his English class (he volunteers to teach so that he can get closer to a young woman he likes) is a moving one. The drama subplot actually works surprisingly well. As the film progresses, we come to see Adrian's humor as a way of both bonding with others and a way of pushing away the darkness for a few moments.

One area where the film struggles a bit is in trying to be even handed in terms of the actions of the US Army, the South Vietnamese, and the Viet Kong. While the film's portrayal of its Vietnamese citizens is mostly positive, I thought that it was interesting that the film couldn't being itself to be concrete in terms of what was done to Vietnamese civilians. We are shown (graphically) the results of a Viet Kong attack on American soldiers, but the worst thing that any of the American military characters is guilty of is throwing around racial slurs. The men surrounding Adrian (with the exception of the two villainous supervisors who want to get rid of him) are all very affable. While their performances are really fun (especially Forest Whitaker as a shy solder who is taken with Adrian's personality), this is where the balance between comedy and drama seems to break down a bit.

I was very relieved that the plot about Adrian chasing after a young Vietnamese woman (Chintara Sukapatana) was mostly an inroads to his interactions with the other local people. With her in her early 20s and him in his mid/late 30s, the age gap skews a little icky, especially as he takes a job as her teacher so that he has an excuse to find out her name, address, and phone number. I felt that ultimately the film landed on the right side of things, moving away from his initial stalker-like behaviors.

Woven throughout this film is the question of the function of entertainment and news. Everything Adrian says on the radio must first be approved by a set of censors (played by a wonderfully humorless set of twins). Repeatedly we see that negative or demoralizing news is hidden from the troops, leaving them with bland "news" that amounts to toothless gossip. As Adrian's understanding of the reality of the war grows, he begins to become uncomfortable with simply presenting a chipper, irreverent show. Keeping the troops in good spirits is important, but so is telling the truth. The film never ultimately answers the question of what constitutes the correct balance, but watching it explore the question is interesting.

Solid flick. Reminded me that I miss Robin Williams.

4

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmindreels.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F12%2Fgood-morning-vietnam-1987-12-g.jpg%3Fw%3D1000&f=1&nofb=1

Good Morning, Vietnam, 1987

Love this movie.*Williams at 100% is obviously a major factor (at one point I could quote all his lines verbatim), but the great supporting cast helps a ton. Forest Whitaker, a hilariously lame Bruno Kirby, J.T. Walsh, Richard Edson, I could keep going.*I miss when Hollywood movies actually delivered on that front.*One of my favourite examples of this exact kind of movie, which can so often be hokey and terrible.*


Regarding the evenhandedness, I think it's likely that a DJ in a pretty sheltered assignment in Saigon would be more likely to witness urban terrorism by the Viet Cong than be aware of (or want to engage with) the negative impacts of the American military presence, even before the escalation. (I assume you're not expecting the movie to deal with a My Lai type situation.) I do give the movie a good deal of credit for dealing with the Vietnamese as actual characters, much better than most Hollywood movies on the subject in that respect

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Quatre_coups2.jpg
By http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eko3FZxLdjw/T_eMi3KDVvI/AAAAAAAAB60/Gb3uj5UHeBE/s1600/Les-quatre-cents-coups-695523.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7817606

The 400 Blows - (1959) - France

I saw a lot more in this than I did the first time I saw it - and I mean a lot. Probably has one of the best final scenes I've ever seen in a film.

9/10

https://i.postimg.cc/hjZVtMQq/mistons.jpg

Les Mistons (The Brats) - (1957) - France

François Truffaut short that was included on my copy of The 400 Blows. I really enjoyed it, and you can see some of the evolution Truffaut was undergoing as he transitioned from critic to filmmaker. There's a great sense of mischievous humour hiding a greater hidden meaning - and a sense of the different world children live in, and how that world is changing as they approach adulthood - especially as far as desire and love is concerned. In this, a group of young friends obsess over a beautiful young woman, to the point of following her everywhere and devising schemes to ruin her current love affair.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/12_Years_a_Slave_film_poster.jpg
By Official site, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39981407

12 Years a Slave - (2013)

I saw this when it came out and could barely remember any of it - until I was experiencing it again. Pretty powerful stuff - and I'm glad I rewatched it to cement it in my mind. The fact that all of this was true made me particularly uncomfortable. Even if someone accepts slavery, I can't quite work out how they can be so cruel to other human beings. Such a great cast in top form. Especially Michael Fassbender as the drunken Edwin Epps - who could lash out (literally) at absolutely any moment.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Eddie_and_the_cruisers.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8158026

Eddie and the Cruisers - (1983)

This film is okay for a time-filler. An ode to a gloriously remembered past, and what might have been. A television reporter and various members of a band look back to 1962 and the death of the band's frontman. But did he really die? Involves the missing tapes to a never-released album and the lives of other members of the group. The film is really about nostalgia and unfulfilled dreams - and while it never reaches great heights, it's not a bad little flick.

6/10

[PHOENIX74]

I actually like Begins the most, by a pretty significant margin actually, because TDK just totally falls apart in the third act for me and TDKR is just silly (but unintentionally so).

I think I'm very much in the minority as far as opinions go with Batman Begins - although I do enjoy watching it and think it's a good film. Most people would rate it higher than I do.

I think with The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan felt that he had to completely stupefy us after what he'd delivered in the first two. I don't mind any of the films though. I just adore The Dark Knight. For me, everything worked there to near-perfection.

[rambond]

Racing with the moon 1987
8/10

[rambond]

I think I'm very much in the minority as far as opinions go with Batman Begins - although I do enjoy watching it and think it's a good film. Most people would rate it higher than I do.

I think with The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan felt that he had to completely stupefy us after what he'd delivered in the first two. I don't mind any of the films though. I just adore The Dark Knight. For me, everything worked there to near-perfection.

The dark knight goes on to be the quintessential blockbuster film of all times, it is nearly a prrfect action thriller with a sublime plot and acting

[Aidanc]

United 93 (2006)
https://static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/united-93-2006/large_hmjqDkvdsiRU5DchivRAL2D82rC.jpg

For some reason I wasn't expecting much from this but I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. rating_3_5


Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/02/Witness-for-the-Prosecution-Primary.png
Loved this. Great story and acting. Charles Laughton in particular was fantastic. rating_4_5



Force Majeure (2014)
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Started okay but then just ran out of steam after about a half an hour. From then on out it was fairly tedious. rating_2_5


Dogville (2003)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTkwNTg2MTI1NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDM1MzUyMQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
I know this is one that splits people and, yeah, I hated it. I admire films that try to be different but it just didn't work for me at all. I thought the whole story was pretentious, preachy and tasteless. rating_1


Crash (2004)
https://s1.dmcdn.net/v/PazbS1SVFAvba_xhS/x1080
Really enjoyed this. It's definitely propelled itself into contention for my 2000's ballot. So many interlocking stories and twists it reminded me of early Game of Thrones. All the cast were very strong as well.

[xSookieStackhouse]

3.5 rewatched
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3.5 rewatched
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[Raven73]

Fantasy Island (2020).
5.5/10
If you're expecting the light, warm-hearted show that the TV show was, forget it: this show seems to say that our fantasies are F'd up, because we're F'd up. It's like watching a bad reality show that re-enacts people's deepest F'd-up desires. Michael Pena (Ant Man) is okay as Mr. Roarke, but personally I'm used to him being the comic relief, so I keep waiting for him to say something funny, but instead he just looks bored most of the time. It doesn't help that the cave looks very fake (like the cave walls you see in '60s TV shows, like it was made of papier-mache).
https://static.miraheze.org/awfulmovieswiki/thumb/6/6f/VYrI7RahX7IxcakB7dY5qnhA7yO.jpg/330px-VYrI7RahX7IxcakB7dY5qnhA7yO.jpg

[Takoma11]

Love this movie.*Williams at 100% is obviously a major factor (at one point I could quote all his lines verbatim), but the great supporting cast helps a ton. Forest Whitaker, a hilariously lame Bruno Kirby, J.T. Walsh, Richard Edson, I could keep going.*I miss when Hollywood movies actually delivered on that front.*One of my favourite examples of this exact kind of movie, which can so often be hokey and terrible.*

Agreed. Something that was really striking was how many missteps the film could have easily taken that would have just sunk the film. Williams screaming "This won't look good on a resume" in the wrong hands would have been wretched.

I was also, again, pleasantly surprised by the deft handling of the "romance" subplot. Taking a position of authority of a younger woman to pursue her sexually (and he readily admits in the beginning he just wants to sleep with her) is gross and I was glad they steered away from it.

Regarding the evenhandedness, I think it's likely that a DJ in a pretty sheltered assignment in Saigon would be more likely to witness urban terrorism by the Viet Cong than be aware of (or want to engage with) the negative impacts of the American military presence, even before the escalation. (I assume you're not expecting the movie to deal with a My Lai type situation.) I do give the movie a good deal of credit for dealing with the Vietnamese as actual characters, much better than most Hollywood movies on the subject in that respect

No, but I think that when a character speaks about the killing of his family members, it's kept very vague. "My mother is dead. My brother is dead. They were killed by soldiers." It keeps it very abstract. I agree that it makes sense in the context of the film, but it just has some whiffs of propaganda. We meet Vietnamese people who would (and do) kill American troops, but some racial slurs are the only hint we get of people capable of violence in the other direction.

[chawhee]

Django Unchained (2012)
https://palyvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/django_unchained1.jpg
3.5
First time seeing this, and I'm not sure where it fell on expectations. I thought it was going to be really good, but I usually don't get into period piece movies. Acting and plot were exceptional, and I'll say the ending was even more Tarantino-esque than I thought it would be.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2Ftm%2Fej%2Fdf%2Fio%2Fgifted-2017-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D91dc6d6a24&f=1&nofb=1

Gifted, 2017

Frank (Chris Evans) lives in Florida, where he is raising his 7 year old niece, Mary (McKenna Grace) with the help of his neighbor, Roberta (Octavia Spencer). But Mary isn't your typical first grader: she is a math prodigy. And when Frank clashes with the school over her education, Mary's abilities land on the radar of her grandmother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), who takes Frank to court over custody.

I thought that this film was really good and very heartwarming. While I thought that some of its portrayals of schools and the custody process were a little iffy at times, it stays very grounded in the relationship dynamics of the characters.

The best element of the film in terms of its success is the very natural and winning chemistry between Evans and Grace. Their rapport is, of course, "movie dialogue", but their affection and comfort with each other is very believable. In particular, the writing for the character of Mary is a real cut above the way that children (and especially precocious children) are so often written. Mary is not obnoxious or too adult sounding. She is certainly different in ways that her uncle can see and appreciate, but also fear on her behalf.

I also really liked that the film landed just on the right side of how it portrayed the conflict between Frank and Evelyn. Don't get me wrong: Evelyn is clearly the villain of the piece. She only wants Mary because of her math potential. Mary's mother died of suicide, and there is no doubt that it's because of the pressure placed on her by Evelyn. At the same time, however, Frank's approach to raising Mary is flawed. While Evelyn wants to exploit Mary's abilities, Frank wants to hide them. The problem is something that Evelyn's lawyer is actually correct about: putting a genius-level child into a first grade classroom is cruelty. It is torture. Expecting a child to go 7 hours a day without real intellectual stimulation is not appropriate or kind. (I was actually most bothered by the revelation that Frank has no health insurance for Mary.)

Working in a school and tangentially seeing a lot of custody disputes play out, I of course have several nitpicks about what was portrayed on that front. But it does stay within a reasonable range, and as I said before, these plot pieces are mainly used to illuminate the relationships between the characters.

Both Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer are such warm actors. It is so easy to believe in them as good, decent people and to root for them and their interests. I also found McKenna Grace as Mary really endearing and fun. (I would be loathe to leave out Fred the one-eyed cat, an excellent supporting character). There are plenty of warm fuzzies to have watching this movie, and it's just the kind of film that I don't mind when they play rousing string music over characters doing something important and noble. (Look, I would watch a whole movie that just consisted of Chris Evans rescuing cats from animal shelters).

Overall this was (and I mean this as a compliment) a really nice movie. It was a great way to start my Sunday, and also a surprisingly insightful look at what it means to raise and care for a gifted child. I think that this movies accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and then some.

4.5

[Thief]

VERNON, FLORIDA
(1981, Morris)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/pv-target-images/c3844cc508155ba86d42d318f2c82e6666cef54a292f61b468f91eb6902d6e4d._RI_.jpg


"You can snatch me or Snake up... and carry us off to a place that we're not familiar with... we don't know the woods, the country. Hey, man, you're lost. You're lost. Be just like taking me out of Vernon and sending me to New York City. I mean, you just can't do nothing with 'em ... And when you go to a new part of the country... hey, man, you're lost... or I am."



Vernon, Florida is a small city in the Florida Panhandle, with a population of roughly 600-700. In the 50s and 60s, it became notorious for an unusual amount of limb loss insurance claims, earning it the nickname of "Nub City", which inspired filmmaker Errol Morris to film a documentary about the situation. However, after several death threats, Morris reworked the focus of the documentary, deciding to just feature the eccentricities of the residents instead.

Vernon, Florida, the documentary, is notable in that it features no narrative structure but rather just random interviews with several residents which include various elderly men, a turkey hunter, a pastor, and a cop, among several others. Their conversations range from everything and anything; from the crime (or lack of) in the city and turkey hunting strategies to mirages, diamonds, stars, and "sand that grows".

As it is, there's not much to say about it, but as far as slices of "small town" life goes, it is somewhat fascinating. If anyone's interested, the documentary is available on YouTube and it's roughly 50 minutes long, so fairly accessible and nothing to get lost in.

Grade: 3

[Fabulous]

News of the World (2020)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/137HcBwNeYgeJcMXto5Jz84WTbL.jpg

[Thief]

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Gifted, 2017

Overall this was (and I mean this as a compliment) a really nice movie. It was a great way to start my Sunday, and also a surprisingly insightful look at what it means to raise and care for a gifted child. I think that this movies accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and then some.

4.5

I don't think I had even heard of this one. Just added it to my watchlist.

EDIT: Oooh, it's from Marc Webb. As a fan of (500) Days of Summer, this piques my interest even more.

[Allaby]

I just got back from seeing Cry Macho at Landmark Cinemas. Directed by and starring the legendary Clint Eastwood, this is a lovely and well made film. Eastwood is very good here and the story is told in a charming and effective way. There are some really nice little moments throughout that help elevate the film. Although I wouldn't consider this one of Eastwood's best films, it is still a very worthwhile one. My rating is 4.

[ThatDarnMKS]

CRY MACHO, THE CARD COUNTER, PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND

Competently shot with quality lead performances that squander their potential with rote, lifeless scripts rife with terrible dialogue that even the most seasoned of actors would have trouble saying. The scripts all seemingly sat on the shelf for far too long and desperately needed a rewrite that they simply didn't get. Add to it that there's virtually no chemistry between the lead and love interest and it adds to the stilted, lifelessness of the ordeal.

Not terrible but far beneath everyone involved. Disappointing.

2.5

[Takoma11]

I don't think I had even heard of this one. Just added it to my watchlist.

EDIT: Oooh, it's from Marc Webb. As a fan of (500) Days of Summer, this piques my interest even more.

It was very sweet and I think you'd really like it.

[Fabulous]

Promising Young Woman (2020)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/rWrvcsrvISKXdMOzCdkvU3Jtg0j.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

81337
The Operative (2019)

While mooching around on Netflix, The Operative caught my attention solely based upon Martin Freeman being in the cast. Freeman has been in a few mediocre productions, but he’s always displayed first rate talents in any of his characterizations.

This film does show Freeman’s skill, but it is the stunning performance by Diane Kruger that makes this film worth watching. Based on a Hebrew novel, The English Teacher (2013), by Yiftach Reicher-Atir, Kruger stars as a British/German Israeli Mossad agent who is tasked with gradually attracting the heir to an Iranian electronics corporation (Cas Anvar) with the aim of gradually recruiting him as a resource for Israeli intelligence purposes. Her front is as an English teacher in Teheran.

The story is alternately shown both in flashback and in current time, which is always a little tricky to keep track of. However the plot’s complexity was intelligible, and carefully built tension and suspense. Oftentimes this type of espionage thriller devolves into torture, graphic sexual depictions, and extreme violence. But here, despite those expectations being cultivated, none of this was depicted, nor was it necessary. Instead the focus was on relationships between the 3 main characters, and their fealty to their respective assignments and causes.

Kruger is an actress of very wide and convincing range. She’s had important roles in National Treasure, and in The Bridge series, but here she is able to display a full palette of emotions, mood, and nuance in an award level performance. This is an uncommonly fresh espionage thriller which avoids triteness, and benefits from a tremendous supporting cast and first rate international production crew.

Doc’s rating: 8/10

[ApexPredator]

The Intouchables (2011)

Since we got 6 Seth Rogen/James Franco movies and 2 Dwayne Johnson/Kevin Hart films, I wanna see another teaming of these two.

The story of Philippe (Francois Cluzet) and Driss (Omar Sy), on the surface, seems to be another story about how two people from different backgrounds become close friends. But the potent chemistry between the two leads, plenty of charisma from Sy and assured direction from Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano keep it far away from mawkish sentimentality and other problematic areas and squarely on the side of a fun drama.

It doesn't matter that Driss doesn't want the job; Philippe sees something in him that other candidates with years of education and experience lack. Driss is able to give Philippe the spark back he hadn't had since his paragliding accident. And ultimately Philippe causes Driss to think about caring for others.

Assured writing and direction and great chemistry can take a film that would be mediocre in lesser hands and turn it into gold. You'll want to get some Earth, Wind and Fire on the dance floor next time you're stuck at a stodgy party. Upside who?

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: 1/2 out of 5.

[pahaK]

Dead Silence (2007)
2
Yet another B-movie throwback from James Wan. Zero surprises and not much to get excited about either.

[GulfportDoc]

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/02/Witness-for-the-Prosecution-Primary.png
Loved this. Great story and acting. Charles Laughton in particular was fantastic. rating_4_5
I like your taste! Both thumbs way up from me for this magnificent film. Heavyweight cast and story. Charles Laughton provides one of his many tour de force performances. Marlene Dietrich wasn't too shabby either...;)

[Takoma11]

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The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, 1965

During the Cold War, Alec Leamas (Richard Burton) is pulled into an elaborate and dangerous plot. Feigning a dismissal from his post and slide into bitter alcoholism, Leamas navigates himself into a position whereby he is recruited by agents in East Berlin. Leamas must convince a savvy agent (Oskar Werner) that he's legit, but the longer the deception goes on, the more Leamas begins to question his role in the whole pursuit. His ambiguous feelings are only further complicated by his relationship with a Communist librarian (Claire Bloom) that he seduces as part of his plan.

I thought I knew what I was getting into with this film. After all, it's adapted from a novel by John le Carre. I would imagine most people have seen either the miniseries or the film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (I have seen and enjoyed both). In fact, the character of George Smiley even makes a few appearances.

But while the first half of the film is exactly what I expected (low-key conversations, plotting, crosses, double-crosses, etc), around halfway through the film the story takes an interesting turn. While Leamas starts out just playing a jaded and bitter employee, as the plan progresses some of his cynicism stops being a ruse.

A large part of this shift comes from the conversations he has with Nan, the librarian. While Leamas is incredibly dismissive of her beliefs, she is genuine in her desire to help build a better world. There is an undeniable element of decency to her, a decency that contrasts with the character of the men fighting on Leamas' side. But the other aspect is Leamas slowly realizing just what is at stake. One man is killed so that another man might be free. One man is thrown under the bus so that another might be redeemed. There's something mechanical and borderline useless about it.

In fact, maybe the most interesting thing about the film is the way that it portrays both interesting and engaging spy-craft, and then turns around and de-glamorizes it all. There's a quote from the last act that begs to be highlighted:
What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong? Yesterday I would have killed [redacted] because I thought him evil and an enemy. But not today. Today he is evil and my friend. London needs him. They need him so that the great, moronic masses you admire so much can sleep soundly in their flea-bitten beds again. They need him for the safety of ordinary, crummy people like you and me...

It's this second half of the film that really elevates it to something special. The ending in particular is something I found very powerful.

4.5

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/34/Werewolves_Within_film_poster.png/220px-Werewolves_Within_film_poster.png

3

SF = Zzz

Unfortunately I nodded off about 25 minutes in and woke up near the end right at the point where it was revealed who the werewolf was... so that was slightly disappointing.



[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

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Year_of_living_dangerously.jpg
By Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7332407

The Year of Living Dangerously - (1982)

This was an intelligent, thought-provoking film by Peter Weir - his last Australian film before finding international success with Harrison Ford in Witness. It features Mel Gibson, who worked with Weir in Gallipoli and Sigourney Weaver - and is based on a Christopher Koch novel. Gibson portrays Guy Hamilton, an Australian journalist who is on his first overseas assignment in Indonesia, which is on the brink of civil war. He's befriended by a mysterious fellow, Billy Kwan (Linda Hunt, in unusual casting to say the least - she won an Oscar for this role) - a man who spies on his friends, keeps files on everyone and narrates the story in the background. Even though he's telling the story, his motives for doing what he's doing remain vague - but he seems intent on playing matchmaker as regards Hamilton and British Embassy worker Jill Bryant (Weaver) and we're constantly wondering why.

The background is rich and full of intrigue. Set in 1965, Jakarta is filled with poverty, famine and violence. Added to this is the political situation, which involves the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) importing weapons for the impending revolution and war. Hamilton courts danger constantly - as he's desperate to make a name for himself - and seems set to meet his end in one way or another. His love for Bryant and friendship with Kwan complicate matters greatly as the entire nation lurches towards disaster. When Bryant shares information with him of great significance, he must decide between his love for her and his career. It's the biggest story he's ever likely to get - but if he reports it she might be killed. You don't see many films about the volatile nature of Indonesian society and politics. This reminded me a little of Salvador in it's examination of journalistic ethics in the face of great human misery.

7/10

[Citizen Rules]

81352
Cry Macho (Eastwood 2021)

I'm a big fan of Eastwood as an actor and director, so I wanted to love this last film from Clint. Sorry to say I didn't love it and I don't think it's anything noteworthy, but it's a nice film...sort of a Karate Kid ala Eastwood in Mexico. The weak spot is the script which plays out like a first draft that's been recycled from Eastwood's last movie The Mule, but only up to a point. However there are some smiles here too, in what could be called Eastwood's most family friendly film.

rating_3

[ScannerDarkly]

7/10 Pretty entertaining


https://pics.filmaffinity.com/After_Hours-661821923-large.jpg

[LChimp]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODBkMTNmMmQtYTNlMy00OTRhLWE5MzgtYTZlMTUyYzY1MzkzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY1MTg4Mzc@._V1_.jpg

Pretty ok, nothing really stands out. Reminded me a bit of Gone Girl... and Total Recall

[Stirchley]

81365

Re-watch. Hugely entertaining. Loved it.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWU1ODhhNWMtNjIyNi00MmIyLTk0ZTgtM2E0NjBlYzUxODJhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjI4MjA5MzA@._V1_.jpg


3.5

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vlaamsefilm.be%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstills_000021.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Left Bank (2008, Pieter Van Hees)
3
Another one of those films that start off with a compelling mystery but end up failing to resolve it in a satisfying way (well, for me at least).
Solid first half with some good acting and atmosphere, disappointing (and at times kinda ridiculous) second half.
Hit and miss but definitely worth a watch for fans of moody European folklore horror.

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-cAfT8U9gnyM%2FWbkEq3zdoqI%2FAAAAAAAAXtM%2FOca7if2jXKsdATlMlpzDZv6XAOzhCD3kACEwYBhgL%2Fs1600%2FSandri ne-Bonnaire-Isabelle-Huppert-La-Ceremonie-Claude-Chabrol-1995%252B%2525285%252529.JPG&f=1&nofb=1

La Ceremonie, 1995

4.5
Excellent film.

[ScannerDarkly]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmindreels.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F12%2Fgood-morning-vietnam-1987-12-g.jpg%3Fw%3D1000&f=1&nofb=1

Good Morning, Vietnam, 1987



rating_4


Man this just popped in my head yesterday!! I thought i had it on dvd and i dont sad moment for me. Love it probably gonna buy it

[mark f]

Best Sellers (Lina Roessler, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Demonoid (Alfredo Zacarías, 1981) 2 5/10
Nona (Louis Gonzales, 2021) 3 6.5/10
Everybody's Talking About Jamie (Jonathan Butterell, 2021) 2.5 6/10
https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2021-05/24/12/asset/311969fa19d8/anigif_sub-buzz-5568-1621859188-6.gif
Musical about Jamie (Max Harwood) wanting to wear his drag queen clothes at his high school prom but the authorities are not letting him.
Practical Magic (Griffin Dunne, 1998) 2.5 6/10
The Tangle (Christopher Soren Kelly, 2019) 2+ 5/10
Runners (Charles Sturridge, 1983) 2.5 6/10
Why Don't You Just Die! (Kirill Sokolov, 2018) 3 6.5/10
https://kuotamedia.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Why-Dont-You-Just-Die.jpg
Russian police captain Vitaliy Khaev destroys his apartment and maybe even most of his family, mostly out of habit at work.
Genesis (Philippe Lesage, 2018) 3- 6.5/10
The Unthinkable (Victor Danell, 2018) 2.5 6/10
Body Fever (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1969) 2 5/10
The Stronghold (Cédric Jimenez, 2020) 2.5 6/10
https://img.particlenews.com/img/id/0GQn8q_0apc5d8t00?type=thumbnail_512x288
Marseille cop Gilles Lellouche and his men work in the most dangerous part of town and have to bend the rules to survive.
Scenes with Beans (Ottó Foky, 1976) 3+ 6.5/10
Tremors (Jayro Bustamante, 2019) 2.5 6/10
Blood Shack AKA Tne Chooper (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1971) 1.5 4-/10
Barbed Wire (Rowland V. Lee, 1927) 2.5 6/10
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1546143874i/26832519.jpg
During WWI, love develops between Frenchwoman Pola Negri and German POW Clive Brook which threatens to have her banished from her town.
Alienated (Darryl Anka, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Scotch: A Golden Dream (Andrew Peat, 2018) 3- 6.5/10
Jericho AKA Dark Sands (Thornton Freeland, 1937) 2.5 6/10
Bloodthirsty (Amelia Moses, 2020) 2+ 5/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ca669170b9d8d6f6dbe06bd5091ad924/2cd63279388f2ce6-54/s540x810/a565a6018557ab5142aed6ec821e93fccda41369.gifv
Indie singer Lauren Beatty goes with her girlfriend to work on her sophomore album at the secluded studio of record producer Greg Bryk, an acquitted murder suspect, and the blood begins to flow.

[GulfportDoc]

Cry Macho (Eastwood 2021)

I'm a big fan of Eastwood as an actor and director, so I wanted to love this last film from Clint. Sorry to say I didn't love it and I don't think it's anything noteworthy, but it's a nice film...sort of a Karate Kid ala Eastwood in Mexico. The weak spot is the script which plays out like a first draft that's been recycled from Eastwood's last movie The Mule, but only up to a point. However there are some smiles here too, in what could be called Eastwood's most family friendly film.

rating_3




I'm glad that you posted commentary about Cry Macho. I watched it last night, and felt like making some remarks here, but I didn't have the calling to do a full review.

The picture had more problems than solutions. IMO they should have emphasized much more strongly early in the movie that Mike (Clint) had experienced severe and impairing spinal injury. That would have made it easier to watch him move around in a very doddering manor, which might have been Clint's normal gait at the time of filming, at aged 90. The scenes of him trying to dance with the cafe owner were almost painful to watch.

The plot, as simple as it was, felt scattered and haphazard. In fairness the project has been in many hands since the 1970s, based on the novel by N. Richard Nash. But still, screenwriter Nick Schenk might have come up with a more cohesive effort. The dialogue in particular was oftentimes right up next to parody.

In that regard Dwight Yoakum gave one of his least believable performances that I can recall, which was probably mostly the fault of poor writing. The actor who played the kid was miscast. His overacting made the part seem silly.

On the bright side, Natalia Traven, was superb as the tavern owner and mutual love interest to Clint. She was so warm, charming and alluring that I'd have to say she was the best part of the film. I was surprised to learn that she is American. I felt sure she was Mexican or South American.

The music was first rate by Mark Mancina (Moana, The Lion King). The photography was picturesque, as one would expect given the locales. If they'd left out a few words here and there it could have received a PG rating rather than PG-13, and I'm all for that. Still, I think it's a film that kids would like, and could relate to in our modern times.

IMO Clint should limit himself to producing and directing. He's simply too damn old to be very convincing in anything. But my guess is that he simply enjoys MAKING films, and has fun at it, even though he probably over estimates his capacity to star in them. He's made so many wonderful films, and has such cachet that few will criticize a production like this, even though critics would cut it to shreds if it had been made by anyone else.

Clint will make films as long as he is able. I just hope he's a little more pragmatic and introspective about his role in them.

[Rockatansky]

Body Fever (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1969) 2 5/10
Blood Shack AKA Tne Chooper (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1971) 1.5 4-/10
Nice.*(I actually watched Blood Shack last night and will likely post a review soon. Will it be unreasonably generous and rambling? All signs point to yes.)

[SpelingError]

26th Hall of Fame (REWATCH)

The Celebration (1998) - 4.5

I was looking forward to revisiting this film and, fortunately, it was just as great as I remembered. I found myself impressed by the mystery of the family, but even more so by the terrific style and the cinematic technique Vinterberg employed throughout the film. Initially, the rough and unpolished camera shots (which I don't consider to be a flaw, btw) and unorthodox camera angles and shooting positions mildly impressed me. As the film went on though, my admiration over those aspects grew more profound. As more revelations about the family were revealed and as the party guests kept turning on each other, the bizarre camerawork resonated with me in the best way possible as it matched the craziness of the situation at the birthday party. Some people may be distracted by its noticeable low budget, but I actually think the film's low budget contributes to its greatness. The grainy cinematography added to the craziness of the film as it lead to many shots feeling reminiscent of a grainy horror film made in the 70's or the 80's. I can't imagine the film giving off the same effect with a higher budget. If I had to nitpick something, it might be better to build to the unorthodox cinematography as opposed to utilizing it right at the start of the film. This isn't to say I disliked the unorthodox cinematography in the first act per se, but since it worked best for me when paired with the family conflict, it might have been cool to have the camerawork escalate in weirdness, with it growing more unorthodox and dreamlike as the story grew more bizarre. However, this minor issue was ultimately lost in the grand scheme of everything I loved about the film, so I don't mean to imply this matters much. Just some food for thought.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vlaamsefilm.be%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstills_000021.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Left Bank (2008, Pieter Van Hees)
2.5
Another one of those films that start off with a compelling mystery but end up failing to resolve it in a satisfying way (well, for me at least).
Solid first half with some good acting and atmosphere, disappointing (and at times kinda ridiculous) second half.
Still definitely worth a watch for fans of moody European folklore horror.

I really like both Schoenaerts and moody horror, so I'll have to check this one out. I don't think I'd even heard of it!

Excellent film.

Yes it is!

Practical Magic (Griffin Dunne, 1998) 2.5 6/10

I love Practical Magic and watch it probably once a year, while at the same time totally agreeing that it's a solid 6/10 film.

[pahaK]

Kate (2021)
2
A definition of a dime a dozen. Passable (barely at times) action, twists you know are coming 10-15 minutes into the film, and some modern idiocies.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm glad that you posted commentary about Cry Macho. I watched it last night, and felt like making some remarks here, but I didn't have the calling to do a full review.

The picture had more problems than solutions. IMO they should have emphasized much more strongly early in the movie that Mike (Clint) had experienced severe and impairing spinal injury. That would have made it easier to watch him move around in a very doddering manor, which might have been Clint's normal gait at the time of filming, at aged 90. The scenes of him trying to dance with the cafe owner were almost painful to watch.

The plot, as simple as it was, felt scattered and haphazard. In fairness the project has been in many hands since the 1970s, based on the novel by N. Richard Nash. But still, screenwriter Nick Schenk might have come up with a more cohesive effort. The dialogue in particular was oftentimes right up next to parody.

In that regard Dwight Yoakum gave one of his least believable performances that I can recall, which was probably mostly the fault of poor writing. The actor who played the kid was miscast. His overacting made the part seem silly.

On the bright side, Natalia Traven, was superb as the tavern owner and mutual love interest to Clint. She was so warm, charming and alluring that I'd have to say she was the best part of the film. I was surprised to learn that she is American. I felt sure she was Mexican or South American.

The music was first rate by Mark Mancina (Moana, The Lion King). The photography was picturesque, as one would expect given the locales. If they'd left out a few words here and there it could have received a PG rating rather than PG-13, and I'm all for that. Still, I think it's a film that kids would like, and could relate to in our modern times.

IMO Clint should limit himself to producing and directing. He's simply too damn old to be very convincing in anything. But my guess is that he simply enjoys MAKING films, and has fun at it, even though he probably over estimates his capacity to star in them. He's made so many wonderful films, and has such cachet that few will criticize a production like this, even though critics would cut it to shreds if it had been made by anyone else.

Clint will make films as long as he is able. I just hope he's a little more pragmatic and introspective about his role in them.I agree with most all of that.
I've wondered if Cry Macho was meant to be viewed as farcical? I mean there's a rooster named Macho in the movie. And yet the movie is played straight. So then I wonder if Clint was making a film for his fans who still want to see him get the girl and punch the guy.

Natalia Traven the cantina owner was the bright spot of the film for me. I don't speak Spanish so I have no idea what she was saying but she lit up each scene she was in with those sparkling eyes and that warm smile. If she wasn't in the film then I'd rated it a 2.5 instead.

I was sad to see the 'man with no name' looking so frail. I mean he's 91 and still making movies, so more power to him! But he looked much weaker than he did in The Mule.

Agreed that Dwight Yoakum could not act...OMG! I liked the kid sort of, but yes he did over act at times.

I wish the movie had left out the crazed mom in her mansion and the drug gunman who came chasing after Cline. Hell the real story should have been just about how hard it was for a 91 year old to honor his debt to his former boss and drive a 1000 miles to retrieve his boss's son. And it was about 1000 miles that he would've drove too. The road trip alone would provide enough drama and human interest without all the trappings of the Mexican drug dealers. I mean we seen that in The Mule.

[Liptonfangs]

Gaia (2021) :down:

[Fabulous]

Bottle Shock (2008)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wlxonC4cHte5x5IFLvVlcParsyV.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Thelastwave.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17817519

The Last Wave - (1977)

After the directing the haunting film Picnic at Hanging Rock in 1975, Peter Weir's next film focused on premonition and an environmental apocalypse. Rain and chunks of ice fall from the bright blue sky - then frogs and oil. Lawyer David Burton's dreams come to life in terrifying visions - and they keep going as the end creeps closer. The Last Wave is a dream-like film that uses some aspects of Australian aboriginal culture and melds them with contemporary white culture. The result is wonderfully strange, disorientating and creepy. This one, compared to Hanging Rock, really snuck under the radar. It's now high on my 'Criterion Edition' wish-list, as it's had a Criterion release. I love how the entire film slips into a kind of dream logic as it goes along as everyday reality breaks apart. I really like this movie - it's grown on me a lot since I first saw it.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Greencardposter.jpg
By Impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21558757

Green Card - (1990)

Weir wrote the script for this movie specifically for Gérard Depardieu - it was his first English-speaking role. While waiting for him to be available, he directed a little film called Dead Poets Society. Green Card is a pretty average rom-com bit of fluff with funny moments. I've got nothing against Depardieu, but Andie MacDowell often grates on me a little bit. I just don't think she's a very good actress.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Cache_Haneke.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3254390

Caché (Hidden)- (2005) - France - Rewatch

Great Michael Haneke film. I found it just as impactful this time around - and I wonder about it's prospects as regards to the 2000s countdown coming up soon.

9/10

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Thelastwave.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17817519

The Last Wave - (1977)


8/10


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Cache_Haneke.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3254390

Caché (Hidden)- (2005) - France - Rewatch

9/10
Two great films, love em both!

[Aidanc]

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

https://www.eastman.org/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_overlay/public/7th_Voyage_Sinbad.jpg?itok=iG1fmc-b
Has anyone brought ancient mythology to the big screen more vividly and creatively than Ray Harryhausen. Once again from rich blue skies to jagged cliffs, islands, jungles and of course his iconic stop motion monsters; he manages to wonderfully capture the essence of a classic legend and transport the audience there through his technical and artistic brilliance. I don't think it's quite in the same league as Jason and the Argonauts but it's still a fantastically enjoyable adventure. rating_4

[LChimp]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1xijmhXsAgbDM8?format=jpg&name=large

Very slow paced, almost fell asleep midway through. Story was confusing and not very interesting to be honest.

[matt72582]

James Cagney: Top Of The World

I liked this. It was just on TCM, and it's also on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNEj3nndBHs

[culliford]

Watched the 1973 horror comedy Theatre of Blood yesterday. The plot: a veteran actor takes his revenge upon the films critiques who didn't praise everything he'd ever done. :D Fantastic acting in this one though. Can whole-heartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good stake through the heart (or even poodle pie for that matter).

[matt72582]

The American Media & The Second Assassination Of JFK - 10/10
Excellent. Something everyone should watch, but won't.


https://youtu.be/pLx199ThATA

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/d0b2c098d2ce827b6b9307c09a11044f/7374eb9f40d6e606-b3/s500x750/f62de0e5af70c631fb740eec6cf6b8c1a5537f2f.gifv


https://y.yarn.co/f18ede98-4794-4cd6-b44f-8a0c291e17b6_text.gifhttps://y.yarn.co/aca8d433-655b-4d2c-8105-96b7da86f43e_text.gif



https://y.yarn.co/6cae2346-86eb-4152-a3fa-a8e06e4c0042_text.gif


The In-Laws - I know this is a movie related forum so there are probably loads of people here that have watched this or maybe had friends mention it but I still wish more people knew about this film. The unanticipated and yet perfect pairing of Peter Falk and Alan Arkin combined with the right director in Arthur Hiller and screenplay from Andrew Bergman. Lots of potential projects look great on paper but every once in a while lightning will strike.

Mild mannered NYC dentist Sheldon Kornpett's (Arkin) daughter is soon to be married to the son of Vincent Ricardo (Falk). He's an odd bird, filled with hilariously absurd stories of his time spent in the jungles of Central America for his unspecified job. But he's also strangely lovable, as is Shelly Kornpett. The two actors certainly look like they're having a blast making this movie and their easygoing camaraderie will win you over. Vincent is actually a CIA operative and as the movie opens he's taken delivery of some stolen U.S. Government property. It's all part of a convoluted plan to stop a global crisis before it happens. Vincent cajoles the unwitting Sheldon into retrieving the hot goods from his Manhattan office. This simple favor for a future in-law is what plunges the perpetually bewildered and overwhelmed Shelly into a nonstop blitz of confrontations, shootouts and chases and ultimately turns him into a fugitive from justice.

This is, at least for me, one of the most quotable movies out there and Bergman's script is packed full of gems. But it's Arkin and Falk's deliveries that ultimately sell it. From what I understand the two actors were looking for the opportunity to work together so I'm assuming they were friends and it shows onscreen. There's a genuine fellowship between the two. The rest of the cast performs ably in wholly supporting roles but it's Richard Libertini that almost succeeds in stealing the movie from the two stars as the sublimely loopy General Garcia. If you want an example of serendipitous casting this will not disappoint. Watch this or watch it again. Oh and steer clear of the 2003 remake.

rating_4_5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWUzMDA5MzMtYzU5Yy00M2U3LTg5YWUtYTk1NmY0ZDJhOGU3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk4OTc3MTY@._V1_UY1200_CR90,0,6 30,1200_AL_.jpg


5

[Rockatansky]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/d0b2c098d2ce827b6b9307c09a11044f/7374eb9f40d6e606-b3/s500x750/f62de0e5af70c631fb740eec6cf6b8c1a5537f2f.gifv


https://y.yarn.co/f18ede98-4794-4cd6-b44f-8a0c291e17b6_text.gifhttps://y.yarn.co/aca8d433-655b-4d2c-8105-96b7da86f43e_text.gif



https://y.yarn.co/6cae2346-86eb-4152-a3fa-a8e06e4c0042_text.gif


The In-Laws - I know this is a movie related forum so there are probably loads of people here that have watched this or maybe had friends mention it but I still wish more people knew about this film. The unanticipated and yet perfect pairing of Peter Falk and Alan Arkin combined with the right director in Arthur Hiller and screenplay from Andrew Bergman. Lots of potential projects look great on paper but every once in a while lightning will strike.

Mild mannered NYC dentist Sheldon Kornpett's (Arkin) daughter is soon to be married to the son of Vincent Ricardo (Falk). He's an odd bird, filled with hilariously absurd stories of his time spent in the jungles of Central America for his unspecified job. But he's also strangely lovable, as is Shelly Kornpett. The two actors certainly look like they're having a blast making this movie and their easygoing camaraderie will win you over. Vincent is actually a CIA operative and as the movie opens he's taken delivery of some stolen U.S. Government property. It's all part of a convoluted plan to stop a global crisis before it happens. Vincent cajoles the unwitting Sheldon into retrieving the hot goods from his Manhattan office. This simple favor for a future in-law is what plunges the perpetually bewildered and overwhelmed Shelly into a nonstop blitz of confrontations, shootouts and chases and ultimately turns him into a fugitive from justice.

This is, at least for me, one of the most quotable movies out there and Bergman's script is packed full of gems. But it's Arkin and Falk's deliveries that ultimately sell it. From what I understand the two actors were looking for the opportunity to work together so I'm assuming they were friends and it shows onscreen. There's a genuine fellowship between the two. The rest of the cast performs ably in wholly supporting roles but it's Richard Libertini that almost succeeds in stealing the movie from the two stars as the sublimely loopy General Garcia. If you want an example of serendipitous casting this will not disappoint. Watch this or watch it again. Oh and steer clear of the 2003 remake.

rating_4_5
"The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program."

[pahaK]

The Visitor (1979)
3
https://64.media.tumblr.com/afe3edda2ba7f39a200aebe941e9da5d/tumblr_p39sgnACFz1stszgqo2_500.gifv
Sort of a ripoff of The Omen but with aliens. It feels like some substances were consumed during the creation of the film, but it's not as dreamy as Fulci at his best. Recommended for the lovers of weird, even though it's not as weird as some say.

[Thief]

WIND RIVER
(2017, Sheridan)
A film featuring Native American characters

http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/e1bd/WindRiver.jpg


"You don't catch wolves looking where they might be, you look where they've been."



Wind River follows Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a hunter for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a remote Wyoming town. During a routine hunt, he finds the raped and dead body of the daughter of a family friend in a local Indian reservation. When they bring young FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to work the case, she enlists Lambert in the manhunt because of his hunting and tracking skills.

The film is loosely based in real-life accounts of rapes, murders, and disappearances of Indigenous women in the US. The story is pretty strong, even if the dialogue is at moments a bit clumsy. There are a couple of moments of bad expository dialogue and cringey interactions, but they are few and well scattered. What Sheridan does well is create a constant sense of oppression in these characters, which might be a result of their surroundings as well as their history and decisions.

Renner and Olsen are pretty solid. Unfortunately, her character doesn't really have an arc which makes her feel not fully realized. On the other hand, Renner has better moments to show depth and emotion, but overall treats his character as a subdued "badass", which seems a bit out of place with what seems to be his background. I would've appreciated if he would've let the vulnerability he shows in other moments to seep through all the film.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2240069#post2240069)

[WHITBISSELL!]

"The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program."
So many great quotes.

"Did we hit the little boy on Sixth Avenue?"
"No, we missed him by a good foot and a half."

[GulfportDoc]

The American Media & The Second Assassination Of JFK - 10/10
Excellent. Something everyone should watch, but won't.
https://youtu.be/pLx199ThATA
Sounds great, Matt, but for some reason it's age protected on YouTube, and I don't want to "sign in". I'll see if I can find it elsewhere.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODgyOTY3MTQtNDk5Ni00ZWYwLWFiNzgtYzJkNWIxZWExMWRkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjMwMjk0MTQ@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


4

[Fabulous]

Beautiful Girls (1996)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/LNBN5VTQpWhmdSjzCQG70dMmE4.jpg

[matt72582]

Sounds great, Matt, but for some reason it's age protected on YouTube, and I don't want to "sign in". I'll see if I can find it elsewhere.


Anything truthful is age-protected nowadays to prevent many from watching.. I paid a few bucks for it on Amazon, but it wouldn't play (old laptop), so I went and paid $4 on Vimeo to extract it. Had to leave this on for over 48 hours, couldn't use it because the add-on slowed everything down. After I uploaded this onto my channel, besides the age-protected warning despite no cursing, and the only violence is The Zapruder Film, but we praise violence in any other case.


I also found this was blocked in China, Italy, the vatican, San Marino, and Malta.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4e/He_got_game_poster.jpg
By Impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23064077

He Got Game - (1998)

This had all the makings of a made-for-television melodrama, but thanks to Denzel Washington and the fact that he can do just about anything with any role given to him it really hits it's mark hard and left me with the impression I'd watched something great. Okay, maybe the fact that this is a Spike Lee Joint means it's script and direction helped a lot too. Rosario Dawson and Milla Jovovich also stand out. I haven't seen enough of Spike Lee's stuff by the looks of it. A great father-son relationship film - you feel that the characters are walking through minefields and at any moment everything is about to explode in their faces. The urgency added by the fact Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington) must mend fences with his son unless he wants to spend the rest of his life in prison, and just how impossible this is due to what he's done to his family, adds enough tension and pathos to fuel it's long running time. Awesome movie.

8/10

24 Realities Per Second - (2005) - Austria

Fly-on-the-wall documentary which follows Michael Haneke around as he makes films such as Time of the Wolf and Caché, and also as he answers audience questions during Q&A sessions and submits to interviews and photo sessions. Unfortunately that's all the documentary makers manage to do - shedding little light on his processes or what he's trying to convey with his films. Interminably boring. A few good moments - only when Haneke addresses the camera directly, relating his early formative cinematic experiences or his distant relationship he had with his parents.

4/10

[FromBeyond]

Return Of The Living Dead 3 (1993)

Not quite as good as “Return Of The Living Dead part 2” which in turn was not quite as good as “Return Of The Living Dead” but still FUN and a fitting end to the best silly zombie movies around.

Is missing hordes of zombie probably due to budget restraint but totally makes up for it with the inspired practical effects and story wise.

[LChimp]

https://br.web.img2.acsta.net/pictures/21/06/15/19/15/0165525.jpg


https://i.pinimg.com/236x/4a/e2/af/4ae2af11b236711f6d03b9f4466aa8d0.jpg

[edarsenal]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/039ead0c89108859cc3ac469f7d140c8/tumblr_oksj8h1LK21u501aoo2_400.gifvhttps://i.makeagif.com/media/8-12-2016/O7Q6SU.gif

James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
Auric Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you DIE.

Goldfinger (1964) 4+ With, what many agree, THE best Bond of them all, Sean Connery, Ian Fleming's story of sabotage, action, intrigue, sex, booze, and misogyny unfolds with all its splendor and enjoyable schlock.
I don't think I've ever actually watched this in its entirety, even as a kid on Local Night at the Movies which, (it was the seventies) would feature Roger Moore's more civil, polite Bond. So it was all kinds of fun to see the original callous, womanizing, calculating James with a penchant for trouble-making. From what I've read, it is also the debut of the subtle comedic rapport between the gadget-making Q and Bonds. Add on to that; what would become some genuinely great villains and Bond Girls, this was all kinds of mindless, popcorn-devouring fun.

[Wooley]

I love, LOVE this film.

Me too.
It's been about a decade, I may need to put it on the list for next month.

[Wooley]

Racing with the moon 1987
8/10

Man, we watched this over and over when I was young.

[Wooley]

7/10 Pretty entertaining


https://pics.filmaffinity.com/After_Hours-661821923-large.jpg

My favorite Scorsese.

[Wooley]

Bottle Shock (2008)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wlxonC4cHte5x5IFLvVlcParsyV.jpg

I liked this quite a bit, but I love wine and Alan Rickman. I also enjoyed seeing Chris Pine in a non-action role.
I actually went to Chateau Montelena a few months after I saw this and bought a bottle of the famous Chardonnay (a more contemporary bottle, not the '76).

[Wooley]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1xijmhXsAgbDM8?format=jpg&name=large

Very slow paced, almost fell asleep midway through. Story was confusing and not very interesting to be honest.

This disappoints me, I am a huge fan of the source material.

[CringeFest]

Black Beauty (1994)


7/10


A movie where humans pretend to be horses and flaunt the legendary wild horse.

[CringeFest]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1xijmhXsAgbDM8?format=jpg&name=large

Very slow paced, almost fell asleep midway through. Story was confusing and not very interesting to be honest.


Lmfao

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81PoYLo0fcL._SY445_.jpg



1st Re-watch...There's a whole lot going on with this movie that I really didn't catch the first time or, at least, didn't fully appreciate. The screenplay is a little one-sided in that it makes the Joe Castleman character complete slime, legitimizing Joan's feelings, making the ending a bit of a cop out, but it is still an exquisite movie viewing experience. Delicate direction and a literate, almost lyrical screenplay that often haunts the viewer. The subplot with Joe and Joan's son is beautifully realized as is the one of Christian Slater's character getting to the bottom of things. I also understand the importance of the flashbacks to the early days of Joe and Joan's marriage. But towering above everything here, of course, is the breathtaking performance by the iconic Glenn Close that makes this movie scratch at the soul. We don't understand why Joan Castleman has chosen to sacrifice her career for her husband until that absolutely stunning scene where her husband accepts the Nobel Prize. This scene is worth the price of admission alone. Most of Close's strongest work in this film is sans dialogue...watch her in that scene where she's having a drink with Christian Slater, or watching the fight between her husband and son, or during that early party scene where all the guest are gushing over Joe. I understand to a point Olivia Colman's Oscar win for her flashy and theatrical performance in The Favourite, but I still think Close was robbed. She was robbed more so for this performance than she was this year for Hillbilly Eligy. A sweet and sad movie anchored by a brilliant actress doing what she does best. I also think Close has never appeared more beautiful onscreen. 4

[GulfportDoc]

Anything truthful is age-protected nowadays to prevent many from watching.. I paid a few bucks for it on Amazon, but it wouldn't play (old laptop), so I went and paid $4 on Vimeo to extract it. Had to leave this on for over 48 hours, couldn't use it because the add-on slowed everything down. After I uploaded this onto my channel, besides the age-protected warning despite no cursing, and the only violence is The Zapruder Film, but we praise violence in any other case.

I also found this was blocked in China, Italy, the vatican, San Marino, and Malta.
I guess I'm not surprised. Censorship of anything but the approved party line is fairly ubiquitous these days. And you can bet your bottom dollar that all of the JFK files will never, ever be released, and certainly some have been deleted. There is likely evidence of Deep State culpability, so that connection will never be allowed to surface. They did release the Assassination Records Review Board's files, which I believe was the governmental committee that stated that there was likely more than one shooter. If there was more than one-- bingo. Conspiracy.

IMO there were 3, none of which were Oswald.

Anyway I'll keep trying. I have one other source to check...:cool:

[pahaK]

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)
2.5
A pretty standard Giallo. I'm not sure why some reviews bring up the Gothic tones or have high praise for the cinematography (one location being a castle doesn't make a Gothic, and while the film is proficiently shot, it's nothing special IMO). I'd recommend this only for the Giallo fans.

--
Howl from Beyond the Fog (2019)
1
An amateurish puppet animation kaiju. I'd be more prone to forgive the technical issues if the writing had been good, but even that's awful. It's shot with some terrible cheap lenses that distort the image near the edges. The puppets are lifeless, and it's painfully clear that we're watching zoomed-in miniatures.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Fgreat-movie-ripleys-game-2002%2Fhero_EB20060409REVIEWS08604090301AR.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Ripley's Game, 2002

Tom Ripley (John Malkovich), Patricia Highsmith's sociopathic creation, is living in a gorgeous house with a beautiful girlfriend and dealing in the world of art. When he's insulted by a local art framer named Jonathan (Dougray Scott), Ripley finagles a way to get a local mobster (Ray Winstone) to enlist Jonathan to assassinate a rival mobster. Jonathan, who is dying of leukemia, agrees to take the job because he wants to earn money for his family before he passes.

I have to wonder how I would have felt about this film if it weren't for the fact that I just recently watched The American Friend, a 1977 adaptation of the same source novel as Ripley's Game. The 70s version, directed by Wim Wenders and starring Dennis Hopper in the strangest incarnation of Ripley I've seen, has an appealingly off-kilter approach to the story.

By comparison, this version feels a lot more by-the-numbers. For me, of course, the 70s version had the benefit of novelty. This time around I knew the trajectory of the plot. And, further, many of the moments that really stood out to me in the 70s version (such as Jonathan talking to his son in the bathtub, or an action sequence on a train), felt overly familiar here. Even Malkovich's approach to the character feels a bit "classic sociopath." I've not read this Ripley novel (I have read three of them), but there were several moments of dialogue that felt a bit too "writerly".

On the plus side, the film is technically strong. The direction and the acting are all really solid. And I liked the way that we watch Scott's Jonathan evolve---not necessarily in a positive direction--as he gets deeper and deeper into the world of hired killing. The film seems to be aiming for a sort of see-saw dynamic, where Ripley makes Jonathan a bit colder and harder, and Jonathan makes Ripley a bit more sentimental.

That last point was something I felt unsure about. Ripley being protective of Jonathan because he likes him just doesn't totally compute for me. I more like the idea that Ripley sees Jonathan as his creature to torment, and resents the idea that someone else might step in and take over.

There were several strong sequences in this film, and overall I enjoyed it. Something I didn't vibe with were the scenes between Ripley and his girlfriend. They weren't badly written or acted, per se, they just didn't feel relevant or connected to the larger plot. I'm sure there was maybe something thematic that I just missed, but every time the film landed on Ripley and his girlfriend I was like "Ugh . . . no."

This was a good movie---and it's one of Ebert's Great Films!--but it didn't have the magic that I felt with the 70s adaptation. Worth watching, certainly, just pales a bit in comparison to The American Friend.

3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftorontofilmsociety.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F08%2FT-Men-1-620x400.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

T-Men, 1947

Two agents from the Treasury Department (Dennis O'Keefe and Alfred Ryder) go undercover in an attempt to bust up a counterfeiting ring.

This film, directed by Anthony Mann, takes a strong stylistic approach in terms of filming almost as if it is a documentary. The film begins with a message from the head of the Treasury Department, who reads his statement from behind is desk.

This one was kind of a challenge for me, if I'm honest. There would be these little moments that would really pop out--such as a sequence in which one of the agents is menaced by the local counterfeiting gang who haven't totally bought into his story, or a sequence where one of the agents coolly negotiates with a counterfeiting expert all while eating an ice cream cone--but I repeatedly found my attention wandering. By the last act, I was struggling to keep track of who was doing what, and I realized that I'd sort of stopped caring a bit.

The film looks good, full of effective compositions and figures looming out of shadows. This is one of those movies where there is nothing wrong with what's on screen---it just failed to grip me and hold my attention through the whole story. Maybe I'll give it another spin sometime and see if my opinion improves.

3.5

[MovieBuffering]

Renner and Olsen are pretty solid. Unfortunately, her character doesn't really have an arc which makes her feel not fully realized.


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2240069#post2240069)

I must push back a bit here. I think her character doesn't really need an arc. I think her character is used as a Shepard for the naive audience. They discover the brutality and reality of living in Wind River through her. I'm glad there wasn't some love story between Renner and Olsen. Or showing Olsen gaining respect, she was an FBI agent, comes with it. I feel like her character severed it's purpose as a vehicle of discovery. Just my 2 cents because I think it's one of the better movies to come out the last 5 years. (Few and far between)

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Fgreat-movie-ripleys-game-2002%2Fhero_EB20060409REVIEWS08604090301AR.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Ripley's Game, 2002

Tom Ripley (John Malkovich), Patricia Highsmith's sociopathic creation, is living in a gorgeous house with a beautiful girlfriend and dealing in the world of art. When he's insulted by a local art framer named Jonathan (Dougray Scott), Ripley finagles a way to get a local mobster (Ray Winstone) to enlist Jonathan to assassinate a rival mobster. Jonathan, who is dying of leukemia, agrees to take the job because he wants to earn money for his family before he passes.

I have to wonder how I would have felt about this film if it weren't for the fact that I just recently watched The American Friend, a 1977 adaptation of the same source novel as Ripley's Game. The 70s version, directed by Wim Wenders and starring Dennis Hopper in the strangest incarnation of Ripley I've seen, has an appealingly off-kilter approach to the story.

By comparison, this version feels a lot more by-the-numbers. For me, of course, the 70s version had the benefit of novelty. This time around I knew the trajectory of the plot. And, further, many of the moments that really stood out to me in the 70s version (such as Jonathan talking to his son in the bathtub, or an action sequence on a train), felt overly familiar here. Even Malkovich's approach to the character feels a bit "classic sociopath." I've not read this Ripley novel (I have read three of them), but there were several moments of dialogue that felt a bit too "writerly".

On the plus side, the film is technically strong. The direction and the acting are all really solid. And I liked the way that we watch Scott's Jonathan evolve---not necessarily in a positive direction--as he gets deeper and deeper into the world of hired killing. The film seems to be aiming for a sort of see-saw dynamic, where Ripley makes Jonathan a bit colder and harder, and Jonathan makes Ripley a bit more sentimental.

That last point was something I felt unsure about. Ripley being protective of Jonathan because he likes him just doesn't totally compute for me. I more like the idea that Ripley sees Jonathan as his creature to torment, and resents the idea that someone else might step in and take over.

There were several strong sequences in this film, and overall I enjoyed it. Something I didn't vibe with were the scenes between Ripley and his girlfriend. They weren't badly written or acted, per se, they just didn't feel relevant or connected to the larger plot. I'm sure there was maybe something thematic that I just missed, but every time the film landed on Ripley and his girlfriend I was like "Ugh . . . no."

This was a good movie---and it's one of Ebert's Great Films!--but it didn't have the magic that I felt with the 70s adaptation. Worth watching, certainly, just pales a bit in comparison to The American Friend.

rating_3_5
I gave The American Friend a rewatch over the weekend and wouldn't mind revisiting this either. A couple of thoughts, perhaps clouded by not having seen this super recently:


I like Malkovich as Ripley, but the fact that he plays him so conventionally makes me prefer Hopper (and Delon, for that matter). I think Highsmith's prose captures Ripley's essence so well that I prefer actors who do their own take. Malkovich is quite good, but also seems a little too faithful to distinguish himself in the same way.


I recently watched Croupier and Clive Owen's character in that reminded me quite a bit of Ripley here. I don't know if you've seen that movie, but there's the sense that Owen's character views others as a means to an end, but also has a certain sense of ethics and does care about others, even if it's in a cold, mathematical way. I do think Malkovich balances those sides of his character well enough, but I remember finding the scenes with the girlfriend comparatively flat (I'm open to revisiting the movie but I wonder if it's intentional for that reason). Hopper's relatively unpredictable presence I think bridges those contradictions without the need for a girlfriend character.


Curious to see how the murder sequences hold up, because I found The American Friend especially rewarding on a visual level during those scenes.

[StuSmallz]

I must push back a bit here. I think her character doesn't really need an arc. I think her character is used as a Shepard for the naive audience. They discover the brutality and reality of living in Wind River through her. I'm glad there wasn't some love story between Renner and Olsen. Or showing Olsen gaining respect, she was an FBI agent, comes with it. I feel like her character severed it's purpose as a vehicle of discovery. Just my 2 cents because I think it's one of the better movies to come out the last 5 years. (Few and far between)
https://i.ibb.co/XxyB6yS/giphy.gif (https://imgbb.com/)

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/4d5TvSBS/night-of-the-hunter.jpg
By "Copyright 1955 United Artists Corp" - Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from the original image., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85713664

The Night of the Hunter - (1955)

I made room in my schedule to squeeze this in. Robert Mitchum has been in a few films I've watched recently - this role is one of his greatest, and as far as movie villains go probably outdoes his Max Cady in Cape Fear. The "love" and "hate" tattoos on his fingers became famously emblematic of evil. Charles Laughton directed! It's a film you have to see numerous times to really appreciate I feel - and as such I'm rating it lower than almost anyone else would to begin with. I was a little underwhelmed by everything apart from Robert Mitchum's character and performance - considering how highly regarded this film is. This happens often with me though. I'm looking forward to exploring this film in more detail later on down the track.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Movie_poster_watership_down.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=982238

Watership Down - (1978)

When I was a little kid, this was one of my friend's favourite animated films - and I swore I'd watch it one day. Yeah - it took me a little while, but I finally did it. It's a kid's film which really doesn't shy away from the violence and death you meet when you really examine nature. A really bittersweet film. Worth it for the tremendously sad "bright eyes" scene alone :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5px3E5FwLw

7/10

[StuSmallz]

Re-posting an older review here just for funsies:

A Quiet Place (Krasinski, '18)

https://i.ibb.co/QM4mPhh/john-krasinski-a-quiet-place-1200x675.jpg (https://ibb.co/rHVyxqq)

If they hear you, they hunt you.

Imagine, if you will, a post-apocalyptic world, one which is (literally) deathly silent, and where making any kind of noise that is even just remotely loud immediately causes your quick and grisly death. Imagine that you have to live the entire rest of your life this way, while also having to care for and protect your entire family, which of course, means living with four other people (including a couple of very young children) who can potentially produce an unintentional noise, and get every single one of you killed in the blink of an eye. Now imagine that your wife will soon give birth to a squirming, screaming baby, with only a couple of weeks left for you to to find a way for her to safely (which, in this case, means silently) give birth, all while keeping everyone involved, above all things, quiet. Well, John Krasinski has imagined such a world for us in A Quiet Place, a movie that skillfully blends an irresistable, high-concept gimmick with a consistently tense and thrilling execution, resulting in a combination of visceral, high-concept thrills with A-movie craft that is disappointingly rare to encounter in modern film.

When it comes to the film's story, I already described pretty much everything you need to know about the film's plot, and, while there are a few important specifics that haven't been mentioned yet (the most important of which being the daughter's hearing impairment, which justifies the entire family being proficient in sign language, a skill that, of course, helps explain how they've improbably survived so long), for the most part, A Quiet Place is a very simple, straightforward film, one that's mostly distinguished by its central gimmick of hideous monsters that hunt people exclusively by sound, both in its (literally) quieter first half, and its relentlessly escalating, unbearably intense finale. Whereas it's easy to imagine a less dedicated filmmaker merely using the idea for an occasionally cheap jump scare, and forget about it completely the rest of the time, Krasinksi goes all the way here with Place's "silence is survival" conceit, placing a refreshingly restrained and mature emphasis on almost completely non-verbal storytelling (through subtitled sign language and other means), carefully focusing every single scene and moment around a constant awareness of every potentially life-ending noise the characters are making.

Krasinski retains a certain, strong discipline around his practical executions of the idea, showing us how the family gets around their farmland in silence by walking barefoot ontop of paths of freshly laid sand, or a moment when the son lets out a long pent-in yell of joy when he's led to a cacophonous, noise-masking waterfall in the woods, or when the mother and father (portrayed by Krasinski and his real-life spouse Emily Blunt) use a pair of shared earbuds to enjoy a romantic dance while listening to Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", a lovely moment of sound in world that's otherwise been turned into a silent Hell. Of course, that isn't to suggest that such pathos are A Quiet Place's biggest strength on the whole, as a few of the more personal, emotional moments among the family here either feel a bit like shoehorned afterthoughts, or are simply just not developed at all (the ending in particular finishes on a rather sudden, "cutesy" little audience-pleaser note, rather than with a more thoughtful, reverent direction I feel would've suited the film better).

That being said, the film still finishes strong with its 2nd half, which is basically a non-stop domino effect of narrow escapes and unabashed creature feature scares, delivering the kind of guttural, horrifically tense thrills that were mostly (and smartly) denied to us during the film's almost completely silent opening act, as we marvel in fear at just how the family can possibly escape whatever latest, horrible situation they find themselves trapped in. One horrific turn just leads to another which inevitably leads to another, with the final 45 minutes of a Place containing more sheer terror and excitement than most other movies can deliver in two-plus hours. Minor quibbles aside, A Quiet Place was a great time at the theater, and already a strong contender for one of the best Horror/Thrillers in a year that isn't even halfway over yet, so unlike the characters here, don't be afraid to spread the word!

Favorite Moment:

https://youtu.be/5O7boZVUJEU

Final Score: 8.5

[Fabulous]

Joe (2013)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/n8s02jFQHkyMZrQL3qj0AtUrzhB.jpg

[Hey Fredrick]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw300%2FiHeCN2MtKjzcujEaHBKbWRJbzRD.jpg&f=1&nofb=1


Set in 1966 Vietnam a small group of pretty green Australian and New Zealand soldiers are surrounded and being overrun by a much larger group of North Vietnam soldiers. Feels a little like an Australian We Were Soldiers and it's good, if battle scenes are your thing. Solid cinematography, not a lot of character development. rating_3_5

[Thief]

I must push back a bit here. I think her character doesn't really need an arc. I think her character is used as a Shepard for the naive audience. They discover the brutality and reality of living in Wind River through her. I'm glad there wasn't some love story between Renner and Olsen. Or showing Olsen gaining respect, she was an FBI agent, comes with it. I feel like her character severed it's purpose as a vehicle of discovery. Just my 2 cents because I think it's one of the better movies to come out the last 5 years. (Few and far between)

I agree that she doesn't need an arc and also about how she is used as a shepherd, but I still think she feels like an incomplete character, or perhaps not a very interesting one. As for a love story, I feel like they were pushing that a bit, even if they didn't get to it (thankfully!) But there was a decent dose of longing looks and awkward silences between them.

Anyway, my rating was pretty solid so I like to emphasize that I did like the film.

[matt72582]

I guess I'm not surprised. Censorship of anything but the approved party line is fairly ubiquitous these days. And you can bet your bottom dollar that all of the JFK files will never, ever be released, and certainly some have been deleted. There is likely evidence of Deep State culpability, so that connection will never be allowed to surface. They did release the Assassination Records Review Board's files, which I believe was the governmental committee that stated that there was likely more than one shooter. If there was more than one-- bingo. Conspiracy.

IMO there were 3, none of which were Oswald.

Anyway I'll keep trying. I have one other source to check...:cool:


Oswald a patsy, and I also don't think he shot anything. The paraffin test showed he didn't fire anything.



Even the House Committee on Assassinations became BS because they threw the blame from the CIA to the Mafia, but they still concluded more than 3 shots. The problem is when they got rid of Richard E. Sprague, who said in a press conference he wouldn't employ the CIA (how can they investigate themselves) so G. Robert Blakey. the company man made sure they got the conclusion they desired, because then they'd have to clean house, and no ruling class deep state is going to voluntarily self-destruct, no matter how many mistakes they make. There's SO many points one could make, but as Mark Twain said, "It's easier to fool people than to convince people they've been fooled" - ego... Trump said he was excited to release the files, but suddenly didn't. Anything they release will be worthless, masquerading as information. Like you said - it's all burnt. Why leave any trail. The same BS about Hoffa. I'm sure they burnt him on the spot. It's too bad Hoffa has been reduced to a running joke, when that 5'6" had more guts and fight than 99% of Americans. His autobiography is on archives.org and his other one is also a good read. There's also two great Hoffa videos.. One on Cavett, which is good, but then an even better one, where he's VERY candid.. I had the Playboy article, but I'm an archive fanatic, and love to go to the source, and come to my own conclusions as opposed to what they take from it.



https://www.youtube.com/c/LoyalOpposition


It makes a great companion piece to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ocfr2VdcpU

[Wooley]

I must push back a bit here. I think her character doesn't really need an arc. I think her character is used as a Shepard for the naive audience. They discover the brutality and reality of living in Wind River through her. I'm glad there wasn't some love story between Renner and Olsen. Or showing Olsen gaining respect, she was an FBI agent, comes with it. I feel like her character severed it's purpose as a vehicle of discovery. Just my 2 cents because I think it's one of the better movies to come out the last 5 years. (Few and far between)
I agree, and I also thought she was great with the role she was playing.

[Takoma11]

I like Malkovich as Ripley, but the fact that he plays him so conventionally makes me prefer Hopper (and Delon, for that matter). I think Highsmith's prose captures Ripley's essence so well that I prefer actors who do their own take. Malkovich is quite good, but also seems a little too faithful to distinguish himself in the same way.

I agree. Ripley is very off-kilter internally, and a bit off-kilter externally. In a book this works, but in a movie I think the actor needs to bring a little weird to the role and make a little more of his otherness visible.

I recently watched Croupier and Clive Owen's character in that reminded me quite a bit of Ripley here. I don't know if you've seen that movie, but there's the sense that Owen's character views others as a means to an end, but also has a certain sense of ethics and does care about others, even if it's in a cold, mathematical way. I do think Malkovich balances those sides of his character well enough, but I remember finding the scenes with the girlfriend comparatively flat (I'm open to revisiting the movie but I wonder if it's intentional for that reason). Hopper's relatively unpredictable presence I think bridges those contradictions without the need for a girlfriend character.

Exactly. I think that character is a bit akin to Hannibal Lector, especially his portrayal in the TV series Hannibal. Here is a person who is not incapable of a certain kind of affection for other people---because they entertain him or he just grows a bit fond of him. But it's more like he would save someone because it would be fun, the flip side of the fact that he would destroy someone because it would be fun. I'm not quite sure I'd call it ethics, at least not in the conventional sense. I don't think that there's any point in suggesting that Ripley is "discovering his humanity" (which is how one or two moments feel in Ripley's Game), more like he sometimes indulges in it from time to time before shaking it off.

Curious to see how the murder sequences hold up, because I found The American Friend especially rewarding on a visual level during those scenes.

I thought they were good, but not as good as The American Friend.

[Takoma11]

https://i.postimg.cc/4d5TvSBS/night-of-the-hunter.jpg
By "Copyright 1955 United Artists Corp" - Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from the original image., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85713664

The Night of the Hunter - (1955)

I made room in my schedule to squeeze this in. Robert Mitchum has been in a few films I've watched recently - this role is one of his greatest, and as far as movie villains go probably outdoes his Max Cady in Cape Fear. The "love" and "hate" tattoos on his fingers became famously emblematic of evil. Charles Laughton directed! It's a film you have to see numerous times to really appreciate I feel - and as such I'm rating it lower than almost anyone else would to begin with. I was a little underwhelmed by everything apart from Robert Mitchum's character and performance - considering how highly regarded this film is. This happens often with me though. I'm looking forward to exploring this film in more detail later on down the track.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Movie_poster_watership_down.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=982238

Watership Down - (1978)

When I was a little kid, this was one of my friend's favourite animated films - and I swore I'd watch it one day. Yeah - it took me a little while, but I finally did it. It's a kid's film which really doesn't shy away from the violence and death you meet when you really examine nature. A really bittersweet film. Worth it for the tremendously sad "bright eyes" scene alone :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5px3E5FwLw

7/10

These are both 9/10 films for me, largely because of their visuals.

[Wooley]

I agree that she doesn't need an arc and also about how she is used as a shepherd, but I still think she feels like an incomplete character, or perhaps not a very interesting one. As for a love story, I feel like they were pushing that a bit, even if they didn't get to it (thankfully!) But there was a decent dose of longing looks and awkward silences between them.

Anyway, my rating was pretty solid so I like to emphasize that I did like the film.

That's interesting because I felt like there was a lot of depth to her and that was the point of getting an Elizabeth Olsen instead of just some actress. They needed someone who could convey that depth and bring the actual character and not just "generic movie female FBI agent" without having to tell her whole story.

[Wooley]

These are both 9/10 films for me, largely because of their visuals.

They are both 9/10 for me too, but only partly because of their visuals.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Cruella_2021_film_poster.jpg

4

SF = 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

[GulfportDoc]

[The American Media and the 2nd Assassination of JFK] I guess I'm not surprised. Censorship of anything but the approved party line is fairly ubiquitous these days. And you can bet your bottom dollar that all of the JFK files will never, ever be released, and certainly some have been deleted. There is likely evidence of Deep State culpability, so that connection will never be allowed to surface. They did release the Assassination Records Review Board's files, which I believe was the governmental committee that stated that there was likely more than one shooter. If there was more than one-- bingo. Conspiracy.

IMO there were 3, none of which were Oswald.

Anyway I'll keep trying. I have one other source to check...:cool:
Checked my final source.... no dice. BTW I agree with your points made in answer to the one above. College courses and lifetimes have been devoted to this subject-- one of the greatest crimes and coverups ever foisted on the American public. I've read 8-10 books on the subject and followed dozens of online sources. But the truth will never come out.

[Jinnistan]

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)
rating_2_5
A pretty standard Giallo. I'm not sure why some reviews bring up the Gothic tones or have high praise for the cinematography (one location being a castle doesn't make a Gothic, and while the film is proficiently shot, it's nothing special IMO). I'd recommend this only for the Giallo fans.
I've never seen it described as "gothic", and can only slightly guess that maybe it would be due to its flirtation with reincarnation. It's more in the category of Hitchcockian thriller, even with that slight Vertigo allusion.

[FromBeyond]

Prime Evil 1988

A coven of devil worshipping monks living in New York city search for victims for their sacrificial ceremonies

One reviewer writes “Yes, when the credits started and they flashed a bloody fake looking puppet monster going “rawr” I knew I was in for a bad movie.

This is when I knew I was in for a good movie and that’s what I got!!!

as another reviewer writes “pure late-80s trash-gold”

Different strokes...

[Thief]

That's interesting because I felt like there was a lot of depth to her and that was the point of getting an Elizabeth Olsen instead of just some actress. They needed someone who could convey that depth and bring the actual character and not just "generic movie female FBI agent" without having to tell her whole story.

I just wanna emphasize once again that I did like the film and that I did say that she and Renner were "solid". I think the reservations I might have with the character have more to do with the writing rather than her performance.

[pahaK]

What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)
3.5
A quite good and a bit sleazy Giallo/krimi. It's essentially the same premise as Dallamano's later film, What Have They Done to Your Daughters?, but if I recall correctly, this one's a bit more Giallo while the latter is more krimi. Not at the top of the genre, but pretty firmly on a tier just below those. The ending is a bit abrupt, and the similarity between the two films is kinda annoying, but there's nothing seriously wrong with this one. Recommended for the general population.

[mark f]

The Guardians (Xavier Beauvois, 2017) 2.5 6/10
Editing (Dustin Guy Defa, 2021) 2 5/10
The Joy of Life (Jenni Olson, 2005) 3 6.5/10
To Have and Have Not (Howard Hawks, 1944) 3.5 7/10
https://media2.giphy.com/media/kugmMgQq8mkh2/giphy.gif
He can manage OK.
Tongues Untied (Marlon Riggs, 1989) 3- 6.5/10
The Crowded Sky (Joseph Pevney, 1960) 2.5 5.5/10
Intrusion (Adam Salky, 2021) 2 5/10
Marquise (Véra Belmont, 1997) 3 6.5/10
https://www.corinnedevaux.com/s/cc_images/cache_2923449.jpg
Sexy, luxurious film about dancer Sophie Marceau becoming a great actress during the time of Molière, Jean Racine and Louis XIV.
A Call to Spy (Lydia Dean Pilcher, 2019) 2.5 6/10
August the First (Lanre Olabisi, 2007) 2 5/10
Tall Man Riding (Lesley Selander, 1955) 2.5 5.5/10
Color Adjustment (Marlon Riggs, 1992) 3.5 7/10
https://vhx.imgix.net/criterionchannelchartersu/assets/6296d3fe-a068-4341-bac6-541c4b68f0f0-e18e1344.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=720&q=75&w=1280
Entertaining history of how TV slowly changed to let people of color on the tube.
Riding Shotgun (André De Toth, 1954) 2.5 5.5/10
A Night at the Movies: Cops & Robbers and Crime Writers (Laurent Bouzereau, 2013) 3 6.5/10
Vigil (Vincent Ward, 1984) 2.5 5.5/10
Celebration at Big Sur (Baird Bryant & Johanna Demetrakas, 1971) 3- 6.5/10
https://recordcratesunited.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/rs-180871-2698340.jpg
Sloppy but fine historical record of the great music that went down at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival.
Her Name Was Jo (Joe Duca, 2020) 2+ 5/10
Truth or Consequences (Hannah Jayanti, 2020) 2.5 6/10
The Winds of Autumn (Charles B. Pierce, 1976) 2 5/10
The Last Stop (Todd Nilssen, 2017) 3+ 6.5/10
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55b85014e4b07694dcf099c9/1559520150787-AG1BJT6BW8J61NCUNFC3/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w
Scarier than any house in a horror movie is Elan's "Therapeutic" boarding school in Poland, Maine.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Missing_1982_film.jpg
By Search for Video -- http://www.searchforvideo.com/entertainment/directors/costa-gavras/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3067171

Missing - (1982)

This was interesting - and also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1983 - which means I've seen all the nominees from that year : Gandhi (winner), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Verdict (been a while, should watch that again), Tootsie and this. I'd say it's the least of all the nominees, but I'm not knocking it. Charles Horman (John Shea) goes missing during a coup in a South American nation (Chile - but kept vague in the film,) so his wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) and father Ed (Jack Lemmon) go looking for him - discovering the U.S. government were the instigators of the coup and fed poor Charles to the execution squads - letting him be executed before pretending to help Beth and Ed look for him. Lemmon and Spacek were also nominated for Oscars - and director Costa-Gavras won one for his screenplay. Based on a true story. Removed from the U.S. market from 1983 to 2000 due to "legal issues."

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Red_scorpion_poster.jpg
By Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12242216

Red Scorpion - (1988)

Ugh. Why was this on my watchlist? Dolph Lundgren basically plays the Soviet version of Rambo in this action film with a budget considerably lower than any Rambo film. It was heading towards a 3/10 - but a finale with flying limbs and hundreds of massive explosions gave me a bit of a laugh, so I upped it a point. M. Emmet Walsh shows up for some light relief.

4/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Iosonolamoreposter.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Magnolia Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25450619

I Am Love - (2009) - Italy

Tilda Swinton famously learned Italian and Russian just for her part in this film. I was suspicious of this being a dull affair, but I trusted Luca Guadagnino to give me something after Call Me By Your Name and his wild atmospheric remake of Suspiria. At first I thought it was just going to be about the family business or cooking - but things heated up and by the end there had been enough drama and tragedy to satisfy me. Pretty good.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/BeatlesMoviePoster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51935678

The Beatles : Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years - (2016)

Four films yesterday - and Red Scorpion was the only film without some kind of Oscar nomination - this got one for Best Doco. It's a fine documentary, but it added nothing new to my knowledge of The Beatles after their anthology series and other assorted films and television shows. If you haven't seen any of them, and are interested in the Beatles and their touring years, then this is a fine film for you to watch. If you're already quite knowledgeable, you could probably skip this.

6/10

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/4d5TvSBS/night-of-the-hunter.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/JnKRXzpB/watershipdown.jpg

These are both 9/10 films for me, largely because of their visuals.

They are both 9/10 for me too, but only partly because of their visuals.

I know that The Night of the Hunter is going to go up in my ratings when I watch it again and soak all of that in. The silhouettes of Powell on horseback searching for the children. The underwater shot of a certain lady lashed to a car. Those images have stuck with me. I know I'm going to end up getting the Criterion edition and loving this film. Sometimes my appreciation slowly creeps up and grows more and more as I rewatch a film and mull it over in my mind.

[Wooley]

I just wanna emphasize once again that I did like the film and that I did say that she and Renner were "solid". I think the reservations I might have with the character have more to do with the writing rather than her performance.

I hear ya, I just had a very strong positive reaction to this film. Like, "Oh, someone's still willing to make a truly good thriller with characters and acting and cinematography and even a little meaning in America in the 2010s. I thought it was kind of a special little movie with big stars doing a small film that feels like a bit of a throwback to better filmmaking days in this country.

[Thief]

I hear ya, I just had a very strong positive reaction to this film. Like, "Oh, someone's still willing to make a truly good thriller with characters and acting and cinematography and even a little meaning in America in the 2010s. I thought it was kind of a special little movie with big stars doing a small film that feels like a bit of a throwback to better filmmaking days in this country.

And I agree. I really, really loved Hell or High Water, so maybe I was expecting something as mind-blowingly good as that, but it was a pretty good film anyway.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I’d like Wind River a great deal more (and I already consider myself a big fan) if Renner’s character were played by a native actor, Zahn MacLarnon in particular.

[edarsenal]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/0f6332d19d5761b095d6ecb339576c58/f5712afa4319cfc5-13/s400x600/0afd9a1de84fc5c0630df1695496d61e8dc3741f.gifv
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxCMk-PWkAIGPdV.jpg
https://64.media.tumblr.com/30c1078d64852ff3ab17bc1ac363751f/f5712afa4319cfc5-de/s540x810/c19b3ba3b01dc3b4a4d41179590097f8f3da888a.gifv


Port of Shadows aka Le quai des brumes (1938) 4++ A deserting soldier (Jean Gabin) has made his way to Le Havre, a Port in the northeastern section of France in search of a ship to get away from the ongoing war.
What he finds is a troubled girl (Michèle Morgan). Sharing a moment's happiness whose fragility may not be up to do battle against the sea of sorrow they are both adrift in.

Director Marcel Carné does an excellent job of creating pathos with strands of shining light in this star-crossed tale of two lonely hearts. And the chaos that refuses to release its cruel clutches on them. Carné gives both the port city and its denizens a kind of caressive care within the squalor and dismal weather where this tragically beautiful story plays out.

This film has been on my radar for quite some time, and I am delighted to have finally honed in and experienced it.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://jeffstafford76.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/Scott-outside-hospital.jpeg?w=750&h=&zoom=2

https://quetzalattack.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/vlcsnap-2012-08-20-20h13m50s229a.png
The Hospital - The first half of this 1971 dark satire directed by Arthur Hiller and written by Paddy Chayefsky is pretty much a 9 to maybe 9.5/10. What you think and how you feel about the rest of the movie will mostly depend on if you're able to move past a dubious and dissonant plot twist. An event made even more egregious and clunky by the first-rate writing that preceded it. The film starts with Dr. Herbert Bock (George C. Scott) the Chief of Medicine at a Manhattan teaching hospital. He's a brilliant doctor and teacher but also a physical wreck of a human being. Impotent, alcoholic and suicidal, separated from his wife and estranged from his children. Amidst the barely contained everyday anarchy of the hospital, doctors and nurses are dying off. In point of fact the mundane chaos has somehow contributed to their deaths.

At the same time, Barbara Drummond (Diana Rigg) has brought her father Edward (Barnard Hughes) in for treatment. He is also put through the bureaucratic and institutional wringer and as a result ends up in a coma. While all this is happening there is also a rapidly escalating community protest happening off to the side and adding to the overall sense of instability.

The casting appears to be meticulous with even the smallest of roles filled to great effect giving the proceedings an almost cinema verite feel. Scott is a towering lead, holding the viewer's attention whether he's in a scene with others or sitting alone in a dark office, dispassionately working on a bottle of vodka and drinking himself up to a suicide attempt. Rigg has the more thankless role, that of middle-aged-male fantasy/object of desire. But she gives it her all.

Chayefsky does an excellent job of setting the right tone with the opening first act. It's dense and sort of grim but also brainy and put me in mind of Robert Altman. But then the "thing" happens and you might try to soldier on and hey, no big whoop if you choose to do so. But IMO it does taint things because the story additionally takes a bit of a detour into a more conventional narrative and the characters that you expected bigger things from sort of deflate. Momentarily of course. It does attempt to alter course with the ending and even though you sort of expected it and even approved, it still doesn't come off as completely organic. It's like they started out with this gangbusters premise but didn't quite know how to arrive at the appropriate outcome without that discordant detour.

rating_3_5

[Gideon58]

https://static.onecms.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/05/dont-breathe-poster.jpg


4

[Thief]

THE NINTH CONFIGURATION
(1980, Blatty)

https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/rh/lm/wf/up/1OHhMmMpPh0UypU4ljSDdXbq9OB-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=b6229dff5e


"I don't think evil grows out of madness. I think madness grows out of evil."



For centuries, humanity has tried to make sense of the existence of "evil" in the world, especially juxtaposed against Christian beliefs. How can a "benevolent God" allow for such evil to exist and thrive? Author William Peter Blatty went further to channel that evil through what is essentially an innocent creature: a child, while also having the person who is supposed to fight against that evil, a priest, question his own beliefs in The Exorcist.

In Blatty's next book, The Ninth Configuration, he returns to the basics of questioning where evil comes from and how can we fight it. He went on to direct the film adaptation himself, his first film, which was released in 1980. The film follows Colonel Kane (Stacy Keach), a US Marine and Vietnam vet who arrives at a castle turned into a treatment facility to take over the treatment of several patients. As he gets to know his patient, he must face his own demons and the surrounding "evil" among them.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2240760#post2240760)

[Allaby]

I went and saw Dear Evan Hansen today. Directed by Stephen Chbosky and based on the award winning play, the film stars Ben Platt as Evan Hansen. Evan is a teen struggling with anxiety who after a tragedy and misunderstanding, tells a series of lies that escalate and impact his family and classmates in unexpected ways. Dear Evan Hansen may be the most polarizing and divisive film of the year as it has received a lot of negative responses to the actions of the main character. Personally, I loved the film. Although Ben Platt is too old to play the character, he still does a great job. The supporting cast, including Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, and Kaitlyn Dever, are good too. I really loved the songs in the film and the way the characters perform them. There are some really heartfelt and moving moments in the film. Although I didn't always agree with everything the character of Evan does, I could understand why he did it and I don't think the film is condoning or endorsing his behavior. For some, this may be the most hated film of the year, but for me it is one of the best films of the year. My rating is a 4.5.

[Wooley]

And I agree. I really, really loved Hell or High Water, so maybe I was expecting something as mind-blowingly good as that, but it was a pretty good film anyway.

I still haven't seen that one.

[Wooley]

I’d like Wind River a great deal more (and I already consider myself a big fan) if Renner’s character were played by a native actor, Zahn MacLarnon in particular.
For me, I never understood why Renner was famous until I saw this film.

[Thief]

I’d like Wind River a great deal more (and I already consider myself a big fan) if Renner’s character were played by a native actor, Zahn MacLarnon in particular.

Then again, him NOT being a Native plays a bit into the plot. There's the mistrust that some have in him for that ("What's this *we* s-hit? The only thing native about you is your ex-wife and the daughter you couldn't protect.") contrasted with the strong relationship he has with the sheriff and Martin. It does veer a bit into "white man's savior", but I think the film earns it for the most part.

[ThatDarnMKS]

For me, I never understood why Renner was famous until I saw this film.
I feel like he’d already proven himself a talent with The Assassination of Jessie James, Hurt Locker and The Town (especially this one) long before he did WR. It’s not his performance that’s the issue. It’s the character written for a white actor.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Then again, him NOT being a Native plays a bit into the plot. There's the mistrust that some have in him for that ("What's this *we* s-hit? The only thing native about you is your ex-wife and the daughter you couldn't protect.") contrasted with the strong relationship he has with the sheriff and Martin. It does veers a bit into "white man's savior", but I think the film earns it for the most part.
I don’t think the film gains anything except the white savior narrative by making him white. The outsider element is already well captured with Olsen’s character and it’s just kinda reinforced with him despite him still being her gateway into the world and the one with personal stakes in the matter.

The mentions of his wife being native just feel like a hand wavy excuse to cast a white man as the entry to the native world, and it’s awkward. A double fish out of water doesn’t really strike me as the towering achievement in writing that Sheridan is often attributed. I’m a fan of Sheridan and so much of the film works but everything about Renner’s casting smacks of old school “we need white film stars to sell this film about Native Americans or no one will see it.”

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/W4B4fjzt/solaris.jpg
By The cover art can or could be obtained from MoviePosterDB or Goodtimes Enterprises, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5075880

Solaris - (1972) - U.S.S.R.

I finally watched Solaris last night, and I'm glad I did it now as opposed to when I was younger because I got a lot more out of it being somewhat similar in age to it's protagonist. It had a lot to say about science, consciousness, fantasy, the nature of reality and guilt - not to mention just what it means to be human. It's more of a meditation on those things as opposed to an all-out science fiction type of adventure. The imagery was beautiful - and ever so impressive considering Tarkovsky had such a small budget to work with. Thank goodness the Soviets didn't find something that disagreed with them to find a reason to wreck the film - then again, I haven't read enough about it to really know if it underwent any changes due to censorship. Anyway, I loved this film, and I have a feeling that affection will only grow as time passes.

9/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 40/101

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://i.postimg.cc/W4B4fjzt/solaris.jpg
By The cover art can or could be obtained from MoviePosterDB or Goodtimes Enterprises, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5075880

Solaris - (1972) - U.S.S.R.

I finally watched Solaris last night, and I'm glad I did it now as opposed to when I was younger because I got a lot more out of it being somewhat similar in age to it's protagonist. It had a lot to say about science, consciousness, fantasy, the nature of reality and guilt - not to mention just what it means to be human. It's more of a meditation on those things as opposed to an all-out science fiction type of adventure. The imagery was beautiful - and ever so impressive considering Tarkovsky had such a small budget to work with. Thank goodness the Soviets didn't find something that disagreed with them to find a reason to wreck the film - then again, I haven't read enough about it to really know if it underwent any changes due to censorship. Anyway, I loved this film, and I have a feeling that affection will only grow as time passes.

9/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 40/101 This is a lot like my experience with the movie. I tried watching it when I was younger and attending a film class and didn't get much from it. But after rewatching within the last year or so I was also amazed at what Tarkovsky was able to accomplish with not only the budget but the technology available at the time. I need to do the same thing with Stalker and give that a second chance.

[Fabulous]

High Anxiety (1977)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/aEWvLw240dmzS2PGGzjvxFVBAZ3.jpg

[chawhee]

Annihilation (2018)
https://images.hindustantimes.com/rf/image_size_960x540/HT/p2/2018/03/13/Pictures/_38aee3f0-266b-11e8-9f95-06a811d7e716.jpg
5
I probably shouldnt even post every time I watch this, but I had to show it to a friend for the first time. Likely my favorite movie of the past 5 years.

[EsmagaSapos]

https://i.postimg.cc/KjTWwdjL/500full-a-perfect-day-poster.jpg

3

A film about the last days of the Bosnian war in the Balkans. It's not a war movie, it's not about shootings and heroes, and good guys against bad guys, and action everywhere, it's a slow burner about everyday life, everyday routine following a team of aid workers that clean what needs to be cleaned. It shows their struggles to provide basic aid due to shortages, bureaucracy and lack of support. A lot of dark humor involved, you'll laugh in some parts for sure, other parts will make you think about those who lived there, about injustices, about prejudice, about their future. This reminded me of Beyond Borders without all the blood, all the drama, A Perfect Day is more intense, less morality and more down-to-earth, it's about getting thing's done, no thank you, no medal, it'll make you ask yourself if you'd do what they do, what they go through.

[Wooley]

I feel like he’d already proven himself a talent with The Assassination of Jessie James, Hurt Locker and The Town (especially this one) long before he did WR. It’s not his performance that’s the issue. It’s the character written for a white actor.

Well, I never saw HL and I didn't remember him from Jessie James (which I didn't enjoy nearly as much as many other forumites so I've never gone back and re-watched). So I had only seen him as Hawkeye and in American Hustle and I guess he was in S.W.A.T. but I barely remember that.
And like others have said, I thought the character being white was actually a point of the story. Aside from the fact that he's really not a savior and none of the Native Americans see him that way, thereby kinda dispelling the White Savior trope, I think a film that shows the hardship of Native American life in this country from the perspective of a sympathetic white figure is important to opening the eyes of so many people (and maybe that's too much to put on a movie, but having been on some of those reservations and seen poverty and conditions that I had never seen the like of in the United States, it is something I feel kinda strongly about). But, if you feel like he should have been Native American I don't feel the need to argue about it. It's certainly not something I even considered before you mentioned it because I thought the point was, as I said, for him to not be loved by the Native Americans, to not be a White Savior, and to be an avatar for a largely white audience immersed in the horrible treatment of Native Americans in this country.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Well, I never saw HL and I didn't remember him from Jessie James (which I didn't enjoy nearly as much as many other forumites so I've never gone back and re-watched). So I had only seen him as Hawkeye and in American Hustle and I guess he was in S.W.A.T. but I barely remember that.
And like others have said, I thought the character being white was actually a point of the story. Aside from the fact that he's really not a savior and none of the Native Americans see him that way, thereby kinda dispelling the White Savior trope, I think a film that shows the hardship of Native American life in this country from the perspective of a sympathetic white figure is important to opening the eyes of so many people (and maybe that's too much to put on a movie, but having been on some of those reservations and seen poverty and conditions that I had never seen the like of in the United States, it is something I feel kinda strongly about). But, if you feel like he should have been Native American I don't feel the need to argue about it. It's certainly not something I even considered before you mentioned it because I thought the point was, as I said, for him to not be loved by the Native Americans, to not be a White Savior, and to be an avatar for a largely white audience immersed in the horrible treatment of Native Americans in this country.
You should check out the Hurt Locker and the Town. He also has an exceptional shootout in Jesse James, notable for its close proximity and realistic sloppiness. I’d give that another shot too with adjusted expectations. I usually like films more a second time when I know what I’m looking at, but that may just be me.

I think implying the people need to see Native Americans through the eyes of an outsider captures the problematic essence of this type of narrative i.e. audiences couldn’t similarly connect with a Native American culture. Do you at least see the advantage having an actual Native American in the story to exist beyond a symbol of suffering for white characters to navigate would provide to the story? It would be like doing Hotel Rwanda except Don Cheadle’s character is now played by Tom Hanks. The lens is now shifted to the “other” and it’s utterly unnecessary when his character exists to bring the outsiders into this world.

[Thief]

I think MKS point is very valid. I kinda agree with him, even if I hadn't thought about it. But regardless of whether the character was white or Native, I still think that script needed a bit more polish to push it into greatness.

[Takoma11]

Annihilation (2018)
https://images.hindustantimes.com/rf/image_size_960x540/HT/p2/2018/03/13/Pictures/_38aee3f0-266b-11e8-9f95-06a811d7e716.jpg
5
I probably shouldnt even post every time I watch this, but I had to show it to a friend for the first time. Likely my favorite movie of the past 5 years.

Yes it is amazing. Likewise one of my favorites from the last decade.

[MovieBuffering]

Manhattan - 1979

I never like saying a movie aged poorly but yikes. I guess it's feasible to be in your 40s and date a teenager but man does it take me out of this movie. I just had a hard time buying their relationship which makes the end feel unearned and weird. I mean people rooted for that? This movie can't help Woody's cause now a days. Every relationship in this feels bizarre and unrelatable, maybe it's a NY thing.

Also oozes of Jewish lol. Not a bad thing but Woody can't help it haha. I felt like I was watching a rough draft of George Costanza haha. The movie itself was gorgeously shot and really is a love letter to NY. Every wide shot of the city felt like a moving painting. Plus the score was amazing as well. Really beautiful, and elevates the movie alone.. Just the movie didn't do much for me narratively, it was just dull.

2

https://i.etsystatic.com/13513569/r/il/18498a/1116898420/il_570xN.1116898420_fkmb.jpg

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moma.org%2Fd%2Fassets%2FW1siZiIsIjIwMTYvMTIvMTIvNWlwdnk0dGlyZV9HYW1lX29mX0RlYXR oX2hvbWVwYWdlLmpwZyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcmVzaXplIDExODR4MTE4NF4gLWdyYXZpdHkgQ2VudGVyIC1leHRlbnQ gMTE4NHg3NDAiXV0%2FGame-of-Death-homepage.jpg%3Fsha%3Dfeb0ad4832908b97&f=1&nofb=1

Game of Death, 1978

Pressured by mobsters, a martial arts film star named Billy (Bruce Lee) is the victim of a series of "accidents" on set. When one such mishap nearly kills him, he takes the opportunity to fake his death and go underground. But when his girlfriend is kidnapped by the mobsters, Billy must come out of hiding to save her.

I had known going into this film that Bruce Lee had died during the making of it. But I had not realized the extent of the story. The footage of Lee used here is from an entirely different story--one that has nothing to do with mobsters and movie-making.

It is almost hard to rate this as a film, because the quality of what is on screen is so variable.

The downsides here are obvious--for almost the first 3/4 of the film, there is heavy, HEAVY use of doubles, meaning that Lee's character is off screen or has his back to the camera or is buried under absurd "disguises" almost all of the time. It creates a distance from the character because he doesn't feel real. And in trying to center a film on a character we never really see or hear, the film ends up very flat and bland, with no secondary characters stepping up to liven it up a bit.

The positive, however, is that most of the footage that Lee filmed before his death was for the climax of the original movie. Thus despite the clunky first 3/4, the final act is really engaging as Billy must fight level after level of baddie (including Kareem Abdul-Jabar!) on the way to rescuing his gal.

This one is worth checking out on two levels: both for the absurdity of the way they tried to cobble together the first 3/4, and the incredibly fun final showdowns.

3.5

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moma.org%2Fd%2Fassets%2FW1siZiIsIjIwMTYvMTIvMTIvNWlwdnk0dGlyZV9HYW1lX29mX0RlYXR oX2hvbWVwYWdlLmpwZyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcmVzaXplIDExODR4MTE4NF4gLWdyYXZpdHkgQ2VudGVyIC1leHRlbnQ gMTE4NHg3NDAiXV0%2FGame-of-Death-homepage.jpg%3Fsha%3Dfeb0ad4832908b97&f=1&nofb=1

Game of Death, 1978

Pressured by mobsters, a martial arts film star named Billy (Bruce Lee) is the victim of a series of "accidents" on set. When one such mishap nearly kills him, he takes the opportunity to fake his death and go underground. But when his girlfriend is kidnapped by the mobsters, Billy must come out of hiding to save her.

I had known going into this film that Bruce Lee had died during the making of it. But I had not realized the extent of the story. The footage of Lee used here is from an entirely different story--one that has nothing to do with mobsters and movie-making.

It is almost hard to rate this as a film, because the quality of what is on screen is so variable.

The downsides here are obvious--for almost the first 3/4 of the film, there is heavy, HEAVY use of doubles, meaning that Lee's character is off screen or has his back to the camera or is buried under absurd "disguises" almost all of the time. It creates a distance from the character because he doesn't feel real. And in trying to center a film on a character we never really see or hear, the film ends up very flat and bland, with no secondary characters stepping up to liven it up a bit.

The positive, however, is that most of the footage that Lee filmed before his death was for the climax of the original movie. Thus despite the clunky first 3/4, the final act is really engaging as Billy must fight level after level of baddie (including Kareem Abdul-Jabar!) on the way to rescuing his gal.

This one is worth checking out on two levels: both for the absurdity of the way they tried to cobble together the first 3/4, and the incredibly fun final showdowns.

rating_3_5


Not sure how you watched this, but the Criterion release has an extended cut of the fight footage that better fleshes out Lee's ideas of adaptability in combat, so very much worth seeking out. I think it might be on Youtube as well.


As for the movie, it's probably more an interesting artifact than a good movie, but despite its origins as a shameless cash-in, I do find it interesting how the story elements parallel the way it exploits Lee's image and how it ends up being self-defeating in that respect. All the imitation Lees in the world (even when choreographed by Sammo Hung) can't compete with the real thing. I do like the motorcycle/warehouse scene, though.


Anyway, real heads know that Game of Death II is the superior Game of Death movie.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Anyway, real heads know that Game of Death II is the superior Game of Death movie.
This is true even without having actual quality Lee footage.

I find the original GoD pretty repugnant, especially in its use of actual funeral footage of Lee. It’s a gross degree of exploitation.

The film is also formally incompetent as Robert Clouse joints generally are (Enter the Dragon was clearly ghost directed by Lee and Black Belt Jones born out of that relationship formed between Kelly, Lee and Clouse making GoD). There’s a reason his other films are the most boring Chan flick around (Battle Creek Brawl cuz what’s cooler than martial arts? Chan roller skating!!!) and Gymkata.

[Wooley]

You should check out the Hurt Locker and the Town. He also has an exceptional shootout in Jesse James, notable for its close proximity and realistic sloppiness. I’d give that another shot too with adjusted expectations. I usually like films more a second time when I know what I’m looking at, but that may just be me.

I think implying the people need to see Native Americans through the eyes of an outsider captures the problematic essence of this type of narrative i.e. audiences couldn’t similarly connect with a Native American culture. Do you at least see the advantage having an actual Native American in the story to exist beyond a symbol of suffering for white characters to navigate would provide to the story? It would be like doing Hotel Rwanda except Don Cheadle’s character is now played by Tom Hanks. The lens is now shifted to the “other” and it’s utterly unnecessary when his character exists to bring the outsiders into this world.

I'm not fully sold on your argument here; it feels a bit like you're bringing a lot of your own expectations to the film and saying it should have met them. Giving audiences an avatar for understanding the conflict of a movie is pretty standard filmmaking technique. If this movie were about getting audiences to identify with a Native American character, then I think it would make sense. But getting a predominantly white audience to see, through their own eyes, what the film does want to show about the hardship of life for Native Americans living on reservations in this country, actually requires that the avatar be one of them. The audience must identify that the avatar is like them. I don't think your Hotel Rwanda example applies because this is not that movie. It almost seems like you're saying all these stories must be told a certain way. As someone with enough Native American blood to have qualified for a minority scholarship for college (which I declined, by the way because I live a white existence), I very strongly see the value of the way this film approaches the situation. But I also see that it's simply ok to tell the story of this white guy caught in the conflict of his own whiteness versus the minority people he is trying to help but is not one of. His otherness is actually really important to this film.

[Takoma11]

Not sure how you watched this, but the Criterion release has an extended cut of the fight footage that better fleshes out Lee's ideas of adaptability in combat, so very much worth seeking out. I think it might be on Youtube as well.

I'll keep my eye out for it.

As for the movie, it's probably more an interesting artifact than a good movie, but despite its origins as a shameless cash-in, I do find it interesting how the story elements parallel the way it exploits Lee's image and how it ends up being self-defeating in that respect.

I find the original GoD pretty repugnant, especially in its use of actual funeral footage of Lee. It’s a gross degree of exploitation.

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd have watched the film as a whole if I'd known the degree of what was done to make it. I agree about the funeral footage, but also that weird part where they use a frozen paper mask or some of the moments of Lee that were clearly spliced out of totally unrelated shots.

It would be one thing if this was a film that Lee wanted to make and they were left with a handful of unfinished scenes. But he wanted to tell an entirely different story than the one here, and the fact that it uses his images without his consent in a context he didn't agree to is icky.

And the scene where a stunt gun "accidentally" actually shoots Lee was an unfortunate reminder that such a thing actually did kill Lee's son.

Maybe my rating is too high, but I really did enjoy that last act. The wikipedia page made mention of a documentary that restores some of that original footage and places it more in context.

[Rockatansky]

This is true even without having actual quality Lee footage.

I find the original GoD pretty repugnant, especially in its use of actual funeral footage of Lee. It’s a gross degree of exploitation.

The film is also formally incompetent as Robert Clouse joints generally are (Enter the Dragon was clearly ghost directed by Lee and Black Belt Jones born out of that relationship formed between Kelly, Lee and Clouse making GoD). There’s a reason his other films are the most boring Chan flick around (Battle Creek Brawl cuz what’s cooler than martial arts? Chan roller skating!!!) and Gymkata.
Yeah, the funeral footage is pretty gross. I remember it was used in Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth two years prior (albeit in a more biographical context...right before it speculated that Bruce Lee faked his death and would come out of hiding a decade after the fact). Why is THAT one of the most common Brucesploitation tropes?


Aw, I kind of like Battle Creek Brawl. I think the real problem is that the stuntmen Jackie was saddled with don't even come close to keeping up, so Jackie has to do his shtick at like 25% speed. I mean, there's no way in hell it's a worse movie than Rush Hour 3 with its cut to hell action scenes, Chris Tucker as a sexual predator and Roman Polanski cavity search. And I hear some of his recent movies are even worse?

[Rockatansky]

Apparently Clouse has a movie called Golden Needles that sounds like Enter the Dragon but with Joe Don Baker instead of Bruce Lee?!? There's no way that isn't worth checking out.

[rambond]

Judgement night (1993)
8/10

[Gideon58]

https://mlpnk72yciwc.i.optimole.com/cqhiHLc.WqA8~2eefa/w:auto/h:auto/q:75/https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Dear-Evan-Hansen.jpeg




2.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwipfilms.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F01%2FOz-197602362415-29-47.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Oz aka Twentieth Century Oz, 1976

Teenager Dorothy (Joy Dunstan) is a groupie for a band she loves, and she is particularly in love with the lead singer (Graham Matters). On route from a gig in the band's van, they get in an accident and Dorothy gets knocked on the head. She wakes up in an alternate reality where she is gifted a pair of red heels and soon meets up with a laid-back surfer (Bruce Spence), a cranky mechanic (Michael Carman), and a cowardly biker (Gary Waddell) who help her on her quest to see a musician called The Wizard (also Matters). But hot on their trail is a psychopathic trucker (Ned Kelly), who blames Dorothy for his brother's death.

I had never heard of this film before stumbling across it on Kanopy, and I have to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. That's not to say that the film is without its flaws, but it's the kind of movie where the flaws almost add to the oddball energy of the whole thing.

The whole thing has a kind of strange, low-budget tone that I found rather appealing. The translation of the Wizard of Oz story is done in a way that reflects thought, but not a lot of thought ("What if the good fairy was a fairy, like a gay guy? Get it? Because he's a fairy? LOL!"), and yet at times it resulted in some really enjoyable moments. In one of my favorite sequences, the Biker rolls up to a gas station and bullies everyone in sight, including telling Dorothy he's going to stab her. But not a minute later she realizes he's all bluff, asks if he's in the women's room because he's illiterate, and slaps the sunglasses off of his face as he meekly protests. Likewise, the interpretation of the Scarecrow as a space-cadet surfer is weird-good, and Spence gives off plenty of golden retriever energy in his role, even as he towers over the other actors.

One element that has both a good and a bad side is the villain of the piece, The Trucker. Displaying some of the "not a lot of thought" aspect of the film, he just wants to corner Dorothy so that he can rape her. Not, um, super imaginative as a take on the Wicked Witch. But the saving grace here--at least for me as a viewer--is that this doesn't really feel like a film in which someone will actually be sexually assaulted (and while the character is like 16, the actress is very clearly in her mid-20s). And I don't know if it's because Kelly was uncomfortable with pretending to threaten someone or just generally uncomfortable in front of a camera, but in one moment he's clearly working hard not to be rough with the actress playing Dorothy. This allows for the confrontation with the Trucker to be genuinely humorous as Dorothy fends off his advances and the men rush to save her instead up icky, and I appreciated that it managed to keep the tone light. The only real downside to this part of the plot is that it uses up runtime for a plot element that clearly has like zero stakes.

Ultimately, though, it's not the defeat of the trucker that's the main point of the film. The real heft--and, yeah, it is a bit surprising when you realize there's some heft here--is all to do with Dorothy chasing after the Wizard just because he's famous. I don't want to spoil the ending by discussing it, but I thought that the last 10 minutes were pretty solid and actually kind of brought some thematic coherence to a film that felt a bit slapdash up to that point. It was also really sweet watching the Surfer, Mechanic, and Biker grudgingly bond with Dorothy and become a sort of support for her.

I imagine that this will bore the pants off of some viewers, but I thought it was overall charming. I will also add that, with the exception of Dorothy and the surfer, no one had pants that fit correctly--why?! Is there something about Australia in the 70s I need to know in terms of jeans styles? Maybe my rating seems a bit high, but I was very entertained and I could see coming back to this one when I need something goofy and light.

4

[Guaporense]

Candyman (2021)

A modern classic for the ages. An intelligent masterpiece that combines subtle social commentary with a thriller. It's a work of art that is simultaneously highly entertaining and subversive in subtle ways. It's artistic nature might not be evident for the movie fan without vast experience with Kiarostami, Ozu, Bergman, and Tarkovsky.

5

[ThatDarnMKS]

I'm not fully sold on your argument here; it feels a bit like you're bringing a lot of your own expectations to the film and saying it should have met them. Giving audiences an avatar for understanding the conflict of a movie is pretty standard filmmaking technique. If this movie were about getting audiences to identify with a Native American character, then I think it would make sense. But getting a predominantly white audience to see, through their own eyes, what the film does want to show about the hardship of life for Native Americans living on reservations in this country, actually requires that the avatar be one of them. The audience must identify that the avatar is like them. I don't think your Hotel Rwanda example applies because this is not that movie. It almost seems like you're saying all these stories must be told a certain way. As someone with enough Native American blood to have qualified for a minority scholarship for college (which I declined, by the way because I live a white existence), I very strongly see the value of the way this film approaches the situation. But I also see that it's simply ok to tell the story of this white guy caught in the conflict of his own whiteness versus the minority people he is trying to help but is not one of. His otherness is actually really important to this film.
What did you say here that isn’t done with Olsen’s character? Why double down?

[Takoma11]

What did you say here that isn’t done with Olsen’s character? Why double down?

Elizabeth Olsen is only a white woman. How are men supposed to understand the plight of native people if they don't see a man on the screen? (I wrote that sarcastically, but maybe there's a grain of truth to it? Just googling "Do men relate to female protagonists?" turned up some grim results.)

[Fabulous]

The King of Staten Island (2020)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/q9VQzEkNmiP5icylaS7LB3PGmzw.jpg

[ThatDarnMKS]

Elizabeth Olsen is only a white woman. How are men supposed to understand the plight of native people if they don't see a man on the screen? (I wrote that sarcastically, but maybe there's a grain of truth to it? Just googling "Do men relate to female protagonists?" turned up some grim results.)
Rookie move, Tak.. A Google search for social issues is about as useful as reading the YouTube comments.

[Takoma11]

Rookie move, Tak.. A Google search for social issues is about as useful as reading the YouTube comments.

Look, if I can't trust the opinions of SkeeXDawg95 from 11 years ago, who can I trust?

[ThatDarnMKS]

Look, if I can't trust the opinions of SkeeXDawg95 from 11 years ago, who can I trust?
I hate to break it to you, but I have it on good authority from jizzmop420 that SkeeXDawg95 is basic and not based at all. We’re all heartbroken but with time, wounds will heal and we will be stronger for it.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Fsweet-virginia-2017%2Fhero_Sweet-Virginia-2017.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Sweet Virginia, 2017

Sam Rossi (Jon Bernthal) is a former rodeo champion who now runs a motel and lives with his girlfriend Bernadette (Rosemary DeWitt). When a hired killer named Elwood (Christopher Abbott) comes to town and ends up staying longer than planned, the two men end up on an intersecting path.

This one's been loitering in my Hulu watchlist for quite a while. It was . . . an interesting watch.

To begin with the good, I enjoyed all of the actors: Abbott as the socially awkward, perpetually angry killer brought something a bit different to the hitman character. (Though, honestly, I think that he got a little residual boost from his intensity in Possessor). Bernthal has basically mastered the role of "man who reluctantly engages in violence when pushed to the edge", but he also does well in a handful of scenes with Bernadette's teen daughter, Maggie (Odessa Williams). Imogen Poots only gets a few scenes as Lila, the woman who hired Elwood, but she does a great job conveying someone who has gotten in way over her head.

I also thought that the action sequences were effective, starting with the hitman's actions at the very beginning of the film and especially in two different "home invasion" type scenarios. Abbott's killer oozes the kind of unpredictability and anger that makes any of his scenes incredibly tense.

Finally, I liked the relationship between Sam and Bernadette, both of whom have a trauma in their past that helps bind them to each other. It made me think a little of the relationship dynamic at the beginning of Mandy, and I think that it's a dynamic that justifies the intensity of feeling that we see later in the film. Bernthal and DeWitt have a certain groundedness about them that lends realism to their relationship.

On the down side . . . this movie kind of feels like 20 or so minutes were missing? There's something a bit uneven about the dynamic between Elwood and Sam. It's like the film begins to set something up and then skips the middle bit and goes straight to the end. The pace of the last 30 minutes came off a bit odd to me.

I also didn't quite know what to make of a subplot about Sam trying and failing to get one of his guests to stop making so much noise in his room (and we later learn that the "noise" is abuse of the woman staying with him). The guest violently attacks Sam who . . . does nothing? I really, really didn't understand why Sam didn't call the police in this scene. It was genuinely very confusing to me. There's a woman being abused, he himself has been attacked---why isn't he calling 911? I understand that the scenes with the abusive guest is meant to establish a baseline for Sam's character that he is more passive and not very violent. So the function of the scenes make sense, but not Sam's actions within them.

This one fell a little short of my hopes, but it was solid enough and all of the actors were good in their roles. It went by really fast and I was shocked at one point to realize there were only about 7 minutes left.

3.5

[Takoma11]

I hate to break it to you, but I have it on good authority from jizzmop420 that SkeeXDawg95 is basic and not based at all. We’re all heartbroken but with time, wounds will heal and we will be stronger for it.

I feel so betrayed. He swore he was peer reviewed. Okay, he said he was "pere reviewed" . . . should have known he wasn't on the up and up.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Persona_Poster.jpg
By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31064204

Persona - (1966)

Finally got to watch this, and as such I'm going to go back and read all the comments posted about it in the Foreign Language Countdown thread. I went into it without knowing a thing about the film, and after the first few minutes I thought for a moment the whole thing would be one long Samara video tape nightmare - and I reckoned that stretching that over 88 minutes would be challenging. Well, the actual narrative is a bit challenging anyway, but I was pondering and making mental notes about possible interpretations. Especially in respect to the film's title - 'Persona'. I love abstract films that invite many different interpretations - and by God this film does just that. Rating it 8 feels way too low, so I'm starting with 9 with the possibility this film will become a 10 and enter the collection of my most revered films over time.

9/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 41/101

I will also add that, with the exception of Dorothy and the surfer, no one had pants that fit correctly--why?! Is there something about Australia in the 70s I need to know in terms of jeans styles?

While reporting from Indonesia in 1975, the Australian reporters known as the 'Balibo 5' were wearing shorts so small and tight that their shirts would cover them and it looks pretty much like they're reporting without any pants on. It was fashionable to wear pants and shorts as tight as humanly possible. So if tightness is the issue in Twentieth Century Oz, then yeah - it was definitely fashionable back then.

[Rockatansky]

Rookie move, Tak.. A Google search for social issues is about as useful as reading the YouTube comments.

Google search for YouTube comments for extra credit.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I feel so betrayed. He swore he was peer reviewed. Okay, he said he was "pere reviewed" . . . should have known he wasn't on the up and up.
Never trust a Frenchman with daddy issues.

I’ve lived my life by that single rule and it’s never steered me wrong.

[Fabulous]

Motherless Brooklyn (2019)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/2XuYDWxnnE7bnTlNntc5JeA2kId.jpg

[Wooley]

What did you say here that isn’t done with Olsen’s character? Why double down?

I feel like you're making my point that you are saying it actually should have been a completely different film, a totally different story, about a Native American cop and how he deals with a crime that takes place on Native Land, instead of a movie about a white cop who has to navigate dealing with a crime that takes place on Native Land. Those are two different movies, you think they shouldn't have made the latter movie and instead made the former movie and I'm just saying what I think about the movie they made. It was good.
Olsen's character is not the protagonist. If you wanna say "why double down and make Olsen's character non-native" that's another discussion (and on that can be totally defended too, because she is the true outsider and Renner is the person in the middle). But to say, let's change who the protagonist is and what the protagonist's position in this story is is to say, let's change the whole point of the movie.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I feel like you're making my point that you are saying it actually should have been a completely different film, a totally different story, about a Native American cop and how he deals with a crime that takes place on Native Land, instead of a movie about a white cop who has to navigate dealing with a crime that takes place on Native Land. Those are two different movies, you think they shouldn't have made the latter movie and instead made the former movie and I'm just saying what I think about the movie they made. It was good.
Olsen's character is not the protagonist. If you wanna say "why double down and make Olsen's character non-native" that's another discussion (and on that can be totally defended too, because she is the true outsider and Renner is the person in the middle). But to say, let's change who the protagonist is and what the protagonist's position in this story is is to say, let's change the whole point of the movie.

How does changing him to being a Native American change the whole point of the movie aside from removing some needless exposition about his wife being native and that being why he’s vested in protecting the community?

[Jinnistan]

I have it on good authority from jizzmop420
This is a long time ago, guys. Please. I said I'm sorry. What more? It's done. Can we? Can we move on?

[Takoma11]

While reporting from Indonesia in 1975, the Australian reporters known as the 'Balibo 5' were wearing shorts so small and tight that their shirts would cover them and it looks pretty much like they're reporting without any pants on. It was fashionable to wear pants and shorts as tight as humanly possible. So if tightness is the issue in Twentieth Century Oz, then yeah - it was definitely fashionable back then.

Tightness was definitely the main issue. At times the actors literally couldn't walk properly.

[Wooley]

How does changing him to being a Native American change the whole point of the movie aside from removing some needless exposition about his wife being native and that being why he’s vested in protecting the community?

I feel like that's in at least two of my posts, including the one you quoted, and is obvious in the film. He's the guy caught in between. No matter how good his intentions may be he is never fully trusted. He is not a total outsider like Olsen, who would obviously be written off immediately, but is someone who is well-known in the community and well-intentioned, but is not one of them. And his Native ex-wife is not some hand-wave, it further makes the point that you actually were implying that "just because you married one of us doesn't make you one of us". He has not lived their experience and he has not been held back and down in life simply because of what he was born, in fact the opposite, he is able go wherever he wants, do what he wants, even marry "one of us", but he will never be one of them. It is that tension over the trust of Renner's character by people who cannot trust him because no matter how sympathetic he may be, he has not had their experience, that is central to his place as protagonist of the film. This is a common tension in real life, I encounter it daily with a friend who is black (I am really white, regardless of whether I have Native American blood or not because I grew up white with all the privileges that entails) and we are close confidants. But an integral part of any of our discussions about virtually anything is that I am not like him, I have never experienced the subtle and not so subtle challenges he has faced and still faces daily. So, no matter how sympathetic I may be, no matter how much he may confide in me and I in him, when push comes to shove, I am an outsider to him, to his wife, to his children and he will never trust me the same as he would trust another Black man. That's the reality of it and that is the point of Renner's position in this film. It is about the character who is locked in that tension trying to do the right thing even though he knows that, unlike a Dances With Wolves or some such thing, he is no savior and he'll never be one of them, even if he gets this one right. And all of that is a completely different movie than if the cop is one of them. Completely different movie. Again, if you think they should have made that movie instead and everything above is now unworthy to have a film made about, fine, that's your personal call, I'm just commenting on the movie I saw.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.halloweenmoviesontv.com%2Fwp-content%2Fgallery%2Fthe-mummy-1932%2Fthe-mummy-1932c.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Mummy, 1932

A team of archaeologists conducting a dig in Egypt unearths the body of an ancient priest, Imhotep (Boris Karloff) who was buried alive for some sort of religious transgression. When one of the scientists reads a scroll aloud, Imhotep is reanimated. Passing, just barely, as a wealthy Egyptian, Imhotep searches for his lost love, who just happens to share a bloodline with Helen (Zita Johann). As Imhotep's powers begin to take over Helen's mind, her fiance and others rush to stop Imhotep and save her.

This film made me think a lot about what I loved about Frankenstein. There are sequences that are odd and unsettling, and the whole film looks great. I was particularly fond of the way that shadows and off-screen events were used to suggest danger at the periphery. Karloff is imposing as the reanimated Imhotep, someone who knows just how much power he has over others. Johann is very sympathetic as someone who feels she is losing her mind, becoming fractured between herself and a past spirit.

This is a shorter film, but really well-paced. I quite enjoyed the scene where a man witnesses Imhotep's reanimation and simply goes crazy from the sight of it. His fate is revealed later, and it builds a sense of tragedy and mystery. While I'm not sure that the film meant the moment as commentary on British colonial policies, I appreciated the mention that Egyptians themselves were not able to dig up artifacts--only representatives from foreign museums. I also liked that Helen played a much more active role in the final showdown than I was expecting. (My expectation was that she'd basically be in a swoon as the dudes rushed in to save her, so having her actually participate in fighting Imhotep at the end was a nice surprise).

I was also relieved that the film didn't feel the need (that I could tell) for brownface with the Egyptian flashbacks. And there were several non-white characters who were actually played by non-white actors. Nice not to have to cringe through poorly-done makeup.

I suppose my only complaint, and a minor one at that, was that almost all of the male protagonists kind of blended together for me. Aside from the blond archaeologist at the beginning, they were all middle aged British guys, and they didn't leave much of an impression. Obviously Imhotep and Helen are the stars of the show, so it doesn't impact the viewing experience that much, but a few times I found myself thinking, "Wait, which guy is this?" and it was harder (ooh, this will sound harsh) to care when they were killed or endangered.

4.5

[Fabulous]

Richard Jewell (2019)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/qbytUmaeG9FJh8SVtsMI3Jh0sej.jpg

[Captain Terror]

The Mummy, 1932

This is a shorter film, but really well-paced.

I love that you loved it, but "well-paced" is not something I've ever heard in regard to The Mummy before. And I say this with the giant poster hanging above my PC as I type this, but even I find it drags when I'm not in the right mood. Always fun to welcome a new fan to the club, though :)

[Zeke1977]

9 1/2 weeks.
I rate it 9 1/2 points of 10 :D

[Thief]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.halloweenmoviesontv.com%2Fwp-content%2Fgallery%2Fthe-mummy-1932%2Fthe-mummy-1932c.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Mummy, 1932


4.5

Nice review. Interesting that this is probably the weakest of the Universal Monsters films I've seen. I will dig up to see if I can find a review cause I don't remember much beyond being kinda bored by it.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I feel like that's in at least two of my posts, including the one you quoted, and is obvious in the film. He's the guy caught in between. No matter how good his intentions may be he is never fully trusted. He is not a total outsider like Olsen, who would obviously be written off immediately, but is someone who is well-known in the community and well-intentioned, but is not one of them. And his Native ex-wife is not some hand-wave, it further makes the point that you actually were implying that "just because you married one of us doesn't make you one of us". He has not lived their experience and he has not been held back and down in life simply because of what he was born, in fact the opposite, he is able go wherever he wants, do what he wants, even marry "one of us", but he will never be one of them. It is that tension over the trust of Renner's character by people who cannot trust him because no matter how sympathetic he may be, he has not had their experience, that is central to his place as protagonist of the film. This is a common tension in real life, I encounter it daily with a friend who is black (I am really white, regardless of whether I have Native American blood or not because I grew up white with all the privileges that entails) and we are close confidants. But an integral part of any of our discussions about virtually anything is that I am not like him, I have never experienced the subtle and not so subtle challenges he has faced and still faces daily. So, no matter how sympathetic I may be, no matter how much he may confide in me and I in him, when push comes to shove, I am an outsider to him, to his wife, to his children and he will never trust me the same as he would trust another Black man. That's the reality of it and that is the point of Renner's position in this film. It is about the character who is locked in that tension trying to do the right thing even though he knows that, unlike a Dances With Wolves or some such thing, he is no savior and he'll never be one of them, even if he gets this one right. And all of that is a completely different movie than if the cop is one of them. Completely different movie. Again, if you think they should have made that movie instead and everything above is now unworthy to have a film made about, fine, that's your personal call, I'm just commenting on the movie I saw.
This is hardly the focus of the movie and outside of that scene, it makes little to no impact on the plot or themes.

What the film is about is exposing national indifference to the treatment of Natives and disproportionate disappearances of Native women in this country (something of particular importance given hot topic political theater right now). The conflict is distinctly one of Native Americans and the film sidelined them entirely to victims or scenery. Given the nature of the films plot, setting and theme, this is a pretty damning oversight as they aren’t allowed to be anything more than a plot device in a story designed to expose their strife.

A great deal of what you’re putting onto this film is only textual given that exchange. Changing his race simply allows the people it claims to represent to be autonomous and have a horse in the race. It doesn’t change the dynamic of his job (protector from wildlife and outsiders), the plot, and only enhances virtually every other bit of subtext by making Natives both relevant but also emphasizing Olsen’s outsider-ness within this world.

Your argument about his being white being important is tantamount to “cuz if he weren’t white, they wouldn’t treat him as white” and… well, yeah. That’s what Olsen’s character is there for already.

Creating this film with a white savior and sidelining all natives isn’t demanding a different film be made. It would be the deletion of one conversation and changing “white” in the character description to “Native American.” Virtually nothing else in the film would change and it would make a substantial gain in representation and articulating the point it’s trying to make.

[edit] This isn’t even touching on how the film is built on the long tradition of having white leads in westerns that focus on Native Americans and waving it off as “he was raised by them since he was a young boy” or “he’s a half-breed”

And here’s an interview where Sheridan specifically outlines his purposes and goals for the film (which align with my claims):
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/taylor-sheridan-wind-river

I’m just saying how he could have accomplished those goals more effectively and avoided classic racial pitfalls of genre filmmaking. Not make a completely different movie.

[Takoma11]

I love that you loved it, but "well-paced" is not something I've ever heard in regard to The Mummy before. And I say this with the giant poster hanging above my PC as I type this, but even I find it drags when I'm not in the right mood. Always fun to welcome a new fan to the club, though :)

Nice review. Interesting that this is probably the weakest of the Universal Monsters films I've seen. I will dig up to see if I can find a review cause I don't remember much beyond being kinda bored by it.

I really loved the look of it, the premise, and the dynamics of the final confrontation. I would need a rewatch to see if it feels slower without the novelty of a first viewing.

[Captain Terror]

I really loved the look of it, the premise, and the dynamics of the final confrontation. I would need a rewatch to see if it feels slower without the novelty of a first viewing.
Have you seen Lugosi's Dracula?

[Marco]

I liked it Tacoma but the friendship didn't really seem plausible to me The hitman was far too volatile to get on with the placid hotel owner.

[Wooley]

This is hardly the focus of the movie and outside of that scene, it makes little to no impact on the plot or themes.

What the film is about is exposing national indifference to the treatment of Natives and disproportionate disappearances of Native women in this country (something of particular importance given hot topic political theater right now). The conflict is distinctly one of Native Americans and the film sidelined them entirely to victims or scenery. Given the nature of the films plot, setting and theme, this is a pretty damning oversight as they aren’t allowed to be anything more than a plot device in a story designed to expose their strife.

A great deal of what you’re putting onto this film is only textual given that exchange. Changing his race simply allows the people it claims to represent to be autonomous and have a horse in the race. It doesn’t change the dynamic of his job (protector from wildlife and outsiders), the plot, and only enhances virtually every other bit of subtext by making Natives both relevant but also emphasizing Olsen’s outsider-ness within this world.

Your argument about his being white being important is tantamount to “cuz if he weren’t white, they wouldn’t treat him as white” and… well, yeah. That’s what Olsen’s character is there for already.

Creating this film with a white savior and sidelining all natives isn’t demanding a different film be made. It would be the deletion of one conversation and changing “white” in the character description to “Native American.” Virtually nothing else in the film would change and it would make a substantial gain in representation and articulating the point it’s trying to make.

[edit] This isn’t even touching on how the film is built on the long tradition of having white leads in westerns that focus on Native Americans and waving it off as “he was raised by them since he was a young boy” or “he’s a half-breed”

And here’s an interview where Sheridan specifically outlines his purposes and goals for the film (which align with my claims):
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/taylor-sheridan-wind-river

I’m just saying how he could have accomplished those goals more effectively and avoided classic racial pitfalls of genre filmmaking. Not make a completely different movie.

Ok, I'm just gonna let it go. I don't agree with you that it only matters in one scene. I don't think Sheridan's purposes conflict with what I'm talking about. But I also don't care that much, as I've said repeatedly, I just gave my opinion of the movie I saw. Arguing about the movie you think it should have been is exhausting me and I just don't care that much. So, go in peace, if you feel like you're right then keep feeling it and I'll just keep liking the movie I actually saw.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Ok, I'm just gonna let it go. I don't agree with you that it only matters in one scene. I don't think Sheridan's purposes conflict with what I'm talking about. But I also don't care that much, as I've said repeatedly, I just gave my opinion of the movie I saw. Arguing about the movie you think it should have been is exhausting me and I just don't care that much. So, go in peace, if you feel like you're right then keep feeling it and I'll just keep liking the movie I actually saw.
All criticism of art carries at least an implied suggestion of how it should’ve been done instead. I’ll continue to think critically about films I watch, even those I enjoy like Wind River, especially when they attempt themes of social importance and make creative choices that undercut that attempt.

[Wooley]

All criticism of art carries at least an implied suggestion of how it should’ve been done instead. I’ll continue to think critically about films I watch, even those I enjoy like Wind River, especially when they attempt themes of social importance and make creative choices that undercut that attempt.

Ok.

[Takoma11]

Have you seen Lugosi's Dracula?

Yes, and I'm not a huge fan of it. That for me was a film that dragged.

I liked it Tacoma but the friendship didn't really seem plausible to me The hitman was far too volatile to get on with the placid hotel owner.

It sort of made sense to me, because the hitman was only volatile when provoked and the hotel owner deliberately avoids provocation. I thought that there were a few implausibilities, but none of them bothered me all that much.

[Rockatansky]

Yes, and I'm not a huge fan of it. That for me was a film that dragged.
Speaking as someone who used to think it sucked, it plays a lot better in a Lugosi marathon/exploration than on its own, which helped me focus on the good parts (Lugosi, the castle scenes) and tune out the not so good parts (a good chunk of the rest of the movie, haha).

[Takoma11]

Speaking as someone who used to think it sucked, it plays a lot better in a Lugosi marathon/exploration than on its own, which helped me focus on the good parts (Lugosi, the castle scenes) and tune out the not so good parts (a good chunk of the rest of the movie, haha).

I watched it on the big screen (as a double bill with Frankenstein) and the comparison was not flattering. And considering Freaks is one of my favorite movies and has such a vibrant personality, the flatness of Dracula is outright baffling to me.

I didn't hate it or anything, but about halfway through I was dismayed to find that while it looked good, it was overall pretty flat.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.oreq0UMFeS1FKrjvzcpYKwHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1

Kairo, 2001

This horror film follows two different stories that eventually converge. A young man named Ryosuke (Haruhiko Kato) has just gotten a computer to get online, but the device connects to a strange website on its own where he he witness strange footage of people in their homes moving in an odd manner. Meanwhile, a woman named Michi (Kumiko Aso) investigates a computer disc that seems to be connected to the suicide of one of her friends.

Ghost in the machine stories have never really been my thing, and so despite repeatedly having this film recommended to me by people whose taste I trust, I've let it sit on the shelf.

What an absolute gem.

To begin with, the imagery in this movie is unbearably creepy and beautiful, all without having to go to the well of jump scares or overly-graphic violence. Yes, there are certainly some disturbing images and moments, but the majority of the tension comes from watching grainy footage of a woman slowly walking across a room, or from a character staring at a distorted stain on a wall. There's also fantastic use of layers and moments where we detect movement behind or around the main characters.

But on top of how good the movie looks and how spooky it all is, there is some really good character work and strong themes to do with loneliness and connection. It's weird watching this film where a man in his early 20s is just using the internet for seemingly the first time, and another character patiently explains to him how to bookmark a website. ("Or use this button, the Print Screen key!" she helpfully adds). The horror of the film has its own explanation and works on a literal level, but must of what happens in the film seems to evoke the fears that accompany the internet: young people getting lost in their screens, isolation, obsession.

The film also features a really powerful ending sequence and final act that goes somewhere I would not have anticipated.

I suppose my only criticism, and this is more to do with maybe this being a film not in my native language, is that it took me a little while to realize that there were two parallel stories playing out. I was pretty confused for a while about the cutting back and forth and I kept trying to understand how the characters were connected. I think it's good to know, going in, that the stories at first do not overlap.

Great movie, and if you've never seen it before I think it would make for a great October viewing!

4.5

[Rockatansky]

Have you seen Cure? I prefer that one by a smidge. Tremendously creepy film. I think JJ is a big fan as well.



I watched it on the big screen (as a double bill with Frankenstein) and the comparison was not flattering. And considering Freaks is one of my favorite movies and has such a vibrant personality, the flatness of Dracula is outright baffling to me.

I didn't hate it or anything, but about halfway through I was dismayed to find that while it looked good, it was overall pretty flat.
Watch it again! Watch it again until you reach the exact same rating as me (7/10)!

[Takoma11]

Have you seen Cure? I prefer that one by a smidge. Tremendously creepy film.

Cure is also very solid. I think that the theme of Kairo gives it the slight edge for me, but we're talking very little difference between two great films.

Watch it again! Watch it again until you reach the exact same rating as me (7/10)!

I'd already give it a 7/10, so mission accomplished!

[SpelingError]

26th Hall of Fame (REWATCH)

Cinema Paradiso (1988) - 3

My reaction to this film when I watched it a few years ago was that its first hour was great, but the second hour made a couple poor choices which reduced it to a good film. I had a feeling my opinion would grow this time around, but unfortunately, it remained the same and, if anything, this rewatch solidified my opinion of it even more.

In spite of my issues with this film though, I don't consider it to be a bad film by any means, The aforementioned first hour, in fact, is about as entertaining and moving as any film has the right to be. Tornatore crafts such a humorous and vividly detailed film which is packed with a few different types of greatness. For example, some of the humor involving Alfredo and Toto resonated with me quite well, like the touches of humor thrown into some of their tense encounters in the first act or Toto helping Alfredo cheat on a test. These bits made their building friendship a blast to watch. I also enjoyed the emphasis given to multiple side characters who either attended the theater or were frequently seen outside it. There's a priest who orders Alfredo to cut all the inappropriate scenes from the films (kissing scenes, typically), a tramp who believes he owns the town square outside the theater, a man who spits on people from the upper balcony of the theater, a man who frequently gets pranked for falling asleep during the movies, and the general rowdiness of the crowd that attends the theater. It's clear that the theater is the centerpiece of the town and the main (well, the only) pastime for many of the town's citizens. Finally, I liked how the film saved most of its sentimentality for the ending. Complimented with Morricone's terrific score, it's almost impossible not to be moved during the final montage.

While the film's first hour is strong, the second hour makes some odd narrative choices which fail to capitalize on that potential. Since Alfredo's and Toto's friendship is established for most of the first hour, I found it strange how the second half shifted so much focus away from Alfredo. Instead, we get a romance sub-plot between Toto and Elena. Though I've yet to watch the extended cuts of this film, I've read a decent bit about them and my understanding is that they provide a better thematic significance for that sub-plot, so I may enjoy this film more if I watch those versions. Who knows. With the international cut though, that sub-plot took time away from what I liked the most about the film. To top it off, I also found certain elements of that sub-plot creepy, like Toto waiting outside Elena's house for (I think) 100 days in an attempt to get her to like him. After the focus finally gets back to Alfredo, he only stays onscreen for about five more more minutes and, while I found their conversations during those five minutes powerful, they ultimately left me asking for more. Granted, the final act is kind of effective and the aforementioned ending is terrific, but the middle act was a huge misstep and left me very cold. And it's a real shame, because the film had a lot going for it with the first hour. The second hour failed to follow up on that potential though.

In spite of my issues though, I'd still recommend the film. The strengths of the first hour and the ending were more than enough to save the day, so I did enjoy the film. Just like my first viewing though, I wasn't so crazy on the second hour. I'll likely check out the longer cuts in the future though to see if this film finally clicks with me.

[FromBeyond]

The Rohl Farms Haunting (2013)

I think the only reason I carried on watching was because I thought it may lead to somewhere interesting, it really doesn’t and there’s no reason or explanation for anything that happened, for that matter their is no haunting or anything supernatural.. in the last part I just wanted the main character to get killed who had becoming extremely annoying, one of the worst found footage films I have sat all the way through, wish I hadn’t.

[Rockatansky]

Cure is also very solid. I think that the theme of Kairo gives it the slight edge for me, but we're talking very little difference between two great films.



I'd already give it a 7/10, so mission accomplished!
https://media3.giphy.com/media/AxVvk3UlCVPiPxtGLK/200.gif

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cinematheque-nice.com%2Fmedia%2Fcache%2Ffiche_film%2Fuploads%2Ffilms%2FKanal%2520%25C2%25A9%2520DR%2520%2520Zespo %25CC%2581l%2520Filmowy%2520Kadr.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Kanal, 1957

A group of Polish resistance fighters are pinned down by the German army, and decide that they must attempt to escape via the city's sewer system. Once down in the sewers, the relationships between the fighters begin to break down as their commander, a man named Zadra (Wienczyslaw Glinski) tries fruitlessly to keep morale up. Also in the party is a young wounded soldier named Korab (Tadeusz Janczar), with whom the guide, Daisy (Teresa Izewska) is in love.

My heart!

This film is really, really bleak. I was not prepared for just how rough things were going to get, and if you do check it out, brace yourself. But it was also really well acted, beautifully shot, and incredibly poignant.

As the film goes on, the sewer becomes a kind of hell (and at one point, as the men scramble over each other for fresh air, another man quotes Dante). The men and women are perpetually waist deep in sewage, willing themselves and each other to keep moving forward. With no sense of time or progress, loyalties begin to break down. And as the lack of food or water and the foul fumes of the place make themselves felt, the bodies of the escapees begin to break down as well.

But what's strange is that amidst all of the despair and betrayal, this is also a lovely film. And, yes, that does feel like an odd thing to say about a movie where the main characters are covered in poop for almost the entire runtime.

In particular, the sequences between Korab and Daisy are gorgeous. Yeah, it helps that both actors are incredibly attractive, with Izewska in particular somehow looking particularly luminous even as she slogs through a river of waste. Their scenes benefit tremendously from a very strong chemistry between the two of them--a suppressed vibe of sexual desire made wretched and impossible by their dire situation and the fact that Korab is seriously injured.

I have no criticisms of this one. It was deeply sad, but the sadness is not unearned. It is not misery for the sake of misery, but rather a look at the wretchedness of war.

4.5

[Captain Terror]

Yes, and I'm not a huge fan of it. That for me was a film that dragged.
.
OK, that's why I asked. I find Dracula and The Mummy to be equally sleepy affairs, so I wondered how you felt about the former.

For me Drac has the advantage of the awesome pre-England scenes. The Mummy's opening scene is terrific but (too) brief.

But again, the last thing I want is to discourage someone's enjoyment of a Universal Horror classic, so please carry on.

[Captain Terror]

HOT TIP:

Some time ago I recommended the BBC version of Count Dracula (1977) on one of these threads, and it has just come to my attention that it is streaming on Prime in the US.

Louis Jourdan is moustache-free, but in most other respects it's a pretty faithful-to-Stoker adaptation. (and it looks great)


81513

[Jinnistan]

The '73 Jack Palance version is pretty great as well.

[Captain Terror]

The '73 Jack Palance version is pretty great as well.
Correct, and that is also streaming on various sites.

[Jinnistan]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/44bd0eaf7f8d539d2aec56269f1dfa94/d4f0431641b1cb4e-47/s640x960/92312883e55b3e6e366c7c2c086388af3c466628.jpg


The Green Knight

I was a little worried about this one. The first 15-20 minutes are so rote, conventional like a lesser Game of Thrones episode coyly, and self-consciously, sprinkled with what feels like a parody of A24isms (the early intertitles are particularly art school precious). But, as Sir John Cleese once declared, "It got better". I think a second viewing may show some intention to the stuffy conventions of the early parts of the film, in slippingly striking contrast to the more moody and ethereal second half of the film, reaching its pinnacle in the lovely extended set piece in the Lord and Lady's manor, exulting in the kind of rich atmosphere that was so conspicuously absent in the first act. I'm a little confused by some of the reviews which talk about "deconstructing myth". I feel quite the opposite. It revels in the slow intoxication of mythic construction. I was much happier the more the film indulged its surrealism, and much less impressed with its attempts at any kind of realism. David Lowery is a young filmmaker, and still a tad too self-conscious in his postures, but with quite an interesting career so far, with only Pete's Dragon being a complete misfire.

9/10

[Fabulous]

Sound of Metal (2019)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/7b5R8FfGUzlxfhOkPpL3xyIeuyF.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/rwNpy1cL/Rublev-poster.jpg

Andrei Rublev - (1966) - U.S.S.R.

At around the half-way mark of Andrei Rublev (an hour and a half in) I was ready to declare it unfathomable - an almost random assortment of scenes where characters would appear without introduction and disappear without reason. But (and this is the first time I've ever said this) it really gets going after the 2 hour mark. Actually, I think it makes a lot of sense in reverse - as if the final segment of the film (the building of a gigantic bell) drew on all of the prior incidents and vice versa. By this moment, Rublev has sworn to never paint another icon, and taken a vow of silence - he'd been forced to kill someone and seen all of his work burned to the ground during a 15th Century war. It's the gargantuan effort of building the bell - and the effect this has on the master bell-maker - that changes something within him. All of the sudden I felt everything that had gone before had merit.

I'm looking forward to watching this film again - perhaps this time I'll go with Andrei Tarkovsky's less-preferred 205 minute version. But not immediately, because this film is so large and dense it really takes a lot of free time and an uncluttered mind to take everything in. During the film I was rating it at an angry and confused 5/10 - but after it finished, I was pretty enthusiastic about it.

8.5/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 42/101

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ed/Coco_avant_Chanel_poster.png
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51585394

Coco Avant Chanel - (2009) - France

An examination of who Coco Chanel was before she rose to prominence in the fashion world (and how she became what she was to become) isn't a subject I'd come running to ordinarily. This was typical bio stuff - but some of the cinematography is quite beautiful, so at least the film looks incredibly good. It's an average 6/10 film lifted somewhat by this aspect and of course the costume designs. Benoît Poelvoorde is particularly fun to watch as the cheeky, almost manic, Baron Étienne Balsan.
7/10

[Thief]

Yes, and I'm not a huge fan of it. That for me was a film that dragged.


OK, that's why I asked. I find Dracula and The Mummy to be equally sleepy affairs, so I wondered how you felt about the former.

For me Drac has the advantage of the awesome pre-England scenes. The Mummy's opening scene is terrific but (too) brief.

But again, the last thing I want is to discourage someone's enjoyment of a Universal Horror classic, so please carry on.

Curiously enough, I loved Dracula and would put it on a fight at the top of the Universal Monsters classics. I found everything about it magnetic and alluring.

[Wooley]

Curiously enough, I loved Dracula and would put it on a fight at the top of the Universal Monsters classics. I found everything about it magnetic and alluring.

I am somewhere between these two schools of thought but closer to yours.
I find the humor in the second and third act, with both Van Helsing and Renfield fun hammy characters, to be most welcome but I still find Mina's descent chilling as well.
I like the movie quite a bit though I was underwhelmed by it the first time I revisited it as an adult and warmed to it again upon re-watches.

[mark f]

The Starling (Theodore Melfi, 2021) 2 5/10
Having a Wild Weekend (John Boorman, 1965) 2.5 5.5/10
Golden Needles (Robert Clouse, 1974) 2+ 5/10
Free Guy (Shawn Levy, 2021) 3.5 7/10
https://imgix.gizmodo.com.au/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/06/tft09czl2b6nzc2w7b6z.gif?ar=16%3A9&auto=format&fit=crop&q=65&w=720&nrs=30&fm=gif
Blue Shirt Guy (Ryan Reynolds) is everybody's fave non-player character in a popular computer game, and he keeps evolving.
No Blade of Grass (Cornel Wilde, 1970) 2.5 6/10
Buster Keaton Rides Again (John Spotton, 1965) 3 6.5/10
Holiday from Rules? (William H. Murray, 1958) 1.5 4/10
A Woman Like Eve (Nouchka van Brakel, 1979) 3 6.5/10
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71RoUOIqwvL._SX466_.jpg
Serious film about feminism, lesbianism and child custody explores the relationship between free-spirited Maria Schneider and married mother Monique van de Ven.
What's Cookin' (Edward F. Cline, 1942) 2.5+ 6/10
A Virgin in Hollywood (Klaytan W. Kirby, 1953) 1.5 4-/10
Birds of Paradise (Sarah Adina Smith, 2021) 2.5 5.5/10
A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester, 1964) 3.5+ 7.5/10
https://media1.giphy.com/media/1SQKhptla4bSw/giphy.gif
... And Paul's very clean grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell) should know.
Cellar Dweller (John Carl Buechler, 1987) 2 5/10
Ahir Shah: Dots (Peter Orton, 2021) 3 6.5/10
Blood of Dracula (Herbert L. Strock, 1957) 2 5/10
Fifi Howls from Happiness (Mitra Farahani, 2013) 3 6.5/10
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51tgbOTrZhL.jpg
Bahman Mohassess, the most famous Persian painter of the 20th century, shares thoughts about his life and art at his impending death.
The Proud Valley (Pen Tennyson, 1940) 2.5 6/10
GangLand (Jean-Claude La Marre, 2018) 2 5/10
The Tallest Tree in Our Forest (Gil Noble, 1977) 3 6.5/10
The Strangeness (David Michael Hillman AKA Melanie Anne Phillips, 1985) 2 5/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/f2fd5fd5fa0cd3bbf1053e88e5490ccc/e95528c0ccfd32ab-8d/s500x750/db38907520fd2b0d8c5f91ac6feccc74c2020728.gifv
Semi-stylish thing about a weird monster that kills a bunch of idiots in a cave.

[StuSmallz]

Elizabeth Olsen is only a white woman. How are men supposed to understand the plight of native people if they don't see a man on the screen? (I wrote that sarcastically, but maybe there's a grain of truth to it? Just googling "Do men relate to female protagonists?" turned up some grim results.)That sounds like a problem with the people watching the movies, rather than the movie itself; I mean, I'm not a poor, gay African-American kid growing up in Miami, but that didn't stop me at all from empathizing with Chiron in Moonlight, after all.This is hardly the focus of the movie and outside of that scene, it makes little to no impact on the plot or themes.

What the film is about is exposing national indifference to the treatment of Natives and disproportionate disappearances of Native women in this country (something of particular importance given hot topic political theater right now). The conflict is distinctly one of Native Americans and the film sidelined them entirely to victims or scenery. Given the nature of the films plot, setting and theme, this is a pretty damning oversight as they aren’t allowed to be anything more than a plot device in a story designed to expose their strife.

A great deal of what you’re putting onto this film is only textual given that exchange. Changing his race simply allows the people it claims to represent to be autonomous and have a horse in the race. It doesn’t change the dynamic of his job (protector from wildlife and outsiders), the plot, and only enhances virtually every other bit of subtext by making Natives both relevant but also emphasizing Olsen’s outsider-ness within this world.

Your argument about his being white being important is tantamount to “cuz if he weren’t white, they wouldn’t treat him as white” and… well, yeah. That’s what Olsen’s character is there for already.

Creating this film with a white savior and sidelining all natives isn’t demanding a different film be made. It would be the deletion of one conversation and changing “white” in the character description to “Native American.” Virtually nothing else in the film would change and it would make a substantial gain in representation and articulating the point it’s trying to make.

[edit] This isn’t even touching on how the film is built on the long tradition of having white leads in westerns that focus on Native Americans and waving it off as “he was raised by them since he was a young boy” or “he’s a half-breed”

And here’s an interview where Sheridan specifically outlines his purposes and goals for the film (which align with my claims):
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/taylor-sheridan-wind-river

I’m just saying how he could have accomplished those goals more effectively and avoided classic racial pitfalls of genre filmmaking. Not make a completely different movie.Late chime-in here, but I generally agree with your points against the unnecessary undertones of white savior-ism in Wind River, and, while I get Wooley's point that Renner's character was meant to feel like an permanent outsider because of his race, they could've done the same basic thing better if they'd just written/cast a half-Native actor in that part (since that way he'd always be an outsider, whether he lived on a reservation or in a "whiter" area). And, I'll also add that Taylor Sheridan has this Whedon-esque tendency of building up "strong" female characters, only to physically/emotionally break them down later on, while the men in his stories tend to just stay strong most of the time, which feels like he's indulging in some regressive gender roles to me (though it speaks to the quality of the film on the whole (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/wind-river-2017/) that it still manages to be as good as it is, despite these issues).

[StuSmallz]

Anyway, regarding the Frontier Trilogy in general, I'd still rank River over the other two despite its issues, since I felt it was the most stylishly, evocatively directed of the three; Villeneuve's (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/villeneuve/reviews/) a really good director in general, but the particular detachment of his style is much better suited for heady Sci-Fi than (what should've been) a more visceral Thriller like Sicario, while Hell Or High Water was well-written, but the actual aesthetic of it was a bit too flat, making it lack tension as a result (and that's before I even compare it to certain spiritual predecessors that came before it, like No Country).

[xSookieStackhouse]

4.5 great casting i loved it but original always better :)
https://i0.wp.com/www.nerdsandbeyond.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/E8XGL0OUcAMqFKJ.jpeg?fit=640%2C800&ssl=1

[Fabulous]

Crank (2006)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/kSTvteM3ekuoeO7u7GJtZQkZuom.jpg

[Thief]

Anyway, regarding the Frontier Trilogy in general, I'd still rank River over the other two despite its issues, since I felt it was the most stylishly, evocatively directed of the three; Villeneuve's (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/villeneuve/reviews/) a really good director in general, but the particular detachment of his style is much better suited for heady Sci-Fi than (what should've been) a more visceral Thriller like Sicario, while Hell Or High Water was well-written, but the actual aesthetic of it was a bit too flat, making it lack tension as a result (and that's before I even compare it to certain spiritual predecessors that came before it, like No Country).

Didn't know they were calling them "Frontier Trilogy" :laugh: Anyway, I would give the upper hand to Hell or High Water and then Sicario, with Wind River at the bottom. All very good films, though.

[Sedai]

Traffic
2001, Soderbergh

4

https://film-grab.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/23%20(1262).jpg?bwg=1547477439
Continuing along with my aughts film watch, yesterday was Soderbergh's Traffic. I am trying to focus on films that I haven't seen, or films I haven't seen in a very long time. Traffic falls into the latter category, as I did see Traffic in theaters when it was released. I had recalled several very striking images, as well as a fairly heavy-handed directorial style, and things were as I remembered them, for the most part.

Since I had seen it before, it didn't have the same impact as the first time I saw it, but I still consider it to be a damn fine film. At least somewhat guilty of the style-over-substance tag I have seen stamped on this film in the past, it still has enough to chew on, and plenty to unpack as a snapshot of the state of the war on drugs during the era in which the film takes place.

Not sure this will make it on to my ballot, but I am glad I revisited it as I prepare for the countdown.

[Thief]

Traffic
2001, Soderbergh

4

https://film-grab.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/23%20(1262).jpg?bwg=1547477439
Continuing along with my aughts film watch, yesterday was Soderbergh's Traffic. I am trying to focus on films that I haven't seen, or films I haven't seen in a very long time. Traffic falls into the latter category, as I did see Traffic in theaters when it was released. I had recalled several very striking images, as well as a fairly heavy-handed directorial style, and things were as I remembered them, for the most part.

Since I had seen it before, it didn't have the same impact as the first time I saw it, but I still consider it to be a damn fine film. At least somewhat guilty of the style-over-substance tag I have seen stamped on this film in the past, it still has enough to chew on, and plenty to unpack as a snapshot of the state of the war on drugs during the era in which the film takes place.

Not sure this will make it on to my ballot, but I am glad I revisited it as I prepare for the countdown.

I'm in sorta the same boat as you, as in I haven't seen this since theaters, but still hold it in very high regard. I should consider revisiting it as well.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Anyway, regarding the Frontier Trilogy in general, I'd still rank River over the other two despite its issues, since I felt it was the most stylishly, evocatively directed of the three; Villeneuve's (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/villeneuve/reviews/) a really good director in general, but the particular detachment of his style is much better suited for heady Sci-Fi than (what should've been) a more visceral Thriller like Sicario, while Hell Or High Water was well-written, but the actual aesthetic of it was a bit too flat, making it lack tension as a result (and that's before I even compare it to certain spiritual predecessors that came before it, like No Country).
I’d rank Sicario at #1, followed by Wind River then Hell or High Water. Interestingly enough, I think HOHW has the strongest script and perhaps the best performances but the craft in Sicario and the stellar sequences in WR elevate them. I’m a fan of all. None come close to No Country.

Those Who Wish Me Dead would rank at the bottom, if added to the mix, but I too like it a great deal.

I’m a fan of Sheridan (I don’t dislike Sicario 2 or even Without Remorse) but I just think he usually stumbles in areas that stop from hitting proper greatness.

[Stirchley]

Traffic
2001, Soderbergh

4

https://film-grab.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/23%20(1262).jpg?bwg=1547477439
Continuing along with my aughts film watch, yesterday was Soderbergh's Traffic. I am trying to focus on films that I haven't seen, or films I haven't seen in a very long time. Traffic falls into the latter category, as I did see Traffic in theaters when it was released. I had recalled several very striking images, as well as a fairly heavy-handed directorial style, and things were as I remembered them, for the most part.

Since I had seen it before, it didn't have the same impact as the first time I saw it, but I still consider it to be a damn fine film. At least somewhat guilty of the style-over-substance tag I have seen stamped on this film in the past, it still has enough to chew on, and plenty to unpack as a snapshot of the state of the war on drugs during the era in which the film takes place.

Not sure this will make it on to my ballot, but I am glad I revisited it as I prepare for the countdown.

Terrific movie. Hugely entertaining.

[Stirchley]

81537

Re-watch. Terrific movie. PSH was so amazing in this. He gave it 500%.

81538

Zero interest in baseball & had never seen this movie before. Not bad at all. Very endearing & sweet. Costner was majorly hot. Did you know he had a part in The Big Chill that was subsequently deleted?

[Thief]

I’d rank Sicario at #1, followed by Wind River then Hell or High Water. Interestingly enough, I think HOHW has the strongest script and perhaps the best performances but the craft in Sicario and the stellar sequences in WR elevate them. I’m a fan of all. None come close to No Country.

Those Who Wish Me Dead would rank at the bottom, if added to the mix, but I too like it a great deal.

I’m a fan of Sheridan (I don’t dislike Sicario 2 or even Without Remorse) but I just think he usually stumbles in areas that stop from hitting proper greatness.

I guess I'll add Those Who Wish Me Dead to my watchlist.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I guess I'll add Those Who Wish Me Dead to my watchlist.

I think it got a good deal of undue vituperation. As others have criticized, the plot is a little slapdash Jolie is too pretty to buy as a rough and tumble firefighter. However, the plot also has a great deal of fun and subversive elements that are derived from solid characterization and Jolie gives a very good performance.

It all gives the film this veneer to a plot lifted straight from a 90s R-Rated action thriller, a genre and style I’m more than keen to see return. It’s just good meat and potatoes genre work.

[Captain Terror]

I loved Dracula and would put it on a fight at the top of the Universal Monsters classics.

Oh yeah, no question about that. I've probably just watched it too many times so I've got less patience than a first-timer. I don't remember having a problem with the pacing back when I first started watching it.

[Rockatansky]

Anyway, regarding the Frontier Trilogy in general, I'd still rank River over the other two despite its issues, since I felt it was the most stylishly, evocatively directed of the three; Villeneuve's (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/villeneuve/reviews/) a really good director in general, but the particular detachment of his style is much better suited for heady Sci-Fi than (what should've been) a more visceral Thriller like Sicario, while Hell Or High Water was well-written, but the actual aesthetic of it was a bit too flat, making it lack tension as a result (and that's before I even compare it to certain spiritual predecessors that came before it, like No Country).
I won't stand for this Sicario 2 erasure.*

[Gideon58]

https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B2%2F1%2F1%2F4%2F0%2F21140319%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D


4

[Takoma11]

That sounds like a problem with the people watching the movies, rather than the movie itself; I mean, I'm not a poor, gay African-American kid growing up in Miami, but that didn't stop me at all from empathizing with Chiron in Moonlight, after all..

That's what I'm saying: that it may have been a consideration in writing/casting the part that audiences would need a white lead.

[Gideon58]

81537

Re-watch. Terrific movie. PSH was so amazing in this. He gave it 500%.

81538

Zero interest in baseball & had never seen this movie before. Not bad at all. Very endearing & sweet. Costner was majorly hot. Did you know he had a part in The Big Chill that was subsequently deleted?


So nice to see some love for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead...great movie.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Monster_Hunter_Film_Poster.jpg

2

SF = 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

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e0a811d8e8d94f25d2db104b53b24d70/tumblr_pwtfqpDzRm1w3x2dzo9_r1_500.gifv

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e2c88194465c804ec0ba908cd39607d8/tumblr_pwtfqpDzRm1w3x2dzo4_500.gifv


The Curse of the Cat People - Anyone expecting more of the same or for this to emulate it's predecessor, Cat People, might end up disappointed. It's an odd film in that three of the main actors return playing the same roles but in a completely different milieu. Jacques Tourneur isn't back as director and the atmosphere isn't as steeped in dread. It is instead a gentle sort of children's fable about a lonely little girl. Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) and Alice Moore's (Jane Randolph) child Amy (Ann Carter) to be exact. But Oliver is having trouble letting go of the past and his first wife Irena (Simone Simon) is an enduring presence in his life. His daughter Amy, in her loneliness, has somehow evoked the dead woman and Oliver is terrified that Irena's emotional instability will somehow be passed on to his child.

It's a relatively short (70 minute) film so not much screentime is used up on extemporaneous detail or a gradual buildup of tension. Amy meets an eccentric older neighbor and her extravagantly sinister daughter. And before you know it the picture is over. But it is an effectively sentimental film and you'll be glad you watched it. I was. Got me right in the feels.

rating_4

[ScarletLion]

'Rome, Open City' (1944)

Sometimes, you're in the middle of something and you know you're experiencing something a little bit special. I had the feeling with this film. It is one of the best films I've seen in my entire life. It's a masterpiece. Rossellini makes them dark and devastating. It's a stunner. He filmed it in secret before the war even ended.

10 out of 10.

[Takoma11]

'Rome, Open City' (1944)

Sometimes, you're in the middle of something and you know you're experiencing something a little bit special. I had the feeling with this film. It is one of the best films I've seen in my entire life. It's a masterpiece. Rossellini makes them dark and devastating. It's a stunner. He filmed it in secret before the war even ended.

10 out of 10.

Yeah, it is excellent. Not 15 minutes ago, this film was a question on a quiz show and I felt so dumb because I couldn't remember who directed it and I watched both this one and Germany Year Zero in the last few months or so.

Also, I am shocked that its only Oscar nod was a nomination for the screenplay.

[GulfportDoc]

The '73 Jack Palance version is pretty great as well.
I agree. If you haven't seen his The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968), I think you'd enjoy it. Palance portrayed the most believable evil total psychopathic Mr. Hyde that I've ever seen. I recall that it was a TV movie.

[GulfportDoc]

The Curse of the Cat People - Anyone expecting more of the same or for this to emulate it's predecessor, Cat People, might end up disappointed. It's an odd film in that three of the main actors return playing the same roles but in a completely different milieu. Jacques Tourneur isn't back as director and the atmosphere isn't as steeped in dread. It is instead a gentle sort of children's fable about a lonely little girl. Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) and Alice Moore's (Jane Randolph) child Amy (Ann Carter) to be exact. But Oliver is having trouble letting go of the past and his first wife Irena (Simone Simon) is an enduring presence in his life. His daughter Amy, in her loneliness, has somehow evoked the dead woman and Oliver is terrified that Irena's emotional instability will somehow be passed on to his child.


It's a relatively short (70 minute) film so not much screentime is used up on extemporaneous detail or a gradual buildup of tension. Amy meets an eccentric older neighbor and her extravagantly sinister daughter. And before you know it the picture is over. But it is an effectively sentimental film and you'll be glad you watched it. I was. Got me right in the feels.

rating_4
Funny that you should mention these films, Whit. I had just decided to re-watch both Cat People (1942) and The Leopard Man (1943) for Halloween. I got the idea from listening to an Eddie Muller podcast, where he said that he's going to feature these films on the closest to Halloween airing of Noir Alley on TCM, which I believe is on Sat. nights at 10 PM and again Sunday mornings.

Can't recall if I've seen "Curse", but I'll be looking for it.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblackbird.vcu.edu%2Fv14n1%2Fgallery%2Fmicheaux_o%2Fimages%2Fscreenshots%2Fvivian_sy lvia.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Within Our Gates, 1919

Sylvia Landry (Evelyn Preer) lives in the South and is moved by the plight of a school for Black children that is woefully underfunded. Venturing north to Boston to find funding for the school, Sylvia meets the dashing Dr. Vivian (Charles Lucas), who through meeting Sylvia's cousin learns more about the tragic history of Sylvia's family.

This film is the oldest (known) surviving film by an African American director. Not only am I ashamed that I had not heard of it before this year, I think that it is essential viewing.

To begin with, it is frankly jarring to see not only an older film in which all of the leads are Black, but also one in which the acting from the Black actors is so natural (relative to the conventions of silent film performance). This is not a place for bulging eyes, open-mouthed double-takes, or exaggerated walks. The Black characters are . . . brace yourself . . . fully realized human beings with complex inner lives and relationships. Sylvia in particular is a charming mix of understated personality with grit and determination to do what is right. In fact, the film DOES make use of the racial stereotypes, but they occur in two distinct contexts: the first is a Black preacher who is scamming his flock, and the other is in a flashback as imagined by white people, in which a violent Black man attacks a white man for no reason. In these cases, the acting makes a point about how Black people are viewed by white people or how they may choose to represent themselves.

The film is also notable for tackling several social issues impacting Black citizens at the time: the underfunding of Black schools; the attempt to take away the Black vote (I had to look up if a senator referenced in the film was real. Not only was he real, but the quote most famously attributed to him is "If it is necessary every Negro in the state will be lynched; it will be done to maintain white supremacy."); the oppression of Black people under the guise of helping them find religion; the lynching violence faced by so many. These issues are spoken of bluntly and matter-of-factly by the characters, who equally voice the impact of such things.

And yet the film is not a unilateral screed against white people. One key character is a wealthy woman in Boston to whom Sylvia appeals for money. This woman is moved by Sylvia's plea that education is needed to lift Black people up. One of the wealthy woman's friends tries to convince her to donate to a church fund for a Black preacher instead, and their conversation is one of the most interesting in the film. And on the flip side, there are Black characters who are shown to be dishonest, or willing to go along with oppressive behavior if it is to their personal benefit.

The story is engaging, and the final act is interesting as it departs from the main story to give us an extended flashback into Sylvia's youth and the fate of her family. This is a harrowing sequence, and it speaks to the trauma that many Black people carried with them even after slavery and Reconstruction. The writer and director of the film, Oscar Michaeux, was the son of a man who had been a slave. He clearly brings first-hand understanding of these experiences to bear on his story.

Overall a good film and one of historical import. I think that watching this film will only make me more hypercritical of the portrayal of Black characters (whether via blackface or Black actors) in more conventional Hollywood fare from this era. Highly recommended.

4.5

[Wyldesyde19]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/44bd0eaf7f8d539d2aec56269f1dfa94/d4f0431641b1cb4e-47/s640x960/92312883e55b3e6e366c7c2c086388af3c466628.jpg


The Green Knight

I was a little worried about this one. The first 15-20 minutes are so rote, conventional like a lesser Game of Thrones episode coyly, and self-consciously, sprinkled with what feels like a parody of A24isms (the early intertitles are particularly art school precious). But, as Sir John Cleese once declared, "It got better". I think a second viewing may show some intention to the stuffy conventions of the early parts of the film, in slippingly striking contrast to the more moody and ethereal second half of the film, reaching its pinnacle in the lovely extended set piece in the Lord and Lady's manor, exulting in the kind of rich atmosphere that was so conspicuously absent in the first act. I'm a little confused by some of the reviews which talk about "deconstructing myth". I feel quite the opposite. It revels in the slow intoxication of mythic construction. I was much happier the more the film indulged its surrealism, and much less impressed with its attempts at any kind of realism. David Lowery is a young filmmaker, and still a tad too self-conscious in his postures, but with quite an interesting career so far, with only Pete's Dragon being a complete misfire.

9/10
I really loved this movie, and, of the dozen or so 2021 films released I’ve seen so far, is my top film so far. I didn’t find the beginning rote, myself, although I do acknowledge a few scenes do drag a little too long. Still, fantastic film to look at.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Funny that you should mention these films, Whit. I had just decided to re-watch both Cat People (1942) and The Leopard Man (1943) for Halloween. I got the idea from listening to an Eddie Muller podcast, where he said that he's going to feature these films on the closest to Halloween airing of Noir Alley on TCM, which I believe is on Sat. nights at 10 PM and again Sunday mornings.

Can't recall if I've seen "Curse", but I'll be looking for it.
I think it's worth a watch. Very different from Cat People but literally both short and sweet. I liked it. And I like watching Eddie Muller. He's so knowledgeable about noir and Hollywood history and films in general. I've got Cat People DVR'd and also have The Seventh Victim and I Walked with a Zombie programmed in a week or so. Even though I've watched them both a number of times. I'll also be watching out for The Leopard Man. Good stuff all of it.

[Jinnistan]

The Green Knight

I'm a little confused by some of the reviews which talk about "deconstructing myth". I feel quite the opposite. It revels in the slow intoxication of mythic construction.
I went through some more reviews on this last night, and this point still seems muddled for me. The reviews I've seen that talk about this deconstruction of myth tend to more or less be surrounding how the film subverts the specifc myth of the "hero journey" and all of the chivalric hubris and stoic honor, etc etc. I mean, sure it does. But the problem is that all of these elements are fully evident in the source material as well, so this is not some kind of radical reinterpretation of the text. The film adds a number of fanciful additions to these themes, which mostly enhance the themes, but the film does not subvert what was already the subversive integrity of the original poem. The green sash, specifically, is one of the classical symbols of this convergence of honor/weakness, loyalty/duplicity, pride/principle, purity/corruption that exists in literature. Any hero's nobility is already compromised in the text itself. Such a subversion of the mythical hero is not some modern conceit, and has been the backbone of this poem as well as classics from Don Quixote to Moby Dick, which outright mock the pretense of heroism in any kind of childbook sense. I think this may be an example of modern audiences not fully appreciating the thematic complexity of classical literature, due to whatever educational resentments they may have had to suffer.


I will add the one part of the film that disappointed me, the elimination of Morgana le Fay, the sorceress who originally set Gawain on his journey. I was hoping that Vikander's Lady Bertilak, whose monologue about the color green is the essence of Morgana's myth, would be revealed as her avatar, much as Lord Bertilak is revealed to be the Green Knight himself (the blindfolded woman is clearly Morgana, but her purpose becomes confused in this context), these twin antagonists, tempters, adversaries of the game.


Instead, Lowery chose to make Morgana into Gawain's mother, being ths witch and the instigator of his trial. I'm not sure why, as it adds nothing of thematic value to the tale. My initial understanding is that it was done for two stated reasons: because Lowery himself has had a complicated relationship with his own mother, and that he was so impressed by actress Sarita Choudhury that he decided to write her additional scenes. Neither the Freudian/Oedipal inclusion nor Choudhury's skills are enough justification and give no extra weight to the story or myth, and this may be the weakest deviation from the source text that the film offers. Talking foxes are the least of my concerns. "I have to prove myself to mom" is a poor excuse for pathos.

[Jinnistan]

I didn’t find the beginning rote, myself, although I do acknowledge a few scenes do drag a little too long.
I think that the intention was to go for a hyperreal tone as a contrast against the later stages of the film. It didn't work for me.

[Rockatansky]

Yeah, it is excellent. Not 15 minutes ago, this film was a question on a quiz show and I felt so dumb because I couldn't remember who directed it and I watched both this one and Germany Year Zero in the last few months or so.

Also, I am shocked that its only Oscar nod was a nomination for the screenplay.
Now watch Paisan to get a free submarine sandwich...I mean, finish the trilogy.


It's probably the clunkiest of the three but still worthwhile if you like the other two. I think you can see his neorealist style getting more extreme over the course of the three movies, and in Paisan I think it plays interestingly between the more artificial, vignette-based framing device and the immediacy provided by his approach.

[rambond]

Malignant (2021)
8.5/10

[Fabulous]

It Follows (2014)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/70ofCdolCfdhDVsYdS6dyQlTXF7.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7e/St_elmo%27s_fire.jpg
By May be found at the following website: Grainandnoise, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9254807

St. Elmo's Fire - (1985)

This movie got a lot of flack and hatred thrown at it when it was released - and it gets a lot of flack and hatred thrown at it today. I didn't think it was that bad, though Judd Nelson is horribly miscast. I'd have swapped roles between Emilio Estevez and Nelson - I think things would have gone down smoother that way, but I've been pretty wrong in the past (pretty often.) I thought it captured that feeling after graduation - when you really don't want the fun to stop. Why should it? Unwanted babies, drug addiction, alcoholism, having affairs, getting into financial difficulties, keeping a job and a constant pressure to get married arrive on the scene and wreck the good thing you had going for nearly 20 years. The hot and cold Joel Schumacher delivers something lukewarm - if you don't like entitled, needy and spoiled adult kids then for goodness sake don't watch.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/Tron_poster.jpg
By Copied from http://impawards.com/1982/tron.html web site, and intellectual property owned by Buena Vista Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34283486

Tron - (1982)

Tron just didn't do it for me - although I like the idea of sentient electronic impulses that argue amongst themselves whether there is a creator or not (the creator is us - the person who made the programs which live inside computers and networks.) At the end, we notice that the cityscape is much like the interior world of Tron, and so we ponder...But as far as the movie itself goes, the plot is too drab to support all the computer graphics and cool effects. It's the same old quest dressed up in fancy garb, and a lot of technological mumbo-jumbo is thrown about just to confuse us. It gave me a headache.

5/10

[Maddison Watson]

Predestination (2014) - Sci-fi/Action - 9/10

[Maddison Watson]

predestination(2014) - Sci-fi/Action- 9/10

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 rewatched cause it was on the big screen at the cinemas today :)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EY0BeyGfL.jpg

[Ultraman BLACK]

https://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/259072/movieposter/wrong-turn-6-543bc058e3e1b.jpg
0.5
https://c.tenor.com/FJtXBbFw-kMAAAAd/willem-dafoe-creepy.gif

[GulfportDoc]

I think it's worth a watch. Very different from Cat People but literally both short and sweet. I liked it. And I like watching Eddie Muller. He's so knowledgeable about noir and Hollywood history and films in general. I've got Cat People DVR'd and also have The Seventh Victim and I Walked with a Zombie programmed in a week or so. Even though I've watched them both a number of times. I'll also be watching out for The Leopard Man. Good stuff all of it.
I wonder if The Seventh Victim (1943) was an inspiration for Rosemary's Baby (1968)? I'll have to research that one...:cool:

[Wooley]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e0a811d8e8d94f25d2db104b53b24d70/tumblr_pwtfqpDzRm1w3x2dzo9_r1_500.gifv

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e2c88194465c804ec0ba908cd39607d8/tumblr_pwtfqpDzRm1w3x2dzo4_500.gifv


The Curse of the Cat People - Anyone expecting more of the same or for this to emulate it's predecessor, Cat People, might end up disappointed. It's an odd film in that three of the main actors return playing the same roles but in a completely different milieu. Jacques Tourneur isn't back as director and the atmosphere isn't as steeped in dread. It is instead a gentle sort of children's fable about a lonely little girl. Oliver Reed (Kent Smith) and Alice Moore's (Jane Randolph) child Amy (Ann Carter) to be exact. But Oliver is having trouble letting go of the past and his first wife Irena (Simone Simon) is an enduring presence in his life. His daughter Amy, in her loneliness, has somehow evoked the dead woman and Oliver is terrified that Irena's emotional instability will somehow be passed on to his child.

It's a relatively short (70 minute) film so not much screentime is used up on extemporaneous detail or a gradual buildup of tension. Amy meets an eccentric older neighbor and her extravagantly sinister daughter. And before you know it the picture is over. But it is an effectively sentimental film and you'll be glad you watched it. I was. Got me right in the feels.

rating_4

Such an enjoyable film.

[Wooley]

Funny that you should mention these films, Whit. I had just decided to re-watch both Cat People (1942) and The Leopard Man (1943) for Halloween. I got the idea from listening to an Eddie Muller podcast, where he said that he's going to feature these films on the closest to Halloween airing of Noir Alley on TCM, which I believe is on Sat. nights at 10 PM and again Sunday mornings.

Can't recall if I've seen "Curse", but I'll be looking for it.

Be sure to remind me when you watch The Leopard Man, it's a personal favorite. The less you know going in the better.

[Marco]

Killerman (20l9)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Killerman_%282019%29_Film_Poster.jpg
Pretty standard crime thriller with some good actors in but very predictable.

2

[Marco]

Out of Blue (2018)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Out_of_Blue.jpg
Will anyone ever make a decent film from an Amis book or is it just impossible?

2

[Gideon58]

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w300//ku1UvTWYvhFQbSesOD6zteY7bXT.jpg



4.5

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://c.tenor.com/FJtXBbFw-kMAAAAd/willem-dafoe-creepy.gifI've been seeing this all over the web for years and I just figured it was from Boondock Saints or Wild At Heart or any one of a dozen other Willem Dafoe films where he plays a psycho. But it turns out it's from a 2013 short titled The Smile Man. It's on dailymotion if anyone hasn't seen it yet.

[Ultraman BLACK]

I've been seeing this all over the web for years and I just figured it was from Boondock Saints or Wild At Heart or any one of a dozen other Willem Dafoe films where he plays a psycho. But it turns out it's from a 2013 short titled The Smile Man. It's on dailymotion if anyone hasn't seen it yet.

I always thought it was some commercial or some special appearance on a comedy show. Thanks, I'll watch it.

[Torgo]

There's six Wrong Turns? You'd think that one of those turns would be the right one.

[Rockatansky]

There's six Wrong Turns? You'd think that one of those turns would be the right one.

After the fourth, they should have turned the other way.

[WHITBISSELL!]

There's six Wrong Turns? You'd think that one of those turns would be the right one.This last one the mutant hillbillies got them backing out of their driveway.

[Ultraman BLACK]

Wrong Turn 6 is so bad that the mutants looked like they cosplayed themselves.

[Torgo]

After the fourth, they should have turned the other way.No kidding. Someone buy these sexy teens a GPS.

[Ultraman BLACK]

No kidding. Someone buy these sexy teens a GPS.

If this were a +18 forum, I would have rated the nude girls that appear in the movie. Probably the only good thing in the whole film... :laugh:

[Rockatansky]

If this were a +18 forum, I would have rated the nude girls that appear in the movie. Probably the only good thing in the whole film... :laugh:

They'd be a lot sexier if they could read a map.

[this_is_the_ girl]

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j4lLsEjQs70/URXWFALESLI/AAAAAAABs74/M7R2egXj-WQ/s1600/Face%2Bof%2BAnother%2B992.jpg
The Face of Another (1966, Hiroshi Teshigahara)
4
This fell just short of being the masterpiece 'Woman in the Dunes' is (for me). Loved the cinematography, the experimental aspects of the narrative structure, the themes explored - but I also felt it was too in-your-face intellectual and verbose at times, "explaining" things rather than letting the viewer do the work unlocking the hidden meanings. I would've preferred a "less is more" approach with more focus on atmosphere and mystery, instead of that endless philosophizing. The parallel story about the girl with a scarred face and her brother was beautifully sad and moving - in fact I kinda liked it more because of its melancholic understatedness.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F66.media.tumblr.com%2Fdb81bc284f8a0aa3d6d1d1f82abc4c66%2Ftumblr_pwdzmoimvj1u3vseto1 _640.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Idaho Transfer, 1973

Dealing with some mental health issues, Karen (Kelly Bohanon) is brought to a research station by her sister, Isa (Caroline Hildrebrand), where their father is conducting experiments that have resulted in a method of time travel. Discovering that anyone over the age of 20 experiences debilitating effects from the process, a group of young people are sent into a devastated future to try and figure out just what went wrong. But social tensions begin to rise within the time-travelers.

This film had a similar appeal to me as Oz, in that the oddness of some of the acting and pacing ultimately worked for and not against the viewing experience.

The acting is very naturalistic, and at times bumbling. But this only heightens the sense of these out-of-their-depth, barely-adults who have been burdened with the responsibility of saving or restoring humanity. "I'm a woman now!" Karen tells one of the men in the group, announcing that she may be pregnant. But as the stress build on them, it becomes apparent just how unprepared they are for this responsibility.

The science fiction element is done in a simple but effective manner. The "transfer" process involves sitting on a device and activating switches in sequence. There are rules of course---among which are no metal and no pants--but the specific mechanics are unimportant. there are some thrills introduced when the government takes over the facility and the young people must resort to sneaking around to access the machinery and the resources. There's one scene with a transfer gone wrong that makes its point with efficient gruesomeness.

The theme through the film---which is really hammered home in a very on-the-nose and yet very memorable final moment--has to do with scarcity and the behavior of people when resources begin to run thin. There are examples all through the film--everything from the literal things like food and water to the more abstract things like romantic relationship and communication from family. When push comes to shove, the film seems to say, things tend to end up with the same result.

I didn't have many complaints here. The pacing and acting can be a bit rough, but I think that on the acting front that is partly intentional and it does add to the overall tone. I did find it kind of hokey and eye-rolling that the film sometimes seemed to linger on the women as they transferred---really making the most of that whole "no pants" rule. Given the much more effective use of nudity-as-vulnerability later in the film, the early ogling of the two female leads feels out of place. There were also a few moments of conversation between the sisters that very much had a "man writing a female character who clearly didn't run this past any women" vibe.

If you don't mind a slow burn or are interested in a novel premise, I'd recommend this one. I hadn't heard of it before, so hat-tip to the Horrorcrammer who put this one on my radar.

3.5

[GulfportDoc]

Be sure to remind me when you watch The Leopard Man, it's a personal favorite. The less you know going in the better.
Will do, Wooley. It'll be a re-watch for me, but it's been years.

Cornell Woolrich is one of my favorite writers whose books have been turned into noirs. "Leopard" is a horror movie, but classic horror doesn't bother me. It's the stuff from the last 30-40 years that I don't cotton to, although I did like The Exorcist, Jaws, and The Shining.

[Gideon58]

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-yshlhd/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/22847/168410/threedaringdaughters_copy_9854__64832.1602600805.jpg?c=2?imbypass=on



2.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F9g%2Ftx%2F6g%2F6o%2Fgloria-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D8b5e8fb046&f=1&nofb=1

Gloria, 2013

Gloria (Paulina Garcia) is in her late 50, separated from her husband and with two adult children. Lonely, she meets Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez) at a local disco. The two embark on a passionate romance, but Rodolfo's co-dependent relationship with his ex-wife and grown daughters threatens their happiness.

This film lives and dies on the shoulders of Paulina Garcia's incredibly well-realized and lived-in performance as Gloria. In the lead role, Garcia manages to capture a character who is both vulnerable and has the confidence that comes with experience.

A dynamic that this film embraces that is often shied away from in films that deal with romance between older characters is the role of sexual attraction. There are several erotic sequences with Gloria and Rodolfo, intended to show both the attraction between the characters and the fact that they are still interested in a vibrant sex life. This is another place where Garcia's performance is excellent, as her confidence in her body practically leaps off of the screen and is a real rarity. There's nothing sad or pitiable about these characters when it comes to the bedroom.

But a nice flipside to this is the desperation that Gloria feels. She is aware that she is aging, and she doesn't have time to mess around. In joyful moments she clearly feels carefree. But when things start to go wrong, it seems as if reminders of her own mortality are everywhere. In a great sequence, Gloria smiles wryly as she is surprised by coming across a street performer who is puppeteering a skeleton puppet. Gloria knows in a vague sense what she wants, but it's clear that she is still trying to chart a path now that one stage of her life--wife and mother of a household--is past.

Another interesting subplot involves Gloria's neighbor in her apartment who is in the middle of some sort of addiction or mental health crisis. As she lays in bed, Gloria listens to him scream and rant--whether at himself or someone else is unclear. I loved this subplot because it really captured the way that a stressor can really push you to a frustration point in other, sometimes unrelated, areas of your life.

I had two criticisms of this one. The first is just that I don't love mouth noises and the sex scenes are kind of heavy in this department. The second is that I've never been a fan of the idea that violence against men by women is quirky and funny, something that this film tries to pull off. While the violence is not extreme, it was unprovoked and not at all as cute as the film seems to think it is.

This one was a real gem and I'd highly recommend it.

4.5

[FromBeyond]

Man From Earth

This film been on my radar for quite sometime and I seen it was on the free streaming site plex so I have it a try. As a scholar is preparing to move home and start a new life, some colleagues hold an impromptu farewell party for him, on a whim and encouraged by their observations “you haven’t aged in 10 years” he reveals to the group he is over 1,400 years old..

Interesting film entirely made of dialogue, cheap production value but something different and and well meaning I rather enjoyed it, even got a bit teary toward the end when he reveals another secret to the group (no spoilers) but the very end and last reveal was somewhat heavy handed and unnecessary but pleased I seen it.

[Ultraman BLACK]

https://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/646/movieposter/dr-no-523a5d921a054.jpg
4

The gun
Walther PP
The most traditional gun in the James Bond franchise!
81583
No trigger discipline, Mr. Bond?

The girls
Ursula Andress is a baby.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/24/b7/3a/24b73a709483f17bd9ee644d511c3f55.jpg
50 dollars was a fortune back in the days, I guess.

The car
https://img.estadao.com.br/resources/jpg/9/8/1446233454889.jpg
Sunbeam Alpine
That car chase didn't aged very well, but still nice to see this bathtub with wheels.

[Hey Fredrick]

https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/2/Open/TMDB4_2462/Program/1216389/_derived_jpg_q90_500x500_m0/t_men_poster.jpg


A couple of Treasury agents go undercover to infiltrate a counter fitting ring. Very good movie, has a couple of surprises and moves fast. rating_4

[GulfportDoc]

@wooley Be sure to remind me when you watch The Leopard Man, it's a personal favorite. The less you know going in the better.Will do, Wooley. It'll be a re-watch for me, but it's been years.

Cornell Woolrich is one of my favorite writers whose books have been turned into noirs. "Leopard" is a horror movie, but classic horror doesn't bother me. It's the stuff from the last 30-40 years that I don't cotton to, although I did like The Exorcist, Jaws, and The Shining.
Well, I couldn't wait. Re-watched The Leopard Man (1943) last night. It's a tame horror flick-- just the way I like them. What struck me was that Jacques Tourneur directed both "Leopard" and Cat People (1942), but the notable contrast in the productions, outside of their stories, was that "Cat" was photographed by Nicholas Musuraca (DP on the great noir Out of the Past), which made it a superior film. Although "Leopard's" DP, Robert De Grasse, eventually directed the wonderful Born to Kill, I don't believe he was as gifted as was Musuraca.

But one interesting thing about "Leopard" is that it was likely the first American serial killer film. There had been a couple of Brit Jack the Ripper treatments, one by Hitchcock (The Lodger), but I can't think of another U.S. serial killer film that predated "Leopard". It interestingly discussed briefly the insane motivation in the mind of a serial killer.

For those who are interested, many of these films are available on YouTube.

[edarsenal]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/02e14163410ba9fa33c53c63c30affc5/3f5656614bdfc265-fc/s500x750/dad963071907945782dd6b0ba20f0b81212b0a5a.gifv

Rurouni Kenshi: Final Chapter Part 1 (2021) 3.5 It seems we had stumbled upon the end of this series and while it was a bit confusing it still was a somewhat decent stand-alone, live-action manga chuck full of anime tropes but passable amusement if not actual enjoyment for what we saw. Still unsure if we would delve into the series or not.


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT7QCPvgwDTISXC5SBlU0ebZFg5XVShBKC2QF8nBV_OtYobVc1h87NMUsaQRkzpf4TLUV8&usqp=CAU

A Glitch in the Matrix (2021) 2.5 Basically a conspiracy documentary that played out like interviews of people who saw ghosts, kind of thing. Their identities are hidden behind digital personas without any "science" behind the "belief" with a lot of Matrix film footage with the testimony of people who firmly believe that the film is a reality. The amusement wore off quickly for me.

[Wooley]

Well, I couldn't wait. Re-watched The Leopard Man (1943) last night. It's a tame horror flick-- just the way I like them. What struck me was that Jacques Tourneur directed both "Leopard" and Cat People (1942), but the notable contrast in the productions, outside of their stories, was that "Cat" was photographed by Nicholas Musuraca (DP on the great noir Out of the Past), which made it a superior film. Although "Leopard's" DP, Robert De Grasse, eventually directed the wonderful Born to Kill, I don't believe he was as gifted as was Musuraca.

But one interesting thing about "Leopard" is that it was likely the first American serial killer film. There had been a couple of Brit Jack the Ripper treatments, one by Hitchcock (The Lodger), but I can't think of another U.S. serial killer film that predated "Leopard". It interestingly discussed briefly the insane motivation in the mind of a serial killer.

For those who are interested, many of these films are available on YouTube.

I agree with everything you say, I think though that you should spoiler-tag your second paragraph. That literally gives away the entire film which is absolutely played as a massive twist.

[Fabulous]

A Better Life (2011)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/lYkxECrpZuaDUixxze5cXpvEomf.jpg

[Stirchley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F9g%2Ftx%2F6g%2F6o%2Fgloria-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D8b5e8fb046&f=1&nofb=1

Gloria, 2013


Fairly sure I bailed out of this. Totally prefer the remake Gloria Belle.


https://img.estadao.com.br/resources/jpg/9/8/1446233454889.jpg
Sunbeam Alpine
That car chase didn't aged very well, but still nice to see this bathtub with wheels.

“Bathtub on wheels”? Strange description of a Sunbeam motor car.

[Thief]

RAW
(2016, Ducournau)

https://scariesthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/raw.jpg


"I'm sure you'll find a solution, honey."



Raw follows Justine (Garance Marillier), a young woman just starting at veterinary school who finds herself in the above situation. As she stumbles and tries to find her way through academic life and a days-long hazing ritual for new students, she is led through by her older sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) who torments her, but at the same time tries to help her "survive". When Justine, a lifelong vegetarian, tastes raw meat for the first time as part of one of the hazing rituals, she starts developing a crave for flesh which she can't control, and to which she doesn't seem to find a solution.

Despite its horror leanings, Raw is, at its core, a coming-of-age film. We see Justine finding her way out of her new surroundings in college, while also discovering things like alcohol, drugs, sex, and her own cannibalistic nature, pretty much at the same time. Marillier does a great job of showing the mixture of emotions that seem to be going through her mind as her character tries to find solutions to all of the issues that her young life seem to be throwing at her.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2241849#post2241849)