Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[Gideon58]

I liked this a bit more than you but I agree with your review completely. For whatever reason I just got slightly more pleasure out of it.
I definitely think you are spot-on with the bolded.


Agree with everything said here.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/Barneys_version.jpg
By The cover art can or could be obtained from IMP Awards or Sony Pictures Classics., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30047005

Barney's Version - (2010)

I was really surprised last night by how much I liked Barney's Version. The excellent Paul Giamatti features as Barney Panofsky - a man you'll love and absolutely hate at the same time. Barney is an A-hole with a capital A, but we spend a lot of intimate time with him, his father Izzy (Dustin Hoffman) and his friends - not to mention his three wives. So much intimate time that we do come to love him in a way. Most of the terrible things that happen to him can be put down to one thing - his alcoholism and drug taking. Barney and his friends are on a drug and booze-fueled bender when he belatedly gets a desperate note from his first wife, who in the meantime has committed suicide. Later on, Barney (in cringe territory) falls in love with another woman during the wedding to his second wife, and pursues her during the reception (he's also fall down dead drunk) - and it's drink and drugs that leads to an accident which sees him accused of murdering his friend Bernard "Boogie" Moscovitch (Scott Speedman). Booze is what destroys his third marriage to the love of his life, Miriam (Rosamund Pike). Barney's Version shows us most of Barney's life, and it's a sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant rollercoaster of emotions, comedy, tragedy and sentimental dreaming. Giamatti is fantastic, and the make-up effects which age certain characters is absolutely brilliant. I haven't read the novel, but taken by itself, Barney's Version is a really good film.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Thor_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2011/thor_ver5.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29994814

Thor - (2011)

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk...I've been reacquainting myself with the initial Marvel Universe movies because I want to watch the first Avengers movie, which I've never seen. Thor was typical of many - the costumes, set design and art direction are absolutely wonderful, but the screenplay is bland, predictable and unimaginative. I can see a lot of promise in the characters and setting, and have a feeling the Thor movie after this might be better - but Thor itself doesn't do enough to be considered a classic of the genre - only another average addition. Kenneth Branagh should stick to Shakespeare I think.

6/10

[Fabulous]

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/9FGAejprgLjzGrIKvMc16xQeSq5.jpg

[Steve Freeling]

https://ecdn.game4v.com/g4v-content/uploads/2021/12/10103711/SAO-P-doanh-thu-1-game4v-1639107430-11-e1639107455834.jpg
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (2021) - First Time on Crunchyroll rating_4_5
SAO fans have anticipated this film for some time, and I was no exception, so of course, when it dropped on Crunchyroll, I was pretty eager to give it a look. It does not disappoint. It's 100 minutes of nearly wall-to-wall action and it hefts plenty of the character depth SAO doesn't get nearly enough credit for. While some scenes in the film differ from the original series, Aria of a Starless Night is a solid companion piece that tells Asuna's origin story (something we never fully caught wind of in the original series) and may even inform how some see that first season as fans pick up on what may have been behind things Asuna did and said during some of her very first appearances. Its story ended up being very compelling, even having seen much of the same storyline in the Aincrad arc of the original series. It's also a fun and exciting film. The action is electrifying and Yuki Kajiura's musical score amps the action sequences up to the max. Since this is SAO, it's a given that the animation is stunning, and just because the colors were so striking—on my smartphone, no less—it didn't surprise me to learn that the film is native Dolby Vision HDR, technology used to master several of the best 4K Blu-rays. The film is also native Dolby Atmos—though probably downscaled to 5.1 for streaming, and it just so happens my smartphone has Dolby Atmos with headphones, earbuds, and speakers connected, so the audio really got a chance to shine with the spoken word loud and clear, sound effects packing a punch, Kajiura's score coming through cleanly and clearly, and LiSA's (who has performed every SAO theme song to date) Yuke easily getting the viewer amped. Aniplex of America's English dub is excellent, featuring several voice actors from previous dubs of the franchise. Cherami Leigh is once again excellent as Asuna Yuuki, who is the main protagonist of this installment of SAO. Here, Leigh voices a (very slightly) younger Asuna, who is more unsure of herself and her chances of survival, expertly bringing her to life as we follow her on the road to becoming the Asuna we all know and love. Bryce Papenbrook is equally impressive as Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya, the protagonist of most SAO media who takes on more of a supporting role in this film. This may be Asuna's story, but Kirito still has some kick-ass moments since he is, after all, Kirito. Anairis Quiñones is also solid as new character Misumi "Mito" Tozawa, a character created just for the film, who is depicted as Asuna's best friend from the real world and a hardcore gamer. There are also solid turns from returning cast members Dorothy Elias-Fahn as Kyoko, Asuna's overbearing mother, Kirk Thornton as Ryotaro "Klein" Tsuboi, Patrick Seitz as Andrew Gilbert "Agil" Mills, Christine Marie Cabanos as Keiko "Silica" Ayano, Derek Stephen Prince as Kibao, and Sean Chiplock as Diavel. For whatever reason, they didn't get Marc Diraison to voice Akihiko Kayaba, but David W. Collins does a solid job with his brief—though no less creepy—scene in the film's first half-hour, and while watching the film, I actually thought it was Diraison. With that being said, the rest of the cast is also up to par and the dub script is completely natural. All told, if you're a fan of SAO, don't skip this one.

[skizzerflake]

Tonight, it’s The Fablemans. Or the Spielbergs. It’s a slightly fictionalized biography, directed by Spielberg himself, of a kid who wants to make movies and of the trials and tribulations of his family. So, Sammy Fabelman comes from a Jewish family (an important part of the plot) living in Arizona, loves movies, gets a camera as a gift, is bullied in school but won’t give up on his dream. He’s a cultural misfit in a high school world where kids don’t dream about movies, he starts with hand-held camera amateur movies and won’t give up. He gets his first kiss from an evangelical christian girl, who’s father has a movie camera. The story follows “Fabelman” until the beginning of his Hollywood career.

I thought it was middling, in spite of having Spielberg himself at the helm. While it contains numerous hints suggesting actual Spielberg movies, it just seems to go on too long, focusing on childhood events that are not that compelling, while missing how the magic happened that produced those movies like ET, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc. I also don’t get the fictionalized part. We know who this director is. Almost every name in the movie is fictionalized. It’s not bad, but an “authorized” biography would be better.

:popcorn::popcorn: & 1/2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1G2iLSzOe8

[Fabulous]

Imitation of Life (1934)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/eBN2FUJE6ivZR6sEDahy5nywOuV.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://yesterdaysmovies.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/family-business.jpg


3.5

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Thor_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2011/thor_ver5.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29994814

Thor - (2011)

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk...I've been reacquainting myself with the initial Marvel Universe movies because I want to watch the first Avengers movie, which I've never seen. Thor was typical of many - the costumes, set design and art direction are absolutely wonderful, but the screenplay is bland, predictable and unimaginative. I can see a lot of promise in the characters and setting, and have a feeling the Thor movie after this might be better - but Thor itself doesn't do enough to be considered a classic of the genre - only another average addition. Kenneth Branagh should stick to Shakespeare I think.

6/10

Yeah, I think this movie rides almost entirely on the charisma of its actors, from Hemsworth's perfect casting to Hiddleston's perfect casting to Anthony Hopkins' Odin to Renee Russo to Skaarsgard even Kat Denning. The story is pretty meh and Branagh is just too-cute-by-half with his "Oh, I know how to film a comic-book!" bs, but I feel like the actors make this a film you can actually even re-watch.

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/Barneys_version.jpg
By The cover art can or could be obtained from IMP Awards or Sony Pictures Classics., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30047005

Barney's Version - (2010)

I was really surprised last night by how much I liked Barney's Version. The excellent Paul Giamatti features as Barney Panofsky - a man you'll love and absolutely hate at the same time. Barney is an A-hole with a capital A, but we spend a lot of intimate time with him, his father Izzy (Dustin Hoffman) and his friends - not to mention his three wives. So much intimate time that we do come to love him in a way. Most of the terrible things that happen to him can be put down to one thing - his alcoholism and drug taking. Barney and his friends are on a drug and booze-fueled bender when he belatedly gets a desperate note from his first wife, who in the meantime has committed suicide. Later on, Barney (in cringe territory) falls in love with another woman during the wedding to his second wife, and pursues her during the reception (he's also fall down dead drunk) - and it's drink and drugs that leads to an accident which sees him accused of murdering his friend Bernard "Boogie" Moscovitch (Scott Speedman). Booze is what destroys his third marriage to the love of his life, Miriam (Rosamund Pike). Barney's Version shows us most of Barney's life, and it's a sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant rollercoaster of emotions, comedy, tragedy and sentimental dreaming. Giamatti is fantastic, and the make-up effects which age certain characters is absolutely brilliant. I haven't read the novel, but taken by itself, Barney's Version is a really good film.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Thor_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2011/thor_ver5.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29994814

Thor - (2011)

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk...I've been reacquainting myself with the initial Marvel Universe movies because I want to watch the first Avengers movie, which I've never seen. Thor was typical of many - the costumes, set design and art direction are absolutely wonderful, but the screenplay is bland, predictable and unimaginative. I can see a lot of promise in the characters and setting, and have a feeling the Thor movie after this might be better - but Thor itself doesn't do enough to be considered a classic of the genre - only another average addition. Kenneth Branagh should stick to Shakespeare I think.

6/10

Definitely adding Barney's Version to my watchlist...Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman in the same movie? Gotta see that.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2M3NzhkZTctZTVmMS00MmI5LTgyMzUtYTY4OGFjYjhiMDBkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA3MDk2NDg2._V1_.jpg


2

[WHITBISSELL!]

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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - Nicolas Cage stars as himself, or rather a hyper-realised version of himself. He's in debt and finds himself out of the running for film roles he once had no trouble attracting. His agent Richard Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) comes to him with a one million dollar offer from an affluent fan to appear at his birthday party. He dismisses it out of hand but, after being passed over for a role he was desperately counting on, decides to take the payday.

It turns out to be an eccentric billionaire in Majorca, Spain named Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal). He's a rabid fan of the star and Cage finds himself falling in like with the amiable Javi. But when he's unexpectedly abducted by people who turn out to be CIA agents Cage must make a hard choice. Whether or not to spy on someone he already considers a friend. The agents reveal that Javi is the ruthless head of international gunrunning cartel. He has also had the daughter of a Presidential candidate kidnapped in order to force him to drop out of the race. Cage's own troubled relationship with his (fictional) daughter ultimately convinces him to work for the agents.

I suppose this counts as meta, but since it's a buzzword I've studiously avoided using I'm not 100% sure how it's applied. Let's just go with self-referential. So while the screenplay unfolds in a prescribed manner it's also made reference to it unfolding in just such a manner. So should people be disappointed that it turns into the exact type of shoot-em-up actioner that was alluded to earlier in the film? Or just shut up and appreciate the irony? I can honestly see both sides. But what I did have a genuine problem with was a twist that they worked in that came off as a bit of copout to me. Which wasJavi being the harmless front for the cartel with his smarmy cousin Lucas (Paco León) being the actual leader. I think they maybe took the easy way out instead of Cage having to find a way to reconcile his friendship with Javi. There's been several movies where this plot device was used (Point Break and Donnie Brasco right off the top of my head). Maybe that, in and of itself, has been overused. I don't know.This was a noteworthy concept with two winning lead performances. A weak third act may somewhat diminish expectations but Cage and Pascal are so good together that they power through whatever plot deficiencies may pop up.

85/100

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebulwark.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F11%2Fthe-menu_C6J6DI.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=8264ee7cfc51bb9cdd5c51103c9b1e456f8b2489b680924d2841fd9d12d7a833&ipo=images

The Menu, 2022

Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) agrees to accompany the wealthy Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) to a very expensive, very exclusive dining experience at a restaurant called Hawthorne that is located on an island. The head chef of Hawthorne is a finicky man named Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), whose dishes are highly conceptual mixes of foams, gels, actual rocks, and portion sizes that could fit in a thimble. But pretentious platings are the least of Margot's worries as the meal slowly devolves into psychological games with incredibly high stakes.

I saw this film in the theater expecting something enjoyably stupid, and I would say that the movie more than delivers on that front with fun performances, cheeky formatting, and an essential willingness to poke fun at both the victims and the monsters.

Taylor-Joy makes for a great lead, even if the character she's playing is pretty deep into stereotype territory. We've seen it in Ready or Not, we've seen it in countless films: the one plainspoken "common person" in among absurdly wealthy people. But Taylor-Joy is such a welcome presence and her frustrations so palpable that it doesn't matter so much that her character is overly familiar.

The rest of the cast is also on point. Hoult's wealthy, self-centered Tyler is a bit different than other evil-rich-guy characters, in ways I won't get into for fear of spoiling the plot. Tyler is obsessed with Slowik to an extreme, and that comes out in ways that are both surprising and absurd. The other patrons are played by a mix of familiar faces, including John Leguizamo as an actor whose career is on a downward trajectory, Judith Light as a woman whose husband seems to recognize Margot, Janet McTeer as a food critic with something to say about every dish and Paul Adelstein as her overly-deferential editor(?).

On the kitchen side of things, Ralph Fiennes does pretty good work with a character who, if we're honest, is maybe a bit underdeveloped. But you get the sense of someone battling with both a need for control and a need for authenticity, and the way those things intersect is interesting. A real standout for me was Hong Chau as Slowik's right-hand woman, Elsa, Elsa is a character who is hard and soft all at the same time, and I enjoyed every moment that she was on screen. Likewise, Christina Brucato has a memorable handful of minutes of screentime as a chef with some very interesting ideas about how to serve a meal.

Like I wrote earlier, the thing that I enjoyed the most was the willingness to make fun of everyone a bit. Slowik plays as a parody of the modern high-class chef, turning real vegetables into dots of gel and surrounding them with milk that has been turned into snow. But his anguish at having turned into an exclusive experience for terrible people grounds the character. At the same time, the customers in the restaurant are also kind of terrible, but not in ways that you usually get in films like this. Sure, one of them has a pretty icky secret. A few of them have done unethical things. But I'm not sure any of them (with one exception) has done something deserving of torture and death, not even by horror movie standards.

The one group that does feel a little underdeveloped is the staff. We get some sense of the cult-like conditions that exist on the island, but with a handful of exceptions, the staff are these nameless characters who do some pretty out there things with no sense of remorse. For a film with so many overt themes about social class consciousness, pushing all of the workers out of the narrative progression in favor of the wealthy customers and the famous chef seems kind of ironic.

My score might be generous, but I was entertained the entire time.

4

[GulfportDoc]

Non-Stop - (2014)

I was tired last night, and this looked like a film I wouldn't have to invest much mental energy in - so with low expectations I went in. I didn't really look at it with a critical eye, and just enjoyed the wildly over-the-top action. This is the kind of movie where the villains have God-like powers, Napoleon-level planning and chess-match-winning plays in their pockets, and manage to hijack a plane while making it look like air marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) has gone crazy and is doing the deeds he's being set up for. They want $150 million, and have planned a murder every 20 minutes down to the last gasp - setting Marks up to do the killing in devilishly clever ways. Meanwhile, Marks is romancing a lady that could be one of the hijackers, looking out for a cute little girl who is alone, dealing with his alcoholism and battling all of the passengers who think he's gone barking mad. I love films that feature peril in the air, and ones where the plane in question hits the tarmac with smoking holes in it and absolute chaos erupting in the passenger cabin - I was entertained, because as dumb as this movie is, it's well shot, and never boring. They could have called it Airport '14.
7/10
Interesting about Neeson. I've seen just about all of his movies, and just watched Memory (2022) the other night. He's an actor that doesn't get enough credit for his acting abilities, which I think are very good. But he's picked a lot of clunkers. I suppose he's just going for the big paydays, and although I can't blame him for that, it would be nice to see him in a non action film where his acting skills could really shine.

[cricket]

Son of Saul (2015)

3.5

https://jordanandeddie.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/post7.jpg

Oscar winner for best foreign language film. Saul is a prisoner at a concentration camp. He's also a worker there which gets him slightly better treatment and delays the inevitable for a while. He encounters a dead boy who is supposed to have an autopsy done on him, but Saul wants to get the body and a Rabbi, and bury the boy. Of course this movie is harrowing and has power. It's intense with a lot of up close and personal shots. Nothing to complain about except I wasn't as riveted as I wish I was. That could be on me.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Easter_Parade_poster.jpg
By http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/003e4e42, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26024159

Easter Parade - (1948)

The technicolor filming process makes Easter Parade look extremely beautiful - every frame seems to please the eye like nothing else in cinematic history - and the music and songs are catchy and fine. Of course, like in Funny Face 9 years later Fred Astaire's love interest in Judy Garland is over two decades his junior and he's twice her age. Gene Kelly was originally cast, but he broke his ankle and had to be substituted. Judy Garland looks good in this, and she doesn't seem as ravaged by booze, drugs and hard work as she does in later years. By 1948 however, she'd already had a slew of abortions, a nervous breakdown, a suicide attempt, a failed marriage (she was already into a second, troubled marriage to Vincente Minnelli), and had been a star for a decade. It was around this time the drug taking started, and over the next couple of decades (leading to her untimely death) she'd age at double the rate. You wouldn't know it by watching her in this - and the film's two stars sing and dance in style. I love those long shots, where in my head (and as Astaire dances a complicated routine) I watch and think, "It's still going....it's still going..." until eventually there's a cut.

7.5/10

[Siddon]

https://cdn.sortiraparis.com/images/80/98390/812121-bones-and-all-la-nouvelle-fable-de-luca-gudagnino-avec-timothee-chalamet-bande-annonce.jpg

Bones and All (2022)

Bones and All is a film that if I saw on Netflix or Hulu that this was a really good start of a filmmakers career. But this is a Luca Guadagnino film and the mistakes in this film are unforgivable. Guadagnino has switched cinematographers and it is noticeable. This film is like the YA version of Bigelow's Near Dark(1987) but it's missing the artistry that a story like this needs. Taylor Russell (Waves) plays a woman turning 18 who finds out she's a mysterious cannibal. Her father abandons her and she goes on the road where she meets up with others like her.

Timothee Chalomet plays the pretty cannibal boy she runs across. He has a strong performance though this film takes place in the late 80's but both actors dress and act like they come from the early 90's. Which is a strange twist because Trent Reznor does an excellent job scoring the film giving it an 80's music feel without going Stranger Things by picking pop songs.

I would recommend the film based solely on the strength of Mark Rylance's three scenes in the film. He's not used much but his character and performance is something to be seen. He walks a line of creepiness and pathetic that you aren't really sure what to make of him until the end. Luca's biggest failure in the film is that it's a great road movie but the suspense aren't really well handled and that takes away from this being a classic.

rating_3

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpic.foodrecipetoday.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2F2021-Movie-Clean-Review-The-Oscar-winning-actor-Adrien-Brody-is-a-funny-action-star.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=f5ef79034a7d5d1f22ba8e3e78b0ed861719d25e4fcc10d3601208aad6a851c0&ipo=images

Clean, 2021

A garbage man known only as Clean (Adrien Brody) has a shady, violent past. He has paternal feelings toward a teenage girl in his neighborhood named Dianda (Chandler DuPont), eventually leading to Clean attacking several young men who are attempting to rape Dianda. But one of the assailants is a teenage boy named Mikey (Richie Merritt) who also just happens to be the son of a violent local mob boss (Glenn Fleshler).

I'm sure it's not fair to blame Taken for what has been an absolute glut of films where gravel-voiced "everymen" reveal their violent pasts in the defense of a young woman's honor or safety. Add this one to the pile of decent-ish films where a guy brushes off that special set of skills to save a loved one.

What gives this film a bit of a boost above its many brethren is a little something called character development. Is it super strong character development? No, not necessarily. But the movie takes the time to lay groundwork for the dynamics between Clean and Dianda and between Mikey and his father that results in some actual emotional heft in the last act.

That said, the characters aren't super deep. The most development is probably given to the character of Mikey and his volatile relationship with his father. In comparison, Dianda's character is a bit weak, despite a perfectly good performance from DuPont. Dianda is mainly used as a catalyst---the kind of characters who makes whichever good or bad decisions the plot requires to move players into position for maximum bloodletting.

The film does get some lift from its supporting performers, including the RZA as a pawnshop owner who has a friendship and understanding with Clean, who fixes up appliances he finds on his garbage route. Mykelti Williamson is also a warm and welcome presence as a friend and support group pal to Clean.

Again, this is a perfectly serviceable variation on the dude trying to live a normal life who ends up having to mow down a few dozen baddies.

3.5

[sarah f]

I logged into mark f's computer and found he had a list of reviews he hadn't posted yet before he died, so I thought I'd post it for him. He hadn't found all the images or written the captions that he normally did yet, so it'll be without those. He did tell me how much he liked Tár, and it is his highest rating here. And his next highest rating in this bunch is a rewatch, Tucker and Dale vs Evil. He watched it recently with my mom. I remember he quite liked it when it first came out, and apparently still did recently.


Post Mortem (Pablo Larraín, 2010) 2.5 6/10
All the Brothers Were Valiant (Richard Thorpe, 1953) 2.5 5.5/10
Next Exit (Mali Elfman, 2022) 3- 6.5/10
Tár (Todd Field, 2022) 3.5+ 7.5/10


Somewhere I'll Find You (Wesley Ruggles, 1942) 2.5 5.5/10
In Love and War (Philip Dunne, 1958) 2.5 6/10
Holes in the Sky: The Sean Miller Story (Ash Hamilton, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (Eli Craig, 2010) 3.5 7/10


The Wayward Bus (Victor Vicas, 1957) 2.5 6/10
Black Adam (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2022) 2.5+ 6/10
A Christmas Story Christmas (Clay Kaytis, 2022) 2.5+ 6/10
Hello from Nowhere (Anthony V. Orkin, 2021) 2.5 6/10


Bridge of the Doomed (Michael Su, 2022) 2 5/10
The Family (Dan Slaterl, 2021) 2.5 6/10
Poker Face (Russell Crowe, 2022) 2.5 6/10
Lost Illusions (Xavier Giannoli, 2021) 3 6.5/10


The Lion (Jack Cardiff, 1962) 2.5 6/10
Deborah (Noga Pnueli, 2022) 2 5/10
The Peterville Diamond (Walter Forde, 1943) 2.5 6/10
It Happened Tomorrow (René Clair, 1944) 3 6.5/10

[MovieMeditation]

In honor of mark f, I thought I'd post my recent movie watchings in the format he used to make.

You'll be missed here, mark.



The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008) 4.5 9/10
Orphan (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2009) 4 8/10
Orphan: First Kill (William Brent Bell, 2022) 1.5 3/10
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (Akiva Schaffer, 2022) 2 5/10
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Thirty years after their popular television show ended, chipmunks Chip and Dale live very different lives. When a cast member from the original series mysteriously disappears, the pair must reunite to save their friend.
The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016) 2.5+ 5/10
The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) 4.5 9/10
Speak No Evil (Christian Tafdrup, 2022) 4 8/10
When Harry Met Sally... (Rob Reiner, 1989) 4 8/10
https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p07g3x2t.jpg
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Only the Brave (Joseph Kosinski, 2017) 3.5 3.5/10
Beast (Baltasar Kormákur, 2022) 2.5 5/10
Hocus Pocus (Kenny Ortega, 1993) 3 6/10
Hocus Pocus 2 (Anne Fletcher, 2022) 1.5 3/10
https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Hocus-Pocus-2.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Two young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.
Nope (Jordan Peele, 2022) 4 8/10
The Investigation (Tobias Lindholm, 2020) 3.5 7/10
Jackass Forever (Jeff Tremaine, 2022) 3.5 3.5/10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell, 2005) 4.5 9/10
https://imgix.bustle.com/rehost/2016/9/13/aa2d5a63-4454-4d6a-bce5-b138f3b0ae08.jpg?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=jpg
Harry Potter finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares.
Halloween Ends (David Gordon Green, 2022) 0.5 1/10
Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, 2005) 4.5 9/10
V/H/S/99 (various, 2022) 2.5 6/10
Terrifier (Damien Leone, 2016) 1 2/10
https://64.media.tumblr.com/840f01f945b1ae86943d21c49536012b/3adaefa4f480ee76-a9/s500x750/7cfd259f9feb7821f1253b722803ac4eaf047021.gifv
On Halloween night, Tara Heyes finds herself as the obsession of a sadistic murderer known as Art the Clown.



R.I.P.

[FromBeyond]

Event Horizon


Couldn't help but laugh when after watching the first event Horizon transmission video, Laurence Fishburne says "we need to get out of here"


Oh... ya think 🤣


Good stuff


Few Note - The original 130 minute cut was heavily edited to paramount studios demands and Anderson's dismay, filming and editing was "rushed" when it became clear "Titanic" would not meet its projected release 🙄


On release the film was a massive flop however it began to sell well on home video and paramount asked Anderson to begin work on restoration of the deleted footage, alas it had all been lost or destroyed 🙄

[Marco]

I.D (1995)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/ID_dvd_cover.jpg
Good little film covering undecover police trying and infiltrating a soccer hooligan "firm"....I'm actually not sure why though. The performances are good and earthy, Reese Dinsdale in particular. Smart thinking having this set at a (fictitious) lower league football club as the friendships, links and sacrifices are more tangible. As I say though, it's a stretch of the imagination that 4 cops are assigned to infiltrate some pavement dancers who shout "Who are ya" endlessly. Great pay-off scene.

2.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Foriginal%2FbwsANtJNaA5xDmxPp6z2JqEtfCI.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=5f2913cda8e526dd90bd9e628acea3a3635c96936ad2361f189ecb43d1770358&ipo=images

The Nightingale, 2018

Clare (Aisling Franciosi) is an Irish convict serving out time under the British army in Australia. Clare has a husband, Aidan (Michael Sheasby), and a baby, and hopes to soon be set free. But the army lieutenant in charge of her case, Hawkins (Sam Claflin) is a sadist, who rapes Clare and doesn't plan to set her free any time soon. After a nasty confrontation, Hawkins and two of his men attack Clare's family. With the aid of an aboriginal man named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), Clare sets out to hunt down the men who hurt her loved ones.

I really enjoyed The Babadook, but had shied away from this film because every description of it included words like "harrowing" and "brutal". It's been on my watchlist for a while, and renting it from the library gave me the boost to watch it.

This movie is indeed harrowing and brutal, and it is those things on both the small scale of the characters in the film and in the sense of what it shows happening on a systemic level. Clare's pursuit of Hawkins doubles as a road trip that exposes all of the ways that violent domination and colonialism fractures individuals, communities, and cultures.

While the overarching plot is one of revenge, the real heft of the film is the relationship that develops between Clare and Billy, two people who have been abused and disenfranchised by the British and by the immoral, power-hungry men in their employ. The parallels between the two characters continue to be revealed through the film, particularly in the way that Clare is nicknamed "the Nightingale" and Billy's real name is Mangana, or "blackbird". In one sequence they alternate speaking to each other in their native languages, though English has become a common language through oppression. While they come from different parts of the world, both of them have lost their entire families and face a future of isolation.

When it comes to the bad guys, Claflin is chilling as the kind of self-centered sadist who sees any opposition to his demented violence as some sort of terrible burden. He feels that he deserves to have whatever he wants, and anything that stands in his way can't be his own fault. We see this in the violence he employs against Clare and her family, but it's also evident in his lack of leadership of the soldiers under him. He expects results without really putting in the work. But beyond Hawkins, the film makes a point about how such extreme violence and abuse is allowed to thrive. Not all of the British in the film are sadistic rapists. But innumerable men witness or know of Hawkins' behavior and don't lift a finger to stop it. Worse, within the small band that he takes with him on the road, Hawkins frames rape and violence as a kind of manly virtue, so that those under him follow either out of fear (a soldier named Jago (Harry Greenwood)) or a kind of awe (a child named Eddie (Charlie Shotwell) who accompanies the men). Violence against "lesser" people is disapproved of, but only to the extent that it condemns the perpetrator, not out of empathy for the victims.

The Tasmanian landscape in the film is beautiful and wild, a dangerous place to be alone. And unfortunately, most of the men making their way through the wild are far more dangerous than any wildlife.

Franciosi and Ganambarr are really excellent as the lead characters and in the development of their friendship that begins with mutual distrust and ire. I thought that the film struck just the right balance between taking an unflinching look at violence and showing the way that people who endure such violence survive (or don't). It can be hard for movies to walk the right line between being explicit and being exploitative. I thought Kent really walked the line well so that there was always respect and empathy for the victims without rubbernecking.

4.5

[Fabulous]

Good News (1947)

2

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/bam5qdst8yiHYx7RCKlGM6jx3tA.jpg

[Mr Minio]

In honor of mark f, I thought I'd post my recent movie watchings in the format he used to make. Not enough 2.5.

[Corax]

On release the film was a massive flop however it began to sell well on home video and paramount asked Anderson to begin work on restoration of the deleted footage, alas it had all been lost or destroyed 🙄


Director's Cuts - especially the allegedly renegade and suppressed cuts are rarely much of a revelation, even when they're released. Blade Runner is one of the rare films that benefited from an old workprint rediscovering the light of day. Unfortunately, this created a cottage industry that resulted in consumers being asked to by the same film, again and again. Even if the footage were recovered I doubt the film would be much better. Rather, I'd rather have a time machine and just give Anderson enough time to make the film.



I would, however, be interested in Event Horizon being tried again. Flying Dutchman stories are great.

[cricket]

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

3

https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.rogerebert.com/uploads/review/primary_image/reviews/cave-of-forgotten-dreams-2011/EB20110427REVIEWS110429983AR.jpg

#60 on the documentary list, Werner Herzog directs, stars, and narrates. I like caves. I've always liked caves. I really liked exploring caves as a kid. It would appear though that I don't like them as much as I thought anymore because this never got my interest. The very old paintings didn't do anything for me. I'm sure I'd think it was cool if I saw this stuff in person. Nothing wrong with it.

[Captain Terror]

RRR (2022)

4

I haven't seen Wakanda Forever yet, but if the Black Panther doesn't physically throw a literal panther at the bad guy I'm gonna be disappointed.

[Captain Terror]

https://img2.vitomag.com/44/e8/44e8ba1829fe50ae77b16a61546f96de8f86ce4b.gif

[Rockatansky]

Hell yeah

[Fabulous]

Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/eywIwoAia9gzPxcIbNQCpZMWczo.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Tinker_Tailor_Soldier_Spy_%28film%29.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51603393

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy - (2011)

A 1970s period piece now, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was something I've never read, but have seen on television with Alec Guinness as George Smiley. This version goes all out with absolutely incredible set decoration, production design and art direction - and it also features the impressive talents of Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, John Hurt and Toby Jones - a cast to die for. Impressive and well acted, and backed by a classic story of intrigue, this was well worth watching.

7.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Posternotebook.jpg
By http://www.movieposter.com/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3519485

The Notebook - (2004)

It doesn't look like Nick Cassavetes has the same artistic talent that his father did, but it's nice seeing Gena Rowlands in yet another Cassavetes film. Here she plays an old version of the main character, who's dementia drives her husband to tell her the story of their lives together over and over again every day. Aww - ain't that romantic? Everything about this film was pretty much okay - from Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams' chemistry and acting to the visuals and the pace of the story. Nothing spectacular, but nice. It tells a story told many times before - from the economic disparity between families causing problems for the young lovers, to the choice Allie (McAdams) has to make between old and new love.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Definitely_Maybe_poster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14738891

Definitely Maybe - (2008)

Ryan Reynolds makes for a great romantic lead for 12-year-old girls to scream about, and there's plenty else in this film for the casual film watcher to enjoy, but Definitely Maybe didn't do a whole lot for me. I enjoyed seeing a Little Miss Sunshine-aged Abigail Breslin again, but the film doesn't make the most of Reynolds' talents, and the screenplay is very middling. I never felt chemistry between the main star and any of the three other actresses in this film. Kevin Kline shows up a few times and shows us all how charisma works - ending up the best thing about Definitely Maybe.

5.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/Graduateposter67.jpg
By Impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24649680

The Graduate - (1967)

A classic - and a rare perfect film that manages to eke out the best in every aspect of filmmaking. Timeless.

10/10

RIP - mark f - I'll miss you

[ThatDarnMKS]

Glass Onion

A clever, amusing blast just like the first.

4.5/5

[Fabulous]

The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/fJx48EawmDGsyQcGffhvOHJjID3.jpg

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://thumbnails.cbsig.net/CBS_Production_Entertainment_VMS/2022/04/24/2026378307988/JMGL_SAlone_16_9_1920x1080_1378845_1920x1080.jpg

Jerry and Marge Go Large - I wanted to watch this because the premise sounded interesting and because of the two leads Bryan Cranston and Annette Benning. But it's remarkably bland even by geriatric genre standards. Those are movies that feature older actors like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or the Going In Style remake. Cranston and Benning's characters aren't that old. They just act like it. I kept waiting for something, anything, to happen. It's based on a true story about Jerry and Marge Selbee where Jerry figures out a flaw in their State lottery. They eventually recruit some fellow townspeople and use their winnings to revitalize their town.

That's it. That quotidian and inoffensive synopsis pretty much captures the entire movie. Nothing remotely original transpires up to and including the handful of well worn rock songs they trot out sporadically as ... I don't actually know what purpose they served. They do introduce this stereotypically snotty Harvard student as someone else that figured out how to game the system but he's there and gone without making much of an impression.

This was maybe one step above a Hallmark Channel movie and I'm genuinely sorry I took the time to watch it. If this is the kind of original content Paramount+ is cranking out I'm glad I never subscribed to it.

40/100

[Fabulous]

All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/iHyMGayCab2M8aqJUBxGgcIc53G.jpg

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Tinker_Tailor_Soldier_Spy_%28film%29.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51603393

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy - (2011)

A 1970s period piece now, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was something I've never read, but have seen on television with Alec Guinness as George Smiley. This version goes all out with absolutely incredible set decoration, production design and art direction - and it also features the impressive talents of Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, John Hurt and Toby Jones - a cast to die for. Impressive and well acted, and backed by a classic story of intrigue, this was well worth watching.

7.5/10



I think this is the best acting by a male ensemble cast I have ever seen, from Oldman (giving a master-class, probably the best performance of his career, IMO) to Hurt to Firth to Hinds to Toby Jones to Mark Strong (really great in this) to Cumberbatch (so strong here that I was instantly like, "that guy's a star", wish he did more like this), even Hardy.
Best male ensemble acting ever. Puts Heat to shame.

[Stirchley]

I think this is the best acting by a male ensemble cast I have ever seen, from Oldman (giving a master-class, probably the best performance of his career, IMO) to Hurt to Firth to Hinds to Toby Jones to Mark Strong (really great in this) to Cumberbatch (so strong here that I was instantly like, "that guy's a star", wish he did more like this), even Hardy.
Best male ensemble acting ever. Puts Heat to shame.

LOVE this movie!

[Stirchley]

The Graduate - (1967)

A classic - and a rare perfect film that manages to eke out the best in every aspect of filmmaking. Timeless.

10/10

Brilliant movie. Seen it a million times.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I think this is the best acting by a male ensemble cast I have ever seen, from Oldman (giving a master-class, probably the best performance of his career, IMO) to Hurt to Firth to Hinds to Toby Jones to Mark Strong (really great in this) to Cumberbatch (so strong here that I was instantly like, "that guy's a star", wish he did more like this), even Hardy.
Best male ensemble acting ever. Puts Heat to shame. Couldn't agree more. :up:

[Stirchley]

90046
90047
90048
90049

All terrific movies.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://64.media.tumblr.com/9dc3a43521fa558ee8a9afdd054019f9/tumblr_p30x1oj6tR1ugv7b3o1_500.gifv

https://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mckcrpLFmh1qbuwpuo4_250.gif
Another Thin Man - This 1939 installment was the third Thin Man film following 1934's The Thin Man and 1936's After the Thin Man. This is probably my favorite of the three with William Powell and Myrna Loy really settling in to their respective roles as Nick and Nora Charles. For anyone who isn't already familiar with the series Nick is a retired detective who has married into money and Nora is his well to do spouse. She's also apparently a frustrated gumshoe because she's perpetually eager to bring Nick out of retirement to help out whichever friends or family are in danger. As is usually the case they're accompanied by their loyal dog Asta and in this one, their newborn son Nicky Jr.

The San Francisco couple are once again in NYC and are invited by Colonel Burr MacFay (C. Aubrey Smith) to spend the weekend at his estate in Long Island. MacFay was Nora's late fathers business partner and manages her fortune and he's been receiving death threats from an ex-employee named Phil Church (Sheldon Leonard). The film franchise follows the usual successful formula with bodies piling up and all manner of shifty eyed suspects putting in an appearance. But, like the other two, it's smartly written and filled with droll wordplay and playful banter between Nick and Nora. They're a charming couple and Myrna Loy remains one of the most captivating of early Hollywood leading ladies. Powell is also fully in control as the hard drinking, wisecracking and unflappable Nick Charles.

There are three other entries in the series and I fully intend and look forward to either revisiting or watching each for the first time.

85/100

[ueno_station54]

https://archive.org/download/birth-of-the-pool/birth-of-the-pool.thumbs/VTS_01_1_000114.jpg
Birth of the Pool (Giuseppe Andrews, 2013)

that's the only screenshot i could find on google images lmao. a film that falls apart as it goes, like not in terms of quality but in like, being a movie. i don't know how to explain what i mean by that. it's kind of cool.
3

[GulfportDoc]

90053
The Guilty (1947)


This is an “A” noir story filmed as a “B” movie by Monogram Pictures. Cornell Woolrich’s work was a cornucopia of noir stories used as a basis for many films. Here Woolrich’s short story Two Men in a Furnished Room provided the dark and claustrophobic tale. Along with the able direction of John Reinhardt (HighTide) underpinned by the effective score of Rudy Schrager (Deadline for Murder, Gunsmoke) this film’s innovative production deserved far better than the paltry budget it had to work with.


Much of the story is told in flash back. Two ex-army pals, Mike and Johnny, share an apartment. Mike gives support and comfort to Johnny’s PTSD from the war. Johnny had dated a gal (Linda), but for various reasons broke the relationship and started dating her twin sister (Estelle). Mike starts half-heartedly seeing Estelle, but we learn that both of the sisters were after Johnny. One thing is common in noir: if there are twins, generally one is good and one is bad. Here, which one is which keeps changing. One of the sisters is murdered, and for the rest of the film we’re treated to a number of twists and a surprise ending.


The cast is surprisingly effective for a cheapo production. Bonita Granville (Nancy Drew; Now Voyager) plays the twins, while Don Castle (High Tide; The Invisible Wall) plays Mike, and Wally Cassell (White Heat; City That Never Sleeps) plays the troubled ex-soldier. The dependable Regis Toomey turns in a nice part as the world weary and shady police detective.


The movie basically uses three rather threadbare sets, which has the unintended result of enhancing the story. It features not only twin ladies but an “unreliable narrator”, which adds to the mystery. And DP Henry Sharp frequently shows his talent for noir lighting and staging.


This is a little gem of a noir doesn’t get enough notice due to it’s “B” status. It does share some similarity to Robert Siodmak’s The Dark Mirror (1946)-- a full on “A” picture from Universal. The Guilty is a fine example of noir, and it’s available on YouTube.


Doc’s rating: 8/10

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fthatshelf.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2FThe-Manchurian-Candidate-9.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=e29e47de6c25e30e314d87ccb902441753d507c6c29ca92f2eb3ec3585be69db&ipo=images

The Manchurian Candidate, 1962

Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) returns from the Korean War a decorated hero, credited with saving the lives of many in his company. There's just one little problem: the heroic action that Shaw and his companions remember never happened. Instead, the men were captured and brutally brainwashed. As Shaw strives to handle the pressures of his life back home---including a ruthless mother (Angela Lansbury), a politician stepfather (James Gregory), and his love for a woman named Josie (Leslie Parrish)--he unwittingly acts as an assassin for a communist group. Meanwhile, one of Shaw's old squad mates, Major Ben Marco (Frank Sinatra) grows suspicious when he begins to suffer from strange dreams where Shaw does terrible, terrible things.

This was a very enjoyable, twisty-turny thriller, and I particularly enjoyed the fact that while I knew certain things about it via cultural osmosis, there were still several moments or plot elements that took me by surprise.

Overall the film is very strong and suspenseful, but the disorienting, unnerving sequence of Shaw and his companions being conditioned is a special kind of horror. The perception of the men is that they are a women's horticultural meeting, when in fact they are sitting in front of a panel of communist doctors and agents. The film alternates between the point of view of the men and the reality, to at times comedic effect (such as when one woman boisterously objects and a quick cut shows us that it's really a man in the front of the group). But as the sequence goes on, terrible things happen. Shaw is ordered to strangle one of the men. His victim objects, only to be told to hold still and cooperate. Later, Shaw is directed to shoot the squad's smiling, fresh-faced teenage member in the face. His fellow soldiers absorb this all with borderline boredom, yet these moments will torture them later in the form of unceasing nightmares.

Harvey makes for an interesting lead. Shaw is prickly and doesn't connect with the other soldiers. All of his peers have been brainwashed to say that he is a wonderful warm person---and one of the more tragic parts of the film is when Shaw reflects that this doesn't make sense, because the other men didn't like him. Sinatra is likable enough as Marco, who finds some common ground with Shaw because both of them have reason to believe that they may be going crazy, and find tremendous relief any time that they are able to connect some of the dots. Lansbury makes the biggest impression, though, as Shaw's power-hungry mother. She is a straight-up ice queen, and there's a giddy kind of suspense with her character as to whether she's involved with what is happening or just incredibly controlling.

If I had one criticism of the film, it's the extent to which the film at times throws in coincidences that feel a bit too far fetched. Characters with crazy connections just happen to meet-cute. Someone shows up to a fancy-dress party in a particularly relevant costume. I was more than happy to suspend disbelief for all of the hypnotism elements, but some of these other coincidences just felt a bit too out there in terms of the narrative reality of the film. And in the reverse of that: why was Janet Leigh in this film? She's just sort of . . . there, and it seems like a waste of her magnetism and intensity.

Frankenheimer's directing is kinetic and jarring. He manages to create sequences that combine incredibly upsetting visuals and actions with a kind of nonchalance and the effect is strong.

4.5

[Fabulous]

The King and I (1956)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/xQOIS7suLNMhS6jlqXAjMKSE2iC.jpg

[Takoma11]

I was going crazy trying to figure out what The Manchurian Candidate made me think of, then in the shower it hit me: Seconds, which makes sense because it's another Frankenheimer.

[StuSmallz]

I was going crazy trying to figure out what The Manchurian Candidate made me think of, then in the shower it hit me: Seconds, which makes sense because it's another Frankenheimer.Don't forget to check out The Train too, Takoma; it's often forgotten about in his body of work, but it's the best Frankenheimer I've seen, to be honest.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/The_Menu_%282022_film%29.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2022/menu_ver3.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71496457

The Menu - (2022)

Ralph Fiennes is what excited me about seeing The Menu and he certainly didn't disappoint, imbuing his character with a perfect amount of subdued fury, and pride - I really get so much out of seeing him on the big screen. I also enjoy watching modern culture have broadsides fired at it, and although the supporting cast are fine I don't think there's anything there that I'll remember for long - but Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult are good as two different kinds of diner at Hawthorne - an exclusive style restaurant presided over by celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Fiennes) - and Hong Chau has an interesting kind of small part as a loyal, laser-focused minion. The film itself is separated into courses that match what's happening - which I'll leave for those who go see the film. The dishes also star, in their way and for what they represent. I had a good time.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/MarleyPoster.jpg
By MoviePosterDB, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20257930

Marley & Me - (2008)

For those who have recommended Marley & Me, here and elsewhere, I finally did it. Were there tears? It's not hard to bring them on when it comes to the relationship a dog has with it's owners. I had a family dog who was also probably the worst dog in the world at the time. Completely untrainable - and absolutely incorrigible. Dino. He was a part of the family, and his pictures still adorn the walls of the place I live in. What shines through in this is John Grogan's book - and no matter who the leads were (in this case Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston - not my dream cast) that would be the same. Nice seeing Alan Arkin. The stars were the dogs - who were exceptionally well handled for the shoot. Great screenplay.

6.5/10

[Captain Steel]

The Rocker (2008)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/Rockerposter.jpg

I caught this during one of those free holiday cable previews. I'd never heard of it, which is a bit surprising as it has an "all star" (B-list) cast, but Emma Stone's in it too! ;)

Some may say it's a bit derivative of This Is Spinal Tap (1984) or School of Rock (2003) which it may be, but it was just a fun, entertaining, silly, feel-good movie.
It's not epic or a laugh riot, but it's a good time-killer movie; the kind where you're expecting nothing and end up pleasantly surprised.
If you're bored or down, in the mood for light entertainment & a few chuckles or need a pick-me-up, this movie is a good watch.

3.5

[Rockatansky]

Don't forget to check out The Train too, Takoma; it's often forgotten about in his body of work, but it's the best Frankenheimer I've seen, to be honest.
I’ll also throw in recommendations for Grand Prix, The Challenge and 52 Pickup. The last one is a great sleazy thriller in its own right, but also provides a great anecdote that was recounted in another classic, Things.

[FromBeyond]

The King 2019


Young Henry V encounters deceit, war and treachery after becoming King of England in the 15th century, in the aftermath of his brother's death.


Wonderful, best movie I've seen on netflix, best movie I've seen in a while, Joel Edgerton did a great job co-writing and producing this, not to mention give a spot on Northern accent, great cast of actors, too many to name. Five stars for me.

[Takoma11]

Don't forget to check out The Train too, Takoma; it's often forgotten about in his body of work, but it's the best Frankenheimer I've seen, to be honest.

I’ll also throw in recommendations for Grand Prix, The Challenge and 52 Pickup. The last one is a great sleazy thriller in its own right, but also provides a great anecdote that was recounted in another classic, Things.

Added these all to my watchlist.

Hong Chau has an interesting kind of small part as a loyal, laser-focused minion

While I don't think that the film needed more runtime, I do with that there'd been a little more of a sense of the history of characters like hers. The way she delivered the line "You will eat less than you desire, but more than you deserve" was so great! I appreciated the subplot with the line chef who had been sexually harassed and then punished for not complying with Slowik's advances, and that he let her use that experience to offer her an apology and let her vent her anger about it..

[Fabulous]

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/gp9H4nb7F8BsawAlGw6PIgedidk.jpg

[Rockatansky]

Added these all to my watchlist.
I hope that included Things.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/tgNRNyj9/hot-rod.jpg
By Paramount Pictures - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11644865

Hot Rod - (2007)

Akiva Schaffer - he's hanging in there. Some of his films, like Hot Rod and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which came out in 2016, are building cult followings. I've seen Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers getting some good reviews here. Personally, I thought Hot Rod was extremely good - it was really funny, and nothing about it was laboured or contrived. Of course, comedy is such a subjective thing - so much so that some people won't like this - but if you like films like Black Dynamite you might find yourself loving Hot Rod. That offbeat and bizarre kind of comedy that the Zucker brothers really perfected prevails, and there seems to be much natural talent among the cast of Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader and Danny McBride. I'd never heard of Hot Rod before trying it out, and right from the start it had me laughing out loud. There are some good comedies out there where I only laugh on the inside - so external laughter is a big deal for me. I must check out Popstar.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Chef_2014.jpg
By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42420335

Chef - (2014)

This film was next in my rotation, and it felt really weird to have such a coincidence on the same day I went to see The Menu. I spend a lot of the film simply thinking, " Jon Favreau, how wealthy are you? You're probably 9-figures rich, right?" Actually appearing as the main star in a film is just something he's doing for the hell of it. Chef is an enjoyable enough film about a divorced man and his young son - Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well-known chef who gets into an online flame war with a food critic, and being unfamiliar with the internet lets it spill out into the public domain, with disastrous results. From there he has to rebuild his life, which he does with aplomb. Just like Favreau himself, Carl really has his mind in good order and is great at what he does. That includes bonding with his boy, and repairing broken personal relationships.

6.5/10 - edit - I think I'm under-rating this a little.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Beetlejuice_%281988_film_poster%29.png
By Box Office Mojo, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57044619

Beetlejuice - (1988)

Beetlejuice: Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm qualified?

I never really liked this all that much back in the day, but I'm much more fond of it now. I'd love a sequel, but have been around long enough to realise it would be nothing but a let-down. A lot of imagination from Tim Burton and his art designers, prop people, make-up artists and the rest of the team. Today, there would have been heaps of CGI used and the film would have been completely charmless.

8/10

[gbgoodies]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Chef_2014.jpg
By https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42420335

Chef - (2014)

This film was next in my rotation, and it felt really weird to have such a coincidence on the same day I went to see The Menu. I spend a lot of the film simply thinking, " Jon Favreau, how wealthy are you? You're probably 9-figures rich, right?" Actually appearing as the main star in a film is just something he's doing for the hell of it. Chef is an enjoyable enough film about a divorced man and his young son - Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well-known chef who gets into an online flame war with a food critic, and being unfamiliar with the internet lets it spill out into the public domain, with disastrous results. From there he has to rebuild his life, which he does with aplomb. Just like Favreau himself, Carl really has his mind in good order and is great at what he does. That includes bonding with his boy, and repairing broken personal relationships.

6.5/10 - edit - I think I'm under-rating this a little.




I loved Chef. It might even make my countdown list.

[Takoma11]

I hope that included Things.

sigh

fine



Chef - (2014)

This film was next in my rotation, and it felt really weird to have such a coincidence on the same day I went to see The Menu. I spend a lot of the film simply thinking, " Jon Favreau, how wealthy are you? You're probably 9-figures rich, right?" Actually appearing as the main star in a film is just something he's doing for the hell of it. Chef is an enjoyable enough film about a divorced man and his young son - Favreau plays Carl Casper, a well-known chef who gets into an online flame war with a food critic, and being unfamiliar with the internet lets it spill out into the public domain, with disastrous results. From there he has to rebuild his life, which he does with aplomb. Just like Favreau himself, Carl really has his mind in good order and is great at what he does. That includes bonding with his boy, and repairing broken personal relationships.

6.5/10 - edit - I think I'm under-rating this a little.

I quite enjoyed Chef when I watched it many years ago. Aside from the initial blow-out at the restaurant, it's a pretty gentle, funny, positive story. I mostly appreciated that they didn't go out of their way to throw in a bunch of unnecessary conflict.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I quite enjoyed Chef when I watched it many years ago. Aside from the initial blow-out at the restaurant, it's a pretty gentle, funny, positive story. I mostly appreciated that they didn't go out of their way to throw in a bunch of unnecessary conflict.
Have you watched The Bear? It’s like they heard everyone say they loved that about Chef and went “but what if it were more like Uncut Gems?”

[Rockatansky]

sigh

fine
Thank you.

Now excuse me while I put my coat in your refrigerator.

[Takoma11]

Have you watched The Bear? It’s like they heard everyone say they loved that about Chef and went “but what if it were more like Uncut Gems?”

I watched The Bear in a sprint of three days. I really enjoyed it. Great performances, funny and poignant. And, yes, I did appreciate that in its heart it was optimistic.

[ThatDarnMKS]

I watched The Bear in a sprint of three days. I really enjoyed it. Great performances, funny and poignant. And, yes, I did appreciate that in its heart it was optimistic.
Yup. It’s still about a great chef going back to basics and making sandwiches with a theme of optimism, but boy do they yell at each other with a great deal of stress and intensity. That long take episode was phenomenal.

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Beetlejuice_%281988_film_poster%29.png
By Box Office Mojo, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57044619

Beetlejuice - (1988)



I never really liked this all that much back in the day, but I'm much more fond of it now. I'd love a sequel, but have been around long enough to realise it would be nothing but a let-down. A lot of imagination from Tim Burton and his art designers, prop people, make-up artists and the rest of the team. Today, there would have been heaps of CGI used and the film would have been completely charmless.

8/10

Yes.
This is a movie I liked but had reservations about when I was younger. There was so much about it to like but other things I took issue with. Oddly, as I got older the film just kept getting better and better to me and now I can hardly even remember what I took umbrage with back when.
And there is apparently a sequel in the works and it is going to be heaps of CGI and charmless and I am going to be sad.

[Fabulous]

Boys Don't Cry (1999)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/7VFCBpXZ9JbStKRyftnVWJEPBod.jpg

[Deschain]

I’ll also jump on the bandwagons for Chef and The Bear. Excellent restaurant-focused stories.

[Thunderbolt]

90072
A Perfect World (1993)
A touching Eastwood drama and superbly acted.
4

[Thunderbolt]

90074
Absolute Power (1997)
An enjoyable thriller but not as deep and dark as some of Eastwood’s directorial efforts.
3.5

[Daniel M]

Wildlife (Paul Dano, 2018) 3.5

Solid nuanced film with strong performances that make it quietly emotionally stirring. A very good debut.

Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan, 2000) 3.5

Confident and assured in how it handles mythology and the ridiculous in such a serious, human way. Low-key, shot with aplomb, a beautiful little films in so many ways.

28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002) 2

Too frantic and lacking in any sort of formal consistency. Admirable in what it achieves on a low-budget but not enjoyable for me.

Sunshine (Danny Boyle, 2007) 3

Didn't expect to like this especially tackling sci-fi/horror territory that feels very familiar, but I found myself gripped by the suspense. Even with the drastic tonal shift, it still just about worked.

Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016) 4

A beautiful sensual film, as its title suggest painting an erotic masterfully crafted portrait that really is packed with emotion. Gorgeous and affecting, I can see why so many people love this.

American Gigolo (Paul Schrader, 1980) 4.5

A fantastic Paul Schrader double-bill. I caught Gigolo on TV and was blown away, the style, the music, just my type of film. Every frame, every scene oozing with style. Essentially a modern day Pickpocket with the most pleasantly surprising element being the emotional impact the ending had on me.

Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982) 4.5

Enjoying it so much I finally got round to watching Cat People which had always intrigued me as a fan of the Tourneur original and the David Bowie song, so masterfully used by Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds. This film is a completely different beast but once again Schrader manages to create a visual erotically charged film that I totally got on board with.

Primal Fear (Gregory Hoblit, 1996) 1

Nothing of note in the direction (see how Lumet uses the camera in 12 Angry Men for example) and could see what was happening from a mile away. I admire Ed Norton but I struggle with performances like this where actors depict disabled characters.

Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997) 4.5

Essentially the anti-Top Gun, a proper adult film taking attack on modern industrial complex/warfare whilst fully embracing the cinematic possibilities available in such a film. Verhoeven uses effects amazingly, edits sequences brilliantly, gives us videos within films, great dialogue etc. It's the type of film that makes me so happy because it's such a great showcase for the medium.

Good Time (Joshua Safdie, Benny Safdie, 2017) 2.5

Big fan of Uncut Gems but was disappointed with this. The story and the characters weren't likeable and I found everything quite disorientating and uninteresting, not really caring about the stakes unlike Gems.

[Thunderbolt]

90076
Terminator Genisys (2015)
The first two films were highly driven by emotion. Here it’s completely lost in this timeline head scratcher. Packed full of horrible CGI and a plot which just loses it’s way from the beginning. This is just another example of desperation film making riding on the coat tails of two classics. I’m so glad this was a TV watch and not a purchase.
1.5

[Torgo]

Good Time (Joshua Safdie, Benny Safdie, 2017) 2.5

Big fan of Uncut Gems but was disappointed with this. The story and the characters weren't likeable and I found everything quite disorientating and uninteresting, not really caring about the stakes unlike Gems.Aww, too bad, I really like this one. I'm a little biased because I love "one crazy night" movies, but I enjoyed seeing Connie realizing that he's not exactly a good guy and what it took for him to come to terms with this fact, with the series of events leading up to this moment escalating in the best, most gradual way. It was also nice to see Pattinson play a role like this, which he pulled off beautifully, and Buddy Duress is pretty hilarious as Ray.

[SpelingError]

Aww, too bad, I really like this one. I'm a little biased because I love "one crazy night" movies, but I enjoyed seeing Connie realizing that he's not exactly a good guy and what it took for him to come to terms with this fact, with the series of events leading up to this moment escalating in the best, most gradual way. It was also nice to see Pattinson play a role like this, which he pulled off beautifully, and Buddy Duress is pretty hilarious as Ray.

Agreed, it's a lock for my 2010s ballot.

[John-Connor]

Continuing the restaurant-focused stories talk.. might I suggest; The Boiling Point.
Came out before The Bear..

90077

[Daniel M]

Agreed, it's a lock for my 2010s ballot.

Sorry guys, I love Robert Pattinson and Uncut Gems but couldn't get into this one :(

[Torgo]

Agreed, it's a lock for my 2010s ballot.Same.
I also love Oneohtrix Point Never's soundtrack. It's one I've listened to several times.

[Marco]

The Modern Way (2022)

Kinda fun little film about the Mods/Rockers/Skins that made a resurgence in the 80s after punk. Drug dealing gone wrong because of some slaaaaaaaags. It's fun but just too far fetched even though the acting is fine. It's a cut above the Craig Fairbrass "Essex Boys" dross and has a low budget charm.
3

[WHITBISSELL!]

Repeat Viewings


https://marsingemini.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/curse-of-the-demon-walk.gif?w=516&zoom=2

Curse of the Demon - Even though director Jacques Tourneur and screenwriter Charles Bennett butted heads with producer Hal E. Chester it still manages to be an effectively atmospheric thriller. Can't help but wonder though what kind of movie they would have come up with if they had stuck with Bennett's original screenplay and left Tourneur to his own devices. 85/100

https://64.media.tumblr.com/11e83081e44af82316e93b4fa4d41ec2/tumblr_pwx72kYxlG1qgokjco1_540.gifv


I Walked With a Zombie - Another immersive Tourneur classic. Val Lewton's contribution as producer and J. Roy Hunt's cinematography should always be mentioned. 85/100

https://media4.giphy.com/media/xTiTnzM8F3vzxYxTq0/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47og5s3c5ie1nbu766aocvs896kidjjfwl2g8fkfnx&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g

Them! - This is probably the first giant mutated insect movie and set the stage for countless others that followed. If you discount the early King Kong films or The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (which preceded it by a year) you could say it started the genre. 89/100

[Fabulous]

Blood on the Moon (1948)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wwo6Zx0iuIj3OJnKyyLSt7QZZn4.jpg

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moxiecinema.com%2Fuploads%2Ffilms%2F_feature%2Fthe-martian_still.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=018304001e0a6e6b73df311d1d59302085b2efa0e45b703617b4c854e285ba54&ipo=images

The Martian, 2015

Mark (Matt Damon) is a botanist who is part of a crew on a mission to Mars. When a sudden storm threatens the crew, they evacuate, but Mark is left behind, believed dead. But Mark is not dead. And left on his own with logistics meaning that rescue is hundreds of days away, he must find a way to survive with limited rations. Back on Earth, NASA realizes that Mark is not dead and hustles to mount a rescue mission.

I realize the old it's not as good as the book argument can be tiresome. Howevah! I think that this film is an interesting case in what happens when a film adapts a book that tried to avoid certain film-ish tropes and ends up stranded between loyalty to the source material and wanting to go fully cinematic with the premise.

Nowhere else is this contradiction more apparent than in Damon's performance as Mark. To be really clear, I think that Damon actually captures the tone of the character---ie a nerdy sarcastic type---really well. And then he takes off his shirt and you're like "Oh, right. They tried to put this nerdy character in a gym-toned celebrity body." This lack of coherence spills over into every aspect of the film. Things that were dismissed in the book explicitly as "If this were a movie, then everyone would XYZ." And then in the film . . . . everyone does.

I'm sorry, guys, but you can't have it both ways. You can't have a film where one current is pulling the narrative in the direction of realistic science and debates about strategies and then have your main character flying around space "like Iron Man." I constantly had whiplash from these competing narrative desires.

What makes this worse is the comedy, which takes the sardonic commentary from the book and amps it up to shots that could be straight out of a cartoon. After Mark's first attempt to synthesize water has explosive results, he sits down to film a video log and he is literally still smoking. At one point a character clicks a pen open by pushing it against Kristen Wiig's character's head. I really did not care at all for the silliness.

My favorite element of the film was the way that it used its supporting cast to show the complex range of scientific and ethical questions that come with a situation like the one in the film. Sean Bean brings a weary warmth as the man responsible for the wellbeing of the crew on the Mars mission. The always welcome Benedict Wong plays the scientist whose team is repeatedly given orders to produce usable technology on incredibly tight time frames. While I didn't love the way that Wiig's character was treated--and repeatedly used as the outsider that all the science people can explain things to--she is a very funny person, and I laughed out loud at her disgust when the scientists decide to call a secret meeting the Council of Elrond.

The premise of the film is also very strong. Imagine being alone on a planet. Imagine knowing that you will not see another person for at least two years, if ever again. Mark's decision to live his life on Mars one day at a time, solving one problem at a time, is just neat to watch a lot of the time. The look of Mars is really beautiful, but also vast and intimidating. Space stuff always gets me, because it manages to be claustrophobic and agoraphobic at the same time.

It's impossible to know how I'd have felt about this one if I hadn't read the book first, but the overall issue with the clash of tones and objectives is something that doesn't have to with the fact that it's an adaptation. The cast was stacked with great actors, and it was a pleasant enough viewing.

3.5

[Fabulous]

The Law and Jake Wade (1958)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/4hX5UoeX7ggzLegRh5oU1gqOa4B.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Quills_poster.JPG
By Source: [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=944724

Quills - (2000)

Four actors really get to strut their stuff in Quills - a prancing, sexual Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis de Sade, delighting in ruffling the feathers of hypocritical prudes, a lively and joyous Kate Winslet as Maddy, a seething Michael Caine as real life historical personage Dr. Royer-Collard - he plays bad so well - and Joaquin Phoenix as the Abbé de Coulmier - another real life figure. There's more than high melodrama at play - censorship, religion, sex and love combine in ways that seem particularly on edge just a few years after the French Revolution. Enlightenment seems to be at a critical stage in it's battle against ignorance, and people's lives were the casualties of this war. Dr. Royer-Collard rails against the Marquis' lude prose, and yet forces a girl hardly 16 years-of-age into a sexual relationship with him. Power is used arbitrarily, religion is payed lip service, and perversion is only ever possible if it comes from the downtrodden - never the powerful. This film, directed by the great Philip Kaufman, never stops getting darker - and some will pay a heavy price before we get to the end credits. I love how it didn't bend to the usual (and predictable) narrative conventions at the time.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/Darjeeling_Limited_Poster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34213560

The Darjeeling Limited - (2007)

A lot of people consider this Wes Anderson's worst film, and I tend to agree. Unlike the Coen Bros however, with films like The Ladykillers, Wes Anderson's worst is still kind of good. It seems a little rushed, and although it's full of good moments it doesn't cohere as a whole. His films usually feature oodles of characters, and if one is particularly irksome it doesn't throw the whole film off. Here, we've got Francis, Peter and Jack played by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman respectively - and all three have character flaws that make them hard to appreciate. There is little else - we're firmly focused on the spiritual journey these three brothers are on, and the stark symbolism doesn't make for a movie that you can spend hours analysing. So, as a whole not great - but like I said, Anderson has made up for it a little by filling the film with funny and enchanting moments - it's a power he has, and it helps to make The Darjeeling Limited bearable.

7/10

[Miss Vicky]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Quills_poster.JPG
By Source: [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=944724

Quills - (2000)

Four actors really get to strut their stuff in Quills - a prancing, sexual Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis de Sade, delighting in ruffling the feathers of hypocritical prudes, a lively and joyous Kate Winslet as Maddy, a seething Michael Caine as real life historical personage Dr. Royer-Collard - he plays bad so well - and Joaquin Phoenix as the Abbé de Coulmier - another real life figure. There's more than high melodrama at play - censorship, religion, sex and love combine in ways that seem particularly on edge just a few years after the French Revolution. Enlightenment seems to be at a critical stage in it's battle against ignorance, and people's lives were the casualties of this war. Dr. Royer-Collard rails against the Marquis' lude prose, and yet forces a girl hardly 16 years-of-age into a sexual relationship with him. Power is used arbitrarily, religion is payed lip service, and perversion is only ever possible if it comes from the downtrodden - never the powerful. This film, directed by the great Philip Kaufman, never stops getting darker - and some will pay a heavy price before we get to the end credits. I love how it didn't bend to the usual (and predictable) narrative conventions at the time.

8/10



My all-time favorite movie. Always a pleasure to see someone else watch and enjoy it. :up:

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/18/Boiling_Point_poster.jpg
By https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/boiling-point-trailer-stephen-graham-is-a-chef-under-pressure/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69064252

Boiling Point - (2021)

Boiling Point looked good, and was available on Amazon Prime so I took the opportunity to watch it - Philip Barantini does a great job keeping the tension strung tight for this film's entire runtime, and Stephen Graham never fails to provide exactly what's needed. He plays Andy Jones - head chef at a good restaurant who has personal issues that are about to impact on all who work with him, and his customers. The high pressure stakes of this place make for a good film on an ordinary day - but the night this takes place on will be the dramatic crescendo of where this character has been heading. Like Help (another 2021 film which featured Graham) it gives us a snapshot of the perfectly ordinary in extraordinary circumstances with an exacting pace and strains all of the characters in different ways, meaning whoever we follow, we understand their particular circumstances and problems. Another good kitchen/chef drama!

7.5/10

Edit - PS : The entire film is one of those one-shot deals - so impressive.

[Daniel M]

Repeat Viewings


https://marsingemini.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/curse-of-the-demon-walk.gif?w=516&zoom=2

Curse of the Demon - Even though director Jacques Tourneur and screenwriter Charles Bennett butted heads with producer Hal E. Chester it still manages to be an effectively atmospheric thriller. Can't help but wonder though what kind of movie they would have come up with if they had stuck with Bennett's original screenplay and left Tourneur to his own devices. 85/100

https://64.media.tumblr.com/11e83081e44af82316e93b4fa4d41ec2/tumblr_pwx72kYxlG1qgokjco1_540.gifv


I Walked With a Zombie - Another immersive Tourneur classic. Val Lewton's contribution as producer and J. Roy Hunt's cinematography should always be mentioned. 85/100



Two of my favourite horror movies, nice to see someone else enjoying Tourneur so much :)

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTU5NzgxODMtMjg2Mi00YTAxLTg4MTMtNDJmNWU5MTU5ODJjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMzNDE5NDM2._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


4.5

[Gideon58]

Wildlife (Paul Dano, 2018) 3.5

Solid nuanced film with strong performances that make it quietly emotionally stirring. A very good debut.


Good Time (Joshua Safdie, Benny Safdie, 2017) 2.5

Big fan of Uncut Gems but was disappointed with this. The story and the characters weren't likeable and I found everything quite disorientating and uninteresting, not really caring about the stakes unlike Gems.


So glad you liked Wildlife...I loved it and think Carey Mulligan should have gotten an Oscar nomination for it. and I agree wth everything you said about Good Time.

[Thunderbolt]

Repeat Viewings


https://marsingemini.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/curse-of-the-demon-walk.gif?w=516&zoom=2

Curse of the Demon - Even though director Jacques Tourneur and screenwriter Charles Bennett butted heads with producer Hal E. Chester it still manages to be an effectively atmospheric thriller. Can't help but wonder though what kind of movie they would have come up with if they had stuck with Bennett's original screenplay and left Tourneur to his own devices. 85/100

https://64.media.tumblr.com/11e83081e44af82316e93b4fa4d41ec2/tumblr_pwx72kYxlG1qgokjco1_540.gifv


I Walked With a Zombie - Another immersive Tourneur classic. Val Lewton's contribution as producer and J. Roy Hunt's cinematography should always be mentioned. 85/100

https://media4.giphy.com/media/xTiTnzM8F3vzxYxTq0/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47og5s3c5ie1nbu766aocvs896kidjjfwl2g8fkfnx&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g

Them! - This is probably the first giant mutated insect movie and set the stage for countless others that followed. If you discount the early King Kong films or The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (which preceded it by a year) you could say it started the genre. 89/100

A trio of absolute classics.

[Thunderbolt]

90090
Cruel Intentions (1999)
Teen version of Dangerous Liaisons. Some decent acting and a very un-pc script makes me wonder how this would be received if it was made today?
4

[Fabulous]

McLintock! (1963)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/zTLtdaz8kIEQfCZNzQzBx5xNkxt.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/East_Is_East_%281999_film%29.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Channel 4 Films., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11129542

East is East - (1999)

Just plopped this on figuring I'd found a good movie to doze to, and my dozing kept on being interrupted by how good the movie is. The opening credits were the first tip-off (they manage to impart a good amount of information - but end up being better the second time you watch the film) - and yes, I did sit up to watch the whole film again, properly, due to it's quality. It's a good comedy - as you can tell from that opening, but it's also a good drama. A clash of tradition versus modern western values, and a pig-headed Pakistani man who reaps destruction by forcing his family to follow painful traditions, and erupting in violence when they don't. It's based on a successful 1996 play by Ayub Khan-Din. The credits (below) give a good account of the lengths the family goes to hide the fact that they're not exactly devout Muslims, but just wish to be part of their community.

8/10

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

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/AlexGarlandMenPoster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2022/men_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70021359

Men - (2022)

I don't mind so much if symbolism is obvious - who's to say it has to be vague or complex? The "folk" part of the horror always manages to entrance me, and as such I really enjoyed watching Men. If a movie does come out and it uses abstract, hallucinatory visuals to put forward ideas about toxic masculinity it has to be absolutely profound or else it's dismissed as lousy. It has to teach us things or else it's not worth watching. I just like to enjoy good horror films - and it helps if they're not standard genre outings that skimp on the performance-aspect or shy away from going to places that feel uncomfortable. Men does neither of those things, and instead settles for a surreal 100 minute nightmare about misogyny from a man's perspective. Is Alex Garland trying to earn his feminist credentials? Is he trying to say something profound? I just thought he was using something that elicits discomfort in modern society to imbue his horror film with unease - and it worked for me.

8/10

[thefistbarber]

Squid game 7/10
Vagabond 9/10
The Menu 8/10

[Stirchley]

90101

Re-watch. Leo & Brad are excellent in this movie.

[Wooley]

90101

Re-watch. Leo & Brad are excellent in this movie.

Ya know, I did not care much for this film, though to be clear, I didn't dislike it, but it was instantly one of my favorite Brad Pitt performances, if not my absolute favorite, and it even made me like Leo for 2 1/2 hours.

[Stirchley]

Ya know, I did not care much for this film, though to be clear, I didn't dislike it, but it was instantly one of my favorite Brad Pitt performances, if not my absolute favorite, and it even made me like Leo for 2 1/2 hours.

Definitely not a favorite movie of Quentin or any other director, but Brad & Leo made the movie for me.

[Fabulous]

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/3XJdQQIOL5OKqIshinsGVtJZLee.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/As_It_Is_in_Heaven_poster.png
By http://www.impawards.com/2004/as_it_is_in_heaven.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48656444

As It Is in Heaven - (2004)

As It Is in Heaven has an ending that I can really get behind - I mean, it's crazy (it's an insane ending) but that was part of why I loved it. Nobody can accuse this film of doing the usual. It was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 2005 awards - the same year Downfall was nominated. Both films lost to The Sea Inside, which is really good - but I think Downfall will be the one remembered from the whole group as time goes by. It's Swedish and features Michael Nyqvist as musical prodigy Daniel Daréus - an ultra-famous man who decides to move back to the tiny village he spent his childhood in, before bullies convinced his mother to take him elsewhere. (Michael Nyqvist - I spent half an hour trying to remember the movies I'd seen his famous face in - they were the three Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies he has the lead in, along with playing the villain in John Wick - he's also in Kursk, A Hidden Life, Europa Report and Colonia - no wonder he felt so familiar.) The bully still lives in the town, only now he beats the hell out of his wife along with anyone else who crosses him. Daniel has an incurable heart problem which means he doesn't have long to live, a factor which complicates the new relationships he embarks on after taking on the job of coaching the church choir. There's a lot of good, emotional melodrama that unfolds in surprising ways - each new scene goes in a new direction, just as we expect a certain crisis to be solved, which makes for a strange kind of disorientating pace.

I think As It Is in Heaven is a great feel-good movie that covers an incredible amount of ground in it's 132 minutes - many characters have added depth, and you feel like you get to know them well. I cared deeply about most of them. The one over-riding theme is the healing, transformational power of music and the love a community can develop when harmonized. Amazing, amazing performances and music along with a tremendously well-developed screenplay.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Magnificent_Men_poster.jpg
By http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/c50b170d, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19407289

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes - (1965)

Never mind the title - this is a long movie. It felt twice as long as As It Is in Heaven, yet it only runs 6 minutes longer. It's conscious of the fact too - including an intermission after around 90 minutes. The film's plot is about an air race from London to Paris, but when you get to that intermission at 90 minutes the race still hasn't started yet. That irked me a little. As the plot develops you can see that we're into Wacky Races territory with this. I never saw The Great Race, which amazingly came out the same year, but it can't be much different to this. Most nationalities take part, and the results pretty much mirror the Second World War - the U.S.A, Britain and France do exceedingly well, Italy gets bailed out of everything late, while Germany and Japan crash and burn. The Germans are used as the comedy, and Gert Fröbe as Colonel Manfred von Holstein takes the cake as the funniest of all the actors on display - with his "flying machine instruction book" and the marching band sounds he makes with his mouth - all the while shouting "There's nothing a German officer cannot do!" There are many interesting "birth of aviation" planes which are marvelous to behold, but holy moly this film goes on for far too long - longer than it takes to fly from London to Paris these days.

James Fox, Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles and Robert Morley (one of my least favourite actors) all appear, along with a wonderfully fun Benny Hill as the head of a Keystone Kops-like fire brigade. That fire brigade is another part of the film that really works well, and got a laugh from me.

6/10

[Fabulous]

Of Mice and Men (1939)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oc4jc5BSGXCBIT3mlCs09woaXVH.jpg

[culliford]

Five Fingers of Death (Jeong, 1972)

https://i.imgur.com/q4wHQjd.jpg

Also known as King Boxer, this was an important one as it to a large part started the kung fu craze in the west. The series Kung Fu had already started running on tele, and this movie was a big success. It paved the way for Enter the Dragon by showing the audiences a different sort of movie than they were used to. Upon rewatch, I found I enjoyed this even more, especially the characters are interesting here. It's quite a large cast of important characters, and during the movie we sometimes shift perspective between them, including from the bad guys point of view. Mostly we follow the protagonist played by Lieh Lo. The directing is well done throughout and fight choreography is well done, with some shocking moments. At times the story telling is a bit rough, for example when the main character is depicted as training hard for a year, the montage takes about 10 seconds, and then suddenly he is amazing. Overall a strong early kung fu with all the classic ingredients.

rating_4

[n3wt]

Troll

3/5

[Fabulous]

The Snake Pit (1948)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/xyPp8XpOozFfpZmYSlz0h9SpOpO.jpg

[WHITBISSELL!]

By http://www.impawards.com/2004/as_it_is_in_heaven.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48656444)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Magnificent_Men_poster.jpg
By http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/c50b170d, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19407289

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes - (1965)

6/10I remember watching this at a drive-in.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Five Fingers of Death (Jeong, 1972)

https://i.imgur.com/q4wHQjd.jpg

rating_4I watched this at a theater in my hometown. I remember the theme from Ironside playing when the guy's hands started glowing. Tarantino reused it as well in Kill Bill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2WqiuJ1dug

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/DC_League_of_Super-Pets.jpg/220px-DC_League_of_Super-Pets.jpg

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

[Gideon58]

http://gonewiththetwins.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ourmanflint.jpg


3.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4d/Trading_Places.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://www.impawards.com/1983/trading_places_xlg.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8618308

Trading Places - (1983)

One of those huge 1980s comedies that I dismissed at the time for some reason, despite my friends really holding it in high esteem. Ironically, it was originally meant to be a Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder vehicle before they dropped out and Aykroyd/Murphy signed up - which would have had my younger self really paying it close attention. I've never really had cause to appreciate Dan Aykroyd as a comedian - but I can see why Eddie Murphy carried all before him at the time. I had the best time I've ever had watching Trading Places when I saw it again last night - I never really laughed out loud, but I could appreciate the comedic performances and overall Prince and the Pauper story. This film makes especial use of race relations at the time it was made, along with a grinding sense of corruption and greed on Wall Street. I just love watching Eddie Murphy do his thing, and many of these early films of his are carried squarely on his shoulders. Director John Landis would completely lose his way after the 80s, making some absolutely terrible films. I'm going pretty high with the rating - but my enjoyment coupled with the love I've heard for this film over the years gets it there.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/William_shakespeares_romeo_and_juliet_movie_poster.jpg
Copyright held by the film company or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5885947

Romeo + Juliet - (1996)

The Baz Luhrmann films I've seen have been a little problematic for me. Moulin Rouge! I liked - but it just had problems. Silly contrivances that infringe on the enjoyment I get from magnificent visuals and great music. With Romeo + Juliet it's the strict adherence to William Shakespeare's original language while setting the film in modern day times. It doesn't work for me, in that it makes everything feel odd and out of place. Constantly, over and over again, I'm thinking "Saying those lines dressed the way you are is making you look ridiculous." I wish I could expel that feeling - but it's always there. It's a shame because apart from that the film is freaking incredible. A wonderful rendition of Romeo and Juliet - with towering performances and electrifying visuals - not to mention the music, and one that makes me really feel what the characters are feeling and appreciate the majestic tragedy, and great love story. It remains a film I absolutely love, and yet hate a little.

6/10

[skizzerflake]

- :popcorn::popcorn:

Violent Night

Is that really minus two popcorns? Yes it is. At the suggestion of a person who shall go nameless, I saw this tonight, in a thankfully nearly empty theater. Just think of a tinkly, snowy Christmas movie, with gang gunfights and Santa gouging out people's eyes with a screwdriver, incinerations, testicle crushing, beheadings and bloody snow. They don't kill baby Jesus or directly defame religion, but that's about the only icon that escapes this movie, something that I assumed was a calculation by the producers about how many protests would come with the movie.

Yeah, I know, it was Tommy Wirkola, the Dead Snow guy. It consciously mocks cheesy Christmas movies, revealing the holiday to be an existential threat to a tight knit family that is the target of a gang hit. Santa is the guy who will tie you up and cut off your fingers. There's screaming, splattering, beheading and snow, reindeer, sleds, a magic Christmas list and incinerations.

I have to admit that while I'm a hard guy to offend, fairly crusty and have seen everything, this movie just seems pointless. It had a few gore-splattering jokes, but mostly, it was just a waste of two hours. I'm not offended...it takes intelligence or purpose to offend, and this had neither. It was just plain dumb, fairly boring and predictable and the point is lost on me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a53e4HHnx_s

[Deschain]

Violent Night. A gory, mid budget, R-rated, action comedy in theaters? It’s a Christmas miracle! This genuinely made me laugh, the action set pieces are wonderful, there’s actual fight choreography. It’s like watching a real movie. I think I loved it.

[pahaK]

The above two Violent Night reviews combined increased my interest in the film. Congratulations :D

[Fabulous]

3:10 to Yuma (1957)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/7B26BW9ec2atiGwCkJJZ5POR4wC.jpg

[Thunderbolt]

90122
Easy to spot the red herrings but not the actual killer.
3.5

[LChimp]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTBkNDcyNTAtNGE2Yy00MTE1LTgxN2YtZjQ1ZTRjYzQ1MjA1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyMTMwOTk0._V1_.jpg

Rewatch. It's even better than I remembered.

[Thunderbolt]

90123
Deck the Halls (2006)
An OK Christmas comedy which raises quite a few laughs.
3.5

[SpelingError]

90123
Deck the Halls (2006)
An OK Christmas comedy which raises quite a few laughs.
3.5

I watched that one a lot as a kid since my parents are fans of it. Like The Polar Express though, which my teachers showed pretty much every year in grade school, I'm tired of both films at this point.

[Kid Dynamite]

https://i.imgur.com/lHvJK2X.jpg


9/10

This one of the best films I've ever seen. Many fine actors at the beginning of their careers.

[Wooley]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTBkNDcyNTAtNGE2Yy00MTE1LTgxN2YtZjQ1ZTRjYzQ1MjA1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQyMTMwOTk0._V1_.jpg

Rewatch. It's even better than I remembered.

Yeah, I'm always pleasantly surprised when I re-watch it that it remains at least as good as I remember. I don't know why but it's one of those films I always think I was just in the right mood for or I was good and high for or whatever and that it won't hold up. Yet I never end up disappointed.

[matt72582]

Farha - 7.5/10
A critic described this as the post-WWII Anne Frank story. It's on Netflix. An 8.5/10 IMDB rating, despite the apartheid state wanting Netflix to shut down a true story (the teenage girl's name is the only difference)

I can't believe her father, the mayor, was the traitor. And that first war scene at the 20 minute mark felt real, unlike most movies that glorify violence.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0a/Farha_%28film%29_poster.jpg

[skizzerflake]

The above two Violent Night reviews combined increased my interest in the film. Congratulations :D

If you don't mind blowing some money, what the heck. You could spend Saturday night in a worse way, like a flat tire in a creepy dark alley and a lost lug wrench. My partner and I stopped at the neighborhood food hall and I had a good pastrami sandwich before the movie, so all was not lost. Maybe I should have supplemented pastrami with some booze.

I'm not anybody's idea of a puritan, but I didn't get the "why?" part. I get anti-Christmas movies but this one just seemed bankrupt of ideas, with no real suspense. It wasn't enough of a Christmas satire to work well either and, truthfully, that genre has been done enough times to not seem like fertile ground.

[Thunderbolt]

90127
Christmas Evil (1980)
Delves more into the mind of a madman than an actual slasher flick. Not in the same class as Black Christmas but a watchable festive horror.
3

[cricket]

Pain and Glory (2019)

4

https://www.filmcomment.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/Pain-and-Glory_3_WEB.jpg

I've heard that this is Almodovar's most personal film, and I'm guessing it's at least somewhat based on his life. Antonio Banderas and him really make a great team. He's great in the lead role. It's an engaging and touching film.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BZDY3Y2FlZjUtOTE0Yi00NmM4LTg2ZDMtMGE5YWI4NjY1ZWNlXkEyXkFqcGdeQW1yb3NzZX I%40._V1_CR107%2C0%2C1701%2C957_AL_UY268_CR29%2C0%2C477%2C268_AL_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=bd9db7ff453c681a6e7090357cdf2dd1d056d86a0d0d721ea1586d4ddd0eb0a0&ipo=images

Green Book, 2018

Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is an accomplished pianist who is set to tour the southern United States with his musical trio in the 1960s. Aware that this may present certain frictions, Shirley hires the imposing Tony "Lip" (Viggo Mortensen) as a chauffeur and implicit bodyguard for his trip. As the hours on the road wind on, the two men begin to come to a mutual understanding, despite the very different circumstances of their lives.

Despite good chemistry between Ali and Mortensen, and good performances from both of them, the broad strokes of the overall story keep this one at merely decent levels.

The strength of the film lies in the burgeoning bromance between Don and Tony. They are divided by race, life experience, sexuality, and cultural capital. While the plot arc focuses much more on Tony and his increased awareness of the impact of racism, Don is the more interesting character. Classically trained at a prestigious international school, he has foregone his dreams of being a classical pianist at his record label's insistence that he play pop music for the masses. Determined to be acknowledged with the same respect that would be given his white equivalent, Don adheres religiously to maintaining his dignity. His mannerisms and habits set him apart from the other Black people he encounters, while he is repeatedly slighted, humiliated, or even assaulted by the white people. Ali does a great job of showing the way that at every turn Don must calculate the degree to which he can resist the racism he endures, and that even convenience will not cause him to compromise his principles.

Tony, by contrast, feels like more of a caricature. In scene after scene he is shocked, shocked to discover that racism is, like, a real thing. Don isn't allowed to try on a suit in a store: shocked! Don isn't allowed to eat dinner in a fancy restaurant: shocked!

The best scenes of the film are when the movie simply lets the characters interact. While it feels a bit saccharine, I grudgingly enjoyed the sequences where Don helps Tony fancy up the letters he is writing home to his wife.

But when the movie gets into more broad scenes, it really clangs. The pair are pulled over by a pair of racist police officers, contrasted with a scene back North where the policeman just wants to tell them that they have a flat tire. Tony and Don get into it with a restaurant manager who won't let Don into the dining room. In these scenes, the dialogue morphs into something horribly bland: "We have our traditions!" It's just . . . like a bad high school play.

In many ways, by stretching the story out over their whole trip, it robs the different sequences of a chance to breathe. In on particularly frustrating sequence, Don is caught by the police in a compromising situation with a man at the YMCA. Tony is called into resolve the situation, which he does by bribing the police. Don goes free with Tony, and the young man who we last saw naked and handcuffed at the mercy of a trio of homophobes . . . . who knows?! Was he also set free? Was he arrested? In the desire to move things along, moments and characters that feel like they deserve more time are instead just dropped by the wayside. If I had my way, the entire film would have focused on just a single day of the trip, actually giving the characters to develop beyond platitudes.

It's annoying, because both Ali and Mortensen bring a fun balance of warmth and quirk to their characters, and they have really solid chemistry. But the film around them really doesn't give them as much to work with. I love Ali in particular (his performance in Moonlight is stellar) and I always like seeing Mortensen. The lack of depth is disappointing.

3.5

[Fabulous]

Curse of the Demon (1957)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/3k7GViJ1WN16Py3a7hccE2o4muz.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/HappyEndingsPoster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18448631

Happy Endings - (2005)

"Happy Endings" refers to the term that's used for giving a massage client sexual gratification after a massage - but of course the broader meaning extends to encompass everything that happens in this. It's a star-studded ensemble piece - a poor man's Magnolia with a plethora of gay characters and extraordinarily unlikely coincidences occurring that lead to many characters making multiple connections to others - like these are the only 8 people on the entire planet. Abortion, exploitation, trust - adoption, honesty - you get the picture. If you've seen a few of these things you'll get the general tone. It's pretty good really - Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Steve Coogan give fantastic performances, and the film also includes Tom Arnold, Laura Dern and Jason Ritter. But there was one thing that left a bad taste :

Early on in Happy Endings a slew of text (Don Roos really doesn't mind using it to advance his story) gave me pause. It went along the lines of "Charley Peppitone, like so many people do these days, decided he was gay." I'm not gay, but I still felt rubbed up the wrong way by the implication of "sexual orientation is a choice" - and you better believe this is followed up during the film, with various characters flip-flopping on their sexuality. At one point Maggie Gyllenhaal's character, Jude, pointedly says that she believes being gay is a choice one makes - which made for one more uncomfortable moment. Abortion is given a more even-handed treatment, although the implication from everything we see is that many women suffer regrets. I don't know how conservative Roos is, but I know he was born into a conservative Roman Catholic family. I'm pretty sure he's not an extremist nut, but he's also willing to go out and do these controversial things with his film.

All up an interesting "I never knew this film existed" star-studded ensemble piece that really has it's moments - both good and bad.

6/10

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0a/Farha_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By TaleBox - IMDb (direct link to file), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72408815

Farha - (2021)

Locked in a storage room, young Farha witnesses brutal killings by Israeli troops during the 1948 Palestine war - she's the daughter of the local mayor, and hopes to go to school for higher education - despite the education of females being looked down upon. In fact, before the bullets start to fly her strict but kindly father fills out the enrollment form for her. He disappears, and Farha can't get out - having to find ways to survive and escape. I'm uneducated as far as the whole story of this conflict is concerned - but wherever there are armies and hatred, there are atrocities. It's kind of nonsensical for right-wing Israeli politicians to criticize what is shown in this film - of all the people in the world, you'd think they understand the importance of accepting guilt and not denying crimes of the past. We can't just accept one side of the story while denying the other a voice - and I'll always be open to listening to both sides. Great to see a female director making a mark in the Arab world.

8/10

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BZDY3Y2FlZjUtOTE0Yi00NmM4LTg2ZDMtMGE5YWI4NjY1ZWNlXkEyXkFqcGdeQW1yb3NzZX I%40._V1_CR107%2C0%2C1701%2C957_AL_UY268_CR29%2C0%2C477%2C268_AL_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=bd9db7ff453c681a6e7090357cdf2dd1d056d86a0d0d721ea1586d4ddd0eb0a0&ipo=images

Green Book, 2018

Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is an accomplished pianist who is set to tour the southern United States with his musical trio in the 1960s. Aware that this may present certain frictions, Shirley hires the imposing Tony "Lip" (Viggo Mortensen) as a chauffeur and implicit bodyguard for his trip. As the hours on the road wind on, the two men begin to come to a mutual understanding, despite the very different circumstances of their lives.

Despite good chemistry between Ali and Mortensen, and good performances from both of them, the broad strokes of the overall story keep this one at merely decent levels.

The strength of the film lies in the burgeoning bromance between Don and Tony. They are divided by race, life experience, sexuality, and cultural capital. While the plot arc focuses much more on Tony and his increased awareness of the impact of racism, Don is the more interesting character. Classically trained at a prestigious international school, he has foregone his dreams of being a classical pianist at his record label's insistence that he play pop music for the masses. Determined to be acknowledged with the same respect that would be given his white equivalent, Don adheres religiously to maintaining his dignity. His mannerisms and habits set him apart from the other Black people he encounters, while he is repeatedly slighted, humiliated, or even assaulted by the white people. Ali does a great job of showing the way that at every turn Don must calculate the degree to which he can resist the racism he endures, and that even convenience will not cause him to compromise his principles.

Tony, by contrast, feels like more of a caricature. In scene after scene he is shocked, shocked to discover that racism is, like, a real thing. Don isn't allowed to try on a suit in a store: shocked! Don isn't allowed to eat dinner in a fancy restaurant: shocked!

The best scenes of the film are when the movie simply lets the characters interact. While it feels a bit saccharine, I grudgingly enjoyed the sequences where Don helps Tony fancy up the letters he is writing home to his wife.

But when the movie gets into more broad scenes, it really clangs. The pair are pulled over by a pair of racist police officers, contrasted with a scene back North where the policeman just wants to tell them that they have a flat tire. Tony and Don get into it with a restaurant manager who won't let Don into the dining room. In these scenes, the dialogue morphs into something horribly bland: "We have our traditions!" It's just . . . like a bad high school play.

In many ways, by stretching the story out over their whole trip, it robs the different sequences of a chance to breathe. In on particularly frustrating sequence, Don is caught by the police in a compromising situation with a man at the YMCA. Tony is called into resolve the situation, which he does by bribing the police. Don goes free with Tony, and the young man who we last saw naked and handcuffed at the mercy of a trio of homophobes . . . . who knows?! Was he also set free? Was he arrested? In the desire to move things along, moments and characters that feel like they deserve more time are instead just dropped by the wayside. If I had my way, the entire film would have focused on just a single day of the trip, actually giving the characters to develop beyond platitudes.

It's annoying, because both Ali and Mortensen bring a fun balance of warmth and quirk to their characters, and they have really solid chemistry. But the film around them really doesn't give them as much to work with. I love Ali in particular (his performance in Moonlight is stellar) and I always like seeing Mortensen. The lack of depth is disappointing.

3.5

I could not bring myself to watch this film, I still can't honestly, and I don't think I ever will.
I saw the trailers and read an article or two, mostly because I have had an interest in "The Negro Travelers' Green Book" for many years, being an (always) emerging anti-racist in The South, and because Mahershala Ali stunned me in, of all things, Marvel's Luke Cage, and because I usually like Mortensen.
Despite all that, this movie reeked of being an over-sentimentalized, white-apologist, Oscar-bait movie, hopefully the last of its kind. And pretty much everything I've read about it confirms that impression and I can't come across anyone who will actually say, yes, this is a really good movie. And I'm left wondering if the best films will ever actually win that award (though that's another discussion), or if it will just perpetually be a series of biopics and movies that make rich white people feel like they have the right sort of feelings.

[Gideon58]

https://techplanet.today/storage/posts/2022/10/05/35/gfKPhRNQOp2zSUR392Ocu6C2BF5JSpXzK1wf9tqI.jpg


3

[Gideon58]

90123
Deck the Halls (2006)
An OK Christmas comedy which raises quite a few laughs.
3.5

I thought this movie was stupid and just a touch vulgar.

[Corax]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=90122
Easy to spot the red herrings but not the actual killer.
rating_3_5


Whenever I see this title I cannot help but imagine it as a different kind of movie.

[Corax]

https://techplanet.today/storage/posts/2022/10/05/35/gfKPhRNQOp2zSUR392Ocu6C2BF5JSpXzK1wf9tqI.jpg


rating_3


Is it just me or are wacky period mysteries coming out of the woodwork now? Who ordered the Gatsby with cheese?

[Stirchley]

I could not bring myself to watch this film, I still can't honestly, and I don't think I ever will.
I saw the trailers and read an article or two, mostly because I have had an interest in "The Negro Travelers' Green Book" for many years, being an (always) emerging anti-racist in The South, and because Mahershala Ali stunned me in, of all things, Marvel's Luke Cage, and because I usually like Mortensen.
Despite all that, this movie reeked of being an over-sentimentalized, white-apologist, Oscar-bait movie, hopefully the last of its kind. And pretty much everything I've read about it confirms that impression and I can't come across anyone who will actually say, yes, this is a really good movie. And I'm left wondering if the best films will ever actually win that award (though that's another discussion), or if it will just perpetually be a series of biopics and movies that make rich white people feel like they have the right sort of feelings.

I hated it & bailed out.

[Thief]

ALL THE KING'S MEN
(1949, Rossen)

https://i.imgur.com/rDz50fE.png


"♪ Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall ♫
♫ All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again ♪"



That's the nursery rhyme that gives name to this dark political drama. All the King's Men follows the rise and fall of Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford), a homegrown and ambitious politician from a rural county that learns how to ride the system and ends up becoming as corrupt and ruthless as those that he condemned. All this at the expense of everyone close to him, from his family to his close associates.

The film is notable for winning the Best Picture Oscar back in the day. However, after watching it, I'm surprised this film doesn't get mentioned more often because it was quite good. The film is mostly told through the point of view of journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland), who becomes Stark's right-hand man, despite not agreeing with his methods. The way the film takes Burden, and pretty much every character in Stark's inner circle in and out of the figurative dark alleys and corners of his deeds is great, and is all on Crawford's shoulders who sells Stark's transformation completely.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2350849#post2350849)

[SuperMetro]

11/22 Paper Moon & The Searchers - Early at 9AM, I decided to watch Paper Moon because it was on my queue for months on end. I finally got to seeing it and found it a comfortable movie. Then I found The Searchers on VHS at a thrift shop, so when I had the chance, I watched it. Someday I might re-watch it on a better screen but I was still happy with what I saw. Very entertaining. Paper Moon gets a 3.5 and The Searchers gets a 4
11/24 8 1/2 - This was also early in the morning. Some aspects were relatively charming like scenes where Guido imagined events with other ladies. Then there were scenes that for me were exciting such as the scene where he imagines himself attacking all the women with a whip. This guy is quite an unlikable character but has been shown to be under stress over his movie that he has to abort the project. I do not understand everything that happened, but certainly something to watch again as I know I enjoyed what was
witnessed. 4.5
11/25-11/26 La Dolce Vita - This one consists of a series of vignettes that makes it very memorable. Like Breathless, it has a mostly jazzy score, but unlike it, more things to make note of happen. Such instances range from Marcello's date with Sylvia(Anita Ekberg), his night with his father, the echo chamber in the castle, and when he loses it by throwing feathers and piggyback rides a woman. I liked this one more than 8 1/2. I am wanting to see it again. 5
11/28 Singin in the Rain - I was fine with this one, but I actually liked the sequences more than the actual songs. Obviously the movie has some lovely choreography and the Broadway Melody section and was funny most of the time. I kind of have a hard time connecting with it though. 3
12/5 Rosetta - I do not really know what to think of this one but a good one to take notes on. The titular character lives in a impoverish state with her drunk mother. Rosetta is very feisty as she picks fights with employers and other people giving her a hard time. We see her switch foot wear several time. The way the camera moves was interesting as it was swerving around along with some long shots. Like Claire's Knee and La Belle Noiseuse, there was no music to hear from(with the exception of the one track Riquet played of him playing the drums). [No Rating For Now]

[Fabulous]

Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/mTJk78u0TLmfWFPHRB24WGHoxUN.jpg

[Takoma11]

I could not bring myself to watch this film, I still can't honestly, and I don't think I ever will.

Well, Ali and Mortensen are great, but I don't think it's enough to recommend it. I snagged it from the library to check it off the Oscar winners list here.

I think that there's a lot to be mined in the idea of a man who is sort of casually racist coming to understand the huge leg up he's been given just by being white. But the film is way too shallow and paints with very broad strokes, so very few of the potentially interesting ideas get any kind of development.

The actors (and the real story) deserve better. The fact that Tony's son had a ton of input into the story and no one even bothered trying to track down any of Don's family speaks volumes to me.

I think you can more than safely leave this one unwatched.

[GulfportDoc]

Green Book, 2018

Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is an accomplished pianist who is set to tour the southern United States with his musical trio in the 1960s. Aware that this may present certain frictions, Shirley hires the imposing Tony "Lip" (Viggo Mortensen) as a chauffeur and implicit bodyguard for his trip. As the hours on the road wind on, the two men begin to come to a mutual understanding, despite the very different circumstances of their lives.
...
It's annoying, because both Ali and Mortensen bring a fun balance of warmth and quirk to their characters, and they have really solid chemistry. But the film around them really doesn't give them as much to work with. I love Ali in particular (his performance in Moonlight is stellar) and I always like seeing Mortensen. The lack of depth is disappointing.
rating_3_5
Nice review. You made some good points. Here is my commentary from 2018 after it was nominated for Academy Awards:


Green Book(2018)
It’s a sure fire indication of a weak field when a shaky film such as Green Bookfinds itself in serious consideration within a number of Academy Award top categories. Hollywood has put excellence in story telling on the back burner for the past few years in favor of promoting its own fashionable social causes. Now, just in case there are folks who haven’t been to a movie since 1960, the writers of Green Bookendeavor to show us that there was deep racial prejudice against blacks in the U.S., most especially in the South.

The story creates an account of one of America’s premier pianists named Don Shirley, a black man, who embarked on a year-plus concert tour in 1962, of which many dates were in the South. Because of racist violence against Nat King Cole at a concert in Alabama in 1960, Shirley hired Tony “Lip” Vallelonga --a mob friendly Italian who worked at Manhattan’s Copacabana night club-- to be his driver and bodyguard.

Beyond these basic facts the story is completely fictionalized. To their credit, the producers announced in the opening credits that the film was “inspired by a true story”. “Inspired by” means that the Shirley/Vallelonga tour gave them an idea for a story. Unfortunately in the film version, the tour was shrunk to two months, and was made to end just before Christmas so that Tony could return home to be with his family, and to set up a dramatic ending. In Hollywood fashion Tony and Don soon became buds, yet in true life Shirley’s brother stated that Don never considered Tony a friend, but only an employee who he required to wear a chauffer’s uniform and a cap. And there are no reports of racial incidents on the tour. Presumably the pair did make use of the “The Negro Motorist Green-Book” (actual title) in selecting their safe accommodations.

This is certainly not the first time Hollywood has made up an entire story based on an actual event, and in fact there probably have been more fictionalized movie accounts than not. But while watching the film the question kept coming up: what was this film’s point of view? And whose story were they trying to portray? Certainly they were going for both entertainment and social justice value; but after the many dozens of movies dealing with black/white racial issues over the past 60 years, the back story of the Jim Crow South was not a shocker.

At least since 1958, with The Defiant Ones, then Patch of Blue, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, on through Driving Miss Daisy,even Forrest Gump, along with scores of others since, have thoroughly explored and displayed the subject of prejudice against mixed race pairings, and in prejudice in general. Yet in Green Bookwe are treated to the corniest scenes of southern boobs dishing out the rankest forms of racial derision in such hackneyed form that it bordered on satire. One half expected to see Sheriff Buford T. Justice appear.

If the film’s title and subject matter were any indication that the focus was on Don Shirley, his beliefs, and his quest to endure a music tour of the South, then it came as a surprise that the thrust of the story put most of the emphasis on Tony Lip: his background, his actions, his philosophy, his awakening. Reportedly this was not lost on Shirley’s relatives, who resented the depiction of their family relationships, along with the emphasis put on Tony

The chief disappointment in the film was the writing. Director Peter Farrelly is known for wacky comedies, and this was his first foray into drama. He participated in the scripting with a sophmore writer, Biran Currie, along with Tony Vallelongas’s son Nick. Tony Lip’s part was the better of the two in construction, and Viggo Mortensen brought in an award winning quality performance. There must have been indecision about scripting Don Shirley’s part. In an attempt to give the character too many facets, the result was a personality who was all over the map, which must have made it a difficult continuity project for the actor. In his defense Mahershala Ali stated that he’d liked to have met with Shirley’s family in order to provide a more nuanced character. Still, what he did well, he did really well. Of particular note was his portrayal of piano playing. He’d worked with composer Kris Bowers until he really appeared to be playing the difficult piano pieces.

Despite its anachronistic nature, heftier writers with a different approach could have made this story into a more interesting film.

Doc’s rating: 5/10

[Thief]

Well, Ali and Mortensen are great, but I don't think it's enough to recommend it. I snagged it from the library to check it off the Oscar winners list here.

I think that there's a lot to be mined in the idea of a man who is sort of casually racist coming to understand the huge leg up he's been given just by being white. But the film is way to shallow and paints with very broad strokes, so very few of the potentially interesting ideas get any kind of development.

The actors (and the real story) deserve better. The fact that Tony's son had a ton of input into the story and no one even bothered trying to track down any of Don's family speaks volumes to me.

I think you can more than safely leave this one unwatched.

I think this is more or less where I stand.

[Fabulous]

The Gauntlet (1977)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/l8A1Pr42ee3sTuLh12RHjrVDQc9.jpg

[chawhee]

Strange World (2022)
https://cdn.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/28024523/Strange-World-Disney-2-728x409.jpg
3
This almost had too many metaphors and was too predictable to be great. With that being said, the "twist" at the end was pretty cool, but I feel like there was too much dialogue (which was a little flat as well) and not enough exploring during the course of the movie. It was missing something...and Gyllenhaal doesn't seem to have the best voice for animation in my opinion.

[Fabulous]

The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/nSQrwzDH3FX0nbpFSaphjKx3ipL.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/Top_Gun_Maverick_Poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2022/top_gun_maverick_ver5.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70039658

Top Gun : Maverick - (2022)

There I was thinking I'd lost my chance to see Top Gun : Maverick at the movies, but here comes the resurgence! I thought the days of these long theatrical runs were over, but apparently not. Anyway, amongst Christmas shopping I squeezed it in - and I have to say I'm surprised it works as well as it does while retaining the elemental cheesiness of the 80s original. I was expecting a major reworking of the formula - but while the focus is now on the teacher instead of the student, it still plays on those same emotional levels. What I was very pleased to see was the better editing and photography pertaining to the jets and what they do during certain action sequences - which are now easier to follow. In that aspect, this second Top Gun outguns it's predecessor. It still blows my mind that a goon for a major evil cult can be a movie star at the same time and not break a sweat.

8/10

https://i.postimg.cc/SKSPRxn1/storm-boy.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70039658

Storm Boy - (1976)

This kid's film was a big part of the Australian New Wave, but never particularly appealed to me, so I never watched it. Having known about it for so long - I thought it couldn't hurt to check it out. For what it is (or was - the film was remade in 2019) it's quite good - it has a kind of cinematic purity, depending on a down-to-earth and naturalistic narrative which depends on the way the story is told visually to provide a counterpoint to what we hear. What's magical to a little boy looks like absolute squalor to us - and if you raise baby pelicans who then become your best friend - well, it's a harsh world out there. Be prepared to have your heart broken.

8/10

https://i.postimg.cc/4y3GC1gP/leap.jpg

Leap - (2010)

You could call Leap a film - but you could also call it an amateur video project from a bunch of absolute nitwits. Turns out being a devoted Christian won't be all you'll need to progress into heaven during the end times - you'll also need to be proficient at parkour.

1/10

[Fabulous]

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/kb4pMEB8b54tXSnROhNrMFf63c5.jpg

[LChimp]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYNqxZNXgAMqRZW.jpg:large

Don't really get the hype around this movie. I mean, it's good, but.... yeah

[AboveTheClouds]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/twEK4h2Ovoha6iACCNezTxh7nji.jpg
This isn't great.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/twEK4h2Ovoha6iACCNezTxh7nji.jpg
This isn't great.Wut? But ... the poster. The flow. The composition. The visual rhythm of all those elements. The brunette who was obviously late to the party and can't get a handle on the logistics of joining in.

They made four of those bad boys. Skin-emax needed content after all.

[beelzebubble]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/twEK4h2Ovoha6iACCNezTxh7nji.jpg
This isn't great.
I cannot believe these old soft core porn movies still exist.
Oh the days of skin-e-max! Watch this stuff when your parents weren't around. Such bad movies.

[FromBeyond]

Outlaw King


Was in the mood for some more medieval action after ""The King" of which this draws stark parallels and some almost identical scenes oddly, both have a newly crowned young English king looking to establish their name.. only one idealistic and wanting to be good (The King) and the other seemingly only bad (Outlaw King)


William Wallace is dead, the four quarters of his body displayed in 4 places across Britain, Scotland is on the brink of civil war and submitted to the English crown, Robert The Bruce (Chris Pine) becomes the king of the Scots to start again the fight again.


It was good, I enjoyed it, nice battle scenes etc


Stray 2020


Sweet little Documentary that follow three stray dogs in Istanbul, Turkey.. their interactions with humans, most notably a group of glue sniffing Syrian street kids. No narrative, voice over and one might say no meaning whatsoever, I feel like I was a dog for a bit and seen Istanbul in a way no other film could show me and I am grateful for that, it was a novel experience

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Candy_%282006%29.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16922150

Candy - (2006)

Candy was Heath Ledger's last Australian film before his death in 2008 - and if you're familiar with films based on people inflicted with heroin addiction you're most of the way towards being able to imagine what this film is like. It mostly dwells on the various humiliations and degradations Candy (Abbie Cornish) and Dan (Ledger) go through as all societal norms are shattered. During their wedding reception they both steal to the bathroom to shoot up, and come out barely coherent zombies - blaming their condition on "too much champagne", despite the fact it's obviously not drunkenness. That's the thing about these two - they're never really aware of their own shame and disgrace, because they're never too aware of what's going on in the world anymore. Candy has to resort to prostitution for cash, and the rest comes from petty crime - this is after they've pushed the "borrowing" of money from friends and relatives to the limit. A lot of what we see is like a "heroin addiction greatest hits" moments from previous films. The film's most effective moment of horror is when Candy gets pregnant, goes cold turkey, but endures a premature stillborn birth anyway - and we're not spared the sight of the tiny baby they hold in their arms - crying as they still go through withdrawals - they're absolutely traumatized. It works and is a sobering yet compelling watch - but it doesn't do enough of it's own thing to be one to go back to again one day. You'll forget Candy, despite enjoying it.

6/10

[SuperMetro]

11/28 Singin in the Rain - I was fine with this one, but I actually liked the sequences more than the actual songs. Obviously the movie has some lovely choreography and the Broadway Melody section and was funny most of the time. I kind of have a hard time connecting with it though. 3


Yeah, despite this always being deemed the greatest musical movie, I have other musicals I liked more than this like Cabaret, Mary Poppins, and you especially know of my obsession with The Young Girls of Rochefort. In Caberet, you get Judy Garland's daughter, in Mary Poppins, you get a currently 97 year old man, in Singing in the Rain, you get Carrie Fisher's mother who died a day after her, and in The Young Girls of Rochefort, you get two sisters(Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac) who obviously are not born with Gemini signs.

And in Meet Me in St Louis, you get Liza Minnelli's mother. Right!

[Fabulous]

What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/bRkGKMazA0hWBOsBehkmHyaFONn.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjgyNmM2Y2QtNmVjNy00MDk0LTk5ZmUtMGU3YWE2Mzg5YTdhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc5MDI5NjE@._V1_.jpg


3

[James D. Gardiner]

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

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

Epic film about the events surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. What you could write about this film's production would fill a book. It took close to four years to complete, with American and Japanese production units and directors respectively filming their own parts. Huge sets, like 1:1 scale battleships recreated, and colossal formations of real aircraft involved. Featuring perhaps unprecedented and rarely to be surpassed scenes of staged action and pyrotechnics, many of which came close to nearly killing the stuntmen involved. Overall it could never be filmed again.

Does that alone make a great film? Not in this case. This movie backs it up with very solid drama and a mature script that provides depth to the subject. The suspense of the unfolding diplomacy and seemingly inevitable fate of war matches the ferocity and carnage of the second half. Very well executed. All the Japanese stuff is particularly well done and worth seeing in itself.

It's one of my favourite films. For me it's traditional/conventional film making at its very finest - for this type of genre at least let's say. Highly recommended.

10/10

[skizzerflake]

Curse of the Demon (1957)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/3k7GViJ1WN16Py3a7hccE2o4muz.jpg

Yeah, an old favorite. I love how the tension builds without seeing anything until the climax. There are 3 versions of the movie, which differ in how graphic the end is, one of which is named Night of the Demon.

[Stirchley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Candy_%282006%29.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16922150

Candy - (2006)

Candy was Heath Ledger's last Australian film before his death in 2008 - and if you're familiar with films based on people inflicted with heroin addiction you're most of the way towards being able to imagine what this film is like. It mostly dwells on the various humiliations and degradations Candy (Abbie Cornish) and Dan (Ledger) go through as all societal norms are shattered. During their wedding reception they both steal to the bathroom to shoot up, and come out barely coherent zombies - blaming their condition on "too much champagne", despite the fact it's obviously not drunkenness. That's the thing about these two - they're never really aware of their own shame and disgrace, because they're never too aware of what's going on in the world anymore. Candy has to resort to prostitution for cash, and the rest comes from petty crime - this is after they've pushed the "borrowing" of money from friends and relatives to the limit. A lot of what we see is like a "heroin addiction greatest hits" moments from previous films. The film's most effective moment of horror is when Candy gets pregnant, goes cold turkey, but endures a premature stillborn birth anyway - and we're not spared the sight of the tiny baby they hold in their arms - crying as they still go through withdrawals - they're absolutely traumatized. It works and is a sobering yet compelling watch - but it doesn't do enough of it's own thing to be one to go back to again one day. You'll forget Candy, despite enjoying it.

6/10

I’ve never seen this. I’ll put it in my Netflix Q.

IIRC, wasn’t Abbie Cornish the reason Ledger broke up with the mother of his child Michelle Williams? Old news, but I think that’s what happened.

[Gideon58]

I’ve never seen this. I’ll put it in my Netflix Q.

IIRC, wasn’t Abbie Cornish the reason Ledger broke up with the mother of his child Michelle Williams? Old news, but I think that’s what happened.

LOVED this movie...Ledger was brilliant.

[matt72582]

L'Avventura (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Avventura) - 7.5/10
(https://www.movieforums.com/community/%%checkout_url%%)
I told myself I would stick to watching movies I had never seen before, but I didn't like this at all on my first viewing about ten years ago, and wanted to give it another chance. Maybe a "Redemption Movie-Viewing Tour"? I gave the subsequent three movies an 8/10... It's been a while, but it seems like "Red Desert" was shot in the same spot at times, only colorized. TCM had "L'Eclisse" on, and I might just see the trilogy again, especially because I am a fan of Mastroianni (just never cared for Moreau). Ironically, Monica Vitti has a pretty face (which I can't say for a majority of the movies) but I didn't like her character/acting.. It's the same old bullshit between men/women. Nature’s joke on men is sex, and nature’s joke on women is love. And because of this stupid game, he knows if he expresses too much, the supply/demand of sex will not be in his favor, much like a man loses interest in a woman after bedding her. A very good story line - not a common one.

https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff472a4a1-8c7c-490d-bdfb-74f5e06f360f_250x367.jpeg
(https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff472a4a1-8c7c-490d-bdfb-74f5e06f360f_250x367.jpeg)

(https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff472a4a1-8c7c-490d-bdfb-74f5e06f360f_250x367.jpeg)

[Fabulous]

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/zydSOaJk2qf9maONGsktK5Pyjw1.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/All_quiet_on_the_western_front_%282022_film%29.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Netflix., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71696309

All Quiet on the Western Front - (2022)

Yes - I had to pick myself up off the floor after watching the latest iteration of All Quiet on the Western Front, and when I looked I noticed I wasn't wearing my socks anymore. It's easy to add pyrotechnics to a war movie, as well as blood and guts - but it's not easy to weave terror and horror into it. All Quiet on the Western Front has all of it - it disturbs you to the proper degree, and that's satisfying for a film with this venerated title. You shouldn't leave entertained or jazzed - and you leave just as you should, thinking "going through that would probably drive me insane." This film also reminds you, on occasion, of just what was going on behind the front lines. The generals needlessly wasting lives by the thousand for their own purposes, and the statesmen champing at the bit to end the slaughter. This film goes where the 1930 and 1979 versions couldn't - and almost directly confronts the absurdity of calling soldiers "heroes" for participating in bloodbaths. Be warned - there are some scenes that are quite confronting. Some films paint scenes so vividly that you can almost smell them - and that's what All Quiet on the Western Front does.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Better_Watch_Out_%282017_film%29.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55545411

Better Watch Out - (2017)

Most of this film's plot is wrapped in a big spoiler - so I'll just say that young Levi Miller is one to look out for as he grows. Obviously inspired by Home Alone, it treads an uncomfortable and dark path - making for another violent and bloody Xmas offering. You're never really comfortable watching it, because it's never very clear where the filmmakers are going to take this. Will they go full-on Michael Haneke on us, or give us a reprieve? If you live in movie world, don't become a babysitter. It doesn't aspire to be anything but psychological horror - but it does what it does well.

6/10

[Fabulous]

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/rqD89pufq72guT0PO2j3jLpZQwj.jpg

[jamesmurfyiii]

The Mist 8/10

[EndlessDream]

https://i.imgur.com/qk8MCUH.jpg

Dersu Uzala is an Akira Kurosawa film that chronicles a group of Russian soldiers exploring their country's uncharted territories with the help of the eponymous Goldi mountain man as a guide. It's a sweet story about an unlikely friendship between very different people. Dersu teaches the Russians how to survive in the Siberian wilderness and reminds them of the importance of compassion for nature and your fellow man.

This movie is beautifully shot and showcases a wide variety of different landscapes. I got the impression that some of the locations seemed legitimately dangerous to the cast and crew. Despite knowing how great a director Kurosawa was, I'm impressed how he was able to overcome some major difficulties and turn this into a good film. It's not one of his best and it gets a bit repetitive in the middle, but it's still an enjoyable adventure with a nice message.

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/50/She_said_film_poster.jpg


4.5

[Allaby]

The Fabelmans (2022) This was wonderful. Gabriel LaBelle is very good and I'm rooting for him to get an Oscar nomination. Michelle Williams was excellent and I loved Paul Dano's performance too. The parts of the story with Sammy making films worked the best for me. The family and school drama wasn't as strong, but overall the film is well written and this is Spielberg's best film in over a decade. Currently, my 3rd favourite film of 2022 and my prediction to win best picture. 4.5

[Fabulous]

A Walk in the Sun (1945)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oqt7YeyBCF1uevRdtKlQCVIY7dE.jpg

[Miss Vicky]

90195

Robin Robin (Daniel Ojari and Michael Please, 2021)

Cute, but I really could've done without all the singing.

3

[skizzerflake]

The Fabelmans (2022) This was wonderful. Gabriel LaBelle is very good and I'm rooting for him to get an Oscar nomination. Michelle Williams was excellent and I loved Paul Dano's performance too. The parts of the story with Sammy making films worked the best for me. The family and school drama wasn't as strong, but overall the film is well written and this is Spielberg's best film in over a decade. Currently, my 3rd favourite film of 2022 and my prediction to win best picture. 4.5

Oddly, I was hoping for more out of this, like some of the old Spielberg magic, applied to the Spielberg story. I felt strange that they didn't just name names, like what family this was that gave birth to an epic movie director. It felt a bit like making a movie about that president who served during the civil war and naming him Anderson. We all know who's being portrayed there, so I assume that the "Fabelman" fiction had something to do with the lawyers and royalties.

[GulfportDoc]

The Fabelmans (2022) This was wonderful. Gabriel LaBelle is very good and I'm rooting for him to get an Oscar nomination. Michelle Williams was excellent and I loved Paul Dano's performance too. The parts of the story with Sammy making films worked the best for me. The family and school drama wasn't as strong, but overall the film is well written and this is Spielberg's best film in over a decade. Currently, my 3rd favourite film of 2022 and my prediction to win best picture. rating_4_5
Thanks for the tip. I'd forgotten that this film has been released already. Looking forward to it.

[beelzebubble]

Is It Me (2022) 2.5/5 I was very disappointed in this comedy concert film of Sebastian Maniscalco. All his other specials were top notch. Hilarious stuff. Sad to see it. Everything was somewhat amusing but nothing had me howling. Bill Burr's lastest Bill Burr live at Red Rocks. wasn't the greatest some of it was just alright. But some of it was genius. I guess being dad's has eaten into some of their time on the road refining their work. But if you want to see a young comic who is at the top of their game Sam Morril's Same Time Tomorrow is great. Oh almost forgot, Ari Shaffir's Jew is great.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/The_Batman_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By The Numbers, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69028880

The Batman - (2022)

I have to confess right off the bat (no pun intended) - I'm not really a Batman fan. I am a fan of Tim Burton's initial Batman film, and Christopher Nolan's second entry in his trilogy - The Dark Knight - but I never read comics as a kid. Most comic book superhero movies do nothing for me, but there are notable exceptions. Joker was one of the best films of 2019 for me, if not the best. The first two Superman films to feature Christopher Reeve were fantastic. X-Men First Class and Logan are up there. Dredd made up for the crime that was Danny Cannon's Judge Dredd, which Stallone and Armand Assante made laughable. These are the exceptions - but they are great exceptions. Whenever a new comic book character-inspired film is coming out, I'm not one of those people champing at the bit to see it. Once one has rave reviews and great box office returns however, I decide to check it out - so of course I had to see The Batman.

We were going to get here eventually - Batman films were getting darker and darker, so after Nolan took things a step further than Burton we seem to be getting one now that has been inspired by Fincher's Se7en. The Riddler - far from a prancing Jim Carrey, has now been directly correlated with real-life serial killer The Zodiac. I don't mind these two aspects to The Batman at all. What did throw me a little though was our semi-goth Bruce Wayne - alone, depressed and with an emo look that he has down pat. I found that bizarre - and the 3-hour long movie a little bloated and grindingly dispiriting. Gotham is so corrupt and crime-ridden it now resembles the New York of Escape From New York. The finale was grand however, and brilliantly put together. John Turturro was wonderful as Carmine Falcone - perfect casting. For fans, this seems like an interesting take on the character that some might love. For me though, the great and good balances with the bad to get me into middling territory. Perhaps in time I'll love it more, or hate it more - but it's also possible this will end up my only viewing of The Batman. If the sequel pans out and is great though, I'll watch this again.

6.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/Clueless_film_poster.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Paramount Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56446456

Clueless - (1995)

I don't know what to say here because everyone loves this film so much and I didn't like it. So never mind this review and rating.

5/10

For whatever reason, the film didn't tickle my funny bone, and the silly, dumb teenage stuff grated on me. I liked that it was a modernized version of Emma, and the performances were okay - but where others see quotable quote after quotable quote all I saw was a movie that differed too much from my usual taste.

[Fabulous]

Firecreek (1968)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/1OGpHtpa58vmIOUyHVQJOSKjkJQ.jpg

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 loved it, loved alot of gorey :love: and david harbour did an amazing job, loved him on black widow and glad hes back on thunderbolts <3
https://movies.universalpictures.com/media/02-vn-dm-mobile-banner-1080x745-km-f01-091222-633dbc4a3bcf1-1.jpg

[Fabulous]

Lord Jim (1965)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/ePEMEklx5d5ItZ1Cp5CDqJiP3Ms.jpg

[n3wt]

The Shed

1/5

[Fabulous]

Get Carter (1971)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/pRBCb6Hs6Xo4diXwpnBTcwMizE.jpg

[ScarletLion]

'Farha' (2022)

Directed by Darin J. Sallam

https://sweden.postsen.com/temp/resized/medium_2022-12-02-3100567eba.jpg


Farha is a story that tells the harsh reality of a young girl (the titular character) who makes a choice to stay with her father as Israeli forces invade her Palestinian village in 1948.

Farha is a clever girl who wants to educate herself and go to school against her father's wishes, who wants her to marry a local boy. Just as he finally grants her wish by enrolling her at a school in a nearby city - tragedy strikes and Israeli forces move in. What happens next is an extremely harrowing series of events are the inhabitants of the village are 'displaced'. There is no big budget here. No expensive camera trickery or visual effects. This is a straight up story about how Palestine was brutalized by Israel. And it's not for the feint hearted in the slightest. Karam Taher is terrific in her first ever acting role.

Director Darin J. Sallam is Jordanian (the film was shot in Jordan), and in her first narrative feature, smartly directs on what must have been a shoestring budget, from the point of view of Farha, which we learn at the end is based on a true story (Sallam learned about it from her Palestinian father). It's bleak and makes the viewer angry. But it's emotional, relevant and needs to be shown to a wide audience.

File this under important stories that need to be told and listened to.

8.2/10

4

https://cdn.britannica.com/74/84674-004-C0E414EA/Flag-Palestinian-Authority-Palestine.jpg

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/The_Batman_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By The Numbers, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69028880

The Batman - (2022)

I have to confess right off the bat (no pun intended) - I'm not really a Batman fan. I am a fan of Tim Burton's initial Batman film, and Christopher Nolan's second entry in his trilogy - The Dark Knight - but I never read comics as a kid. Most comic book superhero movies do nothing for me, but there are notable exceptions. Joker was one of the best films of 2019 for me, if not the best. The first two Superman films to feature Christopher Reeve were fantastic. X-Men First Class and Logan are up there. Dredd made up for the crime that was Danny Cannon's Judge Dredd, which Stallone and Armand Assante made laughable. These are the exceptions - but they are great exceptions. Whenever a new comic book character-inspired film is coming out, I'm not one of those people champing at the bit to see it. Once one has rave reviews and great box office returns however, I decide to check it out - so of course I had to see The Batman.

We were going to get here eventually - Batman films were getting darker and darker, so after Nolan took things a step further than Burton we seem to be getting one now that has been inspired by Fincher's Se7en. The Riddler - far from a prancing Jim Carrey, has now been directly correlated with real-life serial killer The Zodiac. I don't mind these two aspects to The Batman at all. What did throw me a little though was our semi-goth Bruce Wayne - alone, depressed and with an emo look that he has down pat. I found that bizarre - and the 3-hour long movie a little bloated and grindingly dispiriting. Gotham is so corrupt and crime-ridden it now resembles the New York of Escape From New York. The finale was grand however, and brilliantly put together. John Turturro was wonderful as Carmine Falcone - perfect casting. For fans, this seems like an interesting take on the character that some might love. For me though, the great and good balances with the bad to get me into middling territory. Perhaps in time I'll love it more, or hate it more - but it's also possible this will end up my only viewing of The Batman. If the sequel pans out and is great though, I'll watch this again.

6.5/10



I'm with you. I was very hopeful for this. I've come to really like Pattinson and I liked the ideas they were mining (I do know these comics pretty well) but I also thought it ended up being a balance of good and bad (looking at you, totally unnecessary except to feed a sequel Joker cameo and overlong run-time). It ended up kind of in the middle not because it was overall average but because the average of high and low parts landed it there.
By the way, thank you for "champing at the bit" no one ever gets that "right".

[Torgo]

Prey - 4

While I still have a lot to see, this will be hard to top as the best action movie of the year. Set in 18th century North America, our hero is Naru (Amber Midthunder), a talented hunter who is eager to prove herself, especially since her male cohorts doubt her abilities and take credit for the traps she sets. Fed up, she sets out with loyal dog Sarii to prove herself. Instead of her intended target of a mountain lion, she runs afoul of an infinitely more challenging mark.

Possibly due to also thinking the best parts of the first Predator movie are when Arnie and company must rely on their instincts and the environment first and their guns second, Trachtenberg and company maintain this vibe throughout, and luckily, it doesn't wear out its welcome. Scenes like Naru setting traps and improvising weapons like a hatchet on a rope are my favorite examples of this. Filming in the beautiful, untainted Alberta countryside all but enhances Naru's vulnerability, as does Midthunder’s performance, which I'd rank above Arnie's since she has the acting chops and the physicality. I also applaud the movie for making the Predator the Jaws-like force of nature I know and love, which Trachtenberg likely had to fight for in these days where it's as if all motivations must be explained, and if you're hoping the good stuff earns the movie its R rating, you won't be let down. Again, Midthunder does star-making work here - I also hope we see the towering Dane DiLiegro again, who plays 'Ol Dreadlocks - but I can't say the same of rest of the cast, most of whom come across as bloodless. Other than that, I think it's the rare streaming service exclusive that is worthy of its hype. Oh, and Sarii is the coolest dog to appear in a movie in a long while.

[Gideon58]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDiA8T3xPmBjDRYb7QepYUHYqboh_CHTYG7ZcEloP0HQRaHui1KZCerWf8C02HNX5CK-Y&usqp=CAU


4.5

[Stirchley]

90204

Re-watch. Good movie. Unusual story.

[doubledenim]

Prey - 4

While I still have a lot to see, this will be hard to top as the best action movie of the year. Set in 18th century North America, our hero is Naru (Amber Midthunder), a talented hunter who is eager to prove herself, especially since her male cohorts doubt her abilities and take credit for the traps she sets. Fed up, she sets out with loyal dog Sarii to prove herself. Instead of her intended target of a mountain lion, she runs afoul of an infinitely more challenging mark.

Possibly due to also thinking the best parts of the first Predator movie are when Arnie and company must rely on their instincts and the environment first and their guns second, Trachtenberg and company maintain this vibe throughout, and luckily, it doesn't wear out its welcome. Scenes like Naru setting traps and improvising weapons like a hatchet on a rope are my favorite examples of this. Filming in the beautiful, untainted Alberta countryside all but enhances Naru's vulnerability, as does Midthunder’s performance, which I'd rank above Arnie's since she has the acting chops and the physicality. I also applaud the movie for making the Predator the Jaws-like force of nature I know and love, which Trachtenberg likely had to fight for in these days where it's as if all motivations must be explained, and if you're hoping the good stuff earns the movie its R rating, you won't be let down. Again, Midthunder does star-making work here - I also hope we see the towering Dane DiLiegro again, who plays 'Ol Dreadlocks - but I can't say the same of rest of the cast, most of whom come across as bloodless. Other than that, I think it's the rare streaming service exclusive that is worthy of its hype. Oh, and Sarii is the coolest dog to appear in a movie in a long while.

https://media.giphy.com/media/0SRssndihsjy5llB0j/giphy.gif

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/Black_Adam_%28film%29_poster.jpg/220px-Black_Adam_%28film%29_poster.jpg

3

SF = Z



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ec/Troll_%282022%29.jpeg/220px-Troll_%282022%29.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

[beelzebubble]

An Awkward Sexual Adventure (2012) Romcom/raunchy sex comedy. 2.5/5
I enjoyed it up to a point. That point came when you know what a horrible person the fiance is, so you are fine with the leading man falling in love with the stripper. It could have ended there but it kept going. Tiresome.

For the cast, it's got three adorable brunettes, two attractive but not wildly sexy guys. Maybe its a Hallmark movie for dudes. It definitely had that Hallmark feel, but Christmas was not an issue. Two of the characters are Jewish and two are Indian so they maybe Hindu, Sikh or Muslim. Who knows? Here we are its winter and Christmas time is not an issue. And sexy shenanigans abound: strippers, threesomes, roleplay, BDSM and going down are touched on in a comic way.
I enjoyed it. It was silly and fun until I was over it. The only question I have is why anyone would cosign a loan for a manic, pixie, dreamgirl?

,

[Fabulous]

The MacKintosh Man (1973)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/iSBika6hEdjbMWczCSjlJwbLDOI.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

Is It Me (2022) 2.5/5 I was very disappointed in this comedy concert film of Sebastian Maniscalco. All his other specials were top notch. Hilarious stuff. Sad to see it. Everything was somewhat amusing but nothing had me howling. Bill Burr's lastest Bill Burr live at Red Rocks. wasn't the greatest some of it was just alright. But some of it was genius. I guess being dad's has eaten into some of their time on the road refining their work. But if you want to see a young comic who is at the top of their game Sam Morril's Same Time Tomorrow is great. Oh almost forgot, Ari Shaffir's Jew is great.
Yeah, I was a little disappointed in Is It Me as well. I haven't seen any of his other specials, although I'll look for them since you recommended him.

I was drawn to him because he's anti W-SJ, and those parts were enjoyable. He really lays on the NY Italian thing, almost like a cleaned up shadow version of Andrew Dice Clay. I pretty much like Bill Burr as well. I'll have to check out Sam Morril.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/Bachelorette_FilmPoster.jpeg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35036573

Bachelorette - (2012)

A light day for films watched means I only have Bachelorette to talk about today. It's one of those films where the three principle characters are horrible people, and you ask yourself, "Am I going to expected to root for these people?" You are. By the end I'd given up and actually grown fond of these three twits. Regan Crawford (Kirsten Dunst) reads stories to 12-year-old kids with cancer for the kudos it wins her - she's jealous of the fact that Becky (Rebel Wilson) is getting married before her. Katie Lawrence (Isla Fisher) loves to party, and is ditzy and dumb. Jenna Myers (Lizzy Caplan) is the darker one - and supplies the cocaine. When they're caught out for calling Becky "Pig Face" behind her back, the bachelorette party is off - so they resort to making fun of Becky's large wedding dress, accidentally ripping it in half and staining it. The rest of their night will be about their desperate attempts to repair the dress. Most of the fun this film tries to conjure is in the way these girls are tripped up by their own shortcomings - but some tired tropes start to seep in when they learn valuable life lessons and find some happy endings for themselves. I liked some of the darker aspects - drug abuse and suicide are two topics most comedies of this type will avoid - but the film doesn't get the most out of every situation which has potential. In the end it was good, but could have been much better.

6/10

[Fabulous]

Friday Foster (1975)

2.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/mLsp1PMVvNxF4ZdcwvrffKrKBZn.jpg

[matt72582]

Shaq

I don't know if there's only 3 episodes, but it was pretty good.


https://youtu.be/ph3h7CLAvtE

[Mr Minio]

Today's watches:

The Apostle (1997) - 2.5

https://i.imgur.com/3mUfUWW.png
"And then I bashed his face in with a baseball bat!"

Borderline bad and not for me. Lots of Evangelical frenzy praying and a fat Americana atmosphere that I'm not particularly fond of in general. Yoda listed it together with The Lives of Others as humane films. Well, since the latter wasn't humane (but at least was good from what I remember) I never expected this one to be humane either. Still, I hoped for a somewhat better film, seeing it on Yoda's top 10. Oh well. I guess we have different tastes in film and different ideas of humane to boot. I don't regret watching it, though. At least Duvall's performance was not too shabby.

The Unfinished Dance (1947) - 2

https://i.imgur.com/2P9j0Yi.png
"I'll murder your entire family and make you watch."

Bad and not for me. But at least it looked alright and Karin Booth was beautiful. Also, that girl's eyes were EVIL! I really hoped this would turn into a slasher and the girl would end up murdering every major person in the film. Well, I guess we'd have to wait at least another 30 years for a plot like that.

もう頬づえはつかない [No More Easy Life] (1979) - 3.5

https://i.imgur.com/lK9zWeD.png
That's not how you do yoga, stupid broad!

Good but not for me. After 110 minutes of waiting for the Sachi Arai song, they went ahead and used one of her weakest ones during the ending credits. The plot on feminism and promiscuity was kinda meh, very much like another film from the director called The Four Seasons: Natsuko. But at least No More Easy Life looked, felt, and sounded good.

കൊടിയേറ്റം [Ascent] (1978) - 4

https://i.imgur.com/LY4dQh7.png
Looks good, what else can I say?

This was very good. Finally, a quality film! There was enough subtlety, humility, and elegance in the cinematography to elevate it into great film territory. Ascent even has the Vertigo effect used in one of its scenes, but it's used so subtly, you can easily miss it! I think that's very telling since the Vertigo effect is usually very noticeable and in-your-face.

Still have lots of time today so I'm off to watch some more!

[Yoda]

The Apostle (1997) - 2.5

https://i.imgur.com/3mUfUWW.png
"And then I bashed his face in with a baseball bat!"

Borderline bad and not for me. Lots of Evangelical frenzy praying and a fat Americana atmosphere that I'm not particularly fond of in general. Yoda listed it together with The Lives of Others as humane films.
I'm definitely confused by the critique of "Lots of Evangelical frenzy praying and a fat Americana atmosphere." Why is this bad? You don't have to identify with it. You don't have to agree with it. My memory is that the other big evangelist (heh) for this film on this site, back in the day, was both not an American and a fervent atheist. Piddzilla, in case he ever sees this.

The film is establishing a deliberate sense of place and time. Obviously you can't identify with the place or its culture. That's the whole point, no? To put you in that unfamiliar (and maybe even uncomfortable) place, to try to understand it. This sounds like exactly the kind of discomfiting thing you'd praise a film for doing (or, more frequently, chastise someone else for not appreciating). There's a degree to which you reacting to this film about "Americana" feels strikingly similar to critiques about Americans blanching at foreign films about places and customs strange to them. It seems like the same gut-level resistance to the Other, but with an air of high-mindedness based purely on who that Other is.

I am, of course, perfectly willing to accept that someone might not find this film as brilliant as I do (though admittedly thinking it's "borderline bad" is pretty hard for me to wrap my head around), but to find that acceptance I'd probably need to hear a more substantive critique.

Well, since the latter wasn't humane (but at least was good from what I remember) I never expected this one to be humane either. Still, I hoped for a somewhat better film, seeing it on Yoda's top 10. Oh well. I guess we have different tastes in film and different ideas of humane to boot. I don't regret watching it, though. At least Duvall's performance was not too shabby.
I guess I'd want to know more about what "humane" means, then, because if painting a subtle portrait of a tortured soul, a human struggling with the contradiction of their ideals and their behavior the same as all of us, then I honestly can't tell what would be.

All that said, I appreciate that you watched it. :)

[Mr Minio]

I'm definitely confused by the critique of "Lots of Evangelical frenzy praying and a fat Americana atmosphere." Why is this bad? It's just something I usually do not like. For what it's worth, one of mark f's favorite films, Elmer Gantry, is also a film about a preacher, but I loved that one. It just felt and looked better. But maybe I need a certain level of artifice to get into oriental (occidental?!) atmospheres better.

You don't have to identify with it. You don't have to agree with it. As much is clear. But the amount of preaching in this well exceeded the level of acceptance. Four times. And I don't mean the "style over substance" thing because the film's style is lacking, oh boy, is it lacking. Anyway, having the message is not enough. You also have to PORTRAY it well. Watch Ordet or Winter Light or Diary of a Country Priest - all better religious films and also films that know how to PORTRAY the message well. The Apostle looked like the average film you watch on TV. Like a character study undressed from everything that makes cinema good.

This sounds like exactly the kind of discomfiting thing you'd praise a film for doing (or, more frequently, chastise someone else for not appreciating). There's a degree to which you reacting to this film about "Americana" feels strikingly similar to critiques about Americans blanching at foreign films about places and customs strange to them. It seems like the same gut-level resistance to the Other, but with an air of high-mindedness based purely on who that Other is. I think you overestimate my open-mindedness. No matter how open-minded you try to be, some things just aren't for you. It's not really that Americana is bad, but the way someone shows it can be. That being said, the film is pretty bland visually, too. It just doesn't *feel* good. If it doesn't feel good, I couldn't care less to go further than that. The same goes for the dance film I watched.

Also, I don't think understanding a film is necessary for liking (or disliking) it. From my experience, the opposite is true. I had some instances of films I initially loved but after talking about them with others and thinking about them myself, I better understood what they were about and ended up liking them less. Because they became kind of open books to me. And I like the mystery. So yeah, I didn't pick at people for disliking foreign films because they didn't understand them. If anything, I picked at people for disliking foreign films because they couldn't get into them. They couldn't feel them. You know, feel the film before understanding it, as Bresson said. And I say, if you don't feel it, what's the point in understanding it?

I am, of course, perfectly willing to accept that someone might not find this film as brilliant as I do (though admittedly thinking it's "borderline bad" is pretty hard for me to wrap my head around), but to find that acceptance I'd probably need to hear a more substantive critique. The opening scene shows that Duvall seemingly really cares about converting the dying guy inside the automobile after the crash. But Duvall seems to be so much into the preaching thing that the dying guy himself stops mattering to him. What matters is just that Duvall converts him before the guy dies. That he kind of wins over the sinner by converting him. That he does his monthly number of conversions and can sleep well. But also that he sees his own salvation in the salvation of others. You can already tell he is a sinner himself even if only because we all are. And you can tell that he's persistent for a reason. Nice beginning to a character study type of film (not my favorite type of film, by the way) that tells a lot. But then, the movie continues. And all your guesses turn out to be true. And so after fkin up, Duvall tries again and he keeps on doing his thing, but we all know how it's gonna end for him. Though on the nose, I think the opening scene is good, and the film could've ended with it. There's not enough good style to be amazed with whatever comes after the opening scene. But maybe I'm missing something.

I guess I'd want to know more about what "humane" means, then, because if painting a subtle portrait of a tortured soul, a human struggling with the contradiction of their ideals and their behavior the same as all of us, then I honestly can't tell what would be. Watch The Human Condition trilogy and you will know. To be truly humane, a film has to have something that is hard to describe. Something that TRANSCENDS its story.

All that said, I appreciate that you watched it. :) Umm, I'd watch almost anything these days. I kind of went downhill in that way because I used to be much pickier and also more strict with my ratings.

[matt72582]

Moonage Daydream

David Bowie is one of my favorite musical artists, so of course I'm going to see this.


https://youtu.be/c70ko07julc

[matt72582]

Bill Burr's lastest Bill Burr live at Red Rocks. wasn't the greatest some of it was just alright. But some of it was genius. I guess being dad's has eaten into some of their time on the road refining their work. But if you want to see a young comic who is at the top of their game Sam Morril's Same Time Tomorrow is great. Oh almost forgot, Ari Shaffir's Jew is great.


I think the "trip" bit was one of his best. But, he fell into a ditch when he started talking about a lesbian, and then kept going on and on. I don't even remember it - I just kinda tuned it out, I guess.



I posted the link to the last one in my comedy thread
https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=47891&page=2

[Yoda]

It's just something I usually do not like.
That's fine, I suppose, but let's do a quick thought experiment: imagine an American poster who loves Marvel films says, about some subtitled, slow-paced, black-and-white foreign film, that it's "just something [they] usually do not like." What would you think of that?

I feel like you'd think (hell, you'd probably say) that they were just a narrow-minded American who liked being force-fed cinematic mediocrities, and couldn't be bothered to step outside of their comfort zone to immerse themselves in another culture's art. And you might be right (whatever my objections to the phrasing).

For what it's worth, one of mark f's favorite films, Elmer Gantry, is also a film about a preacher, but I loved that one. It just felt and looked better.
Can we unpack "felt and looked better" a bit? If you felt uncomfortable watching it, well, you were definitely supposed to.

As much is clear. But the amount of preaching in this well exceeded the level of acceptance.
I don't know what this means. Because you wouldn't be moved by the preaching in real life, you have some upper limit on how much you'll accept from a character in a story?

I think you overestimate my open-mindedness. No matter how open-minded you try to be, some things just aren't for you.
Again, this is fine as a broad explanation (even though I think it behooves us all to figure out WHY some things aren't for us), but I think it's kind of at odds with your generally tenacious approach towards others, too. This is what it feels like, in case you were ever curious. ;)

That being said, the film is pretty bland visually, too.
Dang, really? I dunno man. From top left to bottom right:

90222

Converting a man coming down from above like God Himself. His mother playing dead, dressed appropriately in red (and note how much less attention he pays to her than he does a stranger who he thinks needs salvation). A sinner eavesdropping with a perspective that looks like a confessional. Sunny's face half in shadow (look at the other shots of him: this happens over and over). A bright purple mark in a book in a dull field, emblematic of the passion he brings to this poor, quiet place, a bright fire-colored sign imploring him to stop and refuse to save this dying man, which he completely disregards.

Jumping ahead to the fourth row: the church is sickly and green (like the window above), both shots from early in his arrival to the town. In shadow again, bars in front of and behind him. More shadows, heavier now that he's on the prowl, using his charisma for more self-interested purposes. The bright red and yellow bus, and one of the few times in the film he looks completely and genuinely happy, unconcerned with his inevitable downfall. And on the bottom right, the kind preacher, head bent just enough to show the man he represents peeking out from behind him.

I know there's no accounting for this kind of thing, but I think there's plenty going on here. It's just not super showy about it.

90224
77234

But then, the movie continues. And all your guesses turn out to be true.
I don't follow. You wanted some kind of surprise? Without spoiling anything (because I'd very much like anyone reading this to go watch the film), the end is inevitable. He has a personal eschatology that mirrors humanity's.

Watch The Human Condition trilogy and you will know. To be truly humane, a film has to have something that is hard to describe. Something that TRANSCENDS its story.
Can you maybe expound on what it means to be "humane" without just asking me to watch several films? I'm skeptical that will help, because if you'd asked me to explain the term to you, I'd have give you this film (among others), and obviously that didn't work.

Preemptively, I accept that some very important things can't be explained, but you recently started a thread where you solicited examples of "humane" films, which seems to suggest you think it can be conveyed with words, so I'd be interested in hearing it articulated, even if it's impossible to get just right.

[cricket]

Elle (2016)

4.5-

https://www.telerama.fr/sites/tr_master/files/styles/simplecrop1000/public/medias/2017/01/media_153411/elle-de-paul-verhoeven-sacre-par-le-syndicat-de-la-critique%2CM416900.jpg?itok=5EmSx5Ij

I wanted to watch this before submitting my 2010's ballot because I consider Paul Verhoeven to be a must see director and Isabelle Huppert is a great actress. Both of these things held true. Hupport plays Michele who is raped by an intruder to start the film, and it will never be that simple again. Does she want revenge or is she interested in her attacker? Who is the attacker? This is not a mystery film but rather a psychological drama. Michele isn't very nice herself but she also has deep trauma. There's an array of strong characters in her life. I watch the sickest and most disgusting films I can find but this one made me uncomfortable. That's because it's good.

[Gideon58]

https://mx.web.img2.acsta.net/pictures/22/08/25/16/58/5598982.jpg


3.5

[Mr Minio]

imagine an American poster who loves Marvel films says, about some subtitled, slow-paced, black-and-white foreign film, that it's "just something [they] usually do not like." What would you think of that? I'd think "to each their own" and then resort to my usual shtick of saying something like "this film is ahead of you, normie!". Though it's not constructive at all, it's always interesting to see people's reactions and it sometimes makes them reevaluate/rethink/rewatch the film at a small time cost for me (all these films won't watch themselves, man). Only a few people ever unfriended me after saying something like this, so I kind of preemptively assume most get that I'm not really serious. :P Also, the reactions are usually stronger (in whichever way) than trying to reason with people or ask specific questions. They usually hide behind subjectivity or their feelings (just like I'm doing right now :cool:).

Yoda, I don't mean it sarcastically, but sincerely: you'd be a great (and hella annoying) father.

Can we unpack "felt and looked better" a bit? If you felt uncomfortable watching it, well, you were definitely supposed to. I didn't feel uncomfortable. I didn't feel much of anything. I like the 60s cinematography of Elmer Gantry more than the bland cinematography of The Apostle. From the 70s on, American films started looking like everyday life, which is formulaic and boring. It kind of works in some circumstances, like in Slow Cinema. But narrative cinema with lots of talking can do better than that.

I don't know what this means. Because you wouldn't be moved by the preaching in real life, you have some upper limit on how much you'll accept from a character in a story? I have an upper limit for the amount of trance-like preaching as much as I have for corny American musicals from the 40s and 50s. I'm abstaining from commenting on preaching and how I feel about it in detail because I feel it doesn't matter much anyway. There are many things in films that I don't like in real life but like/accept in films if done well.

Dang, really? I dunno man. From top left to bottom right: Thanks. I didn't notice all of that visual symbolism on my watch. Still, I didn't find the cinematography aesthetic, hence calling it bland. It's the "serve the story" kind of thinking that permeates a lot of American cinema. It may look good, but it doesn't look good. You can combine storytelling and aesthetics, by the way, in case you thought I thought otherwise. And you can go subtle. But I guess I like the subtlety of French, Japanese, or Indian cinema more than the subtlety of American cinema. But maybe that's because the last one often goes over my head, so who knows?

I don't follow. You wanted some kind of surprise? Without spoiling anything (because I'd very much like anyone reading this to go watch the film), the end is inevitable. He has a personal eschatology that mirrors humanity's. I guess I expected the film to be more moving and to give me something I hadn't expected (which doesn't necessarily mean a twist in the story). Or to amaze me, shock me, or whatever. Or at least make me care about it enough to make me want to think about it and its story. I just didn't care. And it's not really the topic's fault, as I love Dreyer's Ordet. This might be the film's fault or my fault (which is why I said it wasn't for me).

Can you maybe expound on what it means to be "humane" without just asking me to watch several films? If only I could. I'm not good at articulating my thoughts, let alone putting feelings into words.

One group would be anti-war films that show people who either a) are destroyed by war and either die or become monsters and therefore the juxtaposition of that to the peaceful, benevolent life we, as viewers, know brings out something in us OR b) stand tall in these dark times and keep their ideals/morality without losing their humanity even if it means their ultimate doom. But it doesn't include all films that merely fit that description. For example, Schindler's List kinda fits b) but I wouldn't call it a humane film. I really don't know why and the only reason I can come up with is that it just doesn't feel like one, or maybe that it doesn't have a single scene or moment that brings out that humane feel in me. It's a very good film, so it's not about the film's quality either. It just needs to have something, something transcendental, but I can't name it. Dunno.

Another group would be films where a character changed their ways but the overall thing doesn't feel cheesy and their change isn't your usual forced trope. Again, this doesn't include all films and I can't rationalize why but I can kinda rationalize why the films that I'd call humane and belong to that group are there. I'm not sure if I can give examples here because that would mean spoilers. But a film about a gangster who at the very last moment saves the life of somebody and kind of saves his soul that way has a chance of being deemed as humane by me.

And then there's a third group of everything else. Films that teach us benevolence and films that make us better human beings. After I watched Momoko Ando's 0.5mm, I commented: "Catharsis. Eureka of our decade. The director has bigger balls and a bigger heart than me. Congratulations." - I think that's high praise from a person as cocky as me.

In Yamada's About Her Brother, there's a kind of sympathy-for-a-loser kinda thing that without spoiling much brings out something inexplicable in me. It's relatable, sure, but it's also universal. Namely, at the very end of the film, a grandma says that she feels sorry for the titular brother. It's one of the most moving moments ever achieved in such a short period of time. But I guess you have to see the film to understand what I'm talking about.

The Burmese Harp (1956) is a great example of humane, too. Not just because it's anti-war but also because of what the character played by Rentaro Mikuni does.

Last but not least, here's my write-up (https://letterboxd.com/mrminio/film/drive-my-car/) about Drive My Car. Though not usually like something I'd call humane, I still think the film IS humane. And whatever I wrote under the link is what the film made me feel. A sort of attempt of putting my feelings and thoughts from the film into my writing.

You know, "humane" isn't limited just to films. I think Dostoyevsky's writing is humane, too. Take Crime and Punishment. How Sonya stick to Raskolnikov even after learning what he did. And how Raskolnikov agrees to do what she asks him in the end. I think both of these are beautiful and humane. And they move me, both in the book and in its unofficial adaptation such as the ending to Omirbayev's Student (which, in turn, is inspired by the ending of Bresson's Pickpocket).

I hope at least some of my explanation makes sense.

[Fabulous]

Room at the Top (1958)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/n1lJyELKUv2dDuGCQIA0W7O7Sjx.jpg

[WHITBISSELL!]

The Apostle is definitely on my Top 50. I'm slooooowly putting together a Top 100 and even though it didn't make my All-Time Top 100 List submission (25) it's right up there. Duvall's performance needs to be ranked alongside The Great Santini and Tender Mercies.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Prey_2022_poster.png
By http://www.impawards.com/2022/posters/prey_ver4_xxlg.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70800783

Prey - (2022)

Prey sticks pretty close to the Predator formula - closer than I was expecting. Something within me was hoping for something that would take us in another direction, but I guess that might have been the problem with all the other sequels - they didn't heed what was so good about the original film. Here we have a different time, and a different culture - not to mention some kind of "ugly amongst the ugly" predator, further implicating that they come in all shapes, sizes and technological ability. We also take a step up in cinematography, which makes the fact this wasn't shown in cinemas all the more disappointing. Naru (Amber Midthunder) is a young Comanche who yearns to hunt and fight - and gets her chance when the ugly alien lands on Earth and starts collecting a variety of fauna, using her wits against the technological array against her. It's far superior to all other Predator films bar the first, and very enjoyable - but there's nothing new here, which is perhaps the reason it's as good as it is.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/Despicable_Me_2_poster.jpg
By http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/94c501bd, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35694545

Despicable Me 2 - (2013)

Okay - Despicable Me movies are being released at a rate I can't possibly keep up with. Admittedly, this one came along nearly a decade ago, but the release rate is growing and aside from Minions 2 : The Rise of Gru we get Despicable Me 4 in 18 months or so. Well, what can I say - there were some funny moments in Despicable Me 2. The chicken, Gru dressed as a ballerina, some minion stuff. I definitely didn't hate it. A fun distraction.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Lemmy_%28movie_poster%29.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/21f660f9, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30296151

Lemmy - (2010)

Lemmy Kilmister was the godfather of heavy metal, and a hard drinking, drug-taking, sex-loving hard rocker. He was also one hell of a nice guy (just ignore the plethora of Nazi memorabilia.) This 2010 documentary charts his career, talks to various members of bands like Metallica and Slash, and gives us a glimpse of Motörhead in action. Down to earth and approachable, you can't help but like him - and it's a shame he died in 2015 at the age of 70, but when you consider that he drank bottles of bourbon like they were bottles of beer and encouraged his son to say no to Heroin but yes to speed (it was "much better for you") - then all you can do is be thankful he lasted as long as he did. For fans of Motörhead and heavy metal, this is good viewing - and even for those who aren't, it's interesting.

6/10

[Fabulous]

Pygmalion (1938)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/9R4Zmk9vDP2Lk0JNOaAw09LG3lU.jpg

[Deschain]

Man all this Prey talk is making me wanna rewatch Prey.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNDJiMTZmMzUtZjljMy00NDIwLTlmODctZDJjYmQ2YzlkZGNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU1Nz E3NTg%40._V1_CR0%2C30%2C250%2C141_AL_UX477_CR0%2C0%2C477%2C268_AL_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=db8d68e626a95b1ce1cfd22febe5b853b11b96d66dba6775e7998fe228714f3e&ipo=images

Dig!, 2004

This documentary, which spans about 8 years beginning in the early 90s, follows the various successes and setbacks of two bands, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. The leads of both bands---Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor-Taylor---have an existing friendship which creates tension when The Dandy Warhols start to experience more commercial success.

Watching a movie about people who live lives very different from yours is, of course, one of the great things about film. And naturally, despite those differences, you want to meet those people where they are and understand their emotions.

But this was very challenging for me in Dig!, because the people in front of the camera seem to be on a constant carousel of being unlikable, ridiculous, stupid, and vain. There are plenty of moments to choose from, but the sequence where Newcombe gets into a physical fight with his own bandmates on stage really takes the cake. Witness a slightly disgusted bouncer pulling one pasty, flailing, high man off of another pasty, flailing, high man. Try to listen to the line "That motherf*cker broke my sitar!" without giggling.

What does manage to give the film some shape and perspective are the interviews with the much more grounded people in the industry who witnessed the bands' trajectories. Early on, one of them says something to the effect of "Success and authenticity don't have to be mutually exclusive, but that's a hard concept for Anton." Both bands wrestle with this idea of popularity and financial success, and while it sometimes seems overly precious, you do get the impression that, especially for Newcombe, it is a really challenging concept. Is even having a record deal selling out? How do you reconcile that idea with the desire to have your music heard by a large audience?

There is also, mercifully, clear talent in both bands. Newcombe, in particular, is driven by a clear passion for his music, and it seems that his frequent method for recording is to corral a group of musicians in a house and bang out an album in a day. One of the interview subjects says that Newcombe seems like a jerk, but it's actually more akin to mad genius, that Anton is like "the man who stumbles out of the desert and believes he's seen god."

Were this film made today, I think that there would be more appreciation for the role that drugs and mental illness play in the behavior of various people. Yes, the film does show their drug use (pot and cocaine feature heavily), but it's portrayed more as this rock star/artist thing that they do. Newcombe in particular seems to wrestle with some heavy things. The film drops a huge bomb on the audience partway through when it interviews Newcombe's absentee father, then revealing with on-screen text that after this interview the father committed suicide on Anton's birthday. I mean, like, wow, that is deeply messed up! It was frustrating watching the film (and the people in it) continue to couch Newcombe's behavior as just wrestling with the art/commerce spectrum when clearly this person needs some mental health intervention.

I know that this film was criticized for cherry-picking footage to create a more scandalous, contentious portrait of the two bands. I appreciate that editing can take moments out of context. I was also not a fan of Taylor-Taylor's flat voice over narration. Lastly, on a deeply personal note, Joel Gion, who is the Brain Jonestown Massacre's tambourine player is absolutely one of the most punchable people I've ever seen in a documentary who wasn't, like, a child molester or something. He comes off as either glazed or uncomfortably mean-spirited.

Overall there's certainly enough footage to make the film interesting, but there's a disconnect between the plot of the film and the interviews with the musicians themselves.

3.5

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Foriginal%2Fd7YwLX0PnX8vsaaQq9bz93jczGw.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2383bb80bdabd2f538c6e68afcf05dd23beb688b00530f2fb17fb5c71a822a13&ipo=images

A Night at the Opera, 1935

Grifter Otis P Driftwood (Groucho Marx) has been employed by Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) to lift her into higher society. As part of his scheming, Otis gets mixed up in the life of rising opera star Riccardo (Allan Jones) who loves fellow opera company star Roda (Kitty Carlisle). Riccardo ends up "stealing" a contract from star Lassparri (Walter Woolf King, and things come to a head on a cruise ship ride over to America. Along for the ride are Riccardo's manager Fiorello (Chico Marx) and Lassparri's former dresser, Tomasso (Harpo Marx).

This screwball romp is about on par with what I've seen from the Marx brothers. The banter and physical comedy come at you at a mile-a-minute, with the rhythm of the delivery and staging giving the film a strong momentum.

Groucho is at the forefront as the fast-talking Otis, delivering plenty of humorous parenthetical remarks. Chico makes a good counterpart as the semi-scrupulous Fiorello. In one standout scene, he and Groucho negotiate over a contract for Riccardo to sign, arguing over the language of the thing and eventually just tearing out the parts they don't care for. Harpo is . . . Harpo. Jones and Carlisle make for a good side story--giving the film a much needed emotional core and people you can really root for. Dumont is the master of politely outraged bluster, and she is very funny as a straight woman to Groucho.

The film also showcases some really fun physical setpieces, letting the sequences walk right up to the edge of being a cartoon. In one part, an absurd number of people cram into a small cabin on the boat. Later, in needing to engineer an escape from a detention room, a porthole and a stray rope prove very useful.

There were two elements that I didn't enjoy so much. The first is the music, which is a mixed bag. It's very much in that 30s mode of slow, wobbly, operatic singing and sometimes it feels as if these songs go on too long. I also didn't care for a sequence in which Tomasso repeatedly gropes a woman who is trying to change a bed in a cabin. It's just . . . you know, you're just watching a man sexually harass a woman whose job means that she is probably frequently assaulted this way. It's not funny. It just isn't.

An overall enjoyable comedy with some memorable setpieces.

3.5

[crumbsroom]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BNDJiMTZmMzUtZjljMy00NDIwLTlmODctZDJjYmQ2YzlkZGNmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU1Nz E3NTg%40._V1_CR0%2C30%2C250%2C141_AL_UX477_CR0%2C0%2C477%2C268_AL_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=db8d68e626a95b1ce1cfd22febe5b853b11b96d66dba6775e7998fe228714f3e&ipo=images

Dig!, 2004

This documentary, which spans about 8 years beginning in the early 90s, follows the various successes and setbacks of two bands, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. The leads of both bands---Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor-Taylor---have an existing friendship which creates tension when The Dandy Warhols start to experience more commercial success.

Watching a movie about people who live lives very different from yours is, of course, one of the great things about film. And naturally, despite those differences, you want to meet those people where they are and understand their emotions.

But this was very challenging for me in Dig!, because the people in front of the camera seem to be on a constant carousel of being unlikable, ridiculous, stupid, and vain. There are plenty of moments to choose from, but the sequence where Newcombe gets into a physical fight with his own bandmates on stage really takes the cake. Witness a slightly disgusted bouncer pulling one pasty, flailing, high man off of another pasty, flailing, high man. Try to listen to the line "That motherf*cker broke my sitar!" without giggling.

What does manage to give the film some shape and perspective are the interviews with the much more grounded people in the industry who witnessed the bands' trajectories. Early on, one of them says something to the effect of "Success and authenticity don't have to be mutually exclusive, but that's a hard concept for Anton." Both bands wrestle with this idea of popularity and financial success, and while it sometimes seems overly precious, you do get the impression that, especially for Newcombe, it is a really challenging concept. Is even having a record deal selling out? How do you reconcile that idea with the desire to have your music heard by a large audience?

There is also, mercifully, clear talent in both bands. Newcombe, in particular, is driven by a clear passion for his music, and it seems that his frequent method for recording is to corral a group of musicians in a house and bang out an album in a day. One of the interview subjects says that Newcombe seems like a jerk, but it's actually more akin to mad genius, that Anton is like "the man who stumbles out of the desert and believes he's seen god."

Were this film made today, I think that there would be more appreciation for the role that drugs and mental illness play in the behavior of various people. Yes, the film does show their drug use (pot and cocaine feature heavily), but it's portrayed more as this rock star/artist thing that they do. Newcombe in particular seems to wrestle with some heavy things. The film drops a huge bomb on the audience partway through when it interviews Newcombe's absentee father, then revealing with on-screen text that after this interview the father committed suicide on Anton's birthday. I mean, like, wow, that is deeply messed up! It was frustrating watching the film (and the people in it) continue to couch Newcombe's behavior as just wrestling with the art/commerce spectrum when clearly this person needs some mental health intervention.

I know that this film was criticized for cherry-picking footage to create a more scandalous, contentious portrait of the two bands. I appreciate that editing can take moments out of context. I was also not a fan of Taylor-Taylor's flat voice over narration. Lastly, on a deeply personal note, Joel Gion, who is the Brain Jonestown Massacre's tambourine player is absolutely one of the most punchable people I've ever seen in a documentary who wasn't, like, a child molester or something. He comes off as either glazed or uncomfortably mean-spirited.

Overall there's certainly enough footage to make the film interesting, but there's a disconnect between the plot of the film and the interviews with the musicians themselves.

rating_3_5


I like at the documentary as a comic tragedy. It is very much about the self destruction of an artist under the guise of their 'artistic genius'. Whether one even thinks Newcombe is such a thing (I don't, but I'm a big fan of the band regardless), its not so much as agreeing with this verdict as watching what happens to a person when their bad behavior keeps being swept under the rug as just a part of the process of becoming a mad superstar. While the surface is all fun and partying, there is already a deep rot set into the band long before the cameras started rolling. It's sad, but also so delirious in its garrish bad behavior, it also can't help but be funny in the tragically voyeuristic way it is clearly trying to be.


As for the narration, it is absolutely awful. But for me this is a bonus, as it allows us to watch this train wreck through the completely opposite lens of the rock spectrum, in this case the shallow, vain and opportunistic viewpoint of what I consider to be the worst person in the whole film--Courtney Taylor. He is what the band is rebelling against, the kind of band that seems almost to have been designed to sell their songs to fast food commercials. And so to have his constantly self serving commentary shaping the story of BJM, itself becomes funny. Because, it is exactly the perfect kind of hell that Newcombe has seemingly courted.



As for Gion, I can see his schtick wearing thin, but I hardly saw any malice in any of his behavior (certainly in comparison to others in the film). He seems more like a guy who takes absolutely nothing seriously....at least until he realizes his only marketable skill is playing a tambourine once the bad breaks up. Then we get a glimpse of the real person behind the mugging on funny voices.

[Takoma11]

I like at the documentary as a comic tragedy. . . It's sad, but also so delirious in its garrish bad behavior, it also can't help but be funny in the tragically voyeuristic way it is clearly trying to be.

Agreed, though at a certain point it began to feel a bit redundant.

As for the narration, it is absolutely awful. But for me this is a bonus, as it allows us to watch this train wreck through the completely opposite lens of the rock spectrum, in this case the shallow, vain and opportunistic viewpoint of what I consider to be the worst person in the whole film--Courtney Taylor. He is what the band is rebelling against, the kind of band that seems almost to have been designed to sell their songs to fast food commercials. And so to have his constantly self serving commentary shaping the story of BJM, itself becomes funny. Because, it is exactly the perfect kind of hell that Newcombe has seemingly courted.

I suppose. But did he write the narration? I found that aspect of the film really confusing.

As for Gion, I can see his schtick wearing thin, but I hardly saw any malice in any of his behavior

For me it was his combination of mugging in stupid ways (we first meet him when he's being so outrageous! by . . . pouring a soda down his pants?) and then being totally glazed in other parts. He seemed to be ringleading the whole thing of making the anti-Dandy shirts which just felt petty and, yeah, mean spirited. But maybe it's because from his behavior to his mannerisms to even his haircut he makes me think of people I knew in college who were truly the worst people, who thought they were being funny or rebellious and had a total disregard for the feelings of other people.

[crumbsroom]

Agreed, though at a certain point it began to feel a bit redundant.



I suppose. But did he write the narration? I found that aspect of the film really confusing.



For me it was his combination of mugging in stupid ways (we first meet him when he's being so outrageous! by . . . pouring a soda down his pants?) and then being totally glazed in other parts. He seemed to be ringleading the whole thing of making the anti-Dandy shirts which just felt petty and, yeah, mean spirited. But maybe it's because from his behavior to his mannerisms to even his haircut he makes me think of people I knew in college who were truly the worst people, who thought they were being funny or rebellious and had a total disregard for the feelings of other people.


It is definitely redundant, but I enjoy watching people behaving badly, especially when it bleeds over into absurdity. So I'm definitely the audience for this brand of repetitiveness.


I actually don't know if Taylor wrote the narration, but I've always been under the impression these were his words and opinions. There is such a cloying pretension to everything he says in that voice over, I feel it's just too good an approximation of how he actually speaks and always tries to impress in the shallowest of ways, that it has to be coming from him.


As for Gions stunts, I saw this mostly as just elements from what was initially a friendly rivalry. It obviously sours, mostly because of Newcombe and his bullets and stalking like behavior, but initially fairly innocuous. But I'll also admit that, because Taylor strikes me so deeply as a horribly insecure bully, who has the kind of personality that I'd wager tends to scream at anyone who is an underling, that my sympathies were never with him (the other members seem fairly harmless though). This of course could come from my own prejudices though, since Taylor reminds me of a number of people I have known in my life, some who have found success in entertainment, whose similarly painted on smiles conceal a monstrous personality off camera. Because of this, for me Taylor is in possession of the most punchable face I can think of in recent memory. I have a unbearable loathing of the guy.

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ec/Peninsula_poster.jpg/220px-Peninsula_poster.jpg

2.5

SF = Zzzz



[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

[Yoda]

I'd think "to each their own" and then resort to my usual shtick of saying something like "this film is ahead of you, normie!". Though it's not constructive at all, it's always interesting to see people's reactions and it sometimes makes them reevaluate/rethink/rewatch the film at a small time cost for me (all these films won't watch themselves, man). Only a few people ever unfriended me after saying something like this, so I kind of preemptively assume most get that I'm not really serious. :P Also, the reactions are usually stronger (in whichever way) than trying to reason with people or ask specific questions. They usually hide behind subjectivity or their feelings (just like I'm doing right now :cool:).
Heh, fair enough.

Yoda, I don't mean it sarcastically, but sincerely: you'd be a great (and hella annoying) father.
Double heh. I assume you mean this in the sense that I'm asking questions seemingly intended to provoke humility and empathy/have a pedagogic tint to them, in which case, that's fair. That is kinda my MO.


I have an upper limit for the amount of trance-like preaching as much as I have for corny American musicals from the 40s and 50s. I'm abstaining from commenting on preaching and how I feel about it in detail because I feel it doesn't matter much anyway. There are many things in films that I don't like in real life but like/accept in films if done well.
Same, but I don't think our ability (mine, yours, anyone's) to brush off those kinds of things in some cases means we can do it (let alone as well) with all. Easy to imagine someone who can brush off a film preaching politics it doesn't like, but can't do the same with religion, or vice-versa.

I don't really know if this is the case, but it seems plausible and it's just the vibe I got from the initial comments. It's also just the kind of thing I've seen from people from time to time if they either don't know the American south or don't like it (often the same thing).


Thanks. I didn't notice all of that visual symbolism on my watch. Still, I didn't find the cinematography aesthetic, hence calling it bland. It's the "serve the story" kind of thinking that permeates a lot of American cinema. It may look good, but it doesn't look good. You can combine storytelling and aesthetics, by the way, in case you thought I thought otherwise. And you can go subtle. But I guess I like the subtlety of French, Japanese, or Indian cinema more than the subtlety of American cinema. But maybe that's because the last one often goes over my head, so who knows?
Yeah, to be clear a lot of that symbolism is not meant to contradict your impression. As you say here (correctly!), there can be a lot of thought and meaning in these shots without them being beautiful in and of themselves. I think it's fairly pretty anyway (like in that last shot I posted), but I'll concede it doesn't make a lot of effort on that front. It's certainly not the point of the film.

I guess I expected the film to be more moving and to give me something I hadn't expected (which doesn't necessarily mean a twist in the story). Or to amaze me, shock me, or whatever. Or at least make me care about it enough to make me want to think about it and its story. I just didn't care. And it's not really the topic's fault, as I love Dreyer's Ordet. This might be the film's fault or my fault (which is why I said it wasn't for me).
Well, no accounting for this sort of thing. I find Sonny's story moving, and I find that big conversion scene later to be absolutely heart wrenching. I think maybe it's really difficult to appreciate this particular film if, say, religion seems silly to you.

One group would be anti-war films that show people who either a) are destroyed by war and either die or become monsters and therefore the juxtaposition of that to the peaceful, benevolent life we, as viewers, know brings out something in us OR b) stand tall in these dark times and keep their ideals/morality without losing their humanity even if it means their ultimate doom. But it doesn't include all films that merely fit that description. For example, Schindler's List kinda fits b) but I wouldn't call it a humane film. I really don't know why and the only reason I can come up with is that it just doesn't feel like one, or maybe that it doesn't have a single scene or moment that brings out that humane feel in me. It's a very good film, so it's not about the film's quality either. It just needs to have something, something transcendental, but I can't name it. Dunno.
Yeah, I admittedly can't wrap my head around this definition, it seems very idiosyncratic. But that's fine.

For my part, when I hear "humane film" I think of one marked by empathy for human struggle in all its forms, which is why The Apostle qualifies, for me. Any exploration of human frailty, suffering, or failing, which attempts to understand then highlight what it's like to be someone else, is a humane film.

FWIW, I think it does sort of meet you criteria under b), "stand tall...keep their ideals/morality without losing their humanity even if it means their ultimate doom." Sonny could run off and hide and probably never be caught, but he can't help but preach, even if it draws attention to him and dooms him. He can't stop having the only conversation that's ever mattered to him.

You know, "humane" isn't limited just to films. I think Dostoyevsky's writing is humane, too. Take Crime and Punishment. How Sonya stick to Raskolnikov even after learning what he did. And how Raskolnikov agrees to do what she asks him in the end. I think both of these are beautiful and humane.
Yes, that's actually the first book that came to mind for me, too. Lovely coincidence, that.

[Takoma11]

As for Gions stunts, I saw this mostly as just elements from what was initially a friendly rivalry. It obviously sours, mostly because of Newcombe and his bullets and stalking like behavior, but initially fairly innocuous. But I'll also admit that, because Taylor strikes me so deeply as a horribly insecure bully, who has the kind of personality that I'd wager tends to scream at anyone who is an underling, that my sympathies were never with him (the other members seem fairly harmless though). This of course could come from my own prejudices though, since Taylor reminds me of a number of people I have known in my life, some who have found success in entertainment, whose similarly painted on smiles conceal a monstrous personality off camera. Because of this, for me Taylor is in possession of the most punchable face I can think of in recent memory. I have a unbearable loathing of the guy.

When I told my sister I'd watched Dig! her response was:

"You've never seen Dig!?!"

Then . . .

"[Ex-boyfriend] was a big fan of the Brian Jonestown Massacre so I've watched Dig! *sigh* many times. Many times."

Then . . .

"[Friend] and I actually saw the Dandy Warhols in high school Courtney Taylor was so arrogant. It was so weird. It was like they were above us and we should be super grateful that they were playing for us."

LOL.

[WHITBISSELL!]

Man all this Prey talk is making me wanna rewatch Prey.It makes me want to re-pledge to watch it which I never quite got around to. I want some other people to watch it with me and getting the logistics in order is a real pain in the arse. Not to mention trying to figure out who has the valid Hulu account and moving the PS5.

I wonder if anyone else has that problem? Knowing that friends or family will surely like a particular movie and will want to watch it. So you don't want to watch it first all by yourself.

[Fabulous]

The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/tUiTbeXCTSC2au2IxkkFC5NIQTz.jpg

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw780%2FoZDRp2YU6op4nsixT69fz8MfH1J.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=31143ab40dc51a3ef55d69538073e59c1e031ddd9b01757d3301674ee8ac6b25&ipo=images

A Day at the Races, 1937

Dr. Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is hired to work at a flagging sanitarium in order to attract the patronage of the wealthy Mrs. Upjohn (Margaret Dumont). The problem is: Hackenbush is not really a medical man, he's a horse doctor. The sanitarium is owned by a young woman named Judy (Maureen O'Sullivan) and a local singer named Gil (Allan Jones) is determined to help her by buying a racehorse. But Judy's evil landlord, Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille) is determined to see the sanitarium shut down so that he can convert it into a casino.

This was generally an enjoyable comedy, with the usual highs and lows that I'm coming to expect from the Marx brothers.

On the plus side, yes, the patented quick banter, such as when someone asserts that the medicine he's giving Mrs. Upjohn is a horse pill, and Hackenbush retorts "You have nothing to worry about. The last patient I gave one of those to won the Kentucky Derby!" My favorite bit of writing/acting actually came from a scene in which Hackenbush goes to dinner with a woman named Flo (Esther Muir), who is meant to entrap Hackenbush in a compromising position. Flo speaks with a clipped "upper class" voice, and every time she says "thank you", Hackenbush responds with a similarly clipped Thank you. It's a running joke that didn't get old for the entire sequence.

There are also some signature physical comedy routines, especially a sequence where Chico and Harpo (playing a sanitarium worker and a jockey, respectively) frantically repaper a room to conceal Hackenbush and Flo from Mrs. Upjohn.

On the downside, yup, more groping women as comedy! And because she's a woman we don't like, she's not only groped, but slapped on the rear end on her way out of the room. Cool. Another woman is groped even more extensively AND her clothes are pulled off in a later scene, which naturally sexually arouses two of the three protagonists. And while I realize this is a screwball comedy, a man pretending to be a doctor including giving someone medications kind of gives me the heebies.

I also didn't care for the stunts involving the horse, which repeatedly involved it kicking out at hard objects like wagon wheels and wooden planks. I just cringed through all of those sequences. It didn't feel like animal acting---that horse seemed genuinely distressed at times and it was really unpleasant to watch.

I did like the singing and performance sequences, largely thanks to a really neat ballet number featuring Vivien Fay. While some of the songs were a bit slow for me, none of them grated or way overstayed their welcome.

A sequence I'm very mixed on involves the last act, in which Hackenbush and his associates are on the run and end up in a poor Black community. On the plus side, the Black characters are actually played by Black actors, including a highlighted singing performance from Ivie Anderson. There are lots of bug-eyed reaction shots, which of course have some negative associations, but don't feel as horribly out of place in the context of the over-the-top film. The song and dance number in the barn is certainly the performance highlight of the movie. Of course we can't escape blackface, but I appreciated that there's a reaction shot of one of the Black dancers looking at them like "Really?" and then they are immediately spotted by their pursuers because of course three white men with grease smeared on their faces don't actually look like Black people. It's not terrible, but every nice thing about it has to be prefaced with "For the time . . .".

A good comedy that mostly overcomes its squicky premise with quick banter and a strong last act.

3.5

[Thief]

EYES WITHOUT A FACE
(1960, Franju)

https://i.imgur.com/9Ogx3uQ.jpg


"Smile... Smile... Not too much."



Eyes Without a Face follows the above Dr. Génessier, whose doctor has been disfigured in a car accident. In his effort to restore her face, he resorts to all sort of terrible things to achieve his goal. But even if he succeeds, you get the notion that Christiane's happiness and well being are not his main focus. Génessier seems to be more driven by scientific ambition and perhaps something more psychologically troubling.

This is one of those films that is often mentioned among lists of great films, and I'm so happy I finally got around to it. Director Georges Franju starts us more or less "in the middle" of things, but he still has the patience to hold his reveals until the most precise moments, while maintaining a constant atmosphere of dread. The way he and his loyal assistant Louise (Alida Valli) prey on potential victims is effective and doesn't really let a lot of space for smiling.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2352101#post2352101)

[Fabulous]

The Killers (1946)

3.5

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/eHntkxgTcLHxYCTusHNJndwDkpV.jpg

[Jackie Daytona]

Man all this Prey talk is making me wanna rewatch Prey.

Prey was a bop. I like a movie that does what it says on the tin, and this movie gives you just what you’re expecting. I could watch a dozen movies where Predators drop into human history to mess with people.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Moana_Teaser_Poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50759197

Moana - (2016)

I was thinking this Disney animated film was going to be reaching for clichés and trotting out derivative and tired songs - and the first 15 or so minutes wasn't impressing me - but then the colour and vibrancy mixed with some awesome musical choices and cultural inclusions got me on board, with the film getting better and better as it went along. It's nice to have non-white characters that highlight Polynesian culture and legends instead of a whitewashing free-for-all, and the animation is simply breathtaking. In fact, there's a lot about this film that puts it in 'top drawer' territory - it looks so incredibly beautiful I want to hang it on my wall, with the sparkling sea and all of it's treasures highlighted, along with a Polynesian island paradise that features nature's best assets. I was especially overjoyed by Jemaine Clement playing the giant crab creature in the Realm of Monsters - and hearing him sing took me back to Flight of the Conchords - but Auliʻi Cravalho leads well with Dwayne Johnson and Temuera Morrison. The Gods and legends on display make for a truly magical story - this wasn't the throwaway I feared it might be - in fact it was terrific.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/Saving_Mr._Banks_Theatrical_Poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: Disney Insider, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40060295

Saving Mr. Banks - (2013)

I was hoping I could get my mother to watch this before she passed away, but sadly that never came to fruition - it's just a movie I thought she would have really liked. Watching it again, I thought it could be seen as schmaltzy to someone in an unforgiving mood - despite it being about the making of Mary Poppins, and how there was depth beneath the schmaltz in that. Disney represents the worst in some respects - the cold corporate machine behind the toys and movies your children love, and it's impossible to take that out of the equation. It's why you can sit through a movie as good as Saving Mr. Banks and then, in spite of enjoying it, think "Screw that movie." There's love and emotionless capital mixed together, and it's often hard to separate the two - so cynics and romantics are both right. I was delighted by this the first time I saw it, and although I'm over the surprise and delight I still rank Saving Mr. Banks as good.

7/10

[gbgoodies]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Moana_Teaser_Poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50759197

Moana - (2016)

I was thinking this Disney animated film was going to be reaching for clichés and trotting out derivative and tired songs - and the first 15 or so minutes wasn't impressing me - but then the colour and vibrancy mixed with some awesome musical choices and cultural inclusions got me on board, with the film getting better and better as it went along. It's nice to have non-white characters that highlight Polynesian culture and legends instead of a whitewashing free-for-all, and the animation is simply breathtaking. In fact, there's a lot about this film that puts it in 'top drawer' territory - it looks so incredibly beautiful I want to hang it on my wall, with the sparkling sea and all of it's treasures highlighted, along with a Polynesian island paradise that features nature's best assets. I was especially overjoyed by Jemaine Clement playing the giant crab creature in the Realm of Monsters - and hearing him sing took me back to Flight of the Conchords - but Auliʻi Cravalho leads well with Dwayne Johnson and Temuera Morrison. The Gods and legends on display make for a truly magical story - this wasn't the throwaway I feared it might be - in fact it was terrific.

8/10


I watched Moana last week, and I haven't been able to get this song out of my head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79DijItQXMM

[PHOENIX74]

I watched Moana last week, and I haven't been able to get this song out of my head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79DijItQXMM

So catchy! There were some great songs with inventive animation in that movie - I loved it.

[LChimp]

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fe/97/90/fe97905c75005ebae0d7c905d77cbf7d.jpg

3/10. DC movies always feel a little off to me. The script is usually the worst offender.

[crumbsroom]

When I told my sister I'd watched Dig! her response was:

"You've never seen Dig!?!"

Then . . .

"[Ex-boyfriend] was a big fan of the Brian Jonestown Massacre so I've watched Dig! *sigh* many times. Many times."

Then . . .

"[Friend] and I actually saw the Dandy Warhols in high school Courtney Taylor was so arrogant. It was so weird. It was like they were above us and we should be super grateful that they were playing for us."

LOL.


I knew it. I can spot them a mile away

[John McClane]

American Psycho - 2

Gets worse every time I watch it. But that Jared Leto axe scene is primo.

https://media.tenor.com/NcDLiSD91MwAAAAC/american-psycho-christian-bale.gif

[Thief]

LATVIAN SHORTS
DRAMATIC ENDING • DEVIATE • THE LETTER • VERTIGO
(2019, Arne • 2020, Ozola • 2002, Leschiov • 2018, Mihailova)

https://i.imgur.com/MH1tcTX.png


"Every project is an opportunity to learn and could bring a shift that maybe the viewer doesn’t notice, but is really significant for your creative practice."



The above is a quote from Liāna Mihailova, a Latvian cinematographer and director who directed Vertigo, one of four Latvian animated short films I saw as part of my monthly challenge. More by chance than by design, the four short films I randomly chose were the first, and sometimes, the only project so far from all four filmmakers, which could explain the experimental and yes, weird nature of them.

There really isn't a clear or intentional narrative tie between them, considering I chose them at random, but the four showcase bizarre scenarios and unique animation styles. Like Mihailova said, these projects are learning opportunities to grow and develop, it seems, and they are all impressively done as far as the craft goes. The stories are mostly quirky and weird, but you can feel the heart and creative passion in all of them.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2352233#post2352233)

[Gideon58]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/badlands-1973/large_5coQNUsKxcELp17U3ptIAm5WY8M.jpg



4

[Stirchley]

90247

Who knew Mila Kunis could act. Good movie based on true events. A tad overwrought at times, but I enjoyed it.

[Takoma11]

Thank you to those who pointed out that I'd reviewed a long lost, previously unheard of film by the Marx Brothers called A Night at the Opear.

[Gideon58]

90247

Who knew Mila Kunis could act. Good movie based on true events. A tad overwrought at times, but I enjoyed it.


This movie had its problems, mostly rooted in the screenplay, but it's quite watchable and definitely Mila Kunis' strongest performance. Close is superb and I would have nominated her for this rather than for Hillbilly Elegy.

[Gideon58]

So catchy! There were some great songs with inventive animation in that movie - I loved it.


"You're welcome" was my favorite song in the movie and Dwayne nailed it.

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/Saving_Mr._Banks_Theatrical_Poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: Disney Insider, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40060295

Saving Mr. Banks - (2013)

I was hoping I could get my mother to watch this before she passed away, but sadly that never came to fruition - it's just a movie I thought she would have really liked. Watching it again, I thought it could be seen as schmaltzy to someone in an unforgiving mood - despite it being about the making of Mary Poppins, and how there was depth beneath the schmaltz in that. Disney represents the worst in some respects - the cold corporate machine behind the toys and movies your children love, and it's impossible to take that out of the equation. It's why you can sit through a movie as good as Saving Mr. Banks and then, in spite of enjoying it, think "Screw that movie." There's love and emotionless capital mixed together, and it's often hard to separate the two - so cynics and romantics are both right. I was delighted by this the first time I saw it, and although I'm over the surprise and delight I still rank Saving Mr. Banks as good.

7/10[/QUOTE]


I loved saving Mr Banks...I think Emma Thompson was robbed of an Oscar nomination. She was the anchor that made this movie work.

[Gideon58]

90204

Re-watch. Good movie. Unusual story.

Loved this movie and really don't think it got the attention it deserved. Danie Day Lewis and Lesley Manville were brilliant.

[Takoma11]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.escapistmagazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2Fjeanne-dielman.jpg%3Fresize%3D1200%252C675&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=912738772fc8eecd050ac9c462f35519a61b932caa0e1e8d1eaed412bd2c6fc5&ipo=images

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig) is a widow who lives in an apartment with her teenage son (Jan Decorte) and supports herself in part through sex work. The film follows Jeanne through three consecutive days her her life as small fractures begin to appear in Jeanne's carefully regimented daily routines and rituals.

This was a rewatch, of course inspired by the Sight and Sound list, but also instigated by surprise that I didn't write up a review of this film when I watched it the first time.

If possible, this one was even better a second time around. While the film's narrative is, to say the least, minimal, knowing the broader beats of the story meant really being able to sink into the details that populate the film.

Anchoring the film is Seyrig's excellent performance as Jeanne. It's a performance that shows just enough, but matches the film itself in the way that it resists offering any simple insights into Jeanne's state of mind. Sure, we see the way that Jeanne pulls her hand away when one of her clients tries to hold it in a familiar way. But what is going through her mind as she tries (and fails) to soothe the baby she's watching for a neighbor? What is she thinking when the woman at the fabric store tells her that it's not good to just change one button--you have to change them all? Seyrig lets Jeanne rest on the perfect tipping point between poise and rigidity, and her actions between precision and compulsion. As the film goes on, she seems to skew more towards the latter, reaching out a hand to touch the mailbox when she leaves the apartment in an unplanned brief sojourn.

This time around I was very struck by the portrayal of the apartment itself and the way that the film plays with Jeanne's relationship to her space. As the camera is always static, Jeanne often wanders out of frame, giving you time to consider the various structures around her. This is only exacerbated by the detail that Jeanne turns the lights on and off every time she enters or leaves a room. While it may mainly serve to show her frugality, it often put me in mind of those display cases in museums where you push a button to illuminate a diorama. And on a different level, we see how the different spaces of the house match up with certain rituals. It's particularly striking to watch Jeanne take away her son's dirty clothing and then fold his bed away into a couch, essentially erasing him from the apartment until his return from school each day.

I really appreciated the way that the film builds a strong sense of unease, using the combination of what is shown and not shown to push us towards Jeanne's mindset. When, on the third day, Jeanne seems disgusted by a carafe of coffee, I immediately asked, "Wait, did she make the coffee this morning?" I knew we'd seen it on the second day, but did we see it on the third day? Did she not make it, or did we not see her make it? At times, watching the film gives you that "Did I lock the door?" or "Did I turn off the oven?" sensation. The length of the sequences and the similarities between the three days at times make it hard to remember which actions happened on which day. We get some small taste of the way that even a small deviation in her daily routine can throw Jeanne's whole day off track.

Lastly, the film presents some interesting questions about what it means to perform intimate/familial duties as labor. There are two kinds of intimate labor that Jeanne does in the film: the "free" labor that she performs for her son like making his meals, taking care of his clothing, and giving him money to spend. The other labor that she performs is for others, such as watching her neighbor's baby and, of course, her sex work. Jeanne is notably emotionally detached through much of the film. Has she always been this way, or is it a way of living that she uses to disconnect from the discomfort of having sex with men she does not love (or even like) and caring for an infant that isn't her own? While she is paid for her sex work, we see the men take liberties, such as holding her hand and, later, refusing to get off of her when she tries to push him away. The line between Jeanne as a person and Jeanne as a product is constantly being blurred. Her rituals provide a scaffold for her, but such a rigid way of living is punishing when things get off track.

I thought that the film's runtime would be a bit painful with the novelty of a first viewing out of the way, but if anything I was more engrossed this time and I was shocked at how fast the whole thing flew by. There are so many little details, little gestures to pick out. The most mundane thing that she does is layered with meaning, whether that's cleaning out the bathtub, reaching (inexplicably?) for her top pocket, or smoothing out the bedding on her bed.

I felt so in sync with the film this time around. Even as Jeanne and her motivations or emotions were hidden or ambiguous at times, there was an innate logic to everything that happened that made everything that went wrong for Jeanne feel at once avoidable and inevitable.

5

[Jackie Daytona]

King of Chinatown (1939)


Ah wow, I love me a classic noir from the 1930's; this one stands out by featuring Anna May Wong during a brief period in Hollywood history when Asian-American actors were allowed to speak in normal English. It's an amazing snapshot of 1930's San Francisco, it's just classic grimy noir.




https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ1NTMyMjY4Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDE1MDQ0MjE@._V1_.jpg

[Fabulous]

Summer Stock (1950)

2

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/hgViSp8G2HbMpXJ85XaT6QJHHcD.jpg

[ScarletLion]

'Two For the Road' (1967)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTI2NzY5MDE3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzUwOTI2._V1_.jpg

"HOW CAN A WEEK GO SO QUICKLY?"
"WE MADE THE MISTAKE OF ENJOYING OURSELVES"

Stanley Donen's 'Two for the Road' is a cynical but possibly accurate take on marriage and the sacrifice it takes. Part road movie, part flashback relationship drama - It's very witty in places due to the razor sharp dialogue, mostly coming out of Albert Finney's mouth and surely influenced great filmmakers like Mike Leigh, Rob Reiner (The Sure Thing has so much in common with this film) and Wes Anderson. The photography, colour and wardrobe choices all brilliantly capture the late 60s too especially where beautiful Audrey Hepburn is concerned.

4

............>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>...........

'Parallel Mothers' (2022)

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3d3EwIAsQNdwGtts6Fh41acIpTZ96-3AwkSRI-LZ_Vln9xmW_UyDnws8xiPUx8Iv2Q4c&usqp=CAU

Another sumptuous Almodovar. Will be in the running for one of the best films of the year. Penelope Cruz is outstanding, the colours in the film mean so much - (E.g.: fore-shadowing grief, fertility or danger).

The film isn't just about the two mothers. It's about the injustices of the Spanish civil war. How Almodovar weaves the two into one film is nothing short of miraculous. Almodovar is a genius.

4.5

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Moana_Teaser_Poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50759197

Moana - (2016)

I was thinking this Disney animated film was going to be reaching for clichés and trotting out derivative and tired songs - and the first 15 or so minutes wasn't impressing me - but then the colour and vibrancy mixed with some awesome musical choices and cultural inclusions got me on board, with the film getting better and better as it went along. It's nice to have non-white characters that highlight Polynesian culture and legends instead of a whitewashing free-for-all, and the animation is simply breathtaking. In fact, there's a lot about this film that puts it in 'top drawer' territory - it looks so incredibly beautiful I want to hang it on my wall, with the sparkling sea and all of it's treasures highlighted, along with a Polynesian island paradise that features nature's best assets. I was especially overjoyed by Jemaine Clement playing the giant crab creature in the Realm of Monsters - and hearing him sing took me back to Flight of the Conchords - but Auliʻi Cravalho leads well with Dwayne Johnson and Temuera Morrison. The Gods and legends on display make for a truly magical story - this wasn't the throwaway I feared it might be - in fact it was terrific.

8/10



I'm with you, I had fairly low expectations and got them trounced. This really is this type of movie at or near its best and I felt, culturally, it even transcended a bit, feeling, in a couple of moments, a bit more like something like Kubo and the Two Strings than standard Disney fare.

[Wooley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/Saving_Mr._Banks_Theatrical_Poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: Disney Insider, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40060295

Saving Mr. Banks - (2013)

I was hoping I could get my mother to watch this before she passed away, but sadly that never came to fruition - it's just a movie I thought she would have really liked. Watching it again, I thought it could be seen as schmaltzy to someone in an unforgiving mood - despite it being about the making of Mary Poppins, and how there was depth beneath the schmaltz in that. Disney represents the worst in some respects - the cold corporate machine behind the toys and movies your children love, and it's impossible to take that out of the equation. It's why you can sit through a movie as good as Saving Mr. Banks and then, in spite of enjoying it, think "Screw that movie." There's love and emotionless capital mixed together, and it's often hard to separate the two - so cynics and romantics are both right. I was delighted by this the first time I saw it, and although I'm over the surprise and delight I still rank Saving Mr. Banks as good.

7/10


Emma Thompson is always robbed of an Oscar nomination. If they gave her one every time she deserved one no one but her, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep would ever get nominated.

[Wooley]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.escapistmagazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2Fjeanne-dielman.jpg%3Fresize%3D1200%252C675&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=912738772fc8eecd050ac9c462f35519a61b932caa0e1e8d1eaed412bd2c6fc5&ipo=images

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig) is a widow who lives in an apartment with her teenage son (Jan Decorte) and supports herself in part through sex work. The film follows Jeanne through three consecutive days her her life as small fractures begin to appear in Jeanne's carefully regimented daily routines and rituals.

This was a rewatch, of course inspired by the Sight and Sound list, but also instigated by surprise that I didn't write up a review of this film when I watched it the first time.

If possible, this one was even better a second time around. While the film's narrative is, to say the least, minimal, knowing the broader beats of the story meant really being able to sink into the details that populate the film.

Anchoring the film is Seyrig's excellent performance as Jeanne. It's a performance that shows just enough, but matches the film itself in the way that it resists offering any simple insights into Jeanne's state of mind. Sure, we see the way that Jeanne pulls her hand away when one of her clients tries to hold it in a familiar way. But what is going through her mind as she tries (and fails) to soothe the baby she's watching for a neighbor? What is she thinking when the woman at the fabric store tells her that it's not good to just change one button--you have to change them all? Seyrig lets Jeanne rest on the perfect tipping point between poise and rigidity, and her actions between precision and compulsion. As the film goes on, she seems to skew more towards the latter, reaching out a hand to touch the mailbox when she leaves the apartment in an unplanned brief sojourn.

This time around I was very struck by the portrayal of the apartment itself and the way that the film plays with Jeanne's relationship to her space. As the camera is always static, Jeanne often wanders out of frame, giving you time to consider the various structures around her. This is only exacerbated by the detail that Jeanne turns the lights on and off every time she enters or leaves a room. While it may mainly serve to show her frugality, it often put me in mind of those display cases in museums where you push a button to illuminate a diorama. And on a different level, we see how the different spaces of the house match up with certain rituals. It's particularly striking to watch Jeanne take away her son's dirty clothing and then fold his bed away into a couch, essentially erasing him from the apartment until his return from school each day.

I really appreciated the way that the film builds a strong sense of unease, using the combination of what is shown and not shown to push us towards Jeanne's mindset. When, on the third day, Jeanne seems disgusted by a carafe of coffee, I immediately asked, "Wait, did she make the coffee this morning?" I knew we'd seen it on the second day, but did we see it on the third day? Did she not make it, or did we not see her make it? At times, watching the film gives you that "Did I lock the door?" or "Did I turn off the oven?" sensation. The length of the sequences and the similarities between the three days at times make it hard to remember which actions happened on which day. We get some small taste of the way that even a small deviation in her daily routine can throw Jeanne's whole day off track.

Lastly, the film presents some interesting questions about what it means to perform intimate/familial duties as labor. There are two kinds of intimate labor that Jeanne does in the film: the "free" labor that she performs for her son like making his meals, taking care of his clothing, and giving him money to spend. The other labor that she performs is for others, such as watching her neighbor's baby and, of course, her sex work. Jeanne is notably emotionally detached through much of the film. Has she always been this way, or is it a way of living that she uses to disconnect from the discomfort of having sex with men she does not love (or even like) and caring for an infant that isn't her own? While she is paid for her sex work, we see the men take liberties, such as holding her hand and, later, refusing to get off of her when she tries to push him away. The line between Jeanne as a person and Jeanne as a product is constantly being blurred. Her rituals provide a scaffold for her, but such a rigid way of living is punishing when things get off track.

I thought that the film's runtime would be a bit painful with the novelty of a first viewing out of the way, but if anything I was more engrossed this time and I was shocked at how fast the whole thing flew by. There are so many little details, little gestures to pick out. The most mundane thing that she does is layered with meaning, whether that's cleaning out the bathtub, reaching (inexplicably?) for her top pocket, or smoothing out the bedding on her bed.

I felt so in sync with the film this time around. Even as Jeanne and her motivations or emotions were hidden or ambiguous at times, there was an innate logic to everything that happened that made everything that went wrong for Jeanne feel at once avoidable and inevitable.

5

I'm having such an interesting relationship with this film right now.
I have not seen it.
I hope to but I have such a hard time with my ADHD and films over two hours that aren't just buzzy action films. Much worse now than when I was younger and could watch anything.
I am so fascinated by the World's reaction to it ending up at the top of the Sight & Sound poll. As I continue to see just how many people included it on their list (especially since the lists are unranked) I am struck by what this means about the cinema-loving world. The negative reactions, to me, aren't about the cinema-loving world but more about the socio-political realm that we all exist in (whether we want to or not). It's funny that I only recently, in the last 3 years, say, became aware of this film and now it is, arguably, the most important film in the World. At least at this moment.
And then there is the film itself. I have seen a little bit of it in the numerous videos I have watched about this current phenomenon, not enough to ruin anything (although some f*cker in a major publication spoiled the ending for me) but enough to engage me. I can see the craft, easily. I watched an interview with Akerman where she talks about casting Seyrig, who was apparently a very glamorous star at the time and how playing her against that type was part of what made the film so powerful at the time.
I've had a number of conversations about what the film means and why it is so important to so many people and that has been more than illuminating. It was also interesting to me that my friend, Alison, watched it and simply said, "I don't get it. And I don't just mean the movie, which is what it is, I mean why it's a big deal. I thought it was boring." That was not a reaction I expected to get from someone. But it adds another color to the discussion.
Anyway, I appreciate your review, it adds, as I say, more color to the discussion. And I do hope to see it one day.

[LChimp]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/bUeiwBQdupBLQthMCHKV7zv56uv.jpg

Re-watch. This is a movie.

[Gideon58]

I loved saving Mr Banks...I think Emma Thompson was robbed of an Oscar nomination. She was the anchor that made this movie work.

Emma Thompson is always robbed of an Oscar nomination. If they gave her one every time she deserved one no one but her, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep would ever get nominated.[/QUOTE]


She should have been nominated for Cruella too.

[Wooley]

Emma Thompson is always robbed of an Oscar nomination. If they gave her one every time she deserved one no one but her, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep would ever get nominated.


She should have been nominated for Cruella too.[/QUOTE]

Haven't seen that one yet, but I will.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmU0NjQyNGEtOWZiYy00ZTAyLWE3OTItODE3NDAwYmFkNGFkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU3MzE1NTYy._V1_.jpg



3.5

[chawhee]

Just Friends (2006)
https://netflix-news.atsit.in/l/tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/12/hayranlar-ryan-reynolds-basrollu-bu-sevkli-ama-degeri-az-bilinen-noel-filmi-hakkinda-konusurken-noel-canlarini-caliyor.jpg
3
I wonder if this makes anyone's Christmas classics list to watch every year, because there are some really funny moments. Some of it is senseless though. Ryan Reynolds being typical Ryan Reynolds, but the supporting cast (Smart, Faris) is what makes this stand out a bit.

[Gideon58]

Just Friends (2006)
https://netflix-news.atsit.in/l/tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/12/hayranlar-ryan-reynolds-basrollu-bu-sevkli-ama-degeri-az-bilinen-noel-filmi-hakkinda-konusurken-noel-canlarini-caliyor.jpg
3
I wonder if this makes anyone's Christmas classics list to watch every year, because there are some really funny moments. Some of it is senseless though. Ryan Reynolds being typical Ryan Reynolds, but the supporting cast (Smart, Faris) is what makes this stand out a bit.

Your thoughts about this movie are pretty much spot on. I found Ryan Reynolds' character really unlikable, but the rest of the cast is great.

[Gideon58]

'Two For the Road' (1967)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTI2NzY5MDE3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzUwOTI2._V1_.jpg

"HOW CAN A WEEK GO SO QUICKLY?"
"WE MADE THE MISTAKE OF ENJOYING OURSELVES"

Stanley Donen's 'Two for the Road' is a cynical but possibly accurate take on marriage and the sacrifice it takes. Part road movie, part flashback relationship drama - It's very witty in places due to the razor sharp dialogue, mostly coming out of Albert Finney's mouth and surely influenced great filmmakers like Mike Leigh, Rob Reiner (The Sure Thing has so much in common with this film) and Wes Anderson. The photography, colour and wardrobe choices all brilliantly capture the late 60s too especially where beautiful Audrey Hepburn is concerned.

4

............>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>...........

'Parallel Mothers' (2022)

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3d3EwIAsQNdwGtts6Fh41acIpTZ96-3AwkSRI-LZ_Vln9xmW_UyDnws8xiPUx8Iv2Q4c&usqp=CAU

Another sumptuous Almodovar. Will be in the running for one of the best films of the year. Penelope Cruz is outstanding, the colours in the film mean so much - (E.g.: fore-shadowing grief, fertility or danger).

The film isn't just about the two mothers. It's about the injustices of the Spanish civil war. How Almodovar weaves the two into one film is nothing short of miraculous. Almodovar is a genius.

4.5


LOVE Two for the Road...the stars are brilliant. Didn't like Parallel Mothers asmuch as you did, but I liked it.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/White_Noise_%282022_film%29.jpg
By Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71602243

White Noise - (2022)

I'm having trouble rating films I see at the movies - I enjoy my cinematic sojourns so much they invariably get rated highly. But while I don't feel like seeing a film like Barbarian again, I definitely have a need to see White Noise again. I was transfixed by it's absurdist action and dialogue, ideas and off-center plot development - although all of these things would have been less surprising if I'd read Don DeLillo's novel. Adam Driver is great, in partnership again with director Noah Baumbach, and the film itself doesn't easily lend itself to comparisons. Take for example Driver's Prof. Jack Gladney and Don Cheadle's Prof. Murray Siskind combining Elvis with Hitler into some kind of double-team lecture - a real highlight of the film. Baumbach has adapted the film quite well, and the actors really go with him. At the end of it's 136 minutes I thought "aww", because I really wanted more. What strange existential pain, and oddly formulated fears and comments on today - despite the film being set late-last-century. When Driver, whose various stepchildren and real children start discussing twisted trivia and facts says "The family is the cradle of the misinformation of tomorrow" it seemed pointed. The film centers on his family, with him being a professor of "Hitler studies" at at the College-on-the-Hill - and although an "Airborne Toxic Event" takes up much of the plot, the film has plenty of other avenues it heads down. Can't wait to watch this one again.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Shrek_%282001_animated_feature_film%29.jpg
By http://graphics.wsj.com/oscars-expanded/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=757914

Shrek - (2001)

Already having seen Shrek took the sting out of many funny parts, but there are some I still really enjoyed again. For example the Gingerbread Man, who I love so dearly (and played such a bigger part in the second Shrek film) and the exploding bird, which tweeted up a storm in a seemingly magical morning scene. In fact, I prefer all of the parts which touch on other fairy tales rather than the main characters - so much subversion going on here, and I love some good subversion. I'm rating this for the revolutionary magnitude of this film in it's day - changed the game a little bit for animated features, winning an Oscar in the process.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Shrek_2_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2004/shrek_two_ver8.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35202714


Shrek 2 - (2004)

Why are animated sequels so much more successful than sequels to other features? Doesn't matter. This was was of a similar quality to the first - great new character with Puss in Boots. Nice inclusions with John Cleese and Jennifer Saunders, not to mention Julie Andrews.

7/10

[Thief]

THE WAGES OF FEAR
(1953, Clouzot)

https://i.imgur.com/z6LiTrD.jpg


"When I was a kid, I used to see men go off on this kind of jobs... and not come back. When they did, they were wrecks. Their hair had turned white and their hands were shaking like palsy! You don't know what fear is. But you'll see."



The Wages of Fear follows a group of four European men "trapped" in a Latin American country. Desperate to get out, they accept a dangerous but well-paid job to drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerine to an oil well that's on fire. The danger is that they have to transport the volatile cargo through rocky terrain, narrow mountain roads, and rickety bridges, all while dealing with their own personal issues and ambitions.

If there's a word to describe this film is tension, constant tension. Even during the first act, as Clouzot takes his time to introduce the characters and set the premise, the tension between these men seeps through the screen. But once they hop in those trucks, tension takes a different form. Every bump on the road, every road turn becomes a potential death trap, and Clouzot directs the hell out of it.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2352725#post2352725)

[Thief]

OCEAN'S ELEVEN
(1960, Milestone)

https://i.imgur.com/pM4z0GD.jpg


"There's only one thing you love, Danny: that's danger. Cliffhanging. You could never love a woman like you love danger."



That's the judgment that Beatrice Ocean (Angie Dickinson) lashes at her ex-husband, Danny (Frank Sinatra), and shortly after, she more or less disappears from his life and from the story. Because much like with Danny, the focus of the story is not in any character-driven conflict, but ultimately in seeing the Rat Pack pull off a heist, and Ocean's Eleven delivers just that.

The film follows Ocean, a World War II veteran that recruits his former war buddies and friends to rob five casinos on the same night. Why? Well, because if there's one thing he loves is danger. There really isn't much on background, but not much as far as the heist preparation goes either. We see "preparations" going on, but there isn't the tension nor the cleverness you would expect from other heist films.

Grade: 2


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2352737#post2352737)

[ScarletLion]

'The Banshees of Inisherin' (2022)

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/032832cbae49cbd280dfb03713393f26bebc20e1/134_0_1648_800/master/1648.jpg?width=700&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none

Yes, it's good. Perhaps even very good. The dialogue is great - jet black comedy piercing through the beautiful rugged coastline of Ireland. The acting is on point. There is alot going on in this film. So many themes like male pride, loneliness, grief, the backdrop of war, relationships, letting go of friends, and even a hint towards current social landscapes.

But to be honest, it didn't quite elevate to the film I expected it to be, given all the hype around it. It's a solid 7.5/10 film. I just thought it faded away a tiny bit towards the end. Great writing though.

3.5

[xSookieStackhouse]

5 amazing movie. amazing music and titanic vibes and omg look amazing in 3D 😍
https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/avatar-the-way-of-water-poster.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=480&h=&dpr=1.5

[EndlessDream]

https://i.imgur.com/R8xvsro.jpg

Holiday Inn is an Irving Berlin musical starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astair. Bing stars as Jim, a singer who longs for a stable life, so he builds an inn in the countryside open only on the 15 major holidays throughout the year. Fred Astair is Ted, his former partner who craves fame, fortune, and the hustle and bustle of city life. Their rift isn't merely philosophical though, as Jim resents Ted's propensity for luring away his girlfriends.

As a fan of White Christmas, I was let down by this. The musical routines are fantastic, but the story and characters are messy. Ted is just a complete a-hole. He flirts with Jim's girlfriends, sometimes right in front of him. And Jim lacks so much confidence in himself and trust in his significant others that he feels the need to hide them from Ted. The girl in question, Linda played by Marjorie Reynolds, says she's no man's property, but ends up going along with what they want anyway.

Holiday Inn is famous for the song White Christmas and the scenes it's featured in are touching. The catchy song Lincoln is made uncomfortable by the blackface act. Fred Astair's most impressive numbers are Firecracker, his drunk dancing, and Be Careful, It's My Heart. It's unfortunate that these numbers couldn't have been supported by a better movie around them. I'll probably watch this again at some point, but it won't be an annual watch like White Christmas.

[Torgo]

The Outfit (2022) - 4

If you're not already a fan of single-location movies, this is bound to make you one. Set in 1950s Chicago, clothier Leonard Burling (Mark Rylance) allows the Mob to operate in his shop, even housing their dropbox in the back room. His sole employee is secretary Mabel (Zoey Deutch), who's not cut out for the work or life in her crime-ridden city and is eager to travel the world as soon as she's able. Burling's relationship with the mob becomes more tenuous when something tragic occurs.

The role of Burling is a gift for Rylance for how tailored (sorry) it is to his strengths. It's one requiring him to make you wonder if he's the smartest person in the room or just good at pretending that he is, which he's a proven expert at as Bridge of Spies and Wolf Hall indicate. Deutch also impresses, as does Simon Russell Beale's mob boss, especially for how well he nails a Chicago accent. Aside from the obvious that Burling's shop is the only set, the movie would translate well to the stage since it manages to deliver thrills and chills mostly via acting and dialogue. While that seems like a basic quality to mention, and even though I'm all for innovation, it's a breath of fresh air to be wowed by them in this era in which I've come to expect the visuals and the editing to do this. Also, and hopefully not to spoil it too much, but if at any point you think the movie has used up its bag of tricks, think again. Graham Moore's script is like a well-oiled machine on the whole, but there are a few occasions in which characters behave irrationally to further the plot. That doesn't take away from it being a movie that sadly seems like a rarity these days: a quality thriller for grownups that respects your intelligence.

[Stirchley]

This movie had its problems, mostly rooted in the screenplay, but it's quite watchable and definitely Mila Kunis' strongest performance. Close is superb and I would have nominated her for this rather than for Hillbilly Elegy.

I bailed out of Hillbilly. Liked this much more. Took me a few minutes to realize it was Glenn Close.

Loved this movie and really don't think it got the attention it deserved. Danie Day Lewis and Lesley Manville were brilliant.

Agreed. Vicky Krieps was also very good indeed.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.escapistmagazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2Fjeanne-dielman.jpg%3Fresize%3D1200%252C675&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=912738772fc8eecd050ac9c462f35519a61b932caa0e1e8d1eaed412bd2c6fc5&ipo=images

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles



I’m wondering if you know why she was so upset with her final customer? (Seen this movie a million times. Love it.)

'Two For the Road' (1967)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTI2NzY5MDE3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzUwOTI2._V1_.jpg

Love this movie.

'The Banshees of Inisherin' (2022)

It’s in my watchlist. I expect I will like it.

[doubledenim]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/White_Noise_%282022_film%29.jpg

This is the only movie I’m really interested in seeing. Reviews have not been great and I wonder if that’s from people being unfamiliar with the material. The last act is one I’m really curious to see “if” and how it’s translated.

[Stirchley]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/bUeiwBQdupBLQthMCHKV7zv56uv.jpg

Re-watch. This is a movie.

I venture to say the greatest rôle for both of them. Seen it a million times.

[Takoma11]

I’m wondering if you know why she was so upset with her final customer? (Seen this movie a million times. Love it.)

My interpretation is that she panics when she realizes she is heading toward an orgasm. She tries to push him off, but he won't get off of her. She does have the orgasm and I think she kills him (1) because now she has that association with her sex work, (2) he wouldn't get off of her, and (3) things have been going off the rails and this is the last straw.

I read Emily Nagoski's book Come As You Are a few years back (yes, I talk about this book all the time!), and one of the things it discusses is the fact that victims of sexual assault can experience orgasm during their assault due to something called arousal nonconcordance (basically where the brain and body are not aligned in their response to something). It can cause people a huge amount of trauma, and I can definitely see that being part of Jeanne's reaction in that scene.