Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[skizzerflake]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FhpQZKjXkAA9lWd.jpg:large

I liked this, but I liked X better. Let MaXXXine come

Wow....how do you make slasher porn look like sex porn? Get a poster like this.

[Chypmunk]

Recent watches:
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood 2019 3
Battle Of The Bulge 1965 3.5
Big Jake 1971 2.5+
Bloodshot 2020 2.5+
The Motorcycle Diaries 2004 3.5+
Gesture 2019 2.5
Rocky Mountain 1980 2.5+
Happy Death Day 2U 2019 2.5+
Jail Caesar (aka String Caesar) 2012 2+
Jericho 2000 2.5+

[Thief]

OUT
(2020, Hunter)

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


"This hurts... This *really* hurts."



Out follows Greg (Kyle McDaniel), a young gay man that's struggling with the decision to come out to his parents. But things get crazy when they unexpectedly visit him to help him move, and he ends up with his mind swapped with his dog, Jim. Greg/Jim then spends the rest of the short trying to hide any evidence of him being gay from his parents.

I'm not gay, but I can only assume that coming out has never been easy. Stigmas and discrimination makes the process really hard on everybody involved, and more often than not, people get hurt in the process. However, sometimes the hurt doesn't necessarily come from the "revelation", but rather from the lack of communication and trust between the family.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2383993#post2383993)

[Torgo]

Haha what a coincidence, this is on my to-watch list right now, I'm going through the movies of Johnnie To, including:


Election (parts 1 and 2)

For my money, Johnie To is the most underrated gangster/crime movie director out there. Election is an epic two-part story in the style of Scorsese that follows a traditional election among Hong Kong gang bosses to decide on the head boss of the entire syndicate. It's a tale of ancient triad traditions crumbling in the face of modernity and the fundamental absurdity of trying to impose norms on criminal gang bosses who are willing to engage in increasingly savage tactics to seize power.

Strong recommend if you like Goodfellas or Casino.Hope you enjoy it. Election (part 1) actually left me pretty cold, but I'd still like to give it another chance some day. You should also check out Vengeance and Breaking News.

[Stirchley]

92469

Mark Wahlberg very good as he always is. Movie too long though. Dragged at the end

[Gideon58]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FhpQZKjXkAA9lWd.jpg:large

I liked this, but I liked X better. Let MaXXXine come


I liked this better than X

[beelzebubble]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/64/Jane_eyre_ver1.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16189573

Jane Eyre - (1996)

It's been 12 years since the last adaptation of Jane Eyre was released, which means we're pretty much due for another one when you consider the time gap between adaptations. There were two made during the 90s, only 1 year apart, but generally it's a decade by decade prospect. Some time last year I decided I'd take on a little side project, and compare all the adaptations - my first experience was with the 2011 Mia Wasikowska/Michael Fassbender version. Last night I gave the 1996 Charlotte Gainsbourg/William Hurt version a go - produced and distributed by Miramax, so unfortunately it includes Harvey Weinstein's name prominently in the opening credits. Gainsbourg's name never came up as one of the ladies he abused, so hopefully she avoided the big-bodied producer in his bathrobe asking for a "massage". This adaptation was fine - everything you'd expect, and I really liked Gainsbourg in this. Although William Hurt came in for come criticism for being wrong for the part, I thought he acquitted himself well also. He's no Timothy Dalton or Michael Fassbender though. But, as Jane Eyre herself says, "Remember, the shadows are just as important as the light." This version makes itself unique in character by casting him.

7/10
OMG I have to disagree with the critics. I thought William Hurt brought such depth to the Rochester. Charlotte Gainsbourg, with her offbeat looks gives us a more convincing Jane. Fassbender and Timothy Dalton are too dang sexy for Rochester. William Hurt is also a very handsome man but he has some miles on by the time he made this version of Jane Eyre and his character just exudes an air of sadness and desperation. Have you seen the version of Jane Eyre with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine yet?

[beelzebubble]

Interesting, sorta good, AIR. It's an odd movie, about Micheal Jordan and the development and release of the "Air Jordan", the shoe that saved the fortunes of Nike and is still made, sold on Amazon for like $500 as of tonight. I don't get it, but it is what it is. The movie catches Jordan as a rising star and the guys at Nike, recognizing his talent, manage to get a contract with Jordan to use his name, blindsiding everybody else who wants a piece of his image.

It was one of the first times that a sports figure got not just paid to license a name, but got a piece of every sale, so even now Jordan gets paid a piece of every shoe, a nice deal. Since that deal, all sports heroes need a shoe or a jersey or something sellable that people will buy.

The movie is fairly pedestrian, and, for reasons I don't quite understand, probably something about image licensing, "Jordan" (portrayed by an actor) appears in a bunch of scenes, but we never get a clear view. This is the way old movies portrayed Jesus. Often sports movies are lost on me. This one is no exception.

5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euy4Yu6B3nU
Dude, you cracked me up.

[beelzebubble]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Jane_Eyre.jpeg
By Movie Poster Database, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7678285

Jane Eyre - (1943)

My third Jane Eyre, and my reaction to this one has me thinking I should space them out a little more - Orson Welles plays Edward Rochester in a curious manner. Gruffly masculine, which I guess is on the money, but still feels strange when it's coming from a peach-faced, smooth, Orson Welles - and it's the way his eyes seem to penetrate what they're looking at that captivates. This follows the usual story beats in a familiar pattern - the adaptations go back as far as 1910 (that version is lost however - a shame, I'd love to see how they squeeze everything onto one reel) and there followed one in 1921, and one in 1934, the latter of which goes only 62 minutes. I feel the need to read the novel starting to bother me...

6/10


Aww I'm sorry you didn't love this. It is so wonderfully gothic. Orson Welles had a gravitas beyond his years and played many parts he was to young for obstensibly. For me, every Jane Eyre needs to stand against this one. The script is stripped down a lot. I think it is about 90 minutes. There is a lot of story missing, but much of that story feels unnecessary. So much is conveyed through the art direction, the cinematography and the music.

[LChimp]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/40/c8/13/40c81324fb17f7e1d5287d702a8c883a.jpg

Re-watch

[Thief]

BULLET IN THE HEAD
(1990, Woo)

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


"Today I saw a soldier kill a man and I learned something. In this world, we can do anything if we have guns!"



Set in the late 1960s, Bullet in the Head follows three childhood friends: Ben, Paul, and Frank (Tony Leung, Waise Lee, and Jacky Cheung), that flee from Hong Kong to Vietnam to escape from a rival gang as well as the police. However, as they try to make it as contraband smugglers in the middle of the Vietnam War, the three friends end up at odds with a Vietnamese gangster as well as the Vietcong, all of which puts their friendship to the test.

It is obvious that, after films like A Better Tomorrow and The Killer, Woo was trying to spread his wings a bit. The scope here feels more ambitious and the narrative seems to aim for more depth. Unfortunately, I don't think that Woo fully delivered on the promise. As hinted above, the film does feel like a bit of a mess. There is a bit of tonal dissonance between the violence and the drama, and the last act felt clumsily hyper-charged instead of being something more emotionally powerful.

Grade: 2.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2384047#post2384047)

[Thief]

HARD BOILED
(1992, Woo)

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


"To you, I'm a criminal. To my mum, I'm a son. To the triads, I'm a hero."



That is how tormented undercover agent Alan (Tony Leung) describes himself to detective Tequila Yuen (Chow Yun-fat). This hints at the inner struggles of playing two different people at the same time, something which Alan has to deal with, especially if he wants to take down his triad boss. Hard Boiled follows the efforts of the two to do so.

After opening the film with a balls-out shoot-out at a restaurant, Woo slows down into what you think will be a more subdued and morally complex crime thriller, where the struggles mentioned above come into play. Instead, by the last act, our heroes are jumping to the side shooting endless bullets at a constant swarm of nameless bad guys as a hospital literally blows up on top of them. It is the epitome of excesses of Woo and action films in general.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2384074#post2384074)

[Captain Steel]

RENFIELD (2023)
I watched it to the end without rewinding. For the role of Dracula, Cage in this film is ill-suited, and Leslie Nielsen, unfortunately, is all. In general, it turned out to be rubbish.

You can't out-Brooks Mel Brooks! ;)

[GulfportDoc]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/Children_of_men_ver4.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24105930

Children of Men - (2006)

Dystopian science fiction can get pretty depressing, but Children of Men is so well put together, and looks so perfect, that Alfonso Cuarón turns this into a cinematic triumph. The film feels even more timely now, with a pandemic that has disrupted the entire globe and the United States teetering on the edge of civil strife, an uncertain election the world is bracing for not far away. Refugee hate-mongering takes center stage in this, in a world where time is limited due to the fact that no new life is being produced - 100% infertility, and we're staring into the abyss. Through war and hate, a delicate newborn baby must make it's way - and I hold my breath the entire time. Initially, this film was too dark and full of despair for me to manage - but in the ensuing years I've been eager to see it again with an eye to how well made it is. It still surprises, and as I said - still seems ever so relevant.

8/10

It was a good film, with the story and action very innovative. It has one of the greatest long take action scenes in recent memory. I've watched that scene over and over. I started to attach that portion, but realized it would give away too much of the plot.

[PHOENIX74]

Bump it up an extra star you coward!

https://media.tenor.com/yTqnyvMplMkAAAAM/star-wars-obi-wan-kenobi.gif

OMG I have to disagree with the critics. I thought William Hurt brought such depth to the Rochester. Charlotte Gainsbourg, with her offbeat looks gives us a more convincing Jane. Fassbender and Timothy Dalton are too dang sexy for Rochester. William Hurt is also a very handsome man but he has some miles on by the time he made this version of Jane Eyre and his character just exudes an air of sadness and desperation. Have you seen the version of Jane Eyre with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine yet?

You're spot on with that assessment of William Hurt in the role - I haven't read the book yet, but his version of Rochester is the closest I've seen to what I imagine the character would be like.

Aww I'm sorry you didn't love this. It is so wonderfully gothic. Orson Welles had a gravitas beyond his years and played many parts he was to young for obstensibly. For me, every Jane Eyre needs to stand against this one. The script is stripped down a lot. I think it is about 90 minutes. There is a lot of story missing, but much of that story feels unnecessary. So much is conveyed through the art direction, the cinematography and the music.

I totally blame the fact that I'd just watched an adaptation of Jane Eyre a day earlier for giving me Jane Eyre fatigue, and otherwise I might have enjoyed this one a lot more.

It was a good film, with the story and action very innovative. It has one of the greatest long take action scenes in recent memory. I've watched that scene over and over. I started to attach that portion, but realized it would give away too much of the plot.

I marvel at the fact that the shot you talk about was planned and executed so perfectly.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/The_Bridges_Of_Madison_County.jpg
By POV - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6417657

The Bridges of Madison County - (1995)

I didn't fancy watching this one, and my enjoyment of it stands as a testament to why I make myself watch films on my to-watch list no matter how I feel about them. Many a love story will go through the motions without moving me in the slightest, but this one dug right into my heart - it felt so genuine and there was real chemistry between Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood - he was 65, and Streep was 46. So wonderful to see a romance that isn't between two young, perfect and gorgeous empty-headed model-type Barbie and Ken dolls. Streep is incredible as Italian-American Francesca Johnson - she knocked that performance out of the park, and should count herself unlucky to have lost her Best Actress Oscar nomination to Susan Sarandon for her role in Dead Man Walking. Eastwood doesn't have as much range, but oozes enough masculine charm to buy the fact that this neither happy nor unhappy married woman would fall for him so completely in a matter of 24 hours. Did The Bridges of Madison County induce tears from me? I won't say. Great movie - great love story - deserved more Oscar nominations.

8/10

[Act III]

92479

Renfield

Good movie, will make you laugh. I suggest you go see it.

75/100

[ScarletLion]

'War Witch' (2012)

https://resizing.flixster.com/MOyrl-YWMskSgKaGauSECpYEiiU=/206x305/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p9206916_p_v8_ae.jpg

Really good film from Canadian filmmaker Kim Ngyuen. A young girl narrates the story of her life as a child soldier in Sub Saharan Africa to the unborn child in her belly.

This has the brutality of 'City of God' and the foundations for 'Beasts of No Nation', which must have taken large inspiration from this film. An Oscar nomination is zero bearing of quality for a film, but normally it means the movie has a blu-ray release at the very least. Not so with 'War Witch' which is quite difficult to track down.

There are moments of real beauty mixed in with the bloodshed of civil war in the un-named African country, and while there is plenty of magical realism and 'did that really happen' elements, it doesn't stray too far from the central message of the tragedy of children at war.

7.8/10
4

[Fabulous]

The Omega Man (1971)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/3ZiuypiyAtyxTcjZjkK7aGjWRBa.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYmNkMzA1NzgtMjhhMS00MGNiLThiNzktZDA0MTE5ZjZmMWUwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAwMzUyOTc@._V1_.jpg



3rd Re-watch...this Neil Simon comedy stil has enormous re-watch appeal thanks to Herbert Ross' breezy direction and a terrific cast, with standout work by Jane Fonda, Michael Caine, Alan Alda. and, best of all, the divine Maggie Smith, who won her second Oscar for playing an actress in Los Angeles for being nominated for her first Oscar. Smith alone makes this ride the pleasure it is. 3.5

[donniedarko]

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Beau-Is-Afraid-review.jpg
Beau Is Afraid (2023, Aster)

I'll start by saying- I quite enjoyed this three-hour surrealistic fiasco of a film. As a major Aster fan, I'll start with where I'm critical of his most recent piece.

From the start there's a lot going on here.. yet somehow through all the craziness it never feels overwhelming and often on-beat with the humor. & while the film delivered several laughs for the whole theater (and others for a select few) sometimes I wondered how much comedy was necessary. I think Aster wondered this himself, as it often feels that this work rarely knows how seriously to take itself. While covering serious topics of family relationships, post partum depression, sexual ineptness there is often a childlike obsession of penises and sex. Almost south park-esque in its juvenility. It was funny- but perhaps it took away from the fear that was earlier so well captured

The film can be divided into three primary acts;
I: The city
II: The woods
III: The home

The first is especially sinister & intense, keeping a constant sense of horror, confusion, and fear. I was just as afraid as Beau. The Woods holds a similar intensity.. where for a split moment it may seem Beau has found a sanctuary. But suddenly the suburbs aren't any safer than the freakish city after all. At least Im the city you're safe in your bed

By the third act much of the fear goes away, and the absurdity increases. A few questions are answered, and some hilarious moments. Kangaroo court was an all time classic.

Overall I'd say this is his worst feature. Hereditary being my favorite & Midsommar in the middle. But with this being feature #3 Aster sure is delivering a spectacular filmography for all of us

3.5-

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjQ4M2JiMTEtNDhiMi00OWM1LTkwMWEtODdjYTQxNWQyOTFiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjMxOTE0ODA@._V1_.jpg


3.5

[GulfportDoc]

I marvel at the fact that the shot you talk about was planned and executed so perfectly.[Children of Men - long take scene]
If you haven't already seen it, there's a well done video explanation of how that long scene was done. You'd have to web search it, e.g. "children of men long take".

[beelzebubble]

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Beau-Is-Afraid-review.jpg
Beau if Afraid (2023, Aster)




I like Ari Aster except for one thing. In both, Hereditaty and Midsommar people's heads get smashed. And I found that I can not handle people getting their heads smashed. so I have one question for you. Does anyone get their head smashed in this movie? Because if someone does I am not watching it. That is my line in the sand.

[GulfportDoc]

92489

Emily the Criminal (2022)

While I'm not motivated to do a full review, this is a well done picture, with a stand out performance by Aubrey Plaza.

It's really a contemporary noir. The Plaza character finds herself saddled with unpayable student loan debt. After toiling at a mediocre job, she accidentally gets exposed to a ring of credit card fraudsters. She decides to try a simple fraud, and is sucked in.

Plot holes aside, there's plenty of suspense as she gradually takes higher risks, and almost gets into hot water.

Theo Rossi does a nice turn as the grifter who educates the woman on how to fabricate and use stolen credit card numbers. Their relationship is prominent, leading to a rather surprising ending.

Doc's rating: 7/10

[donniedarko]

I like Ari Aster except for one thing. In both, Hereditaty and Midsommar people's heads get smashed. And I found that I can not handle people getting their heads smashed. so I have one question for you. Does anyone get their head smashed in this movie? Because if someone does I am not watching it. That is my line in the sand.

Head smashed.. not exactly.. but there’s a fair amount of gore

[Gideon58]

https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B1%2F0%2F1%2F1%2F0%2F10110831%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D


3.5

[beelzebubble]

Head smashed.. not exactly.. but there’s a fair amount of gore
What does not exactly mean?

[beelzebubble]

Judy Blume Forever (2023) 4.5/5

It is a lovely tribute and examination of the author and her work. I am sure many of us have ready Judy Blume's books as children. I remember when Are you there God? Its Me, Margaret came out when I was 8. i don't think I read it until later. I think the most salacious thing was she touched herself "down there" with a washcloth. Though that may have happened in another book. Still It is a wonderful movie about a lovely lady. There are tribute by YA authors, celebrities and some sweet stories from people who wrote to Judy as children and continued a long correspondence with her. it is on Amazon and well worth your time.

[Miss Vicky]

What does not exactly mean?

Someone gets stabbed in the head. I'm assuming that's what he's alluding to.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/sgq7gX1m/american-in-paris.jpg
By "Copyright 1951 Loew's Incorporated" - Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from the original image., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85713551

An American in Paris - (1951)

Add American in Paris to the musicals I've caught up with over the last few years - it's only been a recent decision to watch them, my curiosity overpowering my general apathy when it comes to that Golden Age of the genre. There wasn't much in this one to dislike, aside from some of the awkward monkeying around Gene Kelly gets up to with Oscar Levant and Georges Guétary. Even the fact that Gene Kelly, nearing 40 in '51, gets himself a teenage love interest - I mean, it's a little icky, but that love interest is the wonderful Leslie Caron. Caron is still alive today, 91-years-old and her last theatrical appearance was in 2020. This film has a real bravura ending segment which is all interpretive dance with costumes and wild sets to match - beautiful colours, and a great note to end on. The songs are great too, with "'S Wonderful" and "I Got Rhythm" getting things moving. It was a little old fashioned for me though, and it won Best Picture at the Oscars, beating A Streetcar Named Desire and A Place in the Sun - two of my all-time favourite films. In the meantime, The African Queen wasn't even nominated. 1951 was a great year for film - and this was one of the attractions.

Also - a quick note - I was really pleased that an American film would embrace France and French talent so readily. MGM didn't have to cast Guétary, Caron or the French-born Eugene Borden. A shame they didn't film in Paris though, instead choosing the MGM lot, with it's multitude of "Parisian" sets.

7/10

[Fabulous]

Travels with My Aunt (1972)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/mF2nZkkzsPRgow836ukgHiG4cHL.jpg

[donniedarko]

What does not exactly mean?

There were decapitation and head trauma, but none smashed through or as visible as his previous two

[Stirchley]

Wasted $6 streaming this hot mess on Amazon.

92496

[beelzebubble]

There were decapitation and head trauma, but none smashed through or as visible as his previous two
Thank you for the specificity. I might have to give it a miss. I like Ari Aster but if i go to a movie and all I remember is the head smashing. That is a problem.

[beelzebubble]

John Mulaney: Baby J. (2023) 2/5
It fills me with great sorrow to report that Baby J is not funny. I give it two tear drops. I watched the whole thing even though I wanted to bail out. Mulaney's whole special is about his addiction and his recovery. I want to say that he dug deep and revealed his true self but he did not. At least, that is my assumption. If not, John Mulaney is the most boring drug addict on the planet. He tells a couple of stories. One about his star-studded intervention. Boring! Another about spending an enormous amount for a watch in order to pawn it for half its value. Boring! And then he talks about a boring interview he did for GQ when he was stoned that he has no memory of. Boring! John, I know you are not listening but I am begging you if you can not look inward for material then look outward. Until then I wish you well and hope sobering up has not destroyed your comedy. Sigh...

[SpelingError]

Delicatessen (1991) - 3

Given my mixed reaction to Jeunet's Amélie last year, I was curious how this film would compare, but though I hoped to enjoy it more, my reaction was more or less the same. Like Amélie, once you look beyond the memorable atmospheric design, there isn't a whole lot else to dig at. While great detail was put into the post-apocalyptic world, I wish we would've gotten more depth to the characters who occupied it. Julie's father/daughter relationship with Clapet, Louison's romance with Julie, some of the tenants who were aware of and endorsed the butcher's actions, or the motivations of the troglodytes ware all promising character dynamics, but since the film didn't delve into them enough, they all came off as bland and underdeveloped. And this was a real shame as, given the colorful ensemble of characters, there's a lot of room for exploring the motives/surroundings which influence the characters to do what they do, but the film instead opts to paint a black and white good and bad portrait of them. A missed opportunity, unfortunately. As a result, the film felt cold and distant. If there's one reason to watch this film though, it's for the visuals. By use of the color palette, sets, sound design, camera placements, and editing, Jeunet matches the manic energy of the characters very well. While certain set pieces may be too over-the-top for some, specifically much of the final act, I was on board with all of it and I thoroughly enjoyed every darkly humorous happening of the apartment, with the flooded bathroom being my favorite set piece. Overall, I understand why some people dig Jeunet's style and I wish I could be one of those people. From what I've seen of him though, while this film and Amélie has the shell of a great film, they lack the meat of one and his visual ingenuity shouldn't be in films this cold and distant. I'll likely give him a third chance down the road though.

[Thief]

HARD TARGET
(1993, Woo)

https://i.imgur.com/S2nyZbd.png


"Boudreaux is wounded. He's been pursued and harried across miles of open country. Now he's cornered and outnumbered 20 to 1. He's an annoying little f-ucking insect and I want him stepped on hard."



The film follows Van Damme (Chance Boudreaux) as a homeless drifter and veteran in New Orleans that ends up being hunted by a team of organized and ruthless hunters led by Emil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen) and his right-hand man Pik Van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo). This was Woo's first Hollywood film and, although I'd say it is a bit more of a Van Damme film than a Woo film, it still has a good dose of Woo trademarks to please his fans.

The way the action unfolds is part Van Damme and part Woo. There is a good dose of the typical Van Damme bad-assery and silliness that we're used to see in his films. However, you also get a lot of Woo, with some elaborate action setpieces, some great gun play, and lots of dazzling acrobatics. Like with the previous Woo films I've seen, it was nice to see and recognize the influence this gets from previous Woo films, but also the ripples it makes on future action films.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2384448#post2384448)

[Fabulous]

Hot Millions (1968)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/cMaGeTJp6TOKTcdvlmGMaKDizsU.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/Original_movie_poster_for_the_film_The_King_and_I.jpg
By www.moviegoods.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7085264

The King and I - (1956)

I know I haven't been all over these musicals, despite being interested in them - but damn, I've found one that I can claim as brilliantly, yet troublingly, great. The King and I, powered as much by an all-out performance of incredible magnitude by Yul Brynner, has the music, sets and costumes to make an impact already - but it's just such a cinematically astute version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. It's everything, and everything leads up to that pivotal and very famous moment when the King of Siam dances with Anna (Deborah Kerr) in a golden palatial room to the strains of "Shall We Dance" - a moment often highlighted in "history of cinema" montages. There are moments that had my jaw dropping - such as the adapted Uncle Tom's Cabin (Small House of Uncle Thomas), which becomes a play with unforgettable artistic invention - a must see for anyone who loves to be dazzled and enchanted. Did it have to break my heart as well? It had my heart by that stage, after what felt like an inauspicious start - and I never expected to be as captivated as I was. I don't know if it mattered what songs were sung - the performances (again - Brynner's is outstanding) and sentiment suited me fine. The art direction and set decoration were out of this world.

But then, we have to talk about the fact that the West was "civilised" and that the King of Siam is immediately, consistently and always looked upon as some kind of barbarian and beneath us. Sometimes the Siamese are treated as fools - and much is made of their reluctance to acknowledge the world as not being flat and not being carried around on the back of a giant turtle. A lot is made of polygamy and Western culture. But hell, this was made in the mid-1950s, and is set in the early 1860s. I just thought that the best of this film took me right out of the politics, cultural sensibility and lack of progressive foresight. The King and I had led up to the scenes which were it's crowning glory in it's own timely fashion to catch me off guard - and I loved it :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgVPnWmUqd4

9/10

[Tramuzgan]

War of the Worlds (2005) - 4/10

A halfway watchable disaster flick when viewed on its own merits, but not worthy of being spoken of in the same light as the book, the album, or the 1953 film. War of the Worlds has had incredible luck when it comes to adaptations up to that point, but you're gonna have to drop these expectations if you wanna enjoy this thing.

The pros:
-It's more faithful to the book than the '53 flick, with how it's told through the subjective point of view of a civilian, so in that way, it justifies its existence.
-The production design and cinematography are quite good. It's Spielberg's biggest talent imo, he cares about visual storytelling. You can tell he wasn't just half-heartedly recording the actors. The sets and their spaciousness, colour, etc are all very considered, and he knew exactly how to have something pop into frame to startle you.
-They included the red weed.
-As generic as it was, the score was not bad.
-Some of the CG is good.
-That part in the ayys' basket was silly, but cool and imaginative.


The cons:
-It's generally too silly, and not in a good way. It tries to be a serious disaster film, but the dialogue, the characters' behaviour, the action scenes, the mechanics of teh alains, it's all impossible to take seriously. It lacks the book's cold pragmatism and attention to consistency and believability.
--Chalk it up to the movie trying too hard to look cool, or scary, or serious, depending on the scene.
-It fell victim to the two great cancers of dialogue writing: Joss Whedon's disaffected quipfests, and grimdark gravelly repetitive whispering. Individually, they'd just be cliche, but together, as polar opposites, they're tonally crass on top of that.
-The aliens are not even remotely scary. The book clearly had the best ayys. The ones in the first movie weren't as good, but were still scary due to how they make no earthly sense. These are just grey monkeys. Their machines have the same problem.
-It uses CG where it isn't necessary, such as for broken windshields.
-The CG technology afforded it the chance to include the Flying Machine and the Handling Machine, but it didn't.
-The pacing is [I]freaking poop[/] when compared to the 1953 film.
-The script drastically loses focus after the first act.
-The book showed the aliens were vulnerable very early on, giving you a slim, slim hope of victory. The first movie made them completely impervious to all our weaponry, making them more of a puzzle to rack your brain over. This one tries to have it both ways, reusing the energy shields idea from the last movie, but having the humans figure out a way to take it down in the last 15 minutes. And then they still die of the coof. Then what the flip were we doing for the last 2 hours? Smelling our farts?
--Also, the military didn't resort to any WMDs or guerilla tactics. In the end, it seriously does seem like the humans lost because they didn't try hard enough.

[Gideon58]

https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3586/35865534_sd.jpg


2

[GulfportDoc]

War of the Worlds (2005) - 4/10

A halfway watchable disaster flick when viewed on its own merits, but not worthy of being spoken of in the same light as the book, the album, or the 1953 film. War of the Worlds has had incredible luck when it comes to adaptations up to that point, but you're gonna have to drop these expectations if you wanna enjoy this thing.
...
Very nice review both contrasting and comparing the book with the '53 and '05 films.

I've never read the book. It's astonishing that Wells could imagine space ships in the late 19th Century! But when we watched the '53 version in the theater, it scared the tweet out of us. We were convinced that nothing could ever stop the aliens, right up to the ending.

The sci-fi effects were captivating for 1953, bettered only by 1956's Forbidden Planet.

I enjoyed the 2005 re-make, but it didn't have near the impression on me that the 1953 film had.

[Gideon58]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.rogerebert.com/uploads/movie/movie_poster/gran-torino-2008/large_lM1EaWdIdwfSxG50HinOLGmXLih.jpg


2nd Re-watch...Eastwood rules in this movie...how he didn't get an Oscar nomination for his performance is beyond me. 4.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Fiddler_on_the_roof.jpg
By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7316189

Fiddler on the Roof - (1971)

1971 was a great year for films, with A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show, The French Connection, Nicholas and Alexandra and Fiddler on the Roof all vying for Best Picture at the Oscars. A rare year where I actually like every nomination a great deal. It took until now to confirm my feelings for Fiddler on the Roof however - a 3 hour musical that I have to admit breaking into two portions. Topol is marvelous as Tevye the put-upon father of five willful daughters who will test just how willing he is to break with age-old Jewish traditions. I remember getting to know this guy from when he appeared in Flash Gordon and For Your Eyes Only in the 1980s - and sadly, he died only a few weeks ago at the age of 87. He's obviously most famous for appearing in this film, and provides it with it's heart and soul. It's hard to fathom that the young girls in this are now old ladies.

There's something magical about Fiddler on the Roof - almost as if something sacred has been woven into the fabric of the film, and it gives us a glimpse into the world of a Jewish community that, while persecuted, had remained unchanged for centuries until modernity came to disrupt their way of life. The music has a certain timeless quality, and that's why I rate it above the likes of An American in Paris, Easter Parade and High Society, which seem trivial in comparison. The fierce anti-Semitism and growing instability inside Russia creates an upheaval which sets the stage for the struggle these people go through, and makes this specific musical feel important and gives it a weighty depth. The fiddler on the roof represents the precarious balancing act of living life while still playing your personal tune and making decisions - hopefully without falling.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Hairmovieposter.jpg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16955539

Hair - (1979)

Far out man. Like, can you dig that this musical is like a trip man. You never know what these dudes are gonna say or sing next - sometimes they'll just do something completely random and spin you out and you'll be like "far out man" and they don't even care, they'll crash parties and "borrow" cars. But the Vietnam war is in full swing. Bummer man. John Savage, Treat Williams and Beverly D'Angelo lead the cast and while Savage starts out as a real square cowboy from Oklahoma, joining the army and doing what the man tells him, he still becomes friends with a group of hippies who remain loyal to him - an unexpected switcheroo between him and Williams leads to a surprise ending. The standout song is "Hair" of course, and while the film doesn't always hit the highs it does in that sequence, it has a strong finish and is another fine film from Miloš Forman. I believe in God, and I believe that God believes in Claude.

7.5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgrIAIHTho8

[Fabulous]

The Loved One (1965)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/v805ATYsPVNmQZTWdIyJgfFuKb5.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/About_last_night_poster.jpg


3

[Thief]

MALIGNANT
(2021, Wan)

https://i.imgur.com/l6VXjH3.png


"There's no one there ... It's all in my head. It's all in my head. It's all in my head."



Malignant follows Madison (Annabelle Wallis) who, after being assaulted by her abusive boyfriend, starts experiencing a string of hallucinations and visions of murders that end up happening in reality. The above quote is how she tries to comfort herself at one point after listening strange sounds in the night. "It's all in my head..." But in this case, what's in her head might end up being worse than anything else.

You gotta admire a film that goes all in with a completely batshit crazy twist and that's what Malignant does. It doesn't really cowers from the total absurdity of what happens trying to sell itself as so-called "elevated horror", but rather commits to it all the way. This makes it feel all the more fresh, unique, and yes, fun.

Grade: 3.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2384752#post2384752)

[Captain Steel]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but I came across Empire of the Sun (1987) already in progress on TCM the other night... and thought I spotted Ben Stiller in it.

https://www.tvguide.com/a/img/catalog/provider/1/2/1-8899029945.JPEG

Wait... What??? Nah, couldn't be. Too early, right? After all, the star, Christian "Batman" Bale was only 13 when this movie was filmed.

What would Ben Stiller be doing in an ultra dramatic, Steven Spielberg, epic World War II movie?
(What's next, someone betting me Dustin Hoffman was in Star Wars?)

Well, it was him alright!
(Did Ben Stiller have ambitions to be a dramatic actor early on???)

What also amazed me was learning he's older than Christian Bale - I would have thought Stiller was around the same age, if not younger, but he's 9 years older than Bale!

Anyway, I didn't see the whole thing from the beginning, so I'll give it at least a.. 3

[Thief]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but I came across Empire of the Sun (1987) already in progress on TCM the other night... and thought I spotted Ben Stiller in it.

https://www.tvguide.com/a/img/catalog/provider/1/2/1-8899029945.JPEG

Wait... What??? Nah, couldn't be. Too early, right? After all, the star, Christian "Batman" Bale was only 13 when this movie was filmed.

What would Ben Stiller be doing in an ultra dramatic, Steven Spielberg, epic World War II movie?
(What's next, someone betting me Dustin Hoffman was in Star Wars?)

Well, it was him alright!
(Did Ben Stiller have ambitions to be a dramatic actor early on???)

What also amazed me was learning he's older than Christian Bale - I would have thought Stiller was around the same age, if not younger, but he's 9 years older than Bale!

Anyway, I didn't see the whole thing from the beginning, so I'll give it at least a.. 3

I haven't seen it, but I've heard/read that Stiller's pretty good in Permanent Midnight, which is an indie drama from the 1990s.

Anyway, I've always loved Empire of the Sun but I have to admit I haven't seen it in 15-20 years.

[Captain Steel]

Just for fun... found a clip with Ben Stiller in it. He was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njif5HfI2io

I like his haircut in the movie... he should combine that cut with his "Blue Steel"!

[Citizen Rules]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but I came across Empire of the Sun (1987) already in progress on TCM the other night... and thought I spotted Ben Stiller in it.

Wait... What??? Nah, couldn't be. Too early, right? After all, the star, Christian "Batman" Bale was only 13 when this movie was filmed.

What would Ben Stiller be doing in an ultra dramatic, Steven Spielberg, epic World War II movie?
(What's next, someone betting me Dustin Hoffman was in Star Wars?)

Well, it was him alright!
(Did Ben Stiller have ambitions to be a dramatic actor early on???)

What also amazed me was learning he's older than Christian Bale - I would have thought Stiller was around the same age, if not younger, but he's 9 years older than Bale!

Anyway, I didn't see the whole thing from the beginning, so I'll give it at least a.. rating_3I knew Bale was in it, but didn't know Ben Stiller was. I have that on my most watch war movie list so will be getting to it one of these days...I did see it but so long ago I've forgotten most all of it. I seem to recall that it was a pretty good film.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Emma_%281996_movie_poster%29.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11924124

Emma - (1996)

If you discount Clueless and Aisha there are surprisingly few feature film adaptations of Jane Austen's Emma. In fact, as hard as it is to believe, there's only this '96 Douglas McGrath directorial debut, and the 2020 version we got featuring Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character (there are many television versions however.) This one features Gwyneth Paltrow, Toni Collette, Alan Cumming, Ewan McGregor and personal favourite (I wish she'd been in more stuff) Juliet Stevenson. Emma (Paltrow) has just set her governess up with the man she marries, and thus considers herself a matchmaker supreme. She's only just reached adulthood however, and she overestimates her own wise powers, setting her poor friend Harriet Smith down one wrong path after another - she learns much through hard experience. I liked the 2020 version, and I've been meaning to read the novel ever since. This version isn't bad - but pales into insignificance costume-wise and it's art direction, set decoration etc isn't up to that beautiful second adaptation. The performances in this are first rate however - especially Ewan McGregor's and Toni Collette's. The poster (or at least my DVD cover) spells the former's name "McGreggor" - so either they misspelled it, or he dropped the extra "g" sometime in the past 25 or so years.

6/10

[SpelingError]

The Hired Hand (1971) - 3

If you've known me for a while, you've probably heard me mention that I generally don't pay attention to acting in films. Like, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against people who do. It's just typically not something which bothers me, with very few exceptions (and by the same token, the converse is also true: that acting generally isn't one of the things I enjoy about a film). While watching this film, however, I couldn't help but fixate on Peter Fonda's performance. I've seen a handful of film buffs I'm close to refer to Peter Fonda as the least talented of the Fonda family by a long shot and that might be true. The last time I watched Peter Fonda onscreen was in "Easy Rider", and that was at least a few years ago (as expected, I don't recall his acting affecting my opinion of the film much). I found Fonda's performance in this film though to be remarkably bland and emotion-free to the point I was somewhat bored whenever Warren Oates wasn't onscreen. To cut the film some slack though, Fonda's acting does suit the character he plays to a certain degree. When we first meet Harry, it's apparent that he lacks any direction in life and has no idea what to do with his future. Often when characters attempt to speak to him, we simply get a close-up of him looking around aimlessly. This effect continues when he arrives at Hannah's ranch, given the distant and somewhat unnerved reaction he displays around her. So, for a little while, Fonda's acting suits the film well. The more time he spends around Hannah though, he begins to warm up and grow closer to her. In spite of that, his acting remains wooden, thus making it hard for me to buy his supposed change. Unless this was to imply that he never actually warmed up to her, but his final conversation to Hannah says otherwise. Regardless of whether it was Fonda's intention or not, I did appreciate his wooden acting in the first half or so of the film, but the further I got, the more this effect wore off. Plus, going up against Oates oozing personality and charm in every scene did him no favors. In spite of that, I did find the film somewhat interesting due to the aforementioned first half (and Warren Oates, I suppose), and that helped to keep me from disliking the film. Another key takeaway was the amount of cross dissolves in the film. I generally dig them and while we don't get much, given the film's mostly straight face, I appreciated it whenever the film threw me a bone. Like, I straight up love the first scene, for instance. And not because you get to somewhat see Warren Oates naked...okay, fine; that's partly why.

[Fabulous]

Every Which Way but Loose (1978)

2

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/bXnJuctpY3ivE3AAPwrDOX2db9s.jpg

[Thief]

HOSTAGE
(2002, Woo)

https://i.imgur.com/0mODp7p.png


"Words... are cheap. Words... come and go. All I wanted from her was a gesture."



Hostage is the sixth short film from this BMW project dubbed The Hire, which follows a nameless driver (Clive Owen) hired by different clients to perform different tasks. In this case, the driver is hired by the FBI to serve as the courier in a hostage situation. A disgruntled employee (Maury Chaykin) has kidnapped his CEO (Kathryn Morris) and is asking for... a gesture. Is it the money or is it something else?

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2384811#post2384811)

[Allaby]

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023) This was wonderful. Abby Ryder Fortson is charming and gives a winning, fantastic performance. The other kids are great too. Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates are stellar, as usual. The film is sweet, funny, and heartfelt. This is relatable and enjoyable for tweens and parents. There is something here for everyone, young or old, girl or boy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is my pick for best film of the year so far. 4.5

[matt72582]

The Entertainer
https://youtu.be/Ph8bFTCYRBc

[Deschain]

I just got back from the Mario Bros. Movie. It was wonderful.

[Gideon58]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/The_Outfit_%28film%29.jpg



4

[WHITBISSELL!]

Every Which Way but Loose (1978)

rating_2
https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/bXnJuctpY3ivE3AAPwrDOX2db9s.jpgThis and his other orangutan flick have to be two of the more inexplicable and dissonant choices I've ever seen in any artists catalogue.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzUzNTU1MTEtY2JjMC00Y2RjLWE5YWItNDExYjQzZjMzMDEzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzOTY1NTc@._V1_.jpg


3.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Towering_inferno_movie_poster.jpg
By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20131523

The Towering Inferno - (1974)

I don't know if time's been entirely kind to The Towering Inferno, but it's earnestness is refreshing, and it's still a lot of fun to see such a large ensemble of A-listers mix it up amongst the carnage. It's basically a street-bound, 138-story tall Titanic, with anti-fire measures yet to be included and the cream of San Francisco society partying on the top floor. What could possibly go wrong? Richard Chamberlain, looking to both save money and pocket a few kickbacks - and pushing people out of the way to try and save himself - takes most of the blame, although William Holden has a few questions to answer. In the meantime, it's Steve McQueen and Paul Newman riding in to the rescue. Or should that be Paul Newman and Steve McQueen? Anyway - the cat comes through everything unscathed - a must for people like me. It's one of those movies where you think to yourself, "this should be wrapping up pretty soon", then check the run-time to see that there's still 90 minutes to go. Just put it out already! Very cool though, that this film inspired the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" which was adapted into a little film called Die Hard. Thank you Towering Inferno.

7.5/10

[crumbsroom]

I've always liked the idea of enjoying watching The Towering Inferno more than I have ever actually enjoyed watching it.

[WHITBISSELL!]

I remember those halcyon days of wall to wall disaster movies. I also remember you had your pick between Earthquake and Towering Inferno.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB7j3sUWohE

[LChimp]

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/A3ZbZsmsvNGdprRi2lKgGEeVLEH.jpg

Not the worst entry into the super hero genre, but it's certanly high up there. Don't waste your time

[Nausicaä]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/Matilda_the_Musical_UK_Film_Poster.jpg/220px-Matilda_the_Musical_UK_Film_Poster.jpg

2.5

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

[Fabulous]

Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/eSYyPXxzCfwiW90rVZMGiGvPeRV.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

I've always liked the idea of enjoying watching The Towering Inferno more than I have ever actually enjoyed watching it.

I get giddy with excitement whenever I'm about to watch the extended edition of The Swarm - that is the funniest movie I've ever seen in my life, and it never loses it's magical appeal.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/The_Brothers_Bloom_poster.jpg
By Comingsoon.net, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18648491

The Brothers Bloom - (2008)

I'll come right out and say it - when I got to the end of The Brothers Bloom I suddenly realised that I had very little idea of what was going on during the whole thing. I was kind of assuming it would all be explained at the end - it's one of those movies where a con is being perpetrated, and then things go wrong, and then it's revealed that things going wrong was part of the con all along! You know, like that Ocean's number-whatever movie where the heist going wrong was part of the heist. This happens over and over during The Brothers Bloom as we keep learning what's part of the con, what's really going wrong - and at what point we depart from the con, and get diverted into Russian gangster territory. Watching the extras after the film finished, I was presented with 40 minutes of deleted scenes. Go figure. One of the deletions was that end-of-movie explanation - but Rian Johnson thought, dramatically speaking, the thing should end at a certain moment of revelation. I mean, who cares what happened, or at least why what happened happened. What was real, or what wasn't.

A shame, this one - Rachel Weisz has never been as good as she is here, and Adrien Brody along with Rinko Kikuchi add some character and punch respectively. A pair of con-men, brothers Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Brody) decide to pull off one last scam. Bloom is tired of playing roles that his brother creates for him - he wants a real life. The mark is Penelope Stamp - wealthy, but lonely, and in need of adventure. The brothers play the part of antiques smugglers, and bring in Maximillen "The Curator" Melvile (Robbie Coltrane - I knew someone once who took theatre/acting/something like that classes with him once) to...I don't know. Something about an old book - I don't even know if it's real, or what's real - I got confused guys. The con is only revealed to us bit by bit - and so many things go wrong, things that are both part of the con, and not, that it got too twisted. Bloom falls in love with Penelope - the end. Too confusing.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/American_Pie1.jpg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37272630

American Pie - (1999)

This was made in the late 20th Century - I think everyone who was involved with American Pie might get cancelled if it was made today. I have to admit though - for this movie, Jason Biggs was perfect, and pretty funny. I might be part of a different clique, or something, but my schoolfriends and I never discussed who was a virgin, or was losing their virginity, during that period. I mean, it became obvious as relationships started, and unfortunate walk-ins exposed goings-on during shared accommodation during our university days. But we didn't talk about it. We talked about music, movies, drugs, books -- if one-on-one then relationships. Sex just seems private. Not to these guys though. They share the nitty-gritty - the minutiae with each other. The only person who knew I'd lost my virginity when I did was myself - not even the person I was with at the time knew it. The culture I see portrayed in American Pie seems a little troubled - and I suggest that if there's more education coming from school and parents, this weirdness surrounding sex might not be as problematic as it seems.

6/10

[matt72582]

And Then There Were None - 7.5/10
I hardly ever watch Mystery, but when I saw Walter Huston was in it, I gave it a shot, and after 10-15 minutes, I was captivated. A great "Who-dunnit" with an interesting .... I'll say no more. Just watch it, and try not to read a thing about it.


https://youtu.be/SNwql-TRr4A

[John-Connor]

And Then There Were None - 7.5/10
I hardly ever watch Mystery, but when I saw Walter Huston was in it, I gave it a shot, and after 10-15 minutes, I was captivated. A great "Who-dunnit" with an interesting .... I'll say no more. Just watch it, and try not to read a thing about it.


https://youtu.be/SNwql-TRr4A
Sounds/looks good, watchlisted! While watchlisting I saw they remade it already as a mini series starring Sam Neil; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3581932/

[Death Proof]

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves



rating_4




Plenty to entertain fantasy movie fans while giving longtime fans of the game a plethora of easter eggs to enjoy.

[Thief]

LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY
(1979, Woo)

https://i.imgur.com/wDEAFX4.jpg


"When it comes to friendship there are just too many moves. You just can't defend against them all."



Last Hurrah for Chivalry begins with a bloody confrontation between warring clans during the wedding of Lord Kao (Lau Kong). To seek revenge against the ruthless Pak Chung Tong (Lee Hoi-sang), Kao hires two killers: Tsing Yi (Damian Lau) and Chang San (Wai Pak). But with honor and loyalty on the line, can they all keep track of the many moves from each other?

Like pretty much every single Woo film I've seen (with the exception of Hard Target), the backbone of this film is in the interactions between Tsing Yi and Chang San. Once they finally pair together, their chemistry sizzles. The thing is that although they meet very early, the film does take a while to put them together for good. The journey is fun, but it does feel a bit "questy": find this sword here, beat this other swordsmen there.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2385234#post2385234)

[Fabulous]

4 for Texas (1963)

2

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/4SfwqPrnKF51Csta6suMsv5SfcK.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/Beau_Is_Afraid_poster.png
By http://www.impawards.com/2023/beau_is_afraid_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72488481

Beau is Afraid - (2023)

Ohhh-ho boy. Some people are going to come down hard on this, and not like it very much at all. I remember when Midsommar came out, and how excitedly I approached it, only to find it took me a few watches and time to really come around. Now Ari Aster is taking something of a gamble on a surrealist, dream-like amble through the subconscious - examining guilt, fear and all the other things our parents give us to make life more difficult than it had to be. Beau is Afraid doesn't live up to it's insane, nightmarish first third - and at 179 minutes chances are you'll suffer fatigue watching it without a break. I did. But all up, Aster's imagination writ large on the screen is still good enough to keep me as a fan. Joaquin Phoenix is a little one-note, and goes the full journey on "almost comedically terrified" the entire time. The world that Aster builds around him though, is where he comes closest to pulling off a triumph - it's more diabolical than a dystopia, and instead becomes an insane nightmare-land where corpses litter the streets, naked hobos undertake stabbing frenzies and deadly spiders are a real menace. We only spend the first third of the film there, before Phoenix's Beau moves on to a surrogate family for the second third, and finally comes to confront his demons - living and dead, and living. I liked it - I wasn't blown away - but I had that same uncertainty the first time I watched Midsommar, so my jury is still out.

7.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/Americanpie2.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2397935

American Pie 2 - (2001)

While this is unusually good for a sequel, I only really like Jason Biggs, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Eugene Levy from the cast of these. But hell - those three, and their characters, seem to be having so much fun playing around with their characters that I can't help but give this a small bump-up.

5.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/American_Wedding_movie.jpg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1001101

American Wedding - (2003)

Okay, definitely slipping now, and far too much of that annoying Stifler character - thank you guys, for going out of your way to make so much of this revolve around him. (I was being sarcastic.)

4/10

[Chypmunk]

Recent watches:
Her Smell 2018 1+
The Last Day Of August 2012 3
Trespass 2011 1.5+
Topsy-Turvy 1999 3.5
Wyatt Earp 1994 3+
Lynch/Oz 2022 2.5
Liberation: The Fire Bulge 1970 3.5+
Glumov's Diary 1923 2.5
Force 10 From Navarone 1978 3.5
The Man Behind The Gun 1953 2.5
Liberation: Breakthrough 1970 3.5+
The Blob: A Genius Without A Brain 2019 4
Liberation: Direction Of The Main Blow 1971 3+
Come And See 1985 4
A Room With A View 1985 3.5

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTlmMTFhY2EtZjJkNy00ZmI0LWJkN2UtZjQ5ZGFiOGQ1MjVjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTM1MTE1NDMx._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


3.5

[Thief]

EVIL DEAD
(2013, Alvarez)

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


"He's not gonna let you leave, and he's not gonna stop till he has you. Until he has all of you!"



Unlike the Raimi entries, this remake leans more into horror than it does into comedy as there is little humor in the film. Instead, Alvarez maintains a constant sense of dread through the film where nothing feels quite right. Obviously part of that is because they are five people in a remote cabin in an Evil Dead film, but I think Alvarez direction does a great job of transmitting that uneasiness and discomfort.

The catalyst for them being in that cabin is to help Mia (Jane Levy) as she tries to overcome her addiction problems by going "cold turkey". Other than her estranged brother David (Shiloh Fernandez), you can sense that the rest of the cast is pretty much doomed, but they all do a solid job within the boundaries of their characters. The relationship issues between Mia and David, as well as their parents, is barely brushed upon but it works to make the backstory feel a bit more organic.

Grade: 4


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2385371#post2385371)

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Chappaquiddick_%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=55801587

Chappaquiddick - (2017)

During the 20th Century Joe Kennedy stood as the father of one of America's most prominent families. He'd had four sons. Joe Jnr, the most senior, died in a virtual suicide mission during World War II. Jack Kennedy became a U.S. President, and was assassinated in an event people will still be talking about 500 years from now. Robert Kennedy became a U.S. Attorney General, and was assassinated himself. Ted Kennedy had the humiliation and disgrace of the Chappaquiddick controversy. He was involved in an automobile accident in which he drove his car into an inlet - it landed roof-down, and while Kennedy was able to free himself, the woman he was travelling with, Mary Jo Kopechne, was left stranded in the car, underwater. Nobody knows the exact, true story of what happened next, for incredibly, Ted Kennedy didn't report the incident for 9 hours. I've read speculation that Kopechne might have been able to survive for quite some time in an air pocket - and that prompt emergency rescue activation might have been able to save her.

Chappaquiddick portrays Edward Kennedy (played by Jason Clarke) as a popular, but somewhat spoiled and dense member of the Kennedy family. He has a great inner turmoil, since he has to live up to his three brothers, all great men of history - but he's just not that kind of person. His father, Joe (Bruce Dern) treats him with absolute contempt - even from his vantage point of being half-paralyzed after a stroke. Despite all of this, Ted embraces his father and treats his words of scorn as if they're words of praise. He blames all of his horrible actions on his many problem-solvers, and often ignores their sage advice. In the end he can't muster up the courage to quit the Senate and live his own life - but luckily for him he's wealthy and a member of a powerful family - despite this being a clear case of manslaughter, he gets the lowest possible jail sentence, and even this is suspended. He reads his televised speech, and the American public continue to love him, despite his flaws. I've always enjoyed the interesting character study that Chappaquiddick is, and this was my second time watching it.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/American_Reunion_Film_Poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Flick Minute., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32544949

American Reunion - (2012)

Thank goodness this is the end of the American Pie franchise for now - although I have to admit to some mixed feelings about the films. The likes of Eugene Levy and Jason Biggs made them not completely contemptable. It's also interesting to note that all of the objectionable stuff the series started with was corrected, and the series didn't feel as on the nose from the 2nd film onwards. Still, sequels dilute, and this 4th iteration doesn't manage to work up many hilarious episodes - so what we're left with is rather limp and ineffectual. There's more character depth, and it adds puzzling plot turns (for example Noah Levenstein's wife has died, adding an unnecessary note of sadness to his scenes - they used to be hilarious.) Credit to the filmmakers for fleshing out the characters - but when all is said and done, it drained this film of any fun it might have had.

4/10

[Fabulous]

The Gazebo (1959)

2

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/6mKaZcHlNY7fALTLgRHJn1X0FAH.jpg

[Stirchley]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Chappaquiddick_%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=55801587

Chappaquiddick - (2017)

During the 20th Century Joe Kennedy stood as the father of one of America's most prominent families. He'd had four sons. Joe Jnr, the most senior, died in a virtual suicide mission during World War II. Jack Kennedy became a U.S. President, and was assassinated in an event people will still be talking about 500 years from now. Robert Kennedy became a U.S. Attorney General, and was assassinated himself. Ted Kennedy had the humiliation and disgrace of the Chappaquiddick controversy. He was involved in an automobile accident in which he drove his car into an inlet - it landed roof-down, and while Kennedy was able to free himself, the woman he was travelling with, Mary Jo Kopechne, was left stranded in the car, underwater. Nobody knows the exact, true story of what happened next, for incredibly, Ted Kennedy didn't report the incident for 9 hours. I've read speculation that Kopechne might have been able to survive for quite some time in an air pocket - and that prompt emergency rescue activation might have been able to save her.

Chappaquiddick portrays Edward Kennedy (played by Jason Clarke) as a popular, but somewhat spoiled and dense member of the Kennedy family. He has a great inner turmoil, since he has to live up to his three brothers, all great men of history - but he's just not that kind of person. His father, Joe (Bruce Dern) treats him with absolute contempt - even from his vantage point of being half-paralyzed after a stroke. Despite all of this, Ted embraces his father and treats his words of scorn as if they're words of praise. He blames all of his horrible actions on his many problem-solvers, and often ignores their sage advice. In the end he can't muster up the courage to quit the Senate and live his own life - but luckily for him he's wealthy and a member of a powerful family - despite this being a clear case of manslaughter, he gets the lowest possible jail sentence, and even this is suspended. He reads his televised speech, and the American public continue to love him, despite his flaws. I've always enjoyed the interesting character study that Chappaquiddick is, and this was my second time watching it.

Good movie. Jason Clarke always good.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTk1NjAwN2YtYjhiNi00ZWZlLWIyZjMtZTcwNTEyNDNiNDg2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc5MDI5NjE@._V1_.jpg


3

[Fabulous]

Come September (1961)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/raoktp0LbDS5wd4DxRkFg28HSB3.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

Chappaquiddick - (2017)

During the 20th Century Joe Kennedy stood as the father of one of America's most prominent families. He'd had four sons. Joe Jnr, the most senior, died in a virtual suicide mission during World War II. Jack Kennedy became a U.S. President, and was assassinated in an event people will still be talking about 500 years from now. Robert Kennedy became a U.S. Attorney General, and was assassinated himself. Ted Kennedy had the humiliation and disgrace of the Chappaquiddick controversy. He was involved in an automobile accident in which he drove his car into an inlet - it landed roof-down, and while Kennedy was able to free himself, the woman he was travelling with, Mary Jo Kopechne, was left stranded in the car, underwater. Nobody knows the exact, true story of what happened next, for incredibly, Ted Kennedy didn't report the incident for 9 hours. I've read speculation that Kopechne might have been able to survive for quite some time in an air pocket - and that prompt emergency rescue activation might have been able to save her.
...
Like you, I thought it was a fairly faithful representation of the known facts, and was an interesting film. At the time of the accident everyone knew that Kennedy was lying, but he had too many friends in high places. However that incident probably kept him from running for President.

[Takoma11]

Sounds/looks good, watchlisted! While watchlisting I saw they remade it already as a mini series starring Sam Neil; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3581932/

So while trying to stay very vague here: the original novel by Agatha Christie is a very interestingly structured mystery. Different adaptations make some very radical changes to the characters and even the ending.

I absolutely adore the 1945 version, which is funny and moves along at a great clip.

The miniseries from a few years back is a radically different take on the material---much more faithful to the original story and very dark in tone--that I also enjoyed.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/X%2BY_poster.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44974518

X+Y - (2014)

Sometimes all I need from a drama is for it to defy worn out formulas, and that's exactly what X+Y did to satisfy me last night, taking a hard left turn and truly subverting my expectations and surprising me. This Morgan Matthews movie has a Mike Leigh feel about it - reintroducing Sally Hawkins with Eddie Marsan (from Happy-Go-Lucky), and throwing in Rafe Spall along with youngsters Asa Butterfield and Jo Yang - and it basically explores how being different and gifted isn't always the best of trade-offs. It's about a severely autistic Maths prodigy, Nathan Ellis (Butterfield) going to the International Mathematical Olympiad (it's a thing) - jetting off to Thailand despite his difficulty in social situations. Nathan wants human relationships to resemble good old trustworthy mathematics (even his eating habits are dictated by mathematical logistics) but people coalesce around the agreeable boy - he has his mother Julie (Hawkins - who he treats as coldly as a stranger), his long-suffering and eccentric teacher Martin (Spall - a weed smoking, M.S. suffering ex-prodigy whose own trip to the Maths Olympiad was a disaster) and young Chinese competitor Zhang Mei (Jo Yang) - a cute girl with whom Nathan becomes inseparable. Nathan was in a car accident with his father at a young age, and witnessed his death - it's tense to see him struggle, pushed to contribute by Olympiad organiser Richard (Eddie Marsan), but this isn't the kind of film where Nathan is relentlessly bullied. All of the gifted students struggle with expectations, and have to deal with failure - if you think you know where X+Y is headed when it introduces all of it's narrative elements, you might be surprised. I was, and found it a very enjoyable film.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/Midsommar_%282019_film_poster%29.png
By A24, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60104242

Midsommar - (2019)

I jotted down my thoughts on Letterboxd after watching the director's cut of Midsommar - "I approached Midsommar expecting/hoping for Hereditary 2, and it was so different that I've spent a long time and several viewings trying to get a firm grasp on it. It's not easy - Ari Aster makes me so damned uncomfortable with Dani (Florence Pugh) having to deal with the grief of her family's suicide, and a relationship that is so toxic it gives off all kinds of poisonous vibrations. The fact that Dani and Christian (Jack Reynor) head to a Swedish death cult with a few of their a-hole American friends (bumping into just as disagreeable British tourists) doesn't help to ease the tension and discomfort.

I'm never in this film's groove - I'm always reacting to the dark negativity, even as we spend our time in the colour and marvel of the Swedish landscape. Friendly faces abound, but the rituals make us feel uneasy at first, and then the audience is screaming at these kids to run for their lives. I was asking for something dark, horrific and testing - and unfortunately I got what I asked for. Burn it all down. For a film about grief, the death of relationships, the ending of things so we can face a new beginning - it's a tough one. It's an ordeal. Grief is never, ever, pretty - and there are few films about it. I'll spend my life trying to come to grips with Midsommar - but it keeps calling to me, so I keep returning. I'm guessing that's a good thing? It's certainly not what I was expecting from Aster - and that is a good thing. If I'd got what I'd expected, it would have meant he was content to spin those wheels. Instead, he challenges."

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Everafterposter.jpg
By Movieposter.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12282039

Ever After - (1998)

I was less than kind to Ever After - it was okay, but there was some terribly trite moments that spoiled the overall good work of those making it. I wrote "A pop song during the end credits and lines like "I come here not as a prince, but as a man in love!" are enough for me to mark down this retelling of the classic Cinderella story. I was finding it hard to believe that Prince Charming would fall for Drew Barrymore in any event. Richard O'Brien appears in a small role - and I'm guessing with all sincerity that the production allowed him to wear all the marvelous gowns during the days he wasn't needed on set. Anjelica Huston was the key actress, and best thing about Ever After - a good idea pulled off with competency."

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/The_Dark_Tower_teaser_poster.jpg
By Stephen King - Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53533851

The Dark Tower - (2017)

Good lord, I wasn't expecting anything great - but this film is pure rubbish. Stephen King's Dark Tower was a work that spanned seven novels - some of them lengthy. Here we have the adaptation, coming in at 95 minutes and pretty much doing it's own thing. You can see that one of the producers overseeing the project wanted a Marvel film. Another producer wanted to try to stay true to the story. Another wanted to start a franchise. What we have is a derivative and consistently unenjoyable corporate product. Lip service to a mammoth and labored work of fiction in the most crass, commercial way possible. To all those responsible : Shame on you.

3/10

[Corax]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/The_Dark_Tower_teaser_poster.jpg
By Stephen King - Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53533851

The Dark Tower - (2017)

Good lord, I wasn't expecting anything great - but this film is pure rubbish. Stephen King's Dark Tower was a work that spanned seven novels - some of them lengthy. Here we have the adaptation, coming in at 95 minutes and pretty much doing it's own thing. You can see that one of the producers overseeing the project wanted a Marvel film. Another producer wanted to try to stay true to the story. Another wanted to start a franchise. What we have is a derivative and consistently unenjoyable corporate product. Lip service to a mammoth and labored work of fiction in the most crass, commercial way possible. To all those responsible : Shame on you.

3/10


Elba's done more than his fare share of garbage. It's too bad that he's been wasted on so many duds.

[honeykid]

Ever After - (1998)I was finding it hard to believe that Prince Charming would fall for Drew Barrymore in any event.

I could understand your viewpoint on the rest of the film, but this? You. Are. Mental. :D

[Gideon58]

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Unknown-1.png


4

[Gideon58]

[QUOTE=PHOENIX74;2385407]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Chappaquiddick_%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=55801587

Chappaquiddick - (2017)

During the 20th Century Joe Kennedy stood as the father of one of America's most prominent families. He'd had four sons. Joe Jnr, the most senior, died in a virtual suicide mission during World War II. Jack Kennedy became a U.S. President, and was assassinated in an event people will still be talking about 500 years from now. Robert Kennedy became a U.S. Attorney General, and was assassinated himself. Ted Kennedy had the humiliation and disgrace of the Chappaquiddick controversy. He was involved in an automobile accident in which he drove his car into an inlet - it landed roof-down, and while Kennedy was able to free himself, the woman he was travelling with, Mary Jo Kopechne, was left stranded in the car, underwater. Nobody knows the exact, true story of what happened next, for incredibly, Ted Kennedy didn't report the incident for 9 hours. I've read speculation that Kopechne might have been able to survive for quite some time in an air pocket - and that prompt emergency rescue activation might have been able to save her.

Chappaquiddick portrays Edward Kennedy (played by Jason Clarke) as a popular, but somewhat spoiled and dense member of the Kennedy family. He has a great inner turmoil, since he has to live up to his three brothers, all great men of history - but he's just not that kind of person. His father, Joe (Bruce Dern) treats him with absolute contempt - even from his vantage point of being half-paralyzed after a stroke. Despite all of this, Ted embraces his father and treats his words of scorn as if they're words of praise. He blames all of his horrible actions on his many problem-solvers, and often ignores their sage advice. In the end he can't muster up the courage to quit the Senate and live his own life - but luckily for him he's wealthy and a member of a powerful family - despite this being a clear case of manslaughter, he gets the lowest possible jail sentence, and even this is suspended. He reads his televised speech, and the American public continue to love him, despite his flaws. I've always enjoyed the interesting character study that Chappaquiddick is, and this was my second time watching it.

7/10

Really liked this movie...liked the fact that it doesn't portray Ted Kennedy as some misunderstood victim. Jason Clarke was superb in the role.

[matt72582]

Only a Mother
https://youtu.be/apJgYKcGqDs

[Fabulous]

This Sporting Life (1963)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/hiGMjE8oBKFZxfStIsoLReRSUdr.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

This Sporting Life (1963)

rating_3_5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/hiGMjE8oBKFZxfStIsoLReRSUdr.jpg
I loved this film when it came out. It really put Richard Harris on the map, and started his laudable career.

It was one of the "new wave" films (which I thought of as an "art film") which continued the style of disaffected rebellious guys bucking society (ala The Wild One, Rebel Without a Cause, and others-- even A Streetcar Named Desire). The Brits referred to this type as a "kitchen sink" film, in contrast to the clean, idealistic films which were typical up to that time.

I watched the film again 20 years or so ago, and it held up at that time. I should watch it again to see if it still has the same impact. Some of the feel of the film and its broodiness put me in mind of the later great Antonioni film, Blow-up.

[PHOENIX74]

I could understand your viewpoint on the rest of the film, but this? You. Are. Mental. :D

As soon as I saw I had a mention from you I remembered what I'd said and thought to myself "Oh God I've stepped in some doo doo here..." 😳 - yes, it was momentary insanity.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Dallas_Buyers_Club_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=40373913

Dallas Buyers Club - (2013)

Keeping a long story short, I'm not a big Matthew McConaughey fan, while not being particularly averse to him either. Dallas Buyers Club is a good movie though. McConaughey plays real life character Ron Woodroof - someone who starts out as a horrible person (almost irredeemable) but is eventually forced to put himself in the shoes of others when he's diagnosed with HIV. At first I thought he was heading down the wrong path - ignoring his doctors and getting his hands on drugs that weren't approved by the FDA. But no - it seems pharmaceutical companies and profit-making drug manufacturers made it hard for AIDS victims to access useful medications in a timely fashion. The authorities made life as difficult as they could for Woodroof, and while I don't really approve of the average Joe handing out medication without medical training or any authority, the case with these victims were often so dire that he ended up doing some good. Jared Leto ended up winning an Oscar for playing a trans person - there's an actor with a lot of ups and downs. Interesting to note too, that McConaughey and Leto lost so much weight to play their roles that I don't know whether to tip my hat or be concerned.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/Mean_Girls_film_poster.png
By Vanity Fair, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55575949

Mean Girls - (2004)

There seems to have been quite a few teen girl high school dramas where the main character narrates her own story - it feels so familiar by now. I got laughs from Mean Girls - it was funny enough to be consistently amusing, which is always a big plus. If Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are in a film, even in minor roles, it usually means it'll be okay. I wasn't over the moon with Mean Girls, which is about the same thing every other film like it's about - self esteem, bullying, romance and sociotropy. (Yep - I just learned a new word.) Being funny goes a long way though, so my feelings about the film balance out.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/The_Mask_%28film%29_poster.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4815880

The Mask - (1994)

I was never a huge fan of cartoons - they were okay, and I watched them as a kid, but I didn't love them the way Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) does in The Mask. This makes all of the silly stuff that happens when The Mask is unleashed particularly tiresome to me. I actually prefer the parts of this film where Jim Carrey is being funny without the animated help. I gave this another try - I hadn't seen it in forever - but the screenplay is really sub-par, and I find that if you don't like the gimmick here, then that's a deal-breaker.

5/10

[Deschain]

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is bonkers. James Gunn went all out.

[honeykid]

As soon as I saw I had a mention from you I remembered what I'd said and thought to myself "Oh God I've stepped in some doo doo here..." 😳 - yes, it was momentary insanity.

Hey, we all make mistakes sometimes. :p And, if you didn't, then it ok to be mental too. It just has to be called out otherwise it becomes normal, which leads to where we are now in the world. :D

[Stirchley]

This Sporting Life (1963)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/hiGMjE8oBKFZxfStIsoLReRSUdr.jpg

Terrific movie.

[McConnaughay]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/The_Perfection_film_poster.jpghttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/The_Rental_poster.jpg/220px-The_Rental_poster.jpg
I watched The Rental and The Perfection a couple days ago.

The Rental wasn't anything to write home about. It wasn't a bad film, but it wasn't a particularly noteworthy or distinct film either. Satiable for a new director (Dave Franco), but not a film I will recall in a week or two.

The Perfection was both better and more distinct. I have ignored this film for years, simply because I never heard anyone talk about it and I thought it looked a little generic (like a film Netflix scooped up because it had a low price-tag). I need to sit down and collect my thoughts on it, but I was certainly entertained and intrigued by it. I certainly enjoyed it, but I have to admit it is pretty wacky / stupid the more you think about it (and I'm not saying that with much angry or frustration). It's ridiculous when you think about it, but it's colorful, eccentric, and memorable all the same.

[matt72582]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - 7/10

Good movie, and it's on YouTube for Free. About a teacher who's life is teaching. "In her prime" is another way she keeps describing herself, much to the chagrin of Don Lemon... She also constantly says in order for the old-fashioned to get rid of her, they'll have to assassinate her. I find the emergency of Fascist leaders juxtaposed with the idea of romance an interesting one. The movie got better as it went on.

https://youtu.be/AgDBb93ZOm8

[matt72582]

I loved this film when it came out. It really put Richard Harris on the map, and started his laudable career.

It was one of the "new wave" films (which I thought of as an "art film") which continued the style of disaffected rebellious guys bucking society (ala The Wild One, Rebel Without a Cause, and others-- even A Streetcar Named Desire). The Brits referred to this type as a "kitchen sink" film, in contrast to the clean, idealistic films which were typical up to that time.

I watched the film again 20 years or so ago, and it held up at that time. I should watch it again to see if it still has the same impact. Some of the feel of the film and its broodiness put me in mind of the later great Antonioni film, Blow-up.


I like "The Angry Young Men" -- Albert Finney, especially. Always loved the kitchen-sink English movies; kinda like the 60s mix between neo-realism and contemporary English movies..
"Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner" is probably my favorite movie from the UK.

[Marco]

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Before_the_Devil_Knows_You%27re_Dead_%282007_film%29.jpg
Good time-line (right word?) story about a family in distress after the two male siblings take matters into their own hands to clear financial worries. This ends in dire circumstances. The performances are all spot on and it's a good claustrophobic story as you can feel the tension cranking up even when the timelines cross. Good watch, excellent direction.
4

[Fabulous]

The Swarm (1978)

1.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wLDTNeP1LvdyrEjrt5QGAibjKfg.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGZhNWU4NzEtMTg0My00M2YzLTljM2QtOWNlNDM0ZDI3ZmNiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxMTY0OTQ@._V1_.jpg


3.5

[GulfportDoc]

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - 7/10

Good movie, and it's on YouTube for Free. About a teacher who's life is teaching. "In her prime" is another way she keeps describing herself, much to the chagrin of Don Lemon... She also constantly says in order for the old-fashioned to get rid of her, they'll have to assassinate her. I find the emergency of Fascist leaders juxtaposed with the idea of romance an interesting one. The movie got better as it went on.
From 1969, I really enjoyed that film. Seeing it then I had no idea that Maggie Smith would have such an illustrious career. She was great in the role (naturally). The picture even featured the great Celia Johnson of Brief Encounter (1945) fame. "Brodie" still holds up IMO, even in our decadent modern times.

[dadgumblah]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Fiddler_on_the_roof.jpg
By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7316189

Fiddler on the Roof - (1971)

1971 was a great year for films, with A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show, The French Connection, Nicholas and Alexandra and Fiddler on the Roof all vying for Best Picture at the Oscars. A rare year where I actually like every nomination a great deal. It took until now to confirm my feelings for Fiddler on the Roof however - a 3 hour musical that I have to admit breaking into two portions. Topol is marvelous as Tevye the put-upon father of five willful daughters who will test just how willing he is to break with age-old Jewish traditions. I remember getting to know this guy from when he appeared in Flash Gordon and For Your Eyes Only in the 1980s - and sadly, he died only a few weeks ago at the age of 87. He's obviously most famous for appearing in this film, and provides it with it's heart and soul. It's hard to fathom that the young girls in this are now old ladies.

There's something magical about Fiddler on the Roof - almost as if something sacred has been woven into the fabric of the film, and it gives us a glimpse into the world of a Jewish community that, while persecuted, had remained unchanged for centuries until modernity came to disrupt their way of life. The music has a certain timeless quality, and that's why I rate it above the likes of An American in Paris, Easter Parade and High Society, which seem trivial in comparison. The fierce anti-Semitism and growing instability inside Russia creates an upheaval which sets the stage for the struggle these people go through, and makes this specific musical feel important and gives it a weighty depth. The fiddler on the roof represents the precarious balancing act of living life while still playing your personal tune and making decisions - hopefully without falling.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Hairmovieposter.jpg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16955539

Hair - (1979)

Far out man. Like, can you dig that this musical is like a trip man. You never know what these dudes are gonna say or sing next - sometimes they'll just do something completely random and spin you out and you'll be like "far out man" and they don't even care, they'll crash parties and "borrow" cars. But the Vietnam war is in full swing. Bummer man. John Savage, Treat Williams and Beverly D'Angelo lead the cast and while Savage starts out as a real square cowboy from Oklahoma, joining the army and doing what the man tells him, he still becomes friends with a group of hippies who remain loyal to him - an unexpected switcheroo between him and Williams leads to a surprise ending. The standout song is "Hair" of course, and while the film doesn't always hit the highs it does in that sequence, it has a strong finish and is another fine film from Miloš Forman. I believe in God, and I believe that God believes in Claude.

7.5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgrIAIHTho8T


The guy who starts of the song, Woof, is played by Don Dacus, who would go on to play for a couple of years with the band Chicago. He was let go after a couple of years, mainly because he had the nearly-impossible task of filling the spot formerly held by the great Terry Kath who had accidentally shot himself and died. Also, just a bit of personal trivia, Dacus was from Texas and graduated from Cleburne High School, just a couple of towns from where I grew up. From what I understand, he's semi-retired and living in Austin with his wife and kids, but shows up from time-to-time to perform, sometimes with former Chicago players. His list of credits on Wikipedia as a guitarist is impressive. Sorry, I've rambled a bit. But Hair is indeed a fun movie. Love Fiddler on the Roof as well. Good reviews, PHOENIX74!

[PHOENIX74]

The Swarm (1978)

1.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wLDTNeP1LvdyrEjrt5QGAibjKfg.jpg

One of the worst films ever made - but for me, one of the most enjoyable to watch. Completely nuts.

[Citizen Rules]

One of the worst films ever made - but for me, one of the most enjoyable to watch. Completely nuts.I seen The Swarm back when I was doing a disaster movie marathon. I recommend it as a double feature along with Empire of the Ants (1977)...Joan Collins sticky predicament is worth the price of admission:eek:

[skizzerflake]

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, adapted from a book by Judy Blume - I have to say that I dragged to this, but I actually ended up being glad to be dragged. Girl Margaret is caught halfway between her Christian mother and Jewish father, family pressures, school pressures, and then she hits puberty. She doesn't look as alluring as the other girls yet, but it's happening anyway. She's not interested in religion, but pressure is on there too, given her mixed religious parentage. Her mother's parents opted out of any role in her life when her mother married a Jewish guy; they're completely unknown to her, flaming-hell evangelists. With all this going on, Margaret is also trying to just be an early teen kid, which is difficult in itself.

Once I got over seeing a movie like this, it really IS very good. Characters are well portrayed, conflicts are clear and, above all, you just want Margaret to come out of this OK.

Abby Fortson is Margaret, Rachael McAdams and Bennie Safdie are her parents, Kathy Bates, the father's-side grandmother.

I'm not generally a fan of that sort of movie, but this was, admittedly, very good, well worth seeing.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzRzojHC3iE

[MovieBuffering]

Puss In Boots - 2022

Figured I'd give it a whirl since it got such good word of mouth online from people I trust. It really didn't disappoint. Thought it was great. The animation was original, characters were cool, voice work awesome. I thought for the most part the humor hit. The Jimmy Crickets/James Stewart bit was probably the funniest I literally lol'ed alot at that bit. The strength of the movie is it actually made me feel something and stuck with me for a couple days after. Does some really cool stuff with mortality. The villain is really cool. Good little flick I'd highly recommend.

4

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81QchPvsz0L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg

[Corax]

https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-movie-poster.jpg


So, it appears that they wanted to make a their own version of Watership Down or The Plague Dogs?


They really really wanted you to cry for this one. Thing is, I've never approached this franchise in the hopes of having a good cry.



If you have kids, don't take them to see this. The images are nightmare fuel.


At this point, I'm cheering for the writer's strike to last awhile.

[Fabulous]

The Hurricane (1937)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/1GhoYRBuU2zLZpidGt26aNOy0hi.jpg

[skizzerflake]

One of the worst films ever made - but for me, one of the most enjoyable to watch. Completely nuts.

Indeed, one of the worst of its kind and I've seen plenty of them. It's worth noting that there was somewhat of a remake, the title at least, The Swarm, 2020. The first line of the Wikipedia listing tells you what to expect, like who the heck would have a locust farm....

"A single mother's business of a locust farm isn't doing so well. She discovers by accident that blood makes them thrive"

[EndlessDream]

Kwaidan is a Japanese ghost story anthology. I watch this every few years hoping to love it, but I always come away moderately liking it. The movie looks fantastic and has some wonderful backdrops, but the stories are so slow and lack excitement. The best segment is the first, Black Hair, because it builds to a creepy finale. I don't like that the main character is punished for trying to rectify a mistake, but its still the most satisfying conclusion here. The other segments start out well and then peter out at the end. The movie has great atmosphere as a whole, but it doesn't capitalize on it all that well.

[Marco]

Enys Men (2022)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/Enys_Men_poster.jpg/330px-Enys_Men_poster.jpg
From the director of "Bait". A basic of storyline (woman gets isolated and starts feeling strange) and I understand this was filmed during lockdown. It's not for everyone and can descend into Warhol-type navel gazing. For me it's not a step forward or even comparable to Bait which was far superior. Kudos for being different though.

2

[TheUsualSuspect]

Freeway

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/m0pAARUq3foDWFsrUmlYDHtNPE9.jpg

3.5

A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in modern trailer park trash times. An early Reese Witherspoon performance and one that is probably among her best. Her not give a crap attitude and wild dialogue were a lot of fun to watch. The "Wolf" character is played by Kiefer Sutherland and he knows how to crank up the creepy and grotesque. The film is filthy, crude, and doesn't give a damn.


Freeway 2

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5GDjVq3WhQRc7OlKb6QDQzxKdk7.jpg

2

This time around it's Natasha Lyonne as the trailer park trash lead. She plays a prostitute who befriends a mentally unstable serial killer and they escape prison. This time around, the fairy tale they are updating is Hansel and Gretel and it feels a lot more forced. It ups the grime and awfulness but doesn't have the strong performances to support it. It has a direct to dvd feel to it and above all the worst offender was that it was boring.

[Deschain]

There’s a Freeway 2 starring Natasha Lyonne?? Wtf.

[McConnaughay]

I watched Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Renfield.

I will do a proper review shortly, but they were about what you would expect of it. Winnie was bad, but it wasn't as bad as I expected (it looked nicer visually than I anticipated it would, but it was otherwise as bad as the reviews suggest - I couldn't tell you about any of the characters or any traits they had). Renfield was fun, but it wasn't as good as I expected. It started off really well, but it petered out by the end (I don't want to say it became a superhero movie, ... but that's kind of what happened. It became kind-of a generic action movie, when, at first, it really had some promising stuff). I would have loved it as a quirky, low-budget horror comedy.

[matt72582]

Pretty Poison - 6/10
Even when Anthony Perkins' character is acting it's not convincing, but it was on his movie channel I just found, and the IMDB line intrigued me
"When a mentally-disturbed young man tells a pretty girl that he's a secret agent, she believes him; murder and mayhem ensue."
I think with another lead, and some changes in this story, it could have been great.

https://youtu.be/3hFyaZ6Rp14

[Citizen Rules]

Pretty Poison - 6/10
Even when Anthony Perkins' character is acting it's not convincing, but it was on his movie channel I just found, and the IMDB line intrigued me
"When a mentally-disturbed young man tells a pretty girl that he's a secret agent, she believes him; murder and mayhem ensue."
I think with another lead, and some changes in this story, it could have been great.

https://youtu.be/3hFyaZ6Rp14I've been meaning to watch that for the longest time. I was impressed with Tuesday Weld's screen presences back when I watch The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052490/). I then sought out some of her movies probably Lord Love a Duck (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060636/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_29_act) (1966) was the best one I've seen so far. Have you seen that one?

[LChimp]

https://thathashtagshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image002.jpg

Wasn't expecting much, but I admit I had a few good laughs.

[matt72582]

I've been meaning to watch that for the longest time. I was impressed with Tuesday Weld's screen presences back when I watch The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052490/). I then sought out some of her movies probably Lord Love a Duck (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060636/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_29_act) (1966) was the best one I've seen so far. Have you seen that one?


I tried watching it, because I knew someone who knew the writer, but I turned it off shortly after.

[Citizen Rules]

I tried watching it, because I knew someone who knew the writer, but I turned it off shortly after.It's a very odd movie, sometimes it seems it's breaking taboos. I'm not sure how it's meant to be interpreted but it's different that's for sure.

[Gideon58]

From 1969, I really enjoyed that film. Seeing it then I had no idea that Maggie Smith would have such an illustrious career. She was great in the role (naturally). The picture even featured the great Celia Johnson of Brief Encounter (1945) fame. "Brodie" still holds up IMO, even in our decadent modern times.


I remember watching the 1970 Academy Awards and really wanting Liza Minnelli or Jane Fonda to win Best Actress, but many years later, I finally saw The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie...this was one the Academy got right.

[Raven73]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
7.5/10
It's my least favourite of the trilogy, but it's still good enough to call the trilogy a success. Rocket is my fav Guardian, and he featured prominently in this one, but the big baddie The High Evolutionary was a bit of a disappointment and so was the ending. I'd been looking forward to finally seeing Adam Warlock, and I liked his portrayal by Will Poulter - Warlock was quite awkward and clumsy, but this was excusable as he was just born yesterday... I did enjoy the movie's several heart-felt moments, some of which gave me a lump in my throat.

https://images.thedirect.com/media/photos/guardians-galaxy-3s.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, adapted from a book by Judy Blume - I have to say that I dragged to this, but I actually ended up being glad to be dragged. Girl Margaret is caught halfway between her Christian mother and Jewish father, family pressures, school pressures, and then she hits puberty. She doesn't look as alluring as the other girls yet, but it's happening anyway. She's not interested in religion, but pressure is on there too, given her mixed religious parentage. Her mother's parents opted out of any role in her life when her mother married a Jewish guy; they're completely unknown to her, flaming-hell evangelists. With all this going on, Margaret is also trying to just be an early teen kid, which is difficult in itself.

Once I got over seeing a movie like this, it really IS very good. Characters are well portrayed, conflicts are clear and, above all, you just want Margaret to come out of this OK.

Abby Fortson is Margaret, Rachael McAdams and Bennie Safdie are her parents, Kathy Bates, the father's-side grandmother.

I'm not generally a fan of that sort of movie, but this was, admittedly, very good, well worth seeing.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:
The trailer makes the picture very appealing, both in comedy and also the 1970s period settings and design. Will have to check it out.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYzMyNmE5ZmYtYzk1MC00ODI4LThiMjktOTRiZDY0YmY1Y2YxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA3MDk2NDg2._V1_.jpg


3

[Gideon58]

T


The guy who starts of the song, Woof, is played by Don Dacus, who would go on to play for a couple of years with the band Chicago. He was let go after a couple of years, mainly because he had the nearly-impossible task of filling the spot formerly held by the great Terry Kath who had accidentally shot himself and died. Also, just a bit of personal trivia, Dacus was from Texas and graduated from Cleburne High School, just a couple of towns from where I grew up. From what I understand, he's semi-retired and living in Austin with his wife and kids, but shows up from time-to-time to perform, sometimes with former Chicago players. His list of credits on Wikipedia as a guitarist is impressive. Sorry, I've rambled a bit. But Hair is indeed a fun movie. Love Fiddler on the Roof as well. Good reviews, PHOENIX74!

I, too, love both Fiddler on the Roof and Hair...I think both films have enormous re-watch appeal.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/L%27Heure_d%27%C3%A9t%C3%A9_%282008_film%29_poster.jpg
By unknown - moviegoods.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24240867

Summer Hours - (2008)

There's a deep, moving sadness to Summer Hours that snuck through my myriad defenses and had me thinking about what it's like to lose loved ones, and how that change in our life makes us note little details that hurt. It's a great movie - directed by someone I'm making a note of - Olivier Assayas. It starts at a family gathering for 75-year-old matriarch Hélène Berthier (Édith Scob) on her birthday, who gives son Frédéric detailed instructions on what he's to sell when she dies, including the house all siblings grew up in. She dies, and the film flashes forward scene by scene to every occasion when the siblings get together to sort out everything that needs sorting when a last parent dies. Birthday presents she'd been given, some still unused, keep creeping into shots, and the process of moving on is exposed in every step these people take. The family live and work in distant places - so these little reunions are precious, and you get the feeling these family members will rarely be together like this ever again. It's not a melodramatic film - it's straightforward, and doesn't manipulate your emotions, and that's what I loved about it. Those feelings are there, and we don't need them pointed out. Hauntingly beautiful, and effectively grounded and subtle - I loved this blind watch.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Edwardscissorhandsposter.JPG
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9111159

Edward Scissorhands - (1990)

It's a bit of a shock to the system to go back and see just how much of a magical touch Tim Burton had in the late 80s and early 90s - Edward Scissorhands, with the help of Danny Elfman and some Oscar-nominated make-up effects, has such a delicate touch - which Burton would go on to lose after hitting a kind of peak with Ed Wood. Watch this film with an open heart, and you are guaranteed to feel this throwback to the fables of old squeeze it tight. It's beautiful - and comes from a very genuinely expressive artist. For Burton, the key is not to get carried away, even if you have the resources and money to do so - with Edward Scissorhands there's no excess, just a wonderfully told tale.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Littlemonsters2019poster.jpg
By https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Little-Monsters-Poster.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=963&h=1426, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60849881

Little Monsters - (2019)

Little Monsters is a cute little zombie film. It's not going to knock either Dawn of the Dead or Shaun of the Dead off their perches, but it starts strong and is full of enjoyably carefree comedy and spunk which makes up for it's lack scope. For those who love the genre, you should check it out if you haven't already.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/Cuban_Fury.jpg
By IMPAwards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42076740

Cuban Fury - (2014)

During Cuban Fury, a film I wasn't enjoying even the slightest bit, I imagined what things would have been like if Nick Frost and Chris O'Dowd had of swapped roles. It would have made this piece of dump-rubbish watchable. I love Chris O'Dowd, but in this salsa-themed movie he's the foul-mouthed, crude villain - and it doesn't suit him at all. Nick Frost is the romantic lead, who is a salsa dancer, and that doesn't suit him at all. The comedy also happens to fall flat as a pancake. The only time I laughed was when we get a very unexpected and sudden Simon Pegg cameo. Going by the cast I thought this might be good - but it's obviously the reason why director James Griffiths went back to television after directing it, never doing another feature to this day.

4/10

[Fabulous]

There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

3

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/aI1ah2uVBkAQyoF9CXlojHnBeG9.jpg

[MovieBuffering]

The Last Of The Mohicans - 1992

I can knock this one off the list. One of those movies I can check off but won't be revisiting. I can see this being really dynamic in 1992. It had it's moments but overall I thought it was kind of silly movie. I wasn't expecting the romance to be basically the movie and I gotta say it really didn't feel like an earned romance. I could feel the boxes being checked for the plot as it moved along. Motivation of the characters felt bizarre. The actors did their best. I just think it gets stiff and generic being strapped to this unearned romance. I actually laughed at some scenes I don't think I was suppose to be laughing at lol. I don't know it wasn't for me but it has really good reviews so I must be in the minority.

2

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjEyMDU2ODQ4NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjA5MTU1MQ@@._V1_.jpg

[Siddon]

The Last Of The Mohicans - 1992

I can knock this one off the list. One of those movies I can check off but won't be revisiting. I can see this being really dynamic in 1992. It had it's moments but overall I thought it was kind of silly movie. I wasn't expecting the romance to be basically the movie and I gotta say it really didn't feel like an earned romance. I could feel the boxes being checked for the plot as it moved along. Motivation of the characters felt bizarre. The actors did their best. I just think it gets stiff and generic being strapped to this unearned romance. I actually laughed at some scenes I don't think I was suppose to be laughing at lol. I don't know it wasn't for me but it has really good reviews so I must be in the minority.

rating_2




Oof....what were you confused about

[EndlessDream]

There’s a Freeway 2 starring Natasha Lyonne?? Wtf.


The subtitle is Confessions of a Trickbaby lol. Vinegar Syndrome putting it out on 4K.

[MovieBuffering]

Oof....what were you confused about

Sure most everyone has seen it but throw it in spoilers just in case.

Meh I wasn't confused I just didn't buy the romance at all and it was basically the bulk of the movie. These guys are the last of their people but they are going risk it all for these English bimbos they just met? I mean the other brother takes on a whole tribe at the end for the other sister that we barely saw them connect. They just go rushing in without much tact.Then Daniel Day-Lewis falls in love from one starry night convo? meh. I just think there were more interesting avenues they could have gone down then a dramatic fling. Like their relationship with the militia and the politics surrounding that.

I laughed at the one scene in the waterfall where he makes this big speech about staying alive then jumps out of the waterfall. Well why didn't the women and other dude jump? I mean Daniel Day and his family got away seems like they could have too if they jumped. Then the big plan was to just walk into the tribe and ask them to give her up? Well why did he have to jump then? Couldn't he just have gotten caught with them? :laugh:

There is just no substance to their relationship in my opinion for DDL and his family to be risking their lives for. They are survivors and this goes against their instincts and undermines their characters I believe. Like I said I can see this being really dynamic to audiences in 1992 and maybe if I saw it in the 90s I would have nostalgic memories of it. But now it all just felt telegraphed and stiff to me.

[Siddon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15oyDKbajkE


The movie didn't really cover the gory nature of the massacre...because it would be a pretty bad movie. They made the story more pallet-able but during this period of time tribes would take in slaves, orphans, refugees, or they would just steal women. It was the custom of Native American society...now could the film have been dirtier and not a romantic adventure...sure. But Cooper wrote the book a certain way the film worked to adapt that story.

[CharlesAoup]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (A)

So much better than Episode IV. The sets are much better, things move along much faster, almost everything is memorable. I especially enjoyed, now that I'm old enough to see it, that under the sci-fi veneer over everything, this story basically takes place in the 1930s in terms of how people interact with the world. It's a nice, pulpy tale in the very same vein as Indiana Jones, just with the force.

I still don't think the fanatical following this franchise has these days is justified though. No movie is that good.

[TheUsualSuspect]

The subtitle is Confessions of a Trickbaby lol. Vinegar Syndrome putting it out on 4K.


I watched the 4K Vinegar Syndrome release.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/g0YH6sp1/42nd-Street-1933-film-poster.jpg
By Distributed by Warner Bros. - Scan via Alchetron.com., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86893411

42nd Street - (1933)

One of the very early musicals - pre-Code, which explains how they got away with such shocking scenes as when the ladies lift their skirts to show their thighs to casting directors. I liked 42nd Street - although the pace was something I had to get used to, rapid-fire dialogue especially. Popular films from this era were kept moving, always with dialogue racing along, and unlike most other musicals, this one waits until the end to unleash nearly all of it's musical numbers. The whole thing is squeezed into under 90 minutes, and if made today I'd expect it to run something like 158 minutes. I thought to myself that one day I'd watch this and Gold Diggers of 1933 with my remote control handy, and make sure I get all of the jokes and various plot points. It was just too fast for me. All of the performers are earnest, and the show at the end really grand, with wonderfully inventive sets and set-pieces. It's kind of fascinating, and I look forward to going back after I read up on 42nd Street to really soak it all in.

7.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Prom_night_film_poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://impawards.com/1980/prom_night.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32126352

Prom Night - (1980)

🎵"Prom Night!"🎶"Everything is all right!"♫ ♬ ♭ 🎵 🎶"Prom Night!"🎵 🎶"No more feeling uptight!"🎵 - it'll be in your head. There is an especially disco-themed prom in which the finale of Prom Night plays out. Other than that, this slasher is noteworthy on a number of fronts :

*It's a hodgepodge from other such films from this era - Carrie, Halloween and Friday the 13th.

*Nothing really happens until the exact hour-mark, and aside from a severed head, there's little blood and gore.

*Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen are pretty big names for a film like this, and they give it a credibility it wouldn't otherwise have had.

*The various teenage romances are more interesting than the main, "who's the killer?" storyline.

*The film features two obvious red herrings, who really announce themselves as obvious red herrings.

*The film does do interesting things with the genre, with the killer quite spry but vulnerable and someone who makes mistakes.

*There's a great dance scene, and the up-tempo music plays in to how we perceive the action.

*Amazingly, this was followed by three sequels - I'd hate to see a slasher film from this era that didn't manage to string along at least a couple of low budget follow-up flicks.

So, while Prom Night does suffer from a sluggish pace up until the aforementioned prom, it's not the worst slasher I've ever watched and features actual characters instead of caricatures. I didn't love it, but I did think it was okay for what it is - fans of the genre will get something out of it if they're patient kind of people.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Borgman_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=39396883

Borgman - (2013)

Nearly forgot I watched this super-weird Dutch film where a gypsy/demon and his gang use their magic and various poisons to slowly infiltrate a middle-class family and eventually take over - when it ends you'll be questioning everything that happened in a good way. Really interesting and while not unique, it still does it's own thing (if that makes any sense.)

7/10

[MovieBuffering]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15oyDKbajkE


The movie didn't really cover the gory nature of the massacre...because it would be a pretty bad movie. They made the story more pallet-able but during this period of time tribes would take in slaves, orphans, refugees, or they would just steal women. It was the custom of Native American society...now could the film have been dirtier and not a romantic adventure...sure. But Cooper wrote the book a certain way the film worked to adapt that story.

I get it. If we adapted true stories verbatim we wouldn't want to watch. I am just trying to tell you for my taste I didn't buy the romance at all. And if you don't buy the romance then you don't buy the movie. Just my personal opinion.

[StuSmallz]

The Last Of The Mohicans - 1992Yeah, I can agree with you on this one; not a bad movie, but far from from Mann's (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/mann/reviews/) best, since it sort of felt like his Spartacus, in the sense that it felt like a break from his typical style in an attempt at more mainstream acceptance (which succeeded to a certain extent, since it's still his only movie to have won an Oscar), but it ended up feeling pretty inauthentic in the process, I'm afraid.

[MovieBuffering]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 9/10

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 - 2023

Well this is the last vestiges of the MCU I actually cared about. I thought the first GOTG was about the best one off film they made. James Gunn really made you care for every last one of the Guardians in that flick. I thought the second one was pretty good as well. Don't think it was up to snub of the first one but it was a good follow up, enough to keep you interested.

Now comes Vol 3. It pretty much falls in line with the rest of the MCU and falls apart after End Game. Gunn tries but he is just living off the good will of the first two and some of it isn't his fault. The End Game/Infinity War writers wrote Gamora into a corner he couldn't come out of. She was basically pointless in this movie. They failed at paying her and Peter's relationship off. It had threads of being a good movie. Rocket's story, which was basically the main thread of the movie, had it's moving parts. However it basically sidelined him for the entire film. If I was Will Poulter I would be finding a new agent. You got GOTG role but your character is basically neutered. Got buff for nothing.

I'll give it and Gunn credit, I dislike Gunn's politics (which falls in line with Hollywood's) and I don't know if he meant it, but the Rocket story was basically a warning of how bad socialism/communism is whether he meant it or not. What's the quote that comes to mind? "The road to hell is paved with good intentions?" Rocket's story summed up. I just do not think it was worthy of being the main theme of the plot. It didn't really pay off like it should have at the end either.

That's another problem. The end sucked. It was basically just tying off loose knots abruptly. Didn't feel natural. The movie to me was also an ugly digital mess. I blame a good bit on Gunn but I also think his hands were tied and if GOTG was just cut off form the MCU and it's on entity he might have been about to really bring this thing home. End Game just back him into a corner he couldn't pay off. Rocket's story was basically the movie the rest was just a car wreck of a film.

Anyways I wrote enough. Went by myself to the theater tonight. Hadn't been to the movies since I believe Tenet in 2020. I fear if this is what they are producing the theater experience will be extinct in my lifetime.

2

https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2023/02/13/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-three-newbutton-1676306275720.jpg

[MovieBuffering]

Yeah, I can agree with you on this one; not a bad movie, but far from from Mann's (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/tag/mann/reviews/) best, since it sort of felt like his Spartacus, in the sense that it felt like a break from his typical style in an attempt at more mainstream acceptance (which succeeded to a certain extent, since it's still his only movie to have won an Oscar), but it ended up feeling pretty inauthentic in the process, I'm afraid.

I think the key word here is inauthentic. Nailed it there.

[matt72582]

Charly - 7.5/10

(An online pal of mine sent me a link to this, and this was my reply/review to him, so feel free to eavesdrop)
"Just finished it. 7.5/10 - I liked it. My favorite scene of course was cut - when Charly helps the employee pick up the broken glasses as everyone laughs. There were many other scenes that could have been cut.

I remember the first movie that used the multiple (or split screens), the super-imposed smaller lens was in a British movie. Around that time, Michael Caine talked to the audience in "Alfie". But I'm not a huge fan of British movies, outside of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, and a few others. I think American actors are more natural.

Was that an LSD trip? When they "leave" for four weeks. There's a similar sex scene in a movie made that year, "Thomas Crown Affair", right after the chess match between McQueen and Faye... I could go on for days.

Thanks again. This has been on my list, but after having IMDB for 22 years, I have thousands on my "To-Watch" list.

So many fine movies on YouTube.... I recommend finding a great movie, and then finding the channel."


https://youtu.be/tKcWihdna3I

[Fabulous]

Corvette Summer (1978)

2

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/lZDOhVWyFjsJ3WU4fonMdqpxQwd.jpg

[Stirchley]

I remember watching the 1970 Academy Awards and really wanting Liza Minnelli or Jane Fonda to win Best Actress, but many years later, I finally saw The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie...this was one the Academy got right.

Seen The Prime many times. Excellent movie. What a gorgeous figure Maggie Smith had!

[matt72582]

Two Women - 8/10
I've seen this before, years ago, and liked it very much, but there were some parts I didn't remember. It was just on TCM, so it might still be available, if not on YouTube.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/TwoWomenPoster.jpg

[Corax]

Corvette Summer (1978)

rating_2

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/lZDOhVWyFjsJ3WU4fonMdqpxQwd.jpg


The film was a bad as what they did to that Corvette.

[LChimp]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWRhMjcwYjMtZDg2ZC00YmI1LWIwM2MtOTBhNmQ4OWUwYjgxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDgyNzAxMzY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


More often than not, human beings prove to be more terrifying than any monster or demon.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDE5NjRlOGEtZjYzMC00N2Y1LThjNTMtMThhZTE3MGVkZjBiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjcyNzA4OTI@._V1_.jpg


3

[Act III]

92683

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Ten years ago I saw this movie in theaters, back then I'd have rated it higher but now I give it a lower rating. This films strength is in its visuals and better dialog could've made it a true classic but altogether I say 71/100.

71/100

[SpelingError]

Critical Mass (1971) - 4.5

Prolonged scenes of yelling usually of yelling usually wear me usually wear me down, but me down, but the stylistic but the stylistic elements Frampton stylistic elements Frampton utilizes here Frampton utilizes here convey the here convey the meaningless of the meaningless of arguments between of arguments between couples really between couples really well. The really well. The repetition of The repetition of the dialogue of the dialogue matches the dialogue matches the repetitive nature the repetitive nature of their nature of their yelling. The their yelling. The audio not The audio not matching up not matching up with the up with the picture represents the picture represents how, though represents how, though the couple though the couple is saying couple is saying a lot saying a lot of words, lot of words, they're not words, they're not meeting eye not meeting eye to eye eye to eye or saying eye or saying anything of saying anything of substance. The of substance. The various cuts The various cuts to black cuts to black represent how black represent how they're just how they're just blindly yelling just blindly yelling at each yelling at each other (the each other (the improvised dialogue (the improvised dialogue matches this dialogue matches this element really this element really well). Overall, really well). Overall, it's my Overall, it's my favorite film my favorite film I've seen film I've seen from Frampton seen from Frampton so far. Frampton so far.

[PHOENIX74]

Two Women - 8/10
I've seen this before, years ago, and liked it very much, but there were some parts I didn't remember. It was just on TCM, so it might still be available, if not on YouTube.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/TwoWomenPoster.jpg

Great movie.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWRhMjcwYjMtZDg2ZC00YmI1LWIwM2MtOTBhNmQ4OWUwYjgxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDgyNzAxMzY@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg


More often than not, human beings prove to be more terrifying than any monster or demon.

I was really bowled over by this Danish/Dutch horror movie last year.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_Vol._3_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2023/guardians_of_the_galaxy_vol_three_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72394795

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - (2023)

Franchise films can get a little tired and feel familiar over the journey, but it's nice to see that the third Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't veer too far off the tried and true formula that made the first two films so good. It's not quite as funny, but still has that slightly silly edge to it - and it's a narrow course for James Gunn to hold without getting ridiculous, going for laughs all the time or losing perspective on the emotional journey our various characters are on. This time we focus on Rocket (Bradley Cooper) - where he came from, and the nightmare past he has to confront in this to survive. I saw this at a newly built "Xtremescreen" which also had pretty extreme sound, apparently to match the mammoth screen's size. Guardians of the Galaxy movies are noisy to begin with - but I was in the spirit of this thing, and had fun. I had a few laughs, and the only downside was that the familiarity and repetition means it's not as fresh as it was at the start. A mammoth movie with all the explosive sci-fi action and comedic fun you'd expect - it's fair to say it holds no really big surprises aside from Rocket's sad, sad origin tale, but it's a worthy addition to the franchise.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Deadpool_%282016_poster%29.png
By Internet Movie Database, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58589927

Deadpool - (2016)

I've had trouble getting into this, and struggle a little with Ryan Reynolds' comedic delivery, which always sounds the same - so, it took me several tries and false starts, but I've finally seen Deadpool properly. I liked it - but felt very let down by the last phase of the film. For something so unconventional, I felt it was a really cheap trick to just give us your standard good guys up against the equally matched and numbered bad guys finale fight. I felt like some producer somewhere demanded an ending like this - which gave a feeling that this was no different to any number of other superhero films. If you're going to have a fourth-wall breaking, completely unconventional and wildly wicked film like this, I'd expect the end of the film to keep that kind of tone.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Deadpool_2_poster.jpg
By IMP Awards / 2018 Movie Poster Gallery / Deadpool 2 Poster (#15 of 21), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55757491

Deadpool 2 - (2018)

I felt that Deadpool 2 was a pretty big improvement over the first film, and this time it's no-holds-barred insane tone was consistent throughout the whole film. I laughed a lot, which is something I didn't expect when I sat down to watch these films, and there was a real sense of excitement by including the likes of Zazie Beetz, Hunt For the Wilderpeople's Julian Dennison and Josh Brolin in the cast. I think that Deadpool 2 is one of the better offerings that this overstuffed comic book superhero deluge of films have brought us. It's one I'd loved to watch again one day soon - I felt it was something akin to The Suicide Squad.

7.5/10

[Corax]

https://123images.co/movies/12323037488-poster-One-Ranger.jpg


If Tom Jane leaned into Texas hero cliches any harder, he'd transform into Foghorn Leghorn.

John Malkovich isn't far behind in chewing the scenery in a performance that echoes KGB from Rounders.

5/10 Mustaches

[PHOENIX74]

If I was Will Poulter I would be finding a new agent. You got GOTG role but your character is basically neutered. Got buff for nothing.



Damn, I was going to say something about Will Poulter in my short review - I'm a bit of a fan, what with his performances in the likes of Detroit, Midsommar and The Revenant. He just kinda becomes irrelevant as the film goes on, as we learn that's he's far too simple-minded to be any kind of threat, and I forgot about him. I was excited he was in it.

[Chypmunk]

Recent watches:
The Desert Rats 1953 3
The Bounty Hunter 1954 3+
Liberation: The Battle Of Berlin 1971 3
Things To Come 2016 3+
The Lucky Texan 1934 2
Von Ryan's Express 1965 3.5
Passenger 57 1992 2.5

[matt72582]

Mamma Roma - 8/10
Re-watch.. It was also on TCM. Must be some Italian Mother theme. As much as I liked Sophia Loren (especially with Marcello Mastroianni), I preferred Anna Magnani.
https://youtu.be/w_gpmfm4k6Q

[matt72582]

American Madness - 6.5/10
Even at 75 minutes, it's not edited well. Too much crying, phone calls, shouting, not enough human interaction. The first half hour was really good, but then it kinda loses steam. Capra just getting his feet wet with Walter Huston, but it doesn't touch any of the "Mr." movies.
https://youtu.be/NL_zxHEHbms

[Gideon58]

https://images.fandango.com/ImageRenderer/0/0/redesign/static/img/default_poster.png/0/images/masterrepository/Fandango/231081/ATAO_OfficialPoster.jpg


3.5

[matt72582]

The Constant Factor - 7.5/10
A riveting movie about an honest man. Available on Prime/Mubi.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/The_Constant_Factor.png

[Fabulous]

The Blue Gardenia (1953)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/rsvJrcEn0DHKLLb37eKPVF0394Z.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

Mamma Roma - 8/10
Re-watch.. It was also on TCM. Must be some Italian Mother theme. As much as I liked Sophia Loren (especially with Marcello Mastroianni), I preferred Anna Magnani.
You make a good point. Loren hit the U.S. like a cyclone, and she was wildly popular especially in the '60s-'70s. But apart from Two Women and a few other roles, IMO she was best at light comedy. There was hardly a more voluptuous actress ever in films. It was impossible to take one's eyes off of her!

But Magnani was a real heavyweight actress, best in emotional or heavy dramatic roles. She made far more movies in Italy than in the U.S. She's been described as "volcanic", which is probably an apt description.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/Rise_of_the_Planet_of_the_Apes_Poster.jpg
By The cover art can or could be obtained from IMP Awards., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31516814

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - (2011)

Seems longer since the second reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise came out. At first you wonder how on earth Caesar and his ragtag bunch of intelligent apes can possibly take over, but then the clever side-plot involving a man-made deadly virus comes into play. It's a stretch having both the means of the apes becoming smarter and our demise linked together (they're part of the same formula) but I've seen much bigger fictional coincidences. This was an improvement over the Tim Burton reboot - it must really hurt when your version is scrapped and a completely non-related new one is called for, but that ending was so wacko, it was like there was nowhere to go from there. Still, this version only manages to be your average origin story which explains how the apes gained human-like intelligence and knowhow, and why mankind fell. It looks great, and was nominated for a visual effects Oscar (won by Hugo) - things start to get really interesting in the second film. This one was a very solid base from which to build a new series of these films from.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Dawn_of_the_Planet_of_the_Apes.jpg
By 20th Century Fox - http://www.movieinsider.com/posters/131057/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39545166

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - (2014)

This was an epic in every sense of the word, and while the complexity of the characters included in this film skewed towards the ape side, there's nevertheless a lot going on with the various personalities involved, and a believable sense of what a clash of species would really be like in the real world. I'd been well used to finding it hard to control my suspension of belief with these films, but having a human population that's dwindled to Last of Us proportions, and an ape society that's finding it's feet, I could really buy in. The effects were great (it lost it's Oscar nomination again, in a crowded field, this time to Interstellar), and the story involving and interesting. The only part that stuck out was the unreasonable coincidence of the humans bringing an injured Caesar to his old home when they pick a house at random. Otherwise, we have an Apes film here that manages to get as much dramatic gravitas from the CGI ape components as it does from the straight human actors. I loved the way it examined prejudice, within the context of an exciting sci-fi and action blockbuster. It just works really well, and is my favourite of the modern-day Ape films.

8/10

[Act III]

92694

Hard Target (1993)

I missed this one back in the day so it was a nice treat to see a decent action movie from that time. Not Van Damme's best but has many good qualities and could've been a little better.

67/100

[John-Connor]

THE COVENANT 2023 Guy Ritchie
https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/eTvN54pd83TrSEOz6wbsXEJktCV.jpg
2h 3m | Thriller | War | Action
Writers: Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Antony Starr, Emily Beecham

Not what I expected and nothing like Ritchie's previous work so literally 'outstanding'.
Great performances wouldn't be surprised if both Gyllenhaal and Salim get a nomination.

4

[Elenor6]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - (2023)
92697
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is the third part of the popular Marvel franchise that is made on the adventures of a ragtag team. The film delivers on its promise of action, humor, and heart, as the Guardians face new threats and old enemies.
The film express the feeling of friendship as each character struggles with their past and their future. It is a fun, thrilling, and emotional ride that will leave you satisfied and entertained.
6/10

[LChimp]

https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/original/public/image/attached/1057755-landofluckpress2x3-1280.jpg?itok=8Y3XG3Qh

It carries that Pixar vibe (John Lasseter is one of the producers) and it's simple and fun.

[matt72582]

You make a good point. Loren hit the U.S. like a cyclone, and she was wildly popular especially in the '60s-'70s. But apart from Two Women and a few other roles, IMO she was best at light comedy. There was hardly a more voluptuous actress ever in films. It was impossible to take one's eyes off of her!

But Magnani was a real heavyweight actress, best in emotional or heavy dramatic roles. She made far more movies in Italy than in the U.S. She's been described as "volcanic", which is probably an apt description.


Anna was tough, but vulnerable in ways. She could always see through someone's bullshit, usually with a cynical laugh, or the face she would make.

[ScarletLion]

'Pamfir' (2023)

https://images.bauerhosting.com/empire/2023/05/pamfir-1.jpg?q=80&auto=format&w=440

Ukranian crime drama about a brute of a man called Leonid, who has to turn to smuggling once again, in order to provide for his family and pay off debts. His nickname is Pamfir (rock), he has fought in bloody battles and seen a tough life. But he is a good father and devoted husband who just wants to live in peace, and now builds wells for locals.

Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s film is quite visceral with some really memorable images, especially towards the end of the film, and very immersive. I would imagine this film cuts deep for those brought up in the rural countryside of any Eastern European country.

Things go from bad to worse for Pamfir, as a chaotic event close to home and a organised crime baron conspire to bring him and his family more troubles. There are some lovely, tense long tracking shots, great performances and perhaps some symbolism that the corrupt people who run things in these areas of the world represent the current state of Ukraine’s neighbouring countries.

This one is really worth checking out.

8.2/10

4

[Daniel M]

Just Jim (Craig Roberts, 2015) 2.5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Just_Jim_poster.jpg

Low-budget Welsh film that flirts with being stylistically interesting in a way that manages to just about keep your intrigue for its short runtime but there's not much behind that. I'm guessing that Craig Roberts probably has good taste as he tries to inject a bit of flair here and there, but beyond its Fight Club-lite plot this is a paper-thin film.

[Fabulous]

Lisztomania (1975)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/6SuOxhp79bAdisY61ItOxqSVgbi.jpg

[Stirchley]

THE COVENANT 2023 Guy Ritchie
https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/eTvN54pd83TrSEOz6wbsXEJktCV.jpg
2h 3m | Thriller | War | Action
Writers: Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Antony Starr, Emily Beecham

Not what I expected and nothing like Ritchie's previous work so literally 'outstanding'.
Great performances wouldn't be surprised if both Gyllenhaal and Salim get a nomination.

4

Can’t stand Ritchie’s stuff, but this did get good reviews so am giving it a chance.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91ix6-9itGL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


4.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/War_for_the_Planet_of_the_Apes_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2017/war_for_the_planet_of_the_apes_ver3.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48616125

War for the Planet of the Apes - (2017)

You know we've reached the cutting edge when CGI-enhanced actors can emote as well as they do here as apes. You don't miss a single thought or feeling when you watch the likes of Caesar, Maurice or Bad Ape, and that's high praise. Third time lucky on Oscar night? No. It lost to Blade Runner 2049 - but I'm sure Joe Letteri must be somewhat satisfied with the 5 Oscars he's won so far in his career, including the one he won for Avatar : The Way of Water this year. So yeah, I was cheering on the apes and hating nearly all of the human characters in this film - then I stopped and thought, "Hey, they've got me cheering for my own extinction!" It's not really about that however - this Planet of the Apes chapter focuses squarely on war, and it's nonsensical aspects. It brings to a close a great trilogy of modern Planet of the Apes films, and I think they should leave everything now, as it's really a fitting final chapter that brings us completely up to date on the story of how Earth came to be dominated by intelligent apes who herd animalistic humans around. It's exciting, tense and brings two great characters in Woody Harrelson's "Colonel" and Caesar (Andy Serkis) together in a Bridge on the River Kwai-like battle of wits (call it an homage.) These films were far better than I ever expected them to be. I even enjoyed Steve Zahn's raggedly comical Bad Ape, and what he added to the franchise.

7.5/10

"We finally really did it...You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!" Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

[John2005]

Avengers Endgame 10/10

[John2005]

Godfather trilogy 9/10

[John2005]

Back to the future trilogy

[John2005]

Christopher Nolan films

[John2005]

Interstellar

[John2005]

Wolf of the wall street

[John2005]

Gladiator

[John2005]

Terminator 2

[John2005]

It chapter 1

[John2005]

Conjuring trilogy

[matt72582]

Patterns - 7/10
Movie balancing humanity and profits. Good cast, but I realized how much I like Ed Begley - always convincing. As Pontecorvo said (re: "The Battle of Algiers"), "It's the face".
Full movie down below.

https://youtu.be/UMnU4faUMUY

[Fabulous]

Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/ljG6LY7bT6qlV560dIsuE0Y3iZl.jpg

[GulfportDoc]

92716

A Man Called Otto (2022)


If you’re faced with the choice of watching A Man Called Otto or having a tooth cavity filled, take the dentist appointment.

Tom Hanks, as Otto, plays a curmudgeon widower who is embittered over his long ago deceased wife and child, who rather lords over the rules of his cul-de-sac neighborhood association. As a result he sharply rebukes anyone who goes afoul of those rules, and therefore exists as a bitter old man whom the neighborhood inhabitants have become used to.

When a new Mexican couple moves in across the street, the woman brings Otto a Mexican food dish with the aim of getting acquainted. Otto is taken aback by the gesture, and irritably rebuffs the Senora. The rest of the film pretty much follows the transition of Otto’s isolated resentful character into a kindly and thoughtful retread. The reforming effort was lead by the gregarious Mexican lady, a neighborhood cat, and --what else-- a transsexual kid.

The picture was a remake of the Swedish film A Man Called Ove, which in turn was based upon the novel of the same name by Swedish author Fredrik Backman. It is labeled a comedy-drama, but it was often a mystery which was which. When it was obvious that a given scene was meant to be comedy, it was thoroughly hackneyed. The film from beginning to end was so apparent where it was going that a 4th grader could figure it out. It fails as a feel good picture to all but the type who say “awww” at every opportunity. Sweetness in spades.

Hanks at first seemed to well represent a curmudgeon who didn’t suffer fools to a “T”, but he was not able to transition the character’s meanness persona in a comedy scene. Part of it was the weak writing, despite the fact that screenwriter David Magee (Life of Pi) has several fine scripts to his credit. Hanks is an authorized living icon in Hollywood. So it’s no surprise that the picture ticks many of its fashionable boxes: multiculturalism, the housing crisis, sexual and transsexual discrimination, and prejudice against immigrants; but their insertion into the film were almost brief enough to not notice.

I have to believe that Hanks is getting some bad advice as to which roles to take. Weak miscastings come to mind, like the plodding News of the World, and his Col. Tom Parker in Elvis. Perhaps his wife (Rita Wilson) being among the film’s producers swayed his judgment to sign on.

Doc’s rating: 3/10

[GulfportDoc]

Patterns [1956]- 7/10
Movie balancing humanity and profits. Good cast, but I realized how much I like Ed Begley - always convincing. As Pontecorvo said (re: "The Battle of Algiers"), "It's the face".
Full movie down below.
Good film. For some reason Hollywood and the American public focused on corporate drama and intrigue in the mid '50s, e.g. Executive Suite (1954), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), and even up into North By Northwest (1959). It was good fresh stuff at the time. IMO Frederic March played the perfect corporate officer.

[AtomicMonster]

Last Dinosaur (1977)


4/10


Richard Boone playing a worn out industrialist/ big game hunter for Rankin Bass, the same year he would play Smaug in their animated classic 'The Hobbit'. This is one of their rare live-action films and it shows why they were known for animation.


It borrows from many of the classics of the genre, maybe borrows a little too heavily. Shows definite influences of Journey to the Center of the Earth, Land That Time Forgot, At The Earth's Core, Lost World, King Kong, all mushed together into something less than the sum of its parts.


Richard Boone is good, better than the Dinosaur, who should be the star. There's themes here that are simultaneously heavy handed and under developed. It's hard to recommend it and ultimately, I don't know that I'd watch it again.

[skizzerflake]

92716

A Man Called Otto (2022)


[LEFT] If you’re faced with the choice of watching A Man Called Otto or having a tooth cavity filled, take the dentist appointment.

Tom Hanks, as Otto, plays a curmudgeon widower who is embittered over his long ago deceased wife and child, who rather lords over the rules of his cul-de-sac neighborhood association. As a result he sharply rebukes anyone who goes afoul of those rules, and therefore exists as a bitter old man whom[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif] the neighborhood inhabitants have become used to.


I'd only disagree with that to the extent that, I''d elevate it a step. A filling is relatively minor but Otto goes all the way to a root canal.

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Poster_-_The_Matrix_Reloaded.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2003/matrix_reloaded_ver9.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29330948

The Matrix Reloaded - (2003)

I didn't miss anything, but I'm not quite sure I understood all of The Matrix Reloaded - and I even took a crash course before embarking on the 2nd and 3rd films of the original trilogy. I think what really threw me was the choice Neo (Keanu Reeves) makes when confronted with the 'Architect' (Helmut Bakaitis) because it didn't seem to bring on the consequences it was meant to. Otherwise this is a kind of jumbled mess of a second installment - much more unwieldy than the first film. You've got vampires and ghosts in it, and Zion looks like it's one big rave. There's a lot of 'setting up' for the third film, so not all of the plot strands have a satisfying payoff. It basically deals with parts of the Matrix that have gone wrong and been 'exiled', a kind of virus propagating through it in the form of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and an imminent attack on the real-world human enclave of Zion. My old brother-in-law is in there somewhere, appearing in Zion as an extra - but there are literally hundreds of extras in the Zion scenes, so I was left with lots of maybes but no definite "that's him!" when looking out for him. This still has some great action scenes, which save it from being a complete write-off.

5.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Matrix_revolutions_ver7.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2003/matrix_revolutions_ver7.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27684459

The Matrix Revolutions - (2003)

The Matrix Revolutions provides a grand send-off to the trilogy and brings to a close what is essentially one four and a half hour film released in two halves. A lot of the more jumbled, confusing stuff is left behind after a segment which takes place in a 'hard to figure' train station on a line which connects the real world to the matrix. From then on we're left with two equally compelling stories - the defense of Zion from the attacking machines, and Neo/Trinity's journey to the machine city where a final confrontation will take place. Neo's trump card is the Smith virus running rampant through the Matrix. Sacrifices are made, and all of the high concept philosophical metaphor stuff is put down so we can focus on humanity's final struggle in a war that appears to have lasted eons, the Matrix having been reset time and time again once 'The One' brings everything to the point of no return. I really liked Revolutions - I hadn't seen it, since I gave up on the trilogy after seeing Reloaded at a cinema and walking away disappointed.

7/10

[Act III]

92732

The Nice Guys (2016)

Great movie. Action comedy. Nothing to complain about. You'll enjoy it.

85/100

[Daniel M]

The Limey (Steven Soderbergh, 1999) 3.5

https://cms-assets.theasc.com/Limey-Featured-Image.jpg

I'm not a massive fan of Sodebergh because I don't think he's a very interesting visual filmmaker. When I think of Out of Sight, yeah the casting is good and the script is cool enough, but it doesn't leave the lasting cinematic impact of something like Jackie Brown.

Yet despite my complaints, there's something about his experimenting within the medium that keeps drawing me back to him. I stuck this on because I wanted something swift to watch before bed and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

A strange film, mixing archive footage from some old Ken Loach film for Terence Stamp's character, then using Pete Fonda's Easy Rider persona for his opposite. Really interesting editing, cool music, it's so simple: stripping back everything to a few basic elements, filming and seeing if you can make an entertaining film through editing. Worked for me.

[Chypmunk]

Latest watches:
The Ghost And Mrs Muir 1947 3.5
Bride Wars 2009 2.5
Trading Places 1983 2+
Sands Of Iwo Jima 1949 3
Black Book 2006 3.5

[Gideon58]

https://ntvb.tmsimg.com/assets/p17843098_v_h8_ah.jpg?w=1280&h=720



4

[matt72582]

Famous Faces: Marlon Brando - 9/10
Really good!


https://youtu.be/hY0g6oINTfY

[Fabulous]

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/e0bhtGisRD8HWJhpMQ369cZjIAq.jpg

[Corax]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=92716

He's had a good career. He did the funny on film and TV. He did the serious in Saving Private Ryan. The zenith of his career was playing opposite a volley ball. But I don't want to see him anymore. I'm tired of the Tom Hanks film. I don't want to see him land lanes or command tankers, or escape the apocalypse. I'm just done. It's time to let some other actors eat.

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA5MzU1ODQzOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNTA2MDE3MTE@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg


[Rating]3.5[/Rasting]

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/13_Hours_poster.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51707502

13 Hours : The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi - (2016)

Libya - who would have wanted to be there in 2012? Most countries had pulled all of their diplomats out amongst all of the civil strife, but the United States still had a diplomatic compound and a secret CIA base. Sure enough, on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, militants from Ansar al-Sharia attacked the compound, and when half a dozen of those super soldiers they write books about went to defend it, they happened to lead the troublemakers to the CIA compound, leading to a siege situation. It was messy. 13 Hours features Office buddies John Krasinski and David Denman as warriors who question why they're so far away from their families in a strange land, risking their lives when their children miss them at home.

I have very mixed feelings about 13 Hours. When it came up in my particular selection of movies to see, and I saw it was produced and directed by Michael Bay, it gave me significant pause. There is not one single Michael Bay movie that I like. Now, admittedly, I've only seen 4. Before I knew what he was like, I went to see Armageddon, and absolutely loathed it. I had to see Pearl Harbor - it was one of the big releases of 2001. Pearl Harbor sucked. The two original Bad Boys movies were okay - but I didn't particularly think them praise-worthy. I've never seen any of his Transformers movies - they look terrible. I haven't seen The Rock - and I realise most people would say that's his best film, but for some reason that one has escaped me. So - when I considered what I was about to do, I did think that perhaps I might be wasting my night. What was worse was the probability that it was going to be packed with jingoism, as most of his movies are.

My evaluation? It's an extremely well-made movie. It wasn't boring. If you were to excuse certain historical aspects, you could even call it a good war film. That streak of dumb that you usually see in Michael Bay films isn't in this, and if you watched it not knowing who the director was, you would never guess it's one of his. I nearly turned on the film when I read that it was "criticized for its historical liberties" - but that doesn't quite mean any of this was made up. The Libyans didn't like the way this kind of portrays American Gods walking among filthy, barbaric and stone-age cave people - but these ex Navy Seal, Special Forces 'best of the best' American military contractors, with the best equipment available, will make anyone look like a cave person in comparison. Plus, the Americans don't always come off as infallible in this. One CIA guy didn't like the way he was portrayed in the movie, but apparently most witnesses say he did what he did.

In the end I was left thinking that this was a strangely mature war film from a guy that's burned too many bridges with both audience and critics. He brings Mitchell Zuckoff's book to life with considerable skill, and without the tiresome "hoora!" "lets go!" silly stuff. A lot of people call it his Black Hawk Down, and of course that's exactly what I was thinking while watching it. I can imagine that many turned away when they heard who was making this - and I can understand that. He followed it with another damned Transformers film. I'll stick up for 13 Hours though. It wasn't as bad as I feared it might be.

7/10

[SpelingError]

Death Proof (2007) - 4

While this is often considered to be Tarantino's worst film (even Tarantino himself admitted it's his weakest film), I've always had a strong appreciation for it. Most negative reviews I've come across praise the climaxes to both halves, Kurt Russell's performance, and the grainy look of the film, but criticize the film for being too talky and too slow. I don't think these criticisms are entirely sound though and don't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of what the film gets right.

My main takeaway was the contrast between the girls in the first half and those in the second half of the film. The girls in the first half seem rather standard for lack of a better word and don't seem much like threats for Mike. Due to this, he's easily able to kill them and, by the end of the first half, they just feel like some other ordinary kills for Mike. The characterizations of the girls in the second half though are vastly different. Two out of the three girls involved in the car chase are stunt actors themselves and their behavior (leaving one of their friends behind to presumably be sexually assaulted, driving at a high speed while one of them is fastened to the car's hood, and going full vigilante in the final act as they pursue Mike, all the while endangering the lives of multiple other people in the process) is far more insane than what we see from the girls in the first half. That they out-crazy Mike (or, at least, do a much better job at matching his unhinged behavior) is why they survive, while the first set of girls all perish.

I also consider Stuntman Mike to be a great horror villain as, like Dracula and the villain in The Vanishing, he presents himself as a normal person in public. He seems friendly, he's talkative, and the girls in the first half find him charming. The way he lures his first victim into his car with his charm and snappy dialogue is rather unnerving to watch unfold. This buildup makes both him revealing his true colors to Pam and especially his breakdown in the final act all the more shocking.

An element which doesn't require much defending is the technical craft (even most naysayers tend to agree it's one of the film's strengths). The aforementioned grainy look of the picture does a fine job at matching the cheaply-made look of grindhouse films and, pared with the leisurely pacing, it's hard not to think Tarantino knocks it out of the park. Also, the climactic action scenes to both halves are equal parts intense and thrilling. The car chase at the end, in particular, is one of the best car chases I've ever seen in film.

Overall, I would definitely include this in my top 3 Tarantino films and, while I get that some viewers may find it too slow, I think it does a handful of interesting things and there's quite a bit to unpack from it which isn't often brought up.

[Corax]

Death Proof (2007) - rating_4

While this is often considered to be Tarantino's worst film (even Tarantino himself admitted it's his weakest film), I've always had a strong appreciation for it. Most negative reviews I've come across praise the climaxes to both halves, Kurt Russell's performance, and the grainy look of the film, but criticize the film for being too talky and too slow. I don't think these criticisms are entirely sound though and don't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of what the film gets right.

My main takeaway was the contrast between the girls in the first half and those in the second half of the film. The girls in the first half seem rather standard for lack of a better word and don't seem much like threats for Mike. Due to this, he's easily able to kill them and, by the end of the first half, they just feel like some other ordinary kills for Mike. The characterizations of the girls in the second half though are vastly different. Two out of the three girls involved in the car chase are stunt actors themselves and their behavior (leaving one of their friends behind to presumably be sexually assaulted, driving at a high speed while one of them is fastened to the car's hood, and going full vigilante in the final act as they pursue Mike, all the while endangering the lives of multiple other people in the process) is far more insane than what we see from the girls in the first half. That they out-crazy Mike (or, at least, do a much better job at matching his unhinged behavior) is why they survive, while the first set of girls all perish.

I also consider Stuntman Mike to be a great horror villain as, like Dracula and the villain in The Vanishing, he presents himself as a normal person in public. He seems friendly, he's talkative, and the girls in the first half find him charming. The way he lures his first victim into his car with his charm and snappy dialogue is rather unnerving to watch unfold. This buildup makes both him revealing his true colors to Pam and especially his breakdown in the final act all the more shocking.

An element which doesn't require much defending is the technical craft (even most naysayers tend to agree it's one of the film's strengths). The aforementioned grainy look of the picture does a fine job at matching the cheaply-made look of grindhouse films and, pared with the leisurely pacing, it's hard not to think Tarantino knocks it out of the park. Also, the climactic action scenes to both halves are equal parts intense and thrilling. The car chase at the end, in particular, is one of the best car chases I've ever seen in film.

Overall, I would definitely include this in my top 3 Tarantino films and, while I get that some viewers may find it too slow, I think it does a handful of interesting things and there's quite a bit to unpack from it which isn't often brought up.


The tonal shift screwed this film. It went from slasher horror to Road Runner vs. Coyote. Mike makes the mistake of attacking the cool chicks (or what Tarantino imagines the coolest chicks are) and the table not only turn, but the tone shifts to the point of a genre shift. He was trying to pull a from Dusk Till Dawn, but we just wound up with overly chatty girlz serving as mouthpiece for Tarantino's love of old film and TV. He's talented, but he's not as talented as he thinks he is. He really needs an empowered collaborator to "run" when the "pass" isn't working on the field and to say "no" when he gets excessive.

[WHITBISSELL!]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/13_Hours_poster.png
By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51707502

13 Hours : The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi - (2016)

Libya - who would have wanted to be there in 2012? Most countries had pulled all of their diplomats out amongst all of the civil strife, but the United States still had a diplomatic compound and a secret CIA base. Sure enough, on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, militants from Ansar al-Sharia attacked the compound, and when half a dozen of those super soldiers they write books about went to defend it, they happened to lead the troublemakers to the CIA compound, leading to a siege situation. It was messy. 13 Hours features Office buddies John Krasinski and David Denman as warriors who question why they're so far away from their families in a strange land, risking their lives when their children miss them at home.

I have very mixed feelings about 13 Hours. When it came up in my particular selection of movies to see, and I saw it was produced and directed by Michael Bay, it gave me significant pause. There is not one single Michael Bay movie that I like. Now, admittedly, I've only seen 4. Before I knew what he was like, I went to see Armageddon, and absolutely loathed it. I had to see Pearl Harbor - it was one of the big releases of 2001. Pearl Harbor sucked. The two original Bad Boys movies were okay - but I didn't particularly think them praise-worthy. I've never seen any of his Transformers movies - they look terrible. I haven't seen The Rock - and I realise most people would say that's his best film, but for some reason that one has escaped me. So - when I considered what I was about to do, I did think that perhaps I might be wasting my night. What was worse was the probability that it was going to be packed with jingoism, as most of his movies are.

My evaluation? It's an extremely well-made movie. It wasn't boring. If you were to excuse certain historical aspects, you could even call it a good war film. That streak of dumb that you usually see in Michael Bay films isn't in this, and if you watched it not knowing who the director was, you would never guess it's one of his. I nearly turned on the film when I read that it was "criticized for its historical liberties" - but that doesn't quite mean any of this was made up. The Libyans didn't like the way this kind of portrays American Gods walking among filthy, barbaric and stone-age cave people - but these ex Navy Seal, Special Forces 'best of the best' American military contractors, with the best equipment available, will make anyone look like a cave person in comparison. Plus, the Americans don't always come off as infallible in this. One CIA guy didn't like the way he was portrayed in the movie, but apparently most witnesses say he did what he did.

In the end I was left thinking that this was a strangely mature war film from a guy that's burned too many bridges with both audience and critics. He brings Mitchell Zuckoff's book to life with considerable skill, and without the tiresome "hoora!" "lets go!" silly stuff. A lot of people call it his Black Hawk Down, and of course that's exactly what I was thinking while watching it. I can imagine that many turned away when they heard who was making this - and I can understand that. He followed it with another damned Transformers film. I'll stick up for 13 Hours though. It wasn't as bad as I feared it might be.

7/10Good write-up. :up: I really liked this movie. To the point of repeat viewings. For all of Bay's failings I think his major (only?) strength is big, action set pieces and he really nails the claustrophobic, frenetic, close quarters combat scenes. You should try watching The Rock. I agree that it's Bay at his most relaxed and self-assured. Try The Island too if you haven't. It's big dumb fun. And it's certainly better than something like the Fast and Furious flicks.

[Deschain]

I just watched A Cry in the Dark. That movie is ****in wild.

[SpelingError]

The tonal shift screwed this film. It went from slasher horror to Road Runner vs. Coyote. Mike makes the mistake of attacking the cool chicks (or what Tarantino imagines the coolest chicks are) and the table not only turn, but the tone shifts to the point of a genre shift. He was trying to pull a from Dusk Till Dawn, but we just wound up with overly chatty girlz serving as mouthpiece for Tarantino's love of old film and TV. He's talented, but he's not as talented as he thinks he is. He really needs an empowered collaborator to "run" when the "pass" isn't working on the field and to say "no" when he gets excessive.

The tonal shift won't work for everyone, but as I brought up in my review, I think the tonal shift was the point of the film and the tables being turned on Mike makes sense given the characterizations the second set of girls had compared to the first set of girls. If the film had stuck with the tone of the first half, it might've come off as the film repeating itself, so I think mixing it up was a good move. Plus, Tarantino's cameo in the film is, of course, excellent as usual...jk

[Corax]

The tonal shift won't work for everyone, but as I brought up in my review, I think the tonal shift was the point of the film and the tables being turned on Mike makes sense given the characterizations the second set of girls had compared to the first set of girls.

That an idea has a formal appeal or seeming appropriateness does not mean that it is the right choice for a story. Even if it is a workable choice for a tale, you still have to stick the landing. There was, for example, a lot of formal planning and execution that goes into Jeeper's Creepers. One formal idea was that of stripping down the monster, a slow reveal to increase terror, a dark strip-tease. We meet the monster in the truck (Duel in miniature), then we meet the man clad in black, and finally we meet the naked demon. Formally, it makes sense. But you still have to stick the landing.

If the film had stuck with the tone of the first half, it might've come off as the film repeating itself, so I think mixing it up was a good move. Plus, Tarantino's cameo in the film is, of course, excellent as usual...jk
Anything is possible, but consider the many films we already have to compare to which show the innocents turning the tables on their tormentors (e.g., Desperate Hours).



The danger of the wild tonal shift is that the fabric of the filmic dream is very delicate in some places. The film is a lie. We want to be lied to. We agree to turn off part of our brain to be entertained. And the illusion works, in large part, because of a sense of transportation by immersion, the sense of "being there" in another world (insert old gravely movie trailer voice -- "In a world, where the dead no longer stay dead..."). Change the tone sharply and that sense of "being there" changes and the experience sours. I think part of the reason Last Action Hero didn't land was that it was too meta. Our fictional characters lives in a weird cartoon meta-world that kept hanging a lantern on the artifice of it all. It's hard to sleep when the movie keeps reminding you that you're dreaming (i.e., dreams so often evaporate when we realize we're in one).



And, for me, the nature of the tonal shift was a little too self-indulgent, and a little too obvious.



MEW is pretty cool, but Tarantino only loves her for her feet. She gets left behind to apparently get sexually harassed (assaulted?) by a redneck cave troll. Sorry MEW, you're cute, but not a cool chick warrior with a deep understanding or abiding interest in stunt work and muscle cars.



Abernathy is the audience surrogate. She receives the invitation to adventure and gets an education about cool stuff (e.g., the stuff Tarantino eulogizes in this film an Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).



Kim and Zoe are our top cool chicks. They are Tarantino's surrogate. They say directly what he wants to say to the audience. By my lights, this act of seduction seems a little too much like masturbation. But, as they say, different strokes for different folks.

[matt72582]

The Rebels: Marlon Brando - 9/10

https://youtu.be/z8Wp_C1sKs8

[Fabulous]

Sunday in New York (1963)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/aWG0sQnVVKFsdvmtBozHyyW6HTB.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://bradleybasement.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/a-star-is-born-1954-film-poster2.jpg?w=625&h=481

5th Re-watch...Felt like watching a classic today and somehow landed on this one. Still say Grace Kelly stole the Oscar that should have gone to the legendary Judy Garland for her enchanting performance in the second of four versions of this classic Hollywood story. Garland is so magical in this movie that it's easy to not notice how James Mason matches her note for note as faded matinee idol Norman Maine...he's heartbreaking in that scene at the Academy Awards. Garland's rendition of "The Man That Got Away" still gives me chills. It's also easy to forget how good Jack Carson is as the cynical studio publicist Libby4.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Thesiciliandvd.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9589173

The Sicilian - (1987)

This film was about as good as the above poster looks. I was interested because it was directed and co-produced by the infamous Michael Cimino. Remember Heaven's Gate? Not a bad movie by any means, but the movie that exposed the egotistical hubris Cimino was now saddled with after the critical success of The Deer Hunter. Executives found it hard to rein Cimino in when it came to his expensive demand for perfection, and some of his methods were verging on complete madness. Once United Artists had finally brought shooting to an end, Cimino screened a version of the film that ran around 325 minutes - the climactic battle in the film running 90 minutes alone, the length of most feature films. As word had been getting out about the struggle this movie had getting made, it bombed, and the incredibly expensive production helped push the studio into bankruptcy. Cimino (and most other auteur directors) was never allowed to helm a big budget epic film again, and his career never recovered.

Cimino did end up making more movies. I have a friend who's into these post-Heaven's Gate productions, and who loves Heaven's Gate itself. He is especially fond of Year of the Dragon, featuring Mickey Rourke - his next film, made 5 years after the Heaven's Gate disaster. The Sicilian came out in 1987, and followed Year of the Dragon. It's interesting, but there are certain aspects to it that are very off-putting. Most obvious the horribly miscast Christopher Lambert as Sicilian bandit and folk hero Salvatore Giuliano. Fortunately though, I watched the director's cut, otherwise (from what I hear) the film would have been near-nonsensical. It has a strange narrative structure - somewhat hard to follow in the way scenes follow one another without an absolutely clear story being told. You never quite know what's happening when a scene starts, but thankfully this is often addressed in a scene itself, so the audience will keep on feeling they don't know what's happening, but still "get it", if that makes any sense.

Lambert is terrible, but John Turturro as Giuliano's friend and partner Gaspare "Aspanu" Pisciotta, is really terrific in comparison. Joss Ackland features as Don Masino Croce, probably the most powerful man in Sicily. The movie takes place after the Second World War, in the somewhat lawless Mediterranean island region of Italy, with Giuliano and Pisciotta stealing from the rich and trying to empower the poor - but of course they end up getting involved with powerful people, and the violence gets out of control. It's very well shot, but the screenplay could have done with more work, and while it's an interesting failure it's still not a great movie. My curiosity is sated.

5/10

[Corax]

Lambert is terrible




https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f3/62/20/f36220ccd28c6a50d823a56862facd24.gif

[PHOENIX74]

I just watched A Cry in the Dark. That movie is ****in wild.

That movie is called Evil Angels here, and I still remember all of what happened clearly, starting way back in 1980. The way the whole saga unfolded, many of us swore that Lindy Chamberlain had either murdered her baby, or been somehow involved in her death. When you look at the facts of the case, that's ridiculous, but the media had a certain way of colouring what happened. My mother, since passed away, never stopped believing Lindy was guilty. There were heaps of strange things about what happened, and although I don't think she murdered her baby, she was an extremely strange person.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f3/62/20/f36220ccd28c6a50d823a56862facd24.gif

https://media.tenor.com/IgJZwwmwOe0AAAAC/christophe-lambert-awkward.gif

[Deschain]

That movie is called Evil Angels here, and I still remember all of what happened clearly, starting way back in 1980. The way the whole saga unfolded, many of us swore that Lindy Chamberlain had either murdered her baby, or been somehow involved in her death. When you look at the facts of the case, that's ridiculous, but the media had a certain way of colouring what happened. My mother, since passed away, never stopped believing Lindy was guilty. There were heaps of strange things about what happened, and although I don't think she murdered her baby, she was an extremely strange person.
Other than the line, “The dingo ate your baby” from Seinfeld I had no idea about any of this.

The movie shows you what happens and despite seeing it I still got caught up in all the rumors and started thinking there might have been something amiss. And yet the guilty verdict stunned me. Incredibly engaging story from every angle.

[John McClane]

The Covenant

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/735/5b7/995cbaf5e9287b2d79b5916c59194c0b0f-guy-ritchies-the-covenant.2x.rsocial.w600.jpg

4

[Corax]

The Covenant

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/735/5b7/995cbaf5e9287b2d79b5916c59194c0b0f-guy-ritchies-the-covenant.2x.rsocial.w600.jpg

rating_4


Virtual purgation of all that war guilt. This is the worst sort of comforting lie.

[MovieBuffering]

The Fifth Element - 1997

When ever this was on tv when I was young I'd watch a minute or two and thought it was too weird for me. So I've never sat down and gave it a chance. Free on YouTube so I figured why not. It was cool enough but I was right a little to fantastical for me. Story was fine but some weird character choices. What was Billy Oldman's motivation and why is he talking in a southernish accent. I appreciate the imagination and originality though. Jovovich's was obviously the stand out. She was crazy good in the flick, I see why her character is so popular. Bruce was fine doing his hero thing. It was a fun little flick but my first instinct about it was right....a little too weird and silly for me.

2.5

https://resizing.flixster.com/lPhVzVte-UOkiZplTPVzpn3k12Y=/300x300/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p19352_v_h9_aj.jpg

[John McClane]

Virtual purgation of all that war guilt. This is the worst sort of comforting lie.
I was just watching a movie. I dunno what you were watching.

[Corax]

I was just watching a movie. I dunno what you were watching.
I was watching a movie with a function, a message, a purpose.

HINT: John Rambo and Col. James Braddock weren't just vacationing in Vietnam in the 80's. They were ameliorating collective cultural guilt about the war and how vets were treated.

[John McClane]

I was watching a movie with a function, a message, a purpose.

HINT: John Rambo and Col. James Braddock weren't just vacationing in Vietnam in the 80's. They were ameliorating collective cultural guilt about the war and how vets were treated. sounds like you were watching the virtual purgation of all that war guilt. I’ve been told that’s the worst sort of comforting lie

[Marco]

Dead Shot (2023)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Dead_Shot_%28film%29.png
Didn't know what to expect from this. A film about revenge during the "Troubles" after an IRA members wife and unborn baby are killed when he was the target. Seems a decent premise but unfortunately the script and acting are sub-par ...there's no intensity in either. It descends in to soap opera. Whilst watchable, this film is beige in the extreme.
1.5

[Marco]

Yes, I thought The Limey was simple but very well driven Stamp was great and a very interesting character. Some scenes were plaintive but you can feel the bubbling under the skin aggression...some of the cockney rhyming slang was cringeworthy but you can tell he just wants to confuse them around him. Throw them a wobbly and get them off guard.

[Corax]

sounds like you were watching the virtual purgation of all that war guilt. I’ve been told that’s the worst sort of comforting lie
It is.


Most Americans can't find Afghanistan on a map, but they are still aware that we were there for a good long time and suddenly pulled out, leaving behind a lot of military equipment and people, both of which would be snatched up by the Taliban. Americans can't tell you what a "signature strike" is, but they do have the sense that we "goofed" in Afghanistan, that we didn't make good on our promise to "ride" with the Afghans who helped U.S. forces. Thus, this film is a nice soothing balm for our conscience. The cowboy returns to make good on his promise, a covenant kept. Maybe the bureaucrats are bad, but the soul of true America (always the soldier) is proved to be virtuous (we want to do good!). Instead of imagining that we did better in the last war, we would do better to think twice before entering the next one.

[John McClane]

Most Americans can't find Afghanistan on a map, but they are still aware that we were there for a good long time and suddenly pulled out, leaving behind a lot of military equipment and people, both of which would be snatched up by the Taliban. Americans can't tell you what a "signature strike" is, but they do have the sense that we "goofed" in Afghanistan, that we didn't make good on our promise to "ride" with the Afghans who helped U.S. forces. Thus, this film is a nice soothing balm for our conscience. The cowboy returns to make good on his promise, a covenant kept. Maybe the bureaucrats are bad, but the soul of true America (always the soldier) is proved to be virtuous (we want to do good!). Instead of imagining that we did better in the last war, we would do better to think twice before entering the next one.As opposed to all our other wars? You must be fun at parties.

[Corax]

As opposed to all our other wars?

Exactly. We keep having these misadventures. We are easily provoked, but our objectives are unclear (how do you win a war against a tactic like "terror"? how do you win "hearts and minds" with bombs?), and our pull-out game is weak (Fall of Saigon, Mission Accomplished?, our regrets to the Kurds, again and again and again). It's like we're not learning from history.

You must be fun at parties.
I'm a hoot. I invade the home, break things, set up a democracy less stable than a Jenga tower, and then unceremoniously leave when everything falls apart.

[Chypmunk]

Latest watches:
Sacrifice 2020 1.5+
Assault On Precinct 13 1976 3.5+
Hangman's Knot 1952 3+
Gallowwalkers 2012 1.5+
23 Paces To Baker Street 1956 3.5
Liberation: The Last Assault 1971 3.5+

[LChimp]

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f57bb35019fac052cc945ff/1681825547411-3F7MPQL7KYK6DM3XN0B3/Renfield.jpg?format=2500w

Best performance from Nic Cage in a very long time, he's awesome! This movie is awesome

[Corax]

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f57bb35019fac052cc945ff/1681825547411-3F7MPQL7KYK6DM3XN0B3/Renfield.jpg?format=2500w

Best performance from Nic Cage in a very long time, he's awesome! This movie is awesome


This is the sort of thing Cage was made for. I think this one MUST be paired with Kiss of the Vampire.

[Fabulous]

The Human Comedy (1943)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/267ZNpssC4VSTwf4MgfnsWtrtyL.jpg

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/g20nJsXF/museum1.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/DZcT1VHC/museum2.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/FHXTXf7L/museum3.jpg

The Night at the Museum trilogy - (2006, 2009, 2014)

I used to love going to the museum when I was a kid, and it was only later that I learned that this made me a pretty weird one. I was fascinated by everything, and it felt strange to think that some of the things on display had been through what they'd been through so long ago. They'd come through centuries and in some cases much longer - and I felt that same sense when I studied geology at university, with rocks that were formed millions of years ago, as fossilized remains that had left an imprint untold ages ago. That's not the reason I wanted to see the Night at the Museum films though - they simply looked like they'd be a lot of fun. They weren't though. Unfortunately Shawn Levy (who directed all three) can't seem to get a comedic spark from his talented cast. How can you waste the likes of Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan amongst others? It doesn't seem possible - you have a dream cast there.

Perhaps the penchant of the films to play things safe in a family-friendly kind of way was holding much of the talent back. All of the nude statues and the cherubs had their genitals removed, which was kind of unnecessary. One thing that was great were the special effects, with all three films looking absolutely gorgeous. All of the visuals make the awkward and stifled funny stuff worth sitting through, because everything I saw was terrific. Mickey Rooney in the first and last films managed to impart a sense of fun, and was probably the best in a comedic sense the series had. Jonah Hill and Rebel Wilson sneak into the 2nd and 3rd respectively and give it their best. The movie simply aren't for me, or my sense of humour. They're fun and gorgeous, but not all that funny.

5/10

[Thief]

ETERNALS
(2021, Zhao)

https://i.imgur.com/72WkTB9.jpg


"Are we really helping these people build a better world? We're just like the soldiers down there: pawns to their leaders, blinded by loyalty."



Eternals follows the titular immortal heroes, led by Ajax (Salma Hayek), as they wrestle with their duty to protect Earth and humanity from Deviants and their ultimate purpose and reason to exist as established by the Celestials. The Biblical and religious parallelisms are not subtle as our characters seem to be torn between the pulls of good and evil, what they want to do and what they have to do.

Much has been said about the Eternals flaws, its pace and dialogue, and most of those criticisms are valid. The pace is indeed a bit off and the dialogue is often clunky and too expository, but I appreciated the theme of purpose, fate, and free will, even if I feel it wasn't executed to its full potential. I know a lot of people have argued that the film was slow and boring, but I don't think it was a bad film, just a sputtering one.

Grade: 2.5


Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2387598#post2387598)

[Act III]

92769

Final Score (2018)

Starts off rusty and grainy but gets better and better. Realistic violence (no superhumans here), a brutal fight scene, explosions, guns, hostages. All the dangerous action you anticipate but with the realism makes it more intense.

77/100

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/eb/Infinity_Pool_poster2.jpg
By Elevation Pictures - https://www.elevationpictures.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72683413

Infinity Pool - (2023)

I've often pondered thought experiments about perfect replication, and the philosophical conundrums it brings about. If it were technologically feasible at all, it would take the kind of technology humans won't have at their disposal for at least another few thousand years, if ever. Never mind that though, because the implications are fun enough to play around with in a film, and Brandon Cronenberg has done that in this sci-fi/horror mash-up. Gore and nudity don't fill the entire film, but you do get a good dose of both - although what stood out to me most were the psychological implications of what happens to main character James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) and what Cronenberg was trying to say with this film. The plot is kind of spoiler-rich.

James Foster and wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are staying at a high-priced resort in the fictional nation of Li Tolqa - a kind of third world Eastern European hellhole where the rich go to admire the scenery. James wanted to be a writer, but after marrying into a wealthy family and producing one book which failed in spectacular fashion, he finds himself having gone nowhere in the past 6 years. The couple meet Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth) and her husband Alban (Jalil Lespert). Tourists aren't allowed outside the resort, but the four sneak out and have a pretty convivial time until James accidentally runs over and kills a local. Called to account, he's sentenced to death, but in Li Tolqa wealthy foreigners have the option of having a double produced - with the same memories, so they're quite properly paying for the crime that's been committed. James and Em are forced to watch the double killed by the dead countryman's first-born son, and the experience has a profound effect on the psyche of James. Before long he's found a little community of wealthy Americans who cause havoc in Li Tolqa, and get a perverse kind of pleasure watching their doubles executed - or are the doubles watching, and the originals executed? There's no way of knowing, really.

Okay, so far I'm right on board with Infinity Pool big time, but it kind of let me down in it's last act, after the entire concept has been revealed. This is very much "the story of James" and I had a personal excitement to witness "the story of this group of overprivileged people" - the impunity they exercised and their willingness to push it to extremes. The psychological glee they all seem to get when watching themselves killed. The complete abandonment of moral inhibitions (of what little remained of them anyway.) I had a hard time being invested in James, by comparison, I'm sorry to say. He doesn't present to us as fascinating or really interesting - and even his cohorts play with him. Obviously he lacks confidence, assuredness and belief. He's slow-witted, makes terrible decisions and never utters one single interesting word. Yet we spend most of the film's final act intently focused on this character.

One day I'll come back to this, and see if I have a definite take on it. I loved two-thirds of this. I'll be thinking about it a bit though, until the next movie comes around.

6/10

[ScarletLion]

'The Hand' (2004)

Directed by Wong Kar-Wai

https://localist-images.azureedge.net/photos/35733358024460/original/4fbc893c2845f51fc24bb6ff32d30bd3efd4d6e0.jpg

This beautiful film from Wong Kar Wai was made as part of an anthology of films called 'Eros' that explore desire. The other two films in that anthology are directed by Steven Soderberg and Michelangelo Antonioni. ‘The hand’ mid-length and is like a mini sequel to Wong's 'In the Mood for Love', but with different characters.

Chang Cheng plays Zhang, a shy dressmaker who gets romantically involved with a high end call girl Miss Hua played by the stunning Gong Li. There's something of the Reynolds Woodcock about Zhang's character (his utter love for dressmaking, and the obsession with a mysterious lady), but the tone is classic Wong. Set in 60's Hong Kong there are so many similar shots from 'In the Mood for Love' and once again Christopher Doyle is the DoP that gels it all together in such unique, gorgeous style.

Zhang and Miss Hua’s relationship is charted throughout what seems like a span of several years and the narrative is non-linear with a sort of bookend scene at beginning and end that explains why we are seeing a flashback for most of the film. It’s a really lovely way to spend 55 minutes.

The film can be found on the extras of the ‘2046’ Blu Ray and is also streaming on the Criterion channel.

4

[Daniel M]

The Florida Project (Sean Baker, 2017) 4.5

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/10/06/the-florida-project-img_9004_rgb-61896b70cc0c2d89fa70f200c488577d808c18e1.jpg

A film that shot up on my radar following our recent countdown and continued championing from Raul on here.

Amazing modern-day neorealism magically captured by Baker's attentive and caring camera. These are real human beings deftly painted, showing the wonder of youth, the hardship of parenthood and so on. Baker manages to get the perfect balance of humour and sadness, the colours beautifully illuminate each frame but it's the characters that inhabit them that carry the story.

Will have to check out his other work.

[matt72582]

Documental: Marlon Brando - 8/10
2-part TCM Documentary


https://youtu.be/RpAkeXFWW-4
https://youtu.be/4O2xT2XLhIM

[matt72582]

Woman On Pier 13 - 4/10
Alternative title, "I Married a Communist". This was the only propaganda movie I hadn't seen in my watch-list.



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/I_Married_a_Communist_movie_poster.jpg

[Gideon58]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGZhODQ3NDUtMjE1OS00MzEzLWFhY2MtY2U2YjQzYWUyYWQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

3.5

[GulfportDoc]

Woman On Pier 13 - 4/10
Alternative title, "I Married a Communist". This was the only propaganda movie I hadn't seen in my watch-list.



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/I_Married_a_Communist_movie_poster.jpg
Heh, heh. Commie Noir. I liked it more than you did, and it turned out that the warnings were right..;) Wonderful photography by the great Nicholas Musaraca.

[Act III]

92778

La Planete Sauvage (1973)
or Fantastic Planet in English

Didn't like this one much. On a plus note, makes you feel empathy for humans a bit more when you see giant kids playing with them like tiny animals, giving the story some attachment points. But beyond that everything sucked about this movie.

45/100

[PHOENIX74]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/We%27re_the_Millers_poster.jpg
By http://ltrg.leechturk.com/_img/afis/f1583.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41600649

We're the Millers - (2013)

Plenty of your comedic staples in We're the Millers - misinterpretation, the adorably dumb character, subterfuge and such. It's okay - I got a few laughs. I mean, this isn't going to appear on '100 Greatest Comedy' lists anywhere, but Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis and Will Poulter have enough charm and likeability to carry this along - especially Poulter as a 'gee wizz' innocent kind of 50s boy seemingly transported to our modern era. He was great. A funnier cast might have been the go though. Steve Buscemi was once attached to play the Jason Sudekis role - which would have been interesting. The plot involves a drug dealer, stripper, homeless person and kid banding together and pretending to be a family in order to smuggle tons of cannabis across the U.S./Mexican border in an RV. Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn come along as an innocent pair and nearly steal the whole movie. I don't have any problems with it, but you'll never hear me recommending it to people who want to see a good comedy - there's better out there.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0f/In_a_Valley_of_Violence_poster.jpg
By The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. - Bloody Disgusting, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49706097

In a Valley of Violence - (2016)

This revenge western isn't breaking any new ground, but performances of note from the likes of Ethan Hawke, James Ransone and Taissa Farmiga raise it a level. Hawke especially is convincing as a damaged army veteran who has seen too much and done too much killing. When oafish parties kill his dog, you know a massacre is in the offing, which includes an equally damaged town marshal played by John Travolta, who is left trying to clean up another mess his wayward, idiotic son has made. Ti West wrote and directed this just before writing and directing X, showing that he's in a certain filmmaking groove at the moment.

7/10

[Act III]

92780

Moon Zero Two (1970)

Here's one of those great terrible comedies that makes you laugh and doesn't take itself too seriously. There's a lot of things wrong with this movie but it's something you'll want to see again someday. I laughed quite a few times.

56/100

[Act III]

92781

Der Mude Tod (1921)
or Destiny in English

Praised as a silent film classic, I can't disagree. If you're into silent films then this one is probably one of the best of its time.

83/100

[WHITBISSELL!]

We're the Millers - (2013)
6/10
In a Valley of Violence - (2016)
7/10We're in complete agreement on these two films.

[Mr Minio]

Der Mude Tod (1921)
or Destiny in English
One of the best movies of its time, indeed.

[Daniel M]

Saint Omer (Alice Diop, 2022) 3.5

https://media.newyorker.com/photos/63c18c2de99d89b838ada4bc/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/Brody%2520-%2520Saint%2520Omer.jpg

A fascinating film that takes a lot from the medium of documentaries to recreate a real-life trial following the murder of a 15 month child.

Minimalist in its approach, Diop uses the camera to carefully capture the expressions of the two main actresses, in particular Guslagie Malanda. The result is a film that is utterly absorbing as we conjure up images in our head to recreate the real-life actions based on the performances of the actors involved.

[ScarletLion]

'Il Mare' (2000)

https://i2.wp.com/www.flyhoneystars.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/il-mare-movie-20-years-on-6-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C450&ssl=1

The premise of ‘Il Mare’ is ludicrous and the music is generally awful as tends to be the case with these films, but I have a weird penchant for South Korean romance films. This is the synopsis:

In the year 1999, a young woman (Jun Ji-hyun) leaves her quaint seaside house and returns to the city, leaving in the mailbox a card for the next owner, with instructions to forward any mail of hers to the new address. In the year 1997, two years before, a jaded young architect (Lee Jung-Jae) moves into the same house--and finds the letter. His reply, which he slips into the mailbox, finds its way to her, beginning a parallel-time love story separated by a span of two years.

Sounds tenuous, and there are many holes in the whole time travel setup, but the film isn’t about the minutae of time travel or parallel realities. It’s more about the concept of fate, and love. It’s very well directed and the shots of he sea lodge especially are stunning.

Jun Ji-Hyun also starred in ‘My Sassy Girl’ a year later which has a lot of similarities to ‘Il Mare’ in terms of tone, the romance angle and a slight Sci-Fi element. Look past the slushy music cues and you’ll find an achingly beautiful film.

4

7.8/10

[Stirchley]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGZhODQ3NDUtMjE1OS00MzEzLWFhY2MtY2U2YjQzYWUyYWQwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

3.5

I loved this. It’s not a movie, but a limited series.

[Stirchley]

92783

Enjoyed this. Why a beautiful 19 year old from a good family in Sweden would come to L.A. with her dream of becoming a “porn star” is beyond ludicrous. Who does this?

The porn was tame, lots of sweaty very creepy guys & our heroine is abused in all kinds of ways, but we hardly see anything.

So, strange in the extreme, but lead actress is exceptionally good. Swedish cinema, what can I say. :rolleyes: