Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/Kpax.jpg
By POV - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18574644

K-PAX - (2001)

Find the bluebird of happiness. Everyone has the power to heal themselves. All creatures in the universe know right from wrong. I'm strangling you because I'm trying to help you. Fruit tastes so good. Prot arrives from K-PAX and starts lecturing Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges) - a psychiatrist whose first instinct is to believe this guy comes from another planet and invites him to come home and play with his kids (it nearly turns into a disaster - go figure.) I don't mind the sentiment, but sometimes it's a little heavy-handed, and Prot is so smug I want to strangle him, before realising that Prot would think I'm just trying to teach him an important lesson. I know some people who really like K-PAX (although I'm not sure what they think of it now.) I don't think it's a really bad movie - and I believe that we should be treating people with mental health problems a lot differently (and no - not by strangling them) but K-PAX is a bit like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest if during every scene Jack Nicholson faced the camera and gently spelled everything out to us with a condescending smile.

6/10

[Tugg]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODVlOTMxM2ItYzgxMy00ZGNiLWI0NWUtNDA1YWE0MWU0NGNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY1MTg4Mzc@._V1_.jpg

3.5
Main Queenpins characters from best to worst:
1. Ken (by Paul Walter Hauser)
2. JoJo (by Kirby Howell-Baptiste)
3. Connie (by Kristen Bell)
4. Simon (by Vince Vaughn)

[Fabulous]

Remember Me (2010)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/kcfO45p2BqVZPAVtc7TcM1tPNxu.jpg

[ScarletLion]

'No Time to Die' (2021)

I had low expectations, but enjoyed the first half of the film. Then it just gets about as ridiculous as Bond can get.

Several characters could literally be excluded from the film and it would be the same film. The character of Nomi is literally only there to tick a box and the makers can say "Er yep, we have had a 007 agent that is a black woman, now we're going to cast white men again". Maybe that's a clever ploy but it doesn't do the film any good. Plus I liked her Jamaican accent far better than her real one! I like Rami Malek, but not in this. He's miscast and stone cold.

And Bond was shot about 4 times at close range but then somehow manages to get up, climb a ladder and go up to a rooftop? I thought we'd dispensed with that sort of nonsense after the Brosnan era.

And of course the bad guy has a lair built into an Island cliff face. This bordered on more Austin Powers than Craig era Bond. A parody of a parody.

I see what they were doing with the ending, introducing us to a possible Daniel Craig link in about 5 Bond films' time where he comes back in the form of a memory as Jane Bond agent 0070 recalls her father. Although I did quite like the emotional side of his connection with his daughter - ridiculous can be fun sometimes, but here it was a bit too lampooned.

2.5

[ScarletLion]

'The Golden Glove' (2019)

https://i.imgur.com/tIB5aVV.gif

Woah.

Grimy.
Nasty.
Relentless.
Filthy.
Grubby.
Deranged.

It's also an extremely well made film by German Turkish director Fatih Akin (In the Fade, Head-On) who gives us a no holes barred look at the depraved life of real life serial killer Fritz Honka, who terrorized women in the German city of Hamburg in the 1970s.

One of the most disturbing and harrowing films I've seen since I watched a Gaspar Noe film. The film should come with a warning of extreme violence, nudity and upsetting images from start to end.

7.5/10

[Jinnistan]

There's something that just didn't totally gel for me in the triangle between Kirk, Khan, and the Genesis project.
Hm. I think it might be interesting to consider that Kirk was denying the commitments of his generation - his son - and the responsibilities inherent in that, while Khan is primarily concerned with preserving his own generation, having been devastated by his exile conditions, and trying to usurp the Genesis machine to create his own fertile world (only using it as a weapon once this became unachievable), makes a pretty compelling parallel. (The Ceti eelworms which are explicitly mentioned by Khan as representatives of the essence of generation is an important clue to his obsession.) But I feel that the contrast between Kirk's avoidance/acceptance of parenthood and Khan's familial frustration draw directly from Genesis as a central metaphor.

Also, as a possible spoiler, Search For Spock, which involves the fate of the new world created at the end of Khan, and involving the regeneration of Spock, makes for an extra layer of meaning on these themes, if not quite as satisfying.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i83/fivestepstodanger_1957_mp_1sht_1200_072420090114.jpg?w=400


Five Steps to Danger - This is from 1956 and it starts out as a promising enough noir. I mean, just take a gander at that poster above.

"First she lured him into her car ... Then she let him taste her lips ... and then ... THE TERROR BEGAN!" What's not to like?

The casting is certainly reassuring with Sterling Hayden playing to his strengths as tough, no nonsense John Emmett and Ruth Roman as the enigmatic Ann Nicholson. They meet in a remote section of California near the Nevada border where John Emmett's car has broken down. He's on his way to Texas to visit family after a stop at a hunting and fishing lodge and is forced to sell his car leaving him on foot. She's in a hurry to get to Santa Fe and offers him a ride if he'll help her drive. When he stops at a roadside diner a woman named Helen Bethke (Jeanne Cooper) approaches him claiming to be Nicholson's nurse. She tells him that Mrs. Nicholson has had a mental breakdown and she and a Dr. Simmons (Werner Klemperer) have been treating her. When she finds out their destination she makes arrangements to meet them and take charge of Nicholson. It's only when a pair of state troopers pull them over and tell him that she's wanted for questioning in a murder back in California that the story takes an unexpected detour into Cold War espionage.

How you take this divergence will probably affect your overall enjoyment of the movie. Some may find it off-putting, others will just roll with the punches. And the story doesn't completely lose it's footing. It just involves additional exposition in the form of a flashback in postwar Berlin. The CIA gets involved as well as the FBI but the focus remains on the characters played by Hayden and Roman and they're enough to keep the audience invested. Hayden is money in the bank as far as I'm concerned and Roman performs admirably.

80/100

[Wooley]

I like Bond movies when they're good, but Qos definitely wasn't one of the good ones; I mean, even if I don't compare it to the entries that surrounded it, (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/bond/reviews/) Quandumb still would've been a massive, incoherent disappointment anyway, and one of the biggest victims of the 2007 writer's strike that was going on at that time. You should've just waited it out, guys!

I re-watched it and it's actually my second-favorite of the Craig films. Easily.

[Wooley]

'No Time to Die' (2021)

I had low expectations, but enjoyed the first half of the film. Then it just gets about as ridiculous as Bond can get.

Several characters could literally be excluded from the film and it would be the same film. The character of Nomi is literally only there to tick a box and the makers can say "Er yep, we have had a 007 agent that is a black woman, now we're going to cast white men again". Maybe that's a clever ploy but it doesn't do the film any good. Plus I liked her Jamaican accent far better than her real one! I like Rami Malek, but not in this. He's miscast and stone cold.

And Bond was shot about 4 times at close range but then somehow manages to get up, climb a ladder and go up to a rooftop? I thought we'd dispensed with that sort of nonsense after the Brosnan era.

And of course the bad guy has a lair built into an Island cliff face. This bordered on more Austin Powers than Craig era Bond. A parody of a parody.

I see what they were doing with the ending, introducing us to a possible Daniel Craig link in about 5 Bond films' time where he comes back in the form of a memory as Jane Bond agent 0070 recalls her father. Although I did quite like the emotional side of his connection with his daughter - ridiculous can be fun sometimes, but here it was a bit too lampooned.

2.5

I agree with every word of this, though I liked it even less than you did.
Malek was stone cold, and not in any positive reading of that phrase, the whole third act was silly while trying to be ultra-serious. The lair was hilarious. I mean, he's not even some organization that has a terrorist cash-flow or anything, it's just one crazy dude who is apparently richer than, like, France. The new 007 was completely superfluous, as you say her removal from the film would not even be noticed if a cut with her scenes taken out were generated or if she had just been some random soldier walking next to him in the scenes where they're together.
It's not a good film.

[Thief]

RIFIFI
(1955, Dassin)

https://i.imgur.com/ygOWob9.jpg


"There are kids, millions of kids who've grown up poor. Like you. How did it happen? What difference was there between them and you, that you became a hood, a tough guy, and not them? Know what I think, Jo? They're the tough guys, not you."



Rififi follows Tony (Jean Servais), a tough but aging criminal that sets out to commit a risky diamond theft. He is joined by his best friend Jo (Carl Möhner), a mutual friend called Mario (Robert Manuel), and a safe-cracker called César (Jules Dassin). The four come up with a plan to break into the store at night, disable the alarms, crack the safe, and walk out in the morning without being seen. But can they succeed?

This is a film of which I had heard countless good things, so it was great to see it deliver. You gotta hand it to Dassin for putting in the lead a man that's not only a criminal, but who we see brutally abusing of his former girlfriend within the first act. Tony is a no-nonsense thief that seems to have nothing to lose, and lives his life in such a way. He's not particularly charismatic and yet we want to see him and his friends succeed.

Grade: 4.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2252614#post2252614)

[mark f]

Behave Yourself! (George Beck, 1951) 2.5 5.5/10
Son of Lassie (S. Sylvan Simon, 1945) 2.5 6/10
Dear Son (Mohamed Ben Attia, 2018) 2.5 5.5/10
Lassie Come Home (Fred M. Wilcox, 1943) 3 6.5/10
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/04/60/20/046020ec6282b19e8aa065fac4651a8f.gif
Wonderful on-location photography (mostly in California) when Lassie travels throughout Britain to get back to her beloved Roddy McDowall.
Killer-Dog (Jacques Tourneur, 1936) 3 6.5/10
My Deadly Playmate (Michael Leo Centi, 2018) 1 3/10
Dear Rider, (Fernando Villena, 2021) 3 6.5/10
Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015) 3.5 7/10
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/LittleFrankBlackpanther-size_restricted.gif
Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) and Bond (Daniel Craig) fall in love while trying to solve the mysteries of SPECTRE.
Challenge to Lassie (Richard Thorpe, 1949) 2.5 6/10
Heartbeeps (Allan Arkush, 1981) 2 5/10
The Invincible Armour (Ng See-yuen, 1977) 2.5 6/10
No Time to Die (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021) 3 6.5/10
https://imgix.pedestrian.tv/content/uploads/2019/12/bond-1.gif?auto=format&fit=fill&q=65&w=720&nrs=30&fm=gif
Even if overlong and a disappointment, this Bond where he meets his fate has its share of the usual charms.
Passing (Rebecca Hall, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Runaway Nightmare (Mike Cartel, 1982) 2 5/10
Fighter Squadron (Raoul Walsh, 1948) 2.5 5.5/10
Hospital of the Transfiguration (Edward Zebrowski, 1979) 3 6.5/10
https://www.screenslate.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Featured-171103-HospitalOfTheTransfiguration.jpg?itok=YE6x8gbm
Polish doctors' treatment of their mental hospital patients during WWII isn't that great but compared to the Nazis, it's downright humanitarian.
A Cop Movie (Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Blue (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2018) 2 5/10
Torpedo Run (Joseph Pevney, 1958) 2.5 6/10
Clifford the Big Red Dog (Walt Becker, 2021) 2.5+ 6/10
https://imgix.gizmodo.com.au/content/uploads/sites/2/2021/06/30/05a486fc56cdb47ddfb743fc37836799.gif?auto=format&fit=fill&q=65&w=720&nrs=40&fm=gif
Magical dog Clifford loves his adoptive family and to varying degrees, they love him back.

[Takoma11]

'The Golden Glove' (2019)

https://i.imgur.com/tIB5aVV.gif

Woah.

Grimy.
Nasty.
Relentless.
Filthy.
Grubby.
Deranged.

It's also an extremely well made film by German Turkish director Fatih Akin (In the Fade, Head-On) who gives us a no holes barred look at the depraved life of real life serial killer Fritz Honka, who terrorized women in the German city of Hamburg in the 1970s.

One of the most disturbing and harrowing films I've seen since I watched a Gaspar Noe film. The film should come with a warning of extreme violence, nudity and upsetting images from start to end.

7.5/10

Yeah, I watched this for the Halloween challenge. The lead actor's look is, um, quite the transformation!

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.mediabiz.de%2Fs%2Fjonas-dassler-ist-der-deutsche-shooting-star-2020%2Fnewspics%2F785%2F446785_1%2Fb2780x1450.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Hm. I think it might be interesting to consider that Kirk was denying the commitments of his generation - his son - and the responsibilities inherent in that, while Khan is primarily concerned with preserving his own generation, having been devastated by his exile conditions, and trying to usurp the Genesis machine to create his own fertile world (only using it as a weapon once this became unachievable), makes a pretty compelling parallel. (The Ceti eelworms which are explicitly mentioned by Khan as representatives of the essence of generation is an important clue to his obsession.) But I feel that the contrast between Kirk's avoidance/acceptance of parenthood and Khan's familial frustration draw directly from Genesis as a central metaphor.

I mean, I get it, I just didn't find it that satisfying or interesting. The contrast between Kirk and Khan was solid, but the Genesis piece didn't interest me that much, despite serving as an element of the overall theme.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Judas_and_the_Black_Messiah_poster.png
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65348621

Judas and the Black Messiah - (2021)

Well, that shocked me. And saddened me, as well as frustrated and maddened me. It's a tale about Fred Hampton, an activist who scared J. Edgar Hoover who used his FBI to take him down - first getting him arrested for 'stealing ice-cream' and put away for years and then just outright assassinating him. He was 21 years old. Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield as FBI informant Bill O'Neal stand out and give us towering portrayals of a man inspired and a man afraid. It's just about a war movie, with power and influence at stake in a shaky, repressed society. That's 5/8 Best Picture Oscar nominated films I've seen so far - and I've found just about all of them 7/10 good. I'm still leaning a little towards The Father out of the films I've seen.

7/10

Behave Yourself! (George Beck, 1951) 2.5 5.5/10

Ugh. This film has stuck in my memory over the years for some reason. It's one where the filmmakers pretty much felt that yelling was funny, so characters are constantly shouting and screaming. Even the film's title is shouting. Shelley Winters was really something back then though.

[chawhee]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/Kpax.jpg
By POV - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18574644

K-PAX - (2001)

6/10

I'm definitely going to watch this, but I decided I'm going to read the book first. Give me a month or so haha

[Yomi]

Disconnect (2012)
rating_4
It's surprisingly good.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA2MTEzMDkyOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzc4NTgxOQ@@._V1_UX400.jpg

[StuSmallz]

I mean, I get it, I just didn't find it that satisfying or interesting. The contrast between Kirk and Khan was solid, but the Genesis piece didn't interest me that much, despite serving as an element of the overall theme.I will say this for Khan's treatment of the Genesis Device at least, it did do a good job of both explaining the general function of it to us, while also letting us experience the effects of it for ourselves; I mean, sure you've got the exposition dump of the proposal video for the project, but you also have the visual accompaniment of the process through that awesome, old-school CGI, along with the beautiful sight of the transformed cave later on to marvel at. It really does feel like a nice midpoint between the approach of 2001 (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/2001-a-space-odyssey/) and a work of older-school Sci-Fi like Forbidden Planet, where the former explains almost nothing to us (which is part of that movie's appeal, mind you), while the latter explains too much, pretty much stopping for fifteen minutes in the middle to give us a literal guided tour of all this leftover alien technology; it's like, let us experience some wonder at all this stuff for ourselves, would you movie?

[ScarletLion]

'Shock Corridor' (1963)

https://i.imgur.com/0fo6i0z.gif

A fine Samuel Fuller film. Journalist attempts to win the pullitzer prize by entering a mental hospital pretending to be a patient in the effort to solve a murder then writing an article about it. What I like was that the plot has an air of predictability about it, but Fuller is still able to weave subplots in and out to make it interesting and not a foregone conclusion.

7.7/10

4

[Hey Fredrick]

Been on a rewatch kick since the boy has moved back waiting for his apartment to become available. His taste in movies and mine are miles apart. He likes love stories and silly comedies and I don't. Growing up he hated horror movies but my house, my rules. He won't watch b&w or foreign films....yet. I'm working on it. Knowing that we've watched:
The Return of the Living Dead
Hereditary
Martyrs
Event Horizon
Dead Alive
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Night of Something Strange
Heathers
When Harry Met Sally
and
Three Men and a Baby

I have fun watching him get uneasy at some of them, especially Dead Alive and Night of Something Strange, which are obviously gore-fest comedies. So far he has liked them all. Moon, Mystic River and Frailty are next up. Last House on the Left is one he wants to see (just because of its rep) but I told him he'd probably be better off watching A Virgin Spring first. Hoping that one piques his interest in foreign films.

[ScarletLion]

He won't watch b&w or foreign films....yet. I'm working on it.

What? Why not? Why would you dictate what films you watch by going only on what colours are on the screen?

[Wooley]

What? Why not? Why would you dictate what films you watch by going only on what colours are on the screen?

I have a friend who doesn't wanna watch any movies filmed on... film.
No joke.
She says they're just "too grainy".

So, like, I can't even get her to watch The Princess Bride.

[honeykid]

Because that's what most 'normal' people do. They don't do 'old', they don't 'do' subtitles (or reading) and they don't do Black & White. Remember, we're the weirdos. :yup:

[ScarletLion]

I have a friend who doesn't wanna watch any movies filmed on... film.
No joke.
She says they're just "too grainy".

So, like, I can't even get her to watch The Princess Bride.

What in the world?

So this person would refuse to watch Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator etc?

Those 3 films have such good image quality that most film review sites call the 4K UHDisc versions of them 'reference quality'

[ScarletLion]

Because that's what most 'normal' people do. They don't do 'old', they don't 'do' subtitles (or reading) and they don't do Black & White. Remember, we're the weirdos. :yup:

Black and white doesn't have to mean old though.

[Torgo]

Black Sunday (1960) - 4

Barbara Steele does iconic work in dual roles as a resurrected witch, Princess Vajda, and as the ancestor she torments in this prime example of Gothic horror. You're likely not skeptical of anything that's in black and white if you're interested in this subgenre, but let's hope it's never colorized because it's a masterclass in black and white cinematography. The sets - the cemetery and Vajda family castle interiors in particular - also have a lot to do with this for how they exemplify the classic Gothic look and feel. In other words, it's the kind of movie you can imagine being projected on the walls of haunted houses or Gothic night clubs. Oh, and did I mention how good Barbara Steele is in this? Not only is she convincing as our seductive yet terrifying villain, but Steele also goes all in with her portrayal of sweet, rightfully despondent and in short much different in personality descendant Katia. It's not just about the scary stuff, though: the movie is also very much a classic Gothic love story thanks to the chemistry Steele shares with John Richardson's accidental hero, Dr. Gorobec. While the movie makes the most of its obviously low budget, the seams show here and there, most notably in a scene with an (obviously) fake bat. It's classic status still stands; not to mention, it's a must-see for Hammer fans since it has the same self-contained and lean, but not light qualities of that studio's best output.

[Hey Fredrick]

What? Why not? Why would you dictate what films you watch by going only on what colours are on the screen?


Eh, I was that way once. He's still young and I'm working on him. He loved The Lighthouse so I'm thinking it's more the year than just b&w. He gets frumpy when I pick a movie before 1990 but he's coming around on them.

[ScarletLion]

Eh, I was that way once. He's still young and I'm working on him. He loved The Lighthouse so I'm thinking it's more the year than just b&w. He gets frumpy when I pick a movie before 1990 but he's coming around on them.

Keep at it.

[Stirchley]

I told him he'd probably be better off watching A Virgin Spring first. Hoping that one piques his interest in foreign films.

LOL. Most likely will put him off foreign films for life.

Because that's what most 'normal' people do. They don't do 'old', they don't 'do' subtitles (or reading) and they don't do Black & White. Remember, we're the weirdos. :yup:

Don’t consider myself weird & I do all of the above.

[Stirchley]

82717

Nice movie. Very slow.

[Thief]

Been on a rewatch kick since the boy has moved back waiting for his apartment to become available. His taste in movies and mine are miles apart. He likes love stories and silly comedies and I don't. Growing up he hated horror movies but my house, my rules. He won't watch b&w or foreign films....yet. I'm working on it. Knowing that we've watched:
The Return of the Living Dead
Hereditary
Martyrs
Event Horizon
Dead Alive
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Night of Something Strange
Heathers
When Harry Met Sally
and
Three Men and a Baby

I have fun watching him get uneasy at some of them, especially Dead Alive and Night of Something Strange, which are obviously gore-fest comedies. So far he has liked them all. Moon, Mystic River and Frailty are next up. Last House on the Left is one he wants to see (just because of its rep) but I told him he'd probably be better off watching A Virgin Spring first. Hoping that one piques his interest in foreign films.

I'm a horror fan and even I thought Last House on the Left was pretty bad. If you can get him to see Virgin Spring, that's definitely a max improvement.

[honeykid]

Don’t consider myself weird & I do all of the above.

Not considering yourself weird and not being weird are two different things. :D Just try to remember that most people don't know or care who directed a film. They want big sparkly thing go bang.

Black and white doesn't have to mean old though.
Nor does subtitles, but that's not the point.

Why do so many of us not enjoy the cinema experience (as much as we used to)? Because we're there to watch the film. Not watch the film and.... Just watch the film. Personally, I wouldn't allow food in there, but that's where they make their money so that's the way it's gotta be.

[edarsenal]

Not considering yourself weird and not being weird are two different things. :D Just try to remember that most people don't know or care who directed a film. They want big sparkly thing go bang.


Nor does subtitles, but that's not the point.

Why do so many of us not enjoy the cinema experience (as much as we used to)? Because we're there to watch the film. Not watch the film and.... Just watch the film. Personally, I wouldn't allow food in there, but that's where they make their money so that's the way it's gotta be.
Hold on, you don't snack when you watch a film?

weirdo

[edarsenal]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siMYDywefJY/Ucp_PlTkztI/AAAAAAAAAWY/Bb1sWzhZC9k/s1600/romeo-and-julie.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/6b/3b/b36b3b03b1337b8484866b0e6f430b5e.jpg


Romeo and Juliet (1936) 4+++

Director: George Cukor
Romeo: Leslie Howard Juliet: Norma Shearer
Mercutio: John Barrymore Tybalt: Basil Rathbone

Just on that alone made this a MustSee! for me.
Along with them, adding to the enjoyment of this film, was C. Aubrey Smith as Juliet's father, Capulet. As well as two entertaining surprises, a twenty-something Andy Devine as a Capulet man (the one accused of biting his thumb at some Montagues in the Opening) and played with a delightful fire, Juliet's Nurse by Edna May Oliver.

The standout here, for me, was Norma Shearer. She was utterly effin enchanting as Juliet. The scene at the masked ball when they first see each other and she "forgets" about her dance partner got me completely hooked.

Yes, yes, I know Howard (43) and Shearer (36) were WAAAAY too old to play star-crossed teenagers, and for the longest time, it kept me from seeing this version. But, I gotta tell ya - They nailed it.

My only minor disappointment was expecting a genuinely intense swordfight between Barrymore and Rathbone, but with Barrymore very very drunk, very very much of the time, I guess they couldn't pull off too many wide shots of the two men fighting, so there was a lot of one-sided shots of each combatant. Done very f@ckin well, I must admit. And Howard's and Rathbone right after was even better still.
Not on the level of Rathbone and Flynn's epic fight in Robin Hood,
https://us.v-cdn.net/6029559/uploads/834/PCCUVGTMG280.gif
But still, both Rathbone and Barrymore were ideal in their roles. Giving proper gravitas and whimsical perspectively.

Quite the production and definitely worthy of the echelon of Great reproductions of this Shakespeare Classic of two kids from warring families who fall head over heels, so hard, so fast, only to -- well, you know how it ends. (And shame on you if ya don't)

[Allaby]

Red Notice (2021) How is it that in a film with Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds,and Gal Gadot, the best performance is by Ed Sheeran? This is bland, predictable, and generic. Even worse, it isn't entertaining or fun. Poorly written, underdeveloped characters and mediocre action, Red Notice is one of the worst films of the year. 2

[Corax]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


It is weird to watch "American" movies made for a foreign audience. This film is made for a hybrid audience (this is the future, as evidenced by the NBA). The sweet spot for profits is that film that rests on a saddle between these to groups, although this one leans more in the direction of a Chinese audience. The film criticize bad-dad for not recognizing the return of his daughter along with the son, but the son is the one who inherits the ten rings. So... ...kinda progressive? Super progressive for China?



The CGI is good. It is amazing that they picked a funny female side-kick who is physically "dumpy." The actress is funny and has screen presence, but she is no K-Pop model. It's nice to see someone who looks more like a mere mortal on screen.



The story is vacuous. Call to adventure, baby-talk mythology, solve problem with violence, blah, blah. No amount of CGI cover over the by-the-number plotting, but there are some nice action scenes and it is nice to look at.



Will I be rushing to rewatch it? No. Was it "OK"? Sure. Is this the new bar for Marvel?

[Rockatansky]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


It is weird to watch "American" movies made for a foreign audience. This film is made for a hybrid audience (this is the future, as evidenced by the NBA). The sweet spot for profits is that film that rests on a saddle between these to groups, although this one leans more in the direction of a Chinese audience. The film criticize bad-dad for not recognizing the return of his daughter along with the son, but the son is the one who inherits the ten rings. So... ...kinda progressive? Super progressive for China?



The CGI is good. It is amazing that they picked a funny female side-kick who is physically "dumpy." The actress is funny and has screen presence, but she is no K-Pop model. It's nice to see someone who looks more like a mere mortal on screen.



The story is vacuous. Call to adventure, baby-talk mythology, solve problem with violence, blah, blah. No amount of CGI cover over the by-the-number plotting, but there are some nice action scenes and it is nice to look at.



Will I be rushing to rewatch it? No. Was it "OK"? Sure. Is this the new bar for Marvel?
I have no interest in watching this, but it is nice to see Tony Leung get some of that sweet, sweet blockbuster money.

[edarsenal]

https://cinemafanatic.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/you_cant_get_away_with_murder_billy_halop.jpg?w=584
https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/190/1330036327_1.jpghttps://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjYwMzAwZTUtNDg1Mi00Y2UxLTkwOTAtYjM2MDczZWMyZGQ1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MzI2Ng@@._V1_.jpg


You Can't Get Away With Murder (1939) 4.5+

This unknown gem was a surprise Double-Feature for me when it popped up after Romeo and Juliet, and without looking it up or researching it, I simply ran with it, knowing nothing of the plot as I experienced it.

It seems the Studio rather liked hooking up Bogart with the Dead End Kids since this one had him with the leader of the gang, Billy Holap as a somewhat good kid, Johnny, who prefers to hang out with gangster Frank Wilson (Humphry Bogart). Regardless of how his older sister (Gale Page) and her engaged beau, a Security guard (Harvey Stevens) worry and fret.

Sh#t goes sideways after Johnny steals Stevens' gun and goes on a crime spree with Wilson. First, robbing a gas station, and then a jewelry store where the owner, an old man, is killed by Bogart and leaves the gun behind to frame Stevens.
All of this occurs in the first third of the movie. Including the two of them arrested for the gas station, and Stevens is sent to Death Row for murder.
The next two-thirds of the film goes down in Sing-Sing prison in New York. And Holap's character is torn between his loyalty (and fear) for Bogart as the Day of Execution draws closer.
A bonus to this movie is Henry Travers as Pops. Playing a more rough around the edges "Clarence" as he would in '46 in It's a Wonderful Life. Playing the angel on Holap's Johnny's shoulder.

Another aspect that I could not confirm was the similarities between this film and a few character points in Shawshank Redemption. With a kind old man running the library, and there's even a character named Red on the morning of his Release is denied Parole. The source of Morgan Freeman's nickname Red for the red stamp used when denying Parole.
They are distant points, but I couldn't help but feel there may have been some inspiration or a minor tip of the hat by the author to a possible old-time favorite crime film.

And quite a crime film it is.

The cinematographer Sol Polito, who did countless films such as Now, Voyager, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, 42nd Street, The Charge of the Light Brigade, to name a small few, several times, truly stood out in this film. There is a scene in prison with a fistfight with prison guards done with shadows on the floor that included the prison bars. I was very impressed with the creativity of hiding the violence while still invoking the danger of it. It played out brilliantly. Understanding how well used "shadow play" is used as a device, it was STILL a well-used and clever device, all the same.

While the opening setup of the two lovers making plans for a future felt a bit sappy, it set the framework for this very intense, dark crime film packed with dangerous, untrustworthy characters and the emotionally distraught conflict that tears and gnaws at young Johnny.

[GulfportDoc]

Five Steps to Danger - This is from 1956 and it starts out as a promising enough noir. I mean, just take a gander at that poster above.


"First she lured him into her car ... Then she let him taste her lips ... and then ... THE TERROR BEGAN!" What's not to like?
...
The CIA gets involved as well as the FBI but the focus remains on the characters played by Hayden and Roman and they're enough to keep the audience invested. Hayden is money in the bank as far as I'm concerned and Roman performs admirably.
80/100
I don't believe I've seen this one! IMO Ruth Roman is a perfect noir actress. She's not only a dish, but has a wider range than she's sometimes given credit for. Hayden? What can you say. He was a goofy SOB, but he made some great pictures.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/The_Conjuring_-_The_Devil_Made_Me_Do_It.png/220px-The_Conjuring_-_The_Devil_Made_Me_Do_It.png

3

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

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Vforvendettamov.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2006/v_for_vendetta_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2132679

V For Vendetta - (2005)

I was wondering if I'd feel any different towards this film if I watched it again - I mean, it's cracking the top 200 on the IMDb, so it must be doing something right. A bit of a repudiation to how the world was back in '05 - with fascism on the rise. I remember much gnashing of teeth over blowing things up (that's only what the bad guys were meant to be doing.) I never read the graphic novel, but I'm not sure if that helps or hinders my appreciation of V For Vendetta. Hero, revolutionary and freedom fighter V dances and prances around reciting poetry, but his accidental side-kick Evey (Natalie Portman) is our more natural window into his world. I don't mind films like this and Watchmen (which I have read) but never managed to really love them.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Land_of_the_Blind_Poster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6337743

Land of the Blind - (2006)

Another political satire - an extremely farcical one that lampoons both the left and right extremes in a fictional land of revolutions and coups. A little too direct for some, but I think it's extremely funny and captures just how similar both sides are. Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland are excellent - as is the goofy and humorous script - something you'd expect from a Terry Gilliam during his Brazil days. Takes place in a fictional land where a Kim Jong-un-like dictator (the simple-minded filmmaker son of the previous dictator) imprisons a leftist revolutionary (Donald Sutherland) who begins to influence one of the guards (Ralph Fiennes.) The scene is set for the revolution - but what will life be like if the wise and kindly man becomes the nation's leader? From history we know only too well... (this film doesn't have many fans - but I'm one now)

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Catfish_film.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/19f3fd1e, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28785256

Catfish - (2010)

New filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman got extremely lucky in how this documentary developed and panned out - fascinating and something you can't stop watching - but I can't say anything about it lest I ruin the surprise for first-time watchers. Enjoyed it a lot the second time around, even knowing what happens along the way.

The title itself is a kind of spoiler I guess - it's become part of our language itself. Not to mention the television series spin-off.

7.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Sweeneylarge.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12473657

Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - (2007)

Squeezed in this horror/musical - who knows, it might feature in the 2000s countdown. Hadn't seen it before, and was surprised that the whimsical Burton went full on horror here. The running time flew by, so I was surprisingly entertained by a film I never went anywhere near until now. The musical sequences aren't bad, and Alan Rickman along with Timothy Spall are always welcome. Caps off some Oscar nominations and wins from the 2008 award ceremony that I nearly have full coverage of.

7/10

[Takoma11]

'Shock Corridor' (1963)

https://i.imgur.com/0fo6i0z.gif

A fine Samuel Fuller film. Journalist attempts to win the pullitzer prize by entering a mental hospital pretending to be a patient in the effort to solve a murder then writing an article about it. What I like was that the plot has an air of predictability about it, but Fuller is still able to weave subplots in and out to make it interesting and not a foregone conclusion.

7.7/10

4

The intersection of style and content in this film is, to me, top tier.

[CringeFest]

The Jazz Singer (1927)

4

[skizzerflake]

The trailer is actually a lot, lot more cheerful than the movie - Belfast - Kenneth Brannaugh's semi-autobiography about his early childhood in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. Imagine living in a small enclave in Belfast in 1969, with the neighborhood surrounded by burnt out cars, barbed wire and British soldiers trying, with only partial success, to tamp down the hostilities. The kids try to have a somewhat kid-like life, but damn...you probably know that there's nothing all that good about living in something close to being a war zone, being personally threatened by the "other guys" in the conflict.

Like some similar movies, this very Irish version of English language nearly needs subtitles, but there's no problem seeing what's going on the film. Cast, plot and production are excellently low-budget and mainly non-digital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcYh5Lfy1PI

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://lh3.ggpht.com/_m0YtPN5vgmI/SqQuYmGsHDI/AAAAAAAARhY/Il6AiB5QFrQ/andromeda-4-gif-klasch.gif

https://64.media.tumblr.com/54607499c61b43b0c53debce3e2eb156/tumblr_n5tqwooVgU1qmiq9no3_500.gifv

The Andromeda Strain - I think this 1971 sci-fi thriller has held up remarkably well. That should probably come as no surprise since it was directed by the legendary Robert Wise and adapted from Michael Crichton's first novel. The film opens at night with two soldiers monitoring the small New Mexico town of Piedmont. They've been sent to retrieve a US government satellite that landed near the town and has been tracked there. After a startling last message and radio contact is cut off, their base sends out a coded message to Washington which issues a Wildfire alert. A team of scientists and doctors are called in and assembled at a top secret underground laboratory in the Nevada desert. It's purpose is to identify, engage and find a way to mitigate any biological contagion.

The team consists of Drs. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), Mark Hall (James Olson), Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid) and Charles Dutton (David Wayne). A reconnaissance fighter jet reveals a town full of dead bodies and Stone and Hall are helicoptered in. They retrieve the satellite and find two suicides along with the rest of the populace whose blood has somehow turned to powder. They also stumble across two survivors, an old drunk and an infant. Back at the facility their first order of business is to examine the satellite and find out what caused the deaths. With Dr. Stone insisting on a methodical process the team soon enough identifies the extraterrestrial culprit.

This was a clinical kind of thriller with the special effects designed by Douglas Trumbull. And Wise used a split screen in several scenes to great effect, giving the proceedings a vérité look and feel. The ending involves a headlong sprint to avert catastrophe and the wrapup not only leaves the fate of the laboratory up in the air but the whole planet as well. It was absorbing and felt consequential and I certainly think it could be considered ahead of it's time.

90/100

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fsiZEHEOFIk/VfrXYXZhoUI/AAAAAAAAOsE/VW4VEXYzaUc/s1600/wichita4.gif

https://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/4961123/800full-wichita-%281955%29-screenshot.jpg

Wichita - 1955 Western starring Joel McCrea as Wyatt Earp. I thought this was a pretty conventional western with McCrea playing Earp starting his career as a peace officer. There's no mention of age of course because that would have raised some questions about the 49 year old McCrea playing 26. I had no idea that the director was none other than Jacques Tourneur. But this being his first Cinemascope technicolor film there were none of the flourishes that distinguished his B&W thrillers earlier in his career. I had read somewhere that he had eventually fallen out of favor with studio executives and had ended his career doing B movies out of necessity. This is a well made movie don't get me wrong, but it is pretty much by the numbers.

Earp rides into the railhead town of Wichita that's expecting the first herd of cattle and is eager to welcome the cash rich and entertainment starved cowhands. After things get out of hand they hire Wyatt as the new Marshall and he quickly bans guns. This has a chilling effect on business and the local bigwigs decide to fire him after a few days. But he's already made enemies of some of the cowhands and a crooked town boss. McCrea is unerringly sincere though in the role of steadfast lawman. He more or less carries the movie.

75/100

[LChimp]

https://egonoticias.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/No-Time-to-Die-poster-600x888-1.jpg

Needs more Ana de Armas. I enjoyed the movie, but I still think Casino Rayole is the best Bond movie of the Daniel Craig era.

[sawduck]

Free Guy 6.5/10

Escape Room 5/10

Dead Calm 7/10

As Above, So Below 7/10

1408 6.5/10

[Wooley]

Yo. Need some advice.
Looking to watch Chaplin's The Gold Rush for the first time and there are TWO versions on TCM Hub.
One is 1h 12m and the other is 1h 28m. I don't know which is the preferred version (longer is not always better and of course, I could apply the extra 16 minutes to watching a second movie), but I would like to watch the "definitive" version as much as that's a thing.
Anyone have any thoughts?
I'm trying to watch it right now so if anyone's around, I appreciate it.

(I'll cross-post this elsewhere in order to increase likelihood of an answer.)

[mark f]

When you have a chance you should watch both. I recommend for a first watch the longer, silent version. The shorter one has Chaplin narrating (eliminating the subtitles) and his musical score. They're both equally very good.

[Wooley]

When you have a chance you should watch both. I recommend for a first watch the longer, silent version. The shorter one has Chaplin narrating (eliminating the subtitles) and his musical score. They're both equally very good.

Thanks!
Watching City Lights while I waited for a response, really enjoying this.
(The Great Dictator is the only Chaplin film I've ever seen al the way through.)

[Wooley]

What in the world?

So this person would refuse to watch Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator etc?

Those 3 films have such good image quality that most film review sites call the 4K UHDisc versions of them 'reference quality'

Yup.
It's not just the film, it's everything. I mean, for years I didn't watch older movies because of the acting style. Everything I liked was method or post-method.
Got over that bull****.

(One only needs to watch Robert Mitchum in Night Of The Hunter or, going back further, Maria Falconetti in The Passion Of Joan Of Arc to disavow oneself of such silly notions._

[Wooley]

Why do so many of us not enjoy the cinema experience (as much as we used to)? Because we're there to watch the film. Not watch the film and.... Just watch the film. Personally, I wouldn't allow food in there, but that's where they make their money so that's the way it's gotta be.

Ok, I'm drawin' a line in the ****in' sand here, having popcorn with a movie is of critical importance to the cinema-going experience. I honestly get popcorn every time even if I'm not remotely hungry. Take away my popcorn, there will be blood.

[Wooley]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


It is weird to watch "American" movies made for a foreign audience. This film is made for a hybrid audience (this is the future, as evidenced by the NBA). The sweet spot for profits is that film that rests on a saddle between these to groups, although this one leans more in the direction of a Chinese audience. The film criticize bad-dad for not recognizing the return of his daughter along with the son, but the son is the one who inherits the ten rings. So... ...kinda progressive? Super progressive for China?



The CGI is good. It is amazing that they picked a funny female side-kick who is physically "dumpy." The actress is funny and has screen presence, but she is no K-Pop model. It's nice to see someone who looks more like a mere mortal on screen.



The story is vacuous. Call to adventure, baby-talk mythology, solve problem with violence, blah, blah. No amount of CGI cover over the by-the-number plotting, but there are some nice action scenes and it is nice to look at.



Will I be rushing to rewatch it? No. Was it "OK"? Sure. Is this the new bar for Marvel?

I'm surprised by this, I thought the CGI was downright terrible for 2021 and one of my criticisms of the film was, Damn, Marvel, y'all have the biggest budgets and how many years you been doing this and this film looks this bad?
Also I just thought the movie sucked.

[Wooley]

I have no interest in watching this, but it is nice to see Tony Leung get some of that sweet, sweet blockbuster money.

That is pretty much the only positive to come out of this film.


After Captain Marvel, Black Widow, and Shang Chi (and my friends got up and walked out of Eternals, and they haven't walked out of a movie in a decade), I think Marvel might be done outside of the Spider-Man and possibly Guardians/Thor films.
I mean, they'll keep making them, and they'll keep making money because spectacle and the masses, but done making movies one wants to see.

[honeykid]

Then luckily for you I'm not in charge of global cinemas :D

Although, tbh, I'd probably allow popcorn as it has become completely married to that pasttime. That and I absolutely love it. I can just do without it while watching a film. But all other stinky hot food is completely out and that isn't negotiable. I remember hearing someone once took fish curry to a cinema. Fish. Curry. Unacceptable on any level.

[Nausicaä]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSWMUmq2CQaxI6Fnm-WqzahiVIfU_iziHtIiOO_lig&s=0

3

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

[Wooley]

The intersection of style and content in this film is, to me, top tier.

I've had this in my queue forever and never pulled the trigger.

[Corax]

I'm surprised by this, I thought the CGI was downright terrible for 2021 and one of my criticisms of the film was, Damn, Marvel, y'all have the biggest budgets and how many years you been doing this and this film looks this bad?
Also I just thought the movie sucked.


Fair enough. I am no real judge of these things. I guess it would be better to say that the designs themselves are quite nice (e.g., the water dragon and other fantasy creatures). The colors are nice. I found it pleasant to behold.



Note: A similarity between this film and Red Notice: Underground car chase escaping a lair/fortress, culminating in driving through a waterfall.

[Wyldesyde19]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


It is weird to watch "American" movies made for a foreign audience. This film is made for a hybrid audience (this is the future, as evidenced by the NBA). The sweet spot for profits is that film that rests on a saddle between these to groups, although this one leans more in the direction of a Chinese audience. The film criticize bad-dad for not recognizing the return of his daughter along with the son, but the son is the one who inherits the ten rings. So... ...kinda progressive? Super progressive for China?



The CGI is good. It is amazing that they picked a funny female side-kick who is physically "dumpy." The actress is funny and has screen presence, but she is no K-Pop model. It's nice to see someone who looks more like a mere mortal on screen.



The story is vacuous. Call to adventure, baby-talk mythology, solve problem with violence, blah, blah. No amount of CGI cover over the by-the-number plotting, but there are some nice action scenes and it is nice to look at.



Will I be rushing to rewatch it? No. Was it "OK"? Sure. Is this the new bar for Marvel?

I liked it about as much as you did. Had issues with the script. Marvel never takes itself too seriously, and that’s even more evident here. Add the fact that they never seem to stray from the basic blueprint they have laid out for these, and it becomes a bit formulated.
Middle of the pack.

For the record, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers have been the high point for me, with Captain America and the first Iron Man following closely behind.
Everything else is either disappointing or meh.

[Corax]

I liked it about as much as you did. Had issues with the script. Marvel never takes itself too seriously, and that’s even more evident here. Add the fact that they never seem to stray from the basic blueprint they have laid out for these, and it becomes a bit formulated.
Middle of the pack.

For the record, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers have been the high point for me, with Captain America and the first Iron Man following closely behind.
Everything else is either disappointing or meh.


It is interesting to note that the film's most progressive idea is that of allowing girls to train and study in addition to boys. In the fantasy village, girls are allowed to fight and train. In the "real world" girls are not allowed to do so and the father does not herald the return of his daughter (he only announces "My son has come home!"). Welcome to the 19th century, I guess? The woke-a-meter being so low on this film is a sure sign that this was designed primarily for the Chinese market. And they did the casting such that they did not need to shrink or erase or conceal black actors on the poster (Big brain moment: Can't be accused of obscuring black talent if you don't hire any).



I have no problem with different films being made for different audiences, but you have to laugh when you see the coding shift.

[mark f]

Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett (Bradford Baruh & Brian Kwan, 2021) 3 6.5/10
Hell Hath No Fury (Jesse V. Johnson, 2021) 2 5/10
7 Prisoners (Alexandre Moratto, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) 4.5 8.5/10
https://www.returningvideotapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/tumblr_p97omjv7Nt1qfirg5o3_r2_540.gif
Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) prepares to lead his men on the hopeless attack on the Anthill in the greatest anti-war film of all-time.
G.I. Blues (Norman Taurog, 1960) 2.5 5.5/10
Sergeant York (Howard Hawks, 1941) 3 6.5/10
Search and Destroy (Danny Lerner, 2020) 2 5/10
The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 1967) 3.5 7/10
http://www.simbasible.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1-4.gif
Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) leads his group of murderers and rapists on a pre-D-Day attack of German officers.
Days of Glory (Jacques Tourneur, 1944) 2 5/10
Closed for Storm (Jake Williams, 2020) 3 6.5/10
Home Sweet Home Alone (Dan Mazer, 2021) 2.5 5.5/10
The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946) 3.5+ 7.5/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/20a76b21d41c5ce7883dcbb260188a95/tumblr_pxvryrxVLj1xepx5vo1_500.gifv
Returning from WWII, new friends Dana Andrews, Fredric March and Harold Russell find their homelife has changed.
Ciao Alberto (McKenna Harris, 2021) 3+ 6.5/10
Red Notice (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Skidoo (Otto Preminger, 1968) 2 5/10
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2021) 3 6.5/10
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58e45a52ebbd1a24417fdf93/1630811049868-XSM7VIN7HVVHMM4RYFT8/shang-chi.gif
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) has to fight his father (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung) over the legendary ten rings.
The Wide Blue Road (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1957) 2.5 6/10
The Big Cube (Tito Davison, 1969) 2- 5/10
You Will Die at 20 (Amjad Abu Alalai, 2019) 2.5 6/10
Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher (Nathan Frankowski, 2021) 3 6.5/10
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/9d/17/48/9d17480e5e05ae127892ec8ba0fe7c14.jpg
Montford T. Johnson (Martin Sensmeier), an aspiring cattle rancher, confronts racism at the same time his missing father (Dermot Mulroney) returns after 30 years.

[FromBeyond]

The Hitcher (2007)

I must admit this fared better on a rewatch but that is purely for the reason I had a very very low expectation.. in that sense it was better.. Taken as a movie on its own right it’s not terrible but taken as a remake, it deserved way better and Michael Bays name should not have been near it!! Sean Bean does his best in the role and there was some things I think he got right in his manner and expressions that warmed me to his interpretation in the last half.. you have that feeling of someone drugged on evil, not at all indifferent to his crimes but profoundly touched by them and wanting to die.. strange, mysterious... but he’s no Rutger Hauer.

[Thief]

Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) 4.5 8.5/10
https://www.returningvideotapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/tumblr_p97omjv7Nt1qfirg5o3_r2_540.gif
Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) prepares to lead his men on the hopeless attack on the Anthill in the greatest anti-war film of all-time.


I think this is the highest rating I've seen you dish out, but I'm glad it goes to this film :D

[Gideon58]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/love-hard-2021/large_love-hard-poster.jpeg


3

[Thief]

THE MUMMY'S HAND
(1940, Cabanne)

https://i.imgur.com/ADt2O6Z.jpg


"Should Kharis obtain a large amount of the fluid, he would become an uncontrollable *monster*, a soulless demon with the desire to kill and kill."



Yes, if someone were to feed the mummy with a certain leave juice, he would kill and kill and kill. Fortunately, if that happens at 40+ minutes in a 67 minutes, the time to kill and kill and kill is not that much; which is a good thing for most of the characters, but a bad thing for a "horror" film about a killing mummy.

Following the success of several sequels to their Universal Monsters, the studio released The Mummy's Hand to capitalize on the first film. This one follows archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his partner Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) as they set out to find the tomb of Princess Ananka. However, they stumble upon the mummy of Kharis, who was buried alive for trying to bring Ananka back to life.

Unfortunately, the film takes too long to get things going. The first half hour is devoted to Banning and Babe's shenanigans in Egypt, trying to get the expedition going. Once they get out, it takes around 10-15 minutes more until they find the mummy and it's brought back to life, and that's when it kinda picks up a bit. At least, the banter between the lead characters is solid, and I think Tom Tyler was menacing enough as the mummy, at least looks-wise.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2253220#post2253220)

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/The-in-laws-movie-poster-1979.jpg
By http://gogorama.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33530359

The In-Laws - (1979)

Thanks to coming here, 2021 is probably my best ever year for unearthing new movie gems - and that's despite reading a lot about film and having cinephile friends. Well, The In-Laws goes into the gem category - I can tell when I stop to think about it to review it and this big unstoppable grin spreads over my face. Sometimes I can enjoy a funny comedy without even laughing - but during The In-Laws I laughed more than I have since I can remember. From the tsetse flies in Guatemala to "Serpentine!" to the Chinese in-flight safety demonstration to Ed Begley Jr.'s $50 wedding present (the reactions from the now secretly-millionaire participants) - man. Somehow this film sits there undiscovered all this time. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are treasures. Genuinely funny films like this are hard to find.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/Cartel-nuevo-de-el-secreto-de-sus-ojos.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24606274

The Secret in Their Eyes - (2009) - Argentina

Coming to complicate your 25-film ballot for the 2000s Countdown is El secreto de sus ojos - a film everyone should see as it excels in all areas of filmmaking. Cinematography, score, script, performances, direction - it's more than just a taut thriller and love story, it's a real work of art and watching it once again in relation to my list is making me think very hard about it's inclusion. It's significantly different from the very much inferior remake, so don't view that as a signifier of what this film is. From the complicated world of Argentinian politics to excruciatingly difficult questions about what justice, love and friendship means, this film has it all and captures it in a captivating and beautiful way. Wonderful film.

9/10

[Takoma11]

I've had this in my queue forever and never pulled the trigger.

Watch it as a double bill with The Naked Kiss and thank me later.

[Rockatansky]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/The-in-laws-movie-poster-1979.jpg
By http://gogorama.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33530359

The In-Laws - (1979)

If it wasn't for the church, this flag would be flying at the U.N right now. But no, they stand in the way. They stand in the way!

[Wooley]

THE MUMMY'S HAND
(1940, Cabanne)

https://i.imgur.com/ADt2O6Z.jpg




Yes, if someone were to feed the mummy with a certain leave juice, he would kill and kill and kill. Fortunately, if that happens at 40+ minutes in a 67 minutes, the time to kill and kill and kill is not that much; which is a good thing for most of the characters, but a bad thing for a "horror" film about a killing mummy.

Following the success of several sequels to their Universal Monsters, the studio released The Mummy's Hand to capitalize on the first film. This one follows archaeologist Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and his partner Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford) as they set out to find the tomb of Princess Ananka. However, they stumble upon the mummy of Kharis, who was buried alive for trying to bring Ananka back to life.

Unfortunately, the film takes too long to get things going. The first half hour is devoted to Banning and Babe's shenanigans in Egypt, trying to get the expedition going. Once they get out, it takes around 10-15 minutes more until they find the mummy and it's brought back to life, and that's when it kinda picks up a bit. At least, the banter between the lead characters is solid, and I think Tom Tyler was menacing enough as the mummy, at least looks-wise.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2253220#post2253220)

Yeah, this is probably my least favorite Mummy movie that I've seen (all the Universals, all the Hammers, handful of others).

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 rewatched
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51-mFrFH+bL._AC_.jpg

[Thief]

Watch it as a double bill with The Naked Kiss and thank me later.

I still need to see Shock Corridor, but I second The Naked Kiss.

[Thief]

Yeah, this is probably my least favorite Mummy movie that I've seen (all the Universals, all the Hammers, handful of others).

I've only seen the 1932 version, and the 1959 one with Cushing and Lee. I would love to see what ThatDarnMKS has to say about this one, or any others. I know he vouched for one or two of them in a conversation we had a while ago, but I don't remember which one(s).

[chawhee]

Clifford (2021)
https://www.thedigitalfix.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/clifford-the-big-red-dog-movie-trailer-740x416.jpg
2
Saw this with my pre-K daughter, and it was pretty dreadful. Clifford's animation was a bit strange, but the movie itself was lacking.

My daughter loves Clifford books and TV shows, and this movie has barely any of the fun those have. She was noticeably bored several times here. The movie's theme was pretty serious instead of playful, so maybe this only plays to junior high age level kids (who probably don't care much about Clifford)? From my perspective, the attempts at adult humor were also pathetic.

[Wooley]

I've only seen the 1932 version, and the 1959 one with Cushing and Lee. I would love to see what ThatDarnMKS has to say about this one, or any others. I know he vouched for one or two of them in a conversation we had a while ago, but I don't remember which one(s).
I think there are several good or at least passable Mummy films. I think I liked both The Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Ghost at least a little. And all the Hammer ones are at least acceptable.
I'll also be interested to see what MKS has to say on the subject.

[Captain Terror]

I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend The Mummy's Hand to a newcomer, but I've always given it some credit for managing to have a distinct personality from the rest of the series. Curse, Tomb and Ghost are all virtually indistinguishable from each other, even for me who's watched them many times since 1990 or so. To this day I don't have the correct sequence memorized, and when I want to watch the series I have to rely on the packaging to remind me which comes next. On the other...hand...Mummy's Hand has always been the one I can recognize on sight. Like Babe Jenson or not, I at least remember who he is.

And now it's time for my semi-annual plug of The Mummy's Curse, which includes one of my favorite rising-from-the-dead scenes in all of horror films, from any decade.

[Thief]

I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend The Mummy's Hand to a newcomer, but I've always given it some credit for managing to have a distinct personality from the rest of the series. Curse, Tomb and Ghost are all virtually indistinguishable from each other, even for me who's watched them many times since 1990 or so. To this day I don't have the correct sequence memorized, and when I want to watch the series I have to rely on the packaging to remind me which comes next. On the other...hand...Mummy's Hand has always been the one I can recognize on sight. Like Babe Jenson or not, I at least remember who he is.

And now it's time for my semi-annual plug of The Mummy's Curse, which includes one of my favorite rising-from-the-dead scenes in all of horror films, from any decade.

And that's the original series. Once we get to the Hammer ones, there's The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Shroud, and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb :eek: :laugh:

[Captain Terror]

And that's the original series. Once we get to the Hammer ones, there's The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Shroud, and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb :eek: :laugh:

Not to mention the off-brand films like Pharoah's Curse. Mummy films are not historically known for their creativity. :)

It's a miracle we didn't get a "Son of".

[ThatDarnMKS]

I usually have to phrase it as “I’m a fan of the Kharis Mummy films” than naming any of theme specifically. This is due to watching all of them in extremely close proximity due to their short run time and continuing arcs/characters (something I would recommend to someone underwhelmed), they have blended together to some degree. So if I accidentally reference a strength that’s not specifically in Hand, forgive me.

Despite there being actual Mummy in only 1/3 of a short film, that’s still a substantially greater amount of Mummy action than the previous universal film. It’s also the first that introduced a priest using the mummy as a golem/slasher type assassin, a notion that would be used from Hammer to the Brendan Fraser romp (though they blended the priest and mummy himself for that one).

The decision to add more comedy makes it feel decidedly more modern and the focus on the adventurers made it feel like a classic Alan Quartermain-esque serial stumbling into a mummy film, something again used in the Fraser flicks.

I also recall the climax having several layers to it, a shootout on the steps of the tomb, a damsel rescue and a fight with the Mummy. It all felt so much more MUMMY than the reheated Dracula joint we originally got.

Is it top tier Universal horror? Not at all. But I think it’s more fun and influential than the lion share.

[Thief]

I usually have to phrase it as “I’m a fan of the Kharis Mummy films” than naming any of theme specifically. This is due to watching all of them in extremely close proximity due to their short run time and continuing arcs/characters (something I would recommend to someone underwhelmed), they have blended together to some degree. So if I accidentally reference a strength that’s not specifically in Hand, forgive me.

Despite there being actual Mummy in only 1/3 of a short film, that’s still a substantially greater amount of Mummy action than the previous universal film. It’s also the first that introduced a priest using the mummy as a golem/slasher type assassin, a notion that would be used from Hammer to the Brendan Fraser romp (though they blended the priest and mummy himself for that one).

The decision to add more comedy makes it feel decidedly more modern and the focus on the adventurers made it feel like a classic Alan Quartermain-esque serial stumbling into a mummy film, something again used in the Fraser flicks.

I also recall the climax having several layers to it, a shootout on the steps of the tomb, a damsel rescue and a fight with the Mummy. It all felt so much more MUMMY than the reheated Dracula joint we originally got.

Is it top tier Universal horror? Not at all. But I think it’s more fun and influential than the lion share.

Yeah, there were certainly things I liked, but just not enough for me to fully recommend. For what it's worth, I think I rated the original about the same. I wasn't a fan of that one either.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Yeah, there were certainly things I liked, but just not enough for me to fully recommend. For what it's worth, I think I rated the original about the same. I wasn't a fan of that one either.
I think it’s possible that your estimation of it will grow with the sequels. They do pad some time in a very precursor to F13, where they recap the previous film at the beginning, but they’re all generally brisk, light fun.

[John W Constantine]

Call Northside 777 - 1948

4

[matt72582]

The Last Wave - 7/10
This is probably the 2nd movie I enjoyed this year - it's been a rough one....


Didn't like the last 15 minutes of this, though.


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

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moviehousememories.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F10%2FHighlander-1986-featured.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Highlander, 1986

Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is a Scottish warrior who was born in the 1500s and, after an unfortunate experience in a battle, discovers that he is one of a group of immortal men. These immortals find themselves drawn into battle, where beheading one's enemy means inheriting his powers. Mentored by a man named Ramirez (Sean Connery), Connor learns that "there can be only one"--one final immortal left standing. As he adapts to his new reality, Connor is hunted by a ruthless Russian immortal named Kurgan (Clancy Brown). In the present day, Connor is implicated in a murder and investigated by forensics expert Brenda (Roxeanne Hart).

This movie is on this site's top list of sci-fi movies and . . . um . . . hmm.

Normally I like to say what I like about a film and then what I didn't love so much. But I find myself with stunningly little to say. So I guess this review will just be a list.

1) I knew, by reputation, that the accents would be bad. I was not prepared for how bad and stupid they would be.

2) The "comedy" in this movie was so bad. And the only genuine laugh I got was Lambert and Connery gamboling along the beach like some alternate reality period gay 80s romance. Oh, wait. I also laughed when one of the cars got so excited about Connor winning a duel that it pooped itself.

3) The music was fine. I'm not saying anything bad about the music.

4) The most frequent subtitle for this film in the closed captioning was "Music and noise." Correct.

5) How can a movie about immortals hunting each other through time and also one of them is a crazy warrior with safety pins stuck in his neck be boring? It's almost like a magic trick.

6) The gap in this film between neatness of concept and quality of execution is enormous.

7) Might as well go all in and say I enjoyed(ish) the 90s TV series of the same name (a reason I have a fondness for the music here, as some of it was used in the show), and I dare say I'd rather rewatch the TV series than rewatch this film.

8) 2.5

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moviehousememories.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F10%2FHighlander-1986-featured.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Highlander, 1986
My favourite thing about Highlander is that they cast Sean Connery in a movie where the main character is a Scottish nobleman...and have him play a Spaniard.


But yeah, looks great, but not nearly energetic enough for its entire duration.

[crumbsroom]

I've still never seen one second of Highlander.


I don't even think I've seen a trailer.

[GulfportDoc]

82765
Repeat Performance (1947)

An unusual noir with a time looptwist, it stars Joan Leslie, Louis Hayward, Richard Basehart and Tom Conway; directed by Alfred L. Werker for Eagle-Lion Films.

The title is somewhat misleading. It sounds like a story set around a Broadway stage production, but in fact it refers to a wish fulfillment given to a woman who believes she has killed her husband on New Year’s Eve, and wants to live the year all over again to prevent her supposed crime. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve she’s granted that wish, which causes her to be transported back one year to repeat it. But will the same things occur? Will she be able to change them? Do we learn anything new? The story is helped with the use of John Ireland as narrator.

Director Werker (He Walked by Night) and DP L.W. O’Connell (The Power of the Whistler) fashion a creditable noir which predates by 12 years a type of story device ala The Twilight Zone. During the year’s repeat we learn that her husband is a weirdo heel who is the actual villain. It’s interesting that the novel had the wife as the scheming dame, but Joan Leslie’s image was so chaste and cheerful that they had to switch the roles for the film.

It’s an enjoyable story, but the main detraction is Louis Hayward’s over the top scenery chewing. He had lots of experience playing swordsmen and swashbucklers, so perhaps he was unable to take his foot off the gas. Still this picture is a bit of a unheralded gem, which inspired several pictures afterwards.

Available on YouTube and various streaming sources.


Doc’s rating: 6/10

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/Shang-Chi_and_the_Legend_of_the_Ten_Rings_poster.jpeg/220px-Shang-Chi_and_the_Legend_of_the_Ten_Rings_poster.jpeg

3.5

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

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffilmforum.org%2Fdo-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase%2Fclient-uploads%2Fthumbs%2FShop-Around-the-Corner_WEBSITE_MAIN1520.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Shop Around the Corner, 1940

Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) has worked at a gift shop for almost a decade under the mercurial ownership of Mr. Matuschek (Frank Morgan). Things get shaken up when an outspoken new shop worker, Klara (Margaret Sullavan) is hired. The two clash frequently, and Kralik finds himself totally stunned when he learns that a woman he's corresponded with to the point of almost proposing is none other than Klara. Unsure of what to do with this new information, right as his relationship with Mr. Matuschek becomes inexplicably strained, Kralik must sort out his professional life and his love life.

I watched this film on an airplane (thanks, Delta!), so not the most ideal circumstance. At the same time, however, its gentle humor was absolutely the thing that I needed to soothe some flight nerves.

At this point, the whole hate-becomes-love dynamic in romantic comedy is a very, very familiar trope. And my response to it is always a bit tepid. In this case, though, there is enough interesting stuff happening around the central couple's sparring that I enjoyed it on the whole.

For example, despite the focus of the film obviously being the inevitable romance between Alfred and Klara, a lot of time and attention is given to the dynamics between the different store employees. The cast playing the co-workers are great, and their interactions give the central story a real-feeling context and backdrop against which to play out.

Stewart and Sullavan are really well matched in this film. Usually in "enemies become lovers" stories, I find myself really irritated by one half of the central couple. It's hard to get the balance quite right----you want the central couple to fight, but you don't want one or both of them to be nasty or hateful or bigoted, or anything else that would make you not root for them. By adding in some external pressures for Alfred and Klara, the film gives them both an excuse to be a bit on edge.

One part of the film that slid a little too far away from charming for me was the last stretch of Alfred knowing that he's Klara's lover, but not the other way around. It gives him an unreciprocated access to Klara's thoughts and emotions. For a while, this is an understandable move on his part. One of the things that I like about the film is the vulnerability it shows for both characters. We see how nervous Klara is to meet her beau, but we also see how concerned Alfred is that he won't live up to her image of him. But very late in the film, Alfred's actions start to feel more manipulative, and in one sequence he's just straight up messing with her. To me it fell into the territory of being not cute.

Overall this was a very sweet, very funny little rom-com. And many aspects of it are just straight up heartwarming.

4

[Takoma11]

My favourite thing about Highlander is that they cast Sean Connery in a movie where the main character is a Scottish nobleman...and have him play a Spaniard.


But yeah, looks great, but not nearly energetic enough for its entire duration.

(I didn't even think it looked that great---some of the scenes in the flashbacks, yes. The modern day stuff? Nope.)

I've still never seen one second of Highlander.


I don't even think I've seen a trailer.

I just told you that a car poops itself in excitement. Who needs a trailer after that?!

[Rockatansky]

(I didn't even think it looked that great---some of the scenes in the flashbacks, yes. The modern day stuff? Nope.)

Oh, I don't know, I think there are some pretty nice looking shots in the modern sections.


https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/13820_5.jpg


https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/13820_9.jpg


https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/13820_21.jpg


Although if I wanted to watch something nice looking from Russell Mulcahy, his Duran Duran videos are like two hours shorter.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJL-lCzEXgI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTizYn3-QN0

[ynwtf]

The Eternals

Awkward casting, awkward directing, awkward plotting, and awkward dialogue. This movie seems to want to model The Watchmen by jumping to past moments for each character to explain motivation for current scenes. The difference, in my opinion, is that there's nothing too serious happening to anyone leaving me to ask, "Why is this a conflict enough to need explaining?"


One character is introduced as a potential love interest conflict but is quickly abandoned only to oddly appear again in the final 10 minutes of the flick. Even that felt forced only to spur a possible future story path. Action was pretty great but all ended with super hero group posing as the camera pulls back, which was fine if not just a bit overused. Character motivations change often so there is little consistency enough to stay invested in why anyone is doing anything in any give timeline. "The reason I left was because controlling humans took away the thing that made them human!" Says the guy currently living in a secluded village while controlling the minds of his cult followers.

As to the box office opening drama here in the south, I feel like that was played up a lot. There is one scene in which a male couple kiss. I guess whoever protested the release were OK with the opening text declaring that a comic book character created the universe and a scene later in which a two people had an odd spontaneous sexual encounter in the desert only to technically marry some 150+ years later. All that to set up another awkward shot of hand-holding in order to be able to recall the shot later in the movie. Twice.


I am no fan of Angelina Jolie, but this movie was saved by her casting and her acting stood out well against her co-stars. The action was pretty good for the most part, the creature effects were rather nice, but the visual effects were hit or miss. Perhaps in 3D, the golden gadgets used all throughout the movie would have looked great, but as it is they looked superimposed, too vivid, and lacking in color corrections for each scene in which they appeared.

This movie is silly and does not belong in the MCU for quality alone. I don't mean playful silly. It's just a mess, in my opinion near levels of any Fantastic Four attempt. It doesn't drop to that level, but had I expected that going in then I might not have been so dumbstruck walking out. I literally laughed out loud and shouted, "Come on!" at one point. My apologies to the two others sharing the cinema with me. I was able to hold it in for rest of my viewing.

There are two added scenes at the end. One mid- and another post-credits. In for a penny, in for a pound; so you might as well stick around for that too. All I can say is, "What are the odds?" Oh, that's right. The writers wrote it.

In summary of how obvious and silly this movie was that the writers apparently never considered this one line to play as odd as it did, I offer what I imagine must have been in the script at some point. John Snow: "I love you, Sersi."

Wait. What?


rating_2

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.QePLJ9YSbWziQo_08N0fLAHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1

Lake Bodom, 2016

Friends Ida (Nelly Hirst-Gee) and Nora (Mimosa Willamo) accompany their boyfriends Elias (Mikael Gabriel) and Atte (Santeri Helinheimo Mäntylä) on a camping trip near Lake Bodom. But it quickly becomes clear that things are not right in these woods. Who, if anyone, will survive the night?

Oh, very mixed feelings about this one.

Overall, this is a decent horror film with some moments of genuine suspense and some good character work in terms of the two female leads. The isolated setting (the film takes place in a pre-cellphone era of the 1960s) is spooky, and good use is made of the woods and the dark lake.

What the film falls victim to, especially in the last act, is a case of too many twists. About halfway through the film there is a really neat reveal, and then some good fallout from it. But soon the film feels the need to throw in another big twist. And then another. And then, just for good measure, one more.

The acting is all fine, and there are some memorable moments of imagery. Probably worth a look if you're a horror fan.

3

[Corax]

1) I knew, by reputation, that the accents would be bad. I was not prepared for how bad and stupid they would be.



No, it fits. Immortals would be dialectically confused. Consider what happened to Gary Oldman.



https://youtu.be/RuBQvpybt80



These poor souls have wandered the Earth for centuries, so it makes sense that they're dialectically out of place. As for Connor sounding odd in his village origin story, we must remember that he comes from Planet Zeist, and should we really be surprised that a planet with a funny name wouldn't also have funny accents?


2) The "comedy" in this movie was so bad. And the only genuine laugh I got was Lambert and Connery gamboling along the beach like some alternate reality period gay 80s romance.



Gayer than this?



https://youtu.be/lVY8SbQGW-Y


Can't be mad at a film for being from its decade.



Also, being immortal get lonely.


Oh, wait. I also laughed when one of the cars got so excited about Connor winning a duel that it pooped itself.



If you didn't like this scene,



https://youtu.be/8FurnHg4by8


then you are not worthy of Crimewave.


3) The music was fine. I'm not saying anything bad about the music.



Of course you aren't. It would take courage to criticize a sacred cow (i.e., Queen). And it would also be foolish as the music is awesome.


4) The most frequent subtitle for this film in the closed captioning was "Music and noise." Correct.


What more do you want? Music, noise, and chips?!?


5) How can a movie about immortals hunting each other through time and also one of them is a crazy warrior with safety pins stuck in his neck be boring? It's almost like a magic trick.



The only trick was the method by which you missed the magic. And it is a kind of magic.



https://youtu.be/0p_1QSUsbsM

6) The gap in this film between neatness of concept and quality of execution is enormous.


It is perfect 80s schlock. It is exactly as it should be.



7) Might as well go all in and say I enjoyed(ish) the 90s TV series of the same name (a reason I have a fondness for the music here, as some of it was used in the show), and I dare say I'd rather rewatch the TV series than rewatch this film.



Not a total fun hater. A but a fun hater, nonetheless.


8) rating_2_5


You really need to see Highlander 2. Highlander will seem like a memory of heaven.

[Takoma11]

Oh, I don't know, I think there are some pretty nice looking shots in the modern sections.


https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/13820_5.jpg


https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/13820_9.jpg


https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/13820_21.jpg

Maybe my copy was just a bit murky.

I guess I should also add that I thought the editing was really weird.

I was hoping for something fun and easy, but boy did the movie make it hard to like.

[Wooley]

I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend The Mummy's Hand to a newcomer, but I've always given it some credit for managing to have a distinct personality from the rest of the series. Curse, Tomb and Ghost are all virtually indistinguishable from each other, even for me who's watched them many times since 1990 or so. To this day I don't have the correct sequence memorized, and when I want to watch the series I have to rely on the packaging to remind me which comes next. On the other...hand...Mummy's Hand has always been the one I can recognize on sight. Like Babe Jenson or not, I at least remember who he is.

And now it's time for my semi-annual plug of The Mummy's Curse, which includes one of my favorite rising-from-the-dead scenes in all of horror films, from any decade.

Wait, I was wrong, it is The Mummy's Curse that was my favorite of the series, my bad and cheers to you.

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moviehousememories.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F10%2FHighlander-1986-featured.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Highlander, 1986

Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is a Scottish warrior who was born in the 1500s and, after an unfortunate experience in a battle, discovers that he is one of a group of immortal men. These immortals find themselves drawn into battle, where beheading one's enemy means inheriting his powers. Mentored by a man named Ramirez (Sean Connery), Connor learns that "there can be only one"--one final immortal left standing. As he adapts to his new reality, Connor is hunted by a ruthless Russian immortal named Kurgan (Clancy Brown). In the present day, Connor is implicated in a murder and investigated by forensics expert Brenda (Roxeanne Hart).

This movie is on this site's top list of sci-fi movies and . . . um . . . hmm.

Normally I like to say what I like about a film and then what I didn't love so much. But I find myself with stunningly little to say. So I guess this review will just be a list.

1) I knew, by reputation, that the accents would be bad. I was not prepared for how bad and stupid they would be.

2) The "comedy" in this movie was so bad. And the only genuine laugh I got was Lambert and Connery gamboling along the beach like some alternate reality period gay 80s romance. Oh, wait. I also laughed when one of the cars got so excited about Connor winning a duel that it pooped itself.

3) The music was fine. I'm not saying anything bad about the music.

4) The most frequent subtitle for this film in the closed captioning was "Music and noise." Correct.

5) How can a movie about immortals hunting each other through time and also one of them is a crazy warrior with safety pins stuck in his neck be boring? It's almost like a magic trick.

6) The gap in this film between neatness of concept and quality of execution is enormous.

7) Might as well go all in and say I enjoyed(ish) the 90s TV series of the same name (a reason I have a fondness for the music here, as some of it was used in the show), and I dare say I'd rather rewatch the TV series than rewatch this film.

8) 2.5

It has been 25 years since I last saw this movie but you have hurt 24 year-old Wooley's feelings.

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffilmforum.org%2Fdo-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase%2Fclient-uploads%2Fthumbs%2FShop-Around-the-Corner_WEBSITE_MAIN1520.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Shop Around the Corner, 1940

Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) has worked at a gift shop for almost a decade under the mercurial ownership of Mr. Matuschek (Frank Morgan). Things get shaken up when an outspoken new shop worker, Klara (Margaret Sullavan) is hired. The two clash frequently, and Kralik finds himself totally stunned when he learns that a woman he's corresponded with to the point of almost proposing is none other than Klara. Unsure of what to do with this new information, right as his relationship with Mr. Matuschek becomes inexplicably strained, Kralik must sort out his professional life and his love life.

I watched this film on an airplane (thanks, Delta!), so not the most ideal circumstance. At the same time, however, its gentle humor was absolutely the thing that I needed to soothe some flight nerves.

At this point, the whole hate-becomes-love dynamic in romantic comedy is a very, very familiar trope. And my response to it is always a bit tepid. In this case, though, there is enough interesting stuff happening around the central couple's sparring that I enjoyed it on the whole.

For example, despite the focus of the film obviously being the inevitable romance between Alfred and Klara, a lot of time and attention is given to the dynamics between the different store employees. The cast playing the co-workers are great, and their interactions give the central story a real-feeling context and backdrop against which to play out.

Stewart and Sullavan are really well matched in this film. Usually in "enemies become lovers" stories, I find myself really irritated by one half of the central couple. It's hard to get the balance quite right----you want the central couple to fight, but you don't want one or both of them to be nasty or hateful or bigoted, or anything else that would make you not root for them. By adding in some external pressures for Alfred and Klara, the film gives them both an excuse to be a bit on edge.

One part of the film that slid a little too far away from charming for me was the last stretch of Alfred knowing that he's Klara's lover, but not the other way around. It gives him an unreciprocated access to Klara's thoughts and emotions. For a while, this is an understandable move on his part. One of the things that I like about the film is the vulnerability it shows for both characters. We see how nervous Klara is to meet her beau, but we also see how concerned Alfred is that he won't live up to her image of him. But very late in the film, Alfred's actions start to feel more manipulative, and in one sequence he's just straight up messing with her. To me it fell into the territory of being not cute.

Overall this was a very sweet, very funny little rom-com. And many aspects of it are just straight up heartwarming.

4

I have tremendous affection for this film and I will be watching it next month and feeling warm Holiday fuzzies (even though I am a devout atheist). I do know and agree about the part you're talking about but I forgive it because the movie overall makes me feel good at a time when that's really all I want from movies.

[doubledenim]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moviehousememories.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F10%2FHighlander-1986-featured.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Highlander, 1986

Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is a Scottish warrior who was born in the 1500s and, after an unfortunate experience in a battle, discovers that he is one of a group of immortal men. These immortals find themselves drawn into battle, where beheading one's enemy means inheriting his powers. Mentored by a man named Ramirez (Sean Connery), Connor learns that "there can be only one"--one final immortal left standing. As he adapts to his new reality, Connor is hunted by a ruthless Russian immortal named Kurgan (Clancy Brown). In the present day, Connor is implicated in a murder and investigated by forensics expert Brenda (Roxeanne Hart).

This movie is on this site's top list of sci-fi movies and . . . um . . . hmm.

Normally I like to say what I like about a film and then what I didn't love so much. But I find myself with stunningly little to say. So I guess this review will just be a list.

1) I knew, by reputation, that the accents would be bad. I was not prepared for how bad and stupid they would be.

2) The "comedy" in this movie was so bad. And the only genuine laugh I got was Lambert and Connery gamboling along the beach like some alternate reality period gay 80s romance. Oh, wait. I also laughed when one of the cars got so excited about Connor winning a duel that it pooped itself.

3) The music was fine. I'm not saying anything bad about the music.

4) The most frequent subtitle for this film in the closed captioning was "Music and noise." Correct.

5) How can a movie about immortals hunting each other through time and also one of them is a crazy warrior with safety pins stuck in his neck be boring? It's almost like a magic trick.

6) The gap in this film between neatness of concept and quality of execution is enormous.

7) Might as well go all in and say I enjoyed(ish) the 90s TV series of the same name (a reason I have a fondness for the music here, as some of it was used in the show), and I dare say I'd rather rewatch the TV series than rewatch this film.

8) 2.5

It’s been established on this very site, everyone agrees, chiseled in stone, that Highlander: The Quickening is hands down, without a doubt, the high point of the series. 🤗

[Rockatansky]

Maybe my copy was just a bit murky.

I guess I should also add that I thought the editing was really weird.

I was hoping for something fun and easy, but boy did the movie make it hard to like.
It's been too long for me to remember specifics around the editing, but I suspect any awkwardness would have been the result of Mulcahy trying to adapt a music-video-influenced style for the movies. I don't think there was much precedent for that transition at the time, so I'm willing to be a bit more generous here.

[Rockatansky]

It’s been established on this very site, everyone agrees, chiseled in stone, that Highlander: The Quickening is hands down, without a doubt, the high point of the series. 🤗
Prime has been trying to entice me with a "director's cut". Do I dare take the plunge? :confused:

[Captain Terror]

And now it's time for my semi-annual plug of The Mummy's Curse, which includes one of my favorite rising-from-the-dead scenes in all of horror films, from any decade.

Here's a guy who agrees with me about the Princess Ananka scene, although he kind of ruins it by talking over the entire thing so those of you who haven't seen it maybe should watch it with the sound off first. The film isn't great, but I just think this moment is a great physical performance by a non-famous actress that's buried in the 4th sequel to a B franchise, so I like to call attention to it. Often. I think it's legitimately creepy but also kind of beautiful (?) but maybe that's just me.

https://youtu.be/dDwCGfaUo_E

[doubledenim]

Prime has been trying to entice me with a "director's cut". Do I dare take the plunge? :confused:

I remember enjoying it when I was younger. A certain group around here :suspicious: gleefully demeans it.*

Shameful.

It’s probably a bad movie, but finding ones that you enjoy are a treasure. Shoutout Hudson Hawk!

[doubledenim]

The Eternals

Awkward casting, awkward directing, awkward plotting, and awkward dialogue. This movie seems to want to model The Watchmen by jumping to past moments for each character to explain motivation for current scenes. The difference, in my opinion, is that there's nothing too serious happening to anyone leaving me to ask, "Why is this a conflict enough to need explaining?"


One character is introduced as a potential love interest conflict but is quickly abandoned only to oddly appear again in the final 10 minutes of the flick. Even that felt forced only to spur a possible future story path. Action was pretty great but all ended with super hero group posing as the camera pulls back, which was fine if not just a bit overused. Character motivations change often so there is little consistency enough to stay invested in why anyone is doing anything in any give timeline. "The reason I left was because controlling humans took away the thing that made them human!" Says the guy currently living in a secluded village while controlling the minds of his cult followers.

As to the box office opening drama here in the south, I feel like that was played up a lot. There is one scene in which a male couple kiss. I guess whoever protested the release were OK with the opening text declaring that a comic book character created the universe and a scene later in which a two people had an odd spontaneous sexual encounter in the desert only to technically marry some 150+ years later. All that to set up another awkward shot of hand-holding in order to be able to recall the shot later in the movie. Twice.


I am no fan of Angelina Jolie, but this movie was saved by her casting and her acting stood out well against her co-stars. The action was pretty good for the most part, the creature effects were rather nice, but the visual effects were hit or miss. Perhaps in 3D, the golden gadgets used all throughout the movie would have looked great, but as it is they looked superimposed, too vivid, and lacking in color corrections for each scene in which they appeared.

This movie is silly and does not belong in the MCU for quality alone. I don't mean playful silly. It's just a mess, in my opinion near levels of any Fantastic Four attempt. It doesn't drop to that level, but had I expected that going in then I might not have been so dumbstruck walking out. I literally laughed out loud and shouted, "Come on!" at one point. My apologies to the two others sharing the cinema with me. I was able to hold it in for rest of my viewing.

There are two added scenes at the end. One mid- and another post-credits. In for a penny, in for a pound; so you might as well stick around for that too. All I can say is, "What are the odds?" Oh, that's right. The writers wrote it.

In summary of how obvious and silly this movie was that the writers apparently never considered this one line to play as odd as it did, I offer what I imagine must have been in the script at some point. John Snow: "I love you, Sersi."

Wait. What?


rating_2

You are a real treasure and should share more often. Try it, you’ll like it!

[ThatDarnMKS]

Not enough people are acknowledging that Highlander has the greatest scene transitions of all time.

[Rockatansky]

I remember enjoying it when I was younger. A certain group around here :suspicious: gleefully demeans it.*

Shameful.

It’s probably a bad movie, but finding ones that you enjoy are a treasure. Shoutout Hudson Hawk!
Is Hudson Hawk even "bad" though? Movies with that kind of budget aren't supposed to be so wacky. Valuable for that reason at the very least, even more so in the context of Bruce Willie's career.

[Rockatansky]

Not enough people are acknowledging that Highlander has the greatest scene transitions of all time.
https://i.gifer.com/4obZ.gif

[Corax]

Not enough people are acknowledging that Highlander has the greatest scene transitions of all time.


https://64.media.tumblr.com/c18c3550dc4422c57a00ea30eddbe3a0/tumblr_o7l4gnck0v1u2ragso8_500.gif

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Duchess_poster.jpg
By http://www.traileraddict.com/content/paramount-vantage/duchess.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24129101

The Duchess - (2008)

Georgiana (Keira Knightley) is at first delighted to be married to William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) - and it does seem to be a sweet deal. But once their marriage starts she realizes that her role is to provide him an heir and not much more - and even their sexual encounters towards this end are perfunctory. Double standards start to grate as William takes on an endless series of lovers which eventually includes Georgiana's best friend. When she tries to assert some independence, the double standards of the age come to the fore and she finds herself in a battle of wits that involves many of the day's powerbrokers - the whiff of scandal never far away. This was a very watchable period drama, stemming from real-life characters and an enjoyably taciturn performance from Fiennes that nevertheless had me feeling that there was some good hiding beneath his cruelty and selfishness.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/Corpse_Bride_film_poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2286217

Corpse Bride - (2005)

Another 2000s animated film, this a forerunner to Sweeney Todd from Burton and his muse Johnny Depp. Ideally suited to kids, it's amusing enough and engaging. Victor Van Dort finds himself in a fix when, the night before his wedding, he accidentally marries a corpse and is taken down into the underworld. She's an agreeable enough corpse, so Victor now has his hands full and must necessarily break someone's heart before the dust settles above and below ground. Mixes digital with stop-motion to create something in the same style as Burton's previous The Nightmare Before Christmas. At 70-odd minutes it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Based on an old Russian folk-tale.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Wicker_Park_movie.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1126347

Wicker Park - (2004)

What is at first extraordinarily confusing makes sense in the end - this non-linear story wants to hold all of it's cards close to it's chest, and so often during the first half hour you're asking "huh?" - or at least I was. Then later, things start to fall into place which leads to a lot of "ahh"s. Josh Hartnett has three ladies on the go in this one - the first his current fiancé, who he clearly doesn't love or give a damn about (which leaves us to wonder why...) The second his lost love, who he keeps spotting and nearly crossing paths with (Diane Kruger, pre-Inglourious Basterds) and a third - a crazy girl who is frenetically pulling all the strings in her obsessive quest to win him over. In the end, I was rooting for the crazy girl (Rose Byrne) because she just seemed to be the most alive and real person in the whole drama. This comes off as a thriller, despite how much it sounds like a drama or love story - and I have to admit that, despite only Rose Byrne giving a noteworthy performance, it wasn't too bad.

7/10

[Yomi]

Fractured (2019)
rating_3

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTE0MWE4NzMtMzc4Ny00NWE4LTg2OTQtZmIyNDdhZjdiZmJhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzY0MTE3NzU@._V1_FMjpg_UX275_.jp g

[henryben]

9 - just rewatched “it’s such a beautiful day” by don hertzfeldt on vimeo. check it out if you happen to like odd cerebral melancholy indie animation

[Wooley]

Here's a guy who agrees with me about the Princess Ananka scene, although he kind of ruins it by talking over the entire thing so those of you who haven't seen it maybe should watch it with the sound off first. The film isn't great, but I just think this moment is a great physical performance by a non-famous actress that's buried in the 4th sequel to a B franchise, so I like to call attention to it. Often. I think it's legitimately creepy but also kind of beautiful (?) but maybe that's just me.

https://youtu.be/dDwCGfaUo_E

I believe this was also the moment that I thought, "Well, this is much better than what we've been seeing from Mummies."

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/Corpse_Bride_film_poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2286217

Corpse Bride - (2005)

Another 2000s animated film, this a forerunner to Sweeney Todd from Burton and his muse Johnny Depp. Ideally suited to kids, it's amusing enough and engaging. Victor Van Dort finds himself in a fix when, the night before his wedding, he accidentally marries a corpse and is taken down into the underworld. She's an agreeable enough corpse, so Victor now has his hands full and must necessarily break someone's heart before the dust settles above and below ground. Mixes digital with stop-motion to create something in the same style as Burton's previous The Nightmare Before Christmas. At 70-odd minutes it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Based on an old Russian folk-tale.

7/10



Count me as a fan, I always thought this was underrated and underappreciated. I watch it every few years during the season and I'm never sorry I did.
I think it got short shrift for not being aNBC.

[Maxxx17]

The last thing I watched was the movie Mortal Kombat. I want to note the chic graphics and special effects. It all looks very realistic and natural. There are bloody moments in the film... But what can you do without it in a film like this? Here I give my applause to the director of the fights. It looked very cool. Liked the characters. They are memorable and have different characters. It was interesting to watch them. I have heard the opinion that those who are not familiar with the game may find the dialogues and the moments between the action boring. But no, I was interested to know what the characters were their history, etc. So I watched without taking my eyes off the screen. Maybe I missed the humor a bit. A couple of jokes wouldn't have hurt the film. I don't know how much the characters and plot fit the game. But as a standalone movie it is very cool and of high quality. So I definitely recommend watching it. I love superhero movies and it was interesting to look into a new universe for me.
https://img.championat.com/c/1350x759/news/big/a/c/mortal-kombat-film-pervye-otzyvy_16179643281802973575.jpg

[LChimp]

https://s2.glbimg.com/C5NGJa7-Rg7EOYxgi9A2QPD_o8g=/0x0:984x1458/984x0/smart/filters:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_e84042ef78cb4708aeebdf1c68c6cbd6/internal_photos/bs/2021/P/1/GtIodFSmC7G2AczzG0RA/shangchi.jpeg


Loved it!

[Stirchley]

82785

Sad & grim dystopian movie. Re-watch. Excellent cast & an interesting storyline.

[ScarletLion]

82785

Sad & grim dystopian movie. Re-watch. Excellent cast & an interesting storyline.

I love that film. I should really read the book which is supposed to be fantastic.

[Stirchley]

I love that film. I should really read the book which is supposed to be fantastic.

You probably know the Japanese-British writer also wrote The Remains of the Day.

Sooooo glad they didn’t show Kathy donating her organs. That would have been a horrid ending.

[Takoma11]

It has been 25 years since I last saw this movie but you have hurt 24 year-old Wooley's feelings.

Well, Highlander spent 90 minutes hurting the part of me that considers myself a fan of cinema so . . .

I have tremendous affection for this film and I will be watching it next month and feeling warm Holiday fuzzies (even though I am a devout atheist). I do know and agree about the part you're talking about but I forgive it because the movie overall makes me feel good at a time when that's really all I want from movies.

I sort of forgive it, but it's weird to have the one part of the film that feels genuinely kind of mean-spirited come right at the end in a moment where he supposedly has realized he loves her.

It’s been established on this very site, everyone agrees, chiseled in stone, that Highlander: The Quickening is hands down, without a doubt, the high point of the series. 🤗

Noted!

It's been too long for me to remember specifics around the editing, but I suspect any awkwardness would have been the result of Mulcahy trying to adapt a music-video-influenced style for the movies. I don't think there was much precedent for that transition at the time, so I'm willing to be a bit more generous here.

There were just some really strange jump-cuts and I found it distracted from what flow the scenes did have.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcinemalogue.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F05%2Fthose-who-wish-me-dead-movie-e1620939960512.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Those Who Wish Me Dead, 2021

Hannah (Angelina Jolie) is a wildfire firefighter grappling with serious trauma related to a fire she worked in which a colleague and several children were killed. Working a remote fire-tower, Hannah ends up being the last hope for Connor (Finn Little), a teenager whose father (Jake Weber) is on the run from two assassins (Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen).

This was just an incredibly solid, propulsive action thriller and I really dug it.

Working from a script by Michael Koryta, Taylor Sheridan crafts a suspenseful and thrilling story that masterfully works both the large action set pieces and the quieter moments between characters.

The cast in this film is really great, and the dynamics between the characters are incredibly well-realized. Hoult plays the younger of the two assassins, learning from Gillen's more seasoned killer. Without any dialogue per se, we see the way that Hoult's character absorbs the on-the-fly strategies that Gillen's character uses to intimidate and manipulate those they come across. This ranges from brute force to more subtle approaches. And with just a little tilt of the head we see Hoult synthesizing the different lessons in efficient killing.

Hannah and Connor make for a good lead pair. As they bond over trauma and loss, Hannah quips that it's hard for her to feel sorry for herself when Connor is around. And that sums up their relationship in a nutshell: finding someone who really needs her is just the kick in the pants that Jolie needs to stop punishing herself for events and outcomes that were out of her control.

Rounding out the cast are Jon Bernthal and Medina Senghore as the local sheriff and his wife (who also happens to run a survival school up in the woods). The two are incredibly enjoyable and well-matched as pragmatists who can certainly take care of themselves. Senghore's character is pregnant, and so she and Bernthal make for interesting foils for both the tough Hannah and the vulnerable Connor. This is the kind of film where you're never mad when it cuts from one set of characters to another.

I wouldn't say that anything here is groundbreaking, it's more just familiar elements done incredibly well. I had no complaints about any of it.

4

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcinemalogue.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F05%2Fthose-who-wish-me-dead-movie-e1620939960512.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Those Who Wish Me Dead, 2021


I might feel more inclined to watch this if it wasn't titled like a diss track. One day I'll get over this weird hangup. Until then the haters can suck it.

[Takoma11]

I might feel more inclined to watch this if it wasn't titled like a diss track. One day I'll get over this weird hangup. Until then the haters can suck it.

You should watch it. And I say that as someone who tends to avoid films/shows for a LOT of silly/superficial reasons.

[ThatDarnMKS]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcinemalogue.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F05%2Fthose-who-wish-me-dead-movie-e1620939960512.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Those Who Wish Me Dead, 2021

Hannah (Angelina Jolie) is a wildfire firefighter grappling with serious trauma related to a fire she worked in which a colleague and several children were killed. Working a remote fire-tower, Hannah ends up being the last hope for Connor (Finn Little), a teenager whose father (Jake Weber) is on the run from two assassins (Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen).

This was just an incredibly solid, propulsive action thriller and I really dug it.

Working from a script by Michael Koryta, Taylor Sheridan crafts a suspenseful and thrilling story that masterfully works both the large action set pieces and the quieter moments between characters.

The cast in this film is really great, and the dynamics between the characters are incredibly well-realized. Hoult plays the younger of the two assassins, learning from Gillen's more seasoned killer. Without any dialogue per se, we see the way that Hoult's character absorbs the on-the-fly strategies that Gillen's character uses to intimidate and manipulate those they come across. This ranges from brute force to more subtle approaches. And with just a little tilt of the head we see Hoult synthesizing the different lessons in efficient killing.

Hannah and Connor make for a good lead pair. As they bond over trauma and loss, Hannah quips that it's hard for her to feel sorry for herself when Connor is around. And that sums up their relationship in a nutshell: finding someone who really needs her is just the kick in the pants that Jolie needs to stop punishing herself for events and outcomes that were out of her control.

Rounding out the cast are Jon Bernthal and Medina Senghore as the local sheriff and his wife (who also happens to run a survival school up in the woods). The two are incredibly enjoyable and well-matched as pragmatists who can certainly take care of themselves. Senghore's character is pregnant, and so she and Bernthal make for interesting foils for both the tough Hannah and the vulnerable Connor. This is the kind of film where you're never mad when it cuts from one set of characters to another.

I wouldn't say that anything here is groundbreaking, it's more just familiar elements done incredibly well. I had no complaints about any of it.

4

Not so lonely anymore! I've been touting this film as the kind of meat and potatoes R rated thriller we haven't really gotten since the 90s. It's deftly handled in virtually every way a genre film can be and was just supremely satisfying, even if it is lacking in genuine greatness.*

Seeing it get thrashed and cinemasinned to death on Twitter while getting radio silence here bummed me out.

[Takoma11]

Not so lonely anymore! I've been touting this film as the kind of meat and potatoes R rated thriller we haven't really gotten since the 90s. It's deftly handled in virtually every way a genre film can be and was just supremely satisfying, even if it is lacking in genuine greatness.*

Seeing it get thrashed and cinemasinned to death on Twitter while getting radio silence here bummed me out.

I don't get what people would have to complain about. Do you or do you not want an inexplicably sexy firefighter racing through a wildfire to save a child from two (also inexplicably sexy) assassins?! You know the movie you're getting into!

Also: everyone in it can act! No eye-rolling shoehorned romances! Solid special effects!

[ThatDarnMKS]

I don't get what people would have to complain about. Do you or do you not want an inexplicably sexy firefighter racing through a wildfire to save a child from two (also inexplicably sexy) assassins?! You know the movie you're getting into!

Also: everyone in it can act! No eye-rolling shoehorned romances! Solid special effects!
It was seriously nitpicky stuff. "why have the fire start from a flare and not from the thunderstorm?" Like that level but for EVERYTHING.

I am absolutely on board for inexplicably sexy firefighters fighting assassins. I'd forgotten what a pleasure it is to see Jolie on the screen but with her return in this and Eternals (for which she's one of the few bright spots), I hope she acts more and directs less.

I also can't praise Medina Senghore enough. The character and performance elevated someone that could have been cheap stakes (vulnerable pregnant wife!) for Jon Bernthal but turned out to be perhaps the most competent, driven and engaging character in the film.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-_0WmqRzxwsk%2FUBmldCcqfoI%2FAAAAAAAADUM%2Fb4Gl78nci2U%2Fs1600%2FNipsey%2BRussell%2C%2BMichael%2BJack son%2C%2BTed%2BRoss%2C%2BDiana%2BRoss.JPG&f=1&nofb=1

The Wiz, 1978

Timid schoolteacher Dorothy (Diana Ross) is transported to the strange fantasy urban landscape of Oz. She connects with the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Tinman (Nipsey Russell), the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross), and must find her way to the Wizard (Richard Pryor). But the wicked witch Evillene (Mabel King) has other plans for Dorothy (and her little dog, too!).

This film has greatness in fits and starts, but for the most part it feels like a missed opportunity.

What I enjoyed the most here were some of the visuals. Graffiti comes to life at night in an outsized playground. An artist in the subway controls two puppets that seem to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. The sets and costumes tread a fun line between urban vintage and fantasy. Some of the choreography is really great and fun, especially the larger pieces in the last act.

I also really liked some of the music. "Ease on Down the Road" is a catchy refrain, and "Brand New Day" resonates with some excellent stage musical big number energy.

But overall I found myself struggling with this film a bit. It took me three different viewings to complete it, at one point finding myself dismayed that there were still somehow 50 minutes left. Perhaps it's something about the pacing, but I thought that the film lacked a vital momentum. Instead of feeling eager, I found myself feeling impatient.

Just a real notch below what I was hoping for.

3.5

[Takoma11]

I also can't praise Medina Senghore enough. The character and performance elevated someone that could have been cheap stakes (vulnerable pregnant wife!) for Jon Bernthal but turned out to be perhaps the most competent, driven and engaging character in the film.

Yes, she was great. And I will watch a flame-throwing, horse-riding, rifle-wielding pregnant woman without a moment of hesitation because she fits perfectly into the universe of the film.

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/Lovedeath.jpg/220px-Lovedeath.jpg


3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffilmmakermagazine.com%2Farchives%2Fissues%2Fspring2003%2Ffeatures%2Fimages%2Fplayers 3.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Young Unknowns, 2000

Charlie (Devon Gummersall) is the son of a famous director, slumming it in LA waiting for his big break. He has a contentious relationship with his girlfriend, Paloma (Arly Jover). When Charlie's friend Joe (Eion Bailey) visits the house with a model friend named Cassandra (Leslie Bibb) in tow, things slowly spiral out of hand.

So this is one of those films whose greatest strengths actually make it kind of hard to recommend.

Charlie and Joe are, to put it mildly, the worst. They are privileged, rich white twenty-somethings who relentlessly put on "Black voice" ("Yo, we smokin' crack now boy!"), put a lot of energy into explaining how it's really the incompetence of others that has kept them from being more successful, and wax rhapsodic about how all women secretly want to be hit by their lovers.

What's rough is that these characters feel incredibly real. Painfully real. I went to high school and college with these guys. And MAN, it is hard spending time with them.

But what I found ultimately successful about the film is the way that it both recognizes the dynamics that have led these characters--and specifically Charlie--to be the way they are, while not excusing the choices that they make that harm others. Bibb's Cassandra is the ultimate representation of this. When Joe impulsively hits Cassandra when she angers him, Charlie arranges for him to take her to the hospital. And yet later, when she repeatedly asks them to help her get home, they refuse to let her use the phone and effectively trap her in the house with just the two of them and a whole lot of drugs and alcohol.

The film is also a fascinating glimpse at a very specific slice of time. Characters wear pagers and cell phones are nowhere to be found. Lest you think that bros bemoaning PC culture is a new thing, we get to hear Joe explain that an article about verbal abuse is a good example of feminism ruining everything. Ranting on about how female military members accusing superior officers of rape is just an example of women trying to ruin good men, Cassandra protests that "they had power over them" which made it wrong. Charlie and Joe laugh in her face. The guys are later excited to explore a new popular drug--meth.

This movie is off-putting and uncomfortable from opening credits to closing credits. It manages to show how a fractured-yet-sheltered upbringing can shape someone into a selfish, abusive-yet-needy young adult. Gummersall's performance is strong and lived in and at times hard to watch. The final act--in which an intoxicated Cassandra is alone in the hillside home with an increasingly aggressive Joe and Charlie--was at times unbearably tense. It's not a matter of if there will be something horrible, just what horrible thing it will be.

This is a film that I think deserves to be seen, and yet it certainly isn't a good time. I'm glad I watched it and I encourage you to throw it on your watchlist. It has pretty bad ratings and some really harsh reviews ("Headed for well-deserved obscurity", LOL ouch!), but I thought it was interesting.

3.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/VLmL6LCX/i-live-in-fear-sm-web.jpg
By Toho Company, © 1955 - scanned movie poster released by Toho Company, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3665183


I Live in Fear - (1955)

In between Seven Samurai and Throne of Blood Akira Kurosawa made this more low-key effort that examines a few things about being human and being part of a family and society - not to mention the fear those in Japan particularly felt towards the bomb and it's potential to destroy. Kiichi Nakajima (Toshirô Mifune) has become obsessed with nuclear war. He's a wealthy foundry owner, so he has the means to construct elaborate bomb shelters, but eventually this isn't enough and he decides to transplant his entire family onto a farm in Brazil - where he thinks it's safest. Most of his family don't want to go - and think (quite reasonably) that he's going too far. That's where Takashi Shimura comes in - as a court mediator who has to decide if control over Nakajima's finances will be handed over to his family, whereupon he'll be declared incompetent. But is he? Isn't it reasonable to be terrified of the world's nuclear weapons?

This is an interesting meditation on how difficult it is to conclude how rational or irrational certain fears are - most people relegate fearful things (like how dangerous it is each time we drive a car) to their subconscious, but that doesn't mean a person is crazy if they examine the danger and react to it. It just means they're doing something unhealthy. Something that could lead them into becoming unglued. Nuclear conflict for the Japanese around this time is a great example. There's a great scene towards the end of this film where...

...Nakajima is in an insane asylum, looks out the window and mistakes the sun for Earth - an Earth on fire after nuclear devastation. The preoccupation he had has finally run it's course and led him to this place, proving that no matter how justified fear is, it's end result will be a human who can no longer function in society. Just because we're not running around screaming doesn't mean there's not a justifiable threat out there though.

You could swap 'nuclear war' for 'climate change' and make this film as relevant as it was for the Japanese in the 1950s.

8/10

https://i.postimg.cc/bN1GdBr2/final-quarter.jpg

The Final Quarter - (2019)

From around 2013 to 2015 people in Australia went through a saga that involved a popular football player (Adam Goodes) who, apart from being a celebrity, campaigned against racism and for a place in Australia's constitution for the Indigenous people who have been around for tens of thousands of years. He was playing in a match when a spectator called him an "ape" - and he proceeded to point this person out and make an example of her. She was a 13 year-old girl, and I don't think she fully comprehended the racial significance of saying that to an Indigenous person. A few days later, just when the furor was dying down, a well-known radio personality suggested Goodes be used to promote 'King Kong' - this inflamed the whole topic again.

Goodes was eventually given the honor of being "Australian of the Year" and was in the spotlight, but the controversy that followed him around due to these incidents (and a type of 'war-dance' he performed on the football field which infuriated conservative commentators) meant that during football matches Goodes started to be booed whenever he went near the ball. Match after match the booing continued - and this led to the nation as a whole arguing with itself over whether this constituted racism or not. Whatever the answer to that question, the booing continued until he retired from the game, almost hounded out of the sport by those who had grown to dislike him.

I can imagine this documentary being particularly interesting to non-Australians. I thought it was good - but I was already familiar with the whole story, and it's basically a documentary created from editing together bits and pieces from various media to tell the whole tale. Growing up in the 1980s - racism was a huge thing everywhere I went. Things are a lot different now - from my perspective, but there'd be quite a few people who would say otherwise.

7/10

[Yomi]

Ajin (2017)
rating_3_5

https://aninote.pl/pic/71/33/3371a35.jpg

[FromBeyond]

Nomadland

Frances McDormand gives an incredibly human performance but aside from that, I don’t need to watch her take a crap.. twice and I didn’t need to read this statistic but 84% of hidden homeless are male, 9 out of 10 rough sleepers are male. Every ****ing movie I see like this deals with a lone female. At least I found this more believable than Wendy & Lucy

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-_0WmqRzxwsk%2FUBmldCcqfoI%2FAAAAAAAADUM%2Fb4Gl78nci2U%2Fs1600%2FNipsey%2BRussell%2C%2BMichael%2BJack son%2C%2BTed%2BRoss%2C%2BDiana%2BRoss.JPG&f=1&nofb=1

The Wiz, 1978

Timid schoolteacher Dorothy (Diana Ross) is transported to the strange fantasy urban landscape of Oz. She connects with the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Tinman (Nipsey Russell), the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross), and must find her way to the Wizard (Richard Pryor). But the wicked witch Evillene (Mabel King) has other plans for Dorothy (and her little dog, too!).

This film has greatness in fits and starts, but for the most part it feels like a missed opportunity.

What I enjoyed the most here were some of the visuals. Graffiti comes to life at night in an outsized playground. An artist in the subway controls two puppets that seem to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. The sets and costumes tread a fun line between urban vintage and fantasy. Some of the choreography is really great and fun, especially the larger pieces in the last act.

I also really liked some of the music. "Ease on Down the Road" is a catchy refrain, and "Brand New Day" resonates with some excellent stage musical big number energy.

But overall I found myself struggling with this film a bit. It took me three different viewings to complete it, at one point finding myself dismayed that there were still somehow 50 minutes left. Perhaps it's something about the pacing, but I thought that the film lacked a vital momentum. Instead of feeling eager, I found myself feeling impatient.

Just a real notch below what I was hoping for.

3.5

Fortunately, because I grew up watching this all the time, I always have my expectations set low and get a pleasant lift from the film rather than having them higher (as audiences certainly did at the time) and get disappointed.
I love Evillene's big number "No Bad News".

[GulfportDoc]

Those Who Wish Me Dead, 2021

Hannah (Angelina Jolie) is a wildfire firefighter grappling with serious trauma related to a fire she worked in which a colleague and several children were killed. Working a remote fire-tower, Hannah ends up being the last hope for Connor (Finn Little), a teenager whose father (Jake Weber) is on the run from two assassins (Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen).
...
I wouldn't say that anything here is groundbreaking, it's more just familiar elements done incredibly well. I had no complaints about any of it.

rating_4


I can see what you liked about the film. And it is very watchable. But to my taste it had some notable flaws. Here's some commentary I did about it:


Those Who Wish Me Dead(2021)

Oh boy, this was pretty much a miss in most aspects. On paper it sounded like an interesting classic thriller with good production credits. A forensic accountant is compelled to flee with his son when some of his family is murdered by mob assassins, presumably because he has uncovered damning evidence against the mobsters. After he is murdered, his son goes on the run alone, where he soon meets up with a remote fire tower lookout who is tasked with saving she and the boy from the hit men as well as from a raging forest fire the pursuers have set.

Director Taylor Sheridan (Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River) was a definite attraction due to his previous successes. There were high points, like the adolescent actor, Finn Little, who played Connor, the son of the murdered forensic accountant character, and who served pretty much as co-lead with Angelina Jolie. Little's talent was deep and well rounded, despite his young age. Also there was impressive forest fire photography, and first rate CGI that was indistinguishable from real life raging flames.

But there were two deficits. The novel of the same name by Michael Koryta was very highly regarded by the critics, but the screenplay did not produce the same cachet. We'll guess that the chief writer was Charles Leavitt, a writer of some note. Yet this script felt superficial and by-the-numbers.

Some of the problems lay in the casting. Angelina Jolie is far too attractive and gentle looking to play a rough and tough firefighter/smokejumper. It was almost impossible to take her character seriously right from the start, although she was more plausible when interacting with the boy. Her character would have been much better played by a somewhat more average looking actress, for example Samantha Mathis, Laura Dern, or even a butch looking type like Tilda Swinton. Of course Jolie's star power was likely the biggest consideration for the producers.

Since they avoided graphic sex and violence the picture could have been given a more commercial PG-13 rating, but for hundreds of F words in the dialogue. It seemed that every sentence had to have several Fs, which soon became annoying, like fingernails scraped on a blackboard, or a bad satire. The language was even used by Jolie's character while speaking to the boy.

There was some suspense, and a few isolated thrills, but overall it was a mediocre production that could have been much better. This will not have been one of Sheridan's best pictures.

Doc's rating: 4/10

[Takoma11]

Some of the problems lay in the casting. Angelina Jolie is far too attractive and gentle looking to play a rough and tough firefighter/smokejumper.

Jolie is certainly attractive, but gentle looking? I disagree.

Since they avoided graphic sex and violence the picture could have been given a more commercial PG-13 rating, but for hundreds of F words in the dialogue. It seemed that every sentence had to have several Fs, which soon became annoying, like fingernails scraped on a blackboard, or a bad satire. The language was even used by Jolie's character while speaking to the boy.

I honestly didn't notice the language. And I thought that the use of it when talking to the kid was just part of the trope of the rough-tough adult having to interact with a child. Overall I thought that the language fit the characters.

There was some suspense, and a few isolated thrills, but overall it was a mediocre production that could have been much better. This will not have been one of Sheridan's best pictures.

It might not be the top of the heap in terms of Sheridan's work, but I think it's one of the better thrillers I've seen in the last year or so. The way that the different characters and side-plots were layered together was really solid, the stakes were clear, and it all came to a satisfying finale.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.tintin.com%2Fimages%2Ftintin%2Factus%2Factus%2F004687%2F1958-vitre-Tintin-%25C2%25A9-2016-Robert-Kayaert-SOFAM-Belgique.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

Herge: In the Shadow of Tintin, 2016

This short documentary (there is a more feature-length version, but I apparently got the more edited down ~1 hour version?) follows the career of Georges Remi (aka Herge), the creator of the character Tintin. The film traces the development of the character as well as the way that Herge's work grew in parallel with world events and specifically World War 2.

This was a fun little documentary, if a bit light. I enjoyed hearing about the order of the creation of the comics and when different characters were introduced. I also liked learning about the real events that served as inspirations for the stories. I read all of the Tintin books when I was a kid, so a lot of this film was just a nostalgia bomb. But it was also neat to learn that real people inspired his characters, especially that meeting a Chinese man inspired a character he would use in the story The Blue Lotus, which condemns the treatment of the Chinese people by Japan.

One area in which I thought this film kind of missed the mark was in how it addressed the use of racial caricatures in Herge's work. If you've read the comics, you know that it can be very yikes. Even as a 7 year old child, I was put off by the portrayal of African and Middle Eastern characters. Even "sympathetic" portrayals of groups like American Indians or a ship full of kidnapped Africans tend to lean toward showing them as foolish naive children. But the way that the film chooses to address this is to bring it up, then immediately pull out some canned quote from Herge about how his portrayal of the Africans was just going along with what he heard and how we shouldn't be mad because he didn't mean to be racist. The film seems to think that intention is all we should care about, and it comes across a bit callous. His portrayals, in my opinion, are not actively malicious, but they are still racist. I wish the film had had the nerve to just own that instead of trying to make excuses.

If you read these comics as a child, you might enjoy the trip down memory lane.

3.5

[Captain Steel]

The Outsiders: The Complete Novel (1983)

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/rqoAAOSwrklU9ZxE/s-l300.jpg

I'm prepared for flack because I've heard this movie is beloved by some - which is part of the problem... I think it's a case of decades of hype vs. a first time view.

First, I never read the book, but had heard that this movie was something of a classic since the early 80's.

TCM gave it quite the build up with Ben Mankowitz interviewing Francis Ford Coppola (but comparing it to other Coppola films such as The Godfather and American Graffiti set me up with anticipation for something epic.)

Of course I loved seeing the cast of then future stars, but the movie itself seemed to come off more like a spoof of an old James Dean film (to me anyway).

It brought to mind the John Waters' movie Cry-Baby (1990), but Crybaby was an intentional spoof of those types of movies.

The acting was almost cringe-worthy. Strictly high school play level which is surprising as many of these guys would go on to make huge hit movies. Some performances in the movie were better than others, but overall it just felt overdone & forced - much like a spoof, which it wasn't. Matt Dillon seemed to stand out initially as being believable, but in the 2nd half he was chewing scenery and delivering lines as if he was overacting on a voice job for Family Guy.

Seeing Diane Lane was really the "Cherry" on top - her acting was good in her few scenes and she was just a gorgeous girl!

A fun watch for the novelty factor of an all (future) star cast, but as an overall film: a little slow, dreary, with poor acting that could not be overcome with blatant attempts to be cinematically "artsy".

2.5

[Citizen Rules]

The Outsiders: The Complete Novel (1983)

rating_2_5 No flack coming your way even though I liked that film. Just a question about your movie title. I've never see it wrote that way. Is this a special version or extended version?

[Captain Steel]

No flack coming your way even though I liked that film. Just a question about your movie title. I've never see it wrote that way. Is this a special version or extended version?

That's affirmative! I watched it on TCM (On Demand) and they talked about how this version had about 20 extra minutes added on, which Ben Mankowitz said really helped flesh out the story from the book.

I'm thinking I might have liked it more if it had been 20 minutes shorter. ;)

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F83%2F5x%2Fmw%2Fti%2Fthe-umbrellas-of-cherbourg-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D0bdffc80b3&f=1&nofb=1

Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1964

In this all-singing musical, Genevieve (Catherine Deneauve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) are in love, but their romance is strained when Guy is drafted into the army and must leave Genevieve behind. Pregnant and unsure of Guy's commitment to her, Genevieve must decide what to do when she is wooed by Roland (Marc Michel).

So, wow, yeah, the whole thing is singing. I feel like I exist in this weird space as someone who loves movies where I've seen some more obscure things and I know some random deep-cut trivia, and yet there are these things that I'm pretty sure even really basic movie fans know that somehow manage to be news to me.

I will admit that the singing took me a little while to get used to. But ultimately, it was the look and feel of the film that really won me over, and the singing just became the norm.

The look of this film is absolutely eye-poppingly stunning. I probably only absorbed about 60% of the dialogue, because I was constantly having my attention drawn to the way that a woman's dress matched the paint color on the wall behind her, or the unexpected dark pink of a passing ship in the background, or the arrangement of graphic boxes on a shelf.

I also loved the editing, and one particular moment in which Genevieve and Guy embracing in the street cuts to them in the same pose embracing at a table in a cafe was fabulous.

My confession about only catching 3/5 of the dialogue aside, I also really enjoyed the approach to the story. If I could sum up the vibe I get from Demy's work so far, it would be "Yeah, sometimes that's how it is." Sometimes you love someone who doesn't love you back. Sometimes there's something negative about a person that is beyond their power or desire to change. Sometimes you miss a chance and you don't get a second one. Sometimes you have to make the best of what you have. And if it seems like this is a little bleak, I think that what Demy actually manages to capture is that it isn't bleak. It can be a little sad, yes, but life can still find a way to be full of joy. My favorite line might be when Guy asks Madeline, "Are you happy?" and she responds, "I'm not unhappy."

As with his previous films, Demy balances our sympathies excellently between the leads. We understand Genevieve's anxiety about being pregnant and single, not knowing if the father of her baby is coming back to her. We also understand Guy's shock at returning home from a trying experience to find that the entire landscape of his hometown has shifted. There are no villains in this story. In a lesser film, Roland (sliding neatly over from Lola and into this film) would be a villain. But here he's just a nice guy who really likes Genevieve. And it isn't his fault if we, the audience, want her to end up with Guy. Likewise, the character of Madeline (Ellen Farner) who pines after Guy. No one is scheming, they're all just people who want to be happy.

A very charming film whose all-singing style could have felt gimmicky, but instead creates a kind of alternate reality.

4.5

[SpelingError]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F83%2F5x%2Fmw%2Fti%2Fthe-umbrellas-of-cherbourg-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D0bdffc80b3&f=1&nofb=1

Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1964

In this all-singing musical, Genevieve (Catherine Deneauve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) are in love, but their romance is strained when Guy is drafted into the army and must leave Genevieve behind. Pregnant and unsure of Guy's commitment to her, Genevieve must decide what to do when she is wooed by Roland (Marc Michel).

So, wow, yeah, the whole thing is singing. I feel like I exist in this weird space as someone who loves movies where I've seen some more obscure things and I know some random deep-cut trivia, and yet there are these things that I'm pretty sure even really basic movie fans know that somehow manage to be news to me.

I will admit that the singing took me a little while to get used to. But ultimately, it was the look and feel of the film that really won me over, and the singing just became the norm.

The look of this film is absolutely eye-poppingly stunning. I probably only absorbed about 60% of the dialogue, because I was constantly having my attention drawn to the way that a woman's dress matched the paint color on the wall behind her, or the unexpected dark pink of a passing ship in the background, or the arrangement of graphic boxes on a shelf.

I also loved the editing, and one particular moment in which Genevieve and Guy embracing in the street cuts to them in the same pose embracing at a table in a cafe was fabulous.

My confession about only catching 3/5 of the dialogue aside, I also really enjoyed the approach to the story. If I could sum up the vibe I get from Demy's work so far, it would be "Yeah, sometimes that's how it is." Sometimes you love someone who doesn't love you back. Sometimes there's something negative about a person that is beyond their power or desire to change. Sometimes you miss a chance and you don't get a second one. Sometimes you have to make the best of what you have. And if it seems like this is a little bleak, I think that what Demy actually manages to capture is that it isn't bleak. It can be a little sad, yes, but life can still find a way to be full of joy. My favorite line might be when Guy asks Madeline, "Are you happy?" and she responds, "I'm not unhappy."

As with his previous films, Demy balances our sympathies excellently between the leads. We understand Genevieve's anxiety about being pregnant and single, not knowing if the father of her baby is coming back to her. We also understand Guy's shock at returning home from a trying experience to find that the entire landscape of his hometown has shifted. There are no villains in this story. In a lesser film, Roland (sliding neatly over from Lola and into this film) would be a villain. But here he's just a nice guy who really likes Genevieve. And it isn't his fault if we, the audience, want her to end up with Guy. Likewise, the character of Madeline (Ellen Farner) who pines after Guy. No one is scheming, they're all just people who want to be happy.

A very charming film whose all-singing style could have felt gimmicky, but instead creates a kind of alternate reality.

4.5

I highly recommend watching The Young Girls of Rochefort, if you haven't already seen it. It's my favorite of Demy's films.

[mark f]

A Warm December (Sidney Poitier, 1973) 2+ 5/10
Keyboard Fantasies (Posy Dixon, 2019) 2.5 6/10
Anonymous Animals (Baptiste Rouveure, 2020) 2+ 5/10
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948) 4+ 8/10
https://media1.giphy.com/media/3o6gDZE4ObTRqpyUJW/giphy-downsized.gif
https://debbimacktoo.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/treasure-sierra-madre-5.gif
https://i.gifer.com/9ZSh.gif
Bogie goes psycho in 1920s Mexico - not all that strange with him having to deal with Alfonso Bedoya's hatred of badges and Walter Huston's dancing. Great adventure/social commentary with bravura acting, writing, direction and most everything.
The Estate (James Kapner, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10
The Lineup (Don Siegel, 1958) 3- 6.5/10
Winter's Night (Jang Woo-jin, 2018) 2.5 5.5/10
The Nun's Story (Fred Zinnemann, 1959) 4 8/10
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/65/4e/ff654efacf59609a485e17b84d2df5d8.gif
Journey of a young Belgian nun (Audrey Hepburn) and her search for spirituality, despite her natural inclination for being prideful about her accomplishments in medical research, is photographed in many wonderful locations and often plays out as a horror movie.
His Kind of Woman (John Farrow, 1951) 3 6.5/10
Indestructible Man (Jack Pollexfen, 1956) 1.5 4/10
Coming 2 America (Craig Brewer, 2021) 2.5 6/10
The Baker's Wife (Marcel Pagnol, 1938) 3.5 7/10
https://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/_1000w/the-bakers-wife-slide3.jpg
Raumu and his small Provencal village can't handle it when his young wife runs off with a shepherd, threatening them with the loss of his scrumptious bread. Low-key but still incredibly funny with pristine photography.
Listen to a Stranger: An Interview with Gordon Parks (Romas V. Slezas, 1973) 3 6.5/10
Flavio (Gordon Parks, 1964) 2.5 6/10
The Wrong Path (Andrew Damon Henriques, 2021) 2- 5/10
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) 3 6.5/10
https://cdn9.hifigif.cc/picture/original/nUE0pUZ6Yl90nUIgLaZhM_M5L_S0YzAioF9Qo_5wpzI0MIOiq_IloTImp0uuoJ1ypzgipP1moJSfoP5anJLcXltbFTyTnHqWEv5w LlysL_9hL3WyqTIjo3qypzkyp3AbLJ1gMKWeo3Ngp_1uoTjhM_yz/(HiFiGIF.cc)_stagecoach-movies-1939-john-ford-action-western-movies-small.gif
Even though many of the characters are hopelessly clichéd, the Influential filmmaking isn't. Iconic scenes and storytelling throughout.
40-Love (Fred Wolf, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Reap (Joe Leone, 2020) 1.5 4/10
Mogambo (John Ford, 1953) 3+ 6/10
The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942) 3 6.5/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwkan2hM74Q
Welles' follow-up to Kane was taken out of his hands but still turns out pretty well, considering. The above closing credits highlight some of his creativeness. Tim Holt is much more of an a-hole here than in SIerra Madre or Stagecoach.

[Takoma11]

I highly recommend watching The Young Girls of Rochefort, if you haven't already seen it. It's my favorite of Demy's films.

I'm watching it right now! (Or rather, I've started it tonight and will probably finish it tomorrow evening).

Coming 2 America (Craig Brewer, 2031) 2.5 6/10

Tell us your secrets, oh traveler from the future!

[gbgoodies]

No flack coming your way even though I liked that film. Just a question about your movie title. I've never see it wrote that way. Is this a special version or extended version?

That's affirmative! I watched it on TCM (On Demand) and they talked about how this version had about 20 extra minutes added on, which Ben Mankowitz said really helped flesh out the story from the book.

I'm thinking I might have liked it more if it had been 20 minutes shorter. ;)


The longer version is better because it adds scenes that help the movie. It adds scenes at the beginning that introduce us to the Greasers, so we have a better feel for the characters by the time the action starts. It also adds the courtroom scene, and the scene with Ponyboy and his brothers at the end which give us closure. It also removes some minor scenes in the middle of the movie that weren't necessary anyway.

The Complete Novel also changed the soundtrack to 60s music, which was more fitting to the time the movie was set.

[Wooley]

The Outsiders: The Complete Novel (1983)

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/rqoAAOSwrklU9ZxE/s-l300.jpg

I'm prepared for flack because I've heard this movie is beloved by some - which is part of the problem... I think it's a case of decades of hype vs. a first time view.

First, I never read the book, but had heard that this movie was something of a classic since the early 80's.

TCM gave it quite the build up with Ben Mankowitz interviewing Francis Ford Coppola (but comparing it to other Coppola films such as The Godfather and American Graffiti set me up with anticipation for something epic.)

Of course I loved seeing the cast of then future stars, but the movie itself seemed to come off more like a spoof of an old James Dean film (to me anyway).

It brought to mind the John Waters' movie Cry-Baby (1990), but Crybaby was an intentional spoof of those types of movies.

The acting was almost cringe-worthy. Strictly high school play level which is surprising as many of these guys would go on to make huge hit movies. Some performances in the movie were better than others, but overall it just felt overdone & forced - much like a spoof, which it wasn't. Matt Dillon seemed to stand out initially as being believable, but in the 2nd half he was chewing scenery and delivering lines as if he was overacting on a voice job for Family Guy.

Seeing Diane Lane was really the "Cherry" on top - her acting was good in her few scenes and she was just a gorgeous girl!

A fun watch for the novelty factor of an all (future) star cast, but as an overall film: a little slow, dreary, with poor acting that could not be overcome with blatant attempts to be cinematically "artsy".

2.5

Yeah, it's not very good and you're definitely not the only one who felt that way. For example, Roger Ebert panned it in its time. I actually do have the nostalgia factor for it but when I went back and watched it I realized it was just not good.
Watch his far, far superior Rumble Fish for a much better take on the old-fashioned street gang/S.E. Hinton thing and a much better Coppola "Art Film".

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F83%2F5x%2Fmw%2Fti%2Fthe-umbrellas-of-cherbourg-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3D0bdffc80b3&f=1&nofb=1

Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1964

...

A very charming film whose all-singing style could have felt gimmicky, but instead creates a kind of alternate reality.

4.5

So, have you seen his next film, The Young Girls Of Rochefort? That's my favorite of his.

[Captain Steel]

The longer version is better because it adds scenes that help the movie. It adds scenes at the beginning that introduce us to the Greasers, so we have a better feel for the characters by the time the action starts. It also adds the courtroom scene, and the scene with Ponyboy and his brothers at the end which give us closure. It also removes some minor scenes in the middle of the movie that weren't necessary anyway.

The Complete Novel also changed the soundtrack to 60s music, which was more fitting to the time the movie was set.

That's really interesting, gbg, especially since I've never seen the original.

I thought the courtroom scene and the end scene were two of the best - I couldn't imagine it without the courtroom because that seemed the conclusion to Ponyboy's fate & the resolution to the crux of the story.

The music is really interesting - what kind of music was in the original version?

I did dig the soundtrack - although a couple of the songs seemed a bit out of place simply for the scenes they were used in. Overall the music in this version contributed greatly to the feel and the era the film was set in. (During the rumble scene I said to my brother, "This movie reminds me of a Stray Cats song!") :)

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://bookofjoe.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5dea53ef01bb09fd293c970d-800wi

https://64.media.tumblr.com/b98746845f85ed8fdc0babc9f32ce1ae/tumblr_pkcqsona5p1vq219go4_400.gifv

Stalker - I tried watching this a few years back but stopped because I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. After watching a few minutes I knew this was a film that deserved your full attention. I had the same experience with Solaris which I didn't fully appreciate until a rewatch. I'm glad I waited because this was on par with that. To those who aren't familiar there's a small unnamed country where some sort of unspecified incident has resulted in a restricted region referred to simply as "the Zone". In this area there is rumored to be a room where a person's one true desire is fulfilled. Professional guides lead their clients into this zone. One such person is known simply as "Stalker" (Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy) and, against the vehement objections of his wife Zhena (Alisa Freyndlikh), he agrees to escort two men past the barricades and armed guards. One is Pisatel (Anatoliy Solonitsyn), a writer who is feeling simultaneously burned out but also obsolete. The other is an academic dubbed "The Professor" (Nikolay Grinko) who maintains that he is there strictly for research purposes.

I think this is a gorgeously photographed movie with the prelude and the coda presented in a striking sepia tone. Tarkovsky loads his movie with lingering and ultimately mesmerizing shots but the one that stood out to me (at least my favorite one) was near the end. The Stalker and his family are trudging home though a sublimely grim landscape, his infirm daughter on his shoulders and that one shot (at least to me) spoke volumes. Once home the spiritually and physically exhausted man laments to his wife the apparent folly of his "calling". His is an attempt to bring grace and hope and a deeper understanding to his clients. But he despairs of ever getting through to anyone. And yet despite his avowal that he is through risking all with little or nothing to show for it you know he will keep on trying. Some might believe that Tarkovsky goes a little heavy on the religious allegory. I don't think he necessarily does while still managing to get his point across.

I really liked this movie but I think Solaris still squeaks by as my favorite Tarkovsky. I just need to watch more of his films.

90/100

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Ford_v._Ferrari_%282019_film_poster%29.png
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60921288

Ford v Ferrari - (2019)

If I were a motorsport fan I'd be jumping up and down right now proclaiming this the greatest motion picture ever made. I'm not one though, so this was just an enjoyable enough film with great scenes of racing set during the '66 Le Mans event which involved Ford and driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) - I thought he was doing a great British accent until I remembered that Bale actually is British. Matt Damon joins as a car designer and former driver. A true story that really has it's twists and turns, especially regarding the 24-hour event which is built up marvelously. That's 7/9 Best Picture-nominated films from that year I've seen. Only missing Marriage Story and The Irishman.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/WALL-Eposter.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2008/wall_e_ver3.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34074540

WALL-E - (2008)

Jeez, kids get it good these days - but that's no reason for me not to enjoy these films also. Caught this is preparation for the 2000s Countdown because animated films often score quite well, and this is one of the best. Imaginative, and stays the course pretty well considering it runs for over 90 minutes with a couple of characters who only speak a few words the entire time.

8/10

[LChimp]

https://br.web.img3.acsta.net/pictures/21/08/02/14/20/4198735.jpg

I don't really know what to say

[Torgo]

https://br.web.img3.acsta.net/pictures/21/08/02/14/20/4198735.jpg

I don't really know what to sayBaa?
Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Torgo]

Targets - 4

This is an excellent thriller that captures a changing of the guard: the monster guard, that is. It features horror legend Boris Karloff, who plays a version of himself named Byron Orlok (love that name), who is bowing out of the horror movie business with one final movie, the real Corman production The Terror. Meanwhile, there's Bobby Thompson, who is the kind of family man you'd want to invite over to drink with and watch the big game. Without warning, he snaps and goes on a sniping spree around L.A.

What makes the movie work for me is how they play Bobby up as the ideal American male. Besides casting Tim O'Kelly, who looks like he belongs in the typical ‘60s beach movie, there's his love of Baby Ruth candy bars and his too perfect pastel-shaded house. Few things in movies scare me more than villains like Bobby because they show every sign that there's nothing to fear about them, which makes their chaotic evil alignment hard to understand and therefore all the scarier. In other words, he's in good company with the villains in The Vanishing (1988) and Vengeance is Mine. His highway shooting spree is an ideal demonstration of this, which terrifies not only for how realistic and how much of a masterclass in tension and release it is, but also because there's no rhyme or reason to who Bobby targets.

Regarding the scenes with Karloff, I read a critique that they should have been minimized or done away with entirely to spend more time with Bobby, but I disagree. Besides being relevant to the changing of the guard theme, they provide an ideal cake to the icing that is Bobby's rampage and they're why the drive-in theater finale is so suspenseful. Removing these scenes would also deprive us of Karloff's breathtaking delivery of The Appointment in Samarra story. You also have to give credit to Bogdanovich, Platt and company for using more actual locations instead of sets, a decision that has the added benefit of making the movie an ideal time capsule of late '60s southern California. All in all, it's the kind of thriller that is scary enough to be labeled as horror, and since the Bobbys of America continue to be the reason why so many are afraid to go to public places, let their kids go to public schools, etc., it's also scarily prescient.

[Stirchley]

https://br.web.img3.acsta.net/pictures/21/08/02/14/20/4198735.jpg

I don't really know what to say

Helpful.

[Stirchley]

82833

If Crowe had a better rôle than this, I don’t know what it is.

82834

A classic - seen it a million times.

[Thief]

ONE CUT OF THE DEAD
(2017, Ueda)

https://i.imgur.com/hUToJA5.jpg


"Fast, cheap, but average"



Without giving too much away, One Cut of the Dead follows a crew of filmmakers tasked with shooting a zombie film while facing a series of unexpected and often hilarious constraints and problems. The nature and reasons of those constraints is best explained by watching the actual film, and being patient enough to stick with it all the way through the payoff.

If you haven't heard much or anything about this, then give it a chance as soon as possible. Especially if you're a zombie or horror fan, this is a film that rewards you for walking in blind. It is a film that moves at a breezy pace, and even though it may look cheap, average it ain't.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2254147#post2254147)

[Thief]

82833

If Crowe had a better rôle than this, I don’t know what it is.



I haven't seen this film since theaters, but if you ask me now, I would take Crowe's performances in L.A. Confidential, The Nice Guys, and especially The Insider over it any day.

[Stirchley]

I haven't seen this film since theaters, but if you ask me now, I would take Crowe's performances in L.A. Confidential, The Nice Guys, and especially The Insider over it any day.

We’ll agree to disagree. I would take Master & Commander over any of the movies you mention. But it’s all good stuff.

[Wyldesyde19]

I haven't seen this film since theaters, but if you ask me now, I would take Crowe's performances in L.A. Confidential, The Nice Guys, and especially The Insider over it any day.

Completely agree here. A Beautiful Mind isn’t even that good of film, either. I need to see The Nice Guys yet, but the other two tower above ABM.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Completely agree here. A Beautiful Mind isn’t even that good of film, either. I need to see The Nice Guys yet, but the other two tower above ABM.
TNG would fit well into Noirvember, if you’re partaking. It’s like a comedy version of LA Confidential.

[Stirchley]

A Beautiful Mind isn’t even that good of film, either.

There’s no accounting for taste, that’s for sure.

[Wyldesyde19]

There’s no accounting for taste, that’s for sure.

Says the pot to the kettle 😉

[Wyldesyde19]

TNG would fit well into Noirvember, if you’re partaking. It’s like a comedy version of LA Confidential.

Is it noir? Didn’t realize that. I’ve been meaning to watch it for awhile. If I can fit it in, I’ll try.

[Thief]

Is it noir? Didn’t realize that. I’ve been meaning to watch it for awhile. If I can fit it in, I’ll try.

It's a comedy, a hilarious one at that, but it has a definitive noir vibe to it.

[ThatDarnMKS]

Is it noir? Didn’t realize that. I’ve been meaning to watch it for awhile. If I can fit it in, I’ll try.
It’s one of the rare comedy neo-noir flicks that folks like Shane Black and Martin McDonagh do so well.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTNhOTlmMDYtNWUyMi00Y2E0LThmYmItNGY4ZGI2ZDgwZmI3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTEyMjM2NDc2._V1_.jpg



3

[Jinnistan]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Dune_%282021_film%29.jpg


I can quibble the way that fussy fanboys like to do. I do miss the garish colorful weirdness of Lynch's version to the otherwise dry clay-colored palette here. I prefer the ugly gluttony of Lynch's Harkonnen to these bleak worm-men. It's amusing that Villenueve just didn't even bother trying to one-up Lynch's slightly obscene Guild Navigator by omitting it entirely. What's the point of perfectly casting Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother if you don't bother to show her face and ghostly eyes? Or pointing out that Timothee Chalamet happens to have zero magnetism?


Eh, whatever. It's a noble venture, an accomplished production, an occasionally transcendent vision that is faithful and finally has the budget to get the big things right.


9/10




https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/TheNightingale2019.jpg


Yuck, what a disappointment after waiting to see this for a couple of years (just arrived on Netflix). After the relative thematic complexity of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent follows up with this paper-thin script, a ham-fisted colonial tale with caricatures rather than characters. Our lead, Aisling Franciosi, manages to emote a little more dimension into hers, but is still hampered by a couple of crucial and inexplicable plot contrivances. Everyone else is a cartoon, either hysterically evil (the band of stooges) or magically virtuous (the aborigines), neither one requiring much human complexity. Inevitably, the film's evil is just numbing and its virtue is unconvincing. Let's hope it's only a sophomore slump.



5/10

[Wyldesyde19]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Dune_%282021_film%29.jpg


I can quibble the way that fussy fanboys like to do. I do miss the garish colorful weirdness of Lynch's version to the otherwise dry clay-colored palette here. I prefer the ugly gluttony of Lynch's Harkonnen to these bleak worm-men. It's amusing that Villenueve just didn't even bother trying to one-up Lynch's slightly obscene Guild Navigator by omitting it entirely. What's the point of perfectly casting Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother if you don't bother to show her face and ghostly eyes? Or pointing out that Timothee Chalamet happens to have zero magnetism?


Eh, whatever. It's a noble venture, an accomplished production, an occasionally transcendent vision that is faithful and finally has the budget to get the big things right.


9/10




https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/TheNightingale2019.jpg


Yuck, what a disappointment after waiting to see this for a couple of years (just arrived on Netflix). After the relative thematic complexity of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent follows up with this paper-thin script, a ham-fisted colonial tale with caricatures rather than characters. Our lead, Aisling Franciosi, manages to emote a little more dimension into hers, but is still hampered by a couple of crucial and inexplicable plot contrivances. Everyone else is a cartoon, either hysterically evil (the band of stooges) or magically virtuous (the aborigines), neither one requiring much human complexity. Inevitably, the film's evil is just numbing and its virtue is unconvincing. Let's hope it's only a sophomore slump.



5/10


I might be in the minority, but I didn’t enjoy Lynch’s Dune at all. Wasn’t the right director for it, in my opinion.

As for Nightingale, I prefer it greatly over The Babadook. Sure, the characters aren’t that deep, but I didn’t find them caricatures.

[Stirchley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/TheNightingale2019.jpg


Yuck, what a disappointment after waiting to see this for a couple of years (just arrived on Netflix). After the relative thematic complexity of The Babadook, Jennifer Kent follows up with this paper-thin script, a ham-fisted colonial tale with caricatures rather than characters. Our lead, Aisling Franciosi, manages to emote a little more dimension into hers, but is still hampered by a couple of crucial and inexplicable plot contrivances. Everyone else is a cartoon, either hysterically evil (the band of stooges) or magically virtuous (the aborigines), neither one requiring much human complexity. Inevitably, the film's evil is just numbing and its virtue is unconvincing. Let's hope it's only a sophomore slump.



Agreed. I thought it atrocious & bailed out.

[StuSmallz]

It might not be the top of the heap in terms of Sheridan's work, but I think it's one of the better thrillers I've seen in the last year or so. The way that the different characters and side-plots were layered together was really solid, the stakes were clear, and it all came to a satisfying finale.Speaking of Sheridan's work, what do you think of his other movies? Because I've seen every entry in his Frontier Trilogy (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/frontier-trilogy/reviews/), and if I had to rank 'em, it'd look like this:

Wind River
Hell Or High Water
Sicario

Sicario's at the bottom, because, while I generally like Villeneuve's recent work a lot, his detached style wasn't particularly well suited for what should've been a more visceral and thrilling, well... thriller, while High Water is in the middle because I found it to be rather flat stylistically, but that was overcome somewhat by its fundamentally strong writing. And, Wind River is on top for me because of how evocative its chilly aesthetic was, which helped it overcome its more potboiler-y elements and sometimes problematic racial/gender dynamics to become a very compelling, surprisingly socially-conscious thriller. Also, when it comes to Sheridan's acting, I liked him as Deputy Hale on Sons Of Anarchy (even though I never clicked with that show as a whole :D ).

[Takoma11]

Speaking of Sheridan's work, what do you think of his other movies?

I've only seen Hell or High Water and Those Who Wish Me Dead.

Sicario and Wind River are movies that I'm interested in on paper, but never seem to get around to watching.

Now I'm wondering who I was confusing Sheridan with, because in my mind I thought I'd seen three or four of his films. Maybe it's just because I've read so much about the ones I haven't seen yet?

[Wooley]

82834

A classic - seen it a million times.

Absolutely would make a very short list of my favorite movies of all time.

[StuSmallz]

Absolutely would make a very short list of my favorite movies of all time.I enjoyed Butch a lot, but I'd say that I was still slightly more entertained by The Sting as far as the Newman/Redford collabs went.

[Wooley]

...I need to see The Nice Guys yet...

Fun movie.

[Wooley]

Is it noir? Didn’t realize that. I’ve been meaning to watch it for awhile. If I can fit it in, I’ll try.

It's a lot like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which I would definitely call Noir-Comedy.

[Wyldesyde19]

It's a lot like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, would I would definitely call a Noir-Comedy.
I liked Kiss Kiss…but honestly, it’s been about 16 years or so.

[GulfportDoc]

Ford v Ferrari - (2019)

If I were a motorsport fan I'd be jumping up and down right now proclaiming this the greatest motion picture ever made. I'm not one though, so this was just an enjoyable enough film with great scenes of racing set during the '66 Le Mans event which involved Ford and driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) - I thought he was doing a great British accent until I remembered that Bale actually is British. Matt Damon joins as a car designer and former driver. A true story that really has it's twists and turns, especially regarding the 24-hour event which is built up marvelously. That's 7/9 Best Picture-nominated films from that year I've seen. Only missing Marriage Story and The Irishman.

7/10
If you liked this film you might like The 24 Hour War (2016), a gripping documentary about the same material. I actually liked the doc. better than F v. F. It's the real McCoy!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4875844/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

[Takoma11]

I liked Kiss Kiss…but honestly, it’s been about 16 years or so.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of my all-time favorite movies. I just find it hilarious from beginning to end and I think all of the performances are pitch perfect.

The Nice Guys is also very funny and full of good performances, but I like it a little less as it retreads certain beats from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

I still consider them both really great films and they are endlessly rewatchable. The gag with Gosling breaking the window never fails to make me laugh uncontrollably.

[Wyldesyde19]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of my all-time favorite movies. I just find it hilarious from beginning to end and I think all of the performances are pitch perfect.

The Nice Guys is also very funny and full of good performances, but I like it a little less as it retreads certain beats from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

I still consider them both really great films and they are endlessly rewatchable. The gag with Gosling breaking the window never fails to make me laugh uncontrollably.

Yeah, I’ve been meaning to rewatch Kiss Kiss for quite a few years. I remember RDJ and Kilmer being especially funny in it. Who was the actress? Michelle Moynohan? Monoghan? Something like that.

[Wooley]

Sicario and Wind River are movies that I'm interested in on paper, but never seem to get around to watching.


This saddens me a bit as both were films that were much better than I expected. In fact, by the end of each I felt like my expectations had been redefined and I was watching really damn good movies.

[Wooley]

I enjoyed Butch a lot, but I'd say that I was still slightly more entertained by The Sting as far as the Newman/Redford collabs went.

I also love The Sting quite a bit but I prefer B&S. But I ain't gonna fight anybody over it.

[Wooley]

I liked Kiss Kiss…but honestly, it’s been about 16 years or so.

I went back and re-watched it recently and not only did I think it held up I think it was slightly better because I'm better at watching movies than I was when I first saw it.

[Wooley]

Yeah, I’ve been meaning to rewatch Kiss Kiss for quite a few years. I remember RDJ and Kilmer being especially funny in it. Who was the actress? Michelle Moynohan? Monoghan? Something like that.

Yeah, and she's great in it. It's a movie that causes me a little bit of sadness because she makes me think of all the actors out there who are good that just don't quite make it.

[Wyldesyde19]

Yeah, and she's great in it. It's a movie that causes me a little bit of sadness because she makes me think of all the actors out there who are good that just don't quite make it.
Yeah….which is it though????

Moynahan?
Monoghan?

Inquiring minds needs to know!!!

And I’m too lazy to google

[Takoma11]

Yeah, I’ve been meaning to rewatch Kiss Kiss for quite a few years. I remember RDJ and Kilmer being especially funny in it. Who was the actress? Michelle Moynohan? Monoghan? Something like that.

Michelle Monaghan and she is hilarious. And good grief WHY can I not find a gif of her saying "He looked sad!"?!

This saddens me a bit as both were films that were much better than I expected. In fact, by the end of each I felt like my expectations had been redefined and I was watching really damn good movies.

I fully believe they are good films. I just . . . always find myself hovering over them and then watching an episode of a baking show instead. Maybe because they seem like they might be downers? I don't know.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTQ2MmVlNzctZGE5Ni00MGMwLWJmMWYtODAzZmRlZTljMGEzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTUyMzE4Mzg@._V1_.jpg



3.5

[Takoma11]

Yeah, and she's great in it. It's a movie that causes me a little bit of sadness because she makes me think of all the actors out there who are good that just don't quite make it.

I don't think I'd say she didn't make it.

She's in the Mission Impossible franchise. She was in Gone Baby Gone and Source Code.

She might not be top-tier A-list, but she's been in really solid, big-deal stuff.

[StuSmallz]

I don't think I'd say she didn't make it.

She's in the Mission Impossible franchise. She was in Gone Baby Gone and Source Code.

She might not be top-tier A-list, but she's been in really solid, big-deal stuff.Don't forget, she was also in the first season of True Detective!:



https://youtu.be/sb9hKQ6drsk

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/ParapluiePoster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3908057

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - (1964)

This film took me to some painful places, but oh man it did it in a colourful and musical way. In a daring move, Jacques Demy has his characters sing every line, and brings it off to near-perfection. There are two young lovers, Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve) and Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) - when Guy has to leave for his military service in Algiers, Geneviève is left with her mother and another suitor, Roland (Marc Michel) comes into her life. Something about the music really weaves those emotions straight into your heart, and at the same time pastel and other varied colours are everywhere making the whole world look like a vibrant flower bed. It's easy to fall in love with this film, behind it's simplicity is a real artist with an appreciation for sight, sound and meaning. Another rich addition from the Foreign Language Countdown - one that touched me deeply. One I'll watch multiple times.

9/10

Foreign Language Countdown films seen : 52/100

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/Splinterposter08.jpg
By Impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19369730

Splinter - (2008)

Pretty run of the mill horror here. A new lifeform which animates dead tissue, and very aggressive and hungry, traps three people in a gas station, and they have to really nut out a way to escape as other potential rescuers are killed by the spiky zombie-like entities. During horrific scenes the camera is shaken to such an extent that you really can't make out what's going on, and by the end I really felt like I'd seen all of this before hundreds of times already. Adds nothing new.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Into_the_Storm_HBO_Poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/tv/into_the_storm.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23050491

Into the Storm - (2009)

Takes a look at Churchill both at the start of his time as prime minister and end. Even if you only have a passing knowledge of the material, this film won't give you much. It's pretty uninspired and perfunctory. This has the misfortune to appear to me at a time when many much more significant and enjoyable films about Churchill are available. Average - but Brendan Gleeson does do a good Churchill, and most other performances are rather good.

6/10

[SpelingError]

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - (1964)

9/10


This makes me very happy to read :)
Splinter - (2008)

5/10



This, on the other hand, makes me quite sad :(

[Thief]

I don't think I'd say she didn't make it.

She's in the Mission Impossible franchise. She was in Gone Baby Gone and Source Code.

She might not be top-tier A-list, but she's been in really solid, big-deal stuff.

Don't forget, she was also in the first season of True Detective!:



https://youtu.be/sb9hKQ6drsk

And Source Code. She was also a lead in The Path for three seasons (2016-2018), which I haven't seen, but it was a steady job.

[PHOENIX74]

Splinter - (2008)

5/10This, on the other hand, makes me quite sad :(

I know. I know. I'm sorry...stop it now, you'll get me started...

https://media1.giphy.com/media/8yevGNgUhFuSt3Cd7D/giphy.gif

I don't know what's happened to my usual love of horror films these days. I don't know if I've seen one I've really liked in the past year...

[Wooley]

Michelle Monaghan and she is hilarious. And good grief WHY can I not find a gif of her saying "He looked sad!"?!



I fully believe they are good films. I just . . . always find myself hovering over them and then watching an episode of a baking show instead. Maybe because they seem like they might be downers? I don't know.

Wind River is kind of a downer but Sicario is such self-assured filmmaking, IMO, that the movie itself lifts the downer of its story.

[SpelingError]

I know. I know. I'm sorry...stop it now, you'll get me started...

https://media1.giphy.com/media/8yevGNgUhFuSt3Cd7D/giphy.gif

I don't know what's happened to my usual love of horror films these days. I don't know if I've seen one I've really liked in the past year...
For what it's worth, I wasn't a fan of the shaky cam either. I did enjoy the practical effects and the suspense in the film though, so overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[PHOENIX74]

For what it's worth, I wasn't a fan of the shaky cam either. I did enjoy the practical effects and the suspense in the film though, so overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Might have just been my mood at the time. And that inexplicable loss of what was once a great enjoyment for the genre. It was the same story when it came to The Head Hunter - I think I gave that 5/10 as well - and it was something I would have been right behind not so long back.

[gbgoodies]

That's really interesting, gbg, especially since I've never seen the original.

I thought the courtroom scene and the end scene were two of the best - I couldn't imagine it without the courtroom because that seemed the conclusion to Ponyboy's fate & the resolution to the crux of the story.

The music is really interesting - what kind of music was in the original version?

I did dig the soundtrack - although a couple of the songs seemed a bit out of place simply for the scenes they were used in. Overall the music in this version contributed greatly to the feel and the era the film was set in. (During the rumble scene I said to my brother, "This movie reminds me of a Stray Cats song!") :)


The original music was mostly a dramatic score written by Carmine Coppola. Some of it worked well in the movie, but some parts didn't. The new music is more like the music that the characters in the movie would most likely have listened to in their time.

[gbgoodies]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/WALL-Eposter.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2008/wall_e_ver3.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34074540

WALL-E - (2008)

Jeez, kids get it good these days - but that's no reason for me not to enjoy these films also. Caught this is preparation for the 2000s Countdown because animated films often score quite well, and this is one of the best. Imaginative, and stays the course pretty well considering it runs for over 90 minutes with a couple of characters who only speak a few words the entire time.

8/10


I absolutely love WALL-E. It will definitely be on my 2000s list.

[xSookieStackhouse]

I absolutely love WALL-E. It will definitely be on my 2000s list.
GOSH same here hes like the cutest thing ever 😍 https://64-media-tumblr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/64.media.tumblr.com/629b4eb99511a4be8990c0592300cd45/tumblr_o8ys8h1gDY1rdvr0eo6_r1_250.gifv

[gbgoodies]

GOSH same here hes like the cutest thing ever 😍 https://64-media-tumblr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/64.media.tumblr.com/629b4eb99511a4be8990c0592300cd45/tumblr_o8ys8h1gDY1rdvr0eo6_r1_250.gifv


I had this gif of him as my avatar for while:

82860

[Wyldesyde19]

GOSH same here hes like the cutest thing ever 😍 https://64-media-tumblr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/64.media.tumblr.com/629b4eb99511a4be8990c0592300cd45/tumblr_o8ys8h1gDY1rdvr0eo6_r1_250.gifv
Love this movie! It’s definitely making my ballot as well!

[xSookieStackhouse]

I had this gif of him as my avatar for while:

82860
omg really that gif just made me smile its so cute lol

[xSookieStackhouse]

Love this movie! It’s definitely making my ballot as well!
true that!! one of the cutest movies!!

[Wyldesyde19]

true that!! one of the cutest movies!!
Not only that, but very imaginative as well. The emotion that comes through with nary a word is truly amazing.

[Miss Vicky]

Love this movie! It’s definitely making my ballot as well!

Definitely getting my vote as well along with several other animated movies. I suspect Wall E will rank pretty high on the countdown.

[gbgoodies]

I had this gif of him as my avatar for while:

82860

omg really that gif just made me smile its so cute lol


There are a whole bunch of Wall-E short videos like this on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od_Lja9QstQ

[gbgoodies]

Definitely getting my vote as well along with several other animated movies. I suspect Wall E will rank pretty high on the countdown.


I'm pretty sure that there will be several animated movies on my ballot too.

[xSookieStackhouse]

There are a whole bunch of Wall-E short videos like this on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od_Lja9QstQ

thats so cute lol loved 3,15 lol

[gbgoodies]

thats so cute lol loved 3,15 lol


My favorites are 1, 7, 10, 15 and 17.

[Yomi]

Hotel Mumbai (2018)
rating_3_5

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTJlZWY2YjYtZGIxMy00MDEwLTliNzMtZGM3MDQ1NzlmNDY1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDY2MjcyOTQ@._V1_FMjpg_UX275_.jp g

[WHITBISSELL!]

I had never heard of Hideo Gosha but when I ran across these two titles they were going to run on TCM I DVR'd them immediately. Turns out these were the first two films he ever directed. He went on to make 24 films in all and if these two are any indication then I need to familiarize myself with his catalogue. I did watch them out of order though.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZDA0MWEwZmMtZDI0My00ODQyLWEzMTMtMzMwZjg0YzQzNjZhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjcwMjI2MjE@._V1_.jpg

Sword of the Beast - Set in the year 1857, the movie opens with Yuuki Gennosuke (Mikijirô Hira) hiding in a corn field. A woman approaches him and offers herself to him. It is, of course a distraction and the film gradually reveals the man's trangression and the reason he's being hunted down. He's a fugitive because he killed his clan's counselor and his pursuers include the dead man's daughter Misa (Toshie Kimura), her fiance and his best friend Daizaburo (Kantarô Suga) and the clan's master swordsman. Knowing that he needs money to fund his flight he teams up with dirt poor farmer Gundaya (Takeshi Katō) in a scheme to poach gold from the Shogun's mountain. Once there he runs across a samurai from another clan, Jurota Yamane (Go Kato) and his wife Taka (Shima Iwasheta). They've been there for some time and have collected quite a bit of gold. Gennosuke realizes that he and Jurota are both victims of higher ups who have promised them advancement and riches. In Gennosuke's case the vice counselor enticed him into murder by dangling the possibility of reform only to turn his back once he was assured of the dead man's position within the clan.

The feel of this is almost noirish which would be awe inspiring because samurai noir is something I didn't even know existed. There are plenty of double crosses and femme fatales and chiaroscuro tableaus. But running beneath it all is Gosha's righteous disapproval at the hypocrisy of the so called ruling class and the pitfalls of blind loyalty. I really liked this. Liked the casting, the somewhat somber story arc and the underlying message.

90/100


https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/qbK2CqTzmxIdEpsK9VNO4zrg5Gk.jpg
Three Outlaw Samurai - This is Gosha's first ever feature and it's an auspicious beginning IMO. Wandering ronin Sakon Shiba (Tetsuro Tamba) happens across three farmers holding a girl prisoner in an abandoned mill. She turns out to be the daughter of the local magistrate and the men have abducted her in order to force a dialogue on behalf of all the suffering peasants that the lord has long disregarded. At first looking only for somewhere to sleep, Shiba offers advice to the clearly outmatched farmers and when the Magistrate and his motley crew of men eventually show up he takes note of Einosuke Kikyô (Mikijirô Hira) who is clearly in another class as far as demeanor and fighting skills are concerned. With Shiba's help the farmers are able to stymie the magistrate's attempt at forcibly rescuing his daughter.

Once back at his compound the lord hires as many men as he can including the one's currently in his jail cells. One of these is Kyôjûrô Sakura (Isamu Nagato), scruffy and penniless but an expert with a spear and also head and shoulders above the rabble the magistrate is recruiting. Upon meeting Shiba and hearing of the farmer's plight he realizes he has more in common with them and switches sides.

There is plenty of dialoguing and machinations by the magistrate and changes of heart from supporting characters. Gosha once again plays with the heretofore unassailable notion of honor and loyalty by stressing it's limitations when the powers that be refuse to hold up their end of the bargain.

Eventually the seemingly unprincipled Kikyô realizes he can no longer remain on the sidelines and joins arms with the other two samurai in time for the big showdown. This was a fine piece of chanbara but I did enjoy Sword of the Beast a bit more.

85/100

[xSookieStackhouse]

My favorites are 1, 7, 10, 15 and 17.

i wonder if they going to make the 2nd wall-e movie

[pahaK]

As for Nightingale, I prefer it greatly over The Babadook. Sure, the characters aren’t that deep, but I didn’t find them caricatures.

I second this. I consider The Babadook vastly overrated while Nightingale was, despite some caricature characters, good and bleak revenge tale.

[sophiadavid]

pirates 2 - 8.6/10
Cube - 8.5/10

[ScarletLion]

'Zama' (2018)
Dir. Lucrecia Martel

https://i.imgur.com/wK50AtD.gif

I thought this was pretty incredible. It's adapted from a novel about a sefaring lawyer waiting for a transfer from a godforsaken Argentinian port village. Lucrecia Martel does a brilliant job of creating the period (17th century) and there's a sinister air at almost every turn. The last 40 minutes are visually stunning and tense.

It would make a good companion piece to the films of Ciro Guerra as it has something to say about Colonialism.

8.7/10

4.5

[matt72582]

Empire M - 7.5/10
This is on Amazon Prime - check it out.. I don't want to say too much about it, but if I don't, no one will see it.

It's a movie about an Egyptian mother who works in a high-position for the Ministry of Education, with very pro-democratic ideals, but also with six kids who are growing up and becoming individuals. She encourages them to express themselves, to be themselves, but also wants them to be responsible. She is a widow who wants time for herself and her love life, and things finally become too much, and the kids tell their mother they want this democratic idealism in their home.

The movie is full of very good dialogue with these discussions. All the characters are likable, and when they discuss their plight, sacrifice, desires, and current/future state of the family, each one has a point. Written by the wonderful writer Mahfouz, it's also light-hearted and comedic at times.


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

[Jinnistan]

I might be in the minority, but I didn’t enjoy Lynch’s Dune at all. Wasn’t the right director for it, in my opinion.
I doubt you're in the minority. Lynch's Dune is considered flawed even by its biggest fans. But there are some things I like about it, and a few of those things I prefer to what's in Villenueve's film. The Harkonnen are perhaps an example of where Villenueve was trying too hard to distance his film from Lynch's, but they end up looking pretty bland and unintriguing by comparison. But at least Jared Leto didn't show up, so it could have been worse. (*knock on wood* I hope Leto doesn't get cast as Feyd in the sequel :sick:)



I consider The Babadook vastly overrated while Nightingale was, despite some caricature characters, good and bleak revenge tale.
More like a caricature of a bleak revenge tale, but bleak revenge tales are already a dime a dozen. Babadook is a character study that doesn't resort to cynical degradation as a substitute for psychological conflict.

[Thief]

'Zama' (2018)
Dir. Lucrecia Martel

https://i.imgur.com/wK50AtD.gif

I thought this was pretty incredible. It's adapted from a novel about a sefaring lawyer waiting for a transfer from a godforsaken Argentinian port village. Lucrecia Martel does a brilliant job of creating the period (17th century) and there's a sinister air at almost every turn. The last 40 minutes are visually stunning and tense.

It would make a good companion piece to the films of Ciro Guerra as it has something to say about Colonialism.

8.7/10

4.5

Hmm, I'm intrigued. Have you seen La Ciénaga? It's the only film of her I've seen, but I really dug it.

[Jinnistan]

It would make a good companion piece to the films of Ciro Guerra as it has something to say about Colonialism.
Visually, and in the colonial theme, the film also reminded me of Echevarria's Cabeza de Vaca (1991), which also starred Daniel Gimenez Cacho.

[ScarletLion]

Hmm, I'm intrigued. Have you seen La Ciénaga? It's the only film of her I've seen, but I really dug it.

I think that's the only one of hers I haven't seen but is on my list.

[ScarletLion]

Visually, and in the colonial theme, the film also reminded me of Echevarria's Cabeza de Vaca (1991), which also starred Daniel Gimenez Cacho.

Excellent thanks. Not heard of it so will add to list.

[Captain Terror]

More like a caricature of a bleak revenge tale, but bleak revenge tales are already a dime a dozen.

My problem was that Kent's message, if there was one, was not clear to me. (I fully acknowledge that could be my problem and not the film's.) But if you're going to subject me to that much misery I'm gonna need to know why I'm enduring it at some point. It's been a long time since my viewing so I don't remember how it all resolves at the end, but I just left the theater feeling like I'd seen a bunch of terrible things happen but had no idea what I was supposed to take from it.
If her goal was just a straight-up I Spit on Your Grave thing then mission accomplished I guess, but I was giving her the benefit of the doubt that there was supposed to be more to it than that.

[Gideon58]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-_0WmqRzxwsk%2FUBmldCcqfoI%2FAAAAAAAADUM%2Fb4Gl78nci2U%2Fs1600%2FNipsey%2BRussell%2C%2BMichael%2BJack son%2C%2BTed%2BRoss%2C%2BDiana%2BRoss.JPG&f=1&nofb=1

The Wiz, 1978

Timid schoolteacher Dorothy (Diana Ross) is transported to the strange fantasy urban landscape of Oz. She connects with the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Tinman (Nipsey Russell), the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross), and must find her way to the Wizard (Richard Pryor). But the wicked witch Evillene (Mabel King) has other plans for Dorothy (and her little dog, too!).

This film has greatness in fits and starts, but for the most part it feels like a missed opportunity.

What I enjoyed the most here were some of the visuals. Graffiti comes to life at night in an outsized playground. An artist in the subway controls two puppets that seem to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. The sets and costumes tread a fun line between urban vintage and fantasy. Some of the choreography is really great and fun, especially the larger pieces in the last act.

I also really liked some of the music. "Ease on Down the Road" is a catchy refrain, and "Brand New Day" resonates with some excellent stage musical big number energy.

But overall I found myself struggling with this film a bit. It took me three different viewings to complete it, at one point finding myself dismayed that there were still somehow 50 minutes left. Perhaps it's something about the pacing, but I thought that the film lacked a vital momentum. Instead of feeling eager, I found myself feeling impatient.

Just a real notch below what I was hoping for.



3.5


Wow...can't believe this review...I think this is one of the worst movie musicals ever made...here's a link to my review:

https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/1020060-the-wiz.html

[Sammy00]

Watched 'Parasite' recently, and although I haven't actually seen any of the films it beat out for best picture I think it's probably deserved. I've loved all of Bong Joon-Ho's prior films for their uniqueness and absurdism and this was no exception. The best I've heard it described is as a more perfect version of Snowpiercer. Highly recommended.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ9J9llqG40/XOVXGcuYSuI/AAAAAAAC1oM/8R7vwe58Ksw5dGdYgbOQg6A4zQExXRtYQCLcBGAs/s1600/shafts-big-score-new-on-blu-ray.jpg

https://www.pulpinternational.com/images/postimg/shaft_comes_again_12.jpg

Shaft's Big Score! - This is the 1972 followup to 1971's popular and gritty private detective flick starring Richard Roundtree as the bad mofo himself. But even though Shaft would certainly be considered the definitive blaxploitation film it wasn't the first as some would assume. That honorarium would probably belong to 1970's Cotton Comes To Harlem or maybe 1971's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which was released a few months before Shaft. I don't think 1968's Uptight can be considered blaxploitation.

SBS! isn't as good as Shaft of course even though Roundtree, director Gordon Parks and writer Ernest Tidyman are all back. But it's a competent enough sequel I suppose. The movie opens with Harlem businessman Cal Asby emptying the safe at his combination insurance office and funeral parlor. He hides the money in a coffin and calls his friend John Shaft and tells the PI that he's in deep trouble and needs his help. When John pulls up outside the business a bomb goes off and Asby is killed. John is determined to find out who killed his friend while also protecting Asby's sister Arna (Rosalind Miles). He quickly learns that Asby and his business partner Johnny Kelly (Wally Taylor) had been running a numbers racket and that Kelly is in debt to gangster Gus Mascola (Joseph Mascolo) to the tune of 250,000 dollars. While Asby had been using his share of the illicit profits to bankroll Harlem charities Kelly had been running up huge gambling debts. Asby had offered to buy his partner out but Kelly got greedy and, not knowing the money was missing, had him killed instead.

There are good performances here from Julius Harris as Police Captain Bollin and Moses Gunn and Drew Bundini Brown, who return as Bumpy Jonas and Willy. Veteran character actor Joe Santos plays Mascola's right hand man Pascal. The story as well as the action aren't as tight and concise as they were in Shaft and there's a climactic chase scene at the end that just keeps going and going to the point of incredulity. But it's a worthy enough watch, especially for fans of Roundtree's indelible character.

65/100

[Gideon58]

https://ntvb.tmsimg.com/assets/p20947158_b_h8_aa.jpg?w=1280&h=720



3

[Takoma11]

Splinter - (2008)

Pretty run of the mill horror here. A new lifeform which animates dead tissue, and very aggressive and hungry, traps three people in a gas station, and they have to really nut out a way to escape as other potential rescuers are killed by the spiky zombie-like entities. During horrific scenes the camera is shaken to such an extent that you really can't make out what's going on, and by the end I really felt like I'd seen all of this before hundreds of times already. Adds nothing new.

I quite like Splinter. It was a random watch for me when it first came out, and it was a really pleasant surprise. I thought the actors were all really solid.

Wow...can't believe this review...I think this is one of the worst movie musicals ever made...here's a link to my review

This is probably a good example of a film that benefits from how I watch movies, which is to say that I just sort of tune out when a movie isn't that great and then tune back in when something interesting is happening. It means I tend to get the good stuff and I'm not as bothered by the bad stuff. It also benefited from me watching it in like three or four viewings. If I'd watched it all in one go, my rating would be a lot lower.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.unifrance.org%2Fmedias%2F7%2F10%2F68103%2Fformat_page%2Fthe-young-girls-of-rochefort.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Young Girls of Rochefort, 1967

In this musical that involves multiple, overlapping narratives, twins Solange (Francoise Dorleac) and Delphine (Catherine Deneauve) want to find romance and make their way out of the town of Rochefort. Along the way they cross paths with various characters, including a recently discharged navy man (Jacques Perrin), their mother's former flame (Michel Piccoli), and an American composer (Gene Kelly).

This w as a delightful little confection of a film, and it echoed everything that I really enjoyed about Umbrellas of Cherbourg. So much so, in fact, that I feel like this review might be something of a retread of my review of Umbrellas.

The colors, Duke, the colors! The action of Young Girls of Rochefort is taken outside far more often than that in Umbrellas, but the candy-bright color scheme remains the same. Deneuve darts across the front of a building that is the exact bright shade of yellow as her dress. The characters leap and twirl in primary colored outfits. The larger spaces allow for big-time choreographed numbers, which the film pulls off very well.

The stories themselves are also fun. In keeping with the structure of Demy's other films, there aren't really bad guys. Just a lot of people out there looking for love, some of whom will find it, some of whom won't. The relationships between the characters, and the way that they intersect or don't intersect, exists in a kind of soap-opera/farce level. It all works, of course, because the tone of the film is consistent throughout.

There were two little nitpicks I had with this film. The first was that the age gap between Kelly and Dorleac was just a bit too much. He's 30 years older than her. He looks 30 years older than her. They are both charming presences, but the romance felt like a stretch.

The other was the weird subplot about the man who killed a woman because she didn't return his affections. Like . . . why was this in this film? And at the end two of the characters are reading about it in the newspaper and he's like "Guess he cut her down to size LOL!" and I was like "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!". For me it was actually kind of a sour note to hit near the end of the film.

The dance numbers were great, and the performances were a lot of fun. I'd probably still give the edge to Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

4.5

[Allaby]

Ankle Biters (2021). A Canadian horror/comedy about four adorable little girls who plan to kill their mom's new hockey player boyfriend. The four girls are played by real life sisters and they are the highlight of the film. They are little psychos, but darn are they cute! I had fun with this one. It is dark and has some funny moments. Worth checking out. 3.5

[SpelingError]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.unifrance.org%2Fmedias%2F7%2F10%2F68103%2Fformat_page%2Fthe-young-girls-of-rochefort.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Young Girls of Rochefort, 1967

In this musical that involves multiple, overlapping narratives, twins Solange (Francoise Dorleac) and Delphine (Catherine Deneauve) want to find romance and make their way out of the town of Rochefort. Along the way they cross paths with various characters, including a recently discharged navy man (Jacques Perrin), their mother's former flame (Michel Piccoli), and an American composer (Gene Kelly).

This w as a delightful little confection of a film, and it echoed everything that I really enjoyed about Umbrellas of Cherbourg. So much so, in fact, that I feel like this review might be something of a retread of my review of Umbrellas.

The colors, Duke, the colors! The action of Young Girls of Rochefort is taken outside far more often than that in Umbrellas, but the candy-bright color scheme remains the same. Deneuve darts across the front of a building that is the exact bright shade of yellow as her dress. The characters leap and twirl in primary colored outfits. The larger spaces allow for big-time choreographed numbers, which the film pulls off very well.

The stories themselves are also fun. In keeping with the structure of Demy's other films, there aren't really bad guys. Just a lot of people out there looking for love, some of whom will find it, some of whom won't. The relationships between the characters, and the way that they intersect or don't intersect, exists in a kind of soap-opera/farce level. It all works, of course, because the tone of the film is consistent throughout.

There were two little nitpicks I had with this film. The first was that the age gap between Kelly and Dorleac was just a bit too much. He's 30 years older than her. He looks 30 years older than her. They are both charming presences, but the romance felt like a stretch.

The other was the weird subplot about the man who killed a woman because she didn't return his affections. Like . . . why was this in this film? And at the end two of the characters are reading about it in the newspaper and he's like "Guess he cut her down to size LOL!" and I was like "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!". For me it was actually kind of a sour note to hit near the end of the film.

The dance numbers were great, and the performances were a lot of fun. I'd probably still give the edge to Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

4.5

It also improves with rewatches. With my first viewing, I enjoyed it quite a bit, but with my second viewing, I was blown away.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fiv1.lisimg.com%2Fimage%2F2167661%2F528full-a-slightly-pregnant-man-screenshot.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

A Slightly Pregnant Man, 1973

When Marco (Marcello Mastroiannni) begins to feel ill, his wife Irene (Catherine Deneuve) insists that he go to the doctor. Marco is shocked to be diagnosed as being pregnant, something that causes waves in their town and eventually the world as everyone from scientists to fashion houses want to get in on the unique medical event.

This is one of those films that, while not terrible, is also not that great. It honestly feels like someone filmed a wry conversation between two people about what it would be like if men could get pregnant.

Most of the humor is very subdued: Marco checking out his belly in the mirror. A group of female friends discussing it, observing that men being pregnant would mean birth control pills everywhere and an end to the abortion ban.

One sequence that I thought was very funny--sold by the style of the film and Mastroianni's physical performance--was a part where a clothing company decides to create a line of clothing for pregnant men.

But overall, the film doesn't quite seem to have a focused point. Pregnancy is something that is incredibly common, of course, and yet it is something really out of the realm of understanding for people who have not personally experienced it. But where you'd expect to mainly focus on how this new perspective changes how Marco thinks about himself (and about his wife, who has already birthed a child), that arc never really materializes.

Fine, but not more than fine.

3

[StuSmallz]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.unifrance.org%2Fmedias%2F7%2F10%2F68103%2Fformat_page%2Fthe-young-girls-of-rochefort.jpg&f=1&nofb=1


The Young Girls of Rocheforthttps://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.unifrance.org%2Fmedias%2F7%2F10%2F68103%2Fformat_page%2Fthe-young-girls-of-rochefort.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

A Slightly Pregnant Manhttps://i.ibb.co/X7sBm7n/tenor-1.gif (https://imgbb.com/)

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsignalhorizon.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2FRR-825x412.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1

Range Runners, 2019

Mel (Celeste Cooper) is a former Olympic hopeful working through some issues related to her complicated relationship with her father. Running solo through an isolated wooded area, Mel encounters two criminals, Wayland (Sean Patrick Leonard) and Jared (Michael B Woods), who are on the run after some sketchy business gone wrong. The men steal Mel's pack for the food and medical supplies inside. In an impulsive, anger-driven decision, Mel decides to pursue the men to get her pack back.

It is a very well worn horror trope that you watch a character do something and yell, "What are you doing you idiot?!". What I liked about this film---admittedly a thriller, not horror--is that it's very clear up front that Mel's decisions are driven by her emotions and very specifically her anger. Mel is on edge and working through some stuff before she ever sets eyes on the two bad dudes. By the time they've manhandled her, stolen her possessions, and tied her to a camping shelter, she's nowhere near making rational decisions.

And I also liked Cooper's approach to the main character. She is unabashedly an angry woman. This is not a glamorous female victim, staring wide-eyed out of perfectly mascara-enhanced lashes. Mel is all scowls and gritted teeth. She starts the film mad and only gets madder.

Despite liking these two aspects of the film, the rest is a bit of a let down. Wayland and Jared are the same criminals we've been seeing since the dawn of time: the Sadistic One and the Sort-Of Nice One. The film gets a little friction out of the two of them butting heads, but Wayland is such a dominant personality that it never hits that hard. There were also a few moments of bad choices on Mel's part that were just too beyond the pale. So there is definitely a "survival tactic"/coping mechanism when you are in a dangerous situation which is to act as if everything is normal in the hope that everything will continue to be okay. But there's a part where one of the criminals admires her knife and she just hands it to him! I'm sorry, but you're a woman alone in the woods and you come across two male strangers who are acting twitchy and you hand over your only weapon? No ma'am. Moments like that were frustrating.

The film is also really, really heavy with flashbacks to Mel's childhood, specifically her training with her father (Carl Clemons-Hopkins), a former military man who pushes, berates, and lectures her as she sprints her little heart out. These scenes drag the film's pace down and there's also a lack of real vision to them. Is the father's behavior tough love or abuse? The film can't seem to decide if his actions are not cool, or just the kind of toughness training that a girl needs to prepare her for the big nasty world. Mel processing her childhood and how it has impacted her and her relationship with her sister is a valuable part of the film and fleshes out the character, but I just feel as though the film had twice the flashback content that it needed. Aside from Cooper, Woods is the strongest actor in the bunch, and I wish they'd found a way to have more of their interactions.

I've been watching this film to fall asleep to for like two weeks and finally finished it last night. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but I thought it had some good points.

3

[Takoma11]

https://i.ibb.co/X7sBm7n/tenor-1.gif (https://imgbb.com/)

I don't know what you're talking about. Those are all very clearly slightly pregnant men.



:shifty:

[Raven1221]

Short film: The Dentist.

9/10

Can't wait to find more of this.

[Rockatansky]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.unifrance.org%2Fmedias%2F7%2F10%2F68103%2Fformat_page%2Fthe-young-girls-of-rochefort.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

The Young Girls of Rochefort, 1967

In this musical that involves multiple, overlapping narratives, twins Solange (Francoise Dorleac) and Delphine (Catherine Deneauve) want to find romance and make their way out of the town of Rochefort. Along the way they cross paths with various characters, including a recently discharged navy man (Jacques Perrin), their mother's former flame (Michel Piccoli), and an American composer (Gene Kelly).

This w as a delightful little confection of a film, and it echoed everything that I really enjoyed about Umbrellas of Cherbourg. So much so, in fact, that I feel like this review might be something of a retread of my review of Umbrellas.

The colors, Duke, the colors! The action of Young Girls of Rochefort is taken outside far more often than that in Umbrellas, but the candy-bright color scheme remains the same. Deneuve darts across the front of a building that is the exact bright shade of yellow as her dress. The characters leap and twirl in primary colored outfits. The larger spaces allow for big-time choreographed numbers, which the film pulls off very well.

The stories themselves are also fun. In keeping with the structure of Demy's other films, there aren't really bad guys. Just a lot of people out there looking for love, some of whom will find it, some of whom won't. The relationships between the characters, and the way that they intersect or don't intersect, exists in a kind of soap-opera/farce level. It all works, of course, because the tone of the film is consistent throughout.

There were two little nitpicks I had with this film. The first was that the age gap between Kelly and Dorleac was just a bit too much. He's 30 years older than her. He looks 30 years older than her. They are both charming presences, but the romance felt like a stretch.

The other was the weird subplot about the man who killed a woman because she didn't return his affections. Like . . . why was this in this film? And at the end two of the characters are reading about it in the newspaper and he's like "Guess he cut her down to size LOL!" and I was like "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!". For me it was actually kind of a sour note to hit near the end of the film.

The dance numbers were great, and the performances were a lot of fun. I'd probably still give the edge to Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

4.5
Tak, he's Hollywood actor Gene Kelly. Accept it.

[Rockatansky]

https://i.ibb.co/X7sBm7n/tenor-1.gif (https://imgbb.com/)

Stu, they're celebrating his pregnancy. Accept it.

[Takoma11]

Tak, he's Hollywood actor Gene Kelly. Accept it.

I did not realize that Gene Kelly was going to be in this film.

Thus he first appears and I was like "Wow! Who is this French performer who looks and dances just like Gene Kelly?! This is an AMAZING homage!". Then "Oh, it's . . . Gene Kelly!".

[Captain Steel]

The original music was mostly a dramatic score written by Carmine Coppola. Some of it worked well in the movie, but some parts didn't. The new music is more like the music that the characters in the movie would most likely have listened to in their time.

That is interesting - I just assumed the music was the same (oldies from the era) in the original version, so now I wonder if symphonic background music would have changed my perception of the film.

I don't know if they left any of the original background music in the extended version (of course, we're not really paying attention... until you hear an oldie you recognize). So I can't speculate as to if it might have been better with a mix of oldies & music written for the movie.

I still long for someone to produce a symphony background for Forbidden Planet instead of that awful incessant Moog! ;)

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fthumb.canalplus.pro%2Fhttp%2Funsafe%2F%257BresolutionXY%257D%2Ffilters%3Aquality(%2 57BimageQualityPercentage%257D)%2Fimg-hapi.canalplus.pro%2FServiceImage%2FImageID%2F95377498&f=1&nofb=1

Une Chambre en Ville, 1982

In the midst of a metal workers' strike, Francois (Richard Barry) splits with his pregnant girlfriend, Violette (Fabienne Guyon). He ends up meeting Edith (Dominique Sanda), who is feuding with her husband, Edmond (Michel Piccoli). The two begin a passionate affair, but tensions rise in the form of the strike and the lovers' abandoned halves.

As with Umbrellas of Cherbourg, this is a sung-through musical. Unlike that film, however, this one is a lot more bleak. Today has been really rough for several reasons, and I thought another Demy musical would be the ticket. Friends, I done goofed.

This is not to say that I disliked the film, far from it. I wrote in several of my other reviews of Demy's films that I'd seen a thematic trend of "That's how life is sometimes"--a mix of characters with sometimes conflicting interests, not always getting their first choice of outcomes but still finding a way. Here, however, that idea that the world keeps turning is a bit upended.

The sung-through aspect of this film was really interesting with the more serious, intense subject matter. It creates a far more jarring contrast between the format and the content, such as when Edmond threatens Edith with a straight razor: he's singing threats at her as she sings her own rejoinders. One of my favorite examples of this was the very opening scene: a large scale showdown between the striking workers and the very armed police. The whole film was this way, treading the line between realism and big-budget musical vibes. I really liked the strangeness of the combination.

Francois, a man who is pretty unashamed about abandoning his pregnant partner, is perhaps the most challenging lead character I've encountered in a Demy film. Edith's plight is much more sympathetic. The film is not without sympathy for Violette, but she's definitely given a lot less screen time and so the film seems inherently to be siding with Francois.

On the other hand, though, the relationship between Edith and Francois is pretty electric. Their scenes together have a great combination of sexiness and affection that convincingly sells the instant attraction nature of their hookup. Edith roams the film wearing nothing but a fur coat, from time to time offering a glimpse of her nude body underneath. A post-sex conversation between the two of them features both characters in the nude, Edith partially wrapped in her fur coat, and this stretch of the film hits on a nerve of visceral sensuality that I often find really lacking in sex scenes or scenes that are meant to show sexual compatibility. The blocking, including *gasp* near nudity from the male character, achieves a kind of comfortable, lazy intimacy.

I don't hold the film's more bleak outlook against it, but it was a bit jarring after the relative lightness of the other Demy films I've watched in the last few days. On the other hand, it was kind of neat seeing the same style applied to a much more serious, downbeat narrative.

4

[gbgoodies]

i wonder if they going to make the 2nd wall-e movie


I would love it if they made another Wall-E movie, but I haven't heard any plans for one.

[gbgoodies]

That is interesting - I just assumed the music was the same (oldies from the era) in the original version, so now I wonder if symphonic background music would have changed my perception of the film.

I don't know if they left any of the original background music in the extended version (of course, we're not really paying attention... until you hear an oldie you recognize). So I can't speculate as to if it might have been better with a mix of oldies & music written for the movie.

I still long for someone to produce a symphony background for Forbidden Planet instead of that awful incessant Moog! ;)


It's been a while since I saw the original version, and I only saw the extended version once, (recently when it aired on TCM), so I don't know if there was any music overlap. But I think I remember reading somewhere that they were supposed to release a DVD, (I think it might have been a BluRay), of both versions in the same set.

[mark f]

Pilot Pirx's Inquest (Marek Piestrak, 1979) 2.5 6/10
Multiverse AKA Entangled (Gaurav Seth, 2019) 2 5/10
23 Walks (Paul Morrison, 2020) 2.5 5.5/10
Prayers for the Stolen (Tatiana Huezo, 2021) 3- 6.5/10
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzk2ODQ3OTEtZTUzNS00NmRiLWFjODMtMjIzZGNmMjEyOTk0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXN3aWZ0dw@@._V1_QL75_UX500_CR0,0,50 0,281_.jpg
Three teenage Mexican girls have spent much of their lives hiding from the cartels and losing their loved ones.
Lydia (Julien Duvivier, 1941) 2.5 6/10
Hideout (Kris Roselli, 2021) 2 5/10
The Story of Three Loves (Gottfried Reinhardt & Vincente Minnelli, 1953) 2.5+ 6/10
Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus (Dalibor Baric, 2020) 3+ 6.5/10
https://kinoculturemontreal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EL-07-2020-Accidental-Luxuriance-of-the-Translucent-Watery-Rebus_En-lumi%C3%A8re-1.jpg
Basically a complex animated film noir [it's even got Whit Bissell!] which crosses genres and seems to invent many techniques.
Double Walker (Colin West, 2021) 2 5/10
Simple as Water (Megan Mylan, 2021) 3 6.5/10
Never Back Down: Revolt (Kellie Madison, 2021) 2 5/10
Two Yellow Lines (Derek Bauer, 2020) 2.5+ 6/10
https://forthrightradio.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/screen-shot-2020-08-13-at-5.59.19-pm.png?w=624
Ex-firefighter Zac Titus ran away from his family and his life after a traumatic work experience, but he gets a second chance when his daughter (Zoey Titus) needs his help. Heartfelt, low-key road movie with beautiful locations of the American Northwest.
Pillow to Post (Vincent Sherman, 1945) 2.5 6/10
The Accursed (Elizabeta Vidovic & Kathryn Michelle, 2021) 1.5 4/10
That Way with Women (Frederick De Cordova, 1947) 2.5 6/10
Girl Crazy Norman Taurog, 1943) 3 6.5/10
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ViciousHeartfeltBarasingha-size_restricted.gif
Mickey Rooney romances Judy Garland [and many others], but she seems to excuse his philandering when it's time to put on the big show.
Zeros and Ones (Abel Ferrara, 2021) 1.5+ 4.5/10
Bergeron Brothers: Wedding Videographers (Blake O'Donnell & Ben Dietels, 2021) 2.5 6-/10
High Anxiety (Mel Brooks, 1977) 3.5- 7/10
Violet (Justine Bateman, 2021) 2.5+ 6/10
https://i1.wp.com/amzquiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Violet-2021-Movie-Download-480p-720p-1080p-Download-scaled.jpeg?fit=700,292&ssl=1
Movie production exec Olivia Munn hears a voice (Justin Theroux) in her head that constantly tells her to ignore her own ideas to kowtow to others. She eventually has to decide If It's BS.

[Jinnistan]

My problem was that Kent's message, if there was one, was not clear to me.
The message is colonialism = rape/exploitation. Which isn't something I disagree with, but it also isn't exactly a revelation at this point, and ultimately I need to have some flesh and blood characters to engage with. The film is ultimately dehumanized, its avian spirit clipped and roosted and rendered lame. The film opens by mimicking the final scene of Paths of Glory, which makes an unfortunate comparison, and inversion. Paths is probably an insurmountable example of a film that can portray human cruelty and exploitation without sacrificing the "song" of what it means to be human. It's an unfair comparison, but Kent openly courted it. It only enhances her own film's failure in this regard.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/The_Last_Castle_Theatrical.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:External_editors, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11584972

The Last Castle - (2001)

Anybody remember Brubaker? Well, Robert Redford was back at it in 2001, cleaning up another dirty prison - this time as a convicted general going head to head with a military prison's warden (played by James Gandolfini.) I have to admit I enjoyed this immensely. Under the surface there are a number of problems with The Last Castle, especially in regard to it's over-the-top finish, but I felt all the buttons were expertly pushed and I got carried away the way I sometimes do with the familiar prison movie tropes. If you enjoy those films in general then you'll enjoy The Last Castle, where a bunch of court-martialed malcontents (including one played by Mark Ruffalo) go up against a murderous commandant in a literal all out war. (Just never mind the plot-holes, and don't expect anything too intellectual - and mind that this was a box office flop which received middling reviews.) Really like this one.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/ImAmSamSeanMichelle.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from New Line Cinema., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8419020

I Am Sam - (2001)

Tropic Thunder - that scene in it is all I can think about when approaching I Am Sam. Anyway, I got curious, especially about Sean Penn's performance as someone with a severe intellectual disability, who nonetheless fathers a daughter and then loses her when she turns 7 and she's taken by protective services. It's a performance that isn't subtle, but he's extremely likeable so the film works for the most part. Sam manages to get himself a lawyer (played in a ruffled manner by Michelle Pfeiffer) and fight for his kid. Dakota Fanning launched her career as the young child (Lucy) in this, but she comes off just a little creepy to me - acting like an adult in the face of Penn's child-like antics. If you're at all cynical, don't go near this film - if you think you might be able to buy it, you might be surprised and like it. It was criticized as being too manipulative and trying to convince us that Sam should get to raise his daughter - but in my eyes it didn't go for that exactly, and all films try to manipulate. I felt for the character, but conceded that he couldn't do the job without serious help and I felt the film was saying that also - that the issue was complex, and neither side were all right and all wrong. I've stayed well away from this film for 20 years because of what the critics were saying when it came out - but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

6.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/28_days_later.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22003877

28 Days Later - (2002)

Watching this apocalyptic film about a pandemic while in the midst of a bona-fide pandemic is a little eerie, especially when the docos (made years ago) in the special features talk about how it's possible a global pandemic might come along one day and kill millions of people. Instead of bats and cats at a market in China it's chimps in a lab in England that manage to pass on a virus to humans that enrage them and sent them on murderous sprees. Nobody got to tell Jim (Cillian Murphy) who was unconscious in hospital when the whole world went away. Now he wanders around a deserted London, eventually teaming up with a young Naomi Harris and others while fighting the infected. Eventually they're captured by somewhat dishonorable British military men intent on starting over (an excuse to rape the females in the group) and must use their wits to survive both the infected and non-infected who want to harm them. After Trainspotting and The Beach Danny Boyle really showed he had great range as a director with this.

8/10

I quite like Splinter. It was a random watch for me when it first came out, and it was a really pleasant surprise. I thought the actors were all really solid.

It has surprisingly large and robust fan base that one.

[Yomi]

Kawaki (2014)
rating_3_5

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzBjMDVkNjEtYWVmYS00ZTU2LTgzM2UtMzRmOWM3ZjE2ZmIyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDQ0NzM0Ng@@._V1_FMjpg_UX375_.jp g

[Fabulous]

The Guest (2014)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/1MmgpLAivFh1phK0YWMw0lDkUJa.jpg

[pahaK]

The message is colonialism = rape/exploitation.

Which is basically the caricature I had issues with the film. It's a good movie but basically, just another "white man bad" proclamation which we're not in shortage of.

[pahaK]

Dangerous (2021)
2
A run-of-the-mill action film that doesn't seem to know if it's a comedy or not. Scott Eastwood may not have his father's charisma (yet?), but he sure looks like Clint. Gibson is good in his joke of a role, but Eastwood's character suffers from similar treatment (pun intended).

--
Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985)
4
An nth rewatch. A good 80s action that also suffers from the normal issues of its time - somewhat wooden action sequences and terrible gun handling. It's a little hit-and-miss film for me but fortunately, it clicked this time.

--
Last Night in Soho (2021)
4
This year's best film this far. It owns a lot to certain types of Giallo (like The Psychic) and largely manages to give similar vibes. It looks beautiful, and the use of music is brilliant. Both McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are excellent in their roles. The transitions between the characters and the dates are done with style and wit.

My main gripes are the boyfriend who's not well-written at all (he's just a mandatory love interest with no personality besides being nice and, obviously, a token black character) and the moral justification offered in the end (I don't mind the film taking such stance, but being human, I find an opposing message slightly annoying).

[StuSmallz]

]I fully believe they are good films. I just . . . always find myself hovering over them and then watching an episode of a baking show instead. Maybe because they seem like they might be downers? I don't know.I guess you could call Wind River a downer, but it still tried to find hope where it could, and its overall tone was still fully justified (IMO) because it dealt with lingering, unsolved social issues facing Native Americans, one that it couldn't put on a "happy face" to deal with, so I think "honest" would be a more accurate descriptor (sort of like with Schindler's List (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/schindlers-list/), to be honest with you). It certainly didn't go out of its way to wallow in misery for no reason the whole time, like something like It Comes At Night...

[xSookieStackhouse]

I would love it if they made another Wall-E movie, but I haven't heard any plans for one.

same here, true hopefully they will in the future

[ScarletLion]

'Bulado' (2021)

https://repeatingislands.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/bulado-film-eche-janga-2020.jpg

Coming of age type story about a young girl in the Dutch Antilles Island of Curacao who is at a crossroads in her life as her studies collide with her increased consciousness of the grieving process. The film is interwoven with the importance of heritage and culture. Some superb cinematography, and although there is a slight dip around the halfway mark, it's a film that is worth the final pay off. It's only director Eche Janga's 2nd feature.

Tiara Richards is superb in the central role.

7.0/10

3.5

[ScarletLion]

Prayers for the Stolen (Tatiana Huezo, 2021) 3- 6.5/10
Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus (Dalibor Baric, 2020) 3+ 6.5/10


These 2 look right up my street, thanks Mark.

[Hey Fredrick]

ONE CUT OF THE DEAD
(2017, Ueda)

https://i.imgur.com/hUToJA5.jpg




Without giving too much away, One Cut of the Dead follows a crew of filmmakers tasked with shooting a zombie film while facing a series of unexpected and often hilarious constraints and problems. The nature and reasons of those constraints is best explained by watching the actual film, and being patient enough to stick with it all the way through the payoff.

If you haven't heard much or anything about this, then give it a chance as soon as possible. Especially if you're a zombie or horror fan, this is a film that rewards you for walking in blind. It is a film that moves at a breezy pace, and even though it may look cheap, average it ain't.

Grade: rating_4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2254147#post2254147)


This made my top 25 for the foreign language countdown. I have recommended it a few times and its gone over very well for those who have actually watched it but it's a hard one to explain why it's so good without giving away what makes it so much fun. I always say the same thing when recommending it - be patient!