Rate The Last Movie You Saw [Archive] - Page 313

PHOENIX74

07-29-23, 11:28 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/The_Thomas_Crown_Affair_%281968_film%29_poster.jpg
By IMP Awards Original 1968 theatrical release poster, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6680159

The Thomas Crown Affair - (1968)

I feel better now, for having expunged the experience of having watched the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair - the 1999 version had a creepy Jeffrey Epstein-like Crown played by Pierce Brosnan. Here we have Steve McQueen playing Steve McQueen, making the character of Thomas Crown as believable as he can. I mean, he's a millionaire risk-taking adrenaline junky playing the same - the role was made for him. Something I found really interesting was the use of multiple split-screens two years before Airport came out - the film that I thought had pioneered the technique. It seems that this got there first. "The Windmills of Your Mind" is great (and also in the remake) along with the score. That chess game! There was a moment during that game that had me guffawing. An unusual romance - it's much more that than a heist film I think, reconfiguring the game of love into one somewhat approximating a game of chess - and that's the interpretation which makes the film work best.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/May_%28movie_poster%29.jpg
By http://allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:260318, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4875051

May - (2002)

I think I need to watch more gross-out horror films so I get desensitized again. May came at me from multiple directions - one concerning eye-trauma and the other was a kind of animal cruelty angle that upset me slightly. To be fair - you don't see any animals tortured during May - although a cat is senselessly killed with a projectile. It's the stories character May (Angela Bettis) tells people that has my mind screaming "Oh, that's horrible!" She's a veterinary assistant and not at all the squeamish type. In fact, it's her propensity to draw blood during intimate encounters that has lovers running away from her. May has oodles of scenes that will make you uncomfortable - from a class of little blind kids crawling on broken glass to an eyeball extraction - this cult film needs you to be the kind of viewer that isn't easily disgusted. It's themes of loneliness, rejection, fetishization and social anxiety make May a sympathetic character - but that's strongly tested by her more gruesome proclivities as a modern Dr. Frankenstein. A treatise on isolation that works purely as a horror film.

6/10

Takoma11

07-29-23, 11:31 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfilm.com%2Fimg%2Fgallery%2Fthe-unbearable-weight-of-massive-talent-trailer-nicolas-cage-meets-his-biggest-fan%2Fl-intro-1639500080.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=f86459f2fa11fe15abc4cb81ba2f1bcbe08f501b4df5a893d85e0411b1e7a0de&ipo=images

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, 2022

Nicholas Cage (Nicholas Cage) is in a bit of a slump, which includes a rift with his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter, Addy (Lily Mo Sheen). Unsure if he wants to continue acting, Nicholas accepts a $1 million offer to travel to Majorca to be the guest of honor at the birthday party of a billionaire named Javi (Pedro Pascal). But he’s soon approached by CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz), who tell him that Javi is an arms dealer who has kidnapped a young woman, and they want Nicholas to help them infiltrate Javi’s inner circle.

A fantastic cast and some great comedic set-pieces help keep an overstuffed plot afloat.

3.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402102#post2402102)

Act III

07-30-23, 03:34 AM

94025

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

This was by far the most modern-like of the early era films I've seen. I had to double check that I didn't rent a 1950s version. The Amazon rental was in color, with some noteable aging damage during the opening 15 minutes or so, but altogether of finer quality than what is shown on the IMDb page. Less pretentious and "still life" than other films of this era I've seen. Urgent action and nice shots. There isn't much to complain about here, this movie seems a step ahead of its contemporaries.

Oh, and the story, acting, characters, plot, progression, etcetera... they all were done very well.

10/10

Takoma11

07-30-23, 10:27 AM

May - (2002)

I think I need to watch more gross-out horror films so I get desensitized again. May came at me from multiple directions - one concerning eye-trauma and the other was a kind of animal cruelty angle that upset me slightly. To be fair - you don't see any animals tortured during May - although a cat is senselessly killed with a projectile. It's the stories character May (Angela Bettis) tells people that has my mind screaming "Oh, that's horrible!" She's a veterinary assistant and not at all the squeamish type. In fact, it's her propensity to draw blood during intimate encounters that has lovers running away from her. May has oodles of scenes that will make you uncomfortable - from a class of little blind kids crawling on broken glass to an eyeball extraction - this cult film needs you to be the kind of viewer that isn't easily disgusted. It's themes of loneliness, rejection, fetishization and social anxiety make May a sympathetic character - but that's strongly tested by her more gruesome proclivities as a modern Dr. Frankenstein. A treatise on isolation that works purely as a horror film.

6/10

I really love May, and the sequence where her "edgy" boyfriend tries to impress her with his movie only to turn totally green when she gives a mundane account of the horrors she's seen at her job never fails to make me laugh (yes, even despite the fact that it involves animal suffering).

I also think that the final shot is excellent.

Takoma11

07-30-23, 05:35 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Famblin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2Fnoises_off_1992_hero-1920x1080.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=bbd430201b23bc61aa62b3f047f33bf5db336112ba47d8fae15ee4ca422ccc11&ipo=images

Noises Off!, 1992

In this adaptation of Michael Frayn’s stage play, director Lloyd (Michael Caine) must try to salvage a disastrous farce starring a former star (Carol Burnett), her current flame (John Ritter), a spacey actress (Nicollette Sheridan), a sensitive actor (Christopher Reeves), an elderly alcoholic (Denholm Elliott), and more. Assisted by an overworked stage manager (Julie Hagerty) and an under-rested handyman (Mark Linn-Baker), every attempt at a run-through is met with one disaster or another.

For me, this is a great film to put on when I just need something silly. A great effort from the cast building on a solid script makes for a good time.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402238#post2402238)

Thursday Next

07-30-23, 07:16 PM

The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Takes place in a fantasy theme park Western setting that disregards all pretence at historical accuracy, where the good guys could shoot the bad guy at pretty much any time but choose instead to play his weird game and everybody has a poker face when getting shot. There are so many faux-Leone close ups it borders on parody and the laws of physics don't get in the way of the camera looking through massive bullet holes. Sharon Stone is a badass gunslinger who shoots bad men and sleeps with both Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Possibly one of the most 90s films ever made. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

4

Fabulous

07-30-23, 08:17 PM

1776 (1972)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oZvcAb8W23rjAfTGZbztwqbJkEu.jpg

Takoma11

07-30-23, 09:32 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scifinow.co.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F10%2FScare-Me-Image.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=0e145ccb5a9d33360acab4233885e005938780cc2fa2de5994f5a29ee9c0dd43&ipo=images

Scare Me, 2020

Aspiring writer Fred (Josh Ruben) has rented a cabin in the woods so that he can brainstorm and write in isolation. While on a run he meets Fanny (Aya Cash), a very successful horror writer who has just put out a bestselling novel. When the power goes out, Fanny ends up visiting Fred, and the two spend the evening telling each other scary stories as tensions and resentments between them grow.

Everything here just feels muddled, and no amount of enthusiasm from the cast can lift it into something scary, illuminating, or interesting. Points for some funny moments from Redd and some genuinely good storytelling from Cash.

2.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402297#post2402297)

Jackie Daytona

07-30-23, 10:20 PM

Thief

07-30-23, 10:28 PM

LICENSE TO DRIVE
(1988, Beeman)

https://i.imgur.com/u8zZwS0.jpg

"Les, that license in your wallet, that's not an ordinary piece of paper, that is a driver's license, and its not only a driver's license, it's an automobile license, and it's not only an automobile license, it's a license to live, a license to be free, a license to go wherever, whenever and with whomever you choose."

License to Drive is mostly divided in two halves: the first one follows Les' attempts to pass his drivers license exam. The second half, however, follows his attempts to charm Mercedes (Heather Graham), the girl of his dreams, after she agrees to go out with him. But, like Murphy says, what has to go wrong, will go wrong, and the night becomes a hell-ish attempt from Les to return home safe and sound.

For most of its duration, the film moves within the realms of suburban magical realism as we experience Les' "painstaking" school bus trips, shackled to the seats with a cackling evil driver, or when we see him take his knowledge exam with the computer constantly blaring "INCORRECT" at him. There's also the bit with his road exam, where the examiner (James Avery) throws the clipboard out the window choosing to use his cup of coffee as the decider of Les' fate: "You burn me, you fail. You don't, you pass." This is made more funny when it's contrasted with the experience of Les' twin sister (Nina Siemaszko) and her examiner.

Grade: 4

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402308#post2402308)

Thief

07-30-23, 10:29 PM

Unforgiven (2013)

https://i.ibb.co/t3MYvk5/64ae13e835fe956b9ad2e1456b5874accbfb1d08.webp

Japanese remake of the Clint Eastwood masterpiece, set at the end of the samurai era. Stars Ken Watanabe whom you will recognize from a million supporting roles in Hollywood movies --it's a shame but I don't recall if he's had a starring role in an American film. He's great, Akira Emoto also sells the part of the Morgan Freeman character perfectly. It looks gorgeous, I'd go so far as to say that it stands on par with the original.

I found out about this "remake" a while ago and I've been meaning to check it out. Considering the ties between westerns and samurai films, I think it's an interesting approach.

EDIT: Re: Watanabe having a starring role in an American film, I think the closer he has come is Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, which probably doesn't count considering it's mostly set in Japan with Japanese characters.

Takoma11

07-30-23, 10:50 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.digit.in%2FOTT%2Fv2%2Fimages%2Fsound-of-violence-865570.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=d872b8763dce43a679e8fdd0ffb32c71f3889d74d79906773c6dc8fcfb69febb&ipo=images

Sound of Violence, 2021

Alexis (Jasmin Savoy Brown) is a college student who has grappled since childhood with a hearing loss issue. After witnessing a violent event as a child, Alexis regains some hearing. Years later, she finds her hearing threatened again and discovers that she requires the sound of violence to maintain her ability to hear. Alexis goes to increasingly extreme and cruel lengths to hold on to her hearing.

Great performances and a very cool concept are let down by hokey and unbelievable kill sequences.

3

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402312#post2402312)

iluv2viddyfilms

07-30-23, 11:25 PM

Red River (1948, Howard Hawks) - A+

iluv2viddyfilms

07-31-23, 02:08 AM

Blazing Saddles - A+

Fabulous

07-31-23, 02:40 AM

Bay of Angels (1963)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/cvtirPKwfunXK1eVw3FyIRzgwIh.jpg

PHOENIX74

07-31-23, 04:00 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Raising_cain.jpg
By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13055592

Raising Cain - (1992)

What can you say about a movie when it's all about the actor and performance? John Lithgow, sometimes I forget about how much I love you because you were too often a supporting actor. Get yourself an Academy Award man, because you're 77 now and time is running out. Lithgow is Raising Cain and anything that falls outside the purview of his performance and character isn't nearly as impressive or enjoyable. Thankfully, he dominates the film as the completely unstable Carter Nix with his various other personalities and proclivity to murder adults and kidnap children. You can feel the influence of Hitchcock and Psycho everywhere, a great example is the near shot-for-shot replica of the 'car in the swamp' scene - it's not a big surprise really, considering this is De Palma we're talking about. Do I enjoy this movie? Well, yeah. A lot. Nobody else could have featured in this demented and playfully fun thriller but the man we got - and I'm glad we got the right man for the job. "Hickory, dickory, doc. Cain has picked his lock." A crazy tour de force.

7.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/The_Conjuring_poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2013/conjuring_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72389935

The Conjuring - (2013)

When The Conjuring came out most of the critics and friends I heard from gave it top marks for scaring them. They raved so much that I began to look forward to seeing it - I love being spooked and scared by a good horror film. So when the time came, and it was the dead of night, I got myself in the mood and watched it. Curiously, it didn't do a thing for me. It was a modern-day version of The Amityville Horror, and just like that film it kind of goes off the rails fairly early, never to return. Good scary movies make their mark in the shadows, but The Conjuring is in your face, with crazy exorcisms, ghosts that are more corporeal than some of the characters, and so much door slamming, breakage, flinging, screaming and moaning that I'm never able to get into a haunted frame of mind myself. The Warrens (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) annoy me, and I'm not surprised that their work doesn't hold up in real life. Whatever good there is in the film is drowned out by excess and the sheer lack of mystery the film leaves us with. I'm sorry I don't see The Conjuring the same way so many others do - especially since I love the genre. I gave it anther chance last night - and felt exactly the same way about it. I know it's very highly regarded and most people love it - I really wish I did too.

4/10

BKB

07-31-23, 08:11 AM

The last movie I watched was with Sylvester Stallone and Ray Liotta & Harvey Keitel in "COPLAND".. Great, very underrated movie that showcases Stallone's acting chops..

https://bandsaboutmovies.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/cop-land.jpg?w=365

Sedai

07-31-23, 10:42 AM

LICENSE TO DRIVE
(1988, Beeman)

https://i.imgur.com/u8zZwS0.jpg

License to Drive is mostly divided in two halves: the first one follows Les' attempts to pass his drivers license exam. The second half, however, follows his attempts to charm Mercedes (Heather Graham), the girl of his dreams, after she agrees to go out with him. But, like Murphy says, what has to go wrong, will go wrong, and the night becomes a hell-ish attempt from Les to return home safe and sound.

For most of its duration, the film moves within the realms of suburban magical realism as we experience Les' "painstaking" school bus trips, shackled to the seats with a cackling evil driver, or when we see him take his knowledge exam with the computer constantly blaring "INCORRECT" at him. There's also the bit with his road exam, where the examiner (James Avery) throws the clipboard out the window choosing to use his cup of coffee as the decider of Les' fate: "You burn me, you fail. You don't, you pass." This is made more funny when it's contrasted with the experience of Les' twin sister (Nina Siemaszko) and her examiner.

Grade: 4

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402308#post2402308)

I remember liking this back in the day, but haven't seen it in forever. I have been slowly re-watching 80s classics recently (Fast Time at Ridgemont High this weekend), so perhaps I will add this to the queue.

Speaking of classics...also watched a couple of Freaks and Geeks episodes yesterday, and each time during the credits I thought "Hey, there's Thief!" ;)

BKB

07-31-23, 11:23 AM

I remember liking this back in the day, but haven't seen it in forever. I have been slowly re-watching 80s classics recently (Fast Time at Ridgemont High this weekend), so perhaps I will add this to the queue.

Speaking of classics...also watched a couple of Freaks and Geeks episodes yesterday, and each time during the credits I thought "Hey, there's Thief!" ;)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High certainly did make a lot of Stars and who knew Nicholas Cage was in the movie as a cook in that diner?? It was a very quick 2 second scene where he looked up, then back down when Judge Reinhold was in the process of being terminated?? I totally dug the ticket scalper too!! LOL!! :D

Thief

07-31-23, 11:31 AM

I remember liking this back in the day, but haven't seen it in forever. I have been slowly re-watching 80s classics recently (Fast Time at Ridgemont High this weekend), so perhaps I will add this to the queue.

Not sure if it will hit with you as much as it did for me, but I had a lot of fun revisiting it.

Speaking of classics...also watched a couple of Freaks and Geeks episodes yesterday, and each time during the credits I thought "Hey, there's Thief!" ;)

Ha! :laugh: Bill Haverchuck is the best. However, I identify more with Sam.

Sedai

07-31-23, 11:38 AM

Not sure if it will hit with you as much as it did for me, but I had a lot of fun revisiting it.

Ha! :laugh: Bill Haverchuck is the best. However, I identify more with Sam.

The series totally nails the Gen X vibe of the time, and what it was like growing up during that era. Also, lots of careers started with this show!

Stirchley

07-31-23, 12:55 PM

Fish Tank (2009) - 4

It's not hard to understand Mia's fixation of Connor. Whether you're referring to her conflict with her younger sister, the lack of attention she receives from her mother, or her isolation from other people her age, finding someone to latch on to was important for her. Connor was the exact person to do that and act as the parental figure she needed since he showed her more kindness than her family did. Or, at least, this is your initial impression of him. The more you see of his behavior (giving her money to buy alcohol underage, killing a fish around her, having varous one-night stands with her mother, touching her suggestively when carrying her to bed), the more rough around the edges he seems. Though subtle at first, his questionable behavior culminates in their sex scene and his reaction after the fact which makes the film's emotional core all the more profound. Mia needs love and attention more than anything, but nobody she comes across is able to provide her with such, nor act as an appropriate role model or parental figure. In fact, few scenes have gotten to me as much as her synchronized dancing session with her family at the end. It's the first time in the film the three of them bond together, showing they could've potentially gotten along with each other in the right setting, except it happened too late at that point. While Mia isn't the most likable character, you still feel sympathy for her as her compassion (caring for the safety of a horse) and her ambitions (starting a successful career as a dancer) are made clear and act as counterpoints to her rough-on-the-surface, volatile behavior. Overall, it's a powerful film which I won't be forgetting about anytime soon.

Terrific movie.

I keep bailing on Fish Tank, just because watching grooming behaviors in film is really hard for me.

But I urge you to check out Andrea Arnold's Wasp if you get a chance for a character who keeps you on the cutting edge of sympathy and frustration. It's currently available on Criterion and Mubi if you have either of those services.

Wasp is so good.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/The_Thomas_Crown_Affair_%281968_film%29_poster.jpg
By IMP Awards Original 1968 theatrical release poster, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6680159

The Thomas Crown Affair - (1968)

I feel better now, for having expunged the experience of having watched the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair - the 1999 version had a creepy Jeffrey Epstein-like Crown played by Pierce Brosnan. Here we have Steve McQueen playing Steve McQueen, making the character of Thomas Crown as believable as he can. I mean, he's a millionaire risk-taking adrenaline junky playing the same - the role was made for him. Something I found really interesting was the use of multiple split-screens two years before Airport came out - the film that I thought had pioneered the technique. It seems that this got there first. "The Windmills of Your Mind" is great (and also in the remake) along with the score. That chess game! There was a moment during that game that had me guffawing. An unusual romance - it's much more that than a heist film I think, reconfiguring the game of love into one somewhat approximating a game of chess - and that's the interpretation which makes the film work best.

It’s a classic of American cinema. Seen it a million times. Love Dunaway’s clothes, makeup, hair, etc.

Stirchley

07-31-23, 12:59 PM

94041

Didn’t think I would like this, but it’s powerful. Amazingly, the lead boy had never acted before. The director spotted him whilst on a train.

94042

Still holds up. Seen it many times & I still love the scene where Mrs. Blandings chooses her paint colors.

94043

Very good movie. Julianne Moore terrific as per. The guy who plays her son is terrific too.

ScarletLion

07-31-23, 01:01 PM

94041

Didn’t think I would like this, but it’s powerful. Amazingly, the lead boy had never acted before. The director spotted him whilst on a train.

Best of the year.

Thursday Next

07-31-23, 01:06 PM

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

Saw someone's review of this on here the other day (can't find the post now). It hadn't been on my radar before but my interest was piqued so I decided to watch it. Great fun! If you have a spare hour it is recommended.

4

Stirchley

07-31-23, 01:16 PM

Best of the year.

Wouldn’t go that far, but good movie.

Gideon58

07-31-23, 01:46 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNDg0YmQ0NDMtNzdmYi00OTA5LWFjZDEtMWQ5NTQ0NjM4YTRlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA3MDk2NDg2._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

2.5

Death Proof

07-31-23, 01:46 PM

Black Mountain Side (2014)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjEyMzE0NTA3OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzgxMTk1NzE@._V1_.jpg

Not a bad flick, honestly... a good slow burn and a good idea for a plot, but borrows way too much from The Thing and The Ritual. But not as good as the reviews made it out to be. The largely unknown cast helped - not having big names in this helped to avoid distracting from the story.

rating_3_5

Thief

07-31-23, 04:33 PM

ELEMENTAL
(2023, Sohn)

https://i.imgur.com/L8YyBJT.jpg

"There’s a word in Fireish. Deshlock. It means embrace the light when it burns because it won’t always last forever."

Set in Element City, Elemental follows volatile Ember (Leah Lewis), a fire element that tends to lose her temper from time to time, as she navigates some tough decisions in her life. First, she is set to take over her family store which somehow seems to spark her fiery outbursts, and second, she's started developing a friendship with Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a more easy-going water element. Unfortunately, "elements cannot mix!", or so they are told.

What the premise does is provide a canvas for some really colorful moments of animation as we see all these element "races": fire, water, air, and earth, interact together. There is also a charm to Ember and Wade's relationship which the animators successfully convey. I wish I could've seen the English version, but I saw the Spanish dubbed one. However, the dubbing actors were also pretty good.

Grade: 3

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402516#post2402516)

Thief

07-31-23, 05:46 PM

TIN TOY
(1988, Lasseter)

https://i.imgur.com/vO8YHsV.jpg

"Why didn't we just give them the boxes instead?"

Said every parent after watching their kids play non-stop with the box of the most expensive toy ever. That is actually the twist of this very early Pixar short film, their fourth actually, titled Tin Toy. The short follows the titular toy as it tries to escape from a baby who seems determined to grab him.

Anyone can probably see the direct line between this and Lasseter's upcoming Toy Story. Hey, maybe the baby is a baby Sid! or Andy? Either way, it is a fun and interesting watch, especially when considering the trajectory and evolution of animation and CGI.

The animation of the baby (and its drool!) is particularly crude, which has always been true about human characters. But at the time of its development, it had to be an incredible achievement. The tin toy, however, looks great. So great that you just want to grab it and play with it... unless there's a box nearby.

Grade: 3.5

LChimp

07-31-23, 06:18 PM

https://pipocamoderna.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Violent-Night-Poster.jpg

Violent Nigh (2022)

I thought Santa would turn evil and start a killing spree or something. It turns out he's more of a reluctant hero, if you will. Pretty gory and Leguizamo was nice as main bad guy.

Torgo

07-31-23, 06:54 PM

On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 4

James Bond movie or winter sports promo? But seriously, this entry checks everything on a '60s James Bond wish list with a bold Sharpie. Blofeld (Savalas) is the adversary again, and his new venture is an allergy treatment center located high in the Swiss Alps which as you may have guessed has a much different purpose. Bond serves two masters while attempting to infiltrate his base, the other besides MI6 being rival crime boss Draco (Ferzetti). His price for assisting? Romance his countess daughter, Tracy (the legendary Diana Rigg), thus presenting Bond with his greatest challenge yet: giving up his swinging bachelor lifestyle.

From the obvious in the Alpine locations to the subtle in an Olympics logo on a henchman's windbreaker, you can have any kind of action in this movie as long as it’s on snow. That's hardly a drawback, however, since the ski and bobsled chases are among the most exciting action scenes I've watched in a James Bond movie in spite of their dated rear projection. Luckily, all this icing – no pun intended – is served up on cake that is thoughtful and suspenseful espionage, which features 007 masquerading as a Scottish genealogist with ceremonial garb that has to be seen to be believed. On the other hand, if it’s the romance that keeps you coming back for more, you're bound to be satisfied on that front as well. For one, not only are the allergy center's patients beautiful women from around the world, they behave as if they haven't seen a man in ages. The centerpiece, though, is Bond's fascinating relationship with Tracy, who Rigg makes into a contender for my favorite Bond girl. For all the charm, strength and confidence Rigg provides her, my only complaint is that she does not appear enough. I also enjoyed the endlessly suave Savalas's take on Blofeld, and to finally address the elephant in the room: can Lazenby hold a candle to Connery? No, but who can, and I enjoyed his take on Bond regardless, especially for how each of his winks at the camera both direct and indirect made me laugh, and the fun he was clearly having with the role rubbed off on me.

Again, this entry checks all the boxes, but it doesn't check many extra ones, if you will. Blofeld's answer to allergy treatment and the moments that explain the "easily escapable situation" jokes in the Austin Powers movies come close, but I missed the kind of over-the-top moments such as the "laser table" in Goldfinger that make me ask, "really?" Also, I like the Louis Armstrong tune, but the lack of an opening credits tune is noticeable. With that said, in addition to providing nearly everything I expect from a Bond movie, it succeeds at making you consider the benefits and drawbacks of the secret agent lifestyle. It also has the added benefit of explaining why there is so much snow action in Inception (it's Christopher Nolan's favorite James Bond movie).

Thief

07-31-23, 11:17 PM

KNICK KNACK
(1989, Lasseter)

https://i.imgur.com/WNQ97Ao.jpg

knick·knack: a small trivial object, usually a household ornament.

That's how Merriam-Webster defines the term "knick knack". However, this snowman certainly doesn't seem to consider himself trivial. Knick Knack follows his attempts to break out of his snow globe in order to join other ornaments in a summer-themed party.

Yet another one of Pixar's very first shorts, this one doesn't really try to go beyond the comedy of its own premise, but it doesn't need to do. It's just a simple short film full of funny gags and "physical" comedy and it succeeds in that.

The design of the snowman is very good, giving a vibe that moves between charming and mischievous. As the snowman tries to bump, drill, explode his way out of the snow globe, you kinda want him to succeed, but still enjoy watching him try and fail each and every time. Paving the way for future Pixar projects, this certainly isn't trivial at all.

Grade: 3.5

PHOENIX74

07-31-23, 11:49 PM

iluv2viddyfilms

08-01-23, 01:26 AM

Her (2013, Spike Jonez) - B+
Bus Stop - B

Act III

08-01-23, 04:56 AM

94036

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

It seemed like it was going to be a disappointment during the opening act but then this here is an Alfred Hitchcock movie and as it progresses it gets a lot more interesting with more plot twists at every turn and when you finish you say to yourself, "I'm glad I picked this movie." I couldn't decide whether to say 8 or 9 so I will say 8.5.

8.5/10

ScarletLion

08-01-23, 06:24 AM

https://www.sensesofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Cteq_campion_angel-750x400.jpg

'An Angel at my Table'
Horrifying to see the way the young writer Janet Frame was treated and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Jane Campion’s adaptation of Frame’s biographical memoirs of the same name is tender, poignant and heartbreaking. Lovely film.
8.10

'Gerry'
Van Sant is an interesting director and here he takes two friends both called Gerry (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) into the desert, who get lost and have to discover themselves. So are they really one person? Are they really lost? Is it one giant metaphor for looking back on life? There are more questions than answers, and the long lingering takes that van Sant modelled from Bela Tarr films are a little jarring as they have less substance than Tarr films. But at least this film is attempting something different, even if it doesn’t quite land.

6.7/10

'Bad Lieutenant'
This was a surprise. I’ve seen a couple of Ferrara films now and I expected this to be on the more trashy side of things than the gritty side, almost like a B Movie. But it’s not, it’s a really great character study. Harvey Keitel plays a corrupt New York cop who has a drug habit and is in an ever increasing gambling spiral as he bets on the outcome of the National League baseball Championship series between the Mets and the Dodgers.

It is one of Martin Scorsese’s favourite 1990s films and you can immediately see why. It has the darkness of Mean Streets with the grimy inevitability of Taxi Driver and the debauchery if something entirely different. The fables from this film are legendary – which include real heroin taken on screen, Ferarra getting zero permits for shooting all over New York, Christopher Walken pulling out of the lead role shortly before filming, Harvey Keitel using his real daughter in a role, and a load more. It’s a load of fun, even though the content is quite disturbing at times.

7.9/10

'Irezumi'
Beautifully shot Japanese revenge film about an attractive girl who is kidnapped, sold off as a Geisha, and has a spider tattooed on her back. Quite violent in parts.

7.3/10

https://criterionforum.org/img/header/headerphoto3619211.jpg

Sedai

08-01-23, 10:30 AM

Creed III
Jordan, 2023

4

https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MCDCREE_MG026.jpg

Finishing up the Creed trilogy on a high note, Michael B. Jordan's Creed III was a bit of a oddity for me, in that the film, which is ostensibly a boxing film, gets a star knocked off for its boxing scenes. That is to say: the dramatic stuff is so strong, the fights come across as distracting and as unnecessary allegorical reinforcement for ideas that are conveyed perfectly by the dramatic narrative. While I understand that many people buy tickets or rent the stream to watch exciting boxing matches, in this his film, more than any in the extended Rocky catalog, they almost seem extraneous. That is to say, I found them to be the least engaging segments of the film, and I enjoyed the father/daughter scenes and the dramatic sparring and underplayed, simmering damage portrayed by Jonathan Majors' Dame much more. His performance was excellent, and while I understand he is under extreme scrutiny and has done perhaps irreparable damage to his reputation, and rightfully so, he deserves credit for his work on this film. Aside from a fairly cliche' scene at a late night beach party, he underplays the part wonderfully, and I really felt for the guy.

This film is about broken men; men without present and supportive fathers, who although they ended up on very different trajectories, one of a convict who lost his dream after committing a crime, and another who achieved the same dream after a short prison bid of his own, both men have deep, personal emotional wounds stemming from a childhood in which they suffered abuse. While the lack of success and achievement serves to amplify one man's pain, it only served as a distraction for the other, one that dissipated like so much early morning fog once a reminder arrived in the parking lot of the gym. Such childhood trauma does real and lasting damage, no matter the man, and no matter the circumstances. Success or failure, the scars remain.

At one point in the film, Duke says "Pain is temporary. Say it with me. Pain is temporary." In boxing, this may be true, but sometimes in life, it is not.

Gideon58

08-01-23, 03:23 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91-hQUAC8vL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg

4

Corax

08-01-23, 08:11 PM

X and Pearl

Wasn't expecting much. If anything, I kinda wanted to hate them. However, I think they're pretty good. Go figure.

Fabulous

08-01-23, 08:23 PM

The Blue Angel (1930)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/jLvlD6ABDESFfYl3F1TqCoiBaig.jpg

GulfportDoc

08-01-23, 09:14 PM

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

It seemed like it was going to be a disappointment during the opening act but then this here is an Alfred Hitchcock movie and as it progresses it gets a lot more interesting with more plot twists at every turn and when you finish you say to yourself, "I'm glad I picked this movie." I couldn't decide whether to say 8 or 9 so I will say 8.5.

8.5/10
Two thumbs way up for me. IMO one of the best of Hitch's 1930s movies, along with The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The 39 Steps. It had me baffled until the reveal. I still enjoy it.

Thief

08-01-23, 10:28 PM

GERI'S GAME
(1997, Pinkava)

https://i.imgur.com/NIYQ93V.jpg

"When does the loneliness of old age begin?" --Janusz Korczak

Geri's Game, one of the first short films from Pixar, seems to play with that notion. The short film follows an elderly man in a park engaged in an aggresive game of chess against... himself? When did this begin?

I remember seeing this along with A Bug's Life and always sticking with me for feeling different. Yes, it is funny to see the old man playing against himself, but there's a tragic undertone to it, which is the loneliness of old age. As someone who was extremely close with his grandparents and that has always been moved by any media related to the elderly, this has always hit close to home. Let's hope that we can always find someone to play with and that this loneliness never begins for any of us.

Grade: 4.5

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402935#post2402935)

Takoma11

08-01-23, 10:42 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbasementrejects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F02%2Fpuppet-masters-1994-movie-review-sam-possessed-by-puppet-master.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=7ea4c1e32f751710b84098c362c297092d41127594c5a5ed5761fb054ff50c4d&ipo=images

The Puppet Masters, 1994

Andrew Nivens (Donald Sutherland) and his son, Sam (Eric Thal) are government agents who are summoned to a small town in rural Iowa to investigate a supposed alien landing. They are accompanied by NASA scientist Mary Sefton (Julie Warner), and together they discover that the town has been infiltrated by alien parasites who ride on their hosts’ backs, accessing their memories and completely controlling all of their bodily functions. But when a parasite makes its way into the team, no one knows who can be trusted.

After a rocky start, this one generates some solid thrills and chills.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402940#post2402940)

Deschain

08-02-23, 02:25 AM

GERI'S GAME
(1997, Pinkava)

https://i.imgur.com/NIYQ93V.jpg

Geri's Game, one of the first short films from Pixar, seems to play with that notion. The short film follows an elderly man in a park engaged in an aggresive game of chess against... himself? When did this begin?

I remember seeing this along with A Bug's Life and always sticking with me for feeling different. Yes, it is funny to see the old man playing against himself, but there's a tragic undertone to it, which is the loneliness of old age. As someone who was extremely close with his grandparents and that has always been moved by any media related to the elderly, this has always hit close to home. Let's hope that we can always find someone to play with and that this loneliness never begins for any of us.

Grade: 4.5

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402935#post2402935)

When I was a kid my parents bought stock in PIXAR right after Toy Story came out, and as a thank you for investing they sent us a package of information about the company and included this short, so I got to see this one like a year before it hit theaters.

PHOENIX74

08-02-23, 04:07 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/TalkToMe2022poster.jpg
By A24 - https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3757670/talk-to-me-poster-for-a24s-next-horror-movie-trailer-debuts-tomorrow/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73515655

Talk to Me - (2022)

Hard to know what to say except this was a new "must have" for my collection, and joins the likes of It Follows and Hereditary on my list of supernatural horror films that absolutely knew what they were doing. I'm very surprised it came from my own back yard - although films like Lake Mungo have been made here, you're much more likely to get a film like Body Melt or some other crazy genre exercise. To get one like Talk to Me bowled me over. I loved that it didn't feel the need to wreck the mystery surrounding the strange artifact that's central to the story, and I also loved that for one segment of the film it played on our imagination as to what people are seeing but showed us enough to completely ruin our peace of mind. Loved it - and hope there are more films like it from Danny & Michael Philippou.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/The_Unbearable_Weight_of_Massive_Talent.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2022/unbearable_weight_of_massive_talent_ver4.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69511090

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - (2022)

I really thought this was going to be a great movie once I was really into it - funny, meta, crazy and very smartly written, with a fictionalized Nicolas Cage who really lets go. It was fun, and commented on the inevitable psychological make-up of film stars. I just didn't like the action-movie ending - it made me feel like all of the creative talent on hand had already finished up and gone home. Ending your comedy with a shoot-out and chase kind of makes what I thought would be clever and original into a simple mediocre addition to a crowded bunch of mainstream films I don't care all that much about anymore. I know that it's meant to be a comment on those films - but if that's really the case then that's been done many times before - even by Cage himself in Adaptation. I do admit to enjoying a lot of this film though - so I won't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal made an adorable comedic two-man team once paired together.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Presumed_Innocent.jpg
By POV - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18551038

Presumed Innocent - (1990)

The 90s really was the decade of the big twist, and I remembered Presumed Innocent's once we'd got to the courtroom section of the film. Rozat Sabich (Harrison Ford) has been arrested for murdering his colleague, Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) - a woman he'd also had an affair with. His fingerprints were on a beer glass at the scene, he'd been calling her non-stop that same day and the forensics seem to point to the fact they'd just had sex. His boss, District Attorney Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy) has turned on him because he seems a lost cause - but there's a lot going on in this intelligent thriller, including corruption and political posturing. Ford suits such a dour, gruff and desperate character, and the film is just so well casted, with Raul Julia adding his talents as defense council Sandy Stern, Mrs. Die Hard Bonnie Bedelia as Sabich's wife and Paul Winfield as the practical judge. I like this movie, it seems to be a little more than the average courtroom thriller of it's type. It's world seems filled out, and director Alan J. Pakula seems to have really cared about every aspect. It also has the added advantage of a John Williams score, and it's aged remarkably well - so I really enjoyed revisiting it after all this time.

7.5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/No_Man_of_Her_Own_1932_poster.jpg
By http://www.movieposterdb.com/e20ef6cc, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19706212

No Man of Her Own - (1932)

Oh the days when you could just arrange a six-month jail sentence for yourself to pay for crimes that probably deserve much more than that. Con man and card shark Babe Stewart (Cark Gable) marries small town girl Connie Randall (Carole Lombard) over a coin toss (he never welches on a bet) - but he only really wanted to get her into bed. During their fraught marriage he starts to see much more in her and her integrity. The comedy aspect of the film is a little light on laughs, and it's plot is laborious at times, but the love story that livens up the film's last act is so magnetic and believable. These two have real chemistry, and Gable would marry Lombard a few years later in real life. A very likeable film, in the end.

6/10

doubledenim

08-02-23, 04:21 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/TalkToMe2022poster.jpg

The RackaRacka experience missed me, but I watched some of their vids after all the press they’ve been getting. Amazing what they did through sheer determination.

“It just tastes better Ronald…”
🤣😭🤣

Act III

08-02-23, 04:41 AM

94111

Guys and Dolls (1955)

Top of the line '50s cinema. Full color, excellent sound, sharp picture. For a musical though, especially one that stars Frank Sinatra, the songs could be a notch better. This could have been equally as good were it not a musical, but the songs keep it upbeat and good feeling. Definitely one of the best movies from the 1950s I've seen. Marlon Brando singing was interesting, and he isn't awful or tone deaf so it worked out nicely. The story was great and everyone played their part well.

9/10

Stirchley

08-02-23, 01:07 PM

['Bad Lieutenant'This was a surprise. I’ve seen a couple of Ferrara films now and I expected this to be on the more trashy side of things than the gritty side, almost like a B Movie. But it’s not, it’s a really great character study. Harvey Keitel plays a corrupt New York cop who has a drug habit and is in an ever increasing gambling spiral as he bets on the outcome of the National League baseball Championship series between the Mets and the Dodgers.

Only version available here is bowdlerized. If you have scenes where Harvey is nude in the shower, you have the right version. I hate it when scenes are removed.

Stirchley

08-02-23, 01:09 PM

94115

94116

Both good movies.

Gideon58

08-02-23, 02:08 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2M5MDk1OTMtM2ZlMi00NzNiLWE2NWEtZmNkNzQ4ODExNzQ3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg

4

Thief

08-02-23, 03:55 PM

PARTLY CLOUDY
(2009, Sohn)

https://i.imgur.com/EjA8SXr.jpg

"Here is a baby with eyes of blue, straight from heaven, right to you. Or - straight from heaven up above, here is a baby for you to love."

Partly Cloudy shows us groups of clouds creating babies of all sorts for every creature; kittens, puppies, human babies, everything. Our lead cloud, Gus, seems to have the task of creating babies for creatures like alligators, sharks, and porcupines, which ends up being the crux for his assigned stork, Peck.

It is a very simple short, but it's cute and fun, but I still think it says something about how we can always adjust for whatever we need to do. It applies to the storks, but also the expectant parents that the storks will visit. Those that will receive that baby, straight from heaven, for them to love.

Grade: 3

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403089#post2403089)

Thief

08-02-23, 05:33 PM

PIPER
(2016, Barillaro)

https://i.imgur.com/aSv5IQj.jpg

"I’ve noticed when I fear something, if I just end up doing it, I’m grateful in the end." --Colleen Hoover

Piper follows a baby sandpiper as she's learning to find her own food in a seashore. but when a huge rising tide ends up soaking her, the fear to go through it again paralyzes her. It isn't until she dares to go at it again that she ends up not only discovering that she can, but also discovering new friends, and also discovering new ways to see things.

Grade: 4

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403107#post2403107)

matt72582

08-02-23, 05:40 PM

Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price

https://youtu.be/RXmnBbUjsPs

Darth Pazuzu

08-02-23, 05:48 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/Guardian1990.jpg
By impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9928938

The Guardian - (1990)

The Guardian is crudely entertaining - any movie about a nanny who steals babies and feeds them to her sentient magic tree is bound to be. One of William Friedkin's more regrettable films, it's attracted a cult following and descends into schlock as soon as he turns it into a gory horror movie. It was originally to be based solely on Dan Greenburg's novel The Nanny, about a twisted woman who steals babies from unsuspecting couples - but somehow a magic tree worked it's way into the cooking pot and from there things changed a great deal. It's hard to know what to say about it really - I feel like I've already covered everything extensively with the few sentences I've written.

5/10

I rather like that one! Agreed, it's certainly not William Friedkin's finest hour, but it has its virtues. It's definitely not like any other horror film around. Its closest relatives are perhaps not The Exorcist (1973) but Dario Argento's more fairy-tale, supernaturally oriented work in the field such as Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and Phenemona (1985) - albeit perhaps a more glossy, Hollywood variation thereof. Those evil coyotes definitely bring The Omen (1976) to mind, as well.

The score was composed by Jack Hues, one half of the British new wave outfit Wang Chung, who did the score for Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). The movie definitely brings some slight L.A. vibes over from that other movie, being set in the more upscale, wooded suburbs of the city.

Interestingly enough, Sam Raimi was originally supposed to direct The Guardian before dropping out so he could direct Darkman that same year. And I find it rather interesting that a movie which started out as a Sam Raimi project eventually was made by William Friedkin. I mean, think about it: The Evil Dead (1981), Raimi's classic first film and the one that put him on the horror map, is basically The Exorcist on steroids. And then Friedkin ends up directing a movie in which the climax is our hero armed with a chainsaw and heading out into the woods to engage in mortal combat with a malevolent, evil tree, getting splattered with red karo syrup in the process! I truly sense a bit of "tit for tat" going on here... :lol:

Darth Pazuzu

08-02-23, 06:39 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Oppenheimer_%28film%29.jpg/220px-Oppenheimer_%28film%29.jpg

OPPENHEIMER

Well, this damn near took the top of my head off! I was definitely impressed with this biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which specifically focuses on his involvement with the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb, as well as its aftermath. I went to see the IMAX presentation of this at my local theater, and quite frankly I'm a bit overwhelmed.

First of all, I must admit I've kind of felt rather ambivalent about Christopher Nolan's films over the years, ever since I first saw 2000's Memento. I definitely admire Nolan as a filmmaker a great deal. His movies definitely have a sense of ambition and scope, and they almost always pack an emotional punch. Plus, he always gets great performances out of his actors. That's a good number of "classic filmmaking qualification" boxes ticked off. So why is it that Nolan's work so often leaves me a bit cold? I must admit, I don't really know and I can't give a satisfactory answer. Perhaps his oeuvre is just a little "too perfect" for me (if that makes any sense whatsoever). Perhaps there's something dauntingly impermeable about his movies, in the sense that "they are what they are" and I don't always feel that I have a way "into" them or can find any personal resonance beyond what they were intended to be. Am I talking gibberish here? Perhaps... :p

How will I feel about Oppenheimer in five years' time? Granted, none of us can really answer a question like that. But what I can say is that this was a cinematic experience like no other, and Oppenheimer definitely earns for itself a slot in the pantheon of cinematic all-timers. Which slot? I can't really say. But I'm not liable to forget this one for a while, if at all.

Kudos go to Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy for creating a genuinely unnerving portrait of the title character. There's something about Murphy's Oppenheimer that genuinely inspires audience sympathy and puts one's teeth on edge just a tad. This brilliant man, torn between his abstracted sense of overview and the pangs of his conscience, seems to have a slightly psychopathic edge to him. (And I'm not just talking about the time he made an aborted attempt to poison a professor during his student years!) But he seems a perfectly sane paragon of ethics when compared to his nemesis Lewis Strauss, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. as twitchily paranoid with a sense of entitlement, repressed rage, a very long memory and the capacity to hold a grudge like nobody's business. I also loved the performance of Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, who brings Oppenheimer onto the Manhattan Project, isn't entirely trusting of Oppenheimer but grows to respect him. Emily Blunt is very effective as Kitty Oppenheimer, and brings her own sort of neurotic energy to the role which is quite ideally matched with Murphy's.

Quite the experience all around, and one that strengthens my resolve to renew my commitment to seeing more movies on the big screen. (Going to an actual movie theater is an activity that I've slacked off on quite a bit over the past decade or so.)

Takoma11

08-02-23, 08:54 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefilmagazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F08%2FThe-Beta-Test-Review.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=bed33756574f8e8d64d1787a77ff9c9f63c86fe820fb37b54d1fab7c62419730&ipo=images

The Beta Test, 2021

Jordan Hines (Jim Cummings) is a Hollywood agent under constant pressure to broker deals in a toxic workplace where appearing to be successful seems to be most of the battle. On the verge of marrying his fiance, Caroline (Virginia Newcomb), Jordan’s life is thrown into complete disarray when he receives an anonymous letter inviting him to a sexual encounter with a stranger. Jordan goes through with the illicit rendezvous, but his life begins to fall apart in the aftermath as he becomes obsessed with tracking down the woman he slept with and whoever paired them together.

A bit scattered, yes, but I couldn’t look away. This movie is funny and upsetting and I will continue to follow Cummings wherever he goes.

4

"No one is called Johnny Paypal!" Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403150#post2403150)

GulfportDoc

08-02-23, 09:09 PM

GERI'S GAME
(1997, Pinkava)
Geri's Game, one of the first short films from Pixar, seems to play with that notion. The short film follows an elderly man in a park engaged in an aggresive game of chess against... himself? When did this begin?

I remember seeing this along with A Bug's Life and always sticking with me for feeling different. Yes, it is funny to see the old man playing against himself, but there's a tragic undertone to it, which is the loneliness of old age. As someone who was extremely close with his grandparents and that has always been moved by any media related to the elderly, this has always hit close to home. Let's hope that we can always find someone to play with and that this loneliness never begins for any of us.

Grade: rating_4_5

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2402935#post2402935)
Those are very important points you've mentioned, Thief.
Loneliness in the elderly is not only heart breaking, but it's a significant cause of disease and death. Sometimes old people end up by themselves, and don't know what to do about it. Some are too shy or too proud to reach out to other human beings.

So if one knows an old person who's alone, see if you can seek them out occasionally to say hello and inquire after them. Maybe even bring them some food or watch a movie with them. Everyone wants to live to grow old, but not many will flourish by themselves.

Thief

08-02-23, 09:28 PM

Those are very important points you've mentioned, Thief.
Loneliness in the elderly is not only heart breaking, but it's a significant cause of disease and death. Sometimes old people end up by themselves, and don't know what to do about it. Some are too shy or too proud to reach out to other human beings.

So if one knows an old person who's alone, see if you can seek them out occasionally to say hello and inquire after them. Maybe even bring them some food or watch a movie with them. Everyone wants to live to grow old, but not many will flourish by themselves.

As I was thinking about the short a couple of days ago, I was reading about the connections between loneliness and Alzheimer/dementia and it's so tragic. And yet, so many people wash their hands off of anything to do with their aging parents or grandparents.

Thief

08-02-23, 10:27 PM

UNCLE JOSH IN A SPOOKY HOTEL
(1900, Porter)

https://i.imgur.com/3wJTcFX.jpg

"You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave"

This is the second short film featuring the character of Uncle Josh (Charles Manley); the first one had him having spooky nightmares, so why not put him in a spooky hotel now? Uncle Josh gets to his room and starts having a conversation with the landlord, when a "spooky" presence starts to play some "spooky" pranks on both.

Grade: N/A

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403160#post2403160)

iluv2viddyfilms

08-02-23, 10:50 PM

On a Kay Francis kick, as she's featured on The Criterion Channel this month.

The Cocoanuts - A-
One Way Passage - A

Deschain

08-03-23, 12:03 AM

iluv2viddyfilms

08-03-23, 02:43 AM

The Fugitive (1947, John Ford) - A-

PHOENIX74

08-03-23, 02:50 AM

I rather like that one! Agreed, it's certainly not William Friedkin's finest hour, but it has its virtues. It's definitely not like any other horror film around. Its closest relatives are perhaps not The Exorcist (1973) but Dario Argento's more fairy-tale, supernaturally oriented work in the field such as Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and Phenemona (1985) - albeit perhaps a more glossy, Hollywood variation thereof. Those evil coyotes definitely bring The Omen (1976) to mind, as well.

The score was composed by Jack Hues, one half of the British new wave outfit Wang Chung, who did the score for Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). The movie definitely brings some slight L.A. vibes over from that other movie, being set in the more upscale, wooded suburbs of the city.

Interestingly enough, Sam Raimi was originally supposed to direct The Guardian before dropping out so he could direct Darkman that same year. And I find it rather interesting that a movie which started out as a Sam Raimi project eventually was made by William Friedkin. I mean, think about it: The Evil Dead (1981), Raimi's classic first film and the one that put him on the horror map, is basically The Exorcist on steroids. And then Friedkin ends up directing a movie in which the climax is our hero armed with a chainsaw and heading out into the woods to engage in mortal combat with a malevolent, evil tree, getting splattered with red karo syrup in the process! I truly sense a bit of "tit for tat" going on here... :lol:

My score for The Guardian certainly didn't reflect how much I enjoyed it - once it gets going it's a lot of fun and quite entertaining. I'd actually started to think about The Evil Dead when the tree started attacking those greaser punks who just turned up out of nowhere - you don't get many movies with trees that are that malevolent (to an extreme) in them. Like you say about the end, with our chainsaw wielding hero, Friedkin was certainly on Raimi's wavelength and aware of the crossover.

reinajk30

08-03-23, 03:25 AM

i rewatched "The Big Lebowski". remains my favourite movie of all time...

Act III

08-03-23, 03:31 AM

94128

Viva Las Vegas (1964)

Sort of a silly comedy, vibrant sharp colorful picture, a real taste of rock n roll. A lot of it seems so alien but it looks like good times, lots of eye candy. Seeing people dance like that and that girl is a bit over the edge. I spent most of the time staring and taking it all in. Got a care-free vibe to it.

7.5/10

PHOENIX74

08-03-23, 03:35 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/A_river_runs_through_it_poster.jpg
By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2648487

A River Runs Through It - (1992)

Not many movies can capture the essence of a life, and as such there are few films that do what A River Runs Through It does as well as it does. That's not to say there aren't many films like it, because there are - too many, but when capped off with Robert Redford's haunting kind of heartfelt narration, and Philippe Rousselot's Oscar-winning cinematography, this succeeds where others fail. Be warned though - the pace is as slow as fishing is - a revered pastime for the male members of the Maclean family, whose life we learn about within. Norman (Craig Sheffer), Paul (Brad Pitt) and father Reverend Maclean (Tom Skerritt) are the trio who dominate, but Norman's love interest, Jessie Burns (Emily Lloyd), plays a large part. You'll also spot a recognizable Joseph Gordon-Levitt (playing childhood Norman) in his feature film debut. Gordon-Levitt was only 10-years-old at the time this was made. There's a reverence here, for the place the characters grew up in - Missoula, Montana - seen though the eyes of someone growing old. When all of your friends and family have passed away, and memories seem to stretch back in time to eternity, the ground you stood on when the best of years passed you by becomes sacred - and that's the kind of image I get from A River Runs Through It. Joy and sadness echoing along a riverbed where a father and his two sons were at peace with a turbulent world.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Tall-man-poster-2012.jpeg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Image Entertainment., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36512939

The Tall Man - (2012)

I was hoping this wouldn't be a trite and cliched by-the-numbers horror film and my hopes were answered a little too well. The Tall Man tries to pull off twists so ground-shattering that the entire genre of the film seems to change with the changing landscape. Remember Pascal Laugier's Martyrs? If you saw it, then of course you do. This was his very next time up to the plate - and he delivered something that defies not only the supposed kind of film this is, but logic and the audience's ability to accept what's delivered. Be prepared for the rug being pulled from beneath your feet - and then be prepared for the whole house to come down around you. Kids are disappearing from a town in Washington, nabbed by a person or entity known as "The Tall Man", but when Julia Denning (Jessica Biel) tries to chase down the van with one of these kids inside it, the truth about that Tall Man and the reason for the disappearances starts to reveal itself. What can I say? This was certainly...different.

4/10

Fabulous

08-03-23, 05:33 AM

Confidentially Yours (1983)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/9W3ZsrUFSKLeDSqZ8mREg0NsMAV.jpg

Gideon58

08-03-23, 11:15 AM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Whiplash_poster.jpg

Whiplash
4.5

I hope J.K. Simons wins the oscar for his performance. Miles Teller was great too.

Just in case nobody told you or didn't bother to look it up in the multitude of methods of learning such information, but JK Simmons did win the Oscar for Best Supporting actor for Whiplash

Gideon58

08-03-23, 11:17 AM

The Departed
4

My first watch of Martin Scorsese's The Departed in a few years but it's definitely better than when I originally saw it. I still need to watch The Aviator, Shutter Island and WOWS (all of which I haven't seen ever) to finish off the Scorsese/DiCaprio collabs. GONY is a 3.5 in my book.

Wolf of Wall Street sucks...JMO

Takoma11

08-03-23, 04:20 PM

For me this is Cummings’ funniest, even if it does stumble a bit at the end. Wolf of Snow Hollow is still my favorite of his overall.

My heart belongs to Thunder Road, but this is an amazing trio of films to have under one belt.

And in the making of video he and his team are so endearing.

Fabulous

08-03-23, 06:15 PM

An Actor's Revenge (1963)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/Z5zIWI8RhcgolWK6uaO7lFYn4i.jpg

Gideon58

08-03-23, 06:28 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGFmMzA5MzktNWZjNS00NGJhLWEwYWEtMDA5YmRlNWVkZWYyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUzOTY1NTc@._V1_.jpg

3.5

Gideon58

08-03-23, 08:34 PM

Goon (2012) - My buddy was praising it so I had to check it out. I believe this was one of Seann Williams Scott best performances. He had to play it low key and pulled it off well. I know next too nothing about Hockey, and don't really care for it, but learned a few things about it. If you have ever been on a team sport the messages it is trying to translate are pretty relevant across all team sports. It was very violent and pretty funny at times, but was surprised at how much heart it had. Anyways, I really enjoyed it.

I'd give it a strong 7.5/10...depends on your taste whether or not you'll like it.

As far as I know, you and I are the only people who have seen this movie.

Raven73

08-03-23, 09:43 PM

The Fabelmans
7/10.
I watched one review of this movie that said it was boring. I would agree if I didn't know that it was about Steven Spielberg, who is one of my favourite directors and producers. I was glued to it. I was also amazed how much Gabriel LaBelle looked like a young Spielberg.
https://ntvb.tmsimg.com/assets/p21298777_v_h8_aa.jpg?w=1280&h=720

Thief

08-03-23, 10:26 PM

NINE QUEENS
(2000, Bielinsky)

https://i.imgur.com/4X04C1g.png

"They are there, but you can't see them. That's what it's all about. They're there, but they aren't. So mind your briefcase, your case, your door... your window, your car, your savings. Mind your ass, because they're there and they'll always be."

Nine Queens follows the unlikely partnership between Marcos and Juan, as they set out to sell a set of counterfeit stamps. But as usual, things not always work the way you expect, as they constantly stumble upon "spitters, breakers, skin workers, blind fronts, hoisters, hooks, stalls, petermans, night raiders, mustard chuckers, fences, operators, swindlers", all of which are trying to get the best of them as well.

Even though it is not an American film, Nine Queens feels a lot like what you would expect from a 2000 American film would feel. The film has a clever, witty script, full of twists and turns, with a bit of a rushed up pace, which serves the film well. Darín and Pauls are both great in their roles to the point that you don't know whether to root for them or dislike them. Leticia Brédice also has a nice turn as Marcos' sister, who ends up reluctantly involved in his brother's "business".

Grade: 4

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403313#post2403313)

Takoma11

08-03-23, 10:55 PM

NINE QUEENS
(2000, Bielinsky)

https://i.imgur.com/4X04C1g.png

Nine Queens follows the unlikely partnership between Marcos and Juan, as they set out to sell a set of counterfeit stamps. But as usual, things not always work the way you expect, as they constantly stumble upon "spitters, breakers, skin workers, blind fronts, hoisters, hooks, stalls, petermans, night raiders, mustard chuckers, fences, operators, swindlers", all of which are trying to get the best of them as well.

Even though it is not an American film, Nine Queens feels a lot like what you would expect from a 2000 American film would feel. The film has a clever, witty script, full of twists and turns, with a bit of a rushed up pace, which serves the film well. Darín and Pauls are both great in their roles to the point that you don't know whether to root for them or dislike them. Leticia Brédice also has a nice turn as Marcos' sister, who ends up reluctantly involved in his brother's "business".

Grade: 4

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403313#post2403313)

It's good stuff. I had a screenshot from this movie on my wall in high school.

There's an American remake called Criminal, but despite the great cast and Steven Soderbergh being involved on the writing side of things, I've never felt all that inspired to check it out.

Takoma11

08-04-23, 12:03 AM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fs.movieinsider.com%2Fimages%2Fp%2F600%2F602742_m1629668889.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=ef8b42af66aa477de0ab47ba159424f5007836d32e4fbed7bc60461bd5ce2fbc&ipo=images

Small Engine Repair, 2021

Frank (John Pollono) is the primary parent to his teenage daughter Crystal (Ciara Bravo). His two best friends, Packie (Shea Wigham) and Terrance (Jon Bernthal) also have a significant role in raising Crystal, while Crystal’s mother Karen (Jordana Spiro) is a more off-again-on-again presence. One night at Frank’s car repair shop, Frank arranges a drug deal with local frat boy Chad (Spencer House) and things soon go off the rails when it’s revealed that Chad has something to do with recent upheaval in Crystal’s life.

A bit too predictable and unable to find a satisfying last act, good performances just keep this one afloat.

3

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403326#post2403326)

PHOENIX74

08-04-23, 12:34 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Primaryposter.jpg
By movieposter.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11016395

Primary Colors - (1998)

Politics is a horrible business, but in every country it's ghastly in it's own unique way. This near-flawless Mike Nichols film uses the U.S. President of the day (Bill Clinton) to create a fictional narrative about Governor of Arkansas Jack Stanton (John Travolta) - a smooth talking and charismatic leader with a shot at winning the Democratic Nomination process and eventually becoming President. Along with him is a young and idealistic man, Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), who keeps losing faith in Jack, until he hears him speak again, whereupon his belief is restored. Also in on the campaign is his wife Susan (Emma Thompson), strategist Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton) and political P.I. Libby Holden (Kathy Bates). The terrible and overridingly problematic issue for them is Jack's inability to not have carnal relations with nearly every woman he meets. Primary Colors paints political campaigns as soul destroying ventures that inevitably lead to the corruption of ideals, a loosening of morals and going against the standards people wanted to uphold in the first place. Travolta has never been as good as he is here, and Kathy Bates leads the rest of a strong cast. Elaine May's screenplay (an adaptation of Joe Klein's novel) is searing and brilliant - she lost her Oscar nomination to Bill Condon, who penned the script for Gods and Monsters. This was also something of a return to form for director Mike Nichols. I find Primary Colors to be one of the most underrated films of the 1990s. The players have changed over the years - but not the style.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/Henry_VIII_and_His_Six_Wives_poster.jpg
By Anglo-EMI - http://www.moviepostercompany.co.uk/wordpress/category/epicshistorical, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39502253

Henry VIII and His Six Wives - (1972)

In an age where religious piousness really demanded a marriage be for life, the monarch of the day, King Henry VIII (Keith Michell), managed the impressive feat of having six different wives. His bending of the rules led to such famous events as the executions of Sir Thomas More (Michael Goodliffe) and his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Charlotte Rampling). To remember, scholars often use the phrase, "Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived." Whether it was an inability to conceive an heir, infidelity or misfortune, his wives fell by the wayside as did his most famous chief minister Thomas Cromwell (Donald Pleasence). This film has to race through a fair bit of history, and it often only briefly touches on events you may be expected to already know. Of course, the role itself was ruined by Robert Shaw - he did such a good job in A Man For All Seasons that I pine for him in this. Wolf Hall, with Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as good King Henry is also recommended.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/The_Power_of_One_%281992%29_promotional_poster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26703626

The Power of One - (1992)

Time hasn't really been kind to The Power of One. Is it possible for a story to be both against racism and also racist? It's a paradox - Peter "PK" Keith (played by Guy Witcher, Simon Fenton and Stephen Dorff at different ages) becomes a literal white saviour in this film, and I think his noble intentions would have been better served if he wasn't held up as a kind of "chosen one" for the tribes in South Africa suffering under apartheid. Still - any example of the brutality of that system is needed for us to remember. Their real saviour was Nelson Mandela - every white person who helped destroy apartheid did the right thing, and should be applauded, but no white person could embody the symbol of breaking those bonds or the pain and pride. That's just my opinion though - I just thought it made this story about the tragedy of apartheid one where a white guy is the hero. Ignoring that aspect of the film/story for a moment - this is a well filmed coming of age story with a few hidden gems (the performances of Morgan Freeman, John Gielgud and Armin Mueller-Stahl) scattered throughout.

5/10

Act III

08-04-23, 01:03 AM

94136

Grease (1978)

I've seen this more times than I can count and remember the music through my life but its been a long time since I've seen it. This was a big hit with my parents and their generation and I always thought it was very cheesy but also upbeat. Still not my thing now as it wasn't back then but I can't forget its tunes and can hear them every so often on the classic radio to this day. If anything it makes me nostalgic about my family and the good old days. I liked the Elvis musical a little more because that was more my wavelength than this. Not a big Broadway kinda guy, I guess. If you watch musicals you can't leave this out.

7/10

Act III

08-04-23, 03:35 AM

94140

Labyrinth (1986)

The sound is too bassy and completely lip-synched in a studio with pure sound effect dubs, but that is forgivable with how great the visuals are. Not as enchanting as when I was young but still worth a 10. The last time I saw this was the early 90s and before that we had it on Betamax. I still remember watching it those first few times in the 80s. If they remastered the sound then it would be much better. Good to reminisce to something I might have never watched again.

10/10

Fabulous

08-04-23, 05:57 AM

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/lTjUqNyDW33nOl9rKwchwJ77ULI.jpg

Takoma11

08-04-23, 08:32 AM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.cinemagia.ro%2Fimg%2Fdb%2Fmovie%2F01%2F21%2F60%2Fexposure-933577l.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=0ff05b2ffa721facda6549bcfcd68269f187c7aab33b29919eee9cefafd6db42&ipo=images

Exposure, 2001

Gary (Ron Silver) is a photographer who specializes in erotic photography for magazines. One evening he discovers a woman, Elaine (Susan Pari), hiding in his boathouse. Gary gives Elaine a pep talk, some clothing, and then convinces her to take part in a sexy photoshoot. When Elaine’s photos prove popular with Gary’s boss, he lands her a magazine cover, something that enrages Elaine’s boss and boyfriend, Brad (Timothy Balme). But when Elaine is the victim of a horrible attack, Gary must figure out who has it out for them and where they might strike next.

This is not a good movie, but at least it gets some unintentional laughs out of its ludicrous finale.

2

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403351#post2403351)

Stirchley

08-04-23, 01:02 PM

93983

Strange good movie. Senegalese lead actress new to me. Beautiful woman. Wouldn’t watch it again, but that’s ok.

For some reason I thought Takoma11 would like this movie.

Stirchley

08-04-23, 01:04 PM

94143

It didn’t say at the start of the movie (I may have missed it) that it’s a true story & I only remembered this halfway through. I wish I’d known this from the get go.

Sally Hawkins made this movie for me.

Takoma11

08-04-23, 01:10 PM

For some reason I thought Takoma11 would like this movie.

I put it on my watchlist after your review. Thanks for putting it on my radar!

Allaby

08-04-23, 01:48 PM

BST FRNDS (2022) Directed by Emily Renee Gold, this short film stars real life sisters and models, Lyla and Peyton Wesson. It's about a young girl who faces her fears with the help of a mysterious new friend. I thought both girls did a wonderful job. The story was interesting and well written and I was entertained from start to finish. The film is available on the girls Youtube channel. 4.5

Tugg

08-04-23, 02:29 PM

Barbie (2023) 4
https://www.deccanherald.com/sites/dh/files/2-1239230-1689932150.png
Joy Ride (2023) 2.5
https://www.out.com/media-library/the-cast-of-joy-ride.jpg?id=33336388&width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C78
Oppenheimer (2023) 2
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkdiyK3RWYrTfWtCcyYKhCeGFoeIHlIwzwDA&usqp=CAU
The Quick and the Dead (1995) 3.5
https://i0.wp.com/lostinmovies.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/the-quick-and-the-dead-1995.jpg?resize=1038%2C576&ssl=1
Roost/ What Comes Around (2022- 2023) 2
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Roost.jpg

matt72582

08-04-23, 03:31 PM

Gideon58

08-04-23, 04:00 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWI0YTRiYzEtOTQwNi00MDQwLWI0YTAtNzE5NTc0Y2MxMzVlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzQwMTY2Nzk@._V1_.jpg

2

Gideon58

08-04-23, 04:01 PM

Ballad of Cable Hogue - 6/10
Re-watch. It was just on TCM and I had to see something and thought I'd give it a chance. It's still boring.

"No, it's poetic"

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Ballad_of_cable_hogue.jpg

I LOVED The Ballad of Cable Hogue! And I hate westerns. On my list of favorite Jason Robards performances, it clocked in at #1.

Takoma11

08-04-23, 04:13 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myfilmviews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F05%2Fschindler-s-list-original31.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=8469315b6f8c772109c012fc16e74d22a436e12e9f117fff693fa16ffd1dd9e1&ipo=images

Schindler’s List, 1993

Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is a German Nazi Party member and an industrialist who arrives in Poland during the Nazi occupation hoping to turn a nice profit. He establishes an enamelware factory, using local Jewish labor for workers. Unbeknownst to Schindler, his accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) is using the factory’s work passes to help keep various Jewish families classified as essential workers so that they will not be taken away. As the violence against the Jewish people escalates--in part under the supervision of sadistic lieutenant Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes)--Schindler comes to realize he has a moral duty to help.

Masterfully balancing small-scale and large-scale storytelling, this is a compelling and heart-wrenching watch.

4.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403446#post2403446)

matt72582

08-04-23, 05:34 PM

I LOVED The Ballad of Cable Hogue! And I hate westerns. On my list of favorite Jason Robards performances, it clocked in at #1.

I'm going to guess you've seen Peckinpah/Robards in "Wine Noon" (which was Peckinpah's favorite movie at one point of time) and might be mine. It's an hour long, but it's excellent. And it's on YouTube!

Robards is great, and his character is very believable. Per Oscarsson is always great, too.

https://youtu.be/hx8x2ouhCpE

Gideon58

08-04-23, 05:39 PM

I haven't even heard of Wine Noon let alone seen it.

Takoma11

08-04-23, 09:58 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.tmdb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Foriginal%2FaRIY2742Bacplcl0EK0Qx2o7xlZ.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2eeb00c02a50b244ea572a75194b9de8a29c580eff1f29090180e8f901a20ad2&ipo=images

Bound, 1996

Corky (Gina Gershon) has just gotten out of prison and is hired as a painter and all-around handyman at an apartment building. Her next door neighbors are Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and her mobster boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). In short order, Violet sets out to seduce Corky and involve her in a plan to make a new life for herself and take the opportunity to make off with $2 million that will be in Caesar’s possession for the weekend. But can Corky trust Violent not to set her up as the fall guy for the heist?

Putting a fresh twist on some classic noir tropes, this twisty-turny crime thriller really picks up momentum as it goes.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403532#post2403532)

PHOENIX74

08-04-23, 11:33 PM

Labyrinth (1986)

The sound is too bassy and completely lip-synched in a studio with pure sound effect dubs, but that is forgivable with how great the visuals are. Not as enchanting as when I was young but still worth a 10. The last time I saw this was the early 90s and before that we had it on Betamax. I still remember watching it those first few times in the 80s. If they remastered the sound then it would be much better. Good to reminisce to something I might have never watched again.

10/10

I was slightly too old for this when it came out, but I loved it regardless. Bowie is magnetic and lights up the screen, while Connelly was gorgeous - and I can never forget Jim Henson's muppets - they're amazing. The music is superb and Terry Jones wrote a fabulous screenplay. This fires on all cylinders.

Thief

08-05-23, 12:08 AM

HOLOCAUST 2000
a.k.a. THE CHOSEN
(1977, De Martino)

https://i.imgur.com/w0jeZes.jpg

"Look at the world around you ... The cup of catastrophe is filled to the brim. Above it, held by tension -- don't you be the one man to add the drop that will spill it."

Holocaust 2000 follows Robert Caine (Kirk Douglas), an industrialist that's in the middle of designing a revolutionary thermonuclear plant in the Middle East. However, this decision seems to unleash a series of mysterious and deadly occurrences that might end up paving the way for the arrival of the Antichrist himself.

The film does have some pieces in the right place. The film walks a fine line between thriller and horror, and there are some neat deaths. There is an effective eerie ambience that probably peaks halfway through the film with a haunting dream that Caine has. Douglas is a competent lead; although being in his 60s, his romance with 20-something Agostina Belli (which includes quite a bit of nudity) feels a bit cringey.

Grade: 2.5

Full review on my Movie Loot (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403546#post2403546)

Nausicaä

08-05-23, 12:23 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/Daniel_Isn%27t_Real_Movie_Poster.jpg/220px-Daniel_Isn%27t_Real_Movie_Poster.jpg

3.5

SF = Z

Trailer:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=R_k1gMHr93M&pp=ygUZZGFuaWVsIGlzbid0IHJlYWwgdHJhaWxlcg%3D%3D

[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

PHOENIX74

08-05-23, 12:29 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Death_on_the_Nile_UK_original_poster.jpg
By EMI - http://www.cartelespeliculas.com/pgrande3.php?pid=25397&cod=2344836&height=750&width=504, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41530017

Death on the Nile - (1978)

A star-studded Agatha Christie adaptation, and if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, it'll keep you guessing with it's deception. I didn't get it right. We have Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, David Niven, Maggie Smith and Jack Warden all in the mix playing various characters that have a strong motive to kill Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle (Lois Chiles) - that's how you know she's going to be murdered at some point. Great setting, and although some stuff was shot in a studio, most of the film was made on location in Egypt - a very exotic place for a murder mystery, with it's ancient ruins and sand-swept vistas. I think Ustinov makes a great Poirot, and the music from Nino Rota is particularly strong as well. The costume designer, Anthony Powell, won an Oscar for his good work in this. I'll have to catch up with the 2022 version now. Overall - pretty good, but we could have trimmed around 20 minutes from it's 140-minute runtime.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/DeathToSmoochy.jpg
By [1], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1175124

Death to Smoochy - (2002)

Robin Williams can hold his head up high for his energetic performance in Death to Smoochy - and all I can say is I hope it wasn't a drug-enhanced act. His manic energy suits a villain, something he rarely got to play. In this film he's child show host "Rainbow" Randolph Smiley, who gets fired in disgrace for taking pay offs and is replaced by the squeaky clean Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton) who plays Smoochy the Rhino. Smiley's insane jealousy and psychotic grudge against Mopes is what powers Death to Smoochy - and whenever Williams isn't onscreen the film isn't quite as good. Not as bad as many critics made it out to be - and it has Catherine Keener in it, which is a bonus. Every Robin Williams rant is gold to me in this.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/ReignPoster.jpg
By May be found at the following website: IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7735988

Reign Over Me - (2007)

Reign Over Me features another serious Adam Sandler role that I'd never heard about before. He plays Charlie Fineman, a dentist school graduate who has lost his wife and three daughters in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The movie has a The Fisher King/Manchester By the Sea vibe to it, with Don Cheadle as the other half of the film, playing Dr. Alan Johnson, a man who knew Fineman in dental school and is determined to find help for the troubled man. The only trouble is, the reason Charlie decided to build a friendship with Johnson is the fact that he thought he wouldn't go there. It's effective drama which gets tense when Charlie loses his temper and goes on rampages, destroying everything in his path. It also features Jada Pinkett Smith and Liv Tyler in minor roles - Smith is okay, but Tyler struggles somewhat with her 'young therapist' part.

6/10

Act III

08-05-23, 12:58 AM

94154

Moulin Rouge (2001)

I saw this when it was a new release on video and forgot that I didn't like it. My memory was refreshed right quick when I started watching it tonight. This movie has got to have the worst soundtrack of any big budget musical I've seen. Almost all of the music is a poorly done rendition of 80s and 90s hit pop tunes, often amalgamated together. The picture style takes many chaotic and messy spins, appearing to try a psychedelic quality but comes off as more psychotic. The best performance here is the character Zidler as he steals the show and gives a great performance, even when he's singing crap cover songs. Nicole Kidman ironically sums the movie up with the line, "You're going to be bad for business, I can tell." I made it to the end though and thought that maybe on mute this movie could be more entertaining. I didn't know until now that this was a remake, so maybe I will check the original one out.

5/10

chawhee

08-05-23, 12:30 PM

My tally is in for Barbenheimer

Barbie 4
Oppenheimer 3.5

I feel both will be difficult to rewatch in their entirety.

Gideon58

08-05-23, 02:09 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjdhM2FjZmYtYWRiNy00M2RiLTgyMTMtOGU4MjUzMWE0OGJiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTgzOTAxMzA@._V1_.jpg

2.5

Gideon58

08-05-23, 05:02 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGFmYmUyMDUtNjk1MS00ZDMzLWEyMmUtM2I4YzhhZjRiYjk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_.jpg

5

Nausicaä

08-05-23, 07:00 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/54/Avatar_The_Way_of_Water_poster.jpg/220px-Avatar_The_Way_of_Water_poster.jpg

3

SF = Z

[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

Takoma11

08-05-23, 11:12 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2F25th-hour-ed-norton-911.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=952150ac8990bd5950da95c667fb00beaf6aedce76305f7f79f7927a424d86c5&ipo=images

25th Hour, 2002

Monty (Edward Norton) is a mid-level drug dealer who has been caught, tried, and convicted. With just one day left before he must report to prison, Monty spends the day with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), as well as his childhood friends Jacob (Phillip Seymour-Hoffman) and Frank (Barry Pepper).

Grounding its narrative in a highly specific post-9/11 New York, this film is a powerful study of place with a so-so set of character arcs.

3.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403698#post2403698)

PHOENIX74

08-06-23, 12:30 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/Lion_In_Winter1.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Avco Embassy Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5047149

The Lion in Winter - (1968)

Christmas in 1183 appears to be the season of plotting, backstabbing and Shakespearean soliloquies shouted and screamed at the castle roof. Henry II (Peter O'Toole) is readying his favourite goofy son, John (Nigel Terry) for the throne, but his other two - the quietly competent Geoffrey (John Castle) and the almost psychotically bloodthirsty and stabby Richard (Anthony Hopkins) - won't go down without a fight. Into this dispute, he invites his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn) home for the Xmas season, from her prison, and also added to the mix are Henry's mistress, Alais (Jane Merrow) - a pawn in this game - and Philip II, King of France (Timothy Dalton). Those fond of history will know that King Henry's favourite son, Young Henry (already crowned a kind of co-King during Henry II's lifetime) had died earlier that year, making the succession messy. The Lion in Winter is almost too explosive - there's little time in which to catch one's breath during it's 134-minute runtime, and the changing alliances, plots, moves, seductions, persuasions and threats come one on top of the other. O'Toole is magnificent, and if he'd jumped out of his seat and stabbed Cliff Robertson in the heart during the Academy Award Ceremonies in 1969 nobody would have blamed him - it would have suited his character in this film and the occasion in real life. Katharine Hepburn equals him in every way - she'd win a third for Best Actress. Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins give us an early glimpse into their power and burgeoning ability. A stupendous film based on the 1966 James Goldman play, echoing the Bard's from the late 1500s and early 1600s. Overwhelming, emotionally powerful and visually fascinating in it's originality and realistic design. The Lion in the Winter wants to shake you in your chair and put a sword at your throat.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/On_golden_pond.jpg
By May be found at the following website: http://www.impawards.comwww.impawards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6756885

On Golden Pond - (1981)

On Golden Pond is alright - it gets a little too 'Soap Opera' at times, and it's definitely hokey at others. Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda almost single-handedly lift it from it's very own mediocrity and you ought to at least have a little tear in your eye when Ethel (Hepburn) begs God not to take Norman (Henry Fonda) until some other day. Norman has an especially sharp wit, and Fonda is fantastic in his delivery. Also helping is the contrast between Ethel's butterfly-bouncing positivity and optimism and Norman's dour pessimistic negativity - the film's first lines play on that - but it doesn't affect the love between the two. Going by what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is like, I'd have probably backed this in for Best Picture in 1982, but Henry Fonda for Best Actor is fine by me. Hepburn won a 4th Best Actress Oscar, putting a stamp on her greatness. The rest of the cast (including Jane Fonda) really pale in comparison, so the more time they're not there the better really. Performers can sometimes make the ordinary extraordinary, and these experienced pros do just that.

7/10

SpelingError

08-06-23, 12:50 AM

Nausicaä

08-06-23, 01:32 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d2/The_Lookalike_2014_poster.jpg/220px-The_Lookalike_2014_poster.jpg

2

SF = Zzz

[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

iluv2viddyfilms

08-06-23, 04:49 AM

Funny Games (1997) - A

Fabulous

08-06-23, 05:47 AM

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wVoGdV7PGc9vs0udN2FxnCJpoqz.jpg

ScarletLion

08-06-23, 06:28 AM

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/wVoGdV7PGc9vs0udN2FxnCJpoqz.jpg

Beautiful film

EsmagaSapos

08-06-23, 06:50 AM

Never Cry Wolf 1983
rating_3

https://i.postimg.cc/pVjwzK38/MV5-BNz-E4-NDI4-YTYt-MGJk-Yy00-Zj-I1-LWE3-NDct-Nz-Rk-NTUw-YTFh-OTQz-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-MTUz-MDUz-NTI3-V1-FMjpg-UX1000.jpg

This guy in the picture, a biologist of some kind, decides to get on a plane and go to the Arctic to study the historical hunted beasts, the wolves. There, he finds (obviously) they are not how we portray them to be, they are, in fact, like us: they have a family, they take care of their family. He decides to replicate their lifestyle, to see if a man can live like they do. The most interesting aspect of the whole story, to me, are the native people, how they see the wolves, and interact with them.

EsmagaSapos

08-06-23, 07:06 AM

Hunter Hunter 2020
rating_1

https://i.postimg.cc/dQSgb4dz/b0e2fa448e5c38b0e0b1f973ad698523b4ea353a98e1a324a1a95feefbc8f909-RI-TTW.jpg

Cabin in the woods, lives a family of three, or four, can't remember; they live off the grid, putting traps in designated places to catch food to eat. The man sees something strange, in one of the traps, part of the animal was taken, reminding him of something that happened in the past: a wolf that hunts those woods. He said nothing to the wife, but she finds out, like they always do, the daughters rats the father, leaving the wife agitated. Food is becoming scarce, the wife is thinking about convincing the man to sell the cabin and go to the city, he said no siree, he ain't leaving, neither will they, so he decides to leave the wife and daughter alone, and go hunt the beast, so he can keep his lifestyle viable.

EsmagaSapos

08-06-23, 07:20 AM

Hagazussa 2017
rating_2

https://i.postimg.cc/j5vBSr5h/MV5-BNDZk-Mj-Ez-ZDMt-MDU5-ZS00-Yz-Y5-LWFk-MTgt-YTcw-Nz-Y1-MWIx-N2-Q3-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-NDU0-Nj-My-NTQ-V1.jpg

A witch and her daughter, living in a cabin at the top of some mountain. The witch becomes sick, she's dying, her daughter, unemotionally, takes care of her, but she dies. The story goes on; years later, the daughter now fully grown, with a baby. She's persecuted by the whole village when she goes there to sell something, she's the daughter of a witch, which makes her one, she passably takes the punishments. What's fascinating to me is: the village doesn't really know, but they have to do, what they have to do, and you also don't know what she's thinking, ever. This is a slow burning tale of the transformation, the becoming, of what is meant to be.

Marco

08-06-23, 11:01 AM

The Passenger (2023)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/The_Passenger_%282023%29_poster.jpg
This was quite an enjoyable low budget job that sees a fellow who is glad to be walked over due to a childhood action that he believes wasted the life of a much loved teacher. It explodes into violence early but it's not gratuitous and the dialogue between Randy and Benson is well done. It has an eerie feel to it which I like.

3

EsmagaSapos

08-06-23, 02:56 PM

Savage 2019
rating_1

https://i.postimg.cc/L6dCDQGD/MV5-BN2-Zl-Njdk-Nj-At-Mjc0-Zi00-OTkx-LWI0-Yz-Ut-N2-M2-Nm-U1-ODM2-ZGM1-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-MTQ1-Mj-Qy-OTI-V1.jpg

The aesthetics of a New Zeland's gang member. Goes from the younger years, from a family with too many mouths to feed, to burglary, to incarceration is a correctional facility, to bonding with a mate who was going to be his lifelong partner. Like the title indicates, this is a tale of violence, linked to a certain kind of masculinity, it's a mixture of Romper Stomper and Skin, having being both better conceived.

EsmagaSapos

08-06-23, 03:20 PM

Airirang 2011
rating_2

https://i.postimg.cc/15vZdQPP/MV5-BMm-Y5-Mzhi-ZDIt-Y2-M3-NC00-Mm-M0-LTg1-ODAt-MDAw-Yj-Vm-Y2-Jm-MDEx-Xk-Ey-Xk-Fqc-Gde-QXVy-Nj-Uz-Nj-A0-MDU-V1-FMjpg-UX1000.jpg

This is a documentary about Kim Ki-Duk, made by Kim Ki-Duk, that only portrait Kim Ki-Duk, and, unless you've seen Kim Ki-Duk's films, there's no reason to see this. It is an insight into his mind, from seclusion. From the poster alone, you can see dirt and pain, and if you see this, you'll find out that he enjoys it. There's one very significant scene where he's watching Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, the part he's carrying a holy Buddhist relic, climbing a mountain top with a rock around his waist, the karma. Watching that scene, as he approaches the mountain top, he starts to uncontrollably cry, only stopping when he reaches the mountain top, the liberation.

SpelingError

08-06-23, 06:21 PM

The Vampires of Poverty (1978) - 4.5

I frequently thought about Cannibal Holocaust while watching this as both films are similar in the sense they criticize the opportunism of documentarians and the media for going too far for commercial gain. By the time I finished this film though, it was clear to me that Mayolo and Ospina made the scathing critique of opportunism which Deodato's film fell short of. Like, not to crap on Cannibal Holocaust or anything - I find the film decently interesting. It just doesn't hold a candle to this film. Given the unsimulated animal cruelty throughout it, it was too hypocritical for me to take its points seriously. It's an insincere film. This film, on the other hand, displays far more sincerity towards these themes (the mockumentary aspect is a large part of why it works so well since it prevents it from becoming what it criticizes), giving them a strong bite in the process. The tv film crew in this film, though they denied the accusations of exploitation thrown at them from the Columbian citizens, clearly embodied them as they were more concerned with creating a spectacle out of their misery (searching for prostitutes and 'crazy' people to film) than showing any concern about their living conditions. In fact, a scene where the film crew paid young boys to take off their clothes in front of the camera was downright disturbing to watch. Also, since the film crew's treatment of the Columbian citizens doesn't get half as extreme as what we see from the characters in Cannibal Holocaust, its critique feels lived-in since their behavior feels eerily akin to the type of misery porn which regularly goes on in real life. So, in short, if you found Cannibal Holocaust interesting but felt that its hypocrisy caused its points to fall apart, do yourself a favor and watch this film. It's a near-masterpiece of mockumentary filmmaking.

Takoma11

08-06-23, 07:45 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdigitalfilmdigest.files.wordpress.com%2F2020%2F08%2Fi-married-a-monster-from-outer-space-screengrab-6.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=44811a3d43fd786587b039ae970920c86dd2dc34bf97cae4af527136cbd94425&ipo=images

I Married a Monster from Outer Space, 1958

Marge (Gloria Talbott) is engaged to Bill (Tom Tyron), but the night before their wedding Bill is ambushed on his drive home and his body is taken over by an unseen alien creature. The creature wears Bill’s body like a suit, gaining access to his memories, and goes through with marrying Marge. Sowly, Marge becomes more and more unsettled by Bill’s strange behavior and mannerisms. But as she starts to seek help from her friends in their small town, she comes to realize that Bill might not be the only one who is not who he seems to be.

Full of surprisingly disturbing moments and imagery, this is an effective story about paranoia and conspiracy.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403810#post2403810)

MovieBuffering

08-06-23, 09:23 PM

Takoma11

08-06-23, 10:32 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.rogerebert.com%2Fuploads%2Freview%2Fprimary_image%2Freviews%2Fhearts-beat-loud-2018%2Fhearts-beat-loud-7.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=60483dc53c0e5e0171b61f9dec6a1124120381778068349d5a4edb92ca1f41a5&ipo=images

Hearts Beat Loud, 2018

Frank (Nick Offerman) runs a record store that is on the brink of closing, and he himself is experiencing something of a crisis as his only daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons) prepares to leave for college. Convincing Sam to record a few songs with him, one of their tracks becomes a minor hit on Spotify and Frank seriously begins to ask Sam to consider staying put and pursuing a music career with him. Also complicating things for Sam is a new romance that sparks between her and a young woman named Rose (Sasha Lane).

This heartwarming drama-comedy gets plenty of emotion out of watching its two leads navigate major changes in their lives.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403829#post2403829)

iluv2viddyfilms

08-07-23, 02:05 AM

The Vanishing (1988) - A

PHOENIX74

08-07-23, 06:52 AM

https://i.postimg.cc/SRjXrt47/touching-the-void.jpg
By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from the publisher or studio., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11104247

Touching the Void - (2003)

It continues to astonish me what human beings can do to stay alive - what that essential instinct demands of us. In the docudrama Touching the Void we meet Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, who climb the icy face of the Siula Grande mountain in Peru. Simpson falls, and completely separates his tibia/fibula from his femur. I never even heard of that happening before, and I imagine it hurts quite a bit. There's nothing else to do but attach him to a rope and have Yates lower him down the various slopes, every bump causing Simpson agony - but it's when the latter falls down a crevasse that their story becomes an incredible one. Told by the real people and reenacted in tense and agonizing detail, this is a story that couldn't have been made up, for fear of people dismissing it as too incredible. I found it engrossing, and powerful - well made, and well worth watching.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Barbie_2023_poster.jpg
By Carolina Cinemas, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72508674

Barbie - (2023)

Oh Barbie, what a huge mixed bag you were. I can't deny that there were parts of this movie I absolutely loved, but I was surprised to find that there were parts I absolutely hated as well. The production design and art direction were incredible, and the entire film dazzles the eye and bewitches visually, but I found the screenplay dropped a few too many dud jokes and lacked the subtle edge that all artistic endeavor I like has. When Ryan Gosling was singing his " I'm Just Ken" song near the end (loved it - along with most of the other songs on the soundtrack) I was wishing this had of been a rock musical. The performances were fine, but Will Ferrell and the Mattel board just sunk like a stone. Barbie is like a pizza with one ingredient on it that I can't stand, but unlike a pizza, I can't pick the bad bits off Barbie. Overall it was a really great/terrible movie that I loved/hated. I wish it all the best - a lot of people love it, so it doesn't need my solid unwavering support. When it was good though, it was really good.

6/10

damosteez

08-07-23, 07:21 AM

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - 8.5/10

Takoma11

08-07-23, 07:53 AM

Torgo

08-07-23, 11:14 AM

Coherence - 4

This low budget, high concept sci-fi thriller recalls ones like it such as Primer and The Man from Earth and it is just as worthy of praise. On the night of a comet passing by Earth, old friends gather for a dinner party in a posh California house. Shortly after discussing unexplained events that happened during other comet flybys, the power goes out and all electric communication becomes disabled. That is ordinary compared to what happens next, which makes the friends question how much they really know each other and eventually reality itself.

Like those other movies I mentioned, this one also demonstrates how little you need to pull off great sci-fi. It is also reassuring that after a lifetime of seeing every manner of special effect that a cracked cell phone, someone flipping a light switch or even a glow stick can still have an impact. The performances can make or break a movie like this one, and the former very much applies here, my favorite performances being Hugo Armstrong's not-so-put together husband as we're first led to believe, Emily Baldoni's for how she conveys doubt about her friends' and partner's honesty and Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Nicholas Brendon despite his role being uncomfortably true to life. I also enjoyed feeling just as paranoid about whether everyone is who they claim to be as the friends are, strange as that may seem. The movie strains credulity here and there - I mean, what are the odds that more than one person knows so much about theoretical physics - but it remains a uniquely told sci-fi story about whether it is possible to completely know anyone, and if it isn't, does it matter? I can only hope it inspires others who have similarly great ideas and helps them realize that putting them on film (or video) is more achievable than they think.

Stirchley

08-07-23, 01:26 PM

Breakfast At Tiffany's - 1961

Well I can see why this movie was so iconic. You can feel it every time you see Audrey dressed up. She murdered that role. The role also hit a little close to home :eek:. The ending really hit me. I know this is dialed up but the end really worked for me. It's a shame the yellowface by Rooney sort of takes some shine off the movie lately because it was really enjoyable. It was obviously bad but he wasn't in it enough to take me out of the movie with it. Anyways I really liked it and I see all the fuss over Hepburn I couldn't take my eyes off her. Might have to add this to the collection.

3.5

https://mdl.artvee.com/sftb/102509mpo.jpg

Sixty years+ since this came out & it’s amazing how up-to-date Audrey looks in this most iconic of outfits. Her hair, her pearls, her shades (!) all very modern these days.

https://i.postimg.cc/SRjXrt47/touching-the-void.jpg
By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from the publisher or studio., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11104247

Touching the Void - (2003)

It continues to astonish me what human beings can do to stay alive - what that essential instinct demands of us. In the docudrama Touching the Void we meet Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, who climb the icy face of the Siula Grande mountain in Peru. Simpson falls, and completely separates his tibia/fibula from his femur. I never even heard of that happening before, and I imagine it hurts quite a bit. There's nothing else to do but attach him to a rope and have Yates lower him down the various slopes, every bump causing Simpson agony - but it's when the latter falls down a crevasse that their story becomes an incredible one. Told by the real people and reenacted in tense and agonizing detail, this is a story that couldn't have been made up, for fear of people dismissing it as too incredible. I found it engrossing, and powerful - well made, and well worth watching.

Seen this a couple of times. Most engrossing. I always think only my fellow Brits could do something as nutty as this. :)

Stirchley

08-07-23, 01:37 PM

94201
94202
94203

Part 1 is excellent & can stand alone. Tilda (Rosalind) acts the mother of her real-life daughter Honor (Julie) (who is very good in I and II). The dog(s) are Tilda’s own devoted dogs.

Part II features the exact same two characters played by Tilda & Honor. People in their reviews on IMDb seem to like this very much, but I thought it was rather a hot mess. It does not stand alone.

Part III (though it’s not called this) is possibly my favorite. Tilda acts her grown-up daughter (Julie) & she also acts her elderly mother (Rosalind). Amazing.

Gideon58

08-07-23, 04:25 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjAxNjcyNDQxM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzU2NDA0MDE@._V1_.jpg

4

Tugg

08-07-23, 04:42 PM

Inside Llewyn Davis 4
I liked Inside Llewyn Davis. Also I'm excited for upcoming Ethan Coen's movie Drive-Away Dolls.

Fabulous

08-07-23, 05:48 PM

Bobby Deerfield (1977)

2.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/6id0z8dJ9fsfi7U1fk875bCiQem.jpg

OpenHeimer

08-07-23, 06:51 PM

Dune (2021) - 8.5/10. In general, I thought they totally nailed it

Balor

08-07-23, 07:10 PM

Godard's Breathless---6/10

Balor

08-07-23, 07:10 PM

(Hopefully future viewings will improve this score...)

beelzebubble

08-07-23, 08:20 PM

I saw Barbenheimer this weekend. Barbie was quite funny. I imagine right-leaning people are triggered by the word patriarchy. It’s the only thing that really explains the hate it gets from that quarter. Ken who lives in Barbieland, a world by and for Barbies, embraces patriarchy when he learns about it. He recreates Barbieland into Kendom, a very bro-oriented place. All the Barbies fall in line while Stereotypical Barbie is in the real world.
Ken basically has the traditional chick part. He is in love with and incomplete without Barbie who has no interest in him. Ryan Gosling, plays Ken with abandon. He wears his love for Barbie on his sleeve and pretty much makes the movie. It was quite fun. There is a Barbie played by a famous trans model, which is a subtle reference to all the effeminate boys who loved and love Barbie. There are fat Barbies, not that there have ever been fat Barbies but it reminded me of a Body Shop campaign in the 90s that featured a fat fashion doll named Ruby. A campaign which Mattel put the kibosh on.
Be that as it may, Barbie was delightful.
4
Oppenheimer was quite an undertaking. I think Nolan bit off more than he could chew. I am not sure I like the way he constructed the screenplay around the animus between Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss. I think ending the film earlier in Opppenheimer’s life would have served the massive amount of information Nolan packed into the screenplay better.
It is a beautiful looking film especially during the scenes in which we are in Oppenheimer’s feelings, his heart, if you will. Nolan shows us Oppenheimer and his dead mistress naked and having sex right in front of a hostile government committee and his wife as he is questioned about that affair. Nolan creates another strong scene when Oppenheimer informs his coworkers of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This is a much more complex scene in which Nolan cuts back and forth from Oppenheimer and the coworkers in the bleachers. Nolan gives us the flavor of the combination of elation that the war has ended, and that the work they have done was successful, but also the horror of what that work wrought.
I believe that if Oppenheimer wins awards for nothing else, It will win for its soundtrack and sound design. This was the real engine of the movie rather than the visual film itself. I noticed while watching that though the influx of information and dialogue almost never stopped the soundtrack slowed or quickened or changed in other ways to give the viewer a sense of rhythm that the constant dialogue could have destroyed. In fact, the only time I remember there being quiet is when the bomb explodes. Hear Nolan really takes his time to give us an appreciation for the enormity of what his happening through silence.
I didn’t admire the movie unreservedly but the soundtrack was incredible.
4

Takoma11

08-07-23, 08:51 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-XitwFZW9NQY%2FUZA6oLxkCJI%2FAAAAAAAAA10%2Fg47M-BdKPAg%2Fs1600%2FLesMis4.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2d844422c943c197db586f397a3890198688f777ba673df7dc5b8a13428bcdfa&ipo=images

Les Miserables, 1935

In this adaptation of Hugo’s novel, Jean Valjean (Fredric March) steals a loaf of bread for his hungry family and is sentenced to a decade of hard labor aboard galley ships. While there, he and the other prisoners endure punishments and a total lack of empathy at the hands of Javert (Charles Laughton), a military man who believes in following regulations no matter the circumstances. After his release from prison, Valjean starts a new life with a new identity and becomes very successful, at one point rescuing a young girl and raising her as his own. Unfortunately Javert ends up assigned to the town where Valjean now lives and soon becomes suspicious.

A solid and powerful telling of Hugo’s classic tale, this adaptation makes some rewarding changes to the plot.

4

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404123#post2404123

GulfportDoc

08-07-23, 09:00 PM

I Married a Monster from Outer Space, 1958

Marge (Gloria Talbott) is engaged to Bill (Tom Tyron), but the night before their wedding Bill is ambushed on his drive home and his body is taken over by an unseen alien creature. The creature wears Bill’s body like a suit, gaining access to his memories, and goes through with marrying Marge. Sowly, Marge becomes more and more unsettled by Bill’s strange behavior and mannerisms. But as she starts to seek help from her friends in their small town, she comes to realize that Bill might not be the only one who is not who he seems to be.

Full of surprisingly disturbing moments and imagery, this is an effective story about paranoia and conspiracy.

rating_4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2403810#post2403810)
Took your tip and went back to watch this nicely done film. I hadn't watched it since when it came out!! Evidently it was produced to be half of a double feature with The Blob yet I vividly remember The Blob and Steve McQueen, but had to strain to recall a lot from "I Married...".

The picture obviously took it's overall theme from 1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which was one of the great 50's alien/ invasion movies. I instantly recognized Gloria Talbott, and less so Tom Tryon (Tyron put me in mind a little of Michael Rennie for some reason). Talbott was in so many mostly "B" movies and a boatload of TV shows, that she was pretty much the girl next door.

It was a good film in a very small package.

Thinking about The Blob, and also about other films like The War of the Worlds (1953), it caused me to remember as a kid the feeling of hopelessness or powerlessness that there was simply no way to stop these overwhelming threats, and that it was such a relief when they were defeated.

Since you're a teacher (I don't know which age level) you might be able to say whether today's kids have the same feeling when they watch movies of that type in modern times. Do they have similar feelings like what I mentioned, or do they think they're silly, or other...?

GulfportDoc

08-07-23, 09:08 PM

Coherence - rating_4

This low budget, high concept sci-fi thriller recalls ones like it such as Primer and The Man from Earth and it is just as worthy of praise. On the night of a comet passing by Earth, old friends gather for a dinner party in a posh California house. Shortly after discussing unexplained events that happened during other comet flybys, the power goes out and all electric communication becomes disabled. That is ordinary compared to what happens next, which makes the friends question how much they really know each other and eventually reality itself.

Like those other movies I mentioned, this one also demonstrates how little you need to pull off great sci-fi. It is also reassuring that after a lifetime of seeing every manner of special effect that a cracked cell phone, someone flipping a light switch or even a glow stick can still have an impact. The performances can make or break a movie like this one, and the former very much applies here, my favorite performances being Hugo Armstrong's not-so-put together husband as we're first led to believe, Emily Baldoni's for how she conveys doubt about her friends' and partner's honesty and Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Nicholas Brendon despite his role being uncomfortably true to life. I also enjoyed feeling just as paranoid about whether everyone is who they claim to be as the friends are, strange as that may seem. The movie strains credulity here and there - I mean, what are the odds that more than one person knows so much about theoretical physics - but it remains a uniquely told sci-fi story about whether it is possible to completely know anyone, and if it isn't, does it matter? I can only hope it inspires others who have similarly great ideas and helps them realize that putting them on film (or video) is more achievable than they think.
Enjoyed your commentary about this smashing, and highly unique picture done on a shoestring budget. I had to watch it a few times to get a handle on the complicated syntax of events, but if one allows the film to develop, it really blows your mind. Very impressive little picture!

Takoma11

08-07-23, 09:20 PM

Since you're a teacher (I don't know which age level) you might be able to say whether today's kids have the same feeling when they watch movies of that type in modern times. Do they have similar feelings like what I mentioned, or do they think they're silly, or other...?

It's hard to say. I'm always surprised by what does or does not scare or phase my students. There don't really seem to be a lot of films of this ilk aimed at kids my students' age. For professional reasons I don't discuss any PG-13 or rated R films with my students unless it is directly topical to what we are studying.

I can't even think about a movie with the sort of mass conspiracy plot like you get in these 50s sci-fi films that my students have seen/discussed.

Fabulous

08-07-23, 09:50 PM

The Pack (1977)

2

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/lD79Gd6EsUcAFKsuqzsN2i0IpV0.jpg

PHOENIX74

08-07-23, 11:11 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/M3GAN_Poster.jpeg
By https://www.universalpictures.com/movies/m3gan, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72489122

M3GAN - (2022)

The films Ex Machina and M3GAN pose questions that are more urgent than many people realise. We're close to being able to make a M3GAN in real life, both in A.I. terms and robotics. After decades of clunky robots that couldn't walk three steps without falling over, we now have ones that can somersault on ledges, balance, climb and do acrobatics. Advances in A.I. have already produced disturbing results, with the creations made by advanced teams either threatening to ruin them, blackmailing them, or falling in love with them (Her is also closer to real life than you'd think.) Combine the two and you've got M3GAN - a machine run amok because we don't know where A.I. is going to lead us. We want these machines to learn and think for themselves, and they invariably start to think that human beings stink and the world is better off without them. For the first time since the 1950s, the biggest threat to mankind isn't nuclear war or climate change - it's A.I. That might sound ridiculous, but apparently it's true. An advanced A.I. system could spread it's wings and infect nearly every electronic device in the world once it decides we're a threat to it - making Judgement Day in The Terminator one of the most far-fetched and ridiculous 80s future predictions to actually come true.

So anyway, M3GAN - wonderful in it's design (would the product in real life look that creepy? No way. Just imagine the large-eyed cuteness the Japanese model would feature.) It runs on all fours (clever) and is made of titanium, with advanced A.I. that can learn through experience. The film shies away from horror, leaning more into the sci-fi aspects of it's screenplay. It doesn't dig too deep - it's blockbuster, cinema-filling kind of stuff despite how interesting the premise is. I would have liked a more drawn out, Terminator-like finale - when I was a kid I loved the ending to Westworld, with Yul Brynner's gunslinger slowly deteriorating as the battle continues. M3GAN does this to an extent, but it all takes place in one short scene at rapid pace. I do think the real M3GAN would go about things in a much more clever way - this little doll is simply an out-and-out psycho, and it's self-preservation is undone by her reckless slaughtering of people. I look forward to a better version of this story (well, perhaps that was Ex Machina), but otherwise this was good enough for a wider audience. I thought it was effective and of a pretty high standard without being great.

7/10

Takoma11

08-07-23, 11:43 PM

Yes, ME3AN was very fun and had much better character development than you'd ever guess. I saw it in the theater and it was a hoot.

Act III

08-08-23, 01:10 AM

94218

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

A biopic about a classic vaudeville playwrite who was known as the "Man Who Owned Broadway", played by one of the most successful actors of this time (1920s-1940s). This won an Oscar for obvious reasons with all the Patriotism and so forth. Personally this movie doesnt rustle my stallions and it doesnt pump my accellerator. I had trouble keeping interest as the spectacle of the alien novelty that is Cagney's re-enactment of turn of the century tapdancing in Victorian costume wore off quick. The man this movie is about died 5 months later so I guess you could say this was a top of the line tribute to him before he bit the big one. I couldn't get into it.

6/10

Fabulous

08-08-23, 07:32 AM

Of Unknown Origin (1983)

2

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iluv2viddyfilms

08-08-23, 11:35 AM

Jewel Robbery (1932) - A

donniedarko

08-08-23, 12:26 PM

Oppenheimer (Nolan, 2023)
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Between this most recent release, and Interstellar Christopher Nolan has established himself as one of the all-time great directors. Many will tell me this happened as early as Memento, and while I appreciate most of his early works nothing was nearly as ambitious and thought-provoking as these two epics.

Oppenheimer is brilliant in nearly every aspect. The dual storytelling , the amazing non-special effects (all truly created), the writing, and artistic vision. All come together for a nearly perfect film that I truly believe everyone should watch in their life. Perhaps my favorite thing about Oppenheimer is it trusts the audience to gather her own conclusions. Allowing your experience, world views, and intelligence to draw what you find relevant in this film - but also is bold enough that anyone who's not completely dense will challenge themselves. Hollywood rarely puts such trust in its audience

A few of the smaller critiques I think were missing in the presentation. I wouldn't even bring these up if I didn't consider Oppenheimer a nearly perfect film
1. Show the graphic scenes of what the bomb caused in the presentation. I believe the audience should be made as aware as the Manhattan Crew of the pain caused. Perhaps this was cut so no ones munchies would be ruined, as they're gobbling popcorn. This is certianly a made for theaters epic
2. I'd mention Pearl Harbor, I've heard the arguments against it. "this is a bomb movie, not a war movie". But Truman did not simply chose to drop the bombs on a dying off Japanese force. In many ways the hand was pushed. I think this discounts the role Japan played, for an international audience who may not have all the context.

Go to theaters, and watch this film. Watch is again when it's released. Absorb. We are in a moment of Hollywood brilliance

4.5

Allaby

08-08-23, 02:19 PM

Princess (2014) Directed by Tali Shalom-Ezer. Shira Haas stars in this Israeli drama about a 12 year old girl dealing with her mother's creepy boyfriend and her unusual relationship with a mysterious boy who resembles her. This was a pretty interesting and effective look at a difficult subject matter. Excellent performance from Shira Haas. Worth watching. Available to stream on Tubi. 3.5

doubledenim

08-08-23, 04:30 PM

Gone Girl (2014)

Tough luck Doogie.

Gideon58

08-08-23, 06:28 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTIxODkxMDYtNDIxMC00NzU4LTgzYjgtZjkyNDVlNmRmNDNhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

2.5

GulfportDoc

08-08-23, 08:34 PM

It's hard to say. I'm always surprised by what does or does not scare or phase my students. There don't really seem to be a lot of films of this ilk aimed at kids my students' age. For professional reasons I don't discuss any PG-13 or rated R films with my students unless it is directly topical to what we are studying.

I can't even think about a movie with the sort of mass conspiracy plot like you get in these 50s sci-fi films that my students have seen/discussed.
You bring up an interesting point. When I was growing up, and mostly up until the late '50s, ALL movies were in effect "G" rated, although some might have qualified as "PG" (simply because of story themes that children would have no way to understand).

But today I suspect that any alien invasion or monster movie draws "PG-13" at a minimum, most going into the "R" territory. At least I cant' offhand think of any that don't. So I guess younger kids are never put into that position of hopelessness or fear followed by relief when the threat is resolved. I suspect that some animated films do present kids with those experiences.

BTW, I went back and watched The Blob (1958) last night-- both to reminisce and also to contrast it with I Married a Monster from Outer Space. "I Married" was a much superior film, especially in terms of writing and acting. But The Blob, with it's impressive color by Deluxe, and it's campiness, caused it to be the more enduring movie.

Takoma11

08-08-23, 09:57 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fthecinemacritic.files.wordpress.com%2F2020%2F06%2Fmv5bngm5m2u4mdutmwi3ny00owi0lwi0n 2ytmzq0mzbkngm2otdixkeyxkfqcgdeqxvyotc5mdi5nje40._v1_sx1777_cr001777740_al_1.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=03e24c7aaa0fe0b01116ac0333f84abaf812cf0ad9a11bad8c6a7b52cbdaf557&ipo=images

Dune, 1984

In this sci-fi/fantasy epic, an intergalactic conflict leads to a young heir named Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) and his powerful mother, Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) trying to survive the evil machinations of the wicked Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan). At stake is control of a much-coveted material called Spice, produced only on a planet dominated by giant sandworms.

Full of visual interest, an overstuffed story and underdeveloped characters hamper the enjoyment to be had.

3.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404319#post2404319)

PHOENIX74

08-08-23, 10:58 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/The_Mother_movie.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Sony Pictures Classics., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1128433

The Mother - (2003)

Grandparents May (Anne Reid) and Toots (Peter Vaughan) visit their son and daughter's families in London to get to know their grandchildren and catch up with everyone when, on their first night there, Toots has a heart attack and dies. A despondent and grieving May takes up space at her daughter and son's houses when her son's best friend from college, Darren (Daniel Craig) invites her out for lunch. Darren also happens to be May's daughter's boyfriend. The pair hit it off and during a walk along the beach May kisses Darren, but suddenly feels foolish - an old woman making a play at her daughter's young, buff lover. Later, back at home, when Darren asks May what she'd really ask for if given total permission, she asks him to go to bed with her. There starts a relationship that brings sudden life and long lost joy to May's life - but it is also going to complicate everything much, much more. What a surprisingly engrossing film this was, with a pair of complex characters in a situation you can hardly bear to look at but can't take your eyes off. Craig's Darren is a walking disaster of a human being, a drug-taking drop-out - good with his hands, freewheeling and also very kind and generous. He sleeps with May because he's the one person around that wants to give her something and lift her spirits - he doesn't consider the consequences. May has been subdued and stunted for nearly her whole life - simply because her generation were expected to stay home, look after the kids, do the housework and look after their husbands.

This is called The Mother though, and although it doesn't hold back when it comes to the sex scenes between Anne Reid and Daniel Craig, it turns it's focus to the relationship May has with her kids in the film's final stretch. That's really the film's saddest aspect - that May's sacrifice and adherence to the rule of giving her entire life away goes unrecognized by her children. Only Darren can see it, and treats her with the respect of a fellow human being. Talented screenwriter, playwright and novelist Hanif Kureishi has written a deeply layered, probing screenplay for this film and the equally talented filmmaker Roger Michell shepherded the cast through the emotional maze we have before us. I loved to see Daniel Craig in the kind of role I've never really seen him in before - the kind-hearted but messed up no-hoper. There are scenes in this film that are downright frightening in their emotional intensity and destructiveness when it comes to the torment of May - including one where she's set up with a man her own age, Bruce (Oliver Ford Davies), who talks her into bed and then, when she resists, rapes her. It's daughter Paula (Cathryn Bradshaw) - Darren's girlfriend - who threatens to completely destroy her though. This was a really stormy and gripping drama about an older woman rediscovering life - both for the better and worse. Definitely recommended.

7.5/10

Takoma11

08-08-23, 11:03 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/The_Mother_movie.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Sony Pictures Classics., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1128433

The Mother - (2003)

My sister and I saw this in the theater together and we were just not ready for the intensity of it. We were also the youngest people in the theater by easily 20-30 years (we saw a matinee showing), and it felt like we were intruding.

PHOENIX74

08-08-23, 11:21 PM

My sister and I saw this in the theater together and we were just not ready for the intensity of it. We were also the youngest people in the theater by easily 20-30 years (we saw a matinee showing), and it felt like we were intruding.

Yeah - we're taken so far into May's intimate space in this. Many of us find it hard relating with the elderly, perhaps because we don't want to consider the fact that it's something we'll have to go through one day, and don't want to think too much about it. I really loved the character of Darren, who in the end is kind of a terrible person, but has that beautiful ability to just see May as a person. Love the challenging films - and this was one of them.

Takoma11

08-08-23, 11:45 PM

Yeah - we're taken so far into May's intimate space in this. Many of us find it hard relating with the elderly, perhaps because we don't want to consider the fact that it's something we'll have to go through one day, and don't want to think too much about it. I really loved the character of Darren, who in the end is kind of a terrible person, but has that beautiful ability to just see May as a person. Love the challenging films - and this was one of them.

I think that at my age back then, I just didn't have the life experience to understand what she was dealing with. For example, the idea of an elderly person being a victim of date rape would have never occurred to me at that age, because it was always portrayed as a high school/college threat.

Twenty years later, I'm sure I'd feel quite differently about it.

Takoma11

08-08-23, 11:45 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.ltrbxd.com%2Fresized%2Fsm%2Fupload%2F2t%2Fiy%2F4h%2Frq%2Fon-the-town-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg%3Fk%3Df7f1ecc364&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=66f0312497b7ea75de9380456e209abe5d91481a1ff1ced669eadf72aabf08da&ipo=images

On the Town, 1949

Three sailors in the US Navy come ashore for a memorable-but-brief shore leave in New York City. Gabey (Gene Kelly) soon becomes fixated on meeting and wooing “Miss Turnstile” Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen); Chip (Frank Sinatra) just wants to see everything in his grandfather’s guidebook, but is fanatically pursued by cab driver Hildy (Betty Garrett); and the sweet Ozzie (Jules Munshin) finds romance with Claire (Ann Miller), a researcher who loves his resemblance to a caveman.

Despite a few questionable elements, strong dance pieces and fun performances make this musical a lot of fun.

3.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404352#post2404352)

Act III

08-09-23, 12:27 AM

94238

The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

Classic.

10/10

Equilibrium

08-09-23, 01:32 AM

Oppenheimer

8.5/10

I left the theater thinking 9.5/10 but the more I thought about the movie the now I realized it would have benefited from slowing down just a tad to give the audience a breather.

I also think the "boom" could have been a little dramaticised.

Finally, it was a huge missed opportunity to not show Hiroshima and Nagasaki in their aftermath. I realize Nolan trusts the audience to realize that was his point but still.

Overall still a very enjoyable movie.

iluv2viddyfilms

08-09-23, 03:10 AM

Germany, Year Zero (1948, Rossellini) - A

Fabulous

08-09-23, 05:06 AM

Razorback (1984)

2

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/c5JGUbxTgx3vtLkN2QzPICdngOw.jpg

wositelec

08-09-23, 10:28 AM

Striker (1989) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094060/)

8 / 10

(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094060/)

Raven73

08-09-23, 11:41 AM

Across the Spider-verse
8/10.
I was reluctant to see this one, as I wasn't impressed by the trailer, but the movie turned out to be quite good. The animation is top-notch; there were times that Morales looked like a real person, especially when he was standing still and there were shadows on him. The writing and character development are also very good. I enjoyed Gwen Stacey even more in this one, and I also liked new characters Spider Punk and Spider-Man 2099.
I wasn't expecting a cliff-hanger, so I was a little disappointed about that, especially when I find the main villain, Spot, to be a little underwhelming. But Empire Strikes Back and Kill Bill ended with cliffhangers, so I definitely want to see the next chapter in this series.
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iluv2viddyfilms

08-09-23, 12:45 PM

The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

Classic.

10/10

Agreed. It's one of the "big five" films that I believe every single American should watch by the time they're 18 years old - films that transcend the medium and are simply a part of Americana as a shared cultural cannon, regardless of whether a person has an interest in film or not:

The Wizard of Oz
Gone With the Wind
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
The Godfather

Stirchley

08-09-23, 01:11 PM

Stirchley

08-09-23, 01:14 PM

94241

First-time director (impressive) with a strange weird movie. Willem Dafoe is really good, which is satisfying as he’s the only person on screen.

When the alarm system was breached why didn’t the cops come? This I didn’t understand.

Gideon58

08-09-23, 02:40 PM

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4

Takoma11

08-09-23, 04:40 PM

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The Big Heat, 1953

One night, a police officer uses his service weapon to take his own life. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is called in to investigate the death, and soon discovers that it’s somehow connected to gangster Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and one of his lieutenants, Vince Stone (Lee Marvin). But the more Bannion investigates, the more danger he finds himself in. With the unlikely help of Stone’s girlfriend, Debby (Gloria Grahame), Bannion relentlessly chases down the truth.

Gritty and brutal, this crime thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat courtesy of memorable characters and shocking plot turns.

4.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404463#post2404463)

Thursday Next

08-09-23, 06:19 PM

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

I don't really know much about Emile Zola, but this was an interesting film. About 30 minutes of it is really 'the life of' in a biopic sort of way, then it dives into the intricacies of a case in which a man is falsely accused of spying and Zola, in later life, is persuaded to intervene and then turns into a courtroom drama. Paul Muni is good as Zola, with a couple of grandstanding speeches.

4

Allegro Non Troppo (1976)

I see that it was the 'Bolero' segment that made the animated movies list, and that segment is by far the best part, really well done as a standalone animation. Some bits I liked less. The film as a whole is charmingly bonkers, though, with some really funny moments.

3.5

GulfportDoc

08-09-23, 09:04 PM

The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

Classic.

10/10
I whole heartily agree with your rating. It's not only a wonderful picture, but "Over the Rainbow" is probably the greatest song ever written for a movie musical. Someone once asked me what song I'd like to have written. It was that one.

Takoma11

08-09-23, 09:45 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcoolidge.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Ffeatured_images%2FSkinamarink_Still007.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=4414f0f28e213c56515b7440539f9cd93b092119e21ebe0d48c9c7abb260c6f8&ipo=images

Skinamarink, 2022

One night, siblings Kevin (Lucas Paul) and Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault) awaken to find that their mother and father have disappeared. Unable to make sense of this development, the two hunker down in the den/basement. But as time wears on, the windows and doors begin to disappear, along with other objects in the house. Strange voices call to the children, and it’s unclear what the strange being or beings want with them.

Meticulous in its pacing and building of suspense, this is perhaps the best portrayal of child-like nightmare logic that I’ve ever seen.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404533#post2404533)

Darth Pazuzu

08-09-23, 11:13 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Barbie_2023_poster.jpg

BARBIE

In light of all this "Barbenheimer" hype, my curiosity finally got the better of me. Having already seen Oppenheimer last week (Tuesdays being $7 at my local theater), I decided to view the other side of this newfangled phenomenological coin.

Like Oppenheimer, Greta Gerwig's Barbie knocked the top of my head off, but in a decidedly different way. I really must say, I haven't felt such a conflicted response to a movie since Matt Stone and Trey Parker's Team America: World Police back in 2004! Don't get me wrong, I was fully entertained up to the hilt. I've admired Margot Robbie for quite some time now, and both she and Ryan Gosling play Barbie and Ken pretty much perfectly. There were so many ways this movie could have gone horribly wrong, and one way would have been if the actors hadn't found the right balance between plastic and superficial unreality on one hand, and very human pathos and humor on the other. But everybody just seems to be wired to exactly the proper frequency, and in a movie like Barbie finding the correct tone is at least 90% of the battle. I haven't necessarily followed Will Ferrell's movie career post-SNL, but I thought he earned a few hearty laughs as the Mattel CEO. And speaking of SNL alumni, it's always a pleasure to watch Kate McKinnon, and she was great as "Weird" Barbie. And I should also say, after watching the opening parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey's introductory "Dawn of Man" sequence ("dawn of girl"??), I felt like I was pretty much in good hands!

But it's not like there isn't a major "cringe" factor going on at times (most egregiously in Gosling's later faux-power ballad musical numbers). I mean, I've always been pretty much a fence-sitter when it comes to culture wars. Granted, my personal biases have always skewed very liberal since my later teens (Kurt Cobain being sort of an influence on me there), but as an adult I tend to have a balanced perspective and I'm better able to see both sides of contentious issues. So the movie's sexual politics and its attempt to satirize gender warfare I find rather cute and clever, and it's quite often very intelligent in that arena. It's just that it's all rather... on the nose at times! Barbie is certainly funny and intelligent enough to redeem its occasional preachiness, but it does tend to wear its significance on its sleeve much of the time, once or twice even grinding to a halt for the sake of the odd sermon.

Ultimately, however, Barbie was mostly a satisfying viewing experience for me. In a way, it does rather more successfully what Lana Wachowski's The Matrix Resurrections tried to do, which is to give a kind of self-referential "meta" view of a pop-culture phenomenon, even to the point of actually visiting a corporate boardroom the way the recent Matrix sequel did! But while Wachowski's film ultimately got tripped up and mired in its own nostalgia, once again Barbie manages to find the correct balance - albeit a sometimes wobbly one!

So will I pre-order the big 4K/Blu-ray set when it's announced? Er... I don't know if I'd go that far! But I think this one's definitely going to stick in the memory for quite a while...

Corax

08-09-23, 11:46 PM

When the alarm system was breached why didn’t the cops come? This I didn’t understand.

1. Part of the plan was that he and his crew had the alarm defeated on the outside. When things went south inside, however, his crew just bailed.

2. The owner was an eccentric and intended Dafoe (or whomever might break in) to be part of a piece of performance art (e.g., the owner wanted someone to find that back room). Perhaps the owner wanted any intruder to die listening to Macarena.

3. An old fashioned glitch.

Act III

08-09-23, 11:51 PM

I whole heartily agree with your rating. It's not only a wonderful picture, but "Over the Rainbow" is probably the greatest song ever written for a movie musical. Someone once asked me what song I'd like to have written. It was that one.

I think that sort of proves that as an artist, the more time and money you spend on developing a project the more timeless and classic it will be. That goes for any medium you put your hands to.

PHOENIX74

08-09-23, 11:57 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Fridaposter.jpg
By impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9828051

Frida - (2002)

Here's another biopic to broaden the scope of 20th Century artists I know something about - Frida, about the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It mostly sticks to a tried and true formula - but sometimes incorporates Frida's real paintings into the real life scenes which inspired them. Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina dominate the film as Frida and her sometimes husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera. The other big names appear very, very briefly - for example, Antonio Banderas (as David Alfaro Siqueiros) only has a few short scenes before he disappears. Geoffrey Rush lopes in to play Leon Trotsky, who had a love affair with Frida while in Mexico hiding from Stalin's goons. Edward Norton rushes in and out as Nelson Rockefeller and we also see Mía Maestro and Ashley Judd. Lovely music in this one - very lively and it has a kind of Mexican celebratory tone to it. There's a passion and wildness to Frida that Salma Hayek brings to life, and she's far ahead of the rest in giving an extraordinary performance. Frida lived life to the full and her candle burned so brightly that she died at age 47 - I love her paintings, and her spirit. While very good, this is another mainstream biopic that feels like it could have gone a little more in the surrealist direction, but I have to admit that it's bright, lively and filled with fiery, lustful lifeforce.

(I know that Harvey Weinstein's shadow looms large over this film, but I don't want to taint the celebration of this artist despite the fact that the victims of his crimes deserve to be acknowledged. Director Julie Taymor, Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd deserved much, much better.)

7/10

Takoma11

08-10-23, 12:01 AM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F07%2FThe-Deepest-Breath-696x383.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=85decba762d3e0afe77d79005b4ccbb22c874b88458b8b61b26ebb6194030539&ipo=images

The Deepest Breath, 2023

In this documentary, we learn about the lives of Alessia Zecchini and Stephen Keenan, two people whose lives intertwine around the sport of free diving. Alessia is determined to set records and make her mark on the world of free-diving, an extreme sport in which swimmers use a single breath to descend as deep as possible and then return to the surface. Stephen, after a close call of his own doing a free dive, becomes a safety officer and expert. Together the two of them experience the thrills and dangers of the sport they love.

This is a thrilling and emotional look at two people forming a powerful bond while living on the edge.

4.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404563#post2404563)

Takoma11

08-10-23, 05:55 PM

I just did a lovely double feature at the theater: the new Ninja Turtles movie and Talk to Me.

Really enjoyed both! For very different reasons!

Fabulous

08-10-23, 06:03 PM

Red Beard (1965)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/ePKNcbwssPJkK3e0xmWFZAq18u2.jpg

Gideon58

08-10-23, 06:27 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTMxMGM5MjItNDJhNy00MWI2LWJlZWMtOWFhMjI5ZTQwMWM3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_.jpg

4

Takoma11

08-10-23, 06:37 PM

I just did a lovely double feature at the theater: the new Ninja Turtles movie and Talk to Me.

Really enjoyed both! For very different reasons!

And one more thing: this was the first time in YEARS that there were five or six movies in the theater I was excited to see.

John W Constantine

08-10-23, 06:55 PM

I just did a lovely double feature at the theater: the new Ninja Turtles movie and Talk to Me.

Really enjoyed both! For very different reasons!
#TurtlestoMe?

Takoma11

08-10-23, 11:09 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.cnmhstng.com%2Fmore%2Fbackdrop%2Flg%2FPuss_in_Boots_The_Last_Wish1451.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=837b1f2904f23a6db406682963f866dc40b3877555eae4201a9a2839cd2da8cf&ipo=images

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, 2022

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is living his best swashbuckling life when he is the victim of an untimely accident. Shocked to realize that he is down to the last of his nine lives, Puss decides to retire. But when he learns about a map that could lead to a wishing star, Puss re-dons his hat and sword and sets off, accompanied by former flame Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayak) and new friend Perrito (Harvey Guillen). But others are on the trail of the star, including Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and her three bears and the menacing Jack Horner (John Mulaney).

A strong story and message, along with winning vocal performances make this a very enchanting animated film, suitable for adults and children.

4

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2404786#post2404786)

PHOENIX74

08-11-23, 02:20 AM

I just did a lovely double feature at the theater: the new Ninja Turtles movie and Talk to Me.

Really enjoyed both! For very different reasons!

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Talk to Me - I enjoyed nearly every minute of it.

PHOENIX74

08-11-23, 02:52 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/The_Amazing_Spider-Man_%28film%29_poster.jpg
By http://collider.com/marc-webb-spider-man-interview/177808/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35522178

The Amazing Spider-Man - (2012)

I remember, back in the day, how surprised I was that Sony was rebooting the Spider-Man franchise only 5 years after the last one ended. That has to be some kind of record (discounting James Bond's reworking after Die Another Day left the character high and dry) and was one of the reasons I didn't rush out to see it. I'd had my fill of the character at the time, although these days I've been shown that there are imaginative ways to keep things fresh while maintaining a steady output. This Spider-Man film isn't fresh though - and goes pretty much by the book. I actually think Andrew Garfield is good in the role, although not much is asked of him apart from the scenes where he reckons with his Uncle Ben's (Martin Sheen) death. All of the opportunities to do something different were passed up in favour of playing everything safe, and as such all we have here is a finely made but somewhat predictable and rote superhero movie. This film feels so unnecessary. Thankfully, when the Marvel Universe managed to massage some of the creative juices from those doing the writing and stories, we got something a little different and unique. This just stands as a testament to plain vanilla no-risk Spider-Man movies - it has the usual villain (scientist testing his creation on himself - and turning into a monster), the usual origin, the same kind of person playing the role and the very template for superhero movie plots. This is very well crafted, and even well written, but wasn't really needed at a time when we'd just seen a Spider-Man trilogy do the same thing. Fans of Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard might be happy with it, if they really like a lot of CGI in their movies.

6/10

Fabulous

08-11-23, 03:28 AM

The Scar (1976)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/r3WQWhJIgyL8JUTW6pKNXTYNEJd.jpg

Torgo

08-11-23, 12:02 PM

Constantine - 2

Having read Saga of the Swamp Thing and a volume of Hellblazer, I understand why John Constantine is considered one of comics' most interesting characters. You won't be able to tell that from this movie, however. While still damned to Hell and addicted to nicotine, the detective traded his English upbringing, wit and signature Sting-adjacent look for...well, much less all around. His latest case involves helping Rachel Weisz's L.A. cop discover how her sister died, which leads to them uncovering the Antichrist's plot to take the reins from his dad, Lucifer. Unfortunately, what follows is not as exciting as this sounds.

The movie begins promisingly enough. There's the unearthing of a Biblical artifact, a terrifying exorcism scene and memorable introductions to John’s allies, including familiar faces like Pruitt Taylor Vince's alcoholic priest and Shia LeBeouf's cab driver, all of which whet my appetite. Sadly, it soon reaches a point where finishing my chores was more enticing than seeing what happens next. Part of the problem is the switch from London to a generic, "big movie city" depiction of L.A. and "brooding" being John's main descriptor. Does he have reasons to brood? Yes, but Keanu makes it interchangeable with apathy, and it lasts to the end despite the new case supposedly giving him purpose and a reason to care again. It's disappointing because Keanu has pulled off arcs like this before; see how much different Mr. Anderson is from Neo in the first Matrix movie, for instance. As if Rachel Weisz was trying to match his energy level (or lack thereof), she does not exactly liven things up, either. The lack of stakes also doesn't help matters, which says a lot considering we're dealing with the masters of creation and destruction here. More scenes like the ones outside the building in Prince of Darkness would have been welcome. Except for a clever scene involving the priest's alcoholism getting the better of him, the CGI is largely bloodless and dated, and as for the conclusion, convenience is a more appropriate term.

Again, the movie has a fair share of character performers I'm always happy to see - Tilda Swinton and Djimon Hounsou also show up - but they're all underutilized. The MVP, though, is Peter Stormare's Lucifer, who comes close to salvaging the entire experience, but no cigar. I'm aware that there are other, less mainstream John Constantine adaptations, but I am ready for there to be another one that makes it to theaters. Hopefully, whoever makes it will do him justice, not to mention ask more ambitious questions than “could this be a Keanu star vehicle?”

mrblond

08-11-23, 01:29 PM

As Bestas [The Beasts] (2022)

Spanish-French thriller film
directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen who is also a co-writer.

A small poor village in the deep Spanish countryside. A common middle-aged French couple settled there in the post-2000 time, alas they'll meet the roots of the human evil.
Very strong drama, great natural acting. Quite possible nomination for the foreign-language category in the forthcoming awards season. Already, it won Goya and César Awards.

4+ 84/100

94272

John W Constantine

08-11-23, 01:30 PM

Whoa.

Stirchley

08-11-23, 01:38 PM

1. Part of the plan was that he and his crew had the alarm defeated on the outside. When things went south inside, however, his crew just bailed.

2. The owner was an eccentric and intended Dafoe (or whomever might break in) to be part of a piece of performance art (e.g., the owner wanted someone to find that back room). Perhaps the owner wanted any intruder to die listening to Macarena.

3. An old fashioned glitch.

Did you see this movie?

Number 1 would make sense to me. Never thought of that.

Number 2 is an interesting theory, but what to do with the feces? Performance art needs an audience.

Thank God my fridge doesn’t play the Macarena.

Torgo

08-11-23, 01:38 PM

Whoa.
Uh oh. I...didn't write that. My evil twin did! :p
Still a big fan of the character if it's of any consolation.

Stirchley

08-11-23, 01:40 PM

94275

Oof, grim in the extreme. Set in the director’s country of birth Romania. Ghastly people. I’ll leave it at that, I think.

Gideon58

08-11-23, 02:55 PM

https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/1d262a85-d55b-48e5-94a7-6ec20762820c.jpg

3.5

Corax

08-11-23, 05:33 PM

Did you see this movie?

Yes. It was ridiculous and yet somehow touching.

Number 1 would make sense to me. Never thought of that.
Number 2 is an interesting theory, but what to do with the feces? Performance art needs an audience.
You're right. Unless there are hidden cameras somewhere there is no audience for the performance itself. You've got a point there.

Perhaps it was something like art, a message in a bottle (or a trap designed to be an experience machine) which is sent out in the hopes that it might be found. Or perhaps the art was intended to be what was be left behind. We don't watch the painter with the brush, but only what he leaves behind on the canvas. Perhaps the apartment was the canvas? The "art" might be what the trapped intruder left behind. Let's see how he remakes this space, the evidence and trace of his existence that he leaves behind.

The apartment becomes his whole world. He defies it and imagines he will defeat it. He then learns to live in it. Eventually he expresses himself in it by making artifacts--he remakes himself through his symbol use. Eventually he transcends it, either by killing himself in the attempt to ascend to a higher plane, or by actually making it to the life outside the microcosm. Is he the Buddha who finds Nirvana or is he just the latest human to die in the vain attempt to escape his world? The film is ambiguous on that last point. What do you think?

Balor

08-11-23, 06:36 PM

Tower. Bright Day. 10/10 This was absolutely fantastic. It's was filmed like a digital movie from Lars von Trier, and it had an interesting story that will make me a repeat viewer as I work to unpack it.

mrblond

08-11-23, 07:06 PM

GulfportDoc

08-11-23, 09:07 PM

Emily the Criminal (2022)

written and directed by the debutant John Patton Ford

Good movie about some of the many problems of the declining current society.
Superb performance by the young actress Aubrey Plaza in the main role.
rating_4 80/100
https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=94299
I liked it about as well as you did. I was prepared NOT to like the picture, but it won me over. I mad a few comments about it awhile back:

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

PHOENIX74

08-11-23, 10:48 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Jason_Bourne_%28film%29.jpg
By https://www.newdvdreleasedates.com/m3301/jason-bourne-dvd-release-date, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50834820

Jason Bourne - (2016)

You know that saying about going to the well too many times and you know it applies to most movie franchises - but although The Bourne Legacy underperformed somewhat at the box office, an argument could be made it was because Matt Damon wasn't in it. He was persuaded to come back for Jason Bourne because of a story that included revelations about Bourne's father and his origin, and also probably because of a big paycheck. This did okay - but they ought not make another one, because audiences will be getting a little tired of the formula, which for the first time doesn't sparkle or have you on the edge of your seat. It's a very average installment compared to previous ones, although Vincent Cassel adds some grit as a nameless assassin known as "The Asset" and Matt Damon is as good as he always is in this role. Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander round out the cast as opposing CIA hotshots, one out to kill Bourne and the other out to recruit him. All Bourne is interested in is finding out what really happened to his father - did he die in a terrorist attack? Did his own father recruit him for the operation that turned him into a killing machine? The answers are so predictable that it turns that aspect of the film into a bit of a yawn. There's hardly anywhere to go from here, so please, pretty please, let this be the end of it.

5/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/Uncharted_Official_Poster.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2022/uncharted_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69749882

Uncharted - (2022)

Oh how I love the Uncharted games, which are cinematic in and of themselves, and therefore especially hard to turn into movies - it's impossible to better them. Just imagine a muddy field whereupon there's been a sewage spillage - put your hand so close to the ground that any slight movement and you'll have dirtied it - and that's where my expectations were for this film. The funny thing about that is the movie will usually be a lot better than you'd thought it would be, and I was kind of enamored with the chemistry between Drake (Tom Holland) and Sully (Mark Wahlberg) in this film. I even enjoyed it a little bit. It isn't quite Uncharted (more an origin story, with Drake as a kid and Sully as a middle-aged adventurer - far from the games) but it's faithful enough to include puzzles, old artifacts and hidden chambers undisturbed for centuries. The action is derivative of other action films, but works, and the actors have some charm and charisma as they share amusing banter. I thought this would be one of the worst movies of 2022, but instead it outdoes itself to earn the status of "average" - some visual flair adds a little sparkle as well. If you really like Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland's schtick (let's call it their usual comedic shorthand) it might even be a recommendation. That said, it's not quite good enough to call a sterling success - films like National Treasure got to where this goes nearly 20 years ago. It's watchable is what I'm saying.

5/10

Nausicaä

08-12-23, 12:36 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b1/Poster_Renfield.jpg/220px-Poster_Renfield.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

iluv2viddyfilms

08-12-23, 02:21 AM

Quick Millions - B

Fabulous

08-12-23, 03:52 AM

This Gun for Hire (1942)

3

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/oKCBLyK0LkEwQMEAHAxRtEisXnq.jpg

mrblond

08-12-23, 02:18 PM

The Call of the Wild (2020)

Directed by Chris Sanders
Starring Harrison Ford

Waste of time. A childish movie and I'm not sure if the current kids generation would be interested in this film. The special effects for the dogs were quite artificial and annoying. Huge budget for what? I guess for the Chinese mall-cineplexes...
2.5
94319

Gideon58

08-12-23, 03:06 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNGU0ZDRlYjYtMjNhMS00ZjQzLTk4ZDMtZjM5OTRlZmQ0OGQyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMDUzNTI3._V1_.jpg

4

Nausicaä

08-12-23, 09:02 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/44/The_Super_Mario_Bros._Movie_poster.jpg/220px-The_Super_Mario_Bros._Movie_poster.jpg

3.5

The person I was watching this with is a massive fan of the Mario and Donkey Kong games and they haven't been able to play the games for a few years now due to illness but this film put a big smile on their face and it was excellent remembering all the different things from the games. To me that was all that mattered watching this. :D

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

Balor

08-12-23, 09:41 PM

The last two movies for me were Saw and Saw II. I thoroughly enjoyed both, but I had some qualms about the editing/cinematography (it was too chaotic, something clinical would have been better---in my mind). Overall 7/10.

PHOENIX74

08-12-23, 11:40 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Shut_up_and_sing_poster.jpg
By http://www.dixiechicks.com/dc_movieposter_us.htm, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28925578

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing - (2006)

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since the War in Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction fiasco, and one almost forgotten aspect of the divided political consensus and opening shots of the culture wars began when Dixie Chick lead singer Natalie Maines told an audience in London that she was ashamed that her president came from Texas. There's a tendency in modern times for the American Right to take things a little too far - being upset about that is okay, and so is airing your views, but this endless rage thing is not a winning hand in anyone's point of view. We all have a right not to like a band, performer or celebrity - but to stage concerted (and successful) efforts to have them blacklisted from country radio, or in some cases threaten to kill them, is unhealthy for society as a whole. As seen in this Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck documentary, the Dixie Chicks came through a torrid three years okay, winning Grammy Awards for the album and single that dealt with the whole controversy. In the meantime, the war they were against descended into deadly farce and hopeless entanglement. The tribulations of this era, combined with the financial crisis of 2008, sowed the seeds of future discontent in America.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Disturbia.jpg
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Paramount Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10240997

Disturbia - (2007)

Have you ever wondered what Rear Window would have been like if Jimmy Stewart's character had of been gut-wrenchingly obnoxious? Okay, I'll cut Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf) some slack - he did accidentally kill his own dad, but he's also very lucky that neighbour Ashley (Sarah Roemer) thinks that his constant spying on her and watching her is "sweet" rather than terrifying, horrifying and means for police assistance. Over at Robert Turner's (David Morse) house, the bodies are piling up (really piling up) and it's Morse that provides the film with some real performance satisfaction - such a slimy, slippery customer. Well-liked and a box office success, Disturbia doesn't grab me as much as it does others I'm afraid - but I'm glad Shia LaBeouf has graduated to films the quality of Honey Boy after playing so many undeserving jerks.

5/10

https://i.postimg.cc/3R2gt5fw/steep.jpg
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10240997

Steep - (2007)

Top marks for underlining the passion extreme skiers have for mountain skiing - with some really incredible shots of various greats either hurtling down at 50mph, carefully descending with left/right swivels or else base jumping off cliffs after daredevil downward plunges on skis. The various personalities and famous (in the skiing community) adherents are made known to us in a chronological order as they speak their minds. One of them, Doug Coombs, died while the film was being made. Extraordinary, dangerous and somewhat crazy stuff - a relatively new phenomenon (the first to ever try his hand did so in the 1970s) that seems made for motion picture cameras that can capture the various vistas and maniacs hurtling down them.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/The_Soul_of_a_Man_-_DVD_cover.jpg
By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from the publisher or studio., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9575295

The Soul of a Man - (2003)

Kind of a big step down from Buena Vista Social Club in format for Wim Wenders, with a framing device that feels especially awkward. You have to respect his love for these three Blues legends all the same, and if you just sit back and listen to his music choices and watch the historic footage (not the docudrama reenactments) then there's some value to be had.

6/10

Nausicaä

08-13-23, 01:15 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0b/Starbuck.jpg/220px-Starbuck.jpg

2

SF = Zzzz

[Snooze Factor Ratings]:
Z = didn't nod off at all
Zz = nearly nodded off but managed to stay alert
Zzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed
Zzzz = nodded off and missed some of the film but went back to watch what I missed but nodded off again at the same point and therefore needed to go back a number of times before I got through it...
Zzzzz = nodded off and missed some or the rest of the film but was not interested enough to go back over it

mrblond

08-13-23, 11:56 AM

Juniper (2021)

Written and Directed by Matthew J. Saville
Starring Charlotte Rampling

Often explored theme about relation between far ends generations, in this case a self-willed old lady and her grandson, who is a big boy in his latest teen years.
Well, it is always nice to see Charlotte Rampling acting.
3.5+ 72/100
94332

Fabulous

08-13-23, 05:41 PM

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/r8kVUjIteyH20zPrM1R1aubUHCC.jpg

ScarletLion

08-13-23, 05:52 PM

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

4

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/r8kVUjIteyH20zPrM1R1aubUHCC.jpg

One of the very best.

EsmagaSapos

08-13-23, 06:23 PM

The Soul of a Man - (2003)

Kind of a big step down from Buena Vista Social Club in format for Wim Wenders, with a framing device that feels especially awkward. You have to respect his love for these three Blues legends all the same, and if you just sit back and listen to his music choices and watch the historic footage (not the docudrama reenactments) then there's some value to be had.

6/10

Warming By The Devils by Charles Burnett was my favorite from the series.

Marco

08-13-23, 08:16 PM

Takoma11

08-13-23, 08:29 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcineoculto.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F09%2FCaptura-de-pantalla-completa-29102014-010100-p.m..bmp.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=aa537fdc5a0f7a7e4fedd04b5d49167c4ce6ca5fe47a2252c89ad391e0333804&ipo=images

Darker Than Night, 1974

Ofelia (Claudia Islas) is surprised when she inherits a lovely mansion from her elderly aunt Susana (Tamara Garina). She moves in, along with her friends Pilar (Helena Rojo), Marta (Lucia Mendez), and Aurora (Susana Dosamantes), and the house is cared for by Susana’s loyal housekeeper, Sofia (Alicia Palacios). The only stipulation to the inheritance is that the women take care of Susana’s beloved cat, Bequer. But when tragedy befalls the cat, mysterious and threatening things begin happening in the house.

An excellent story and killer, along with a fabulous color palette makes this a delicious and engaging horror film.

4.5

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2405404#post2405404)

Takoma11

08-13-23, 11:00 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdnm.nflximg.net%2Fapi%2Fv6%2FRzjo4m-VcRyE32Swxls9Vg-Ew2k%2FAAAAQZGVmokFVuQF1u_ogADs_kTMb-_2-KvgyadEvkxIKpvi0yITRgXWnRpsSnGzJMubYMq0ay3wRPqUMW20lTcYrSwy-UBb4yXzr0dfzlolU-ManqstQ7B8c1f9rxjD.jpg%3Fr%3Da78&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=99a9062fdbca0eb6a05b2a9239022ea858863fb25932f18c1e0faa00d90226b2&ipo=images

Mer-People (4-Episode Miniseries), 2023

This docu-series follows a number of members of the mermaid community---people who dress up and perform as mermaids. The documentary covers what led people to joining the community, the challenges of being part of a niche group in a small town, biases that exist in the mermaid community, and the technical aspects of mermaiding.

Showcasing multiple compelling personal stories and a fascinating glimpse into a niche community, this docuseries is a great mix of humor and heart.

Would I recommend this series? Shell yeah.

4

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2405429#post2405429

Act III

08-14-23, 12:13 AM

94367

Wayne's World (1992)

Not as good as I remember it but has a sitcom-like charm to it. When I first saw it as a new release I hadn't yet bought my first record or gotten into music to anything more involved than hearing what my parents were listening to. So, I enjoyed it more from a comedy angle. A time capsule of the end of the 80s hairband era, before grunge took over. I don't know when the last I saw this was but it was a long long time ago either on Comedy Central or Pay-Per-View or something like that.

6.5/10

MovieBuffering

08-14-23, 12:16 AM

Casino - 1995

I think I saw this in my youth but I didn't remember a damn thing. Maybe it was just bits and pieces. I thought it was good however I saw Pollack on a podcast recently said if Scorsese didn't make Goodfellas this would be considered his big movie. I don't think I'd go that far but I do think having made Goodfellas, especially so close to this one, did hurt it a bit. When you hold it to the standard of Goodfellas you can see the flaws. I could feel it drag where as Goodfellas I never felt it. It's sort of a redundant story and redundant role for Pacino.

The biggest flaw to me was the narration. It felt too spoon fed to me. It worked in Goodfellas it was too much here. The movie is too long as well. I think Scorsese might have indulged too much in this flick. I didn't think it was a bad film...Just certain parts I was looking at my watch. It's fine but I don't think I'll revisit it.

2.5

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/casino1995.png

PHOENIX74

08-14-23, 12:38 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Eddie_murphy_delirious.JPG
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5118382

Eddie Murphy Delirious - (1983)

40 years ago Delirious was naughty enough to be cool, and Eddie Murphy's star was on the rise - my friends and I knew this hour-long performance off by heart, and the man's charisma held us in his thrall. Today, some parts (especially the start) are on the wrong side of offensive, and others have aged poorly, but the comedian's style and enthusiasm can still be felt. He was only 22-years-old when making this HBO Special, and while that didn't mean much to me back then, it sure sounds incredible to me now. At 22 you're still basically a kid, and his meteoric rise would have still felt fresh and new. Watching it again, there was nothing I didn't remember - as kids my friends and I watched this far too many times, but as far as comedic style went, Eddie Murphy was at the very top of the mountain. He was one of the most bankable stars of the 80s, and a very, very funny guy.

8/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Magic_Mike.jpg
By http://www.impawards.com/2012/magic_mike_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36005357

Magic Mike - (2012)

Finally got around to seeing this. I don't know how male strippers feel about Magic Mike, but it kind of made the industry feel a little dirty and disreputable by the time we reach it's conclusion. When character Adam (Alex Pettyfer) first meets Mike (Channing Tatum) and learns that he's a male stripper, the job itself seems professional and yet open to newcomers, not to mention fun. Boss Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) welcomes Adam to the fold, but there'd be no drama if there's no conflict and Adam's sister Brooke (Cody Horn) becomes the volatile, protective ingredient of good sense when the newcomer starts sliding down a slippery slope of drug dealing and using. On the whole this was a fine, albeit average, drama that I neither loved nor hated. It held up - I like Channing Tatum, he has a nice comedic delivery and stops the film from sinking completely.

6/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/My_life_poster.jpg
By Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12671500

My Life - (1993)

Michael Keaton brings back some of his unique comedic schtick in drama My Life - an unusual choice, but I think Bruce Joel Rubin (the Oscar-winning writer of Ghost) would have welcomed anything that made character Robert Jones (Keaton) more amenable and likable. In this film he has cancer and is dying, while wife Gail (Nicole Kidman) is pregnant with their child. Bob decides to record as much of himself as he can on camera so that his soon to be born son can get to know him, and so he can have that participation in his life. There are two ways I experienced the end of this film - the first at 11:30pm last night, with my heavy eyelids closing and thinking "C'mon, end already" (I decided to shut my eyes with the intention of turning everything off and going to bed when the credits finished - I woke up in the early morning in the same position with nothing turned off.) So early this morning I watched the end again, and this time tears were welling up in my eyes. This film ends with half a dozen scenes that are all really turning the screws hard as far as manipulating it's audience into sadness goes, and I think if you come to those scenes fresh then they'll hit you a lot harder. I didn't mind this - Keaton gives one of his last "Keaton Comedy" performances, and as long as you're not tired you'll find it does manage to play on your emotions.

6/10

Act III

08-14-23, 03:45 AM

LChimp

08-14-23, 08:19 AM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDgxOTdjMzYtZGQxMS00ZTAzLWI4Y2UtMTQzN2VlYjYyZWRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Good movie, but I still think the first one is the best of them all.

mrblond

08-14-23, 11:00 AM

The Seventh Continent (1989)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Dersiebentekontinent.jpg

I saw it couple of years ago. Bizarre experience indeed.
I'd rate it a bit higher: 3.5 70/100

Stirchley

08-14-23, 01:09 PM

Gideon58

08-14-23, 02:30 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGM2YTRhOTgtOGU0My00NGIxLTgxMjEtY2U1YzZiZWQ3OGI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMTg2ODkz._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

2.5

matt72582

08-14-23, 03:49 PM

Something Different - 5/10
There was nothing unique about this movie. Bland as hell. But it was on TCM and now with the Underground series canceled, I have no reason for cable. YouTube has been my only source of great movies in the last few years anyway.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/O_necem_jinem_%28Something_Different_1963%29_VHS_box_cover.jpg

matt72582

08-14-23, 03:55 PM

FromBeyond

08-14-23, 04:00 PM

The Deep House

Really wanted to like this movie, the idea of an underwater haunted house flick really appealed but alas this was mediocre and forgettable stuff

Bull

Enjoyed this gritty and violent brit revenge flick, put me in mind of "Dead Man's Shoes" but not quite as good as the latter. Wild ending though

Love And Monsters

Tried to watch this before but couldn't get into it, pleased I gave it another try as I had a good time

Sedai

08-14-23, 04:01 PM

Oppenheimer
Nolan, 2023

4

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/9c/f9c9317e-264e-11ee-9c17-7ba5b6adad83/64b80b497d34e.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C840

mrblond

08-14-23, 04:03 PM

Stirchley

08-14-23, 04:24 PM

Fabulous

08-14-23, 05:50 PM

The Last Metro (1980)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/x7hc7MYtPGbdknvyGIWzlatrRiW.jpg

Pippo

08-14-23, 07:59 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNmQzOWZhOTMtZTcxNC00MTdkLWEwYmUtOWVmOTFhNTdkNjRkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODk2NDQ3MTA@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg

I thought it was pretty good.

The best of 2023 so far IMO

Gideon58

08-14-23, 08:08 PM

94368

Rock Star (2001)

This movie. There's so much to say, but I'm gonna keep it short. 7/10 because I like it a scoche more than Wayne's World. Ask me 20 years ago and I'd tell you different.

7/10

I thought this movie was dumb and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Wayne's World. Dominic West and Timothy Spall were terrific, but Jennifer ANiston's role was thankless. Wahlberg looked good in tight leather jeans though.

Gideon58

08-14-23, 08:12 PM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Eddie_murphy_delirious.JPG
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5118382

Eddie Murphy Delirious - (1983)

40 years ago Delirious was naughty enough to be cool, and Eddie Murphy's star was on the rise - my friends and I knew this hour-long performance off by heart, and the man's charisma held us in his thrall. Today, some parts (especially the start) are on the wrong side of offensive, and others have aged poorly, but the comedian's style and enthusiasm can still be felt. He was only 22-years-old when making this HBO Special, and while that didn't mean much to me back then, it sure sounds incredible to me now. At 22 you're still basically a kid, and his meteoric rise would have still felt fresh and new. Watching it again, there was nothing I didn't remember - as kids my friends and I watched this far too many times, but as far as comedic style went, Eddie Murphy was at the very top of the mountain. He was one of the most bankable stars of the 80s, and a very, very funny guy.

8/10

My Life - (1993)

Michael Keaton brings back some of his unique comedic schtick in drama My Life - an unusual choice, but I think Bruce Joel Rubin (the Oscar-winning writer of Ghost) would have welcomed anything that made character Robert Jones (Keaton) more amenable and likable. In this film he has cancer and is dying, while wife Gail (Nicole Kidman) is pregnant with their child. Bob decides to record as much of himself as he can on camera so that his soon to be born son can get to know him, and so he can have that participation in his life. There are two ways I experienced the end of this film - the first at 11:30pm last night, with my heavy eyelids closing and thinking "C'mon, end already" (I decided to shut my eyes with the intention of turning everything off and going to bed when the credits finished - I woke up in the early morning in the same position with nothing turned off.) So early this morning I watched the end again, and this time tears were welling up in my eyes. This film ends with half a dozen scenes that are all really turning the screws hard as far as manipulating it's audience into sadness goes, and I think if you come to those scenes fresh then they'll hit you a lot harder. I didn't mind this - Keaton gives one of his last "Keaton Comedy" performances, and as long as you're not tired you'll find it does manage to play on your emotions.

6/10

I agree with just about everything you said about Delirious and it's nice t know someone has seen My Life besides myself. I liked it a lot more than you did and though there are comic moments, I would hardly consider it a comedy, but that's just me I guess.

Balor

08-14-23, 08:40 PM

The Seventh Continent (1989)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Dersiebentekontinent.jpg
Directed by the chief master of comedy Michael Haneke. This is an absurdist tale of a family who, whilst living a comfortable existence, decide they don't like the world they are living in. There may be a deeper motif about consumerism but it's so opaque it's hard to tell. I enjoy Hanekes films and the nihilism and darkness of them but this was just ok.

2.5

How would you rate this in comparison with Haneke's other films? I liked The Seventh Continent quite a bit, more than Funny Games now that I think of it. I got the feeling as though the explanation that the viewer wanted for why they did what they did was purposely excluded from the film---I imagine to force the viewer to examine the whole social context on their own.

Takoma11

08-14-23, 08:51 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.mubicdn.net%2Fimages%2Ffilm%2F67181%2Fcache-84474-1445940798%2Fimage-w1280.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=dd56bcc9c7a6d558a476c252916e85927f72b76c34189b9a80eed6a158aa1182&ipo=images

The Killing Time, 1987

An unnamed man (Kiefer Sutherland) murders a man named Brian Mars in a remote location. He steals the man’s identity, showing up to a small town and claiming to be Mars, their new deputy. The false Mars has walked right into the middle of a soap opera. His co-worker Sam (Beau Bridges) is having a steamy affair with Laura (Camelia Lynne). Laura is suffering horrible verbal, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband, wealthy land developer Jake (Wayne Rogers). Things get very twisted with Sam and Laura decide to rope Mars into their plan to murder Jake to free Laura.

Eh.

3

Full review (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2405628#post2405628)

Jackie Daytona

08-15-23, 01:00 AM

Aw man, Wayne’s World was such a dumb, fun movie. You had to be a smart-ass 90’s kid kid to really get it.

Fabulous

08-15-23, 04:01 AM

The Last Wave (1977)

3.5

https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/original/7K6O2mkYLaGmVbhQ5FT3iNETBYO.jpg

PHOENIX74

08-15-23, 04:43 AM

I agree with just about everything you said about Delirious and it's nice t know someone has seen My Life besides myself. I liked it a lot more than you did and though there are comic moments, I would hardly consider it a comedy, but that's just me I guess.

I wouldn't say the film is a comedy per se, but rather Michael Keaton does his comedy thing during the movie - mainly when he's talking to his prospective kid into the camera. It's like he's being funny 'in-movie', if that makes any sense. Keaton has a very particular brand of trying to elicit laughs. But even though there are moments like the one where he gets a ball off a toy shop shelf thereby creating an avalanche which nearly buries him, I agree with you - it's very much a drama that has moments that are comedic and funny.

PHOENIX74

08-15-23, 05:33 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Asteroidcity.jpg
By Focus Features - http://www.impawards.com/2023/asteroid_city_ver2.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73402955

Asteroid City - (2023)

There are ensembles, and then there are Wes Anderson ensembles - and while the sheer number of talented performers in Asteroid City robs it a little of any sure focus it might have had, it matters little when a film is this funny, gorgeous, whimsically cheerful and beautiful. It's a film that begs to be seen in a cinema, and the group of people at the one I saw it at were especially malleable and ready for what Anderson was doing. There wasn't only laughter, but all kinds of expressive noises that humans make, and you could hear the appreciation in the room. Be warned though - this filmmaker has not reinvented himself or experimented here. Asteroid City is typical kind of stuff for him - it just so happens that he does it so wonderfully that I'm not near being sick of it yet. An improvement over The French Dispatch, it comes close to that grand perfection he reached in The Grand Budapest Hotel but falls just short of that. It's a fictional play brought to life in deep and bright Southwestern desert colours, whereupon the literary reality where Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe and Bryan Cranston exist is in black and white. It's funny, cute, silly and just 105 minutes of delight for me personally. The only thing it's really missing is Bill Murray. The plot, which involves the aforementioned play about a group of science prodigies receiving awards when a UFO descends from the skies is almost incidental to the whole film - but Wes Anderson's movies are moving to a completely different set of priorities - and I love them.

9/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Scream_%281996_film%29_poster.jpg
By Imp Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2282368

Scream - (1996)

A very astute and expert balancing act came off when it comes to Scream - a knowing and complexly comedic look at the teen slasher genre which is itself a teen slasher movie. Too self-referential, and it breaks the fourth wall and lets all the tension escape the room. Too serious or wrenching and it's no longer a fun examination of 80s horror films. It manages to be both fun and tense by letting it's characters in on everything - watching Halloween on VHS and letting these films be the driving force behind a series of murders occurring in the small town of Woodsboro. Killing it's most famous star in the film's first scenes and featuring all the slasher's tropes or completely reversing them, Scream did everything right and looks great for it's age. It did what Wes Craven was trying to do in Wes Craven's New Nightmare, bringing a sense of culture, artistry and self-acknowledgement to a cinematic corner oft pointed to in derision, sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly. A generation had grown up going to these movies, and were particularly ready to examine a portion of cinema that was rarely given a second look. A really smart movie, and a good horror film on it's own - those two aspects going hand in hand in perfect unison. Still great to watch.

9/10

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)

Once you've seen it once and are ready for all it's changes of pace and twists and turns, Beau is Afraid is even better. A supremely enjoyable film to watch - twisted and oddly original. Ari Aster sticking to the darkness, only with more of an unnerving grin on his face.

8/10

matt72582

08-15-23, 06:14 AM

À Plein Temps [Full Time] (2021)

Written and Directed by Éric Gravel
Starring Laure Calamy

A super hit of the so popular modern independent genre about the fundamental problems of the people living in the western society. Intense, thrilling, stressful... very well caught atmosphere. Possible nomination for the foreign language category. Superb performance by Laure Calamy.

rating_4_5- 87/100
https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=94377

This looks good, and I want something to watch while it's still dark... For some reason, I can tell by her face she's going to be a convincing actress. Hope I can find it!

Act III

08-15-23, 06:47 AM

I thought this movie was dumb and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Wayne's World. Dominic West and Timothy Spall were terrific, but Jennifer ANiston's role was thankless. Wahlberg looked good in tight leather jeans though.

This movie was funny in how it parodies glam hair rock and Mark Wahlberg plays his screwed up character well, poking fun at the rock band cliches. I enjoyed it quite a bit but it isnt a movie I will purchase for my collection nor probably rent again. Wayne's World's jokes are worn out as I have seen it a dozen times but definitely would buy it. Still, I think Rock Star is a better movie for many reasons but since they're both comedies and fictional movies about the same scene I figured they should be seen together.

Siddon

08-15-23, 12:54 PM

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSc9gvHGWcc58ZFVY_kPE-tm2qVjLEepcSByw&usqp=CAU

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

This could have been so good but Holllywood can't give us a Vampire on a ship film without the racism lecture. Some people are going to be able to look past the terrible lead performance by Corey Hawkins and see something good. And on paper the film is solid but every set piece the horror is stripped of tension.

2.5

Gideon58

08-15-23, 01:29 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYTU5MjA5YTMtYzMzMi00ZDQxLWE0YjItNjk2MGMwNzQ0MjQyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjE5MjUyOTM@._V1_.jpg

1

iluv2viddyfilms

08-15-23, 02:22 PM

Battle of Britain (1969, Guy Hamilton) - C+

Gideon58

08-15-23, 05:12 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2UxOWQ2MWQtMjE4ZS00MzVmLTgyZWEtNjBlOGNiOGVkZDA1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzE3ODA3._V1_.jpg

3.5

mrblond

08-15-23, 06:14 PM

Learning to Drive (2014)

Starring Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley

Caught it on the television couple of days ago.
Cute movie as a whole. For all art appreciators, It is worth to see how two amazing performers, Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley, masterly develop a very specific type characters. It is always a pleasure watching these actors.
3.5+ 72/100
94393

GulfportDoc

08-15-23, 08:29 PM

Oppenheimer
Nolan, 2023

rating_4

Sedai, I'd be curious to hear some of your commentary about the movie. Pros? Cons? I haven't seen it yet.

iluv2viddyfilms

08-15-23, 11:33 PM

The Razor's Edge (1946, Goulding) - A-

PHOENIX74

08-16-23, 12:11 AM

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Scream_2.jpg
By IMPAwards.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14302028

Scream 2 - (1997)

The meta aspects of Scream become more complex in Scream 2 due to the fact that the events in the first film have been made into a film itself (known as Stab), within the world of these movies (and later in the series, these films will also have sequels of their own attached to them.) Writer Kevin Williamson can't make as good a connection between fiction and film theory compared to what he did in the first film though - perhaps because this iteration had to undergo numerous rewrites after the first screenplay was leaked to the public. There's still a lot of attention payed to the phenomenon of horror sequels, and sequels in general. I used to love sequels when I was a kid - yet to develop any taste in film and simply following my favourite characters around no matter the quality of film they appeared in. Now I'm wary of them - wise to the fact that quality invariably takes a steep dive. Scream 2 was still a lot of fun though, and the final reveal (and that performance by the actor/actress playing the killer) worked for me. There's still a sense of fresh fun about the central idea behind what Williamson and Wes Craven are doing, and it's still a lot of fun to try and guess who the killer/killers are as you're hit with a tidal wave of red herrings.

7/10

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Scream3_ver2.jpg
By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23363606

Scream 3 - (2000)

The third film in the Scream series is sorely lacking that confident knowing wink the films would ordinarily be giving the audience - this time simply playing everything straight, and as such making it indistinguishable from any other thriller/horror film going around. It seems the filmmakers here (Ehren Kruger taking over writing duties) forgot what made the first two films great. In those, the characters would half-know and half-acknowledge that they're in a horror movie - but this time the characters are literally making a horror movie (Stab 3 - a fictional sequel to the film released in the second film's world), and aside from that little attention is given to the meta examination of what makes a slasher film, or slasher film sequel/franchise. In the end you'll have the feeling you've watched a real Scooby-Doo episode here - a dumb minute-long videotaped cameo from Jamie Kennedy explaining the rules of trilogies is all we'll get as far as anything self-referential goes, and that's really not enough. We love the Scream movies not because they're slasher/mystery films, but because they're self acknowledging slasher/mystery films that examine the genre while at the same time delivering and/or subverting the rules. This was a pretty big letdown considering how good the first two films were.

5/10